Resource utilization of hazardous modified spent pot lining (MSPL) within alkali-activated materials faces a critical dual bottleneck, which is the inherent brittleness of alkali-activated materials and severe performance degradation triggered by MSPL incorporation. To address this limitation, this study proposes a synergistic regulation strategy employing pre-synthesized calcium carbonate-mineralized polyacrylamide (CaCO3@PAM) hybrid micro-filler, yet enabling safe resource utilization of MSPL while mitigating the intrinsic brittleness and performance degradation of waste-blended matrices. Unlike conventional physical blending approaches, which suffer from alkaline degradation and particle agglomeration, this organic-inorganic architecture is fabricated via in-situ mineralization to retain structural integrity under highly alkaline conditions. Multi-scale characterization techniques are utilized to elucidate dosage-dependent regulating mechanisms across systems with MSPL dosages of 0-30 wt.% and hybrid filler dosages of 0-1.5 wt.%. The results show that MSPL inhibits C-A-S-H gel formation through CaF2 passivation. By contrast, the addition of CaCO3@PAM reverses such degradation via concurrent pathways. First, chemical compensation enabled by heterogeneous nano-nucleation and localized Ca[2+] supply, which increases 28-d flexural strength to 6.6 MPa (G100M0-P5) and 6.7 MPa (G100M0-P10). It also improves immobilization of fluorides and heavy metals through precipitation and chelation, ensuring leachability below regulatory thresholds. Importantly, the hybrid filler effectively mitigates the abnormal rapid-setting behavior induced by MSPL and extends the workable setting time to satisfy practical engineering requirements. This study establishes a micro-regulation strategy based on mineralized polymers that simultaneously resolves mechanical fragility, durability risks and environmental hazards of MSPL-containing alkali activation. This study offers a feasible framework for the safe valorization of hazardous industrial waste in low-carbon sustainable construction materials.

Background Citrate anticoagulation during plateletpheresis can reduce ionized calcium and cause neuromuscular or gastrointestinal symptoms. Identifying donor and procedure-related factors may support earlier recognition and prevention. This study assessed factors associated with clinically identified citrate toxicity among plateletpheresis donors. Methods This analytical observational cross-sectional study included 60 plateletpheresis donors at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, Bangladesh. Citrate toxicity was defined by any prespecified symptom or sign during the donation encounter. Crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs) were estimated using modified Poisson regression with robust variance. The parsimonious adjusted model included pre-procedure oral calcium exposure, body mass index (BMI), pre-donation platelet count, and anticoagulant citrate dextrose solution A (ACD-A) volume. Calcium administration was non-randomized, and total and ionized calcium were not measured. Results All 60 donors were male; 28 (46.7%) developed citrate toxicity. Compared with donors without toxicity, affected donors had lower mean BMI (24.03 versus 25.56 kg/m[2]; p=0.020), lower pre-donation platelet count (2.53 versus 3.23×10[11]/L; p<0.001), and greater mean ACD-A exposure (333.39 versus 259.13 mL; p<0.001). In adjusted analysis, absence of pre-procedure calcium was associated with higher toxicity prevalence (adjusted PR {aPR} 4.42, 95% CI: 2.59-7.56), each 1 kg/m[2] higher BMI with lower prevalence (aPR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.85-0.98), and each 50 mL higher ACD-A volume with higher prevalence (aPR: 1.65, 95% CI: 1.24-2.18). Pre-donation platelet count was not independently associated after adjustment (aPR: 0.79 per 0.5×10[11]/L, 95% CI: 0.56-1.12). Conclusions Clinical citrate toxicity was common and was associated with absence of pre-procedure calcium, lower BMI, and greater ACD-A volume. These findings identify potential monitoring markers but do not establish causality because procedural factors and symptoms were recorded within the same encounter and ionized calcium was not measured. The calcium association should be interpreted as exploratory and hypothesis-generating, rather than as evidence of prophylactic efficacy.

Groundwater is a key resource for dry-season irrigation in central Myanmar, yet its mineral saturation characteristics and implications for agricultural infrastructure remain poorly understood. This study presents a hydrogeochemical assessment of groundwater from 17 government-operated irrigation wells in southern Tatkon Township, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. Field measurements, laboratory analyses, and PHREEQC modelling were used to evaluate irrigation water quality and calcite saturation. Groundwater from most sampled wells is characterised by a Ca-Mg-HCO3 type, with hydrochemical composition mainly influenced by natural water-rock interactions, including probable carbonate weathering contributions. Most sampled wells show acidic to near-neutral conditions and are undersaturated with respect to calcite, with SIcalcite values ranging from - 2.06 to + 0.73 whereas one well shows localised calcite supersaturation. Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR) values ranged from 0.91 to 3.42, remaining well below the critical threshold of 10 and indicating low sodium hazard. Conventional salinity- and sodicity-based indices indicate that most sampled groundwater has generally acceptable conditions for maintaining soil infiltration and hydraulic functioning. However, calcite undersaturation, together with acidic conditions in several wells, suggests potential concerns for concrete linings and metal pumping infrastructure, while localised supersaturation may indicate a scaling tendency. These findings highlight that irrigation management within the investigated well network should consider both soil related suitability and the potential effects of groundwater chemistry on irrigation infrastructure.

