Performance of Oriented Strand Board Made of Heat-Treated Bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper (Schult.) Backer) Strands.

This study aimed to analyze the effect of pre-heat treatment on bamboo strand properties and its impact on the properties of the resulting bamboo-oriented strand board (BOSB). Giant bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper (Schult.) Backer) with a density of 0.53 g cm-3 was converted into bamboo strands. These strands were pre-heat-treated at 140 and 160 °C for a duration of 1, 2, and 3 h. Changes in the chemical composition of the strand due to subsequent treatment were assessed. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray diffraction analysis (XRD) were used to determine the changes in the chemical composition of bamboo strands. The BOSB panels were produced with a target density of 0.7 g cm-3. The manufacturing of the BOSB was conducted in three layers with a ratio of 25:50:25, bonded with phenol-formaldehyde resin. The physical and mechanical properties of the laboratory-fabricated BOSB were tested in compliance with the criteria given in JIS A 5908 standards. Comparisons were made against OSB CSA 0437.0 Grade O-1 commercial standard. The pre-heat treatment led to chemical alterations within the material when set at 140 and 160 °C for 1 to 3 hours (h). FTIR spectral analysis demonstrated that longer exposure and higher temperatures resulted in fewer functional groups within the bamboo strands. The increased temperature and duration of pre-heat treatment enhanced the crystallinity index (CI). The dimensional stability and mechanical properties of the composites were improved significantly as hemicellulose and extractive content were reduced. This study demonstrated that the pre-heat treatment of bamboo strands at a temperature of 160 °C for a duration of 1 h was an adequate approach for heat modification and fabrication of BOSB panels with acceptable properties according to OSB CSA 0437.0 Grade O-1 commercial standard.

Advancements of Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials in Environmental and Human Protection for Combatting the COVID-19 During and Post-pandemic Era: A Comprehensive Scientific Review.

In December 2019, an outbreak of unknown pneumonia emerged in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. It was later identified as the SARS-CoV-2 virus and has since infected over 9 million people in more than 213 countries worldwide. Massive papers on the topic of SARS-CoV-2 that have already been published are necessary to be analyzed and discussed. This paper used the combination of systematic literature network analysis and content analysis to develop a comprehensive discussion related to the use of nanotechnology and materials in environmental and human protection. Its is shown that various efforts have been made to control the transmission of this pandemic. Nanotechnology plays a crucial role in modern vaccine design, as nanomaterials are essential tools for antigen delivery, adjuvants, and mimics of viral structures. In addition, nanomaterials and nanotechnology also reported a crucial role in environmental protection for defence and treating the pandemic. To eradicate pandemics now and in the future, successful treatments must enable rapid discovery, scalable manufacturing, and global distribution. In this review, we discuss the current approaches to COVID-19 development and highlight the critical role of nanotechnology and nanomaterials in combating the virus in the human body and the environment.

Adsorptive removal and photocatalytic decomposition of cationic dyes on niobium oxide with deformed orthorhombic structure.

Nano-rod-shaped niobium oxide with a deformed orthorhombic structure (ortho-Nb2O5) is first demonstrated as a selective adsorbent to remove cationic dyes wastewater. Ortho-Nb2O5 quickly adsorbs methylene blue (MB) with much greater capacity than reported inorganic adsorbents. Furthermore, ortho-Nb2O5 has a stronger affinity to cationic dye than anionic dye because cation exchange is involved in the adsorption process. The dye molecule adsorbed onto ortho-Nb2O5 can be degraded entirely under UV light irradiation because of its photocatalytic properties. Moreover, the regenerated ortho-Nb2O5 shows high reusability for use in additional adsorption processing. As described herein, new insights into the use of ortho-Nb2O5 as a photocatalytically regeneratable adsorbent for wastewater treatment are presented.

Optimization of chitosan-tapioca starch composite as polymer in the formulation of gingival mucoadhesive patch film for delivery of gambier (Uncaria gambir Roxb) leaf extract.

The present study was intended to prepare and optimize the mucoadhesive buccal patch of gambier leaf extract using chitosan (CH) and tapioca starch (TS) composite as the polymer complexes. The patch formulation was designed based on 22 factorial design in order to optimize the composition of CH and TS. The physical and chemical characteristics of the prepared patches, including mass and thickness uniformity, folding endurance, surface pH, swelling index, percent of elongation, and mucoadhesive time were successfully evaluated. Based on statistical analysis, the optimum concentration of CH and TS was 900 mg and 300 mg, respectively, with desirability percent of 0.968. The characterization of the optimum patch showed that the variability coefficient of the mass and thickness uniformity was 0.4805 ± 0.1887% and 0.9716 ± 1.2026%, surface pH of the patch was 6, folding endurance >300 times, elongation percent was 53.333 ± 0.1082%, and mucoadhesive time was 320 ± 1.1547 min. The catechin content, as the active agent of the gambier leaf extract, was 92.1667 ± 0.3626%, and the FT-IR characterization indicated that there are no chemical interactions between each patch component.