Oil recovery from microwave co-pyrolysis of polystyrene and polypropylene plastic particles for pollution mitigation.

Addressing the mounting environmental challenge of non-degradable polymeric waste, the world grapples with escalating production driven by population growth, modernization, and industrialization. Pyrolysis has emerged as a promising and strategic solution for transforming non-degradable polymeric waste into valuable fuels and other chemical products. This study detailed the high-quality oil recovery from microwave co-pyrolysis of polystyrene (PS) and polypropylene (PP) mixtures. The effects of PS/PP ratio (30:0, 10:20, 15:15, 20:10, and 30:0 g), microwave power (400, 500, 600, 700, and 800 W), and pyrolysis temperature (450, 500, 550, 600, and 650 °C) on oil yield and components were studied, and the synergistic effect, higher heating value (HHV) and thermal efficiency were also detailed. The results revealed that the highest oil yield was 93.84 wt% when PS/PP ratio, microwave power, and pyrolysis temperature were adjusted at 20:10 g, 600 W, and 550 °C, respectively. And the maximum higher heating value and thermal efficiency were 45.67 MJ/kg and 56.53%, respectively. The contents of aromatic hydrocarbons, cyclic hydrocarbons, and oxygenated hydrocarbons varied in the ranges of 1.92-58.88 area%, 10.47-41.76 area%, and 5.06-24.36 area%, respectively. The contents of the major carbon numbers were C8 and C9, and they varied in 2.51-43.66 area% and 7.31-20.09 area%, respectively. The results presented in this study showed that high-quality oil can be recovered from polystyrene and polypropylene plastics by using microwave irradiation, contributing to cleaner ways for plastics recycling.

Energy and exergy performances of low-density polyethylene plastic particles assisted by microwave heating.

Plastic waste can exist naturally for hundreds of thousands of years and harm humans, animals, and the environment. In this study, the energy and exergy performances (absorbed energy, energy efficiency, absorbed exergy, and exergy efficiency) of LDPE (low-density polyethylene) plastic particles assisted by microwave heating based on the experimental data as affected by microwave power, feeding load, and chamber volume were evaluated and analyzed. The results showed that as the microwave power raised from 500 to 900 W, the feeding load changed from 10 to 30 g, and the chamber volume decreased from 200 to 100 ml, (a) the absorbed energy at the heating time of 60 min increased from 19.73 kJ, 5.84 kJ, and 22.71 kJ to 37.69 kJ; (b) the energy efficiency for the whole heating process increased from 1.10%, 0.32%, and 1.26% to 2.09%; (c) the absorbed exergy at the heating time of 60 min increased from 0.308, 0.091, and 0.091 to 0.724 kJ; and (d) the exergy efficiency for the whole heating process increased from 0.017, 0.005, and 0.023 to 0.040%, respectively.

Enhancement of functional properties, digestive properties, and in vitro digestion product physiological activity of extruded corn gluten meal by enzymatic modification.

BACKGROUND: Enzymatic modification is an effective means of improving the functional properties, digestive properties, and in vitro digestion product physiological activity of proteins, thus significantly expanding protein uses in various food applications. RESULTS: In this study, the addition of chymotrypsin (CT) at pH 9.0 and 11.0 was found to significantly improve the functional properties (solubility, foaming properties, water holding capacity, oil holding capacity, etc.) and digestive properties of extruded corn gluten meal (ECGM). Similar changes were observed when treating ECGM with glutaminase, protein glutaminase, and papain. These changes were likely due to the increase in number of carboxyl groups and the multiple effects of change in protein net charge and conformation caused by enzymatic deamidation. Of note, ECGM deamidated by CT showed the highest degree of deamidation, solubility, and gastrointestinal digestibility at pH 11.0, up to 44.92%, 43.75%, and 82.22%, respectively. In addition, CT-ECGM digestion product exhibited strong antioxidant activity and potential to promote alcohol metabolism in both a static digestion model and dynamic digestion model, even comparable to commercial corn peptides (CCP), while being inexpensive and of low bitterness compared to CCP. Meanwhile, the physiological activity enhanced as the molecular weight of digestion product decreased with the digested component having strongest activity. CONCLUSION: This study may promote the application of ECGM as a food component in the food industry or even as a substitute for CCP. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Heating performances of corn straw particle with/without SiC particle in a microwave chamber.

