DSCN: Double-target selection guided by CRISPR screening and network.

Cancer is a complex disease with usually multiple disease mechanisms. Target combination is a better strategy than a single target in developing cancer therapies. However, target combinations are generally more difficult to be predicted. Current CRISPR-cas9 technology enables genome-wide screening for potential targets, but only a handful of genes have been screend as target combinations. Thus, an effective computational approach for selecting candidate target combinations is highly desirable. Selected target combinations also need to be translational between cell lines and cancer patients. We have therefore developed DSCN (double-target selection guided by CRISPR screening and network), a method that matches expression levels in patients and gene essentialities in cell lines through spectral-clustered protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. In DSCN, a sub-sampling approach is developed to model first-target knockdown and its impact on the PPI network, and it also facilitates the selection of a second target. Our analysis first demonstrated a high correlation of the DSCN sub-sampling-based gene knockdown model and its predicted differential gene expressions using observed gene expression in 22 pancreatic cell lines before and after MAP2K1 and MAP2K2 inhibition (R2 = 0.75). In DSCN algorithm, various scoring schemes were evaluated. The 'diffusion-path' method showed the most significant statistical power of differentialting known synthetic lethal (SL) versus non-SL gene pairs (P = 0.001) in pancreatic cancer. The superior performance of DSCN over existing network-based algorithms, such as OptiCon and VIPER, in the selection of target combinations is attributable to its ability to calculate combinations for any gene pairs, whereas other approaches focus on the combinations among optimized regulators in the network. DSCN's computational speed is also at least ten times fast than that of other methods. Finally, in applying DSCN to predict target combinations and drug combinations for individual samples (DSCNi), DSCNi showed high correlation between target combinations predicted and real synergistic combinations (P = 1e-5) in pancreatic cell lines. In summary, DSCN is a highly effective computational method for the selection of target combinations.

C12-HSL is an across-boundary signal molecule that could alleviate fungi Galactomyces's filamentation: A new mechanism on activated sludge bulking.

Fungal bulking is caused by fungi excessive growth and morphological changes, resulting from the evolution toward fungi dominant activated sludge. Communication across fungi and bacteria boundary that mediated by bacterial signal molecules (SMs) probably is the central induce caused fungal bulking occurrence. In this work, it intended to identify the bacterial SM that affected fungal bulking, and verified its roles in regulate the spore germination and hyphal growth. We found C12-HSL concentration decreased significantly from 12.36 to 3.38 ng/g-VSS (P < 0.05) when fungal sludge bulking happened, and filamentous Galactomyces's relatively abundant was correlatively enriched. To test the effects of this SM, trace commercial C12-HSL was added to pure cultured Galactomyces, in which spore germination rates decreased by 20 % and hyphal extension inhibited by 15 %. Ras1-cAMP-PKA and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways of Galactomyces were responsible for signal C12-HSL transduction, which inhibited peroxisome biosynthesis, suppressed the biological activity of the actin cytoskeleton, and disrupted intercellular organelle transport. All these results showed C12-HSL was the functional SM that could suppress the development of fungal filamentous. This study provided a new insight into the sludge bulking mechanism from view of cross-kingdom communication.

Enhanced Photocatalytic Water Decontamination by Micro-Nano Bubbles: Measurements and Mechanisms.

