Collagen type-I leads to in vivo matrix mineralization and secondary stabilization of Mg-Zr-Ca alloy implants

Biodegradable magnesium-zirconia-calcium (Mg-Zr-Ca) alloy implants were coated with Collagen type-I (Coll-I) and assessed for their rate and efficacy of bone mineralization and implant stabilization. The phases, microstructure and mechanical properties of these alloys were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy and compression test, respectively, and the corrosion behavior was established by their hydrogen production rate in simulated body fluid (SBF). Coll-I extracted from rat tail, and characterized using fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, was used for dip-coating the Mg-based alloys. The coated alloys were implanted into the femur bones of male New Zealand white rabbits. In vivo bone formation around the implants was quantified by measuring the bone mineral content/density (BMC/BMD) using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Osseointegration of the implant and new bone mineralization was visualized by histological and immunohistochemical analysis. Upon surface coating with Coll-I, these alloys demonstrated high surface energy showing enhanced performance as an implant material that is suitable for rapid and efficient new bone tissue induction with optimal mineral content and cellular properties. The results demonstrate that Coll-I coated Mg-Zr-Ca alloys have a tendency to form superior trabecular bone structure with better osteoinduction around the implants and higher implant secondary stabilization, through the phenomenon of contact osteogenesis, compared to the control and uncoated ones in shorter periods of implantation. Hence, Coll-I surface coating of Mg-Zr-Ca alloys is a promising method for expediting new bone formation in vivo and enhancing osseointegration in load bearing implant applications.

The rise of the Anglican orthodox church in Solomon Islands

 This research examines an Anglican schism in Melanesia which led to the rise of a new church and argues that the new church was a response to the fundamental importance of territory. The result is a new social formation called the segmentary church society.

New voice, same story? Social entrepreneurship and active social capital formation

The development of the third sector in Australia has involved the negotiation of varying forms of state and market regulatory mechanisms. In the course of these settlements, ground-up initiatives have often found that authenticity is only the starting point on journeys that end in incorporation. Social entrepreneurship is an emerging set of ideas which attempts to hold on to the authentic and unique elements generated by grassroots actions. What are its chances of success? This article sets out to answer this question through a discussion of regulation and social capital. A four-fold model of social cap ita I formation is advanced which outlines 'defensive', 'consolidative', 'inclusive' and 'regulated' social capital. It is concluded that while social entrepreneurship has the potential to shift social capital formation from reactive to active forms, it is likely to become increasingly standardised and regulated.

Linshuichonetes gen. nov., a new rugosochonetid (Brachiopoda) genus from the Liangshan Formation (Early Permian) in Sichuan, China, and its ecology

A new genus and species, Linshuichonetes elfinis, belonging to the Rugosochonetidae, is described from the Early Permian (Late Artinskian or early Kungurian) Liangshan Formation of the Yangtze block. The new genus is defined externally by the presence of fine, but delayed, capillation and a weak or absent median sulcus and fold and by the presence of a distinct posteromedian sinus on the ventral umbo; and internally by a lack of median, lateral and accessory septa in the dorsal interior; absence of vascular trunks in the ventral interior and the presence of distinct radiating rows of papillae in the interior of both valves, particularly an unusual clustered arrangement of papillae on the posteromedian portion of the dorsal interior. The local environment during the deposition of the Liangshan Formation appears to have been a restricted tidal flat or lagoon which experienced frequent sealevel fluctuations associated with the onset of the Yanghsingian transgression. The new species, L. elfinis, appears to have several morphological adaptations enabling successful exploitation of this environment. It was typically a very small and thin-valved species with a high surface area to volume ratio, an advantage in an oxygen restricted environment. The small size and numerous body spinules would have aided individuals to remain suspended at the top of the fine, soft substrate. It also dominated the brachiopod assemblage in the Liangshan Formation, comprising up to 94%of specimens within a bed. These factors indicate that the new species appears to be an opportunistic species.

New insights in asymmetric tetraorganodistannoxane ladder formation. A NMR-spectroscopic and crystallographic study

The syntheses of the asymmetrically substituted tetraorganodistannoxanes [t-Bu₂(X)SnOSn(Y)(CH₂SiMe₃)₂1₂ (1, X = Y = OH; 2, X = Cl, Y = OH; 3, X = Y = Cl) are reported and their structures in solution and in the solid state are characterized by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy and single crystal X-ray analyses. In toluene, the tetrahydroxy-substituted derivative 1 is in equilibrium with the organotin oxides cyclo-[t-Bu₂Sn{OSn(CH₂SiMe₃)₂}₂O] (4), cyclo[(Me₃SiCH₂)₂Sn(OSnt-Bu₂)₂O] (5), and cyclo-(t-Bu₂SnO)₃, and some additional, undefined species containing pentacoordinated tin atoms. In contrast, the dihydroxydichloro-substituted derivative 2 is inert in solution.

