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AbstractThe major radius of the China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR) is 7.2 m, and its minor radius is 2.2 m, which are larger than those of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). That makes the assembly of the CFETR machine more intricate and challenging due to the assembly tool design, and their stresses are more complex when the weight of key parts/components increases, especially the assembly of the cryostat vessel, the vacuum vessel (VV), the toroidal field (TF) magnets, the poloidal field (PF) magnets, and the thermal shielding (TS). Based on the characteristics of the CFETR machine, a 45-deg assembly sector (with eight sectors in total), containing one 45-deg VV sector, two TF magnets, and one 45-deg VV TS, was designed as an assembly unit together with its assembly tooling. To improve the assembly efficiency, three working regions along the toroidal direction of the CFETR machine were designed to operate simultaneously. In addition, the assembly tools of the PF magnets and the cryostat were considered, and all of them are capable of supporting and adjusting the large CFETR machine components. Meanwhile, to improve their assembly accuracy and measurement efficiency, a laser tracker, an indoor global positioning system, and a scanner were employed in their assembly process. In addition, a metrology network was built for assembly of the CFETR machine.

Room-temperature sodium‑sulfur (RT NaS) batteries face challenges of severe shuttle effect and sluggish redox kinetics with low reversible capacity and fast capacity decay, which hinder their practical application. Herein, under the guidance of theoretical calculation, an efficient catalyst of cerium dioxide with oxygen vacancies (CeO2-x) embedded in porous carbon matrix delivering moderate adsorption ability and excellent catalytic active for sodium polysulfides (NaPSs) was designed and synthesized. The theoretical calculation shows that the decrease of band gap caused by creating oxygen vacancy, the electron donor of Ce element accompanying the oxygen vacancy and the lower dissociation barrier of Na2S2make CeO2-xcatalyst have satisfactory adsorption ability and catalytic activity. Profiting from these merits, the prepared S@PC/CeO2-xcathodes of NaS batteries exhibit superior long cycle stability. After 200 cycles at 0.5 A g−1, the capacity is 906 mAh g−1. When the current density is increased to 1 A g−1, the capacity remains at 701 mAh g−1after 300 cycles. The adsorption-catalytic mechanism of NaPSs obtained experimentally and theoretically provides a new insight into the realization of high-performance RT NaS batteries.

SnS2-based materials have attracted considerable attention in energy storage and conversion owing to their high lithium activity and theoretical capacity. However, the practical application is severely limited by the low coulombic efficiency and short cycle life due to irreversible side reactions, low conductivity, and serious pulverization in the discharge/charge process. In this study, sheet-like stacking SnS2/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) heterostructures were developed using a facile solvothermal method. It was found that the composites between SnS2nanoplates and rGO nanosheets are closely coupled through van der Waals interactions, providing efficient electron/ion paths to ensure high electrical conductivity and sufficient buffer space to alleviate volume expansion. Therefore, the SnS2/rGO heterostructure anode can obtain a high capacity of 840 mA h g–1after 120 cycles at a current density of 200 mA g–1and maintain a capacity of 450 mA h g–1after 1000 cycles at 1000 mA g–1. In situ X-ray diffraction tests showed that SnS2/rGO undergoes typical initial intercalation, conversion, and subsequent alloying reactions during the first discharge, and most of the reactions are dealloying/alloying in the subsequent cycles. The galvanostatic intermittent titration technique showed that the diffusion of lithium ions in the SnS2/rGO heterostructures is faster in the intercalation and conversion reactions than in the alloying reactions. These observations help to clarify the reaction mechanism and ion diffusion behavior in the SnS2anode materials, thus providing valuable insights for improving the energy efficiency of lithium-ion batteries.

