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This study aimed to evaluate the bonding abilities and long-term durability of different repair agents when applied to lithium disilicate ceramics (LDS). Blocks of IPS e.max CAD were prepared and divided into four groups according to the surface treatment: Monobond EtchPrime (ME), K-etchant GEL+Clearfil Universal Bond (UB), Bondmer Lightless (BL), and K-etchant GEL+G-Multi Primer (GMP). All treated ceramic specimens were bonded to resin composite and light-cured. The micro-shear bond strength was measured after 24 h of water storage or 5,000 thermocycles. ME and BL showed significantly higher initial bond strengths than UB and GMP (p0.05). After 5,000 thermocycles, there was no significant difference in ME (p0.05), but BL and GMP showed considerable reduction in bond strength (p0.05); moreover, the samples of UB were all de-bonded before testing. ME and BL proved to be effective surface treatment materials for LDS.

Recent research has significantly clarified the impact of optimizing patient-zone environmental hygiene. New insights into the environmental microbial epidemiology of many hospital-associated pathogens, especially Clostridioides difficile, have clarified and quantified the role of ongoing occult pathogen transmission from the near-patient environment. The recent development of safe, broadly effective surface chemical disinfectants has led to new opportunities to broadly enhance environmental hygiene in all health care settings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently developed a detailed guidance to assist all health care settings in implementing optimized programs to mitigate health care-associated pathogen transmission from the near-patient surfaces.

Effective surface passive heat dissipation and durable superhydrophobicity are highly desired for promoting more flexible applications of power-intensive energy systems of aluminum and aluminum-bas...

Statistical methods are employed to assess the extent to which measurements of temperature using downward looking infrared thermometry (T0) are indicative of the effective boundary between the air and the subsurface environment. An effective interfacial surface temperature (Te) is determined from consideration of in-air (Ta) and subsurface (Ts) temperature data, being that which best satisfies the multi-media (air and soil) flux relationships. Using data obtained in studies conducted in Ohio in 2015, it is shown that during the daytime measured values of T0 exceeded Te by an amount reaching a near-noon maximum of about 2 °C when the crop (maize) was fully grown. Night-time observations indicated a near equality of T0 and Te, although often equality appears threatened by the presence of strongly stable layers in air near the surface. Ramifications of the observed differences are discussed, with particular attention to implications regarding determination of the thermal roughness length associated with the sensible heat flux.

The catalyst has a significant role in gas processing applications such as reforming technologies for H2 and syngas production. The stable catalyst is requisite for any industrial catalysis application to make it commercially viable. Several methods are employed to synthesize the catalysts. However, there is still a challenge to achieve a controlled morphology and pure catalyst which majorly influences the catalytic activity in reforming applications. The conventional methods are expansive, and the removal of the impurities are major challenges. Nevertheless, it is not straightforward to achieve the desired structure and stability. Therefore, significant interest has been developed on the advanced techniques to take control of the physicochemical properties of the catalyst through non-thermal plasma (NTP) techniques. In this review, the systematic evolution of the catalyst synthesis using NTP technique is elucidated. The emerging DBD plasma to synthesized and effective surface treatment is reviewed. DBD plasma synthesized catalyst performance in reforming application for H2 and syngas production is summarised. Furthermore, the status of DBD plasma for catalyst synthesis and proposed future avenues to design environmentally suitable and cost-effective synthesis techniques are discussed.

Understanding the physical properties of dust aggregates is of great importance in planetary science. In this study, we revisited the sticking property of submillimetre-sized aggregates. We revealed that the "effective surface energy" model used in previous studies underestimates the critical pulling force needed to separate two sticking aggregates. We also derived a new and simple model of the critical pulling force based on the canonical theory of two contacting spheres. Our findings indicate that we do not need to consider the "effective surface energy" of dust aggregates when discussing the physical properties of loose agglomerates of submillimetre-sized aggregates., 4 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

The main feature of amphiphilic homopolymers is the effective surface activity of their monomer units, due to which, in selective solvent, they can aggregate into various structures, some of which ...

Surface roughening of hollow glass microspheres (HGMs) is a necessary step determining their adhesion ability with the following electroless plated metallization coating. In this paper, a new KF roughening and alkali washing strategy was proposed to replace HF roughening as a surface pretreatment for the following electroless plating metallization. In order to remove the byproduct of K2SiF6 from the roughening reaction of KF with HGMs, NaOH washing and KOH washing were conducted, the former of which was found to dissolve K2SiF6 effectively. The effects of KF roughening temperature, alkali concentration and HGMs loading on the recovery ratio, phase composition, surface morphology and performance of HGMs were investigated, through which such a pretreating strategy was found to not only decrease the damage ratio of HGMs compared to that by HF roughening, but also render the metallized HGMs a competitive absorbing ability for the electromagnetic wave in X-band and Ku-band. Finally, the related surface treatment and electroless plating mechanism were discussed. This paper illustrates successfully a new pretreatment strategy for development of lightweight HGMs-supported functional materials.

