Flue gas torrefaction of municipal solid waste: Fuel properties, combustion characterizations, and nitrogen /sulfur emissions.

Flue gas torrefaction (FGT) was proposed as the pretreatment of the municipal solid waste (MSW) combustion process to improve the fuel properties of MSW and achieve better combustion performance. The optimal FGT parameters were obtained at 300 ℃ and 30 min, with the energy-mass co-benefit index (EMCI) reaching the maximum of 23.38. FGT could significantly increase the heating value and energy density of MSW while reducing the H/C and O/C ratio. Then, the pyrolysis and combustion experiments were performed by tube furnace and TG-MS. The results proved the chemical compositions of MSW were altered, and the heat transfer was enhanced. With FGT, NOx and SO2 emissions could be reduced by 25.7 % and 52.4 %, respectively. This study provides an in-depth understanding of the mechanism of FGT and paves the way for the clean treatment and energy utilization of MSW.

Flue gas torrefaction of distilled spirit lees and the effects on the combustion and nitrogen oxide emission.

Flue gas torrefaction (FGT) integrated with combustion was introduced for the clean treatment of distilled spirit lees (DSL). The effects of temperature, residence time, and volumetric flow rate of FGTs were investigated. The improvement in the physicochemical and combustion characteristics of the torrefied DSL and the reaction mechanisms were clarified by a tube furnace and the TG-MS device. The results showed that FGT could effectively improve the properties of DSL. With increasing temperature, residence time, and volumetric flow rate, the mass and energy yields decreased. FGT showed positive effects on the removal of free and bonding water, as well as the enrichment of lignin. FGT effectively inhibited the release of NOx. The overall emission of NOx was reduced by 57.3%. Additionally, the cost of DSL drying and denitrification could be greatly reduced by FGT. This study provided a practical treatment for DSL and new insight into FGT.

XPF -673C>T variation is associated with the susceptibility to breast cancer.

PURPOSE: XPF variations might decrease the DNA repair capacity and further contribute to cancer development. This study aimed to investigate the association of XPF polymorphisms with risk of developing breast cancer. METHODS: TCGA, the Human Protein Atlas and Kaplan-Meier plotter were used to analyze the expression of XPF in breast cancer tissues and its effect on the survival of breast cancer patients. The expression of XPF in breast cancer tissues was detected by qRT-PCR. This case-control study included 467 breast cancer patients and 467 healthy controls. The genotype of genetic variation was detected by polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism. Odds ratios and 95 % confidence intervals were calculated. Correlations between XPF variation and clinicopathological parameters were assessed through Kendall's Tau-b test. The relationship between XPF gene function variation and XPF gene expression was analyzed by GTEx. RESULTS: The expression of XPF in breast cancer tissues is higher than that in normal tissues. Breast cancer patients with high XPF expression have a higher relapse free survival rate (HR = 0.88, 95 % CI = 0.80-0.97), but have no effect on the overall survival rate (logrank P = 0.28). XPF -673C > T variant can reduce the risk of breast cancer patients (OR = 0.35, 95 %CI = 0.20-0.63 for codominant mode; OR = 0.66, 95 %CI = 0.51-0.85 for dominant model; OR = 0.40, 95 %CI = 0.23-0.70 for recessive model). The XPF 11985 GG genotype reduced the risk of early breast cancer (OR = 0.49, 95 %CI = 0.24-0.97), but not the risk of advanced breast cancer (OR = 1.20, 95 % CI = 0.58-2.48). XPF 11985A > G variant can also reduce the risk of ERBB2 expression in patients (OR = 0.50, 95 %CI = 0.27-0.94). There is no correlation between XPF -673C > T/XPF11985A > G variants and ER and PR. XPF -673C > T variant can reduce XPF expression (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Genetic variations of XPF gene may affect its expression and the risk of breast cancer in the Chinese population.

TRIP6 promotes tumorigenic capability through regulating FOXC1 in hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an aggressive malignant tumor with poor prognosis that is characterized by high rates of postoperative recurrence and mortality. Understanding the molecular mechanism of this malignancy is of great significance for the development of new and effective strategies for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. Thyroid hormone receptor-interacting protein 6 (TRIP6), also known as zyxin-related protein-1 or ZRP-1, is an adaptor protein that belongs to the zyxin family of LIM proteins. Recent studies showed that TRIP6 is involved in carcinogenesis. But the functional role of TRIP6 in HCC has not been reported to date. METHODS: TRIP6 expression level in HCC cell lines and normal cell line was measured by qPCR. The roles of TRIP6 on HCC cell proliferation, colony formation, and invasion were examined by MTT assay, colony formation assay, and transwell invasion assay, respectively. The effect of TRIP6 on the overall survival of HCC patients was further analyzed. ChIP assay and western blot were performed to validate whether FOXC1 was involved in the regulation of TRIP6 expression. RESULTS: Western blot and immunohistochemical analyses showed that TRIP6 expression was up-regulated in HCC tissues compared with adjacent non-tumor tissues. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that upregulation of TRIP6 was dramatically associated with poor overall survival. TRIP6 knockdown significantly inhibited cell migration, invasion, and proliferation, and its effect on cell proliferation was mediated by the modulation of cell cycle progression. FOXC1 also played a vital role in TRIP6 regulation. TRIP6 mediated the FOXC1-regulated proliferation, invasion, and migration in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that TRIP6 may contribute to the invasiveness and metastasis of HCC cells, and provide new insight into the crucial role of TRIP6 in tumorigenesis and cancer progression.

