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•Catalytic co-pyrolysis of sugarcane bagasse with waste plastic was investigated.•Mesoporous faujasite-type zeolite from electric arc furnace slag was prepared.•Hydrocarbon production ...was greatly enhanced with 74.55% selectivity.•Oxygenate content was considerably decreased with 1.24% selectivity.
This study investigated the catalytic co-pyrolysis of sugarcane bagasse (SCB) and waste high-density polyethylene (HDPE) over faujasite-type zeolite derived from electric arc furnace slag (FAU-EAFS) in a fixed-bed reactor. The effects of reaction temperature, catalyst-to-feedstock ratio, and HDPE-to-SCB ratio on product fractional yields and chemical compositions were discussed. The co-pyrolysis of SCB and HDPE over FAU-EAFS increased the liquid yield and enhanced the quality of bio-oil. The maximum bio-oil (68.56 wt%) and hydrocarbon yield (74.55%) with minimum yield of oxygenated compounds (acid = 0.57% and ester = 0.67%) were achieved under the optimum experimental conditions of catalyst-to-feedstock ratio of 1:6, HDPE-to-SCB ratio of 40:60, and temperature of 500 °C. The oil produced by catalytic co-pyrolysis had higher calorific value than the oil produced by the pyrolysis of SCB alone.
The commonest indication for hospitalization in COVID-19 patients is hypoxemia or severe respiratory symptoms. However, COVID-19 disease may result in extrapulmonary complications including ...kidney-related pathology. The reported incidence of renal involvement related to COVID infection varies based on geographical location.
This study aimed to assess the incidence rate of AKI in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and identify risk factors and prognostic predictors.
In this retrospective study, we recruited hospitalized COVID-19 patients from January 2021 until June 2021 at the University Malaya Medical Center. The inclusion criteria were hospitalized for ≥ 48 h with confirmed COVID-19 infection and at least 18 years old. Patient demographic and clinical data were collected from electronic medical records. The staging of AKI was based on criteria as per KDIGO guidelines.
One thousand five hundred twenty-nine COVID patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria with a male-to-female ratio of 759 (49.6%) to 770 (50.3%). The median age was 55 (IQR: 36-66). 500 patients (32.7%) had diabetes, 621 (40.6%) had hypertension, and 5.6% (n = 85) had pre-existing chronic kidney disease (CKD). The incidence rate of AKI was 21.1% (n = 323). The percentage of COVID patients in different AKI stages of 1,2 and 3 were 16.3%, 2.1%, and 2.7%, respectively. Fifteen hospitalized patients (0.98%) required renal replacement therapy. 58.8% (n = 190) of AKI group had complete recovery of kidney function. Demographic factors included age (p < 0.001), diabetes (p < 0.001), hypertension (p < 0.012), CKD (p < 0.001), and vaccination status (p = 0.042) were associated with an increased risk of developing AKI. We found that the AKI cohort had statistically significant lower platelet counts and higher ferritin levels than the non-AKI cohort. AKI is a risk predictor of prolonged hospitalization (p < 0.001) and higher mortality rates (P < 0.001).
AKI is a common clinical complication among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The etiology of AKI is multifactorial and may have an adverse impact on patient morbidity and mortality.
Highlights • Psychological distress exerts differential effects across salivary IgA subclasses. • Higher perceived stress relates to lower salivary IgA1, but not IgA2, levels. • Loneliness and ...depression relate to higher levels of Secretory Component (SC). • Results suggest that stress affects secretory immunity directly by modulating B-cell secretion of IgA. • Loneliness and depression appear to modify secretory immunity indirectly by altering the IgA transport mechanism.
Purpose
Perioperative intravenous ketamine may be a useful addition in pain management regimens. Previous systematic reviews have included all methods of ketamine administration, and heterogeneity ...between studies has been substantial. This study addresses this issue by narrowing the inclusion criteria, using a random effects model, and performing subgroup analysis to determine the specific types of patients, surgery, and clinical indications which may benefit from perioperative ketamine administration.
Source
We included published studies from 1966 to 2010 which were randomized, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled using intravenous ketamine (bolus or infusion) to decrease postoperative pain. Studies using any form of regional anesthesia were excluded. No limitation was placed on the ketamine dose, patient age, or language of publication.
Principal findings
Ninety-one comparisons in seventy studies involving 4,701 patients met the inclusion criteria (2,652 in ketamine groups and 2,049 in placebo groups). Forty-seven of these studies were appropriate for evaluation in the core meta-analysis, and the remaining 23 studies were used to corroborate the results. A reduction in total opioid consumption and an increase in the time to first analgesic were observed across all studies (
P
< 0.001). The greatest efficacy was found for thoracic, upper abdominal, and major orthopedic surgical subgroups. Despite using less opioid, 25 out of 32 treatment groups (78%) experienced less pain than the placebo groups at some point postoperatively when ketamine was efficacious. This finding implies an improved quality of pain control in addition to decreased opioid consumption. Hallucinations and nightmares were more common with ketamine but sedation was not. When ketamine was efficacious for pain, postoperative nausea and vomiting was less frequent in the ketamine group. The dose-dependent role of ketamine analgesia could not be determined.