Despite recent advancements in photocatalysis enabled by materials science innovations, the application of photocatalysts in water treatment is still hampered due to low overall efficiency. Herein, we present a TiO2 photocatalytic process with significantly enhanced efficiency by the introduction of micro-nano bubbles (MNBs). Notably, the removal rate of a model organic contaminant (methylene blue, MB) in an air MNB-assisted photocatalytic degradation (PCD) process was 41-141% higher than that obtained in conventional macrobubble (MaB)-assisted PCD under identical conditions. Experimental observations and supporting mechanistic modeling suggest that the enhanced photocatalytic degradation is attributed to the combined effects of increased dissolution of oxygen, improved colloidal stability and dispersion of the TiO2 nanocatalysts, and interfacial photoelectric effects of TiO2/MNB suspensions. The maximum dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration of the MNB suspension (i.e., 11.7 mg/L) was 32% higher than that of an MaB-aerated aqueous solution (i.e., 8.8 mg/L), thus accelerating the hole oxidation of H2O on TiO2. We further confirmed that the MNBs induced unique light-scattering effects, consequently increasing the optical path length in the TiO2/MNB suspension by 7.6%. A force balance model confirmed that a three-phase contact was formed on the surface of the bubble-TiO2 complex, which promoted high complex stability and PCD performance. Overall, this study demonstrates the enhanced photocatalytic water decontamination by MNBs and provides the underlying mechanisms for the process.

Effective recycling of Cu from electroplating wastewater effluent via the combined Fenton oxidation and hydrometallurgy route.

Heavy metals, which commonly occur in complex forms, are difficult to remove in alkali electroplating wastewater effluent, and their resource recycling is rarely reported. Here, a Cu-bearing alkali wastewater effluent was effectively treated through Fenton oxidation, and the generated Fenton sludge was recycled into highly pure tenorite and hematite particles. The effluent contained 1.51 mg/L Cu and was subjected to Fenton oxidation, pH adjustment and coagulation. Amongst the three methods, Fenton oxidation showed superior efficiency to Cu removal, and the residual Cu in the effluent was 0.06 mg/L, thereby meeting the discharge standard for electroplating wastewater. However, Cu removal achieved less than 20% after pH adjustment and coagulation. Cu-bearing sludge, which was generated through the Fenton process, was dissolved in a mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acids. The dissolved solution contained 1.92 g/L Cu and 73.6 g/L Fe impurity. Impure Fe (67.4%) was removed as hematite aggregates after the solution was directly treated via a hydrometallurgy route, whilst 99.2% Cu was kept. When 0.5 mL of methanol was introduced to the hydrometallurgy system, nearly 100% Fe was removed as hematite nanoparticles with 94.8% purity, whilst more than 98% Cu was kept. The residual Cu was 1.88 g/L and precipitated as a tenorite block with a CuO content of 91.1% by adjusting the treated solution to pH 9. This study presented an environment-friendly method for enriching Cu from electroplating wastewater effluent without generating any waste.

Risk Factors for Carbapenem-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Zhejiang Province, China.

Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) is a public health concern worldwide, but comprehensive analysis of risk factors for CRPA remains limited in China. We conducted a retrospective observational study of carbapenem resistance in 71,880 P. aeruginosa isolates collected in Zhejiang Province during 2015-2017. We analyzed risk factors for CRPA, including the type of clinical specimen; the year, season, and region in which it was collected; patient information, including age, whether they were an outpatient or inpatient, and whether inpatients were in the intensive care unit or general ward; and the level of hospital submitting isolates. We found CRPA was more prevalent among isolates from patients >60 years of age and in inpatients, especially in intensive care units. In addition, specimen types and seasons in which they were collected were associated with higher rates of CRPA. Our findings can help hospitals reduce the spread of P. aeruginosa and optimize antimicrobial drug use.

Benzophenone-4 Promotes the Growth of a Pseudomonas sp. and Biogenic Oxidation of Mn(II).

