The effect of FTY720 at different doses and time-points on LPS-induced acute lung injury in rats.

We sought to assess the protective effect of different doses of Fingolimod (FTY720) in a rat model of acute lung injury (ALI) induced by intratracheal instillation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and explored the underlying mechanisms. The ALI model was established in rats and different doses of FTY720 (0.1 mg/kg, 0.2 mg/kg, 0.5 mg/kg, 1 mg/kg, or 2 mg/kg) were injected intraperitoneally. Lung computed tomography and blood gas analyses were performed at 6 h, 24 h, and 48 h after intraperitoneal injection, and the lung tissues were extracted to prepare paraffin sections for histopathological examination. The levels of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1ß) were detected by ELISA, and the expressions of inflammatory pathway proteins in each group were measured by Western blot analysis. A single intraperitoneal injection of FTY720 inhibited LPS-induced NF-κB activation, reduced the level of inflammatory cytokines, and decreased the infiltration of inflammatory cells. Moreover, it alleviated lung tissue injury, as shown by marked attenuation of pulmonary oedema and improved arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) and the general condition of ALI rats. In conclusion, our results demonstrate the protective effect of FTY720 against LPS-induced ALI. The underlying mechanism of the protective effect may involve inhibition of LPS-induced activation of NF-κB and regulation of the inflammatory pathway to alleviate barrier dysfunction of alveolar capillaries.

Genome-wide association analysis identifies resistance loci for bacterial blight in a diverse collection of indica rice germplasm.

Bacterial blight, which is caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), is one of the most devastating rice diseases worldwide. The development and use of disease-resistant cultivars have been the most effective strategy to control bacterial blight. Identifying the genes mediating bacterial blight resistance is a prerequisite for breeding cultivars with broad-spectrum and durable resistance. We herein describe a genome-wide association study involving 172 diverse Oryza sativa ssp. indica accessions to identify loci influencing the resistance to representative strains of six Xoo races. Twelve resistance loci containing 121 significantly associated signals were identified using 317,894 single nucleotide polymorphisms, which explained 13.3-59.9% of the variability in lesion length caused by Xoo races P1, P6, and P9a. Two hotspot regions (L11 and L12) were located within or nearby two cloned R genes (xa25 and Xa26) and one fine-mapped R gene (Xa4). Our results confirmed the relatively high resolution of genome-wide association studies. Moreover, we detected novel significant associations on chromosomes 2, 3, and 6-10. Haplotype analyses of xa25, the Xa26 paralog (MRKc; LOC_Os11g47290), and a Xa4 candidate gene (LOC_11g46870) revealed differences in bacterial blight resistance among indica subgroups. These differences were responsible for the observed variations in lesion lengths resulting from infections by Xoo races P1 and P9a. Our findings may be relevant for future studies involving bacterial blight resistance gene cloning, and provide insights into the genetic basis for bacterial blight resistance in indica rice, which may be useful for knowledge-based crop improvement.

Paracrine effect of CXCR4-overexpressing mesenchymal stem cells on ischemic heart injury.

It has been reported that CXCR4-overexpressing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCCX4 ) can repair heart tissue post myocardial infarction. This study aims to investigate the MSCCX4-derived paracrine cardio-protective signaling in the presence of myocardial infarction. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were divided into 3 groups: MSC only, MSCCX4 , and CXCR4 gene-specific siRNA-transduced MSC. Mesenchymal stem cells were exposed to hypoxia, and then MSCs-conditioned culture medium was incubated with neonatal and adult cardiomyocytes, respectively. Cell proliferation-regulating genes were assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In vitro: The number of cardiomyocytes undergoing DNA synthesis, cytokinesis, and mitosis was increased to a greater extent in MSCCX4 medium-treated group than control group, while this proproliferative effect was reduced in CXCR4 gene-specific siRNA-transduced MSC-treated cells. Accordingly, the maximal enhancement of vascular endothelial growth factor, cyclin 2, and transforming growth factor-ß2 was observed in hypoxia-exposed MSCCX4 . In vivo: MSCs were labeled with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and engrafted into injured myocardium in rats. The number of EGFP and CD31 positive cells in the MSCCX4 group was significantly increased than other 2 groups, associated with the reduced left ventricular (LV) fibrosis, the increased LV free wall thickness, the enhanced angiogenesis, and the improved contractile function. CXCR4 overexpression can mobilize MSCs into ischemic area, whereby these cells can promoted angiogenesis and alleviate LV remodeling via paracrine signaling mechanism.

