Investigation of Pipeline CO2 Leakage and Diffusion on Offshore Platforms Based on Numerical Simulation.

Pipeline transportation of CO2 is the key link to realize carbon capture, utilization, and storage. CO2 pipeline transportation may face the risk of leakage, which poses a great threat to the production process and personnel safety. It is of great significance to study the leakage and diffusion characteristics of CO2 in pipeline transportation for the safety design and personnel protection of the offshore CO2 storage platform. In order to study the leakage and diffusion characteristics of CO2 in pipeline transportation on offshore platforms, a physical model of a target platform and several numerical models were built, and a series of pipeline CO2 leakage and diffusion simulations were carried out using the method of numerical simulation. Based on the simulation results, the temperature distribution and CO2 concentration distribution on the offshore platforms after leakage were measured and analyzed. The influence of leakage direction (horizontal and oblique 45° upward) was also studied. Dangerous areas on the platform and suggestions for staff evacuation were given according to the simulation results. The research results of this work can provide guidance for the safe operation of offshore CO2 storage platforms.

Impact of Indacaterol/Glycopyrrolate on Pulmonary Function and St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire Score in Individuals with Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the impact of indacaterol/glycopyrrolate on pulmonary function and St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) scores in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods: A prospective randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted. A total of 100 stable COPD patients admitted to our hospital between September 2020 and October 2022 were selected as study participants. They divided into a conventional group (n=50) and a combined compound preparation (CCP) group (n=50) using a random number table. The conventional group received oral carbocisteine tablets, while the combined compound preparation group received indacaterol/glycopyrrolate inhalation powder spray in addition to the conventional treatment. Clinical efficacy, pulmonary function indices, serum inflammatory factors, psychological resilience, and quality of life were compared between the two groups. Results: The CCP group exhibited a significantly higher total effective rate (92.00%) compared to the conventional group (76.00%) (P < .05). Post-treatment, both groups showed increased values in forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC ratio, and FEV1% with a more substantial improvement in the CCP group (P < .05). Additionally, the CCP group demonstrated decreased post-treatment levels of serum inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-6, CRP, and PCT), elevated scores on the Connor Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and reduced SGRQ scores compared to the conventional group (P < .05). Conclusions: In treatment of stable COPD patients, the combination of indacaterol/glycopyrrolate with carbocisteine tablets enhances pulmonary function, alleviates airway inflammatory reactions, improves clinical efficacy, enhances psychological resilience, and elevates the quality of life compared to carbocisteine tablets alone. These findings underscore the potential therapeutic benefits of the combined compound preparation in managing stable COPD.

Chinese herbal bath therapy for the treatment of Atopic dermatitis in children: A meta-analysis and systematic review.

BACKGROUND: To conduct a systematic review of the efficacy of Chinese herbal bath therapy on children with Atopic dermatitis. METHODS: We searched Chinese databases (CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang) and English databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of science, Cochrane library) for studies from the establishment of the database to September 2022. The included literature was randomized control studies investigating the treatment of Atopic dermatitis in children by Chinese herbal bath therapy. The outcomes included the cure rate, scoring atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) index, adverse reactions and recurrence rate. RevMan 5.4 was used to analyze the extracted data. RESULTS: A total of 8 related studies were included containing 854 cases. The meta-analysis showed that Chinese herbal bath therapy group was superior to control group in terms of cure rate, SCORAD index, adverse reactions and recurrence rate in children with Atopic dermatitis [RR = 1.11, 95%(1.02, 1.21), P = .01; SMD = -0.77, 95%(-0.99, -0.55), P < .00001; RR = 0.44, 95%CI(0.28,0.67), P = .0002; RR = 0.25, 95%CI(0.10, 0.59), P = .0002]. CONCLUSION: The present study shows that Chinese herbal bath therapy is an effective treatment for children with Atopic dermatitis in China.

A New Model for Calculation of Arrest Toughness in the Fracture Process of the Supercritical CO2 Pipeline.

