This book summarizes recent, key research on the characterization of iron ores, including important topics such as beneficiation (separation and refining), agglomeration (e.g., production of pellets ...or powders), blast furnace technology for smelting, and environmental issues relating to its production. The text is an ideal reference on the topic during a time when iron ore production has increased significantly, driven by increasing demand from countries such as India and China.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES
Mind‐body exercise has positive effects on cognitive performance, according to clinical observation and experts’ recommendations. However, its potential benefits for the ...cognitive function of aging adults are uncertain and still lack systematic estimations. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis to evaluate the overall efficacy and effectiveness of mind‐body exercises for cognitive performance in aging individuals with or without cognitive impairment.
DESIGN
A systematic review and meta‐analysis.
SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS
We searched related trials through June 2018 from four databases: Medline, Embase, PsycINFO (all via Ovid), and the Cochrane Library/Central Register of Controlled Trials.
MEASUREMENTS
Methodological quality was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. A meta‐analysis of comparative effects was performed using Review Manager v.5.3 software, and publication bias was examined using Egger's test.
RESULTS
A total of 32 randomized controlled trials with 3624 participants were ultimately included in this meta‐analysis. The results revealed that mind‐body exercises as a whole had benefits in improving global cognition compared with that of the control group (mean difference MD = 0.92; 95% confidence interval CI = 0.33‐1.51; p = .002) and were more effective than control interventions in promoting cognitive flexibility (MD = −8.80; 95% CI = −15.22 to −2.38; p = .007), working memory (MD = 0.32; 95% CI = 0.01‐0.64; p = .05), verbal fluency (standardized mean difference SMD = 0.27; 95% CI = 0.09‐0.45; p = .003), and learning (SMD = 0.24; 95% CI = 0.10‐0.39; p = .001) on cognitively intact or impaired older adults. In dose‐subgroup analysis, only moderate exercise intensity (60‐120 min per week) significantly increased global cognition scores compared with those of the control group (MD = 1.15; 95% CI = 0.34‐1.97; p = .006).
CONCLUSION
Mind‐body exercises, especially tai chi and dance mind‐body exercise, are beneficial for improving global cognition, cognitive flexibility, working memory, verbal fluency, and learning in cognitively intact or impaired older adults. Moderate intensity is recommended as the optimal dose for older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:749–758, 2019.
► Formation mechanism, congener distribution, contributing factors and mitigation strategies. ► Mode of action and merits of potential inhibiting compounds. ► Developments in PCDD/F downstream ...abatement strategies.
The sintering of iron ore is presently a significant industrial source of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) worldwide owing to the fundamental requirement of the operation of a high temperature process to pre-treat fines and to recycle plant by-products arising from the integrated iron and steelworks. The process is a noteworthy contributor of PCDD/F indirectly due to decreasing PCDD/F releases from municipal solid waste incineration. Commonly PCDD/F formation from the process is associated with the addition of oily mill scales although raw material containing a combination of C, Cl and specific metal catalyst has been shown to drastically increase PCDD/F formation in the process. The degenerate graphitic structure of carbon present in coke fuel and soot formed and the chemistry of catalytic metals and Cl are important factors.
A review on PCDD/F emission in this process has been carried out, including examination of its formation mechanism, congener distribution, contributing factors and mitigation strategies, with emphasis on the use of inhibiting compound to achieve suppression. A detailed analysis of the de novo and precursor theories of formation and the contributing factor is given since the subject of PCDD/F formation is still controversial. The de novo formation pathway identified in sinter plants and controlled studies performed in the laboratory as well as at pilot-scale are discussed; where appropriate, a comparison is drawn between sintering and other thermal processes emitting PCDD/Fs.
Summary of the latest developments in PCDD/F downstream abatement strategies presently employed in full scale industrial plants is provided. Potential inhibiting compounds are discussed in terms of their mode of action and merits under sintering conditions.
