There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

2.3. Evaluation of Photocatalytic Water Splitting 6507 2.3.1. Photocatalytic Activity 6507 2.3.2. Photocatalytic Stability 6507 3. UV-Active Photocatalysts for Water Splitting 6507 3.1. d0 Metal Oxide Photocatalyts 6507 3.1.1. Ti-, Zr-Based Oxides 6507 3.1.2. Nb-, Ta-Based Oxides 6514 3.1.3. W-, Mo-Based Oxides 6517 3.1.4. Other d0 Metal Oxides 6518 3.2. d10 Metal Oxide Photocatalyts 6518 3.3. f0 Metal Oxide Photocatalysts 6518 3.4. Nonoxide Photocatalysts 6518 4. Approaches to Modifying the Electronic Band Structure for Visible-Light Harvesting 6519

Semiconductor-based Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation

This critical review provides a processing-structure-property perspective on recent advances in cellulose nanoparticles and composites produced from them. It summarizes cellulose nanoparticles in terms of particle morphology, crystal structure, and properties. Also described are the self-assembly and rheological properties of cellulose nanoparticle suspensions. The methodology of composite processing and resulting properties are fully covered, with an emphasis on neat and high fraction cellulose composites. Additionally, advances in predictive modeling from molecular dynamic simulations of crystalline cellulose to the continuum modeling of composites made with such particles are reviewed (392 references).

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Cellulose nanomaterials review: structure, properties and nanocomposites

Cellulose constitutes the most abundant renewable polymer resource available today. As a chemical raw material, it is generally well-known that it has been used in the form of fibers or derivatives for nearly 150 years for a wide spectrum of products and materials in daily life. What has not been known until relatively recently is that when cellulose fibers are subjected to acid hydrolysis, the fibers yield defect-free, rod-like crystalline residues. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNs) have garnered in the materials community a tremendous level of attention that does not appear to be relenting. These biopolymeric assemblies warrant such attention not only because of their unsurpassed quintessential physical and chemical properties (as will become evident in the review) but also because of their inherent renewability and sustainability in addition to their abundance. They have been the subject of a wide array of research efforts as reinforcing agents in nanocomposites due to their low cost, availability, renewability, light weight, nanoscale dimension, and unique morphology. Indeed, CNs are the fundamental constitutive polymeric motifs of macroscopic cellulosic-based fibers whose sheer volume dwarfs any known natural or synthetic biomaterial. Biopolymers such as cellulose and lignin and † North Carolina State University. ‡ Helsinki University of Technology. Dr. Youssef Habibi is a research assistant professor at the Department of Forest Biomaterials at North Carolina State University. He received his Ph.D. in 2004 in organic chemistry from Joseph Fourier University (Grenoble, France) jointly with CERMAV (Centre de Recherche sur les Macromolecules Vegetales) and Cadi Ayyad University (Marrakesh, Morocco). During his Ph.D., he worked on the structural characterization of cell wall polysaccharides and also performed surface chemical modification, mainly TEMPO-mediated oxidation, of crystalline polysaccharides, as well as their nanocrystals. Prior to joining NCSU, he worked as assistant professor at the French Engineering School of Paper, Printing and Biomaterials (PAGORA, Grenoble Institute of Technology, France) on the development of biodegradable nanocomposites based on nanocrystalline polysaccharides. He also spent two years as postdoctoral fellow at the French Institute for Agricultural Research, INRA, where he developed new nanostructured thin films based on cellulose nanowiskers. Dr. Habibi’s research interests include the sustainable production of materials from biomass, development of high performance nanocomposites from lignocellulosic materials, biomass conversion technologies, and the application of novel analytical tools in biomass research. Chem. Rev. 2010, 110, 3479–3500 3479

Cellulose nanocrystals: chemistry, self-assembly, and applications.

