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Homestay hosts expend considerable social efforts to ensure that guests like their host and homestay. Despite the process of generating affinity for the hosts is central to social exchanges in homestays, there still lacks a valid scale to measure the affinity-seeking strategies of hosts. To address this gap, this study uses multi-step mixed methods to develop a measurement scale for the affinity-seeking strategies of homestay hosts. A formative hierarchical component model of the affinity-seeking strategies of hosts is proposed in this study. Four first-order formative indicators are validated, namely, presenting personal attractiveness, showing friendly attitudes, facilitating enjoyment and social contact, and providing service and help. Furthermore, the stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) model is used to validate the second-order formative constructs. The results show that the affinity-seeking strategies of homestay hosts positively affect guests' emotional value and intention to cooperate with hosts. The findings contribute to a measurable definition of hosts’ affinity in the context of homestays.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from various industrial processes are extremely harmful pollutants. They are involved in the formation of ozone, photochemical smog, and fine particles (PM2.5) in the atmosphere, which pose considerable threat to human healthy and ecosystem safety. The hybrid plasma-catalytic technology that uses non-thermal plasma (NTP) and catalysts is an efficient method for VOC abatement. This review provides a comprehensive insight into the removal of VOCs with this technology. First, the synergistic effects and mechanisms of NTP and catalysts are discussed. Then, the properties of the catalysts, including types, positions, and other parameters, are explored. Specific examples of VOCs abated using the NTP-catalyst technology are reviewed, along with the main types and the causes of by-products. Several methods, such as the optimization of process parameters and the utilization of end control, are considered efficient for the regulation of product formations. Finally, future perspectives on the applications of this hybrid technology are briefly discussed.

A new strain, Pseudomonas sp. SJ-1, which was able to remove model odorous organics methanethiol (MT) has been isolated from the wastewater treatment plant and identified via 16S rRNA analysis. Initial MT concentration, temperature and pH played an important role in MT removal, and up to 100% of 260 mg L

A novel array double dielectric barrier discharge (ADDBD) combined with a TiO2/Al2O3-Co3O4/AC (Ti Co) catalyst was applied to remove toluene. The effects of catalyst setting distance, catalyst combination mode, and process factors (including specific input energy, initial toluene concentration, and relative humidity) were investigated in terms of the toluene degradation efficiency (ηtoluene) and the selectivity of CO2 (SCO2). When the specific input energy was 65 J·L−1, the initial toluene concentration was 100 mg·m−3, and the relative humidity was 30%, the highest ηtoluene of 72% and SCO2 of 44% could be achieved with TiO2/Al2O3 10 cm and Co3O4/AC 20 cm downstream of the ADDBD. Based on the determination of active substances (e.g., O3, OH) and the catalyst activation mode, a synergistic effect of active substances and photon between the ADDBD and the Ti Co catalyst was proposed for the removal of toluene. Finally, the biodegradability and toxicity of the outlet gas were evaluated, and the results showed that the outlet gas was more convenient for subsequent biopurification and less toxic to the surroundings after the treatment by the ADDBD combined with the Ti Co catalyst.

A biotrickling filter (BTF) inoculated with concentrated activated sludge possessing highly efficient degrading strains was investigated on a pilot-scale for the treatment of viscose fibre waste gas containing carbon disulfide (CS2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). The BTF had a quick start-up period, with 90.6% and 98.2% removal of CS2 and H2S, respectively, from the 18th day of acclimation. When the influent concentration was increased from 145 mg m−3 to 1912 mg m−3, steady removal efficiencies (REs) of above 70% for CS2 and 90% for H2S were achieved for the entire operation, with maximum elimination capacities (ECs) of 122.7 g m−3 h−1and 108.2 g m−3 h−1 for CS2 and H2S, respectively. The results showed that H2S was preferentially degraded by BTF, owing to hydrophilic H2S having a low Henry coefficient, which allowed it to adsorb on the biofilm surface more easily and made its biodegradation more favorable. The pH significantly affected the REs of CS2 and H2S, which decreased from 81% to 52% and from 95% to 73%, respectively, with a pH increase from 2 to 8, while sulfate accumulation did not significantly affect the pollutant REs. A tolerance experiment showed that BTF was resistant to large fluctuations in CS2 and H2S concentrations, with a RE of 80% recovered in only 2 days. Microbial diversity analysis showed that Acidithiobacillus, Acidiphilium, and Metallibacterium had higher relative abundances at the genus level, and remained persistent throughout the operation, implying that these strains played an important role in the simultaneous removal of CS2 and H2S from waste gas.