Conclusion
Intravenous ketamine is an effective adjunct for postoperative analgesia. Particular benefit was observed in painful procedures, including upper abdominal, thoracic, and major orthopedic surgeries. The analgesic effect of ketamine was independent of the type of intraoperative opioid administered, timing of ketamine administration, and ketamine dose.
► We studied the optimization of coagulation in microalgae cultivation using chitosan. ► Chitosan could remove 99% of microalgae cells at the concentration of 10
ppm, mixing time of 20
min, mixing ...rate of 150
ppm and sedimentation time of 20
min. ► The rise in concentration of chitosan shows restabilization of microalgae cultures and reducing the efficiency of the process.
Here, we report on the harvesting of microalgae cells by coagulation using chitosan and the optimization of this process. Chitosan is a natural and environmentally friendly biopolymer created by the extensive deacetylation of chitin from shrimp, crab and crawfish. Although conventional chemical coagulants such as alum may have negative impacts on human health, the use of chitosan as coagulant is suitable to harvest live microalgae. In this paper, the jar-test method was used to identify the best chitosan conditions (including concentration dosage, mixing time, mixing rate and sedimentation time), for harvesting the
Chlorella sp. from their cultures. The effect of mixing time, mixing rate and sedimentation time on microalgae removal were analyzed using the optimized chitosan dosage. The mechanism of coagulation using chitosan appears to consist of adsorption and charge neutralization. Chitosan not only acts as an adsorbent, but also spontaneously coagulates to agglomerate the microalgae cells. This two-in-one process makes the chitosan a good coagulant, allowing removal of microalgae cells, even at low concentrations. Chitosan successfully removed 99.0
±
0.4% of the microalgae cells at the following optimal parameters: chitosan concentration of 10
ppm, mixing time of 20
min, mixing rate of 150
ppm and sedimentation time of 20
min. An increase in chitosan concentration resulted in restabilization of the microalgae cultures, reducing the efficiency of the process.
Current technologies to subtype glioblastoma (GBM), the most lethal brain tumor, require highly invasive brain biopsies. Here, we develop a dedicated analytical platform to achieve direct and ...multiplexed profiling of circulating RNAs in extracellular vesicles for blood-based GBM characterization. The technology, termed 'enzyme ZIF-8 complexes for regenerative and catalytic digital detection of RNA' (EZ-READ), leverages an RNA-responsive transducer to regeneratively convert and catalytically enhance signals from rare RNA targets. Each transducer comprises hybrid complexes - protein enzymes encapsulated within metal organic frameworks - to configure strong catalytic activity and robust protection. Upon target RNA hybridization, the transducer activates directly to liberate catalytic complexes, in a target-recyclable manner; when partitioned within a microfluidic device, these complexes can individually catalyze strong chemifluorescence reactions for digital RNA quantification. The EZ-READ platform thus enables programmable and reliable RNA detection, across different-sized RNA subtypes (miRNA and mRNA), directly in sample lysates. When clinically evaluated, the EZ-READ platform established composite signatures for accurate blood-based GBM diagnosis and subtyping.
Epitheliotropic intestinal T-cell lymphoma (EITL, also known as type II enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma) is an aggressive intestinal disease with poor prognosis and its molecular alterations ...have not been comprehensively characterized. We aimed to identify actionable easy-to-screen alterations that would allow better diagnostics and/or treatment of this deadly disease. By performing whole-exome sequencing of four EITL tumor-normal pairs, followed by amplicon deep sequencing of 42 tumor samples, frequent alterations of the JAK-STAT and G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling pathways were discovered in a large portion of samples. Specifically, STAT5B was mutated in a remarkable 63% of cases, JAK3 in 35% and GNAI2 in 24%, with the majority occurring at known activating hotspots in key functional domains. Moreover, STAT5B locus carried copy-neutral loss of heterozygosity resulting in the duplication of the mutant copy, suggesting the importance of mutant STAT5B dosage for the development of EITL. Dysregulation of the JAK-STAT and GPCR pathways was also supported by gene expression profiling and further verified in patient tumor samples. In vitro overexpression of GNAI2 mutants led to the upregulation of pERK1/2, a member of MEK-ERK pathway. Notably, inhibitors of both JAK-STAT and MEK-ERK pathways effectively reduced viability of patient-derived primary EITL cells, indicating potential therapeutic strategies for this neoplasm with no effective treatment currently available.
