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Upgrading CO2/CH4 enriched biogas effluents, especially from landfills, is a viable route towards simultaneously generating renewable methane for energy production and purified carbon dioxide for industries like oil and gas, whose main use is enhanced oil recovery. Pelletized basic immobilized amine sorbents (BIAS) previously utilized for post-combustion CO2 capture are prime candidates for CO2 removal from landfill gas (inherent CH4 enrichment) because of the pellets' high CO2 selectivity and tunability for optimized performance at different temperatures and gas compositions. This work examines the process parameters and material properties that are key in the production scale-up of our previously developed polychloroprene latex-polyethylenimine (PEI, MW = 25,000) binder/silica-fly ash pellet supports. Thicker pastes with aqueous binder solution/powder ratios between 2.9/1 and 3.24/1 exhibited average storage moduli of G' ≥ 9.5 × 106 ± 1.2 × 105 Pa and were easily prepared then transformed into separable cylindrical ropes via a lab-scale mixer-extruder machine. The dried supports displayed good crush strength and a > 98% efficient amine impregnation. Pellets containing 32 wt% PEI800/N-N-diglycidyl-4-glycidyloxyaniline crosslinker (1/0.13 wt. ratio) showed a high 1.95 mmol CO2/g capture from simulated landfill gas (60% CO2/39% CH4/1% O2) at 75 °C that dropped

Qiuming Wang,1,&ast; Heming Wu,2,&ast; Yongquan Lan,1 Jinhong Zhang,1 Jingna Wu,1 Yunuo Zhang,1 Liang Li,1 Donghua Liu,1 Jinfeng Zhang1 1Department of Medical Oncology, Meizhou People’s Hospital (Huangtang Hospital), Meizhou Academy of Medical Sciences, Meizhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine and Clinical Translational Research of Hakka Population, Meizhou People’s Hospital (Huangtang Hospital), Meizhou Academy of Medical Sciences, Meizhou, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jinfeng ZhangDepartment of Medical Oncology, Meizhou People’s Hospital (Huangtang Hospital), Meizhou Academy of Medical Sciences, Huangtang Road, Meijiang District, Meizhou, Guangdong, 514031, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86 753-220-2723Email jfzhang1980@hotmail.comPurpose: Although the burden of breast cancer remains especially high in rural China, data on the clinicopathological characteristics and prevalence of the breast cancer susceptibility gene 1/2 (BRCA1/2) mutations in patients with breast cancer remain limited. We investigated the clinicopathological characteristics, changing patterns, and prevalence of BRCA1/2 mutations in patients with breast cancer.Patients and Methods: The clinicopathological characteristics of 3712 women with pathologically confirmed primary breast cancer treated at Meizhou People’s Hospital between January 2005 and December 2018 were evaluated. The prevalence of BRCA1/2 mutations in 340 patients with breast cancer diagnosed between January 2017 and September 2018 was also evaluated.Results: The median age at diagnosis was 49± 10.5 (range, 20– 94) years. Positivity for estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) was observed in 59.0%, 52.5%, and 24.9% of patients, respectively. Time trend analysis revealed that an increasing trend was observed for age at diagnosis (p = 0.001), proportion of patients without a reproductive history (p < 0.001), postmenopausal patients (p = 0.001), invasive pathological cancer type (p = 0.008), ER-positive rate (p < 0.001), PR-positive rate (p = 0.008), and HER2-positive rate (p < 0.001). Compared with patients without BRCA1/2 mutations, those with BRCA1/2 mutations were more likely to have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer (p < 0.001) and have triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) (p < 0.001). Family history of breast or ovarian cancer (odds ratio [OR], 103.58; 95% confidence interval [CI], 20.58– 521.45; p < 0.001) and TNBC subtype (OR, 5.97; 95% CI, 1.16– 30.90; p = 0.033) were independent predictors for BRCA1/2 mutation.Conclusion: The clinicopathological characteristics of patients with breast cancer in this rural area have changed during the past decade. BRCA1/2 testing should be performed in patients with breast cancer with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer and TNBC.Keywords: BRCA1/2 mutation, breast neoplasm, molecular subtype, stage

