Manganese-based spinel adsorbents for lithium recovery from aqueous solutions by electrochemical technique

Honglong Zhan,Yingjun Qiao,Zhiqiang Qian,Jun Li,Zhijian Wu,Xiaogang Hao,Zhong Liu 한국공업화학회 2022 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.114 No.-

The manganese-based spinel adsorbent (HMO) refers to lithium-ion adsorbents derived from the spinellithium manganese oxide (LMO). Two types of lithium ions extraction composite films composed of HMO(HMn2O4 and H1.6Mn1.6O4) are successfully prepared by the blade coating method. Based on the excellentLi+ selectivity of HMO and the outstanding conductivity of conductive carbon black (C), HMO/C films arecarried out to extract lithium by electrochemically switched ion exchange (ESIX) technique. HMO has acertain adsorption capacity for Li+ when the Li+ concentration is close to the actual brine, and the adsorptioncapacity of HMn2O4 and H1.6Mn1.6O4 is 24.56 mg/g and 34.40 mg/g, respectively. HMO showed goodselectivity for Li+ in multiple metal ions solution. The capacity of HMn2O4 and H1.6Mn1.6O4 keep 80% and86% of the initial values after 5 cycles, respectively. The inherent different lithium occupied leads to thedifference of electrical-adsorption abilities between HMn2O4 and H1.6Mn1.6O4. H1.6Mn1.6O4 has a broadapplication prospect in lithium extraction from salt lake brine due to its lower application voltage, largeadsorption capacity and superior stability.

Protocatechuic Aldehyde Represses Proliferation and Migration of Breast Cancer Cells through Targeting C-terminal Binding Protein 1

Yu Deng,Wanjun Guo,Guancheng Li,Shuang Li,Hong Li,Xinyan Li,Bei Niu,Mingzhu Song,Yamei Zhang,Zhijian Xu,Fulun Li 한국유방암학회 2020 Journal of breast cancer Vol.23 No.1

Purpose: C-terminal binding protein 1 (CtBP1) is a transcriptional co-repressor that is overexpressed in many cancers. CtBP1 transcriptionally represses a broad array of tumor suppressors, which promotes cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and resistance to apoptosis. Recent studies have demonstrated that CtBP1 is a potential target for cancer therapy. This study was designed to screen for compounds that potentially target CtBP1. Methods: Using a structure-based virtual screening for CtBP1 inhibitors, we found protocatechuic aldehyde (PA), a natural compound found in the root of a traditional Chinese herb, Salvia miltiorrhiza, that directly binds to CtBP1. Microscale thermophoresis assay was performed to determine whether PA and CtBP1 directly bind to each other. Further, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats associated Cas9 nuclease-mediated CtBP1 knockout in breast cancer cells was used to validate the CtBP1 targeting specificity of PA. Results: Functional studies showed that PA repressed the proliferation and migration of breast cancer cells. Furthermore, PA elevated the expression of the downstream targets of CtBP1, p21 and E-cadherin, and decreased CtBP1 binding affinity for the promoter regions of p21 and E-cadherin in breast cancer cells. However, PA did not affect the expression of p21 and E-cadherin in the CtBP1 knockout breast cancer cells. In addition, the CtBP1 knockout breast cancer cells showed resistance to PA-induced repression of proliferation and migration. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that PA directly bound to CtBP1 and inhibited the growth and migration of breast cancer cells through CtBP1 inhibition. Structural modifications of PA are further required to enhance its binding affinity and selectivity for CtBP1.

A Random Sequence Generation Method for Random Demodulation Based Compressive Sampling System

Li Wang,Yijiu Zhao,Zhijian Dai 보안공학연구지원센터(IJSIP) 2015 International Journal of Signal Processing, Image Vol.8 No.1

Random demodulation based compressive sampling technique is a novel approach that it can break through the Shannon sampling theorem for the sparse signal capturing. A major challenge in the random demodulation based sampling system is the random sequence generation. In this paper, we introduce an approach to generate the high-speed random sequence that meets the incoherence of compressive sampling. The proposed technique employs a field programmable gate array (FPGA). First, the random sequence is parallel stored in the memory of FPGA, and it is read out byte by byte using a low speed clock. Second, the low-speed byte sequence is converted to a high-speed bit sequence by a circuitry. This proposed approach can program the random sequence dynamically without making any change to the circuitry system. Experimental results indicate that, the random sequence generated by the proposed approach is feasible to sensing the signal, and the constructed system can compressively sample and reconstruct the sparse signal.

