Optical Fiber Temperature and Humidity Dual Parameter Sensing Based on Fiber Bragg Gratings and Porous Film.

A porous anodic alumina film is proposed to construct an optical fiber temperature and humidity sensor. In the sensor structure, a fiber Bragg grating is used to detect the environment temperature, and the porous film is used to detect the environment humidity. The proposed porous anodic alumina film was fabricated by anodic oxidation reaction, and it is suitable for the use of humidity detection due to its porous structure. Experimental results show the temperature sensitivity of the proposed sensor was 10.4 pm/°C and the humidity sensitivity of the proposed sensor was 185 pm/%RH.

Subcellular-Targeted Near-Infrared-Responsive Nanomedicine with Synergistic Chemo-photothermal Therapy against Multidrug Resistant Cancer.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is a major obstacle to effective cancer treatment. Therefore, developing effective approaches for overcoming the limitation of MDR in cancer therapy is very essential. Chemotherapy combined with photothermal therapy (PTT) is a potential therapeutic option against MDR. Herein, we developed a subcellular-targeted near-infrared (NIR)-responsive nanomedicine (Fe3O4@PDA-TPP/S2-PEG-hyd-DOX, abbreviated as Fe3O4-ATSPD) as a new photothermal agent with improved photothermal stability and efficiency. This system demonstrates high stability in blood circulation and can be accumulated at the tumor site by magnetic targeting enhanced permeability and retention effect (EPR). Near-infrared (NIR) irradiation at the tumor site generates a photothermal effect from the photosensitizer Fe3O4@PDA, leading to a dramatic decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential. Simultaneously, the conjugated drugs released under low pH condition in endosomes or lysosomes cause nucleus DNA damage and cell apoptosis. This subcellular-targeted NIR-responsive nanomedicine with efficient integration of diagnosis and therapy could significantly enhance MDR cancer treatment by combination of chemotherapy and PTT.

[Distribution and Removal of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Their Derivatives in SBR/MBBR Process].

While polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are an important persistent toxic organic contaminant, the toxicities of substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (SPAHs) are much higher than PAHs. Water and sludge samples were collected from the Qingdao Chengyang Sewage Treatment Plant (STP). The distribution and removal of 16 PAHs and nitro-PAHs (NPAHs), methyl-PAHs (MPAHs), and oxy-PAHs (OPAHs) in the SBR/MBBR process were analyzed. The results showed that 16 PAHs and 13 SPAHs were detected. In the influent water, the total concentrations of PAHs and SPAHs were 3835.14 ng·L-1 and 6889.46 ng·L-1, respectively, which were much higher than those of STPs in other regions. In the effluent, the total concentrations of PAHs and SPAHs were 1148.18 ng·L-1 and 1724.57 ng·L-1, respectively, and the removal rates were up to 70.06% and 74.97%, respectively. The SBR/MBBR process presented a more effective removal capacity for PAHs and SPAHs. The removal of PAHs was mainly by the biodegradation of low-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (LMW-PAHs)in the aqueous phase; while the removal of PAHsin the particle phase mainly relied on the adsorption and precipitation of LMW-PAHs in the primary sedimentation tank and the biosorption of high-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (HMW-PAHs) in the bio-unit. For SPAHs, the removal efficiency of MPAHs (up to 89.15%) was the best under the functions ofparticle adsorption and biodegradation. The removal rate of OPAHs was 63.36%, which was mainly removed by the adsorption of primary particles in the aqueous phase and the biosorption from the biological treatment unit in the particlephase, and the removal rate of NPAHs was 48.85% and largely occurred in the biological treatment unit. The removal mechanism of SPAHs in SBR/MBBR process was not the same. Therefore, STPs should take adequate control measures according to the distribution characteristics of PAHs and SPAHs in different treatment units. Additionally, the concentrations of PAHs and SPAHs in sludge were higher than those in the effluent. Thus, the management of PAHs and SPAHs in sludge should be improved.

Piezochromic phenomena of nanometer voids formed by mono-dispersed nanometer powders compacting process.

Piezochromism describes a tendency of certain materials changing colors when they are subjected to various pressure levels. It occurs particularly in some polymers or inorganic materials, such as in palladium complexes. However, piezochromism is generally believed to work at high pressure range of 0.1-10 GPa. This research work focused on unique piezochromism responses of the nanometer voids formed by the 5-20 nm inorganic ISOH nanometer powders. It was discovered that microstructures of the nanometer voids could change color at very low pressures of only 0.002-0.01 GPa; its sensitivity to pressure was increased by tens of times. It is believed that the uniform microstructures of nanometer powders contributed to the material's high sensitivity of piezochromic phenomena. One factor which quantum optical change caused by nanometer voids affected the quantum confinement effect; another is surface Plasmon Resonance of great difference dielectric property between conductive ITO powder and insulation hydroxide.

Synthesis, characterization and stability of chitosan and poly(methyl methacrylate) grafted carbon nanotubes.

The single walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were effectively functionalized through grafting with chitosan (CTS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Prior to grafting reaction, the carboxylated SWNCTs (SWNCTs-COOH) were obtained by treating pristine CNTs with a mixture of 3:1 (v/v) H(2)SO(4) and HNO(3), and the successive treatment of SWNCTs-COOH with SOCl(2) yielded the acylated CNTs (CNTs-COCl). The functionalized derivatives of CNTs were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Both CTS and PMMA grafted CNTs showed better dispersability in acetic acid and tetrahydrofuran, in addition to higher stability in solution.

Development and applications of nano-powder patents--a review in patents.

A thorough review on the patents in the applications of nano-powder technology shows that research work in this technical field is growing stronger, as indicated by a rapid increase in the number of independent patents in relevant topics. This also indicates ever increasing and continuous interests on the nano-powder technology even after 15 years of dynamic global nanotechnology development. The review on the patents in the nano-powder area shows that the use of specialized databanks is recommendable and beneficial in providing the researchers in this technical community an updated, systematic and rapid reference in furthering new development and expansion of this vital nanotechnology field.

A method for controlling enterprises access to an eco-industrial park.

Member enterprises have a vital effect on the stability and system efficiency of an eco-industrial park (EIP), and a selection and control for them is an important part. This paper proposes a new method which is an establishment of both an access indicator system and an extendable optimal degree evaluation model. The indicator system comprises seven primary indicators and twenty-seven secondary indicators. The first three primary indicators, matching the existing industrial chains or not, park capacity and park environmental performance improvement, are proposed from the perspective of an EIP. The others including eco-design, economic benefit, utilization of resources, and pollution control, are suggested from the point of view of enterprises. This new access indicator system provides a basis for evaluating candidate enterprises. The extendable optimal degree evaluation which was proposed by Prof. Caiwen is a method to assess the satisfactoriness of all the indicators and to assign an optimal degree order to each candidate enterprise accordingly. There are four steps to conduct the evaluation after establishing the access indicator system: (1) selecting correlation function; (2) calculating correlations; (3) assigning weights and current values of indicators; and (4) calculating the optimal degree of all the candidate enterprises. The enterprises can be ranked based on optimal degree results. The highest-ranked enterprise should have the highest priority of entering the EIP. This study provides the specifics of applying the method by examining the case of Yantai Economy Technology Development Zone EIP (YTEIP) in Shandong province. The method provides a practical tool for controling enterprise access to an EIP. However, the reasonability and validity of indicators and effectiveness of the established method of extendable optimal degree evaluation merit further studies.