Carbon and graphene quantum dots based architectonics for efficient aqueous decontamination by adsorption chromatography technique - Current state and prospects.

Aquatic ecosystems and potable water are being exploited and depleted due to urbanization and the encouragement of extensive industrialization, which induces the scarcity of pure water. However, current decontamination methods are limited and inefficient. Various innovative remediation strategies with novel nanomaterials have recently been demonstrated for wastewater treatment. Carbon dots (C-dots) and graphene quantum dots (GQ-dots) are the most recent frontiers in carbon nanomaterial-based adsorption studies. C-dots are extremely small (1-10 nm) quasi-spherical carbon nanoparticles (mostly sp3 hybridized carbon), whereas GQ-dots are fragments of graphene (1-20 nm) composed of primarily sp2 hybridized carbon. This article highlights the function of C-dots and GQ-dots with their specifications and characteristics for the efficient removal of organic and inorganic contaminants in water via adsorption chromatography. The alteration of adsorption attributes with the hybrid blending of these dots has been critically analyzed. Moreover, various top-down and bottom-up approaches for synthesizing C-dots and GQ-dots, which ultimately affect their morphology and structure, are described in detail. Finally, we review the research deficit in the adsorption of diverse pollutants, fabrication challenges, low molecular weight, self-agglomeration, and the future of the dots by providing research prospects and selectivity and sensitivity perspectives, the importance of post-adsorption optimization strategies and the path toward scalability at the tail of the article.

Highly electrochemically active Ti3C2Tx MXene/MWCNT nanocomposite for the simultaneous sensing of paracetamol, theophylline, and caffeine in human blood samples.

The facile fabrication is reported of highly electrochemically active Ti3C2Tx MXene/MWCNT (3D/1D)-modified screen-printed carbon electrode (SPE) for the efficient simultaneous electrochemical detection of paracetamol, theophylline, and caffeine in human blood samples. 3D/1D Ti3C2Tx MXene/MWCNT nanocomposite was synthesized using microwave irradiation and ultrasonication processes. Then, the Ti3C2Tx/MWCNT-modified SPE electrode was fabricated and thoroughly characterized towards its physicochemical and electrochemical properties using XPS, TEM, FESEM, XRD, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and differential pulse voltammetry techniques. As-constructed Ti3C2Tx-MWCNT/SPE offers excellent electrochemical sensing performance with good detection limits (0.23, 0.57, and 0.43 µM) and wide linear ranges (1.0 ~ 90.1, 2.0 ~ 62.0, and 2.0-90.9 µM) for paracetamol, caffeine, and theophylline, respectively,  in the human samples. Notably, the non-enzymatic electroactive nanocomposite-modified electrode has depicted a semicircle Nyquist plot with low charge transfer resistance (Rct∼95 Ω), leading to high ionic diffusion and facilitating an excellent electron transfer path. All the above results in efficient stability, reproducibility, repeatability, and sensitivity compared with other reported works, and thus, it claims its practical utilization in realistic clinical applications.

Cluster analysis of phenotypes, job exposure, and inflammatory patterns in elderly and nonelderly asthma patients.

BACKGROUND: Asthma has been identified as different phenotypes due to various risk factors. Age differences may have potential effects on asthma phenotypes. Our study aimed to identify potential asthma phenotypes among adults divided by age as either younger or older than 65 years. We also compared differences in blood granulocyte patterns, occupational asthmagens, and asthma control-related outcomes among patient phenotype clusters. METHODS: We recruited nonelderly (<65 years old) (n = 726) and elderly adults (≥65 years old) (n = 201) with mild-to-severe asthma. We conducted a factor analysis to select 17 variables. A two-step cluster analysis was used to classify subjects with asthma phenotypes, and a discriminant analysis was used to verify the classification of cluster results. RESULTS: There were three clusters with different characteristics identified in both the nonelderly and elderly asthmatic adults. In the nonelderly patient group, cluster 2 (obese, neutrophilic phenotypes) had a 1.85-fold significantly increased risk of asthma exacerbations. Cluster 3 (early-onset, atopy, and smoker with an eosinophil-predominant pattern) had a 2.37-fold risk of asthma exacerbations and higher oral corticosteroid (OCS) use than cluster 1 (late-onset and LMW exposure with paucigranulocytic blood pattern). Among elderly patients, cluster 2 had poor lung function and more ex-smokers. Cluster 3 (early-onset, long asthma duration) had the lowest paucigranulocytic blood pattern percentages in the elderly group. CONCLUSIONS: The novelty of the clusters was found in age-dependent clusters. We identified three distinct phenotypes with heterogeneous characteristics, asthma exacerbations and medicine use in nonelderly and elderly asthmatic patients, respectively. Classification of age-stratified asthma phenotypes may lead to precise identification of patients, which provides personalized disease management.

