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Compared to diesel, liquefied natural gas (LNG), often used as an alternative fuel for marine engines, comes with significant advantages in reducing emissions of particulate matter (PM), SOx, CO2, and other pollutants. Promoting the use of LNG is of great significance for achieving carbon peaking and neutrality worldwide, as well as improving the energy structure. However, compared to diesel engines, medium- and high-speed marine LNG engines may produce higher methane (CH4) emissions and also have nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission issues. For the removal of CH4 and NOx from the exhaust of marine LNG engines, the traditional technical route of combining a methane oxidation catalyst (MOC) and an HN3 selective catalytic reduction system (NH3-SCR) will face problems, such as low conversion efficiency and high operation cost. In view of this, the technology of non-thermal plasma (NTP) combined with CH4-SCR is proposed. However, the synergistic mechanism between NTP and catalysts is still unclear, which limits the optimization of an NTP-CH4-SCR system. This article summarizes the synergistic mechanism of NTP and catalysts in the integrated treatment process of CH4 and NOx, including experimental analysis and numerical simulation. And the relevant impact parameters (such as electrode diameter, electrode shape, electrode material, and barrier material, etc.) of NTP reactor energy optimization are discussed. The work of this paper is of great significance for guiding the high-efficiency removal of CH4 and NOx for an NTP-CH4-SCR system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting the use of solar energy resources has always involved the challenges of instability and supply–demand mismatch. The key to solving these issues is to efficiently store and utilize solar energy resources using high-performance heat storage devices. This study designed a high-performance shell-and-tube phase-change thermal storage device and established a numerical model using ANSYS software to summarize the device's dynamic melting law. To verify the accuracy of the numerical simulation, a performance testing platform for the phase-change thermal storage device was built to investigate the impact of various factors, such as the inlet water temperature, inlet water flow rate, type of heat storage, and initial temperature of the device, and to reveal the change law of the device's performance. The results show that the inlet water temperature has the most significant impact on the device's heat storage and release performance. When the device's heat storage or release is used for heating, changing the inlet water flow rate has a weak and limited effect on the device's performance. However, when the device's heat release is used to provide domestic hot water, increasing the make-up water temperature and reducing the inlet water flow rate can significantly improve the device's effective heat release. Furthermore, based on the experimental validation of the model's correctness, this study further simulated and studied the impact of different factors on the device's heat storage process to optimize its structural design and provide technical references for the device's actual operation and installation. The results show that the placement of fins has a negligible effect on the performance of the heat storage device while reducing the fin spacing and increasing the fin thickness can significantly improve the melting efficiency of the phase-change material (PCM). Additionally, the heat storage characteristics of the device are significantly better in the vertical installation mode than in the horizontal installation mode. This study provides theoretical guidance and technical references for the design and use of phase-change thermal storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal analysis kinetic method was employed to solve the activation energies of the thermal decomposition reactions of urea and cyanuric acid, with the purpose of understanding the formation of deposits in the diesel engine SCR system. The deposit reaction kinetic model was established by optimizing the reaction paths and reaction kinetic parameters based on the thermal analysis test data of the key components in the deposit. The result shows that the established deposit reaction kinetic model can accurately describe the decomposition process of the key components in the deposit. Compared to the Ebrahimian model, the simulation precision of the established deposit reaction kinetic model is significantly improved above 600 K. The activation energies of the urea and cyanuric acid decomposition reactions are 84 kJ/mol and 152 kJ/mol, respectively, after model parameters identification. The identified activation energies were closest to those of the Friedman one-interval method indicating that the Friedman one-interval method is reasonable to solve the activation energies of deposit reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resistin-like molecules (RELMs) are highly cysteine-rich proteins, including RELMα, RELMβ, Resistin, and RELMγ. However, RELMs exhibit significant differences in structure, distribution, and function. The expression of RELMs is regulated by various signaling molecules, such as IL-4, IL-13, and their receptors. In addition, RELMs can mediate numerous signaling pathways, including HMGB1/RAGE, IL-4/IL-4Rα, PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathways, and so on. RELMs proteins are involved in wide range of physiological and pathological processes, including inflammatory response, cell proliferation, glucose metabolism, barrier defense, etc., and participate in the progression of numerous diseases such as lung diseases, intestinal diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and cancers. Meanwhile, RELMs can serve as biomarkers, risk predictors, and therapeutic targets for these diseases. An in-depth understanding of the role of RELMs may provide novel targets or strategies for the treatment and prevention of related diseases. 