Interactions between microbes and micropollutants (MPs) play a crucial role in water purification or treatment. Current studies have generally focused on the direct degradation or cometabolism of MPs. Considering the increasing interest in and importance of the roles of MPs in microbial metabolism, we adopted an Mn(II)-oxidizing Pseudomonas sp. QJX-1 using tyrosine (Tyr) as the sole carbon and nitrogen source to investigate the effects of seven MPs on its growth and function. Six MPs exhibited an inhibition effect on bacterial growth and Mn(II) oxidation. Only benzophenone-4 (BP-4) promoted the growth of QJX-1 and biogenic oxidation Mn(II), but its concentration was not directly coupled to growth, which was unexpected. RNA-seq data suggested that the addition of BP-4 did not significantly change the basic metabolic function of QJX-1, but stimulated the upregulation of the pyruvate and gluconeogenesis metabolic pathways of Tyr for QJX-1 growth. Furthermore, protein identification and extracellular superoxide detection indicated that Mn(II) oxidation was largely driven by the formation of superoxide in response to Tyr starvation; the acceleration of superoxide production, due to BP-4 accelerating Tyr consumption, was responsible for the promotion effect of BP-4 on QJX-1 Mn(II) oxidation. Our findings highlight the dual effects that MPs can have on the growth and function of a single strain in aquatic ecosystem, i.e., the coexistence of inhibition and promotion.

Unravelling riverine microbial communities under wastewater treatment plant effluent discharge in large urban areas.

In many highly urbanized areas, effluent from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) represents a significant proportion of the water source for receiving rivers. Microbial communities are major components of riverine ecosystems and mediate the processes of nutrients and organic matter produced by treated and untreated WWTP effluent. To date, the impacts of WWTP effluent discharge on riverine microbial communities remain poorly understood. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing and water quality analysis, we investigated the microbial community compositions and predicted functions in the effluents of five municipal WWTPs and their receiving rivers. The results showed that the microbial compositions in the five WWTP effluents with different treatment processes were similar. Significant differences in the microbial community were not noted between the effluent, upstream, and downstream sites for both sampling months. However, dissimilarity of microbial composition between two sampling periods was observed. The temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and ammonium were major environmental factors associated with microbial community changes. Functional annotations of microbial communities based on 16S amplicons identified xenobiotic degradation and metabolism functions in effluent and river samples. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction revealed the dominance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) over ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) in the WWTP effluents and rivers, and significant positive correlation between AOB abundance and nitrate concentration was observed. These findings will help increase our understanding of the impact of effluent discharge on urban river ecosystems.

Influence of microbial community diversity and function on pollutant removal in ecological wastewater treatment.

Traditional wastewater treatments based on activated sludge often encounter the problems of bulking and foaming, as well as malodor. To solve these problems, new treatment technologies have emerged in recent decades, including the ecological wastewater treatment process, which introduces selected local plants into the treatment system. With a focus on the underlying mechanisms of the ecological treatment process, we explored the microbial community biomass, composition, and function in the treatment system to understand the microbial growth in this system and its role in pollutant removal. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that ecological treatment significantly decreased influent bacterial quantity, with around 80% removal. 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that the ecological treatment also altered the bacterial community structure of the wastewater, leading to a significant change in Comamonadaceae in the effluent. In the internal ecological system, because most of microbes aggregate in the plant rhizosphere and the sludge under plant roots, we selected two plant species (Nerium oleander and Arundo donax) to study the characteristics of rhizosphere and sludge microbes. Metagenomic results showed that the microbial community composition and function differed between the two species, and the microbial communities of A. donax were more sensitive to seasonal effects. Combined with their greater biomass and abundance of metabolic genes, microbes associated with N. oleander showed a greater contribution to pollutant removal. Further, the biodegradation pathways of some micropollutants, e.g., atrazine, were estimated.

4-Fluoro-N'-(2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene) benzohydrazide and its Oxidovanadium(V) Complex: Syntheses, Crystal Structures and Insulin-enhancing Activity.

A hydrated hydrazone compound, 4-fluoro-N'-(2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene)benzohydrazide monohydrate (H2L · H2O), was prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, HRMS, IR, UV-Vis and 1H NMR spectroscopy. Reaction of H2L, kojic acid (5-hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-4H-pyran-4-one; Hka) and VO(acac)2 in methanol afforded a novel oxidovanadium(V) complex, [VO(ka)L]. The complex was characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV-Vis and 1H NMR spectroscopy. Thermal analysis was also performed. Structures of H2L and the complex were further confirmed by single crystal structural X-ray diffraction. The vanadium complex is the first structurally characterized vanadium complex of kojic acid. Insulin-mimetic tests on C2C12 muscle cells indicate that the complex significantly stimulated cell glucose utilization with cytotoxicity at 0.11 g L-1.

