Simultaneous removal of nitrate nitrogen and orthophosphate by electroreduction and electrochemical precipitation.

Electrochemical methods can effectively remove nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) and orthophosphate phosphorus (PO4-P) from wastewater. This work proposed a process for the simultaneous removal of NO3-N and PO4-P by combining electroreduction with electrochemically-induced calcium phosphate precipitation, and its performance and mechanisms were studied. For the treatment of 100 mg L-1 NO3-N and 5 mg L-1 PO4-P, NO3-N removal of 60-90% (per cathode area: 0.25-0.38 mg h-1 cm-2) and 80-90% (per cathode area: 0.33-0.38 mg h-1 cm-2) could be acquired within 3 h in single-chamber cell (SCC) and dual-chamber cell (DCC), while P removal was 80-98% (per cathode area: 0.10-0.12 mg h-1 cm-2) in SCC after 30 min and 98% (per cathode area: 0.37 mg h-1 cm-2) in DCC within 10 min. The faster P removal in DCC was due to the higher pH and more abundant Ca2+ in the cathode chamber of DCC, which was caused by the cation exchange membrane (CEM). Interestingly, NO3-N reduction enhanced P removal because more OH- can be produced by nitrate reduction than hydrogen evolution for an equal-charge reaction. For 10 mg L-1 PO4-P in SCC, when the initial NO3-N was 0, 20, 100, and 500 mg L-1, the P removal efficiencies after 1 h treatment were < 10%, 45-55%, 86-99%, and above 98% respectively. An increase in Ca2+ concentration also promoted P removal. However, Ca and P inhibited nitrate reduction in SCC at the relatively low initial Ca/P, as CaP on the cathode limited the charge or mass transfer process. The removal efficiency of NO3-N in SCC after 3 h reaction can reduce by about 17%, 40%, and 34% for Co3O4/Ti, Co/Ti, and TiO2/Ti. The degree of inhibition of P on NO3-N removal was related to the content and composition of CaP deposited on the cathode. On the cathode, the lower the deposited Ca and P, and the higher the deposited Ca/P molar ratio, the weaker the inhibition of P on NO3-N removal. Especially, P had little or even no inhibition on nitrate reduction when treated in DCC instead of SCC or under high initial Ca/P. It is speculated that under these conditions, a high local pH and local high concentration Ca2+ layer near the cathode led to a decrease in CaP deposition and an increase in Ca/P molar ratio on the cathode. High initial concentrations of NO3-N might also be beneficial in reducing the inhibition of P on nitrate reduction, as few CaP with high Ca/P molar ratios were deposited on the cathode. The evaluation of the real wastewater treatment was also conducted.

Psychological Status and Influencing Factors Among Pregnant Women Undergoing In Vitro Fertilization.

Objective: This retrospective study aimed to observe the psychological status and analyze the influencing factors among pregnant women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). Methods: A total of 456 pregnant women who underwent IVF and were admitted to the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University from June 2021 to January 2022 were included as research subjects. General data of all subjects, including previous miscarriage history, infertility duration, number of IVF treatments, factors contributing to infertility, endometrial thickness, and embryo quality, were collected. Univariate/multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the risk factors associated with the psychological status of pregnant women undergoing IVF. Results: In this study, 191 (41.89%) patients were diagnosed with anxiety disorder, and 131 (28.73%) patients were diagnosed with depression. Significant differences were observed between the anxiety group and the non-anxiety group in terms of previous miscarriage history, infertility duration, number of IVF treatments, ovarian factors of infertility, oviduct factors of infertility, uterus factors of infertility, endometrial thickness, and embryo quality (all P < .05). Similarly, significant differences were found between the depression group and the non-depression group in terms of previous miscarriage history, infertility duration, number of IVF treatments, ovarian factors of infertility, oviduct factors of infertility, uterus factors of infertility, endometrial thickness, and embryo quality (all P < .05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the number of IVF treatments was an independent risk factor for both anxiety and depression status (all P < .05). Conclusions: Among pregnant women undergoing IVF, psychological states such as anxiety and depression may be associated with the number of IVF treatments, endometrial thickness, and embryo quality.

