111 research outputs found
Weak Magnetic Field Accelerates Chromate Removal by Zero-Valent Iron
Weak magnetic field (WMF) was employed to improve the removal of Cr(VI) by zero-valent iron (ZVI) for the first time. The removal rate of Cr(VI) was elevated by a factor of 1.12-5.89 due to the application of a WMF, and the WMF-induced improvement was more remarkable at higher Cr(VI) concentration and higher pH. Fe2+ was not detected until Cr(VI) was exhausted, and there was a positive correlation between the WMF-induced promotion factor of Cr(VI) removal rate and that of Fe2+ release rate in the absence of Cr(VI) at pH 4.0-5.5. These phenomena imply that ZVI corrosion with Fe2+ release was the limiting step in the process of Cr(VI) removal. The superimposed WMF had negligible influence on the apparent activation energy of Cr(VI) removal by ZVI, indicating that WMF accelerated Cr(VI) removal by ZVI but did not change the mechanism. The passive layer formed with WMF was much more porous than without WMF, thereby facilitating mass transport. Therefore, WMF could accelerate ZVI corrosion and alleviate the detrimental effects of the passive layer, resulting in more rapid removal of Cr(VI) by ZVI. Exploiting the magnetic memory of ZVI, a two-stage process consisting of a small reactor with WMF for ZVI magnetization and a large reactor for removing contaminants by magnetized ZVI can be employed as a new method of ZVI-mediated remediation
Anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects of corilagin in a rat model of acute cholestasis
BACKGROUND: Nowadays, treatments for cholestasis remain largely nonspecific and often ineffective. Recent studies showed that inflammatory injuries and oxidative stress occur in the liver with cholestasis. In this study, we would use corilagin to treat the animal model of acute cholestasis in order to define the activity to interfere with inflammation-related and oxidative stress pathway in cholestatic pathogenesis. METHODS: Rats were administrated with alpha-naphthylisothiocyanate to establish model of cholestasis and divided into corilagin, ursodeoxycholic acid, dexamethasone, model and normal groups with treatment of related agent. At 24h, 48h and 72h time points after administration, living condition, serum markers of liver damage, pathological changes of hepatic tissue, nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB, myeloperoxidase (MPO), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and nitric oxide (NO) were examined and observed. RESULTS: Compared to model group, corilagin had remarkable effect on living condition, pathological manifestation of liver tissue, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, (P<0.01), but no effect on alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). With corilagin intervention, levels of MPO, MDA and translocation of NF-κB were notably decreased, and levels of SOD and NO were markedly increased (P<0.05 or P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: It is shown that corilagin is a potential component to relieve cholestasis through inflammation-related and oxidation-related pathway
Could the GRB-Supernovae GRB 031203 and XRF 060218 be Cosmic Twins?
The gamma-ray burst (GRB) / X-ray flash (XRF) events GRB 031203, discovered
by INTEGRAL, and XRF 060218, discovered by Swift, represent two of only five
GRB-SNe with optical spectroscopic confirmation of their SN components. Yet
their observed high-energy properties offer a sharp contrast: While GRB 031203
was detected as a short 40-s burst with a spectrum peaking at E_peak > 190 keV,
XRF 060218 was a T_90 ~ 2100-s long, smoothly-evolving burst with peak energy
E_peak = 4.9 keV. At the same time, the properties of the two expanding
dust-scattered X-ray halos observed in a fast-response XMM-Newton observation
of GRB 031203 reveal that this event was accompanied by an "X-ray blast" with
fluence comparable to or greater than that of the prompt gamma-ray event.
