Synergetic Dual-Additive Electrolyte Enables Highly Stable Performance in Sodium Metal Batteries.

Sodium (Na)-metal batteries (SMBs) are considered one of the most promising candidates for the large-scale energy storage market owing to their high theoretical capacity (1,166 mAh g-1) and the abundance of Na raw material. However, the limited stability of electrolytes still hindered the application of SMBs. Herein, sulfolane (Sul) and vinylene carbonate (VC) are identified as effective dual additives that can largely stabilize propylene carbonate (PC)-based electrolytes, prevent dendrite growth, and extend the cycle life of SMBs. The cycling stability of the Na/NaNi0.68Mn0.22Co0.1O2 (NaNMC) cell with this dual-additive electrolyte is remarkably enhanced, with a capacity retention of 94% and a Coulombic efficiency (CE) of 99.9% over 600 cycles at a 5 C (750 mA g-1) rate. The superior cycling performance of the cells can be attributed to the homogenous, dense, and thin hybrid solid electrolyte interphase consisting of F- and S-containing species on the surface of both the Na metal anode and the NaNMC cathode by adding dual additives. Such unique interphases can effectively facilitate Na-ion transport kinetics and avoid electrolyte depletion during repeated cycling at a very high rate of 5 C. This electrolyte design is believed to result in further improvements in the performance of SMBs.

A data-driven QSPR model for screening organic corrosion inhibitors for carbon steel using machine learning techniques.

Machine learning (ML) techniques have shown great potential for screening corrosion inhibitors. In this study, a data-driven quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) model using the gradient boosting decision tree (GB) algorithm combined with the permutation feature importance (PFI) technique was developed to predict the corrosion inhibition efficiency (IE) of organic compounds on carbon steel. The results showed that the PFI method effectively selected the molecular descriptors most relevant to the IE. Using these important molecular descriptors, an IE predictive model was trained on a dataset encompassing various categories of organic corrosion inhibitors for carbon steel, achieving RMSE, MAE, and R2 of 6.40%, 4.80%, and 0.72, respectively. The integration of GB with PFI within the ML workflow demonstrated significantly enhanced IE predictive capability compared to previously reported ML models. Subsequent assessments involved the application of the trained model to drug-based corrosion inhibitors. The model demonstrates robust predictive capability when validated on available and our own experimental results. Furthermore, the model has been employed to predict IE for more than 1500 drug compounds, suggesting five novel drug compounds with the highest predicted IE on carbon steel. The developed ML workflow and associated model will be useful in accelerating the development of next-generation corrosion inhibitors for carbon steel.

Recovery of aluminum from plastic packages containing aluminum by gasification.

The standing pouch, a packaging material made of multiple layers of plastic and metal, presents a significant challenge for full recycling. Gasification shows promise as a method to recover aluminum from this type of waste and convert it into energy. This study aims to evaluate the efficiency of gasification in treating aluminum-containing plastic packages, and recovering aluminum while identifying the optimal combinations of temperature and equivalence ratio (ER) to achieve the best outcomes. The study achieved a conversion rate of 43.06 wt% to 69.42 wt% of the original waste mass into syngas, with aluminum recovery rates ranging from 35.2 % to 65.3 %. Temperature and ER alterations affected the product distribution, aluminum recovery rate, and aluminum partitioning in the products. The results indicated that the combination of 700 °C, ER = 0.4 would provide the largest amount of syngas about 69.42 %, which is the main product of the gasification process, and therefore, this combination is the most optimal for syngas-yielding purposes. Under the reclaiming aluminum is more prioritized, the combination of 800 °C, ER = 0.6 would be the most optimal condition, the majority of Al in fuel was found in char and fly ash were 67.5 % and 4.81 %, respectively. The study focused on the partitioning of aluminum during the gasification process, which was observed to mainly exist in the form of Al2O3(s), with gaseous species including AlCl3(g), AlH(g), and Al2O(g) due to their medium volatility. As the ER increased, the amount of O2 also increased, leading to more Al2O3(s) formation. In conclusion, this research provides a foundation for further exploration of gasification as a means of energy conversion and metal recovery.

Encapsulation of Triphasia trifolia extracts by pH and thermal dual-sensitive chitosan hydrogels for controlled release.

