Composition, characteristics, and treatment technologies of condensable particulate matter present in flue gas emitted by coking plants in China.

To study the total particulate matter (TPM) in flue gas emitted by coking plants, a sampling system that could be used to collect filterable particulate matter (FPM) and condensable particulate matter (CPM) was designed and developed based on Method 202 recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2017 and HJ 836-2017 issued by China. Using this system, FPM and CPM in flue gas emitted by four coking furnaces named A, B, C, and D were tested in China. Further, 9 water-soluble ions, 20 elements, and organic matter present in the CPM were simultaneously examined to determine their formation mechanisms. Statistical data suggested that the FPM emission level in the coking flue gas was low and the average mass concentration was less than 10 mg/m3. However, with high CPM and TPM emission levels, the TPM mass concentrations of A, B, C, and D were 130 ± 11.1, 84.4 ± 6.36, 35.1 ± 17.0, and 63.8 ± 13.0 mg/m3, respectively. The main component of TPM was CPM, and the average mass concentration of CPM accounted for 98%, 95%, 68%, and 95% of TPM in furnaces A, B, C, and D, respectively. Water-soluble ions were the important components of CPM, and the total concentration of water-soluble ions accounted for 70%, 87%, 42%, and 66% of CPM in furnaces A, B, C, and D, respectively. Toxic and harmful heavy metals, such as Mn, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb, were detected in CPM. The formation mechanism of CPM was analyzed in combination with flue-gas treatment. It was shown that the treatment process "activated carbon- flue-gas countercurrent-integrated purification technology + ammonia spraying" used in furnaces A and B was less effective in removing CPM, water-soluble ions, metals, and compounds than that of "selective catalytic reduction denitrification + limestone-gypsum wet desulfurization (spraying NaOH solution)" in furnaces C and D. Hence, different flue-gas treatment technologies and operation levels played vital roles in the formation, transformation, and removal of CPM from flue-gas. Organic components in CPM discharged from furnace A were determined via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and the top 15 organic components in CPM were obtained using the area normalization method. N-alkanes accounted for the highest proportion, followed by esters and phenols, and most of them were toxic and harmful to humans and ecosystems. Therefore, advanced CPM treatment technologies should be developed to reduce atmospheric PM2.5 and its precursors to improve ambient air quality in China.

Characteristics of microplastics in the atmosphere of Anyang City.

In order to clarify the characteristics of microplastics in the atmosphere of Anyang city, TSP, PM10, and PM2.5 samples are collected when the ambient air quality is good, slightly polluted, and severely polluted. After pretreatment, the physical and chemical characteristics are observed and identified by using stereomicroscope and micro-infrared spectrometer. The results show that the average abundance of microplastics is 0.19 items/m3, 0.26 items/m3, and 0.42 items/m3, respectively, when the ambient air quality is good, light pollution, and heavy pollution in Anyang City. It can be seen that with the decline of ambient air quality, the average abundance of microplastics in TSP, PM2.5, and PM10 gradually increases. The black fiber strip microplastics account for about 80% of the total TSP, PM2.5, and PM10 in the ambient air of Anyang City, followed by yellow flake and black granular microplastics and a small amount of green, red, and blue fiber strip microplastics. AQI has a good correlation with the abundance of microplastics in TSP, PM10, and PM2.5, and the maximum microplastic trapping effect could be obtained according to the sampling method of PM2.5 in the ambient air. The main components of microplastics are cellophane, followed by PET and EVA. The explorations of human respiratory exposure risk assessment show that with the increase of AQI, the daily intake of microplastics in adults also increased. At high levels of pollution, the human body breathes an average of 222 ± 5 microplastics per day.

Correlation between sarcopenia index and cognitive function in older adult women: A cross-sectional study using NHANES data.

OBJECTIVES: The Sarcopenia Index (SI) has the potential as a biomarker for sarcopenia, which is characterized by muscle loss. There is a clear association between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment. However, the relationship between SI and cognitive impairment is yet to be fully understood. METHODS: We employed data extracted from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) spanning the years 1999 to 2002. Our study encompassed individuals aged 65 to 80 who possessed accessible information regarding both SI and cognitive evaluations with a GFR ≥ 90. Cognitive function was assessed using the digit symbol substitution test (DSST). SI was calculated by serum creatinine (mg/dL)/cystatin C (mg/L)*100. Employing multivariate modeling, we estimated the connection between SI and cognitive performance. Furthermore, to enhance the reliability of our data analysis, we categorized SI using tertiles and subsequently calculated the P-value for trend. RESULTS: After adjustment for potential confounders, we found SI was significantly and positively correlated with cognitive function scores both in older female in the American population [ß = 0.160, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.050 to 0.271, P = 0.00461]. Similarly, when the total cognitive function score was treated as a categorical variable according to tertiles, higher SI was related to better total cognitive function scores in females [odds ratio (OR) = 3.968, 95 % CI 1.863 to 6.073, P = 0.00025] following adjustment for confounders. CONCLUSIONS: Higher SI was correlated with a lower prevalence of cognitive impairment among older adult women with normal kidney function.

