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Raw coal is used by many suburban and rural households for cooking and heating and results in severe air pollution, especially problematic SO2 emissions. A source treatment strategy was proposed to reduce SO2 emissions, which used the co-pyrolysis of raw coal with a CaCO3 additive to produce clean coke. The effect of Ca/S molar ratio on the SO2 capture efficiency of clean coke was investigated, and the SO2 retention efficiency was optimized at a Ca/S molar ratio of 1.5. The sulfur retention mechanism of clean coke was attributed to: (1) CaCO3 decomposition to CaO and partial reaction of CaO with H2S to generate CaS during pyrolysis. (2) Transformation of the remaining sulfur in the clean coke to SO2 during combustion, capture by unreacted CaO to form CaSO4, and direct oxidation of CaS to CaSO4. The feasibility of SO2 emission reduction by clean coke in a practical household stove was verified.

Objective This study aimed to evaluate the clinical and angiographic outcomes of aneurysms that were completely or near-completely embolized and ascertain whether complete embolization is important in the stent-assisted coiling (SAC) of intracranial aneurysms. Methods This retrospective study enrolled 390 patients (417 aneurysms). Among them, complete (100%) or near-complete (>90%) angiographic obliteration of the aneurysms on immediate angiography was accomplished. Baseline characteristics, complications, angiography follow-up results, and clinical outcomes were analyzed. Results Cumulative adverse events occurred in 30 patients (7.7%), including thromboembolic complications in 17 (4.4%), intraoperative rupture in 10 (2.6%), and others in 3 (0.8%). Statistical analyses revealed an increased intraprocedural rupture rate in the initial completely occluded aneurysms (5.6% compared with 1.0%). The incidence of cumulative adverse events was higher in patients with completely occluded aneurysms (11.1%) than in those with near-completely occluded aneurysms (5.5%). Angiography follow-up was available for 173 aneurysms. Aneurysm occlusion status at follow-up was correlated with stent placement (p ​= ​0.000, odds ratio ​= ​5.847), size (p ​= ​0.000, odds ratio ​= ​6.446 for tiny aneurysms; and p ​= ​0.001, odds ratio ​= ​5.616 for small aneurysms), and initial aneurysm occlusion status (p ​= ​0.001, odds ratio ​= ​3.436). Complete occlusion at follow-up was seen in 82.6% of the initial complete occlusion group versus 63.0% of the initial near-complete occlusion group. The incidence of complete occlusion at follow-up was higher in the initial completely occluded aneurysms with SAC (100%) than in the initial completely occluded aneurysms with non-SAC (65.2%). Conclusions Initial complete treatment may lead to higher complication rates and good clinical outcomes at follow-up. Stent placement may enhance progressive aneurysm occlusion. Initial complete occlusion with SAC can provide durable closure at follow-up.

Brown rot disease broke out in stone fruit orchards of Fujian, China in 2019, despite pre-harvest application of methyl benzimidazole carbamate (MBC). To determine the reason, a total of 44 Monilinia fructicola strains were collected from nectarine, plum and peach fruits in this study, among which 79.5% strains were resistant to thiophanate-methyl, indicated by discriminatory dose of 5 μg/mL. The resistance of these strains was confirmed by treating detached peach fruit with label rates of formulated thiophanate-methyl which only completely inhibit infection of the sensitive strains, but not the resistant strains. Further analysis of the mechanism of MBC resistance revealed that all resistant strains carry a H6Y mutation in β-tubulin protein Tub2, which was only reported previously in the M. fructicola strains from California, USA, and do not display obvious fitness penalties, as no significant defects in mycelial growth rate, sporulation, conidia germination, aggressiveness on detached peach fruit and temperature sensitivity was detected. In addition, we found that diethofencarb, the agent for managing MBC-resistance strains, was unable to inhibit growth of the H6Y strains. Taken together, our study, for the first time, identified a mutation form of H6Y in the β-tubulin protein of M. fructicola in China, rendering the strains wide resistance to thiophanate-methyl. This mechanism of M. fructicola gaining resistance to MBC fungicides needs to be fully considered, when designing management strategies to control brown rot disease in stone fruit orchards.

