Neutral Properties Research Articles

Mechanisms of swelling inhibition and seepage promotion of weathered crust elution-deposited rare earth ore by hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose

In-situ leaching process of weathered crust elution-deposited rare earth ore (WCE-DREO) often faces problems such as poor permeability and occurrence of landslides. The main reasons are the swelling of clay minerals by water absorption and blockage of seepage channels by fine particles. This study proposed using hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) as a novel green swelling inhibitor with the combination of ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4) as an efficient composite leaching agent. The swelling inhibition performance of HPMC on swelling inhibition was evaluated through linear swelling tests and mud ball immersion tests. The mechanisms of HPMC on swelling inhibition and seepage promotion were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Surface area analysis (BET), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and the contact angle, zeta potential and particle size distribution were characterized. The results indicated that HPMC showed a good performance on swelling inhibition, which improved with the increase of HPMC concentration. HPMC expels the water from the interlayer. Moreover, HPMC adsorbs onto the surface of clay minerals by hydrogen bonding to form a hydrophobic film, which can prevent the clay minerals from hydration swelling. Due to the electric neutrality property of HPMC, the electrostatic repulsion of clay minerals can be reduced. Therefore, the fine particles of the clay minerals can be bridged to form larger particles by the long carbon chain of HPMC which leads to expansion of the seepage channels as well as the improvement of the permeability of the ores. According to the column leaching tests, the novel leaching agent composed of 0.05 wt% HPMC and 2 wt% (NH4)2SO4 not only showed a good leaching capacity of rare earth, but also inhibited the swelling of clay and enhanced the seepage when comparing with traditional leaching agent ((NH4)2SO4). Developing a novel leaching agent benefits the green, safe and high-efficiency exploitation of WCE-DREO.

H2-rich gas production from wood biomass air-steam gasification over a multifunctional Ni1.5Ca4.0Mn1.0Ox catalyst derived from biomaterial

Solid waste is a vexing and widespread issue, especially in urban and rural areas, where waste wood and eggshells generate significant pollution. Wood-based biomass features high-quality carbon neutral energy source properties, and discarded eggshells can be employed to develop a calcium-based multifunctional catalyst for wood gasification, thereby converting the waste into green hydrogen. In this work, an oxygen-rich vacancy (82.1%) Ni1.5Ca4.0Mn1.0Ox catalyst with a dual pore size nanostructure was derived from waste eggshell and demonstrated anti-coking, CO oxidation, CO2 fixation and high performance in H2-rich gas production during wood air-steam gasification. The mechanism for removing carbon deposition was based on the transfer of carbon species on Ni metal surfaces by using Mn and Ca substances. The behavior of wood non-catalytic gasification and catalytic gasification were quantitatively analyzed and compared on a time scale. Effects of temperature, duration time, and steam/biomass mass ratio were studied to determine the optimal gasification conditions. Catalytic gasification achieved an increase of 32.3% and 5.42 of H2 proportion and H2/CO as well as a decline of 8.51% of CO and 21.05% of CO2 contents when compared to non-catalytic air-steam gasification. This work might provide an innovative perspective on using waste to generate green hydrogen.

Neutrophil membrane fusogenic nanoliposomal leonurine for targeted ischemic stroke therapy via remodeling cerebral niche and restoring blood-brain barrier integrity.

Ischemic stroke (IS) constitutes the leading cause of global morbidity and mortality. Neuroprotectants are essential to ameliorate the clinical prognosis, but their therapeutic outcomes are tremendously compromised by insufficient delivery to the ischemic lesion and intricate pathogenesis associated with neuronal damage, oxidative stress, inflammation responses, blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction, etc. Herein, a biomimetic nanosystem (Leo@NM-Lipo) composed of neutrophil membrane-fused nanoliposomal leonurine (Leo) is constructed, which can not only efficiently penetrate and repair the disrupted BBB but also robustly remodel the harsh cerebral microenvironment to reverse ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. More specifically, the neutrophil membrane inherits the BBB penetrating, infarct core targeting, inflammation neutralization, and immune evasion properties of neutrophils, while Leo, a naturally occurring neuroprotectant, exerts pleiotropic effects to attenuate brain damage. Remarkably, comprehensive investigations disclose the critical factors influencing the targetability and therapeutic performances of biomimetic nanosystems. Leo@NM-Lipo with a low membrane protein-to-lipid ratio of 1:10 efficiently targets the ischemic lesion and rescues the injured brain by alleviating neuronal apoptosis, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and restoring BBB integrity in transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) rats. Taken together, our study provides a neutrophil-mimetic nanoplatform for targeted IS therapy and sheds light on the rational design of biomimetic nanosystems favoring wide medical applications.

