Search

Landfilled metallurgical residues are valuable raw materials for the recovery of strategic vanadium resources. However, efficient separation of vanadium from these residues is challenging due to its strong oxidation resistance and coating within silicate inclusions. To address this issue, this study proposes an enhanced leaching process utilizing the synergistic effect of O3-catalyzed ultrasonic field in a low concentration sulfuric acid system. Results show that following a 10-minute O3 and ultrasonic treatment, the direct leaching rate of vanadium experienced a remarkable 46.7 % increase. Quenching experiments revealed a hierarchical order of active species within the reaction process:⋅OH >⋅O2−> H+, with⋅OH oxidation exhibiting the most pronounced capacity for disrupting the inclusion structure. Electron Paramagnetic Resonance analysis indicated that the highest⋅OH yield arose from the combined application of ultrasound and ozone. Kinetic investigations demonstrated that the vanadium leaching process is governed by interfacial chemical reactions. The activation energy of vanadium oxidation leaching under ultrasonic-O3 conditions was determined to be 40.41 kJ/mol, representing a 20.19 % reduction compared to ultrasonic conditions alone. Through the integration of analysis, characterization, and comparative evaluations, it was discerned that the synergistic impact of ultrasonic and ozone treatments significantly enhances the breakdown of silicate inclusions by low-concentration HF, particularly in the conversion of SiOSi bonds into SiOH bonds and SiF bonds. In summary, the refined leaching methodology incorporating ozone catalysis in conjunction with ultrasonic treatment provides a new idea for the separation and extraction of refractory residual vanadium.

Abstract Bacterial cooperation and antagonism mediated by secretion systems are among the ways in which bacteria interact with one another. Here we report the discovery of an antagonistic property of a type IV secretion system (T4SS) sourced from a conjugative plasmid, RP4, using engineering approaches. We scrutinized the genetic determinants and suggested that this antagonistic activity is independent of molecular cargos, while we also elucidated the resistance genes. We further showed that a range of Gram-negative bacteria and a mixed bacterial population can be eliminated by this T4SS-dependent antagonism. Finally, we showed that such an antagonistic property is not limited to T4SS sourced from RP4, rather it can also be observed in a T4SS originated from another conjugative plasmid, namely R388. Our results are the first demonstration of conjugative T4SS-dependent antagonism between Gram-negative bacteria on the genetic level and provide the foundation for future mechanistic studies.

Ammonium salt vanadium precipitation process has excellent performance in industrial production, but its shortcomings such as high cost and environmental impact are not conducive to sustainable development. In this paper, ethylenediamine was selected as the precipitant, and vanadate was precipitated from acidic simulated vanadium-rich solutions by the ammonium salt precipitation process. The high purity V2O5 product was obtained after calcination. Under optimal conditions, the precipitation rate of vanadium reached 94.8 %, and the purity of vanadium was as high as 99.1 %. The vanadium precipitation product was hexamethyl ammonium, and the vanadium product was V2O5. It can be derived by the differential method that the reaction order was n = 2.4, the reaction rate equation was CV-1.4=kt+a, and the apparent activation energy was 27.8097 kJ/mol, which can be classified as the diffusion-controlled reaction. This innovative process enables a savings of 5050 yuan per ton of V2O5. On this basis, a complete V2O5 production process with zero waste discharge was designed.

Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) rarely develops in childhood. This study retrospectively recruited paediatric patients with EBA (age ≤ 16 years), diagnosed by clinical and histopathological features and results of immunofluorescence, immunoblotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and reviews their clinical manifestations, histopathology, immunological features, and responses to various treatments. All 7 included patients presented with inflammatory EBA. Among them, 3 had a bullous pemphigoid-like phenotype. Pathologically, in addition to dermal–epidermal blistering, in all patients, the distribution of neutrophils was superficial perivascular or interstitial, or in the dermal papilla. Mixed neutrophils and eosinophils were detected in 2 of the 3 patients with bullous pemphigoid-like phenotypes. In addition to treatment with glucocorticoids, dapsone was administered in 4 patients, while thalidomide and sulfasalazine were administered in 1 patient. All patients responded to the these therapies. Relapse was mainly due to reduction and cessation of glucocorticoids. In conclusion, EBA in childhood may be unique, and thus distinct from its adult counterpart. Specific treatment and follow-up protocols are required for therapy of this rare autoimmune skin disease in children.

