The treatment of high concentration wastewater in the natural gas processing industry.

The operation of the Cansolv tail gas treatment device in natural gas plants generates acidic and alkaline wastewater from the venturi unit and amine purification unit (APU), respectively. The APU wastewater is complex in composition and contains hard-to-degrade organic matter, which can adversely impact the normal functioning of the water treatment system. This study assesses the efficacy of three ozone-based advanced oxidation processes (ozone (O3), ozone/hydrogen peroxide (O3/H2O2), and ozone/Fenton (O3/Fenton)) for treating Cansolv wastewater, with chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) serving as indicators of organic degradation. The findings demonstrate that all three processes effectively eliminate coloration and reducible sulfur, with O3/Fenton exhibiting superior performance in removing organic substances. The treated wastewater has a clarified light-yellow appearance with residual COD levels at 43 mg L-1. Under the optimum Fenton oxidation conditions (initial pH 5, H2O2 dosage 97.8 mmol L-1, FeSO4·7H2O dosage 550 mg L-1), average TOC and COD removal rates reached 50% and 97%, respectively. After a treatment duration of 60 minutes, the wastewater demonstrated an enhanced membrane-specific flux, confirming the effectiveness of the O3/Fenton oxidation process in mitigating membrane fouling while ensuring the stable operation of the wastewater treatment system.

The treatment of oily wastewater by thermo-responsive calcium alginate capsules immobilized Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

A microfluidic strategy of smart calcium alginate (CA) capsules is presented to immobilize Pseudomonas aeruginosa to treat oil slicks effectively. The capsule wall is embedded with poly (N-isopropyl acrylamide) sub-microspheres as thermo-responsive switches. CA capsules, with a diameter of 3.26 mm and a thin wall thickness about 12.8 µm, have satisfying monodispersity, cavity structure, and dense surface structures. The capsules possess excellent encapsulation of bacteria, which are fixed in a restricted space and become more aggregated. It overcomes the disadvantages of a long fermentation production cycle, easy loss of bacteria, and susceptibility to shear effect. The smart CA capsules immobilized with bacteria treat model wastewater containing soybean oil or diesel and display favorable fermentation ability. The capsules can effectively treat oil slicks with high concentration, and it is an economical way for processing oily wastewater. PRACTITIONER POINTS: A thermo-responsive calcium alginate capsule was prepared by microfluidic strategy. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is environmentally friendly in treating oil slicks. The capsules, immobilized bacteria, treat oil slicks effectively. This study provides an economical way for processing different oily water.

Detection and quantification of JAK2V617F copy number by droplet digital PCR versus real-time PCR.

Myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) usually has an adverse prognosis, progressing to acute leukemia or splanchnic vein thromboses (SVTs). Therefore, early diagnosis and intervention are significantly important. Clinically, the burden of JAK2V617F is a vital diagnostic basis, which can be detected during the early stage of MPN. Thus, an accurate and rapid detective technique is urgently required. In recent years, real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) has primarily been applied to detect the copies of JAK2V617F, whereas droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), a novel and promising detective tool, can conduct precise and repeatable quantification of nucleic acid copies without relying on the standard curve. In our study, both qPCR and ddPCR are used to evaluate the mutation burden of JAK2V617F in a series of gradient diluted standards and clinical JAK2V617F-positive MPN patients' bone marrow samples collected, while using next-generation sequencing technology (NGS) as a contrast. With the help of statistical methods, our study concluded that ddPCR had a better performance in accuracy, sensitivity, and stability, especially in a low burden. Regarding the accuracy, ddPCR showed a better linearity (Pearson R2 = 0.9926; P < 0.0001) than qPCR (Pearson R2 = 0.9772; P < 0.0001). What is more, ddPCR showed lower intra-assay and inter-assay CVs and the limit of detection (LOD) for the series of diluted standards than qPCR, demonstrating better stability and lower LOD. In a nutshell, ddPCR is a more promising technique for the detection and quantification of JAK2V617F.

