碳脱氧在钢包顶渣改质中的应用

 为了进一步降低夹杂物缺陷并提高产品质量,基于碳脱氧进行了钢包顶渣改质的研究。冷轧产品的生产工艺为铁水预处理→转炉→RH精炼→连铸,为减少钢中夹杂物质量分数,需要进行钢包顶渣改质,同时降低钢包顶渣TFe质量分数。采用粒碳部分替代铝渣球的方法进行基于碳脱氧工艺的钢包顶渣改质,试验结果表明,顶渣改质效果良好,在顶渣TFe质量分数、中间包钢水游离氧明显降低的同时铸坯中Al₂O₃夹杂物得到优化;“30 kg粒渣+铝渣球”工艺降低生产成本5.16元/t(钢)。     

Recent Advances in Conjugated Polymers for Visible-Light-Driven Water Splitting

With the ambition of solving the challenges of the shortage of fossil fuels and their associated environmental pollution, visible-light-driven splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen using semiconductor photocatalysts has emerged as a promising technology to provide environmentally friendly energy vectors. Among the current library of developed photocatalysts, organic conjugated polymers present unique advantages of sufficient light-absorption efficiency, excellent stability, tunable electronic properties, and economic applicability. As a class of rising photocatalysts, organic conjugated polymers offer high flexibility in tuning the framework of the backbone and porosity to fulfill the requirements for photocatalytic applications. In the past decade, significant progress has been made in visible-light-driven water splitting employing organic conjugated polymers. The recent development of the structural design principles of organic conjugated polymers (including linear, crosslinked, and supramolecular self-assembled polymers) toward efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, oxygen evolution, and overall water splitting is described, thus providing a comprehensive reference for the field. Finally, current challenges and perspectives are also discussed.     

Mg0.5NixZn0.5-xFe2O4 spinel as a sustainable magnetic nano-photocatalyst with dopant driven band shifting and reduced recombination for visible and solar degradation of Reactive Blue-19

Focussing on visible light active ferrites for high performance removal of noxious pollutants, we report the synthesis of Mg_0.5Ni_xZn_0.5-xFe₂O₄ (x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, & 0.5) ferrite nanoparticle for degradation of reactive blue-19 (RB-19). Lattice parameters calculated using intense X-ray diffraction (XRD) peaks and Nelson-Riley plots (N-R plot) are in well agreement with each other. The sample Mg_0.5Ni_0.4Zn_0.1Fe₂O₄ (M5N4) exhibits best performance with 99.5% RB-19 degradation in 90 min under visible light. Photoluminescence (PL) results confirm that recombination of charge carriers is highly reduced in the photocatalyst. Scavenging experiments suggest that O₂⁻ radicals were the dominant species responsible for photocatalytic performance. The photocatalytic mechanism was explained in terms of dopant driven shifting of conduction bands and valence bands (calculated by Mott-Schottky plots). The thermodynamic probability of radical generation along with role of redox cycles of metal ions has been discussed in the mechanism. The dye degradation was ascertained by detection of intermediates via mass spectrometry analysis and a possible degradation route was also predicted. The findings in this work provide intriguing opportunities to modify the electronic band structure of spinel ferrites for visible and solar light photocatalytic activity for environmental detoxification.     

Event-triggered variable horizon Supervisory Predictive control of hybrid power plants

The supervision of a hybrid power plant, including solar panels, a gas microturbine and a storage unit operating under varying solar power profiles is considered. The Economic Supervisory Predictive controller assigns the power references to the controlled subsystems of the hybrid cell using a financial criterion. A prediction of the renewable sources power is embedded into the supervisor. Results deteriorate when the solar power is unsteady, owing to the inaccuracy of the predictions for a long-range horizon of 10 s. The receding horizon is switched between an upper and a lower value according to the amplitude of the solar power trend. Theoretical results show the relevance of horizon switching, according to a tradeoff between performance and prediction accuracy. Experimental results, obtained in a Hardware In the Loop (HIL) framework, show the relevance of the variable horizon approach. Power amplifiers allow us to simulate virtual components, such as a gas microturbine, and to blend their powers with that of real devices (storage unit, real solar panels). In this case, fuel savings, reaching 15%, obtained under unsteady operating conditions lead to a better overall performance of the hybrid cell. The overall savings obtained in the experiments amount to 12%.     

