Biodegradable Spheres Protect Traumatically Injured Spinal Cord by Alleviating the Glutamate‐Induced Excitotoxicity

New treatment strategies for spinal cord injury with good therapeutic efficacy are actively pursued. Here, acetalated dextran (AcDX), a biodegradable polymer obtained by modifying vicinal diols of dextran, is demonstrated to protect the traumatically injured spinal cord. To facilitate its administration, AcDX is formulated into microspheres (≈7.2 µm in diameter) by the droplet microfluidic technique. Intrathecally injected AcDX microspheres effectively reduce the traumatic lesion volume and inflammatory response in the injured spinal cord, protect the spinal cord neurons from apoptosis, and ultimately, recover the locomotor function of injured rats. The neuroprotective feature of AcDX microspheres is achieved by sequestering glutamate and calcium ions in cerebrospinal fluid. The scavenging of glutamate and calcium ion reduces the influx of calcium ions into neurons and inhibits the formation of reactive oxygen species. Consequently, AcDX microspheres attenuate the expression of proapoptotic proteins, Calpain, and Bax, and enhance the expression of antiapoptotic protein Bcl‐2. Overall, AcDX microspheres protect traumatically injured spinal cord by alleviating the glutamate‐induced excitotoxicity. This study opens an exciting perspective toward the application of neuroprotective AcDX for the treatment of severe neurological diseases.     

基质囊泡及其在骨矿化过程中的作用

基质囊泡(Matrix vesicles,MVs)是骨矿物初始形核生长的场所。骨矿化过程中,钙、磷酸根等离子经通道蛋白跨膜运输进入MVs内,当局部浓度达到一定值时,磷酸钙晶体开始沉积。磷酸钙的存在形态包括无定形磷酸钙、磷酸八钙及羟基磷灰石等。MVs可以调节细胞内外基质中的钙和磷酸根离子的稳态及无机磷酸盐/无机焦磷酸盐的比值,提供磷酸钙晶体成核位点,在骨矿化的初始启动过程中发挥重要作用。本文概述了MVs的生物来源、分子组分、提取方法,MVs介导的骨矿化过程,以及近年来利用囊泡作为体外矿化模型模拟MVs矿化过程的研究进展。     

Dielectric Properties of Ultrathin CaF2 Ionic Crystals

Mechanically exfoliated 2D hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is currently the preferred dielectric material to interact with graphene and 2D transition metal dichalcogenides in nanoelectronic devices, as they form a clean van der Waals interface. However, h-BN has a low dielectric constant (≈3.9), which in ultrascaled devices results in high leakage current and premature dielectric breakdown. Furthermore, the synthesis of h-BN using scalable methods, such as chemical vapor deposition, requires very high temperatures (>900 °C) , and the resulting h-BN stacks contain abundant few-atoms-wide amorphous regions that decrease its homogeneity and dielectric strength. Here it is shown that ultrathin calcium fluoride (CaF₂) ionic crystals could be an excellent solution to mitigate these problems. By applying >3000 ramped voltage stresses and several current maps at different locations of the samples via conductive atomic force microscopy, it is statistically demonstrated that ultrathin CaF₂ shows much better dielectric performance (i.e., homogeneity, leakage current, and dielectric strength) than SiO₂, TiO₂, and h-BN. The main reason behind this behavior is that the cubic crystalline structure of CaF₂ is continuous and free of defects over large regions, which prevents the formation of electrically weak spots.     

海洋天然气水合物储层拉削开采新方法及可行性分析

针对深水浅层非成岩天然气水合物借鉴刨煤机刨削采煤过程提出一种新的拉削开采方法，参照拉刀结构特点设计了一种集开采、收集和输送为一体的拉削管。建立了拉削开采三维模型，对其工作原理和工作步骤进行了说明。用有限元仿真对采空区和拉削管受力进行了分析。结果表明，岩土力学仿真下采空区开采半径和开采角度的增大都会引起剪切应力的增加，最大剪切应力发生在采空区上部的起始位置和终止位置；在不发生剪切破坏的采空区中选择体积较大者作为理想采空区，估算出拉削开采方法的日产气量为142000 m3，具有应用潜力；开采工况下，拉削管的最大等效应力小于管材的屈服极限，表明开采过程中拉削管处于弹性形变，满足方法需求。     