Metal vanadium smelting produces roasting-acid leaching tailings containing approximately 1% vanadium residue, making it challenging to store and recycle these waste tailings in an environmentally friendly manner. To address this issue, a clean method called ultrasonic-enhanced oxalic acid complexation was proposed in this study for efficient removal of residual vanadium. Under the optimal conditions, the removal rate of vanadium and the decomposition rate of oxalic acid reached 86.88% and 23.6%. An in-depth analysis on the experimental results in combination with thermodynamics found a virtuous cycle chain induced by ultrasonic cavitation. Ultrasonic waves facilitated the decomposition of oxalic acid, producing more CO2 to supplement the limited cavitation bubble nucleuses. Consequently, the cavitation effect was strengthened, leading to an increased yield of OH radicals. This resulted in a continuous improvement in the oxidation environment. Furthermore, the enhanced virtuous cycle generated by ultrasonic cavitation produced powerful microjets that facilitated the stripping and dispersion of mineral particles. Overall, the oxalic acid-ultrasonic leaching technique offers a clean and efficient technology for separating vanadium.

Introduction Atopic dermatitis (AD) exhibits difference in immune polarization between Caucasians and Asian races due to which an evaluation of the efficacy and safety of Pimecrolimus (PIM) in Asian population is called for. The current study addresses the need via a sub-group analysis of the PETITE study (NCT00120523) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of PIM in Chinese infants. Materials and methods Patients with AD (≥3 months–

As a special type of mobile ad hoc network (MANET), the flying ad hoc network (FANET) has the potential to enable a variety of emerging applications in both civilian wireless communications (e.g., 5G and 6G) and the defense industry. The routing protocol plays a pivotal role in FANET. However, when designing the routing protocol for FANET, it is conventionally assumed that the aerial nodes move randomly. This is clearly inappropriate for a mission-oriented FANET (MO-FANET), in which the aerial nodes typically move toward a given destination from given departure point(s), possibly along a roughly deterministic flight path while maintaining a well-established formation, in order to carry out certain missions. In this paper, a novel cyber–physical routing protocol exploiting the particular mobility pattern of an MO-FANET is proposed based on cross-disciplinary integration, which makes full use of the mission-determined trajectory dynamics to construct the time sequence of rejoining and separating, as well as the adjacency matrix for each node, as prior information. Compared with the existing representative routing protocols used in FANETs, our protocol achieves a higher packet-delivery ratio (PDR) at the cost of even lower overhead and lower average end-to-end latency, while maintaining a reasonably moderate and stable network jitter, as demonstrated by extensive ns-3-based simulations assuming realistic configurations in an MO-FANET.

With the advancement of urbanization construction, the proportion of construction waste to the total urban waste continues to increase, especially waste concrete. The treatment and reuse of waste concrete is a major trend that poses enormous pressure on environmental protection. This article focuses on the problems in the preparation of recycled aggregates from waste concrete, which has important practical value. This article presents a new type of recycled concrete prepared through surface modification of recycled coarse aggregate and design experiments to change the replacement rate of coarse aggregate. The physical properties of recycled coarse aggregate, workability of fresh concrete, and mechanical properties of recycled concrete are analyzed. The research results indicate the following: (1) Through surface modification, recycled concrete can improve the workability of fresh concrete at a fixed water cement ratio, which can meet the requirements of mixing, transportation, and pouring of fresh concrete. (2) By modifying the surface of recycled aggregates, the strong water absorption performance of recycled aggregates caused by old mortar and surface defects has been reduced. And the modification effect of recycled aggregate improves the hydration process of recycled concrete, making the surface structure dense and further enhancing the strength of recycled concrete. (3) The compressive strength of recycled concrete specifications from construction waste shows a decreasing trend with the increase in coat aggregate replacement rate. The final ratio is as follows: modular dose of 12%, modification time of 90 min, and 20% recycled aggregate content.

Paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP) is an autoimmune bullous disease associated with underlying neoplasms and characterized by antibodies against desmoglein 3 (Dsg 3) and plakins. Autoantibodies against desmoglein 3 in sera of patients with PNP have been proven to cause acantholysis in vivo in neonatal mice. As a member of the plakin family, autoantibodies against desmoplakin were detected frequently by immunoprecipitation in the sera of PNP. The recombinant C-terminus of desmoplakin was expressed and purified to adsorb the specific autoantibodies against the C-terminus of desmoplakin. In vitro dispase-dependent keratinocyte dissociation assay and in vivo IgG passive transfer into neonatal mice assay were performed, followed by the electronic microscopy examination and TUNEL assay. We found that anti-C terminus of desmoplakin autoantibodies caused blisters and acantholysis in mice skin at a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, dissociated fragments were observed after incubation with the purified IgG against desmoplakin, compared with normal human IgG (P-value =0.0207). The electronic microscopy examination showed the disconnection of keratin intermediate filaments from desmosomes. Lastly, apoptosis of keratinocytes in the TUNEL assay was all detected in the skins of neonatal mice after injection of the anti-C terminus of desmoplakin autoantibodies. Taken together, the study suggests that autoantibodies against the C-terminus of desmoplakin might be pathogenic in PNP.

