Waterproof and breathable membranes (WBMs) with simultaneous environmental friendliness and high performance are highly desirable in a broad range of applications; however, creating such materials ...still remains a tough challenge. Herein, we present a facile and scalable strategy to fabricate fluorine-free, efficient, and biodegradable WBMs via step-by-step dip-coating and heat curing technology. The hyperbranched polymer (ECO) coating containing long hydrocarbon chains provided an electrospun cellulose acetate (CA) fibrous matrix with high hydrophobicity; meanwhile, the blocked isocyanate cross-linker (BIC) coating ensured the strong attachment of hydrocarbon segments on CA surfaces. The resulting membranes (TCA) exhibited integrated properties with waterproofness of 102.9 kPa, breathability of 12.3 kg m–2 d–1, and tensile strength of 16.0 MPa, which are much superior to that of previously reported fluorine-free fibrous materials. Furthermore, TCA membranes can sustain hydrophobicity after exposure to various harsh environments. More importantly, the present strategy proved to be universally applicable and effective to several other hydrophilic fibrous substrates. This work not only highlights the material design and preparation but also provides environmentally friendly and high-performance WBMs with great potential application prospects for a variety of fields.
•NC was extracted using acid hydrolysis, TEMPO oxidation and ultrasonication methods.•The polymorphs of the three kinds of NC were cellulose I.•TO-NC had the largest aspect ratio and the best ...dispersion, but very low thermal stability.•AH-NC had the highest crystallinity and best thermal stability, but a small aspect ratio.•US-NC possessed low crystallinity and poor dispersion stability.
The aim of this work is to improve the economic value of corn husk, and to make better use of corn husk nanocellulose (NC). Corn husk NC was extracted via acid hydrolysis, TEMPO oxidation and high intensity ultrasonication methods, which was named AH-NC, TO-NC and US-NC, respectively. The NC was carefully characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and particle size and zeta potential analyzer. The results showed the preparation methods didn’t change the main chemical structure of cellulose. The crystallographic form of the three kinds of NC still was cellulose I. However, the effects of preparation methods on the morphology and properties were obvious. Among the three kinds of NC, TO-NC had the largest aspect ratio, and the best dispersion stability in diameter, but very low thermal stability. The AH-NC exhibited the highest crystallinity and best thermal stability, but a small aspect ratio. US-NC possessed low crystallinity and poor dispersion stability.
Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) is hypothesised to play a role in the development of allergic rhinitis (AR). Prenatal and early-life exposure to traffic-related air pollution is considered ...critical for later respiratory health. However, we could not find any articles systematically reviewing the risk of prenatal and early-life exposure to traffic-related air pollution for allergic rhinitis in children.
A systematic literature search of PubMed, Web of Science and Medline was conducted to identify studies focused on the association between prenatal and early-life exposure to TRAP and AR in children. Other inclusion criteria were: 1) original articles; 2) based upon prospective or retrospective studies or case-control studies; and 3) publications were restricted to English. Literature quality assessment was processed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) evaluation scale. This systematic literature review has been registered on the prospero (crd.york.ac.uk/prospero) with the following registry number: CRD42022361179.
Only eight studies met the inclusion criteria. The exposure assessment indicators included PM2.5, PM2.5 absorbance, PM10, NOx, CO, and black carbon. On the whole, exposure to TRAP during pregnancy and the first year of life were positively associated with the development of AR in children.
This systematic review presents supportive evidence about prenatal and early-life exposure to TRAP and the risk of AR in children.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Recently, environmental and ecological concerns are increasing due to the usage of petroleum-based products so the synthesis of ultra-fine chemicals and functional materials from natural resources is ...drawing a tremendous level of attention. Nanocellulose, a unique and promising natural material extracted from native cellulose, may prove to be most ecofriendly materials that are technically and economically feasible in modern times, minimizing the pollution generation. Nanocellulose has gained tremendous attention for its use in various applications, due to its excellent special surface chemistry, physical properties, and remarkable biological properties (biodegradability, biocompatibility, and non-toxicity). Various types of nanocellulose, viz. cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), and bacterial nanocellulose (BNC), are deeply introduced and compared in this work in terms of sources, production, structures and properties. The metal and metal oxides especially zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) are broadly used in various fields due to the diversity of functional properties such as antimicrobial and ultraviolet (UV) properties. Thus, the advancement of nanocellulose and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs)-based composites materials are summarized in this article in terms of the preparation methods and remarkable properties with the help of recent knowledge and significant findings (especially from the past six years reports). The nanocellulose materials complement zinc oxide nanoparticles, where they impart their functional properties to the nanoparticle composites. As a result hybrid nanocomposite containing nanocellulose/zinc oxide composite has shown excellent mechanical, UV barrier, and antibacterial properties. The nanocellulose based hybrid nanomaterials have huge potential applications in the area of food packaging, biopharmaceuticals, biomedical, and cosmetics. Thus the functional composite materials containing nanocellulose and zinc oxide will determine the potential biomedical application for nanocellulose.