An integrated process of in-situ catalytic cracking of coal pyrolysis tar and CO2 reforming of methane (CRM) over activated carbon supported nickel (Ni/AC) was conducted to upgrade tar. The results show that a tar with more than 95 wt% light tar content can be obtained, and the light tar yield is increased by 52.5% at 650 °C over Ni/AC. In comparison to the non-upgrading tar, the content of light oil, phenol oil, naphthalene oil and wash oil over Ni/AC increases by 224%, 283%, 132% and 36%, respectively, and the average molecular weight of tar decreases from 279 to 160 amu. During the upgrading process, 3-ring and 4-ring arenes decline, accompanied by the remarkable increase of 1-ring and 2-ring arenes. Isotope trace method were used to explore the mechanism of the upgrading process. When CH4 was replaced by CD4 or 13CH4, D and 13C can be detected in the upgraded tar. The results reveal that Ni/AC catalyze both CRM and tar cracking simultaneously, the free radicals from CRM stabilize cracking fragments of coal tar to generate more light components. By comparing the fresh and spent catalysts, it can be confirmed there is no adsorption of heavy tar over Ni/AC during the upgrading process.

Background The pathophysiology of de novo aneurysm after stenting is poorly understood. Hemodynamic effects may play an important role. We report and discuss the hemodynamic analysis of de novo aneurysm after intracranial stenting. Case Description A 51-year-old female underwent angioplasty and coiling for stenosis associated with an aneurysm of the left intracranial carotid artery. Six years later, the follow-up digital subtraction angiography demonstrated a de novo aneurysm at the proximal tine of the Wingspan stent. Computational fluid dynamics simulations showed that stenting for intracranial stenosis resulted in higher oscillatory shear index and lower time-averaged wall shear stress in the neck region of de novo aneurysm. Conclusions The hemodynamic change after stenting may lead to formation of a de novo aneurysm. After an initial injury that might result from the tine on the endothelial cells, stenting could produce high oscillatory shear index and low time-averaged wall shear stress near the tine, thus potentially inducing de novo aneurysm formation.

The ability to analyze biotoxicity of atmospheric pollution plays an important role in public health. It provides the potential to directly analyze the health information of at-risk individuals. Although air quality standards have received significant attention in many countries, the potential for better biotoxicity assessment has remained largely unexplored. Here we propose a method using one kind of luminescent bacterium Photobacterium phosphereum to detect the biotoxicity of atmospheric particulate matter ≤ 2.5 µm (PM2.5). Combined with the results of air pollution data of the year 2013–2014, this method has been proven to have good biotoxicity detection performance, and can evaluate the severity of at least 85% of PM2.5 related biotoxicity in Shanghai during this time period. Based on an established algorithm of this detection system, the biotoxicity of twelve PM2.5 real samples (collected over a month) were tested and divided into different biotoxicity levels. It allows an effective evaluation of biotoxicity of PM2.5 due to the quick and sensitive response of bioluminescence to the concentration of toxic components, which provides a valuable reference to evaluate the biotoxicity of PM2.5. This established method can be easily applied to the analysis and evaluation of any other PM2.5 samples assay by following the steps.

Summary: Recent genomic studies suggest that Asian breast cancer (BC) may have distinct somatic features; however, most comparisons of BC genomic features across populations did not account for differences in age, subtype, and sequencing methods. In this study, we analyzed whole-exome sequencing (WES) data to characterize somatic copy number alterations (SCNAs) and mutation profiles in 98 Hong Kong BC (HKBC) patients and compared with those from The Cancer Genome Atlas of European ancestry (TCGA-EA, N = 686), which had similar distributions of age at diagnosis and PAM50 subtypes as in HKBC. We developed a two-sample Poisson model to compare driver gene selection pressure, which reflects the effect sizes of cancer driver genes, while accounting for differences in sample size, sequencing platforms, depths, and mutation calling methods. We found that somatic mutation and SCNA profiles were overall very similar between HKBC and TCGA-EA. The selection pressure for small insertions and deletions (indels) in GATA3 (false discovery rate (FDR) corrected p < 0.01) and single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) in TP53 (nominal p = 0.02, FDR corrected p = 0.28) was lower in HKBC than in TCGA-EA. Among the 13 signatures of single-base substitutions (SBS) that are common in BC, we found a suggestively higher contribution of SBS18 and a lower contribution of SBS1 in HKBC than in TCGA-EA, while the two APOBEC-induced signatures showed similar prevalence. Our results suggest that the genomic landscape of BC was largely very similar between HKBC and TCGA-EA, despite suggestive differences in some driver genes and mutational signatures that warrant future investigations in large and diverse Asian populations.

