Development of AAV-delivered broadly neutralizing anti-human ACE2 antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 variants.

The ongoing evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), resulting in the emergence of new variants that are resistant to existing vaccines and therapeutic antibodies, has raised the need for novel strategies to combat the persistent global COVID-19 epidemic. In this study, a monoclonal anti-human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) antibody, ch2H2, was isolated and humanized to block the viral receptor-binding domain (RBD) binding to hACE2, the major entry receptor of SARS-CoV-2. This antibody targets the RBD-binding site on the N terminus of hACE2 and has a high binding affinity to outcompete the RBD. In vitro, ch2H2 antibody showed potent inhibitory activity against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the most antigenically drifted and immune-evading variant Omicron. In vivo, adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated delivery enabled a sustained expression of monoclonal antibody (mAb) ch2H2, generating a high concentration of antibodies in mice. A single administration of AAV-delivered mAb ch2H2 significantly reduced viral RNA load and infectious virions and mitigated pulmonary pathological changes in mice challenged with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.5 subvariant. Collectively, the results suggest that AAV-delivered hACE2-blocking antibody provides a promising approach for developing broad-spectrum antivirals against SARS-CoV-2 and potentially other hACE2-dependent pathogens that may emerge in the future.

Ultra-short pulse burst laser around 1.98†µm obtained through an all-fiber nonlinear wavelength converter and Tm-doped fiber amplifier.

We report an all-fiber ultra-short pulse burst laser operating at around 1.98 µm that is obtained through a nonlinear wavelength converter and Tm-doped fiber amplifier. A mode-locked Er-doped fiber laser was first built and then amplified in subsequent amplifiers to an average power of 1.3 W. Ultra-short pulse burst output was achieved through a pulse multiplier and a fiber-pigtailed acousto-optic modulator. It was then injected into an all-fiber nonlinear wavelength converter constructed from P-doped fiber and Tm-doped fiber, obtaining an ultra-short pulse burst laser of 540 mW around 1.98 µm. Its average output power was then amplified to 4.33 W in a Tm-doped fiber amplifier with an intra-burst pulse repetition frequency of 0.9 GHz, a burst repetition frequency of 200 kHz, and a duty cycle of 2%, corresponding to about 200 pulses within each burst. This 1.98 µm pulse burst laser has enormous potential to be applied in bio-medical areas.

Electroacupuncture interventions alleviates myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury through regulating gut microbiota in rats.

Electroacupuncture (EA) intervention has a remarkable cardioprotection against myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury (MIRI). Recently, it has been suggested that the gut microbiota plays an important role in regulating the progression and prognosis of MIRI. The purpose of this study was to illustrate the relationship between gut microbiota and cardioprotection of EA on MIRI. We conducted a MIRI model by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery for 30 min followed by reperfusion in male Sprague Dawley rats, which then received 7 days of EA intervention. Echocardiography was employed to evaluate left ventricular function. Fecal samples were collected for microbial analysis by 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing. Blood samples and myocardium were collected for inflammatory cytokine detection by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot. Hematoxylin & eosin (HE) staining and immunofluorescence of ileum tissue were performed for intestinal damage evaluation. After 7 days of EA intervention, the left ventricular function was improved with significantly increased ejection fraction and fractional shortening. Furthermore, we found that EA intervention reversed the changed gut microbiota induced by MIRI, including Clostridiales, RF39, S24-7, Desulfovibrio, and Allobaculum, improved the impaired gut barrier, reduced the production and circulation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), inhibited the level of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and interleukin 12 (IL-12) in periphery and decreased the expression of Toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) and IL-6 in myocardium. EA intervention could improve the impaired gut mucosal barrier and reduce the production and circulation of LPS after MIRI through regulating gut microbiota, thus inhibiting the circulation and myocardium inflammation and finally exerted the cardioprotective effect.

A study of the phosphorylation proteomic skin characteristics of Tan sheep during the newborn and er-mao stages.

