Excess Solution Research Articles

A Sample Preparation Pipeline for Microcrystals at the VMXm Beamline

The mounting of microcrystals (<10 µm) for single crystal cryo-crystallography presents a non-trivial challenge. Improvements in data quality have been seen for microcrystals with the development of beamline optics, beam stability and variable beam size focusing from submicron to microns, such as at the VMXm beamline at Diamond Light Source1. Further improvements in data quality will be gained through improvements in sample environment and sample preparation. Microcrystals inherently generate weaker diffraction, therefore improving the signal-to-noise is key to collecting quality X-ray diffraction data and will predominantly come from reductions in background noise. Major sources of X-ray background noise in a diffraction experiment are from their interaction with the air path before and after the sample, excess crystallization solution surrounding the sample, the presence of crystalline ice and scatter from any other beamline instrumentation or X-ray windows. The VMXm beamline comprises instrumentation and a sample preparation protocol to reduce all these sources of noise. Firstly, an in-vacuum sample environment at VMXm removes the air path between X-ray source and sample. Next, sample preparation protocols for macromolecular crystallography at VMXm utilize a number of processes and tools adapted from cryoTEM. These include copper grids with holey carbon support films, automated blotting and plunge cooling robotics making use of liquid ethane. These tools enable the preparation of hundreds of microcrystals on a single cryoTEM grid with minimal surrounding liquid on a low-noise support. They also minimize the formation of crystalline ice from any remaining liquid surrounding the crystals. We present the process for preparing and assessing the quality of soluble protein microcrystals using visible light and scanning electron microscopy before mounting the samples on the VMXm beamline for X-ray diffraction experiments. We will also provide examples of good quality samples as well as those which require further optimization and strategies to do so.

Mechanism of Electromagnetic Field in the Sub-RapidSolidification of High-Strength Al-Cu-Li Alloy Produced by Twin-Roll Casting

In this work, a Al-Cu-Li alloy plate with outstanding mechanical properties was successfully prepared with electromagnetic twin-roll casting (TRC) technology. The microstructure of Al-Cu-Li alloy manufactured by conventional mold casting, TRC, and electromagnetic TRC was studied in detail. The action mechanism of electromagnetic oscillation field (EOF) in the TRC process was studied by systematic experimental characterization and numerical simulation. The results show that the EOF will enlarge the circumfluence area in the cast-rolling zone, accelerate the mass transfer and heat transfer in the molten pool, and make the solute field and flow field in the liquid cavity tend to be evenly distributed. Further, the introduction of the EOF will produce the electromagnetic body force F with the maximum strength of 14 N/m3. The F acting on the solidification front will eliminate the accumulation and deposition of Cu2+, Li+, Mg2+, Zn2+, Mn2+ at the dendrite tip and inhibit the growth of dendrites. At the same time, the F can refine the microstructure of the TRC plate, promote the formation of equiaxed crystals, improve the supersaturated solid solubility of solute elements in the α(Al) matrix, and avoid the appearance of obvious solute segregation area or the formation of excessive solute enrichment area. Therefore, the macro-segregation in TRC plate was significantly reduced, the solidification structure was dramatically refined, and the comprehensive properties of the alloy were remarkably improved.

Spatially and time-resolved SAXS for monitoring dynamic structural transitions during in situ generation of non-lamellar liquid crystalline phases in biologically relevant media

