[Distribution and Removal of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Their Derivatives in SBR/MBBR Process].

While polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are an important persistent toxic organic contaminant, the toxicities of substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (SPAHs) are much higher than PAHs. Water and sludge samples were collected from the Qingdao Chengyang Sewage Treatment Plant (STP). The distribution and removal of 16 PAHs and nitro-PAHs (NPAHs), methyl-PAHs (MPAHs), and oxy-PAHs (OPAHs) in the SBR/MBBR process were analyzed. The results showed that 16 PAHs and 13 SPAHs were detected. In the influent water, the total concentrations of PAHs and SPAHs were 3835.14 ng·L-1 and 6889.46 ng·L-1, respectively, which were much higher than those of STPs in other regions. In the effluent, the total concentrations of PAHs and SPAHs were 1148.18 ng·L-1 and 1724.57 ng·L-1, respectively, and the removal rates were up to 70.06% and 74.97%, respectively. The SBR/MBBR process presented a more effective removal capacity for PAHs and SPAHs. The removal of PAHs was mainly by the biodegradation of low-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (LMW-PAHs)in the aqueous phase; while the removal of PAHsin the particle phase mainly relied on the adsorption and precipitation of LMW-PAHs in the primary sedimentation tank and the biosorption of high-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (HMW-PAHs) in the bio-unit. For SPAHs, the removal efficiency of MPAHs (up to 89.15%) was the best under the functions ofparticle adsorption and biodegradation. The removal rate of OPAHs was 63.36%, which was mainly removed by the adsorption of primary particles in the aqueous phase and the biosorption from the biological treatment unit in the particlephase, and the removal rate of NPAHs was 48.85% and largely occurred in the biological treatment unit. The removal mechanism of SPAHs in SBR/MBBR process was not the same. Therefore, STPs should take adequate control measures according to the distribution characteristics of PAHs and SPAHs in different treatment units. Additionally, the concentrations of PAHs and SPAHs in sludge were higher than those in the effluent. Thus, the management of PAHs and SPAHs in sludge should be improved.

Nonfunctional pancreatic endocrine tumor in the peripancreatic region in a Chinese patient with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1.

Nonfunctional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NF-pNETs) in patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1), which results from a mutation in the MEN1 gene, are commonly small, multiple tumors located in the pancreatic head and inside the pancreatic parenchyma. We herein describe a 35-year-old woman with bone pain and a 7-year history of a prolactinoma. She was clinically diagnosed with MEN1 based on the presence of the prolactinoma and parathyroid hyperplasia. Abdominal computed tomography revealed a 5-cm mass close to the splenic hilum. This soft tissue tumor, which was located outside the pancreatic parenchyma and the tissue origin of which could not be identified preoperatively, was found to be connected to the pancreatic tail. After resection, histological examination revealed a well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumor of pancreatic origin. Genetic testing revealed a heterozygous transition mutation of guanine to adenine at the coding nucleotide 133 in exon 2 (c.133G>A), resulting in an amino acid substitution of glutamic acid with lysine (E45K) in the MEN1 gene. This patient with MEN1 presented with a clinical condition involving a single non-metastatic NF-pNET located outside the pancreatic parenchyma with a missense mutation in the MEN1 gene, which could easily have been misdiagnosed as an accessory spleen.

Characteristics of two novel cold- and salt-tolerant ammonia-oxidizing bacteria from Liaohe Estuarine Wetland.

To achieve a better contaminant removal efficiency in a low-temperature and high-salt environment, two novel strains of cold- and salt-tolerant ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), i.e., Ochrobactrum sp. (HXN-1) and Aquamicrobium sp. (HXN-2), were isolated from the surface sediment of Liaohe Estuarine Wetland (LEW), China. The optimization of initial ammonia nitrogen concentration, pH, carbon-nitrogen ratio, and petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) to improve the ammonia-oxidation capacity of the two bacterial strains was studied. Both bacterial strains showed a high ammonia nitrogen removal rate of over 80% under a high salinity of 10‰. Even at a temperature as low as 15°C, HXN-1 and HXN-2 could achieve an ammonia nitrogen removal rate of 53% and 62%, respectively. The cold- and salt-tolerant AOB in this study demonstrated a high potential for ammonia nitrogen removal from LEW.

Enhanced biodegradation of pyrene and indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene using bacteria immobilized in cinder beads in estuarine wetlands.

Two strains (Pseudomonas taiwanensis PYR1 and Acinetobacter baumannii INP1) were isolated from PAH-contaminated Liaohe estuarine wetland using enrichment. The cells of PYR1 and INP1 were immobilized in cinder beads for pyrene and indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene biodegradation in wetland. Biodegradation of pyrene and indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene in soils from wetland was carried out in pots using free cells as well as those immobilized in cinder beads to ascertain the role of bioaugmentation. Supported by the cinder beads, the immobilized cells degraded 70.7% and 80.9% of pyrene and indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene respectively after 30 days. While the free cells degraded only 58.2% and 55.3%. Additionally, microbial analysis with high-throughput sequencing revealed the changes of microbial communities in soil without and with cinder beads immobilized with strains. The result indicated that Gammaproteobacteria were dominant PAH-degrading groups during bioaugmentation. This effective approach can be used to treat other PAH-contaminated wetlands by immobilizing different species of bacteria in cinder beads.