Wenqingyin suppresses ferroptosis in the pathogenesis of sepsis-induced liver injury by activating the Nrf2-mediated signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Wenqingyin (WQY) is a classic traditional Chinese medicine formula used to treat various inflammatory diseases. However, its protective activity against ferroptosis in the pathogenesis of sepsis-induced liver injury and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the therapeutic efficacy and potential mechanism of action of WQY in sepsis-induced liver injury both in vivo and in vitro. METHODS: In vivo: Lipopolysaccharide was intraperitoneally injected into nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) knockout (Nrf2-/-) and wild-type mice to construct a septic liver injury mouse model. Experimental mice were intraperitoneally injected with ferroptosis-1 and intragastrically administered WQY. In vitro: LO2 hepatocytes were stimulated with erastin to activate ferroptosis and later treated with varying concentrations of WQY and an Nrf2 inhibitor (ML385). Pathological damage was evaluated following hematoxylin and eosin staining. Lipid peroxidation levels were assessed using malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione, as well as reactive oxygen species fluorescent probes. JC-1 staining was performed to evaluate the mitochondrial membrane potential damage. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and western blot assay were performed to detect the related gene and protein levels. The levels of inflammatory factors were measured using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay kits. RESULTS: In vivo, sepsis-induced liver injury activated ferroptosis in mouse liver tissue. Fer-1 and WQY attenuated septic liver injury, which was associated with increased Nrf2 expression. Deletion of the Nrf2 gene led to aggravation of septic liver injury. The effect of WQY on the attenuation of septic liver injury was partially abolished by the knockdown of Nrf2. In vitro, erastin-induced ferroptosis resulted in decreased hepatocyte viability, lipid peroxidation, and mitochondrial membrane potential damage. WQY protected hepatocytes from erastin-induced ferroptosis by activating Nrf2. The attenuation effect of ferroptosis in hepatocytes by WQY was partially abolished by the inhibition of Nrf2. CONCLUSION: Ferroptosis has a critical role in the development of sepsis-mediated liver injury. Inhibition of ferroptosis is a possible novel treatment strategy for alleviating septic liver injury. WQY attenuates sepsis-mediated liver injury by suppressing ferroptosis in hepatocytes, which is related to its ability to activate Nrf2.

KCC2 overexpressed exosomes meditated spinal cord injury recovery in mice.

Exosomes show great potential in treating diseases of the central nervous system including spinal cord injury (SCI), still better engineered exosomes have more advantages. In this study, we purified exosomes from K+-Cl-co-transporter (KCC2) overexpressed bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (ExoKCC2), to investigate the effect of ExoKCC2on neural differentiationin vitroand the repairing function of ExoKCC2in SCI micein vivo. Compared to bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC)-derived exosomes (Exo), ExoKCC2could better promote neural stem cell differentiated into neurons, ameliorate the function recovery of SCI mice, and accelerate the neural regeneration at the lesion site. Altogether, engineered ExoKCC2may prove to be an advantageous strategy for SCI treatment.

Immunomodulatory Effects of Lepidium meyenii Walp. Polysaccharides on an Immunosuppression Model Induced by Cyclophosphamide.

Background: Lepidium meyenii Walp. (Maca) has emerged as a functional plant food and traditional herb owing to its biological activities; Maca polysaccharides as an important active component of Maca have good immunomodulatory effect; however, studies on the immunomodulatory effect of Maca polysaccharides are mainly focused on macrophages; little attention has been devoted to the mechanisms and other immune cells. This study is aimed at investigating the immunomodulatory effects and mechanisms of Maca polysaccharides. Methods: Sixty mice were divided into five groups, and the mice were injected with cyclophosphamide to establish an immunosuppression model except for those in the common group. The body weights were measured, as well as immune-related indices, such as organ indices, haematological parameters, lymphocyte cycle, and proliferation, cytokine, and protein expression levels. Results: The weight loss and immune organ index decline caused by cyclophosphamide could be reversed by MP. Furthermore, MP increased WBC and HGB counts and reduced the ratio of G0/G1 phase obviously, increased the proportion of S phase and G2/M phase in peripheral blood lymphocytes, increased the counts of CD4+ T cells and the ratio of CD4+/CD8+, and reduced the inhibition rate of splenic lymphocytes. MP affected the production of cytokines by increasing IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-2 levels and by decreasing IL-4 levels. MP increased the mRNA expression of T-bet and the protein expression of Bcl-2 in the spleen and decreased the protein expression of caspase-3 and Bax. Conclusions: Maca polysaccharides might be the basic material for Maca's immunomodulatory effect. The mechanism was perhaps related to inhibiting lymphocyte apoptosis and promoting the balance of Th1/Th2 cell subsets.