Abstract Background Infections were the primary cause of death (34.3–55.5%) in patients with pemphigus. Skin was usually the origin of infections. The study aimed to explore features and associated factors of bacterial skin infections (BSIs) in inpatients with pemphigus. Methods One hundred and seventy-seven inpatients with pemphigus hospitalizing from November 2014 to April 2019 were continuously recruited through Peking University First Hospital’s inpatient records inpatients with pemphigus hospitalizing from November 2014 to April 2019 were continuously recruited through Peking University First Hospital’s inpatient records. Then, we retrieved the clinical and laboratory data to explore the characteristics and associated factors of BSIs. Results Of patients enrolled, pemphigus vulgaris (PV, n = 142) and pemphigus foliaceus (PF, n = 9) were most common, followed by pemphigus erythematosus (PE, n = 25) and pemphigus vegetans (Pveg, n = 1). Eighty-seven of 177 (49.2%) inpatients developed BSIs, and they had a longer length of stay compared with inpatients without BSIs (median: 18.9 vs. 14.1 days, p = 0.008). Staphylococcus aureus was the most common bacteria (71.3%, 62/87) and highly resistant to penicillin (91.9%, 57/62). Higher levels of anti-Dsg1 autoantibodies (> 124.2 U/mL) (p 169.5 U/mL) (p = 0.03, OR = 2.074, 95% CI: 1.084–3.969) were underlying risk factors of BSIs when analyzed by binary regression analysis. As for Gram’s stain of bacteria, females had a lower rate of Gram-positive infections (p = 0.03). Patients using oral antibiotics (p = 0.05) had a higher rate of Gram-negative infections. Inpatients who were hospitalized in other hospitals within 2 weeks before the current admission had a higher rate of Gram-negative and co-infections (p = 0.03). Conclusions Inpatients with pemphigus had a high incidence of BSIs. Some factors were associated with the susceptibility of BSIs and bacterial species.

Abstract The structural and elastic properties of ZnSe with B3 and B1 phases under different pressure have been investigated by the first principle method based on density functional theory. The obtained structural parameters of ZnSe in both B3 and B1 structures are in good agreement with the available values. The transition pressure of ZnSe from B3 to B1 was predicted as 14.85 GPa by using the enthalpy–pressure data, which is well in line with experimental result. According to the obtained elastic constants, the elastic properties such as bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young’s modulus, ductile/brittle behavior and elastic anisotropy as a function of pressure for polycrystalline of ZnSe are discussed in details. In the frame work of quasi-harmonic Debye model, the temperature and pressure dependencies of the Debye temperature and heat capacity of ZnSe are obtained and discussed in the wide ranges.

Solasonine, the main active ingredient of Solanum nigrum L., has been reported to exert extensive antitumor activity. However, the antitumor effects in acute monocytic leukemia and the exact mechanisms involved are unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of solasonine on inhibiting the progression of acute monocytic leukemia. Our findings showed that solasonine inhibited the proliferation of acute monocytic leukemic cell lines (THP-1 and MV4-11) in vitro. Solasonine promoted apoptosis and induced cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. Analysis of RNA-seq data suggested that solasonine correlated with increased expression of genes in the AMPK/FOXO3A pathway. Inhibition of AMPK with compound C followed by treatment with solasonine showed that solasonine reduced apoptosis, caused less cell cycle arrest, and inactivated the AMPK/FOXO3A axis in THP-1 and MV4-11 cells. Solasonine also inhibited tumor growth by the activation of the AMPK/FOXO3A axis. In conclusion, solasonine inhibited the progress of acute monocytic leukemia in vitro and in vivo and triggered the apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase by upregulating the AMPK/FOXO3A pathway.

Objectives This study aims to investigate the relationship between daily weather and transmission rate of SARS-CoV-2, and to develop a generalised model for future prediction of the COVID-19 spreading rate for a certain area with meteorological factors.Design A retrospective, qualitative study.Methods and analysis We collected 382 596 records of weather data with four meteorological factors, namely, average temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and air visibility, and 15 192 records of epidemic data with daily new confirmed case counts (1 587 209 confirmed cases in total) in nearly 500 areas worldwide from 20 January 2020 to 9 April 2020. Epidemic data were modelled against weather data to find a model that could best predict the future outbreak.Results Significant correlation of the daily new confirmed case count with the weather 3 to 7 days ago were found. SARS-CoV-2 is easy to spread under weather conditions of average temperature at 5 to 15°C, relative humidity at 70% to 80%, wind speed at 1.5 to 4.5 m/s and air visibility less than 10 statute miles. A short-term model with these four meteorological variables was derived to predict the daily increase in COVID-19 cases; and a long-term model using temperature to predict the pandemic in the next week to month was derived. Taken China as a discovery dataset, it was well validated with worldwide data. According to this model, there are five viral transmission patterns, ‘restricted’, ‘controlled’, ‘natural’, ‘tropical’ and ‘southern’. This model’s prediction performance correlates with actual observations best (over 0.9 correlation coefficient) under natural spread mode of SARS-CoV-2 when there is not much human interference such as epidemic control.Conclusions This model can be used for prediction of the future outbreak, and illustrating the effect of epidemic control for a certain area.

