Separation of As and Bi and enrichment of As,Cu,and Zn from copper dust using an oxidation-leaching approach

Copper dust with high arsenic content is a hazardous waste that should be treated properly.Herein,the copper dust is oxidized,leached,and separated at room temperature and atmospheric pressure.To separate As and Bi,part of As(Ⅲ)in copper dust is oxidized to As(V),so that most of the As,Cu,and Zn elements enter the solution and the Bi remains in the leaching residue.Also,the influence of several factors,such as H_(2)SO_(4) dosage,H_(2)O_(2) dosage,liquid-solid ratio,leaching temperature and leaching time,on the leaching percentage of As,Bi,Cu,and Zn is systematically investigated.The optimal conditions are obtained as follows:liquid-solid ratio of 3:1,H_(2)O_(2) dosage of 10 ml/50 g(dust),H_(2)SO_(4) dosage of 4.5 ml/50 g(dust),leaching temperature of 85 C,and leaching time of 3 h.Under these conditions,the leaching percentage of As,Cu,Zn,and Bi is found to be 97.39%,96.11%,97.32%,and 2.40%,respectively.For further recovery of As from the leaching solution,the one-step recycle leaching of the leaching solution is performed to increase the concentration of As in the recycled leaching solution.The concentration of arsenic in the recycling leaching solution is found to be 79.63 g·L^(-1),which is beneficial for the study on further recovery of As_(2)O_(3).

A Case of Alzheimer’s Disease Was Kept Relative Stable with Sequential Therapy for Eight Years

Background: Although Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been intensively investigated for many years, the effective treatments are largely missing. Commonly used conventional therapy, such as cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEI) and N-methyl D-asparate receptor antagonist, have been generally considered as having symptom-relieving rather than disease-modifying effects. Thus, how to improve cognitive function beyond such effect & time limitations has become a serious challenge. Aim: In order to solve this challenge, a sequential therapy with the integration of conventional therapy and herbal therapy was applied to AD patients. Careful clinical observation was conducted in our outpatient setting. Case Presentation: A case of probable AD received the sequential therapy has achieved relative stable cognition and overall status in eight years. Conclusion: During the treatment of this AD case in eight years, sequential therapy showed great potential in stabilizing and improving cognition and overall status. Well designed preclinical and clinical studies are needed to investigate the efficacy of sequential therapy for AD and other type of dementia.

Research on corona discharge suppression of high-voltage direct-current transmission lines based on dielectric-film-covered conductor

Corona discharge suppression for high-voltage direct-current(HVDC)transmission lines at line terminals such as converter stations is a subject that requires attention.In this paper,a method based on a conductor covered with dielectric film is proposed and implemented through a bench-scale setup.Compared with the bare conductor,the corona discharge suppression effect of the dielectric-film-covered conductor under positive polarity is studied from the composite field strength and ion current density using a line-plate experimental device.The influences of film thickness and film material on the corona discharge suppression effect are investigated.The charge accumulation and dissipation characteristics of different film materials are also studied.The results show that the conductor covered with dielectric film has excellent ability to inhibit corona discharge.The ground-level composite field strength of the conductor covered with dielectric film is lower than its nominal field strength,and its ion current density is at the nA m^(−2) level.The corona threshold voltage can be promoted by increasing the film thickness,but the ability to inhibit corona discharge becomes weak.The larger the surface electric field strength,the more charge accumulated,but the faster the charge dissipation rate.Compared with polyvinyl chloride film,cross-linked polyethylene film has stronger charge accumulation ability and slower charge dissipation rate,which can better restrain the corona discharge of HVDC transmission lines.

Efficacy of Chinese herbal compound GAPT for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease during mouse/rat studies:A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of the Chinese herbal compound GAPT for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease(AD)and to provide current evidence for potential treatment mechanisms.Methods:A comprehensive search of PubMed,Embase,Web of Science,SinoMed,China Network Knowledge Infrastructure,Wanfang Data,and Chinese Scientific Journals Database was performed to identify GAPT mouse/rat studies published from inception to July 2019.The outcomes extracted were Morris water maze results and molecular biological quantifications.Results:A total of 19 studies were included in this analysis.The analysis indicated that GAPT was able to significantly improve learning and memory abilities compared with model mice/rats,as assessed by Morris water maze,and showed similar efficacy as donepezil.Subgroup analyses showed that low,medium,and high doses resulted in no obvious dose-dependent effects.Additionally,the GAPT group had significantly reduced expression levels of amyloid-beta peptide,presenilin 1,phosphorylated tau,acetylcholinesterase,and glycogen synthase kinase-3b,but increased expression levels of Shank1,and protein phosphatase-2A,and improved synapses structures compared with the model group,and subgroup analyses showed the medium dose of GAPT was superior to the low and high doses.Conclusions:Based on the pooled analysis,GAPT improved the learning and memory abilities and regulated the expression levels of related proteins during the progression of AD in mouse/rat studies.Notably,the medium dose of GAPT exhibited better performance than the other two doses,providing experimental evidence for further applications of GAPT during clinical practice.

