Facile One-Step Pyrolysis of ZnO/Biochar Nanocomposite for Highly Efficient Removal of Methylene Blue Dye from Aqueous Solution.

In this work, we developed a facile one-step pyrolysis method for preparing porous ZnO/biochar nanocomposites (ZBCs) with a large surface area to enhance the removal efficiency of dye from aqueous solution. Peanut shells were pyrolyzed under oxygen-limited conditions with a molten salt ZnCl2, which played the roles of the activating agent and precursor for the formation of nanoparticles. The effects of the mass ratio between the molten salt ZnCl2 and peanut shells as well as pyrolysis temperature on the formation of ZBCs were investigated. Characterization results revealed that the as-synthesized ZBCs exhibited a highly porous structure with a specific surface area of 832.12 m2/g, suggesting a good adsorbent for efficient removal of methylene blue (MB). The maximum adsorption capacity of ZBCs on MB was 826.44 mg/g, which surpassed recently reported adsorbents. The formation mechanism of ZnO nanoparticles on the biochar surface was due to ZnCl2 vaporization and reaction with water molecules extracted from the lignocellulosic structures. This study provides a basis for developing a simple and large-scale synthesis method for wastewater with a high adsorption capacity.

Multidisciplinary Therapy Management for Locally Advanced Minor Salivary Gland Cancer in Oral Cavity: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Minor salivary gland cancer is a relatively uncommon disease of head and neck, arising across the upper aerodigestive tract. This is a malignant neoplasm with diverse clinical behaviors and histological types which are prognostically significant. Although complete surgical resection, with adequate free margin, is currently the treatment of choice for locoregional diseases, the optimal treatment is still not standardized. We presented here a case of locally advanced minor salivary gland cancer that was treated by radical resection, reconstruction, and adjuvant radiation therapy at Vietnam National Cancer Hospital and had promising outcomes.

Plastic surgery and adjuvant chemoradiotherapy in the management of advanced external auditory canal cancer.

Background: Carcinoma of the external auditory canal is a rare malignancy that originates in the external auditory canal and has a tendency to spread to adjacent structures such as the periorbital soft tissues, parotid gland, temporomandibular joint and mastoid. It is difficult to determine the primary tumour from the external ear canal or from adjacent structures. In addition, the lack of a unified classification system, along with the rarity of the disease, is a major obstacle in providing specific treatment guidelines for this disease. Case presentation: In this report, we describe a clinical case of a 59-year-old male patient who was admitted to the hospital because of ear pain and discharge from the outer ear canal with swelling in the right temporal region. The initial diagnosis is highly suggestive of an advanced external auditory canal malignancy with involvement of the parotid gland. The patient underwent surgery to remove the entire tumour, neck lymph nodes, followed by plastic surgery. The patient then received adjuvant chemoradiotherapy. There was no recurrence of cancer for 28 months, to date, after completing treatment. Conclusions: Extensive tumour resection combined with reconstruction and adjuvant chemoradiotherapy is a treatment strategy with good outcomes for patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the external ear canal.

High electrochemical performance of ink solution based on manganese cobalt sulfide/reduced graphene oxide nano-composites for supercapacitor electrode materials.

Large scale supercapacitor electrodes were prepared by 3D-printing directly on a graphite paper substrate from ink solution containing manganese cobalt sulfide/reduced graphene oxide (MCS/rGO) nanocomposites. The MCS/rGO composite solution was synthesized through the dispersion of MCS NPs and rGO in dimethylformamide (DMF) solvent at room temperature. Their morphology and composition were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDS). The role of rGO on decreasing charge transfer resistance and enhancing ion exchange was discussed. The MCS/rGO electrode exhibits an excellent specific capacitance of 3812.5 F g-1 at 2 A g-1 and it maintains 1780.8 F g-1 at a high current density of 50 A g-1. The cycling stability of the electrodes reveals capacitance retention of over 92% after 22 000 cycles at 50 A g-1.

Facile synthesis of graphene oxide from graphite rods of recycled batteries by solution plasma exfoliation for removing Pb from water.

We herein present a simple, fast, efficient and environmentally friendly technique to prepare graphene oxide (GO) from graphite rods of recycled batteries by using solution plasma exfoliated techniques at atmospheric pressure. The prepared GO with an average 3 nm-thickness and 1.5 µm-length, having large surface area and high porosity, has been used to remove Pb(ii) ions from the water. The obtained results indicated that the adsorption of Pb(ii) onto GO depends on pH, contact time, temperature and initial concentration of Pb(ii). The maximum adsorption capacity of Pb(ii) onto GO determined from the Langmuir model (with a high R 2 value of 0.9913) was 180.1 mg g-1 at room temperature. A removal efficiency of ∼96.6% was obtained after 40 min. Calculations of thermodynamic parameters (ΔG°, ΔH° và ΔS°) show the adsorption of Pb(ii) ions on the GO surface is spontaneous and intrinsically heat-absorbing. The potential mechanism can be suggested here to be the interaction of the π-π* bonding electrons and Pb(ii) as well as the electrostatic attraction between Pb(ii) and the oxygen-containing functional groups on GO.