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Creating an efficient, cost-effective method that can provide simple, practical and high-throughput separation of oil-water mixtures has proved extremely challenging. This work responds to these challenges by designing, fabricating and evaluating a novel fluorinated polybenzoxazine (F-PBZ) modified nanofibrous membrane optimized to achieve gravity driven oil-water separation. The membrane design is then realized by a facile combination of electrospun poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide) (PMIA) nanofibers and an in situ polymerized F-PBZ functional layer incorporating SiO2 nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs). By employing the F-PBZ/SiO2 NP modification, the pristine hydrophilic PMIA nanofibrous membranes are endowed with promising superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 161° and superoleophilicity with an oil contact angle of 0°. This new membrane shows high thermal stability (350 °C) and good repellency to hot water (80 °C), and achieves an excellent mechanical strength of 40.8 MPa. Furthermore, the as-prepared membranes exhibited fast and efficient separation of oil-water mixtures by a solely gravity driven process, which makes them good candidates for industrial oil-polluted water treatments and oil spill cleanup, and also provided new insights into the design and development of functional nanofibrous membranes through F-PBZ modification.

The phytohormone auxin plays critical roles in regulating myriads of plant growth and developmental processes. Microbe infection can disturb auxin signaling resulting in defects in these processes, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Auxin signaling begins with perception of auxin by a transient co-receptor complex consisting of an F-box transport inhibitor response 1/auxin signaling F-box (TIR1/AFB) protein and an auxin/indole-3-acetic acid (Aux/IAA) protein. Auxin binding to the co-receptor triggers ubiquitination and 26S proteasome degradation of the Aux/IAA proteins, leading to subsequent events, including expression of auxin-responsive genes. Here we report that Rice dwarf virus (RDV), a devastating pathogen of rice, causes disease symptoms including dwarfing, increased tiller number and short crown roots in infected rice as a result of reduced sensitivity to auxin signaling. The RDV capsid protein P2 binds OsIAA10, blocking the interaction between OsIAA10 and OsTIR1 and inhibiting 26S proteasome-mediated OsIAA10 degradation. Transgenic rice plants overexpressing wild-type or a dominant-negative (degradation-resistant) mutant of OsIAA10 phenocopy RDV symptoms are more susceptible to RDV infection; however, knockdown of OsIAA10 enhances the resistance of rice to RDV infection. Our findings reveal a previously unknown mechanism of viral protein reprogramming of a key step in auxin signaling initiation that enhances viral infection and pathogenesis.

Particulate matter (PM) pollution has posed a huge health and economic burden worldwide. Most existing air filters used to remove PMs are structurally monotonous, cumbersome, and inevitably suffer from the compromise between removal efficiency and air permeability; developing an advanced air filter that can overcome these limitations is of significance but highly challenging. Herein, a novel strategy to create ultrathin, high-performance air filters based on fluffy dual-network structured polyacrylonitrile nanofiber/ nets, via a humidity-induced electrospinning/netting technique, is reported. By tailoring the ejection and phase separation of the charged liquids, this approach causes 2D ultrafine (≈20 nm) nanonets tightly bonded with fluffy pseudo-3D nanofiber scaffolds to form dual-network structures, with controllable pore size and stacking density on a large scale. The resultant nanofiber/ net filters possess the integrated features of small pore size (<300 nm), high porosity (93.9%), low packing density, combined with desirable surface chemistry (4.3-D dipole moment), resulting in high-efficiency PM 0.3 removal (>99.99%), low air resistance (only <0.11% of atmosphere pressure), and promising long-term PM 2.5 purification. The synthesis of such materials may provide new insights into the design and development of high-performance filtration and separation materials for various applications.

Particulate matter (PM) pollution in air is thought to be an important mortality risk factor globally. Most existing air filters face the extreme challenge of effectively removing PM 0.3 , which has the most penetration particle size (MPPS) of ≈0.3 µm yet is particularly harmful. Here, an innovative in situ electret electrospinning/netting technique that can manipulate both solution phase separation and crystal phase transition is reported to develop selfpolarized polyvinylidene fluoride nanofiber/net membranes with 2D networks and superior surface adhesion. By combining the true nanoscale diameter (≈21 nm), small pore size (≈0.26 µm), and highly electret surface (6.8 kV potential) of the 2D nanonets, the synergistic effect of sieving and adhesion for MPPS PM 0.3 is achieved. Such double capture characteristic enables the high-efficiency (≈99.998%) capture of PM 0.3 while maintaining low air resistance (≈0.1% atmosphere pressure). Moreover, the nanofiber/net filters show integrated properties of superhydrophobicity, desirable transparency (91%), and long-term stability. The synthesis of such attractive nanomaterials presents a promising attempt toward the development of high-performance filtration/separation materials for numerous applications.

Waterproof and breathable membranes (WBMs) with simultaneous environmental friendliness and high performance are highly desirable in a broad range of applications; however, creating such materials still remains a tough challenge. Herein, we present a facile and scalable strategy to fabricate fluorine-free, efficient, and biodegradable WBMs via step-by-step dip-coating and heat curing technology. The hyperbranched polymer (ECO) coating containing long hydrocarbon chains provided an electrospun cellulose acetate (CA) fibrous matrix with high hydrophobicity; meanwhile, the blocked isocyanate cross-linker (BIC) coating ensured the strong attachment of hydrocarbon segments on CA surfaces. The resulting membranes (TCA) exhibited integrated properties with waterproofness of 102.9 kPa, breathability of 12.3 kg m–2 d–1, and tensile strength of 16.0 MPa, which are much superior to that of previously reported fluorine-free fibrous materials. Furthermore, TCA membranes can sustain hydrophobicity after exposure to various harsh environments. More importantly, the present strategy proved to be universally applicable and effective to several other hydrophilic fibrous substrates. This work not only highlights the material design and preparation but also provides environmentally friendly and high-performance WBMs with great potential application prospects for a variety of fields.

Cancer survivorship has traditionally received little prioritisation and attention. For a long time, the treatment of cancer has been the main focus of healthcare providers’ efforts. It is time to increase the amount of attention given to patients’ long‐term well‐being and their ability to return to a productive and good life. This article describes the current state of knowledge and identifies research areas in need of development to enable interventions for improved survivorship for all cancer patients in Europe. The article is summed up with 11 points in need of further focus.

This review focuses on electrospun flexible nanofibrous membranes with tunable wettability for oil/water separation, and future perspectives are discussed.