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•Gauss-Lorentz Amplitude function was adopted to the FTIR fitting analysis.•The evolution of six typical pyrolysis products were illustrated by TG-FTIR.•Contents of five possible ...products for mixture pyrolysis were analyzed via Py-GCMS.•The contents of NH3, HCN, acid, furfural and C7# reduced in co-pyrolysis.
In this paper, the pyrolysis process of mixed samples, bagasse with the addition of sludge, were investigated by TG-FTIR, and Py-GC/MS. For the mixed samples, the proportions of sludge were 10%, 30% and 50%. With the sludge ratio increased, the initial temperature and the terminated temperature increased. Eleven chemical structure groups were resolved from both of bagasse and sludge by KBr-Tabletting based FTIR analysis. Aromatic compounds, CO2, CO, CO, NH3 and HCN were the major gaseous products surveyed from the TG-FTIR inspection. The percentage of pyrolysis products (acetic acid, C7#, furfural, benzene derivatives, C7P) were figured out from Py-GC/MS analysis. The addition of sludge was beneficial for the production of group C7P, whose carbon atoms exceeded 7. This research provided useful background knowledge for co-pyrolysis of bagasse and sewage sludge.
Glucocorticoids (GCs) overuse is associated with decreased bone mass and osseous vasculature destruction, leading to severe osteoporosis. Platelet lysates (PL) as a pool of growth factors (GFs) were ...widely used in local bone repair by its potent pro-regeneration and pro-angiogenesis. However, it is still seldom applied for treating systemic osteopathia due to the lack of a suitable delivery strategy. The non-targeted distribution of GFs might cause tumorigenesis in other organs. In this study, PL-derived exosomes (PL-exo) were isolated to enrich the platelet-derived GFs, followed by conjugating with alendronate (ALN) grafted PEGylated phospholipid (DSPE-PEG-ALN) to establish a bone-targeting PL-exo (PL-exo-ALN). The in vitro hydroxyapatite binding affinity and in vivo bone targeting aggregation of PL-exo were significantly enhanced after ALN modification. Besides directly modulating the osteogenic and angiogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), respectively, PL-exo-ALN also facilitate their coupling under GCs' stimulation. Additionally, intravenous injection of PL-exo-ALN could successfully rescue GCs induced osteoporosis (GIOP) in vivo. PL-exo-ALN may be utilized as a novel nanoplatform for precise infusion of GFs to bone sites and exerts promising therapeutic potential for GIOP.
Objectives
The amyloid/tau/neurodegeneration (ATN) framework has conceptualized the Alzheimer's disease (AD) continuum as a continuum of disease with evidence of amyloid‐related pathologies ...independent of clinical manifestation. Based on this framework, it is necessary to reveal the distribution and risk factors of AD continuum in the cognitively intact population among different cohorts and races, including the northern Chinese Han population.
Methods
This study classified cognitively intact Chinese Alzheimer's Biomarker and LifestylE (CABLE) participants through the AT(N) scheme. Gaussian mixture models were used to identify the cutoff values of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers, which distinguished AD continuum ( A + T−N−, A + T + N−, A + T−N + and A + T + N +) from 1,005 participants (mean age 61 years; 40% female). Multivariable logistic regressions and Cochran–Armitage trend tests were used to test neuropsychological performance and risk factors for AD continuum.
Results
Approximately one‐third of individuals (33.7%) belonged to the AD continuum. Four potential modifiable risk factors, including hypertension, thyroid diseases, social isolation, and minimal depression symptoms, were identified for the AD continuum (OR ranging 1.68–6.90). A trend toward higher prevalence of the AD continuum was associated with a larger number of risk factors (p for trend <0.0001). The risk of AD continuum increased by approximately twofold for each additional modifiable risk factor (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.65–2.24, p < 0.0001).
Interpretation
This study revealed the distribution and potential risk factors of the AD continuum in a cognitively intact Han population in northern China, which filled the gap in the area about the performance of the AT(N) framework in the Asian population. ANN NEUROL 2022;92:439–450
Circular RNAs are non-coding RNAs, and are enriched in the CNS. Dorsal horn neurons of the spinal cord contribute to pain-like hypersensitivity after nerve injury in rodents. Here we show that spinal ...nerve ligation is associated with an increase in expression of circAnks1a in dorsal horn neurons, in both the cytoplasm and the nucleus. Downregulation of circAnks1a by siRNA attenuates pain-like behaviour induced by nerve injury. In the cytoplasm, we show that circAnks1a promotes the interaction between transcription factor YBX1 and transportin-1, thus facilitating the nucleus translocation of YBX1. In the nucleus, circAnks1a binds directly to the Vegfb promoter, increases YBX1 recruitment to the Vegfb promoter, thereby facilitating transcription. Furthermore, cytoplasmic circAnks1a acts as a miRNA sponge in miR-324-3p-mediated posttranscriptional regulation of VEGFB expression. The upregulation of VEGFB contributes to increased excitability of dorsal horn neurons and pain behaviour induced by nerve injury. We propose that circAnks1a and VEGFB are regulators of neuropathic pain.
Quantum cryptography holds the promise to establish an information-theoretically secure global network. All field tests of metropolitan-scale quantum networks to date are based on trusted relays. The ...security critically relies on the accountability of the trusted relays, which will break down if the relay is dishonest or compromised. Here, we construct a measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDIQKD) network in a star topology over a 200-square-kilometer metropolitan area, which is secure against untrustful relays and against all detection attacks. In the field test, our system continuously runs through one week with a secure key rate 10 times larger than previous results. Our results demonstrate that the MDIQKD network, combining the best of both worlds—security and practicality, constitutes an appealing solution to secure metropolitan communications.
