ABSTRACT
Depolymerization of coal increases the tar yield in coal pyrolysis and enhances the thermoplasticity of the coal, which makes coal more favorable for producing coke and other value-added products like graphite electrodes, carbon fiber, aromatic chemicals, etc. In this study, the authors have proposed a novel coal depolymerization method that combines the oxidation reactions by molecular oxygen and the following reduction reactions by the coexisting gaseous formic acid to upgrade a bituminous coal at 90-150 °C under atmospheric pressure. The softening and melting performance of the treated coals was enhanced when oxygen and formic acid coexisted in gas phase at 90-130 °C. The amount of low-molecular-weight compounds in the coal treated at 90 °C in air containing formic acid vapor significantly increased by 29.0% of the amount of low-molecular-weight compounds in the raw coal measured by the solvent extraction method. Thus, the authors have succeeded in depolymerizing coal by the treatment under mild conditions, which is expected to contribute to coal's efficient utilization such as increasing the coal extracts and tar yield in the extraction and pyrolysis process, upgrading coal to be more suitable for the raw materials of coke, etc.
ABSTRACT
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a systemic disorder that typically results in fibrosis of the skin and multiple internal organ systems. Although the precise mechanism is unknown, overproduction of extracellular matrix proteins, including collagens and fibronectins, and aberrant immune activation might be involved in the pathogenesis. The soluble cluster of differentiation 21 (sCD21) represents the extracellular portion of the CD21 glycoprotein that is released by shedding from the cell surfaces into plasma. sCD21 binds complement fragments and activates monocytes through binding to membrane CD23. The present study was undertaken to investigate the serum levels of sCD21 in patients with SSc. Serum sCD21 levels were reduced with age both in patients with SSc and normal controls. Serum sCD21 levels in patients with SSc were significantly decreased compared to those in control subjects. When we divided patients with SSc into limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc) and diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc), patients with lcSSc had lower levels of serum sCD21 than those with dcSSc. Moreover, the prevalence of pulmonary fibrosis in the patients with dcSSc inversely correlated with serum sCD21 levels. Our finding may support the notion that B-cell activation is involved in the mechanism for pulmonary fibrosis and skin sclerosis.
Subject(s)
Receptors, Complement 3d/blood , Scleroderma, Systemic/blood , Scleroderma, Systemic/epidemiology , Adult , Aged , Down-Regulation/physiology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pulmonary Fibrosis/blood , Pulmonary Fibrosis/epidemiology , Pulmonary Fibrosis/immunology , Scleroderma, Systemic/immunology , Skin/immunology , Skin/pathology , SolubilityABSTRACT
Peritoneal fibrosis is a serious complication in patients with severe chronic kidney disease who are undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD). One of the pathological characteristics of peritoneal fibrosis is the infiltration of macrophages in the thickened submesothelial compact zone. In addition, infiltration of lymphocytes, including T and B lymphocytes, is observed in the fibrotic peritoneum. However, the relationship between lymphocyte infiltration and progression of peritoneal fibrosis remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of lymphocytes in the development of peritoneal fibrosis induced by chlorhexidine gluconate (CG) by comparing the histological changes observed in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice (largely lacking functional T and B lymphocytes) with those observed in wild-type (WT) mice. As expected, CG-injected WT mice showed a thickening of the submesothelial compact zone together with massive collagen deposition accompanied by increased numbers of infiltrating macrophages and T and B lymphocytes. In the peritoneum of SCID mice, the submesothelial compact zone was thicker and the number of macrophages and B lymphocytes was significantly higher than that observed in control immunodeficient and WT mice. In contrast, the number of T lymphocytes in the peritoneum of SCID mice was significantly lower than that in the peritoneum of WT mice. These results suggest that T and B lymphocytes modulate the process of peritoneal fibrosis via macrophage infiltration.
Subject(s)
Lymphocytes/immunology , Peritoneal Fibrosis/immunology , Analysis of Variance , Animals , Disease Models, Animal , Disease Progression , Immunohistochemistry , Male , Mice , Mice, SCIDABSTRACT
We report a patient with linear scleroderma en coup de sabre without neurological symptoms despite the presence of large white matter lesions. The patient underwent 3.0-T magnetic resonance (MR) examinations including diffusion tensor imaging, time-resolved contrast-enhanced MR angiography, susceptibility-weighted imaging, and proton MR spectroscopy. These imaging findings suggested increased vascular permeability and microbleeding without abnormalities of metabolites. Our observation is consistent with vasculopathy and may be helpful in the proper diagnosis and treatment of linear scleroderma en coup de sabre.
Subject(s)
Brain/pathology , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Scleroderma, Localized/pathology , Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Female , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Angiography , Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy , Middle AgedABSTRACT
Contracture of phalanges (CP) is a frequent complication of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). The objective of this study was to examine the prevalance of CP in patients with SSc and investigate the clinical and laboratory features of SSc patients with CP. Three hundred and fifty patients with SSc were examined. CP was found in 164 of the 350 patients (47%) with SSc. The prevalence of oesophageal involvement, pulmonary fibrosis or heart involvement was significantly greater in the patients with CP than that in those without CP. Our study suggested that the presence of CP may be a marker of oesophageal involvement, pulmonary fibrosis and heart involvement.
