Potential Reductions in Greenhouse Gas and Fine Particulate Matter Emissions Using Corn Stover for Ethanol Production in China

Corn stover is an abundant raw material that can be used to produce ethanol and reduce air pollution. This paper studied the potential reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions across China if corn stover was used for ethanol production. Field surveys in nine provincial regions were conducted. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) was used to assess the GHG and PM2.5 emissions from a corn stover based ethanol system. The LCA system boundaries included several process stages from corn planting to ethanol fuel used in vehicles. Corn stover geographical distributions and emission reduction factors were combined. Results showed that the total surplus quantity of corn stover in China was 86.2 million metric tons (Mt) in 2015. It was sufficient to reach the ethanol production target set by the Chinese government. In the scenario that 38.5 Mt or 44.6% of corn stover surplus were used for ethanol production, the total potential emission reductions were 36.5 Mt CO2-eq GHG and 450.9 kt PM2.5. Among the 31 provincial regions in China, the reduction potentials varied from 0.001 to 8.9 Mt CO2-eq for GHG and from 0.013 to 109.7 kt for PM2.5. This study provided useful information to policy makers, researchers and industry managers who work on environmental control and corn stover management

Effect of cooling pad installation on indoor airflow distribution in a tunnel-ventilated laying-hen house

Extra cooling pads on the sidewalls are needed for larger poultry houses using tunnel ventilation system. Preliminary study showed that the airflow velocity going through different aisles varies greatly when the extra pads are installed at the end of sidewalls, making a “[”-shape air inlet. Combined with field tests, the CFD (computational fluid dynamics) technology was used to study the uniformity of airflow distribution in a tunnel-ventilated laying-hen house. The air distribution was first monitored in a layer house to find the main reason resulting in the variations of airflows in different aisles. Then CFD simulations were carried out with different distances (D=2 m, 3 m or 4 m) between the pads on end-wall and the extra pads on side walls. The field test showed that airflow streams from the different groups of cooling pads collided vertically at the house corners, mixed with each other, then flew towards the center of the house. This was the main reason that the wind speed in the middle aisle was much higher than in other aisles, leaving large zones of lower ventilation in the aisles adjacent to the sidewalls. The results of CFD simulations indicated that air distributions could be significantly improved when the extra pieces of pads were moved away for an appropriate distance from the end cooling pads. As far as conventional poultry house with a span of 12 m, the air speeds in different aisles were more uniform when this distance was about 3 m

[3,5-Bis(benz­yloxy)phen­yl]methanol

In the title compound, C21H20O3, the two terminal phenyl rings are each approximately perpendicular to the central benzene ring, making dihedral angles of 84.40 (16) and 75.12 (15)°. The H atom of the hydr­oxy group is disordered over two positions with equal occupancies. The mol­ecules are linked by O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a chain along the a axis

(Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder: A novel promising anticancer therapy to melanoma by blocking phosphotyrosine signaling

Background: Melanoma is a malignant tumor with high misdiagnosis rate and poor prognosis. The bio-targeted therapy is a prevailing method in the treatment of melanoma; however, the accompanying drug resistance is inevitable. SH2 superbinder, a triple-mutant of the Src Homology 2 (SH2) domain, shows potent antitumor ability by replacing natural SH2-containing proteins and blocking multiple pY-based signaling pathways. Polyarginine (Arg) 9 , a powerful vector for intracellular delivery of large molecules, could transport therapeutic agents across cell membrane. The purpose of this study is to construct (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder and investigate its effects on melanoma cells, expecting to provide potential new approaches for anti-cancer therapy and overcoming the unavoidable drug resistance of single-targeted antitumor agents. Methods: (Arg) 9 and SH2 superbinder were fused to form (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder via genetic engineering. Pull down assay was performed to identify that (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder could capture a wide variety of pY proteins. Immunofluorescence was used to detect the efficiency of (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder entering cells. The proliferation ability was assessed by MTT and colony formation assay. In addition, wound healing and transwell assay were performed to evaluate migration of B16F10, A375 and A375/DDP cells. Moreover, apoptosis caused by (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder was analyzed by flow cytometry-based Annexin V/PI. Furthermore, western blot revealed that (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder influenced some pY-related signaling pathways. Finally, B16F10 xenograft model was established to confirm whether (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder could restrain the growth of tumor. Results: Our data showed that (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder had the ability to enter melanoma cells effectively and displayed strong affinities for various pY proteins. Furthermore, (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder could repress proliferation, migration and induce apoptosis of melanoma cells by regulating PI3K/AKT, MAPK/ERK and JAK/STAT signaling pathways. Importantly, (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder could significantly inhibit the growth of tumor in mice. Conclusions: (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder exhibited high affinities for pY proteins, which showed effective anticancer ability by replacing SH2-containing proteins and blocking diverse pY-based pathways. The remarkable ability of (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder to inhibit cancer cell proliferation and tumor growth might open the door to explore the SH2 superbinder as a therapeutic agent for cancer treatment

