Search Results (79,546)

Designing and standardizing drug formulations are crucial for ensuring the safety and efficacy of medications. Nanomedicine utilizes nano drug delivery systems and advanced nanodevices to address numerous critical medical challenges. Currently, oral and intranasal aerosol drug delivery (OIADD) is the primary method for treating respiratory diseases worldwide. With advancements in disease understanding and the development of aerosolized nano drug delivery systems, the application of OIADD has exceeded its traditional boundaries, demonstrating significant potential in the treatment of non-respiratory conditions as well. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the applications of oral and intranasal aerosol formulations in disease treatment. It examines the key challenges limiting the development of nanomedicines in drug delivery systems, formulation processes, and aerosol devices and explores the latest advancements in these areas. This review aims to offer valuable insights to researchers involved in the development of aerosol delivery platforms. Full article

Background and Objectives: The present study aims to assess and compare the accuracy of post-space impressions captured by three different intraoral scanners (IOS) using various canal diameters. Methods: Three extracted natural maxillary central incisors were selected and prepared for a 1 mm wide margin and a 3 mm ferrule. All steps required for the endodontic procedure were performed, and the post space was prepared using post drills. The post length was kept constant at 12 mm, whereas the width was varied (Group 1: 1.4 mm, Group 2: 1.6 mm, and Group 3: 1.8 mm). Three IOSs (Trios3, iTero2, and Medit i700) were used to acquire a digital impression of the prepared post space. Each tooth was scanned 10 times by each scanner. So, in the end, 90 digital images were recorded, and the STL files were stored. GC Pattern resin was used to fabricate resin post and core patterns, which were scanned using an extraoral scanner (EOS). The STL file obtained was used as the reference file. To evaluate the trueness of the tested IOSs, each three-dimensional scan from an IOS was superimposed on the reference scan with the help of the Medit Design software 2.1.4. The software generates color plots and gives numerical values as deviations in the Root mean square (RMS) for the variance between the two superimposed scans. The data collected was tabulated for statistical analysis. One Way ANOVA was used to test the significance difference between three different IOSs, followed by Bonferroni Post-hoc test pairwise test to identify the differences between every two different IOS. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: The mean deviation for trueness in post space impression values recorded by the Medit i700 was highest among groups 1, 2, and 3 [0.825 (±0.071), 0.673 (±0.042) and 0.516 (±0.039), respectively], followed by iTero2 [0.738 (±0.081), 0.569 (±0.043) and 0.470 (±0.037), respectively] and Trios3 [0.714 (±0.062), 0.530 (±0.040) and 0.418 (±0.024), respectively]. Significant differences were found between the groups for all three IOSs (Trios3: p-value < 0.0001; iTero2: p-value < 0.0001; Medit i700: p-value < 0.0001). Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, it can be concluded that Trios3 IOS has higher accuracy (as it exhibited minimal deviation for trueness) in recording post space, followed by iTero2 and Mediti700 IOS. As the diameter of the post space is increased, the accuracy of recording by IOS increases. For all the tested IOSs (except for Trios3 and iTero2, when used to record post space with 1.8 mm canal diameter), the deviations in trueness were higher than the clinically acceptable limits. Thus, IOSs should be used cautiously when recording impressions of post spaces. Full article

In this study, a sustainable cellulose-based flame-retardant additive was developed, characterized, and incorporated into polypropylene (PP). Microcrystalline cellulose (Cel) was chemically modified with P₂O₅ using the solvent-free ball-milling mechanochemistry approach at room temperature. This modification enabled phosphorus grafting onto cellulose, significantly enhancing the cellulose charring ability and improving the thermal stability of the char as revealed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The resulting product, Cel-P, containing 4.15 wt.% phosphorus, was incorporated and uniformly dispersed as a flame-retardant (FR) additive at 30 wt.% in PP through melt processing. The PP+30-Cel-P composite demonstrated improved char formation and FR properties, including reduction of both peak heat release rate (pHRR) and total heat release (THR) in mass loss cone calorimetry (MLC). Moreover, lower light absorptivity was obtained by smoke opacity tests as compared to PP filled with unmodified cellulose. Full article

Adaptive learning technologies are emerging educational tools that personalize instruction and tasks to meet students’ current ability levels. Despite their increasing prevalence, the present discourse on adaptive learning software focuses on the technical aspects of adaptive learning systems without accounting for other factors that impact their use in classrooms. In acknowledgment of the importance of teachers’ roles in the implementation of educational tools, this review examined studies about teachers’ perspectives on the use of adaptive learning technologies in their courses. A systematic search was conducted in four databases (ERIC, Academic Search Complete, Google Scholar, and Taylor Francis Online). Twenty-nine full-text articles were retained for analysis. A hybrid of deductive and inductive approaches was applied to analyze the data, using the factors described in the Technology Acceptance Model and its extensions as a guide. The findings showed that teachers who saw the long-term benefits of using adaptive learning technologies were more willing to invest time and effort to learn and use the tools in their classes. Barriers identified were the scant professional development opportunities for teachers, the programs’ complexities, and the demands on teachers’ time. To make adaptive learning programs work, teachers must be on board as co-designers and content creators, and they require ongoing technical and institutional support and sufficient preparation in teacher education programs. Full article

