Fabrication and Spectral Properties of Wood-Based Luminescent Nanocomposites

Pressure impregnation pretreatment is a conventional method to fabricate wood-based nanocomposites. In this paper, the wood-based luminescent nanocomposites were fabricated with the method and its spectral properties were investigated. The results show that it is feasible to fabricate wood-based luminescent nanocomposites using microwave modified wood and nanophosphor powders. The luminescent strength is in positive correlation with the amount of phosphor powders dispersed in urea-formaldehyde resin. Phosphors absorb UV and blue light efficiently in the range of 400–470 nm and show a broad band of bluish-green emission centered at 500 nm, which makes them good candidates for potential blue-green luminescent materials

The Fabrication and Properties Characterization of Wood-Based Flame Retardant Composites

Wood-based flame retardant composites were fabricated based on vacuum-pressure impregnating method after high intensive microwave pretreatment. The effects of ammonium polyphosphate (APP) and modified nano-zinc borate (nZB) addition on flame-retardation and smoke-suppression properties of wood were investigated by cone calorimeter method (CONE) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results show that the heat release rate (HRR), peak heat release rate (pk-HRR), and total heat release (THR) of APP-treated woods decreased greatly with increasing concentration of APP. However, mean yield of CO (Mean COY) of APP-treated wood was much higher (3.5 times) than that of untreated wood. Compared with wood treated with APP at a concentration of 15%, the total smoke product (TSP), Mean COY, and pk-HRR decreased by 78.4%, 71.43%, and 31.23%, when wood was treated with APP and nZB (both concentrations were at 15%). APP and nZB have synergistic effects of flame-retardation and smoke-suppression. Nano-zinc borate combined with APP would be used in wood-based composites to efficiently retard flame, reduce fire intensity, and decrease noxious (CO)/smoke release

Aligned Carbon Nanotubes Array by DC Glow Plasma Etching for Supercapacitor

To open the end of carbon nanotubes and make these ends connect with functional carboxyl group, aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) arrays was etched by DC glow oxygen-argon plasma. With these open-ended carbon nanotubes array as electrode materials to build supercapacitor, we found that the capacity (32.2 F/g) increased significantly than that of pure carbon nanotubes (6.7 F/g)

Soypeptide supplementation attenuates weight loss and improves quality of life among brain cancer patients in a pilot study

Abstract Inability to meet nutrition needs resulting from multiple diseases‐related, and individual factors contribute significantly to malnutrition and poor disease outcome among cancer patients. Strategies capable of delivering metabolically efficient nutrients with less digestive and metabolic stress without adding bulk to the diet of patients may be suitable for dealing with cancer‐related malnutrition and quality of life (QoL). We sought to test the hypothesis that peptide supplementation could attenuate weight loss and improve QoL among brain cancer patients compared to conventionally treated controls. In a non‐blind pilot study, brain cancer patients received 9 g soybean peptide supplementation twice per day (peptide group, n = 9) and compared with conventional treatment (control group, n = 10) over two chemotherapy cycles of 42 days. Compared to the controls, soypeptide supplementation attenuated weight loss with 5.4% increase in weight. Moreover, QoL, assessed using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ‐C30, revealed that physical (8.1 ± 15.6, p < .047) and emotional (7.5 ± 3.5, p < .033) functioning as well as summary scores (7.1 ± 2.4, p < .048) improved, whereas others remain stable. Molecular docking simulation suggested that the peptides could induce body weight through the inhibition of angiotensin‐converting enzyme (ACE) upon digestion. Daily soypeptide supplementation could enhance weight gain and improve QoL among brain cancer patients possibly by inhibiting ACE activity. However, a follow‐up study with a larger sample size in a double‐blind randomized trial is required to validate these preliminary findings