Alantolactone-Loaded Pegylated Prodrug Nanocarriers for Synergistic Treatment of Cisplatin-Resistant Ovarian Cancer via Reactivating Mitochondrial Apoptotic Pathway.

Ovarian cancer (OV) seriously damages women's health because of refractory OV and the development of platinum (Pt) resistance. New treatment strategies are urgently needed to deal with the treatment of cisplatin-resistant OV. Here, a reduction-sensitive pegylated Pt(IV) prodrug was synthesized by amidation of methoxy polyethylene glycol amine (PEG750-NH2) with monocarboxylic Pt(IV) prodrug (Pt(IV)-COOH). Then alantolactone (AL) loaded PEG-Pt(IV) nanocarriers (NP(Pt)@AL) were prepared. In the cisplatin-resistant model of OV, cancer cells actively ingest NP(Pt)@AL through endocytosis, and AL and Pt(II) were disintegrated and released under high intracellular reductant condition. The activity of thioredoxin reductase 1 (TrxR1) inhibited by AL and the adducts of Pt(II) with mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) can costimulate reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactivate the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis. Meanwhile, Pt(II) binds with nuclear DNA (nDNA) to jointly promote cell apoptosis. Both in vitro and in vivo results demonstrated that NP(Pt)@AL could effectively reverse the drug resistance and displayed excellent synergistic therapeutic efficacy on platinum-resistant OV with high safety. Therefore, reactivation of the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis would be a potential strategy to improve the therapeutic effect of Pt-based chemotherapy and even reverse drug resistance.

COVID-19 pandemic: study on simple, easy, and practical relaxation techniques while wearing medical protective equipment.

BACKGROUND: No studies have reported on how to relieve distress or relax in medical health workers while wearing medical protective equipment in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The study aimed to establish which relaxation technique, among six, is the most feasible in first-line medical health workers wearing medical protective equipment. METHODS: This was a two-step study collecting data with online surveys. Step 1: 15 first-line medical health workers were trained to use six different relaxation techniques and reported the two most feasible techniques while wearing medical protective equipment. Step 2: the most two feasible relaxation techniques revealed by step 1 were quantitatively tested in a sample of 65 medical health workers in terms of efficacy, no space limitation, no time limitation, no body position requirement, no environment limitation to be done, easiness to learn, simplicity, convenience, practicality, and acceptance. RESULTS: Kegel exercise and autogenic relaxation were the most feasible techniques according to step 1. In step 2, Kegel exercise outperformed autogenic relaxation on all the 10 dimensions among the 65 participants while wearing medical protective equipment (efficacy: 24 v. 15, no space limitation: 30 v. 4, no time limitation: 31 v. 4, no body position requirement: 26 v. 4, no environment limitation: 30 v. 11, easiness to learn: 28 v. 5, simplicity: 29 v. 7, convenience: 29 v. 4, practicality: 30 v. 14, acceptance: 32 v. 6). CONCLUSION: Kegel exercise seems a promising self-relaxation technique for first-line medical health workers while wearing medical protective equipment among COVID-19 pandemic.

Enhanced proteins and amino acids production based on ammonia nitrogen assimilation and sludge increment by the integration of bioadsorption with anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (AAO) process.

