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Objectives: This study aims to develop and evaluate the deep learning-based classification model for recognizing the pathology of renal tumor from macroscopic cross-section image. Methods: A total of 467 pathology-confirmed patients who received radical nephrectomy or partial nephrectomy were retrospectively enrolled. The experiment of distinguishing malignant and benign renal tumor are conducted followed by performing the multi-subtypes classification models for recognizing four subtypes of benign tumor and four subtypes of malignant tumors, respectively. The classification models used the same backbone networks which are based on the convolutional neural network (CNN), including EfficientNet-B4, ResNet-18, and VGG-16. The performance of the classification models was evaluated by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. Besides, we performed the quantitative comparison among these CNN models. Results: For the model to differentiate the malignant tumor from the benign tumor, three CNN models all obtained relatively satisfactory performance and the highest AUC was achieved by the ResNet-18 model (AUC = 0.9226). There is not statistically significance between EfficientNet-B4 and ResNet-18 architectures and both of them are significantly statistically better than the VGG-16 model. The micro-averaged AUC, macro-averaged sensitivity, macro-averaged specificity, and micro-averaged accuracy for the VGG-16 model to distinguish the malignant tumor subtypes achieved 0.9398, 0.5774, 0.8660, and 0.7917, respectively. The performance of the EfficientNet-B4 is not better than that of VGG-16 in terms of micro-averaged AUC except for other metrics. For the models to recognize the benign tumor subtypes, the EfficientNet-B4 ranked the best performance, but had no significantly statistical difference with other two models with respect to micro-averaged AUC. Conclusions: The classification results were relatively satisfactory, which showed the potential for clinical application when analyzing the renal tumor macroscopic cross-section images. Automatically distinguishing the malignant tumor from benign tumor and identifying the subtypes pathology of renal tumor could make the patient-management process more efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the significant features in the cache-enabled networks, in-network caching improves the efficiency of content dissemination by offloading content from the remote content provider onto the network that is closer to the users, and creates an opportunity for multicast. Since the multicast paradigm is a promising method for sending data to multiple users while saving bandwidth, this paper exploits the multi-rate multicast paradigm to address the caching problem in the cache-enabled environment which jointly considers the content caching and transmission rate allocation. The pure caching design, which is developed in most existing works, can only achieve limited performance; therefore, we argue that caching should be jointly designed. Our joint model can accommodate the diverse requirements of users by serving them with content in the nearby cache at different transmission rates, which is different from the single-rate multicast paradigm where users can only share the same rate in the same multicast group. We prove that the proposed maximization problem is a biconvex optimization problem. To solve this problem, we exploit the decomposable structure of the joint maximization to develop a heuristic solution that consists of caching decision and rate allocation algorithms. We reduce the search space of the heuristic algorithm to further reduce computation and communication complexity. We carry out an extensive packet-level simulation to evaluate the performance of our proposal compared with some benchmark schemes. Simulation results show that the proposed heuristic algorithm performs well compared with the benchmarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data Center Networks (DCN), a core infrastructure of cloud computing, place heavy demands on efficient storage and management of massive data. The data storage scheme, which decides how to assign data to nodes for storage, has a significant impact on the performance of the data center. However, most of the existing solutions focus on where to store the data (i.e., the selection of storage node) but have not considered how to store them (i.e., the traffic management such as routing and transmission rate adjustment). By leveraging the Information-Centric Networks (ICN) architecture, this paper tackles the data storage and traffic management issue in Information-Centric Data Center Networks (ICDCN) based on Reinforcement Learning (RL) method, since RL has been developed as a promising solution to address dynamic network issues. We present a global optimization of joint traffic management and data storage and then solve it by the distributed multi-agent Q-learning. In ICDCN, the data is routed based on the data's name, which achieves better routing scalability by decoupling the data and its physical location. Compared with IP's stateless forwarding plane, the stateful forwarding information maintained at every node supports adaptively routing and hop-by-hop traffic control by using the Q-learning method. We evaluate our proposal on an NS-3-based simulator, and the results show that the proposed scheme can effectively reduce transmission time and increase throughput while achieving load-balanced among servers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The behavior of the transient heat flux produced by a three-electrode capillary discharge generator working at a repetitive mode is presented in this paper. The radial distribution profiles of plasma temperature, electron density, and thermal load are obtained by the optical emission spectrometry and correction algorithm. Experiments with different capillary diameters and charging voltages are carried out, and the relation between the discharge characteristics and the geometry parameters of the capillary is measured. A maximum transient thermal load of 1.42 GW·m−2 is obtained with 10 Hz, which can meet the thermal load amplitude requirement of Type-I edge localized mode heat flux in the ITER-like Tokamak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) are important energy conversion device for fuel cell applications, where the overall redox reaction happened. Both alkaline stability and ionic conductivity should be considered in the long-term use of fuel cells. In this work, imidazole functionalized polyvinyl alcohol was designed as the functional macromolecular crosslinking agent to fabricate crosslinked AEMs with brominated poly(phenylene oxide) matrix. Benefitting from the macromolecular crosslinked structure, the membranes displayed enhanced ionic conductivity and alkaline stability at elevated temperature. Moreover, membrane with ion exchange capacity of 1.54 mmol/g displayed ionic conductivity of 78.8 mS/cm at 80 °C, and the conductivity could maintain 75% of the initial value after immersion in 1 M NaOH solution at 80 °C for 1000 h. Moreover, a peak power density of 105 mW/cm2 was achieved when the assembled single cell with c-91 was operated at 60 °C. These results indicated that the construction of macromolecular crosslinked AEMs have great potential in the practical application of anion exchange membranes fuel cells. • Imidazole was introduced into PVA by acetalation. • AEMs were prepared by macromolecular crosslink method between PVA and PPO. • The strategy of macromolecular crosslink improved the alkaline stability of AEMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet of Things (IoT) provides the opportunity to access devices at any time by connecting hundreds of billions of devices. However, routing among the massive number of devices can be a huge challenge. The increasing network size and dynamics of IoT introduce unmanageable routing overhead caused by the maintaining and query of the routing table. As a future network architecture, Information-Centric Networking (ICN) is raised as a promising networking model for IoT. Thus, in this paper, we leverage the ICN and edge computing paradigm to design a routing scheme for IoT. First, we design a hybrid addressing scheme to assign virtual coordinates. The hybrid addressing not only provides a high routing success ratio but also has low address description complexity (i.e., has a short address). Then, we propose a hyperbolic edge routing scheme based on the virtual coordinate. We evaluate our proposal via an extensive simulation. Simulation results show that the proposed routing scheme has a low path stretch and high routing success ratio. Compared with the existing routing schemes, our proposal can reduce the delay and hop count, while achieving a high cache hit ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Torrefaction enhances the metal particles recycling from shredder fines. • An optimal temperature range for the metal particles liberation was 300–350 °C. • The torrefied shredder fines might be used as a raw material in cement kilns. Effective recycling of metallic waste