Effects of Environmental Factors on the Diversity of Grasshopper Communities along Altitude Gradients in Xizang, China.

To determine the grasshopper species composition, altitudinal distribution patterns, and their main drivers, we conducted a study in Xizang using 33 sample plots ranging from 600 to 4100 m. Grasshoppers were collected from August to October during 2020-2022 using sweep nets. A total of 1159 grasshoppers from six families, 28 genera, and 44 species were identified, with Omocestus cuonaensis and Aserratus eminifrontus as the dominant species, comprising 30.03% and 10.26% of total grasshoppers, respectively. The results showed that species richness and the Margalef richness index of grasshopper communities decreased significantly (p < 0.05) with increasing altitude, peaking at 1100-1600 m and lowest values at 2600-3100 m. Similarly, the Shannon-Wiener index and Simpson dominance index also decreased significantly (p < 0.05) with an increase in altitude, showing the highest and lowest values at 600-1100 m and 3100-3600 m, respectively. The Jaccard similarity coefficients among grasshopper communities varied from 0 to 0.40 across altitudinal gradients, indicating different degrees of dissimilarity. The results of Pearson correlation analyses showed that the Shannon-Wiener index, species richness, Margalef richness index, and Simpson dominance index of grasshopper communities were significantly negatively correlated with the temperature factors and soil pH, but they were significantly positively correlated with the moisture factors. Hierarchical partitioning identified annual mean temperature-daily difference, precipitation in the coldest season, and driest month precipitation as the primary factors explaining variance in grasshopper community diversity in Xizang. These findings provided greater insights into the mechanisms underlying insect community structure, distribution patterns, and diversity in Xizang ecosystems, including implications for the effects of global warming on insect communities.

Association between obesity and liver cancer from 2012 to 2023: Bibliometric analysis and global trends.

Incidence rates of liver cancer have increased worldwide in recent decades, making it a major public health problem globally. Obesity can be caused by multiple factors and promotes the development of liver cancer in many ways. Although the research on the association between obesity and liver cancer was previously explored, we first employed bibliometrics to analyze the current research status. From 2012 to 2023, the Web of Science Core Collection database was searched for studies regarding the association between obesity and liver cancer. To evaluate worldwide trends and research hotspots in this topic, bibliometric analysis tools such as VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and R Package were employed. Altogether 233 eligible publications, consisting of 167 articles and 66 reviews, were analyzed. The yearly number of publications and average citation numbers have increased over the last 11 years, particularly the last 6 years. The great majority of published articles on this topic originated from the United States (n = 89, 38.20%), followed by China (n = 60, 25.75%), and England (n = 23, 9.87%). In this subject's research, American scholars embodied considerable production, great prominence, and high academic influence. The most cited article was Yoshimoto, S et al of Japan Science and Technology Agency published in 2013 with a citation number of 1410. We apply bibliometric analysis for the first time in this field, expecting to help scholars efficiently and effectively retrieve the association between obesity and liver cancer.

Endoplasmic Reticulum Membrane Protein Complex Regulates Cancer Stem Cells and is Associated with Sorafenib Resistance in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality, underscoring the need for novel therapeutic targets. This study aimed to elucidate the role of endoplasmic reticulum membrane protein complex subunit 1 (EMC1) in HCC progression and its therapeutic potential. Methods: Publicly available sequencing data and biopsy specimens were analyzed to assess EMC's clinical value and functions in HCC. In vitro experiments validated EMC functions, and multiplex immunofluorescence analysis examined EMC-associated sorafenib resistance mechanisms. EMC1 expression was knocked down in HCC cell lines, followed by cell viability, wound healing, and transwell migration assays. Tumor growth and response to sorafenib treatment were evaluated in mouse models. Metabolomic analysis assessed changes in the TCA cycle. Results: EMC genes were aberrantly expressed in HCC, and high EMC1 expression correlated with poorer survival rates. EMC1 disruption enhanced HCC cells' sensitivity to sorafenib, reducing cell viability, increasing apoptosis, and decreasing tumor size and weight. EMC1 maintained cancer cell stemness and promoted M2 macrophage infiltration. Metabolomic analysis revealed significant changes in the TCA cycle, indicating EMC1's role in HCC metabolic reprogramming. Importantly, EMC1 is highly associated with sorafenib resistance, potentially linked to CTNNB1 mutation or activation. Conclusion: EMC1 plays a critical role in regulating the sorafenib resistance in HCC. Targeting EMC1 may improve HCC treatment efficacy.

