Abstract: Optical microscope (OM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), electron backscatter diffractometer (EBSD), electrochemical test, and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were employed to conduct interface microstructure observation and cladding corrosion resistance analysis on 304 SS/CS clad plates that have four different reduction ratios. The increase in rolling reduction ratio leads to larger grain size, gradually refined microstructure, and a decreased thickness of the interfacial martensite area. As the concentration disparity of the C element between carbon steel (CS) and 304 stainless steel (SS) is small, no evident carburization layer and decarburization layer can be detected. The ferrite microstructure on the CS side has a greater stress distribution, a greater local orientation deviation, and deformed grains are dominant. Austenite undergoes strain-induced martensitic transformation with the transformation mechanism of γ→twinning→a'-martensite. The martensite microstructure within the interface region grows in the direction of the interior of austenite grains. The reduction ratio increases sharply, leading to an increase in dislocation density, which promotes the nucleation, growth, and precipitation of carbides and seriously reduces the corrosion resistance of the cladding. Subsequently, the reduction ratio keeps on increasing. However, the degree of change in the reduction ratio diminishes. High temperature promotes the dissolution of carbides and improves the corrosion resistance. From this, it can be understood that by applying the process conditions of raising the reduction ratio and keeping a high temperature at the carbide dissolution temperature, a clad plate that has excellent interface bonding and remarkable corrosion resistance can be acquired.

Abstract: In this study, anthocyanin glycosides from nine cultivars of highbush blueberries grown in Korea were characterized using UPLC-DAD-QToF/MS and UPLC-Qtrap-MS/MS. A total of twenty-two derivatives were identified, consisting of mono-glycosides with galactose, glucose, arabinose, acetyl-galactose, or acetyl-glucose moieties attached to aglycones such as cyanidin, peonidin, delphinidin, petunidin, and malvidin. Among them, seven acetylated glycosides were tentatively determined by comparing the related authentic standards and previous reports, and presented mass fragmentation in which the acetyl group remained as form attached to the sugar without deesterification in positive ionization mode. The mid-season cultivar ‘New Hanover’ showed the highest total anthocyanin content (1011.7 mg/100 g dry weight) with predominant malvidin and delphinidin glycosides. Particularly, the ‘Patriot’ (early-season) recorded the highest proportion of acetylated glycosides (19.7%). These detailed anthocyanin profiles will be supported as fundamental data for the development of superior cultivars and functional blueberry-based products as well as the further research of anthocyanin changes by cultivars, harvest time, cultivated methods, storage conditions, etc..

Abstract: Potassium-ion batteries (KIBs) have attracted significant attention in the last few years due to the necessity to develop low-cost, sustainable batteries, based on non-critical raw materials, and to be competitive with lithium-ion batteries. KIBs are excellent candidates due to the possibility of providing high power and energy densities because of their faster K+ diffusion and very close re-duction potential to Li+/Li. However, KIBs research is still in its infancy; hence, further investigation should be carried out from the materials to the device level. In this work, we focus on the recent strategies to enhance the electrochemical properties of anode intercalation materials, i.e., carbon-, titanium- and vanadium-based compounds. Hitherto, the most promising anode materials are the carbon-based ones, such as graphite, soft or hard carbon, each with its advantages and disad-vantages. Although a wide variety of strategies have been reported with excellent performances, the standardization of best carbon properties, electrode formulation and electrolyte composition still need to be improved due to the impossibility of a direct comparison. Therefore, further effort should be made to understand which are the crucial carbon parameters to develop a reference electrode and electrolyte formulation to boost the performances further and move a step forward in the commercialization of KIBs.

