Self-Flipping Solar Seesaw Evaporators Leverage Scaling to De-Scale.

Salt scaling poses a significant obstacle to the practical implementation of solar-driven evaporation for desalination. Attempts to mitigate scaling by enhancing mass transfer often lead to a compromise in evaporation efficiency due to associated heat loss. In the present work, a novel seesaw evaporator with a Janus structure to harness scaling for periodic self-descaling is reported. The seesaw evaporators are facilely fabricated by delignifying balsa wood and subsequently single-sided spray-coating it with soot and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). This unique Janus structure enables the evaporator to float on the brine while ensuring an ample supply of solution for evaporation. During evaporation, salt ions are transported directionally toward the cocked end of the evaporator to form scaling, triggering the seesaw evaporator to flip once a threshold is reached. The accumulated salts re-dissolve back into the solution. By adjusting the tilt angle, the evaporator can achieve an impressive evaporation rate of up to 2.65 kg m-2 h-1 when evaporating an 8 wt.% NaCl solution. Remarkably, these evaporators maintain a stable evaporation rate during prolonged 120 h operation and produce ≈3.93-6.35 L m⁻2·day⁻¹ of freshwater from simulated brines when assembled into an evaporation device.

Poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide)-endowed spontaneous emulsification during the breath figure process and the formation of membranes with hierarchical pores.

The spontaneous emulsification for the formation of water-in-oil (W/O) or oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions needs the help of at least one kind of the third component (surfactant or cosolvent) to stabilize the oil-water interface. Herein, with the water/CS2-soluble polymer poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide) (PDEAM) as a surfactant, the spontaneous formation of water-in-PDEAM/CS2 emulsions is reported for the first time. The strong affinity between PDEAM and water or the increase of PDEAM concentration will accelerate the emulsification process with high dispersed phase content. It is demonstrated that the spontaneous emulsification of condensed water droplets into the PDEAM/CS2 solution occurs during the breath figure process, resulting in porous films with two levels of pore sizes (i.e., micron and submicron). The emulsification degree and the amounts of submicron-sized pores increase with PDEAM concentration and solidifying time of the solution. This work brings about incremental interest in spontaneous emulsification that may happen during the breath figure process. The combination of these two simultaneous processes provides us with an option to build hierarchically porous structures with condensed and emulsified water droplets as templates. Such porous membranes may have great potential in fields such as separation, cell culture, and biosensing.

Polystyrenes with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties: synthesis and self-assembly behaviors.

Fluorinated polymers are emerging as important alternatives for isoporous film fabrication by the breath figure technique, originating from the special characteristics endowed by fluorine elements such as low surface energy and good chemical stability. In this work, we design and synthesize polystyrenes (∼3600 Da) with perfluoroalkyl groups (-C3F7 or -C7F15) at both chain ends and hydrophilic oligo(ethylene glycol) units ((C2H4O)n, n = 1/2/3) in the chain middle by taking advantage of the bifunctional atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiators and post-substitution of the terminal bromine. We investigate the influence of the two disparate groups on the physical characteristics of the polymers and self-assembly behaviors during the dynamic breath figure process. It shows that the elongation of hydrophilic segments can greatly decrease the interfacial tension between the polymer solution and water (from 41.8 to 37.4 mN m-1), and the functionalization with perfluoroalkyl end groups diminishes the ability of the polymers to precipitate at the interface, as demonstrated by the cloud point results. Studies of the morphology of the porous films suggest that both low interfacial tension and strong capability of interfacial precipitation are beneficial to droplet stabilization and honeycomb pattern formation at low solution concentrations.

Rapid Immobilization of Silver Nanoparticles via Amino-quinone Coatings Enables Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Detection.

Immobilization of metal nanoparticles (NPs) on flexible substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has received great attention. Anchoring NPs on substrates generally involves the process of surface modification, thanks to its simple, universal, and nondestructive features. 2-Hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (HNQ), a plant-derived compound used to dye hairs and nails, may interact with polyamine or metal ions to form a surface coating. Here, we report the formation of amino-quinone coatings via the co-deposition of HNQ and polyethyleneimine, which provides a functionalized platform to rapidly immobilize Ag NPs on substrates such as a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) film to fabricate Ag-PDMS substrates for SERS detection. The detection concentrations are down to 10-8 M for rhodamine 6G. This work expands the system of surface co-deposition and further provides a facile route to prepare a highly efficient SERS substrate.

