Intensified reactive extraction of 4-hydroxypyridine with di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid in 1-octanol by using tributyl phosphate

The efficient separation of amphoteric organic compounds from dilute solutions is of great importance in the industrial field. In the present work, the reactive extractions of 4-hydroxypyridine(4-HP) with tributyl phosphate(TBP), di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid(D2EHPA) and TBP + D2EHPA dissolved in 1-octanol were investigated, respectively. The influences of the initial concentrations of TBP, D2EHPA and TBP + D2EHPA on distribution ratio(D) were discussed, as well as the reactive extraction mechanism were proposed. The obvious intensification effect was observed when the mixture of TBP and D2EHPA was used as extractant. The best extraction conditions were found to be of the molar ratio of D2EHPA and TBP at 2:1 and the equilibrium aqueous pH at 3.50-4.50. D values increased with the increase of the total concentration of TBP and D2EHPA in 1-octanol. Especially, the analysis on the extraction mechanisms clearly indicate(i) TBP in 1-octanol shows negligible reactive extraction toward 4-HP,(ii) D2EHPA in 1-octanol exhibits moderate extraction effect by forming 4-HP:D2EHPA(1:1) and 4-HP:2D2EHPA(1:2) type complexes, while(iii) D2EHPA in TBP/1-octanol demonstrates the maximum distribution ratio with the 4-HP:D2EHPA(1:1) type complex domination. The discussion provides new insights on the mechanism and opens a new way for the intensified extraction of amphoteric organic compounds by using the mixture of multiple extractants in the diluent.

Neoadjuvant-intensified treatment for rectal cancer:Time to change?

AIM:To investigate whether neoadjuvant-intensified radiochemotherapy improved overall and disease-free survival in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.METHODS:Between January 2007 and December 2011,80 patients with histologically confirmed rectal adenocarcinoma were enrolled.Tumors were clinically classified as either T3 or T4 and by the N stage based on the presence or absence of positive regional lymph nodes.Patients received intensified combined modality treatment,consisting of neoadjuvant radiation therapy(50.4-54.0 Gy) and infusional chemotherapy(oxaliplatin 50 mg/m 2) on the first day of each week,plus five daily continuous infusions of fluorouracil(200 mg/m 2 per die) from the first day of radiation therapy until radiotherapy completion.Patients received five or six cycles of oxaliplatin based on performance status,clinical lymph node involvement,and potential risk of a non-sphincter-conserving surgical procedure.Surgery was planned 7 to 9 wk after the end of radiochemotherapy treatment;adjuvant chemotherapy treatment was left to the oncologist's discretion and was recommended in patients with positive lymph nodes.After treatment,all patients were monitored every three months for the first year and every six months for the subsequent years.RESULTS:Of the 80 patients enrolled,75 patients completed the programmed neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy treatment.All patients received the radiotherapy prescribed total dose;five patients suspended chemotherapy indefinitely because of chemotherapyrelated toxicity.At least five cycles of oxaliplatin were administered to 73 patients.Treatment was well tolerated with high compliance and a good level of toxicity.Most of the acute toxic effects observed were classified as grades 1-2.Proctitis grade 2 was the most common symptom(63.75%) and the earliest manifestation of acute toxicity.Acute toxicity grades 3-4 was reported in 30% of patients and grade 3 or 4 diarrhoea reported in just three patients(3.75%).Seventy-seven patients underwent surgery;low anterior resection was performed in 52 patients,Miles' surgery in 11 patients and total mesorectal excision in nine patients.Fifty patients showed tumor downsizing ≥ 50% pathological downstaging in 88.00% of tumors.Out of 75 patients surviving surgery,67 patients(89.33%) had some form of downstaging after preoperative treatment.A pathological complete response was achieved in 23.75% of patients and a nearly pathologic complete response(stage ypT1ypN0) in six patients.An involvement of the radial margin was never present.During surgery,intra-abdominal metastases were found in only one patient(1.25%).Initially,45 patients required an abdominoperineal resection due to a tumor distal margin ≤ 5 cm from the anal verge.Of these patients,only seven of them underwent Miles' surgery and sphincter preservation was guaranteed in 84.50% of patients in this subgroup.Fourteen patients received postoperative chemotherapy.In the full analysis of enrolled cohort,eight of the 80 patients died,with seven deaths related to rectal cancer and one to unrelated causes.Local recurrences were observed in seven patients(8.75%) and distant metastases in 17 cases(21.25%).The fiveyear rate of overall survival rate was 90.91%.Using a median follow-up time of 28.5 mo,the cumulative incidence of local recurrences was 8.75%,and the overall survival and disease-free survival rates were 90.00% and 70.00%,respectively.CONCLUSION:The results of this study suggest oxaliplatin chemotherapy has a beneficial effect on overall survival,likely due to an increase in local tumor control.

