Advanced magnetic nanospheres for oil pollutant management: Dual roles in emulsification and demulsification.

Environmental contamination from oil spills and industrial oily wastewater poses significant ecological risks due to the persistence of harmful organic compounds. To address these challenges, magnetic composite nanospheres (CMNP@CHPEI) are systematically developed, with carboxylated FeO nanoparticles (CMNP) as the core and amphiphilic hyperbranched polyethyleneimine (CHPEI) as the decorated shell. These novel nanospheres combine the controllable size and magnetic responsiveness of "hard" magnetic nanomaterials with the structural complexity and functional diversity of "soft" hyperbranched polymers.

Advancing oil-water separation: Design and efficiency of amphiphilic hyperbranched demulsifiers.

Hypothesis: An innovative strategy for designing high-performance demulsifiers is proposed. It hypothesizes that integrating mesoscopic molecular simulations with macroscopic physicochemical experiments can enhance the understanding and effectiveness of demulsifiers. Specifically, it is suggested that amphiphilic hyperbranched polyethyleneimine (CHPEI) could act as an efficient demulsifier in oil-water systems, with its performance influenced by its adsorption behaviors at the oil-water interface and its ability to disrupt asphaltene-resin aggregates.

Compound heterozygous CFTR variants (Q1352H and 5T; TG13) in a Chinese patient with cystic fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive inherited disease caused by variants of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulation (CFTR) gene. This report presents a case of a Chinese boy diagnosed with CF, attributed to the presence of two specific CFTR gene variations: 4056G > C (NM_000492.4) (p.

Detection of cell-type-enriched long noncoding RNAs in atherosclerosis using single-cell techniques: A brief review.

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Atherosclerotic plaque underlies the predominant factors and is composed of various cell types, including structure cells, such as endothelial and smooth muscle cells, and immune cells, such as macrophages and T cells. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has been extensively applied to decipher these cellular heterogeneities to expand our understanding on the mechanisms of atherosclerosis (AS) and to facilitate identifying cell-type-specific long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs).

PdAgPt Corner-Satellite Nanocrystals in Well-Controlled Morphologies and the Structure-Related Electrocatalytic Properties.

The functions of heterogeneous metallic nanocrystals (HMNCs) can be undoubtedly tuned by controlling their morphologies and compositions. As a less-studied kind of HMNCs, corner-satellite multi-metallic nanocrystals (CSMNCs) have great research value in structure-related electrocatalytic performance. In this work, PdAgPt corner-satellite nanocrystals with well-controlled morphologies and compositions have been developed by temperature regulation of a seed-mediated growth process.

Paving the road toward the use of β-FeO in solar water splitting: Raman identification, phase transformation and strategies for phase stabilization.

Although β-FeO has a high theoretical solar-to-hydrogen efficiency because of its narrow band gap, the study of β-FeO photoanodes for water splitting is elusive as a result of their metastable nature. Raman identification of β-FeO is theoretically and experimentally investigated in this study for the first time, thus clarifying the debate about its Raman spectrum in the literature. Phase transformation of β-FeO to α-FeO was found to potentially take place under laser and electron irradiation as well as annealing.

Stable Lithium Metal Anode Enabled by a Lithiophilic and Electron/Ion Conductive Framework.

Li metal anode has been considered as the ideal anode for next-generation batteries due to its ultrahigh capacity and lowest electrochemical potential. However, its practical application is still impeded by low Coulombic efficiency, huge volume change, and safety hazards arising from Li dendrite growth. In this work, a three-dimensional (3D) structured highly stable Li metal anode is designed and easily preapred.

New Strategy for High-Performance Integrated Catalysts for Cracking Hydrocarbon Fuels.