Recent studies have developed varied delivery systems incorporating natural compounds to improve the limitations of plant extracts for clinical use while enabling their controlled release at treatment sites. For the first time, ethanolic limeberry extract (Triphasia trifolia) has been successfully encapsulated in thermo-sensitive chitosan hydrogels by a facile in situ loading. The extract-incorporated chitosan hydrogels have a pH value of nearly 7.00, gelation temperatures in the range of 37-38 °C, and exhibit an open-cell porous structure, thus allowing them to absorb and retain 756 % of their mass in water. The in vitro extract release from the hydrogels is driven by both temperature and pH, resulting in more than 70 % of the initial extract being released within the first 24 h. Although the release half-life of hydrogels at pH 7.4 is longer, their release capacity is higher than that at pH 6.5. Upon a 2 °C increase in temperature, the time to release 50 % initial extract is sharply reduced by 20-40 %. The release kinetics from the hydrogels mathematically demonstrated that diffusion is a prominent driving force over chitosan relaxation. Consequently, the developed hydrogels encapsulating the limeberry extract show their heat and pH sensitivity in controlled release for treating chronic wounds.

Bacterial Cellulose Aerogels Derived from Pineapple Peel Waste for the Adsorption of Dyes.

Valorization of pineapple peel waste is an attractive research topic because of the huge quantities of this byproduct generated from pineapple processing industries. In this study, the extract from pineapple waste was collected to produce a hydrogel-like form containing bacterial cellulose fibers with a three-dimensional structure and nanoscale diameter by the Acetobacter xylinum fermentation process. The bacterial cellulose suspension was subsequently activated by freeze-drying, affording lightweight aerogels as potential adsorbents in wastewater treatment, in particular the adsorptive removal of organic dyes. Intensive tests were carried out with the adsorption of methylene blue, a typical cationic dye, to investigate the influence of adsorption conditions (temperature, pH, initial dye concentration, time, and experiment scale) and aerogel-preparation parameters (grinding time and bacterial cellulose concentration). The bacterial cellulose-based aerogels exhibited high adsorption capacity not only for methylene blue but also for other cationic dyes, including malachite green, rhodamine B, and crystal violet (28-49 mg/g). However, its activity was limited for most of the anionic dyes, such as methyl orange, sunset yellow, and quinoline yellow, due to the repulsion of these anionic dyes with the aerogel surface, except for the case of congo red. It is also an anionic dye but has two amine groups providing a strong interaction with the hydroxyl group of the aerogel via hydrogen bonding. Indeed, the aerogel has a substantially large congo red-trapping capacity of 101 mg/g. Notably, the adsorption process exhibited similar performances, upscaling the solution volume to 50 times. The utilization of abundant agricultural waste in the simple aerogel preparation to produce a highly efficient and biodegradable adsorbent is the highlight of this work.

Postsynaptic neuronal activity promotes regeneration of retinal axons.

The wiring of visual circuits requires that retinal neurons functionally connect to specific brain targets, a process that involves activity-dependent signaling between retinal axons and their postsynaptic targets. Vision loss in various ophthalmological and neurological diseases is caused by damage to the connections from the eye to the brain. How postsynaptic brain targets influence retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axon regeneration and functional reconnection with the brain targets remains poorly understood. Here, we established a paradigm in which the enhancement of neural activity in the distal optic pathway, where the postsynaptic visual target neurons reside, promotes RGC axon regeneration and target reinnervation and leads to the rescue of optomotor function. Furthermore, selective activation of retinorecipient neuron subsets is sufficient to promote RGC axon regeneration. Our findings reveal a key role for postsynaptic neuronal activity in the repair of neural circuits and highlight the potential to restore damaged sensory inputs via proper brain stimulation.

Enhancement of the Solubility of BS Class II Drugs with MOF and MOF/GO Composite Materials: Case Studies of Felodipine, Ketoprofen and Ibuprofen.

In this research, a novel composite material composed of Metal-Organic Framework material (MOF) and graphite oxide was synthesized and evaluated as a possible drug-loading vehicle. HKUST-1, a MOF material originally designed by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, was used as a model porous material. The aim was to synthesize a drug delivery vehicle for modifying the release kinetics and solubility of poorly soluble drugs (BSC Class II drugs); these are drugs that are known to have poor bioavailability due to their low solubility. We used ketoprofen, ibuprofen, and felodipine as models for BSC Class II drugs. The drugs were loaded onto composite materials through adsorption. The adsorption of these three drugs into the matrix of HKUST-1/GO (graphite oxide), HKUST-1, and graphite oxide was compared. The loading efficiency of the drugs onto the carrier was dependent on the drug molecule and the composition of the drug carrier. The inclusion of graphite oxide in the drug carrier matrix improved the drug loading capacity and modified the drug release rate. The loading of the three drugs felodipine, ketoprofen, and ibuprofen onto HKUST-1 were 33.7, 58, and 79 mg/g respectively. The incorporation of GO into the HKUST-1 matrix resulted in an increase in the loading by 16 and 4 mg/g for the ketoprofen and ibuprofen drugs. When compared to the pure drugs, the solubility of all three drugs in the HKUST-1/GO matrix increased by at least 6 folds.