Sustainable approaches on industrial food wastes to value-added products - A review on extraction methods, characterizations, and its biomedical applications.

The concept of zero waste discharge has been gaining importance in recent years towards attaining a sustainable environment. Fruit processing industries generate millions of tons of byproducts like fruit peels and seeds, and their disposal poses an environmental threat. The concept of extracting value-added bioactive compounds from bio-waste is an excellent opportunity to mitigate environmental issues. To date, significant research has been carried out on the extraction of essential biomolecules, particularly polysaccharides from waste generated by fruit processing industries. In this review article, we aim to summarize the different extraction methodologies, characterization methods, and biomedical applications of polysaccharides extracted from seeds and peels of different fruit sources. The review also focuses on the general scheme of extraction of polysaccharides from fruit waste with special emphasis on various methods used in extraction. Also, the various types of polysaccharides obtained from fruit processing industrial wastes are explained in consonance with the important techniques related to the structural elucidation of polysaccharides obtained from seed and peel waste. The use of seed polysaccharides as pharmaceutical excipients and the application of peel polysaccharides possessing biological activities are also elaborated.

Valorization of nano-based lignocellulosic derivatives to procure commercially significant value-added products for biomedical applications.

Biowaste, produced from nature, is preferred to be a good source of carbon and ligninolytic machinery for many microorganisms. They are complex biopolymers composed of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose traces. This biomass can be depolymerized to its nano-dimensions to gain exceptional properties useful in the field of cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, high-strength materials, etc. Nano-sized biomass derivatives overcome the inherent drawbacks of the parent material and offer promises as a potential material for a wide range of applications with their unique traits such as low-toxicity, biocompatibility, biodegradability and environmentally friendly nature with versatility. This review focuses on the production of value-added products feasible from nanocellulose, nano lignin, and xylan nanoparticles which is quite a novel study of its kind. Dawn of nanotechnology has converted bio waste by-products (hemicellulose and lignin) into useful precursors for many commercial products. Nano-cellulose has been employed in the fields of electronics, cosmetics, drug delivery, scaffolds, fillers, packaging, and engineering structures. Xylan nanoparticles and nano lignin have numerous applications as stabilizers, additives, textiles, adhesives, emulsifiers, and prodrugs for many polyphenols with an encapsulation efficiency of 50%. This study will support the potential development of composites for emerging applications in all aspects of interest and open up novel paths for multifunctional biomaterials in nano-dimensions for cosmetic, drug carrier, and clinical applications.

Effects of atmospheric-plasma system on energy efficiency improvement and emissions reduction from a diesel engine.

