Electrophysiological and behavioral responses of Tamarixia radiata (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) to volatiles of nymphal Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae).

Huanglongbing (HLB), a devastating citrus disease caused by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, is efficiently vectored by the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae). Tamarixia radiata (Waterston) plays a crucial role as an ectoparasitoid, preying on D. citri nymphs. By collecting and identifying headspace volatiles from fifth instar nymphs of D. citri using a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS), we obtained a collection of 9 volatile compounds. These compounds were subsequently chosen to investigate the electrophysiological and behavioral responses of female T. radiata. At a concentration of 10 µg/µl, 9 compounds were compared with cis-3-hexen-1-ol (control), resulting in trans-2-nonenal inducing the highest relative electroantennogram (EAG) value, followed by hexanal, heptanal, n-heptadecane, tetradecanal, n-tetradecane, n-pentadecane, 1-tetradecanol, and 1-dodecanol. The top 5 EAG responses of female T. radiata to these compounds were further investigated through EAG dose-response experiments. The results showed positive dose-responses as concentrations increased from 0.01 to 10 µg/µl. In Y-tube olfactometer bioassays, female T. radiata exhibited a preference for specific compounds. They were significantly attracted to tetradecanal at a concentration of 10 µg/µl and trans-2-nonenal at 0.01 µg/µl, while no significant attraction was observed toward hexanal, heptanal, or n-heptadecane. Our report is the first to demonstrate that volatiles produced by D. citri nymphs attract T. radiata, which suggests that this parasitoid may utilize nymph volatiles to locate its host.

Cobalt-Catalyzed Facial-Selective Hydroalkylation of Cyclopropenes.

Cyclopropene hydrofunctionalization has been a promising strategy for accessing multi-substituted cyclopropanes; however, cyclopropene hydroalkylation remains underdeveloped. Herein, we report a low-valent CoH-catalyzed facial-selective cyclopropene hydroalkylation to access multi-substituted cyclopropanes. This reaction exhibits a broad substrate scope of alkyl halides and cyclopropenes and tolerates many functional groups. Moderate-to-good facial-selectivity is obtained without any directing groups. Mechanism studies provide evidence that alkyl radicals are generated from alkyl halides and irreversible CoH insertion is responsible for the facial-selectivity. Our preliminary exploration demonstrates that asymmetric cyclopropene hydroalkylation can be realized without conspicuous auxiliary groups.

Apigenin regulates the migration, invasion, and autophagy of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by downregulating YAP.

Apigenin is an edible flavonoid with anticancer properties; however, the underlying mechanisms in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain to be clarified. In the present study, we demonstrated that apigenin decreased the viability of both SMMC-7721 and SK-Hep1 cells in a dose-dependent manner, and inhibited the migration and invasion of HCC cells with different metastatic potential by regulating actin cytoskeletal rearrangements. Moreover, we showed that apigenin decreased the expression of YAP, and subsequently reduced migration and invasion by modulating the expression of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers, and promoted the autophagy of HCC cells by regulating the expression of autophagy-related genes. Collectively, the present findings might provide a novel mechanism for the therapeutic application of apigenin in HCC.

Emerin knockdown induces the migration and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by up-regulating the cytoplasmic p21.

Emerin (EMD) plays diverse roles in cellular polarity organization, nuclear stability, and cell motility, however, the biological role of EMD relevant to the migration and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells has not yet been illustrated. In the present study, we initially found that the upregulation of EMD in HCC tissues, and EMD expression was negatively correlated with the spontaneous metastatic potential of HCC cell lines. Loss of EMD in HCC cells facilitated cell migration and invasion in vitro and metastasis in vivo. Meanwhile, we demonstrated that EMD knockdown induced EMT but enhanced p21 expression in HCC cells. Notably, silencing of EMD in HCC cells increased the cytoplasmic localization of p21 protein, whereas p21 knockdown partially abrogated the migratory and invasive ability, EMT, and the actin cytoskeleton rearrangement induced by EMD knockdown in HCC cells. Our results indicated a significant role of EMD knockdown in the HCC cell motility and metastasis through upregulating the cytoplasmic p21, unveiling a novel mechanism of cell motility regulation induced by EMD.

