Search

The feasibility of fuel property analysis of the biomass fuel by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been demonstrated in a previous study. As a further move to apply this quick method to industrial application for direct monitoring of the woody biomass pellets quality, effects of four key parameters during the pelletizing process on the LIBS spectral data have been investigated before applying LIBS directly to the woody biomass pellet. Partial Least Squares (PLS) models were built to evaluate the performance of the LIBS fuel property analyses directly on the wood pellets supplied by different manufacturers, which were produced on different pellet mills, with different pelletization technologies and under various pelletizing conditions. The results showed satisfactory performance using LIBS technique for direct determination of the fuel property of wood pellets without further sample preparation. The coefficient of determination (R2) of calibration models were all above 0.98. The root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of the gross calorific value (GCV), volatile matter (VM) and ash content (AC) were 0.09 MJ/kg, 0.52% and 0.15% respectively, while the average relative error (ARE) were 0.39%, 0.54% and 8.52% respectively, and the average standard deviation (ASD) were 0.14 MJ/kg, 0.52% and 0.18% respectively.

Rationale: Contactin-associated protein-like 4 (CNTNAP4) belongs to the neurexin superfamily and has critical functions in neurological development and synaptic function. Loss of CNTNAP4 in interneurons has been linked to autism, schizophrenia, and epilepsy. CNTNAP4 is also highly enriched in dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra (SN), however, few studies have investigated the role of CNTNAP4 in DA neurons, and whether CNTNAP4 deficiency in DA neurons contributes to Parkinson's disease (PD) remains unclear. Methods: Effects of CNTNAP4 knockdown or overexpression on the DA MN9D cell line were assessed via Western blotting, immunocytochemistry, and RNA sequencing. An in vivo animal model, including CNTNAP4 knockout mice and stereotaxic injections of adeno-associated viral short-hairpin RNA with the tyrosine-hydroxylase promotor to silence CNTNAP4 in the SN, as well as the resulting physiological/behavioral effects, were evaluated via behavioral tests, Western blotting, immunohistochemistry, and transmission electron microscopy. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were performed to examine the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma CNTNAP4 concentrations in PD patients. Results: We demonstrated that CNTNAP4 knockdown induced mitophagy and increased α-synuclein expression in MN9D cells. CNTNAP4 knockdown in the SN induced PD-like increases in SN-specific α-synuclein expression, DA neuronal degeneration, and motor dysfunction in mice. In addition, CNTNAP4 knockdown in SN-DA neurons increased autophagosomes and reduced synaptic vesicles in the SN. Furthermore, CNTNAP4 knockout mice showed movement deficits, nigral DA degeneration, and increased autophagy, which were consistent with the SN-specific knockdown model. We also found that CSF and plasma CNTNAP4 expression was increased in PD patients; in particular, plasma CNTNAP4 was increased in male PD patients compared with controls or female PD patients. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that CNTNAP4 deficiency may initiate phenotypes relevant to PD, of which we elucidated some of the underlying mechanisms.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disease, characterized by cognitive dysfunction; however, the therapeutic strategies are not fully understood. Huang-Lian-Jie-Du-Decoction (HLJDD) is a famous traditional Chinese herbal formula that has been widely used clinically to treat dementia. Recently, according to previous study and our clinical practice, we generate a new modification of HLJDD (named modified-HLJDD). In this study, we indicated that modified-HLJDD attenuated learning and memory deficiencies in Aβ1-42 oligomer-induced AD model, and we confirmed the exact metabolites in modified-HLJDD solution, as compared with HLJDD by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS. Using GC-Q-TOF/MS-based metabolomics, we identified adenosine as the potential significant metabolite, responsible for modified-HLJDD regulating energy metabolism and synaptic plasticity in AD model. We also revealed that the potential underlying mechanism of modified-HLJDD in AD model may involve NMDA receptor-mediated glutamatergic transmission and adenosine/ATPase/AMPK cascade. Moreover, we also indicated the differential gut microbiota which mainly involved Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria at the phylum level upon modified-HLJDD treatment in AD model. Based on the correlation of metabolomic analysis with microbiome analysis, we clarified that Dorea is the most affected microbiota with adenosine upon modified-HLJDD treatment in AD model. Thus, our study suggests that modified-HLJDD may serve as a potential therapeutic drug in treating AD.

