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Background. The revascularization of small vessels using drug-eluting stents remains challenging. The use of the drug-coated balloon is an attractive therapeutic strategy in de novo lesions in small coronary vessels, particularly in the diabetic group. This study aimed to assess the outcomes of DCB-only angioplasty in small vessel disease. Methods. A total of 1198 patients with small vessel disease treated with DCB-only strategy were followed. Patients were divided into the diabetic and nondiabetic groups. Clinical and angiographical follow-up were organized at 12 months. The primary endpoints were target lesion failure and secondary major adverse cardiac events. Results. There was a significantly higher rate of target lesion failure among diabetic patients compared to nondiabetic [17 (3.9%) vs. 11 (1.4%), P = 0.006 ], taken separately, the rate of target lesion revascularization significantly differed between groups with a higher rate observed in the diabetic group [9 (2%) vs. 4 (0.5%), P = 0.014 ]. Diabetes mellitus remained an independent predictor for TLF (HR: 2.712, CI: 1.254–5.864, P = 0.011 ) and target lesion revascularization (HR: 3.698, CI: 1.112–12.298, P = 0.033 ) after adjustment. However, no significant differences were observed between groups regarding the target vessel myocardial infarction (0.6% vs. 0.1%, P = 0.110 ) and MACE [19 (4.4%) vs. 21 (2.7%), P = 0.120 ]. Conclusion. Drug-coated balloon-only treatment achieved lower incidence rates of TLF and MACE. Diabetes is an independent predictor for target lesion failure and target lesion revascularization at one year following DCB treatment in small coronary vessels. We observed no significant differences between groups regarding MACE in one year.

Although drug-eluting stents are the most common interventional devices for patients with coronary disease, drug-coated balloons (DCBs) represent a novel therapeutic alternative in certain scenarios. This prospective, observational all-comers study explored the clinical outcomes of DCB use in patients with coronary lesions. All patients treated with DCBs were enrolled in this study, including patients with in-stent restenosis (ISR) or de novo lesions. The primary outcome was the target lesion revascularization (TLR) rate at one year. We enrolled 2306 patients with 2660 lesions and performed DCB angioplasty in 399 patients (17.3%) with ISR and 1907 patients (82.7%) with de novo lesions. During follow-up (366 ± 46 days), the TLR rate was lower in the de novo lesion group (1.31%) compared to the ISR group (7.02%) [odds ratio (OR) 0.176, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.101–0.305, p

Background: Preoperative assessment of patients is meaningful to predict survival in patients with malignant tumors. The prognostic nutritional index (PNI) is one of the most significant factors re...

Recovery of rare earth elements (REE) from coal-related resources has recently received significant interest due to supply concerns and their key roles in critical industries and defense-related technologies. An integrated flowsheet consisting of sorting, crushing/grinding, physical separation, acid leaching, solvent extraction, and selective precipitation was designed to achieve continuous production of rare earth products from various coal-related resources such as coarse refuse and acid mine drainage. A pilot plant was constructed that enabled continuous testing of the circuitry on a range of different coal-based feedstocks. Despite achieving significant success in producing high-grade rare earth oxide products, low REE recovery values and high operational costs necessitated a re-evaluation of the process flowsheet. This article describes the circuitry improvements that were based on both laboratory and pilot plant test results. Roasting as a pre-leach treatment was found to significantly improve the leaching rate and overall REE recovery values. After roasting West Kentucky No. 13 and Fire Clay coal refuse materials at 600 °C, REE recovery increased by 60 and 40 absolute percentage points, respectively. Rare earth concentration in the pregnant leachate solution (PLS) was increased to around 700 ppm prior to solvent extraction using a staged precipitation method. REEs in the precipitate were re-dissolved, purified, and extracted from the PLS using solvent extraction and selective precipitation to values of around 80%. As a result of the improvements, chemical consumption in the acid leaching and solvent extraction processes was significantly reduced. A techno-economical assessment of the improved flowsheet indicated significant commercialization potential.

