The effect of synthesis conditions on the phase composition and structure of thorium bearing murataite ceramics

Samples of thorium-bearing ceramic with a target composition (wt%) 5 Al₂O₃, 10 CaO, 55 TiO₂, 10 MnO, 5 Fe₂O₃, 5 ZrO₂, 10 ThO₂ were produced by melting in glassy carbon crucibles in a resistive furnace and by cold crucible inductive melting (CCIM) at a vibration power of 10 kW and operation frequency of 5.28 MHz. All the samples contained 85–95 vol% murataite polytypes with 5- (5C), 8- (8C), and 3-fold (3C) elementary fluorite unit cell composing core, intermediate zone and rim of the grains, respectively, and minor crichtonite, perovskite, pyrochlore, rutile, etc. A feature of the ceramics obtained by melting in glassy carbon crucibles is formation of Fe (II) titanate whereas the inductive-melted ceramics contained traces of vitreous phase due to melt contamination with a cold crucible putty material. Melting rate in the cold crucible of up to 350 kg/(m² × h) has been achieved. The ceramics obtained have excellent chemical durability.     

Investigation of Optimal Control Problems Governed by a Time-Dependent Kohn-Sham Model

A viable way to develop optimal control strategies for multi-particle quantum systems is to consider the framework of time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT), where low-dimensional nonlinear Schrödinger models are developed to compute the electronic density of related high-dimensional linear Schrödinger equations. Among these models, the Kohn-Sham TDDFT system allows to accommodate control mechanisms in the same potentials that appear in the original multi-dimensional Schrödinger equations, thus allowing a physical interpretation and a laboratory implementation. The purpose of this paper is the mathematical analysis of optimal control problems governed by the time-dependent Kohn-Sham (TDKS) equations including a control potential that has the purpose to drive the evolution of the electron density to perform given tasks. For the resulting optimal control problems, existence of optimal solutions is proved and their characterization as solutions of TDKS optimality systems is investigated.     

Study of tritium transport characteristics in a transportable fluoride‐salt‐cooled high‐temperature reactor

Tritium management is one of the most critical issues that limit the development of fluoride‐salt‐cooled high‐temperature reactor (FHR); therefore, it is important to figure out the tritium transport characteristics in FHRs. In this paper, 3 works concerning about tritium in FHR are conducted: first, the tritium transport characteristics in the primary loop of FHRs are introduced, including tritium production and speciation, the absorption and desorption by graphite, dissolution and diffusion in molten salt, and permeation through structural materials. Second, the physical and mathematical models are established for tritium transport characteristic analysis in a transportable FHR (TFHR). The tritium transport characteristic analysis code (TAPAS) for TFHR is developed and benchmarked. The results prove the fidelity and accuracy of TAPAS. Finally, the tritium transport characteristics in the TFHR are analyzed systematically by TAPAS. Three conclusions are obtained: (1) tritium in the primary coolant loop is mainly in the form of T₂; (2) when TFHR operates at steady state, the permeation rate of T₂ can be regarded as a constant (9.03 × 10⁹ Bq ? EFPD^?1 ); and (3) ⁷Li enrichment and redox potential of molten salt have great influence on the tritium distribution. This work might provide contribution to the tritium control in FHRs.     

Effect of the doping time of the 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium ionic liquid cation on the Nafion membrane proprieties

Nafion membranes were prepared by incorporating in the polymer matrix the 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium (BMI⁺) ionic liquid cation at different doping levels. Increasing the doping time of the membranes with the ionic liquid results in increased incorporation of the BMI⁺ cation but a decrease in the bulk conductivity. The thermogravimetric analysis shows that the BMI⁺ cation incorporation increases the thermal stability of the membranes. The higher discharge efficiency of the fuel cell at 80°C was obtained by using Nafion membrane after 15 minutes of doping in the ionic liquid solution.     

Extracellular Vesicles in CNS Developmental Disorders

The central nervous system (CNS) is the most complex structure in the body, consisting of multiple cell types with distinct morphology and function. Development of the neuronal circuit and its function rely on a continuous crosstalk between neurons and non-neural cells. It has been widely accepted that extracellular vesicles (EVs), mainly exosomes, are effective entities responsible for intercellular CNS communication. They contain membrane and cytoplasmic proteins, lipids, non-coding RNAs, microRNAs and mRNAs. Their cargo modulates gene and protein expression in recipient cells. Several lines of evidence indicate that EVs play a role in modifying signal transduction with subsequent physiological changes in neurogenesis, gliogenesis, synaptogenesis and network circuit formation and activity, as well as synaptic pruning and myelination. Several studies demonstrate that neural and non-neural EVs play an important role in physiological and pathological neurodevelopment. The present review discusses the role of EVs in various neurodevelopmental disorders and the prospects of using EVs as disease biomarkers and therapeutics.     

Structural Features of Cast Refractory Alloy HP40NbTi High-Temperature Oxidation. Part I. Evolution of Microstructure and Phase Composition

Metal Science and Heat Treatment - Optical and electron microscopy, x-ray spectral microanalysis, and thermogravimetric analysis in combination with differential scanning calorimetry are used to...     

Development of Methods for Steel Surface Deformation Nanostructuring

Metal Science and Heat Treatment - Results are provided for studying deformation methods of steel surface nanostructuring and hardening with martensitic, pearlitic and austenitic structures. A new...     

Study of the surfactant role in latex–aerogel systems by scanning transmission electron microscopy on aqueous suspensions

For insulation applications, boards thinner than 2 cm are under design with specific thermal conductivities lower than 15 mW m^?1 K^?1. This requires binding slightly hydrophobic aerogels which are highly nanoporous granular materials. To reach this step and ensure insulation board durability at the building scale, it is compulsory to design, characterise and analyse the microstructure at the nanoscale. It is indeed necessary to understand how the solid material is formed from a liquid suspension. This issue is addressed in this paper through wet‐STEM experiments carried out in an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM). Latex–surfactant binary blends and latex–surfactant–aerogel ternary systems are studied, with two different surfactants of very different chemical structures. Image analysis is used to distinguish the different components and get quantitative morphological parameters which describe the sample architecture. The evolution of such morphological parameters during water evaporation permits a good understanding of the role of the surfactant.     

Physical Simulation of the Interference Immunity of Electronic Equipment under the Electromagnetic Action of Industrial Macrosources

For the action of a pulse field generated by industrial macrosources under the short-circuit condition used as an example, mathematical models, the circuit of an experimental setup, and design parameters for physical simulation of electromagnetic interferences in the communication lines of the electronic equipment have been proposed. The presented software provides the basis for a practical procedure for estimating the interference immunity of the electronic equipment subjected to the electromagnetic action of industrial macrosources.