Partially carbonized wastepaper with excellent mechanical strength for oil-water and emulsion separation

Background Taking the treatment of oily sewage and the recycling of wastepaper as the starting point, the idea of using waste to treat waste was used to treat the swage with aerogels made of wastepaper. Methods Porous ultralight Fe-functionalized cellulose carbon aerogels (CPFe) were synthesized using wastepaper as raw material through FeCl3 impregnation and low-temperature carbonization. Findings CPFe aerogels exhibit excellent physicochemical properties, such as: low density (0.0284 g/cm3), high porosity (97.32%), and selective absorption capacity for various oil products. The absorption capacity of chloroform reached 62.8 g/g. In addition, it exhibits excellent capacity in emulsion separation for both o/w and w/o types. Droplet size of w/o emulsion reduced by two orders of magnitude. CPFe aerogel is a low-cost, renewable, environmentally friendly material and suitable for large-scale production. It is expected to have broad applications in pollution remediation.publishedVersio

Oil absorption stability of modified cellulose porous materials with super compressive strength in the complex environment

The occurrence of oil spills has severe damage upon both the environment and human health. Hence, the development of a green, recyclable, complex environment resistant, and efficient oil–water separation aerogel is required in order to effectively absorb marine or industrial oil. In this study, modified cellulose/N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide/tannin (PCMT) composite porous materials were prepared utilizing the sol–gel method and were modified with tertbutyl acrylate. PCMT possesses a three-dimensional interpenetrating porous structure, exhibiting remarkable oil–water separation performance and excellent compressive strength (PCMT can capable of bearing 7000 times its own weight; PCMT can endure 290.3 kPa pressure at 80% strain when the amount of tannin is 0.2 g). The unique pore structure of PCMT engenders differential oil adsorption capacities (PCMT0, PCMT0.05, PCMT0.1, and PCMT0.2 evince higher adsorption capacities for petroleum ether and dichloromethane, n-hexane and dichloromethane, toluene, and toluene and dichloromethane, respectively). Of critical import, PCMT demonstrates exceptional adaptability to complex environments, wherein the porous materials maintain good hydrophobicity and oil absorption capacity under conditions of vigorous stirring, a wide pH range (1–14), a wide temperature range (4–160 °C), ultraviolet irradiation (8 h), and tape peeling (10 times). Moreover, the porous materials may be employed for the recovery of oil through simple mechanical extrusion, thus demonstrating certain economic significance and the application potential in the treatment of oil spills.publishedVersio

Differential gene expression profiling of esophageal adenocarcinoma

BackgroundDifferential gene expression offers an attractive means by which to study genes that may be involved in disease development and/or progression. We performed quantitative gene expression in various stages of esophageal adenocarcinoma, treated exclusively by surgery with complete 2-field lymphadenectomy, in an attempt to discern genes involved in disease progression as well as genes that may predict survival.MethodsGene expression profiling was accomplished by cDNA-mediated annealing, selection, extension, and ligation (DASL) assay. RNA was extracted from 89 archived formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded esophageal adenocarcinoma tissues. DASL assay was performed with the Sentrix Universal Array (Illumina Corp, San Diego, Calif) of 502 known cancer-related genes. Bioinformatics tools were used to determine significant differential gene expression in T1-2 versus T3-4 tumors and tumors without lymph node involvement (N0) versus tumors with lymph node involvement (N+). Gene expression was also correlated with overall survival.ResultsTwenty-one genes were overexpressed in T1-2 compared with T3-4 tumors (false discovery rate of 0). Underexpression of 1 gene was seen in N+ compared with N0 tumors (false discovery rate of 0). For overall survival, underexpression of 9 genes correlated with long survival.ConclusionsUsing differential gene expression of 502 known cancer genes, we identified genes that may be involved at various stages in the progression of esophageal adenocarcinoma. We also identified genes that may correlate with prolonged survival and, thus, may serve as prognostic markers. These findings may provide further insight into the mechanisms of development and/or progression of esophageal adenocarcinoma. Prospective studies are needed to verify the prognostic value of these genes

Research on user recruitment algorithms based on user trajectory prediction with sparse mobile crowd sensing