A review of the extraction methods and advanced applications of lignin-silica hybrids derived from natural sources.

The global trend of increasing energy demand along the large volume of wastewater generated annually from the paper pulping and cellulose production industries are considered as serious dilemma that may need to be solved within these current decades. Within this discipline, lignin, silica or lignin-silica hybrids attained from biomass material have been considered as prospective candidates for the synthesis of advanced materials. In this study, the roles and linking mechanism between lignin and silica in plants were studied and evaluated. The effects of the extraction method on the quality of the obtained material were summarized to show that depending on the biomass feedstocks, different retrieval processes should be considered. The combination of alkaline treatment and acidic pH adjustment is proposed as an effective method to recover lignin-silica with high applicability for various types of raw materials. From considerations of the advanced applications of lignin and silica materials in environmental remediation, electronic devices and rubber fillers future valorizations hold potential in conductive materials and electrochemistry. Along with further studies, this research could not only contribute to the development of zero-waste manufacturing processes but also propose a solution for the fully exploiting of by-products from agricultural production.

Detection of bovine leukemia virus in beef cattle kept in the Central Coast Regions of Vietnam.

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is the etiologic agent of enzootic bovine leucosis. Our previous study showed the BLV existence in cattle kept in the Red River Delta Region of Vietnam. However, no positive samples were identified in beef cattle. Besides, information related to the BLV circulation in the remained parts of Vietnam is limited. Therefore, we tested the existence of BLV in 48 beef cattle kept in the Central Coast Regions. Nested PCR targeting the BLV-env-gp51 confirmed the prevalence of 14.6% in investigated regions. Phylogenetic analysis suggested the co-existence of genotypes 1 and 10. The close relationship between strains found in Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, and China was revealed suggesting the possibility of BLV transmission through the movement of live cattle.

Bis(4-glycosyloxybenzyl) 2-isobutyltartrate and dihydrophenanthrene derivatives from the pseudobulbs of Pholidota chinensis and their anti-inflammatory activity.

Six previously undescribed components, bis(4-glycosyloxybenzyl) 2-isobutyltartrate derivatives (pholidotoside A-E) and phenolic glycoside (pholidotosin A), together with twenty known compounds were isolated from the pseudobulbs of Pholidota chinensis. Their structures and absolute configuration were elucidated and established through various spectroscopic and chemical methods. The anti-inflammatory potential of selected compounds was examined using a human neutrophil cell model activated by N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine/cytochalasin B (fMLP/CB). Among these, dihydrophenanthrenes exhibited potent inhibitory effect on both superoxide anion generation and elastase release assays with IC50 values ranging from 0.41 ± 0.05 to 7.14 ± 0.30 µM.

Therapeutic effect of induced pluripotent stem cell -derived extracellular vesicles in an in vitro and in vivo osteoarthritis model.

