Modeling the gas-solid flow in diameter-changing fluidized beds

Gas-solid diameter-changing fluidized beds are usually used as either a transition section between the two parts with various diameters in circulating fluidized bed systems or a type of independent reactor in many industrial processes. This study focuses on the multiscale modeling of the former including tapered and inverted tapered structures, whose computational complexities mainly lie in addressing the problems related to the continuous variations of superficial gas and solid velocities with height as well as much more significant wall effect in diameter-changing fluidized beds than that in constant-diameter ones. By utilizing the energy-minimization multi-scale (EMMS) theory, the steady-state modeling of this type of reactor is performed to compute the spatial heterogeneous distributions of hydrodynamic parameters. A coarse-grained discrete particle method (DPM) defined by the EMMS model is also deployed for the high resolution simulation of gas-solid diameter-changing fluidized beds, in order to gain an insight into the underlying mechanisms involved in the variation of this heterogeneity with operating conditions. Both the axial and radial heterogeneous distributions of hydrodynamic parameters such as solid velocity and concentration in this type of reactor are firstly predicted in this study, which provides a quantitative reference for the design and scale-up of the tapered or inverted tapered fluidized beds. This study can be expected to further enrich the theory of full-loop modeling of complex gas-solid processes with various geometries and sizes

A Functional Decline Model for Prevalent Cohort Data

Longitudinal designs are often used for studying the natural history of diseases. Data sets typically consist of short series of repeated measures on prevalent cases. We propose a growth model approach to the analysis of follow-up data to describe functional decline and associated risk factors in disease progression. We illustrate the model with an application to longitudinal data that describe the time-evolution of cognitive decline in a cohort of patients with Alzheimer's disease

Development and validation of a CT-based nomogram for accurate hepatocellular carcinoma detection in high risk patients

PurposeTo establish and validate a CT-based nomogram for accurately detecting HCC in patients at high risk for the disease.MethodsA total of 223 patients were divided into training (n=161) and validation (n=62) cohorts between January of 2017 and May of 2022. Logistic analysis was performed, and clinical model and radiological model were developed separately. Finally, a nomogram was established based on clinical and radiological features. All models were evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC). DeLong’s test was used to evaluate the differences among these models.ResultsIn the multivariate analysis, gender (p = 0.014), increased Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) (p = 0.017), non-rim arterial phase hyperenhancement (APHE) (p = 0.011), washout (p = 0.011), and enhancing capsule (p = 0.001) were the independent differential predictors of HCC. A nomogram was formed with well-fitted calibration curves based on these five factors. The area under the curve (AUC) of the nomogram in the training and validation cohorts was 0.961(95%CI: 0.935~0.986) and 0.979 (95% CI: 0.949~1), respectively. The nomogram outperformed the clinical and the radiological models in training and validation cohorts.ConclusionThe nomogram incorporating clinical and CT features can be a simple and reliable tool for detecting HCC and achieving risk stratification in patients at high risk for HCC

Electroneutral quaternization and sulfosuccination of cornstarch for improving the properties of its low-temperature sizing to viscose yarns

The objective of this work is to evaluate the influences of electroneutral quaternization and sulfosuccination(electroneutral QS) on the adhesion of starch to viscose fibres and sizing properties of starch to viscose yarns at lowtemperature in order to study if the derivatization can improve the serviceability of starch applied for sizing viscose yarns atlow temperature. The quaternized and sulfosuccinylated starch (QSS) with electroneutrality has been synthesized in aqueousdispersion by a quaternization of hydrolyzed cornstarch (HS) with N-(3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl) trimethylammoniumchloride and a further sulfosuccination is done for introducing a fixed mole ratio of 3-(trimethylammonium chloride)-2-hydroxypropyl (TACHP) substituents to sulfosuccinate (SS) substituents onto starch chains. It is found that electroneutralQS is available to ameliorate the adhesion at different temperatures. The amelioration in the adhesion depends on the levelof the modification. In addition, the modification improves the mechanical properties of the sized viscose yarns,and decreases hairiness of sized yarns, even if the temperature of the electroneutral QSS paste is lowered to 60 °C.Electroneutral QSS with a degree of substitution of 0.0438 is expected to show a potential application in sizing viscoseyarns at 60 °C

Protective effects of Naringin in a rat model of spinal cord ischemia–reperfusion injury

Purpose: To evaluate the activity of naringin (NAR) in a rat model of spinal cord ischemic injury (SCII).Methods: Forty female rats were randomized into four groups: saline without  occlusion (control; group I), SCII (group II), 50 mg/kg NAR (group III), or 100 mg/kg NAR (group IV) for 7 days prior to SCI insult (pre-treatment). Neurological and locomotor functions, antioxidant activity, edema and inflammatory markers were determined.Results: Pre-treatment with NAR considerably lowered the incidence of spinal edema, lipid peroxidation products, and inflammatory markers (TNF-α, NF-p65, IL-1β, and IL-6). It also successfully reverted the antioxidative activity to near-normal levels and improved locomotor function by protecting spinal tissue from oxidative damage and inflammatory insults. NAR administration effectively downregulated the protein expression of TNF-α and NF-κB p65 subunit in spinal tissue, thus confirming its antiinflammatory activity.Conclusion: The results suggests that NAR exhibits neuroprotective effects by inhibiting free radical generation and downregulating inflammatory markers in an SCI rat model.Keywords: Naringin, Spinal cord injury, Locomotor function, Edema, Oxidative  stress, Inflammatio

Zinc battery goes to anode-free

The zinc (Zn) batteries have challenges include uncontrollable dendritic growth, unreasonable negative to positive ratio and limited areal capacity. This highlight presents the latest development to resolve the uncontrollable Zn dendrite formation at high areal capacities of 200 mAh·cm–2 through a two-dimensional metal/metal-Zn alloy heterostructured interface. The anode-free Zn batteries with an attractive and practical pouch cell energy density of 62 Wh·kg–1 enlighten an arena towards their commercialization