Strategy of optimizing anaerobic digestion of cassava distiller wastewater using a novel automatic biological incubation system.

Due to the drawbacks of using fossil fuels and the need to mitigate global warming caused by increasing greenhouse gas emissions, agricultural biomass for bioenergy production is gaining great interest around the world. This work presented a study at a biochemical plant in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China to maximize methane production from cassava distiller wastewater. The plant's annual production of cassava distiller wastewater is more than 3 million tons and currently was treated using a series of 5000 m3 Internal Circulation (IC) reactors. Modification was applied at No.19 IC reactor by connecting it to two 1 m3 automatic biological incubators called Information Bio-Booster (IBB). The effluent of the IC reactor was fed into the IBBs and iron, cobalt and nickel were added directly in the IBBs. The function of the IBBs was to regulate the microbial community. Afterwards, the microorganisms in the IBBs were pumped back into the IC reactor to participate in the methane production reaction. Daily net increase of methane content and COD removal reached 8.02% and 33% respectively in No.19 IC reactor comparing to the unadjusted reactors. Preliminary lab experiments found that improvements of biogas production, enhanced COD removal and VS removal was closely related to the enhancement of anaerobic microbial communities' diversity and the promotion of enzyme activity through the addition of the metal salts. Daily economic value could be estimated to be $218 which indicated the application potential of using the proposed system to enhance anaerobic digestion at industrial plants for bioenergy production.

Combined Freeze-Thaw and Chloride Attack Resistance of Concrete Made with Recycled Brick-Concrete Aggregate.

The objective of this study was to investigate the physico-chemical properties of concrete made with recycled brick-concrete aggregate, which was the mixture from waste concrete and waste clay brick in a 7:3 ratio. Specifically, this paper investigated the mechanical properties, freeze-thaw resistance, and distribution of water-soluble chloride ions of concrete containing RBCA and fly ash (FA) against combined freeze-thaw and sodium chloride attack. Concrete containing RBCA replacement of natural coarse aggregate and fly ash replacement of Portland cement was subjected to 45 freeze-thaw cycles containing sodium chloride solution. It was discovered that the mechanical properties and freeze-thaw resistance to sodium chloride attack gradually decreased with increasing RBCA content. At the same time, a replacement level of 15% FA by weight resulted in significant improvements in compressive strength and resistance to combined freeze-thaw and chloride attack. Furthermore, using a replacement of 30% FA by weight markedly improved the resistance to chloride ion penetration of concrete due to the lowest water-soluble chloride content.

[Meta-analysis for clinical efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine in treating resistant hypertension].

To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine in treating patients with resistant hypertension. CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, CBM, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, EMbase and other databases were retrieved by computers to screen out the randomized controlled trial of traditional Chinese medicine in treating resistant hypertension. Cochrane Handbook was used to evaluate the quality of the included literature, RevMan 5.3 and Stata 12.0 was used for Meta-analysis. Finally, 11 literatures meeting the criteria were included, involving 1 023 patients. The results of Meta-analysis showed that the combined therapy of standard triple antihypertensive regimen with traditional Chinese medicine could further reduce systolic blood pressure of patients with resistant hypertension(MD=-16.69, 95%CI[-22.21,-11.16], P<0.000 01), reduce diastolic blood pressure(MD=-7.51, 95%CI[-8.26,-6.76], P<0.000 01), improve the effective rate of anti-hypertension(OR=5.16, 95%CI[3.01, 8.84], P<0.000 01), improve the up-to-standard rate of blood pressure(OR=3.01, 95%CI[1.49, 6.09], P=0.002), and improve the effectiveness of clinical symptoms(OR=4.48, 95%CI[2.31, 8.68], P<0.000 01), with no significant effect on creatinine level(MD=-2.51, 95%CI[-6.91, 1.89], P=0.26). The results of this study indicated that the combined therapy of standard triple antihypertensive regimen with traditional Chinese medicine could further improve the clinical efficacy in patients with resistant hypertension with a good safety, but more high-quality clinical studies are still needed to verify this conclusion.

As(III) removal from aqueous solution by katoite (Ca3Al2(OH)12).

As (III) is widely distributed in groundwater which is relatively harder to be removed comparing to As (V). Co-grinding Ca(OH)2 with Al(OH)3 was conducted to manufacture katoite (Ca3Al2(OH)12) for the complete removal of As(III) (concentration below drinking water standard of WHO (<10 ppb)) during one-step agitation operation. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were applied for the illustration of adsorption mechanism. Katoite could intercalate As(III) into the layered space forming arsenite pillared Ca-Al layered double hydroxide (LDH). The coexisting anions such as Cl-, SO42-, and NO3- had minor effects on As (III) removal performance using katoite. Techno-economic analysis demonstrated the feasibility of large-scale katoite production and its practical application for As(III) polluted groundwater purification, especially in the undeveloped areas where groundwater was used as irrigation and drinking water.

