[en] Iron incorporated into food can induce precipitation and unwanted interaction with other components in food. Iron-binding proteins represent a possibility to avoid these problems and other side effects, as the iron is protected. However, there are several technical problems associated with protein–iron complex formation. In this paper, the iron-binding phosphorylated human-like collagen (Fe-G6P-HLC) was prepared under physiological conditions through phosphorylated modification. One molecule of Fe-G6P-HLC possesses about 24 atoms of Fe. Spectroscopy analysis, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and equilibrium dialysis techniques were employed to investigate the characteristics of the Fe-G6P-HLC. The binding sites (n_b) and apparent association constant (K_app) between iron and phosphorylated HLC were measured at n_b = 23.7 and log K_app = 4.57, respectively. The amount of iron (Fe²⁺ sulfate) binding to phosphorylated HLC was found to be a function of pH and phosphate content. In addition, the solubility and thermal stability of HLC were not significantly affected. The results should facilitate the utilization of HLC as a bioactive iron supplement in the food and medical industry and provide an important theoretical evidence for the application of HLC chelates. - Highlights: • The iron-binding phosphorylated human-like collagen (Fe-G6P-HLC) was prepared. • One molecule of Fe-G6P-HLC possesses about 24 atoms of Fe. • The binding properties could be modulated through alterations in pH and phosphate content presented in HLC. • A novel strategy for preparing iron-binding proteins was provided

[en] The effect slag powder on strength development of alkali-activated recycled cement paste was investigated. The results show that alkali-activated recycled cement paste has low cementing strengths, which depend on the types of the original cement. The alkali-activated recycled cement pastes prepared from the recycled cement pastes with the original cement of fly ash cement (PF) resulted the highest strengths, followed by that from slag cement, and that from the ordinary Portland cement resulted the lowest strengths. Replacing recycled cement pastes partly by slag powder can greatly increase the strengths of alkali-activated recycled cement pastes. The 90 day flexural and compressive of alkali-activated recycled PF replaced by 30% slag powder were 6.7MPa and 51.9 MPa. Scanning electron microscopy(SEM) indicated that the microstructure of the alkali-activated recycled cement paste with 30% replacement by slag powder is much denser than that without replacement. (paper)

[en] Injectable hydrogel plays an important role in soft tissue filling and repair. We report an injectable hydrogel based on hyaluronic acid (HA) and human-like collagen (HLC), both with favorable biocompatibility and biodegradability. These two types of biomacromolecules were crosslinked with 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether to form a three-dimensional network. The redundant crosslinker was removed by dialysis and distillation. An HA-based hydrogel prepared by the same method was used as a control. The cytocompatibility was studied with a Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) test. Carbazole colorimetry was used to analyze the in vitro degradation rate. The histocompatibility was evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) staining analysis and immunohistochemical analysis. The CCK-8 assay demonstrated that the HA/HLC hydrogel was less cytotoxic than the HA-based hydrogel and could promote baby hamster kidney cell (BHK) proliferation. The cell adhesion indicated that BHK could grow well on the surface of the materials and maintain good cell viability. The in vitro degradation test showed that the HA/HLC hydrogel had a longer degradation time and an excellent antienzyme ability. In vivo injection showed that there was little inflammatory response to HA/HLC after 1, 2, and 4 weeks. Therefore, the HA/HLC hydrogel is a promising biomaterial for soft tissue filling and repair. - Highlights: • Human-like collagen was used with hyaluronic acid to prepare soft tissue filling meterials. • 1,4-Butanediol diglycidyl ether (BDDE) was introduced to treat the hydrogels. • The addition of human-like collagen could improve the biological properties of hydrogels

[en] Measurements of x-ray diffraction pattern and Moessbauer spectra show that β-FeSi₂ is produced in an Fe₃₀Si₇₀ powder sample by low energy ball milling, and its proportion increases step by step as the milling time increases until the milling time reaches 60 h; after that this solid reaction reaches saturation. Within the final products, there is over 90% β-FeSi₂ and a little Fe and Si remnants. The remnant Fe exists in two forms: one is powder and the second is enveloped by β-FeSi₂. When using hydrochloric acid to treat the as-milled sample, the first form of Fe is removed but the second form of Fe still remains. When the sample is annealed at 600 deg. C, the proportion of β-FeSi₂ is close to 99% in the final products. (author)

