Optical and thermo-mechanical properties of fine-grained transparent yttria ceramics fabricated by hot-press sintering for infrared window applications

In this work, highly transparent yttria ceramics Φ?=?55?mm in size were fabricated by a hot-pressing method with 1 at.% ZrO₂ or 12 at.% La₂O₃ as a sintering additive. For a 4-mm-thick specimen doped with ZrO₂, the in-line transmittance reaches 71.1% at 400?nm and 80.9% at 1100?nm, and the transmittance of the La₂O₃-doped specimen is comparable to that of the ZrO₂-doped specimen. By means of the relatively low sintering temperature of 1600?°C, the present samples exhibited very fine microstructures (<2?μm), giving rise to excellent mechanical strength levels (～200?MPa). With regard to the 1 at.% ZrO₂-doped specimen, the combination of high strength and high thermal conductivity (～10 W/m?K) substantially improved parameters related to the thermal shock resistance. The results of this study indicate that the hot-pressed transparent yttria ceramic doped with 1 at.% ZrO₂ is optically, mechanically, and thermally suitable for high-temperature IR window applications.     

Protective nature of nano-TiN coatings shaped by EPD on Ti substrates

The hardness and corrosion resistance of TiN coatings, processed by Electrophoretic Deposition (EPD) to cover polished and unpolished Ti substrates, have been evaluated. A deposition time of 5 min has been enough to obtain a cohesive layer of 7–8 μm in thickness. The coatings were thermally treated in vacuum atmosphere at 1200 °C for 1 h with heating and cooling rates of 5 °C min^?1. The surfaces have been covered homogeneously optimizing the properties of the Ti substrates. Uniform and dense TiN coatings have been obtained onto polished substrates, while on unpolished Ti the nitrogen diffuses toward the substrate, moderately dissolving TiN coating. The nanohardness values of the polished samples have been increased from 2.8–4.8 GPa up to 6.5–8.5 GPa. Besides, the corrosion current density has been reduced more than one order of magnitude obtaining a protective efficiency of 82%. These values have been compared with other works in literature where authors used complex and costly processing techniques, demonstrating the strong impact of the colloidal processing over the specific properties of the material.     

Chromia Scale Thermally Grown on Pure Chromium Under Controlled <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>(O<Subscript>2</Subscript>) Atmosphere: II—Spallation Investigation Using Photoelectrochemical Techniques at a Microscale

Pure chromium oxidized at 900 °C at low oxygen partial pressure (10^?12 atm) gives duplex Cr₂O₃ scale with an internal part made of equiaxed grains and exhibiting an n-type conduction, and an external part made of columnar grains and exhibiting a p-type conduction. Spalled regions occurring during cooling have been studied with photoelectrochemical techniques at a microscale. New information in the form of a specific image (structural quality image) could be obtained and revealed a level of structural defect density in the internal chromia subscale higher than that measured in the non-spalled region. The results complement the spallation scenario proposed in part I of this work.     

Efficacy of Irradiated Bioactive Glass 45S5 on Attenuation of Microbial Growth and Eradication of Biofilm from AISI 316 L Discs: In-vitro Study

Silicon - Bacterial infection associated with medical implants remains a serious and costly drawback with both temporary and permanent consequences. Recently, some bioactive glasses have been found...     

Determination and identification of titanium dioxide nanoparticles in confectionery foods,marketed in South Korea,using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and transmission electron microscopy

Food-grade titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is a common and widespread food additive in many processed foods, personal care products, and other industrial categories as it boosts the brightness and whiteness of colours. Although it is generally recognised as safe for humans, there is a growing interest in the health risks associated with its oral intake. This study quantified and identified TiO₂ nanoparticles present in confectionery foods, which are children’s favourite foods, with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A reliable digestion method using hot sulphuric acid and a digestion catalyst (K₂SO₄:CuSO₄ = 9:1) was suggested for titanium analysis. Validations of the experimental method were quite acceptable in terms of linearity, recoveries, detection limits, and quantification limits. Of all the 88 analysed foods, TiO₂ was detected in 19 products, all except three declared TiO₂ in their labelling. The mean TiO₂ content of candies, chewing gums, and chocolates were 0.36 mg g^?1, 0.04 mg g^?1, and 0.81 mg g^?1, respectively. Whitish particles isolated from the confectionery foods were confirmed as TiO₂ nanoparticles via TEM and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), in which nanosized particles (<100 nm) were identified.     

Tetraphenylthiophene–thiazole-based π-conjugated polyazomethines: synthesis,characterization and gas sensing application

Polymer Bulletin - 2,5-Bis(4-(2-aminothiazole) phenyl)-3 and 4-diphenyltetraphenyl thiophene (TPTPThDA) are fine processed in three steps. A series of polyazomethines containing...     

