Corrosion processes of austenitic stainless steels and copper-based materials in gamma-irradiated aqueous environments

The US Department of Energy is evaluating a site located at Yucca Mountain in Nye County, Nevada, as a potential high-level nuclear waste repository. The rock at the proposed repository horizon (above the water table) is densely welded, devitrified tuff, and the fluid environment in the repository is expected to be primarily air-steam. A more severe environment would be present in the unlikely case of intrusion of vadose groundwater into the repository site. For this repository location, austenitic stainless steels and copper-based materials are under consideration for waste container fabrication. This study focuses on the effects of gamma irradiation on the electrochemical mechanisms of corrosion for the prospective waste container materials. The radiolytic production of such species as hydrogen peroxide and nitric acid are shown to exert an influence on corrosion mechanisms and kinetics

Electrochemical determination of the corrosion behavior of candidate alloys proposed for containment of high level nuclear waste in tuff

Long-term geological disposal of nuclear waste requires corrosion-resistant canister materials for encapsulation. Several austenitic stainless steels are under consideration for such purposes for the disposal of high-level waste at the candidate repository site located at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. With regard to corrosion considerations, a worst case scenario at this prospective repository location would result from the intrusion of vadose water. This preliminary study focuses on the electrochemical and corrosion behavior of the candidate canister materials under worst-case repository environments. Electrochemical parameters related to localized attack (e.g., pitting potentials) and the electrochemical corrosion rates have been examined. 15 references, 15 figures, 4 tables

Functional diversity of chemokines and chemokine receptors in response to viral infection of the central nervous system.

Encounters with neurotropic viruses result in varied outcomes ranging from encephalitis, paralytic poliomyelitis or other serious consequences to relatively benign infection. One of the principal factors that control the outcome of infection is the localized tissue response and subsequent immune response directed against the invading toxic agent. It is the role of the immune system to contain and control the spread of virus infection in the central nervous system (CNS), and paradoxically, this response may also be pathologic. Chemokines are potent proinflammatory molecules whose expression within virally infected tissues is often associated with protection and/or pathology which correlates with migration and accumulation of immune cells. Indeed, studies with a neurotropic murine coronavirus, mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), have provided important insight into the functional roles of chemokines and chemokine receptors in participating in various aspects of host defense as well as disease development within the CNS. This chapter will highlight recent discoveries that have provided insight into the diverse biologic roles of chemokines and their receptors in coordinating immune responses following viral infection of the CNS

SARS-CoV-2 infects the human kidney and drives fibrosis in kidney organoids

Kidney failure is frequently observed during and after COVID-19, but it remains elusive whether this is a direct effect of the virus. Here, we report that SARS-CoV-2 directly infects kidney cells and is associated with increased tubule-interstitial kidney fibrosis in patient autopsy samples. To study direct effects of the virus on the kidney independent of systemic effects of COVID-19, we infected human-induced pluripotent stem-cell-derived kidney organoids with SARS-CoV-2. Single-cell RNA sequencing indicated injury and dedifferentiation of infected cells with activation of profibrotic signaling pathways. Importantly, SARS-CoV-2 infection also led to increased collagen 1 protein expression in organoids. A SARS-CoV-2 protease inhibitor was able to ameliorate the infection of kidney cells by SARS-CoV-2. Our results suggest that SARS-CoV-2 can directly infect kidney cells and induce cell injury with subsequent fibrosis. These data could explain both acute kidney injury in COVID-19 patients and the development of chronic kidney disease in long COVID

Electrochemical determination of the corrosion behavior of candidate alloys proposed for containment of high level nuclear waste in tuff

Long-term geological disposal of nuclear waste requires corrosion-resistant canister materials for encapsulation. Several austenitic stainless steels are under consideration for such purposes for the disposal of high-level waste at the candidate repository site located at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. With regard to corrosion considerations, a worst case scenario at this prospective repository location would result from the intrusion of vadose water. This preliminary study focuses on the electrochemical and corrosion behavior of the candidate canister materials under worst-case repository environments. Electrochemical parameters related to localized attack (e.g., pitting potentials) and the electrochemical corrosion rates have been examined. 15 references, 15 figures, 4 tables

Synthesis, X-ray absorption spectroscopy and purification of the seleno-bis (S-glutathionyl) arsenium anion from slenide, arsenite and glutathione.

We report a new synthesis of the seleno-bis (S-glutathionyl) arsinium anion, [(GS)(2)AsSe]. An aqueous solution of bis-glutathionylarsenous acid. (GS)(2)As-OH, prepared from stoichiometric glutathione and arsenite. was reacted in situ with a solution of sodium hydrogen selenide. prepared from elemental selenium and sodium borohydride. Analysis of the arsenic and selenium K-edge X-ray absorption spectra indicated virtually quantitative formation of [(GS)(2)AsSe](-), with As-Se and As-S distances of 2.31 and 2.25 Angstrom, respectively, and the concentrated sample allowed a definitive X-ray spectroscopic characterization. Size-exclusion chromatography was used to separate [(GS)(2)AsSe] from residual borate in the reaction mixture