Special issue on “Energy, Economy and Environment for Industrial Production Processes”

Facing significant natural resource consumption, environmental degradation, and climate warming, governments and international organizations have increased their focus on ecological modernization, green growth, and low carbon development, with various sustainable development strategies [...](undefined

Feasibility study on the preparation of artificial small blood vessel by fluorinated decellularized rabbit aorta

Objective·To explore the feasibility of fluorinated decellularized rabbit aorta as a small artificial blood vessel for tissue engineering.Methods·The obtained rabbit aorta was decellularized in combination with Triton X-100, sodium deoxycholate (SD), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), DNAse, and RNAse. Hematoxylin-eosin staining (H-E staining), Masson staining and Verhoff-von Gieson staining were performed in the decellularized group and undecellularized group, respectively. The effect of decellularization was identified by field emission scanning electron microscope, and the morphological changes of decellularized blood vessels were observed. The decellularized rabbit aorta was used as the arterialized artificial small vessel scaffold, and the decellularized small vessel intima was modified with liquid perfluorocarbons coating to prepare a new type of artificial small vessel. The characteristic groups of the artificial small vessel were qualitatively and quantitatively determined. The dissipation time of liquid on the inner surface of the vessel and the flow of liquid on the surface of the vessel tilted at 45° were observed to analyze the hydrophobicity of the vessel. The blood vessels in the decellularized group and the fluorinated group were implanted with platelet-rich plasma, incubated, and observed under an electron microscope to evaluate the antiplatelet aggregation in vitro. The balloon pressure pump was connected to the aorta of the undecellularized group, decellularized group and fluoride group for bursting pressure test.Results·Histological observation of blood vessels showed that the combination could effectively remove cells while retaining collagen and elastic fibers, and there was no damage to the intima under the electron microscope. There was no significant difference in the pressure blasting test among the three groups. In the hydrophobicity experiment, the retention time of water droplets on the membrane of the fluorinated group was over 5 min, and no obvious water marks were left on the 45° inclined plate. In the platelet adhesion test, intimal aggregation activated platelets in the decellularized group, while they were inhibited in the fluorinated group.Conclusion·The decellularized blood vessels have good mechanical properties and physical stability by combined decellularization, and the fluorinated coating makes the blood vessels have good anticoagulant and biocompatibility

Efficacy Dependence of Photodynamic Therapy Mediated by Upconversion Nanoparticles: Subcellular Positioning and Irradiation Productivity

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136433/1/smll201602053_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136433/2/smll201602053-sup-0001-S1.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136433/3/smll201602053.pd

Gas foaming of electrospun poly(L-lactide-co-caprolactone)/silk fibroin nanofiber scaffolds to promote cellular infiltration and tissue regeneration

Electrospun nanofibers emulate extracellular matrix (ECM) morphology and architecture; however, small pore size and tightly-packed fibers impede their translation in tissue engineering. Here we exploited in situ gas foaming to afford three-dimensional (3D) poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone)/silk fibroin (PLCL/SF) scaffolds, which exhibited nanotopographic cues and a multilayered structure. The addition of SF improved the hydro philicity and biocompatibility of 3D PLCL scaffolds. Three-dimensional scaffolds exhibited larger pore size (38.75 ± 9.78 μm2 ) and high porosity (87.1% ± 1.5%) than that of their 2D counterparts. 3D scaffolds also improved the deposition of ECM components and neo-vessel regeneration as well as exhibited more numbers of CD163+/ CCR7+ cells after 2 weeks implantation in a subcutaneous model. Collectively, 3D PLCL/SF scaffolds have broad implications for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering applications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Reaction mechanism of arsenic capture by a calcium-based sorbent during the combustion of arsenic-contaminated biomass: A pilot-scale experience

Large quantities of contaminated biomass due to phytoremediation were disposed through combustion in low-income rural regions of China. This process provided a solution to reduce waste volume and disposal cost. Pilot-scale combustion trials were conducted for in site disposal at phytoremediation sites. The reaction mechanism of arsenic capture during pilot-scale combustion should be determined to control the arsenic emission in flue gas. This study investigated three Pteris vittata L. biomass with a disposal capacity of 600 kg/d and different arsenic concentrations from three sites in China. The arsenic concentration in flue gas was greater than that of the national standard in the trial with no emission control, and the arsenic concentration in biomass was 486 mg/kg. CaO addition notably reduced arsenic emission in flue gas, and absorption was efficient when CaO was mixed with biomass at 10% of the total weight. For the trial with 10% CaO addition, arsenic recovery from ash reached 76%, which is an ∼8-fold increase compared with the control. Synchrotron radiation analysis confirmed that calcium arsenate is the dominant reaction product

