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The complement cascade is an ancient and highly conserved arm of the immune system. The accumulating evidence highlights elevated activity of the complement cascade in cancer microenvironment and emphasizes its effects on the immune, cancer, and cancer stroma cells, pointing to a role in inflammation-mediated etiology of neoplasms. The role the cascade plays in development, progression, and relapse of solid tumors is increasingly recognized, however its role in hematological malignancies, especially those of myeloid origin, has not been thoroughly assessed and remains obscure. As the role of inflammation and autoimmunity in development of myeloid malignancies is becoming recognized, in this review we focus on summarizing the links that have been identified so far for complement cascade involvement in the pathobiology of myeloid malignancies. Complement deficiencies are primary immunodeficiencies that cause an array of clinical outcomes including an increased risk of a range of infectious as well as local or systemic inflammatory and thrombotic conditions. Here, we discuss the impact that deficiencies in complement cascade initiators, mid- and terminal-components and inhibitors have on the biology of myeloid neoplasms. The emergent conclusions indicate that the links between complement cascade, inflammatory signaling, and the homeostasis of hematopoietic system exist, and efforts should continue to detail the mechanistic involvement of complement cascade in the development and progression of myeloid cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) serve as a biomarker in sepsis, while neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), vasotropic inotropic score (VIS), and cumulative fluid balance (CFB) correlate with inflammation and mortality. Understanding the correlation between elevated ROS levels and these markers aids in prognostication.The objective is to study the correlation between the increased level of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, vasotropic and inotropic index, total fluid balance and reactive oxygen species level in patients with sepsis.Materials and methods. A prospective cohort study in RSUD Dr. Moewardi’s ICU/HCU from June to August 2023 employed univariate, bivariate (Spearman correlation), and multivariate logistic regression analyses.Results. Among 34 sepsis patients, NLR and VIS showed significant positive correlations on day one, and NLR, VIS, and FB on day three. Delta changes in NLR and VIS significantly correlated with ROS.Conclusion. NLR and VIS changes predict ROS levels, while CFB exhibits weak correlations, which deserve additional investigation. This underscores the importance of NLR and VIS as prognostic indicators in sepsis.

Chryseobacterium demonstrates a diverse environmental presence and a significant pathogenic potential across various ecosystems. This clinical case showcases a rare instance of bacterial infection in a 75-year-old male with untreated diabetes and recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs). The patient presented symptoms of abdominal pain, burning urination, fever, and an elevated eosinophil count. A subsequent urine culture identified a Chryseobacterium-related bacterium as the causative agent, exhibiting sensitivity to piperacillin/tazobactam, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and nitrofurantoin, which led to successful treatment using oral nitrofurantoin. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of APV-1T revealed a close relationship of 98.2% similarity to Chryseobacterium gambrini strain 5-1St1aT (AM232810). Furthermore, comparative genome analysis, incorporating Average Nucleotide Identity (ANI), Digital DNA–DNA Hybridization (dDDH) values, and comprehensive phylogenetic assessments utilizing 16S rRNA gene sequences, core genes, and amino acid sequences of core proteins, highlighted the unique phylogenetic positioning of APV-1T within the Chryseobacterium genus. Distinct carbon utilization and assimilation patterns, along with major fatty acid content, set APV-1T apart from C. gambrini strain 5-1St1aT. These findings, encompassing phenotypic, genotypic, and chemotaxonomic characteristics, strongly support the proposal of a novel species named Chryseobacterium urinae sp. nov., with APV-1T designated as the type strain (= MCC 50690 = JCM 36476). Despite its successful treatment, the strain displayed resistance to multiple antibiotics. Genomic analysis further unveiled core-conserved genes, strain-specific clusters, and genes associated with antibiotic resistance and virulence. This report underscores the vital importance of elucidating susceptibility patterns of rare pathogens like Chryseobacterium, particularly in immunocompromised individuals. It advocates for further analyses to understand the functional significance of identified genes and their implications in treatment and pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With growing concerns about Group B streptococcal (GBS) infections and their adverse effects on perinatal pregnancies, including infection, premature delivery, neonatal septicemia, and meningitis, it is urgent to promote GBS screening at all pregnancy stages. The purpose of this study is to establish a device-independent, fast, sensitive, and visual GBS detection method. Taking advantage of the characteristics of the recombinase polymerase isothermal amplification (RPA), the activity of the nfo nuclease cleavage base analog (tetrahydrofuran, THF) site, and the advantages of visual reading of the lateral flow chromatography strip (LFS), a GBS detection method was developed. This method focused on the conservative region of the Christie-Atkins-Munch-Petersen factor encoded by the cfb gene, a virulence gene specific to GBS. Two forward primers, two biotin-labeled reverse primers, and one fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled and C3spacer-blocked probe were designed. The study involved optimizing the primer pair and probe combination, determining the optimal reaction temperature and time, evaluating specificity, analyzing detection limits, and testing the method on 87 vaginal swabs from perinatal pregnant women. The results showed that the visual detection method of GBS-RPA-LFS, using the cfb-F1/R2/P1 primer probe, could detect GBS within 15 min at the