Background The link between glutathione S-transferase P1 (GSTP1) c.313A > G polymorphism and chemotherapy-related adverse events remains controversial. The goal of this study was to assess how this variant affected the toxicity of anthracycline-/paclitaxel-based chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer. Methods This study retrospectively investigated pharmacogenetic associations of GSTP1 c.313A > G with chemotherapy-related adverse events in 142 breast cancer patients who received anthracycline and/or paclitaxel chemotherapy. Results There were 61 (43.0%), 81 (57.0%), 43 (30.3%), and 99 (69.7%) patients in the T0-T2, T3-T4, N0-N1, and N2-N3 stages, respectively. There were 108 (76.1%) patients in clinical stages I–III and 34 (23.9%) patients in clinical stage IV. The numbers of patients with luminal A, luminal B, HER2 + , and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) were 10 (7.0%), 77 (54.2%), 33 (23.2%), and 22 (15.5%), respectively. The numbers of patients who carried GSTP1 c.313A > G A/A, A/G, and G/G genotypes were 94 (66.2%), 45 (31.7%), and 3 (2.1%), respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in the proportion of certain toxicities in patients with A/G, G/G, and A/G + G/G genotypes, except for neutropenia, in which the proportion of patients with A/G + G/G (χ2 = 6.586, P = 0.035) genotypes was significantly higher than that with the AA genotype. The logistic regression analysis indicated that GSTP1 c.313A > G mutation (A/G + G/G vs. A/A genotype) (adjusted OR 4.273, 95% CI 1.141–16.000, P = 0.031) was an independent variable associated with neutropenia. Conclusions The findings of this study indicate that the GSTP1 c.313A > G mutation is an independent risk factor for neutropenia hematotoxicity in breast cancer patients induced by anthracycline-/paclitaxel-based chemotherapy.

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) prostate cancer-associated transcript 18 (PCAT18) is a potential diagnostic target for adenocarcinoma. However, its role in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains largely unknown. Based on data from an online database, a significant decline in lncRNA PCAT18 was observed in patients with TNBC subtype compared to a population with normal breast tissue. Patients with TNBC with high PCAT18 levels presented good outcomes. Patients with TNBC with high PCAT18 had a lower rate of lymph node-positive metastasis than those with low PCAT18. PCAT18-upregulation inhibited, while PCAT18-downregulation promoted, migration and expression of matrix metalloproteinases 9/2 (MMP9/MMP2) and uridylyl phosphate adenosine (uPA) in TNBC cells. Activating transcription factor 7 (ATF7) was positively associated with PCAT18, and ATF7-inhibition abrogated the anti-migration effects of PCAT18 on TNBC cells. Mechanistically, miR-103a-3p directly targeted and inhibited ATF7 expression. PCAT18 competitively sponges miR-103a-3p, promoting the expression of ATF7. Exogenous PCAT18 was associated with lower incidence of lung metastasis followed by the upregulation of ATF7, which was prevented by the treatment of miR-103a-3p mimics. Collectively, PCAT18 was expressed at low levels in TNBC, and PCAT18 could sponge miR-103a-3p and promote ATF7 expression, resulting in prevention of TNBC metastasis. Thus, PCAT18 can serve as a predictive factor for patients with metastatic TNBC., Graphical Abstract