Effective surface tension (γeff) is a fundamental property of liquid marbles, i.e., particle-covered drops in an air environment. Recently, studies of monolayer nanoparticle-covered (mNPc) liquid marbles produced with a sol-gel film have significantly updated previous understandings regarding γeff. Examining the derived explanations with the most common powder-derived liquid marbles should be meaningful. Here, the maximum height and pendant drop methods were employed for γeff measurements of liquid marbles produced with a polytetrafluoroethylene powder. Following the methodology proposed in mNPc liquid marble studies, the measurement processes were addressed in detail with the uncertainties in parameter identification as the main concerns, and the results were analyzed by highlighting the effective surface tension's equivalence nature and liquid marbles' surface solidity. By combining the present findings and conclusions related to both mNPc and powder liquid marbles, the key issues in measuring and understanding liquid marble γeff were summarized.

Burnishing is well known as a very economical and effective surface enhancement method. It not only improves surface finish but also surface hardness. This work proposes a novel approach for proces...

We studied homogeneity in the microwave surface resistance of Au-coated YBa2Cu3O7−δ (Au/YBCO) films. The Au/YBCO film with 4-inches in diameter was prepared in-situ with the thicknesses of 68 nm and 365 nm for the Au layer and the YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) layer, respectively. We measured the effective surface resistance (RS,eff) of the Au/YBCO film at temperatures of 25 K, 60 K, 70 K, and 77 K, respectively, at 29 different positions on the film. The RS,eff values were analyzed with the finite thicknesses of the Au and the YBCO layers taken into consideration. The local RS,eff values of the Au/YBCO film appeared to be almost uniform at 25 K. Meanwhile significant positional dependences were observed for the RS,eff of the Au/YBCO film at 60 K, 70 K and 77 K, respectively, which seemed to be due to non-uniform local penetration depth (λ) of the YBCO layer rather than due to variations in the local real-part conductivity of the YBCO layer. The observed results could not be attributed to the properties of the Au layer. At temperatures below the critical temperature of YBCO, the observed RS,eff values of the Au/YBCO film were significantly lower than those estimated using the surface resistance of Au and YBCO, which reflected proximity effects of the normal-metal Au layer in contact with the superconducting YBCO layer. Homogeneity in the RS,eff of the Au/YBCO film might be correlated with the distributions in the local λ of the YBCO layer, providing valuable information needed for designing microwave filters.

Results are presented from molecular dynamics modeling of the crystallization of a supercooled Lennard-Jones liquid. Calculations are made for three isobars at positive and negative pressures. The height of the crystallization activation barrier is determined via metadynamics, and the size dependence is calculated for the effective surface free energy at the liquid–critical crystal nucleus interface.

The subject study of the article is to identify radar stealth and pinpoint aerial objects used in the national economy during their operation. The article is research process efficiency in detecting radar stealth and pinpoint aerial objects. The problem to be solved – just ification of technical solutions and their implementation in practice of detecting radar stealth and pinpoint air objects will improve efficiency in their radar detection by applying detection device using stealth and pinpoint lights overhead objects used in the national economy, which is offered. The article reviewed: promising ways to improve the detection of small aircraft and stealth objects of the simultaneous use of its properties and effective surface scattering algorithm using optimal processing signals reflected stealth and pinpoint objects in the air and block diagram using backlight stealth and pinpoint multiple objects overhead space-spaced transmitter block diagram detection device using the backlight stealth and pinpoint multiple objects overhead space-spaced transmitters, which corresponds to one volume and one separate speed channel being developed. Conclusion: The proposed technical solutions should be used as the modernization of existing radars and in creating advanced radar designs

