Catalytic Conversion of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural and Fructose to 5-Ethoxymethylfurfural over Sulfonated Biochar Catalysts

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a key platform compound that can be produced by the dehydration of typical carbohydrates like glucose and fructose. Among the derivatives of HMF, 5-ethoxymethylfurfural (EMF) is the etherification product of HMF with ethanol. Owing to some advantages (i.e., high energy density), EMF has been regarded as a potential liquid fuel. Therefore, catalytic conversion of   HMF and fructose to EMF is of significance, especially using heterogeneous catalysts. In this paper, we demonstrated the preparation of biomass-based catalysts for the synthesis of EMF from HMF and fructose. Some sulfonated biochar catalysts were prepared by the carbonization of biomass-based precursors at high temperature in N2, followed by the subsequent sulfonation process employing concentered H2SO4 as sulfonation reagent. The obtained catalysts were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and element analysis. The catalytic conversion of HMF to EMF was carried out in ethanol, providing a 78% yield with complete conversion at 120 °C. The catalytic activity of the used catalyst showed slight decrease for the etherification of HMF. Moreover, the catalysts were effective for the direct conversion of fructose towards EMF in 64.9% yield. Copyright © 2023 by Authors, Published by BCREC Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

DASES: a database of alternative splicing for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Esophageal carcinoma ranks as the sixth leading cause of cancer-related mortality globally, with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) being particularly prevalent among Asian populations. Alternative splicing (AS) plays a pivotal role in ESCC development and progression by generating diverse transcript isoforms. However, the current landscape lacks a specialized database focusing on alternative splicing events (ASEs) derived from a large number of ESCC cases. Additionally, most existing AS databases overlook the contribution of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in ESCC molecular mechanisms, predominantly focusing on mRNA-based ASE identification. To address these limitations, we deployed DASES (http://www.hxdsjzx.cn/DASES). Employing a combination of publicly available and in-house ESCC RNA-seq datasets, our extensive analysis of 346 samples, with 93% being paired tumor and adjacent non-tumor tissues, led to the identification of 257 novel lncRNAs in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Leveraging a paired comparison of tumor and adjacent normal tissues, DASES identified 59,094 ASEs that may be associated with ESCC. DASES fills a critical gap by providing comprehensive insights into ASEs in ESCC, encompassing lncRNAs and mRNA, thus facilitating a deeper understanding of ESCC molecular mechanisms and serving as a valuable resource for ESCC research communities

A critical survey of power take-off systems based wave energy converters: Summaries, advances, and perspectives

Being one of the most promising renewable energy sources, ocean wave energy (OWE) demonstrates considerable development and application potential. Consequently, various related technologies have rapidly advanced in recent decades, particularly in the field of wave energy converters (WEC). Power take-off (PTO) stands as a vital element within WEC systems. During the planning and implementation of WEC systems, diverse types of PTO systems and control strategies emerge as crucial factors that impact overall power output and stability. To comprehensively review PTO systems, this paper offers a comprehensive overview and discussion of state-of-the-art development status of PTO, including of based structures, working principles and control strategies. In contrast to prior reviews, a more thorough classification and comparison of different PTO systems have been undertaken in this review with the consideration of seven types of PTO systems in total and detailed control strategies for various PTO types. Besides, the proposed framework includes an evaluation and comparison of advantages/disadvantages, application, complexity, and costs for each controller. Lastly, seven invaluable perspectives are proposed for future research

Extracted power optimization of hybrid wind-wave energy converters array layout via enhanced snake optimizer

In recent years, wind energy and wave energy are widely concerned as highly developmental clean energy alternatives to traditional energy sources. From the perspective of cost reduction and power output enhancement, in this study, a V27-225 kW wind turbine and wave energy converter are combined to construct a hybrid wind-wave energy converters (HWWEC), which greatly improves the power generation and operation stability. The optimization of wind-wave energy layout that involves strategically placing wave energy devices can directly influence the energy output of the whole system. To enhance the overall power generation efficiency, the optimal array configuration becomes a challenging but also promising solution regarding this concern. To optimize the array configuration that is composed of multiple HWWECS, this study develops an enhanced snake optimizer (ESO) based optimization scheme including chaotic initialization, asynchronous learning factors, and levy flight, which shows strong optimum searching ability while avoiding falling into local optimums. Simulation results under various case studies of three-line WECs consisting of three, six, and twelve buoys indicate that the ESO achieves the highest absorption power compared to other algorithms, particularly, the output power achieved by ESO is 144.337 kW higher than that obtained by the original SO

Aberrantly hydroxymethylated differentially expressed genes and the associated protein pathways in osteoarthritis

Background The elderly population is at risk of osteoarthritis (OA), a common, multifactorial, degenerative joint disease. Environmental, genetic, and epigenetic (such as DNA hydroxymethylation) factors may be involved in the etiology, development, and pathogenesis of OA. Here, comprehensive bioinformatic analyses were used to identify aberrantly hydroxymethylated differentially expressed genes and pathways in osteoarthritis to determine the underlying molecular mechanisms of osteoarthritis and susceptibility-related genes for osteoarthritis inheritance. Methods Gene expression microarray data, mRNA expression profile data, and a whole genome 5hmC dataset were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus repository. Differentially expressed genes with abnormal hydroxymethylation were identified by MATCH function. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses of the genes differentially expressed in OA were performed using Metascape and the KOBAS online tool, respectively. The protein–protein interaction network was built using STRING and visualized in Cytoscape, and the modular analysis of the network was performed using the Molecular Complex Detection app. Results In total, 104 hyperhydroxymethylated highly expressed genes and 14 hypohydroxymethylated genes with low expression were identified. Gene ontology analyses indicated that the biological functions of hyperhydroxymethylated highly expressed genes included skeletal system development, ossification, and bone development; KEGG pathway analysis showed enrichment in protein digestion and absorption, extracellular matrix–receptor interaction, and focal adhesion. The top 10 hub genes in the protein–protein interaction network were COL1A1, COL1A2, COL2A1, COL3A1, COL5A1, COL5A2, COL6A1, COL8A1, COL11A1, and COL24A1. All the aforementioned results are consistent with changes observed in OA. Conclusion After comprehensive bioinformatics analysis, we found aberrantly hydroxymethylated differentially expressed genes and pathways in OA. The top 10 hub genes may be useful hydroxymethylation analysis biomarkers to provide more accurate OA diagnoses and target genes for treatment of OA

Stock selection strategies by using a combination of fundamental and technical analysis in Singapore property stock market

The financial sector has hired many analysts, strategists and fund managers to do one thing: beat the market. Analysts are to find undervalued stock, strategists are to predict the direction of the market and various sectors, and fund managers are to put all together to outperform their benchmark. A fundamental analyst believes that by analyzing company strategy, management, product, financial statistics and other quantifiable numbers will help to select stocks that will outperform the market. A technical analyst believes that the chart, volume, momentum, and an array of technical indicators hold the keys to superior performance. In this Thesis, we will study the use of fundamental analysis (FA) and technical analysis (TA) in stock picking and trading, understand the characteristics and the different views between FA and TA, thus investigate the effectiveness of the combination of FA+TA in Singapore property stock market. These data collected for this project was for the period between the year 2006 to 2017.Bachelor of Engineerin