Effects Of Metal Elements Research Articles

Association of urinary metal element with semen quality: a cross-sectional study from Eastern China.

The effect of metallic elements on semen quality remains controversial, with limited evidence on the effects of metal mixtures. We conducted a study involving 338 participants from multiple centers in Eastern China, measuring 17 urinary metals and semen quality parameters. Our analysis used various statistical models, including multivariate logistic and linear regression, Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression, and weighted quantile sum models, to examine the associations between metal levels and semen quality. Logistic regression showed that higher urinary lead was associated with increased risk of abnormal sperm concentration (OR = 1.86, p = 0.021), arsenic to higher abnormal progressive motility risk (OR = 1.49, p = 0.027), and antimony to greater abnormal total motility risk (OR = 1.37, p = 0.018). Conversely, tin was negatively correlated with the risk of abnormal progressive motility (OR = 0.76, p = 0.012) and total motility (OR = 0.74, p = 0.003), respectively. Moreover, the linear models showed an inverse association between barium and sperm count, even after adjusting for other metals (β = - 0.32, p < 0.001). Additionally, the WQS models showed that the metal mixture may increase the risk of abnormal total motility (βWQS = 0.55, p = 0.046). In conclusion, semen quality may be adversely affected by exposure to metals such as arsenic, barium, lead, and antimony. The combined effect of the metal mixture appears to be particularly impaired total motility.

Effect of Metal Elements on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ultrafine Cemented Carbide Prepared by SPS.

To satisfy the needs of precision machining, ultrafine tungsten carbide (WC)-based cemented carbide with fine grain size and excellent mechanical properties was prepared. Ultrafine cemented carbide was prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) using WC, Co as raw materials and metal elements V, and Cr as additives, and the effects of metal elements on the microstructure and mechanical properties of cemented carbide were investigated. The results show that the specimen (91.6WC-1.2V-1.2Cr-6Co) prepared at 1350 °C, 6 min, 25 MPa has the best mechanical properties (HV 2322.9, KIC 8.7 MPa·m1/2) and homogeneous microstructure. The metal elements could react with WC to form a (W, V, Cr) Cx segregation layer, which effectively inhibits the growth of WC grains (300 nm). The combination of SPS and metal element additives provides a new approach for the preparation of ultrafine cemented carbides with excellent properties.

Strong Carbon Layer-Encapsulated Cobalt Tin Sulfide-Based Nanoporous Material as a Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Zinc-Air Batteries.

Global demands for cost-effective, durable, highly active, and bifunctional catalysts for metal-air batteries are tremendously increasing in scientific research fields. In this work, a strategy for the rational fabrication of carbon layer-encapsulated cobalt tin sulfide nanopores (CoSnOH/S@C NPs) material as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for rechargeable zinc (Zn)-air batteries by a cost-effective and facile two-step hydrothermal method is reported. Moreover, the effect of metal elements on the morphology of CoSnOH nanodisks material via the hydrothermal method is investigated. Owing to its excellent nanostructure, exclusive porous network, and high specific surface area, the optimized CoSnOH/S@C NPs material reveals superior catalytic properties. The as-prepared CoSnOH/S@C NPs electrocatalyst reveals better properties of oxygen reduction reaction (half-wave potential of -0.88 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode) and oxygen evolution reaction (overpotential of 137mV at 10mAcm-2) when compared with commercial Pt/C and IrO2 catalyst materials. Most significantly, the CoSnO/S@C NPs-based Zn-air battery exhibits more excellent cycling stability than the Pt/C+IrO2 catalyst-based one. Consequently, the proposed material provides a new route for fabricating more active and stable multifunctional catalyst materials for energy conversion and storage systems.

Theoretical study on the surface poisoning of high-entropy alloys during hydrogen storage cycles: the effect of metal elements and phases.

High-entropy alloys offer promising hydrogen storage properties and design versatility but suffer from compromised capacity and stability in practical industrial applications owing to surface poisoning caused by trace impurities or unexpected contact with air. Theoretical simulations provide a rapid and efficient platform for estimating anti-poisoning performance, particularly concerning alloys versus metal elements in various phases. This work explores the surface poisoning behavior of two typical high entropy materials: BCC-phase V35Ti30Cr25Fe10 and Laves-phase ZrTiVNiCrFe, along with pure metals V, Ti, Cr, and Fe as well as single AB2 (A = Zr, Ti, B = V, Ni, Cr, and Fe) compounds, at various phase stages during hydrogen storage cycles using density functional theory (DFT) simulations. Results show that surfaces of V35Ti30Cr25Fe10 and ZrTiVNiCrFe with a hydrogen uptake of 100% can facilitate O2 adsorption over dissociation, especially when O2 adsorbs on Fe sites, and formation of hydroxyl. The O2 poisoning behavior of high-entropy alloys was roughly estimated using the molar ratio weighted sum of constituent components, with the maximum deviation of 15.92% between predicted values and calculated values. This study sheds light on anti-poisoning mechanisms and aids in designing resilient high-entropy alloys.