Postural balance disorders in sarcopenia based on surface electromyography.

Background: Sarcopenia is an intrinsic factor that leads to balance disorders and falls in older adults. However, the characterization of sarcopenia-related postural balance deficits remains unclear. Aims: This study aimed to explore the balance performance and postural control strategy in older adults with sarcopenia during static stance tasks using force platforms and surface electromyography. Methods: Older adults with right-sided dominance were recruited, including 27 adults with sarcopenia and 27 healthy counterparts. Postural sway was measured with eyes open/closed on rigid/compliant surfaces. The time- and frequency-domain indexes of bilateral lower extremity muscle activity were simultaneously recorded. Results: The postural sway and activity of multiple lower extremity muscles in the sarcopenia group were increased (P < 0.05). The amplitude contribution ratio of the right tibialis anterior muscle (larger in sarcopenia), co-contraction ratio of right ankle dorsiflexion (smaller in sarcopenia), and mean power frequency and median frequency of the left gluteus maximus muscle (smaller in sarcopenia) had main effects of grouping (P < 0.001, η2p = 0.06-0.10). All of them had discrimination for sarcopenia (area under the curve = 0.639-0.657, P < 0.001) and were correlated with balance function measurement in sarcopenia (|rs| = 0.22-0.44, P < 0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that older adults with sarcopenia have decreased balance function and increased cost of electrophysiology. They were found to prefer the postural strategy of dominant ankle dorsiflexion and demonstrated overactivity of the dominant tibialis anterior muscles and fatigue vulnerability of the nondominant gluteus maximus. Improvements in these postural features may have balance benefits.

Comparative effects of ammonium nitrogen on perchlorate degradation performance under heterotrophic condition with different carbon sources.

Perchlorate (ClO4-) mainly exists in the form of ammonium perchlorate in industrial production. However, the degradation mechanisms of different concentrations of ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) and ClO4- mixed pollutants in the environment are not well understood. This study aims to explore the potential of different types of carbon sources for ClO4- and NH4+-N biodegradation. Experimental results showed that the concentration and type of carbon sources are decisive to simultaneous removal of NH4+-N and ClO4-. Under condition of C(COD)/C(ClO4-) ratio of 21.15 ± 4.40, the simultaneously removal efficiency of ClO4- and NH4+-N in acetate (Ace) was relatively higher than that in methanol (Met). C(NH4+-N)/C(ClO4-) ratio of 9.66 ± 0.51 and C(COD)/C(ClO4-) ratio of 2.51 ± 0.87 promoted ClO4- reduction in glucose-C (Glu-C). However, high concentration of Glu could cause pH decrease (from 7.57 to 4.59), thereby inhibiting ClO4- reduction. High-throughput sequencing results indicated that Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes have made a major contribution to the simultaneous removal of NH4+-N and ClO4-. They are two representative bacterial phyla for participating in both ClO4- reduction and denitrification. Notably, the abundance of main ClO4- degrading bacteria (such as Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Firmicutes) significantly increased by 528.57 % in Glu-C. It can be inferred that the concentration of carbon source and NH4+-N were the most important factors determining the removal efficiency of ClO4- by influencing changes in the core microbial community. This study will provide new techniques and mechanistic insights for the simultaneous removal of mixed ClO4- and nitrogen pollutants, which can also provide theoretical support for innovation in future biological treatment processes.

Normalized circulating Tfh and Th17 associates with improvement in myasthenia gravis treated with ofatumumab.