In this experiment, in order to study the formation mechanism of the lamb fur of Tan sheep, skin samples were collected from Tan sheep at the newborn and er-mao stages. Then, the phosphorylated proteomes of the skin samples of Tan sheep at the two different stages were compared and analyzed using a TMT labeled quantitative phosphorylation proteomic technique. A total of 2806 phosphorylated proteins were identified, including 8184 phosphorylation sites. The results of this study's quantitative analysis showed that when compared with the skin samples at the er-mao stage, the phosphorylation levels of 171 sites had been upregulated in the skin samples at newborn stage. Meanwhile, 125 sites had been downregulated at the same stage. As shown by the results of the functional enrichment analysis of the differentially phosphorylated proteins, they had been mainly enriched in the cysteine and methionine metabolism. In addition, the phosphorylation levels of KAP4.7 and KAP13.1 had also varied during the different skin stages. These results indicated that the cysteine metabolism pathways, as well as the phosphorylation modifications of the keratin associated proteins in the skin, played important roles in the formation of the er-mao stage fur of the Tan sheep. Therefore, the findings of this study provided a new angle for interpreting the formation mechanism of er-mao stage fur properties.

The potentiality of immunotherapy for sarcomas: a summary of potential predictive biomarkers.

Sarcomas are rare and heterogeneous malignant tumors of mesenchymal origin. A total of 25-50% of patients treated with initial curative intent will develop as recurrent and metastatic disease. In the recurrent and metastatic setting, effect of chemotherapy is limited; therefore, more effective therapies are urgently desired. As a brake for activation of T cell, PD-1/PD-L1 plays a crucial role in the progression of tumor by altering status of immune surveillance. Some success has been acquired recently in the use of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors for the treatment of several solid tumors, for examples, non-small-cell lung cancer and melanoma. Immunotherapeutic strategies based on PD-1/PD-L1 for sarcomas have also been explored these years. As in other cancers, major challenges are identification of biomarkers to predict response for immunotherapy, optimization of patient's benefit and minimization of side effects. Therefore, we focused on potential biomarkers of immunotherapy for treatment of sarcomas in this review.

Efficacy of Lvpao Powder on Radiation Therapy-Induced Mucositis: A Retrospective Study of 114 Patients With Head and Neck Carcinoma.

Purpose: To compare the efficacy and safety of Kangfuxin solution and lvpao powder on mucositis induced by radiation therapy in head and neck carcinoma patients. We retrospectively analyzed 114 patients with head and neck malignant tumors in our center. Methods and Materials: Patients were given Kangfuxin solution to rinse the mouth or Lvpao powder sprayed on oral mucosa after the solution use. The side effect was evaluated by Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.0. Results: The grade 3 mucositis occurred in 32.9% (23/70) and 11.4% (5/44) in Kangfuxin solution group and Kangfuxin solution + lvpao powder group, respectively (P = .009). The pain score of the Kangfuxin solution group was significantly higher than that of the Kangfuxin solution and lvpao powder group, with 4.26 ± 0.81 versus 3.75 ± 1.03 (P = .007). The time of symptom relief in the combined group was significantly shorter than that in the single drug group, with 3 days versus 6 days (P = .000). The weight loss of the former groups was bigger than that of the latter group (6.67 ± 1.20 kg vs 5.95 ± 0.94 kg; P = .001). There was no statistical difference in the limitations in mouth opening (P = .164). Conclusions: Lvpao powder is safe and effective as a mucosal repair drug in accelerating the recovery of patients and reducing their body weight.

Genome-wide analysis in PC6 electroacupuncture to ameliorate carfilzomib-induced cardiotoxicity in mice.