The Combination of JAK2V617F Allele Burden and WT1 Expression can Be Helpful in Distinguishing the Subtype of MPN Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Classical Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) includes Essential Thrombocythemia (ET), Polycythemia Vera (PV) and Primary Myelofibrosis (PMF). The JAK2V617F mutation is part of the major criteria for diagnosis of MPN. WT1 is reported to be highly overexpressed in most hematological malignancy. Our aim was to explore the combination value of JAK2V617F allele burden and WT1 expression in distinguishing the subtype of MPN patients. METHODS: Allele specific real-time quantitative fluorescence PCR (AS-qPCR) was conducted to detect JAK2V617F allele burden. WT1 expression was assessed by RQ-PCR. Our study is a retrospective study. RESULTS: JAK2V617F allele burden and WT1 expression were different in MPN subgroups. The expression of WT1 in PMF and PV is higher than in ET. JAK2V617F allele burden in PMF and PV is also higher than in ET. ROC analysis indicated that combination of JAK2V617F allele burden and WT1 expression to discriminate ET and PV, ET and PMF, PV and PMF is 0.956, 0.871, 0.737 respectively. Furthermore, their ability to distinguish ET patients with high Hb levels from PV patients with high platelet counts is 0.891. CONCLUSIONS: Our data revealed that combination of JAK2V617F allele burden and WT1 expression is useful in distinguishing the subtype of MPN patients.

EDTA plasma in glass and polyethylene terephthalate tubes is suitable for measurement of B-type natriuretic peptide on the Mindray CL-6000i.

AIMS: To explore differences in B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) concentration and stability and evaluate BNP accuracy in different collection tubes. METHODS: BNP concentrations in heparin/glass, EDTA/glass, and EDTA/polyethylene terephthalate (PET) tubes were measured on the Mindray CL-6000i at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 h after collection. Differences were evaluated using Wilcoxon's paired tests and Bland-Altman plots. BNP stability and measurement accuracies were estimated using Kruskal-Wallis H tests and recovery tests. RESULTS: BNP concentrations in EDTA/glass tubes were 31.4% higher than those in heparin/glass tubes and 3.04% lower than those in EDTA/PET tubes. BNP stability significantly decreased in the heparin/glass tube. BNP remained stable in EDTA/glass and EDTA/PET tubes at room temperature for 4 h. BNP recovery rates in heparin/glass, EDTA/glass, and EDTA/PET tubes were 77.46, 86.04, and 88.23%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma in EDTA/glass and EDTA/PET tubes is suitable for BNP measurement on the Mindray CL-6000i.

A guiding approach of Ultrasound scan for accurately obtaining standard diagnostic planes of fetal brain malformation.

BACKGROUND: Standard planes (SPs) are crucial for the diagnosis of fetal brain malformation. However, it is very time-consuming and requires extensive experiences to acquire the SPs accurately due to the large difference in fetal posture and the complexity of SPs definitions. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to present a guiding approach that could assist sonographer to obtain the SPs more accurately and more quickly. METHODS: To begin with, sonographer uses the 3D probe to scan the fetal head to obtain 3D volume data, and then we used affine transformation to calibrate 3D volume data to the standard body position and established the corresponding 3D head model in 'real time'. When the sonographer uses the 2D probe to scan a plane, the position of current plane can be clearly show in 3D head model by our RLNet (regression location network), which can conduct the sonographer to obtain the three SPs more accurately. When the three SPs are located, the sagittal plane and the coronal planes can be automatically generated according to the spatial relationship with the three SPs. RESULTS: Experimental results conducted on 3200 2D US images show that the RLNet achieves average angle error of the transthalamic plane was 3.91±2.86°, which has a obvious improvement compared other published data. The automatically generated coronal and sagittal SPs conform the diagnostic criteria and the diagnostic requirements of fetal brain malformation. CONCLUSIONS: A guiding scanning method based deep learning for ultrasonic brain malformation screening is firstly proposed and it has a pragmatic value for future clinical application.