temperature ranging from 39°C to 42°C. Furthermore, the method specifically amplified only GBS, without cross-reacting with pathogens like Lactobacillus iners, Lactobacillus crispatus, Candida albicans, Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica, Klebsiella Pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, Citrobacter freundii, Vibrio alginolyticus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, or Trichomonas vaginalis. It could detect a minimum of 100 copies per reaction. In clinical 98 samples of vaginal swabs from pregnant women, the agreement rate between the GBS-RPA-LFS method and TaqMan real-time fluorescence quantification method was 95.92%. In conclusion, this study successfully established a combined RPA and LFS GBS in situ detection platform, with short reaction time, high sensitivity, high specificity, portability, and device independence, providing a feasible strategy for clinical GBS screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Fluid overload in critically ill patients represents an adverse condition that affects the clinical outcome of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Furosemide is commonly used in the ICU as a diuretic in conditions associated with fluid overload, and there are several furosemide administration methods. There is no general consensus regarding the superiority of the furosemide administration method between bolus or continuous administration. This study was conducted to see the comparison between bolus and continuous administration on the improvement of fluid overload. Methods: This study used a single-blind, randomized controlled trial (RCT) design, where researchers provided treatment and primary data sources obtained directly from examinations of patients in the ICU. The selected population was randomly divided into the bolus and continuous furosemide groups. Fluid overload assessment was carried out using cumulative fluid balance (CFB), urine output variable (UOP), and central venous pressure (CVP) indicators. Results: A total of 42 samples were obtained and met inclusion and exclusion criteria. In the measurement of fluid overload indicators CFB, UOP, and CVP, there were significant changes in each group before and after furosemide administration with a p-value <0.05. However, there was no significant difference in the final results of each CFB, UOP, or CVP indicator in comparing bolus furosemide and continuous furosemide with a p-value >0.05. There was no difference in mortality rates between bolus furosemide and continuous furosemide during 72 hours of monitoring with a p-value of 0.54. Conclusion: Bolus furosemide and continuous furosemide administration improved fluid overload in the critically ill population in the ICU, but there was no superior method between the two. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poor-reactivity anthracite urgently needs more ways for large-scale and high-quality utilization. Due to the advantage of good fuel adaptability, the circulating fluidized bed (CFB) gasification technology has the potential of high-quality utilization of anthracite. In this paper, one kind of anthracite from Shanxi province, China, was employed to be gasified in a pilot-scale CFB gasifier. It is found that at the operating temperature of 1049°C and oxygen concentration of 60.75%, the gas with a concentration of combustibles of 66% and a low heating value of 7.93 MJ/m3 (at about 25°C and 101.325 kPa) was produced in the CFB gasification process. However, the overall gasification efficiency was not desired because a large amount of gasification fly ash (GFA) escaped and its yield was up to 22%. In this case, the cold gas efficiency was below 48% and the carbon conversion ratio was only 62%. Further analysis reveals that the GFA was featured with a developed pore structure and the specific surface area (SBET) reached 277 m2/g. This indicates such GFA has a potential to use as activated carbon (AC) or AC precursor. Basis on this, steam activation experiments of the GFA produced were conducted to investigate the activation characteristics of GFA and thereby to determine its activation potential. Experimental results indicate that increasing temperature sharply accelerated the activation process, while did not impair the maximum activation effect. After activation, the SBET of GFA maximumly increased by 63%, reaching 452 m2/g. With the progress of activation, the pore structure of GFA presents a three-stage evolution process: development, dynamic balance, and collapse. Such a process can be divided and quantified according to the carbon loss. In order to achieve an optimal activation of GFA, the carbon loss shall be controlled at ~15%. This work provides a new scheme for high-quality utilization of anthracite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiac fibrosis is a pathological process associated with various forms of heart failure. This study identified latent transforming growth factor-β binding protein 2, cartilage oligomeric matrix protein, and cartilage intermediate layer protein 1 as potential biomarkers for cardiac fibrosis. All 3 encoded proteins showed increased expression in fibroblasts after transforming growth factor-β stimulation in vitro and localized specifically to fibrotic regions in vivo. Of the 3, only the full-length cartilage intermediate layer protein 1 showed a significant decrease in circulating levels in patients with heart failure compared with healthy volunteers. Further studies on these 3 proteins will lead to a better understanding of their biomarker potential for cardiac fibrosis.

Cardiac fibrosis is a pathological process associated with various forms of heart failure. This study identified latent transforming growth factor-β binding protein 2, cartilage oligomeric matrix protein, and cartilage intermediate layer protein 1 as potential biomarkers for cardiac fibrosis. All 3 encoded proteins showed increased expression in fibroblasts after transforming growth factor-β stimulation in vitro and localized specifically to fibrotic regions in vivo. Of the 3, only the full-length cartilage intermediate layer protein 1 showed a significant decrease in circulating levels in patients with heart failure compared with healthy volunteers. Further studies on these 3 proteins will lead to a better understanding of their biomarker potential for cardiac fibrosis.