Objective: To assess the effect of B cell depletion therapy (BCDT) on circulating T follicular helper (cTfh) and circulating T helper 17 (cTh17) cells and its relation to clinical improvement in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). Methods: 28 anti-AchR positive MG patients treated with ofatumumab and 28 healthy controls (HCs) were included. Frequencies of cTfh and cTh17 cells were monitored by flow cytometry at baseline and 4, and 12 weeks after the initial dose ofatumumab. Serum cytokines associated with cTfh and cTh17, including IL-6, IL-21, and IL-17, were also analyzed. Results: The frequency of cTfh and cTh17 significantly increased in MG patients compared with HCs. Additionally, elevated levels of both T-cell subsets correlated with MG severity. During the follow-up, cTfh and cTh17 return to normal after BCDT. Furthermore, the decrease in cTfh and cTh17 was associated with MG scores improvement over time. Notably, cTfh- and cTh17-related cytokines, including IL-6, IL-21, and IL-17, exhibited a marked decrease following ofatumumab therapy. Conclusions: Abnormal expansion of cTfh and cTh17 cells may be key features in the immunopathology of MG. Their levels returned to normal after BCDT, which was closely correlated with clinical amelioration. This result suggests that these two T-cell subsets may be targets for BCDT treatment of MG.

A Salt-Resistant and Antibacterial Cu2 ZnSnS4 -Based Hydrogel for High Efficient Photothermal Distillation in Seawater Desalination and Sewage Purification.

Solar steam generation technology (SSGT) using unlimited solar energy is regarded as one of the most promising sustainable technologies to produce clean water. However, most of studies on SSGT simply focus on how to improve salt resistance as well as exclude inorganic and organic pollutants in targeted water, and only very limited studies pay attention to the micro-organisms in the collected water. Herein, one porous Cu2 ZnSnS4 -based photothermal hydrogel (CZTS-PH) with antibacterial properties as well as good salt resistance was successfully prepared. The CZTS-PH was measured with the water evaporation rate as high as 3.249 kg m-2 h-1 and photothermal conversion efficiency of 96.3 % under one sun irradiation. Impressively, owing to the amino groups in the skeleton, CZTS-PH can significantly deteriorate the cell membrane and lead to the death of the Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), which ensures its long-term stability photothermal conversion and the safety of clean water. Overall, the admired photothermal conversion efficiency, and the excellent salt resistance and antibacterial performance suggest that CZTS-PH could be a promising full-scale device applied in seawater desalination and water purification.

A modelling approach to explore the optimum bubble size for micro-nanobubble aeration.

Bubble aeration has been widely applied in water/wastewater treatment, however its low gas utilization rate results in high energy consumption. Application of micro-nanobubbles (MNB) has emerged as a process with the potential to significantly increase gas utilisation due to their high relative surface area and high gas-liquid mass transfer efficiency. In this study, we demonstrate through calibrated models that MNB of an optimum bubble size can shrink and burst at or below the water surface enabling (1) all encapsulated gas to thoroughly dissolve in water, and (2) the bursting of nanobubbles to potentially generate free radicals. Through the understanding of MNB dimensional characteristics and bubble behaviour in water, a dynamic model that integrated force balance (i.e. buoyancy force, gravity, drag force, Basset force and virtual mass force), and mass transfer was developed to describe the rising velocity and radius variation of MNB along its upward trajectory. Unlike for conventional millimetre-sized bubbles, intensive gas dissolution of MNBs led to radius reduction for small bubbles, while a large initial radius triggers bubble swelling. The initial water depth was also crucial, where greater depth could drive the potential for bubble shrinkage so that they were more liable to contract. For example, the optimum bubble size of air (42-194 µm) and oxygen (127-470 µm) MNB that could achieve complete gas transfer (100% gas utilisation) for a range of specific water depths (0.5-10 m) were calculated. The modelling results for microbubbles (10-530 µm) were well validated by the experimental data (R2>0.85). However, the validation of the modelling results for nanobubble (<1 µm) aeration requires further study due to a lack of available empirical data. In this study, the proposed model and analysis provided new insights into understanding bubble dynamics in water and offered fundamental guidance for practitioners looking to upgrade bubble aeration system.

