Applications of Thermochemical Modeling in Molten Salt Reactors.

The extensively evaluated and consistent thermodynamic database, the Molten Salt Thermal Properties Database-Thermochemical (MSTDB-TC), was used along with additional thermodynamic values from other sources as examples of ways to examine molten salt reactor (MSR) fuel behavior. Relative stability with respect to halide potential and temperature for likely fuel and fission product components were mapped in Ellingham diagrams for the chloride and fluoride systems. The Ellingham diagrams provide a rich, visual means for identifying halide-forming components in proposed fuel/solvent salt systems. Thermochemical models and values from MSTDB-TC and ancillary sources were used in global equilibrium calculations to provide compositions for a close analysis of the behavior of a possible Molten Chloride Salt Fast Reactor and a Molten Salt Reactor Experiment-type system at high burnup (100 GWd/t). The results illustrated the oxidative nature of burnup in MSRs and provided information about redox behavior and possible control.

Rb2Ln[Si2O6]F (Ln = Y, Eu-Lu): Flux Synthesis, Structure Determination, and DFT-Calculated Formation Enthalpies of a Series of Mixed-Anion Rare Earth Cyclosilicates.

A new series of mixed-anion alkali rare earth silicate fluorides with composition Rb2Ln[Si2O6]F (Ln = Y, Eu-Lu) has been synthesized via an alkali chloride/fluoride eutectic flux synthetic route. All synthesized compositions crystallize in the tetragonal space group P42/mnm with a 3D framework consisting of LnO4F2 octahedra, tetrasilicate rings, and 1D channels containing alkali metals. A combination of powder X-ray diffraction, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and luminescence emission spectroscopy was performed to characterize the reaction products. In addition, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were utilized to calculate the 0 K formation enthalpies of the synthesized phases and of hypothetical trivalent actinide analogues to probe the likelihood of the successful synthesis of such trivalent transuranic containing phases, specifically Am and Cm, in the future.

Curcumin and targeting of molecular and metabolic pathways in multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a life-threading disease that poses a great threat to the human being lifestyle. Having said extensive research in the realm of underlying mechanisms and treatment procedures, no definite remedy has been found. Over the past decades, many medicines have been disclosed to alleviate the symptoms and marking of MS. Meanwhile, the substantial efficacy of herbal medicines including curcumin must be underscored. Accumulated documents demonstrated the fundamental role of curcumin in the induction of the various signaling pathways. According to evidence, curcumin can play a role in mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis, autophagy, and mitophagy. Also, by targeting the signaling pathways AMPK, PGC-1α/PPARγ, and PI3K/Akt/mTOR, curcumin interferes with the metabolism of MS. The anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immune regulatory effects of this herbal compound are involved in its effectiveness against MS. Thus, the present review indicates the molecular and metabolic pathways associated with curcumin's various pharmacological actions on MS, as well as setting into context the many investigations that have noted curcumin-mediated regulatory effects in MS.

Identification and Decomposition of Uranium Oxychloride Phases in Oxygen-Exposed UCl3 Salt Compositions.

Complementary X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy studies were conducted on several UCl3 concentrations in several chloride salt compositions. The samples were 5% UCl3 in LiCl (S1), 5% UCl3 in KCl (S2), 5% UCl3 in LiCl-KCl eutectic (S3), 5% UCl3 in LiCl-KCl eutectic (S4), 50% UCl3 in KCl (S5), and 20% UCl3 in KCl (S6) molar concentrations. Sample S3 had UCl3 sourced from Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and all other samples were UCl3 sourced from TerraPower. The initial compositions were prepared in an inert and oxygen-free atmosphere. XAFS measurements were performed in the atmosphere at a beamline, and Raman spectroscopy was conducted inside a glovebox. Raman spectra were able to confirm initial UCl3. XAFS and later Raman spectra measured, however, did not correctly match the literature and computational spectra for the prepared UCl3 salt. Rather, the data shows some complex uranium oxychloride phases at room temperature that transition into uranium oxides upon heating. Oxygen pollution due to failure of the sealing mechanism can result in oxidation of the UCl3 salts. The oxychlorides present may be both a function of the unknown O2 exposure concentration, depending on the source of the leak and the salt composition. Evidence of this oxychloride claim and its subsequent decomposition is justified in this work.

