Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal and ritual plants utilized by the indigenous communities of Benguet province, Philippines.

Background: The Sto. Niño site in Benguet province, Philippines was once a mining area that has now been transformed into an agricultural land. In this area, there has been significant integration of the three indigenous people (IPs) Ibaloi, Kankanaeys and Kalanguyas with the Ilocano community.

Elemental distribution and source analysis of atmospheric aerosols from Meycauayan, Bulacan, Philippines.

One of the industrialized cities in the Philippines is Meycauayan, Bulacan. This study reports the elemental distribution and source apportionment in eight varying land cover-land use type sampling points located along the Marilao-Meycauayan- Obando Rivers System. Elemental analysis was conducted using a scanning electron microscope coupled with energy dispersive x-ray.

Hybrid composite of Nafion with surface-modified electrospun polybenzoxazine (PBz) fibers ozonation as fillers for proton conducting membranes of fuel cells.

Nafion was investigated for its compatibility in the preparation of hybrid composites with electrospun Polybenzoxazine (PBz) surface-modified fibers by evaluating the effects on the surface and structure of the composite. A PBz fiber mat was first crosslinked by thermal treatment after electrospinning to enhance the mechanical integrity of the fibers prior to modification. Further surface modification free radical ozonation was carried out by potentiating oxygen-based functional groups of hydroxyl radicals (-OH) onto fibers' exposed surfaces.

Effect on thermal stability of microstructure and morphology of thermally-modified electrospun fibers of polybenzoxazines (PBz) blended with sulfur copolymers (SDIB).

Simple modification by thermal treatment is the commonly used approach to enhance the performance of electrospun fibers. This was investigated in the thermal treatment of polybenzoxazine (PBz) fibers blended with sulfur copolymers (SDIB) to determine the effect of varying treatment conditions on the microstructure and morphology of PBz fibers with the effect of incorporating sulfur functional groups on resulting properties. Mechanical properties of PBz are greatly improved by thermally-induced ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of the oxazine ring.

Characteristics and Performance of PTU-Cu Composite Membrane Fabricated through Simultaneous Complexation and Non-Solvent Induced Phase Separation.

This study aims to integrate copper (Cu) during membrane formation by a facile simultaneous phase separation process to alleviate biofouling and improve membrane performance. Polythiourea (PTU) polymer synthesized through condensation polymerization of 4,4-oxydianiline and p-phenylene diisothiocyanate in dimethyl sulfoxide was used in the preparation of dope solution. By incorporating different concentrations of cupric acetate in the non-solvent bath, both non-solvent induced phase separation and complexation induced phase separation occur instantaneously.

Effect of a direct sulfonation reaction on the functional properties of thermally-crosslinked electrospun polybenzoxazine (PBz) nanofibers.

Electrospun nanofibers of polybenzoxazines (PBzs) were fabricated using an electrospinning process and crosslinked by a sequential thermal treatment. Functionalization by the direct sulfonation process followed after the post-electrospinning modification treatment. The first stage of experiment determined the effects of varying the concentration of sulfuric acid as the sulfonating agent in the sulfonation reaction under ordinary conditions.

A Sulfur Copolymers (SDIB)/Polybenzoxazines (PBz) Polymer Blend for Electrospinning of Nanofibers.

This study demonstrated the processability of sulfur copolymers (SDIB) into polymer blend with polybenzoxazines (PBz) and their compatibility with the electrospinning process. Synthesis of SDIB was conducted via inverse vulcanization using elemental sulfur (S). Polymer blends produced by simply mixing with varying concentration of SDIB (5 and 10 wt%) and fixed concentration of PBz (10 wt%) exhibited homogeneity and a single-phase structure capable of forming nanofibers.

Dye/water separation through supported liquid membrane extraction.

The separation of synthetic dye Rhodamine 6G (R6G) and water was investigated using blended organic liquids in a supported liquid membrane (SLM) extraction system. Liquid membrane (LM) components include octyl alcohol (OcOH) as the dye extractant and a polysiloxane liquid as the stabilizing agent. Initial permeation results revealed the suitability of poly (phenyl methyl) siloxane (PPMS) over poly (octyl methyl) siloxane as the blending agent.