The lithium-ion capacitor (LIC) has attracted tremendous research interest because it meets both the requirement on high energy and power densities. The balance between effective surface areas and mass transport is highly desired to fabricate the optimized electrode material for LIC. Now, triple-shelled (3S) Nb2 O5 hollow multi-shelled structures (HoMSs) were synthesized for the first time through the sequential templating approach and then applied for the anode of LIC. The unique structure of HoMSs, such as large efficient surface area, hierarchical pores, and multiple shells, provides abundant reaction sites, decreases the electron transport resistance, and increases the diffusion rate for ion transport. In this case, the best combination performance has been achieved among all the reported Nb2 O5 -based materials, which delivered an excellent energy and power densities simultaneously, and superb cycling stability.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different surface treatments on bond strength (BS) between composite and a resin cement trough microshear bond strength test. Seventy five discs (10x2 mm) of Filtek P90, Filtek Z250 and Filtek Z350 XT (3M ESPE), were divided into 5 groups according to the treatment: C= control - no treatment; sandblasting J= aluminum oxide (50μm); sandblasting JE = + 99.3% ethanol for 5 min; silica coating S = (3M-ESPE Cojet - 30 microns); SS = silica coating + silane. PVC tubes (0.5 x 0.80 mm) were attached on the composite disc, and then, inserted resin cement (3M ESPE-RelyX ARC). After 24 hours artificial saliva storage at 37oC, the specimens were tested for microshear crosshead speed of 1.0 mm/min. Data were evaluated in two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s test (5%) for contrast. The results showed that sandblasting with aluminum oxide (J) was efficient in increasing the BS for composites Z350 and P90. For the Z250, there were no difference between treatments. Also, CS showed results similar to controls for all composites. SE showed the worst results for Z350 e P90. BS values were dependent on the type of composite and the surface treatment used. Sandblasting with aluminum oxide seems to be an effective surface treatment for composites and may lead to higher BS values, while the use of ethanol could be harmful.

Der Deutsche Wetterdienst (DWD) hat mit dem von ihm veröffentlichten Merkblatt ein Verfahren zur Bestimmung der effektiven Rauigkeitslänge verfügbar gemacht, das nach gegenwärtigem Stand der Untersuchungen äußerst leistungsfähig ist. Zahlreiche Berechnungen und Betrachtungen zur Plausibilisierung belegen dies. So wird das Umfeld einer Messstation sehr gut über die sektoriell ermittelten effektiven Rauigkeiten abgebildet. Dieser Beitrag wird kurz auf den theoretischen Hintergrund des Verfahrens eingehen. Außerdem werden Hinweise für die praktische Anwendung gegeben. Bei der Einführung des Verfahrens in den verschiedenen und aufeinander abgestimmten Komponenten zur Windfeldmodellierung bei Ausbreitungsrechnungen ist zu beachten, dass keine systematischen Abweichungen zu anderen Verfahren der Rauigkeitsbestimmung, beispielsweise aus der Landnutzung, auftreten.

In both natural and applied contexts, investigating cell self-assembly and aggregation within controlled 3D environments leads to improved understanding of how structured cell assemblies emerge, what determines their shapes and sizes, and whether their structural features are stable. However, the inherent limits of using solid scaffolding or liquid spheroid culture for this purpose restrict experimental freedom in studies of cell self-assembly. Here we investigate multi-cellular self-assembly using a 3D culture medium made from packed microgels as a bridge between the extremes of solid scaffolds and liquid culture. We find that cells dispersed at different volume fractions in this microgel-based 3D culture media aggregate into clusters of different sizes and shapes, forming large system-spanning networks at the highest cell densities. We find that the transitions between different states of assembly can be controlled by the level of cell-cell cohesion and by the yield stress of the packed microgel environment. Measurements of aggregate fractal dimension show that those with increased cell-cell cohesion are less sphere-like and more irregularly shaped, indicating that cell stickiness inhibits rearrangements in aggregates, in analogy to the assembly of colloids with strong cohesive bonds. Thus, the effective surface tension often expected to emerge from increased cell cohesion is suppressed in this type of cell self-assembly.

Interface modification is an important means for improving the performance of almost all optoelectronic devices. In quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSCs), effective surface modification of pho...

Dynamics of changes in fluorine atoms distribution through grown anodic oxide layer thickness and the effective surface charge on InAs crystals under such layers has been studied. Anodic oxidation was performed in alkaline electrolyte with fluorochemical additive component in galvanostatic mode at anode current densities 0.05 or 0.5 mA·cm−2. The layers thickness in boundes 32—51 nm varied by electrodes final voltage setting in range 15—25 V. The layer thickness and refractive index was measured by ellipsometric method, and distribution of fluorine atoms through thickness — by photoelectron−spectroscopy method, combined with ion etching. At the same time, based on grown layers there were produced MIS structures, and from calculation of theirs capacitance−voltage characteristics are determined effective surface charge and surface states density, corresponding to different layer thicknesses.Main results are reduced to the facts during layers growing despite of anodizing current density comes their sealing, the profile of fluorine atoms distribution shifts towards InAs, positive effective surface charge gradually decreases from 3.6 · 1011 to 2.0 · 1011 cm−2 at surface states density in (6—7) · 1011 eV·cm−2 range for all cases. Based on comparison of these data and theoretical concepts of MIS structure charge construction, there was made a conclusion about gradual built−in charge distancing from the border with InAs in the process of growing anodic oxide layer, which explains observed effective surface charge decrease during layer thickness increasing. This results indicates that the layer growth rate exceeds the built−in charge displacement rate towards InAs.