An asymmetric aqueous electric double-layer capacitor is presented, which consists of two activated carbon electrodes, a compact Janus membrane with sulfonated polystyrene and quaternized polystyrene, aqueous acidic and alkaline electrolyte solutions. The carbon-based aqueous supercapacitor can not only run at a high cell voltage of 2.2 V, but also deliver a specific energy of 20.06 Wh kg−1. Moreover, such a supercapacitor with specific energy of 40–50 Wh kg−1 can be predicted after further optimization.

The therapeutic effect of adoptive infusion of specific thymus-derived invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells in a mouse model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was observed, and the mechanism of cellular immunotherapy was preliminarily explored.Thymus-derived iNKT cells were infused to RA model mice, with α-GalCer as a positive control. Then, ankle swelling was examined, as well as inflammatory cell infiltration to the joint tissue (hematoxylin-eosin [HE] staining). Flow cytometry (FCM) was used to assess iNKT cell and helper T lymphocyte (Th) subsets. Serum cytokine levels were determined with cytometric bead array (CBA), with protein expression levels of related transcription factors assessed by Western blot.The joint swelling in RA model animals were significantly improved in the cell therapy and α-GalCer positive control groups (P 0.05). In addition, iNKT frequencies in peripheral blood, the thymus and spleen were increased significantly (P 0.05). Meanwhile, iNKT1 subset frequencies in the thymus and spleen were decreased, as well as splenic Th1 and Th17 cell subset rates, and serum TNF-α, IFN-γ and IL-6 levels. The rates of iNKT2 and Th2 subsets as well as IL-4 and IL-10 levels were increased (P 0.05). Thymus GATA-3 and splenic PLZF protein levels were increased (P 0.05).Adoptive infusion of thymus-derived iNKT cells exerts therapeutic effects in RA mice by increasing iNKT frequency, altering the proportions of iNKT cell subsets, correcting Th cell subset imbalance and reducing the amounts of inflammatory cytokines.

It is challenging to fabricate a starch derivative with a plasticizing effect and good dispersion in a poly(lactic acid) matrix to achieve desirable performance. In this study, self-suspended starch fluids composed of modified granules as the core and polyethylene glycol-substituted tertiary amines as the shell were first fabricated via a combined carboxymethylation and acylation reaction. The as-prepared starch fluids exhibited liquid-like behavior and had semiconductor electric conductivity (4.91 × 10−5 S/cm) at room temperature without a solvent. The modulus of starch fluids was clearly reduced under the heating process and exhibited its initial flow properties upon cooling, displaying thermo-reversible behavior. The resultant fluids were then incorporated into a poly(lactic acid) matrix to produce fully biodegradable composites with desirable performance. At a loading level of 10 wt%, starch fluids exhibited simultaneous enhancements in elongation at break (increase of 164.7%) and thermal conductivity (increase of 119%) of PLA composites compared to pure PLA, attributable to the good dispersion and heat-transfer properties of starch fluids. In addition, PLA composites with 10 wt% loading of starch fluids demonstrated excellent antistatic performance (3.08 × 10−4 S/cm), suggesting that polar groups of the PLA structure and PEG groups of starch fluids contributed synergistically to the electrical conductivities of composites. These results indicate that starch fluids are promising antistatic agents and plasticizers for potential applications in biodegradable materials.