Poor effect of contaminants removal efficiency and low organic matter content of activated sludge are common in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in China due to the low-strength wastewater. An anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (AAO) and an adsorption/AAO (A/AAO) combined system were established simultaneously to conduct a comparative study for realizing the conversion of carbon source in influent and the enrichment and recovery of proteins and amino acids through the assimilation of ammonia nitrogen. The experimental results showed that 63.5% of the organic matter in influent was adsorbed and flocculated in adsorption process, and the removal rates of chemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen and total phosphorus in A/AAO process were 88.7%, 77.1%, and 93.0% respectively, which were remarkably better than those in AAO process owing to the addition of improved carbon source. Ammonia assimilation rate of A/AAO process was 26.7% higher than that of AAO process, which implied that the ammonia used to synthesize sludge protein was prominently increased. Furthermore, intracellular proteins and amino acids in A/AAO process were 20% higher than those of AAO process, and the quality was equivalent with fish meal or soybean meal as feed. In addition, the microbial community analysis based on 16S rDNA was conducted. Dechloromonas, Zoogloea, Nitrospira, and Flavobacterium were the main genera, and played important roles in nutrient removal and ammonia nitrogen assimilation. The integration of adsorption process was significant to low-strength wastewater treatment and the improvement of excess sludge quality, which is a prospective inspiration for the resource recovery-based wastewater treatment process.

Challenges of phototherapy for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (Review).

Phototherapy is universally recognized as the first option for treating neonatal jaundice due to its unparalleled efficiency and safety in reducing the high serum free bilirubin levels and limiting its neurotoxic effects. However, several studies have suggested that phototherapy may elicit a series of short- and long-term adverse reactions associated with pediatric diseases, including hemolysis, allergic diseases, DNA damage or even cancer. The aim of the present review was to summarize the etiology, mechanism, associated risks and therapeutic strategies for reducing high neonatal serum bilirubin levels. In order to shed light on the negative effects of phototherapy and to encourage implementation of a reasonable and standardized phototherapy scheme in the clinic, the present review sought to highlight the current understanding of the adverse reactions of phototherapy, as it is necessary to further study the mechanism underlying the development of the adverse effects of phototherapy in infants in order to explore novel therapeutic alternatives.

The effects of aqueous extract of Maca on energy metabolism and immunoregulation.

BACKGROUND: In the present work, we investigated the effects of aqueous extract of Maca (AEM) on energy metabolism and immunoregulation in spleen-deficient mice. METHOD: We established a cyclophosphamide-induced spleen-deficiency model with ginseng, a herb that strengthens splenic function, as a control. Sixty male Kunming mice were randomly divided among 5 groups: normal, model, ginseng control (1.5 g/kg), AEM high dose (1.5 g/kg), and AEM low dose (0.75 g/kg). All animals, except those in the normal group, were injected with cyclophosphamide to induce spleen deficiency. Furthermore, we investigated differences in the thermotropic behaviors of mice using the Animal Thermotropism Behavior Surveillance System to detect energy metabolism-related assays and immune regulation assays. RESULTS: Mice given AEM exhibited tropism in response to hot plate exposure. AEM inhibited loss of body weight and immune organ atrophy caused by cyclophosphamide, increased the cAMP/cGMP ratio in blood, and enhanced the activities of Na+-K+-ATPase, Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase, lactate dehydrogenase, and hepatic glycogen. AEM significantly reversed declining white blood cells and platelet counts, and increased the hemoglobin content within peripheral blood cells. AEM improved the protein levels of IFN-γ, TNF-ß, IL-2, and IL-4 in the spleen. CONCLUSIONS: Maca possesses the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) property of warm and appears to strengthen spleen function.

The CCDC43-ADRM1 axis regulated by YY1, promotes proliferation and metastasis of gastric cancer.

Previous studies have shown an association between coiled-coil domain-containing (CCDC) genes and different cancers. Our previous studies revealed that CCDC43 is highly expressed in colorectal cancer, but the expression and molecular mechanisms of CCDC43 in gastric cancer (GC) are yet to be determined. Here, we show that CCDC43 is overexpressed in gastric tissues. CCDC43 expression is closely related to tumor differentiation, lymph-node-metastasis, and prognosis of gastric cancer. Overexpression of CCDC43 promotes the proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of GC cells. CCDC43 may upregulate and stabilize ADRM1, resulting in the construction of the ubiquitin-mediated proteasome. In contrast, inhibition of ADRM1 could reverse the function of CCDC43 in GC both in vitro and in vivo. Our data demonstrate that transcription factor YY1 directly binds to CCDC43 and ADRM1 gene promoters, leading to over-expression of CCDC43 and ADRM1. Furthermore, in vitro experiments demonstrate that knock down of CCDC43 or ADRM1 attenuates the YY1-mediated malignant phenotypes. Finally, the association among YY1, CCDC43 and ADRM1 is validated in clinical samples. Our findings suggest that the CCDC43-ADRM1 axis regulated by YY1, promotes proliferation and metastasis of GC, and the axis may be a potential therapeutic target for GC.

