Glioma is a common brain malignancy with high mortality. The competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks may play key roles in cancer progression. This study was conducted to probe the role of long ...noncoding RNA (lncRNA) NCK1-AS1 in glioma progression and the involved mechanisms.
Microarray analyses were performed to explore the lncRNAs/miRNAs/genes with differential expression in glioma. NCK1-AS1 levels in glioma tissues and normal brain tissues, and in glioma cell lines and normal human glial cells were identified. The interactions among NCK1-AS1, miR-138-2-3p and TRIM24 were validated through luciferase reporter, RNA immunoprecipitation and RNA pull-down assays. Gain- and loss-of functions of NCK1-AS1, miR-138-2-3p and TRIM24 were performed to identify their roles in the behaviors of glioma cells. The activity of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway was measured. In vivo experiments were performed as well.
High expression of NCK1-AS1 was found in glioma tissues and cells, especially in U251 cells. Online predictions and the integrated experiments identified that NCK1-AS1 elevated the TRIM24 expression through sponging miR-138-2-3p, and further activated the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Artificial silencing of NCK1-AS1 or up-regulation of miR-138-2-3p led to inhibited proliferation, invasion and migration but promoted cell apoptosis of U251 cells, while up-regulation of TRIM24 reversed these changes, and it activated the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. The in vitro results were reproduced in in vivo experiments.
Our study suggested that NCK1-AS1 might elevate TRIM24 expression and further activate the Wnt/β-catenin pathway via acting as a ceRNA for miR-138-2-3p. Silencing of NCK1-AS1 might inhibit the progression of glioma.
The temperature estimation of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is of great significance to their thermal management and intelligent operation. Due to different working conditions and unknown external ...disturbance, batteries often need to work at a large operating range with multiple working points. However, direct global modeling and persistently exciting experiment in a large working region are very costly in practical. Complex spatiotemporal coupling and infinite-dimensional nature further make the problem more difficult. To address the above problems, a novel multiple spatiotemporal modeling method is proposed based on incremental spatiotemporal broad learning (ST-BL) and adaptive ensemble learning (EL) for the temperature prediction of batteries. First, the thermal process is identified through several local spatiotemporal domains using density peak clustering. To solve the complex spatiotemporal coupling problem, a novel ST-BL that introduces a spatial kernel function into BL is developed to model each local spatiotemporal domain. Further, the multiple ST-BL model is obtained by adaptive EL of all local models. In addition, to improve the adaptive ability of the model to the current state, incremental learning is performed on local models using newly arrived samples. Since the proposed multiple spatiotemporal modeling method involves a multi-modeling mechanism, it can achieve higher accuracy and efficiency than the traditional global single spatiotemporal modeling method, which is validated by an LIB experiment.
Purpose
Synthetic ammonia is not only the basis of the fertilizer industry in China but also has the highest energy consumption and pollution emissions in the chemical industry. The objective of this ...study was to conduct a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) of ammonia production based on different raw materials to identify the crucial processes and parameters and to provide suggestions for clean and sustainable development of the ammonia industry in China.
Methods
Based on actual industrial data, this study comprehensively evaluated the resource consumption and pollution emissions caused by different raw material routes and coal-to-ammonia technologies from a life cycle perspective according to the LCA standards ISO 14040 series and using the CML 2001 method and identified the key environmental impact categories and stage contributions. In addition, the effects of various input parameters on the environmental burden were specified through sensitivity analysis. Accordingly, suggestions for improving the environmental performance of ammonia production are proposed.
Results
The environmental burdens of the coal-based and coke oven gas-based routes were 1.43 and 1.7 times higher than that of the natural gas-based route, respectively. The significant differences were mainly reflected in the greenhouse effect, acidification, and fossil energy depletion. Advanced coal-to-ammonia technology, represented by coal water slurry gasification, showed a lower environmental burden than the traditional intermittent gasification technology, especially in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption. The GHG emissions involved in producing ammonia decreased from 3.88 to 2.18 kg per 1 kg of ammonia, and energy consumption decreased by approximately 17%, from 5.69 to 4.71 MJ.
