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Keeping the nucleolus a liquid condensate The nucleolus is a multilayered, membraneless nuclear condensate in which DNA polymerase I (Pol I)–mediated ribosomal DNA (rDNA) transcription and pre-rRNA processing occur in fibrillar center and dense fibrillar component (FC/DFC) units. How its biophysical properties are regulated has remained elusive. Wu et al . found that the RNA helicase DDX21 forms a shell coating each FC/DFC unit in the nucleolus (see the Perspective by Yamazaki and Hirose). The authors found that a long noncoding RNA called SLERT facilitates the transition from the open to the closed configuration of the helicase using a chaperone-like mechanism. DDX21 in the closed conformation forms loose clusters that confer the FC/DFC unit sufficient liquidity and space required for Pol I processivity. In addition, DDX21 within the loose clusters cannot approach and wrap rDNA, thus licensing rDNA for transcription. —DJ

Two series of binary graft cationic starch-based flocculants (CS-DMCs and CS-DMLs) with different hydrophilicity and charge density (CD) were prepared by graft copolymerization of acrylamide with 2-(Methacryloyloxy)-N,N,N-trimethylethanaminium chloride and methacrylic acid 2-(benzyldimethylaminio) ethyl chloride, respectively, on the starch (St) backbone. The sludge dewatering performance of CS-DMCs and CS-DMLs were evaluated and compared based on the changes in filter cake moisture content (FCMC), specific resistance of filtration (SRF), fractions and components of extracellular polymeric substances, and various physiochemical characteristics of sludge flocs and cakes. Increase in CD of the St-based flocculants caused improved sludge dewaterability. Under the similar CD, CS-DML with relatively high hydrophobicity exhibited lower FCMC and SRF, larger and denser sludge flocs, and better permeability of sludge cakes than CS-DMCs due to the synergistic effects of charge neutralization, bridging flocculation and hydrophobic association. Furthermore, a second-order polynomial model on the basis of phenomenological theory was successfully applied to quantitatively evaluate the influences of the two important structural factors of these St-based flocculants, i.e., hydrophobicity and CD, on the sludge dewaterability. The structure–activity relationship of the St-based flocculants in sludge dewatering was obtained according to the theoretic simulation. The dewatering mechanisms was discussed in depth on the basis of the experimental and simulated results; besides, the FCMC and optimal dose can be predicted by the established structure–activity relationship. This current work offered a novel and valuable way to exploit and design of low-cost and high-performance graft natural polymeric flocculants applied in efficient conditioning of sludge.

Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) usually has sluggish kinetics in alkaline solutions due to the difficulty in the formation of binding protons. Herein we report an electrocatalyst by sulfur atoms doping into the oxygen vacancies (V O ) of inverse spinel NiFe 2 O 4 (S-NiFe 2 O 4 ) to create active sites with enhanced electron transfer capability. Our results indicated this electrocatalyst has an ultralow overpotential of 61 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm -2 and long-term stability of 60 h at 1.0 A cm -2 in 1.0 M KOH media . After coupled with V O , the high electroactive S atoms facilitate binding with protons. In-situ Raman spectroscopy revealed that S sites absorb hydrogen adatom (H*) and in-situ form S-H*, that favor the production of hydrogen and boosts HER in the alkaline solution. DFT calculations further verified lowered energy barrier of the H 2 O dissociation induced by the S introduction, which is the key factor for this remarkable HER performance. Both experimental and theoretical investigations confirmed S atoms are active sites of the S-NiFe 2 O 4 . This work provides an facile and powerful solution in designing novel electrocatalysts to accelerate water splitting via vacancies filling strategy.

Photocatalytic membranes have received increasing attention due to their excellent separation and photodegradation of organic contaminants in wastewater. Herein, we bound Ag-AgBr nanoparticles onto a synthesized polyacrylonitrile-ethanolamine (PAN-ETA) membrane with the aid of a chitosan (CS)-TiO2 layer via vacuum filtration and in-situ partial reduction. The introduction of the CS-TiO2 layer improved surface hydrophilicity and provided attachment sites for the Ag-AgBr nanoparticles. The PAN-ETA/CS-TiO2/Ag-AgBr photocatalytic membranes showed a relatively high water permeation flux (~ 47 L·m−2·h−1·bar−1) and dyes rejection (methyl orange: 88.22%; congo red: 95%; methyl blue: 97.41%; rose bengal: 99.98%). Additionally, the composite membranes exhibited potential long-term stability for dye/salt separation (dye rejection: ~97%; salt rejection: ~6.5%). Moreover, the methylene blue and rhodamine B solutions (20 mL, 10 mg · L−1) were degraded approximately 90.75% and 96.81% in batch mode via the synthesized photocatalytic membranes under visible light irradiation for 30 min. This study provides a feasible method for the combination of polymeric membranes and inorganic catalytic materials.

