Microbial fuel cell (MFC)-based biosensor for combined heavy metals monitoring and associated bioelectrochemical process

To explore the feasibility and related mechanism of MFC biosensor for wastewater detection under the action of combined heavy metals. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and scanning electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used to explore the related bioelectrochemical process. The response of the reactor to single/combined heavy metals, low/high heavy metal concentrations, and the differences in ohmic resistance (Rs) and charge transfer resistance (Rct) were investigated using Ni as the core heavy metal and the combined action of Cd, Cu and Zn. The results indicated that there was a linear relationship between the concentration and output voltage of the MFC biosensor under the action of combined heavy metals (R² = 0.8803–0.973). However, the internal resistance (Rint) of the MFC biosensor under the action of single heavy metal was far less than that of the combined heavy metal group, and the power density (19.849 W m^?3) was 4 times that of the combined heavy metal group (3.109–4.589 W m^?3). The Rs of the biosensors in the combined heavy metal group were 0.868Ω and 0.860, which were higher than 0.768Ω of the single heavy metal sensor. With the increase of the concentration of heavy metals in the influent, the increase of Rct was more obvious in the combined group, while the Rs in the single group significantly increased (P < 0.05). The results imply that it is possible for MFC biosensors to be used in the detection of actual water polluted by various heavy metals, but the biosensor performance is mainly limited by Rct, which needs to be further improved.     

地应力条件下的凿岩爆破数值模拟

为了研究地应力对凿岩爆破的影响,采用DDA方法模拟爆炸应力波作用下考虑地应力条件时的单孔和多孔凿岩爆破破岩过程。模拟发现,随着初始地应力水平的增加,裂纹扩展半径和破岩区域面积减小,裂纹发育主方向趋于地应力的最大主应力方向,初始地应力对裂纹的抑制和引导作用明显;初始地应力水平的增加,对拉伸裂纹的抑制作用更为显著,从而降低了拉伸破坏对爆破破岩的贡献。模拟也表明,在初始地应力存在的条件下,通过对爆破载荷和炮孔布置进行针对性的优化,可以克服地应力带来的影响,并取得预期的爆破效果。本研究对地应力条件下的凿岩爆破工程具有理论和参考意义。     

Strength and deformation properties of frozen sand under a true triaxial stress condition

In recent years, the mechanical properties of frozen soils under complex stress states have attracted significant attention; however, limited by the test apparatus, true triaxial tests on frozen soils have rarely been conducted. To study the strength and deformation properties of frozen sand under a true triaxial stress state, a novel frozen soil testing system, i.e., a true triaxial apparatus, was developed. The apparatus is mainly composed of a temperature control system, a servo host system, a hydraulic servo loading system, and a digital control system. Several true triaxial tests were conducted at a constant minor principal stress (σ₃) and constant intermediate principal stress ratio (b) to study the effect of intermediate principal stress (σ₂) on the mechanical properties of frozen sand. The test results showed that the stress–strain curve can be mainly divided into three stages, with evidence of strain hardening characteristics. The strength, elastic modulus, and friction angle increased with the increase in b from 0 to 0.6, but decreased when increasing b from 0.6 to 1, whereas the cohesion varied little with the variation in b. The deformation in the direction of σ₂ changed from dilative to compressive and that in the direction of σ₃ remained dilative throughout.     

Stability assessment of 3D reinforced soil structures under steady unsaturated infiltration

Internal stability assessment of geosynthetic-reinforced soil structures (GRSSs) has been commonly carried out assuming plane-strain conditions and dry backfills. However, failures of GRSSs usually show three-dimensional (3D) features and occur under unsaturated conditions. A procedure based on the kinematic limit-analysis method is proposed herein to assess 3D effects and the role of steady unsaturated infiltration on the required geosynthetic strength for GRSSs. A suction stress-based framework is used to describe the soil stress behavior under steady unsaturated infiltration. Based on the principle of energy-work balance, the required geosynthetic strength is determined. A comparison analysis with the prior research is conducted to verify the developed method. Two kinds of backfills, i.e., high-quality backfill and marginal backfill, are considered for comparison in this work. It is shown that accounting for 3D effects and the role of unsaturated infiltration considerably reduces the required geosynthetic strength. The 3D effects are primarily affected by the width-to-height ratio of GRSSs, and the contribution of unsaturated infiltration is mainly influenced by the soil type, flow rate, GRSS's height, and location of the water table.     

