Increasing studies focus on gasification of coal char in mixed H2O/CO2 atmospheres, but quite controversial results were obtained on this issue. Char porosity and pore size distribution affect the ...reactant gas diffusion inside the char, reaction on the char active sites and gas product diffusion out of the particle. Hence, this study aims to understand the surface morphology and pore structure characteristics of the coal chars obtained from gasification in H2O/CO2 atmospheres. The raw coal was heated to 800–1000 °C in a fixed bed reactor to produce coal chars. The resulting chars were gasified under 40% H2O, 40% CO2, and 20% CO2 + 20% H2O atmospheres at the same temperatures to obtain a series of residual chars with different carbon conversion levels. The morphology and pore characteristics of chars were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and N2 adsorption method. The results show that CO2 char has an uneven surface with irregular potholes, whereas that the surface of H2O char is relatively smooth and distributed on the surface with honeycomb pores. CO2 and H2O play different role in creating the char porous structure. The CO2 chars are mainly micropores and along with some small mesopores. Under H2O and H2O/CO2 atmosphere, the char are rich in micropores, mesopores, and macropores, the pore size distribution is continuous. The total pore volume of gasified chars prepared under H2O/CO2 atmosphere was not significantly changed compared with H2O atmosphere, indicating there has positive interaction between H2O/CO2 in developing the coal char pore structures during gasification. H2O could create a wider porous structure that facilitates the access of CO2 to the coal char matrix to further develop the pore structure.
Studies on psychological problems among the elderly were mainly conducted in developed countries, which may not fit China under the context of the dramatic changes of social environment. This study ...aims to assess the status and social-demographic determinants of the mental health among the Chinese elderly. The Chinese version of the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R) was used to measure participants’ mental health. A logistic model was established to identify the main socio-demographic factors associated with the overall detection rate of SCL-90-R. The overall positive detection rate of SCL-90-R was 23.6%, and the four symptoms with the highest positive detection rate were somatization (39.5%), obsessive-compulsive disorder (28.1%), other poor mental health symptoms (mainly sleep and diet problems) (25.7%), and depression (25.1%). The results showed those aged 75–79 (OR = 0.640, 95% CI 0.452 to 0.905) and 80 or above (OR = 0.430, 95% CI 0.302 to 0.613), those received 0 (OR = 0.224, 95% CI 0.162 to 0.310) or 1–5 years of education (OR = 0.591, 95% CI 0.449 to 0.776), those were living with spouse only (OR = 0.817, 95% CI 0.563 to 0.997) and with multiple generations (OR = 0.689, 95% CI 0.472 to 0.950), those holding a non-agricultural household registration (OR = 0.727, 95% CI 0.537 to 0.984), and those with an better higher household income were less likely to be positive in overall mental health symptoms. Mental health was shown to be better among those with more advanced ages (≥75), lower levels of schooling (≤5), normal body mass index, higher household incomes, and those who are married and live with their spouse or multiple generations, and those who came from city and currently live in the county.
We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of needle and syringe exchange programs (NSP) on both individual- and community-level needle-sharing behaviors and other HIV-related ...outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). A search of five databases for peer-reviewed trial or quasi-experimental studies reported through July 2021 identified 42 interventions delivered in 35 studies, with a total of 56,751 participants meeting inclusion criteria. Random-effects meta-analysis showed a significant protective association between NSP exposure and needle-sharing behaviors at the individual-level (odds ratio OR = 0.25, 95% confidence interval CI = 0.16–0.39, 8 trials, n = 3947) and community-level (OR 0.39, CI 0.22–0.69, 12 trials, n = 6850), although with significant heterogeneity. When stratified by needle-sharing directionality, NSP exposure remained associated with reduced receptive sharing, but not distributive sharing. NSP exposure was also associated with reduced HIV incidence and increased HIV testing but there were no consistent associations with prevalence of bloodborne infections. Current evidence suggests positive impacts of NSPs in LMICs.
Recently, an increasing number of studies have reported the possible linkage between maternal exposure to ambient air pollution and adverse birth outcomes. This retrospective cohort study aimed to ...evaluate the effect of short-term and sub-chronic exposure to air pollutants on preterm birth occurred in Shiyan and Jingzhou, Hubei province, China from 2014 to 2016. General additive models (GAM) were performed to examine the impact of the daily and cumulative weekly air pollutants exposure. The non-linear patterns between adverse birth outcomes and weather condition were assessed by including penalized smoothing splines in the model. The demographic characteristics of pregnant women were also included in the model as covariates. A total of 16,035 cases were analyzed. Significant short-term effects of air pollution exposure at lag 1 day on preterm birth were observed. In adjusted single-pollutant city-specific model, the association between acute air pollutant exposure and preterm birth was significant in Shiyan (PM
2.5
: OR = 1.066, 95% CI 1.027, 1.106; PM
10
: OR = 1.048, 95% CI 1.022, 1.076; O
3
: OR = 1.029, 95% CI 1.004, 1.056) and Jingzhou (PM
2.5
: OR = 1.037, 95% CI 1.008, 1.068; PM
10
: OR = 1.025, 95% CI 1.007, 1.043; SO
2
: OR = 1.082, 95% CI 1.023, 1.144; NO
2
: OR = 1.211, 95% CI 1.098, 1.335) per 10 μg/m
3
increment. Also, weekly average cumulative air pollution exposure was significantly associated with preterm birth in both areas.