Transboundary intercellular communications between Penicillium and bacterial communities during sludge bulking: Inspirations on quenching fungal dominance.

Fungal bulking is caused by the evolution toward a fungi-dominant unbalanced sludge system, which is indeed the phenomenon of fungi competing against bacterial cells. We hypothesized that the cross-kingdom intercellular communication between fungi and bacteria was internal driving force that stimulated fungal bulking. In this study, we identified three signal molecules related to Penicillium fungi bulking under low-pH stress in an activated sludge reactor, which inspired us to propose a sludge bulking prevention strategy using the quorum quenching theory. When pH dropped from 7.0 to 4.5, the abundance of Penicillium increased from 12.5% to 44.8%. However, some functional bacterial genera, such as Nitrosomonas and Sphingopyxis, were washed out from the sludge. The production of quorum-sensing (QS) molecules N-Heptanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C7-HSL), N-Dodecanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C12-HSL), and N-Tetradecanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C14-HSL) was regulated with sludge bulking; especially the response of the latter two was significantly negative to Penicillium blooming (P < 0.05). To test their roles, trace commercial C12-HSL and C14-HSL were added to Penicillium culture, successfully causing 8.3% and 30.2% inhibition of mycelial formation, respectively. They also contributed to the improvement of activated sludge settleability by 6.1% and 39.7%, respectively (represented by sludge volume index). The transcriptome technique further revealed the regulation of the expression of genes in |logFC| >1, involving signal transduction, mycelium synthesis, and metabolic pathways. Our study provided an innovative strategy for controlling fungal bulking from the perspective of microbial transboundary informatics.

Rapid removal of trace haloacetic acids from drinking water by a continuous adsorption process using graphene oxide.

Significant health risks are caused by trace levels of haloacetic acids (HAAs) in drinking water. We used graphene oxide (GO), a high-performance absorbent, to remove monochloroacetic acid (MCAA), dichloroacetic acid (DCAA) and trichloroacetic acid (TCAA). 31.6%, 27.1% and 30.2% of MCAA, DCAA and TCAA in drinking water could be rapidly removed within 2 min by the interaction of intermolecular hydrogen bonds between GO and HAAs. On the other hand, as a type of weak interaction, intermolecular hydrogen bonds are easy to fracture, which leads to the recovery of GO. The removal efficiency of MCAA, DCAA and TCAA monotonously decreased with increasing pH from 3 to 11. Temperature was not an important influence on the removal efficiency of HAAs, and only affected the interaction of intermolecular hydrogen bonds between GO and HAAs. A continuous adsorption process was used for further improving the removal efficiency of HAAs, and the concentration of total HAAs decreased from 436 to 52.5 µg L-1 after five adsorption processes. The total contact time was just 2.25 min, which was faster than other reported adsorbents, and total HAAs could be decreased by 88%. The innovative process in this study provides an effective method for application of GO to rapidly remove HAAs in drinking water.

Synthetic lethal gene pairs: Experimental approaches and predictive models.

Synthetic lethality (SL) refers to a genetic interaction in which the simultaneous perturbation of two genes leads to cell or organism death, whereas viability is maintained when only one of the pair is altered. The experimental exploration of these pairs and predictive modeling in computational biology contribute to our understanding of cancer biology and the development of cancer therapies. We extensively reviewed experimental technologies, public data sources, and predictive models in the study of synthetic lethal gene pairs and herein detail biological assumptions, experimental data, statistical models, and computational schemes of various predictive models, speculate regarding their influence on individual sample- and population-based synthetic lethal interactions, discuss the pros and cons of existing SL data and models, and highlight potential research directions in SL discovery.

Inactivation and genome damage of rotavirus and a human norovirus surrogate by monochloramine treatment and sequential application with UV.

