Simultaneous inorganic nitrogen and phosphate removal by aerobic-heterotrophic fungus Fusarium keratoplasticum FSP1: Performance, pathway and application.

Fungi with multiple contaminant removal function have rarely been studied. Here, a novel fungal strain Fusarium keratoplasticum FSP1, which was isolated from halophilic granular sludge, is reported for first time to perform simultaneous nitrogen and phosphate removal. The strain showed wide adaptability under C/N ratios of 30-35, salinities of 0 %-3 % (m/v), and pH of 7.5-9.5. The maximum removal rates of ammonium, nitrate and nitrite were 4.43, 4.01 and 2.97 mg N/L/h. The nitrogen balance, enzyme activity and substrate conversion experiments demonstrated a single strain FSP1 can assimilate inorganic nitrogen and convert inorganic nitrogen to gaseous nitrogen through heterotrophic nitrification or aerobic denitrification. About 39 %-42 % of the degraded phosphorus was in the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Orthophosphate was the main phosphorus species in the cell, whereas phosphate monoester and diester were in the EPS. The novel strain FSP1 is a potential candidate for wastewater treatment.

Design, synthesis, and anti-tumor activity of derivatives of ring A and C-28 of asiatic acid.

Based on computer-aided drug design (CADD), the active groups of the known active small molecule compounds that can bind to EGFR target protein were analyzed through the molecular docking method. Then, 12 novel asiatic acid derivatives were synthesized by introducing active groups at ring A and C-28 positions of asiatic acid. The structures of these novel compounds were determined by NMR and MS. Furthermore, the anti-tumor activities of these derivatives on human lung cancer cells (A549) and human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) were evaluated by MTT assay. In conclusion, compounds I4 and II3 have stronger anti-cancer activity than parent compounds, the activities were stronger than gefitinib and comparable to afatinib, which may be potential candidate compounds for tumor therapy.

Design, synthesis, and antitumor activity of novel oleanolic acid analogues targeting EGFR.

Based on the simulated docking of Epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors with known active small molecule compounds, computer-aided drug design technology was used to analyze key amino acid fragments and determine the active groups binding with key sites. Then, twelve novel analogues of oleanolic acid (OA) were synthesized by introducing active groups at the C-3 and C-28 positions of OA. The structures of these novel analogues were confirmed by NMR and MS. Furthermore, the antitumor activities of these novel analogues were evaluated by MTT assay. As a result, compounds I3 and II3 showed stronger cytotoxicity on tumor cells than positive controls. In conclusion, our study synthesized twelve novel analogues of OA and determined compounds I3 and II3 had better antitumor effect, which may be potential candidate compounds for tumor therapy.

Static magnetic field increases aerobic nitrogen removal from hypersaline wastewater in activated sludge with coexistence of fungi and bacteria.

Fungi have been found to exist in activated sludge treating saline wastewater, but their role in removing pollution has been neglected. This study explored the aerobic removal of total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) from saline wastewater under static magnetic fields (SMFs) with several strengths. Compared to the control, the aerobic removal of TIN was significantly increased by 1.47 times in 50 mT SMF, due to the increased dissimilation nitrogen removal by fungi and bacteria. Under SMF, fungal nitrogen dissimilation removal was significantly increased by 3.65 times. The fungal population size decreased, and its community composition changed significantly under SMF. In contrast, bacterial community composition and population remained relatively stable. Under SMFs, heterotrophic nitrification - aerobic denitrification bacteria Paracoccus and the fungi denitrifying Candida formed a synergistic interaction. This study elucidates the fungal role in aerobic TIN removal and provides an efficient solution to improve TIN removal from saline wastewater by SMF.

Synthesis and anti-tumor activity of asiatic acid derivatives targeting VEGFR.

To discovery novel VEGFR inhibitors, 12 novel asiatic acid derivatives were designed by computer-aided drug design (CADD) technology. Then, these novel asiatic acid derivatives were synthesized by introducing active groups at ring A and C-28 positions of asiatic acid. The structures of these novel analogues were confirmed by NMR and MS. Moreover, the anti-tumor activities of these novel asiatic acid derivatives on human hepatoma cells HepG2 and human gastric cancer cells SGC7901 were evaluated by MTT assay. As a result, compounds I2 and II4 showed stronger cytotoxicity on tumor cells than asiatic acid and positive control drugs such as gefitinib and paclitaxel. In conclusion, our study synthesized twelve novel asiatic acid derivatives and determined compounds I2 and II4 had better anti-tumor effect which may be potential candidate compounds for tumor therapy.

A halophilic aerobic-heterotrophic strain Halomonas venusta SND-01: Nitrogen removal by ammonium assimilation and heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification.