Sparse mobile crowd sensing saves perception cost by recruiting a small number of users to perceive data from a small number of sub-regions, and then inferring data from the remaining sub-regions. The data collected by different people on their respective trajectories have different values, and we can select participants who can collect high-value data based on their trajectory predictions. In this paper, we study two aspects of user trajectory prediction and user recruitment. First, we propose an STGCN-GRU user trajectory prediction algorithm, which uses the STGCN algorithm to extract features related to temporal and spatial information from the trajectory map, and then inputs the feature sequences into GRU for trajectory prediction, and this algorithm improves the accuracy of user trajectory prediction. Second, an ADQN (action DQN) user recruitment algorithm is proposed.The ADQN algorithm improves the objective function in DQN on the idea of reinforcement learning. The action with the maximum input value is found from the Q network, and then the output value of the objective function of the corresponding action Q network is found. This reduces the overestimation problem that occurs in Q networks and improves the accuracy of user recruitment. The experimental results show that the evaluation metrics FDE and ADE of the STGCN-GRU algorithm proposed in this paper are better than other representative algorithms. And the experiments on two real datasets verify the effectiveness of the ADQN user selection algorithm, which can effectively improve the accuracy of data inference under budget constraints

Alteration of gene expression by alcohol exposure at early neurulation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We have previously demonstrated that alcohol exposure at early neurulation induces growth retardation, neural tube abnormalities, and alteration of DNA methylation. To explore the global gene expression changes which may underline these developmental defects, microarray analyses were performed in a whole embryo mouse culture model that allows control over alcohol and embryonic variables.</p> <p>Result</p> <p>Alcohol caused teratogenesis in brain, heart, forelimb, and optic vesicle; a subset of the embryos also showed cranial neural tube defects. In microarray analysis (accession number GSM9545), adopting hypothesis-driven Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) informatics and intersection analysis of two independent experiments, we found that there was a collective reduction in expression of neural specification genes (neurogenin, <it>Sox5, Bhlhe22</it>), neural growth factor genes [<it>Igf1, Efemp1</it>, <it>Klf10 </it>(<it>Tieg), and Edil3</it>], and alteration of genes involved in cell growth, apoptosis, histone variants, eye and heart development. There was also a reduction of retinol binding protein 1 (<it>Rbp1</it>), and <it>de novo </it>expression of aldehyde dehydrogenase 1B1 (<it>Aldh1B1</it>). Remarkably, four key hematopoiesis genes (glycophorin A, adducin 2, beta-2 microglobulin, and ceruloplasmin) were absent after alcohol treatment, and histone variant genes were reduced. The down-regulation of the neurospecification and the neurotrophic genes were further confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR. Furthermore, the gene expression profile demonstrated distinct subgroups which corresponded with two distinct alcohol-related neural tube phenotypes: an open (ALC-NTO) and a closed neural tube (ALC-NTC). Further, the epidermal growth factor signaling pathway and histone variants were specifically altered in ALC-NTO, and a greater number of neurotrophic/growth factor genes were down-regulated in the ALC-NTO than in the ALC-NTC embryos.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study revealed a set of genes vulnerable to alcohol exposure and genes that were associated with neural tube defects during early neurulation.</p

Formation and toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons during CaO assisted hydrothermal carbonization of swine manure

The effects of temperature and Ca0 introduction on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contents, distribution patterns and toxicity of the products from hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of swine manure (SM) were investigated in this study for the first time. The results indicated that increasing temperature decreased total PAHs content of the hydrochar, while the PAHs toxicity firstly decreased and then increased during HTC of SM. For the aqueous product, the total PAHs content and toxicity gradually decreased with increasing temperature. CaO introduction during HTC of SM significantly suppressed the PAHs formation and promoted the transformation from higher molecular weight PAHs into lower molecular weight PAHs in HTC products, resulting in the remarkably decreased content and toxicity of PAHs. The lowest total PAHs content (1428.57 mu g/kg) and TEQ value (21.33 mu g/kg) of the hydrochar were obtained by 15% CaO introduction at 200 degrees C and 180 degrees C, respectively, and compared to SM, they were decreased by 73.73% and 79.51%, respectively. Moreover, 3-ring PAHs were the predominant PAHs in HTC products regardless of CaO introduction. The present study demonstrated that CaO assisted HTC at temperature lower than 220 degrees C was effective to reduce the total content and toxicity of PAHs in SM, and the prepared hydrochar was a promising soil amendment in view of the elimination of PAHs toxicity. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Toxic Heavy Metals in Municipal Solid Waste and Corresponding Hydrochars

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is an effective pretreatment technology for converting municipal solid waste (MSW) into homogenized, energy-dense, and carbon-rich hydrochars with low energy consumption. In this study, heavy metals and free polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in MSW and corresponding hydrochars were investigated. The results showed that the hydrochar yield decreased with an increasing temperature from 160 to 260 degrees C. Heavy metal contents, including Cr, Cd, Hg, and Zn, in the hydrochars were lower than those in MSW, while Pb, As, Ni, and Cu showed an accumulation in the hydrochars at most temperatures. In addition, the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure test showed that the contents of heavy metals in leachates were all lower than the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) limits. With regard to PAHs, total free PAH contents in the hydrochars were higher than those of MSW, except for the hydrochar obtained at 160 degrees C. The total PAHs in the hydrochar increased with the increase of the temperature from 160 to 240 degrees C and then significantly decreased with further increasing the temperature. The three-ring PAHs were dominant in the hydrochars, while for MSW, PAHs were mainly up to four-ring PAHs. The toxic equivalent quantity values of the hydrochars were higher than those Of MSW, except for the hydrochars obtained at 160 and 180 degrees C. The present study indicated that the significant reduction of heavy metals and PAHs in MSW could be achieved by HTC of MSW.</p

