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Abstract: Perillaldehyde (PAH), a major component of essential oil of Perilla Frutescens, has antidepressant-like effects and anti-inflammatory effects. The present study was designed to determine whether PAH is effective in treating lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced depression-like behavior in mice and to explore the possible mechanism between its antidepressant-like effect and anti-inflammatory activity. PAH (60 and 120mg/kg) and fluoxetine (20mg/kg) were administered intragastrically once daily for 7 consecutive days. In the 7th day, LPS (0.5mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally 30min after drug administration. Blood samples were collected 90min after LPS injection to evaluate serum interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Behavioral tests were measured 24h after LPS injection. After the behavioral tests the prefrontal cortex was rapidly dissected from the brain of the sacrificed mice, then the 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE) levels in prefrontal cortex were determined by HPLC–MS, and IL-6 and TNF-α mRNA expression was measured using quantitative real-time PCR. Our results showed that a single administration of LPS significantly increased the levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in both the serum and the prefrontal cortex and decreased 5-HT and NE levels in the prefrontal cortex in mice. Pretreatment with fluoxetine (20mg/kg) or PAH (60 and 120mg/kg) could effectively reverse the alterations in the concentrations of 5-HT and NE, and attenuate LPS-induced increases in TNF-α and IL-6 levels. Besides, LPS administration increased the immobility time in tail suspension test (TST) and forced swimming test (FST) without affecting spontaneous locomotor activity. Fluoxetine (20mg/kg) or PAH (60 and 120mg/kg) significantly shortened LPS-induced increases of immobility time in both TST and FST. In conclusion, PAH exhibited significant antidepressant-like effects in mice with LPS-induced depression. The antidepressant activity of PAH might be related to the alteration of monoaminergic responses and the anti-inflammatory effects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Surface MO y species on the Ce-M catalysts could be removed by acid treatment. [•] The activities of HCe-M catalysts were suppressed. [•] MO y species promoted the chemisorption of CO molecules. [•] Oxygen vacancy facilitated the activation of oxygen. [•] Synergetic effect could improve the activity of catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Free PdO and Pd2+ ions were segregated efficiently by nitric acid treatment. [•] Turnover frequency of PdO and Pd2+ ions was quantitatively evaluated. [•] CO oxidation activity of free PdO was higher than that of Pd2+ ions. [•] Synergetic effect could improve CO catalytic activity of PdO-CeO2/SiO2 catalyst. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: In non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), higher blood tumor mutational burden (bTMB) was usually associated with better progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR). However, the association between bTMB and overall survival (OS) benefit remains undefined. It has been reported that patients harboring a high level of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) had poor survival. We hypothesized that ctDNA-adjusted bTMB might predict OS benefit in NSCLC patients receiving ICIs.Methods: Our study was retrospectively performed in three cohorts, including OAK and POPLAR cohort (n = 853), Shanghai and Wuhan (SH&WH) cohort (n = 44), and National Cancer Center (NCC) cohort (n = 47). Durable clinical benefit (DCB) was defined as PFS lasting ≥ 6 months. The cutoff value of ctDNA-adjusted bTMB for DCB prediction was calculated based on a receiver operating characteristic curve. Interaction between treatments and ctDNA-adjusted bTMB was assessed.Results: The bTMB score was significantly associated with tumor burden, while no association was observed between ctDNA-adjusted bTMB with tumor burden. In the OAK and POPLAR cohort, significantly higher ORR (P = 0.020) and DCB (P < 0.001) were observed in patients with high ctDNA-adjusted bTMB than those with low ctDNA-adjusted bTMB. Importantly, the interactions between ctDNA-adjusted bTMB and treatments were significant for OS (interaction P = 0.019) and PFS (interaction P = 0.002). In the SH&WH cohort, the interactions between ctDNA-adjusted bTMB and treatment were marginally significant for OS (interaction P = 0.081) and PFS (interaction P = 0.062). Similar result was demonstrated in the NCC cohort.Conclusions: Our study indicated that ctDNA-adjusted bTMB might predict OS benefit in NSCLC patients receiving ICIs. The potential of ctDNA-adjusted bTMB as a noninvasive predictor for immunotherapy should be confirmed in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] K-promotion greatly improved activity of CH2Cl2 oxidation over Pt/Al2O3 catalysts. [•] The enhancement was due to the improved catalyst reducibility after K-promotion. [•] Surface Pt–O–K x (x ≈2) species accelerated decomposition of formate intermediates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Surface modification by physical adsorption of Tween 20 was accomplished on polypropylene microporous membranes (PPMMs). Attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR/FT-IR) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) were used to characterize the chemical and morphological changes on the membrane surfaces. Water contact angles and relative pure water fluxes were measured. The data showed that the hydrophilic performance for the modified membranes increased with the increase in the adsorption amount of Tween 20 onto the surface or into the pores of polypropylene microporous membranes. To test the antifouling property of the membranes by the adsorption of Tween 20 in a membrane bioreactor (MBR), filtration for active sludge was performed using synthetic wastewater. With the help of the data of water fluxes and the FE-SEM photos of the modified PPMMs before or after operating in a MBR for about 12 d, the PPMMs with monolayer adsorption of Tween 20 showed higher remained flux and stronger antifouling ability than unmodified membrane and other modification membranes studied. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A significant association between high blood-based tumor mutational burden (bTMB) and improved progression-free survival (PFS) was observed in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving atezolizumab. However, this result was unrepeatable in a recent prospective study. We hypothesized that there might be a non-linear association between bTMB and survival. This study used the clinical and genetic data from POPLAR (n = 105, training set) and OAK (n = 324, validation set) trials. The non-linear association between bTMB and survival was assessed using restricted cubic spline (RCS). The cutoff values for bTMB were calculated via X-tile software. Non-linear relationships were observed between bTMB and PFS and overall survival (OS) in RCS plots (both Pnon-linearity < 0.001). The optimal cutoff values of bTMB for predicting PFS and OS were 7 and 14 mutations/Mb, respectively. The median PFS and OS of patients with low and high bTMB were significantly longer than those of patients with medium bTMB in the training, validation, and combined sets. Low and high bTMB were also associated with longer PFS and OS in high-programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression population. In conclusion, there was a positive non-linear association between bTMB and survival in NSCLC patients receiving atezolizumab. Patients with low bTMB could also derive benefit from immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief. The authors have plagiarized/duplicated part of a paper that appeared in Neurosci Lett, 549 (2013) 63–68, (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2013.06.002). Several images in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology paper; 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B correspond to figures; 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B respectively as published in Neuroscience Letters. One of the conditions of submission of a paper for publication is that authors declare explicitly that their work is original and has not appeared in a publication elsewhere. Re-use of any data should be appropriately cited. As such this article represents a severe abuse of the scientific publishing system. The scientific community takes a very strong view on this matter and apologies are offered to readers of the journal that this was not detected during the submission process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Pt/CeO 2 catalysts with different Pt contents were prepared using an incipient wetness impregnation method and tested for CO oxidation. Kinetic study on the catalysts indicated that the reaction rate was independent of the partial pressures of CO and O 2 ( r = k app [CO] 0 [O 2 ] 0 ). The derived reaction pathways involved chemisorption of CO on surface Pt atoms and reacting with lattice oxygen provided by the CeO 2 support at the Pt–CeO 2 interface, suggesting a Mars van-Krevelen type reaction on these catalysts and the interfacial Pt–O–Ce ensembles being the active sites. Also, turnover frequencies (TOFs) calculated based on Pt dispersion and periphery Pt atoms were found to be proportional to the Pt particle size, with the large Pt particles possessing higher TOF than the small ones. Such a trend was interpreted by the important role of the oxygen vacancies via the formation of Pt–Ce–O solid solution, which could accelerate the mobility of lattice oxygen and consequently the activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ethnopharmacological relevance: Liuwei Dihuang decoction (LWDHD) is a well-known prescription of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and consists of six crude drugs including Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch. (family: Scrophulariaceae), Cornus officinalis Sieb. (family: Cornaceae), Dioscorea oppositifolia L. (family: Dioscoreaceae), Paoenia ostii (family: Paeoniaceae), Alisma orientale (G. Samuelsson) Juz (family: Alismataceae) and Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf (family: Polyporaceae). It has been used for the treatment of “Kidney-Yin” deficiency syndrome in clinic in China for a long time. Recent studies found that LWDHD had a potential benefit for the treatment of diabetic complications. The aim of the present study is to investigate the neuroprotective effect of LWDHD on memory and cognition deficits in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic encephalopathy (DE) rats. Materials and methods: Adult male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were fed with high-glucose–fat diet for 50 days and then received an intraperitoneal injection of STZ (40mg/kg) to induce DE model. Morris water maze test was used to evaluate the memory and cognition capability of DE rats. Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), Na+–K+-ATP enzyme, iNOS and GSH kits were used to determine their activities or content in hippocampus. TUNEL staining, immunohistochemistry and Congo red staining were conducted to evaluate the apoptosis, caspase-3 protein expression, insulin-like growth factors 1 (IGF-1) and brain derived neurophic factor (BDNF) expressions, as well as Aβ deposition. Results: The treatment with LWDHD (1 and 2g/kg, p.o., once daily, 30 days) could significantly reduce the escape latency time and path length, and obviously enhance the spent time in the target quadrant and platform crossings in Morris water maze test compared with model group (P<0.05, P<0.01). LWDHD could also significantly decrease the level of fasting blood glucose, increase Na+–K+-ATP enzyme and ChAT activities, enhance remarkedly GSH level while decrease significantly AChE and iNOS activities in hippocampus (P<0.05, P<0.01). Furthermore, TUNEL staining, Congo red staining and immunohistochemistry showed that LWDHD significantly improved the expressions of IGF-1 and BDNF, attenuated the neural apoptosis, overexpression of caspase-3 and Aβ deposition in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex of STZ-induced DE rats (P<0.01). Conclusion: Our findings suggested that LWDHD had a neuroprotective effect on DE rats. LWDHD may be of benefit in the treatment of DE. