After the discovery of complete ammonia-oxidizing (comammox) Nitrospira, detection and assessments of the contribution of comammox Nitrospira communities to nitrogen cycling are in great demand. PCR-based approach, a common method for the detection of comammox, depends strongly on accurate amplification of the amoA genes from the original DNA samples using appropriate primers. In this study, we reported an evaluation of the performance of two commonly used primer sets, Ntsp-amoA 162F/359R and comaA/B-244f/659r, for amplifying the comammox amoA genes from three representative wetland soils in China [Sangsang (SS), Sanjiang (SJ), and Xianghai (XH)]. Our results demonstrated the two primer sets could both successfully amplify the clades with high relative abundances (RA), and further revealed a broadly similar diversity and community composition of dominant comammox operational taxonomic units (OTUs) (RA ≥ 1%) in each of the three wetland soils. However, the clades with low RA, such as the clade A (1.26%) in SJ and the clade B (11.54%) in XH that were recovered by metagenomics analysis, failed to be amplified using comaA/B-244f/659r, but were successfully amplified and sequenced using Ntsp-amoA 162F/359R. It indicated that, compared to comaA/B-244f/659r, Ntsp-amoA 162F/359R was more sensitive to the clades with low RA. However, it is worth noting that Ntsp-amoA 162F/359R would overestimate the RA of some rare clades. For example, the RAs of clade B in XH were overestimated by 32-fold. Furthermore, high levels of non-target amplification were detected via gel electrophoresis using both primer sets, especially for comammox Clade B amoA genes, implying that we should treat qPCR results based on these primers with caution. Taken together, our study comprehensively compared the performance of the two primer sets on the sensitivity and specificity of amplifying comammox amoA genes in three wetland soils, pointing out the necessity of further development of new primers for the efficient and accurate detection of comammox in various environments.

An ideal dental implant coating should provide a highly protective interface and an osteogenic function. Inspired by the excellent biocompatibility and anti-corrosion of the Nb element, we produced Nb-based oxide, nitride and carbide films as well as the pure metal Nb film for surface enhancement of dental implants, and compare the impact of the nonmetal elements on the electrochemical, tribological, tribo-corrosion and biological performance of the coated implants. The NbC film, composed of a single-phased subniobium carbide, displays mechanical advantages and anticorrosion characteristics that are distinguished from the other composite films, highlighting its potential outstanding protective efficiency for dental implants against corrosion and wear. Rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (rBMSCS) were found more readily to attach, grow and osteogenically differentiate on the NbC film compared to the Nb, NbO and NbN films, indicating the osteogenesis potential of the NbC film. Taken all the results together, it can be concluded that the NbC film have the highest potential for dental implant surface modification.

The corrosion inhibition effect of phenanthroline (Phen) and its cobalt complex (CoPhen) on the corrosion of carbon steel in sulphuric acid solutions was studied using potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques at 20, 30, and 40 °C. Scanning electron microscopy techniques were used to characterize the mild steel surface. The results indicate that the compounds inhibit the corrosion of mild steel in H2SO4 solutions through a predominant physical adsorption following the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Polarization curves suggest that the complex and ligand are mixed-type inhibitors. The efficiency of the inhibitors is concentration- and temperature-dependent and follows the trend CoPhen > Phen.

The corrosion inhibition characteristics of 2,2′-bipyridine (BIPY) and 2,2′-bipyridine-3,3′-dicarboxylic acid (BIDA), on carbon steel in sulphuric acid solutions was studied using potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques at 20°C, 30°C and 40°C. The results indicate that the organic compounds inhibit the corrosion of mild steel in H2SO4solutions and the extent of inhibition increases with inhibitor concentration and decreases with temperature. A mixed-inhibition mechanism is proposed for the inhibitive effects of the compounds. The order of inhibition efficiency obtained was BIDA>BIPY. There is a good correlation between the quantum chemical parameters and experimentally determined inhibition efficiency of the inhibitors. The adsorption characteristics of the inhibitor were approximated by Temkin isotherm. Morphological study of the carbon steel electrode surface was undertaken by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the interfacial species formed on the surface in the presence of inhibitors analyzed by Infrared spectroscopy.

Nitrogen hyperfine splitting constants (aN values) of seven symmetrically para-disubstituted diphenyl nitroxides (1-Y's) were measured by EPR and used in conjunction with five literature values in our correlation analysis. The correlation of these aN values by single-parameter Eq. 1 and dual-parameter Eq. 2 shows that the application of Eq. 2 does not significantly improve the correlation. But our data can also be interpreted by the proposition that the spin-delocalization effect is not completely nonexistent and that it might have revealed itself through the aN values of two very weakly polar substituents with pronounced spin-stabilizing abilities, i.e., SMe and SiMe3.