Making waves: Pioneering a nanoconfinement platform with mesoporous silica for sustainable water management and environmental applications.

Nanomaterials applied in industrial processes and environmental fields usually demand immobilization and recovery strategies that often result in functionality loss and added operational costs. Nanoconfinement, the spatial restriction of nano-sized particles within a larger porous substrate, not only can address critical challenges and sustainability concerns in environmental nanotechnology but also offers unique opportunities otherwise inaccessible by unconfined, bulk-phase nanomaterials. In this perspective, we propose mesoporous silica (mSiO) as an innovative framework for spatially confining metal nanoparticles in a well-controlled manner, offering an effective nanoconfinement engineering strategy for sustainable water management and environmental applications.

Engineered nanomaterials exert sublethal bacterial stress at very low doses: Effects of concentration, light, and media on cell membrane permeability.

Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) can alter surface properties of cells and disturb cellular functions and gene expression through direct and indirect contact, exerting unintended impacts on human and ecological health. However, the effects of interactions among environmental factors, such as light, surrounding media, and ENM mixtures, on the mechanisms of ENM toxicity, especially at sublethal concentrations, are much less explored and understood. Therefore, we evaluated cell viability and outer membrane permeability of E.

A robust self-regenerating graphene-based adsorbent for pharmaceutical removal in various water environments.

The presence of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in wastewater effluents and natural aquatic systems threatens ecological and human health. While activated carbon-based adsorbents, such as GAC and PAC, are widely used for API removal, they exhibit certain deficiencies, including reduced performance due to the presence of natural organic macromolecules (NOMs) and high regeneration costs. There is growing demand for a robust, stable, and self-regenerative adsorbent designed for API removal in various environments.

A Recalcitrant Skin Lesion and Subsequent Infection in a Recreational Intramural Male Athlete: A Case Report.

A 35-year-old intramural male athlete presented to the athletic training staff with a 4.5- × 2.2-cm itchy, painful, swollen, and infected insidious skin lesion on his right lateral malleolus due to an underlying dermatologic deficiency.

Polyaniline-metal oxide coatings for biocidal applications: Mechanisms of activation and deactivation.

Metal oxide (MO) coatings (e.g. TiO, ZnO, and CuO) have shown great promise to inactivate pathogenic bacteria, maintain self-cleaning surfaces, and prevent infectious diseases spread via surface contact.

Effect of molecular structure on the adsorption behavior of sulfanilamide antibiotics on crumpled graphene balls.

Since the 1930s, sulfonamide(SA)-based antibiotics have served as important pharmaceuticals, but their widespread detection in water systems threatens aquatic organisms and human health. Adsorption via graphene, its modified form (graphene oxide, GO), and related nanocomposites is a promising method to remove SAs, owing to the strong and selective surface affinity of graphene/GO with aromatic compounds. However, a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of interaction between the chemical structure of SAs and the GO surface is required to predict the performance of GO-based nanostructured materials to adsorb the individual chemicals making up this large class of pharmaceuticals.

Creating anti-viral high-touch surfaces using photocatalytic transparent films.

Antimicrobial and self-cleaning surface coatings are promising tools to combat the growing global threat of infectious diseases and related healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Although many engineered TiO-based coating technologies are reporting antibacterial performance, the antiviral performance of these coatings has not been explored. Furthermore, previous studies have underscored the importance of the "transparency" of the coating for surfaces such as the touch screens of medical devices.

The key to maximizing the benefits of antimicrobial and self-cleaning coatings is to fully determine their risks.

Antimicrobial and self-cleaning nanomaterial coatings have attracted significant research attention in recent years due to the growing global threat of infectious diseases, the emergence of new diseases such as COVID-19, and increases in healthcare-associated infections. Although there are many reportedly successful coating technologies, the evaluation of antimicrobial performance is primarily conducted under simple laboratory conditions without adequate testing under real environmental conditions that reflect practical use and more importantly, reveal unintended outcomes. Furthermore, there is no standardized evaluation methodology to assess the long-term stability or the consequences associated with coating deterioration, such as the ecological impacts of nanomaterials or the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria/genes.

