The pore-throat radius of shale oil reservoir is extremely small, and it is difficult to accurately obtain the absolute permeability and oil-water two-phase relative permeability of actual oil reservoir through conventional core experiments. However, these parameters are very important for reservoir numerical simulation. In this paper, a method for characterizing flow parameters based on pore network model that considers differential pressure flow and diffusion flow is proposed. Firstly, a digital core was reconstructed using focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) from the Gulong shale reservoir in the Songliao Basin, China, and a pore network model was extracted. Secondly, quasi-static single-phase flow and two-phase flow equations considering diffusion were established in the pore network model. Finally, pore throat parameters, absolute permeability, and oil-water two-phase permeability curves were calculated, respectively. The results show that the pore throat distribution of Gulong shale reservoir is mainly concentrated in the nanometer scale, the mean pore radius is 87 nm, the mean throat radius is 41 nm, and the mean coordination number is 3.97; The calculated permeability considering diffusion is 0.000124mD, which is approximately twice the permeability calculated without considering diffusion; The irreducible water saturation of the Gulong shale reservoir is approximately 0.26, and the residual oil saturation is approximately 0.73. The method proposed in this paper can provide an important approach for characterizing the flow parameters of similar shale oil reservoirs.

The acylation of unsymmetrical N-benzylbispidinols in aromatic solvents without external base led to formation of supramolecular gels, which possess different thickness and stability depending on the substituents in para-positions of benzylic group and nature of acylating agent as well as on the nature of the solvent used. Structural features of the native gels as well as of their dried forms were studied by complementary techniques including FT IR- and ATR-spectroscopy, AFM, TEM, SEM, SAXS. Structures of the key crystalline compounds were established by X-ray diffraction. Analysis of obtained data allowed speculating on the crucial structural and condition factors that governed the gel formation. The most important factors were: (i) absence of base, either external or internal; (ii) presence of HCl; (iii) presence of carbonyl and hydroxyl groups to allow hydrogen bonding; (iv) presence of two (hetero)aromatic rings at both sides of the molecule. The hydrogen bonding involving amide carbonyl, hydroxyl at 9th position and, very probably, ammonium N-H+ and Cl- anion appear to be responsible for the formation of infinite molecular chains required for the first step of gel formation. Subsequent lateral cooperation of molecular chains into fibers occured, presumably, due to the aromatic pi-pi-stacking interactions. sc-CO2 drying of the gels gave rise to aerogels morphology different from that of air dried samples.

In China, the production of crop straw has been estimated to be approximately 800 Million tons yearly of which about 40% was burned. Corn stover is one of the main agricultural wastes in China. It has shown that lignin in corn stover could be effectively removed byMyrothecium verrucaria. The effects of the pretreatment of corn strover by Myrothecium verrucaria on compost were studied. The results showed that corn stover pretreatment by Myrothecium verrucaria, the Cellulose, Hemicellulose, and lignin were degraded and the results were 33.43%, 11.53% and 18.70% respectively. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis showed that the surface structure of corn stover was changed. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis showed that the degradation products of lignin were increased. The exposed area of cellulose and hemicellulose was increased. Compared with the control group, the pH value was stable and the temperature was higher. The content of nitrogen in the material decreased, while the contents of total phosphorus and total potassium increased.The C/N ratio of materials decreased after composting.The results showed that the pretreatment of Myrothecium verrucaria improve the degradation of lignocelluloses, a great contribution was made to reduce the causes loss of plant nutrient and to fight against environmental pollution.

This study examines the role of using algorithmic HRM to make strategic decisions pertaining to HR activities in organizations. The study develops a scale to measure algorithmic HRM usage in its first phase, and in the second phase, it finds that algorithmic HRM having significant impact on the strategic HR decision making that helps and enables organization in creating the competitive advantage. Utilizing the author’s LinkedIn profile, 234 final participants considered for this research. Collected data analyzed by applying PLS SEM. It evaluates the mediation role of the HR strategic decision making, and the HR digital maturity as a moderator in seeing the impact of algorithmic HRM on the competitive advantage of the firm. The study finds a strong relationship between the algorithmic HRM usage and competitive advantage, a significant relationship between algorithmic HRM usage and the strategic HR decision making, and lastly, a significant relationship between strategic HR decision making and the competitive advantage. The moderating role of HR digital maturity was found to be insignificant in this research which paves the way for further research. This research, the model, and its findings contribute to the theory and implicate the practicality of algorithmic HRM. It's one of few papers that address the algorithmic HRM usage in the transitioning economy like Saudi Arabia.

Sodium-phosphate-based glass-ceramics (GCs) are promising materials for a wide range of applications, including solid-state sodium-ion batteries, microelectronic packaging substrates, and humidity sensors. This study investigates the impact of 24-hour heat-treatments at varying temperatures on Na-Ge-P glass, with a focus on (micro)structural, electrical, and dielectric properties of prepared GCs. Various techniques such as powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), infrared spectroscopy-attenuated total reflection (IR-ATR), and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) are employed. With the elevation of heat-treatment temperature, crystallinity progressively rises; at 450 °C, the microstructure retains amorphous traits featuring nanometric grains, whereas at 550 °C, heat-treatment results in fully crystallized structures characterized by square-shaped micron-scale grains of NaPO3. The insight into the evaluation of electrical and dielectric properties is provided by Solid-State Impedance Spectroscopy (SS-IS), revealing a strong correlation with the conditions of controlled crystallization and observed (micro)structure. The glass-ceramic heat-treated at 450 °C achieves the highest DC conductivity of 2.30×10–8 Ω–1 cm–1 at 393 K. As the heat-treatment temperature rises, the crystallization of the NaPO3 phase depletes the glass matrix of mobile Na+ ions, resulting in a reduction in DC conductivity. Dielectric parameters also decrease with rising heat-treatment temperature, with the glass-ceramic heat-treated at 550 °C displaying the lowest permittivity of 19.37 and the dielectric loss of 0.008. This research uncovers the intricate relationship between heat-treatment conditions and material properties, emphasizing that controlled crystallization allows for precise modifications to microstructure and phase composition within remaining glassy phase, ultimately facilitating fine-tuning of material properties.

