Relationship of widowhood with pulse pressure, fasting blood glucose, and mental health in older adults: a propensity matching score analysis.

Background: Transitioning from marriage to widowhood presents inevitable and significant challenges for many older adults. This study explored the impact of widowhood on a range of mental health outcomes, including pulse pressure and fasting blood glucose levels, among older adults in nursing homes.

Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized cluster random sampling to recruit participants, with data analyzed from 388 older Chinese adults.

Molecular oxygen-assisted in defect-rich ZnO for catalytic depolymerization of polyethylene terephthalate.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is the most produced polyester plastic; its waste has a disruptive impact on the environment and ecosystem. Here, we report a catalytic depolymerization of PET into bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET) using molecule oxygen (O)assisted in defect-rich ZnO. At air, the PET conversion rate, the BHET yield, and the space-time yield are 3.

Enhanced denitrification using high-molecular-weight poly(lactic acid) blended with lactide as an effective carbon source.

The utilization of wasted Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) as low-cost carbon sources in solid-phase denitrification is hindered by its low biodegradability, which can be attributed to its high molecular weight. This study presents a new approach by blending high-molecular-weight PLA with a small amount of ʟ-lactide (PLA/LA) to treat nitrate-contaminated wastewater. The addition of ʟ-lactide enhanced the release of carbon from high-molecular-weight PLA.

Oxygen Vacancy Promoted Generation of Monatomic Oxygen Anion over Ni -Doped MgO for Efficient Glycolysis of Waste PET.

Developing efficient and eco-friendly catalysts for selective degradation of waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is critical to the circular economy of plastics. Herein, we report the first monatomic oxygen anion (O )-rich MgO-Ni catalyst based on a combined theoretical and experimental approach, which achieves a bis(hydroxyethyl) terephthalate yield of 93.7 % with no heavy metal residues detected.

Hydrophobic Biodegradable Hyperbranched Copolymers with Excellent Marine Diatom Resistance.

As the utilization of degradable polymer coatings increased, the accompanying trade-off between good degradability and high-efficiency antidiatom adhesion due to their hydrophobic nature remains unresolved. The study presents a new hydrophobic surface-fragmenting coating consisting of degradable hyperbranched polymers (hereafter denoted as h-LLA) synthesized by reversible complexation-mediated copolymerization with isobornyl acrylate (IBOA) and divinyl-functional oligomeric poly(l-lactide) (OLLA-V), both derived from biomass, that exhibited superior resistance (∼0 cell mm) to marine diatom () attachment with higher OLLA content. The combined impact of the microscale hollow semisphere micelles that self-assembled degradable hyperbranched copolymers and hydrolysis-driven self-renewable surfaces following immersion in seawater may account for the remarkable resistance of h-LLA coatings against .

Recent Advances on Synthesis of CoCO with Controlled Morphologies.

Cobalt carbonates and derivatives represent most promising cost-effective materials for energy storage, conversion and upgrading. Morphology determines the performances, as size, shape and electronic configuration are key factors for tunable properties in the area of batteries, catalysis, magnetics and plasmonics. However, there is lack of insights in literature on morphological control of cobalt carbonates during hydrothermal and solvothermal conditions.

PLA-based core-shell structure stereocomplexed nanoparticles with enhanced loading and release profile of paclitaxel.

: In the present study, to achieve high paclitaxel (PTX) loading in a conjugated drug delivery system with minimal long-term side effects, we formulated a novel degradable stereocomplexed micelle-like particle with a core-shell structure. : In this system, methoxy polyethylene glycol (MPEG) acted as the hydrophilic shell, and the stereocomplex of polylactic acid with PTX (SCPLA-PTX) acted as the hydrophobic core. The MPEG-SCPLA-PTX micelle-like particles were synthesized via the self-assembly of a MPEG-poly L-lactic acid (PLLA) copolymer with a PTX-poly D-lactic acid-PTX copolymer.

Removal of model dyes on charged UF membranes: Experiment and simulation.

Charged ultrafiltration (UF) membranes can repel electrically charged molecules that are smaller than the size of the membrane pores and display high rejection of solutes, high flux, and low operation pressures compared to uncharged UF, nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO). Here, a charged UF membrane composite (PANI/PVDF) was prepared and regulated via electrochemically reversible control in portions of amine/imine functional groups of PANI. As a result, the permeability and rejection ratios of CR on charged PANI/PVDF, with PVDF as a control, increased from 19.

Adsorption and Reduction of Cr(VI) Together with Cr(III) Sequestration by Polyaniline Confined in Pores of Polystyrene Beads.

The simultaneous reduction and sequestration of Cr(VI) from wastewater is desirable as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly approach. In this study, we execute a one-step facile synthesis strategy on polyaniline (PANI) composites based on aniline adsorption and polymerization on pores of millimeter-scale polystyrene balls (PANI@PS). The well-defined PANI@PS increased the removal capacity of Cr(VI) by 5.

Spherical polystyrene-supported chitosan thin film of fast kinetics and high capacity for copper removal.

In order to accelerate the kinetics and improve the utilization of the surface active groups of chitosan (CS) for heavy metal ion removal, sub-micron-sized polystyrene supported chitosan thin-film was synthesized by the electrostatic assembly method. Glutaraldehyde was used as cross-linking agent. Chitosan thin-film was well coated onto the surface of the polystyrene (PS) beads characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX).

