Preparation and antifouling performance of thin inorganic ultrafiltration membrane via assisted sol-gel method with different composition of dual additives

A novel TiO₂ thin film was prepared on the ceramic hollow fiber by the sol-gel method using poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as additives. SEM images verified the formation of TiO₂ layer with various thickness using different composition of titania sols. The effect of the PVP and PVA contents on the TiO₂ sol properties, the separation and the antifouling performance of the ultrafiltration membranes were investigated thoroughly. When the contents of PVP and PVA were 1.0 wt% and 0.8 wt%, respectively, the resultant membrane showed a thickness of 0.55 μm with a pure water flux of 255 L m^?2 h^?1. In addition, the adherent foulant bovine serum albumin was applied to evaluate the antifouling performance. During the three fouling-recovery cycles, the flux recovery ratio and the flux decay ratio maintained about 99% and 30%. The BSA flux and rejection were still 169 L m^?2 h^?1 and 96.9% after the cycles, indicating a superior antifouling property.     

Spatiotemporal Magnetocaloric Microenvironment for Guiding the Fate of Biodegradable Polymer Implants

The degradation behavior of implants is significantly important for bone repair. However, it is still unprocurable to spatiotemporally regulate the degradation of the implants to match bone ingrowth. In this paper, a magneto-controlled biodegradation model is established to explore the degradation behavior of magnetic scaffolds in a magnetothermal microenvironment generated by an alternating magnetic field (AMF). The results demonstrate that the scaffolds can be heated by magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) under AMF, which dramatically accelerated scaffold degradation. Especially, magnetic NPs modified by oleic acid with a better interface compatibility exhibit a greater heating efficiency to further facilitate the degradation. Furthermore, the molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the enhanced motion correlation between magnetic NPs and polymer matrix can accelerate the energy transfer. As a proof-of-concept, the feasibility of magneto-controlled degradation for implants is demonstrated, and an optimizing strategy for better heating efficiency of nanomaterials is provided, which may have great instructive significance for clinical medicine.     

Mechanical Properties of Single-Layer Diamond Reinforced Poly(vinyl alcohol) Nanocomposites through Atomistic Simulation

Low-dimensional carbon nanostructures are ideal nanofillers to reinforce the mechanical performance of polymer nanocomposites due to their excellent mechanical properties. Through molecular dynamics simulations, the mechanical performance of poly(vinyl alchohol) (PVA) nanocomposites reinforced with a single-layer diamond – diamane is investigated. It is found the PVA/diamane exhibits similar interfacial strengths and pull-out characteristics with the PVA/bilayer-graphene counterpart. Specifically, when the nanofiller is fully embedded in the nanocomposite, it is unable to deform simultaneously with the PVA matrix due to the weak interfacial load transfer efficiency, thus the enhancement effect is not significant. In comparison, diamane can effectively promote the tensile properties of the nanocomposite when it has a laminated structure as it deforms simultaneously with the matrix. With this configuration, the interlayer sp³ bonds endows diamane with a much higher resistance under compression and shear tests, thus the nanocomposite can reach very high compressive and shear stress. Overall, enhancement on the mechanical interlocking at the interface as triggered by surface functionalization is only effective for the fully embedded nanofiller. This work provides a fundamental understanding of the mechanical properties of PVA nanocomposites reinforced by diamane, which can shed lights on the design and preparation of next generation high-performance nanocomposites.     

