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Pyrolysis of pharmaceutical sludge (PS) is a promising way of safe disposal and to recover energy and resources from waste. The resulting PS biochar (PSBC) is often used as adsorbent, but has seldom been explored as catalyst. Herein we demonstrate that PSBC (0.4 g/L) could efficiently activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to 100% degrade 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) with rate constants of 0.42-1.70 min

Despite the global economic downturn, China’s taxation continues to grow rapidly. Although many scholars attribute this phenomenon to macro factors, in this study, we investigate this issue from th...

In order to develop efficient and green catalyst for organic pollutants removal, magnetic carbon supported Prussian blue nanocomposite Fe3O4@C/PB was prepared for the first time. The performance of Fe3O4@C/PB in activating peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for the degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) was investigated. 2,4-DCP could be effectively degraded under the “Fe3O4@C/PB + PMS” system within a broad pH range of 2–9. Without pH adjustment (pH 3), 2,4-DCP (20 mg/L) was completely degraded in 50 min along with a 70% removal of TOC; while the required time for complete degradation of 2,4-DCP was shortened to 40 min under initial solution pH at 7. Fe3O4@C/PB could also activate PMS for the degradation of phenol, Acid Orange II, Reactive brilliant red X-3B, Rhodamine B and Methylene blue. The degradation rates higher than 95% could be achieved for all these contaminants within the time scale of 15–60 min. The studies of radical-quenching and electron paramagnetic resonance demonstrated that singlet oxygen (1O2) and superoxide radicals (O2 −), rather than sulfate (SO4 −) and hydroxyl ( OH) radicals, were the dominant species responsible for the oxidation of organic pollutants. The plausible mechanism of the catalytic degradation was proposed and the enhanced activity of Fe3O4@C/PB was assumed to be related to the increased electron transfer owing to the synergic effect between the magnetic carbon and the mixed-valence units in PB. Fe3O4@C/PB is promising in wastewater treatment owing to its high efficiency, excellent stability and reusability, environmental friendliness and magnetic separability.

As an important decision made by the enterprise, charitable donation is influenced by many factors, such as the current strategies as well as the characteristics of CEOs. Taking the data of China’s A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2017, this paper uses factor analysis to measure CEO power and empirically tests the impact of CEO power on corporate philanthropy. Our results show that CEO power is positively related to donations from corporation, in other words CEOs with greater power are more likely to make generous donations. We further discover that CEOs of state-owned enterprises (SEO) as well as those from central and western China are more inclined to make charitable donations. This paper contributes by increasing the understanding on CEO power’s influence over donations in the context of China’s transitional economy. Foundations are laid for the virtuous mechanism of the charitable donation.

Herein, we demonstrate that the rare-earth La single catalyst with multi-shell characteristic is an excellent choice for this purpose. By merit of its unsaturated orbitals of La, the single La atom strongly bonds with the two-coordinated lattice oxygen on the oxygen-deficient MoO3−x to form O2c-La-O2c coordination. This robust metal-support interaction frees single atoms from detachment or aggregation, and prevents catalyst from deactivation. Meanwhile, the occupied 5d orbitals of La back-donate electrons to the 2π* molecular orbitals of adsorbed N2 that substantially activate the inert N N bond towards successive hydrogenation. And single La atom could optimize the electron property of the MoO3−x support to promote photocatalytic nitrogen fixation. Without any sacrificial agents, this single atom La catalyst with a well-designed coordination structure delivers an impressive NH3 production rate of 209.0 μmol h 1 g 1 under visible light, outperforming most reported single atom photocatalysts.

Presented here are two new open-framework metal sulfate-oxalates, formulated as H2hpip·Mn2(SO4)(C2O4)2(H2O) (SCU-14) and (Hthfa)2·In2(SO4)(C2O4)3·2H2O (SCU-16), where hpip = homopiperazine and thfa = tetrahydrofurfurylamine. SCU-14 has a diamondoid framework with extra-large 14-ring channels. SCU-16 has a zeolitic ABW topology with extra-large 16-ring channels. The temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility of SCU-14 was also investigated.