81_RffzerTWwVqeCYH81tP Video abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a subpopulation of cancer cells with stem cell properties that sustain cancers, which may be responsible for cancer metastasis or recurrence. Lipid rafts are cholesterol- and sphingolipid-enriched microdomains in the plasma membrane that mediate various intracellular signaling. The occurrence and progression of cancer are closely related to lipid rafts. Emerging evidence indicates that lipid raft levels are significantly enriched in CSCs compared to cancer cells and that most CSC markers such as CD24, CD44, and CD133 are located in lipid rafts. Furthermore, lipid rafts play an essential role in CSCs, specifically in CSC self-renewal, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, drug resistance, and CSC niche. Therefore, lipid rafts are critical regulatory platforms for CSCs and promising therapeutic targets for cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exosomes have been considered as novel and potent vehicles of intercellular communication, instead of "cell dust". Exosomes are consistent with anucleate cells, and organelles with lipid bilayer consisting of the proteins and abundant lipid, enhancing their "rigidity" and "flexibility". Neighboring cells or distant cells are capable of exchanging genetic or metabolic information via exosomes binding to recipient cell and releasing bioactive molecules, such as lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Of note, exosomes exert the remarkable effects on lipid metabolism, including the synthesis, transportation and degradation of the lipid. The disorder of lipid metabolism mediated by exosomes leads to the occurrence and progression of diseases, such as atherosclerosis, cancer, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), obesity and Alzheimer's diseases and so on. More importantly, lipid metabolism can also affect the production and secretion of exosomes, as well as interactions with the recipient cells. Therefore, exosomes may be applied as effective targets for diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Video abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Dual fuel of biomass and natural gas can provide a cost effective and reliable method of simultaneously using renewable energy and fossil energy, and it offers advantages such as flexibility and environmental friendliness. In this paper, a dual fuel combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) system primarily composed of a gasifier, gas conditioning unit, gas storage tank, internal combustion engine (ICE), absorption chiller/heater, and heat exchanger is proposed as an energy supply system for a hypothetical hotel. The system is analyzed and evaluated from the viewpoint of thermodynamics and exergoeconomics under design conditions in summer and winter seasons. The exergy efficiencies, exergy losses, and exergoeconomic behaviors of each component in the system are calculated and analyzed; then, the exergoeconomic costs of chilled water, heating water, electricity, and domestic hot water are calculated. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is performed to evaluate the impact of fuel prices on the unit exergy cost of the products. The results indicate that the exergy efficiencies of the system in summer and winter are 8.06% and 12.23%, respectively. Exergy loss analyses indicate that the largest loss occurs in the gasifier and accounts for more than 60% of the total exergy losses. Exergoeconomic analysis shows that the unit exergoeconomic cost of the products is higher in winter than in summer. Sensitivity analysis demonstrates that the products are more sensitive to the price of natural gas than biomass. Highlights • Proposed a dual-fuel CCHP system based on biomass and natural gas. • Presented the exergy and exergoeconomic analysis of the dual-fuel CCHP system. • Discussed multiproducts' cost influenced by the fuel price. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building energy conservation has been a globally important issue not only because of the greenhouse gas emissions that occur during the construction and operation of a building, but also due to the increasing emphasis on indoor thermal quality, which is directly related to the quality of life, especially in northern China. The behaviors of heating companies and building users are considered to play important roles in the reduction of building energy consumption. However, it is necessary to understand the relationship between the heating fee, which represents the heating policy, and the energy performance, which considers both the actual energy consumption and thermal ability of a building. With this goal in sight, this study focuses on residential buildings in a climate zone that experiences quite low temperatures, and the heating energy consumption of 40 residential buildings from five typical regions in Inner Mongolia were monitored and analyzed. The thermal comfort, occupant behavior, and heating energy consumption of typical households and buildings in these regions were quantified. In view of the monitored results, building models were built and validated, with the results treated as training samples in clustering and classification procedures. For the sake of the further formulation of a heating energy cost allocation policy, the K-means clustering algorithm and discriminant analysis (DA) were used in this work to evaluate and group residential buildings according to their heating energy consumption and thermal-physical properties of the envelopes. The results of this study indicated the existence of regional heating energy consumption differences. Moreover, the main influential factors for grouping residential buildings and the number of clusters were suggested based on the K-means clustering algorithm and DA method. Meanwhile, the classification accuracy rate obtained from the DA method not only verified the clustering results, but also confirmed the further applicability of the combination of these two methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the qualitative behavior of the Boussinesq–Burgers equations on a finite interval subject to the Dirichlet type dynamic boundary conditions. Assuming H 1 × H 2 initial data which are compatible with boundary conditions and utilizing energy methods, we show that under appropriate conditions on the dynamic boundary