Variance Composition, Reliability, Validity, and Measurement Invariance of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 in Nonclinical Samples.

The present study extended prior work on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20). The TAS-20 total scale score is commonly used in research in the psychology of men and masculinities and in clinical practice, but most published confirmatory factor analyses (CFA's) do not support this use. Using a sample of 913 men and women, variance composition was assessed, and model-based dimensionality and reliability coefficients were calculated, finding evidence for unidimensionality, which supports the use of the total scale raw score but not that of the subscales, although the model fit was less than desired. Convergent and concurrent evidence was found for the validity of the TAS-20 in men as a unidimensional scale (N = 505) by examining relationships with latent variables of several constructs in the nomological network. An assessment of measurement invariance by gender (men, women) found evidence for metric invariance, indicating that cisgender men and women understand the scale in the same way. It is recommended that the TAS-20 scale developers follow recommended procedures to trim composite measurement scales to improve the psychometric properties (i.e., model fit) of the TAS.

Acceptance of Illness Among Patients Pursuing Transplantation or Left Ventricular Assist Device.

Acceptance of illness is related to better mental health among patients with chronic illness; however, this construct has not been evaluated as part of routine transplantation evaluations. The purpose of this study was to create a brief measure of acceptance of illness for patients pursuing organ transplantation and examine how acceptance is related to distress. Retrospective medical record reviews were conducted for 290 patients who completed a routine psychosocial evaluation prior to transplant listing which included the Illness Acceptance Scale (IAS). Internal consistency for the IAS was excellent (Cronbach's alpha = .92). Illness acceptance was negatively correlated with depression, anxiety, and catastrophizing and was not related to health literacy or health numeracy. The IAS is a reliable and valid measure for patients who are pursuing thoracic transplant or left ventricular assist device. Clinicians may want to screen transplant candidates for illness acceptance and refer those with lower levels to psychological interventions.

Surface Coatings via the Assembly of Metal-Monophenolic Networks.

Mussel-inspired surface modification has received significant interest in recent years because of its simplicity and versatility. The deposition systems are still mainly limited to molecules with catechol chemical structures. In this paper, we report a novel deposition system based on a monophenol, vanillic acid (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzoic acid), to fabricate metal-phenolic network coatings on various substrates. The results of the water contact angle and zeta potential reveal that the modified polypropylene microfiltration membrane is underwater superhydrophobic and positively charged, showing applications in oil/water separation and dye removal. Furthermore, the single-face modified Janus membrane is promising in switchable oil/water separation. The results demonstrate a novel example of the metal-monophenolic deposition system, which expands the toolbox of surface coatings and facilitates the understanding of the deposition of phenols.

Engineered Coatings via the Assembly of Amino-Quinone Networks.

Engineering coatings with precise physicochemical properties allows for control over the interface of a material and its interactions with the surrounding environment. However, assembling coatings with well-defined properties on different material classes remains a challenge. Herein, we report a co-assembly strategy to precisely control the structure and properties (e.g., thickness, adhesion, wettability, and zeta potential) of coatings on various materials (27 substrates examined) using quinone and polyamine building blocks. By increasing the length of the amine building blocks from small molecule diamines to branched amine polymers, we tune the properties of the films, including the thickness (from ca. 5 to ca. 50 nm), interfacial adhesion (0.05 to 5.54 nN), water contact angle (130 to 40°), and zeta potential (-42 to 28 mV). The films can be post-functionalized through the in situ formation of diverse nanostructures, including nanoparticles, nanorods, and nanocrystals. Our approach provides a platform for the rational design of engineered, substrate-independent coatings for various applications.

Surface Metallization of Porous Polymer Materials for Multifunctional Applications.

