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Background: Metals have been linked to a diverse spectrum of age-related diseases; however, the effects of metal exposure on health span remains largely unknown. This cohort study aims to determine the association between plasma metal and health span in elder adults aged ≥ 90 years., Methods: The plasma concentrations of seven metals were measured at baseline in 300 elder adults. The end of the health span (EHS) was identified as the occurrence of one of eight major morbidities or mortality events. We used Cox regression to assess hazard ratios (HR). The combined effects of multiple metal mixtures were estimated using grouped-weighted quantile sum (GWQS), quantile g-computation (Q-gcomp), and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) methods., Results: The estimated HR for EHS with an inter-quartile range (IQR) increment for selenium (Se) was 0.826 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.737-0.926); magnesium (Mg), 0.806 (95% CI: 0.691-0.941); iron (Fe), 0.756 (95% CI: 0.623-0.917), and copper (Cu), 0.856 (95% CI: 0.750-0.976). The P for trend of Se, Mg, and Fe were all < 0.05. In the mixture analyses, Q-gcomp showed a negative correlation with EHS (P = 0.904), with the sum of the negative coefficients being -0.211., Conclusion: Higher plasma Se, Mg, and Fe reduced the risk of premature end of health span, suggesting that essential metal elements played a role in health maintenance in elder adults., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Sodium metal batteries are promising next‐generation energy storage technology by using energy‐dense and affordable Na metal anodes, yet suffering uncontrollable Na dendritic growth issues. Herein, Au nanoparticle@hollow amorphous carbon tube yolk/shell arrays (Au/HCT‐CC) is rationally designed on carbon cloth as a dynamic host. In situ transmission electron microscopy observations reveal a regulated dendrite‐free Na metal plating/stripping within the Au/HCT‐CC host. The self‐confinement of Na metal deposition in the hollow carbon can further stabilize the electrolyte/electrode interface and homogenize Na ion flux, as evidenced by rigorous experimental and theoretical characterizations, thus successfully accommodating the hurdles to Na metal anodes. When cycling in half cells, the Au/HCT‐CC electrodes deliver remarkably high coulombic efficiencies (CEs) of 99.96% over 2200 h at 5 mA cm−2. The high CE of 99.54% is preserved even under harsh cycling conditions of 10 mA cm−2 and 20 mAh cm−2 for 250 cycles. These values rival the state‐of‐the‐art electrochemical performance for Na metal anodes in literature. Finally, the practical feasibility of the new anode is demonstrated by cycling in Na3V2(PO4)3@C||Na‐Au/HCT‐CC full cells over 900 cycles with an extremely low capacity degradation rate of 0.017% per cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cold metal transfer (CMT) was used to obtain the UNS S32205 Duplex Stainless Steel (DSS) small-bore thin-walled (SBTW) tubes butt joint to study the mechanical and corrosion properties sensitivity of welded joint in low heat input. With the increase in welding heat input, the Widmanstätten-like austenite (WA) becomes thicker and longer while part of them transform into massive austenite. In addition, the two-phase alloying elements gradually tend to be homogenized. The tensile strength of UNS S32205 DSS butt welded joints are above 840 MPa and progressively decreased with increasing the welding heat input. The microhardness of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) is the highest, followed by the weld zone (WZ) and base metal (BM). Welding heat input has a particular effect on the corrosion resistance of welded joints, and the pitting and electrochemical corrosion resistance are slightly weaker than BM. In the test process range, the corrosion resistance of the welded joint is the best under the 1.81kJ/cm heat input. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this brief, we present an ultracompact physical unclonable function (PUF) based on the resistive random access memory (RRAM) with the in-cell salicide-blocked (SAB) contact. Different from most previously reported RRAM PUFs with only the RRAM cell’s high-resistance state (HRS) utilized as the static entropy, its low-resistance state (LRS) is enabled with the proposed SAB contact resistance as a novel entropy source. Concretely, by adding a photolithography mask of “SAB” that widely exists in standard CMOS process to the source/drain contact of the mainstream one-transistor-one-resistor (1T1R) RRAM cell’s access transistor, an SAB contact featuring large resistance stochasticity can be formed with zero design overhead of silicon area. With the SAB contact resistance connected in series, both HRS and LRS can be well-exploited to generate much more challenge–response pairs (CRPs), leading to significantly extended CRP space. In addition, the proposed RRAM PUF with in-cell SAB contact is validated using 0.18-μm standard CMOS process plus postprocessing steps for RRAM devices, and the normalized bitcell area is reported to be 77 F2/bit. By varying the operating temperature from −50 °C to 150 °C, the worst case bit error rate (BER) is measured to be 0.13% at 150 °C. Moreover, the excellent randomness of the proposed implementation is verified by passing both the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) test and the autocorrelation function (ACF) test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design and construction of stable adsorbents for efficient separation and purification of natural gas and C2H2 is fundamentally important in the chemical industry, and hierarchical cage-based MOFs are attractive in this regard due to their intrinsic structural advantages. In this work, a cage-based MOF (termed ZJNU-15) assembled from a tetranuclear Cu4O-based SBU and an amine-functionalized N,O-mixed donor ligand was solvothermally constructed. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies showed that the resulting MOF incorporates two different types of polyhedral cages in the entire network and bears incompatible open copper sites and uncoordinated amine groups immobilized in the pore surface. In view of its intriguing structural features, its gas adsorption properties with respect to C2 hydrocarbons, CO2, and CH4 were systematically investigated, revealing that it could achieve efficient removal of C2 hydrocarbons and CO2 from CH4 as well as separation of a binary C2H2–CO2 mixed gas, which is associated with natural gas and C2H2 separation and purification. At 298 K and 1 atm, for equimolar binary components, the IAST-predicted adsorption selectivities for C2 hydrocarbons over CH4 are above 17.7, while the CO2/CH4 and C2H2/CO2 adsorption selectivities are 5.0 and 4.4, respectively. Notably, stability studies showed that the framework maintained its structural integrity after being immersed in HCl/NaOH aqueous solutions within a pH range of 4–11 at ambient temperature for 24 h, indicating its good hydrolytic stability under harsh chemical conditions, which might lay a solid foundation for its practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work focused on the potential effects of different metals (Co/Al/Ni/Ce) on the chemical looping performance of brownmillerite-structured Ca 2 Fe 2 O 5 for syngas and hydrogen production. Oxygen carriers (OC) were prepared by the sol-gel method. The presence of NiO and CeO 2 phases in fresh Ca 2 Fe 2 O 5 samples indicated that Ni and Ce were not fully doped into the brownmillerite structure. The oxides of Al and Co were not detected in the fresh Ca 2 Fe 2 O 5 sample, indicating that the Al and Co were doped into the brownmillerite structure. The introduction of Ni and Co decreased the reduction temperature and increased the reduction rate of OC. However, the increase in reactivity with Ni-modified OC is mainly due to the high reactivity of the NiO phase. The presence of Al and Ce inhibited the reduction of Ca 2 Fe 2 O 5 and decreased the oxygen transport capacity, which is beneficial for syngas production but leads to a lower H 2 production in the steam reactor (SR). The Co-modified Ca 2 Fe 2 O 5 exhibited better resistance to carbon deposition and increased the H 2 production in SR. When the ratio of Ca:Fe:Co equals 2:1.5:0.5, the formation of Ca 2 Co 0.5 Fe 1.5 O 5 exhibited the highest hydrogen yield and purity of 10.92 mmol/g OC and 99.32%, respectively. In addition, the Ca 2 Co 0.5 Fe 1.5 O 5 showed almost stable reactivity over the 5 reaction cycles. • The reactivity of Ca 2 Fe 2 O 5 with Co/Al/Ni/Ce doping in biomass CLG-WS was studied. • Ni and Ce cannot fully dope into brownmillerite-structure of Ca 2 Fe 2 O 5. • Ca 2 Al 0.5 Fe 1.5 O 5 showed the highest syngas selectivity and lowest hydrogen yield. • Co-doping Ca 2 Fe 2 O 5 enhance lattice oxygen release and inhibit carbon deposition. • Ca 2 Co 0.5 Fe 1.5 O 5 showed the greatest reactivity in CLG-WS for H 2 production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the high electrochemical reactivity and infinite volume expansion of lithium metal anode, the uncontrollable lithium dendrite growth drags the lithium metal anode out of the real application for a long time. Herein, a heterogeneous seed layer of Au nanoparticles (NPs) is uniformly deposited on the 3D porous vertical graphene nanosheets on carbon cloth (Au-VG/CC) to construct a lithiophilic surface, achieving a smooth and dendrite-free morphology. As a result, Au-VG/CC electrode delivers a small voltage hysteresis of 67.2 mV and a long cycling life of more than 500 h at a high current density of 5 mA cm−2 with 5 mAh cm−2. Results of XRD and in-situ transmission electron microscopy indicate that the formed lithiophilic layer is Li 3 Au which can guide the lithium deposition. Moreover, a full battery assembled with Li@Au-VG/CC as the anode and LiFePO 4 as the cathode delivers 77.3 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1 after 200 cycles. Porous 3D Au-VG/CC nanostructure was designed and further adopted as the stable host of lithium metal anodes. Confirmed by the in-situ TEM characterization, the lithiophilicity is originated from the formed Li 3 Au alloy which can guide Li deposition with reduced nucleation overpotential, enabling a dendrite free deposition morphology and long cycle stability. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design and construction of stable adsorbents for efficient separation and purification of natural gas and C2H2 is fundamentally important in the chemical industry, and hierarchical cage-based MOFs are attractive in this regard due to their intrinsic structural advantages. In this work, a cage-based MOF (termed ZJNU-15) assembled from a tetranuclear Cu4O-based SBU and an amine-functionalized N,O-mixed donor ligand was solvothermally constructed. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies showed that the resulting MOF incorporates two different types of polyhedral cages in the entire network and bears incompatible open copper sites and uncoordinated amine groups immobilized in the pore surface. In view of its intriguing structural features, its gas adsorption properties with respect to C2 hydrocarbons, CO2, and CH4 were systematically investigated, revealing that it could achieve efficient removal of C2 hydrocarbons and CO2 from CH4 as well as separation of a binary C2H2–CO2 mixed gas, which is associated with natural gas and C2H2 separation and purification. At 298 K and 1 atm, for equimolar binary components, the IAST-predicted adsorption selectivities for C2 hydrocarbons over CH4 are above 17.7, while the CO2/CH4 and C2H2/CO2 adsorption selectivities are 5.0 and 4.4, respectively. Notably, stability studies showed that the framework maintained its structural integrity after being immersed in HCl/NaOH aqueous solutions within a pH range of 4–11 at ambient temperature for 24 h, indicating its good hydrolytic stability under harsh chemical conditions, which might lay a solid foundation for its practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new method was developed to remove proteins and pigments from polysaccharide. • The proposed chelating resin method is environmentally friendly. • The method is suitable for purifying polysaccharides of Typha angustifolia. • The new method is expected to replace the Sevag method for deproteinization. This study developed an environmentally friendly method for the deproteinization and decolorization of polysaccharide (PTA) from Typha angustifolia using a metal ion-chelating resin. Based on single-factor experiments, the optimal adsorption parameters of the developed method were determined as follows: a concentration of crude polysaccharide of 1.5 mg/mL; an adsorption time of 30 min; an initial pH of 7.0; an adsorption temperature of 30 °C; a flow rate of 1.5 BV/h; a diameter-to-height ratio of the resin column of 1:15. Under these optimal conditions, the proposed method exhibited a higher deproteinization ratio, decolorization ratio, recovery ratio and comprehensive adsorption effect index compared to the commonly used Sevag method. No significant differences in the monosaccharide composition, characteristic functional groups and molecular weight of PTA were observed between the proposed method and the Sevag method. Moreover, the proposed chelating resin method does not consume any toxic organic reagents. The results suggest that this method is promising for the deproteinization and decolorization of PTA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodiophilic Au nanoparticles on CNT/CC can effectively reduce the sodium metal nucleation overpotential and guide the sodium metal deposition. Sodium metal is uniformly deposited into Au-CNT/CC hosts investigated by in-situ optical microscopy and the simulation results. [Display omitted] Na metal anode has attracted increasing attentions as the anode of sodium ion batteries (SIBs) due to its high theoretical capacity, low redox potential and high abundance. However, the formation of uncontrollable Na dendrite during repeated plating/stripping cycles hinders its further development and application. Herein, a sodiophilic Na metal anode host is developed by sputtering gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) into interconnected carbon nanotube modified carbon cloth (CNT/CC) to form a Au-CNT/CC architecture. Sodiophilic Au NPs effectively guide the Na metal uniform deposition and three-dimensional (3D) microporous structure offers a large surface area for nucleation and reducing the current densities. The regulated uniform Na metal deposition mechanism is investigated by the in-situ optical microscopy and simulation analysis. As a result, Au-CNT/CC electrode exhibits a low nucleation overpotential (2.2 mV) and stable cycle performance for 1600 h at 1 mA cm−2 with 2 mAh cm−2. Moreover, it even exhibits a long cycle stability for more than 800 h at 5 mA cm−2 with 2 mAh cm−2. To explore its application, a full cell coupled with a sodium vanadium phosphate coated with carbon layer (NVP@C) cathode is assembled and delivers an average discharge capacity of 80.6 mAh g−1 and coulombic efficiency of 99.6% for 400 cycles at 100 mAh g−1. Furthermore, a flexible pouch cell with Na@Au-CNT/CC as the anode is fabricated and demonstrated good flexibility and future application of wearable electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the large specific capacity and low electrochemical potential, lithium metal anodes have attracted much attentions. However, owing