Compressive and Flexural Properties of Hemp Fiber Reinforced Concrete

Li, Zhijian,Wang, Lijing,Wang, Xungai The Korean Fiber Society 2004 Fibers and polymers Vol.5 No.3

The compressive and flexural properties of hemp fiber reinforced concretes (FRC) were examined in this paper. Natural hemp fiber was mixed using dry and wet mixing methods to fabricate the FRC. Mechanical properties of the FRC were investigated. The main factors affecting compressive and flexural properties of the FRC materials were evaluated with an orthogonal test design. Fiber content by weight has the largest effect. The method for casting hemp FRC has been optimised. Under the optimum conditions, compressive strength increased by 4 %, flexural strength increased by 9 %, flexural toughness increased by 144 %, and flexural toughness index increased by 214 %.

Method for the Enhancement of Buildability and Bending Resistance of 3D Printable Tailing Mortar

Zhijian Li,Li Wang,Guowei Ma 한국콘크리트학회 2018 International Journal of Concrete Structures and M Vol.12 No.4

The innovative 3D printing has been successfully applied to layeredly build-up construction-scale structures through the extrusion of various cementitious materials. Favourable buildability of fresh cement mixture and the hardened properties of the printed structures are essential requirement for the application of 3D concrete printing. This paper firstly proposed a 3D printable cement mixture containing 40% mining tailings. The influence of paste age on the buildability of forty-layer structure was evaluated, as well as the bending resistance of prism specimen sawed from the printed structure. The bonding between layers is a critical factor that influences the structural capacity. In particular, the weak bonding interface formed in the layered extrusion process was identified through high-resolution X-ray CT scanning. It is necessary and desirable for the cement paste to perform both well buildability and mechanical performances. Thereafter, a proper amount of viscosity modify agent (VMA) was used to improve the structural integrity by increasing the contact behaviour between the adjacent extruded layers. Meanwhile, the impact of curing method on the hardened properties of 3D printed structures was accessed. Results indicated that the prepared tailing mortar achieved sufficient buildability to be used in an extrusion-typed 3D printer at the paste age of 45 min. The mould-cast specimens process flexural strength of 7.87 MPa. In contrast, the flexural strength of printed specimens values 5.22 MPa and 12.93 MPa, respectively, after the addition of 1.5% VMA and 90℃ steam curing.

SALT-INDUCED CHLOROPLAST PROTEIN (SCP) is Involved in Plant Tolerance to Salt Stress in Arabidopsis

Yong Zhuang,Yangxuan Liu,Yuxiang Li,Ming Wei,Yuying Tang,Penghui Li,Zhijian Liu,Hui Li,Weizao Huang,Songhu Wang 한국식물학회 2019 Journal of Plant Biology Vol.62 No.6

Soil salinization threats the agricultural productionand food security worldwide. Salt stress induced plantsenescence and chloroplast degradation. However, it remainslargely unknown how the chloroplast-localized proteins affectplant response to salt stress. Here, we characterized a novelgene (At5g39520) in Arabidopsis, which is induced by saltstress and encodes a chloroplast-localized protein. Thus, thisgene was named SALT-INDUCED CHLOROPLAST PROTEIN(SCP). A T-DNA insertion mutant of SCP gene (scp-1)showed the enhanced tolerance to salt stress, as indicated bythe increased survival rates, fresh weights and chlorophyllcontents compared with wild type plants under salt treatment. Salt-induced leaf senescence was also delayed in scp-1 mutant. The scp-1 complementation line and SCP overexpressionlines displayed the hypersensitivity to salt stress. The qRTPCRanalysis indicated that the transcripts of CHLOROPLASTVESICULATION (CV), which mediates stress-inducedchloroplast degradation, were altered in scp-1 mutant andSCP overexpression lines. Taken together, our results suggestthat SCP gene plays a negative role in response to salt stress andhas potential application for genetic modification of improvingplant tolerance to salt stress.