Clinicopathologic characteristics and prognostic factors for primary spinal epidural lymphoma: report on 36 Chinese patients and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Due to the uncommon nature of primary spinal epidural lymphomas (PSELs), there has been little research looking at prognostic indicators for the tumor. To our knowledge, this is the largest study to evaluate possible clinical and pathologic prognostic factors in PSEL patients. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 130 cases of PSEL, including 36 Chinese patients and 94 published case reports from 1985 to 2015. Patient treatment regimens included surgery (S; n = 119), surgery followed by chemotherapy (S + CT; n = 25), surgery followed by radiotherapy (S + RT; n = 26), and surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy (S + CT + RT; n = 50). RESULTS: Review of the most recent case follow-up data (time varied) found 51 patients (47%) alive and tumor-free, 10 patients (9%) alive with tumor present, and 47 patients (44%) deceased. The 3-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 81.1% and 46.3%, respectively. Favorable prognostic factors found by univariate analysis were female sex, B-cell lymphoma diagnosis, cervical spine location, and combined modality treatment. Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that thoracic spine location (HR = 4.629, 95% CI = [1.911, 31.667], P = 0.042 for OS) and the lack of combined modality treatment (HR = 12.697, 95% CI = [2.664, 48.612], P < 0.0001 for DFS) were associated with poor survival in PSEL patients. CONCLUSIONS: PSEL demonstrates specific clinical features and is associated with a relatively good prognosis. Thoracic spine location is a significant poor prognostic factor, and combined modality treatment is associated with improved disease-free survival, but not overall survival.

Effects of Dl-3-n-butylphthalide on Cerebral Ischemia Infarction in Rat Model by Mass Spectrometry Imaging.

Dl-3-n-butylphthalide (NBP) is a drug that is used in the treatment of ischaemic stroke. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no systematic studies investigating the effects of dl-3-n-butylphtalide on the brain metabolism of small molecules. In this study, we first investigated the effects of dl-3-n-butylphthalide on the spatial distribution of small molecules in the brains of rats with permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) imaging. After pMCAO modelling or a sham operation, rats were given four mg/kg of dl-3-n-butylphthalide through the caudal vein or saline once a day for nine days. The degree of neurological deficit in rats was evaluated using the modified neurological severity score (mNSS). MALDI-TOF-MS imaging was used to observe the content and distribution of small molecules related to metabolism during focal cerebral ischaemia. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to verify the results obtained from MALDI-TOF-MS imaging. These small molecules were found to be involved in glucose metabolism, ATP metabolism, the glutamate-glutamine cycle, malate aspartate shuttle, oxidative stress, and inorganic ion homeostasis. Of the 13 metabolites identified by MALDI-TOF-MS imaging, seven compounds, ATP, ADP, AMP, GMP, N-acetylaspartic acid, ascorbic acid and glutathione, were further validated by LC-MS/MS. Taken together, these results indicate that dl-3-n-butylphthalide significantly improved ATP metabolism, level of antioxidants, and sodium-potassium ion balance in a rat model of pMCAO.

Near-infrared-IIb emitting single-atom catalyst for imaging-guided therapy of blood-brain barrier breakdown after traumatic brain injury.

The blood-brain barrier breakdown, as a prominent feature after traumatic brain injury, always triggers a cascade of biochemical events like inflammatory response and free radical-mediated oxidative damage, leading to neurological dysfunction. The dynamic monitoring the status of blood-brain barrier will provide potent guidance for adopting appropriate clinical intervention. Here, we engineer a near-infrared-IIb Ag2Te quantum dot-based Mn single-atom catalyst for imaging-guided therapy of blood-brain barrier breakdown of mice after traumatic brain injury. The dynamic change of blood-brain barrier, including the transient cerebral hypoperfusion and cerebrovascular damage, could be resolved with high spatiotemporal resolution (150 ms and ~ 9.6 µm). Notably, the isolated single Mn atoms on the surface of Ag2Te exhibited excellent catalytic activity for scavenging reactive oxygen species to alleviate neuroinflammation in brains. The timely injection of Mn single-atom catalyst guided by imaging significantly promoted the reconstruction of blood-brain barrier and recovery of neurological function after traumatic brain injury.