In the wake of shaping the energy future through materials innovation, lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) are top-of-the-line energy storage system attributed to their high theoretical energy density and specific capacity inclusive of low material costs. Despite their strengths, LSBs suffer from the cross-over of soluble polysulfide redox species to the anode, entailing fast capacity fading and inferior cycling stability. Adding to the concern, the insulating character of polysulfides lends to sluggish reaction kinetics. To address these challenges, we construct optimized polysulfide blockers-cum-conversion catalysts by accommodating the battery separator with covalent organic framework@Graphene (COF@G) composites. We settle on a crystalline TAPP-ETTB COF in the interest of its nitrogen-enriched scaffold with a regular pore geometry, providing ample lithiophilic sites for strong chemisorption and catalytic effect to polysulfides. On another front, graphene enables high electron mobility, boosting the sulfur redox kinetics. Consequently, a lithium–sulfur battery with a TAPP-ETTB COF@G-based separator demonstrates a high reversible capacity of 1489.8 mA h g–1at 0.2 A g–1after the first cycle and good cyclic performance (920 mA h g–1after 400 cycles) together with excellent rate performance (827.7 mA h g–1at 2 A g–1). The scope and opportunities to harness the designability and synthetic structural control in crystalline organic materials is a promising domain at the interface of sustainable materials, energy storage, and Li–S chemistry.

Context Seed weight is an important agronomic trait for determining yield and appearance quality of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.). Understanding the genetic basis of seed weight might lead to improvement of these traits in soybean by optimising different genes or alleles controlling seed weight. Aims A major quantitative trait locus (QTL) for seed weight, qSW17.1 , was identified previously. In this study, we used progenies of cultivated soybean and wild soybean (Glycine soja Sieb. and Zucc.) for further validation and characterisation of qSW17.1 . Methods A BC4 F2 population, a heterogeneous inbred family (HIF) population, and a pair of qSW17.1 near-isogenic lines (NILs) developed from progenies of a cross between cultivated soybean variety Jackson and wild soybean accession JWS156-1 were cultivated under field conditions. QTL analysis and candidate gene mining were conducted. Key results A QTL corresponding to qSW17.1 , which explained 19.84% and 31.71% of the total phenotypic variance in BC4 F2 and HIF populations, respectively, was detected. The NIL with the cultivated soybean allele showed higher shoot biomass than the NIL with the wild soybean allele under hydroponic growth conditions, suggesting that the large-seed-size allele of qSW17.1 might be beneficial in soybean seedling establishment. qSW17.1 was delimited to a physical interval of 2515kb on chromosome 17. Glyma.17G108500 showed a large (∼3.27-fold) difference in expression between the two NILs, and was considered a candidate gene underlying qSW17.1 . Implications Our results provide valuable information regarding the genetic basis of seed weight control in soybean and its utilisation in soybean molecular breeding.

Objective To compare the efficacy, safety, and pregnancy outcomes of tamoxifen plus ovarian function suppression (OFS) between Han and Zhuang women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.Methods A total of 236 Han and 101 Zhuang women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer who received tamoxifen plus OFS were analyzed retrospectively. Long-term disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated by Kaplan–Meier analysis, and adverse events and pregnancy outcomes were assessed by χ2and Fisher’s exact-probability tests.Results There was no significant difference in DFS or OS between Han and Zhuang women (5-year DFS 74.57% and 77.23%, OS 85.59% and 90.01%, respectively). The incidences of endometrial hyperplasia, ovarian cysts, nausea and vomiting, fatty liver, retinitis, and thrombocytopenic purpura were similar in both groups, but Zhuang women had significantly more allergic reactions (6.93% vs. 2.12%). Pregnancy rates among women who attempted pregnancy were similar (Han, 7/138, 5.07%; Zhuang, 2/46, 4.35%).Conclusions OFS plus tamoxifen resulted in similar DFS and OS among premenopausal Han and Zhuang women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. However, Zhuang women were more likely to experience an allergic reaction. For women with fertility concerns, OFS plus tamoxifen was associated with similar pregnancy rates in Zhuang and Han women.

Abstract: Background: Different saponins from herbs have been used as tonic or functional foods, and for treatment of various diseases including cancers. Although clinical data has supported the function of these saponins, their underlying molecular mechanisms have not been well defined. Methods: With the simulated hypoxia created by 8 hours of Cu++ exposure and following 24 hour incubation with different concentration of saponins in HepG2 cells for MTT assay, migration and invasion assays, and for RT-PCR, and with each group of cells for immunofluorescence observation by confocal microscopy. Results#154;ZC-4 had the highest rate of inhibition of cell proliferation by MTT assay, and the highest inhibition of migration rate by in vitro scratch assay, while ZC-3 had the highest inhibition of invasion ratio by transwell assay. Under the same simulated hypoxia, the molecular mechanism of saponin function was conducted by measuring the gene expression of Hypoxia Inducible Factor (HIF)-1α through RT-PCR, in which ZC-3 showed a potent inhibition of gene HIF-1α. For the protein expression by immunofluorescence staining with confocal microscopy, HIF-1α was also inhibited by saponins, with the most potent one being ZC-4 after eight hours' relatively hypoxia incubation. Conclusion: Saponins ZC-4 and ZC-3 have the potential to reduce HepG2 cell proliferation, migration and invasion caused by hypoxia through effectively inhibiting the gene and protein expression of HIF-1α directly and as antioxidant indirectly

