Extraction Of Materials Research Articles

Self-optimization wavelet-learning method for predicting nonlinear thermal conductivity of highly heterogeneous materials with randomly hierarchical configurations

In the present work, we propose a self-optimization wavelet-learning method (SO-W-LM) with high accuracy and efficiency to compute the equivalent nonlinear thermal conductivity of highly heterogeneous materials with randomly hierarchical configurations. The randomly structural heterogeneity, temperature-dependent nonlinearity and material property uncertainty of heterogeneous materials are considered within the proposed self-optimization wavelet-learning framework. Firstly, meso- and micro-structural modeling of random heterogeneous materials are achieved by the proposed computer representation method, whose simulated hierarchical configurations have relatively high volume ratio of material inclusions. Moreover, temperature-dependent nonlinearity and material property uncertainties of random heterogeneous materials are modeled by a polynomial nonlinear model and Weibull probabilistic model, which can closely resemble actual material properties of heterogeneous materials. Secondly, an innovative stochastic three-scale homogenized method (STSHM) is developed to compute the macroscopic nonlinear thermal conductivity of random heterogeneous materials. Background meshing and filling techniques are devised to extract geometry and material features of random heterogeneous materials for establishing material databases. Thirdly, high-dimensional and highly nonlinear material features of material databases are preprocessed and reduced by wavelet decomposition technique. The neural networks are further employed to excavate the predictive models from dimension-reduced low-dimensional data. At the same time, advanced intelligent optimization algorithms are utilized to self-search the optimal network structure and learning rate for obtaining the optimal predictive models. Finally, the computational accuracy and efficiency of the presented approach are validated via various numerical experiments on realistic random composites.

Greener production of a starch-based nanohybrid material (core-shell) for the simultaneous extraction of persistent organic pollutants in shrimp samples

Here, a novel nanohybrid material (Ag@CD@ANS) based on oat starch was produced, characterized, and applied to extract persistent organic pollutants in a shrimp sample. By the characterization experiments, Ag@CD@ANS was successfully synthesized. The functionalization of the material by 1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulphonic acid (ANS) was confirmed using the infrared technique and CHN elemental analysis. The isotherm study showed that the material has a high adsorption capacity for the pesticides of interest (flutriafol, atrazine, heptachlor, DDT and bifenthrin) allowing their extraction from shrimp samples. The optimal condition for extraction was obtained using multivariate analysis. The nature of the elution solvent (hexane, methanol, acetonitrile) and the mass ratio between sample:adsorbent (1:1; 1:5 and 1:10) were the evaluated factors for extraction using Ag@CD@ANS and commercial adsorbents (neutral alumina, octadecyl, silica gel). From the multivariate analysis, it was observed that the optimal condition for pesticide extraction using Ag@CD@ANS was reached, using a 1:5 ratio (sample:adsorbent) and acetonitrile (10 mL) as elution solvent. For the commercial adsorbents, the optimal condition for pesticide extraction was reached, using a 1:3 ratio (sample:adsorbent), acetonitrile (10 mL) and neutral alumina as commercial adsorbent. Ag@CD@ANS efficiency was compared with an optimal commercial adsorbent (neutral alumina). No significant difference (p < 0.05) between neutral alumina and Ag@CD@ANS was observed. Recoveries ranging from 75 to 105 % with coefficients of variation ≤ 15 % (n = 3) were obtained using neutral alumina while using Ag@CD@ANS, recoveries ranging from 73 to 102 %, with coefficient of variation ≤ 13 % (n = 3) were obtained for the target pesticides. Limits of detection ranging from 0.5 to 1.0 µg Kg−1 and limits of quantification ranging from 1.6 to 3.3 µg Kg−1 were reached. The results demonstrated that Ag@CD@ANS can alternatively be used as a support for the extraction of persistent organic pollutants, having the advantage of being reusable for up to three cycles.