A ditopic zwitterionic Schiff base modified silica gel adsorbent SG-H 2 L 2 was prepared and it was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, solid state NMR, thermogravimetry and porous structure analysis. SG-H 2 L 2 could simultaneously adsorb metal ions and attendant anions from the aqueous solution of metal salts . SG-H 2 L 2 exhibited a cooperative effect between the adsorption of metal cations and the attendant anions, and the adsorption efficiency decreased in the order MSO 4 > M(NO 3 ) 2 > MCl 2 (M = Cu, Co, Ni, Mn, Cd). SG-H 2 L 2 displayed good adsorption selectivity for Cu(II) and SO 4 2− from the aqueous solutions containing mixed metal ions of Cu(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Mn(II) and Cd(II) or mixed anions of SO 4 2− , NO 3 − , and Cl − . The preliminary mechanism for simultaneous and selective adsorption of the metal ions and attendant anions were discussed. The effect of different parameters including pH, contact time and initial concentrations of Cu(II) and SO 4 2− on the simultaneous adsorption of Cu(II) and SO 4 2− ions were investigated. The efficient adsorption of Cu(II) and SO 4 2− could be achieved in neutral pH region and the maximum adsorption capacities for Cu(II) and SO 4 2− , respectively, were the same of 0.42 mmol g −1 at 25 °C. The adsorption isotherms for Cu(II) and SO 4 2− fitted well with Langmuir model, while their adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo-second order model. Regeneration of SG-H 2 L 2 was realized by adjusting the solution pH with diluted H 2 SO 4 and ammonia solution, respectively. SG-H 2 L 2 exhibited good recyclability and reusability for four cycles use without deterioration in its functionality. SG-H 2 L 2 was also applied in different water samples and good recoveries and the selective adsorption of Cu(II) and SO 4 2− were achieved. This study provides a new bifunctional adsorbent which may be used for the effective removal of Cu(II) and SO 4 2− from water effluents containing mixed metal ions and anions.

Three manganese sulfate-oxalates, namely, H2pip·Mn2(SO4)2(ox)(H2O)2·2H2O (1), H3ipa⋅Mn2(SO4)(ox)2.5·H2O (2), and H3dpta⋅Mn2(SO4)2(ox)1.5(H2O)3 (3), were prepared under solvent-free conditions, where pip = piperazine, ox = oxalate, ipa = 3,3′-iminobis(N,N-dimethylpropylamine), and dpta = dipropylenetriamine. These compounds have different layered structures intercalated with organic cations. Their pore apertures range from small 8-membered ring (8 MR) to large 12 MR and extra-large 20 MR. The temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility of these compounds were also investigated.

The present study investigated the association between Snail1 and atrial fibrosis in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and to determine the possible mechanism underlying this interrelation. A total of 19 patients were included in the current study and were divided into two groups: A sinus rhythm (SR) group (n=9) and an AF group (n=10). All patients underwent heart valve replacement surgery, during which ~200 mg right atrium tissue was obtained. Hematoxylin and eosin and Masson's trichrome-stained sections were used to evaluate the morphological changes of cardiomyocytes and the level of fibrosis. Immunohistochemistry was applied to observe the location and expression of Snail1. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to measure Snail1 mRNA levels. Western blotting was used to determine changes in the expression of Snail1, as well as in the expression of proteins involved in the Wnt pathway, including Wnt1, Wnt 3a, Wnt8a, Wnt5a and Wnt11. Compared with the SR group, expanded cardiomyocytes and higher collagen deposition was detected in the atrial tissue of the AF group. The expression of Snail1 mRNA and protein was significantly higher in the AF group than in the SR group (P

In this study, we collected 20 Tibet Rubus taxa from 4 sections, Idaeobatus, Malachobatus, Chamaebatus, and Cylactis of genus Rubus, as well as two outgroups, Fragaria vesca and Rosa banksiae. To investigate the phylogenetic relationships among Tibet Rubus species, the phylogeny was reconstructed by using chloroplast rbcL, rpl20-rps12, and trnG-trnS, nuclear ITS, GBSSI-2 and PEPC sequences. The final combined chloroplast DNA matrix consisted of 22 taxa and 2124 bp, of which 204 (9.60%) were variable and 94 (4.43%) parsimony informative. The nuclear DNA dataset included 22 accessions and 1897 aligned nucleotides that contained 374 (19.72%) variable and 146 (7.70%) parsimony informative sites. TIM1+I+G and TrN+G were selected as the best-fit models for the combined chloroplast and nuclear datasets, respectively. The Tibet Rubus is resolved as a monophyletic group and well supported through both chloroplast and nuclear datasets. Sect. Idaeobatus species have at least two independent evolutionary routes. Two sect. Malachobatus species clustered together with high support values. Then they were sister to three sect. Cylactis species in chloroplast tree, while to the subclade of major sect. Idaeobatus species in nuclear tree. This could be interpreted by frequent hybridization and genetic introgression. Rubus calycinus of sect. Chamaebatus forms a separate clade, suggesting its monophyly. To be concluded, the combined chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequences provided abundant information for the phylogenetic relationships among Tibet Rubus species.

