Role of iron ore in enhancing gasification of iron coke:Structural evolution,influence mechanism and kinetic analysis

The utilization of iron coke provides a green pathway for low-carbon ironmaking.To uncover the influence mechanism of iron ore on the behavior and kinetics of iron coke gasification,the effect of iron ore on the microstructure of iron coke was investigated.Furthermore,a comparative study of the gasification reactions between iron coke and coke was conducted through non-isothermal thermogravimetric method.The findings indicate that compared to coke,iron coke exhibits an augmentation in micropores and specific surface area,and the micropores further extend and interconnect.This provides more adsorption sites for CO_(2) molecules during the gasification process,resulting in a reduction in the initial gasification temperature of iron coke.Accelerating the heating rate in non-isothermal gasification can enhance the reactivity of iron coke.The metallic iron reduced from iron ore is embedded in the carbon matrix,reducing the orderliness of the carbon structure,which is primarily responsible for the heightened reactivity of the carbon atoms.The kinetic study indicates that the random pore model can effectively represent the gasification process of iron coke due to its rich pore structure.Moreover,as the proportion of iron ore increases,the activation energy for the carbon gasification gradually decreases,from 246.2 kJ/mol for coke to 192.5 kJ/mol for iron coke 15wt%.

Selective catalytic oxidation of NO over iron and manganese oxides supported on mesoporous silica

The selective catalytic oxidation （SCO） of NO was studied on a catalyst consisting of iron-manganese oxide supported on mesoporous silica （MPS） with different Mn/Fe ratios. Effects of the amount of manganese and iron, oxygen, and calcination temperature on NO conversion were also investigated. It was found that the Mn-Fe/MPS catalyst with a Mn/Fe molar ratio of 1 showed the highest activity at the calcination temperature of 400 °C. The results showed that over this catalyst, NO conversion reached 70% under the condition of 280 °C and a space velocity of 5000 h-1. SO2 and H2O had no adverse impact on the reaction activity when the SCO reaction temperature was above 240 °C. In addition, the SCO activity was suppressed gradually in the presence of SO2 and H2O below 240 °C, and such an effect was reversible after heating treatment.

Diffusion and reaction mechanism of limestone and quartz in fluxed iron ore pellet roasting process

The increase to the proportion of fluxed pellets in the blast furnace burden is a useful way to reduce the carbon emissions in the ironmaking process.In this study,the interaction between calcium carbonate and iron ore powder and the mineralization mechanism of fluxed iron ore pellet in the roasting process were investigated through diffusion couple experiments.Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy was used to study the elements’diffusion and phase transformation during the roasting process.The results indicated that limestone decomposed into calcium oxide,and magnetite was oxidized to hematite at the early stage of preheating.With the increase in roasting temperature,the diffusion rate of Fe and Ca was obviously accelerated,while the diffusion rate of Si was relatively slow.The order of magnitude of interdiffusion coefficient of Fe_(2)O_(3)-CaO diffusion couple was 10^(−10) m^(2)·s^(−1) at a roasting temperature of 1200℃for 9 h.Ca_(2)Fe_(2)O_(5) was the initial product in the Fe_(2)O_(3)-CaO-SiO_(2) diffusion interface,and then Ca_(2)Fe_(2)O_(5) continued to react with Fe_(2)O_(3) to form CaFe_(2)O_(4).With the expansion of the diffusion region,the sillico-ferrite of calcium liquid phase was produced due to the melting of SiO_(2) into CaFe_(2)O_(4),which can strengthen the consolidation of fluxed pellets.Furthermore,andradite would be formed around a small part of quartz particles,which is also conducive to the consolidation of fluxed pellets.In addition,the principle diagram of limestone and quartz diffusion reaction in the process of fluxed pellet roasting was discussed.

Iron and ferritin effects on intensive care unit mortality:A metaanalysis

BACKGROUND The effect of serum iron or ferritin parameters on mortality among critically ill patients is not well characterized.AIM To determine the association between serum iron or ferritin parameters and mortality among critically ill patients.METHODS Web of Science,Embase,PubMed,and Cochrane Library databases were searched for studies on serum iron or ferritin parameters and mortality among critically ill patients.Two reviewers independently assessed,selected,and abstracted data from studies reporting on serum iron or ferritin parameters and mortality among critically ill patients.Data on serum iron or ferritin levels,mortality,and demographics were extracted.RESULTS Nineteen studies comprising 125490 patients were eligible for inclusion.We observed a slight negative effect of serum ferritin on mortality in the United States population[relative risk(RR)1.002;95%CI:1.002-1.004].In patients with sepsis,serum iron had a significant negative effect on mortality(RR=1.567;95%CI:1.208-1.925).CONCLUSION This systematic review presents evidence of a negative correlation between serum iron levels and mortality among patients with sepsis.Furthermore,it reveals a minor yet adverse impact of serum ferritin on mortality among the United States population.