Research progress on effects of metallic elements on male semen quality

Research progress on effects of metallic elements on male semen quality

Fabrication of one-dimensional M (Co, Ni)@polyaniline nanochains with adjustable thickness for excellent microwave absorption properties

The development of microwave absorbing materials with strong absorption capacity, wide bandwidth and light weight has always been a topic of concern. Herein, one-dimensional (1D) M (Co, Ni)@polyaniline (PANI) nanochains (NCs) with adjustable thickness have been successfully synthesized by reducing the mental ions under a parallel magnetic field, pretreating metal nanochains with KH550 and pre-oxidization of aniline monomer. It is found that Co has a more favorable absorption width for electromagnetic waves (EMW) and Ni aims at the absorption intensity. Furthermore, the effect of metal elements on adjusting impedance matching is more significant than their magnetic loss for composites. The minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of CoP2 can be up to −73.16 dB at 4.63 mm and the effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) is 4.98 GHz at 2.17 mm, while those of NiP2 are −65.06 dB at 3.88 mm and 5.02 GHz at 2.05 mm. The increase of PANI content can significantly reduce the matching thickness. And the RLmin of CoP3 and NiP3 can reach −58.72 dB at 2.32 mm and −65.96 dB at 1.59 mm, respectively. The absorption mechanism reveals that the matching thickness of the quarter-wavelength determines frequency location. And high absorption intensity is attributed to the synergistic effects of impedance matching, conduction loss, polarization loss, and magnetic loss. This work provides a theoretical basis for designing PANI or other conducting polymers coating magnetic nanochains for electromagnetic absorbing materials with strong absorption capacity, wide bandwidth and light weight.

Understanding the effect of nonmetallic impurities in regenerated cathode materials for lithium-ion battery recycling by tracking down impurity elements

The regeneration of cathode materials would be the highest value-added direction in lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling research. Li[NixMnyCoz]O2 (NMC) is regenerated from actual industrial scale LIB leachate and purified leachate to investigate the precipitation behavior of impurities, which include potentially toxic elements, such as F, Cl, and S. Regenerated precursors from the actual leachate, purified precursors, and a control sample are synthesized using the hydroxide co-precipitation method. Additionally, simulated precursors from simulated leachate are prepared in order to separate the effects of nonmetallic elements from the effects of metallic elements. The structure and electrochemical properties of the regenerated precursors and the corresponding cathode materials are examined. We first detect the presence of a significant amount of nonmetal elements, such as F as well as well-known metal elements, which include Al, Cu, and Fe, in the regenerated NMC. The concept of yield of precipitation (YOP) is introduced to assess the precipitation behavior of each element during the co-precipitation of the precursors. According to the concentration and YOP in the leachate and the precursors, six metal and three nonmetal elements are categorized. This categorization of impurity elements will certainly provide the LIB recycling industry with a valuable quality control guide.

Preparation and characterization of metal-tea polysaccharide complexes and their inhibition on α-glucosidase.

The preparation method and the sources of metal elements may affect the activity of the metal-polysaccharide complex. In this study, four Fe-tea polysaccharide complexes were prepared and three tea polysaccharides (TPSs) from different seasons were extracted. Moreover, the binding mode of TPSs with internal and external metallic elements as well as their inhibitory effect on α-glucosidase was explored. The results revealed that the binding mode (-C-O-Fe and -C-Fe) of the Fe-TPS complex prepared at pH 5.0 was closer to TPS with internal metallic elements. The TPS with the least amount of internal metallic elements (61.72mg/g) exhibited a high inhibitory activity on α-glucosidase (37.90%). The inhibitory activity of Fe-TPS on α-glucosidase was lower than that without Fe. But the quenching effect and the inhibition type of TPSs on α-glucosidase were not affected by metallic elements. Therefore, the metallic elements have the potential to reduce the hypoglycemic activity of TPS. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: In this paper, TPS was extracted from crude tea in different seasons, and the effects of metallic elements in TPS on hypoglycemic activity, physicochemical properties, and structure of TPS were discussed. TPS metal complexes were prepared by adding Fe3+ or removing metallic elements, and the differences of internal metallic elements in TPS were discussed. It is of great academic significance to use tea pruned leaves and crude tea as potential resources to develop polysaccharide hypoglycemic products and to reveal the relationship between TPS metal ions and their structure and activity. In addition, it has guiding value for consumers to choose tea-producing regions and growers to choose chemical fertilizer.