Four new metal sulfate–oxalates were synthesized under solvent-free conditions. These compounds have single-layered, double-layered, and three-dimensional structures containing metal oxalate chains as building blocks. Topological analyses reveal that they have hcb, mog, and kgd topologies, respectively. Possible build-up processes for the formation of the hybrid frameworks were proposed.

As an important strategic enterprise decision, charitable donation plays an important role in the operation and growth of enterprises, and managers can have an important impact on the selection and implementation of enterprise strategies. Therefore, we used data analysis methods to test the relationship between managerial power and philanthropic donation on the sustainable development of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2017. The result shows that charitable donation can promote the sustainable development of enterprises, while managerial power plays a negative regulatory role in the development. The findings provide empirical evidences for us to combine corporate donation and management power when considering the promotion of sustainable development of enterprises.

The ultimate owner of the state-owned listed companies is the State, but the State cannot directly participate in the supervision of the managers of the company, so the owner may be “absent” in many state-owned listed companies, leading to excessive position-related consumption of the company’s senior management by using the resources of the company in order to seek personal benefits. When the free cash flow is abundant, the senior management will more intend to put it into their own position-related consumption, resulting in higher agency costs. This article collects the data of A-share state-owned listed companies from 2009 to 2015 as research sample, and empirically studies the impact of free cash flow and the “Eight Regulations” on the position-related consumption of senior management. According to the research, excessive free cash flow will promote the position-related consumption of senior management of state-owned listed companies, resulting in higher agency costs; and in case the enterprise has certain free cash flow, the promulgation of the “Eight Regulations” has a restraining effect on the position-related consumption of senior management in the state-owned listed companies.

Carbon-based catalysts have attracted high attention since they are greener and cheaper, while magnetic nanomaterials are very useful in environmental application because of the easy recovery and operation given by the magnetic separability. Therefore, graphitic carbon nitride modified magnetic carbon nanocomposites Fe

A series of open-framework metal oxalates (metal = Zn, Co, Mn, Bi, In) were prepared under solvent-free conditions by a supramolecular templating approach. These compounds have cationic, anionic, and neutral frameworks with pore apertures ranging from small 8-membered rings (8 MRs) to extra-large 16 and 20 MRs. The zinc oxalate exhibits a proton conductivity of 2.6 × 10(-3) S cm(-1) at 60 °C under 98% relative humidity.

Peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase, NIMA-interacting 1 (Pin1) is a member of a large superfamily of phosphorylation-dependent peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerases, which not only regulates multiple targets at various stages of cellular processes, but is also involved in the pathogenesis of several diseases, including microbial infection, cancer, asthma and Alzheimer's disease. However, the role of Pin1 in cardiac fibrosis remains to be fully elucidated. The present study investigated the potential mechanism of Pin1 in isoprenaline (ISO)-induced myocardial fibrosis in rats. The rats were randomly divided into three groups. Echocardiography was used to evaluate changes in the size, shape and function of the heart, and histological staining was performed to visualize inflammatory cell infiltration and fibrosis. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis, immunohistochemistry and Picrosirius red staining were used to differentiate collagen subtypes. Additionally, cardiac-specific phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1/2 (MEK1/2) and extracellular-signal regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), and the activities of Pin1 and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and other oxidative stress parameters were estimated in the heart. The administration of ISO resulted in an increase in cardiac parameters and elevated the heart-to-body weight ratio. Histopathological examination of heart tissues revealed interstitial inflammatory cellular infiltrate and disorganized collagen fiber deposition. In addition, lipid peroxidation products and oxidative stress marker activity in plasma and tissues were significantly increased in the ISO-treated rats. Western blot analysis showed significantly elevated protein levels of phosphorylated Pin1, MEK1/2, ERK1/2 and α-SMA in remodeling hearts. Treatment with juglone following intraperitoneal injection of ISO significantly prevented inflammatory cell infiltration, improved cardiac function, and suppressed oxidative stresses and fibrotic alterations. In conclusion, the results of the present study suggested that the activation of Pin1 promoted cardiac extracellular matrix deposition and oxidative stress damage by regulating the phosphorylation of the MEK1/2-ERK1/2 signaling pathway and the expression of α-SMA. By contrast, the inhibition of Pin1 alleviated cardiac damage and fibrosis in the experimental models, suggesting that Pin1 contributed to the development of cardiac remodeling in ISO-administered rats, and that the inactivation of Pin1 may be a novel therapeutic candidate for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and heart failure.

