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In this paper, a novel thermal condensation method was developed for preparing mesoporous g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 composite by using PAA-Ti/TiO 2 and melamine as co-precursors. This method can not only ensure the incorporation of TiO 2 nanoparticles into g-C 3 N 4 matrix but also lead to the formation of mesoporous structures. In the heating process, polyacrylate (PAA) in the PAA-Ti/TiO 2 composites can volatilize to produce carbonous gases and its volatilization temperature falls into the temperature range for melamine condensation, which makes PAA-Ti/TiO 2 a suitable pore-forming agent for fabricating mesoporous g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 . The largest surface area for the fabricated mesoporous g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 was found to be 268 m 2 g −1 , which was approximately 7 or 12 times higher than that of TiO 2 or g-C 3 N 4 . The mesoporous g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 composite exhibited excellent reproducibility and good performance in the photocatalytic decomposition of dinitro butyl phenol (DNBP) under visible-light illumination. The enhanced photocatalytic efficiency can be attributed to the synergetic effects of large surface area and the formation of heterojunction interface between g-C 3 N 4 and TiO 2 .

In this paper, we describe a simple and novel approach for preparing tunable carbon-modified mesoporous TiO2 photocatalysts by combining the in-situ carbonization of PAA-Ti/TiO2, hydrothermal reaction process and post-calcination treatment. The synthesized carbon-modified mesoporous TiO2 powders were of high crystallinity, large specific surface area and good visible light response. The carbon species were formed by the carbonization of polyacrylate (PAA). The presence of carbonates was subsequently confirmed by the XPS spectra, which significantly narrow down the band gap of TiO2. The organic group in polyacrylate served as the carbon source and carbon resulted from in-situ carbonization treatment could help to inhibit the excessive growth of TiO2 grain and enlarge the pore structure of TiO2. The amount of carbon species could be feasibly modulated by adjusting the post-calcination temperature and the surface area of the photocatalyst was enlarged further after the partial removal of carbon species. The carbon-modified mesoporous TiO2 powders exhibit excellent reproducibility and photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation.

Highly selective enrichment of trace phosphorylated proteins or peptides from complex biological samples is of profound significance for the discovery of disease biomarkers in biological systems. In this study, a novel affinity material has been synthesized to improve the enrichment specificity for phosphopeptides by using PAAS as coupling molecule. In the resulting materials, highly abundant titanium is available for selective enrichment of phosphopeptides, with plenty of carboxylate groups that can inhibit nonspecific adsorption. The enrichment results demonstrated that the hydrophilic PAA-Ti/TiO2 composite possesses excellent selectivity for phosphopeptides even at a very low molar ratio of phosphopeptides/non-phosphopeptides (1:1000), extreme sensitivity (the detection limit was at the fmol level), and high recovery of phosphopeptides (as high as 78%). Moreover, the as-prepared nanocomposite provides effective enrichment of phosphopeptides from real samples (mouse liver), showing great potential in the detection of low-abundance phosphopeptides in biological samples.

A ternary composite of TiO2 and a SiO2-Al2O3 aerogel with good photocatalytic activity was prepared by a simple sol-gel method with TiO2 nanoparticles and SiO2-Al2O3 aerogels derived from industrial fly ash. The structural features of the TiO2/SiO2-Al2O3 aerogel composite were investigated by X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, gas adsorption measurements and diffuse reflectance UV-visible spectroscopy. The optimal conditions for photocatalytic degradation of 2-sec-butyl-4,6-dinitrophenol (DNBP), included an initial DNBP concentration of 0.167 mmol/L at pH = 4.86 with a catalyst concentration of 6 g/L, under visible light irradiation for 5 h. A plausible mechanism is proposed for the photocatalytic degradation of DNBP. Our composite showed higher photocatalytic activity for DNBP degradation than that of pure TiO2. This indicates that this material can serve as an efficient photocatalyst for degradation of hazardous organic pollutants in wastewater.

The mesoporous MCM-41@mTiO 2 core-shell composite microspheres were synthesized successfully by combining sol-gel and simple hydrothermal treatment. The morphology and microstructure characteristics of the synthesized materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N 2 adsorption-desorption measurements, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra (UV–vis/DRS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The results indicate that the composite material possesses obvious core/shell structure, a pure mesoporous and well-crystallized TiO 2 layer (mTiO 2 ), high specific surface area (316.8 m 2 /g), large pore volume (0.42 cm 3 /g) and two different pore sizes (2.6 nm and 11.0 nm). The photocatalytic activity of the novel MCM-41@mTiO 2 composite was evaluated by degrading 2- sec -butyl-4,6-dinitrophenol (DNBP) in aqueous suspension under UV and visible light irradiation. The results were compared with commercial anatase TiO 2 and Degussa P25 and the enhanced degradation were obtained with the synthesized MCM-41@mTiO 2 composite under the same conditions, which meant that this material can serve as an efficient photocatalyst for the degradation of hazardous organic pollutants in wastewaters.