Extracellular Volume Fraction Based on Cardiac Magnetic Resonance T1 Mapping: An Effective Way to Evaluate Cardiac Injury Caused by Cardiac Amyloidosis in Patients with Multiple Myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological malignancy of plasma cell origin. Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is a common form of heart damage caused by MM and is associated with a poor prognosis. This study was a prospective cohort study and was aimed at evaluating the clinical predictive value of extracellular volume fraction (ECV) based on cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) T1 mapping for cardiac amyloidosis and cardiac dysfunction in MM patients. Fifty-one newly diagnosed MM patients in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University were enrolled in the study. A total of 19 patients (19/51; 37.25%) developed CA. The basal ECV of CA group was significantly higher than that of the non-CA group (p < 0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that basal ECV (OR = 1.551, 95% CI 1.084-2.219, p < 0.05) and LDH1 level (OR = 1.150, 95% CI 1.010-1.310, p < 0.05) were two independent risk factors for CA. Further study demonstrated that basal ECV in the heart failure group was significantly higher than that of the nonheart failure group (p < 0.01). Notably, ROC curve showed that basal ECV had a good predictive value for CA and heart failure, with AUC of 0.911 and 0.893 (all p < 0.01), and the best cutoff values of 38.35 and 37.45, respectively. Taken together, basal ECV is a good predictor of CA and heart failure for MM patients.

One-step emulsification for controllable preparation of ethyl cellulose microcapsules and their sustained release performance.

A simple and versatile strategy for controlled production of monodisperse ethyl cellulose (EC) microcapsules by a single-stage emulsification method has been developed. Monodisperse oil-in-water emulsions, obtained by a microfluidic device, are used as templates for preparing EC microcapsules. Oil-soluble ethyl acetate (EA) is miscible with water, so the interfacial mass transfer between EA and water occurs sufficiently, which leads to water molecules pass through the phase interface and diffuse into emulsion interior. Water molecules aggregate at the interface, and some merge into a large water drop in the central position of the emulsion. After evaporation of EA solvent, monodisperse EC microcapsules create large numbers of pits on the surface with a hollow structure. Curcumin is used as a model drug and embedded in the hollow structure. EC microcapsules have good, sustained drug release efficacy in a simulated intestinal environment, and the release process of EC microcapsules containing 6.14% drug-loaded capacity is fully consistent with the vitro drug release model. Such simple techniques for making EC microcapsules may open a window to the controlled preparation of other multifunctional microcapsules. Besides, it offers theoretical guidance for the study of EC microcapsules as drug carriers and expanding clinical application of curcumin.

Interphase Fluorescence in situ Hybridization of Bone Marrow Smears of Multiple Myeloma.

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) detection is an indispensable method in genetic risk stratification in multiple myeloma (MM), which is one of the most common hematological malignancies. The identifying characteristic of MM is accumulated malignant plasma cells in bone marrow. FISH reports for MM mainly focus on purified or identified clonal plasma cells, rather than all nucleated cells, by sorting with anti-CD138 magnetic beads or marking with cytoplasmic immunoglobulin light chain κ or λ. Bone marrow interphase nuclei are usually obtained from fresh bone marrow cells. However, satisfactory enrichment of plasma cell specimens requires large amounts of fresh heparin anti-coagulated bone marrow, which cannot be obtained in the case of difficult bone marrow extraction or a bone marrow dry tap. Herein, we establish a novel method to improve the success of FISH detection on stained or unstained bone marrow smears. Bone marrow smears are easier to obtain than anticoagulated bone marrow specimens.

Adversarial Multiscale Feature Learning Framework for Overlapping Chromosome Segmentation.

