Description: Shear stress provided by a hydrocyclone was employed to remove the oil from oil-contaminated catalysts. Understanding the deoiling mechanism and providing quantitative analysis of the interaction between shear stress fields and deoiling are necessary to improve deoiling efficiency. In this study, a numerical simulation was conducted for the velocity field and shear stress field of a hydrocyclone, both of which are difficult to measure using other methods. Results showed that the shear stress field in the wall layer, where oil-contaminated catalysts are usually located, was robust. Increasing inlet flow rates resulted in a higher shear rate distribution along the wall layer. Numerical results were also compared with the experimental data. In the deoiling process, higher shear stress rates promoted faster transport of oil from catalysts into the fluid, thereby increasing the deoiling efficiency. Deoiling by the shear stress of a hydrocyclone is an efficient method for cleaning oil-contaminated catalysts within a short period of time.

Description: Solid tumors often suffer from suboptimal oxygen and nutrient supplies. This stress underlies the requirement for metabolic adaptation. Aberrantly activated de novo lipogenesis is critical for development and progression of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, whether de novo lipogenesis influences biologic behaviors of HCCs under conditions of metabolic stress are still poorly understood. Here we show that HCCs display distinct levels of glucose-derived de novo lipogenesis, which are positively correlated with their survival responses to glucose limitation. The enhanced lipogenesis in HCCs is characterized by an increased expression of rate-limiting enzyme acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCα). ACCα-mediated fatty acid synthesis determines the intracellular lipid content that is required to maintain energy hemostasis and inhibit cell death by means of fatty acid oxidation (FAO) during metabolic stress. In accordance, overexpression of ACCα facilitates tumor growth. ACCα forms a complex with carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT1A) and prevents its mitochondria distribution under nutrient-sufficient condition. During metabolic stress, phosphorylation of ACCα leads to dissociation of the complex and mitochondria localization of CPT1A, thus promoting FAO-mediated cell survival. Therefore, ACCα could provide both the substrate and enzyme storage for FAO during glucose deficiency. Upregulation of ACCα is also significantly correlated with poorer overall survival and disease recurrence after surgery. The multivariate Cox regression analysis identified ACCα as an effective predictor of poor prognosis. Conclusion : These results present novel mechanistic insight into a pivotal role of ACCα in maintaining HCCs survival under metabolic stress. It could be exploited as novel diagnostic marker and therapeutic target. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Description: Soil respiration in water-limited ecosystems is affected intricately by soil water content (SWC), temperature, and soil properties. Eight sites on sand-fixed dunes revegetated in different years since1950s, with several topographical positions and various biological soil crusts (BSCs) and soil properties, were selected, as well as a moving sand dune (MSD) and a reference steppe in the Tengger Desert of China. Intact soil samples of 20 cm in depth were taken and incubated randomly at twelve levels of SWC (0 to 0.4 m 3 m −3 ) and at nine levels of temperature (5 to 45 °C) in a growth chamber; additionally, cryptogamic and microbial respiration (R M ) were measured. Total soil respiration (R T , including cryptogamic, microbial, and root respiration) was measured for two years at the MSD and five sites of sand-fixed dunes. The relationship between R M and SWC under the optimal SWC condition (0.25 m 3 m −3 ) is linear, as is the entire range of R T and SWC. The slope of linear function describes sensitivity of soil respiration to water (SRW) and reflects to soil water availability, which is related significantly to soil physical properties, BSCs, and soil chemical properties, in decreasing importance. Inversely, Q 10 for R M is related significantly to abovementioned factors in increasing importance. However, Q 10 for R T and respiration rate at 20 °C are related significantly to soil texture and depth of BSCs and subsoil only. In conclusion, through affecting SRW, soil physical properties produce significant influences on soil respiration, especially for R T . This indicates that a definition of the biophysical meaning of SRW is necessary, considering the water-limited and coarse-textured soil in most desert ecosystems.

Description: Aims Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) agonists has been applied into cancer immunotherapy, but the heterogeneity of tumor renders TLR7 behaves versatile in tumor microenvironment and the characteristic of TLR7 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is unclear. Methods and results 20 healthy oral tissues, 50 oral leukoplakia tissues and 166 retrospective primary OSCC samples were collected for immunohistochemical staining of TLR7 and showed up-regulated expression during carcinogenesis. Moreover, patients with high expression of TLR7 in tumor cells (TCs) had poor differentiation and prognosis. Interestingly, patients with high expression of TLR7 in stroma fibroblast-like cells (FLCs) had low tumor stage, no lymph node metastasis (LNM) and better prognosis. Furthermore, ki-67, CD3, CD4, CD8 and Foxp3 + tumor-infiltrated lymphocytes were assessed and found that TLR7 high TCs were infiltrated with fewer CD3 + CD4 + but more Foxp3 + lymphocytes. Importantly, patients with TLR7 low TCs and TLR7 high FLCs had less Foxp3 + lymphocytes infiltration and longer survival time than those who with TLR7 high TCs/TLR7 low FLCs, although TLR7 was not an independent prognostic factor for OSCC. Conclusions The low expression of TLR7 in tumor and high expression of TLR7 in stroma predict a good clinical outcome for OSCC patients and stroma FLCs might be conducive to immunotherapy by TLR7 agonist. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Description: The deep sea is one of the most extensive ecosystems on earth. Organisms living there survive in an extremely harsh environment, and their mitochondrial energy metabolism might be a result of evolution. As one of the most important organelles, mitochondria generate energy through energy metabolism and play an important role in almost all biological activities. In this study, the mitogenome of a deep-sea sea anemone ( Bolocera sp.) was sequenced and characterized. Like other metazoans, it contained 13 energy pathway protein-coding genes and two ribosomal RNAs. However, it also exhibited some unique features: just two transfer RNA genes, two group I introns, two transposon-like noncanonical open reading frames (ORFs), and a control region-like (CR-like) element. All of the mitochondrial genes were coded by the same strand (the H-strand). The genetic order and orientation were identical to those of most sequenced actiniarians. Phylogenetic analyses showed that this species was closely related to Bolocera tuediae . Positive selection analysis showed that three residues (31 L and 42 N in ATP6 , 570 S in ND5 ) of Bolocera sp. were positively selected sites. By comparing these features with those of shallow sea anemone species, we deduced that these novel gene features may influence the activity of mitochondrial genes. This study may provide some clues regarding the adaptation of Bolocera sp. to the deep-sea environment. The deep sea is regarded as the most extensive ecosystem on earth, and the organisms living there survive in an extremely harsh environment. The mitochondrial energy metabolism of some organisms may be different from that of shallow sea species. We uncovered a number of mitochondrial genome features that may provide some clues for Bolocera sp. on the adaptation of the seamount Bolocera sp. to the deep-sea environment.

Description: Ericerus pela Chavannes (Hemiptera: Coccoidae) is an economically important scale insect because the second instar males secrete a harvestable wax-like substance. In this study, we report the molecular cloning of a fatty acyl-CoA reductase gene ( EpFAR ) of E. pela . We predicted a 520-aa protein with the FAR family features from the deduced amino acid sequence. The EpFAR mRNA was expressed in five tested tissues, testis, alimentary canal, fat body, Malpighian tubules, and mostly in cuticle. The EpFAR protein was localized by immunofluorescence only in the wax glands and testis. EpFAR expression in High Five insect cells documented the recombinant EpFAR reduced 26-0:(S) CoA and to its corresponding alcohol. The data illuminate the molecular mechanism for fatty alcohol biosynthesis in a beneficial insect, E. pela .