Calcium carbonate nanoparticles promote osteogenesis compared to adipogenesis in human bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cells

Rhombohedron-like and fusiform calcium carbonate nanoparticles were fabricated using a new method. Their geometry was controlled by varying the mixing speed and ratio of ethanol versus water in reaction system. The calcium carbonate nanoparticles(CCNPs) have slight effect on viability of human bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cells(hBMSCs) with dose-dependent and shape-dependent, but they can significantly promote osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs in vitro by 10–37% increase of alkaline phosphatase(ALP) activity, 9–36% growth of collagen secretion and 1.13–1.83 folds upregulation of osteogenesis-related genes, even at lower dose ranges(5–20 μg/ml). The efficacity of promoting osteogenesis depends on the shape and dose of CCNPs. Furthermore,adipogenesis was inhibited by less accumulation of lipid droplets, lower triglyceride(TG) secretion and downregulation of adipogenesis-related genes. These findings improve the understanding of effects CCNPs on hBMSCs fate towards osteoblasts or adipocytes and have meaningful impact for combining use of CCNPs and hBMSCs in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine fields.     

A Low-Cost Dual Energy CT System with Sparse Data

Dual Energy CT （DECT） has recently gained significant research interest owing to its ability to discriminate materials, and hence is widely applied in the field of nuclear safety and security inspection. With the current technological developments, DECT can be typically realized by using two sets of detectors, one for detecting lower energy X-rays and another for detecting higher energy X-rays. This makes the imaging system expensive, limiting its practical implementation. In 2009, our group performed a preliminary study on a new low-cost system design, using only a complete data set for lower energy level and a sparse data set for the higher energy level. This could significantly reduce the cost of the system, as it contained much smaller number of detector elements. Reconstruction method is the key point of this system. In the present study, we further validated this system and proposed a robust method, involving three main steps： （1） estimation of the missing data iteratively with TV constraints; （2） use the reconstruction from the complete lower energy CT data set to form an initial estimation of the projection data for higher energy level; （3） use ordered views to accelerate the computation. Numerical simulations with different number of detector elements have also been examined. The results obtained in this study demonstrate that 1 ＋ 14% CT data is sufficient enough to provide a rather good reconstruction of both the effective atomic number and electron density distributions of the scanned object, instead of 2 sets CT data.     

A review of gold extraction using noncyanide lixiviants: Fundamentals,advancements, and challenges toward alkaline sulfur-containing leaching agents

Alkaline sulfur-containing lixiviants,including thiosulfate,polysulfides,and alkaline sulfide solutions,stand out as a promising class of alternatives to cyanide because of their low toxicity,high efficiency,and strong adaptability.In this paper,we summarized the research progress and remaining challenges in gold extraction using these noncyanide reagents.After a brief introduction to the preparation method,the transformation process of various sulfur-containing species in alkaline solutions was discussed.Thereafter,some insights into the mechanism of gold leaching in alkaline sulfur-containing solutions were presented from different aspects,including thermodynamics analysis,electrochemical dissolution,and leaching kinetics.Moreover,recent progress in in-situ generation of sulfur-containing anions from gold-bearing sulfide minerals was outlined as well.Gold passivation caused by sulfur species was discussed in particular because it is considered the greatest challenge facing sulfur-containing leaching systems.Alkaline sulfur-containing lixiviants are expected to serve as alternatives in industrial applications of gold extraction,particularly for refractory gold ores containing copper and carbonaceous matter.     

地下输油管线腐蚀势态的灰色评估

根据表征输油管线运行状态的四项参数即管地电位、阴极保护电位、土壤腐蚀性以及防腐层电阻建立了统计分布模型,并对新才管线数据分布模型的均值和方差进行了显著性水平检验。应用灰色决策（灰靶）理论对管线的腐蚀与防护综合势态和运行风险进行了分级和评估,从而为减少管道腐蚀事故的发生和管道的预防性能维修提供依据。     

