Trichinellosis is an important foodborne zoonosis, and no effective treatments are yet available. Nod-like receptor (NLR) plays a critical role in the host response against nematodes. Therefore, we ...aimed to explore the role of the NLRP3 inflammasome (NLRP3) during the adult, migrating, and encysted stages of Trichinella spiralis infection. The mice were treated with the specific NLRP3 inhibitor MCC950 after inoculation with T. spiralis. Then, the role that NLRP3 plays during T. spiralis infection of mice was evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Western blotting, flow cytometry, histopathological evaluation, bone marrow-derived macrophage (BMDM) stimulation, and immunofluorescence. The
results showed that NLRP3 enhanced the Th1 immune response in the adult and migrating stages and weakened the Th2 immune response in the encysted stage. NLRP3 promoted the release of proinflammatory factors (interferon gamma IFN-γ) and suppressed the release of anti-inflammatory factors (interleukin 4 IL-4). Pathological changes were also improved in the absence of NLRP3 in mice during T. spiralis infection. Importantly, a significant reduction in adult worm burden and muscle larvae burden at 7 and 35 days postinfection was observed in mice treated with the specific NLRP3 inhibitor MCC950.
, we first demonstrated that NLRP3 in macrophages can be activated by T. spiralis proteins and promotes IL-1β and IL-18 release. This study revealed that NLRP3 is involved in the host response to T. spiralis infection and that targeted inhibition of NLRP3 enhanced the Th2 response and accelerated T. spiralis expulsion. These findings may help in the development of protocols for controlling trichinellosis.
Display omitted
•WABR-SBR combined system can efficiently treat wastewater with a C/N ratio of 50.•The carbon and nitrogen removal efficiency of the three combined systems was up to 99% with no ...nitrite and nitrate accumulation.•Functional microorganisms and functional genes related to the removal of pollutants were analyzed.•Metabolism mechanism of carbohydrates and amino acids was elucidated.
A low-cost and high-efficiency waterfall aeration biofilm reactor (WABR) combined with a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was established to treat wastewater with a C/N ratio of 50. Three WABR-SBR systems with different fillers were used. In the stable operation phase, the removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand was R1 (approximately 99%), R2 (97–99%), and R3 (96–99%); the effluent concentration of NH4+-N was 0.5 mg/L without nitrite or nitrate accumulation. High-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that the dominant phyla in the microbial community structure were Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Planctomycetes. Quantitative PCR was used to quantify the nitrification and denitrification gene expressions (Nitrobacter, nirS, and nirK) to evaluate the simultaneous nitrification and denitrification processes. Both anammox and denitrifying bacteria were abundant. Metagenomic annotation of genes that revealed the metabolic pathways of carbohydrates, amino acids, and the two dominant enzymes (GH and GT) provide valuable information for microbial ecology analysis.
In order to test the applicability of the existing correlations of the flow and heat transfer performances (FHTPs) of the high-efficiency fins to the plate-fin heat exchanger (PFHE) for hydrogen ...liquefaction, a numerical model is established to investigate the FHTPs of hydrogen in the serrated fin (SF) and wavy fin (WF). The results show that the existing correlations can be applied to the conditions of the low-pressure hydrogen in 30–300 K and the high-pressure hydrogen in 40–300 K. However, the FHTPs of the high-pressure hydrogen in 30–40 K are obviously different from the existing correlations and need the new correlations for calculation. The high-pressure and low-temperature condition leads the low velocity in the fin channel, resulting in that the serrated locations of the SF and the wave crest and wave trough of the WF are the keys to affect the FHTPs. On the basis, a series of data points reflecting the relationships between the FHTPs and the operational and structural parameters are extracted from the response surfaces to establish the new correlations. For the SF, the new correlations of the Colburn heat transfer factor (j) and the Fanning friction factor (f) have a good consistency with the original data, with the fitting goodness of 96.4% and 92.4% and the average relative deviations of 8.3% and 9.7% respectively. And the fitting goodness and average relative deviations of the new correlations of the WF are 96.5% and 99.0%, and 7.9% and 9.3% respectively. The new correlations of the SF and WF can be used to guide the design of the PFHE in 30–40 K for hydrogen liquefaction.
Display omitted
•Applicability of existing correlations of FHTPs of SF and WF for hydrogen liquefaction is tested.•Hydrogen (low-pressure in 30–300 K, high-pressure in 40–300 K) can adopt existing correlations.•Hydrogen (high-pressure in 30–40 K) needs new correlations for calculation.•New correlations of SF and WF for hydrogen (high-pressure in 30–40 K) are obtained.
