Conversely, the proposed flame retardant treatment did not show a high washing fastness, though the washed flame retarded fabrics still exhibited a better flame retardant behavior than untreated cotton.Insulin, besides its pivotal role in energy metabolism, may also modulate neuronal processes through acting on insulin receptors (InsRs) expressed by neurons of both the central and the peripheral nervous system. Recently, the distribution and functional significance of InsRs localized on a subset of multifunctional primary sensory neurons (PSNs) have been revealed. Systematic investigations into the cellular electrophysiology, neurochemistry and morphological traits of InsR-expressing PSNs indicated complex functional interactions among specific ion channels, proteins and neuropeptides localized in these neurons. Quantitative immunohistochemical studies have revealed disparate localization of the InsRs in somatic and visceral PSNs with a dominance of InsR-positive neurons innervating visceral organs. These findings suggested that visceral spinal PSNs involved in nociceptive and inflammatory processes are more prone to the modulatory effects of insulin than somatic PSNs. Co-localization of the InsR and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) receptor with vasoactive neuropeptides calcitonin gene-related peptide and substance P bears of crucial importance in the pathogenesis of inflammatory pathologies affecting visceral organs, such as the pancreas and the urinary bladder. Recent studies have also revealed significant novel aspects of the neurotrophic propensities of insulin with respect to axonal growth, development and regeneration.Nanoindentation simulations are performed for a Ni(111) bi-crystal, in which the grain boundary is coated by a graphene layer. We study both a weak and a strong interface, realized by a 30 ∘ and a 60 ∘ twist boundary, respectively, and compare our results for the composite also with those of an elemental Ni bi-crystal. We find hardening of the elemental Ni when a strong, i.e., low-energy, grain boundary is introduced, and softening for a weak grain boundary. For the strong grain boundary, the interface barrier strength felt by dislocations upon passing the interface is responsible for the hardening; for the weak grain boundary, confinement of the dislocations results in the weakening. For the Ni-graphene composite, we find in all cases a weakening influence that is caused by the graphene blocking the passage of dislocations and absorbing them. In addition, interface failure occurs when the indenter reaches the graphene, again weakening the composite structure.The Mussulo lagoon is a coastal environment located near Luanda, one of the SW African cities that has been growing more rapidly during the last decades. Geochemical, mineralogical, and grain-size data obtained for the lagoon sediments are analyzed together, in order to establish the factors that control the distribution of some potentially toxic elements (PTEs). Sediments from northern location tend to be enriched in feldspar and, despite some variability in grain-size distributions, in fine-grained detrital minerals; southern lagoon sediments display very homogenous grain-size distribution and are enriched in minerals associated with salt precipitation (halite and gypsum). Multivariate statistics reveal a close link between some PTEs, namely Co, Hg, Ni, and Pb, for which an anthropogenic source can be postulated. On the other end, As seems to be associated with natural authigenic precipitation in southern lagoon sectors. Sediments enriched in clay also tend to yield more Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu, but it is unclear whether their sources are natural or anthropogenic. Hazard indexes calculated for children are higher than 1 for As and Co, indicating potential non-carcinogenic risk. For the other elements, and for adults, there is no potential carcinogenic or non-carcinogenic risk.Ag/TiO2 wood-based nanocomposites were prepared by the methods of ultrasound impregnation and vacuum impregnation. The as-prepared samples were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), and water contact angles (WCAs). The anti-mold properties of the Ag/TiO2 wood-based nanocomposites were improved by 14 times compared to those of the original wood. The nano-Ag/TiO2, which was impregnated in the tracheid and attached to the cell walls, was able to form a two-stage rough structure and reduce the number of hydroxyl functional groups on the wood surfaces. The resulting decline of wood hydrophobic and equilibrium moisture content (EMC) destroyed the moisture environment necessary for mold survival. Ag/TiO2 was deposited in the wood pores, which reduced the number and volume of pores and blocked the path of mold infection. Thus, the anti-mold properties of the Ag/TiO2 wood-based nanocomposite were improved by cutting off the water source and blocking the mold infection path. This study reveals the anti-mold mechanism of Ag/TiO2 wood-based nanocomposites and provides a feasible pathway for wood-based nanocomposites with anti-mold functions.The present study evaluates natural composition of Serbian roasted hazelnut skins (HS) with potential role in application as functional nutrient of various food products. Total phenols (TPC) and flavonoids contents (TFC) in HS extracts obtained with different ethanol concentrations (10%-I, 50%-II and 96%-III) and their antioxidant activities were investigated. The highest total phenols content (706.0 ± 9.7 mgGAE/gextract) was observed in 96% ethanol HS extract. Ethanol HS extracts showed very high antioxidant activity with effective concentrations (EC50) ranged between 0.052 and 0.066 mg/mL. The phenol and flavonoid content of roasted HS extracts I-III was determined by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS analyses. Contents of lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, metals, and