An accurate value for the heat of formation of boron trifluoride is of significant importance because this value is involved in the thermochemistry of many boron compounds. The study of the thermochemistry of boron compounds was for a long time hampered by difficulties in measuring a suitable reaction involving elemental boron. The heat of formation of boric oxide, for instance, was uncertain t...

The effect of valence electron concentration VEC and size of the X element in XMgB14 space group Imma X=Al, C, Si, Ge, Mg, Sc, Ti, V, Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta on stability and elastic properties was studied using ab initio calculations. Generally, icosahedral bonds, present in these compounds, are electron deficient. Based on the Bader charge analysis Bader, Atoms in Molecules: A Quantum Theory Oxford Un...

In Germany the addition of the trace element boron as boric acid or borax to food supplements was not permitted up to now. However, this situation could soon change since the laws in the EU Member States are to be approximated and its addition is permitted in other European countries. If this happens, boron could also go on the market in Germany as an ingredient in food supplements. Against thi...

Boron nitride (BN) nanomaterials were synthesized from LaB6 and Pd/boron powder, and the hydrogen storage was investigated by differential thermogravimetric analysis, which showed possibility of hydrogen storage of 1–3 wt%. The hydrogen gas storage in BN and carbon (C) clusters was also investigated by molecular orbital calculations, which indicated possible hydrogen storage of 6.5 and 4.9 wt%,...

Boron, discovered as an element in 1808 and produced in pure form in 1909, has still remained the last elemental material, having stable natural isotopes, with the ground state crystal phase to be unknown. It has been a subject of long-standing controversy, if α-B or β-B is the thermodynamically stable phase at ambient pressure and temperature. In the present work this enigma has been resolved ...

Lettuce, which is being grown in ever increasing quantities, suffers from a number of nutritional disorders which have been the subject of considerable speculation and study. Much of the difficulty with lettuce is evidently the result of the type of forcinig culture which is used to obtain the most firm and succulent heads. Among the micro-nutrient elements, boron has been given considerable at...

Boron may be beneficial for bone growth and maintenance, central nervous system function, and the inflammatory response, and silicon may be beneficial for bone maintenance and wound healing. Fluoride is not an essential element but amounts provided by contamination may be beneficial for bone strength. Fluoride toxicity may be a concern in parenteral nutrition. Further studies are warranted to d...

INTRODUCTION Accumulation of trace elements occurs in conditions of decreased kidney function. In some conditions, increased trace elements can have toxic features. On the other hand, studies are showing that concentration of some trace elements could be decreased in ERSD patients as well. The most important factor affecting trace element concentration in ERSD patients is the degree of renal fa...

BACKGROUND Boron is a bioactive element that satisfies several of the criteria for essentiality in humans. OBJECTIVE The objective was to establish the profile of boron metabolism in human milk. DESIGN Lactating mothers of premature (PRT; n = 10, <2000 g birth weight, <37 wk gestation) and full-term (FT; n = 10, >2500 g, 39-41 wk gestation) infants living in St John's, Canada, collected mil...

The successful realization of free-standing graphene and the various applications of its exotic properties have spurred tremendous research interest for two-dimensional (2D) layered materials. Besides graphene, many other 2D materials have been successfully produced by experiment, such as silicene, monolayer MoS2, few-layer black phosphorus and so on. As a neighbor of carbon in the periodic tab...