The potential role of iron-carbon micro-electrolysis materials in curtailing lag-phase stimulates kitchen waste anaerobic digestion at different solid contents: Performance, synergistic effect and microbial response.

High-solid anaerobic digestion (HSAD) of kitchen waste was generally faced to the common problems such as systemic acidification, prolonged lag-phase time and low methane production. Iron-carbon micro-electrolysis (ICME) materials exhibited advantages that porous structure, large specific surface area and excellent conductivity. It was beneficial for organic compounds to hydrolysis. Moreover, ICME materials could establish direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) pathway between bacteria and methanogens. ICME materials were commonly used to enhance the AD of wastewater, but they were rarely applied to HSAD of kitchen waste. In this study, ICME materials were utilized to enhance HSAD of kitchen waste at different solid content conditions. The results showed that the highest cumulative biogas yield (705.23 mL/g VS) was obtained in the experimental group (TS = 10%), which was 94.15% higher than that of the control group. At the same time, the addiction of ICME could shorten lag-phase time. Electrochemical characteristics and XPS analysis showed that ICME materials promoted the release of Fe2+ in the AD system and acceleration of direct interspecies electron transfer between microorganisms. Microbial community analysis showed that ICME materials enriched electroactive bacteria (Proteiniphilum), Methanosarcina, Methanobrevibacter and Methanofollis. Functional gene prediction revealed that ICME materials increased the relative abundance of carbohydrate transport and metabolism and coenzyme transport and metabolism. It provided a potential measure to treat kitchen waste.

Microbial response behavior to powdered activated carbon in high-solids anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste: Metabolism and functional prediction analysis.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) can not only treat organic waste, but also recycle energy. However, high-solids AD of kitchen waste usually failed due to excessive acidification. In this study, the effect of activated carbon (AC) on kitchen waste AD performance was investigated under high-solids conditions (total solids contents = 15%). The results showed that efficiencies of acidogenesis and methanogenesis were promoted in presence of moderate concentration (50 g/L > AC >5 g/L), but high concentration (AC >70 g/L) weakened AD performance. Moreover, AC addition enhanced the methane production rate from 66.0 mL/g VS to 231.50 mL/g VS, i.e., up to 250.7%. High-throughput sequencing results demonstrated that the abundance of electroactive DMER64 increased from less than 1%-29.7% (20 g/L AC). As AC gradually increased，aceticlastic methanogenesis changed to hydrogenotrophic pathway. Predicted functional analysis indicated that AC can enhance abundances of energy and inorganic ion metabolism, resulting in high methane production.

High efficiency degradation of tetracycline by peroxymonosulfate activated with Fe/NC catalysts: Performance, intermediates, stability and mechanism.

Carbon-based catalysts have the advantages of biological cleaning, eco-friendly and cost-effective in water treatment. While, nitrogen doped biochar promotes the development of non-radical peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation in environmental remediation. Thus, three-dimensional sponge-like porous Fe and N co-doped biochar (Fe/CN-30) with high catalytic activity for PMS activation was synthesized. In a wide pH range (1-11), the Fe/CN-30 catalyst can efficiently degrade tetracycline (TC) with a small amount of PMS. The non-radical pathways are prominent in the TC decomposition process according to the quenching experiments, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) analysis, in which the contribution of high-valent iron-oxo species (Fe(IV) = O) was dominant. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and reaction kinetic experiments confirmed that the coordination sites of Fe and N in the Fe/CN-30 are the reactive centers for TC degradation. Moreover, the successive addition of low concentration PMS into the system was confirmed to favor the PMS utilization, and the high selectivity of the Fe/CN-30 was confirmed by the analysis of pollutant structure. Furthermore, by-products of TC degradation in the Fe/CN-30/PMS system and the possible TC degradation pathways were proposed via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Therefore, this study dedicates to providing new insights into the non-radical pathway-catalyzed AOPs.

Synthesis of mesoporous magnetic MnFe2O4@CS-SiO2 microsphere and its adsorption performance of Zn2+ and MB studies.

