Different Al2O3 carriers were synthesized by co-precipitation and sol-gel method. From them, 4%NiO-20%MoO3/Al2O3 catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), N2 adsorption-desorption, NH3 temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and H2-temperature programmed reduction (TPR) and subsequently used for selective hydrogenation of naphthalene to high-value tetralin. The results showed that Ni-Mo/so-ge Al2O3 (900) exhibited better catalytic performance than Ni Mo/commercial Al2O3, achieving 99.56% naphthalene conversion and 99.43% tetralin selectivity.

ABSTRACT Purpose: Chronic inflammation in the liver is a key trigger for liver injury and fibrosis in various liver diseases. Given the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of Saffron, this study aimed to investigate the pharmacological effects of Saffron on hepatic inflammation and fibrosis. Methods: The mice model of hepatic fibrosis was constructed using CCl4, and Saffron was administered at low (10 mg/kg) and high (20 mg/kg) doses by gavage. Then, the changes in liver function, liver inflammation and fibrosis markers were evaluated. The effects and mechanisms of Saffron on hepatic stellate cells were further investigated in in-vitro experiments. Results: Saffron improved liver function, reduced liver inflammation and attenuated liver fibrosis in a dose-dependent manner in hepatic fibrosis mice. Furthermore, Western blotting showed that Saffron significantly inhibited JAK/STAT3 phosphorylation in fibrotic livers. Conclusions: Saffron can attenuate liver fibrosis by inhibiting the JAK/STAT3 pathway and the activation of hepatic stellate cell, providing a theoretical basis for the development of new anti-fibrotic drugs.

Abstract Purpose To investigate the effects of grape seed proanthocyanidin B2 (GSPB2) preconditioning on oxidative stress and apoptosis of renal tubular epithelial cells in mice after renal ischemia-reperfusion (RIR). Methods Forty male ICR mice were randomly divided into 4 groups: Group A: mice were treated with right nephrectomy. Group B: right kidney was resected and the left renal vessel was clamped for 45 minutes. Group C: mice were intraperitoneally injected with GSPB2 before RIR established. Group D: mice were intraperitoneally injected with GSPB2 plus brusatol before RIR established. Creatinine and urea nitrogen of mice were determined. Pathological and morphological changes of kidney were checked. Expressions of Nrf-2, HO-1, cleaved-caspase3 were detected by Western-blot. Results Compared to Group B, morphology and pathological damages of renal tissue were less serious in Group C. Western-blot showed that expressions of Nrf-2 and HO-1 in Group C were obviously higher than those in Group B. The expression of cleaved-caspase3 in Group C was significantly lower than that in Group B. Conclusion GSPB2 preconditioning could attenuate renal oxidative stress injury and renal tubular epithelial cell apoptosis by up-regulating expressions of Nrf-2 and HO-1 and down-regulating the expression of cleaved-caspase-3, but the protective effect could be reversed by brusatol.

Rab7, an important member of the Rab family, is closely related to autophagy, endocytosis, apoptosis, and tumor suppression but few studies have described its association with renal fibrosis. In the early stage, our group studied the effects of Rab7 on production and degradation of extracellular matrix in hypoxic renal tubular epithelial cells. Because cell culture in vitro is different from the environment in vivo, it is urgent to understand the effects in vivo. In our current study, we established a renal fibrosis model in Rab7-knock-in mice (prepared by CRISPR/Cas9 technology) and wild type (WT) C57BL/6 mice using unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). Seven and 14 days after UUO, the expression of the Rab7 protein in WT mice, as well as the autophagic activity, renal function, and the degree of renal fibrosis in WT and Rab7-knock-in mice were examined by blood biochemical assay, hematoxylin-eosin and Masson staining, immunohistochemistry, and western blotting. We found that the Rab7 expression in WT mice increased over time. Furthermore, the autophagic activity constantly increased in both groups, although it was higher in the Rab7-knock-in mice than in the WT mice at the same time point. Seven days after UUO, the degree of renal fibrosis was milder in the Rab7-knock-in mice than in the WT mice, but it became more severe 14 days after surgery. Similar results were found for renal function. Therefore, Rab7 suppressed renal fibrosis in mice initially, but eventually it aggravated fibrosis with the activation of autophagy.

ABSTRACT In practice, pesticides are usually simultaneously applied or one after another for crop protection. This often leads to a coexistence of pesticide mixtures in soil. One of the most important processes influencing the behavior of a pesticide in the environment is its degradation and adsorption in soil. Thus, the degradation and adsorption behaviors of tebuconazole (TEB) and tribenuron-methyl (TBM) alone and combined application in wheat soil (pH 7.28) were studied. The concentrations of TEB and TBM in soil were determined using a quick, easy, cheap, efficient, rugged and safe method (QuEChERS) with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Results showed that TEB has longer half-lives compared with TBM in the tested soils when they were applied individually. The degradation of TEB was markedly affected by concentration and soil microorganisms. In the non-sterilized soil, half-lives of 0.8 and 80 mg kg-1 TEB were 16.4 and 69.3 d, respectively, and half-lives of 0.8 and 80 mg kg-1 TEB were 20.4 and 73.5 d in the sterilized soil, respectively. The degradation of TBM was not affected by TEB in both soils; however, TBM could reduce the degradation of TEB. Compared to TEB alone, the rates of degradation of 80 mg kg-1 TEB in presence of 32 mg kg-1 TBM were reduced 15.9% and 18.2% in non-sterilized and sterilized soils, respectively. Soil adsorption affinity of TEB was significantly higher than TBM. When used combined, adsorption capacity of TEB was not affected by TBM. However, the adsorption of TBM was obviously inhibited in presence of TEB.