Responses of growth performance,antioxidant function,small intestinal morphology and mRNA expression of jejunal tight junction protein to dietary iron in yellow-feathered broilers

This study aimed to investigate the dose-effect of iron on growth performance,antioxidant function.intestinal morphology,and mRNA expression of jejunal tight junction protein in 1-to21-d-old yellow-feathered broilers.A total of 7201-d-old yellow-feathered maleb roilers were allocated to 9 treatments with 8 replicate cages of 10 birds per cage.The dietary treatments were consisted of a basal diet(contained 79.6 mg Fe kg^(-1))supplemented with 0,20,40,60,80,160,320,640,and 1,280 mg Fe kg^(-1)in the form of FeSO_(4)·7H_(2)O.Compared with the birds in the control group,birds supplemented with 20mg Fe kg^(-1)had higher average daily gain(ADG)(P<0.0001).Adding 640 and 1,280 mg Fe kg^(-1)significantly decreased ADG(P<0.0001)and average daily feed intake(ADFI)(P<0.0001)compared with supplementation of 20mg Fe kg^(-1).Malondialdehyde(MDA)concentration in plasma and duodenum increased linearly(P<0.0001),but MDA concentration in liver and jejunum increased linearly(P<0.05)or quadratically(P<0.05)with increased dietary Fe concentration.The villus height(VH)in duodenum and jejunum,and the ratio of villus height to crypt depth(V/C)in duodenum decreased linearly(P?0.05)as dietary Feincreased.As dietary Fe increased,the jejunal relative mRNA abundance of claudin-1 decreased linearly(P=0.001),but the jejunal relative mRNA abundance of zona occludens-1(ZO-1)and occludin decreased linearly(P?0.05)or quadratically(P?0.05).Compared with the supplementation of 20 mg Fe kg^(-1),the supplementation of640 mg Fe kg^(-1)or higher increased(P?0.05)MDA concentrations in plasma,duodenum,and jejunum,decreased VH in the duodenum and jejunum,and the addition of 1,280 mg Fe kg^(-1)reduced(P?0.05)the jejunal tight junction protein(claudin-1,ZO-1,occludin)mRNA abundance.In summary,640 mg of supplemental Fe kg^(-1)or greater was associated with decreased growth performance,increased oxidative stress,disrupted intestinal morphology,and reduced mRNA expression of jejunal tight junction protein.

Covalency competition induced selective bond breakage and surface reconstruction in manganese cobaltite towards enhanced electrochemical charge storage

Manganese cobaltite(MnCo_(2)_(4))is a promising electrode material because of its attractive redox chemistry and excellent charge storage capability.Our previous work demonstrated that the octahedrally-coordinated Mn are prone to react with the hydroxyl ions in alkaline electrolyte upon electrochemical cycling and separates on the surface of spinel to reconstruct into d-MnO_(2) nanosheets irreversibly,thus results in a change of the reaction mechanism with Kþion intercalation.However,the low capacity has greatly limited its practical application.Herein,we found that the tetrahedrally-coordinated Co_(2) þions were leached when MnCo_(2)_(4) was equilibrated in 1 mol L^(-1) HCl solution,leading to the formation of layered CoOOH on MnCo_(2)_(4) surface which is originated from the covalency competition induced selective breakage of the CoT–O bond in CoT–O–CoO and subsequent rearrangement of free Co_(6) octahedra.The as-formed CoOOH is stable upon cycling in alkaline electrolyte,exhibits conversion reaction mechanism with facile proton diffusion and is free of massive structural evolution,thus enables utilization of the bulk electrode material and realizes enhanced specific capacity as well as facilitated charge transfer and ion diffusion.In general,our work not only offers a feasible approach to deliberate modification of MnCo_(2)_(4)'s surface structure,but also provides an in-depth understanding of its charge storage mechanism,which enables rational design of the spinel oxides with promising charge storage properties.