Iron-mediated oxidation of arsenic(III) by oxygen and hydrogen peroxide: dispersed versus resin-supported zero-valent iron.

The goal of this study is to assess the differences in As(III) removal kinetics and mechanisms between dispersed zero-valent iron (d-ZVI) and resin-supported zero-valent iron (D201-ZVI) in the presence of dissolved oxygen and hydrogen peroxide. Experimental results show that As(III) could be removed by all the studied systems (d-ZVI/O2, d-ZVI/H2O2, D201-ZVI/O2, D201-ZVI/H2O2). The d-ZVI/H2O2 system was more efficient than D201-ZVI/H2O2 for the oxidation of As(III).

Facile fabrication of magnetic chitosan beads of fast kinetics and high capacity for copper removal.

In this study, magnetic chitosan (CS) beads of ∼200 nm in diameter were successfully prepared by a facile one-step method. The resultant composite Fe3O4-CS was characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Its adsorption toward Cu(II) ions was investigated as a function of solution pH, CS dosage, Cu(II) concentration, and contact time.

Enhanced removal of arsenic from a highly laden industrial effluent using a combined coprecipitation/nano-adsorption process.

Effective arsenic removal from highly laden industrial wastewater is an important but challenging task. Here, a combined coprecipitation/nano-adsorption process, with ferric chloride and calcium chloride as coprecipitation agents and polymer-based nanocomposite as selective adsorbent, has been validated for arsenic removal from tungsten-smelting wastewater. On the basis of operating optimization, a binary FeCl3 (520 mg/L)-CaCl2 (300 mg/L) coprecipitation agent could remove more than 93% arsenic from the wastewater.

Fabrication of a new hydrous Zr(IV) oxide-based nanocomposite for enhanced Pb(II) and Cd(II) removal from waters.

To overcome the technical bottleneck of fine hydrated Zr(IV) oxide particles in environmental remediation, we irreversibly impregnated nanosized hydrated Zr(IV) oxide inside a commercial cation exchange resin D-001 and obtained a new nanocomposite NZP. NZP exhibited efficient removal of lead and cadmium ions in a pH range of 2-6, where no Zr(IV) leaching was detected from NZP. As compared to D-001, NZP showed more preferable adsorption toward both toxic metals from the background Ca(II) solution at greater levels.

Bifunctional resin-ZVI composites for effective removal of arsenite through simultaneous adsorption and oxidation.

Bifunctional resin-supported nanosized zero-valent iron (N-S-ZVI) composite was developed by combining the oxidation properties of nZVI/O2 with adsorption features of iron oxides and anion-exchange resin N-S. In batch culture experiments, N-S and the N-S-ZVI composite were examined for As(III) and As(V). The results reveal that ZVI in the composite played a key role in enhancing As(III) removal.

A fabrication strategy for nanosized zero valent iron (nZVI)-polymeric anion exchanger composites with tunable structure for nitrate reduction.

To reveal how the distribution of nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) affect their reduction efficiency of its polymer-based composites and to further develop a simple strategy to tune the structure of the composites, we prepared four nZVI-polymerstyrene anion exchanger composites with similar nZVI loadings (13.5-14.4 Fe % in mass) but different distributions just through varying the concentration of NaBH(4) (0.

Heavy metal removal from water/wastewater by nanosized metal oxides: a review.

Nanosized metal oxides (NMOs), including nanosized ferric oxides, manganese oxides, aluminum oxides, titanium oxides, magnesium oxides and cerium oxides, provide high surface area and specific affinity for heavy metal adsorption from aqueous systems. To date, it has become a hot topic to develop new technologies to synthesize NMOs, to evaluate their removal of heavy metals under varying experimental conditions, to reveal the underlying mechanism responsible for metal removal based on modern analytical techniques (XAS, ATR-FT-IR, NMR, etc.) or mathematical models, and to develop metal oxide-based materials of better applicability for practical use (such as granular oxides or composite materials).

Fabrication of anion exchanger resin/nano-CdS composite photocatalyst for visible light RhB degradation.

A novel nanocomposite photocatalyst, D201-CdS beads (0.70-0.80 mm in diameter), was fabricated for visible light (λ > 420 nm) photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RhB).

Characterization of hydrophobic hypercrosslinked polymer as an adsorbent for removal of chlorinated volatile organic compounds.

A hydrophobic hypercrosslinked polymer with poly (4-tert-butylstyrene-styrene-divinylbenzene) matrix (LC-1) was prepared as adsorbent for the removal of volatile organic compounds from gas streams. The content of oxygen-containing functional groups of LC-1 was about one-fourth that of commercial hypercrosslinked polymeric adsorbent (NDA-201). The results of the water vapor adsorption experiment indicated that LC-1 had a more hydrophobic surface than NDA-201.

Nitrate reduction using nanosized zero-valent iron supported by polystyrene resins: role of surface functional groups.

To probe the role of host chemistry in formation and properties of the inside nano-zero valent iron (nZVI), we encapsulated nZVI within porous polystyrene resins functionalized with -CH(2)Cl and -CH(2)N(+)(CH(3))(3) respectively and obtained two hybrid nZVIs denoted Cl-S-ZVI and N-S-ZVI. 14.5% (in Fe mass) of nZVI particles were distributed in N-S within a ring-like region (about 0.