Magnetocontrollable droplet mobility on liquid crystal-infused porous surfaces

Magnetocontrollable droplet mobility on surfaces of both solids and simple fluids have been widely used in a wide range of applications.However,little is understood about the effect of the magnetic field on the wettability and mobility of droplets on structured fluids.Here,we report the manipulation of the dynamic behaviors of water droplets on a film of thermotropic liquid crystals(LCs).We find that the static wetting behavior and static friction of water droplets on a 4’-octyl-4-biphenylcarbonitrile(8CB)film strongly depend on the LC mesophases,and that a magnetic field caused no measurable change to these properties.However,we find that the droplet dynamics can be affected by a magnetic field as it slides on a nematic 8CB film,but not on isotropic 8CB,and is dependent on both the direction and strength of the magnetic field.By measuring the dynamic friction of a droplet sliding on a nematic 8CB film,we find that a magnetic field alters the internal orientational ordering of the 8CB which in turn affects its viscosity.We support this interpretation with a scaling argument using the LC magnetic coherence length that includes(i)the elastic energy from the long-range orientational ordering of 8CB and(ii)the free energy from the interaction between 8CB and a magnetic field.Overall,these results advance our understanding of droplet mobility on LC films and enable new designs for responsive surfaces that can manipulate the mobility of water droplets.

The compound(E)-2-(3,4-dihydroxystyryl)-3-hydroxy-4H-pyran-4-one alleviates neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

Previous studies have shown that the compound(E)-2-(3,4-dihydroxystyryl)-3-hydroxy-4H-pyran-4-one(D30),a pyromeconic acid derivative,possesses antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties,inhibits amyloid-β aggregation,and alleviates scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment,similar to the phase Ⅲ clinical drug resveratrol.In this study,we established a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease via intracerebroventricular injection of fibrillar amyloid-β to investigate the effect of D30 on fibrillar amyloid-β-induced neuropathology.Our results showed that D30 alleviated fibrillar amyloid-β-induced cognitive impairment,promoted fibrillar amyloid-β clearance from the hippocampus and cortex,suppressed oxidative stress,and inhibited activation of microglia and astrocytes.D30 also reversed the fibrillar amyloid-β-induced loss of dendritic spines and synaptic protein expression.Notably,we demonstrated that exogenous fibrillar amyloid-βintroduced by intracerebroventricular injection greatly increased galectin-3 expression levels in the brain,and this increase was blocked by D30.Considering the role of D30 in clearing amyloid-β,inhibiting neuroinflammation,protecting synapses,and improving cognition,this study highlights the potential of galectin-3 as a promising treatment target for patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Mercury emission and adsorption characteristics of fly ash in PC and CFB boilers

The mercury emission was obtained by measuring the mercury contents in flue gas and solid samples in pulverized coal (PC) and circulating fluidized bed (CFB) utility boilers. The relationship was obtained between the mercury emission and adsorption characteristics of fly ash. The parameters included unburned carbon content, particle size, and pore structure of fly ash. The results showed that the majority of mercury released to the atmosphere with the flue gas in PC boiler, while the mercury was enriched in fly ash and captured by the precipitator in CFB boiler. The coal factor was proposed to characterize the impact of coal property on mercury emissions in this paper. As the coal factor increased, the mercury emission to the atmosphere decreased. It was also found that the mercury content of fly ash in the CFB boiler was ten times higher than that in the PC boiler. As the unburned carbon content increased, the mercury adsorbed increased. The capacity of adsorbing mercury by fly ash was directly related to the particle size. The particle size corresponding to the highest content of mercury, which was about 560 ng/g, appeared in the range from 77.5 to 106 µm. The content of mesoporous (4–6 nm) of the fly ash in the particle size of 77.5–106 µm was the highest, which was beneficial to adsorbing the mercury. The specific surface area played a more significant role than specific pore volume in the mercury adsorption process.