Formation of high viscous inverse lyotropic liquid crystalline phases in situ upon exposure of low viscous drug-loaded lipid preformulations to synovial fluid provides a promising approach for design of depot formulations for intra-articular drug delivery. Rational formulation design relies on a fundamental understanding of the synovial fluid-mediated dynamic structural transitions occurring at the administration site. At conditions mimicking the in vivo situation, we investigated in real-time such transitions at multiple positions by synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) combined with an injection-cell. An injectable diclofenac-loaded quaternary preformulation consisting of 72/8/10/10% (w/w) glycerol monooleate/1,2-dioleoyl-glycero-3-phospho-rac-(1-glycerol)/ethanol/water was injected into hyaluronic acid solution or synovial fluid. A fast generation of a coherent drug depot of inverse bicontinuous Im3m and Pn3m cubic phases was observed. Through construction of 2D spatial maps from measurements performed 60 min after injection of the preformulation, it was possible to differentiate liquid crystalline rich- and excess hyaluronic acid solution- or synovial fluid-rich regimes. Synchrotron SAXS findings confirmed that the exposure of the preformulation to the media leads to alterations in structural features in position- and time-dependent manners. Effects of biologically relevant medium composition on the structural features, and implications for development of formulations with sustained drug release properties are highlighted.

Fabrication of halloysite nanotubes embedded thin film nanocomposite membranes for dye removal

AbstractEnvironmental friendly Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) are used to fabricate novel nanofiltration membranes by in situ interfacial polymerization of piperazine and trimesoyl chloride. The removal of excess amine solution from the porous support membrane surface is a critical step to obtain defect free active layer. Hereby, two main removal tools for the excess aqueous amine solution; a rubber roll or air knife are compared to fabricate a defect free thin film nanocomposite (TFN) nanofiltration (NF) membrane. Removal by the rubber roll is eventuated more favorable than air knife in terms of the reproducibility of NF membranes by comparing salt rejections. By determining the removal step of excess amines, various HNTs concentrations are used to fabricate NF membranes and, these membranes are tested with salt and dye solutions at various pH and temperature ranges. R2 membrane (containing 0.02% [w/v] HNTs) performs the best flux results beside higher rejections of MgSO4 (93.0%) and dye (99.5%). To evaluate the extreme conditionals, further performance tests such as pH and temperature resistance are also performed for R2 membrane. Considering the performances of R2 membrane, HNTs can be demonstrated for tailoring the balance between flux and separation performance of NF membranes.

Cobalt removal from an industrial effluent by foam fractionation

In this study, the removal of cobalt from an effluent was investigated probably for the first time by foam fractionation. Foam fractionation is considered as a green method because of its friendly nature, high removal efficiency, costs effectiveness and non-hazardous nature. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was used as an anionic surface-active agent and the effect of gas flow rate, the initial concentrations of surfactant and cobalt and pH on the cobalt removal efficiency was investigated. The results showed that by increasing surfactant concentration and gas flow rate, the cobalt removal efficiency would be improved however, the cobalt concentration in foamate would decrease at high gas flow rates. High gas flow rates generally produce dilute foamate. Drainage of the interstitial bulk fluid that is entrapped between the foam bubbles has a key importance in the normal performance of the foam fractionation operation. Experiments showed that the well-drained foams are low in volume and high in Co2+ leading to an easier separation of their ingredients that usually follows. The efficiency reached the highest when cobalt feed concentration was about 1 mg/L, but dropped gradually in higher concentrations. By increasing pH to around 5, high removal efficiency was achieved and then decreased again. The optimum conditions for high cobalt removal efficiency were obtained when SDS concentration was about 100 mg/L and the initial cobalt concentration was below and close to 1 mg/L. The results of experiments revealed that the amount of cobalt removed per unit weight of SDS was higher for low [SDS]/[Co2+] ratios. They also showed that the air–liquid interface coverage by surface excess solute ions would not be more that 5% of the total area. Under optimum conditions for cobalt removal pH value and gas flow rate were found to be around 5 and 9 L/h, respectively. Under these conditions the removal efficiency was shown to be 99.4%.