Thermal behavior of hydrochar from co-hydrothermal carbonization of swine manure and sawdust: effect of process water recirculation

Effect of process water recirculation during co-hydrothermal carbonization (co-HTC) of swine manure (SM) and sawdust (SD) on the thermal behavior of hydrochar was investigated in this study. The results showed that process water recirculation promoted the dehydration and decarboxylation reactions, and increased the mass and energy yields of hydrochar during co-HTC. The combustion behavior of hydrochar was changed by the recirculation process with decreased ignition temperature and increased burnout temperature. Additionally, the first process water recirculation decreased the average activation energy (E-a) value of the hydrochar from 156.46 and 154.16 kJ mol(-1) to 136.95 and 133.67 kJ mol(-1) by Flynn-Wall-Ozawa and Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose methods, respectively, and further recirculation had a slight effect on the E-a value. The thermodynamic parameter of entropy change verified that combustion reactivity of the hydrochar was enhanced by process water recirculation. The present study demonstrated that process water recirculation was feasible and environment-friendly for fuel production during co-HTC of SM and SD

Heteroatoms doped porous carbon derived from hydrothermally treated sewage sludge: Structural characterization and environmental application

The heteroatoms (N and S) doped porous carbons (HAPCs) were prepared from sewage sludge by hydrothermal carbonization and chemical activation for the first time. The porous structures and surface properties of HAPCs were characterized by multiple techniques including SEM-EDS, TEM, BET, XRD, Raman spectroscopy and Boehm&#39;s titration. The resultant materials were showed to be naturally N and S dual-doped porous carbons (HAPCs), especially for HAPC(Hcl+HF) obtained by HCI-HF-washing, which was typical 3D hierarchically porous structure with abundant mesopores as well as big pore diameter. Then the performance of HAPC(Hcl)+HF on AO7 removal was determined through Response surface methodology. The results showed the adsorption behavior obeyed Langmuir isotherm model and the maximum adsorption capacity was up to 440.53 mg g(-1) at 25 degrees C. Kinetics study revealed that the adsorption followed pseudo second-order kinetic and intra-particle diffusion was the main control step. The high removal rate of AO7 was ascribed to the unique properties of HAPC(Hcl+HF) The great V-mes and big pore diameter facilitated the diffusion of AO7 into the intra surface of particle. Meanwhile, the basic groups and doping of N and S made HAPC(HCl+HF) surface had positive charges, then strong pi-pi stacking interaction and electrostatic attraction contributed to the highly effective adsorption. This study indicated hydrothermal carbonization coupled with chemical activation was a cost-effective approach to prepare efficient heteroatoms doped porous carbon from sewage sludge towards azo dye contaminated wastewater treatment. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.</p

Starting effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy on the incidence of anemia in HIV-infected patients

ObjectiveTo investigate the risk factors of anemia in HIV-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy （HAART） in the Pudong New Area.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted among HIV-infected patients who started HAART from 2005 to 2020 in Pudong New Area. Cox proportional hazards model was used to analyze the risk factors of anemia， moderate or severe anemia， and chronic anemia. The piecewise linear mixed-effect model was used to analyze the association between initial HAART classes and hemoglobin change in the follow-up.ResultsA total of 2 403 HIV-infected patients were included in the analysis. Among them， there were 357 cases of new onset anemia， 86 cases of chronic anemia and 102 cases of moderate or severe anemia， with the incidence density of 4.41/100 person years， 0.89/100 person years and 0.96/100 person years respectively. Multifactorial Cox regression analysis results showed that female， age >45 years， baseline CD4+ T lymphocyte count （CD4） 45 years， CD4 <200 cells‧μL-1， opportunistic infections， and AZT-based regimens were associated with the development of chronic anemia. Mild anemia at baseline and AZT-based regimens were associated with the development of moderate or severe anemia. Linear mixed-effects model showed that the use of AZT （-7.87 g‧L-1， 95%CI： -9.42 to -6.32） or PIs （-3.43 g‧L-1， 95%CI： -5.57 to -1.30） was associated with lower Hb at follow-up.ConclusionInitial use of AZT and PIs is associated with progression to anemia and a lower follow-up hemoglobin level. Increased hemoglobin monitoring in users of AZT and PIs may be beneficial， especially during the first 6 months after initiation of HAART