Metal oxide encapsulated by 3D graphene oxide creates a nanocomposite with enhanced organic adsorption in aqueous solution.

The presence of organic contaminants (OCs) in aquatic systems is a threat to ecological and human health. Adsorption by graphene-based adsorbent is a promising technique for OC removal and we previously fabricated crumpled graphene balls (CGBs), via a novel nano-spray drying technique, which show robust adsorptive performance. Yet, since CGBs contain non-accessible surface area due to 2D graphene stacking, the goal of this research was to investigate the efficacy of maximizing the accessible CGB surface by synthesizing a nanocomposite composed of metal oxide nanoparticles encapsulated by crumpled graphene oxide (MGC).

TiO (Core)/Crumpled Graphene Oxide (Shell) Nanocomposites Show Enhanced Photodegradation of Carbamazepine.

The presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in aquatic systems is a serious threat to human and ecological health. The photocatalytic degradation of PPCPs via titanium oxide (TiO) is a well-researched potential solution, but its efficacy is limited by a variety of environmental conditions, such as the presence of natural organic macromolecules (NOM). In this study, we investigate the synthesis and performance of a novel photoreactive composite: a three-dimensional (3D) core (TiO)-shell (crumpled graphene oxide) composite (TiGC) used as a powerful tool for PPCP removal and degradation in complex aqueous environments.

The impacts of metal-based engineered nanomaterial mixtures on microbial systems: A review.

The last decade has witnessed tremendous growth in the commercial use of metal-based engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) for a wide range of products and processes. Consequently, direct and indirect release into environmental systems may no longer be considered negligible or insignificant. Yet, there is an active debate as to whether there are real risks to human or ecological health with environmental exposure to ENMs.

Nano-enabled, antimicrobial toothbrushes - How physical and chemical properties relate to antibacterial capabilities.

Over the past two decades, Ag and Zn nanoparticles have been integrated into various consumer products as a biocide. While some nano-enabled consumer products have been shown to have antibacterial properties, their antibacterial efficacy as well as the human and environmental health outcomes are not fully known. In this study, we examine a nanoparticle-enabled product that also serves as a conduit for human exposure to bacteria: toothbrushes.

Celiac Disease Symptoms in Athletes: Prevalence Indicators of Perceived Quality of Life.

Background: Celiac disease (CD) is a common gastrointestinal pathology; however, prevalence and comorbidities are unknown in collegiate athletics.

Hypotheses: (1) Athletes will have similar odds of CD as general population estimates (approximately 1 in 141) based on self-report and signs and symptoms, (2) athletes scoring higher on the Celiac Symptom Index (CSI) will have lower self-reported quality of life (QoL), (3) athletes scoring higher on the CSI will have higher depression scores, and (4) athletes scoring higher on the CSI will have higher perceived stress scores.

Study Design: Epidemiological cross-sectional study.

TiO-based transparent coatings create self-cleaning surfaces.

Implementation of self-cleaning surfaces is gaining attention as a tool to combat the healthcare associated infections (HAIs). In this study, we prepared TiO-based transparent coatings as one such potential self-cleaning surface for touchscreen application and evaluated their antimicrobial efficacy under dark and illuminated conditions. To maintain high transparency and TiO coverage, clean borosilicate glass slides were dip-coated multiple times in a suspension of TiO-based materials at a low concentration.

Synergistic Bacterial Stress Results from Exposure to Nano-Ag and Nano-TiO Mixtures under Light in Environmental Media.

Due to their widespread use and subsequent release, engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) will create complex mixtures and emergent systems in the natural environment where their chemical interactions may cause toxic stress to microorganisms. We previously showed that under dark conditions n-TiO attenuated bacterial stress caused by low concentrations of n-Ag (<20 μg L) due to Ag adsorption, yet, since both n-Ag and n-TiO are photoactive, their photochemistries may play a key role in their interactions. In this work, we study the chemical interactions of n-Ag and n-TiO mixtures in a natural aqueous medium under simulated solar irradiation to investigate photoinduced stress.