Three common seaweeds including Ulva fasciata, Codium cylindricum and Ishige okamurai were used for the remediation of maricultural wastewater and sediment in the presence/absence of trace level of oxytetracycline (OTC) in lab-scale experiments. Higher NO

Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) is a novel nonthermal technology with potential applications in maintaining and improving food quality. The effect of ACP on the activity and structure of mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) polyphenol oxidase (PPO) was evaluated. Results demonstrated that the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) based plasma technology could inactivate PPO (up to 69%) at 50 kV with the increased concentrations of H

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) was used to evaluate its performance of the gaseous toluene removal in this work. The experimental results revealed that the MFC exhibited a removal efficiency as high as 88% with a toluene concentration of 300 mg m−3. Moreover, the closed-circuit MFC exhibited 1.4–3.5 times higher toluene removal efficiency compared with the open-circuit MFC, indicating that the interaction between the electrodes and microorganisms accelerates the electron transfer rate and thus enhances the microbial degradation rate. The microbial community analysis indicated that, in the toluene-powered MFC, the growth of the exoelectrogens such as Arcobacter and Geobacter were inhibited and the toluene degraders such as Chryseobacterium and Zoogloea prevailed in the MFC. For example, Arcobacter was almost disappeared and Geobacter was decreased by 40% as the fuel in the MFC switched from the acetate to toluene. Moreover, compared with Chryseobacterium, Zoogloea exhibited a high activity in the toluene removal as evidenced by the relationship between microbial community and its performance. Furthermore, the cyclic voltammetry analysis showed that an oxidation peak at −0.31 V vs Ag/AgCl and an apparent redox-area at −0.1 to +0.2 V vs Ag/AgCl was observed compared to the abiotic control, which are typical to the menaquinone and the outer membrane cytochromes (OMC) such as OmcZ, OmcS, a-type, and d-type. Therefore, a direct electron transfer pathway involving the menaquinone and OMC were proposed in the toluene-powered MFC. This work will provide some insight into development of gaseous VOCs-powered MFC and a novel technology for the VOCs removal.

A room temperature ionic liquid is immobilized on the surfaces of layered double hydroxides to form a solvent-free fluid via a silylation reaction. A series of solid polymer electrolyte membranes based on quaternized polysulfone and the solvent-free fluid are fabricated by solution casting method, which are tough and flexible and display moderate KOH aqueous solution uptakes. A symmetric electrical double-layer capacitor is assembled by using an optimized quaternized polysulfone-based solid polymer electrolyte membrane with KOH solution and two activated carbon electrodes. The single carbon electrode delivers a specific capacitance of 114.0 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1 and outstanding cycling stability, indicating that this novel solid polymer electrolyte membrane may be appropriate for electrical double-layer capacitors.

A new isolate identified as Rhodococcus sp. ZJUT312 via taxonomic and 16S rRNA analysis was used for the efficient degradation of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX). The strain ZJUT312 was able to degrade all the BTEX. Their average biodegradation rates followed the order o-xylene > ethylbenzene > toluene > benzene > m-xylene > p-xylene. The degradation rate of o-xylene reached as high as 0.117 mmol L−1 h−1, which was one to two orders of magnitude higher than that of all other reported o-xylene degrading bacteria. GC-MS analysis revealed that o-xylene degradation pathway mainly proceeded with 2-methylbenzylalcohol as an intermediate and CO2 as a final product. Mass balance analysis of the carbon element indicated that approximately 59% the o-xylene carbons were transferred to cell biomass and about 20% were mineralized into CO2. Furthermore, the o-xylene degradation kinetics fitted well with Haldane's model. The maximum specific degradation rate (0.953 h−1) was approximately 2.25 times higher than the reported data in the literature.