Abstract: Zeolite crystallization involves complex and overlapping kinetic and thermodynamic processes, posing significant challenges to achieving precise control, especially during short crystallization periods. Microwave-assisted heating has proven effective in acceleration of zeolite crystallization from gel growth media, but its application to synthesis by interzeolite transformations is unknown. Herein, microwave-assisted heating is introduced as a method for interzeolite transformation demonstrating transformation of FAU zeolite to CAN, ANA, EDI, and MER zeolites. The microwave approach ensures interzeolite transformations within 5-10 min, which is tenths of times faster than transformations by conventional heating. This work also shows how at identical synthesis conditions the concentration of KOH directs the structure of the run product. Furthermore, the temperature control of the interzeolite transformation allows the production of pseudomorphic hierarchical particles of FAU zeolite in just 10 min without using any templating additives.

Abstract: During the initial steps of green biorefining aimed at protein recovery, endogenous proteins and enzymes, along with e.g. phytochemical constituents, are decompartmentalized into a green juice. This creates a highly dynamic environment prone to a plethora of reactions including oxidative protein modification and deterioration. Obtaining a fundamental understanding of the enzymes capable of exerting antioxidant activity ex vivo could help mitigate these reactions for improved product quality. In this study, we investigated perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), one of the most widely used turf and forage grasses, as a model system. Using size exclusion chromatography, we fractionated the green juice to investigate in vitro antioxidant properties and coupled this with quantitative bottom-up proteomics, GO-term analysis, and fraction-based enrichment. Our findings revealed that several enzymes, already known for their involvement in in vivo oxidative protection, are enriched in fractions displaying increased in vitro antioxidant activity, indicating retained activity ex vivo. Moreover, this study provides the most detailed characterization of the L. perenne proteome today and delivers new insights into protein-level partitioning during wet fractionation. Ultimately, this work contributes to better understanding the first steps of green biorefining and provides the basis for process optimization.

Abstract: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a growing area of Computer Science that combines the technologies with data science to develop intelligent, highly computation-able systems. Its ability to automatically analyse and query huge sets of data has rendered it essential to many fields such as healthcare. This article introduces you to Artificial Intelligence, how it works and what is its central role in biomedical engineering. It brings to light new developments in medical science, why it is being applied in biomedicine, key problems in computer vision and AI, medical applications, diagnostics and live health monitoring. This paper starts with an introduction to Artificial Intelligence and its major subfields before moving into AI revolutionizing healthcare technology. There is a lot of emphasis on how it will transform Biomedical Engineering using AI-based devices like biosensors. Not only can these machines detect abnormalities in a patient’s physiology, they also allow chronic health tracking. Further, the review also provides an overview on trends of AI-enabled healthcare technologies and concludes that the adoption of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare will be very high. The most promising are in diagnostics, with highly accurate, non-invasive diagnostics such as advanced imaging and vocal biomarker analysers leading medicine into the future.

Abstract: Human milk oligosaccharides, often known as HMOs, are the third most prevalent solid component found in human milk. Due to secretor status, race, geographic location, season, maternal nutrition and weight, gestational age, and delivery technique, HMO levels and distribution vary greatly across women. HMOs have been shown to have a variety of functional roles in the development of infants in recent studies. Because HMOs are not digested by the infants, they act as metabolic substrates for certain bacteria, helping to establish the infant's gut microbiota. By encouraging the growth of advantageous intestinal bacteria, these sugars function as prebiotics and produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which are essential for gut health. HMOs can also specifically reduce harmful microbe and virus binding to the gut epithelium, preventing illness. They can also directly regulate host-epithelial immunity. HMO addition to infant formula is safe and promotes healthy development, infection prevention, and microbiota. Current infant formulae frequently contain oligosaccharides (OSs) that differ structurally from those found in human milk, making it unlikely that they would reproduce the unique effects of HMOs. However, there is a growing trend of manufacturing OSs similar to those found in human milk. There is insufficient information available to compare the effects of HMOs with non-human OSs, hence it is unknown if HMOs have any further therapeutic advantages. Better knowledge of how the human mammary gland synthesizes HMOs could direct the development of technologies that yield a broad variety of complex HMOs with OSs compositions that closely mimic human milk. This review discusses HMOs' broad and complicated nature, as well as their critical role in newborn health. The large variance in HMO composition among mothers and the contributing factors are investigated. The most recent technology developments that allow large-scale investigations on HMO composition and its impact on infant health outcomes are highlighted. Furthermore, HMOs' multifunctional roles in biological process such as infection prevention, brain development, and gut microbiota and immune response regulation are investigated. The structural distinctions between HMOs and other mammalian OSs in infant formulae are discussed, with a focus on the trend towards producing more precise replicas of HMOs found in human milk.

