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Objective. From the perspective of metabolomics, this study compares the metabolomics characteristics of feces and urine between children with spleen-deficiency and healthy children to explain the scientific connotation of children with spleen-deficiency susceptibility to digestive system diseases from the metabolic level and provide a scientific basis for further research. Methods. This study included 20 children with spleen-deficiencies and 17 healthy children. Children’s symptom scores, height, and weight were recorded in groups, and feces and urine samples were collected. The samples were detected using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The data were analyzed using multivariate statistical analysis such as principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Related differential metabolites were identified through database comparisons between two groups based on the MS and KEGG. Results. Compared to healthy children, the metabolites glucuronic acid, xanthine, and indole-3-acetaldehyde tend to be reduced in children with spleen-deficiency. Moreover, these children showed an increase in metabolites such as quinic acid, adenine, 4-methyl-5-thiazole-ethanol, 3-formyl indole, and 5-hydroxy indole-3-acetic acid. The condition affected many of the critical metabolic pathways, including the metabolism of tryptophan, cysteine, methionine, and pentose phosphate. Conclusion. The children with spleen-deficiency had disorders at the metabolic level, which might be due to factors such as diet, personal preferences, and genes, leading to various symptoms, making spleen-deficiency children more prone to suffer from digestive diseases than healthy children. The results set a basis for the research on children’s TCM constitution, which can be a reference to further studies to deal with the spleen-deficiency.

Purpose This paper aims to question the “conventional” privatization of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and to propose the neutral position adopted by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) to reconcile the divergent views within the World Trade Organization (WTO) regime. Design/methodology/approach China’s partially privatized SOEs have raised numerous attention in WTO disputes regarding whether China's way of social and economic reform is consistent with its accession commitments and with WTO rules, in particular subsidy rules. Instead of providing a definite legal standard applicable to the “public body” enquiry, the DSB adopts the neutral position to reconcile the divergent views between developed and developing countries on whether not fully privatized SOEs constitute “public body.” Findings Albeit with interpretative vagueness, the value of DSB’s neutral position lies in its adequacy: first, the adequacy to address the complexity of SOE privatizations in developing countries; second, the adequacy to engage relevant parties to maintain the multilateral trading system; and third, not to impose specific impact on justification of countervailing duties. Originality/value This paper captures the recent developments in “public body” enquiry and calls for a compromised approach to maintain the WTO-like multilateral trade regime and to allow for more policy spaces for developing countries that best fit their unique circumstances and needs. It sees new and significant information, in the sense that the paper aims to present why China’s partial privatization benefits from the WTO “neutrality” on the subject.

Inspired by Case C-435/18 Otis and Others, this article examines central issues raised in Otis and Others, such as who can claim compensation, what harm is genuinely relevant, and the issue of caus...

Millions of people infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been diagnosed with coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19). The prevalence and severity of COVID-19 differ between sexes. To explain these differences, we analyzed clinical features and laboratory values in male and female COVID-19 patients. The present study included a cohort of 111 people, i.e. 36 COVID-19 patients, 54 sex- and age-matched common viral community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients, and 21 healthy controls. Monocyte counts, lymphocyte subset counts, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in the peripheral blood were analyzed. Higher Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) scores, monocyte counts, and CRP and ALT levels were found in male COVID-19 patients. Decreased lymphocyte subset counts and proportions were observed in COVID-19 patients, except for the CD3+ and CD8+ T cell proportions. The lower CD4+ T cell proportions and higher CD8+ T cell proportions were observed in male and severe COVID-19 patients and the differences were independent of estrogen level. The CD4+ T cell proportion was negatively associated with the CD8+ T cell proportion in male COVID-19 patients; this correlation was non-significant in females. Our work demonstrates differences between sexes in circulating monocyte counts and CD4+ T cell and CD8+ T cell proportions in COVID-19 patients, independent of estrogen levels, are associated with the clinical manifestations in COVID-19 patients with high specificity.