The article compares the properties of coatings (cataphoretic, hot-dip zinc, and thermo-diffusion zinc) applied to steel components used in the automotive industry. The research focused on the analysis of corrosion resistance, hardness measurements, and tribological properties conducted on steel guides used in trailer and truck body structures as well as fasteners (M12 × 40 bolts). The base surfaces were cleaned chemically. Corrosion resistance was tested in a salt chamber, while coating thickness was measured using the magnetic induction method. Coating hardness (HV 0.02) was assessed with a microhardness tester, and tribological properties were tested under dry friction conditions. The results showed that the zinc coatings demonstrated corrosion resistance far superior to paint coatings. Full article

HfO₂ thin films were prepared using radio frequency (RF) ion source-assisted deposition, and the effects of auxiliary ion energy on the microstructure, optical properties, and residual stress of the films were systematically studied. The experimental results showed that when the auxiliary ion energy increased, the extinction coefficient, compressive stress, and optical band gap were gradually increased. These changes were attributed to increased grain boundary defects, crystal structure disorder, and grain size decrease due to high-energy ion bombardment. The HfO₂ films deposited at a lower ion energy (600 V) exhibited higher surface quality (RMS = 0.78 nm), better optical properties (k = 10⁻⁵), and lower residual stress (1.26 GPa). Full article

A series of polyurethanes (PU-GT) were prepared using polyglycolide-block-polytetrahydrofuran-block-polyglycolide (PGA-PTHF-PGA), polytetrahydrofuran homopolymer (PTHF), glycerol, and hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) by a one-pot synthesis method. The non-isothermal crystallization and subsequent heating curves showed that the PTHF component in these polyurethanes could crystallize in a temperature range of −11.5~2.6 °C during the cooling process, and the melting temperatures of PTHF crystallites were in the range of 24.0~26.9 °C. The WAXD results implied that a small content of PGA could crystallize in the membranes of PU-GT polyurethanes. And compared with PU-GT-100, which did not contain the PGA-PTHF-PGA block polymer, other PU-GT polyurethanes showed excellent mechanical properties because of the existence of the PGA component. Moreover, these polyurethanes had temperature-responsive shape memory properties due to the PTHF crystallites. The temporary shape could be fixed at −20 °C and recovered to the permanent shape at 37 °C. We conducted two kinds of conceptual experiments using PU-GT-50 polyurethane, which showed its great potential for medical applications in vascular and wound repair. Full article

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are synthetic receptors designed to selectively bind specific molecules, mimicking natural antibody–antigen interactions. Produced through polymerization around a target molecule (template), MIPs create imprints that confer high specificity and binding affinity upon template removal. Initially developed in the 1970s with organic polymers, MIPs now play critical roles in separation sciences, catalysis, drug delivery, and sensor technology. In forensic science, MIPs offer potential for sample preparation, pre-concentration, and analyte detection, especially with complex biological and non-biological matrices. They exhibit superior stability under extreme conditions, enabling their use in challenging forensic contexts such as detecting new psychoactive substances or trace explosives. Despite advantages like reusability and high selectivity, MIPs face limitations in forensic analysis due to their complex synthesis, potential template leakage, and non-specific binding. Moreover, the lack of standardized protocols limits their mainstream adoption, as forensic applications require validated, reproducible methods. This review systematically assesses MIPs in forensic toxicology, focusing on their current capabilities, limitations, and potential for broader integration into forensic workflows. Future research should address standardization and evaluate MIPs’ effectiveness in diverse forensic applications to realize their full potential. Full article

Background: This study aims to perform a review by selecting, analyzing, and evaluating articles that discuss the accuracy of intraoral scanners (IOSs) in recording post space compared to conventional impression-making techniques. Methods: The review question framed using the PITR framework (participant, index test, targeted condition, and reference standard) is as follows: What is the dimensional accuracy (T) of impressions made using intraoral scanners (I) for post space (P) compared to impressions made using conventional techniques and digitalized using extraoral scanners (R)? Four electronic databases were searched using pre-set keywords. The guidelines and strategies recommended by PRISMA formed the basis for planning, executing, and documenting this systematic review. QUADAS-2 was used to critically analyze the quality of all the selected articles. Results: After excluding ineligible articles, the end synthesis has nine studies (n = 9) for qualitative analysis. All nine evaluated studies were found to be at risk of bias, with high or unclear risk in one or more domains. Three out of nine evaluated studies had unclear concerns regarding the applicability, and the remaining six had low concerns. In all the included studies, the IOSs were reported to have deviations in accuracy compared to the conventional techniques for making digital impressions of post space. Conclusions: The accuracy of IOSs was found to be inversely proportional to the length of post space and directly proportional to the diameter of post space. IOSs, when used adequately in short post spaces, can be an alternative to conventional impression-making for making custom posts and cores. Full article