There is an urgent need to identify the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for severe COVID-19 that results in death. We initially performed both untargeted and targeted lipidomics as well as focused biochemical analyses of 127 plasma samples and found elevated metabolites associated with secreted phospholipase A(2) (sPLA(2)) activity and mitochondrial dysfunction in patients with severe COVID-19. Deceased COVID-19 patients had higher levels of circulating, catalytically active sPLA(2) group IIA (sPLA(2)-IIA), with a median value that was 9.6-fold higher than that for patients with mild disease and 5.0-fold higher than the median value for survivors of severe COVID-19. Elevated sPLA(2)-IIA levels paralleled several indices of COVID-19 disease severity (e.g., kidney dysfunction, hypoxia, multiple organ dysfunction). A decision tree generated by machine learning identified sPLA(2)-IIA levels as a central node in the stratification of patients who died from COVID-19. Random forest analysis and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator–based (LASSO-based) regression analysis additionally identified sPLA(2)-IIA and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) as the key variables among 80 clinical indices in predicting COVID-19 mortality. The combined PLA-BUN index performed significantly better than did either one alone. An independent cohort (n = 154) confirmed higher plasma sPLA(2)-IIA levels in deceased patients compared with levels in plasma from patients with severe or mild COVID-19, with the PLA-BUN index–based decision tree satisfactorily stratifying patients with mild, severe, or fatal COVID-19. With clinically tested inhibitors available, this study identifies sPLA(2)-IIA as a therapeutic target to reduce COVID-19 mortality.

Background Breast invasive carcinoma (BRCA) is a commonly occurring malignant tumor. Zinc finger proteins (ZNFs) constitute the largest transcription factor family in the human genome and play a mechanistic role in many cancers’ development. The prognostic value of ZNFs has yet to be approached systematically for BRCA. Methods We analyzed the data of a training set from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and two validation cohort from GSE20685 and METABRIC datasets, composed of 3,231 BRCA patients. After screening the differentially expressed ZNFs, univariate Cox regression, LASSO, and multiple Cox regression analysis were performed to construct a risk-based predictive model. ESTIMATE algorithm, single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA), and gene set enrichment analyses (GSEA) were utilized to assess the potential relations among the tumor immune microenvironment and ZNFs in BRCA. Results In this study, we profiled ZNF expression in TCGA based BRCA cohort and developed a novel prognostic model based on 14 genes with ZNF relations. This model was composed of high and low-score groups for BRCA classification. Based upon Kaplan-Meier survival curves, risk-status-based prognosis illustrated significant differences. We integrated the 14 ZNF-gene signature with patient clinicopathological data for nomogram construction with accurate 1-, 3-, and 5-overall survival predictive capabilities. We then accessed the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer database for therapeutic drug response prediction of signature-defined BRCA patient groupings for our selected TCGA population. The signature also predicts sensitivity to chemotherapeutic and molecular-targeted agents in high- and low-risk patients afflicted with BRCA. Functional analysis suggested JAK STAT, VEGF, MAPK, NOTCH TOLL-like receptor, NOD-like receptor signaling pathways, apoptosis, and cancer-based pathways could be key for ZNF-related BRCA development. Interestingly, based on the results of ESTIMATE, ssGSEA, and GSEA analysis, we elucidated that our ZNF-gene signature had pivotal regulatory effects on the tumor immune microenvironment for BRCA. Conclusion Our findings shed light on the potential contribution of ZNFs to the pathogenesis of BRCA and may inform clinical practice to guide individualized treatment.

Pelletization of basic immobilized amine sorbent (BIAS) particles is required to improve their mechanical strength and facilitate their practical CO2 capture application under fixed or dynamic reac...

The cosmic-ray neutron probe (CRNP) is a new tool for continuously monitoring mean soil–water content (SWC) on a hectometer scale, but the performance of CRNPs in highly heterogeneous distributions of SWC, vegetation and especially soil texture caused by the broken surface on the Loess Plateau in China remains uncertain. The study evaluated the application and accuracy of the method for three soil textures in a small watershed on the plateau to provide a reference and scientific basis for its application. Three CRNPs were installed in a loamy sand hills (LSH) plot, a silty loam dam (SLD) plot, and a sandy loam slope (SLS) plot, soil moisture sensors were buried at various depths in three plots. The footprints of the CRNPs for SWC observation had radii of 127–170, 126–174 and 148–174 m in SLD, SLS and LSH, respectively, and the mean measuring depth was about 20 cm for SLD and SLS and 40 cm for LSH based on general calculation equations. The accuracy of the CRNP method was high when validated using oven-dried method (RMSE = 0.068 cm3 cm−3). The mean SWCs estimated from the other types of sensors were consistent with the mean SWCs from the CRNP probes in the three plots. The coefficient of determination of the linear relationship was in the order: SLS > LSH > SLD. The coefficient of variations (CV) were higher in LSH than SLD and SLS, indicating that SWC varied most in LSH. During periods of rain, the variations were larger for SLD than SLS and LSH, with a CV of 32.2%. The CRNP for SLD had the highest rates of change during periods with and without rain for both increasing and decreasing SWC, but this plot held more water than LSH and SLS, consistent with the high clay and organic-matter contents in SLD. The rates of change were significantly correlated with the antecedent SWCs (P

