The Effect of Y Addition on Oxidation Resistance of Bulk W-Cr Alloys.

The self-passivating tungsten-based alloy W-11.4Cr-0.6Y (in wt.

Maximizing Potential Applications of MAX Phases: Sustainable Synthesis of Multielement TiAlC.

This study employs the molten-salt-shielded method to dope the TiAlC MAX phase with Nb and Mo, aiming to expand the intrinsic potential of the material. X-ray diffraction confirms the preservation of the hexagonal lattice structure of TiAlC, while Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analyses reveal the successful incorporation of dopants with subtle yet significant alterations in the vibrational modes and chemical environment. Scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy characterizations illustrate the characteristic layered morphology and uniform dopant distribution.

Nanoscale Surface and Bulk Electronic Properties of TiCT MXene Unraveled by Multimodal X-Ray Spectromicroscopy.

2D layered materials, such as transition metal carbides or nitrides, known as MXenes, offer an ideal platform to investigate charge transfer processes in confined environment, relevant for energy conversion and storage applications. Their rich surface chemistry plays an essential role in the pseudocapacitive behavior of MXenes. However, the local distribution of surface functional groups over single flakes and within few- or multilayered flakes remains unclear.

Revealing bactericidal events on graphene oxide nano films deposited on metal implant surfaces.

At the time when pathogens are developing robust resistance to antibiotics, the demand for implant surfaces with microbe-killing capabilities has significantly risen. To achieve this goal, profound understanding of the underlying mechanisms is crucial. Our study demonstrates that graphene oxide (GO) nano films deposited on stainless steel (SS316L) exhibit superior antibacterial features.

Porous Zirconia Scaffolds Functionalized with Calcium Phosphate Layers and PLGA Nanoparticles Loaded with Hydrophobic Gentamicin.

Implant-related infections are a worldwide issue that is considered very challenging. Conventional therapies commonly end up failing; thus, new solutions are being investigated to overcome this problem. The in situ delivery of the drug at the implant site appears to be more sufficient compared to systemic antibiotic therapy.

Surface Multifunctionalization of Inert Ceramic Implants by Calcium Phosphate Biomimetic Coating Doped with Nanoparticles Encapsulating Antibiotics.

Aseptic loosening and periprosthetic infections are complications that can occur at the interface between inert ceramic implants and natural body tissues. Therefore, the need for novel materials with antibacterial properties to prevent implant-related infection is evident. This study proposes multifunctionalizing the inert ceramic implant surface by biomimetic calcium phosphate (CaP) coating decorated with antibiotic-loaded nanoparticles for bioactivity enhancement and antibacterial effect.

Unveiling the main factors triggering the coagulation at the SiC-blood interface.

Hemocompatibility is the most significant criterion for blood-contacting materials in successful in vivo applications. Prior to the clinical tests, in vitro analyses must be performed on the biomaterial surfaces in accordance with the ISO 10993-4 standards. Designing a bio-functional material requires engineering the surface structure and chemistry, which significantly influence the blood cell activity according to earlier studies.

TiC MXene Membranes for Gas Separation: Influence of Heat Treatment Conditions on D-Spacing and Surface Functionalization.

Two-dimensional (2D) MXene materials have recently been the focus of membrane research due to their unique properties, such as their single-atomic-layer thickness, flexibility, molecular filtration abilities and microstructural similarities with graphene, which is currently the most efficient precursor material for gas separation applications. In addition, the potential to process nanoscale channels has motivated investigations of parameters which can improve membrane permeability and selectivity. Interlayer spacing and defects, which are still challenging to control, are among the most crucial parameters for membrane performance.

Solvent Co-Intercalation-Induced Activation and Capacity Fade Mechanism of Few-/Multi-Layered MXenes in Lithium Ion Batteries.

