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The insufficient osteointegration between titanium (Ti) based dental implants and surrounding bone tissue under osteoporotic conditions, as well as implant-associated infections usually associate with dental implant failure. Gallium (Ga) has drawn increasing attention due to its antibacterial ability and pro-osteogenic property. Herein, we established a facile strategy to deposit gallium oxide (Ga2O3) nano-layer on titanium dioxide nanotube (TNT) arrays by magnetron sputtering. Both Ga2O3@TNT/50 W and Ga2O3@TNT/100 W specimens were prepared at different powers (50 W and 100 W), respectively, which all achieved a sustained release of Ga3+ ion for over 14 days. In vitro results showed that Ga2O3@TNT/50 W sample has good biocompatibility and osteogenic activity, compared with TNT and Ga2O3@TNT/100 W samples. Moreover, both Ga2O3@TNT/50 W and Ga2O3@TNT/100 W samples possess potent antibacterial properties, due to the released Ga3+ ion. Furthermore, in vivo results indicated that the Ga2O3@TNT/50 W showed excellent in vivo antibacterial ability and promoted new bone formation effectively compared with TNT implants in an osteoporotic rat model with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infection. Therefore, such Ga2O3 deposition coating strategy provides a valuable guidance for the potential future development of Ga-doped dental implants and TNT based drug loading surfaces for clinical applications.

Alumina (Al2O3) remains one the most important engineering ceramic for industrial applications. In addition to the α phase, transition alumina phases have interesting characteristics. Controlling the obtained phase structure from alumina melt requires processes with extreme cooling rates and therefore limits the tailoring capabilities. This study investigates how the cooling rate of pure alumina affects its microstructural properties and phase structure in plasma-based processing. The paper reports phase changes in micron sized granulated alumina particles in high-temperature plasma spheroidization and compares the results to plasma sprayed alumina coatings. Both plasma processes involve melting of the material followed by subsequent rapid cooling. Direct comparison on the alumina phase transitions is obtained for the two methodically distinct processing routes, creating unique microstructures due to difference in their cooling rates.

In recent years machine learning algorithms have been gaining momentum in resolving subsurface flow issues related to hydrocarbon flows, Carbon capture utilization and storage, hydrogen storage, geothermal flows, and enhanced oil recovery. This paper presents and attempts to solve subsurface flow problem using neural upscaling method. The neural upscaling method, described in the present work, is a machine learning approach to calculate effective properties in each grid block for subsurface flow modeling. This method is intended to be more accurate than traditional analytical upscaling methods (which are only accurate for layered or homogeneous media) and numerical upscaling methods (which are more accurate for heterogeneous media but involve higher computational cost and are dependent on boundary conditions). The neural upscaling method is based on learning from a large number of geological realizations, which allows it to account for uncertainty in geology. It is also computationally fast and accurate. The method is demonstrated through a series of 2D test cases, and its accuracy is compared to that of analytical and numerical upscaling methods.

This study focuses on the influence of microwave irradiation dosimetry on alkali-activated slurry in its early stages. The impact on the chemistry and mineralogy along with the mechanical properties were evaluated by changing the power of microwaves and their duration of exposure. This influenced the dissolution of amorphous content, diffusion, and self-assembly into an aluminosilicate network. The precursors used in this study were metakaolin, a non-waste material commonly used in geopolymerisation technology, and local fly ash and ladle furnace slag as secondary materials. Furthermore, they were chemically and mineralogically analysed, and their mixtures with NaOH and Na-water glass provided the optimal ratio of the amount of elements obtained using the pre-calculation approach. However, the potential extra addition of water was experimentally determined to allow complete wetting of the material and solid workability during moulding. Using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, the influence of water was further investigated in alkali-activated slag and fly ash irradiated with microwaves, which resulted in the highest values of mechanical strength in the dosimetry-mapping part of the analysis. In addition to the time dependence of the expected mechanical strength on the ageing of the alkali- activated material, the synthesised material exhibited a significant dependence on the dose of microwave irra- diation, which was different for every precursor as well as every mixture with different chemistries. Available online 14 December 2022. Abstract. Bibliografija: str. 24257-24258.

(1) Background: Metal-on-metal (MoM) total hip arthroplasty (THA) and hip resurfacingarthroplasty (HRA) was presumed to provide superior functional outcomes compared to metal-onpolyethylene (MoP) THA. (2) Methods: We compared muscle mass, power, step test asymmetry, andpatient-reported outcomes between MoM THA/HRA and MoP THA. A total of 51 MoM THA/HRAsand 23 MoP THAs participated in the cross-sectional study at a mean of 6.5 (2.4–12.5) years postoperatively. Muscle mass was measured by Dual energy X-ray Absorption (DXA) scans and musclepower in a Leg Extensor Power Rig. Step test asymmetry was obtained with an Inertial MeasurementUnit (IMU). The patients completed the Harris Hip Score (HHS) and the Copenhagen Hip and GroinOutcome Score (HAGOS). (3) Results: The MoM THA/HRA group had a greater inter-limb differencein hip muscle mass compared to the MoP THA group (p = 0.02). Other inter-limb differences inmuscle mass and power were similar (p > 0.05). Muscle mass of the thigh and calf area and musclepower in both legs were higher in MoM THA/HRA compared to MoP THA (p < 0.009). Step test timeasymmetry when ascending was lower in MoM THA/HRA compared to MoP THA (p = 0.03). HHSand HAGOS scores were similar between groups (p > 0.05). (4) Conclusion: Overall, we could notverify the hypothesis that MoM THA/HRA contributes to superior functional outcomes compared toMoP THA.

