The mechanics of formation of heat-induced myofibrillar protein gel from rabbit psoas major

The present study was designed to analyze the formation mechanics of heat-induced myofibrillar gels from rabbit psoas major at 0.6 mol/L KCl (pH 6.5) and 0.2 mol/L KCl (pH 6.0; n = 3). Morphological structure changes were observed using phase-contrast microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and gel properties were determined through water-holding capacity (WHC), gel strength and dynamic rheological test. The results revealed that myofibrillar filaments aggregated and formed larger oligomers by side-by-side interactions when heated from 25 to 65°C. In higher ionic strength at higher pH, the filaments formed a more compact homogeneous network structure and the G′ value was much lower with higher WHC and gel strength, suggesting that the myofibril gel properties could be described by ∆G′. Based on the present study, it is suggested that the desired structural and textural attributes of myofibril gel can be manipulated by temperature, ionic strength and pH

Simultaneous measurement of energy spectrum and fluence of neutrons using a diamond detector

Abstract Due to the excellent radiation hardness and high–temperature endurance, diamond detectors are suitable for intense neutron measurements and promising for neutron diagnostics of scientific fusion devices. In the present work, simultaneous measurement of energy spectrum and fluence of neutrons using a diamond detector was realized for the first time. The absolute response matrix of the diamond detector was simulated based on detailed analysis of the nuclear reactions and the proper selection of nuclear reaction data. Neutron energy spectra as well as neutron fluences for 5.0, 5.5, 8.5, 9.5 and 10.5 MeV neutrons from d–d reaction were measured using the diamond detector based on the absolute response matrix. The measured neutron energy spectra and neutron fluences are reasonable compared with those detected using a EJ-309 liquid scintillator and a 238U fission chamber, respectively, which verifies the reliability of the present work. Furthermore, the energy spectrum and fluence of a 14.2 MeV d–t neutron source were also measured using the diamond detector. The present work demonstrates the ability of simultaneous measurement of energy spectrum and fluence as well as for both d–d and d–t neutrons using a diamond detector, which is of great significance for neutron diagnostics of scientific fusion devices

Nanorod In₂O₃@C Modified Separator with Improved Adsorption and Catalytic Conversion of Soluble Polysulfides for High-Performance Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

The shuttle effect of soluble lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) poses a crucial challenge for commercializing lithium–sulfur batteries. The functionalization of the separator is an effective strategy for enhancing the cell lifespan through the capture and reuse of LiPSs. Herein, a novel In2O3 nanorod with an ultrathin carbon layer (In2O3@C) was coated on a polypropylene separator. The results demonstrate the adsorption and catalysis of In2O3 on polysulfides, effectively inhibiting the shuttle effect and improving the redox kinetics of LiPSs. Besides, the ultrathin carbon layer increases the reaction sites and accelerates the electrochemical reaction rate. The cell with the In2O3@C interlayer displays excellent reversibility and stability with a 0.029% capacity decay each cycle in 2000 cycles at 2C. In addition, the In2O3@C interlayer significantly improves the cell performance under high current (888.2 mA h g–1 at 2C and room temperature) and low temperature (1007.8 mA h g–1 at 0.1C and −20 °C) conditions

Cross sections of the

The cross sections of the 10B(n,$\alpha$)7Li two-body and 10B(n, t2$\alpha$) three-body reactions have been measured at $E_{n} =4.0$, 4.5 and 5.0 MeV using a GIC (twin gridded ionization chamber) and an enriched thin-film 10B sample in 2017. The anode and grid signals of the GIC are used in the experiment. However, we found afterwards that better results can be obtained using the anode and cathode signals of the GIC. In the present work, Monte Carlo simulations of the measurement are performed. Then, the cathode signals are rebuilt using the anode and grid signals of the GIC. Finally, the experiment data are re-analyzed to obtain new results with smaller uncertainties especially for the 10B(n, t2$\alpha$) three-body reaction. The present results are compared with existing measurements and evaluations

Bio-inspired vertebral design for scalable and flexible perovskite solar cells

Flexible perovskite solar cells suffer huge efficiency loss upon area scale-up due to brittleness of ITO and poor perovskite film quality. Here Meng et al. solve this by inserting a conductive and glued polymer layer between ITO and perovskite layers and obtain efficiency of 17% for 30 cm2 devices

Cross section of the

Accurate cross section of the 232Th(n, f) reaction are demanded in the design of advanced nuclear systems and in the development of fission theory. However, the existing measurement data are relatively sparse comparing with those of the 238U(n, f) reaction, with big uncertainties and obvious discrepancies. Furthermore, analysis shows that systematic deviations exist between the results measured with mono-energetic neutron sources and white neutron sources, which is the main reason for the differences among different evaluation libraries. This work is dedicated to the clarification of this discrepancy. Based on mono-energetic d-d neutron sources and using back-to-back Th/238U samples, cross section of the 232Th(n, f) reaction were measured at 12 energies in the 4.2–11.5 MeV region. Elaborated measures were taken in the measurement procedure including the exchange of the forward and the backward direction of the samples, as well as in the data processing containing the correction of interference fission counts from low-energy neutrons and the detailed Monte Carlo simulations for the determination of detection efficiencies for fission events. In addition, theoretical analysis was also performed using TALYS-1.9 and UNF codes. The present results agree with existing measurement data using white neutron sources, showing that previous cross section of the 232Th(n, f) reaction measured using mono-energetic neutron sources are systematically overestimated on average. The present results are in accordance with the latest measurement data of Michalopoulou et al., which is helpful in the improvement of nuclear data evaluations of the 232Th(n, f) reaction