Although the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have made great progress, the surface and interface defects still affect their PCE and stability and hinder the ...commercialization. To overcome this problem, 1‐methylimidazole (1‐MIm) and 1‐methylbenzimidazole (1‐MBIm) were used as the interfacial passivation agents to passivate the defects at surface and interface. The results indicated that, in contrast to 1‐MIm, 1‐MBIm displayed a stronger Lewis coordination interaction with the uncoordinated Pb2+ to reduce the non‐radiative recombination and also effectively improved the charge transfer capacity of perovskite films due to its strong π–π conjugate interaction, resulting in the better photovoltaic performance. As a result, the PCE of the champion 1‐MBIm PSC was improved from 19.48 (pristine) to 21.22 % with a dramatically enhanced open‐circuit voltage (Voc=1.15 V). More importantly, a significant improvement in long‐term stability was achieved for 1‐MBIm perovskite devices, which was attributed to the high‐quality perovskite film caused by the strong passivation effect of 1‐MBIm and the hydrogen bond with water molecules. The results offers an efficient and facile strategy by interface engineering to fabricate high‐performance and stable PSCs for commercial application.
Passivation agent: 1‐Methylbenzimidazole (1‐MBIm) as interfacial passivation agent can effectively enhance the charge transfer capacity and passivate the defects at surface and interface due to the strong π–π conjugate effect. As a result, the 1‐MBIm perovskite device displays an improved power conversion efficiency from 19.48 to 21.22 % with a dramatically enhanced open‐circuit voltage and significantly improved stability against humidity, heat, and UV light.
Several studies have addressed the diagnostic accuracy of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) to assess acute cardiac allograft rejection (ACAR) compared with endomyocardial biopsy (EMB). But the ...methodological heterogeneity limited the clinical application of CMR. Accordingly, we have sought a comprehensive, systematic literature review and meta-analysis for the purpose.
Studies prior to September 1, 2014 identified by Medline/PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrance search and citation tracking were examined by two independent reviewers. A study was included if a CMR was used as a diagnostic test for the detection of ACAR.
Of the seven articles met the inclusion criteria. Only four studies using T2 relaxation time as a CMR parameter could be pooled results, because the number of studies using other parameters was less than three. By using DerSimonian-Laird random effects model, meta-analysis demonstrated a pooled sensitivity of 90% 95% confidence interval (CI), 79% to 97%, a pooled specificity of 83% (95% CI, 78% to 88%), and a pooled diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of 61.66 (95% CI, 18.09 to 210.10).
CMR seems to have a high sensitivity and moderate specificity in the diagnosis of ACAR. However, as a result of CMR for diagnostic ACAR should be comprehensively considered by physicians and imaging experts in the context of clinical presentations and imaging feature. Further investigations are still required to test different parameters and study condition.
TiO
2 nanoparticles was introduced into quasi-solid-state Poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-HFP)) based gel electrolyte to form nanocomposite gel electrolyte for ...quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells. The steady-state voltammograms revealed that the diffusion performance of the triiodide and iodide in the quasi-solid-state P(VDF-HFP) based gel electrolyte was greatly enhanced after the addition of TiO
2 nanoparticles. Especially, the apparent diffusion coefficient of I
3
− increased from 0.76×10
−10
m
2/s to 4.42×10
−10
m
2/s, reached the level of the liquid electrolyte (4.04×10
−10
m
2/s). By introducing TiO
2 nanoparticles, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the gel based device increased from 5.72% to 7.18%, which reached the level of the liquid electrolytes based device (7.01%). The electrical impedance spectrum revealed that the addition of TiO
2 nanoparticles could reduce the charge recombination at the interface of dyed TiO
2 electrode/electrolyte. The results of the accelerated aging tests showed that the nano-TiO
2 composite gel electrolytes based devices could maintain 90% of their initial value after heating at 60
°C for 1000
h, which indicated that they had better thermostability than the corresponding normal gel electrolyte based devices and liquid electrolyte based devices.
•Ni/CaO-Ca5Al6O14 exhibited high activity and stability in 50 cycles of CO2 capture.•Ni/CaO-Ca5Al6O14 extrudates had high activity and stability over 10 SESMR cycles.•Ca5Al6O14 acted as a support ...matrix to stabilize the bifunctional catalyst.•Advantages of Ni/CaO-Ca5Al6O14 over the catalyst/sorbent mixture were demonstrated.•A screened catalyst had good stability over 20 cycles at a low H2O/CH4 ratio of 2.
