Removal of nitrogen by heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification of a novel halotolerant bacterium Pseudomonas mendocina TJPU04.

Excess inorganic nitrogen in water poses a severe threat to enviroment. Removal of inorganic nitrogen by heterotrophic nitrifying-aerobic denitrifying microorganism is supposed to be a promising and applicable technology only if the removal rate can be maintained sufficiently high in real wastewater under various conditions, such as high concentration of salt and wide range of different nitrogen concentrations. Here, a new heterotrophic nitrifying-aerobic denitrifying bacterium was isolated and named as Pseudomonas mendocina TJPU04, which removes NH-N, NO-N and NO-N with average rate of 4.

Effect of Mixed Solvents on the Structure of Polyvinylidene Fluoride Flat Membrane in Thermally Induced Phase Separation Method.

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) flat membrane was prepared by thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) method using a mixture of dimethyl phthalate (DMP) and dioctyl phthalate (DOP) as a diluent. The PVDF/DMP/DOP system phase separation was test by DSC, cross section structure of membrane was observed by SEM. The effect of polymer concentrations, cooling rate and coagulation bath temperature on the cross section structure of membrane and surface micro-structure were studied.

Shear-Thickening Fluid Using Oxygen-Plasma-Modified Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes to Improve the Quasi-Static Stab Resistance of Kevlar Fabrics.

The excellent mechanical property and light weight of protective materials are vital for practical application in body armor. In this study, O₂-plasma-modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (M-MWNTs) were introduced into shear-thickening fluid (STF)-impregnated Kevlar woven fabrics to increase the quasi-static stab resistance and decrease the composite weight. The rheological test showed that the addition of 0.

Biodegradation of Microplastic Derived from Poly(ethylene terephthalate) with Bacterial Whole-Cell Biocatalysts.

At present, the pollution of microplastic directly threatens ecology, food safety and even human health. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is one of the most common of microplastics. In this study, the micro-size PET particles were employed as analog of microplastic.

Novel Bacterial Cellulose-Poly (Acrylic Acid) Hybrid Hydrogels with Controllable Antimicrobial Ability as Dressings for Chronic Wounds.

This investigation examines the combination of poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) and bacterial cellulose (BC) nanofibers to synthesize hydrogel hybrid composites used for wound dressing application. Amoxicillin (AM) was also grafted onto the composites for drug release. Fourier transform infrared analysis and scanning electron microscopy conducted revealed the structure and porosity of the composite being developed, as well as the successful fabrication of BC-PAA composites.

Effects of Graphene Oxide on the Structure and Properties of Regenerated Wool Keratin Films.

Much research has focused on improvement of the structural and mechanical properties of regenerated keratin materials by physical or chemical methods in recent years. In this research, regenerated keratin materials were modified with graphene oxide (GO). The properties of modified keratin films and the mechanism of interaction between GO and keratin macromolecules were studied.

Hierarchical Porous Polyamide 6 by Solution Foaming: Synthesis, Characterization and Properties.

Porous polym er materials have received great interest in both academic and industrial fields due to their wide range of applications. In this work, a porous polyamide 6 (PA6) material was prepared by a facile solution foaming strategy. In this approach, a sodium carbonate (SC) aqueous solution acted as the foaming agent that reacted with formic acid (FA), generating CO₂ and causing phase separation of polyamide (PA).

Effect of Cotton Cationization Using Copolymer Nanospheres on Ink-Jet Printing of Different Fabrics.

In this study, the cationic Poly[Styrene-Butyl acrylate-(P-vinylbenzyl trimethyl ammonium chloride)] P(St-BA-VBT) nanospheres with N⁺(CH₃)₃ functional groups were successfully synthesized by soap-free emulsion polymerization and applied to different fabrics by pad-cure process. After the pad-cure process, the nanospheres were deposited on the surface of the modified cotton fibers successfully without forming a continuous film structure. The X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) results demonstrated that P(St-BA-VBT) nanospheres were adsorbed on the surface of cotton fibers successfully.

Eco-Friendly and Highly Efficient Enzyme-Based Wool Shrinkproofing Finishing by Multiple Padding Techniques.

