The effect of thermal post-processing treatment on laser powder bed fusion processed NiMnSn-based alloy for magnetic refrigeration

This study investigates the effects of heat treatment (HT) time (one, two, and three weeks) on the microstructure and magnetocaloric effect (MCE) of laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) NiMnSn alloys. Increasing the HT time improves chemical homogeneity, and decreases the local misorientation imparted by the LPBF process. This is also associated with an enhancement in the maximum magnetic entropy change (ΔSm) values around the martensitic transformation temperature (TM), which increases from 0.2 J kg−1K−1 to 0.45 J kg−1K−1 under 1 T applied magnetic field. However, the ΔSm of the one-week HTed sample around the curie temperature (Tc) (0.90 J kg−1K−1 at 315 K) is slightly lower than the two weeks and three weeks HTed samples (0.99 J kg−1K−1 at 320 K, 0.94 J kg−1K−1 at 320 K), respectively

Two-dimensional spinel CuCo2S4 nanosheets as high efficiency cathode catalyst for lithium-oxygen batteries

In this work, a novel 2D CuCo2S4 (CCS)nanosheets with spinel type structure is fabricated and used as the cathode catalyst for rechargeable Li-O2 battery. The characteristic 2D nanosheets structure with exposure of special (113), (004), and (044)crystal faces provide sufficient active sites for ORR and OER, which promote the rate capability immensely as well as improve discharge capacity and cycle life of the battery. Specifically, Li-O2 batteries with CCS electrodes show excellent cycle stability of more than 176 cycles at limiting capacity 500 mA h g−1 and superior rate performance (2254 mA h g−1 at 2000 mA g−1). For comparison, nanostructures of CuS and Co3S4 have been synthesized employing the similar process used for CCS. When compared to conventional carbon material (Super P)and these two binary metal sulfides, CCS NSs provided the highest catalytic activities at the same mass loading. Which can be attributed to the introduction of copper in the Co3S4 lattice offers the oxygen evolution and kinetics by enhancing Cu2+ sites and also by providing a high-active high-spin stat of octahedral Co3+ for ORR and OER catalysis

Design strategies toward catalytic materials and cathode structures for emerging Li-CO2 batteries

Integrating energy storage technologies with clean carbon dioxide (CO2) recycling is considered to be a promising solution to alleviate global warming caused by CO2 emission and meet the ever-increasing demand for electrical energy supplies. Recently, a rechargeable aprotic lithium-CO2 (Li-CO2) electrochemical system has been proposed as a new strategy for both energy storage and CO2 capture. However, the study of such a system remains preliminary, and its development still faces huge challenges such as low energy efficiency and electrolyte decomposition caused by a large charge overpotential, which are primarily attributed to the sluggish kinetics of the CO2 activation reaction in Li-CO2 batteries. Therefore, the reasonable design and fabrication of catalysts with excellent catalytic activity and high stability remain a formidable challenge to develop practical Li-CO2 batteries. In this review, based on the introduction of the structure and fundamental electrochemistry of Li-CO2 batteries, we provide an up-to-date and comprehensive review on state-of-the-art design strategies toward highly active catalytic materials and cathode structures for Li-CO2 batteries, inspiring research interests and concerns to this emerging energy storage system and promoting its practical application for future advances in this field

Cracking Behavior of René 104 Nickel-Based Superalloy Prepared by Selective Laser Melting Using Different Scanning Strategies

Eliminating cracks is a big challenge for the selective laser melting (SLM) process of low-weldable Nickel-based superalloy. In this work, three scanning strategies of the snake, stripe partition, and chessboard partition were utilized to prepare René 104 Ni-based superalloy, of which the cracking behavior and the residual stress were investigated. The results showed that the scanning strategies had significant effects on the cracking, residual stress, and relative density of the SLMed René 104 superalloy. The scanning strategies with more partitions boosted the emergence of cracks, as high-density cracks occurred in these samples. The overlapping zone (OZ) of the scanning partition was also susceptible to cracking, which increased the size, number, and density of the cracks. The cracking performance was relatively moderate in the snake-scanned samples, while that in the chessboard-partition-scanned samples was the most severe. It is concluded that the partition scanning strategies induced more cracks in the SLMed René 104 superalloy, of which the residual stress was apparently reduced. Therefore, it is necessary to design scanning strategies with optimized scanning partitions and overlaps to avoid cracking and acquire a high-quality, near fully dense, low-weldable Nickel-based superalloy using SLM

Technical Success after Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement for Bicuspid versus Tricuspid Aortic Stenosis

Background: Comparative data of the Valve Academic Research Consortium (VARC-3)-defined technical success between bicuspid versus tricuspid aortic stenosis (AS) remain lacking. Aims: We sought to compare the technical success and other clinical outcomes between patients with bicuspid and tricuspid AS receiving transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Methods: A registration-based analysis was performed for 402 patients (211 and 191 cases of bicuspid and tricuspid AS, respectively). The primary outcome was VARC-3-defined technical success. Additional analysis was performed to assess outcomes for up to one year between the two groups. Results: Bicuspid AS patients tended to be younger (74 years vs. 77 years; p p = 0.003). Bicuspid AS patients showed a lower prevalence of hypertension and peripheral vascular diseases. Technical failure was encountered in 17.7% of these patients, driven primarily by the high incidence of second valve implantation. The technical success rates were comparable between the bicuspid and tricuspid AS groups (82.5% vs. 82.2%, p = 0.944). Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and larger sinotubular junctional diameter (STJ) were identified as predictors of technical failure, whereas CKD, impaired left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), along with larger STJ, were predictors of cardiac technical failure. Technical failure was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality at 30 days and 1 year, as evidenced by the Cox multivariable analysis. Conclusions: No significant differences were observed in the technical success rates and most clinical outcomes between the bicuspid and tricuspid AS groups. Technical failure conferred an increased risk for both 30-day and 1-year all-cause mortalities

Multimodal Imaging-Guided Strategy for Developing ¹⁷⁷Lu-Labeled Metal–Organic Framework Nanomedicine with Potential in Cancer Therapy

Nano-metal–organic frameworks (nano-MOFs) labeled with radionuclides have shown great potential in the anticancer field. In this work, we proposed to combine fluorescence imaging (FI) with nuclear imaging to systematically evaluate the tumor inhibition of new nanomedicines from living cancer cells to the whole body, guiding the design and application of a high-performance anticancer radiopharmaceutical to glioma. An Fe-based nano-MOF vector, MIL-101(Fe)/PEG-FA, was decorated with fluorescent sulfo-cyanine7 (Cy7) to investigate the binding affinity of the targeting nanocarriers toward glioma cells in vitro, as well as possible administration modes for in vivo cancer therapy. Then, lutetium-177 (177Lu)-labeled MIL-101(Fe)/PEG-FA was prepared for high-sensitive imaging and targeted radiotherapy of glioma in vivo. It has been demonstrated that the obtained 177Lu-labeled MIL-101(Fe)/PEG-FA can work as a complementary probe to rectify the cancer binding affinity of the prepared nanocarrier given by fluorescence imaging, providing more precise biodistribution information. Besides, 177Lu-labeled MIL-101(Fe)/PEG-FA has excellent antitumor effect, leading to cell proliferation inhibition, upregulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species, tumor growth suppression, and immune response-related protein and cytokine upregulation. This work reveals that optical imaging and nuclear imaging can work complementarily as multimodal imaging in the design and evaluation of anticancer nanomedicine, offering a MIL-101(Fe)/PEG-FA-based pharmaceutical with potential in tumor endoradiotherapy