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To investigate the application of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mp-MRI) for comprehensive evaluation of the correlation between the characteristics of the transitional zone and the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). We retrospectively recruited 210 patients with biopsy-proven BPH who underwent preoperative mp-MRI and were assigned an IPSS. The evaluation indicators included prostate volumetric parameters (total prostate volume [TPV], transition zone volume [TZV], and transition zone index [TZI, TZI = TZV/TPV]), prostate morphological parameters (intravesical prostatic protrusion, and presumed circle area ratio) and prostate compositional parameters (apparent diffusion coefficient [ADC], and mean signal intensity of T2WI [mean-SI-T2WI]). The Pearson (r) correlation coefficient, one-way analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression analysis were used to build a regression model for evaluating the correlation between MRI-derived parameters and IPSS, IPSS-storage symptom, IPSS-voiding symptom. Significant correlations were found between IPSS, IPSS-storage symptom, IPSS-voiding symptom, and prostate MRI-derived parameters, including TPV (r = 0.350; r = 0.466; r = 0.225, P <.001), TZV (r = 0.374; r = 0.492; r = 0.243, P <.001), TZI (r = 0.383; r = 0.313; r = 0.354, P <.001), presumed circle area ratio (r = 0.481; r = 0.356; r = 0.469, P <.001), ADC(r = − 0.198; r = − 0.053; r = − 0.239, P <.05) and mean-SI-T2WI (r = − 0.626; r = − 0.310; r = − 0.687, P <.001), respectively. Based on multiple linear regression analysis, the impact of mean-SI-T2WI and TZI on total IPSS were statistically significant (P <.05), and the regression equation established with the analysis (IPSS = 39.224 + 8.469 × TZI + (− 0.09) × (mean-SI-T2WI)) was statistically significant (F = 104.995, P <.001). Mp-MRI could be used to evaluate the volume and morphology of BPH. In particular, mean-SI-T2WI and ADC could be used to describe the internal composition of the prostate. The imaging parameters were effective for evaluating BPH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: osteochondral lesion of the talus (OLT) is a common disease in the physically active population, and extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is a noninvasive treatment. We hypothesized that microfracture (MF) combined with ESWT may have great potential to become a novel combination treatment of OLT. Methods: the OLT patients who received MF + ESWT or MF + platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection were retrospectively included, with a minimal follow up of 2y. The daily activating VAS, exercising VAS, and American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society Ankle-Hindfoot Score (AOFAS) were used to assess the efficacy and functional outcome, and ankle MRI T2 mapping was used to evaluate the quality of regenerated cartilage in the OLT patients. Results: only transient synovium-stimulated complications were found during the treatment sessions; the complication rate and daily activating VAS did not have differences between groups. MF + ESWT had a higher AOFAS and a lower T2 mapping value than MF + PRP at the 2y follow up. Conclusions: the MF + ESWT had superior efficacy for treating OLT, which resulted in better ankle function and more hyaline-like regenerated cartilage, superior to the traditional MF + PRP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Cellulose can be selectively converted into 5-HMF in monophasic MSH solvent. • 44.5 % yield of 5-HMF together with 75.0 % of carbon balance were obtained. • The total B/L acid sites of AlSiO-20 is the key issue in affecting 5-HMF yield. • AlSiO-20 can be recycled for more than 5 times with stable performance. • 5-HMF can be separated from MSH via HCP adsorption. Production of 5-HMF from cellulose is a promising approach for advanced bio-fuels preparation, but the degradation of active 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) is a critical challenge affecting 5-HMF selectivity. To address this issue, biphasic reaction system consisting of water and organic solvent is generally used to in-situ extract 5-HMF into organic phase to inhibit product degradation. Despite the high 5-HMF selectivity achieved in biphasic system, low product concentration and difficulty in separation restrict its industrial applications. Molten salt hydrate (MSH) is unique in cellulose conversion and 5-HMF preservation. In this work, MSH of LiBr was