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Yu Li,1,* Mei-Ling Wang,1,* Bo Zhang,1 Xiao-Xu Fan,1 Qin Tang,1 Xue Yu,2 Li-Na Li,2 Ang-Ran Fan,2 Hong-Sheng Chang,1 Lan-Zhen Zhang1 1School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 102488, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 102488, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Lan-Zhen Zhang; Hong-Sheng Chang, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Northeast Corner of the Intersection of Sunshine South Street and Baiyang East Road, Fangshan District, Beijing, 102488, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 10 5391 2122, Email zhanglanzhen01@126.com; chs1971@sina.comBackground: There is growing evidence to suggest that ginsenoside Rd (GRd) has a therapeutic effect on depression, but the specific mechanisms behind its activity require further study.Objective: This study is designed to investigate the antidepressant-like effect and underlying mechanisms of GRd.Methods: In this study, the behavioral despair mouse model of depression and chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) rat model of depression were established to explore the effects of GRd on depression-like behavior and its underlying mechanisms. Behavioral tests were used to evaluate the replication of animal models and depression-like behaviors. The hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) blocker 2-methoxyestradiol (2-ME) was injected to determine the role of HIF-1α in the antidepressant-like effect of GRd. In addition, molecular biology techniques were used to determine the mRNA and protein expression of HIF-1ɑ signaling pathway and synaptic plasticity-related regulators, that is synapsin 1 (SYN 1) and postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD 95). In silico binding interaction studies of GRd with focused target proteins were performed using molecular docking to predict the affinity and optimal binding mode between ligands and receptors.Results: Our data show that GRd significantly reversed depression-like behavior and promoted mRNA and protein expression of HIF-1ɑ signaling pathway and synaptic plasticity-related regulators. However, the antidepressant-like effect of GRd disappeared upon inhibition of HIF-1α expression following administration of 2-ME. Furthermore, molecular docking results showed that GRd possessed significant binding affinity for HIF-1α, VEGF, and VEGFR-2.Conclusion: Our results show that GRd exhibits significant antidepressant-like effect and that HIF-1α signaling pathway is a promising target for the treatment of depression.Keywords: ginsenoside Rd, antidepressant effect, HIF-1α-VEGF signaling pathway, VEGFR-2, synaptic plasticity-related regulators, molecular docking

The impacts of operation parameters on agglomeration characteristics during biomass gasification in fluidized bed were studied experimentally in a 0.02MWt CFB gasifier using cotton stalk pellet as fuel. The experimental results indicated that among the temperature range (600 °C-800 °C), bed agglomeration would occur after a period running with sand, high alumina bauxite or periclase as the bed material, and potassium gathered on the surface of bed materials. In the process of the fluidized-bed gasification of biomass, air velocity affected the degree of bed agglomeration, and the agglomeration problem in return valve was more serious than that in main bed.

This study compares environmental impact of different heating systems with life cycle analysis, and get out if heat pump system has advantage in replacing boiler heating systems. Systems energy use are compared in one-year operation phase for residential buildings located in Tianjin city, including waste water heat pump system, coal boiler system and gas boiler system. In order to analyzed the environment performance of heat pump system in different conditions. The power structure impact to heat pump systems is analyzed using life cycle analysis method. The results indicate that with COP=4, even if 100% coal power is used, heat pump has advantage in the most impact factors, and if more clean power is used, the environment impact in heat pump system will be reduced obviously. The result also shows that waste water use in heat pump system impact the result little for its small quantity. Nomenclature GW, Global Warming; NRC: Non-renewable Resource Consumption; OD: Ozone Depletion; ACI, Acidification; EUT, Eutrophication; SPO, Synthesis of photochemical ozone; SW, Solid Waste; HW, Hazardous Waste; SD, Smoke and Dust. RC: Renewable Resource Consumption

Sludges resulting from wastewater treatment processes have a characteristically high water content, which complicates thermal-chemistry disposal. In this paper, taking domestic sewage sludge as the object, on the base of analysis on the material characteristics, the material and energy equilibrium calculation was carried out to study the effect of moisture content in sludge on thermal-chemistry disposal. The results showed that as the moisture content increased, incinerator temperature would reduce and the quality of the gasification gas would decrease with lower calorific value. When the moisture content in sludge increased, the amount of air required for gasification increased, wet gas production rate raised and dry gas production rate decreased, gasification efficiency and thermal efficiency were lower. For the sludge studied, it was required to control the moisture content in sludge to 55% or less if the incinerator temperature of 800 °C and above was wanted; if gasification gas calorific value was required to reach 2MJ/m3 and above, the moisture content in sludge must be controlled at 25% or less.

