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A series of poly(aryl ether sulfone) copolymers containing quaternary ammonium moieties were obtained by polymerization of methylated copolymers, followed by bromination and derivatization with quaternary-ammonium groups. The copolymer membranes exhibited excellent thermal stability and mechanical properties. Symmetric supercapacitor single cells based on activated carbon and quaternary ammonium functionalized poly(aryl ether sulfone) membranes were fabricated into a three-layer structure: activated carbon electrode//quaternary ammonium functionalized poly(aryl ether sulfone) separator//activated carbon electrode and characterized by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge–discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in 6 M KOH aqueous solution. The coulombic efficiency of the supercapacitor was as high as 95% over 5000 cycles. The effect of different degree of quaternization of PAES copolymer separators on thermal and mechanical properties of separators and performance of the symmetric supercapacitor single cells were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though modeling has been frequently used to understand the autotrophic deammonification-based membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR), the relationships between system-specific biofilm property settings and model predicted N 2 O production have yet to be clarified. To this end, this study investigated the impacts of 4 key biofilm property settings (i.e., biofilm thickness/compactness, boundary layer thickness, diffusivity of soluble components in the biofilm structure, and biofilm discretization) on one-dimensional modeling of the MABR, with the focus on its N 2 O production. The results showed that biofilm thickness/compactness (200–1000 μm), diffusivity of soluble components in the biofilm structure (reduction factor of diffusivity: 0.2–0.9), and biofilm discretization (12–28 grid points) significantly influenced the simulated N 2 O production, while boundary layer thickness (0–300 μm) only played a marginal role. In the studied ranges of biofilm property settings, distinct upper and lower bounds of N 2 O production factor (i.e., the percentage ratio of N 2 O formed to NH 4 + removed, 5.5% versus 2.3%) could be predicted. In addition to the microbial community structure, the N 2 O production pathway contribution differentiation was also subject to changes in biofilm property settings. Therefore, biofilm properties need to be quantified experimentally or set properly to model N 2 O production from the MABR correctly. As a good practice for one-dimensional modeling of N 2 O production from biofilm-based reactors, especially the MABR performing autotrophic deammonification, the essential information about those influential biofilm property settings identified in this study should be disclosed and clearly documented, thus ensuring both the reproducibility of modeling results and the reliable applications of N 2 O models. [Display omitted] • Impacts of 4 key biofilm properties on modeling N 2 O production from MABR. • Distinct upper and lower bounds of modeled N 2 O production factor (5.5% vs 2.3%). • Disclosure of quantified/set biofilm properties as a good modeling practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zwitterionic polymers have attracted widespread attention and are recognized as ideal materials in various potential applications of membrane-based separation due to its superior hydrophilicity and excellent antifouling properties. Therefore, a new type of bisphenol monomer with two tertiary amine groups named 2,2'-dimethylaminemethylene-4,4'-dihydroxydiphenylmethane (DABPM) was particularly designed and prepared. Then, the novel poly(aryl ether oxadiazole) (ZPAEO) was synthesized by low-temperature polycondensation and quaternary amination reaction. The chemical structures of the synthetic monomer and polymers were characterized by MS NMR and XPS analysis, and the inherent viscosities, molecular weights and solubility behaviors of the obtained polymers were also thoroughly studied. Subsequently, the ZPAEO membrane was fabricated by through the immersion precipitation phase inversion method. Compared with the reference PAEO membrane, the pore size, porosity and hydrophilicity of the ZPAEO membrane were greatly improved because of the existence of zwitterionic groups, resulting in a significant increase in the water permeability. The results of static adsorption and dynamic cycle ultrafiltration experiments of bovine serum albumin (BSA) solution showed that the ZPAEO membrane had excellent antifouling performance, which was demonstrated by the flux decline ratio. In addition, water flux recovery ratio of the ZPAEO membrane was retained at 97.7% after a three-cycles of BSA solution filtration, which was much higher than that of the PAEO membrane (81.2%), indicating superior long-term performance stability. As a membrane material, ZPAEO is expected to be widely used in various industrial separation and purification fields, which can be demonstrated by these findings. [Display omitted] • ZPAEO was synthesized from a new bisphenol monomer via polycondensation and quaternary amination reactions. • ZPAEO membrane exhibited improved hydrophilicity and water permeability. • ZPAEO membrane showed enhanced antifouling property and long-term performance stability. • This approach is facile and scalable for the large-scale preparation of antifouling membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Our study systematically reviewed the latest literatures exhibition of convalescent plasma therapy for COVID-19. • In this study, the efficacy, titer, infusion timing, population and safety of convalescent plasma therapy were analyzed in detail. • In this paper, the strategy of pharmaceutical care for convalescent plasma therapy was proposed. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spread globally. Therapeutic options including antivirals, anti-inflammatory compounds, and vaccines are still under study. Convalescent plasma(CP) immunotherapy was an effective method for fighting against similar viral infections such as SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV. In the epidemic of COVID-19, a large number of literatures reported the application of CP. However, there is controversy over the efficacy of CP therapy for COVID-19. This systematic review was designed to evaluate the existing evidence and experience related to CP immunotherapy for COVID-19. A literature search was conducted on Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Clinical Key, Wanfang Database; China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI) were used to search for the proper keywords such as SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, plasma, serum, immunoglobulins, blood transfusion, convalescent, novel coronavirus, immune and the related words for publications published until 15.10.2020. Other available resources were also used to identify relevant articles. The present systematic review was performed based on PRISMA protocol. Data extraction and risk of bias assessments were performed by two reviewers. Based on the inclusions and exclusions criteria, 45 articles were included in the final review. First, meta-analysis results of RCTs showed that, there were no statistically significant differences between CP transfusion and the control group in terms of reducing mortality(OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.52–1.19, I2 = 28%) and improving clinical symptoms(OR 1.21, 95%CI 0.68–2.16; I2 = 0%). The results of controlled NRSIs showed that CP therapy may reduce mortality in COVID-19 patients(RR 0.59, 95% CI 0.53–0.66, I2 = 0%). Second, limited safety data suggested that CP is a well-tolerated therapy with a low incidence of adverse events. But, due to lack of safety data for the control group, it is really not easy to determine whether CP transfusion has an impact on moderate to serious AEs. Thirdly, for children, pregnant, elderly, tumor and immunocompromised patients, CP may be a well-tolerated therapy, if the disease cannot be controlled and continues to progress. Studies were commonly of low or very low quality. Although the results of limited RCTs showed that CP cannot significantly reduce mortality, some non-RCTs and case report(series) have found that CP may help patients improve clinical symptoms, clear the virus, and reduce mortality, especially for patients with COVID-19 within ten days of illness. We speculate that CP may be a possible treatment option. High-quality studies are needed for establishing stronger quality of evidence and pharmacists should also be actively involved in the CP treatment process and provide close pharmaceutical care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to extend the applications of wood composites and products bonded by soybean protein adhesive from interior to exterior fields of application, this study proposes a novel approach for improving the water resistance of soybean protein-based wood adhesives using thermo-chemical treatment of soybean protein. The soybean protein formed stable three-dimensional networks due to repolymerization or self-crosslinking during thermo-chemical treatment, confirmed by both increases in the water-insoluble content of the treated soybean protein and the improved hydrothermal-aged wet bond strength of the resulting soybean protein adhesive. Thermo-chemical treatment in the presence of 1 wt% sodium sulfite (which cleaves disulfide bonds) and 1 wt% sodium dodecyl sulfate (which destroys the hydrophobic interactions of proteins) released active groups buried within the globular structure of soybean protein via unfolding. This release both promoted the repolymerization of the soybean protein molecules and exposed more active sites for effective crosslinking by the post-added crosslinker EMPA. Plywood bonded by the optimal soybean protein adhesive possessed a good hydrothermal-aged bond strength of 1.22 MPa, exceeding the value required for structural use according to the JIS K6806-2003 commercial standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on the preparation of a new kind of membrane material, zwitterionic cellulose acetate (ZCA), via a three-step procedure consist of oxidization, Schiff base and quaternary amination reaction, and the fabrication of antifouling