Background: It is necessary to investigate the frequency of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in Hakka populations due to the variations in breast cancer epidemiology and genetics. Methods: 359 breast cancer patients and 66 ovarian cancer patients were included in this retrospective clinical study. Mutations of BRCA1 and BRCA2 were detected in blood samples by semiconductor sequencing. Results: The sensitivity of tumor markers including CEA, CA15-3, CA12-5, and CA199 for screening breast cancer was 16.44, 15.11, 8.44, and 7.56%, the combination of these 4 tumor markers reached the highest sensitivity index (31.11%). For ovarian cancer, the tumor markers were CA12-5 (54.05%), HE-4 (54.05%), CA72-4 (51.35%), and CEA (2.70%) in order of decreasing sensitivity. Moreover, the combination of these 4 tumor markers has the best sensitivity (75.68%) for screening ovarian cancer. In breast cancer patients, we found 5 (1.39%) patients with mutations in BRCA1, 13 (3.62%) mutations in BRCA2, and the total carrier rate is 5.01% (18/359). For ovarian cancer patients, the corresponding results were 3 (4.54%) mutations, 2 (3.03%) mutations, and 7.58% (5/66), respectively. The proportion of BRCA mutations was 5.41% (23/425) in breast and ovarian cancer patients of a Hakka population. The pathogenic, likely pathogenic, and benign mutations, and mutations of uncertain significance in this study mainly occurred in exon 14 of the BRCA1 gene, and exon 10 and exon 11 of the BRCA2 gene. Conclusions: Understanding the spectrum and frequency of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in a Hakka population will assist in the prevention and control of hereditary breast and ovarian cancers in this population.

Complex naturally carved topography and large-scale artificial landforms significantly perturb hydrologic cycles and cause heterogeneity of water availability. Afforested trees exhibit distinct growth and survival strategies on distinct habitats on the Northern Loess Plateau in China. The objective of this study was to quantify tree transpiration discrepancies of two tree species aged >30 years on different soil and topography conditions, and to explore the interactions with the atmosphere, hydrology, soil and topography, through long-term (up to seven years) observations of sap flow, meteorological factors and soil water contents (SWC). Results showed that mean whole-tree transpiration (T) of Salix matsudana and Populus simonii in the growing season were 46.7 and 175.2 kg d−1, respectively, in a dam field, and were 5.6-fold and 4.2-fold the magnitude of that on a sloping field, respectively. Daily T was positively correlated (P

There is an urgent need to identify cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for severe COVID-19 disease accompanied by multiple organ failure and high mortality rates. Here, we performed untargeted/targeted lipidomics and focused biochemistry on 127 patient plasma samples, and showed high levels of circulating, enzymatically active secreted phospholipase A2 Group IIA (sPLA2-IIA) in severe and fatal COVID-19 disease compared with uninfected patients or mild illness. Machine learning demonstrated that sPLA2-IIA effectively stratifies severe from fatal COVID-19 disease. We further introduce a PLA-BUN index that combines sPLA2-IIA and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) threshold levels as a critical risk factor for mitochondrial dysfunction, sustained inflammatory injury and lethal COVID-19. With the availability of clinically tested inhibitors of sPLA2-IIA, our study opens the door to a precision intervention using indices discovered here to reduce COVID-19 mortality.