Effects of memory and genetic operators on Artificial Bee Colony algorithm for Single Container Loading problem

The Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm is widely used to achieve optimum solution in a short time in integer-based optimization problems. However, the complexity of integer-based problems such as Knapsack Problems (KP) requires robust algorithms to avoid excessive solution search time. ABC algorithm that provides both the exploitation and the exploration approach is used as an alternative approach for various KP problems in the literature. However, it is rarely used for the Single Container Loading problem (SCLP) which is an important part of the transportation systems. In this study, the exploitation and exploration aspects of the ABC algorithm are improved by using memory mechanisms and genetic operators to develop three different hybrid ABC algorithms. The developed algorithms and the basic ABC algorithm are applied to a SCLP dataset from the literature to observe the effects of the memory mechanism and the genetic operators separately. Besides, a joint hybrid ABC algorithm using both reinforcement approaches is proposed to solve the SCLP. The results show that the joint hybrid ABC algorithm has emerged as a promising approach to solving SCLP with an average performance, and the genetic operators are more effective than the memory mechanism to develop a hybrid ABC algorithm.

Excess Solute Carbon and Retained Tetragonality in Tempered Fe-0.6C-1Mn Martensite and the Effect of Silicon Addition

The tetragonality and carbon distribution in tempered Fe-0.6C-1Mn martensite were investigated by X-ray diffraction and atom probe tomography to elucidate strain relaxation in the tetragonal lattice during tempering and its relationship with the solubility of excess carbon in martensite. Even though tetragonality (c/a) decreased with an increase in the tempering temperature, it persisted at low levels up to 400 °C. Si addition suppressed the decrease in tetragonality at 400 °C by inhibiting recovery in the dislocated matrix. Such persistence implies that dislocation migration is crucial for the complete release of tetragonal lattice strain at such a temperature, in addition to the decrease in the amount of solute carbon in martensite. A low level of tetragonality was observed for martensite containing carbon in the solid solution below the critical value of ~ 0.2 mass pct, at which a bcc structure was predicted. The amount of solute carbon after tempering was linearly correlated with tetragonality in the solute carbon content range of 0.07 to 0.6 mass pct, and the correlation coefficient was similar to those for as-quenched auto-tempered martensite and bainitic ferrite; these results indicate that the amount of excess carbon is simply determined by the amount of tetragonal lattice distortions remaining after carbide precipitation and recovery.

Efficient Photogeneration of Hydrogen Boosted by Long-Lived Dye-Modified Ir(III) Photosensitizers and Polyoxometalate Catalyst

Efficient Photogeneration of Hydrogen Boosted by Long-Lived Dye-Modified Ir(III) Photosensitizers and Polyoxometalate Catalyst

Boron Removal from Aqueous Solutions by Strong Base Anion-exchange Resin Batch and Column Experiments

Borate ion exchange capacity of Purolite NRW600 strong base anion resin in hydroxide form and mixed bed NRW600+NRW100 ion exchange was investigated with static experiments. Anion exchange resin was saturated with 0.1–45 g/dm3 concentration boric acid solution in a static mixer at 20, 30, 40 and 50 °C at 150 rpm for 24 hours. Remaining borate content of saturation solutions was deter-mined with ion chromatography and ICP-OES. The amount of fixed borate as borate anions increased with the saturation borate concentration as well as in case of simple anion exchange as in case of mixed bed.Column sorption-elution study was carried out by using strong base anion exchange resins (Purolite NRW600 and Amberlite IRN78). Resins in hydroxide and in chloride forms were saturated in column with 5–40 g/dm3 boric acid solution in excess. The resin was then eluted with 200 cm3 salt free water with 5 cm3/min at 25 °C and then eluted by 1 mol/dm3 sodium-sulfate solution with 5 cm3/min. The effluent was collected and analyzed for borate content by titrimetric method. In chloride form the resin adsorbed and released much less borate. Effective borate and polyborate sorption needs hydroxide ions in resin phase.