Because of its superior physical and chemical properties, MnFe2O4 is regarded as one of the best magnetic material alternatives for Fe3O4. However, MnFe2O4 alone cannot remove heavy metal ions and dyes. Here, we report on a new mesoporous magnetic MnFe2O4@CS-SiO2 microsphere material that was synthesised via the hydrothermal method to remove Zn2+ and methylene blue (MB) in simulated textile wastewater. The composite was characterised using a vibrating sample magnetometer, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and a Brunauer-Emmett Teller analysis. The pH, adsorbent dosage, initial adsorbate concentration, and reaction time effects on the removal of Zn2+ and MB were studied under different conditions, and a possible removal mechanism was proposed and discussed. The experimental results show that the suitable pH range for MB adsorption was extremely wide, and the adsorption equilibrium can be reached within 30 min. In addition, the prepared material has excellent stability. With an excellent removal efficiency as high as 56.1% and 93.86% for Zn2+ and MB, respectively, after five consecutive cycles and a superior adsorption capacity compared with other materials, the prepared composite in this paper proved to be a promising and effective magnetic adsorbent for the removal of Zn2+ and MB from textile wastewater.

Treatment of landfill leachate biochemical effluent using the nano-Fe3O4/Na2S2O8 system: Oxidation performance, wastewater spectral analysis, and activator characterization.

Nano-Fe3O4 was used as heterogeneous catalyst to activate Na2S2O8 for the generation of the sulfate radicals (SO4-) to oxidize the residual pollutants in landfill leachate biochemical effluent. The oxidation performance, wastewater spectral analysis and activator characterization were discussed. Oxidation experimental result shows that nano-Fe3O4 has obvious catalytic effect on Na2S2O8 and can significantly enhance the oxidation efficiencies of Na2S2O8 on landfill leachate biochemical effluent, with COD and color removals above 63% and 95%, respectively. Based on the analyses of three-dimensional excitation emission matrix fluorescence spectrum (3DEEM), ultraviolet-visible spectra (UV-vis), and Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of wastewater samples before and after treatment, it can be concluded that the pollution level of dissolved organic matter (DOM) declined and that the humic acid (HA) fractions were efficiently degraded into small molecules of fulvic acid (FA) fractions with less weight and stable structure. Compared to the raw wastewater sample, the aromaticity and substituent groups of the DOM were lessened in the treated wastewater sample. Moreover, the main structure of the organics and functional groups were changed by the Fe3O4/Na2S2O8 system, with substantial decrease of conjugated double bonds. The micro morphology of nano-Fe3O4 was characterized before and after reaction by the methods of scanning electron microscope spectra (SEM), X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The XRD pattern analysis showed that nano-Fe3O4 was oxidized into r-Fe2O3 and that the particle size of it also became smaller after reaction. XPS was employed to analyze the content and iron valence on the nano-Fe3O4 surface, and it can be found that the ratio of Fe3+/Fe2+ decreased from 1.8 before reaction to 0.8 after reaction. From the SEM analysis after the treatment, it was determined that the spacing between nano-Fe3O4 was increased, but in turn, the particles decreased in diameter.

Multipath fabrication of hierarchical CuAl layered double hydroxide/carbon fiber composites for the degradation of ammonia nitrogen.

In this work, a series of flower-like CuAl layered double hydroxides (LDHs) and hierarchical CuAl/carbon fiber-LDH (CuAl/CF-LDH) materials were synthesized, and these materials were used as catalysts for the degradation of ammonia nitrogen from simulated wastewater. The morphologies and structures of the materials were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy (RS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) technique. The effects of the catalyst and H2O2 loading dosages, reaction temperature, pH, Cu/Al ratio of the samples, and contact time on the degradation process were investigated by degrading ammonia nitrogen under different conditions, and the possible degradation mechanism was discussed. CuAl/CF-LDH exhibited more effectively catalytically degradation of ammonia nitrogen than others as-prepared samples, and removal efficiency reached 99.7% under the optimized conditions. The reusing capability and stability of the materials were studied. Meanwhile, the versatility of the materials was investigated by testing their performance in the absorption of azo dye, the highest removal efficiency was found to be 99.28%. The prepared materials are promising for use as effective catalysts for the degradation of ammonia nitrogen from wastewater.

Perception of wide-expanse symmetric patterns.

