Hollow Mesoporous Silica Supported Ruthenium Nanoparticles: A Highly Active and Reusable Catalyst for H 2

Ru nanoparticles supported on hollow mesoporous silica (HMS), which are prepared via in situ wet chemical reduction, have been investigated as the highly efficient heterogeneous catalyst for H2 generation from the hydrolysis of an alkaline NaBH4 solution. Many techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), are used to characterize the as-prepared nanocatalyst (Ru/HMS). Factors, such as Ru loadings in HMS, catalyst concentration, and solution temperature, on catalytic property and reutilization are investigated in this work. A rate of H2 generation as high as 18.6 L min−1 g−1 (Ru) using 1 wt% NaBH4 solution containing 3 wt% NaOH and 40 mg of Ru/HMS catalyst can be reached at room temperature. The minimum apparent activation energy (Ea) of H2 generation, obtained by fitting the curve of Ea values versus catalyst amount, is determined to be 46.7 ± 1 kJ/mol. The residual catalytic activity of the repeated Ru/HMS still remains 47.7% after 15 runs, which perhaps results from the incorporation of the residual by-product (NaBO2) in the pores of HMS based on the analysis of XPS

Recent Progress on Nanostructures for Drug Delivery Applications

With the rapid development of nanotechnology, the convergence of nanostructures and drug delivery has become a research hotspot in recent years. Due to their unique and superior properties, various nanostructures, especially those fabricated from self-assembly, are able to significantly increase the solubility of poorly soluble drugs, reduce cytotoxicity toward normal tissues, and improve therapeutic efficacy. Nanostructures have been successfully applied in the delivery of diverse drugs, such as small molecules, peptides, proteins, and nucleic acids. In this paper, the driving forces for the self-assembly of nanostructures are introduced. The strategies of drug delivery by nanostructures are briefly discussed. Furthermore, the emphasis is put on a variety of nanostructures fabricated from various building materials, mainly liposomes, polymers, ceramics, metal, peptides, nucleic acids, and even drugs themselves

Recent Progress on Nanostructures for Drug Delivery Applications

With the rapid development of nanotechnology, the convergence of nanostructures and drug delivery has become a research hotspot in recent years. Due to their unique and superior properties, various nanostructures, especially those fabricated from self-assembly, are able to significantly increase the solubility of poorly soluble drugs, reduce cytotoxicity toward normal tissues, and improve therapeutic efficacy. Nanostructures have been successfully applied in the delivery of diverse drugs, such as small molecules, peptides, proteins, and nucleic acids. In this paper, the driving forces for the self-assembly of nanostructures are introduced. The strategies of drug delivery by nanostructures are briefly discussed. Furthermore, the emphasis is put on a variety of nanostructures fabricated from various building materials, mainly liposomes, polymers, ceramics, metal, peptides, nucleic acids, and even drugs themselves

Magnetically Separable MoS2/Fe3O4/nZVI Nanocomposites for the Treatment of Wastewater Containing Cr(VI) and 4-Chlorophenol

With a large specific surface area, high reactivity, and excellent adsorption properties, nano zerovalent iron (nZVI) can degrade a wide variety of contaminants in wastewater. However, aggregation, oxidation, and separation issues greatly impede its wide application. In this study, MoS2/Fe3O4/nZVI nanocomposites were successfully synthesized by a facile step-by-step approach to overcome these problems. MoS2 nanosheets (MNs) acted as an efficient support for nZVI and enriched the organic pollutants nearby, leading to an enhanced removal efficiency. Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) could not only suppress the agglomeration and restacking of MNs, but also facilitate easy separation and recovery of the nanocomposites. The synergistic effect between MNs and Fe3O4 NPs effectively enhanced the reactivity and efficiency of nZVI. In the system, Cr(VI) was reduced to Cr(III) by nZVI in the nanocomposites, and Fe2+ produced in the process was combined with H2O2 to further remove 4-Chlorophenol (4-CP) through a Fenton reaction. Furthermore, the nanocomposites could be easily separated from wastewater by a magnet and be reused for at least five consecutive runs, revealing good reusability. The results demonstrate that the novel nanocomposites are highly efficient and promising for the simultaneous removal of Cr(VI) and 4-CP in wastewater

The significance of Th1,Th2,Th17and treg cells in the prediction and evaluation of ulcerative colitis

Objective This study aimed to investigate clinical significance of Th1, Th2, Th17 and Tregs proportions in predicting and evaluating UC. Methods A total of 101 UC patients diagnosed by the Department of Gastroenterology of the Shanxi Provincial People’s Hospital were recruited. This is a retrospective study. The proportions of Th1, Th2, Th17 and Tregs in the peripheral blood were detected by flow cytometry. Results The proportions of Th1, Th2 and Th17 cell in UC patients were higher than healthy controls ( p 0.900 in predicting UC ( p < 0.001), with the cut off values being 15.25%, 4.885 and 0.425, respectively. In addition, Th1, Th17, Treg, Th17/Treg, Th2/Treg, Th1/Treg and Th17/Treg were statistically significant among the mild to severe group ( p < 0.05). The percentage of Treg cells was negatively correlated with Mayo Score, while the percentages of Th17 cell, Th17/Treg, Th1/Treg, Th2/Treg were positively correlated with Mayo score ( p < 0.05). Notably, Th17/Treg was closely related to Mayo score (r = 0.513, p < 0.001). Conclusions The dysregulation of Th1, Th2, Th17 and Tregs is a significant phenomena of immune disorder in UC, and these auxiliary indicators correlate with increased disease severity. The analysis of Th1, Th2, Th17 and Tregs possesses certain clinical significance in the prediction and evaluation of UC