Two laboratory-made cationic starch-based flocculants (St-CTA and St-AD) with different chain architectures were used to simultaneously remove phosphorus and turbidity from two simulated wastewaters and one actual wastewater with laboratory and pilot scales, respectively, in conjunction with FeCl3. A commercial polyacrylamide (PAM) has been also tried and compared with aforementioned starch-based flocculants. The removal extents of phosphorus and turbidity increased, the required dosages of FeCl3 decreased, and floc properties improved after dosing each polymeric flocculant after FeCl3 in all tested wastewaters due to their synergistic effects. However, the three flocculants exhibited different improvement efficiencies on the treated wastewaters containing different forms of phosphorus and showed various synergistic mechanisms owing to their distinct structural features. In inorganic-phosphorus-simulated wastewater, the linear nonionic PAM with a high molecular weight had a more notable contribution than the two starch-based flocculants due to its efficient bridging flocculation effect. Given the branched-chain structure and high positive charge density of St-AD, it had a higher efficiency in treating real wastewater and organic-phosphorus-simulated wastewater than PAM and linear cationic St-CTA. These results may serve as references for the design and selection of a suitable flocculant in treating target wastewaters.

Tin dioxide (SnO2) photocatalyst has broad prospects for the degradation of toxic organic pollutants; however, its practical application is greatly hampered by poor activity due to the high recombination rates of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. In this work, titania (TiO2) modified SnO2 photocatalysts were obtained by a facile hydrothermal method to suppress the rapid recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and improve the photocatalytic activity. Ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis)_ diffuse reflectance spectra suggest that TiO2–SnO2 composite photocatalysts hold stronger UV light absorption ability than that of the pure SnO2. Surface photovoltage spectroscopy and photoelectrochemistry results show that the separation rate of photogenerated charge pairs of TiO2–SnO2 photocatalysts was greatly enhanced. The photocatalytic activities of the photocatalysts were evaluated by the decay of rhodamine B (RhB) under UV irradiation illumination. The results display that modification of SnO2 by TiO2 can largely enhance the photocatalytic activity and the photocatalytic performance of 0.5:1-TS sample is nearly 5 times that of the pure SnO2. Moreover, maintaining the ratio of TiO2 and SnO2 at 0.5:1, the amount of catalyst was 30 mg, the concentration of dye was 10 mg/l, and the pH of RhB solution was 2, the sample has the best photocatalytic activity.

Two series of cellulose-based antiscalants with different chain architectures, i.e., linear carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and branch-shaped carboxymethyl cellulose-graft-poly(acrylic acid) (CMC-g-PAA), were synthesized. The carboxyl groups were distributed on CMC backbone but mainly on the grafted chains of CMC-g-PAA. The addition of CMC and CMC-g-PAA can both increase the surface energy of CaCO3 scale and decrease its crystal nucleation rate, thereby inhibiting CaCO3 scale formation. The structural effects of these cellulose-based antiscalants, especially the chain architectures, on the scale inhibition were investigated in detail. High degree of carboxymethyl substitution caused better inhibition effect of linear CMC. However, CMC-g-PAA with an appropriate content of carboxyl groups but high average number of PAA grafted chains can achieve high inhibition performance. Besides, with similar contents of carboxyl groups, CMC-g-PAA showed much better inhibition performance than CMC due to the distinct multi-dimensional spatial structure of graft copolymer in solution, causing the enhanced chelation and dispersion effects. Characterization of CaCO3 crystal by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction confirmed that crystal distortion effect obviously existed in CMC but quite minor in CMC-g-PAA. The differences between the scale-inhibition performance of CMC and CMC-g-PAA should be attributed to the different scale-inhibition mechanisms originated in their distinct chain architectures.

Chitosan is a nature-based polymer with low toxicity, excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability. However, the intractable solubility of chitosan in water and most conventional solvents hampers its biomedical applications. Following the dissolution method for dissolving chitosan in plain water developed by us, chitosan was dissolved in ionic liquid followed by overnight freezing at −20 °C and subsequent solvent exchange with plain water at room temperature. In this study, we fabricated a drug-carrying chitosan film via solution casting and air-drying by using the plain water-based chitosan solution. Specifically, brimonidine tartrate (BT), an antiglaucoma drug, was dissolved in the plain-water based solution and used to prepare BT-loaded chitosan film, i.e., chitosan-BT film. The resulting film is transparent, structurally stable, and mucoadhesive. Micro-sized antiglaucoma BT drug crystals form and are well dispersed in the chitosan film. The chitosan-BT film enables BT to have a high corneal permeability with fast drug release kinetics for potential ocular drug delivery., Graphical abstract Image 1, Highlights • A drug-carrying chitosan film is made via solution casting and air-drying of plain water-based chitosan solution. • The antiglaucoma drug brimonidine tartrate loaded into the chitosan film forms micro-sized crystals with uniform dispersion. • The chitosan film enables BT to have a high corneal permeability with fast drug release for potential ocular drug delivery.