A Serial Multi-Scale Feature Fusion and Enhancement Network for Amur Tiger Re-Identification.

The Amur tiger is an important endangered species in the world, and its re-identification (re-ID) plays an important role in regional biodiversity assessment and wildlife resource statistics. This paper focuses on the task of Amur tiger re-ID based on visible light images from screenshots of surveillance videos or camera traps, aiming to solve the problem of low accuracy caused by camera perspective, noisy background noise, changes in motion posture, and deformation of Amur tiger body patterns during the re-ID process. To overcome this challenge, we propose a serial multi-scale feature fusion and enhancement re-ID network of Amur tiger for this task, in which global and local branches are constructed. Specifically, we design a global inverted pyramid multi-scale feature fusion method in the global branch to effectively fuse multi-scale global features and achieve high-level, fine-grained, and deep semantic feature preservation. We also design a local dual-domain attention feature enhancement method in the local branch, further enhancing local feature extraction and fusion by dividing local feature blocks. Based on the above model structure, we evaluated the effectiveness and feasibility of the model on the public dataset of the Amur Tiger Re-identification in the Wild (ATRW), and achieved good results on mAP, Rank-1, and Rank-5, demonstrating a certain competitiveness. In addition, since our proposed model does not require the introduction of additional expensive annotation information and does not incorporate other pre-training modules, it has important advantages such as strong transferability and simple training.

Synthesis of Porous Materials Using Magnesium Slag and Their Adsorption Performance for Lead Ions in Aqueous Solution.

Magnesium slag-based porous materials (MSBPM) were successfully synthesized using alkali activation and foaming methods as an effective adsorbent for Pb2+ in solution. The effects of foaming agent type, foaming agent dosage, alkali dosage, and water glass modulus on the properties of the MSBPM were studied, and the micromorphology and porosity of the MSBPM were observed using microscopy. The influence of pH value, initial concentration, and adsorbent dosage on the Pb2+ adsorption was investigated. The results showed that a porous material (MSBPM-H2O2) with high compressive strength (8.46 MPa) and excellent Pb2+ adsorption capacity (396.11 mg·g-1) was obtained under the optimal conditions: a H2O2 dosage of 3%, an alkali dosage of 9%, a water glass modulus of 1.3, and a liquid-solid ratio of 0.5. Another porous material (MSBPM-Al) with a compressive strength of 5.27 MPa and the Pb2+ adsorption capacity of 424.89 mg·g-1 was obtained under the optimal conditions: an aluminum powder dosage of 1.5‱, an alkali dosage of 8%, a water glass modulus of 1.0, and a liquid-solid ratio of 0.5. When the pH of the aqueous solution is 6 and the initial Pb2+ concentrations are 200~500 mg·L-1, the MSBPM-H2O2 and MSBPM-Al can remove more than 99% of Pb2+ in the solution. The adsorption process of both materials followed the Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-second-order kinetic model, indicating that the adsorption process was a single-molecule layer chemical adsorption.

Association and interactions between mixed exposure to trace elements and the prevalence of kidney stones: a study of NHANES 2017-2018.

Background: The association between exposure to trace elements mixture and the prevalence of kidney stones and the interactions between elements are unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the association between exposure to trace elements mixture and the prevalence of kidney stones and the interactions between the elements. Methods: A total of 1,244 participants (139 kidney stone formers and 1,105 non-stone former participants) in NHANES 2017-2018 were included. The exposure to trace elements was evaluated by measuring their concentration in urine samples. Three methods, Logistic regression, quantile-based g computation (qgcomp), and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR), were used for analysis. Results: According to the results from qgcomp and BKMR, a negative association was found between exposure to the 13 trace elements and the prevalence of kidney stones [OR = 0.50 (0.32, 0.78)]. Subgroup analysis revealed that Co, As, and iodine in the whole population, Co, As, and Ni in males, and Cs, iodine, and Sb in females, were most strongly associated with kidney stones. Kidney stone was found to be positively correlated with Co and negatively correlated with the other elements. Besides, there were significant interactions between Ni and Pb in the whole population, Co and iodine in males, and Pb and iodine in females. Conclusion: There was a negative association between exposure to the mixture of 13 trace elements and the prevalence of kidney stones.

