A series of furan-aromatic polyesters were successfully synthesized via direct esterification method starting from 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid, ethylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, and 1,8-octanediol and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 1 H NMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), tensile tests, and so on. The preliminary evidence clearly showed that direct esterification method was rewarding and worthy to synthesize these furan-aromatic polyesters. The densities of furan-aromatic polyesters were ranging from 1.19 to 1.38 kg/m 3 . The FTIR and 1 H NMR confirmed their expected structures in detail. The results of XRD showed that these furan-aromatic polyesters were crystalline polyesters. The results of DSC, TGA, DMA, and tensile tests showed that they behaved as thermoplastic polyester, had satisfactory thermal and mechanical properties, and their thermal stabilities were quite similar to that of corresponding benzene-aromatic polyesters. The results of contact angle measurement showed that they were hydrophilic. The properties above showed that furan-aromatic polyesters based on renewable resources could be a viable alternative to their successful petrochemical benzene-aromatic counterpart. Furthermore, they could be used as biopolymer materials according their satisfactory thermal and mechanical properties and hydrophilicity in the future.

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As the largest container and resource of metals, sediment has a special role in the fate of metals. Factors influencing bioavailability of heavy metals in sediment have never been comprehensively considered and the sediment properties still fail to understand and even controversial. In this review, the mechanisms of sediment properties such as acid-volatile sulfides (AVS), organic matter, texture (clay, silt or sand) and geology, organism behaviors as well as those influencing the bioavailability of metals were analyzed. Under anoxic condition, AVS mainly reduce the solubility and toxicity of metals, while organic matters, Fe-Mn oxides, clay or silt can stabilize heavy metals in elevated oxidative-reductive potential (ORP). Other factors including the variation of pH, redox potential, aging as well as nutrition and the behavior of benthic organism in sediment also largely alter metals mobility and distribution. These factors are often inter-related, and various toxicity assessment methods used to evaluate the bioavailability of trace metals have been also discussed. Additionally, we expect that some novel synthetic materials like polysulfides, nano-materials, provide the substantial amendments for metals pollution in sediment.

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A simple and general copper-catalyzed method has been developed for transformations of various functional groups (-I, -N(3), -SO(2)R, -OH, -NH(2), and -NO(2)) on aromatic rings from arylboronic acids in water under air. The protocol uses cheap and readily available inorganic salts (KI, NaN(3), NaSO(2)R, NaOH, NaNO(2)) and aqueous ammonia as the functional-group sources, simple Cu(2)O/NH(3) as the catalyst system, environmentally friendly water as the solvent, and oxygen in air as the oxidant. Importantly, the copper catalyst system in water was recyclable. This study should provide a useful strategy for interconversions of the functional groups on aromatic rings.

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Nonhealing chronic wounds on foot are one of the most dreaded complications of diabetes, and biomedical scaffolds remain an attractive option for repairing or regenerating tissues. Accelerating angiogenesis in the early stage after injury is critical to wound healing process; however, the scaffolds accelerate the angiogenesis in the beginning but with the acceleration of vessel network formation the scaffold network hinders the process. In this study, the water soluble drugs-loaded hydrogel nanofibrous scaffolds are designed for rapidly recruiting angiogenesis relative cells and promoting wound healing. The sustained release profile of desferrioxamine (DFO), which continues for about 72 h, leads to significantly increase of neovascularization. The majority of the scaffold is degraded in 14 d, leaving enough space for cell proliferation and vessel formation. The in vitro results show that the scaffolds upregulate the expression of Hif-1α and vascular endothelial growth factor, and enhance the interaction between fibroblasts and endothelial cells. The in vivo studies show a higher expression of angiogenesis related cytokines. This study demonstrates that the DFO released from hydrogel nanofibrous scaffolds of quick degradation can interfere with the required prolyl-hydroxylases cofactors by acting as Fe(2+) chelator and upregulate the expression of Hif-1α, leading to a significant increase of the neovascularization.

Efficient and practical visible-light photoredox borylation of aryl halides and subsequent aerobic oxidative hydroxylation were developed. The protocols use readily available aryl halides and bis(pinacolato)diboron as the starting materials, fac-Ir(ppy) as the photocatalyst, and corresponding arylboronic esters and phenols were obtained in good yields. The methods show some advantages including simple equipment, mild conditions, easy operation, and wide substrate scope. Therefore, they should provide a valuable strategy for chemical transformations.