We report on a heterogeneous dendrimer (G3-acetal-NH(2)) derivative possessing an acid-responsive charge-reversal layer. The synthesis of G3-acetal-NH(2) starts with a polyamidoamine (PAMAM) G3 core and follows the aza-Michael addition with N-(2-(1-(allyloxy)ethoxy)ethyl)acrylamide (AEEAA) synthesized by us and the thiol-ene click chemistry with cysteamine hydrochloride in sequence. The surface of this newly formed dendrimer can turn from amine-terminated to hydroxyl-terminated due to the cleavage of the acetal groups in a weakly acidic environment. This charge conversion from 34.3 ± 2.7 mV to 18.0 ± 0.3 mV in 24 h at pH 5.3 enables its capacity as a therapy delivery vehicle. G3-acetal-NH(2) with a positively charged surface can condense pMAX GFP plasmid at similar weight ratios as native G4-NH(2) (above 2:1), allowing for its protected uptake into cells and endosomal escape. While in the endosome, the drop in vesicle pH cleaves the acetal bond, releasing the genetic payload and limiting its recondensation by the reduction in the dendrimer surface charge. When the vector/plasmid weight ratio was 2:1, G3-acetal-NH(2) improved transfection of pMAX GFP plasmid by 5-fold over native G4-NH(2) in NIH3T3 cells in terms of GFP protein expression. Taken together, we show that this surface charge conversion performance makes the synthesized heterogeneous dendrimer an improved vehicle for gene transfection.

Amphiphilic block copolymers are able to self-assemble into rich morphologies with high controllability for drug delivery. Great efforts have been made for decades to construct efficient drug delivery systems (DDSs) using nanostructured self-assemblies to overcome the drawbacks of pharmaceuticals, such as low aqueous solubility, premature drug release during circulation, and undesirable side effects.Here we review the researches of self-assembled block polymer aggregates with a focus on the shape-forming and shape-changing mechanisms, and applications of controlling morphology transition by multiple factors in drug delivery. We tend to provide a comprehensive description of the connection between structure-changing thermodynamics, kinetics, and influencing factors, thus to enlighten more pathways for future developments in the field of drug delivery.By understanding the underlying mechanisms for the structure formation and transition, it enables versatile applications in DDSs design by altering drug morphologies. However, developing more sophisticated and multifunctional polymeric nanocarriers is still challengeable in the clinical application, which would hold considerable potential in promoting the efficiency in morphology control to achieve higher intelligence of drug delivery.

Resource utilization through effective separation of complex wastes is of great realistic significance in water and wastewater treatment. Photocatalytic degradation is a powerful water treatment technology with strong oxidation, but has no selectivity in degradation of various coexisting contaminants. In this work, a cationic starch (St-CTA) with selective adsorption performance was used as a catalyst carrier, and a complex film composed of St-CTA and a popular catalyst, CdS, (CdS/St-CTA) was designed and fabricated using in situ formation method. This starch-based complex film was used to remove various organic dyes (alizarin green (AG25), methyl orange (MO), and rhodamine B (RhB)) from their single and binary dye solutions. CdS/St-CTA exhibited evident selective photocatalysis degradation of AG25 and MO in AG25/RhB and MO/RhB binary systems, respectively, and had nearly no effect on RhB. It was because that the cationic groups on RhB hindered its adsorption on St-CTA carrier. Differently, St-CTA can effectively adsorb anionic AG25 and MO due to electrostatic attractions, causing the following selective photodegradation. The selective degradation of CdS/St-CTA to AG25 and MO rather than RhB was unchanged under different pHs and aforementioned coexisted anions. Furthermore, this complex film did not require regeneration and could be reused directly without removal capacity loss after five recycles. Therefore, a new and simple strategy of “selective adsorption enrichment and then selective photocatalysis degradation” with general applicability was provided to realize the effective separation and recovery of target contaminants in water by photocatalytic degradation technology.

A silica-sand/anionized-starch composite (CMS-SS) was prepared simply. CMS-SS was used as an efficient adsorbent for removal of cationic dyes [methyl blue (MB) and crystal violet (CV)] and metal ions [cupper(II), Cu(II)] from water in respective single and binary systems. Compared with the anionized-starch without silica sand, CMS-SS shows evidently improved adsorption capacities, i.e. approximately 653.31 ± 27.30, 1246.40 ± 34.10, and 383.08 ± 13.50 mg·g−1, for MB, CV, and Cu(II), respectively, ascribed to the additional carboxyl groups. The isotherms and kinetics study indicated that the Langmuir model and the pseudo-second-order model were more suitable. The adsorption process is thus a homogeneous monolayer chemisorption. The adsorptions of these three pollutants are spontaneous and exothermal processes driven by increasing entropy. The adsorption behaviors of CMS-SS have high pH dependence, and electrostatic attraction play an important role in adsorption. Dyes showed higher affinity to CMS-SS than metal ions causing a preferential adsorption of dye over Cu(II) in their aqueous mixture. This adsorbent after saturated adsorption could be rapidly separated from water due to its enlarged density after embedded silica sand; moreover, those rapidly recovered adsorbents were tried to use as new adsorbents for removal of an anionic dye from water due to the complete changes in their surface structures after saturated adsorption.

