Inhibition of COX2/PGD2-Related Autophagy Is Involved in the Mechanism of Brain Injury in T2DM Rat

The present study was designed to observe the effect of COX2/PGD2-related autophagy on brain injury in type 2 diabetes rats. The histopathology was detected by haematoxylin–eosin staining. The learning and memory functions were evaluated by Morris water maze. The levels of insulin and PGD2 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The expressions of COX2, p-AKT(S473), p-AMPK(T172), Aβ, Beclin1, LC3BII, and p62 were measured by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. In model rats, we found that the body weight was significantly decreased, the blood glucose levels were significantly increased, the plasma insulin content was significantly decreased, the learning and memory functions were impaired and the cortex and hippocampus neurons showed significant nuclear pyknosis. The levels of COX2, p-AKT(S473), PGD2, Aβ, Beclin1 and p62 were significantly increased, whereas the expression of p-AMPK(T172) and LC3BII was significantly decreased in the cortex and hippocampus of model rats. In meloxicam-treated rats, the body weight, blood glucose and the content of plasma insulin did not significantly change, the learning and memory functions were improved and nuclear pyknosis was improved in the cortex and hippocampus neurons. The expression of p-AMPK(T172), Beclin1 and LC3BII was significantly increased, and the levels of COX2, p-AKT(S473), PGD2, Aβ, and p62 were significantly decreased in the cortex and hippocampus of meloxicam-treated rats. Our results suggested that the inhibition of COX2/PGD2-related autophagy was involved in the mechanism of brain injury caused by type 2 diabetes in rats

The catalytic activity of different Mn(III) species towards peroxymonosulfate activation for carbamazepine degradation

In this study, the catalytic activity of soluble Mn(III) ions, soluble Mn(III)-pyrophosphate (PP), and solid Mn(III) (α-MnO2) towards peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation was investigated through carbamazepine (CBZ) degradation. The degradation efficiency of CBZ was negligible when soluble Mn(III) ions or Mn(III)-PP were used as catalysts, while 99.7% of CBZ was degraded in the α-MnO2/PMS system with no soluble Mn(III) ions detected. The degradation efficiency of CBZ reduced by 18% with the solid Mn(III) content decreasing. Hence, the solid Mn(III) made the major contribution to PMS activation. This study supported a better understanding of the role of Mn(III) in PMS activation

Enhanced PMS Activation by Highly Dispersed Mn-Ce Bimetallic Oxide on Carbon Nanotubes for Degradation of Phenol

Peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation is an intriguing technology for refractory organic pollutant removal in wastewater treatment. Herein, a highly dispersed Mn-Ce bimetallic oxide on carbon nanotubes (MCC) was synthesized and applied to catalyze PMS for the degradation of phenol. The material was well characterized using a transmission electron microscope (TEM), N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The synthesized MCC showed superior activity for PMS activation. The k value of phenol removal with MCC is 0.135 min−1, which is greatly superior to that of CNT (6.17 × 10−5 min−1) and Mn-Ce bimetallic oxide (3.18 × 10−4 min−1). Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), along with radical quenching experiments, revealed that the activation of PMS by MCC for phenol degradation involves both radical and non-radical reaction pathways. Moreover, a synergic effect between Mn-Ce bimetallic oxide and CNT was identified to be responsible for the outstanding catalytic activity

Design and Experiment of Side-Shift Stubble Avoidance System for No-Till Wheat Seeder Based on Deviation-Perception Fusion Technology

To improve the stubble avoidance rate of no-till wheat seeders under the environment of corn stubble, the side-shift stubble avoidance system was developed in the present study based on deviation-perception fusion technology. Firstly, the amount of implement deviation compensation was accurately obtained by the information sensing system. Then, a fuzzy PID algorithm was proposed to optimize the performance of the control system. Finally, the simulation model of the control system was developed by Matlab/Simulink. The simulation results showed that the regulation time required for the system response curve to reach the steady state was 1.0 s, and the maximum overshoot was 8.2%. To verify the performance of the side-shift stubble avoidance system, an orthogonal test was conducted. The optimal combination of parameters was obtained, including the operation speed of 1.3 m/s, the hydraulic cylinder speed of 25 mm/s, and the straw mulch amount of 1.2 kg/m2. The field verification test was performed under the optimal parameters, showing the stubble avoidance rate was 90.6%, and the mean value of the sowing variation coefficient was 27.12%, which fully satisfied the requirements of stubble avoidance and sowing operation

Combined Process of Biogenic Manganese Oxide and Manganese-Oxidizing Microalgae for Improved Diclofenac Removal Performance: Two Different Kinds of Synergistic Effects

Biogenic manganese oxides (Bio-MnOx) have attracted considerable attention for removing pharmaceutical contaminants (PhCs) due to their high oxidation capacity and environmental friendliness. Mn-oxidizing microalgae (MnOMs) generate Bio-MnOx with low energy and organic nutrients input and degrade PhCs. The combined process of MnOMs and Bio-MnOx exhibits good prospects for PhCs removal. However, the synergistic effects of MnOMs and Bio-MnOx in PhCs removal are still unclear. The performance of MnOMs/Bio-MnOx towards diclofenac (DCF) removal was evaluated, and the mechanism was revealed. Our results showed that the Bio-MnOx produced by MnOMs were amorphous nanoparticles, and these MnOMs have a good Mn2+ tolerance and oxidation efficiency (80–90%) when the Mn2+ concentration is below 1.00 mmol/L. MnOMs/Bio-MnOx significantly promotes DCF (1 mg/L) removal rate between 0.167 ± 0.008 mg/L·d (by MnOMs alone) and 0.125 ± 0.024 mg/L·d (by Bio-MnOx alone) to 0.250 ± 0.016 mg/L·d. The superior performance of MnOMs/Bio-MnOx could be attributed to the continuous Bio-MnOx regeneration and the sharing of DCF degradation intermediates between Bio-MnOx and MnOMs. Additionally, the pathways of DCF degradation by Bio-MnOx and MnOMs were proposed. This work could shed light on the synergistic effects of MnOMs and Bio-MnOx in PhCs removal and guide the development of MnOMs/Bio-MnOx processes for removing DCF or other PhCs from wastewater

Picomolar detection of carcinoembryonic antigen in whole blood using microfluidics and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a wide-spectrum biomarker. Clinically, we generally use serum sample to detect CEA, which needs to be centrifuged to pretreat the raw blood sample. In this study, we realized direct CEA detection in raw blood samples exploiting microfluidics. The LOD was as low as 10(-12) M