While it is now appreciated that certain long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have important functions in cell biology, relatively few have been shown to regulate development in vivo, particularly with ...genetic strategies that establish cis versus trans mechanisms. Pnky is a nuclear-enriched lncRNA that is transcribed divergently from the neighboring proneural transcription factor Pou3f2. Here, we show that conditional deletion of Pnky from the developing cortex regulates the production of projection neurons from neural stem cells (NSCs) in a cell-autonomous manner, altering postnatal cortical lamination. Surprisingly, Pou3f2 expression is not disrupted by deletion of the entire Pnky gene. Moreover, expression of Pnky from a BAC transgene rescues the differential gene expression and increased neurogenesis of Pnky-knockout NSCs, as well as the developmental phenotypes of Pnky-deletion in vivo. Thus, despite being transcribed divergently from a key developmental transcription factor, the lncRNA Pnky regulates development in trans.
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•Pnky is a long noncoding RNA that regulates cortical development in vivo•Pnky acts cell-autonomously to affect neuron production in the developing cortex•Despite its divergent configuration with Pou3f2, Pnky does not regulate Pou3f2•BAC transgenic rescue demonstrates that Pnky functions in trans
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) can play important roles in cells, but the in vivo functions of most lncRNAs remain unclear. Andersen et al. find that the lncRNA Pnky regulates neuron production in the developing mouse cortex in a cell-autonomous manner and further demonstrate that Pnky functions in trans.
Studies that examined the effect of amphetamine or caffeine on spatial working memory (SWM) and verbal working memory (VWM) have used various tasks. However, there are no studies that have used ...spatial span tasks (SSTs) to assess the SWM effect of amphetamine and caffeine, although some studies have used digit span tasks (DST) to assess VWM. Previous reports also showed that increasing dopamine increases psychosis-like experiences (PLE, or schizotypy) scores which are in turn negatively associated with WM performance in people with high schizotypy and people with schizophrenia. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the influence of d-amphetamine (0.45 mg/kg, PO), a dopamine releasing stimulant, on SST, DST, and on PLE in healthy volunteers. In a separate study, we examined the effect of caffeine, a nonspecific adenosine receptor antagonist with stimulant properties, on similar tasks.
Healthy participants (N = 40) took part in two randomized, double-blind, counter-balanced placebo-controlled cross-over pilot studies: The first group (N = 20) with d-amphetamine (0.45 mg/kg, PO) and the second group (N = 20) with caffeine (200 mg, PO). Spatial span and digit span were examined under four delay conditions (0, 2, 4, 8 s). PLE were assessed using several scales measuring various aspects of psychosis and schizotypy.
We failed to find an effect of d-amphetamine or caffeine on SWM or VWM, relative to placebo. However, d-amphetamine increased a composite score of psychosis-like experiences (p = 0.0005), specifically: Scores on Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Perceptual Aberrations Scale, and Magical Ideation Scale were increased following d-amphetamine. The degree of change in PLE following d-amphetamine negatively and significantly correlated with changes in SWM, mainly at the longest delay condition of 8 s (r = -0.58, p = 0.006).
The present results showed that moderate-high dose of d-amphetamine and moderate dose of caffeine do not directly affect performances on DST or SST. However, the results indicate that d-amphetamine indirectly influences SWM, through its effect on psychosis-like experiences.
CT-2018-CTN-02561 (Therapeutic Goods Administration Clinical Trial Registry) and ACTRN12618001292268 (The Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry) for caffeine study, and ACTRN12608000610336 for d-amphetamine study.
Rechargeable aqueous Zn/S batteries exhibit high capacity and energy density. However, the long‐term battery performance is bottlenecked by the sulfur side reactions and serious Zn anode dendritic ...growth in the aqueous electrolyte medium. This work addresses the problem of sulfur side reactions and zinc dendrite growth simultaneously by developing a unique hybrid aqueous electrolyte using ethylene glycol as a co‐solvent. The designed hybrid electrolyte enables the fabricated Zn/S battery to deliver an unprecedented capacity of 1435 mAh g−1 and an excellent energy density of 730 Wh kg−1 at 0.1 Ag−1. In addition, the battery exhibits capacity retention of 70% after 250 cycles even at 3 Ag−1. Moreover, the cathode charge–discharge mechanism studies demonstrate a multi‐step conversion reaction. During discharge, the elemental sulfur is sequentially reduced by Zn to S2− (S8→Sx2−→S22−+S2−)${{\rm{S}}_8}{\bm{ \to }}{\rm{S}}_{\rm{x}}^{2{\bm{ - }}}{\bm{ \to }}{\rm{S}}_2^{2{\bm{ - }}}{\bm{ + }}{{\rm{S}}^{2{\bm{ - }}})$, forming ZnS. On charging, the ZnS and short‐chain polysulfides will oxidize back to elemental sulfur. This electrolyte design strategy and unique multi‐step electrochemistry of the Zn/S system provide a new pathway in tackling both key issues of Zn dendritic growth and sulfur side reactions, and also in designing better Zn/S batteries in the future.
A high‐performance Zn–S battery is achieved by employing a hybrid electrolyte using a low‐cost protic solvent (ethylene glycol) as the co‐solvent in water. The designed hybrid electrolyte not only can regulate water activity and suppress sulfur side reactions in aqueous electrolytes but also forms an in situ SEI layer on the Zn anode to facilitate reversible Zn stripping/plating.
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