Development of hydroxypropyl cellulose and graphene oxide modified molecularly imprinted polymers for separation and enrichment of podophyllotoxin

A novel hydroxylpropyl cellulose (HPC) modified graphene oxide (GO)-based molecularly imprinted polymers (HPC-GO-MIP) have been developed as a solid phase extraction (SPE) material for the selective separation and extraction of podophyllotoxin. In this strategy, the cellulose with rich hydroxyl groups was introduced to form bi-functional monomers with methacrylic acid to provide more recognition sites for the improving of extraction efficiency, then GO was added as a two-dimensional substrate for MIP to improve the material morphology and surface area. The extraction performances of obtained HPC-GO-MIP material were tested, and the results prove its high efficiency and selectivity for podophyllotoxin extraction. The saturated adsorption capacity reached 23.1 μg/mg, and high enrichment efiiciency of 463.8 folds was realized under the premise of ensuring the recovery rate. The selective imprinting factor was much higher than those of kaempferol and quercetin, which were the main compounds in podophyllum fruit. Under the optimized SPE conditions, the HPC-GO-MIP based SPE-HPLC method showed the detection limit of 14.2 ng/mL for podophyllotoxin assay. When applied to podophyllum fruit samples, the material showed excellent ability of selective separation and enrichment of podophyllotoxin, and the relative standard deviations (RSD) of intra and inter batches were less than 8.1 % and 5.7 % in real samples detection. The HPC-GO-MIP SPE method broadened the application for high multiple extraction in trace analyte samples and provided a valuable solution to improve the selective separation and detection.

Selectivity of β-Cyclodextrin Polymer toward Aquatic Contaminants: Insights from Ultrahigh-Resolution Mass Spectrometry of Dissolved Organic Matter.

Selectivity in solid-phase extraction (SPE) materials has become increasingly important for analyte enrichment in sensitive analytical workflows to alleviate detrimental matrix effects. Molecular-level investigation of matrix constituents, which are preferentially extracted or excluded, can provide the analytical chemist with valuable information to learn about their control on sorbent selectivity. In this work, we employ nontargeted Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR MS) to elucidate the molecular chemodiversity of freshwater-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM) extracted by the selective model sorbent β-cyclodextrin polymer (β-CDP) in comparison to conventional, universal SPE sorbents (i.e., Oasis HLB, Supel-Select HLB, and LiChrolut EN). Statistical analysis of MS data corroborated the highly selective nature of β-CDP by revealing the extracted DOM spectra that are most dissimilar to original compositions. We found that its selectivity was characterized by pronounced discrimination against highly oxygenated and unsaturated DOM compounds, which were associated with the classes of lignin-like, tannin-like, and carboxylic-rich alicyclic molecules. In contrast, conventional sorbents excluded less highly oxygenated compounds and showed a more universal extraction behavior for a wide range of DOM compositional space. We lay these findings in a larger context that aids the analyst in obtaining an a priori estimate of sorbent selectivity toward any target analyte of interest serving thereby an optimization of sample preparation. This study highlights the great value of nontargeted ultrahigh-resolution MS for better understanding of targeted analytics and provides new insights into the selective sorption behavior of novel sorbents.

Metabolite bioprospection and expression analysis of patchoulol synthase gene in different in vitro systems of Pogostemon cablin: An important medicinal aromatic plant

Pogostemon cablin (patchouli) is one of the most prized medicinal herbs cultivated worldwide. However, with changes in the bioclimatic patterns and nematode infections in its root, the availability of quality planting material for essential oil extraction has become a challenging task in recent times. In the present research, a synergistic effort based on the identification of the optimal gene expression level of the patchoulol synthase (PS) along with fresh weight (FW), an effective strategy was formulated for the bioprospection of specialized metabolites of patchouli via plant tissue culture based in vitro approaches. The comparative expression levels of the PS gene in various tissues grown in semisolid as well as suspension cultures provided vital insights into its role in the biosynthesis of patchoulol and its associated compounds. Comparatively, cell suspension derived biomass exhibited better efficacy in terms of antioxidant activity (IC50 = 27.88 μg/ml), sun protection factor (SPF = 4.49–20.20), accumulation of both volatile and non-volatile metabolites profiled through ultra performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) along with up regulated PS gene activity (5.01 FC). Interestingly, semisolid culture media derived callus extract also exhibited potent activities establishing the novelty of the approach. The findings illustrate the utilization of aromatic cytokinin – meta-Topolin as a potent elicitor in synergy with conventional elicitors like methyl jasmonate and synthetic growth regulators such as thidiazuron. The current approach also provides vital, reproducible, sustainable and cost-effective method for the bioprospection of prized metabolites in the callus and cell suspension cultures with the goal of up-scaling to pilot scale via coordinated use of next generation bioreactor approaches.

