Carbon nanotube membranes with ultrahigh specific adsorption capacity for water desalination and purification

Development of technologies for water desalination and purification is critical to meet the global challenges of insufficient water supply and inadequate sanitation, especially for point-of-use applications. Conventional desalination methods are energy and operationally intensive, whereas adsorption-based techniques are simple and easy to use for point-of-use water purification, yet their capacity to remove salts is limited. Here we report that plasma-modified ultralong carbon nanotubes exhibit ultrahigh specific adsorption capacity for salt (exceeding 400% by weight) that is two orders of magnitude higher than that found in the current state-of-the-art activated carbon-based water treatment systems. We exploit this adsorption capacity in ultralong carbon nanotube-based membranes that can remove salt, as well as organic and metal contaminants. These ultralong carbon nanotube-based membranes may lead to next-generation rechargeable, point-of-use potable water purification appliances with superior desalination, disinfection and filtration properties. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited.

Carbon nanostructures for hard tissue engineering

The primary goal in hard tissue engineering is to combine high-performance scaffold materials with living cells to develop biologically active substitutes that can restore tissue functions. This requires relevant knowledge in multidisciplinary fields encompassing chemical engineering, material science, chemistry, biology and nanotechnology. Here we present an overview on the recent progress of how two representative carbon nanostructures, namely, carbon nanotubes and graphene, aid and advance the research in hard tissue engineering. The article focuses on the advantages and challenges of integrating these carbon nanostructures into functional scaffolds for repairing and regenerative purposes. It includes, but is not limited to, the critical physico-chemical properties of carbon nanomaterials for enhanced cell interactions such as adhesion, morphogenesis, proliferation and differentiation; the novel designs of two- and three-dimensional nanostructured scaffolds; multifunctional hybrid materials; and the biocompatible aspects of carbon nanotubes and graphene. Perspectives on the future research directions are also given, in an attempt to shed light on the innovative and rational design of more effective biomedical devices in hard tissue engineering.

Critical dependence of blood-borne biomarker concentrations on the half-lives of their carrier proteins

Until recently, the low-abundance (LA) range of the serum proteome was an unexplored reservoir of diagnostic information. Today it is increasingly appreciated that a diagnostic goldmine of LA biomarkers resides in the blood stream in complexed association with more abundant higher molecular weight carrier proteins such as albumin and immunoglobulins. As we now look to the possibility of harvesting these LA biomarkers more efficiently through engineered nano-scale particles, mathematical approaches are needed in order to reveal the mechanisms by which blood carrier proteins act as molecular 'mops' for LA diagnostic cargo, and the functional relationships between bound LA biomarker concentrations and other variables of interest such as biomarker intravasation and clearance rates and protein half-lives in the bloodstream. Here we show, by simple mathematical modeling, how the relative abundance of large carrier proteins and their longer half-lives in the bloodstream work together to amplify the total blood concentration of these tiny biomarkers. The analysis further suggests that alterations in the production of biomarkers lead to gradual rather than immediate changes in biomarker levels in the blood circulation. The model analysis also points to the characteristics of artificial nano-particles that would render them more efficient harvesters of tumor biomarkers in the circulation, opening up possibilities for the early detection of curable disease, rather than simply better detection of advanced disease.

Control of energy and matter at nanoscales : challenges and opportunities for plasma nanoscience in a sustainability age

Plasma nanoscience is an emerging multidisciplinary research field at the cutting edge of a large number of disciplines including but not limited to physics and chemistry of plasmas and gas discharges, materials science, surface science, nanoscience and nanotechnology, solid-state physics, space physics and astrophysics, photonics, optics, plasmonics, spintronics, quantum information, physical chemistry, biomedical sciences and related engineering subjects. This paper examines the origin, progress and future perspectives of this research field driven by the global scientific and societal challenges. The future potential of plasma nanoscience to remain a highly topical area in the global research and technological agenda in the age of fundamental-level control for a sustainable future is assessed using a framework of the five Grand Challenges for Basic Energy Sciences recently mapped by the US Department of Energy. It is concluded that the ongoing research is very relevant and is expected to substantially expand to competitively contribute to the solution of all of these Grand Challenges. The approach to controlling energy and matter at nano- and subnanoscales is based on identifying the prevailing carriers and transfer mechanisms of the energy and matter at the spatial and temporal scales that are most relevant to any particular nanofabrication process. Strong accent is made on the competitive edge of the plasma-based nanotechnology in applications related to the major socio-economic issues (energy, food, water, health and environment) that are crucial for a sustainable development of humankind. Several important emerging topics, opportunities and multidisciplinary synergies for plasma nanoscience are highlighted. The main nanosafety issues are also discussed and the environment- and human health-friendly features of plasma-based nanotech are emphasized.