Carfilzomib (CFZ), a proteasome inhibitor commonly used in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM), exhibits limited clinical application due to its cardiotoxicity. In our study, electroacupuncture (EA) at Neiguan acupoint (PC6) effectively reversed CFZ-induced reduction in ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS), demonstrating great potential effect for heart protection. Through comparative analysis of the transcriptome profile from heart samples of mice treated with DMSO control, CFZ injection, and EA stimulation, we identified a total of 770 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in CFZ (vs. Control) group and 329 DEGs in EA (vs. CFZ) group. Specifically, CFZ (vs. Control) group exhibited 65 up-regulated DEGs and 705 down-regulated DEGs, while EA (vs. CFZ) group displayed 251 up-regulated DEGs and 78 down-regulated DEGs. Metascape analysis revealed that among these treatment groups, there were 137 co-expressed DEGs remarkably enriched in skeletal system development, cellular response to growth factor stimulus, negative regulation of Wnt signaling pathway, and muscle contraction. The expression patterns of miR-8114, Myl4, Col1a1, Tmem163, Myl7, Sln, and Fxyd3, which belong to the top 30 DEGs, were verified by quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). In summary, this study firstly discloses novel insights into the regulatory mechanisms underlying PC6-based EA therapy against CFZ-induced cardiotoxicity, potentially serving as a theoretical foundation for further clinical applications.

The important role of EPS in mediated biosynthesis of CdS QDs: Comparative study of EPS-intact and EPS-free.

In this study, we investigated the adsorption of Cd(II) and the biosynthesis of CdS quantum dots (QDs) mediated by cells of sulfate-reducing bacteria before and after the removal of EPS to determine whether EPS or the cell wall plays a major role. Potentiometric titration revealed that the concentration of proton-active binding sites on cells with EPS (EPS-intact) was notably higher than that on cells without EPS (EPS-free) and that the sites were predominantly carboxyl, phosphoryl, hydroxyl, and amine groups. The protein content in EPS-intact cells was higher, and thus the Cd(II) adsorption capacity was stronger. The CdS QDs biosynthesized using EPS-intact possessed better properties, including uniform size distribution, good crystallinity, small particle size, high fluorescence, and strong antimicrobial activity, and the yields were significantly higher than those of EPS-free by a factor of about 1.5-3.7. Further studies revealed that alkaline amino acids in EPS play a major role and serve as templates in the biosynthesis of QDs, whereas they were rarely detected in the cell wall. This study emphasizes the important role of EPS in the bacterial binding of metals and efficient recycling of hazardous waste in water.

Effect of electroacupuncture on inflammatory response and immune cells in mice with chronic inflammatory pain. / ç”µé’ˆå¯¹æ ¢æ€§ç‚Žæ€§ç—›å°é¼ ç‚Žæ€§ååº”å’Œå ç–«ç»†èƒžçš„å½±å“.

OBJECTIVES: To observe the effects of electroacupuncture(EA) on local inflammatory mediators and macrophage polarization, and immune cells in the spleen of mice with chronic inflammatory pain induced by complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) in the hind paw, so as to investigate the immunoinflammatory regulatory mechanisms of EA in relieving pain and swelling in mice with chronic inflammatory pain. METHODS: Thirty C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into control, model, and EA groups, with 10 mice in each group. Chronic inflammatory pain model were established by subcutaneous injection of 20 µL CFA solution in the left hind paw for 7 consecutive days. After modeling, mice in the EA group received EA at bilateral "Zusanli"(ST36) for 20 min (2 Hz/100 Hz, 1 mA) once a day for 18 consecutive days. Mechanical pain threshold, heat pain thresholds, and paw thickness were measured before and after mode-ling, and after interventions. Western blot was used to detect the expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1ß, and NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) in the paw tissue. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the positive expression of M1-type macrophage marker inducible nitric oride synthase (iNOS) and M2-type marker CD206 in the paw, and flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of F4/80+ CD11b+ macrophages, Ly6G+ CD11b+ neutrophils, and CD25+ Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Treg) in the spleen. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, mechanical pain and heat pain thresholds were significantly reduced(P<0.000 1), while paw thickness, expressions of IL-1ß, TNF-α, and NLRP3 in the paw, and positive expression of M1 macrophage marker iNOS in the paw, the proportions of macrophages and neutrophils in the spleen were significantly increased (P<0.000 1, P<0.001) in the model group. Compared with the model group, mechanical pain threshold and heat pain thresholds, CD206 positive expression in the paw, and Treg cell proportion in spleen were significantly increased (P<0.01), while paw thickness, the expressions of IL-1ß, TNF-α and NLRP3 in the paw, as well as the positive expression of M1 macrophage marker iNOS in the paw, the proportions of macrophages and neutrophils in the spleen were significantly reduced (P<0.001, P<0.01, P<0.05)in mice of the EA group after intervention. CONCLUSIONS: EA may alleviate pain and swelling in mice with chronic inflammatory pain by regulating the numbers of macrophages, neutrophils, and Treg cells, as well as promoting M2 polarization of local macrophages and inhibiting the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Radical-/non-radical-mediated catalyst activation of peroxymonosulfate for efficient atrazine degradation.

