The effect of Cr­(VI) and bisphenol A (BPA) on U­(VI) photoreduction by C3N4 photocatalyst was demonstrated by the batch experiments, electron spin resonance (ESR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES), and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) techniques. The batch experiments manifested that Cr­(VI) and BPA enhanced the photocatalytic activity of C3N4 for U­(VI) photoreduction, whereas U­(VI) photoreduction was significantly diminished with increased pH from 4.0 to 8.0. According to radical scavengers and ESR analysis, U­(VI) was photoreduced to U­(IV) by photogenerated electrons of conduction band edge, whereas Cr­(VI) was reduced to Cr­(III) by H2O2. BPA and its products such as organic acid and alcohols can capture photoinduced holes, which resulted in the enhancement of U­(VI) photoreduction to U­(IV). XPS and XANES analyses demonstrated that U­(VI) was gradually photoreduced to U­(IV) by C3N4 within irradiation 60 min, whereas U­(IV) was reoxidized to U­(VI) with increasing irradiation time. EXAFS analysis determined that the dominant interaction mechanisms of U­(VI) on C3N4 after irradiation for 240 min were reductive precipitation and inner-sphere surface complexation. This work highlights the synergistic removal of radionuclides, heavy metals, and persistent organic pollutants by C3N4, which is crucial for the design and application of a high-performance photocatalyst in actual environmental cleanup.

Sustained mitigation and/or suppression of the type-I edge localized modes (ELMs) have been achieved in EAST H-mode plasmas, utilizing the resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) fields, produced by two rows of magnetic coils located just inside the vacuum vessel. Systematic toroidal modelling of the plasma response to these RMP fields, with various coil configurations (with dominant toroidal mode number n=1, 2, 3, 4) in EAST, is for the first time carried out by using the MARS-F code [Liu Y et al 2000 Phys. Plasmas 7 3681], with results reported here. In particular, the plasma response is computed with varying coil phasing (the toroidal phase difference of the coil currents) between the upper and lower rows of coils, from 0 to 360 degrees. Four figures of merit, constructed based on the MARS-F computations, are used to determine the optimal coil phasing. The modelled results, taking into account the 2 plasma response, agree well with the experimental observations in terms of the coil phasing, for both the mitigated and the suppressed ELM cases in EAST experiments.This study provides a crucial confirmation of the role of the plasma edge peeling response in the ELM control, complementing similar studies carried out for other tokamak devices.

With the rapid development of industry, heavy metal pollution has become a potential hazard to public health and the ecological system. Herein, molybdenum disulfide coated Mg/Al layered double hydroxide composites (LDHs@MoS2) were prepared via a simple hydrothermal method and applied for the adsorption of Cr­(VI) from a water solution. The removal capacity of Cr­(VI) on LDHs@MoS2 reached 76.3 mg/g at pH = 5.0, and the removal process relied on ionic strength and pH. The results confirmed that the uptake of Cr­(VI) on LDHs@MoS2 followed a spontaneous endothermic process. In contrast to the LDHs, LDHs@MoS2 showed excellent chemical stability, which was beneficial for practical applications. Specifically, the coexisting ions had little influence on the uptake of Cr­(VI). The interaction of Cr­(VI) with the LDHs@MoS2 composites was mainly controlled by electrostatic attraction and outer-sphere surface complexation. The findings can provide new insights into the uptake of heavy metal ions in a natural aquatic environment pollution cleanup.

Intrinsic error field on EAST is measured using the ‘compass scan’ technique with different n  =  1 magnetic perturbation coil configurations in ohmically heated discharges. The intrinsic error field measured using a non-resonant dominated spectrum with even connection of the upper and lower resonant magnetic perturbation coils is of the order b r 2 , 1 / B T ≃ 10 − 5 and the toroidal phase of intrinsic error field is around 60 ° . A clear difference between the results using the two coil configurations, resonant and non-resonant dominated spectra, is observed. The ‘resonant’ and ‘non-resonant’ terminology is based on vacuum modeling. The penetration thresholds of the non-resonant dominated cases are much smaller than that of the resonant cases. The difference of penetration thresholds between the resonant and non-resonant cases is reduced by plasma response modeling using the MARS-F code.