Background: Streptococcus agalactiae can produce CAMP factor, which can promote the ß-hemolysin activity of Staphylococcus aureus, forming an arrowshaped hemolysis enhancement zone at the intersection of the two bacterial species on a blood agar plate. This characteristic feature of Streptococcus agalactiae has led to the widespread use of the CAMP test as an identification method. Methods: Vaginal/rectal swabs, collected from women at 35-37 weeks of pregnancy, were first inoculated into a selective enrichment broth media, then subcultured onto GBS chromogenic agar and 5% sheep blood agar sequentially. The VITEK-2 automatic identification system and MALDI-TOF MS were initially employed for identification, followed by the CAMP test. CAMP-negative strains underwent 16S rDNA and cfb gene sequence analysis, as well as bacterial multilocus sequence typing. Results: A total of 190 strains were isolated, with 15 identified as CAMP-negative. Further 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis confirmed that all 15 strains were Streptococcus agalactiae. The MLST typing assay revealed that these 15 strains were of the ST862 type. The cfb gene was amplified and electrophoresed, but no specific fragments were found, indicating that these strains lack the CAMP factor due to cfb gene deletion. Antibiotic susceptibility tests demonstrated no resistance to penicillin, ampicillin, vancomycin and linezolid among the GBS strains. However, there are significant differences in resistance rates to tetracycline. Conclusion: This study found that 7.9% of GBS strains isolated from the vagina/ rectum of pregnant women were CAMP-negative, suggesting that the CAMP test method or primers targeting the cfb gene should not be used as the sole presumptive test for GBS identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an industrial solid waste, the discharge of a large amount of red mud (RM) causes serious environmental problems; thus, a large proportion of RM co-combustion has been proposed to solve the consumption problem. In this paper, an experiment with various proportions of RM co-combustion was conducted on a 0.2 t/h circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler. Desulfurization performance, combustion characteristics, and ash deposition characteristics were analyzed, especially under the large proportional co-combustion conditions. As the study results showed, the desulfurization efficiency was positively correlated with the RM co-combustion proportion. When the RM co-combustion proportion reached 50%, the desulfurization efficiency was over 94%. After a period of cyclic combustion, the highest desulfurization efficiency exceeded 99.5%. The smaller size of RM was beneficial to improve the combustion efficiency and the combustion stability. However, a large area of sintering formed on the top of the heating surface in the furnace, which was lighter than the sintering of high alkali fuels such as Zhundong coal. Meanwhile, the content of sulfates, such as Na2SO4 and CaSO4, in the ash increased, which clearly proves that RM has the desulfurization effect. Therefore, a large proportion of co-combustion could meet the requirements of in-situ desulfurization and realize the resource utilization of RM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study presents a possible innovative use of cement fiber boards (CFBs) reinforced with cellulose fibers for construction of an interior prefabricated staircase. Regarding the unusual use of traditional material that was used in all bearing elements of the staircase, a numerical simulation with the use of a material model SBETA was carried out and, subsequently, multiple experimental static loading was applied. In order to carry out experimental testing of static load capacity, a full-scale experiment method was chosen and performed on a real staircase structure for family houses. The full-scale experiment is considered the most precise method to test structures or material behavior. The obtained results show that the designed and tested staircase structure of CFBs is able to meet the requirements of technical standards related to static loading of staircases. The load test confirmed the potential use of cement fiber boards produced by the Hatschek process for real bearing structures under static loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Fluidized activation of GFA were experimentally and theoretically studied. • Fluidized activation of GFA was evaluated by comparing with steam activation results. • Fluidized activation developed the pore structure of GFA in a seconds-level time. • GFA has natural physical advantages in enhancing diffusion of active agent. • Increasing temperature is an effective control method for fluidization activation of GFA. The gasification fly ash (GFA), a bulk industrial solid waste from coal gasification process, urgently needs to be effectively disposed. In order to use the GFA as porous carbon materials, fluidized activation experiments of the GFA from an industrial circulating fluidized bed (CFB) gasifier were conducted in a bench-scale CFB test rig, as well as steam activation experiments of GFA in a vertical tube furnace and theoretical analysis on the activation process. Due to the ultrafine particle size, the GFA faces a fluidization problem and auxiliary particles are needed to stabilize its fluidization. In the fluidized activation, the pore structure of GFA particles becomes developed in a seconds-level time (about 1.5 s). The specific surface area (S BET) of activated GFA increases with temperature, maximally increasing by 48.9 % and reaching 204 m2/g. Steam activation experiments show that the GFA has an activation potential of 362 m2/g (S BET) and the pore structure evolution of GFA can be quantified by carbon conversion ratio. Based on this, the fluidized activation of GFA is found in the stage of pore development. By appropriately increasing the carbon conversion ratio (below 40 %), the fluidized activation effect of GFA is expected to be improved. Theoretical analysis indicates for the GFA the features of ultra-fine particle size and well-developed pore structure greatly enhance the diffusion rate of active component into the particles. Under the strong diffusion effect, increasing temperature is a critical means to realize the rapid and effective activation of GFA in a finite time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conventional design of circulating fluidized bed (CFB) focuses more on high combustion efficiency and low pollutant emission. However, as the proportion of new energy generation in China continues to increase, the power grid is placing higher demands on the operational flexibility of thermal power units. The CFB has the advantage of a wide range of load regulations, and it is an inevitable choice to participate in the deep and flexible peak regulation of the power grid. In order to conduct research on the features of CFB during load changes, this work