[en] Highlights: • Tween80 was firstly treated as porogen in the hydrogel dressings composed of poly(vinyl alcohol), human-like collagen and alginate sodium. • The hydrogel dressings hold excellent hemostasis activity with the shortest hemostasis time of 17.33 s. • These hydrogel dressings hold excellent anti-protein property which could be moved from the wound without causing pain. -- Abstract: Wound recovery is a complex process which is influenced by many factors. Therefore, dressings with multi-functions can greatly promote wound healing. In this study, a series of multifunctional PVA/HLC/SA composite hydrogels with air permeability, anti-protein absorption, bacterial barrier property and hemostasis activity were synthesized in the prospect of producing wound dressings by repeated freeze-thawing of poly (vinyl alcohol), Human-like collagen (HLC) and sodium alginate (SA) with Tween80 added as porogen. Infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) clarified its homogeneous porous and interconnected internal structures. In addition, the hydrogels were characterized statistically and in vivo full-thickness defects in rabbit was done to verify their effect on wound healing. Two of the hydrogels (gel 2 and gel 3) showed excellent water vapor transmission rate (2420.97 and 2798.09 g·cm⁻²·d⁻¹)their swelling ratio were 1427.44 and 2308.24% respectively, worked together with hemostasis property (hemostasis time of gel 2 and gel 3 were 30.55 and 17.33 s respectively), anti-protein absorption and bacterial barrier activity, greatly promoted the full-thickness wound healing in rabbit, wounds of the hydrogel dressing groups took only 10 days to heal, while the control groups need 13–15 days. In a whole, the results facilitate the use of provided hydrogel dressings as ideal wound dressings.

[en] Skin defects are an important and pressing clinical problem. The use of hydrogels as a regenerative scaffold presents a promising approach to cure skin defects by inducing dermal reconstruction. Although synthetic material hydrogels display good mechanical properties, their poor biocompatibility restricts their application. To develop a good dermal substitute, we have successfully prepared hydrogels that mimic the extracellular matrix of the human body and can be used for tissue engineering skin scaffolds. The hydrogels were synthesized by adding hyaluronic acid (HA) and carboxylated chitosan (CCS) to human-like collagen (HLC) that can be used to tissue engineering skin scaffolds and using transglutaminase as a crosslinking agent. The mechanical characteristics of the hydrogels were explored by cyclic compressive mechanical tests and a uniaxial tension protocol. The compressive stress of HLC/HA/CCS (GEL4) hydrogel reached 0.2136 ± 0.034 MPa when the compressive strain reached 60%. The tensile strain of GEL4 was 126.99 ± 2.38%. The hydrogels significantly promoted adhesion, proliferation and migration of L929 cells, demonstrating the good biocompatibility of the hydrogels. For in vivo analysis, we constructed a full-thickness skin defect model and demonstrated that the hydrogels could effectively prevent invasion of the wound by outside bacteria and certificate that they are beneficial in promoting wound healing over pathologic healing. Subcutaneous implantation experiments revealed that the degradation period of the hydrogels with HA and CCS is suitable for the healing cycle of skin tissue, and the inflammatory reaction could be reduced to a very short time, indicating the good histocompatibility of the hydrogels. Therefore, the hydrogels are favourable, soft and porous materials that demonstrate good potential for skin repair, drug delivery, cartilage treatment and other tissue engineering applications.

