Dual‑Atom Nanozyme Eye Drops Attenuate Inflammation and Break the Vicious Cycle in Dry Eye Disease

Dry eye disease(DED)is a major ocular pathology worldwide,causing serious ocular discomfort and even visual impairment.The incidence of DED is gradually increasing with the highfrequency use of electronic products.Although inflammation is core cause of the DED vicious cycle,reactive oxygen species(ROS)play a pivotal role in the vicious cycle by regulating inflammation from upstream.Therefore,current therapies merely targeting inflammation show the failure of DED treatment.Here,a novel dual-atom nanozymes(DAN)-based eye drops are developed.The antioxidative DAN is successfully prepared by embedding Fe and Mn bimetallic single-atoms in N-doped carbon material and modifying it with a hydrophilic polymer.The in vitro and in vivo results demonstrate the DAN is endowed with superior biological activity in scavenging excessive ROS,inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation,decreasing proinflammatory cytokines expression,and suppressing cell apoptosis.Consequently,the DAN effectively alleviate ocular inflammation,promote corneal epithelial repair,recover goblet cell density and tear secretion,thus breaking the DED vicious cycle.Our findings open an avenue to make the DAN as an intervention form to DED and ROSmediated inflammatory diseases.

Effect of SAP on Properties of High Performance Concrete under Marine Wetting and Drying Cycles

The internal curing effect of superabsorbent polymer(SAP) on the properties of high performance concrete(HPC) under marine wetting and drying cycles(WD cycles) was investigated. Compressive strength, hydration and chloride migration were experimentally investigated and the results were evaluated by compasison with those under fresh water curing(FW). Water absorption and porosity were also evaluated only under WD cycles. The results showed the important influence of wetting and drying cycles on the properties of SAP modified HPC properties. Carefully designed, SAP minimized the long-term compressive strength of HPC under marine WD cycles. The hydration rate was faster in the initial curing, but became lower as compared with that cured in FW. In addition, SAP improved the long-term water absorption resistance and chloride migration resistance of HPC under marine WD cycles. The examination of the porosity showed a lower increase of the volume of capillary pores in SAP modified HPC under long term WD cycles compared with that without SAP. Therefore, internal curing by SAP could improve the durability properties of HPC under marine WD cycles.

Influences of different modifiers on the disintegration of improved granite residual soil under wet and dry cycles

The disintegration of granite residual soil is especially affected by variations in physical and chemical properties. Serious geologic hazards or engineering problems are closely related to the disintegration of granite residual soil in certain areas. Research on the mechanical properties and controlling mechanisms of disintegration has become a hot issue in practical engineering. In this paper, the disintegration characteristics of improved granite residual soil are studied by using a wet and dry cycle disintegration instrument, and the improvement mechanism is analyzed. The results show that the disintegration amounts and disintegration ratios of soil samples treated with different curing agents are obviously different. The disintegration process of improved granite residual soil can be roughly divided into 5 stages:the forcible water intrusion stage, microcrack and fissure development stage, curing and strengthening stage, stable stage, and sudden disintegration stage. The disintegration of granite residual soil is caused by the weakening of the cementation between soil particles under the action of water. When the disintegration force is greater than the anti-disintegration force of soil, the soil will disintegrate. Cement and lime mainly rely on ion exchange agglomeration, the inclusion effect of curing agents on soil particles, the hard coagulation reaction and carbonation to strengthen granite residual soil. Kaolinite mainly depends on the reversibility of its own cementation to improve and strengthen granite residual soil. The reversibility of kaolinite cementation is verified by investigating pure kaolinite with a tensile, soaking, drying and tensile test cycle. Research on the disintegration characteristics and disintegration mechanism of improved granite residual soil is of certain reference value for soil modification.

Temporal Microbial Response to Wetting-Drying Cycles in Soils within and Outside the Influence of a Shrub in the Sahel

