MitoTEMPO, a mitochondrial antioxidant, has protective effects on liver-related diseases. However, the role of MitoTEMPO on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its possible mechanisms are largely unknown. Here, we investigated the effects of MitoTEMPO on NAFLD using high fat diet- (HFD-) induced obese mice as animal models. MitoTEMPO was intraperitoneally injected into HFD mice. Liver morphological changes were observed by H&E and Oil Red O staining, and the frequency of MDSCs in peripheral blood was analyzed by flow cytometry. Moreover, real-time quantitative PCR, western blot, and immunohistochemistry were conducted to detect the mRNA and protein expressions in the liver tissues. The results showed that the hepatic steatosis in liver tissues of HFD mice injected with MitoTEMPO was significantly ameliorated. Additionally, MitoTEMPO reduced the frequency of CD11b+Gr-1+ MDSCs in peripheral circulation and decreased Gr-1+ cell accumulation in the livers. Further studies demonstrated that MitoTEMPO administration suppressed the mRNA and protein expressions of MDSC-associated proinflammatory mediators, such as monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), S100 calcium-binding protein A8 (S100A8), and S100 calcium-binding protein A9 (S100A9). Our results suggest that MitoTEMPO appears to be a potential chemical compound affecting certain immune cells and further ameliorates inflammation in obese-associated NAFLD.
Erosion arising from sand production is recognized as a significant problem in the oil and gas industry, which can a potential danger for operators and a cause for production downtime. In many offshore production systems, it is crucial to determine which well is producing sand so that preventive measures can be applied to minimize sand production. One type of sand detection equipment that is often used by oil and gas companies is an electrical resistance (ER) probe. ER probes are effective monitoring real-time "metal loss". But, there are many flow conditions for which sand may not be impacting and/or eroding these probes. Temperature changes can also obscure ER probe measurements. In this study, experiments were conducted mainly on a large scale multiphase flow loop utilizing 3-inch and 4-inch test sections under gas dominant low liquid loading conditions. The effects of superficial gas velocity, superficial liquid velocity, sand size, pipe size and flow orientation on erosion were also examined. Additionally, acoustic sand monitor was also used on the flow loop and the results are compared with ER probe data. A model that is developed for temperature compensation of ER probes shows significant promise for improving ER probe data for situations where temperature of the flowing fluid changes significantly. Furtheremore, understanding erosion rates that are measured by ER probes can help engineers determine the appropriate production rate in the field and initiate inspection and operation plans to ensure safety and continuous production.
To improve the seismic performance of coupled shear walls in high‐rise buildings and to eliminate the problems of large residual deformation and relatively small initial stiffness and damping properties of the traditional viscoelastic coupling beam damper (TVCBD), an innovative shape memory alloy (SMA)‐cable‐controlled self‐centering viscoelastic coupling beam damper (SVCBD) with energy dissipation and self‐centering capabilities was designed and investigated in this study. The construction form and operating principles of the SVCBD were proposed, relevant material performance tests of the cables were performed, and good results were obtained. Finally, the contribution of the SVCBD to seismic mitigation of a 10‐story reinforced concrete coupled shear wall structure was verified by seismic time‐history analyses. The results indicated that compared with TVCBD, SVCBD possesses fuller hysteretic curves, showing stronger energy dissipation capacity, higher initial stiffness, and much smaller residual deformation. The initial strain and cross‐sectional area of the SMA cables and the shear area of the viscoelastic plates affect the energy dissipation and self‐centering performance of SVCBD significantly. The seismic response and post‐earthquake residual deformation of the coupled shear wall structure and the plastic damage of the main components can be effectively controlled by utilizing the proposed SVCBD.
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