Porous NiTi lattice structures are widely used in the manufacture of crucial components owing to their excellent shape memory effect, superelasticity, and high damping capacities. However, the specific strength and lightweight characteristics of porous NiTi lattice structures fabricated by conventional technologies are limited by unpredictability. In this work, three types of porous NiTi structures based on triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) – Diamond, Gyroid, and Primitive – were designed and manufactured by the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) additive manufacturing process. This work demonstrates LPBF is a feasible and efficient approach to fabricate highly accurate porous NiTi TPMS structures. Moreover, the influence of each of these structures on the mechanical and shape memory properties was investigated. Among the three structures, Gyroid had the smallest volume fraction deviation. Furthermore, the Diamond structure had the largest compressive modulus (782.82 MPa) and ultimate yield strength (163.14 MPa). The Gyroid and Primitive structures exhibit excellent elastic recovery deriving from high values of compressive modulus (662.44 MPa, and 703.29 MPa), and can maintain reliable structural robustness. The Primitive structure exhibited the lowest mechanical properties (37.80 MPa). During the cyclic compression test, Gyroid and Primitive show a smaller unrecovered strain than Diamond. Primitive shows the largest recovered strain during the heating process (6.98%). The higher mechanical flexibility of Primitive structure endows this structure with higher recovery ratio. During the direct compression test, the residual strain exhibits a positive correlation with the loading strain. All three structures exhibit good deformation recovery capability with a strain of 4%. At a strain of 12%, recovered strain during heating became the dominant factor in the recovery of the TPMS structure. Overall, porous NiTi TPMS structures are capable of reversible compressibility composed of rapid elastic recovery and controllable shape memory recovery. The unique performance of porous NiTi TPMS structure fabricated by LPBF renders it a highly efficiency energy-absorbing structure.

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Left ventricular thrombus (LVT) after acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) are generally associated with poorer outcomes for patients at long-term follow-up. We hypothesis that tissue characteristics and strain parameters by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging may indicate the interactions of LVT with ventricular myocardium remodeling at both acute stage and chronic stages in STEMI patients. This retrospective study included 111 consecutive STEMI patients (38 with LVT and 73 without LVT). All patients underwent CMR during acute stage (within 7 days) and chronic stage (after at least 2 months) periods after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Left ventricular native T1, extracellular volume (ECV), radial, circumferential, and longitudinal strain were analyzed in both phases. Major adverse cardiac events (MACE, including cardiovascular death, myocardial reinfarction, and hospitalization for heart failure), thromboembolic and bleeding events, were the clinical endpoints of the study. During the acute stage, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (OR 0.77, P value = 0.01) and longitudinal strain (OR 1.90, P value < 0.001) were correlated with LVT formation. Strain parameters were reduced, while the native T1 and ECV values of both the infarcted area and remote myocardium were elevated in LVT patients. During the chronic stage, LVT resolved in 29 of 38 patients (76%). LVT remaining patients had lower LVEF, a larger LV, and higher ECV in the acute stage than those of the LVT-resolved patients. In the long-term follow up of 678 days, LVT (HR 2.45, P value = 0.02), aneurysm (HR 1.81, P value = 0.04), and native T1 (HR 2.44, P value = 0.01) were identified as three independent predictors of MACE, the incidence of thromboembolic events and bleeding events by a multivariable stepwise Cox proportional hazards regression. STEMI patients developing LVT had worse LV function, myocardial infarction extent, strain, and higher T1 and ECV values than STEMI patients without LVT. The LVT-remaining patients in the chronic stage had poorer functional and mapping parameters beginning in the first week. During the acute stage, LVEF and global longitudinal strain were independent correlated with LVT formation. During the long-term follow up, LVT, aneurysm and elevated myocardial T1 were associated with adverse outcomes in acute STEMI patients.@en

Biochemical oxidation and reduction are the principle of biological water and wastewater treatment, in which electron donor and/or acceptor shall be provided. Elemental sulfur (S⁰) as a non-toxic and easily available material with low price, possesses both reductive and oxidative characteristics, suggesting that it is a suitable material for water and wastewater treatment. Recent advanced understanding of S⁰-respiring microorganisms and their metabolism further stimulated the development of S⁰-based technologies. As such, S⁰-based biotechnologies have emerged as cost-effective and attractive alternatives to conventional biological methods for water and wastewater treatment. For instance, S⁰-driven autotrophic denitrification substantially lower the operational cost for nitrogen removal from water and wastewater, compared to the conventional process with exogenous carbon source supplementation. The introduction of S⁰ can also avoid secondary pollution commonly caused by overdose of organic carbon. S⁰ reduction processes cost-effectively mineralize organic matter with low sludge production. Biological sulfide production using S⁰ as electron acceptor is also an attractive technology for metal-laden wastewater treatment, e.g. acid mine drainage. This paper outlines an overview of the fundamentals, characteristics and advances of the S⁰-based biotechnologies and highlights the functional S⁰-related microorganisms. In particular, the mechanisms of microorganisms accessing insoluble S⁰ and feasibility to improve S⁰ bio-utilization efficiency are critically discussed. Additionally, the research knowledge gaps, current process limitations, and required further developments are identified and discussed.

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