VOC

Two pilot-scale bio-trickling filters (BTFs) with counter-current and cross-current flow modes were constructed, and their performance tested, for purifying chemical fibre waste gas containing H2S, NH3 and VOCs with a maximum gas flow rate of 1008m(3)h(-1). The counter-current type of BTF presented with superior biodegradation results compared to the cross-current type: it could start up quickly, tolerated high transient shock loadings, and possessed an average contaminant removal efficiency higher than 90% with an empty bed residence time of 59s...

Compositional engineering of recently-arising methylammonium (MA) lead (Pb) halide based perovskites is an essential approach for finding better perovskite compositions to resolve still remaining issues of toxic Pb, and long-term instability, etc. In this work, we carried out crystallographic, morphological, optical, and photovoltaic characterization of compositional MASn0.6Pb0.4I3-xBrx by gradually introducing bromine (Br) into parental Pb-Sn binary perovskite (MASn0.6Pb0.4I3) to elucidate its function in Sn-rich (Sn : Pb = 6 : 4) perovskites...

To better understand the characterization and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during non-haze and haze days, ambient VOCs were continuously measured by a vehicle-mounted online thermal desorption system coupled with a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC/MS) system in Shanghai, China. The average concentrations of VOCs in haze episodes (193.2 μg m(-3)) were almost 50% higher than in non-haze periods (130.8 μg m(-3)). VOC concentrations exhibited a bi-modal pattern in the morning and evening rush hour periods on both non-haze and haze days...

Plants live in association with microorganisms, which are well known as a rich source of specialized metabolits, including volatile compounds. The increasing numbers of described plant microbiomes allowed manifold phylogenetic tree deductions, but less emphasis is presently put on the metabolic capacities of plant-associated microorganisms. With the focus on small volatile metabolites we summarize i) the knowledge of prominent bacteria of plant microbiomes, ii) present the state-of-the-art of individual (discrete) microbial organic and inorganic volatiles affecting plants and fungi, and iii) emphasize the high potential of microbial volatiles in mediating microbe-plant interactions...

An endophytic fungus, MC_25L, has been isolated from the leaves of MonardacitriodoraCerv. ex Lag., a medicinal and aromatic herb from the northwestern Himalayas. It produces a fruity fragrance while growing on potato dextrose agar, suggesting that it is producing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The endophyte inhibited the growth of plant pathogens such asSclerotiniasp. and Aspergillusflavus by virtue of VOCs. Identification of MC_25L based on morphological and microscopic features, as well as ITS-based rDNA sequence analysis, revealed that it is a Fusariumsp...

Engineered microbial ecosystems in bioscrubbers for the treatment of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been complicated by complex VOC mixtures from various industrial emissions. Microbial associations with VOC removal performance of the bioscrubbers are still not definitive. Here, one- and two-phase partitioning airlift bioreactors were used for the treatment of a complex VOC mixture. Microbial characteristics in both bioreactors were uncovered by high-throughput metagenomics sequencing. Results showed that dominant species with specialized VOC biodegradability were mainly responsible for high removal efficiency of relative individual VOC...

BACKGROUND: Inflammation is a major feature of sickle cell disease (SCD). Low-dose methotrexate (MTX) has long been used in chronic inflammatory diseases. This pilot study examined the MTX effect on acute vaso-occlusive pain crises (VOC) in SCD patients. METHODS: Fourteen adults on hydroxyurea with severe and refractory VOC received one intramuscular injection of 10 mg of MTX per week for 12 weeks. A single weekly dose of 5 mg of leucovorin was administered orally 48 h after each MTX injection...

In recent years, ozone (O3) is often the major pollutant during summertime in China. In order to better understand this problem, a long-term measurement of ozone (from 2006 to 2015) and its precursors (NOx and VOCs) as well as the photochemical parameter (UV radiation) in a mega city of China (Shanghai) is analyzed. The focus of this study is to investigate the trend of O3 and the causes of the O3 trend in large cities in China. In order to understand the relationship between the O3 precursors and O3 formation, two distinguished different sites of measurements are selected in the study, including an urbanization site (XJH-Xujiahui) and a remote site (DT-Dongtan)...

Firefighters' skin may be exposed to chemicals via permeation/penetration of combustion byproducts through or around personal protective equipment (PPE) or from the cross-transfer of contaminants on PPE to the skin. Additionally, volatile contaminants can evaporate from PPE following a response and be inhaled by firefighters. Using polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as respective markers for non-volatile and volatile substances, we investigated the contamination of firefighters' turnout gear and skin following controlled residential fire responses...

It is argued that shortcomings of certain approaches to breath analysis research based on superficial interpretation of non-quantitative data are inadvertently inhibiting the progression of non-invasive breath analysis into clinical practice. The objective of this perspective is to suggest more clinically profitable approaches to breath research. Thus, following a discourse on the challenges and expectations in breath research, a brief indication is given of the analytical techniques currently used for the analysis of very humid exhaled breath...