The amount of biomass production each year is huge, and microwave-assisted pyrolysis of biomass to obtain biogas, bio-oil, and biochar is a promising method. In this study, silicon carbide (SiC) was selected as the microwave absorber, and the effects of microwave power (400, 450, 500, 550 and 600 W), reactor chamber volume (100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 W), and the mass ratio of SiC and corn straw (0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1) on the heating performances of corn straw particles were investigated and presented in this study. When the microwave power increased from 400 to 600 W, the average heating rate of corn straw particles increased from 23.06 ℃ /min to 101.46 ℃ /min, and that of mixture particles of corn straw and SiC increased from 87.00 ℃ /min to 236.88 ℃/min. When the reactor chamber volume increased from 100 to 300 mL, the average heating rate of corn straw particles decreased from 38.21 ℃/min to 22.54 ℃/min, and that of mixture particles of corn straw and SiC decreased from 98.84 ℃/min to 76.01 ℃/min. When the mass ratio of SiC and corn straw increased from 0 to 1, the average heating rate of mixture particles of corn straw and SiC increased from 101.46 ℃/min to 236.88 ℃/min. Some formulae with R2 values ranged from 0.971 to 0.998 were proposed to determine the transient temperatures of corn straw particles and mixture particles of corn straw and SiC.

Xenon inhalation attenuates neuronal injury and prevents epilepsy in febrile seizure Sprague-Dawley pups.

Background: Febrile seizures (FS) usually occur in childhood and may cause irreversible neuronal damage, cognitive functional defects, and an increase in the risk of epilepsy later in life. Anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs), currently used to treat FS in children, can relieve seizures. However, their effects in preventing the risk of developing epilepsy in later life are unsatisfactory. Moreover, AEDs may damage child brain development. Here, we evaluated the efficiency of xenon in treating prolonged FS (PFS) and preventing epilepsy in Sprague-Dawley pups. Methods: Prolonged FS was induced by hyperthermic treatment. After 90 min of PFS, the pups in the xenon treatment group were immediately treated with 70% xenon/21% oxygen/9% nitrogen for 60 min. The levels of glutamate, mitochondrial oxidative stress, mitophagy, and neuronal injury, seizures, learning, and memory functions were measured at specific time points. Results: Neonatal period PFS led to spontaneous seizure, learning and memory dysfunction, accompanied by increased levels of glutamate, mitochondrial oxidative stress, mitophagy, and neuronal injury. Xenon treatment alleviated the changes caused by PFS and reduced the risk of PFS developing into epilepsy later. Conclusion: Our results suggest that xenon inhalation could be a potential therapeutic strategy to attenuate neuronal injury and prevent epilepsy in patients with FS.

Study on Fatigue Coefficient of Airline Pilots.

This paper uses the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-16) to investigate the fatigue status of pilots, and the reliability and validity of the scale are tested by Cronbach's α and exploratory factor analysis. The founding shows that mild fatigue and above accounted for 67.7%. For further quantify the impact of different flights on pilots' fatigue, research improves the fatigue coefficient model based on the results of pilot fatigue feeling questionnaire. Combined with multifactor analysis of variance and multiple linear regression, it is found that the independent variables have different and positive effects on the dependent variables, and there is no multicollinearity. Through the actual test, its accuracy is improved by 16.7% compared with the original model.

LncRNA SNHG16 drives proliferation, migration, and invasion of hemangioma endothelial cell through modulation of miR-520d-3p/STAT3 axis.