Efficient energy usage and energy saving is one of the nowadays necessity for all scientists of IC engine. This is because of the current environmental challenges that have tremendously increased concerning air pollution, particularly pollutant emissions from vehicles. Yet, industries and governments alike have disregarded this phenomenon which has been considerably contributing to climate change. It is against this background that, the research works carried out in this present study is predominantly focusing on improving energy efficiency and reducing emission levels from diesel engines. This can be achieved with the help of atmospheric-plasma system which can offer a noble solution to the above-mentioned challenges due to its potential to improve combustion efficiency which leads to energy efficiency, while reducing emission levels from diesel engines. In this study, the performance and emissions of a diesel generator supplemented with an atmospheric-plasma system was examined. The diesel engine was used to examine the effects of fuel composition, or brake specific fuel consumption, thermal efficiency and pollutant emissions at different plasma system voltages. To this end, we equally examined the effects of atmospheric-plasma system on energy efficiency improvement and emissions reduction from diesel engine as the main purpose of this study. We do so by testing the diesel-fueled engine generator under the atmospheric-plasma system. The tests were carried out at a constant state condition with the engine running at 2200 rpm with torque and power outputs of 10.4 Nm (75% of the max load) and 2.1 kW, separately, for the tested fuels and this was used to increase the output voltage of the plasma system during this study. The plasma system ionized the intake air and improved the formation of free radicals upon combustion. During this study, the output voltage of the plasma was set within the range of 0-7 kV. The experimental results have indicated that formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acrolein account for more than 75% of total carbonyl compounds emissions. Simultaneously, it was also observed from the results that higher plasma system voltage reduces pollutants emissions levels. Hence, such reduction is predominantly evident for nitrogen oxides, particulate matters and carbon monoxide. However, the marginal improvements of engine performance and emissions reduction become insignificant when the plasma system voltage reaches 6 kV. On the other hand, increasing the amount of plasma system voltages in diesel engine continues to significantly reduce pollutant emissions.

Identification of informative features for predicting proinflammatory potentials of engine exhausts.

BACKGROUND: The immunotoxicity of engine exhausts is of high concern to human health due to the increasing prevalence of immune-related diseases. However, the evaluation of immunotoxicity of engine exhausts is currently based on expensive and time-consuming experiments. It is desirable to develop efficient methods for immunotoxicity assessment. METHODS: To accelerate the development of safe alternative fuels, this study proposed a computational method for identifying informative features for predicting proinflammatory potentials of engine exhausts. A principal component regression (PCR) algorithm was applied to develop prediction models. The informative features were identified by a sequential backward feature elimination (SBFE) algorithm. RESULTS: A total of 19 informative chemical and biological features were successfully identified by SBFE algorithm. The informative features were utilized to develop a computational method named FS-CBM for predicting proinflammatory potentials of engine exhausts. FS-CBM model achieved a high performance with correlation coefficient values of 0.997 and 0.943 obtained from training and independent test sets, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The FS-CBM model was developed for predicting proinflammatory potentials of engine exhausts with a large improvement on prediction performance compared with our previous CBM model. The proposed method could be further applied to construct models for bioactivities of mixtures.

Development of novel alternative biodiesel fuels for reducing PM emissions and PM-related genotoxicity.

This paper intend to investigate the effects of biodiesel fuel blends comprising of waste-cooking oil and butanol-diesel (B10W10-B10W40) under steady-state conditions. Both particulate organic carbon (OC) and PM including PM2.5 and PM10 significantly decreased with the increasing percentage of biodiesel fuel blends. The fuel blend of B10W40 also demonstrated the most effective function in reducing the emissions of PM10 and PM2.5 in the volume by 59.4% and 57.7%, respectively. Moreover, the emissions of nitrogen oxides decreased with the blending of B10W10-B10W40 (13.9-28.5%), while the brake specific fuel consumption was substantially increased (5.69-13.4%). The overall biological toxicity of PM10 generated from the fuel tested in this study was determined according to Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis assay in human alveolar basal epithelial A549 cells and micronucleus assay in CHO-K1 cells. In addition, the volume of more than 20% waste-cooking oil (B10W20 and B10W40) significantly reduced diesel-induced genotoxicity in lung cells and micronucleus formation in CHO-K1 cells. Collectively, these results indicated that biodiesel fuel blends with the butanol could be a potential alternative fuels for diesel engines because of its substantial property with a significant reduction of the PM-related genotoxicity and the emissions of PM, particulate OC, and NOX.

Protective effects of elafin against adult asthma.

