Study on Influence of Residual Magnetite in Panzhihua Ilmenite Flotation

AbstractThe main utilization mode of titano-magnetite was firstly separating titano-magnetite by low intensity magnetic separation, then concentrating ilmenite from magnetic separation tailings. Magnetic separation tailings mainly contained ilmenite, but there was still a small quantity of titano-magnetite. Magnetic agglomeration of titanomagnetite occured because of existentence of remanence and pre-flotation grinding. It was found that titanomagnetite presented more optimal floatability than ilmenite. Therefore some gangues wrapped by titano-magnetite went into the floatation concentrate. In a word, titano-magnetite had negative effect on ilmenite floatation by decreasing grade and recovery of concentrate and increasing reagent consumption. The pre-removal of residual titano-magnetite before cleaning ilmenite from magnetic separation tailings by floatation was essential

Experimental Study on Failure Model of Tailing Dam Overtopping under Heavy Rainfall

AbstractUnusual rainfall is the primary cause of the failure of the tailing dams, and overtopping is the most representative model of the tailing dam failure. The upstream tailing dam was selected as the research object to study the whole process of breach extension and the overtopping dam-failure mechanism under the full-scale rainfall condition. The results showed that the significant size grading phenomenon in the front, middle, and end of the tailing pond was obvious due to the flow separation effect, and its average particle diameter was D50. At different moments of rainfall, the height of the infiltration line at different positions of the dam body was different; at the rainfall of 3600 s, the height of the infiltration line lagged behind the height of the tailing pond, and this phenomenon from the tail of pond to the outside of the dam slope became more obvious. After the rainfall of 3600 s, the height of the infiltration line lagging behind the water level in the pond basically disappeared, and the rate of infiltration line rise kept pace with the rate of water level. The process of overtopping dam-failure experienced dam overtopping (gully erosion), formation of a multistepped small “scarp,” breach rapid expansion, formation of large “scarp,” and burst (fan-shaped formation). The width and depth of the breach showed a positive correlation, and the widening rate of the breach was 3 to 8 times of the deepening rate, especially in the middle of the dam break, widening behavior occupied the dominant factor. The shape of the dam body after failure was parabolic, and the dam body had obvious elevation changes. These results provide the theoretical guidance and engineering application value for improving the theory and early warning model of the upstream tailing dam

A novel fusion protein consisting of anti-ANGPTL3 antibody and interleukin-22 ameliorates diabetic nephropathy in mice

IntroductionThe pathogenic mechanisms of diabetic nephropathy (DN) include podocyte injury, inflammatory responses and metabolic disorders. Although the antagonism of Angiopoietin-like protein 3 (ANGPTL3) can alleviate proteinuria symptoms by inhibiting the activation of integrin αvβ3 on the surface of podocytes, it can not impede other pathological processes, such as inflammatory responses and metabolic dysfunction of glucolipid. Interleukin-22 (IL-22) is considered to be a pivotal molecule involved in suppressing inflammatory responses, initiating regenerative repair, and regulating glucolipid metabolism.MethodsGenes encoding the mIL22IgG2aFc and two chains of anti-ANGPTL3 antibody and bifunctional protein were synthesized. Then, the DN mice were treated with intraperitoneal injection of normal saline, anti-ANGPTL3 (20 mg/kg), mIL22Fc (12 mg/kg) or anti-ANGPTL3 /IL22 (25.3 mg/kg) and irrigation of positive drug losartan (20mg/kg/d) twice a week for 8 weeks.ResultsIn this research, a novel bifunctional fusion protein (anti-ANGPTL3/IL22) formed by the fusion of IL-22 with the C-terminus of anti-ANGPTL3 antibody exhibited favorable stability and maintained the biological activity of anti-ANGPTL3 and IL-22, respectively. The fusion protein showed a more pronounced attenuation of proteinuria and improved dysfunction of glucolipid metabolism compared with mIL22Fc or anti-ANGPTL3. Our results also indicated that anti-ANGPTL3/IL22 intervention significantly alleviated renal fibrosis via inhibiting the expression of the inflammatory response-related protein nuclear factor kappa light-chain enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) p65 and NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome. Moreover, transcriptome analysis revealed the downregulation of signaling pathways associated with injury and dysfunction of the renal parenchymal cell indicating the possible protective mechanisms of anti-ANGPTL3/IL22 in DN.ConclusionCollectively, anti-ANGPTL3/IL22 bifunctional fusion protein can be a promising novel therapeutic strategy for DN by reducing podocyte injury, ameliorating inflammatory response, and enhancing renal tissue recovery

A PLSPM-Based Test Statistic for Detecting Gene-Gene Co-Association in Genome-Wide Association Study with Case-Control Design

For genome-wide association data analysis, two genes in any pathway, two SNPs in the two linked gene regions respectively or in the two linked exons respectively within one gene are often correlated with each other. We therefore proposed the concept of gene-gene co-association, which refers to the effects not only due to the traditional interaction under nearly independent condition but the correlation between two genes. Furthermore, we constructed a novel statistic for detecting gene-gene co-association based on Partial Least Squares Path Modeling (PLSPM). Through simulation, the relationship between traditional interaction and co-association was highlighted under three different types of co-association. Both simulation and real data analysis demonstrated that the proposed PLSPM-based statistic has better performance than single SNP-based logistic model, PCA-based logistic model, and other gene-based methods

Licochalcone A Protects the Blood–Milk Barrier Integrity and Relieves the Inflammatory Response in LPS-Induced Mastitis