and end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) is of crucial importance. Currently used separation and sorting techniques result in the formation of fine residue (usually below 10–20 mm) called shredder fines. Shredder fines contain the so-called 'fluff' (i.e., foam, wood and textile fibres) with metal particles entangled in it. This 'fluff' interferes with sorting techniques and thus reduces the metal recycling rate. For this reason, presently, shredder fines are primarily landfilled, which is not covered by the greater objective of the circular economy; therefore, the need for their recycling emerged. Low-temperature pyrolysis (torrefaction) increases the 'fluff' fragility and thus liberates the metal particles without their substantial oxidation, thereby enabling their recycling. For that reason, in this article, shredder fines torrefaction was performed at the temperature range of 250–450 °C. The process products were comprehensively characterised using, among others, MicroGC (non-condensables), GC/MS (condensables), and ICP-SFMS (char). The possible application of the torrefied shredder fines after the metal sorting was discussed as well. Torrefaction was identified as a promising way of shredder fines recycling, and the torrefied shredder fines after metals sorting have the potential to be used as an ingredient of a raw material mix for cement kilns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) have emerged as crucial functional materials in various electrochemical device, such as fuel cell. Both the mechanical property and ionic conductivity play important roles in AEMs. Herein, a series of semi-interpenetrating polymer network AEMs are prepared by introducing flexible polyvinyl alcohol to the rigid photo-crosslinked poly (2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) network. Such strategy endows AEM with tunable composition and mechanical property. Among these AEMs, membrane with an IEC of 1.46 mmol/g shows the highest mechanical strength of 30.8 MPa and a relatively lower swelling ratio, as well as the highest hydroxide conductivity. Importantly, the alkaline stability of these AEMs has been improved, 66.5% of the hydroxide conductivity is maintained after treatment in 1 M NaOH at 80 °C for 1000 h. Tentative assembly of H 2 /O 2 fuel cell at 60 °C with this AEM displays a peak power density of 78 mW/cm2. All the results demonstrate that sIPN structure is a promising way to enhance the mechanical property, ionic conductivity, and the alkaline stability of AEMs for the future application in AEMFCs. A series of semi-interpenetrating polymer network were prepared through the combination of crosslinked imidazolium-based PPO and introduction of flexible PVA, which were potential candidates for anion exchange membranes due to improved dimensional stability and ionic conductivity. Image 1 • A new type of AEM based on PPO and PVA was prepared through sIPN strategy. • Crosslinked network was formed between vinyl imidazole and dithiol by thiol-ene. • The sIPN-91 AEM exhibits improved ionic conductivity but controlled swelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Borane clusters represent a unique class of nano-objects not only because of their special coordination and 3D structure but also due to their broad applications ranging from heat resistance coating to cancer therapy agent. Borane cluster-containing polymers (BCCPs) can effectively integrate the merits of both borane clusters and polymers. During the last two decades, with the progress of boron chemistry and the development of advanced polymerization techniques, BCCPs with different architectures and properties have been developed. The introduction of borane clusters into polymeric frameworks not only improves the chemical and thermal stability of traditional polymers but also endows BCCPs with many specific properties, such as photoluminescence, chemical sensing, heat resistance, and boron neutron capture therapy. This feature article gives an overview of the preparation of BCCPs, especially focusing on the design and synthetic methodology. We expect that this review will be helpful to researchers working in the fields of polymer chemistry and materials science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents experimental results on a trigatron spark gap breakdown process induced by different densities of the injected plasma. The results show that the shape of the injected plasma has a great influence on the electric field distribution. The decrease in the curvature radius of the injected plasma front can induce a breakdown during the dissipation of the injected plasma. This process is significant in explaining the sharp increase in the breakdown delay and jitter observed under very low working coefficients. The inception and propagation of the streamer are studied in detail. Due to the high intensity illumination, direct ionization between the injected plasma front and the head of the streamer can occur during the propagation of the streamer. This differs from the conventional streamer breakdown process under a uniform electric field. An explanation of the streamer inception and the direct ionization between the front of the injected plasma and the streamer head is presented. Using the Meek criterion, the effects of electric field distortion and photoionization induced by the injected plasma are analyzed. The results indicate that the effect of the photoionization changes significantly with the density and duration of the plasma injection. Combining this effect with the electric field distortion, a breakdown can occur under a very low working coefficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Kaeng Khoi virus (KKV), which belongs to the genus Orthobunyavirus, family Perbunyaviridae, was originally isolated from the brain tissue of bats and may cause infection in humans. In this study, the KKV strain WDBC1403 was isolated from bat flies (Eucampsipoda sundaica), ectoparasites of the bat Rousettus leschenaultia, collected from Yunnan Province of China at the Sino-Burmese border. Methods and Results: The bat fly specimens were ground and inoculated in culture cells. The WDBC1403 strain was shown to induce cytopathic effects in Vero, baby hamster kidney (BHK-21), and Tb1Lu cells, but not in C6/36 cells; however, viral gene amplification was detected in the supernatants of C6/36 cells. Using electron microscopy, the virus was determined to be spherical, enveloped, and 80–90 nm in diameter; it was also shown to form plaques in BHK-21 cells and the titer reached 1 × 106.57 plaque-forming units/mL 24 h after infection. The phylogenetic analysis showed that WDBC1403 is a KKV strain, but is independent of the original KKV strain (PSC-19). Viral genome analysis revealed that the nucleotide and amino acid sequence identities of the S, M, and L segments of WDBC1403 with PSC-19 were 88.2% and 96.1%, 76.7% and 85.0%, and 78.3% and 88.9%, respectively. Two amino acids were removed at the end of the open reading frame of the M segment, and 47 nucleotides were removed in the 3′-untranslated region of the M segment of the WDBC1403 strain compared with the PSC-19 strain. Conclusions: The WDBC1403 strain is a highly divergent KKV strain, suggesting that there are a variety of KKV strains that exhibit molecular differences. Moreover, because of the large variations in nucleotide and amino acid sequence in the M segment, which encodes an important membrane protein, further research on antigenicity and pathogenicity in humans and animals is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Catalyst-systems of HZSM-5 and Al-MCM-41 produce gasoline-range chemicals. • Distinct product distribution from the different ratio of HZSM-5 and Al-MCM-41. • Temperature affects the product yields from the catalyst-system. Abstract The appropriate system is needed to produce a scalable and economically viable renewable energy from biomass. The objective of this study is to improve the quality of bio-oil, in terms of Organic Liquid Product (OLP), water content, acidity, favourable fractions, as well as gasoline-range chemicals. The influence of a staged layered catalyst system consists of a mesoporous catalyst, Al-MCM-41, and a microporous catalyst, HZSM-5, on the bio-oil quality was investigated. Additionally, the effect of reaction temperatures in the range of 400–600 °C with the optimum staged catalyst system on the catalytic pyrolysis product was analysed. The experiments of lignocellulosic biomass pyrolysis and catalytic pyrolysis were performed using a fixed bed reactor equipped with oil condensers and a gas collection sample bag. The quality of bio-oil produced from the thermal pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass, catalytic pyrolysis with single catalysts, catalytic pyrolysis with the staged catalyst system, as well as catalytic pyrolysis with mixed catalyst system was studied. The results show that Al-MCM-41 with HZSM-5 in the staged catalyst system enhanced the production of favourable compounds: hydrocarbons, phenols, furans, and alcohols. The favourable compounds yield that boosted 5.25–6.43% of that with single HZSM-5 catalyst was produced with HZSM-5:Al-MCM-41 mass ratio of 3:1 and 7:1. The pyrolysis and catalysis temperature of 500 °C with HZSM-5:Al-MCM-41 ratio of 3:1 obtained the optimum quality of bio-oil with 11.08 wt.