Functionalization and Evaluation of Inorganic Adsorbents for the Removal of Cadmium in Wastewater

This study presents the feasibility of using various functionalized substrates, Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (NPs) and Al₂O₃ spheres, for the removal of Cd from aqueous solution. To improve the materials’ affinity to Cd, we explored four different surface modifications, namely (3-Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES), L-Cysteine (Cys) and 3-(triethoxysilyl) propylsuccinic anhydride (CAS). Particles were characterized by FTIR, FIB-SEM and DLS and studied for their ability to remove metal ions. Modified NPs with APTES proved to be effective for Cd removal with efficiencies of up to 94%, and retention ratios up to 0.49 mg of Cd per g of NPs. Batch adsorption experiments investigated the influence of pH, contact time, and adsorbent dose on Cd adsorption. Additionally, the recyclability of the adsorbent and its potential phytotoxicity and animal toxicity effects were explored. The Langmuir, Freundlich, pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models were applied to describe the behavior of the Cd adsorption processes. The adsorption and desorption results showed that Fe₃O₄ NPs modified with APTES are promising low-cost platforms with low phytotoxicity for highly efficient heavy metal removal in wastewater.     

Understanding cold denaturation: the case study of Yfh1

All globular proteins undergo transitions from their native to unfolded states if exposed either to cold or to heat perturbation. While the heat-induced transition is well described for a large number of proteins, in media compatible with natural environments, the limited number of examples of cold denatured states concern proteins artificially destabilized, for instance, by the presence of denaturants, ad hoc point mutations, or both. Here, we provide a characterization of the low temperature unfolded state of Yfh1, a natural protein that undergoes cold denaturation around water freezing temperature, in the absence of any denaturant. By achieving nearly full assignment of the NMR spectrum, we show that at -1 °C, Yfh1 has all the features of an unfolded protein, although retaining some local, residual secondary structure. The effect is not uniform along the sequence and does not merely reflect the secondary structural features of the folded species. The N-terminus seems to be dynamically more flexible, although retaining some nascent helix character. Interestingly, this region is the one containing functionally important hot-spots. The β-sheet region and the C-terminal helix are completely unfolded, although experiencing some conformational exchange, partly due to the presence of several prolines. Ours is the first step toward a full characterization of the low temperature unfolded state of a natural protein, reached without the aid of any destabilizing agent. We discuss the implications of our findings for understanding cold denatured states.     

Permeability of acetic acid through organic films at the air-aqueous interface

Recent field studies of collected aerosol particles, both marine and continental, show that the outermost layers contain long-chain (C >or= 18) organics. The presence of these long-chain organics could impede the transport of gases and other volatile species across the interface. This could effect the particle's composition, lifetime, and heterogeneous chemistry. In this study, the uptake rate of acetic acid vapor across a clean interface and through films of long-chain organics into an aqueous subphase solution containing an acid-base indicator (bromocresol green) was measured under ambient conditions using visible absorption spectroscopy. Acetic acid is a volatile organic compound (VOC) and is an atmospherically relevant organic acid. The uptake of acetic acid through single-component organic films of 1-octadecanol (C(18)H(38)O), 1-triacontanol (C(30)H(62)O), cis-9-octadecen-1-ol (C(18)H(36)O), and nonacosane (C(29)H(60)) in addition to two mixed films containing equimolar 1-triacontanol/nonacosane and equimolar 1-triacontanol/cis-9-octadecen-1-ol was determined. These species represent long-chain organic compounds that reside at the air-aqueous interface of atmospheric aerosols. The cis-9-octadecen-1-ol film had little effect on the net uptake rate of acetic acid vapor into solution; however, the uptake rate was reduced by almost one-half by an interfacial film of 1-triacontanol. The measured uptake rates were used to calculate the permeability of acetic acid through the various films which ranged from 1.5 x 10(-3) cm s(-1) for 1-triacontanol, the least permeable film, to 2.5 x 10(-2) cm s(-1) for cis-9-octadecen-1-ol, the most permeable film. Both mixed films had permeabilities that were between that of the single-component films comprising the mixture. This shows that the permeability of a mixed film may not be solely determined by the most permeable species in the mixture. The permeabilities of all the films studied here are discussed in relation to their molecular properties, pressure-area isotherms, and atmospheric implications.     

