TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Process: The deposition is performed by sputter deposition, evaporation, and/or cathodic arc deposition. The fine nanoscale gold is deposited under such conditions that the resulting catalyst system comprises 0.005-10 (preferably 0.005-5) wt.% gold. The process further includes applying activating agent to nanoparticulate support medium, heat treating the support medium, and providing additional metal(s) to fine nanoscale gold on support medium. The support medium is mixed and comminuted during deposition. Preferred Components: The oxidizing atmosphere contains 0.05-60 wt.% oxygen-containing gas(es), preferably oxygen, water, hydrogen peroxide, and/or ozone. The fine nanoscale gold comprises gold bodies having dimensions of less than or equal to 4 nm. The nanoparticulate support medium comprises nanoparticles having at least two dimensions of less than or equal to 30 nm and nanoparticles having an average diameter of greater than 50 but less than 100 nm; or agglomerates of nanoparticles having dimensions of 0.1-15 mu m. The support medium is nanoporous and has porosity of greater than 0.4. The support medium has total nanoporous capacity for pores with size of 1-10 nm of greater than 20% of its total volume of pores with size of 1-100 nm. The nanoparticulate support medium comprises carbonaceous materials, silicaceous materials, and/or metal oxide. The support medium may be a composite support medium comprising particles of guest material having average diameter of 1-30 nm on particles of host material having average diameter of 3-5000 mu m. The guest particles are porous and comprise metal oxide (preferably oxide of titanium and/or cerium), and the host material comprises metal oxide and/or preferably carbonaceous material.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - TEXTILES AND PAPER - Preferred Components: The nanoparticulate support medium comprises powder, particles, pellets, granules, extrudate, fibers, shells, honeycombs, plates, scrims, fabrics, and/or paper. EXAMPLE - A dried support medium (140 g, comprising high surface area titania coated on activated carbon granules) was further dried at 150 degrees C for 24 hours, and placed while hot into a physical vapor deposition apparatus. The vacuum chamber of apparatus was evacuated to background pressure of 5x 10-5 Torr, and oxygen (1 standard cubic centimeter per minute, sccm) and argon (100 sccm) were introduced into the chamber at 10 mTorr. Gold deposition was performed by applying power to cathode, with rotating particle agitator shaft and holed blades at 4 rpm during direct current magnetron sputter coating of gold at 0.12 kW. Sputter coating was conducted for 1 hour. After sputter coating, the vacuum chamber was vented with air to ambient conditions, and the resulting gold-coated sample was removed and sieved through 25 mesh screen to separate fine particulates. The resulting catalyst exhibited color in which Lasterisk was 46.72, aasterisk was 0.52 and basterisk was - 1.92.