The effect of H2 addition on CH4 decomposition over activated carbon (AC) catalyst was investigated. The results show that the addition of H2 to CH4 changes both methane conversion over AC and the properties of carbon deposits produced from methane decomposition. The initial methane conversion declines from 6.6% to 3.3% with the increasing H2 flowrate from 0 to 25 mL/min, while the methane conversion in steady stage increases first and then decreases with the flowrate of H2, and when the H2 flowrate is 10 mL/min, i.e. quarter flowrate of methane, the methane conversion over AC in steady stage is four times more than that without hydrogen addition. It seems that the activity and stability of catalyst are improved by the introduction of H2 to CH4 and the catalyst deactivation is restrained. Filamentous carbon is obtained when H2 is introduced into CH4 reaction gas compared with the agglomerate carbon without H2 addition. The formation of filamentous carbon on the surface of AC and slower decrease rate of surface area and pores volume may cause the stable activity of AC during methane decomposition.

Tar was upgraded by integrating in-situ catalytic cracking of coal pyrolysis tar with CO 2 reforming of methane (CRM) over Ni-based catalysts to improve light tar yield. The results showed that Ni-based catalysts can catalyze coal tar cracking and CRM simultaneously, and some radicals, like H and CH x , produced in CRM over Ni-based catalysts could combine with the radicals from catalytic cracking of tar to avoid excessive cracking of tar. The catalyst 5Ni/Al 2 O 3 (Ni/Al 2 O 3 with 5 wt% Ni) showed the best performance for tar upgrading owing to its appropriate activity of both tar cracking and CRM. Compared with non-upgrading tar, the average molecular weight of upgrading tar over 5Ni/Al 2 O 3 decreases from 279 to 193 amu, and the content and yield of light tar (boiling point 2 O 3 increase by 53% and 32% at 650 °C. The contents of light fractions increase and that of pitch decreases apparently. The light components, such as benzenes, phenols and naphthalenes, are all improved, and long aliphatic chains and aromatics with 3 or 4 rings have an obvious decrease. Active components in upgrading catalysts obviously affect the upgrading effect of coal tar. 5Ni/Al 2 O 3 exhibits higher content and yield of light tar compared with 5Co/Al 2 O 3 and 5Fe/Al 2 O 3 .

Background SDF-1/CXCR4 axis plays a critical role in the mobilization and regeneration of host-derived cells. Little is known around the role of SDF-1 gene on bone regeneration. This study was conceptualized to create a 2-in-1 strategy by identifying potential role of SDF-1 on promoting endogenous osteoblast migration and synergizing with magnesium doped calcium phosphate scaffold (MCPC) on osteogenic differentiation. Method ADSCs were transfected with Lenti-SDF-1. Cell proliferation, osteogenic gene expression and ALP/ARS staining were investigated. Osteoblast migration was studied. MCPC construct was employed as carrier of Lenti-SDF-1 ADSCs. Osteogenic gene expressions of BMSCs were determined in MCPC + ADSCs medium. MCPC + Lenti-SDF-1 ADSCs scaffolds were implanted into rats and bone regeneration efficacy was evaluated by micro-CT and histological analysis. Result SDF-1 transduction neither impacted ADSCs' proliferation, nor osteogenic differentiation. Lenti-SDF-1 ADSCs promoted migration of BMSCs/osteoblasts. MCPC facilitated osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. Bone formation was significantly increased in MCPC + Lenti-SDF-1 group. Conclusion Overexpressed SDF-1 gene promotes the homing of endogenous osteoblasts. MCPC + Lenti-SDF-1 facilitated robust in situ bone regeneration via dual mechanisms by recruiting endogenous BMSCs' and enhancing homing cell's differentiation. This advanced design combines gene therapy and osteoinductive tissue scaffolds, which is proved to be a promising strategy to achieve satisfied clinical bone repair efficacy.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are considered as a new generation of transport to solve the energy crisis. The efficiency of permanent-magnet synchronous machine (PMSM) is an important performance for the energy loss of EVs. Considering the harmonic current caused by the PWM output voltage of inverter, this paper proposes a novel global loss model of PMSM, which can calculate both fundamental loss and harmonic loss. This model precisely estimates the harmonic loss of PMSM by double Fourier integral analysis. Based on the proposed loss model, a maximum efficiency control strategy is presented which can achieve the minimum energy loss in the whole operation range of EVs. The optimum flux-weakening current can be quickly found by the maximum efficiency control, and optimization of energy loss in PMSM direct drive system is verified by theoretical analysis and experimental results.