% of OLP, 76.20% of favourable fractions, 41.97 wt.% of water content, low TAN of 43.01 mg-KOH/g, high deoxygenation, as well as high gasoline-range production of 97.89%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of its vital role of the trust-region subproblem (TRS) in various applications, for example, in optimization and in ill-posed problems, there are several factorization-free algorithms for solving the large-scale sparse TRS. The truncated Lanczos approach proposed by N. I. M. Gould, S. Lucidi, M. Roma, and P. L. Toint [SIAM J. Optim., 1999, 9: 504-525] is a natural extension of the classical Lanczos method for the symmetric linear system and eigenvalue problem and, indeed follows the classical Rayleigh-Ritz procedure for eigenvalue computations. It consists of 1) projecting the original TRS to the Krylov subspaces to yield smaller size TRS’s and then 2) solving the resulted TRS’s to get the approximates of the original TRS. This paper presents a posterior error bounds for both the global optimal value and the optimal solution between the original TRS and their projected counterparts. Our error bounds mainly rely on the factors from the Lanczos process as well as the data of the original TRS and, could be helpful in designing certain stopping criteria for the truncated Lanczos approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The HMGB1-TLR4 axis is activated in adult mouse models of acute and chronic seizure. Nevertheless, whether HMGB1 was involved in the pathogenesis of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) remains unknown. In this study, we first measured the dynamic expression patterns of HMGB1 and TLR4 in the hippocampi of a rat model and in children with MTLE, as well as the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β. In addition, HMGB1 was added to mimic the process of inflammatory response in neurons. Neuronal somatic size and dendritic length were measured by immunohistochemistry and digital imaging. The results showed that the expression of HMGB1 and TLR4 as well as the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β were higher in the three stages of MTLE development in the rat model and in the children with MTLE. HMGB1 increased the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β, upregulated the protein level of p-p38MAPK and promoted the growth of cell somatic size and dendritic length in neurons. Pre-treatment with p38MAPK inhibitor SB203580 decreased the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β, while downregulation of TLR4 significantly reduced HMGB1-induced p38MAPK signaling pathway activation. These data demonstrated that the HMGB1-TLR4 axis may play an important role in the pathogenesis of MTLE via the p38MAPK signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The saccharide-based chiral bifunctional thiourea-phosphines were developed as chiral organocatalysts for the intramolecular Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction of ω-formyl-enones. With only 2 mol% of thiourea-phosphine catalyst 3c, chiral functionalized cyclohexenes were achieved under mild reaction conditions with excellent yields and enantioselectivities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat transfer models using to estimate the effective thermal conductivity have been developed and included in a model for the pyrolysis of refuse-derived fuel or solid recovered fuel particles composed of cardboard and polyethylene. Both the predictions from the Kunii and Smith model and the Breitbach and Barthels model were presented and compared with the experimental data. The possible mechanisms of heat transfer in the porous solid particles were discussed. Compared to the conduction mode by solid matrix and gas phase, radiation heat flux between the neighboring voids and from particle surface and neighboring particle surface are considered as the main mechanisms at the temperatures presented in this paper. The porosity has been reported to serve as an important role in the accurate estimation of the radiation exchange factor for the radiation term in heat transfer model in a highly porous medium. Refuse-derived fuel particle with a high plastic concentration exhibits a rapid increase of porosity with the continuous thermal conversion of plastic. Thus, a coefficient as a function of porosity was applied to the radiation exchange factor in the Kunii and Smith model, which was constructed and based on a simplified model of heat transfer in packed bed. Moreover, the effect of the contact surface area between solid particles on the heat transfer of conduction mode was also considered in the Breitbach and Barthels model. Both modified models were further validated with experimental results obtained at different temperature, with different PE content and initial porosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: Uterine artery occlusion by laparoscopy (UAOL) has been used for the treatment of uterine fibroids and beneficial effects to patients have been shown in clinical studies since 2000. Fibroid cells are more susceptible to apoptosis than myometrial cells under hypoxic conditions, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this effect remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of intracellular calcium (Ca2+) release mediated by Ca2+ channel inositol 1,4,5 trisphosphate receptor1 (IP3R1)/ryanodine receptor1 (RYR1) in the apoptosis of uterine fibroid cells under hypoxia. Study design: We compared the expressions of IP3R1 and RYR1 in fibroid and surrounding myometrial tissue from 20 patients before UAOL. After 6h treatment under hypoxia (1% O2) with or without Ca2+ channel blockers (heparin or/and ruthenium red), the intracellular Ca2+ concentration, cytochrome c (Cytc) protein and cell apoptosis were determined. Results: IP3R1 and RYR1 mRNA and protein levels were significantly higher in fibroid than in myometrial tissues. Under hypoxic conditions, Ca2+ concentration in fibroid cells was significantly higher than in myometrial cells (Ca2+: 82.69±16.92nmol/L vs 46.14±9.11nmol/L, P <0.05), and Cytc increased similarly in fibroid cells. These increases in Ca2+ concentration, Cytc and cell apoptosis were significantly reversed by calcium blocker in fibroid cells. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that intracellular calcium release mediated by IP3R1/RYR1 could induce apoptosis in uterine fibroid cells under hypoxic conditions, and was responsible for the susceptibility to apoptosis of fibroid cells under UAOL. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The high temperature air combustion (HiTAC) is an advanced promising technology for heat recovery, energy saving, and stability improvement of flame. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) is known as an applied tool to execute HiTAC modeling. In this paper, performances of pulverized coal combustion under the high preheated and oxygen deficient air are studied by both experimental and numerical methodology. The experimental facilities have been accomplished in a HiTAC chamber with coal injection velocity that ranges from 10 to 40 m/s. In order to achieve different preheated temperatures, the combustion air in such system is diluted by variable steam percentages from 0 to 44%. Results of mathematical simulation and experimental tests present convincible agreement through whole region. It is concluded that NOx emission is reduced by increasing the steam percentage in the oxidizer due to decreasing the flame temperature. Besides, graphical contours show that by adding more steam to oxidizer composition, the oxygen concentration decreased. Additionally, results show that when the injection speed of fuel is increased, NOx emission is also increased, and when the injection rate of preheated air is increased, NOX emission shows decreasing trend. Further contribution in future is needed to investigate the performance of such technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high temperature air combustion (HiTAC) is an advanced promising technology for heat recovery, energy saving, and stability improvement of flame. