Optimization of a compact on-site stormwater runoff treatment system: Process performance and reactor design.

Stormwater runoff has become a major anthropogenic urban pollution source that threatens water quality. In this study, coagulation-sedimentation, and ammonium ion exchange and regeneration (AIR) modules were coupled as a CAIR system to efficiently treat stormwater runoff. In the coagulation module, 99.3%, 91.7%, and 97.0% of turbidity, total phosphorus, and chemical oxygen demand could be removed at an optimized poly-aluminum ferric chloride dosage of 30 mg/L, and the continuous experiment confirmed that the full load mode was more suitable for its rapid start-up. In the AIR module, dynamic ammonium removal indicated that the breakthrough time decreased with the rising initial concentration and superficial velocity. The Modified Dose Response (MDR) model described the ammonium exchange behavior better than the Thomas and the Bohart-Adams models. Then, a design flow of the ion exchange reactor was constructed by correlating constants in the MDR model with engineering parameters, and the ion exchange reactor was designed for continuous operation of the CAIR system. The average concentrations of chemical oxygen demand, total phosphorus, ammonium nitrogen, and total nitrogen in the effluent of the CAIR system were 7.22 ± 2.26, 0.17 ± 0.05, 1.49 ± 0.01, and 1.62 ± 0.02 mg/L, respectively. The almost unchanged exchange capacity and physicochemical properties after the multicycle operation confirmed the durability of zeolite for ion exchange. Techno-economic analysis suggested that the CAIR system is practically promising for stormwater management with efficient pollutants removal, small footprint, and acceptable operating cost.

Expression, purification and epitope analysis of Pla a 3 allergen from Platanus acerifolia pollen.

Platanus acerifolia (P. acerifolia) is an important cause of pollinosis in cities. The use of allergen extracts on patients with allergic diseases is the most commonly applied method to attempt to treat pollinosis. Pla a 3, a non­specific lipid transfer protein, is a major allergen present in P. acerifolia pollen extracts. In the present study, the Pla a 3 gene was sub­cloned into a pSUMO­Mut vector using Stu I and Xho I sites and transformed into the Arctic Express™ (DE3) RP E. coli host strain. The purified Pla a 3 allergen was analyzed by western blotting and the results revealed that the Pla a 3 allergen has the ability to bind IgE in the P. acerifolia pollen of allergic patients' sera. Moreover, the authors predicted the potential B cell epitopes of the Pla a 3 allergen using the DNAStar Protean system, the Bioinformatics Predicted Antigenic Peptides system and the BepiPred 1.0 server. In addition, the T cell epitopes were predicted by the SYFPEITHI database and the NetMHCII­2.2 server. As a result, two B cell epitopes (35­45 and 81­86) and four potential T cell epitopes including 2­15, 45­50, 55­61 and 67­73 were predicted in the present study. The current results can be used to contribute to allergen immunotherapies and useful in peptide­based vaccine designs of pollen allergy.

Hierarchical Plasmonic Nanorods and Upconversion Core-Satellite Nanoassemblies for Multimodal Imaging-Guided Combination Phototherapy.

DNA-driven hierarchical core-satellite nanostructures with plasmonic gold nanorod dimers and upconversion nanoparticles are fabricated. Once the core-satellite structure is activated, combined photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy are carried out under the guidance of upconversion luminesce, T1 -weighted magnetic resonance, photoacoustics, and computed tomography imaging of tumors in vivo, which exhibit the multifunctional biological applications of the DNA-based self-assemblies.

Biodiesel from Siberian apricot (Prunus sibirica L.) seed kernel oil.

In this paper, Siberian apricot (Prunus sibirica L.) seed kernel oil was investigated for the first time as a promising non-conventional feedstock for preparation of biodiesel. Siberian apricot seed kernel has high oil content (50.18 ± 3.92%), and the oil has low acid value (0.46 mg g(-1)) and low water content (0.17%). The fatty acid composition of the Siberian apricot seed kernel oil includes a high percentage of oleic acid (65.23 ± 4.97%) and linoleic acid (28.92 ± 4.62%). The measured fuel properties of the Siberian apricot biodiesel, except cetane number and oxidative stability, were conformed to EN 14214-08, ASTM D6751-10 and GB/T 20828-07 standards, especially the cold flow properties were excellent (Cold filter plugging point -14°C). The addition of 500 ppm tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) resulted in a higher induction period (7.7h) compliant with all the three biodiesel standards.

Multifunctional magnetoplasmonic nanoparticle assemblies for cancer therapy and diagnostics (theranostics).

In this work, we describe the preparation and biomedical functionalities of complex nanoparticle assemblies with magnetoplasmonic properties suitable for simultaneous cancer therapy and diagnostics (theranostics). Most commonly magnetoplasmonic nanostructures are made by careful adaptation of metal reduction protocols which is both tedious and restrictive. Here we apply the strategy of nanoscale assemblies to prepare such systems from individual building blocks. The prepared superstructures are based on magnetic Fe(3) O(4) nanoparticles encapsulated in silica shell representing the magnetic module. The cores are surrounded in a corona-like fashion by gold nanoparticles representing the plasmonic module. As additional functionality they were also coated by poly(ethyleneglycol) chains as a cloaking agent to extend the blood circulation time. The preparation is exceptionally simple and allows one to vary the contribution of each function. Both modules can carry drugs and, in this study, they were loaded with the potential anticancer drug curcumin. A comprehensive set of microscopy, spectroscopy and biochemical methods were applied to characterize both imaging and therapeutic function of the nanoparticle assemblies against leukemia HL-60 cells. High contrast magnetic resonance images and high apoptosis rates demonstrate the success of assembly approach for the preparation of magnetoplasmonic nanoparticles. This technology allows one to easily "dial in" the functionalities in the clinical setting for personalized theranostic regiments.

Simultaneous determination of 103 pesticide residues in tea samples by LC-MS/MS.

A simple and sensitive method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of 103 pesticide residues in tea by LC-MS/MS. For the analysis of the pesticide with polarity, thermal lability or low volatility, this LC-MS/MS method has an advantage over GC. In this work, residual pesticides were extracted from the tea sample with ACN and then purified using Carb-NH(2) SPE cartridges. Using the multiple reaction monitoring mode, the pesticides were quantified and identified by the most abundant and characteristic fragment ions. The recoveries obtained for each pesticide ranged between 65 and 114% at three spiked concentration levels. The intra-day precisions were lower than 19.6%. Good linear relationships were observed with the correlation coefficients r(2) >0.996 for all analytes. The established method was successfully applied to the determination of pesticide residues in real tea samples.