ZCA ultrafiltration membrane by the non-solvent-induced phase separation method (NIPS). The morphologies, surface chemical structures and compositions of the obtained CA and ZCA membranes were thoroughly characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. Meanwhile, the thermal stability, porosity and average pore size of two investigated membranes were also studied. As a result, the ZCA membrane displayed significantly improved hydrophilicity and water permeability compared with those of the reference CA membrane, despite a slight decrease in the protein rejection ratio. According to the cycle ultrafiltration performance of bovine serum albumin (BSA) solution and protein adsorption experiment, ZCA membrane exhibited better flux recovery property and fouling resistant ability, especially irreversible fouling resistant ability, suggesting superior antifouling performance. This new approach gives polymer-based membrane a long time life and excellent ultrafiltration performance, and seems promising for potential applications in the protein separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jolkinolide B (JB), an ent-abietane diterpenoid, isolated from the dried root of Euphorbia fischeriana , has been reported to have potent anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory activities. However, the effects of JB on acute lung injury (ALI) and underlying molecular mechanisms have not been investigated. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of JB on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI. Male C57BL/6 mice were pretreated with dexamethasone or JB 1 h before intranasal instillation of LPS. The results showed that JB markedly attenuated LPS-induced histological alterations, lung edema, inflammatory cell infiltration, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity as well as the production of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β. Furthermore, JB also significantly inhibited LPS-induced the degradation of IκBα and phosphorylation of NF-κB p65 and MAPK. Therefore, our study provides the first line of evidence that pretreatment of JB has a protective effect on LPS-induced ALI in mice. The anti-inflammatory mechanism of JB may be attributed to its suppression of NF-κB and MAPK activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Insensitive TN removal to longitudinal heterogeneity at non-excessive CH 4 supply. • Longitudinal gradient in liquid phase affected biomass stratification/CH 4 utilization. • Recommended plug flow operation for MBfR with co-current flow of wastewater and CH 4. Integrating anammox with denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) in the membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) is a promising technology capable of achieving complete nitrogen removal from wastewater. However, it remains unknown whether reactor configurations featuring longitudinal gradients parallel to the membrane surface would affect the performance of the CH 4 -driven MBfR. To this end, this work aims to study the impacts of longitudinal heterogeneity potentially present in the gas and liquid phases on a representative CH 4 -driven MBfR performing anammox/DAMO by applying the reported modified compartmental modeling approach. Through comparing the modeling results of different reactor configurations, this work not only offered important guidance for better design, operation and monitoring of the CH 4 -driven MBfR, but also revealed important implications for prospective related modeling research. The total nitrogen removal efficiency of the MBfR at non-excessive CH 4 supply (e.g., surface loading of ≤0.064 g-COD m−2 d−1 in this work) was found to be insensitive to both longitudinal gradients in the liquid and gas phases. Comparatively, the longitudinal gradient in the liquid phase led to distinct longitudinal biomass stratification and therefore played an influential role in the effective CH 4 utilization efficiency, which was also related to the extent of reactor compartmentation considered in modeling. When supplied with non-excessive CH 4 , the MBfR is recommended to be designed/operated with both the biofilm reactor and the membrane lumen as plug flow reactors (PFRs) with co-current flow of wastewater and CH 4 , which could mitigate dissolved CH 4 discharge in the effluent. For the reactor configurations with the biofilm reactor designed/operated as a PFR, multi-spot sampling in the longitudinal direction is needed to obtain a correct representation of the microbial composition of the MBfR. Graphical abstract [Display omitted]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Impacts of granule properties on reactors performing partial nitritation/anammox. • Big anammox-enriched granules inoculated for high TN removal & low N 2 O production. • Optimum boundary layer thickness increased with decreasing diffusivity in granules. This work studied the impacts of key granule properties on the granular reactor performing partial nitritation/anammox from the modeling perspective. The results could guide not only future reliable modeling but also practical startup/operation of the reactor. To achieve high total nitrogen (TN) removal whilst avoiding significant N 2 O production, inoculated granules should be big and anammox-enriched. The optimum boundary layer thickness for maximum TN removal increased with the decreasing diffusivity of soluble components in the granule structure. Even though a thick boundary layer could protect anammox bacteria from elevated dissolved oxygen (DO) (e.g., 0.5 g-O 2 /m3) and obtain high TN removal (>90.0%) and low N 2 O production (<1.8%), even complete removal of the boundary layer would fail to provide sufficient substrate for anammox and therefore couldn't increase TN removal to 90.0% and decrease N 2 O production to <2.4% at insufficient DO (e.g., 0.3 g-O 2 /m3 in the presence of lifted influent NH 4 + concentration). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starch-based adhesives were prepared by esterification modification with dodecenyl succinic anhydride (DDSA) and polyaryl polymethylene isocyanate (PAPI) as a crosslinking agent. DDSA modified starch (DMS) adhesives could significantly enhance the viscosity and adhesion strength of starch adhesives, making it beneficial to be applied in the field of plywood industry. This paper investigated the physicochemical properties of starch modified by dodecenyl succinic anhydride. Solid content, viscosity, adhesion, structural change and morphological features were characterized in detail. Viscosity and solid content of the modified starch (MF) adhesives was improved remarkably when DDSA was introduced. Three-ply plywood was fabricated with DMS adhesives, and its wet shear strength was measured. The results showed that the water resistance of the adhesive with 6 wt% DDSA improved by 72.4% compared to that without DDSA. The wet shear strength plywood bonded by the adhesive reached 1 MPa and could meet the requirement set by the China National Standard. Incorporating DDSA into the starch adhesive formed a dense crosslinking structure due to chemical reactions between DDSA and active groups on the starch molecules and thus improve the water resistance of the cured adhesives. The introduction of DDSA improving the viscosity and solid content remarkably, which increased the amount of the adhesive that penetrated the wood surface and formed more interlocks. Using DDSA promoted a smooth and homogeneous fracture surface of cured adhesive, which effectively prevented water intrusion and improved water resistance. The modified adhesive proved practical as a plywood adhesive for industrial application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An organic-organic self-assembly hydrothermal synthesis strategy coupled with carbonization is reported to fabricate nitrogen-doped ordered mesoporous carbon microspheres (N-OMCMs) from m -aminophenol-formaldehyde resin. The obtained N-OMCMs possess high-surface-area ordered mesoporous structure, moderate nitrogen content and micrometer-sized sphere-like morphology. And the N-OMCMs exhibit a large specific capacitance up to 288 F g −1 , excellent rate performance (222 F g −1 at 20 A g −1 ) and long-term stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The resins could maintain the shape within 1 s under UV laser irradiation. • The Young's modulus of cured samples is similar to skin. • The soft sensors were manufactured by imitating the embedded 3D printing method. • The soft sensors have a wide sensing range from small to big deformation. • The soft sensors have versatility suitable for human motion detection. 3D printing technology with design flexibility can produce soft sensors more efficiently than traditional manufacturing technology, however, the improvement of printing accuracy is an urgent problem to be solved. The rapidly UV-curable speed of the material is helpful to solve the problem. Herein, the new polymeric resins with good softness and rapidly UV-curable speed were prepared, and then a high printing accuracy soft sensor was prepared by imitating embedded 3D printing methods with the resins as components. In synthetic resin, the polybutadiene (PB) with high flexibility was designed as the flexible main chain, pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETA) with multi photosensitive groups as UV-curable groups and oxalyl chloride (COCl) with no forming hard segments as the linker between PB and PETA. The resins have rapidly UV-curable speed that can maintain the shape within 1 s, basically cured within 5 s. The cured samples of resins have small Young's modulus and good softness similar to biomaterials, and the T g is around −60 °C. The soft sensors based on the resins have the characteristics of high printing accuracy, good sensitivity, versatility, and a wide temperature range of application, and could be integrated into many joints on the body to detect our motions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel diamine monomer 3,3′-Bis(2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-4-vinylphenoxy)biphenyl-4,4′-diamine (TFVBPA) bearing double hydrophobic cross-linkable tetrafluorostyrol side-groups has been successfully synthesized via a nucleophilic substitution reaction. A series of cross-linked highly sulfonated co-polyimide (CSPIy-TFVBPAx) membranes with ion-exchange capacity (IEC) values