Conclusions
Coal is the main raw material used for ammonia production in China, and the results showed that the application of advanced coal gasification with energy-saving technologies can effectively improve the environmental performance of synthetic ammonia production in China.
A phosphorous-based bi-functional compound HPDAl was used as a reactive-type flame retardant (FR) in an epoxy thermoset (EP) aiming to improve the flame retardant efficiency of phosphorus-based ...compounds. HPDAl, consisting of two different P-groups of aluminum phosphinate (AHP) and phosphophenanthrene (DOPO) with different phosphorous chemical environments and thus exerting different FR actions, exhibited an intramolecular P-P groups synergy and possessed superior flame-retardant efficiency compared with DOPO or AHP alone or the physical combination of DOPO/AHP in EP. Adding 2 wt.% HPDAl made EP composites acquire a LOI value of 32.3%, pass a UL94 V-0 rating with a blowing-out effect, and exhibit a decrease in the heat/smoke release. The flame retardant modes of action of HPDAl were confirmed by the experiments of the scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermogravimetry–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy–gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (TG-FTIR-GC/MS). The results indicate that the phosphorous-based FRs show different influences on the flame retardancy of composites, mainly depending on their chemical structures. HPDAl had a flame inhibition effect in the gas phase and a charring effect in the condensed phase, with a well-balanced distribution of P content in the gas/condensed phase. Furthermore, the addition of HPDAl hardly impaired the mechanical properties of the matrix due to the link by chemical bonds between them.
Abstract
Cellulose acetate (CA) is a bio‐based polymer derived from natural resources and has unique physical and chemical properties, such as high transparency, chemical and mechanical stability, ...hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. This study proposed an approach for the fabrication of CA‐based microfluidic devices with injection molded CA sheet and CO
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laser‐ablated microchannel. This study also provided a detailed study of the width and depth of the laser‐ablated microchannels with various scan speeds and laser energy settings. A droplet generator and a diffusion mixer were also fabricated and tested for the demonstration of the proposed fabrication technique. Biocompatibility test, biodegradability test, and spontaneous flow experiments were also conducted with the fabricated CA‐based microfluidic devices. The proposed fabrication method for CA‐based microfluidic devices has great application prospects in analytical chemistry, biological, and medical fields for the formation of environmentally friendly microfluidics devices.
As a promising treatment technology for wastewater, the promotion of membrane bioreactors (MBR) is restricted by biological fouling. Among the measures used to mitigate membrane fouling, the addition ...of powdered activated carbon (PAC) to MBRs has been recognized as an effective practice. However, the effects of PAC dosage on the performance of MBRs that treat highly biochemical influent from wastewater treatment plants remain unclear. In this study, by investigating the treatment of biochemical tailwater by PAC–MBRs, we thoroughly analyzed the effects of PAC dosage on the contamination removal efficiency, membrane operation cycles, sludge mixture properties, and microorganism distributions. The results indicated that the addition of PAC enhanced the removal efficiency of MBRs depending on the contaminant of interest. For example, the removal efficiency of total nitrogen can be boosted from 30 % to 60 % with PAC addition, while the removal efficiencies of total phosphorus were comparable with or without PAC addition. Furthermore, the application of PAC in MBRs can prolong the duration of membranes by suppressing biological fouling. This was supported by the decreased microbial products, reduced smaller solid particles, and stronger stability of sludge particles. PAC addition also boosts the proportion of Proteus and decreases the proportion of Bacteroides, which helps to improve the removal efficiencies of contaminants. Finally, among the PAC dosages tested in our study, 1.5 g/L PAC was proposed as the optimal candidate for treating highly biochemical influents. For example, the corresponding time for transmembrane pressure to reach 0.03 MPa was 19 d at 1.5 g/L PAC, while these periods were 7 and 14 d at dosages of 0 and 0.5 g/L, respectively. Overall, the findings of this study will aid in the selection of optimal dosages for other systems with different types of influents.
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•Adding powdered activated carbon improves the performance of membrane bioreactors.•The addition of powdered activated carbon prolongs the duration of membranes.•We found out that the optimal dosage of powdered activation carbon was 1.5 g/L•Reduction in polysaccharide contributed the most in mitigating biological fouling.