Cartilage regeneration is a complex physiological process. Synovial macrophages play a critical immunomodulatory role in the acute inflammatory response surrounding joint injury. Due to the contrasting differences and heterogeneity of macrophage, the phenotype of macrophages are the key determinants of the healing response after cartilage injury. Biomaterials derived from extracellular matrix have been used for the repair and reconstruction of a variety of tissues by modulating the host macrophage response. However, the immunomodulatory effect of decellularized cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM) on macrophages has not been elucidated. It is necessary to clarify the immunomodulatory properties of decellularized cartilage matrix (DCM) to guide the design of cartilage regeneration materials. Here, we prepared porcine articular cartilage derived DCM and determined the response of mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) to the pepsin-solubilized DCM (PDCM) in vitro. Macrophages activated by the PDCM could promote bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) invasion, migration, proliferation, and chondrogenic differentiation. Then, we verified that early optimization of the immunomodulatory effects of the cell-free DCM scaffold using IL-4 in vivo could achieve good cartilage regeneration in a rat knee osteochondral defect model. Therefore, this decellularized cartilage ECM scaffold combined with accurate and active immunomodulatory strategies provides a new approach for the development of cartilage regeneration materials. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: This work reports a decellularized cartilage extracellular matrix (DCM) scaffold combined with an accurate and active immunomodulatory strategy to improve cartilage regeneration. Our findings demonstrated that the pepsin-solubilized DCM (PDCM) activated bone marrow-derived macrophages to polarize to a constructive macrophage phenotype. These polarized macrophages promoted bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell invasion, migration, proliferation, and chondrogenic differentiation. DCM scaffolds combined with early-stage intra-articular injection of IL-4 created a wound-healing microenvironment and improved cartilage regeneration in a rat knee osteochondral defect model.

To explore the potential prognostic differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in breast cancer (BC) via bioinformatic analysis and elucidate possible mechanisms underlying the effects on BC progression.Three datasets (GSE21422, GSE31192 and GSE42568) were extracted from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) information bank. The GEO2R tool and Venn diagram softwares were used for data filtration, GO (Gene Ontology) and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) analysis method were used to functionally annotate the selected DEGs. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of the selected DEGs was visualized by Cytoscape. Lastly, Kaplan-Meier (KM) plotter and Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) were employed to validate the values of the DEGs.A total of 46 up-regulated and 65 down-regulated DEGs were identified. Of these, up-regulated DEGs were enriched in pathways related to cancer, p53 signaling pathway, ECM-receptor interaction, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, while down-regulated DEGs were enriched in pathways involved in PPAR signaling pathway, proteoglycans in cancer, focal adhesion. 24 genes were selected from the PPI network analysis by Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE), and 20 vital genes were found to be correlated to poorer overall survival (OS) rates in BC. The prognostic values of these genes were validated by both KM and GEPIA. Finally, the CCNE2, CCNB1 and RRM2 genes were found to be markedly enriched in the p53 signaling pathway through the DAVID analysis.This study revealed that the p53 signaling pathway could be an important pathway in BC progression. The three p53-related genes CCNE2, CCNB1 and RRM2 may represent candidate therapeutic gene targets for the treatment of BC.

Additional file 1: Table S1. The details of RT-PCR primers.