In this study, we described the synthesis, characterization, and application of hyperbranched polymer-encapsulated metal nanoparticles (HEMNs) as integrated catalysts for the supercritical cracking of hydrocarbon fuels. The metal precursor was extracted into the organic phase using a hydrocarbon-soluble hyperbranched poly(amidoamine) (CPAMAM) and then reduced in situ by NaBH to produce HEMNs with virtually a single-size distribution. The monitoring of the preparation process by UV-vis demonstrated the feasibility of this encapsulation approach, and the successful synthesis of three different types of HEMNs, metal (Pd, Pt, Au)@CPAMAM, reflected the universality of this method.

Phenotypes of the inflammatory cells in the induced sputum from young children or infants with recurrent wheezing.

Background: To identify inflammatory cell types by phenotypic analysis of the inflammatory cells in the induced sputum.

Methods: This retrospective study included 1232 children and infants, who were assigned into mild/moderate groups (326) and severe group (602) by clinical symptom scores. Phenotypes of sputum inflammatory cells were analyzed using liquid-based thin-cytologic test and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) was quantified by ELISA.

A high performance lithium-ion-sulfur battery with a free-standing carbon matrix supported Li-rich alloy anode.

Although the lithium-sulfur battery exhibits high capacity and energy density, the cycling performance is severely retarded by dendrite formation and side-reactions of the lithium metal anode and the shuttle effect of polysulfides. Therefore, exploring lithium rich-alloy (or compound) anodes and suppressing the shuttling of polysulfides have become practical technical challenges for the commercialization of lithium-sulfur batteries. Here, a lithium ion sulfur full battery system combining a lithium-rich Li-Si alloy anode and sulfurized polyacrylonitrile (S@pPAN) cathode has been proposed.

Effects of Chelating Agents and Salts on Interfacial Properties and Lipid Oxidation in Oil-in-Water Emulsions.

The effects of chelating agents and salts on the interfacial characteristics and oxidative stability of oil-in-water emulsions containing an endogenous concentration of metal ions were investigated. Emulsions were fabricated by high-pressure homogenization of 10% oil phase (sacha inchi oil) and 90% aqueous phase (1% Tween 60 in phosphate buffer solution, pH 7, 50 mM). The oxidative stability of the emulsions was characterized by measuring peroxide values and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances throughout storage.

Exploring facile strategies for high-oxidation-state metal nitride synthesis: carbonate-assisted one-step synthesis of TaN films for solar water splitting.

Metal nitrides are widely studied due to their outstanding physical properties, including high hardness, high thermal and chemical stability, low electrical resistivity etc. Generally, metal nitrides can be obtained from the direct reaction of metal and ammonia/nitrogen. However, some of the metal nitrides, such as TaN, cannot be synthesized by direct nitridation of metals.

Influence of Reduction Kinetics on the Preparation of Well-Defined Cubic Palladium Nanocrystals.

A facile synthesis strategy has been developed to synthesize palladium nanocubes with tunable size and well-controlled morphology. Through adjusting the dosages of acetate species (KOAc, NHOAc, and HOAc), the sizes of well-defined Pd nanocubes are tuned. The reduction of Pd precursors, a first-order reaction, is influenceable by acetate species, and a quantitative relationship between cubic width and apparent reduction rate constant, which has been found to be an effective parameter to describe the growth process of Pd nanocubes, has been uncovered.

A new ether-based electrolyte for lithium sulfur batteries using a S@pPAN cathode.

A new electrolyte composed of 4 M LiFSI in dibutyl ether (DBE) is proposed for Li-S batteries. Dissolution of lithium polysulfides is definitely inhibited by DBE. More impressively, the electrolyte ensures a high Coulombic efficiency for Li deposition/stripping (∼99.

Improved charge separation efficiency of hematite photoanodes by coating an ultrathin p-type LaFeO overlayer.

Many metal-oxide candidates for photoelectrochemical water splitting exhibit localized small polaron carrier conduction. Especially hematite (α-FeO) photoanodes often suffer from low carrier mobility, which causes the serious bulk electron-hole recombination and greatly limits their PEC performances. In this study, the charge separation efficiency of hematite was enhanced greatly by coating an ultrathin p-type LaFeO overlayer.

