Boosting the hydrogenation activity of dibenzyltoluene catalyzed by Mg-based metal hydrides

Hydrogenation of dibenzyltoluene (DBT) is of great significance for the application in liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs). We successfully develop Mg-based metal hydrides (Mg₂NiH₄, MgH₂, and LaH₃) reactive ball-milling for the hydrogenation of DBT. Mg-based metal hydrides milled with 500 min exhibit the best catalytic activity, the hydrogen uptake of DBT can reach 4.63 wt% at the first 4 h and finally achieve 5.70 wt% through 20 h, which is the first time to use hydrogen storage material as a catalyst for the hydrogenation of DBT. The excellent catalytic hydrogenation performance of Mg-based metal hydrides mostly originates from numerous catalytic activity centers formed at the surfaces of Mg₂NiH₄ nanoparticles in the MgH₂ matrix. Inspired by this mechanism, more general metal hydrides can be explored for catalyzing the hydrogenation of LOHCs. The new application of Mg-based metal hydrides is beneficial to developing efficient LOHC based hydrogen storage systems and offers novel insights to hydride-based catalysts.     

Synthesis and in vitro bioactivity assessment of injectable bioglass−organic pastes for bone tissue repair

The aim of this work was to study the bioactivity of systems based on a clinically tested bioactive glass (BG) particulates (mol%: 4.33 Na₂O−30.30 CaO−12.99 MgO−45.45 SiO₂−2.60 P₂O₅−4.33 CaF₂) and organic carriers. The cohesiveness of injectable bone graft products is of high relevance when filling complex volumetric bone defects. With this motivation behind, BG particulates with mean sizes within 11−14 μm were mixed in different proportions with glycerol (G) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) as organic carriers and the mixtures were fully injectable exhibiting Newtonian flow behaviors. The apatite forming ability was investigated using X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy under secondary electron mode after immersion of samples in simulated body fluid (SBF) for time durations varying between 12 h and 7 days. The results obtained revealed that in spite of the good adhesion of glycerol and PEG carriers to glass particles during preparation stage, they did not hinder the exposure of bioactive glass particulates to the direct contact with SBF solution. The results confirmed the excellent bioactivity in vitro for all compositions expressed by high biomineralization rates with the formation of crystalline hydroxyapatite being identified by XRD after 12 h of immersion in SBF solution.     

Multicellular Tumor Spheroids (MCTS) as a 3D In Vitro Evaluation Tool of Nanoparticles

Multicellular tumor spheroid models (MCTS) are often coined as 3D in vitro models that can mimic the microenvironment of tissues. MCTS have gained increasing interest in the nano‐biotechnology field as they can provide easily accessible information on the performance of nanoparticles without using animal models. Considering that many countries have put restrictions on animals testing, which will only tighten in the future as seen by the recent developments in the Netherlands, 3D models will become an even more valuable tool. Here, an overview on MCTS is provided, focusing on their use in cancer research as most nanoparticles are tested in MCTS for treatment of primary tumors. Thereafter, various types of nanoparticles—from self‐assembled block copolymers to inorganic nanoparticles, are discussed. A range of physicochemical parameters including the size, shape, surface chemistry, ligands attachment, stability, and stiffness are found to influence nanoparticles in MCTS. Some of these studies are complemented by animal studies confirming that lessons from MCTS can in part predict the behaviour in vivo. In summary, MCTS are suitable models to gain additional information on nanoparticles. While not being able to replace in vivo studies, they can bridge the gap between traditional 2D in vitro studies and in vivo models.     

超细Fe3O4粒子表面包覆酞菁钴性质研究

本文研究了合成载氧体的金属有机化学液相淀积法制造工艺，所得产物经ＴＥＭ、ＸＰＳ、Ｍｏｓｓ－ｂａｕｅｒ谱和Ｂ－Ｈ仪等手段，研究了它的结构和磁性能。实验表明，酞青钴以薄层形式包覆在Ｆｅ＿３Ｏ＿４的表面，封闭了Ｆｅ＿３Ｏ＿４的表面孔洞，稳定了Ｆｅ＿３Ｏ＿４的物相，增强了磁性能。     

In-situ ESR spectroelectrochemical studies of overoxidation behaviour of poly(3,4-butylenedioxythiophene)

