Transmission of viral pathogens has raised serious public health concerns,but the affinity and strength of viruses adhering to hightouch surfaces are not clear.We systematically investigated the propensities of a coro...Transmission of viral pathogens has raised serious public health concerns,but the affinity and strength of viruses adhering to hightouch surfaces are not clear.We systematically investigated the propensities of a coronavirus,Murine hepatitis virus A59(MHV),adhering onto and releasing from four representative contact surfaces,silica,stainless steel,cellulose,and polystyrene,in simulated saliva and urine using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring(QCM-D).We also quantified the interactions between MHV and contact surfaces using atomic force microscopy(AFM).Both initial adhesion rates and saturated adhesion mass of MHV were higher in urine buffer than in saliva buffer,which is attributed to the higher repulsions between the virus and surfaces in the presence of mucin.The maximum adhesion mass of MHV follows the order of stainless steel>silica>cellulose≈polystyrene in both urine and saliva buffers.Stainless steel and silica are surfaces with likely higher risks of virus contamination due to their highest maximum adhesion mass in both urine and saliva buffers and lower virus release percentages upon water rinse.The results of this study will provide insights into risk assessment and control of pathogens associated with contact surfaces.展开更多
Water treatment is the key to coping with the conflict between people＇s increasing demand for water and the world-wide water shortage. Owing to their unique and tunable structural, physical, and chemical properties, ...Water treatment is the key to coping with the conflict between people＇s increasing demand for water and the world-wide water shortage. Owing to their unique and tunable structural, physical, and chemical properties, carbon nanotubes （CNTs） have exhibited great potentials in water treatment. This review makes an attempt to provide an overview of potential solutions to various environmental challenges by using CNTs as adsorbents, catalysts or catalyst support, membranes, and electrodes. The merits of incorporating CNT to conventional water-treatment material are emphasized, and the remaining challenges are discussed.展开更多
Recovering valuable materials from waste streams is critical to the transition to a circular economy with reduced environmental damages caused by resource extraction activities.Municipal and industrial wastewaters con...Recovering valuable materials from waste streams is critical to the transition to a circular economy with reduced environmental damages caused by resource extraction activities.Municipal and industrial wastewaters contain a variety of materials,such as nutrients(nitrogen and phosphorus),lithium,and rare earth elements,which can be recovered as value-added products.Owing to their modularity,convenient operation and control,and the non-requirement of chemical dosage,electrochemical technologies offer a great promise for resource recovery in small-scale,decentralized systems.Here,we review three emerging electrochemical technologies for materials recovery applications:electrosorption based on carbonaceous and intercalation electrodes,electrochemical redox processes,and electrochemically induced precipitation.We highlight the mechanisms for achieving selective materials recovery in these processes.We also present an overview of the advantages and limitations of these technologies,as well as the key challenges that need to be overcome for their deployment in real-world systems to achieve cost-effective and sustainable materials recovery.展开更多
基金support by the start-up funds of X.L.received from the George Washington University(GW).
文摘Transmission of viral pathogens has raised serious public health concerns,but the affinity and strength of viruses adhering to hightouch surfaces are not clear.We systematically investigated the propensities of a coronavirus,Murine hepatitis virus A59(MHV),adhering onto and releasing from four representative contact surfaces,silica,stainless steel,cellulose,and polystyrene,in simulated saliva and urine using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring(QCM-D).We also quantified the interactions between MHV and contact surfaces using atomic force microscopy(AFM).Both initial adhesion rates and saturated adhesion mass of MHV were higher in urine buffer than in saliva buffer,which is attributed to the higher repulsions between the virus and surfaces in the presence of mucin.The maximum adhesion mass of MHV follows the order of stainless steel>silica>cellulose≈polystyrene in both urine and saliva buffers.Stainless steel and silica are surfaces with likely higher risks of virus contamination due to their highest maximum adhesion mass in both urine and saliva buffers and lower virus release percentages upon water rinse.The results of this study will provide insights into risk assessment and control of pathogens associated with contact surfaces.
基金the financial support from the Program for the New Century Excellent Talents in Universities of China(No.NCET-10-0489)the Natural Science Foundation of China(No.21107045) the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China(No.BK2011575)
文摘Water treatment is the key to coping with the conflict between people＇s increasing demand for water and the world-wide water shortage. Owing to their unique and tunable structural, physical, and chemical properties, carbon nanotubes （CNTs） have exhibited great potentials in water treatment. This review makes an attempt to provide an overview of potential solutions to various environmental challenges by using CNTs as adsorbents, catalysts or catalyst support, membranes, and electrodes. The merits of incorporating CNT to conventional water-treatment material are emphasized, and the remaining challenges are discussed.
基金We gratefully acknowledge the support from the startup fundsthe Cross-Disciplinary Research Fund from the George Washington University.
文摘Recovering valuable materials from waste streams is critical to the transition to a circular economy with reduced environmental damages caused by resource extraction activities.Municipal and industrial wastewaters contain a variety of materials,such as nutrients(nitrogen and phosphorus),lithium,and rare earth elements,which can be recovered as value-added products.Owing to their modularity,convenient operation and control,and the non-requirement of chemical dosage,electrochemical technologies offer a great promise for resource recovery in small-scale,decentralized systems.Here,we review three emerging electrochemical technologies for materials recovery applications:electrosorption based on carbonaceous and intercalation electrodes,electrochemical redox processes,and electrochemically induced precipitation.We highlight the mechanisms for achieving selective materials recovery in these processes.We also present an overview of the advantages and limitations of these technologies,as well as the key challenges that need to be overcome for their deployment in real-world systems to achieve cost-effective and sustainable materials recovery.
