Mechanical properties, durability and environmental assessment of low-carbon cementitious composite with natural fibrous wollastonite.

Cementitious composite is one of the most widely used construction materials around the world, but cement production is accompanied by energy waste and CO2 emission. Wollastonite, a natural fibrous silicate mineral, can be a potential supplementary cementing materials (SCMs) for cementitious composite owing to its similar calcium silicate system, and it has an eco-friendly and convenient production process. Furthermore, its unique fibrous structure can possibly act as reinforcement for the cement matrix. In view of this, this study aimed to investigate the effects of different sizes (the median diameter of 3 µm, 6 µm, 9 µm and 12 µm) and contents (0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% by mass) of wollastonite combined with 5% silica fume on the mechanical strength, durability and microstructure of cementitious composite by compressive test, flexural test, shear test, rapid chloride migration test, sulfate corrosion test, X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR). The results showed that the strength and durability of samples increased and then decreased as wollastonite content increased. An addition of 10% wollastonite into the cement matrix increased compressive strength, flexural strength and shear strength by 6.22%, 29.3% and 18.4%, respectively. However, an addition of 5% wollastonite was found to be more beneficial for improving resistance to chloride and sulfate corrosion. Additionally, samples prepared with 3 µm wollastonite performed better, which can be attributed to the fact that the small size of wollastonite contributed to both the filling effect and the skeletal support and bridging effect of microfibers. The CO2 emissions of cementitious composites decreased as the wollastonite percentage increased. The findings confirm that natural wollastonite as SCMs for cementitious composite has performance enhancement and environmental benefits, however, it is recommended that the wollastonite content should not exceed 15%.

A Literature Review of the Pharmacological Effects of Jujube.

Jujube is a plant native to China that could be used in medicine and food. Its dried fruit is a superior herb commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine formulations for its calming effect and for nourishing the blood and strengthening the spleen and stomach. Jujube contains numerous active components including polysaccharides, phenols, and triterpene acids, which show a diverse array of pharmacological activities such as neuroprotection and the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. In this paper, the research status of jujube over the past two decades has been statistically evaluated. Meanwhile, by tracking the latest research advances, the pharmacological efficacy and molecular mechanisms of jujube are exhaustively expounded to provide specific and systematic references for further research on the pharmacological effects of jujube and its application in the food and pharmaceutical industries.