Synthesis of thermoresponsive copolymer/silica-coated magnetite nanoparticle composite and its application for heavy metal ion recovery

To enhance chemical stability and suppress of aggregation of magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs), which are used as a support for thermoresponsive copolymer immobilization, silica coating of the MNPs is applied via the electrooxidation method. Although the resulting silica coated-MNPs also formed aggregates, the size distribution of the aggregate shifted to smaller size range. Because of that, the surface area available for copolymer immobilization increased approximately 6.7 times at maximum as compared with that of the uncoated MNPs. It contributed to the increase of the amount of the immobilized copolymer on the silica-coated MNPs, which is approximately four times larger than that on the uncoated MNPs. Fe₃O₄ dissolution test confirmed enhancement of chemical stability of MNPs. The thermoresponsive copolymer immobilized on the silica-coated MNPs shows the ability to recycle Cu(II) ion from Cu(II) containing solution by changing temperature with significantly shorter time than those in other thermoresponsive adsorbents in gel form.     

MicroRNAs,Parkinson’s Disease,and Diabetes Mellitus

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects 1% of the population over the age of 60. Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder that affects approximately 25% of adults over the age of 60. Recent studies showed that DM increases the risk of developing PD. The link between DM and PD has been discussed in the literature in relation to different mechanisms including mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and protein aggregation. In this paper, we review the common microRNA (miRNA) biomarkers of both diseases. miRNAs play an important role in cell differentiation, development, the regulation of the cell cycle, and apoptosis. They are also involved in the pathology of many diseases. miRNAs can mediate the insulin pathway and glucose absorption. miRNAs can also regulate PD-related genes. Therefore, exploring the common miRNA biomarkers of both PD and DM can shed a light on how these two diseases are correlated, and targeting miRNAs is a potential therapeutic opportunity for both diseases.     

Investigation of corrosion properties with Ni–P/TiNO coating on aluminum alloy bipolar plates in proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Aluminum alloy bipolar plates have unique application potential in proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) due to the characteristics of lightweight and low cost. However, extreme susceptibility to corrosion in PEMFC operation condition limits the application. To promote the corrosion resistance of aluminum alloy bipolar plates, a Ni–P/TiNO coating was prepared by electroless plating and closed field unbalanced magnetron sputter ion plating (CFUMSIP) technology on the 6061 Al substrate. The research results show that Ni–P interlayer improves the deposition effect of TiNO outer layer and increase the content of TiN and TiO_xN_y phases. Compared to Ni–P and TiNO single-layer coatings, the Ni–P/TiNO coating samples exhibited the lowest current density value of (1.10 ± 0.02) × 10^?6 A·cm^?2 in simulated PEMFC cathode environment. Additionally, potential cyclic polarization measurements were carried out aiming to evaluate the durability of the aluminum alloy bipolar plate during the PEMFC start-up/shut-up process. The results illustrate that the Ni–P/TiNO coating samples exhibit excellent stability and corrosion resistance.     

Preparation and Evaluation of a Self-Nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery System Loaded with Heparin Phospholipid Complex

A self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) was developed to enhance the absorption of heparin after oral administration, in which heparin was compounded with phospholipids to achieve better fat solubility in the form of heparin-phospholipid (HEP-Pc) complex. HEP-Pc complex was prepared using the solvent evaporation method, which increased the solubility of heparin in n-octanol. The successful preparation of HEP-Pc complex was confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, NMR, and SEM. A heparin lipid microemulsion (HEP-LM) was prepared by high-pressure homogenization and characterized. HEP-LM can enhance the absorption of heparin after oral administration, significantly prolong activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and thrombin time (TT) in mice, and reduce fibrinogen (FIB) content. All these outcomes indicate that HEP-LM has great potential as an oral heparin formulation.     

Patterns in environmental priorities revealed through government open data portals

The ways in which environmental priorities are framed are varied and influenced by political forces. One technological advance--the proliferation of government open data portals (ODPs)--has the potential to improve governance through facilitating access to data. Yet it is also known that the data hosted on ODPs may simply reflect the goals and interests of multiple levels of political power. In this article, I use traditional statistical correlation and regression techniques along with newer natural language processing and machine learning algorithms to analyze the corpus of datasets hosted on government ODPs (total: 49,066) to extract patterns that relate scales of governance and political liberalism/conservatism to the priorities and meaning attached to environmental issues. I find that state-level and municipal-level ODPs host different categories of environmental datasets, with municipal-level ODPs generally hosting more datasets pertaining to services and amenities and state-level ODPs hosting more datasets pertaining to resource protection and extraction. Stronger trends were observed for the influences of political conservatism/liberalism among state-level ODPs than for municipal-level ODPs.     