[Diversity of operation performance and microbial community structures in MBRs and CAS processes at low temperature].

In this paper, the performance of membrane bioreactors (MBR) and conventional activated sludge (CAS) processes at low temperature was investigated by analyzing their effluent quality and microbial viability. 454 high-throughput pyrosequencing was also applied to study the microbial community structures. The results of three systems (two MBRs: R1 with high sludge concentration, R2 with low sludge concentration, and one CAS: R3) showed that the average removal rate of NH4(+) -N was 99.7%, 99.7% and 59.7%, respectively, and the average removal rate of TN was 85.2%, 56.1% and 58.8%, respectively. R2 showed the highest specific ammonium uptake rate (SAUR), followed by R1 and R3; R1 showed the highest specific nitrate uptake rate (SNUR), followed by R2 and R3. It could be concluded that MBRs with high sludge concentration had a better performance of nitrogen removal under low temperature operation. 454 high-throughput pyrosequencing analysis revealed that the microbial richness was R2 > R3 > R1, and the microbial diversity was R2 > R1 > R3 at 97% sequence identity. The microbial structure and bacterial abundance were quite different between MBR and CAS systems. The dominant nitrifier in this research was Nitrospira, and the total relative abundance of nitrifiers in R1, R2, R3 was 1.22%, 1.64% and 0.15%, respectively. The Zoogloea, Thauera, Comamonadaceae and Comamonas might be the dominant denitrifers in this study, and the total relative abundance of denitrifier in R1, R2, and R3 was 5.8%, 4.52% and 15.21% respectively. MBR's characteristics of long solid retention time, high sludge concentration and low total nitrogen loading well supported the accumulation of nitrifiers and denitrifiers, and improved the performance of biological nitrogen removal at low temperature.

[Membrane surface fouling properties in MBRs for high-salinity wastewater treatment].

The properties of membrane foulants in MBR treating high-salinity wastewater were studied. Results showed that the removal efficiency of organics and NH4(+) -N was stable and high-quality effluent was obtained after the operation time of 121 d; the ratio of VSS/ SS decreased and SVI declined at the same time, indicating that the inorganic content of sludge increased which might lead to more compact flocs and higher settling ability; SMP and EPS of the sludge were largely changed with a lower proportion of protein and a higher proportion of humic acid. Scanning electron microscope-energy diffusive X-ray analyzer (SEM-EDX) demonstrated that Na, Al, Mg, Ca, K, Fe, Ti, Cr, W, Si and Cl were the major inorganic elements in membrane foulants; Gel filtration chromatography (GFC) illustrated that there were organic matters with high molecular weight trapped by membrane and formed the membrane foulants; Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Excitation emission matrix (EEM) fluoresce spectroscopy discovered that carbohydrates, protein and humic acid were the main content of organics in membrane foulants.; quantitative analysis of membrane foulants showed that the amount of inorganic membrane foulants were significant when treating high-salinity wastewater.

Bis((E)-2-{3-[4-(1H-imidazol-1-yl-κN (3))styr-yl]-5,5-di-methyl-cyclo-hex-2-enyl-idene}malono-nitrile)-diiodido-mercury(II).

In the title compound, [HgI2(C22H20N4)2], the Hg(II) cation is situated on a twofold rotation axis and is coordinated by two iodide anions and two imidazolyl N atoms in a distorted tetra-hedral geometry. In the crystal, C-H⋯I inter-actions link the mol-ecules into chains extending in [010], which are further linked into sheets parallel to (100) through C-H⋯N hydrogen bonding inter-actions.

[Modeling and dynamic simulation of the multimode anaerobic/anoxic/aerobic wastewater treatment process].

Mathematical modeling is a useful tool for professional education, process development, design evaluation, operational optimization and automatic control of the wastewater treatment system, and has been extensively applied in numerous full-scale wastewater treatment plants. The ASM2d model was calibrated by the process data, and used to simulate 15 operational test runs of the multimode anaerobic/anoxic/aerobic (AAO) process. After calibration, the model was capable of simulating the sludge concentrations and effluent data in 15 test runs of the multimode AAO system. The dynamic simulation results showed an overall good agreement between the measured and simulated data, for both effluent data and sludge concentrations, with a good reproduction of dynamic processes in AO test runs.

2-[4-(1H-1,2,4-Triazol-1-yl)phen-yl]-1H-benzimidazole.