used as monophasic solvent for cellulose conversion and an acidity tunable solid acid AlSiO-x was used as the catalyst. It was found that a relatively high 5-HMF yield of 44.5% together with carbon balance of 75.0% were obtained at 170 °C for 20 min, which is higher than the results ever reported. Importantly, this work proved that the ratio of total Brønsted to Lewis acid sites on solid acid is the key issue affected 5-HMF yield. After reaction, solid acid can be recycled for more than 5 times without catalytic performance decline, and the dissolved 5-HMF can be sufficiently separated from MSH via hyper cross-linked polymer (HCP) adsorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalytic hydrodeoxygenation of bioderived furans is critically attractive to prepare sustainable fuels. Herein, a novel octanediol-route was developed to produce octane through one-pot conversion of bioderived furans at low temperatures. A 96.6% yield of octane was obtained by catalytic conversion with Pd/C and phosphotungstic acid (HPW). Experimental validation of the novel pathway revealed that octanediol intermediates could be formed through hydrogenolysis of furans before deoxygenation. The spontaneous process of this octanediol-route was thermodynamically confirmed by DFT simulations. In addition, characterization studies suggested that water in the system strengthened the cooperation between metals and acids to facilitate C–O bond scission through the modification and hydrogen transfer of HPW. This work highlights a promising reaction pathway for an efficient HDO catalytic system to obtain alkanes from bioderived furans under mild conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molten salt hydrates (MSH) are unique in overcoming the characteristic recalcitrance of crystalline cellulose. We show that cellulose can be efficiently hydrolyzed into short-chain oligomers and glucose under mild conditions in concentrated LiBr solution without using any additional acid catalyst. Under optimized reaction conditions, short-chain oligomers with a yield of 90.4% can be obtained. Selective hydrolysis in the MSH is effective even at a high initial cellulose concentration (higher than 10 wt%). The obtained oligomers are solvated and soluble in the MSH. We show that amorphous carbon of a large surface area is effective for adsorption of the short-chain oligomers, cellobiose, and glucose from the MSH. The adsorption capacity and adsorption affinity of the carbon increases by ∼4 and ∼15 times in MSH with increasing the oligomer chain length compared to glucose and is negatively influenced by the ion concentration of the MSH. A stepwise hydrolysis process for converting crystalline cellulose into glucose is developed, whereby cellulose is firstly hydrolyzed into soluble short-chain oligomers in the MSH. The oligomers are then separated from the MSH using amorphous carbon and finally hydrolyzed into glucose under mild reaction conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of rare earth metals supported on carbon nanotube (CNT) were tested for the catalytic depolymerization of lignin. The supported cerium (Ce) and lanthanum (La) on CNT were firstly characterized by TEM and N 2 -BET, respectively. The as-prepared catalysts were efficient to depolymerize lignin, whereas 86.1% liquefied fuel yield was obtained at the conditions of 260 °C, 1 h with Ce/CNT catalyst. The catalyst presented high activity even after four times recycle and the yield of liquefied fuel still kept 82.0%. The liquefied fuel were evaluated to be a premium fuel with high contents of C and H and low content of O, together with high calorific value. From these tested results, it is clear to find that Ce/CNT is an effective catalyst which can depolymerize lignin under mild conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • LiBr hydrate/acetone system is efficient for converting crystalline cellulose (MCC) to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF). • 75.1% yield of 5-HMF together with 13.7% yield of glucose were obtained from MCC conversion with the addition of AlCl 3. • DFT calculations indicated glucose isomerization rather than crystalline cellulose hydrolysis is the rate-determining step in cellulose conversion into 5-HMF. • Produced 5-HMF can be efficiently recovered by hyper-cross-linked polymer adsorption. • reaction system can be recycled 5 times without reducing 5-HMF selectivity. 