Solvent-Aided Crystallization for Biodiesel Purification

The application of solvent-aided crystallization (SAC) is based on the addition of a solvent, here 1-butanol, to crude biodiesel to catalyze the purification process by separating biodiesel from contaminants via crystallization process. Response surface methodology was applied to optimize the process parameters of SAC, represented by biodiesel purity. The purified biodiesel was analyzed by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the composition of the present fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). Under the predicted optimum process conditions within the experimental ranges for the highest biodiesel purity, the predicted biodiesel purity was 99.375 %.     

Tissue-Specific Ferritin- and GFP-Based Genetic Vectors Visualize Neurons by MRI in the Intact and Post-Ischemic Rat Brain

(1) Background: Neurogenesis is considered to be a potential brain repair mechanism and is enhanced in stroke. It is difficult to reconstruct the neurogenesis process only from the histological sections taken from different animals at different stages of brain damage and restoration. Study of neurogenesis would greatly benefit from development of tissue-specific visualization probes. (2) Purpose: The study aimed to explore if overexpression of ferritin, a nontoxic iron-binding protein, under a doublecortin promoter can be used for non-invasive visualization of neurogenesis using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). (3) Methods: Ferritin heavy chain (FerrH) was expressed in the adeno-associated viral backbone (AAV) under the doublecortin promoter (pDCX), specific for young neurons, in the viral construct AAV-pDCX-FerrH. Expression of the enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) was used as an expression control (AAV-pDCX-eGFP). The viral vectors or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) were injected intracerebrally into 18 adult male Sprague–Dawley rats. Three days before injection, rats underwent transient middle-cerebral-artery occlusion or sham operation. Animals were subjected to In vivo MRI study before surgery and on days 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after injection using a Bruker BioSpec 11.7 T scanner. Brain sections obtained on day 28 after injection were immunostained for ferritin, young (DCX) and mature (NeuN) neurons, and activated microglia/macrophages (CD68). Additionally, RT-PCR was performed to confirm ferritin expression. (4) Results: T2* images in post-ischemic brains of animals injected with AAV-pDCX-FerrH showed two distinct zones of MRI signal hypointensity in the ipsilesioned hemisphere starting from 14 days after viral injection—in the ischemic lesion and near the lateral ventricle and subventricular zone (SVZ). In sham-operated animals, only one zone of hypointensity near the lateral ventricle and SVZ was revealed. Immunochemistry showed that ferritin-expressing cells in ischemic lesions were macrophages (88.1%), while ferritin-expressing cells near the lateral ventricle in animals both after ischemia and sham operation were mostly mature (55.7% and 61.8%, respectively) and young (30.6% and 7.1%, respectively) neurons. RT-PCR confirmed upregulated expression of ferritin in the caudoputamen and corpus callosum. Surprisingly, in animals injected with AAV-pDCX-eGFP we similarly observed two zones of hypointensity on T2* images. Cellular studies also showed the presence of mature (81.5%) and young neurons (6.1%) near the lateral ventricle in both postischemic and sham-operated animals, while macrophages in ischemic lesions were ferritin-positive (98.2%). (5) Conclusion: Ferritin overexpression induced by injection of AAV-pDCX-FerrH was detected by MRI using T2*-weighted images, which was confirmed by immunochemistry showing ferritin in young and mature neurons. Expression of eGFP also caused a comparable reduced MR signal intensity in T2*-weighted images. Additional studies are needed to investigate the potential and tissue-specific features of the use of eGFP and ferritin expression in MRI studies.     

Phorbol 12-Myristate 13-Acetate Induced Toxicity Study and the Role of Tangeretin in Abrogating HIF-1α-NF-κB Crosstalk In Vitro and In Vivo

Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) is a potent tumor promoter and highly inflammatory in nature. Here, we investigated the toxic effects of PMA on different model system. PMA (10 μg) caused chromosomal aberrations on the Allium cepa root tip and induced mitotic dysfunction. Similarly, PMA caused embryonic and larval deformities and a plummeted survivability rate on zebrafish embryo in a dose-dependent manner. Persistently, PMA treatment on immortalized human keratinocyte human keratinocyte (HaCaT) cells caused massive inflammatory rush at 4 h and a drop in cell survivability at 24 h. Concomitantly, we replicated a cutaneous inflammation similar to human psoriasis induced by PMA. Herein, we used tangeretin (TAN), as an antagonist to counteract the inflammatory response. Results from an in vivo experiment indicated that TAN (10 and 30 mg/kg) significantly inhibited PMA stimulated epidermal hyperplasia and intra-epidermal neutrophilic abscesses. In addition, its treatment effectively neutralized PMA induced elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation on in vitro and in vivo systems, promoting antioxidant response. The association of hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF-1α)-nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated b cells (NF-κB) crosstalk triggered by PMA enhanced PKCα-ERK1/2-NF-κB pathway; its activation was also significantly counteracted after TAN treatment. Conclusively, we demonstrated TAN inhibited the nuclear translocation of HIF-1α and NF-κB p65. Collectively, TAN treatment ameliorated PMA incited malignant inflammatory response by remodeling the cutaneous microenvironment.