3D Printed Bioinspired Flexible Absorber: Toward High-Performance Electromagnetic Absorption at 75-110 GHz.

Although various bioinspired devices designed to increase absorption and minimize reflection have been developed, there is no research focusing on wideband electromagnetic (EM) absorbers at 75-110 GHz, which is not conducive to the advancement of millimeter wave technology. Herein, inspired by the ultrablack butterfly scale nanostructure, an innovative flexible multistage honeycomb structure absorber (FMHSA) of carbonyl iron (CIP)/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/flexible photopolymer resin (FPR) composite is successfully prepared by digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing. FMHSA exhibits excellent EM wave absorption performance with full band absorption at 75-110 GHz under different bending states. At the bending angle of 150°, The effective absorption bandwidth of FMHSA is 35 GHz, covering the whole W-band, and its minimum reflection loss (RL) value is -37.04 dB. Moreover, integrated functionalities are revealed in the FMHSA, including superior flexibility, recoverability, and lightweight feature. Such findings may prove to be useful for the design of flexible absorbers with potential EM absorption and improved wearability.

Microstructures, Mechanical Properties and Electromagnetic Wave Absorption Performance of Porous SiC Ceramics by Direct Foaming Combined with Direct-Ink-Writing-Based 3D Printing.

Direct-ink-writing (DIW)-based 3D-printing technology combined with the direct-foaming method provides a new strategy for the fabrication of porous materials. We herein report a novel method of preparing porous SiC ceramics using the DIW process and investigate their mechanical and wave absorption properties. We investigated the effects of nozzle diameter on the macroscopic shape and microstructure of the DIW SiC green bodies. Subsequently, the influences of the sintering temperature on the mechanical properties and electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption performance of the final porous SiC-sintered ceramics were also studied. The results showed that the nozzle diameter played an important role in maintaining the structure of the SiC green part. The printed products contained large amounts of closed pores with diameters of approximately 100-200 µm. As the sintering temperature increased, the porosity of porous SiC-sintered ceramics decreased while the compressive strength increased. The maximum open porosity and compressive strength were 65.4% and 7.9 MPa, respectively. The minimum reflection loss (RL) was -48.9 dB, and the maximum effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) value was 3.7 GHz. Notably, porous SiC ceramics after sintering at 1650 °C could meet the application requirements with a compressive strength of 7.9 MPa, a minimum RL of -27.1 dB, and an EAB value of 3.4 GHz. This study demonstrated the potential of direct foaming combined with DIW-based 3D printing to prepare porous SiC ceramics for high strength and excellent EM wave absorption applications.

3D-Printed Micro/Nano-Scaled Mechanical Metamaterials: Fundamentals, Technologies, Progress, Applications, and Challenges.

Micro/nano-scaled mechanical metamaterials have attracted extensive attention in various fields attributed to their superior properties benefiting from their rationally designed micro/nano-structures. As one of the most advanced technologies in the 21st century, additive manufacturing (3D printing) opens an easier and faster path for fabricating micro/nano-scaled mechanical metamaterials with complex structures. Here, the size effect of metamaterials at micro/nano scales is introduced first. Then, the additive manufacturing technologies to fabricate mechanical metamaterials at micro/nano scales are introduced. The latest research progress on micro/nano-scaled mechanical metamaterials is also reviewed according to the type of materials. In addition, the structural and functional applications of micro/nano-scaled mechanical metamaterials are further summarized. Finally, the challenges, including advanced 3D printing technologies, novel material development, and innovative structural design, for micro/nano-scaled mechanical metamaterials are discussed, and future perspectives are provided. The review aims to provide insight into the research and development of 3D-printed micro/nano-scaled mechanical metamaterials.

Additive Manufacturing of Bioceramic Implants for Restoration Bone Engineering: Technologies, Advances, and Future Perspectives.

