Chemical durability and surface alteration of lanthanide zirconates (A2Zr2O7: A = La-Yb)

Chemical durability of lanthanide zirconates (A₂Zr₂O₇) (A = La-Yb) under near-field environments is important for evaluating their application as potential nuclear waste forms. In this work, A₂Zr₂O₇ (A = La-Yb) are synthesized by spark plasma sintering with controlled microstructure and their chemical durability are evaluated in a nitric acid solution (pH = 1). Scanning transmission electron microscopy analysis reveals an amorphous passivation film either enriched with Zr or lanthanide. The complex chemistry of the passivation films can be correlated with a transition in corrosion mechanisms from a preferential release of lanthanide in La₂Zr₂O₇ to a preferential release of Zr in Er₂Zr₂O₇ and Yb₂Zr₂O₇. These results suggest a dominant mechanism of incongruent dissolution and surface reorganization for the formation of passivation films. Strong correlations are identified between the leaching rates and cation ionic size, ionic potential, electronegativity differences between A-site cation and Zr, and bonding valence sum of oxygen, suggesting important impacts of structural and bonding characteristics in controlling chemical durability of lanthanide zirconates.     

Inhibition of RANKL-Induced Osteoclastogenesis by Novel Mutant RANKL

Background: Recently, it was reported that leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor 4 (LGR4, also called GPR48) is another receptor for RANKL and was shown to compete with RANK to bind RANKL and suppress canonical RANK signaling during osteoclast differentiation. The critical role of the protein triad RANK–RANKL in osteoclastogenesis has made their binding an important target for the development of drugs against osteoporosis. In this study, point-mutations were introduced in the RANKL protein based on the crystal structure of the RANKL complex and its counterpart receptor RANK, and we investigated whether LGR4 signaling in the absence of the RANK signal could lead to the inhibition of osteoclastogenesis.; Methods: The effects of point-mutated RANKL (mRANKL-MT) on osteoclastogenesis were assessed by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), resorption pit formation, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), western blot, NFATc1 nuclear translocation, micro-CT and histomorphological assay in wild type RANKL (mRANKL-WT)-induced in vitro and in vivo experimental mice model. Results: As a proof of concept, treatment with the mutant RANKL led to the stimulation of GSK-3β phosphorylation, as well as the inhibition of NFATc1 translocation, mRNA expression of TRAP and OSCAR, TRAP activity, and bone resorption, in RANKL-induced mouse models; and Conclusions: The results of our study demonstrate that the mutant RANKL can be used as a therapeutic agent for osteoporosis by inhibiting RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis via comparative inhibition of RANKL. Moreover, the mutant RANKL was found to lack the toxic side effects of most osteoporosis treatments.     

Lithiophilic MXene-Guided Lithium Metal Nucleation and Growth Behavior

The positive effects of a lithiophilic substrate on the electrochemical performance of lithium metal anodes are confirmed in several reports, while the understanding of lithiophilic substrate-guided lithium metal nucleation and growth behavior is still insufficient. In this study, the effect of a lithiophilic surface on lithium metal nucleation and growth behaviors is investigated using a large-area Ti₃C₂T_x MXene substrate with a large number of oxygen and fluorine dual heteroatoms. The use of the MXene substrate results in a high lithium-ion concentration as well as the formation of uniform solid–electrolyte-interface (SEI) layers on the lithiophilic surface. The solid–solid interface (MXene-SEI layer) significantly affects the surface tension of the deposited lithium metal nuclei as well as the nucleation overpotential, resulting in the formation of uniformly dispersed lithium nanoparticles ( ≈ 10–20 nm in diameter) over the entire MXene surface. The primary lithium nanoparticles preferentially coalesce and agglomerate into larger secondary particles while retaining their primary particle shapes. Subsequently, they form close-packed structures, resulting in a dense metal layer composed of particle-by-particle microstructures. This distinctive lithium metal deposition behavior leads to highly reversible cycling performance with high Columbic efficiencies >  99.0% and long cycle lives of over 1000 cycles.     

猪胴体冷却降温特性及耗能分析

猪肉是我国消耗量最大的肉类品，尤其是冷鲜猪肉更受人们青睐。猪胴体冷却保鲜加工工艺既要满足优质猪肉的成熟条件，又要保证猪肉的安全卫生。猪胴体冷却温度和降温速度对保证加工工艺合理性和降低耗能都至关重要。在实测数据基础上经过判断、分析提出，在常规0～4 ℃冷却前先在-10～-5 ℃低温快速冷却猪胴体1 h从而更好地保证猪胴体的冷却效果。实验发现：猪胴体开始冷却时，内部温度先有2～4 ℃的升温，然后才会降温，因此需对热负荷计算进行修正；根据两段冷却过程中猪胴体的冷却降温特点，提出了对应的冷量要求，为配备冷却装置提供了依据。     

Influence of Sr ions on the structure and dielectric properties of Cu/Nb Co-doped BaTiO3 ceramics

Sr-modified Cu/Nb co-doped BaTiO₃ ceramics were prepared using solid-state reactions and the structures and dielectric properties were studied. All the samples had single-phase perovskite structures with no detectable secondary phases. In the low-temperature range, the dielectric constant decreased as the Sr content increased in the high- and low-frequency ranges. Two dielectric constant plateaus accompanied by dielectric relaxation peaks were present in the loss curves, and the relaxation process deviated from the Arrhenius law at low temperatures. The dielectric constants of different plateaus were related to inhomogeneous structures such as grain interiors and grain boundaries. The polarization strength of the grain boundaries in the low-frequency range increased with the temperature and that of the grain interiors demonstrated paraelectric behaviour in high-temperature ranges. An analysis of the electric modulus spectra indicated a close relationship between the relaxation process and resistivity of the grains for high-frequency relaxation. The impedance spectra at high temperatures consist of three electrical responses, corresponding to the effects of grains, grain boundaries, and electrodes. The dielectric relaxation appeared in high temperature range was related to the electrical properties of the grain boundaries.     

大型地下室施工期间抗浮设计及措施分析

地下室抗浮设计和施工是结构工程非常重要的部分,本文以某棚户区改造项目为例,对大型地下室的抗浮设计和施工进行探讨和分析,并提出采用疏水降压等措施降低地下水位来满足工程抗浮要求.     

Anticancer activity of flavonoids accompanied by redox state modulation and the potential for a chemotherapeutic strategy

Since researchers began studying the mechanism of flavonoids’ anticancer activity, little attention has been focused on the modulation of redox state in cells as a potential chemotherapeutic strategy. However, recent studies have begun identifying that the anticancer effect of flavonoids occurs both in their antioxidative activity which scavenges ROS and their prooxidative activity which generates ROS. Against this backdrop, this study attempts to achieve a comprehensive analysis of the individual and separate study findings regarding flavonoids’ modulation of redox state in cancer cells. It focuses on the mechanism behind the anticancer effect, and mostly on the modulation of redox potential by flavonoids such as quercetin, hesperetin, apigenin, genistein, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), luteolin and kaempferol in both in vitro and animal models. In addition, the clinical applications of and bioavailability of flavonoids were reviewed to help build a treatment strategy based on flavonoids’ prooxidative potential.