Nitrogen (N) removal from high-salinity wastewater is a major challenge. The aerobic-heterotrophic nitrogen removal (AHNR) process has been demonstrated to be feasible for treating hypersaline wastewater. In this study, Halomonas venusta SND-01, a halophilic strain capable of performing AHNR, was isolated from saltern sediment. The strain achieved ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate removal efficiencies of 98%, 81%, and 100%, respectively. The N balance experiment suggests that this isolate removes N mainly via assimilation. Various functional genes related to N metabolism were found in the genome of the strain, establishing a complex AHNR pathway that includes ammonium assimilation, heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification, and assimilatory nitrate reduction. Four key enzymes in the N removal process were successfully expressed. The strain exhibited high-adaptability under C/N ratios of 5-15, salinities of 2%-10% (m/v), and pH of 6.5-9.5. Therefore, the strain shows high potential for treating saline wastewater with different inorganic N compositions.

A novel Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain performs simultaneous heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification and aerobic phosphate removal.

Nitrogen and phosphate removal from wastewater relies on different functional bacteria. In this study, a novel strain affiliated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa was isolated from activated sludge by gradient dilution and performed heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification and aerobic phosphate removal (HNADPR). The strain showed an ammonium removal efficiency of 87% and a phosphate removal efficiency of 97% under optimal conditions, such as C/N ratio of 10, P/N ratio of 0.1, temperature of 30°C, and pH of 7.5-8.5. The modified Gompertz model could fit well the heterotrophic ammonium nitrification, aerobic nitrite/nitrate denitrification, and aerobic phosphate removal processes. Functional gene amplification indicated that ammonium removal followed the complete HN-AD pathway (NH4+ â†’ NH2OH â†’ NO2- â†’ NO3- â†’ NO2- â†’ NO â†’ N2O â†’ N2). Phosphate removal only occurred under aerobic conditions and ceased under anaerobic conditions. In successive aerobic cycles, the strain persistently took up phosphate. In wastewater, phosphate was aerobically converted into cell membrane, intracellular and extracellular polymeric substrates (EPS). Phosphorus in the form of phosphate monoester was pooled in EPS. A hypothetic aerobic phosphate removal model for strain SNDPR-01 is proposed to improve our understanding of the novel bacterial function of HNADPR.

Coupling Magnetic Field and Salinity Upshock To Improve Polyhydroxyalkanoate Productivity by Haloferax mediterranei Feeding on Molasses Wastewater.

Low polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) volumetric productivity from wastewater limits low-cost PHA production. To resolve this problem, an external magnetic field (MF) coupled with upshock salinity was applied to PHA production by Haloferax mediterranei (family Halobacteriaceae). Elevating the fermentation salinity over the optimal growth salinity (200 g/L) increased the PHA cell content while inhibiting cell proliferation, decreasing volumetric productivity. When a MF of 50 mT in 300 g/L salinity was applied, H. mediterranei proliferation and PHA cell content were promoted, leading to a 7.95% increase in PHA volumetric productivity in synthetic molasses wastewater and a 13.82% increase in glucose feeding compared with those in 200 g/L salinity. Under the MF, osmotic pressure regulation was activated by accumulating K+ and increasing betaine synthesis. The maximum betaine content increased by 74.33% in 300 g/L salinity with a 50-mT MF compared with that in 200 g/L salinity. When a 50-mT MF in 300 g/L salinity was applied, the malondialdehyde (MDA) content decreased by 32.66% and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) increased by 46.89%, which reduced the oxidative damage. This study provides a new solution to enhance PHA volumetric productivity by MF and an insight into the magnetic effects of H. mediterranei. IMPORTANCE The obstacle to replacing petroplastics with PHA is its high production cost. To increase the fermentation economy, a novel strategy of coupling a MF with salinity upshock was applied, which enhanced the PHA volumetric productivity of H. mediterranei in fermenting molasses wastewater. The magnetic effect of H. mediterranei was found at a MF of 50 mT, which improved the salt tolerance of H. mediterranei and reduced the oxidative damage induced by the elevated salinity, thereby promoting proliferation and PHA cell content. This is the first time a technical method for enhancing PHA volumetric productivity by means of a MF has been proposed. Such a strategy can advance the utilization of H. mediterranei for the industrial production of PHA using organic wastewater.

N,N'-[2,2'-(Phenyl-aza-nedi-yl)bis-(ethane-2,1-di-yl)]dipicolinamide.

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C22H23N5O2, contains two independent mol-ecules with similar conformations; the terminal pyridine rings are oriented at dihedral angles of 23.99 (8) and 18.07 (8)° with respect to the central benzene ring in one mol-ecule and 28.99 (8) and 23.22 (8)° in the other. In the crystal, N-H⋯O and weak C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules into a three-dimensional supra-molecular structure. Weak inter-molecular C-H⋯π inter-actions are also observed in the crystal.