Liver Toxicity of Rare Ginsenosides in Rats after 13 Weeks of Oral Exposure

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the hepatotoxicity of rare ginsenosides in rats after 90 days of oral administration using heat-transformed rare ginsenosides as the primary material. Methods: A total of 48 male and female rats were randomly assigned into four groups: High-dose rare ginsenosides (600 mg/kg), medium-dose rare ginsenosides (200 mg/kg), low-dose rare ginsenosides (60 mg/kg), and a blank control group. After 90 days of oral gavage treatment, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) was employed for metabolomic analysis of rat serum and flow cytometry analysis of liver apoptosis to evaluate the potential liver damage comprehensively in rats. Results: A significant difference in hepatocyte apoptotic rate was observed between the high-dose group and the control group in both male and female rats (P0.05). However, 23 differential metabolites, such as histidine, glutamate, proline and arginine were identified in the serum of female rats in the high-dose group, affecting the histidine and urea cycle metabolic pathways and causing hyperammonemia and liver damage. Ten differential metabolites affecting the alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid metabolic pathways were found in male rats, such as linoleic acid and arachidonic acid. High concentrations of arachidonic acid showed inflammatory and toxic effects, which could be absorbed into the portal vein system through blood and cause liver damage. Conclusion: High-dose rare ginsenosides mainly cause slight liver damage in male and female rats mainly due to the changes of histidine, α-linolenic acid and linoleic acid metabolic pathways. Hence, no adverse liver effects were observed at doses less than 200 mg/kg in both male and female rats

Volume oscillation and acoustical scattering of a gas bubble

The exact solution of a gas bubble’ volume was obtained based on volume oscillation of a gas bubble. The volume pulsation, acoustic impedance, scattering pressure of a gas bubble, acoustical power of scattering and acoustical scattering cross section of a single bubble are researched in a small amplitude acoustic field. The results show that a big bubble oscillates more violently than that of a small bubble in a weak acoustic field if the linear resonance does not happen. The occurrence of a linear resonance response of a single bubble leads to the volume oscillation and the scattering ability of a gas bubble become stronger. Additionally, the scattering cross section does not depend on the driving pressure. The amplitude of scattering pressure of a big bubble can reach the magnitude compared to the driving pressure when the resonance response occurs

Soil horizons regulate bacterial community structure and functions in Dabie Mountain of the East China

Abstract Soil bacterial communities regulate nutrient cycling and plant growth in forests. Although these bacterial communities vary with soil nutrients and plant traits, the variation and degree with soil horizons in different forest types remain unclear. Here, bacterial communities of 44 soil samples from organic horizon (O horizon) and mineral horizon (M horizon) of three forest types (Cunninghamia, broad-leaved and Pinus forests) in subtropical forests of Dabie Mountain, China were analyzed based on amplicon sequencing. We assessed the effects of soil horizons and forest types on bacterial communities. The results showed that the bacterial richness and diversity were significantly higher in the O horizon than in the M horizon. Furthermore, the bacterial community composition and functions were also remarkably different between the two soil horizons. Furthermore, forest types could affect bacterial community composition but not for diversity and functions. Moreover, soil organic matter, including the total organic carbon, available phosphorus, total organic nitrogen, available potassium, ammonium nitrogen, and pH were main drivers for bacterial community composition. The results propose robust evidence that soil horizons strongly driven bacterial community composition and diversity, and suggest that microhabitat of soil bacterial communities is important to maintain the stability of forest ecosystem

Distribution and Control of Arsenic during Copper Converting and Refining

Arsenic content in copper concentrates is continuously increasing worldwide. It is desirable to remove arsenic from copper in the earlier stages of copper making due to the deposition of arsenic to cathode copper during the electrorefining process. Effects of temperature, flux, and oxygen on the distribution of arsenic during copper converting and fire refining processes were studied using FactSage 8.2. The results showed that arsenic can be effectively removed by proper selection of converting and refining slags. The decrease in Fe/SiO2 or Fe/CaO ratio in the converting slag is favorable for arsenic distributed to slag. CaO is more effective than SiO2 in decreasing the liquidus temperature of the slag and arsenic content in the blister copper during the converting process. Na2O or CaO as a flux is effective to remove arsenic in the fire refining process

Direct reduction of iron oxides based on steam reforming of bio-oil : a highly efficient approach for production of DRI from bio-oil and iron ores

Production of direct reduced iron (DRI) was performed by a novel and environmentally friendly approach through a systematic experimental process development and process integration study on bio-oil reforming and iron ores reduction. The Ni-Cu-Zn-Al₂O₃ catalyst is one of most suitable candidates for bio-oil reforming because this non-noble metal catalyst can efficiently reform the bio-oil to H₂ and CO₂ at a lower operating temperature (450-500 °C) with a longer lifetime. The catalytic activities of the Ni-Cu-Zn-Al₂O₃ catalyst for different processes, including the reforming of the oxygenated organic compounds in the bio-oil, the water-gas shift reaction and the decomposition of organic compounds, have been investigated. A hydrogen yield of 87.4% with a carbon conversion of 91.8% was obtained at T = 500 °C and S/C = 6.1. The hydrogen content reached about 94.6 vol% after simple purification by removing CO₂. Furthermore, direct reduction of iron oxides at different reduction temperatures was investigated using on-line rich-hydrogen reducing gases. The metallization for production of DRI from three ore powders (limonite, hematite and magnetite) and hematite pellets ranges from 93 to 97% at 850 °C for 1 h reduction. The reduction process from the oxidized iron to metallic iron and the intermediate phases were investigated via chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence analyses. The green DRI process with high reduction efficiency and real environmental benefits would, potentially, be a useful route to produce DRI from bio-oil or biomass.12 page(s

Step-by-Step Mechanism Insights into the TiO2/Ce2S3 S-Scheme Photocatalyst for Enhanced Aniline Production with Water as a Proton Source

Exploring heterostructured photocatalysts for the photocatalytic hydrogenation reaction with water as a proton source and investigating the corresponding intrinsic step-by-step mechanism are of great interest. Here, we develop an S-scheme heterojunction through theoretical design and carried out solvothermal growth of Ce2S3 nanoparticles (NPs) onto electrospun TiO2 nanofibers. The low-dimensional (0D/1D) heterostructure unveils enhanced photocatalytic activity for aniline production by nitrobenzene hydrogenation with water as a proton source. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate the electrons transfer from Ce2S3 to TiO2 upon hybridization due to their Fermi level difference and creates an internal electric field at the interface, driving the separation of the photoexcited charge carriers, which is authenticated by in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy along with femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. The step-by-step reaction mechanism of the photocatalytic nitrobenzene hydrogenation to yield aniline is revealed by in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy, associated with DFT computational prediction.</p