A new model based on a decompression wave prediction model and an improved BTC model has been developed to investigate the arrest toughness in the fracture process of the supercritical CO2 pipeline. The comparison of the decompression wave velocity and the fracture propagation velocity was carried out to identify whether the pipe can prevent fracture propagation relying on its own toughness. If not, the minimum Charpy V-notch energy and the minimum wall thickness of steel pipes required for arrest fracture can be calculated using the improved BTC model. The results show that the working conditions with an initial pressure for the fracture of 11.7 MPa and a temperature of 323.15 K are the most difficult conditions to stop the fracture. The minimum wall thickness calculated only according to the strength design cannot meet the toughness requirements for ductile fracture arrest in the most difficult conditions in some cases. Then, the minimum wall thickness of the supercritical CO2 pipeline required for ductile fracture arrest in these cases will be obtained. For instance, the minimum wall thicknesses of X65, X70, and X80 steel pipes for fracture arrest with a pipe diameter of 610 mm at a design pressure of 13.2 MPa are 17.28, 14.58, and 12.81 mm, respectively, and when the pipe diameter is 1016 mm at a design pressure of 20.4 MPa, the minimum wall thicknesses of X70 and X80 pipes can meet the requirements of arrest toughness. The model established in this study can quickly and accurately calculate the minimum wall thickness and minimum Charpy energy required to stop fracture in the supercritical CO2 pipeline, which is suitable for engineering applications. The findings of this study can help in better understanding of the fracture process of supercritical CO2 pipelines.

Functionalization and reduction of graphene oxide with p-phenylene diamine for electrically conductive and thermally stable polystyrene composites.

A facile and efficient approach was developed to simultaneously functionalize and reduce graphene oxide (GO) with p-phenylene diamine (PPD) by simple refluxing. This was possible by the nucleophilic substitution reaction of epoxide groups of GO with amine groups of PPD aided by NH(3) solution. As a consequence, electrical conductivity of GO-PPD increased to 2.1 × 10(2) S/m, which was nearly 9 orders of magnitude higher than that of GO. Additionally, after the incorporation of GO-PPD in polystyrene (PS), the composites exhibited a sharp transition from electrically insulating to conducting behavior with a low percolation threshold of ~0.34 vol %, which was attributed to the improved dispersion and the reduction of GO-PPD. Thermal stability of the PS/GO-PPD composite was also ~8 °C higher than that of PS.

A fluorescence "turn-on" chemodosimeter for Cu2+ in aqueous solution based on the ion promoted oxidation.

We developed a novel method for Cu(2+) detection based on the ion promoted oxidation reaction. Chemodosimeter L (weak fluorescence) can be oxidized into 3-benzothiazoly-7-N,N-diethylaminocoumarin (strong green fluorescence, coumarin 6) by Cu(2+) with high selectivity and sensitivity in HEPES (10 mM, pH = 7.4) buffer containing 50% (v/v) water-CH(3)CN solution.

Effects of fluid viscoelasticity on the performance of an axial blood pump model.

An aqueous Xanthan gum solution (XGS) was used as blood analog fluid to explore the influence of fluid viscoelasticity on the performance of an axial blood pump model. For comparison, a 39 wt% Newtonian aqueous glycerin solution (GS), the common fluid in blood pump tests, was also used as a working fluid. The experimental results showed that a higher head curve was obtained using XGS in the pump than using GS. The heads of the XGS that were computed using the viscoelastic turbulence model agreed well with the measured data. In contrast, the standard k-ε turbulence model failed to provide satisfactory predictions for the XGS. The computational results revealed that in most parts of the pump model flow fields, the Reynolds shear stress values and turbulent dissipation rates of the XGS were all lower than those of the GS. The hemolysis index of the pump model using the XGS was calculated to be only one-third of that using the GS.

An experimental study of Newtonian and non-Newtonian flow dynamics in an axial blood pump model.