Generalized R′-Implications: A Hyper Class of R- and R′-Implications

In this paper, generalized R ′ -implications are introduced and studied. Although they are not always fuzzy implications, the sufficient and necessary condition such that a generalized R ′ -operation is a fuzzy implication is discovered and proved. The satisfaction or violation of some basic properties of fuzzy implications, such as the left neutrality property, the identity principle, and the left ordering property, is also investigated and presented. The intersections among the classes of generalized R ′ -implications (respectively, operations), R-implications, and R ′ -implications (respectively, operations) are also studied. It is demonstrated that the generalized R ′ -implications class is a hyper class of the known R- and R ′ -implications classes. This research also completes the investigation into R ′ -operations and improves the outcomes of the intersection of R- and R ′ -implications.

SARS-CoV-2 Binding and Neutralization Properties of Peptides Derived from N-Terminus of Human ACE2.

The binding properties of synthetic and recombinant peptides derived from N-terminal part of ACE2, the main receptor for SARS-CoV-2, were evaluated. Additionally, the ability of these peptides to prevent virus entry in vitro was addressed using both pseudovirus particles decorated with the S protein, as well as through infection of Vero cells with live SARS-CoV-2 virus. Surprisingly, in spite of effective binding to S protein, all linear peptides of various lengths failed to neutralize the viral infection in vitro. However, the P1st peptide that was chemically "stapled" in order to stabilize its alpha-helical structure was able to interfere with virus entry into ACE2-expressing cells. Interestingly, this peptide also neutralized pseudovirus particles decorated with S protein derived from the Omicron BA.1 virus, in spite of variations in key amino acid residues contacting ACE2.

-implications on finite scales

Fuzzy implications, as a kind of fuzzy logical connectives, play an important role both in the theory and applications involving fuzzy sets and systems. Accordingly, the theoretical study of various fuzzy implications generated by common aggregation operators has become an attractive topic, especially on finite scales. In this paper, we analyse residual implications induced from discrete overlap functions latest proposed by the author, which belong to the category of discrete implications. Explicitly, in the beginning, we present the definition of residual implications generated by discrete overlap functions ▪ and call them ▪-implications. In the next place, we analyse a number of elementary properties of ▪-implications. Most of all, it proves that ▪-implications satisfy most of algebraic properties of discrete implications spontaneously, such as the left neutrality property, identity principle, ordering property, etc., which are different from the circumstance on other truth values sets. At last, via ▪-implications, we reveal correlations of discrete implications and discrete quasi-overlap functions extended from discrete overlap functions.

Measurement report: Molecular-level investigation of atmospheric cluster ions at the tropical high-altitude research station Chacaltaya (5240 m a.s.l.) in the Bolivian Andes

