Preparation of ceramsite using solid residue from anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge and its enhancing effect on catalytic ozonation.

Anaerobic digestion is an environmentally friendly method for reclaiming waste activated sludge. However, it cannot be overlooked that the solid residue generated from this process can still pose environmental risks and impose economic pressure on society. To mitigate and recycle the solid residue, this study utilized it as a primary raw material for manufacturing ceramsite with potential applications in wastewater treatment. The optimal ratio of solid residue to fly ash was demonstrated to be 6:4 with an additional 15% of clay supplementing the raw ceramsite materials. Furthermore, the optimal sintering process was established as preheating at 300 °C for 25 min followed by sintering at 1085 °C for 10 min, as determined through an L16 (44) Orthogonal test. The prepared ceramsite demonstrated advantageous performance parameters that exceeded the standards outlined in the Chinese industry standard CJ/T 299-2008 for water treatment artificial ceramsite. When utilized in an ozonation system, the ceramsite exhibited remarkable catalytic activity for phenol degradation by promoting the decomposition of molecular O3 into hydroxyl radicals. Additionally, it displayed minimal leaching of heavy metals and lower application costs. These findings emphasize its attractiveness in water and wastewater treatment processes and present a practical strategy for reclaiming this solid residue.

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi-Mediated Modulation of Physiological, Biochemical, and Secondary Metabolite Responses in Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) under Salt and Drought Stress.

The increasing impact of global climate change has resulted in adversity stresses, like salt and drought, gradually becoming the main factors that limit crop growth. Hemp, which contains numerous medicinal active components and multiple bioactive functions, is widely used in the agricultural, industrial, and medical fields, hence promoting the rapid development of related industries. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can establish a symbiotic relationship with 80% of vascular plants. This symbiosis promotes host plant growth, regulates plant physiology and biochemistry, facilitates secondary metabolite synthesis, and enhances resistance to abiotic stresses. However, the effects of salt stress, drought stress, and AMF interaction in hemp are not well understood. In this study, to investigate this, we performed a study where we cultured hemp that was either inoculated or uninoculated with Funneliformis mosseae and determined changes in effective colonization rate, growth, soluble substances, photosynthesis, fluorescence, ions, and secondary metabolites by cultivating hemp under different concentrations of NaCl (0 mM, 100 mM, and 200 mM) and different soil moisture content (45%, 25%, and 15%). The results showed that salt, drought stress, or salt-drought interaction stress all inhibited colonization rate after stress, plant growth, mainly due to ion toxicity and oxidative damage. Inoculation with F. mosseae effectively alleviated plant growth inhibition under 100 mM NaCl salt stress, drought stress, and salt-drought interaction stress conditions. It also improved osmoregulation, photosynthetic properties, fluorescence properties, and ion homeostasis, and promoted the accumulation of secondary metabolites. However, under 200 mM NaCl salt stress conditions, inoculation with F. mosseae negatively affected plant physiology, biochemistry, and secondary metabolite synthesis, although it did alleviate growth inhibition. The results demonstrate that there are different effects of salt-drought interaction stress versus single stress (salt or drought stress) on plant growth physiology. In addition, we provide new insights about the positive effects of AMF on host plants under such stress conditions and the effects of AMF on plants under high salt stress.

Treating reverse osmosis brine of petrochemical wastewater using preparative vertical-flow electrophoresis (PVFE) with multi-objective optimization by response surface method.

Electrochemical desalination is an effective method for recovering salts from reverse osmosis (RO) brine. However, traditional technologies like bipolar membrane technology often face challenges related to membrane blockage. To overcome this issue, a preparative vertical-flow electrophoresis (PVFE) system was used for the first time to treat RO brine of petrochemical wastewater. In order to optimize the PVFE operation and maximize acids and bases production while minimizing energy consumption, the response surface method was employed. The independent variables selected were the electric field intensity (E) and flow rate (v), while the dependent variables were the acid-base concentration and energy consumption (EC) for acid-base production. Using the central composite design methodology, the operation parameters were optimized to be E = 154.311 V/m and v = 0.83 mL/min. Under these conditions, the base concentrations of the produced bases and acids reached 3183.06 and 2231.63 mg/L, respectively. The corresponding base EC and acid EC were calculated to be 12.57 and 11.62 kW·h/kg. In terms of the acid-base concentration and energy consumption during the PVFE process, the electric field intensity was found to have a greater influence than the flow rate. These findings provide a practical and targeted solution for recycling waste salt resources from RO brine.

Accelerated removal of Sudan dye by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 in the presence of quinones and humic acids.