Efficacy and Safety of Qishen Yiqi Dripping Pill for Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: The number of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) patients is increasing year by year, yet all western medicines currently used for heart failure have been shown to be ineffective for HFpEF. Qishen Yiqi Dripping Pill is one of the commonly drugs for the treatment of heart failure in China. In recent years, some clinical studies found that it has curative effect on HFpEF. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Qishen Yiqi Dripping Pill in treatment of HFpEF. Methods: Databases including CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, CBM, PubMed, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library and EMbase were searched from their inception to May 2020 to screen relevant randomized controlled trials. The "risk of bias" evaluation tool in the Cochrane Handbook was used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. RevMan 5.3 software was used for meta-analysis. Results: Eight studies meeting the criteria were included, with a total of 895 patients. The results of meta-analysis showed that compared with western medicine alone, combination of western medicine and Qishen Yiqi Dripping Pill can further increase the quotient of early diastolic mitral inflow velocity and late diastolic mitral inflow velocity (E/A) in patients with HFpEF [mean difference (MD) = 0.20, 95% CI (0.14, 0.26), p < 0.000 01], decrease the quotient of early diastolic mitral inflow velocity and mitral annular tissue velocity (E/e') [MD = -2.50, 95% CI (-3.18, -1.82), p < 0.000 01], decrease brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) [MD = -151.83, 95% CI (-245.78, -57.89), p = 0.002], increase cardiac function improvement rate [relative risk (RR) = 1.30, 95% CI (1.11, 1.52), p = 0.001], and increase six-minutes walking distance (6-MWD) [MD = 64.75, 95% CI (22.65, 106.85), p = 0.003]. Four studies reported the occurrence of adverse reactions, among which three studies reported no adverse reactions and one study reported three patients with mild adverse reactions in the intervention group. Conclusion: Current evidence suggests that Qishen Yiqi Dripping Pill may be effective in the treatment of HFpEF. However, due to the low quality of the included studies, lack of placebo control, large heterogeneity among different studies, and great possibility of publication bias, the results of our review should be evaluated with more prudence, more high-quality clinical studies are needed to verify the conclusion in the future. In addition, the safety of Qishen Yiqi Dripping Pill remains uncertain, further assessment is required in the future.

Epigenetic Co-Deregulation of EZH2/TET1 is a Senescence-Countering, Actionable Vulnerability in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells lack the expression of ER, PR and HER2. Thus, TNBC patients cannot benefit from hormone receptor-targeted therapy as non-TNBC patients, but can only receive chemotherapy as the systemic treatment and have a worse overall outcome. More effective therapeutic targets and combination therapy strategies are urgently needed to improve the treatment effectiveness. Methods: We analyzed the expression levels of EZH2 and TET1 in TCGA and our own breast cancer patient cohort, and tested their correlation with patient survival. We used TNBC and non-TNBC cell lines and mouse xenograft tumor model to unveil novel EZH2 targets and investigated the effect of EZH2 inhibition or TET1 overexpression in cell proliferation and viability of TNBC cells. Results: In TNBC cells, EZH2 decreases TET1 expression by H3K27me3 epigenetic regulation and subsequently suppresses anti-tumor p53 signaling pathway. Patients with high EZH2 and low TET1 presented the poorest survival outcome. Experimentally, targeting EZH2 in TNBC cells with specific inhibitor GSK343 or shRNA genetic approach could induce cell cycle arrest and senescence by elevating TET1 expression and p53 pathway activation. Using mouse xenograft model, we have tested a novel therapy strategy to combine GSK343 and chemotherapy drug Adriamycin and could show drastic and robust inhibition of TNBC tumor growth by synergistic induction of senescence and apoptosis. Conclusions: We postulate that the well-controlled dynamic pathway EZH2-H3K27me3-TET1 is a novel epigenetic co-regulator module and provide evidence regarding how to exploit it as a novel therapeutic target via its pivotal role in senescence and apoptosis control. Of clinical and therapeutic significance, the present study opens a new avenue for TNBC treatment by targeting the EZH2-H3K27me3-TET1 pathway that can modulate the epigenetic landscape.

Applications of Mechanochemically Prepared Layered Double Hydroxides as Adsorbents and Catalysts: A Mini-Review.

Mechanochemically prepared layered double hydroxide (M-LDH), which usually possesses high surface chemical activity and a substantial amount of surface defects, has presented outstanding application performance especially in the area of environmental protection. Recently published works on the mechanochemical synthesis of LDH were first introduced to provide a comprehensive summary on the preparation of the materials. Ensuing discussion provided an overview of recent research on the applications of M-LDH products as adsorbents and catalysts. The excellent adsorption performance and fast adsorption rate of the precursor of LDH produced by dry milling of raw materials was identified. The catalytic performances of M-LDH as catalysts, mainly photocatalysts, were then introduced. It is foreseeable that by rational utilization of mechanochemical processes and the unique chemical properties of M-LDH, increasing numbers of applications using M-LDH could be expected.

Characteristics of heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification bacterium Acinetobacter sp. T1 and its application for pig farm wastewater treatment.

A novel heterotrophic bacterium was isolated from activated sludge of a pig farm wastewater treatment plant and identified as Acinetobacter sp. T1. It exhibited efficient heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification capability to utilize ammonium, nitrate or nitrite as the sole nitrogen source, and their removal rates were 12.08, 5.53 and 1.69 mg/L/h, respectively. Furthermore, the optimal conditions for the heterotrophic nitrification process were sodium citrate as the carbon source, C/N mass ratio of 10, pH of 8.5 and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration of 5.1 mg/L. Only trace amounts of nitrate and nitrite were observed during the process. When the aerobic tank of the A2O process of a pig farm wastewater treatment plant was inoculated with traditional activated sludge, the average removals of COD, NH4+- N and TN in the effluent were 30%, 15% and 16%, respectively, which was much lower than that of inoculated with strain T1, the increase was statistically significant, indicating a great potential of strain T1 for full-scale applications.