Design of magnetic multivariate metal–organic framework for high-efficient adsorption and rapid magnetic separation of bisphenol pollutants

Herein, a magnetic multivariate metal–organic framework (MTV-MOF) named as 95.7 %BTB/MOF-525@Fe3O4 was synthesized by one-pot mixing ligand strategy. The magnetic MTV-MOF exhibited large specific surface area (320 m2·g−1) and high porosity. The 95.7 %BTB/MOF-525@Fe3O4 was used as sorbent for extraction and enrichment of bisphenol pollutants (BPs). The experimental results demonstrated that adsorption kinetics and isotherms conform to pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacities for bisphenol F, bisphenol A, bisphenol B, bisphenol AF were 275.1, 233.6, 302.1 and 277.2 mg·g−1, respectively. With 95.7 %BTB/MOF-525@Fe3O4 as sorbent, the magnetic solid phase extraction coupling HPLC was used to detect trace BPs in environmental water. The limits of detection were determined as between 0.067 and 0.167 ng·mL−1. The enrichment factors were in the range of 242–295. The recoveries were ranged from 79.4 to 103 % with relative standard deviations not higher than 8.85 %. In addition, the recovery rate of sorbent remained above 80 % after 21 times of reuse. The work provides an effective material for extraction and removal of BPs in the environment.

Enhancing physical and chemical stability of hygroscopic hydroxytyrosol by cocrystal formation

Hydroxytyrosol (HT) is a natural phenolic compound with potent antioxidant activity extracted from olive trees. It is generally a slightly hydrated viscous liquid at ambient conditions, and it is highly susceptible to oxygen due to the presence of catechol moiety. Although encapsulation technique provides HT in powder form, it does not improve its chemical stability. Herein, we propose an efficient solution to the high hygroscopicity and poor stability of HT. Four cocrystals were first reported, and their intermolecular interactions were analyzed in detail. After cocrystallization, the melting point is increased and the hygroscopicity is significantly decreased. HT cocrystals are thus solid at room temperature. Moreover, hydroxytyrosol cocrystals with betaine (HT-BET) and nicotinamide (HT-NIC) demonstrate superior chemical stability than pure HT, olive extract, and HT encapsulation material. Therefore, cocrystallization can be considered as a promising approach to overcome the application obstacles of HT.

Characterization of a hydrophilic-lipophilic balanced SPME material for enrichment of analytes with different polarities from aqueous samples

The choice of the extraction material is a critical step in solid-phase microextraction (SPME), especially the extraction of analytes which strongly differ in their polarity is challenging. This study is intended to give first insights into the headspace extraction of analytes with large differences in polarity by using a novel hydrophilic-lipophilic-balanced (HLB) SPME material with different particle sizes (5 µm, 5 + 30 µm, and 30 µm) in classical SPME, as well as SPME arrow format. The obtained results were compared to conventional and already established divinylbenzene carbon wide-range polydimethylsiloxane (DVB-CWR-PDMS) and PDMS SPME arrow fibers. The chosen model analytes toluene, indole, phenol, anisole, o-xylene, naphthalene, 2-heptanone, n-dodecane, and lindane are assigned to different substance classes with Kaw values ranging from -5.0–2.5 and Kow values from 1.5 to 7.5. The highest amount of the analytes was extracted by the HLB 5 + 30 µm arrow and the HLB 5 µm arrow, whereas the HLB SPME with a six times smaller phase volume compared to an SPME arrow, performed almost as well as the DVB-CWR-PDMS arrow. The 8-point calibration with the 5 + 30 µm HLB SPME arrow in the range of 5–70 µg L−1 of the analytes showed good linearity with R2 values ranging from 0.9765 to 0.9982, MDLs from 0.9 to 6.2 µg L−1 and RSDs from 2 to 31 %. For all of the observed analytes, the HLB material performed better than the conventional extraction materials and has great potential to replace the conventional extraction materials in many applications.