Abstract. Air ions are the key components for a series of atmospheric physicochemical interactions, such as ion-catalyzed reactions, ion-molecule reactions, and ion-induced new particle formation (NPF). They also control atmospheric electrical properties with effects on global climate. We performed molecular-level measurements of cluster ions at the high-altitude research station Chacaltaya (CHC; 5240 m a.s.l.), located in the Bolivian Andes, from January to May 2018 using an atmospheric-pressure-interface time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The negative ions mainly consisted of (H2SO4)0–3⚫HSO4-, (HNO3)0–2⚫NO3-, SO5-, (NH3)1–6⚫(H2SO4)3–7⚫HSO4-, malonic-acid-derived, and CHO / CHON⚫(HSO4- / NO3-) cluster ions. Their temporal variability exhibited distinct diurnal and seasonal patterns due to the changes in the corresponding neutral species' molecular properties (such as electron affinity and proton affinity) and concentrations resulting from the air masses arriving at CHC from different source regions. The positive ions were mainly composed of protonated amines and organic cluster ions but exhibited no clear diurnal variation. H2SO4–NH3 cluster ions likely contributed to the NPF process, particularly during the wet-to-dry transition period and the dry season, when CHC was more impacted by air masses originating from source regions with elevated SO2 emissions. Our study provides new insights into the chemical composition of atmospheric cluster ions and their role in new particle formation in the high-altitude mountain environment of the Bolivian Andes.

Recyclable polymer-bonded explosives enabled by thiol-cured disulfide-based epoxy vitrimers

Polymer-bonded explosives (PBXs) that make up of high explosives and polymeric materials have been widely used as propellants, explosives and pyrotechnics in various industry. However, due to the cross-linked networks of polymers, the inflammable and toxic PBXs wastes that cannot be degraded and recycled are commonly burned or buried, leading to environmental pollution and economic loss. Due to the ultra-high sensitivity and high solid content of PBXs, it is a great challenge to achieve recyclable cross-linked PBXs. Herein, a thiol-cured disulfide-based epoxy vitrimer was prepared to bond high explosives of HMX, resulting in vitrimer-bonded explosives (VBXs). Due to the neutral and mild properties of disulfide epoxy monomers and thiol curing agents, the epoxy vitrimers exhibited good compatibility with the ultra-sensitive HMX. Meanwhile, intrinsic properties and dynamic properties of the epoxy vitrimers were both investigated. Moreover, the VBXs that consisted of 82 wt% HMX and 18 wt% epoxy vitrimers exhibited outstanding solvent resistance and excellent mechanical properties, while the compression strength was up to ∼35.1 MPa. Besides, the VBXs were successfully degraded by the neutral thiol solutions and the HMX was recycled from the VBXs non-destructively, which was confirmed by 13C NMR. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time to achieve recyclable PBXs relying on vitrimer materials, which will provide a new insight for the green development of energetic composites, while the thiol-cured disulfide-based epoxy vitrimer will have the potential for more other demanding applications.

Rational engineering of glycosaminoglycan-based Dickkopf-1 scavengers to improve bone regeneration

The WNT signaling pathway is a central regulator of bone development and regeneration. Functional alterations of WNT ligands and inhibitors are associated with a variety of bone diseases that affect bone fragility and result in a high medical and socioeconomic burden. Hence, this cellular pathway has emerged as a novel target for bone-protective therapies, e.g. in osteoporosis. Here, we investigated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) recognition by Dickkopf-1 (DKK1), a potent endogenous WNT inhibitor, and the underlying functional implications in order to develop WNT signaling regulators. In a multidisciplinary approach we applied in silico structure-based de novo design strategies and molecular dynamics simulations combined with synthetic chemistry and surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy to Rationally Engineer oligomeric Glycosaminoglycan derivatives (REGAG) with improved neutralizing properties for DKK1. In vitro and in vivo assays show that the GAG modification to obtain REGAG translated into increased WNT pathway activity and improved bone regeneration in a mouse calvaria defect model with critical size bone lesions. Importantly, the developed REGAG outperformed polymeric high-sulfated hyaluronan (sHA3) in enhancing bone healing up to 50% due to their improved DKK1 binding properties. Thus, rationally engineered GAG variants may represent an innovative strategy to develop novel therapeutic approaches for regenerative medicine.

