Tracing the Dynamic Changes of Element Profiles by Novel Soil Porewater Samplers with Ultralow Disturbance to Soil-Water Interface.

In flooded soils, soil-water interface (SWI) is the key zone controlling biogeochemical dynamics. Chemical species and concentrations vary greatly at micro- to cm-scales. Techniques able to track these changing element profiles both in space and over time with appropriate resolution are rare. Here, we report a patent-pending technique, the Integrated Porewater Injection (IPI) sampler, which is designed for soil porewater sampling with minimum disturbance to saturated soil environment. IPI sampler employs a single hollow fiber membrane tube to passively sample porewater surrounding the tube. When working, it can be integrated into the sample introduction system, thus the sample preparation procedure is dramatically simplified. In this study, IPI samplers were coupled to ICP-MS at data-only mode. The limits of detection of IPI-ICP-MS for Ni, As, Cd, Sb, and Pb were 0.12, 0.67, 0.027, 0.029, and 0.074 µg·L-1, respectively. Furthermore, 25 IPI samplers were assembled into an SWI profiler using 3D printing in a one-dimensional array. The SWI profiler is able to analyze element profiles at high spatial resolution (∼2 mm) every ≥24 h. When deployed in arsenic-contaminated paddy soils, it depicted the distributions and dynamics of multiple elements at anoxic-oxic transition. The results show that the SWI profiler is a powerful and robust technique in monitoring dynamics of element profile in soil porewater at high spatial resolution. The method will greatly facilitate studies of elements behaviors in sediments of wetland, rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Compound Heterozygosity for an Unstable Novel Hemoglobin Variant, Hb Dongguan [α52(E1)Ser→Cys (TCT>TGT); HBA1: c.158C>G], and the - -SEA (Southeast Asian) α-Thalassemia Deletion.

Here we report a 67-year-old Chinese male carrying an unstable novel hemoglobin (Hb) variant in compound heterozygosity with the - -SEA (Southeast Asian) α-thalassemia (α-thal) deletion. Hemoglobin analysis by capillary electrophoresis (CE) revealed a rapid degradation feature of the variant. Sanger sequencing of the Hb gene revealed a novel homozygous mutation in exon 2 of the α1-globin gene [α52(E1)Ser→Cys (TCT>TGT); HBA1: c.158C>G]. We named this novel variant Hb Dongguan for the place of origin of the proband. Additionally, gap-polymerase chain reaction (gap-PCR) indicated the presence of the heterozygous - -SEA α-thal deletion.

Clinical feasibility of laparoscopic left lateral segment liver resection with magnetic anchor technique: The first clinical study from China.

BACKGROUND: Magnetic anchor technique (MAT) has been applied in laparoscopic cholecystectomy and laparoscopic appendectomy, but has not been reported in laparoscopic partial hepatectomy. AIM: To evaluate the feasibility of the MAT in laparoscopic left lateral segment liver resection. METHODS: Retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of eight patients who underwent laparoscopic left lateral segment liver resection assisted by MAT in our department from July 2020 to November 2021. The Y-Z magnetic anchor devices (Y-Z MADs) was independently designed and developed by the author of this paper, which consists of the anchor magnet and magnetic grasping apparatus. Surgical time, intraoperative blood loss, intraoperative accidents, operator experience, postoperative incision pain score, postoperative complications, and other indicators were evaluated and analyzed. RESULTS: All eight patients underwent a MAT-assisted laparoscopic left lateral segment liver resection, including three patients undertaking conventional 5-port and five patients having a transumbilical single-port operation. The mean operation time was 138 ± 34.32 min (range 95-185 min) and the mean intraoperative blood loss was 123 ± 88.60 mL (range 20-300 mL). No adverse events occurred during the operation. The Y-Z MADs showed good workability and maneuverability in both tissue and organ exposure. In particular, the operators did not experience either a "chopstick" or "sword-fight" effect in the single-port laparoscopic operation. CONCLUSION: The results show that the MAT is safe and feasible for laparoscopic left lateral segment liver resection, especially, exhibits its unique abettance for transumbilical single-port laparoscopic left lateral segment liver resection.