Associations of urinary and blood cadmium concentrations with all-cause mortality in US adults with chronic kidney disease: a prospective cohort study.

Epidemiological evidence for the relationship between cadmium exposure and mortality in specific chronic kidney disease (CKD) populations remains scarce. We aimed to explore the relationships between cadmium concentrations in urine and blood and all-cause mortality among CKD patients in the USA. This cohort study was composed of 1825 CKD participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (1999-2014) who were followed up to December 31, 2015. All-cause mortality was ascertained by matching the National Death Index (NDI) records. We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for all-cause mortality in relation to urinary and blood cadmium concentrations by Cox regression models. During an average follow-up period of 82 months, 576 CKD participants died. Compared with the lowest quartiles, HRs (95% CIs) for all-cause mortality associated with the fourth weighted quartiles of urinary and blood cadmium concentrations were 1.75 (1.28 to 2.39) and 1.59 (1.17 to 2.15), respectively. Furthermore, the HRs (95% CIs) for all-cause mortality per ln-transformed IQR increment in cadmium concentrations in urine (1.15 µg/g UCr) and blood (0.95 µg/L) were 1.40 (1.21 to 1.63) and 1.22 (1.07 to 1.40), respectively. Linear concentration-response relationships between urinary and blood cadmium concentrations and all-cause mortality were also found. Our findings suggested that increased cadmium concentrations in both urine and blood significantly contributed to enhanced mortality risk in CKD patients, thus highlighting that efforts to reduce cadmium exposure may reduce mortality risk in high-risk populations with CKD.

The Bidirectional Relationship between Chronic Kidney Disease and Hyperuricemia: Evidence from a Population-Based Prospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Although several studies have examined the association between chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hyperuricemia (HUA), the direction of the association remains unclear. We aimed to investigate whether there was a bidirectional association between them. METHODS: The present study was conducted in three analyses. Analysis I included 25,433 participants free of HUA at baseline to evaluate the associations between CKD and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with incident HUA. Analysis II had 28,422 participants free of CKD at baseline to analyze the relationships between HUA and serum uric acid (sUA) with new-onset CKD. Cox proportional hazards regression models were applied to evaluate the association involved in Analysis I and II. Analysis III included 31,028 participants with complete data and further dissected the bidirectional association between sUA and eGFR using cross-lag models. RESULTS: New-onset HUA and CKD were observed in the first round of the follow-up study among 1597 and 1212 participants, respectively. A significantly higher risk of HUA was observed in individuals with CKD compared to individuals without CKD (HR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.28-1.95). The adjusted HRs (95% CIs) of HUA were 3.56 (2.50-5.05) for the participants in the group of eGFR less than 60 mL·min-1·1.73 m-2, 1.61 (1.42-1.83) for those in the group of eGFR between 60 and 90 mL·min-1·1.73 m-2, and 1.74 (1.42-2.14) for those in the group of eGFR more than 120 mL·min-1·1.73 m-2, compared with the group of eGFR between 90 and 120 mL·min-1·1.73 m-2. A higher risk of CKD was also observed in individuals with HUA compared to individuals without HUA (HR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.12-1.47). Compared with the first quintile of sUA, the adjusted HR (95% CI) of CKD was 1.24 (1.01-1.51) for the participants in the fourth quantile. There was a bidirectional relationship between sUA and eGFR, with the path coefficients (ρ1 = -0.024, p < 0.001) from baseline eGFR to follow-up sUA and the path coefficients (ρ2 = -0.015, p = 0.002) from baseline sUA to follow-up eGFR. CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicated that CKD and HUA were closely associated, and there was a bidirectional relationship between sUA and eGFR.

DZIP1 expressed in fibroblasts and tumor cells may affect immunosuppression and metastatic potential in gastric cancer.

