Dyslipidemia Is Related to Mortality in Critical Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Retrospective Study

BackgroundIt has been reported that dyslipidemia is related to coronavirus-related diseases. Critical patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who suffered from multiple organ dysfunctions were treated in the intensive care unit (ICU) in Wuhan, China. Whether the lipids profile was associated with the prognosis of COVID-19 in critical patients remained unclear.MethodsA retrospective study was performed in critical patients (N=48) with coronavirus disease 2019 in Leishenshan hospital between February and April 2020 in Wuhan. The parameters including lipid profiles, liver function, and renal function were collected on admission day, 2-3days after the admission, and the day before the achievement of clinical outcome.ResultsAlbumin value and creatine kinase (ck) value were statistically decreased at 2-3 days after admission compared with those on admission day (P<0.05). Low density lipoprotein (LDL-c), high density lipoprotein (HDL-c), apolipoprotein A (ApoA), and apolipoprotein A (Apo B) levels were statistically decreased after admission (P<0.05). Logistic regression showed that HDL-c level both on admission day and the day before the achievement of clinical outcome were negatively associated with mortality in critical patients with COVID-19. Total cholesterol (TC) level at 2-3days after admission was related to mortality in critical patients with COVID-19.ConclusionsThere were lipid metabolic disorders in the critical patients with COVID-19. Lower levels of HDL-c and TC were related to the progression of critical COVID-19

High Thyroid Stimulating Hormone Level Is Associated With Hyperandrogenism in Euthyroid Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Women, Independent of Age, BMI, and Thyroid Autoimmunity: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Background: Infertility and dyslipidemia are frequently present in both women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and subjects with thyroid dysfunction. Limited study regarding the association between thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level and phenotypes in euthyroid PCOS women. We aimed to determine whether the variation of TSH level associates with phenotypes in euthyroid PCOS patients.Methods: Cross-sectional study including 600 PCOS and 200 age, body mass index (BMI), and thyroid autoimmunity-matched Chinese women from Renji hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong university during January 2010 and August 2018. The anthropometric and serum biochemical parameters related to TSH, thyroid autoimmunity, lipid profiles, and sex steroids were detected.Results: The TSH level is higher in (2.29 ± 1.24 vs. 1.86 ± 0.90 mu/L, p < 0.001) in PCOS than controls. In euthyroid PCOS patients, TSH, TG, TC, LDL-c, and apoB level increased from non-hyperandrogenism (nonHA) to HA group (all p < 0.05). TSH level is positively associated with TG, apoB, free T, FAI, and negatively associated with apoA (all p < 0.05). The percentage of HA increased from TSH level (57.93% in TSH < = 2.5 group vs. 69.46% in TSH > 2.5 mU/L group, p = 0.006). HA phenotype is increased with TSH level independently of age, BMI, WC, LDL-C. Besides, in multivariate logistic regression analysis TSH and TG significantly associated with HA phenotype.Conclusions: Higher TSH level is associated with increased prevalence of HA phenotype independent of age, BMI and thyroid autoimmunity in euthyroid PCOS

Heat shock protein 90 promotes RNA helicase DDX5 accumulation and exacerbates hepatocellular carcinoma by inhibiting autophagy

Objective: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the main type of liver cancer, has a high morbidity and mortality, and a poor prognosis. RNA helicase DDX5, which acts as a transcriptional co-regulator, is overexpressed in most malignant tumors and promotes cancer cell growth. Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) is an important molecular chaperone in the conformational maturation and stabilization of numerous proteins involved in cell growth or survival. Methods: DDX5 mRNA and protein expression in surgically resected HCC tissues from 24 Asian patients were detected by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot, respectively. The interaction of DDX5-HSP90 was determined by molecular docking, immunoprecipitation, and laser scanning confocal microscopy. The autophagy signal was detected by Western blot. The cell functions and signaling pathways of DDX5 were determined in 2 HCC cell lines. Two different murine HCC xenograft models were used to determine the function of DDX5 and the therapeutic effect of an HSP90 inhibitor. Results: HSP90 interacted directly with DDX5 and inhibited DDX5 protein degradation in the AMPK/ULK1-regulated autophagy pathway. The subsequent accumulation of DDX5 protein induced the malignant phenotype of HCC by activating the β-catenin signaling pathway. The silencing of DDX5 or treatment with HSP90 inhibitor both blocked in vivo tumor growth in a murine HCC xenograft model. High levels of HSP90 and DDX5 protein were associated with poor prognoses. Conclusions: HSP90 interacted with DDX5 protein and subsequently protected DDX5 protein from AMPK/ULK1-regulated autophagic degradation. DDX5 and HSP90 are therefore potential therapeutic targets for HCC