Heavy metals (HMs) pose serious threat to both human and environmental health and therefore, effective and low-cost techniques to remove HMs are urgently required. Because HMs are difficult to be biodegraded and transformed, adsorption is a most promising treatment method in recent times. Biochar (BC), a low-cost and sustainable adsorbent material, has recently attracted much research attention due to its broad application prospects. While BC has many merits, it has a lower HMs adsorption efficiency than traditional activated carbon, limiting its practical applications. Furthermore, the HMs retained by BC are difficult to be desorbed, making the used sorbent material hazardous wastes if not well disposed of under natural conditions. Therefore, it is critical to seek effective surface modifications for BC, to improve its ability to HMs removal ability and the recyclability of BC loaded with HMs. This review represents and evaluates the reported modification methods for BC, the corresponding HMs removal mechanisms and the potential for reutilization of BC loaded with HMs. This review provides a basis for the effective practical application of BC in the treatment of HMs containing wastewater.

Au@Ag@Ag2S heterogeneous nanorods (NRs) with two strong plasmonic absorptive bands were developed for boosting the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells, and the remarkably enhanced plasmonic devices were achieved. By doping different concentrations of the Au@Ag@Ag2S NRs within the TiO2 photoanode layers, various enhanced effects of the plasmonic devices were obtained. With the incorporation of the typical Au@Ag@Ag2S NRs (their aspect ratios: 2.7) into the TiO2 photoanodes, the top efficiency of 6.51% of the fabricated plasmonic photovoltaic devices at their doped concentrations of the 2.31% was observed, exhibiting dramatic 40% enhancement than that of the conventional dye-sensitized solar cells (bare device: 4.65%). Benefiting from effective surface plasmon effects of the Au@Ag@Ag2S NRs, the light-harvesting abilities of photoanodes and dyes in devices are dramatically enhanced, which in return boost the whole performance of photovoltaic devices significantly.

Over the past decade, there is excellent evidence in the scientific literature that contaminated environmental surfaces and noncritical patient care items play an important role in the transmission of several key health care-associated pathogens including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, Acinetobacter, norovirus, and Clostridium difficile. Thus, surface disinfection of noncritical environmental surfaces and medical devices is one of the infection prevention strategies to prevent pathogen transmission. This article will discuss a bundle approach to facilitate effective surface cleaning and disinfection in health care facilities. A bundle is a set of evidence-based practices, generally 3-5, that when performed collectively and reliably have been proven to improve patient outcomes. This bundle has 5 components and the science associated with each component will be addressed. These components are: creating evidence-based policies and procedures; selection of appropriate cleaning and disinfecting products; educating staff to include environmental services, patient equipment, and nursing; monitoring compliance (eg, thoroughness of cleaning, product use) with feedback (ie, just in time coaching); and implementing a "no touch" room decontamination technology and to ensure compliance for patients on contact and enteric precautions. This article will also discuss new technologies (eg, continuous room decontamination technology) that may enhance our infection prevention strategies in the future.

An innovative concept of floating nanoarrays (FNAs) as promising new-generation surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensors was proposed for the first time and has been successfully realized via a facile triblock-copolymer-assisted chemical route. At least two categories of the complicated highly uniform Pt–Pd FNAs with a fairly small assembled diameter of less than 100 nm respectively consisted of quasi-orderly assembled spherical and petal-like nanocrystals with unique radially distributed compositions were evidently classified and reproducibly fabricated. The synthesized Pt–Pd FNAs were found to exhibit unusually strong surface plasmon resonance bands in the visible region and have been successfully demonstrated as practical SERS sensors with remarkably low analytical limits of detection.

Background Daylight-activated PDT has seen increased support in recent years as a treatment method for actinic keratosis and other non-melanoma skin cancers. The inherent variability observed in broad-spectrum light used in this methodology makes it difficult to plan and monitor light dose, or compare to lamp light doses. Methods The present study expands on the commonly used PpIX-weighted effective surface irradiance metric by introducing a Monte Carlo method for estimating effective fluence rates into depths of the skin. The fluence rates are compared between multiple broadband and narrowband sources that have been reported in previous studies, and an effective total fluence for various treatment times is reported. A dynamic estimate of PpIX concentration produced during pro-drug incubation and treatment is used with the fluence estimates to calculate a photodynamic dose. Results Even when there is up to a 5x reduction between the effective surface irradiance of the broadband light sources, the effective fluence below 250 μm depth is predicted to be relatively equivalent. An effective threshold fluence value (0. 70 J e f f / c m 2 ) is introduced based on a meta-analysis of previously published ALA-PpIX induced cell death. This was combined with a threshold PpIX concentration (50 nM) to define a threshold photodynamic dose of 0.035 u M J e f f / c m 2 . Conclusions The threshold was used to generate lookup tables to prescribe minimal treatment times to achieve depth-dependent cytotoxic effect based on incubation times and irradiance values for each light source.

