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This research was developed to investigate whether inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense in combination with silicon (Si) can enhance N use efficiency (NUE) in wheat and to evaluate and correlate nutritional and productive components and wheat grain yield. The study was carried out on a Rhodic Hapludox under a no-till system with a completely randomized block design with four replications in a 2 × 2 × 5 factorial scheme: two liming sources (with Ca and Mg silicate as the Si source and limestone); two inoculations (control - without inoculation and seed inoculation with A . brasilense ) and five side-dress N rates (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kg ha −1 ). The results of this study showed positive improvements in wheat growth production parameters, NUE and grain yield as a function of inoculation associated with N rates. Inoculation can complement and optimize N fertilization, even with high N application rates. The potential benefits of Si use were less evident; however, the use of Si can favour N absorption, even when associated with A . brasilense . Therefore, studies conducted under tropical conditions with Ca and Mg silicate are necessary to better understand the role of Si applied alone or in combination with growth-promoting bacteria such as A . brasilense .

Tissue engineering scaffolds are three-dimensional structures that provide an appropriate environment for cellular attachment, proliferation, and differentiation. Depending on their specific purpose, these scaffolds must possess distinct features, including appropriate mechanical properties, porosity, desired degradation rate, and cell compatibility. This investigation aimed to fabricate a new nanocomposite scaffold using a 3D printing technique composed of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/Gelatin (GEL)/ordered mesoporous calcium-magnesium silicate (om-CMS) particles. Different weight ratios of om-CMS were added and optimized, and a series of scaffolds were constructed for comparison purposes, including PCL 50%/Gel 50%, PCL 50%/Gel 45%/om-CMS%5, and PCL 50%/Gel 40%/om-CMS%10. The optimized weight ratio of om-CMS was 10% without leaving behind negative effects on the filaments’ structure. The scaffolds’ physical and chemical properties were assessed using various techniques, and their degradation rate, bioactivity potential, cell viability, attachment, and ALP activity were evaluated in vitro. The results demonstrated that the PCL 50%/Gel 40%/om-CMS10% scaffold had promising potential for further studies in bone tissue regeneration.

Calcium magnesium phosphate cements (CMPCs) were obtained starting from dolomite (alone or mixed with fly ash) thermally treated at two different temperatures. Dolomite calcination at 750 °C for 3 h determined the formation of a mixture of MgO and CaCO3. The mixing of dolomite with fly ash and the increase in the calcination temperature at 1200 °C determined the formation of new compounds (calcium aluminum silicate and calcium magnesium silicates), which are present along with MgO and small amounts of CaO in the thermally treated material. These two precursors were mixed with KH2PO4 solution and borax (as a retardant admixture) to obtain the CMPCs. The setting time and compressive strengths of these CMPCs were assessed and the XRD analyses provided insights into their mineralogical composition after hardening and thermal treatment. The cements, as so or mixed with perlite, were applied on steel plates, to assess their behavior when put in direct contact with a flame. The compatibility of these materials with the steel substrate was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The direct contact with the flame up to 60 min provided information regarding the CMPCs’ ability to prevent the rapid increase in the substrate (steel plate) temperature. The findings indicate that CMPC pastes and composites containing perlite can offer a degree of protection for steel structures in the event of a fire.

During flight, many silicates (sand, dust, debris, fly ash, etc.) are ingested by an engine. They melt at high operating temperatures on the surface of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) to form calcium-magnesium-aluminum-silicate (CMAS) amorphous settling. CMAS corrodes TBCs and causes many problems, such as composition segregation, degradation, cracking, and disbanding. As a new generation of TBC candidate materials, rare-earth zirconates (such as Sm 2 Zr 2 O 7 ) have good CMAS resistance properties. The reaction products of Sm 2 Zr 2 O 7 and CMAS and their subsequent changes were studied by the reaction of Sm 2 Zr 2 O 7 and excess CMAS at 1350 °C. After 1 h of reaction, Sm 2 Zr 2 O 7 powders were not completely corroded. The reaction products were Sm-apatite and c-ZrO 2 solid solution. After 4 h of reaction, all Sm 2 Zr 2 O 7 powders were completely corroded. After 24 h of reaction, Sm-apatite disappeared, and the c-ZrO 2 solid solution remained.