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•Consolidated study on cellulose and nanocellulose structure, sources and applications•Reviewing various extraction techniques of nanocellulose, their types, properties, and characteristics•All recognized excellent properties and recent advancement of nanocellulose/ZnO-NPs composite materials are presented.•Challenges and future viewpoints of ZnO nanoparticles with nanocellulose materials are discussed.
Waterproof and breathable membranes that provide a high level of protection and comfort are promising core materials for meeting the pressing demand for future upscale protective clothing. However, ...creating such materials that exhibit environmental protection, high performance, and ease of fabrication has proven to be a great challenge. Herein, we report a novel strategy for synthesizing fluorinated polyurethane (C6FPU) containing short perfluorohexyl (-C6F13) chains and introduced it as hydrophobic agent into a polyurethane (PU) solution for one-step electrospinning. A plausible mechanism about the dynamic behavior of fluorinated chains with an increasing C6FPU concentration was proposed. Benefiting from the utilization of magnesium chloride (MgCl2), the fibrous membranes had dramatically decreased maximum pore sizes. Consequently, the prepared PU/C6FPU/MgCl2 fibrous membranes exhibited an excellent hydrostatic pressure of 104 kPa, a modest water vapor transmission rate of 11.5 kg m–2 d–1, and a desirable tensile strength of 12.4 MPa. The facile fabrication of PU/C6FPU/MgCl2 waterproof and breathable membranes not only matches well with the tendency to be environmentally protective but also fully meets the requirements for high performance in extremely harsh environments.
Thermal insulations have begun to play an increasing important role in realizing building energy saving in the past years. Thermal insulations made of biomasses like agro-residues, forest residues, ...etc., are developing very fast recently, although their research and development history is relatively short. In order to help researchers to achieve a global viewpoint of the research on this topic and to improve the research and application progress, a systematic review is presented in this study. After review and screening, 144 original research journal papers were selected as samples and analyzed to investigate the following topics: Historical development of bio-insulations from 1974 up to April 2016, from viewpoint of number of papers published and corresponding journals; Geo-graphical distribution of researchers, according to country and continent categories; Kinds of biomasses under research including agro-residues, forestry residues, economic plants, etc.; Analysis methodologies and research scale of bio-insulations; Common types, manufacturing methods and properties of bio-insulation; Experimental equipment, software, and corresponding standards. Moreover, the shortcomings of the current research are discussed in details. Finally, some suggestions are presented, including: a scientific plan on bio-insulation research; selection of suitable types; traditional and innovative treatments for improving specific properties; the required properties testing order; scientific presentation of research results. This study can help to achieve a more precise comprehension about bio-insulations research status, find suitable experimental equipment for effectively testing various properties, adopt innovative ways to improve specific properties, avoid making mistakes during the research and provide a better expression of the research results. Furthermore, this study can stimulate the research and application of bio-insulations to get a great-leap-forward development in the near future, especially in the fabricated building field.
Chromatographic media with synchronously large protein adsorption capacity and high processing flux are highly desired in protein separation; however, the creation of such materials still faces ...enormous challenges. Herein, a robust strategy to develop highly carboxylated monolithic media by combining nanofibrous aerogels' forming technique and an in situ modification approach is reported. The obtained ion‐exchange nanofibrous aerogels (IENFAs) exhibit a unique cellular structure consisting of flexible ceramic nanofibers and a functional polymer wrapping layer, endowing them with outstanding underwater superelasticity and compressive fatigue resistance (nearly no plastic deformation after 1000 compressive cycles). Benefiting from the interconnected nanofibrous cellular structure, good hydrophilicity, high carboxylation, and excellent mechanical properties, the IENFAs exhibit synchronously promoted static (2.9 × 103 mg g−1) and dynamic (1.7 × 103 mg g−1) lysozyme adsorption capacities and improved buffer flux (2.17 × 104 L m−2 h−1, gravity driven), which are superior to these reported nanofibrous materials and commercial ion‐exchange membranes. The IENFAs also possess outstanding performance stability, easy operation, and excellent regenerability. Moreover, the IENFA‐packed column could directly and continuously separate lysozyme from egg white solely driven by gravity, highlighting their excellent practical application performance. This work may provide a new avenue to design and develop next‐generation high‐performance chromatographic media for bioseparation.
