Combustion Kinetics of Coal Treated by Microwave Irradiation Combined with Hydrochloric Acid Pickling.

The desulfurization efficiency, combustion properties, combustion kinetics, and structural changes of Kentucky coal under microwave irradiation (MI) combined with hydrochloric acid solution pickling were investigated and compared using a thermogravimetric analyzer coupled to a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The results show that the desulfurization rate increases with the concentration of hydrochloric acid solution. The introduction of MI can effectively improve the desulfurization efficiency. After desulfurization, the ignition temperature and burnout temperature of coal samples increase, the combustion index decreases, and the combustion performance deteriorates. The maximum weight loss rate decreases with the increase of the concentration of hydrochloric acid solution, and the activation energy of the coal sample after microwave treatment increases, and the reaction difficulty increases. The infrared analysis results show that MI and hydrochloric acid pickling treatment have little effect on the functional group structure of coal samples.

Study on dielectric properties of high organic sulfur coking coal and modeling sulfur compounds.

Coking coal is geologically scarce resource and most of them cannot be directly used in steel making due to their higher sulfur content. One desulfurization method that has great potential for massive application is microwave desulfurization, which removes the relatively stubborn organic sulfur under mild conditions. The dielectric properties of coals determine the efficiency of the microwave energy absorption. The key to describing the mechanism of microwave desulfurization and further improvement of the desulfurization efficiency is the dielectric response of organic sulfur compounds in coal to microwave. This study focuses on existing formand microwave response of organic sulfur components of three typical coking coal in China. Resultsshowed that the major organic sulfur in selected coals is thiophene which has a stable structure and is the most difficult to be removed. Several dielectric peaks (dielectric loss)andsignificant differencesofeach selected coal samples are observed. The microwave absorption peaks of the model sulfur compounds are identified to be within 9-11GHz. The real parts of the relative dielectric constants (hereinafter referred to as ε') shows a decreasing trend as: diphenyl sulfoxide > diphenyl sulfone > diphenyl sulfide > dibenzothiophene > Octadecane thiol. Response to microwaveare observed to be distinctively different between sulfur-containing and sulfur-free model compounds. The dielectric polarization of mixture (coal mixed with model sulfur compounds) is greater than pure coal. Meanwhile the higher the sulfur content of the coal, the greater the ε' is. Sulfur componentsin coal can significantly influence its polarization.

Overexpression of Androgen, Oestrogen and Progesterone Receptors in Skin Lesions of Becker's Naevus.

Becker's naevus is androgen-dependent. The aim of this study was to investigate whether oestrogen and progesterone receptors are involved in this disorder. Immunohistochemistry showed that epidermal expression of androgen receptors, oestrogen receptors (α, ß) and progesterone receptors was higher in skin lesions of Becker's naevus than in perilesional and control skin. Androgen receptor overexpression was observed in pilosebaceous glands, while oestrogen and progesterone receptor overexpression was seen in hair follicles, but not in sebaceous glands in skin lesions compared with perilesional skin. Reverse tran-scription PCR and Western blot revealed that levels of androgen, oestrogen and progesterone receptors were generally upregulated in skin lesions compared with perilesional and control skin, and their expression was usually higher in perilesional than in control skin. These results suggest that simultaneous overexpression of androgen, oestrogen and progesterone receptors might be implicated in the pathogenesis of Becker's naevus.

Differentiation Model Establishment and Differentiation-Related Protein Screening in Primary Cultured Human Sebocytes.

Sebocyte differentiation is a continuous process, but its potential molecular mechanism remains unclear. We aimed to establish a novel sebocyte differentiation model using human primary sebocytes and to identify the expression profiles of differentiation-associated proteins. Primary human sebocytes were cultured on Sebomed medium supplemented with 2% serum for 7 days. Flow cytometry showed that S phase cells were decreased time-dependently, while G1 and subG1 (apoptosis) phase cells increased under serum starvation. Transmission electron microscopy and Oil Red O staining revealed a gradual increase of intracellular lipid accumulation. Expression of proliferation marker was diminished, while expression of differentiation, apoptosis, and lipogenic markers elevated gradually during 7-day culture. iTRAQ analysis identified 3582 expressed proteins in this differentiation model. Compared with day 0, number of differentially expressed proteins was 132, 54, 321, and 96 at days 1, 3, 5, and 7, respectively. Two overexpressed proteins (S100 calcium binding protein P and ferredoxin reductase) and 2 downexpressed proteins (adenosine deaminase and keratin 10) were further confirmed by Western blot and immunohistochemistry.

Clinicopathological Features and Immunohistochemical Alterations of Keratinocyte Proliferation, Melanocyte Density, Smooth Muscle Hyperplasia and Nerve Fiber Distribution in Becker's Nevus.

BACKGROUND: Although Becker's nevus (BN) is a relatively common disease, the systematic studies of clinicopathological and immunohistochemical results are poorly reported. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinicopathological features and immunohistochemical alterations of keratinocyte proliferation, melanocyte density, smooth muscle hyperplasia and nerve fiber distribution in BN. METHODS: Clinical and pathological data were collected in 60 newly-diagnosed BN cases. Immunohistochemical stain of Ki-67, Melan-A, keratin 15, smooth muscle actin and protein gene product 9.5 was performed in 21 cases. RESULTS: The median diagnostic and onset age was 17 and 12 years, respectively. Skin lesions usually appeared on the upper trunk and upper limbs. The pathological features included the rete ridge elongation and fusion and basal hyperpigmentation. Epidermal Ki-67, Melan-A and keratin 15 expression and dermal nerve fiber length were significantly higher in lesional and perilesional skin than in normal skin (p<0.05~0.01), while smooth muscle actin expression was upregulated only in skin lesion (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Although the clinical diagnosis of BN is often straightforward, histopathology is helpful to differentiate from other pigmentary disorders. The hyperproliferation of keratinocytes, melanocytes, arrector pili muscle and dermal nerve fibers could be involved in the pathogenesis of BN.

[Detection of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets in treated syphilis patients with persistent positivity for rapid plasma reagin].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the changes in peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets in patients with latent syphilis after treatment, who had persistent positive results of test for rapid plasma reagin (RPR) and remained infectious. METHODS: T-lymphocyte subsets and natural killer (NK) cells in peripheral blood were measured with flow cytometry (FCM) in these 43 patients and 30 normal subjects served as controls. RESULTS: Peripheral blood CD3, CD4 and NK cells exhibited no significant difference between the latent patients and the controls (P>0.05), but CD8 cells were higher in these patients (P<0.05). The treated patients with persistent positive RPR within two years had elevated levels of CD3, CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes (P<0.05), but NK cells appeared to be lowered (P<0.05); in patients with positive RPR for over two years, CD3, CD4 and NK cells were comparable with those in the controls (P>0.05), but CD8 cells was elevated (P<0.05). Patients with RPR positivity within two years had higher CD3 and CD4 lymphocytes, but lower NK cells in comparison with the patients with more than two years' of positivity (P<0.05); CD8 cells were comparable between the two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Cellular immunity imbalance and immune suppression can be present in treated syphilis patients with persistent positive RPR and the risk to transmission, which may lower the host ability to resist and clear Treponema pallidum and is associated with the difficulty in treating syphilis patients and the persistence of positive RPR even after treatment.