[Effect of Lepidium meyenii (Maca) on neurotransmitter level and neuro-endocrine-immune network of deficiency-cold and deficiency-heat syndrome rats].

The aim of this paper was to study the effect of Lepidium meyenii(Maca) on cyclic nucleotides, neurotransmitter levels and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and immunization of deficiency-cold and deficiency-heat syndrome rats, in order to explore the cold and hot medicinal properties of Maca. SD rats were divided into blank group, deficiency-cold syndrome group, Cinnamomi Cortex of deficiency-cold syndrome(30 g·kg~(-1)) group, high and low-dose Maca groups(2.4, 1.2 g·kg~(-1)), deficiency-heat syndrome group, Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex(PCC) of deficiency-heat syndrome(5 g·kg~(-1)), and high and low-dose Maca groups(2.4, 1.2 g·kg~(-1)). The rats were treated with intramuscular injection of hydrocortisone(20 mg·kg~(-1)) or dexamethasone sodium phosphate(0.35 mg·kg~(-1)) for 21 days to set up the deficiency-cold and deficiency-heat model. The levels of cAMP, cGMP, NE, DA, 5-HT, CRH, ACTH, CORT and IgM, IgG, C3, C4 were detected by radio immunoassay. Both the high-dose Maca group and the low-dose Maca group can significantly improve the overall state and body weight of rats with deficiency-cold syndrome(P<0.01, P<0.05), significantly increasing cAMP, cAMP/cGMP, NE, DA, ACTH(P<0.01, P<0.001), and significantly decreasing 5-HT(P<0.01, P<0.001). However, high-dose and low-dose Maca groups could not improve the deficiency-heat syndrome, and the levels of cAMP, cGMP, cAMP/cGMP, NE, DA, 5-HT and ACTH were not statistically significant. Maca had a significant regulatory effect on CORT, IgM, IgG and C3 content of rats with deficiency-cold and deficiency-heat syndrome(P<0.01, P<0.05, P<0.001). Maca showed the same effect with Cinnamomi Cortex in adjusting the levels of deficiency-cold rats, but in opposition to Phellodendri Chinese Cortex. This paper confirmed that Maca was slightly warm based on its effect on cyclic nucleotide levels and neuro-endocrine-immune networks by the pharmacological experimental method.

Removal of organic and inorganic matters from secondary effluent using resin adsorption and reuse of desorption eluate using ozone oxidation.

This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of MAER and L20 resin for the adsorption treatment of secondary effluent, and evaluate the applicability of ozone oxidation for the reuse of desorption eluate. Bench-scale adsorption experiments showed that the MAER resin exhibited higher efficiency than L20 resin in removal of COD within 600 treated bed volumes (BV), which declined from 32.5% to 14.1% in the first and sixth treatment loading of 100 BV. On the other hand, the L20 resin displayed obviously higher removal efficiency of total nitrogen (TN) than MAER resin within 600 BV, which dropped from 74.6% to 9.8% at the same condition. The ozone oxidation treatment could achieve desirable reuse of desorption eluate, although its chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration increased gradually in line with the reuse numbers. The uptake of COD, TN and total phosphorus declined steadily by using ozone treated eluate as the regenerant in successive adsorption-desorption cycles, but increased obviously with a new batch of regenerant. Overall, the resin adsorption could efficiently remove organic and inorganic matters from secondary effluent, while the treatment loop including desorption eluate oxidation and eluate reuse could markedly enhance the concentration ratio of treated effluent.

Deciphering of organic matter and nutrient removal and bacterial community in three sludge treatment wetlands under different operating conditions.