This study elucidated the regulatory effects of heating methods and calcium salt types on the retrogradation behavior and underlying molecular mechanisms of starch-based gels. Microwave heating (MW) decreased the recrystallization rate and retrogradation propensity of the gels, significantly suppressing structural densification and retrogradation-induced hardening during refrigerated storage. Among the tested calcium salts, calcium hydrogen phosphate (CHP) exhibited superior long-term retrogradation inhibition compared with calcium carbonate (CC). Under water bath heating (WB), the incorporation of CC increased the consistency coefficient of the gels during retrogradation. Following extended retrogradation, the starch matrix of CC-40 collapsed and lost its capacity to entrap oil droplets, resulting in severe droplet coalescence and aggregation. In contrast, after 14 d of refrigeration, the hardness and degree of retrogradation of the MW CHP-40 decreased by 33.29% and 19.89%, respectively. Concurrently, the migration of immobilized water to free water was inhibited, allowing the gel to consistently meet International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) Level 5 standards. This uniform, dense network conferred superior emulsion stability, effectively preventing oil droplet coalescence and phase separation. Spectroscopic analysis revealed that Ca[2+] coordinated with starch hydroxyl groups, thereby disrupting the reconstruction of the hydrogen-bonding network. This coordination reduced both short-range order and relative crystallinity while broadening the full width at half maximum of the characteristic peak at 480 cm[-1]. Overall, combining MW with CHP incorporation offers an effective approach for maintaining the textural stability and swallowing safety of starch-based gels.

Carbon capture and storage from point emission sources is a crucial technology able to mitigate the progress of climate change by slowing down the emission of greenhouse gases. Current technologies, such as amine scrubbing and calcium looping, face challenges including high energy consumption and limited efficiency under humid conditions. Magnesium oxide (MgO) is a promising CO2 sorbent due to its lower decarboxylation enthalpy compared to calcium oxide, but its practical use is hindered by slow CO2 uptake kinetics and the formation of a passivating carbonate layer that inhibits further CO2 diffusion. While synthetic methods have improved MgO surface area, scalability remains an issue. This study addresses the kinetic limitations of MgO by investigating how continuous ball milling can reduce the performance hindrance from the passivating-carbonate layer on MgO and enhance CO2 uptake under industrially relevant conditions. Here we show that continuous ball milling of MgO under a CO2 atmosphere significantly increases its CO2 uptake capacity. Unlike conventional approaches that rely on presynthesized high-surface-area MgO, our results demonstrate that ball milling during the sorption step does not only increase the specific surface area of MgO but also actively enhances its CO2 capture performance, with a 6-fold increase in adsorption capacity compared to static exposure. The addition of water further boosts performance, doubling uptake under simulated flue gas conditions (10% CO2, 40 °C), likely due to the formation of bicarbonates and hydroxycarbonates. The performance stability of MgO under continuous milling and moisture conditions was evaluated in several sorption-regeneration cycles, showing consistent CO2 uptake over ten cycles with an average sorption capacity of 17.4 wt %. Structural analyses reveal that carbonation proceeds via magnesium hydroxycarbonate species, which fully decompose upon regeneration, preserving sorbent stability over ten cycles. This study underscores the practical relevance of mechanochemical activation for enhancing the capture capacity of MgO, offering a promising approach for industrial point-source CO2 capture applications.

The existing ReaxFF for the C/H/O/Ca/Si system exhibits poor compatibility with aqueous multiphase reactions. In this work, the aqueous carbonation of dicalcium silicate (C2S) derived from steel slag was selected as the research system, and parameter optimization and validation of the reactive force field were performed. Density functional theory with the GGA-PBE functional was adopted to conduct structural relaxation and potential energy surface scanning for C2S polymorphs, carbonate species, and reaction intermediates, and a comprehensive structure-energy training data set was established. Subsequently, ReaxFF parameters were trained using the ParAMS module, and molecular dynamics simulations of aqueous C2S carbonation were implemented via the LAMMPS code. The results show that the equation-of-state curves (volume-energy, bond length-energy, etc.) of the optimized C/H/O/Ca/Si force field agree well with the DFT reference data, which effectively addresses the difficulty in characterizing multiphase interfacial reactions involving water molecules. This optimized force field was applied to 10 ns MD simulations for the aqueous carbonation of β-C2S and γ-C2S. The simulations successfully reproduced the efficient adsorption and accumulation of CO2 and H2O on the C2S surface, while maintaining favorable computational efficiency with conventional computing resources. The force field parameters obtained in this study provide a robust computational tool for further elucidating the microscopic mechanism of aqueous carbon sequestration by calcium silicates.