In this work, mm-sized shaped Ni/CaO-Ca5Al6O14 bifunctional catalyst extrudates were prepared by extruding sol–gel-derived Ni/CaO-Ca5Al6O14 powder, and applied to the sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming (SESMR) process. The Ca5Al6O14-stabilized bifunctional catalysts exhibited higher stability and CaO utilization efficiency than that of Ni/CaO when subjected to 50 carbonation–calcination cycles for CO2 capture, indicating the positive effect of Ca5Al6O14 incorporation. The Ni/CaO-Ca5Al6O14 extrudates possessed good activity and stability over 10 SESMR cycles, and showed advantages over the use of catalyst and sorbent mixture, including an extended prebreakthrough time and a higher catalytic activity. In particular, the Ni/CaO-Ca5Al6O14 extrudate consisting of 15wt% (mass fraction) Ni, 61.7wt% CaO and 23.3wt% Ca5Al6O14 provided high activity and stability for the SESMR process, even at a low H2O/CH4 molar ratio of 2 over 20 SESMR cycles. These results clearly demonstrate that the Ni/CaO-Ca5Al6O14 extrudate is an interesting candidate for the SESMR process.
In order to meet rapidly growing demand of liquid hydrogen in the future hydrogen industry and energy structure, the continuous catalytic ortho-para hydrogen conversion technology (CCOPHCT) has been ...once again proposed and has become an important choice to improve the hydrogen liquefaction units (HLUs). The origin, concept, and research progress of the CCOPHCT are systematically reviewed for the first time in this paper. However, the research depth and breadth of the CCOPHCT are insufficient to support its current application. To solve it, for the continuous catalytic ortho-para hydrogen conversion plate-fin heat exchanger (CCOPHC-PFHE) with better comprehensive performances, this paper comprehensively summarizes the research achievements in the related fields from the perspective of the unit analysis, including the ortho-para hydrogen conversion (OPHC), packing layer and plate-fin heat exchanger (PFHE), which to provide further thinking for the development of the CCOPHC-PFHE. Further, some suggestions for the CCOPHCT are proposed based on the existed research foundations, including preparing the effective ortho-para hydrogen conversion catalyst (OPHCC), developing the accurate OPHC dynamical model, revealing the coupling mechanism in the packing layer filled with the OPHCC and establishing an effective design method and standard of the CCOPHC-PFHE. In addition, considering the special conditions on the CCOPHC-PFHE, the importance of the experimental research is emphasized. And based on the established hydrogen experimental platform with the comprehensive supporting implementations, the experimental device of the CCOPHC-PFHE has been completed and a series of experimental tests are currently in progressing.
Display omitted
•The origin, concept, and progress of the CCOPHCT are reviewed for the first time.•The CCOPHC-PFHE is the preferred choice for the CCOPHCT.•The related researches are summarized to give a further thinking for the CCOPHC-PFHE.•Some suggestions are proposed for the further development of the CCOPHC-PFHE.•The experiment on the CCOPHC-PFHE is essential and currently in progressing.
Display omitted
•A novel La-In-PbO2 co-doped electrode was prepared through electrodeposition.•The electrode presents compact pyramidal structure with large surface area.•The modification enhances ...the oxygen evolution potential and the stability of the electrode.•Hydrolyzed polyacrylamide can be degraded effectively.
The anode materials play a key role in the electrochemical oxidation process. In this work, a new type of Ti/Sn-SbOx/α-PbO2/La-In-β-PbO2 electrode has been prepared through electrodeposition and applied to the degradation of high concentration aqueous solution of hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were employed to characterize the surface morphological and structural properties of the electrodes, which indicated that the La-In-PbO2 electrode had smaller grain size, denser surface and larger active surface area compared with undoped and single-doped PbO2 electrode. Cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were also utilized to investigate the electrochemical performance of electrodes. The results showed that the La-In-PbO2 electrode exhibited higher oxidation peak current, oxygen evolution potential (2.22 V) and lower charge transfer resistance. The La-In-PbO2 electrodes were used as anode to degrade HPAM solution under different conditions. The results revealed that the viscosity reduction rate of HPAM reached to 97.63 % after 60 min under the condition of electrolyte concentration, initial concentration of HPAM, initial pH and current density were 0.05 M, 3 g·L−1, 7 and 20 mA·cm−2, respectively. The kinetic behavior of HPAM degradation was analyzed by the viscosity reduction experiment. The intermediates in the electrochemical oxidation process were identified by GC–MS and the possible degradation mechanism of HPAM was explored by UV–visible absorption spectra and the Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectra.