ABSTRACT PURPOSE: To investigate the potential effects of pretreatment with allopurinol on renal ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) in a rat model. METHODS: Twenty four rats were subjected to right kidney uninephrectomy were randomly distributed into the following three groups (n=8): Group A (sham-operated group); Group B (ischemic group) with 30 min of renal ischemia after surgery; and Group C (allopurinol + ischemia group) pretreated with allopurinol at 50 mg/kg for 14 days. At 72 h after renal reperfusion, the kidney was harvested to assess inflammation and apoptosis. RESULTS: Pretreatment with allopurinol significantly improved renal functional and histological grade scores following I/R injury (p<0.05). Compared with Group B, the expression levels of caspase-3 and Bax were markedly reduced in Group C, meanwhile, whereas expression of bcl-2 was clearly increased (p<0.05). A newly described marker of inflammation, High Mobility Group Box 1(HMGB1), showed reduced expression in Group C (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Pretreatment with allopurinol had a protective effect on kidney ischemia/reperfusion injury, which might be related to the inhibition of HMGB1 expression.

PURPOSE:To investigate the effect of metformin on renal tubular epithelial cell apoptosis and inflammation after kidney ischemia/ reperfusion in rats.METHODS:Eighteen SD rats were randomly divided into three groups: Sham (S), Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R), and Metformin (E). Before establishing the I/R model, group E was administered metformin for three days, while groups S and I/R were administered equal volumes of saline. After three days, a right nephrectomy was performed on all groups, after which the left kidneys of groups E and I/R rats were subjected to 45 min renal ischemia. Renal function, histology, and cell apoptosis were assessed. AMPK, pAMPK, COX-2, and Caspase 3 were also detected.RESULTS:Compared to I/R group, Caspase 3 and COX-2 levels were decreased in group E. COX-2, Caspase3 and pAMPK levels were higher in groups E and I/R than in group S. The pAMPK level of group E was higher than that of I/R group, while COX-2 and caspase 3 were lower in group E than they were in the other groups. There was no significant difference between E and I/R groups in AMPK levels.CONCLUSION:Metformin preconditioning attenuated the inflammation caused by ischemia/reperfusion and inhibited the apoptosis of renal tubular epithelial cells.

An anisotropic elastic-damage coupled constitutive model for plain concrete is developed, which describes the concrete performance degradation. The damage variable, related to the surface density of micro-cracks and micro-voids, and represented by a second order tensor, is governed by the principal tension strain components. For adequately describing the partial crack opening/closure effect under tension and compression for concrete, a new suitable thermodynamic potential is proposed to express the state equations for modeling the mechanical behaviors. Within the frame-work of thermodynamic potential, concrete strain mechanisms are identified in the proposed anisotropic damage model while each state variable is physically explained and justified. The strain equivalence hypothesis is used for deriving the constitutive equations, which leads to the development of a decoupled algorithm for effective stress computation and damage evolution. Additionally, a detailed numerical algorithm is described and the simulations are shown for uni-axial compression, tension and multi-axial loadings. For verifying the numerical results, a series of experiments on concrete were carried out. Reasonably good agreement between experimental results and the predicted values was observed. The proposed constitutive model can be used to accurately model the concrete behaviors under uni-axial compression, tension and multi-axial loadings. Additionally, the presented work is expected to be very useful in the nonlinear finite element analysis of large-scale concrete structures.

Two adducts SF4AsF5 and SF4SbF5 have been studied in this work. Their structures, thermodynamic functions, and heats of formation were studied using density functional theory (DFT) method in gas phase and using the force field method and the DFT GGA-RPBE method in crystal state. The obtained crystal structures have the P2(1)lc space group. The lattice energies, sublimation enthalpies and heats of formation in crystal state were estimated. Based on the optimized crystal structures, the electronic energy band and density of state were predicted and the results indicate that they are semiconductors with the band gap between 2.3 ~ 2.5 eV.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of primary tumorectomy on angiogenesis and pulmonary metastasis in osteosarcoma-bearing nude mice. METHODS: Osteosarcoma was introduced to nude mice via subcutaneous injection of MG-63 cells. One hundred and eighty osteosarcoma-bearing mice were used equally in 3 parallel experiments. The effect of tumorectomy (TR) on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and endostatin was investigated by ELISA. Meanwhile, the effect on angiogenesis was evaluated by Matrigel plug assay, and pulmonary metastasis assessed by calculating the metastatic foci. Sham-operation (SO) and untreated (UT) groups served as controls. RESULTS: The VEGF (TR: 79.55 ± 7.82 pg/mL vs. SO: 110.01 ± 5.69 pg/mL, UT: 123.50 ± 10.41 pg/mL; p < 0.01) and endostatin (TR: 47.09 ± 6.22 ng/mL vs. SO: 117.64 ± 7.39 ng/mL, UT: 126.73 ± 6.55 ng/mL; p<0.01) were down-regulated significantly after tumorectomy, and angiogenesis was significantly promoted simultaneously. The incidence of pulmonary metastatic foci was 80.0% in the TR group, 40.0% in the SO group and 35.0% in the UT group. CONCLUSION: Primary tumorectomy can down-regulate the expression of VEGF and endostatin and promote angiogenesis which leads to the acceleration of pulmonary metastasis. These findings imply that anti-angiogenic treatment can be considered after primary tumorectomy.