used 0.1 MW th CFB as the research object and examined its combustion and emission characteristics at different loads, as well as the change in temperature and pollutant emissions during load changes. The results showed that the temperature distribution along the height direction of the furnace was not uniform at lower load, while the inhomogeneity of the temperature distribution decreased, and both the temperature and pressure of the furnace increased as the load increased. Moreover, NO x emission and combustion efficiency both rose with the load. When the load increased from 30% to 100%, the NO x emission increased from 228 mg/m3 to 324 mg/m3, the CO emission decreased from 1422 mg/m3 to 104 mg/m3, and the carbon content of the fly ash decreased from 39.2% to 27.6%. If the temperature stability was used as the reference standard for load stability, the load-change rates on the combustion side of the experiment platform from 50% load to 75% load and from 75% load to 100% load under conventional combustion were 0.69%/min and 0.81%/min, respectively. In general, the load variation range of the CFB was wide, but the load-change rate on the combustion side and the combustion efficiency at low loads need to be further improved. • The temperature distribution along the furnace height direction was uneven at 30% load. • At 30% load, the combustion efficiency of the circulating fluidized bed was very low. • The load-change rate on the combustion side of the 0.1 MW th CFB experiment platform was lower than 1%/min. • It was necessary to solve the problems of slow load-change rate and low combustion efficiency at a low load of CFB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal slime is a kind of solid waste and inferior fuel, which is urgently needed to utilize. In this paper, a high-temperature thermal treatment of coal slime in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) was attempted to achieve resource utilization. In the experiment, the combustion characteristics of dried coal slime during high-temperature thermal treatment were investigated in a 0.5 MW pilot-scale CFB. The stable fluidized combustion of dried coal slime was realized. When the excess air ratio was closer to 1.0, the furnace temperatures would be uniform. The ignition method of dried coal slime was changed correspondingly while the feeding position changed. However, feeding coal slime to the loop seal was instrumental in decreasing NOx emissions. Moreover, the NOx emissions were tried to further control by the post-combustion technology. Post-combustion technology could significantly reduce NOx emissions below 50 mg·Nm−3 while ensuring combustion efficiency. Besides, it was found that there was an optimum excess air ratio in CFB of about 0.9 resulting in minimum NOx emissions of coal slime. The experiment results could well guide the industrial-scale high temperature thermal treatment of coal slime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quasi-static elastography (QSE) is a well-established technique used in medical imaging, where ultrasound data is collected both, before and after applying a slight compression on a tissue. This data is then analyzed to create image frames that reveal the stiffness parameter of the underlying tissue medium. Previous studies have focused on assessing how the Conventional Focused Beam (CFB) transmit method impacts the ultrasound elastography image quality. Recent studies have also shown an interest in synthetic aperture techniques like the Diverging Beam Synthetic Aperture Technique (DBSAT), due to its potential to enhance ultrasound image quality. However, its application in elastography has received limited attention. This paper introduces a new strategy of averaging low-resolution elastogram frames (LREA), obtained from DBSAT transmit method to improve the quality of elastography images. The CFB technique involves scanning the tissue line by line. In contrast, DBSAT is a synthetic aperture method that generates multiple low-resolution elastogram frames before combining them together to create a single high-quality image. In this research paper all the experimental studies were conducted on an agar-gelatin phantom, demonstrating the effectiveness of estimating elastograms from the low-resolution frame data of DBSAT transmit scheme and then summing them together to produce an elastogram with enhanced image quality. The results show a maximum improvement of 8 dB in the image quality metric of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as well as a 7 dB improvement in contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) when comparing elastography images obtained by the proposed LREA method and the elastography images obtained by regular processing of the RF data acquired using the different methods of CFB and DBSAT., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Abstract Background Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) is difficult to treat with 5-year survival rate of 10% in metastatic patients. Main reasons of therapy failure are lack of validated biomarkers and scarce knowledge of the biological processes occurring during RCC progression. Thus, the investigation of mechanisms regulating RCC progression is fundamental to improve RCC therapy. Methods In order to identify molecular markers and gene processes involved in the steps of RCC progression, we generated several cell lines of higher aggressiveness by serially passaging mouse renal cancer RENCA cells in mice and, concomitantly, performed functional genomics analysis of the cells. Multiple cell lines depicting the major steps of tumor progression (including primary tumor growth, survival in the blood circulation and metastatic spread) were generated and analyzed by large-scale transcriptome, genome and methylome analyses. Furthermore, we performed clinical correlations of our datasets. Finally we conducted a computational analysis for predicting the time to relapse based on our molecular data. Results Through in vivo passaging, RENCA cells showed increased aggressiveness by reducing mice survival, enhancing primary tumor growth and lung metastases formation. In addition, transcriptome and methylome analyses showed distinct clustering of the cell lines without genomic variation. Distinct signatures of tumor aggressiveness were revealed and validated in different patient cohorts. In particular, we identified SAA2 and CFB as soluble prognostic and predictive biomarkers of the therapeutic response. Machine learning and mathematical modeling confirmed the importance of CFB and SAA2 together, which had the highest impact on distant metastasis-free survival. From these data sets, a computational model predicting tumor progression and relapse was developed and validated. These results are of great translational significance. Conclusion A combination of experimental and mathematical modeling was able to generate meaningful data for the prediction of the clinical evolution of RCC.

Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) is the major contagious cause of early-onset sepsis in newborns. Screening and intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis for GBS in pregnant women could effectively prevent early-onset GBS infection in newborns. The conventional method for isolation and identification of GBS on the blood plate medium is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and low sensitive. This study is aimed to optimize parameters for a realtime PCR reaction with primers and a probe designed to detect GBS-specific cfb gene. The optimized experiments were carried out on the strain S. agalactiae ATCC 13813. The specificity of the optimized procedure was tested on DNA samples of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Gardnerella vaginalis, and Chlamydia trachomatis. In addition, the optimized reaction was tested on 30 vaginal - rectal samples from pregnant women between 35-37 weeks gestation. The optimized procedure was specific to GBS with 50 copies/reaction sensitivity, an accuracy of 99.94%, and amplification efficiency (EA%) of 94.5%. GBS was detected in ten samples among the 30 vaginal-rectal samples by the realtime PCR, while only eight samples were found to be positive in the conventional plate method.

This study conducted co-firing experiments of NH 3 and coal in a circulating fluidized bed combustor. The effects of NH 3 co-firing ratio and combustion atmosphere of NH 3 addition position on temperature, flue gas emissions, carbon content of the fly ash, NH 3 content in fly ash were investigated. Results showed that NO x and N 2 O emissions increased with NH 3 ratio increasing when adding NH 3 in the reducing zone. A lower NO x increment was found within 0∼20 % NH 3 ratio, increasing by 0.6 times compared to coal combustion. The NH 3 content in fly ash was 2.74 mg/kg when NH 3 ratio was 10 %. Compared to the reducing zone, adding NH 3 into the oxidizing zone promoted the generation of more NO x and N 2 O, and simultaneously was detrimental to the burnout of NH 3 and CO. Based on these findings, NH 3 added in the reducing zone emerges as an optimized choice when NH 3 and coal are co-fired in circulating fluidized bed. Extending the retention time of NH 3 in the reducing zone was beneficial for controlling NO x and N 2 O, as well as promoting the burnout of NH 3 and CO. Furthermore, fuel-N conversion analysis showed that over 96 % fuel-N was converted into harmless N 2 when NH 3 ratio exceeds 10 %. [Display omitted] • NH 3 and coal co-firing experiments were conducted in a CFB combustion system. • Adding NH 3 in the reduction zone within a 20 % ratio led to a slight NO x increase. • Prolonging NH 3 residence in the reduction zone aided in NO x and N 2 O control. • More than 96 % fuel nitrogen converted to N 2 when the NH 3 co-firing ratio exceeded 10 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co-firing NH 3 in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler holds promise as a technology for reducing CO 2 emissions, yet NO x and N 2 O emissions remain a concern, and they are influenced by operation parameters. This study investigated the effect of NH 3 co-firing ratio, operation oxygen concentration, bed temperature, and primary air fraction on NO x and N 2 O emissions in a CFB combustor. NO x and N 2 O concentrations along the furnace height were measured. The results indicated that the emissions of NO x and N 2 O increased when NH 3 co-firing ratio increased. Their generation is mainly concentrated in the vicinity of the secondary air inlet. Elevating oxygen concentration facilitated NO x and N 2 O formation, in which N 2 O is more sensitive to oxygen. A 5 % operation oxygen concentration proved advantageous for limiting NO x and N 2 O emissions, as well as promoting NH 3 burnout. Temperature exerted a greater influence on promoting NO x formation compared to operation oxygen concentration. As the primary air fraction increased, NO x initially decreased before rising, while N 2 O exhibited minimal change. A primary air fraction of approximately 0.58 might be a suitable choice for NO x emission control. • The NO x and N 2 O formation and reduction during NH 3 and coal co-firing in CFB were examined by measuring their distribution along the bed height. • The generation of NO x and N 2 O is mainly concentrated near the secondary air inlet and varies with operating conditions. • A 5 % operation oxygen concentration and 58 % air staging ratio are advantageous for controlling NO x and N 2 O. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While in scientific literature much focus is directed toward model validation, comparison, and even parametric investigations on individual model parameters, the possible effects of the used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software on the results are largely neglected. In this article, CFD modeling of circulating fluidized beds (CFB) are performed with Ansys Fluent and OpenFOAM to investigate the effect of software implementation on the simulation results. Transient Eulerian–Eulerian simulations are performed of two different laboratory‐scale CFB cold models in turbulent and circulating fluidized bed conditions. The same mesh and as identical models and settings as possible are utilized on both software. The obtained time‐average profiles of pressure, velocity, and solids volume fraction are compared between the software and with available measurements. A difference in the granular energy equation was identified between the software, and a modification was made to achieve the same formulation. The effect of boundary conditions was also investigated. It was found that depending on the case, the software could have a notable effect on the results. These differences are found especially in particle distribution, visible in the vertical pressure and solids volume fraction profiles as well as in external circulation mass flow rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Hepatitis B is known to cause several forms of liver diseases including chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and hepatocellular carcinoma. Previous genome-wide association study of CHB risk has demonstrated that rs12614 of complement factor B (CFB) was significantly associated with CHB risk. In this study, fine-mapping study of previously reported GWAS single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP; CFB rs12614) was performed to validate genetic effect of rs12614 on CHB susceptibility and identify possible additional causal variants around rs12614 in a Korean population. This association study was conducted in order to identify genetic effects of CFB single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and to identify additional independent CHB susceptible causal markers within a Korean population. Methods A total of 10 CFB genetic polymorphisms were selected and genotyped in 1716 study subjects comprised of 955 CHB patients and 761 population controls. Results A non-synonymous variant, rs12614 (Arg32Trp) in exon2 of CFB, had significant associations with risk of CHB (odds ratio = 0.43, P = 5.91 × 10− 10). Additional linkage disequilibrium and conditional analysis confirmed that rs12614 had independent genetic effect on CHB susceptibility with previously identified CHB markers. The genetic risk scores (GRSs) were calculated and the CHB patients had higher GRSs than the population controls. Moreover, OR was found to increase significantly with cumulative GRS. Conclusions rs12614 showed significant genetic effect on CHB risk within the Korean population. As such rs12614 may be used as a possible causal genetic variant for CHB susceptibility.