BACKGROUND: Elafin inhibits serine proteases, such as human neutrophil elastase and proteinase 3, to prevent excessive damage during inflammation. However, the relationship between elafin and asthma is still unclear. Microarray technology was used to evaluate smoking- and asthma-related biomarkers in a discovery-driven manner. We identified candidate genes, e.g., proteinase inhibitor 3 (PI3), related to asthma and smoking from gene expression microarray data sets and evaluated their potential as biomarkers for asthma. METHODS: We used human genome microarray data sets from smoking- and asthma-related gene expression data sets and performed real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction to measure and validate differences in gene expression. We also recruited adult patients with asthma and age- and sex-matched control patients who were administered a structured questionnaire and evaluated for lung function and plasma elafin levels, which are encoded by the PI3 gene. RESULTS: Six significantly altered candidate genes, PI3, protein kinase C iota, phosphoserine phosphatase, IQ motif-containing GTPase activating protein 1, interleukin 13 receptor α 1, and signal transducing adaptor molecule SH3 domain and ITAM motif 2, were identified from comparisons across the four asthma- and four smoking-related data sets included in this study. An in vitro study of human airway epithelial cells (A549) and a human monocytic cell line (THP-1) demonstrated that PI3 messenger RNA levels were significantly altered by nicotine exposure. Elafin concentration was significantly higher in control patients than in patients with asthma (p < 0.001). The plasma elafin concentration in the highest quartile (≥12.69 ng/mL) was inversely associated with asthma (adjusted odds ratio 0.122 [95% confidence interval, 0.053-0.278]) compared with the lowest quartile (<5.82 ng/mL) after adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, waist-to-hip ratio, percentage predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 second, cockroaches in the home, incense burning, and family history. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that high elafin levels identified in smoking- and asthma-related microarray data sets and an epidemiologic study significantly reduced the risk of asthma. Further studies of elafin as a potential therapy for asthma are warranted.

Innovative technologies for the fabrication of 3D/4D smart hydrogels and its biomedical applications - A comprehensive review.

Repairing and regenerating damaged tissues or organs, and restoring their functioning has been the ultimate aim of medical innovations. 'Reviving healthcare' blends tissue engineering with alternative techniques such as hydrogels, which have emerged as vital tools in modern medicine. Additive manufacturing (AM) is a practical manufacturing revolution that uses building strategies like molding as a viable solution for precise hydrogel manufacturing. Recent advances in this technology have led to the successful manufacturing of hydrogels with enhanced reproducibility, accuracy, precision, and ease of fabrication. Hydrogels continue to metamorphose as the vital compatible bio-ink matrix for AM. AM hydrogels have paved the way for complex 3D/4D hydrogels that can be loaded with drugs or cells. Bio-mimicking 3D cell cultures designed via hydrogel-based AM is a groundbreaking in-vivo assessment tool in biomedical trials. This brief review focuses on preparations and applications of additively manufactured hydrogels in the biomedical spectrum, such as targeted drug delivery, 3D-cell culture, numerous regenerative strategies, biosensing, bioprinting, and cancer therapies. Prevalent AM techniques like extrusion, inkjet, digital light processing, and stereo-lithography have been explored with their setup and methodology to yield functional hydrogels. The perspectives, limitations, and the possible prospects of AM hydrogels have been critically examined in this study.

Highly effective synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from lignocellulosic biomass over a green and one-pot reaction in biphasic system.

In this study, different types of lignocellulosic biomas were used as substrates for the conversion to 5-HMF via biphasic reaction system that is composed of a reaction phase (aqueous phase) and an extraction phase (organic phase) under the catalysis of various metal salts. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs), ionic liquid [BMIM]Cl, aqueous choline chloride, aqueous betaine hydrochloride, and ethylamine hydrochloride were used as the reaction phase in the combination of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as organic solvents. The highest yields of 5-HMF obtained from pineapple stems in reactions with DES were 40.98%, 37.26%, and 23.44% for ChCl:Lac, ChCl:OA, and EaCl:Lac, respectively. Moreover, the combination of dimethyl sulfoxide, betaine hydrochloride aqueous solution, and AlCl3·6H2O with the pineapple stem conversion system resulted in a maximum yield of 61.04% ± 0.55% of 5-HMF. This study also demonstrated that AlCl3·6H2O and betaine hydrochloride could be effectively reused four times, which indicates a green and effective process.