With the depletion of fossil fuels, more and more green products are appearing in daily necessities. Bamboo is a common sustainable biomaterial with the characteristics of fast growth, easy bending, low cost, and easy processing, and it is widely used in furniture design. However, the poor aging resistance and UV resistance of natural bamboo materials limit their application in outdoor furniture. In order to improve the service life of outdoor bamboo furniture, this study prepared bamboo boards from bamboo powder and utilized them in the design of outdoor furniture. The research was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, functional modification was carried out on the surface of bamboo fibers (BF). Epoxy resin and UV absorber ZnO were introduced into the bamboo powder matrix, and a three-dimensional network structure of bamboo powder-based polymer material was formed by adjusting the material ratio and reaction conditions. With the increase of ZnO content, the absorption of moisture by the bamboo powder-based polymer materials decreased. The compressive strength of 1.5%ZnO-Board reached 36.8 MPa, exceeding the compressive strength of C30 concrete. In the second stage, 1.5% ZnO-Board was selected for solidification and demolding, and used as the seat surface for outdoor chairs. Through the car crushing experiment, the chair panel did not undergo significant deformation during the car crushing process. The anti-aging experiment showed that the structure and morphology of the panel would not be damaged by long-term UV irradiation. The panel did not show any weight changes in the anti-water-absorption experiment. By using low-contrast color combinations, the seats can be organically integrated into the environmental background, effectively enhancing the coordination and unity of the overall aesthetic harmony of the space. Compared with the commonly used plastic outdoor seats, the outdoor seats prepared in this study showed a 144% increase in carbon reduction effect. This study highlights the potential of modified bamboo powder for the design of outdoor furniture, which is of great significance to reducing outdoor plastic products and promoting sustainable life. Full article

The study began by pre-sintering Ga₂O₃ powder at 950 °C for 1 h, followed by the preparation of a mixture of Ga₂O₃ and 12 at% NiO powders to fabricate a source target material. An electron beam (e-beam) system was then used to deposit NiO-doped Ga₂O₃ thin films on Si substrates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses revealed that the pre-sintered Ga₂O₃ at 950 °C exhibited β-phase characteristics, and the deposited NiO-doped Ga₂O₃ thin films exhibited an amorphous phase. After the deposition of the NiO-doped Ga₂O₃ thin films, they were divided into two portions. One portion underwent various analyses directly, while the other was annealed at 500 °C in air before being analyzed. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) was utilized to process the surface observation, and the cross-sectional observation was primarily used to measure the thickness of the NiO-doped Ga₂O₃ thin films. UV-Vis spectroscopy was used to calculate the bandgap by analyzing the transmission spectra, while the Agilent B1500A was employed to measure the I-V characteristics. Hall measurements were also performed to assess the mobility, carrier concentration, and resistivity of both NiO-doped Ga₂O₃ thin films. The first innovation is that the 500 °C-annealed NiO-doped Ga₂O₃ thin films exhibited a larger bandgap and better electrical conductivity. The manuscript provides an explanation for the observed increase in the bandgap. Another important innovation is that the 500 °C-annealed NiO-doped Ga₂O₃ thin films revealed a high-energy bandgap of 4.402 eV. The third innovation is that X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses of the Ga_2p3/2, Ga_2p1/2, Ga_3d, Ni_2p3/2, and O_1s peaks were conducted to further investigate the reasons behind the enhanced electrical conductivity of the 500 °C-annealed NiO-doped Ga₂O₃ thin films. Full article

This work focuses on the preparation and application of silver nanoparticles/organophilic clay/polyethylene glycol for the catalytic reduction of the contaminants methylene blue (MB) and 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) in a simple and binary system. Algerian clay was subjected to a series of treatments including acid treatment, ion exchange with the surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HTABr), immobilization of polyethylene glycol polymer, and finally dispersion of AgNPs. The molecular weight of polyethylene glycol was varied (100, 200, and 4000) to study its effect on the stabilization of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and the catalytic activity of the resulting samples. The results showed that the catalyst with the highest molecular weight of polyethylene glycol had the highest AgNP content. Catalyst mass, NaBH₄ concentration, and type of catalyst were shown to have a significant influence on the conversion and rate constant. The material with the highest silver nanoparticle content was identified as the optimal catalyst for the reduction of both pollutants. The measured rate constants for the reduction of methylene blue (MB) and 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) were 164 × 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹ and 25 × 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹, respectively. The reduction of MB and 4-NP in the binary system showed high selectivity for MB dye, with rate constants of 64 × 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹ and 9 × 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹ for MB and 4-NP, respectively. The reuse of the best catalyst via MB dye reduction for four cycles showed good results without loss of performance. Full article