The tumor microenvironment (TME) contains complex components, of which the most well-known one is the tumor-associated fibroblast (CAF) that participates in the development and progression of tumors. A high abundance of CAFs implies that tumor stroma is also abundant and often predicts a poor prognosis, especially in terms of immunotherapeutic resistance. In this study, DAZ interacting zinc finger protein 1 (DZIP1) was identified to be upregulated in CAFs and malignant epithelial cells based on single-cell sequencing. Furthermore, results from The Cancer Genome Atlas database showed that this gene was highly positively associated with the mesenchymal phenotype in gastric cancer (GC). In addition, molecular experiments verified that DZIP1 directly promoted the proliferation of CAFs and enhanced the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of GC cells to drive angiogenesis. Also, the upregulated DZIP1 in GC cells was found to directly promote invasion and metastasis. Finally, multiplex immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry showed that DZIP1 was correlated with the immunosuppressive microenvironment of GC and resulted in a poor response to immunotherapy. Overall, our findings suggest that DZIP1 is expressed in both tumor parenchyma and mesenchyme and that it is involved in shaping the immunosuppressive microenvironment and inducing EMT by participating in tumor-stromal signaling crosstalk.

A study on the changing trend and influencing factors of hospitalization costs of schizophrenia in economically underdeveloped areas of China.

The public health problems caused by schizophrenia are becoming increasingly prominent and can place a huge economic burden on society. This study takes Gansu Province as an example to analyze the level and changing trend of the economic burden of schizophrenia inpatients in economically underdeveloped areas of China. Using a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method, 39,054 schizophrenics from 197 medical and health institutions in Gansu Province were selected as the research objects, and their medical expenses and related medical records were obtained from the medical information system. The rank sum test and Spearman rank correlation were used for univariate analysis. Quantile regression and random forest were used to analyze the influencing factors. The results show that the average length of stay of schizophrenics in Gansu Province of China was 52.01 days, and the average hospitalization cost was USD1653.96 from 2014 to 2019. During the six years, the average hospitalization costs per time decreased from USD2136.85 to USD1401.33. The average out-of-pocket costs per time decreased from USD1238.78 to USD267.68. And the average daily hospitalization costs increased from USD38.18 to USD41.25. The main factors influencing hospitalization costs are length of stay, proportion of medications, and schizophrenic subtype. The hospitalization costs per time of schizophrenics in Gansu Province have decreased but remain at a high level compared to some other chronic non-communicable diseases. In the future, attention should be paid to improving the efficiency of medical institutions, enhancing community management, and promoting the transformation of the management model of schizophrenia.

Kawasaki disease coronary artery lesions prediction with monocyte-to-high-density lipoprotein ratio.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of the monocyte-to-high-density lipoprotein ratio (MHR) in Kawasaki disease (KD) complicated with coronary artery lesions (CALs) and to construct a nomogram prediction model. METHODS: The medical records of KD inpatients diagnosed in the Department of Pediatrics of Lanzhou University Second Hospital from May 2015 to September 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. ROC curves were applied to evaluate the predictive value of MHR in KD complicated with CALs, and logistic regression analysis was used to screen independent risk factors. We constructed a nomogram model and performed internal validation. RESULTS: A total of 568 KD patients were enrolled in the study. MHR was significantly higher in KD patients complicated with CALs and was identified as an independent risk factor for CALs (OR: 1.604, 95% CI: 1.292-1.990). The area under the ROC curve for MHR in predicting CALs was 0.661. The C-index of the nomogram model constructed by incorporating MHR was 0.725 (95% CI: 0.682-0.768), and the calibration curve revealed good agreement between the predicted and actual probabilities. CONCLUSIONS: MHR may not be suitable as a single biomarker to predict the occurrence of CALs, but the nomogram model constructed in combination with other independent risk factors had acceptable predictive performance. IMPACT: The inflammatory response plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Kawasaki disease. The monocyte-to-high-density lipoprotein ratio is a novel systemic inflammation marker. The monocyte-to-high-density lipoprotein ratio is an independent risk factor for Kawasaki disease complicated with coronary artery lesions. The nomogram established by incorporating the monocyte-to-high-density lipoprotein ratio has satisfactory predictive performance for coronary artery lesion formation.

The phosphorylation and dephosphorylation switch of VCP/p97 regulates the architecture of centrosome and spindle.