The inactivation efficacy by monochloramine for disinfecting gastroenteritis-causing rotaviruses (RV) and Tulane viruses (TV), a surrogate for noroviruses, were evaluated in this study. In addition, the strategies for improving the disinfection efficiency of monochloramine by raising the temperature and sequentially implementing UV irradiation were investigated. The results showed that monochloramine was more effective in the inactivation of TV than RV. Additionally, the inactivation rate constants of RV and TV by monochloramine at 35 °C were improved approximately by 46% and 100%, respectively, compared to those at 25 °C. Moreover, applying UV irradiation before monochloramine enhanced the inactivation efficacy of RV and TV by 63% and 72% compared to monochloramine alone (UV: 6 mJ/cm2, NH2Cl: 60 ppm × min). Furthermore, the synergistic effect was observed during the RV inactivation by the sequential process. Especially, higher than 0.5 log10 reductions of RV VP1 genome contributed to the synergistic effect in sequential treatment, while less than 0.1 log10 reductions of RV VP1 genome were observed during UV alone (13 mJ/cm2) or monochloramine alone (94 ppm × min). The genome damage might be the primary mechanism of generating synergy in sequential treatment for the inactivation of RV. By comparison, no synergistic effect was discovered for the inactivation of TV due to high susceptibility to monochloramine and UV. The findings on the inactivation efficacy and mechanism for improvement will contribute to a wide application of monochloramine for virus inactivation in water treatment and distribution systems.

Reclamation of ginseng residues using two-stage fermentation and evaluation of their beneficial effects as dietary feed supplements for piglets.

Environmental pollution caused by herbal residues, such as ginseng residue (GR), and the huge waste of medicinal ingredients in such residues hinder the development of the pharmaceutical industry. Few studies focused on the biotransformation of GRs and the practical utilization of their bioproducts. In this study, we developed a two-stage fermentation method to optimize GR bioconversion and used the fermented products as dietary supplements for piglets. The tested GR contained abundant lignocelluloses, protein, sugar, and amino acids. Approximately 43.10% of the total lignocelluloses were degraded into sugars by Inonotus obliquus in stage 1 of fermentation. Meanwhile, the sugar content increased by 36.20%, which became the feed for Bacillus subtilis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in stage 2 of fermentation. These two strains boosted the production of bacterial proteins and other metabolites, including peptides, organic acids, and amino acids. At the end of fermentation, the contents of bioactive compounds significantly increased by 3.18%-21.79%. The dietary supplementation of fermented GR significantly improved the growth performance (6.47%-7.98%), intestinal microbiota, immune function, and healthy status and reduced the diarrhea incidence and noxious gas emission of the piglets. This study provides evidence-based results for the development and deployment of a circular economy between ginseng and livestock industries.

Deciphering the influence of multiple anthropogenic inputs on taxonomic and functional profiles of the microbial communities in Yitong River, Northeast China.

We conducted the analysis of physicochemical parameters, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction to explore the impact of human inputs on the bacterioplankton communities within a tributary of the largest river flowing through a megacity in northeast China. Agriculture largely accounted for the alteration of diversity and functions of the microbial communities. Furthermore, nitrate and total phosphorus declined at the reservoir outlet. The WWTP effluent discharge caused a decrease of the relative abundance of Actinobacteria and Cyanobacteria, while the impact on the variation of alpha diversity of river microbial community was slight. Carbon fixation and nitrogen cycle varied with the change of land use type. The rare taxa contributed with a predominant role in the response to environmental variables and NH3-N as well as NO3--N were the main environmental factors that drove the shift in the bacterial community. The occurrence of the human-specific fecal indicator was mostly derived from agriculture, and its increase in relative abundance was observed in the WWTP effluent. Thus, our study provides guidance for ecological assessment and management of rivers by revealing the response pattern of river bacterioplankton to multiple types of anthropogenic stressors.