AbstractThe HL-2M tokamak, which is being built at the Southwestern Institute of Physics, is considered one of the most important short-pulse devices for future fusion research in China. The design criterion of the HL-2M specifies the demountable joints for the toroidal field coils (TFCs) due to the assembly requirements. A horizontal preload is needed to keep a good electrical conductance for the joint of each coil. In order to assure the appropriate preload to be exerted on the TFCs under different operation conditions and to provide the preload at 40 locations simultaneously, the horizontal preload system of the HL-2M tokomak has been developed. In this technical note, the design of this system is presented in detail. Finite element analysis is applied to evaluate the design. To validate the assembly and the performance, a prototype of the actuator has been manufactured and tested to finalize the design for fabrication.

We firstly investigated efficient poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS)/n-type polycrystalline silicon (p-Si) heterojunction solar cells fabricated by chemical mist deposition (CMD) using a high-pressure H2O-vapor-treated p-Si prior to organic film deposition. High-pressure H2O vapor treatment of the p-Si efficiently suppressed grain boundary defects and improved carrier transport at the PEDOT:PSS/p-Si interface. Furthermore, compared to spin coated devices, the CMD devices demonstrated a more uniform photovoltaic performance. The power conversion efficiency of the PEDOT:PSS/p-Si heterojunction solar cells was 9.7% with a short-circuit current density of 33.5mA/cm2, an open-circuit voltage of 0.54V, and a fill factor of 0.53. These findings suggest that CMD with a negatively charged mist precursor provides uniform adhesion of PEDOT:PSS on p-Si, resulting in increased photovoltaic performance.

Developing materials for “Nano-vehicles” with clinically approved drugs encapsulated is envisaged to enhance drug therapeutic effects and reduce the adverse effects. However, design and preparation of the biomaterials that are porous, nontoxic, soluble, and stable in physiological solutions and could be easily functionalized for effective drug deliveries are still challenging. Here, we report an original and simple thermal substitution method to fabricate perfectly water-soluble and porous boron nitride (BN) materials featuring unprecedentedly high hydroxylation degrees. These hydroxylated BNs are biocompatible and can effectively load anticancer drugs (e.g., doxorubicin, DOX) up to contents three times exceeding their own weight. The same or even fewer drugs that are loaded on such BN carriers exhibit much higher potency for reducing the viability of LNCaP cancer cells than free drugs.

We demonstrate the design and fabrication of novel hybrid nanoarchitectures using facile coating of ultrathin Ni(OH)2nanosheets onto α-Fe2O3nanowire arrays directly grown on Fe foils toward achieving high specific capacitance, high-energy and high power density, and long-term life supercapacitors. Well structured single-crystalline α-Fe2O3nanowires uniquely served as cores that support redox active high surface area Ni(OH)2shells and also contribute to specific capacitance as a conventional pseudocapacitive metal oxide. The Ni(OH)2@α-Fe2O3hybrid composites exhibited excellent rate capability with specific energy of 22.8Wh/kg and specific power of 16.4kW/kg at a current density of 54.6A/g, and excellent long-term cycling stability (keep over 85.7% of the initial specific capacitance after 5000 cycles). These results suggest that such hybrid composite architectures are very promising for the next generation of high-performance supercapacitors.