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) is a crucial biomss-derived fuel precursor with versatile conversion pathways to advanced fuels. However, direct production of 5-HMF from crystalline cellulose is critical challenging due to the inefficient deconstruction of recalcitrant cellulose structure. Molten salt hydrates (MSHs) are unique in cellulose deconstruction and dissolution. In this work, a biphasic system of LiBr hydrate/acetone was established. It was found that 93.4% yield of 5-HMF can be efficiently converted from fructose without any catalysts. With the addition of AlCl 3 to adjust Lewis acidity, an enhanced 5-HMF yield of 75.1% together with 13.7% of glucose were directly produced from cellulose, showing a promising carbon balance of 88.8%. A proposed mechanism for cellulose conversion was studied by density functional theory (DFT) calculations, demonstrating that the isomerization of glucose to fructose rather than crystalline cellulose hydrolysis was the rate-determining step. After reaction, the formed 5-HMF can be efficiently recycled from solvent via hyper-cross-linked polymer adsorption and the reaction system can be recycled for more than 5 times without reducing 5-HMF selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective hydrolysis of crystalline cellulose to cello-oligosaccharides in molten salt hydrates (MSHs) is a promising method for valorization of lignocellulose. However, the by-products derived from cellulose hydrolysis can facilitate cello-oligosaccharide degradation and decrease its selectivity. To address this issue, lignin-based hyper cross-linked polymers (LHCPs) were prepared to in situ adsorb by-products during hydrolysis and thus prevent cello-oligosaccharides from degradation. The synthesized LHCP‐33%, with a high lignin content of 33%, showed a remarkable surface area of 708.7 m2 g−1 and good hydrophilicity, exhibiting a promising adsorption capacity of 340 mg g−1 towards 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF), which is supposed to be the major cellulose-derived by-product. We showed that 5-HMF adsorption was driven by the formation of CH-π bonds between 5-HMF and aromatic rings on LHCP. When LHCP‐33% was employed in cellulose hydrolysis, the yield of cello-oligosaccharide can be efficiently enhanced from 39.5% to 78.2%. This work offered a new application of lignin in enhanced cello-oligosaccharide production from cellulose. [Display omitted] • 78.2 % yield of cello-oligosaccharide can be selectively produced from crystalline cellulose saccharification via in situ adsorption of by-products on lignin-based hyper cross-linked polymer (LHCP). • The synthesized LHCP shows a high surface area and good hydrophilcity which is beneficial for by-products adsorption. • The adsorption of hydrolysis-derived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) on LHCP is driven by the formation of CH-π bonds rather than hydrogen bonds. • This approach provides a new alternative in utilization of lignin for high-valued cello-oligosaccharide production from cellulose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) affects the microstructure of white matter in preterm infants, but its influence on the changes of the brain structural network has not been elaborated. This study aims to investigate the connectivity characteristics of the brain structural network of BPD by using diffusion tensor imaging. Thirty-three infants with BPD and 26 infants without BPD were enrolled in this study. Brain structural networks were constructed utilizing automated anatomic labeling mapping by tracing the fibers between each pair of regions in individual space. We calculated network metrics such as global efficiency, local efficiency, clustering coefficients, characteristic path length, and small-worldness. Then we compared the network metrics of these infants with those of 57 healthy term infants of comparable postmenstrual age at magnetic resonance imaging scan. Finally, network-based statistics was used to analyze the differences in brain network connectivity between the groups with and without BPD. Preterm infants with BPD had higher local efficiency and clustering coefficient, lower global efficiency, and longer characteristic path length. Also, preterm infants with BPD had decreased strength of limbic connections mainly in four brain regions: the left lingual gyrus, the left calcarine fissure and surrounding cortex, the right parahippocampal gyrus, and the left precuneus. Our findings suggest that preterm infants with BPD have lower network integration and higher segregation at term-equivalent age, which may reflect a compensatory mechanism. In addition, BPD affects brain regions involved in visual as well as cognitive functions; these findings provide a new approach to diagnose potential brain damage in preterm infants with BPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-stage pretreatment process is proposed in this research in order to improve sugar recovery from corn stover. In the proposed process, corn stover is hydrolyzed by dilute hydrochloric acid to recover xylose, which is followed by a Fenton reagent oxidation to remove lignin. 