Terephthalic acid is an important industrial chemical but its production typically generates 3-10 tons of wastewater, which is a significant source of pollution. Although recent research has shown that terephthalic acid can be degraded by physical and chemical methods, these methods are complex and expensive. Microbial degradation of terephthalic acid is a popular alternative because it is environmentally friendly. We isolated a Gram-positive strain capable of growing aerobically on terephthalic acid as the sole carbon and energy source. It was identified as Arthrobacter sp. by 16S rDNA sequencing and its physiological and biochemical characteristics. For terephthalic acid degradation, the optimal temperature of the resting cells was 30 °C, optimal shaking speed was 150 rpm, the most suitable pH was 7.0, and the ability to degrade terephthalic acid was inhibited by concentrations of terephthalic acid above 10 g/L.

Purpose: The G-protein β3-subunit gene C825T polymorphism (GNB3-C825T) has been reported to be associated with essential hypertension (EH), but results from previous studies are conflicting. The present study aimed at investigating the association between this polymorphism and risk of EH using a meta-analysis on the published studies. Materials and Methods: PubMed, Embase, CBM (China Biological Medicine Database), Wanfang and VIP databases were searched to identify eligible studies published in English and Chinese before March 2013. Data were extracted using standardized methods. The association was assessed by the odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Begg's test was used to measure publication bias. Results: A total of 40 case-control studies containing 16,518 EH patients and 20,284 controls were involved in this meta-analysis. Overall, a significant association was found between GNB3 C825T polymorphism and risk of EH when all studies were pooled with a random-effects model for T versus C (OR=1.09, 95% CI: 1.04-1.19). In the subgroup analysis, the same association was found in overall Caucasian (T versus C, OR=1.16, 95% CI 1.08-1.24) and Chinese populations (TT versus CC, OR=1.23, 95% CI 1.06-1.57). No associations were detected between GNB3-C825T and the risk of EH overall in Asian and Japanese people. Conclusions: Meta-analysis results suggest that the GNB3-C825T polymorphism is associated with risk of EH in the overall population, the Caucasians and the Chinese. The effect of the variants on the expression levels and the possible functional role of the variants in EH should be addressed in further studies.

Derivados de óleo pesado (temperatura de destilação: 320-340 ºC), obtidos a partir do processo de liquefação direta do carvão, usando carvão Shengli foram tratados com hidrogênio usando catalisadores sulfetados Ni-Mo/Al2O3, Ni-W/Al2O3 e Ni-W/SiO2 respectivamente. Os catalisadores sulfetados foram caracterizados por BET, XRD, H2-TPR e NH3-TPD, respectivamente. As avaliações das propriedades de hidrodenitrogenação (HDN) e hidrodearomatização (HDA) do óleo pesado nos três catalisadores foram realizadas a 400 ºC e 5,0 MPa de pressão inicial de H2. Os catalisadores contendo W mostraram melhores desempenhos do que os catalisadores de Mo para as reações de HDN e HDA. Os catalisadores suportados em Al2O3 apresentaram maior atividade catalítica do que aqueles suportados em SiO2. As atividades dos catalisadores sulfetados foram associadas principalmente à natureza dos sítios ativos, acidez, tamanho do cristalito e da quantidade de espécies redutíveis de enxofre do sulfeto metálico

Heavy oil (distillation temperature: 320-340 ºC) derived from the direct coal liquefaction process using Shengli coal were hydrotreated using sulfided Ni-Mo/Al2O3, Ni-W/Al2O3, and Ni-W/SiO2 catalysts respectively. The sulfided catalysts were characterized by BET, XRD, H2-TPR and NH3-TPD respectively. The evaluations of the hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) and hydrodearomatization (HDA) properties of heavy oil on the three catalysts were carried out at 400 ºC and 5.0 MPa initial H2 pressure. The W-based catalysts displayed better performances than Mo-based catalysts for the HDN and HDA reactions. Al2O3 supported catalysts were found to have higher catalytic activities than on SiO2 supported ones. The activities of sulfided catalysts were associated mainly with the nature of active sites, acidity, metal sulfide crystallite size and the amount of the reducible sulfur species of metal sulfide.