Abstract While in scientific literature much focus is directed toward model validation, comparison, and even parametric investigations on individual model parameters, the possible effects of the used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software on the results are largely neglected. In this article, CFD modeling of circulating fluidized beds (CFB) are performed with Ansys Fluent and OpenFOAM to investigate the effect of software implementation on the simulation results. Transient Eulerian–Eulerian simulations are performed of two different laboratory‐scale CFB cold models in turbulent and circulating fluidized bed conditions. The same mesh and as identical models and settings as possible are utilized on both software. The obtained time‐average profiles of pressure, velocity, and solids volume fraction are compared between the software and with available measurements. A difference in the granular energy equation was identified between the software, and a modification was made to achieve the same formulation. The effect of boundary conditions was also investigated. It was found that depending on the case, the software could have a notable effect on the results. These differences are found especially in particle distribution, visible in the vertical pressure and solids volume fraction profiles as well as in external circulation mass flow rates.

The study presents a possible innovative use of cement fiber boards (CFBs) reinforced with cellulose fibers for construction of an interior prefabricated staircase. Regarding the unusual use of traditional material that was used in all bearing elements of the staircase, a numerical simulation with the use of a material model SBETA was carried out and, subsequently, multiple experimental static loading was applied. In order to carry out experimental testing of static load capacity, a full-scale experiment method was chosen and performed on a real staircase structure for family houses. The full-scale experiment is considered the most precise method to test structures or material behavior. The obtained results show that the designed and tested staircase structure of CFBs is able to meet the requirements of technical standards related to static loading of staircases. The load test confirmed the potential use of cement fiber boards produced by the Hatschek process for real bearing structures under static loading.

Objectives: Schizophrenia is a complex and chronic neuropsychiatric disorder. Recent genome-wide association studies have identified several at risk genetic variants, including two single nucleotide polymorphisms, namely the rs10503253 and the rs1270942 respectively located in the CSMD1 and the CFB loci. The present case-control study was designed to assess potential associations between the two variants and the risk of developing schizophrenia and disease severity. Further we demonstrate the relationship between these variants and clinical characteristics in a population-group from Tunisia., Patients and Methods: In total, 216 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia along with176 healthy controls were included in this case-control study. The molecular analysis of the two polymorphisms was performed using tetra the Primer Amplification Refractory Mutation System-Polymerase Chain method. The statistical analysis was done using Compare V2.1 software, and correlations between genetic results and clinical characteristics were examined by Kruskal-Wallis testing., Results: The frequency of the rs10503253A allele was found significantly higher among patients with schizophrenia as compared to healthy controls and associated with high negative PANSS scores. While no association was found concerning the implication of the rs1270942 variant in schizophrenia risk, a positive correlation with high positive PANSS scores was further observed., Conclusion: The present finding confirms the previously reported association between the Cub and Sushi multiple Domain 1 rs10503253A allele and the risk to develop schizophrenia and identified the rs1270942 variant as a potential disease risk modifier. Such observations may be important for the definition of the susceptible immunogenetic background in North African individuals at risk to develop mental disorders., (Copyright © 2023 L'Encéphale, Paris. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

• Air staging affects NO x by affecting the carbon content of fly ash in furnace. • Combination of the cyclone and post-combustion chamber benefits NO x reduction. • Low-cost ultra-low NO x and SO 2 control is achieved by post-combustion technology. In order to achieve thermal treatment of coal slime and depth control of NO x , a 75 t/h circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler arranging post-combustion air is constructed. In the experiment, the combustion atmosphere and the ratio of primary air and secondary air are adjusted to decrease the NO x emissions below 50 mg/m3 (dry basis at 6% O 2). Compared with conventional CFB combustion, the post-combustion technology decreases the NO x emissions from 92.9 to 65.4 mg/m3 by adjusting the combustion atmosphere. Then, the primary air volume is adjusted to decrease the NO x emissions further. On the one hand, decreasing primary air volume contributes to inhibiting the NO x generation in the dense phase. On the other hand, it is proved that the combination of the cyclone and a post-combustion chamber plays a crucial role in the de-NO x process of post-combustion technology. More char particles are brought to the cyclone as the primary air volume decreases. The NO x reduction in the cyclone and the post-combustion chamber is promoted. Finally, the NO x emissions are decreased to 42.6 mg/m3 when the ratio of primary air and secondary air is 50.0%. In addition, the SO 2 emissions and the combustion efficiency during the ultra-low NO x condition are 23.2 mg/m3 and 98.3%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) is difficult to treat with 5-year survival rate of 10% in metastatic patients. Main reasons of therapy failure are lack of validated biomarkers and scarce knowledge of the biological processes occurring during RCC progression. Thus, the investigation of mechanisms regulating RCC progression is fundamental to improve RCC therapy. Methods: In order to identify molecular markers and gene processes involved in the steps of RCC progression, we generated several cell lines of higher aggressiveness by serially passaging mouse renal cancer RENCA cells in mice and, concomitantly, performed functional genomics analysis of the cells. Multiple cell lines depicting the major steps of tumor progression (including primary tumor growth, survival in the blood circulation and metastatic spread) were generated and analyzed by large-scale transcriptome, genome and methylome analyses. Furthermore, we performed clinical correlations of our datasets. Finally we conducted a computational analysis for predicting the time to relapse based on our molecular data. Results: Through in vivo passaging, RENCA cells showed increased aggressiveness by reducing mice survival, enhancing primary tumor growth and lung metastases formation. In addition, transcriptome and methylome analyses showed distinct clustering of the cell lines without genomic variation. Distinct signatures of tumor aggressiveness were revealed and validated in different patient cohorts. In particular, we identified SAA2 and CFB as soluble prognostic and predictive biomarkers of the therapeutic response. Machine learning and mathematical modeling confirmed the importance of CFB and SAA2 together, which had the highest impact on distant metastasis-free survival. From these data sets, a computational model predicting tumor progression and relapse was developed and validated. These results are of great translational significance. Conclusion: A combination of experimental and mathematical modeling was able to generate meaningful data for the prediction of the clinical evolution of RCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxy-combustion and oxygen enriched combustion are considered as promising options for CO 2 capture and storage. In the present study, numerical simulations of a 30 kW th circulating fluidized bed reactor were performed under oxygen enriched (O 2 /N 2) and oxy-combustion (O 2 /Recycled Flue Gas) (RFG) conditions to investigate the effects of combustion atmospheres on the lignite combustion characteristics. The influence of oxygen concentration ranging from 21% to 28% on temperature and gaseous emissions were investigated by keeping excess oxygen ratio constant at 1.45 for both atmospheres. The predicted gas emissions and temperature profiles along the combustor were validated with conducted experiments. A good agreement between the simulated and measured data was achieved. CO 2 emission was found more in O 2 /RFG combustion compared to O 2 /N 2 mode. All gas emissions increased with oxygen enrichment except for CO in both cases. O 2 /RFG case appears to be more promising option considering emission amounts per unit energy input. [Display omitted] • A 30 kW th CFB system was modeled and experimentally validated. • Oxygen enriched and oxy-combustion cases were studied. • Excess oxygen ratio was kept constant at 1.45 for all cases. • Temperature profiles along the reactor were plotted for different O 2 concentrations. • Qualitative and quantitative gas emissions were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, massive research works have been accomplished for augmenting privacy and security requirements for cybersecurity applications in wireless communication networks. This is attributed to the fact that conventional security processes are not appropriate for robust, efficient, and reliable multimedia streaming over unsecure media. Therefore, this paper presents an efficient color image cryptosystem based on RC6 with different modes of operation. The proposed cryptosystem is composed of two phases: encryption and decryption. The encryption phase starts by decomposing the color plainimage with few details into its RGB components, which in turn, are segmented into 128-bit blocks. These blocks are then enciphered using RC6 with an appropriate mode of operation. After that, the corresponding enciphered blocks of RGB components are multiplexed for constructing the final cipherimage. This scenario is reversed in the decryption phase. The performance of the proposed cryptosystem is gauged via simulation using a set of encryption quality metrics. The simulation results reveal that the proposed cryptosystem with cipher block chaining (CBC), cipher feedback (CFB), and output feedback (OFB) modes can efficiently and effectively hide all information of the color images with few details even in the presence of some input blocks with similar data. On the other hand, the results show that the electronic codebook (ECB) mode is not effective at all in hiding all details of images. Finally, the obtained results ensure the applicability of the proposed cryptosystem and its efficiency in encrypting images in terms of security, encryption quality, and noise immunity.

A 30 kWth Circulating fluidized bed (CFB) combustor is experimentally and numerically investigated under cold flow conditions. Barracuda software based on Computational Particle Fluid Dynamics (CPFD) method is utilized for simulations. The influences of bed inventory and drag model on flow hydrodynamics were investigated considering pressure and velocity profiles and particle concentration. Two advanced drag models, namely Energy minimization multi-scale (EMMS) and Wen-Yu/Ergun were selected for this study. The simulations were performed with initial bed material masses of 3.79, 4.55 and 5.20 kg corresponding to 2.5, 3 and 3.5 diameters height of riser, respectively. With increasing bed inventory pressure drops and solid concentration increase. The axial particle velocities slightly change with bed inventory. The comparison of simulation results with experimental measurements was resulted in good agreement (

The pant-leg design is typical for higher capacity circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boilers because it allows for better secondary air penetration, maintaining good air-coal mixing and efficient combustion. However, the special risk, nominated as bed inventory overturn, remains a big challenge and it hinders the application of pant-leg CFB boilers. For a time series risk, it is critical to do the bed inventory overturn prevention to leave enough time for the adjustment. This paper proposed a new framework combing long short-term memory (LSTM) and dynamic time warping (DTW) methods to do the risk prediction. Pattern matching of data difference discrimination is employed for DTW algorithm, instead of the traditional Euclidean metric. The pattern matching has the merits in reduction of calculation and improvement of the adaptability to variables with different dimensions. After variable processing of the time series data by the variant DTW algorithm, the bed pressure drop prediction model is established based on the LSTM structure in this framework. Compared with some traditional prediction method, the framework in this paper has achieved superior results in the application of bed inventory overturn prevention.

