Pien Tze Huang (PZH) is a well-known Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), characterized by a multitude of pharmacological effects, such as hepatoprotection and inhibition of inflammation and cell ...proliferative conditions. Many of these effects have been validated at the cellular, molecular and physiological levels but, to date, most of these findings have not been comprehensively disclosed.
This review aims to provide a critical summary of recent studies focusing on PZH and its multiple pharmacological effects. As a result, we further discuss some novel perspectives related to PZH's mechanisms of action and a holistic view of its therapeutic activities.
A systematic review was performed focusing on PZH studies originated from original scientific resources. The scientific literature retrieved for this work was obtained from International repositories including NCBI/PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases.
The major active componentes and their potential functions, including hepatoprotective and neuroprotective effects, as well as anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activities, were summarized and categorized accordingly. As indicated, most of the pharmacological effects were validated in vitro and in vivo. The identification of complex bioactive components in PZH may provide the basis for further therapeutic initiatives.
Here we have collectively discussed the recent evidences covering most, if not all, pharmacological effects driven by PZH. This review provides novel perspectives on understanding the modes of action and the holistic view of TCM. The rational development of future clinical trials will certainly provide evidence-based medical evidences that will also confirm the therapeutic advantages of PZH, based on the current information available.
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•Decomposition and reformation pathways of PCDD/Fs are identified.•PCDD/Fs reformation is boosted as temperature rising but supressed at absence of O2.•Evolution of PCDD/F-signatures ...is studied for pathways revealing and verification.•Catalytic metal is more significant compared to Cl and C sources for PCDD/Fs reformation.
Thermal treatment of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash (FA) allows heavy metals solidification, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) decomposition, and environmentally stable materials production, but lacking advanced insights into PCDD/Fs dramatically limits its development. In this study, the decomposition and reformation of PCDD/Fs during thermal treatment of two typical fly ashes (loading 0.294 and 0.594 ng I-TEQ/g PCDD/Fs, respectively) are systematically investigated, under conditions of three heating temperature (500, 800, and 1100 °C) and two atmospheres (oxidative and inert). Over 95 % of PCDD/Fs in FA are effectively decomposed for all tests mainly via cyclic skeleton destruction accompanied by dechlorination, but reformation predominantly through de novo synthesis in off-gases significantly reduces the overall elimination efficiency. Moreover, both de novo synthesis and chlorination are enhanced as temperature increase promoting migrations of catalytic metals and chlorine, yet are weakened at the absence of oxygen, both of which are revealed by PCDD/F-signatures evolution. Catalytic metal is identified as the most critical factor accounting for PCDD/Fs reformation, which is also evidenced by kinetic models of de novo synthesis. Finally, the decomposition and reformation pathways during thermal treatment of fly ashes are proposed. The results pave the way for controlling PCDD/Fs reformation and improving the thermal treatment of fly ashes.
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•In situ assembly of ZnO/GO composites on synthetic molecular receptors was achieved.•Photoreduction was occurred at the MIP core/water interface under visible light.•Molecular ...imprinting enhanced the catalysis efficiency of ZnO/GO-MIPs in 15 fold.•Interfacial synergistic catalysis on ZnO/GO-MIPs was successful.
Designing a novel type of imprinted photocatalysts for selective photoreduction of highly toxic pollutants is extremely needed in semiconductor photocatalysis. In this work, imprinted photocatalysts (named ZnO/GO-MIPs) were synthesized via Pickering emulsion polymerization by in situ assembling ZnO/GO composites on the synthetic molecular receptors (MIPs). The experimental data showed that the ZnO/GO-MIPs owned specific affinity towards the target Cr(VI) in aqueous solution with an imprinting factor (IF) of 1.6. Under the illumination of visible light, the ZnO/GO composites could selectively photoreduce the Cr(VI) adsorbed by the MIPs. In comparison with the ZnO/GO catalysts under light illumination, the ZnO/GO-MIPs showed a 15 fold increase in photoreduction of Cr(VI). Mechanism study indicates the photoreduction of Cr(VI) by the ZnO/GO composites was occurred at the interface between the solid MIP core and the aqueous solution. Compared to the ZnO-MIPs and the GO-MIPs, the ZnO/GO-MIPs clearly showed interfacial synergistic catalysis effect. To the best of our knowledge, this is first time that selective photoreduction of highly toxic pollutants at the solid-water interface by the ZnO/GO-MIPs was achieved. We believe the ZnO/GO-MIP catalysts have great potential in interfacial synergistic catalysis in environment and catalysis fields.