High efficiency of hybrid implants based on calcium-magnesium silicate ceramic, diopside, as a carrier of recombinant BMP-2 and xenogenic demineralized bone matrix (DBM) as a scaffold for bone tissue regeneration was demonstrated previously using the model of critical size cranial defects in mice. In order to investigate the possibility of using these implants for growing autologous bone tissue using in vivo bioreactor principle in the patient’s own body, effectiveness of ectopic osteogenesis induced by them in intramuscular implantation in mice was studied. At the dose of 7 μg of BMP-2 per implant, dense agglomeration of cells, probably skeletal muscle satellite precursor cells, was observed one week after implantation with areas of intense chondrogenesis, initial stage of indirect osteogenesis, around the implants. After 12 weeks, a dense bone capsule of trabecular structure was formed covered with periosteum and mature bone marrow located in the spaces between the trabeculae. The capsule volume was about 8-10 times the volume of the original implant. There were practically no signs of inflammation and foreign body reaction. Microcomputed tomography data showed significant increase of the relative bone volume, number of trabeculae, and bone tissue density in the group of mice with BMP-2-containing implant in comparison with the group without BMP-2. Considering that DBM can be obtained in practically unlimited quantities with required size and shape, and that BMP-2 is obtained by synthesis in E. coli cells and is relatively inexpensive, further development of the in vivo bioreactor model based on the hybrid implants constructed from BMP-2, diopside, and xenogenic DBM seems promising.

A series of porous silica materials coated with honeycomb-like magnesium silicate were prepared under hydrothermal conditions, using natural one-dimensional porous attapulgite as the template and a silicon source with different Mg/Si ratios, by adjusting the amount of MgCl2⋅6H2O and the attapulgite precursor and regulating pH. The influence of the Mg/Si ratios was carefully investigated on morphology, pore structure, and related adsorption actions toward methylene blue. The Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models were used to explain the adsorption behavior of methylene blue. The synthesized composite with the lowest magnesium content displayed the highest removal capability of 166.67 mg/g for methylene blue, with a zeta potential of −18.18 mV, a specific surface area of 310.4 m2/g, and an average pore size of 3.7 nm. The removal result was the synergetic adsorption between porous magnesium silicate grown on the surface and the rest of the silica, further indicating that the attapulgite is available as a silicon source and a rod-shaped template for magnesium silicate.

In order to explore a wider range and lower cost of raw materials for the preparation of magnesium silicate hydrate (M-S-H), an acid-leaching method was employed to extract and separate high-purity magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2) with a purity higher than 97% and amorphous silica with a purity higher than 90% from four types of natural silicate minerals (serpentine, peridotite, zeolite, and montmorillonite). These two intermediate products, which are amorphous silica and magnesium hydroxide, were used to prepare M-S-H, and the influence of curing at two temperatures, 50 °C and 80 °C, on the properties of M-S-H was investigated. The results showed that with the increase in curing temperature, the bound water content, tetrahedral polymerization degree, and Mg(OH)2 content increased. There was a good correlation between the increase in strength and the bound water content of M-S-H. This work provides a possible technological route for expanding the raw materials for preparing magnesium silicate hydrate cementitious materials and utilizing the abundant magnesium silicate minerals in the Earth’s crust.