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) is known as an applied tool to execute HiTACmodeling. In this paper, performances of pulverized coal combustion under the high preheated and oxygen deficient air are studied by both experimental and numerical methodology. The experimental facilities have been accomplished in a HiTAC chamber with coal injection velocity that ranges from 10 to 40 m/s. In order to achieve different preheated temperatures, the combustion air in such system is diluted by variable steam percentages from 0 to 44%. Results of mathematical simulation and experimental tests present convincible agreement through whole region. It is concluded that NOx emission is reduced by increasing the steam percentage in the oxidizer due to decreasing the flame temperature. Besides, graphical contours show that by addingmore steamto oxidizer composition, the oxygen concentration decreased. Additionally, results show that when the injection speed of fuel is increased, NOx emission is also increased, and when the injection rate of preheated air is increased, NOx emission shows decreasing trend. Further contribution in future is needed to investigate the performance of such technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the characteristics of waste printing paper and cardboard particles in a reactor pyrolyzed by preheated agents with the aim of simulating a real case in a fixed-bed gasifier. A TGA/DSC was first used to study of the kinetics and enthalpy change of the printing paper and cardboard pyrolysis. Pyrolitic conversion was further carried out in a batch-type reactor with non-electrical heating. Syngas, tar and char were produced and characterized from printing paper and cardboard pyrolysis at 400°C, 500°C and 600°C. Different flow rates of carrier gas were applied to study the effect of residence time on the products distribution. When the flow rate increased, the relative mass change of gas agrees with that of tar. With increase in temperature, the yield of furfural, olefins and other non-aromatic compounds in tar decreased, while phenols and heavier aromatic hydrocarbons increased. The evolution of CO2, CO and other gas species in the syngas was presented. Van Krevelan diagram of chars was also presented in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Mechanism study of levoglucosan formation during cellulose pyrolysis. [•] Free-radical mechanism, glucose mechanism, and levoglucosan chain-end mechanism. [•] Levoglucosan formation is endothermic. [•] Levoglucosan chain-end mechanism is the most preferred pathway for levoglucosan formation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Manganese-oxidizing bacteria in the aquatic environment have been comprehensively investigated. However, little information is available about the distribution and biogeochemical significance of these bacteria in terrestrial soil environments. In this study, stratified soils were initially examined to investigate the community structure and diversity of manganese-oxidizing bacteria. Total 344 culturable bacterial isolates from all substrata exhibited Mn(II)-oxidizing activities at the range of 1 µM to 240 µM of the equivalent MnO2. The high Mn(II)-oxidizing isolates (>50 mM MnO2) were identified as the species of phyla Actinobacteria, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria. Seven novel Mn(II)-oxidizing bacterial genera (species), namely, Escherichia, Agromyces, Cellulomonas, Cupriavidus, Microbacterium, Ralstonia, and Variovorax, were revealed via comparative phylogenetic analysis. Moreover, an increase in the diversity of soil bacterial community was observed after the combined enrichment of Mn(II) and carbon-rich complex. The phylogenetic classification of the enriched bacteria represented by predominant denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis bands, was apparently similar to culturable Mn(II)-oxidizing bacteria. The experiments were further undertaken to investigate the properties of the Mn oxide aggregates formed by the bacterial isolates with high Mn(II)-oxidizing activity. Results showed that these bacteria were closely encrusted with their Mn oxides and formed regular microspherical aggregates under prolonged Mn(II) and carbon-rich medium enrichment for three weeks. The biotic oxidation of Mn(II) to Mn(III/IV) by these isolates was confirmed by kinetic examinations. X-ray diffraction assays showed the characteristic peaks of several Mn oxides and rhodochrosite from these aggregates. Leucoberbelin blue tests also verified the Mn(II)-oxidizing activity of these aggregates. These results demonstrated that Mn oxides were formed at certain amounts under the enrichment conditions, along with the formation of rhodochrosite in such aggregates. Therefore, this study provides insights into the structure and diversity of soil-borne bacterial communities in Mn(II)-oxidizing habitats and supports the contribution of soil-borne Mn(II)-oxidizing bacteria to Mn oxide mineralization in soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Kinetics study on levoglucosan primary decomposition in cellulose pyrolysis. [•] Including C–O bond scission, C–C bond scission, and levoglucosan dehydration. [•] Transition state calculation without tunneling correction is suitable method. [•] Arrhenius equation for every elementary reaction and every pathway are obtained. [•] One dehydration pathway is a preferred pathway for levoglucosan decomposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To meet the urgent environmental targets, substituting coal with biomass has been considered to be an effective and promising method over the last decades. In this paper, a new concept of volumetric combustion is proposed and further developed to achieve 100% fuel switching to biomass in large scale coal-fired boilers. Volumetric combustion not only changes the in-furnace flow but also affects the combustion reactions by the intensive mixing and internal recirculation of the flue gases. Firstly, the volumetric combustion properties of the wood pellets were investigated experimentally. An Aspen model was then used to thermodynamically describe and study the volumetric combustion with three different types of fuel, and the emission properties of CO2 and NOx were compared. Finally, two applications of volumetric combustion were discussed. It is concluded that the wood pellets ignited and combusted much faster than the coal pellets and had a larger combustion volume when combusted under lower oxygen concentration conditions, and the ignition time was almost independent of the oxygen concentration when the oxidizer was preheated to 1000°C. In addition, the NOx emissions decreased as the recirculation ratio of the flue gas increased, and as the percentage of biomass used in co-firing increased, the amount of flue gas that needs to be recycled for reduction of NOx decreased. Thus, the volumetric combustion is beneficial as it reduces the operation cost of NOx reduction. The volumetric combustion would be an attractive technology for co-firing a large proportion of biomass in coal-fired boilers with high boiler efficiency and effective emissions reduction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A class of bifunctional phosphinothioureas derived from saccharide was developed as new organocatalysts for the enantioselective Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction between acrylates and aldehydes. With 10 mol% of glucose-based phosphinothiourea 1d, the allylic alcohols were obtained in up to 96% yield and 83% ee under mild reaction conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

abstract: Nano-fibrous scaffolds modified with biological peptides, which can mimic the physical and chemical characteristics of an extracellular matrix (ECM), have been considered good candidate matrices for cell culture in tissue engineering application. In this study, a series of semicrystalline block copolymers, specifically pendent carboxyl-containing poly(ε-caprolactone-co-β-malic acid)-block-poly( l -lactide), were synthesized to fabricate nano-fibrous scaffolds via thermal induced liquid–liquid phase separation process. Random prepolymers P(CL-co-BMD) were first synthesized through ring-opening copolymerization of ε-CL and 3(S)-[(benzyloxycarbony)methyl]-1,4-dioxane-2,5-dione (BMD) in the presence of dodecanol as initiator and stannous octoate(Sn(Oct)2) as catalyst. The terminal hydroxyl of P(CL-co-BMD)-OH was subsequently added to initiate the ring-opening of l-LA catalyzed by Sn(Oct)2. After deprotection, a series of block copolymers, poly(ε-caprolactone-co-β-malic acid)-block-poly( l -lactide)(PCM-b-PLLA), were obtained and fabricated into nanofibrous scaffolds through thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) technique using tetrahydrofuran (THF) as solvent at a gelation temperature of −40 °C. The structure of the copolymers was characterized Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR, 13C NMR), Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC), and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The crystallinity of the PCL segment generally decreased when the amount of BMD segment in P(CL-co-BMD) was increased. However, for PCM-b-PLLA, aside from the crystal melting peak of PLLA at 170 °C–180 °C, no indication of PCL section crystallization occurred because the crystallization of the PCL segment was interrupted by PLLA segment. The nanofiber size of the matrices was in the range of 180 nm–650 nm, similar to the architecture of ECM at the nanometer scale. These nanofibrous matrices have design potential to conjugate covalently to bioactive molecules for tissue engineering. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Levoglucosan (1,6-anhydro-β-d-glucopyranose) decomposition is an important step during cellulose pyrolysis and for secondary tar reactions. The mechanism of levoglucosan thermal decomposition was studied in this paper using density functional theory methods. The decomposition included direct Ceaking, direct Ceaking, and dehydration. In total, 9 different pathways, including 16 elementary reactions, were studied, in which levoglucosan serves as a reactant. The properties of the reactants, transition states, intermediates, and products for every elementary reaction were obtained. It was found that 1-pentene-3,4-dione, acetaldehyde, 2,3-dihydroxypropanal, and propanedialdehyde can be formed from the Ceaking decomposition reactions. 1,2-Dihydroxyethene and hydroxyacetic acid vinyl ester can be formed from the Ceaking decomposition reactions. It was concluded that Ceaking is easier than Ceaking due to a lower activation energy and a higher released energy. During the 6 levoglucosan dehydration pathways, one water molecule which composed of a hydrogen atom from C3 and a hydroxyl group from C2 is the preferred pathway due to a lower activation energy and higher product stability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The mechanisms and kinetics studies of the formation of levoglucosan and formaldehyde from anhydroglucose radical have been carried out theoretically in this paper. The geometries and frequencies of all the stationary points are calculated at the B3LYP/6-31+G(D,P) level based on quantum mechanics, Six elementary reactions are found, and three global reactions are involved. The variational transition-state rate constants for the elementary reactions are calculated within 450–1500K. The global rate constants for every pathway are evaluated from the sum of the individual elementary reaction rate constants. The first-order Arrhenius expressions for these six elementary reactions and the three pathways are suggested. By comparing with the experimental data, computational methods without tunneling correction give good description for Path1 (the formation of levoglucosan); while methods with tunneling correction (zero-curvature tunneling and small-curvature tunneling correction) give good results for Path2 (the first possibility for the formation of formaldehyde), all the test methods give similar results for Path3 (the second possibility for the formation of formaldehyde), all the modeling results for Path3 are in good agreement with the experimental data, verifying that it is the most possible way for the formation of formaldehyde during cellulose pyrolysis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose: Catch-up growth is always companied with later development of obesity and osteoporosis that are two interrelated clinical entities. However, the potential mechanism of the link between them during catch-up growth is unknown. Methods: Rats were divided into two groups. Rats of the normal control (NC) group were offered ad libitum access to food, while rats of CUGFR group were food restricted for 4 weeks, and then were allowed full access to food for 0, 2, 4 weeks, respectively. The fat percentage and distribution, bone mineral density, biochemical and histological indexes of bone were detected. Moreover, the expression of adipogenic or osteoblastic differentiation-related genes of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) was also determined. Results: Catch-up growth led to a rapid visceral fat accumulation. Although there was no difference in the histological indexes of bone between NC group and CUGFR group, the bone turnover marker, serum Bone Gla-protein (s-BGP), decreased in CUGFR group. The adipogenic differentiation-related gene of MSCs, PPAR-gamma, was significantly higher than that of NC group especially when catch-up growth for 4 weeks. Nevertheless, the osteoblastic differentiation-related gene of MSCs, Runx2, was increased but failed to reach the levels of the controls eventually. Both protein and mRNA of TAZ, a main transcriptional modulator of MSCs differentiation, failed to catch up even after being allowed full access to food for 4 weeks. Conclusion: CUGFR induces the differential differentiation of MSCs, potentially suppressing bone formation and favoring catch-up fat, which might be responsible for the increased risk of osteoporosis and obesity during CUGFR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Steam explosion (SE) pretreatment is served to separate the main components of woody biomass. In general there is a noticeable gap in literature in terms of application of steam explosion process to upgrade biomass fuel for wood pellet production. In order to study the influence of steam explosion pretreatment on biomass fuel, Salix wood chips was used as raw material. Four different SE experiments were performed by varying two key process factors; time and temperature. Elementary quality and ash properties of the pretreated residue were investigated. Moreover, physical and thermochemical properties of the pellet, produced from the residue, were also investigated. Reduction in ash content especially in alkali metals was observed in steam treated residue. Pretreatment of biomass also enhanced carbon content and reduced oxygen amount in the fuel which enhanced the heating value of the fuel. Moreover, pretreatment enhanced pellet density, impact resistance, and abrasive resistance of pellet. However, small degradation in ash fusion characteristics and char reactivity was also observed as the severity of the process increased. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The processing of agricultural crops results in waste, which is a potential energy resource for alleviating commercial energy supply problems to agricultural-led economies like Tanzania. The energy content of the individual agricultural waste is largely dependent on its chemical composition (C, H and O) and it is negatively affected by the inclusion of inorganic elements and moisture. In this work, fifteen tropical agricultural wastes emanating from export crops for Tanzania were analyzed. The methods used to analyze involved performing proximate and ultimate analysis for determining the biomass composition. Thermal degradation characteristic was established to five selected wastes (coffee husks, sisal bole, cashew nut shells, palm stem, and bagasse) using a thermogravimetric analyzer type NETZSCH STA 409 PC Luxx at a heating rate of 10K/min. On the basis of elemental composition, the palm fibre and cashew nut shells exhibited high energy content due to their higher H:C ratio with relatively low O:C ratio. Results of the thermal degradation characteristic study showed that the cashew nut shells were the most reactive feedstocks due to their highest overall mass loss and lowest burnout temperatures of 364°C. Further, kinetic studies done to the five tropical biomass feedstocks under the pseudo single-component overall model established the activation energy for the bagasse, palm stem, and cashew nut shells to be 460kJ/mole, 542kJ/mole, and 293kJ/mole, respectively. The respective activation energies for coffee husks and sisal bole were 370kJ/mole and 239kJ/mole. With the exception of the sisal bole, which exhibited zero order reaction mechanism, the remaining materials´ reaction mechanism was of first order. These experimental findings form a basis for ranking these materials for energy generation and provide necessary input to equipment and process designers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Presently, there is a growing need for handling automobile shredder residues – ASR or “car fluff”. One of the most promising methods of treatment ASR is pyrolysis. Apart of obvious benefits of pyrolysis: energy and metals recovery, there is serious concern about the residues generated from that process needing to be recycled. Unfortunately, not much work has been reported providing a solution for treatment the wastes after pyrolysis. This work proposes a new system based on a two-staged process. The ASR was primarily treated by microwave pyrolysis and later the liquid and solid products become the feedstock for the high temperature gasification process. The system development is supported within experimental results conducted in a lab-scale, batch-type reactor at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH). The heating rate, mass loss, gas composition, LHV and gas yield of producer gas vs. residence time are reported for the steam temperature of 1173K. The sample input was 10g and the steam flow rate was 0.65kg/h. The conversion reached 99% for liquids and 45–55% for solids, dependently from the fraction. The H2:CO mol/mol ratio varied from 1.72 solids and 1.4 for liquid, respectively. The average LHV of generated gas was 15.8MJ/Nm3 for liquids and 15MJ/Nm3 for solids fuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By employing nonlocal two-fluid analysis, a class of obliquely propagating current sheet drift instabilities with frequency in the lower-hybrid frequency range is investigated. A series of unstable modes with multiple eigenstates are found by numerical simulation after electrostatic approximation. It is found that the growth rate of the unstable modes, whose eigenfunctions are localized at the current sheet edge, increases as the propagation more oblique. However, as the wave vector attains more and more field-aligned components, the maximum growth rate suffers an acute drop after a certain critical angle, beyond which it finally diminishes. On