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Pyrochlore has been extensively studied as one of the most ideal candidates for nuclear wastes immobilization, due to its excellent geological stability, radiation tolerance, low chemical leaching rate, and high thermal stability. However, the artificial pyrochlore has a relatively high selectivity for curing nuclides, which limits the types and quantity of its target species. To tackle the challenge, a variety of simulated nuclides(Eu, Sm and Nd) were successfully incorporated into the pyrochlore lattice by solid-state reactions. The experimental results show that the multi-pyrochlore exhibits a homogeneous structure with single phase. Leaching tests indicate that the multi-pyrochlore owns excellent leaching resistance and chemical stability, which enables multi-pyrochlore a promising immobilization material for high-level waste.

In this study, granite wastes based glass-ceramics containing Eu 2 O 3 as simulated radionuclides is successfully synthesized via solid-state sintering method. The structure, mechanical properties and chemical durability are deeply investigated. The main phase in this glass-ceramics is oxyapatite (Ca 2 Eu 8 (SiO 4) 6 O 2), which is dispersed homogenously in glass matrix. The density dominates the properties of Vickers hardness and bending strength. The glass-ceramics containing 40 wt % of Eu 2 O 3 has the optimal mechanical properties, with the Vickers hardness, bending strength and density of 5.12 GPa, 79.44 MPa and 98.77 %, respectively. The 28 days leaching experiments show that the glass-ceramics containing 40 wt % of Eu 2 O 3 possess excellent chemical durability. The leaching rate of Al3+, Si4+, Fe3+, Ca2+, Eu3+ are 2.3 × 10−4 g m−2 d−1, 6.0 × 10−4 g m−2 d−1, 1.2 × 10−7 g m−2 d−1, 1.4 × 10−4 g m−2 d−1, 3.6 × 10−8 g m−2 d−1, respectively. This study indicates that granite wastes based glass-ceramics have excellent chemical stability and mechanical properties, which provides a novel idea for the immobilization of radioactive wastes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing waste forms using the cocktail effect of high‐entropy ceramics can improve the efficiency of ceramic waste forms. In this work, traditional garnet (Y1.2Nd1.8Fe5O12, YIG) and high‐entropy (HE) garnet (Y0.6Gd0.6Sm0.6Eu0.6Dy0.6Fe5O12, HEG) are synthesized through ignition and plasma sintering to form dense ceramic waste forms. The chemical stability of YIG and HEG was studied by using static leaching tests at pH = 3, 5, 7, 9, 11. The results indicate that acidic environments can increase the leaching rate of ceramics. Leaching behavior leads to a decrease in lattice volume, but the elements remain uniformly distributed. The leaching mechanism indicates that YIG and HEG are controlled by dissolution and surface effect in the early stage (1–7 days) of leaching. The leaching mechanism in the later stage (14–42 days) is characterized by diffusion control. The diffusion coefficient of long‐term leaching indicates that HEG is more suitable as the immobilization substrate for high‐level radioactive waste (HLW) than YIG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the addition of carrot paste (CP) at levels of 3%, 5%, and 10% as a potential antioxidant in frankfurter-type sausages, denoted as F1, F2, and F3. F0, was a control sample with no addition of CP. All formulated samples were stored for 14 days during which their physicochemical, oxidative stability, and sensory properties were evaluated. Results showed that the pH of frankfurter-type sausages was not affected by the addition of CP, however, higher pH values were observed in CP-enriched samples on the first day of production and subsequent storage days. Cooking loss (CL) in frankfurter-type sausages was in the range of 2.20% to 2.87%, with the CP-enriched samples having a lower CL percentage, particularly F3 samples, compared to the control. Protein and fat content were lower in CP-enriched samples, but ash content increased. CP-enriched frankfurter-type sausages recorded significantly higher polyphenol contents compared to the control. Total polyphenol content in CP-enriched samples F1, F2, and F3 was higher throughout storage compared to the control. Lower peroxide values were also recorded in CP-enriched samples F1 (2.5 meq/kg), F2 (2.4 meq/kg), and F3 (2.2 meq/kg) compared to the control (2.9 meq/kg), demonstrating greater 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) antioxidant activity than the control samples. Formulations treated with 10% CP gained significantly higher scores for color, texture, and overall acceptability. Principal component analysis showed that higher inclusion levels of CP in formulation improved the sensory quality and oxidative stability. In conclusion, CP could be used to enhance the oxidative stability of frankfurter-type sausage without negatively influencing the sensory quality.