The importance of particle size in porous titanium and nonporous counterparts for surface energy and its impact on apatite formation

The importance of particle size in titanium (Ti) fabricated by powder metallurgy for the surface energy and its impact on the apatite formation was investigated. Four sorts of Ti powders of different mean particle size were realized through 20 min, 2 h, 5 h and 8 h of ball milling, respectively. Each sort of Ti powder was used to fabricate porous Ti and its nonporous counterparts sharing similar surface morphology, grain size and chemical composition, and then alkali-heat treatment was conducted on them. Surface energy was measured on the surfaces of the nonporous Ti counterparts due to the difficulty in measuring the porous surfaces directly. The surface energy increase on the alkali-heat-treated porous and nonporous Ti was observed due to the decrease in the particle size of the Ti powders and the presence of Ti–OH groups brought by the alkali-heat treatment. The apatite-inducing ability of the alkali-heat-treated porous and nonporous Ti with different surface energy values was evaluated in modified simulated body fluid and results indicated that there was a strong correlation between the apatite-inducing ability and the surface energy. The alkali-heat-treated porous and nonporous Ti discs prepared from the powders with an average particle size of 5.89 ± 0.76 μm possessed the highest surface energy and the best apatite-inducing ability when compared to the samples produced from the powders with the average particle size varying from 19.79 ± 0.31 to 10.25 ± 0.39 μm.

New insights into the fundamental chemical nature of ionic liquid film formation on magnesium alloy surfaces

Ionic liquids (ILs) based on trihexyltetradecylphosphonium coupled with either diphenylphosphate or bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide have been shown to react with magnesium alloy surfaces, leading to the formation a surface film that can improve the corrosion resistance of the alloy. The morphology and microstructure of the magnesium surface seems critical in determining the nature of the interphase, with grain boundary phases and intermetallics within the grain, rich in zirconium and zinc, showing almost no interaction with the IL and thereby resulting in a heterogeneous surface film. This has been explained, on the basis of solid-state NMR evidence, as being due to the extremely low reactivity of the native oxide films on the intermetallics (ZrO₂ and ZnO) with the IL as compared with the magnesium-rich matrix where a magnesium hydroxide and/or carbonate inorganic surface is likely. Solid-state NMR characterization of the ZE41 alloy surface treated with the IL based on (Tf)₂N− indicates that this anion reacts to form a metal fluoride rich surface in addition to an organic component. The diphenylphosphate anion also seems to undergo an additional chemical process on the metal surface, indicating that film formation on the metal is not a simple chemical interaction between the components of the IL and the substrate but may involve electrochemical processes.

New material of coral fossils in Lower Devonian, Daerdong formation of Xainza, Tibet

The system described in the part of the coral fossils collected from Xainza area, northern Lower Devonian Dahl East group. Wrinkles coral genera and 5 species (including a new species Hunanaxonia xizangensis sp nov.) And two undetermined species; bedplate coral-shaped coral 4 4 species, including two new species the (Pachycanalicula sparcula sp nov. Paraheliolites zakangensis sp nov.) these coral fossil discovery will help to further understanding of the Early Devonian corals fauna symbiotic combination, evolution, and coral paleobiogeographic flora.

Evolution towards a new LSPR particle : Nano-sinusoid

This paper proposes a novel nano-sinusoid particle to be employed in enhanced localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) bio-sensing devices. Numerical investigations are carried out to demonstrate advantages offered by the proposed nano-particle on LSPR enhancement over other nano-particles including noble nano-triangles and nano-diamonds. Although nano-triangles exhibit high concentration of the electric field near their tips, when illuminated with a light polarized along the tip axis, they present only one hot spot at the vertex along the polarization direction. To create a structure with two hot spots, which is desired in bio-sensing applications, two nano-triangles can be put back-to-back. Therefore, a nano-diamond particle is obtained which exhibits two hot spots and presents higher enhancements than nano-triangles for the same resonant wavelength. The main drawback of the nano-diamonds is the fluctuation in their physical size-plasmon spectrum relationships, due to a high level of singularity as the result for their four sharp tip points. The proposed nano-sinusoid overcomes this disadvantage while maintaining the benefits of having two hot spots and high enhancements.

Lipase-catalysed incorporation of EPA into emu oil: formation and characterisation of new structured lipids

Partial hydrolysis of emu oil was performed using Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase to remove some shorter chain fatty acids. Then eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was incorporated into the modified emu oil using either Lipozyme RMIM or Lipozyme TLIM to produce new EPA enriched structured lipids. Using Isooctane as a reaction solvent increased the level of EPA incorporation, which was higher with RMIM than with TLIM. TLIM incorporated EPA almost exclusively into the sn-1,3 positions, whereas RMIM incorporated EPA at sn-1,3 and sn-2 positions in an almost statistical ratio. Both structured lipids were less oxidatively stable than emu oil.

A new reinforcement learning-based memetic particle swarm optimizer

Developing an effective memetic algorithm that integrates the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm and a local search method is a difficult task. The challenging issues include when the local search method should be called, the frequency of calling the local search method, as well as which particle should undergo the local search operations. Motivated by this challenge, we introduce a new Reinforcement Learning-based Memetic Particle Swarm Optimization (RLMPSO) model. Each particle is subject to five operations under the control of the Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithm, i.e. exploration, convergence, high-jump, low-jump, and fine-tuning. These operations are executed by the particle according to the action generated by the RL algorithm. The proposed RLMPSO model is evaluated using four uni-modal and multi-modal benchmark problems, six composite benchmark problems, five shifted and rotated benchmark problems, as well as two benchmark application problems. The experimental results show that RLMPSO is useful, and it outperforms a number of state-of-the-art PSO-based algorithms.