Loss of function of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cell 2 (TREM2), a key receptor selectively expressed by microglia in the brain, contributes to the development of Alzheimer's disease ...(AD). Whether TREM2 levels are pathologically altered during the preclinical phase, and whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) soluble TREM2 protein (sTREM2) has a relationship with major pathological processes including Aβ and tau deposition are still unclear.
According to the NIA-AA criteria, 659 cognitively normal participants from the Chinese Alzheimer's Biomarker and LifestylE (CABLE) cohort were divided into four groups, stage 0 (normal Aβ
, T-tau and P-tau), stage 1 (low Aβ
, normal T-tau and P-tau), stage 2 (low Aβ
and high T-tau or P-tau), and suspected non-AD pathology (SNAP) (normal Aβ
and high T-tau or P-tau), to examine changes of CSF sTREM2 in the preclinical AD. Biomarker cut-off was based on the assumption that one-third of adults with normal cognition have AD pathology.
The level of CSF sTREM2 in the stage 1 decreased compared with the stage 0 (P < 0.001), and then increased in the stage 2 (P = 0.008). SNAP individuals also had significantly increased CSF sTREM2 (P < 0.001). Results of multiple linear regressions also showed positive correlations of CSF sTREM2 with Aβ
(β = 0.192, P < 0.001), T-tau (β = 0.215, P < 0.001) and P-tau (β = 0.123, P < 0.001).
CSF sTREM2 levels are dynamic in preclinical AD. Aβ pathology is associated with a decrease in CSF sTREM2 in the absence of tau deposition and neurodegeneration. However, tau pathology and neurodegeneration are associated with an increase in CSF sTREM2.
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•One Polyethylene-based mulch degrading strain was selected from the in situ agricultural field.•The environmental impacts caused by different Polyethylene-based mulches were compared ...and analyzed.•The high-throughput sequencing was conducted to help analyze the variations of the structure of microbial community.
Discarded Polyethylene (PE) mulches have posed a persistent pollution in the agricultural field. Although PE degraded by microbes has been reported, the effect on in situ soil environment is not completely understood. To determine the biodegradability and ecological impacts of PE-based mulches, we tested the biodegradation related properties of screened strains and analyzed change in soil quality and microbial community after covering with different mulches. Strain Bacillus aryabhattai 5-3 showed 3.85 ± 0.50% gravimetric weight loss after a 30 days incubation with PE-based mulch as the sole carbon source; Considerable pits and vast cavities were found on the surface using AFM and SEM. The hydrophobicity of mulch sheet was decreased to 68.9 ± 0.8°, FTIR identified that new oxidized groups were formed on the surfaces of incubated mulch. Additionally, the fluctuations of microbial communities indicate that synthetic mulch could replace the current commercial product to minimise agricultural pollution.
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•The M-DAEM was successfully applied to describe co-pyrolysis kinetics.•The integral of Boltzmann factor was simplified by a Fong-Hong-Zou approximation.•The kinetic parameters were ...optimized by using the pattern search methods.•The average activation energies had stronger effect on the robustness of models.•The strong parameters were different in mixtures.
In this study, the kinetic models of bagasse, sewage sludge and their mixture were established by the multiple normal distributed activation energy model. Blending with sewage sludge, the initial temperature declined from 437 K to 418 K. The pyrolytic species could be divided into five categories, including analogous hemicelluloses I, hemicelluloses II, cellulose, lignin and bio-char. In these species, the average activation energies and the deviations situated at reasonable ranges of 166.4673–323.7261 kJ/mol and 0.1063–35.2973 kJ/mol, respectively, which were conformed to the references. The kinetic models were well matched to experimental data, and the R2 were greater than 99.999%y. In the local sensitivity analysis, the distributed average activation energy had stronger effect on the robustness than other kinetic parameters. And the content of pyrolytic species determined which series of kinetic parameters were more important.
The associations between sleep characteristics and cognition are complicated. Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathologies have been proven to be associated with sleep characteristics.
We aimed to ...investigate the associations between sleep characteristics and cognitive function and examine the roles of AD pathologies in modulating the association of sleep duration with cognition.
A total of 974 participants who had measurements of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid-β (Aβ), phosphorylated tau (P-tau), total tau proteins (T-tau), cognitive function, and sleep characteristics were included from the Chinese Alzheimer's Biomarker and Lifestyle (CABLE) study. Linear regression analyses were utilized to explore the associations of sleep characteristics with cognition. Non-linear regression analyses were utilized to explore the associations of sleep habits with cognition. Causal mediation analyses were conducted to explore the mediation effects of AD pathologies on cognition.
The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) total score was significantly negatively correlated with Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score (p = 0.0176). Long latency (p = 0.0054) and low efficiency (p = 0.0273) were associated with cognitive impairment. Habitual nap behavior was associated with lower MoCA scores (p = 0.0045). U-shaped associations were observed between sleep habits (bedtime and nocturnal sleep duration) and cognition. A causal mediation analysis indicated that P-tau/Aβ42 mediated the association of sleep duration with cognition.
These findings showed sleep characteristics were associated with cognitive functions. Sleep habits (duration, bedtime) had U-shaped associations with cognition. AD core pathologies might partially mediate the influence of sleep duration on cognitive impairments.