Multi-metal hydroxides based on nickel, cobalt, and manganese are considered as promising materials of working electrode for supercapacitor owing to their unique physical and chemical properties. The combination of multi-metal hydroxide with carbon material can further improve their electrochemical performance. In this work, nickel-cobalt-manganese hydroxide/carbon nanotube (CNT) composite was synthesized using a simple hydrothermal method and used as working electrode material for a supercapacitor. The experimental results show that the addition of carbon nanotubes can effectively improve the electrochemical performance of nickel-cobalt-manganese ternary metal hydroxides. NiCoMn(OH)6/CNT composites exhibit a specific capacity of 2136.2 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and still retain a specific capacity of 1914 F g−1 at 10 A g−1, demonstrating excellent rate capability. Besides, the composite maintains 77% specific capacity after 2000 cycles, showing good cycle stability. The asymmetric supercapacitor assembled with NiCoMn(OH)6/CNTs as the positive electrode material and activated carbon (AC) as the negative electrode also has good electrochemical performance. It shows high specific capacity of 150.88 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and still has a specific capacity of 81.17 F g−1 at 20 A g−1, which retains 53.8% of the initial specific capacity.

In this work, we developed a facile flow injection method to fabricate chitosan beads of uniform size in a continuous manner and assessed their properties as hemostatic dressings. Chitosan was dissolved into the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (EMIM Ac) to form a solution, and then the chitosan/EMIM Ac solution was flow injected into ethanol to form beads of uniform size. The formed chitosan beads were obtained following the exchange of ethanol solvent with water and freeze-drying. The overall process is ecofriendly and scalable without acid/alkali treatment or the use of cross-linking agents. The morphology, swelling, and cytotoxicity of the chitosan beads were characterized. The blood coagulation and whole blood clotting kinetics of the chitosan beads were also studied. The chitosan beads have a significantly high swelling capacity. They can absorb 30 times as much water and 40 times as much PBS/0.9% NaCl solution as their dry mass. Cytotoxicity was not observed on NIH3T3 fibroblast cells after 24 h- or 48 h-incubation, when the concentration of the chitosan beads was 1.2 mg mL-1 or lower. Pig whole blood quickly lost its flowability in 10 min after the blood (1 mL) was incubated with 1 mg of chitosan beads. The whole blood clotting kinetics results showed that the chitosan beads efficiently caused the pig whole blood to clot with the absorbance of red blood cells (RBCs) dramatically reduced in 20 min and further reduced in 1 hour. The chitosan beads were shown to be biocompatible with excellent hemostatic properties. This work can apply a simple method to prepare chitosan beads for trauma hemostasis and broaden chitosan processing such as continuous manufacturing and 3D printing.

Four coordination polymers, namely, {[Co(cpnc)(bpbenz)]}n (1), {[Co(cpnc)(bide)2]}n (2), {[Co(cpnc)(bide) (H2O)1/2]·H2O}n (3), and {[Cd(cpnc)(bib)1/2(H2O)2]}n (4) (H2cpnc = 6-(4-carboxyphenyl)nicotinic acid, bpbenz = 1,4-bis(4-pyridyl)benzene, bide = 4,4′-bis(imidazolyl)diphenyl ether, and bib = 1,4-bis(1-imidazoly)benzene) have been solvothermally synthesized and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, and infrared spectroscopy. Structural analysis reveals that compound 1 consists of a 3D 3-fold interpenetrated framework with pcu topology. Compounds 2 and 3 have been synthesized by one-pot reactions. Compound 2 comprises 2D layers, while compound 3 comprises 1D chains. Compound 4 consists of 2D layers constructed from mixed ligands. In addition, the photocatalytic activities of 1–3 under UV light toward methyl orange (MO), rhodamine B (RB), methyl blue (MB), neutral red (NR), methylene blue (MEB), and safranine T (ST) with H2O2 are investigated in aqueous solutions. The results suggested that the photocatalytic efficiency of 1 for MO was 100% in one hour and that of 2 for ST was 90% in two hours; furthermore, the photocatalytic efficiencies of 3 for MO and ST were found to be 100% and 92% in one hour, respectively. The photoluminescence titration experiments demonstrate that 4 is an excellent multifunctional probe for metal ions (Fe3+ and Cu2+) and anions (Cr2O72− and CO32−).

