Efficient removal and recovery of phosphorus from industrial wastewater in the form of vivianite.

With the shortage of phosphorus resources, the concept of phosphorus recovery from wastewater is generally proposed. Recently, phosphorus recovery from wastewater in the form of vivianite has been widely reported, which could be used as a slow-release fertilizer as well as the production of lithium iron phosphate for Li-ion batteries. In this study, chemical precipitation thermodynamic modeling was applied to evaluate the effect of solution factors on vivianite crystallization with actual phosphorus containing industrial wastewater. The modeling results showed that the solution pH influences the concentration of diverse ions, and the initial Fe2+ concentration affects the formation area of vivianite. The saturation index (SI) of vivianite increased with the initial Fe2+ concentration and Fe:P molar ratio. pH 7.0, initial Fe2+ concentration 500 mg/L and Fe:P molar ratio 1.50 were the optimal conditions for phosphorus recovery. Mineral Liberation Analyzer (MLA) accurately determined the purity of vivianite was 24.13%, indicating the feasibility of recovering vivianite from industrial wastewater. In addition, the cost analysis showed that the cost of recovering phosphorus by the vivianite process was 0.925 USD/kg P, which can produce high-value vivianite products and realize "turn waste into treasure".

Converting wastes to resource: Utilization of dewatered municipal sludge for calcium-based biochar adsorbent preparation and land application as a fertilizer.

Pyrolysis combined with land application for dewatered municipal sludge disposal revealed advantages in heavy metals solidification and resource utilization compared with other disposal technologies. In this study, utilizing dewatered municipal sludge for calcium-containing porous adsorbent preparation via pyrolysis was proposed and verified. After pyrolyzing at 900 ° C (Ca-900), the dewatered sludge obtained maximum adsorption capacity (83.95 mg P⋅ g-1) and the adsorption process conformed to the pseudo-second-order model and double layer model. Characteristic analysis showed the predominant adsorption mechanism was precipitation. Continuous column bed experiment indicated 2 g adsorbent could remove 4.27 mg phosphorus from tail wastewater with the initial phosphorus concentration of 1.03 mg ⋅ L-1. No heavy metals leaching was observed from Ca-900 adsorbent with pH value exceeding 1.0, and merely 1% addition of Ca-900 adsorbent (after actual water phosphorus adsorption) with soil could extremely promote the early growth of seedlings. Economic estimates demonstrated that this cost-effective modification could generate the most add-on value production. Based on these results, the strategy of 'one treatment but two uses' was proposed in this study, converting the wastes to resource and providing a native strategy for sludge disposal and resource recovery.

Advanced treatment of phosphorus-containing tail water by Fe-Mg-Zr layered double hydroxide beads: Performance and mechanism.

The adsorption process for low concentration phosphorus wastewater treatment has advantages of simple convenience, stable performance and less sludge, while most of current adsorbents fail to be separated for reuse. Meanwhile, few people pay attention to the removal of low concentration phosphorus from tail water by adsorbents. In this study, a newly efficient Fe-Mg-Zr layered double hydroxide beads were prepared by simple in-situ crosslinking method and applied for low concentration phosphorus adsorption from real tail water. The maximum adsorption capacity of Fe-Mg-Zr beads was 21.61 mg/g, showing more practical application value for phosphorus removal. Fixed bed experiments showed that 5.0 g adsorbent could removed 2.12 mg phosphorus from tail wastewater containing 1.03 mg/L phosphorus. The beads adsorbent can be reused with excellent adsorption performance even after five cycles of adsorption-desorption operation. After detailed analyses, it was found that ligand exchange and ion exchange were the dominant mechanisms for phosphorus adsorption by this beads. Overall, the material has the advantages of simple preparation, good adsorption performance, easy separation and recycle, indicating a great potential for low concentration phosphorus wastewater treatment.

n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids abrogate mTORC1/2 signaling and inhibit adrenocortical carcinoma growth in vitro and in vivo.

n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential for human health and have been reported to reduce the risk of cancer, inhibit the growth of various types of tumors both in vitro and in vivo, and affect adrenal function. However, their effects on adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) are not known. In the present study, we demonstrated that docosahexenoic acid (DHA) inhibited ACC cell proliferation, colony formation and cell cycle progression, and promoted apoptosis. In addition, ectopic expression of fat-1, a desaturase that converts n-6 to n-3 PUFAs endogenously, also inhibited ACC cell proliferation. Moreover, supplementing n-3 PUFAs in the diet efficiently prevented ACC cell growth in xenograft models. Notably, implanted ACC cells were unable to grow in fat-1 transgenic severe combined immune deficiency mice. Further study revealed that exogenous and endogenous n-3 PUFAs efficiently suppressed both mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and mTORC2 signaling in ACC in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, our findings provide comprehensive preclinical evidence that n-3 PUFAs efficiently prevent ACC growth by inhibiting mTORC1/2, which may have important implications in the treatment of ACC.