In the title compound, C(15)H(11)N(5), the benzimidazole ring system is nearly planar [maximum deviation = 0.039 (2) Å], and is oriented at a dihedral angle of 28.85 (10)° with respect to the benzene ring; the dihedral angle between the triazole and benzene rings is 17.30 (15)°. In the crystal N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules into chains. Weak C-H⋯N inter-actions are also present.

[Characteristics of soil net nitrogen mineralization in subalpine/alpine forests of west Sichuan, Southwest China during seasonal freeze-thaw period].

Seasonal freeze-thaw cycle and its change pattern under the scenarios of climate warming might exert strong effects on the soil nitrogen mineralization in alpine forests. In this paper, intact soil cores were collected from the subalpine/alpine forests along an altitudinal gradient in west Sichuan, and an incubation test was conducted to study the soil net nitrogen mineralization rate and the amount of soil mineralized nitrogen in the forests during growth season and seasonal freeze-thaw period under simulated scenarios of global warming. In the test soils, the NH(4+)-N and NO(3-)-N contents both showed a clear tendency of decreased in the period from growth season to the onset stage of freezing, increased at deep freezing stage, and decreased again at the early stage of thawing. The soil net nitrogen mineralization rate and the amount of soil mineralized nitrogen were significantly lower in freeze-thaw period than in growth season, and the soil inorganic nitrogen was obviously immobilized. The soil nitrogen immobilization was stronger at middle altitudes but weaker at high altitudes, as compared with that at low altitudes, possibly due to the variation of soil temperature and its induced different freeze-thaw cycle. During growth period, the soil net nitrogen mineralization rate and the amount of soil mineralized nitrogen showed an obvious increasing trend with the decrease of altitude, and the soil nitrogen mineralization was the strongest at low altitudes, implying that under the scenarios of climate warming, the increase of soil temperature promoted the soil nitrogen mineralization during growth season, and affected the soil nitrogen mineralization rate by increasing the frequency of freeze-thaw cycle and shortening the time period of freeze-thaw. Soil micro-environment could also affect the soil nitrogen mineralization in alpine forest regions.

Abundance and composition dynamics of soil ammonia-oxidizing archaea in an alpine fir forest on the eastern Tibetan Plateau of China.

Real-time qPCR and clone library sequencing targeting amoA genes were used to investigate the seasonal dynamics of an ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) community in an alpine fir forest in western China. AOA were detected at all sampling dates, and there were significant variations in archaeal amoA gene copy numbers (7.63 × 10(5) to 8.35 × 10(8) per gram of dry soil) throughout the nongrowing season. Compared with ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), the AOA displayed a higher abundance on the majority of sampling dates during the freeze-thaw period. All of the AOA sequences fell within soil and sediment lineages and were affiliated with 7 clusters. Compared with the other clusters, cluster 1 was more sensitive to low temperature and was the dominant group in August. In contrast, cluster 3 dominated the AOA community in winter and probably represents a group of cold-adapted archaea. Redundancy analysis (RDA) revealed that the seasonality of the AOA community was mainly attributed to changes in soil temperature and nutrient availability (e.g., dissolved organic nitrogen and carbon). Our results indicate that AOA exist in frozen soils in the alpine coniferous forest ecosystem of the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Moreover, soil temperature may directly and (or) indirectly affect AOA abundance and composition and may further influence the soil N cycle during the winter.

4-(Imidazol-1-yl)benzoic acid.

In the title mol-ecule, C(10)H(8)N(2)O(2), the imidazole and benzene rings form a dihedral angle of 14.5 (1)°. In the crystal, inter-molecular O-H⋯N hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules into chains extending in [01], which are further linked into sheets parallel to (102) through weak C-H⋯O inter-actions.

[Comparison of MGMT and ERCC2 expression in temozolomide for the treatment of malignant glioma drug resistance and their genetic relationship].

OBJECTIVE: To study the impact of two human glioma tissue resistance genes MGMT and ERCC(2) on the temozolomide-based treatment of malignant gliomas and detect the relationship of their expressions. METHODS: A total of 58 malignant glioma patients aged 19 - 68 years old receiving a chemotherapy of temozolomide were followed up and classified as non-sensitive group (n = 30) and sensitive group (n = 28). Immunohistochemistry was employed to detect the expression rates of MGMT and ERCC(2). And the correlation between the expressions of two genes was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction). RESULTS: The expression rates of MGMT and ERCC(2) were 10.71% and 3.57% in the sensitive group and 63.33% and 56.67% in the non-sensitive group. It had an obvious correlation with the expressions of MEGT and ERCC(2) through an analysis of immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR (both P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The expressions of MGMT and ERCC(2) in the sensitive group are markedly lower than those in the non-sensitive group. The expression of two genes may be related to tumor prognosis. Maybe these two genes have an intrinsic link between their expressions. Both participate in the repair of cellular DNA damage and the formation of tumor drug resistance. And the prognosis has obvious relevance.