NiH-catalysed proximal-selective hydroalkylation of unactivated alkenes and the ligand effects on regioselectivity.

Alkene hydrocarbonation reactions have been developed to supplement traditional electrophile-nucleophile cross-coupling reactions. The branch-selective hydroalkylation method applied to a broad range of unactivated alkenes remains challenging. Herein, we report a NiH-catalysed proximal-selective hydroalkylation of unactivated alkenes to access ß- or γ-branched alkyl carboxylic acids and ß-, γ- or δ-branched alkyl amines. A broad range of alkyl iodides and bromides with different functional groups can be installed with excellent regiocontrol and availability for site-selective late-stage functionalization of biorelevant molecules. Under modified reaction conditions with NiCl2(PPh3)2 as the catalyst, migratory hydroalkylation takes place to provide ß- (rather than γ-) branched products. The keys to success are the use of aminoquinoline and picolinamide as suitable directing groups and combined experimental and computational studies of ligand effects on the regioselectivity and detailed reaction mechanisms.

Electroantennographic and olfactory responses of Quadrastichus mendeli to eucalyptus volatiles induced by the gall-forming insect Leptocybe invasa.

BACKGROUND: Although parasitoids can precisely locate hidden gall-inducing insects, the host location mechanism is unknown. In this study, our aim was to clarify the olfactory responses of the parasitoid Quadrastichus mendeli to eucalyptus volatiles induced by the gall wasp Leptocybe invasa. RESULTS: Q. mendeli preferred volatiles from gall-damaged plants compared with those produced by mechanically damaged and undamaged plants. Coupled gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection results demonstrated that 3-carene, decanal, d-limonene, ethanone,1-(4-ethylphenyl)-, p-cymene and benzene,1-methyl-4-(1-methylpropyl)- from DH 201-2 (Eucalyptus grandis × Eucalyptus tereticornis) elicited significant antennal responses in Q. mendeli in all treatments. Q. mendeli was repelled by decanal and d-limonene and was attracted to 3-carene, benzene,1-methyl-4-(1-methylpropyl)-, ethanone,1-(4-ethylphenyl) and p-cymene. Quaternary blends containing 3-carene, p-cymene, benzene,1-methyl-4-(1-methylpropyl)- and ethanone,1-(4-ethylphenyl)- at a ratio of 1:1:1:1 were attractive to Q. mendeli. However, quaternary blends with added decanal and d-limonene alone or both together induced significant repellence in Q. mendeli. CONCLUSION: Our report is the first to demonstrate that volatiles produced by galls induced by L. invasa are attractive to Q. mendeli, which suggests that this parasitoid could utilize herbivore-induced plant volatiles to locate its host. The results are beneficial for understanding the function of plant volatiles in host searching by parasitoids of gall-forming insect pests. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

A Prospective Study on Defining the Indications of Prophylactic Level IB Radiotherapy in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Based on a Risk Score Model.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate clinical evidence for defining the indications of prophylactic level IB radiotherapy (RT) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS: We conducted a phase 2 prospective study in 116 newly diagnosed patients with NPC treated by intensity-modulated RT. Whether level IB was irradiated is based on the risk score model (RSM). Two groups based on RSM were obtained: low risk and high risk. Omission of level IB irradiation was conducted in the low-risk group, otherwise level IB was contoured as part of the treatment target. Grade 2 or worse xerostomia at 12 months was assessed by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-H&N35 questionnaire. RESULTS: At a median follow-up of 16 months (range, 1-26 months), none of the patients developed failures at level IB. The 1-year overall survival, locoregional recurrence-free survival, and distant metastasis-free survival rates were 98.3%, 97.2%, and 95.8%, respectively. At 12 months xerostomia side-effects were reported in 90 of 116 alive patients; grade 2 or worse xerostomia at 12 months was significantly lower in the low-risk group than in the high-risk group. CONCLUSION: Omission of level IB irradiation was feasible for patients with low-risk IB lymph nodes metastasis.