data, there exist unique global-in-time solutions to the initial-boundary value problem, and the solutions converge to the boundary data as time goes to infinity, regardless of the magnitude of the initial data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Back propagation neural network (BPNN) models and multiple linear regression (MLR) models are widely used to predict heating energy consumption. To improve the prediction accuracies for the BPNN and MLR models, we propose a novel sample data selection method (SDSM) combining the similar days selection with the virtual samples generation. First, a grey correlation method integrated with an entropy weight method is given to optimize the similar days selection. Then virtual samples are generated by Gaussian distribution function based on the similar samples. Finally, a new sample set (including similar and virtual samples) is obtained, and then, it is regarded as the input variable for the BPNN and MLR models. The results show that training errors and prediction errors are obviously reduced in the developed BPNN model. Although the prediction accuracy of the developed MLR model is improved by different degrees, the coefficient of determination obtained in the regression fitting process is poor. It is proved that the novel SDSM is applicable only for the BPNN model, but not for the MLR model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical Modal Decomposition (EMD), and improved or modified techniques derived from EMD, collectively referred to as Empirical Modal Decomposition class (EMDC) techniques. EMDC techniques have a wide range of applications in building energy analysis, especially time–frequency analysis based noise cancellation in data-driven building energy prediction. However, there is a gap in the literature related to the choice of EMDC techniques in data-driven models. This paper provides a framework for a comprehensive comparison of EMD, Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD), Variational Mode Decomposition (VMD) and Empirical Wavelet Transform (EWT) techniques for building heat consumption prediction modeling. A real building is used as an example to compare the noise cancellation potential of these techniques and the prediction accuracy under various data-driven models. The results demonstrated that noise cancellation using the EMDC techniques significantly improves Signal-Noise Ratio, regularity, and consistency with the original signal trend. The prediction models trained using the noise-cancelled data have the Root Mean Squared Error and the Mean Absolute Error reductions of 22.5 % and 31.3 % on average, respectively. Meanwhile, the predicted signals of the models inherit the noise cancellation benefits of the noise-cancelled training data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the global existence and the long-time asymptotic behavior of classical solutions to the Cauchy problem for the Boussinesq–Burgers system with large initial data. More precisely, we first show that the classical solutions exist globally in time with large initial data by using the L p ( p > 2 ) estimates other than the conventional L 2 estimate. Then we prove that the global classical solutions converge to constant equilibrium states with an algebraic decay rate as time approaches infinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Carbonization and crystallization of feedstock can be achieved by one step in Sc-CO 2. • Iron salt enhanced depolymerization of plastics significantly via catalytic effect. • Sc-CO 2 favored formation of oxygen-rich functional groups on magnetic hybrid surface. • Magnetic Fe 3 O 4 was in-situ anchored in formed carbonaceous pore of bulk char. • Halogen-free magnetic hybrid exhibited excellent capacity for Cr(VI) immobilization. A huge amount of waste halogenated plastics is a considerable resource pool but how to transform these wastes into functional products is always a great technical challenge due to potential release of halogenated dioxin during process. In this study, one type of benign reaction medium-sub/supercritical carbon dioxide (Sc-CO 2) was used for converting halogenated plastics into magnetic carbon-based hybrid along with simultaneous dehalogenation. It was found that Sc-CO 2 treatment coupled with subsistent iron salt adjuvant advantageously inhibited the generation of benzene derivatives with high molecular weight and facilitated growth of pore structure of carbon skeleton with limited production of coke tars. Meanwhile, magnetic Fe 3 O 4 particles were gradually crystallized and eventually encapsulated in ordered mesoporous carbonaceous product to enhance the further carbonization of plastics without any halide residues. Cr(Ⅵ) immobilization tests indicated that as-obtained magnetic hybrid exhibited great adsorption capacity above 157 mg g−1 and the immobilization process was well fit for Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. This study provides a new insight into a cost-effective process for fabrication of magnetic functional hybrid using waste halogenated plastics without release of second pollutants and its versatile application as adsorbents or catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A net zero energy wooden structure building in severe cold zone was designed in severe cold zone. • A new type of water-passing wall was designed and applied in the wooden structure building. • Renewable energy systems are adopted to pursue net zero energy consumption for wooden structured buildings in severe cold areas. • Study on the operational performance of wooden structure building. • Evaluated the energy criteria and economy of the wooden structure building. At present, there is no lack of research on net zero energy buildings (nZEB) in China, and most of the research on "nZEB" focuses on buildings using traditional building materials like rebar concrete, brick, etc. In this paper, we take a wooden structure residential building in the severe cold zone as the research object, design a new type of water-passing wooden structure wall, and explore how to achieve net zero energy consumption through appropriate methods in the design stage. During the operation of the wooden structure building throughout