Method of smoldering combustion for the treatment of oil sludge-contaminated soil.

There is an urgent need to globally remediate oil sludge-contaminated soil (OSS). Smoldering combustion is a new low-energy approach for the treatment of organic waste. Therefore, the feasibility of smoldering combustion for the treatment of OSS was investigated in this study using a series of laboratory-scale experiments. The effective remediation of OSS was found to be achievable when the mass ratio of oil sludge in the sample reached 1/12 and above. Experimental results showed that smoldering at peak temperatures above 500 °C was found to completely remove petroleum hydrocarbons from the samples. The mass ratio of oil sludge in the sample had little effect on the distribution of the major elements (Si, Al, and Ca) in the smoldering products, and most of the minerals in the oil sludge adhered to the surface of the soil particles after smoldering. The smoldering heating environment is detrimental to the reusability of the soil, increases soil pH and available phosphorus content, and decreases organic carbon and total nitrogen content. Moreover, the influence of the airflow rate and material height on smoldering characteristics was investigated. Matching the appropriate airflow rate can help maintain optimal smoldering conditions, and smoldering remains stable with increasing material height. The addition of recovered oil to a sample with a low mass ratio of oil sludge can help with smoldering ignition and improve the removal efficiency of petroleum hydrocarbons. This study has confirmed that smoldering can be used to treat OSS within a broad range of oil sludge concentrations without pretreatment.

Consensus of Chinese experts on strengthening personalized prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Up to now, there has not yet been guidance or consensus from Chinese experts in the field of personalized prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes. In view of the above, the endocrinology diabetes Professional Committee of Chinese Non-government Medical Institutions Association, the integrated endocrinology diabetes Professional Committee of the integrated medicine branch of Chinese Medical Doctor Association, and the diabetes education and microvascular complications group of the diabetes branch of the Chinese Medical Association organized relevant experts to discuss and reach the "Chinese expert consensus on strengthening personalized prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes" for reference in clinical practice.

Pharmacokinetic Characterizations of Ginsenoside Ocotillol, RT5 and F11, the Promising Agents for Alzheimer's Disease from American Ginseng, in Rats and Beagle Dogs.

BACKGROUND: Ocotillol, RT5 and F11, the main active components of ocotillol type ginsenosides, have attracted a lot of attention due to their beneficial effects on neurodegenerative disease models of Alzheimer's disease. Pharmacokinetic (PK) is a bridge linking the herbal medicines and their pharmacological responses. However, few data are available regarding PK behaviors of ocotillol type ginsenosides. METHODS: The liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry methods were developed and validated to calculate the concentrations of 3 ginsenosides in different biological matrices. Rat and beagle dog plasma samples were deproteinized with methanol and separated on Shim-pack GIST C18 column. All of the analytes were detected in positive ion mode using multiple reaction monitoring. RESULTS: The methods showed good linearity (r > 0.996) in the established concentration range. All validated data, such as specificity, intra- and inter-day precision, accuracy, extraction recovery, matrix effect, and stability were within required limits. The values of Cmax and AUC(0-t) indicated ocotillol type ginsenosides had low systemic exposure and poor absorption into blood. T1/2 and MRT(0-t) demonstrated the elimination process of ocotillol type ginsenosides might be slow. Double peaks were observed in the mean plasma concentration versus time profiles of ocotillol, RT5, and F11 after oral intake. CONCLUSIONS: This was the first PK investigation of the ocotillol type ginsenosides in rats and beagle dogs. The results we found here were helpful to our understanding of the absorption mechanism of ocotillol type ginsenosides and provided the scientific basis for further pre-clinical research.

Plasma metabolomic profiling of patients with diabetes-associated cognitive decline.

Diabetes related cognitive dysfunction (DACD), one of the chronic complications of diabetes, seriously affect the quality of life in patients and increase family burden. Although the initial stage of DACD can lead to metabolic alterations or potential pathological changes, DACD is difficult to diagnose accurately. Moreover, the details of the molecular mechanism of DACD remain somewhat elusive. To understand the pathophysiological changes that underpin the development and progression of DACD, we carried out a global analysis of metabolic alterations in response to DACD. The metabolic alterations associated with DACD were first investigated in humans, using plasma metabonomics based on high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry and multivariate statistical analysis. The related pathway of each metabolite of interest was searched in database online. The network diagrams were established KEGGSOAP software package. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate diagnostic accuracy of metabolites. This is the first report of reliable biomarkers of DACD, which were identified using an integrated strategy. The identified biomarkers give new insights into the pathophysiological changes and molecular mechanisms of DACD. The disorders of sphingolipids metabolism, bile acids metabolism, and uric acid metabolism pathway were found in T2DM and DACD. On the other hand, differentially expressed plasma metabolites offer unique metabolic signatures for T2DM and DACD patients. These are potential biomarkers for disease monitoring and personalized medication complementary to the existing clinical modalities.

Growth inhibition effects of isoalantolactone on K562/A02 cells: caspase-dependent apoptotic pathways, S phase arrest, and downregulation of Bcr/Abl.

Isoalantolactone, a sesquiterpene lactone, is the active component of Inula helenium (Compositae). It has been reported that isoalantolactone has the capacity to inhibit tumor cell growth through induction of apoptosis. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the effects of isoalantolactone on the human erythroleukemia drug-resistant cell line K562/A02 and to provide evidence of its function as a potent therapeutic agent in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia with the Bcr/Abl phenotype. Our results showed that isoalantolactone significantly inhibited K562/A02 cell growth by downregulating Bcr/Abl expression. Isoalantolactone also induced apoptosis via increase generation of reactive oxygen species, modulation of the protein levels of Bcl-2 family members, caspase activation, poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) cleavage, and release of cytochrome c. We also observed that isoalantolactone inhibited proliferation by inducing cell cycle arrest in the S phase. Taken together, all these findings support that growth inhibition effects of isoalantolactone on K562/A02 cells may be mediated through caspase-dependent apoptotic pathways, S phase arrest, and downregulation of Bcr/Abl.

Simultaneous removal of SO2 and trace SeO2 from flue gas: effect of SO2 on selenium capture and kinetics study.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) and trace elements are all pollutants derived from coal combustion. This study relates to the simultaneous removal of SO2 and trace selenium dioxide (SeO2) from flue gas by calcium oxide (CaO) adsorption in the moderate temperature range, especially the effect of SO2 presence on selenium capture. Experiments performed on a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) can reach the following conclusions. When the CaO conversion is relatively low and the reaction rate is controlled by chemical kinetics, the SO2 presence does not affect the selenium capture. When the CaO conversion is very high and the reaction rate is controlled by product layer diffusion, the SO2 presence and the product layer diffusion resistance jointly reduce the selenium capture. On the basis of the kinetics study, a method to estimate the trace selenium removal efficiency using kinetic parameters and the sulfur removal efficiency is developed.