The attention of some winemakers and researchers over the past years has been drawn towards the partial or total dealcoholization of wines and alcoholic beverages due to trends in wine styles, and the effect of climate change on wine alcohol content. To achieve this, different techniques have been used at the various stages of winemaking, among which the physical dealcoholization techniques, particularly membrane separation (nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, evaporative perstraction, and pervaporation) and thermal distillation (vacuum distillation and spinning cone column), have shown promising results and hence are being used for commercial production. However, the removal of alcohol by these techniques can cause changes in color and losses of desirable volatile aroma compounds, which can subsequently affect the sensory quality and acceptability of the wine by consumers. Aside from the removal of ethanol, other factors such as the ethanol concentration, the kind of alcohol removal technique, the retention properties of the wine non-volatile matrix, and the chemical-physical properties of the aroma compounds can influence changes in the wine sensory quality during dealcoholization. This review highlights and summarizes some of the techniques for wine dealcoholization and their impact on wine quality to help winemakers in choosing the best technique to limit adverse effects in dealcoholized wines and to help meet the needs and acceptance among different targeted consumers such as younger people, pregnant women, drivers, and teetotalers.

Two high‐entropy carbides, including stoichiometric (Zr,Ti,Nb,Ta,Hf)C and nonstoichiometric (Zr,Ti,Nb,Ta,Hf)C0.8, were prepared from monocarbides and ZrH2. Their sinterability, microstructures, mechanical properties, thermophysical properties, and oxidation behaviors were systematically compared. With the introduction of carbon vacancy, the sintering temperature was lowered up to 300°C, Vickers hardness was almost unaffected, whereas the strength decreased significantly generally due to the decrease of covalent bonds. The thermal conductivity shows a 50% decrease for nonstoichiometry high‐entropy carbide, which is a major consequence of the lower electrical conductivity. The oxidation resistance in high temperature water vapor was not sensitive to carbon stoichiometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of clarification treatments on volatile composition and aromatic attributes of wine samples. ‘Italian Riesling’ icewines from the Hexi Corridor Region of China were clarified by fining agents (bentonite (BT) and soybean protein (SP)), membrane filtration (MF), and centrifugation (CF) methods. The clarity, physicochemical indexes, volatile components, and aromatic attributes of treated wines were investigated. Both the fining agents and mechanical clarification treatments increased the transmittance and decreased the color intensity of icewine samples. Bentonite fining significantly influenced the total sugar content, total acidity and volatile acidity. Total acidity decreased 2–3.5% and volatile acidity 2–12%. MF showed the greatest influence on total phenol content, decreasing the initial content by 12%, while other treatments by less than 8%. Volatile analysis indicated that both the categories and contents of volatile compounds of wine samples decreased. MF treatment showed the most significant influence, while SP fining showed much lower impact. Odor activity values indicated the compound with the highest odor activity in Italian Riesling icewines was β-damascenone. For this compound, BT and SP did not show significant differences, however, in MF and CF it decreased by 20% and 63%, respectively. Furthermore, with high impact on aroma were: ethyl hexanoate which reduced by 20–80% especially in MF; rose oxide which extremely reduced in MF and undetected in BT, SP, and CF; isoamyl acetate which reduced by 3–33% and linalool decreased by 10–20% and undetected for BT. Principle component analysis indicated that icewine clarified by different methods could be distinguished and positively correlated with odor-active compounds. Floral and fruity were the dominant aroma series in icewine samples followed by fatty, earthy, spicy, vegetative and pungent flavor. The total odor active value of these series significantly (p < 0.5) decreased in different clarification treatments. Sensory evaluation showed similar results, but the SP and CF wine samples achieved better sensory quality. This study provides information that could help to optimize the clarification of ice wines.