The carrier concentration of the electron‐selective layer (ESL) and hole‐selective layer can significantly affect the performance of organic–inorganic lead halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs). ...Herein, a facile yet effective two‐step method, i.e., room‐temperature colloidal synthesis and low‐temperature removal of additive (thiourea), to control the carrier concentration of SnO2 quantum dot (QD) ESLs to achieve high‐performance PSCs is developed. By optimizing the electron density of SnO2 QD ESLs, a champion stabilized power output of 20.32% for the planar PSCs using triple cation perovskite absorber and 19.73% for those using CH3NH3PbI3 absorber is achieved. The superior uniformity of low‐temperature processed SnO2 QD ESLs also enables the fabrication of ≈19% efficiency PSCs with an aperture area of 1.0 cm2 and 16.97% efficiency flexible device. The results demonstrate the promise of carrier‐concentration‐controlled SnO2 QD ESLs for fabricating stable, efficient, reproducible, large‐scale, and flexible planar PSCs.
SnO2 quantum dots (QDs) are synthesized by a simple and reproducible two‐step low‐temperature method, in which the carrier concentration of colloidal SnO2 QDs is controlled. Planar perovskite solar cells with efficiencies of 20.8% in small size (0.09 cm2), ≈19% in large size (1 cm2), and 16.97% for flexible devices with low‐temperature processed SnO2 QD electron‐selective layers are obtained.
•Effect and mechanism of inhibitor are studied in two full-scale MSW incinerators.•A scientific research system is adopted without the influence of activated carbon.•Poisoning catalytic metals and ...converting Cl2 to HCl are two mechanisms of inhibitor.•Inhibitor has more suppression effect on de novo synthesis than on CP-route formation.
The emission of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and -furans (PCDD/Fs) is a serious concern from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI). The utilization of inhibitor is an effective method to inhibit the formation of PCDD/Fs. In the present study, the thiourea is used as an effective inhibitor in two full-scale MSW incinerators, and the suppression mechanisms are investigated in detail. After the injection of thiourea, the total PCDD/Fs emission factor decreases from 6.19 and 7.89 mg/t MSW (0.13 and 0.18 mg I-TEQ/t MSW) to 1.35 and 1.34 mg/t MSW (0.029 and 0.026 mg I-TEQ/t MSW), respectively for incinerator A and B. In the post-combustion zone, the contribution of three pathways on PCDD/Fs formation is found to be in the order of de novo synthesis > chlorophenol (CP) route formation > chlorination of dibenzofuran (DF) and dibenzodioxin (DD). The S and N in thiourea poison the catalytic metals, thus significantly hindering the de novo synthesis of PCDD/Fs. Since metal catalysts for precursor-formation are not as crucial as for de novo synthesis, the thiourea has less suppression effect on CP-route synthesis, which is identified from the reduction of signal intensity of CP-route congeners. In addition, the chlorination of DF/DD is also observed to be suppressed, indicating the transformation of Cl2 to less activate HCl caused by thiourea. This study provides a robust basis to promote the industrial application of inhibitor to control the emissions of PCDD/Fs from MSW incinerator.
Despite the rapid increase of efficiency, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) still face some challenges, one of which is the current–voltage hysteresis. Herein, it is reported that yttrium‐doped tin ...dioxide (Y‐SnO2) electron selective layer (ESL) synthesized by an in situ hydrothermal growth process at 95 °C can significantly reduce the hysteresis and improve the performance of PSCs. Comparison studies reveal two main effects of Y doping of SnO2 ESLs: (1) it promotes the formation of well‐aligned and more homogeneous distribution of SnO2 nanosheet arrays (NSAs), which allows better perovskite infiltration, better contacts of perovskite with SnO2 nanosheets, and improves electron transfer from perovskite to ESL; (2) it enlarges the band gap and upshifts the band energy levels, resulting in better energy level alignment with perovskite and reduced charge recombination at NSA/perovskite interfaces. As a result, PSCs using Y‐SnO2 NSA ESLs exhibit much less hysteresis and better performance compared with the cells using pristine SnO2 NSA ESLs. The champion cell using Y‐SnO2 NSA ESL achieves a photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 17.29% (16.97%) when measured under reverse (forward) voltage scanning and a steady‐state efficiency of 16.25%. The results suggest that low‐temperature hydrothermal‐synthesized Y‐SnO2 NSA is a promising ESL for fabricating efficient and hysteresis‐less PSC.
Low‐temperature processed Y‐doped SnO2 nanosheets are fabricated and applied as electron selective layer (ESL) in efficient perovskite solar cells. The champion device using a Y‐SnO2 nanosheet array ESL achieves an efficiency of 17.29% (16.97%) when measured under reverse (forward) voltage scanning. The results suggest that low‐temperature hydrothermal‐synthesized Y‐SnO2 is a promising ESL for fabricating efficient and hysteresis‐less perovskite solar cells.
