[Impact of Starvation Conditions on Biological Community Structure in Sulfur Autotrophic Denitrification Reactor].

Sulfur/dolomite and pyrite/dolomite autotrophic denitrification reactors were applied to treat the secondary effluent of wastewater treatment plant to explore the removal effect, the changes of microbial community, and recovery time of reactors after starvation period. It was shown in the results that after 30 d non-water starvation endurance, the effluent concentrations of NO3--N in sulfur/dolomite and pyrite/dolomite reactors increased from 1.78 mg·L-1, 11.32 mg·L-1 to 27.87 mg·L-1, 26.56 mg·L-1 respectively at the low temperature of 12-14℃. In addition, sulfur/dolomite and pyrite/dolomite reactors recovered within 5 d and 11 d since restarted and could maintain a good effect of nitrogen removal at low temperature. MiSeq high throughput sequencing results showed that the abundance and diversity of the bacterial communities in starvation period in both reactors were lower than those in recovery period. The dominating phylum was Proteobacteria in both reactors while the dominating class was ß-Proteobacteria. Thiobacillus was identified as the main genus for denitrification in sulfur/dolomite reactor.

Associations among glycemic excursions, glycated hemoglobin and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The aim of the present study was to explore the associations among glycemic excursions, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) using a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS). Sixty-three patients with T2DM whose HbA1c levels were >7% wore a CGMS device for 72 h. According to their HbA1c levels, patients were divided into three groups as follows: Group A (HbA1c ≤9.32%), group B (9.32%< HbA1c ≤11.76%) and group C (HbA1c >11.76%). Patients were also divided into two groups according to the mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE) as follows: Low glycemic excursion group (MAGE, <3.9 mmol/l) and high glycemic excursion group (MAGE, ≥3.9 mmol/l). Clinical data and the hs-CRP levels in different groups were compared. No significant difference was observed in the MAGE among groups A, B and C (P>0.05). The level of hs-CRP was significantly higher in group C compared with that in groups A and B, and in group B compared with that in group A (P<0.05). Multivariate stepwise regression analysis indicated that HbA1c correlated with hs-CRP (P<0.05). MAGE and HbA1c were independent indices for the assessment of glycemic control. In addition, HbA1c had a considerable effect on the serum hs-CRP level.

Efficacy of switching from premixed insulin to insulin glargine regimen in Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with different islet functions.

The present study evaluated the efficacy of switching from premixed insulin or an insulin analogue to insulin glargine plus oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The feasibility and suitability of the regimen to the patients was examined based on islet function. Patients with T2DM (n=30) treated with stable doses of premixed insulin or an insulin analogue for eight weeks were divided into two groups according to islet function. Group A had a 2 h of C peptide (2hCP)/fasting C peptide (FCP) ratio ≤3, whereas group B had a 2hCP/FCP ratio >3. Eight weeks following the switch to insulin glargine plus OADs, a significant decrease in fasting blood glucose (FBG), 2 h postprandial blood glucose (2hPBG) and glycosylated­haemoglobin (HbA1c) were observed in the two groups, with effective rates of 75, 42.9 and 39.3%, respectively. A distinct reduction in the insulin dose was particularly evident in group B. There was a marked decrease in FBG in group A, more so than that observed in group B. By contrast, the decrease in HbA1c was more evident in group B following the switch. A larger number of patients in group B had HbA1c≤7.0%, compared with group A. No difference in the incidence of hypoglycaemia and change of body weight were observed. Following the switch to insulin glargine plus OADs, patients with T2DM demonstrated improved blood glucose control and reduced insulin dosage. The results revealed that this switch in regimen is more suitable for patients with T2DM with 2hCP/FCP>3 and that administration of insulin glargine plus OADs is more efficacious for patients with T2DM with increased FBG levels.

Effects of selenoprotein S on oxidative injury in human endothelial cells.

BACKGROUND: Selenoprotein S (SelS) is an important endoplasmic reticulum and plasma membrane-located selenoprotein implicated in inflammatory responses and insulin resistance. However, the effects of SelS on endothelial cells (ECs) have not been reported. In the present study, the role of SelS in oxidative stress and the underlying mechanism were investigated in human ECs. METHODS: A SelS over-expression plasmid (pc-SelS) and a SelS-siRNA plasmid were transfected into human umbilical vein endothelial cells (American Type Culture Collection, USA). The cells were divided into four groups: control, SelS over-expression (transfected with pc-SelS), vector control, and SelS knockdown (transfected with siRNA-SelS). After treating the cells with H2O2, the effects of oxidative stress and the expression of caveolin-1 (Cav-1) and protein kinase Cα (PKCα) were investigated. RESULTS: Following treatment with H2O2, over-expression of SelS significantly increased cell viability and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) production and Cav-1 gene and protein expression. However, no effects on PKCα were observed. In contrast, knockdown of SelS significantly decreased cell viability, SOD activity, and PKCα gene and protein expression, and increased MDA production and Cav-1 gene and protein expression. CONCLUSIONS: SelS protects ECs from oxidative stress by inhibiting the expression of Cav-1 and PKCα.