Humans are remarkably proficient at the task of distinguishing between symmetric and non-symmetric visual patterns. The neural mechanisms underlying this ability are still unclear. Here we examine symmetry perception along a dimension that can help place some constraints on the nature of these mechanisms. Specifically, we study whether and how human performance on the task of classifying patterns as bilaterally symmetric versus non-symmetric changes as a function of the spatial separation between the flanks. Working with briefly flashed stimuli that embody flank separations of 6 degrees to 54 degrees, we find that classification performance declines significantly with increasing inter-flank distance, but remains well above chance even at the largest separations. Response time registers a progressive increase as the space between the flanks expands. Baseline studies show that these performance changes cannot be attributed solely to reduced acuity in the visual periphery, or increased conduction times for relaying information from those locations. The findings argue for the need to adapt current feedforward models of symmetry perception to be more consistent with the empirical data, and also point to the possible involvement of recurrent processing, as suggested by recent computational results.

Analyzing Key Factors Influencing Water Transport in Open Air-Cooled PEM Fuel Cells.

The current limitations of air-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cells (AC-PEMFCs) in water and heat management remain a major obstacle to their commercialization. A 90 cm2 full-size AC-PEMFC multi-physical field-coupled numerical model was constructed; isothermal and non-isothermal calculations were performed to explore the effects of univariate and multivariate variables on cell performance, respectively. The isothermal results indicate that lower temperature is beneficial to increase the humidity of MEA, and distribution uniformity at lower stoichiometric ratios and lower temperatures is better. The correlation between current density distribution and temperature, water content, and concentration distribution shows that the performance of AC-PEMFCs is influenced by multiple factors. Notably, under high current operation, the large heat generation may lead to high local temperature and performance decline, especially in the under-channel region with drier MEA. The higher stoichiometric ratio can enhance heat dissipation, improve the uniformity of current density, and increase power density. Optimal fuel cell performance is achieved with a stoichiometric ratio of 300, balancing the mixed influence of multiple factors.

Highly efficient activation of peroxymonosulfate via KOH-activated Fe@NC for the degradation of bisphenol A.

In this study, the KOH-modified Fe-ZIF-derived carbon materials (Fe@NC-KOH-x) were designed for Fenton-like systems to enhance bisphenol A (BPA) removal from wastewater. Compared with the Fe@NC without KOH activation, the pore structure, BET (Brunner-Emmet-Teller) surface area, and oxygen-containing functional group of KOH-activated Fe@NC-KOH-x are dramatically improved, which increases the adsorption and catalytic performance. The Fe@NC-KOH-900/PMS system showed significant BPA removal reactivity across wide pH ranges and low doses of Fe@NC-KOH-900. Interestingly, our findings indicated that the removal effectiveness of BPA improved when PMS was introduced following the saturation adsorption of Fe@NC-KOH-x, as compared to the simultaneous introduction of Fe@NC-KOH-x and PMS. More particularly, through regression analysis, we found that the proportion of reactive species in the Fe@NC-KOH-x/PMS system changes with the increase of pyrolysis temperature, and there was a certain relationship between structure-function and active species in the Fe@NC-KOH-x/PMS system. O-C = O, Fe-N4, C-O, and pyrrolic N in Fe@NC-KOH-x lead to the generation of •OH, and SO4-•, C = O, Fe-N4, and defect are closely related to FeIV = O, and the formation of 1O2 is affected by Fe-N4, graphite N, C = O, and defect. Also, the density functional theory (DFT) calculation and the potential correlation between catalyst active centers and reactive oxygen species indicate that Fe-N4 is the main active site of Fe@NC-KOH-x. These outcomes of the study offer an innovation for enhanced elimination of BPA in wastewater treatment and provide a dynamic understanding of the mechanism of BPA degradation.

Effect of alkali pretreatment time on kitchen waste anaerobic digestion performance enhanced by alkali pretreatment combined with bentonite: performance enhancement, microbial community structure, and functional gene analysis.

Kitchen waste was mainly composed of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins. Anaerobic digestion (AD) of kitchen waste usually occurred acidification and further deteriorated. In our previous study, alkali pretreatment combined with bentonite (AP/Be) treatment was proved to enhance high solid AD of kitchen waste. However, effects of AP time on AP/Be were not yet studied. This study investigated the effects of AP time on AP/Be treatment on enhancing high solid AD. The results showed that compared with the control group, the cumulative methane production rate could be increased by 3.30 times (149.7 mL CH4/g VS) and the volatile solids (VS) reduction rate increased by 63.36%. Microbial community analysis showed that the relative abundance of Methanosarcina and Methanosaeta were increased from 6.49 and 7.83% to 47.14 and 16.39% respectively. Predictive functional analysis showed that AP/Be treatment increased the abundance of energy production and conversion, coenzyme transport, and metabolism. This study revealed the potential mechanism of AP/Be enhanced kitchen waste AD performance and AP/Be was a potential strategy to strengthen AD.