Effect of safety valve types on the gas venting behavior and thermal runaway hazard severity of large-format prismatic lithium iron phosphate batteries

The safety valve is an important component to ensure the safe operation of lithium-ion batteries(LIBs).However,the effect of safety valve type on the thermal runaway(TR)and gas venting behavior of LIBs,as well as the TR hazard severity of LIBs,are not known.In this paper,the TR and gas venting behavior of three 100 A h lithium iron phosphate(LFP)batteries with different safety valves are investigated under overheating.Compared to previous studies,the main contribution of this work is in studying and evaluating the effect of gas venting behavior and TR hazard severity of LFP batteries with three safety valve types.Two significant results are obtained:(Ⅰ)the safety valve type dominates over gas venting pressure of battery during safety venting,the maximum gas venting pressure of LFP batteries with a round safety valve is 3320 Pa,which is one order of magnitude higher than other batteries with oval or cavity safety valve;(Ⅱ)the LFP battery with oval safety valve has the lowest TR hazard as shown by the TR hazard assessment model based on gray-fuzzy analytic hierarchy process.This study reveals the effect of safety valve type on TR and gas venting,providing a clear direction for the safety valve design.

An Integrated Analysis on the Synergistic Reduction of Carbon and Pollution Emissions from China’s Iron and Steel Industry

Decarbonization and decontamination of the iron and steel industry(ISI),which contributes up to 15%to anthropogenic CO_(2) emissions(or carbon emissions)and significant proportions of air and water pollutant emissions in China,are challenged by the huge demand for steel.Carbon and pollutants often share common emission sources,indicating that emission reduction could be achieved synergistically.Here,we explored the inherent potential of measures to adjust feedstock composition and technological structure and to control the size of the ISI to achieve carbon emission reduction(CER)and pollution emission reduction(PER).We investigated five typical pollutants in this study,namely,petroleum hydrocarbon pollutants and chemical oxygen demand in wastewater,particulate matter,SO_(2),and NO_(x) in off gases,and examined synergies between CER and PER by employing cross elasticity for the period between 2022 and 2035.The results suggest that a reduction of 8.7%-11.7%in carbon emissions and 20%-31%in pollution emissions(except for particulate matter emissions)could be achieved by 2025 under a high steel scrap ratio(SSR)scenario.Here,the SSR and electric arc furnace(EAF)ratio serve critical roles in enhancing synergies between CER and PER(which vary with the type of pollutant).However,subject to a limited volume of steel scrap,a focused increase in the EAF ratio with neglection of the available supply of steel scrap to EAF facilities would lead to an increase carbon and pollution emissions.Although CER can be achieved through SSR and EAF ratio optimization,only when the crude steel production growth rate remains below 2.2%can these optimization measures maintain the emissions in 2030 at a similar level to that in 2021.Therefore,the synergistic effects between PER and CER should be considered when formulating a development route for the ISI in the future.

Effects of Potassium and Manganese Promoters on Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotube-Supported Iron Catalysts for CO_2 Hydrogenation

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes （NCNTs） were used as a support for iron （Fe） nanoparticles applied in car- bon dioxide （CO_2） hydrogenation at 633 K and 25 bar （1 bar = 10-5 Pa）. The Fe/NCNT catalyst promoted with both potassium （K） and manganese （Mn） showed high performance in CO_2 hydrogenation, reaching 34.9% conversion with a gas hourly space velocity （GHSV） of 3.1 L-（g·h）-1. Product selectivities were high for olefin products and low for short-chain alkanes for the K-promoted catalysts. When Fe/NCNT catalyst was promot- ed with both K and Mn, the catalytic activity was stable for 60 h of reaction time. The structural effect of the Mn promoter was demonstrated by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, temperature-programmed reduction （TPR） with molecular hydrogen （H2）, and in situ X-ray absorption near-edge structure （XANES） analysis. The Mn pro- moter stabilized wtistite （FeO） as an intermediate and lowered the TPR onset temperature. Catalytic ammo- nia （NH_3） decomposition was used as an additional probe reaction for characterizing the promoter effects. The Fe/NCNT catalyst promoted with both K and Mn had the highest catalytic activity, and the Mn-promoted Fe/NCNT catalysts had the highest thermal stability under reducing conditions.

Soil Manganese and Iron Released due to Calcium Salts:Bioavailability to Pepper (Capsicum frutescens L.)

