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With the increasing of bone diseases, bone substitute biomaterials have been urgently needed and recognized as effective therapeutic strategies for bone regeneration. However, the improper mechanical properties, uncontrolled curing time, and exothermic heat limited their clinical applications. Herein, a facile prepared injectable bone cement consisting of poly(methyl methacrylate), hydroxyapatite, curcumin, oxidized sodium alginate, and polyethylenimine is constructed. By taking advantage of the acid‐ and H2O2‐responsive covalent bonds, the resultant bone cement not only possessed superior compressive strength (>70 MPa), bending strength (>50 MPa), suitable curing time (9–14 min), and low exothermic heat (<42 oC), but also can release the drugs under the trigger of osteomyelitis microenvironment. Both at the cellular level and rat osteomyelitis models, the prepared bone cement exhibited excellent biocompatibility (cell survival rate: >97%; hemolysis ratio: <1.8%), anti‐bacterial (the lowest bacterial survival rate: ≈1.7%), anti‐inflammatory (the expressions of iNOS, CD86, TNF‐α, IL‐1β, and IL‐6 are significantly inhibited) and the ability to promote bone regeneration (proliferation of osteoblasts and inhibition of osteoclasts). It is believed that this work will provide a bioactive organic/inorganic composite material for bone tissue engineering, the distinctive human‐friendly low exothermic heat, and advantages of prodrug technique incorporated multi‐function integration endow them potential clinical application prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To mitigate global warming, phasing out coal in the global energy system orderly and rapidly is an important near-term strategy. However, the majority of coal-fired plants in China have operated for less than 15 years. Accelerated coal power plant retirements would lead to substantial asset stranding. Coal-to-nuclear (C2N) technology offers a potential solution by replacing coal boilers in existing coal-fired plants with nuclear reactors. In this study, the G4-ECONS model was used to assess the economics of repowering a 600 MW supercritical coal-fired power plant with two 272 MWe high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. The timeline for the C2N project and the additional cost of dispatching electricity from the grid during retrofitting were discussed. Results showed that the C2N total capitalized costs are 19.4% (baseline estimate, USD 5297.6/kW) and 11.1% (conservative estimate, USD 5847.2/kW) lower than the greenfield project (USD 6576.5/kW), respectively. And C2N projects need to reduce LUEC by at least 20% to become competitive. This study can inform engineering design decisions leading to more precise and cost-effective C2N projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conversion of coal-fired power plants to nuclear power stations is a potential method for decarbonizing coal power and offers a pathway for low-carbon development in China's power industry. This paper focuses on retrofitting China's coastal coal-fired power stations and compares the potential nuclear reactor technologies for the retrofit: China's mainstream pressurized water reactor and the commercially operated fourth-generation high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR). The analysis compares the degree of matching between the two technologies and coal-fired power stations in terms of unit capacity, thermal system parameters, unit speed, structural dimensions, and weight, which significantly impact the retrofit scheme. The results indicate that HTGR is more compatible with coal-fired power plants and is recommended as the type of nuclear reactor technology to be retrofitted. The study selected the 210 MWe High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Pebble-Bed Module (HTR-PM) as the reactor technology for retrofitting a typical 300 MW class subcritical coal-fired unit. Based on the concept of subcritical parameters upgrading, the potential analysis and strategy study of retrofit is carried out in terms of the turbine, the main heat exchange equipment, the main pumps, and the main thermal system pipelines in the conventional island. The results indicate that the conventional island of the HTR-PM nuclear power plant has significant potential for retrofitting, which can be a crucial research direction for nuclear retrofitting of coal-fired power plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a comprehensive computational study of the impact of solvation on the reduction reaction of CO2 to formic acid (HCOOH) and carbon monoxide on Pb(100) and Ag(100) surfaces is presented. Results further the understanding of how solvation phenomena influence the adsorption energies of reaction intermediates. We applied an explicit solvation scheme harnessing a combined density functional theory (DFT)/microkinetic modeling approach for the CO2 reduction reaction. This approach reveals high selectivities for CO formation at Ag and HCOOH formation on Pb, resolving the prior disparity between ab initio calculations and experimental observations. Furthermore, the detailed analysis of adsorption energies of relevant reaction intermediates shows that the total number of hydrogen bonds formed by HCOO plays a primary role for the adsorption strength of intermediates and the electrocatalytic activity. Results emphasize the importance of explicit solvation for adsorption and electrochemical reaction phenomena on metal surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]