C, H, N, S elements in roasted HS were also determined. Relatively high C/N, C/P and C/N/P ratios, rich metal contents and fatty acids composition indicated that hazelnut skin might be a good candidate for use as either human or fungal functional nutrient. In addition, possible application of phenolic HS extracts as UV booster was studied by recording UV spectra (220-440 nm) of 10 mg/L of HS extracts I-III combined with 10 mg/L of chemical sunscreen agent benzophenone-3 and in vitro sun protection factor (SPF) was calculated.Recently, green-prepared oxidized graphenes have attracted huge interest in water purification and wastewater treatment. Herein, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was prepared by a scalable and eco-friendly method, and its potential use for the removal of methylene blue (MB) from water systems, was explored. The present work includes the green protocol to produce rGO and respective spectroscopical and morphological characterizations, as well as several kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamic analyses to successfully demonstrate the adsorption of MB. The pseudo-second-order model was appropriated to describe the adsorption kinetics of MB onto rGO, suggesting an equilibrium time of 30 min. Otherwise, the Langmuir model was more suitable to describe the adsorption isotherms, indicating a maximum adsorption capacity of 121.95 mg g-1 at 298 K. In addition, kinetics and thermodynamic analyses demonstrated that the adsorption of MB onto rGO can be treated as a mixed physisorption-chemisorption process described by H-bonding, electrostatic, and π – π interactions. These results show the potential of green-prepared rGO to remove cationic dyes from wastewater systems.The disposal of used automobile tires is a major waste concern. Simply stacking tires and allowing them to decompose will harbor breeding mosquitoes that spread viruses, whereas burning them will release acidic and toxic gases. Therefore, one viable option is pyrolysis, where elevated temperatures are used to facilitate the decomposition of a material. However, the lack of theoretical support for pyrolysis technology limits the development of the pyrolysis industry when it comes to discarded tires. The purpose of this research is to put forward a brand-new multi-kinetic research method for studying materials with complex components through the discussion of various kinetic research methods. The characteristic of this kinetic research method is that it is a relatively complete theoretical system and can accurately calculate the three kinetic factors considered during the pyrolysis of multicomponent materials. The results show that the multi-kinetic research method can obtain the kinetic equation and reaction mechanism for the pyrolysis of tires with high accuracy. The pyrolysis process of this compound was divided into two stages, Reaction I and II, where the kinetic equation of Reaction I was f ( α ) = 0.2473 α – 3.0473 , with an activation energy of 155.26 kJ/mol and a pre-exponential factor of 5.88 × 109/min. Meanwhile, the kinetic equation of Reaction II was f ( α ) = 0.4142 ( 1 – α ) [ – ln ( 1 – α ) ] – 1.4143 , while its activation energy was 315.40 kJ/mol and its pre-exponential factor was 7.86 × 1017/min. Furthermore, based on the results of the research analysis, the reaction principles corresponding to Reaction I and Reaction II in the pyrolysis process of this compound were established.Osmanthus fragrans is a well-known native plant in China, and carotenoids are the main group of pigments in the petals. Abscisic acid (ABA) is one of the products of the metabolic pathway of carotenoids. Application of ABA could affect pigmentation of flower petals by changing the carotenoid content. However, little is known about the effects of ABA treatment on carotenoid accumulation in O. fragrans. In this study, different concentrations of ABA (0, 150 and 200 mg/L) were spread on the petals of O. fragrans 'Yanhonggui’. The petal color of 'Yanhonggui’ receiving every ABA treatment was deeper than that of the control. The content of total carotenoids in the petals significantly increased with 200 mg/L ABA treatment. In the petals, α-carotene and β-carotene were the predominant carotenoids. The expression of several genes involved in the metabolism of carotenoids increased with 200 mg/L ABA treatment, including PSY1, PDS1, Z-ISO1, ZDS1, CRTISO, NCED3 and CCD4. However, the transcription levels of the latter two carotenoid degradation-related genes were much lower than of the five former carotenoid biosynthesis-related genes; the finding would explain the significant increase in total carotenoids in 'Yanhonggui’ petals receiving the 200 mg/L ABA treatment.Mitochondrial malfunction is supposed to be involved in the etiology and pathology of major depressive disorder (MDD). Here, we aimed to identify and characterize the molecular pathomechanisms related to mitochondrial dysfunction in adult human skin fibroblasts, which were derived from MDD patients or non-depressive control subjects. We found that MDD fibroblasts showed significantly impaired mitochondrial functioning basal and maximal respiration, spare respiratory capacity, non-mitochondrial respiration and adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-related oxygen consumption was lower. Moreover, MDD fibroblasts harbor lower ATP levels and showed hyperpolarized mitochondrial membrane potential. To investigate cellular resilience, we challenged both groups of fibroblasts with hormonal (dexamethasone) or metabolic (galactose) stress for one week, and found that both stressors increased oxygen consumption but lowered ATP content in MDD as well as in non-depressive control fibroblasts. Interestingly, the bioenergetic differences between fibroblasts from MDD or non-depressed subjects, which were observed under non-treated conditions, could not be detected after stress.