Background Clinical recovery does not mean full recovery. It is necessary to explore the aftereffects of COVID‐19 in patients and compare the laboratory features of COVID‐19 and other viral pneumonias in the recovery stages. Methods Forty‐seven cases of COVID‐19 and 45 cases of other viral pneumonias (control) were included in this study. The laboratory parameters were compared between COVID‐19 and control patients as well as severe and moderate COVID‐19 patients from the clinical recovery stage to the 4 weeks postdischarge recovery stage. Results A higher RDW‐CV level and neutrophil percentage and lower levels of total proteins, lymphocytes, eosinophils, and MCH were found in COVID‐19 patients compared with those in controls from the clinical recovery to the postdischarge recovery stages. Further analysis showed that decreases in lymphocytes, total proteins, and SOD and elevations in neutrophils, FDP, CRP, and ESR were more common in severe than moderate cases of COVID‐19 during hospitalization; however, differences in these indicators, except total proteins, were not observed in the postdischarge recovery stages. Additionally, only 76.9% of COVID‐19 patients were positive for IgG antibodies against SARS‐CoV‐2 in the convalescence stage, and one patient that was negative for specific IgG was reinfected. Conclusions This study demonstrated that patients recovering from COVID‐19 might need better care than that patients with other viral pneumonias due to the possibility of having poor immunity and nutritional conditions. These findings provide new insights to improve the understanding of COVID‐19 and improve care for patients affected by these kinds of pandemics in the future., A higher neutrophil percentage and lower levels of total proteins and lymphocytes were found in COVID‐19 patients compared with those in other viral pneumonia patients from the clinical recovery to the postdischarge recovery stages. This study demonstrated that patients recovering from COVID‐19 might need better care than that patients with other viral pneumonias due to the possibility of having poor immunity and nutritional conditions.

For a better utilization of Zhundong coals which have high fouling and slagging tendency, the slag-tap boiler has attracted much attention. To avoid the high sensible heat loss of discharged molten slag, an air-cooling waste heat recovery system is proposed. Energy and economic analyses are conducted to investigate the effectiveness of heating the desulfurized flue gas by hot air and the influences of partially substituting the secondary air by hot air on heat transfer of air preheater and thermal efficiency of boiler. A case study is performed by referring to a typical 50 MW cyclone boiler with nine types of low fusion temperature coals. The results show that for coals with low ash content, the temperature increment of desulfurized flue gas can be over 7 ℃. While for coals with high ash content, the flue gas temperature can be heated to more than 70 ℃, and the surplus hot air can be sent to the furnace. When the hot air is introduced to partially substitute the secondary air, an instantaneous impact on the air preheater will give rise to a decrement of quantity of heat transferred and increments of temperatures of exit flue gas and hot secondary air. The variations of these thermodynamic parameters become smaller with increasing hot air temperature. After introduction of hot air, the thermal efficiency of boiler can increase, resulting in a decrease of fuel consumption rate. In addition, the heating surface area of air preheater can be reduced.

8568 Background: Combined therapy of an immune checkpoint inhibitor with a targeted anti-angiogenic agent had been proved to be effective for lung cancer. Penpulimab (AK105) was engineered to eliminate FcγR binding and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC)/ antibody-dependent celluar phagocytosis (ADCP) completely, where ADCC/ADCP effects could induce T-cell apoptosis and clearance and therefore compromise anti-tumor activity. Penpulimab demonstrated a slower programmed death-1(PD-1) antigen binding off-rate, which resulted in better cellular activity and higher receptor occupancy. Penpulimab also showed numerous contacts with N58 glycosylation on the BC loop of PD-1. These structural differentiations enhance the anti-tumor activity of penpulimab and improve its safety. Anlotinib is a multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor selective for VEGF receptors 1/2/3, FGF receptors 1-4, PDGF receptors α and β, and c-kit. Anlotinib has been approved by National Medical Products Administration as the treatment for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients, who had progressed/relapsed on or after at least two regimens of chemotherapy. Here we report the results of one cohort which received penpulimab plus anlotinib in a Phase II study. Methods: In Cohort 4 of an open-label, multi-center, multi-cohort Phase II study evaluating the efficacy and safety of penpulimab plus anlotinib in pts with advanced head, neck or chest tumors(NCT04203719), the SCLC patients, who failed to platinum-based systemic chemotherapy treatment, received penpulimab (200 mg IV Q3W) and anlotinib (12/10 mg PO 2 weeks on/1 week off). Primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) per RECIST v1.1. Secondary endpoints were disease control rate (DCR), duration of response, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival. Results: 20 patients (median age was 61 [range:37–75] years old, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0/1 [5%/95%], male/female [65%/35%]) were enrolled and received combination therapy (17 received 12 mg anlotinib, 3 received 10 mg anlotinib; and all received 200 mg penpulimab). At data cut-off (Jan 25, 2021), the confirmed ORR was 50.0% (10/20, 1 complete response and 9 partial response) and DCR was 75.0% (15/20). 9 PFS events (45%) had occurred, and the median PFS was 4.7 months (95% CI: 3.6-not reached). Grade 3 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) occurred in 30% (6/20, 2 hypertension, 1 hypertriglyceridaemia, 1 gamma-glutamyltransferase increased, 1 palmar-plantar erythrodysaesthesia syndrome and 1 hyponatraemia) of patients, No Grade 4 or 5 TRAEs had occurred. Conclusions: Penpulimab plus anlotinib showed favorable antitumor activity and an acceptable safety profile in SCLC patients who failed to platinum-based systemic chemotherapy. This new combination therapy warrants further evaluation for the treatment of SCLC. Clinical trial information: NCT04203719.