To conduct a scoping review to map available evidence about the health impact of gut microbiota-derived metabolites in humans.
We searched PubMed and Embase for studies that assessed the health ...impact of gut microbiota-derived metabolites in humans. We included case-control studies, cross-sectional studies, cohort studies, and clinical trials. Any health condition was considered. Based on an initial prioritization phase informed by preliminary searching and expert input, we narrowed our scope to ten metabolites: deoxycholate or deoxycholic acid (DCA), lithocholate or lithocholic acid (LCA), glycolithocholate or glycolithocholic acid, glycodeoxycholate or glycodeoxycholic acid, tryptamine, putrescine, d-alanine, urolithins, N-acetylmannosamine, and phenylacetylglutamine. We used evidence mapping to identify evidence gaps and associations that may permit future systematic reviews. The screening was conducted in PICO Portal aided by artificial intelligence.
Overall, for these 10 metabolites, we identified 352 studies with 168,072 participants. Most (326, 92.6%) were case-control studies, followed by cohort studies (14, 4.0%), clinical trials (8, 2.3%), and cross-sectional studies (6, 1.7%). Most studies assessed the following associations: DCA on hepatobiliary disorders (64 studies, 7,976 participants), colorectal cancer (19 studies, 7,461 participants), and other digestive disorders (27 studies, 2,463 participants); LCA on hepatobiliary disorders (34 studies, 4,297 participants), colorectal cancers (14 studies, 4,955 participants), and other digestive disorders (26 studies, 2,117 participants); putrescine on colorectal cancers (16 studies, 94,399 participants) and cancers excluding colorectal and hepatobiliary cancers (42 studies, 4,250 participants).
The association of gut microbiota-derived metabolites and human health is being examined in an increasing number of studies, most of which are case-control studies. As these metabolites hold considerable potential for elucidating microbiome-disease associations, there is a need to conduct more prospective studies including clinical trials. Moreover, systemic reviews are needed to characterize the metabolite-disease associations.
Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS).
The reduction of α-pinene by NaBH
4
was achieved using NiCl
2
*6H
2
O in PEG-800/ethanol system under room temperature. Under the optimized conditions, the conversion of α-pinene and the selectivity ...of cis-pinane reached 97% and 98%, respectively. On the basis of TEM and a series of poisoning experiments, the nature of the active catalytic species for the reaction was discussed.
The reduction of α-pinene by NaBH4 was achieved using NiCl2•6H2O in PEG-800/ethanol system under room temperature. Under the optimized conditions, the conversion of α-pinene and the selectivity of ...cis-pinane reached 97% and 98%, respectively. On the basis of TEM and a series of poisoning experiments, the nature of the active catalytic species for the reaction was discussed.
In order to synthesize the gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with uniform size and good morphology, two active disturbance systems based on surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology are presented and employed ...in the third stage (growth stage of crystal nuclei) of AuNPs liquid-phase synthesis. Through the optimization of SAW device, two kinds of SAW disturbance systems were designed and manufactured. For the orthogonal type SAW disturbance system, the concentration of synthesized AuNPs is the highest at Vpp = 5 V, but the size deviation of nanoparticles is a little larger. Meanwhile, for the rotary type SAW disturbance system, the concentration of synthesized AuNPs is significantly higher than the concentration of AuNPs synthesized in the orthogonal type SAW system. Moreover, the AuNPs synthesized by the rotary type SAW system are with more regular morphology and better monodispersity at Vpp = 35 V and f0 = 50 MHz. Therefore, rotary type SAW disturbance system has a better perturbation effect for the controllable synthesis of AuNPs.
Suramin is a naphthalene trisulfonic acid derivative that inhibits osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption in vitro and in vivo; however, the mechanisms underlying this activity have not been ...studied. Receptor activator of NF-kB (RANK) ligand (RANKL) is a key regulator of osteoclast differentiation and function and this study evaluated the ability of suramin, which has been shown to disrupt protein–protein interactions, to interfere with RANKL functional activity and binding to RANK. Suramin inhibited osteoclastic bone resorption in a calvarial model and inhibited osteoclast differentiation in RANKL-stimulated murine spleen cells and RAW264.7 cells. RANKL-induced second messenger signaling (AKT and p38 MAP Kinase phosphorylation) was completely blocked by 100 μM suramin. The ability of RANKL to bind to recombinant human RANK-Fc (rhRANK-Fc) was reduced 50% by suramin in an in vitro binding assay. Surface plasmon resonance technology and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) were used to evaluate the ability of suramin to bind to rhRANK-Fc. Suramin was found to selectively interact with immobilized rhRANK-Fc chimera in a concentration-dependent manner by Biacore 3000 analysis. Similar results were obtained using saturation transfer difference NMR spectroscopy to demonstrate that suramin binds to rhRANK-Fc, but not IgG
1Fc or sRANKL. In summary, these findings demonstrate that suramin inhibits sRANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation and suggest that these effects are mediated by suramin binding to RANK and blocking the ability of sRANKL to induce second messenger signaling.
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