Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences

Oxidative conversion of HEDP to phosphate in charged water microdroplets

Organophosphonates are persistent anthropogenic phosphorus compounds because of their stable carbon–phosphorus bonds. Whether such compounds can be oxidatively converted to inorganic phosphate at dynamic air–water interfaces remains poorly understood. Here, using 1-hydroxyethylid...

Incorporating Mg into Al-based supports to modulate metal-support interactions for enhanced H2 productivity and selectivity in Ni-catalyzed aqueous-phase reforming

Aqueous-phase reforming (APR) of biomass-derived oxygenates provides a sustainable route for hydrogen production. Owing to their multifunctionality, Ni-based catalysts have been widely studied; however, these catalysts are still limited by methanation side reaction that decreases...

Diversity–multifunctionality relationships shift with increasing aridity in grasslands

Grasslands, a dominant global ecosystem, face an uncertain future. Diverse grasslands can maintain multiple functions (multifunctionality); however, the relative roles of species diversity and functional diversity in promoting this resilience remain unclear. We examined how the d...

Cloud vertical structure across China from a national Ka-band cloud radar network: thermodynamic, dynamical, and land-surface controls

Abstract. Cloud vertical structure plays a central role in regulating Earth’s radiation balance and hydrological cycle, yet it remains poorly represented in weather and climate models due to limited high-resolution observations. Using a newly established national network of 80 Ka...

Mass Spectrometry Imaging Reveals Biodistribution and Biotransformation of Black Phosphorus

ABSTRACT Black phosphorus (BP) holds significant potential in biomedicine, biosensing, and phototherapy; however, its instability and the poor understanding of its in vivo fate have limited its applications. Here, we developed an integrated label‐free mass spectrometry imaging (M...

Optimized Land–Water Management Expands Afforestation Potential Under Land and Human Water‐Use Constraints

ABSTRACT Afforestation is a low‐cost and high‐potential climate change mitigation strategy, but its feasibility remains highly uncertain because most existing assessments focus primarily on biophysical suitability and land resource constraints, while largely overlooking the criti...

Metal–Organic Framework MIL-101 Induces Macrophage Ferroptosis through Depriving Cystine Uptake and Overloading Labile Iron Pool

Abstract The wide applications of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) in environmental remediation and biomedicine inevitably lead to their entry into the environment and human body, exerting unexpected risks. Recent studies have primarily focused on the cytotoxicity testing of MOFs;...

Unusual Switch of Cell Death Mode by Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) via Enhancing Endoplasmic Reticulum Peroxidation Induced by Lipophilic Iron Complex

Although ferroptosis is a programmed iron-dependent cell death, many lipophilic iron complexes fail to induce ferroptosis through iron overload. The underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here we found that a typical lipophilic iron complex 8-hydroxyquinoline (8HQ)-Fe(III) (1: 1,...

Narrowing urban heat disparities alongside faster greening in low-income neighborhoods across cities in the United States

Urban heat disproportionately burdens socioeconomically vulnerable communities, yet how these disparities change over time remains poorly understood. Here we show that heat disparities between low- and high-income neighborhoods generally narrowed across 55 major cities in the Uni...

Multidimensional Cardiac Phenotyping of Daphnia magna Enables One-Hour Effect-Based Screening of Aquatic Toxicity

Abstract Operational water quality management relies on physicochemical monitoring and targeted chemical analysis, but routine surveillance covers only a prioritized subset of high-risk contaminants and does not capture biological activity from unmonitored chemicals, transformati...

Hydroclimatic associations with vegetation resilience in China's Loess Plateau

Understanding how recovery-related vegetation resilience varies along hydroclimatic gradients is important for evaluating vegetation sustainability in water-limited regions. Here, using satellite-derived vegetation indices and resilience metrics derived from critical slowing down...

Recognition Mechanism of Serotonin by a G‐Quadruplex–Duplex Hybrid Aptamer

ABSTRACT Serotonin is a key neurotransmitter, and aptamer‐based tools using the 44‐nt Apt44 have been successfully developed for its in vitro and in vivo detection. Nevertheless, the structural basis of recognition by this aptamer remains unclear. Here, we report high‐resolution...

Auditable Automation of Activated Sludge Modeling for Wastewater Treatment Diagnosis Using LLM-Agents

Abstract Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) need mechanistic models that explain carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus transformations under changing operating conditions. Building activated sludge models (ASMs) still depends heavily on expert choices about boundaries, components, an...

Microbial Bioenergetics and Ecology Govern the Coupled Biogeochemical Cycling of Arsenic/Antimony and Macronutrients

Abstract Arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb) are toxic metalloids whose biogeochemical cycles are strongly influenced by carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and sulfur (S) through microbially mediated coupled transformations. However, the mechanistic basis of these coupled processes remains poo...

Atmospheric Fate of Hydrofluoroethers: Degradation of Parent Compounds and Primary Products by Multiple Oxidants

Abstract Hydrofluoroethers (HFEs) are widely used as substitutes for ozone-depleting substances, yet their atmospheric fate remains poorly understood. We investigated the gas-phase degradation of HFE-7100 (C4F9OCH3) and HFE-7200 (C4F9OC2H5) by OH, Cl, and NO3 at 298 K. The measur...

Mammalian DNA maintenance methylation depends on histone but not PAF15 ubiquitination

In mammals, DNA methylation is an essential inheritable epigenetic modification maintained by the DNMT1-UHRF1 machinery in a UHRF1 E3 ubiquitin ligase-activity-dependent manner. UHRF1-catalyzed histone ubiquitination and PAF15 ubiquitination have been proposed to recruit DNMT1 to...

Enzyme-mimicking peripheral substituents beyond the second coordination sphere tune single-atom catalysts for periodate activation

Abstract Single-atom catalysts (SACs) are promising enzyme-mimetic active centers, yet mimicking long-range regulation by distal binding pockets in natural metalloenzymes remains challenging. Here, we synthesize conjugated organic SACs bearing tunable peripheral substituents beyo...

Age-related vertical soil water redistribution and root water uptake pattern of artificial forest in the Loess Plateau of China

Understanding how stand age regulates soil water balance components is essential for sustainable afforestation in semi-arid regions. However, the long-term dynamics of deep soil water depletion and root water uptake patterns at different forest growth stages remain insufficiently...

Manure to insect farming for feed mitigates nitrogen and greenhouse gas emissions

Livestock manure is nutrient-rich and represents a promising feedstock for insect farming, with insect protein offering a high-quality alternative to conventional crop-based livestock feed. This pathway has substantial potential to mitigate nitrogen (N) and greenhouse gas (GHG) e...

Surface Oxidation and Defect Formation Under Five Photoaging Regimes Enhance Cd2+ and Pb2+ Adsorption by Polyethylene and Polyvinyl Chloride Microplastics

Photoaging alters polymer surface chemistry and can thereby regulate the interfacial binding of metal ions by microplastics. In this study, polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) microplastics were exposed for three weeks to five regimes comprising UV-air, UV-ultrapure wa...