[Activated sludge model based COD fractionation in wastewater characterization].

The successful application of activated sludge model (ASM) in wastewater treatment plant mainly depends on the correctness of wastewater fractionation. Based on three batch oxygen uptake rate (OUR) tests, a COD fractionation protocol and the corresponding Matlab program were developed to aid the standardization of COD fractionation in wastewater. COD fractionation results of two wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in Shanghai show that COD in wastewater of the Quyang WWTP is composed of 8.1% +/- 1.6% readily biodegradable COD (S(s)), 6.3% +/- 2.2% soluble inert COD (S(I)), 45.5% +/- 3.5% slowly biodegradable COD (X(S)), 31.1% +/- 2.1% particulate inert COD (X(I)) and 9.0% +/- 1.1% heterotrophic biomass (X(H)), and those fractions in wastewater of the Bailonggang WWTP are 11.1% +/- 2.2%, 9.9% +/- 2.0%, 38.9% +/- 10.7%, 23.3% +/- 9.8% and 16.9% +/- 1.8%, respectively. Compared to the Quyang WWTP, wastewater of the Bailonggang WWTP showed lower X(S) and X(I) contents in COD, but greatly higher X(H)/COD value, indicating that long pipeline transportation could significantly influence the concentration of COD fractions.

[Fractionation of soluble COD in wastewater based on batch respirometric method].

A fractionation protocol of soluble COD (SCOD) was put forward by combining respirometric method with hydrolysis kinetics of soluble slowly biodegradable COD (S(H)). SCOD fractionation results of two wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in Shanghai show that the SCOD in sand basin effluents (typical domestic wastewater) of WWTP A is composed of 43.5%-58.6% S(H), 21.8%-35.2% readily biodegradable COD (S(S)) and 15.4%-30.9% soluble inert COD (S(I)), and those SCOD fractions in sand basin effluents (combined sewers after long pipeline transportation) of WWTP B are 34.5%-45.2%, 29.3%-37.7% and 25.6%-31.2%, respectively. The linear regression results of respirometric tests data from nine samples demonstrate that the first-order kinetics can reliably describe hydrolysis process of S(H), and the kinetic constants of S(H) from WWTP A and B are respectively 28.00-39.77 d(-1) and 26.48-29.52 d(-1). Experimental results demonstrate that this protocol can achieve theoretical partition for the integration area of S(S), and also eliminate the effect of soluble microbial products on S(I) determination.

Simultaneous nitrogen and phosphor removal in an aerobic submerged membrane bioreactor.

Simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) effect and phosphor removal were investigated in a one-staged aerobic submerged membrane bioreactor on pilot-scale with mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) 19-20 g/L. The effects of DO concentration, sludge floc size distribution on SND were studied. Test results suggested that SND was successfully performed in the membrane bioreactor (MBR) and about 70% total nitrogen removal efficiency was achieved when DO concentration was set to 0.2-0.3 mg/L. The main mechanisms governing SND were the suitable sludge floc size and the low DO concentration which was caused by low oxygen transfer rate with such a high MLSS concentration in the MBR. In the meantime, phosphor removal was also studied with polymer ferric sulfate (PFS) addition and 14 mg/L dosage of PFS was proper for the MBR to remove phosphor. PFS addition also benefited the MBR operation owing to its reduction of extracellular polymer substances (EPS) of mixed liquor.

Municipal sludge as landfill barrier material.

The aim of this research is to find substitute barrier materials for natural clay from two kinds of municipal sludge: waterworks sludge (S(W)) and dredging sludge (Sd). Laboratory tests were performed firstly to determine their Atterberg limits and hydraulic conductivity. Based on the results, the use of waterworks sludge was recommended. Then, shear strength tests were performed and it was found the shear resistance property of waterworks sludge is strong enough to maintain slope stability. In order to evaluate the possibility of secondary pollution, the heavy metal contents of waterworks sludge was determined and the results indicated that secondary pollution is unlikely happened. Finally, economic analysis proves that reusing waterworks sludge as barrier will reduce the lost a great for both landfill and waterworks. Based on the results, waterworks sludge was proposed to use and a further long-term simulated landfill test was suggested.