(1) Background. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterised by the loss of muscle throughout the course of the disease, which in many cases is accompanied by obesity and related to inflammation. Nonetheless, consuming epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and ketone bodies (especially β-hydroxybutyrate (βHB)) produced after metabolising coconut oil, have exhibited anti-inflammatory effects and a decrease in body fat. In addition, butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE), seems to be related to the pathogenesis of the disease associated with inflammation, and serum concentrations have been related to lipid metabolism. Objective. The aim of the study was to determine the role of BuChE in the changes caused after treatment with EGCG and ketone bodies on the levels of body fat and inflammation state in MS patients. (2) Methods. A pilot study was conducted for 4 months with 51 MS patients who were randomly divided into an intervention group and a control group. The intervention group received 800 mg of EGCG and 60 mL of coconut oil, and the control group was prescribed a placebo. Fat percentage and concentrations of the butyrylcholinesterase enzyme (BuChE), paraoxonase 1 (PON1) activity, triglycerides, interleukin 6 (IL-6), albumin and βHB in serum were measured. (3) Results. The intervention group exhibited significant decreases in IL-6 and fat percentage and significant increases in BuChE, βHB, PON1, albumin and functional capacity (determined by the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS)). On the other hand, the control group only exhibited a decrease in IL-6. After the intervention, BuChE was positively correlated with the activity of PON1, fat percentage and triglycerides in the intervention group, whereas these correlations were not observed in the control group (4). Conclusions. BuChE seems to have an important role in lipolytic activity and the inflammation state in MS patients, evidenced after administering EGCG and coconut oil as a βHB source.

In this study, two environmentally-friendly macroscopically formal (PVF) composited sponges (PL and PLS) functionalized with lignin and lignosulfonate, respectively, were fabricated by a one-step mechanical foaming method. PLS possessed the largest specific surface area of approximately 22.396 m2/g, a three-dimensional skeleton structure with a skeletal density of 3.236 g/cm3, and 0.338 mmol/g of acidic oxygen-containing groups. Thus, it showed the highest adsorption capacity of 0.16–0.24 mmol/g (51.17–76.75 mg/g) in removing seven antibiotics, of the popular fluoroquinolones (FQs) family from water. The contributions of hydrogen bonding, electrostatic attraction (EA) and π-π electron donor-acceptor interaction to the adsorption of FQs onto the PL and PLS sponges were analyzed systematically by investigating the pH dependence of the adsorption capacity, and the changes in adsorption of two sub structural analogs of FQs as molecular probes, and by performing theoretical calculations. The EA between the acidic oxygen-containing groups on the sponges and the amino groups of FQs played a dominant role in adsorption in near neutral conditions, leading to a superior adsorption performance for PLS. Overall, the composited sponges have the advantages of simple production, environmental-friendliness, convenient recycle, and low cost, which renders them potentially viable in treating real wastewater containing FQs.

Decorin exhibits inhibitory effects in tumorigenesis in various types of cancers. The clinical characteristics of 42 patients with GBM were reviewed and analyzed. Lentiviral constructs for decorin overexpression and shRNA-mediated silencing were established for U87MG cells and T98G cells, respectively. The expressions of EMT- and autophagy-associated markers were detected in GBM cell lines. The migration and invasion of the glioma cells were assayed to reflect the malignant behavior of GBM. A mouse xenograft model was used to verify the effect of decorin on autophagy in vivo. Reduced expression of decorin in glioma tissues was associated with a poor survival of the patients. Decorin overexpression suppressed cell migration, invasion and attenuated EMT phenotype in glioma cell lines. Further study indicated that decorin inhibited EMT phenotype through the induction of autophagy. The mechanisms include inhibiting the activation of c-Met/Akt/mTOR signaling and regulating the expressions of mesenchymal markers including Slug, vimentin and Twist, and epithelial marker E-cadherin. In addition, decorin overexpression in a mice model can also suppress the GBM invasion and EMT phenotype. In conclusion, decorin suppresses invasion and EMT phenotype of glioma by inducing autophagy via c-Met/Akt/mTOR axis.

Low bioavailability of topically applied drugs remains a significant challenge for long-term glaucoma therapy. To enhance drug delivery efficiency, we developed dendrimer gel particles that collectively exhibit structural benefits of dendrimer, hydrogel, and particles, using the inverse emulsion method coupled with the highly efficient aza-Michael addition reaction (IEaMA). This hierarchical approach would maximize the utility of the structural features of existing ocular drug delivery systems. We have tested the delivery efficiency and efficacy of two first-line antiglaucoma drugs, brimonidine tartrate (BT) and timolol maleate (TM), which were loaded into dendrimer gel particles of various sizes, i.e., nDHP (nano-in-nano dendrimer hydrogel particles, ~200 nm), μDHP3 (3 μm), and μDHP10 (9 μm). We found that nDHP was superior to μDHP3 and μDHP10 in terms of cytocompatibility, degradability, drug release kinetics, and corneal permeability. The nDHPs increased drug corneal permeability by 17-fold compared to plain drug solution and enabled zero-order prolonged drug release kinetics. The nDHP-based formulation demonstrated pronounced IOP-lowering effects in both single-dose test and 7-day chronic daily dosing test in both Brown Norway rats and glaucoma mice. Taken together, we have developed nano-in-nano dendrimer gel particles for precise dosing and enabling sustained and synergistic efficacy of antiglaucoma drugs, which could be clinically impactful for improving glaucoma treatment.