Efficient degradation technologies are urgent to be developed to avoid the ecological and healthy hazards brought from atrazine (ATZ). LaCoO3-δ/peroxymonosulfate (PMS) system was proved to have strong degradation capabilities to contaminants. In this work, we intended to investigate the effect of the synthesis method on LaCoO3-δ. However, the hydrothermal method yielded a new material (H-Co) with better catalytic performance than LaCoO3-δ, which showed stable catalytic ability at pH 3.0-9.0 and 5 consecutive cycles. The coexistence of inorganic Cl-, SO42-, NO3-, H2PO4-, HCO3- and organic humic acids exerted little influences on the H-Co/PMS system. In addition, the actual livestock and poultry breeding wastewater could be well degraded and mineralized by the H-Co/PMS system. Free radical burst experiments and EPR characterization were performed to verify the synergistic effects of free radicals and non-free radicals during ATZ degradation. Based on SEM, XRD, O2-TPD, FTIR, XPS, and electrochemistry characterizations, the efficient catalytic ability of H-Co could be attributed to the abundant oxygen vacancies, surface hydroxyl groups, zero-valent cobalt sites and high electronic conductivity. The degradation pathways were proposed based on the detection of degradation intermediates of ATZ by UPLC-MS. Moreover, the toxic of ATZ during the oxidation was evaluated by TEXT and E. coli inhibition assay. This work comprehensively analyzed the catalytic reaction mechanism of the H-Co/PMS system and provided a feasible pathway for the treatment of the actual livestock and poultry breeding wastewater.

Mediated biosynthesis of CdS QDs by EPS from Desulfovibrio desulfuricans sub sp. under carbon source-induced reinforcement.

This paper describes a unique molecular mechanism for the EPS-mediated synthesis of CdS QDs by sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) under carbon source-induced reinforcement. Under the induced by carbon sources (HCOONa, CH3COONa and C6H12O6), there was a significant increase in EPS production of SRB, particularly in protein, and the capacity of Cd(II) adsorption was further enhanced. CdS QDs were extracellularly synthesized by adding S2- after Cd(II) adsorption. The results showed that CdS QDs were wrapped or adhered by EPS, and the most significant increase in Arg and Lys among basic amino acids in EPS after HCOONa-induced was 133.34% and 63.89%, respectively. This may serve as a biological template for QD synthesis, producing protein gels with a large number of microcavities and controlling the nucleation of CdS QDs. The highest yield of HCOONa-CdS was achieved after induction, with 23.59 g/g biomass per unit strain, which was 447.34% higher than that before induction and was at a high level in previous studies. The synthesized CdS QDs were uniform in size distribution and had higher luminescence activity and a larger specific surface area than those synthesized by the chemical synthesis route, provides a new idea for EPS treatment of heavy metal wastewater and metal biorecovery.

