New insight into the mechanisms of autochthonous fungal bioaugmentation of phenanthrene in petroleum contaminated soil by stable isotope probing.

Autochthonous fungal bioaugmentation (AFB) is considered a reliable bioremediation approach for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination, but little is known about its mechanisms in contaminated soils. Here, a microcosm experiment was performed to explore the AFB mechanisms associated with two highly efficient phenanthrene degrading agents of fungi (with laccase-producing Scedosporium aurantiacum GIG-3 and non-laccase-producing Aspergillus fumigatus LJD-29), using stable-isotope-probing (SIP) and high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that each fungus markedly improved phenanthrene removal, and microcosms with both fungi exhibited the best phenanthrene removal performance among all microcosms. Additionally, AFB markedly shifted the composition of the microbial community, particularly the phenanthrene-degrading bacterial taxa. Interestingly, based on SIP results, strains GIG-3 and LJD-29 did not assimilate phenanthrene directly during AFB, but instead played key roles in the preliminary decomposition of phenanthrene though secretion of different extracellular enzymes to oxidize the benzene ring (GIG-3 bioaugmentation with laccase, and LJD-29 bioaugmentation with manganese and lignin peroxidases). In addition, all functional degraders directly involved in phenanthrene assimilation were indigenous bacteria, while native fungi rarely participated in the direct phenanthrene mineralization. Our findings provide a new mechanism of AFB with multiple fungi, and support AFB as a promising strategy for the in situ bioremediation of PAH-contaminated soil.

Effective solid-phase extraction of chlorophenols with covalent organic framework material as adsorbent.

In this work, a porous extended network covalent organic framework designated as TP-NDA-COF was synthesized by the reaction of 2,4,6-trihydroxy-benzene-1,3,5-tricarbaldehyde (TP) and 1,5-naphthalenediamine (NDA). The structure and morphology of the TP-NDA-COF was characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The TP-NDA-COF was applied as a solid-phase extraction adsorbent for the extraction of some chlorophenols from water and lemon black tea beverage samples prior to high performance liquid chromatography-UV detection. The main experimental parameters that affect the extraction efficiency including the type and volume of eluent, sample solution volume, sample loading rate and sample solution pH were investigated. Under the optimal conditions, the calibration curves were linear in the range of 0.30-60.0 ng mL-1 with the determination coefficients (R2) of 0.9996-0.9998 for water samples and in the range of 0.60-60.0 ng mL-1 with the R2 values from 0.9990 to 0.9996 for beverage samples. At the signal to noise ratio of 3 (S/N = 3), the method LODs for the analytes were 0.10-0.15 ng mL-1 for water samples and 0.20-0.50 ng mL-1 for lemon black tea beverage, respectively. Good repeatability was achieved with the relative standard deviations of less than 7%. The results showed that the SPE-HPLC method can be used for the determination of chlorophenols in environmental water and foodstuffs samples.

"Efficacy and safety of Liangxue Jiedu decoction for the treatment of progressive psoriasis vulgaris: a multicenter, randomized, controlled study".

OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical efficacy and safety of Liangxue Jiedu decoction (LJD) for the treatment of progressive psoriasis vulgaris and to provide the basis for the development of a standardized treatment protocol for psoriasis vulgaris. METHODS: In this multicenter, randomized, controlled study, patients with blood-heat type psoriasis were randomly assigned to receive either Chinese herbal medicine (LJD; treatment group) or Western Medicine (cetirizine hydrochloride, vitamin C, and vitamin B complex; control group). Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) scores were calculated in addition to the number of patients who achieved ≥ 50% or ≥ 75% improvement in PASI score from baseline. The change in symptoms of Chinese medicine (color of rash, burning sensation, itchiness, severity of irritation, and anger) was evaluated and safety was assessed as adverse events and laboratory analysis. t test, independent sample non-parametric test and χ2 test were used to analyze the results. RESULTS: A total of 238 participants were included in the study [treatment group, n = 122 (PP analysis 117); control group, n = 116 (PP analysis 104)]. LJD treatment was associated with a significant improvement in skin lesions and symptoms compared with Western Medicine treatment. At the end of the 8-week treatment period, 23.77% (PP analysis 24.79%) of patients in the treatment group had achieved PASI75 and 57.38% (PP analysis 58.97%) had achieved PASI50; the corresponding figures in the control group were 9.48% (9.62%) and 25.00% (25.00%), respectively. The between-group differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Treatment of psoriasis vulgaris of the blood-heat type using LJD was associated with significantly better outcomes compared with those achieved using standard Western Medicine.

On-line two-step stacking in capillary zone electrophoresis for the preconcentration of strychnine and brucine.

An on-line sample preconcentration method by two-step stacking i.e., sweeping and micelle to solvent stacking, in capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) has been developed for the determination of strychnine and brucine in traditional Chinese herbal medicines. After experimental optimizations, the best separation was achieved by using 75 mM phosphate buffer (pH 2.5) with 30% methanol (v/v). Compared with normal CZE injection, 51- and 38-fold improvement in concentration sensitivity was achieved for strychnine and brucine, respectively. The calibration curve was linear in the range of 0.1-5.0 µg mL(-1) for both strychnine and brucine, with the correlation coefficients of 0.9998 and 0.9997, respectively. The limits of detection (S/N=3) for both alkaloids were 0.01 µg mL(-1). The inter-day (n=8) and intra-day (n=5) reproducibilities expressed as the relative standard deviations for corrected peak area were less than 9.5%. The method was applied to determine strychnine and brucine in two Chinese herbal medicines, with recoveries ranging from 94.2% to 105.4%. The results indicated that the method is simple, rapid, reliable, and can be applied to determine strychnos alkaloids in traditional Chinese herbal medicines.

[Interaction between strychnine and bovine serum albumin].

AIM: To study the interaction between strychnine and bovine serum albumin. METHODS: Fluorescence spectroscopy and ultraviolet spectroscopy were used. RESULTS: The static quenching and the non-radiation energy transfer are the two main reasons to leading the fluorescence quenching of BSA. The apparent combining constants (K(A)) between strychnine and BSA are 3.72 x 10(3) at 27 degrees C, 4.27 x 10(3) at 37 degrees C, 4.47 x 10(3) at 47 degrees C and the combining sites are 1.01 +/- 0.03. The combining distance (r = 3.795 nm) and energy transfer efficiency (E = 0.0338) are obtained by Förster's non-radiation energy transfer mechanism. CONCLUSION: The interaction between strychnine and BSA was driven mainly by hydrophobic force.