Plasma nanoscience : setting directions, tackling grand challenges

This review paper presents historical perspectives, recent advances and future directions in the multidisciplinary research field of plasma nanoscience. The current status and future challenges are presented using a three-dimensional framework. The first and the largest dimension covers the most important classes of nanoscale objects (nanostructures, nanofeatures and nanoassemblies/nanoarchitectures) and materials systems, namely carbon nanotubes, nanofibres, graphene, graphene nanoribbons, graphene nanoflakes, nanodiamond and related carbon-based nanostructures; metal, silicon and other inorganic nanoparticles and nanostructures; soft organic nanomaterials; nano-biomaterials; biological objects and nanoscale plasma etching. In the second dimension, we discuss the most common types of plasmas and plasma reactors used in nanoscale plasma synthesis and processing. These include low-temperature non-equilibrium plasmas at low and high pressures, thermal plasmas, high-pressure microplasmas, plasmas in liquids and plasma–liquid interactions, high-energy-density plasmas, and ionized physical vapour deposition as well as some other plasma-enhanced nanofabrication techniques. In the third dimension, we outline some of the 'Grand Science Challenges' and 'Grand Socio-economic Challenges' to which significant contributions from plasma nanoscience-related research can be expected in the near future. The urgent need for a stronger focus on practical, outcome-oriented research to tackle the grand challenges is emphasized and concisely formulated as from controlled complexity to practical simplicity in solving grand challenges.

Plasmas meet nanoparticles—where synergies can advance the frontier of medicine

Nanoparticles and low-temperature plasmas have been developed, independently and often along different routes, to tackle the same set of challenges in biomedicine. There are intriguing similarities and contrasts in their interactions with cells and living tissues, and these are reflected directly in the characteristics and scope of their intended therapeutic solutions, in particular their chemical reactivity, selectivity against pathogens and cancer cells, safety to healthy cells and tissues and targeted delivery to diseased tissues. Time has come to ask the inevitable question of possible plasma–nanoparticle synergy and the related benefits to the development of effective, selective and safe therapies for modern medicine. This perspective paper offers a detailed review of the strengths and weakenesses of nanomedicine and plasma medicine as a stand-alone technology, and then provides a critical analysis of some of the major opportunities enabled by synergizing nanotechnology and plasma technology. It is shown that the plasma–nanoparticle synergy is best captured through plasma nanotechnology and its benefits for medicine are highly promising.

Social media and physicians : exploring the benefits and challenges

Healthcare professionals’ use of social media platforms, such as blogs, wikis, and social networking web sites has grown considerably in recent years. However, few studies have explored the perspectives and experiences of physicians in adopting social media in healthcare. This article aims to identify the potential benefits and challenges of adopting social media by physicians and demonstrates this by presenting findings from a survey conducted with physicians. A qualitative survey design was employed to achieve the research goal. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 physicians from around the world who were active users of social media. The data were analyzed using the thematic analysis approach. The study revealed six main reasons and six major challenges for physicians adopting social media. The main reasons to join social media were as follows: staying connected with colleagues, reaching out and networking with the wider community, sharing knowledge, engaging in continued medical education, benchmarking, and branding. The main challenges of adopting social media by physicians were also as follows: maintaining confidentiality, lack of active participation, finding time, lack of trust, workplace acceptance and support, and information anarchy. By revealing the main benefits as well as the challenges of adopting social media by physicians, the study provides an opportunity for healthcare professionals to better understand the scope and impact of social media in healthcare, and assists them to adopt and harness social media effectively, and maximize the benefits for the specific needs of the clinical community.

