Sudhakar Muniyasamy¹, Andrew Anstey², Murali M. Reddy¹, Manju Misra^1,2, Amar Mohanty^1,2,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.1, No.4, pp. 253-272, 2013, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2013.634117

Abstract Lignocellulosic composites have attracted interest from both academia and industry due to their benefi cial environmental and sustainability attributes. The lignocellulosic industry has seen remarkable improvements in the development of composites for high performance applications. Both biodegradable as well as non-biodegradable polymers are used in the design and engineering of lignocellulosic composites. Biodegradability studies of lignocellulosic composites in soil and composting environments help in planning their end-life management. Biodegradability tests are complex and dependent on the environment in which the testing is carried out. Due to this, standards have been developed by international agencies such as the American Society for… More >

Vu Thanh Phuong^1,2, Steven Verstichel³, Patrizia Cinelli^1,4, Irene Anguillesi¹, Maria-Beatrice Coltelli¹, Andrea Lazzeri^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.1, pp. 35-41, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2013.634136

Abstract Cellulose acetate (CDA) cannot be processed as raw material because it starts to decompose before melting. Triacetin and diacetin were tested to improve CDA processing versus conventional phthalate as environmentally sustainable plasticizers, because of their low toxicity and fast biodegradability. The addition of triacetin and diacetin allowed melt processing of CDA and the results of tensile tests outlined their effect as plasticizers. The values of mechanical properties were compatible with the requirements for applications in rigid packaging. From the results of biodegradation tests it can be concluded that for pure cellulose acetate, complete biodegradation was obtained within 200 days of… More >

Rosana Moriana^1,2,*, Emma Strömberg¹, Amparo Ribes², Sigbritt Karlsson^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.2, pp. 145-156, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634103

Abstract The purpose of this work was to study the effect of hydrothermal, biological and photo degradation on natural fi bres reinforced biodegradable starch-based (Mater-BiKE) composites to characterize the structural changes occurring under exposure to different environments. The composites water-uptake rate was hindered by the interfacial interactions between matrix and fi bres. Thermal, structural and morphological analysis provided useful information about the irreversible changes in the properties of the composites caused by degradation in soil and photodegradation, and their synergetic effects. The effects due to the photo-oxidation and degradation in soil on the composites depended on the different chemical composition of… More >

A. Paberza^*, L. Stiebra, U. Cabulis

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.3, No.1, pp. 19-27, 2015, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634138

Abstract Rigid polyurethane foams were obtained from pulp production byproducts. Three different polyols were used—tall oil polyol, lignopolyol and commercially available polyol for comparison. The obtained rigid polyurethane foams underwent photodegradation at 60°C temperature and at 0.89 W/m² intensity of UV light radiation up to 1000 h. Changes in chemical structure were observed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy was used to study changes in cell morphology. Spectrophotometery was used to determine yellowing of the foams. Results showed that the thickness of degraded layer for rigid polyurethane foams obtained from pulp production byproducts was ~25% less than for… More >

Shiqin He^*, Jiaxing Zhao, Chunyue Wang, Hui Wang

Structural Durability & Health Monitoring, Vol.16, No.3, pp. 195-212, 2022, DOI:10.32604/sdhm.2022.08886

Abstract In marine environments, the durability of reinforced concrete structures such as bridges, which suffer from the coupled effects of corrosion and fatigue damage, is significantly reduced. Fatigue loading can result in severe deterioration of the bonds between reinforcing steel bars and the surrounding concrete, particularly when reinforcing bars are corroded. Uniaxial tension testing was conducted under static loading and fatigue loading conditions to investigate the bonding characteristics between corroded reinforcing bars and concrete. An electrolyte corrosion technique was used to accelerate steel corrosion. The results show that the bond strength was reduced under fatigue loading, although the concrete did not… More >

Yatim Lailun Ni’mah^*, Suprapto Suprapto, Harmami, Ita Ulfin, Puput Asmaul Fauziyah

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.10, No.9, pp. 2365-2376, 2022, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2022.020001

