Development of LnMnO3+σ perovskite on low temperature Hg0 removal.

LnMnO3+σ (Ln = La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd or Dy) perovskites synthesized by sol-gel method were employed for gaseous elemental mercury (Hg0) removal from coal-fired flue gas. Characterization results revealed the structure of the perovskites presented a phase transition process from rhombohedral system to O- and O'-orthorhombic structure with the change of A-site rare earth elements. The perovskites showed satisfactory Hg0 removal capacity in a narrow temperature range of 100-150°C. NdMnO3+σ with an O-O' orthorhombic structure presented the best Hg0 removal performance, which markedly depends on four factors: crystal structure, oxygen vacancy density, Mn4+/Mn3+ ratio and surface element segregation. The Hg0 removal mechanism was illustrated based on the mercury temperature programmed desorption experiment and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterization. Both chemisorption and catalytic oxidation played a role in the Hg0 removal process. Chemisorption dominated the Hg0 removal, due to the slow catalytic oxidation rate at low temperature. This work preliminarily established the relation between the structure of rare earth manganese perovskite and Hg0 removal performance.

Highly efficient Hg2+ removal via a competitive strategy using a Co-based metal organic framework ZIF-67.

The stronger coordination ability of mercury ions with organic ligands than the metal ions in metal organic framework (MOFs) provides an accessible way to separate mercury ions from solution using specific MOFs. In this study, a Co-based MOF (ZIF-67, Co(mIM)2) was synthesized. It did not introduce specific functional groups, such as -SH and -NH2, into its structure through complicated steps. It separate Hg2+ from wastewater with a new strategy, which utilized the stronger coordination ability of Hg2+ with the nitrogen atom on the imidazole ring of the organic ligand than the Co2+ ions. Hg2+ replaced Co2+ nodes from ZIF-67 and formed a more stable precipitate with mIM. The experimental results showed that this new strategy was efficient. ZIF-67 exhibited Hg2+ adsorption capacity of 1740 mg/g, much higher than the known MOFs sorbents. mIMs is the reaction center and ZIF-67 can improve its utilization. The sample color faded from purple to white due to the loss of cobalt ion. It is a great feature of ZIF-67 that allows users to judge whether the sorbent is deactivated intuitively. ZIF-67 can be sustainable recycled by adding organic ligands to the solution after treatment due to its simple synthesis method at room temperature. It's a high-efficient and sustainable sorbent for Hg2+ separation from wastewater.

Determining the Surface Tension of Two-Dimensional Nanosheets by a Low-Rate Advancing Contact Angle Measurement.

Because of their atomic thinness, two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets need be bound to a substrate or be dispersed in material in various applications. The surface tension (ST) of a 2D nanosheet is critical for analyzing the physicochemical interactions between 2D nanosheets and other materials. To date, the determination of the ST of 2D nanosheets has relied mainly on the contact angle (CA) method. However, because of the difficulty in measuring the thermodynamically significant Young?s CA, which is the only meaningful CA that can be used to determine the ST, significant differences exist in reported STs of 2D nanosheets. In this study, we obtained such unique Young?s CAs on graphene, boron nitride, molybdenum disulfide, and tungsten disulfide nanosheets by a low-rate advancing contact angle measurement using a rigorously designed experimental setup. By interpreting the CA with Neumann?s equation of state, we determined the STs of these four nanosheets to be 29.7 ? 0.6, 30.9 ? 0.7, 27.8 ? 0.7, and 29.1 ? 0.8 mJ/m2, respectively. The surface energies of these 2D nanosheets were estimated to be in the range 95?120 mJ/m2 by considering the contribution of ST and surface entropy. The accuracy of these determined STs was validated by the exfoliation and dispersion of 2D nanosheets in liquids with a series of STs. The study may have important implications for understanding the physicochemical interactions between 2D nanosheets and other materials and the development of 2D nanosheet-based devices.