The head curves of a 1.5:1 new axial blood pump model were measured using five working fluids at five rotational speeds. The working fluids were water, a 39wt% aqueous glycerin solution (GS), and three aqueous xanthan gum solutions (XGSs) with different concentrations. The flow velocities and shear stresses in the mechanical clearance between the casing and rotor were investigated using a laser Doppler velocimeter and hot-film sensor. At every rotational speed, the experiment in which viscous GS was used in the pump model showed a head curve lower than that obtained using water, whereas the head obtained using viscoelastic XGS was higher than that generated using water. A maximum difference of 65.8% between the heads measured in the 0.06% XGS and GS experiments was detected. The higher head produced by the XGS may have originated from the drag-reduction effect of XGS viscoelasticity. The measurements showed that a reverse washout flow at a velocity of 0.05-0.11m/s occurs in the clearance. This reverse washout flow is crucial to preventing flow stagnation and accompanying thrombus formation. The wall shear stress and the Taylor number of the rotating Couette-like flow in the clearance both indicated that it is a turbulent flow.

A novel rhodamine-benzimidazole conjugate as a highly selective turn-on fluorescent probe for Fe(3+).

In this manuscript, a novel probe RHBI based on the rhodamine-benzimidazole conjugate was designed and synthesized. RHBI showed an extreme selectivity for Fe(3+) over other metal ions such as Pb(2+), Ni(2+), Co(2+), Mn(2+), Zn(2+), Hg(2+), Cd(2+), Ag(+), Mg(2+), Ca(2+), Ba(2+), Na(+) and K(+) in acetonitrile. Upon the addition of 10 equiv. of Fe(3+), a 1098-fold fluorescence intensity enhancement was observed at the maximum emission wavelength of 582 nm. Both the Job's plot and ESI-MS showed that RHBI coordinated with Fe(3+) in a 1:1 stoichomitry and the calculated binding constant was 1.01 × 10(4) M(-1). The competition experiment for Fe(3+) ions mixed with other metal ions exhibited no obvious change except Cu(2+) that could induce a mild fluorescence quenching. Moreover, the fluorescence emission increased linearly with the Fe(3+) concentration in the range of 6 × 10(-6)-4 × 10(-5) M and the detection limit was 1.5 × 10(-8) M.

[Effects of traditional Chinese medicine on the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells to osteoblasts].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of traditional Chinese medicine on the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) to osteoblasts. METHODS: Six male Beagle dogs weighed 10-15 kg each were divided into three groups, group A: medicine serum group, group B: non-medicine serum group and group C: bovine serum group. The serum of group A was obtained from the femoral artery of 2 Beagle dogs drinking equivalent dose of traditional Chinese medicine according to body surface area for 7 continuous days. The serum of group B was collected from the femoral artery of 2 Beagle dogs fed with equal volume of normal saline for 7 days. The serum of group C was fetal bovine serum. The tibia marrow was harvested from another 2 Beagle dogs and MSC were isolated and purified by density gradient centrifugation. MSC were cultured in DMEM solution with fetal bovine serum. After MSC were digested by trypsin, MSC were cultured in DMEM solution with the osteogeneic inducer, which contained dexamethasone, antiscorbutic and beta-glycerophosphate. Morphological and histological changes of the MSC were observed under an inverted microscope. Alizarin monosulfonate and nitric acid argentum staining was performed to observe the calcium deposition. MSC were curtured in DMED solution with medicine serum (group A), non-medicine serum (group B) and bovine serum (group C) respectively. The growth curve was detected by the methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT). The alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities were detected to observe the differentiation of MSC. RESULTS: The original MSC were observed as fibroblast-like cell shapes. After the osteogeneic inducer was added, MSC were polygon cells with a few polyprocess. Calcium deposition appeared during 10-14 days and alizarin monosulfonate and Von Kossa staining presented positive. MTT results showed that the number of adherent cells of group A was more than that of group B and that of group C significantly after 6 days (P < 0.05). ALP detection proved that ALP activity of group A was more than that of group B and that of group C significantly after 5 days (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The traditional Chinese medicine promotes the differentiation of MSC to osteoblasts and osteogenesis.