With increasing production and consumption of chicken, it is appropriate to investigate the functionality and effectiveness of microbial reduction interventions and the qualitative effects they have on food. The effectiveness of pulsed ultraviolet (PUV) light applied to chicken on a moving conveyor was evaluated for inactivation of Escherichia coli on the surface of raw boneless/skinless (B/S) chicken breasts, B/S chicken thighs, and bone-in/skin-on chicken thighs. The conveyor height (distance from the flashlamp) and speed were set to deliver total energy fluences of 5, 10, 20, and 30 J/cm2 to the surface of the products. The product type by energy fluence interaction was significant (P = 0.015) for microbial reduction of E. coli. Exposure to PUV light for 5 and 30 J/cm2 resulted in Log10 reductions of 0.29 and 1.04 for B/S breasts, 0.34 and 0.94 for B/S thighs, and 0.10 and 0.62 for bone-in/skin-on thighs, respectively. Lipid oxidation and changes in color of chicken samples were evaluated after 30 J/cm2 of PUV light treatment. Lipid oxidation was measured at 0, 24, 48, and 120 h after the treatment. PUV light treatment did not produce significant (P > 0.05) changes in lipid oxidation values for each product type. International Commission on Illumination L*, a*, and b* parameters were used to report lightness and color of samples before and after treatment for B/S breasts and thighs and bone-in/skin-on thighs. Color parameters were not significantly (P > 0.05) affected by PUV light treatments. In conclusion, this study indicates that PUV light applied to the surface of raw chicken parts on a moving conveyor is an effective surface antimicrobial treatment while inducing minimal change in quality of the product over a 5-d storage period under aerobic conditions.

A liquid marble (LM) is a droplet coated with microparticles that isolate the liquid interior from its surroundings, making it perfectly non-wetting. This attractive feature allows the LM to perform useful tasks such as coalescence, targeted delivery, and controlled release. The non-wetting characteristic also allows the LM to float on a carrier liquid. The growing number of applications in digital microfluidics requires further insights into the fundamental properties of a LM such as its effective surface tension. Although the coating provides the LM with various desirable characteristics, its random construction presents a major obstacle to accurate optical analysis. This paper presents a novel method to measure the effective surface tension of a floating LM using X-ray imaging and curve fitting procedures. X-ray imaging reveals the true LM liquid-air interface hidden by the coating particles. Analysis of this interface showed that the effective surface tension of a LM is not significantly different from that of its liquid content. This indicates that the particle coating might not have significantly altered the behaviour of the liquid interface. We also found that our method is sensitive enough to detect the variations across individual LMs.

This paper investigates size-dependent vibrations of stepped nanobeams taken into account surface elasticity theory. To do this, the nanobeams are modeled as stepped beams and size-dependent governing vibration equations are derived considering compatibility conditions in stepped sections. Then, an analytical solution is developed to simulate natural frequencies and mode shapes of the nanobeam with various surface properties. Also, a backward procedure is proposed to verify the obtained results and calculate size-dependent effective surface modulus. The results indicate that surface effects and appropriate steps selection have noticeable impact on natural frequencies of non-uniform nanobeams. Also, the stepped modeling of the nanobeam became more important for longer and slender ones. Moreover, despite uniform nanobeams, the mode shapes of the non-uniform nanobeams are also extremely dependent on the surface effects.

The non-fullerene photoactive layer (PTB7-Th:IEICO-4F) film is first immersed into a PMA solution to induce an effective surface p-type doping. An improved hole-collection and a high PCE of 11.37% was obtained, although the non-fullerene OSCs were without a commonly evaporated MoO3. This surface doping technique is an effective and feasible strategy for the printable electronics technology.

The localized release of energy at the surface of plasma-exposed materials plays a crucial role in many plasma-driven processes. Unfortunately, the interaction between low-temperature plasmas and surfaces is both poorly understood and difficult to characterize. Here, we use Raman thermometry to measure the temperature of graphene during plasma exposure. We observe a significant increase in the graphene temperature even for modest input plasma powers. These results suggest that two-dimensional materials are effective surface probes for the quantitative characterization of plasma-induced heating effects and for further investigation of the plasma-surface interaction.

