Zirconium oxide nanotube surface prompts increased osteoblast functionality and mineralization

Electrochemical formation of tunable nanoscale oxide layers on biomedical metallic surfaces has recently drawn much attention in biomaterials research. In this study, we report on the cellular response to a unique vertically aligned, laterally spaced nanotube nanostructure made of zirconium oxide (ZrO₂) fabricated by anodization. The growth, morphology, and functionality of osteoblasts cultured on ZrO₂ nanotubes have been investigated. The initial adhesion and spreading was considerably improved on the nanotube surface as compared to a flat zirconium (Zr) surface without a nanostructure. The morphology of the adhered cells on the nanotube surface elicited a highly organized cytoskeleton with crisscross patterned actin, which was lacking on the flat Zr. Increased alkaline phosphatase activity levels and the formation of calcified extracellular matrix implied improved osteoblast functionality and mineralization on the nanotube substrate. This in vitro study suggests that the ZrO₂ nanotubes provided an enhanced osteoblast response and demonstrated their apparent role in providing a platform for bone growth.     

Mercury(II) exchange by highly charged swelling micas, sodium Engelhard titanosilicate-4, and sodium titanosilicate

Selective Hg(2+)-exchange properties of highly charged sodium swelling micas (Na-2-, Na-3-, and Na-4-micas), sodium Engelhard titanosilicate-4 (Na-ETS-4), and sodium titanosilicate were determined by use of distribution coefficients (K(d)), ion-exchange isotherms, and Kielland plots for their potential use of Hg decontamination from groundwater and soils. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns after 2Na(+) → Hg(2+) exchange were collected to check for change in (001) spacings of differently charged sodium micas. The isotherms and Kielland plots suggested that Na-ETS-4 was highly selective for Hg(2+). Also, the K(d) value of Na-ETS-4 was the highest among the tested exchangers, supporting its high selectivity. Hg releases from Hg-exchanged Na-4-mica and Na-ETS-4 were found to be lower compared to other samples tested with simulated groundwater. The (001) spacings of sodium micas after Hg(2+) exchange changed from ～ 12 to ～ 14 ? or/and 12 ? depending on their layer charge density and the uptake amount of Hg. Our results suggest that Na-ETS-4 is a good candidate for mercury(II) decontamination from groundwater and soils.     

Production of graphene by exfoliation of graphite in a volatile organic solvent

The production of unfunctionalized and nonoxidized graphene by exfoliation of graphite in a volatile solvent, 1-propanol, is reported. A stable homogeneous dispersion of graphene was obtained by mild sonication of graphite powder and subsequent centrifugation. The presence of a graphene monolayer was observed by atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The solvent, 1-propanol, from the deposited dispersion was simply and quickly removed by air drying at room temperature, without the help of high temperature annealing or vacuum drying, which shortens production time and does not leave any residue of the solvent in the graphene sheets.     

Effect of adding Ce on interfacial reactions between Sn–Ag solder and Cu

We investigated the effect of adding cerium (Ce) to low Ag content Sn–1.0wt.%Ag solder on the interfacial reactions between the Sn–1.0Ag solder and Cu substrate. The formation and growth of interfacial intermetallic compounds (IMCs) between the Sn–1.0Ag–0.3Ce solder and Cu substrate were studied and the results were compared to those obtained for the Ce-free Sn–1.0Ag/Cu and most promising Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu/Cu systems. The addition of Ce to the Sn–Ag solder significantly reduced the growth of the interfacial Cu–Sn IMCs, retarded the interfacial reactions between the solder and the substrate, and prevented the IMC from spalling from the interface. The Sn–1.0Ag–0.3Ce solder alloy had a good interfacial stability with the Cu substrate during solid-state isothermal aging in the viewpoint of IMC growth.     