Reactive Oxygen and Nitrogen Species in Defense/Stress Responses Activated by Chitosan in Sycamore Cultured Cells

Chitosan (CHT) is a non-toxic and inexpensive compound obtained by deacetylation of chitin, the main component of the exoskeleton of arthropods as well as of the cell walls of many fungi. In agriculture CHT is used to control numerous diseases on various horticultural commodities but, although different mechanisms have been proposed, the exact mode of action of CHT is still unknown. In sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) cultured cells, CHT induces a set of defense/stress responses that includes production of H₂O₂ and nitric oxide (NO). We investigated the possible signaling role of these reactive molecules in some CHT-induced responses by means of inhibitors of production and/or scavengers. The results show that both reactive nitrogen and oxygen species are not only a mere symptom of stress conditions but are involved in the responses induced by CHT in sycamore cells. In particular, NO appears to be involved in a cell death form induced by CHT that shows apoptotic features like DNA fragmentation, increase in caspase-3-like activity and release of cytochrome c from the mitochondrion. On the contrary, reactive oxygen species (ROS) appear involved in a cell death form induced by CHT that does not show these apoptotic features but presents increase in lipid peroxidation.     

In Silico Analysis and Experimental Validation of Active Compounds from Cichorium intybus L. Ameliorating Liver Injury

This study aimed at investigating the possible mechanisms of hepatic protective activity of Cichorium intybus L. (chicory) in acute liver injury. Pathological observation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) detection and measurements of biochemical indexes on mouse models proved hepatic protective effect of Cichorium intybus L. Identification of active compounds in Cichorium intybus L. was executed through several methods including ultra performance liquid chromatography/time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-TOF-MS). Similarity ensemble approach (SEA) docking, molecular modeling, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation were applied in this study to explore possible mechanisms of the hepato-protective potential of Cichorium intybus L. We then analyzed the chemical composition of Cichorium intybus L., and found their key targets. Furthermore, in vitro cytological examination and western blot were used for validating the efficacy of the selected compounds. In silico analysis and western blot together demonstrated that selected compound 10 in Cichorium intybus L. targeted Akt-1 in hepatocytes. Besides, compound 13 targeted both caspase-1 and Akt-1. These small compounds may ameliorate liver injury by acting on their targets, which are related to apoptosis or autophagy. The conclusions above may shed light on the complex molecular mechanisms of Cichorium intybus L. acting on hepatocytes and ameliorating liver injury.     

Triphenylphosphonium (TPP)-Based Antioxidants: A New Perspective on Antioxidant Design

Mitochondrial oxidative damage and dysfunction contribute to a wide range of human diseases. Considering the limitation of conventional antioxidants and that mitochondria are the main source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which induce oxidative damage, mitochondria-targeted antioxidants which can selectively block mitochondrial oxidative damage and prevent various types of cell death have been widely developed. As a lipophilic cation, triphenylphosphonium (TPP) has been commonly used in designing mitochondria-targeted antioxidants. Conjugated with the TPP moiety, antioxidants can achieve more than 1000-fold higher mitochondrial concentration depending on cell membrane potentials and mitochondrial membrane potentials. Herein we discuss the deficiencies of conventional antioxidants and the advantages of mitochondrial targeting, and review various types of TPP-based mitochondria-targeted antioxidants. These provide theoretical and background support for the design of new anti-oxidant.     

A unified critical state model for geomaterials with an application to tunnelling

This paper is prepared in honour of Professor E.T. Brown for his outstanding contributions to rock mechanics and geotechnical engineering and also for his personal influence on the first author's research career in geomechanics and geotechnical engineering. As a result, we have picked a topic that reflects two key research areas in which Professor E.T. Brown has made seminal contributions over a long and distinguished career. These two areas are concerned with the application of the critical state concept to modelling geomaterials and the analysis of underground excavation or tunnelling in geomaterials.Partially due to Professor Brown's influence, the first author has also been conducting research in these two areas over many years. In particular, this paper aims to describe briefly the development of a unified critical state model for geomaterials together with an application to cavity contraction problems and tunnelling in soils.