This study analyses the digital marketing tools that companies producing Pecorino Siciliano with a protected designation of origin (PDO) are implementing on the web through their corporate website and their brand page on Facebook. It aims to verify whether companies are adapting (or not) to new trends in web marketing and e-commerce. The quality of corporate websites was assessed during the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of usability and amount of activity on Facebook brand pages by Pecorino Siciliano PDO-producing companies. Analysed data show that the companies producing Pecorino Siciliano PDO fell short in developing their web-marketing tools, demonstrating their poor adaptation to the new digitalisation trends driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Non-oxidative methane coupling in an atmospheric pressure plasma jet reactor with an internal diameter of 3.0 mm has been studied. The jet reactor consisted of a quartz tube surrounded by a copper ring and a stainless-steel tube, which were separated by a variable distance. The stainless-steel tube (inner diameter: 1.0 mm, outer diameter: 1.5 mm) served as high voltage electrode and gas inlet. The jet characteristics with different tip angles of the high voltage electrode were investigated using voltage–current waveforms and gas analysis at a constant methane flow rate of 100 ml min−1. The effect of the length of the ground electrode and the gap between the electrodes on conversion, C2 selectivity and energy efficiency has been studied. The methane conversion was nearly tripled with a sharp angle of the electrode (15°), while the energy consumption was reduced from 150 to 55 kJ molC2Hy−1. The carbon deposition was also reduced.

Carbon-based membranes are in the limelight as novel and high-performance materials for various applications. In this study, microporous carbon membranes were synthesized on porous alumina via a hydrothermal method from aqueous glucose solutions. The operating time and temperature for the hydrothermal treatment by evaluating the surface microstructure of the as-prepared membranes using various techniques like scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron probe microanalyzer mapping (EPMA). The SEM micrographs and the EPMA results indicate that the membranes formed were also deposited in the interiors of the porous alumina. A carbon membrane with few pinholes was prepared via a hydrothermal treatment at 200 °C for 5 h. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses suggest that the obtained membranes are composed of amorphous carbon, including hydroxy groups. The result of the gas transmission rate (GTR) measurement indicates that the pore size of the amorphous carbon membranes had pores with a diameter of ∼0.3 nm. The ideal gas selectivities for H2/N2, N2/CH4, and H2/SF6 were over Knudsen theoretical values, showing approximately 7.0, 9.5, and 13.5, respectively.

Funding Information: G.D. thanks to the European Regional Development Fund within the Operational Programme Science and Education for Smart Growth 2014–2020 under the Project Center of Exellence: National center of mechatronics and clean technologies - BG05M2OP001-1.001-0008 for the financial support. Funding Information: This work was supported by the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry - LAQV which is financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES ( UIDB/50006/2020 and UIDP/50006/2020 ) as well as the PROTEOMASS Scientific Society (Portugal) for funding support (General Funding Grant 2022–2023). F.D. thanks to FCT / MEC (Portugal) for his doctoral grant 2021.05161.BD . E.O thanks FCT / MEC (Portugal) for the individual contract, CEECIND/00648/2017. J.F-.L. thanks the FCT / MEC (Portugal) for the individual research contract DL57. HMS acknowledges the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry-LAQV ( LA/P/0008/2020 ) funded by FCT / MCTES for his research contract. Funding Information: The financial support by the Bulgarian National Science Fund (BNSF) under grant – “Novel styryl and polymethine fluorophores as potential theranostic agents “contract N◦ КП-06-М59/1 from 15.11.2021 is gratefully acknowledged by A.K. This work is also developed and acknowledged by A.K. as part of contract №: BG-RRP-2.004-0002-C01, Laboratory of Organic Functional Materials (Project BiOrgaMCT), Procedure BG-RRP-2.004, Establishing of a network of research higher education institutions in Bulgaria”, funded by BULGARIAN NATIONAL RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE PLAN ”. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors Polarity-sensitive dansyl derivatives L1 and L2 were synthesized and their ability to sense pollutant metal ions was investigated. All compounds were found to be highly sensitive towards Cu2+ and Hg2+ metal ions, while L2 being able to detect and quantify Hg2+ concentrations as low as 2.5 μM. Both L1 and L2 exhibit positive solvatofluorochromic behaviour, modulated in the presence of water, which in turn results in fluorescence enhancement via aggregation-induced emission (AIE). Seeking stability and water solubility, luminescent L1-based polystyrene-block-polybutadiene-block-polystyrene (SBS) microparticles (size: 520 ± 76 nm) were successfully prepared while maintaining the fluorescence emission of fluorophore L1 (φ = 22%). This work exemplifies the multiple properties of dansyl-derivatives and their promising applications in biomedicine and environmental fields. publishersversion published

Funding Information: This research has been supported by the Estonian Research Council (PUTJD1029, PSG312), the European Regional Development Fund (projects no: 2014-2020.4.01.16-0041 and 2014-2020.4.01.15-0005), the Environmental Investment Centre (KIK 17988), as well as the Business Finland BatCircle2.0 project (Grant Number 44886/31/2020). Additionally, the Academy of Finland's RawMatTERS Finland Infrastructure (RAMI) based at Aalto University and the OtaNano - Nanomicroscopy Center (Aalto-NMC) were utilized as part of this research. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors Continuously increasing production of Li-ion batteries (LIBs) for the Green Transition is underlined by the absence of feasible recycling methods for graphite, regardless of its criticality as a raw material. The current study demonstrates a novel strategy to valorize waste graphite as a valuable raw material in oxygen electrocatalyst production. Industrially produced LIBs post-metallurgical leach residue was transformed into highly active bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst, which was subsequently successfully applied as an active catalyst for Zn-air batteries. Moreover, produced graphene-like material was in-situ doped by the impurity cobalt present in the recycling residue. The resultant Zn-air battery was shown to deliver a high specific capacity of 719 mA h g-1, peak power density of 112.8 mW cm-2 and could be cycled over 400 times. Results clearly demonstrate that an often-neglected LIB recycling waste fraction can be a valuable source for electrocatalysts production required in metal-air batteries and regenerative fuel cells.