Abstract Capsule shells have been successfully fabricated from water-soluble chitosan (WSC) with the addition of alginate and Gembili starch. WSC was synthesized from crab shell chitosan by depolymerization reaction. The capsule shells were made with the composition of WSC: Alginate, 2:1, 3:1 and 4:1 (w/w) with and without the addition of Gembili starch. Gembili starch was added with a ratio of Alginate: Starch, 1:1 (w/w). The capsule shell properties were evaluated according to Indonesian Pharmacopoeia standard. The solubility test showed that the capsule shells were comply with the standard. The highest degrees of swelling in water and HCl 0.1 N solution… More > Graphic Abstract

Shen Zhang¹, Yongqi Jian¹, Bingjing Yan², Jin Jin¹, Jiasen Wu¹, Chenfei Liang¹, Juan Liu^1,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.91, No.8, pp. 1745-1756, 2022, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2022.021076

Abstract The impact of land consolidation on the soil microbial PLFA diversity is of great importance for understanding the effective arable land usage, improving agricultural ecological conditions and environment. In this study, we collected the soil samples (0–20 cm) in experimental plots with 0 (Z₀), 1 (Z_1a) and 4 (Z_4a) years of land consolidation in the forest station of Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, southeastern China. The results were analyzed using ANOVA for randomized block design. Compared with control (Z₀), the soil pH value under Z_1a treatment increased by 14.6%, soil organic carbon (SOC) content decreased by 65.4%, so did the PLFA… More >

Arpita Roy^1,*, H. C. Ananda Murthy² , Hiwa M. Ahmed^3,4, Mohammad Nazmul Islam⁵, Ram Prasad^6,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.10, No.7, pp. 1911-1930, 2022, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2022.019410

Abstract Now-a-days nanotechnology is one of the booming fields for the researchers. With the increase in industrialization mainly textile, paper, medicine, plastic industry, there is an increase in concentration of organic dyes as pollutant. Release of harmful dyes in water bodies has become a serious issue, as most of the dyes are carcinogenic and mutagenic in nature and causes various diseases. Therefore, there is a requirement to find out new approaches for efficient treatment of effluent containing dyes. Nanoparticles are one of the potential solutions to this problem. They can be synthesized from different methods, however synthesis of nanoparticles from different… More >

Dehong Teng^1,#, Jing Zhang^1,#, Xinzhi Luo¹, Fei Jing¹, Hengwei Wang¹, Jing Chen^1,* , Chao Yang¹, Shaohong Zang^1,*, Yingtang Zhou^1,2

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.10, No.9, pp. 2378-2391, 2022, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2022.019209

Abstract Semiconductor photocatalysis is a novel highly efficient and low-cost method for removing organic pollutants from wastewater. However, the photoreduction performance of semiconductors on organic pollutants is limited due to the weak absorption of visible light caused by its wide band gap and low carrier utilization rate resulting from severe electron-holes recombination. In the present study, flower-like NH2-UiO-66 (NU66)/ZnO nanocomposites were prepared using a facile method and exhibited high efficiency under visible light driven photocatalysts. The X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmitor electron microscope (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the prepared samples, indicating that… More > Graphic Abstract

YAO XU^1,#, BIN WU^2,#, JING YANG³, SHENG ZHANG², LONGGEN LIU⁴, SUOBAO XU^2,*, JIAKAI JIANG^2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.6, pp. 1483-1491, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.017745

Abstract To study the roles and association of murine double minute gene 2 (MDM2) and fructose-1,6-biphosphatase (FBP1) in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), growth response of human HCC cells was assessed using proliferation and apoptosis assay. Pro-survival AKT signaling associated proteins (p-AKT, survivin and cleaved caspase 3) were assessed using western blotting. The correlation between MDM2 and FBP1 was assessed using co-immunoprecipitation combined with ubiquitination assay. Our data suggested that low expression of FBP1 was correlated with high levels of MDM2 in HCC cell lines (Huh7 and Hep3B). Overexpression of FBP1 resulted in anti-proliferation, pro-apoptosis, the up-regulation of cleaved caspase 3 while… More >