Response of Meteor Plasma Trails Observed by Meteor Radar to Geomagnetic Activity

AbstractFrom meteor radar observations typically measuring neutral winds and temperatures in the upper atmosphere, we showed that under‐dense meteor plasma trails respond to geomagnetic activity. Depending on the geomagnetic activity conditions, the parameters of the under‐dense trail echoes show substantial anomalies, and their responses are immediate. As geomagnetic activity increases, the decay time decreases up to about 10% at Kp = 8, while both the returned signal power and radial velocity error increase. In addition, the types of diffuse evolution vary with geomagnetic activity, resulting in strong geomagnetic activity that immediately affects the trail. The evolution of the trail is affected not only by the ambient mesospheric neutral atmospheric properties but also by electromagnetic effects, such as strong electric fields inside meteor trails. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the geomagnetic effect should be considered when estimating atmospheric parameters from MR during a geomagnetically active period.

Infection with chikungunya virus confers heterotypic cross-neutralizing antibodies and memory B-cells against other arthritogenic alphaviruses predominantly through the B domain of the E2 glycoprotein.

Infections with Chikungunya virus, a mosquito-borne alphavirus, cause an acute febrile syndrome often followed by chronic arthritis that persists for months to years post-infection. Neutralizing antibodies are the primary immune correlate of protection elicited by infection, and the major goal of vaccinations in development. Using convalescent blood samples collected from both endemic and non-endemic human subjects at multiple timepoints following suspected or confirmed chikungunya infection, we identified antibodies with broad neutralizing properties against other alphaviruses within the Semliki Forest complex. Cross-neutralization generally did not extend to the Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis virus (VEEV) complex, although some subjects had low levels of VEEV-neutralizing antibodies. This suggests that broadly neutralizing antibodies elicited following natural infection are largely complex restricted. In addition to serology, we also performed memory B-cell analysis, finding chikungunya-specific memory B-cells in all subjects in this study as remotely as 24 years post-infection. We functionally assessed the ability of memory B-cell derived antibodies to bind to chikungunya virus, and related Mayaro virus, as well as the highly conserved B domain of the E2 glycoprotein thought to contribute to cross-reactivity between related Old-World alphaviruses. To specifically assess the role of the E2 B domain in cross-neutralization, we depleted Mayaro and Chikungunya virus E2 B domain specific antibodies from convalescent sera, finding E2B depletion significantly decreases Mayaro virus specific cross-neutralizing antibody titers with no significant effect on chikungunya virus neutralization, indicating that the E2 B domain is a key target of cross-neutralizing and potentially cross-protective neutralizing antibodies.

The error minimization of the genetic code would have been determined by natural selection and not by a neutral evolution

I discuss the mechanisms by which the error minimization observed in the genetic code would have been produced; that is, the ability of the genetic code to buffer, for example, the deleterious effects of translation errors. Here, I analyse whether the error minimization was produced by the intervention of natural selection or whether it is an emergent, that is, neutral property; in other words, whether it is a by-product of another mechanism that was structuring the genetic code. In particular, I criticize Massey's simulations (2008) - favouring the neutral hypothesis - which, containing elements of natural selection, would render his conclusions at least partly tautological. Furthermore, I criticize some of Koonin's (2017) interpretations regarding Massey's simulations. Finally, I criticize the opinion of Janzen et al. (2022) according to which their self-aminoacylating ribozyme system would have been capable of generating an error minimization of the genetic code as its emergent property. That is to say, I criticize, more generally, a neutral origin of error minimization. Indeed, any mechanism for structuring the genetic code would be capable of generating, in theory, such an emergent property. The problem is that to demonstrate this, it would be necessary to show that the level of optimization achieved by the genetic code would be that expected under the neutral hypothesis, the one that Janzen et al. (2022) instead they did not make. Therefore, their view is only a hypothesis and is very far from being corroborated by their results. Instead, in the literature there is a strong evidence that the level of optimization achieved by the genetic code is so high that it would imply, per se, an intervention of natural selection in the origin of error minimization of the genetic code. On the other hand, this level of optimization would be very far from what might have been produced by a neutral process.

