Evolution of pore structure, submaceral composition and produced gases of two Chinese coals during thermal treatment

This research was funded by the Research Program for Excellent Doctoral Dissertation Supervisor of Beijing (grant no. YB20101141501), the Fundamental Research Funds for Central Universities (grant no. 35832015136) and Key Project of Coal-based Science and Technology in Shanxi Province-CBM accumulation model and reservoir evaluation in Shanxi province (grant no. MQ2014-01).Peer reviewedPostprin

Cell Cycle Inhibition without Disruption of Neurogenesis Is a Strategy for Treatment of Aberrant Cell Cycle Diseases: An Update

Since publishing our earlier report describing a strategy for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases by inhibiting the cell cycle and without disrupting neurogenesis (Liu et al. 2010), we now update and extend this strategy to applications in the treatment of cancers as well. Here, we put forth the concept of “aberrant cell cycle diseases” to include both cancer and CNS diseases, the two unrelated disease types on the surface, by focusing on a common mechanism in each aberrant cell cycle reentry. In this paper, we also summarize the pharmacological approaches that interfere with classical cell cycle molecules and mitogenic pathways to block the cell cycle of tumor cells (in treatment of cancer) as well as to block the cell cycle of neurons (in treatment of CNS diseases). Since cell cycle inhibition can also block proliferation of neural progenitor cells (NPCs) and thus impair brain neurogenesis leading to cognitive deficits, we propose that future strategies aimed at cell cycle inhibition in treatment of aberrant cell cycle diseases (i.e., cancers or CNS diseases) should be designed with consideration of the important side effects on normal neurogenesis and cognition

Giant negative magnetoresistance induced by the chiral anomaly in individual Cd3As2 nanowires

Cd3As2 is a newly booming Dirac semimetal with linear dispersion along all three momentum directions and can be viewed as 3D analog of graphene. As breaking of either time reversal symmetry or spatial inversion symmetry, the Dirac semimetal is believed to transform into Weyl semimetal with exotic chiral anomaly effect, while the experimental evidence of the chiral anomaly is still missing in Cd3As2. Here we report the magneto-transport properties of individual Cd3As2 nanowires. Large negative magnetoresistance (MR) with magnitude of -63% at 60 K and -11% at 300 K are observed when the magnetic field is parallel with the electric field direction, giving the evidence of the chiral magnetic effect in Cd3As2 nanowires. In addition, the critical magnetic field BC, where there is an extremum of the negative MR, increases with increasing temperature. As the first observation of chiral anomaly induced negative MR in Cd3As2 nanowires, it may offer valuable insights for low dimensional physics in Dirac semimetals.Comment: 4 figure

Effectiveness of erythropoietin supplementation against chronic heart failure with anemia, and its effect on serum hypersensitive C reaction protein, homocysteic acid and Btype natriuretic peptide

Purpose: To study the effectiveness of exogenous erythropoietin (EPO) against chronic heart failure (CHF) with anemia, and its effect on serum hypersensitive C reaction protein (hs-CRP), homocysteic acid (Hcy ) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP).Methods: A total of 136 patients suffering from CHF with anemia from June 2015 to June 2017 were randomly divided into observation group (n = 68) and control group (n = 68). On the basis of conventional anti-heart failure therapy, the control group received oral ferrous sulfate tablets, while the observation group received oral ferrous sulfate tablets combined with EPO subcutaneous injection. Blood indices, cardiac function and serology were determined and tested in all patients before treatment, and at 4 months after treatment.Results: After treatment, hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (HCT), red blood cell (RBC), blood platelet count (PLT) and serum iron were significantly higher than those before treatment in the two groups; the levels in the observation group were significantly higher than those in control group (p <0.05). Following treatment, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and 6-minute walking distance in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group, while end-diastolic dimension (LVEDD), end-systolic dimension (LVESD) and cardiac functional grading in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (p < 0.05). After treatment, hs-CRP, Hcy and BNP were significantly lower than pre-treatment values in the two groups, while the values for the observation group were significantly lower than those of control group (p <0.05). Correlation analysis showed that LVEF and Hb were negatively correlated with hs-CRP, Hcy and BNP (p <0.05).Conclusion: Serum hs-CRP, Hcy and BNP are involved in the occurrence and progression of CHF with anemia. Exogenous EPO can effectively improve anemia and cardiac function in these patients.Keywords: Erythropoietin, Chronic heart failure, Anemia, C-reaction protein, B-type natriuretic peptid

Elevating microRNA-122 in blood improves outcomes after temporary middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats.

Because our recent studies have demonstrated that miR-122 decreased in whole blood of patients and in whole blood of rats following ischemic stroke, we tested whether elevating blood miR-122 would improve stroke outcomes in rats. Young adult rats were subjected to a temporary middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) or sham operation. A polyethylene glycol-liposome-based transfection system was used to administer a miR-122 mimic after MCAO. Neurological deficits, brain infarction, brain vessel integrity, adhesion molecule expression and expression of miR-122 target and indirect-target genes were examined in blood at 24 h after MCAO with or without miR-122 treatment. miR-122 decreased in blood after MCAO, whereas miR-122 mimic elevated miR-122 in blood 24 h after MCAO. Intravenous but not intracerebroventricular injection of miR-122 mimic decreased neurological deficits and brain infarction, attenuated ICAM-1 expression, and maintained vessel integrity after MCAO. The miR-122 mimic also down-regulated direct target genes (e.g. Vcam1, Nos2, Pla2g2a) and indirect target genes (e.g. Alox5, Itga2b, Timp3, Il1b, Il2, Mmp8) in blood after MCAO which are predicted to affect cell adhesion, diapedesis, leukocyte extravasation, eicosanoid and atherosclerosis signaling. The data show that elevating miR-122 improves stroke outcomes and we postulate this occurs via downregulating miR-122 target genes in blood leukocytes