Long-term leaching from MSWI air-pollution-control residues: leaching characterization and modeling

Long-term leaching of Ca, Fe, Mg, K, Na, S, Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, Mo, Sb, Si, Sn, Sr, Ti, V, P, Cl, and dissolved organic carbon from two different municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) air-pollution-control residues was monitored during 24 months of column percolation experiments; liquid-to-solid (L/S) ratios of 200-250L/kg corresponding to more than 10,000 years in a conventional landfill were reached. Less than 2% of the initially present As, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, and Sb had leached during the course of the experiments. Concentrations of Cd, Fe, Mg, Hg, Mn, Ni, Co, Sn, Ti, and P were generally bellow 1microg/L; overall less than 1% of their mass leached. Column leaching data were further used in a two-step geochemical modeling in PHREEQC in order to (i) identify solubility controlling minerals and (ii) evaluate their interactions in a water-percolated column system over L/S of 250L/kg. Adequate predictions of pH, alkalinity, and the leaching of Ca, S, Al, Si, Ba, and Zn were obtained in a simultaneous calculation. Also, it was suggested that removal of Ca and S together with depletion of several minerals apparently caused dissolution of ettringite-like phases. In turn, significant increase in leaching of oxyanions (especially Sb and Cr) was observed at late stage of leaching experiments.     

Void reactivity decomposition for the Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor in equilibrium fuel cycle

The Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) is one of the most promising Generation IV systems with many advantages, but has one dominating neutronic drawback – a positive sodium void reactivity. The aim of this study is to develop and apply a methodology, which should help better understand the causes and consequences of the sodium void effect. It focuses not only on the beginning-of-life (BOL) state of the core, but also on the beginning of open and closed equilibrium (BOC and BEC, respectively) fuel cycle conditions. The deeper understanding of the principal phenomena involved may subsequently lead to appropriate optimization studies.     

驼乳对小鼠抗疲劳作用的研究

为研究驼乳对体力疲劳的延缓作用,将驼乳分为3组,分别以0.5、1、2mL/d的剂量灌胃小鼠,并以0.9％生理盐水(1 mL/d)为对照组.30d后记录小鼠爬杆和负重游泳时间,并用试剂盒测定全血乳酸.肝糖元、血尿素氮含量是与疲劳有关的生理指标.试验结果表明:3个剂量的驼乳均能延长小鼠的爬杆和游泳时间,降低运动后血乳酸和血尿素的含量,提高肝糖元的储备量.     

Magnetically Driven Self-Degrading Zinc-Containing Cystine Microrobots for Treatment of Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed tumor disease in men, and its treatment is still a big challenge in standard oncology therapy. Magnetically actuated microrobots represent the most promising technology in modern nanomedicine, offering the advantage of wireless guidance, effective cell penetration, and non-invasive actuation. Here, new biodegradable magnetically actuated zinc/cystine-based microrobots for in situ treatment of prostate cancer cells are reported. The microrobots are fabricated via metal-ion-mediated self-assembly of the amino acid cystine encapsulating superparamagnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (NPs) during the synthesis, which allows their precise manipulation by a rotating magnetic field. Inside the cells, the typical enzymatic reducing environment favors the disassembly of the aminoacidic chemical structure due to the cleavage of cystine disulfide bonds and disruption of non-covalent interactions with the metal ions, as demonstrated by in vitro experiments with reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH). In this way, the cystine microrobots served for site-specific delivery of Zn²⁺ ions responsible for tumor cell killing via a “Trojan horse effect”. This work presents a new concept of cell internalization exploiting robotic systems’ self-degradation, proposing a step forward in non-invasive cancer therapy.