Marine Phospholipids from Fishery By-Products Attenuate Atherosclerosis

In this study, the anti-atherosclerotic properties of three marine phospholipids (MPLs) extracts from fishery by-products including codfish roe, squid gonad, and shrimp head are verified. Their effects on key factors involved in atherosclerosis are examined and compared to explore whether the differences in their constitutions lead to the differences in the function. All three MPLs dampen oxidation of low- density lipoproteins (LDL) in vitro. Treating RAW264.7 macrophages and HUVECs endothelial cells with each MPLs ranging 10–100 µg mL⁻¹ does not decrease cell viability, yet ox-LDL caused cytotoxicity of both cells are alleviated by 50 or 100 µg mL⁻¹ MPLs treatment. In addition, the three MPLs reduce ox-LDL induced macrophage foam-like transition, mainly through inhibition of lipid uptake. Of the three MPLs, the one from squid gonad exhibits the best effect. On the other hand, all three MPLs modulate inflammatory responses, equally, by inhibiting the adhesion of monocytes to endothelial cells, and decreasing secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and MCP-1. Using a high-cholesterol diet induced zebrafish model, it is found that all three MPLs, especially the one from squid gonad, alleviates cholesterol accumulation in early plaques, and decreases total cholesterol as well as lipid peroxide in vivo. Practical Applications: As a way of making the best of the increasingly scarce marine resources, valuable lipid components can be recovered from by-products and wastes from the fishery industry. Here, we tested the anti-atherosclerotic effects and the mechanisms of three MPLs extracted from codfish roe, squid gonad, and shrimp head. Our study provides further evidence that marine phospholipids extracted from fishery by-products could protect against atherosclerosis, and helps to elucidate the structure-function relationship of MPLs.     

Dual effect synergistically triggered Ce:(Y,Tb)3(Al,Mn)5O12 transparent ceramics enabling a high color-rendering index and excellent thermal stability for white LEDs

Ce:Y₃Al₅O₁₂ transparent ceramics (TCs) with appropriate emission light proportion and high thermal stability are significant to construct white light emitting diode devices with excellent chromaticity parameters. In this work, strategies of controlling crystal-field splitting around Ce³⁺ ion and doping orange-red emitting ion, were adopted to fabricate Ce:(Y,Tb)₃(Al,Mn)₅O₁₂ TCs via vacuum sintering technique. Notably, 85.4 % of the room-temperature luminescence intensity of the TC was retained at 150 °C, and the color rendering index was as high as 79.8. Furthermore, a 12 nm red shift and a 16.2 % increase of full width at half maximum were achieved owing to the synergistic effects of Tb³⁺ and Mn²⁺ ions. By combining TCs with a 460 nm blue chip, a warm white light with a low correlated color temperature of 4155 K was acquired. Meanwhile, the action mechanism of Tb³⁺ ion and the energy transfer between Ce³⁺ and Mn²⁺ ions were verified in prepared TCs.     

Preparation and Evaluation of a Self-Nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery System Loaded with Heparin Phospholipid Complex

A self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) was developed to enhance the absorption of heparin after oral administration, in which heparin was compounded with phospholipids to achieve better fat solubility in the form of heparin-phospholipid (HEP-Pc) complex. HEP-Pc complex was prepared using the solvent evaporation method, which increased the solubility of heparin in n-octanol. The successful preparation of HEP-Pc complex was confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, NMR, and SEM. A heparin lipid microemulsion (HEP-LM) was prepared by high-pressure homogenization and characterized. HEP-LM can enhance the absorption of heparin after oral administration, significantly prolong activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and thrombin time (TT) in mice, and reduce fibrinogen (FIB) content. All these outcomes indicate that HEP-LM has great potential as an oral heparin formulation.     

Synthesis of nanopowders with low agglomeration by elaborating Φ values for producing Gd2O3-MgO nanocomposites with extremely fine grain sizes and high mid-infrared transparency

Refining ceramic microstructures to the nanometric range to minimize light scattering provides an interesting methodology for developing novel optical ceramic materials. In this work, we reported the fabrication and properties of a new nanocomposite optical ceramic of Gd₂O₃-MgO. The citric acid sol-gel combustion method was adopted to fabricate Gd₂O₃-MgO nanocomposites with fine-grain sizes, dense microstructures and homogeneous phase domains. Nanopowders with low agglomeration and improved sinterability can be obtained by elaborating Φ values. Further refining of the microstructure of the nanocomposites was achieved by elaborating the hot-pressing conditions. The sample sintered at 65 MPa and 1300 °C showed a quite high hardness value of 14.3 ± 0.2 GPa, a high transmittance of 80.3 %–84.7 % over the 3?6 μm wavelength range, due mainly to its extremely fine-grain size of Gd₂O₃ and MgO (93 and 78 nm, respectively) and high density.     

吉林油田低注入井吸水剖面施工工艺控制

本文对吉林油田低注入井五参数测井过程中遇到的一些问题进行分析,并相应提出一系列行之有效的解决方法。