In this work, amorphous sphere-like TiO2 particles with excellent photocatalytic performance were synthesized by Stober method. The sample was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), particle size analyzer, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and surface photovoltage spectroscopy (SPS), respectively. The results display that titania particles prepared exhibit enhanced optical absorption from 400 to 450 nm. Titania particles prepared possess higher separation rate of the photo-induced charge pairs than P25 (TiO2) from 400 to 450 nm. The photocatalytic performance of titania particles prepared toward decolorization of rhodamine B aqueous solution was investigated. The results show that the photocatalytic performance of titania particles priors to that of P25.

The preoxidation effects of H2O2, NaClO, and KMnO4 on the dewaterability of sewage sludge were compared by analyzing the changes in specific resistance to filtration (SRF), filter cake moisture content (FCMC), extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) fractions and components, and floc properties. The three oxidants varied in oxidation efficiency and exhibited distinctive mechanisms. NaClO not only destroyed sludge flocs and EPSs but also effectively caused cell lysis, resulting in release of a considerable amount of organic matters and subsequently significant deterioration of dewatering performance. The oxidation of H2O2 and KMnO4 was relatively mild and occurred mainly on the outer layers of the sludge flocs and cell-bound EPSs. By contrast, the SRF and FCMC of the sludge conditioned with a low dose of KMnO4 were slightly improved, and a fraction of soluble EPS was compressed because of the coagulation effect of the oxidation product MnO2. The pH of the sludge conditioned with H2O2 and KMnO4 showed no considerable change. Meanwhile, NaClO evidently increased the alkalinity of the sludge because of the hydrolysis effect. After the pH of the NaClO-treated sludge was readjusted to 7.0, the partial protonation efficiency slightly alleviated the deterioration of sludge dewatering performance. The preoxidized sludge was then subjected to reflocculation treatment using FeCl3, polyacrylamide, and a cationic starch-based flocculant, respectively. The combined treatment of preoxidation and reflocculation showed a high dewatering efficiency owing to their synergistic effect.

In this work, we demonstrate a simple method to prepare carbon nanofiber (CNF) with multilevel gradient porous structure derived from polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)- polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) /PVP core-shell nanofiber. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) have confirmed that the as-prepared CNF contains a hollow channel embraced by mesoporous and microporous structures. Its specific surface area reaches to 1084 m2/g with the mesoporous volume contribution of 59%. The as-prepared porous CNF shows a high capacitance of 331 F/g at 1 A/g and 99.6% capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles at 5 A/g, which is better than the corresponding CNF with irregularly arranged hierarchical pores. The all-solid-state symmetric supercapacitor assembled using the as-prepared porous CNF as electrodes exhibits an excellent high specific capacitance of 147.4F/g at 1 A/g with a high energy density of 13.1 W h/kg. The capacitance retention still maintains at 89.2% after 2000 cycles at a current density of 5 A/g. Meanwhile, the as-prepared porous CNF also shows a high CO2 adsorption uptake, 5.08 mmol/g at 0 °C and 1 bar. The possible reason and mechanism have been discussed.

A paradigm shift from preventive therapy to aggressive plaque regression and eventual eradication is much needed to address increasing atherosclerotic burden and risks. Herein, we report a biologically inspired dual-targeting multifunctional recombinant high-density lipoprotein (rHDL)-mimicking core-shell nanoplatform. It is composed of an ATP-responsive ternary polyplexes core for SR-A siRNA and catalase complexation, and a phosphatidylserine-modified rHDL-based outer shell for SR-BI and CD36 targeting, in which pitavastatin is packaged. We demonstrated that dual-targeting biomimetic core-shell nanoparticles dynamically enhanced macrophage CD36 targeting in the plaques by establishing a positive feedback loop via the reciprocal regulation of SR-A and CD36. Positive feedback-enabled accumulation of the nanoparticles in the atherosclerotic plaques increased by 3.3-fold following 4-week repeated administration. A 3-month dosage regimen of the dual-targeting rHDL-mimicking nanoparticles reduced plaque areas by 65.8%, and decreased macrophages by 57.3%. Collectively, this work shows that dynamically enhancing plaque targeting via a positive feedback loop and dual action of cholesterol deposition inhibition and efflux enhancement accomplished with our novel multifunctional biomimetic nanoparticles provides a new way to regress plaques and alleviate the atherosclerotic burden.