Management of Fungal Pathogens Associated with Mango Diseases using Organic Materials

Mango (Mangifera indica) is one of the most economically important tropical fruits, but it is susceptible to various fungal pathogens that cause significant yield losses and reduce fruit quality. Traditional management strategies for these fungal diseases often involve the use of synthetic fungicides, which can have adverse effects on the environment and human health. Therefore, there is a growing need to explore sustainable and organic alternatives for managing these pathogens. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of organic materials in controlling fungal pathogens associated with mango diseases. Various organic materials of different plant extracts were tested against common fungal pathogens. The results of the study demonstrated the potential of organic materials in managing mango fungal diseases. Plant extracts derived from neem (Azadirachta indica), garlic (Allium sativum), and ginger (Zingiber officinale) exhibited strong antifungal activity against the tested pathogens. Overall, the findings of this study suggest that organic materials can be effective tools for managing fungal pathogens associated with mango diseases. Incorporating these organic management strategies into mango production systems can contribute to sustainable agriculture practices, reduce chemical inputs, and promote the production of high-quality, disease-free mangoes.

Contributions of CO2, O2, and H2O to the Oxidative Stability of Solid Amine Direct Air Capture Sorbents at Intermediate Temperature.

Aminopolymer-based sorbents are preferred materials for extraction of CO2 from ambient air [direct air capture (DAC) of CO2] owing to their high CO2 adsorption capacity and selectivity at ultra-dilute conditions. While those adsorptive properties are important, the stability of a sorbent is a key element in developing high-performing, cost-effective, and long-lasting sorbents that can be deployed at scale. Along with process upsets, environmental components such as CO2, O2, and H2O may contribute to long-term sorbent instability. As such, unraveling the complex effects of such atmospheric components on the sorbent lifetime as they appear in the environment is a critical step to understanding sorbent deactivation mechanisms and designing more effective sorbents and processes. Here, a poly(ethylenimine) (PEI)/Al2O3 sorbent is assessed over continuous and cyclic dry and humid conditions to determine the effect of the copresence of CO2 and O2 on stability at an intermediate temperature of 70 °C. Thermogravimetric and elemental analyses in combination with in situ horizontal attenuated total reflection infrared (HATR-IR) spectroscopy are performed to measure the extent of deactivation, elemental content, and molecular level changes in the sorbent due to deactivation. The thermal/thermogravimetric analysis results reveal that incorporating CO2 with O2 accelerates sorbent deactivation using these sorbents in dry and humid conditions compared to that using CO2-free air in similar conditions. The in situ HATR-IR spectroscopy results of PEI/Al2O3 sorbent deactivation under a CO2-air environment show the formation of primary amine species in higher quantity (compared to that in conditions without O2 or CO2), which arises due to the C-N bond cleavage at secondary amines due to oxidative degradation. We hypothesize that the formation of bound CO2 species such as carbamic acids catalyzes C-N cleavage reactions in the oxidative degradation pathway by shuttling protons, resulting in a low activation energy barrier for degradation, as probed by metadynamics simulations. In the cyclic experiment after 30 cycles, results show a gradual loss in stability (dry: 29%, humid: 52%) under CO2-containing air (0.04% CO2/21% O2 balance N2). However, the loss in capacity during cyclic studies is significantly less than that during continuous deactivation, as expected.

Recent Advances in Antibiofouling Materials for Seawater-Uranium Extraction: A Review.

Nuclear power has experienced rapid development as a green energy source due to the increasing global demand for energy. Uranium, as the primary fuel for nuclear reactions, plays a crucial role in nuclear energy production, and seawater-uranium extraction has gained significant attention. However, the extraction of uranium is usually susceptible to contamination by microorganisms, such as bacteria, which can negatively affect the adsorption performance of uranium adsorption materials. Therefore, an important challenge lies in the development of new antibacterial and antiadhesion materials to inhibit the attachment of marine microorganisms. These advancements aim to reduce the impact on the adsorption capability of the adsorbent materials. This paper reviews the antibiofouling materials used for extracting seawater uranium, and corresponding mechanisms are discussed.