Chromosome karyotype analysis is of great clinical importance in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Since manual analysis is highly time and effort consuming, computer-assisted automatic chromosome karyotype analysis based on images is routinely used to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the analysis. However, the strip-shaped chromosomes easily overlap each other when imaged, significantly affecting the accuracy of the subsequent analysis and hindering the development of chromosome analysis instruments. In this paper, we present an adversarial, multiscale feature learning framework to improve the accuracy and adaptability of overlapping chromosome segmentation. We first adopt the nested U-shaped network with dense skip connections as the generator to explore the optimal representation of the chromosome images by exploiting multiscale features. Then we use the conditional generative adversarial network (cGAN) to generate images similar to the original ones; the training stability of the network is enhanced by applying the least-square GAN objective. Finally, we replace the common cross-entropy loss with the advanced Lovász-Softmax loss to improve the model's optimization and accelerate the model's convergence. Comparing with the established algorithms, the performance of our framework is proven superior by using public datasets in eight evaluation criteria, showing its great potential in overlapping chromosome segmentation.

A spatial and cellular distribution of rabies virus infection in the mouse brain revealed by fMOST and single-cell RNA sequencing.

BACKGROUND: Neurotropic virus infection can cause serious damage to the central nervous system (CNS) in both humans and animals. The complexity of the CNS poses unique challenges to investigate the infection of these viruses in the brain using traditional techniques. METHODS: In this study, we explore the use of fluorescence micro-optical sectioning tomography (fMOST) and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to map the spatial and cellular distribution of a representative neurotropic virus, rabies virus (RABV), in the whole brain. Mice were inoculated with a lethal dose of a recombinant RABV encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) under different infection routes, and a three-dimensional (3D) view of RABV distribution in the whole mouse brain was obtained using fMOST. Meanwhile, we pinpointed the cellular distribution of RABV by utilizing scRNA-seq. RESULTS: Our fMOST data provided the 3D view of a neurotropic virus in the whole mouse brain, which indicated that the spatial distribution of RABV in the brain was influenced by the infection route. Interestingly, we provided evidence that RABV could infect multiple nuclei related to fear independent of different infection routes. More surprisingly, our scRNA-seq data revealed that besides neurons RABV could infect macrophages and the infiltrating macrophages played at least three different antiviral roles during RABV infection. CONCLUSION: This study draws a comprehensively spatial and cellular map of typical neurotropic virus infection in the mouse brain, providing a novel and insightful strategy to investigate the pathogenesis of RABV and other neurotropic viruses.

High-throughput and high-accuracy diagnosis of multiple myeloma with multi-object detection.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a type of blood cancer where plasma cells abnormally multiply and crowd out regular blood cells in the bones. Automated analysis of bone marrow smear examination is considered promising to improve the performance and reduce the labor cost in MM diagnosis. To address the drawbacks in established methods, which mainly aim at identifying monoclonal plasma cells (monoclonal PCs) via binary classification, in this work, considering that monoclonal PCs is not the only basis in MM diagnosis, for the first we construct a multi-object detection model for MM diagnosis. The experimental results show that our model can handle the images at a throughput of 80 slides/s and identify six lineages of bone marrow cells with an average accuracy of 90.8%. This work makes a step further toward full-automatic and high-efficiency MM diagnosis.

Reduced miR-16 levels are associated with VEGF upregulation in high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes.

Objective: Overexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a major angiogenic factor, was found in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and showed different expression statuses in different risk groups of MDS. We aimed to investigate the possible role of microRNA (miR)-15a and miR-16 on the regulation of VEGF expression and their effect on angiogenesis in lower- and higher-risk MDS. Methods: We studied peripheral blood and bone marrow samples of MDS patients or several leukaemia and MDS cell lines by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, immunohistochemical staining, immunofluorescence and quantitative PCR for expression levels of VEGF, miR-15a and miR-16. MiRNA transfection and Luciferase reporter assays were conducted to investigate whether VEGF is a target of miR-16. Migration and tube formation assays were performed in cells exposed to medium from cells with overexpressed or knockdown miR-16. Results: It showed a significantly lower level of miR-16 in higher-risk MDS patients, while the VEGF levels were upregulated. Inverse correlation between VEGF and miR-16 were determined in cells lines including SKM-1, THP-1, and K562 cells. Overexpression of miR-16 in SKM-1 cells resulted in reduced VEGF secretion and cell protein levels. Direct binding of miR-16 to the 3' untranslated region (3'-UTR) of VEGF was confirmed by luciferase reporter assays. The migration and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells decreased in the presence of medium from SKM-1 cells with overexpressed miR-16. Conclusion: These data suggest that miR-16 may play a role in angiogenesis in higher-risk MDS by targeting VEGF and therefore modulating MDS progression. MiR-16 might be a novel therapeutic target in higher-risk MDS.