Abstract: Optical imaging is an excellent non-invasive method for viewing visceral organs and, above all, safer as compared to ionizing radiation-based methods like x-rays. By making use of the properties of photons, this technique generates high-resolution images of cells, molecules, organs, and tissues using visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light. This makes the technique useful for repeated applications in monitoring the progression of the disease and responses to treatment without having exposure of a significant amount of radiation to the patient. Recent advancements have been made in optical contrast agents, particularly in fluorescent probes that have significantly enhanced the capabilities in optical imaging. These probes can selectively target specified biomarkers, thereby allowing for molecular imaging with the possibility of early detection of abnormalities. In this article, the latest developments in the area of optical contrast agents are overviewed for their applications in medical imaging and in revolutionizing diagnostics and therapeutics. This work therefore explores the frontiers of fluorescent probes and molecular imaging to accelerate the translation of optical imaging into clinical practice for improved patient outcomes and transformation of the landscape of medical imaging.

Abstract:

Well-defined amorphous/semi-crystalline statistical copolymers of n-dodecyl isocyanate, DDIC, and allyl isocyanate, ALIC, were synthesized via coordination polymerization, using the chiral half-titanocene complex CpTiCl2(O-(S)-2-Bu) as initiator. In the frame of the terminal model the monomer reactivity ratios of the statistical copolymers were calculated using both well-known linear graphical methods and the computer program COPOINT. The molecular and structural characteristics of the copolymers were also calculated. The thermal properties of these samples were studied by Differential Scanning Calorimetry, DSC, measurements. The kinetics of the thermal decomposition of the statistical copolymers was studied by Thermogravimetric Analysis, TGA, and Differential Thermogravimetry, DTG, and the activation energy of this process was calculated employing several theoretical models. Moreover, block copolymers with the structure P[DDIC-b-(DDIC-co-ALIC)] were synthesized by sequential addition of monomers and coordination polymerization methodologies. The samples were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance, NMR, spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography, SEC, and DSC. The thermal stability of the blocks was also studied by TGA and DTG and compared to the corresponding statistical copolymers, showing that the macromolecular architecture greatly affects the properties of the copolymers. Thiol-ene click post-polymerization reaction was performed to introduce aromatic groups along the polyisocyanate chain in order to improve the thermal stability of the parent polymers.

Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) modification on the structural, mechanical, thermal, and functional properties of a shape-memory terpolymer, with a focus on its potential application in 4D printing technology and medical implant production. The integration of β-TCP into the filament matrix and scaffolds was confirmed through microscopic (SEM, stereoscopic) and spectroscopic (FTIR, EDS) analyses. FTIR spectra indicated successful incorporation of β-TCP into the polymer. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis revealed a shift toward a more amorphous structure following β-TCP modification, improving processing properties, particularly for 3D printing. Thermal stability was enhanced, as β-TCP delayed depolymerization of the polymer matrix. Shape-memory studies demonstrated effective recovery in both modified and unmodified samples, although β-TCP slightly reduced recovery performance. In vitro cell culture studies showed that β-TCP-modified terpolymer significantly increased cell viability and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity after 3 weeks. The β-TCP-modified terpolymer can be tailored for applications where partial shape recovery is acceptable, such as bone scaffolds or implants designed to promote osteointegration.