Two ore blends containing substantial channel iron deposit (CID) and Marra Mamba (MM) ores were assessed. The blends granulated well with addition of hydrated lime, which was found to improve the ...morphology and strength, and consequently the bed permeability of the resultant green granules. Compared with Blend 2 (a simulated industry blend), Blend 1, containing more MM and less CID ores was slightly less permeable but required similar moisture to achieve its optimum permeability. Both blends showed similar sintering characteristics as evidenced by sintering productivity and sinter quality, suggesting that Blend 1 was comparable to Blend 2. This was further supported by observations of sinter macro- and microstructure. Addition of hydrated lime improves the bed permeability and the formation and fluidity of sinter melt, consequently leading to improved sinter yield and strength along with sintering productivity. To achieve sinter return balance, the sinter return ratio had to decrease as the coke addition increased.
Genetic alterations in K-ras and p53 are thought to be critical in pancreatic cancer development and progression. However, K-ras and p53 expression in pancreatic adenocarcinoma have not been ...systematically examined in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Data Portal. Information regarding K-ras and p53 alterations, mRNA expression data, and protein/protein phosphorylation abundance was retrieved from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases, and analyses were performed by the cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics. The mutual exclusivity analysis showed that events in K-ras and p53 were likely to co-occur in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (Log odds ratio = 1.599, P = 0.006). The graphical summary of the mutations showed that there were hotspots for protein activation. In the network analysis, no solid association between K-ras and p53 was observed in pancreatic adenocarcinoma. In the survival analysis, neither K-ras nor p53 were associated with both survival events. As in the data mining study in the TCGA databases, our study provides a new perspective to understand the genetic features of K-ras and p53 in pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
Background and aims This paper aimed to evaluate the use of nonpharmacological interventions for the management of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The effects of acupuncture and behavioural therapy, ...two nonpharmalogical interventions, on social function in ASD patients are still controversial. This meta-analysis investigated the impact of these two treatments and compared their effects. Methods Seven electronic databases were systematically searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the use of acupuncture or behavioural therapy for ASD. A meta-analysis was carried out using Review Manager 5.4 software. Continuous data are reported as mean differences (MDs) or standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). An assessment of methodological quality using the Cochrane risk-of-bias (ROB) tool for trials was carried out. The Grading of Recommendation Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) was applied to evaluate the quality (certainty) of evidence for results regarding social function indicators. Results Thirty RCTs on acupuncture and 36 on behavioural therapy were included. Compared with the control condition, body acupuncture (SMD: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.52, 1.01; low certainty), modern acupuncture technology (SMD: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.32, 1.35; low certainty), cognitive behavioural therapy (SMD: 0.42, 95% CI: 0.26, 0.58; high certainty), the Denver model (SMD: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.23, 0.99; moderate certainty) and social skills training (SMD: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.41, 0.71; moderate certainty) improved social functioning. Conclusion Behavioural therapies (such as CBT, the Denver model, social skills training), improved the social functioning of patients with ASD in the short and long term, as supported by high- and moderate-quality evidence. Acupuncture (including scalp acupuncture, body acupuncture and use of modern acupuncture technology) also improved social functioning, as supported by low- and very low-quality evidence. More high-quality evidence is needed to confirm the effect of acupoint catgut embedding and Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention (EIBI).
•Key interactions between adhering fines and nucleus particles during iron ore sintering were systematically investigated.•The importance of ore mineralogy was clearly demonstrated and it has a ...significant impact on the interactions between adhering fines and nucleus particles in sintering.•A good formation ability and fluidity of initial melt enhanced the melt penetration into and assimilation with nucleus particles.•Selection of ores with appropriate formation ability and fluidity, as well as penetration and assimilation ability of initial melt in sinter blends is essential to sintering productivity and sinter quality.