Optimization of Inulin Extraction from Chicory Roots and an Ultrafiltration Application to Obtain Purified Inulin and Hydrolyzed Fructooligosaccharides

Inulin and fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are prominent functional components in the food industry due to prebiotic and other pharmaceutical properties. Inulin is a storage polysaccharide in various plants. FOS are naturally present in various plants and can be obtained by partial hydrolysis of inulin. In this study, ground and sieved chicory roots (Cichorium intybus L.) were used as starting material for inulin extraction under optimized conditions determined by Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with a Box-Behnken design. Optimum inulin extraction conditions from chicory roots were; temperature of 90 °C, extraction time of 30 min., and liquid-to-solid (LS) ratio of 10:1 mL/g. Inulin extract was further hydrolyzed to FOS by enzymatic or acid treatment, separately. Purification of inulin extract and FOS hydrolysate was performed by ultrafiltration with a 10 kDa membrane under the pressure of 2 bar with continuous stirring. As a result, inulin and FOS were obtained at 90% and 76% purity, respectively.

Hollow fiber-solid phase microextraction of fatty acid methyl esters from wastewater coupled with micro sample collector assisted injection technique

Hollow fiber-solid phase microextraction combined with micro sample collector assisted injection technique was developed for the detection of trace fatty acid methyl esters in biodiesel wastewater. Polypropylene hollow fiber was employed as extraction material to absorb fatty acid methyl esters in biodiesel wastewater. After the adsorption, hollow fiber was sleeved on the needle core of a micro sample collector and introduced directly into a GC injector for thermal desorption of the analytes. The selectivity of polypropylene hollow fiber on fatty acid methyl esters was investigated by extracting common pollutants in wastewater. Under the optimal conditions, the enrichment factors of polypropylene hollow fiber for methyl palmitate, methyl linoleate, methyl oleate, and methyl stearate were tested as high as 471, 287, 527, and 801, respectively. The quantitative method was validated and the linearity was satisfactory over a concentration range of 10–2000 µg/L with the correlation coefficients more than 0.9990 for 4 fatty acid methyl esters. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.04–0.40 µg/L and 10.0 µg/L, respectively. The recoveries were in the range of 92.0–116.7% by analyzing actual spiked samples. The results showed that the established method was suitable for the analysis of trace fatty acid methyl esters in water samples, with simple operation, low cost and environmental friendliness.

Trace element levels and bio-active compounds in ethanolic leaf extract of Chrysophyllum albidum characterised using gas chromatography – mass spectrometry

Aim and objectivesChrysophyllum albidum, also known as Africa star apple, has so many ethnobotanical uses in African healing system. Thus, a study that reveals possible trace elements and its phytochemical profile will give an essential insight to the bioactivity profile of the plant. The study was to identify the trace elements and the bioactive compounds present in Chrysophyllum albidum (C. albidum) leaf extract Materials and methodsThe ethanol leaf extract of Chrysophyllum albidum was evaluated for trace elements using an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (ASS) while the chemical composition was analysed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). The identification of phytoconstituents using GC/MS was based on the instrument library, peak area and retention time. ResultThe ethanol leaf extract of C. albidum showed a high content of potassium, calcium, magnesium and sodium, while relative low content of manganese, iron, copper, zinc, lead and nickel. Total of 30 peaks representing 30 identified compounds were recorded in the GC/MS analysis. These include a variety of heterocyclic compounds such as fatty acids, organic compounds, esters, and disaccharides etc. The major constituents of the extract were: Sucrose (37.45%), followed by 1,2,3-Propanetriol,1-acetate (7.86%), di-Glyceraldehyde dimer (5.70%), 1-(3-Benzyl-2-thioureido)−1-deoxy-beta-d glucopyranose 2,3,4,6-tetraacetate (4.53%), 4 H-Pyran-4-one, 2,3-dihydro-3, 5-dihydroxy-6-methyl- (4.49%), 3-Deoxy-d-Mannoic lactone (3.14%), Glycerine (3.04%) and minor compounds that are less than 3%. ConclusionThe elemental composition of the leaf extract of C. albidum may be influenced by the environmental factors such as soil composition surrounding the plant’s roots, while a variety of bioactive compounds with diverse biological activities were present. Hence, the plant have a potential pharmacological activities.