Piliostigma reticulatum is a native woody shrub found in cropped fields in the Sahel and has been shown to increase crop productivity and soil quality. Frequently occurring drying and rewetting cycles (DRW) may alter the soil quality beneath these shrubs. We investigated the effect of DRW cycles on microbial community in soil beneath and outside the P. reticulatum canopy and the roles of this shrub in the adaptation of the microbial community to abiotic stress. Soils were incubated in a climate controlled chamber for 45 days, after exposure to 10 consecutive days of DRW cycles at 75% of water holding capacity (WHC). Basal respiration, β-glucosidase activity, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and available nitrogen (;) were measured at 2, 30, and 45 days after soil exposed to the DRW cycles. MBC increased significantly two days after the DRW cycles and was greater for soil beneath the shrub canopy compared with soil outside the shrub canopy. PCA analysis based on basal respiration, microbial biomass carbon, available nitrogen, and β-Glucosidase activity resulted in a tight clustering in the beneath shrub soil samples. Soils incubated for more than 30 days after DRW cycles had higher available nitrogen content than soils incubated for less than 30 days. Soil from beneath the shrub canopy significantly improved soil resilience based on β-glucosidase activity. Soil from beneath the shrub canopy also had higher nutrient levels and greater microbial activity even when subjected to DRW cycles, potentially improving the ability of crops to withstand in-season drought when they are adjacent to shrubs. The work should bring our scientific community into a more comprehensive assessment of potential effects of a crop-shrub intercropping that may allow for increased crop yields in semi-arid ecosystems under drought conditions.

Investigation on microstructure evolution of clayey soils: A review focusing on wetting/drying process

Variability in moisture content is a common condition in natural soils.It influences soil properties significantly.A comprehensive understanding of the evolution of soil microstructure in wetting/drying process is of great significance for interpretation of soil macro hydro-mechanical behavior.In this review paper,methods that are commonly used to study soil microstructure are summarized.Among them are scanning electron microscope(SEM),environmental SEM(ESEM),mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP)and computed tomography(CT)technology.Moreover,progress in research on the soil microstructure evolution during drying,wetting and wetting/drying cycles is summarized based on reviews of a large body of research papers published in the past several decades.Soils compacted on the wet side of op-timum water content generally have a matrix-type structure with a monomodal pore size distribution(PSD),whereas soils compacted on the dry side of optimum water content display an aggregate structure that exhibits bimodal PSD.During drying,decrease in soil volume is mainly caused by the shrinkage of inter-aggregate pores.During wetting,both the intra-and inter-aggregate pores increase gradually in number and sizes.Changes in the characteristics of the soil pore structure significantly depend on stress state as the soil is subjected to wetting.During wetting/drying cycles,soil structural change is not completely reversible,and the generated cumulative swelling/shrinkage deformation mainly derives from macro-pores.Furthermore,based on this analysis and identified research needs,some important areas of research focus are proposed for future work.These areas include innovative methods of sample preparation,new observation techniques,fast quantitative analysis of soil structure,integration of microstructural parameters into macro-mechanical models,and soil microstructure evolution charac-teristics under multi-field coupled conditions.

Inflammation and dry eye disease——where are we?

The presence of inflammation in dry eye disease(DED)results in increased patient symptomatology,ocular surface damage and worsening tear dysfunction.It also affects the health of meibomian glands and their secretions which further aggravates ocular surface disease.This article reviews current knowledge regarding ocular surface inflammation in DED and explores the relationships between the vicious cycles of DED,inflammation and meibomian gland dysfunction(MGD).The clinical evaluation of eyes with such changes,markers that identify the presence of inflammation on the ocular surface and current treatment options are discussed.

Rational Design of Porous N-Ti3C2 MXene@CNT Microspheres for High Cycling Stability in Li–S Battery

Herein,N-Ti3C2@CNT microspheres are successfully synthesized by the simple spray drying method.In the preparation process,HCl-treated melamine(HTM)is selected as the sources of carbon and nitrogen.It not only realizes in situ growth of CNTs on the surface of MXene nanosheets with the catalysis of Ni,but also introduces efficient N-doping in both MXene and CNTs.Within the microsphere,MXene nanosheets interconnect with CNTs to form porous and conductive network.In addition,N-doped MXene and CNTs can provide strong chemical immobilization for polysulfides and effectively entrap them within the porous microspheres.Above-mentioned merits enable N-Ti3C2@CNT microspheres to be ideal sulfur host.When used in lithium–sulfur(Li–S)battery,the N-Ti3C2@CNT microspheres/S cathode delivers initial specific capacity of 927 mAh g−1 at 1 C and retains high capacity of 775 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles with extremely low fading rate(FR)of 0.016%per cycle.Furthermore,the cathode still shows high cycling stability at high C-rate of 4 C(capacity of 647 mAh g−1 after 650 cycles,FR 0.027%)and high sulfur loading of 3 and 6 mg cm−2 for Li–S batteries.