Throughout the past decades, fiber optic surface plasmon resonance (FO-SPR)-based biosensors have proven to be powerful tools for both the characterization of biomolecular interactions and target detection. However, as FO-SPR signals are generally related to the mass that binds to the sensor surface, multistep processes and external reagents are often required to obtain significant signals for low molecular weight targets. This increases the time, cost, and complexity of the respective bioassays and hinders continuous measurements. To overcome these requirements, in this work, cis-duplexed aptamers (DAs) were implemented on FO-SPR sensors, which underwent a conformational change upon target binding. This induced a spatial redistribution of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) upon specific target binding and resulted in an amplified and concentration-dependent signal. Importantly, the AuNPs were covalently conjugated to the sensor, so the principle does not rely on multistep processes or external reagents. To implement this concept, first, the thickness of the gold fiber coating was adapted to match the resonance conditions of the surface plasmons present on the FO-SPR sensors with those on the AuNPs. As a result, the signal obtained due to the spatial redistribution of the AuNPs was amplified by a factor of 3 compared to the most commonly used thickness. Subsequently, the cis-DAs were successfully implemented on the FO-SPR sensors, and it was demonstrated that the DA-based FO-SPR sensors could specifically and quantitatively detect an ssDNA target with a detection limit of 230 nM. Furthermore, the redistribution of the AuNPs was proven to be reversible, which is an important prerequisite for continuous measurements. Altogether, the established DA-based FO-SPR bioassay holds much promise for the detection of low molecular weight targets in the future and opens up possibilities for FO-SPR-based continuous biosensing.

π-Conjugated dendrimers, with unique optical properties, have the potential to be used as light-harvesting antenna in organic solar cells and photodetectors. Here, the broadband absorption and light-energy transfer in a phenyl-core thiophene dendrimer, Ph-(7T)₃, have been investigated using quantum calculations and absorption, photoluminescence, and excitation spectroscopy. The broadband absorption of the highly branched Ph-(7T)₃ macromolecule could be attributed to multiple π-conjugations in Ph-(7T)₃ (due to phenylthiophene and thiophene oligomers with different numbers of thiophene units). The divergency of the wavelengths between photoluminescence and excitation light indicated that the multiple π-conjugating system exhibited various modes of excited-state relaxation, which could explain the light-energy transfer from the core to the thiophene dendrons. The fluorescent quantum yield and lifetime of this molecular system are also presented.

The fabrication of organic solar cells (OSCs) depends heavily on the use of highly toxic chlorinated solvents, which are incompatible with industrial manufacturing. The reported alternative solvents such as non-halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons and cyclic ethers are also not really “green” according to the “Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals” of the United Nations. Therefore, processing from real green solvents such as water, alcohols, or anisole will constitute a big breakthrough for OSCs. However, it is fundamentally challenging to obtain high-performance photovoltaic materials processable from these solvents. Herein, we propose the incorporation of a B-N covalent bond, which has a dipole moment of 1.84 Debye, into the conjugated backbone of polymer donors to fabricate high-efficiency OSCs from anisole, a real green and eco-compatible solvent recommended by the United Nations. Based on a newly developed B-N-based polymer, the OSCs with a record-high efficiency of 15.65% in the 0.04 cm2 device and 14.01% in the 1.10 cm2 device have thus been realized via real green processing.

Plutonium-specific supported liquid membranes were developed and reported for the first time. The studies included in this paper are on the supported liquid membrane transport behavior of Pu(IV), Am(III) and U(VI) investigated using two tripodal amides viz. N,N,N,’N,’N,”N”-hexa-n-octylnitrilotriacetamide (HONTA) and N,N,N,’N,’N,”N”-hexa-n-dodecylnitrilotriacetamide (HDDNTA). The feed phase consisted of 3 M HNO3 while 0.5 M oxalic acid +0.5 M HNO3 was used as the strip phase. The SLM studies indicated 78.2% and 86.2% transport of plutonium(IV) after 4 h using 0.08 M concentrations of HONTA and HDDNTA, respectively, and the transport of Am(III) and U(VI) was

A high dispersion of the active metal phase of transition metals on oxide supports is important when designing efficient heterogeneous catalysts. Besides nanoparticles, clusters and even single metal atoms can be attractive for a wide range of reactions. However, many industrially relevant catalytic transformations suffer from structure sensitivity, where reducing the size of the metal particles below a certain size substantially lowers catalytic performance. A case in point is the low activity of small cobalt nanoparticles in the hydrogenation of CO and CO2. Here we show how engineering of catalytic sites at the metal–oxide interface in cerium oxide–zirconium dioxide (ceria–zirconia)-supported cobalt can overcome this structure sensitivity. Few-atom cobalt clusters dispersed on 3 nm cobalt(II)-oxide particles stabilized by ceria–zirconia yielded a highly active CO2 methanation catalyst with a specific activity higher than that of larger particles under the same conditions.

Cortisol is a steroid hormone involved in a wide range of medical conditions. The level of the hormone fluctuates over time, but with traditional laboratory-based assays, such dynamics cannot be monitored in real time. Here, a reversible cortisol sensor is reported that allows continuous monitoring of cortisol in blood plasma using sampling by microdialysis. The sensor is based on measuring single-molecule binding and unbinding events of tethered particles. The particles are functionalized with antibodies and the substrate with cortisol-analogues, causing binding and unbinding events to occur between particles and substrate. The frequency of binding events is reduced when cortisol is present in the solution as it blocks the binding sites of the antibodies. The sensor responds to cortisol in the high nanomolar to low micromolar range and can monitor cortisol concentrations over multiple hours. Results are shown for cortisol monitoring in filtered and in microdialysis-sampled human blood plasma.

Polyolefins might become inexpensive alternatives to the existing membranes based on polyethersulfone. Here, we disclose the production of retortable, well-defined polypropylene (PP)-based nanoporous films derived from amphiphilic graft copolymer precursors. The graft copolymers, containing a polypropylene backbone and polyester grafts, were obtained by grafting lactones, specifically delta-valerolactone and epsilon- caprolactone, from well-defined randomly functionalized poly(propylene-co-10-undecen-1-ol) as a macroinitiator. Depending on the composition, the graft copolymers self-assemble into droplet, cylindrical, lamellar, or interconnected two-phase morphologies. Functional mesoporous iPP-based films were fabricated by the selective degradation of the polyester blocks of the copolymers. Their structure and morphology were studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and solid-state NMR, while the mesoporosity was assessed by nitrogen sorption experiments. The pore size of the films is strongly influenced not only by the volume fraction of the copolymer blocks but unexpectedly also by the topology (i.e., number of grafts) of the graft copolymer, as was confirmed by computational modeling studies using the dynamic density functional theory (DDFT) engine within the Culgi software. This work provides a conclusive answer on how the morphology of iPP-based graft copolymers is tuned by the copolymer composition and the amount and length of the grafted polyester blocks. Filtration tests and flux determination demonstrated that such structurally well-defined mesoporous products could be considered for the development of ultrafiltration membranes while the chemical resistance and sterilization tests revealed their robust performance and suitability for water purification applications.