The Integrated Effect of Carbon Emissions Trading and Pollution Rights Trading for Power Enterprises—A Case Study of Chongqing

To control growing environmental problems, the pollution rights trading (PRT) center was established in Jiaxing in 2007, and China officially joined the carbon emission reduction market (NCET) in 2011. Since power enterprises are the main participants in the NCET market and PRT market, the integrated effect of the NCET market and PRT market on power enterprise profit and the regional environment is one of the major issues that needs to be taken into consideration. Based on system dynamics (SD) theory, we propose an NCET-PRT simulation model for power enterprises in Chongqing. Through analyzing parameters of carbon trading price, free ratio, and emission trading prices, 12 different simulation scenarios are configured for sensitivity analysis. Based on the simulation results, the following observations can be obtained: (1) NCET and PRT can effectively promote the performance of enterprises’ carbon emissions reduction and regional pollutant emission reduction but will have a minor negative impact on the industrial economy at the same time; (2) The trading mechanism is interactive; if the carbon emissions trading (NCET) mechanism is implemented separately, the emission of pollutants will be reduced significantly. However, the implementation of pollution rights trading (PRT) alone cannot significantly reduce CO2 emissions; (3) At an appropriate level, NCET and PRT can be enhanced to achieve a maximum emissions reduction effect at a minimum economic cost

Influence of Frictional Stress Models on Simulation Results of High-Pressure Dense-Phase Pneumatic Conveying in Horizontal Pipe

Based on the two-fluid model, a three-zone drag model was developed, and the kinetic theory of granular flows and the Schneiderbauer solids wall boundary model were modified to establish a new three-dimensional (3D) unsteady mathematical model for high-pressure dense-phase pneumatic conveying in horizontal pipe. With this mathematical model, the influence of the three frictional stress models, namely Dartevelle frictional stress model, Srivastava and Sundaresan frictional stress model, and the modified Berzi frictional stress model, on the simulation result was explored. The simulation results showed that the three frictional stress models accurately predicted the pressure drop and its variations with supplementary gas in the horizontal pipe, with relative errors ranging from −4.91% to +7.60%. Moreover, the predicted solids volume fraction distribution in the cross-section of the horizontal pipe using these frictional stress models exhibited good agreement with the electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) images. Notably, the influence of the three frictional stress models on the simulation results was predominantly observed in the transition region and deposited region. In the deposited region, stronger frictional stress resulting in lower solids volume fraction and a higher pressure drop in the horizontal pipe were observed. Among the three frictional stress models, the simulation results with the modified Berzi frictional stress model aligned better with the experimental data. Therefore, the modified Berzi frictional stress model is deemed more suitable for simulating high-pressure dense-phase pneumatic conveying in horizontal pipe

The Effect of Brush Plate Structure and Operating Parameters on the Energy Consumption of Electrolytic Cells

