Jujuboside B alleviates acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity in mice by regulating Nrf2-STING signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Jujuboside B (JuB) is the main bioactive saponin component of Chinese anti-insomnia herbal medicine Ziziphi Spinosae Semen, which has been reported to possess varied pharmacological functions. Even though it has been traditionally used to treat inflammation- and toxicity-related diseases, the effects of JuB on acetaminophen (APAP) overdose-induced hepatotoxicity have not been determined yet. METHODS: C57BL/6 J mice were pre-treated with JuB (20 or 40 mg/kg) for seven days before APAP (400 mg/kg) injection. After 24 h of APAP treatment, serum, and liver tissues were collected to evaluate the therapeutic effects. To investigate whether the Nrf2-STING signaling pathway is involved in the protective effects of JuB against APAP-induced hepatotoxicity, the mice received the DMXAA (the specific STING agonist) or ML385 (the specific Nrf2 inhibitor) during the administration of JuB, and Hematoxylin-eosin staining, Real-time PCR, immunohistochemical, and western blot were performed. RESULTS: JuB pretreatment reversed APAP-induced CYP2E1 accumulations and alleviated APAP-induced acute liver injury. Furthermore, JuB treatment significantly inhibited oxidative stress and the pro-inflammatory cytokines, as well as alleviated hepatocyte apoptosis induced by APAP. Besides, our result also demonstrated that JuB treatment upregulated the levels of total Nrf2, facilitated its nuclear translocation, upregulated the expression of HO-1 and NQO-1, and inhibited the APAP-induced STING pathway activation. Finally, we verified that the beneficial effects of JuB were weakened by DMXAA and ML385. CONCLUSION: Our study suggested that JuB could ameliorate APAP-induced hepatic damage and verified a previously unrecognized mechanism by which JuB prevented APAP-induced hepatotoxicity through adjusting the Nrf2-STING pathway.

Effects of microplastic contamination on the hydraulic, water retention, and desiccation crack properties of a natural clay exposed to leachate.

Microplastic (MP) can significantly affect soil behaviour and the ecosystem. This paper presents an experimental study to investigate the effects of MP contamination and leachate exposure on the desiccation cracks, hydraulic conductivity, and water retention properties of the natural black clay. The leachate was from a landfill in Australia. The black clay was incorporated with up to 2.0% MPs by weight (w/w) with diverse dimensions and mixed with water/leachate. The measured properties include saturated hydraulic conductivity (ksat), soil-water characteristic curves, moisture evaporation rates, and crack intensity factors. The results suggest that the inclusion of MPs significantly increases ksat, and this increase is more obvious for soils with larger dimensions and contents of MPs, e.g., ksat of the black clay with 2.0% of 500 µm MP increases significantly by 206% (p < 0.05). The black clay exposed to leachate exhibits a slight increase in ksat due to the low viscosity of leachate. The existence of MPs decreases the residual moisture contents and air-entry pressures, and so does the water retention capacity (v/v %) of the black clay. The exposure to leachate increases the air-entry pressures by 6.0%-15.8% of the clay. The evaporation rates increase with the dimensions and concentrations of MPs. The highest evaporation rate (0.96 g/h) can be observed in samples exposed to 2.0% 500 µm MP with water addition. For all samples, the crack intensity factors increase when MP content is between 0.2% and 1.0% and decreases slightly after that. After being exposed to leachate, the evaporation rates and crack intensity factors of the black clay are decreased by 2.4%-12.6% and 3.6%-13.7%, respectively.

Extract latent features of single-particle trajectories with historical experience learning.

Single-particle tracking has enabled real-time, in situ quantitative studies of complex systems. However, inferring dynamic state changes from noisy and undersampling trajectories encounters challenges. Here, we introduce a data-driven method for extracting features of subtrajectories with historical experience learning (Deep-SEES), where a single-particle tracking analysis pipeline based on a self-supervised architecture automatically searches for the latent space, allowing effective segmentation of the underlying states from noisy trajectories without prior knowledge on the particle dynamics. We validated our method on a variety of noisy simulated and experimental data. Our results showed that the method can faithfully capture both stable states and their dynamic switch. In highly random systems, our method outperformed commonly used unsupervised methods in inferring motion states, which is important for understanding nanoparticles interacting with living cell membranes, active enzymes, and liquid-liquid phase separation. Self-generating latent features of trajectories could potentially improve the understanding, estimation, and prediction of many complex systems.

Single Nanovesicles Tracking Reveals Their Heterogeneous Extracellular Adsorptions.

The vigorous nanomedicine offers significant possibilities for effective therapeutics of various diseases, and nanovesicles (NVs) represented by artificial liposomes and natural exosomes and cytomembranes especially show great potential. However, their complex interactions with cells, particularly the heterogeneous extracellular adsorptions, are difficult to analyze spatiotemporally due to the transient dynamics. In this study, by single NVs tracking, the extracellular NVs adsorptions are directly observed and their heterogeneous characteristics are revealed. Briefly, plenty of NVs adsorbed on HCT116 cells are tracked and classified, and it is discovered that they exhibit various diffusion properties from different extracellular regions: stable adsorptions on the rear surface and restricted adsorptions on the front protrusion. After the hydrolysis of hyaluronic acid in the extracellular matrix by hyaluronidase, the restricted adsorptions are further weakened and manifested as dissociative adsorptions, which demonstrated reduced total NVs adsorptions from a single-cell and single-particle perspective. Compared with traditional static analysis, the spatiotemporal tracking and heterogeneous results not only reveal the extracellular NVs-cell interactions but also inspire a wide variety of nanomedicine and their nano-investigations.