A comparison of shear stress estimation methods for a single geobag on a rough bed

There are several methods for estimating bed shear stress in the literature, but comprehensive comparisons among them are limited and under specific conditions. This study compared these methods first on a bare smooth bed, and then for a single geobag on a rough bed in the interest of determining the stability of geobags used in riverbank protection structures. The geobag was filled with cement or sand and tested under different open channel flow conditions. The turbulent kinetic energy method appeared to best represent the local bed shear stress on the geobag when using the newly calibrated proportionality constants. The Reynolds stress method via extrapolation was relatively unaffected by changes to the geobags shape and measurement locations, suggesting this method inadequately represents the local bed shear stress. The Patel method and the universal law of the wall method failed to represent local bed shear stress in the rough bed cases due to instrument limitations and the breakdown of the law of the wall. This study highlights the impact of different methods on the bed shear stress estimation.     

Experimental study and numerical modeling of mixing by air injection in yield stress fluids using the OpenFOAM software

Mixing by gas injection is an operation used in industrial processes such as wastewater treatment, metallurgy, or methanization in which pressurized gas is injected into a fluid in order to reduce concentrations and temperatures gradients. This study demonstrates how the CFD toolbox OpenFOAM can be used to simulate such flows. Experimental measurements and observations have been performed on a pilot-scale reactor where pressurized air is injected in a yield stress fluid. The volume of fluid method and an adaptive mesh with refinement at the interface have been used to track the gas inclusions. The numerical model accuracy has been assessed by comparing experimental and numerical results related to the bubble's frequency, dimensions, and rising velocities as well as the fluid recirculation, yielded, and unyielded regions in the tank. The influence of injection parameters such as the injection flow rate and the fluid rheological parameters has been quantified.     

Adaptation to Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Enhances Resistance of Oral Cancer Cells to Cisplatin by Up-Regulating Polymerase η and Increasing DNA Repair Efficiency

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response is an adaptive program to cope with cellular stress that disturbs the function and homeostasis of ER, which commonly occurs during cancer progression to late stage. Late-stage cancers, mostly requiring chemotherapy, often develop treatment resistance. Chemoresistance has been linked to ER stress response; however, most of the evidence has come from studies that correlate the expression of stress markers with poor prognosis or demonstrate proapoptosis by the knockdown of stress-responsive genes. Since ER stress in cancers usually persists and is essentially not induced by genetic manipulations, we used low doses of ER stress inducers at levels that allowed cell adaptation to occur in order to investigate the effect of stress response on chemoresistance. We found that prolonged tolerable ER stress promotes mesenchymal–epithelial transition, slows cell-cycle progression, and delays the S-phase exit. Consequently, cisplatin-induced apoptosis was significantly decreased in stress-adapted cells, implying their acquisition of cisplatin resistance. Molecularly, we found that proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) ubiquitination and the expression of polymerase η, the main polymerase responsible for translesion synthesis across cisplatin-DNA damage, were up-regulated in ER stress-adaptive cells, and their enhanced cisplatin resistance was abrogated by the knockout of polymerase η. We also found that a fraction of p53 in stress-adapted cells was translocated to the nucleus, and that these cells exhibited a significant decline in the level of cisplatin-DNA damage. Consistently, we showed that the nuclear p53 coincided with strong positivity of glucose-related protein 78 (GRP78) on immunostaining of clinical biopsies, and the cisplatin-based chemotherapy was less effective for patients with high levels of ER stress. Taken together, this study uncovers that adaptation to ER stress enhances DNA repair and damage tolerance, with which stressed cells gain resistance to chemotherapeutics.     

基于数值模拟的挤压参数对AZ91镁合金管转角焊合室分流挤压焊合压力的影响规律研究

提出了一种镁合金管材转角焊合室分流挤压新工艺，该工艺可在有效延长焊合室长度和焊合时间前提下保证舌针刚度，从而保证管材尺寸精度，并且可通过转角剪切变形机制增加预焊合金属变形量和动态再结晶程度，从而有利于提高管材性能和焊缝焊合性能。利用有限元法揭示了转角焊合室分流挤压成形过程中金属的流动特征，应变分布特征和焊合室内的静水压力分布特征。结果表明，整个挤压过程无金属折叠，从而保证管材的表面质量；流经转角后预焊合金属变形量明显增加，有利于提高管材质量和焊缝质量。最后，研究揭示了坯料初始温度，挤压速度和模具转角对焊合室内静水压力的影响规律。结果表明，随着挤压速度的增加和模具转角的增大，转角焊合室内静水压力增大；随着坯料预热温度的增加，转角焊合室内静水压力呈先增大后减小的趋势。