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Bioresource Technology Jun 2024This laboratory study reports results on the group particle combustion of pulverized bituminous coal and various types of torrefied biomass. Combustion of particle...
This laboratory study reports results on the group particle combustion of pulverized bituminous coal and various types of torrefied biomass. Combustion of particle streams in a drop tube furnace in air was concurrently monitored by a spectrometer and an electronic camera to obtain spectral emissivities and temperatures. As particle number density (PND) increased, biomass particles became more prone than coal to group combustion. Spectral emissivities increased with increasing PND from 0.2 to 0.4 for coal and from 0.1 to 0.3 for biomass, in the wavelength domain of λ = 600-1000 nm. Emissivities changed little with wavelength, giving credence to the gray body assumption. Particle cloud temperatures were in the range of 1650-1900 K, depending on PND, type of fuel, and location in the cloud; temperatures decreased with increasing PND. The radiative heat of the particle laden flames was predominantly attributed to burning chars in the flames and it increased with increasing PND.
PubMed: 38942214
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2024.131040 -
Journal of Photochemistry and... Jun 2024Phototherapy has been extensively used to prevent and treat signs of aging and stimulate wound healing, and phototherapy through light-emitting diodes (LEDs). In...
Phototherapy has been extensively used to prevent and treat signs of aging and stimulate wound healing, and phototherapy through light-emitting diodes (LEDs). In contrast to LED, organic LED (OLED) devices are composed of organic semiconductors that possess novel characteristics. We investigated the regenerative potential of OLED for restoring cellular potential from senescence and thus delaying animal aging. Bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMSCs) and adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) were isolated from the control and OLED- treated groups to evaluate their proliferation, migration, and differentiation potentials. Cellular senescence was evaluated using a senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) activity assay and gene expression biomarker assessment. OLED treatment significantly increased the cell proliferation, colony formation, and migration abilities of stem cells. SA-β-gal activity was significantly decreased in both ADSCs and BMSCs in the OLED-treated group. Gene expression biomarkers from treated mice indicated a significant upregulation of IGF-1 (insulin growthfactor-1). The upregulation of the SIRT1 gene inhibited the p16 and p19 genes then to downregulate the p53 expressions for regeneration of stem cells in the OLED-treated group. Our findings indicated that the survival rates of 10-month aging senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 mice were prolonged and that their gross appearance improved markedly after OLED treatment. Histological analysis of skin and brain tissue also indicated significantly greater collagen fibers density, which prevents ocular abnormalities and β-amyloid accumulation. Lordokyphosis and bone characteristics were observed to resemble those of younger mice after OLED treatment. In conclusion, OLED therapy reduced the signs of aging and enhanced stem-cell senescence recovery and then could be used for tissue regeneration.
PubMed: 38941921
DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2024.112957 -
Virology Jun 2024Antimicrobial resistance is an escalating threat with few new therapeutic options in the pipeline. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most prevalent...
Antimicrobial resistance is an escalating threat with few new therapeutic options in the pipeline. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most prevalent bacterial infections globally and are prone to becoming recurrent and antibiotic resistant. We discovered and characterized six novel Autographiviridae and Guernseyvirinae bacterial viruses (phage) against uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), a leading cause of UTIs. The phage genomes were between 39,471 bp - 45,233 bp, with 45.0%-51.0% GC%, and 57-84 predicted coding sequences per genome. We show that tail fiber domain structure, predicted host capsule type, and host antiphage repertoire correlate with phage host range. In vitro characterisation of phage cocktails showed synergistic improvement against a mixed UPEC strain population and when sequentially dosed. Together, these phage are a new set extending available treatments for UTI from UPEC, and phage vM_EcoM_SHAK9454 represents a promising candidate for further improvement through engineering.
PubMed: 38941748
DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2024.110148 -
Neural Networks : the Official Journal... Jun 2024Video frame interpolation methodologies endeavor to create novel frames betwixt extant ones, with the intent of augmenting the video's frame frequency. However, current...