Subject(s)
Contracture/etiology , Finger Phalanges/pathology , Hand Deformities, Acquired/etiology , Scleroderma, Systemic/complications , Toe Phalanges/pathology , Adult , DNA Topoisomerases, Type I/immunology , Esophageal Diseases/etiology , Female , Heart Diseases/etiology , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pulmonary Fibrosis/complicationsABSTRACT
Dermatomyositis/polymyositis (DM/PM), which is often accompanied by various immunological abnormalities, was reported to be associated with an increased incidence of malignancies. In this study, we analyzed serum levels of anti-p53 antibody (anti-p53 Ab) in DM/PM patients and in normal controls. Serum levels of anti-p53 Abs were significantly higher in DM/PM patients than those in healthy controls. However, there was no significant difference between serum levels in patients with malignancies and those in patients without malignancies. Anti-p53 Abs were positive in 13% (4 out of 31) of the DM/PM patients. Of these four patients, only one had an internal malignancy. Immunoglobulin G levels were significantly higher in patients positive for anti-p53 Ab than those who were not. These results seemed to suggest that the presence of anti-p53 Abs in DM/PM patients is due to immunological abnormalities in this disease.
Subject(s)
Autoantibodies/blood , Dermatomyositis/blood , Dermatomyositis/immunology , Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/immunology , Adult , Case-Control Studies , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/bloodSubject(s)
Arthritis, Rheumatoid/etiology , Postpartum Period , Pregnancy Complications , Scalp Dermatoses/complications , Scleroderma, Localized/complications , Adult , Arthritis, Rheumatoid/diagnosis , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Pregnancy , Scalp Dermatoses/diagnosis , Scleroderma, Localized/diagnosisABSTRACT
In this work, two extracts (Soluble and Deposit) were produced by degradative solvent extraction of biomass wastes from 250 to 350°C. The feasibilities of using Soluble and Deposit as additives for coke-making were investigated for the first time. The Soluble and Deposit, having significantly higher carbon content, lower oxygen content and extremely lower ash content than raw biomasses. All Solubles and most of Deposits can melt completely at the temperature ranged from 80 to 120°C and 140 to 180°C, respectively. The additions of Soluble or Deposit into the coke-making coal significantly improved their thermoplastic properties with as high as 9°C increase of the plastic range. Furthermore, the addition of Deposit or Soluble also markedly enhanced the coke quality through increasing coke strength after reaction (CSR) and reducing coke reactivity index (CRI). Therefore, the Soluble and Deposit were proved to be good additives for coke-making.
Subject(s)
Biomass , Carbon/chemistry , Coke , Solvents/chemistry , Coal , Hot Temperature , Industrial Waste , Oxygen/chemistry , Plastics , SolubilityABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Fusion of the collagen type I alpha 1 (COL1A1) gene with the platelet-derived growth factor B-chain (PDGFB) gene has been pointed out in dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP). Various exons of the COL1A1 gene have been shown to be involved in the fusion with exon 2 of the PDGFB gene. OBJECTIVE: We studied the breakpoints of the COL1A1 gene using the tumor specimens from three patients with DFSP. METHODS: Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed using cultured DFSP tumor cells or frozen tissue. Nucleotide sequence analysis was carried out using the PCR products to identify the breakpoints. RESULTS: Cases 1, 2 and 3 were diagnosed as ordinary DFSP, DFSP with fibrosarcomatous lesion (DFSP-FS) and lung metastasis of DFSP-FS, respectively. The COL1A1-PDGFB fusion transcripts were detected from the tumor specimens. Sequence analysis revealed that the ends of exons 42, 29 and 38 in the COL1A1 gene were fused with the start of exon 2 in the PDGFB gene in case 1, 2 and 3, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study identified a novel COL1A1 breakpoint, namely, exon 42 of the COL1A1 gene. Detection of the aberrant fusion transcript seems to be useful at differential diagnosis both in primary and metastatic lesions.
Subject(s)
Collagen Type I/genetics , Dermatofibrosarcoma/genetics , Lung Neoplasms/genetics , Lung Neoplasms/secondary , Mutation , Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-sis/genetics , Skin Neoplasms/genetics , Adolescent , Adult , Base Sequence , Collagen Type I, alpha 1 Chain , Dermatofibrosarcoma/secondary , Exons , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Sequence Analysis, DNA , Skin Neoplasms/pathology , Tumor Cells, CulturedABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Treatment options for progressive IgA nephropathy are limited. METHODS: We performed a small, randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of prednisolone (PSL, 30 mg/dL, gradually tapered to 5 mg/dL over two years) plus 50 mg/day of losartan (LST, an angiotensin II receptor blocker) or PSL alone on IgA nephropathy. We separated 38 patients (age, 33 +/- 11 years; creatinine clearance, 103 +/- 31 mL/min; proteinuria, 1.6 +/- 0.5 g/day) into two groups that were treated with either PSL plus LST or PSL alone, and compared the proteinuria and creatinine clearance after two years. Baseline and histopathological data did not significantly differ between the two groups. RESULTS: Two years of treatment in both groups significantly decreased proteinuria compared with baseline, and PSL plus LST (from 1.6 +/- 0.6 to 0.3 +/- 0.1 g/day, p < 0.05) was more effective than PSL alone (from 1.6 +/- 0.3 to 0.5 +/- 0.1 g/day, p < 0.05). Creatinine clearance in both groups was similar at the start of study but significantly differed at the end of the study (PSL plus LST, 104.3 +/- 36.4 to 100.4 +/- 38.9 mL/min; PSL alone, 103.4 +/- 28.5 to 84.8 +/- 34.3 mL/min, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Combined therapy with PSL plus LST appears to be more effective than PSL alone in reducing proteinuria and protecting renal function in patients with IgA nephropathy.