In this paper, reconstructed granite with enhanced mechanical properties is prepared by re-melting and re-sintering granite wastes based on the formation process of natural granite. The sintering process, phase composition, and mechanical properties are deeply investigated. The optimal synthesizing process is sintering granite wastes at 1090 °C for 2 h with a preloading pressure of 25 MPa. Reconstruction results in excellent mechanical properties with a Vickers hardness of 5.30 GPa, a bending strength of 64.84 MPa, and an elastic modulus of 68.77 GPa, which are superior to those of natural granite (Vickers hardness of 3.64 GPa, bending strength of 23.40 MPa, and elastic modulus of 58.77 GPa). The sintering process plays a decisive role in improving the mechanical properties, which not only regulate the phase composition and refine the grain size but also effectively decrease the formation of cracks. This work not only clarified the mechanism between the phase evolution and mechanical properties of reconstructed granite but also proposed a viable way to dispose granite wastes for natural resource recycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to develop and validate an improved analytical method for the simultaneous quantification of 20 types of mycotoxins in grapes and wines. In this research, the optimization of tandem mass spectrometer (MS/MS) parameter, ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) separation, and QuEChERS procedure, which includes wine/water ratio, the amount and type of salt, clean-up sorbent, were performed, and the whole separation of mycotoxins was accomplished within 7 min analyzing time. Under optimum conditions, recoveries ranged from 85.6% to 117.8%, while relative standard deviation (RSD) remained between 6.0% and 17.5%. The limit of detection (LOD, 0.06–10 μg/L) and the limit of quantification (LOQ, 0.18–30 μg/L) were lower than those permitted by legislation in food matrices, which demonstrated the high sensitivity and applicability of this efficient method. Finally, 36 grapes and 42 wine samples from the Hexi Corridor region were analyzed. Penicillic acid (PCA), mycophenolic acid (MPA), cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), fumonisin B1 (FB1) and zearalenone (ZEN) were detected in a small number of grape samples with lower concentrations between 0.10 μg/L and 81.26 μg/L. Meanwhile, ochratoxin A (OTA), aflatoxin B2 (AFB2), MPA, CPA, and ZEN were detected in some wine counterparts with concentrations ranged from 0.10 μg/L to 4.62 μg/L. However, the concentrations of the detected mycotoxins were much lower than the maximum legal limits set of other products.

Objective. To investigate the changes in blood D-dimer (D-D), high-sensitivity troponin I (hs-cTnI), and N-terminal B-type brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels in patients with acute aortic dissection (AAD) and its clinical significance. Methods. Forty patients with AAD diagnosed in our hospital from January 2018 to December 2019 were selected as the observation group, and 40 patients with chest pain and non-AAD treated in our hospital during the same period were included in the control group. The patients were subdivided into a death group and a survival group as per the prognosis. The clinical symptoms and signs of the two groups of patients upon admission were observed, and the levels of D-D, hs-cTnI, and NT-proBNP were determined. The differences in clinical data, plasma D-D, hs-cTnI, and NT-proBNP levels between the two groups of patients were analyzed. Results. The clinical data and physical signs were homogeneous between the two groups (P > 0.05), while a significant elevation in the level of hs-cTnI in the control group was observed 24 h after admission (P < 0.05). The observation group showed significantly higher levels of D-D, NT-proBNP, and hs-cTnI than the control group (P < 0.05). The prevalence and surgical cure rate of Stanford A in the survival group were significantly lower in contrast with the death group, with an obvious higher intervention cure rate in the survival group. Higher D-dimer and NT-proBNP levels were identified at 24 h after admission versus upon admission, and the death group had a greater increase of D-dimer and NT-proBNP levels. Conclusion. Clinical symptoms and signs are insufficient to constitute a diagnosis of AAD, whereas the elevated expression levels of D-D, hs-cTnI, and NT-proBNP demonstrated great potential for the diagnosis and prognosis of AAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]