Novel biomarkers for the prediction of COVID-19 progression a retrospective, multi-center cohort study.

A pandemic designated as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is spreading worldwide. Up to date, there is no efficient biomarker for the timely prediction of the disease progression in patients. To analyze the inflammatory profiles of COVID-19 patients and demonstrate their implications for the illness progression of COVID-19. Retrospective analysis of 3,265 confirmed COVID-19 cases hospitalized between 10 January 2020, and 26 March 2020 in three medical centers in Wuhan, China. Patients were diagnosed as COVID-19 and hospitalized in Leishenshan Hospital, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University and The Seventh Hospital of Wuhan, China. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine the possible risk factors for disease progression. Moreover, cutoff values, the sensitivity and specificity of inflammatory parameters for disease progression were determined by MedCalc Version 19.2.0. Age (95%CI, 1.017 to 1.048; P < 0.001), serum amyloid A protein (SAA) (95%CI, 1.216 to 1.396; P < 0.001) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (95%CI, 1.006 to 1.045; P < 0.001) were likely the risk factors for the disease progression. The Area under the curve (AUC) of SAA for the progression of COVID-19 was 0.923, with the best predictive cutoff value of SAA of 12.4 mg/L, with a sensitivity of 83.9% and a specificity of 97.67%. SAA-containing parameters are novel promising ones for predicting disease progression in COVID-19.

The effect of miR-223 on cellular behaviour in non-5q myelodysplastic syndromes through targeting RPS14.

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are characterised by impaired haematopoiesis and a high risk of leukaemic transformation. A decrease in RPS14 expression in non-5q MDS patients was confirmed by immunohistochemical analyses of MDS bone marrow biopsies. To determine the cause of RPS14 reduction in non-5q MDS, we analysed the 3'-UTR of RPS14 and demonstrated that miR-223 binds to the 3'-UTR of RPS14 by bioinformatics-based approach combined with the luciferase reporter assay. Using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis, we observed a significantly increased expression of miR-223 in CD34+ cells and SKM-1 cells derived from non-5q MDS patients in vitro and demonstrated a correlation between miR-223 levels and red blood cell counts. Exogenous miR-223 expression in SKM-1 cells could also inhibit RPS14 expression. In functional studies, overexpression of miR-223 was shown to promote cell proliferation and inhibit cell apoptosis in SKM-1 cells, and to impair erythroid differentiation in haemin-induced K562 cells. Taken together, our results revealed that the overexpression of miR-223 in MDS is closely associated with cell transformation and erythroid differentiation arrest, which is most likely mediated by targeting RPS14.

Novel Insights Into Illness Progression and Risk Profiles for Mortality in Non-survivors of COVID-19.