Porous materials have attracted great interest in recent years, and a variety of surface modification methods have been developed to endow porous materials with multifunctional applications. Herein, multifunctional porous materials are fabricated based on surface metallization. Metallized sponges with Ag and Cu are highly hydrophobic and are still hydrophobic under oil. The metallized sponges selectively adsorb oils from oil/water mixtures and can completely remove oils from water. We further demonstrate continuous oil-water separation by the metallized sponges with the aid of a peristaltic pump. The Ag-metallized materials show high catalytic performance for both chemical reduction and dye degradation. The catalytic reduction efficiency of 4-nitrophenol reaches 97.7% within 60 min and remains as high as 96% after 15 cycles. Moreover, the metallized materials show 99.99% bactericidal efficiency for both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Particularly, the Cu-metallized materials exhibit stable conductivity under deformation; and metal patterns are realized via the metallization method combined with a patterned mask, which may provide a feasible approach for flexible electronics. This work provides a versatile method to introduce metal coatings to porous materials, broadening the applications of porous materials.

Surface Deposition of Juglone/FeIII on Microporous Membranes for Oil/Water Separation and Dye Adsorption.

Deposition of dopamine and tannic acid has received great attention in the fields of surface and interface science and technology. The deposition behaviors of various metal-phenolic systems have been investigated, and it is generally accepted that at least one catechol group is essential to the formation of the coatings. Herein, we report a novel and effective surface-coating system based on the coordination complexes of FeIII ions with a natural product juglone that contains only one phenolic hydroxyl. We investigated the deposition behaviors of this novel system on various substrates. Microporous polypropylene membrane modified with juglone/FeIII coatings is superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic, showing high separation efficiency and good reusability for various oil/water emulsions. In addition, the modified membrane can adsorb anionic dyes and selectively remove them from dye mixtures with high efficiency. We further demonstrated that the coating is a result of the synergetic effect of juglone/FeIII coordination and FeIII hydrolysis. This work not only provides new insights into surface deposition systems but also expands the polyphenol family for surface coatings of multifunctional materials.

Advancing Pharmacy Service using Big Data - Are We Fully Utilising the Big Data's Potential Yet?

Big data is anticipated to have large implications in clinical pharmacy, in view of its potential in enhancing precision medicine and to avoid medication error. However, it is equally debatable since such a powerful tool may also disrupt the need of pharmacist in healthcare industry. In this article, we commented the contribution of Big Data in various aspects of clinical pharmacy including advancing pharmaceutical care service, optimising drug supplies, managing clinical trials, and strengthening pharmacovigilance. The future direction of the usage of Big Data related to clinical pharmacy will be discussed. This article is open to POST-PUBLICATION REVIEW. Registered readers (see "For Readers") may comment by clicking on ABSTRACT on the issue's contents page.

Oxyresveratrol, a Stilbene Compound from Morus alba L. Twig Extract Active Against Trichophyton rubrum.

Morus alba L. (mulberry) twig is known to have an inhibitory effect on pathogens in traditional Chinese medicine. In the present study, the dermophytic fungus, Trichophyton rubrum, was used to evaluate the inhibitory effect of total M. alba twig extract and extracts obtained using solvents with different polarities by the method of 96-well MTT colorimetry. The main active substance was isolated and identified by tracking its activity. In addition, the inhibitory effects of active extracts and a single active substance were investigated in combination with miconazole nitrate. Our data indicated that ethyl acetate extracts of mulberry twig (TEE) exhibited a desired inhibitory activity on T. rubrum with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 1.000 mg/mL. With activity tracking, the main substance showing antimicrobial activity was oxyresveratrol (OXY), which was isolated from TEE. Its MIC for inhibiting the growth of T. rubrum was 0.500 mg/mL. The combined use of miconazole nitrate and OXY showed a synergistic inhibitory effect, as shown by a significant decrease in the MIC of both components. Based on the OXY content in TEE, the contribution rate of OXY to the inhibitory effect of TEE on T. rubrum was 80.52%, so it was determined to be the main antimicrobial substance in M. alba twig. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[Mechanism of cardiac atrophy under weightlessness/simulated weightlessness].