Wool fibers usually need shrinkproofing finishing. The enzyme process is an eco-friendly technology but the traditional exhaustion treatment usually takes excessive time. This study developed a novel multiple padding shrinkproofing process of wool with Savinase 16L and an organic phosphine compound {[HO(CH₂)]₃P, n ∈ (1, 10)}.

Mass-Production and Characterizations of Polyvinyl Alcohol/Sodium Alginate/Graphene Porous Nanofiber Membranes Using Needleless Dynamic Linear Electrospinning.

The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of large-scale preparation of porous polyvinyl alcohol/sodium alginate/graphene (Gr) (Gr-AP) nanofiber membranes using a copper wire needleless dynamic linear electrode electrospinning machine. Furthermore, the effects of Gr concentrations (0, 0.0375, 0.

Self-Assembly DBS Nanofibrils on Solution-Blown Nanofibers as Hierarchical Ion-Conducting Pathway for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells.

In this work, we reported a novel proton exchange membrane (PEM) with an ion-conducting pathway. The hierarchical nanofiber structure was prepared via in situ self-assembling 1,3:2,4-dibenzylidene-d-sorbitol (DBS) supramolecular fibrils on solution-blown, sulfonated poly (ether sulfone) (SPES) nanofiber, after which the composite PEM was prepared by incorporating hierarchical nanofiber into the chitosan polymer matrix. Then, the effects of incorporating the hierarchical nanofiber structure on the thermal stability, water uptake, dimensional stability, proton conductivity, and methanol permeability of the composite membranes were investigated.

Preparation and Properties of -PLA/PMMA Transparent Nanofiber Air Filter.

Particulate matter (PM) pollution is a serious concern for the environment and public health. To protect indoor air quality, nanofiber filters have been used to coat window screens due to their high PM removal efficiency, transparency and low air resistance. However, these materials have poor mechanical property.

Fabrication and Performance of Composite Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials with Palmitic Acid Ethyl Ester as Core.

Microencapsulation of phase change materials (PCMs) could prevent the leakage of PCMs during solid⁻liquid phase change process. However, their applications are mainly limited by the compactness and thermal stability of the traditional polyurea shell microcapsules. To increase the thermal compactness and thermal stability of PCM microcapsules, tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) was employed to form polymer/SiO₂ composite shells to enhance the mechanical performance of polyurea and polyurethane microcapsule via interfacial polymerization and in situ polymerization.

The Effect of Diluent Mixture with Upper Critical Solution Temperature on Membrane Formation Process, Microstructure, and Performance of PVDF Hollow Fiber Membrane by TIPS Process.

Thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) is a technique to prepare commercial membrane. However, the quick polymer crystallization during the quenching process will bring about a dense and thick skin layer and thus decrease permeability markedly. In this paper, a diluent mixture with upper critical solution temperature (UCST) was used to prepare polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber membrane.

Adsorption and Electrochemical Detection of Bovine Serum Albumin Imprinted Calcium Alginate Hydrogel Membrane.

In this paper, bovine serum albumin (BSA)-imprinted calcium alginate (CaAlg) hydrogel membrane was prepared using BSA as a template, sodium alginate (NaAlg) as a functional monomer, and CaCl₂ as a cross-linker. The thickness of the CaAlg membrane was controlled by a glass rod enlaced with brass wires (the diameter was 0.1, 0.

Investigation of the Shear Thickening Fluid Encapsulation in an Orifice Coagulation Bath.

The orifice coagulation bath method is proposed to encapsulate shear thickening fluid (STF) to form STF capsules, in an attempt to improve the combination of STF and the matrix as well as strengthen the flexibility and stability of the STF composites. By varying the calcium chloride concentration (10, 20 mg/mL), sodium alginate concentration (5, 7, 10 mg/mL) and the surfactant dosage (10%, 20%, 30%), optimal preparation conditions were studied, considering the capsule strength and encapsulation rate. The capsules were also characterized using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA).

Solution Blown Nylon 6 Nanofibrous Membrane as Scaffold for Nanofiltration.

In this work, a nylon 6 nanofibrous membrane was prepared via solution blowing technology and followed hot-press as scaffold for nanofiltration. The structure and properties of the hot-pressed nylon 6 nanofibrous membrane (HNM) were studied the effect of hot-pressing parameters and areal densities. Then an ultra-thin polyamide (PA) active layer was prepared by interfacial polymerization on HNM.