Assessment of wind energy potential in China

China wind atlas was made by numerical simulation and the wind energy potential in China was calculated. The model system for wind energy resource assessment was set up based on Canadian Wind Energy Simulating Toolkit （WEST） and the simulating method was as follows. First, the weather classes were obtained depend on meteorological data of 30 years. Then, driven by the initial meteorological field produced by each weather class, the meso-scale model ran for the distribution of wind energy resources according each weather class condition one by one. Finally, averaging all the modeling output weighted by the occurrence frequency of each weather class, the annual mean distribution of wind energy resources was worked out. Compared the simulated wind energy potential with other results from several activities and studies for wind energy resource assessment, it is found that the simulated wind energy potential in mainland of China is 3 times that from the second and the third investigations for wind energy resources by CMA, and is similar to the wind energy potential obtained by NREL in Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment （SWERA） project. The simulated offshore wind energy potential of China seems smaller than the true value. According to the simulated results of CMA and considering lots of limited factors to wind energy development, the final conclusion can be obtained that the wind energy availability in China is 700 - 1 200 GW, in which 600 - 1 000 GW is in mainland and 100 - 200 GW is on offshore, and wind power will become the important part of energy composition in future.     

Influence of diffusion time on property of steel-aluminum solid to liquid bonding

The bonding of solid steel to liquid aluminum was conducted using rapid solidification. The influence of diffusion time on interfacial shear strength was studied. The results show that when the temperature of aluminum liquid is 700℃ and the preheat temperature of steel plate is 250℃, the relationship between diffusion time (t) and interfacial shear strength (σ) is (σ=15.1+8.14t(037t2 +0.005t3, and the maximum interfacial shear strength is 71.1 MPa.     

Purification and characterization of schizophyllan from Schizophyllum commune

The schizophyllan from Schizophyllum commune was purified and characterized. The crude schizo-phyllan was obtained from Schizophyllum commune fermentation broth by decoloration with activated carbon,followed by deproteinization with Sevag method and ethanol precipitation. The pure schizophyllan was obtained by gel filtration chromatography with Sephacryl S-500,and its molecular characteristics were examined. The result showed that the molecular weight was 3.8×104 ,and the schizophyllan consisted of glucose with β-(1→6)-glucosidic linkages.     

Effects of Ce, Y, and Sm doping on the thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3 alloy

Nanopowders of elements doped Bi2Te3thermoelectric alloy R0.2Bi1.8Te3(R Ce,Y and Sm)were synthesized by the hydrothermal method.The nanopowders were hot-pressed into pellets and their thermoelectric properties were investigated.The results show that Ce,Y,and Sm doping has signifcant effects on the morphologies of the synthesized nanopowders and thermoelectric properties.Among the doping elements,Ce doping is a superiority dopant.Although the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coeffcient are not improved much by Ce doping,the thermal conductivity is supressed greatly.As a result the fgure of merit(ZT) of Ce0.2Bi1.8Te3is improved and reaches 1.29 at 398 K,which is higher than the Bi2Te3ingots made by the traditional zone-melting method     

Characterization and analysis of Coscinodiscus genus frustule based on FIB-SEM

Coscinodiscus genus, a type of diatoms with complex frustule, has been widely studied and reported because of their delicate nanostructures. In this paper, a dual beam system focused ion beam and scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) were applied to precisely investigate the microstructure of diatom cell walls, in particular, aiming to reveal the hierarchical pores of the valve. The microstructures of the valve, valve mantle and girdle bands were illustrated in details through a series of high resolution images after performing the cross section milling of the specific region. The 3D morphology of frustule valve was reconstructed based on the 2D image series, which demonstrated the presence of cribellum in valve, the external foramen, hexagonal cavity and the internal foramen. The four dense porous membranes and girdle bands were characterized clearly based on FIB-SEM dual beam system. An integrated model of Coscinodiscus frustule could be simulated based on the 2D and 3D results. This study provided a systematic approach to measure the morphological features of diatoms at a nanoscale, which could be applied to other nanoporous structure in three dimensions.     

Thermoelectric properties of I-doped n-type Bi2Te3-based material prepared by hydrothermal and subsequent hot pressing

I-doped Bi_2Te_(3-x)I_x(x=0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2) flower-like nanoparticles were synthesized by a hydrothermal method through a careful adjustment of the amount of ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid surfactant. The nanopowders of flower-like nanoparticles were hot-pressed into bulk pellets and the thermoelectric properties of the pellets were investigated. The results showed that I-doping decreased the electrical resistivity effectively, and the thermal conductivitives of the Bi_2Te_(3-x)I_x bulk samples was lower because of the closer atomic mass of I compared to Te.As a result, a ZT value of 1.1 was attained at 448 K for the Bi_2Te_(2.9)I_(0.1)sample.