Sulfuric acid leaching of ball-milling activated FePO4 residue after lithium extraction from spent lithium iron phosphate cathode powder.

A mechanical-chemical process is proposed to recover the iron phosphate residue(IPR)of spent lithium iron phosphate(LFP)after lithium extraction. In this process, the IPR was pretreated by ball-milling and leached with the sulfuric acid solution. The results showed that, under the optimized ball-milling conditions (a mass ratio of the stainless-steel-ball to material to water of 2:1:2.5, a milling time of 20 min), the maximum particle size of IPR decreased from 34.265 um to 13.102 um, the specific surface increased from 11.41 m2/g to 13.74 m2/g, and the cell volume distortion rate could reach 0.331 %. Under the optimized leaching conditions (a temperature of 333 K, a concentrated acid-to-material ratio of 0.46 mL/g, a liquid-to-solid ratio of 5:1 mL/g, and a stirring speed of 600 rpm), the leaching efficiency of iron phosphate could reach 98 %. The kinetic study indicated that the leaching was controlled by diffusion and chemical reaction with the apparent activation energy of 29 kJ/mol. The dissolution-precipitation phase transition of IPR was also found at high temperatures. This study illustrates that such a mechanical-chemical process is an effective way to improve the leaching efficiency of IPR with a lower sulfuric acid dosage, which has great potential in industrial applications.

[Acupuncture combined with Jingtong granule for nerve-root type cervical spondylosis and its effects on IL-6、TNF-α、IL-1ß and hemorheological indexes].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical efficacy of acupuncture combined with Jingtong granule for nerve-root type cervical spondylosis and its effects on serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1ß) and hemorheological indexes. METHODS: A total of 114 patients with nerve-root type cervical spondylosis were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 57 cases in each group. The patients in both groups were treated with traction. The patients in the control group were treated with oral administration of Jingtong granule, 4 g each time, 3 times a day, while based on the treatment of control group, the patients in the observation group were treated with acupuncture at Dazhui (GV 14), Tianzhu (BL 10), Houxi (SI 3), cervical Jiaji (EX-B 2), Quchi (LI 11), Hegu (LI 4) and Waiguan (TE 5), once a day. Both groups were treated for 4 weeks. The simplified McGill pain questionnaire (MPQ), neck disability index (NDI), numbness score, levels of IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1ß in serum and hemorheological indexes were observed before and after treatment, and the clinical efficacy was compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The total effective rate was 91.2% (52/57) in the observation group, which was higher than 71.9% (41/57) in the control group (P<0.05). Compared before treatment, the scores of MPQ, NDI and numbness in the two groups were reduced after treatment (P<0.05). After treatment, the scores of MPQ, NDI and numbness in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1ß in the two groups were reduced (P<0.05), and those in the observation group were lower than the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the plasma viscosity, fibrinogen, low shear rate of whole blood viscosity and high shear rate of whole blood viscosity in the two groups were lower than before treatment (P<0.05), and those in the observation group were lower than the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture combined with Jingtong granule have significant clinical efficacy for nerve-root type cervical spondylosis, which could reduce the serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1ß and improve hemorheology.

Assessment of environmental risk for red mud storage facility in China: a case study in Shandong Province.

Red mud storage facility (RM-SF) pollution remains a serious problem in China mainly due to the RM's huge quantity, little recyclability, and high alkalinity. And, there is also a risk of dam failure because almost all RM-SFs are processed by damming. In order to address this challenge and improve the level of risk management, it is necessary to evaluate the environmental risk of RM-SFs systematically. So, this paper firstly designs a comprehensive evaluation index system with a three-level evaluation index in the terms of RM characteristics, RM-SF characteristics, ambient environment of RM-SF, the management of RM-SF, and the application aspect of RM by the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method. Then, a case of RM-SF from a typical alumina production enterprise is studied according to this system, as is assisted by several experts from different fields when determining the weights of all indicators. The results show that the risk of selected RM-SF primarily depends on the former factors, that is, RM and RM-SF characteristics, while the contributions of the other factors are quite smaller.