Despite significant advancements in biomaterial-guided in situ bone regeneration, treating osteoporotic bone defects remains a substantial challenge in clinical practice. The imbalance in osteoblast/osteoclast function, coupled with attenuated vascularization, leads to delayed bone repair or even nonunion, whereas the acidic, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-rich osteoporotic microenvironment dampens macrophage immunological responses, creating a vicious cycle of inflammation and oxidative stress that inhibits bone regeneration. To address these challenges, a versatile coordination chemistry-driven tannic acid-functionalized calcium carbonate microsphere (TCM) was tailored and incorporated into 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine-modified hyaluronic acid (HA-DOPA)/phenylboronic acid-modified alginate (Alg-PBA)-based dynamically crosslinked hydrogel (HDAP/TCM) to promote the reconstruction of osteoporotic bone defects through integrated immune regulation, osteoblast/osteoclast homeostasis, and revascularization. Owing to the dual-crosslinking strategy of dynamic boronate bonds and metal coordination bonds, the resulting hydrogel exhibited an interconnected porous structure, injectability, tissue adhesion, self-healing behavior, enhanced mechanical properties, and pH/ROS-responsive degradation and release under the tested conditions. The TCM incorporated into the hydrogel functions as a naturally derived photothermal stimulator to induce osteogenesis, vascular network reconstruction, and M2 macrophage polarization, as well as to neutralize acidic inflammatory conditions in the osteoporotic bone microenvironment. Moreover, the developed HDAP/TCM hydrogel platform can respond intelligently to the pathological microenvironment (pH and ROS) of osteoporosis for the on-demand release of bioactive agents (i.e., polyphenols and Ca[2+]), combine spatiotemporally controlled mild local hyperthermia with synergistic free-radical scavenging, alleviate inflammation, protect osteoblasts and endothelial cells from oxidative stress damage, and inhibit excessive osteoclast activation in the alkaline microenvironment generated by TCM degradation. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that HDAP/TCM improved the inflammatory microenvironment by inhibiting NF-κB signaling and altering inflammation- and macrophage polarization-related gene expression in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, thereby significantly accelerating the repair and functional reconstruction of osteoporotic bone defects. In conclusion, these findings suggest that injectable microenvironment-responsive HDAP/TCM hydrogels can be promising alternative materials for the treatment of osteoporotic bone defects.

Oily sludge is one of the most hazardous wastes generated by the petroleum industry due to its high hydrocarbon content and associated environmental risks. In this study, solvent extraction was employed to recover hydrocarbon oil from sludge collected at the base of a crude oil tank in an Algerian refinery. Cyclohexane and xylene were selected as solvents due to their efficiency in extracting oil from aliphatic, cyclic, and aromatic fractions. Residual solids were collected to assess the environmental impact. To optimize oil recovery from the sludge, the effects of physicochemical parameters, including stirring time, solvent volume, and temperature, were studied. The extracted oil was characterized using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, while the residual solids were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and FTIR spectroscopy. Xylene demonstrated superior extraction performance, achieving an oil recovery rate of 96.11% from crude oil sludge. Elemental analysis of the residues revealed the presence of iron, sulfur, aluminum, silicon, and calcium, with calcium being the predominant element. XRD analysis identified calcium carbonate and silicon dioxide as the main mineral phases in the solid residues.

Bird eggshells are complex biomineralized materials composed of a mineral phase and an organic matrix that regulates crystal growth. In this study, we characterized the eggshell of Dromaius novaehollandiae using structural, chemical, proteomic, and in silico approaches to explore the role of intramineral proteins in biomineralization. Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analyses showed that calcite is the predominant mineral phase; however, structural and chemical differences were identified compared to Gallus gallus, particularly in the organization of the internal fibrillar network and in components associated with the organic matrix. Proteomic analysis identified biomineralization-related proteins, including DCA-1 and DCA-2. Subsequently, microtitration and crystal growth assays showed that the protein fractions exhibit functional activity in Ca[2+] and CO3[2-]/HCO3[-] systems, suggesting differential affinities for Ca[2+] and CO3[2-] species. Additionally, structural modeling using AlphaFold3 yielded the first three-dimensional models of DCA-1 and DCA-2 interacting with Ca[2+] and CO3[2-]. The models revealed distinct interaction patterns: DCA-1 exhibited a more distributed stabilization network for carbonate, whereas DCA-2 showed more concentrated regions associated with calcium and a more localized interaction with CO3[2-]. Taken together, the results suggest that DCA-1 and DCA-2 participate complementarily in regulating the mineralizing microenvironment during shell formation made of calcite. This study provides new structural and functional evidence on intramineral proteins in paleognaths and contributes to understanding ancestral mechanisms of biomineralization.