Flavonoids are major polyphenol compounds in plant secondary metabolism. The hydroxylation pattern of the B-ring of flavonoids is determined by the flavonoid 3'-hydroxylase (F3'H) and flavonoid 3',5'-hydroxylase (F3'5'H). In this paper, one CsF3'H and two CsF3'5'Hs (CsF3'5'Ha and CsF3'5'Hb) were isolated. The phylogenetic tree results showed that F3'H and F3'5'Hs belong to the CYP75B and CYP75A, respectively. The Expression pattern analysis showed that the expression of CsF3'5'Ha and CsF3'5'Hb in the bud and 1st leaf were higher than other tissues. However, the CsF3'H had the highest expression in the 4th and mature leaf. The correlation analysis showed that the expression of CsF3'5'Hs is positively associated with the concentration of B-trihydroxylated catechins, and the expression of CsF3'H is positively associated with the Q contentration. Heterologous expression of these genes in yeast showed that CsF3'H and CsF3'5'Ha can catalyze flavanones, flavonols and flavanonols to the corresponding 3', 4' or 3', 4', 5'-hydroxylated compounds, for which the optimum substrate is naringenin. The enzyme of CsF3'5'Hb can only catalyze flavonols (including K and Q) and flavanonols (DHK and DHQ), of which the highest activities in catalyzing are DHK. Interestingly, The experiment of site-directed mutagenesis suggested that two novel sites near the C-terminal were discovered impacting on the activity of the CsF3'5'H. These results provide a significantly molecular basis on the accumulation B-ring hydroxylation of flavonoids in tea plant.

Transient receptor potential melastatin 7 (TRPM7), a bifunctional channel protein owning both cation permeability and kinase activity, plays an important role in the pathophysiological process of many cell types, such as vascular smooth muscle cells, human glioma cells and mouse cortical astrocytes. However, whether TRPM7 channels play a key role in the functional change of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) induced by angiotensin II (Ang II) remains unknown. Using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, immunofluorescence assay, western blot analysis, RT-qPCR, RNA interference (RNAi) and whole-cell patch-clamp techniques, the present study aimed to explore the role of TRPM7 channels in the proliferation, differentiation and collagen synthesis of CFs induced by Ang II. Our data showed that Ang II time-dependently increased TRPM7 expression and TRPM7 currents in the CFs. Downregulation of TRPM7 attenuated the TRPM7 current density, and inhibited the proliferation, differentiation and collagen synthesis of CFs induced by Ang II. Our results identified the TRPM7 channel as a pivotal member associated with the functional change of CFs induced by Ang II, and suggest that the TRPM7 channel may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of fibrosis-related cardiac diseases.

The optimal treatment for chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH)-induced cardiovascular injuries has yet to be determined. The aim of the current study was to explore the potential protective effect and mechanism of a C1 inhibitor in CIH in the myocardium. The present study used a rat model of CIH in which complement regulatory protein, known as C1 inhibitor (C1INH), was administered to the rats in the intervention groups. Cardiomyocyte apoptosis was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling. The expression of proteins associated with the apoptotic pathway, such as B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bax and caspase-3 were detected by western blot analysis. The expression of complement C3 protein and RNA were also analyzed. C1INH was observed to improve the cardiac function in rats with CIH. Myocardial myeloperoxidase activity, a marker of neutrophil infiltration, was significantly decreased in the C1INH intervention group compared with the CIH control group, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis was significantly attenuated (P

Presented here are two novel open-framework cobalt sulfate-oxalates constructed from molecular and chain-like building blocks. The two compounds have different structures: an hcb-type layer with 20-ring windows and a mog-type framework with 12-ring channels. Amine molecules play dual roles in the two structures: as a chelating ligand and a charge-balancing agent.