Sustainable education involves educating young people about the importance of varied physical activities and developing long-term skills for an active lifestyle. We choose basketball as a method for sustainable education because it is a sport with diverse technical procedures and tactical actions anda game that plays a significant role in cognitive functional development. This study aims to modernize physical education and sports education to meet current trends and needs. A modern approach to lessons can contribute to the mental and motor development of young people, forming individuals who value movement for health and physical well-being. Thus, integrating VR into physical education lessons (using the means of basketball) represents a paradigm shift in how students prepare and improve their motor function. The study focuses on non-specialized higher education, combining the cognitive benefits of sports with sustainable practices, as we found his to be a gap in our literature review. The experimental program used Raven’s Progressive Matrices, a cognitive ability test, to measure general intelligence. The data were collected on two groups of children (control and experimental, at the beginning of the experiment and after 39 lessons of 100 min each). The t Test results applied in SPSS showed a significant increase in average scores for Raven’s Progressive Matrices after performing the motor program using basketball-specific means, especially for the experimental group. In conclusion, basketball can be a valuable tool for improving cognitive abilities, along with academic and social stimulation, being the key to complete intellectual development. Full article

Vegetation concrete is one of the most widely used substrates in ecological slope protection, but its practical application often limits the growth and nutrient uptake of plant roots due to consolidation problems, which affects the effectiveness of slope protection. This paper proposed the use of a plant protein foaming agent as a porous modifier to create a porous, lightweight treatment for vegetation concrete. Physical performance tests, direct shear tests, plant growth tests, and scanning electron microscopy experiments were conducted to compare and analyze the physical, mechanical, microscopic characteristics, and phyto-capabilities of differently treated vegetation concrete. The results showed that the higher the foam content, the more significant the porous and lightweight properties of the vegetation concrete. When the foam volume was 50%, the porosity increased by 106.05% compared to the untreated sample, while the volume weight decreased by 20.53%. The shear strength, cohesion, and internal friction angle of vegetation concrete all showed a decreasing trend with increasing foaming agent content. Festuca arundinacea grew best under the 30% foaming agent treatment, with germinative energy, germinative percentage, plant height, root length, and underground biomass increasing by 6.31%, 13.22%, 8.57%, 18.71%, and 34.62%, respectively, compared to the untreated sample. The scanning electron microscope observation showed that the pore structure of vegetation concrete was optimized after foam incorporation. Adding plant protein foaming agents to modify the pore structure of vegetation concrete is appropriate, with an optimal foam volume ratio of 20–30%. This study provides new insights and references for slope ecological restoration engineering. Full article

Cryptomeria japonica is a commercially important tree native to Japan. The tree belongs to the ancient genus Cryptomeria and has found important uses as a medicinal plant, as well as a main source of timber in Japan. In recent years, there has been an increased interest in discovering extended uses of C. japonica as a source of novel bioactive natural products with potential applications as lead compounds for active principles of future drugs. The compounds were isolated by a combination of two-phase extraction, XAD-7 Amberlite column chromatography, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography and preparative High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The structures were determined by a combination of several 1D and 2D Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) experiments and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Here, we report on the isolation and characterization of the novel biflavone glucoside hinokiflavone 7″-O-β-glucopyranoside, in addition to sixteen known compounds including the flavonols quercetin, quercetin 3-O-α-rhamnopyranoside and quercetin 3-O-β-galactopyranoside, the dihydroflavonols taxifolin 3-O-β-glucopyranoside, taxifolin 7-O-β-glucopyranoside, the flavanones naringenin, naringenin 7-O-β-galactopyranoside and eriodictyol 4′-O-β-glucopyranoside, the flavanol catechin, the biflavonoid amentoflavone, the dihydrochalcone phloretin 2′-O-β-glucopyranoside, the sesquiterpenoid roseoside, the polyphenolic compounds chlorogenic acid, methyl chlorogenate and the flavanocoumarins catechin-(7,8)-7″-(3,4 dihydroxyphenyl)-dihydro-8″(3H)-pyranone, and mururin A. The compounds exhibited low-to-moderate cytotoxic activity against MOLM-13 leukemia cells. Full article