Neonicotinoids (NEOs) are extensively applied in global agricultural production for pest control but have adverse effects on human health. In this study, the concentrations of six NEOs and three characteristic metabolites were investigated by collecting 200 serum samples from an elderly population in China. Results showed that the NEOs and their metabolites were widely detected (89%-98 %) in the serum samples from the osteoporosis (OP) (n = 120) and non-OP (n = 80) population, and their median concentrations ranged from 0.04 ng/mL to 5.99 ng/mL and 0.01 ng/mL to 2.02 ng/mL, respectively. N-desmethyl-acetamiprid (ACE-dm) was the most abundant NEOs in the serum samples. Gender-related differences were found in concentrations of most NEOs and their metabolites in serum, with males having higher target analytes than females. Significantly (p 0.05) positive correlations were observed among most NEO concentrations, suggesting that exposure source of these substances is common or related. However, associations between the concentrations of characteristic metabolites and their corresponding NEOs were insignificant, probably because the exogenous intake are the primary sources of metabolites of NEOs instead of the internal biotransformation. The associations between NEO concentrations (i.e., ACE-dm, dinotefuran, and olefin-imidacloprid) and OP (OR = 2.33-6.92, 95 % CI = 0.37-16.9, p-trend 0.05) indicate that NEO exposure is correlated with increased odds of prevalent OP. This study is the first to document the profiles of NEOs and their metabolites in serum samples collected from an elderly population in South China and examine the relationships between NEO exposure and OP.

High-temperature pretreatment of coal-based mineral matter in an oxidizing environment significantly enhances the leaching characteristics of rare earth elements (REEs). A research study has found that the temperatures used in fluidized bed combustion (FBC) of coal to produce electricity are near optimum for pretreating the associated mineral matter prior to leaching to maximize the recovery of critical materials. Tests were performed on representative samples collected from preparation plants treating West Kentucky No. 13, Illinois No. 6, and Fire Clay coal seam sources as well as fly ash and bed ash samples from two FBC power plants. Acid leaching tests using 1.2 M HCl at 75 °C were performed on both the coal and the FBC ash samples. Prior to leaching, the coal samples were pretreated at temperatures of 600, 750, and 900 °C in an oxidizing environment to study the effect on leaching characteristics. The results showed that pretreatment at 600 °C for 2 h resulted in a significant increase in REE recovery...

backgroundTo analyze and summarize the clinical features and diagnosis and treatment experience on primary intracranial and extracranial communicating leiomyosarcoma to deepen clinicians’understanding of the rare disease.Cases presentationThe clinical data and recurrence of a patient who was diagnosed with primary intracranial and extracranial communicating leiomyosarcoma admitted to the Neurosurgery Department, The Affiliated Ganmei Hospital of Kunming Medical University in May 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the patient data, two successful surgical operations were performed and the surgeries went well, with more than 2-year and 8-month follow-up so far. No obvious complications were found after hospital discharge, and follow-up was continued.ConclusionsSurgical removal is the most important and effective treatment means for primary intracranial and extracranial communicating leiomyosarcoma currently.

Follicular regulatory T cells (Tfr) have critical functions in inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. The main purpose of the current work was to assess Tfr cell frequency in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Flow cytometry showed that, compared with normal controls, DCM cases showed markedly reduced Tfr cell rates and Tfr/Tfh ratios, but significantly increased follicular helper T cell (Tfh) rates. Correlation analysis showed that the Tfr rate in DCM patients was positively correlated with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and negatively correlated with N-terminal brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels. Lower Foxp3 and higher Bcl-6, ICOS, and PD-1 mRNA expression levels were found in patients with DCM. In addition, plasma interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and IL-21 levels were significantly increased in DCM cases. Moreover, IgG and IgG3 levels were also elevated in individuals with DCM. Correlation analysis showed that the Tfr rate in DCM patients was negatively correlated with IgG and IgG3, while the Tfh rate was positively correlated with IgG and IgG3. Changes in circulating Tfr levels may have a critical immunomodulatory function in DCM and may become a new therapeutic target for DCM.

Background. Relative to nondiabetic patients, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with inferior clinical outcomes. We aimed to evaluate the outcomes of drug-coated balloon (DCB) in diabetic versus nondiabetic patients. Methods and Results. In this observational, prospective, multicenter study, we compared the outcomes of patients with and without DM after undergoing PCI with DCBs. Target lesion failure (TLF) was analyzed as primary endpoint. Secondary endpoints were the rates of target lesion revascularization (TLR), major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), and any revascularization. Propensity score matching was used to assemble a cohort of patients with similar baseline characteristics. Among 2,306 eligible patients, 578 with DM and 578 without DM had similar propensity scores and were included in the analyses. During follow-up ( 366 ± 46 days), compared with DM patients, patients without DM were associated with a lower yearly incidence of TLF (2.77% vs. 5.36%; OR, 1.991; 95% CI, 1.077 to 3.681; P = 0.025 ) and TLR (1.90% vs. 4.15%; OR, 2.233; 95% CI, 1.083 to 4.602; P = 0.026 ). No significant differences were observed with regards to rates of MACE (OR: 1.580, 95% CI: 0.912-2.735; P = 0.100 ), cardiac death (OR: 1.608, 95% CI: 0.523-4.946; P = 0.403 ), MI (OR: 4.042, 95% CI: 0.855-19.117; P = 0.057 ), and any revascularization (OR: 1.534, 95% CI: 0.983-2.393; P = 0.058 ). Conclusions. Diabetic patients experience higher TLF and TLR rates following DCB angioplasty without substantial increase in the risk of MACE, cardiac death, MI, or revascularization.