Effects of heat treatments on the microstructure and environment-induced cracking of CF8A steel in simulated BWR water

The effects of heat treatments on the susceptibility to environment-induced cracking (EIC) of the CF8A stainless steel (SS) in simulated water of a boiling water reactor (BWR) were investigated by slow strain-rate tensile (SSRT) tests. Different microstructures were resulted by subjecting the as-casted CF8A to stress relief treatment (1050 °C/2 h, C sample), thermal aging (385 °C/20000 h, A sample), recovery annealing (500 °C/1 h, R sample) or solution annealing (1200 °C/2 h, S sample). The results indicated that after aging treatment (A sample), a decrease in tensile ductility and impact toughness was resulted relative to the un-aged specimens. Recovery annealing (R sample) caused an improved tensile ductility and impact toughness of the embrittled CF8A. Excessive solution (S sample) led to an obvious decrease in tensile strength but increase in ductility and toughness of the CF8A. The EIC susceptibility of the tested samples in simulated BWR water increased in the order: S < C < R < A samples. The cracks in distinct CF8A specimens were found to initiate at and propagate along δ/γ interfaces in simulated BWR water. The lowered ferrite content and change in ferrite morphology accounted for the superior EIC resistance of the S sample relative to that of the other ones in simulated BWR water.

A clean method of precipitation vanadium from the vanadium bearing oxalic acid leaching solution

To achieve the clean extraction of vanadium from iron vanadate spinel minerals, vanadium has been successfully leached as [V(C2O4)3]3− complex by using oxalic acid as a leaching agent in our previous study. However, the precipitation of vanadium from the V-bearing oxalic acid leaching solution has never been reported. Therefore, an environment-friendly hydrothermal precipitation method was applied in vanadium precipitation process in this study. Firstly, vanadium was effectively precipitated from the V-bearing oxalic acid leaching solution by hydrothermal decomposition of [V(C2O4)3]3− complex ions at the temperature above 200 °C to obtain a mixture of vanadium oxides. Based on the vanadium precipitation, to further obtain high purity vanadium oxide product, the hydrothermal precipitation of VO2 from the V-bearing oxalic acid leaching solution was investigated. Before the hydrothermal reaction, an excess hydrogen peroxide solution was employed to oxidize the [V(C2O4)3]3− complex ions to form VOC2O4 in advance. Then, the effect of temperature, the quantity of added V2O5, and reaction time on the VO2 product preparation and vanadium precipitation extent were investigated. Finally, the uniform and well-crystallized VO2 (B) with 97% purity was obtained, and higher than 99% of vanadium precipitation extent was achieved under the optimum precipitation conditions.

Impact of loop-induced processes on the boosted dark matter interpretation of the XENON1T excess

We consider the boosted dark matter solution of the XENON1T excess to constrain the framework through loop-generated processes. The interaction of the boosted dark matter component, which sources the signal, effectively couples the cold dark matter background to the electrons, making it potentially visible in the electron recoil searches. Similarly, once the radiative corrections due to the Standard Model are taken into account, dark matter also scatters on quarks and becomes observable in nuclear recoil measurements. By analysing these processes in a class of effective models built on vector and scalar couplings, we find that the current direct detection constraints exclude the upper mass range selected by the anomaly, especially if the boosted component is generated through dark matter annihilation.

Balancing the strength and ductility of Mg-6Zn-0.2Ca alloy via sub-rapid solidification combined with hard-plate rolling

In this study, we successfully prepared a Mg-6Zn-0.2Ca alloy by utilizing sub-rapid solidification (SRS) combined with hard-plate rolling (HPR), whose elongation-to-failure increases from ∼17 % to ∼23 % without sacrificing tensile strength (∼290 MPa) compared with its counterpart processed via conventional solidification (CS) followed by HPR. Notably, both samples feature a similar refined grain structure with an average grain size of ∼2.1 and ∼2.5 μm, respectively. However, the high cooling rate of ∼150 K/s introduced by SRS modified both the size and morphology of Ca2Mg6Zn3 eutectic phase in comparison to those coarse ones under CS condition. By subsequent HPR, the Ca2Mg6Zn3 phase was further refined and dispersed uniformly by severe fragmentation. Specially, the achieved supersaturation containing excessive Ca solute atoms due to high cooling rate was maintained in the SRS-HPR condition. The mechanisms that govern the high ductility of the SRS-HPR sample could be ascribed to following reasons. First, refined Ca2Mg6Zn3 eutectic phase could effectively alleviate or avoid the crack initiation. Furthermore, excessive Ca solute atoms in α-Mg matrix result in the yield point phenomenon and enhanced strain-hardening ability during tension. The findings proposed a short-processed strategy towards superior performance of Mg-6Zn-0.2Ca alloy for industrial applications.

