Application of ZIF-8 nanocomposite membrane in microbial desalination cells for simultaneous heavy metal removal and biofouling prevention.

Microbial desalination cells (MDC) syndicate the advantage of physical separation by using membranes to create conditions required for Bioelectrochemical processes for the treatment of various domestic and industrial wastewater, while simultaneously desalinating saline water and generating bioenergy. However, since the introduction of this technology, heavy metal removal has been a challenge, and membrane fouling has become a major bottleneck limiting the optimum performance and efficiency of this technology. This study incorporated the use of ZIF-8 nanocomposite membrane via phase inversion mechanism in MDC for simultaneous heavy metal removal and membrane biofouling prevention. The study was conducted in two MDC systems; MDC-Control (without the ZIF-8 nanocomposite membrane) and MDC with ZIF-8 nanocomposite membrane. The results from the experiment shown that maximum removal efficiency of 85.7%, 84.3%, 84.0%, and 90.61% was obtained for Cu2+, Zn2+, Pb2+, and Cd2+ respectively in MDC-ZIF-8, while MDC control showed 54.17%, 59.71%, 51.94%, and 54.17%. The results were well fitted to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm with correlation coefficients (R2) > 0.99 in all cases for MDC-ZIF-8. A maximum adsorption capacity (Qmax) of 292 mg g-1 was attained for all four metal ions in MDC-ZIF-8. Besides, after 38 days of continuous operation with two complete desalination for both systems, the SEM-EDS characterization analysis, polarization characteristics, and power generation revealed antifouling characteristics of ZIF-8 nanocomposite membrane incorporated in MDC. The integration of the ZIF-8 nanocomposite membrane proved to be simultaneously efficient in biofouling prevention and heavy metal removal without jeopardizing the system's ability for wastewater treatment, bioelectricity generation, and desalination processes.

Scaled-up multi-anode shared cathode microbial fuel cell for simultaneous treatment of multiple real wastewaters and power generation.

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is lauded for its capacity to valorize organic substrates in wastes, providing a solution to environmental pollution and energy crisis. While different types of organic substrates affect removal efficiency and current output, most MFCs are designed to only be able to utilize one type of wastewater. However, many real wastewater treatment sites generate more than one type of wastewater which hinders the installation of most MFCs. This study aimed to investigate the performance of the novel-designed multi-anode shared cathode MFC (MASC-MFC) compared with a standard single anode/cathode MFC (SAC-MFC) and the simultaneous treatment of different types of real wastewaters (sewage, slaughterhouse, and hospital) in one MFC unit. The MASC-MFC (9025 mW/m2 at 23.332 mA/m2) produced 1.7 times and 1.6 times higher in power density and current density and 2.2 times lower in internal resistance than the standard single anode/cathode MFC (SAC-MFC). A maximum COD removal efficiency of 62.7% was achieved with synthetic wastewater. Feeding the MASC-MFC with multiple real wastewaters decreased maximum power density 3.5 (2599 mW/m2) times and increased internal resistance 2.7 times. Stable current generation 1.575 mA was achieved over 300 h despite the different and complex wastewater physio-chemical compositions. The MASC-MFC achieved over 40% and approximately 30% coulombic efficiency independently in all the anode chambers irrespective of the type of real wastewater used, demonstrating the MASC-MFC's capacity to treat different real wastewaters with the added benefit of electricity production.

Photodegradation of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) and Antibacterial Activity in Water by Transition Metals.