The first power generation test of hot dry rock resources exploration and production demonstration project in the Gonghe Basin,Qinghai Province,China

Hot dry rock(HDR)is a kind of clean energy with significant potential.Since the 1970s,the United States,Japan,France,Australia,and other countries have attempted to conduct several HDR development research projects to extract thermal energy by breaking through key technologies.However,up to now,the development of HDR is still in the research,development,and demonstration stage.An HDR exploration borehole(with 236℃ at a depth of 3705 m)was drilled into Triassic granite in the Gonghe Basin in northwest China in 2017.Subsequently,China Geological Survey(CGS)launched the HDR resources exploration and production demonstration project in 2019.After three years of efforts,a sequence of significant technological breakthroughs have been made,including the genetic model of deep heat sources,directional drilling and well completion in high-temperature hard rock,large-scale reservoir stimulation,reservoir characterization,and productivity evaluation,reservoir connectivity and flow circulation,efficient thermoelectric conversion,monitoring,and geological risk assessment,etc.Then the whole-process technological system for HDR exploration and production has been preliminarily established accordingly.The first power generation test was completed in November 2021.The results of this project will provide scientific support for HDR development and utilization in the future.

The Coupled Effects of Dryness and Non-condensable Gas Content of Geothermal Fluid on the Power Generation Potential of an Enhanced Geothermal System

The Enhanced Geothermal System(EGS) is a recognized geothermal exploitation system for hot dry rock(HDR), which is a rich resource in China. In this study, a numerical simulation method is used to study the effects of geothermal fluid dryness and non-condensable gas content on the specific enthalpy of geothermal fluid. Combined with the organic Rankine cycle(ORC), a numerical model is established to ascertain the difference in power generation caused by geothermal fluid dryness and non-condensable gas content. The results show that the specific enthalpy of geothermal fluid increases with the increase of geothermal fluid temperature and geothermal fluid dryness. If the dryness of geothermal fluid is ignored, the estimation error will be large for geothermal fluid enthalpy. Ignoring non condensable gas will increase the estimation of geothermal fluid enthalpy, so the existence of the non-condensable gas tends to reduce the installed capacity of a geothermal power plant. Additionally, both mass flow of the working medium and net power output of the ORC power generation system are increased with increasing dryness of geothermal fluid, however there is some impact of geothermal fluid dryness on thermal efficiency.

Strength weakening and its micromechanism in water–rock interaction,a short review in laboratory tests

Water–rock interaction(WRI)is a topic of interest in geology and geotechnical engineering.Many geological hazards and engineering safety problems are severe under the WRI.This study focuses on the water weakening of rock strength and its infuencing factors(water content,immersion time,and wetting–drying cycles).The strength of the rock mass decreases to varying degrees with water content,immersion time,and wetting–drying cycles depending on the rock mass type and mineral composition.The corresponding acoustic emission count and intensity and infrared radiation intensity also weaken accordingly.WRI enhances the plasticity of rock mass and reduces its brittleness.Various microscopic methods for studying the pore characterization and weakening mechanism of the WRI were compared and analyzed.Various methods should be adopted to study the pore evolution of WRI comprehensively.Microscopic methods are used to study the weakening mechanism of WRI.In future work,the mechanical parameters of rocks weakened under long-term water immersion(over years)should be considered,and more attention should be paid to how the laboratory scale is applied to the engineering scale.

The Effect of Basalt Fiber on Concrete Performance under a Sulfate Attack Environment

To enhance the sulfate attack resistance performance of concrete,Sulfate erosion test was carried out on basalt fiber concrete with different contents,selecting a concentration of 5%sulfate solution and using a dry−wet cycle mechanism attack of basalt fiber-reinforced concrete(BFRC).Every 15 dry−wet cycles,the mass,compressive strength,splitting tensile strength,and relative dynamic elastic modulus of BFRC were tested,and the SO_(4)^(2−)con-centration was measured.This work demonstrates that the mass,relative dynamic elastic modulus,compressive and splitting tensile strength of BFRC reveal a trend of climb up and then decline with the process of the dry−wet cycle.Basalt fiber can enhance the sulfate corrosion resistance of concrete by delaying the erosion of concrete induced by SO_(4)^(2−)and increasing the bearing and anti-deformation capacities of concrete by improving its inter-nal structure.Additionally,when mixing 0.2%basalt fiber into concrete,the strength deterioration rate will be reduced when the peak values of splitting tensile and compressive strength appear at 60 and 75 times the alter-nating dry−wet cycles,respectively.Adverse effects will occur when the fiber volume fraction exceeds 0.2%.The research in this paper can provide a foundation for the engineering applications of basalt fiber concrete.