Metabolic reprogramming, especially Warburg effect, is a key event in tumor initiation and progression. ZEB1 plays a vital role in metastasis of various cancers. We previously found that ZEB1 was excessively expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its high expression was closely correlated with metastasis and recurrence of HCC. We want to know whether glycolytic enzymes are regulated by ZEB1 and contribute to carcinogenesis and metastasis of HCC. Methods: To explore whether ZEB1 could enhance glycolysis in HCC, we knocked down ZEB1 by short hairpin RNA (shRNA) in MHCC-97H and HCC-LM3 cells and performed glucose uptake, lactate production, ECAR and OCR assays. To investigate how ZEB1 enhances glycolysis, the protein levels of glycolytic enzymes were detected in the same cell lines using Western blot. The regulatory effect of ZEB1 on PFKM mRNA level was confirmed by RT-qPCR, luciferase report assay and ChIP assay. In order to assess the role of ZEB1-PFKM axis in cell proliferation, cell counting and CCK-8 assays were performed in MHCC-97H and HCC-LM3 cell lines knocked down for ZEB1 and further re-expressed for either ZEB1 or PFKM or not. To explored whether the ZEB1-PFKM axis also functions in HCC cell migration, invasion and metastasis, the same MHCC-97H and HCC-LM3 cell lines were performed for wound healing assays, transwell assays and colony formation assays, meanwhile, MHCC-97H cell lines were performed for orthotopic liver transplantation assays. Finally, the expression of ZEB1 and PFKM were examined in human liver cancer specimens and non-tumorous liver tissues using immunohistochemical and Western blot. Results: We found that ZEB1 transcriptionally upregulates the expression of the muscle isoform of phosphofructokinase-1 (PFKM), a rate-limiting enzyme in glycolysis. Intriguingly, a non-classic ZEB1-binding sequence in the promoter region of PFKM was identified through which ZEB1 directly activates the transcription of PFKM. Silencing of ZEB1 in MHCC-97H and HCC-LM3 cell leads to impaired PFKM expression, glycolysis, proliferation and invasion, and such impairments are rescued by exogenous expression of PFKM. Importantly, in-situ HCC xenograft assays and studies from TCGA database demonstrate that ZEB1-PFKM axis is crucial for carcinogenesis and metastasis of HCC. Conclusions: Our study reveals a novel mechanism of ZEB1 in promoting HCC by activating the transcription of PFKM, establishing the direct link of ZEB1 to the promotion of glycolysis and Warburg effect and suggesting that inhibition of ZEB1 transcriptional activity toward PFKM may be a potential therapeutic strategy for HCC.

Based on accurate representation of the He + -He angular differential scattering cross sections consisting of both elastic and charge exchange collisions, we performed detailed numerical simulations of the ion velocity distribution functions (IVDF) byMonte Carlo collision method (MCC). The results of simulations are validated by comparison with the experimental data of the ion mobility and the transverse diffusion. The IVDF simulation study shows that due to significant effect of scattering in elastic collisions IVDF cannot be separated into product of two independent IVDFs in the transverse and parallel to the electric field directions.

The error field penetration is numerically studied in the frame of the visco-resistive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) model. A transition scaling is obtained to link the Rutherford and Waelbroeck regimes in the nonlinear phase of error field penetration process. Furthermore, a transition density scaling of [br/BT] crit ∼ n 1/2 e is obtained in accord with recent experimental observations in the J-TEXT tokamak.

A theoretic model of upstream dielectric multipactor in TEM microwaves, taking both the rf electric field and rf magnetic field into account, is proposed. In this theory, the growth rate of the window multipactor is predicted. The multipactor is approximately independent of the rf frequency, and much more serious than Kishek's model (1998 Phys. Rev. Lett. 80 193) in the regions of weak dc electric fields and strong rf electric fields. Then, an electromagnetic Particle-In-Cell method is carried out to simulate the multipactor in TEM microwaves. Simulation results show a good agreement with the theoretical results. Furthermore, the lower boundary of multipactor is derived analytically, while there is no upper boundary any more. Finally, a gradually transition between Kishek's model and our model is found by examining microwaves of TE modes. It is found that the upper boundary reappears when the rf frequency of TE modes trends to the cutoff frequency of waveguide.