to lithium metal's high reactivity and infinite volume change, the lithium dendrite formation is uncontrollable and even causes serious safety concerns. In this work, three-dimensional (3D) carbon nanotubes-foam graphene (CNT-GF) nanostuctures were synthesized using a chemical vapor deposition approach, followed by sputtering Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) onto CNT-GF surface to prepare Au/CNT-GF hierarchical structure. The lithium metal deposition behavior onto Au/CNT-GF was investigated by in-situ optical microscope characterization, and the current density distribution over the Au/CNT-GF electrode surface was explored by simulation. The electrochemical meaurements show that Au/CNT-GF exhibits excellent performance, including long cycle stability with high Coulombic efficiency (CE). For example, Au/CNT-GF electrode can cycle stably for more than 1100 h with a CE of higher than 99% when evaluated at a current density of 1 mA cm−2 with a capacity of 1 mAh cm−2. It can even stably cycle more than 300 cycles at a high current density of 5 mA cm−2 with 1 mAh cm−2. The results show that the improvement of electrochemical performance is attributed to the 3D structure with large specific surface area and the lithiophilic interface constructed by Au NPs. Finally, a full cell with LiFePO 4 (LFP) as cathode and Li@Au/CNT-GF as anode is assembled. After 500 cycles at 100 mA g−1, the full cell can deliver a capacity of 105.8 mAh g−1 with a high capacity retention of 92%. • Lithiophilic Au NPs guide Li metal uniformly deposited on Au/CNT-GF without dendrite formation. • The uniform Li metal deposition behavior is investigated by the in-situ optical microscopy. • Li@Au/CNT-GF anode can be stably cycled for more than 1100 h with a high CE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium metal is one of the most promising anodes for sodium ion batteries (SIBs) owing to its high theoretical capacity, low redox potential, abundant content and low price. However, due to the high reactivity and infinite volume change of sodium metal, unstable SEI film and dendrite are formed during the repeated plating and stripping process, leading to low Coulombic efficiency (CE) and inferior cycle stability, even serious safety issue. Herein, linear shaped sodiophilic N-doped hollow carbon tubes (NCTs) were designed and constructed as stable sodium metal hosts. The plating and stripping behavior of sodium metal in NCT is investigated by in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that sodium metal is preferentially nucleated and deposited in the tube, and then could be completely stripped off from the tube. Moreover, Na@NCTs anode can be stably cycled for more than 800 h with a high CE of 98.53% at a current density of 1 mA cm−2 and a capacity of 1 mAh cm−2. The analysis result indicates that the improved electrochemical performance can be attributed to the special designed nitrogen functional groups tuned sodiophilic surface with enhanced fast surface kinetics and the hollow carbon tube structure. Finally, a full cell with NVP@C and Na@NCTs as the cathode and anode, respectively, was assembled and delivered a capacity of 81.46 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 100 mA g−1. Our results demonstrate that NCT is a promising candidate as a sodium metal host for future generation of sodium metal batteries. • The linear shaped sodiophilic NCT is synthesized by a template assistant method. • In-situ TEM results show that sodium metal is preferentially nucleated and deposited in the tube. • Na@NCTs anode can be stably cycled for more than 800 h with a high CE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a nanocomposite composed of gold nanoparticles (NPs) supported by reduced graphene oxide (Au/rGO) is designed and synthesized via a simple chemical bath reaction method at room temperature followed by post annealing treatment. Au/rGO is further employed as the host of sodium metal anode with a dendrite free morphology, demonstrated by ex-situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and in-situ optical microscopy characterization. As a result, Au/rGO electrode exhibits a small overpotential of 3.5 mV at a current density of 2 mA cm−2 with a specific capacity of 2 mAh cm−2. Meanwhile, it can stably cycle for 400 h at a high current density of 5 mA cm−2 with an areal capacity of 1 mAh cm−2. Detailed studies indicate that the excellent electrochemical performance is mainly owing to the sodiophilic surface enabled by Au NPs, guiding the Na metal uniform deposition, thus effectively inhibiting the sodium dendrite formation. Finally, as a proof of concept, a full battery composed of Na@Au/rGO as the anode and Na 3 V 2 (PO 4) 3 @C as the cathode is assembled and delivers a capacity of 93.9 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1 after 180 cycles. Our work proves that Au/rGO is a promising host for sodium metal anode. • Au/rGO nanostructures were synthesized and used as the host of Na metal anode. • Sodiophilic Au NPs guide Na deposition and reduce nucleation overpotential. • Dendrite free morphology is achieved in Na@Au/rGO anode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]