Effects of phenytoin and Echinacea purpurea extract on proliferation and apoptosis of mouse embryonic palatal mesenchymal cells.

Cleft palate is one of the most common birth defects. Several environment factors are involved in the disorder, such as smoking, vitamin deficiency and teratogens. We investigated the teratogenic agent phenytoin and extract of the immunostimulant Echinacea purpurea in the etiology of cleft palate associated with the proliferation and apoptosis of mouse embryonic palatal mesenchymal (MEPM) cells. We measured the effects of phenytoin, E. purpurea extract, and the mixture of phenytoin and E. purpurea extract on the cell viability of MEPM cells by CCK-8 assay and on the proliferation and apoptosis of MEPM cells by BrdU labeling assay, flow cytometry, and TUNEL assay. Exposure to phenytoin for 24 h inhibited cell proliferation and increased cell apoptosis of MEPM cells, and E. purpurea extract had the reverse effect. Importantly, treatment with the mixture of phenytoin and E. purpurea extract increased the proliferation and decreased the apoptosis of MEPM cells as compared with treatment with phenytoin alone. The teratogenic effect of phenytoin on cleft palate is associated with the proliferation and apoptosis of MEPM cells, and E. purpurea extract may have a protective effect.

Effects of plant polyphenols on ovarian follicular reserve in aging rats.

The pool of ovarian primordial follicles is established during embryonic development or at birth. During the development from primordial to primary, secondary, and antral follicles, only a small portion of follicles can mature and successfully ovulate; the others are destined to degenerate through apoptotic or atretic loss. As aging advances, females ultimately enter the cessation phase of the estrous cycle and are no longer capable of fertilization. The presumption is that if we can slow down the process of folliculogenesis or decrease follicle loss, females may have a larger ovarian follicular reserve and a longer reproductive lifespan. In our study, rats underwent intragastric administration with tea polyphenols, quercetin (meletin), genistein, or resveratrol, once a day for 4 months (from age 12 to 15 months), to test whether they have positive effects on follicular reserve or ovarian functions. The results showed that rats treated with tea polyphenols (27.8 +/- 3.2) and quercetin (36.5 +/- 4.1) had a comparable number of healthy follicles to those of controls (26.9 +/- 3.8), although significantly fewer atretic follicles were observed in the tea polyphenol group (43.4 +/- 5.9 vs 79.7 +/- 7.5; p < 0.001). Remarkably, both genistein- and resveratrol-treated rats had more healthy follicles (respectively, 42.8 +/- 3.9, p < 0.05; and 51.9 +/- 6.4, p < 0.001) and fewer atretic follicles (respectively, 58.4 +/- 8.0, p < 0.05; and 51.0 +/- 6.2, p < 0.01) than controls. These results indicate that genistein and resveratrol can increase the ovarian follicular reserve and prolong the ovarian lifespan in rats, and their positive effects may be not only due to their intervention in the transition from primordial to primary follicle, but also due to the inhibiting effect on follicular atresia.

Effects of genistein on ovarian follicular development and ovarian life span in rats.

Recently, studies reported that neonatal genistein treatment inhibited breakdown of oocyte nests and increased oocyte survival, resulting in multi-oocyte survival in adult mice. However, whether the inhibition effect in ovarian follicular development exists also in other stages during ovarian development (e.g. adult or climacteric) is unknown. So far, few studies have investigated the effect of genistein in adult or pre-menopausal ovarian follicular development and follicular reserves. We investigated ovarian follicular development in 4-month and 15-month-old rats after 4 weeks and 4 months treatment with genistein in a dose of 160 mg/kg d. Genistein-treated rats obtained a higher percentage of primordial follicles by 4 months of age and a greater number of surviving follicles at 15 months of age compared to a control group (P<0.05). In addition, vaginal cytology showed that age-dependent cessation of regular estrus was delayed for 2 months in the genistein-treated group than control group. These results suggest that genistein alters rat ovarian follicular development and increases the number of surviving follicles, which may prolong ovarian reproductive life.