Digestive tract cancers are among the most common malignancies worldwide and have high incidence and mortality rates. Thus, the discovery of more effective diagnostic and therapeutic targets is ...urgently required. The development of technologies to accurately detect RNA modification has led to the identification of numerous RNA chemical modifications in humans (epitranscriptomics) that are involved in the occurrence and development of digestive tract cancers. RNA modifications can cooperatively regulate gene expression to facilitate normal physiological functions of the digestive system. However, the dysfunction of relevant RNA-modifying enzymes (“writers,” “erasers,” and “readers”) can lead to the development of digestive tract cancers. Consequently, targeting dysregulated enzyme activity could represent a potent therapeutic strategy for the treatment of digestive tract cancers. In this review, we summarize the most widely studied roles and mechanisms of RNA modifications (m6A, m1A, m5C, m7G, A-to-I editing, pseudouridine Ψ) in relation to digestive tract cancers, highlight the crosstalk between RNA modifications, and discuss their roles in the interactions between the digestive system and microbiota during carcinogenesis. The clinical significance of novel therapeutic methods based on RNA-modifying enzymes is also discussed. This review will help guide future research into digestive tract cancers that are resistant to current therapeutics.
Display omitted
Abstract Background Studies have highlighted a possible crosstalk between the pathogeneses of COVID-19 and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); however, the interactive mechanisms remain unclear. We ...aimed to elucidate the impact of COVID-19 on SLE using clinical information and the underlying mechanisms of both diseases. Methods RNA-seq datasets were used to identify shared hub gene signatures between COVID-19 and SLE, while genome-wide association study datasets were used to delineate the interaction mechanisms of the key signaling pathways. Finally, single-cell RNA-seq datasets were used to determine the primary target cells expressing the shared hub genes and key signaling pathways. Results COVID-19 may affect patients with SLE through hematologic involvement and exacerbated inflammatory responses. We identified 14 shared hub genes between COVID-19 and SLE that were significantly associated with interferon (IFN)-I/II. We also screened and obtained four core transcription factors related to these hub genes, confirming the regulatory role of the IFN-I/II-mediated Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription (JAK-STAT) signaling pathway on these hub genes. Further, SLE and COVID-19 can interact via IFN-I/II and IFN-I/II receptors, promoting the levels of monokines, including interleukin (IL)-6/10, tumor necrosis factor-α, and IFN-γ, and elevating the incidence rate and risk of cytokine release syndrome. Therefore, in SLE and COVID-19, both hub genes and core TFs are enriched within monocytes/macrophages. Conclusions The interaction between SLE and COVID-19 promotes the activation of the IFN-I/II-triggered JAK-STAT signaling pathway in monocytes/macrophages. These findings provide a new direction and rationale for diagnosing and treating patients with SLE–COVID-19 comorbidity.
Currently, the traditional magnesium oxide production process is facing exceptional challenges arising from carbon emission restrictions and environmental protection. Waste bischofite pyrolysis has ...attracted much attention as a promising technology to address these challenges. Nonetheless, this process has primarily been demonstrated on a laboratory scale, with limited studies on an industrial scale. A comprehensive exergy analysis was conducted for the entire process and individual subunits within the pyrolysis process to identify potential areas for process enhancement. A FORTRAN subroutine based on empirical correlations of pyrolysis product yields was developed considering the impact of decomposition reactions on the simulation. Furthermore, the optimization of energy and exergy efficiency of the system was discussed in terms of the carbon dioxide emission factor, equivalence ratio, and pyrolysis temperature. The results show that the primary energy bottleneck lies in the combustion phase. In addition, the optimal energy and exergy efficiency conditions are a carbon dioxide emission factor of 5.3, an equivalent ratio of 1.15, and a pyrolysis temperature of 1100 °C. In comparison to the pilot-scale conditions, the energy efficiency and exergy efficiency increase by 2.55 and 3.61%, respectively. At this time, the MgO yield is 100%, and the HCl concentration is above 9.33%.
The epigenetic regulator in cancer progression and immune response has been demonstrated recently. However, the potential implications of 5-methylcytosine (m5C) in soft tissue sarcoma (STS) are ...unclear.
The RNA sequence profile of 911 normal and 259 primary STS tissues were obtained from GTEx and TCGA databases, respectively. We systematically analyzed the m5C modification patterns of STS samples based on 11 m5C regulators, and comprehensively correlated these modification patterns with clinical characteristics, prognosis, and tumor microenvironment (TME) cell-infiltrating. Furthermore, an m5C-related signature was generated using Cox proportional hazard model and validated by the GSE17118 cohort.
