iPS cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease

De ziekte van Parkinson wordt veroorzaakt door het afsterven van dopaminerge neuronen in een specifiek deel van het brein. Vervanging van die verloren neuronen via celtransplantatie is eerder gesuggereerd als een mogelijke therapie. In de 80- en 90-er jaren kregen wereldwijd ±400 Parkinsonpatiënten een hersenimplantaat met nieuwe dopaminerge neuronen geïsoleerd uit geaborteerde foetussen. Helaas maakten ethische bezwaren en praktische beperkingen standaard klinische toepassing onmogelijk. De ontdekking dat gewone lichaamscellen geherprogrammeerd konden worden tot (induced) pluripotente stamcellen (iPS-cellen) heeft een onuitputtelijk bron voor transplanteerbare patiënt-eigen nieuwe dopaminerge neuronen opgeleverd. Belangrijke vraag daarbij is of deze uit iPS-cellen verkregen dopaminerge neuronen net zo efficiënt zijn als foetale dopaminerge neuronen. Uit analyses van transplantatie-studies met beide dopaminerge neurontypes in een ratmodel voor Parkinson, vonden wij dat de uit iPS-cellen verkregen dopaminerge neuronen minder goed uitgroeiden na implantatie. Door de gen-expressie te vergelijken in beide dopaminerge neurontypes, ontdekten wij dat de uit iPS-cellen verkregen dopaminerge neuronen enkele afwijkingen vertoonden met name in de expressie van genen die betrokken zijn bij de uitgroei van neuronen. Wij lieten zien dat de uitgroei van deze dopaminerge neuronen weer gestimuleerd zou kunnen worden door specifieke cel-adhesiemoleculen geforceerd tot expressie te brengen. Als conclusie: Voordat uit iPS-cellen verkregen dopaminerge neuronen in de kliniek toegepast zouden kunnen worden, de protocollen voor de herprogrammering van somatische cellen tot iPS-cellen en voor hun differentiatie tot dopaminerg neuron verder geoptimaliseerd dienen te worden, zodat zij na implantatie net zo efficiënt zijn in de reductie van Parkinson symptomen als de foetale dopaminerge neuronen

Properties of ecological environment damage and their mechanism of restoration in arid and semi-arid coal mining area of western China

The focus of coal development in China has been strategically shifted westward. That realize green mining of coal resources and coordinated ecological development becomes one of the important measures to ensure national energy security. Most of the coal seams in the western region are buried shallowly, with thin overlying bedrock and thick coal seams, which is beneficial for large-scale underground mining or open-pit mining. However, the climate in the region is arid with little rainfall and fragile ecological conditions, which caused significant damage to the mining area and surrounding ecological environment on a large scale and with high intensity. Due to the unclear understanding of the evolution mechanism of ecological damage during the mining process and the post mining restoration mechanism, there is no mature restoration theory and method to guide it, which has become a major challenge restricting the high-quality development of coal in the region. We are focuse on the above-mentioned difficulties, which consider accurately surveying the geological and hydrogeological conditions and the ecological evolution characteristics of the entire coal mining cycle working face, that be helpful for elucidating the mechanism of overlying soil and rock damage caused by mining, the law of water resource loss and accumulation and cyclic transportation, the mechanism of ecological damage evolution and bearing capacity, and revealing the soil and rock layers, water resource circulation, and mechanism of ecological self-adaption in the post-mining area. By using the plant-microbial combination restoration method, a water-soil ecological three-dimensional coupling remediation theory was constructed for the synergy between artificial and natural restoration in underground and open-pit mines, and a new thinking on the mechanism of ecological restoration was proposed. That development of fissures is like loosening soil in farmland becomes a new opportunity for ecological restoration in shallow buried deep mining area, which promote the redistribution of water-soil-life. Meanwhile, utilizing microbial remediation technology to promote the coordinated forward direction development of water retention-quality improvement-capacity enhancement, practicing the thinking of developing “golden mountains and silver hills” and recreating “green mountains and clear waters” in the western fragile ecological area