the year, the solar photovoltaic (PV) system provides electricity to the building. In the heating season, we will supply groundwater or shallow geothermal water into the water pipes in the wall, and the solar thermal system provides hot water for heating. According to the whole year operation of the wooden structure building, the indoor environment meets the requirements of comfort standards, and the designed envelope structure of the wooden structure building has an excellent thermal performance. The energy consumption was reduced by 62.9% compared with energy-saving buildings without water-passing walls. The electricity generation capacity of the solar PV system is more than the actual electricity consumption of the building, the energy criteria are met the relevant requirements of the net zero energy building, and its economy is also evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid increase in demand for the construction and development of island cities in the South China Sea, the urban heat island phenomenon in such cities should become a key factor to be considered in future urban planning. This paper took Sanya, China as a typical case, and long-term field experiments were conducted in the Mangrove Bay Area in summer and winter. An innovative urban green space cooling model was proposed, using the "green space cooling index" to quantitatively characterize the green space cooling effect, and aiming to minimize the intensity of urban heat islands. This paper studied the optimization method of green space planning and layout under the constraint of a centralized green space total area. Moreover, a genetic algorithm was adopted to optimize the calculation and the layout of the urban green space. The experimental results showed that the urban heat island intensity was more significant at night and was less effective in the daytime during summer. In winter, the urban heat island intensity had a greater effect in the daytime and was less influential at night. Finally, optimization results indicated that the average urban heat island intensity in summer was reduced by 8.8% under the optimal layout urban green space of 0.025 km2. The maximum reduction in heat island intensity occurred at 7:00 am (0.48 °C). When 0.0625 km2 urban green space was planned, the average urban heat island intensity index in summer was reduced to 0.27 °C, with a decrease of 20.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are still many unsolved mysteries in the thermal decomposition process of urea. This paper studied the thermal decomposition process of urea at constant temperatures by the thermal gravimetric–mass spectrometry analysis method. The results show that there are three obvious stages of mass loss during the thermal decomposition process of urea, which is closely related to the temperature. When the temperature was below 160 °C, urea decomposition almost did not occur, and molten urea evaporated slowly. When the temperature was between 180 and 200 °C, the content of biuret, one of the by-products in the thermal decomposition of urea, reached a maximum. When the temperature was higher than 200 °C, the first stage of mass loss was completed quickly, and urea and biuret rapidly broke down. When the temperature was about 240 °C, there were rarely urea and biuret in residual substance; however, the content of cyanuric acid was still rising. When the temperature was higher than 280°C, there was a second stage of mass loss. In the second stage of mass loss, when the temperature was higher than 330 °C, mass decreased rapidly, which was mainly due to the decomposition of cyanuric acid. When the temperature was higher than 380 °C, the third stage of mass loss occurred. However, when the temperature was higher than 400 °C, and after continuous heating was applied for a sufficiently long time, the residual mass was reduced to almost zero eventually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance the energy performance of a central air-conditioning system, an effective control method for the chilled water system is always essential. However, it is a real challenge to distribute exact cooling energy to multiple terminal units in different floors via a complex chilled water network. To mitigate hydraulic imbalance in a complex chilled water system, many throttle valves and variable-speed pumps are installed, which are usually regulated by PID-based controllers. Due to the severe hydraulic coupling among the valves and pumps, the hydraulic oscillation phenomena often occur while using those feedback-based controllers. Based on a data-calibrated water distribution model which can accurately predict the hydraulic behaviors of a chilled water system, a new Model Predictive Control (MPC) method is proposed in this study. The proposed method is validated by a real-life chilled water system in a 22-floor hotel. By the proposed method, the valves and pumps can be regulated safely without any hydraulic oscillations. Simultaneously, the hydraulic imbalance among different floors is also eliminated, which can save 23.3% electricity consumption of the pumps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the long-time asymptotic behavior of classical solutions to the Cauchy problem for the generalized Boussinesq–Burgers system: u t + (u w) x = ε u x x , x ∈ R , t > 0 , w t + u γ + w 2 2 x = μ w x x + δ w x x t , x ∈ R , t > 0 , (u , w) (x , 0) = (u 0 , w 0) (x) , x ∈ R , where γ ≥ 2 , ε , μ and δ are positive constants. By utilizing time-weighted energy methods, we identify the explicit decay rates of classical solutions to the Cauchy problem under mild conditions on the initial data. This generalizes the previous result obtained in Zhu and Liu (2016) by extending the exponent γ from a single value to the half real line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting energy efficiency (EE) requirements for new residential buildings has been proven to be an effective way to slow down the rapid increase of energy consumption. Its successful implementation relies significantly on the attitudes and participation of various stakeholders within the industry, yet they are normally taken for granted. This paper explores and reports both the consensus among and the diversity