Releases of manganese and iron ions from an albic soil (Albic-Udic Luvisol), a yellow-red soil (Hap-Udic Ferrisol) and a yellow-brown soil (Arp-Udic Luvisol) induced by calcium salt addition and their bioavailability to pepper (Capsicum frutescens L.) were studied in a pot experiment. Addition of Ca(NO3)2 decreased soil pH and increased both exchangeable and DTPA (diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid)-extractable Mn and Fe in soils. Meanwhile, total Mn accumulation in the shoots of Capsicum frutescens L. on the salt-treated soils increased significantly (P ＜ 0.01) compared with the control, suggesting that salt addition to soil induced Mn toxicity in Capsicum frutescens L. Although exchangeable and DTPA-extractable Fe increased also in the salt-treated soils, Fe uptake by the shoots of Capsicum frutescens L. decreased. The effect of added salts in soils on dry matter weight of pepper varied with the soil characteristics, showing different buffer capacities of the soils for salt toxicity in an order of yellow-brown soil ＞ albic soil ＞ yellow-red soil. Fe/Mn ratio in shoots of Capsicum frutescens L. decreased with increasing salt addition for all the soils, which was ascribed to the antagonistic effect of Mn on Fe accumulation. The ratio of Fe/Mn in the tissue was a better indicator of the appearance of Mn toxicity symptoms than Mn concentration alone.

Transformation of Iron and Manganese in Variable Charge Soils Caused by Submergence

Two variable charge soils were submerged after the addition of 30g/kg of organic matter to examine the differences in behavior between iron and manganese with respect to reduction and the distribution of different forms of the reduced elements. The reduction of manganese proceeded almost synchronously with the fall in redox potential, while the reduction of iron showed a remarkable lag behind the Eh change. Once formed,the distribution of water-soluble, exchangeable and precipitated forms of ferrous iron was controlled by PH,CEC of the soil and total concentration of the element. For manganous ions, the proportions of water-soluble and exchangeable forms in total Mn(2+) were larger than those for ferrous ions. The reduction of the two elements led to a mobilization of them, and such effect persisted even after drying of the soil, i.e.,the content of amorphous Fe became higher than that of the original soil.

Enhanced recovery of high-purity Fe powder from iron-rich electrolytic manganese residue by slurry electrolysis

Iron-rich electrolytic manganese residue(IREMR)is an industrial waste produced during the processing of electrolytic metal manganese,and it contains certain amounts of Fe and Mn resources and other heavy metals.In this study,the slurry electrolysis technique was used to recover high-purity Fe powder from IREMR.The effects of IREMR and H2SO4 mass ratio,current density,reaction temper-ature,and electrolytic time on the leaching and current efficiencies of Fe were studied.According to the results,high-purity Fe powder can be recovered from the cathode plate,and the slurry electrolyte can be recycled.The leaching efficiency,current efficiency,and purity of Fe reached 92.58%,80.65%,and 98.72wt%,respectively,at a 1:2.5 mass ratio of H2SO4 and IREMR,reaction temperature of 60℃,electric current density of 30 mA/cm^(2),and reaction time of 8 h.In addition,vibrating sample magnetometer(VSM)analysis showed that the coercivity of electrolytic iron powder was 54.5 A/m,which reached the advanced magnetic grade of electrical pure-iron powder(DT4A coercivity standard).The slurry electrolytic method provides fundamental support for the industrial application of Fe resource recovery in IRMER.

Effect of Manganese on As-Cast Microstructure and Hardening Behavior of High Chromium White Cast Iron

The effect of manganese on the as-cast structure and hardening behavior of high chromium white cast iron subjected to sub-critical treatment was studied.The results indicate that the fraction of retained austenite and the manganese distribution in as-cast alloys are controlled by manganese content.The manganese distribution in as-cast alloys is not homogeneous.The manganese content in carbide is higher than that in matrix.Whether the secondary hardening occurs or not and the peak hardness of secondary hardening is controlled by manganese content in retained austenite in as-cast structure.Higher manganese content can cause more retained austenite.The secondary hardening occurs in sub-critical treating process if the fraction of retained austenite is high.

Simultaneous Determination of Iron and Manganese in Water Using Artificial Neural Network Catalytic Spectrophotometric Method