The Frailty Index and colon cancer: a 2-sample Mendelian-randomization study.

Background: Frailty is closely related to cancer. Previous research has shown that cancer patients are prone to frailty, and frailty increases the risk of adverse outcomes in cancer patients. However, it is unclear whether frailty increases the risk of cancer. This 2-sample Mendelian-randomization (MR) study sought to analyze the relationship between frailty and the risk of colon cancer. Methods: The database was extracted from the Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit (MRC-IEU) in 2021. The genome-wide association study (GWAS) data related to colon cancer was obtained from the GWAS website (http://gwas.mrcieu.ac.uk/datasets), involving 462,933 individuals' gene information. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were defined as the instrumental variables (IVs). The SNPs closely associated with the Frailty Index at a genome-wide significance level were selected. To further screen the IVs, we selected the confounding factors using the PhenoScanner (http://www.phenoscanner.medschl.cam.ac.uk/phenoscanner). To estimate the causal effect of the Frailty Index on colon cancer, the MR-Egger regression, weighted median (WM1), inverse-variance weighted (IVW), and weight mode (WM2) methods were applied to calculate the SNP-frailty index and the SNP-cancer estimates. Cochran's Q statistic was used to estimate heterogeneity. The two-sample Mendelian randomization (TSMR) analysis was performed using the "TwoSampleMR" and "plyr" packages. All the statistical tests were 2-tailed, and a P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: We selected 8 SNPs as the IVs. The results of the IVW analysis [odds ratio (OR) =0.995, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.990-1.001, P=0.052] showed that the genetic changes in the Frailty Index were not statistically associated with the risk of colon cancer, and no significant heterogeneity between these 8 genes was observed (Q =7.382, P=0.184). The MR-Egger (OR =0.987, 95% CI: 0.945-1.031, P=0.581), WM1 (OR =0.995, 95% CI: 0.990-1.001, P=0.118), WM2 (OR =0.996, 95% CI: 0.988-1.004, P=0.356), and SM (OR =0.996, 95% CI: 0.987-1.005, P=0.449) results were also consistent with each other. The sensitivity analysis based on the leave-one-out method showed that the individual SNPs did not affect the robustness of the results. Conclusions: Frailty might have no effect on the risk of colon cancer.

Alleviating acid inhibition via bentonite supplementation during acidulated swine manure anaerobic digestion: Performance enhancement and microbial mechanism analysis.

Swine manure is usually transmitted by the "collection-storage-transport" mode of the biogas project. However, this particular application pattern results in high volatile fatty acids (VFAs) concentration due to the long transition time in the "collection-storage-transport" process. In this work, acidulated swine manure anaerobic digestion (AD) with bentonite supplementation was firstly investigated with an expectation of acid alleviation, performance enhancement and microbial mechanism. Results indicated that the methane production rate in the 20 g/L bentonite-added digester was 2.87 fold higher than that of the control digester. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rate was elevated by 140.1% via bentonite supplementation. Besides, the rapid decrease of VFAs and ammonia indicated that bentonite supplementation could offer buffering capacity and alleviate acid inhibition. Microbial community analysis revealed that acetoclastic methanogenesis (Methanosaeta and Methanosarcina) was the predominant methanogenesis pathway in this AD system. Syntrophic acetate oxidation (SAO) bacteria were discovered in the bentonite-added digester, and they converted acetate into H2/CO2 to support hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. This study could offer guidance for acidulated swine manure AD in the practical biogas project.

Enhanced anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste at different solids content by alkali pretreatment and bentonite addition: Methane production enhancement and microbial mechanism.

High solid anaerobic digestion (AD) has been considered as a promising and sustainable technology for treating kitchen waste. To enhance AD of kitchen waste, alkali pretreatment and bentonite addition treatment (AP/Be) was performed on kitchen waste, and microbial community was investigated at different total solids (TS) content (10%, 13%, 19%, 22% and 25%). The results indicated that after AP/Be treatment, methane yield was as high as 198 mL CH4/g volatile solid (VS), which increased by 236% as the control. Moreover, microbial community analysis revealed that AP/Be treatment enriched bacterial microbial diversity. At TS of 10%, AP/Be treatment enhanced the hydrogenotrophic methanogens (Methanobacterium) significantly. In addition, the dominant methanogenic pathways changed at different TS content. These results demonstrated AP/Be treatment had a positive effect on methanogenesis during kitchen waste anaerobic digestion process. This study threw new insights towards enhancing kitchen waste anaerobic digestion, as well as the microbial mechanism.

