Plasma assists titanium nitride and surface modified titanium nitride nanoparticles from titanium scraps for magnetic properties and supercapacitor applications

Plasma methods are efficient processing for metal recovery from metal scrap, bearing minerals, electronic waste, etc. In this work, pure titanium nitride nanoparticles (TiN NPs) were synthesized from titanium scraps by the thermal plasma arc discharge (TPAD) method. TPAD synthesized TiN NPs have a highly crystalline nature with cubic and spherical morphologies with average particle sizes of 30–100 nm. Further, prepared TiN NPs involving surface modification (SM) or etching processes were investigated by using the non-thermal DC glow discharge plasma technique with air atmosphere at different processing times. SM@TiN NPs have a comparatively low crystalline, which was confirmed from the powder X-ray diffraction technique. SM@TiN NPs have very interesting core shell morphologies, which are due to the surface interactions of ionized air molecules. TiN and SM@TiN NPs have room-temperature ferromagnetic properties with high saturation magnetization (Ms) up to 2.6 and 3.0 emu/g and very high coercivity (Hc) of 235.5 Oe, respectively. TiN and SM@TiN NPs have superior energy storage performance with an outstanding specific capacitance of 192.8 and 435.1 F/g at a current density of 2 A/g with pseudocapacitive behavior. These results reveal that TiN and SM@TiN NPs have highly promising electrodes for supercapacitor applications.     

Dual functions of three-dimensional hierarchical architecture on improving the rate capability and cycle performance of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode material for lithium-ion battery

The main obstacles in lithium-ion battery are limited by rate performance and the rapid capacity fading of LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂ (NCM811). Herein, a novel three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical coating material has been fabricated by in situ growing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the surfaces of Ni–Al double oxide (Ni–Al-LDO) sheets (named as LDO&CNT) with Ni–Al double hydroxide (Ni–Al-LDH) as both the substrate and catalyst precursor. The resultant LDO&CNT nanocomposites are uniformly coated on the surfaces of NCM811 by the physical mixing method. The rate capability of the resultant cathode material retains to 78.80% at a current rate of 3C. Its capacity retention increases by 6.7–14.42% compared with pristine NCM811 after 100 cycles within a potential range of 2.75–4.3 V at 0.5C. The improved rate capability and cycle performance of NCM811 are assigned to the synergistic effects between Ni–Al-LDO and CNTs. The hierarchical LDO&CNT nanocomposites coating on the surface of NCM811 avoids the aggregation of conductive CNTs and the stacking of Ni–Al-LDO nanosheets. Furthermore, it accelerates Li⁺ and electrons shuttle and reduces the reaction of Li₂O with H₂O and CO₂ in air, which results in Li₂CO₃ and LiOH alkali formation on the NCM811 surface.     

Enhancement in the osteogenesis and angiogenesis of calcium phosphate cement by incorporating magnesium-containing silicates

Based on the good osteogenic and angiogenic effects of silicon and magnesium elements, three types of micro-nano magnesium-containing silicates (MS), including akermanite (Ake, Ca₂MgSi₂O₇), diopside (Dio, CaMgSi₂O₆) and forsterite (For, Mg₂SiO₄), were incorporated into calcium phosphate cement (CPC) to improve its osteogenic and angiogenic performances for clinical application. In this present work, the physicochemical properties, osteogenesis and angiogenesis of MS/CPCs (Ake/CPCs, Dio/CPCs and For/CPCs) were investigated systematically and comparatively. The results showed that all MS/CPCs had good biomineralization and significantly stimulated the osteogenic differentiation of mBMSCs and angiogenic differentiation of HUVECs, respectively. Besides, the stimulating effects were related to not only the category of MS, but also the content of MS. The For/CPCs had a good angiogenic property but their initial setting times were beyond 60 min. The Dio/CPCs showed the lowest biological performance among the three groups of MS/CPCs due to the lower ion release (Si and Mg). The Ake was the ideal modifier that could provide CPC with appropriate physicochemical properties, better osteogenesis and angiogenesis. Simultaneously, a higher addition (10 wt%) of akermanite resulted in the best potential to bone regeneration. Taken together, this research provides an effective approach to improve the overall performance of CPC, and 10Ake/CPC is of great promising prospect in bone repair.     

Effect of heat moisture treatment on resistant starch content among carbohydrate sources: a meta-analysis

Resistant starch (RS) can be generated through heat moisture treatment (HMT). The HMT was conducted by modifying starch using different ratio of moisture content, high temperature and heating time. A number of studies showed that the effects of HMT on RS contents in cereals, pulses, tubers and fruits were inconsistent. This study aimed to analyse the impact of HMT on RS level in various carbohydrate sources through a meta-analysis approach. Study selection was conducted with the PRISMA method. There were 21 relevant studies and 67 data used for meta-analysis. The database was analysed by using Hedges’ d. The results showed that there was a significant impact of HMT on RS level of cereals, especially wheat. The highest increase in RS levels for various carbohydrate sources in starch was influenced by the interaction of treatment between water content at 15 ≤ x < 25%, heating time at 0.25 < x ≤ 6 h and temperature at 120 ≤ x ≤ 130 °C.     