In this work, a ternary magnetic composite of Fe3O4@TiO2/SiO2 aerogel with good photocatalytic activity was prepared successfully by combining sol–gel and simple hydrothermal methods with Fe3O4@TiO2 core–shell microspheres and SiO2 aerogels from industrial fly ash as starting materials. The structural and magnetic features of the as-obtained Fe3O4@TiO2/SiO2 aerogel composite were investigated by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N2 adsorption–desorption measurements, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra (UV–vis/DRS) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The results showed that Fe3O4@TiO2 core–shell microspheres were dispersed on the surface of SiO2 aerogels. The Fe3O4@TiO2/SiO2 aerogel composite material possessed excellent magnetic properties at room temperature, high adsorption capacity to organic pollutants, enhanced charge separation efficiency and strong light absorption in the visible region. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared Fe3O4@TiO2/SiO2 aerogel for Rhodamine B degradation under visible light irradiation was systematically investigated by varying the operational parameters such as pH value, catalyst concentration, irradiation time, and initial substrate concentration, etc. The photocatalytic reactions obeyed pseudo-first-order kinetics according to Langmuir–Hinshelwood model. The repeatability of photocatalytic activity was also tested. Compared to pure TiO2 and Fe3O4@TiO2 core–shell microspheres, the ternary composite of Fe3O4@TiO2/SiO2 aerogel showed higher photocatalytic activity for Rhodamine B degradation, which meant that this material can serve as an efficient and recyclable multifunctional photocatalyst for the degradation of hazardous organic dyes in wastewater.

Highly selective enrichment of trace phosphorylated proteins or peptides from complex biological samples is of profound significance for the discovery of disease biomarkers in biological systems. In this study, a novel affinity material has been synthesized to improve the enrichment specificity for phosphopeptides by using PAAS as coupling molecule. In the resulting materials, highly abundant titanium is available for selective enrichment of phosphopeptides, with plenty of carboxylate groups that can inhibit nonspecific adsorption. The enrichment results demonstrated that the hydrophilic PAA-Ti/TiO

Background Dexmedetomidine in combination with opioids has been used for postoperative analgesia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impacts of dexmedetomidine supplemented intravenous analgesia on morphine consumption and subjective sleep quality in elderly patients after open abdominal surgery. Methods This was a pilot randomized controlled trial. 58 elderly patients (age ≥ 60 years) who underwent open abdominal surgery were randomized to receive either dexmedetomidine supplemented morphine analgesia (0.5 mg/ml morphine plus 2 μg/ml dexmedetomidine in 100 ml normal saline, DEX group) or morphine analgesia (0.5 mg/ml morphine in 100 ml normal saline, CTRL group) for 72 hours after surgery. Patient-controlled analgesia pump was programmed to deliver a 2ml bolus with a lockout interval of 8 minutes and a background infusion at a rate of 1 ml/h. The primary endpoint was 72-hour morphine consumption. Secondary endpoints included pain intensity, subjective sleep quality, and 30-day complications and mortality after surgery. Results The 72-hour morphine consumption was lower in the DEX group than in the CTRL group (median 39.0 mg [interquartile range 37.3, 41.0] in the DEX group vs. 49.0 mg [45.5, 50.0] in the CTRL group; median difference -9.0 mg [95% CI -10.0, -6.0], P < 0.001). The intensity of pain within 48 hours was lower (P

To observe the morphology and function changes of cochlear hair cells before and after math1 gene injection into the cochlea of deaf guinea pigs which were induced by kanamycin and furosemide. To explore the feasibility of Math1 gene for medicine-induced deafness therapy.Kanamycin (500 mg/kg) and furosemide (50 mg/kg) were given to the healthy adult guinea pigs intramuscularly and intravenously to establish the deafness model. The guinea pigs whose auditory brainstem response (ABR) threshold95 dB SPL were randomly divided into five groups. Blank control group (without any treatment, n = 3), operation control group (right ear scala tympani operation, n = 3), artificial perilymph group (right ear scala tympani injection artificial perilymph, n = 3), virus vector group [right ear scala tympani injection adenovirus which carrying enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene (Ad. EGFP) , n = 4], Math1 gene therapy group [right ear scala tympani injection adenovirus which carrying Math1 and EGFP gene (Ad. Math1-EGFP), n = 6]. Each animal received ABR test before and after injection. The cochlear tissue was observed by scanning electronic microscopy.The ABR thresholds of tone burst( 4, 8, 16, 20 kHz ) were not statistically significant in different groups (P0.05). The number of hair cells increased in some of severe deaf guinea pigs after the injection of Ad. Math1-EGFP gene. However, there was no obvious difference with morphology and numbers of cochlea hair cells in other groups.The injection of Math1 gene to cochlea can regenerate or repair the hair cells of medicine-induced deaf guinea pigs, but there was no improvement on the hearing loss.