The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) impose severe environmental issues such as haze, photochemical smog, ozone depletion, and global warming. The degradation of VOCs in the gas phase is determined by the gas-liquid mass transfer and/or the microbial activity depending on the properties of the VOCs such as solubility, bioavailability, and toxicity. Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs), integrating microbial–electro-chemical removal mechanisms, have been intensively investigated for the organic compound removal in wastewater. In BESs, the interaction between the microbes and electrodes facilitates the electron transfer rate during the organic compound degradation and hence have a great potential to enhance the microbial activity. Currently, BESs are also under development for the refractory VOCs removal both in the liquid phase and gas phase. This review summarizes the current advances of the VOCs removal by BESs in terms of the mechanisms, pathway, removal efficiency, and coulombic efficiency. Furthermore, the challenges and future perspectives on the development of the efficient BESs for VOCs removal with a high coulombic efficiency are briefly discussed. It is believed that this review provides a new insight into the biological removal of VOCs.

The coupling of wet scrubber with thermally activated persulfate (PS) for the removal of gaseous p-xylene was studied in the present work. The effects of process parameters (i.e., activation temperature, gas flow rate, PS dosage, and absorption solution pH) on p-xylene removal were studied. The removal efficiency increased with the activation temperature and PS dosage, while decreased with the increase of gas flow rate. The inhibition effect was observed when the pH of the reaction system was alkaline due to the existence of NH3(aq) resulting from ammonium translation. P-xylene was efficiently eliminated under the optimal conditions with a maximum removal efficiency of 78.5%. The most important radicals, namely, SO4 − and HO , were investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance, and the selectivity of SO4 − was determined by quenching tests. HO and SO4 − oxidations accounted for 41.3% and 37.4% of the removal of p-xylene, respectively. The contribution of SO4 − increased with the accumulation of H+. Moreover, the absorption solution reused via adding PS and it still showed perfect removal capacity for p-xylene at the end of each cycle. Finally, a possible degradation pathway of p-xylene was proposed based on the measurements of intermediates being detected in the gas and liquid phases.

Biotrickling filter could be used for the abatement of volatile inorganic compounds (VICs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) simultaneously, a multi-layer biotrickling filter (MLBTF) system was constructed to lift the contradiction of pH between VICs degrader and VOCs degrader. The pH levels of the bottom, middle, and top layers of the MLBTF were controlled at 4.5, 6.0, and 7.5, respectively. Biological removal of ternary mixed hydrogen sulfide (H2S), tetrahydrofuran (THF), and dichloromethane (DCM) was conducted for 120 days. The result indicated that H2S was mainly removed in the bottom layer, the THF and DCM were mainly removed in the middle layer. The removal efficiency of 200 mg/L H2S, 100 mg/L THF, and 100 mg/L DCM were all exceeded 95% with an empty bed residence time of 35 s. The maximum elimination capabilities of H2S, THF, and DCM were 52.5, 26.7, and 17.2 g/(m3·h) respectively. Results from polymerase chain reaction denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis revealed that the dominant microorganisms in the bottom layer of MLBTF were Methylosinus sp. and Acidithiobacillus sp. The Pseudomonas sp., Achromobacter sp., and Methylobacterium sp. remained dominant throughout the operation in the middle and top layers. These findings demonstrated that the proposed method can effectively enhance the performance of VICs and VOCs removal by controlling pH and microbial community in each layer of the MLBTF. It is believed that this work provides a new insight into the biological removal of VOCs by the MLBTF.

A convenient and green approach was utilized to prepare the suspended carbon black fluids (SCBF) using carboxylic CB nanoparticles with diameters of 15nm as the core and poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(propylene oxide)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-b-PPO-b-PEO) as surface modifier via hydrogen bonding interaction. It was found that when the total polymer content (strongly adsorbed layer and weakly adsorbed or free layer) was greater than 60wt%, the SCBF exhibited liquid-like behavior without solvent. More interestingly, the flow mechanism mainly related to surface polymer content, which greatly differed from ionically or covalently nanofluids systems. Besides, the thermal, dispersibility, electrical conductivity properties and rheological behaviors, as well as microstructure of SCBF were systematically investigated using various methods. Moreover, the SCBF as fillers were used to prepare SCBF/Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) composites for producing the simultaneous reinforcement and plasticization effect due to the unique fluidity of SCBF and interfacial interactions between the PVA molecules and SCBF via hydrogen bondings. Keywords: Nanofluids, Reinforcement, hydrogen bonds, Nanocomposites