[Effect of diets with different fat levels on the body size and development of Lucilia sericata].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of diets with different fat levels on the body size and development of Lucilia sericata. METHODS: Under the constant temperature of 28 degrees C, the larvae were reared on the diets containing 0% (G0), 10% (G1), 30% (G3), 50% (G5) and 80% (G8) fat tissues (fat/muscle ratio), respectively. Length and weight of larvae and pupae were measured at 12 h interval since 16 h after eclosion. Length of inter-medial cross vein (m-m) of adult left wing was measured. 10 samples were collected in each group. The developmental duration time, mortality and sex ratios of adults were recorded. RESULTS: The mean maximal larval length [(13.3 +/- 1.2), (12.0 +/- 1.1), (10.2 +/- 0.9) and (8.8 +/- 0.8) mm, respectively] and mean maximal larval weight [(72.8 +/- 6.1), (62.2 +/- 5.7), (47.2 +/- 4.3), and (34.9 +/- 5.7) mg] in G1, G3, G5 and G8 groups were significantly less than that of the G0 group [(14.8 +/- 1.3) mm and (80.4 +/- 8.1) mg](P < 0.01). The body size of pupae and adults was also significantly less than that of G0 group (P < 0.01). The total duration time of G5 and G8 groups [(293.3 +/- 22.2) and (285.2 +/- 24.6) h] were significantly shorter than that of G0 group [(312.8 +/- 20.1)h] (P < 0.01). The mortality of larvae [(32.6 +/- 5.6)% and (44.3 +/- 7.7)%] and pupae [(28.6 +/- 5.5)% and (43.5 +/- 6.2)%] of G5 and G8 group were also significantly higher than that of G0 group [(5.7 +/- 3.3)% and (4.5 +/- 1.9)%] (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in sex ratio among the 5 groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The body size of larvae, pupae and adults of Lucilia sericata is smaller, the development time is shorter and mortality is higher when the food substrate contains more fat tissues.

[Electroacupuncture for post-stroke urinary incontinence: a multi-center randomized controlled study].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of electroacupuncture(EA) for apoplectic urinary incontinence. METHODS: Two hundred and four cases of apoplectic urinary incontinence were randomized into an EA group (136 cases) and an indwelling catheter group (68 cases). The EA was applied at Qugu (CV 2), Zhongji (CV 3), Shuidao (ST 28), Qihai (CV 6) and Guanyuan (CV 4), etc. in the EA group,5 times a week. Indwelling catheter was applied in the indwelling catheter group at intervals of 2-4 hours, and periodic bladder irrigation along with bladder rehabilitation training were also given. The efficacies were evaluated after 4 weeks of treatment. Before and after treatment, the urination diary (including the interval of urination, nocturia frequency, urination difficulty, urinary incontinence severity), bladder capacity, patients' satisfaction of the two groups were observed and the efficacy was evaluated. RESULTS: The total effective rate was 96.2% (125/130) in the EA group, which was apparently superior to 87.5% (56/64) in the indwelling catheter group (P < 0.05); except for nocturia frequency in the indwelling catheter group, the total score and the subitem score in the urination diary were all improved significantly after treatment in both groups (all P < 0.001), which were more obvious in the EA group (P < 0.001, P < 0.05); the patients' satisfaction and bladder capacity were all improved significantly after treatment in both groups (all P < 0.001), which were more obvious in the EA group (both P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The EA has an obvious effect for apoplectic urinary incontinence in urinary incontinence alleviation and bladder capacity increase, which has better efficacy than indwelling catheter therapy.

Synthesis, biological evaluation and molecular docking studies of resveratrol derivatives possessing curcumin moiety as potent antitubulin agents.

A series of resveratrol derivatives possessing curcumin moiety were synthesized and evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against three cancer cell lines including murine melanoma B16-F10, human hepatoma HepG2 and human lung carcinoma A549. Among them, compound C5 displayed the most potent in vitro antiproliferative activity against B16-F10 with IC(50) value of 0.71 µg/mL. Compound C5 also exhibited good tubulin polymerization inhibitory activity with IC(50) value of 1.45 µg/mL. Furthermore, docking simulation was carried out to position C5 into the tubulin-colchicine binding site to determine the probable binding mode.

[Research review on apoplectic urinary incontinence treated with acupuncture-moxibustion in recent 5 years].

The relevant documents of apoplectic urinary incontinence treated with acupuncture-moxibustion in recent 5 years have been collated and analyzed in aspect of current situation of acupuncture-moxibustion treatment, acupoint selection, manipulation and problems. The result indicates that the main therapy for this disease is acupuncture-moxibustion combined with electroacupuncture or other methods, and the acupuncture-moxibustion therapy is superior to the medicine. The clinical research has made considerable progress and the great importance has been attached to the research method. The main problems are low credibility of total quality, inconsistent curative course, incomplete case of illness, missing of quality control, disordered standards of clinical diagnosis and curative effect evaluation, varied observation index and phatic discussion of mechanism. It is suggested to carry on scientific research, enhance research lever, expand mind, innovate ideas, and establish uniformed standards of diagnosis and curative effect evaluation and observation index.

[Qualitative and quantitative analysis of various elements in chromite ore by ICP-AES].

Kind of the elements in chromite ore was firstly determined by ICP-AES. Twenty nine elements, such as Cr, Fe, Al, Mg, Zn, Ca and Ni, were contained in the chromite sample based on the qualitative analysis. Then the contents of main elements Cr, Fe, Al, Mg, Ca, T, Si, Mn and V were measured. The chromite samples processing procedures have two steps, the first is decomposition by nitrate carbonate and sodium tetraborate at 950 degrees C for 30 min, then leaching by dilute hydrochloric acid at 80 degrees C for 10 min. The method showed satisfactory precision and accuracy with the RSDs between 0.48% and 2.05% and the recovery rates between 90.5% and 111.3%.

