An innovative experimental apparatus for the analysis of natural gas hydrate cavitation erosion process using laser-induced cavitation.

Natural gas hydrates (NGHs) are an emerging source of clean energy distributed in the pores of soil sediments in deep seabed and permafrost zones with abundant reserves. Cavitation contains enormous energy, thus allowing radial cavitation jets to improve drilling and production rates of NGHs. This paper presents an experimental apparatus that was developed to synthesize NGHs and generate cavitation bubbles by laser for the analysis of the erosion rules of NGHs by cavitation in a reservoir environment. The apparatus consists of a working fluid injection and pressure control system, a temperature control and circulation system, a laser-induced cavitation system, a visual reaction vessel, and a data acquisition and measurement system. The laser-induced cavitation erosion on NGHs and multi-bubble interaction experiments can be conducted over temperatures and pressures in the range of 0-20 °C and 0-12 MPa, respectively, in a visualized reaction vessel. Hydrophones and high-speed photography were utilized for monitoring and analyzing the erosion process within the visualized reaction vessel. In addition, bubble groups of different components in various environments can also be tested in this apparatus to obtain the interaction characteristics under different conditions. This paper discusses the basic structure and principle of the apparatus and conducts a series of experiments to verify the effect of cavitation erosion on hydrate and the feasibility of using cavitation to increase production in hydrate exploitation.

Regulatory roles of microRNA163 in responses to stresses in Arabidopsis.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small regulatory RNAs that participate in various biological processes by silencing target genes. In Arabidopsis, microRNA163 (miR163) was found to be involved in seed germination, root development, and biotic resistance. However, the regulatory roles of miR163 remain unclear. In the current study, the mir163 mutant was investigated to comprehensively understand and characterize its functions in Arabidopsis. RNA-sequencing and Gene Ontology enrichment analyses revealed that miR163 might be involved in "response to stimulus" and "metabolic process". Interestingly, "response to stress", including heat, cold, and oxidative stress, was enriched under the subcategory of "response to stimulus". We observed that miR163 and PXMT were repressed and induced under heat stress, respectively. Furthermore, the study detected significant differences in seed germination rate, hypocotyl length, and survival rate, indicating a variation in the thermotolerance between WT and mir163 mutant. The results revealed that the mir163 mutant had a lesser degree of germination inhibition by heat treatment than WT. In addition, the mir163 mutant showed a better survival rate and longer hypocotyl length under heat treatment than the WT. The metabolomes of WT and mir163 mutant were further analyzed. The contents of benzene derivatives and flavonoids were affected by miR163, which could enhance plants' defense abilities. In conclusion, miR163/targets regulated the expression of stress-responsive genes and the accumulation of defense-related metabolites to alter stress tolerance.

Recent Progress in Nanomaterial-Based Biosensors and Theranostic Nanomedicine for Bladder Cancer.

Bladder cancer (BCa) is one of the most expensive and common malignancies in the urinary system due to its high progression and recurrence rate. Although there are various methods, including cystoscopy, biopsy, and cytology, that have become the standard diagnosis methods for BCa, their intrinsic invasive and inaccurate properties need to be overcome. The novel urine cancer biomarkers are assisted by nanomaterials-based biosensors, such as field-effect transistors (FETs) with high sensitivity and specificity, which may provide solutions to these problems. In addition, nanomaterials can be applied for the advancement of next-generation optical imaging techniques and the contrast agents of conventional techniques; for example, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the diagnosis of BCa. Regarding BCa therapy, nanocarriers, including mucoadhesive nanoparticles and other polymeric nanoparticles, successfully overcome the disadvantages of conventional intravesical instillation and improve the efficacy and safety of intravesical chemotherapy for BCa. Aside from chemotherapy, nanomedicine-based novel therapies, including photodynamic therapy (PDT), photothermal therapy (PTT), chemodynamic therapy (CDT), sonodynamic therapy (SDT), and combination therapy, have afforded us new ways to provide BC therapy and hope, which can be translated into the clinic. In addition, nanomotors and the nanomaterials-based solid tumor disassociation strategy provide new ideas for future research. Here, the advances in BCa diagnosis and therapy mentioned above are reviewed in this paper.

DFT-ReaxFF hybrid molecular dynamics investigation of the decomposition effects of localized high-concentration electrolyte in lithium metal batteries: LiFSI/DME/TFEO.

Due to its low electrochemical potential and high theoretical specific energy, lithium-metal batteries (LMBs) have been considered as a promising advanced energy storage system for portable applications such as electric vehicles (EVs). However, the uncontrolled growth of lithium dendrites during cycling has remained a challenge. By utilizing an inert solvent to "dilute" the high concentration electrolytes, the concept of localized high-concentration electrolytes (LHCEs) has recently been demostrated as an effective solution to enable the dendrite-free cycling of LMBs. In this work, we investigated the reactions of 2 M lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSI) in a mixture of dimethoxyethane (DME)/tris(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) orthoformate (TFEO) electrolyte at a Li metal anode. The SEI formation mechanism is investigated using a hybrid ab initio and reactive force field (HAIR) method. The 1n reactive HAIR trajectory reveals the important initial reduction reactions of LiFSI, TFEO, and DME. Particularly, both FSI anions and TFEO decompose quickly to release a considerable amount of F-, which leads to a LiF-rich SEI inorganic inner layer (IIL). Furthermore, TFEO produces a significant amount of unsaturated carbon products, such as thiophene, which can potentially increase the conductivity of SEI to increase the battery performance. Meanwhile, XPS analysis is utilized to further investigate the evolution of the atomic environment in SEI. Future designs of better electrolytes can be greatly aided by these results.