A new analytical method using Back-Propagation (BP) artificial neural network and kinetic spectrophotometry for simultaneous determination of iron and magnesium in tap water, the Yellow River water and seawater is established. By conditional experiments, the optimum analytical conditions and parameters are obtained. Levenberg-Marquart (L-M) algorithm is used for calculation in BP neural network. The topological structure of three-layer BP ANN network architecture is chosen as 15-16-2 (nodes). The initial value of gradient coefficient μ is fixed at 0.001 and the increase factor and reduction factor of μ take the default values of the system. The data are processed by computers with our own programs written in MATLAB 7.0. The relative standard deviation of the calculated results for iron and manganese is 2.30% and 2.67% respectively. The results of standard addition method show that for the tap water, the recoveries of iron and manganese are in the ranges of 98.0%-104.3% and 96.5%-104.5%, and the RSD is in the range of 0.23%-0.98%; for the Yellow River water (Lijin district of Shandong Province), the recoveries of iron and manganese are in the ranges of 96.0%-101.0% and 98.7%-104.2%, and the RSD is in the range of 0.13%-2.52%; for the seawater in Qingdao offshore, the recoveries of iron and manganese are in the ranges of 95.3%-104.8% and 95.3%-104.7%, and the RSD is in the range of 0.14%-2.66%. It is found that 21 common cations and anions do not interfere with the determination of iron and manganese under the optimum experimental conditions. This method exhibits good reproducibility and high accuracy in the determination of iron and manganese and can be used for the simultaneous determination of iron and manganese in tap water and natural water. By using the established ANN- catalytic spectrophotometric method, the iron and manganese concentrations of the surface seawater at 11 sites in Qingdao offshore are determined and the level distribution maps of iron and manganese are drawn.

Lead and Cadmium Adsorption onto Iron Oxides and Manganese Oxides in the Natural Surface Coatings Collected on Natural Substances in the Songhua River of China

Natural surface coatings collected from natural substances （NSCsNS） were employed to study the roles of the main chemical components （iron oxides, manganese oxides, and other components） in controlling the adsorption of lead（Pb） and cadmium（Cd） in aquatic environments. The selective chemical extraction followed by the adsorption of Pb and Cd experiments and statistical analysis, were used to investigate the adsorption property of each component. Hydroxylamine hydrochloride was used to remove manganese oxides selectively, and sodium dithionite was used to extract iron oxides and manganese oxides. The result indicated that iron oxides and manganese oxides played an important role in the adsorption of Pb and Cd on NSCsNS, and the relative contribution was about two-thirds. The contribution of manganese oxides was the greatest, with a lesser role indicated for other components. The adsorption ability of manganese oxides for Pb and Cd was greater than that of iron oxides or other components for Pb and Cd. The Pb adsorption observed in each component was greater than Cd adsorption.

Study of the Sediments of the Dam of Okpara (Benin): Physico-Chemical Characterization and Speciation of Iron and Manganese

Iron and Manganese contents and parameters including pH, conductivity, and organic matter contents were determined in the sediments of the Okpara dam in Northern Benin. Fifteen samples were collected during a one-month period and analysed in laboratory using the method of sequential extraction of Tessier. The analyses indicated that sediments contained high concentrations in reducible fraction of Iron and relatively high contents of exchangeable fraction, acidhydrolysable fraction and residual fraction of Manganese. The findings of this study confirmed the hypotheses that the meal contents of the sediments were relatively high and varied according to the geochemical phases.

Thermodynamic Behavior of Manganese and Phosphorus between Liquid Iron and CaO-MgO-SiO_2-Al_2O_3-Fe_tO-MnO-P_2O_5 Slags

The thermodynamic behavior of manganese and phosphorus between liquid iron and CaO-MgO-SiO2-Al2O3-FetO-MnO-P2O5 ladle slag system was addressed by investigating the thermodynamic equilibria between liquid iron containing Mn and P and the ladle slag at 1873 K. The Mn distribution ratio L-Mn increases with increasing FetO content and decreasing the basicity ((%CaO + %MgO)/(%SiO2 + %Al2O3 + %P2O5)) in slag, while the P distribution ratio Lp seems to be increased as FetO content and the basicity increases. The values of L-Mn and L-p decrease by the addition of Al2O3 into slag. The expression of the dependence of L-Mn and L-p on the basicity and FetO content in slag was obtained.

Source and level of dietary iron influence semen quality by affecting inflammation, oxidative stress and iron utilization levels in boars