Ion‐exchange nanofibrous aerogel (IENFA)–based monolithic chromatographic media with unique composite cellular structures are prepared by combining a nanofibrous aerogels forming technique with an in situ modification method. The obtained IENFAs exhibit excellent underwater superelasticity, superior compressive fatigue resistance, ultrahigh static and dynamic protein adsorption capability, extremely large processing flux, easy operation property, as well as good practical application performance.
The molecular categorization of colon cancer patients remains elusive. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), which investigates the dysregulated genes among tumor and normal samples, has revealed the ...pivotal role of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in colon cancer pathogenesis. In this study, we employed multi-clustering method for grouping data, resulting in the identification of two clusters characterized by varying prognostic outcomes. These two subgroups not only displayed disparities in overall survival (OS) but also manifested variations in clinical variables, genetic mutation, and gene expression profiles. Using the nearest template prediction (NTP) method, we were able to replicate the molecular classification effectively within the original dataset and validated it across multiple independent datasets, underscoring its robust repeatability. Furthermore, we constructed two prognostic signatures tailored to each of these subgroups. Our molecular classification, centered on EMT, hold promise in offering fresh insights into the therapy strategies and prognosis assessment for colon cancer.
Advances of spatial transcriptomics technologies enabled simultaneously profiling gene expression and spatial locations of cells from the same tissue. Computational tools and approaches for ...integration of transcriptomics data and spatial context information are urgently needed to comprehensively explore the underlying structure patterns. In this manuscript, we propose HyperGCN for the integrative analysis of gene expression and spatial information profiled from the same tissue. HyperGCN enables data visualization and clustering, and facilitates downstream analysis, including domain segmentation, the characterization of marker genes for the specific domain structure and GO enrichment analysis. Extensive experiments are implemented on four real datasets from different tissues (including human dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, human positive breast tumors, mouse brain, mouse olfactory bulb tissue and Zabrafish melanoma) and technologies (including 10X visium, osmFISH, seqFISH+, 10X Xenium and Stereo-seq) with different spatial resolutions. The results show that HyperGCN achieves superior clustering performance and produces good domain segmentation effects while identifies biologically meaningful spatial expression patterns. This study provides a flexible framework to analyze spatial transcriptomics data with high geometric complexity. HyperGCN is an unsupervised method based on hypergraph induced graph convolutional network, where it assumes that there existed disjoint tissues with high geometric complexity, and models the semantic relationship of cells through hypergraph, which better tackles the high-order interactions of cells and levels of noise in spatial transcriptomics data.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Developing environmentally benign, multifunctional waterproof and breathable membranes (WBMs) is of great importance but still faces enormous challenges. Here, an environmentally benign ...fluorine-free, ultraviolet (UV) blocking, and antibacterial WBM with a high level of waterproofness and breathability is developed on a large scale by combining electrospinning and step-by-step surface coating technology. Fluorine-free water-based alkylacrylates with long hydrocarbon chains were coated onto polyamide 6 fibrous membranes to construct robust hydrophobic surfaces. The subsequent titanium dioxide nanoparticle emulsion coating prominently decreased the maximum pore size, leading to higher water resistance, endowing the membranes with efficient UV-resistant and antibacterial properties. The resulting fibrous membranes possessed excellent waterproofness of 106.2 kPa, exceptional breathability of 10.3 kg m–2 d–1, a significant UV protection factor of 430.5, together with a definite bactericidal efficiency of 99.9%. We expect that this methodology for construction of environmentally benign and multifunctional WBMs will shed light on the material design, and the prepared membranes could implement their promising applications in covering materials, outdoor equipment, protective clothing, and high-altitude garments.