Determination of coal quality plays a major role in coal-fired power plants and coal producers for optimizing the utilization efficiency and controlling the quality. In this work, a rapid coal analyzer based on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was developed for rapid quality analysis of pulverized coal. The structure of the LIBS apparatus was introduced in detail. To avoid time-consuming and complicated sample preparation, a pulverized feeding machine was designed to form a continuously stable coal particle flow. The standard deviation (SD) of characteristic peaks was used to estimate the spectral valid data in this experiment. Coupled with cluster analysis, artificial neural networks and genetic algorithm are employed as a nonlinear regression method in order to indicate the relationship between coal quality and the corresponding plasma spectra. It is shown that the average absolute error of ash, volatile matter, fixed carbon, and gross calorific value for the validation set is 0.82%, 0.85%, 0.96%, and 0.48 MJ/kg. The average standard deviation of repeated samples is 1.64%, 0.92%, 1.08%, and 0.86 MJ/kg, showing a high sample-to-sample repeatability. This rapid coal analyzer is capable of performing reliable and accurate analysis of coal quality.

Area prostriata (Pro) has been found to play important roles in the rapid processing of moving stimuli in the far peripheral visual field. However, the specific neural substrates responsible for these functions remain unknown. In this study, we first examined the location, extent, and topography of the rodent equivalent of the primate Pro based on cytoarchitecture and molecular markers. We then identified its intimate connections with the primary visual cortex (V1) using retrograde and anterograde tracers. Our main finding is that medial V1, which receives peripheral visual information, has strong reciprocal connections with the Pro in both rat and mouse while lateral V1 has significantly fewer such connections. The direct V1 inputs to the Pro provide at least one of the shortest pathways for visual information to reach the Pro, and may be crucial to the fast processing of unexpected stimuli in the peripheral visual field.

A visible light-induced regioselective sulfonamidation of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines was developed using sulfamides as the nitrogen sources and aqueous NaClO solution as the oxidant under mild conditions. With the imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines bearing various substituents, the reaction proceeded smoothly to furnish the C3-sulfonamidation products in moderate to good yields. The method was also suitable for the sulfonamidation of some other imidazoheterocycles.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was employed to directly analyze coal particles in the form of descending flow. Coal-particle ablation was performed using a 1064 nm neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser at atmospheric conditions. Spectral identification schemes were used to acquire spectra containing all the emission lines of the important elements in coal. These acquired spectra were classified as representative spectra. The background of the line emission plus three times the standard deviation of the background of the representative spectra was chosen as the threshold value. A method using a single line and a method using combined multiple lines (C, 247.8 nm; N, 746.8 nm; Si, 288.2 nm; and Ca, 396.8 nm) were compared to obtain the best results for the spectral identification of coal particle flow. The feasibility of rejecting the partial breakdown spectra was verified using quantitative analysis of fixed carbon in coal.

A regioselective alkoxycarbonylation of imidazoheterocycles using carbazates as ester group sources in DMSO was developed, in which an inexpensive FeCl2·4H2O was used as the catalyst and (NH4)2S2O8 was the oxidant. The reaction proceeded smoothly under an air atmosphere to give the 3-alkoxycarbonylated products in moderate to good yields.

A regioselective alkoxycarbonylation of imidazoheterocycles using carbazates as ester group sources in DMSO was developed, in which an inexpensive FeCl2·4H2O was used as the catalyst and (NH4)2S2O8 was the oxidant. The reaction proceeded smoothly under an air atmosphere to give the 3-alkoxycarbonylated products in moderate to good yields.

Solid materials with different structure containing C and N were analyzed by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). Comparing the emission molecular species in different atmosphere (air and argon), it can be determined that whether the molecular species are directly vaporized from sample or generated through dissociation or the interaction between plasma and air molecules. The results showed that the characteristic of C2 bands emission is similar with that of neutral atomic carbon emission CI in different atmosphere (air and argon). While the characteristic of CN bands emission is more complicated and it has great relationship with the existence of CN radicals, the interaction between plasma and air ambient, and the recombination of excited partials.

Volatile matter content is an important index of coal quality characteristics. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a promising analytical spectroscopy technique. In this paper, a broad set of coal samples with different amounts of volatile matter content were tested by LIBS. Analytical methods with partial correlation and principal component regression were used to extract related LIBS spectral information based on coal structure, which indicates a strong correlation with the content of volatile matter to establish the calibration model. The experimental results derived from the correlation are consistent with those from standard analysis procedures (thermo-gravimetric analysis, TGA). This demonstrates that LIBS is a viable approach to directly determine the volatile content rather than indirect ultimate analysis.