Relationship between RAGE gene polymorphisms and cardiovascular disease prognosis in the Chinese Han population.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in China. This study aimed to investigate whether RAGE gene polymorphisms are associated with the prognosis of various cardiovascular diseases in the Chinese Han population. This study was conducted from July 2004 to December 2005 and a total of 425 subjects from Guangdong province were enrolled. Genotyping of the three polymorphisms (-429T/C, 1704G/T, and G82S) in the RAGE gene was performed with polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Patients were followed for 6.5 years to watch for the development of cardiovascular events and mortality. Subjects with the S mutation of the G82S polymorphism had a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) than did those with wild-type homozygosity. Logistic regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier analysis all revealed that the G82S polymorphism of the RAGE gene was associated with a significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality and AMI. However, the -429T/C and 1704G/T polymorphisms were not shown to have any effect on prognosis. In conclusion, the G82S variant of the RAGE gene was significantly associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality and AMI in the Chinese Han population.

Deciphering the relationship between the ordered pore structure and solid-phase microextraction behavior of covalent organic frameworks for phenols.

The extraction performance of materials is highly related to their physical structure. However, the precise impact of ordered pore structure in covalent organic frameworks (COFs) on extraction performance are still puzzling. To look insight into this, a series of COFs with varying degrees of ordered pore structures were prepared at room temperature by adjusting reaction time and their extraction efficiencies toward phenolic compounds were investigated. The experimental results revealed that the COF with a short range ordered pore structure exhibited a higher affinity for phenolic compounds along with a larger enrichment factor, while the COF with a long range ordered pore structure demonstrated faster extraction kinetics. The investigation into interaction mechanism revealed that the density of available sites is responsible for these differences. Taking COF-OMe-0.5 h as solid-phase microextraction fiber coating, a highly efficient and sensitive quantitative analysis method for phenolic compounds was established by combining it with gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer. The established method boasts high enrichment factors (7192-29440), wide linear ranges (2.0-10000 ng L-1), and low detection limits (0.24-0.54 ng L-1). This study provides a conceptual guide for constructing desirable COFs with controlled pore structures for specific applications.

Transfer and risk assessment of fipronil in laying hen tissues and eggs.

Fipronil is a persistent insecticide known to transfer into hen eggs from exposure from animal drinking water and feed, but some questions remain regarding its transfer behavior and distribution characteristics. Therefore, the dynamic metabolism, residue distribution and transfer factor (TF) of fipronil were investigated in 11 edible tissues of laying hens and eggs over 21 days. After a continuous low-dose drinking water exposure scenario, the sum of fipronil and all its metabolites (defined as fipronilT) quickly transferred to each edible tissue and gradually increased with exposure time. FipronilT residue in eggs first appeared at 3 days and then gradually increased. After a single high-dose feed exposure scenario, fipronilT residue in edible tissues first appeared after 2 h, quickly peaked at 1 day, and then gradually decreased. In eggs, fipronilT residue first appeared at 2 days, peaked 6-7 days and then gradually decreased. The TF values followed the order of the skin (0.30-0.73) > egg yolk (0.30-0.71) > bottom (0.21-0.59) after drinking water exposure, and the order of the skin (1.01-1.59) > bottom (0.75-1.1) > egg yolk (0.58-1.10) for feed exposure. Fipronil sulfone, a more toxic compound, was the predominant metabolite with higher levels distributed in the skin and bottom for both exposure pathways. FipronilT was distributed in egg yolks rather than in albumen owing to its lipophilicity, and the ratio of egg yolk to albumen may potentially reflect the time of exposure. The distinction is that the residues after feed exposure were much higher than that after drinking water exposure in edible tissues and eggs. The study highlights the residual characteristics of two exposure pathways, which would contribute to the tracing of contamination sources and risk assessment.

Creep behavior and long-term strength characteristics of pre-peak damaged sandstone under conventional triaxial compression.