Rare earth elements and yttrium (REY) have attracted considerable attention over the last decade because of their vital roles in clean energy, consumer product, national defense and security applications, among other uses. Due to the retention of REY during coal burning, coal combustion ash is considered as potential alternative sources for REY. Understanding the content, speciation, retention and/or transformation behavior of REY during coal combustion not only expands our knowledge of the combustion behavior of the trace elements in coal, but also provides basis for modeling REY partitioning during coal combustion and for developing economically viable REY recovery technologies. This review makes a critical summary of recent progress in the study of REY in coal ash. The contents and the extraction potentials of REY in coal ash derived from 15 major coal-producing countries worldwide were summarized and evaluated. Various analytical methods for determining REY bulk contents and speciation, together with the solid sample pretreatment, analytical accuracy and precision, advantages and disadvantages were summarized and compared. Modern analytical approaches combined indirect methods (e.g., sequential extraction) shed light on the physical distribution, mineralogy, and the chemical state of REY in coal ash. Three types of REY occurrences in coal ash, including Si-Al glassy association, discrete minerals or compounds, and organic association (bound with unburned carbon) were defined in the review. The glassy association can be further divided into REY minerals closely bound to glass phases and dispersed throughout the glassy structure. REY partitioning in various emission streams, the size distribution, and their enrichment behavior in coal ash were discussed. Thermal behavior and transformation of various REY forms in coal during combustion process, including organic-associated REY, REY phosphates, REY carbonates, clay-bound REY and among others were summarized. Two possible retention mechanisms of REY by aluminosilicate glass at boiler temperature were proposed: the incorporation of the individual REY phases into the glass as inclusions and the diffusion of REY phases throughout Si-Al glass structures in the melting process. Feed coal mineral types, mineral-mineral associations, boiler conditions, and other factors control the retention process. After coal combustion, the speciation of REY in fly ash may be modified by the reactions of REY phases with flue gas components. Further, an overview of REY transformation mechanisms during coal combustion was deeply discussed. Finally, current extraction techniques for REY recovery from coal combustion ash were introduced. Future outlooks and research problems were also identified.

An innovative self-designed medium was packed in a bench-scale flotation column to study its influence on the flotation recovery of bauxite. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was conducted to reveal the impact of the packing medium on the turbulent characteristics of collection zone in the column. Simulation results show that multilayer packing of the medium divides the collection zone into small units having different turbulent intensities, which is more suitable for flotation separation. The packing medium decreases the turbulence kinetic energy (from 1.08 &times, 10&minus, 2 m2/s2 to 2.1 &times, 3 m2/s2), turbulence eddy dissipation (from 3.71 &times, 2 m2/s3 to 9.8 &times, 3 m2/s3) and axial fluid velocity of fluid in the column. With three layers of packing, the recovery of Al2O3 increased by 2.11% and the aluminum to silicon content ratio of the concentrate improved from 5.16 to 9.72.

Many studies have been published in recent years focusing on the recovery of rare earth elements (REEs) from coal-related materials, including coal, coal refuse, coal mine drainage, and coal combustion byproducts particularly fly ash. The scientific basis and technology development have been supported by coal geologists and extractive metallurgists, and through these efforts, the concept has progressed from feasibility assessment to pilot-scale production over the last five years. Physical beneficiation, acid leaching, ion-exchange leaching, bio-leaching, thermal treatment, alkali treatment, solvent extraction, and other recovery technologies have been evaluated with varying degrees of success depending on the feedstock properties. In general, physical beneficiation can be a suitable low-cost option for preliminary upgrading; however, most studies showed exceedingly low recovery values unless ultrafine grinding was first performed. This finding is largely attributed to the combination of small RE-bearing mineral particle size and complex REE mineralogy in coal-based resources. Alternatively, direct chemical extraction by acid was able to produce moderate recovery values, and the inclusion of leaching additives, alkaline pretreatment, and/or thermal pretreatment considerably improved the process performance. The studies reviewed in this article revealed two major pilot plants where these processes have been successfully deployed along with suitable solution purification technologies to continuously produce high-grade mixed rare earth products (as high as +95%) from coal-based resources. This article presents a systematic review of the recovery methods, testing outcomes, and separation mechanisms that are involved in REE extraction from coal-related materials. The most recent findings regarding the modes of occurrence of REEs in coal-related materials are also included.