PD-1/PD-L1 inhibition promotes hepatic regeneration in small-for-size liver following extended hepatectomy.

BACKGROUND: Small-for-size syndrome following liver surgery is characterized by compromised liver regeneration. Liver macrophages play key roles in initiating liver regeneration, and modulation of the immune microenvironment through macrophages may accelerate liver regeneration. In our current study, we aimed to explore the involvement of innate immunity after extended hepatectomy in rats and humans, and to test the effect of immunity modulation on small-for-size liver regeneration in rats. METHODS: Serum programmed cell death protein ligand 1 (PD-L1) was measured after major hepatectomy and minor hepatectomy in humans and rats. Liver regeneration in rats was assessed using liver-to-body weight ratio and kinetic growth rate, antigen Ki67 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and macrophage polarization was assessed by inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cluster of differentiation protein 163 (CD163) expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and iNOS/CD163 ratio. Rat hepatocyte BRL or human hepatocyte LO2 were co-cultured with rat bone marrow-derived macrophages or human macrophages THP-1. BMS-1 or Nivolumab were used to block programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/PD-L1 in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: PD-L1 expressions were significantly higher following major hepatectomy compared to minor resection in both humans and rats; compromised liver regeneration after extended hepatectomy in rats was associated with PD-L1 upregulation and M2 macrophage polarization. M1 macrophages increased proliferation of hepatocytes through interleukin-6 (IL-6), and M2 macrophages decreased hepatocyte proliferation; blocking PD-1/PD-L1 reversed the effect of M2 macrophages on the survival of hepatocytes in vitro and promoted liver growth in rats through M1 macrophage polarization. CONCLUSION: Compromised hepatic regeneration following extended hepatectomy is characterized by M2 macrophage polarization and upregulated PD-L1 expression. Blocking PD-1/PD-L1 may enhance small-for-size liver regeneration by inducing M1 macrophage polarization.

Dynamic Monitoring of Phase-Separated Biomolecular Condensates by Photoluminescence Lifetime Imaging.

The formation of biomolecular condensates is driven by liquid-liquid phase separation, which is prevalent in cells to govern crucial cellular functions. However, understanding the properties of phase-separated condensates remains very challenging for the lack of suitable techniques. Here, we report a photoluminescence lifetime imaging method for real-time monitoring of phase-separated condensates, both in vitro and in living cells, using a microsecond-scale photoluminescence lifetime probe based on iridium complex. The probe has a large Stokes shift, excellent cell permeability, and minimal cell autofluorescence interference. With this method, the dynamic process of phase separation of fused in sarcoma protein has been well explored, showing high spatiotemporal resolution and high throughput. Beginning with initial formation, the protein droplets get bigger and more viscous, and then a final maturation to solidified aggregates has been characterized. This study paves the path for a deeper understanding of the properties of phase-separated biomolecular condensates.

[Status quo of autologous sperm preservation in the human sperm bank in Beijing].

OBJECTIVE: To comprehensively analyze the status quo of autologous sperm preservation in the human sperm bank in Beijing and better utilize the existing resources for the preservation of male fertility. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the geographical data and semen quality of 251 males with autologous sperm preservation in the Human Sperm Bank, Science and Technology Research Institute, National Health and Family Planning Commission of China from July 2006 to December 2016. RESULTS: The rate of autologous sperm preservation in the Human Sperm Bank was as low as 8.76% between July 2006 and December 2010 but increased annually by 119% on average from 2011 to 2013. Of the 251 males involved, 204 (81.27%) were aged 20－39 years, 175 (69.72%) had bachelor's or master's degree, 223 (88.84%) had no child, 69 (27.49%) got less than 10 tubes of semen samples frozen, and 26 (10.36%) had their semen samples cryopreserved only once. The utilization rate of the cryopreserved sperm was only 5.58 % (n = 14). The main reason for autologous sperm preservation was carcinoma (55.78% ï¼»n = 140ï¼½), including blood cancer (22.31% ï¼»n = 66ï¼½), testicular cancer (13.15% ï¼»n = 33ï¼½) and other cancers (16.33% ï¼»n = 41ï¼½). Compared with the non-cancer males, the cancer patients had a significantly reduced mean sperm concentration (90.45 vs 60.53 ×106/ml, P < 0.05), total sperm count (311.3 vs 175.8 ×106, P < 0.05), percentage of progressively motile sperm (PMS) (49.21% vs 43.55%, P < 0.05) and recovery rate of PMS (68.13% vs 52.17%, P < 0.05). In the subgroups of testicular, blood and other cancers, the sperm concentration averaged 37.68, 57.98 and 90.69 ×106/ml, the semen volume 2.73, 2.82 and 3.41 ml, the total sperm count 93.29, 158.41 and 349.49 ×106, the percentage of PMS 45.32%, 43.47% and 44.49%, and the recovery rate of PMS 48.32%, 50.07% and 61.09%, respectively, the sperm concentration and total sperm count significantly lower in the testicular cancer patients than in the other two groups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The number of the cases of autologous sperm preservation in Beijing is increasing year by year, and the majority of them are cancer patients. As most of the cancer patients have missed the best period for sperm preservation, sperm bank workers should endeavor to increase the public awareness of autologous sperm preservation.