[Advanced oxidation protein products promote expression of stromal-cell derived factor-1alpha of ECV304 cells through ERK signal pathway].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP) on expressions of stromal cell-derived factor-1alpha (SDF-1alpha) in ECV304 cells and the signal pathway that mediated the effects. METHODS: AOPP-BSA was made from bovine serum albumin (BSA) and sodium hypochlorite. After treated with AOPP-BSA of different concentrations (50, 100, 200 micromol/L), the expressions of SDF-1alpha mRNA in ECV304 cells were measured by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and the expressions of SDF-1alpha protein and the levels of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in ECV304 cells were analyzed by Western blot. In inhibition test, U0126, the special inhibitor of ERK of different concentrations (0.1, 1, 10 rmol/L) were added into ECV304 cells culture media for 1 hour, then the cells were treated with AOPP-BSA for 24 hours, at last the protein levels in supernatant were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: AOPP-BSA obviously promoted the expressions of SDF-1alpha mRNA and increased the levels of SDF-1beta protein of ECV304 cells in dose-dependent manner (all P < 0.01), after 15 minutes treated with 200 micromol/L AOPP-BSA, the levels of phosphorylated ERK of ECV304 cells increased significantly (P < 0.01). When the ERK pathway was blocked by U0126, the promoting effects of AOPP-BSA on expressions of SDF-la protein in ECV304 cells were significantly inhibited in dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: AOPP induced the expression of SDF-la of ECV304 cells, ERK signal pathway is an important pathway that mediated the effects.

Primary prevention of macroangiopathy in patients with short-duration type 2 diabetes by intensified multifactorial intervention: seven-year follow-up of diabetes complications in Chinese.

OBJECTIVE: To explore whether intensified, multifactorial intervention could prevent macrovascular disease in patients with recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 150 type 2 diabetic patients, with disease duration of <1 year and without clinical arteriosclerotic disease or subclinical atherosclerotic signs confirmed by ultrasonographic scanning of three conducting arteries, were randomized into an intensive intervention group and a conventional intervention group. They then received intensive, multifactorial intervention or conventional intervention over 7 years of follow-up. The patients' common carotid intima-media thicknesses (CC-IMTs) were measured every year. The primary outcome was the time to the first occurrence of CC-IMTs ≥1.0 mm and/or development of atherosclerosis plaques in the carotid artery. The secondary outcome was clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease. RESULTS: A total of 70 patients in the intensive group and 68 patients in the conventional group completed the 7-year follow-up. Subclinical macrovascular (primary) outcomes occurred in seven cases in the intensive group and 22 cases in the conventional group for a cumulative prevalence of 10.00 and 32.35%, respectively (P < 0.05). No significant differences between the two groups were observed regarding the secondary outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Primary prevention of macrovascular diseases can be achieved through intensified, multifactorial intervention in patients with short-duration type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetic patients should undergo intensive multifactorial interventions with individual targets for the prevention of macrovascular diseases.

Factors affecting the performance of microbial fuel cells for sulfide and vanadium (V) treatment.

Sulfide and vanadium (V) are pollutants commonly found in wastewaters. A novel approach has been investigated using microbial fuel cell (MFC) technologies by employing sulfide and V(V) as electron donor and acceptor, respectively. This results in oxidizing sulfide and deoxidizing V(V) simultaneously. A series of operating parameters as initial concentration, conductivity, pH, external resistance were carefully examined. The results showed that these factors greatly affected the performance of the MFCs. The average removal rates of about 82.2 and 26.1% were achieved within 72 h operation for sulfide and V(V), respectively, which were accompanied by the maximum power density of about 614.1 mW m(-2) under all tested conditions. The products generated during MFC operation could be deposited, resulting in removing sulfide and V(V) from wastewaters thoroughly.

Packing structures and periodic band calculations on DPO (2,5-dipicryl-1,3,4-oxadiazole).

Molecular mechanics (MM) method with Compass and Dreiding force fields is used to predict molecular packing for DPO among the 7 most possible space groups (P2(1)/c, P-1, P2(1)2(1)2(1), P2(1), Pbca, C2/c, and Pna2(1)), respectively. Then, periodic band calculations are performed on the predicted crystals using the DFT-GGA-RPBE method. Obtained density of state (DOS) shows that C-O, CN-O(2) and N-N bonds are possibly the trigger bond during thermolysis. Band gap (DeltaE(g)) equals 1.33 eV, which shows DPO with higher sensitivity. Periodic calculation results are consistent well with that drawn from bond dissociation energy calculations on gas molecule.

Theoretical investigation on structures, densities, detonation properties, and the pyrolysis mechanism of the derivatives of HNS.

The derivatives of 2,2',4,4',6,6'-hexanitrostilbene (HNS) are optimized to obtain their molecular geometries and electronic structures at the DFT-B3LYP/6-31G* level. Detonation properties are evaluated using the modified Kamlet-Jacobs equations based on the calculated densities and heats of formation. It is found that there are good linear relationships between the density, detonation velocity, detonation pressure, and number of nitro, amino, and hydroxy groups. The thermal stability and pyrolysis mechanism of the title compounds are investigated by calculating the bond dissociation energies at the unrestricted B3LYP/6-31G* level. For the nitro and amino derivatives of HNS, the C-NO(2) bond is a trigger bond during the thermolysis initiation process, while for hydroxy derivatives, it is started from the isomerization reaction of the hydrogen transfer in the O-H bond. According to the quantitative standard of energetics and stability, as high-energy density compounds, 2,2',3,3',4,4',5,6,6'-nonanitrostilbene and 2,2',3,3',4,4',5,5',6,6'-decanitrostilbene essentially satisfy this requirement. In addition, we have discussed the effect of the nitro, amino, and hydroxy groups on the structure and properties.