Modified Hyperbranched Polyglycerol as Dispersant for Size Control and Stabilization of Gold Nanoparticles in Hydrocarbons.

Hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG) is modified with dodecanethiol (DS) via the "thiol-ene" click reaction to obtain an amphiphilic product DSHPG. The molecular structures of DSHPG samples are characterized by NMR, FTIR, and GPC, and the thermal behaviors are characterized by DSC and TGA. Gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) are prepared with DSHPG as the stabilizer and surface-modification reagent.

A beta-FeO nanoparticle-assembled film for photoelectrochemical water splitting.

Since FeO is a promising photoanode material for water splitting, it has attracted much attention, while other phases of ferric oxide are ignored. Here, β-FeO was used as a photoanode material for solar water splitting. The crystal structure and phase of β-FeO were characterized by using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman scattering, Mössbauer spectra and a superconducting quantum interference device.

Novel Guanidinium-Based Ionic Liquids for Highly Efficient SO2 Capture.

The application of ionic liquids (ILs) for acidic gas absorption has long been an interesting and challenging issue. In this work, the ethyl sulfate ([C2OSO3](-)) anion has been introduced into the structure of guanidinium-based ILs to form two novel low-cost ethyl sulfate ILs, namely 2-ethyl-1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidinium ethyl sulfate ([C2(2)(C1)2(C1)2(3)gu][C2OSO3]) and 2,2-diethyl-1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidinium ethyl sulfate ([(C2)2(2)(C1)2(C1)2(3)gu][C2OSO3]). The ethyl sulfate ILs, together with 2-ethyl-1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([C2(2)(C1)2(C1)2(3)gu][NTf2]) and 2,2-diethyl-1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([(C2)2(2)(C1)2(C1)2(3)gu][NTf2]), are employed to evaluate the SO2 absorption and desorption performance.

A study of the relationship between the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and the gastrointestinal development of rat embryonic and perinatal periods.

The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway plays a critical role in directing cell fate during the embryonic development of animals and humans. To investigate the effects of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway on gastrointestinal development and differentiation, we studied the expression pattern of β-catenin, a key component of the pathway, in the gastrointestinal tissues of embryonic and perinatal rats. Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the expression levels of β-catenin in Sprague Dawley (SD) rat embryos at days 13, 18 and 21 and in SD rats at 1, 3, 7 and 28 days of age.

A novel electrolyte system without a Grignard reagent for rechargeable magnesium batteries.

A new phenolate-based magnesium ion conducting electrolyte is prepared. The electrolyte exhibits air insensitive character and excellent electrochemical performances which make it highly promising for advanced rechargeable Mg battery systems.

Study on volatility and flash point of the pseudo-binary mixtures of sunflowerseed-based biodiesel+ethanol.

Volatility and flash point for the pseudo-binary mixtures of sunflower seed-based biodiesel+ethanol were measured over the entire composition range. The biodiesel was prepared by the transesterification of sunflower seed oil in supercritical methanol without using any catalyst. The vapor pressures of mixtures of biodiesel+ethanol as a function of temperature were measured by comparative ebulliometry with an inclined ebulliometer.

Effects of dimethyl or diethyl carbonate as an additive on volatility and flash point of an aviation fuel.

Vapor pressures and flash points for several mixtures of an aviation fuel with dimethyl carbonate (DMC) or diethyl carbonate (DEC) have been measured, respectively, over the entire composition range. Correlation between the experimental vapor pressures and the equilibrium temperatures by the Antoine equation is performed for each mixture. The bubble-point lines of pressure versus composition at different temperatures and those of temperature versus composition at different pressures are then obtained from the Antoine correlations.

Characterization of cellulose acetate micropore membrane immobilized acylase I.

This paper describes an innovative method for the immobilization of acylase I, which was entrapped into the CA-CTA micropore membrane. The most suitable casting solutions proportion for immobilizing the enzyme was obtained through orthogonal experiment. Properties of the enzyme membrane were investigated and compared with those of free enzyme and blank membrane.