Azobenzene liquid crystal polymers offer the potential to fabricate autonomously operated actuators remotely controlled by light. Usually, in fully polymerized actuators, only three different states can be obtained: the initial state, the metastable light-actuated state, and the recovered state, where the first and last states are identical and stable. Here, we show that conventional azobenzene liquid crystal polymers that retain a small amount of unpolymerized monomers can exhibit multistable deformation states after manual bending and upon irradiation. This nonbonded fraction of monomers migrates under the influence of local stress gradients, such as those resulting from bending, enabling the actuator to adapt its shape to counteract the stresses induced manually or upon irradiation, resulting in stable recovery states that differ from the initial shape. Oscillatory movement of the azobenzenes and photosoftening facilitate monomer migration and thus allow multiple stable shapes using only lower-energy blue and green lights. Such materials have the potential for biomedical and microfluidic applications where light-induced, multistable states are desired and harmful UV-light needs to be avoided.

Microgels are smart polymer colloids that synergistically combine the properties of hard particles and soft macromolecules. Their diverse applications with specific requirements have led to the development of ever new, complex systems, e.g. by engineering of their polymer network structure. Microgels comprising an amphiphilic polymer network, i.e. domains of significantly different solubility, are particularly interesting as they can promote solubility and protection of hydrophobic substances in aqueous media, mediate between reactants in different solvent phases, and show an enhanced emulsification ability. Their superiority compared to hard hydrophobic particles or linear amphiphilic macromolecules is based on their deformability, tailored functionality, easy separation from solution, and responsiveness to environmental stimuli. The latter allows for e.g. triggered uptake and release, formation and separation of emulsions, or switching between (catalytically) active and inactive states. The specific focus of this minireview are amphiphilic compartmentalized microgels with engineered hydrophobic domains. Recent advances in synthesis approaches to control the chemical structure and morphology of such microgels are described and critically evaluated. We further highlight various applications of microgels with engineered hydrophobic domains as smart delivery systems, emulsifiers, catalyst carriers, scavengers, and sensors.

Control over the assembly and morphology of nanoscale functional building blocks is of great importance to hybrid and porous nanomaterials. In this paper, by combining different types of spherical nanoparticles with different size ratios in a hierarchical assembly process which allows us to control the final structure of multi-component assemblies, we discuss self-assembly of an extensive range of supraparticles, labelled as AB particles, and an extension to novel ternary particles, labelled as ABC particles. For supraparticles, the organization of small nanoparticles is known to be inherently related to the size ratio of building blocks. Therefore, we studied the formation of supraparticles prepared by colloidal self-assembly using small silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) attached on the surface of large polystyrene latex nanoparticles (PSL NPs) with a wide size ratio range for complete and partial coverage, by controlling the electrostatic interactions between the organic and inorganic nanoparticles and their concentrations. In this way hierarchically ordered, stable supraparticles, either fully covered or partially covered, were realized. The partially covered, stable AB supraparticles offer the option to create ABC supraparticles of which the fully covered shell contains two different types of nanoparticles. This has been experimentally confirmed using iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles together with silica nanoparticles as shell particles on polystyrene core particles. Cryo-electron tomography was used to visualize the AB binary and ABC ternary supraparticles and to determine the three-dimensional structural characteristics of supraparticles formed under different conditions.

The upscaling of biphasic photochemical reactions is challenging because of the inherent constraints of liquid-gas mixing and light penetration. Using semi-permeable coaxial flow chemistry within a modular photoreactor, the photooxidation of the platform chemical furfural was scaled up to produce routinely 29 gram per day of biobased building block hydroxybutenolide, a precursor to acrylate alternatives.

A durable catalyst composed of Ca-Co bimetallic complex structures on a large-scale substrate was fabricated for efficient activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) in organic pollutant degradation. Specifically, amidoxime groups were introduced onto the polymer substrate via radiation-induced graft polymerization (RIGP), followed by selective adsorption of Ca2+ and Co2+ ions. The catalyst demonstrated high effectiveness and stability in degrading 10 mg/L of tetracycline hydrochloride within 8 min by activating PMS under a broad pH range of 3–9. Structural characterization and density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirmed the precise doping of Ca2+, which regulated the energy level and enhanced the dispersion of Co2+. The combination of bulk substrates and fine structural control in catalytic process provided new ideas for the design of similar catalysts., Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 331, ISSN:1873-3883, ISSN:0926-3373

Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors Processes and products are multidimensional so researchers and practitioners have to solve problems with multiple objectives frequently. These problems have, in general, responses in conflict so they do not have a unique solution. Different approaches have been proposed in the literature to solve these problems, but many of them, including the popular desirability function approach, are not employed with the focus on the generation of Pareto frontiers. In addition, it is important to stress that some Pareto solutions may not yield the expected outcome(s) when implemented in practice. Thus, to avoid wasting resources and time in implementing a theoretical solution which does not produce the expected outcome(s), in this paper is proposed a novel metric to assess the resilience of Pareto solutions. This way, the decision-maker may identify a solution less sensitive to changes in the variables setting when their values are implemented in production process (equipments) or during its operation. Metric usefulness is illustrated using a case study, and results analysis is complemented with plots that facilitate the decision-making process. publishersversion published

Gene electrotransfer (GET) is a widely used method for nucleic acids’ delivery into cells. We explored, evaluated, and demonstrated the potential use of different pulse durations for introducing plasmid DNA (pDNA) into cells in vitro and compared the efficiency and dynamics of transgene expression after GET. We performed experiments on cell suspensions of 1306 fibroblasts and C2C12 myoblasts with four ranges of pulse durations (nanosecond, high frequency bipolar (HF-BP), and micro- and millisecond). Six different concentrations of pDNA encoding green fluorescent protein were used. We show that GET can be achieved with nanosecond pulses with a low pulse repetition rate (10 Hz). The GET’s efficiency depends on the pDNA concentration and cell line. Time dynamics of transgene expression are comparable between millisecond, microsecond, HF-BP, and nanosecond pulses but depend greatly on cell line. Lastly, based on the data obtained in the experiments of pDNA concentration effect on GET the model of the probability of pDNA and cell membrane contact during GET was developed. The model shows that pDNA migration is dominated by diffusion for nanosecond and HF-BP pulses and by electrophoresis for micro- and millisecond pulses. Modeling results can provide valuable guidance for further experiments and interpretations of the results obtained by various pulse protocols.

