A B S T R A C TGraphite materials are used in high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTR) as moderator and reflector. Nuclear graphite is currently manufactured using coke as the filler; however, improvements in the performance of nuclear graphite are anticipated in order to enhance the safety and lifetime of HTRs. Natural microcrystalline graphite (MG), which is a metamorphic product of coal, is an emerging candidate as filler material. This paper proposes the approach of preparing isotropic graphite using MG fillers. The characterization results of MG ores and purified powder indicate a polycrystalline and near-isotropic structure of MG particles. Thus, near-isotropic graphite with an isotropy ratio of 1.10-1.15 can be easily obtained via cold isostatic pressing. The thermal diffusivity of MG-based green body is much higher than that of coke-based one, therefore facilitates the baking step. The advantages of MG-based graphite also include a high degree of graphitization, and a low coefficient of thermal expansion, both of which are highly beneficial to nuclear applications.As a result, MG exhibits a large potential for the application in isotropic nuclear graphite.Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. IntroductionThe moderator in a nuclear reactor thermalizes 2 MeV fast neutrons to 0.025 eV thermal neutrons. With low atomic weight, high moderating ratio and low absorption cross section, H 2 O, D 2 O, Be, and C are four possible moderators [1]. Carbon in the form of graphite offers an acceptable compromise between nuclear properties and cost, therefore graphite is employed as moderator and structural material in high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTR) [2,3].

The linear stability analysis of Oldroyd-B fluid for thermocapillary liquid layers is carried out. Results are presented for linear flow and return flow with Prandtl numbers of 0.02 and 100. Three kinds of instabilities are found: oblique wave, streamwise wave, and spanwise stationary mode, whose properties are all significantly affected by elasticity. For the first, the critical Marangoni number increases with elasticity. For the second, the work done by perturbation stress fluctuates in vertical direction. The last becomes the preferred mode when the elasticity is high enough and its perturbation energy comes from the Marangoni force caused by perturbation temperature while dissipates by perturbation stress. Their mechanisms are discussed and the comparisons are made with Newtonian fluid.

TcpC is a multifunctional virulence factor of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC). Macrophages can differentiate into two different subsets M1 and M2 that play distinct roles in anti-infection immunity. Here, we investigate the influence of TcpC on M1/M2 polarization and the potential mechanisms. Our data showed that M1 markers CD86 and iNOS were significantly inhibited, while the M2 markers CD163, CD206 and Arg-1 were enhanced in macrophages in kidneys from the TcpC-secreting wild-type CFT073 (CFT073wt)-infected pyelonephritis mouse model, compared with those in macrophages in kidneys from TcpC knockout CFT073 mutant (CFT073Δtcpc)-infected mice. CFT073wt or recombinant TcpC (rTcpC) treatment inhibits LPS + IFN-γ-induced CD80, CD86, TNF-α and iNOS expression, but promotes IL-4-induced CD163, CD206, Arg-1 and IL-10 expression in both human and mouse macrophage cell lines THP-1 and J774A.1. Moreover, rTcpC significantly attenuated LPS + IFN-γ-induced phosphorylation of p38, ERK, p50 and p65 but enhanced IL-4-induced phosphorylation of Akt and STAT6. These data suggest that TcpC inhibits M1 but promotes M2 macrophage polarization by down-regulation of p38, ERK/NF-κB and up-regulation of the Akt/STAT6 signaling pathway, respectively. Our findings not only illuminate the regulatory effects of TcpC on macrophage M1/M2 polarization and its related signaling pathways, but also provide a novel mechanism underlying TcpC-mediated immune evasion of macrophage-mediated innate immunity.