[Effect of different electrical current intensities of electroacupuncture preconditioning on cardiac function and macrophage polarization in mice with acute myocardial ischemia].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of different intensities of electroacupuncture (EA) preconditioning on car-diac function and polarization state of macrophages in mice with acute myocardial ischemia (AMI), so as to explore its possible mechanism underlying improvement of AMI. METHODS: A total of 50 male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into sham ope-ration, AMI model, and EA pretreatment groups (0.5 mA, 1 mA, 3 mA subgroups), with 10 mice in each group/subgroup. The mice in the EA pretreatment groups were subjected to EA stimulation of bilateral "Neiguan"(PC6) with 0.5, 1.0 and 3 mA respectively and frequency of 2 Hz/15 Hz for 20 min, once a day, for 3 days. The acute myocardial ischemia model was established by ligating the anterior descending branch (ADB) of the left coronary artery, while the sham operation only had a surgical suture trans-passed below the ADB but without ligation. The myocardial infarction area was measured after TTC staining, and the cardiac function ï¼»left ventricular ejection fraction (EF), short-axis contraction rate (FS)ï¼½ was detected by using echocardiography. The M1 macrophages were labeled with CD11b+F480+CD206low, M2 macrophages were labeled with CD11b+F480+CD206high and detected by using flow cytometry, and the expression levels of myocardial interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4) proteins were detected by using Western blot. RESULTS: Compared with the sham operation group, the model group had a significant increase in the infarction area (P<0.000 1), number of cardiac macrophages and percentage of M1 type macrophages (P<0.000 1), and the expression levels of myocardial IL-1ß, TNF-α, TLR4 proteins (P<0.001, P<0.01), and a remarkable decrease in the levels of EF, FS and the percentage of M2 type macrophages (P<0.000 1). In contrast to those of the model group, the area of myocardial infarction (P<0.000 1, P<0.01), expression levels of myocardial IL-1ß, TNF-α, TLR4 proteins (P<0.01, P<0.05, P<0.001) in the 0.5 mA, 1 mA and 3 mA groups, number of macrophages and percentage of M1 macrophages (P<0.05) in the 1 mA group were significantly decreased, while the levels of EF and FS (P<0.000 1, P<0.05, P<0.001) in the 3 EA groups, and percentage of M2 macrophage (P<0.05) in the 1 mA group were significantly increased. Comparison among the 3 EA groups displayed that the effects of 1 mA group were significantly superior to those of 0.5 and 3 mA groups in up-regulating EF and FS (P<0.01, P<0.001), and in down-regulating the area of infarct myocardium (P<0.01, P<0.000 1), and the expression of TLR4 protein (P<0.01), and 0.5 mA group in the expression of IL-1ß and TNF-α proteins (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: EA preconditioning with electrical current intensities of 0.5 mA, 1 mA and 3 mA can effectively reduce myocardial infarction size, improve cardiac function in mice with AMI, which may be related with its effects in reducing the number of cardiac macrophages and down-regulating the expression of myocardial IL-1ß, TNF-α and TLR4 proteins. The therapeutic effect of 1 mA is better than that of 0.5 and 3 mA.

Differentially phosphorylated proteins in the crimped and straight wool of Chinese Tan sheep.

Proteins can be post-translationally modified and this can be important in the regulation of cellular processes and function. However, little is known about whether protein phosphorylation plays a role in regulating wool fibre properties. In this study, we used a chemical labelling method combined with a high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) analysis to compare the phosphopeptides present in the wool of three Tan sheep with highly crimped wool and three Tan sheep with straighter wool. Thirty-six phosphopeptides that had differences in relative abundance between these two types of wool were identified. These peptides were derived from 28 to 33 different proteins, including two keratins (Ks) and 7 to 12 keratin-associated proteins (KAPs), with these proteins being common structural components of the wool fibre. The crimped wool had a higher relative abundance of phosphorylated K38, K72 and KAP13-x, whereas the straighter wool had a higher relative abundance of phosphorylated KAP2-1, KAP6-1, KAP4-x, KAP10-x and KAP13-y. These results confirm the phosphorylation of wool Ks and KAPs, and suggest that differential phosphorylation of Ks and KAPs may affect wool fibre crimping in Tan sheep. SIGNIFICANCE: Protein phosphorylation can alter the structural conformation and interaction of a protein, and hence affect the cellular processes that the protein undertakes. In this study, we compared the suite of phosphorylated proteins in crimped and straight wool from Chinese Tan sheep and found that some keratins and keratin-associated proteins were phosphorylated. Crimped wool had more keratin phosphorylation, while straight wool had more keratin-associated protein phosphorylation, with this suggesting that wool fibre crimping may be a regulated by phosphorylation of some wool proteins. This suggests that wool traits may be under epigenetic control and that post-translation modifications need to be considered in breeding for different wool types.