Background/Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multifactorial joint disease associated with the deterioration of chondrocytes and inflammation. Treatment of OA is only aimed at reducing pain and improving joint function. Recently, extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted from stem cells have emerged as a cell regenerative tool in several degenerative diseases, including OA. We hypothesised that induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived EVs would be beneficial for regenerating chondrocytes and OA therapy. Therefore, we aimed to investigate iPSC-EVs' effects on chondrocyte behaviour in an interleukin 1 beta (IL-1ß)-induced in vitro OA model and anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT)-induced in vivo OA model of rabbit articular cartilage. Methods: The iPSC-EVs were isolated by sequential ultracentrifugation from a 48-h-incubated conditional medium of iPSC. The isolated iPSC-EVs were characterised by transmission electron microscopy, western blot analyses, and dynamic light scatter. The effects of iPSC-EVs on the viability of human primary chondrocytes and cell senescence were analysed. Premature senescence of cells was induced by long-term incubation with low doses of hydrogen peroxide. To investigate the therapeutic effect of iPSC-EVs on OA chondrocytes in vitro, IL-1ß was used to induce chondrocyte damage. Inflammatory macrophages were activated from THP-1 monocytes to observe the impact of iPSC-EV on macrophage polarisation. The phenotypes of the macrophages exposed to iPSC-EVs were evaluated by ELISA and western blot analyses. The primary chondrocytes were co-cultured with different phenotypes of macrophages to observe the expression of collagen II and catabolic enzymes in chondrocytes. iPSC-EVs were injected intraarticularly into the rabbit with an ACLT-induced OA model. The progression of lesions was assessed through macroscopic and histopathological studies. Results: We showed that iPSC-EVs significantly stimulated the proliferation of primary human chondrocytes and suppressed cell senescence by regulating the expression of p21 and collagen II. iPSC-EVs reduced matrix degradation enzymes and IL-6 expression and attenuated IL-1ß-mediated cell death of chondrocytes. Furthermore, iPSC-EVs modulated macrophage polarisation, resulting in the rescue of damaged chondrocytes in an inflammatory microenvironment. In the rabbit ACLT model, the OA-like lesions, including inflammation, subchondral bone protrusion, and articular cartilage destruction, were ameliorated by iPSC-EV. A histopathological study consistently revealed that iPSC-EVs attenuated ACLT-mediated alteration of MMP13 and ADAMTS5 and collagen II expression. Conclusion: iPSC-EVs protected chondrocytes by enhancing cell proliferation, suppressing premature senescence, and maintaining homeostasis of collagen II synthesis and matrix degradation enzymes such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and ADAMTS5. iPSC-EVs also reduced cell death in IL-1ß-mediated chondrocyte cell damage. In the rabbit ACLT-induced OA model, iPSC-EV injection reduced cartilage destruction, as indicated by the upregulation of collagen II and down-regulation of MMP13 and ADAMTS5. Overall, our results suggest that iPSC-EVs possess therapeutic potential and may be used as an OA treatment option. The translational potential of this article: This study highlights the potential of iPSC-EVs as a therapeutic option for chondrocyte regeneration and OA treatment.

Direct in situ measurements of electrical properties of solid-electrolyte interphase on lithium metal anodes.

The solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) critically governs the performance of rechargeable batteries. An ideal SEI is expected to be electrically insulative to prevent persistently parasitic reactions between the electrode and the electrolyte and ionically conductive to facilitate Faradaic reactions of the electrode. However, the true nature of the electrical properties of the SEI remains hitherto unclear due to the lack of a direct characterization method. Here we use in situ bias transmission electron microscopy to directly measure the electrical properties of SEIs formed on copper and lithium substrates. We reveal that SEIs show a voltage-dependent differential conductance. A higher rate of differential conductance induces a thicker SEI with an intricate topographic feature, leading to an inferior Coulombic efficiency and cycling stability in Li∣∣Cu and Li∣∣LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 cells. Our work provides insight into the targeted design of the SEI with desired characteristics towards better battery performance.

Recent developments in chitosan hydrogels carrying natural bioactive compounds.

Chitosan hydrogel is a smart and highly applicable drug delivery carrier because of its nature, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and ability to encapsulate, carry and release the drug to the desired target flexibly depending on the conditions of the patient. Not only developing delivery systems but natural compounds are also increasingly being studied in supporting the treatment of diseases. However, the physicochemical and pharmacokinetic issues of the phytochemicals are remaining. This review summarizes the remarkable properties of chitosan hydrogel; approaches to loading natural extracts on the hydrogels to overcome the susceptibility of the phytochemicals to degradation; and their applications in biomedical fields. The drug loading efficiency, release profile, in vitro and in vivo results of the chitosan hydrogels carrying natural compounds are discussed to point out the remaining challenges of combining the extracts with chitosan hydrogels and controlling the release of the carried substances.

Depolymerization of Rice Straw Lignin into Value-Added Chemicals in Sub-Supercritical Ethanol.

Depolymerization of lignin is an important step to obtain a lignin monomer for the synthesis of functional chemicals. In the context of more lignin produced from biomass and pulp industry, converting real lignin with low purity is still required more studies. In this study, the influence of solvent composition and reaction parameters such as binary solvents ratio, time, and temperature, the solvent-to-lignin ratio on the depolymerization of rice straw lignin was investigated carefully. Essential lignin-degraded products including liquid product (LP), char (solid), and gas were obtained, and their yields were directly influenced by reaction conditions. Results show that the maximum lignin conversion rate of 92% and LP yield of 66% was under the condition of 275°C, 30 min, 75 : 1 (mL solvent/1 g lignin), and ethanol 50%. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis was used for the analysis of the depolymerization products and identified 11 compounds which are mainly phenolic compounds such as 2-ethylphenol, 3-ethylphenol, phenol, methyl 2,4,6-trimethylbenzoate. The structure changes of LP and char in various conditions were analyzed using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR).

