Using the mixture of air and steam as gasification medium, three different rank coal partial gasification studies were carried out in a bench-scale atmospheric fluidized bed with the various operating parameters. The effects of air/coal (Fa/Fc) ratio, steam/coal (Fs/Fc) ratio, bed temperature, and coal rank on the fuel gas compositions and the high heating value (HHV) were reported in this paper. The results show that there is an optimal Fa/Fc ratio and Fs/Fc ratio for coal partial gasification. A rise of bed temperature favors the semigasification reaction of coal, but the concentrations of carbon monoxide and methane and the HHV decrease with the rise of bed temperature, except hydrogen. In addition, the gas HHVs are between 2.2 and 3.4 MJ/Nm 3 . The gas yield and carbon conversion increase with Fa/Fc ratio, Fs/Fc ratio, and bed temperature, while they decrease with the rise of the rank of coal.

Background Borojó (Borojoa patinoi Cuatrec) fruit has recently been shown to have a variety of health benefit, but the mechanisms have been little studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of 4,8-dicarboxyl-8,9-iridoid-1-glycoside (388) on proliferation and differentiation of embryonic neural stem cells (NSCs). Methods NSCs were treated with 388 and stem cell differentiation was determined by western blotting and immunofluorescence staining. The role of MeCP2 in 388-mediated embryonic NSCs differentiation was examined. Results The results showed that in the presence of mitogen when NSCs proliferated and maintained their multipotency, treatment with 388 did not affect the viability of NSCs. Following mitogen withdrawal to initiate NSC differentiation, treatment with 388 at the doses of 10 and 50 μg/mL significantly increased neural differentiation in both cortex and spinal cord-derived culture. 388 also significantly up-regulated MeCP2 expression. The expression of the neuronal and oligodendrocytic markers was enhanced after addition of 388 in the differentiation culture. However, knockdown of MeCP2 results in inhibition of NSC differentiation, and the pro-differentiation effect of 388 was mostly abolished. Conclusions This study confirmed that 388 stimulates differentiation of NSCs and identifies its mechanism of action by upregulating MeCP2.

Background and purpose: Postoperative fatigue (POF) is a common and distressing post-operative symptom. This study aimed to explore the relationship between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and POF in elderly patients with hip fracture.Method: Elderly patients (age ≥ 65 years) with acute hip fracture admitted to the Department of Orthopedics of Anqing Hospital affiliated to Anhui Medical University from June 2018 to June 2020 were included. Fatigue was assessed using the Fatigue Severity Scale at the 3-month follow-up postoperatively. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to explore the associations between NLR and POF. The diagnostic performance of NLR was analysed using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and the Delong test.Result: A total of 321 elderly patients with hip fractures were included; 120 (37.4%) of them were diagnosed with POF. Univariate analysis indicated significant differences in NLR, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), education, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) scores (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis indicated neutrophil count (odds ratio [OR], 1.46; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.27–1.67), lymphocyte count (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.19–0.53), NLR (OR1.81, 95% CI 1.50–2.17) and PLR (OR 1.005, 95% CI 1.001–1.009) were significantly associated with POF. The areas under the ROC curves (AUCs) of neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, NLR and PLR were 0.712, 0.667, 0.775 and 0.605, respectively. The Delong test indicated that NLR had the best diagnostic performance (p < 0.05).Conclusion: NLR independently predicts POF in elderly patients with acute hip fracture.