The slag-tap boiler regains great attention due to the utilization of Zhundong coals. To solve high sensible heat loss problem of molten slag, three water-quenching waste heat recovery systems are proposed. For subcooled- and boiling-water-quenching systems, the condensate water can be heated. While for heating system, heating and domestic hot water can be provided. Thermal-economic analyses of these systems are performed based on a typical 220 t h−1 cyclone boiler with nine low-fusion-temperature coals. The results show that the amount of recovered heat is influenced by heating value, ash fusibility and ash content of coal. Ash content is the most important factor. Both of subcooled- and boiling-water-quenching systems can increase the thermal efficiency of unit. The latter system is much simpler and has the superiority for waste heat recovery. Promoting the energy level of waste heat utilization or increasing the temperature of the heated condensate water will certainly increases the thermal efficiency. For the heating system, the heating consumer and bathing pool can be switched according to different regions and seasons. This system has a relatively low requirement for the grade of heat source, although additional pipes with thermal insulation are needed.

Three-dimensional (3D) graphene structure exhibits promising potential in thermal interface materials (TIMs) due to the continuous network structure and the high thermal conductivity of graphene. Nevertheless, the very low density and the high porosity of the 3D graphene monoliths usually lead to poor thermal transport performance. To overcome these problems, we fabricated the graphene/carbon nanotube (Gr/CNT) aerogels by a synergistic assembly strategy. The entangled CNTs bond the graphene sheets together to avoid the sliding of them under compression and greatly enhance the elastic stiffness of cell walls, which brings the aerogels super-elasticity. Bearing a high compression strain of 80%, the continuous thermal transport paths in Gr/CNT aerogels are still preserved. Significantly increased thermal conductivity of Gr/CNT aerogels can be obtained by directly mechanical compression. Meanwhile, the thermal transport properties of Gr/CNT aerogels can be further improved by elevating their initial density. With an initial density of 85 mg cm −3 , a thermal conductivity up to 88.5 W m −1 K −1 and a thermal interface resistance as low as 13.6 m m 2 KW −1 were obtained, which outperforms other carbon-based TIMs reported previously.

In EU competition law, presumptions are widely used for reasons of efficiency. However, the legal mechanism for the establishment and application of presumptions in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union may not always support efficiency. Instead, the fact that CJEU not only considers the systematic concept of presumptions per se, but also takes into account the full effect of EU law and any directly applicable general legal principles renders the establishment and the application of presumptions unpredictable and sometimes inconsistent. This phenomenon owes largely to the CJEU’s contextual approach in interpreting EU law and the fragmentary nature of this approach. To have a better understanding of this phenomenon, this article first explores the operation of presumptions in EU competition law; second, through concrete examples, it examines the Court’s approach to establishing and applying the presumptions; third, it identifies the potential impacts of the Court’s contextual approach on the enforcement of EU competition law. The article seeks to demonstrate that the Court’s interventions in presumption-related issues have blurred the boundary between substantive and procedural law, and thus risk narrowing the principle of national procedural autonomy. The Court’s approach also presents challenges for the current system of decentralised enforcement of EU competition law by national courts.

Inspired by Case C-517/17 P AGC Glass, this article discusses some topical matters regarding the protection of confidential information in competition law procedure and litigation, namely, the definition of confidential information, protection under leniency programme and the principle of legitimate expectations.

All solid-state sodium-ion electrolytes have attracted increasing attention due to their wide range of applications in secondary batteries. Here, a new fluorophosphate glass–ceramic electrolyte, (Na2O + NaF)–TiO2–B2O3–P2O5–ZrF4 (NTBPZ), has been proposed and synthesized. Due to a low activation energy of 13.9 kJ mol−1 and reduced resistance at the grain boundaries, the NTBPZ glass ceramic has a room-temperature ionic conductivity as high as 3 × 10−5 S cm−1. In addition, the NTBPZ electrolyte has excellent thermal and chemical stabilities under ambient conditions. These outstanding performances make the NTBPZ a promising electrolyte for all-solid-state sodium-ion batteries.

