Progress of polymer reaction engineering:From process engineering to product engineering

Polymer reaction engineering studies the design,operation,and optimization of reactors for industrial scale polymerization,based on the theory of polymerization kinetics and transfer processes(e.g.,flow,heat and mass transfer).Although the foundation and development of this discipline are less than80 years,the global production of polymers has exceeded 400 million tons per annum.It demonstrates that polymer reaction engineering is of vital importance to the polymer industry.Along with the matu rity of production processes and market saturation for bulk polymers,emerging industries such as information technology,modern transportation,biomedicine,and new energy have continued to develop.As a result,the research objective for polymer reaction engineering has gradually shifted from maximizing the efficiency of the polymerization process to the precise regulation of high-end product-oriented macro molecules and their aggregation structures,i.e.,from polymer process engineering to polymer product engineering.In this review,the frontiers of polymer reaction engineering are introduced,including the precise regulation of polymer chain structure,the control of primary aggregation structure,and the rational design of polymer products.We narrow down the topic to the polymerization reaction engineering of vinyl monomers.Moreover,the future prospects are provided for the field of polymer reaction engineering.

Effects of Angelica sinensis extracts on lipid oxidation in fish feeds and growth performance of juvenile Jian carp(Cyprinus carpio var. Jian)

The study was to explore the effect of the extracts of Angelica sinensis(EAs) on lipid oxidation in fish feeds compared with ethoxyquin(EQ) and the effect of dietary EAs on growth performance of carp(Cyprinus carpio var. Jian). Firstly, fish feeds were respectively added with EQ, and ethyl ether extract ethyl acetate extract(EAE), acetone extract, ethanol extract(EE) and aqueous extract(AQE) of Angelica sinensis, except for the control. The results showed that EAs and EQ inhibited lipid oxidation in fish feed(P < 0.05). Of all of the examined EAs, EAE showed the strongest protective effects against lipid oxidation(P < 0.05). Moreover, EAE at high concentrations showed a stronger effect on lipid oxidation compared with EQ(P < 0.05). Then, 7 experimental diets respectively supplemented with 0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0 g/kg of EAE were fed to the respective treatment groups for 30 d. Four replicates were performed for each treatment group; 20 carp(mean weight: 12.10 ± 0.13 g) were in each replicate. The result indicated that dietary EAE improved the growth performance in carp(P < 0.05). The appropriate con centration of EAE for carp growth was estimated to be 3.643 g/kg diet. Thus, EAE could be used as a natural antioxidant in feeds for Jian carp.

Arsenic trioxide elicits prophylactic and therapeutic immune responses against solid tumors by inducing necroptosis and ferroptosis

Boosting tumor immunosurveillance with vaccines has been proven to be a feasible and cost-effective strategy to fight cancer. Although major breakthroughs have been achieved in preventative tumor vaccines targeting oncogenic viruses, limited advances have been made in curative vaccines for virus-irrelevant malignancies. Accumulating evidence suggests that preconditioning tumor cells with certain cytotoxic drugs can generate whole-cell tumor vaccines with strong prophylactic activities. However, the immunogenicity of these vaccines is not sufficient to restrain the outgrowth of existing tumors. In this study, we identified arsenic trioxide (ATO) as a wide-spectrum cytotoxic and highly immunogenic drug through multiparameter screening. ATO preconditioning could generate whole-cell tumor vaccines with potent antineoplastic effects in both prophylactic and therapeutic settings. The tumor-preventive or tumor-suppressive benefits of these vaccines relied on CD8^(+) T cells and type I and II interferon signaling and could be linked to the release of immunostimulatory danger molecules. Unexpectedly, following ATO-induced oxidative stress, multiple cell death pathways were activated, including autophagy, apoptosis, necroptosis, and ferroptosis. CRISPR‒Cas9-mediated knockout of cell death executors revealed that the absence of Rip3, Mlkl, or Acsl4 largely abolished the efficacy of ATO-based prophylactic and therapeutic cancer vaccines. This therapeutic failure could be rescued by coadministration of danger molecule analogs. In addition, PD-1 blockade synergistically improved the therapeutic efficacy of ATO-based cancer vaccines by augmenting local IFN-γ production.

The metabolic switch of cancer From the 2016 Sino-US Symposium on Cancer Metabolism, Chongqing, P.R. China, October 10e11, 2016

Although remarkable progress has been made in oncology research,cancer is still a leading cause of death worldwide.It is well recognized that cancer is a genetic disease,yet metabolic alterations or reprogramming are the major phenotypes associated with the(epi-)genetic modifications of cancer cells.Thus,understanding the metabolic changes of tumor cells will facilitate the diagnosis of cancer,alleviate drug resistance and provide novel druggable targets that can lead to cures for cancer.The first Sino-US Symposium on Cancer Metabolism was held in Chongqing on October 10th and 11th,with the theme of“cancer metabolism and precision cancer therapy”.The symposium brought about a dozen keynote speakers each from the US and China's Mainland,as well as one hundred delegates with an interest in cancer metabolism.This short article will briefly summarize the advances reported during this meeting.