Sustainable Porous Scaffolds with Retained Lignin as An Effective Light-absorbing Material for Efficient Photothermal Energy Conversion.

Organic phase change materials (PCMs) are promising to utilize thermal energy from solar radiation for photothermal energy conversion. However, the issues of poor photo absorption and liquid leakage greatly restrict their practical application. Herein, a sustainable porous scaffold comprising periodate oxidized wood (POW) as the supporting material and in situ retains lignin as the light-absorber dopant are demonstrated.

Spectroscopic Investigation of the Impact of Cold Plasma Treatment at Atmospheric Pressure on Sucrose and Glucose.

When exposing food and feedstuff to cold atmospheric pressure plasmas (CAPP), e.g., for decontamination purposes, possible unwanted effects on the contained nutrients might occur.

Dynamically Tunable All-Weather Daytime Cellulose Aerogel Radiative Supercooler for Energy-Saving Building.

A passive cooling strategy without any electricity input has shown a significant impact on overall energy consumption globally. However, designing tunable daytime radiative cooler to meet requirement of different weather conditions is still a big challenge, especially in hot, humid regions. Here, a novel type of tunable, thermally insulating and compressible cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) aerogel coolers is prepared via chemical cross-linking and unidirectional freeze casting process.

Methods to Characterize Electrospun Scaffold Morphology: A Critical Review.

Electrospun scaffolds can imitate the hierarchical structures present in the extracellular matrix, representing one of the main concerns of modern tissue engineering. They are characterized in order to evaluate their capability to support cells or to provide guidelines for reproducibility. The issues with widely used methods for morphological characterization are discussed in order to provide insight into a desirable methodology for electrospun scaffold characterization.

Light sheet fluorescence microscopy for the investigation of blood-sucking arthropods dyed via artificial membrane feeding.

Physical methods to control pest arthropods are increasing in importance, but detailed knowledge of the effects of some of these methods on the target organisms is lacking. The aim of this study was to use light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) in anatomical studies of blood-sucking arthropods in vivo to assess the suitability of this method to investigate the morphological structures of arthropods and changes in these structures over time, using the human louse Pediculus humanus (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae) as sample organism. Plasma treatment was used as an example of a procedure employed to control arthropods.

How Fiber Surface Topography Affects Interactions between Cells and Electrospun Scaffolds: A Systematic Review.

Electrospun scaffolds have a 3D fibrous structure that attempts to imitate the extracellular matrix in order to be able to host cells. It has been reported in the literature that controlling fiber surface topography produces varying results regarding cell-scaffold interactions. This review analyzes the relevant literature concerning in vitro studies to provide a better understanding of the effect that controlling fiber surface topography has on cell-scaffold interactions.

[Consensus Paper "Palliative renal care"].

Aspects of palliative medicine such as withholding and withdrawal of dialysis, initiating conservative therapy and cooperative end-of-life care have increasingly become part of standard renal care. The corresponding transfer of knowledge of palliative medicine principles has so far been lacking in training and further education. This consensus paper proposes structured curricular training for the kidney team based on principles of palliative care.

In-Line Observation of Laser Cladding Processes via Atomic Emission Spectroscopy.

Direct metal deposition (DMD) can be used for the cladding of surfaces as well as repairing and additive manufacturing of parts and features. Process monitoring and control methods ensure a consistent quality during manufacturing. Monitoring by optical emission spectroscopy of the process radiation can provide information on process conditions and the deposition layer.

On the History, Presence, and Future of Optics Manufacturing.

In 1850, Austen Henry Layard discovered an approximately 3000-year-old, simple optical lens in Nimrud, Northern Iraq-the Nimrud lens, aka the Layard lens [...

Self-Compounded Nanocomposites: toward Multifunctional Membranes with Superior Mechanical, Gas/Oil Barrier, UV-Shielding, and Photothermal Conversion Properties.

Nanocomposites combine multiple favorable properties to achieve intriguing functionalities, but the formation of nanocomposites with only one constituent with the inclusion of multiple superior properties is still not known. Herein, novel self-compounded nanocomposite membranes from one single polymer-cellulose cinnamate (CCi)-with multiple outstanding properties are reported. The self-compounded membranes contain two distinct morphologies as CCi nanoparticles (CCi-NPs) and a CCi polymer matrix, while CCi-NPs are either firmly embedded in the CCi matrix or fused with adjacent CCi-NPs.

Quantification of Carbonic Contamination of Fused Silica Surfaces at Different Stages of Classical Optics Manufacturing.

