Mechanical Alloying and Spark Plasma Sintering of BiCuSeO Oxyselenide: Synthesis Process and Thermoelectric Properties

BiCuSeO is a promising thermoelectric material but needs a complicated synthesis process. In this work, fine‐grained BiCuSeO samples with high phase purity were synthesized by a combination of mechanical alloying (MA) and spark plasma sintering (SPS). It is found that BiCuSeO compounds can be formed by the reaction between BiSe and CuO, after BiSe appeared firstly when using Bi, Se, and CuO as raw materials during MA process. The electrical conductivity of the corresponding bulk attains a modest enhancement due to the significantly increased carrier concentration although the carrier mobility was reduced compared with the sample prepared by classical solid‐state reaction. The total thermal conductivity is below 0.7 W/mK in the whole measured temperature range, which is attributable to the increased defects and gain boundaries. As a result, a relatively high ZT value of 0.50 was obtained for the pristine BiCuSeO sample. In addition, when Bi was replaced by Ca element, the electrical transport property of the samples was improved, resulting in an enhancement of ZT in the whole measured temperature range.     

Mechanism and properties of coloured nanoscale SiO2 prepared from silica and reactive dyes

KH560‐modified SiO₂ was prepared using tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and γ‐(2,3‐epoxypropoxy) propytrimethoxysilane (KH560) by the sol–gel method and then coloured with CI Reactive Blue 4 (X‐BR) to prepare coloured nanoscale SiO₂. The antisolvent performance and the results of cross‐polarisation/magic angle spinning ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that the reaction of X‐BR with KH560‐modified SiO₂ is a two‐step process: X‐BR is firstly adsorbed by KH560‐modified SiO₂ via van der Waals forces, and then nucleophilic substitution occurs between dichloro triazine and the epoxy group. The grafting ratio of X‐BR on KH560‐modified SiO₂ reached 95% under optimum conditions, i.e. a mass ratio of KH560 to TEOS of 20%, a temperature of 40 °C, a pH of 8.5, and a reaction time of 5 h. X‐ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy showed that the coloured nanoscale SiO₂ was amorphous, with a mean diameter of 216 nm. Experimental application showed that the coloured nanoscale SiO₂ had excellent stability to solvents and alkaline solution, and the absorptive capacity of the coloured nanoscale SiO₂ in the 200–400 nm region was higher than that of X‐BR. The light fastness of the coloured nanoscale SiO₂ reached 5–6 grade.     

高温服役构件蠕变状态参数化表征技术研究进展

概述了已有高温服役构件蠕变状态参数化表征技术的特点及其表征参数。主要介绍了传统检测技术中的超声波速法、X射线衍射技术和磁巴克豪森发射技术,以及近年来出现的电磁超声谐振(EMAR)和非线性超声(NLU)技术。通过对上述方法的系统分析与比较,最后指出将EMAR和NLL技术的有机结合将成为高温服役构件蠕变状态参数化袁征的有力工具。     

Structural synthesis of a class of 2R2T hybrid mechanisms

Conventional overconstrained parallel manipulators have been widely studied both in industry and academia, however the structural synthesis of hybrid mechanisms with additional constraints is seldom studied, especially for the four degrees of freedom(DOF) hybrid mechanisms. In order to develop a manipulator with additional constraints, a class of important spatial mechanisms with coupling chains(CCs) whose motion type is two rotations and two translations(2R2T) is presented. Based on screw theory, the combination of different types of limbs which are used to construct parallel mechanisms and coupling chains is proposed. The basic types of the general parallel mechanisms and geometric conditions of the kinematic chains are given using constraint synthesis method. Moreover, the 2R2T motion pattern hybrid mechanisms which are derived by adding coupling chains between different serial kinematic chains(SKCs) of the corresponding parallel mechanisms are presented. According to the constraint analysis of the mechanisms, the movement relationship of the moving platform and the kinematic chains is derived by disassembling the coupling chains. At last, fourteen novel hybrid mechanisms with two or three serial kinematic chains are presented. The proposed novel hybrid mechanisms and construction method enrich the family of the spatial mechanisms and provide an instruction to design more complex hybrid mechanisms.     

Understanding the Formation of Limited Interlamellar Bonding in Plasma Sprayed Ceramic Coatings Based on the Concept of Intrinsic Bonding Temperature

Interlamellar bonding is an important factor controlling the mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of plasma sprayed ceramic coatings. In order to understand the formation of limited interlamellar bonding, a theoretical model is proposed based on the concept of the intrinsic bonding temperature. The numerical simulation of the interface temperature between a molten splat and underlying splats was performed for splats with uniform and non-uniform thickness, in order to reveal the conditions for the interlamellar bonding formation. The interlamellar bonding ratio was theoretically estimated based on the bonding forming conditions. The features of interlamellar bonding revealed by the simulation agree well with the experimental observations. The bonding ratio of plasma sprayed coatings is significantly influenced by the distribution of splat thickness. According to the distribution of Al₂O₃ splat thickness in the coating, the theoretical estimation of bonding ratio yielded a value of 0.41 for the plasma sprayed Al₂O₃ coating at the ambient atmosphere conditions, which is reasonably consistent with the observation value. Therefore, the limited interlamellar bonding can be reasonably explained based on the sufficient condition that the maximum interface temperature between a molten splat and underlying splats is larger than the intrinsic bonding temperature.     

