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A small scale (~270 Nm3·h−1) vacuum pressure swing adsorption (VPSA) air separation system was established in Qinghai Province (in China) with an altitude of 3800 m, which was used to supply oxygen for relieving the hypoxia. The effects of adsorption and desorption time, purge and pressure equalization step and feed temperature on the performance of the process were investigated by performing experiments under plateau special conditions. Results showed that pressure equalization and intermittent purge steps could effectively improve the performance of the VPSA process. The system could produce 270 Nm3·h−1 of 90% O2 with 62.6% oxygen recovery from compressed air. The maximum productivity and minimum energy consumption with pressure ratio of 160:42 for ~90% O2 were 121.7 L·h−1·kg−1 and 0.55 kWh·Nm−3, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple myeloma (MM) patients are immunodeficient. Complement C1q is an important cofactor of both nonspecific and humoral immunity, and it participates in the immunomodulation of multiple tumors. Thus, this study aimed to determine the risk factors and clinical significance of C1q expression in MM patients. In total, 193 MM patients were examined. The mean value of C1q in the patient group (130.46 ± 36.17 mg/L), was lower than that in the control group (anemia and nonmalignant hematologic disease). C1q dynamically changed with different MM stages and was recovered to normal levels when the disease was in remission; however, it decreased again after disease progression. The risk factors of C1q reduction included Durie-Salmon stage and the immunoglobulin type of the disease. In conclusion, C1q appears to be a useful biomarker of tumor burden and a prognostic factor of disease relapse. C1q is a potential marker of the immunodeficiency status in MM patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel adsorbent of CO2 from biogas was prepared by synthesizing and modifying the mesoporous molecular silica of SBA-15 with methyl-diethyl-amine (MDEA) and piperazine (PZ). The adsorbent showed good performance in separating CO2 from biogas. The loaded amines did not change the ordered structure of SBA-15, but enhanced its adsorption of CO2. The adsorbents were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and N2 adsorption/desorption. With the increase in MDEA loading, the surface area, pore size, and pore volume of the MDEA-loaded SBA-15 decreased. The modification of amines enlarged the difference between the equilibrium adsorption of CO2 and CH4. Quantitatively evaluated on the basis of the breakthrough curves, the separation factors between CO2 and CH4, was increased more than seven fold due to the MDEA modification. With mixed-amine (MDEA + PZ) modification, the separation factors between CO2 and CH4 was further improved. In addition, not only the adsorbent was regenerable by purging with the purified gas, but also the adsorption performance is stable in adsorption cycles. Effect of moisture on adsorption of CO2 is investigated and the results show the increase in the adsorption performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]