Effect of metal elements in coal ash on NO release characteristics during oxy-fuel combustion at high temperature

High temperature (up to 1873K) oxy-fuel combustion experiments were conducted on a fixed-bed reactor. Two combustion modes were designed: coupled combustion (volatile combustion and char combustion are simultaneous) and separated combustion (volatile combustion and char combustion are separated and individual). Bases on it, effect of alkali and alkali earth metals (AAEMs) and transition metals (TMs) in coal ash on the fuel-NO release characteristics was studied. Results show that in the coupled combustion, AAEMs accelerate the fuel-NO release rate. Besides, AAEMs decreased fuel-NO release amount by around 10% at different temperatures. This inhibition effect is related to activity of metal elements. The effect of TMs is sensitive to temperature. Mn promotes the oxidation of fuel-N intensively at lower temperature, while Fe and Cu can improve the fuel-NO reduction efficiency at higher temperature. Coal ash is beneficial to NO reduction and the reduction efficiency is higher than 50% at 1873K. In the separated combustion, Mg, Ca and Mn have almost no effect on volatile-NO and char-NO release. Na and K can decrease the volatile-NO and char-NO release amount below 1573K. Both volatile-NO and char-NO reduction efficiency of K and Na decreases from 20% to 0% as temperature rises. Fe and Cu can suppress the release of volatile-NO and char-NO. The volatile-NO reduction efficiency of Fe and Cu increases but the char-NO reduction efficiency decreases with temperature increasing. Coal ash can improve the proportion of volatile-NO in fuel-NO, about 25% at 1573K. At last, the potential catalytic mechanisms in coupled and separated combustion were proposed.

Metal and metalloid exposure and oxidative status in free-living individuals of Myotis daubentonii

Metal elements, ubiquitous in the environment, can cause negative effects in long-lived organisms even after low but prolonged exposure. Insectivorous bats living near metal emission sources can be vulnerable to such contaminants. Although it is known that bats can bioaccumulate metals, little information exists on the effects of metal elements on their physiological status. For example, oxidative status markers are known to vary after detoxification processes and immune reactions. Here, for two consecutive summers, we sampled individuals from a natural population of the insectivorous bat, Myotis daubentonii, inhabiting a site close to a metal emission source. We quantified metals and metalloids (As, Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, Zn) from individual fecal pellets. We measured enzymatic antioxidants (GP, CAT, SOD), total glutathione (tGSH) and ratio between reduced and oxidized glutathione (GSH:GSSG) from their red blood cells together with biometrics, hematocrit and parasite prevalence. In general, metal concentrations in feces of M. daubentonii reflected the exposure to ambient contamination. This was especially evident in the higher concentrations of Cd, Co, Cu and Ni close to a smelter compared to a site with less contaminant exposure. Annual differences were also observed for most elements quantified. Sex-specific differences were observed for calcium and zinc excretion. SOD and CAT enzymatic activities were associated with metal levels (principal components of six metal elements), suggesting early signs of chronic stress in bats. The study also shows promise for the use of non-invasive sampling to assess the metal exposure on an individual basis and metal contamination in the environment.

The effects of metal elements on ramie fiber oxidation degumming and the potential of using spherical bacterial cellulose for metal removal

Current production of ramie fiber (the “queen” of nature fiber) requires the oxidation degumming process which suffers from the presence of metal elements due to the well-known Fenton reaction. In this study, the metal species/contents in current major degumming systems along Yangtze valley and their effects on the final ramie fiber properties (e.g. degree of polymerization (DP), tenacity, elongation) were assessed. The potential of employing our recently developed spherical bacterial cellulose (SBC) as recyclable metal adsorbent was also evaluated. Results showed that excessive amounts of metal elements (e.g. Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Cu, Pb) existed in the degumming systems which were detrimental to the final fiber properties. The application of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpy-peridine-1-oxy radical (TEMPO)-oxidized spherical bacterial cellulose efficiently removed these metal elements and improved the degree of polymerization and tenacity of ramie fiber products. Our results could also open the door for the potential application of spherical bacterial cellulose as super absorbance in different types of waste water treatment.