Identification of Novel Pathways in Plant Lectin-Induced Cancer Cell Apoptosis

Plant lectins have been investigated to elucidate their complicated mechanisms due to their remarkable anticancer activities. Although plant lectins seems promising as a potential anticancer agent for further preclinical and clinical uses, further research is still urgently needed and should include more focus on molecular mechanisms. Herein, a Naïve Bayesian model was developed to predict the protein-protein interaction (PPI), and thus construct the global human PPI network. Moreover, multiple sources of biological data, such as smallest shared biological process (SSBP), domain-domain interaction (DDI), gene co-expression profiles and cross-species interolog mapping were integrated to build the core apoptotic PPI network. In addition, we further modified it into a plant lectin-induced apoptotic cell death context. Then, we identified 22 apoptotic hub proteins in mesothelioma cells according to their different microarray expressions. Subsequently, we used combinational methods to predict microRNAs (miRNAs) which could negatively regulate the abovementioned hub proteins. Together, we demonstrated the ability of our Naïve Bayesian model-based network for identifying novel plant lectin-treated cancer cell apoptotic pathways. These findings may provide new clues concerning plant lectins as potential apoptotic inducers for cancer drug discovery.     

Nanoemulsification of Ceramide-2 by Sodium Dilauramidoglutamide Lysine,a Novel Peptide-Based Gemini Surfactant

A novel peptide-based gemini surfactant, namely, sodium dilauramidoglutamide lysine (DLGL) was employed to fabricate a stable nanoemulsion system for the delivery of hydrophobic bioactive ceramide-2 molecules. The phase properties and morphology and stability of the nanoemulsion were investigated by focusing on the interaction between DLGL and ceramide-2 molecules. The investigation of the phase properties of the mixture of DLGL and ceramide-2 by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed remarkable reduction in the crystallinity of ceramide-2 due to the presence of DLGL. The spherical shape and nanometer size of nanoemulsions emulsified by DLGL were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The nanoemulsions prepared using DLGL exhibited significant improvement in the dispersion stability without any significant changes in the particle sizes even after storing them for a month at 50 °C. The results indicated that DLGL readily associated with ceramide-2 to form a relatively stable structure. The steric hindrance of DLGL and molecular rearrangement of DLGL and ceramide-2 attributed to a break in the continuity of the molecular assembly of ceramide-2, which hampered its crystallinity.     

Family Growth and Survival Response to Two Simulated Water Temperature Environments in the Sea Urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius

Heat tolerance is a target trait in the selective breeding of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius, as it plays an important role in the survival and growth of cultured S. intermedius during summer. We investigated family growth and survival response to two temperature treatments to evaluate the genotype by temperature interaction (GEI) in the family selection of S. intermedius. Sea urchins from 11 families were exposed to two simulated water temperature environments—high temperature (HE) and control temperature (CE)—for 12 months, with each experiment divided into four periods (P1, stress-free period I; P2, stress-full high period; P3, stress-response period; and P4, stress-free period II) based on the temperature changes and the survival. Test diameter (TD), body weight (BW), and survival rate (SR) in HE and CE were measured monthly. Effects of family, temperature, and family-temperature interaction on TD, BW, SR, and specific growth rate (SGR) for BW were examined. In CE, BW differed significantly between families in P2, P3, and P4, while TD differed significantly between families in P3 and P4 (p < 0.05). In HE, family had significant effects on BW in P4, and on TD in P3 and P4, while temperature had significant effects on SR, TD, and BW in P3 and P4 (p < 0.05). GEI effects were not significant for TD or BW; however, family ranking changes revealed the existence of GEI in SR. The GEI results indicate the necessity of applying family selection in CE and HE for SR, but not for TD or BW. These results may provide a guide for aquaculture and selective breeding of S. intermedius under temperature pressure.     

微乳法制备Pd-Cu双金属催化剂

选择Cu为助剂,采用微乳法分别优选具有较好稳定性的Cu和Pd微乳液体系,并将Cu和Pd依次负载于Al_2O_3载体上,经干燥、活化和还原制备了Pd-Cu/Al_2O_3催化剂。采用原位IR、CO化学吸附和HRTEM等对催化剂进行表征,结果表明,与常规溶液负载法制备的Pd-Ag/Al_2O_3催化剂相比,采用微乳法降低了催化剂表面酸性,提高了活性组分Pd分散度,Pd粒径分布更为均匀。在750 mL加氢反应器中,采用C_2后加氢原料对催化剂性能进行评价,结果表明,与常规溶液负载法相比,微乳法制备的催化剂在反应温度低4℃条件下,乙炔转化率相当,选择性高9.9个百分点,绿油生成量较低。微乳法制备Pd-Cu双金属催化剂具有良好的工业应用前景。