MXenes attract tremendous research efforts since their discovery in 2011 due to their unique physical and chemical properties, allowing for application in various fields. One of them is electrochemical energy storage due to their pseudocapacitive (=redox) behavior, high electronic conductivity, and charge storage versatility regarding the cationic species (e.g.

Injection Molding and Near-Complete Densification of Monolithic and AlO Fiber-Reinforced TiAlC MAX Phase Composites.

Near-net shape components composed of monolithic TiAlC and composites thereof, containing up to 20 vol.% AlO fibers, were fabricated by powder injection molding. Fibers were homogeneously dispersed and preferentially oriented, due to flow constriction and shear-induced velocity gradients.

Scalable Synthesis of MAX Phase Precursors toward Titanium-Based MXenes for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

MXenes have emerged as one of the most interesting material classes, owing to their outstanding physical and chemical properties enabling the application in vastly different fields such as electrochemical energy storage (EES). MXenes are commonly synthesized by the use of their parent phase, , MAX phases, where "M" corresponds to a transition metal, "A" to a group IV element, and "X" to carbon and/or nitrogen. As MXenes display characteristic pseudocapacitive behaviors in EES technologies, their use as a high-power material can be useful for many battery-like applications.

Solvent Co-intercalation into Few-layered TiCT MXenes in Lithium Ion Batteries Induced by Acidic or Basic Post-treatment.

MXenes, as an emerging class of 2D materials, display distinctive physical and chemical properties, which are highly suitable for high-power battery applications, such as lithium ion batteries (LIBs). TiCT (T = O, OH, F, Cl) is one of the most investigated MXenes to this day; however, most scientific research studies only focus on the design of multilayered or monolayer MXenes. Here, we present a comprehensive study on the synthesis of few-layered TiCT materials and their use in LIB cells, in particular for high-rate applications.

A neuroimaging comparative study of changes in a cellist's brain when playing contemporary and Baroque styles.

The emergence of different styles of Contemporary concert music in the 20th century led to a marked modification of the foundations built on previous styles. This work investigates whether these modifications, which include procedures and technical resources different to those used in the interpretation of previous musical styles, require different encephalic controls to those used in tonal music and if the experience of the musician in these styles influences them. Functional magnetic resonance images of encephalic regions from 13 professional cellists while interpreting Baroque and Contemporary excerpts inside an MRI scanner were acquired.

Interaction of single- and double-stranded DNA with multilayer MXene by fluorescence spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations.

The integration of nucleic acids with nanomaterials has attracted great attention from various research communities in search of new nanoscale tools for a range of applications, from electronics to biomedical uses. MXenes are a new class of multielement 2D materials baring exciting properties mostly directed to energy-related fields. These advanced materials are now beginning to enter the biomedical field given their biocompatibility, hydrophilicity and near-infrared absorption.

MXene Titanium Carbide-based Biosensor: Strong Dependence of Exfoliation Method on Performance.

Transition metal carbides, known as MXenes, are generated via the selective etching of "A" layers from their layered, ternary parent compounds, MAX phases, where M corresponds to early -transition metal, A being a main group -element from either Group 13 or 14 and carbon or nitrogen being denoted by X. MXenes are being recognized as a new and uprising class of 2D materials with extraordinary physical and electrochemical properties. The huge specific surface area and outstanding electrical conductivity of MXenes, make them ideal candidates for sensing and energy applications.

Bulk and grain boundary Li-diffusion in dense LiMnO pellets by means of isotope exchange and ToF-SIMS analysis.

Lithium diffusion in LiMnO pellets is studied by means of isotope exchange and Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). A Li-enriched film deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) on a dense LiMnO pellet with natural abundance of lithium isotopes is used to study the tracer diffusion of lithium. The measured profiles are analyzed by numerical models describing the Li tracer diffusion from the film into the pellet.

Molten salt shielded synthesis of oxidation prone materials in air.