Flux Crystal Growth of the Extended Structure Pu(V) Borate Na2(PuO2)(BO3).

As part of our exploration of plutonium-containing materials as potential nuclear waste forms, we report the first extended structure Pu(V) material and the first Pu(V) borate. Crystals of Na2(PuO2)(BO3) were grown out of mixed hydroxide/boric acid flux and found to crystallize in the orthorhombic space group Cmcm with lattice parameters of a = 9.9067(4) Å, b = 6.5909(2) Å, and c = 6.9724(2) Å. Na2(PuO2)(BO3) adopts a layered structure in which layers of PuO2(BO3)2- are separated by sodium cations. Plutonium is found in a pentagonal bipyramidal coordination environment, with axial Pu(V)-O plutonyl bond lengths of 1.876(3) Å and equatorial Pu-O bond lengths ranging from 2.325(5) to 2.467(3) Å. We find that the Pu(V)-O plutonyl bond lengths are approximately 0.1 Å longer than the reported Pu(VI)-O plutonyl bond lengths and shorter by approximately 0.033 Å than the corresponding U(V) uranyl bond lengths. Raman spectroscopy on single crystals was used to determine the PuO2+ plutonyl stretching and the equatorial breathing mode frequencies of the pentagonal bipyramidal coordination environment around plutonium. Density functional theory calculations were used to calculate the Raman spectrum to help identify the Raman bands at 690 and 630 cm-1 as corresponding to the plutonyl(V) ν1 stretch and the equatorial PuO5 breathing mode, respectively. UV-vis measurements on single crystals indicate semiconducting behavior with a band gap of ∼2.60 eV.

Developing Waste Forms for Transuranic Elements: Quaternary Neptunium Fluorides of the Type NaxMNp6F30 (M = Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Al, Ga).

A series of quaternary Np(IV) fluorides was synthesized using a mild hydrothermal synthesis approach. The compositions are all of the type NaxMNp6F30, where M = Ti(III), V(III), Cr(III), Mn(II), Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), Al(III), and Ga(III) and x = 4 for divalent metals, x = 3 for trivalent metals. The compounds all crystallize in the P-3c1 space group and are isotypic with actinide analogues NaxMAn6F30 (An = Ce, U, Th, Pu). Structure data from the neptunium crystals were combined with data from the other actinide analogues to establish the tetravalent, nine-coordinated ionic radii of neptunium (1.030(2) Å), plutonium (1.014(1) Å), and cerium (1.012(2) Å). Radiation damage studies were also carried out on a surrogate material, the cerium analogue Na3AlCe6F30, which indicates that the structure type has low resistance to amorphization. Density functional theory calculations were carried out to compute the band gaps and enthalpies of formation variations among the isotypic cerium and actinide structures to compare the stability of the structures.

Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio in Epilepsy: A Systematic Review.

This study was conducted to summarize the results of studies investigating the role of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in epilepsy. The search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science up to December 25, 2021. Finally, a total of seven studies were included in the review. The NLR in patients who were in the acute phase was higher than that of healthy. NLR in the patients who were in either acute or subacute phase was higher than in healthy controls. A significant difference in NLR levels between the acute and subacute phases was also noted. Epilepsy is one of the most important neurological diseases in the world, and millions of people around the world suffer from it, and a cheap and fast biomarker is needed for it. The interesting thing is that inflammation plays a role in epilepsy, and elevated NLR value can be a good biomarker of inflammation and, as a result, for epilepsy.

Crystallization of A3Ln(BO3)2 (A = Na, K; Ln = Lanthanide) from a Boric Acid Containing Hydroxide Melt: Synthesis and Investigation of Lanthanide Borates as Potential Nuclear Waste Forms.

A series of alkali metal rare-earth borates were prepared via high-temperature flux crystal growth, and their structures were characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction (SXRD). Na3Ln(BO3)2 (Ln = La-Lu) crystallize in the monoclinic space group P21/n, the potassium series K3Ln(BO3)2 (Ln = La-Tb) crystallize in the orthorhombic space group Pnma, while the Ln = Dy, Ho, Tm, Yb analogues crystallize in the orthorhombic space group Pnnm. To demonstrate the generality of this synthetic technique, high-entropy oxide (HEO) compositions K3Nd0.15(1)Eu0.20(1)Gd0.20(1)Dy0.22(1)Ho0.23(1)(BO3)2 and K3Nd0.26(1)Eu0.29(1)Ho0.22(1)Tm0.14(1)Yb0.10(1)(BO3)2 were obtained in single crystal form. Radiation damage investigations determined that these borates have a high radiation damage tolerance. To assess whether trivalent actinide analogues of Na3Ln(BO3)2 and K3Ln(BO3)2 would be stable, density functional theory was used to calculate their enthalpies of formation, which are favorable.