Sludge treatment wetlands (STWs) can effectively stabilize sludge, but the microbial community structure in this process is not well characterized. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of organic matter and nutrient removal and bacterial community in sludge treatment wetlands for treating sewage sludge. Three STWs units included unit STW1 with aeration tubes, unit STW2 with aeration tubes and reed planting and unit STW3 with reed planting. The degradation of organic matter and nutrient, sludge dewatering performance and microbial community dynamics in STWs were examined in feeding and resting periods. Our results showed that during the entire process of the experiment, total solids (TS) in STWs increased to 24-31%, volatile solids (VS) in STWs reduced to 43-47%, while the total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) and total phosphorous (TP) concentrations in STWs decreased to 25.1-35.5 mg/g d. w and 5.4-6.2 mg/g d. w. However, the removal efficiencies of organic matter and nutrient in STWs in the feeding period were higher than those in the resting period. Meanwhile, unit STW2 has the best removal performance in organic matter and nutrients during the whole experiment. Microbial community analysis using Illumina MiSeq sequencing technology showed that growth of plants in STWs improved bacterial diversity and richness which corresponded to high removal rates of organic matter and nutrient. Besides, principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) showed that the bacterial community composition in STWs obviously altered between the feeding and the resting periods.

Evaluation of the fate of nutrients, antibiotics, and antibiotic resistance genes in sludge treatment wetlands.

The aim of this research was to analyze the elimination of nutrients, antibiotics as well as antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in different sludge treatment wetlands (STWs) with or without reeds and aeration tubes. Five antibiotics, including oxytetracycline, tetracycline, azithromycin, sulfamethoxazole, and sulfadiazine; five ARGs, including two tetracycline ARGs (tetC and tetA), one macrolide ARGs (ermB), and two sulfonamide ARGs (sul1 and sul2); and one integrase gene (intI1) were determined in the surface and bottom layers of three STWs, respectively. The removal efficiencies of antibiotics in the bottom layer were lower than that in the surface layer, while the elimination efficiencies of ARGs showed opposite trend. Strong correlations were observed among the contents of antibiotics as well as related ARGs, and the abundance of ARGs had a strong correlation with intI1. The results demonstrated that the contents of these pollutants decreased during the resting period in all the STWs, while the wetland had reeds and aeration tubes performed the best.

Efficient removal of phosphorus from turbid water using chemical sedimentation by FeCl3 in conjunction with a starch-based flocculant.

Phosphorus removal is an important issue in the field of water and wastewater treatment. In this study, a starch-based flocculant (St-CTA), as an assisting agent, was fed after the application of traditional inorganic precipitant of ferric chloride (FeCl3) to remove inorganic and organic phosphorus from their respective simulated turbid wastewaters. The effects of various influencing factors, including CTA content of St-CTA, dosage, initial pH, initial turbidity, and initial total phosphorus (TP), were investigated systematically. This modified chemical sedimentation process assisted by St-CTA not only showed high efficient in removing TP and turbidity but also evidently reduced the required dosage of FeCl3. This combination exhibited better efficiency in removing organic TP than in removing inorganic TP from water. The synergistic mechanisms of FeCl3 and St-CTA were discussed in detail by combination of apparent removal effects and floc properties. St-CTA exhibits strong charge neutralization and bridging flocculation effects and can thus efficiently aggregate and precipitate various phosphorus and iron complexes previously formed through chemical sedimentation, adsorption, and chelation. Besides, the validation of this combination usage was further confirmed by treating a real wastewater, and half of the required FeCl3 dosage and one third of the total cost were saved after addition of only 0.4 mg/L St-CTA when 90% TP and 95% turbidity were reduced. This study thus provided a novel technique for the diminution of TP and turbidity in turbid wastewater, considerable reduction of FeCl3 dosage and final cost, and lowering of secondary pollution risk.

Glyphosate and nutrients removal from simulated agricultural runoff in a pilot pyrrhotite constructed wetland.