Emergency caudate lobectomy for ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma with multiple primary cancers.

We report a case of metachronous multiple primary malignancies involving both rectum and liver with colonic metastasis from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) through hematogenous pathway. A 72-year-old woman was admitted to the emergency department with right upper abdominal pain for 4 h. Considering her surgical history of Mile's procedure plus liver resection for rectal cancer with liver metastasis three years ago and the finding of urgent computed tomography scan on admission, the preoperative diagnosis was spontaneous rupture of rectal liver metastasis located in caudate lobe and colonic metastasis from rectal cancer. The patient underwent an emergency isolated caudate lobectomy at a hemorrhagic shock status. Pathology reported a primary HCC in the caudate lobe and colonic metastasis of HCC with tumor embolus in the surrounding vessels of the intestine. No regional lymph node involvement was found. It is hypothesized that HCC may disseminate hematogenously to the ascending colon, thus making it a rare case.

Performance of a sulfidogenic bioreactor and bacterial community shifts under different alkalinity levels.

The performance of a sulfidogenic bioreactor and the response of bacterial populations to influent alkalinity changes were investigated. The bioreactor reached 40% of sulfate removal efficiency (SRE) with 0 mg l(-1) of alkalinity, and single-stranded conformation polymorphism profiles showed that some members of Bacteroides, Dysgonomonas, Sporobacter, Quinella, and Citrobacter became dominant populations. 16S rRNA gene library analysis indicated that the Actinobacteria group increased from 0% in seed to 23% in sludge. An increase in alkalinity to 1300 mg l(-1) led to a rapid increase of SRE to 65% and changes in the bacterial community. Sequences representing Dysgonomonas, Raoultella, Kluyvera, and Phascolarctobacterium were now found. When alkalinity was deceased to 0 mg l(-1), SRE dropped and the bands representing Raoultella, Kluyvera, and Phascolarctobacterium disappeared, while bands representing Clostridium appeared. A second cycle of low/high alkalinity did not result in obvious changes to the bacterial community. These results indicate that the sulfidogenic bioreactor favored higher influent alkalinity and that the different functional microbial populations responded well to the alkalinity changes.

[Studies on nitrobacteria and nitrification in Liaohe estuary wetland sediments].

Nitrobacteria, nitrification and its impact factors were discussed based on the method of on-site incubation and laboratory simulation in Liaohe estuary wetland sediments in June and August 2009, respectively. The results showed that the number of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) ranged from 0.54 x 10(4) to 5.69 x 10(4) cells x g(-1) with an average of (2.21 +/- 2.32) x 10(4) cells x g(-1) in June and ranged from 1.90 x 10(4) to 7.90 x 10(4) cells x g(-1) with an average of (3.61 +/- 2.87) x 10(4) cells x g(-1) in August. The potential nitrification rates ranged from 9.72 to 16.45 mmol x (m2 x h)(-1) with an average of (12.54 +/- 3.14) mmol x (m2 x h)(-1) in June and ranged from 14.66 to 24.62 mmol x (m2 x h)(-1) with an average of (18.71 +/- 4.21) mmol x (m2 x h)(-1) in August. The net nitrification rates were 0.41 mmol x (m2 x h)(-1) in June and ranged from 0.20 to 0.53 mmol x (m2 x h)(-1) with an average of (0.35 +/- 0.16) mmol x (m2 x h)(-1) in August. The potential nitrification rates were apparently higher than the net nitrification rates. The AOB abundance and nitrification rates were all higher in August than in June. Ammonia concentration in the overlying water, pH, organic matter, total nitrogen content, total phosphorus content, ammonia nitrogen content and the number of AOB in sediments were the main environmental impact factors on nitrification by SPSS 13.0 statistical analysis (p < 0.05), and it also showed ammonia concentration in the overlying water, total phosphorus content and ammonia nitrogen content in sediments were key impact factors on nitrification by partial correlation analysis. The flux of transformed ammonium into nitrate by nitrification process was 1.14 x 10(5) kg per day, suggesting that nitrification was important on nitrogen cycle in Liaohe estuary wetland sediments.

[Elasticity plastic filler for purification of polluted streams in situ entering lake].

The biofilm process using a new-type elasticity plastic filler was adopted in a typical polluted stream entering the Tai Lake (the Linzhuanggang). The experiments at pilot scale ran for about 0.5 years. Results show the average removal percentage of permanganate index by biofilm attached to the elasticity plastic filler is about 5.4%, the biggest removal percentage is 9.9%, the average removal percentage of NH(4+) -N is approximately 5.35%-39.91%, the biggest removal percentage of TP is 28.6%. And the bacteriological experimental results show there is the same change laws between the removal percentage of permanganate index and the numbers of heterotrophic bacteria; the numbers of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) are matching with removal of NH(4+) -N.