Market Stakeholder Analysis of the Practical Implementation of Carbonation Curing on Steel Slag for Urban Sustainable Governance

Carbonation curing on steel slag is one of the most promising technologies for the iron and steel industry to manage its solid waste and carbon emissions. However, the technology is still in its demonstration stage. This paper investigates the market stakeholders of carbonation curing on steel slag for construction materials for its effective application by taking China as a case study. A holistic analysis of the competition, market size, and stakeholders of carbonation curing on steel slag was carried out through a literature review, a survey, a questionnaire, and interviews. The results showed that carbonation curing on steel slag had the advantages of high quality, high efficiency, low cost, and carbon reduction compared with other technologies. Shandong province was the most suitable province for the large-scale primary application of the technology. Stakeholder involvement to establish information platforms, enhance economic incentives, and promote adequate R&D activities would promote carbonation curing of steel slag into practice. This paper provides a reference for the commercialization of carbonation curing on similar calcium- and magnesium-based solid waste materials

Carbonation Curing on Magnetically Separated Steel Slag for the Preparation of Artificial Reefs

Magnetic separation is an effective method to recover iron from steel slag. However, the ultra-fine tailings generated from steel slag become a new issue for utilization. The dry separation processes generates steel slag powder, which has hydration activity and can be used as cement filler. However, wet separation processes produce steel slag mud, which has lost its hydration activity and is no longer suitable to be used as a cement filler. This study investigates the potential of magnetically separated steel slag for carbonation curing and the potential use of the carbonated products as an artificial reef. Steel slag powder and steel slag mud were moulded, carbonation-cured and seawater-cured. Various testing methods were used to characterize the macro and micro properties of the materials. The results obtained show that carbonation and hydration collaborated during the carbonation curing process of steel slag powder, while only carbonation happened during the carbonation curing process of steel slag mud. The seawater-curing process of carbonated steel slag powder compact had three stages: C-S-H gel formation, C-S-H gel decomposition and equilibrium, which were in correspondence to the compressive strength of compact increasing, decreasing and unchanged. However, the seawater-curing process of carbonated steel slag mud compact suffered three stages: C-S-H gel decomposition, calcite transfer to vaterite and equilibrium, which made the compressive strength of compact decreased, increased and unchanged. Carbonated steel slags tailings after magnetic separation underwent their lowest compressive strength when seawater-cured for 7 days. The amount of CaO in the carbonation active minerals in the steel slag determined the carbonation consolidation ability of steel slag and durability of the carbonated steel slag compacts. This paper provides a reference for preparation of artificial reefs and marine coagulation materials by the carbonation curing of steel slag