Although there have been many studies on bacterial removal of soluble azo dyes, much less information is available for biological treatment of water-insoluble azo dyes. The few bacterial species capable of removing Sudan dye generally require a long time to remove low concentrations of insoluble dye particles. The present work examined the efficient removal of Sudan I by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 in the presence of redox mediator. It was found that the microbially reduced anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS) could abiotically reduce Sudan I, indicating the feasibility of microbially-mediated reduction. The addition of 100 µM AQDS and other different quinone compounds led to 4.3-54.7 % increase in removal efficiencies in 22 h. However, adding 5-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone into the system inhibited Sudan I removal. The presence of 10, 50 and 100 µM AQDS stimulated the removal efficiency in 10 h from 26.4 to 42.8, 54.9 and 64.0 %, respectively. The presence of 300 µM AQDS resulted in an eightfold increase in initial removal rate from 0.19 to 1.52 mg h⁻¹ g⁻¹ cell biomass. A linear relationship was observed between the initial removal rates and AQDS concentrations (0-100 µM). Comparison of Michaelis-Menten kinetic constants revealed the advantage of AQDS-mediated removal over direct reduction. Different species of humic acid could also stimulate the removal of Sudan I. Scanning electronic microscopy analysis confirmed the accelerated removal performance in the presence of AQDS. These results provide a potential method for the efficient removal of insoluble Sudan dye.

Potency of the Sabin inactivated poliovirus vaccine (sIPV) after exposure to freezing temperatures in cold chains.

With more demand for Sabin inactivated poliovirus vaccines (sIPVs) to support the global polio eradication effort worldwide, data regarding the potency characteristics of sIPV after exposure to freezing temperatures are urgently required. In the present study, the sIPVs were stored at -20°C for 24 h, 1 week, and 2 weeks in the freezer or in a vaccine carrier for 1 or 3 freeze-thaw cycle to evaluate the effect mediated by freezing temperatures that may be encountered during routine storage and transfer. The in vitro potency was then determined by a D-antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the in vivo potency was evaluated in Wistar rats. In the in vitro study for freezer storage groups, the D-antigen contents for all three types decreased and were lower than the release specifications after storing at -20°C for 2 weeks. After storing at -20°C for 1 week, the D-antigen contents for types I and III in combined group of a total of 45 vials, and for type II in the specific lot groups containing 15 vials decreased, but were within the release specifications. Moreover, no significant change in in vivo potency was observed. For vaccine carrier transfer groups, the D-antigen contents did not decrease after 1 freeze-thaw cycle; in contrast, it decreased, but no significant in vivo potency loss was observed after 3 freeze-thaw cycles. These results suggest that it may be possible to retain sufficient sIPV potency after short periods of freezing or freeze-thawing during transport.

Safety and immunogenicity of a live attenuated mumps vaccine: a phase I clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Mumps, a communicable, acute and previously well-controlled disease, has had recent and occasional resurgences in some areas. METHODS: A randomized, double-blind, controlled and multistep phase I study of an F-genotype attenuated mumps vaccine produced in human diploid cells was conducted. A total of 300 subjects were enrolled and divided into 4 age groups: 16-60 years, 5-16 years, 2-5 years and 8-24 months. The groups were immunized with one injection per subject. Three different doses of the F-genotype attenuated mumps vaccine, A (3.5 ± 0.25 logCCID50), B (4.25 ± 0.25 logCCID50) and C (5.0 ± 0.25 logCCID50), as well as a placebo control and a positive control of a licensed A-genotype vaccine (S79 strain) were used. The safety and immunogenicity of this vaccine were compared with those of the controls. RESULTS: The safety evaluation suggested that mild adverse reactions were observed in all groups. No serious adverse event (SAE) was reported throughout the trial. The immunogenicity test showed a similar seroconversion rate of the neutralizing and ELISA antibody in the 2- to 5-year-old and 8- to 24-month-old groups compared with the seroconversion rate in the positive control. The GMT of the neutralizing anti-F-genotype virus antibodies in the vaccine groups was slightly higher than that in the positive control group. CONCLUSIONS: The F-genotype attenuated mumps vaccine evaluated in this clinical trial was demonstrated to be safe and have effective immunogenicity vs. control.

Removal of water-insoluble Sudan dyes by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1.

Decolorization of water-insoluble Sudan dyes was studied with Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, which removed 66.8%, 43.4%, 56.0% and 33.7% Sudan I-IV in 104 h, respectively and reduced Sudan I to aniline and 1-amino-2-naphthol. Lactate was identified as the most efficient electron donor for Sudan I reduction. Improved reduction performance was obtained in the presence of higher lactate or biomass concentration. The correlation between specific reduction rate and initial Sudan I concentration could be described with Michaelis-Menten kinetics (V(max)=1.8 mg Sudan I mg cell(-1) h(-1) and K(m)=5.3 mg l(-1)). The addition of anthraquinone-2-sulfonate stimulated the reduction significantly whereas the presence of 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone had little enhancing effect. The main azoreductase activity was found with membrane-bound proteins of MR-1 and no reduction occurred when Sudan I was incubated with cell extracts. These data indicated for the first time that Shewanella could reduce solid-phase Sudan dye particles.