Electron-emission properties of carbon nanotube micro-tips coated by amorphous carbon nitride films

An approach to the preparation of a tip-type of field emitter that is made up of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) coated with amorphous carbon nitride (a-CN_x) films is presented for the purpose of enhancing its electron emission property. CNTs were directly grown on nano-sized conical-type tungsten tips via the inductively coupled plasma-chemical vapor deposition system, and a-CN_x films were coated on the CNTs using an radio frequency magnetron sputtering system. The morphologies and microstructures of the a-CN_x-coated CNTs were analyzed via field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electron emission properties of the a-CN_x/CNT hetero-structures were measured using a high-vacuum field emission measurement system. The best field emission properties, such as a very low turn-on voltage of 500 V and a maximum emission current of 176 μA were achieved for the CNT emitter coated with the 5 nm-thick a-CN_x film. In addition, this emitter showed a highly stable behavior in long-term (up to 25 h) electron emission.     

The spherical involute bevel gear: its geometry, kinematic behavior and standardization

Bevel gear processing has diversified based on constant technical developments in forging, CNC cutting and hob design. Standardization of bevel gears is in higher demand than ever for different bevel gear systems that have different shapes and forms according to processing methods. With advantages such as excellent compatibility and the ability to absorb assembly errors well, the involute gear is referred to as the spherical involute tooth profile in bevel gear systems. This paper explains the geometrical characteristics and kinematic behavior of spherical involute gears. A spherical involute function is derived to effectively represent tooth profiles, and a common basic rack is developed using the equation of meshing to generate spherical involute gears. This study also analyzes the general characteristics of spherical involute gears and discusses the issue of bevel-gear standardization.     

Highly Improved Sb2S3 Sensitized‐Inorganic–Organic Heterojunction Solar Cells and Quantification of Traps by Deep‐Level Transient Spectroscopy

The light‐harvesting Sb₂S₃ surface on mesoporous‐TiO₂ in inorganic–organic heterojunction solar cells is sulfurized with thioacetamide (TA). The photovoltaic performances are compared before and after TA treatment, and the state of the Sb₂S₃ is investigated by X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and deep‐level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). Although there are no differences in crystallinity and composition, the TA‐treated solar cells exhibit significantly enhanced performance compared to pristine Sb₂S₃‐sensitized solar cells. From DLTS analysis, the performance enhancement is mainly attributed to the extinction of trap sites, which are present at a density of (2–5) × 10¹⁴ cm^?3 in Sb₂S₃, by TA treatment. Through such a simple treatment, the cell records an overall power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.5% through a metal mask under simulated illumination (AM 1.5G, 100 mW cm^–2) with a very high open circuit voltage of 711.0 mV. This PCE is, thus far, the highest reported for fully solid‐state chalcogenide‐sensitized solar cells.     

Design and analysis of novel quorum-based sink location service scheme in wireless sensor networks

Geographic routing in wireless sensor networks requires sources nodes to be aware of the location information of sinks to send their data. To provide the sink location service, quorum-based schemes have been proposed, which exploit crossing points between a quorum of a sink location announcement (SLA) message from a sink and a quorum of a sink location query (SLQ) message from a source node. For guaranteeing at least one crossing point in irregular sensor networks with void areas or irregular boundaries, the previous schemes however collect and flood the network boundary information or forward a SLA and SLQ message along the whole network boundary. In this paper, we design a novel quorum-based sink location service scheme that exploits circle and line quorums, which does not require the network boundary information and send a SLA and SLQ message along the whole network boundary. In the proposed scheme, a source node sends a SLQ message to the network center and sends another SLQ message to an edge node in the network boundary, thus generating a SLQ line quorum. On the other hand, a sink node sends a SLA message along a circle path whose center is the network center, thus forming a SLQ circle quorum. By this way, it is guaranteed that the SLQ and SLA quorums have at least one crossing point in irregular sensor networks. Both numerical analysis and extensive simulation results verify that the proposed scheme outperforms the existing schemes in terms of the delivery distance, the delivery hop count, and the energy consumption for providing sink location service.     

水下光声混合网络评价(英文)

The deployment of underwater networks allows researchers to collect explorative and monitoring data on underwater ecosystems.The acoustic medium has been widely adopted in current research and commercial uses,while the optical medium remains experimental only.According to our survey onthe properties of acoustic and optical communicationsand preliminary simulation results have shown significant trade-offs between bandwidth,propagation delay,power consumption,and effective communication range.We propose a hybrid solution that combines the use of acoustic and optical communication in order to overcome the bandwidth limitation of the acoustic channel by enabling optical communicationwith the help of acoustic-assisted alignment between optical transmitters and receivers.