Early Failure of Lithium-Sulfur Batteries at Practical Conditions: Crosstalk between Sulfur Cathode and Lithium Anode.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are one of the most promising next-generation energy storage technologies due to their high theoretical energy and low cost. However, Li-S cells with practically high energy still suffer from a very limited cycle life with reasons which remain unclear. Here, through cell study under practical conditions, it is proved that an internal short circuit (ISC) is a root cause of early cell failure and is ascribed to the crosstalk between the S cathode and Li anode. The cathode topography affects S reactions through influencing the local resistance and electrolyte distribution, particularly under lean electrolyte conditions. The inhomogeneous reactions of S cathodes are easily mirrored by the Li anodes, resulting in exaggerated localized Li plating/stripping, Li filament formation, and eventually cell ISC. Manipulating cathode topography is proven effective to extend the cell cycle life under practical conditions. The findings of this work shed new light on the electrode design for extending cycle life of high-energy Li-S cells, which are also applicable for other rechargeable Li or metal batteries.

Recent Progresses in Eco-Friendly Fabrication and Applications of Sustainable Aerogels from Various Waste Materials.

Tons of waste from residential, commercial and manufacturing activities are generated due to the growing population, urbanization and economic development, prompting the need for sustainable measures. Numerous ways of converting waste to aerogels, a novel class of ultra-light and ultra-porous materials, have been researched to tackle the issues of waste. This review provides an overview of the status of aerogels made from agricultural waste, municipal solid, and industrial waste focusing on the fabrication, properties, and applications of such aerogels. The review first introduced common methods to synthesize the aerogels from waste, including dispersion and drying techniques. Following that, numerous works related to aerogels from waste are summarized and compared, mainly focusing on the sustainability aspect of the processes involved and their contributions for environmental applications such as thermal insulation and oil absorption. Next, advantages, and disadvantages of the current approaches are analyzed. Finally, some prospective waste aerogels and its applications are proposed.

Development of a paddy-based biorefinery approach toward improvement of biomass utilization for more bioproducts.

Improvement of biomass utilization productivity following cascading strategy is a priority for the biorefinery-based circular bioeconomy. In recent years, the field of energy research has seen an increasing interest in bio-products from paddy-based biorefinery, but the utilization of the entire value of paddy biomass to guide the commercial viability of its products has not been got feasible outcomes. Here we propose a potential pathway for a conceptual paddy biorefinery framework by addressing wastes for producing more products. The feasibility of the integrated biorefinery was demonstrated by the conversion of wastes into value-added products such as nano-silica and lignin. In particular, this is the first time that silica recovered from bioethanol system was continued to be reused to produce ZSM-5 and Ni/ZSM-5 as catalysts of rice straw lignin depolymerization achieving high conversion of lignin up to 95% and fair yield of phenolic products up to 41%. Material flow of an integrated biorefinery model was reported to give a future outlook for making most of the processing routes of rice residues. We also established a life cycle that follows the circular bioeconomy concept and discussed the relationship between each of potential bioproducts and their market opportunities.

The novel method to reduce the silica content in lignin recovered from black liquor originating from rice straw.

Difficulties in the production of lignin from rice straw because of high silica content in the recovered lignin reduce its recovery yield and applications as bio-fuel and aromatic chemicals. Therefore, the objective of this study is to develop a novel method to reduce the silica content in lignin from rice straw more effectively and selectively. The method is established by monitoring the precipitation behavior as well as the chemical structure of precipitate by single-stage acidification at different pH values of black liquor collected from the alkaline treatment of rice straw. The result illustrates the significant influence of pH on the physical and chemical properties of the precipitate and the supernatant. The simple two-step acidification of the black liquor at pilot-scale by sulfuric acid 20w/v% is applied to recover lignin at pH 9 and pH 3 and gives a percentage of silica removal as high as 94.38%. Following the developed process, the high-quality lignin could be produced from abundant rice straw at the industrial-scale.

Intravascular fasciitis presenting as recurrent deep venous thrombosis.

Intravascular fasciitis is a rare variant of nodular fasciitis, a benign process that results from proliferation of myofibroblasts in the soft tissues. Nodular fasciitis occurs most often in the upper extremities but can also develop in the head, neck, trunk, and lower extremities of young patients. The intravascular variant occurs within small- and medium-size vessels. We have described a case of femoral vein intravascular fasciitis presenting as recurrent deep venous thrombosis.