Background. The outbreak of COVID-19 has attracted the attention of the whole world. Our study aimed to describe illness progression and risk profiles for mortality in non-survivors. Methods. We retrospectively analyzed 155 patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan and focused on 18 non-survivors among them. Briefly, we compared the dynamic profile of biochemical and immune parameters and drew an epidemiological and clinical picture of disease progression from disease onset to death in non-survivors. The survival status of the cohort was indicated by a Kaplan-Meier curve. Results. Of the non-survivors, the median age was 73.5 years, and the proportion of males was 72.2%. Five and 13 patients were hospital-acquired and community-acquired infection of SARS-CoV-2, respectively. The interval between disease onset and diagnosis was 8.5 days (IQR, [4-11]). With the deterioration of disease, most patients experienced consecutive changes in biochemical parameters, including lymphopenia, leukocytosis, thrombocytopenia, hypoproteinemia, as well as elevated D-dimer and procalcitonin. Regarding the immune dysregulation, patients exhibited significantly decreased T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood, including CD3+T, CD3+CD4+Th, and CD3+CD8+Tc cells. By the end of the disease, most patients suffered from severe complications, including ARDS (17/18; 94.4%), acute cardiac injury (10/18; 55.6%), acute kidney injury (7/18; 38.9%), shock (6/18; 33.3%), gastrointestinal bleeding (1/18; 5.6%), as well as perforation of intestine (1/18; 5.6%). All patients died within 45 days after the initial hospital admission with a median survivor time of 13.5 days (IQR, 8-17). Conclusions. Our data show that patients experienced consecutive changes in biochemical and immune parameters with the deterioration of the disease, indicating the necessity of early intervention.

SF3B1 Mutation but Not Ring Sideroblasts Identifies a Specific Group of Myelodysplastic Syndrome-Refractory Cytopenia With Multilineage Dysplasia.

BACKGROUND: Integrating the proportion of ring sideroblasts and SF3B1 mutation status is required for diagnosis of sideroblastic subgroups in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) as proposed by the World Health Organization 2016 classification. However, the clinical implications of SF3B1 mutation and ring sideroblasts in MDS-refractory cytopenia with multilineage dysplasia (MDS-RCMD) remain unclear. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Clinical and laboratory features in 238 MDS-RCMD patients were retrospectively analyzed, and the prognostic significance of SF3B1 mutation and ring sideroblasts on overall survival and leukemia-free survival in total MDS-RCMD patients and different subgroups stratified by the percentage of ring sideroblasts or SF3B1 mutation status were evaluated. RESULTS: MDS-RCMD patients with ring sideroblasts ≥ 15% showed a significantly higher prevalence of SF3B1 mutation compared to ring sideroblasts 5%-14% or ring sideroblasts < 5% (75.6% vs. 15.1% vs. 6.4%, P < .001). In multivariate analysis, SF3B1 mutation was associated with a significantly prolonged survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.430, P = .013) and reduced leukemic transformation (HR = 0.174, P = .021) in total MDS-RCMD patients, while ring sideroblasts showed no independent effect on either survival or leukemic transformation. There were no significant differences in clinical characteristics or survival between MDS-RCMD patients with ring sideroblasts ≥ 15% and ring sideroblasts 5%-14% in the presence of SF3B1 mutation. Furthermore, SF3B1 mutation showed an independent prognostic effect on overall survival in MDS-RCMD patients with ring sideroblasts 5%-14% (HR = 0.195, P = .046). CONCLUSION: SF3B1 mutation, not the presence of ring sideroblasts, identifies a distinct subtype and showed independent prognostic value on survival and leukemia transformation in MDS-RCMD patients.

Current Status and Perspective Biomarkers in AFP Negative HCC: Towards Screening for and Diagnosing Hepatocellular Carcinoma at an Earlier Stage.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most malignant cancer with high morbidity and mortality which lead to a serious burden to society. AFP (alpha-fetoprotein) is the most widely used serum biomarker to detect HCC worldwide. However, no AFP elevation have been found in many HCC and AFP analysis can't be used to screen HCC in these cases. Currently, many studies have been carried out to find reliable biomarker in diagnosing AFP-negative HCC. Such biomarker would help the diagnosis of AFP-negative HCC, ensuring the timely initiation of treatment. In this review, we highlight the important role of biomarkers that can differentiate AFP-negative HCCs, and discuss their potential clinical applications as biomarkers for the diagnosis of AFP-negative HCC.