Additive manufacturing of carbide materials has received significant attention in the past years due to the ability to fabricate complex structures over different length scales. However, the typical limitations for powder-laden inks, such as nozzle clogging, rheological and geometric constraints, particle sedimentation, light-scattering and absorbing phenomena, narrow the range of available processes to manufacture carbide materials via conventional particle-based systems. To address these shortcomings, we have developed a one-pot synthetic route for the preparation of sol-gel-based UV-photocurable formulations, aiming at the fabrication of titanium carbide/carbon nanocomposites using digital light processing printing, pointing to potential applications in the field of nuclear physics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSphene is an innovative bone graft material. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the physicochemical and biological properties of Bio-Oss® (BO) and in-lab synthesized and processed sphene granules. BO granules of 1000-2000 μm (BO-L), 250-1000 μm (BO-S) and 100-200 μm (BO-p) for derived granules, and corresponding groups of sphene granules obtained from 3D printed blocks (SB-L, SB-S, SB-p) and foams (SF-L, SF-S and SF-p) were investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThermal neutron detection is a key subject for nuclear physics research and also in a wide variety of applications from homeland security to nuclear medicine. In this work, it is proposed a novel flexible and conformable composite thermal neutron scintillator based on a fully enriched Lithium Tetraborate preparation ([Formula: see text]Li[Formula: see text]B[Formula: see text]O[Formula: see text]) combined with a phosphorescent inorganic scintillator powder (ZnS:Ag), and is then distributed into a polydimethylsiloxane matrix. The proposed scintillator shows a good neutron detection efficiency (max.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThorium carbide to be tested as target material for the production of Ac with the ISOL method, was produced via carbothermal reduction of ThO nanoparticles by graphite and graphene oxide, respectively. The use of graphene oxide (GO) as carbon source resulted in a reduced reactivity compared to graphite, confirmed by the presence of unreacted ThO mainly in the core of the samples. The reacted ThO or ThC-GO showed a faster reactivity in air, mainly observed as ThC amorphization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuring the phase of proliferation needed for hematopoietic reconstitution following transplantation, hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPC) must express genes involved in stem cell self-renewal. We investigated the expression of genes relevant for self-renewal and expansion of HSPC (operationally defined as CD34+ cells) in steady state and after transplantation. Specifically, we evaluated the expression of ninety-one genes that were analyzed by real-time PCR in CD34+ cells isolated from (i) 12 samples from umbilical cord blood (UCB); (ii) 15 samples from bone marrow healthy donors; (iii) 13 samples from bone marrow after umbilical cord blood transplant (UCBT); and (iv) 29 samples from patients after transplantation with adult hematopoietic cells.
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