Acoustic stimulation during sleep improves cognition and ameliorates Alzheimer's disease pathology in APP/PS1 mice.

Nonpharmacological therapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD) have become a popular research topic, and acoustic stimulation during sleep is one such promising strategy for the clinical treatment of AD. Some animal experiments have illustrated that acoustic stimulation at a specific frequency can ameliorate AD-related pathology or improve cognition in mice, but these studies did not explore the effective time window of auditory stimulation. Here, we explored the effects of acoustic stimulation during wakefulness and acoustic stimulation during sleep on cognition and AD-related pathology in APP/PS1 mice and the underlying mechanisms. In this study, forty APP/PS1 mice were equally divided into the following 4 groups and treated for 28 days: the chronic sleep deprivation (CSD) group (exposed to sleep deprivation from zeitgeber time [ZT] 0 to ZT 12 each day), the normal sleep and stress exposure (NSS) group (exposed to a stressor from ZT 0 to ZT 12 each day), the acoustic stimulation during wakefulness (ASW) group (exposed to sleep deprivation and 40 Hz acoustic stimulation from ZT 0 to ZT 12 each day) and the acoustic stimulation during sleep (ASS) group (exposed to sleep deprivation from ZT 0 to ZT 12 and 40 Hz acoustic stimulation from ZT 12 to ZT 24 each day). After the intervention, cognition was assessed by behavioural experiments. The amyloid-ß burden was analysed by Western blotting, immunofluorescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Tau pathology was assessed by Western blotting. Mitochondrial function was evaluated by transmission electron microscopy, Western blotting and fluorescence intensity measurement. We found that the NSS and ASS groups had better cognitive functions than the CSD and ASW groups. The Aß burden and tau phosphorylation were lower in the NSS and ASS groups than in the CSD and ASW groups. Mitochondrial function was better in the NSS and ASS groups than in the CSD and ASW groups. However, the differences in these parameters between the NSS and ASS groups and between the CSD and ASW groups were not significant. Our findings suggest that acoustic stimulation at a specific frequency during sleep, but not during wakefulness, reduces the amyloid-ß burden by inhibiting amyloid beta precursor protein-binding protein 2, hinders tau phosphorylation by blocking glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta, and restores mitochondrial function by elevating mitophagy and promoting mitochondrial biogenesis.

Immunological Behavior Analysis of Muscle Cells under IFN-γ Stimulation in Vitro and in Vivo.

Muscle cells could serve as antigen-presenting cells, and participate in the activation of immune response. Immunological characteristics of muscle cells, and their capacities to equip themselves with immunorelevant molecules, remain to be elucidated. In this study, we investigated the immunological properties of myoblasts and differentiated myotubes in vitro and in vivo, under the IFN-γ induced inflammatory condition. We found that the fused C2 C12 myotubes are more sensitive to inflammatory stimulation, and significantly upregulated the expression levels of MHC-I/II and TLR3/7 molecules, than that of proliferated myoblasts. As well, some co-stimulatory/-inhibitory molecules, including CD40, CD86, ICAM-I, ICOS-L, and PD-L1, were prominently upregulated in IFN-γ induced myotubes. Notably, we detected the protein levels of ASC, NLRP3, and Caspase-1 increased in stimulated myotubes, and IL-1ß in cell culture supernatant, implying the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes in IFN-γ treated myotubes. The pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines mRNA levels in IFN-γ induced C2 C12 myotubes and myoblasts, involving IL-1, IL-6, and MCP-1, increased markedly. T cell activation test further verified IFN-γ induced C2 C12 myotubes prompt to the proliferation of the splenic CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. In Cardiotoxin-damaged tibialis anterior (TA) muscle, some regenerated myofibers expressed both MHC class I and class II molecules under IFN-γ enhanced inflammatory condition. Thus, our work demonstrates that muscle cells are active participants of local immune reactions. Anat Rec, 301:1551-1563, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Calcium/Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase IV Mediates IFN-γ-Induced Immune Behaviors in Skeletal Muscle Cells.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Whether calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV (CaMKIV) plays a role in regulating immunologic features of muscle cells in inflammatory environment, as it does for immune cells, remains mostly unknown. In this study, we investigated the influence of endogenous CaMKIV on the immunological characteristics of myoblasts and myotubes received IFN-γ stimulation. METHODS: C2C12 and murine myogenic precursor cells (MPCs) were cultured and differentiated in vitro, in the presence of pro-inflammatory IFN-γ. CaMKIV shRNA lentivirus transfection was performed to knockdown CaMKIV gene in C2C12 cells. pEGFP-N1-CaMKIV plasmid was delivered into knockout cells for recovering intracellular CaMKIV gene level. CREB1 antagonist KG-501 was used to block CREB signal. qPCR, immunoblot analysis, or immunofluorescence was used to detect mRNA and protein levels of CaMKIV, immuno-molecules, or pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Co-stimulatory molecules expression was assessed by FACS analysis. RESULTS: IFN-γ induces the expression or up-regulation of MHC-I/II and TLR3, and the up-regulation of CaMKIV level in muscle cells. In contrast, CaMKIV knockdown in myoblasts and myotubes leads to expression inhibition of the above immuno-molecules. As well, CaMKIV knockdown selectively inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokines/chemokines, and co-stimulatory molecules expression in IFN-γ treated myoblasts and myotubes. Finally, CaMKIV knockdown abolishes IFN-γ induced CREB pathway molecules accumulation in differentiated myotubes. CONCLUSIONS: CaMKIV can be induced to up-regulate in muscle cells under inflammatory condition, and positively mediates intrinsic immune behaviors of muscle cells triggered by IFN-γ.