Primary animal experiment to test the feasibility of a novel Y-Z magnetic hepatic portal blocking band.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic portal blood flow occlusion is a common technique for reducing hepatic hemorrhage during hepatectomy. We designed a novel Y-Z magnetic hepatic portal blocking band (Y-Z MHPBB) based on the principle of magnetic compression technique. AIM: To introduce the Y-Z MHPBB device and verify the feasibility of this device for hepatic portal blood flow occlusion in dogs. METHODS: Ten beagles were randomly divided into the experimental group and control group. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, the number of portal blood flow occlusions, the total time spent on adjusting the blocking band, and the average time spent on adjusting the blocking band were recorded. The surgeons evaluated the feasibility and flexibility of the two portal occlusion devices. RESULTS: Laparoscopic hepatectomy was successfully performed in both the experimental group and control group. There was no statistical difference between the two groups in the operation time, intraoperative blood loss, and the number of hepatic portal blood flow occlusions. With respect to the total time spent on adjusting the blocking band and the average time spent on adjusting the blocking band, the experimental group showed significantly better outcomes than the control group, with a statistical difference (P < 0.05). The operators found that the Y-Z MHPBB was superior to the modified T-tube in terms of operational flexibility. CONCLUSION: The Y-Z MHPBB seems to be an ingenious design, accurate blood flow occlusion effect, and good flexibility; and it can be used for hepatic portal blood flow occlusion during laparoscopic hepatectomy.

Mitigation effects of the microbial fuel cells on heavy metal accumulation in rice (Oryza sativa L.).

The increase in toxic heavy metal pollutants in rice paddies threatens food safety. There is an urgent need for lnow-cost remediation technology for immobilizing these trace metals. In this study, we showed that the application of the soil microbial fuel cell (sMFC) can greatly reduce the accumulation of Cd, Cu, Cr, and Ni in the rice plant tissue. In the sMFC treatment, the accumulation of Cd, Cu, Cr, and Ni in rice grains was 35.1%, 32.8%, 56.9% and 21.3% lower than the control, respectively. The reduction of these elements in the rice grain was due to their limited mobility in the soil porewater of soils employing the sMFC. The restriction in Cd, Cu, Cr, and Ni bioavailability was ascribed to the sMFC ability to immobilize trace metals through both biotic and abiotic means. The results suggest that the sMFC may be used as a promising technique to limit toxic trace metal bioavailability and translocation in the rice plants.

Relic DNA does not obscure the microbial community of paddy soil microbial fuel cells.

Soil Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) are devices that can generate electricity by using the flooded soil's anode respiring microbial consortium. When the MFC starts to work, the microbial community in the anode vicinity rapidly changes. This shift in the microbial community results in many dead cells that may release their DNA (relic DNA) and obscure culture independent estimates of microbial community composition. Although relic DNA is expected to increase in MFCs, the effect of relic DNA has not been investigated in the soil MFCs system. In this study the effect of the MFCs on the soil microbial community composition within the soil profile and the influence of relic DNA were investigated. Microbial community analysis revealed that the MFCs deployment significantly influenced the community composition within the soil profile. The phylum Proteobacteria (34.4% vs 23.6%) and the class Deltaproteobacteria (16.8% vs 5.9%) significantly increased in the MFCs compared to the control, while the phylum Firmicutes (24.0% vs 28.7%) and the class Sphingobacteria (5.3% vs 7.0%) were more abundant in the control. Furthermore, the archaeal phyla Euryarchaeota (40.7% vs 52.3%) and Bathyarchaeota (10.1% vs 17.3%) were significantly lower in the MFCs, whereas the phylum Woesearchaeota (DHVEG6) (24.4% vs 19.4%) was slightly enhanced. Moreover, the results showed that relic DNA can affect the relative abundance of Geobacter and Candidatus Methanoperedens, however, it has no significant effects on the microbial community structure. These results indicate that MFCs can influence the soil microbial community profile, nevertheless the relic DNA generated has minimum effect on the culture independent estimates of microbial community composition.

Soil organic matter amount determines the behavior of iron and arsenic in paddy soil with microbial fuel cells.