Summary Background Since December, 2019, Wuhan, China, has experienced an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19 have been reported but risk factors for mortality and a detailed clinical course of illness, including viral shedding, have not been well described. Methods In this retrospective, multicentre cohort study, we included all adult inpatients (≥18 years old) with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 from Jinyintan Hospital and Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital (Wuhan, China) who had been discharged or had died by Jan 31, 2020. Demographic, clinical, treatment, and laboratory data, including serial samples for viral RNA detection, were extracted from electronic medical records and compared between survivors and non-survivors. We used univariable and multivariable logistic regression methods to explore the risk factors associated with in-hospital death. Findings 191 patients (135 from Jinyintan Hospital and 56 from Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital) were included in this study, of whom 137 were discharged and 54 died in hospital. 91 (48%) patients had a comorbidity, with hypertension being the most common (58 [30%] patients), followed by diabetes (36 [19%] patients) and coronary heart disease (15 [8%] patients). Multivariable regression showed increasing odds of in-hospital death associated with older age (odds ratio 1·10, 95% CI 1·03–1·17, per year increase; p=0·0043), higher Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score (5·65, 2·61–12·23; p Interpretation The potential risk factors of older age, high SOFA score, and d-dimer greater than 1 μg/mL could help clinicians to identify patients with poor prognosis at an early stage. Prolonged viral shedding provides the rationale for a strategy of isolation of infected patients and optimal antiviral interventions in the future. Funding Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences; National Science Grant for Distinguished Young Scholars; National Key Research and Development Program of China; The Beijing Science and Technology Project; and Major Projects of National Science and Technology on New Drug Creation and Development.

Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort study

Soy protein isolate (SPI) and glycerol were mixed under mild (L series) and severe (H series) mixing conditions, respectively, and then were compression-molded at 140 degrees C and 20 MPa to prepare the sheets (SL and SH series). The glass transition behaviors and microstructures of the soy protein plasticized with glycerol were investigated carefully by using differential scanning calorimetry and small-angle X-ray scattering. The results revealed that there were two glass transitions in the SPI/glycerol systems. When the glycerol contents ranged from 25 to 40 wt.-%, all of the SL- and SH-series sheets showed two glass transition temperatures (T(g1) and T(g2)) corresponding to glycerol-rich and protein-rich domains, respectively. The T(g1) values of the sheets decreased from -28.5 to -65.2 degrees C with an increase of glycerol content from 25 to 50 wt.-%, whereas the T(g2) values were almost invariable at about 44 degrees C. The results from wide-angle X-ray diffraction and small-angle X-ray scattering indicated that both protein-rich and glycerol-rich domains existed as amorphous morphologies, and the radii of gyration (R(g)) of the protein-rich domains were around 60 nm, a result suggesting the existence of stable protein domains. The results above suggest that protein-rich domains were composed of the compact chains of protein with relatively low compatibility to glycerol and glycerol-rich domains consisted of relative loose chains that possessed good compatibility with glycerol. The significant microphase separation occurred in the SPI sheets containing more than 25 wt.-% glycerol, with a rapid decrease of the tensile strength and Young's modulus. [illustration in text].

New Evidences of Glass Transitions and Microstructures of Soy Protein Plasticized with Glycerol

Ag–Fe3O4 nanocomposites@chitin microspheres constructed by in situ one-pot synthesis for rapid hydrogenation catalysis

New solvents and functional materials prepared from cellulose solutions in alkali/urea aqueous system

Construction of selenium nanoparticles/β-glucan composites for enhancement of the antitumor activity

Crystalline polysaccharides are useful for important and rapidly growing applications ranging from advanced energy storage, green electronics, and catalyst or enzyme supports to tissue engineering and biological devices. However, the potential value of chitin in such applications is currently neglected because of its poor swellability, reactivity, and solubility in most commonly used solvents. Here, a high-efficiency, energy-saving, and “green” route for the fabrication of extremely strong and transparent chitin films is described in which chitin is dissolved in an aqueous KOH/urea solution and neutralized in aqueous ethanol solution. The neutralization temperature, ethanol concentration, and chitin solution deacetylation time are critical parameters for the self-assembly of chitin chains and for tuning the morphology and aggregate structures of the resulting chitin hydrogels and films. Moreover, the drawing orientation can produce extremely strong and tough chitin films with a tensile strength, Young's modulus, and work of fracture of 226 MPa, 7.2 GPa, and 20.3 MJ m−3, respectively. The method developed here should contribute to the utilization of seafood waste and, thereby, to the sustainable use of marine resources.

Lina Zhang

Papers

New Evidences of Glass Transitions and Microstructures of Soy Protein Plasticized with Glycerol

Ag–Fe3O4 nanocomposites@chitin microspheres constructed by in situ one-pot synthesis for rapid hydrogenation catalysis

New solvents and functional materials prepared from cellulose solutions in alkali/urea aqueous system

Construction of selenium nanoparticles/β-glucan composites for enhancement of the antitumor activity

Extremely Strong and Transparent Chitin Films: A High-Efficiency, Energy-Saving, and “Green” Route Using an Aqueous KOH/Urea Solution