Laboratory study of acoustic velocity in different types of rocks at seismic frequency band

In order to understand the characteristics of acoustic wave propagation in rocks within seismic frequency band (<100 Hz), the velocities of longitudinal and transverse waves of four different types of rocks were tested using low-frequency stress-strain method by means of the physical testing system of rock at low frequency and the experimental data of acoustic velocities of four different types of rocks at this frequency band were obtained. The experimental results showed that the acoustic velocities of four different types of rocks increased with the increase of temperature and pressure within the temperature and pressure ranges set by the experiment. The acoustic velocity of fine sandstone at 50% water saturation was smaller than that of dry sample. The acoustic velocities of four different types of rocks were different and the velocities of longitudinal waves of gritstone, fine sandstone, argillaceous siltstone and mudstone increased in turn under similar conditions and were smaller than those at ultrasonic frequency. Few of existing studies focus on the acoustic velocity at seismic frequency band, thus, further understanding of the acoustic characteristics at this seismic frequency band still requires more experimental data

International Metropolis Soft Power Evaluation and Empirical Studies from Shanghai

The AHP analysis method is used to determine various factors affecting soft power of international metropolis, and these factors are listed in order. The research finds that the important indices include share of cultural industry in GDP, urban green coverage, number of highly educated personnel, and qualified personnel who have studied abroad choose to stay in the city, etc. The 2009 empirical data analysis from Shanghai showed that indices such as urban environment, urban culture, and urban mobility have increased 85.7%, 91.6% and 128.1% upon those of the year 2000, respectively. While urban mobility is higher than the value of other factors, the index is still low, this may be more due to the lack of openness of the existing residence registration and social security system in Shanghai. In the mean time, education development and urban innovation effects are not significant as well. Therefore, the city should strengthen efforts to attract talents, improve quality of urban culture and urban image, and enhance cohesion of modern metropolis and cultural soft power, to improve the city's soft environment.Key words: AHP analysis; Soft power; International metropolis; Weight of inde

Mining coal-rock interface nodal GPR rapid dynamic detection system and experimental research

Coal-rock interface recognition technology is one of the key technologies for intelligent mining in coal mines. Based on high-frequency radar wave detection technology, high-precision detection of coal-rock interfaces can be achieved with mining, but there are still safety risks for equipment caused by rib spalling and roof caving in ultra-high mining heights (≥6 m) in mines, as well as spatial restrictions on equipment passing through during sudden changes in mining height (mining height ≤2 m). Based on previous work, this paper proposes a rapid dynamic detection system and method for coal-rock interfaces in mines using nodal GPR. The main contents include: ① Explaining the principle of the nodal GPR observation system in mines, designing a coal-rock interface recognition observation system plan and radar antenna sensor installation method based on the actual environment of the mine working face; ② Studying and proposing a nodal acquisition control system and information interaction transmission design plan to achieve dynamic data acquisition, control, and storage; ③ Studying and proposing enhanced processing methods for sensor detection data and coal-rock interface recognition algorithms based on nodal acquisition methods and radar reflection echo characteristics of coal-rock interfaces, which can effectively achieve intelligent recognition and tracking of coal-rock interfaces, as well as calculation of coal seam thickness and spatial coordinates. To verify the feasibility of this method, multiple geological radar antenna sensors with a center frequency of 1.5 GHz were used for physical model verification experiments, and a comparative analysis of nodal data acquisition and continuous data acquisition results was conducted. The experimental results show that both nodal and continuous acquisition methods can effectively identify coal-rock interfaces. Compared with continuous acquisition methods, the nodal detection method proposed in this paper can achieve rapid and dynamic repetitive data acquisition, with a single acquisition time controlled within 10 seconds, an average error of 1.07 cm for coal seam thickness detection results, a maximum error of 1.47 cm, and an average error percentage of 7.64%. This method provides technical support for dynamic high-precision detection of coal-rock interfaces in intelligent mining in mines

