State-of-the-Art Review on Amorphous Carbon Nanotubes: Synthesis, Structure, and Application.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have rapidly received increasing attention and great interest as potential materials for energy storage and catalyst fields, which is due to their unique physicochemical and electrical properties. With continuous improvements in fabrication routes, CNTs have been modified with various types of materials, opening up new perspectives for research and state-of-the-art technologies. Amorphous CNTs (aCNTs) are carbon nanostructures that are distinctively different from their well-ordered counterparts, such as single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs and MWCNTs, respectively), while the atoms in aCNTs are grouped in a disordered, crystalline/non-crystalline manner. Owing to their unique structure and properties, aCNTs are attractive for energy storage, catalysis, and aerospace applications. In this review, we provide an overview of the synthetic routes of aCNTs, which include chemical vapor deposition, catalytic pyrolysis, and arc discharge. Detailed morphologies of aCNTs and the systematic elucidation of tunable properties are also summarized. Finally, we discuss the future perspectives as well as associated challenges of aCNTs. With this review, we aim to encourage further research for the widespread use of aCNTs in industry.

In2S3@TiO2/In2S3 Z-Scheme Heterojunction with Synergistic Effect for Enhanced Photocathodic Protection of Steel.

In this work, a TiO2/In2S3 heterojunction film was successfully synthesized using a one-step hydrothermal method and applied in the photocathodic protection (PCP) of 304SS. The octahedral In2S3 and In2S3@TiO2 nanoparticles combined and coexisted with each other, with In2S3 quantum dots growing on the surface of TiO2 to form In2S3@TiO2 with a wrapping structure. The composite photoelectrode, which includes TiO2 with a mixed crystalline phase and In2S3, exhibited significantly enhanced PCP performance for 304SS compared with pure In2S3 and TiO2. The In2S3@TiO2/In2S3 composites with 0.3 g of P25 titanium dioxide (P25) showed the best protection performance, resulting in a cathodic shift of its OCP coupled with 304SS to -0.664 VAgCl. The electron transfer tracking results demonstrate that In2S3@TiO2/In2S3 forms a Z-scheme heterojunction structure. The enhanced PCP performance could be attributed to the synergistic effect of the mixed crystalline phase and the Z-scheme heterojunction system. The mixed crystalline phase of TiO2 provides more electrons, and these electrons are gathered at higher energy potentials in the Z-scheme system. Additionally, the built-in electric field further promotes the more effective electrons transfer from photoelectrode to the protected metals, thus, leading to enhanced photoelectrochemical cathodic protection of 304SS.

Microstructure and Properties of NiCoCrAlTi High Entropy Alloy Prepared Using MA-SPS Technique.

In this study, Ni35Co35Cr12.6Al7.5Ti5Mo1.68W1.39Nb0.95Ta0.47 high entropy alloy (HEA) was prepared using mechanical alloying (MA) and spark plasma sintering (SPS) based on the unique design concept of HEAs and third-generation powder superalloys. The HEA phase formation rules of the alloy system were predicted but need to be verified empirically. The microstructure and phase structure of the HEA powder were investigated at different milling times and speeds, with different process control agents, and with an HEA block sintered at different temperatures. The milling time and speed do not affect the alloying process of the powder and increasing the milling speed reduces the powder particle size. After 50 h of milling with ethanol as PCA, the powder has a dual-phase FCC+BCC structure, and stearic acid as PCA inhibits the powder alloying. When the SPS temperature reaches 950 °C, the HEA transitions from a dual-phase to a single FCC phase structure and, with increasing temperature, the mechanical properties of the alloy gradually improve. When the temperature reaches 1150 °C, the HEA has a density of 7.92 g cm-3, a relative density of 98.7%, and a hardness of 1050 HV. The fracture mechanism is one with a typical cleavage, a brittle fracture with a maximum compressive strength of 2363 MPa and no yield point.

Research on Personalized Book Recommendation Based on Improved Similarity Calculation and Data Filling Collaborative Filtering Algorithm.

