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In order to study the effect of supercritical carbon dioxide (ScCO2) on the mechanical properties of granite located in and near the core of the CO2-based enhanced geothermal system (EGS) region, fluid–rock interaction experiments were conducted at 210, 240 and 270 ℃. Three test conditions were used: (1) ScCO2 and dry granite; (2) ScCO2, water vapor and granite; and (3) ScCO2 and granite soaked in water for 24 h. The P-wave velocity, uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), and Young’s modulus of all ScCO2- treated granite samples and one untreated granite sample were obtained by carrying out the wave velocity tests and uniaxial compression tests. The wave velocity tests showed that the P-wave velocities of all ScCO2-treated granite samples were reduced compared to that of the untreated sample. The uniaxial compression test showed that the UCS and Young’s modulus were almost not affected. From the failure mode, it can be seen that the untreated granite more likely presented the brittle tensile failure, while the treated sample showed more likely shear failure. As the temperature increased, the failure mode became more and more close to shear failure. Experimental results showed that the ScCO2 induced slight damage to the granite under dry or a little water condition, causing a slight decrease in the brittleness, and a small increase in the plasticity. The P-wave velocity decreased slightly and the impact on the granite strength can be negligible. Therefore, the interaction of CO2–rock will not cause obvious effect on the mechanical properties of granite located in and near the core of the CO2–EGS region.

BackgroundBiological pathways that significantly contribute to sporadic Alzheimer's disease are largely unknown and cannot be observed directly. Cognitive symptoms appear only decades after the molecular disease onset, further complicating analyses. As a consequence, molecular research is often restricted to late-stage post-mortem studies of brain tissue. However, the disease process is expected to trigger numerous cellular signaling pathways and modulate the local and systemic environment, and resulting changes in secreted signaling molecules carry information about otherwise inaccessible pathological processes.ResultsTo access this information we probed relative levels of close to 600 secreted signaling proteins from patients' blood samples using antibody microarrays and mapped disease-specific molecular networks. Using these networks as seeds we then employed independent genome and transcriptome data sets to corroborate potential pathogenic pathways.ConclusionsWe identified Growth-Differentiation Factor (GDF) signaling as a novel Alzheimer's disease-relevant pathway supported by in vivo and in vitro follow-up experiments, demonstrating the existence of a highly informative link between cellular pathology and changes in circulatory signaling proteins.

This study proposes a bile duct stent based on indirect 3D printing technology. Four ratio materials were synthesized from lactic acid (LA) and glycolide (GA) monomers by melt polymerization: PLA, PLGA (70:30), PLGA (50:50), and PLGA (30:70). The four kinds of material powders were preliminarily degraded, and the appearance was observed with an optical microscope (OM) and a camera. The weight and appearance of the four materials changed significantly after four weeks of degradation, which met the conditions for materials to be degraded within 4–6 weeks. Among them, PLGA (50:50) lost the most—the weight dropped to 13.4%. A stent with an outer diameter of 10 mm and an inner diameter of 8 mm was successfully manufactured by indirect 3D printing technology, demonstrating the potential of our research. Then, the degradation experiment was carried out on a cylindrical stent with a diameter of 6 mm and a height of 3 mm. The weight loss of the sample was less than that of the powder degradation, and the weight loss of PLGA (50:50) was the largest—the weight dropped to 79.6%. The nano-indenter system measured the mechanical properties of materials. Finally, human liver cancer cells Hep-3B were used to conduct in vitro cytotoxicity tests on the scaffolds to test the biocompatibility of the materials. A bile duct stent meeting commercial size requirements has been developed, instilling confidence in the potential of our research for future medical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely recognized that quality and sustainable education is a key enabler for all the SDGs, and that affective education significantly enhances such education. However, while certain pedagogical approaches have been found to support the competencies and skills within Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), there is no tangible framework to facilitate ESD in classrooms. This paper introduces and demonstrates Values-based Education for Sustainable Development (VbESD): a comprehensive, replicable, and actionable pedagogical framework that explicitly and holistically fosters sustainability as an intrinsic value by using the principles of Values-based Education (VbE) in an ESD context. The VbESD framework presents eight pillars—modelling, Inner Curriculum, reflection, atmosphere and ethos, curriculum, leadership, ethical vocabulary, and sustainable school operations (MIRACLES)⁠—that holistically facilitate the development of intrinsic positive values into quality education for sustainable development. Using a deductive-inductive approach with two mixed-method surveys and 157 responses, VbESD was developed and validated with significant interest in, support for, and willingness to implement the framework. All surveyees responded neutrally or positively to valuing sustainability, believing it is important as an intrinsic value, incorporating sustainability into the educational system, and implementing the VbESD framework. This study proposes VbESD as a potential method for primary educational institutions and educators to nurture resilient, ethically intelligent change-leaders who can champion the social change needed for a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]