Electroacupuncture improves cardiac function and reduces infarct size by modulating cardiac autonomic remodeling in a mouse model of myocardial ischemia.

BACKGROUND: Sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve remodeling play an important role in cardiac function after myocardial ischemia (MI) injury. Increasing evidence indicates that electroacupuncture (EA) can regulate cardiac function by modulating the autonomic nervous system (ANS), but little is known about its effectiveness on neural remodeling post-MI. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the role of EA in ANS remodeling post-MI. METHODS: Adult male C57/BL6 mice were equally divided into the Control (Ctrl), MI and EA groups after generating the MI model by ligating the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery. Echocardiography and 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium (TTC) staining were employed to evaluate cardiac function and infarct size after EA treatment for five consecutive days. Serum norepinephrine (NE) levels were measured by ELISA to quantify sympathetic activation. Then, ANS remodeling was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC), RT-qPCR, and Western blotting. RESULTS: Our preliminary findings showed that EA increased ejection fraction and fractional shortening and reduced infarct area after MI injury. Serum NE levels in the EA group were significantly decreased compared with those in the MI group. IHC staining results demonstrated that the density of growth associated protein (GAP)43 and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) positive nerve fibers in the EA group were decreased with increased choline acetyltransferase (CHAT) and vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VACHT). Meanwhile, the results verified that mRNA and protein expression of GAP43 and TH were significantly inhibited by EA treatment in the MI mice, accompanied by elevated CHAT and VACHT. CONCLUSIONS: EA treatment could improve cardiac function and reduce infarct size by modulating sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve remodeling post-MI, thus helping the cardiac ANS reach a new balance to try to protect the heart from further possible injury.

Hydrothermal liquefaction of Chlorella pyrenoidosa and effect of emulsification on upgrading the bio-oil.

This work studied the hydrothermal liquefaction of Chlorella pyrenoidosa and effect of emulsification on upgrading the bio-oil. The fuel properties and storage stability characteristics of emulsion fuels were explored. The combustion characteristic analysis showed that the ignition temperatures of emulsion fuels (139.6-151.3 °C) were lower than that of bio-oil (176.9 °C). Besides, emulsion fuels had higher comprehensive combustion indexes (7.24-14.08 × 10-6 × min-2 × C-3) than bio-oil (1.51 × 10-6 × min-2 × C-3), indicating that emulsion fuels had better combustion performance. The kinetic analysis showed that emulsification could effectively reduce the activation energy, resulting in less energy input for combustion. Based on chemical composition evolution during the storage process, a possible stability mechanism was proposed. The storage stability analysis indicated that the diesel-solvable fractions in bio-oil had better stability. Overall, this work provides a feasible way for bio-oil upgrading through emulsification. In addition, a better understanding of the stability property of emulsion fuel was provided.

Catalytic co-pyrolysis behaviors, product characteristics and kinetics of rural solid waste and chlorella vulgaris.

Catalytic and non-catalytic co-pyrolysis behaviors, kinetics and products distribution of rural solid waste (RSW) and chlorella vulgaris (CV) were studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and fixed bed reactor. TGA results showed that co-pyrolysis of RSW and CV presented synergism by decreasing the temperature relating to the first mass loss peak. All the additives reduced residual mass for co-pyrolysis (5.21%, 1.57% and 4.89% for CaO, MgO and HZSM-5). Addition of CaO increased activation energy while HZSM-5 and MgO reduced it. Co-pyrolysis of RSW and CV remarkably reduced carboxylic acids and nitrogenous compounds especially for 1:1 ratio. (30.85% and 25.87%). Catalytic pyrolysis with CaO showed the best results by increasing aliphatic hydrocarbons especially light fraction (5.96%-11.98%), reducing acids (0%-30.85%) and nitrogenous compounds (0.08%-17.26%), causing higher HHV of oil. Overall, catalytic co-pyrolysis of CV and RSW with CaO could obtain bio-oil of higher quality.