Correlational Approach to Predict the Enthalpy of Mixing for Chloride Melt Systems.

A methodology to estimate the heat of mixing (Δmix H) for salt liquids in unexplored AkCl-AnCl x /LnCl x (Ak = alkali, An = actinide, Ln = lanthanide) systems is developed. It improves upon previous empirical approaches by eliminating the need for arbitrarily choosing the required composition at maximum short-range ordering, the minimum Δmix H prior to performing the estimation, which avoids the intrinsic ambiguity of that approach. This semiempirical method has computationally reproduced the behavior of NaCl-UCl3 and KCl-UCl3 systems, providing Δmix H values that agree well with the reported measurements within a propagated two standard deviations (2σ). The capability of the approach is demonstrated in its application to the entirety of the AkCl-UCl3 and AkCl-PuCl3 systems, the results from which have facilitated the accurate thermodynamic modeling of these and other AkCl-AnCl3/LnCl3 systems. The resultant assessed Gibbs energy functions and models have been incorporated in the Molten Salt Thermal Properties Database-Thermochemical (MSTDB-TC).

An investigation into electrochemical properties of poly(ether sulfone)/poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) heterogeneous cation-exchange membranes by using design of experiment method.

Poly(ether sulfone) (PES)/poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) blend heterogeneous cation exchange membranes were prepared by solution casting technique using dimethylformamide as solvent and cation exchange resin powder as functional groups agent. In this study, Taguchi experiment design method was employed for investigating the effects of controlling variables including polymer binder (PVP + PES) to total casting solution ratio, blend ratio of polymer binders (PVP to PES), resin to polymer binder ratio, and casting temperature on electrochemical characteristics of PES/PVP heterogeneous membranes. To this aim, each factor was considered at 4 different levels and therefore, 16 experiments were designed. To improve the quality of the membranes ultrasonic was used for appropriate dispersing of resin particles in the matrix of the membranes. According to the results, the averaged maximum values of 1.535 meq/g and 46.6 mV were obtained for IEC and membrane potential, respectively. Also, the highest obtained value of ion permeability tests was equal to 1.33 m/s. Finally, the synthesis conditions was optimized by considering the IEC and membrane potential as the objective functions which gave the values of 1.55 meq/g and 1.39 m/s for IEC and membrane potential, respectively, which proved that the synthesized membrane can be considered as a promising heterogeneous membrane.

Evaluation of pentraxin-3 level and its related factors in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: Inflammation has an important role in the development and progression of atherosclerosis, and acute phase proteins such as pentraxin-3 (PTX3) can be deployed in determining the prognosis of coronary artery disease (CAD). So the purpose of this paper was to evaluate the PTX3 level and its related factors in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, the PTX3 levels were determined for 100 patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction referred to the Modarres Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Checklist included demographic data [age, gender, history of myocardial infarction (MI)] and characteristics of heart disease (type of MI, culprit, and pre-dilation). PTX3 was measured for all patients before PCI. RESULTS: In this study, the mean age of the participants was 58.7 (11.4). Global registry of acute coronary events (GRACE) score was higher in the group with abnormal PTX3 levels (P = 0.008). The number of the involved vessels (P = 0.005), MI type (P = 0.05), and the need for PCI all had a significant relation with abnormal PTX3 levels. The increased levels of PTX3 received higher Killip class, lower ejection fraction, and higher GRACE score. The group with abnormal PTX3 had a significant difference in platelet counts (P = 0.018) in comparison with the group with normal level of PTX3. CONCLUSION: Currently, the biomarkers are highly important in the field of cardiovascular diseases. The diagnostic and prognostic importance of PTX3 as a new marker has been underscored in recent studies. Differentiating between high-risk patients with acute cardiac infarction and low-risk ones through their clinical signs is difficult.