As an integral part of our culture and way of life, language is intricately related to migrations of people. To understand whether and how migration shapes language formation processes we examine the dynamics of the naming game with migrating agents. (i) When all agents may migrate, the dynamics generates an effective surface tension, which drives the coarsening. Such a behaviour is very robust and appears for a wide range of densities of agents and their migration rates. (ii) However, when only multilingual agents are allowed to migrate, monolingual islands are typically formed. In such a case, when the migration rate is sufficiently large, the majority of agents acquire a common language, which spontaneously emerges with no indication of the surface-tension driven coarsening. A relatively slow coarsening that takes place in a dense static population is very fragile, and most likely, an arbitrarily small migration rate can divert the system toward quick formation of monolingual islands. Our work shows that migration influences language formation processes but additional details like density, or mobility of agents are needed to specify more precisely this influence., Comment: 14 pages, accepted in Entropy

Proper disinfection using adequate disinfecting agents will be necessary for infection control strategies against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, limited guidance exists on effective surface disinfectants or best practices for their use against severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2. We outlined a process of fully characterizing over 350 products on the Environmental Protection Agency List N, including pH, method of delivery, indication for equipment sterilization, and purchase availability. We then developed a streamlined set of guidelines to help rapidly evaluate and select suitable disinfectants from List N, including practicality, efficacy, safety, and cost/availability. This resource guides the evaluation of ideal disinfectants amidst practical considerations posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Herein, Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (CD-MNPs, CM-CD-MNPs and MA-CD-MNPs) surface-modified with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and its derivatives, carboxymethyl-β-CD (CM-β-CD) and maleated-β-CD (MA-β-CD), respectively, were successfully synthesized via a layer-by-layer method, and the resulting nanocarriers possessed good magnetic character and biocompatibility. Using carmofur as a model drug, the results of loading and release experiments indicate that these magnetic nanocarriers can serve as targeted drug delivery systems in the future, and the loading capacity and release behaviour are highly dependent on the surface properties of the nanocarriers. Based on the molecular docking technique, for the first time, the correlation between the lowest binding energy (ΔGbinding) of the inclusion complex and the loading and release performances of the corresponding magnetic nanocarriers was investigated to establish a method to fast select an effective β-CD-based surface coating for the construction of high-performance magnetic nanocarriers. The results revealed a ΔGbinding-dependent manner demonstrating that the magnetic nanocarriers surface modified with the cyclodextrin unit with a larger absolute value of ΔGbinding would possess better loading and release performances. This encouraging result suggested that the ΔGbinding obtained from molecular docking could provide a significant reference for the fast selection of an effective surface coating during the construction of high-performance β-CD-based magnetic nanocarriers. Although it is clear that the present study should be considered only as a preliminary study, the good results obtained herein demonstrate the feasibility of this new type of approach.

The existence of residual lithium compounds (RLCs) on the surface of layered Ni-rich materials will deteriorate the electrochemical properties and cause safety problem. This work presents an effective surface washing method to remove the RLCs from LiNi0.90Co0.06Mn0.04O2 material surface, via ethyl alcohol solution that contains low concentration of boric acid. It is a low-cost process because the filter liquor can be recycled. The optimal parameters including washing time, boric acid concentration, and solid–liquid ratio were systematically studied. It has been determined by powder pH and Fourier transform infrared spectra results that the amount of RLCs was reduced effectively, and the storage performance was significantly enhanced for the washed samples. The 150th capacity retentions after storing had increased from 68.39% of pristine material to 85.46–94.84% of the washed materials. The performance enhancements should be ascribed to the surface washing process, which removed not only the RLCs, but also the loose primary particles effectively.

Liquid marble is a suitable candidate for transporting and targeted releasing of reagents and analytes. The moment of the disruption of liquid marble are controlled by using external stimuli nowadays. This work aims to achieve a disruption of liquid marbles by an internal stimulus. Liquid marbles containing triton X-100 were prepared by rolling method. The influence of the concentration of triton X-100 in droplets on the stability and the life time of the liquid marbles was investigated. The mass of the silica nanoparticles coating liquid marbles and the effective surface tension of liquid marbles were measured. The resulted showed that the life time of liquid marbles could be tuned on time scales of several minutes to hours by controlling the concentration of triton X-100 in the droplets. The number of the layers of the silica particles coating the liquid marble was about 168. The decrease of the amount of silica nanoparticles at the surface of the droplet did not affect the effective surface tension of the liquid marbles significantly. By controlling the concentration of triton X-100 in the droplets, the timed coalescing of two liquid marbles also could be achieved. A mechanism for the disintegrating of liquid marbles triggered by the adsorption of triton X-100 was proposed.

A novel analysis method for reflectarray antenna elements is proposed in this letter, which is derived from generalized boundary conditions. First, the effective surface susceptibilities of the patch layer are extracted from two sets of simulations of given incident angles and polarizations. Then, the effective surface impedances of reflectarray antenna elements are analytically computed for arbitrary incident angles and polarizations, from which the reflection coefficients can be readily obtained. The detailed analysis procedure is presented, and its effectiveness is validated through several representative examples of reflectarray antenna elements.