Comparison of catalytic effect on upgrading bio-oil derived from co-pyrolysis of water hyacinth and scrap tire over multilamellar MFI nanosheets and HZSM-5.

Catalytic co-pyrolysis of water hyacinth and scrap tire experiments were performed to evaluate the feasibility of improving the monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons production. The production of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons increased from 5.31% (sole pyrolysis of water hyacinth) to 13.11% (co-pyrolysis with scrap tire). With use of zeolites, the highest production of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can reach up to 69.18%. Comprehensive comparison on catalytic effects of HZSM-5 and multilamellar MFI nanosheets were provided. With the material to multilamellar MFI nanosheets ratios changes from 2:1 to 1:4, the production of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons increases significantly from 37.15-69.18%. The average production of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons produced by using multilamellar MFI nanosheets were 12.07% higher than that using HZSM-5, indicating the better performance of multilamellar MFI nanosheets in producing monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. This work provided a reference for the reuse of water hyacinth and scrap tire over multilamellar MFI nanosheets in energy field.

Radiotherapy Dose and Induction Chemotherapy Cycles Are Associated With Prognosis and Toxicity Risk: A Retrospective Study of 227 Patients With Unresectable Stage III Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Concurrent chemoradiation (cCHRT) has been confirmed as the standard treatment for local advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study is to assess the appropriate timing of radiotherapy and cycles of induction chemotherapy for those patients. METHODS: 227 inoperable stage III NSCLC patients were selected, we analyzed the potential prognostic factors and the influence of induction chemotherapy was evaluated. RESULTS: The median survival time was 20.7 months; only 25 patients chose chemotherapy alone (11.0%), 137 patients underwent sequential chemoradiation (sCHRT, 60.4%), and 65 patients received cCHRT (28.6%). Multivariate analyses showed radiation therapy (P = 0.001), the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score (P = 0.000) and the lymph node stage (P = 0.001) were independent prognostic factors. cCHRT was not found to be superior (P = 0.330). We selected patients received 60-66 Gy and found the cCHRT groups achieved a relatively better outcome, with a median Overall Survival (OS) of 25.2 months vs 20.1 months in the sCHRT group (P = 0.019). We also found cycles of induction chemotherapy did not compromise survival; however, ≥3 cycles resulted in more grade 3-4 hematology toxicities, with a proportion of 18/99 compared with 53/103 among patients who underwent ≤3 cycles. In addition, higher grade hematology toxicities and poor ECOG were also the most common reasons for abandoning cCHRT. CONCLUSIONS: For inoperable stage III NSCLC, cCHRT showed its superiority only when the radiotherapy dose was 60-66 Gy. Cycles of induction chemotherapy did not interfere with survival; however, ≥3 cycles resulted in more grade 3-4 hematology toxicities, leading to the cessation of cCHRT.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill: A source of microplastics? -Evidence of microplastics in landfill leachate.

Although landfill is suspected to be releasing microplastics to the environment, there is few empirical researches carried out. To clarify suspicions of landfills as potential sources of microplastics, twelve leachate samples from four active and two closed municipal solid waste landfills were investigated. Microplastics were found in all the landfill leachate samples. In total, seventeen different types of plastics were identified in the leachate samples with calculated concentration ranging from 0.42 to 24.58 items/L. Polyethylene and polypropylene were the predominant polymer types. 99.36% microplastics were derived from the fragmentation of plastic waste buried in landfills. The size of 77.48% microplastics was between 100 and 1000 µm. The study shows that the generation, accumulation and release of microplastic in landfills is a long-term process. The results of our study provide preliminary evidence and validate that landfill isn't the final sink of plastics, but a potential source of microplastics.