A Method for Determining the Operable Ideal Condensation Temperature of Dry and Isentropic Fluids Used in Organic Rankine Cycle(ORC)Based on Temperature-Entropy(T-s)Diagram

Condensation temperature is one of the crucial parameters determining the performance of an organic Rankine cycle.It is necessary to consider the differences in the working fluids themselves when setting the condensation temperature of organic Rankine cycle.In current study,temperature-entropy(T-s)diagram is employed to describe the difference in working fluids.Three areas of dry and isentropic fluids in a temperature-entropy(T-s)diagram,which are the area denoting net output work of cycle(A_(1),the area denoting net output work of the Carnot cycle(A),and the curved triangle in superheated region denoting condensation characteristics(A_(2)),are defined.On this basis,the ratio of A_(2)to A_(1)and the ratio of A_(1)to A are calculated.Logarithmic Mean Difference of the above two ratios is obtained to determine the operable ideal condensation temperature of 66 dry and isentropic fluids employed in Organic Rankine Cycle.The findings indicate that the operable ideal condensation temperatures for the majority of dry and isentropic fluids are in the range of 305 K to 310 K.The work presented in this study may be useful for designing and establishing an Organic Rankine Cycle system.

Theoretical study on stability evolution of soft and hard interbedded bedding reservoir slopes

Soft and hard interbedded bedding rock slopes,which is prone to failure,are widely distributed in the Three Gorges Reservoir,China.Limit equilibrium method(LEM)is commonly used to analyze the stability of bedding rock slopes that have a single failure plane.However,this method cannot accurately estimate the stability of soft and hard interbedded bedding reservoir slopes because the strength parameters of a soft and hard interbedded rock mass vary spatially along the bedding plane and deteriorate with time due to periodic fluctuations of reservoir level.A modified LEM is proposed to evaluate the stability evolution of soft and hard interbedded bedding reservoir slopes considering the spatial variation and temporal deterioration of shear strength parameters of rock masses and bedding planes.In the modified LEM,the S-curve model is used to define the spatial variation of shear strength parameters,and general deterioration equations of shear strength parameters with the increasing number of wettingdrying cycles(WDC)are proposed to describe the temporal deterioration.Also,this method is applied to evaluate the stability evolution of a soft and hard interbedded bedding reservoir slope,located at the Three Gorges Reservoir.The results show that neglecting the spatial variation and temporal deterioration of shear strength parameters may overestimate slope stability.Finally,the modified LEM provides useful guidance to reasonably evaluate the long-term stability of soft and hard interbedded bedding reservoir slopes in reservoir area.

Chloride Resistance of Concrete under Complex Stress and Environment

The presence of stress is shown to have a significant impact on chloride ions in concrete. Reinforced concrete is usually durable and cost-effective which has resulted in its widespread use for construction, however, the concrete subjected to environment and load has become increasingly apparently that attacked by aggressive agents such as chloride ion. In this study, the coupling influences are stress effects and environmental problems on the coastline concrete durability have been investigated. A series of cyclic of a wet-dry cycle and submersion tests were performed onto the stressed concrete to obtain an understanding of the physical mechanisms causing the accumulation of chlorides in the interior pores of concrete under different stress types and exposure environments, based on the same duration. Specimens were prepared and subjected to NaCl solution in a wet-dry cycle and submersion, the chloride in the tension zone is gradual with increasing the stress level, as well as the chloride ion in the wet-dry cycle, is increasing the number of cycles. The apparent diffusion coefficient of each specimen was calculated respectively, the profile of concentration at a different section of tension and compression zones were presented in influence factors of the number of cycles, the length of drying phase, and periodic wetting cycles with sodium solution was discussed. After employed Fick’s second law, the results suggested Da in a wet-dry cycle is much higher than the Da in submersion zones.

