Application of alginate in inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease(IBD)represents a chronic inflammatory condition profoundly impacting the gastrointestinal tract.Its prevalence has markedly risen in both developed and developing nations over recent decades.Despite the absence of definitive etiological elucidation,therapeutic strategies predominantly revolve around pharmacological interventions aimed at symptom mitigation.Alginate(AG)is a polysaccharide of marine origin that has garnered significant attention due to its inherent biocompatibility,pH sensitivity,and cross-linking.Its exploration within drug delivery systems for IBD treatment stems from its natural sourcing,non-cytotoxic nature,and economic viability.Notably,AG demonstrates facile interpolymeric cross-linking,facilitating the formation of a cohesive network conducive to sustained drug release kinetics.AG-based carrier systems for sustained drug release,and targeted drug delivery have been widely studied.This article reviews the pathogenesis of IBD and the current drugs,AG-based drug delivery systems and their properties in alleviating IBD.The prospect of further development of AG in the field of biopharmaceutical and drug delivery is prospected.

Transverse localization of Tamm plasmon in metal-DBR structure with disordered layer

Transverse localization of the optical Tamm plasmon （OTP） is studied in a metal-distributed Bragg reflector （DBR） structure with a one-dimensional disordered layer embedded at the interface between the metal and the DBR. The embed- ded disordered layer induces multiple scattering and interference of light, forming the light localization in the transverse direction. This together with the formation of Tamm plasmonic modes at the metal-DBR interface （i.e., the confinement of light in the longitudinal direction）, gives birth to the so called transverse-localized Tamm plasmon. It is shown that for both transverse electric （TE） and transverse magnetic （TM） polarized light injection, the excited transverse-localized Tamm plas- mon broadens and splits the dispersion curve due to spatial incoherence in the transverse direction, thus proving the stronger light confinement especially in the TE polarized injection. By adding the gain medium, specific random lasing modes are observed. The proposed study could be an efficient way of trapping and locally enhancing light on a subwavelength scale, which is useful in applications of random lasers, optical sensing, and imaging.

Anti-tumor activities of a novel chlorin derivative for photodynamic therapy in vitro and in vivo

In this study,a novel photosensitizer mesc-tetra(3-prrolidinomethyl-4-methoxyphenyl)chlorin(TPMC)was reported.It displays a characteristic long wavelength absorption peak at 656 nm and it shows a singlet oxygen quantum yield of 0.48.After light iradiation with 650 nm laser,it can kill Eca-109 and SMMC-7721 cells in vitro(25 mW/cm^(2),1.2 to 3.6J/cm^(2))and destroy Eca-109 tumor in nude mice(50 mW/cm^(2),90J/cm^(2)).It has the perspective to be developed as a new anti-tumor drug in photodynamic therapy(PDT)photodiagnosis,and deserves further investigation.

Evaluation of blood pressure lowering effect by generic and brand-name antihypertensive drugs treatment:a multicenter prospective study in China

Background:Generic drugs are bioequivalent to their brand-name counterparts;however,concerns still exist regarding the effectiveness and safety of generic drugs because of small sample sizes and short follow-up time in most studies.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term antihypertensive efficacy,cost-effectiveness and cardiovascular outcomes of generic drugs compared with brand-name drugs.Methods:In a multicenter,community-based study including 7955 hypertensive patients who were prospectively followed up for an average of 2.5 years,we used the propensity-score-matching method to match the patients using brand-name drugs to those using generic drugs in a ratio of 1:2,2176 patients using brand-name drugs and 4352 patients using generic drugs.Results:There were no significant differences between generic drugs and brand-name drugs in blood pressure(BP)-lowering efficacy,BP control rate,and cardiovascular outcomes including coronary heart disease and stroke.The adjusted mean(95%confidence interval[CI])of systolic BP(SBP)-lowering was-7.9 mmHg(95%CI,-9.9 to-5.9)in the brand-name drug group and-7.1 mmHg(95%CI,-9.1 to-5.1)in the generic drug group after adjusting for age,sex,body mass index,number of antihypertensive drugs and traditionally cardiovascular risk factors.Among patients aged<60 years,brand-name drugs had a higher BP control rate(47%vs.41%;P=0.02)and a greater effect in lowering SBP compared with generic drugs,with the between-group difference of 1.5 mmHg(95%CI,0.2-2.8;P=0.03).BP control rate was higher in male patients using brand-name drugs compared with those using generic drugs(46%vs.40%;P=0.01).Generic drugs treatment yielded an average annual incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of$315.4 per patient per mmHg decrease in SBP compared with brand-name drugs treatment.Conclusions:Our data suggested that generic drugs are suitable and cost-effective in improving hypertension management and facilitating public health benefits,especially in low-and middle-income areas.