0.7 wt% dilute hydrochloric acid is applied in the first stage pretreatment at 120 °C for 40 min, resulting in 81.0% xylose removal. Fenton reagent oxidation (1 g/L FeSO 4 ·7H 2 O and 30 g/L H 2 O 2 ) is performed at room temperature (about 20 °C) for 12 has a second stage which resulted in 32.9% lignin removal. The glucose yield in the subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis was 71.3% with a very low cellulase dosage (3 FPU/g). This two-stage pretreatment is effective due to the hydrolysis of hemicelluloses in the first stage and the removal of lignin in the second stage, resulting in a very high sugar recovery with a low enzyme loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-stage process was evaluated to increase sugar recovery. Firstly, corn stover was treated with dilute hydrochloric acid to recover the xylose, and then the residue was subjected to a wet-milling pretreatment. Dilute hydrochloric acid showed a high xylose recovery during the first stage. The optimal condition was 120 °C and 40 min for 0.7 wt% dilute hydrochloric acid pretreatment followed by wet-milling pretreatment for 15 min. The xylose and glucose yield were 81.0% and 64.0%, respectively, with a cellulase dosage at 3 FPU/g of substrate. This two-stage process was effective on account of the removal of hemicelluloses in the first stage and the delamination of cell wall in the second stage, increasing the possibility of adsorption of cellulose to enzymes, and resulting in a high sugar recovery with a very low enzyme loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molten salt hydrate (MSH) is unique in cellulose dissolution and in one-pot conversion of crystalline cellulose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF). However, low yield of 5-HMF was obtained using raw biomass substrate in MSHs. Herein, we investigated conversion of raw biomass towards HMF using MSHs. We showed that the release of acetic acid from hemicellulose degradation in MSH is a key to influence the yield of 5-HMF. Thus, an autohydrolysis pretreatment method was proposed to remove hemicellulose before conversion of cellulose into 5-HMF. After being pretreated at 180 °C for 40 min, hemicellulose was removed from biomass with 91.8% yield of cellulose remained in solid part. By eliminating the negative effect of acetic acid, 5-HMF yield was significantly improved from 40.9% to 64.6%, together with 9.3% yield of glucose for cellulose conversion in MSH/acetone at 180 °C for 20 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • High yield of total aldol products was achieved over potassium-promoted Sn-MFI compared with pure Sn-MFI. • The introduction of K improved the hydrothermal stability of the catalyst. • The introduction of K enhanced the F 2 Ac selectivity. Abstract Liquid fuel intermediates can be produced via aldol condensation reactions between furfural and acetone. It was found that potassium-promoted Lewis acid zeolite Sn-MFI performed superior catalytic performance for C C bond coupling by aldol condensation reactions of furfural with acetone. The presence of K in Sn-MFI catalyst improves the catalytic activity of the catalyst likely due to increased basicity. The product distribution of aldol condensation was also changed remarkably with the addition of K. Besides 4-(2-furyl)-3-buten-2-one (FAc), 1, 5-di-2-furanyl-1, 4-pentadien-3-one (F 2 Ac) was also formed in the existence of K compared with pure Sn-MFI. It was also found that the K-promoted Sn-MFI catalyst is more resistant to water and exhibits enhanced selectivity to F 2 Ac. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel catalyst, S 2 O 8 2− -KNO 3 /TiO 2 , which has active acidic and basic sites, was prepared and used in lignin hydrocracking with a co-catalyst, Ru/C. Ru/C is an efficient hydrogenation catalyst and S 2 O 8 2− -KNO 3 /TiO 2 is a dual catalyst, which could efficiently degrade lignin. This catalytic hydrogenation system can reduce solid products to less than 1%, while giving a high liquid product yield of 93%. Catalytic hydrocracking of kraft lignin at 320 °C for 6 h gave 93% liquid product with 0.5% solid product. Most of this liquid product was soluble in petroleum ether (60% of 93%), which is a clear liquid and comprises mainly of monomeric and dimeric degradation products. These results demonstrated that the combination of the two catalysts is an efficient catalyst for liquefaction of lignin, with little char formation (∼1%). This concept has the potential to produce valuable chemicals and fuels from lignin under moderate conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel carbon solid acid catalyst was synthesized by the sulfonation of carbonaceous material which was prepared by carbonization of sucrose using 4-BDS as a sulfonating agent. TEM, N 2 adsorption–desorption, elemental analysis, XPS and FT-IR were used to characterize the catalyst. Then, the catalyst was applied for the conversion of xylose and corn stalk into furfural in GVL. The influence of the reaction time, temperature and dosage of catalyst on xylose dehydration were also investigated. The Brønsted acid catalyst exhibited high activity in the dehydration of xylose, with a high furfural yield of 78.5% at 170 °C in 30 min. What’s more, a 60.6% furfural yield from corn stalk was achieved in 100 min at 200 °C. The recyclability of the sulfonated carbon catalyst was perfect, and it could be reused for 5 times without the loss of furfural yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spastic diplegic cerebral palsy(SDCP)is a common type of cerebral palsy (CP), which presents as a group of motor-impairment syndromes. Previous conventional MRI studies have reported abnormal structural changes in SDCP, such as periventricular leucomalacia. However, there are roughly 27.8% SDCP patients presenting normal appearance in conventional MRI, which were considered as occult SDCP. In this study, sixteen patients with occult SDCP and 16 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects were collected and the data were acquired on a 3T MR system. We applied voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) analysis to investigate whole brain grey and white matter injury in occult SDCP. By using VBM method, the grey matter volume reduction was revealed in the bilateral basal ganglia regions, thalamus, insula, and left cerebral peduncle, whereas the white matter atrophy was found to be located in the posterior part of corpus callosum and right posterior corona radiata in the occult SDCP patients. By using TBSS, reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) values were detected in multiple white matter regions, including bilateral white matter tracts in prefrontal lobe, temporal lobe, internal and external capsule, corpus callosum, cingulum, thalamus, brainstem and cerebellum. Additionally, several regions of white matter tracts injury were found to be significantly correlated with motor dysfunction. These results collectively revealed the spatial patterns of whole brain grey and white matter injury in occult SDCP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molten salt hydrates (MSHs) are remarkable in breaking through the recalcitrant structure of microcrystalline cellulose and raw biomass. After being pretreated in 60 wt% LiBr at 130 °C for 2 h, cellulose crystallinity as well as degree of polymerization (DP) decreased. It was found that 91.3% yield of pretreated cellulose was removed from MSHs by filteration followed by being hydrolyzed into glucose with a high yield of 75.3% by dilute acid under mild reaction conditions. The pretreatment process also works on raw corn stover hydrolysis. After being pretreated at 100 °C for 5 h, 88.4% yield of cellulose in biomass was recovered and can be hydrolyzed into 54.9% yield of glucose with dilute acid. It was found that the cellulose in corn stover can be easier degraded compared with microcrystalline cellulose during MSHs pretreatment, which dues to the formation of acetic acid from hemicellulose hydrolysis. The proposed pretreatment technique presents a promising potential for glucose production from biomass in a commercial way. Unlabelled Image • MSHs pretreatment effectively decreased cellulose crystallinity and DP. • After being pretreated at 130°C for 2 h, 91.3% of cellulose was removed from MSHs via filtration. • Enhanced glucose yield of 75.3% was obtained from pretreated cellulose hydrolysis at mild condition. • 88.4% cellulose recovery and 54.9% glucose yield were obtained from MSHs pretreatment and hydrolysis, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]