Efficacy and inflammatory levels (IL-6, IL-10) of adjuvant application of vitamin-A in the treatment of pediatric Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of Vitamin A (VitA) as an adjuvant therapy for pediatric Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Pneumonia (MPP) through meta-analysis, and to investigate its impact on inflammation levels (IL-6, IL-10), in order to explore the role of VitA in pediatric MPP. Methods: Using a systematic literature search method, relevant research literature is searched, and RCT studies that meet the requirements are selected based on preset inclusion and exclusion criteria. Then, a quality evaluation was conducted on the included literature, and meta-analysis was used to calculate the combined effect values of mortality rate, hospital stay, lung rale disappearance time, cough duration, fever duration, IL-6 and IL-10 levels, and heterogeneity analysis was conducted. The levels of IL-6 and IL-10 represent the inflammatory levels in pediatric MPP patients, and exploring their changes has significant implications for the anti-inflammatory effect of treatment. Results: A total of 10 RCT studies were included, with a total sample size of 1,485, including 750 cases in the control group and 735 cases in the observation group. The meta-analysis results of this study showed that there was a significant difference in the total clinical efficacy of using VitA adjuvant therapy compared to the control group without VitA [OR = 3.07, 95%CI = (2.81, 4.27)], P < 0.05. However, there was no significant difference in the adverse reaction rate between the use of VitA as an adjuvant therapy and the control without VitA [OR = 1.17, 95%CI = (0.61, 2.27)], P > 0.05. At the same time, the hospitalization time [MSD = -0.86, 95% CI = (-1.61, -0.21)], lung rale disappearance time [MSD = -0.78, 95%CI = (-1.19,-0.51)], cough duration [MSD = -1.07, 95%CI = (-1.41, -0.71)], and fever duration [MSD = -0.47, 95%CI = (-0.72, -0.23)] using VitA as an adjuvant treatment were obviously lower. In addition, the meta-analysis outcomes also showed that the use of VitA adjuvant therapy can significantly reduce IL-6 [MSD = -1.07, 95%CI = (-1.81, -0.27)] and IL-10 [MSD = -0.13, 95%CI = (-0.31, 0.12)] levels. This indicates that the application of VitA in pediatric MPP also has the effect of reducing inflammatory response. Conclusion: Based on the meta-analysis results, VitA adjuvant therapy can significantly improve the clinical symptoms of pediatric MPP patients, shorten hospitalization time, promote the disappearance of lung rales, and alleviate cough and fever symptoms. In addition, VitA adjuvant therapy can effectively reduce inflammation levels, indicating its potential role in inhibiting inflammatory responses. In clinical practice, VitA adjuvant therapy for pediatric MPP can be promoted as a potential treatment option.

Electro-oxidation of ammonia nitrogen using W, Ti-doped IrO2 DSA as a treatment method for mariculture and livestock wastewater.

Animal farming wastewater is one of the most important sources of ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) emissions. Electro-oxidation can be a viable solution for removing NH4+-N in wastewater. Compared with other treatment methods, electro-oxidation has the advantages of i) high removal efficiency, ii) smaller size of treatment facilities, and iii) complete removal of contaminant. In this study, a previously prepared DSA (W, Ti-doped IrO2) was used for electro-oxidation of synthetic mariculture and livestock wastewater. The DSA was tested for chlorine evolution reaction (CER) activity, and the reaction kinetics was investigated. CER current efficiency reaches 60-80% in mariculture wastewater and less than 20% in livestock wastewater. In the absence of NH4+-N, the generation of active chlorine follows zero-order kinetics and its consumption follows first-order kinetics, with cathodic reduction being its main consumption pathway, rather than escape or conversion to ClO3-. Cyclic voltammetry experiments show that NH4+-N in the form of NH3 can be oxidized directly on the anode surface. In addition, the generated active chlorine combines with NH4+-N at a fast rate near the anode, rather than in the bulk solution. In electrolysis experiments, the NH4+-N removal rate in synthetic mariculture wastewater (30-40 mg/L NH4+-N) and livestock wastewater (~ 450 mg/L NH4+-N) is 112.9 g NH4+-N/(m2·d) and 186.5 g NH4+-N/(m2·d), respectively, which is much more efficient than biological treatment. The specific energy consumption (SEC) in synthetic mariculture wastewater is 31.5 kWh/kg NH4+-N, comparable to other modified electro-catalysts reported in the literature. However, in synthetic livestock wastewater, the SEC is as high as 260 kWh/kg NH4+-N, mainly due to the suppression of active chlorine generation by HCO3- and the generation of NO3- as a by-product. Therefore, we conclude that electro-oxidation is suitable for mariculture wastewater treatment, but is not recommended for livestock wastewater. Electrolysis prior to urea hydrolysis may enhance the treatment efficiency in livestock wastewater.

