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•NiCo2S4@CoMoO4 core-shell heterostructure nanowire arrays are prepared as flexible supercapacitor electrode.•The NiCo2S4@CoMoO4 electrode exhibits remarkable specific capacitance and ...high-rate capability.•A flexible all-solid-state ACS device based on NiCo2S4@CoMoO4 is fabricated.
In order to meet the application requirements of portable and wearable devices, the high-efficiency energy storage units with high energy density, high power density and long cycle life are urgently needed. In this work, we have successfully fabricated novel flexible electrode comprising NiCo2S4@CoMoO4 core–shell nanowire arrays on carbon cloth via a facile three-step hydrothermalprocess. Benefiting from the unique hierarchical structure and their synergistic effects between CoMoO4 and NiCo2S4, the supercapacitor electrode realizes a fast electron and ion transfer, a large electroactive surface area and superior conductivity. As a result, the NiCo2S4@CoMoO4 electrode exhibits superior performances with an outstanding specific capacitance of 2118.8 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and an excellent rate capability of 81.6% at 20 A g−1. After 5000 cycles, the NiCo2S4@CoMoO4 electrode shows an excellent cyclic performance with 88.6% capacity retention. The excellent performance of electrode is also confirmed by assembling all-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor, which delivers a high energy density of 66.6 Wh kg−1 as well as the maximum power density of 16 kW kg−1. This work demonstrates that the NiCo2S4@CoMoO4 electrode provides a promising material for the energy storage applications in the future.
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•Hierarchical structured layered-double-hydroxides derived by ZIF-67 was successfully synthesized and characterized.•The adsorption tests for both high and trace concentrations of ...uranium (VI) were conducted in details.•Mg-Co LDHs derived by ZIF-67 possesses high adsorption capacity and selectivity for uranium (VI).
Under the background of increasing and sustainable development of nuclear industry, it is significant to develop materials with high adsorption capacity and high selectivity of uranium as adsorbents. In this work, novel Mg-Co layered-double-hydroxide (LDH) with hierarchical structure was synthesized successfully via self-sacrifice template by ZIF-67. X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area measurement (BET) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) characterization were conducted, which confirmed the specifically hollow structured material possesses high surface area and abundant mesopores that makes uranium ions diffuse into it more easily. In typical batch adsorption experiments, varieties of parameters were investigated in details. In addition, adsorption of trace concentration of uranium (ppb level) in simulated seawater was also studied. The results showed as-prepared Mg-Co LDHs are promising adsorbents for extraction of uranium from simulated seawater.
Toxic inhibitory compounds from lignocellulose pretreatment are the major obstacle to achieve high bioconversion efficiency in biorefinery fermentations. This study shows a unique glucose oxidation ...catalysis of Gluconobacter oxydans with its gluconic acid productivity free of inhibitor disturbance. The microbial experimentations and the transcriptome analysis revealed that both the activity of the membrane‐bound glucose dehydrogenase and the transcription level of the genes in periplasmic glucose oxidation respiratory chain of G. oxydans were essentially not affected in the presence of inhibitory compounds. G. oxydans also rapidly converted furan and phenolic aldehyde inhibitors into the less toxic alcohols or acids. The synergy of the robust periplasmic glucose oxidation and the rapid inhibitor conversion of G. oxydans significantly elevated the efficiency of the oxidative fermentation in lignocellulose hydrolysate. The corresponding genes responsible for the conversion of furan and phenolic aldehyde inhibitors were also mined by DNA microarrays. The synergistic mechanism of G. oxydans provided an important option of metabolic modification for enhancing inhibitor tolerance of general fermentation strains.
Zhou et al. found a unique membrane‐bound glucose oxidation system in Gluconobacter oxydans, whose protein synthesis and enzyme activity are free of the disturbance of lignocellulose‐derived inhibitors. G. oxydans is also capable of the rapid inhibitor conversion. The combination of the robust catalysis and inhibitor conversion of G. oxydans leads to a high oxidative efficiency of lignocellulose‐derived sugars to the corresponding sugar acids.
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•Dry dilute acid pretreatment and biodetoxification are applied on corn stover biorefining.•75.22g/L of xylonic acid is produced using xylose in cellulosic ethanol distillation ...stillage.•59.80g/L of ethanol is also obtained before xylose fermentation.•Significant reduction of wastewater generation and energy consumption are achieved.•Aspen Plus modeling is conducted on the flowsheet simulation of the proposed process.