Nimotuzumab plus induction chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy/concurrent chemoradiotherapy plus nimotuzumab for locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: protocol of a multicentre, open-label, single-arm, prospective phase II trial.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a therapeutic target in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The optimal combined modality of optimal combined modality of anti--EGFR monoclonal antibodies, induction chemotherapy (ICT), concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy for NPC remains poorly defined. None of previous studies have developed subsequent treatment strategies on the basis of stratification according to the efficacy following ICT plus anti-EGFR mAbs. This study aims to increase treatment intensity for patients with poor efficacy of ICT and reduce treatment toxicity for patients with favourable efficacy of ICT by assessing whether the efficacy of this treatment regimen is non-inferior to ICT plus concurrent chemoradiotherapy (historic controls). INTRODUCTION: METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Pathology-confirmed WHO type II/III NPC patients at clinical stage III-IVA (eighth American Joint Committee on Cancer/Union for International Cancer Control staging system) will be included in the study. They will receive ICT plus nimotuzumab (NTZ), followed by radiotherapy plus NTZ or concurrent chemoradiotherapy plus NTZ (stratified based on the efficacy of ICT plus NTZ). The primary endpoint is 3-year failure-free survival rate; while the secondary endpoints are 3-year overall survival rate, distant metastasis-free survival rate and locoregional recurrence-free survival rate, and short-term remission rate of tumour and treatment toxicity. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study protocol has been approved by the Ethics Committee of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University. Our findings will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal. Implementation strategies are in place to ensure privacy and confidentiality of participants. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ChiCTR2000041139.

[Complex refractive index measurement of fly ash particles using suspension spectral transmission method].

Spectral complex refractive index of fly ash particles is an important parameter in the processing of scattering properties calculation. On the basis of theory about inversion of complex refraction index using transimission method, a novel method was proposed, in which fly ash particles were dispersed in the water to compose turbid liquid, and spectral transmissivity of turbid liquid was measured using visible spectrophotometer. Particles size distribution was measured using laser particles sizing. So complex refraction index of fly ash particles was inverted simply. The result indicated that no signifcant absorption appeared in the visible wavelength range for fly ash particles, but transmittance decreased with wavelength increasing. The inversion results from the proposed method agreed with KBr sampling method. The proposed method is simpler, and has fewer constraints, meanwhile the inverion wavelength will be expanded if using infrared spectrophotometer.

Functional implications of miR-145/RCAN3 axis in the progression of cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer, as the second leading cause of death in women malignant tumor, is not optimistic about survival rate and late recurrence rate. RCAN3 has been reported to function in a variety of diseases, but its relationship with cervical cancer has not been reported. This study aimed to investigate whether RCAN3 contributes to the development of cervical cancer and its mechanism. RCAN3 expression was analyzed in 306 cervical cancer tissues and 13 normal healthy tissues from TCGA and GTEX databases. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression analysis were carried out to assess the potential function of RCAN3. Subsequently, the upstream regulatory miRNA of RCAN3 was predicted by bioinformatics and confirmed using dual luciferase reporter assay. CCK-8, colony formation assay, transwell assay were used for functional analysis of miR-145/RCAN3 axis in vitro. The results showed that RCAN3 was highly expressed in cervical cancer tissues, leading to poor prognosis, and could be used as a prognostic factor for cervical cancer. MiR-145 directly targeted RCAN3, which was lowly expressed in cervical cancer tissues and cell lines, and the higher the miR-145 expression, the longer the survival time of patients. Finally, from the functional experiments results we can see that miR-145 can inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion of cervical cancer cells, but overexpression of RCAN3 can reverse miR-145-mediated inhibition. To sum up, miR-145/RCAN3 axis may serve as a potential therapeutic target to regulate the progression of cervical cancer.

Diel rhythms of sexual behavior and pheromone responses in Phauda flammans Walker (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae).