Robust PbO2 modified by co-deposition of ZrO2 nanoparticles for efficient degradation of ceftriaxone sodium.

In recent years, PbO2 electrodes have received widespread attention due to their high oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity. However, due to the brittle nature of the plating layer, it is easy to cause the active layer to fall off. Pb2+ will leach out with the electrochemical process causing secondary pollution. The starting point of this study is established to improve the stability and adhesion of the electrode coating. Electrochemical oxidation technology has the characteristics of high treatment efficiency, wide range of applications, and non-polluting environment. In this study, conventional PbO2 electrodes were modified by using co-deposition of ZrO2 nanoparticles. In addition, α-PbO2 was added to increase the stability of the electrodes. At a high current density of 1 A/cm2, the accelerated life of the pure PbO2 electrode is 648 h, the accelerated life of the PbO2-ZrO2 electrode is 1.37 times that of the pure PbO2, and the electrode with an added α-PbO2 layer is 1.69 times that of the pure PbO2 electrode. The amount of dissolved Pb2+ was only 29% of that of pure PbO2. The electrochemical performance of the electrode is evaluated by studying the degradation effect of ceftriaxone sodium (CXM). The addition of ZrO2 nanoparticles alters the particle size and deposition content of PbO2, leading to a unique crystal structure distinct from pure PbO2. Compared to conventional PbO2 electrodes, the PbO2-ZrO2 can remove chemical oxygen demand (COD) and pollutants more efficiently, removing for 59% increased by 38.47%. Therefore, PbO2-ZrO2 is of great value in the field of electrochemical degradation of industrial pollutants.

Stabilized Hf-doped Ti/Sb-SnO2 electrode for efficient degradation of tetracycline.

The electrochemical advanced oxidation process (EAOP) has shown significant promise in the field of refractory organic wastewater treatment due to its high efficiency and environmentally friendly nature. In this study, Ti/Sb-SnO2 electrodes with varying proportions of Hf were prepared using the sol-gel method. The addition of Hf transformed the original collapsing and broken surface into a flat and regular surface. The results demonstrated that Ti/Sb-SnO2-Hf electrode doped with 6% Hf exhibited a higher oxygen evolution potential (OEP) and excellent stability. The OEP increased from 2.315 V without Hf-doping to 2.482 V, and the corresponding actual life was 321.05% higher than that without Hf. The current density (5-40 mA·cm-2), electrolyte concentration (0.02-0.2 mol·L-1), pH (3-11), and initial pollutant concentration (5-80 mg·L-1) were evaluated to confirm the tetracycline (TC) degradation characterization of Ti/Sb-SnO2-6%Hf electrodes. It was concluded that under the optimal degradation conditions, the removal rate of TC could reach 99.66% within 2 h. The degradation of TC follows first-order reaction kinetics. The oxidative degradation of TC was achieved through indirect oxidation, with ·OH playing a dominant role. TC's electrochemical oxidation degradation pathway has been proposed: Based on LC-MS results, three main pathways are speculated. During the electrocatalytic oxidation process, decarboxylation, deamidation, and ring-opening reactions occur under ·OH attack, producing intermediate compounds with m/z values of 427, 433, 350, 246, 461, 424, 330, 352, 309, 263, and 233. These intermediates are further oxidized to intermediate compounds with an m/z value of 218. This work introduces a new efficient anode electrochemical catalyst for the degradation of TC, providing a strategy for industrial applications.

Assessing the impact of green human resource management practices on environmental performance in China: role of higher education.

The goal is for governments and executives to make environmental protection and the preservation of natural resources a priority. The current research examines how green human resource management practices have altered environmental performance in China's manufacturing sector. The survey used a trustworthy and valid questionnaire adapted from the literature to obtain the data. Random sampling method has been applied to collect data from manufacturers in China's Guangdong Province. Workers in China's industrial sector are the focus of this study, and each individual is treated as a separate unit of analysis. Three hundred of the 500 questionnaires were returned with sufficient data for statistical analysis. The predicted serial mediation model was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and the PROCESS model 4. The findings revealed that green HRM practices have a major impact on environmental performance and pro-environmental actions partially mediate the relationship between GHRM and environmental performance. In addition, higher education helped moderate the effect of green HRM on environmental outcomes. In terms of environmental performance, green recruitment, green selection, and green performance, green rewards via higher education has the greatest impact (p 0.01 significance level). Through an extension of the ability-motivation-opportunity theory, this study offers useful tips for policymakers, new and current organizations, and, in particular, manufacturing enterprises, on how to implement an incentive plan to promote environmentally friendly activities and product development, which in turn will increase customer loyalty.