Little evidence exists to confirm whether the sensory-related neural activity that occurs when observing others in pain is highly responsive to empathy for pain. From a perspective of intervention, the present study employed placebo manipulation with a transferable paradigm to explore whether the sensory regional activation that occurs when viewing pictures of others in pain could be modulated by the placebo effect. We first performed a screening behavioral experiment for selecting placebo responders and then entered them into a functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) experiment in which they were exposed to the same conditions as before. Participants were informed that it was equally possible to be assigned to the treatment group (placebo manipulation) or the no-treatment group (control); they all, in fact, received treatment and placebo effect would be detected by comparing placebo conditions and no-placebo control condition. Each participant experienced a phase of reinforcing placebo belief with pain in self and a phase of testing transferable placebo effect on empathy for pain. As a result, we found significant activation in sensory areas, including the posterior insula (PI) and the postcentral gyrus, and in the middle cingulate cortex while participants observed pictures of others in pain. More importantly, for the first time, we observed relieved activation in the PI modulated by the placebo effect only associated with pain pictures but not with no-pain pictures. This suggests that sensory activity in the PI might be involved in the processing for empathic pain. This new approach sheds light on research and applications in clinical settings.

Recovery of rare earth elements (REEs), especially heavy and critical REEs, from alternative resources such as coal refuse has recently become increasingly important. A natural leachate containing 6.14 ppm of REEs with a pH value of 2.70 was collected from a coal coarse refuse pile and utilized as a feedstock for REE recovery tests. The pH value of the natural leachate was gradually increased in a step-wise manner using a sodium hydroxide solution which produced several precipitates. A precipitate containing about 1.1% total REEs was obtained in the pH range of 4.85–6.11 while recovering >80% of the REEs contained in the original leachate. The leaching and staged precipitation process enriched both the critical and heavy REE fractions. The ratios of heavy-to-light (H/L) and critical-to-uncritical (C/UC) REEs in the precipitate were much higher than the coarse refuse material (H/L: 1.54 vs 0.21, C/UC: 1.51 vs 0.34). Additionally, the precipitate contained 18.4% Al, 1.7% Zn, 1.4% Cu, 1.1% Mn, 0.5% Ni and 0.2% Co. A solution chemistry study indicated that the hydroxide and hydroxysulphate precipitates of Al, Si and Cu produced in the pH range of 4.85–6.11 contributed to the fractionation of the REEs and other metal ions such as Zn, Mn and Co to the precipitate. The iron hydroxide precipitates formed at lower pH values did not contain a significant amount of REEs. An explanation may be the competitive adsorption between Al, which was present at higher solution concentrations, and REEs on the iron hydroxide and/or hydroxysulphate precipitate surfaces as proven by results of precipitation tests conducted on model solutions. A product containing 94% of a rare earth oxide mix was obtained by re-dissolution of the REE enriched precipitates followed by selective precipitation using oxalic acid. The overall results including an economic assessment indicate that leachate solutions generated naturally from coarse coal refuse may be a valuable source of critical and heavy REEs that can be effectively recovered and concentrated using staged precipitation.

Cardiac remodeling is a major early event of heart failure, which is regulated by multiple signaling pathways. Here, we demonstrate that TBC1D25 is upregulated during pathological cardiac remodeling. The aim of this study is to determine the role of TBC1D25 in cardiac remodeling and to illustrate the underlying molecular mechanism. Specifically, cardiac remodeling was induced in TBC1D25-KO mice and their wild-type control mice through partial transverse aortic constriction (TAC) of aortic arch. Knockout TBC1D25 exacerbated cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis and dysfunction. Meanwhile, TBC1D25 overexpression in both H9C2 cells and NRCMs alleviate Angiotensin II-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in vitro. Moreover, TBC1D25 deficiency increases the phosphorylation levels of TAK1 and its downstream molecular (JNK and p38), whereas overexpressed TBC1D25 inhibits phosphorylation of TAK1, JNK and p38. And TAK1 is the key molecule in this process. Furthermore, we demonstrated that TBC1D25 could directly interacts with TAK1 by immunoprecipitation assay and GST pull-down assay, and the interaction needs the amino acids from at least 138 to 226 in the C-terminal region of TBC1D25 and from 1 to 300 in the C-terminal region of TAK1. We conclude that TBC1D25 suppresses pathological cardiac remodeling via regulating TAK1-JNK/p38 signaling pathway, which suggests that TBC1D25 will likely become a promising therapeutic target for heart failure.