BACKGROUND: Phauda flammans Walker is a notorious defoliating pest of Ficus spp. in Southeast Asian. Sex pheromones have been identified as an effective method of biological control. However, little is known about the sex pheromone communication of P. flammans due to a lack of knowledge regarding the diel rhythms of sexual behavior and a lack of field tests using sex pheromone attractants. RESULTS: Adults of P. flammans eclosed from 6:00 to 16:00 h with a peak at 11:00-12:00 h and mated from 9:00 to 19:00 h with a peak at 14:00-15:00 h. The attraction of virgin males to P. flammans females suggested the utilization of sex pheromones. We identified Z-9-hexadecenal and (Z,Z,Z)-9,12,15-octadecatrienal as the primary components and found that they elicited the largest electroantennographic detection responses from the antennae of males. Field tests confirmed that P. flammans males can be captured by the two synthetic pheromone components at a ratio of 1:1. The capture of only males in field tests using the synthetic compounds confirmed the activity of the identified sex pheromone candidates. CONCLUSION: The results provide useful information for the design of standardized sex pheromone traps for the monitoring as well as trapping of P. flammans in the field. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

[Multiplayer white organic light-emitting diodes with different order and thickness of emission layers].

In multilayer OLED devices, the order and thickness of the emission layers have great effect on their spectrum. Based on the three basic colours of red, blue and green, a series of white organic light-emitting diodes(WOLEDS)with the structure of ITO/CuPc(12 nm)/NPB(50 nm)/EML/LiF(1 nm)/Al(100 nm) and a variety of emission layer's orders and thicknesses were fabricated. The blue emission material: 2-t-butyl-9,10-di-(2-naphthyl)anthracene (TBADN) doped with p-bis(p-N, N-diphenyl-amono-styryl)benzene(DSA-Ph), the green emission material: tris-[8-hydroxyquinoline]aluminum(Alq3) doped with C545, and the red emission material: tris-[8-hydroxyquinoline]aluminum( Alq3) doped with 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-t-butyl-6-(1, 1, 7, 7-tetramethyljulolidyl-9-enyl)-4H-pyran (DCJTB) were used. By adjusting the order and thickness of each emission layer in the RBG structure, we got a white OLED with current efficiency of 5.60 cd x A(-1) and Commission Internationale De L'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0. 34, 0.34) at 200 mA x cm(-2). Its maximum luminance reached 20 700 cd x m(-2) at current density of 400 mA x cm(-2). The results were analyzed on the basis of the theory of excitons' generation and diffusion. According to the theory, an equation was set up which relates EL spectra to the luminance efficiency, the thickness of each layer and the exciton diffusion length. In addition, in RBG structure with different thickness of red layer, the ratio of th e spectral intensity of red to that of blue was calculated. It was found that the experimental results are in agreement with the theoretical values.

TRIM65 supports bladder urothelial carcinoma cell aggressiveness by promoting ANXA2 ubiquitination and degradation.

Clinically, most of human urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB)-related deaths result from tumor metastasis, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. Recently, a growing number of tripartite motif (TRIM) family members have been suggested to be important regulators for tumorigenesis. However, the impact of most TRIM members on UCB pathogenesis is unclear. In this study, TRIM65 was first screened as an important oncogenic factor of UCB from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and was validated by a large cohort of clinical UCB tissues. By in vitro and in vivo experiments, we demonstrated that TRIM65 promotes UCB cell invasive and metastatic capacities. Notably, we showed that TRIM65 modulates cytoskeleton rearrangement and induces UCB cells epithelial-mesenchymal transition by the ubiquitination of ANXA2, ultimately leading to an enhanced invasiveness of UCB cells. Importantly, UCBs with high expression of TRIM65 and low expression of ANXA2 showed the poorest outcome. Collectively, our results suggest that the overexpression of TRIM65 has an essential oncogenic role via ubiquitination of ANXA2 in UCB pathogenesis, and that such could be used as a novel prognostic marker and/or therapeutic target for UCB.

[Spectrum study on highly saturated blue organic top-emitting devices with microcavity structure].

The blue top-emitting organic light-emitting devices with cavity effect have been fabricated. The authors used the TBADN : 3% DSAPh as emitting material of blue microcavity OLEDs. The devices consisted of Ag/ITO/CuPc/NPB/TBADN : 3% DSAPh/Alq3/LiF/Al(Ag) structure. On a patterned glass substrate, silver was deposited as reflective anode, and copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) layer as HIL and 4'-bis[N-(1-Naphthyl)-N-phenyl-amino] biphenyl (NPB) layer as HTL were made. Aluminum and silver thin films were made as semi-transparent cathode. The transmittance of aluminum and silver (Al/Ag) cathode was about 30%. In EL spectrum, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) was only 17 nm. By changing the thicknesses of ITO, highly saturated color with Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage chromaticity coordinates (CIEx,y) of (0.141, 0.049) was obtained. In the present article, the emission intensity of spectrum was studied. An appropriate cathode transmittance will result in maximal emission intensity. By using the formula of microcavity, the approximative curve that describes the change of emission intensity with cathode transmittance (or reflectance) was figured out.