Two distinct m5C modification patterns (cluster1/2) were discovered. The cluster1 had favorable overall survival, higher immune score, higher expression of most immune checkpoints, and active immune cell infiltration. The GSVA analysis of the P53 pathway, Wnt signaling pathway, G2M checkpoint, mTORC1 signaling, Wnt/β catenin signaling, and PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling were significantly enriched in the cluster2. Moreover, 1220 genes were differentially expressed between two clusters, and a m5C prognostic signature was constructed with five m5C-related genes. The signature represented an independent prognostic factor and showed the favorable performance in the GSE17118 cohort. Patients in the low-risk group showed higher immunoscore and higher expression of most immune checkpoints. Further GSVA analysis indicated that the levels of P53 pathway, Wnt signaling pathway, and TGF-β signaling pathway were different between low- and high-risk groups. Moreover, a nomogram incorporating m5C signature and clinical variables was established and showed well performance.
This work showed that the m5C modification plays a significant role in the progression of STS and the formation of TME diversity. Evaluating the m5C modification pattern of tumor will enhance our cognition of TME infiltration characterization to guide more effective immunotherapy strategies.
The electrical system of offshore wind farms is the key to transmit the power from wind turbines to onshore power grid. With the increase of the offshore wind farms capacity and the distance from ...shore, the traditional centralized offshore substations is facing the challenges of capacity and construction. To solve the above problems, we propose the lightweight substation and an improved k-medoids clustering method to find lightweight substation locations, in addition, we establish the life cycle cost model of electrical system. The example of a real offshore wind farm is taken as an optimization object. The final result shows that the lightweight substation can decrease the economic costs of the offshore wind farm electrical system.
In this work, a numerical simulation model of an industrial-scale magnesite flash calciner (MFC) was established based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. The discrete phase model (DPM) was ...employed, and the results of kinetic analysis for magnesite decomposition were taken into consideration. Then, the influence of swirling gas inlet design on particle motion and decomposition in MFC was analyzed, thereby providing suggestions for production. The results indicate that incorporating a swirling design can attenuate the particle deposition at the feeding port and increase particle residence time in furnace. However, the conversion degree of magnesite is decreased. This phenomenon can be attributed to the particle accumulation near the wall, resulting in a localized lower gas temperature and subsequently leading to a gas-solid heat transfer degradation. By elevating the gas temperature and reducing its flow rate, the enhancement of magnesite decomposition and reduction in energy consumption are achieved. The gas-solid water equivalent ratio, determined by heat of reaction and sensible heat of flue gas, needs to be higher than 1.8 to maintain a mass fraction of MgO above 0.9.
Display omitted
•Effect of swirling gas inlet on magnesite flash calciner performance is studied.•The particle motion and reaction behavior in furnace are analyzed using CFD method.•The particle motion is improved while the mass fraction of MgO is reduced.•The gas-solid equivalent ratio is introduced and a practical range is obtained.
Pyrolysis technology is crucial for realizing waste bischofite resource utilization. However, previous studies overlooked the complexity of multistep pyrolysis, resulting in a lack of thorough ...knowledge of the pyrolysis behavior and kinetics. The pyrolysis products were characterized using XRD and FTIR to indicate the bischofite pyrolysis behavior. Additionally, the multistep kinetics was studied using the segmented single-step reaction (SSSR) and Fraser-Suzuki combined kinetic (FSCK) methods. The results show that the bischofite pyrolysis is divided into dehydration and hydrolysis. The former refers to removing crystalline water from MgCl
2
·nH
2
O (n = 4,6). At the same time, the latter is related to the removal of HCl, characterized by the strengthening of the Mg-O bond in the FTIR analysis and the emergence of MgOHCl·1.5H
2
O in the XRD examination. The two main stages are divided into three dehydration reactions (D-1, D-2, D-3) and three hydrolysis reactions (H-1, H-2, H-3) by DTG-DDTG or Fraser-Suzuki deconvolution. Compared with the SSSR method, the FSCK method has improved model repeatability for multistep kinetic parameters. Following Fraser-Suzuki deconvolution, the FSCK method creates almost the same activation energy results when using the Friedman (FR), Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS), and Vyazovkin (VZK). This work provides fundamental data to promote the maximizing waste bischofite resource utilization.