It has been verified that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have great effects on various biological behaviors of human diseases. Although more and more lncRNAs have been studied in human cancers, countless lncRNAs still need to be excavated. This study aims to investigate the impacts of lncRNA SNHG16 on proliferation and metastasis of human hemangioma endothelial cell (HemECs). qRT-PCR analysis was carried out to explore the expression pattern of SNHG16, miR-520d-3p, and STAT3. The effect of SNHG16 on cell proliferation was detected by MTT and colony formation assay. Flow cytometry analysis was performed to test the apoptosis of HemECs cells. Migration and invasion of HemECs cells were determined and examined by transwell assays. Tube formation assay helped to observe the influence of SNHG16 expression on the vasoformation of HemECs cells. The correlations among SNHG16, miR-520d-3p, and STAT3 were certified by bioinformatics analysis, pull-down assay, and dual-luciferase reporter assay. Finally, rescue assays were conducted to demonstrate the effects of SNHG16-miR-520d-3p-STAT3 axis on biological behaviors of HemECs cell. SNHG16 was strongly expressed in proliferating phase hemangioma tissues and HemECs cells. Silenced SNHG16 negatively affected proliferation, migration, and invasion of HemECs cell. LncRNA SNHG16 acted as a ceRNA to upregulate STAT3 through binding with miR-520d-3p in HemECs cell. LncRNA SNHG16 acted as a ceRNA to drive proliferation, vasoformation, migration, and invasion of HemECs cells through modulating miR-520d-3p/STAT3 axis.

APF lncRNA regulates autophagy and myocardial infarction by targeting miR-188-3p.

The abnormal autophagy is associated with a variety of cardiovascular diseases. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as new factors in gene regulation, but how lncRNAs operate in the regulation of autophagy in the heart is unclear. Here we report that a long noncoding RNA, named autophagy promoting factor (APF), can regulate autophagic cell death by targeting miR-188-3p and ATG7. The results show that miR-188-3p suppresses autophagy and myocardial infarction by targeting ATG7. Further, we find that APF lncRNA regulates miR-188-3p, and thus affects ATG7 expression, autophagic cell death and myocardial infarction. Our present study reveals a novel regulating model of autophagic programme, which comprises APF, miR-188-3p and ATG7 in the heart. Modulation of their levels may serve as potential targets and diagnostic tools for novel therapeutic strategies of myocardial infarction and heart failure.

Early Roman military fortifications and the origin of Trieste, Italy.

An interdisciplinary study of the archaeological landscape of the Trieste area (northeastern Italy), mainly based on airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR), ground penetrating radar (GPR), and archaeological surveys, has led to the discovery of an early Roman fortification system, composed of a big central camp (San Rocco) flanked by two minor forts. The most ancient archaeological findings, including a Greco-Italic amphora rim produced in Latium or Campania, provide a relative chronology for the first installation of the structures between the end of the third century B.C. and the first decades of the second century B.C. whereas other materials, such as Lamboglia 2 amphorae and a military footwear hobnail (type D of Alesia), indicate that they maintained a strategic role at least up to the mid first century B.C. According to archaeological data and literary sources, the sites were probably established in connection with the Roman conquest of the Istria peninsula in 178-177 B.C. They were in use, perhaps not continuously, at least until the foundation of Tergeste, the ancestor of Trieste, in the mid first century B.C. The San Rocco site, with its exceptional size and imposing fortifications, is the main known Roman evidence of the Trieste area during this phase and could correspond to the location of the first settlement of Tergeste preceding the colony foundation. This hypothesis would also be supported by literary sources that describe it as a phrourion (Strabo, V, 1, 9, C 215), a term used by ancient writers to designate the fortifications of the Roman army.

[Statistical analysis of articles, citations and authors in Chinese Journal of Burns from 2003 to 2005].

OBJECTIVE: To study the characteristics of articles, citations and authors in Chinese Journal of Burns (Chin J Burns). METHODS: The date concerning articles, citations and authors of Chin J Burns from 2003 to 2005 were collected and analyzed in terms of bibliographic parameters. RESULTS: There were 741 papers published in Chin J Burns during these 3 years, and papers with funded projects accounted for 19.7%. The average number of articles per issue was 41,with paper density of 0.59, and publication date were 15 months in average after submission. Among these papers, 87.9% of which were shared with co-authors, with a corporation rate of 3.94. The papers with citation accounted for 78.7%, and 90.6% of all the citations came from journals, especially English journals. The Price's indicator was 65.6%. CONCLUSION: Chinese Journal of Burns, an academic journal of high quality, with strong influence, pushes the discipline of Burns medicine in China forward.