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1. Scratch-resistant sapphire nanostructures with anti-glare, anti-fogging, and anti-dust properties

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d4mh01844c  

   Chien, Kun-Chieh; Kepenekci, Mehmet; Tunell, Andrew; Chang, Chih-Hao (March 2025, Materials Horizons)

   Although there has been significant interest in the novel material properties of bio-inspired nanostructures, engineering them to become mechanically durable remains a significant challenge. This work demonstrates the fabrication of sapphire nanostructures with anti-glare, anti-fogging, anti-dust and scratch-resistant properties. The fabricated nanostructures demonstrated a period of 330 nm and an aspect ratio of 2.1, the highest reported for sapphire thus far. The nanostructured sapphire sample exhibited broadband and omnidirectional antireflection properties, with an enhanced transmission of up to 95.8% at a wavelength of 1360 nm. The sapphire nanostructures also exhibited enhanced wetting performance and could mitigate fogging from water condensation or repel water droplets. Furthermore, owing to their sharp features, the fabricated structures could prevent particulate adhesion and maintain a 98.7% dust-free surface area solely using gravity. Furthermore, nanoindentation and scratch tests indicated that the sapphire nanostructures have an indentation modulus and hardness of 182 GPa and 3.7 GPa, respectively, which are similar to those of bulk glass and scratch-resistant metals such as tungsten. These sapphire nanostructures can be fabricated using high-throughput nanomanufacturing techniques and can find applications in scratch-resistant optics for photonics, electronic displays, and protective windows. 

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2. Ocean Energy, Fluxes and an Anti-Anti-Turbulence Conjecture

   https://doi.org/10.1590/2675-2824070.21042wkd  

   Dewar, WK; Deremble, B (January 2022, Ocean and Coastal Research)
3. An Anti-Anti-Turbulence Conjecture

   Dewar, W; Deremble, B (January 2021, Ocean and Coastal Research)

   null (Ed.)
4. An Anti-Anti-Turbulence Conjecture

   Dewar, W; Deremble, B (January 2021, Ocean and Coastal Research)

   null (Ed.)

   Sandstrom's theorem suggested that buoyancy fluxes can not drive the overturning circulation, an idea that physical oceanographers continue to debate. This paper attempts to provide the most fundamental examination of Sandstrom's theorem that is possible. We conclude that the fundamental role of buoyant forcing in the modern ocean is to damp the circulation, that buoyance fluxes drive significant levels of turbulence, that buoyant turbulent generation is not solely proportional to molecular diffusivity and that some of the main pathways to turbulence are non-Boussineq. We conjecture that the ocean might not be constrained by the `Anti-Turbulence' theorem. 

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5. A multifunctional micropore-forming bioink with enhanced anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1758-5090/ac5936  

   Wang, Mian; Li, Wanlu; Luo, Zeyu; Tang, Guosheng; Mu, Xuan; Kuang, Xiao; Guo, Jie; Zhao, Zhibo; Flores, Regina Sanchez; Jiang, Zewei; et al (March 2022, Biofabrication)

   Abstract Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting has emerged as an enabling tool for various biomedical applications, such as tissue regeneration and tissue model engineering. To this end, the development of bioinks with multiple functions plays a crucial role in the applications of 3D bioprinting technologies. In this study, we propose a new bioink based on two immiscible aqueous phases of gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) and dextran, further endowed with anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. This micropore-forming GelMA-dextran (PGelDex) bioink exhibited excellent printability with vat-polymerization, extrusion, and handheld bioprinting methods. The porous structure was confirmed after bioprinting, which promoted the spreading of the encapsulated cells, exhibiting the exceptional cytocompatibility of this bioink formulation. To extend the applications of such a micropore-forming bioink, interleukin-4 (IL-4)-loaded silver-coated gold nanorods (AgGNRs) and human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were simultaneously incorporated, to display synergistic anti-infection behavior and immunomodulatory function. The results revealed the anti-bacterial properties of the AgGNR-loaded PGelDex bioink for both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The data also indicated that the presence of IL-4 and MSCs facilitated macrophage M2-phenotype differentiation, suggesting the potential anti-inflammatory feature of the bioink. Overall, this unique anti-bacterial and immunomodulatory micropore-forming bioink offers an effective strategy for the inhibition of bacterial-induced infections as well as the ability of immune-regulation, which is a promising candidate for broadened tissue bioprinting applications. 

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