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Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs), as an effective means of water purification, have attracted more and more attention in recent years. Material selection and application research play critical roles in enhancing the performance of MMMs. This review provides an up-to-date overview of the advancements in material selection and application research for MMMs. Firstly, various materials that have been applied in MMMs, including polymers, natural polymers, metal-organic frameworks, and porous carbon nanomaterials, are summarized. Secondly, the advances in preparation methods such as dip coating, interfacial polymerization and phase separation are discussed. Thirdly, the application of MMMs in water purification is reviewed. Finally, the future prospects and challenges in material selection and application research for MMMs are outlined, including the development of new materials, improvement of separation performance, and scalability for industrial applications. This review provides valuable insights for researchers in the field of MMMs and can guide the design and development of next-generation MMMs with enhanced performance. [Display omitted] • Reviewed recent advances of inorganic materials used to develop MMMs for liquid separation. • Emphasis on porous materials as emerging fillers for liquid separation membranes. • Modification in the polymer matrix and polymer-filler interaction in MMMs. • The application of hybrid matrix membranes in the field of water treatment and its future development trend are reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in population growth, industrialization and climate change will lead to an increase in scarcity of water in the next few decades. To address this challenge, there is an urgent need to develop efficient and sustainable methods for purifying water with lower costs and less energy. The use of biomass as a raw material to produce high value-added sustainable bio-based materials (SBMs) is a win-win strategy to improve waste management and achieve environmental protection. Biomass materials are widely available, abundant, inexpensive, and have few secondary pollution problems, and they are also rich in carboxyl, amino, and hydroxyl groups, which are active functional groups for pollutant adsorption and chemical modification in water bodies. Despite the many advantages of biomass, there are some limitations of single biomass that cannot be ignored, such as limited adsorption capacity, poor mechanical strength, and chemical instability. Therefore, it is undoubtedly of great significance to explore and develop promising strategies for the preparation of SBMs and suitable utilization models for water treatment. This review covers the fabrication, modification, and applications of SBMs, with emphasis on recent advances in the use of SBMs for water treatment applications, such as membrane filtration, oil-water separation, heavy metal removal, organic pollutant elimination, disinfection and sterilization. The fabrication strategies for the preparation of SBMs from biopolymers are reviewed. The review also highlights some unique properties of SBMs together with potential applications. Finally, the prospects and challenges for future advancement of SBMs in water treatment and utilization are comprehensively discussed. [Display omitted] • Sustainable bio-based materials exhibit great potential in water treatment. • Functionality and structural features of renewable materials are discussed. • Current progress on fabrication strategies of bio-based materials is presented. • The state-of-the-art advances of bio-based materials for water treatment application are evaluated. • Perspectives and challenges for the application of advanced sustainable bio-based materials are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As suggested by the person-environment fit theory, how older people interact with and modify their housing is an important determinant for their health and well-being. For the first time, this study investigates the constraints of housing modifications innovatively. It finds that promoting housing modification depends not only on older people's affordability emphasised by previous studies but more fundamentally, their recognition of the role of age-friendly housing and the proper timing of modification. Based on a longitudinal survey data of 5719 older people in 12 European countries from 2015 to 2017, we find that older people tend to take "last resort" actions, that is, housing modifications are rare (21.93%) and mostly happen when they are 80 years old and above. In addition, the ordered logit regression shows that the limited scope of housing modification is mainly induced by the poor housing conditions and physical disabilities of older people. Although the age-friendly housing modification has a preventive effect on older individuals, this limited, late, and passive action debases the preventive value of age-friendly housing to the aged population's health. To Europe and developing countries, measures to raise the older people's recognition regarding the benefits, proper time, and scope of housing modifications are suggested in the paper. • How older people interact with and modify housing is important for their health • Housing modifications are rare and mostly happen in people 80 years old and above • Housing modification is mainly induced by poor housing and health conditions • The scope of housing modification is limited • Improve senior's recognition of benefits, proper time, and scope of modifications [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A facile and environmentally benign method was developed to incorporate TiO 2 into a chitosan–xylan polysaccharide network. The chitosan–xylan–TiO 2 hybrid (CXTH) with highly porous structure was constructed via Schiff base linkages between the aldehyde groups on xylan chain and the amino groups on chitosan. The CXTH was characterized by FTIR, TGA, XRD, SEM and TEM. Moreover, the porous structure of CXTH could be controlled by employing nanoTiO 2 particles as nanofillers. The results showed that the nanoTiO 2 powders can significantly improve the porous structure of hybrid. The water absorption of CXTH reached 1507 wt% in purified water and 821 wt% in 0.9 wt% NaCl solution, respectively. The adsorption capabilities for heavy metals on CXTH was investigated as the function of pH, temperature, contact time and the initial concentration of metal ions. The maximum adsorption capacities of CXTH for Cu 2+ , Cr 6+ , Ni 2+ , Cd 2+ and Hg 2+ were 158.7, 97.1, 96.2, 78.1 and 76.3 mg g −1 , respectively. Langmuir isotherm equation and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model illustrated that the adsorption was spontaneous and endothermic chemical adsorption. The regeneration experiments showed CXTH can be used effectively for numbers of adsorption–desorption cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The government has preferences for politically connected firms in land auctions in China. • The government's preferences are informally achieved through a two-stage land auction mechanism, rather than formal bid preference programs. • Reasons for the government's preferences for different types of politically connected firms are different. • These preferences result in asymmetrical land allocation in terms of land quality, quantity, and price, across politically and non-politically connected firms. Whether governments have informal preferences toward firms when allocating land resources and the effects of such preferences on regional development remain unclear, particularly in countries with weak formal institutions. This paper investigates the government's informal preferences in land allocations in China. Substantial evidence is found that politically connected firms are preferred to win land auctions at lower prices due to two different reasons. These preferences are informally achieved through a two-stage auction mechanism rather than formal bid preference programs, and result in the asymmetrical allocation of urban land in terms of land quality, quantity, and price, across politically and non-politically connected firms in China. The state-owned enterprises are allocated poor quality land parcels at 55% land price discounts. In comparison, the manager-based politically connected firms are allocated regular land parcels at 6% price discounts, and other firms without connections with the government are allocated regular land at higher prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]