(Purpose/Significance). This paper aims at the problems of inaccurate recommendation effect caused by data sparseness and cold start in the traditional collaborative filtering-based book personalized recommendation algorithm. So this paper proposes a collaborative filtering recommendation algorithm which improves the similarity solution method and the filling method of missing data. (Method/Process). By considering the influence of the user's common rating book collection on the similarity calculation, the average rating value of all books is used as the threshold, and the user's common rating weight is introduced into the user's similarity calculation. As for data filling, according to the user's average rating, the basic attributes such as the age and gender of users are coded, and then Euclidean distance is initially calculated, making hierarchical clustering on users. What's more, Shope-one algorithm is used to calculate the filling value of the former m similar users，and add the weight value of the degree simultaneously to get the final filling value, so as to improve the data filling method. (Result/Conclusion). Experiments were carried out with the data set of Book-Crossing Data set through Python. The experimental results show that the improved collaborative filtering algorithm has a significantly improvement in the accuracy and quality of book recommendation.

Evaluation of cytotoxicity and biodistribution of mesoporous carbon nanotubes (pristine/-OH/-COOH) to HepG2 cells in vitro and healthy mice in vivo.

Mesoporous carbon nanotubes (mCNTs) hold great promise interests, owing to their superior nano-platform properties for biomedicine. To fully utilize this potential, the toxicity and biodistribution of pristine and surface-modified mCNTs (-OH/-COOH) should preferentially be addressed. The results of cell viability suggested that pristine mCNTs induced cell death in a concentration-dependent manner. As evidence of reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), pristine mCNTs induced noticeable redox imbalance. 99mTc tracing data suggested that the cellular uptake of pristine mCNTs posed a concentrate-dependent and energy-dependent manner via macropinocytotic and clathrin-dependent pathways, and the main accumulated organs were lung, liver and spleen. With OH modification, the ROS generation, MDA deposition and SOD consumption were evidently reduced compared with the pristine mCNTs at 24/48 h high-dose exposure. With COOH modification, the modified mCNTs only showed a significant difference in SOD consumption at 24/48 h exposure, but there was no significant difference in the measurement of ROS and MDA. The internalization mechanism and organ distribution of modified mCNTs were basically invariant. Together, our study provides evidence that mCNTs and the modified mCNTs all could induce oxidative damage and thereby impair cells. 99mTc-mCNTs can effectively trace the distribution of nanotubes in vivo.

Fabrication and characterization of an economical active packaging film based on chitosan incorporated with pomegranate peel.

Antioxidant and antimicrobial chitosan (CS) films incorporated with different concentrations (0, 3, 6 and 9% w/w based on chitosan) of pomegranate peel powder (PPP) were prepared through a simple and low-cost process and characterized. The physicochemical property, antioxidant and antibacterial properties of the films were investigated. Results showed that incorporation with PPP increased the thickness, water solubility (WS), water vapor permeability (WVP), opacity and total phenolic content (TPC) of chitosan films, but decreased the moisture content (MC) and mechanical property. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy indicated the formation of hydrogen bonds between chitosan and PPP. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis presented that microstructural attributes of chitosan film changed by enriching with pomegranate peel. The films with concentrations of PPP at 6 and 9% presented great ultraviolet-visible light barrier properties. Moreover, the antioxidant ability of films with PPP was significantly increased compared to the chitosan film. The addition of PPP also promoted the antibacterial capacity of the control film. These results revealed that incorporation of PPP in chitosan film could fabricate an economical active film with antioxidant and antibacterial properties, and which had the potential for developing food-grade packaging material.

Circ_0003998 Regulates the Progression and Docetaxel Sensitivity of DTX-Resistant Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells by the miR-136-5p/CORO1C Axis.

BACKGROUND: Drug resistance in cancer cells is a major challenge for anti-cancer therapy. Circular RNA (circRNA) circ_0003998 has been identified as an important regulator in the chemoresistance development of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The purpose of this study was to investigate the molecular basis underlying the resistance control of circ_0003998 in NSCLC. METHODS: The levels of circ_0003998, miR-136-5p and coronin 1C (CORO1C) were gauged by the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) or western blot. Cell viability, colony formation and apoptosis were evaluated by the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation and flow cytometry assays, respectively. Targeted relationships among circ_0003998, miR-136-5p and CORO1C were confirmed by the dual-luciferase reporter and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays. Animal studies were performed to evaluate the function of circ_0003998 in vivo. RESULTS: Our data indicated that circ_0003998 expression was associated with NSCLC resistance to docetaxel (DTX). The knockdown of circ_0003998 promoted DTX sensitivity, suppressed cell colony formation, and enhanced cell apoptosis of A549/DTX and H1299/DTX cells in vitro. Moreover, circ_0003998 knockdown hampered tumor growth and enhanced DTX sensitivity in vivo. Mechanistically, circ_0003998 directly targeted miR-136-5p, and miR-136-5p was a molecular mediator of circ_0003998 function in vitro. Furthermore, CORO1C was a functionally important target of miR-136-5p in regulating DTX-resistant NSCLC cell colony formation, apoptosis and DTX sensitivity in vitro. Additionally, circ_0003998 modulated CORO1C expression by working as a miR-136-5p sponge. CONCLUSION: Our present work identified that circ_0003998 regulated DTX-resistant NSCLC cell colony formation, apoptosis and DTX sensitivity at least partially by controlling CORO1C expression by sponging miR-136-5p, illuminating a rationale for developing circ_0003998 as a therapeutic target of chemoresistant NSCLC.