[Retracted] CCL26 regulates the proportion of CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ Tregs and the production of inflammatory factors in peripheral blood mononuclear cells following acute ischemic stroke via the STAT5 pathway.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.3892/etm.2020.9046.].

Circulating regeneration and resource recovery of flue gas desulfurization residuals using a membrane electroreactor: from lab concept to commercial scale.

Desulfurization residuals (using NaOH sorbent) were regenerated electrochemically, and at the same time sulfur in the flue gas was recovered as H(2)SO(4) and H(2) was produced as a clean energy. Since industrialization should always be the final goal to pursue for lab technologies and the evolution of pilot- and full-scale commercial reactors has taken place relatively slowly, this paper is aimed to develop an electroreactor on a sufficiently large scale to evaluate the application potential of the proposed regeneration process. The following key design parameters are discussed: (1) voltage distributions over electrode, membrane, and electrolyte; and (2) scaling up correlation based on lab-scale reactor operation parameters. Thereafter, in the developed reactor, the desulfurization residuals using NaOH sorbent from a semidry flue gas desulfurization (FGD) facility of a power plant in Shandong Province were regenerated and it is significant to note that the electrochemical efficiency of the designed reactor is comparable to that of the chlor-alkali industry, showing that the technology is environmentally friendly and economically feasible. If this technology is to be employed for FGD, the facility could be a profit-generating manufacturing part instead of a currently money-consuming burden for the plants.

Development and field-scale optimization of a honeycomb zeolite rotor concentrator/recuperative oxidizer for the abatement of volatile organic carbons from semiconductor industry.

The combined concentrator/oxidizer system has been proposed as an effective physical-chemical option and proven to be a viable solution that enables Volatile Organic Carbons (VOCs) emitters to comply with the regulations. In this work, a field scale honeycomb zeolite rotor concentrator combined with a recuperative oxidizer was developed and applied for the treatment of the VOC waste gas. The research shows the following: (1) for the adsorption rotor, zeolite is a more appropriate material than Granular Activated Carbon (GAC). The designing and operation parameters of the concentrator were discussed in detail including the size and the optimal rotation speed of rotor. Also the developed rotor performance's was evaluated in the field; (2) Direct Fired Thermal Oxidizer (DFTO), Recuperative Oxidizer (RO), Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO) and Regenerative Catalytic oxidizer (RCO) are the available incinerators and the RO was selected as the oxidizer in this work; (3) The overall performance of the developed rotor/oxidizer was explored in a field scale under varying conditions; (4) The energy saving strategy was fulfilled by reducing heat loss from the oxidizer and recovering heat from the exhaust gas. Data shows that the developed rotor/oxidizer could remove over 95% VOCs with reasonable cost and this could be helpful for similar plants when considering VOC abatement.

Ultra-high adsorption of Hg0 using impregnated activated carbon by selenium.

Activated carbon was one of the main adsorptions utilized in elemental mercury (Hg0) removal from coal combustion flue gas. However, the high cost and low physical adsorption efficiency of activated carbon injection (ACI) limited its application. In this study, an ultra-high efficiency (nearly 100%) catalyst sorbent-Sex/Activated carbon (Sex/AC) was synthesized and applied to remove Hg0 in the simulated flue gas, which exhibited 120 times outstanding adsorption performance versus the conventional activated carbon. The Sex/AC reached 17.98 mg/g Hg0 adsorption capacity at 160 °C under the pure nitrogen atmosphere. Moreover, it maintained an excellent mercury adsorption tolerance, reaching the efficiency of Hg0 removal above 85% at the NO and SO2 conditions in a bench-scale fixed-bed reactor. Characterized by the multiple methods, including BET, XRD, XPS, kinetic and thermodynamic analysis, and the DFT calculation, we demonstrated that the ultrahigh mercury removal performance originated from the activated Se species in Sex/AC. Chemical adsorption plays a dominant role in Hg0 removal: Selenium anchored on the surface of AC would capture Hg0 in the flue gas to form an extremely stable substance-HgSe, avoiding subsequent Hg0 released. Additionally, the oxygen-containing functional groups in AC and the higher BET areas promote the conversion of Hg0 to HgO. This work provided a novel and highly efficient carbon-based sorbent -Sex/AC to capture the mercury in coal combustion flue gas. Graphical abstract Selenium-modified porous activated carbon and the interface functional group promotes the synergistic effect of physical adsorption and chemical adsorption to promote the adsorption capacity of Hg0.