An oxidative production process of xylonic acid using xylose in distillation stillage of cellulosic ethanol fermentation broth was designed, experimentally investigated, and evaluated. Dry dilute acid pretreated and biodetoxified corn stover was simultaneously saccharified and fermented into 59.80g/L of ethanol (no xylose utilization). 65.39g/L of xylose was obtained in the distillation stillage without any concentrating step after ethanol was distillated. Then the xylose was completely converted into 66.42g/L of xylonic acid by Gluconobacter oxydans. The rigorous Aspen Plus modeling shows that the wastewater generation and energy consumption was significantly reduced comparing to the previous xylonic acid production process using xylose in pretreatment liquid. This study provided a practical process option for xylonic acid production from lignocellulose feedstock with significant reduction of wastewater and energy consumption.
The efficient development of selective materials for the recovery of uranium from nuclear waste and seawater is necessary for their potential application in nuclear fuel and the mitigation of nuclear ...pollution. In this work, a graphene oxide/amidoxime hydrogel (AGH) exhibits a promising adsorption performance for uranium from various aqueous solutions, including simulated seawater. We show high adsorption capacities (Qm = 398.4 mg g(-1)) and high % removals at ppm or ppb levels in aqueous solutions for uranium species. In the presence of high concentrations of competitive ions such as Mg(2+), Ca(2+), Ba(2+) and Sr(2+), AGH displays an enhanced selectivity for uranium. For low uranium concentrations in simulated seawater, AGH binds uranium efficiently and selectively. The results presented here reveal that the AGH is a potential adsorbent for remediating nuclear industrial effluent and adsorbing uranium from seawater.
This research aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a novel liquid embolic agent Pickering gel emulsion of lipiodol (PGEL) for renal and hepatic artery embolization in the rabbit experimental model.
...Embolization was performed in the right renal artery of 24 adult New Zealand White rabbits and 24 VX2 tumors in the left liver lobe. The rabbits were randomly allocated to four treatment groups (n = 6 per group): (A) normal saline (NS), (B) lipiodol, (C) 180-300 μm polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and (D) PGEL.
Renal artery embolization in normal rabbits and transarterial embolization (TAE) in VX2 tumor-bearing rabbits indicated that PGEL achieved a better embolization effect for a longer time than lipiodol and PVA. The tumor growth ratio of the PGEL group was significantly lower than that of the NS, lipiodol, and PVA groups at 3 (P < 0.001) and 7 (P < 0.001) days after embolization. In addition, hematoxylin and eosin and immunohistochemical staining revealed that the tumor necrosis ratio was higher in the PGEL group than in the NS, lipiodol, and PVA groups (P < 0.01), and the expression levels of HIF-1α, VEGF, and CD31 decreased after PGEL embolization compared with the lipiodol and PVA treatments.
PGEL is an effective embolic material that provides immediate and total occlusion of the renal artery and may be a potential therapeutic embolic agent for TAE of HCC.
Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) plays an important role in clinical liver tumor therapy. However, hypoxia after TAE limit the medium-long term efficacy of TAE. Thus, in our study, we ...explored the treatment effect and mechanism of combining transcatheter arterial embolization with adopted iodized oil containing Apatinib on suppressing tumor growth and metastasis. We simulated the changing of tumor microenvironment before and after TAE both in vitro and in vivo models. The anti-angiogenic effect of Apatinib was explored by bioassays in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), including cell migration, invasion and apoptosis, tube formation, and wound healing. Further experiments showed that Apatinib inhibited tumor microangiogenesis to achieve the aims of inhibiting tumor growth and recurrence by means of down-regulating the phosphorylation of the RAF-mek-erk, PI3K-akt and P38MAPK pathways. The antitumor growth and anti-angiogenic effect of Apatinib was further validated by the animal experiment. Taken together, we concluded that Apatinib inhibits the angiogenesis and growth of liver cancer by down-regulating the PI3K-akt, RAF-mek-erk and P38MAPK pathways, and has a stronger inhibitory effect in hypoxic environments. Combining TAE with adopted iodized oil containing Apatinib has a stronger inhibitory effect in VX2 liver tumor growth and metastasis, which suggesting such combinations may provide a new target and strategy for interventional therapy of liver cancer.