Sinter quality (strength and reducibility) plays an important role in reducing the GHG emissions from the blast furnace ironmaking process and is significantly influenced by the reactions occurring in the sintering bed. Formation and fluidity of the initial sinter melt from adhering fines and its interactions with coarse nucleus particles are the key sintering reactions. Hence understanding of these high temperature characteristics of iron ore is urgently needed in order to produce strong and reducible sinter and optimise resource utilisation. In the present study, laboratory scale sintering tests were carried out to examine the effect of adhering fines and nucleus particles from various ores on the characteristics of initial sinter melt formation, fluidity, as well as penetration and assimilation. The formation ability and fluidity of the initial melts from various adhering fines were quite different, and various iron ore fines required distinct CaO contents to form the melt and spread out. The ore type of adhering fines and substrates affected the penetration and assimilation ability of the initial melt, but a good formation ability and fluidity of initial melt was the basis of good penetration and assimilation ability. Based on the micro and macro sinter structure, the high temperature characteristics were further related to the sinter quality and sintering performance. This information is expected to provide excellent tools in formulating and optimising future low cost and low emission sinter blends.
One of the main purposes of heavy-ion collisions over a wide range of beam energy is to study the bulk properties of strong interaction matter and understand the Quantum Chromo Dy- namics （QCD） phase ...diagram, which carries wealth of infor- mation of the phase transition and the possibly existing criti- cal point of the strongly interacting system 1. Such system exists as hadron gases at lower temperature and low baryon density. By increasing the temperature or density, the bound- ary of the hadrons disappears and the confined quarks move freely in the whole system.
The transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) and the RNA-guided clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) associated protein (Cas9) utlilize distinct molecular ...mechanisms in targeting site recognition. The two proteins can be modified to carry additional functional domains to regulate expression of genomic loci in mammalian cells. In this study, we have compared the two systems in activation and suppression of the Oct4 and Nanog loci by targeting their enhancers. Although both are able to efficiently activate the luciferase reporters, the CRISPR/dCas9 system is much less potent in activating the endogenous loci and in the application of reprogramming somatic cells to iPS cells. Nevertheless, repression by CRISPR/dCas9 is comparable to or even better than TALE repressors. We demonstrated that dCas9 protein binding results in significant physical interference to binding of native transcription factors at enhancer, less efficient active histone markers induction or recruitment of activating complexes in gene activation. This study thus highlighted the merits and drawbacks of transcription regulation by each system. A combined approach of TALEs and CRISPR/dCas9 should provide an optimized solution to regulate genomic loci and to study genetic elements such as enhancers in biological processes including somatic cell reprogramming and guided differentiation.
This study identifies inequities in the provincial-level geographical distribution of traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) hospital beds and doctors in China from 2004 to 2014. This provides policy ...implications of the optimal allocation of TCM health care resources.
Our study used province level data on TCM hospital beds and doctors from 2004 to 2014. These data were obtained from the China TCM Yearbook 2004-2014 and the China Statistical Yearbook 2004-2014.Global and local spatial autocorrelation was performed by using Moran's index and the local Moran's index to describe the spatial distribution of TCM hospital beds (doctors) as well as their density. A Gini coefficient was used to estimate inequalities in the geographic distribution of TCM hospital beds (doctors) based on their density. Correlations of the Gini coefficients between TCM hospital beds and doctors were calculated by Pearson correlation analysis.
All indicators of TCM hospital beds and doctor density have increased over the past 11 years. The number of TCM hospital beds per 10,000 populations increased the fastest. Geographical clustering was not obvious in the density distribution of TCM hospital beds or doctors, as no significant spatial autocorrelation was found. Gini coefficients showed that from 2004 to 2014 the distribution of TCM hospital beds per 10,000 population and doctors per 10,000 populations were equitable between different regions. A large gap existed in the distribution inequality of TCM hospital beds (doctors) per square kilometer among different regions.
Targeted health policy with equitable distribution of TCM hospital beds (doctors) per square kilometer and the balance and coordination of related resources should be a priority in shaping China's healthcare system reform.
PDF
