Study on Preparation of Calcium-Based Modified Coal Gangue and Its Adsorption Dye Characteristics.

Efficient and thorough treatment of dye wastewater is essential to achieve ecological harmony. In this study, a new type of calcium-based modified coal gangue (Ca-CG) was prepared by using solid waste coal gangue as raw material and a CaCl2 modifier, which was used for the removal of malachite green, methylene blue, crystal violet, methyl violet and other dyes in water. When the dosage of Ca-CG was 1-5 g/L, the dosage of Ca-CG was the main factor affecting the dye adsorption effect. The adsorption effects of Ca-CG on four dyes were as follows: malachite green > crystal violet > methylene blue > methyl violet. Kinetics, isotherms and thermodynamic analysis showed that the adsorption of malachite green, methyl blue, crystal violet and methyl violet by Ca-CG fitted the second-order kinetic model, and adsorption with chemical reaction is the main process. The adsorption of four dyes by Ca-CG conformed to the Freundlich model, which is dominated by multi-molecular layer adsorption, and the adsorption was easy to carry out. The adsorption process of Ca-CG on the four dyes was spontaneous. The results of FTIR, XRD and SEM showed that the calcium-based materials such as lipscombite and dolomite were the key to the adsorption of malachite green by Ca-CG, and the main mechanisms for the adsorption of malachite green by Ca-CG are surface precipitation, electrostatic action, and chelation reaction. Ca-CG adsorption has great potential for the removal of dye wastewater.

Tanshinone IIA protects motor neuron-like NSC-34 cells against lipopolysaccharide-induced cell injury by the regulation of the lncRNA TCTN2/miR-125a-5p/DUSP1 axis.

Background: Tanshinone IIA (TSIIA) exerts a protective role in spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the mechanism of TSIIA activity in SCI remains to be elucidated. Methods: Cell viability and apoptosis were gauged by CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry, respectively. The expression levels of lncRNA TCTN2, miR-125a-5p and DUSP1 were detected by qRT-PCR and western blot. Direct relationship between miR-125a-5p and TCTN2 or DUSP1 was verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay. Results: In mouse NSC-34 cells, LPS reduced the expression of TCTN2. TSIIA alleviated cell injury induced by LPS and increased TCTN2 expression in LPS-exposed NSC-34 cells. TCTN2 was a downstream mediator of TSIIA activity. TCTN2 targeted miR-125a-5p, and TCTN2 over-expression attenuated LPS-induced cell damage in NSC-34 cells by down-regulating miR-125a-5p. TCTN2 functioned as a post-transcriptional regulator of DUSP1 expression through miR-125a-5p. DUSP1 was a functional target of miR-125a-5p in controlling NSC-34 cell injury induced by LPS. TSIIA inhibited miR-125a-5p expression and increased the level of DUSP1 protein in LPS-exposed NSC-34 cells. Conclusion: Our study establishes a novel mechanism, the TCTN2/miR-125a-5p/DUSP1 axis, at least in part, for the protective activity of TSIIA in cell injury induced by LPS.

Tectonic Implication of the 2022 MS 6.9 Earthquake in Menyuan, Qinghai, China: Analysis of Precise Earthquake Locations and InSAR.

Precise earthquake locations and InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) deformation observation are the major methods to understand the earthquake occurrence and disaster-causing process. This paper proposes a processing framework for analyzing strong earthquake mechanisms from one-dimensional velocity inversion to precise earthquake locations combined with InSAR deformation observation, and discusses earthquake-generating fault and dynamic mechanisms of tectonic deformation. We analyzed the Menyuan Ms 6.9 earthquake in 2022 and discuss the historical seismic activities and corresponding stress adjustment processes in the research region. To analyze and study the seismogenic structure and mechanism of the earthquake, we investigated the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of the Menyuan earthquake sequence and analyzed the InSAR coseismic deformation field. We obtained the precise locations of the main shock and aftershocks and the coseismic InSAR deformation field of the main shock. It was confirmed that the Ms 6.9 earthquake was a shallow sinistral strike-slip earthquake, which led to the sequential activation of the Tuolaishan and Lenglongling faults. The main seismogenic fault of the mainshock was the northwestern end of the Lenglongling fault, and the earthquake rupture was segmented. It can be inferred that the earthquake was a stress-adjusted event triggered in the Qilian-Haiyuan tectonic belt caused by the northeasterly push of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The risk of moderate to high earthquakes in the region remains high in the future, requiring enhanced seismic observations.