Background/Aims: Mastitis is an acute clinical inflammatory response. The occurrence and development of mastitis seriously disturb women's physical and mental health. Licochalcone A, a phenolic compound in Glycyrrhiza uralensis, has anti-inflammatory properties. Here, we examined the effect of licochalcone A on blood-milk barrier and inflammatory response in LPS-induced mice mastitis.Methods:In vivo, we firstly established mice models of mastitis by canal injection of LPS to mammary gland, and then detected the effect of licochalcone A on pathological indexes, inflammatory responses and blood-milk barrier in this model. In vivo, Mouse mammary epithelial cells (mMECs) were treated with licochalcone A prior to the incubation of LPS, and then the inflammatory responses, tight junction which is the basic structure of blood-milk barrier were analyzed. Last, we elucidated the anti-inflammatory mechanism by examining the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and AKT/NF-κB signaling pathways in vivo and in vitro.Result: The in vivo results showed that licochalcone A significantly decreased the histopathological impairment and the inflammatory responses, and improved integrity of blood-milk barrier. The in vitro results demonstrated that licochalcone A inhibited LPS-induced inflammatory responses and increase the protein levels of ZO-1, occludin, and claudin3 in mMECs. The in vivo and in vitro mechanistic study found that the anti-inflammatory effect of licochalcone A in LPS-induced mice mastitis was mediated by MAPK and AKT/NF-κB signaling pathways.Conclusions and Implications: Our experiments collectively indicate that licochalcone A protected against LPS-induced mice mastitis via improving the blood–milk barrier integrity and inhibits the inflammatory response by MAPK and AKT/NF-κB signaling pathways

Influences of process water chemistry on reverse flotation selectivity of iron oxides

It is critical for water quality in flotation as it dramatically influences the chemical/electrochemical properties of mineral surfaces and their interactions with reagents. Many potential variations could alter the water chemistry: water recirculation, mineral dissolutions, reagent additions, etc. This study aimed to identify the key elements from the recycled water sources affecting the separation efficiency in a typical industrial flotation circuit of iron oxides through a series of bench/micro flotation tests, zeta potential measurement, etc. The built-up and distribution of the dominant cations/anions in the process water from the roughers in the flotation system was also analyzed and recorded by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission (ICP-OES) for a period of about three months when the operations were stable. The flotation results pointed out that a concentrate with a sharp increase of 6.0% Fe recovery and 2.5% SiO2 content was obtained by using the recycled tailing water only in comparison by using fresh water. In contrast, a slight uptrend in the grade of Fe but a substantial loss of near 6.5% Fe recovery occurs by using the treated sewage water alone instead. This could attribute to the ion distributions in these water sources, in which Ca2+, Fen+, Mg2+ or SO42ions were determined as the key ions influencing the flotation behaviors of the iron ore. But the competitive effects of Fe3+ ions were more significant than the ones of Ca2+ or Mg2+ ions. And the occurrence of starch could deteriorate the dilution of silicates in concentration induced by Fe3+/Fe2+ ions. It can be explained by zeta potential measurement or solution chemistry of those ions, indicating that at 8.5-9.0, the coating of the precipitates of Fe(OH)3(s) induced by iron ions alters a reverse on the zeta potentials of quartz. The presence of SO42-ions, however, has a positive role in reducing the possibility of slime coating on silicates due to acting as a chelating agent of iron ions

Adsorption of lead ion on the hydrated rutile (110) surface: a DFT calculation study

The adsorption behavior of lead species on the hydrated rutile surface was investigated with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) measurements and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. ICP-MS experiments suggested that lead species can be readily absorbed by the rutile powder in water at pH 6.5. From the ICP-MS results and the species distribution of Pb2+, it was concluded that Pb2+ was the major lead species adsorbing at the rutile/water interface at the pH of 6.5. DFT calculation results indicated that Pb2+ could adsorb at four different sites on the surface. At each site, water molecules or OH groups were involved in the reaction with Pb2+. The water molecules/OH groups on the rutile surface play an important role during the adsorption of Pb2+ on the hydrated rutile surface

Therapeutic Opportunities of IL-22 in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: From Molecular Mechanisms to Clinical Applications

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents one of the most common liver disorders and can progress into a series of liver diseases, including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, cirrhosis, and even liver cancer. Interleukin-22 (IL-22), a member of the IL-10 family of cytokines, is predominantly produced by lymphocytes but acts exclusively on epithelial cells. IL-22 was proven to favor tissue protection and regeneration in multiple diseases. Emerging evidence suggests that IL-22 plays important protective functions against NAFLD by improving insulin sensitivity, modulating lipid metabolism, relieving oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and inhibiting apoptosis. By directly interacting with the heterodimeric IL-10R2 and IL-22R1 receptor complex on hepatocytes, IL-22 activates the Janus kinase 1 (JAK1)/ signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and extracellular-signal regulated kinase (ERK) pathways to regulate the subsequent expression of genes involved in inflammation, metabolism, tissue repair, and regeneration, thus alleviating hepatitis and steatosis. However, due to the wide biodistribution of the IL-22 receptor and its proinflammatory effects, modifications such as targeted delivery of IL-22 expression and recombinant IL-22 fusion proteins to improve its efficacy while reducing systemic side effects should be taken for further clinical application. In this review, we summarized recent progress in understanding the physiological and pathological importance of the IL-22-IL-22R axis in NAFLD and the mechanisms of IL-22 in the protection of NAFLD and discussed the potential strategies to maneuver this specific cytokine for therapeutic applications for NAFLD