ГЕНДЕРНАЯ НЕЙТРАЛЬНОСТЬ В РУССКОЯЗЫЧНОМ НАУЧНОМ ДИСКУРСЕ

This article is supposed to prove an assumption that scientific and technical texts in academic discourse are void of gender specificities which get neutralized. The scientific novelty of the study is in survey and description of discursive gender means in scientific and technical articles, identification of gender-neutral language means equally used by both men and women in scientific texts. The proposed study reflects the linguistic features of achieving gender neutrality in scientific texts written by men or women. The study is aimed at more careful thought of gender neutrality and gender markedness of discourse. The data for study is the texts of articles presented in the journal of “ Current Issues of Oil and Gas”( The I.M. Gubkin Institute of Oil and Gas Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences) schedulized in the List of peer-reviewed scientific publications of the Higher Attestation Commission of Russia. The journals publish the scientific achievements in the oil and gas industry. The read out included texts from 2009 till 2022. In total, 60 texts of scientific and technical articles written both by men and women have been analyzed. A comparative method is used to draw an analogy between similar phenomena presented by authors of different genders; a componential analysis ; discourse-analytic approaches for pointing out sustained discursive formulae in scientific discourse. The article presents institutional features of the scientific discourse, articulates the concepts of gender markedness and gender neutrality. The characteristic linguistic properties of the gender neutrality in the scientific discourse are revealed. The discursive and lexico-grammatical analyses of the scientific and technical texts written both by men and women extracted a trend to neutralization of gender in scientific discourse. Gender markedness of the discourse is specified through either implicit or explicit linguistic gender properties. The gender neutrality of the scientific discourse is meant the usage of discursive formulas and lexical units which do not indicate the communicators’ gender parameters. The survey of scientific articles published in technical journals demonstrated zero gender differences in scientific discourse between male and female authors’ texts. Thus, according to research carried out Russian scientific discourse is specified by a consistent trend in gender neutralization which is proved by a lack of gender marked discursive and linguistic means pointing at gender properties of the authors. A scientific article as a genre of scientific discourse contains specific evaluative vocabulary used by both men and women. Although scientific functional style is void of expressive means the research points out a tendency to use colloquial expressions, idiomatic units and also descriptive-representational devices such as metaphors and adjectives in superlative degree. Directions for future research are seen in the development of a universal for different discourses gender model.

Modification of fly ash physicochemical properties for using in dispersionhardened bitumen-based pavement

One of the ways is substantiated to solve the most important environmental problems currently arising in the development and functioning of the heat and power complex. The first is the elimination of fly ash dumps formed during coal combustion. The second is utiliza tion of fibrous sorbents exhausted during the elimination of emergency oil spills, products, shale tars, coal fuses. It is shown that fine ash and asphalt-concrete compositions reinforced with chemical fibers obtained from end-of-life fibrous sorbents, can be used in the pavement construction. The number of properties of hydraulic fly ash and neutralization of sesquioxides contained in them are improved. The latter are catalysts for oil bitumen aging. It is shown that the proposed solutions lead to a decrease in the bitumen content in the fly ash, increase in average density, decrease in porosity and true density. This provides its use in construction of reinforced pavements without increasing the oil bitumen consumption. Highly active components contained in petroleum products neutralize the ability of sesquioxides to accelerate the aging process of petroleum bitumen, which is confirmed by IR spectroscopy.

Exploring the effect of dielectric screening on neutral and charged-exciton properties in monolayer and bilayer MoTe2

Dielectric engineering of heterostructures made from two-dimensional van der Waals semiconductors is a unique and powerful tool to tailor the electric and optical band gaps solely via the dielectric environment and the crystal thickness modulation. Here, we utilize high quality MoTe2 monolayer and bilayer crystals as a candidate for near-infrared photonic applications. The crystals are exfoliated on various technologically relevant carrier substrates: silicon/silicon dioxide, poly(methyl methacrylate), hexagonal boron nitride, silicon carbide, and silicon nitride. These substrates provide a large range of high frequency dielectric constants from 2.1 to 7.0 for MoTe2-containing heterostructures. We assess the relationship between the environmental dielectric function and Coulomb screening by combining detailed spectroscopic measurements, utilizing low-temperature and high-spatially resolved photoluminescence and contrast reflectivity, with microscopic many-body modeling, to explore the potential of this less-recognized material platform for applications in optoelectronics at photon wavelengths above 1 μm. We observe a redshift of the optical gap emission energy from the monolayer to bilayer regime on the order of 30 meV. Furthermore, the thickness controlled shift is slightly larger than the one induced by the local dielectric environment, which ranges on the order of 20 meV for the MoTe2 monolayers and on the order of 8 meV for the MoTe2 bilayers. We also show that the local dielectric screening barely affects the trion binding energy, which is captured by our microscopic model, accounting for the screened Coulomb potential for the heterostructures.