A novel bio-based methacrylate monomer (MEAM) derived from tung oil was synthesized through a two-step synthetic procedure involving amidation and esterification reactions. The chemical structure of MEAM was confirmed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared and gel permeation chromatography. Then, a series of tung oil-derived thermosets were produced by the polymerization of this methacrylate monomer with different contents of maleic anhydride (MA). The dynamic mechanical analysis, tensile properties and pencil hardness were conducted on the obtained thermosetting films. It was revealed that with the increase of the content of MA, Tg values, the tensile strength and the pencil hardness of the films varied in the range from 63.3–109.2 °C, 12.8±0.8–22.7±1.2 MPa, and 4H to 6H, respectively. And the thermal stabilities and mechanical properties of these films could be adjusted simply by controlling molar ratios of MEAM to MA. Furthermore, the thermosetting films demonstrated comparable corrosion resistance to commercial epoxy methacrylic coating, and had good chemical resistance, adhesion and water boiling resistance. These results indicate that the prepared tung oil-derived thermosetting films are suitable to be applied as bio-based anticorrosion coatings.

The applications of natural polymeric flocculants due to their green feature has been recently received much more attention. In this work, the combined usages of a cationic starch-based coagulant and polyaluminum chloride (PACl) were extensively evaluated for various addition sequences in the coagulation of both raw (surface water from the Jiuxiang River) and synthetic turbid water (two kaolin suspensions with different initial turbidities). Two typical cationic starch-based coagulants with different structures (St-G and St-E) were tried. In comparison to St-G, St-E and PACl used individually as well as St-G and St-E dosed after PACl, the combination of the starch-based coagulants fed before PACl showed higher turbidity removal efficiency, which featured not only less optimal doses of both inorganic and organic coagulants but also lower residual turbidity. On the basis of a detailed analysis of the particle size and its distribution in solution supernatants before and after coagulation by two starch-based coagulants and PACl, polymeric coagulants preferentially coagulate the small-sized colloids due to their distinct long-chain structures, but PACl preferentially coagulates the medium-sized ones. Thus, the medium-sized particles that were previously formed by the starch-based coagulants would be collectively and effectively removed by the subsequent addition of PACl. The addition sequence of the inorganic and organic coagulants in their combined usage is an important factor for improvement of the turbidity removal efficiency in practice.

Hydrogen energy draws increasing concerns as a kind of renewable and clean energy. Liquid metal (LM) activated Al–H2O reaction is recently emerging as an alternative for real-time hydrogen production. In this study, the energy consumption and environmental impact of this newly emerging method are evaluated via the life cycle assessment (LCA), which indicates that the utilization of waste Al could significantly relieve the energy and environmental issues. In addition, conceptual experiments were conducted to verify the feasibility of hydrogen generation from waste Al, and to disclose the hydrogen generation performances of Al samples in different forms. To balance the cost of LM and reaction efficiency, the optimum mass ratio of LM to Al were explored, and the reusability of LM was demonstrated. Further, a SWOT analysis is adopted to interpret the Strengths and Weakness of such hydrogen production method, and to evaluate the Opportunities and Threats it confronts. Overall, waste Al could provide an energy-saving and environmentally friendly approach to produce hydrogen, which is expected to exploit a new way towards the green hydrogen era.

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is an antioxidant metalloenzyme that catalyzes the dismutation of the superoxide anion O2− to O2 and H2O2. Many studies have focused on the role of SOD in response to abiotic stress, but its role during biotic stress, such as changes in organismal population density, has rarely been investigated. The oriental armyworm, Mythimna separata, is an economically important pest that exhibits phenotypic changes in response to population density. Solitary and gregarious phases occur at low and high population density, respectively. To examine the role of SODs in response to population density stress, we cloned two genes encoding SOD, MsCuZnSOD and MsMnSOD, and compared their expression in solitary and gregarious phases of M. separata. The MsCuZnSOD and MsMnSOD ORFs were 480 and 651 bp and encoded predicted protein products of 159 and 216 amino acids, respectively. The two SODs contained motifs that are typical of orthologous proteins. Real-time PCR indicated that the two SOD genes were expressed throughout developmental stages and were significantly upregulated in more mature stages of gregarious M. separata. Expression of the two SOD genes in various tissues of sixth-instar larvae was higher in gregarious versus solitary insects. Furthermore, expression of the SOD genes was significantly upregulated in response to crowding in solitary individuals, but suppressed in gregarious insects subjected to isolation. Collectively, these results suggest that population density may be key factor in the induction of SOD genes in M. separata.

