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.
•Municipal solid waste landfills are potential sources of microplastics.•Seventeen types of plastics were found in the landfill leachate.•The concentration of microplastics ranged from 0.42 to 24.58 items/L.•Polyethylene and polypropylene were the predominant polymer types.•99.36%microplastics derived from the fragmentation of plastic waste.
In this work, catalytic co-pyrolysis characteristics and kinetics of chlorella vulgaris (CV), municipal solid waste (MSW), and their blends over hierarchical ZSM-5 zeolite were studied by ...thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). Moreover, three zeolite additives, namely, ZSM-5, Al-MCM-41, and Al-SBA-15, were selected to compare their effects on catalytic co-pyrolysis and coking characteristics with hierarchical ZSM-5 zeolite. Results showed that co-pyrolysis of CV and MSW demonstrated significant synergistic effects at 260–330 °C, especially at the ratio of 5:5. Two model-free methods, Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) and Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS), were used to calculate the kinetic parameters. Product distribution results demonstrated that co-pyrolysis could improve pyrolysis products by increasing monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and aliphatic hydrocarbons as well as reducing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrogen compounds. Compared with other three kinds of zeolite additives, hierarchical ZSM-5 with both micropores and mesopores achieved superior monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbon selectivity (34.14%) and inferior acid selectivity (9.54%) for co-pyrolysis, thereby satisfying the preferred criteria. In addition, the difference from the thermogravimetric curve between after pyrolysis and fresh zeolites indicated that hierarchical ZSM-5 also had the best coking resistance. In brief, co-pyrolysis of chlorella vulgaris and municipal solid waste with hierarchical ZSM-5 was definitely a feasible way for high-quality bio-oil generation.
Graphical Abstract
With the continual increase of sewage sludge (SS) and water hyacinth (WH), it became an emergency to dispose these two wastes in an efficient and sustainable way. In this study, pyrolysis behavior ...and products distribution of SS and WH by microwave pretreatment and subsequent calcium oxide catalytic co-pyrolysis was analyzed by thermo-gravimetric analysis and pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Promotion effect was found during the pyrolysis process when the proportion of WH exceeding 50%. WH5SS5 was the best mixing ratio due to its lowest average activation energy (199.70 kJ/mol) and highest total peak area (2.10×10
9
). The addition of CaO reduced the yields of acids and sugars by 10.52% and 5.08%. Meanwhile, aldehydes and ketones became the main products after adding CaO, with the proportion of 20.05% and 21.12%, respectively. Increasing microwave pretreatment power and time could reduce the activation energy with the minimum value of 199.70 kJ/mol (P567). The total peak area was also evaluated from 1.41×10
9
to 2.22×10
9
(T10). Comparing with increasing microwave pretreatment power, extending microwave pretreatment time was more effective. Besides, microwave pretreatment increased the yields of aldehydes while the yields of ketones reduced. Pentanal accounted for the largest proportion of pyrolysis products with the maximum yields of 25.62% at WH0SS10, which indicating that microwave pretreatment and subsequent calcium oxide catalytic co-pyrolysis of SS and WH has potential to produce pentanal.
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.
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,
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
inhibitors for the treatment of several solid tumors, for examples, non-small-cell lung cancer and melanoma. Immunotherapeutic strategies based on
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.
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.
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.
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).
Lvpao powder is safe and effective as a mucosal repair drug in accelerating the recovery of patients and reducing their body weight.
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.
•Catalytic co-pyrolysis of RSW and CV in a fixed bed reactor with CaO, MgO, HZSM-5.•All additives delayed the mass loss but reduced residual mass of co-pyrolysis.•Co-pyrolysis reduced carboxylic ...acids, N compounds and increased alkenes.•Co-cyrolysis with MgO and HZSM-5 lowered activation energy.•CaO can reduce carboxylic acids and N compounds, increase HHV of bio-oil.
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.
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•Bio-oil from liquefaction of microalgae was upgraded by emulsification.•A comparison on fuel properties between bio-oil and emulsion fuel was provided.•Storage stability of emulsion ...fuel was firstly explored by boiling point analysis.•A possible stability mechanism was proposed based on storage stability analysis.
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.
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•Synergistic effects during co-pyrolysis of aged MSW and corn stalks were studied.•The deoxidation effect of different acidic sites on zeolites was explored.•Zeolite catalysts can ...promote decomposition of plant compounds in aged MSW.•Lewis acid sites on catalyst accelerated the Diels-Alder reaction of olefins.•Brønsted acidity of catalyst contributed to the production of aromatic hydrocarbons.
The low calorific value of bio-oil resulting from the high oxygen content limited the application of pyrolysis bio-oil as fuel. In this work, the synergistic deoxidation effect between aged municipal solid waste and corn stalk was applied to reduce the oxygenated compounds in bio-oil. The deoxidation effect of different acidic zeolites was investigated to further improve the bio-oil quality. The oxygenated organics produced from the co-pyrolysis of aged municipal solid waste and corn stalk without catalysts were reduced as compared with the theoretical value, ranging from -1.2 % to -14.6 %. Correspondingly, the hydrocarbons in the co-pyrolysis products increased. The olefins could increase by up to 28.8 % compared with the theoretical value. The addition of an acidic catalyst increased the conversion rate of AM, and the residual mass was significantly reduced. When the Brønsted acidity of the catalyst was stronger, the reactions of olefins occurring during catalyst fast pyrolysis were cyclization and aromatization, which could produce up to 57.86 % of aromatic hydrocarbons. When the catalyst had more Lewis acid sites, a Diels-Alder reaction of C6-C10 olefins with furans was more likely to occur. When the Brønsted acid sites were insufficient to promote the subsequent deoxygenation reaction, the aromatics yield dropped to 0.22 %∼3.38 %. In addition, long chain olefins were cracked into small molecule olefins with the addition of zeolites. After adding ZSM-5, olefins with 3–5 carbon atoms accounted for 44.23 %.