Approximate solution of plastic zone boundary of surrounding rock of circular roadway considering axial stress

In order to study the boundary of plastic zone of surrounding rock of a roadway considering axial stress, based on Mohr-Coulomb criterion, the implicit equation of plastic zone boundary of surrounding rock of circular roadway considering axial stress is derived by introducing Lode angle parameter. The size and shape of plastic zone of surrounding rock under different stress fields are analyzed by changing the horizontal stress σx and axial stress σy of roadway, and the reliability of theoretical analysis is further illustrated by numerical simulation. In addition, the influence of cohesion C, internal friction angle φ, roadway radius R and Poisson’s ratio v on the stability of surrounding rock is studied. The results show that : ① Under the condition of fixed axial lateral pressure while changing horizontal lateral pressure, the size change of plastic zone of surrounding rock can be divided into sensitive zone and insensitive zone, and in the changing process of horizontal lateral pressure, the plastic zone of surrounding rock shows three forms: circular, elliptical and butterfly-shaped. ② Under the condition of fixed horizontal lateral pressure while changing axial lateral pressure, the plastic zone at each position of surrounding rock shows a strong interval effect. By comparing the size of plastic zone under plane strain problem, the region is divided into axial stress-affected zone and axial stress-unaffected zone. In the influence zone of axial stress, the change of axial lateral pressure has great influence on the size of plastic zone of surrounding rock. ③ The failure mode of roadway surrounding rock is determined by the horizontal lateral pressure η1, and the axial lateral pressure η2 has little effect on the shape of plastic zone, but has great influence on the size. ④ The increase of surrounding rock C and φ will reduce the size of plastic zone of roadway surrounding rock to varying degrees, and the increase of R will increase the plastic zone at different positions of surrounding rock in an equal number sequence. In the axial stress-unaffected zone, v has no effect on the size of plastic zone of surrounding rock. In the axial stress-affected zone, the size of plastic zone at the wing corner is not affected by v, and the size of plastic zone at other locations is affected to different degrees

Construction of acellular cartilage matrix/silk fibroin scaffold and its cartilage tissue engineering study

Objective·To construct a bioactivity tissue engineering scaffold with double network cross-linking for cartilage tissue regeneration using an acellular cartilage matrix (ACM) with a natural silk fibroin (SF) biomaterial.Methods·The cell-associated immunogenic components were removed by nuclease digestion, and the extracellular matrix-associated glycoproteins and collagen structures were retained, The efficiency of cartilage tissue decellularization was measured by spectrophotometry by using DNA, histoglycosaminoglycan and collagen quantification kits. ACM and SF were configured into a mixed solution, and the nucleophilic cross-linking reaction with the hydroxyl and carboxyl groups contained in both was carried out by adding ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether. Then it was freeze-dried to make porous bionic scaffolds (n=5). At the same time, porous scaffolds containing only ACM or SF were prepared by the same method (n=5). The microstructure of the scaffolds was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the mechanical strength, elastic modulus and resilience of different groups of scaffolds were evaluated by mechanical tests. The internal and external nutrient exchange capacity of the scaffolds was reacted by water absorption rate. Chondrocytes from rabbit ears were isolated, cultured, and seeded on ACM-SF scaffolds. After 1, 4, and 7 days of culture, the adhesion, distribution, and matrix secretion of the cells on the scaffolds were observed by SEM, and the viability status of the cells was determined by double-staining of live and dead cells. CCK-8 method was used to determine the cytotoxicity of the scaffolds. The cells were implanted subcutaneously in nude mice, cultured in vivo for 4 and 8 weeks, and finally removed for histological testing. Differences between groups were tested by One-Way ANOVA. Statistical significance was accepted at a value of P<0.05.Results·After enzymatic digestion, almost no cells remained in the acellular matrix, and the active components of the extracellular matrix were retained. The composite scaffold prepared by ACM-SF has interconnected microporous structure and good elasticity, and could recover its original shape after repeated compression in the wet state. The water absorption rate of ACM-SF reached nearly 20 times, which provided an effective material exchange condition for the cell adhesion environment. Histological tests showed that the ACM-SF scaffold regenerated homogeneous, typical cartilage tissue in vivo.Conclusion·ACM-SF composite porous scaffold has a good bionic microenvironment and can be applied to tissue engineering cartilage regeneration