Current advancements and prospects of enzymatic and non-enzymatic electrochemical glucose sensors.

This review discusses the most current developments and future perspectives in enzymatic and non-enzymatic glucose sensors, which have notably evolved over the preceding quadrennial period. Furthermore, a thorough exploration encompassed the sensor's intricate fabrication processes, the diverse range of materials employed, the underlying principles of detection, and an in-depth assessment of the sensors' efficacy in detecting glucose levels within essential bodily fluids such as human blood serums, urine, saliva, and interstitial fluids. It is worth noting that the accurate quantification of glucose concentrations within human blood has been effectively achieved by utilizing classical enzymatic sensors harmoniously integrated with optical and electrochemical transduction mechanisms. Monitoring glucose levels in various mediums has attracted exceptional attention from industrial to academic researchers for diabetes management, food quality control, clinical medicine, and bioprocess inspection. There has been an enormous demand for the creation of novel glucose sensors over the past ten years. Research has primarily concentrated on succeeding biocompatible and enhanced sensing abilities related to the present technologies, offering innovative avenues for more effective glucose sensors. Recent developments in wearable optical and electrochemical sensors with low cost, high stability, point-of-care testing, and online tracking of glucose concentration levels in biological fluids can aid in managing and controlling diabetes globally. New nanomaterials and biomolecules that can be used in electrochemical sensor systems to identify glucose concentration levels are developed thanks to advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology. Both enzymatic and non-enzymatic glucose electrochemical sensors have garnered much interest recently and have made significant strides in detecting glucose levels. In this review, we summarise several categories of non-enzymatic glucose sensor materials, including composites, non-precious transition metals and their metal oxides, hydroxides, precious metals and their alloys, carbon-based materials, conducting polymers, metal-organic framework (MOF)-based electrocatalysts, and wearable device-based glucose sensors deeply.

Combination of deep eutectic solvent and functionalized metal-organic frameworks as a green process for the production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and furfural from sugars.

Biomass is an abundant and sustainable resource that can be converted into energy and chemicals. Therefore, the development of efficient methods for the conversion of biomass into platform intermediates is crucial. In this study, the one-pot conversion of sugars into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and furfural was achieved using the metal-organic framework combined with metal ions [MIL-101(Cr)] as a high-activity catalyst, and a deep eutectic solvent (choline chloride and lactic acid) as a green solvent. The optimal temperature, time, amount of catalyst used, and amount of deep eutectic solvent used were all determined. The highest HMF yield of 49.74% and furfural yield of 55.90% were obtained. The recyclability of the catalysts and deep eutectic solvent was also investigated. After three reaction runs, the HMF yield was still nearly 30.00%. Finally, the MIL-101(Cr) catalytic system was selected to study the kinetic mechanism underlying the conversion of glucose into HMF.

Body composition modify the association between ambient particulate matter and lung function among asthma patients.

The effect of ambient PM10 and PM2.5 on lung function modified by body muscle and adipose tissue is not fully understood at present. Our aims were to investigate the association between seasonal average air pollutants and lung function in asthmatic patients modified by body composition indicators. In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 914 doctor-diagnosed asthmatic patients, and performed interaction and stratified analysis using the median values of total body muscle (TBM), total body fat (TBF), and percentage body fat (PBF) as well as body mass index (BMI) =25 as the cutoff points of the high/low body composition groups. The adjusted R2 values of the developed LUR models of PM2.5 and PM10 were 91.4% and 90.5% and also verified by cross-validation, respectively. After adjusting for confounding factors, we found that TBM significantly modified the association between PM10 and lung function among asthma patients (interaction P value <0.05). In the low TBM group, seasonal average concentrations of PM10 estimated by the LUR model increased by 10 µg/m3, and negative associations with lung function indicators were observed. For obese patients with BMI>25 and high TBF, the increase in PM10 was associated with the decrease in lung function. The asthma patients with obesity and low total body muscle were more susceptible to adverse effects of PM10 on lung function.