The gas phase carbonylation of ethanol is an important non-petrochemical route to produce propionic acid. Carbon materials supported Ni based catalyst is widely employed with merits of high surface area and excellent electron conductivity. However, the catalyst suffered from severe metal loss due to weak interaction with support. The efforts have been made to develop a novel modification of nitrogen and oxygen on activated carbon (NOAC) supported Ni-Cu catalyst. XRD, BET, H2-TPR, TEM, HRTEM, SEM-EDS, XPS and ICP are used to characterize physical chemistry properties of Ni-Cu catalyst. The metal particles with small size (2–5 nm) and uniform dispersion prefer to be anchored in NOAC1. The modification of oxygen and nitrogen groups enhances the interaction between the metal and the support. The production of propionic acid (PA) and ethyl propionate (EP) selectivity increased by 15.79%. In addition, the introduction of oxygen and nitrogen groups as well as synergistic effect of Ni-Cu alloy effectively suppressed the metal loss and improve catalyst stability.

The alkaline ions are usually added to regulate pH and accommodate charge balance during silica-alumina zeolite synthesis. Importantly, alkaline ions play a crucial role in stabilizing metal species encapsulated within silica-alumina zeolite. Pt@ZSM-5 samples with different amounts of sodium ions were synthesized for partial oxidation of methane (POM) reaction. The properties of Pt@ZSM-5 catalyst was characterized by XRD, ICP, TEM, CO-TPR and FT-IR techniques. The presence of alkaline ions promotes the combination of Pt with hydroxyl groups within zeolite and improves stability and dispersity of Pt species further. Appropriate amounts of sodium ions activate platinum and promote the formation of Pt-Ox(OH)yNa species. The experiment results also suggest that the partially oxidized Pt-Ox(OH)yNa specie is the active site of the POM reaction and inhibits sintering of catalyst. This strategy provides a highly active and stable catalyst synthesis method, expanding the application of metal encapsulated within silica-alumina zeolite.

Post-print version of the article. Submitted by Pedro Gomes (psgomes@igc.gulbenkian.pt) on 2016-11-16T15:55:39Z No. of bitstreams: 8 Ortiz-Ramirez et. al. Molecular Plant 2016.pdf: 3618336 bytes, checksum: 6c7e8d70dfd297fbe551cc8540a1d162 (MD5) S1_Table.xlsx: 43094395 bytes, checksum: 88902e5fa186ab8873ebf00f48cca527 (MD5) S2_Table.xlsx: 30584 bytes, checksum: b7dad2287fd94b61d414b4f62f1be1c5 (MD5) S3_Table.xlsx: 64760 bytes, checksum: 91387f7977117c2080e38311999d0f1e (MD5) S4_Table.xlsx: 12018 bytes, checksum: 939b698d7a077a18ea22c38408ecf45d (MD5) S5_Table.xlsx: 23614 bytes, checksum: 27827ce836d39d91c00632f51ce36810 (MD5) S6_Table.xlsx: 399591 bytes, checksum: 881c815499f9f345efb7fb36460ebc04 (MD5) Supplemental figures 1-9.pdf: 1500308 bytes, checksum: 22bd0b0ad6f285cd49cff2434ccd2136 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2016-11-16T15:55:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 8 Ortiz-Ramirez et. al. Molecular Plant 2016.pdf: 3618336 bytes, checksum: 6c7e8d70dfd297fbe551cc8540a1d162 (MD5) S1_Table.xlsx: 43094395 bytes, checksum: 88902e5fa186ab8873ebf00f48cca527 (MD5) S2_Table.xlsx: 30584 bytes, checksum: b7dad2287fd94b61d414b4f62f1be1c5 (MD5) S3_Table.xlsx: 64760 bytes, checksum: 91387f7977117c2080e38311999d0f1e (MD5) S4_Table.xlsx: 12018 bytes, checksum: 939b698d7a077a18ea22c38408ecf45d (MD5) S5_Table.xlsx: 23614 bytes, checksum: 27827ce836d39d91c00632f51ce36810 (MD5) S6_Table.xlsx: 399591 bytes, checksum: 881c815499f9f345efb7fb36460ebc04 (MD5) Supplemental figures 1-9.pdf: 1500308 bytes, checksum: 22bd0b0ad6f285cd49cff2434ccd2136 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-01 ERA-NET: (2nd call ERA-NET for Coordinating Plant Sciences); Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia.

