Dissolved Organic Phosphorus Removal in Secondary Effluent by Ferrate (VI): Performance and Mechanism.

Dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP), which is recalcitrant in municipal wastewater treatment, accounts for 26-81% of dissolved total phosphorus in the effluent. More importantly, the majority of DOP could be bioavailable, potentially threatening the aquatic environment through eutrophication. This study aimed to develop a ferrate (VI)-based advanced treatment to effectively destruct and remove DOP from secondary effluent and use deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) as DOP model compounds to explore the relevant mechanisms. The results showed that ferrate (VI) treatment could efficiently destruct and remove 75% of the DOP in secondary effluent from an activated sludge-adopted municipal wastewater treatment plant, under normal operating conditions. Moreover, the coexistence of nitrate, ammonia, and alkalinity barely affected the effectiveness, while the presence of phosphate significantly inhibited DOP removal. The mechanistic study revealed that ferrate (VI)-induced particle adsorption was the dominant way to achieve DOP reduction, rather than oxidating DOP to phosphate and forming precipitation afterward. Meanwhile, DOP molecules could be effectively decomposed into smaller ones by ferrate (VI) oxidation. This study clearly demonstrated that ferrate (VI) treatment could achieve a promising DOP removal from secondary effluent for mitigating the risk of eutrophication in receiving water bodies.

Pine pollen polysaccharides promote cell proliferation and accelerate wound healing by activating the JAK2-STAT3 signaling pathway.

Natural medicine can be used to develop wound healing agents due to its excellent characteristics of promoting rapid wound healing. Pine pollen polysaccharides (PPPS), a water-soluble polysaccharide with hydrophilicity and viscosity, which is suitable for the development of wound dressing. The purpose of this study is to explore the role and mechanism of PPPS in the process of wound healing. The results showed that PPPS could accelerate the wound healing, promote cell proliferation, transform the cell cycle from G1 phase to S and G2 phase, and increase the expression of Cyclin B1 in vitro. These effects of PPPS were achieved by activating JAK2-STAT3 signaling pathway. Similarly, PPPS could accelerate the healing of mouse cutaneous wounds, and could promote the growth of chicken embryo chorioallantoic vessels. In conclusion, this study indicates that PPPS is a new promising natural agent for promoting wound healing.

Anti-tumor activity of polysaccharides extracted from Pinus massoniana pollen in colorectal cancer- in vitro and in vivo studies.

The prevalence and mortality rate of colorectal cancer (CRC) have been increasing dramatically worldwide. Pinus massoniana pollen, a well-known natural food, is one of the most commonly consumed traditional medicines in China. P. massoniana pollen polysaccharides (PPPS) have antitumor effects, but it remains unclear whether they can inhibit CRC. Here, we have demonstrated that PPPS inhibited CRC cell proliferation effectively, induced morphology changes, triggered apoptosis by upregulating key apoptosis-related proteins, and arrested the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase. Moreover, PPPS markedly inhibited CRC cell metastasis by downregulating MMP-9 and inhibiting epithelial-mesenchymal transition. In vivo, PPPS exhibited potent antitumor activity and no observable toxicity in BALB/c nude mice bearing HCT-116 tumors. Most strikingly, PPPS pre-treatment dramatically inhibited the growth of incipient tumors, although not as effectively as in the PPPS-Ther group. Thus, our results suggest that PPPS can be a potential anti-CRC agent, paving the way for developing complex carbohydrates for tumor prevention and treatment.