Background. Coronary artery atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease. This study aimed to identify the key changes of gene expression between early and advanced carotid atherosclerotic plaque in human.Methods. Gene expression dataset GSE28829 was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), including 16 advanced and 13 early stage atherosclerotic plaque samples from human carotid. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed.Results. 42,450 genes were obtained from the dataset. Top 100 up- and downregulated DEGs were listed. Functional enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) identification were performed. The result of functional and pathway enrichment analysis indicted that the immune system process played a critical role in the progression of carotid atherosclerotic plaque. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were performed either. Top 10 hub genes were identified from PPI network and top 6 modules were inferred. These genes were mainly involved in chemokine signaling pathway, cell cycle, B cell receptor signaling pathway, focal adhesion, and regulation of actin cytoskeleton.Conclusion. The present study indicated that analysis of DEGs would make a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms of atherosclerosis development and they might be used as molecular targets and diagnostic biomarkers for the treatment of atherosclerosis.

The gut microbiome is hypothesized to play a critical role in gastrointestinal diseases, including antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD). To determine whether the traditional Chinese herbal formula of Shen Ling Bai Zhu San (SLBZS) modulates the composition of the gut microbiome during AAD treatment, an AAD diarrhea model was prepared in rats by gastric gavage with lincomycin for 7 successive days, followed by administration of SLBZS for one week. At all time points after the SLBZS treatment, the diarrhea rates were significantly or at least numerically lower than that of the untreated model group. Overall structural modulation of the gut microbiome occurred after SLBZS treatment, with reverting effects on the AAD-induced structural variations. At the genus level, the relative abundance of Sutterella was negatively correlated with SLBZS treatment and positively correlated with a lack of treatment, suggesting that Sutterella might be a pivotal phylotype associated with the improvement of AAD. The key phylotypes of the gut microbiome that responded to SLBZS indicated enrichment of beneficial bacteria, and particularly Bacteroides spp. These data therefore demonstrated that structural changes of the gut microbiome are induced by the Chinese herbal formula SLBZS. In conclusion, changes in the gut microbiome are associated with the diarrhea-controlling effect of SLBZS.

Extraction of the uranyl ion, UO(2)(2+), in an aqueous solution was carried out using N,N,N',N'-tetrabutyl-3-oxapentanediamide (TBDA) and N,N,N',N'-dimethylDibutyl-3-oxapentanediamide (MBDA) as extractants in an ionic liquid (IL) of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C(n) mim][PF(6)], n = 4, 6, and 8). The extraction efficiency for UO(2)(2+) ion in imidazolium-type ILs was found to be higher than that in chloroform under the same conditions. The extraction mechanism was deduced by the slope analysis and extraction tests. The UO(2)(2+) extraction most likely occurs by a mechanism involving a cation-exchange. The conventional log-log plot analysis of the extraction equilibrium data reveals that UO(2)(2+) ion is extracted as cation complexes in a 1:2 ratio of UO(2)(2+) to extractant. These complexes were characterized by their IR spectral data. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nowadays, an increasing number of colleges have built information systems to manage masses of educational data, but actually most data is in an idle state and fails to create any value. As an efficient data analysis method, association rule mining can precisely make good use of these disordered data and extract useful but latent information from them. In this paper, an example of 228 students, who graduated from the School of Information of Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, China in 2017, is taken to discover the association rules between their career choices and academic performance using Apriori algorithm. The main purpose of this paper is to offer fresh graduates a reference to future career choices and help teachers guide them in better career planning. The experimental results indicate that the courses students are good at largely affect their career choices, although their overall career scope is not narrow.

Considering the severe fouling of high temperature convection pass in the boilers using high-sodium coals, a novel boiler design with a furnace exit gas temperature (FEGT) below 800 °C was proposed. The design was evaluated in different kinds of boilers with various capacities by examining thermal system arrangement, heat transfer, ignition and combustion, and steel consumption. The results indicate that, more radiation heating surface should be used in the thermal system arrangement of the novel boiler besides the volume-enlarged furnace. A marked decrease in the converted coefficient of radiation heat transfer is found in a volume-enlarged furnace due to the reduction in the average temperature of the flame. Moreover, the volume-enlarged furnace can adversely affect ignition and combustion. The cyclone-fired boiler is considered to be the most appropriate application for the novel design, for its combustion and heat transfer in furnace are carried out in divided chambers. A comparison of steel consumption demonstrates the expense of the novel boiler is approximately increased by 10% relative to the conventional one. In addition, an improved application with flue gas recirculation is described in detail, owing to its advantages of controlling FEGT and maintaining the level of convection heat transfer capability of the boiler.Copyright © 2015 by ASME

Since humic acid from water causes considerable serious health-risk factors， powerful methods for the removal of those have received increasing attention over the past decade. In this paper, the available technologies for removal of humic acid from water are briefly reviewed, and the recent advancements are summarized. Fundamentals and main applications of typical methods such as filtration, flocculation and oxidation are reported. Recent progress of technologies such as adsorption, oxidation method is described especially. The experimental conditions and the performances of the different techniques have been compared.