Study on the mechanism of vitamin E alleviating non-alcoholic fatty liver function based on non-targeted metabolomics analysis in rats.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome. Vitamin E (VE) has antioxidant properties and can mediate lipid metabolism. Non-targeted metabolomics technology was employed to uncover comprehensively the metabolome of VE in NAFLD rats. NAFLD model was created with a high-fat and high-cholesterol diet (HFD) in rats. NAFLD rats in the VE group were given 75 mg/(kg day) VE. The metabolites in the serum of rats were identified via UPLC and Q-TOF/MS analysis. KEGG was applied for the pathway enrichment. VE improved the liver function, lipid metabolism, and oxidative stress in NAFLD rats induced by HFD. Based on the metabolite profile data, 132 differential metabolites were identified between VE group and the HFD group, mainly including pyridoxamine, betaine, and bretylium. According to the KEGG results, biosynthesis of cofactors was a key metabolic pathway of VE in NAFLD rats. VE can alleviate NAFLD induced by HFD, and the underlying mechanism is associated with the biosynthesis of cofactors, mainly including pyridoxine and betaine.

Adsorption performance of ammonium molybdate modified Salix wood flour biochar for the treatment of monosodium glutamate wastewater.

ABSTRACTThe problem of wastewater pollution in the production of monosodium glutamate (MSG) is becoming more and more serious. A novel type of chemically modified Salix psammophila powder charcoal (SPPCAM) was synthesized to address the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) in MSG wastewater. SPPCAM was prepared by carbonization method, in which inorganic ammonium molybdate (AM) was used as modifier and Salix psammophila powder (SPP) was used as raw material. Under optimal treatment conditions, maximum removal rates (removal capacities) of 45.9% (3313.2 mg·L-1) for COD and 29.4% (23.2 mg·L-1) for NH3-N in MSG wastewater were achieved. The treatment results significantly outperforming the unmodified Salix psammophila powder charcoal (SPPC), which only achieved removal rates (removal capacities) of 10.6% (763.9 mg·L-1) for COD and 12.9% (10 mg·L-1) for NH3-N. SPPC and SPPCAM before and after preparation were analysed by FT-IR and XRD, and Mo ions in the form of Mo2C within SPPCAM were successfully loaded. SEM, EDS-Mapping, BET, and other methods were used to analyse SPPCAM before and after MSG wastewater treatment, demonstrating that SPPCAM effectively treated organic pollutants in monosodium glutamate wastewater. The NH3-N in the treated MSG wastewater has reached the standard of safe discharge.

Study on the structure characterization and swelling properties of the Fe3O4/CMS composite membrane.

In order to improve the functionality of cellulosic materials research and development of high performance soluble materials. Therefore, the Fe3O4/CMS composite membrane was prepared by using carboxymethyl salix powder (CMS) and Fe3O4 as raw materials, 1-propenyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride and dimethyl sulfoxide as dissolution system. The effects of swelling time, swelling temperature, pH and ionic strength on the swelling performance of Fe3O4/CMS composite membranes and the swelling kinetics of the composite membranes were studied. The structure of the composite membrane was characterized by SEM, FT-IR, XRD and TG. The results showed that the swelling degree reached 5.54 g·g-1, when the swelling time was 45 min, the swelling temperature was 65°C, the pH was 5 and the ionic strength was 0.08 mol·L-1. The initial phase of dissolution of the composite membrane fits well with the Fickian diffusion model, and the whole dissolution process belongs to the Schott model, indicating that the main role of the dissolution process is the diffusion of water molecules, while the composite membrane can be preserved for a long time at high temperature, which provides sustainability for the composite membrane. The characterization results showed that the surface of Fe3O4/CMS composite film was rough with small grooves. The O-H effect was enhanced and the Fe-O absorption peak appeared at 600 cm-1, indicating that Fe3O4 had been successfully loaded onto the cellulose membrane. The Fe3O4/CMS composite membrane belonged to cellulose type II structure, meanwhile, the composite membrane had good thermal stability.

Effect of lignocellulose/montmorillonite immobilized Bacillus sp. on monosodium glutamate wastewater.

A group of Bacillus sp. was extracted from monosodium glutamate wastewater. Lignocellulose/montmorillonite composite was selected as the carrier. Lignocellulose/montmorillonite composite immobilized Bacillus sp./calcium alginate microspheres were prepared by immobilized microorganism techniques. The microspheres were used to treat monosodium glutamate wastewater with significantly reduced ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations. The optimum preparation conditions of microspheres in the treatment of NH3-N and COD of monosodium glutamate wastewater were studied. The concentration of sodium alginate was 2.0 wt%, lignocellulose/montmorillonite was 0.06 wt%, Bacillus sp. was 1.0 wt%, CaCl2 solution was 2.0 wt%, coagulation time was 12 h, and the removal capacities of NH3-N and COD were 44832 and 78345 mg/L, respectively. The surface structure, element content, functional group change, and crystal structure of the microspheres were characterized by SEM, EDS, and other methods. The results showed that the -COOH in lignocellulose/montmorillonite and the -OH in the Bacillus sp. form intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The Si-O and Al-O bonds in lignocellulose/montmorillonite reacted with sodium ions in sodium alginate. New crystal structures appear inside the material after crosslinking, and the microspheres was formed. Thus, the study has shown that the microspheres were successfully prepared and contributes to the treatment of NH3-N and COD in monosodium glutamate wastewater. This work can provide an interesting strategy for the removal of COD and NH3-N in industrial wastewater by reasonably combining bio-physicochemical processes.