Relay Selections for Cooperative Underlay CR Systems with Energy Harvesting

In this work, we consider a cooperative underlay cognitive radio system in which one secondary user (S) transmits its data to a secondary receiver with the assistance of multiple relays. In the considered underlay spectrum sharing scenario, the transmit power levers at S and forwarding relays are adjusted simultaneously according to a given threshold interference power that the primary user can tolerate. We also consider that relays adopt threshold decode-and-forward relay scheme and harvest energy from the primary transmitter with finite energy storage capacity under time switching scheme. Three best relay selection schemes, optimal source-relay link with wireless energy harvesting (WEH), optimal relay-destination link with WEH and optimal source-relay-destination link with WEH schemes, are proposed and studied. Closed-form analytical expressions for the outage probability of these three best relay selection schemes are derived, respectively. Finally, our analytical results are verified by Monte-Carlo simulations

A prospective study of age trends of high-risk human papillomavirus infection in rural China

BACKGROUND: In China, high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) prevalence is unexpectedly high in older women, but the possible reasons have not been well studied yet. This study investigated the age trends of HR-HPV infection in a prospective study. METHODS: A total of 7397 women aged 25-65 years without cervical precancer or cancer were evaluated during 2010-2011 with a stratified sample of 2791 women re-evaluated after one year. Test results for careHPV and careHPV16/18/45 were used to describe the HR-HPV prevalence, incidence and clearance. Risk factors associated with HR-HPV infections were explored using a logistic regression model. RESULTS: The overall HR-HPV prevalence was 13.1% at baseline, with a peak of 19.3% in women aged 55-59 years. The prevalence of HR-HPV (p for trends < 0.001), HPV16/18/45 (p for trends = 0.002), and HR-HPV other than HPV16/18/45 (p for trends = 0.002) generally increased with increasing age. Number of infections that cleared was generally greater than number of incident infections within age groups. One-year clearance rate decreased with increasing age (p for trends < 0.001), however, incidence rate was unrelated to age (p for trends = 0.159). Risk factors that associated with HR-HPV infection differed between younger and older women. CONCLUSIONS: The greater HR-HPV prevalence in older versus younger women in rural China may be explained by a cohort effect, higher than expected incidence, and/or poorer clearance at older age

Changes of ocular related parameters in peri-hemodialysis in patients with end-stage diabetic nephropathy

AIM: To observe the changes of intraocular pressure(IOP), ocular perfusion pressure(OPP), central anterior chamber depth(CACD)and subfoveal choroidal thickness(SFCT)in peri-hemodialysis in patients with end-stage diabetic nephropathy(ESDN), for evaluating the influences of hemodialysis(HD)on ocular blood supply of the ESDN patients. METHODS: Totally 42 cases(84 eyes)of ESDN patients treated with HD in the Department of Nephrology were observed. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, IOP with the hand-held rebound tonometer were measured at 30min before HD, 2h after HD duration and 30min after HD completion. OPP was calculated(OPP= 4/9 diastolic pressure + 2/9 systolic pressure - IOP). CACD measured by optical coherence measuring instrument(IOL-Master)and SFCT measured by optical coherence tomography(OCT)were observed at 30min before HD and 30min after HD completion. The outcomes were assessed by analysis of homogeneity test of variance, one-way ANOVA, LSD-t test and t-test, to look for differences of the parameters in various time of HD. RESULTS: Totally 84 eyes of ESDN patients: in 30min before HD, 2h after HD duration and 30min after HD completion, systolic blood pressure was no statistically significant(F=0.254, P=0.783), and diastolic blood pressure was no statistically significant(F=0.114, P=0.896), and IOP was statistically significant(F=7.527, P=0.001), and OPP was statistically significant(F=4.692, P=0.027). In 2h after HD duration and 30min after HD completion, IOP was statistically significant(t=-3.646, P=0.001), and OPP was statistically significant(t=2.321, P=0.022). In 30min before HD and 30min after HD completion, increase of IOP was statistically significant(t=-2.977, P=0.003), and OPP was no statistically significant(t=0.219, P=0.872), and decrease of CACD was statistically significant(t=6.291, Pt=5.736, PCONCLUSION: IOP increasing, OPP transiently decreasing, CACD shallow and SFCT thin were presented in peri-hemodialysis. It is important to evaluate eye conditions of ESDN patients before HD, and to take effective preventive measures to reduce the possible risk factors in peri-hemodialysis