[Analysis of metallic elements in refractory tantalum-niobium slag by ICP-AES].

A new method for analysing the contents of many metalic elements, such as Ta, Nb, Sn, Ti, W, Fe, Mn, Al, Pb, Ce, Y, Sc, Pr, Sm, Nd, U, Th etc, in refractory tantalum-niobium slag by ICP-AES was developed. The samples processing procedures involve two steps, being first decomposed by potassium carbonate and boric acid at 950 degrees C for 15 min, then leached by hydrochloride and tartaric acid at 90 degrees C for 30 min. The interference of flux and tin matrix in analyzing the other elements was eliminated by the utilization of matrix matching method. This method showed satisfactory precision and accuracy with the RSDs between 0.27% and 5.48% and the recovery rates between 94.0% and 109.6%. The analysis results indicated that highly valuable metals of Sn, Ta, Nb, Ti, W and Ce are rich in the refractory tantalum-niobium slag, showing that it has the great potential for comprehensive utilization. However, the analysis result also showed that the slag is a radioactive pollution source due to a small amount of U and Th. This method is simple and fast, and has the advantage of analyzing many elements simultaneously. The accurate analytic results provided a basis for the future researches on the comprehensive utilization of refractory tantalum-niobium slag.

[Spectroscopy research on synthesis of new desilication reagent-calcium hydroferrocarbonate].

For removing silica from high concentration medium after digestion of the diasporic bauxite by sub-molten salt, the research used calcium hydroferrocarbonate with the new desilication reagent. In the reaction, calcium carbonate, calcium hydroxide and calcium ferrite were by-product, therefore the reaction factors showed significant influence on the synthesis and disilicating efficiency. To explore the synthesis mechanism and optimize the reaction factors, the composition of the intermediate obtained from the synthesis reaction was investigated through the combination of FTIR, ICP-AES and desilication reaction. The FTIR and desilication reaction results revealed that calcium hydroferrocarbonate is metastable compound in solution, and the reaction temperature and reaction time have significant influence on the systhesis. With the temperature and reaction time increasing, the content of calcium hydroferrocarbonate in the composition first increased and then reduced. The optimal factors were: temperature of 30 degrees C, reaction time of 16 hours, the liquid to solid mass ratio of 20 and rpm of 500 r x min(-1). The crystal structure of calcium hydroferrocarbonate was investigated, and was found to be rhombohedral, including H2O bond, -OH bond and Fe-O bond.

A green process to prepare chromic oxide green pigment.

A hydrogen reduction and activated sintering process was proposed to prepare chromic oxide green pigment. Through ICP, XRD, SEM, FT-IR, UV, and CIE-L*a*b* colorimetric analysis, key factors and mechanism that influenced preparation of chromic oxide green pigment were studied. The results revealed that lower hydrogen reduction temperature, suitable addition of Al and Ba, were beneficial to obtaining the high quality chromic oxide green pigment. Typically, when the hydrogen reduction temperature was kept at 450-500 degrees C, physicochemical properties and color performance of the prepared chromic oxide green pigment doped with about 0.1-0.2 wt % Al and 0.2-0.5 wt % Ba conformed to commercial pigment standards. Additionally, characteristics of the green process were discussed. About 90 wt % KOH was reused directly and about 90 wt % Cr(VI) was conversed to Cr(III) directly from potassium chromate to chromic oxide green pigment. Integrating the proprietary green metallurgical process from chromite ore to potassium chromate of this laboratory, more than 99 wt % Cr(VI) could be conversed to Cr(III) compounds and about 99 wt % KOH could be recycled to use. The whole green process, ranging from chromite ore to chromic oxide green pigment, eventually not only provided the possibility for producing the high quality chromic oxide green pigment, but could reach comprehensive utilization of resources, inner recycle of KOH, and zero emission of Cr(VI).

[Clinical observation on acupuncture for treatment of infertility of ovulatory disturbance].

OBJECTIVE: To probe into clinical therapeutic effect of acupuncture on infertility of ovulatory disturbance and the mechanism. METHODS: The patients were randomly divided into an acup-moxibustion group and a medication group in the order of visiting, 60 cases in each group. The acup-moxibustion group were treated with acupuncture at Zhongji (CV 3), Guanyuan (CV 4), Zigong (EX-CA 1), Zusanli (ST 36), Sanyinjiao (SP 6) and suspended moxibustion over Shenque (CV 8), Sanyinjiao (SP 6), and the medication group with oral administration of 50 mg Clomiphene. After treatment for 3 menstrual cycles, pregnancy rate, basal body temperature, B-ultrasonic examination and ovulation were assessed. RESULTS: Acup-moxibustion and oral administration of Clomiphene had higher ovulating effect, with no significant difference between them (P > 0.05); the pregnancy rate in the acup-moxibustion group was significantly higher than that in the medication group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Acup-moxibustion and Clomiphene have a same ovulating effect, and the pregnancy rate is higher and the abortion rate is lower for the patient of acup-moxibustion treatment than that for oral administration of Clomiphene.