A defined consortium of Ralstonia pickettii L2 (bacterium) and Trichoderma viride LW-1 (fungus) was selected to assess its potential for the enhanced biodegradation of mono-chlorobenzene (CB). At an initial concentration of 220 mg L −1 CB, the developed consortium showed an enhanced degradation rate of 0.50 mg CB·g −1 protein ·h −1 , while the individual Ralstonia sp. L2 and Trichoderma sp. LW-1 showed average degradation rates of 0.34 and 0.32 mg CB·g −1 protein ·h −1 , respectively. A CO 2 conversion level of up to 86.3% reflected a possible high mineralization extent of CB by the co-culture. The estimated μ max and v max values were 0.36 h −1 and 0.41 h −1 for the consortium, which were much higher than the values obtained by each strain individually. 2-Chlorophenol (2-CP) accumulated in the growth medium of strain L2 and inhibited its growth, but it could be consumed quickly by the fungus LW-1, providing a possibility to reach complete biodegradation of CB in a short time. Real-time PCR revealed that bacterium L2 played a major role in the initial stage, and that fungus LW-1 grew well if 2-CP was generated. These results suggest that the fungal-bacterial consortium might be effectively applied for complete biodegradation of CB and have a potential environmental implication in purification of CB-contaminated environments.

Layered double hydroxides (LDH) are prepared by controlling urea assisted homogeneous precipitation conditions. Morphology and crystallinity of LDHs are confirmed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. After LDHs are incorporated into quaternized polysulfone membranes, transmission electron microscope is used to observe the exfoliated morphology of LDH sheets in the membranes. The properties of the nanocomposite membranes, including water uptake, swelling ratio, mechanical property and ionic conductivity are investigated. The nanocomposite membrane containing 5% LDH sheets shows more balanced performances, exhibiting an ionic conductivity of 2.36×10−2 S cm−1 at 60 °C.

Many anti-counterfeiting inks have been explored recently, most of them are commonly involved in weak fastness, high cost and long-term toxicity, impeding their real-life applications. Herein, an environment-friendly and inexpensive anti-counterfeiting ink with excellent fastness is reported. The untifake ink is developed by combining hybrid dots (silicon/carbon) with hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) binder. Interestingly, the HEC binder can effectively prevent from aggregation-induced quenching of hybrid dots. Subsequently, the customized patterns are successfully transferred onto different surfaces of various substrates including cotton fabric, cellulosic paper, glass, metal, silicon wafer and PET film, using the as-prepared ink by screen-printing technique, exhibiting that the hybrid dots/HEC ink possesses widespread practicability. Notably, fluorescent color of these patterns can be switchable by adjusting environmental pH-value, further imparting the as-prepared ink with excellent covert performance. This new fluorescent hybrid dots/HEC ink will be promising candidates for high-level anti-counterfeiting applications including food packaging, apparel and documents.

Functionalized liquid-like graphene@SiO 2 hybrids are fabricated by using the graphene@SiO 2 as core and nonionic copolymer as shell in aqueous solution at room temperature. The hybrid materials can flow above 45 °C and have a particular thermal invertibility. The morphology, chemical composition, dispersibility and stability, as well as rheological behavior are systematically characterized by various methods. It is shown that well-dispersed SiO 2 nanoparticles are tightly anchored on the surface of graphene sheet via hydrogen bonding interaction under the synergetic effect of 3-(trimethoxysilyl)-1-propanethiol and copolymer to prevent the aggregation of graphene sheet. What is more, the hybrid materials keep remarkably stability and dispersibility in organic solvents and aqueous solution. More importantly, rheological tests indicate that viscoelastic behavior of graphene@SiO 2 hybrids is effectively regulated through varying the amount of surface nonionic copolymer and silane coupling agent, respectively. In addition, the liquid-like graphene@SiO 2 hybrids as a novel of hybrid coating make the substrates transfer from hydrophobicity to hydrophilicity. More interestingly, the damaged coating can be self-healed under immersing water or heating conditions, respectively. This simple and environment friendly approach will benefit for fabricating large scale graphene based hybrid materials in application of functional coating and rheological additives.