Paraneoplastic autoimmune multiorgan syndrome is a complex and deadly disease. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical features and risk factors for paraneoplastic autoimmune multiorgan syndrome in 145 Chinese patients. The most common neoplasm was Castleman disease (56%), and patients with Castleman disease tended to be younger (≤ 42 years old: 83% vs. 29%) and to have a greater proportions of lichen planus-like lesions (47% vs. 27%) and bronchiolitis obliterans (49% vs. 29%), compared to other neoplasm-associated patients. Among all 145 patients in the study, the survival rates were 84% at 1 year, 65% at 3 years, and 54% at 5 years. Kaplan-Meier curve analysis revealed that mortality was associated with older age (> 42 years), neoplasm type, labial lesions, and larger skin lesion area (> 17.5% of the body surface area). However, only older age and larger skin lesion area were independent factors associated with mortality in multivariate analysis. We suggest that patients with Castleman disease and paraneoplastic autoimmune multiorgan syndrome have many unique characteristics and the underlying risk factors for death require further exploration.

Abstract is missing (Quiz)

Background and objective It has been proven that the circular RNA, possessing a stable covalently closed continuous loop, is a type of RNA molecule which is expressed widespread in mammals. The circular RNA circHIPK3 is abundantly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and promotes tumourgenesis. However, a role for circHIPK3 has not been systematically examined in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this study, we investigated whether circHIPK3 has an effect on cell proliferation in the NSCLC cell lines NCI-H1299 and NCI-H2170 and the underlying molecular mechanisms. Methods The expression of circHIPK3 was measured by real-time PCR in NSCLC cell lines. Nuclear mass separation experiment was used to detect the location of circHIPK3 in cells. The gain and loss function experiments were used to examine the proliferation of NCI-H1299 and NCI-H2170 cells by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and the colony formation assays. Then, circHIPK3 was cloned into the downstream of the luciferase reporter gene which activity was detected to verify whether miR-379 could bind with circHIPK3 or IGF1 mRNA. The protein level of IGF1 was detected by Western blot and ELISA in circHIPK3 overexpressed/knock-down NCI-H1299 and NCI-H2170 cells. Results CircHIPK3 was generally expressed in six kinds of NSCLC cells lines we detected, and the expression level was highest in H2170 and lowest in H1299. Overexpression of circHIPK3 obviously promoted NCI-H1299 cell proliferation and knock-down of circHIPK3 inhibited NCI-H2170 cell proliferation. In the luciferase assay, miR-379 was observed to sequester circHIPK3 and IGF1 mRNA with potential binding sites. Furthermore, we found that the overexpression of circHIPK3 could increase the expression levels of IGF1 and knock-down reduced it. Moreover, up-regulation of miR-379 rescued the phenotype induced by overexpression of circHIPK3. Conclusion CircHIPK3 could promote cell proliferation by a circHIPK3/miR-379 pathway in NCI-H1299 and NCI-H2170 cells and might be a potential tumor biomarker for NSCLC.

The stamping deformation and springback of the 6061 aluminum alloy sheets under different heat treatment conditions were investigated by three-point bending tests. A validated reliable finite element (FE) model was used to further reveal the springback mechanism. It was found that the heat treatment conditions have great influence on the stamping deformation and springback of 6061 aluminum alloy sheets. The most severe local deformation occurred at the punch position of the T6–8 h alloy sheet, showing minimum bending radius and thickness. However, the bending radius and thickness of the homogenization treated (HT) alloy sheet were maximum, resulting from more materials participate in bending deformation. The HT and solution treated (ST) alloys exhibited higher stamping performance than that of the natural aged (NA) and T6 alloys. The material strength of the T6 alloys can be improved by aging time, motivating greater springback and neutral layer offset. The springback and neutral layer offset of the T6–8 h alloy sheet were the highest, while the HT alloy sheet was the lowest. Furthermore, the effect of material parameters on stamping deformation and springback of sheet was studied by combining with theoretical analysis and experimental results. The research showed that the bending radius and thickness of the sheet in the fillet region increase with the increase of strain-hardening exponent and elongation and with the decrease of yield ratio. After unloading, springback angle and radius increase with the increase of yield strength and strength factor and with the decrease of strain-hardening exponent. These achievements may serve as a guideline for enhancing stamping performance and reducing springback of the aluminum alloy sheet in bending process.