Optimized Mo-doped IrOx anode for efficient degradation of refractory sulfadiazine.

Electrochemical advanced oxidation processes (EAOPs) is considered to be an efficacious method to degrade antibiotics. However, the performance of the anode has become the main limiting factor of this technology. In this study, due to the electron-deficient characteristics and the improvement of OER performance of Mo, we chose to use thermal decomposition to incorporate Mo into IrO2 to prepare anodes with industrial applicability. Under the optimal ratio of Ir to Mo is 7:3, (Ir0.7Mo0.3)Ox electrode's particular pore structure can expose more active sites and create a channel for the transportation of electrons, thereby promoting the formation of free radicals and degrading pollutants more efficiently. (Ir0.7Mo0.3)Ox electrode also has a higher mass activity (6.332 A g-1, three times that of the IrO2 electrode) and a larger electrochemical active area (ECSA, 375.43 cm2, seven times that of the IrO2 electrode). In addition, the optimal conditions of (Ir0.7Mo0.3)Ox electrode for degrading sulfadiazine(SDZ) were explored, which achieved a higher removal than traditional electrodes (90% removal within 4 h) when the Ti plate was the substrate. Through the intermediate products of SDZ degradation and related literatures, two possible degradation pathways of SDZ were speculated. This research provides a new type of anode catalyst for the degradation of sulfonamide antibiotics, which is possible for industrial application.

Predictive Value of HPV E6/E7 mRNA Detection on the Outcome of Cervical LSIL.

Objective. To assess the predictive worth of HPV E6/E7 mRNA detection in the outcome of the cervical low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL). From September 2017 to early September 2019, patients screened for high-risk HPV positive or abnormal cervical liquid-based cytology were retrospectively analyzed and diagnosed with LSIL by cervical biopsy were recruited. The independent influencing factors of the regression of LSIL lesions after follow-up were analyzed, and the outcome of LSIL was calculated. The results of the initial colposcopy in this study were CIN I, CIN II/P16-negative, CIN II/P16-positive, and CIN III. At the time of re-examination, LSIL patients had three outcomes: regression, persistence, and progression. In the two follow-ups, 330 patients were finally included, including 276 CIN I patients (group A) and 54 CIN II/P16-negative patients (group B). The positive rates of HPV E6/E7 mRNA in each group were 66.67% and 70.37% for A and B, respectively. The total positive rate of E6/E7 mRNA was 67.27%, and there was no significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). After 1 year follow-up, whether HPV E6/E7 mRNA regressed or was negative was associated with the outcome of LSIL-related lesions (P < 0.05). The regression or negative rate of HPV E6/E7 mRNA was 1.57 times higher than the progression rate of HPV E6/E7 mRNA-positive diagnosis of LSIL lesions. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that age at first sexual intercourse, HPV E6/E7 mRNA results, and lesion type were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Whether HPV E6/E7 mRNA was negative (OR = 2.420, P=0.001) and age at first sexual intercourse ≥20 years (OR = 0.420, P=0.002) were independent influencing factors associated with LSIL regression. Multivariate logistic analysis showed that age of first sexual intercourse ≥20 years (OR = 0.420, P=0.002) and HPV E6/E7 mRNA-negative (OR = 2.420, P=0.001) were independent factors associated with LSIL. HPV E6/E7 mRNA detection can be used for predicting the outcome of LSIL and has a good application value.

The scar that takes time to heal: A systematic review of COVID-19-related stigma targets, antecedents, and outcomes.