Pyrrhotite is often considered as a gangue mineral, and discarded in mine wastes and tailings. Glyphosate and fertilizer, often excessively used in agriculture, flow into water bodies with agriculture runoff, and cause pollution of water bodies. In this study, the pyrrhotite was used as a substrate in a pilot constructed wetland (CW) to remove the glyphosate and nutrients from simulated agriculture runoff. In nearly one year, the pilot pyrrhotite constructed wetland (Pyrr-CW) removed 90.3 ±â€¯6.1% of glyphosate, 88.2 ±â€¯5.1 of total phosphorus (TP) and 60.40 ±â€¯5.60% of total nitrogen (TN) on average, much higher than the control CW. The abundances of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, such as Sulfurifustis, Sulfuriferula and Thiobacillus, were much higher in the Pyrr-CW than those in the control CW. In the Pyrr-CW goethite was produced by pyrrhotite aerobic oxidation (PAO) and pyrrhotite autotrophic denitrification (PAD) continuously and spontaneously. Higher glyphosate and TP removals were resulted from adsorption on the goethite produced, and higher TN removal was attributed to the PAD. High glyphosate and nutrients removal could keep a long term until the pyrrhotite in the Pyrr-CW was used up. The phosphorus (P) sequestered in the Pyrr-CW existed mainly in organic P, (Fe + Al)P and (Ca + Mg)P, and their order was (Fe + Al)P > organic P > (Ca + Mg)P. No heavy metal ions released from the Pyrr-CW. With higher and lasting removal rate, and lower cost, the Pyrr-CW is a promising technology for simultaneous glyphosate and nutrients removal from agricultural runoff and wastewater.

Origin identification of Chinese Maca using electronic nose coupled with GC-MS.

Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp.), originated in the high Andes of Peru, is rich in nutrients and phytochemicals. As a new resource food in China, Maca suffers marketing disorders due to the limitation of basic research. Due to the close relationship of Maca quality and origin of place, it's of scientific, economic and social importance to set up a rapid, reliable and efficient method to identify Maca origin. In the present study, 303 Maca samples were collected from 101 villages of the main producing area in China. Using electronic nose and BP neutral network algorithm, a Maca odor database was set up to trace the origin. GC-MS was then employed to analyze the characteristic components qualitatively and semi-quantitatively. As a result, very significant differences (p < 0.01) were detected in the volatile components of Maca from different areas. This study not only constructs a network model to forecast the Maca origin, but also reveals the relationship between Maca odor fingerprints and origins.

Fate of antibiotics in three distinct sludge treatment wetlands under different operating conditions.

Sludge treatment wetlands (STWs) have recently been used to treat surplus sludge. However, the distribution of antibiotics involved in the process has not been comprehensively investigated. This study aimed to evaluate the fate of two antibiotics, i.e., ciprofloxacin (CIP) and azithromycin (AZM) in STWs during the treatment of surplus sludge. Three pilot-scale STWs units-S1 with aeration tubes, S2 with aeration tubes and reed planting, and S3 with reed planting-were constructed and operated under feeding followed by resting periods. The results showed that antibiotic content in residual sludge decreased over time and unit S2 performed the best in terms of antibiotic removal. Planting reed considerably improved the antibiotic removal performance of the STWs. Biodegradation and absorption resulted in removal of most of the antibiotics in the test units. Less than 2% of the antibiotics was taken up by plants, whereas <5% of the influent antibiotics left the STW units through the drainage discharge. Overall, STW units contributed to effectively decrease CIP and AZM to 41-72% and 49-84%, respectively.

The p300/YY1/miR-500a-5p/HDAC2 signalling axis regulates cell proliferation in human colorectal cancer.

The biological role of miR-500a-5p has not yet been reported in the context of colorectal cancer (CRC). Here, we show that miR-500a-5p expression is decreased in CRC tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. Low miR-500a-5p expression is associated with malignant progression. Moreover, transfection of CRC cells with miR-500a-5p induces G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and inhibits their growth and migration. Mechanistically, miR-500a-5p directly targets HDAC2 and inhibits HDAC2-mediated proliferation in CRC in nude mice. Furthermore, YY1 binds to the promoter of miR-500a-5p and negatively regulates its transcription. Restoration of miR-500a-5p expression is up-regulated via the p300/YY1/HDAC2 complex. Besides, therapeutic delivery of miR-500a-5p significantly suppresses tumour development in a xenograft tumour model and a HDAC2 inhibitor FK228-treated CRC model. Our studies demonstrate that miR-500a-5p functions as a tumour suppressor in CRC by targeting the p300/YY1/HDAC2 axis, which contributes to the development of and provides new potential candidates for CRC therapy.