Numerous observational studies have reported an association between frailty and atherosclerosis. However, the causal relationship between frailty and the occurrence of atherosclerosis in different ...anatomical sites remains unclear. we conducted a bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) study to evaluate the causal relationship between the frailty index (FI), and both systemic atherosclerosis and lipids.
We obtained summary statistics from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of various phenotypes, including frailty (n = 175,226), coronary atherosclerosis (n = 56,685), cerebral atherosclerosis (n = 150,765), peripheral arterial disease (PAD) (n = 361,194), atherosclerosis at other sites (n = 17,832), LDL-C (n = 201,678), HDL-C (n = 77,409), and triglycerides (n = 78,700). The primary MR analysis employed the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method. Furthermore, to assess reverse causality, we employed inverse MR and multivariate MR analysis.
Genetically predicted FI showed positive associations with the risk of coronary atherosclerosis (OR = 1.47, 95% CI 1.12-1.93) and cerebral atherosclerosis (OR = 1.99, 95% CI 1.05-3.78), with no significant association (p >0.05) applied to peripheral arterial disease and atherosclerosis at other sites. Genetically predicted FI was positively associated with the risk of triglycerides (OR = 1.31, 95% CI 1.08-1.59), negatively associated with the risk of LDL-C (OR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.78-0.97), and showed no significant association with the risk of HDL-C (p >0.05). Furthermore, both reverse MR and multivariate MR analyses demonstrated a correlation between systemic atherosclerosis, lipids, and increased FI.
Our study elucidated that genetically predicted FI is associated with the risk of coronary atherosclerosis and cerebral atherosclerosis by the MR analysis method, and they have a bidirectional causal relationship. Moreover, genetically predicted FI was causally associated with triglyceride and LDL-C levels. Further understanding of this association is crucial for optimizing medical practice and care models specifically tailored to frail populations.
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•Fe-leaching induces surface reconstruction of Ni-Fe alloy/NC during OER.•Fe-leaching during OER benefits the exposure of more active sites.•The high valent Ni, pyridinic N and ...metal-N species are the exact active centers.•The fully activated catalyst exhibits excellent OER activity.
Understanding the dynamic transformation process of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts is of importance for their rational design. Here we first report that Fe-leaching could induce the electrochemical activation of strongly coupled Ni-Fe alloy on N-doped carbon composites to boost the OER performance. It is demonstrated that the leaching of unstable FeOOH mixed layer from the surface of FeNi3 alloy is responsible for the surface reconstruction and exposure of more active sites. Furthermore, the N-doped carbon, FeNi3 alloy, together with the accompanying generation of Fe-doped Ni(OH)2, synergistically promote the OER activity after fully activation. It is also verified that the high valent Ni species, pyridinic N and the metal-N species are the exact active centers and the fully activated catalyst Fe0.2Ni0.8/NC-600-a is among the best non-noble OER catalysts to date, which exhibits superior OER performance with a low overpotential (η20 = 290 mV) and small Tafel slope (76 mV dec−1). This study is helpful to understand the fundamentals of the Ni-Fe alloy catalysts and provides guidance to design advanced catalysts for water oxidation through in-situ electrochemical activation.
Active disturbance rejection control using extended state observer (ESO) is less dependent on the knowledge of the system. It has proved to be an excellent scheme for speed control of electrical ...drives. However, for time-varying disturbance, the observation precision of conventional ESO is undesired, which limits the speed tracking accuracy. Accordingly, this article proposes an enhanced speed controller for electrical drives based on adaptive switching high-order ESO (ASHESO). First, the critical parameters affecting the steady-state performance of ASHESO are determined according to frequency analytical results. Then, optimized observer gain is obtained by modifying a part of pole locations, which weakens the influence of noise on estimated state. Finally, an adaptive switching gain mechanism is proposed according to the closed-loop tracking error and the swiftness of dynamic response is maintained. The proposed speed controller has achieved high estimation accuracy for disturbance and strong immunity to measurement noise. The feasibility and effectiveness of the strategy is verified on a laboratory permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drive system.
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