Proper preservation of microbial activity over long periods poses a considerable challenge for pollutant biopurification. A composite microbial agent, mainly composed of bacteria and fungi isolated by the current research team, was constructed in this study and its performance in the removal of mixed waste gases (containing α-pinene, n-butyl acetate and o-xylene) was investigated. According to the removal efficiency in the first 24h and the response to starvation, the optimal ratio of selected carriers (activated carbon, wheat bran and sawdust) was found to be 1:2:1. In some cases of storages, the removal capability of the microbial agent was more than twice that of the suspension. Microbial analysis showed that the inoculated bacterial and fungal strains dominated the agent preparation and utilization. These results indicated that the agent has potential for use in biopurification of mixed waste gas, favoring the reduction of environmental passives and longer retention of microbial activity.

In this paper, a novel type of clay mineral (halloysite) nanofluids was successfully synthesized through surface hydroxylated treatment and then tertiary amine and sulfonate anions. The halloysite (Hal) exhibits liquid-like behavior in the absence of solvent above 80 °C while it is a gel-like stickum at room temperature. Moreover, the morphology, rheological behavior, thermal and dispersion properties of the resultant Hal nanofluids were systematically characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), UV–Vis transmission spectra and rheological test. Rheological test results show that viscoelasticity (solid-like to liquid-like transition) of Hal nanofluids were regulated by temperature variation. The unique properties of the Hal nanofluids have made this material promising in the applications as rheological additives in industrial paints and polymer processing aids fields.

Chloromethylated polysulfone is firstly converted to cationic groups under the condition of N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylenediamine in dimethyl sulfoxide, then blended with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) solution, followed by casting, crosslinking and treatment in trimethylamine solution for constructing anion-conducting interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs). Fourier transform infrared spectra, thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy are employed to characterize the structure and morphology of IPNs. The properties of IPNs including water uptake, mechanical property, thermal stability and ionic conductivity are studied. Compared with the quaternized polysulfone membrane, the IPN derived from 60% CMPSF and 40% PVA shows better balanced properties. It exhibits an ionic conductivity of 1.82 × 10 −2 S cm −1 at 60 °C and nearly 80% ionic conductivity of the original value after being treated in 2 M NaOH solution for 120 h at 60 °C.

In this study, reductive sulfite (S(IV)) was innovatively introduced into activated carbon fibers supported ferric citrate (Cit-Fe@ACFs) and persulfate (PS) process for organic dye removal. The addition of S(IV) enhanced the catalytic elimination rate of organic dye Reactive Red M-3BE from 15.2% to 96.2% in 12 min ( k obs (pseudo-first-order rate constant) from 0.015 to 0.324 min −1 ). More importantly, the simultaneous removal of S(IV), which is a common inorganic pollutant, was also achieved. This Cit-Fe@ACFs/S(IV)/PS system exhibited superior sustained catalytic ability and distinguished pH-tolerant performance for the simultaneous rapid removal of dyes and inorganic S(IV). Furthermore, the reaction rate constant ( k obs ) increased with the increase of concentration of S(IV) below 1 mM, while decreased over 1 mM. Finally, various radical scavengers were used together with electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to confirm that hydroxyl ( OH), sulfate (SO 4 − ) and peroxymonosulfate (SO 5 − ) radicals served as the major reactive oxygen species in the Cit-Fe@ACFs/S(IV)/PS system. This study provides a promising idea to use polluting S(IV) in sewage treatment for the simultaneous removal of organic and inorganic pollutants.

