We reveal the microscopic vacancy trapping mechanism for H bubble formation in W based on firstprinciples calculations of the energetics of H-vacancy interaction and the kinetics of H segregation. Vacancy provides an isosurface of optimal charge density that induces collective H binding on its internal surface, a prerequisite for the formation of H 2 molecule and nucleation of H bubble inside the vacancy. The critical H density on the vacancy surface before the H 2 formation is found to be 10 19-10 20 H atoms per m 2. We believe that such mechanism is generally applicable for H bubble formation in metals and metal alloys.

We investigate the physical origin of H–He interaction in W in terms of optimal charge density by calculating the energetics and diffusion properties using a first-principles method. On the one hand, we show a strong attraction between H and He in W originated from the charge density redistribution due to the presence of He, driving H segregation towards He. This can block the permeation of H into deeper bulk and thus suppress H blistering. On the other hand, we demonstrate that He, rather than H, energetically prefers to occupy the vacancy centre due to its closed-shell structure, which can block H2 formation at the vacancy centre. This is because He causes a redistribution of charge density inside the vacancy to make it ‘not optimal’ for the formation of H2 molecules, which can be treated as a preliminary nucleation of the H bubbles. We thus propose that H retention and blistering in W can be suppressed by doping the noble gas elements.

We have investigated the dissolution, segregation and diffusion of hydrogen (H) in a tungsten (W) grain boundary (GB) using a first-principles method in order to understand the GB trapping mechanism of H. Optimal charge density plays an essential role in such a GB trapping mechanism. Dissolution and segregation of H are directly associated with the optimal charge density, which can be reflected by the H solution and segregation energy sequence for the different interstitial sites. To occupy the optimal-charge-density site, H can be easily trapped by the W GB with the solution and segregation energy of −0.23 eV and −1.11 eV, respectively. Kinetically, such a trapping is easier to realize due to the much lower diffusion barrier of 0.13–0.16 eV from the bulk to the GB in comparison with the segregation energy, suggesting that it is quite difficult for the trapped H to escape out of the GB. However, the GB can hold no more than 2 H atoms because the isosurface of optimal charge density almost disappears with the second H atom in, leading to the conclusion that H2 molecule and thus H bubble cannot form in the W GB. Taking into account the lower vacancy formation energy in the GB as compared with the bulk, we propose that the experimentally observed H bubble formation in the W GB should be via a vacancy trapping mechanism.

Peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) has been shown to influence energy metabolism. Hence, we explored a strategy to target PGC-1α expression to treat metabolic syndromes. We developed a high-throughput screening assay that uses the human PGC-1α promoter to drive expression of luciferase. The effects of lead compound stimulation on PGC-1α expression in muscle cells and hepatocytes were investigated in vitro and in vivo. A novel small molecule, ZLN005, led to changes in PGC-1α mRNA levels, glucose uptake, and fatty acid oxidation in L6 myotubes. Activation of AMP-activated protein kinase was involved in the induction of PGC-1α expression. In diabetic db/db mice, chronic administration of ZLN005 increased PGC-1α and downstream gene transcription in skeletal muscle, whereas hepatic PGC-1α and gluconeogenesis genes were reduced. ZLN005 increased fat oxidation and improved the glucose tolerance, pyruvate tolerance, and insulin sensitivity of diabetic db/db mice. Hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia also were ameliorated after treatment with ZLN005. Our results demonstrated that a novel small molecule selectively elevated the expression of PGC-1α in myotubes and skeletal muscle and exerted promising therapeutic effects for treating type 2 diabetes.

Tungsten (W) is considered to be one of the most promising plasma-facing materials (PFMs) for next-step fusion energy systems. However, as a PFM, W will be subjected to extremely high fluxes of low-energy hydrogen (H) isotopes, leading to retention of H isotopes and blistering in W, which will degrade the thermal and mechanical properties of W. Modelling and simulation are indispensable to understand the behaviour of H isotopes including dissolution, diffusion, accumulation and bubble formation, which can contribute directly to the design, preparation and application of W as a PFM under a fusion environment. This paper reviews the recent findings regarding the behaviour of H in W obtained via modelling and simulation at different scales.

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Clustering is an important technology that can divide data patterns into meaningful groups, but the number of groups is difficult to be determined. This paper proposes an automatic approach, which can determine the number of groups using silhouette coefficient and the sum of the squared error.The experiment conducted shows that the proposed approach can generally find the optimum number of clusters, and can cluster the data patterns effectively.