Optical design of the Lyman alpha based beam emission spectroscopy(LAB)diagnostic on the HL-2A tokamak

In this article, we present the optical design of a novel diagnostic on the HL-2 A tokamak, i.e. the20-channel edge Lyman-alpha beam emission spectroscopy, which is a promising solution for edge density turbulence research on tokamaks, as it offers the possibility of density fluctuation measurement with a 3.3 mm spatial resolution while maintains a high temporal resolution of1 μs. The optical path, including the reflective collection optics, the high-dispersion spectrometer, and the linear detector array, is carefully optimized to obtain a good image quality and a high throughput. The maximum root mean square radius of the collection optics is 64 μm.The detected photon flux is estimated to be about 10~(11) photons/s/channel.     

Systemic Inflammation and the Breakdown of Intestinal Homeostasis Are Key Events in Chronic Spinal Cord Injury Patients

Our aim was to investigate the subset distribution and function of circulating monocytes, proinflammatory cytokine levels, gut barrier damage, and bacterial translocation in chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. Thus, 56 SCI patients and 28 healthy donors were studied. The levels of circulating CD14^+highCD16⁻, CD14^+highCD16⁺, and CD14^+lowCD16⁺ monocytes, membrane TLR2, TLR4, and TLR9, phagocytic activity, ROS generation, and intracytoplasmic TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6, and IL-10 after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation were analyzed by polychromatic flow cytometry. Serum TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6 and IL-10 levels were measured by Luminex and LPS-binding protein (LBP), intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP) and zonulin by ELISA. SCI patients had normal monocyte counts and subset distribution. CD14^+highCD16⁻ and CD14^+highCD16⁺ monocytes exhibited decreased TLR4, normal TLR2 and increased TLR9 expression. CD14^+highCD16⁻ monocytes had increased LPS-induced TNF-α but normal IL-1, IL-6, and IL-10 production. Monocytes exhibited defective phagocytosis but normal ROS production. Patients had enhanced serum TNF-α and IL-6 levels, normal IL-1 and IL-10 levels, and increased circulating LBP, I-FABP, and zonulin levels. Chronic SCI patients displayed impaired circulating monocyte function. These patients exhibited a systemic proinflammatory state characterized by enhanced serum TNF-α and IL-6 levels. These patients also had increased bacterial translocation and gut barrier damage.     

Microwave hybrid fast sintering of red clay ceramics

This work aimed to examine the performance of the hybrid sintering of clay ceramic in a microwave furnace, compared to the sintering process in a conventional furnace. The raw materials were subjected to X-ray fluorescence, loss on ignition (LOI), X-ray diffraction, particle size distribution, real specific mass, and thermogravimetric analyses. The red clay ceramic mass was prepared, extruded, pre-sintered in a conventional furnace at 600°C/60 min, and sintered at temperatures between 700 °C and 1100 °C. The sintering conventional (resistive oven) was carried out for 60 min with a heating rate of 10°C/min. In the microwave furnace, the sintering times were 5, 10, and 15 min, with a heating rate of 50°C/min, with a sintering chamber coated with silicon carbide (susceptor). The sintered specimens were characterized according to linear shrinkage, water absorption, apparent porosity, apparent specific mass, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy analysis, spectroscopy analysis in the ultraviolet and visible regions, microhardness, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that microwave sintering promoted an increase in the microhardness and apparent specific mass, and reduction in water absorption and apparent porosity values, due to greater densification in the microstructure. The best results occurred for specimens sintered at 1100°C.     

Reusable Polyacrylonitrile-Sulfur Extractor of Heavy Metal Ions from Wastewater

Mercury, lead, and cadmium are among the most toxic and carcinogenic heavy metal ions (HMIs), posing serious threats to the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems and public health. There is an urgent need to remove these ions from water by a cheap but green process. Traditional methods have insufficient removal efficiency and reusability. Structurally robust, large surface-area adsorbents functionalized with high-selectivity affinity to HMIs are attractive filter materials. Here, an adsorbent prepared by vulcanization of polyacrylonitrile (PAN), a nitrogen-rich polymer, is reported, giving rise to PAN-S nanoparticles with cyclic π-conjugated backbone and electronic conductivity. PAN-S can be coated on ultra-robust melamine (ML) foam by simple dipping and drying. In agreement with hard/soft acid/base theory, N- and S-containing soft Lewis bases have strong binding to Hg²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Cd²⁺, with extraordinary capture efficiency and performance stability. Furthermore, the used filters, when collected and electrochemically biased in a recycling bath, can release the HMIs into the bath and electrodeposit on the counter-electrode as metallic Hg⁰, Pb⁰, Cu⁰, and Cd⁰, and the PAN-S@ML filter can then be reused at least 6 times as new. The electronically conductive PAN-S@ML filter can be fabricated cheaply and holds promise for scale-up applications.     