To prevent spontaneous oxidation during the high-temperature synthesis of non-oxide ceramics, an inert atmosphere is conventionally required. This, however, results in high energy demand and high production costs. Here, we present a process for the synthesis and consolidation of oxidation-prone materials, the 'molten salt shielded synthesis/sintering' process (MS), which uses molten salts as a reaction medium and also to protect the ceramic powders from oxidation during high-temperature processing in air.

The blessing of Dimensionality: Feature Selection outperforms functional connectivity-based feature transformation to classify ADHD subjects from EEG patterns of phase synchronisation.

Functional connectivity (FC) characterizes brain activity from a multivariate set of N brain signals by means of an NxN matrix A, whose elements estimate the dependence within each possible pair of signals. Such matrix can be used as a feature vector for (un)supervised subject classification. Yet if N is large, A is highly dimensional.

The variability of EEG functional connectivity of young ADHD subjects in different resting states.

Objective: To assess ADHD from global measures of EEG functional connectivity and their temporal variability in different resting states.

Methods: EEGs from sixteen cortical regions were recorded at rest during eyes-closed (EC) and eyes-open (EO) in 10 male combined-type ADHD subjects and 12 healthy male controls. The mean global connectivity (CM) of each region and its temporal variability (CV) were estimated from a number of EEG segments recorded in both states.

Electroencephalography signatures of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: clinical utility.

The techniques and the most important results on the use of electroencephalography (EEG) to extract different measures are reviewed in this work, which can be clinically useful to study subjects with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). First, we discuss briefly and in simple terms the EEG analysis and processing techniques most used in the context of ADHD. We review techniques that both analyze individual EEG channels (univariate measures) and study the statistical interdependence between different EEG channels (multivariate measures), the so-called functional brain connectivity.

Improved compaction of ZnO nano-powder triggered by the presence of acetate and its effect on sintering.

The retention of nanocrystallinity in dense ceramic materials is still a challenge, even with the application of external pressure during sintering. The compaction behavior of high purity and acetate enriched zinc oxide (ZnO) nano-powders was investigated. It was found that acetate in combination with water plays a key role during the compaction into green bodies at moderate temperatures.

Performance analysis of univariate and multivariate EEG measurements in the diagnosis of ADHD.

Objective: To investigate the performance of univariate and multivariate EEG measurements in diagnosing ADHD subjects in a broad age range.

Methods: EEG from eight cortical regions were recorded at rest during eyes open and eyes closed in 22 male ADHD subjects of combined type and 21 healthy male controls (age range 4-15 years). Univariate and interdependence measurements calculated from the frequency domain and from the reconstructed state spaces of EEG signals were computed, and their performance in discriminating ADHD from healthy subjects was analyzed.

Assessment of electroencephalographic functional connectivity in term and preterm neonates.

Objective: To study how functional connectivity of neonate EEG during sleep is assessed by different interdependence indices and to analyze its dependence on conceptional (CA), gestational (GA) and/or chronological age (CRA).

Methods: EEG data from eight cortical regions were recorded during active (AS) and quiet sleep (QS) in three groups of seven neonates each: preterm (PT; GA: 33-34 weeks; CA: 39-40 weeks), junior-term (JT; GA: 38-39 weeks; CA: 39-40 weeks) and senior-term neonates (ST; GA: 38-39 weeks; CA: 44-45 weeks). EEG functional connectivity was assessed by means of the coherence function (its magnitude (MSC) and its imaginary part (IMC)) and a measure of phase synchronization called phase lag index (PLI).

Nonlinearity and fractality in the variability of cardiac period in the lizard, Gallotia galloti: effects of autonomic blockade.

Both nonlinear and fractal properties of beat-to-beat R-R interval variability signal (RRV) of freely moving lizards (Gallotia galloti) were studied in baseline and under autonomic nervous system blockade. Nonlinear techniques allowed us to study the complexity, chaotic behavior, nonlinearity, stationarity, and regularity over time of RRV. Scaling behavior of RRV was studied by means of fractal techniques.