Phonolite Material as Catalyst Support for the Hydrotreatment of Gas Oil and Vegetable Oil Type Feedstocks

Phonolite material has shown to be promising catalyst support for the deoxygenation of triglycerides. In this work, we continue with our previous research by synthesising and testing three acid-treated phonolite-supported Co-Mo, Ni-Mo and Ni-W catalysts for the hydrotreating of atmospheric gas oil and co-processing with rapeseed oil at industrial operating conditions (350–370 °C, WHSV 1–2 h−1, 5.5 MPa) in the continuous regime for more than 270 h. The phonolite-supported catalysts showed hydrotreating activity comparable with commercial catalysts, together with a complete conversion of triglycerides into n-alkanes. During co-processing, the Ni-promoted catalyst showed strong stability, with similar activity previous to the rapeseed oil addition. Our results enable us to evaluate the suitability of phonolite as catalyst support for the development of plausible alternatives to conventional hydrotreating catalysts for the co-processing of middle distillates with vegetable oils.

An easily fabricated nano hydroxyapatite modified glassy carbon electrode for degradation of methylene blue

The exploitation of efficient electrocatalyst is significantly important for degradation of refractory organic pollutants. In this paper, we first demonstrated that nano-HAP (nHAP) has good performance and strong stability in...

Circular RNA circYPEL2: A Novel Biomarker in Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most threatening diseases in women. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been reported to be cancer hallmarks, but typical circRNAs in CC were rarely indicated. Through high-throughput sequencing in CC and normal cervix tissues, circYPEL2 (hsa_circ_0005600) was proposed as a candidate circRNA. CircYPEL2 exhibited significantly high expression in CC tissue and strong stability in CC cell lines. Furthermore, knockdown and overexpression of circYPEL2 indicated the potential involvement in CC proliferation, migration and invasion. Finally, the downstream regulatory genes of circYPEL2 were investigated by knockdown experiment in CC cell lines with high-throughput sequencing. In summary, our work identified circYPEL2 as a potential biomarker for clinical research of cervical cancer.

Dislocation transport using a time-explicit Runge-Kutta discontinuous Galerkin finite element approach

A time-explicit Runge-Kutta discontinuous Galerkin (RKDG) finite element scheme is proposed to solve the dislocation transport initial boundary value problem in 3D. The dislocation density transport equation, which lies at the core of this problem, is a first-order unsteady-state advection-reaction-type hyperbolic partial differential equation; the DG approach is well suited to solve such equations that lack any diffusion terms. The development of the RKDG scheme follows the method of lines approach. First, a space semi-discretization is performed using the DG approach with upwinding to obtain a system of ordinary differential equations in time. Then, time discretization is performed using explicit RK schemes to solve this system. The 3D numerical implementation of the RKDG scheme is performed for the first-order (forward Euler), second-order and third-order RK methods using the strong stability preserving approach. These implementations provide (quasi-)optimal convergence rates for smooth solutions. A slope limiter is used to prevent spurious Gibbs oscillations arising from high-order space approximations (polynomial degree ≥ 1) of rough solutions. A parametric study is performed to understand the influence of key parameters of the RKDG scheme on the stability of the solution predicted during a screw dislocation transport simulation. Then, annihilation of two oppositely signed screw dislocations and the expansion of a polygonal dislocation loop are simulated. The RKDG scheme is able to resolve the shock generated during dislocation annihilation without any spurious oscillations and predict the prismatic loop expansion with very low numerical diffusion. These results demonstrate the robustness of the scheme.

536 Intraoperative predictors of long-term pacing threshold improvement in leadless pacemakers

Aims Micra-VR transcatheter pacing system (TPS) has shown strong stability of electrical parameters over time. Nevertheless, a small percentage of patients develops high pacing threshold (PT) (>1 [email protected] ms) which can decrease the longevity of battery. Our study sought to investigate the intraoperative electrical parameters able to predict device electrical performances during the time. Methods and results Patients (pts) implanted with Micra-VR TPS from March 2018 to January 2021 were prospectively considered at the Cardiology Department of Spedali Civili Hospital (Brescia) and Luigi Sacco Hospital (Milan). R-wave sensing amplitude (mV), pacing impedance (Ohm), and PT ([email protected] ms) were recorded twice: upon Micra final positioning, and after removal of the delivery system. All pts received a follow-up visit at 1- and 12-month after discharge. Electrical parameters were recorded at each visit. A total of 93 pts underwent Micra-VR implantation were enrolled. When compared to the first assessment, R-wave amplitude increased of 19.1% at second control performed after 13 ± 4 min (+1.71 ± 0.2 mV, 95% CI: 1.4–2.02; P < 0.001). Conversely, PT significantly decreased of 22.1% at 12-month follow-up respect to baseline (−0.22 ± 0.03 V, 95% CI: −0.13 to − 0.31; P < 0.001) (Figure 1). Among patients with high PT, acute increase of R-wave sensing of 1.5 mV after 14 ± 4 min significantly predicted PT normalization (≤1 [email protected] ms) 12 months post-implant (R = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.13–0.33, P < 0.001) (Figure 2), with a sensitivity of 87.5% (95% CI: 0.61–0.98) and a specificity of 88.8% (95% CI: 0.51–0.99) (Figure 3). Conclusions A 1.5 mV increase in R-wave amplitude at implant time is predictive of PT normalization (<1.0 V/0.24 ms) at 12-month FU. This finding may have practical implications for device repositioning in case of HPT at implant. This parameter could be considered for acute device repositioning, particularly in HPT patients. 536 Figure