Effect of metal-support interaction on the structural and enhanced photocatalytic performance of mesoporous M–TiO2/SBA-16 (M = Ag and Fe)

In this paper, a series of metal supported TiO2/SBA-16 photocatalysts were successfully synthesized by wet impregnation method. The synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra, N2 adsorption–desorption, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–visible absorption spectra (UV-vis) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that SBA-16 retained the ordered mesostructure after modification. The results shown that loading different metal elements was found to have significant influences on the crystallographic structure and physical properties. Moreover, the prepared materials were evaluated on photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RhB). Experiment results showed that the degradation of RhB by these catalysts follows the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The effect of metal element on photocatalytic activity can be attributed that the appropriate amounts of metal concentration can enhance the photocurrent due to the reduced electron–hole recombination, which can improve the efficiency of photocatalytic reactions.

Effects of metal elements in catalytic growth of carbon nanotubes/graphene: A first principles DFT study

Role of metals in the catalytic Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or graphene was investigated using DFT. Crucial processes involved in the growth of CNTs/graphene: methane dissociation to produce C, C diffusion and nucleation kinetics were studied on the (111) surface of different transition metals, i.e., Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu. Based on the DFT calculation results, the present study explains why Ni-based catalyst is a suitable CVD substrate for growing CNTs: it has a moderate reactivity towards methane dissociation; low energy barrier for C atom surface diffusion, which makes C to diffuse easily to the metal/CNTs edges and contribute to CNTs growth; relatively high nucleation barriers, making it more resistant for deactivation caused by the cover of carbon clusters. Meanwhile, this study also shows that Cu may be an appropriate catalyst for graphene synthesis due to the particularly low diffusion and nucleation barriers of C atoms on Cu, which suggest that C atoms tend to be more uniformly distributed and nucleate easily on the Cu surface. Key limitation of Cu is the low reactivity of this metal towards methane dissociation. Since Fe and Ni are very reactive towards CH bond breaking, Cu based alloys, e.g. Cu8Ni, were proposed as a suitable catalyst for graphene production.

Study on Application of Vinyl Methyl Ether in MTO Reaction

MTO is the core technology of the coal-to-olefins process. Vinyl methyl ether was added to the reaction feed to investigate the infulence of methoxy group concentration in MTO reaction. Several series of metal-modified ZSM-5 were synthesized to investigate the effect of metal element in the progress methoxy group involved. The reaction results indicated that both the addition of vinyl methyl ether and the metal modification on catalyst led to an increase in C2~C3 olefins yield. The highest C2~C3 olefins yield was obtained using methanol with 5wt% vinyl methyl ether as feed and ZSM-5 with 3wt% Ba modified as catalyst.

Copolymerization of Carbon Dioxide and Propylene Oxide with Multi-Metal Cyanide Complexes as Catalyst

A novel and green mechanochemical technique, the grinding-based method, was applied for synthesis of multi-metal cyanide (MMC) complexes. In order to discovery the effect of metal element on structure and catalyst efficiency, the obtained three MMCs were made from deferent three metal salts groups, which including ZnCl2 to NiCl2 to K3Fe(CN)6 molar ratio of 4:3:1 (MMC-1), ZnCl2 to NiCl2 to K3Co(CN)6 molar ratio of 4:4:1 (MMC-2), and ZnCl2 to NiCl2 to K4Fe(CN)6, respectively. And three MMCs were further used for copolymerization of CO2 and propylene oxide. FTIR and 1H NMR results shown, the alternating copolymerization obtained anticipated poly(propylene carbonate) with high catalytic activity. Comparing to the conventional solvent-based synthesis, the strikingly efficient and practically applicable grinding-based method reveals clear merits for syntheses of MMC complexes.

Effect of Metal Elements in Catalytic Growth of Carbon Nanotubes

Using first-principles calculations, we model the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of carbon nanotubes (CNT) on nanoparticles of late-transition (Ni, Pd, Pt) and coinage (Cu, Ag, Au) metals. The process is analyzed in terms of the binding of mono- and diatomic carbon species, their diffusion pathways, and the stability of the growing CNT. We find that the diffusion pathways can be controlled by the choice of the catalyst and the carbon precursor. Binding of the CNT through armchair edges is more favorable than through zigzag ones, but the relative stability varies significantly among the metals. Coinage metals, in particular Cu, are found to favor CVD growth of CNTs at low temperatures and with narrow chirality distributions.