Properties change of activated coke for sintering flue gas purification in cyclic removal of SO_(2) and NO_(x)

The properties of activated coke(AC)for sintering flue gas purification greatly affect the efficiency of desulfurization and denitration,but they gradually change during cycles.The change in properties of coal-based AC during cycles was studied to clarify the change law and AC optimization index.The AC oxygen content rapidly increases 13.49 to 17.87 wt.%in the early cycles to form phenol,which promotes the denitration rate 55.63%to 78.20%.The denitration performance slowly increases in subsequent cycles becaof the generation of quinone AC slow oxidation.However,the oxygen-containing groups are not conducive to adsorption capacity of AC for NO.The adsorbed NO species which can be replaced SO2 is the main NO species on AC,and its amount decreases with the decrease in CC content of AC.The AC chemical loss leads to the opening of closed pores,expansion of original pores and formation of new pores,causing micropore volume to increase 0.085%to 0.152%,compressive strength to decrease 472 to 336 N,and abrasive resistance to decrease 97.87%to 94.16%during cycles.The low oxygen content and high micropore volume are favorable to the initial desulfurization performance,and the former is more decisive.After a while,the desulfurization rate is linearly positively correlated with the micropore volume regardless of the chemistry.4-h desulfurization rate increased 69.03%to 85.91%during 25 cycles due to the increasing micropore volume.The AC properties change in cycles will greatly affect the desulfurization and denitration rate in the height direction of the flue gas purification system.Selecting the coal-based AC with moderate micropore volume,easy oxidation surface and less original oxygen-containing groups facilitates the better purification efficiency at lower cost for sintering plants.

Analysis of operational parameters affecting denitrification rate of sintering flue gas in cross-flow activated coke purification facility

The denitrification rate of the cross-flow activated coke flue gas purification facility varies with operational parameters. According to the simulated experiments, the denitrification rate with the height drop of the denitrification unit experiences 100%, rapid decreasing, and gradual rising to the equilibrium. According to the correlation analysis results based on production data, several operational parameters affecting the denitrification rate have been obtained. The denitrification rate has negative relationships with the activated coke bed temperature, the flue gas flow, the H2O content, the SO2 content and the NH3 slip, and has positive relationships with the O2 content, the NOx content, the NH3–NOx molar ratio, the flue gas pressure and the regeneration temperature. Properly increasing the sintering air leakage or the cooling air added into flue gas is beneficial to increase the denitrification rate. Priority should be given to O2, NH3–NOx molar ratio and flue gas flow to improve the denitrification rate. Additionally, a linear model, which had been validated, was developed and can be used to predict and control the denitrification rate.

Genetics of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke in Chinese population

Stroke is a major cause of adult death and disability worldwide.Epidemiological and animal studies have provided strong evidence that the pathogenesis of stroke is multi-factorial and induced by a combination of environmental and genetic risk factors,but the identifica-tion of individual causative variants remains little known.Genetic influences are likely to be polygenic with small effect sizes,and stroke itself consists of a number of different subtypes which may each have different genetic profiles.In addition,various ethnic populations may have different stroke risk,such as Asian race.The reasons for high risk of stroke among the Chinese,especially hemorrhagic stroke,remain unknown.Most human studies have taken a candidate gene approach using case-control methodology.To be reliably detected,small relative risks require large sample sizes,probably 1000 patients or more.Genome-wide association(GWA)study is an unbiased and comprehensive approach to identify common risk alleles for complex diseases.Recently,a multistage GWA study has identified three loci on chromosomes 2q,8q and 9p to be associated with intracranial aneurysm in European and Japanese populations.Another GWAfinding is the identification of risk variants for cardioembolic stroke on chromosome 4q25 in European populations.In this review,we mainly focus on the results from case-control association studies on genetic factors that play a role in the risk of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke in Chinese population.The combined effects of multiple susceptibility genes for stroke risk are also summarized.

Reaction intermediates and products characterisation of NH_(3) in desulphurisation with activated coke

The sulphate is an important factor restricting the efficient and stable operation of the activated coke (AC) flue gas purification system. The simulation experiments and in situ infrared tests of AC taken from desorption tower of the AC flue gas purification system were carried out to first calibrate the thermal desorption characteristics of adsorbed NH_(3) and sulphate and explore the reaction behaviour of NH_(3) with SO_(2) and H_(2)SO_(4). On this basis, some advice for optimising the sulphate generation was put forward to improve the purification efficiency of the AC system. The results show that the temperatures of the desorption of adsorbed NH_(3), the decomposition of (NH_(4))_(2)SO_(4) and NH_(4)HSO_(4) are 224, 276 and 319 ℃, respectively, which lays the foundation for the quantitative analysis of sulphate on AC. Regardless of the NH_(3) amount, only a small portion of H_(2)SO_(4) is converted to sulphate, as the H_(2)SO_(4) deposited in AC pores or agglomerated together could not come into contact with NH_(3). The final reaction product of NH_(3) and SO_(2) is mainly (NH_(4))_(2)SO_(4) which is continuously generated because the newly generated H_(2)SO_(4) is continually exposed to NH_(3), if NH_(3) is enough. The reaction of NH_(3) with H_(2)SO_(4) takes precedence over with NH_(4)HSO_(4). In the initial stages in which H_(2)SO_(4) is exposed to NH_(3), the product is essentially all NH_(4)HSO_(4) as intermediate. Then, it is further converted to (NH_(4))_(2)SO_(4) whose amount reaches equilibrium when the accessible H_(2)SO_(4) is exhausted. All the NH_(3) adsorbed on AC entering the desulphurisation tower generates NH_(4)HSO_(4), but the amount is limited. The remaining SO_(2) entering the denitrification tower mainly generates (NH_(4))_(2)SO_(4);thus, limiting the remaining SO_(2) amount is necessary to guarantee denitrification efficiency. When the NH_(3) injection is changed to the desulphurisation tower, the initial NH_(3) injection rate can be increased to complete the conversion of accessible H_(2)SO_(4) as soon as possible in order to obtain higher denitrification efficiency.