This in vitro study was to evaluate the effect of different non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma (NTP) on shear bond strength (SBS) between yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (Y-TZP) and self-adhesive resin cement. In this study, The Y-TZP specimens were divided into 4 groups according to the surface treatment methods as follows: Control (no surface treatment), Sb (Sandblasting), AP(argon NTP), and CP(20 % oxygen and 80 % argon combination NTP). Y-TZP specimens were randomly selected from each group to observe and test the following indexes: scanning electron microscope to observe the surface morphology; atomic force microscope to detect the surface roughness; contact angle detector to detect the surface contact angle; energy spectrometer to analyze the surface elements. Then, resin cement (Rely X-U200) was bonded to human isolated teeth with Y-TZP specimens to measure SBS. The results showed that for the SE test, the NTP group was significantly higher than the control group (p < 0.05). The results of the SBS test showed that the SBS values of the NTP group were significantly higher than those of the other groups, regardless of the plasma treatment (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference between groups AP and CP in a test of SBS (p > 0.05). This study shows that non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma can improve the shear bond strength of Y-TZP by increasing the surface energy. The addition of oxygen ratio to argon is more favorable to increase the shear bond strength and is worth further investigation.

The complex and variable structure of subsurface oil reservoirs as well as the small pore throat size of reservoirs make it extremely important to investigate the effect of oil-water-rock interactions for enhancing oil recovery. In this paper, the powder wettability of oil sand with different polar solvents was investigated using the improved Washburn capillary rise method, and the surface free energy of oil sand was calculated in combination with the OWRK method. In addition, the wettability of anionic surfactants HABS and PS solutions on the surface of oil sand was determined, and it showed that their wetting rates showed different trends after CMC (critical micelle concentration). The C×cosθ value of HABS decreased significantly with increasing concentration, whereas PS showed little changes. This may be related to the aggregate structure formed by HABS on the oil sand surface. Meanwhile, the interfacial free energy between crude oil and oil sand was obtained by crude oil-to-oil sand wetting experiments, and found that the wetting rate of crude oil to oil sand was much lower than that of solvents and surfactants. In combination with the above results and the oil-water interfacial tension (IFT), the oil-water-rock three-phase contact angle and the work of adhesion between the crude oil and the solid were obtained by Young\'s equation. From the three-phase contact angle results, it can be found that the contact angle values of both HABS and PS are obviously higher than that of the simulated water, and both HABS and PS have the ability to significantly reduce the work of adhesion, which shows a strong ability to strip the oil film on the surface of the solid. The research results of this paper are helpful to understand the oil displacement mechanism of chemical flooding in reservoir pores, which is of great significance for improving oil recovery.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have gained considerable interest as candidate photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution. In this work, we synthesized β-keto-enamine-based COFs (TpPa-X, TpDB, and TpDTP) to explore the relations between structures and photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. COFs were divided into two groups: (1) TpPa-X with different substituents attached to the TpPa backbone and (2) COFs featuring diamine linkers of varied lengths (TpDB and TpDTP). Experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that moderate hydrophobicity is favorable for the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution process, and acceptable contact angles are anticipated to range from 65° to 80°. Naturally, there are comprehensive factors that affect photocatalytic reactions, and the regulation of different backbones and substituents can considerably affect the performance of COFs for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution in terms of electronic structure, specific surface area, surface wettability, carrier separation efficiency, and hydrogen dissociation energy. Results show that TpPa-Cl2 (TpPa-X, X  = Cl2) demonstrates the highest photocatalytic activity, approximately 14.51 mmol g-1h-1, with an apparent quantum efficiency of 4.62 % at 420 nm. This work provides guidance for designing efficient COF-based photocatalysts.