The majority of rare earth elements (REEs) existing in the feed to coal preparation plants report to the coarse refuse streams which are transported for permanent storage in contained piles. In this study, an integrated flowsheet was developed based on laboratory test data which combines physical separation, pyrite bio-oxidization, heap leaching, selective precipitation and solvent extraction processes. The test data was obtained from (1) characterization of a number of natural leachate and solid samples collected from different preparation plants which process coals from a number of coal seams and (2) laboratory acid leaching and selective precipitation tests results. The highly-valued critical REEs (i.e., Y, Nd, Eu, Tb and Dy) were selectively leached from the refuse samples in the natural environment due to the acid generated by pyrite oxidization. The leachate samples were evaporated to remove water and obtain residual solids (i.e., dissolved solids in the leachates). The total REE content in the dissolved solids from a given leachate sample was 380 ppm, which was higher than the REE content of the coarse refuse material that generated the leachate (322 ppm). Acid leaching tests recovered as much as 80% of the total REEs from the coarse refuse samples using a 1.2 M sulfuric acid solution. Afterwards, the pH of the leachate was increased in a step-wise fashion which resulted in the production of precipitates containing 0.3–1.1% total REEs. A significant amount of contaminants, such as Fe, Al, and Ca, were eliminated in the sequential precipitation process, which allowed further upgrading using oxalic acid precipitation and/or solvent extraction. In the proposed flowsheet, the coarse refuse is arranged in heap leach pads and the acid needed for REE leaching is primarily produced from pyrite bio-oxidization, which enhances the selectivity of REE recovery and significantly reduces the cost. The successful application of the flowsheet would result in significant benefits to both the coal and rare earth industries.

Rare earth element (REE) recovery from coal and coal byproducts using physical and/or chemical methods has been the focus of recent investigations due to concerns over worldwide supply. In the current study, the association characteristics of REEs and the recovery of REEs from the organic and inorganic components were systematically studied for a Fire Clay seam coal source. The coal sample was ground in a stirred ball mill and treated by froth flotation in stages to obtain clean coal concentrates and tailing samples. The clean coal concentrate from the first stage was re-ground to liberate more micro-dispersed mineral matter followed by flotation. After six grinding and recovery stages, the cumulative grinding time was 110 min, which reduced the particle size from 90% passing 84.3 μm to 4.5 μm. Analyses conducted on the tailing samples collected from each stage revealed that the REEs have a strong association with micro-dispersed kaolinite. The REE content in the tailings material increased from around 580 ppm to 1200 ppm on an ash basis. The ratio of heavy-to-light REEs in both the clean coal concentrates and tailing samples increased, which indicated a stronger affinity between the heavy REEs and the finest mineral matter grains in the organic matrix. Based on these findings, REE concentration tests were performed using froth flotation, magnetic separation and acid leaching. A product containing nearly 7000 ppm of REEs was achieved from a feed containing 500 ppm REEs using a batch WHIMS unit. The elemental content indicated that the rare earth mineral in the concentrate was primarily monazite. Leaching the high ash content fractions generated from the sequential grinding and flotation steps using 1 M nitric acid resulted in recovering more than 80% of total REEs with the exception of scandium. A lower recovery value obtained for scandium indicated a unique association with the mineral matter relative to the other REEs.

Considering the optimization problem of manned robot swarm scheduling in public environment, we constructed a demand-time-space-energy consumption scheduling model taking passenger waiting time and robot swarm energy consumption as optimization goals. This paper proposes an ant-sparrow algorithm based on the same number constraints colonies of ant and sparrow, which combines the advantages of ant colony algorithm great initial solution and the fast convergence speed of the sparrow search algorithm. After a limited number of initial iterations, the ant colony algorithm is transferred to the sparrow search algorithm. In order to increase the diversity of feasible solutions in the later stage of the ant-sparrow algorithm iteration, a divide-and-conquer strategy is introduced to divide the feasible solution sequence into the same small modules and solve them step by step. Applying it to the manned robot swarm scheduling service in the public environment, experiments show that the ant-sparrow algorithm introduced with a divide-and-conquer strategy can effectively improve the quality and convergence speed of feasible solutions.