of the attitudes of frontline stakeholders toward future EE requirements in the new residential building sector via a nationwide Delphi questionnaire distributed to 29 institutes and 25 experts. Results indicate that promotion of approximately 30% EE every five years until 2030 is suggested and that 20% EE promotion every five years is the most likely to be achieved. In addition, China should progressively adopt the energy intensity index into the current building EE evaluation system. This paper also gives a detailed description of opinions from frontline stakeholders. The findings are expected to help researchers and policymakers better understand the true attitudes of stakeholders, thereby enabling the formation of a proper outlook for new residential building EE promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy-efficiency promotion of new residential buildings in China has achieved great progress in the past three decades. However, the expected policy outcomes cannot be fully achieved due to the barriers in the policy-making and implementation process. Whereas governments play a critical role in policy formation, perceptions of stakeholders involved in the building life cycle and the industrial value chain (such as developers, design institutes and relevant material manufactures) are fundamental to the successful implementation. To collect and identify the barriers of significant influence on the industry from stakeholders' perspectives, this paper used a nationwide institutes' questionnaire to collect stakeholders' voices regarding the barriers, the corresponding popularity and the severity. All the barriers were categorized according to institutions' scorings through cluster analysis. The relationships between barriers were also analyzed according to the framework based on policy cycle and policy environment. Results indicated that the core problem is the ineffectiveness translating energy savings into benefits and profits. Accordingly, three major barriers were identified, namely the (1) unsatisfied policy design and implementation; (2) stakeholders' lack of implementation capacity in developing and constructing high-performance new residential building projects and adopting relevant technologies; and (3) insufficient legalization of relevant market. Other identified barriers either were those not agreed by all institutions, or those could be eliminated easily after the removal of the above three barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nationwide energy efficiency (EE) promotion of new residential buildings is affected by multiple factors regarding policies, markets, technologies, capacities, and economics. The perceived influences of these factors by stakeholders are crucial to the effectiveness evaluation of current policies and the selection of policy instruments. However, they are normally assumed or taken for granted. The knowledge gap between stakeholders' perceptions and research assumptions may lead to researchers' recognition bias. Correspondingly, this paper aims to identify the significant factors, perceived by frontline stakeholders, influencing nationwide EE promotion of new residential buildings before 2020 and 2030. Factors were collected through literature review and their influence were evaluated via Analytical Hierarchy Process based on the data collected in the questionnaires distributed to 32 institutes. The theory of Nested Policy Design Framework and Policy Environment was used to structure the hierarchy and generate policy implications. Results indicate that (1) policy factors are of the greatest influence before 2020 and market perfection factors will have great influences from 2020 to 2030, indicating the transformation of governance arrangement to "market-based" and "network-based" from the current legal-based system; and (2) factors regarding market needs are of significant influence in both terms, revealing the way the transformation should be accomplished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lipid metabolism disorders are pivotal in the development of various lipid-related diseases, such as obesity, atherosclerosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. Celastrol, a bioactive compound extracted from the Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F , has recently demonstrated potent lipid-regulating abilities and promising therapeutic effects for lipid-related diseases. There is substantial evidence indicating that celastrol can ameliorate lipid metabolism disorders by regulating lipid profiles and related metabolic processes, including lipid synthesis, catabolism, absorption, transport, and peroxidation. Even wild-type mice show augmented lipid metabolism after treatment with celastrol. This review aims to provide an overview of recent advancements in the lipid-regulating properties of celastrol, as well as to elucidate its underlying molecular mechanisms. Besides, potential strategies for targeted drug delivery and combination therapy are proposed to enhance the lipid-regulating effects of celastrol and avoid the limitations of its clinical application. [Display omitted] • Celastrol is a potent regulator of lipid metabolism. • Celastrol exerts its lipid-regulating effects by modulating lipid synthesis, catabolism, absorption, transport, and peroxidation. • Celastrol is identified as a potential agent for lipid-related diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A multi-criteria evaluation system is proposed for community energy planning. • Both subjective and objective weights are considered for the optimal weight. • An improved grey incidence method is used to evaluate energy planning schemes. • The optimized CCHP is the best scheme for the university campus in this study. Abstract Community energy planning is necessary for sustainable development of energy systems. However, given a series of energy sources and energy utilization technologies, it is crucial to select the optimal energy supply system to obtain the maximum comprehensive benefits. This study attempts to extend a multi-criteria integrated evaluation method that considers the aspects of technology, economy, environment, and society for evaluating the planning schemes of distributed energy