Copper(II) complexes with ligands derived from 4-amino-2,3-dimethyl-1-phenyl-3-pyrazolin-5-one: synthesis and biological activity

The synthesis of Cu(II) complexes derived from Schiff base ligands obtained by the condensation of 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde or terephtalic aldehyde with 4-amino-antipyrine (4-amino-2,3-dimethyl-1-phenyl-3-pyrazolin-5-one) is presented. The newly prepared compounds were characterized by( 1)H-NMR, UV-VIS, IR and ESR spectroscopy. The determination of the antimicrobial activity of the ligands and of the complexes was carried out on samples of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter boumanii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida sp. The qualitative and quantitative antimicrobial activity test results proved that all the prepared complexes are very active, especially against samples of Ps. aeruginosa, A. Boumanii, E. coli and S. aureus.     

A partition-based global optimization algorithm

This paper is devoted to the study of partition-based deterministic algorithms for global optimization of Lipschitz-continuous functions without requiring knowledge of the Lipschitz constant. First we introduce a general scheme of a partition-based algorithm. Then, we focus on the selection strategy in such a way to exploit the information on the objective function. We propose two strategies. The first one is based on the knowledge of the global optimum value of the objective function. In this case the selection strategy is able to guarantee convergence of every infinite sequence of trial points to global minimum points. The second one does not require any a priori knowledge on the objective function and tries to exploit information on the objective function gathered during progress of the algorithm. In this case, from a theoretical point of view, we can guarantee the so-called every-where dense convergence of the algorithm.     

Benign coupling of reactions and separations with reversible ionic liquids

Reversible ionic liquids are a novel class of solvents that combine an effective medium where reactions occur with a ‘built-in’ separation ability for facile recovery of the products and catalysts, making the solvent available for recycle. We report the utility of these solvents in a number of reactions (Claisen-Schmidt condensation, Heck C-C coupling, and CO₂ capture) and discuss the effectiveness of the separation. We also provide insight into the challenges and limitations of using these unique solvent systems to couple reactions and separations.     

Structural Modifications of cis‐Glycofused Benzopyran Compounds and Their Influence on the Binding to Amyloid‐β Peptide

A small library of glycofused tricyclic compounds with a central pyran ring chemically modified in the position para to the ring oxygen has been synthesised. The influence of the chemical modification on the structural conformation of the compounds and on their ability to bind Aβ peptide has been evaluated respectively using molecular mechanics (MM) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and STD NMR spectroscopy. The introduction of particularly polar/charged groups leads to the loss of binding ability, without a significant change in the conformation, whilst other substitutions does not significantly affect either the structural conformation or the binding.     

Geometric structure of b2,2-orbihedra and interpolation of operators

We compute the normals to faces of b_2,2-orbihedra and apply the results to Operator Interpolation Theory.     

Electrochemical reactivity of atomic and molecular species under solid-state confinement

The nanoconfinement of electrochemically-active guest species in host solid state electrode materials provides opportunities to tune mass transport between the bulk electrolyte and inner surface of the electrode, enhance electron-transfer rates, and/or improve the stability and dispersion of active material. This review summarizes recent experimental and theoretical electrochemical studies of three types of nanoconfined guest species: (1) ion adsorption of electrolyte ions, (2) confined redox-active molecules, and (3) electrocatalytic reactions of confined ions/solvents and catalytic particles. The examples discussed in this review illustrate how the confinement of guest species within enclosed spaces with nanoscale dimensions – such as pores, pockets, channels, and interlayers – can lead to improved electrochemical performance.