The C-C chemokine receptor 7: An immune molecule that modulates central nervous system function in homeostasis and disease.

The interaction between the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral immune system is key for brain function in homeostasis and disease. Recent studies have revealed that the C-C chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) is expressed in both CNS resident cells and peripheral immune cells, and plays an important role in regulating behavior in homeostasis and neuroinflammation in disease. This review integrates studies examining the role of CCR7 in CNS resident and peripheral immune cells in homeostasis and disease, as well as the pathways of peripheral immune cell migration in and out of the brain via CCR7. A special emphasis is placed on the CCR7-dependent migration of peripheral immune cells into the recently discovered meningeal lymphatic vessels surrounding the brain and nasal lymphatics, its migration into cervical lymph nodes, and the implications that this migration might have for CNS function.

Selective degradation of organic micropollutants by activation of peroxymonosulfate by Se@NC: Role of Se doping and nonradical pathway mechanism.

In this study, Se@NC-x decorated with Se was successfully prepared via two-step calcination with zeolitic imidazole framework (ZIF) as a precursor. Mechanistic studies show that PMS would be adsorbed onto the surface of Se@NC-900 to form an active complex (Se@NC-900/PMS*), and the active Se@NC-900/PMS* could oxidize phenol by the rapid decomposition of PMS. Specifically, electrons are extracted by Se@NC-900/PMS* and then transferred to the surface of Se@NC-900, which can trigger the degradation of phenol. Notably, it is found that the local charge redistribution caused by the doping of Se can activate the catalytic potential of the intrinsically inert carbon skeleton through density flooding theory (DFT) calculations. The XLogP, ΔE, VIP, and ELUMO (Se@NC/PMS)-HOMO (pollutants) and degradation rate constants of different micropollutants were correlated well linearly. This indicates that the Se@NC-900/PMS system has a great selectivity for the degradation of pollutants. Overall, these findings not only illustrate the role of Se in tuning the electronic structure of Se@NC-x to enhance the activation of PMS, but also bridge the gap in our knowledge about the physicochemical properties and degradation performance of Se@NC catalysts.

Activation of peroxymonosulfate by ZIFs derived Fe/Cu encapsulated N-doped carbon for bisphenol A degradation: The role of N doping.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a typical kind of endocrine disruption chemical, which has a negative effect on human health, and thus it is necessary to remove BPA from water. Herein, activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) by Fe, Cu-Coordinated ZIF-Derived Carbon Framework bifunctional catalyst (Fe/Cu@NC-x) fabricated via hydrothermal-calcination method for BPA removal. The physicochemical properties of Fe/Cu@NC-x were studied by X-ray diffraction, Transmission electron microscopy, Scanning electron microscopy, Raman Spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett Teller, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The effects of the Fe/Cu@NC-900 dosage and PMS concentration, initial pH, and co-existing anions on BPA degradation were evaluated. Under optimized factors (pH unadjusted, Fe/Cu@NC-900 = 0.2 g/L, and PMS = 0.75 g/L), the degradation efficiency of BPA can reach 98% after 30 min. In addition, the BPA degradation efficiency was different extents restrain by inorganic anions (SO42- > Cl- > HCO3- > NO3-). Furthermore, the free radicals (SO4-·, ·OH, and O2-·) and non-radical (1O2) contribute to rapid BPA degradation in Fe/Cu@NC-900/PMS system. This study presents a novel material with significant performance for the removal of organic pollutants.

Mechanistic and structure investigation of the KOH activation ZIF-8 derived porous carbon as metal-free for unprecedented peroxymonosulfate activation degradation of bisphenol A.