supply systems. First, the rank correlation analysis and entropy information method are adopted to obtain subjective and objective weights, respectively. A combination of the maximum entropy principle and the minimized weighed generalized distance to the ideal scheme are employed to obtain optimal weighting coefficients. Second, based on the different priorities of evaluation indexes, the optimal schemes are established based on the improved grey incidence evaluation method, and under the integrated evaluation, the optimized combined cooling/heating and power system is proven to be the best option for the given case study. The results show that the proposed multi-criteria integrated evaluation method is a simple and practical tool for community energy planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Conventional chemotherapy is commonly used to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) however it increases therapeutic resistance. In contrast, metronomic chemotherapy (MET) is based on frequent drug administration at lower doses, resulting in inhibition of neovascularization and induction of tumor dormancy. This study aims to evaluate the inhibitory effects, adverse events, and potential mechanisms of MET Vinorelbine (NVB) combined with an angiogenesis inhibitor (Endostar).Methods: Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (CEPs), apoptosis rate, expression of CD31, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1α) were determined using flow cytometry, western blot analysis, immunofluorescence staining and Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis. And some animals were also observed using micro fluorine-18-deoxyglucose PET/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) to identify changes by comparing SUVmax values. In addition, white blood cell (WBC) counts and H&E-stained sections of liver, lungs, kidney, and heart were performed in order to monitor toxicity assessments.Results: We found that treatment with MET NVB + Endo was most effective in inhibiting tumor growth, decreasing expression of CD31, VEGF, HIF-1α, and CEPs, and reducing side effects, inducing apoptosis, such as expression of Bcl-2, Bax and caspase-3. Administration with a maximum tolerated dose of NVB combined with Endostar (MTD NVB + Endo) demonstrated similar anti-tumor effects, including changes in glucose metabolism with micro fluorine-18-deoxyglucose PET/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) imaging, however angiogenesis was not inhibited. Compared with either agent alone, the combination of drugs resulted in better anti-tumor effects.Conclusion: These results indicated that MET NVB combined with Endo significantly enhanced anti-tumor and anti-angiogenic responses without overt toxicity in a xenograft model of human lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • GSH-specific fluorescent probe for GSH detection in clinical samples and live cell and tumor imaging. • Celastrol induces ferroptosis in ccRCC. • GSH-specific fluorescent probe tracks celastrol-induced ccRCC ferroptosis. Glutathione (GSH) is closely related to the occurrence and development of tumors. The intracellular GSH levels are abnormally altered when tumor cells undergo programmed cell death. Therefore, real-time monitoring of the dynamic changes of intracellular GSH levels can better enable the early diagnosis of diseases and evaluate the effects of cell death-inducing drugs. In this study, a stable and highly selective fluorescent probe AR has been designed and synthesized for the fluorescence imaging and rapid detection of GSH in vitro and in vivo , as well as patient-derived tumor tissue. More importantly, the AR probe can be used to track changes in GSH levels and fluorescence imaging during the treatment of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) with celastrol (CeT) via inducing ferroptosis. These findings demonstrate that the developed fluorescent probe AR exhibits high selectivity and sensitivity, as well as good biocompatibility and long-term stability, which can be used to image endogenous GSH in living tumors and cells. Also, a significant decrease in GSH levels was observed by the fluorescent probe AR during the treatment of ccRCC with CeT-induced ferroptosis in vitro and in vivo. Overall, these findings will provide a novel strategy for celastrol targeting ferroptosis in the treatment of ccRCC and the application of fluorescent probes to help reveal the underlying mechanism of CeT in the treatment of ccRCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facile fabrication of porous carbon materials from waste halogenated plastic is highly attractive but frequently hampered due to potential release of halogenated organic pollutants. In this study, a novel type of carbon hybrid was tentatively synthesized from a real-world halogenated plastic as an inexpensive carbon source by sub/supercritical carbon dioxide carbonization technique. It was found that halogen-free carbon carrier was advantageously synthesized through carbonization of halogenated plastic without using catalysts due to zip depolymerization, random chain cracking and free radical reactions induced by sub/supercritical carbon dioxide technique. Exhibiting with more abundant functional groups including C–O, C O groups than pyrolytic carbon carrier, the derived carbon carrier demonstrated excellent performance in selective recovery of lithium from cathode powder with highest recovery efficiency of 93.6%. Mechanism study indicated that cathode powder was transformed into low-valence states of transition metals/metal oxides and released lithium as lithium carbonate due to collapse of oxygen framework via carbothermic reduction. This work provides an applicable and green process for synthesis of alternative carbon carrier from waste halogenated plastic and its application as carbothermic reductant in lithium recovery. • Halogen-free carbothermic hybrid was synthesized from halogenated plastic by Sc-CO 2. • Adequate dehalogenation and carbonization was achieved with no presence of catalyst. • Hybrid favored lithium recovery due to synergistic effect between rich active groups. • Transition metals were converted to low-valence state after carbothermic