Altitudinal Variation on Metabolites, Elements, and Antioxidant Activities of Medicinal Plant Asarum.

Asarum (Asarum sieboldii Miq. f. seoulense (Nakai) C. Y. Cheng et C. S. Yang) is a medicinal plant that contains asarinin and sesamin, which possess extensive medicinal value. The adaptation and distribution of Asarum's plant growth are significantly affected by altitude. Although most studies on Asarum have concentrated on its pharmacological activities, little is known about its growth and metabolites with respect to altitude. In this study, the physiology, ionomics, and metabolomics were investigated and conducted on the leaves and roots of Asarum along an altitude gradient, and the content of its medicinal components was determined. The results showed that soil pH and temperature both decreased along the altitude, which restricts the growth of Asarum. The accumulation of TOC, Cu, Mg, and other mineral elements enhanced the photosynthetic capacity and leaf plasticity of Asarum in high-altitude areas. A metabolomics analysis revealed that, at high altitude, nitrogen metabolism in leaves was enhanced, while carbon metabolism in roots was enhanced. Furthermore, the metabolic pathways of some phenolic substances, including syringic acid, vanillic acid, and ferulic acid, were altered to enhance the metabolism of organic acids. The study uncovered the growth and metabolic responses of Asarum to varying altitudes, providing a theoretical foundation for the utilization and cultivation of Asarum.

Complete chloroplast genome of Adonis pseudoamurensis W.T.Wang (Ranunculaceae).

Adonis pseudoamurensis W.T. Wang 1980 is an important traditional medicinal plant used for the treatment of cardiac diseases. The complete chloroplast (cp) genome of Adonis pseudoamurensis is reported for the first time in this study. The circular cp genome is 156,917 bp in length, consisting of a large single-copy region (86,262 bp), a small single-copy region (18,067 bp), and two inverted repeat regions (26,294 bp). The genome encodes 129 genes, comprising 84 protein-coding genes, 37 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and 8 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that A. pseudoamurensis is closely related to A. amurensis.

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Aconitum tschangbaischanense (Ranunculaceae).

The perennial herbal medicine species Aconitum tschangbaischanense, is endemic to Changhai Mountain, Jilin province. In this study, we attempted to uncover the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of A. tschangbaischanense based on sequencing data using the Illumina sequencing technology. As per the results: (1) the length of its complete cp genome is 155,881 bp with a typical tetrad structure; (2) the structure of its cp genome contains large single-copy and small single-copy (LSC and SSC) regions of 86,351 and 16,9444 bp, respectively, isolated by two inverted repeat regions (IRs) of 26,293 bp; (3) we annotated a total 131 genes, consisting of 86 protein-coding genes, eight rRNA genes, and 37 tRNA genes. According to the maximum-likelihood phylogenetic tree based on complete cp genomes, A. tschangbaischanense, showed close association with A. carmichaelii, which belongs to clade I. Finally, this study provides the characteristics of the cp genome of A. tschangbaischanense, and its phylogenetic position.

A novel constructed wetland based on iron carbon substrates: performance optimization and mechanisms of simultaneous removal of nitrogen and phosphorus.

In recent years, the combination of iron carbon micro-electrolysis (ICME) with constructed wetlands (CWs) for removal of nitrogen and phosphorus has attracted more and more attention. However, the removal mechanisms by CWs with iron carbon (Fe-C) substrates are still unclear. In this study, the Fe-C based CW (CW-A) was established to improve the removal efficiencies of nitrogen and phosphorus by optimizing the operating conditions. And the removal mechanisms of nitrogen and phosphorus were explored. The results shown that the removal rates of COD, NH4+-N, NO3--N, TN, and TP in CW-A could reach up to 84.4%, 94.0%, 81.1%, 86.6%, and 84.3%, respectively. Wetland plants and intermittent aeration have dominant effects on the removal of NH4+-N, while the removal efficiencies of NO3--N, TN, and TP were mainly affected by Fe-C substrates, wetland plants, and HRT. XPS analysis revealed that Fe(0)/Fe2+ and their valence transformation played important roles on the pollutants removal. High-throughput sequencing results showed that Fe-C substrates and wetland plants had considerable impacts on the microbial community structures, such as richness and diversity of microorganism. The relative abundance of autotrophic denitrification bacteria (e.g., Denitatsoma, Thauera, and Sulfuritalea) increased in CW-A than CW-C. The electrons and H2/[H] produced from Fe-C substrates were utilized by autotrophic denitrification bacteria for NO3--N reduction. Microbial degradation was the main removal mechanism of nitrogen in CW-A. Removal efficiency of phosphorus was enhanced resulted from the reaction of phosphate with iron ion. The application of CWs with Fe-C substrates and plants presented great potential for simultaneous removal of nitrogen and phosphorus.