Preparation of PVDF/Hyperbranched-Nano-Palygorskite Composite Membrane for Efficient Removal of Heavy Metal Ions.

In this work, three kinds of hyperbranched polyamidoamine-palygorskite (PAMAM-Pal) were designed and synthesized by grafting the first generation polyamidoamine (G1.0 PAMAM), G2.0 PAMAM and G3.

Characterization and Actuation of Ionic Polymer Metal Composites with Various Thicknesses and Lengths.

Ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs) with various thicknesses of 1, 2, 4, and 6 nafion films (denoted as 1-film, 2-film, 4-film and 6-film, respectively) are fabricated, and their characterization and actuation performances are then investigated. The effects of the thickness of the IPMCs on their morphology, surface resistance, and water uptake capability are studied. Their actuation performances are further evaluated by examining the tip force and displacement in terms of the length and the thickness of the IPMCs, under a direct current (DC) power of 3.

Hydraulics characteristics of forward osmosis membrane module boundary based on FBG sensing technology: Hydraulic properties and operating condition optimization.

To obtain more information on the hydraulic properties of membrane interface, the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensing technology was imported to investigate the effect of feed solution (FS) flow rate, draw solution (DS) flow rate and cross-flow direction on the membrane flux and membrane shear-force distribution of forward osmosis (FO) process. Results from experimental work demonstrated that a non-uniform spatial variation of the shear-force distribution exists along the membrane, and higher shear force is distributed in the middle position which resulted in higher diffusion load on the particular location of the membrane rind. Besides, increasing the inlet flow simply to a certain value didn't result in a higher shear force and lower the effect of concentration polarization (CP).

Pre-coagulation coupled with sponge-membrane filtration for organic matter removal and membrane fouling control during drinking water treatment.

A new hybrid system was developed in this study for the treatment of drinking water consisting of pre-coagulation using polyaluminium chloride (PACl) and membrane filtration (MF) with sponge cubes acting as biomass carriers (P-SMF). When compared to a conventional MF (CMF) and a MF after coagulation by utilizing PACl (P-MF), better removal of nutrients, UV and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) (>65%) was obtained from the P-SMF. The accumulation of biopolymers (including polysaccharides and proteins), humic substances, hydrophilic organics, and other small molecular weight (MW) organic matter in the CMF led to the most severe membrane fouling coupled with the highest pore blocking and cake resistance.

Computational Prediction of Secondary and Supersecondary Structures from Protein Sequences.

Many new methods for the sequence-based prediction of the secondary and supersecondary structures have been developed over the last several years. These and older sequence-based predictors are widely applied for the characterization and prediction of protein structure and function. These efforts have produced countless accurate predictors, many of which rely on state-of-the-art machine learning models and evolutionary information generated from multiple sequence alignments.

Corrosion Engineering To Synthesize Ultrasmall and Monodisperse Alloy Nanoparticles Stabilized in Ultrathin Cobalt (Oxy)hydroxide for Enhanced Electrocatalysis.

Two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials decorated with ultrasmall and well-alloyed bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) have many important applications. Developing a facile and scalable 2D material/hybrid synthesis strategy is still a big challenge. Herein, a top-down corrosion strategy is developed to prepare ultrathin cobalt (oxy)hydroxide nanosheets decorated with ultrasmall (∼1.

In Vitro Toxicity Study of a Porous Iron(III) Metal‒Organic Framework.

A MIL series metal‒organic framework (MOF), MIL-100(Fe), was successfully synthesized at the nanoscale and fully characterized by TEM, TGA, XRD, FTIR, DLS, and BET. A toxicological assessment was performed using two different cell lines: human normal liver cells (HL-7702) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2). In vitro cytotoxicity of MIL-100(Fe) was evaluated by the MTT assay, LDH releasing rate assay, DAPI staining, and annexin V/PI double staining assay.

Direct conversion of CO and HO into liquid fuels under mild conditions.

Although enormous progress has been made in C chemistry and CO conversion in recent years, it is still a challenge to develop new carbon resource transformation protocols especially those lead to the production of liquid fuels with high selectivity under mild conditions (e.g., under low temperature and using benign solvent).