treatment. • Lithium was released as Li 2 CO 3 due to oxygen framework of cathode material collapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: With the advancements in diagnosis and treatment technology, the mortality of patients with cancer is gradually decreasing. However, further curbing cancer development requires searching for innovative and more effective drugs. Natural herbal medicine has apparent advantages in R&D and healthcare costs and is attracting increasing attention. Dihydromyricetin is a flavonoid compound with a promising anticancer effect extracted from the stems and leaves of Ampelopsis grossedentata. This paper reviews the different mechanisms of dihydromyricetin alone or in combination with other drugs against a variety of cancers to provide a comprehensive reference for the development of dihydromyricetin as an anticancer therapeutic agent. Dihydromyricetin (DHM) is a natural flavonoid compound extracted from Ampelopsis grossedentata that has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine. DHM has attracted intensive attention due to its numerous beneficial activities, such as hepatoprotection, cardioprotection, antioxidant, and anti-inflammation. In addition, DHM inhibits the progression of cancers such as lung cancer, hepatocellular cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, and malignant reproductive systems through multiple mechanisms, including antiangiogenesis, antiproliferation, apoptosis, and inhibition of invasion and migration. Notably, DHM also activates autophagy at different levels, exerting a dual-regulatory effect on cancers. Mechanistically, DHM can effectively regulate mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), noncoding RNA-mediated signaling, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) pathway, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), p53, and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress)-driven signaling in different types of cancers. DHM has also been shown to have inhibitory effects on various regulators that trigger epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Furthermore, DHM exhibits a remarkable anticancer reversal ability when used in combination with drugs such as adriamycin, nedaplatin, and other drugs. However, the low bioavailability of DHM limits its potential applications, which are improved through structural modification and the exploration of novel dosage forms. Therefore, DHM may become a promising candidate for treating malignancies alone or combined with conventional anticancer strategies used in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As fossil fuels continue to be extracted and used, issues such as environmental pollution and energy scarcity are surfacing. For the transportation industry, the best way to achieve the goal of "carbon neutrality" is to research efficient power systems and develop new alternative fuels. As the world's largest product of chemicals, ammonia is a new renewable fuel with good combustion energy. It can be used as an alternative fuel to reduce carbon emissions because of its proven production process, low production and transportation costs, safe storage, the absence of carbon-containing compounds in its emissions, and its future recyclability. This paper firstly introduces the characteristics of ammonia fuel engine and its problems; then it summarizes the effects of various ammonia-blended fuels on the combustion and emission characteristics of the engine from the combustion problem of ammonia-blended engine; then the fuel storage of ammonia-blended hydrogen is discussed, the feasibility of hydrogen production instead of hydrogen storage is introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the National VI heavy-duty diesel vehicles, NOx emission regulations are becoming more and more stringent, and the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system has become a necessary device. The design of the adblue nozzle in the SCR system is especially critical, directly affecting the NOx conversion efficiency and deposit formation. According to the structure of a National VI diesel engine exhaust pipe and SCR system, the nozzle is optimized by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method to avoid the collision between the urea droplets and the exhaust pipe wall, to ensure that the exhaust gas and the urea droplets are as much as possible in full contact to ensure a sufficient urea pyrolysis. With the optimized nozzle, the NH3 distribution uniformity of the inlet face of the SCR catalyst can increase from 0.58 to 0.92. Additionally, test verifications are implemented based on the spray particle size test and the engine bench tests; the results show that the Sauter mean diameter of the optimized nozzle is more decreased than the initial nozzle and that the NOx conversion efficiency of the World Harmonized Transient Cycle (WHTC) and World Harmonized Stationary Cycle (WHSC) cycle improves by nearly 3%; additionally, it can also avoid deposit formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy performance of a ground-source heat pump (GSHP) system will gradually deteriorate and the annual operation cost will increase annually if the heat injected into and extracted from the underground soil is imbalanced. To solve the underground heat balance problem and improve the energy efficiency of the system in the long-term, a temperature difference control strategy for the GSHP system coupled with borehole free cooling (BFC) is proposed in this study. An office building located in Tianjin is selected as a case study. According to the established simulation models by Designbuilder and TRNSYS, measured data is used for validation. The new control strategy and two other contrasting control strategies are validated with TRNSYS. The results show that free cooling with borehole water matches the indoor air parameter with the design indoor conditions and also improves the average annual cooling efficiency of the GSHP system to 16.22. Moreover, the underground soil heat imbalance can be improved, and the average annual energy consumption and operation cost can be decreased to 55.9% and 56.0%, respectively. The proposed control strategy has the potential to improve heat