Nowadays, 2D nanosheets or nanoplatelets have attracted great attention due to their wide applications. However, the synthesis of 2D α-Fe2O3nanosheets with well-defined hexagonal shape is extremely challenging, because the selective growth along one specific facet is very hard to be realized. In our work, we studied the non-capping ligand mediated reaction within graphene layer chamber, and successfully synthesized α-Fe2O3hexagonal nanoplatelets sandwiched between graphene layers (HP-Fe–G). These materials exhibit an improved electrochemical performance compared with the pre-existing α-Fe2O3nanoparticles loaded graphene (G-Fe2O3) composites because of the uniqueness of such architectures: thin nanoplatelets, large enough sandwiched spaces to buffer the volume expansion and N-doped graphene. HP-Fe–G delivered an ultrahigh reversible capacity of 1100mAh/g after 50 cycles, thus higher than their theoretical value (926mAh/g); while G-Fe2O3composites showed relatively low capacity retention even after only 20 cycles (582mAh/g). In addition, HP-Fe–G also reveal superior rate capability, 887mAh/g at 1C; in comparison, this value was only 135mAh/g at 1C for G-Fe2O3.

The Eight-shot Pellet Injector (EPI) and Molecular Beam Injector (MBI) as new plasma fueling methods have been developed and installed on the HL-1M tokamak for fueling experiments. The main structures and characteristics of the fueling device and the typical fueling experimental results with EPI and the MBI are reported. In these experiments, typical responses of plasma in discharges with PI and MBI are the peaked density profile Qn= ne(0)/〈ne〉 of >1.65 for MBI and of 2 for PI. The improvement of confinement time τEis usually better than 10 to 30% of Gas Puffing (GP) discharge in the same operation condition. In addition, the penetration depth and deposition region of fueling particles, the variance of soft X-ray sawteeth, the rotation and flow of plasma in edge region as well as the photographing of ablation clouds with PI and MBI are compared and presented in this paper.

This paper describes the recent progress of the HL-2A project. HL-2A is the first tokamak with divertor in China. The main parameters of HL-2A are major radius, R = 1.64 m; minor radius, r = 0.38 m; toroidal field, Bt= 2.8 T; plasma current, Ip= 480 kA; and current flattop time, t = 2 to 5 s. Subjects related to the divertor, confinement, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities, heating and current drive, fueling, etc., will be investigated with HL-2A. Significant progress in the construction of the HL-2A tokamak has been achieved recently. This paper describes the development of major components and the installation of the machine. The commissioning of the HL-2A machine will begin in the middle of 2002. The HL-2A physics research program has been proposed and will emphasize the divertor, MHD instabilities, and confinement.

•One-step water bath at 40°C to grow self-supporting δ-MnO2electrodes.•446.6 F g–1at 1 A g–1and wide potential window of 0-1.3 V for the electrode.•47.2 Wh kg−1at 1150.0 W kg−1and good stability of 30000 cycles for the aqueous ASCs.

The shuttle effect of polysulfides in lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) leads to unsatisfactory electrochemical performance. Herein, hierarchical hollow carbon microtubes (CMTs) are simply prepared by carbonization of willow catkins and coated on a commercialized separator for high-performance LSBs. The CMTs-coated separator can inhibit the diffusion of polysulfides through physical and chemical adsorption, which alleviates the shuttle effect effectively. In addition, the CMTs interlayer acts as an upper current collector to provide continuous highways for electron and ion transport to enhance the utilization of active materials. As a result, the cells with a CMTs-coated separator exhibit a high discharge specific capacity of 800 mAh g–1after 100 cycles at 0.2 A g–1, which is higher than the capacity (554 mAh g–1) of the cell with the pristine separator. This work not only provides a green process to produce sustainable and low-cost hollow CMTs but also designs high-performance LSBs based on the obtained CMTs.

Nanostructured active materials with both high-capacity and high-rate capability have attracted considerable attention, but they remain a great challenge to be realized. Herein, we report a new route to fabricate a bicontinuous Cu/Li4Ti5O12scaffold that consists of Li4Ti5O12nanoparticles (LTO NPs) with highly exposed (111) facets and nanoporous Cu scaffolds, which enable simultaneous high-capacity and high-rate lithium storage. It is a ‘one stone, two birds’ strategy. When tested as the anode in lithium-ion batteries LIBs, Cu/LTO showed superior performance, such as a lifespan greater than 2000 cycles and an ultrafast charging time (<45 s). Notably, the ultrahigh capacity slightly larger than the theoretical value was also observed in Cu/LTO at low current density. Density functional theory calculations and detailed characterizations revealed that the highly exposed (111) facets on the edge are the reason for its unique storage mechanism (8a+16c), which is different from the transition between 8a and 16c in bulk LTO.