the other hand, the growth rate associated with modes located near the center of the current sheet is found to be less sensitive to the increase in propagation angle, although it does undergo a gradual decrease until it is stabilized when the mode becomes near-field aligned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Coconut and cashew nut shells are two typical biomass wastes abundant in most of the tropical countries. However, despite their enormous potential as energy sources, they are hardly studied and their thermal characteristics are still not well known. In this study, both biomasses are thermally degraded through thermogravimetry and their characteristics such as devolatilisation profiles and kinetics are analyzed, from 250 to 900 °C, in an inert atmosphere, at two different heating rates, and compared with wood pellets. The results show that their pyrolysis profiles are different from that of the commonly studied woody biomass. In fact, they present two different peaks instead of the one overlapping peak, for hemicellulose and cellulose. In addition, they present activation energies ranging from that are slightly above the commonly known maximum for biomass. At 10 and 20 °C/min the activation energy varied from about 130 to 174 and 180 to 216 kJ/mol, for cashew and coconut shells, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Gasification of biomass using high-temperature agents (air/steam) has been proven to have many features superior to those of conventional gasification using low-temperature agents. In this work, an experimental fixed-bed gasifier is utilized to investigate the gasification of biomass using high-temperature air up to 1473 K. A mathematical model has been formulated for the prediction of the main chemical and physical processes and is used to study the influence of temperature, oxygen concentration and flow rate of the feed gas. Predicted gas species concentration profiles and their maximum values are in reasonable agreements with the measurements. The results show that: (a) When the temperature of feed gas is increased, a higher gasification rate, a higher ignition front rate, and higher molar fractions of fuel gases (CO, H2 and C m H n ), thus a higher LHV are obtained. (b) Increased oxygen concentration leads to higher peak values of the fuel gas concentrations, a higher gasification rate, and a larger ignition front rate. (c) Based on the air temperature, two distinct ignition modes are identified: the reaction-controlled and convective-controlled modes. (d) A critical air temperature exists, above which further preheating is no longer efficient if the purpose is to maximise the yield of gaseous products. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This work is connected with properties of a flame obtained by combustion of liquified propane gas (LPG) with highly preheated air using a regenerative burner. The attention is focused on both the size and shape of the flame and the results were obtained in a semi-industrial furnace equipped with a regenerative burner system. Results of the CFD-based mathematical modeling have been compared with measurements of a number of parameters including the furnace-wall temperature and the concentrations of gaseous species in the furnace. The results indicate that the flame spread can be well predicted using the numerical model. A flame entrainment ratio has been proposed here for describing and classifying the physical changes of the flame shape. This ratio can be used to optimize the diameter and length of a combustion chamber for specific applications. It is also found that equipping a furnace with a regenerative burner can provide a high saving energy, a larger flame volume and a lower emission of NO. It has been obtained that a lower excess air ratio leads to a low peak temperature and a larger flame volume, thus a lower NO emission. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A study of the mathematical modelling of NO formation and emissions in a gas-fired regenerative furnace with high-preheated air was performed. The model of NO formation via N2O-intermediate mechanism was proposed because of the lower flame temperature in this case. The reaction rates of this new model were calculated basing on the eddy-dissipation-concept. This model accompanied with thermal-NO, prompt-NO and NO reburning models were used to predict NO emissions and formations. The sensitivity of the furnace temperature and the oxygen availability on NO generation rate has been investigated. The predicted results were compared with experimental values. The results show that NO emission formed by N2O-intermediate mechanism is of outstanding importance during the high-temperature air combustion (HiTAC) condition. Furthermore, it shows that NO models with N2O-route model can give more reasonable profile of NO formation. Additionally, increasing excess air ratio leads to increasing of NO emission in the regenerative furnace. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

High-temperature air combustion using the high-cycle generator is attracting great interest in metallurgical industries. Flame configurations play a very important role when a modern regenerative burner system is adopted in an industrial furnace because multi-burners are required. Numerical studies of combustion in a semi-industrial scale test furnace equipped with two sets of two-flame high-cycle regenerative system have been performed and results were compared with experimental values. Influences of flame configurations on combustion properties and NO emissions of LPG with high- temperature air were numerical studies as well as excess air ratio. The flame volume and size were figured out by a parameter named as oxidation mixture ratio. It is found that the flame configurations have strong influences on the combustion and flame properties as well as NO emission. Increasing the excess air ratio leads to increasing of NO emission. Lesser the ratio of fuel/air injection momentum larger is the NO production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combustion of a single jet of propane in a cross-flowing stream of preheated and oxygen deficient air is numerically analyzed with emphasis on influences of fuel temperature. Both Eddy-Break-Up and PDF/mixture fraction combustion models coupled with RNG k–#x03B5; turbulent model were applied and the predicted results were compared. Thermal and prompt NO models were employed to calculate NO emissions. Results show that the Eddy-Break-Up model is more suitable for predicting temperature field and flame shape. It was showed that flame during high temperature air combustion condition is spread over a much larger volume. Flame volume increases with a reduction of oxygen concentration, and this trend is clearer if oxygen concentration in the preheated air is below 10%. Additionally, it is almost constant at fixed oxygen concentration and fuel inlet temperature for the temperature of the preheated and oxygen deficient air equal to 1041–1273 K. Increase of the fuel inlet temperature results in smaller flame, shorter mean residence time, smaller temperature peaks, and lower emission of NO. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy has been restricted by intensive lymphodepletion and high-dose intravenous interleukin-2 (IL-2) administration. To address these limitations, we conducted preclinical and clinical studies to evaluate the safety, antitumor activity, and pharmacokinetics of an innovative modified regimen in patients with advanced gynecologic cancer. Methods: Patient-derived xenografts (PDX) were established from a local recurrent cervical cancer patient. TILs were expanded ex vivo from minced tumors without feeder cells in the modified TIL therapy regimen. Patients underwent low-dose cyclophosphamide lymphodepletion followed by TIL infusion without intravenous IL-2. The primary endpoint was safety; the secondary endpoints included objective response rate, duration of response, and T cell persistence. Results: In matched patient-derived xenografts (PDX) models, homologous TILs efficiently reduced tumor size (p < 0.0001) and underwent IL-2 absence in vivo. In the clinical section, all enrolled patients received TIL infusion using a modified TIL therapy regimen successfully with a manageable safety profile. Five (36%, 95% CI 16.3–61.2) out of 14 evaluable patients experienced objective responses, and three complete responses were ongoing at 19.5, 15.4, and 5.2 months, respectively. Responders had longer overall survival (OS) than non-responders (p = 0.036). Infused TILs showed continuous proliferation and long-term persistence in all patients and showed greater proliferation in responders which was indicated by the Morisita overlap index (MOI) of TCR clonotypes between infused TILs and peripheral T cells on day 14 (p = 0.004) and day 30 (p = 0.004). Higher alteration of the CD8+/CD4+ ratio on day 14 indicated a longer OS (p = 0.010). Conclusions: Our modified TIL therapy regimen demonstrated manageable safety, and TILs could survive and proliferate without IL-2 intravenous administration, showing potent efficacy in patients with advanced gynecologic