Systematic Modulation of Thiol Functionalities in Inexpensive Porous Polymers for Effective Mercury Removal

Through accumulation, mercury contamination in aquatic systems still poses serious health risks despite the strict regulations on drinking water and industrial discharge. One effective strategy against this is adsorptive removal, in which a suitably functionalized porous material is added to water treatment protocols. Thiol (SH) group-grafted structures perform commendably; however, insufficient attention is paid to the cost, scalability, and reusability or how the arrangement of sulfur atoms could affect the Hg^II binding strength. We used an inexpensive and scalable porous covalent organic polymer (COP-130) to systematically introduce thiol functional groups with precise chain lengths and sulfur content. Thiol-functionalized COP-130 demonstrates enhanced wettability and excellent Hg^II uptake of up to 936 mg g⁻¹, with fast kinetics and exceptionally high selectivity. These Hg adsorbents are easily regenerated with HCl and can be used at least six times without loss of capacity even after treatment with strong acid, a rare performance in the domain of Hg-removal research.     

Preparation and Characterization of Activated Carbon from Microwave and Conventional Heated Almond Shells Using Phosphoric Acid Activation

Activated carbon production from almond shells using phosphoric acid activation agent was achieved by applying both conventional heating and microwave heating in succession. The morphology and surface properties of activated carbon were studied using thermogravimetric and differential gravimetric analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis. A surface area of 1128 m²/g was achieved by optimizing the microwave power (500?W), microwave application time (15?minutes), conventional heating time (45?minutes), conventional heating temperature (500?°C), and the phosphoric acid:sample ratio (0.7:1). An adsorption capacity of methylene blue of 148?mg/g and an iodine value of 791?mg/g was obtained for the prepared activated carbon.     

Preparation and characterization of activated carbon from pine cone by microwave-induced ZnCl2 activation and its effects on the adsorption of methylene blue

In this work, activated carbon prepared from pine cone (PCAC) with ZnCl₂ as an activation agent under microwave radiation was investigated. The activation step was performed at the microwave input power of 400 W and radiation time of 5 min. The properties of activated carbon were characterized by N₂ adsorption Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Results showed that the BET surface area, Langmuir surface area, and total pore volume of PCAC were 939, 1,486 m²/g and 0.172 cm³/g, respectively. Adsorption capacity was demonstrated by the iodine numbers. The adsorptive property of PCAC was tested using methylene blue dye. Equilibrium data was best fitted by the Langmuir isotherm model, showing a monolayer adsorption capacity of 60.97 mg/g. The pseudo-first- and pseudo-second-order kinetic models were examined to evaluate the kinetic data, and the rate constants were calculated. Adsorption of the dyes followed pseudo-first order kinetics. Thermodynamic parameters such as free energy, enthalpy and entropy of dye adsorption were obtained.     

Benzotriazole derivatives as long wavelength photosensitizers for diaryliodonium salt initiators

Two benzotriazole derivative dyes 4,7‐bis(2,3‐dihydrothieno[3,4‐b][1,4]dioxin‐5‐yl)‐2‐dodecyl‐2H‐benzo[1,2,3]triazole, and 2‐dodecyl‐4,7‐bis(4‐hexylthiophen‐2‐yl)‐2H‐benzo[d][1,2,3]triazole are shown to work as efficient photosensitizers for a diphenyliodonium salt initiator in cationic photopolymerization of epoxide and vinyl monomers. Substituted thienyl groups are attached to benzotriazole backbone to extend conjugation and enhance electron density of the molecules. Thereby, it was possible to initiate polymerizations at room temperature using long wavelength UV and visible light. The progress of photopolymerizations was monitored using optical pyrometry. The photopolymerization of an epoxide monomer using solar irradiation was also demonstrated. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Efficient and robust scale estimation for trended time series

This paper presents a new method for robust online variability extraction in time series. The proposed estimator is simultaneously highly robust and efficient. We derive its breakdown point, influence function, and asymptotic variance and study the finite sample properties in a simulation study.     

