MTDATA and the prediction of phase equilibria in oxide systems : 30 years of industrial collaboration

This paper gives an introduction to MTDATA, Phase Equilibrium Software from the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), and describes the latest advances in the development of a comprehensive database of thermodynamic parameters to underpin calculations of phase equilibria in large oxide, sulfide, and fluoride systems of industrial interest. The database, MTOX, has been developed over a period of thirty years based upon modeling work at NPL and funded by industrial partners in a project co-ordinated by Mineral Industry Research Organisation. Applications drawn from the fields of modern copper scrap smelting, high-temperature behavior of basic oxygen steelmaking slags, flash smelting of nickel, electric furnace smelting of ilmenite, and production of pure TiO2via a low-temperature molten salt route are discussed along with calculations to assess the impact of impurities on the uncertainty of fixed points used to realize the SI unit of temperature, the kelvin

Nicotinamide riboside improves muscle mitochondrial biogenesis, satellite cell differentiation, and gut microbiota in a twin study

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) precursor nicotinamide riboside (NR) has emerged as a promising compound to improve obesity-associated mitochondrial dysfunction and metabolic syndrome in mice. However, most short-term clinical trials conducted so far have not reported positive outcomes. Therefore, we aimed to determine whether long-term NR supplementation boosts mitochondrial biogenesis and metabolic health in humans. Twenty body mass index (BMI)- discordant monozygotic twin pairs were supplemented with an escalating dose of NR (250 to 1000 mg/day) for 5 months. NR improved systemic NAD(+) metabolism, muscle mitochondrial number, myoblast differentiation, and gut microbiota composition in both cotwins. NR also showed a capacity to modulate epigenetic control of gene expression in muscle and adipose tissue in both cotwins. However, NR did not ameliorate adiposity or metabolic health. Overall, our results suggest that NR acts as a potent modifier of NAD(+) metabolism, muscle mitochondrial biogenesis and stem cell function, gut microbiota, and DNA methylation in humans irrespective of BMI.Peer reviewe

A Genome-Wide Screen for Interactions Reveals a New Locus on 4p15 Modifying the Effect of Waist-to-Hip Ratio on Total Cholesterol

Peer reviewe

Activity of Supercooled Water on the Ice Curve and Other Thermodynamic Properties of Liquid Water up to the Boiling Point at Standard Pressure

A simple model for thermodynamic properties of water from subzero temperatures up to 373 K was derived at ambient pressure. The heat capacity of supercooled water was assessed as lambda transition. The obtained properties for supercooled water such as heat capacity, vapor pressure, density and thermal expansion are in excellent agreement with literature data. Activity of water on ice curve, independent of used electrolyte and Debye-Hückel constant applied in modeling, is also calculated. Thus, the ice curve activity of supercooled water can be used as a universal basis for thermodynamic modeling of aqueous solutions, precipitating hydrated and anhydrous solids. A simple model for heat capacity, density and thermal expansion of ice are also derived from 170 K up to melting point.Peer reviewe

Thermodynamic assessment of ZnO-SiO2 system

ZnO-containing slags are common in pyrometallurgical processing of the base metals and steel. This caused the interest to the thermodynamics of the ZnO-SiO2 system. A complete literature survey, critical evaluation of the available experimental data and a thermodynamic optimization of the phase equilibria and thermodynamic properties of the system ZnO-SiO2 at 1.013×105 Pa are presented. The molten oxide was described as an associate solution. The properties of liquid were reassessed and enthalpy term of the Gibbs energy of solid Zn2SiO4 was re-fitted to be compatible with the new data in the willemite primary phase field. The thermodynamic data set agrees well with the recent experimental observations. It can be used for predicting, e.g., the thermodynamic properties and the domains of the phase diagram, like critical point of the liquid miscibility gap, with a better accuracy than using the previous assessments. A set of optimized model parameters were obtained, reproducing the reliable thermodynamic and phase equilibrium data within their experimental errors from 298 K to liquidus temperatures, over the entire composition range. The created database can be used in a Gibbs energy minimization software to calculate the thermodynamic properties and the phase diagram sections of interest.Peer reviewe