The proper orientation of centrosome and spindle is essential for genome stability; however, the mechanism that governs these processes remains elusive. Here, we demonstrated that polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1), a key mitotic kinase, phosphorylates residue Thr76 in VCP/p97 (an AAA-ATPase), at the centrosome from prophase to anaphase. This phosphorylation process recruits VCP to the centrosome and in this way, it regulates centrosome orientation. VCP exhibits strong co-localization with Eg5 (a mitotic kinesin motor), at the mitotic spindle, and the dephosphorylation of Thr76 in VCP is required for the enrichment of both VCP and Eg5 at the spindle, thus ensuring proper spindle architecture and chromosome segregation. We also showed that the phosphatase, PTEN, is responsible for the dephosphorylation of Thr76 in VCP; when PTEN was knocked down, the normal spread of VCP from the centrosome to the spindle was abolished. Cryo-EM structures of VCPT76A and VCPT76E, which represent dephosphorylated and phosphorylated states of VCP, respectively, revealed that the Thr76 phosphorylation modulates VCP by altering the inter-domain and inter-subunit interactions, and ultimately the nucleotide-binding pocket conformation. Interestingly, the tumor growth in nude mice implanted with VCPT76A-reconstituted cancer cells was significantly slower when compared with those implanted with VCPWT-reconstituted cancer cells. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that the phosphorylation and dephosphorylation switch of VCP regulates the architecture of centrosome and spindle for faithful chromosome segregation.

Long non-coding RNA-KCNQ1OT1 mediates miR-423-5p/microfibril-associated protein 2 axis in colon adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUNDS: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) function as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) that contribute to carcinogenesis. Herein, we plan to explore whether lncRNA KCNQ1OT1 modulated miR-423-5p/microfibril-associated protein 2 (MFAP2) signaling axis is implicated in the progression of human colon adenocarcinoma. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Clinical specimens were collected for histologic examination and gene expression analysis. In vitro experimental measurements, including CCK8, transwell and TUNEL staining, were performed to evaluate cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis. RESULTS: up-regulation of KCNQ1OT1 and MFAP2 and down-regulation of miR-423-5p in COAD tissues were substantiated by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and our clinical specimens. In vitro experimental measurements exhibited that knockdown of KCNQ1OT1 facilitated miR-423-5p expression and inhibited MFAP2 expression, simultaneously. Transfection of si-KCNQ1OT1, miR-423-5p mimics or si-MFAP2 had the ability to repress malignant phenotypes of COAD cells. Intriguingly, overexpression of MFAP2 restrained si-KCNQ1OT1- or miR-423-5p mimics-induced the inhibition of cell proliferation and migration and elevation of the apoptotic proportion of COAD cells. CONCLUSIONS: KCNQ1OT1 serves as a molecular sponge of miR-423-5p to accelerate the expression of MFAP2 that may be involved in the development of COAD. Our findings present a novel signaling axis KCNQ1OT1/miR-423-5p/MFAP2, which provides a theoretical basis and therapeutic target for the treatment of COAD.

Comparison of Water Immersion Versus Air Insufflation Colonoscopy Under Various Bowel Preparation Conditions.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the differences between water immersion (WI) and air insufflation (AI) for colonoscopy under various bowel preparation conditions. METHODS: In this study, 526 outpatients were randomly assigned to two groups, namely a WI group (n = 263) and an AI group (n = 263). During the procedure, the quality of bowel preparation, abdominal pain score, cecal intubation rate (CIR), adenoma detection rate (ADR), the intubation times, and other indicators were recorded. After reaching the cecum, each group of patients was subdivided into one of four grades (excellent, good, fair, and poor) according to the quality of bowel preparation. RESULTS: Under various bowel preparation conditions, the pain scores of the AI group were higher than those of the WI group (P < .05), but there was no significant difference between the two groups in CIR (P > .05). For the WI group compared with the AI group, the cecal intubation time (CIT) was prolonged under good bowel preparation (P = .045) and fair bowel preparation (P < .001). No significant differences were observed between the two groups on ADR in all patients (P = .476). CONCLUSION: Compared with AI colonoscopy, WI colonoscopy can decrease colonoscopy-related pain in patients for unsedated colonoscopy under various bowel preparation conditions, but there is no significant difference in CIR. WI colonoscopy requires longer CIT in patients with good and fair bowel preparation conditions. WI colonoscopy does not significantly increase ADR.

Extraction of Valuable Metals and Preparation of Mesoporous Materials from Circulating Fluidized Bed-Derived Fly Ash via an Acid-Alkali-Based Alternate Method.