Background Boars fed a mixed form of inorganic and organic iron in excess of the NRC recommended levels still develop anemia,which suggested that the current level and form of iron supplementation in boar diets may be inappropriate.Therefore,56 healthy Topeka E line boars aged 15–21 months were randomly divided into 5 groups:basal diet supplemented with 96 mg/kg ferrous sulfate(FeSO_(4))and 54 mg/kg glycine chelated iron(Gly-Fe,control);80 mg/kg or 115 mg/kg Gly-Fe;80 mg/kg or 115 mg/kg methionine hydroxyl analogue chelated iron(MHA-Fe,from CalimetFe)for 16 weeks.The effects of dietary iron supplementation with different sources and levels on semen quality in boars were investigated.Results 1)Serum Fe and hemoglobin concentrations were not affected by reduced dietary iron levels in the 80 mg/kg or 115 mg/kg Gly-Fe and MHA-Fe groups compared with the control group(P>0.05).2)Serum interleukin-6(IL-6)and sperm malondialdehyde(MDA)levels in the 80 mg/kg or 115 mg/kg MHA-Fe groups were lower than those in the control group(P<0.05),and higher serum superoxide dismutase levels and lower MDA levels in the 115 mg/kg MHA-Fe group(P<0.05).3)Boars in the 80 mg/kg or 115 mg/kg Gly-Fe and MHA-Fe groups had lower serum hepcidin(P<0.01),ferritin(P<0.05),and transferrin receptor(P<0.01)concentrations,and boars in the 115 mg/kg MHA-Fe group had higher seminal plasma Fe concentrations compared with the control group.4)Boars in the 80 mg/kg and 115 mg/kg MHA-Fe groups had lower abnormal sperm rate and in situ oscillating sperm ratio compared to the control group at weeks 12 and/or 16 of the trial.However,the effect of Gly-Fe on improving semen quality in boars was not evident.5)Serum IL-6 level was positively correlated with hepcidin concentration(P<0.05),which in turn was significantly positively correlated with abnormal sperm rate(P<0.05).Furthermore,significant correlations were also found between indicators of iron status and oxidative stress and semen quality parameters.Conclusions Dietary supplementation with 80 mg/kg or 115 mg/kg MHA-Fe did not induce iron deficiency,but rather reduced serum inflammatory levels and hepcidin concentration,alleviated oxidative stress,increased body iron utilization,and improved semen quality in adult boars.

Iron and Heart Failure: Current Concepts and Emerging Pharmacological Paradigms

Background: Emerging evidence has recognized that anemia and iron deficiency are recurrent comorbidities in chronic heart failure (HF) and several trials have established that iron administration improves myocardial asset and clinical scenario in HF. Purpose: Recent acquisitions suggest that iron deficiency represents a concrete bias in the pathogenetic mechanism of chronic HF, so we have investigated the putative role of the hepcidin/ferroportin axis in the cardiovascular setting to advocate novel pharmacological and clinical approaches. Methods: Here, after an excursus on iron metabolism, we first reviewed the ongoing studies on novel iron targeted compounds. Then, we summarize large clinical interventional studies conducted on patient suffering from iron deficiency and HF which have tested the effects of drugging iron regard QoL, hospitalizations and cardiovascular death. Results: Novel compounds such as hepcidin agonist (PTG 300), synthetic human hepcidin (LJPC-401) and anti FPN (Vamifeport) are ongoing in iron overloaded patients, while the hepcidin blocker (PRS-080) is under investigation in anemic patients. Noteworthy, novel insights could arise from the results of a Phase IV interventional study regarding the modification of hepcidin pathway in a large cohort of HF patients (n = 1992) by sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors. To date, several studies highlight the beneficial effect of iron administration in cardiovascular setting and latest evidences consider hepcidin level as a novel biomarker of cardiac injury and atherosclerosis. Conclusions: We advocate that data from ongoing studies will suggest novel iron targeted therapies for diagnosis, prognosis and therapy transferable in selected heart failed patients.

Effects of Copper and Manganese on Hemocyte Apoptosis and Antagonism of Iron and Zinc in Oreochromis niloticus

This study aimed to investigate the effects of copper and manganese on hemocyte apoptosis and the antagonism of iron and zinc in Oreochromis niloticus The heavy metal contents in fish blood and feed were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and the hemocyte apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry. A total of 360 tilapias were selected, and they were divided randomly and evenly into 12 groups. In the challenge groups, the tilapias were fed with con stant-level copper sulfate（0, 200 mg/kg） and manganese sulfate（0, 120 mg/kg）; in the antagonism groups, the tilapias were fed with constant-level zinc sulfate（20320 mg/kg） and iron sulfate（150, 350 mg/kg）. After 20-week aquaculture, the hemocyte apoptosis rates in the copper and manganese groups were significantly increased; with the increased addition levels of iron and zinc, the hemocyte apopto sis rates in the iron and zinc groups were significantly reduced, but they were stil higher than that in the control group. In conclusion, excessive copper and manganese can cause apoptosis in hemocytes of O. niloticus. However, the toxic effects of copper and manganese can be antagonized by iron and zinc.