In-situ catalytic cracking of coal tar coupling with steam reforming of ethane (SRE) over activated carbon supported nickel (Ni/AC) was conducted to improve light tar yield. The results show that the content and yield of light tar (the fraction having boiling point below 360 °C) under ethane/steam reforming atmosphere increase by 58.7% and 62.2% with Ni/AC, respectively, and phenol oil raised by 112.5% compared with the non-upgrading tar. Compared with the upgrading process under N2, the benzenes and phenols in the tar gained from upgrading process under ethane/steam mixed atmosphere increases by 99.3% and 21.5%, specially, C3 alkyl substituted benzene and cresol increases from 2.2% and 9.2% to 5.1% and 15.0%. Meanwhile, when using deuterated ethane (C2D6) and deuterated water (D2O) as tracers, tar component with deuterium atom can be detected by GC/MS and 2H NMR. These reveal that Ni/AC can simultaneously catalyze coal tar cracking and SRE, thus the small radicals such as CHx, C2Hx and H generated from SRE can combine with the radicals from tar cracking to avoid excessive cleavage of tar. Coupled with the MS analysis of typical substances, the reaction mechanism of upgrading process was inferred.

Heterogeneous aging of organic aerosols can significantly alter their physicochemical properties and thus their impacts on the radiative balance of the earth system. In this study, kinetics and mechanisms of heterogeneous reactions between suspended squalane particles and hydroxyl (OH) radicals were investigated using a self-made photooxidation flow tube and a high-resolution long time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometer equipped with a Filter Inlet for Gases and AEROsols (FIGAERO-HR-LToF-CIMS). In addition to the measurements of the heterogeneous reaction rate constants for squalane and its multi-generation functionalization products whose carbon backbone are retaining, identification and semi-quantification of functionalization and fragmentation products from OH radical-initiated aging of squalane were carried out, which were utilized to develop a plausible reaction scheme. Our results show that the heterogeneous oxidation mechanism for particulate squalane is similar to those for OH radical initiated-oxidation of gaseous alkanes, but intermolecular hydrogen abstraction, in addition to reactions with O2, isomerization, and decomposition, could be an important heterogeneous reaction pathway for alkoxy radicals, leading to the formation of functionalization products of alcohols. The relative abundances of fragmentation products suggest that OH radicals preferably attack the tertiary carbon. The evolution of products indicates that functionalization plays a leading role in the early stage of the reaction and the fragmentation products become more and more important with increased OH exposure. Our study depicts heterogeneous reaction pathways of organic aerosols with OH radicals at the molecular level, and helps to better understand the chemical evolution of complex organic aerosols in the atmosphere.

The nanostructured hybrids composed of binary transition metal oxides (bi-TMOs) have emerged as promising anode materials in lithium ion batteries (LIBs) because of their unique physicochemical properties. Herein, we report ZnO/CoO mesoporous microspheres encapsulated by nitrogen-doped carbon shells (ZnO–CoO@NC) via self-templated solvothermal synthesis and subsequent in-situ pyrolysis of polypyrrole. The core of nanohybrid is derived from single-phase ZnCo2O4 microspheres and consists of uniform two-phase ZnO/CoO nanocrystals with interparticle mesopores. By virtue of the conductive layer of N-doped carbon and the interaction between mixed ZnO and CoO, the ZnO–CoO@NC mesoporous microspheres manifest the superior lithium storage properties as anode for LIBs, which exhibits the high Li+ storage capacity and the excellent cycling performance (1457 mAh g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 after 500 cycles), along with the competitive rate capability (381 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1).