The proton exchange membrane (PEM) is vital in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), but current PEMs face issues including low conductivity, poor durability, and instability in maintaining ...proton transport across varying temperatures. This study proposes an innovative approach to address this issue by incorporating UiO-66-(COOH)2 as a filler in a polymeric matrix comprising polyvinylpyrrolidone and polyvinylidene fluoride (abbreviated as PP). Significantly, this facilitates forming hydrogen bonds between UiO-66-(COOH)2 and the PP matrix. The UiO-66-(COOH)2@PP composite membranes are comprehensively characterized through PXRD, TGA-DSC, FTIR, and SEM analyses. The remarkable water adsorption performance observed in the UiO-66-(COOH)2@PP-X series creates favourable conditions for enhancing proton conductivity. Proton conductivity studies highlight exceptional performance, particularly UiO-66-(COOH)2@PP-30 achieving a remarkable 5.8 × 10−3 S cm−1 at 98% RH, with sustained conductivity over one week. At 32% RH, UiO-66-(COOH)2@PP-30 exhibits a significantly reduced activation energy of 0.09 eV, indicating a stable proton transport pathway across a wide temperature range. Mechanism studies unveil that the collaborative interaction between UiO-66-(COOH)2 and PP establishes a continuous network of hydrogen bonds, strengthened by PP's hydrophilic properties. Additionally, the stabilization of water within UiO-66-(COOH)2 channels significantly contributes to the overall efficiency of proton conduction.
•Blending UiO-66-(COOH)2 with polyvinylpyrrolidone and polyvinylidene fluoride forms advanced UiO-66-(COOH)2@PP-X membrane.•UiO-66-(COOH)2@PP-30 achieves high conductivity (5.8 × 10−3 S cm−1) at 98% RH for a week.•At 32% RH, UiO-66-(COOH)2@PP-30 shows low activation energy of 0.09 eV, highlighting its efficiency.•Cooperative hydrogen bonding between UiO-66-(COOH)2 and PP enables continuous proton transfer channels.
Extracting magnesium resources from Salt Lakes industrial waste bischofite by pyrolysis technology has become a feasible waste utilization method. High-temperature corrosion has become a safety issue ...during bischofite pyrolysis. Thus, pyrolysis behavior and kinetic analysis are essential to control pyrolysis reactions. In this study, a thermogravimetric analyzer was used to understand the pyrolysis behavior of bischofite. TG-DTG curves show that the bischofite pyrolysis includes dehydration and coexistence stages. Thermal hazards caused by corrosive gases appear in the temperature range of 174.8–202.3 °C. The kinetic parameters were calculated using three model-free methods (FWO, KAS, and FR) and a master plots method. The results show that the activation energy of the dehydration stage is smaller than the coexistence stage. The reliability of the master plots method was also investigated. The results show that the reaction models for the dehydration (II-1, II-2, and II-3) and coexistence stages (IV-3) were credible. In addition, the isothermal method was used to predict the reaction time under different temperature programs. The results show that controlling the reaction temperature at 700–800 ℃ can improve the conversion efficiency and product quality. This work provides basic data for promoting the development of bischofite pyrolysis technology.
To meet the growing demand for clean and sustainable energy, the development of high-performance proton conductive materials is crucial for practical applications in PEMFCs. However, the current ...materials suffer from issues such as low conductivity, poor durability, and unclear structure-activity relationship. To address these challenges, we investigate the proton conductivity properties of lysine-decorated Cu-BTC (where BTC is benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate) and its corresponding thin-film membrane. We explore the impact of lysine (Lys) content (10 wt%, 20 wt%, 30 wt%, and 40 wt%) on the proton conductivity performance under varying humidity and temperature conditions. Our findings show that Cu-BTC-Lys (40 wt%) exhibits the best conductivity of 1.2 × 10
−3
S cm
−1
at 80 °C under 100% relative humidity (RH), aided by an activation energy (
E
a
) of 0.25 eV facilitating proton transfer through hydrogen-bonding networks
via
the Grotthuss mechanism. We then create a proton conductive membrane by fabricating Cu-BTC-Lys (40 wt%) with the PVP/PVDF polymeric matrix. The resulting Cu-BTC-Lys@PVP/PVDF-20 membrane shows a significantly improved conductivity of 4.8 × 10
−3
S cm
−1
at 80 °C under 100% RH, along with a decreasing
E
a
value of 0.15 eV. The membrane retains its rich hydrogen-bonding networks and excellent performance durability for up to 5 days, making it an ideal candidate for real-life applications.
Preparation of a proton-conductive membrane with abundant proton hopping pathways.
PDF