Due to the influence of climate change and extensive grazing, a large proportion of steppe grassland has been degraded worldwide. The Chinese government initiated a series of grassland restoration programs to reverse the degradation. However, the limiting factors and the restoration potential remain unknown. Here we present a process-based model to assess the restoration gap (RG) defined as maximum biomass differences between non-degraded and degraded grasslands with different degrees of soil and vegetation degradation. The process-based model Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) was evaluated utilizing observation data from both typical and meadow steppes under natural conditions in terms of phenology, dynamics of above-ground biomass and soil water content. Scenario analysis and sensitivity analysis were subsequently performed to address the RG and controlling factors during 1969–2018. The results showed that the calibrated model performed well with r > 0.75 and model efficiency factor EF > 0.5 for all the simulation components. According to our model results, the RG was larger in typical steppe compared to that of meadow steppe and it increased with increasing soil and/or vegetation degradation, to ~60% under extremely degraded scenarios. Both soil and vegetation degradation led to reduced water use efficiency, with an elevated proportion of soil evaporation to evapotranspiration (Es/ET), however, the limiting factor for RG varied. The degradation of soil water holding capacity contributed more to RG regardless of climate conditions for typical steppe in all years and for meadow steppe in dry years. In wet years the importance of vegetation coverage reduction increased for RG in meadow steppe, where the relative importance of vegetation coverage (valued at 62.8%) was 25.6% higher than that of soil degradation. Our results demonstrated the importance of considering climate variations when developing protection and restoration programs for grassland ecosystems.

The ubiquitous and growing global reliance on rare earth elements (REEs) for modern technology and the need for reliable domestic sources underscore the rising trend in REE-related research. Adsorption-based methods for REE recovery from liquid waste sources are well-positioned to compete with those of solvent extraction, both because of their expected lower negative environmental impact and simpler process operations. Functionalized silica represents a rising category of low cost and stable sorbents for heavy metal and REE recovery. These materials have collectively achieved high capacity and/or high selective removal of REEs from ideal solutions and synthetic or real coal wastewater and other leachate source. These sorbents are competitive with conventional materials, such as ion exchange resins, activated carbon; and novel polymeric materials like ion-imprinted particles and metal organic frameworks (MOFs). This critical review first presents a data mining analysis for rare earth element recovery publications indexed in Web of science, highlighting changes in REE recovery research foci and confirming the sharply growing interest in functionalized silica sorbents. A detailed examination of sorbent formulation and operation strategies to selectively separate heavy (HREE), middle (MREE), and light (LREE) REEs from the aqueous sources is presented. Selectivity values for sorbents were largely calculated from available figure data and gauged the success of the associated strategies, primarily: (1) silane-grafted ligands, (2) impregnated ligands, and (3) bottom-up ligand/silica hybrids. These were often accompanied by successful co-strategies, especially bite angle control, site saturation, and selective REE elution. Recognizing the need to remove competing fouling metals to achieve purified REE “baskets,” we highlight techniques for eliminating these species from acid mine drainage (AMD) and suggest a novel adsorption-based process for purified REE extraction that could be adapted to different water systems.

Background To explore the clinical value of combined detection of serum tumor markers in lung cancer, including carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen 15-3 (CA15-3), cytokeratin 19 fragment (CYFRA 21-1), neuron specific enolase (NSE), and squamous carcinoma antigen (SCCA). Methods The expression levels were compared among groups, and the combined effects of these tumor markers in the diagnosis of lung cancer were analyzed. In addition, EGFR gene mutations were detected in some patients with NSCLC. Results There were 776 patients (age 59.78 ± 10.39 years) with lung cancer and 794 controls (age 58.26 ± 15.73 years) included in our study. In this study, tumor markers were detected in lung cancer patients and controls. Individual sensitivity of the tumor markers sorted in descending order were CEA > CYFRA21-1 > CA15-3 > NSE, and the specificities were NSE > CYFRA21-1 > CEA > CA15-3. The combination of CEA + CA15-3 + CYFRA21-1 + NSE ranked the highest in the sensitivity index (75.00%) and specificity index (98.61%) in lung cancer. In adenocarcinoma, the area under the ROC curve (AUROC) of CEA (0.665) and CYFRA21-1 (0.631) were higher than those of CA15-3 (0.559) and NSE (0.507). In squamous carcinoma, the AUC of CYFRA21-1 (0.722) and SCC (0.628) were higher than those of CEA (0.579), CA15-3 (0.524), and NSE (0.552). In small cell carcinoma, the AUC of NSE (0.654) was higher than those of CEA (0.616), CYFRA21-1 (0.555), and CA15-3 (0.482). Conclusions These serum tumor markers are valuable indicators in the clinical use. The combination of tumor markers can be used as a method to improve the effectiveness of clinical diagnosis for lung cancer.