Detection and quantification of adulteration of sesame oils with vegetable oils using gas chromatography and multivariate data analysis.

This study was performed to develop a hierarchical approach for detection and quantification of adulteration of sesame oil with vegetable oils using gas chromatography (GC). At first, a model was constructed to discriminate the difference between authentic sesame oils and adulterated sesame oils using support vector machine (SVM) algorithm. Then, another SVM-based model is developed to identify the type of adulterant in the mixed oil. At last, prediction models for sesame oil were built for each kind of oil using partial least square method. To validate this approach, 746 samples were prepared by mixing authentic sesame oils with five types of vegetable oil. The prediction results show that the detection limit for authentication is as low as 5% in mixing ratio and the root-mean-square errors for prediction range from 1.19% to 4.29%, meaning that this approach is a valuable tool to detect and quantify the adulteration of sesame oil.

Monte Carlo simulation for energy deposition of an ionisation chamber based on the equivalent electron source theory and experimental verification for the theory.

The main research described in this paper includes three sections. First, research on the response of the stainless steel ball-shaped ionisation chamber by experimental methods. Secondly, calculation of the response of the chamber with the general Monte Carlo EGS4 code in order to compare with the equivalent electron source theory by calculation methods. Finally, calculation of the response of the ionisation chamber with the equivalent electron source theory. The results show that the calculated results of the equivalent electron source theory coincide very well with those of the experiments when the atomic number of the chamber wall is close to one of the gases (such as Ar and Kr), and the calculated results coincide with those of the experiments to a certain extent when the atomic number of the chamber wall is not close to one of the gases (such as He and Xe).

[Determination of tropane alkaloid components in Przewalskia tangutica Maxim. by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence detection].

Based on an Eu-PB modified platinum electrode as the working electrode, a method for the simultaneous determination of the four tropane alkaloids, anisodamine, scopolamine, atropine and anisodine, by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence detection (CE-ECL) has been established. The effects of several factors, such as the detection potential, the acidity and concentration of the running buffer, and the content of the methanol additive were investigated for the improvement of separation ability and detection sensitivity. Under the optimized conditions, these four components could be fully separated from each other in a 20 mmol/L phosphate (pH 8.0) containing 7% (v/v) methanol buffer within 6 min. The relative standard deviations of the peak area and migration time were less than 5.0% and 1.1% (n = 12) respectively for all the four compounds. Thus, the method has been successfully applied to the determination of anisodamine, scopolamine in Przewalskia tangutica Maxim. The average amounts of 27.8 g/kg anisodamine and 4.43 g/kg scopolamine were found in the herbal root-stalk sample. The recoveries of the tropane alkaloids were 97.8% - 102%.

Determination of sinomenine in Sinomenium acutum by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence detection.

A Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)-based electrochemiluminescence (ECL) detection coupled with capillary electrophoresis (CE) has been established for the determination of sinomenine for the first time. Optimum separation was achieved with a fused-silica capillary column (50 cm x 25 microm i.d.) and a background electrolyte of 50 mM sodium phosphate (pH 5.0) at a separation voltage of 15 kV. The content of sinomenine was detected by ECL at the detection voltage of 1.15 V (versus Ag/AgCl) with 5 mM Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) in 75 mM phosphate solution (pH 8.0) when a chemically modified platinum electrode by europium(III)-doped prussian blue analogue (Eu-PB) was used as a working electrode. Under the optimized conditions, the ECL intensity was in proportion to sinomenine concentration in the range from 0.01 to 1.0 microg mL(-1) with a detection limit of 2.0 ng mL(-1) (3sigma). The relative standard derivations of migration time and ECL intensity were 0.93 and 1.11%, respectively. The level of sinomenine in Sinomenium acutum Rehd. et Wils was easily determined with recoveries between 98.6 and 102.7%.