Taking this observation as our starting point, we investigate the likely
properties of the X-ray blast from GRB 031203 via detailed modeling of the XMM
data, discovering a third halo due to scattering off a more distant dust sheet
at d_3 = 9.94 +/- 0.39 kpc, and constraining the timing of the X-ray blast
relative to the GRB trigger time to be t_0 = 11 +/- 417 s. Using our
constraints, we compare the properties of GRB 031203 to those of other GRB-SNe
in order to understand the likely nature of its X-ray blast, concluding that a
bright X-ray flare, as in GRB 050502B, or shock breakout event, as in XRF
060218, provide the most likely explanations. In the latter case, we consider
the added possibility that XRF 060218 may have manifested an episode of bright
gamma-ray emission prior to the burst observed by Swift, in which case GRB
031203 and XRF 060218 would be "cosmic twin" explosions with nearly identical
high-energy properties.Comment: MNRAS in press; 12 pages, 6 figures. v2: Expanded discussion of
related papers and minor changes in response to referee repor
Ethanol Extract from Ampelopsis sinica Root Exerts Anti-Hepatitis B Virus Activity via Inhibition of p53 Pathway In Vitro
Ampelopsis sinica root is widely used in Chinese folk medicine for treating liver disorders caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). The present study was performed in order to investigate the anti-HBV activity and mechanisms of the ethanol extract from A. sinica root (EASR) in vitro. The antiviral activity of EASR was examined by detecting the levels of HBsAg, HBeAg and extracellular HBV DNAs in stable HBV-producing human hepatoblastoma HepG2 2.2.15 cells. We found that EASR effectively suppressed the secretion of HBsAg and HBeAg from HepG2 2.2.15 cells in a dose-dependent manner, and it also suppressed the amount of extracellular HBV DNA. After EASR treatment, the percentage of apoptotic cells was found to be significantly higher than that of control by flow cytometric analysis. A luciferase reporter gene assay was used to determine the effects of EASR on the activities of HBV promoters and intracellular signaling pathways. The results showed that EASR selectively inhibited the activities of HBV promoters (Cp, S1p and Fp) and the p53 signaling pathway in HepG2 cells significantly. These data indicate that EASR exerts anti-HBV effects via inhibition of HBV promoters and the p53-associated signaling pathway, which helps to elucidate the mechanism underlying the potential therapeutic value of EASR
A redshift - observation-time relation for gamma-ray bursts: evidence of a distinct sub-luminous population
We show how the redshift and peak-flux distributions of gamma-ray bursts
(GRBs) have an observation time dependence that can be used to discriminate
between different burst populations. We demonstrate how observation time
relations can be derived from the standard integral distributions and that they
can differentiate between GRB populations detected by both the BATSE and
\emph{Swift} satellites. Using \emph{Swift} data we show that a
redshift--observation-time relation (log\,\,--\,log\,) is consistent with
both a peak-flux\,--\,observation time relation (log\,\,--\,log\,) and a
standard log\,\,--\,log\, brightness distribution. As the method depends
only on rarer small- events, it is invariant to high- selection effects.
We use the log\,\,--\,log\, relation to show that sub-luminous GRBs are a
distinct population occurring at a higher rate of order . Our analysis suggests that GRB 060505 -- a
relatively nearby GRB observed without any associated supernova -- is
consistent with a sub-luminous population of bursts. Finally, we suggest that
our relations can be used as a consistency test for some of the proposed GRB
spectral energy correlations.Comment: Accepted by MNRA
Gravitational wave background from sub-luminous GRBs: prospects for second and third generation detectors
We assess the detection prospects of a gravitational wave background
associated with sub-luminous gamma-ray bursts (SL-GRBs). We assume that the
central engines of a significant proportion of these bursts are provided by
newly born magnetars and consider two plausible GW emission mechanisms.