In silico design of anti-tumor mini-protein targeting MDM2

We designed a disulfide-crosslinked mini-protein with a two-helical topology consisting of L-and Damino acids,which was exceptionally stable in serum.Therefore,we further used it as a scaffold to design mini-proteins targeting p53 positive tumor cells.Based on bifunctional grafting,key residues from the transactivation domain of p53 and a designed unnatural amino acid were grafted into the helix constituted by L-amino acids to confer the mini-protein with MDM2 inhibitory activity.Meanwhile,ten Arg residues were introduced to improve its membrane penetrating capacity.Among the mini-proteins,UPROL-10e showed nano-molar binding affinity on MDM2 and cellular toxicity on p53 expressing HCT116cells.

Separation and recovery of scandium and titanium from red mud leaching liquor through a neutralization precipitation-acid leaching approach

Selective recovery of scandium and titanium from red mud leaching solution was achieved through neutralization precipitation followed by acid leaching approach.In the neutralization precipitation section,the effects of pH,temperature and reaction time on metal precipitation efficiency were investigated.Under the optimal co ndition,the precipitation efficiencies of scandium and titanium were 93.74%and 99.47%,respectively.In the acid leaching section,the effects of acidity,temperature,reaction time,and raffinate to acid solution ratio on leaching efficiency were investigated.Under the optimal condition,the leaching efficiencies of scandium and titanium were 99.97%and 5.44%,respectively.The loss of scandium and titanium were 6.3%and 5.9%,respectively.Compared with the traditional extraction procedure of scandium in red mud,this method could separate titanium from scandium effectively,which is beneficial for the purification of the products and improvement of value of the metal.

A combination extract of Renshen(Panax Ginseng),Yinyanghuo(Herba Epimedii Brevicornus),Yuanzhi(Radix Palygalae) and Jianghuang(Rhizoma Curcumae Longae) decreases glycogen synthase kinase 3β expression in brain cortex of APPV717I transgenic mice

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the neuroprotective mechanism of combination extract of Renshen(Panax Ginseng),Yinyanghuo(Herba Epimedii Brevicornus),Yuanzhi(Radix Palygalae) and Jianghuang(Rhizoma Curcumae Longae)(GEPT) in treating Alzheimer's disease on the target of glycogen synthase kinase 3β(GSK-3β).METHODS:Three-month-old APPV717I transgenic mice were randomly divided into ten groups(n=12 per group) and intragastrically administrated vehicle or medicines:APP group was given 0.5% CMC,donepezil group was given donepezil(APP + D group)(0.92 mg/kg-1·day-1),and GEPT groups were given small dose of GEPT(APP+Gs group)(0.075 g/kg-1·day-1),medium dose(APP+Gm group)(0.15 g/kg-1·day-1),and large dose(APP+Gl group)(0.30 g/kg-1·day-1) for 4 or 8 months,respectively.Three-month-old C57BL/6J mice as vehicle controls(n=12) were given 0.5% CMC for 4 or 8 months as well.The GSK-3β expression in the cortex of 7-and 11-month-old APPV717I transgenic mice with and without GEPT or donepezil treatment and normal C57BL/6J mice were measured via Western blotting and Immunohistochemistry.RESULTS:Immunohistochemistry analysis showed significant increase of GSK-3β in the cerebral cortex of 7-month-old APP group(compare to control group P=0.003),while the GSK-3β expression of donepezil or GEPT group were all significantly decreased(Donepezil vs APP:P=0.041;Gl vs APP:P= 0.049;Gm vs APP:P=0.029;Gh vs APP:P=0.036).Western blot analysis showed similar results.The densitometric measures of GSK-3β in APP mice increased significantly as compared with the control group(P=0.008).And the GSK-3β expression in donepezil and GEPT groups were all decreased.There was significant difference between Gh group or donepezil group and the control group(P=0.05).Similar findings were shown in the 11-month-old mice in each group,except for greater decrease of GSK-3β in the GEPT group.CONCLUSION:GEPT can effectively decrease the level of GSK-3β expression in the brain cortex of APPV717I transgenic mice,and such effect is more significant in 11-month-old mice.This partially explains the neuroprotecting mechanism of GEPT in preventing and treating of AD.

Separation and recovery of iron and scandium from acid leaching solution of red mud using D201 resin

Red mud is a byproduct of alumina refining of bauxite ores,and is a significant source for extracting scandium.However,a large amount of iron in red mud makes it difficult to recover scandium because Fe(III) and Sc(Ⅲ) have similar physicochemical properties.In this study,a new method was developed for selective separation of iron and scandium in acid leachate of red mud using D201 resin.Theoretical calculations indicate that the ferric species mainly exists as FeCl3 or FeCl4-at chloride concentration above 6.65 mol/L,while scandium still exists as SCl2+,making it possible to selectively separate iron fro m scandium through anion resin adso rption.The factors affecting the adso rption of iron and scandium such as chloride conce ntratio n,resin dosage,adso rption time,and temperature were evaluated in batch experiments,The Langmuir model was successfully applied to both iron and scandium adsorption,and the maximum adsorption capacities of iron and scandium are 147.06 and 0.95 mg/g,respectively,indicating a significant difference between iron and scandium.Raman analysis further demonstrates that the iron is adsorbed onto D201 resin as FeCl4 anion.