Phase-field modeling of gas bubbles and thermal conductivity evolution in nuclear fuels

A phase-field model was developed to simulate the accumulation and transport of fission products and the evolution of gas bubble microstructures in nuclear fuels. The model takes into account the generation of gas atoms and vacancies, and the elastic interaction between diffusive species and defects as well as the inhomogeneity of elasticity and diffusivity. The simulations show that gas bubble nucleation is much easier at grain boundaries than inside grains due to the trapping of gas atoms and the high mobility of vacancies and gas atoms in grain boundaries. Helium bubble formation at unstable vacancy clusters generated by irradiation depends on the mobilities of the vacancies and He, and the continuing supply of vacancies and He. The formation volume of the vacancy and He has a strong effect on the gas bubble nucleation at dislocations. The effective thermal conductivity strongly depends on the bubble volume fraction, but weakly on the morphology of the bubbles.     

3-Pyridinylidene Derivatives of Chemically Modified Lupane and Ursane Triterpenes as Promising Anticancer Agents by Targeting Apoptosis

Cancer persists as a global challenge due to the extent to which conventional anticancer therapies pose high risks counterbalanced with their therapeutic benefit. Naturally occurring substances stand as an important safer alternative source for anticancer drug development. In the current study, a series of modified lupane and ursane derivatives was subjected to in vitro screening on the NCI-60 cancer cell line panel. Compounds 6 and 7 have been identified as highly active with GI₅₀ values ranging from 0.03 µM to 5.9 µM (compound 6) and 0.18–1.53 µM (compound 7). Thus, these two compounds were further assessed in detail in order to identify a possible antiproliferative mechanism of action. DAPI (4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) staining revealed that both compounds induced nuclei condensation and overall cell morphological changes consistent with apoptotic cell death. rtPCR analysis showed that both compounds induced upregulation of proapoptotic Bak and Bad genes while downregulating Bcl-XL and Bcl-2 antiapoptotic genes. Molecular docking analysis revealed that both compounds exhibited high scores for Bcl-XL inhibition, while compound 7 showed higher in silico Bcl-XL inhibition potential as compared to the native inhibitor ATB-737, suggesting that compounds may induce apoptotic cell death through targeted antiapoptotic protein inhibition, as well.     

Edible Electronics: Biocompatible and Biodegradable Materials for Organic Field‐Effect Transistors (Adv. Funct. Mater. 23/2010)

Biocompatible‐ingestible electronic circuits and capsules for medical diagnosis and monitoring are currently based on traditional silicon technology. Organic electronics has huge potential for developing biodegradable, biocompatible, bioresorbable, or even metabolizable products. An ideal pathway for such electronic devices involves fabrication with materials from nature, or materials found in common commodity products. Transistors with an operational voltage as low as 4–5 V, a source drain current of up to 0.5 μA and an on‐off ratio of 3–5 orders of magnitude have been fabricated with such materials. This work comprises steps towards environmentally safe devices in low‐cost, large volume, disposable or throwaway electronic applications, such as in food packaging, plastic bags, and disposable dishware. In addition, there is significant potential to use such electronic items in biomedical implants.     

Genistein in 1:1 Inclusion Complexes with Ramified Cyclodextrins: Theoretical,Physicochemical and Biological Evaluation

Genistein is one of the most studied phytocompound in the class of isoflavones, presenting a notable estrogenic activity and in vitro and/or in vivo benefits in different types of cancer such as those of the bladder, kidney, lung, pancreatic, skin and endometrial cancer. A big inconvenience for drug development is low water solubility, which can be solved by using hydrophilic cyclodextrins. The aim of this study is to theoretically analyze, based on the interaction energy, the possibility of a complex formation between genistein (Gen) and three different ramified cyclodextrins (CD), using a 1:1 molar ratio Gen:CD. Theoretical data were correlated with a screening of both in vitro and in vivo activity. Proliferation of different human cancer cell lines, antimicrobial activity and angiogenesis behavior was analyzed in order to see if complexation has a beneficial effect for any of the above mentioned activities and if so, which of the three CDs is the most suitable for the incorporation of genistein, and which may lead to future improved pharmaceutical formulations. Results showed antiproliferative activity with different IC₅₀ values for all tested cell lines, remarkable antimicrobial activity on Bacillus subtilis and antiangiogenic activity as revealed by CAM assay. Differences regarding the intensity of the activity for pure and the three Gen complexes were noticed as explained in the text. The data represent a proof that the three CDs can be used for furtherer research towards practical use in the pharmaceutical and medical field.     

Fabrication of novel lightweight composites by a hydrogel templating technique

A non-conventional way of preparation of lightweight porous materials by templating hydrogels with a range of hydrophilic and hydrophobic scaffolding materials was explored. Sub-millimetre hydrogel slurries of polyacrylamide and gellan gum were templated with aqueous slurries of cement, gypsum and clay–cement mixtures or alternatively, dispersed in curable polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). After the solidification of the scaffolding material, the evaporation of structured hydrogel produced porous composite material whose pores mimic the hydrogel meso-structure. We studied the density, volume contraction and the compression strength of the formed porous materials as function of the hydrogel initial volume fraction. This versatile hydrogel templating method can be applied very inexpensively to a range of scaffolding materials to yield lightweight porous materials with a great potential for use in the building industry in heat and sound insulation panels, an alternative to aerated concretes, lightweight building blocks, porous rubber substitutes and foam shock absorbers.     

Improving the Surface Electric Potential Measurement Capability for Textile Materials

The system currently employed for measuring the electric potential of the surface of textile fabrics consists in an electrostatic probe connected to an electrostatic voltmeter. The primary aim of the present work is to improve the capability of this measurement system, as evaluated by gauge repeatability and reproducibility studies. The experiments were conducted on samples of polypropylene non‐woven fabrics, electrostatically charged by exposing them to a negative corona discharge from a custom‐designed electrode system. A first series of fully operator‐controlled measurements pointed out the need to automatically control the relative position between the sample and probe, so that to eliminate the variability due to the non‐uniform structure of the non‐woven fabrics. The following series of partly automated experiments revealed that the repeatability and the reproducibility of the measurements are negatively affected by the decay of the electric potential at the surface of the samples. The best gauge capability is obtained when the measurements are delayed with respect to the moment of corona charging, in order to reduce the variability due to the fact that the samples characteristics change in time. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.