Firstly, the deformation-induced triaxial GW emission from a newly born
magnetar. Secondly, the onset of a secular bar-mode instability, associated
with the long lived plateau observed in the X-ray afterglows of many gamma-ray
bursts (Corsi & Meszaros 2009a). With regards to detectability, we find that
the onset of a secular instability is the most optimistic scenario: under the
hypothesis that SL-GRBs associated with secularly unstable magnetars occur at a
rate of (48; 80)Gpc^{-3}yr^{-1} or greater, cross-correlation of data from two
Einstein Telescopes (ETs) could detect the GW background associated to this
signal with a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 or greater after 1 year of
observation. Assuming neutron star spindown results purely from triaxial GW
emissions, we find that rates of around (130;350)Gpc^{-3}yr^{-1} will be
required by ET to detect the resulting GW background. We show that a background
signal from secular instabilities could potentially mask a primordial GW
background signal in the frequency range where ET is most sen- sitive. Finally,
we show how accounting for cosmic metallicity evolution can increase the
predicted signal-to-noise ratio for background signals associated with SL-GRBs.Comment: Accepted by MNRA
GRB Fireball Physics: Prompt and Early Emission
We review the fireball shock model of gamma-ray burst prompt and early
afterglow emission in light of rapid follow-up measurements made and enabled by
the multi-wavelength Swift satellite. These observations are leading to a
reappraisal and expansion of the previous standard view of the GRB and its
fireball. New information on the behavior of the burst and afterglow on minutes
to hour timescales has led, among other results, to the discovery and follow-up
of short GRB afterglows, the opening up of the z>6 redshift range, and the
first prompt multi-wavelength observations of a long GRB-supernova. We discuss
the salient observational results and some associated theoretical issues.Comment: 23 pages. Published in the New Journal of Physics Focus Issue, "Focus
on Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Swift Era" (Eds. D. H. Hartmann, C. D. Dermer & J.
Greiner). V2: Minor change
β-Carboline Alkaloids From the Deep-Sea Fungus Trichoderma sp. MCCC 3A01244 as a New Type of Anti-pulmonary Fibrosis Agent That Inhibits TGF-β/Smad Signaling Pathway
Pulmonary fibrosis is a scarring disease of lung tissue, which seriously threatens human health. Treatment options are currently limited, and effective strategies are still lacking. In the present study, 25 compounds were isolated from the deep-sea fungus Trichoderma sp. MCCC 3A01244. Among them, two β-carboline alkaloids, trichocarbolines A (1) and C (4) are new compounds. The chemical structures of these compounds were elucidated based on their HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR spectra, optical rotation calculation, and comparisons with data reported in the literature. Trichocarboline B [(+)- and (–)-enantiomers] had previously been synthesized, and this is its first report as a natural product. Their anti-pulmonary fibrosis (PF) activity and cytotoxicity were investigated. Compounds 1, 11, and 13 strongly inhibited TGF-β1-induced total collagen accumulation and showed low cytotoxicity against the HFL1 cell line. Further studies revealed compound 1 inhibited extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition by downregulating the expression of protein fibronectin (FN), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). Mechanistic study revealed that compound 1 decreased pulmonary fibrosis by inhibiting the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway. As a newly identified β-carboline alkaloid, compound 1 may be used as a lead compound for developing more efficient anti-pulmonary fibrosis agents
Cosmic Physics: The High Energy Frontier
Cosmic rays have been observed up to energies times larger than those
of the best particle accelerators. Studies of astrophysical particles (hadrons,
neutrinos and photons) at their highest observed energies have implications for
fundamental physics as well as astrophysics. Thus, the cosmic high energy
frontier is the nexus to new particle physics. This overview discusses recent
advances being made in the physics and astrophysics of cosmic rays and cosmic
gamma-rays at the highest observed energies as well as the related physics and
astrophysics of very high energy cosmic neutrinos. These topics touch on
questions of grand unification, violation of Lorentz invariance, as well as
Planck scale physics and quantum gravity.Comment: Topical Review Paper to be published in the Journal of Physics G, 50
page
Supplement: "Localization and broadband follow-up of the gravitational-wave transient GW150914" (2016, ApJL, 826, L13)
This Supplement provides supporting material for Abbott et al. (2016a). We briefly summarize past electromagnetic (EM) follow-up efforts as well as the organization and policy of the current EM follow-up program. We compare the four probability sky maps produced for the gravitational-wave transient GW150914, and provide additional details of the EM follow-up observations that were performed in the different bands
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