Quantum dot based luminescent solar concentrators (QDLSCs) are a special class of transparent photovoltaics (TPV), especially suited for building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). Photons are absorbed by luminescent species in a waveguide and emitted at a red-shifted wavelength. Due to total internal reflection, these photons are absorbed by the solar cells attached to the sides. Successful deployment requires high conversion efficiency and high transparency, which are contradictory requirements. We have performed Monte-Carlo ray tracing simulations to investigate single, double, and triple QDLSCs and have assessed their optical and electrical performance. To this end, eight different semiconductor quantum dot materials have been used with various absorption and emission properties, and Stokes’ shift. Device efficiency is analyzed for different average visible transmission (AVT) values, thus considering the human photopic response. The range of luminescent quantum efficiencies (30%–70%) leads to maximum efficiency of 2% for a single QDLSC, 2.4% for a double, and 2.7% for a triple structure, at high transparency and good color rendering index. Further improvements are possible towards 5% at high transparency with near-unity quantum efficiencies.

Lightweight and high strength are the common aspects of ceramic-reinforced metal matrix composites (CMMC) and wire-reinforced composites (WRC). The latter is preferred for enhanced loading response ensured by the presence of extended reinforcements in the metal matrices. Unlike the traditional Al- and Ti-matrix WRC, utilization of composite wires, instead of monolithic wires, as reinforcements for metallic WRC has multiscale engineering benefits. For example, combining the high hardness of the Fe2B and ductility of Fe can benefit tribocomponents where high temperature stability, hardness consistency and adequate toughness is required. Current study investigates the manufacturability of an Fe2B-reinforced Fe-matrix hierarchical WRC using powder metallurgy, in situ phase synthesis, and diffusion bonding. Carefully optimized boriding and diffusion bonding parameters (1100 °C, 2 h, 35 MPa, and 10–20 vol% B4C in Fe powder) assisted in manufacturing a well-bonded WRC; however, diffusion-bonded regions of the wire and sheath-core interfaces within the single-core wires developed carbon-deficient regions. Results showed that increasing fraction of the Fe2B phases within the cores minorly influenced the tensile and bending behavior of wires and WRC, respectively. The wires' tensile strength and WRC's bending fracture loads were decisively influenced by the core diameter of the single-core composite wires, acting as reinforcement. Additionally, while cores developed transverse cracks, the critical inter-wire and sheath-core interfaces preferably failed with longitudinal cracks due to the presence of carbon-deficient regions at the interfaces.

Updated water directives and ambitious targets like the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have emerged in the last decade to tackle water scarcity and contamination. Although numerous strategies have been developed to remove water pollutants, it is still necessary to enhance their effectiveness against toxic and biorefractory organic molecules. Comprehensive reviews have highlighted the appealing features of the electrochemical technologies, but much progress has been made in recent years. In this timely review, a critical discussion on latest innovations and perspectives of the most promising electrochemical tools for wastewater treatment is presented. The work describes the performance of electrocatalytic anodes for direct electrochemical oxidation, the oxidation mediated by electrogenerated active chlorine, the electrocatalytic reduction as well as coupled approaches for synchronous anodic and cathodic processes combined with homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. The last section is devoted to the assessment of scale-up issues and the increase in the technology readiness level.

The presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in aquatic environments extremely concerns to human health and the ecosystem; thus, their removal is essential. This work produced carbon fiber aerogels from egg box waste using a chemical-free fabrication process. The pyrolyzed egg box aerogel (PEBA) exhibited three-dimensional interconnected carbon nanofibers with high surface area and pore volume. The adsorption capacity and removal efficiency of four PPCPs, namely, diclofenac (DIC), caffeine (CF), tetracycline (TC), and ciprofloxacin (CIP), from water were high and comparable to other carbon-based adsorbents, and the adsorption time was much faster (within 20 min). The Redlich-Peterson and the pseudo-second-order models were the best-fitted isotherm and kinetic models, respectively, which imply multilayer adsorption at high concentrations and the chemisorption process. Furthermore, mechanisms responsible for the adsorption of all PPCPs were elucidated. PEBA was applied in the fixed-bed column experiment to mimic the continuous adsorption process. In addition, PEBA was recyclable after low-temperature heat treatment. The adsorption capacity (8.1 mg/g) and removal efficiency (94.03 %) for TC was still high after three cycles. Metabolomics analysis revealed that no secondary pollution is released into water after thermal treatment. Therefore, PEBA has the potential as an efficient adsorbent for removing PPCPs from water.

International audience; Catalytic methane combustion was carried out over YSZ, Pd/YSZ and Rh/YSZ between 200 and 700°C. Despite similar light-off curves for Pd/YSZ and Rh/YSZ between 200 and 450°C, isotopic exchange experiments using CD4 and 18 O2 revealed different behaviour of both supported catalysts regarding the activation of reactant molecules. The use of C 18 O2 isotopic gas was shown to be more appropriate than 18 O2 to evaluate the bulk oxygen mobility in YSZ at low temperatures. The exchange of gaseous CO2 with lattice YSZ oxygen atoms, which occurs via surface hydrogen carbonate intermediate species, allowed to demonstrate the contribution of bulk oxygen atoms of YSZ in Rh/YSZ at low temperatures.