An integrated process of coal pyrolysis with steam reforming of propane (CP-SRP) to improve tar yield was studied using Ni/Al2O3 as reforming catalyst. Comparing with coal pyrolysis under N2 atmosphere (CP-N2), the CP-SRP and the integrated coal pyrolysis with steam reforming of methane (CP-SRM) or methane with a few propane (CP-SRMP) show higher tar yield. Tar yield reaches its maximum at 600 °C in CP-SRP, which is 1.17, 1.14, and 1.11 times that in CP-N2, CP-SRMP and CP-SRM, respectively. Simulated distillation and GC–MS were used to characterize the fraction distributions and compositions of tar, which indicated the tar from CP-SRP has higher light oil, phenols and naphthalenes content than that from CP-N2. Isotopic tracer agents like C3D8 and D2O were used to study the tar formation mechanism in CP-SRP. The radicals like D, CD3 generated by activated C3D8 and D2O in SRP combine with radicals formed from coal pyrolysis to improve tar yield and change the product distribution.

Integrated coal pyrolysis with dry reforming of methane with addition of low carbon alkane provides an effective method for improving tar yield. One of the key issues is the development of catalysts for dry reforming of low carbon alkane (DRA). In this study, Ni/La2O3 was prepared by co-precipitation and used for DRA. A mixture of ethane and methane in molar ratio of 1:8 was reformed by CO2 and integrated with coal pyrolysis to improve tar yield. The result showed that tar yield under integrated process of coal pyrolysis with DRA over Ni/La2O3 at 600 °C is 1.18 times that under N2. Ni/La2O3 shows less carbon deposition, and better performance than Ni/Al2O3, and the tar yield over Ni/La2O3 is 1.09 times that over Ni/Al2O3 at 600 °C. Less carbon deposition over Ni/La2O3 is mainly due to the formation of La2O2CO3 under dry reforming. The tar yield remains stable after the Ni/La2O3 was used for 6 times, indicating good regenerability of Ni/La2O3.

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In this paper, the improved active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) method is discussed firstly. This method is applied to the high precision positioning table, which is driven by the voice coil motor (VCM). Compared with the conventional ADRC, the proposed ADRC has been improved for its tracking differentiator (TD) is replaced by the reference trajectory optimization (RTO), which is based on 5 order S-shaped curve (FOS). An extended state observer (ESO) of the ADRC can observe disturbances and uncertainties of the system, and cancel them dynamically. Secondly, the hybrid cascaded H-bridge (HCHB) seven-level inverter topology structure is proposed to make sure that the current could possess high power and low ripple at the same time. However, the HCHB inverter has its own drawback that its current flows backwards in it. Therefore, the hybrid frequency carrier-based PWM (HFPWM) modulation method is put forward to solve this problem. Thirdly, the mathematical model of VCM is established accurately, which takes the air damping, eddy current damping and elastic stiffness into consideration. Finally, the experimental and simulation results show that the improved ADRC control method can effectively improve positioning accuracy and robustness; the FOS curve can reduce the impact of shocks and residual vibration; the HCHB inverter resolves the contradiction between high power and low ripple.

Summary Central arterial wall stiffening, driven by a chronic inflammatory milieu, accompanies arterial diseases, the leading cause of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality in Western society. An increase in central arterial wall stiffening, measured as an increase in aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV), is a major risk factor for clinical CV disease events. However, no specific therapies to reduce PWV are presently available. In rhesus monkeys, a 2 year diet high in fat and sucrose (HFS) increases not only body weight and cholesterol, but also induces prominent central arterial wall stiffening and increases PWV and inflammation. The observed loss of endothelial cell integrity, lipid and macrophage infiltration, and calcification of the arterial wall were driven by genomic and proteomic signatures of oxidative stress and inflammation. Resveratrol prevented the HFS-induced arterial wall inflammation and the accompanying increase in PWV. Dietary resveratrol may hold promise as a therapy to ameliorate increases in PWV.