A Study of Generalized QL′-Implications

In this paper, we introduce and study the GQL′-operations. We prove that this class is a hyper class of the known class of QL′-operations. Similar to QL′-operations, GQL′-operations are not always fuzzy implications. On the other hand, we present and prove a necessary but not sufficient condition that leads to the generation of a GQL′-implication. Our study is completed by studying the satisfaction or the violation of some basic properties of fuzzy implications, such as the left neutrality property, the exchange principle, the identity principle and the left ordering property. Our study also completes the study of the aforementioned basic properties for QL′-implications and leads to a new connection between QL-operations and D′-operations.

Selective and Efficient Photoextraction of Aqueous Cr(VI) as a Solid-State Polyhydroxy Cr(V) Complex for Environmental Remediation and Resource Recovery

Aqueous hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) treatment and chromium resource recovery toward Cr-containing wastes are of significant importance and necessity to both wastewater remediation and resource recovery. Herein, via mild photoreaction conditions with isopropanol (IPA) as an electron donor, a catalyst-free strategy for aqueous Cr(VI) extraction to form an insoluble polyhydroxy Cr(V) complex is developed for the first time. Aqueous Cr(VI) with concentration from 5 to 150 ppm can be efficiently extracted with high selectivity even in the presence of coexisting ions, and the total Cr concentration in residue solution can be as low as 0.5 ppm. The Cr resource could be efficiently recovered as pure Cr2O3 by calcinating the resulting Cr(V) precipitate. Outstanding extraction efficiency could be realized with various IPA concentrations (1.3-12.0 mol/L) by coordinately tuning the pH value to promote the formation of Cr(VI)-IPA ester. The formed ester undergoes intramolecular electron transition under visible light irradiation, resulting in a polyhydroxy solid-state Cr(V) intermediate complex. The controlled pH value blocks further reduction of Cr(V) to soluble Cr(III); thus the insoluble Cr(V) intermediate complex is stabilized thermodynamically under ambient conditions. Because of its electric neutrality property and the strong intermolecule interaction via hydrogen bonds, a dioxo-bridged di-nuclear Cr(V) complex {Cr2(μ-O)2(OH)4[OCH(CH3)2]2} is finally precipitated as the main product. Satisfactory extraction and recovery of Cr from chromium-plating wastewater and discarded stainless steel verify that this approach is ideal for both one-step purification of Cr(VI)-containing wastewater and selective resource recovery from Cr-containing solid wastes in practical application.

The combination of very-small size proteoliposomes and alum is a safe adjuvant alternative for inducing anti-EGF antibodies: a preclinical study