Fabrication of ceramic particles from preceramic polymers using stop flow lithography

Stop flow lithography (SFL) combines aspects of microfluidic and photolithography to continuously fabricate particles with uniform planar shapes as dictated by a mask. In this work we aim to expand the palette of materials suitable for SFL processing by investigating the use of UV-crosslinkable preceramic polymers to make ceramic particles. A commercially available methacrylated-polysiloxane was used as the preceramic polymer and was mixed with 2.5 wt% Irgacure 651 photoinitiator. A simple SFL system was assembled to continuously fabricate UV-crosslinked preceramic polymer particles in the shape of hexagons, triangles, and gears with diameters ranging from 100 to 200 μm and thicknesses of 74 μm +/- 4 μm. Particles were harvested from the excess preceramic solution, cleaned and then pyrolyzed at 1000 °C to transform them into silicon oxycarbide ceramic particles. Particle shape was maintained during pyrolysis despite a ∼80 % linear shrinkage due to the removal of acryl and methyl side groups, as confirmed via FTIR. After pyrolysis the outer diameters of the SiOC particles ranged from 20 to 40 μm with thicknesses of 10 μm–12 μm. Pyrolyzed particles were successfully recovered and dispersed in water. This work demonstrates a robust path for the fabrication of ceramic particles with specific shapes from preceramic polymers via SFL.

Radha’ah in the Perspective of Tafsir Al-Misbah

Providing decent food (breastmilk) to support the growth of children is one of the obligations of their parents and it is the gift that is given to a mother by Allah (God). This research is library research (literature research), which uses the interpretation of the Tafsir Al Misbah, the literature from books, journals, dictionaries, and other papers related to this research. It has been proven that breast milk is the best food for babies because of the diverse and complete nutritional content. The main content of breastmilk is 88% of the water that removes excess solute. Breast milk also contains carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, hormones, and growth factors. According to Quraish Shihab, radha’ah is interpreted as breastfeeding. In this case, he interpreted radha’ah as breastfeeding although breastfeeding recommendations in surah al-Baqarah is in the form of Khabar (information/news), but it means an order which obliges all mothers to carry out breastfeeding for up to two years with the responsibility of fathers in providing the needs of the family. However, it is permissible for parents to wean their children before two years if this can be bothersome, and it is also permissible for parents to let their children breastfed by other than their biological mothers if the mother is unable to breastfeed her child by herself. However, babies that are breastfeeding from other women will form a nasab (lineage) which means the baby will be forbidden to get married to a child of the woman that breastfed the baby.

General and Efficient Synthesis of Two-Dimensional Monolayer Mesoporous Materials with Diverse Framework Compositions.