Security and Privacy in Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks : Survey and the Road Ahead

Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs) can make roads safer, cleaner, and smarter. It can offer a wide range of services, which can be safety and non-safety related. Many safety-related VANETs applications are real-time and mission critical, which would require strict guarantee of security and reliability. Even non-safety related multimedia applications, which will play an important role in the future, will require security support. Lack of such security and privacy in VANETs is one of the key hindrances to the wide spread implementations of it. An insecure and unreliable VANET can be more dangerous than the system without VANET support. So it is essential to make sure that “life-critical safety” information is secure enough to rely on. Securing the VANETs along with appropriate protection of the privacy drivers or vehicle owners is a very challenging task. In this work we summarize the attacks, corresponding security requirements and challenges in VANETs. We also present the most popular generic security policies which are based on prevention as well detection methods. Many VANETs applications require system-wide security support rather than individual layer from the VANETs’ protocol stack. In this work we will review the existing works in the perspective of holistic approach of security. Finally, we will provide some possible future directions to achieve system-wide security as well as privacy-friendly security in VANETs.

Security in wireless sensor networks : issues and challenges

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are employed in numerous applications in different areas including military, ecology, and health; for example, to control of important information like the personnel position in a building, as a result, WSNs need security. However, several restrictions such as low capability of computation, small memory, limited resources of energy, and the unreliable channels employ communication in using WSNs can cause difficulty in use of security and protection in WSNs. It is very essential to save WSNs from malevolent attacks in unfriendly situations. Such networks require security plan due to various limitations of resources and the prominent characteristics of a wireless sensor network which is a considerable challenge. This article is an extensive review about problems of WSNs security, which examined recently by researchers and a better understanding of future directions for WSN security.

Braving a New World : Design Interventions for Changing Climates. Papers from the Subtropical Cities 2013 Fall Conference of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA)

We no longer have the luxury of time as the effects of climate change are being felt, according to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, on every continent and in every ocean. More than 50% of the population of the United States and 85% of Australians live in coastal regions. The number of people living in the world’s coastal regions is expected to increase along with the need to improve capacity to mitigate hazards , and manage the multiple risks that have been identified by the scientific community. Under the auspices of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) design academics and practitioners from the Americas, Asia, and Australia met in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the fourth Subtropical Cities international conference to share outcomes of research and new pedagogies to address the critical transformation of the physical environments and infrastructures of the world’s vulnerable coastal communities. The theme of Subtropical Cities, adopted by the ACSA for its Fall 2014 Conference, is not confined entirely to a latitudinal or climatic frame of reference. The paper and project presentations addressed a range of theoretical, practice-led, and education-oriented research topics in architecture and urban design related to the subtropics, with emphasis on urban and coastal regions. More than half the papers originate from universities and practices in coastal regions. Threads emerged from a tapestry of localized investigations to reveal a more global understanding about possible futures we are designing for current and future generations. The one hundred-plus conference delegates and presenters represented 33 universities and institutions from across the United States, Mexico, Canada, Australia, the Middle East, Peru and China. Case studies from India, Morocco, Tahiti, Indonesia, Jordan, and Cambodia were also presented, expanding the global knowledge base. Co-authored submissions presented new directions for architecture and design, with a resounding theme of collaboration across diverse disciplines. The ability to deal with abstraction and complexity, and the capacity to develop synthesis and frameworks for defining problem boundaries can be considered key attributes of architectural thinking. Such a unique set of abilities can forge collaboration with different professional disciplines to achieve extraordinary outcomes. As the broad range of papers presented at this conference suggest, existing architectural and urban typologies and practices are increasingly considered part of the cause and not the solution to adapting to climate change and sea level rise. Design responses and the actions needed to generate new and unfamiliar forms of urbanism and infrastructure for defense, adaptation, and retreat in subtropical urban regions are being actively explored in academic design studios and research projects around the world. Many presentations propose provocative and experimental strategies as global climate moves beyond our “comfort zone”. The ideas presented at the Subtropical Cities conference are timely as options for low-energy passive climatic design are becoming increasingly limited in the context of changing climate. At the same time, ways of reducing or obsoleting energy intensive mechanical systems in densely populated urban centres present additional challenges for designers and communities as a whole. The conference was marked by a common theme of trans-disciplinary research, where design integration with emerging technologies resonate with a reaffirmation of the centrality of design thinking, expanding the scope of the traditional architecture studio pedagogy to integrate knowledge from other disciplines and the participation of diverse communities.