ranging from 2.27 to 2.44 meq. g −1 have been prepared from this monomer. The CSPIy-TFVBPAx membranes show excellent comprehensive properties, especially the high proton conductivity (0.135–0.190 S cm −1 at 80 °C), low water uptake (60.9–76.7% at 80 °C) and swelling ratio (14.2–19.6% at 80 °C). Moreover, the CSPIy-TFVBPAx membranes also exhibit outstanding thermal stability (5% weight loss temperature exceed 320 °C) and excellent hydrolytic stability. The results indicate that the CSPIy-TFVBPAx membranes are promising candidates for proton exchange membranes in fuel cell applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glue-free fiberboard, as a substitute for traditional fiberboard, does not contain a large amount of synthetic resins, which can avoid harm to human health and environment. However, glue-free fiberboard still has some disadvantages of insufficient mechanical strength and excessive thickness swelling of water absorption. Here, corn straw lignin was co-modified by demethylation/hydrothermal degradation to obtain high hydroxyl content increased by 210.85% compared with raw lignin. The co-modified lignin was then introduced into freezing activated wood fibers to prepare the environment-friendly medium density fiberboard (MDF). The effect of co-modified lignin content on the properties of MDF was investigated. MDF with 3 wt% co-modified lignin exhibited the best comprehensive performance with the modulus of elasticity (MOE) of 5809 MPa, modulus of rupture (MOR) as high as 70 MPa, internal bonding strength (IB) of 2.29 MPa and thickness swelling (TS) as low as 16.65%, completely matching the requirements of the Chinese national standard GB/T 11718-2009 and EU national standard BS EN 622–5–2009. The interaction mechanism of co-modified lignin on the wood fibers was further explored by Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis. The phenolic structures of co-modified lignin could be chemically crosslinked with wood fibers during the hot-pressing process and the large amount of hydroxyl groups provided strong hydrogen bond interactions for the glue-free fiberboard. The glue-free fiberboard enhanced by co-modified lignin with excellent comprehensive performance exhibits a broad application prospect. 1 1 MDF: medium density fiberboard; MOR: modulus of rupture; MOE: modulus of elasticity; IB: internal bonding strength; TS: thickness expansion; DSC: differential scanning calorimetry [Display omitted] • Corn straw lignin was co-modified by demethylation and hydrothermal degradation. • Co-modified lignin with high hydroxyl content enhanced the performance of MDF. • Internal bonding strength of MDF was 2.29 MPa much higher than national standards. • Interaction mechanism of co-modified lignin and wood fiber was analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Composites filled with mixed fillers showed better properties than those with individual fillers. [•] Improvement in properties was ascribed to synergistic effect of mixed fillers (f-G and f-CNTs). [•] The f-G-f-CNTs(Wf-G/Wf-CNTs =1:1)/PES composite exhibited a percolation threshold of 0.22vol%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Notably, zwitterionic polymers have attracted increasing attention to various potential applications in membrane-based separation processes on account of the good biocompatibility, superior antifouling and excellent antimicrobial property. In this contribution, a novel membrane material based on zwitterionic poly(aryl ether oxadiazole) (Z-PAEO) was designed and synthesized by a facile and convenient two-step route consist of polycondensation and quaternary amination reaction. Z-PAEO ultrafiltration membrane was subsequently fabricated by the scalable non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) method. The chemical structures and compositions of these prepared polymers were determined by using 1H NMR, FTIR and XPS measurements, and their inherent viscosities, molecular weights, thermal properties and solubility behaviors were extensively characterized, respectively. The presence of zwitterionic groups considerably improved the porosity, pore size and hydrophilicity of Z-PAEO membrane, which was helpful to the permeability of the obtained membrane without obviously affecting the protein rejection. Interestingly and significantly, the as-prepared Z-PAEO membrane displayed superior and persistent antifouling performance as well as antibacterial property. The water flux recovery ratio of Z-PAEO membrane (97.6%) after a three-cycles of BSA solution filtration was much higher than that of the reference PAEO membrane (78.4%), suggesting excellent long-term performance stability. It can be expected that developing novel zwitterionic polymers can significantly expand the application scopes of separation membrane. Image 1 • Z-PAEO was designed and synthesized by polycondensation and quaternary amination reaction under mild conditions. • Z-PAEO membrane exhibited enhanced hydrophilicity and water permeability. • Z-PAEO membrane showed improved antifouling property and long-term performance stability. • Z-PAEO membrane also had good antibacterial activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]