Highly hydrophobic silk fabric surfaces were successfully fabricated using a simple one-step atomic layer deposition (ALD) process. The surface morphology, chemical composition, and structure of bare silk fabric and silk fabrics coated with titanium dioxide (TiO2) subjected to 800 and 1600 ALD cycles were measured using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning probe microscopy (SPM). The surface wettability of the silk fabrics was evaluated by determining their static water contact angles (WCAs) and roll-off angles. The results suggest that the good hydrophilicity of the surfaces of bare silk fabrics can be changed to high hydrophobicity by the application of TiO2 nanoparticles to their surfaces using ALD. The high hydrophobicity achieved can be attributed to the increase in roughness of the silk fabric surface. The laundering durability of TiO2-coated silk fabrics is greatly improved by increasing the thickness of the ALD TiO2 films.

Xanthobacter flavus DT8, a direct metabolizer, degraded 1,4-dioxane without a lag phase when pregrown in R2A medium or with 1,4-dioxane. This finding implies the involvement of constitutive enzymes in the degradation and the feasibility of large-scale cell cultivation. Based on Haldane's growth model, a maximum specific growth rate of 0.15 h−1 was obtained, which is the highest value reported in the literature. However, the maximum specific degradation rate by X. flavus DT8 was lower than that by Pseudonocardia dioxanivorans CB1190, which could be due to their different cell yields. 1,4-Dioxene, ethylene glycol, and oxalic acid were identified as the main intermediates of 1,4-dioxane degradation through GC–MS analysis. Acetylene and metyrapone did not affect 1,4-dioxane degradation, which indicates that cytochrome P450s were not involved in the process. X. flavus DT8 could also metabolically degrade other cyclic ethers, including 1,3-dioxane and tetrahydrofuran (THF). Despite the presence of competitive inhibition, the average 1,4-dioxane removal rate could be enhanced by THF.

Pseudomonas putida S-1 was isolated from activated sludge. This novel strain was capable of degrading malodorous 1-propanethiol (PT). PT degradation commenced with no lag phase by cells pre-grown in nutrition-rich media, such as Luria-Bertani (LB), and PT-contained mineral medium at specific growth rates of 0.10-0.19 h(-1); this phenomenon indicated the operability of a large-scale cell culture. A possible PT degradation pathway was proposed on the basis of the detected metabolites, including dipropyl disulfide, 3-hexanone, 2-hexanone, 3-hexanol, 2-hexanol, S(0), SO4(2-), and CO2. P. putida S-1 could degrade mixed pollutants containing PT, diethyl disulfide, isopropyl alcohol, and acetaldehyde, and LB-pre-cultured cells underwent diauxic growth. Waste gas contaminated with 200-400 mg/m(3) PT was continuously treated by P. putida S-1 pre-cultured in LB medium in a completely stirred tank reactor. The removal efficiencies exceeded 88% when PT stream was mixed with 200 mg/m(3) isopropanol; by contrast, the removal efficiencies decreased to 60% as the empty bed residence time was shortened from 40 s to 20 s.

Owing to the strong solid-state luminescence of aggregation-induced emission luminogen (AIEgen), polymer/AIEgen nanoparticles (NPs) have great potential in application as high-quality luminescent inks. In this work, polymer/AIEgen NPs with a particle size below 70 nm were efficiently prepared through encapsulation of AIEgens with various colors within polymeric matrix via miniemulsion polymerization. The prepared polymer/AIEgen NPs emitted bright and stable blue, green, or orange-red fluorescence. The polymer/AIEgen NP inks suitable for inkjet printing were conveniently made through addition of a non-ionic surfactant to the emulsions with corresponding polymer/AIEgen NPs. The bright, high-resolution, and UV-responsive images were printed on cotton textiles with polymer/AIEgen NP inks. The microscopic observation indicated that the polymer/AIEgen NPs could form homogenous films onto the cotton fibers. More promisingly, the prepared polymer/AIEgen NPs with various colors had good compatibility, and they could be directly mixed to prepare multicolor polymer/AIEgen NP inks for handwriting.