Manufacturing catalyst-coated membranes by ultrasonic spray deposition for PEMFC: Identification of key parameters and their impact on PEMFC performance

This study deals with the manufacturing of catalyst-coated membranes (CCMs) for newcomers in the field of coating. Although there are many studies on electrode ink composition for improving the performance of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), there are few papers dealing with electrode coating itself. Usually, it is a know-how that often remains secret and constitutes the added value of scientific teams or the business of industrialists. In this paper, we identify and clarify the role of key parameters to improve coating quality and also to correlate coating quality with fuel cell performance via polarization curves and electrochemical active surface area measurements. We found that the coating configurations can affect the performance of lab-made CCMs in PEMFCs. After the repeatability of the performance obtained by our coating method has been proved, we show that: (i) edge effects, due to mask shadowing - cannot be neglected when the active surface area is low, (ii) a heterogeneous thickness electrode produces performance lower than a homogeneous thickness electrode, and (iii) the origin and storage of platinum on carbon powders are a very important source of variability in the obtained results.     

基于蜻蜓翅脉结构的连续碳纤维增强树脂基复合材料仿生设计与增材制造

以具有轻质高强优异性能的蜻蜓翅脉结构为设计灵感，在分析翅脉网格结构抗冲击原理的基础上，设计了传统和仿生两类对比结构。采用熔融挤出3D打印机成功制备了具有不同结构的连续碳纤维增强聚乳酸复合材料试样，并对不同结构复合材料试样的拉伸性能和抗冲击性能进行了测试和对比分析。研究分析结果表明：由于拉伸力方向上的连续碳纤维含量相对较少，限制了仿生结构复合材料抗拉强度的提高，但仿生结构的平均抗拉强度为传统结构的1.18倍；当仿生结构复合材料试样受到冲击力时，其内部六边形结构的连接角度会发生变化，从而极大消耗冲击能量，同时具有六边形网格结构的连续碳纤维可以有效阻碍裂纹的扩展，因此仿生结构的平均冲击韧性可以达到传统结构的2.46倍；仿生蜻蜓翅脉结构可以显著提高增材制造复合材料的综合力学性能，且对于抗冲击性能的提高具体突出效果。连续碳纤维增强树脂基复合材料的有效可行的仿生蜻蜓翅脉结构设计和增材制造，可极大扩展其在高冲击载荷领域中的相应应用。     

Total Site Hydrogen Integration with fresh hydrogen of multiple quality and waste hydrogen recovery in refineries

This paper proposes a novel method combining Pinch Methodology and waste hydrogen recovery, aiming to minimise fresh hydrogen consumption and waste hydrogen discharge. The method of multiple-level resource Pinch Analysis is extended to the level of Total Site Hydrogen Integration by considering fresh hydrogen sources with various quality. Waste hydrogen after Total Site Integration is further regenerated. The technical feasibility and economy of the various purification approaches are considered, demonstrated with a case study of a refinery hydrogen network in a petrochemical industrial park. The results showed that fresh hydrogen usage and waste hydrogen discharge could be reduced by 21.3% and 67.6%. The hydrogen recovery ratio is 95.2%. It has significant economic benefits and a short payback period for Total Site Hydrogen Integration with waste hydrogen purification. The proposed method facilitates the reuse of waste hydrogen before the purification process that incurs an additional environmental footprint. In line with the Circular Economy principles, hydrogen resource is retained in the system as long as possible before discharge.     

Thermal transport and chemical conversion in single reacting sorbent particles

The effects of particle size and carbon dioxide concentration on chemical conversion in engineered spherical particles undergoing calcium oxide looping are investigated. Particles are thermochemically cycled in a furnace under different carbon dioxide concentrations. Changes in composition due to chemical reactions are measured using thermogravimetric analysis. Gas composition at the furnace exit is evaluated with mass spectroscopy. A numerical model of thermal transport phenomena developed previously is adapted to match the physical system investigated in the present study. The model is used to elucidate effects of reacting medium characteristics on particle temperature and reaction extent. Experimental and numerical results show that (1) an increase in particle size results in a decrease in carbonation extent, and (2) the carbonation step consists of fast and slow reaction regimes. The reaction rates in the fast and slow carbonation regimes increase with increasing carbon dioxide concentration. The effect of carbon dioxide concentration and the distinction between the fast and slow regimes become more pronounced with increasing particle size.