Treating bone defects is highly challenging because they do not heal on their own inside the patients, so implants are needed to assist in the reconstruction of the bone. Bioceramic implants based on additive manufacturing (AM) are currently emerging as promising treatment options for restoration bone engineering. On the one hand, additively manufactured bioceramic implants have excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility, which are suitable for bone regeneration. On the other hand, the designable structure and adjustable pores of additively manufactured bioceramic implants allow them to promote suitable cell growth and tissue climbing. Herein, this review unfolds to introduce several frequently employed AM technologies for bioceramic implants. After that, advances in commonly used additively manufactured bioceramic implants, including bioinert ceramic implants, bioactive ceramic implants, and bioceramic/organic composite implants, are categorized and summarized. Finally, the future perspectives of additively manufactured bioceramic implants, in terms of mechanical performance improvement, innovative structural design, biological property enhancement, and other functionalization approaches, are proposed and forecasted. This review is believed to provide some fundamental understanding and cutting-edge knowledge for the additive manufacturing of bioceramic implants for restoration bone engineering.

Hierarchically porous metal hydroxide/metal-organic framework composite nanoarchitectures as broad-spectrum adsorbents for toxic chemical filtration.

We demonstrate that the hierarchically porous metal hydroxide/metal-organic framework composite nanoarchitectures exhibit broad-spectrum removal activity for three chemically distinct toxic gases, viz. acid gases, base gases, and nitrogen oxides. A facile and general in-situ hydrolysis strategy combined with gentle ambient pressure drying (APD) was utilized to integrate both Zr(OH)4 and Ti(OH)4 with the amino-functionalized MOF-808 xerogel (G808-NH2). The M(OH)4/G808-NH2 xerogel composites manifested 3D crystalline porous networks and substantially hierarchical porosity, with controllable amounts of amorphous M(OH)4 nanoparticles residing at the edge of xerogel particles. Microbreakthrough tests were performed under both dry and moist conditions to evaluate the filtration capabilities of the composites against three representative compounds: SO2, NH3, and NO2. Compared with the pristine G808-NH2 xerogel, the incorporation of M(OH)4 effectively enhanced the broad-spectrum toxic chemical mitigation ability of the material, with the highest SO2, NH3, and NO2 breakthrough uptake reaching 74.5, 55.3, and 394.0 mg/g, respectively. Post-breakthrough characterization confirmed the abundant M-OH groups with diverse binding configurations, alongside the unsaturated M (IV) centers on the surface of M(OH)4 provided extra adsorption sites for irreversible toxic chemical capture besides Van der Waals driven physisorption. The ability to achieve high-capacity adsorption and strong retention for multiple contaminants is of great significance for real-world filtration applications.

Enhanced Adsorption and Mass Transfer of Hierarchically Porous Zr-MOF Nanoarchitectures toward Toxic Chemical Removal.

Zirconium-based metal-organic frameworks (Zr-MOFs) have shown tremendous prospects as highly efficient adsorbents against toxic chemicals under ambient conditions. Here, we report for the first time the enhanced toxic chemical adsorption and mass transfer properties of hierarchically porous Zr-MOF nanoarchitectures. A general and scalable sol-gel-based strategy combined with facile ambient pressure drying (APD) was utilized to construct MOF-808, MOF-808-NH2, and UiO-66-NH2 xerogel monoliths, denoted as G808, G808-NH2, and G66-NH2, respectively. The resulting Zr-MOF xerogels demonstrated 3D porous networks assembled by nanocrystal aggregates, with substantially higher mesoporosities than the precipitate analogues. Microbreakthrough tests on powders and tube breakthrough experiments on engineered granules were conducted at different relative humidities to comprehensively evaluate the NO2 adsorption capabilities. The Zr-MOF xerogels showed considerably better NO2 removal abilities than the precipitates, whether intrinsically or under simulated respirator canister/protection filter environment conditions. Multiple physicochemical characterizations were conducted to illuminate the NO2 filtration mechanisms. Analysis on adsorption kinetics and mass transfer patterns in Zr-MOF xerogels was further performed to visualize the underlying structure-activity relationship using the gravimetric uptake and zero length column methods with cyclohexane and acetaldehyde as probes. The results revealed that the synergy of hierarchical porosities and nanosized crystals could effectively expedite the intracrystalline diffusion for the G66-NH2 xerogel as well as alleviate the surface resistance for the G808-NH2 xerogel, which led to accelerated overall adsorption uptake and thus enhanced performance toward toxic chemical removal.

