Enhancing the stability of soil contaminated with fluoride through the utilization of pristine and aluminium-impregnated biochar: a comprehensive mechanistic approach.

The effect of trivalent metal-modified biochar on the stability and mitigation of fluoride ions (F) in contaminated soils remains largely unexplored, despite biochar's extensive application in F-contaminated soil. The mineral metal-modified biochar has the potential to serve as an efficient solution for soil contaminated with F. In this study, pristine-pinecone biochar (P-BC) and AlCl-modified pinecone biochar (A-BC) were synthesized and then utilized to remediate the soil that had been contaminated with F.

A mechanistic approach to arsenic adsorption and immobilization in aqueous solution, groundwater, and contaminated paddy soil using pine-cone magnetic biochar.

Arsenic (As) poisoning in groundwater and rice paddy soil has increased globally, impacting human health and food security. There is an urgent need to deal with As-contaminated groundwater and soil. Biochar can be a useful remedy for toxic contaminants.

Multilevel Self-Assembly of Block Copolymers and Polymer Colloids for a Transparent and Sensitive Gas Sensor Platform.

The recent emerging significance of the Internet of Things (IoT) demands sensor devices to be integrated with many different functional structures and devices while conserving their original functionalities. To this end, optical transparency and mechanical flexibility of sensor devices are critical requirements for optimal integration as well as high sensitivity. In this work, a transparent, flexible, and sensitive gas sensor building platform is introduced by using multilevel self-assembly of block copolymers (BCPs) and polystyrene (PS) colloids.

Large-Area Uniform 1-nm-Level Amorphous Carbon Layers from 3D Conformal Polymer Brushes. A "Next-Generation" Cu Diffusion Barrier?

A reliable method for preparing a conformal amorphous carbon (a-C) layer with a thickness of 1-nm-level, is tested as a possible Cu diffusion barrier layer for next-generation ultrahigh-density semiconductor device miniaturization. A polystyrene brush of uniform thickness is grafted onto 4-inch SiO /Si wafer substrates with "self-limiting" chemistry favoring such a uniform layer. UV crosslinking and subsequent carbonization transforms this polymer film into an ultrathin a-C layer without pinholes or hillocks.

Opportunities and Barriers to Rural Telerobotic Surgical Health Care in 2021: Report and Research Agenda from a Stakeholder Workshop.

There are well-recognized challenges to delivering specialty health care in rural settings. These challenges are particularly evident for specialized surgical health care due to the lack of trained operators in rural communities. Telerobotic surgery could have a significant impact on the rural-urban health care gap, but thus far, the promise of this method of health care delivery has gone unrealized.

Radiolabeling and preliminary biodistribution study of Tc-labeled antibody-mimetic scaffold protein repebody for initial clearance properties.

Antibody-mimetic proteins are intensively being developed for biomedical applications including tumor imaging and therapy. Among them, repebody is a new class of protein that consists of highly diverse leucine-rich repeat (LRR) modules. Although all possible biomedical applications with repebody are ongoing, it's in vivo biodistribution and excretion pathway has not yet been explored.

Modality-specific spectral dynamics in response to visual and tactile sequential shape information processing tasks: An MEG study using multivariate pattern classification analysis.

Brain regions that respond to more than one sensory modality are characterized as multisensory regions. Studies on the processing of shape or object information have revealed recruitment of the lateral occipital cortex, posterior parietal cortex, and other regions regardless of input sensory modalities. However, it remains unknown whether such regions show similar (modality-invariant) or different (modality-specific) neural oscillatory dynamics, as recorded using magnetoencephalography (MEG), in response to identical shape information processing tasks delivered to different sensory modalities.

The Role of Layer-Controlled Graphene for Tunable Microwave Heating and Its Applications to the Synthesis of Inorganic Thin Films.

In this paper, we present the first method for precisely controlling the heat generated by microwave heating by tuning the number of graphene layers grown by chemical vapor deposition. The conductivity of the graphene increases linearly with the number of graphene layers, indicating that Joule heating plays a primary role in the temperature control of the graphene layer. In this method, we successfully synthesize TiO2 and MoS2 thin films, which do not interact well with microwaves, on a layer-controlled graphene substrate for a very short time (3 min) through microwave heating.

Complete magnesiothermic reduction reaction of vertically aligned mesoporous silica channels to form pure silicon nanoparticles.

Owing to its simplicity and low temperature conditions, magnesiothermic reduction of silica is one of the most powerful methods for producing silicon nanostructures. However, incomplete reduction takes place in this process leaving unconverted silica under the silicon layer. This phenomenon limits the use of this method for the rational design of silicon structures.

Sensory modality-specific spatio-temporal dynamics in response to counting tasks.

From perception to behavior, the human brain processes information in a flexible and abstract manner independent of an input sensory modality. However, the mechanism of such multisensory neural information processing in the brain remains under debate. Relatedly, studies often aim to investigate whether certain brain regions behave in a modality-specific manner or invariantly.

High quality reduced graphene oxide through repairing with multi-layered graphene ball nanostructures.

We present a simple and up-scalable method to produce highly repaired graphene oxide with a large surface area, by introducing spherical multi-layered graphene balls with empty interiors. These graphene balls are prepared via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of Ni particles on the surface of the graphene oxides (GO). Transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy results reveal that defects in the GO surfaces are well repaired during the CVD process, with the help of nickel nanoparticles attached to the functional groups of the GO surface, further resulting in a high electrical conductivity of 18,620 S/m.

Novel structure formation at the bottom surface of porous anodic alumina fabricated by single step anodization process.

A simple approach for the growth of long-range highly ordered nanoporous anodic alumina film in H(2)SO(4) electrolyte through a single step anodization without any additional pre-anodizing procedure is reported. Free-standing porous anodic alumina film of 180 microm thickness with through hole morphology was obtained. A simple and single step process was used for the detachment of alumina from aluminum substrate.

The wave phenomena in smooth muscle syncytia.

Based on the concept of a functional unit, a mathematical model of a segment of the gut is developed. The model comprises real anatomical, histomorphological, physiological, and pharmacological information on the function of the organ. Numerical investigation into the dynamics of the electromechanical wave phenomenon reveals the fundamental principles of wave initiation, formation, and propagation along electrically anisotropic longitudinal and isotropic circular smooth muscle syncytia.