Cardiac remodeling is the heart's response to external or internal stimuli. Weightlessness/simulated weightlessness leads to cardiac atrophy and heart function declining. Understanding the mechanism of cardiac atrophy under weightlessness is important to help astronaut recover from unloading-induced cardiovascular changes after spaceflight. Unloading-induced changes of hemodynamics, metabolic demands and neurohumoral regulation contribute to cardiac atrophy and function declining. During this process, Ca(2+)-related signaling, NF-κB signaling, ERK signaling, ubiquitin-proteasome pathway and autophagy are involved in weightlessness-induced cardiac atrophy. This article reviews the underlying mechanism of cardiac atrophy under weightlessness/simulated weightlessness.

CuSO4/H2O2-Induced Rapid Deposition of Polydopamine Coatings with High Uniformity and Enhanced Stability.

Mussel-inspired polydopamine (PDA) deposition offers a promising route to fabricate multifunctional coatings for various materials. However, PDA deposition is generally a time-consuming process, and PDA coatings are unstable in acidic and alkaline media, as well as in polar organic solvents. We report a strategy to realize the rapid deposition of PDA by using CuSO4/H2O2 as a trigger. Compared to the conventional processes, our strategy shows the fastest deposition rate reported to date, and the PDA coatings exhibit high uniformity and enhanced stability. Furthermore, the PDA-coated porous membranes have excellent hydrophilicity, anti-oxidant properties, and antibacterial performance. This work demonstrates a useful method for the environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and time-saving fabrication of PDA coatings.

Highly Stable, Protein-Resistant Surfaces via the Layer-by-Layer Assembly of Poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) and Tannic Acid.

Zwitterionic materials have received great attention because of the non-fouling property. As a result of the electric neutrality of zwitterionic polymers, their layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly is generally conducted under specific conditions, such as very low pH values or ionic strength. The formed multilayers are unstable at high pH or in a high ionic strength environment. Therefore, the formation of highly stable multilayers of zwitterionic polymers via the LBL assembly process is still challenging. Here, we report the LBL assembly of poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (PSBMA) with a polyphenol, tannic acid (TA), for protein-resistant surfaces. The assembly process was monitored by a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE), which confirms the formation of thin multilayer films. We found that the (TA/PSBMA)n multilayers are stable over a wide pH range of 4-10 and in saline, such as 1 M NaCl or urea solution. The surface morphology and chemical composition were characterized by specular reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR/SR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Furthermore, (TA/PSBMA)n multilayers show high hydrophilicity, with a water contact angle lower than 15°. A QCM was used to record the dynamic protein adsorption process. Adsorption amounts of bovine serum albumin (BSA), lysozyme (Lys), and hemoglobin (Hgb) on (TA/PSBMA)20 multilayers decreased to 0.42, 52.9, and 37.9 ng/cm(2) from 328, 357, and 509 ng/cm(2) on a bare gold chip surface, respectively. In addition, the protein-resistance property depends upon the outmost layer. This work provides new insights into the LBL assembly of zwitterionic polymers.

Optimal waist circumference cut-off values for identifying metabolic risk factors in middle-aged and elderly subjects in Shandong Province of China.

OBJECTIVE: To study the optimal waist circumference (WC) cut-off values for identifying metabolic risk factors in middle-aged and elderly subjects in Shandong Province of China. METHODS: A total of 2,873 men and 5,559 women were included in this cross-sectional study. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) was diagnosed according to the definition of Chinese Diabetes Society in 2004. The relation between WC and MetS was analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis. The optimal WC cut-off values were identified using the area under the ROC curve and the different diagnostic criteria for central obesity were compared. RESULTS: The WC was the risk factor for MetS independent of BMI, blood glucose, blood lipid, and blood pressure. The optimal WC cut-off value was 83.8 cm and 91.1 cm for identifying MetS in women and men, respectively. Compared with 80 cm and 85 cm for women and men, 85 cm and 90 cm had a higher Youden index for identifying all metabolic risk factors and MetS in women and men. CONCLUSION: The appropriate WC cut-off value is 85 cm and 90 cm for identifying central obesity and MetS in women and men in Shandong Province of China.