The intensity of emerging pollutants such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the aquatic and terrestrial environment is a major source of concern to researchers. The current conventional methods of wastewater treatment plants are considered not efficient enough in the complete removal of the recalcitrant contaminants from water. The use of modified transition metals in visible responsive synthesis to degrade PPCPs and other pollutants (organic and inorganic) is considered as a developing green chemistry and sustainable technology. Hence, this review presents the state-of-the-art discussion on the novel photodegradation of PPCPs, and antibacterial activities of transition metal-modified magnetite materials for wastewater treatment, and suggested directions for the future. Transition metal-modified magnetite nanostructured photocatalysis is identified as one of the best candidates employed in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for wastewater treatment and has been found to efficiently destroy bacterial spores and effectively remove recalcitrant pollutants in water. Therefore, this article hopes to contribute scientific knowledge along with existing ones on advanced mechanisms and technology used in wastewater treatment.

Assessing the factors influencing the performance of constructed wetland-microbial fuel cell integration.

Constructed wetland coupled microbial fuel cell (CW-MFC) systems integrate an aerobic zone and an anaerobic zone to treat wastewater and to generate bioenergy. The concept evolves based on the principles of constructed wetlands and plant MFC (one form of photosynthetic MFC) technologies, of which all contain plants. CW-MFC have been used in a wide range of application since their introduction in 2012 for wastewater treatment and electricity generation. However, there are few reports on the individual components and their performance on CW-MFC efficiency. The performance and efficiency of this technology are significantly influenced by several factors such as the organic load and sewage composition, hydraulic retention time, cathode dissolved oxygen, electrode materials and wetland plants. This paper reviews the influence of the macrophyte (wetland plants) component, substrate material, microorganisms, electrode material and hydraulic retention time (HRT) on CW-MFC performance in wastewater treatment and electricity generation. The study assesses the relationship between these parameters and discusses progress in the development of this integrated system to date.

Performance of Exoelectrogenic Bacteria Used in Microbial Desalination Cell Technology.

The tri-functional purpose of Microbial Desalination Cell (MDC) has shown a great promise in our current scarcity of water, an increase in water pollution and the high cost of electricity production. As a biological system, the baseline force that drives its performance is the presence of exoelectrogens in the anode chamber. Their presence in the anodic chamber of MDC systems enables the treatment of water, desalination of seawater, and the production of electrical energy. This study reviews the characteristics of exoelectrogens, as a driving force in MDC and examines factors which influence their growth and the performance efficiency of MDC systems. It also addresses the efficiency of mixed cultures with certain predominant species as compared to pure cultures used in MDC systems. Furthermore, the study suggests the need to genetically modify certain predominant strains in mixed cultures to enhance their performance in COD removal, desalination and power output and the integration of MDC with other technologies for cost-effective processes.