Advanced treatment of biologically pretreated coking wastewater by intensified zero-valent iron process(IZVI) combined with anaerobic filter and biological aerated filter(AF/BAF)

Experiments were conducted to investigate the behavior of the sequential system of intensified zero-valent iron process(IZVI) and anaerobic filter and biological aerated filter(AF/BAF) reactors for advanced treatment of biologically pretreated coking wastewater. Particular attention was paid to the performance of the integrated system for the removal of chemical oxygen demand(COD), ammonia nitrogen(NH3-N) and total nitrogen(TN). The average removal efficiencies of COD, NH3-N and TN were 76.28%, 96.76% and 59.97%, with the average effluent mass concentrations of 56, 0.53 and 18.83 mg/L, respectively, reaching the first grade of the national discharge standard. Moreover, the results of gas chromatography/mass spectrum(GC/MS) and gel permeation chromatography(GPC) analysis demonstrated that the refractory organic compounds with high relative molecular mass were partly removed in IZVI process by the function of oxidation-reduction, flocculation and adsorption which could also enhance the biodegradability of the system effluent. The removal efficiencies of NH3-N and TN were achieved mainly in the subsequent AF/BAF reactors by nitrification and denitrification. Overall, the results obtained show that the application of IZVI in combination with AF/BAF is a promising technology for advanced treatment of biologically pretreated coking wastewater.

Removal of disinfection by-products formation potential by biologically intensified process

The removal of disinfection by-products formation potential(DBPFP) in artificially intensified biological activated carbon(IBAC) process which is developed on the basis of traditional ozone granular activated carbon was evaluated. By IBAC removals of 31% and 68% for THMFP and HAAFP were obtained respectively. Under identical conditions, the removals of the same substances were 4% and 32% respectively only by the granular activated carbon(GAC) process. Compared with GAC, the high removal rates of the two formed potential substances were due to the increasing of bioactivity of the media and the synergistic capabilities of biological degradation cooperating with activated carbon adsorption of organic compounds. A clear linear correlation(R 2=0.9562 and R 2=0.9007) between DOC HAAFP removal rate and Empty Bed Contact Time(EBCT) of IBAC process was observed, while that between THMFP removal rate and EBCT of GAC was R 2=0.9782. In addition certain linear correlations between THMFP, HAAFP and UV 254 (R 2=0.855 and R 2=0.7702) were found for the treated water. For IBAC process there are also more advantages such as long backwashing cycle time, low backwashing intensity and prolonging activated carbon lifetime and so on.

VoIP Market Intensified,the Government Control Still Won't Be Unlocked In the Near Future

The traditional telecommunications operator of China has entered into a substantive network construction stage of NGN and new VoIP service in 2006. As the increasing understanding and the consideration of cost to VoIP, VoIP has become more acceptable for CIO of large-scale enterprises. Small and medium-scale enterprises are sensitive to communication cost, but influenced by the maturity of VoIP technology and reduction of VoIP equipment price, the market is intensified. All these drive the VoIP equipment entering into the actual purchase stage and promote the stable growth of VoIP equipment scale.

Gas Absorption and Mass Transfer in a Pore-Array Intensified Tube-in-Tube Microchannel

A pore-array intensified tube-in-tube microchannel(PA-TMC),which is characterized by high throughput and low pressure drop,was developed as a gas–liquid contactor.The sulfite oxidation method was used to determine the oxygen efficiency(φ)and volumetric mass transfer coefficient(k_(L)a)of PA-TMC,and the mass transfer amount per unit energy(ε)was calculated by using the pressure drop.The effects of structural and operating parameters were investigated systematically,and the twophase flow behavior was monitored by using a charge-coupled device imaging system.The results indicated that the gas absorption efficiency and mass transfer performance of the PA-TMC were improved with increasing pore number,flow rate,and number of helical coil turns and decreasing pore size,row number,annular size,annular length,and surface tension.Theφ,εand k La of PA-TMC could reach 31.3%,1.73×10^(-4) mol/J,and 7.0 s-1,respectively.The Sherwood number was correlated with the investigated parameters to guide the design of PA-TMC in gas absorption and mass transfer processes.