Thermal spraying coating techniques have emerged as very effective surface protection technology to apply protective coatings for corrosion and wear resistance applications. These coatings have gained more importance in recent past. Advances in powder and wire production have resulted in development of various types of surface coatings with excellent wear and corrosion resistance properties. Because of excellent mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of Carbon Nanotubes, CNTs reinforced composite coatings are being developed for various applications, e.g. automotive, aerospace and sports equipment industry. It is observed that if properly deposited, these CNTs ceramic composite coatings can provide improved properties like wear and corrosion resistance. It has been found that CNTs composite coatings can be successfully deposited by thermal spraying techniques, and these coatings provide better performance than conventional coatings. This paper reviews the performance of such coatings developed by various researchers.

The aim of this research is to identify the operational conditions and performance of low cost tubular digesters producing biogas from the slaughterhouse wastewater treatment. Three full scale sequenced tubular digesters (of more than 8 m3 each), operating in a slaughterhouse in Cochabamba (Bolivia), have been monitored during one year. The Organic Load Rate (OLR) varied from 0.04 to 1.13 kgSV/m3d (0.04–1.07 kgCOD/m3d), and the Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) from 3.2 to 87.4 days. The passive solar heating design considered drove the slurry temperature to 27 °C, 8 °C more than mean ambient temperature. The first digester has been filled with soda bottle plastic rings in order to increase the internal effective surface and evaluate, obtaining that an increment in 67% of the internal effective surface, more than doubles the biogas production and enables higher OLRs. A Biogas Production Rate (BPR) peak of 0.2 m3/m3d was observed for OLR = 0.37 kgSV/m3d, HRT = 9.7d and Specific Biogas Production (SBP) = 0.55 m3/kgSV. COD removal achieves values above 70% from HRT>19 d. A comparison with other anaerobic digestion technologies demonstrates that low cost tubular digesters with biofilm carriers, are competitive for OLR

We presented further analysis to explain how the surface morphology influence the mobility of the organic thin film transistors with gate insulator having large undulated surface (GU-OTFTs) and introduced a new parameter in order to clearly understand the relation between surface roughness and field-effect mobility. The average of the slope between two adjacent points on the surface of a gate insulator, or effective surface smoothness (ES), was closely investigated. A smooth-contact-pressing (SCP) process affected the surface smoothness of the P(VDF-TrFE) insulator with a significant change in root-mean-square roughness (Zrms). It was found that the ES gives better explanation for the variation of the field-effect mobility of the GU-OTFTs than the Zrms.

An atmospheric pressure surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) was used for surface treatment of Polypropylene (PP) and Polyethylene (PE) nonwoven fabrics which are widely used in filtration media, oil adsorbents, biomedical textiles, etc. The SDBD reactor has been built using the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) which is an inexpensive material available in the local market. The use of the PCB led to the ease of fabrication of a low-cost discharge electrode system that can be scaled up without difficulty. The effect of the plasma treatment on the hydrophilic behavior of the treated samples was studied using water contact angle (WCA) measurements. The microstructure of the PP and PE nonwoven fabrics before and after plasma treatment was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the plasma treatment converted the fiber surface from smooth to textured surface. This resulted in enhancing the wettability of both materials but with more pronounced effect on the PP.

Purpose Bond strength of resilient lining materials with denture base materials is continuously under development. The purpose of this systematic review is to perform a meta-analysis to find out which form of resilient lining bonds better to the denture base, what surface treatments have the highest efficacy to increase the bonding, and what is the most commonly preferred test method to measure bond strength. Materials and methods Based on a search of PubMed, EMBASE, and Google Scholar, 57 articles were included in this study. A meta-analysis was performed on the results of the 57 articles. Results The most commonly used test method was the tensile test. Effective surface treatments for bond strength vary depending on the type of the test applied and the type of the attached resilient lining material. Silicone-based resilient lining materials are more commonly preferred than acrylic-based resilient lining materials. While chemical agents and chemicals of resilient lining materials were the most commonly applied surface treatments, a very limited number of studies preferred applying CoJet and laser. Conclusions The efficacy of surface treatments varies depending on the resilient lining materials and the test type. More successful results can be achieved by selecting the appropriate surface treatment according to the type of the resilient lining material to increase the bond strength. In particular, when used alone, laser appears to be more effective. Chemical agents and laser are the most effective surface treatments for both silicone- and acrylic-based liners. Moreover, new studies are required to determine the efficacy of CoJet. These findings should help clinicians select a suitable surface treatment to increase the bond strength of resilient lining materials to denture base materials.