Strategies of high efficiency water usage promoted by microbial remediation in coal mining areas of western China

The fragile ecological environment in the western coal mining areas of China, compounded by intensive mining activities, has led to water and soil erosion, soil degradation, and damaged root systems. With a low plant water use efficiency, the ecological restoration becomes challenging, making the improvement of water use efficiency a key aspect in the ecological restoration or reconstruction of western mining areas. Soil water is a critical factor limiting the ecological restoration of arid and semi-arid coal mining areas, as it connects atmospheric water, surface water, groundwater, and vegetation growth, serving as an important carrier for water circulation and nutrient transport. Efficient and rational utilization of soil water is crucial to the success of ecological restoration. Therefore, investigating plant root water utilization strategies plays a significant role in the ecological restoration of western coal mining areas. This paper analyzes the main research methods of plant water use at home and abroad, compares the advantages and disadvantages of different methods, and reviews the corresponding research progress. In the damaged ecological environments of arid and semi-arid coal mining areas, the application of plant-microbe combined microbial remediation technology can improve plant water use efficiency and enhance plant water use strategies. At the same time, the microbial inoculation reduces the proportion of water absorption by plants from shallow soil layers, effectively increasing the absorption and utilization of water from deep soil layers by plants, thereby enhancing plant water use efficiency. This enables the inoculated plants to exhibit a higher ecological adaptability in the arid and semi-arid coal mining areas. This paper analyzes the current research progress and existing problems of plant water use in the western coal mining areas, discusses the improvement of water use strategies through microbial remediation in mining areas, and proposes the impact of different plant combinations on water use strategies and their research focuses in the ecological restoration of western arid coal mining areas. This lays a solid foundation for achieving green, sustainable, and high-quality development in the arid and semi-arid coal mining areas, and has important ecological application value

A Miniaturized Dual-Mode Bandpass Filter Using Slot Spurline Technique

A miniaturized dual-mode bandpass filter (BPF) with elliptic function response using slot spurline is designed in this paper. The slot spurline can not only splits the degenerate modes but also determine the type of filter characteristic (Chebyshev or elliptic). To miniaturize the resonator, four sagittate stubs are proposed. For demonstration purpose, a BPF operating at 5.75 GHz for WLAN application was designed, fabricated, and measured. The measured results are in good agreement with the full-wave simulation results

Harmonic-Rejection Compact Bandpass Filter Using Defected Ground Structure for GPS Application

A miniaturized bandpass filter (BPF) using defected ground structure (DGS) resonator with the characteristic of harmonic rejection is developed in this paper. The second and third harmonics of the proposed BPF are rejected by the characteristic of stepped-impedance DGS resonator. Moreover, open stubs are established so that two adjustable transmission zeros can independently be created to extend the stopband and improve the rejection level. Finally, a second-order BPF, centered at 1.62 GHz with a stopband extended up to 5.6 GHz and a rejection level better than 20 dB, is designed and implemented for GPS application. A good agreement between simulation and measurement verifies the validity of this design methodology

Development of Catalytic Combustion and CO\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e Capture and Conversion Technology

Changes are needed to improve the efficiency and lower the CO2 emissions of traditional coal-fired power generation, which is the main source of global CO2 emissions. The integrated gasification fuel cell (IGFC) process, which combines coal gasification and high-temperature fuel cells, was proposed in 2017 to improve the efficiency of coal-based power generation and reduce CO2 emissions. Supported by the National Key R&D Program of China, the IGFC for nearzero CO2 emissions program was enacted with the goal of achieving near-zero CO2 emissions based on (1) catalytic combustion of the flue gas from solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks and (2) CO2 conversion using solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs). In this work, we investigated a kW-level catalytic combustion burner and SOEC stack, evaluated the electrochemical performance of the SOEC stack in H2O electrolysis and H2O/CO2 co-electrolysis, and established a multiscale and multi-physical coupling simulation model of SOFCs and SOECs. The process developed in this work paves the way for the demonstration and deployment of IGFC technology in the future