Two-dimensional (2D) mesoporous materials have received substantial research interest due to their highly exposed active sites and unusual nanoconfinement effect. However, controllable and efficient synthesis of 2D mesoporous materials and investigation of their intrinsic properties have remained quite rare. Herein, a general and effective surface-limited cooperative assembly (SLCA) method enabled by leveling precursor solutions on KCl crystals via centrifugation is employed to conveniently synthesize two-dimensional (2D) monolayer mesoporous materials with different compositions. This novel strategy is performed in a manner similar to spin coating, not only enabling generation of ultrathin mesostructured composite film on KCl particles and recycling excessive precursor solution but also providing favorable solvent annealing environment for the film to form ordered mesostructures. Taking monolayer mesoporous Ce0.8Zr0.2O2 solid solutions as a sample, they display ultrathin nanosheet morphology with a thickness of ∼20 nm, highly open porous structure, and easily accessible active sites of surface superoxide species. Upon decoration of 2D mesoporous Ce0.8Zr0.2O2 nanosheets with Pt nanoparticles, the obtained catalyst exhibits superior catalytic activity and stability toward CO oxidation with a low onset temperature of 30 °C and a 100% conversion temperature of 95 °C, which are 35-70 °C lower than those for their counterpart materials, namely, three-dimensional (3D) mesoporous Pt/Ce0.8Zr0.2O2. Moreover, their TOFPt value is ∼11.3 times higher than that of 3D mesoporous Pt/Ce0.8Zr0.2O2. Characterizations based on various techniques indicate that such an outstanding catalytic performance is due to the ultrashort distance (20 nm) of mass diffusion, highly exposed active sites, rich surface-chemisorbed oxygen, and the synergistic effect between the Ce0.8Zr0.2O2 matrix and Pt species.

Effects of B-Site Modification of Bi-Ru Based Oxide on Catalytic Activity for Oxygen Reactions

An aqueous air secondary battery uses oxygen in air as the active mass of the air electrode, at which the reactions are oxygen reduction during discharge and oxygen evolution during charge. The polarization of the air electrode is known to be large and a highly active bi-functional oxygen catalyst is needed to reduce the polarization. We have been developing a metal hydride/air secondary battery using KOH solutions and have found that bismuth and ruthenium based oxide (BRO) can suppress the polarization of oxygen reactions [1]. Although BRO has a good bi-functionality, there is still an issue that the polarization of oxygen reduction is ca. 100 mV larger than that of oxygen evolution. In this work, we aimed to improve the catalytic activity of BRO with modification of B-site element by substituting ruthenium with manganese. Then, the modified BRO (MBRO) was examined by titanium disk method (TDM) developed by our group [2], which is very useful to know the activity of oxygen catalyst, because no oxygen reactions on titanium occur in the examined potential range so that no oxygen current from the substrate is excluded. The electrochemical polarization data was analyzed to obtain some kinetic parameters such as Tafel slope and exchange current density.MBRO was prepared by co-precipitation method, in which the calcination of the precipitates obtained by adding excess NaOH solutions into the metal salt solution containing bismuth, ruthenium, and manganese. BRO was also synthesized for comparison. The obtained oxides were characterized by XRD, SEM, and EDX, and electrochemical measurements were carried out using a three-electrode cell. The working electrode was the titanium disk covered with MBRO or BRO, which was mounted in a rotating-disk electrode equipment, and the electrolyte was 0.1 mol/L KOH solutions. Linear sweep voltammetry was performed for anodic and cathodic polarization, and oxygen reduction current was obtained with the difference in current measured in the solutions under N2 or O2 bubbling. The specific activity was evaluated with the normalized current by the catalyst’s weight, i w, or by the double layer charge, i c, and Tafel plots of polarization curves gave Tafel slope and exchange current density, i 0, for MBRO and BRO.The XRD patterns of MBRO were close to that of BRO except that some peaks of MBRO in the high 2θ region showed the peak sift to a higher angle with increasing manganese. EDX measurements of MBRO indicated that the metal ratio of the obtained oxide was almost the same as that of the precursor solution. SEM observation also revealed that the particle size of MBRO ranged from 20 nm to 60 nm with no clear dependence with the metal ratio. The polarization of MBRO for oxygen reduction was smaller than that of BRO and was more reduced with increasing manganese up to 30 at%, while a little difference in polarization for oxygen evolution was seen between MBRO and BRO. The analysis of Tafel slope and exchange current density from LSV data gave some interesting relationship between these parameters and the polarization for ORR and OER that the exchange current density of MBRO was 6 to 8 times larger than that of BRO at high manganese ratios, which is the main reason why MBRO showed a reduction in ORR polarization, while Tafel slope of MBRO for ORR was almost the same as or slightly higher than that of BRO, and Tafel slope for OER was hardly changed between MBRO and BRO. From the results, we found that the B-site modification of BRO with manganese can enhance the kinetics of electron transfer for the oxygen reactions.