A series of creep tests were carried out on sandstone specimens with different pre-peak instantaneous damage characteristics under different confining pressures. The results revealed that the creep stress was the key factor affecting the occurrence of the three stages of creep, and the steady-state creep rate increased exponentially with increasing creep stress. Under the same confining pressure, the larger the instantaneous damage of the rock specimen was, the more quickly creep failure occurred and the lower the creep failure stress was. For the pre-peak damaged rock specimens, the strain threshold for accelerating creep was the same for a given confining pressure. The strain threshold increased with increasing confining pressure. In addition, the long-term strength was determined using the isochronous stress-strain curve and the variation in the creep contribution factor. The results revealed that the long-term strength decreased gradually with increasing pre-peak instantaneous damage under lower confining pressures. However, the instantaneous damage had little effect on the long-term strength under higher confining pressures. Finally, the macro-micro-failure modes of the sandstone were analyzed according to the fracture morphology observed via scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the macroscale creep failure patterns of the sandstone specimens could be divided into a shear-dominated failure mode under high confining pressures and a mixed shear-tensile failure mode under low confining pressures. At the microscale, as the confining pressure increased, the micro-fracture mode of the sandstone changed gradually from a single brittle fracture to a mixed brittle and ductile fracture mode.

Degradation of tetracycline antibiotics by Arthrobacter nicotianae OTC-16.

Microbial degradation is an important option for combating antibiotic pollution. Arthrobacter nicotianae OTC-16 was isolated as a novel tetracycline-degrading bacterium, which could degrade oxytetracycline/tetracycline (OTC/TET). Toxicity assessment indicated that this bacterium effectively converted OTC into byproducts with less toxicity to bacterial and algal indicators. Six degradation products of OTC were tentatively identified, and a potential biotransformation pathway was proposed that includes decarbonylation, reduction, and dehydration. Bioaugmentation of TC removal with this bacterium was further studied in various matrices. In aqueous media, strain OTC-16 accelerated OTC removal over a temperature range of 20-35 ℃, pH range of 6.0-9.0, and OTC concentration range of 25-150 mg L-1. The strain also facilitated the decrease of OTC and TET concentrations in both swine and chicken manures, with a maximum decrease of 91.54%, and increased the degradation of OTC in soils by 8.22-45.45%. A unique advantage of this bacterium in promoting OTC degradation in alkaline environments was demonstrated, where it successfully competed with the indigenous microbiota and largely decreased the relative abundances of the studied tetracycline resistance genes (tetB and tetW) in soil. This work offers a better understanding of the antibiotic bioaugmentation and new microbial sources.

Application of methanol and sweet potato vine hydrolysate as enhancers of citric acid production by Aspergillus niger.

BACKGROUND: Agricultural waste is as an alternative low-cost carbon source or beneficial additives which catch most people's eyes. In addition, methanol and sweet potato vine hydrolysate (SVH) have been reported as the efficient enhancers of fermentation according to some reports. The objective of the present study was to confirm SVH as an efficient additive in CA production and explore the synergistic effects of methanol and SVH in fermentation reactions. RESULTS: The optimal fermentation conditions resulted in a maximum citric acid concentration of 3.729 g/L. The final citric acid concentration under the optimized conditions was increased by 3.6-fold over the original conditions, 0.49-fold over the optimized conditions without methanol, and 1.8-fold over the optimized conditions in the absence of SVH. Kinetic analysis showed that Qp, Yp/s, and Yx/s in the optimized systems were significantly improved compared with those obtained in the absence of methanol or SVH. Further, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that methanol stress promoted the formation of conidiophores, while SVH could neutralize the effect and prolong Aspergillus niger vegetative growth. Cell viability analysis also showed that SVH might eliminate the harmful effects of methanol and enhance cell membrane integrity. CONCLUSIONS: SVH was a superior additive for organic acid fermentation, and the combination of methanol and SVH displayed a significant synergistic effect. The research provides a preliminary theoretical basis for SVH practical application in the fermentation industry.