A new and systematic review on the efficiency and mechanism of different techniques for OPFRs removal from aqueous environments.

Organic phosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs), as a new type of emerging contaminant, have drawn great attention over the last few years, due to their wide distribution in aquatic environments and potential toxicities to humans and living beings. Various treatment methods have been reported to remove OPFRs from water or wastewater. In this review, the performances and mechanisms for OPFRs removal with different methods including adsorption, oxidation, reduction and biological techniques are overviewed and discussed. Each technique possesses its advantage and limitation, which is compared in the paper. The degradation pathways of typical OPFRs pollutants, such as Cl-OPFRs, alkyl OPFRs and aryl OPFRs, are also reviewed and compared. The degradation of those OPFRs depends heavily upon their structures and properties. Furthermore, the implications and future perspectives in such area are discussed. The review may help identify the research priorities for OPFRs remediation and understand the fate of OPFRs during the treatment processes.

Enhanced photocatalytic performance of visible-light-driven CuOx/TiO2-x for degradation of gaseous formaldehyde: Roles of oxygen vacancies and nano copper oxides.

Photocatalysis is an effective method for the removal of formaldehyde (HCHO), and high-efficiency visible-light-driven photocatalysts were urgently required. Herein, oxygen vacancies (OVs) and nano copper oxides (CuOx) synergistically modified TiO2 (CuOx/TiO2-x) photocatalysts were synthesized by one-step hydrothermal followed by impregnation method. The photocatalytic decomposition of HCHO reached 100% at initial concentration of 180 ppm under relative humidity (RH) = 60% by 0.1g CuOx/TiO2-x in 150 min visible light irradiation. Characterization results explored the complementary effect of OVs and CuOx systematically. The OVs increased the separation efficiency of photogenerated charge carriers and act as adsorption/active sites in HCHO photocatalytic oxidation. The moisture and O2 were adsorbed and actived by OVs to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). After doped CuOx on the surface of TiO2-x, the photoexcited electrons in Cu2O could transfer to the conduction band (CB) of TiO2-x and the photoexcited electrons of TiO2-x could be captured by Cu nanoparticles. Therefore, more ROS were generated due to the synergistic effect of OVs and CuOx. The In-situ Fourier transform infrared (in-situ FTIR) measurements show the hydroxyl radical (•OH) was the dominant radical in HCHO photocatalytic oxidation, while •O2- could also upgrade the photodegradation efficiency of HCHO. Furthermore, the stability tests showed the degradation efficiency of HCHO still reached 90% after five recycles, indicating that CuOx/TiO2-x nanocomposites displayed a stable and high photoactivity in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) decomposition.

Complete chloroplast genome of adonis amurensis (ranunculaceae), an important cardiac folk medicinal plant in east asia.

Adonis amurensis Regel et Radde is an important cardiac folk medicinal plant which endemic to Northeast Asia. We determined the first complete chloroplast genome of A. amurensis using genome skimming approach. The cp genome was 157,032 bp long, with a large single-copy region (LSC) of 86,218 bp and a small single-copy region (SSC) of 18,212 bp separated by a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 26,301 bp. It encodes 129 genes, including 84 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 ribosomal RNA genes. We also reconstructed the phylogeny of Adonideae and Isopyreae using maximum likelihood (ML) method, including our data and previously reported cp genomes of related taxa. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that A. amurensis is close related with Adonis sutchuenensis.

Ammonia capture from human urine to harvest liquid N-P compound fertilizer by a submerged hollow fiber membrane contactor: Performance and fertilizer analysis.

In this study, we developed a submerged hollow fiber membrane contactor (HFMC) to recover ammonia from human urine to get compound N-P fertilizers. The ammonia capture performance, water vapor transmembrane performance, ion rejection performance and the liquid fertilizer components using 1-4 mol/L H3PO4 as the stripping solution was comprehensively investigated. Increasing H3PO4 concentration did not significantly affect the ammonia capture performance but the water vapor transfer and fertilizer components. The ammonia mass transfer coefficients were in a range of 1.95×10-6±4.77×10-8 to 2.28×10-6±6.71×10-8 m/s and the ammonia flux fluctuated between 17.80 and 20.80 g/m2·h. The water vapor flux increased with the increase of stripping solution concentration and the time elapsed. The N content (21.29-55.24 g/L) was in the range of the commercial products while the P2O5 content (99.41-281 g/L) was slightly higher, which can be used in the soils or plants with a high demand for phosphorus. The liquid fertilizers were all mixtures of (NH4)2HPO4 and NH4H2PO4, but the distribution ratio slightly changed with the different initial H3PO4 concentration. The economic assessment showed that harvesting liquid N-P fertilizer from human urine using HFMC can make a profit of $7.089/L.