Time-consuming thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) decomposition study is a typical practice to assess the stability of fresh and water-treated basic immobilized amine sorbents (BIAS)/catalysts. This work presents a faster and more precise spectroscopic UV/Vis/Cu2+ sorbent screening technique that quantifies aqueous amines washed from the BIAS by using UV-active amine/Cu2+ complexes. Six BIAS-based catalysts, containing different amine species and a crosslinker within silica, were treated with ultrapure water and then analyzed for their CO2 capture performance and amine leach resistance/stability by using TGA (catalysts, approximately 4 h) and UV/Vis/Cu2+ techniques (wash solution, few minutes). A comparative analysis revealed that directly quantifying washed amines with UV/Vis/Cu2+ is 9-127 times more precise than indirect testing of the sorbents by TGA. Similar trends in the H2 O stability profiles of the catalysts [organic content retained values (OCR)] were reported by both analysis methods, allowing UV/Vis/Cu2+ to replace TGA for quantifying unstable leached amines. The UV/Vis/Cu2+ OCR results could be used to predict the CO2 -capture stability profile of the sorbents, confirming the reliability of this technique to rapidly screen catalyst stability and performance.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) in exosomes play crucial roles in the onset, progression and metastasis of cancer by regulating the stability of target mRNAs or by inhibiting translation. In the present study, differentially expressed miRNAs were identified in exosomes of 27 breast cancer patients and 3 healthy controls using RNA sequencing. The differentially expressed microRNAs were selected by bioinformatic analysis. Subjects were followed up for 2 years and exosomal miRNA profiles were compared between patients with and without recurrence of breast cancer. A total of 30 complementary DNA libraries were constructed and sequenced and 1,835 miRNAs were detected. There were no significant differences in the expression of miRNAs between the basal‑like, human epidermal growth factor receptor‑2+, luminal A, luminal B and healthy control (HC) groups. A total of 54 differentially expressed miRNAs were identified in triple‑negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients vs. HCs, including 20 upregulated and 34 downregulated miRNAs. The results of the reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR were consistent with this. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses indicated that miR‑150‑5p [area under the curve (AUC)=0.705, upregulated], miR‑576‑3p (AUC=0.691, upregulated), miR‑4665‑5p (AUC=0.681, upregulated) were able to distinguish breast cancer patients with recurrence from those without recurrence. In conclusion, the present results indicated differences in miRNA expression profiles between patients with TNBC and healthy controls. Certain exosomal miRNAs were indicated to have promising predictive value as biomarkers for distinguishing breast cancer with recurrence from non‑recurrence, which may be utilized for preventive strategies.

Sap-flow techniques had limited application to thin-stemmed woody and herbaceous species and to diverse functional plant organs until the recent development of the external heat-ratio (EHR) method. Existing EHR techniques using miniature gauge configurations, however, are limited to thin stems with diameters of 2–5 mm. This study introduces a new design of an EHR gauge adapted to thin stems with diameters up to 15 mm and sap-flux densities

For investigating the impact of ferritic morphology on yield strength (YS) of the high-heat-input welding induced coarse-grained heat-affected zone (CGHAZ) of a low carbon Mo-V-N-Ti-B steel, a group of particular welding heat inputs were designed to obtain different ferritic microstructures in CGHAZ. The tensile properties were estimated from typical samples with ferritic microstructures. The mixed microstructures dominated by the intragranular polygonal ferrite (IGPF), the intragranular acicular ferrite (IGAF), and the granular bainite (GB) were obtained at the heat inputs of 35, 65, 85 and 120 kJ/cm, respectively. When the main microstructure changed from IGPF to IGAF and GB, YS increased first and then decreased. The microstructure consisting mainly of IGAF possessed the maximum YS. As the main microstructure changed from IGPF to IGAF and GB, the contribution of grain refinement strengthening to YS was estimated to be elevated remarkably. This means the strength of CGHAZ in a low-carbon steel subjected to the high-heat-input welding could be enhanced by promoting the fine-grained AF and GB formation.