An integrated process (CP-RSCG) was proposed by coupling coal pyrolysis (CP) with catalytic reforming of simulated coal gas (RSCG) to improve tar yield, and the interaction mechanism was discussed by isotopic tracing. The results show that CP-RSCG can simultaneously improve the quantity and quality of tar. The highest tar yield (16.9 wt%) was obtained in the integrated process at 650 °C, which is 16.6% higher than that under N2 atmosphere. Compared with pyrolysis under simulated coal gas (SCG) without reforming catalyst, the CP-RSCG process can further improve tar yield, which is attributed to the catalytic activation of SCG over Ni-based catalyst to produce active H and CHx free radicals and their participation in tar formation. This enhancement is related with the gas composition in pyrolysis atmosphere. Moreover, this process can be further strengthened by optimizing the gas composition in SCG, introducing steam into SCG and using the catalyst with high catalytic performance. The gas generated by CP-RSCG can be used as SCG for circulatory pyrolysis to enhance tar yield. The analysis of tar composition showed that the light tar content increases, whereas the asphaltene content decreases. The isotopic tracing experiments with D2, CD4 and 13CH4 as tracers confirmed that the radicals generated from the reforming of SCG could combine the coal pyrolysis radicals to retard the polymerization reaction among large radicals. This work provides a simple route to improve tar yield by utilizing pyrolysis gases in coal pyrolysis process.

The objective of this study was to analyze the stress distribution on zygoma implants and their supporting bones, superstructures and abutments under occlusal loads after maxilla reconstruction with prostheses. Four three-dimensional (3D) finite element models (FEMs) were constructed based on computed tomography (CT) data. One model of normal structure was constructed (Model 1) and three models of defects were simulated and restored with conventional prosthesis, one and two zygoma-implant-retained prostheses respectively (Models 2–4). Vertical and lateral loads of 150 N were loaded and the stresses distribution were observed and compared. The stresses distributed along the three mechanical pillars of maxillofacial parts in Model 1, which concentrated at the superstructure at Model 2. The zygoma implant can reduce the stresses at clasps and abutments in Model 3, while two zygoma implants can well share the stresses of affected side in Model 4. The distribution of stresses on prostheses were more rational with the help of zygoma implants which can share the stresses on the affected side adequately, so that it is fit for the reconstruction of unilateral maxilla defects.

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is a chronic precancerous condition. Survivin is one of the inhibitors of apoptosis protein, and is focused on owing to its unique therapeutic and prognostic potential.To determine the potential involvement of survivin in the carcinogenesis of OSF, we analyzed the relationship between the survivin and clinical characteristic.Immunohistochemistry was used to show that survivin expression levels were significantly higher in the oral squamous cell carcinoma transformed from OSF group compared with normal group (P.01) and OSF group (P.01). In the different stages of OSF, survivin expression exhibited difference as well. Furthermore, Western blotting and reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis confirmed the increased expression of survivin in the carcinogenesis of OSF.These results suggest that survivin plays an important role during the malignant transformation of OSF and may provide an indication to early prevention and diagnosis in the progression of OSF.

Increased activation of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS) and an increase in oxidative stress are both implicated in age-related cardiac remodeling but their precise interrelationship and linkage to underlying molecular and cellular abnormalities remain to be defined. Recent studies indicate that NADPH oxidases are major sources of oxidative stress and are activated by the RAAS. This study investigated the relationship between the NADPH oxidase system, age-related cardiac remodeling and its underlying mechanisms. We studied male Fisher 344 cross Brown Norway rats aged 2 months (young rats), 8 months (young adult rats) or 30 months (old rats). Aging-dependent increases in blood pressure, cardiomyocyte area, coronary artery remodeling and cardiac fibrosis were associated with increased myocardial NADPH oxidase activity attributable to the Nox2 isoform. These changes were accompanied by evidence of local RAAS activation, increased expression of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and TGF-β1, and a significant activation of MMP-2 and MT1-MMP. The changes in old rats were replicated in 8 month old rats that were chronically treated with angiotensin II for 28 days. Increased RAAS activation may drive age-related cardiac remodeling through the activation of Nox2 NADPH oxidase and subsequent increases in MMP activation, fibrosis and cardiomyocyte hypertrophy.