Intensified CCD Image Sensor

Work has been done with extending the useful imaging and detection range of CCD.This was accomplished through direct optical coupling and bonding of i-mage intensifiers to the CCD.It has been shown that the useful range of a CCD may be extended two orders of magnitude using these techniques in coupling a microchannel plate image intensifier to the CCD array.All of these works were done with presently available CCD made by China.

In Brief

CNPC achieved a high-quality“Good Start”in Q12024 On April 29,PetroChina Company Limited announced its Q12024 achievements,highlighting coordinated efforts in production and operations,safety and environmental protection,quality improvement and efficiency enhancement,reform and innovation,and green transformation.The Company optimized operations and product mixes,intensified market outreach,and rigorously managed costs.Its oil and gas chains ran safely and efficiently,while new energy and materials sectors witnessed rapid growth.

Chronology of 50 Years of China-Malaysia Diplomatic Relations

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Malaysia.Over the past half century,China and Malaysia have maintained close economic and trade ties and intensified people-to-people exchanges.China and Malaysia are important trade partners and enjoy complementary economic advantages.

Asia-Pacific Regional Economic Cooperation Under the Reshaping of Global Production and Supply Chains

As part of the important trends of the current development of the world economy,the reshaping of global industry and supply chains interacts with the intensified changes unprecedented in the past century in an increasingly close manner.“Benefit-sharing and risk-sharing”,the characteristics of global industry and supply chains,have a profound influence on the distribution of benefits among countries and the effectiveness of global economic governance.

SUMMARIES OF TOP EVENTS IN CHINA AND AFRICA

China Increases Payment Convenience for Foreigners China has recently intensified efforts to enhance the convenience of payment services for foreigners,who primarily rely on bank cards and cash,while mobile payment is emerging as the predominant method of payment in China.

EXCERPTS FROM MAJOR CHINESE MAGAZINES

NEW QUALITY PRODUCTIVE FORCES Outlook Weekly 11 March Faced with increasingly fierce international competition,China’s intensified push to foster new quality productive forces is of great significance in propelling the intelligent,green and highend development of industries,improving the resilience and security of industrial and supply chains,and consolidating the economic recovery momentum.

New Drivers of Development China’s reform and opening up has benefitted Africa in multifarious ways

Joaquim Chissano,former President of Mozambique,has said that Africa has gained much from China’s economic development,particularly due to its reform and opening up policy.China inspires African nations in their quest for national renewal and creates new development prospects through mutually beneficial cooperation.Since the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2000 and the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013,exchanges between the two sides have intensified.Platforms such as the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo and the China International Import Expo have further strengthened this momentum.

Development of Intensified Technologies of Vanadium-Bearing Titanomagnetite Smelting

It was very difficult for the smelting of vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite by blast furnace because the content of TiO2 of blast furnace slag could amount to 20%-25%.After long term development and continuous improvement,special intensified smelting technologies for vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite by blast furnace were obtained and improved gradually.With the improvement of beneficiated material level and equipment level,smelting intensity has been increased gradually and the highest comprehensive smelting intensity reached 1.45 t/（m3·d）.Technical-economic indexes of blast furnace have also been increased remarkably.The highest utilization coefficient exceeded 2.7 t/（m3·d）on the condition that the burden grade was only about 50%.

Impact of prophylactic/preemptive donor lymphocyte infusion and intensified conditioning for relapsed/refractory leukemia:a real-world study

Prophylactic/preemptive donor lymphocyte infusion(p/pDLI)and intensified conditioning have shown promising results in experimental studies of refractory/relapsed acute leukemia(RRAL),but real-world data remain scarce.We conducted a multicenter,population-based analysis of 932 consecutive patients.The three-year leukemia-free survival(LFS)rates were 56%for patients receiving both p/pDLI and intensified myeloablative conditioning(MAC)(intenseMAC)and 30%for those who received neither therapy per landmark analysis.Multivariable analyses were run separately for acute myeloid leukemia(AML)and acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL),and p/pDLI treatment was linked to significantly higher LFS than non-DLI for both AML and ALL patients without increasing the nonrelapse mortality.IntenseMAC was associated with significantly lower relapse and higher LFS than nonintensified MAC despite higher nonrelapse mortality rates in ALL,while there was no impact of intenseMAC observed in AML.p/pDLI achieved superior outcomes in both matched-sibling donor(MSD)and haploidentical donor transplantation,while intenseMAC only influenced MSD outcomes.Data suggest that RRAL patients receiving“total therapy”by way of p/pDLI and intensified conditioning treatment have an improved chance for LFS,with p/pDLI being safer with a more extensive impact relative to intenseMAC.Patients with RRAL can tolerate both interventions and achieve a reasonable outcome.