The nickel powder brush plate is a core component of the direct contact between the cleaning machine and cathode plate of an electrolyzer, and its movement in the electrolytic cell will affect the energy consumption of the electrolyzer. In order to optimize the structure of the brush plate, a cleaning trolley brush plate was taken as the research object, a mathematical model of its electrolyzer was established, and the reliability was subsequently verified. The influence of the structural and operating parameters of the brush plate on the energy consumption of the electrolytic cell was studied. The research results show that additional energy consumption is the lowest in the process of cleaning a return grooved brush plate. Brush plates with a large slotting area have less impact on the energy consumption of the electrolyzer. The slotting method, where the anodes are arranged directly opposite each other and relatively concentrated, can be adapted to render a more uniform current density distribution on the anode surface, with lower energy consumption and less variation in voltage and current. With the increasing number of slots from one to three, the current density distribution on the anode surface became more uniform, with a reduction in the variation range of the slot voltage and current in the branch where the cathode plate was cleaned and a decreased energy consumption. With the linear increase in brush cleaning speed, the impact time of the brush plate on the electrolyzer decreased nonlinearly, and as the extent of this decrease gradually diminished, the additional energy consumption showed the same trend. These research results were then used as a basis for optimizing the existing commonly used empirical C-brush plates. Following optimization, the current density distribution on the anode surface was found to be more uniform, the variation amplitude of tank voltage was reduced by 34%, the current drop amplitude of the branch circuit where the brushed cathode plate was located was reduced by 39%, the impact time on the current field of the electrolytic tank was reduced by 40%, and the additional energy consumption was reduced by 50.9%. These results can be served as a reference for further theoretical research related to brush plates

Intelligent Localization Sampling System Based on Deep Learning and Image Processing Technology

In this paper, deep learning and image processing technologies are combined, and an automatic sampling robot is proposed that can completely replace the manual method in the three-dimensional space when used for the autonomous location of sampling points. It can also achieve good localization accuracy, which solves the problems of the high labor intensity, low efficiency, and poor scientific accuracy of the manual sampling of mineral powder. To improve localization accuracy and eliminate non-linear image distortion due to wide-angle lenses, distortion correction was applied to the captured images. We solved the problem of low detection accuracy in some scenes of Single Shot MultiBox Detector (SSD) through data augmentation. A visual localization model has been established, and the image coordinates of the sampling point have been determined through color screening, image segmentation, and connected body feature screening, while coordinate conversion has been performed to complete the spatial localization of the sampling point, guiding the robot in performing accurate sampling. Field experiments were conducted to validate the intelligent sampling robot, which showed that the maximum visual positioning error of the robot is 36 mm in the x-direction and 24 mm in the y-direction, both of which meet the error range of less than or equal to 50 mm, and could meet the technical standards and requirements of industrial sampling localization accuracy

Effect of FEC electrolyte additive on the electrochemical performance of nickel-rich NCM ternary cathode

It has been well established recently that fluorinated electrolyte additives such as Fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) could promote the formation of LiF-based solid electrolyte interphase that can stabilize lithium metal anode. Meanwhile, the impact of FEC additive on the cathode side, particularly for the high energy density nickel-rich LiNi1-x-yCoxMnyO2 (NCM) ternary cathodes, remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the structural and chemical composition of cathode electrolyte interphase (CEI) and its electrochemical performance to elucidate the effect of FEC additive on the LiNi0.9Co0.05Mn0.05O2 (NCM90) cathode for high energy lithium-ion batteries. It is discovered that the FEC additive in carbonate electrolyte (BE-FEC) can produce LiFbased CEI, which could stabilize the NCM90 surface and improve the cycle performance at low cut-off voltage. While the formation of a thick LiF layer under high cut-off voltage and high rate leads to a higher polarization and slower Li+ transport kinetics, which in turn deteriorates the battery performance. Whereas in carbonate electrolyte (BE), under low voltage, the unstable Li2CO3-based amorphous CEI components form on the NCM90 surface while an intermediate rock salt structure can also be identified, leading to poor cycle life. While under high voltage, the BE sample shows superior electrochemical performance due to the formation of a thin LiF layer from the decomposition of the LiPF6. Our work provides a comprehensive understanding of the role of FEC in the CEI of nickel-rich cathodes, offering practical guidance for the design of electrolytes for high-energy nickel-rich cathodes