Bio-inspired nanoparticles mediated from plant extract biomolecules and their therapeutic application in cardiovascular diseases: A review.

Nanoparticles (NPs) have gained recognition for diagnosis, drug delivery, and therapy in fatal diseases. This review focuses on the benefits of green synthesis of bioinspired NPs using various plant extract (containing various biomolecules such as sugars, proteins, and other phytochemical compounds) and their therapeutic application in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Multiple factors including inflammation, mitochondrial and cardiomyocyte mutations, endothelial cell apoptosis, and administration of non-cardiac drugs, can trigger the cause of cardiac disorders. Furthermore, the interruption of reactive oxygen species (ROS) synchronization from mitochondria causes oxidative stress in the cardiac system, leading to chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction. NPs can decrease the interaction with biomolecules and prevent the incitement of ROS. Understanding this mechanism can pave the way for using green synthesized elemental NPs to reduce the risk of CVD. This review delivers information on the different methods, classifications, mechanisms and benefits of using NPs, as well as the formation and progression of CVDs and their effects on the body.

Rapid identification and monitoring of cooking oil fume-based toxic volatile organic aldehydes in lung tissue for predicting exposure level and cancer risks.

Cooking oil fumes (COFs) comprised of a mixture of cancer-causing volatile organic aldehydes (VOAs), particularly trans, trans-2,4-decadienal (t,t-DDE), 4-hydroxy-hexenal (4-HHE), and 4-hydroxy-nonenal (4-HNE). Monitoring toxic VOAs levels in people exposed to different cooking conditions is vital to predicting the cancer risk. For this purpose, we developed a fast tissue extraction (FaTEx) technique combined with UHPLC-MS/MS to monitor three toxic VOAs in mice lung tissue samples. FaTEx pre-treatment protocol was developed by combining two syringes for extraction and clean-up process. The various procedural steps affecting the FaTEx sample pre-treatment process were optimized to enhance the target VOAs' extraction efficiency from the sample matrix. Under the optimal experimental conditions, results exhibit good correlation coefficient values > 0.99, detection limits were between 0.5-3 ng/g, quantification limits were between 1-10 ng/g, and the matrix effect was <18.1%. Furthermore, the extraction recovery values of the spiked tissue exhibited between 88.9-109.6% with <8.6% of RSD. Cooking oil fume (containing t,t-DDE) treated mice at various time durations were sacrificed to validate the developed technique, and it was found that t,t-DDE concentrations were from 14.8 to 33.8 µg/g. The obtained results were found to be a fast, reliable, and semi-automated sample pre-treatment technique with good extraction efficiency, trace level detection limit, and less matrix effect. Therefore, this method can be applied as a potential analytical method to determine the VOAs in humans exposed to long-term cooking oil fumes.

Pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass from sugar bagasse under microwave assisted dilute acid hydrolysis for biobutanol production.

Alternative renewable energy sources are the future potential energy that will benefit the country's overall energy shortage and demand. The efficient biofuel production depends on the viability of the raw material used. The holistic approach of this study is to establish an integrated bioprocess from lignocellulosic material for biofuel synthesis. Sugar bagasse as one of the waste material, can be economically process for sugar extraction used in biofuel production. In this study, the optimum saccharification rate obtained was 43.62% when the biomass was pretreated at microwave temperature of 100 °C for 15 min with 2.5 g catalyst concentration. The results attained shows that hydrolysis time reduces to approximately 40-50% in compare with other traditional heating method. The sample was analyzed by using UV spectrophotometer and HPLC and computed by using Response Surface Method in MINITAB 17, whereas the structural changes of the residue was detected by using ATR-FTIR and ESEM.

Microwave-assisted deep eutectic solvents/dimethyl sulfoxide system for efficient valorization of sugar bagasse waste into platform chemicals: A biorefinery approach for circular bioeconomy.