Transcapillary transport of water, small solutes and proteins during hemodialysis

The semipermeable capillary walls not only enable the removal of excess body water and solutes during hemodialysis (HD) but also provide an essential mechanism for maintaining cardiovascular homeostasis. Here, we investigated transcapillary transport processes on the whole-body level using the three-pore model of the capillary endothelium with large, small and ultrasmall pores. The transcapillary transport and cardiovascular response to a 4-h hemodialysis (HD) with 2 L ultrafiltration were analyzed by simulations in a virtual patient using the three-pore model of the capillary wall integrated in the whole-body compartmental model of the cardiovascular system with baroreflex mechanisms. The three-pore model revealed substantial changes during HD in the magnitude and direction of transcapillary water flows through small and ultrasmall pores and associated changes in the transcapillary convective transport of proteins and small solutes. The fraction of total capillary hydraulic conductivity attributed to ultrasmall pores was found to play an important role in the transcapillary water transport during HD thus influencing the cardiovascular response to HD. The presented model provides a novel computational framework for a detailed analysis of microvascular exchange during HD and as such may contribute to a better understanding of dialysis-induced changes in blood volume and blood pressure.

Renal lymphatic vessel dynamics.

Similar to other organs, renal lymphatics remove excess fluid, solutes, and macromolecules from the renal interstitium. Given the kidney's unique role in maintaining body fluid homeostasis, renal lymphatics may be critical in this process. However, little is known regarding the pathways involved in renal lymphatic vessel function, and there are no studies on the effects of drugs targeting impaired interstitial clearance, such as diuretics. Using pressure myography, we showed that renal lymphatic collecting vessels are sensitive to changes in transmural pressure and have an optimal range of effective pumping. In addition, they are responsive to vasoactive factors known to regulate tone in other lymphatic vessels including prostaglandin E2 and nitric oxide, and their spontaneous contractility requires Ca2+ and Cl-. We also demonstrated that Na+-K+-2Cl- cotransporter Nkcc1, but not Nkcc2, is expressed in extrarenal lymphatic vessels. Furosemide, a loop diuretic that inhibits Na+-K+-2Cl- cotransporters, induced a dose-dependent dilation in lymphatic vessels and decreased the magnitude and frequency of spontaneous contractions, thereby reducing the ability of these vessels to propel lymph. Ethacrynic acid, another loop diuretic, had no effect on vessel tone. These data represent a significant step forward in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying renal lymphatic vessel function and highlight potential off-target effects of furosemide that may exacerbate fluid accumulation in edema-forming conditions.

Influence and evaluation of saturated soil shield construction on existing highway

Abstract In order to study the shield construction under an existing highway, the initial displacement and the excess pore water pressure solution from Biot consolidation equation were used to derive the analytical solutions of the vertical deformation and pore water pressure of saturated soil caused by the frontal friction and side friction of the cutterhead. In addition, by introducing the layered method and combining it with other theoretical analytical equations, the expressions of total vertical deformation and total pore water pressure caused by tunnel excavation with different overlying materials were obtained. The simulation results on an engineering project showed that the angle α between the direction of the road and the propulsion axis of the shield had a significant influence on the surface settlement of the road. When the angle α was increased, the settlement curve had higher variation; but the variation would not exceed the maximum settlement value above the shield axis. When the road was perpendicular to the shield axis, a critical point of the road bulging and settlement was formed above the incision. Due to the grinding resistance of the cutterhead, the pore water pressure under the roadbed was distributed asymmetrically on both sides of the shield axis.