Macrophages are the primary targets of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection; the early events of macrophage interaction with M. tuberculosis define subsequent progression and outcome of infection. M. tuberculosis can alter the innate immunity of macrophages, resulting in suboptimal Th1 immunity, which contributes to the survival, persistence, and eventual dissemination of the pathogen. Recent advances in immunometabolism illuminate the intimate link between the metabolic states of immune cells and their specific functions. In this review, we describe the little-studied biphasic metabolic dynamics of the macrophage response during progression of infection by M. tuberculosis and discuss their relevance to macrophage immunity and M. tuberculosis pathogenicity. The early phase of macrophage infection, which is marked by M1 polarization, is accompanied by a metabolic switch from mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation to hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α)-mediated aerobic glycolysis (also known as the Warburg effect in cancer cells), as well as by an upregulation of pathways involving oxidative and antioxidative defense responses, arginine metabolism, and synthesis of bioactive lipids. These early metabolic changes are followed by a late adaptation/resolution phase in which macrophages transition from glycolysis to mitochondrial oxidative metabolism, with a consequent dampening of macrophage proinflammatory and antimicrobial responses. Importantly, the identification of upregulated metabolic pathways and/or metabolic regulatory mechanisms with immunomodulatory functions during M1 polarization has revealed novel mechanisms of M. tuberculosis pathogenicity. These advances can lead to the development of novel host-directed therapies to facilitate bacterial clearance in tuberculosis by targeting the metabolic state of immune cells.

Significant difference in the emission–renewables nexus across countries with different income levels is frequently ignored in previous studies. To empirically investigate whether the effect of renewable energy consumption on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions differs across countries with different income levels, the emission–growth–renewables nexus for a global panel of 120 countries and four income‐based subpanels over the period 1995–2015 is examined. Fully considering the potential cross‐sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity, a series of econometric techniques allowing for cross‐sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity is utilised. Cross‐sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity are confirmed for the global panel as well as for all four subpanels. Only for the global panel, high‐income subpanel and upper‐middle‐income subpanel is the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis valid. Renewable energy consumption has a negative effect on CO2 emissions, but its effect is not significant; the mitigation effect may be obscured by higher economic growth and increasing non‐renewable energy consumption. The global panel and four subpanels provide mixed directionality of causality among the variables, suggesting that for various income‐based subpanels, significant differences exist in the effect of renewable energy consumption on CO2 emissions, especially highlighting in various direct and indirect influencing paths between renewable energy consumption and CO2 emissions.

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Methanol is an important chemical with the potential to become an alternative fuel. An optimization study was performed for a Lurgi methanol synthesis reactor using the commercial process simulator Aspen Plus. The optimization routine is coupled with a steady-state model of the methanol synthesis reactor. Syngas inlet temperature, steam drum pressure, and cooling water volumetric flow rate were optimized so that methanol production in the reactor outlet was maximized. The methanol yield increased by 7.04 %.

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Dinuclear iron(iii) complexes bearing rigid ortho-, meta-, and para-phenylene bridges as effective catalysts for CHO/CO2 and CHO/PA copolymerizations.

SUMMARYGiven the increasing prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in males of reproductive age, the objective of this prospective casecontrolled study was to investigate the impact of subacute systemic inflammation associated with MetS on seminal cytokines and standard sperm parameters in comparison with healthy men. Between 2011 and 2014, we recruited 27 patients with MetS out of 41 obese patients screened from an internal outpatient clinic. Twenty-seven age-matched healthy controls were enrolled from 54 men requesting vasectomy in a urological outpatient clinic. A multiplex analysis was performed to quantify simultaneously the level of 30 cytokines (Eotaxin, FGF, Fraktalkine, GCSF, GMCSF, Granzyme A, IFN-c, IL-1a, IL-1b, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-9, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-13, IL-17A, IL-21, IP-10, I-TAC, MCP-1, MIG, MIP-1a, MIP-1b, RANTES, TNF-a, and VEGF) in each 50 lL of blood and seminal plasma during the andrological work-up. Semen analysis was performed according to the WHO (Global status report on noncommunicable diseases, 2010) recommendations, including standard sperm parameters as well as peroxidase-positive leukocytes and polymorphonuclear elastase. Blood levels of C-reactive protein, interleukins 6 and 10 were elevated in MetS (p > 0.001). Two-way hierarchical cluster analysis showed characteristic cytokine networks in semen greatly differing from those in blood, but not between MetS and controls. No deterioration of semen analysis was evident in men diagnosed with MetS. Our results suggest that there is no transmission of the systemic inflammation associated with MetS into semen based on cytokine profiles and that MetS does not impair standard semen parameters to a clinically significant extent.

The Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) process, which usually employs horizontal injection and production wells, has been applied successfully in producing heavy oil reservoirs. It allows high recoveries to be obtained, at high rates without significant bypass of steam. However, SAGD process, due to the heat loss to the overburden and adjacent formations, can only be used for thick reservoirs with relatively high porosities and oil saturations if there is to be an economic oil/steam ratio. The Vapex process, which uses light hydrocarbon vapors to extract heavy oil from the reservoir, is studied experimentally in the work described in this paper using a new, longer, scaled, packed model. In the process that evolved from the work, liquid solvent (propane, butane, or mixtures) is injected with a small amount of non-condensible gas through a horizontal well at the top of the reservoir to contact and mobilize oil by dilution. The diluted oil is produced by a horizontal well, laterally separated from the injector, and located at the bottom of the reservoir. With this configuration, practical production rates can be achieved without appreciable gas bypass. Solvent is separated easily from the produced liquid by distillation and recycled and this results in relatively low net solvent requirements. Gas fills the vacated pores. The objective of the experiments was to develop process conditions to give high oil production rates with economic solvent requirements. To achieve this, major parameters affecting the Vapex performance were investigated: temperature, pressure, solvent injection rates, types of solvent, mixed solvents, well spacing and configurations etc. The major finding has been that wider lateral well spacing allow higher production rates and make the process more economic. Experimental results indicate that, under suitable conditions, the net solvent injection is about 0.2 B per B of produced oil and that high recoveries and practical rates are achievable. For example, a field prediction based on the experimental data indicates an average oil production rate of 450 B/D per horizontal well pair, 1,000 m long, drilled in a pressure-depleted, heavy-oil reservoir that is 10 m thick, to give a recovery of over 50% OOIP for a 70 acre pattern. Introduction The concept of Vapex evolves from the Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) process in which two closely spaced horizontal wells are employed with steam injected from an upper horizontal injector to form a steam chamber in the formation and heated oil drains downwards, driven by gravity, to a horizontal producer located near the base of reservoir. Another form of the process involves the use of multiple vertical injection wells instead of the horizontal injector. In the Vapex process, light hydrocarbon vapors or their mixtures with non-condensible gases are employed instead of steam to extract heavy oil or bitumen from the formation. Compared to thermal processes, the Vapex process can be operated at reservoir temperature with almost no heat loss. Vapex can be used as an alternative to recover the heavy oil and bitumen from reservoirs which are not suitable for thermal processes such as reservoirs with bottom water and/or high water saturation, vertical fractures, low porosity and low thermal conductivity.