Video frame interpolation methodologies endeavor to create novel frames betwixt extant ones, with the intent of augmenting the video's frame frequency. However, current methods are prone to image blurring and spurious artifacts in challenging scenarios involving occlusions and discontinuous motion. Moreover, they typically rely on optical flow estimation, which adds complexity to modeling and computational costs. To address these issues, we introduce a Motion-Aware Video Frame Interpolation (MA-VFI) network, which directly estimates intermediate optical flow from consecutive frames by introducing a novel hierarchical pyramid module. It not only extracts global semantic relationships and spatial details from input frames with different receptive fields, enabling the model to capture intricate motion patterns, but also effectively reduces the required computational cost and complexity. Subsequently, a cross-scale motion structure is presented to estimate and refine intermediate flow maps by the extracted features. This approach facilitates the interplay between input frame features and flow maps during the frame interpolation process and markedly heightens the precision of the intervening flow delineations. Finally, a discerningly fashioned loss centered around an intermediate flow is meticulously contrived, serving as a deft rudder to skillfully guide the prognostication of said intermediate flow, thereby substantially refining the precision of the intervening flow mappings. Experiments illustrate that MA-VFI surpasses several representative VFI methods across various datasets, and can enhance efficiency while maintaining commendable efficacy.
PubMed: 38941737
DOI: 10.1016/j.neunet.2024.106433 -
Biomaterials Jun 2024After orthopedic surgeries, such as hip replacement, many patients are prone to developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which in severe cases can lead to fatal pulmonary...
After orthopedic surgeries, such as hip replacement, many patients are prone to developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which in severe cases can lead to fatal pulmonary embolism or major bleeding. Clinical intervention with high-dose anticoagulant therapy inevitably carries the risk of bleeding. Therefore, a targeted drug delivery system that adjusts local DVT lesions and potentially reduces drug dosage and toxic side effects important. In this study, we developed a targeted drug delivery platelet-derived nanoplatform (AMSNP@PM-rH/A) for DVT treatment that can simultaneously deliver a direct thrombin inhibitor (DTI) Recombinant Hirudin (rH), and the Factor Xa inhibitor Apixaban (A) by utilizing Aminated mesoporous silica nanoparticles (AMSNP). This formulation exhibits improved biocompatibility and blood half-life and can effectively eliminate deep vein thrombosis lesions and achieve therapeutic effects at half the dosage. Furthermore, we employed various visualization techniques to capture the targeted accumulation and release of a platelet membrane (PM) coating in deep vein thrombosis and explored its potential targeting mechanism.
PubMed: 38941685
DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2024.122670 -
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces Jun 2024Li-ion battery degradation and safety events are often attributed to undesirable metallic lithium plating. Since their release, Li-ion battery electrodes have been made...
Li-ion battery degradation and safety events are often attributed to undesirable metallic lithium plating. Since their release, Li-ion battery electrodes have been made progressively thicker to provide a higher energy density. However, the propensity for plating in these thicker pairings is not well understood. Herein, we combine an experimental plating-prone condition with robust mesoscale modeling to examine electrode pairings with capacities ranging from 2.5 to 6 mAh/cm and negative to positive (N/P) electrode areal capacity ratio from 0.9 to 1.8 without the need for extensive aging tests. Using both experimentation and a mesoscale model, we identify a shift from conventional high state-of-charge (SOC) type plating to high overpotential (OP) type plating as electrode thickness increases. These two plating modes have distinct morphologies, identified by optical microscopy and electrochemical signatures. We demonstrate that under operating conditions where these plating modes converge, a high propensity of plating exists, revealing the importance of predicting and avoiding this overlap for a given electrode pairing. Further, we identify that thicker electrodes, beyond a capacity of 3 mAh/cm or thickness >75 μm, are prone to high OP, limiting negative electrode (NE) utilization and preventing cross-sectional oversizing the NE from mitigating plating. Here, it simply contributes to added mass and volume. The experimental thermal gradient and mesoscale model either combined or independently provide techniques capable of probing performance and safety implications of mild changes to electrode design features.
PubMed: 38941578
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c02516 -
ASAIO Journal (American Society For... Jul 2024
PubMed: 38941486
DOI: 10.1097/MAT.0000000000002261 -
ELife Jun 2024Genetic diversity is a hallmark of RNA viruses and the basis for their evolutionary success. Taking advantage of the uniquely large genomic database of SARS-CoV-2, we...