Clinical epidemiological analysis of 2 403 cases of lung cancer / 国际肿瘤学杂志

Objective To understand preliminaryly the epidemiological trend of lung cancer in recent years by retrospective analysis of 2 403 cases of lung cancer in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from 2013 to 2017.Methods The clinical data of patients with primary bronchogenic cancer diagnosed in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from 2013 to 2017 were collected.The clinical data such as gender,age,history of tobacco and alcohol,operation,pathological type,clinical stage and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutation were analyzed statistically.Results A total of 2 403 cases of lung cancer were collected,including 1 766 males and 637 females.There was no significant difference in gender ratio between male and female in five years (x2 =8.481,P =0.075).There were 2 398 cases with age information,the male-to-female ratios of lung cancer patients aged less than 40,40-49,50-59,60-69,70-79,80 and over were 0.9 ∶ 1.0,1.4 ∶ 1.0,2.4 ∶ 1.0,3.6 ∶ 1.0,3.4 ∶ 1.0 and 3.3 ∶ 1.0 respectively,and the difference was statistically significant (x2 =59.004,P ＜ 0.001).The composition difference of adenocarcinoma was not statistically significant in five years (x2 =2.165,P =0.705).There was no statistically significant difference in the composition ratio of squamous cell carcinoma (x2 =4.788,P =0.310).Adenocarcinoma accounted for 43.15％ (762/1 766) and 81.95％ (522/637) of the pathological types of male and female patients respectively,and the difference was statistically significant (P ＜ 0.001).Squamous cell carcinoma accounted for 39.01％ (689/1 766) and 7.28％ (47/637) respectively,and the difference was statistically significant (P ＜ 0.001).The proportion of squamous cell carcinoma in smoking patients was 42.99％ (583/1 356),which was significantly higher than that in non-smoking patients (14.61％,153/1 047);the proportion of squamous cell carcinoma in drinking patients was 40.56％ (277/683),which was higher than that in nondrinking patients (26.69％,459/1 720),and the differences were statistically significant (both P ＜ 0.001).A total of 1 252 patients underwent surgery,accounting for 52.10％ (1 252/2 403) of the total cases.The surgical rate of small cell carcinoma was 21.72％ (48/221),and that of non-small cell carcinoma was 55.18％ (1 204/2 182).In five years,the surgical rates of lung cancer patients were 55.11％ (221/401),51.53％ (252/489),58.23％ (244/419),53.18％ (276/519) and 45.04％ (259/575) respectively,and there was significant difference in the proportion of surgical and non-surgical patients in each year (x2 =19.553,P =0.001).A total of 483 patients were tested for E GFR mutation,the EGFR mutation rate was 58.8％ (251/ 427) in adenocarcinoma patients and 15.6％ (5/32) in squamous cell carcinoma patients.Among lung cancer patients aged less than 40,40-49,50-59,60-69,70-79,80 and over,the proportions of adenocarcinoma were 76.74％ (33/43),62.39％ (136/218),57.73％ (381/660),47.95％ (455/949),52.22％ (235/450) and 52.56％ (41/78) respectively,and the difference was statistically significant (x2 =33.078,P ＜ 0.001);the proportions of squamous cell carcinoma were 9.30％ (4/43),21.56％ (47/218),28.03 ％ (185/660),34.14％ (324/949),32.44％ (146/450) and 35.90％ (28/78) respectively,and the difference was statistically significant (x2 =26.977,P ＜ 0.001).The difference of composition ratio of TNM staging was statistically significant in five years (x2 =21.003,P =0.034).Conclusion There has been no significant change of male-to-female ratio in patients with lung cancer in the past five years.With the increase of age,the male-to-female ratio increases first and then decreases.The proportion of adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma has not increased or decreased significantly in the past five years.Adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are both common in male lung cancer patients,while the pathological type of female patients is mainly adenocarcinoma.Squamous cell carcinoma is highly prevalent in smokers and drinkers.The surgical rate of squamous cell carcinoma is higher than that of adenocarcinoma,and the surgical rate of non-small cell lung cancer is higher than that of small cell lung cancer.The EGFR mutation rate is higher in adenocarcinoma.With the increase of age,the proportion of adenocarcinoma in all pathological types tends to decrease,while that of squamous cell carcinoma tends to increase.The patients' TNM staging has a downward trend,and the operation rate decreases slightly.