UNASSIGNED: Partial or complete submergence of trees can occur in natural wetlands during times of high waters, but the submergence events have increased in severity and frequency over the past decades. Taxodium distichum is well-known for its waterlogging tolerance, but there are also numerous observations of this species becoming partially or complete submerged for longer periods of time. Consequently, the aims of the present study were to characterize underwater net photosynthesis (PN) and leaf anatomy of T. distichum with time of submergence.
UNASSIGNED: We completely submerged 6 months old seedling of T. distichum and diagnosed underwater (PN), hydrophobicity, gas film thickness, Chlorophyll concentration and needles anatomy at discrete time points during a 30-day submergence event. We also constructed response curves of underwater PN to CO2, light and temperature.
UNASSIGNED: During the 30-day submergence period, no growth or formation new leaves were observed, and therefore T. distichum shows a quiescence response to submergence. The hydrophobicity of the needles declined during the submergence event resulting in complete loss of gas films. However, the Chlorophyll concentration of the needles also declined significantly, and it was there not possible to identify the main cause of the corresponding significant decline in underwater PN. Nevertheless, even after 30 days of complete submergence, the needles still retained some capacity for underwater photosynthesis under optimal light and CO2 conditions.
UNASSIGNED: However, to fully understand the stunning submergence tolerance of T. distichum, we propose that future research concentrate on unravelling the finer details in needle anatomy and biochemistry as these changes occur during submergence.

Microdroplets are a class of soft matter that has been extensively employed for chemical, biochemical, and industrial applications. However, fabricating microdroplets with largely controllable contact-area shape and apparent contact angle, a key prerequisite for their applications, is still a challenge. Here, by engineering a type of surface with homocentric closed-loop microwalls/microchannels, we can achieve facile size, shape, and contact-angle tunability of microdroplets on the textured surfaces by design. More importantly, this class of surface topologies (with universal genus value = 1) allows us to reveal that the conventional Gibbs equation (widely used for assessing the edge effect on the apparent contact angle of macrodroplets) seems no longer applicable for water microdroplets or nanodroplets (evidenced by independent molecular dynamics simulations). Notably, for the flat surface with the intrinsic contact angle ~0°, we find that the critical contact angle on the microtextured counterparts (at edge angle 90°) can be as large as >130°, rather than 90° according to the Gibbs equation. Experiments show that the breakdown of the Gibbs equation occurs for microdroplets of different types of liquids including alcohol and hydrocarbon oils. Overall, the microtextured surface design and topological wetting states not only offer opportunities for diverse applications of microdroplets such as controllable chemical reactions and low-cost circuit fabrications but also provide testbeds for advancing the fundamental surface science of wetting beyond the Gibbs equation.

The performance of nano- and micro-porous materials in capturing and releasing fluids, such as during CO2 geo-storage and water/gas removal in fuel cells and electrolyzers, is determined by their wettability in contact with the solid. However, accurately characterizing wettability is challenging due to spatial variations in dynamic forces, chemical heterogeneity, and surface roughness. In situ measurements can potentially measure wettability locally as a contact angle - the angle a denser phase (e.g water) contacts solid in the presence of a second phase (e.g. hydrogen, air, CO2) - but suffer from difficulties in accurately capturing curvatures, contact areas, and contact loops of multiphase fluids. We introduce a novel extended topological method for in situ contact angle measurement and provide a comparative review of current geometric and topological methods, assessing their accuracy on ideal surfaces, porous rocks containing CO2, and water in gas diffusion layers. The new method demonstrates higher accuracy and reliability of in situ measurements for uniformly wetting systems compared to previous topological approaches, while geometric measurements perform best for mixed-wetting domains. This study further provides a comprehensive open-source platform for in situ characterization of wettability in porous materials with implications for gas geo-storage, fuel cells and electrolyzers, filtration, and catalysis.