Two new 2-(2-phenylethyl)chromone derivatives and two sesquiterpenes from agarwood of Aquilaria sinensis with anti-inflammatory activity.

Two new 2-(2-phenylethyl)chromones (1-2), two new sesquiterpenes (12-13), and twelve known compounds (3-11, 14-16) were isolated from agarwood of Aquilaria sinensis. These structures were confirmed by HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR spectra. The absolute configurations of two new sesquiterpenes were determined by comparing the experimental and calculated ECD spectra. Among them, 7,8-dihydroxy-2-[2-(4'-methoxyphenyl)ethyl]chromone (2) was the first time found that the hydroxyl groups at both C-7/C-8 in agarwood. And Aseudesm B (13), the aldehyded methyl group at C-5 of eucalyptane sesquiterpenes was first discovered in natural products. In the bioassays, all compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory activity against lipopolysaccharide-activated nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW264.7 cells. Compounds 2-5, 7, 9-10, and 13-14 revealed notable inhibitory effects against NO production with IC50 values ranging from 4.0 to 13.0 µM.

Ordered microporous membranes templated by breath figures for size-selective separation.

Membranes with highly uniform pore size are important in various fields. Here we report the preparation and performance of ordered membranes, the pore diameter of which is on the micrometer scale. The ordered membranes fabricated at two-phase interfaces enable a high-resolution and energy-saving separation process. Moreover, a possible mechanism for the formation of through-pores has been proposed and experimentally verified.

Glycopolymer brushes for the affinity adsorption of RCA120: effects of thickness, grafting density, and epitope density.

The interactions between glycopolymer brushes and lectin are very important for the development of affinity membrane chromatography in protein separation. Here, we report the combination of surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) to investigate the relationship between the structure of glycopolymer brushes and the affinity adsorption of lectin. The glycopolymer brushes were fabricated from self-assembly of 11-mercapto-1-undecanol (MUD)/1-undecanethiol (UDT) mixture, immobilization of ATRP initiators, and then SI-ATRP of 2-lactobionamidoethyl methacrylate (LAMA). Brush thickness and grafting density were adjusted by controlling polymerization time and thiol ratio in MUD/UDT mixture, respectively. Sugar epitope density was also controlled through copolymerization of 2-hydroxylethyl methacrylate (HEMA) with LAMA. Ricinus communis agglutinin (RCA(120)), one kind of lectin that can bind galactose specifically, was chosen to study the effects of brush architectures on lectin adsorption. SPR results indicate not only the thickness but also the grafting density and the epitope density of glycopolymer brushes can achieve the best performance of sugar cluster effect in affinity adsorption of lectin. In addition, the mass transport effect is crucial in the adsorption process. We propose that it is important to keep the balance between the sugar cluster effect and the mass transport effect in the preparation of high-performance affinity membrane chromatography.

[GAD67-GFP expression and co-localization with bNOS in main olfactory bulb of GAD67-GFP knock-in mouse].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the distribution of GAD67 and the co-localization with bNOS in the main olfactory bulb of GAD67-GFP knock-in mouse. METHODS: Polymerase chain reaction was applied to identify the genotype of GAD67-GFP knock-in mouse, the animals were sacrificed and frozen sections of olfactory bulb were prepared. The Nissl-staining was performed to show an framework of the neuron in the olfactory bulb. The distribution of GAD67 and co-localization with bNOS were detected by immunofluorescence technique. RESULTS: The proportion of GAD67-positive cells among DAPI-positive cells were (42.98 ± 0.92)% in glomerular layer, (23.64 ± 0.84)% in mitral cell layer and (77.75 ± 0.84)% in granule cell layer; the bNOS-positive cells mainly existed in glomerular layer and mitral cell layer, very few in granule cell layer. No co-localization of GAD67 and bNOS in granule cell layer and mitral cell layer was found, but there was dispersed distribution in glomerular layer. CONCLUSION: GAD67-positive neurons mainly appear in glomerular layer and granule cell layer, and the bNOS is mostly expressed in glomerular layer and mitral cell layer; while the co-localization of GAD67 and bNOS only occurs in glomerular layer of olfactory bulb.