Reconstruction after hemimandibulectomy by a titanium mesh and particulate cancellous bone and marrow harvested from posterior ilia: a case report

A particulate cancellous bone and marrow (PCBM) graft combined with titanium (Ti-) mesh tray has become one of the most popular mandibular reconstruction methods. The technique has been applied to the mandibular discontinuity defects after segmental mandibulectomy. To the best of our knowledge, there are no reports on using the technique after hemimandibulectomy, during which a wide mandibular resection, including the condyle, is performed. Here we report firstly a case of mandibular reconstruction after hemimandibulectomy, using a plate and soft-tissue free flap, followed by a Ti-mesh and PCBM harvested from the bilateral posterior ilia, which was successful. This case report first revealed how bone resorption occurred clinically in mandibular reconstruction using PCBM and Ti-mesh tray after hemimandibulectomy. We also revealed the high predictability of the mandibular reconstruction using PCBM and Ti-mesh tray after hemimandibulectomy. Our report also provides a guiding principle to overcome the limitation of mandibular reconstruction using PCBM and Ti-mesh tray after hemimandibulectomy. However, our manuscript has limited evidence being a case report.

Inversely polarized thermo-electrochemical power generation via the reaction of an organic redox couple on a TiO2/Ti mesh electrode

We demonstrate thermo-electrochemical (TEC) conversion using a biocompatible redox couple of lactic acid and pyruvic acid on earth-abundant TiO2. The TEC cell exhibited a positive Seebeck coefficient of 1.40 mV K−1. DFT calculations figured out that the adsorption of intermediate species and protons on TiO2 controls both the redox reaction and current polarity.

The Influence of the Configuration of Two Electrochemical Reactors on the Process of Removing Atrazine from Water

In Mexico, atrazine is widely used in agriculture to control broadleaf weeds. The objective of this research was to compare atrazine removal in water and energy consumption between an up-flow cylinder electro-oxidation reactor (UCER) and an up-flow rectangular electro-oxidation reactor (URER) using the response surface methodology. In each reactor, two titanium (Ti) mesh electrodes (cathodes) and one Titanium-Lead Dioxide (Ti-PbO2) mesh electrode (anode). Current intensity effects, electrolysis treatment time, and recirculation flow were evaluated. Synthetic water with 5 mg/L atrazine content was used. Optimum atrazine removal values were obtained at 2 A electric current, 180 min of treatment time, and 200 mL/min recirculation rate for both reactors: in these conditions an atrazine removal of 77.45% and 76.89% for URER and UCER respectively. However, energy consumption showed a significant difference of 137.45 kWh/m3 for URER and 73.63 kWh/m3 for UCER. Regarding energy efficiency, a 60% atrazine removal was reached in both reactors using less energy for UCER at (1.5 A–135 min–150 mL/min–25.8 kWh/m3) and for URER at (0.66 A–135 min–150 mL/min–20.12 kWh/m3).

Electrolysis-Driven Bioremediation to Enhance Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal From Polluted River Sediment

In order to testify the effect of electrolysis and microbial remediation technology in polluted river sediment. Here, we explored the possibility of electrochemically removing ammoniacal nitrogen-nitrogen (NH3-N), nitrate-nitrogen (NO3−-N) and phosphate ions-phosphorous (PO43−-P) by using a titanium (Ti) mesh cathode, a Ti/Ti dioxide (TiO2)/Ruthenium (IV) oxide (RuO2) (RuO2-IrO2/Ti) mesh, and a magnesium-aluminum (Mg–Al) alloy anode placed within the sediment and overlying water. Results showed that approximately 151.82 ± 21.69 mg TN was removed which was five times more effective than the non-electrolytic controls (30.21 ± 13.73 mg), NH3-N concentration in the sediment was substantially reduced (up to 2.9 times) compared to the non-electrolytic controls. Its efficiency lies in the electrolysis process, which may directly remove NH3-N through electrochemical oxidation and simultaneously produce oxygen which helps nitrifying bacteria to convert NH3-N into NO3−-N by the role of anode; and electrolysis may directly remove NO3−-N in the overlying water through electrochemical reduction while simultaneously producing hydrogen electron donor for hydrogen autotrophic microorganism as Hydrogenophohaga, to be the dominant species in sediment to enhance the removal of NO3−-N by the role of cathode. Electrolysis also reduced the PO43−-P through electro-coagulation since Mg2+ ions could also produce since sacrificial Mg–Al alloy anode was used and electro-deposition on Ti mesh cathode both to increase PO43−-P removal in overlying water and sediment. This study verifies the benefits of electrolysis-driven bioremediation as a sustainable technology for the bioremediation of N and P polluted river sediments.

Efficient electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction to ammonia with aqueous silver nanodots

The electrocatalytic nitrogen (N2) reduction reaction (NRR) relies on the development of highly efficient electrocatalysts and electrocatalysis systems. Herein, we report a non-loading electrocatalysis system, where the electrocatalysts are dispersed in aqueous solution rather than loading them on electrode substrates. The system consists of aqueous Ag nanodots (AgNDs) as the catalyst and metallic titanium (Ti) mesh as the current collector for electrocatalytic NRR. The as-synthesized AgNDs, homogeneously dispersed in 0.1 M Na2SO4 solution (pH = 10.5), can achieve an NH3 yield rate of 600.4 ± 23.0 μg h−1 mgAg−1 with a faradaic efficiency (FE) of 10.1 ± 0.7% at −0.25 V (vs. RHE). The FE can be further improved to be 20.1 ± 0.9% at the same potential by using Ti mesh modified with oxygen vacancy-rich TiO2 nanosheets as the current collector. Utilizing the aqueous AgNDs catalyst, a Ti plate based two-electrode configured flow-type electrochemical reactor was developed to achieve an NH3 yield rate of 804.5 ± 30.6 μg h−1 mgAg−1 with a FE of 8.2 ± 0.5% at a voltage of −1.8 V. The designed non-loading electrocatalysis system takes full advantage of the AgNDs’ active sites for N2 adsorption and activation, following an alternative hydrogenation mechanism revealed by theoretical calculations.