Arsenic (As) mobility in paddy soils is mainly controlled by iron (Fe) oxides and iron reducing bacteria (IBR). The Fe reducing bacteria are also considered to be enriched on the anode of soil microbial fuel cells (sMFC). Thus, the sMFC may have an impact on elements' behavior, especially Fe and As, mobilization and immobilization in paddy soils. In this study, we found dissolved organic matter (DOC) abundance was a major determinate for the sMFC impact on Fe and As. In the constructed sMFCs with and without water management, distinctive behaviors of Fe and As in paddy soil were observed, which can be explained by the low or high DOC content under different water management. When the sMFC was deployed without water management, i.e. DOC was abundant, the sMFC promoted Fe and As movement into the soil porewater. The As release into the porewater was associated with the enhanced Fe reduction by the sMFC. This was ascribed to the acidification effect of sMFC anode and the increase of Fe reducing bacteria in the sMFC anode vicinity and associated bulk soil. However, when the sMFC was coupled with alternating dry-wet cycles, i.e. DOC was limited, the Fe and As concentrations in the soil porewater dramatically decreased by up to 2.3 and 1.6 fold, respectively, compared to the controls under the same water management regime. This study implies an environmental risk for the in-situ application of sMFC in organic matter rich wetlands and also points out a new mitigation strategy for As management in paddy soils.

Arsenic mitigation in paddy soils by using microbial fuel cells.

Arsenic (As) behavior in paddy soils couples with the redox process of iron (Fe) minerals. When soil is flooded, Fe oxides are transformed to soluble ferrous ions by accepting the electrons from Fe reducers. This process can significantly affect the fate of As in paddy fields. In this study, we show a novel technique to manipulate the Fe redox processes in paddy soils by deploying soil microbial fuel cells (sMFC). The results showed that the sMFC bioanode can significantly decrease the release of Fe and As into soil porewater. Iron and As contents around sMFC anode were 65.0% and 47.0% of the control respectively at day 50. The observed phenomenon would be explained by a competition for organic substrate between sMFC bioanode and the iron- and arsenic-reducing bacteria in the soils. In the vicinity of bioanode, organic matter removal efficiencies were 10.3% and 14.0% higher than the control for lost on ignition carbon and total organic carbon respectively. Sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes suggested that the influence of bioanodes on bulk soil bacterial community structure was minimal. Moreover, during the experiment a maximum current and power density of 0.31 mA and 12.0 mWm-2 were obtained, respectively. This study shows a novel way to limit the release of Fe and As in soils porewater and simultaneously generate electricity.

[Osteopractic total flavone promoting rat extra-articular tendon-bone healing through mTOR pathway].

OBJECTIVE: To explore function and related molecular mechanism of osteopractic total flavone (OTF) on tendon healing in rats. METHODS: Ten male rats aged for 8 weeks were collected and weighted from 180 to 220 g. Tendon stem cells were cultivated, the third tendon stem cells were used for experiment. OTP treated with 0, 0.1, 1, 10 ng/ml were added into tendon stem cells, and expression change of ALP, Runx2, OCN, VEGF, P-S6, P-4E/BP1 were detected after 14 days. Forty male rats aged for 8 weeks (weighted 180 to 220 g) were established extra-articular tendon-bone transplanting healing model, and divided into experimental group and control group. Experimental group were treated with OTF(100 mg·kg⁻¹·d⁻¹), while control group was treated by normal saline with the same volume. Tendon-bone healing degree were detected by biomechanical testing at 3 and 6 weeks after surgery, histological detection were applied to detect tendon-bone healing and number of new vessles. RESULTS: After treated by OTP, ALP staining and active index detection showed there were statistical differences among 0, 0.1, 1, 10 ng/ml group. After 14 days' cultivation, western blotting results showed mTOR downstream marker protein P-S6 protein expression were gradually increased with increase of density of OTP, expression of P-4E/BP1 was reduced, while expression of Runx2, OCN, VEGF were increased. Biological detection results showed that there was no significant difference in mechanical strength between experimental group(0.78±0.05) N/mm and control group (0.51±0.02) N/mm at 3 weeks after surgery, while mechanical strength in experimental group (1.36±0.09) N/mm was higher than control group (1.01±0.08) N/mm at 6 weeks after surgery. Histological results showed maturity of tendon-bone surface cell were higher at 3 and 6 weeks in experimental group, sharpey fiber growth more density, calcification extent of mesenchyme was high, and new bone, vessels were increased. CONCLUSIONS: OTF could promote osteogenic differentiation of tendon stem cells through mTOR signaling in vitro, and stimulate tendon-bone healing in bone tunnel and enhance connection quality between tendon and bone.