The behaviour of poly(3,4-butylenedioxythiophene) (PBuDOT), a relative of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythipohnene) PEDOT within the poly(3,4-alkylenedioxythiophene) family, has been investigated at potentials above its electrochemical stability threshold using in situ ESR spectroelectrochemistry. The aim was to investigate the effect of electrochemical overoxidation on the charge carrying species, namely polarons, normally generated and annihilated during reversible redox doping and dedoping reactions, by determining the potential dependencies of spectroscopic parameters of the ESR spectra of the polymer over a selected potential range. Specific features of the trends of these dependencies allowed also for an evaluation of presence of the second type of charge carrying species—diamagnetic bipolarons and the effects of their interactions with polarons at different potentials. Around 1.5 V, where the boundary of electrochemical stability of the polymer lies, sharp drop of the concentration of paramagnetic centres has been observed together with a transitory narrowing of the ESR line. These changes were found to be irreversible as evidenced by the course of subsequent reduction half-cycle, which differed from the one for a not overoxidised polymer, observed in previous studies. Aided by the results of electrochemical studies it was concluded that the overoxidation process leads to a degradation of the polymer most probably due decrease of the conjugation length of the main chain π-bond through cross-linking or addition reactions. While the electrochemical results pointed to a non-complete degradation of the polymer, the specific parameters of the ESR line in the reduction half-cycle indicate that the remaining spins are confined to isolated segments of a partially degraded polymer where their behaviour resembles oligomer-like radicals.     

Anomalous Hall and Nernst Effects in Normal State of SC Cuprates

It is demonstrated that scattering of mobile charge carriers by fluctuations of local spin density in the normal state of SC-cuprates results in anomalous contribution to the transport phenomena (Hall and Nernst effects are included). Depending on their sign and magnitude, they can change value and sign of the corresponding effect measured.     

Whey Drying on Porous Carriers

Whey is an undurable product. treated very often as a waste which pollutes the natural environment. Whey which is a valuable source of protein, lactose, vitamins and mineral salts should be utilized completely. The present paper is a proposal of whey drying on porous carriers. It is proved experimentally that the proposed drying method guarantees good product quality.     

Microstructured Lipid Carriers (MLC) Based on N-Acetylcysteine and Chitosan Preventing Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm

The aim of this work was the development of microstructured lipid carriers (MLC) based on chitosan (CH) and containing N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a mucolytic and antioxidant agent, to inhibit the formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm. MLC were prepared using the high shear homogenization technique. The MLC were characterized for morphology, particle size, Z potential, encapsulation efficiency and drug release. The antioxidant properties of NAC-loaded microstructured carriers were evaluated through an in vitro spectrophotometer assay. Finally, the activity of NAC-CH-MLC on biofilm production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa was also evaluated. Results obtained from this study highlighted that the use of chitosan into the inner aqueous phase permitted to obtain microstructured particles with a narrow size range and with good encapsulation efficiency. NAC-loaded MLC showed higher antioxidant activity than the free molecule, demonstrating how encapsulation increases the antioxidant effect of the molecule. Furthermore, the reduction of biofilm growth resulted extremely high with MLC being 64.74% ± 6.2% and 83.74% ± 9.95%, respectively, at 0.5 mg/mL and 2 mg/mL. In conclusion, this work represents a favorable technological strategy against diseases in which bacterial biofilm is relevant, such as cystic fibrosis.     

Rescheduling policies for large-scale task allocation of autonomous straddle carriers under uncertainty at automated container terminals

This paper investigates replanning strategies for container-transportation task allocation of autonomous Straddle Carriers (SC) at automated container terminals. The strategies address the problem of large-scale scheduling in the context of uncertainty (especially uncertainty associated with unexpected events such as the arrival of a new task). Two rescheduling policies–Rescheduling New arrival Jobs (RNJ) policy and Rescheduling Combination of new and unexecuted Jobs (RCJ) policy–are presented and compared for long-term Autonomous SC Scheduling (ASCS) under the uncertainty of new job arrival. The long-term performance of the two rescheduling policies is evaluated using a multi-objective cost function (i.e., the sum of the costs of SC travelling, SC waiting, and delay of finishing high-priority jobs). This evaluation is conducted based on two different ASCS solving algorithms–an exact algorithm (i.e., branch-and-bound with column generation (BBCG) algorithm) and an approximate algorithm (i.e., auction algorithm)–to get the schedule of each short-term planning for the policy. Based on the map of an actual fully-automated container terminal, simulation and comparative results demonstrate the quality advantage of the RCJ policy compared with the RNJ policy for task allocation of autonomous straddle carriers under uncertainty. Long-term testing results also show that although the auction algorithm is much more efficient than the BBCG algorithm for practical applications, it is not effective enough, even when employed by the superior RCJ policy, to achieve high-quality scheduling of autonomous SCs at the container terminals.