Bis(2-hydroxyethyl) Terephthalate-Modified Ti3C2Tx/Graphene Nanohybrids as Three-Dimensional Functional Chain Extenders for Polyurethane Composite Films with Strain-Sensing and Conductive Properties.

Incorporation of functional nanofillers can unlock the potential of polymers as advanced materials. Herein, single-layered and three-dimensional reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/Ti3C2Tx (B-rGO@Ti3C2Tx) nanohybrids were constructed using bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET) as a coupling agent between rGO and Ti3C2Tx through covalent and hydrogen bonds. It is found that BHET can not only resist the weak oxidization of Ti3C2Tx to some degree but also prevent the self-stacking of Ti3C2Tx and rGO sheets. Then, B-rGO@Ti3C2Tx was used as a functional nanofiller and three-dimensional chain extender for preparing the waterborne polyurethane (WPU) nanocomposite through in situ polymerization. Compared with WPU nanocomposites with an equivalent amount of Ti3C2Tx/rGO@Ti3C2Tx, although containing an equivalent amount of BHET, WPU/B-rGO@Ti3C2Tx nanocomposites show significantly improved performance. For example, 5.66 wt % of B-rGO@Ti3C2Tx endows WPU with a high tensile strength of 36.0 MPa (improved by 380%), thermal conductivity of 0.697 W·m-1·K-1, electrical conductivity of 1.69 × 10-2 S/m (enhanced by 39 times), good strain-sensing behavior, electromagnetic interference (EMI)-shielding performance of 49.5 dB in the X-band, and excellent thermal stability. Therefore, the construction of rGO@Ti3C2Tx nanohybrids with the aid of chain extenders may unlock new possibilities of polyurethane as smart materials.

[Effect of electroacupuncture regulating NLRP3/Caspase-1 pathway on pyroptosis of dopaminergic neurons in rats with Parkinson's disease].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on the pyrolysis of dopaminergic neurons in rats with Parkinson's disease (PD), so as to explore its underlying molecular mechanism. METHODS: Male SD rats were randomly divided into the sham operation, model, EA, MCC950 and EA+MCC950 groups, with 12 rats in each group. The PD rat model was established by two-point injection of 6-OHDA. Rats in the MCC950 group were injected with MCC950 at the dose of 10 mg/kg, once a day; for rats of EA group, EA was applied to "Taichong" (LR3) and "Fengfu"(GV16) for 30 min, once a day; rats in the EA+ MCC950 group were given MCC950 injection and EA once a day. All above interventions were performed for 2 weeks. After the intervention, the behavioral changes of rats were observed using rotating induction experiment, rotating rod experiment and open field experiment; the positive expressions of dopaminergic neuronal markers tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and α-Synuclein (α-Syn) in substantia nigra striatum were detected by immunohistochemistry; the damage of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra striatum was observed after HE staining; immunopositive coexpression of brain nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3), Caspase-1 and ionized calcium binding adapter1 (Iba-1) were detected by immunofluorescence double staining; the levels of interleukin (IL)-1ß and IL-18 in brain tissues were detected by ELISA; the protein expression levels of NLRP3, Cleaved Caspase-1 and apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC) in the substantia nigra striatum were detected by Western blot. RESULTS: Compared with the sham operation group, the number of rotations of rotating induction experiment, the residence time in the central area of open field experiment, the positive expression of α-Syn, the positive co-expressions of NLRP3/Iba-1 and Caspase-1/Iba-1, the contents of IL-1ß and IL-18 in brain tissues, and the protein expression levels of NLRP3, ASC and Cleaved Caspase-1 in substantia nigra striatum were significantly increased (P<0.05), while the drop latency of rotating rod experiment, the rearing times and the total distance of open field experiment, and the positive expression of TH in substantia nigra striatum were significantly decreased (P<0.05) in the model group. Compared with the model group, the above mentioned markers were reversed in EA, MCC950 and EA+MCC950 groups (P<0.05), and the improvement of the EA+MCC950 group was more obvious than those of the MCC950 and EA groups. In the model group, the neurons were disorderly arranged, the number of neurons was reduced, the cytoplasm was swollen, and some of them were vacuolar degeneration; while the degree of neuronal arrangement disorder, cytoplasmic swelling and the vacuolar degeneration were reduced in varying degrees in the MCC950, EA and EA+MCC950 groups. CONCLUSION: The ameliorative effect of EA on dopaminergic neuron damage in PD rats may be related to its effects in inhibiting NLRP3/Caspase-1 mediated neuronal pyrosis.