The biomimetic films with ionic crosslinking design feature excellent mechanical properties in both dry and wet states, which could be used as actuators, soft robots, and generators powered by natural water evaporation without external power input.

Alkylated naphthalene (AN) is one of the significant naphthalene derivatives that can be used as base oil or additive to meet newly-emerged requirements for lubricants in many fields. In the presence of acidic catalysts and olefins as alkylating agents, AN can be easily synthesized through the Friedel–Crafts reaction, which is commonly used in the production of fine chemicals. In this work, we introduced a novel efficient continuous-flow microreaction system to intensify long-chain alkylated naphthalene production catalyzed by Me₃NHCl–AlCl₃ ionic liquid. Both 1-dodecene as a modeling system and a mixture of C9–C13 α-olefins synthesized from the Fischer–Tropsch reaction obtained from industry were used to study the optimum conditions for long-chain alkylated naphthalene production. Benefiting from rapid micro-mixing and accurate control of the reaction parameters in such a system, our results indicated that a high yield of alkylated naphthalene (>99%) could be obtained within 60 s at a mild temperature (30 °C) and over a wide range of naphthalene/olefin mole ratios (1–10). The contents of multi-substituted alkylated naphthalene and ratio of α-substituted to β-substituted alkylated naphthalene in products could be regulated by changing the reaction temperature and naphthalene/olefin molar ratio. Furthermore, by comparing the catalytic performance of ionic liquid in the two systems, it was found that the loss of AlCl₃ from the ionic liquid to the organic phase is the main reason for catalyst deactivation. Such an issue could be resolved by supplementing fresh AlCl₃, and then the ionic liquid catalyst remained active up to 5 cycles. Combined with high throughput parallel micromixers, this continuous-flow system could be easily scaled up, showing great potential in industrial production.

Industrial symbiosis (IS) can contribute to achieving a win-win situation between industry and environment for local and regional circular economies. Many authors have recognized that a variety of barriers can hinder the implementation of IS. However, there is very limited research on quantitatively evaluating the IS barriers. In this paper, we propose a model which combines the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to evaluate the IS barriers semi-quantitatively. This model assists in identifying and prioritizing the fundamental barriers for implementation of IS in a comprehensive manner. An operating IS, the Hai Hua Group (HHG), in Shandong Province, China is used as a case study to test the proposed model. The results show that the top four generic barriers are technological barriers, economic barriers, safety barriers, and informational barriers. More specifically, the barriers are information platforms, human safety and health, technology involved with extending industrial chains, product added value, and costs. The paper concludes by discussing managerial implications for promoting the establishment and operation of IS.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) replicons are the primary tools for identifying and evaluating anti-HCV compounds during drug discovery research. Genotype 1a and 1b are the most common genotypes in North America and Europe. These genotypes display significant genetic divergence (∼20% at the nucleotide level and ∼14% at the amino acid level), which can translate into marked differences in drug susceptibility. Thus, it is critical that potential therapeutics be assessed against both genotypes to ensure antiviral efficacy in the broad genotype 1 patient population. This unit describes assays for screening HCV inhibitors using replicons with a focus on genotype 1a. Specific protocols are provided for screening 1a replicons that encode the Renilla luciferase gene and for replicons that do not encode exogenous reporter genes, both in 96-well (manual) and in 384-well (high-throughput) formats. Curr. Protoc. Microbiol. 22:17.1.1-17.1.29. © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.