Rare earth elements (REEs) found in coal are in the form of minerals, ion-adsorbed onto clay surfaces or inner layers, or organically bound. Rare earth minerals such as monazite exist in coal and have grain sizes smaller than 5 µm. In this study, froth flotation was successful in concentrating rare earth minerals existing in a thickener underflow material derived from Fire Clay seam coal that contained around 431 ppm of total rare earth elements (TREE) on a dry ash basis. Conditioning with fatty acid followed by processing using multiple stages of conventional flotation produced a final concentrate containing 2,300 ppm TREE. Using a laboratory flotation column to limit hydraulic entrainment, the TREE content was further enriched to around 4,700 ppm, which equated to an enrichment ratio of 10:1..

Objective: To detect the changes of gray matter volume (GMV) and their correlation with severity of symptom in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who were defined with updated DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. Method: 71 participants were assigned into PTSD group (n = 35) or trauma-exposed control (TEC) group (n = 36) with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Voxel-based morphometry analysis was used to detect alterations in GMV in the PTSD group. Results: We found that the PTSD group had larger GMV in the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and in the right dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), and smaller GMV in the region of the right temporal pole (TP) than the TEC group. We also found that PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) scores correlated positively with the left MTG and right dmPFC GMV, and negatively with left TP GMV. These correlations were consistent with the findings of the between-group comparisons. Conclusions: GMV alterations in the MTG, dmPFC, and TP are detected in the group comparisons and correlated with symptom severity when classifying PTSD individuals according to DSM-5 diagnostic criteria within an earthquake-exposed population.

Background/Aims: Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are increased in inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. This study aims to evaluate the significance of MDSCs in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) patients. Methods: In total, 42 newly hospitalized DCM patients and 39 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. The frequencies of circulating CD14+HLA-DR-/low MDSCs were determined by flow cytometry. Then, the functional properties of MDSCs in suppressing T cell proliferation and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) production were measured in a co-culture model. Then, mRNA expression levels of various important molecules in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were measured by real time polymerase chain reaction. Furthermore, correlation analyses between MDSC frequencies and cardiac function parameters were also performed. Results: The frequencies of circulating CD14+HLA-DR-/low MDSCs were significantly elevated in DCM patients compared with healthy controls. It showed that MDSCs from DCM patients more effectively suppressed T cell proliferation and IFN-γ production compared with those from healthy controls, which was partially mediated by arginase-1 (Arg-1). In addition, the correlation analysis suggested that MDSC frequencies were negatively correlated with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), while positively with N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in patients with DCM. Conclusions: Circulating activated MDSCs might play significant immunomodulatory roles in the pathogenesis of DCM.

Three segments of a core sample collected from the Guxu coalfield (Sichuan Province, China) were evaluated to determine the rare earth element (REE) leachability and mineralogy. Elemental analysis of the three samples showed that the roof and floor strata contained as high as 2087 ppm of total REEs, a value much higher than other coal-based materials reported in the literature. For the floor samples, 47% to 65% of the light REEs (LREEs) were leached within 5 min of contact time using 1 M mineral acid, and prolonged contact, up to 120 min, increased the LREE recovery to as high as 75%. For the roof sample, only 25% of the LREEs were leached at extended contact times. Unlike the LREEs, heavy REE (HREE) recovery from both the roof and floor materials was less than 25%. The relatively high REE content of the feed materials facilitated detailed SEM-EDX and TEM-EDX analyses of the samples. These studies confirmed the presence of several rare earth carbonate minerals, including bastnaesite and parasite, as well as rare earth phosphate minerals such as florencite and apatite. Given the prevalence and rare earth content of the particles analyzed via SEM-EDX, the data suggests that the LREEs present in the floor and roof samples were primarily associated with carbonates and phosphates, respectively. Further SEM-EDX analysis of the leaching residues showed that florencite was the only LREE-bearing species remaining after prolonged acid leaching, indicating that florencite is less soluble relative to the other rare earth minerals. The leaching results corroborate the SEM-EDX and TEM-EDX findings, while providing critical fundamental information on the relationship between REE content, REE mineralogy, and REE leachability in coal refuse materials.