Immunization with human recombinant EGF chemically bound to the P64k protein of Neisseria meningitides (hrEGF-P64k) and adjuvanted in Montanide ISA 51 VG (Montanide) is an efficient strategy to induce polyclonal antibodies (PAbs) response targeting this self -antigen in cancer patients, which is the basis of the CIMAvax-EGF vaccine. The neutralizing potential of EGF-specific induced PAbs supports promising clinical data obtained to date with this vaccine. Herein, we evaluated a combination of very small-size proteoliposomes (VSSP) and aluminum hydroxide (Alum) as a novel adjuvant to induce specific PAbs with neutralizing and anti-proliferative properties on tumor cells, considering EGF as a model antigen. Toxicity at the injection site was not detected for the vaccine formulation containing VSSP/Alum, and it was immunogenic in BALB/c mice, as evidenced by the induction of high titers of EGF-specific polyclonal antibodies (PAbs). While schedule optimization increased the magnitude of the PAbs response induced by VSSP/Alum, induced PAbs’s avidity and intrinsic neutralizing potential were comparable to the humoral response induced by Montanide. Also, VSSP addition switched IgG subclasses distribution into a Th1-like pattern, as obtained with Montanide and desirable for a cancer vaccine. Finally, equivalent PAbs titers were induced by the vaccine formulations adjuvanted in VSSP/Alum or Montanide in tumor-bearing-mice, and immunosuppressed mice, suggesting the feasibility of the VSSP/Alum combined adjuvant for inducing anti-EGF antibodies in cancer patients at advanced stages of the disease.

Medication Regularity of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Treatment of Aplastic Anemia Based on Data Mining.

Aplastic anemia (AA) is an uncommon disease, characterized by pancytopenia and hypocellular bone marrow, but it is common in the blood system. The medication rules of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the treatment of AA are not clear, for which it is worth exploring the medication rules by data mining methods. This study used SPSS Modeler 18.0 and SPSS statistics to analyze the cases of AA from Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine (ZJHCM) from March 1, 2019, to March 1, 2022. Data mining methods, including frequency analysis, cluster analysis, and association rule learning, were performed in order to explore the medication rules for AA. (1) A total of 859 prescriptions, which met the inclusion criteria, consisted of 255 herbs. In descending order of the frequency of herbal medicine, we have Danggui, Huangqi, Shudihuang, Fuling, Gancao, Shanyao, Shanzhuyu, Baizhu, Dangshen, and Xianhecao. (2) Frequency analysis of herb properties: the Four Qi of 255 kinds of TCMs are mainly warm and neutral medicines. The Five Flavors are mainly sweet medicines, followed by bitter medicines. The main meridians are the liver, spleen, and kidney. (3) Clustering of medications: TCMs with the top 20 frequencies are classified into 9 groups by cluster analysis. (4) Association rule analysis of high-frequency herbs: using the Apriori algorithm, the results showed that there were 3 herb pairs with support of over 0.3 and 12 herb pairs with confidence above 0.85. The basic pathogenesis of AA (Sui Lao) is spleen and kidney essence deficiency, Qi deficiency, and blood stasis. The main herbs have warm and neutral properties, sweet tastes, and liver, spleen, and kidney meridian tropisms, whose purpose is to tonify the kidney and invigorate the spleen, tonify Qi, and promote blood circulation.

A makeup remover-inspired chitosan-based emulsion for heavy oil removal in oily sludge treatment

During oil production processes, oily sludges are inevitably produced and accumulating, which are extremely hazardous to our living environment. Due to their complex compositions mainly containing oil-contaminated solids and emulsified water and oil, it has been always a great challenge to treat oily sludges before solids can be properly disposed, and oil and water can be recycled. In this study, inspired by the makeup remover and for the first time, a chitosan-based emulsion was developed to treat oily sludges. The emulsion can efficiently remove the heavy oil from solids with removal efficiency of ∼94.7%–98.0% varying with solution pH, sludge to emulsion ratio, and settling time. It has been revealed that the oil liberates from solid surfaces resulted from the wettability alteration of the solid surface in emulsion solution due to the decrease in oil/water interfacial tension as well as oil layer softening by the solvent penetration. A rag layer formed after oil liberation due to the unresolved dispersed oil droplets carrying solid particles, which was further treated by the addition of ∼1.4–6.1 wt‰ of HCl to the mixture. With HCl addition, the dispersed oil drops were found to coalesce attributed the charge neutralization and interfacial property change of chitosan molecules at oil/water interfaces evident from the zeta potential measurement. Our work proposes an environmental-friendly approach to treat oily sludges, and provides valuable information on the oil removal mechanisms using emulsion solution shielding lights on the development of emulsion-based treating technology for both oily sludge and oil-contaminated solids treatment.