Supercapacitor study of reduced graphene oxide/Zn nanoparticle/polycarbazole electrode active materials and equivalent circuit models

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - In this study, graphene oxide (GO) was chemically reacted with sodium borohydride (NaBH4) to form reduced graphene oxide (rGO). rGO and rGO/Zn...     

Pediatric abdominal masses: diagnostic accuracy of diffusion weighted MRI

Purpose

To retrospectively identify apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of pediatric abdominal mass lesions, to determine whether measured ADC of the lesions and signal intensity on diffusion-weighted (DW) images allow discrimination between benign and malignant mass lesions.

Materials and Methods

Approval for this retrospective study was obtained from the institutional review board. Children with abdominal mass lesions, who were examined by DW magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were included in this study. DW MR images were obtained in the axial plane by using a non breath-hold single-shot spin-echo sequence on a 1.5-T MR scanner. ADCs were calculated for each lesion. ADC values were compared with Mann–Whitney U test. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to determine cut-off values for ADC. The results of visual assessment on b800 images and ADC map images were compared with chi-square test.

Results

Thirty-one abdominal mass lesions (16 benign, 15 malignant) in 26 patients (15 girls, 11 boys, ranging from 2 days to 17 years with 6.9 years mean) underwent MRI. Benign lesions had significantly higher ADC values than malignant ones (P<.001). The mean ADCs of malignant lesions were 0.84±1.7×10⁻³ mm²/s, while the mean ADCs of the benign ones were 2.28±1.00×10⁻³ mm²/s. With respect to cutoff values of ADC: 1.11×10⁻³ mm²/s, sensitivity and negative predictive values were 100%, specificity was 78.6% and positive predictive value was 83.3%. For b800 and ADC map images, there were statistically significant differences on visual assessment. All malignant lesions had variable degrees of high signal intensity whereas eight of the 16 benign ones had low signal intensities on b800 images (P<.001). On ADC map images, all malignant lesions were hypointense and most of the benign ones (n=11, 68.7%) were hyperintense (P<.001).

Conclusion

DW imaging can be used for reliable discrimination of benign and malignant pediatric abdominal mass lesions based on considerable differences in the ADC values and signal intensity changes.     

The interaction of an azo compound with a surfactant and ion pair adsorption to solid phases

The adsorption of SPADNS (trisodium salt of 2-(p-sulfophenylazo)-1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene-3,6-disulfonic acid) onto resins XAD 2, XAD 7 and silica gel was studied in the presence and in the absence of the cationic surfactant CTAB (cetyl trimethylammonium bromide). At a ratio of 2.5 CTAB to 1 SPADNS, the surfactant caused a marked increase in SPADNS adsorption. The experimental results for adsorption versus time were applied on the basis of three kinetic models (pseudo-first-order Lagergren, pseudo-second-order, and intraparticle diffusion). The interaction between CTAB and SPADNS was investigated using spectrophotometric, conductometric, and computational techniques. Theoretical results point to the formation of an ion pair between CTAB and SPADNS that influences the solution spectra, in agreement with conductometric and spectrophotometric data.     

Subplanes of projective planes of order 121

We determine orbit representatives of all proper subplanes generated by quadrangles of a Veblen-Wedderburn (VW) plane Π of order 11² and the Hughes plane Σ of order 11² under their full collineation groups. In Π, there are 13 orbits of Baer subplanes all of which are desarguesian and approximately 3000 orbits of Fano subplanes. In Σ, there are 8 orbits of Baer subplanes all of which are desarguesian, 2 orbits of subplanes of order 3 and at most 408,075 distinct Fano subplanes. This work was motivated by the well-known question: “Does there exist a non-desarguesian projective plane of prime order?” The question remains unsettled.     

Protein and solvent dynamics: how strongly are they coupled?

Analysis of Raman and neutron scattering spectra of lysozyme demonstrates that the protein dynamics follow the dynamics of the solvents glycerol and trehalose over the entire temperature range measured 100-350 K. The protein's fast conformational fluctuations and low-frequency vibrations and their temperature variations are very sensitive to behavior of the solvents. Our results give insight into previous counterintuitive observations that protein relaxation is stronger in solid trehalose than in liquid glycerol. They also provide insight into the effectiveness of glycerol as a biological cryopreservant.