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Experiments on CO2 removal from flue gas using polypropylene (PP) hollow fiber membrane contactors were conducted in this study. Absorbents including aqueous potassium glycinate (PG) solution, aqueous solutions of monoethanolamine (MEA) and methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) were used to absorb CO2 in the experiments. Based on the wetting experimental results, aqueous PG solution can offer a higher surface tension than water, aqueous MEA and MDEA solutions. Aqueous PG solution has a lower potential of membrane wetting after a continuously steady operation for 40 h to maintain CO2 removal efficiency of about 90%. Under moderate operating conditions, effects of the temperature, flow rate, and concentration of absorbents, and the flow rate of flue gas as well as the volumetric concentration of carbon dioxide in the flue gas on the mass transfer rate of CO2 were studied on a pilot-scale test facility. Unlike conventional absorbents, the mass transfer decreases with an increasing liquid temperature when using aqueous PG solution. Results show that CO2 removal efficiency was above 90% and the mass transfer rate was above 2.0 mol/(m2 h) using the PG aqueous solution. It indicates that the hollow fiber membrane contactor has a great potential in the area of CO2 separation from flue gas when absorbent''s concentration and liquid–gas pressure difference are designed elaborately. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Surface modification of polypropylene hollow fiber microporous membranes (PPHFMMs) was performed by a sequential photoinduced graft polymerization of acrylic acid (AA) from water solution. Structural and morphological changes on the membrane surface were characterized by attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR/FT-IR) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Water contact angles of the membrane surfaces were also measured by the sessile drop method. Results of ATR/FT-IR indicated the successful graft polymerization of AA onto the membrane surface. Water contact angle of the modified membrane decreased with the increase of the grafting degree (GD). It showed 68° for the grafted membrane with a GD of 45.8wt.%, nearly 61° lower than that of the nascent one. The pure water fluxes of the studied membranes depending on GD and pH value were studied. It was found that the pure water flux increased with the increase of GD and the decrease of pH value. The antifouling characteristics for the PPHFMMs before and after surface modification were assessed by the filtration of activated sludge in a submerged membrane bioreactor for synthetic wastewater treatment. Results demonstrated that after continuous operation for about 85h, the flux recovery was 13.7% and 25.4% while the flux ratio was 1.00 and 2.52 for the nascent and grafted PPHFMMs, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: To improve its limiting flux and antifouling characteristics in a submerged membrane-bioreactor (SMBR) for wastewater treatment, polypropylene hollow fiber microporous membrane (PPHFMM) was surface-modified by the immobilization of poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP) through air plasma treatment. Attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR/FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used to characterize the structural and morphological changes on the membrane surface. Water contact angles were also measured by the sessile drop method. Results of ATR/FT-IR and XPS clearly indicated that PVP was successfully immobilized on the membrane surface. Water contact angle on the PVP-immobilized membrane showed a minimum value of 72.3°, approximately 57° lower than that on the unmodified one. The SMBR was operated at a fixed transmembrane pressure to determine the limiting fluxes of PPHFMMs with or without PVP immobilization. The maximum relative limiting flux appeared to be 159Lm−2 h−1 for the PVP-immobilized PPHFMM with an immobilization degree of 6.8wt.%, 54.4% higher than that of the nascent PPHFMM. After continuous operation for about 50h, flux recovery, reduction of flux, and relative flux ratio were 53% higher, 17.9% lower and 79% higher than those of the nascent PPHFMM respectively. It was found also that the Pearson correlation between total surface free energy and flux recovery was significant, which indicated that the PVP-immobilized membrane with higher total surface free energy would have excellent antifouling characteristics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: To improve the antifouling property of polypropylene hollow fiber microporous membranes (PPHFMMs) in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) for wastewater treatment, PPHFMMs were subjected to surface modification by NH3 plasma treatment. Structural and morphological changes of the membranes were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Water contact angle, which reflects the hydrophilicity of the membrane surface, was measured by the sessile drop method. Results of XPS clearly indicated that the plasma treatment introduced nitrogen- and oxygen-containing polar groups on the membrane surface. The water contact angle of the modified membrane reduced with the decrease of the initial NH3 pressure in the plasma reactor. To assess the relation between the plasma treatment and the membrane fouling in an MBR, membrane filtration for activated sludge was carried out using synthetic wastewater. PPHFMMs after NH3 plasma treatment showed better flux recovery after cleaning than that of the unmodified membrane. Under the operating conditions with 8–12h hydraulic retention time and 6.2g/L sludge concentration in the MBR, the removal efficiency of COD and NH3–N was above 95% and around 60%, respectively, for a 350mg/L COD and a 10–15mg/L NH3–N fed to the bioreactor. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: To improve the antifouling property of polypropylene hollow fiber microporous membranes (PPHFMMs) in a membrane-bioreactor (MBR) for wastewater treatment, the PPHFMMs were subjected to surface modification by CO2 plasma treatment. Structural and morphological changes on the membrane surface were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Water contact angle, which reflects the hydrophilicity of the membrane surface, was measured by the sessile drop method. Results of XPS clearly indicated that the plasma treatment introduced oxygen containing polar groups on the membrane surface. The static water contact angle of the modified membrane reduced obviously at first and then kept almost constant with the increase of CO2 plasma treatment time. To assess the relation between the plasma treatment and the membrane fouling in a MBR, filtration for activated sludge was carried out using synthetic wastewater. The PPHFMMs after CO2 plasma treatment showed better flux recovery after cleaning than that of the unmodified membrane. Fouling index (FI) for the CO2 plasma treated PPHFMMs was lower than that of the unmodified PPHFMM. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

An analysis of the effects of the fiber random packing on the mass transfer coefficient for the parallel flow module is presented in this work. According to the model description, the fiber random arrangement caused a slight decrease (9–16%) on the shell side mass transfer coefficient. The ratio between the mass transfer coefficient in random packing and the coefficient in uniform packing was in the range of 0.91–0.84, and this value decreased slightly with increasing the module packing density. It was also found that the model prediction values fitted the experimental data relatively well when the effect of the fiber random arrangement was taken into account for the moderately packed module. The mass transfer correlation presented in this work was also compared with the results from the literatures, which indicated that the correlation proposed here showed high flexibility in prediction of the shell side mass transfer coefficient. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ultrafiltration hollow-fiber membranes (UHFMs) ofpoly(acrylonitrile-co-malefic acid) (PANCMA) were prepared by a dry-wet phase inversion process. The morphologies of inner surface and cross section for these hollow fibers were inspected with scanning electron microscopy. It was found that, by increasing the amount of solvent DMSO in internal coagulant, the number and size of macrovoid underneath the inner surface decreased. The water flux of the UHFMs also decreased while the bovine serum albumin rejection increased minutely. These results were interpreted based on the ternary phase diagrams for the PANCMA/DMSO/(H2O+DMSO) system, which was obtained from the experimental cloud point measurements and empirical linearized cloud point relation. It was envisaged that the membrane surface could be further modified by the reaction of acid groups with poly(ethylene glycol). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ultrafiltration hollow fiber membranes were prepared from poly(ether imide) (PEI) with a wet spinning method. Effects of N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) as a solvent additive in internal coagulant and acetic acid as a nonsolvent additive in dope solution on the morphologies and performances of the membranes were investigated respectively. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) study indicated that the addition of DMAc into the internal coagulant changed the inner fiber surface from dense skin layer to porous structure. However, the pure water flux of the membrane decreased with the increase of DMAc content. On the other hand, the addition of acetic acid into casting solution promoted the spinodal demixing of the membrane-forming system and suppressed the macrovoid formation in the membrane. Nodular structure was formed in the fiber skin layer. With the increase of acetic acid ratio, the pure water flux of the membrane increased about four times, and the solute retention showed a slight decrease. The mechanical properties could also be improved slightly by this additive. The influences of PEI dope concentration on membrane morphologies and properties were also studied. It was found that tighter structure was formed for higher PEI concentration, in turn, the pure water flux of the membrane decreased from 23.4 l/(m2 h) 100 kPa for 17 wt.% PEI concentration to 7.2 l/(m2 h) 100 kPa for 25 wt.% PEI concentration. The thermal resistance of the PEI ultrafiltration membranes prepared in this work was examined using a hot water treatment up to 80 °C. No change was observed for the permeation performances of the membranes, while the study of mechanical properties showed that the elongation at break of the membrane decreased slightly. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Three polypropylene (PP) and one polyethylene (PE) microporous hollow-fiber membranes were used in direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) and vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) for the desalination of simulated seawater. The influence of feed temperature and feed flow on distillate pure water flux was investigated. The comparison of the PP and PE membranes in DCMD and VMD was carried out. It was found that the water flux increased with the feed temperature and feed flow in both DCMD and VMD. The data also showed that, compared with the PP membranes, higher water flux could be obtained by using PE membranes in both the DCMD and VMD processes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]