Stringent leaching conditions including high pressure, temperature, and chemical consumption limit the extraction of valuable metals from circulating fluidized bed-derived high-alumina fly ash (CFB-HAFA) via the acid leaching method. In the present study, a complex utilization of CFB-HAFA, including the extraction of valuable metals (Al, Li, and Ga) and preparation of mesoporous material, is realized via a moderate acid-alkali-based alternate method. The results show that 82, 78, and 69% of Al, Li, and Ga, respectively, in CFB-HAFA are extracted by two treatments of acid leaching under moderate conditions of 15 wt % HCl concentration and 90 °C leaching temperature. The leaching behaviors of metals follow a shrinking core model, and the leaching process is first controlled by the surface chemical reaction at the initial stage and H+ diffusion thereafter. Numerous slit-shaped mesopores form in the residue during acid leaching. The final residue with a specific surface area of 273 m2/g can be used as an efficient adsorbent for removing methylene blue from dye wastewater. The maximum adsorption capacity is approximately 140.0 mg/g at room temperature. The Langmuir adsorption isotherm and pseudo second-order model can well describe the adsorption process and kinetics, implying that the adsorption is a monolayer and chemical adsorption.

Effects of MDM4 Gene Regulation by miR-34a on LOVO Cell Proliferation.

This study aims to investigate the effects of regulation of murine double minute protein4 (MDM4) expression by microRNA (miR)-34a on the proliferation of colorectal cancer LOVO cells. Prediction results obtained using a gene microarray showed that MDM4 is a specific miR-34a target gene. The interaction between miR-34a and the 3'-untranslated region (UTR) of MDM4 was detected using a luciferase reporter system. The effect of miR-34a on MDM4 protein expression was detected by Western blotting, and the effect of miR-34a transfection on LOVO cell proliferation was detected using an MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay and flow cytometry. The luciferase activity in LOVO cells after addition of pmirGLO-UTR+miR-34a mimic was only 44% of that obtained with pmirGLO-UTR+miR-34a (p<0.01), and the luciferase activity in LOVO cells after addition of pmir-GLO-mutUTR+miR-34a was 94% of that observed after pmirGLO-UTR+miR-34a addition (p=0.57). These results indicated that miR-34a interacted with the 3'-UTR of MDM4. Results of Western blotting revealed that MDM4 protein expression level in LOVO cells after addition of miR-34a mimic was 29% that of non-treated LOVO cells (p<0.05), indicating that miR-34a negatively regulates MDM4 protein expression. The growth rate of LOVO cells with miR-34a overexpression was significantly reduced compared with that of non-treated LOVO cells (p<0.05), indicating that miR-34a overexpression inhibits LOVO cell proliferation. miR-34a negatively regulates MDM4 gene expression to inhibit LOVO cell proliferation.

Distribution Characteristics of Valuable Elements, Al, Li, and Ga, and Rare Earth Elements in Feed Coal, Fly Ash, and Bottom Ash from a 300 MW Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler.

Feed coal, fly ash (FA), and bottom ash (BA) were collected from a 300 MW circulating fluidized bed boiler. A mechanical screen classifier was used to separate and obtain particles with different sizes. The distribution of valuable elements, including aluminum (Al), lithium (Li), and gallium (Ga), and rare earth elements (REE) in the samples was investigated. Results indicate that the contents of SiO2 and Al2O3 in sized ash particles decreased as the particle size decreased; meanwhile, the contents of CaO, SO3, and Fe2O3 apparently increased. The sulfur-fixing product anhydrite tended to be distributed in the fine ash particles. The valuable elements were more enriched in FA than in BA. The Li, Ga, and REE were evenly distributed in FA particles with different sizes. Separating ash particles with a superhigh concentration of these rare elements was difficult using the mechanical screen, but a part of the anhydrite or CaO in circulating fluidized bed ash could be removed easily. The Li and REE in the feed coal were highly associated with quartz, kaolinite, and other fractions containing SiO2 and Al2O3. No definitive relationship between the Ga concentration and Al2O3 content in the feed coal and ash samples was observed.

Effect of oxygen concentration on oxy-fuel combustion characteristic and interactions of coal gangue and pine sawdust.