The paper presents an efficient image cryptosystem for dealing with low details gray scale images. The proposed image cryptosystem is based on using the RC6 encryption algorithm with various operation modes like ECB, CBC, OFB and CFB. The gray scale images is firstly divided into blocks of 128-bit. Then, the RC6 cipher algorithm is applied on 128-bit blocks in different modes of operation. The proposed strategy is inspected with different encryption key performance indicators like entropy, correlation coefficients, irregular deviation, histogram deviation, differential and noise immunity tests. Experimental tests ensure the superiority of the proposed encryption strategy for the encryption of small details images especially with OFB modes of operation. The achieved outcomes ensure the efficiency of the proposed encryption strategy in encrypting small details gray scale images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NO x emission of conventional circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boilers could hardly meet the increasing strict standards in China, so the initial NO x emission and control of Shenmu coal and char were investigated in a 0.5 MW th high temperature CFB test platform with a main combustion zone (MCZ) and a post-combustion zone (PCZ), the reducing atmosphere in MCZ suppressed the formation of NO x , high temperature in PCZ made the residual carbon and CO burnout, the technology of high temperature CFB with post-combustion had the advantage of decreasing the initial NO x emission while maintaining the combustion efficiency of fuel. The experimental results showed that as the injection position of post-combustion air (PCA) moving backward, the reducing zone in PCZ was enlarged so more NO x could be converted to N 2. When PCA was injected from PCA1 and PCA3, NO x and CO emission were both relatively lower than other injection positions, the temperature in PCZ of Shenmu char was more uniform and its NO x emission was lower compared to Shenmu coal, the peak temperatures of MCZ and PCC were 968 °C and 936 °C respectively, the initial NO x emission of Shenmu coal was 46 mg/m3 (at 6% O 2), meanwhile, the CO emission was 139 ppm. The initial NO x emission of Shenmu char could reach 41 mg/m3 when the temperatures of MCZ and PCZ were 931 °C and 913 °C respectively, the new ultra-low emission requirement (≤50 mg/m3) was successfully achieved without additional denitration equipment, so the technology of high temperature CFB with post-combustion is an effective ultra-low nitrogen combustion technology. • Reducing atmosphere could suppress the emission of NO x. • The NO x and CO emissions were both controlled at relatively low levels when PCA was injected from PCA1 and PCA3. • The initial NO x emission of char was lower due to its longer combustion duration. • High temperature CFB with post-combustion could make the initial NO x emission of coal and char achieve ultra-low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current work, a transient/dynamic 1-dimensional model has been developed in the commercial software APROS for the pilot 1 MWth CFB boiler of the Technical University of Darmstadt. Experiments have been performed with the same unit, the data of which are utilized for the model validation. The examined conditions correspond to the steady-state operation of the boiler at 100, 80, and 60% heat loads, as well as for transient conditions for the load changes from 80 to 60% and back to 80%. Fair agreement is observed between the simulations and the experiments regarding the temperature profiles in the riser, the heat extracted by the cooling lances, as well as the concentration of the main species in the flue gases; a small deviation is observed for the pressure drop, which, however, is close to the results of a CFD simulation run. The validated model is extended with the use of a thermal energy storage (TES) system, which utilizes a bubbling fluidized bed to store/return the particles during ramp up/down operation. Simulations are performed both with and without the use of TES for the load path 100–80–60–80–100%, and the results showed that the TES concept proved to be superior in terms of changing load flexibility, since the ramp up and down times proved to be much faster, and lower temperature drops between the loads are observed in this case.

This research discusses the results of experiments performed on a large-scale gasification installation to determine the influence of total system pressure and partial pressure of CO2 on the efficiency of conversion and the quality of the produced gas. The three tested feedstocks were bark, lignin and a blend of bark and wheat straw, while softwood pellet (SWP) was used as a reference fuel. A mixture of O2/CO2/H2O was used as a gasification agent. The tests were devised to validate the previously proposed process parameters, verify whether similar ash agglomeration problems would occur and compare the thermal behaviour of the feedstocks converted in close-to-industrial process conditions. An understanding of the effect of using CO2 for gasification was further deepened, especially regarding its influence on the yield of H2 and temperature profiles of the fluidized bed. The influence of gasification pressure was predominantly visible in higher yields of all hydrocarbons (including CH4) and lower overall production of producer gas. At the process development unit (PDU), all tested feedstocks were converted at similar process conditions and no signs of potential bed agglomeration could be noticed. This opposes the findings observed in smaller-scale bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) tests. The discussion behind these discrepancies is also presented.