Effects of pyrolysis temperature and addition proportions of corncob on the distribution of products and potential energy recovery during the preparation of sludge activated carbon.

The potential energy recovery during sludge activated carbon (SAC) preparation by co-pyrolysis of sewage sludge and biomass has recently gained significant attention. This study firstly evaluated the distribution of pyrolysis products including SAC, oils and gases during sludge pyrolysis at different temperatures (400 °C-800 °C) and corncob addition proportions (0-50%, w/w). The results demonstrated that with the increase of pyrolysis temperature, yield of SAC declined dramatically, while yields of pyrolysis oils and gases increased. With increasing addition of corncob, the yields of SAC and pyrolysis oils declined slightly, while the yield of gases generally increased. Then, the potential energy recovery during sludge pyrolysis was calculated, and the highest energy recovery value was 10.21 kJ/g achieved at 800 °C and 50% corncob addition. However, higher pyrolysis temperature over 600 °C resulted in lower yield and iodine adsorption capacity of SAC. Therefore, the suitable conditions were suggested to be at 600 °C with 50% corncob addition considering both adsorption performance of SAC and potential energy recovery efficiency.

Synthesis and anticonvulsant activity of some 7-alkoxy-2H-1,4-benzothiazin-3(4H)-ones and 7-alkoxy-4H-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-d]benzo[b][1,4]thiazines.

A series of 7-alkoxy-2H-1,4-benzothiazin-3(4H)-ones and a new series of 7-alkoxy-4H-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-d]benzo[b][1,4]thiazine derivatives were synthesized using 5-methoxybenzo[d]thiazol-2-amine as starting material. The structures of the compounds were elucidated by IR, (1)H-NMR spectroscopic data and microanalyses. The anticonvulsant activity of these compounds was evaluated by maximal electroshock (MES) test and rotarod test following intraperitoneal injection in KunMing mice. Among the synthesized compounds 3a-v, 7-(hexyloxy)-2H-benzo[b][1,4]thiazin-3(4H)-one (3f) could be considered potentially the most useful and safe therapeutic compound. Among the synthesized compounds 4a-u, compound 7-(2-fluorobenzyloxy)-4H-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-d]benzo[b][1,4]thiazine (4k) was the most active compound with an ED(50) of 17.0 mg/kg, TD(50) of 243.9 mg/kg and protective index (PI) of 14.3. Its neurotoxicity was lower than all the other synthesized compounds and also markedly lower than that of the reference drug carbamazepine.

Ozonation catalyzed by the raw bauxite for the degradation of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole in drinking water.

A kind of inexpensive and environmental friendly mineral, the raw bauxite has been used successfully as a catalyst combined with ozonation in the degradation of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA). The catalyst was characterized by using various analytical techniques. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) characterization showed that the raw bauxite containing boehmite (gamma-AlOOH), kaolinite (Al(2)Si(2)O(5)(OH)(4)) and quartz (SiO(2)), and gamma-AlOOH was the major composition. The catalytic ozonation removal effectiveness of TCA was investigated under various physicochemical conditions. Both the adsorption and the single ozonation were not effective for the degradation of TCA, and the presence of the raw bauxite in ozonation enhanced the TCA removal effectiveness. Both the hydroxyl radicals (OH) scavenging experiment and R(ct) characterization confirmed that the generation of OH was accounted for the enhancement of the degradation of TCA. The generation of OH was inhibited faintly by the presence of both natural organic matters (NOMs) and alkalinity in the natural water during catalyzed ozonation with the raw bauxite. The increasing of both the bauxite dosage and the ozone dosage enhanced the removal effectiveness of TCA. The raw bauxite was an efficient green catalyst for TCA degradation in drinking water.

Use of dewatered municipal sludge on Canna growth in pot experiments with a barren clay soil.

The present study evaluated the possibility of using the dewatered municipal sludge for non-agricultural purposes. The sludge was amended with soil and was applied at 0, 165, 330, 495 and 660 t/ha to promote the growth of Canna. The results showed that the Canna growth pattern exhibited a pronounced positive growth response in the range of 165-495 t/ha, and the Canna could not survive at an amendment rate of 660 t/ha. The analysis of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters showed that sludge did no harm to Canna, while under the conditions of barren soil alone, the plants were put into nutrients stress conditions. Due to the application of sludge, the concentration of heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Cr, Cd, Pb and Ni) in soil increased. However, by planting of Canna, contents of Cd, Ni and Zn showed trends of decline; Cd and Ni have shown a significant decline in concentration, while Zn had only limit response. As a result, dewatered sludge might be used to amend the barren soil and Canna could be used for phytoremediation of sludge.