Stability criteria for nonlinear Volterra integro-dynamic matrix Sylvester systems on measure chains

In this paper, we establish sufficient conditions for various stability aspects of a nonlinear Volterra integro-dynamic matrix Sylvester system on time scales. We convert the nonlinear Volterra integro-dynamic matrix Sylvester system on time scale to an equivalent nonlinear Volterra integro-dynamic system on time scale using vectorization operator. Sufficient conditions are obtained to this system for stability, asymptotic stability, exponential stability, and strong stability. The obtained results include various stability aspects of the matrix Sylvester systems in continuous and discrete models.

In Silico Evaluation of Different Flavonoids from Medicinal Plants for Their Potency against SARS-CoV-2

The ongoing pandemic situation of COVID-19 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) poses a global threat to both the world economy and public health. Therefore, there is an urgent need to discover effective vaccines or drugs to fight against this virus. The flavonoids and their medicinal plant sources have already exhibited various biological effects, including antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, etc. This study was designed to evaluate different flavonoids from medicinal plants as potential inhibitors against the spike protein (Sp) and main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 using various computational approaches such as molecular docking, molecular dynamics. The binding affinity and inhibitory effects of all studied flavonoids were discussed and compared with some antiviral drugs that are currently being used in COVID-19 treatment namely favipiravir, lopinavir, and hydroxychloroquine, respectively. Among all studies flavonoids and proposed antiviral drugs, luteolin and mundulinol exhibited the highest binding affinity toward Mpro and Sp. Drug-likeness and ADMET studies revealed that the chosen flavonoids are safe and non-toxic. One hundred ns-MD simulations were implemented for luteolin-Mpro, mundulinol-Mpro, luteolin-Sp, and mundulinol-Sp complexes and the results revealed strong stability of these flavonoid-protein complexes. Furthermore, MM/PBSA confirms the stability of luteolin and mundulinol interactions within the active sites of this protein. In conclusion, our findings reveal that the promising activity of luteolin and mundulinol as inhibitors against COVID-19 via inhibiting the spike protein and major protease of SARS CoV-2, and we urge further research to achieve the clinical significance of our proposed molecular-based efficacy.

Stable and enhanced electrochemical performance based on hierarchical core-shell structure of CoMn2O4@Ni3S2 electrode for hybrid supercapacitor

Herein, accessible and low-cost CoMn2O4@Ni3S2 core-shell nanoneedle arrays have been prepared via a two-step approach comprised with hydrothermal-calcination and electrochemical deposition procedures, successfully. In the beginning, CoMn2O4 nanoneedle arrays took root on Ni foam to form the core skeleton and subsequently, hierarchical Ni3S2 nanosheets uniformly overlaid on the surface of CoMn2O4 nanoneedles shaping the shell structure. This CoMn2O4@Ni3S2 material was measured directly as supercapacitor electrode and presented high specific capacity of 192.2 mAh g-1 with current density of 1 A g-1. Besides, the electrode delivered outstanding cyclical stability as the capacity retention attained 90.2 % after charge-discharge measurement at a large current density of 10 A g-1 for 10000 cycles. Furthermore, a hybrid supercapacitor assembled by CoMn2O4@Ni3S2 anode and activated carbon cathode represented a high energy density of 51.2 Wh kg-1 with the power density of 1030.0 W kg-1. This work shows a facile and inexpensive procedure to design high-performance and strong-stability supercapacitor electrodes.

Simultaneous Rapid Detection of Aflatoxin B1 and Ochratoxin A in Spices Using Lateral Flow Immuno-Chromatographic Assay

Spices are susceptible to contamination by aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and ochratoxin A (OTA), which are both mycotoxins with high toxicity and carcinogenicity. In this study, we aimed to develop an immuno-chromatographic strip test for the simultaneous quantification of AFB1 and OTA in spices by spraying the coupled antigens AFB1–ovalbumin (AFB1–OVA) and OTA–ovalbumin (OTA–OVA) on a nitrocellulose membrane. The test strip had high sensitivity, good specificity, and strong stability. The detection limits of these two mycotoxins in Chinese prickly ash, pepper, chili, cinnamon, and aniseed were 5 μg/kg. The false positivity rate was 2%, and the false negativity rate was 0%. The maximum coefficient of variation was 4.28% between batches and 5.72% within batches. The average recovery rates of AFB1 and OTA in spices were 81.2–113.7% and 82.2–118.6%, respectively, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was <10%. The actual sample detection was consistent with high performance liquid chromatography analysis results. Therefore, the immuno-chromatographic test strips developed in this study can be used for the on-site simultaneous detection of AFB1 and OTA in spices. This method would allow the relevant regulatory agencies to strengthen supervision in an effort to reduce the possible human health hazards of such contaminated spices.