Cosmetics and personal care products containing titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) may enter aquatic environments, where the surface coatings of TiO2 NPs may change with aging due to environmental factors such as light, and potentially affect their bioaccumulation and toxicity. This study examined how aging impacted the physicochemical properties of three commercially available TiO2 NPs and subsequent influence on the bioaccumulation and toxicity of copper (Cu) in Daphnia magna (D. magna). We demonstrated that aging significantly affected the hydrophobicity of TiO2 NPs, which affected their binding to water molecules and adsorption of Cu. Changes of bioaccumulation of TiO2 NPs and Cu in D. magna ultimately affected the activities of intracellular antioxidant enzymes such as SOD, CAT, GSH-Px, and the transmembrane protein Na+/K+-ATPase. Molecular docking calculations demonstrated that changes of activities of these biological enzymes were due to the interaction between TiO2 NPs, Cu, and amino acid residues near the sites with the lowest binding energy and active center of the enzyme. Such effect was closely related to the hydrophobicity of TiO2 NPs. Our study demonstrated the close relationship between surface properties of TiO2 NPs and their biological effects, providing important evidence for understanding the behavior of nanomaterials in aquatic environments.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to compare the changes in foot at different sole-ground contact angles during forefoot running. This study tried to help forefoot runners better control and improve their technical movements by comparing different sole-ground contact angles. Methods: A male participant of Chinese ethnicity was enlisted for the present study, with a recorded age of 25 years, a height of 183 cm, and a body weight of 80 kg. This study focused on forefoot strike patterns through FE analysis. Results: It can be seen that the peak von Mises stress of M1-5 (Metatarsal) of a (Contact angle: 9.54) is greater than that of b (Contact angle: 7.58) and c (Contact angle: 5.62) in the three cases. On the contrary, the peak von Mises stress of MC (Medial Cuneiform), IC (Intermediate Cuneiform), LC (Lateral Cuneiform), C (Cuboid), N (Navicular), T (Tarsal) in three different cases is opposite, and the peak von Mises stress of c is greater than that of a and b. The peak von Mises stress of b is between a and c. Conclusion: This study found that a reduced sole-ground contact angle may reduce metatarsal stress fractures. Further, a small sole-ground contact angle may not increase ankle joint injury risk during forefoot running. Hence, given the specialized nature of the running shoes designed for forefoot runners, it is plausible that this study may offer novel insights to guide their athletic pursuits.

Despite their effectiveness in preventing icing, hydrophobic coatings possess drawbacks such as susceptibility to detachment and limited wear resistance, leading to inadequate longevity in melting ice/snow. To enhance the surface stability and durability of superhydrophobic coatings, nanoparticle/epoxy formulations were developed using three types of nanoparticles, two dispersion techniques, three application methods, and two epoxy resin introduction approaches. Testing encompassed water contact angle measurements, assessment of ice adhesion force, and determination of icing rates on asphalt concrete coated with these hydrophobic formulations. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy was employed to analyze the molecular structures of the coatings, while scanning electron microscopy facilitated observation of the surface morphology of the hydrophobic coatings. The findings indicated that nano-ZnO, TiO2, and SiO2 particles could be modified into hydrophobic forms using stearic acid. Application of the hydrophobic coating improved the concrete\'s hydrophobicity, reduced ice adhesion strength on both concrete and asphalt, and delayed the onset of icing. Furthermore, optimal dosages of stearic acid, nanoparticles, and epoxy resin were identified as crucial parameters within specific ranges to ensure the optimal hydrophobicity and durability of the coatings.

Saturated aqueous salt solutions have diverse applications in food production, mineral processing, pharmaceuticals, and environmental monitoring. However, the random and disordered arrangement of ions in these solutions poses limitations across different fields. In this study, we employ magnetic fields to regulate the disordered arrangement by a comprehensive methodology combining contact angle measurement, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and molecular dynamics simulations on saturated KCl solutions. Our findings reveal that weak magnetic fields impede the formation of K-Cl contact pairs and disrupt hydrogen bond networks, particularly DDAA and free OH types. However, they facilitate the interaction between water molecules and ions, leading to an increase in the number of K-O and Cl-H contact pairs, along with an expansion in ion hydration radius. These changes affect macroscopic properties, including the interaction with solid substrates and potential solubility increases. Our experimental and simulation results mutually validate each other, contributing to a theoretical framework for studying magnetic field-material interactions.