[en] Highlights: • Ginsenoside Rh4 can promote the apoptosis of the MCF-7 cells via the external apoptotic pathway activation to inhibit the growth of it in vitro. • Ginsenoside Rh4 suppressed tumor growth by altering the proliferation and morphology of MCF-7 tumor cells in vivo. Breast cancer is a tremendous threat to humans in many countries, and thus we need to find safe and effective drugs for treatment. Ginsenoside Rh4 has been reported to be present in processed ginseng. However, few studies have focused on its anti-tumor activity. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effects of ginsenoside Rh4 on MCF-7 breast cancer cells and the pathways that promote apoptosis in vitro. To study the effect of ginsenoside Rh4 in vivo, xenograft models were randomly divided into 3 groups (the control group, 10 mg/kg/d Rh4, 20 mg/kg/d Rh4, n = 10 per group), the ginsenoside Rh4 injection method was i.p. The results showed that ginsenoside Rh4 effectively inhibited proliferation, arrested the cell cycle in S phase and induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells by flow cytometry. Morphological changes caused by ginsenoside Rh4-induced apoptosis were also observed by Hoechst 33342 staining. Western-blot analyses indicated that the apoptosis-inducing effects of ginsenoside Rh4 were associated with the external pathway by decreasing Bcl-2, increasing Bax, and activating caspase-8, -3 and PARP. Moreover, ginsenoside Rh4 significantly inhibited the growth of MCF-7 tumor cells in vivo. These results suggested that ginsenoside Rh4 could be a potentially effective anti-tumor drug for breast cancer.

[en] Quasi-2D hybrid halide perovskites have drawn considerable attention due to their improved stability and facile tunability compared to 3D perovskites. The expansiveness of possibilities has thus far been limited by the difficulty in incorporating large ligands into thin-film devices. Here, a bulky bi-thiophene 2T ligand is focused on to develop a solvent system around creating strongly vertically-aligned (2T)${}_2$(MA)${}_6$Pb${}_7$I${}_{22}$ (n = 7) quasi-2D perovskite films. By starting with a poorly coordinating solvent (gamma-butyrolactone) and adding a small amount of dimethylsulfoxide and methanol, it is found that vertical orientation and z-uniformity is greatly improved. These are carefully examined and verified using grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering analysis and advanced optical characterizations. These films are incorporated into champion solar cells that achieve a power conversion efficiency of 13.3%, with a short-circuit current density of 18.9 mA cm${}^{-<!--\; ???\; -->2}$, an open-circuit voltage of 0.96 V, and a fill factor of 73.8%. Furthermore, the quasi-2D absorbing layers show excellent stability in moisture, remaining unchanged after hundreds of hours. In addition, 2T is compared with the more common ligands butylammonium and phenylethylammonium in this solvent system to develop heuristics and deeper understanding of how to incorporate large ligands into stable photovoltaic devices. (© 2022 The Authors. Advanced Energy Materials published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH)

[en] Ptychography is a high-resolution imaging technique, which does not require lenses for image magnification and which provides phase contrast with high sensitivity. Here, we propose to use x-ray ptychography for the imaging of surface structure in crystalline samples. We show that ptychography can be used to image atomic step structures using coherent diffraction patterns recorded along the crystal truncation rod of a crystal surface. In a proof-of-concept experiment on a Pt (111) sample, we present ptychographic reconstructions showing features consistent with surface steps. Due to the penetration power of x-rays, this method could find interesting applications for the study of surface structures under buried interfaces or in harsh environments

[en] Highlights: • C-(A-)S-H samples under stress were characterized at the bond and grain level. • Small angle scattering showed that 720 MPa reduced grain thickness by 30%. • In-situ Raman showed that cross-linked C-A-S-H slips along its intralayer. • However, in-situ Raman showed that C-S-H slips along the interlayer. • In-situ Raman also showed a growth in CaCO₃, indicating fracture in both samples. Creep of the cement matrix affects the structural stability of concrete. In Portland cements, the creep is largely controlled by the binding phase calcium-(aluminum-)silicate-hydrate, or C-(A-)S-H. This phase has a lamellar structure and under deviatoric stress aligns its c-axis with the principal stress. However, the limiting resistance to this reorientation is unknown at the nanocrystalline level. Small-angle X-ray scattering shows that the lamellae thickness decreases under 100's MPa deviatoric stress. Deviatoric stress Raman spectroscopy shows that there are two ways that this break-up can occur. If the material's silicate chains are cross-linked, then strain in SiO bonds does not increase above certain stresses, indicating a relaxation adjacent to the SiO bond. If the chains are not cross-linked, then the silicate chains are broken up by rastering against each other, introducing defects. These results show that the plastic deformation of C-(A-)S-H is relevant for Portland cement creep.