The exploitation of lignocellulosic biomass (LB) such as sugar bagasse waste in biorefineries is the most cost-effective and favourable sustainable approach to producing essential platform chemicals, materials, and energy environmentally benignly. Herein, a microwave-mediated deep eutectic solvents (DESs)/dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) system for efficiently processing LB waste into platform chemicals was proposed thereof. Under optimized appropriate diverse parameters such as solvent varieties, catalyst dosage, DMSO addition, reaction time and temperature, the proposed catalytic system (i.e., microwave mediated DESs/DMSO system) has demonstrated significant yields of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF), furfural (FF) and levulinic acid (LevA) of 31.29 %, 28.38 % and 35.65 %, respectively. These favourable results were obtained at the reaction temperature of 140 °C for 40 min. The anticipated catalytic system's activation energy (Ea) was found to be 29.11 kJ/mol. Hence, a practical, inexpensive and sustainable process with the potential of high-value platform chemicals, explicitly for a sustainable strategy in a circular bioeconomy was proposed.

Adsorption of CO2 from flue gas streams by a highly efficient and stable aminosilica adsorbent.

Three ordered mesoporous silicas (OMSs) with different pore sizes and pore architectures were prepared and modified with amine functional groups by a postgrafting method. The carbon dioxide (CO2) adsorption on these amine-modified OMSs was measured by using microbalances at 348 K, and their adsorption capacities were found to be 0.2-1.4 mmol g(-1) under ambient pressure using dry 15% CO2. It was found experimentally that the CO2 adsorption capacity and adsorption rate were attributed to the density of amine groups and pore volume, respectively. A simple method is described for the production of densely anchored amine groups on a solid adsorbent invoking direct incorporation of tetraethylenepentamine onto the as-synthesized OMSs. Unlike conventional amine-modified OMSs, which typically show CO2 adsorption capacity less than 2 mmol g(-1), such organic template occluded amine-OMS composites possessed remarkably high CO2 uptake of approximately 4.6 mmol g(-1) at 348 K and 1 atm for a dry 15% CO2/nitrogen feed mixture. The enhancement of 8% in CO2 adsorption capacity was also observed in the presence of 10.6% water vapor. Durability tests done by cyclic adsorption-desorption revealed that these adsorbents also possess excellent stability.

Influence of sea-land breezes on the tempospatial distribution of atmospheric aerosols over coastal region.

The influence of sea-land breezes (SLBs) on the spatial distribution and temporal variation of particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere was investigated over coastal Taiwan. PM was simultaneously sampled at inland and offshore locations during three intensive sampling periods. The intensive PM sampling protocol was continuously conducted over a 48-hr period. During this time, PM2.5 and PM(2.5-10) (PM with aerodynamic diameters < 2.5 microm and between 2.5 and 10 microm, respectively) were simultaneously measured with dichotomous samplers at four sites (two inland and two offshore sites) and PM10 (PM with aerodynamic diameters < or =10 microm) was measured with beta-ray monitors at these same 4 sites and at 10 sites of the Taiwan Air Quality Monitoring Network. PM sampling on a mobile air quality monitoring boat was further conducted along the coastline to collect offshore PM using a beta-ray monitor and a dichotomous sampler. Data obtained from the inland sites (n=12) and offshore sites (n=2) were applied to plot the PM10 concentration contour using Surfer software. This study also used a three-dimensional meteorological model (Pennsylvania State University/National Center for Atmospheric Research Meteorological Model 5) and the Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions to simulate surface wind fields and spatial distribution of PM10 over the coastal region during the intensive sampling periods. Spatial distribution of PM10 concentration was further used in investigating the influence of SLBs on the transport of PM10 over the coastal region. Field measurement and model simulation results showed that PM10 was transported back and forth across the coastline. In particular, a high PM10 concentration was observed at the inland sites during the day because of sea breezes, whereas a high PM10 concentration was detected offshore at night because of land breezes. This study revealed that the accumulation of PM in the near-ocean region because of SLBs influenced the tempospatial distribution of PM10 over the coastal region.