The new biofoam is extremely light and inexpensive to make, making it a viable tool for water purification and desalination.A team of researchers has come up with a way to use “veritable wonder material” graphene oxide sheets to turn dirty water clean for a thirsty world. According to the engineers at Washington University in St. Louis, the novel hybrid nanomaterials could be a global game-changer.

“We hope that for countries where there is ample sunlight, such as India, you’ll be able to take some dirty water, evaporate it using our material, and collect fresh water,” said researcher Srikanth Singamaneni. The new approach combines bacteria-produced cellulose and graphene oxide to form a bi-layered biofoam.

“The process is extremely simple,” Singamaneni said. “The beauty is that the nanoscale cellulose fiber network produced by bacteria has excellent ability move the water from the bulk to the evaporative surface while minimizing the heat coming down and the entire thing is produced in one shot.

“The design of the material is novel here,” Singamaneni said. “You have a bi-layered structure with light-absorbing graphene oxide filled nanocellulose at the top and pristine nanocellulose at the bottom. When you suspend this entire thing on water, the water is actually able to reach the top surface where evaporation happens.

He added, “Light radiates on top of it, and it converts into heat because of the graphene oxide, but the heat dissipation to the bulk water underneath is minimized by the pristine nanocellulose layer. You don’t want to waste the heat; you want to confine the heat to the top layer where the evaporation is actually happening.”

The cellulose at the bottom of the bi-layered biofoam acts as a sponge, drawing water up to the graphene oxide where rapid evaporation occurs. The resulting fresh water can easily be collected from the top of the sheet.

The process in which the bi-layered biofoam is actually formed is also novel. In the same way an oyster makes a pearl, the bacteria forms layers of nanocellulose fibers in which the graphene oxide flakes get embedded.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Consumption of nuts can reduce inflammation

Five or more servings of nuts per week or substituting nuts for animal proteins tied to a healthy profile of inflammatory biomarkers, the findings showed

In a study of more than 5,000 people, researchers have found that greater nuts consumption is associated with lower levels of biomarkers of inflammation, a finding that may help explain the health benefits of nuts.

Five or more servings of nuts per week or substituting nuts for animal proteins tied to a healthy profile of inflammatory biomarkers, the findings showed.

“Population studies have consistently supported a protective role of nuts against cardiometabolic disorders such as cardiovascular disease and Type-2 diabetes, and we know that inflammation is a key process in the development of these diseases,” said corresponding author Ying Bao from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

“Our new work suggests that nuts may exert their beneficial effects in part by reducing systemic inflammation,” Bao noted.

Previously Bao and her colleagues observed an association between increased nut consumption and reduced risk of major chronic diseases and even death, but few prospective cohort studies had examined the link between nut intake and inflammation.

In the current study, the research team performed a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Nurses’ Health Study, which includes more than 120,000 female registered nurses, and from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, which includes more than 50,000 male health professionals.

The team assessed diet using questionnaires and looked at the levels of certain telltale proteins known as biomarkers in blood samples collected from the study participants.

They measured three well established biomarkers of inflammation — C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin 6 (IL6) and tumour necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR2).

After adjusting for age, medical history, lifestyle and other variables, they found that participants who had consumed five or more servings of nuts per week had lower levels of C-reactive protein and interleukin 6 than those who never or almost never ate nuts.

In addition, people who substituted three servings per week of nuts in place of red meat, processed meat, eggs or refined grains had significantly lower levels of biomarkers of inflammation, showed the study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Peanuts and tree nuts contain a number of healthful components including magnesium, fibre, L-arginine, antioxidants and unsaturated fatty acids such as ?-linolenic acid.