Biological treatment of DMSO-containing wastewater from semiconductor industry under aerobic and methanogenic conditions.

This study evaluated biological treatment of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-containing wastewater from semiconductor industry under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. DMSO concentration as higher as 1.5 g/L did not inhibit DMSO degradation efficiency in aerobic membrane bioreactor (MBR), while specific DMSO degradation rate at different initial DMSO-to-biomass (S/X) ratios from batch tests seemed to follow the Haldane-type kinetics.

Bioinert Control of Zwitterionic Poly(ethylene terephtalate) Fibrous Membranes.

Poly(ethylene terephtalate) (PET)-based materials face general biofouling issues that we addressed by grafting a copolymer of glycidyl methacrylate and sulfobetaine methacrylate, poly(GMA- r-SBMA). The grafting procedure involved a dip-coating step followed by UV-exposure and led to successful grafting of the copolymer as evidenced by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and zeta potential measurements. It did not modify the pore size nor the porosity of the PET membranes.

Levels of PCDD/Fs, PBDEs, and PBDD/Fs in Breast Milk from Southern Taiwan.

This study investigates the congener-specific concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs), polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PBDD/Fs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in 25 breast milk samples from southern Taiwan. Most investigated congeners in Taiwanese breast milk are detectable except for PBDD/Fs. The geometric means of PCDD/Fs and PBDEs in the breast milk are 2.

3D Printing of Photocurable Cellulose Nanocrystal Composite for Fabrication of Complex Architectures via Stereolithography.

The advantages of 3D printing on cost, speed, accuracy, and flexibility have attracted several new applications in various industries especially in the field of medicine where customized solutions are highly demanded. Although this modern fabrication technique offers several benefits, it also poses critical challenges in materials development suitable for industry use. Proliferation of polymers in biomedical application has been severely limited by their inherently weak mechanical properties despite their other excellent attributes.

A Zwitterionic-Shielded Carrier with pH-Modulated Reversible Self-Assembly for Gene Transfection.

Cationic vectors are ideal candidates for gene delivery thanks to their capability to carry large gene inserts and their scalable production. However, their cationic density gives rise to high cytotoxicity. We present the proper designed core-shell polyplexes made of either poly(ethylene imine) (PEI) or poly(2-dimethylamino ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) as the core and zwitterionic poly(acrylic acid)-block-poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (PAA-b-PSBMA) diblock copolymer as the shell.

Thrombolysis based on magnetically-controlled surface-functionalized FeO nanoparticle.

In this study, the control of magnetic fields to manipulate surface-functionalized FeO nanoparticles by urokinase coating is investigated for thrombolysis in a microfluidic channel. The urokinase-coated FeO nanoparticles are characterized using particle size distribution, zeta potential measurement and spectroscopic data. Thrombolytic ratio tests reveal that the efficiency for thrombus cleaning is significantly improved when using magnetically-controlled urokinase-coated FeO nanoparticles than pure urokinase solution.

Removal of nickel by homogeneous granulation in a fluidized-bed reactor.

Heavy metal removal is a significant task that protects our water resources. Fluidized-bed homogeneous granulation process (FBHGP) was used to treat nickel containing wastewaters by recovering nickel in the form of nickel carbonate hydroxide granules with low moisture content rather than soft sludge. This study investigated nickel removal and recovery through HFBGP by determining the effects of varying influent nickel concentrations, [CO: Ni] molar ratios, and pH of the precipitant.

Dust levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PBDD/Fs) in the Taiwanese elementary school classrooms: Assessment of the risk to school-age children.

Elementary school classroom dust is an important source of exposure to polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans and diphenyl ethers (PBDD/DF/DEs) for school-age children. Our goal is thus to investigate concentrations of PBDD/DF/DEs in elementary school classroom dust to further assess the impact on school-age children via ingestion. The dust from classrooms, including both normal (NR) and computer classrooms (CR), was collected from six urban and four rural schools.

Estrogenic effects in the influents and effluents of the drinking water treatment plants.

Estrogen-like endocrine disrupting compounds (EEDC) such as bisphenol A, nonylphenol, and phthalic acid esters are toxic compounds that may occur in both raw- and drinking water. The aim of this study was to combine chemical- and bioassay to evaluate the risk of EEDCs in the drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs). Fifty-six samples were collected from seven DWTPs located in northern-, central-, and southern Taiwan from 2011 to 2012 and subjected to chemical analyses and two bioassay methods for total estrogenic activity (E-Screen and T47D-KBluc assay).

Removal of BTEX by using a surfactant--Bio originated composite.

The application of ostrich bone waste-loaded a cationic surfactant (OBW-OH-CTABr) bioadsorbent for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and p-xylene (BTEX) removal from the synthetic and real waters have been studied, and the prepared biomaterials were studied by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), surface area measurements (BET), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and point of zero (pH(PZC)). The immobilization of CTABr molecules on the framework of modified OBW showed good tendency to adsorb BTEX from aqueous solution. The exposure time to obtain equilibrium for maximum removal of BTEX was observed to be 60 min.

Magnetic Control of Fe₃O₄ Nanomaterial for Fat Ablation in Microchannel.

In this study, surface modification of iron (II, III) oxide Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles by oleic acid (OA) coating is investigated for the microablation of fat in a microchannel. The nanoparticles are synthesized by the co-precipitation method and then dispersed in organic solvent prior to mixing with the OA. The magnetization, agglomeration, and particle size distribution properties of the OA-coated Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles are characterized.

Nanoscale Zero-Valent Iron (NZVI) supported on sineguelas waste for Pb(II) removal from aqueous solution: kinetics, thermodynamic and mechanism.

In this study, the synthesis and characterization of a new adsorbent containing nanoscale zerovalent iron particles (NZVI) decorated sineguelas waste (S-NaOH-NZVI) from agriculture biomass was investigated for the adsorption/reduction of inorganic pollution such as Pb(II) ions. The combination of ZVI particles on the surface of sineguelas waste can help to overcome the disadvantage of ultra-fine powders which may have strong tendency to agglomerate into larger particles, resulting in an adverse effect on both effective surface area and catalyst performance. The synthesized materials were characterized with different methods such as FT-IR, BET, XRD, TEM and pHPZC.

Adsorption of indium(III) ions from aqueous solution using chitosan-coated bentonite beads.

Batch adsorption study was utilized in evaluating the potential suitability of chitosan-coated bentonite (CCB) as an adsorbent in the removal of indium ions from aqueous solution. The percentage (%) removal and adsorption capacity of indium(III) were examined as a function of solution pH, initial concentration, adsorbent dosage and temperature. The experimental data were fitted with several isotherm models, where the equilibrium data was best described by Langmuir isotherm.

Proteomic analysis provides insights on venom processing in Conus textile.

Conus species of marine snails deliver a potent collection of toxins from the venom duct via a long proboscis attached to a harpoon tooth. Conotoxins are known to possess powerful neurological effects and some have been developed for therapeutic uses. Using mass-spectrometry based proteomics, qualitative and quantitative differences in conotoxin components were found in the proximal, central and distal sections of the Conus textile venom duct suggesting specialization of duct sections for biosynthesis of particular conotoxins.