Drawing out critical thinking : testing the methodological value of drawing collaboratively

Early childhood research has long established that drawing is a central, and important activity for young children. Less common are investigations into the drawing activity of adults involved in early childhood. A team of adult early childhood researchers, with differing exposures and familiarities with drawing, experimented with intergenerational collaborative drawing with colleagues, students, family members and others, to explore the effectiveness of drawing as a research process and as an arts-based methodology. This testing prompted critical thinking into how drawing might facilitate research that involves young children, to operate in more communicable ways, and how research-focused drawings might occur in reference to a research project.

The benefits and challenges of conducting an overview of systematic reviews in public health: a focus on physical activity

Introduction The ultimate aim of Cochrane systematic reviews is to inform policy and practice decisions for better health outcomes. However, due to the increasing numbers of scientific publications, wading through the available evidence of both individual studies and systematic reviews can be challenging and overwhelming even for avid authors and readers. This paper briefly describes the first overview (a systematic review of reviews) of the Cochrane Public Health Group (CPHG) in development and proposes a way forward for the methodologies under consideration.

Critical literacy and social justice

Given the global escalation of gaps between rich and poor, contemporary work in critical literacy needs to overtly question the politics of poverty. How and where is poverty produced, by what means, by whom and for whom and how are educational systems stratified to provide different kinds of education to the rich and the poor? Yet rather than critical literacy, international educational reform movements stress performative standards on basic literacy. In this context literacy researchers need to ask policy-makers hard questions about taken-for-granted rhetoric that surrounds poverty, literacy and education. At school, regional and state levels, educational leaders need to argue for fair resourcing and decision-making for their communities and students. In classrooms teachers need to weave critical questioning and inclusive learning interactions into the fabric of everyday life.

Investigating early childhood education for sustainability : insights from history and literature

Seemingly straightforward tasks often have a way of becoming complex. This was the case for our guest editorial team charged with creating Early Childhood Australia’s Best of Sustainability publication drawn from the the Australasian Journal of Early Childhood and Every Child. The complexities we encountered ranged from the varied terminologies and understandings of constructs such as education for sustainable development, environmental education and education for sustainability, through to the fundamental lack of published research on which to draw as the basis for a special issue. It is timely to explore these complexities as we face the global challenges of The Critical Decade (DCCEE, 2011) including rising sea levels, extreme weather events and food security. At a local level, the early childhood field in Australia is seeking to interpret sustainability with systemic support from the National Quality Standards(NQS) (ACECQA, 2011), while elsewhere environmental/sustainability education is encouraged through national curricula documents (for example, Singapore Ministry of Education, 2008; Swedish National Agency for Education,2010; Ministry of Education of Korea, 2011). Both The Critical Decade and the NQS provide imperatives to drive early childhood education’s engagement with sustainability. In other words, sustainability in early childhood education is no longer optional, but essential (Elliott, 2010). While some twenty years of advocacy has led to this somewhat subdued celebratory position, in this publication we do recognise the historical contexts that have led to early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS), as we (Elliott & Davis) phrase it, becoming almost ‘mainstream not marginal’ (Davis, 1999)— a stitching together of the isolated ‘patches of green’, first identified a decade ago by Elliott (NSW EPA, 2003). Here we weave together, through these articles, a story of the evolving history of ECEfS from our particular perspective. In so doing, we also acknowledge that there are other perspectives or ‘paths’ for this field as identified by Edwards and Cutter-McKenzie in their concluding paper to this compilation.

Jurisprudential Challenges to the Protection of the Natural Environment

Nature exists. Humans exist. The behaviour of one impacts upon the other. The behaviour of humans is governed by the artificial contrivance described as the law. While the law can in this way control the behaviour of humans and the impact that human behaviour has on nature, the behaviour of nature is governed – if at all- in accordance with nature’s own sets of values which are quintessentially a matter for nature. The relationship between nature and humans may be the object of rules of law, but traditional legal doctrine dictates that humans but not nature are the subjects of the rules of law. The jurisprudence of the earth – it would appear – seeks to equalise in the eyes of the law nature as part of the global environment and humans as part of the global environment. How might this be done?