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Cellulose nanomaterials (CNMs) are typically produced in aqueous suspensions at low concentrations, which require subsequent dewatering to reduce transportation cost or as a preprocessing step for applications that require higher CNM loadings such as rheological modifiers and composites. Reverse dialysis is an effective method that avoids common dewatering issues like irreversible aggregation and sample heterogeneity. In this study, samples for dewatering were placed inside a dialysis bag and immersed in poly­(ethylene glycol) (PEG) solution. The water removal process is driven by the osmotic pressure difference. Dewatered TEMPO-cellulose nanofibril (TEMPO-CNF) was redispersible after allowing for time to rehydrate; the original viscosity was recovered after a dewatering-redilution cycle. The generalizability of reverse dialysis was demonstrated by also dewatering suspensions of cellulose nanocrystal and chitin nanofiber. Furthermore, concentrated and well-dispersed poly­(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/TEMPO-CNF composite gels were obtained via reverse dialysis at loadings that were difficult to achieve by other methods. Reverse dialysis thus increases the processing range for these sustainable nanomaterials while preserving their beneficial morphological properties. Reverse dialysis can be added to manufacturing processes; recycling of the PEG solutions via ultrafiltration can be used to create an energy-efficient, sustainable, closed-loop dewatering process for cellulose nanomaterials that are hard to redisperse.

ObjectivesFrom the first description by Leo Kanner [1], autism has been an enigmatic neurobehavioral phenomenon. The new genetic/genomic technologies of the past decade have not been as productive as originally anticipated in unveiling the mysteries of autism. The specific etiology of the majority of cases of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is unknown, although numerous genetic/genomic variants and alterations of diverse cellular functions have been reported. Prompted by this failure, we have investigated whether the metabolomics approach might yield results which could simultaneously lead to a blood-based screening/diagnostic test and to treatment options. Methods Plasma samples from a clinically well-defined cohort of 100 male individuals, ages 2-16+ years, with ASD and 32 age-matched typically developing (TD) controls were subjected to global metabolomic analysis. ResultsWe have identified more than 25 plasma metabolites among the approximately 650 metabolites analyzed, representing over 70 biochemical pathways, that can discriminate children with ASD as young as 2 years from children that are developing typically. The discriminating power was greatest in the 2-10 year age group and weaker in older age groups. The initial findings were validated in a second cohort of 83 children, males and females, ages 2-10 years, with ASD and 76 age and gender-matched TD children. The discriminant metabolites were associated with several key biochemical pathways suggestive of potential contributions of increased oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation and immune dysregulation in ASD. Further, targeted quantitative analysis of a subset of discriminating metabolites using tandem mass spectrometry provided a reliable laboratory method to detect children with ASD. Conclusion Metabolic profiling appears to be a robust technique to identify children with ASD ages 2-10 years and provides insights into the altered metabolic pathways in ASD, which could lead to treatment strategies. ObjectivesTo uncover novel traits associated with nicotine and alcohol use genetics, we performed a phenome-wide association study in a large multi-ethnic cohort. Methods We investigated 7,688 African-Americans (AFR), 1,133 Asian-Americans (ASN), 14,081 European-Americans (EUR), and 3,492 Hispanic-Americans (HISP) from the Women's Health Initiative, analyzing risk alleles located in the CHRNA5-CHRNA3 locus (rs8034191, rs1051730, rs12914385, rs2036527, and rs16969968) for nicotine-related traits and ADH1B (rs1229984 and rs2066702) and ALDH2 (rs671) for alcohol-related traits with respect to anthropometric characteristics, dietary habits, social status, psychological circumstances, reproductive history, health conditions, and nicotine-and alcohol-related traits. ResultsThe investigated loci resulted associated with novel traits: rs1229984 were associated with family income (p=4.1*10 −12 ), having a pet (p=6.5*10 −11 ), partner education (p=1.8*10 −10 ), "usually expect the best" (p=2.4*10 −7), "felt calm and peaceful" (p=2.6*10 ), and num...

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