Hydraulic reactivity and cement formation of baghdadite

In this study, the hydraulic reactivity and cement formation of baghdadite (Ca₃ZrSi₂O₉) was investigated. The material was synthesized by sintering a mixture of CaCO₃, SiO₂, and ZrO₂ and then mechanically activated using a planetary mill. This leads to a decrease in particle and crystallite size and a partial amorphization of baghdadite as shown by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and laser diffraction measurements. Baghdadite cements were formed by the addition of water at a powder to liquid ratio of 2.0 g/ml. Maximum compressive strengths were found to be ~2 MPa after 3-day setting for a 24-h ground material. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) measurements showed an incongruent dissolution profile of set cements with a preferred dissolution of calcium and only marginal release of zirconium ions. Cement formation occurs under alkaline conditions, whereas the unground raw powder leads to a pH of 11.9 during setting, while prolonged grinding increased pH values to approximately 12.3.     

Calcium aluminate cement in castable alumina: From hydrate bonding to the in situ formation of calcium hexaluminate

Calcium hexaluminate (CA₆) is an intrinsically densification-resistant material, therefore, its porous structures are key materials for applications as high-temperature thermal insulators. This article reports on the combination of calcined alumina and calcium aluminate cement (CAC) in castable aqueous suspensions for the in situ production of porous CA₆. The CAC content (10–34 vol%) and the curing conditions ensure structural integrity prior to sintering and maximize the development of hydrated phases. Changes in physical properties, crystalline phases, and microstructure were investigated after isothermal treatments (120–1500 °C), and three sequential porogenic events were observed. The hydration of CAC preserved the water-derived pores (up to 120 °C), and the dehydroxylation of CAC hydrates (250–700 °C) generated inter-particles pores. Moreover, the in situ expansive formation of CA₂ and CA₆ (900–1500 °C) hindered densification and generated intra-particle pores. Such events differed from those observed with other CaO sources, and resulted in significantly higher pores content and lower thermal conductivity.     

Preparation and characterization of calcium phosphate cement with enhanced tissue adhesion for bone defect repair

Anti-washout and tissue adhesion properties are essential for the clinical application of injectable bone materials. In this study, we prepared calcium phosphate cement (CPC) with anti-washout and tissue adhesion properties and attempted to build covalent bonds between CPC and the amino groups in bone tissue under a self-regulating pH system in the CPC (acidic to basic). The results of push-out tests demonstrated that a significant enhancement (from 6.42 ± 0.76 N to 61.5 ± 4.09 N) in tissue adhesion was obtained with the addition of 6% (w/w) oxidized sodium alginate (OSA) in CPC. The FTIR, XRD, anti-washout test, XPS, pH test, and SEM results suggested that the synergistic effect of OSA-citric acid (CA) led to the formation of a three-dimensional gel network structure in the CPC, and the Schiff base reaction between aldehyde and amino groups induced adhesion between CPC and the bone tissue. Further, the addition of less OSA had no significant negative effect on the hydration properties of CPC. Our work aims to promote the development of injectable bone material in clinical applications.     

Photoregulation of Gene Expression with Ligand-Modified Caged siRNAs through Host/Guest Interaction

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) can effectively silence target genes through Argonate 2 (Ago2)-induced RNA interference (RNAi). It is very important to control siRNA activity in both spatial and temporal modes. Among different masking strategies, photocaging can be used to regulate gene expression through light irradiation with spatiotemporal and dose-dependent resolution. Many different caging strategies and caging groups have been reported for light-activated siRNA gene silencing. Herein, we describe a novel caging strategy that increases the blocking effect of RISC complex formation/process through host/guest (including ligand/receptor) interactions, thereby enhancing the inhibition of caged siRNA activity until light activation. This strategy can be used as a general approach to design caged siRNAs for the photomodulation of gene silencing of exogenous and endogenous genes.     

Spinal Excitatory Dynorphinergic Interneurons Contribute to Burn Injury-Induced Nociception Mediated by Phosphorylated Histone 3 at Serine 10 in Rodents

The phosphorylation of serine 10 in histone 3 (p-S10H3) has recently been demonstrated to participate in spinal nociceptive processing. However, superficial dorsal horn (SDH) neurons involved in p-S10H3-mediated nociception have not been fully characterized. In the present work, we combined immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization with the retrograde labeling of projection neurons to reveal the subset of dorsal horn neurons presenting an elevated level of p-S10H3 in response to noxious heat (60 °C), causing burn injury. Projection neurons only represented a small percentage (5%) of p-S10H3-positive cells, while the greater part of them belonged to excitatory SDH interneurons. The combined immunolabeling of p-S10H3 with markers of already established interneuronal classes of the SDH revealed that the largest subset of neurons with burn injury-induced p-S10H3 expression was dynorphin immunopositive in mice. Furthermore, the majority of p-S10H3-expressing dynorphinergic neurons proved to be excitatory, as they lacked Pax-2 and showed Lmx1b-immunopositivity. Thus, we showed that neurochemically heterogeneous SDH neurons exhibit the upregulation of p-S10H3 shortly after noxious heat-induced burn injury and consequential tissue damage, and that a dedicated subset of excitatory dynorphinergic neurons is likely a key player in the development of central sensitization via the p-S10H3 mediated pathway.     

我国利用水泥窑协同处置污染物的现状及展望

利用水泥窑协同处置污染物可以缓解现阶段的环保压力,且具有良好的社会效益、环保效益及经济效益。文中以水泥窑协同处置为研究对象,探究其在我国的发展历程,并对其未来发展进行展望。