Study on the electrodeposition of uranium in chloride molten salt.

This study focuses on the recovery of UO2 from oxide spent fuel using electrodeposition. U3O8 was used as the initial material and dissolved in NaCl-2CsCl using NH4Cl at high temperatures by means of chlorination reaction. The electrolysis process was conducted using a three-electrode system to investigate the effects of cathode material and diameter, electrolysis temperature, electrolysis time, electrolysis voltage, and uranium concentration in the molten salt on the electrolysis reaction. By optimizing the electrolysis conditions, pure UO2 with a recovery efficiency of 97% was obtained, and the products were characterized using XRD, SEM-EDS, ICP-AES and XPS. It was found that within the scope of this experiment, increasing the cathode diameter, extending the electrolysis time, and increasing the reduction voltage appropriately all led to an improvement in the recovery efficiency of the electrolysis reaction, while other conditions had minimal effect on the reaction. Furthermore, doping of the electrolyte system was performed by adding La, Ce and Nd elements, while the removal of La showed good purification effects, with a maximum decontamination factor of 119. Furthermore, the system showed good purification effects for Nd, with a decontamination factor of 57.

Association of intestinal microbiota and its metabolite markers with excess weight in Chinese children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to identify the intestinal microbiota and faecal metabolic biomarkers associated with excess weight in Chinese children and adolescents. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 163 children aged 6-14 years (including 72 with normal-weight and 91 with overweight/obesity from three Chinese boarding schools). We used 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing to analyse the diversity and composition of intestinal microbiota. Of these participants, we selected 10 children with normal-weight and 10 with obesity (matched 1:1 for school, sex and age) and measured faecal metabolites using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Alpha diversity was significantly elevated in children with normal-weight compared to overweight/obese. Principle coordinate analysis and permutational multivariate analysis of variance revealed a significant difference in intestinal microbial community structure between the normal-weight and overweight/obese groups. The two groups differed significantly in the relative abundances of Megamonas, Bifidobacterium and Alistipes. In faecal metabolomics analysis, we identified 14 differential metabolites and 2 main differential metabolic pathways associated with obesity. CONCLUSION: This study identified intestinal microbiota and metabolic markers associated with excess weight in Chinese children.

Consistency between 3 days' dietary records and 24-h urine in estimating salt intake in children and adolescents.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the salt intake in boarding school students and the consistency between salt intake measurements based on 24-h urine and weighed dietary records over 3 consecutive days in this population. Methods: This was a school-based cross-sectional study. Overweight (including obesity) or hypertensive students aged 6-14 years and their normal counterparts were recruited for this study at three boarding schools in China. Three consecutive 24-h urine samples were collected from all participants. During the collection period of 24-h urine, the weighed diet records were collected in children who had all three meals at the school canteens on weekdays. Incomplete 24-h urine or dietary records were excluded from the analysis. Results: The median salt excretion was 6,218 [4,636, 8,290] mg by 24-h urine and 120 (82.2%) consumed excess salt among the participants. The median salt intake was 8,132 [6,348, 9,370] mg by dietary records and 112 (97.4%) participants consumed excess salt than recommended in participants who have all three meals in the school canteens. In children with complete dietary records and 24-h urine, the level of salt intake estimated by 24-h urine accounted for 79.6% of the dietary records. Conclusion: Our study showed that boarding school students consumed excessive salt from school canteens. Thus, policies or strategies targeting school canteens are urgently needed. Weighed dietary records are recommended if feasible.