cancer. Trial registration: NCT04766320, Jan 04, 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yunnan province in China shares its borders with three neighboring countries: Myanmar, Vietnam, and Laos. The region is characterized by a diverse climate and is known to be a suitable habitat for various arthropods, including midges which are notorious for transmitting diseases which pose significant health burdens affecting both human and animal health. A total of 431,100 midges were collected from 15 different locations in the border region of Yunnan province from 2015 to 2020. These midges were divided into 37 groups according to the collection year and sampling site. These 37 groups of midges were then homogenized to extract nucleic acid. Metatranscriptomics were used to analyze their viromes. Based on the obtained cytochrome C oxidase I gene (COI) sequences, three genera were identified, including one species of Forcipomyia, one species of Dasyhelea, and twenty-five species of Culicoides. We identified a total of 3199 viruses in five orders and 12 families, including 1305 single-stranded positive-stranded RNA viruses (+ssRNA) in two orders and seven families, 175 single-stranded negative-stranded RNA viruses (−ssRNA) in two orders and one family, and 1719 double-stranded RNA viruses in five families. Six arboviruses of economic importance were identified, namely Banna virus (BAV), Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), Akabane virus (AKV), Bluetongue virus (BTV), Tibetan circovirus (TIBOV), and Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV), all of which are capable, to varying extents, of causing disease in humans and/or animals. The survey sites in this study basically covered the current distribution area of midges in Yunnan province, which helps to predict the geographic expansion of midge species. The complexity and diversity of the viral spectrum carried by midges identified in the study calls for more in-depth research, which can be utilized to monitor arthropod vectors and to predict the emergence and spread of zoonoses and animal epidemics, which is of great significance for the control of vector-borne diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The morphogenesis of the shell field is an essential step of molluscan shell formation, which exhibits both conserved features and interlineage variations. As one major gastropod lineage, the patellogastropods show different characters in its shell field morphogenesis compared to other gastropods (e.g., the pulmonate gastropod Lymnaea stagnalis), likely related to its epibolic gastrulation. The investigation on the shell field morphogenesis of patellogastropods would be useful to reveal the lineage-specific characters in the process and explore the deep conservation among different molluscan lineages. Results: We investigated the early shell field morphogenesis in the patellogastropod Lottia goshimai using multiple techniques. Electron microscopy revealed distinct morphological characters for the central and peripheral cells of the characteristic rosette-like shell field. Gene expression analysis and F-actin staining suggested that the shell field morphogenesis in this species predominantly relied on cell movement and F-actin dynamics, while BrdU assay revealed that cell proliferation contributed little to the process. We found constant contacts between ectodermal and meso/endodermal tissues during the early stages of shell field morphogenesis, which did not support the induction of shell field by endodermal tissues in general, but a potential stage-specific induction was indicated. Conclusions: Our results emphasize the roles of cell movement and F-actin dynamics during the morphogenesis of the shell field in Lo. goshimai, and suggest potential regulators such as diffusible factors and F-actin modulators. These findings reflect the differences in shell field morphogenesis of different gastropods, and add to the knowledge of molluscan larval shell formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Integrated process to produce H 2 -rich syngas and MAC from lignin is proposed. • Gasification is more beneficial for hydrogen production than pyrolysis. • The maximum H 2 yield of proposed process is estimated to be 42.73 mol/kg-lignin. • MACs can be used for domestic wastewater treatment for phosphate recovery. An integrated process that includes the pyrolysis of FeSO 4 dry impregnated lignin and subsequent steam gasification of the produced biochar has been performed to produce H 2 -rich syngas and magnetic activated carbon. The results show that gasification is more beneficial for hydrogen production than pyrolysis. Increasing the pyrolysis temperature from 550 °C to 800 °C and iron loading from 4% to 8% not only promotes the extension decomposition of lignin but also induces the production of char, which is more effective for gasification. As a result, the syngas yield and H 2 volumetric percentage of both the pyrolysis and steam gasification processes are enhanced. The maximum overall H 2 yield and exergy efficiency for producing H 2 are estimated to be 42.73 mol/kg-lignin and 46.63%, respectively. Magnetic activated carbon materials produced from the proposed integrated process have a good porous property and high saturation magnetization value. Magnetic activated carbon that is produced from the same process that achieves a maximum H 2 yield is obtained and exhibits an approximate 70% total phosphate and 20% ammonia and nitrogen removal efficiency for treating real domestic wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Producing sustainable anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) through catalytic graphitization of renewable biomass has gained significant attention. However, the technology is in its early stages due to the bio-graphite's comparatively low electrochemical performance in LIBs. This study aims to develop a process for producing LIB anode materials using a hybrid catalyst to enhance battery performance, along with readily available market biochar as the raw material. Results indicate that a trimetallic hybrid catalyst (Ni, Fe, and Mn in a 1:1:1 ratio) is superior to single or bimetallic catalysts in converting biochar to bio-graphite. The bio-graphite produced under this catalyst exhibits an 89.28% degree of graphitization and a 73.95% conversion rate. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) reveals the dissolution–precipitation mechanism involved in catalytic graphitization. Electrochemical performance evaluation showed that the trimetallic hybrid catalyst yielded bio-graphite with better electrochemical performances than those obtained through single or bimetallic hybrid catalysts, including a good reversible capacity of about 293 mAh g−1 at a current density of 20 mA/g and a stable cycle performance with a capacity retention of over 98% after 100 cycles. This study proves the synergistic efficacy of different metals in catalytic graphitization, impacting both graphite crystalline structure and electrochemical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and Objectives Background Design Methods Results Conclusions Practice Implications Impact Reporting Method Patient or Public Contribution To investigate empirically the direct effect and potential mechanism of family resilience on patient‐reported outcomes among young stroke dyads in China.Young patients with stroke have been becoming an important public health issue. According to relevant theories and previous studies, we found that family resilience might play an important role in patient's symptoms. However, it is less clear about the specific relationship and potential mechanisms of these two variables.We used a prospective cross‐sectional design.A multi‐item questionnaire was used to assess the constructs of interest. Researchers progressively constructed and validated conditional process models. The PROCESS macro was used to verify the research hypotheses.A total of 560 questionnaires were collected in this study. We found that family resilience of stroke patients and their spouses had a direct effect on the physical, psychological and social aspects of patient‐reported symptoms. We further revealed that caregiver preparedness partially mediated the relationship between family resilience and patient's symptoms in stroke patient‐spouse dyads, while perceived social support moderated the relationship between caregiver preparedness and patient's symptoms. Finally, we observed that the impact of caregiver readiness and social support on patients' symptoms predominantly manifested in physical and physiological outcomes.Our research provides evidence about the positive impact of family resilience on patient‐reported symptoms in young stroke dyads. Meanwhile, it further revealed how caregiver preparedness and perceived social support may play out in the relationship.Our research introduces a novel perspective and pathway to enhance short‐term recovery outcomes for patients. It also furnishes clinicians and nurses with evidence to guide the implementation of interventions aimed at improving patient health outcomes and facilitating smoother transitions from the hospital to home.What problem did the study address?Families play a crucial role in a patient's recovery process from illness, with family resilience serving as an important force for families to overcome adversity. However, the impact on patient symptoms and the underlying mechanisms of this relationship are uncertain. Empirical research is required to validate these aspects.What were the main findings?Family resilience has a positive impact on the physical, psychological and social aspects of patient‐reported symptoms in young stroke dyads. Both the actor effect and partner effect are supported. The impact of caregiver readiness and social support on patient‐reported symptoms is primarily observed in physical and physiological outcomes.Where and on whom will the research have an impact?This study offers a novel approach to enhance the short‐term recovery of stroke patients. The researchers believe that the findings of this study will play an even more significant role during patients' transition from the hospital to home.This study followed the STROBE statement of cross‐sectional studies.The study was conducted by patients, their spouses, healthcare professionals and the research team. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tunnel stability is mainly concerned with the object of symmetric tunnels, shallow buried unsymmetric(SBU) tunnels should also be emphasized as the focus of the computational analysis of tunnel engineering. It is especially important to solve the expressions of ultimate support force and damage surface function for SBU tunnels. In this paper, considering the effect of unsymmetrical action, based on the Hoke-Brown(H-B) damage criterion, the optimal upper bound(UB) solution expression is derived by using the limit analysis method. The expression can be used to express the support force and collapse pattern of a SBU rectangular tunnel. The results show that q1 and q2 decrease with the increase of parameters A and σc, and increase with the increase of parameters B, γ, and h. q1 increases with the increase of α, and vice versa for q2. The range of damage surface decreases with increasing parameter A, σc and increases with increasing parameter B, γ, d, h. After the feasibility study and results analysis, it is concluded that the results obtained in this study are consistent with common engineering knowledge. The training results using Feedforward neural network verify the feasibility of the method for SBU tunnels and can be generalized for shallow buried(SB) symmetrical tunnels. The proposed method can provide a theoretical basis for the support design of SBU tunnels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global Sustainable Development Goals highlight the necessity for affordable and clean energy, designated as SDG7. A sustainable and feasible biorefinery concept is proposed for the carbon-negative utilization of biomass waste for affordable H 2 and battery anode material production. Specifically, an innovative tandem biocarbon + NiAlO + biocarbon catalyst strategy is constructed to realize a complete reforming of biomass pyro-vapors into H 2 +CO (as a mixture). The solid residues from pyrolysis are upgraded into high-quality hard carbon (HCs), demonstrating potential as sodium ion battery (SIBs) anodes. The product, HC-1600-6h, exhibited great electrochemical performance when employed as (SIBs) anodes (full cell: 263 Wh/kg with ICE of 89%). Ultimately, a comprehensive process is designed, simulated, and evaluated. The process yields 75 kg H 2 , 169 kg HCs, and 891 kg captured CO 2 per ton of biomass achieving approx. 100% carbon and hydrogen utilization efficiencies. A life cycle assessment estimates a biomass valorization process with negative-emissions (−0.81 kg CO 2 /kg-biomass, reliant on Sweden wind electricity). A techno-economic assessment forecasts a notably profitable process capable of co-producing affordable H 2 and hard carbon battery anodes. The payback period of the process is projected to fall within two years, assuming reference prices of 13.7 €/kg for HCs and 5 €/kg for H 2. The process contributes to a novel business paradigm for sustainable and commercially viable biorefinery process, achieving carbon-negative valorization of biomass waste into affordable energy and materials. [Display omitted] • Fully valorization of biomass into hydrogen, battery anodes, and negative emission. • Tandem biocarbon + NiAlO + biocarbon catalyst reform pyro-vapors into H 2 -rich syngas. • High-performance SIB anodes with 263 Wh/kg of capacity and 89% of ICE. • A sustainable and profitable biorefinery realizing payback period within two years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and diabetic nephropathy (DN) are common complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Although nerve conduction studies (NCS) and sympathetic skin response (SSR) can detect DPN, the more sensitive method for early diagnosis remains unclear. Furthermore, whether DPN can be used as a predictor for diabetic nephropathy needs clarification. Methods: We evaluated nerve conduction studies, sympathetic skin response, and the diabetic nephropathy indicator microalbuminuria (MAU) in 192 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 50 healthy controls. Results: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus showed a lower sensory nerve conduction velocity (SCV), sensory active nerve potential (SNAP), motor nerve conduction velocity (MCV), and compound motor action potential (CMAP) than the controls on NCS. Abnormal rates for nerve conduction studies and sympathetic skin response were 75.0% and 83.3%, respectively, in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Interestingly, 54.2% of patients with normal nerve conduction studies had an abnormal sympathetic skin response. Moreover, we found a positive correlation between sympathetic skin response and microalbuminuria for the first time. The abnormal rate of microalbuminuria was 53.8%, lower than that of abnormal nerve conduction studies or sympathetic skin response patients. Conclusion: Sympathetic skin response is a more sensitive method than nerve conduction studies for the early diagnosis of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Abnormal sympathetic skin response might serve as an indicator for early diabetic nephropathy. Additionally, diabetic peripheral neuropathy may occur earlier than diabetic nephropathy in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feedstock properties play a crucial role in thermal conversion processes, where understanding the influence of these properties on treatment performance is essential for optimizing both feedstock selection and the overall process. In this study, a series of van Krevelen diagrams were generated to illustrate the impact of H/C and O/C ratios of feedstock on the products obtained from six commonly used thermal conversion techniques: torrefaction, hydrothermal carbonization, hydrothermal liquefaction, hydrothermal gasification, pyrolysis, and gasification. Machine learning methods were employed, utilizing data, methods, and results from corresponding studies in this field. Furthermore, the reliability of the constructed van Krevelen diagrams was analyzed to assess their dependability. The van Krevelen diagrams developed in this work systematically provide visual representations of the relationships between feedstock and products in thermal conversion processes, thereby aiding in optimizing the selection of feedstock and the choice of thermal conversion technique. Feedstock properties play a crucial role in thermal conversion processes for power generation, fuel production, or chemical synthesis, but understanding the influence of these many properties on treatment performance is a complex task. Here, a series of van Krevelen diagrams were generated to illustrate the impact of H/C and O/C ratios of feedstock on the products obtained from six commonly used thermochemical processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human rabies is a public health problem in Asia, especially in less‐developed regions where the disease is under‐reported because of a lack of epidemiological surveillance. To address this gap, we collected data on human rabies in Yunnan Province, China, between 2005 and 2016. Using statistical mapping techniques, we correlated the occurrence of human rabies to environmental (elevation, precipitation, normalized difference vegetation index [NDVI], temperature and distance to the nearest main rivers) and anthropogenic (human and dog population density, distance to the nearest main roads and gross domestic product [GDP]) factors. We used a performance score, the average area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (0.88), to validate our risk model. Using this model, we found that environmental factors were more strongly associated with human rabies occurrence than anthropogenic factors. Areas with elevation below 2000 metres, GDP per capita between $750 and $4500/year and NDVI below 0.07 were associated with greater risk of human rabies. Rabies control in China should specifically target these areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]