A comparative thermodynamic analysis of Kalina and organic Rankine cycles for hot dry rock:a prospect study in the Gonghe Basin

Hot dry rock is a new type of geothermal resource which has a promising application prospect in China.This paper conducted a comparative research on performance evaluation of two eligible bottoming cycles for a hot dry rock power plant in the Gonghe Basin.Based on the given heat production conditions,a Kalina cycle and three organic Rankine cycles were tested respectively with different ammonia-water mixtures of seven ammonia mass fractions and nine ecofriendly working fluids.The results show that the optimal ammonia mass fraction is 82%for the proposed bottoming Kalina cycle in view of maximum net power output.Thermodynamic analysis suggests that wet fluids should be supercritical while dry fluids should be saturated at the inlet of turbine,respectively.The maximum net power output of the organic Rankine cycle with dry fluids expanding from saturated state is higher than that of the other organic Rankine cycle combinations,and is far higher than the maximum net power output in all tested Kalina cycle cases.Under the given heat production conditions of hot dry rock resource in the Gonghe Basin,the saturated organic Rankine cycle with the dry fluid butane as working fluid generates the largest amount of net power.

独角莲对肝癌细胞SMMC-7721细胞增殖抑制作用机理的研究

临床上独角莲对包括肝癌在内的多种肿瘤有一定的治疗作用。为揭示其抑癌机理,我们用独角莲根茎水提物(the aqueous extract from dried powdered rhizomes of Typhonium gigante-um Engl.,AEoTGE)作用肝癌细胞株SMMC-7721,研究独角莲对SMMC-7721细胞增殖、细胞周期和细胞凋亡的影响。噻唑氮蓝(MTT)比色实验和流式细胞仪(flow cytometry,FCM)测定表明:AEoTGE能较强抑制SMMC-7721细胞的生长,SMMC-7721细胞被阻滞在S期,并诱导细胞凋亡。提示独角莲是一种在肝癌治疗上有前景的中草药。

青海湖西吉尔孟附近土壤水分研究

根据对青海湖北刚察县吉尔孟乡草地土壤含水量测定和粒度分析,研究了土壤水分变化等问题。研究区土层上部粒度成分以粗粉砂为主,下部以细砂为主。2009年该区草地土壤重力水分布深度达到了60 cm左右。土壤上部含水量丰富,下部水分严重不足。在土层约80 cm深度之下出现了中等干层和部分严重干层。该区土壤干层的发育阻隔了大气降水向地下深处的入渗,属于异常水分循环类型。该区土壤水分处于负平衡状态,指示当地的降水量并不能充分满足草原植被生长的需要。吉尔孟乡土壤蓄水量较少,易于发生生态环境的退化。

广西崇上路击实膨胀土的变形特性试验研究

通过室内大量膨胀土试验,对广西崇(左)上(思)二级公路3种膨胀土击实土样的变形特性进行了研究。试验结果表明:膨胀土的起始含水量和起始干密度对其变形的影响是主要的外部因素;根据膨胀量试验、膨胀力试验和收缩试验的试验数据,得到了膨胀量、膨胀力和收缩量与起始含水量和起始干密度的相关关系。同时,研究了干湿循环对击实膨胀土膨胀特性的影响。研究结果为膨胀土的路基设计和路基处理等膨胀土问题提供了重要的依据。

Concrete durability under different circumstances based on multi-factor effects

Concrete durability has become a hot research field in civil engineering. Concrete structures suffer salt-erosion damage to different degrees in the semi-arid region of North China. The environmental condition is one of the important factors affecting the durability of concrete constructions. To realize fully the interaction between various environmental factors, this paper researched concrete durability in the salt environment under combined actions(immersing, freeze–thaw cycles, and wet–dry cycles). According to the laboratory test data, the concrete-durability degradation law under coupling-effect factors was investigated. The results show that concrete's compressive strength decreases with the increase of salt concentration and immersion time. No matter what the environmental conditions were, the compressive strength-loss ratio increased with the test time. The compressive strength-test results indicate that sodium sulfate has the strongest corrosive effect on concrete durability, followed by calcium chloride, with sodium chloride having the weakest corrosion. Compared with the other two environmental factors, the wet–dry cycle is the key factor affecting concrete durability. Therefore, in engineering practice, the influence of environment conditions on the strength and durability of concrete should be taken into full consideration, especially in the wet–dry environment with salt conditions.

膨胀土干湿循环强度特性的试验研究

通过室内试验,模拟了土体季节性的干缩湿胀,利用常规剪切试验,测定南阳膨胀土击实土样经过干湿循环后饱和样的抗剪强度,从而探讨干湿循环效应对于膨胀土强度的影响,具有重要的理论意义和工程意义。