Transcatheter embolization is an important treatment method in clinical therapy, and vascular embolization material plays a key role in embolization. The temperature-sensitive ...p(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-butyl methylacrylate) (PIB) nanogel is a novel embolic agent. To evaluate the feasibility of the nanogel as a blood vessel embolization agent, we aimed to assess the effect of embolization with PIB nanogels in the rabbit renal artery by non-invasive computed tomography (CT) perfusion, macroscopic and histological examination. Ten healthy adult Japanese rabbits were used to implement RAE of PIB nanogels in their right kidneys. CT perfusion scans were performed pre- and post-treatment at various time-points (1, 4, 8, and 12 weeks). Two rabbits were euthanized and histologically examined at each time-point, and the remaining rabbits were euthanized at 12 weeks after embolization. The RAE efficacy of the nanogels was further confirmed by macroscopic and histological examination. The renal volume and renal blood flow (BF) of the right kidney were significantly decreased post-treatment compared with those pre-treatment (volume: pre, 9278 ± 1736 mm
; post 1 week, 5155 ± 979 mm
, P < 0.0001; post 4 weeks, 3952 ± 846 mm
, P < 0.0001; post 8 weeks, 3226 ± 556 mm
, P < 0.0001; post 12 weeks, 2064 ± 507 mm
, P < 0.0001. BF: pre, 530.81 ± 51.50 ml/min/100 ml; post 1 week, 0 ml/min/100 ml, P < 0.0001; post 4 weeks, 0 ml/min/100 ml, P < 0.0001; post 8 weeks, 0 ml/min/100 ml, P < 0.0001; post 12 weeks, 0 ml/min/100 ml, P < 0.0001). No revascularization or collateral circulation was observed on histological examination during this period, and PIB nanogels were dispersed in all levels of the renal arteries. Twelve weeks after embolization, CT perfusion showed no BF in the right renal artery and renal tissue, a finding that was consistent with histological examination showing complete embolization of the right renal artery with a lack of formation of collateral vessels. The effect of embolization on PIB was adequate, with good dispersion and permanency, and could be evaluated by non-invasive and quantitative CT perfusion.
Abstract
In this study, the role of CaCO
3
in n-butanol production was further investigated using corn straw hydrolysate (CSH) media by
Clostridium acetobutylicum
CICC 8016. CaCO
3
addition ...stimulated sugars utilization and butanol production. Further study showed that calcium salts addition to CSH media led to the increase in Ca
2+
concentration both intracellularly and extracellularly. Interestingly, without calcium salts addition, intracellular Ca
2+
concentration in the synthetic P2 medium was much higher than that in the CSH medium despite the lower extracellular Ca
2+
concentrations in the P2 medium. These results indicated that without additional calcium salts, Ca
2+
uptake by
C. acetobutylicum
CICC 8016 in the CSH medium may be inhibited by non-sugar biomass degradation compounds, such as furans, phenolics and organic acids. Comparative proteomics analysis results showed that most enzymes involved in glycolysis, redox balance and amino acids metabolism were up-regulated with CaCO
3
addition. This study provides further insights into the role of CaCO
3
in n-butanol production using real biomass hydrolysate.
Impact drop weight tests, rapid chloride migration coefficient tests, single-sided freeze–thaw tests, and mechanical property tests were performed to investigate the effect of the steel fiber (SF) ...content on the impact resistance and durability of concrete containing nano-SiO
(NS). A fixed NS content of 3% and six SF contents in a range of 0–2.5% by volume were used. The impact resistance was measured based on the number of blows (N1, N2) and the impact energy. The durability of concrete includes its freeze–thaw resistance and chloride ion penetration resistance, which were appraised by the chloride ion diffusion coefficient (CDC) and relative dynamic elastic modulus (RDM), respectively. The ductility ratio was used to predict the impact resistance of concrete containing NS with different SF contents, and a linear relation between this ratio and the impact energy (
= 0.853) was found. The experimental results indicated that SF could greatly improve the impact resistance of concrete. The addition of 2.0% SF increased N1 and N2 by 106 and 169%, respectively. In addition, an appropriate SF content significantly improved the durability of the concrete, including its frost resistance (especially in the middle and late freezing–thawing cycles) and chloride ion penetration resistance. An SF content of 1.5% was the optimum, decreasing the CDC of nano-concrete by 17.1% and minimizing the RDM loss. Moreover, the 1.5% SF content increased the compressive strength of concrete containing NS by 18.5%, whereas an SF content of 2.0% increased the splitting tensile strength and flexural strength by 77 and 20%, respectively. Furthermore, when the SF content exceeded a certain value, the improvement effect on these properties began to decrease and even became negative.
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