Developing strategies that simultaneously overcome chemoresistance and immune suppression remains a major challenge for improving transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Inspired by clinically used CaCO3 microspheres in TACE, we propose an "extracellular buffering-intracellular metabolic disruption" strategy to precisely regulate lactate homeostasis for targeted therapy. Herein, we engineered multifunctional embolic microspheres (SDCa-MSs) co-loaded with calcium carbonate nanoparticles (CaNPs), syrosingopine (Syr), and doxorubicin (DOX) for TACE application. Within the acidic tumor microenvironment, SDCa-MSs buffer extracellular acidity while disrupting intracellular lactate metabolism, thereby simultaneously remodeling extracellular and intracellular pH homeostasis. This coordinated regulation enhances DOX efficacy, induces calcium dyshomeostasis and immunogenic cell death, and ultimately stimulates robust antitumor immunity. In multiple murine HCC models, SDCa-MSs markedly suppress tumor growth, remodel the tumor immune microenvironment, and synergistically enhance the therapeutic efficacy of anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy. By integrating metabolic regulation, chemotherapy, and immune activation into a single embolic platform, this work establishes an acid-base homeostasis-regulating strategy for potentiating TACE and provides a conceptual framework for improving locoregional cancer immunotherapy.

By disrupting soil ecosystem functioning, cadmium threatens food safety. Therefore, a significant research imperative is to develop effective remediation strategies and understand the relationships between cadmium content in soil and plants and the content of other metals. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of calcium carbonate, sepiolite, expanded clay, zeolite, and molecular sieve on the growth and physiological response of Zea mays grown in cadmium-contaminated soil. Plant growth and development were assessed together with the translocation and bioaccumulation of cadmium and other metals (Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn, Fe, Ni, and Mn) and changes in soil physicochemical properties. The study was conducted as a pot experiment using uncontaminated soil and soil contaminated with 15 and 30 mg Cd kg[-1]. Depending on the contamination level, cadmium reduced the leaf greenness index of Zea mays by 10-16%, the yield of the aboveground parts by 60-76%, and root yield by 60-69%. The tested sorbents modified these responses mainly by altering the soil physicochemical properties. The molecular sieve was the most effective, reducing the negative effect of cadmium on the yield of the aboveground parts and roots by an average of 31% while not significantly affecting the leaf greenness index. Cadmium increased the translocation factor of all analyzed elements except cadmium itself, indicating its potential to affect the homeostasis of other elements in the plant. Heavy metal bioaccumulation in the roots of Zea mays was significantly greater than in the aboveground parts. Cadmium altered the bioaccumulation of individual elements to different extents, but these effects could be modified through the appropriate selection of mineral sorbents. These findings make an important contribution to the development of effective methods for remediating cadmium-contaminated soils.

Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) can transform a loose sand mass into a cemented porous medium. To elucidate its deformation and failure behavior, we developed a two-dimensional mesoscale finite element model. The model integrates a novel multiphase random particle placement algorithm with a cohesive zone model (CZM) to explicitly represent the heterogeneous microstructure of sand grains and CaCO3. The model was used to simulate crack evolution and mechanical response under uniaxial tension, compression, and direct shear, with the results validated against experimental data. Under uniaxial compression, the simulated peak strength was approximately 2.65 MPa, compared with an experimental average of 2.53 MPa. The proposed model accurately represents the multiphase microstructure and captures the main mechanical response characteristics. The results show that the sand-grain arrangement has a limited influence on peak strength but significantly affects post-peak behavior by controlling crack propagation. The simulations reproduced distinct failure modes: brittle tensile rupture, quasi-brittle shear failure, and mixed quasi-brittle-frictional compressive failure with inclined shear bands. Across all loading conditions, a common mesoscale failure mechanism was identified: microcracks initiate in weak or stress-concentrated regions, propagate along CaCO3-sand interfaces, and coalesce into through-going fractures. This study enhances the understanding of mechanics of MICP-cemented sand and provides a mechanism-oriented mesoscale framework for future analyses.