Study on thermal conductivity of periclase-hercynite bricks prepared from fused or sintered hercynite

Junhong Chen,Mingwei Yan, Yong Li,Zhijian Li,Jindong Su,Bin Li,Jialin Sun 한양대학교 세라믹연구소 2016 Journal of Ceramic Processing Research Vol.17 No.5

Periclase-hercynite bricks were prepared from fused or reaction-sintered hercynite. The microstructure of the obtained brickswas studied and their thermal conductivity in the simulated on-site condition was tested. The results show that the mutualdiffusion of Fe or Al from hercynite and Mg from periclase forms more pores in the material. Compared with the brickprepared from fused hercynite, the brick from reaction-sintered hercynite has smaller pore size. The thermal conductivitysimulation test of the two bricks at 1550 oC shows that the cold end temperature of the brick synthesized from the reactionsinteredhercynite is 40 oC lower than that of the brick from the fused hercynite. Thus, in consideration of reducing the shelltemperature of the cement rotary kilns, the reaction-sintered hercynite is more favorable for the production of periclasehercynitebricks.

Flexural Behavior of High Strength Concrete Filled Square Steel Tube with Inner CFRP Circular Tube

Zhijian Yang,Guochang Li,Yan Lang,Chen Fang 대한토목학회 2017 KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering Vol.21 No.7

This paper investigates the flexural behavior of high strength concrete filled square steel beam with inner CFRP (carbon fiberreinforced polymer) circular tube by the ABAQUS/Standard solver. In addition, eight specimens were fabricated and tested to investigate the pure flexural behavior. The test data was used to verify the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) modeling and good agreement was achieved in general. Furthermore, the influences of steel yielding strength, concrete strength, steel ratio and the thickness of CFRP on the flexural performance of the specimens were analyzed by FEA. According to the analysis of bending moment versus strain curves, the materials of CFRP, steel and concrete worked well together subjected to pure bending before the CFRP tube ruptured. The results presented in this paper show that these composite beams have a very ductile response because the concrete is confined by the CFRP tube and the steel tube. The beams’ flexural response, including the flexural stiffness and the ultimate load, can be substantially improved by the inner CFRP tube. The parametric studies provide information for the development of formulae to calculate the moment capacity. A comparison of experimental failure loads with the predicted failure loads in accordance with the formulae showed good agreement.

First Principles Study of Structural and Electronic Properties of Pentagonal and Hexagonal Noble Metal Nanowires

Zhijian Fu,Li-Jun Jia,JIHONG XIA,Hai-Bo Ruan,Ke Tang,Yong Pu,Zhao-Yi Zeng,Dian-Yong Tang,Bo Kong,Qi-Feng Chen 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2016 NANO Vol.11 No.6

The equilibrium structure and electronic properties of four ultrathin free-standing pentagonal and hexagonal noble metal nanowires, that is, copper nanowires (CuNWs), silver nanowires (AgNWs), gold nanowires (AuNWs) and platinum nanowires (PtNWs), have been studied comprehensively by adopting a first-principles simulation based on the density-functional theory. The staggered topologies are more stable than the eclipsed ones by analyzing the bonding energy. The staggered ones with a linear atom chain in the center of the pentagonal or hexagons topologies are the preferred structures for CuNWs and AgNWs, but the staggered ones without a linear atom chain in the center of the pentagon or hexagon are the preferred structures for AuNWs and PtNWs due to the increasing core–core repulsions. The calculated electronic band structures and density of states present that all the noble metal nanowires are metallic. The projected densities of states (PDOS) of dominant d-states and the charge density show that the narrower d-state moved to the Fermi energy and metallic bonding character for all the noble metal nanowires.

Simplified Method for Lateral Distribution Factor of the Live Load of Prefabricated Concrete Box-Girder Bridges with Transverse Post-tensioning

Zhijian Hu,Xiao Li,Yasir Ibrahim Shah 대한토목학회 2022 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.26 No.8

Transverse post-tensioning arrangement in prefabricated prestressed concrete (PC) box-girder bridge can effectively improve the transverse connection's performance to avoid stress concentration. The number of transverse post-tensioning tendons and the transverse post-tensioning force are crucial factors determining the live load's lateral distribution. Four prefabricated PC box-girder model tests were carried out to calculate the lateral distribution of the live load. Based on experimental results, the recommended values of the reduction factors of contact interfaces considering the effective longitudinal transfer length of transverse post-tensioning were given, and a simplified method of lateral distribution factor was proposed. The proposed simplified method results were compared with the PCI code, experiments, finite element method, articulated plate method, and rigid-plate method. The results showed that the lateral distribution factor calculated by the simplified method agreed with the results of experiments and the finite element method. The average relative differences were less than 8%. In comparison, the relative differences were more than 15% for the PCI code, articulated plate method, and rigid plate method. Thus, the proposed method could meet the engineering application and be adopted to calculate the lateral distribution factor of bridges with transverse post-tensioning.