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A new attempt to control volatile organic compounds (VOCs) pollution - Modification technology of biomass for adsorption of VOCs gas

Zheng G, Wei K, Kang X, Fan W, Ma NL, Verma M, et al.

Environ Pollut, 2023 Nov 01;336:122451.
PMID: 37648056 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122451

The detrimental impact of volatile organic compounds on the surroundings is widely acknowledged, and effective solutions must be sought to mitigate their pollution. Adsorption treatment is a cost-effective, energy-saving, and flexible solution that has gained popularity. Biomass is an inexpensive, naturally porous material with exceptional adsorbent properties. This article examines current research on volatile organic compounds adsorption using biomass, including the composition of these compounds and the physical (van der Waals) and chemical mechanisms (Chemical bonding) by which porous materials adsorb them. Specifically, the strategic modification of the surface chemical functional groups and pore structure is explored to facilitate optimal adsorption, including pyrolysis, activation, heteroatom doping and other methods. It is worth noting that biomass adsorbents are emerging as a highly promising strategy for green treatment of volatile organic compounds pollution in the future. Overall, the findings signify that biomass modification represents a viable and competent approach for eliminating volatile organic compounds from the environment.
Poorly controlled type 1 diabetes mellitus seriously impairs female reproduction via immune and metabolic disorders

Zhang S, Liu Q, Yang C, Li X, Chen Y, Wu J, et al.

Reprod Biomed Online, 2024 Apr;48(4):103727.
PMID: 38402677 DOI: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2023.103727

RESEARCH QUESTION: Does type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) affect reproductive health of female patients? What is the potential mechanism of reproductive dysfunction in female patients caused by T1DM?
DESIGN: Preliminary assessment of serum levels of female hormones in women with or without T1DM. Then histological and immunological examinations were carried out on the pancreas, ovaries and uteri at different stages in non-obese diabetic (NOD) and Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice, as well as assessment of their fertility. A protein array was carried out to detect the changes in serum inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, RNA-sequencing was used to identify the key abnormal genes/pathways in ovarian and uterine tissues of female NOD mice, which were further verified at the protein level.
RESULTS: Testosterone levels were significantly increased (P = 0.0036) in female mice with T1DM. Increasing age in female NOD mice was accompanied by obvious lymphocyte infiltration in the pancreatic islets. Moreover, the levels of serum inflammatory factors in NOD mice were sharply increased with increasing age. The fertility of female NOD mice declined markedly, and most were capable of conceiving only once. Furthermore, ovarian and uterine morphology and function were severely impaired in NOD female mice. Additionally, ovarian and uterine tissues revealed that the differentially expressed genes were primarily enriched in metabolism, cytokine-receptor interactions and chemokine signalling pathways.
CONCLUSION: T1DM exerts a substantial impairment on female reproductive health, leading to diminished fertility, potentially associated with immune disorders and alterations in energy metabolism.
Current recycling strategies and high-value utilization of waste cotton

Lu L, Fan W, Meng X, Xue L, Ge S, Wang C, et al.

Sci Total Environ, 2023 Jan 15;856(Pt 1):158798.
PMID: 36116663 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158798

The rapid development of the textile industry and improvement of people's living standards have led to the production of cotton textile and simultaneously increased the production of textile wastes. Cotton is one of the most common textile materials, and the waste cotton accounts for 24% of the total textile waste. To effectively manage the waste, recycling and reusing waste cotton are common practices to reduce global waste production. This paper summarizes the characteristics of waste cotton and high-value products derived from waste cotton (e.g., yarns, composite reinforcements, regenerated cellulose fibers, cellulose nanocrystals, adsorptive materials, flexible electronic devices, and biofuels) via mechanical, chemical, and biological recycling methods. The advantages and disadvantages of making high-value products from waste cotton are summarized and discussed. New technologies and products for recycling waste cotton are proposed, providing a guideline and direction for merchants and researchers. This review paper can shed light on converting textile wastes other than cotton (e.g., bast, silk, wool, and synthetic fibers) into value-added products.
Anisotropic Heat Transfer in a Fibrous Membrane with Hierarchically Assembled 2D Materials

Du Y, Zhen F, Ding S, Zhong Y, Li P, Zhan K, et al.

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 2024 Nov 27;16(47):65366-65377.
PMID: 39540851 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c15588

Effective heat redistribution in specific directions is vital for advanced thermal management, significantly enhancing device performance by optimizing spatial heat configurations. We have designed and fabricated a hierarchical fibrous membrane that enables precise heat directing. By integrating hierarchical structure design with the anisotropic thermal conductivity of two-dimensional (2D) materials, we developed a fibrous membrane for anisotropic heat transfer. Such a structure is fabricated by aligning a 1D structured fiber in the 2D plane to achieve anisotropy at each scale level. The fiber units, where 2D nanosheets circumferentially and axially aligned, achieved a high axial thermal conductivity of 16.8 W·m-1·K-1 and advanced heat directing ability, confirmed by characterizations and simulations. The assembled membrane demonstrated an exceptional tensile strength (365 MPa) and high thermal conductivity (10.5 W·m-1·K-1) along the fiber axis. Our membranes are seen as a refined model for thermal management materials, combining the benefits of heat spreaders and thermal interface materials, thus being proficient in directing heat along programmed pathways. A practical wireless charging cooling demonstration illustrated this. Our methodology also proved versatile with different 2D fillers and various geometries. This research presents a method to achieve precise heat directing at the material's level, facilitating the systematic design of thermal management in electronics.
DEPDC5 mutations in familial and sporadic focal epilepsy

Tsai MH, Chan CK, Chang YC, Yu YT, Chuang ST, Fan WL, et al.

Clin Genet, 2017 Oct;92(4):397-404.
PMID: 28170089 DOI: 10.1111/cge.12992

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Mutations in the disheveled, Egl-10 and pleckstrin domain-containing protein 5 (DEPDC5) gene have emerged as an important cause of various familial focal epilepsy syndromes. However, the significance of DEPDC5 mutations in patients with sporadic focal epilepsy has yet to be characterized.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied a kindred of familial focal epilepsy with variable foci using whole-exome sequencing. We subsequently studied a cohort of 293 patients with focal epilepsy and sequenced all exons of DEPDC5 using targeted resequencing.
RESULTS: We reported a Taiwanese family with a novel splice site mutation which affected mRNA splicing and activated the downstream mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. Among patients with focal epilepsies, the majority (220/293) of these patients had sporadic focal epilepsy without malformation of cortical development. Two (0.9%) of these patients had probably pathogenic mutations in the DEPDC5 gene.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Our finding suggests that DEPDC5 is not only the most common gene for familial focal epilepsy but also could be a significant gene for sporadic focal epilepsy. Since focal epilepsies account for more than 60% of all epilepsies, the effect of mTORC1 inhibitor on patients with focal epilepsy due to DEPDC5 mutations will be an important future direction of research.
Fulltext The Tsinghua-Lancet Commission on Healthy Cities in China: unlocking the power of cities for a healthy China

Yang J, Siri JG, Remais JV, Cheng Q, Zhang H, Chan KKY, et al.

Lancet, 2018 05 26;391(10135):2140-2184.
PMID: 29678340 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30486-0