Genetic diversity is a hallmark of RNA viruses and the basis for their evolutionary success. Taking advantage of the uniquely large genomic database of SARS-CoV-2, we examine the impact of mutations across the spectrum of viable amino acid sequences on the biophysical phenotypes of the highly expressed and multifunctional nucleocapsid protein. We find variation in the physicochemical parameters of its extended intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) sufficient to allow local plasticity, but also observe functional constraints that similarly occur in related coronaviruses. In biophysical experiments with several N-protein species carrying mutations associated with major variants, we find that point mutations in the IDRs can have nonlocal impact and modulate thermodynamic stability, secondary structure, protein oligomeric state, particle formation, and liquid-liquid phase separation. In the Omicron variant, distant mutations in different IDRs have compensatory effects in shifting a delicate balance of interactions controlling protein assembly properties, and include the creation of a new protein-protein interaction interface in the N-terminal IDR through the defining P13L mutation. A picture emerges where genetic diversity is accompanied by significant variation in biophysical characteristics of functional N-protein species, in particular in the IDRs.
Topics: SARS-CoV-2; Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Proteins; Mutation; COVID-19; Humans; Intrinsically Disordered Proteins; Phosphoproteins; Nucleocapsid Proteins; Thermodynamics; Protein Stability
PubMed: 38941236
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.94836 -
Supportive Care in Cancer : Official... Jun 2024Fear of progression (FoP) leads to poor clinical outcomes in colorectal cancer patients. The study aimed to clarify the profiles and influencing factors of FoP among...
PURPOSE
Fear of progression (FoP) leads to poor clinical outcomes in colorectal cancer patients. The study aimed to clarify the profiles and influencing factors of FoP among colorectal cancer patients.
METHODS
A cross-sectional study was conducted with 409 colorectal cancer patients. Convenience sampling method was used to select colorectal cancer patients hospitalized in a tertiary-level hospital in Nanjing as the survey subjects. General information questionnaire, Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form, Distress Disclosure Index, and Social Support Rating Scale were used to collect the data. Latent profile analysis was used to explore the latent profiles of FoP in colorectal cancer patients. Additionally, the influencing factors of profiles were explored by Univariate Analysis and Binomial Logistic Regression Analysis.
RESULTS
Latent profile analysis identified two subgroups of fear of disease progression: the "fear low-risk profile (83%)", and the "severe fear profile (17%)." Patients with low age, low social support utilization, first hospital admission, severe healthcare burden, and preoperative bowel symptoms were prone to severe fear of disease progression.
CONCLUSIONS
There is some heterogeneity in the level of postoperative fear of disease progression in colorectal cancer patients. Doctors and nurses should focus on patients with severe fear and take targeted preventive and psychological care for patients' fear of disease progression as early as possible according to the distribution characteristics of different categories.
Topics: Humans; Colorectal Neoplasms; Male; Female; Cross-Sectional Studies; Fear; Middle Aged; Disease Progression; Aged; Surveys and Questionnaires; Social Support; Adult; China
PubMed: 38940963
DOI: 10.1007/s00520-024-08660-7 -
Journal of Radiation Research Jun 2024The ionizing radiation with high linear energy transfer (LET), such as a heavy ion beam, induces more serious biological effects than low LET ones, such as gamma- and...
The ionizing radiation with high linear energy transfer (LET), such as a heavy ion beam, induces more serious biological effects than low LET ones, such as gamma- and X-rays. This indicates a difference in the DNA damage produced by low and high LET radiations and their biological effects. We have been studying the differences in DNA damage produced by gamma-rays and carbon ion beams. Therefore, we analyze mutations induced by both ionizing radiations to discuss the differences in their biological effects in this study. pUC19 plasmid DNA was irradiated by carbon ion beams in the solution containing 1M dimethyl sulfoxide to mimic a cellular condition. The irradiated DNA was cloned in competent cells of Escherichia coli. The clones harboring some mutations in the region of lacZα were selected, and the sequence alterations were analyzed. A one-deletion mutation is significant in the carbon-irradiated DNA, and the C:G↔T:A transition is minor. On the other hand, the gamma-irradiated DNA shows mainly G:C↔T:A transversion. These results suggest that carbon ion beams produce complex DNA damage, and gamma-rays are prone to single oxidative base damage, such as 8-oxoguanine. Carbon ion beams can also introduce oxidative base damage, and the damage species is 5-hydroxycytosine. This was consistent with our previous results of DNA damage caused by heavy ion beams. We confirmed the causal DNA damage by mass spectrometry for these mutations.
PubMed: 38940734
DOI: 10.1093/jrr/rrae050