Monitoring of trace amount of acetaminophen and estrogen in drinking water is of great importance because of their potential links to gastrointestinal diseases and breast and prostate cancers. The sensitive and accurate detection of acetaminophen and estrogen requires the development of advanced sensing materials that possess appropriate number of analyte-capturing sites and suitable signal conduction path. This can be achieved by implementing appropriate chemical attachment of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and β-cyclodextrin (βCD). Here, we report a systematic investigation of four types of modified MWCNT-βCD: (1) physical mixing, (2) "click reaction", (3) thionyl chloride esterification, and (4) Steglich esterification. The Steglich esterification is a one-step approach with shorter reaction time, lower reaction temperature, and eliminates handling of air/moisture-sensitive reagents. MWCNT-βCD prepared by Steglich esterification possessed moderate βCD loading (5-10 wt %), large effective surface area, and fast electron transfer. The host-guest interaction of βCD and redox properties of MWCNT enabled sensitive detection of acetaminophen and 17β-estradiol (E2 is a primary female sex hormone) in the range of 0.005-20 and 0.01-15 μM, with low detection limits of 3.3 and 2.5 nM, respectively. We demonstrated accurate detection results of pharmaceutical compositions in water and urine samples. These results indicate that Steglich esterification method may be applied in fabricating pharmaceutical contaminants sensors for health and environmental applications.

We have fabricated hybrids of two-dimensional silica colloidal crystals and gold nanospheres for the development of platforms showing effective SERS phenomenon with a high spatial reproducibility. The SERS signal of 4-mercaptobenzoic acid immobilized on the hybrids was enhanced up to 10.4 times by optimizing the silica diameter, as compared with that on the gold nanospheres immobilized on a planar glass plate. We propose that the effective enhancement is induced by hot spots generated at the junction regions between the silica nanospheres.

Functional nanoparticles possess great potential for precise diagnosis and optimum therapy of serious diseases. However, their application is limited by structural heterogeneity and physical properties, low drug-loading efficiency, the absence of effective drug release, and some undetermined physiological and biochemical properties. Effective surface modification is able to overcome these limitations and largely improve the application performance of functional nanoparticles in biomedicine. Nevertheless, chemical or physical surface modifications using conventional surfactants are difficult to ensure homogeneous construction and normal metabolism of nanoparticles in vivo. Recent progress in this field has demonstrated that nucleic acid-modified nanoparticles can attain efficient transport, steady state and rational metabolism, as well as clear targeting and controllable drug release. All of these advantages are attributed to the special steric structure, homology, and biological functions of nucleic acids. Moreover, abundant active sites on the nucleic acid skeleton not only facilitate the direct or indirect connection of nanoparticles, but also support retention of the functions of both nanoparticles themselves and nucleic acids. In this review, we summarize the outstanding respective characteristics and prospects of nucleic acid-modified nanoparticles. In addition, primary surface modification techniques for preparing nucleic acid-modified nanoparticles, including non-scaffold-mediated modification and scaffold-mediated modification, were highlighted. Furthermore, interactions between nanoparticles and nucleic acids, as well as the effects of modification techniques on the properties of nucleic acid modified nanoparticles, are discussed in detail.

Polymer brushes have been demonstrated as versatile and effective surface modification method to achieve unparalleled control over surface properties and functionality. Here, this review mainly highlights the intriguing performance and functionalities of zwitterionic polymer brushes with anti-polyelectrolyte property for a variety of applications in protein resistance, antibacterial activity, surface wetting, and surface frication. Different from other hydrophilic polymer brushes, zwitterionic brushes exhibit the unique zwitterionic-induced anti-polyelectrolyte effect, allowing for the development of new smart polymers and polymer-coated surfaces.

In addition to the traditional existed static model, the dynamic model is proposed to investigate the thickness ( ${d}$ ) dependence of tribo-dielectric layer (TDL) with the device performance in the triboelectric nanogenerators (Tengs) in this work. With the involvement of one material parameter, i.e., electron-hole recombination rate ( ${r}$ ) near the TDL in our developed dynamic model, the d dependence of TDL for the effective surface charge ( ${Q}_{s}$ ) and output current ( ${I}$ ) in the Tengs is derived. The maximum ${I}$ ( ${I}_{{\text {max}}}$ ) with the optimized TDL thickness ( ${d}_{{\text {max}}}$ ) is further obtained with the consideration of different r. It can be found that the larger value of ${r}$ in the material results in the smaller value of ${I}_{{\text {max}}}$ and the larger value of ${d}_{{\text {max}}}$ . At the same time, the theoretical dynamic model is compared with the experimental data. With the designed spin coating speed and time for the TDL deposition, the Tengs with different ${d}$ is demonstrated and studied experimentally. The experimental data and the theoretical dynamic model agree very well with each other.

A schematic model of a natural molecular motor is proposed. It uses the change of the free energy surface to an effective surface as long as the enzyme is active. This effective surface acts as a trapdoor and explains the power stroke in biomotors, as well as its unidirectional movement. Then a thermal relaxation can do the energy transduction of the motor. The model uses Newton trajectories to explain the movement of stationary points on the effective surface.