In low-carbon energy-efficient basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steelmaking processes, limestone partly or completely replaces the active lime. The effects of limestone calcination temperature (1200-1500°C) and time (5-15 minutes) on lime reactivity and CaO grain size were investigated. The reactivity was evaluated by titration with hydrochloric acid, and the CaO grain size was analysed using scanning electron microscopy. The results revealed that for calcination temperatures higher than 1300°C, the reactivity reached a maximum and then decreased . The higher the temperature, the earlier the peak of reactivity appears. The CaO grains grow with increasing temperature and time, which leads to the decrease of reactivity. Notably, the effects of temperature on CaO grain size and reactivity are more marked than that of time. To obtain active lime calcined at ultra-high temperature by flash heating, the calcination conditions should be 1300-1400°C for 10-15 minutes, or 1400-1500°C for 8-10 minutes.

Milk fat globule epidermal growth factor 8 (MFG-E8) is an opsonin involved in the phagocytosis of apoptotic cells. In patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), apoptotic cell clearance is defective. However, whether aberrant MFG-E8 expression is involved in this defect is unknown. In this study, we examined the expression of MFG-E8 in COPD patients. MFG-E8, interleukin (IL)-1β and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β levels were measured in the plasma of 96 COPD patients (93 males, 3 females; age range: 62.12±10.39) and 87 age-matched healthy controls (85 males, 2 females; age range: 64.81±10.11 years) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Compared with controls, COPD patients had a significantly lower plasma MFG-E8 levels (P<0.01) and significantly higher plasma TGF-β levels (P=0.002), whereas there was no difference in plasma IL-1β levels between the two groups. Moreover, plasma MFG-E8 levels decreased progressively between Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) I and GOLD IV stage COPD. Multiple regression analysis showed that the forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1 % predicted) and smoking habit were powerful predictors of MFG-E8 in COPD (P<0.01 and P=0.026, respectively). MFG-E8 was positively associated with the FEV1 % predicted and negatively associated with smoking habit. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.874 (95% confidence interval: 0.798-0.95; P<0.01). Our findings demonstrated the utility of MFG-E8 as a marker of disease severity in COPD and that cigarette smoke impaired MFG-E8 expression in these patients.

An enterovirus 71 (EV71) vaccine for the prevention of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HMFD) is available, but it is not known whether the EV71 vaccine cross-protects against Coxsackievirus (CV) infection. Furthermore, although an inactivated circulating CVA16 Changchun 024 (CC024) strain vaccine candidate is effective in newborn mice, the CC024 strain causes severe lesions in muscle and lung tissues. Therefore, an effective CV vaccine with improved pathogenic safety is needed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vivo safety and in vitro replication capability of a noncirculating CVA16 SHZH05 strain. The replication capacity of circulating CVA16 strains CC024, CC045, CC090 and CC163 and the noncirculating SHZH05 strain was evaluated by cytopathic effect in different cell lines. The replication capacity and pathogenicity of the CC024 and SHZH05 strains were also evaluated in a neonatal mouse model. Histopathological and viral load analyses demonstrated that the SHZH05 strain had an in vitro replication capacity comparable to the four CC strains. The CC024, but not the SHZH05 strain, became distributed in a variety of tissues and caused severe lesions and mortality in neonatal mice. The differences in replication capacity and in vivo pathogenicity of the CC024 and SHZH05 strains may result from differences in the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of viral functional polyproteins P1, P2 and P3. Our findings suggest that the noncirculating SHZH05 strain may be a safer CV vaccine candidate than the CC024 strain.

The relationship between an oestrogen receptor (ESR) gene and reproductive traits in 11 Large White (LW), 19 Landrace (L), 22 Meishan (MS), 22 Meishan × Large White (MS x LW) F1, 26 Large White × Meishan (LW × MS) F1, 16 Landrace × Large White (L × LW) F1 and nine Large White × Landrace (LW × L) F1 female populations was studied. Reproductive characteristics and some performance data were analyzed for associations with ESR genotype, parity and breed. The ESR genotype was associated with length of oviduct (LO). Uterine weight (UW), LO and the weight of two ovaries (OW) of purebred Meishan and LW × MS females were higher than those of purebred Large White and MS × LW females. In Large White and Meishan crosses, crossbreds with Meishan dams had higher UW, LO, uterine horn length (LUH) and OW than pigs with Large White dams. Significant effects of paternal breed of sire were observed for LO and OW. In Large White and Landrace combinations, differences in values between purebred and crossbred animals were found for UW and LO. However, maternal breed effects were not detected for UW, LO, LUH, OW. A significant effect of paternal breed of sire was observed for LO. Females with Landrace sires had a larger LO than females with Large White sires.