Intensified bioleaching of low-grade molybdenite concentrate by ferrous sulfate and pyrite

Intensifying effects of ferrous sulfate and pyrite on bioleaching of low-grade molybdenite concentrate were studied in this paper. The experimental results show that the oxidation dissolution of molybdenite can be accelerated with the addition of either ferrous sulfate or pyrite in bi- oleaching medium. Pyrite has better enhancing effect than ferrous sulfate, and the highest molybdenum leaching rate in pyrite-added solutions is 20.85 %, increasing by 12.64 % compared with that in 9 K leaching system. Molybdenum leaching rate does not increase linearly with the increase of the addition of either ferrous sulfate or pyrite in each type solution. Great amounts of [NH4Fe3（SO4）2（OH）6] and [KFe3（SO4）2（OH）6] with different morphologies will be deposited on molybdenite ores when the additions of Fe from ferrous sulfate or pyrite exceed that from 9 K leaching system by 0.5 times, and these deposits hinder the oxidation dissolution of molybdenite to some extent.

Performance optimization of the neutron-sensitive image intensifier used in neutron imaging

As a non-destructive testing technology,neutron imaging plays an important role in various fields,including material science,nuclear engineering,and fundamental science.An imaging detector with a neutron-sensitive image intensifier has been developed and demonstrated to achieve good spatial resolution and timing resolution.However,the influence of the working voltage on the performance of the neutron-sensitive imaging intensifier has not been studied.To optimize the performance of the neutron-sensitive image intensifier at different voltages,experiments have been performed at the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)neutron beamline.The change in the light yield and imaging quality with different voltages has been acquired.It is shown that the image quality benefits from the high gain of the microchannel plate(MCP)and the high accelerating electric field between the MCP and the screen.Increasing the accelerating electric field is more effective than increasing the gain of MCPs for the improvement of the imaging quality.Increasing the total gain of the MCP stack can be realized more effectively by improving the gain of the standard MCP than that of the n MCP.These results offer a development direction for image intensifiers in the future.

Middle and near ultraviolet spectrograph of the Scientific Experimental system in Near SpacE(SENSE)

The Scientific Experimental system in Near SpacE(SENSE)consists of different types of instruments that will be installed on a balloon-based platform to characterize near-space environmental parameters.As one of the main scientific payloads,the middle and near ultraviolet spectrograph(MN-UVS)will provide full spectra coverage from middle ultraviolet(MUV,200−300 nm)to near ultraviolet(NUV,300−400 nm)with a spectral resolution of 2 nm.Its primary mission is to acquire data regarding the UV radiation background of the upper atmosphere.The MN-UVS is made up of six primary components:a fore-optical module,an imaging grating module,a UV intensified focal plane module,a titanium alloy frame,a spectrometer control module,and a data processing module.This paper presents in detail the engineering design of each functional unit of the MN-UVS,as well as the instrument’s radiometric calibration,wavelength calibration,impact test,and low-pressure discharge test.Furthermore,we are able to report ground test and flight test results of high quality,showing that the MN-UVS has a promising future in upcoming near-space applications.

Genome sequencing revealed the red-flower trait candidate gene of a peach landrace

Peach(Prunus persica)is an economically important fruit crop globally and an excellent material for genomic studies.While considerable progress has been made in unveiling trait-associated genes within cultivars and wild relatives,certain novel genes controlling valuable traits in peach landraces,such as the red-flowering gene,remained unclear.In this study,we sequenced and assembled the diploid genome of the red-flower landrace‘Yingzui’(abbreviated as‘RedY’).Multi-omics profiling of red petals of‘RedY’revealed the intensified red coloration associated with anthocyanins accumulation and concurrent decline in f lavonols.This phenomenon is likely attributed to a natural variant of Flavonol Synthase(FLS)harboring a 9-bp exonic insertion.Intriguingly,the homozygous allelic configurations of this FLS variant were only observed in red-flowered peaches.Furthermore,the 9-bp sequence variation tightly associated with pink/red petal color in genome-wide association studies(GWAS)of collected peach germplasm resources.Functional analyses of the FLS variant,purified from procaryotic expression system,demonstrated its diminished enzymatic activity in f lavonols biosynthesis,impeccably aligning with the cardinal trait of red flowers.Therefore,the natural FLS variant was proposed as the best candidate gene for red-f lowering trait in peach.The pioneering unveiling of the red-flowered peach genome,coupled with the identification of the candidate gene,expanded the knowledge boundaries of the genetic basis of peach traits and provided valuable insights for future peach breeding efforts.