COVID-19, as a crucial public health crisis, has affected our lives in nearly every aspect. Besides its major health threats, COVID-19 brings severe secondary impacts, one of which is the rise of social stigma. Although numerous studies have examined the antecedents and outcomes of COVID-19-related stigma, we still lack a systematic understanding of who is being stigmatized during the COVID-19 pandemic, what exacerbates COVID-19-related stigma, and what impacts COVID-19-related stigma has on victims. Therefore, this review aims to provide a systematic overview of COVID-19-related stigma. With 93 papers conducted with 126,371 individuals in more than 150 countries and territories spanning five continents, we identify three targets that have received the most research: Chinese/Asian people, (suspected) patients and survivors, and healthcare workers. Furthermore, we find that for each stigma target, characteristics of the stigmatized, stigmatizer, and context contribute to COVID-19-related stigma and that this stigma negatively influences victims' health and non-health outcomes. We call for future research to provide a more integrative, balanced, and rigorous picture of COVID-19-related stigma via conducting research on neglected topics (e.g., contextual factors that contribute to stigma toward HCWs) and stigma interventions and using a longitudinal design. In practice, we urge governments and institutions (e.g., ministries of public health, hospitals) to pay close attention to stigma issues and to promote safe and inclusive societies.

Achieving Active and Stable Amorphous IrVOxOHy for Water Splitting.

Evaluating the structural and electronic-state characteristics of long-range disordered amorphous iridium (Ir)-based oxides is still unsatisfying. Compared with the benchmark IrO2, the higher oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance brought by IrOxOHy was normally considered to be associated with the pristine IrIII-containing species. However, such a conclusion conflicts with the opinion that high-valence metals can create excellent OER activity. To resolve such contradictions, we synthesized a pure amorphous Lu1.25IrOxOHy (Lu = lutetium) catalyst in this work. In combination with the comprehensive electrochemical evaluation in alkaline and acidic media, ex situ Ir L3-edge and O K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy and theoretical calculations revealed that the ultrahigh OER performance of reconstructed IrOx/Lu1.25IrOxOHy in acidic media was identified to be driven by the more d-hole-containing electronic state of IrV created by cationic vacancies. The pristine properties of IrIII-containing Lu1.25IrOxOHy conversely inhibit the OER activity in alkaline media. Additionally, the high edge-shared [IrOx]-[IrOx] motif proportion structure in amorphous Lu1.25IrOxOHy achieves a stable OER process, which exhibits a high S-number stability index similar to IrO2. We demonstrate that the key factor of the edge-shared [IrOx]-[IrOx] motif with cationic vacancies in IrVOxOHy could rationally reveal the source for most of the high-performance Ir-based materials.

Cathepsin L-containing exosomes from α-synuclein-activated microglia induce neurotoxicity through the P2X7 receptor.

Uncontrolled microglial activation is pivotal to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD), which can secrete Cathepsin L (CTSL) to affect the survival of neurons in the PD patients; however, the precise mechanism has yet to be determined. We demonstrated for the first time that CTSL was mostly released by exosomes derived from α-Syn-activated microglia, resulting in neuronal damage and death. The elevation of CTSL activity was blocked by GW4869, suggesting a critical role for exosomes in mediating CTSL release. Furthermore, the P2X7R/PI3K/AKT signalling pathway was identified as the underlying molecular mechanism since specific antagonists of this signalling pathway, P2X7R knockdown and exosome release inhibitors significantly reduced the injury to cultured mouse cortical neurons. Our study suggests that increased extracellular release of CTSL from α-Syn-activated microglia through exosomes amplifies and aggravates of the neurotoxic effect of microglia, implying that CTSL may be involved in a fresh mechanism of PD pathogenesis, and serve as a potential biomarker and a target for PD drug development.