The release of Notch intracellular domain (NICD) is mediated by gamma-secretase. gamma-Secretase inhibitors have been shown to be potent inhibitors of NICD. We hypothesized that Notch1 is acting as an oncogene in ovarian cancer and that inhibition of Notch1 would lead to inhibition of cell growth and apoptotic cell death in ovarian cancer cells. In this study, expressions of Notch1 and hes1 in four human ovarian cancer (A2780, SKOV3, HO-8910, and HO-8910PM), and one ovarian surface (IOSE 144) cell lines were detected by Western blot and quantitative real-time RT-PCR. The effects of gamma-secretase inhibition (N-[N-(3,5-difluorophenacetyl)-l-alanyl]-S-phenylglycine t-butyl ester, DAPT) were measured by MTT assay, flow cytometry, ELISA and colony-forming assay. Our results showed that Notch1 and hes1 were found in all the four human ovarian cancer and IOSE 144 cell lines, and they were significantly higher in ovarian cancer cells A2780 compared to another four ovarian cells. Down-regulation of Notch1 expression by DAPT was able to substantially inhibit cell growth, induce G1 cell cycle arrest and induce cell apoptosis in A2780 in dose- and time-dependent manner. In addition, hes1 was found to be down-regulated in dose- and time-dependent manner by DAPT in A2780. These results demonstrate that treatment with DAPT leads to growth inhibition and apoptosis of A2780 cells in dose- and time-dependent manner. These findings also support the conclusion that blocking of the Notch1 activity by gamma-secretase inhibitors represents a potentially attractive strategy of targeted therapy for ovarian cancer.

Increased angiotensin II (Ang II), matrix metalloproteinase type II (MMP2), and sympathetic activity accompany age-associated arterial remodeling. To analyze this relationship, we infused a low subpressor dose of Ang II into young (8 months old) rats. This increased carotid arterial MMP2 transcription, translation, and activation, as well as transforming growth factor-beta1 activity and collagen deposition. A higher Ang II concentration, which increased arterial pressure to that of old (30 months old) untreated rats, produced carotid media thickening and intima infiltration by vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Ex vivo, Ang II increased MMP2 activity in carotid rings from young rats to that of untreated old rats. Ang II also increased the ability of early passage VSMCs from young rats to invade a synthetic basement membrane, similar to that of untreated VSMCs from old rats. The MMP inhibitor GM6001 and the AT1 receptor antagonist Losartan inhibited these effects. The alpha-adrenoreceptor agonist phenylephrine increased arterial Ang II protein, causing MMP2 activation and intima and media thickening. Exposure of young VSMCs to phenylephrine in vitro increased Ang II protein and MMP2 activity to the levels of old VSMCs; Losartan abolished these effects. Thus, Ang II-induced effects on MMP2, transforming growth factor-beta1, collagen, and VSMCs are central to the arterial remodeling that accompanies advancing age.

Background Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome is a dyskeratosis congenita–related telomere biology disorder that presents in infancy with intrauterine growth retardation, immunodeficiency, and cerebellar hypoplasia in addition to the triad of nail dysplasia, skin pigmentation, and oral leukoplakia. Individuals with Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome often develop bone marrow failure in early childhood. Germline mutations in DKC1, TERT, TINF2, RTEL1, ACD, or PARN cause about 60% of individuals with Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome. Patient Description We describe 14 years of follow-up of an individual with Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome who initially presented as an infant with intrauterine growth retardation, microcephaly, and central nervous system calcifications. He was diagnosed with Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome at age 6 years and had a complicated medical history including severe developmental delay, cerebellar hypoplasia, esophageal and urethral stenosis, hip avascular necrosis, immunodeficiency, and bone marrow failure evolving to myelodysplastic syndrome requiring hematopoietic cell transplantation at age 14 years. He had progressive skin pigmentation, oral leukoplakia, and nail dysplasia leading to anonychia. Whole exome sequencing identified novel biallelic variants in PARN . Conclusions This patient illustrates that the constellation of intrauterine growth retardation, central nervous system calcifications, and cerebellar hypoplasia, esophageal or urethral stenosis, and cytopenias, in the absence of congenital infection, may be due to Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome. Early diagnosis of Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome is important to optimize medical management and provide genetic counseling.