Electrocatalytic nitrite reduction is of great significance for wastewater treatment and value-added chemicals synthesis. This review highlights the latest progress in electrochemical nitrite reduction to produce two types of products, including gaseous products (NO, N2O, N2) and liquid products (NH2OH and NH4+). The heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts used in the corresponding reduction processes are introduced, with emphasis on the product selectivity regulation and reaction mechanism understanding. Finally, the challenges and opportunities in this field are analyzed as well. This review can provide guidelines for designing electrochemical systems with high efficiency and specificity for nitrite reduction.
Highly efficient self-healing hydrogels from natural biopolymers loaded with exosome biological nanoparticles for the synergistic promotion of severe wound healing are demonstrated.
Exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) correlates with abnormal glucose homeostasis, but the underlying biological mechanism has not been fully understood. The gut microbiota is an emerging crucial player in the homeostatic regulation of glucose metabolism. Few studies have investigated its role in the PM2.5 exposure-induced abnormalities in glucose homeostasis. C57Bl/6J mice were exposed to filtered air (FA) or concentrated ambient PM2.5 (CAP) for 12 months using a versatile aerosol concentration enrichment system (VACES) that was modified for long-term whole-body exposures. Their glucose homeostasis and gut microbiota were examined and analysed by correlation and mediation analysis. Intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) and insulin tolerance test (ITT) showed that CAP exposure markedly impaired their glucose and insulin tolerance. Faecal microbiota analysis demonstrated that the impairment in glucose homeostasis was coincided with decreased faecal bacterial ACE and Chao-1 estimators (the indexes of community richness), while there was no significant change in all faecal fungal alpha diversity estimators. The Pearson’s correlation analyses showed that the bacterial richness estimators were correlated with glucose and insulin tolerance, and the mediation analyses displayed a significant mediation of CAP exposure-induced glucose intolerance by the alteration in the bacterial Chao-1 estimator. LEfSe analyses revealed 24 bacterial and 21 fungal taxa differential between CAP- and FA-exposed animals. Of these, 14 and 20 bacterial taxa were correlated with IPGTT AUC and ITT AUC, respectively, and 5 fungal taxa were correlated with abnormalities in glucose metabolism. Chronic exposure to PM2.5 causes gut dysbiosis and may subsequently contribute to the development of abnormalities in glucose metabolism.