The application of two-phase composite absorbent systems consisting of BAD and seawater resources in the wet treatment of ship exhaust gas.

The impact of ship emissions on the environment cannot be ignored and should be controlled. The possibility of applying seawater electrolysis technology and a novel amide absorbent (BAD, C12H25NO) to the simultaneous desulfurization and denitrification of ship exhaust gas is entirely confirmed by using various seawater resources. Concentrated seawater (CSW) with high salinity can effectively reduce the heat generated during electrolysis and the escape of chlorine. The initial pH of the absorbent can greatly affect the NO removal capacity of the system, and the BAD could keep the pH range suitable for NO oxidation in the system for a long time. The use of fresh seawater (FSW) to dilute the electrolysis of concentrated seawater (ECSW) to make an aqueous oxidant is a more reasonable scheme; the average removal efficiencies of SO2, NO, and NOx were 97.10%, 75.41%, and 74.28%, respectively. The synergistic effect of HCO3 -/CO3 2- and BAD was shown to further restrict NO2 escape.

Hydrogen sulfide alleviates hypothyroidism-induced myocardial fibrosis in rats through stimulating autophagy and inhibiting TGF-ß1/Smad2 pathway.

Hypothyroidism alone can lead to myocardial fibrosis and result in heart failure, but traditional hormone replacement therapy does not improve the fibrotic situation. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a new gas signaling molecule, possesses anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-fibrotic capabilities. Whether H2S could improve hypothyroidism-induced myocardial fibrosis are not yet studied. In our study, H2S could decrease collagen deposition in the myocardial tissue of rats caused by hypothyroidism. Furthermore, in hypothyroidism-induced rats, we found that H2S could enhance cystathionine-gamma-lyase (CSE), not cystathionine ß-synthase (CBS), protein expressions. Finally, we noticed that H2S could elevate autophagy levels and inhibit the transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1) signal transduction pathway. In conclusion, our experiments not only suggest that H2S could alleviate hypothyroidism-induced myocardial fibrosis by activating autophagy and suppressing TGF-ß1/SMAD family member 2 (Smad 2) signal transduction pathway, but also show that it can be used as a complementary treatment to conventional hormone therapy.

A brand new two-phase wet oxidation absorption system for the simultaneous removal of SO2 and NOX from simulated marine exhaust gas.

Marine engine exhaust emissions are increasingly harmful to the natural environment and human health and must be controlled. A self-synthesized amide (BAD, C12H25NO) in the laboratory shows a strong absorption capacity of nitric acid and nitrous acid, which may solve the problem that only using chlorine-based oxidant as an absorbent cannot completely absorb or retain NO2 produced by NO oxidation in previous studies. Based on Multiwfn and VMD (Visual Molecular Dynamics) program calculation, the formation mechanism of hydrogen bonds between BAD with nitric acid and nitrous acid was revealed by electrostatic potential (ESP) analysis and further confirmed by FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) spectra research. Subsequently, simultaneous removal of SO2 and NOX from simulated flue gas was carried out by using NaClO/BAD as a two-phase composite absorbent, and the maximum removal efficiencies of SO2 and NOX were 98.9% and 86.6%, respectively. The recycling experiments and the engineering experiments showing that NaClO/BAD can solve the problem of absorption of NO2, and it can be a promising composite absorbent in wet desulfurization and denitrification of marine engine exhaust gas in practical applications.

Progress of ship exhaust gas control technology.

Ship emissions problems caused by the rapid development of maritime trade can't be ignored. The NOX, SOX, CO2, PM and other toxic substances contained in the exhaust gas are extremely harmful to the environment and human health. In order to cope with the adverse effects of ship emissions and the increasingly stringent emission regulations formulated by the IMO and governments, the shipping industry needs to adopt new clean energy and high-efficiency exhaust control technologies to reduce ship emissions. This paper provides a comprehensive review, including: (1) The impact of pollutants such as NOX, SOX, CO2 and PM emitted by ships on the environment and human health; (2) New regulations about ship exhaust emissions; (3) Application of clean energy such as LNG, biodiesel, methanol, hydrogen and ammonia on ships; (4) After-treatment technology of ship exhaust gas such as SCR and EGR. And focusing on the principles, uses, characteristics, implementation obstacles and prospects of different energy and technologies, with a view to provide some help for the research on ship exhaust emissions control.

Identification of TNFA influencing MDD risk and clinical features in Han Chinese.

OBJECTIVE: Our recent genetic-neuroimaging study observed that the rs1799724 polymorphism within the TNFA gene encoding TNF-α selectively affects the anatomy of visual cortex in patients with MDD. In this study, we hypothesized that TNFA is risk factor to MDD, and TNFA rs1799724 polymorphism may be a susceptibility locus for this disorder and its clinical features. METHODS: We enrolled 807 MDD samples and 822 healthy volunteers in Eastern China. There were 104 drug-naïve first episode MDD patients recruited. The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression -17 (HRSD-17) and Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) were performed to evaluate the severity of depressive symptoms and cognitive function, respectively. RESULTS: Patients with MDD have higher levels of TNFA than healthy controls (F = 20.78, P < 0.01). There were no significant differences in genotype or allele distributions of the rs1799724 polymorphism between the MDD and control groups. MDD patients with T/T or T/C genotypes of rs1799724 polymorphism have higher somatic factor and total scores of HAMD than those with C/C genotype. The patients with T/T or T/C genotypes have significantly higher TNFA mRNA levels than those with C/C genotype (F = 4.91, P = 0.029). CONCLUSION: Our findings supported that TNFA may have an important role in the pathophysiology of MDD. Although SNP rs1799724 is not an etiological factor for MDD in Han Chinese, this SNP may be associated with somatic symptom in patients with MDD.