Lithium recovery from the density fractions of Baker (namely West Kentucky No. 13) seam coal was investigated in this study. Proximate and elemental analyses showed that lithium contents in the 1.8–2.2 SG and 2.2 SG sink fractions were 185 ppm and 150 ppm, respectively, which are significantly higher than the average content of coal sources (12 ppm) and coal ashes (66 ppm) worldwide. Moreover, due to the high lithium contents and mass distribution, nearly 90% of the lithium present in the Baker coal sample was distributed in the two density fractions. Direct leaching using a HCl solution resulted in less than 10% lithium recovery, which was due to nearly 90% of the lithium being associated with insoluble solids as determined by the results from sequential extraction tests. Calcination of both density fractions under 600 °C for two hours followed by leaching resulted in recovery increases in the range of 70% to 80%. The pyro-metallurgical pretreatment step converted most of the associated lithium minerals to more easy-to-leach forms such as carbonate and metal oxide. Based on mineralogy characterization and leaching test results, it was concluded that the positive effects of calcination on lithium leachability resulted from the dehydration and disintegration of kaolinite as well as dehydroxylation and expansion of muscovite/illite. An analysis of the leaching kinetics revealed that the leaching rate of lithium was controlled by interface transfer and diffusion across the product layer and was negatively impacted when the calcination temperature exceeded 600 °C due to sintering of the kaolinite.

The impacts of calcination on the leaching recovery of rare earth elements (REEs) and other critical metals from a Baker seam coal refuse material were investigated in this study. Acid leaching test results showed that leaching recovery of the REEs, especially the light REEs, was increased significantly from around 24% to 80–90% after calcination under 600–750 °C for two hours. By considering the major element leaching kinetics and the mineralogical changes of the dominant minerals caused by calcination, two mechanisms were proposed for the improved leaching performance: (1) decomposition of difficult-to-dissolve REE-bearing minerals into soluble forms; and (2) liberation of REE-bearing minerals encapsulated in clays after calcination due to the dehydration and disintegration of the layered clay structure. Sequential chemical extraction tests showed that a significant fraction (around 75%) of the REEs in the raw material were present in an insoluble form. After calcination under proper temperatures (600–800 °C), the majority of the insoluble light REEs (LREEs) were converted into soluble forms. Changes in the modes of occurrence of the LREEs and phosphorous based on leaching rate and sequential leaching correlated well as a function of the calcination temperature. This finding in addition to SEM-EDX results tends to indicate the potential that the LREEs occur primarily as rare earth phosphates such as monazite in the untreated coal refuse material. The acid leaching and sequential chemical extraction results show that co-extraction of REEs and other critical metals such as Co, Mn, and Li is possible using a calcination-acid leaching procedure.

The modes of occurrence associated with rare earth elements (REEs) in bituminous coal sources were evaluated along with their potential recovery by calcination treatment at 600 ℃ followed by sequential extraction. The coal samples were collected from three different resources, i.e., Fire Clay, West Kentucky No. 13, and Illinois No. 6 seams. Sequential extraction tests indicated that the majority of REEs in the calcined samples occurred as metal oxides especially for the West Kentucky No. 13 calcined material (54% of total REEs), which is distinct from untreated coal and combustion byproducts from pulverized coal boilers reported in literature. In addition, heavy REEs were more likely associated with easily dissolvable forms (i.e., ion-exchangeable, carbonates, and metal oxides). The calcined samples were leached under weak acidic conditions with and without adding ammonium sulfate to recover REEs. About 13%, 24%, and 20% of the REEs were extracted from the Fire Clay, West Kentucky No. 13, and Illinois No. 6 materials, respectively, by leaching at pH 4.0. The addition of 1 M ammonium sulfate further increased the recovery values to 18%, 45%, and 32%, respectively. In addition, about 64% of HREEs were extracted from the West Kentucky No. 13 calcined material under this condition. As such, a significant portion of the REEs can be easily extracted from the samples obtained by calcining the coals at 600 ℃.

Rare earth elements (REEs) contained in coal and associated mineral matter exist in several forms including micro-dispersed minerals, ion adsorption onto clay surfaces, and chemically bound. Tests found that REEs can be effectively recovered from certain components of three coal sources by leaching under mild conditions followed by solvent extraction. A range of pH values were evaluated at solution temperatures of 25 and 75 ℃. When using 1.2 M of sulfuric acid, nearly 85% recovery of the REEs was extracted from the middlings material collected from an operating plant. Acid leaching of a second middling source from another plant resulted in 60% of the total REEs being recovered under the same leaching conditions. Solvent extraction treatment of the leachate produced from six different coal sources resulted in products containing up to 50% total REEs from feedstocks starting with around 300 ppm.

Previous research indicates that coal and coal by-products are a potential source of critical elements including rare earth elements (REE) with estimated amounts in the range of 50 million metric tons. Despite the proven presence of elevated REE concentrations, commercial extraction and recovery have not been realized. This article provides a review of the abundance, mode of occurrence, and recovery methods of rare earth elements in coal and coal by-products. The feasibility of using established REE extraction and recovery technologies is discussed along with issues associated with their use with coal resources.