Regulated emissions of a China stage Vcommon rail diesel engine without modification fueled with China stageV diesel (D100) and different n-butanol/diesel blends are tested. The blends are 0%10%20%30% and 50% by volume of n-butanol. The influences of COTHCNOx and PM emissions by the fraction are analyzed. The results show that, under full load conditons, compared with D100, with the fraction increasing, the emission of NOx increased at low speed and then differed little at medium and high speed; CO, THC decreased respectively; PM differed little at low speed and then decreased with the speed increasing. At the maximum torque speed 1400r/min and rated speed 2200r/min , compared with D100,the emission of NOx under low load and COTHC under high load decreased respectively. With the load increasing, the engine emissions of particle number concentration transfer from the multimodal logarithmic distribution to unimodal logarithmic distribution form.

In this paper, the combustion characteristics of palm kernel meal were investigated in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB 100)(height=3000mm, inner diameter=100mm). The results showed that the temperature and pressure of the furnace were relatively steady. The contents of SiO2, Na2O and K2O of the bed material ranged smoothly with the process, the particle size of the bed material fluctuated slightly. The alkali metal contents of bed material were ranged from 1.5% to 3.5%.

The principle and technical characteristics of flue gas simultaneous removal of SO2 and NOx technology are expounded. The application and research progresses about this field are introduced. Besides that, the major research directions of flue gas ammonia combined desulphurization and denitration technology are prospected.

This article summarizes the concept and classification of plasma. The application of plasma technology for the treatment of waste gas, waste water and solid waste are also introduced, and future developments of plasma technology in the field of environmental protection are discussed.

The characteristics of hot gas utilization are analyzed in the thesis and experiments on rice husk were done in 6 MW bubbling fluidized-bed positive pressure gasification system. The results showed that the positive rice husk gasification system can work well and no tar condensed on the pipes. As sensible heat of hot gas accounting for 11.7% of fuel, the method of hot utilization of fuel gas can make full use of gas energy.

Using the Gidaspow model as the momentum exchange coefficient to take a full-loop simulation of miniature circulating fluidized bed gasifier (CFBG) in the lab, and taking mutual influence of different parts in consideration, it focus on the gas-solid flow structure in the riser in this paper. The heterogeneous behavior in the CFBG riser and the radial profiles of solid volume fraction under different solid inventories in simulation are showed in this paper as a replenishment of certain data which are hard to measure in experiments. The results showed it can’t form an obvious core-annulus flow because of the riser’s high height-diameter ratio and the big refeed line diameter. There are clusters growing and dissipation in a short time. A turning point of pressure drop may be seem as a separation of dense area and dilute area.The three-dimensional (3D) simulation revealed the solid flux and the pressure drop agree with the experimental data.

The fuel characteristics of municipal sewage sludge are suitable for dual fluidized bed(DFB) gasification, which can get middle calorific value gas through volatile pyrolysis, and reduce volume through char combustion. The hot test results of municipal sewage sludge on DFB rig were showen that the temperature distribution along combustor heigh is uniform, and the carbon content of fly ash is about 2~3%. In the experiment, with the increase of gasifier temperatrue, the more volatile of the sewage sludge was pyrolyzed. When the temperature of the gasifier reached 800°C, the calorific value of gas was 6.9MJ/Nm3; the emissions of SO2, NOx and HCl were appropriate to the standard. The leaching toxicity of heavy metal of the fly ash was lower than the discharge standard.

Because of quite a certain content of alkali metal in biomass, bed material agglomeration appears in the process of thermal reaction in fluidized bed, which can destroy fluidization. In the paper, fluidized bed gasification experiments on alkali metal enrichment were made, of which cotton straw pellets were used as fuel. The results are shown that experiments could keep running by bed material replaced at regular time without slag and the component of the bed material maintained stability. The replaced bed material could be used again after being washed. Through the XRF analysis, it could be found that the potassium compound with high dissolubility could be removed by washing.