A series of novel addition cured polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composites with a given weight amount of nano-silica sol were prepared using MQ silicone resin as reinforcing agent by hydrosilylation for the first time. Influences of the used amount of MQ silicone resin on morphology, thermal stability, mechanical and optical properties of these novel PDMS composites were mainly studied. It was found that thermal stabilities and transparencies of the novel PDMS composites with a given amount of nano-silica sol decreased with an increment in weight fraction of MQ silicone resin, as compared with that of PDMS composites without MQ silicone resin (SMQ-0), which were likely ascribed to an increasing amount of remained silanols and the increasing size of aggregated particles in PDMS composites, respectively. However, mechanical properties of the novel PDMS composites with a given weight of nano-silica sol were improved significantly with amount of MQ silicone resin increasing, especially their elongations at break, which were up to 10 times. This was a great breakthrough for PDMS composites. The prominent improvements in mechanical properties were probably attributed to strong interaction of PDMS chains and uniformly dispersed particles resulted from crosslink of MQ silicone resin and nano-silca sol. This strategy for preparing novel addition curing PDMS composites provides a guide method to develop high elastic PDMS composites with desirable properties in industry applications.

In this paper, functionalized montmorillonite is intercalated with cetyl trimethyl ammonium chloride and (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane. Quaternized polysulfone/functionalized montmorillonite nanocomposite membranes are fabricated to evaluate their potential in anion-exchange membrane fuel cells. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analyzer and X-ray diffractometer are used to confirm the success of intercalation. The performances of the composite membranes for the anion-exchange membrane fuel cells in terms of their water uptake, mechanical property and ionic conductivity are investigated. Compared with other anion-exchange membranes, the nanocomposite membrane containing 5% montmorillonite modified by cetyl trimethyl ammonium chloride exhibits lower water uptake, higher ultimate stress and larger ionic conductivity. It exhibits an ionic conductivity of 4.73 × 10 −2 S cm −1 at 95 °C.

A series of novel polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composites were prepared using polyvinylsilsesquioxanes (PVS) as reinforcing agent by hydrolytic condensation in the presence of organotin catalyst for the first time. The cross-linked network, morphology, thermal behavior and mechanical properties of these novel PDMS composites were examined by attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and universal tensile testing machine, respectively. Experimental results showed that both thermal and mechanical properties of the PDMS composites were improved greatly by adding PVS. The prominent improvements in thermal and mechanical properties were likely attributed to the reinforcing interaction of PDMS chains and formed particles resulted from PVS self-crosslink. Meanwhile, we also found that with the increment in loading PVS, the resistance to thermal degradation of the PDMS composites in nitrogen atmosphere was enhanced obviously, but their resistance to thermal oxidation in air was not improved apparently. The unobvious improvement in resistance to thermal oxidation of the novel composites was likely due to the catalysis of oxygen.

The existence of association between the subpopulation of iNKT cells with different functions and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease has not been confirmed. To investigative the role of iNKT cells in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, we established a non-alcoholic fatty liver model by feeding C57BL/6J mice for 12 weeks with a high-fat diet and injecting α-GalCer through different routes to activate hepatic iNKT cells. The liver of the mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) had severe hepatic steatosis appearance, elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines and reduced anti-inflammatory cytokines in the liver, and high serum levels of TC, LDL, HDL, and ALT. Our results showed that the percentage of iNKT cells in the liver of the HFD-fed mice was lower than that of the control mice. The expression levels of the related transcription factor of T-bet increased but that of GATA-3 decreased in the HFD-fed mice. The administration of α-GalCer by intraperitoneal injection resulted in increasing of hepatic iNKT and iNKT2 cells but decreasing of hepatic iNKT1 cells, and the expression of GATA-3 and anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-4) was increased in the liver, and hepatic steatosis was ameliorated in the HFD-fed mice. The administration of α-GalCer by subcutaneous injection resulted in a decrease in hepatic iNKT and iNKT2 and an augmentation of hepatic iNKT1 cells. However, hepatic steatosis was not significantly improved. We concluded that the intraperitoneal injection with α-GalCer effectively improved hepatic steatosis, according to increasing the number of hepatic iNKT2 cells. The precise mechanism requires further exploration.