Непрямая анафорическая референция в англоязычном журналистском дискурсе (на материале жанра некролога)

The subject of this research is indirect anaphoric reference viewed as an article means of expression of the mental process of individualization. Consequently, the article focuses on the development of the theory of reference that started to form more than a hundred years ago. The aim of the study is to investigate whether the worked out classification of indirect anaphoric reference is applicable to English journalistic discourse and what is the role of this phenomenon in the realization of the function of impact which is typical of journalistic discourse. The analysis is conducted on the material of extracts borrowed from obituaries found in the editions of The Economist published in 2022 and includes three stages – syntactic, semantic and pragmatic. The extracts from the obituaries are classified in accordance with the type of the link between antecedent and anaphor. As a result, the relevance of the classification for the analyzed type of journalistic discourse is established and the potential of indirect anaphoric reference for carrying out the function of impact is shown.

Hierarchical covalent organic framework hollow nanofibers-bonded stainless steel fiber for efficient solid phase microextraction

The solid phase microextraction (SPME) technique has been widely applied in the detection of trace compounds in food, environment, and medicine due to its advantages of easy quantification, simple operation, and greenness. Herein, a templating strategy with SiO2 nanofibers (SiO2 NFs) is reported to synthesize hierarchical covalent organic framework hollow nanofibers (COF HNFs)-coated stainless steel fiber for SPME application with dramatically enhanced enrichment performance for trace analytes. The construction of hierarchical porosity inside the microextraction coatings can not only increase the specific surface area of COF extraction materials for obtaining more abundant adsorption sites but also greatly improve the accessibility of internal COF micropores. Moreover, the thicknesses of the microextraction COF coatings can be facilely tailored by adjusting the amount of SiO2 NFs pre-assembled on the SPME fibers. On the headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) of antimicrobial residues, the developed COF TpBD-Me2 HNFs-12 fibers achieve enrichment factors of 2026 and 1823 for thymol and carvacrol respectively, which are significantly higher than those obtained from the counterpart COF TpBD-Me2-bonded fiber (8.5–8.2 times) and commercial CAR/PDMS fiber (3.3–4.4 times). Furthermore, the developed method was demonstrated to have wide linearity (0.1–50 μg L-1), low limits of detection (0.010 μg L-1), good thermal stability and excellent reusability (>60 recycles), demonstrating great application potential in the extraction of trace organic pollutants. The strategy developed in this work is applicable to preparing a variety of topological COF (e.g., TpBD, TpPa-1) HNFs-bonded fibers.

Self-assembled magnetic nanoplatform Fe3O4@SiO2-NH2@Au for magnetic solid-phase extraction of bisphenol A

Developing magnetic adsorbent that combines the merits of quick response, excellent enrichment capacity, uniform and stable dispersivity is of paramount importance in pollutants pretreatment. In this work, tunable strawberry-like Fe3O4 @SiO2-NH2 @Au@ 2-ME magnetic solid phase extraction materials were prepared via assembly method. The obtained nanocomposites were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and whereafter the preparation method was optimized. Integrating magnetic solid-phase extraction with high-performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection, a comprehensive enrichment and detection method toward bisphenol A (BPA) was well established. This method demonstrated high efficiency and rapidity, achieving rapid enrichment of BPA. The as-developed method exhibited good linear correlation within the range of 10.0–500 μg·L−1, with a recovery of 85–92%. It showed excellent sensitivity and reproducibility in BPA extraction with low limit of detection (LOD, 0.274 μg·L−1), limit of quantitation (LOQ, 0.913 μg·L−1) and relative standard deviation (RSD, 1.5%, n = 6), respectively. The proposed Fe3O4 @SiO2-NH2 @Au nanoplatform firmly supports the envision that proper surface functionalization of magnetic substrate could promote the enrichment capacity toward various pollutants in actual application scenarios.

Synthesis, characterization and uptake studies of diglycolamic acid and diglycolamide analogs adsorbents for extraction of rare earth elements