In this work, microwave-assisted hydrothermal process was applied to modify the municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash and get zeolitic production. The condition of hydrothermal process ...was fixed at 200 °C and 30 min. The 1 mol/L Na2HPO4 was selected as the additive, and the liquid to solid ratio was 3 ml/g. X-ray diffraction results revealed that analogous zeolite crystals formed by the MSWI fly ash during the hydrothermal process. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) was 0.498 meq/g of the modified fly ash, which increased about 22 times compared to the raw MSWI fly ash. To obtain the adsorption mechanism of the modified fly ash, the experiments of adsorption isotherm and kinetics were researched. The adsorption isotherms of heavy metal cations in mixed solution could be described by Langmuir isotherm equations, with a high correlation coefficient value. The experimental products were better fitted by the pseudo second-order kinetics rather than the pseudo first-order kinetics. Although the adsorption capacity of the modified fly ash needs to be promoted, it is a potential utilization for MSWI fly ash to be the original materials as adsorbents.
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•Zeolitic materials were synthesized from MSWI fly ash.•Na2HPO4 performed well in promotion of zeolite adsorption.•CEC of modified MSWI fly ash was significantly promoted in 30 min.•Adsorption mechanism was well described.
Emerging evidence revealed that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play significant roles in regulating tumorigenesis and cancer progression. However, few circRNAs were well characterized in clear cell renal ...cell carcinoma (ccRCC). We found that circPVT1 was significantly upregulated in ccRCC tissues and positively associated with the clinical stage. The Area Under Curve of tissue and serum circPVT1 expression in ccRCC were 0.93 and 0.86, respectively. Importantly, we demonstrated that circPVT1 promoted ccRCC growth and metastasis in vitro and in vivo. We also found that circPVT1 directly binds to miRNA‐145‐5p via the Biotin‐labelled miRNA pulldown assay and dual‐luciferase reporter assay, and miR‐145‐5p inhibitor significantly attenuated the effect of circPVT1 knockdown on ccRCC cells. Moreover, through RNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, we demonstrated that TBX15 was regulated by the circPVT1/miR‐145‐5p axis and predicted poor prognosis in ccRCC. These findings suggest that circPVT1 promotes ccRCC growth and metastasis through sponging miR‐145‐5p and regulating downstream target TBX15 expression. The circPVT1/miR‐145‐5p/TBX15 axis might be a potential diagnostic marker and therapeutic target in ccRCC.
We identified an oncogenic circular RNA circPVT1, which was overexpressed in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) tissues and promoted the growth and metastasis of ccRCC in vivo and in vitro. circPVT1 directly bound to miR‐145‐5p and subsequently inhibited its suppressing capability on TBX15. Our study highlighted the regulatory role of the circPVT1/miR‐145‐5p/TBX15 axis in ccRCC and provided a novel potential diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target for ccRCC patients.
Commercial electrolyte containing functional additives that completely suppress Fe dissolution from the LiFePO4 electrode was used in LiFePO4/graphite soft-packed cell for eliminating its catalysis ...to solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation. The results show that the cycle performances of assembled soft-packed full-cell were still temperature-dependent. Average Raman spectra show temperature-dependent extent of surface structural disorder in graphite, leading to higher interfacial resistance at elevated temperatures. Half-cell studies using cycled cathode at different temperatures reveal different lithiated LixFePO4. An accelerated mechanism of the operating temperature to reformation/repairing of SEI layer is proposed, which greatly consumes active lithium during cycling, therefore causes fast capacity loss at elevated temperatures.
•High-temperature capacity fading for LiFePO4/graphite soft-packed cell was studied.•Temperature-dependent extent of surface structural disorder in graphite was found.•Active lithium loss is still a dominating mechanism for irreversible capacity loss.•Fast and continuous reformation/repairing mechanism of instable SEI was proposed.
GPS field and seismic data show that the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau is tectonically and seismically active. This activity is due to the southeastward extrusion of the Chuandian ...fragment, a large crustal block rotating clockwise around the northeastern syntaxis of the Himalayas. The eastern boundary fault of this fragment is defined by the left‐lateral Xianshuihe‐Xiaojiang fault, which abruptly truncates the Sichuan basin of the Yangtze block. Our paper presents evidence indicating that the Sichuan basin experienced right‐lateral shear along its margin, including the Longmen Shan fault belt, as shown by the presence of a large number of interference deformation features, including S‐shaped and Z‐shaped folds and faults, aligned in an en echelon pattern. This study hypothesizes that the Sichuan basin experienced counterclockwise rotation, dragged by the left‐lateral movement along the Xianshuihe fault, and it is this rotation that was the underlying cause of the 12 May 2008 Wenchuan Ms 7.9 earthquake. During the rotation, the Sichuan basin decoupled along a subhorizontal decollement fault zone that developed along Triassic gypsum‐ and coal‐bearing rocks, at a mean depth of ~5000 m, below which the Paleozoic rocks experienced much more intense deformation than the overlying Mesozoic rocks, suggesting that the lower part of the basin experienced a larger‐scale rotation relative to the uppermost part of the basin. Based on thermal data from the western margin of the Sichuan basin and from along the Xianshuihe fault, the counterclockwise bending/rotation of the Sichuan basin initiated in late Cenozoic time (~13 Ma).
Key Points
Southeastward extrusion of Tibetan Plateau
Longmen Shan fault belt
Rotation of the Sichuan basin
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