Expression of programmed death ligand-1 predicts poor outcome in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) is a potentially important tumor immunotherapy target. However, whether PD-L1 expression is associated with survival in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains controversial. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between PD-L1 expression and prognosis in NPC. The expression of PD-L1 was assessed in tumor specimens from 120 patients with NPC using immunohistochemistry. Staining was evaluated using the H-score method. The associations between PD-L1 expression and clinical characteristics and prognosis were analyzed. Overall, 78% of the patients had stage I-III and 22% had stage IV disease. The estimated 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates for the entire cohort were 87.5 and 70.1%, respectively. PD-L1 expression was detected in 85 (71%) patients and was localized to the tumor cells. High tumor expression of PD-L1 (median H-score ≥5) was associated with significantly poorer OS (P=0.023) and DFS (P=0.002). Univariate analysis indicated that low PD-L1 expression was associated with better DFS compared with high PD-L1 expression (HR=0.163, 95% CI: 0.044-0.600, P=0.006 for DFS). Multivariate analysis revealed that T stage (HR=8.190, 95% CI: 1.355-18.152; P=0.023) and PD-L1 expression level (HR=0.124, 95% CI: 0.031-0.509; P=0.001) served as independent prognostic factors for DFS. In conclusion, tumor PD-L1 expression was found to be a significant prognostic factor in NPC, and high PD-L1 expression may be of prognostic value for recurrence and metastasis following conventional treatments.

[Construction of double-labelled carbofuran-degrading bacterium Sphingomonas sp. CDS-1].

The genomic DNA of a carbofuran-degrading bacterium Sphingomonas sp. CDS-1 was digested by Sau3Al and ligated to pRobe-GFP digested by BamHI, and the product was transformed to the E. coli DH5alpha competent cells. Fifty positive clones that could emit green fluorescence under UV were selected from about 1 x 10(4) clones grown on selective plates AmpLB. One clone F7 with the strongest fluorescence was selected, the recombinant plasmid pF7 from this clone was digested with EcoR I & Hind III and the DNA fragment comprising gfp and promoter of Sphingomonas sp. CDS-1 was recovered, which was subsequently cloned into the broad host vector pPZP201 to construct a new plasmid pPZP201-gfp. pPZP201-gfp was introduced into Sphingomonas sp. strain CDS-1 by triparental conjugation to make strain CDS-gfp. gfp was expressed strongly and stably in strain CDS-gfp after 10 times successive re-culturing (48 h/time). The linA gene was inserted into Not I -cut transposon vector pUT/mini-Tn5 to construct a new transposon vector pUT/mini-Tn5-linA. With the aid of helper plasmid pRK600, pUT/mini-Tn5-linA was introduced into CDS-gfp, the dehydrochlorinase gene linA was integrated into the chromosome of CDS-gfp by transposing. The double labelled strain CDS-GFP-LinA was constructed. This strain was also a genetic engineering strain that was able to degrade gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane and carbofuran simultaneously. All of these results laid a foundation for the study of ecological performance of Sphingomonas sp. CDS-1.

Removal of pollutants by enhanced coagulation combined PAC with variable charge soils: flocs' properties and effect of pH.

This study investigated the properties of flocs and effects of the solution pH on removal of representative pollutants by enhanced coagulation with variable charge soils of South China and polyaluminum chloride (PAC). The results demonstrated that the removal efficiency of turbidity was larger and the aggregated flocs had a faster growth rate, bigger size, denser structure and faster settling rate than those generated by PAC alone, when variable charge soil was used in conjunction with PAC. Additionally, initial solutions pH had meaningful effects on removal of pollutants. With the increase in the pH of the solution, the removal efficiencies of turbidity, algae and heavy metal ions significantly increased. Besides, charge neutralization together with physical entrapment of colloids was the dominant mechanism in enhanced coagulation, and variable charge soil displayed a great adsorption effect.