Tetraalkyldiglycolamides are known for their high extracting efficiency of rare earth elements (REEs) from nitric acid solutions (1–6 mol/L). Nevertheless, solid-phase extractants based on diglycolamides (DGA) are poorly studied for REEs extraction. This paper explores the design and synthesis of novel REEs adsorbents by grafting silica with diglycolic acid-based ligands. The newly developed solid-phase materials were investigated for their potential to effectively separate REEs from various media. The functionalization of the silica with different ligands was quantified, and the adsorbents' extraction capacities and selectivity for REEs over Calcium (Ca2+), Aluminium (Al3+) and Iron (Fe3+) were evaluated. Si-NH-DGA emerged as the most efficient adsorbent for Gd3+ extraction, exhibiting a remarkable capacity of 44 mg/g at pH 4–6. However, modifications involving ether oxygen substitution with a methylamino group or sulfur led to reduced extraction efficiencies. Si-NH-DGA-NMe2 demonstrated strong binding of REEs in nitric acid solutions (1–3 mol/L HNO3) with corresponding adsorption capacities for Y3+, La3+, Gd3+ and Yb3+ being 16.3, 14.2, 22.8, and 30.2 mg/g, respectively. Furthermore, it displayed remarkable selectivity for REEs over Ca2+. The equilibrium extraction for Gd occurred within 60 min for Si-NH-DGA and Si-NH-DGA-NMe2 under their respective optimal conditions. Disodium EDTA solution demonstrated a high stripping efficiency for Gd3+ in the Si-NH-DGA-NMe2 column extraction, yielding a significant concentration factor (CF = 85). In the same column, following five cycles of loading/stripping of Gd3+, there was an average capacity loss of 6%. Si-NH-DGA-NMe2 emerged as a promising material for solid-phase extraction from concentrated nitric acid solutions, characterized by high capacity and good selectivity towards middle and heavy REEs. This structure has the potential to be further optimized for the development of a solid-phase extraction column for REEs separation and purification. The findings also highlight the potential of Si-NH-DGA-NMe2 as a candidate for REEs adsorption for potential industrial applications and the purification of acidic waste solutions.

Interlaboratory evaluation of quality control methods for circulating cell-free DNA extraction

Analysis of circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA) isolated from liquid biopsies is rapidly being implemented into clinical practice. However, diagnostic accuracy is significantly impacted by sample quality and standardised approaches for assessing the quality of ccfDNA are not yet established. In this study we evaluated the application of nucleic acid “spike-in” control materials to aid quality control (QC) and standardisation of cfDNA isolation for use in in vitro diagnostic assays. We describe an approach for the design and characterisation of in-process QC materials, illustrating it with a spike-in material containing an exogenous Arabidopsis sequence and DNA fragments approximating to ccfDNA and genomic DNA lengths. Protocols for inclusion of the spike-in material in plasma ccfDNA extraction and quantification of its recovery by digital PCR (dPCR) were assessed for their suitability for process QC in an inter-laboratory study between five expert laboratories, using a range of blood collection devices and ccfDNA extraction methods. The results successfully demonstrated that spiking plasmid-derived material into plasma did not deleteriously interfere with endogenous ccfDNA recovery. The approach performed consistently across a range of commonly-used extraction protocols and was able to highlight differences in efficiency and variability between the methods, with the dPCR quantification assay performing with good repeatability (generally CV <5%). We conclude that initial findings demonstrate that this approach appears “fit for purpose” and spike-in recovery can be combined with other extraction QC metrics for monitoring the performance of a process over time, or in the context of external quality assessment.

Ontology-based knowledge representation of industrial production workflow

Industry 4.0 is helping to unleash a new age of digitalization across industries, leading to a data-driven, interoperable, and decentralized production process. To achieve this major transformation, one of the main requirements is to achieve interoperability across various systems and multiple devices. Ontologies have been used in numerous industrial projects to tackle the interoperability challenge in digital manufacturing. However, there is currently no semantic model in the literature that can be used to represent the industrial production workflow comprehensively while also integrating digitalized information from a variety of systems and contexts.To fill this gap, this paper proposed industrial production workflow ontologies (InPro) for formalizing and integrating production process information. We implemented the 5 M model (manpower, machine, material, method, and measurement) for InPro partitioning and module extraction. The InPro comprises seven main domain ontology modules including Entities, Agents, Machines, Materials, Methods, Measurements, and Production Processes. The Machines ontology module was developed leveraging the OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) information model. The presented InPro ontology was further evaluated by a hybrid combination of approaches. Additionally, the InPro ontology was implemented with practical use cases to support production planning and failure analysis by retrieving relevant information via SPARQL queries. The validation results also demonstrated that using the proposed InPro ontology allows for efficiently formalizing, integrating, and retrieving information within the industrial production process context.