Calcium-magnesium silicate ceramics, diopside, is a promising material for use in bone plastics, but until now the possibility of its use as a carrier of recombinant bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) has not been studied, as well as the features of reparative osteogenesis mediated by the materials based on diopside with BMP-2. Powder of calcium-magnesium silicate ceramics was obtained by solid-state synthesis using biowaste – rice husks and egg shells – as source components. Main phase of the obtained ceramics was diopside. The obtained particles were irregularly shaped with an average size of about 2.3 μm and ~20% porosity; average pore size was about 24 nm, which allowed the material to be classified as mesoporous. Diopside powder adsorbs more than 150 μg of recombinant BMP-2 per milligram, which exceeds binding capacity of hydroxyapatite, a calcium-phosphate ceramic often used in hybrid implants, by more than 3 times. In vitro release kinetics of BMP-2 was characterized by a burst release in the first 2 days and a sustained release of approximately 0.4 to 0.5% of the loaded protein over the following 7 days. In vivo experiments were performed with a mouse model of cranial defects of critical size with implantation of a suspension of diopside powder with/without BMP-2 in hyaluronic acid incorporated into the disks of demineralized bone matrix with 73-90% volume porosity and macropore size from 50 to 650 μm. Dynamics of neoosteogenesis and bone tissue remodeling was investigated histologically at the time points of 12, 21, 48, and 63 days. Diopside particles were evenly spread in the matrix and caused minimal foreign body reaction. In the presence of BMP-2 by the day 63 significant foci of newly formed bone tissue were formed in the implant pores with bone marrow areas, moreover, large areas of demineralized bone matrix in the implant center and maternal bone at the edges were involved in the remodeling. Diopside could be considered as a promising material for introduction into hybrid implants as an effective carrier of BMP-2.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies have been emerged as a fabrication method to obtain engineering components within a short span of time. Desktop 3D printing, also referred as additive layer manufacturing technology is one of the powerful method of rapid prototyping (RP) technique that fabricates three dimensional engineering components. In this method, 3D digital CAD data is converted directly to a product. In the present investigation, ABS + hydrous magnesium silicate composite was considered as the starting material. Mechanical properties of ABS + hydrous magnesium silicate composite material were evaluated. ASTM D638 and ASTM D760 standards were followed for carrying out tensile and flexural tests, respectively. Samples with different layer thickness and printing speed were prepared. Based on the experimental results, it is suggested that low printing speed, and low layer thickness has resulted maximum tensile and flexural strength, as compared to all the other process parameters samples.

The idea of this work is to reduce the negative effect of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) manufacture on the environment by decreasing clinker production temperature and developing an alternative rankinite binder that hardens in the CO2 atmosphere. The common OPC raw materials, limestone and mica clay, if they contain a higher MgO content, have been found to be unsuitable for the synthesis of CO2-curing low-lime binders. X-ray diffraction analysis (ex-situ and in-situ in the temperature range of 25–1150 °C) showed that akermanite Ca2Mg(Si2O7) begins to form at a temperature of 900 °C. According to Rietveld refinement, the interlayer distances of the resulting curve are more accurately described by the compound, which contains intercalated Fe2+ and Al3+ ions and has the chemical formula Ca2(MgO0.495·FeO0.202·AlO0.303)·(FeO0.248·AlO·Si1.536·O7). Stoichiometric calculations showed that FeO and Al2O3 have replaced about half of the MgO content in the akermanite structure. All this means that only ~4 wt% MgO content in the raw materials determines that ~60 wt% calcium magnesium silicates are formed in the synthesis product. Moreover, it was found that the formed akermanite practically does not react with CO2. Within 24 h of interaction with 99.9 wt% of CO2 gas (15 bar), the intensity of the akermanite peaks does not practically change at 25 °C; no changes are observed at 45 °C, either, which means that the chemical reaction does not take place. As a result, the compressive strength of the samples compressed from the synthesized product and CEN Standard sand EN 196-1 (1:3), and hardened at 15 bar CO2, 45 °C for 24 h, was only 14.45 MPa, while the analogous samples made from OPC clinker obtained from the same raw materials yielded 67.5 MPa.