OBJECTIVE: To detect urinary volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy (iMN) and normal controls, and whether or not the urinary VOCs can act as biomarkers for diagnosis of iMN independent of renal biopsy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to assess the urine collected from 63 iMN patients and 15 normal controls. The statistical methods of principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLSDA) were performed to process the final data in CDF format which were converted from GC/MS data...

Solar cells with high-efficiency, low-cost and high-stability are the target for the new generation of solar cells. A fully printable perovskite (CH3NH3PbI3) solar cell (PSC) with device architecture FTO/TiO2/Al2O3/NiOx/C is fabricated in the current research as a low-cost and relatively stable structure and is investigated to determine how different fabrication factors such as the thickness of the insulating spacer layer (Al2O3) or treatments such as heat and UV-O3 treatments can affect the interfacial properties of this multi-layer mesoporous structure...

It is of sustainable interest to improve the sensitivity and selectivity of the ionization process, especially for direct analysis of complex samples without matrix separation. Herein, four ambient ionization methods including desorption atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (DAPCI), heat-assisted desorption atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (heat-assisted DAPCI), microwave plasma torch (MPT), and internal extractive electrospray ionization (iEESI) were employed for comparative analysis of the navel orange tissue samples by mass spectrometry...

A novel ladder-type donor pyran-bridged indacenodithiophene (IDTP) is developed by introducing two oxygen atoms into indacenodithiophene unit. IDTP possesses a twisted backbone and leads to facially asymmetric arrangement of side chains, resulting in enhanced local π-π stacking of according polymer poly[(5,5,11,11-tetrakis(4-octylphenyl)-5,11-dihydrothieno[2',3':5,6]pyrano[3,4-g]thieno[3,2-c]isochromene)-alt-4,7-(5-fluoro-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole)] (PIDTP)-FBT, which shows extended absorption range. Moreover, oxygen atoms render deeper highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) levels of poly[indacenodithiophene-alt-4,7-(5-fluoro-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole)] (PIDTP)-FBT compared with PIDT-FBT, therefore bringing a higher open-circuit voltage (Voc )...

BACKGROUND: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease, associated with episodes of exacerbations. Therapy with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) targets airway inflammation, which aims to maintain and restore asthma control. Clinical features are only modestly associated with airways inflammation. Therefore, we hypothesized that exhaled volatile metabolites identify longitudinal changes between clinically stable episodes and loss of asthma control. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as measured by gas-chromatography / mass-spectrometry (GC/MS) and electronic nose (eNose) technology discriminate between clinically stable and unstable episodes of asthma...

The rapid developments of implantable biomedical electronics give rise to the motivation of exploring efficient and durable self-powered charging system. In this paper, we report a mesoporous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-based implantable piezoelectric nanogenerator (NG) for in vivo biomechanical energy harvesting. The NG was built with a sponge-like mesoporous PVDF film and encapsulated by polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). After embedding this NG into rodents, a Voc of ~200 mV was produced from the gentle movement of rodent muscle...

The association of short-term air pollution filtration with cardiovascular health has been documented. However, the effect of long-term indoor air conditioner filtration on the association between air pollution and cardiovascular health is still unclear. We recruited 200 homemakers from Taipei and randomly assigned 100 of them to air filtration or control intervention; six home visits were conducted per year from 2013 to 2014. The participants under air filtration intervention during 2013 were reassigned to control intervention in 2014...

Acute ozone exposure triggers major emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC), but quantitatively, it is unclear how different ozone doses alter the start and the total amount of these emissions, and the induction rate of different stress volatiles. It is also unclear whether priming (i.e., pre-exposure to lower O3 concentrations) can modify the magnitude and kinetics of volatile emissions. We investigated photosynthetic characteristics and VOC emissions in Phaseolus vulgaris following acute ozone exposure (600 nmol mol(-1) for 30 min) under illumination and in darkness and after priming with 200 nmol mol(-1) O3 for 30 min...

The ligands (3,6-di(pyridin-4-yl)-1,4-dihydro-1,2,4,5-tetrazine), H2DPT, as a pillar spacer and (4,4'-oxybis(benzoic acid)), H2OBA, as a dicarboxylate linker were used to develop a dihydro-tetrazine functionalized pillared-MOF, [Zn(OBA)(H2DPT)0.5].DMF (TMU-34) as functionally convertible stimuli responsive MOF-based Sensor. Sonochemically synthesized powder of TMU-34 was employed in sensing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The results show that TMU-34 can act as a solid state naked-eye visual chemosensor for detection of chloroform in liquid and gas phases...

Epidemiologic studies regarding solvent-based paints (SBPs) containing VOCs have demonstrated a strong correlation between chronic and acute adverse health effects and the SBPs. Therefore, new environmentally friendly paints as substitutes containing less or none VOCs have been rapidly developed in research for future sustainable use. However, a few studies focusing on penetration and exposure condition of the substitute have been reported duo to the complexity and inaccessibility of painting industry. Surveys specifically looking at the present status of exposure condition were conducted to ascertain the popularization of water-based paints (WBPs) which concluded that markers of SBPs were detected in all 134 samples indicating bad industrial penetration...