Study on the cyclic adsorption performance of biomass composite membrane for Hg(II).

Salix psammophila wood flour /polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel composite membrane (SPPM) with high adsorption capacity and good cycle adsorption performance was prepared by wet spinning technology. The SPPM was characterised by the scanning electron microscope (SEM), specific surface area test (BET), energy dispersive spectrum (EDS) thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results showed that the surface of SPPM is rough and porous, with good pore structure and thermal stability, and mercury ions (Hg(II)) have been successfully adsorbed on SPPM. At the same time, the effects of adsorption conditions (Hg(II) initial concentration, pH, adsorption time, and temperature) on the adsorption performance of SPPM were studied. Results from the adsorption experiment showed that the adsorption capacity of SPPM for Hg(II) can reach 426 mg/g. After four adsorption and desorption experiments, the adsorption capacity can reach 375 mg/g, which indicates that SPPM has good cycle adsorption performance. The adsorption kinetics was better described by the Pseudo-second-order kinetic, and their adsorption isotherms were fitted for the Langmuir model. The obtained results showed that SPPM is an available, economical adsorbent and was found suitable for removing Hg(II) from an aqueous solution.

Adsorption/desorption performance of Pb2+ and Cd2+ with super adsorption capacity of PASP/CMS hydrogel.

Super-absorbent polyaspartic acid/carboxymethyl Salix psammophila powder (PASP/CMS) hydrogel was prepared by aqueous solution polymerization. PASP/CMS hydrogel was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results showed that PASP/CMS hydrogel is prepared by graft copolymerization of the -COOH of polyaspartic acid (PASP) and the -CH2OH of CMS. The surface of the hydrogel became dense from loose porosity, and Pb2+ and Cd2+ were adsorbed onto the surface of hydrogel. The crystallinity of CMS was destroyed by the addition of PASP. The initial concentration of Pb2+ and Cd2+, pH, adsorption time and adsorption temperature on the adsorption effect were studied through experiments. Results showed that hydrogel has a good removal effect on Pb(II) and Cd(II) ions. Pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm models are represented in the process, which are spontaneous, exothermic and decreased in randomness, and it is a single layer chemical adsorption. At the same time, the effect of desorption experimental parameters (HNO3 initial concentration, desorption time, and desorption temperature) on the experiment was studied and optimized.

Erratum: The p66shc-Mediated Regulation of Hepatocyte Senescence Influences Hepatic Steatosis in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

The authors informed the journal that a few errors occurred in their manuscript. 1. The picture of L02/p66shc in Figure 5C of the published manuscript is incorrect and has been replaced the corrected one in Figure 5 shown below. 2. The ordinate of p21 mRNA expression histogram which is "0, 5, 10, 15, 20" is also incorrect, and it has been corrected to "0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0" in the Figure 5 shown below. 3. The ordinate of p66shc/GAPDH protein and p21/GAPDH protein histogram which is "0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 06., 0.8, 1.0" is also incorrect, and it has been corrected to "0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0" in the Figure 5 shown below.

The p66shc-mediated Regulation of Hepatocyte Senescence Influences Hepatic Steatosis in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

BACKGROUND Recent studies have suggested that hepatocyte senescence could contribute to hepatic steatosis and its progression in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, the underlying mechanism causing hepatocyte senescence in this pathological condition is still unclear. A thorough understanding of the mechanism could provide a new target for therapeutic intervention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of p66shc in hepatocyte senescence and hepatocyte damage in NAFLD progression. MATERIAL AND METHODS We examined the expression levels of hepatic p66shc and senescence markers in rats and humans with NAFLD, and we assessed the effect of p66shc knockdown or overexpression on senescence and steatosis in human liver cells. RESULTS In this study, we showed that increased hepatic p66shc expression was consistent with upregulated expression of the following senescence markers in NAFLD rats: heterochromatin protein-1-beta (HP1ß), p16, p21, and p53. Furthermore, senescence and steatosis could be induced in hepatoblastoma cell line (HepG2) cells when cells were stimulated with a low concentration of H2O2, and this effect was significantly alleviated by knockdown of p66shc. However, overexpression of p66shc could promote senescence and steatosis in L02 cells. Finally, increased hepatic p66shc protein levels correlated with enhanced expression of the senescence marker p21 and mirrored the degree of disease severity in NAFLD patients. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicated that the increase in hepatocyte senescence and steatosis in NAFLD may be caused by the upregulation of p66shc expression, implying that strategies for p66shc-mediated regulation of hepatocyte senescence may provide new therapeutic tools for NAFLD.