Photo-Initiated Reduction of CO by H on Silica Surface.

The reduction of CO is a promising route to produce valuable chemicals or fuels and create C-neutral resource cycles. Many different approaches to CO reduction have been investigated, but the ability of vacuum UV (VUV) irradiation to cleave C-O bonds has remained largely unexplored for use in processes that convert CO into useful products. Compared with other photo-driven CO conversion processes, VUV-initiated CO reduction can achieve much greater conversion under common photochemical reaction conditions when H and non-reducible oxides are present.

The Children's Health Exposure Analysis Resource: enabling research into the environmental influences on children's health outcomes.

Purpose Of Review: The Children's Health Exposure Analysis Resource (CHEAR) is a new infrastructure supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to expand the ability of children's health researchers to include analysis of environmental exposures in their research and to incorporate the emerging concept of the exposome.

Recent Findings: There is extensive discussion of the potential of the exposome to advance understanding of the totality of environmental influences on human health. Children's health is a logical choice to demonstrate the exposome concept due to the extensive existing knowledge of individual environmental exposures affecting normal health and development and the short latency between exposures and observable phenotypes.

Review of developmental origins of health and disease publications in environmental epidemiology.

The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) scientific field investigates the influence of early life environmental stressors on later life health outcomes. Environmental chemical exposures are a particular focus area within this field. Although the DOHaD hypothesis originated in the 1990s, the data evaluating this hypothesis in environmental epidemiology has not been comprehensively summarized.

Attenuation of Microbial Stress Due to Nano-Ag and Nano-TiO Interactions under Dark Conditions.

Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are incorporated into thousands of commercial products, and their release into environmental systems creates complex mixtures with unknown toxicological outcomes. To explore this scenario, we probe the chemical and toxicological interactions of nanosilver (n-Ag) and nanotitania (n-TiO) in Lake Michigan water, a natural aqueous medium, under dark conditions. We find that the presence of n-Ag induces a stress response in Escherichia coli, as indicated by a decrease in ATP production observed at low concentrations (in the μg L range), with levels that are environmentally relevant.

Probing Water and CO₂ Interactions at the Surface of Collapsed Titania Nanotubes Using IR Spectroscopy.

Collapsed titania nanotubes (cTiNT) were synthesized by the calcination of titania nanotubes (TiNT) at 650 °C, which leads to a collapse of their tubular morphology, a substantial reduction in surface area, and a partial transformation of anatase to the rutile phase. There are no significant changes in the position of the XPS responses for Ti and O on oxidation or reduction of the cTiNTs, but the responses are more symmetric than those observed for TiNTs, indicating fewer surface defects and no change in the oxidation state of titanium on oxidative and/or reductive pretreatment. The interaction of H₂O and CO₂ with the cTiNT surface was studied.

Life-Long Implications of Developmental Exposure to Environmental Stressors: New Perspectives.

The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) paradigm is one of the most rapidly expanding areas of biomedical research. Environmental stressors that can impact on DOHaD encompass a variety of environmental and occupational hazards as well as deficiency and oversupply of nutrients and energy. They can disrupt early developmental processes and lead to increased susceptibility to disease/dysfunctions later in life.

One-Time Addition of Nano-TiO2 Triggers Short-Term Responses in Benthic Bacterial Communities in Artificial Streams.

Nano-TiO2 is an engineered nanomaterial whose production and use are increasing rapidly. Hence, aquatic habitats are at risk for nano-TiO2 contamination due to potential inputs from urban and suburban runoff and domestic wastewater. Nano-TiO2 has been shown to be toxic to a wide range of aquatic organisms, but little is known about the effects of nano-TiO2 on benthic microbial communities.