Strong tribocatalytic dye degradation by tungsten bronze Ba4Nd2Fe2Nb8O30

The triboelectric effect has recently demonstrated its great potential in environmental remediation and even new energy applications for triggering a number of catalytic reactions by utilizing trivial mechanical energy. In this study, Ba₄Nd₂Fe₂Nb₈O₃₀ (BNFN) submicron powders were used to degrade organic dyes via the tribocatalytic effect. Under the frictional excitation of three PTFE stirring rods in a 5 mg/L RhB dye solution, BNFN demonstrates a high tribocatalytic degradation efficiency of 97% in 2 h. Hydroxyl radicals (?OH) and superoxide radicals (?O₂－) were also detected during the catalysis process, which proves that triboelectric energy stimulates BNFN to generate electron-hole pairs. The tribocatalysis of tungsten bronze BNFN submicron powders provides a novel and efficient method for the degradation of wastewater dye by utilizing trivial mechanical energy.     

κ-Opioid Signaling in the Lateral Hypothalamic Area Modulates Nicotine-Induced Negative Energy Balance

Several studies have reported that nicotine, the main bioactive component of tobacco, exerts a marked negative energy balance. Apart from its anorectic action, nicotine also modulates energy expenditure, by regulating brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis and white adipose tissue (WAT) browning. These effects are mainly controlled at the central level by modulation of hypothalamic neuropeptide systems and energy sensors, such as AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). In this study, we aimed to investigate the kappa opioid receptor (κOR)/dynorphin signaling in the modulation of nicotine’s effects on energy balance. We found that body weight loss after nicotine treatment is associated with a down-regulation of the κOR endogenous ligand dynorphin precursor and with a marked reduction in κOR signaling and the p70 S6 kinase/ribosomal protein S6 (S6K/rpS6) pathway in the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA). The inhibition of these pathways by nicotine was completely blunted in κOR deficient mice, after central pharmacological blockade of κOR, and in rodents where κOR was genetically knocked down specifically in the LHA. Moreover, κOR-mediated nicotine effects on body weight do not depend on orexin. These data unravel a new central regulatory pathway modulating nicotine’s effects on energy balance.     

Optimized microwave absorption properties by tailoring the morphology of carbon coated TiC nanoparticles by N2 pressure

Increasing the dielectric loss capacity plays an important role in enhancing the electromagnetic absorption performance of materials. It remains a challenge to simultaneously introduce multiple types of dielectric losses in the material. In this work, we show that the atomic and interfacial dipole polarizations can be simultaneously enhanced by substituting N species into both carbon coating layers and bulk TiC lattices of a core-shell TiC@C material. Additionally, substitution of N species results more exposed TiC(111) facets and refines the TiC grain sizes in the bulk material, which is beneficial for enhancing the scattering of the external electromagnetic waves. The maximum reflection loss of the N substituted TiC@C material is measured as ?47.1 dB with an effective absorbing bandwidth of 4.83 GHz at 1.9 mm, which illustrates a valuable way to further tuning the electromagnetic absorption performance of this type of materials.     

Increasing the photocatalytic and fungicide activities of Ag3PO4 microcrystals under visible-light irradiation

The present study reports for the first time the performance of silver phosphate (Ag₃PO₄) microcrystals as photocatalyst (degradation of Rodamine B-RhB) and antifungal agent (against Candida albicans–C. albicans) under visible-light irradiation (455 nm). Ag₃PO₄ microcrystals were synthesized by a simple co-precipitation (CP) method at room temperature. The structural and electronic properties of the as-synthetized Ag₃PO₄ have been investigated before and after 4 cycles of RhB degradation under visible light using X-ray diffraction (XRD), micro-Raman spectroscopy, UV–Vis spectrophotometer and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images. The antifungal activity was analyzed in planktonic cells and 48h-biofilm of C. albicans by colony forming units (CFU) counting, confocal laser and FE-SE microscopies. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS software. Morphological and structural modifications of Ag₃PO₄ were observed upon recycling. After 4 recycles, the material maintained its photodegradation property; an eightfold increase in the efficiency of Ag₃PO₄ was observed in planktonic cells and a two fold increase in biofilm when irradiated under visible light. Thus, higher antifungal effectiveness against C. albicans was obtained when associated with visible-light irradiation.     

Simultaneous fractionation of multiple classes of polyphenols from honeybush tea using solid-phase extraction

The structural diversity of polyphenols and the inherent limitations of current extraction techniques pose a challenge to extract polyphenols using a simple and green method. Hence, in this study, a method was developed to simultaneously fractionate multiple classes of polyphenols by only varying ethanol-water solutions. Honeybush tea, which is rich in polyphenols, was selected as a model for this study. Solvent extraction followed by solid-phase extraction (SPE) was developed to obtain a polyphenol-rich fraction from six honeybush samples. Based on a gradient elution programme (10%, 30%, 50%, 70% and 90% (v/v) ethanol-water solution) of SPE, the Strata X cartridge showed a better recovery of most targeted polyphenols under 0.9 mL of the drying volume and 1 mL min⁻¹ of the dispensing speed. The elution programme for fractionating most polyphenols was as follows: single elution with 50% ethanol, followed by twice elution with 70% ethanol. The antioxidant capacity was used to analyse the differences among the polyphenol-rich fractions from six honeybush samples. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that unfermented C. genistoides (GG) has the greatest antioxidant capacity among the honeybush species studied. Additionally, mangiferin, isomangiferin and vicenin-2 were the main contributors to the antioxidant capacity in six honeybush fractions according to the correlation study.