The techniques of fixed and approaching anodes have been utilized in this study using polygonal electrodes arranged in the form as one cathode and four anodes. Disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA-Na2) and Distilled Water (DW) was used as purging solutions in the treatment of lead contaminated soil with a concentration of (750 mg / kg). In all experiments was applied a 1.5 V/cm as a constant DC voltage gradient. Results showed that the pH value decreases especially in the approaching anode technique. The average lead removal efficiency at both line of sampling points A and B in EK-3 (fixed anode technique) was 64 and 67%, respectively, and in EK-4 (approaching anode technique) was 68.1 and 71%, respectively, when was used 0.2 M EDTA as purging solution. And that reduction rate was lower when Distilled Water is used.

Although field emission devices are inherently robust to high temperature and radiation environments as well as have high switching speeds, their development has been hindered by high voltages that are typically required for their operation. In this work, we investigate the effect of thin-film praseodymium (Pr) coating on the emission characteristics of a lateral gold (Au) field emitter array. Because Pr has a significantly lower work function than Au, it is expected to increase the field emission measured current. Pr is deposited onto the device via thermal angled evaporation in a custom-built vacuum chamber with in situ electrical characterization capability. Our experiments demonstrate that a 10 nm-thick Pr layer reduces the turn-on voltage by almost half compared to the noncoated Au structure. These results are promising for the development of power-efficient, low voltage field emission electronics.

Bismuth(III) sulfide (Bi2S3) is a promising cathode material for aqueous zinc ion batteries (ZIBs), yet suffers from serious capacity issues due to its poor electrical conductivity and microstructural degradations. In this work, Bi2S3 anchored on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is prepared through hydrothermal reaction and is used as cathode material for aqueous ZIBs. Raman and XPS characterizations confirmed that the oxygen bridge in Bi–O–C heterostructures is successfully created during the hydrothermal synthesis. These oxygen bridges are energy favourable in the Bi2S3/rGO composite materials and serve as the electron transfer channels for rapid charge compensation during Zn2+ incorporation/extraction. Rotating ring–disc electrode (RRDE) measurements demonstrate improved electrochemical stability of the Bi2S3/rGO composite material compared to pristine Bi2S3. As a result of these improved characteristics, Bi2S3/rGO composite shows notably better rate performance and cycling stability than unsupported Bi2S3. Ex-situ X-ray diffraction and XPS characterizations indicate that Zn2+ undergoes a reversible conversion reaction with Bi2S3 to form ZnS/Bi0, rather than being intercalated into Bi2S3 crystal interlayers. The rGO substrate forms chemical bonds with bismuth in the composite material, and the strongly anchored bismuth on the rGO through a Bi–O–C bridge enables a highly reversible conversion reaction. As a result, the Bi2S3/rGO composite with 8 wt% rGO can deliver a reversible capacity of ∼186 mAh g−1 at the current density of 500 mA g−1 after 150 cycles, showing high promise as Zn-ion battery material.

To meet the increasing global water demand, local solutions, such as the reuse of greywater, are becoming of greater importance. While greywater reclamation has been implemented, full-scale adaptation has been limited by the occurrence of micropollutants in treated greywater effluent. To reduce the risks posed by micropollutants, advanced post-treatment is required. One promising technology is the implementation of hollow fiber nanofiltration, which has proven to effectively remove micropollutants. However, the effect of fouling on the overall membrane performance has received limited attention. In this research, the effect of fouling on the performance of polyelectrolyte multilayer nanofiltration membranes was evaluated. Filtration experiments were performed using hollow fiber nanofiltration membranes using model solutions and greywater effluent. Synthetic greywater effluent with different model foulants was implemented to simulate bio- and colloidal fouling. Afterwards, the fouling propensity of greywater effluent from a source-separated treatment plant was evaluated. The performed experiments demonstrated that the studied hollow fiber nanofiltration membranes are mainly sensitive to biofouling. Permeability loss was observed in all foulant experiments, and overall, sodium alginate most severely reduced the flux. Regardless of the loss in permeability, micropollutant retention remained relatively constant, demonstrating the potential suitability of hollow fiber nanofiltration membranes in greywater reclamation schemes.

This research examines the learning model of Resource Based Learning is not something new for teachers at all. The Resource Based Learning learning model prioritizes cooperation in solving problems to apply knowledge and skills in order to achieve learning objectives. The research setting was at SMP Negeri 91 East Jakarta with 36 class VII-C students as subjects. The research was conducted for 2 cycles. With 3 meetings each cycle. The conclusions obtained from this study are that when referring to the results of initial observations before using the Resource Based Learning method, it was found that only 27.72% of students could have the ability to work on row and row material well. After the research was carried out by giving the Resource Based Learning method, in cycle 1 there was an increase of 72.22% at the end of the cycle students were able to work on series and line material, then in cycle 2 as many as 94.66% of students were able to work on series and line material and found increased learning outcomes in mathematics due to the Resource Based Learning method.

This research is motivated by the existence of various problems related to the teacher's ability to prepare test questions for student learning outcomes that have not referred to established standards. Collecting data using the method of observation, documentation, and interviews. The analysis is carried out through records of changes that occur in the stages of implementing the action until saturated data is found, then it is concluded as a whole. The results of this study indicate that the implementation of continuous workshops has a significant impact on improving the skills of SMP Negeri 56 Jakarta teachers. This can be seen from the ability to write quality questions in each cycle has increased. The ability to write multiple choice questions in the pre-action obtained an average of 61.06% and in cycle 1 increased to 70.72% because it did not meet the performance indicators, the action was continued in cycle 2 and the average acquisition increased to 79.41% and already fulfilled the performance indicators in this study . Furthermore, the ability to write description questions in the pre-action obtained an average of 60.54% and in cycle 1 increased to 70.56% because it did not meet the performance indicators, the action was continued in cycle 2 and the average acquisition increased to 80.95% and already fulfilled the performance indicators in this study.