Certain Central Appalachian coals, most notably the Fire Clay coal with a REY-enriched volcanic ash fall tonstein, are known to be enriched in rare earth elements. The Fire Clay tonstein has a greater contribution to the total coal + parting REY than would be inferred from its thickness, accounting for about 20%–35% of the REY in the coal + parting sequence. Underground mining, in particular, might include roof and floor rock and the within-seam partings in the mined product. Beneficiation, necessary to meet utility specifications, will remove some of the REY from the delivered product. In at least one previously published example, even though the tonstein was not present in the Fire Clay coal, the coal was enriched in REY. In this case, as well as mines that ship run-of-mine products to the utility, the shipped REY content should be virtually the same as for the mined coal. At the power plant, however, the delivered coal will be pulverized, generally accompanied by the elimination of some of the harder rock, before it is fired into the boiler. Overall, there are a wide range of variables between the geologic sample at the mine and the power plant, any or all of which could impact the concentration of REY or other critical materials in the coal combustion products. Published version

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore whether the circulating frequency and function of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are altered in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods: The frequency of MDSCs in peripheral blood was determined by flow cytometry, and mRNA expression in purified MDSCs was analyzed by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The suppressive function of MDSCs isolated from different groups was also determined. The plasma levels of certain cytokines were determined using Bio-Plex Pro™ Human Cytokine Assays. Results: The frequency of circulating CD14+HLA-DR-/low MDSCs; arginase-1 (Arg-1) expression; and plasma levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and IL-33 were markedly increased in ACS patients compared to stable angina (SA) or control patients. Furthermore, MDSCs from ACS patients were more potent suppressors of T-cell proliferation and IFN-γ production than those from the SA or control groups at ratios of 1:4 and 1:2; this effect was partially mediated by Arg-1. In addition, the frequency of MDSCs was positively correlated with plasma levels of IL-6, IL-33, and TNF-α. Conclusions: We observed an increased frequency and suppressive function of MDSCs in ACS patients, a result that may provide insights into the mechanisms involved in ACS.

Placebo analgesia is one of the most robust and best-studied placebo effects. Recent researches suggest that placebo analgesia activated the µ-opioid receptor signalling in the human brain. However, whether other opioid receptors are involved in the placebo analgesia remains unclear. We have previously evoked placebo responses in mice (Guo et al.2010, 2011) and these mice may serve as a model for investigating placebo analgesia. In the present study, we tried to explore the site of action and types of opioid receptors involved in placebo response. Male Sprague–Dawley rats were trained with 10 mg/kg morphine for 4 d to establish the placebo analgesia model. This placebo analgesia can be blocked by injection of 5 mg/kg dose naloxone or by microinjection with naloxone (1, 3 or 10 µg/rat) into rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC). Then, animals were tested after intra-rACC microinjection of d-Phe-Cys-Tyr-d-Trp-Orn-Thr-Pen-Thr-NH2 (CTOP, a selective µ-opioid receptor antagonist) or naltrindole (NTI, a highly selective δ-opioid receptor antagonist) or nor-binaltorphimine (nor-BNI, a highly selective κ-opioid receptor antagonist). Our results showed that CTOP, but not NTI or nor-BNI, could reduce the pain threshold in placebo analgesia rats. It may be concluded that rACC is the key brain region involved in placebo analgesia and the opioid placebo analgesia is mediated exclusively through µ-opioid receptor in rat.

This study investigates the effects of operational stress and emotional stress on the cardiovascular response. Eighteen female college students completed two stress tasks: a mirror-tracing task (which represented operational stress) and a speech-preparation task (which represented emotional stress). The intensity of the stress tasks was evaluated. The heart rate and blood pressure of the subjects were also recorded. The results indicated that the stress intensity was not significantly different between two tasks. However, in the mirror-tracing task, high frequency (HF) component of heart rate variability (HRV) and the R-R interval were significantly decreased in comparison to in the baseline. In the speech-preparation task, the R-R interval showed significant reduction and the low frequency LF/HF ratio, as well as the systolic and diastolic blood pressure, was significantly increased, in comparison to in the baseline. These results suggested that different changes of the autonomic nerve tone were induced by two stress tasks with the same subjective intensity. Furthermore, the results indicate that sympathetic and parasympathetic activities do not simply work in an antagonistic manner.