Current air quality analytics and monitoring: A review

This review summarizes the different tools and concepts that are commonly applied in air quality monitoring. The monitoring of atmosphere is extremely important as the air quality is an important problem for large communities. Main requirements for analytical devices used for monitoring include a long period of autonomic operation and portability. These instruments, however, are often characterized by poor analytical performance. Monitoring networks are the most common tools used for monitoring, so large-scale monitoring programmes are summarized here. Biomonitoring, as a cheap and convenient alternative to traditional sample collection, is becoming more and more popular, although its main drawback is the lack of standard procedures. Telemonitoring is another approach to air monitoring, which offers some interesting opportunities, such as ease of coverage of large or remote areas, constituting a complementary approach to traditional strategies; however, it requires huge costs.     

Crosslinked poly(ethylene oxide) containing siloxanes fabricated through thiol‐ene photochemistry

Homogenous amphiphilic crosslinked polymer films comprising of poly(ethylene oxide) and polysiloxane were synthesized utilizing thiol‐ene “ click ” photochemistry. A systematic variation in polymer composition was Carried out to obtain high quality films with varied amount of siloxane and poly(ethylene oxide). These films showed improved gas separation performance with high gas permeabilities with good CO₂/N₂ selectivity. Furthermore, the resulting films were also tested for its biocompatibility, as a carrier media which allow human adult mesenchymal stem cells to retain their capacity for osteoblastic differentiation after transplantation. The obtained crosslinked films were characterized using differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, FTIR, Raman‐IR , and small angle X‐ray scattering. The synthesis ease and commercial availability of the starting materials suggests that these new crosslinked polymer networks could find applications in wide range of applications. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 1548–1557     

Compensation for the Influence of Fluctuations in the Distance to the Object During Noncontact Probing in Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography

Radiophysics and Quantum Electronics - We propose and experimentally test a numerical method for correction of the influence of fluctuations in the distance to objects during noncontact probing in...     

X-ray radiography of aluminum cathodes eroded in high-current vacuum arcs

The aim of the study presented in this paper was to characterize quantitatively the erosion of aluminum cathodes in high-current vacuum arcs. The experimental setup comprised two current generators. The first one, capable of generating a current of amplitude up to 350 kA, was used to produce a plasma jet, that is, the object to be investigated. The second generator was used to produce a source of probe radiation for imaging the object under investigation in soft x rays of energy ?ν ≈ 0.5–3 keV. The findings of the study are based on experimental data obtained by electrophysical and radiographic methods. It has been shown that the cathode erosion rate in a high-current vacuum arc is a function of the charge passed through the cathode.     

Isolation of Bisphenol A-Tolerating/degrading Shewanella haliotis Strain MH137742 from an Estuarine Environment

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology - The human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) occurs frequently. Once, this compound was one of the highest volume chemicals produced worldwide and used as a...