This study examines Based on the analysis of the Indicator document prepared by the teacher and interviews conducted by the school through staff and representatives, it turns out that the following problems are still found: 1). Teachers still experience difficulties in developing indicators (especially the components of learning objectives, learning materials, learning steps and assessments); coupled with the integration of cultural values ​​and national character in Indicator 2) Teachers' interest in compiling indicators is still low, because indicators can be purchased. The problems mentioned above each other are problems that must be solved or ways to solve them so that all teachers are interested, enthusiastic in compiling and developing indicators with no problems or obstacles in making them. With workshops (teachers) developing Indicators can improve skills in preparing and developing Indicators and can implement them in the learning process so as to improve the quality and learning outcomes.

This study examines the Improvement of Indonesian Vocabulary Mastery Through Picture Media in Class II of SDN Rawa Badak Utara 07 Pagi. The results of the study show that the results of learning Indonesian through the media of images are able to involve intellectual, social and emotional abilities in an integrated manner so as to raise the potential for students to stimulate analytical thinking, be able to work together, and be able to solve problems independently. Students enjoy learning more and participate in learning with enthusiasm and enthusiasm and joy, so that the expected learning outcomes can be achieved. Learning by using image media can improve Indonesian learning outcomes. This is evidenced by the analysis of the first cycle with student learning outcomes of 67.25% and 72.00% in cycle II. Although the results in cycles I and II have increased, they have not reached the target set. Then the action of cycle III was carried out and the learning result was 76.25%. The learning outcomes in cycle III have exceeded the specified target of 75%. Thus it can be concluded that media images are able to improve the learning outcomes of Indonesian language students in class II of SDN Rawa Badak Utara 07 Pagi.

This study aims to know the improvement of emotional intelligence of students' social attitudes at elementary school of Al Azhar Syifa Budi Telaga Bestari Tangerang. This research used case study of qualitative research methods and the instruments were interviews, observations and document studies. Data analysis used reduction, display and verification. The sample were five teachers as main informants and five students as supporting informants. The results of this study were (1) the the improvoving step of emotional intelligence on the students’ social attitudes through giving advice, good examples, character building, and a high sense of solidarity to build a sense of sympathy and empathy for others. (2) Efforts of improving students’ emotional intelligence was by increasing students’ self-motivation, fostering relationships and cooperation, training students' empathy, controlling and expressing emotions. (3) Factors that effects students’ emotional intelligence on improving the students’ social attitudes were from the family environment, the family whose had not enough religion relatively difficult to control. Then, the community environment, can affect the student’s attitude with a good or bad relationship between students and teachers. They became more responssible for their behavior. They were also more careful in their actions.

International audience; The powerful combination of steady state isotopic transient kinetic analysis (SSITKA) and operando infrared spectroscopy (IR) was applied to study the CO oxidation reaction on Pd-supported Al2O3 catalyst at low temperature. The aim was to reveal the true role of hydrogen‑carbonate species in the reaction mechanism. The SSITKA-IR experiments, conducted in presence and absence of CO2 in the gas feed, have confirmed that hydrogen‑carbonate species behave as spectator species in the reaction. Its formation was due to re-adsorption of the CO2 product itself on the alumina surface as confirmed by the direct 12CO2/13CO2 exchange observed on the bare support.

Funding Information: We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52176141 ) and the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. XDA21040500 ). R. Kang acknowledges the support from the China Scholarship Council (No. 202004910623 ). Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Elsevier B.V. Self-sustained catalytic combustion is a promising strategy to remove CO from the off-gas produced during steelmaking, where the potential catalysts are bulk copper-cerium-zirconium mixed oxides or those supported on TiO2 or ZSM-5 substrates. In this study, the effects of the catalyst support on the CO catalytic ignition performance and reaction pathways were investigated by FTIR coupled with a novel in-situ cell, together with the state-of-the-art characterization techniques. The Infrared (IR) transmission cell equipped with a magnetically driven system, could effectively prevent overlaps between active intermediate peaks (Cu+-CO and Cu+(CO)2) and gaseous CO peaks. The Cu+ cations located at the phase interface are the main active sites. The Cu and Ce interactions lead to the formation of solid solutions of CuCe0.75Zr0.25Oδ (CuCeZr). The monocarbonyls [Cu+-CO] are the dominant species during CO oxidation, and the vacancies in the solid solutions are occupied by oxygen, accelerating the oxygen cycle. The TiO2or ZSM-5 supports promote copper dispersion over CuCe0.75Zr0.25Oδ/TiO2 (CuCeZr/T) and CuCe0.75Zr0.25Oδ/ZSM-5 (CuCeZr/Z) catalysts, which can be attributed to their high surface areas (168.2 and 346.3 m2/g, respectively), while the Cu-Ce interactions are less relevant. Hence, CO oxidation mainly occurs at the phase interface between copper oxide and TiO2/ZSM-5. Dicarbonyls [Cu+(CO)2] are the main intermediates for the CuCeZr/T and CuCeZr/Z catalysts, and the Cu2+ species are reduced to form dicarbonyls that also take part in the oxidation process. Although a well copper dispersion enhances the activity of individual copper sites on the CuCeZr/T and CuCeZr/Z catalysts, considering the redshift of the carbonyl bands and the increase in CO adsorption, the close interactions and high contents of Cu and Ce favor the local accumulation of heat and mass transfer over bulk CuCeZr, leading to the ignition of CO at low temperatures.

Nasl. z nasl. zaslona. Opis vira z dne 6. 3. 2023. Bibliografija: str. 16-17. Abstract.

In this study, unique hybrid structures were constructed between a Ce-based metal-organic framework (Ce-MOF) and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) materials. In addition, the g-C3N4 materials used for these heterostructures were prepared by five different methods, namely the conventional pyrolysis method, chemical exfoliation by a strong acid, activation by an alkaline hydrothermal treatment, melamine-cyanuric acid supramolecular assembly with a mechanochemical method, and by the solvothermally pre-treated method. The structural and morphological properties of the resulting g-C3N4 sheets and their composites were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis-derivative thermogravimetry (TGA-DTG), diffuse reflectance UV–vis spectroscopy (UV–vis DRS) and N2 sorption-desorption isotherms (BET). Finally, the photocatalytic performance of the composites was determined by following the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) in an aqueous solution under UV–visible light irradiation. It was found that the photocatalytic efficiency of the Ce-MOF/g-C3N4‒TS composite was significantly higher than that of their counterparts (Ce-MOF or g-C3N4‒TS) for the photocatalytic degradation of MB. When employing the composite, UV light-induced degradation of MB yielded an efficiency of 96.5% after 120 min for a dye solution containing 10 mg/L MB. This corresponds to a 5-fold or 2-fold improvement of the rate constant (k) when compared to the Ce-MOF or g-C3N4, respectively.

Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) is a typical electrical loss material with strong permittivity that has been widely used in the field of electromagnetic shielding, attenuation, and reception. However, studies have demonstrated that the unstable anisotropic EM behavior exhibited by CNFs in the terahertz domain hinders its application in the tremendously high frequency domain. In this study, ZnO is used to perform surface modification of CNFs based on the sputtering method, which effectively eliminate the anisotropic EM behavior of CNFs at different irradiation angles in the sub-terahertz band. ZnO coated the surface of fiber wall comprehensively in the form of nano-scale. The results show that after the surface modification, the composite sample exhibits a stable isotropic EM response in the sub-terahertz band of 500-750 GHz. Also, in the frequency range of 551-563 GHz (bandwidth: 12 GHz), ZnO not only acts as a stabilizer, but also enhances the absorption performance of the original CNFs by 6%, which is up to 92%. In the frequency range of 660-690 GHz (bandwidth: 30 GHz), the composite sample and the pure CNFs sample have similar wave absorption performance with about 75%, the maximum difference is less than 5%, and the minimum is about 2.6%.

Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) is one of the most widely used brominated flame retardant (BFR), which has attracted increasing attention due to the persistence, bioaccumulation and adverse effect to wildlife and human. Considering the strong need for the disposal of HBCD containing waste, mechanochemical (MC) pretreatment technology was investigated to destroy BFRs as a dehalogenation method in this study. Silica and aluminium powders were used as additives, and mechanochemical method was applied to degrade BFRs for both HBCD powder and waste plastics. The results showed that HBCD was effectively degraded during mechanochemical treatment with the aid of Si-Al-based additives. The optimized condition was determined to be a SiO2/Al ratio = 7:2 with a reagent ratio of 15:1. The optimized mechanochemical method was applied to dispose of BFRs contained waste plastics. The results show that dehalogenation of plastics occurs during mechanochemical destruction and that smaller plastic particles accelerated dehalogenation. Finally, the reaction process and intermediates were studied to provide insight into the mechanochemical degradation mechanism of HBCD, and a possible reaction pathway was proposed.

International audience

Germanane, a two-dimensional Ge lattice in which each atom is hydrogen-terminated in the z-direction, possesses a remarkable combination of electronic and optical properties that are attractive for applications ranging from chemical sensing to electrocatalysis and photocatalysis. In this work, we studied germanane (GeH) and the novel butyl-functionalized germanane (GeBuxH(1−x)) as photocatalysts for water purification under visible light irradiation and utilizing challenging conditions in terms of photocatalyst loading (1 mg per g of aqueous solution containing 200 ppm of pollutant). The synthesized GeH and GeBuxH(1−x) have significantly higher specific surface area (121 m2 g−1 and 76 m2 g−1, respectively) than other germanane derivatives reported to date and display optical band gaps suitable for visible light absorption (1.40 eV and 1.55 eV, respectively). In terms of photocatalytic performance, GeH displayed the best activity in the degradation of rhodamine B (61% removal after 3 h under visible radiation), while GeBuxH(1−x) proved to be the best photocatalyst for the degradation of phenol (33% removal after 3 h under visible radiation). In both cases, the activity under visible radiation surpassed that of P25 TiO2 and could be enhanced significantly by sonication in water before interaction with the pollutants. Recycling tests showed that GeH could be reused with no or negligible loss of photocatalytic activity, whereas GeBuxH(1−x) showed a minor decrease in activity upon reuse.

Motivated by the need for efficient purification methods for the recovery of valuable resources, we developed a wire-electrospun membrane adsorber without the need for post-modification. The relationship between the fiber structure, functional-group density, and performance of electrospun sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (sPEEK) membrane adsorbers was explored. The sulfonate groups enable selective binding of lysozyme at neutral pH through electrostatic interactions. Our results show a dynamic lysozyme adsorption capacity of 59.3 mg/g at 10% breakthrough, which is independent of the flow velocity confirming dominant convective mass transport. Membrane adsorbers with three different fiber diameters (measured by SEM) were fabricated by altering the concentration of the polymer solution. The specific surface area as measured with BET and the dynamic adsorption capacity were minimally affected by variations in fiber diameter, offering membrane adsorbers with consistent performance. To study the effect of functional-group density, membrane adsorbers from sPEEK with different sulfonation degrees (52%, 62%, and 72%) were fabricated. Despite the increased functional-group density, the dynamic adsorption capacity did not increase accordingly. However, in all presented cases, at least a monolayer coverage was obtained, demonstrating ample functional groups available within the area occupied by a lysozyme molecule. Our study showcases a ready-to-use membrane adsorber for the recovery of positively charged molecules, using lysozyme as a model protein, with potential applications in removing heavy metals, dyes, and pharmaceutical components from process streams. Furthermore, this study highlights factors, such as fiber diameter and functional-group density, for optimizing the membrane adsorber’s performance.

Research in nanotechnology, especially in nanoparticles, has been growing in several fields of study, from nanoelectronics to biotechnology. This wide range of applications requires different techniques for characterizing these nanoparticles in terms of properties such as structure, morphology, magnetic profile and chemical composition. The Scanning Magnetic Microscopy can be used for the magnetic characterization of these materials obtaining the magnetic maps and, with the use of the inversion technique, making it possible to recover the magnetic moment and then obtain the magnetization curve of these measurements. In this work, iron-aluminum spinel nanoparticles were produced by combustion reaction and characterized structurally by Transmission Electron Microscopy, and the magnetic properties by Scanning Magnetic Microscopy. For the inversion process, we model a set of magnetic maps using a cylindrical shape to obtain the magnetic moments, and then construct a magnetization curve. The inversion method is thereby validated by comparing the results with an in-line method already used in previous works.