In vivo immuno-reactivity analysis of the porous three-dimensional chitosan/SiO2 and chitosan/SiO2 /hydroxyapatite hybrids.

Inorganic/organic hybrid silica-chitosan (CS) scaffolds have promising potential for bone defect repair, due to the controllable mechanical properties, degradation behavior, and scaffold morphology. However, the precise in vivo immuno-reactivity of silica-CS hybrids with various compositions is still poorly defined. In this study, we fabricated the three-dimensional (3D) interconnected porous chitosan-silica (CS/SiO2 ) and chitosan-silica-hydroxyapatite (CS/SiO2 /HA) hybrids, through sol-gel process and 3D plotting skill, followed by the naturally or freeze drying separately. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated the hybrids possessed the uniform geometric structure, while, transmission electron microscopy displayed nanoscale silica, or HA nanoparticles dispersed homogeneously in the CS matrix, or CS/silica hybrids. After intramuscular implantation, CS/SiO2 and CS/SiO2 /HA hybrids triggered a local and limited monocyte/macrophage infiltration and myofiber degeneration. Naturally dried CS/SiO2 hybrid provoked a more severe inflammation than the freeze-dried ones. Dendritic cells were attracted to invade into the implants embedded-muscle, but not be activated to prime the adaptive immunity, because the absence of cytotoxic T cells and B cells in muscle received the implants. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis indicated the implanted hybrids were incapable to initiate splenocytes activation. Plasma complement C3 enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) assay showed the hybrids induced C3 levels increase in early implanting phase, and the subsequent striking decrease. Thus, the present results suggest that, in vivo, 3D plotted porous CS/SiO2 and CS/SiO2 /HA hybrids are relatively biocompatible in vivo, which initiate a localized inflammatory procedure, instead of a systematic immune response. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 1223-1235, 2018.

Calcium/Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase IV (CaMKIV) Mediates Acute Skeletal Muscle Inflammatory Response.

The objective of this study is to investigate the role of Calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV (CaMKIV) in Cardiotoxin (CTX)-induced mice muscle inflammation. CTX injection i.m. was performed to induce B6 mice acute tibialis anterior (TA) muscle injury. The mice were then injected i.p. with the recombinant CaMKIV protein or its antagonist KN-93. Immunoblotting was used to assess Calmodulin (CaM) and CaMKIV levels. Immunofluorescence was used to detect intramuscular infiltration or major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-I expression in damaged muscle. The extent of infiltration was evaluated by fluorescent intensity analysis. Cytokines/chemokines levels were determined by qPCR. CaMKIV gene knockdown in C2C12 cells was performed in order to evaluate the effects of CaMKIV on immuno-behavior of muscle cells. CTX administration induced a strong up-regulation of CaM and p-CaMKIV levels in infiltrated mononuclear cells and regenerated myofibers. In vivo adding of the recombinant CaMKIV protein enhanced intramuscular infiltration of monocytes/macrophages in damaged muscle and increased the number of proinflammatory Ly-6C+F4/80+ macrophage cells. CaMKIV protein treatment induced a striking up-regulation of mRNA levels of IL-1, IL-6, MCP-1, and MCP-3 in CD45+ cells sorted from damaged muscle; increased the infiltration of CD8+ T cells; and induced the up-regulation of MHC-I in partial regenerated myofibers, which was rarely observed in muscle damage alone. Additionally, CaMKIV protein treatment diminished the regulatory T cells (Tregs) number and led to the damaged TA muscle repair delay. In vitro CaMKIV gene knockdown reversed IFN-γ-induced up-regulation of MHC-I/II and TLR3 in the differentiated C2C12 myotubes. CaMKIV can act as an immunostimulation molecule and enhances the acute muscle inflammatory responses.