Coal gangue is an inevitable coal waste from coal mine, which results in serious environmental problems. Oxy-fuel firing of coal waste and biomass waste is an alternative technology for efficient and clean utilization and CO2 reduction of coal waste. In this study, the oxy-fuel combustion characteristics and interactions of coal gangue and pine sawdust were investigated using thermogravimetric analysis, with a focus on the effect of oxygen concentration on interactions between coal gangue and pine sawdust during oxy-fuel combustion. The oxy-fuel combustion of pine sawdust had two obvious stages, including the release of volatile matter and the combustion of the remaining char, which differed from oxy-fuel combustion of coal gangue with one overlapped stage of devolatilization and char oxidation. Moreover, the addition of pine sawdust could improve the oxy-fuel combustion reactivity of coal gangue. The significant deviations between the experimental derivative thermogravimetric curves and theoretical derivative thermogravimetric curves for the blends indicated that interactions between coal gangue and pine sawdust had occurred in the temperature range of 400-600 °C. The interaction mechanism was primarily thermal effect between coal gangue and pine sawdust during oxy-fuel combustion. The oxygen concentration had a significant effect on the interactions between coal gangue and pine sawdust. The increase of oxygen concentration from 20% to 40% could improve interactions between coal gangue and pine sawdust obviously. However, relative small improvement of interactions was detected between coal gangue and pine sawdust when oxygen concentration was further increased from 60% to 80%. This was related to the difference of rate controlling factor for oxy-fuel combustion reaction under various oxygen concentrations.

Cavin-1 deficiency modifies myocardial and coronary function, stretch responses and ischaemic tolerance: roles of NOS over-activity.

Caveolae and associated cavin and caveolins may govern myocardial function, together with responses to mechanical and ischaemic stresses. Abnormalities in these proteins are also implicated in different cardiovascular disorders. However, specific roles of the cavin-1 protein in cardiac and coronary responses to mechanical/metabolic perturbation remain unclear. We characterised cardiovascular impacts of cavin-1 deficiency, comparing myocardial and coronary phenotypes and responses to stretch and ischaemia-reperfusion in hearts from cavin-1 +/+ and cavin-1 -/- mice. Caveolae and caveolins 1 and 3 were depleted in cavin-1 -/- hearts. Cardiac ejection properties in situ were modestly reduced in cavin-1 -/- mice. While peak contractile performance in ex vivo myocardium from cavin-1 -/- and cavin-1 +/+ mice was comparable, intrinsic beating rate, diastolic stiffness and Frank-Starling behaviour (stretch-dependent diastolic and systolic forces) were exaggerated in cavin-1 -/- hearts. Increases in stretch-dependent forces were countered by NOS inhibition (100 µM L-NAME), which exposed negative inotropy in cavin-1 -/- hearts, and were mimicked by 100 µM nitroprusside. In contrast, chronotropic differences appeared largely NOS-independent. Cavin-1 deletion also induced NOS-dependent coronary dilatation, ≥3-fold prolongation of reactive hyperaemic responses, and exaggerated pressure-dependence of coronary flow. Stretch-dependent efflux of lactate dehydrogenase and cardiac troponin I was increased and induction of brain natriuretic peptide and c-Fos inhibited in cavin-1 -/- hearts, while ERK1/2 phospho-activation was preserved. Post-ischaemic dysfunction and damage was also exaggerated in cavin-1 -/- hearts. Diverse effects of cavin-1 deletion reveal important roles in both NOS-dependent and -independent control of cardiac and coronary functions, together with governing sarcolemmal fragility and myocardial responses to stretch and ischaemia.

[The Effect of Plasma Spatially Resolved During Diamond Film Deposited with HFCVD].

Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) was used to detect the plasma distribution during the depositing process of diamond films with hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) method using acetone as carbon source. The surface and cross section of deposited diamond films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and their quality was tested with Raman spectroscopy. OES results showed that the intensity of active species near the center is higher than that in marginal area in the case of linear array of hot filament. It is because of the higher temperature and stronger cracking ability near the filament. The variety of the characteristic peak intensity in central region is more gently than that of the plasma ball. Thermal radiation decreased when the distance from the hot filament increases, which results in less CH，CO groups cracked from acetone, lower intensity of Hα，Hß excited by hydrogen and higher concentration of C2 group produced by reaction. SEM and Raman results showed that the quality of deposited diamond films deteriorated when the distance between hot filament and substrate varies from 4.5, 5.5 to 6.5 mm, which matches well with OES results.