Analysis on serotypes and antibiotic resistance characteristics of food-borne Salmonella strains in Guizhou Province from 2016 to 2018 / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To analyze the serotype distribution and antibiotic resistance characteristics of food-borne Salmonella strains isolated from food and patients with gastroenteritis in Guizhou Province from 2016 to 2018. Methods Serotypes of the strains were characterised using slid agglutination method with Salmonella antisera. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of antibiotics were determined by the broth microdilution method. Microsoft Excel 2007 and SPSS18. 0 were used for statistical analysis. Results A to-tal of 170 strains of food-borne Salmonella were detected in food and patients with gastroenteritis in Guizhou Province from 2016 to 2018. Thirty-five serotypes were identified and 6 were found in both food and pa-tients. The main serotypes in food were Salmonella Typhimurium ( 16. 67％ ) and Salmonella Stanley (8. 33％ ), and the predominant serotypes in patients were Salmonella Typhimurium (41. 79％ ), Salmonel-la Enteritidis (16. 42％ ) and Salmonella London (8. 96％ ). The rate of resistance to ampicillin, chloram-phenicol, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, nalidixic and trimeth-sulfame were 27. 78％ -33. 33％ among the iso-lates from food, and 22. 22％ -25. 00％ to gentamicin, cefocime and ampicillin/ sulbatan. Among the isolates from patients, the highest resistance was to ampicillin ( 55. 97％ ), followed by that to tetracycline (49. 25％ ), ampicillin/ sulbatan (44. 03％ ), nalidixic acid (41. 04％ ) and cefazolin (37. 31％ ), and 20. 90％ -30. 60％ strains were resistant to chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, cefotaxime and am-picillin/ sulbatan. There were 25. 00％ isolates from food and 25. 37％ isolates from patients resistant to at least 6 antibiotics, and the main multi-resistant pattern was ampicillin-tetracyline-nalidixic-cephalosporin an-tibiotics (partial). Conclusions There were many kinds of serotypes of food-borne Salmonella in Guizhou Province from 2016 to 2018 and the predominant types were Salmonella Typhimurium, Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella London. Drug resistance was common in the strars and some multidrug resistant strains were detected.

Analysis on serotypes and antibiotic resistance characteristics of food-borne Salmonella strains in Guizhou Province from 2016 to 2018 / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective@#To analyze the serotype distribution and antibiotic resistance characteristics of food-borne Salmonella strains isolated from food and patients with gastroenteritis in Guizhou Province from 2016 to 2018.@*Methods@#Serotypes of the strains were characterised using slid agglutination method with Salmonella antisera. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of antibiotics were determined by the broth microdilution method. Microsoft Excel 2007 and SPSS18.0 were used for statistical analysis.@*Results@#A total of 170 strains of food-borne Salmonella were detected in food and patients with gastroenteritis in Guizhou Province from 2016 to 2018. Thirty-five serotypes were identified and 6 were found in both food and patients. The main serotypes in food were Salmonella Typhimurium (16.67%) and Salmonella Stanley (8.33%), and the predominant serotypes in patients were Salmonella Typhimurium (41.79%), Salmonella Enteritidis (16.42%) and Salmonella London (8.96%). The rate of resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, nalidixic and trimeth-sulfame were 27.78%-33.33% among the isolates from food, and 22.22%-25.00% to gentamicin, cefocime and ampicillin/sulbatan. Among the isolates from patients, the highest resistance was to ampicillin (55.97%), followed by that to tetracycline (49.25%), ampicillin/sulbatan (44.03%), nalidixic acid (41.04%) and cefazolin (37.31%), and 20.90%-30.60% strains were resistant to chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, cefotaxime and ampicillin/sulbatan. There were 25.00% isolates from food and 25.37% isolates from patients resistant to at least 6 antibiotics, and the main multi-resistant pattern was ampicillin-tetracyline-nalidixic-cephalosporin antibiotics (partial).@*Conclusions@#There were many kinds of serotypes of food-borne Salmonella in Guizhou Province from 2016 to 2018 and the predominant types were Salmonella Typhimurium, Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella London. Drug resistance was common in the strars and some multidrug resistant strains were detected.

Identification and characterization of six glycosyltransferases involved in the biosynthesis of a new bacterial exopolysaccharide in Paenibacillus elgii.

Paenibacillus elgii B69 produces a new xylose-containing exopolysaccharide (EPS) that effectively removes the pollutants from wastewater through flocculation. However, information about the biosynthesis of this EPS is limited. In this study, sequence analysis showed six putative glycosyltransferases (GTs) genes in polysaccharide gene clusters involved in glycosidic linkages of repeating units. Each gene was deleted and phenotypes were examined to understand the functions of these genes. Two of the genes were deleted successfully to encode a priming glucose GT and a side-chain xylose GT, but other genes were unsuccessfully deleted because of the accumulation of toxic intermediate products. The six genes were cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, and the corresponding enzymes were purified. The activity of GTs was analyzed through mass spectrometry by using the purified membrane fraction as a lipid carrier receptor after a hexasaccharide repeated unit was reconstructed in vitro. The specificities of six different GTs and the building order of the hexasaccharide were characterized. This study provided a basis for future research on the biosynthetic pathway of EPS in Paenibacillus or other genera.