imbalance and reduce energy consumption and operation cost for GSHP systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A functionalized carbonaceous material was prepared via hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of biogas residues and denoted as hydrochar (HC). The obtained HC was used to synthesize a hybrid (Ni/Fe-HC) to conduct Pb(II) removal from aqueous solution. SEM images show that Ni 0 /Fe 0 was anchored tightly to HC particles due to a cellular structure of HC formed during HTC. Complete Pb(II) removal (>99.5%) was achieved within 1.5 h using Ni/Fe-HC whereas more than 85% of Pb(II) remained in bulk solution after 10 h with bare HC. SEP results indicate that Pb(II) was mainly associated with the fraction bound to carbonates and Fe–Mn oxides in the spent Ni/Fe-HC particles. Consequently, the adsorptive precipitation and specific adsorption dominated Pb(II) removal by Ni/Fe-HC despite minor reduction of Pb(II) to Pb 0 . However, the reduction of Pb(II) to Pb 0 was conducted by the catalytically generated atomic hydrogen rather than Ni/Fe nanoparticles as electron donor. Ni/Fe-HC not only acted as an effective adsorbent for Pb(II) but also played a role of catalyst to generate atomic hydrogen. HC prepared with biogas residues can be used as an excellent supporting material to prepare a hybrid of Ni/Fe-HC for Pb(II) removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mandatory civil building energy efficiency codes strictly govern the energy consumption of new buildings in China. As the promotion of building energy efficiency in China has increased in recent years, compliance with mandatory civil building energy efficiency codes has also improved, increasing from less than 10% in 2000 to nearly 100% in 2012, a remarkable achievement. However, because the promotion of energy efficiency strategies in China has followed a unique pattern, some researchers doubt these statistics. In response to these doubts, this paper summarises and analyses the framework of measures implemented by the Chinese government to enforce mandatory building energy efficiency codes. First, the development and implementation of China's mandatory civil building energy efficiency code system is summarised. Second, the building supervision and inspection systems used to assess energy efficiency are introduced and analysed in detail in order to provide a framework for the development of energy policies in other countries. Third, the assessment and reporting processes used to determine compliance rates are reviewed. Finally, the improvement of compliance rates and its impact on building energy savings in China are discussed. Along with the increase in compliance rates in the construction stage from 71% in 2007 to 100% in 2012, the energy savings of new buildings per increased floor area per year increased from 20.4 kWh/m 2 to 28.4 kWh/m 2 . The supervision and inspection systems reported in this paper are the keys to enforcing building energy efficiency codes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, CoMnAl mixed metal oxides (CoMnAl-MMO) were prepared and employed in heterogeneous activation of Oxone for bisphenol A (BPA) degradation. Typically, 10 mg L −1 of BPA could be completely degraded under the coexistence of 0.02 g L −1 of CoMnAl-MMO and 0.15 g L −1 of Oxone within 90 min at 25 °C. The degradation performance was evaluated in view of metal leaching and various effects, e.g., pH, Oxone dosage and temperature. The results indicated that the system of MMO/Oxone was suitable for the treatment of wastewater and presented favorable recycling and stability in both neutral and alkaline conditions. It was confirmed that BPA degradation catalyzed by CoMnAl-MMO followed well with the first order kinetics model and the an activation energy was calculated as 76.83 kJ mol −1 . The sulfate radicals were recognized as the main species to oxidize pollutants in the MMO/Oxone system. Particular attention was paid to the catalysis activation mechanism of peroxymonosulfate and the degradation pathway of BPA, which were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS), LC–MS and GC–MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] DER potentially competitive in both economic and CO2 emissions abatement terms. [•] DER more competitive in commercial buildings, in warmer areas of the U.S. [•] Structure of electricity/NG tariffs drive DER attractiveness, more so than climate. [•] High spark spreads lead to increased economic attractiveness of DER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The occupant-related electricity consumption is explained by a growth limit theory. • A two-part model is proposed to predict the building electricity consumption. • The variable part is related to the building function and equipment control mode. • The error of the prediction results does not exceed 5% compared with actual bills. The accurate prediction of a building's electricity consumption can provide baselines for energy management and indicate the building's energy-saving potential. However, electricity utilization indicators based on the building area are no longer applicable because of the overall increase in the building area per person and occupant energy demand of buildings. To tackle this challenge, the building electricity consumption was split into 'basic' and 'variable' forms in this study and a two-part building electricity consumption prediction model based on human behavior was established. The basic electricity consumption is related to the building area, while the variable electricity consumption is related to the building occupancy. The probability function and Markov model were used to describe the electricity consumption caused by the randomness of occupancy in buildings. The model was validated using three campus buildings. Based on the comparison of the actual electricity bills of the campus buildings with the model prediction results, the model accuracy error is less than 5%. The results show that the building electricity consumption of a building has a growth limit when multiple people share a room, which is related to a person's initiative or ability to control the electricity use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]