In the coarse grain heat-affected zone (CGHAZ) of a low carbon Mo–V–Ti–B steel subjected to a simulative welding thermal cycle with a heat input as high as 75 kJ/cm, the influence of an increase in nitrogen content from 0.0085 to 0.0144 wt% on the microstructures and impact properties of the steel was comparatively estimated using Gleeble-3800 simulation, microstructure characterization and impact testing. With a rise in the nitrogen content, the number of fine and coarse particles also increased. An increase in the number of fine precipitates can effectively pin the prior austenite grain (PAG) boundary and inhibit the grain growth, resulting in the refinement of PAG in the CGHAZ. The intragranular and intergranular V-containing coarse particles effectively promoted the nucleation of intragranular acicular ferrite (IGAF) and grain boundary polygonal ferrite (GBPF). Accordingly, the contents of heterogeneously-nucleated IGAF and polygonal ferrite (PF) increased; however, the bainite content decreased with a rise in N content, leading to a prominent microstructure refinement in this CGHAZ with a high heat input. Furthermore, the nitrogen addition led to the formation of finer and more dispersed martensite-austenite (M/A) constituents in the CGHAZ. Therefore, the impact toughness of this CGHAZ was enhanced. This can be attributed to the microstructure refinement of the CGHAZ, which in turn was ascribed to an increasing nitrogen.

Recycling rare earth elements (REEs) becomes increasingly important due to their supply vulnerability and increasing demands in industry, agriculture, and national security. Hybrid hydrogel sorbents were outstanding due to their high stability and selectivity. Organic-inorganic hybrid hydrogels were synthesized by thermo-polymerization of acrylamide onto PEI polymer chain with N,N’-methylene bisacrylamide as a crosslinker. The grafted network was evidenced by DRIFTS and XPS. The porous structure was observed by SEM. Crosslink degree, PEI grafting degree, and SiO2 concentration were studied to optimize the REEs adsorption. The pH value of the medium greatly affected REE adsorption capacity, where the nearly neutral conditions gave the strongest bonding of REEs to active sites. Moreover, kinetic studies showed that the rate-determining step of the adsorption process was chemical sorption, and that REE diffusion within micropores was the control step for, specifically, intraparticle diffusion. The adsorbents...

In the absence of aqueous buffer, most enzymes retain little or no activity; however, "water-free" enzymes would have many diverse applications. Here, we describe the chemically precise immobilization of an enzyme on an engineered surface designed to support catalytic activity in air at ambient humidity. Covalent immobilization of haloalkane dehalogenase on a surface support displaying poly(sorbitol methacrylate) chains resulted in ∼40-fold increase in activity over lyophilized enzyme powders for the gas-phase dehalogenation of 1-bromopropane. The activity of the immobilized enzyme in air approaches 25% of the activity obtained in buffer for the immobilized enzyme. Poly(sorbitol methacrylate) appears to enhance activity by replacing protein-water interactions, thereby preserving the protein structure.

The purpose of this paper is to integrate recent results on the remediation of organic contaminated soils, and introduce a physical remediation method thermal desorption technology. There are mainly four kinds of thermal desorption technology, which include rotary kiln, fluidized bed, microwave and vacuum strengthen far-infrared thermal desorption. Through comparing with four kinds of remediation methods, rotary kiln and fluidized bed are more mature technologies, which have high treatment efficiency, average cost, and a wide of application prospect. Although microwave and vacuum strengthen far-infrared thermal desorption have also high treatment efficiency (more than 90%), they have expensive cost of equipments and still stay in the initial polite development stage, so their application prospect is no good. In addition, by comparing thermal desorption with microbial remediation and phyto-remediation, thermal desorption technology has some unique benefits such as a wide processing range of pollutant kinds, high removal efficiency and shorter treatment time, therefore, thermal desorption technology is still an important choice for the fields of organic contaminated soil remediation.