Pyrazinamide Resistance and Mutation Patterns Among Multidrug-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis from Henan Province.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to identify the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of pyrazinamide (PZA) resistance among multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MDR-TB) from Henan and to evaluate the efficacy of pncA, rpsA, and panD mutations in predicting PZA resistance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 152 MDR strains were included in this study. The Bactec MGIT system was used to determine PZA susceptibility for all strains. The pncA, rpsA, and panD genes were sequenced to identify any mutations, and the sequences were then aligned with the sequence of standard strain H37Rv. Moreover, the correlations between PZA-resistant phenotypes and treatment outcomes were analysed. RESULTS: Of the152 strains, 105 had a PZA-resistant phenotype, and 102 harboured the pncA mutation. The PZA resistance rate was higher in the strains with resistance to all four first-line drugs and those that were pre-extensively drug-resistant (pre-XDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR). A total of 100 different pncA mutation patterns were identified, including 80 point mutations and 20 insertions/deletions, and 32 new pncA mutation patterns were detected. In this study, 13 strains had multiple mutations. Of the11 PZA-resistant strains without pncA mutations, two harboured the rpsA mutation, and one harboured the panD mutation. With PZA susceptibility results as the reference, single-gene pncA sequencing had sensitivity of 89.52% and specificity of 89.36%. With the combination of rpsA and panD, the sensitivity increased to 92.38%, and the specificity remained the same. No significant differences were observed in the sputum smear/culture conversion rate between PZA-resistant patients and PZA-sensitive patients. However, PZA resistance was related to the time to sputum smear/culture conversion (P = 0.018). CONCLUSION: The combination of pncA, rpsA, and panD was beneficial for the timely diagnosis of PZA resistance and could provide a laboratory basis for customizing treatment regimens for MDR-TB patients.

Schizosaccharomyces pombe Mti2 and Mti3 act in conjunction during mitochondrial translation initiation.

Mitochondrial DNA encodes key subunits of the oxidative phosphorylation complexes essential for ATP production. Translation initiation in mitochondria requires two general factors, mtIF2 and mtIF3, whose counterparts in bacteria are essential for protein synthesis. In this study, we report the characterization of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe mtIF2 (Mti2) and mtIF3 (Mti3). Deletion of mti2 impairs cell growth on the respiratory medium. The growth defect of the mti2 deletion mutant can be suppressed by expressing IFM1, the Saccharomyces cerevisiae homolog of Mti2, demonstrating functional conservation between the two proteins. Deletion of mti2 also impairs mitochondrial protein synthesis. Unlike mti2, deletion of mti3 does not affect cell growth on respiratory media and mitochondrial translation. However, deletion of mti3 exacerbates the growth defect of the Δmti2 mutant, suggesting that the two proteins have distinct, but partially overlapping functions during the process of mitochondrial translation initiation in S. pombe. Both Mti2 and Mti3 are associated with the small subunit of the mitochondrial ribosome (mitoribosome). Disruption of mti2, but not mti3, causes dissociation of the mitoribosome and also abolishes Mti3 binding to the small subunit of the mitoribosome. Our results suggest that Mti2 and Mti3 bind in a sequential manner to the small subunit of the mitoribosome and that Mti3 facilitates the function of Mti2 in mitochondrial translation initiation. Our findings also support the view that the importance of the mitochondrial translation initiation factors varies among the organisms.

The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe Mtf2 is required for mitochondrial cox1 gene expression.

Mitochondrial gene expression is essential for adenosine triphosphate synthesis via oxidative phosphorylation, which is the universal energy currency of cells. Here, we report the identification and characterization of a homologue of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mtf2 (also called Nam1) in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The Δmtf2 mutant with the intron-containing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) exhibited impaired growth on a rich medium containing the non-fermentable carbon source glycerol, suggesting that mtf2 is involved in mitochondrial function. mtf2 deletion in a mitochondrial intron-containing background resulted in a barely detectable level of the cox1 mRNA and a reduction in the level of the cob1 mRNA, and severely impaired cox1 translation. In contrast, mtf2 deletion in a mitochondrial intron-less background did not affect the levels of cox1 and cob1 mRNAs. However, Cox1 synthesis could not be restored to the control level in the Δmtf2 mutant with intron-less mtDNA. Our results suggest that unlike its counterpart in S. cerevisiae which plays a general role in synthesis of mtDNA-encoded proteins, S. pombe Mtf2 primarily functions in cox1 translation and the effect of mtf2 deletion on splicing of introns in mtDNA is likely due to a deficiency in the synthesis of intron-encoded maturases.