An Overview of Nanomaterials for Water and Wastewater Treatment

Due to the exceptional characteristics which resulted from nanoscale size, such as improved catalysis and adsorption properties as well as high reactivity, nanomaterials have been the subject of active research and development worldwide in recent years. Numerous studies have shown that nanomaterials can effectively remove various pollutants in water and thus have been successfully applied in water and wastewater treatment. In this paper, the most extensively studied nanomaterials, zero-valent metal nanoparticles (Ag, Fe, and Zn), metal oxide nanoparticles (TiO2, ZnO, and iron oxides), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and nanocomposites are discussed and highlighted in detail. Besides, future aspects of nanomaterials in water and wastewater treatment are discussed

Highly Efficient and Reusable Montmorillonite/Fe3O4/Humic Acid Nanocomposites for Simultaneous Removal of Cr(VI) and Aniline

Recyclable nanomaterials are in great need to develop clean technology for applications in the removal of water contaminants. In this work, easily separable montmorillonite/Fe3O4/humic acid (MFH) nanocomposites were fabricated through a facile hydrothermal route. It was found the adsorption ability and stability of MFH was significantly enhanced due to the synergistic effects between montmorillonite, Fe3O4 nanoparticles and humic acid. The MFH nanocomposites are highly efficient and recyclable as they can remove at least 82.3% of Cr(VI) and 95.1% of aniline in six consecutive runs. The adsorption mechanism was investigated by analyzing the kinetic parameters of pseudo first-order, pseudo second-order, and intraparticle diffusion models and describing the equilibrium isotherms of Langmuir and Freundlich models. Results indicated different adsorption mechanisms of Cr(VI) and aniline by MFH. The readily synthesized MFH nanocomposites can act as effective and practical materials for environmental applications

Interfacial growth of N,S-codoped mesoporous carbon onto biomass-derived carbon for superior potassium-ion storage

Carbonaceous materials have been recognized as one of the most promising anode materials for potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) due to their abundant raw materials, controllable structure, superior conductivity, and good chemical inertness. However, the large radius of K ions and the low potassium content of intercalation compounds result in the sluggish storage kinetics and low reversible capacity of carbon anodes. In this work, we present a unique heteroatom-doped carbon composite (denoted as NS-MC/SC) through a facile interfacial assembly route and simple heat-treatment process, where NS-MC is well grafted onto the biomass-derived spore carbon (SC). This unique structural design endows it with abundant mesoporous channels, expanded layer spacing, and highly doped N and S. With these merits, the NS-MC/SC anode in PIBs exhibits a high reversible capacity of 350.4 mAhg−1 at 100 mAg−1 after 300 cycles, and an outstanding cycling stability. Besides, in-situ Raman spectra further verify the high reversibility of K ions insertion/extraction. Importantly, theoretical simulations also reveal that the N,S dual-doping is an efficient approach for improving the potassium-ion storage performance of NS-MC/SC. [Figure not available: see fulltext.].</p

Geometric morphometric methods for identification of oyster species based on morphology

Both genetic and environmental factors affect the morphology of oysters. Molecular identification is currently the primary means of species identification, but it is inconvenient and costly. In this research, we evaluated the effectiveness of geometric morphometric (GM) techniques in distinguishing between two oyster species, Crassostrea gigas and C. ariakensis. We used traditional morphometric and GM methods, including principal component analysis (PCA), thin-plate spline analysis (TPS) and canonical variable analysis (CVA), to identify specific features that distinguish the two species. We found that differences in shape can be visualised using GM methods. The Procrustes analysis revealed significant differences in shell morphology between C. gigas and C. ariakensis. The shells of C. ariakensis are more prominent at the widest point and are more scattered and have a greater variety of shapes. The shells of C. gigas are more oval in shape. PCA results indicated that PC1 explained 45.22%, PC2 explained 22.09% and PC3 explained 10.98% of the variation between the two species, which suggests that the main morphological differences are concentrated in these three principal components. Combining the TPS analysis function plots showed that the shell shape of C. ariakensis is mainly elongated and spindle-shaped, whereas the shell shape of C. gigas is more oval. The CVA results showed that the classification rate for the two species reached 100% which means that C. ariakensis and C. gigas have distinct differences in shell morphology and can be completely separated, based on morphological characteristics. Through these methods, a more comprehensive understanding of the morphological characteristics of different oyster populations can be obtained, providing a reference for oyster classification and identification