A bibliometric analysis of PBL teaching method / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Objective To systematically analyze the relevant literatures of problem-based learning (PBL) and to provide reference for further improvement and innovation. Methods Using bibliometric method and the package "tm" in R, we searched web of science database for PBL relevant literatures from inception to March 19 of 2018. Results A total of 5710 articles published in 77 journals had been collected. The results showed that PBL relevant literatures were increasing from 1976 to 2018. Most papers were published as article, with first authors from 84 countries of the world. The total citation of 5710 articles is 54768 and the average referenced times is 9.59. The research in those articles focused on medical education, health care sciences and engineering. Conclusions PBL has been widely used in various disciplines, especially in medical education. The research involves a wide range but the quality and depth of the study is still need to be improved.

Progress in antimicrobial substances of endophytes / 生物工程学报

Isolation and characterization of metabolites produced by endophytes are significant ways to search for novel natural active substances, proving that the endophytes are the unique resources of newer and more effective compounds. Many new compounds with antimicrobial activity from different endophytes have been isolated so far. These new compounds provide alternatives to fight against multi-drug resistance of microorganisms. This review outlined the major achievements and latest developments of endophytes, including the diversity of endophytes and antimicrobial activity of endophytes, as well as its development in China.

Investigation and analysis on the average checking time of biochemistry results,psychologic status of biochemical laboratory test result inspectors,and medical complaint rate / 国际检验医学杂志

Objective To investigate the relationship among the average checking time of biochemistry results ,mental health of biochemistry results checkers and the rate of medical complains .Methods 258 biochemistry results checkers from 17 hospitals of Guangdong were tested by using symptom checklist(SCL‐90) ,biochemistry results checking time questionnaire and medical com‐plaints questionnaire .Results Compared with the national model data ,the mental health levels of biochemistry results checkers were worse relatively .The mental heath did not have gender difference ,however ,female checkers were significant worse than males in horror .The mental heath didn′t have gender difference between secondary and advanced technicians .However ,the junior techni‐cians were significant worse than technicians of other levels in obsession ,somatization ,anxiety ,depression and horror .The average checking time of biochemistry results was correlated with mental health of biochemistry results checkers .The average checking time of biochemistry results had relationship with the rate of medical complains .Conclusion The mental health conditions of biochemis‐try results checkers are bad .No mental health difference exists in gender .The junior technicians′mental heath are significant worse than secondary and advanced technicians .There are some relationships between the average checking time of biochemistry results , mental health of biochemistry results checkers and the rate of medical complains .

Efficacy of Shenyi Capsule combined with gemcitabine plus cisplatin in treatment of advanced esophageal cancer: a randomized controlled trial / 中西医结合学报

In recent years, Shenyi Capsule has been proven to have certain anti-angiogenic effects, and to be effective to many cancers, but its effects on advanced esophageal cancer are scarcely studied.

Recent clinical observation of Cidan Capsule with ginsenoside Rg_3 in advanced primary liver cancer / 中成药

AIM: To observe the effects of Cidan Capsule and Shenyi Capsule(ginsenoside Rg_3) with intraarterial therapy for advanced primary liver cancer. METHODS: Sixty cases with advanced primary liver cancer patients were randomly divided into two groups,30 cases of the treatment groups were treated with Cidan Capsule and Shenyi Capsule with intraarterial therapy,30 cases of the controls were only treated with intraarterial therapy.(RESULTS:)(1) The two groups(CR + PR) efficiency were 70%(21/30) and 33.3%(10/30) respectively.The statistical analysis was significantly different(P