This paper presents a proof-of-concept study on the biocolonization of 3D-printed hydroxyapatite scaffolds with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Three-dimensional (3D) printed biomimetic bone structure made of Calcium Deficient HydroxyApatite (CDHA) intended as future bone graft was made from newly developed composite material for FDM printing. The biopolymer polyvinyl alcohol serves in this material as a thermoplastic binder for 3D molding of the printed object with a passive function and is completely removed during sintering. The study presents the material, the process of fused deposition modeling (FDM) of CDHA scaffolds and its post-processing at three temperatures (1200, 1300, 1400 °C), as well it evaluates the cytotoxicity and biocompatibility of scaffolds with MTT and LDH release assays after 14 days. The study also includes a morphological evaluation of the cellular colonization with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in two different filament orientations (rectilinear and gyroid). The results of the MTT assay showed that the tested material was not toxic, and cells were preserved in both orientations, with most cells present on the material fired at 1300°C. Results of the LDH release assay showed a slight increase in LDH leakage from all samples. Visual evaluation of SEM confirmed the ideal post-processing temperature of the 3D-printed FDM framework for samples fired at 1300°C and 1400°C, with a porosity of 0.3 mm between filaments. In conclusion, the presented fabrication and colonization of CDHA scaffolds have great potential to be used in the tissue engineering of bones.

BioPBS is gaining attention in the biodegradable polymer market due to their promising properties such as high biodegradability and processing versatility representing a potential sustainable replacement for fossil oil-based commodities. However, there is still a need to enhance its properties for certain applications, being aesthetical and mechanical properties a challenge. The aim of the present work is to improve these properties by adding selected additives that will confer bioPBS with comparable properties to that of current counterparts such as polypropylene (PP) for specific applications in the automotive and household appliances sectors. A total of thirteen materials have been studied and compared, being twelve biocomposites containing combinations of three different additives: a commercial red colourant, itaconic acid (IA) to enhance colour fixation and zirconia (ZrO2) nanoparticles to maintain at least native PBS mechanical properties. Results show that the combination of IA and the colouring agent tends to slightly yellowish the blend due to the absorbance spectra of IA and also to modify the gloss due to the formation of IA nanocrystals that affects light scattering. In addition, for low amounts of IA (4wt.%), young modulus seems to be kept while elongation at break is even raised. Unexpectedly, a strong aging affect was found after 4 weeks. IA increases the hydrophilic behaviour of the samples and thus seems to accelerate the hydrolisation of the matrix, which is accompanied by an accused disaggregation of phases and an overall softening and rigidization effect. The addition of low amounts of ZrO2 (2wt.%) seems to provide the desired effect for hardening the surface while almost not affecting the other properties; however, higher amounts tends to form aggregates saturating the compounds. As a conclusion, IA might be a good candidate for colour fixing in biobased polymers.

Engineering application of additively manufactured (AM) metallic materials is quite limited by their fatigue behaviors which are very inconsistent with that of conventionally wrought or cast ones. Here, based on advanced material characterization techniques, such as focused ion beam (FIB), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the mi-crostructures underneath fracture surfaces were thoroughly investigated in an AM aluminium (AlSi10Mg) alloy with horizontal and vertical building orientation endured very-high-cycle fa-tigue (VHCF) loading under stress ratios R = –1, 0 and 0.5. Two VHCF failure specimens A and B were representatively selected to further SEM examine and TEM samples preparation via FIB milling. Specimen A was horizontally printed and failed at R = –1; specimen B was vertically printed and failed at R = 0. TEM samples A1 and B1 were lifted from locations near the crack ini-tiation sites on the fracture surfaces of specimens A and B; The locations of TEM samples A2 and B2 kept away from the crack origin sites but still within the “fish-eye” region of crack steady growth. TEM observations show that there was no characteristic microstructure induced by VHCF in different oriented specimens and under various R values.

The morphology of virgin reactor powder (RP) of high-density polyethylene HDPE with MW = 160,000 g/mol was investigated with the help of DSC, SEM, SAXS and WAXS methods. The morphological SEM analysis showed, that the main morphological units of RP are macro- and micro-shish kebab structures with significantly different geometric dimensions, as well as individual lamellae of folded chain crystals. Quantitative analysis of an asymmetric SAXS reflection made it possible to reveal the presence of several periodic morphoses in the RP with long periods from 20 nm to 60 nm and to correlate them with the observed powder morphology. According to the DSC crystallinity data, the thickness of the lamellae in each long period was estimated. Their surface energy was calculated in the framework of the Gibbs-Thompson theory. The presence of regular and irregular folds on the surface of the different shish-kebab lamellae is discussed. The percentage of identified morphoses in the RP was calculated. It has been suggested that the specific structure of HDPE RP is due to the peculiarity of polymer crystallization during suspension synthesis in a quasi-stationary regime, in which local overheating and inhomogeneous distribution of shear stresses in a chemical reactor are possible.