Effects of metal elements on acid phosphatase activity in cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L.) seedlings

Acid phosphatases (E.C.3.1.3.2) are a group of enzymes widely distributed in nature, which nonspecifically catalyze the hydrolysis of a variety of phosphate esters in pH ranges from 4 to 6 and play a major role in the supply and metabolism of phosphate in plants. The objective of the present study was to investigate the in vitro effects of some metals on the activity of acid phosphatase in cucumber seedlings ( Cucumis sativus L.) and to determine their kinetic parameters. The enzyme was assayed with Hg, Cd, Mn, Pb, Zn, K and Na at the 0.001–1 mM range using ATP, PPi and β-glycerol phosphate as substrates. Mn, Na and Cd did not significantly alter the enzyme activity. K caused a broad activation at low concentrations and an inhibition at high concentrations (10 mM) and lead caused no inhibition. Acid phosphatase was inhibited by Hg and Zn and the inhibition type and IC 50 values were determined for these metals. Hg presented a mixed inhibition type with PPi and ATP as substrates and uncompetitive inhibition with β-glycerol phosphate as substrate. Zn presented competitive inhibition for ATP as substrate, and a mixed inhibition type with PPi and β-glycerol phosphate as substrate. IC 50 values were 0.02, 0.3 and 0.15 mM for Hg, and 0.056, 0.035 and 0.24 mM for Zn with ATP, PPi and β-glycerol phosphate as substrates, respectively. Analysis of these results indicates that Zn is a more potent inhibitor of acid phosphatase from cucumbers than Hg.

江戸時代後期および明治時代に用いられた真ちゅう箔の腐食と和紙への影響

The effects of metallic elements on the degradation of Japanese paper have been investigated. A hand-coloured wooden engraving print from the late Edo era and a Japanese paper decorated with metal foils from the Meiji era are used as naturally aged specimens. Metal tarnishing and paper degradation are observed in both specimens. The metal powder is observed with an optical microscope and SEM. Elements contained in the specimen are measured by means of EDX. Degradation of the paper is examined with a three-dimensional fluorescence spectrometer (TDFS). The metal foils examined with XRD. (1) On the wooden engraving print, the concentration of metal powder is Cu-28 mass%Zn. The results of TDFS and EDX show that the Cu species diffuse from the right to the wrong side of the paper. (2) On the decorated Japanese paper, the metal foil concentration is Cu-16 mass%Zn. Spheroidal grains and plate grains are observed in the tarnished parts of the foil. Cu, Zn, S and Cl are detected in these parts. The compounds Cu2O, CuSO4·2Cu(OH)2 and CuCl are detected by XRD. However, only Cu species diffuses into the cellulose. Therefore, it is thought that the degradation of Japanese paper is due to diffused Cu species.

The effect of metallic elements on the crystallization behavior of amorphous Fe-Si-B alloys

The crystallization behavior of amorphous Fe84-X Si6B10MX (M=Nb, Zr, V, or Cu) alloys was examined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with the aim of clarifying the effect of additional M elements. The compositional dependence of the first crystallization temperatureT x1 increased in the order of Zr > Nb > V; however, the addition of 1 at. pct Cu caused a decrease inT x1. Such an effect of the M elements on the thermal stability of an amorphous phase was interpreted in terms of the difference in the atomic size. These alloys were composed of a mixed structure ofα-Fe and amorphous phases after aging for 3.6 ks in the first exothermic temperature range. The addition of more than 3 at. pct Nb or Zr significantly affected the morphology and grain size of theα-Fe phase. However, their particles possessed dendritic morphology with a grain size of 0.1 to 0.3 µm, when the Nb or Zr content was less than 2 at. pct. Further addition of these elements brought about the formation of sphericalα-Fe particles. The average grain size, for instance, was as small as 20 nm in the aged alloy containing 6 at. pct Nb, which shows that a remarkable grain refinement occurs with increasing Nb content.

Toxicity of Heavy Metals and Biological Defense: Principles and Applications in Bioinorganic Chemistry-VII

Discussion of the adverse/toxic effects of metallic elements, particularly the heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Hg), and biological defenses against these species.