Utilization of chitosan as the host polymer of anion exchange membranes (AEMs) can avoid the carcinogenic chloromethylation step which is indispensable for aromatic polymers during their quaternization process. To further improve the ionic conductivity and mechanical stability, a hydroxide ion conductor (layered double hydroxides, LDHs) was intercalated by glycine betaine and then incorporated to quaternized chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol mixed matrix to prepare AEMs. Due to intercalated organic ions, the LDHs can be homogeneously dispersed in the matrix, thus promoting the load transfer from the matrix to stiff LDHs. The tensile strength and elongation of the composite membrane (5% intercalated LDHs content) are 23.6 MPa and 51.4% which are 71% and 44% respectively higher than those of the pure QCS/PVA membrane. Moreover, the hydroxide ion conductor (LDHs) and the intercalated quaternary ammonium groups could act as new OH- conductive sites and further enhance the ionic conductivity. The membrane with 5 wt.% intercalated LDHs loading shows ionic conductivity of ˜35.7 mS cm-1 (80 °C) and peak power density of 97.8 mW cm-2 which are respectively 42% and ˜50% higher than those of the pure membrane. Furthermore, better alkaline stability was also proved in the composite system, and the ionic conductivity of the composite membrane can retain 70% (only 49% for the pure membrane) even after immersing in a 1 M KOH for 168 h.

Iodo-3-oxa-perfluoroalkanesulfonyl fluorides (I(CF2CF2)n+1OCF2CF2SO2F, n = 0, 1, 2, 3) was functionalized by phenol to provide phenyl fluoroalkanesulfonate. The ATRA reaction of I(CF2CF2)n+1OCF2CF2SO3Ph with alkenes was realized by visible light phototcatalysis with Ru(ppy)3Cl2.

This paper is dedicated to experimentally investigate the liquid galinstan based minichannel cooling for high heat flux and large heat power thermal management. Firstly, a compact electromagnetic pump towards effectively driving liquid metals was developed, which can provide high pressure head up to 100 kPa. Then, the minichannel heat sink was designed and manufactured, with width of channel 1 mm, height of channel 5 mm. Furthermore, the galinstan based minichannel cooling system was established and experimentally tested under different heating loads and pumping powers. The results show that galinstan based minichannel cooling system can dissipate heat with heat flux 300 W/cm2 and heat power 1500 W. And the thermal performance and hydrodynamic characteristic of minichannel heat sink using galinstan as coolant were obtained. It indicates that compared to water based minichannel cooling, galinstan based minichannel cooling can obtain a rather larger heat transfer enhancement, and the pressure losses of galistan based minichannel heat sink is much lower than that of water based microchannel cooling. Moreover, it is also found that heat capacity thermal resistance becomes a rather important factor for the thermal performance of galinstan based minichannel, due to the high thermal conductivity and lower heat capacity of galinstan. Furthermore, the galinstan based minichannel cooling system can operate silently, steadily and smoothly by using electromagnetic pump, which has no moving parts. Overall, the galinstan based minichannel cooling is proven to be a powerful and practical way for the thermal management of high heat flux and large heat power devices.

Halon 1301 (bromotrifluoromethane) is a kind of important fire extinguishing agent in aviation industry. Volume concentration measurement of Halon 1301 is necessary in the design of aircraft fire protection systems. In this research, an open-path Halon 1301 non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensor has been developed for in-situ measurement, a novel cavity-type absorption module was designed to get fast response and more compact structure. Experiment results show that measurement was remarkably affected by temperature. Therefore, temperature compensation algorithm was also studied in this thesis, which was proven to be effective within the range of 25–105 °C.

Rapid solidification of radioactive wastes is one of the most effective methods to prevent the spreading of radioactive contamination after a nuclear emergency. In this study, magnesium phosphate cement (MPC) was used as matrix to rapidly solidify denitrated high-level liquid wastes (HLLW). The compressive strengths and leaching rates of the samples were studied to evaluate the performance of the solidification forms. Further, XRD, SEM, and EDS were used to measure phase compositions, microstructures, and microscopic chemical compositions, respectively, of the as-prepared samples. Moreover, the solidification mechanism of simulated radioactive ions in phosphate cement is discussed in this paper. According to the results, the compressive strength of the solidified forms was affected by the actual mass ratio of dead-burned magnesia (MgO) powders to potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH2PO4) (M/P) and unreacted KH2PO4; with up to 50 wt% HLLW content, 4.2 MPa and 13.2 MPa can be achieved for an M/P ratio of 1 after 3 h and one day, respectively. The leaching rates of Sr2+ and Cs+ for the solidified forms were below 10−7 g/m2/d and 10−4 g/m2/d, respectively. The immobilization of radioactive ions via an MPC paste is not only due to chemical immobilization, but also due to the physical encapsulation offered by the dense structure of the MPC. The cement offers sufficient strength in a short time for the temporary storage and transportation of the solidified forms.

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) containing salt impurity provide a new idea for carbon material design. Presently, Mg–MOF/MgCl2 hybrid polycrystallines with different morphologies are solvothermall...

Room-temperature white phosphorescence with a quantum yield (QY) of 35.6% and a CIE coordinate of (0.33, 0.37) is observed for Cl-α, the crystal of cyclic Cu3(4-chloropyrazolate)3. Its white light consists of comparably uncommon monomeric blue and common excimeric yellow phosphorescence associated with Cu3(pyrazolate)3, achieved by multiple non-covalent interactions involving chlorine.