The chemical composition of ground and polished fused silica glass surfaces plays a decisive role in different applications of optics. In particular, a high level of carbon impurities is often undesirable for further processing and especially for gluing or cementing where adhesion failure may be attributed to carbonic surface-adherent contaminants. In this study, the surface carbon content at different stages of classical optics manufacturing was thus investigated.

Structural Colors by Synergistic Birefringence and Surface Plasmon Resonance.

One-dimensional nanomaterials including cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and gold nanorods (GNRs) are widely used in optical materials due to their respective inherent features: birefringence with accompanying light retardation and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Herein, we successfully combine these properties of both nanorods to generate synergistic and readily tunable structural colors in hybrid composite polymer films. CNCs and GNRs are embedded either in the same or in separate films after unidirectional alignment in dynamic hydrogels.

In Situ Investigation of the Formation Kinematics of Plasma-Generated Silver Nanoparticles.

In this publication, it is shown how to synthesize silver nanoparticles from silver cations out of aqueous solutions by the use of an atmospheric pressure plasma source. The use of an atmospheric pressure plasma leads to a very fast reduction of silver ions in extensive solvent volumes. In order to investigate the nanoparticle synthesis process, ultraviolet/visible (UV/VIS) absorption spectra were recorded in situ.

Ideal radiation source for plasma spectroscopy generated by laser ablation.

Laboratory plasmas inherently exhibit temperature and density gradients leading to complex investigations. We show that plasmas generated by laser ablation can constitute a robust exception to this. Supported by emission features not observed with other sources, we achieve plasmas of various compositions which are both uniform and in local thermodynamic equilibrium.

Investigation of nonuniform surface properties of classically manufactured fused silica windows.

We report on investigations of the spatial variations of contamination, roughness, and index of refraction of classically manufactured polished fused silica surfaces. Therefore, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy was used to probe surface and subsurface impurities via the detection of aluminum. Measurements at different positions on the surface of the cylindrical fused silica windows evidenced an almost contamination-free center region, whereas a relatively large contamination area was found close to the edge.

Impact of assisting atmospheric pressure plasma on the formation of micro- and nanoparticles during picosecond-laser ablation of titanium.

In this work, we investigated the generation of particles during pure laser and plasma-assisted laser ablation of titanium. Experiments were performed using a NIR picosecond laser at a wavelength of 1030 nm and a pulse duration of 8 ps. For plasma-assisted ablation, an atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge plasma was applied where the process gas was argon.

Increase in nanosecond laser-induced damage threshold of sapphire windows by means of direct dielectric barrier discharge plasma treatment.

In this Letter we present a novel approach for increasing the nanosecond laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of sapphire windows. It is shown that after direct dielectric barrier discharge plasma treatment at atmospheric pressure for 90 s the LIDT is increased by a factor of 1.5 with respect to untreated samples.

Low-temperature atmospheric pressure argon plasma treatment and hybrid laser-plasma ablation of barite crown and heavy flint glass.

We report on atmospheric pressure argon plasma-based surface treatment and hybrid laser-plasma ablation of barite crown glass N-BaK4 and heavy flint glass SF5. By pure plasma treatment, a significant surface smoothing, as well as an increase in both the surface energy and the strength of the investigated glass surfaces, was achieved. It was shown that for both glasses, hybrid laser plasma ablation allows an increase in the ablation depth by a factor of 2.

Near-surface modification of optical properties of fused silica by low-temperature hydrogenous atmospheric pressure plasma.

In this Letter, we report on the near-surface modification of fused silica by applying a hydrogenous atmospheric pressure plasma jet at ambient temperature. A significant decrease in UV-transmission due to this plasma treatment was observed. By the use of secondary ion mass spectroscopy, the composition of the plasma-modified glass surface was investigated.

Efficient versatile-repetition-rate picosecond source for material processing applications.

We report on the development of an efficient and simple picosecond diode-pumped solid-state laser source with a versatile repetition rate (typically 1 Hz-1 MHz) for material processing applications. The laser source is based on a 4 MHz repetition rate mode-locked oscillator and a passive 3D multipass amplifier both based on Nd:YVO(4) crystals. Micromachining experiments were performed to study the influence of pulse energy on the machining quality for Al, Cu, paper, and glass.

Stable mode-locked operation of a low repetition rate diode-pumped Nd:GdVO4 laser by combining quadratic polarisation switching and a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror.

In this paper, we present the mode-locked operation of an ultra-robustly stabilised Nd:GdVO(4) laser with low repetition rate by combining quadratic polarisation switching and a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM). In addition, similar experiment was also done with Nd:YVO(4). For Nd:GdVO(4), 16-ps pulses at 1063 nm with a repetition rate of 3.