Advances in Polymeric Neutron Shielding: The Role of Benzoxazine-h-BN Nanocomposites in Nuclear Protection.

Given their substantial neutron capture cross-section, extreme hardness, and high chemical and thermal stability, boron-based materials are widely used as building blocks to protect against highly ionizing radiations such as gamma rays and neutrons. Indeed, uncontrolled nuclear radiation exposure can be highly hazardous to radiation workers and the public. In this sense, this work presents an extensive study and experimental evaluation of the nuclear shielding features of hexagonal-boron nitride (h-BN) based nanocomposite, where bisphenol-A based polybenzoxazine (BA-PBz) was used as matrix.

Gemella massiliensis sp. nov., a new bacterium isolated from the human sputum.

Thanks to its ability to isolate previously uncultured bacterial species, culturomics has dynamized the study of the human microbiota. A new bacterial species, Gemella massiliensis Marseille-P3249, was isolated from a sputum sample of a healthy French man. Strain Marseille-P3249 is a facultative anaerobe, catalase-negative, Gram positive, coccus, and unable to sporulate.

Pulsed electrodeposition of Ag doped prosthetic Fluorohydroxyapatite coatings on stainless steel substrates.

In order to reinforce the antibacterial character of fluorohydroxyapatite (FHA) prosthetic layers on 316L stainless steel (316L SS), Ag ions (an antibacterial agent) are included in the electrodeposition medium to be incorporated in the FHA layers created by pulsed protocol. The doped coatings (Ag-FHA) with different concentrations of silver ions (5, 10, 20, 40 and 100 ppm) were characterized electrochemically (polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) in simulated body fluid (SBF) solution and microbiologically against two pathogenic bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli). XPS, EDX and Raman spectroscopies were used to complement these evaluations.

Polypyrrole-Wrapped Carbon Nanotube Composite Films Coated on Diazonium-Modified Flexible ITO Sheets for the Electroanalysis of Heavy Metal Ions.

Highly sensitive multicomponent materials designed for the recognition of hazardous compounds request control over interfacial chemistry. The latter is a key parameter in the construction of the sensing (macro) molecular architectures. In this work, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were deposited on diazonium-modified, flexible indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes prior to the electropolymerization of pyrrole.