Circulating miR-130b- and miR-21-based diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the histological types of primary liver cancer with high recurrence and mortality in the world. The purpose of this study was to explore the diagnostic and therapeutic value for HCC patients. METHODS: In this study, we investigated the circulating miR-130b-5p (miR-130b) and miR-21-5p (miR-21) expression levels in patients with HCC and their association with clinical parameters. RESULTS: The circulating miR-130b and miR-21 were all upregulated in patients with HCC. The upregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) were associated with clinicopathological parameters of tumor capsular infiltration and clinical TNM stage. Also, the poor prognosis of patients with upregulated miRNAs levels suggested that it may be an effective therapeutic target for HCC by suppression of the miRNAs levels. In addition, the combined detection of serum miR-130b and miR-21 performed better in the diagnosis of HCC with a sensitivity of 92.16% and an accuracy rate of 77.51%. In vivo, tumors treated with the nanoparticle (NP)/miR-130b and miR-21 inhibitor complexes had significantly lower growth than the other groups. CONCLUSION: The circulating miR-130b and miR-21 can be used as potential tumor biomarkers to diagnose liver cancer, and the combined detection of serum miR-130b and miR-21 is superior to the diagnosis of HCC. NP/miR-130b and miR-21 inhibitor complexes show good therapeutic effects in vivo and are expected to become therapeutic targets worthy of further study.

TRIP6 functions as a potential oncogene and facilitated proliferation and metastasis of gastric cancer.

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that TRIP6 has been considered to be aberrantly regulated in several malignancies and involved in tumor growth and metastasis. However, the biological role and prognostic significance of TRIP6 in gastric cancer (GC) still remains unclear. Materials and methods: TRIP6 expression was determined in matched GC tissues and adjacent normal tissues by western blot and real-time PCR. Then, immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of TRIP6 in GC patients. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the correlation between TRIP6 expression and clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis. Moreover, the effects of TRIP6 on GC cell proliferation and migration were also investigated by using MTT, colony formation and transwell assays. Results: We observed that the expression of TRIP6 was significantly up-regulated in GC tissues and cell ines. Our data indicated that high TRIP6 expression exhibited a significant correlation with poor prognosis for GC patients. Multivariate analysis showed that TRIP6 expression was an independent prognostic factor of the overall survival of GC patients. Furthermore, ectopic expression of TRIP6 promotes cell proliferation and migration in BGC823 cells, whereas knockdown of TRIP6 suppresses cell proliferation and migration in MKN45 cells. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that TRIP6 exerts an important role in cancer development, which represents a potential prognostic indicator in GC.

Effect of blockage ratios on the characteristics of methane/air explosion suppressed by BC powder.

To investigate the effect of blockage ratios on the explosion suppression by powder suppressant, an experimental study was performed to suppress the methane-air explosion in a 5L duct with different blockage ratios and various concentrations of BC dry powder. The results indicate that flames experienced both the spherical and finger-shaped stages. Furthermore, the smoothness of flame front initially decreased and then increased. Flame propagation velocities were higher with larger blockage ratios except for φ = 1. The maximum peak overpressure (MPP) with the blockage ratio was slightly increased till φ reached 0.7 then surged sharply. The MPP decreased as the powder concentration increased. The maximum drop rate in the MPP being 34.8%-59.9%, depending on powder concentrations, occurred at the blockage ratio between 0.4 and 0.6. The result is ascribed to the competition between the suppression augmentation by the higher venting-generated turbulence and the suppression attenuation by the shorter residence time of the particle. However, the drop rate was relatively less promoted by increasing the concentration from 80 g/m3 to 240 g/m3. The inhibitor at higher concentration was less effective. An inhibition mechanism is explained by analogy to droplet group combustion, in which the decomposition regime of NaHCO3 differs at different concentrations.

[Variations of biological stability and disinfection byproduct in water distribution systems and their correlations].

Variations of assimilable organic carbon (AOC), trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) in two different water distribution systems (DSs) were investigated in Shanghai, a eastern city of China. Correlations of drinking water biological stability and disinfection byproduct were analyzed. The results show that AOC and HAAs are varied based on chlorine residual and microbial activity. And their concentrations are increased by chlorine oxidation in the front part of pipe networks where high residual chlorine contents exist, while reduced by bacterial consuming in the end part pipe networks where low residual chlorine exists. Changes of THMs in DSs are influenced by residual chlorine merely, and contents have risen with the extension of pipe net. There are evident linear relationships between HAAs and AOC, and precursors of them are homologous. Contents of THMs are positively correlated with AOC. Therefore biological stability and disinfection byproduct, as two important factors of drinking water safety, present inherent relevances.