Desalination Performances of Large Hollow Fiber-Based DCMD Devices

Saline waters having high osmotic pressure are unsuitable for reverse osmosis desalination. Direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) can desalt such waters provided the membrane technique is highly resistant to fouling by scaling salts. In DCMD, we had shown earlier that a rectangular cross-flow hollow fiber membrane (HFM) configuration with a specific plasma-polymerized nearly superhydrophobic coating on the membrane ensured no precipitation-based fouling from CaCO₃ and CaSO₄ for salt concentrations up to 19 wt %. A novel aspect of this method, oscillation of unrestrained HFMs, is illustrated here. Earlier models simulating desalination performance of such devices assumed membrane mass transfer coefficient, <i>k</i>_m, as an adjustable parameter for large hollow fiber modules. Here <i>k</i>_m was predicted from a recent model without any adjustable parameters, resulting in a better module water vapor flux prediction. To improve membrane module performance and productivity, simulations were carried out by varying hollow fiber ID, HFM length, and the distillate flow rate. The simulation results will help design optimum HFM modules for DCMD-based desalination

Quercetin combined with 2-ME decreased pAKT protein expression in PC-3 and LNCaP xenograft tumor tissues.

<p>(A) pAKT and AKT protein expression were examined by western blot. Values of pAKT (B, C) and AKT (D, E) were represented as means ± SD (values from three independent experiments). *P<0.05 compared to untreated control, #P<0.05 denotes a significant difference between combination treatment group and quercetin treated group, ※P<0.05 denotes a significant difference between combination treatment group and 2-ME treated group.</p

Quercetin combined with 2-ME enhanced inhibition of PC-3 xenograft tumor growth.

<p>(A) PC-3 xenograft tumors were smaller in Que or 2-ME treatment group than vehicle control, and the inhibition was more remarkable in Que and 2-ME co-treatment group. Tumor weight (B) and tumor volume (C) were reduced significantly by combination therapy, more obvious than Que or 2-ME alone. There was no significant difference in mouse weight between groups (D). Data are represented as means ± SD. *P<0.05 compared with control, #P<0.05 denotes a significant difference between combination treatment group and quercetin treated group, ※P<0.05 denotes a significant difference between combination treatment group and 2-ME treated group.</p

Quercetin combined with 2-ME decreased VEGF protein and mRNA in PC-3 and LNCaP xenograft tumor tissues.

<p>VEGF protein (A) and mRNA (D, E) expression were examined by western blot and quantitative real time PCR. Values of VEGF protein (B, C) and mRNA (D, E) were represented as means ± SD (values from three independent experiments). *P<0.05 compared to untreated control, #P<0.05 denotes a significant difference between combination treatment group and quercetin treated group, ※P<0.05 denotes a significant difference between combination treatment group and 2-ME treated group.</p

Quercetin combined with 2-ME decreased microvessel density in PC-3 and LNCaP xenograft tumor tissues.

<p>(A, D) Immunohistochemical examination exhibited CD31 and CD34 positive vessels in both PC-3 and LNCaP xenograft tumor tissue. Number of CD31 (B, C) and CD34 (E, F) positive vessels were represented as means ± SD, number was from three random high powered fields per slide (light microscopy, hpf, 400×). *P<0.05 compared to control, #P<0.05 denotes a significant difference between combination treatment group and quercetin treated group, ※P<0.05 denotes a significant difference between combination treatment group and 2-ME treated group.</p

Quercetin combined with 2-ME inhibited proliferation and promoted apoptosis in PC-3 and LNCaP xenograft tumor tissues.

<p>(A, D) Immunohistochemical detection showed Ki67 and caspase-3 positive cells in both PC-3 and LNCaP xenograft tumor. Number of Ki67 (B, C) and caspase-3(E, F) positive cells were represented as means ± SD, number was from three random high powered fields per slide (light microscopy, hpf, 400×). *P<0.05 compared to control, #P<0.05 denotes a significant difference between combination treatment group and quercetin treated group, ※P<0.05 denotes a significant difference between combination treatment group and 2-ME treated group.</p

Quercetin combined with 2-ME increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in PC-3 and LNCaP xenograft tumor tissues.

<p>(A) Western blot detected Bax and Bcl-2 protein expression. (B, C) Bax/Bcl-2 ratio was represented as means ± SD (mean in triplicate). *P<0.05 compared to untreated control, #P<0.05 denotes a significant difference between combination treatment group and quercetin treated group, ※P<0.05 denotes a significant difference between combination treatment group and 2-ME treated group.</p

Quercetin combined with 2-ME increased cleaved caspase-3/caspase-3 ratio in PC-3 and LNCaP xenograft tumor tissues.

<p>(A) Western blot detected cleaved caspase-3 and caspase-3 protein expression. (B, C) Cleaved caspase-3/caspase-3 ratio was represented as means ± SD (mean in triplicate). *P<0.05 compared to untreated control, #P<0.05 denotes a significant difference between combination treatment group and quercetin treated group, ※P<0.05 denotes a significant difference between combination treatment group and 2-ME treated group.</p

Quercetin combined with 2-ME enhanced inhibition of LNCaP xenograft tumor growth.

<p>(A) LNCaP xenograft tumors were smaller in Que or 2-ME treatment group than vehicle control, and the inhibition was more notable in combination treatment group. Que and 2-ME combination therapy reduced tumor weight (B) and tumor volume (C) greatly, more effective than Que or 2-ME alone. No significant influence on mouse weight was observed between groups (D). Data are represented as means ± SD. *P<0.05 compared with control, #P<0.05 denotes a significant difference between combination treatment group and quercetin treated group, ※P<0.05 denotes a significant difference between combination treatment group and 2-ME treated group.</p

Video1_Flare quasi-periodic pulsation associated with recurrent jets.MP4

Quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs), which carry time features and plasma characteristics of flare emissions, are frequently observed in light curves of solar/stellar flares. In this study, we investigated non-stationary QPPs associated with recurrent jets during an M1.2 flare on 2022 July 14. A quasi-period of ∼45±10 s, determined by the wavelet transform technique, is simultaneously identified at wavelengths of soft/hard X-ray and microwave emissions, which are recorded by the Gravitational Wave High-Energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor, Fermi and the Nobeyama Radio Polarimeters, respectively. A group of recurrent jets with an intermittent cadence of about 45 ± 10 s are found in the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) image series at 304 Å, but they are 180 s earlier than the flare QPP. All observational facts suggest that the flare QPPs could be excited by recurrent jets, and they should be associated with non-thermal electrons that are periodically accelerated by a repeated energy release process, such as repetitive magnetic reconnection. Moreover, the same quasi-period is discovered at double footpoints connected by a hot flare loop in AIA 94 Å, and the phase speed is measured to be ∼1,420 km s−1. Based on the differential emission measure, the average temperatures, number densities, and magnetic field strengths at the loop top and footpoint are estimated to be ∼7.7/6.7 MK, ∼7.5/3.6 × 1010 cm−3, and ∼143/99 G, respectively. Our measurements indicate that the 45-s QPP is probably modulated by the kink-mode wave of the flare loop.</p