仓泵技术应用于电石粉尘回收装置的探讨

根据陕西金泰氯碱化工有限公司新建的电石粉尘回收装置的运行情况,探讨了仓泵技术的应用及仓泵在运行过程中的异常情况。指出装置运行后降低了电石消耗,每年可产生约400万元的经济效益,同时也降低了企业的安全风险,改善了乙炔生产现场环境。     

煤粉锅炉脱硫系统中除尘器压差过高原因及解决方案

高倍率灰钙循环烟气脱硫技术在神东矿区的煤粉锅炉环保改造项目中已投入建设并成功运行,脱硫率可达95%以上。在NGD系统的运行调试期,布袋除尘器压差的数值及其上升速度均较改造前有大幅提高,影响了锅炉系统的正常运行并降低了布袋除尘器的运行效率。为了解决此问题,先分析滤料透气性降低而导致布袋除尘器压差上升的根本原因,再结合现场调研情况对NGD系统工况下的烟气含湿量、烟气温度、烟气灰浓度、除尘器本体的问题以及上游锅炉系统问题逐一进行对比和分析,并找出问题产生的各主要因素。NGD系统中布袋除尘器差压升高的原因包括多方面,为了使NGD系统的运行更加稳定,需要使除尘器适应NGD系统的工况并对系统中部分设备进行改造。在未来NGD系统的设计中,布袋除尘器需按高浓度烟气设计,且针对煤粉工业锅炉的运行、维护特性应加入对烟气中含水量的监测及对布袋除尘器的相应保护措施。     

P2O5对炼钢炉渣中石灰溶解过程的影响

在1400℃下，将平均尺寸φ15 mm?10 mm的石灰块投入CaO?SiO2?FeO及CaO?SiO2?FeO?P2O5两组渣系中，研究了静态条件下石灰在两组渣系中的溶解行为。结果表明，两组渣系在反应界面周围形成四个区域，即基体渣层、C2S渗透层、铁酸钙渗透层和石灰层。渗透层为石灰中的Ca2+与液渣中的Fe2+相互渗透所形成的一个多相共存区域，存在致密固相层影响石灰的溶解。渗透层中的铁酸钙层逐渐被C2S层取代，C2S层厚度不断增加最终溶解于液相渣中。5~60 s两组渣系石灰溶解速度相近，60~80 s含磷渣系石灰溶解速度显著加快。当渣中加入P2O5时，磷会固溶于C2S中形成C2S?C3P固溶体层，该层的形成会排挤FeO进入渣中，提高渣的渗透能力，加速石灰溶解。     

In Situ Liquid-Cell TEM Observation of Multiphase Classical and Nonclassical Nucleation of Calcium Oxalate

Calcium oxalate (CaOx) is the major phase in kidney stones and the primary calcium storage medium in plants. CaOx can form crystals with different lattice types, water contents, and crystal structures. However, the conditions and mechanisms leading to nucleation of particular CaOx crystals are unclear. Here, liquid-cell transmission electron microscopy and atomistic molecular dynamics simulations are used to study in situ CaOx nucleation at different conditions. The observations reveal that rhombohedral CaOx monohydrate (COM) can nucleate via a classical pathway, while square COM can nucleate via a non-classical multiphase pathway. Citrate, a kidney stone inhibitor, increases the solubility of calcium by forming calcium-citrate complexes and blocks oxalate ions from approaching calcium. The presence of multiple hydrated ionic species draws additional water molecules into nucleating CaOx dihydrate crystals. These findings reveal that by controlling the nucleation pathways one can determine the macroscale crystal structure, hydration state, and morphology of CaOx.     

Nucleation and crystallization of Ba2Si3O8 spherulites in a barium aluminum silicate glass,and mechanical properties of the obtained glass-ceramics

The effect of spherulitic crystallization on the elastic moduli and fracture toughness of a barium aluminum silicate glass was investigated. The crystallization process results in Ba₂Si₃O₈ phase and is initiated from Ba rich nuclei. Nucleation is optimal in the 690-720 °C interval. Young’s modulus is increased by 12.5% when the glass-ceramic conversion is nearly complete. Nevertheless, as the size and the volume fraction of crystals are increased, some microcracking shows up upon cooling from the crystallization temperature. An optimal improvement of the fracture toughness (SEPB method) by 27 % is observed for a 49 % volume fraction of 5 to 10 μm large spherulites.