Rebuilding hippocampus neural circuit with hADSC-derived neuron cells for treating ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND: Human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) have been demonstrated to be a promising autologous stem cell source for treating various neuronal diseases. Our study indicated that hADSCs could be induced into neuron-like cells in a stepwise manner that are characterized by the positive expression of MAP2, SYNAPSIN 1/2, NF-200, and vGLUT and electrophysiological activity. We first primed hADSCs into neuron-like cells (hADSC-NCs) and then intracerebrally transplanted them into MCAO reperfusion mice to further explore their in vivo survival, migration, integration, fate commitment and involvement in neural circuit rebuilding. RESULTS: The hADSC-NCs survived well and transformed into MAP2-positive, Iba1- or GFAP-negative cells in vivo while maintaining some proliferative ability, indicated by positive Ki67 staining after 4 weeks. hADSC-NCs could migrate to multiple brain regions, including the cortex, hippocampus, striatum, and hypothalamus, and further differentiate into mature neurons, as confirmed by action potential elicitation and postsynaptic currents. With the aid of a cell suicide system, hADSC-NCs were proven to have functionally integrated into the hippocampal memory circuit, where they contributed to spatial learning and memory rescue, as indicated by LTP improvement and subsequent GCV-induced relapse. In addition to infarction size shrinkage and movement improvement, MCAO-reperfused mice showed bidirectional immune modulation, including inhibition of the local proinflammatory factors IL-1α, IL-1ß, IL-2, MIP-1ß and promotion proinflammatory IP-10, MCP-1, and enhancement of the anti-inflammatory factors IL-15. CONCLUSION: Overall, hADSC-NCs used as an intermediate autologous cell source for treating stroke can rebuild hippocampus neuronal circuits through cell replacement.

[Analysis of clinical characteristics and risk factors in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo].

〓 Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics of patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, summarize experience for diagnosis and treatment activities and to explore the risk factors related to the onset of BPPV and provide reference for early intervention to reduce the risk factor exposure of BPPV. Methods:One hundred and twelve patients with BPPV were included in the study, and clinical data including age, gender, onset symptoms and duration, past medical history and family history were analyzed. A One-way ANOVA was performed on 16 variables using age, gender, diabetes, hyperuric acid, hyperlipidemia, osteoporosis, hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, Meniere's disease, suppurative otitis media, vestibular neuronitis, sudden deafness, head injury, ear nose/maxillofacial surgery and autoimmune thyroiditis. The statistically significant parameters of the one-way ANOVA were included in the multivariate regression analysis to explore the independent risk factors for BPPV. Results:Seventy-six cases（67.86%） of BPPV patients were primary BPPV, 36 cases（32.14%） were secondary BPPV（P<0.01）. The gender composition（male, female）, ears involvement（unilateral, bilateral） and semicircular canal involvement（posterior semicircular canal, horizontal semicircular canal, anterior semicircular canal, mixed type） were different between the two groups（P<0.05）. During the follow-up period, 34（30.36%） patients relapsed, of which 19（25.00%） were the primary patients and 15（41.67%） were the secondary patients（P<0.01）. Diabetes（P=0.004）, osteoporosis（P=0.017）, hypertension（P=0.013）, stroke（P=0.005） and suppurative otitis media（P=0.031） were related to the onset of BPPV. Conclusion:BPPV patients are mainly primary, while the secondary patients are more likely to relapse after being cured. Diabetes, osteoporosis, hypertension, stroke and suppurative otitis media are independent risk factors for the onset of BPPV.

SO2 Resisting Pd-doped Pr1-x Cex MnO3 Perovskites for Efficient Denitration at Low Temperature.

H2 -SCR is served as the promising technology for the controlling of NOx emission, and the Pd-based derivative catalyst exhibited high NOx reduction performance. Effectively regulating the electronic configuration of the active component is favorable to the rational optimization of noble Pd. In this work, a series of Pr1-x Cex Mn1-y Pdy O3 @Ni were successfully synthesized and exhibited superior NO conversion efficiency at low temperatures. 92.7 % conversion efficiency was achieved at 200 °C over Pr0.9 Ce0.1 Mn0.9 Pd0.1 O3 @Ni in the presence of 4 % O2 with a GHSV of 32000 h-1 . Meanwhile, the outstanding performance was obtained in the resistance to SO2 (200 ppm) and H2 O (8 %). Deduced from the results of XRD, Raman, XPS, and H2 -TPR, the modification of d orbit states in palladium was confirmed originating from the incorporation in the B site of Pr0.9 Ce0.1 Mn0.9 Pd0.1 O3 . The existence of higher valence (Pd3+ and Pd4+ ) than the bivalence in Pr0.9 Ce0.1 Mn0.9 Pd0.1 O3 catalyst was evidenced by XPS analysis. Our research provides a new sight into the H2 -SCR through the higher utilization of Pd.