The high-performance and free secondary pollution of the catalysts are the most critical issues in the peroxymonosulfate-based advanced oxidation processes (PMS-AOPs). In this research, the KOH was used to activate ZIF-8 derived carbon materials to synthesize the NC-KOH-x (x = 700, 800, 900 °C), which was an effective metal-free PMS activator. As-prepared NC-KOH-x showed significant improvement not only pore structure and BET surface area but also CO groups, and graphite N content, which were beneficial for the adsorptive and oxidative reaction. The NC-KOH-900 as an excellent metal-free carbon-catalyst exhibited considerable reactivity for bisphenol A (BPA) removal in broad pH ranges. Almost 100% of BPA was eliminated using 9 mg NC-KOH-900, 0.5 mM PMS within 60 min. Interestingly, It was found that the BPA removal efficiency by adding PMS after saturated adsorption of NC-KOH-x was better than that by adding NC-KOH-x and PMS simultaneously. Electronic paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and quenching experiments results demonstrated that the BPA degradation relied mainly on the nonradical (1O2) pathways and the defects (ID/IG), graphitic nitrogen, pyridinic nitrogen, and CO were verified as leading catalytic sites for BPA degradation via PMS activation. Finally, degradation pathways of BPA were proposed and the Toxicity Estimation Software Tool (T.E.S.T.) result implicated that the intermediates of BPA were environmentally friendly to the microorganism and recycled in the ecosystem. The outcomes of this study illustrated the NC-KOH-x owned many merits of state-of-the-art, eco-friendly, and high-performance for great potential practical application value.

Quantitative hydrodynamic characterization of high solid anaerobic digestion: Correlation of "mixing-fluidity-energy" and scale-up effect.

High solid anaerobic digestion (HSAD)'s complex rheological behavior exhibits short-circuiting and dead zone. Mixing optimization is potential to enhance HSAD hydrodynamics. Besides, scale-up effect is quite essential for HSAD's applications, but remains rarely studied yet. Effect of impeller with different width on the correlation of "mixing-fluidity-energy" at different rotating speeds was first investigated at pilot-scale in present work. Then, scale-up effect based on rotating speed and a generalized Reynolds number was revealed from the aspects of fluidity and energy consumption. Results show that impeller width of 100 mm (10 rpm), 200 mm and 300 mm (5 and 10 rpm) are preferred for hydrodynamics and energy economics. Furthermore, Re similarity has better referential significance for the scale-up. In this study, new insight is gained into the correlation of "mixing-fluidity-energy" within a pilot-scale digester. Scale-up effect based Re similarity could potentially offer guidance for HSAD's application in the practical engineering.

The microRNA-3622 family at the 8p21 locus exerts oncogenic effects by regulating the p53-downstream gene network in prostate cancer progression.

For human prostate cancer, the chromosome 8p21 locus, which contains NKX3.1 and the microRNA (miR)-3622 family (miR-3622a/b), is a frequently deleted region. Thus, miR-3622 is proposed as a suppressor for prostate cancer, but its role remains debatable. In the present study, we found that expression of miR-3622a was lower, whereas expression of miR-3622b-3p was higher in human prostate cancer tissues than in normal prostate tissues. miR-3622a-3p inhibited cell migration and invasion of human prostate cancer cells, whereas miR-3622b-3p facilitated cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. To address the opposing roles of miR-3622 family members in various human prostate cancer cell lines, we knocked out (KO) endogenous miR-3622, including both miR-3622a/b. Our results showed that miR-3622 KO reduced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro and tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Functional analyses revealed that miR-3622 regulated the p53-downstream gene network, including AIFM2, c-MYC, and p21, to control apoptosis and the cell cycle. Furthermore, using CRISPR interference, miRNA/mRNA immunoprecipitation assays, and dual-luciferase assays, we established that AIFM2, a direct target of miR-3622b-3p, is responsible for miR-3622 KO-induced apoptosis. We identified an miR-3622-AIFM2 axis that contributes to oncogenic function during tumor progression. In addition, miR-3622 KO inhibited the epithelial-mesenchymal transition involved in prostate cancer metastasis via upregulation of vimentin. The results show that miR-3622b-3p is upregulated in human prostate cancers and has an oncogenic function in tumor progression and metastasis via repression of p53 signaling, especially through an miR-3622-AIFM2 axis. In contrast, for human prostate cancer, deletion of the miR-3622 locus at 8p21 reduced the oncogenic effects on tumor progression and metastasis.

RETRACTED: Preparation of molecularly imprinted metal-organic frameworks by in situ self-assembly template strategy for selective adsorption of antibiotics.

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal ( https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal). This article has been retracted at the request of the Authors. The corresponding author informed the journal that there were severe problems with the testing instrument that rendered the subsequent conclusions invalid. The authors apologise for any inconvenience caused.