Effects of C-myc gene silencing on interleukin-1ß-induced rat chondrocyte cell proliferation, apoptosis and cytokine expression.

This study explores the effects of C-myc gene silencing on cell proliferation, apoptosis and cytokine expression in interleukin (IL)-1ß-induced rat chondrocytes. Primary chondrocytes were obtained from 40 Sprague-Dawley rats. For in vitro C-myc3-shRNA transfection, chondrocytes were assigned to a blank 1, model 1, IL-1ß + C-myc3-shRNA, C-myc3-shRNA, (IL-1ß + C-myc3-shRNA) + C-myc overexpression, C-myc3-shRNA + C-myc overexpression or IL-1ß + C-myc-Con group. Western blotting and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were performed to detect C-myc, PCNA and cyclin D1 mRNA and protein expression. Cell proliferation was analyzed via CCK-8 assay and cell cycle while apoptosis was measured through flow cytometry. ELISA was utilized to assess the levels of metallopeptidase 13 (MMP-13), IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Both the qRT-PCR and Western blotting results demonstrated that C-myc3-shRNA transfection inhibits C-myc expression and promotes PCNA and cyclin D1 expression. In comparison to the model 1 group, all groups except the (IL-1ß + C-myc3-shRNA) + C-myc overexpression and IL-1ß + C-myc-Con groups showed increases in cell proliferation and S phase cell count and decreases in G0/G1 phase cell count, cell apoptosis and MMP-13, IL-6 and TNF-α levels. The model 1, C-myc3-shRNA and C-myc3-shRNA + C-myc overexpression groups displayed higher cell proliferation and S phase cell count and reduced G0/G1 phase cell count, cell apoptosis and MMP-13, IL-6 and TNF-α levels than the IL-1ß + C-myc3-shRNA group. In comparison to the model 1 and C-myc3-shRNA + C-myc overexpression groups, the C-myc3-shRNA group promoted cell proliferation and S phase cell counts but suppressed G0/G1 phase cell count, cell apoptosis and MMP-13, IL-6 and TNF-α levels. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that C-myc gene silencing can promote cell proliferation and inhibit cell apoptosis and cytokine expression in IL-1ß-induced rat chondrocytes.

Effects of Total Sleep Deprivation on Mouse Cytokine Levels.

OBJECTIVE: Cytokines play an integral role in sleep/wake regulation. The objective of this study was to identify how total sleep deprivation affects cytokine levels. METHODS: Male C57BL/6 mice were subjected to 48 h of total sleep deprivation produced by brief rotation of activity wheels or 3 different controls: home cage, a sedentary wheel, or forced activity. In addition, the serum levels of cytokines were analyzed using a mouse magnetic bead-based multiplex immunoassay. RESULTS: The concentrations of some cytokines (fibroblast growth factor-basic [FGF-basic], leukemia inhibitory factor [LIF], and monokine induced by interferon-γ [MIG]) decreased significantly after total sleep deprivation. However, other cytokines (macrophage colony-stimulating factor, macrophage inflammatory protein-2, platelet-derived growth factor-bb, vascular endothelial growth factor) did not show any significant difference. Serum corticosterone levels did not differ significantly among the groups. CONCLUSION: The biochemical mechanisms responsible for sleep regulation are very complex. These results suggest the involvement of 3 cytokines (FGF-basic, LIF, and MIG) in sleep/wake regulation.

Laboratory investigation and prediction of permeability of fresh to five-year-old municipal solid wastes of low and high food contents.

The permeability of municipal solid wastes (MSWs) is important for the design and operation of landfills. This study presented the experimental investigation of the permeability of low food content- (LF-) and high food content- (HF-) MSWs prepared in laboratory-scale bioreactors for up to 5 years. The permeability of MSWs with diverse degrees of decomposition (DOBs), void ratios, and permeation liquids was measured (288 tests). The measured permeability was compared to that predicted from the (modified) Kozeny-Carman (K-C) equations in four different forms. The results indicated that the permeability of both LF- and HF-MSWs decreased significantly (p < 0.05) with decomposition under a given void ratio. The predicted permeability using the original K-C equation fitted well with that of fresh MSWs. The permeability of decomposed MSWs was closer to the predicted results using the modified K-C equation with the effective void ratio. This can be attributed to the increase in the fine fractions due to degradation. The reduction in the effective voids was more significant with HF-MSWs. The parameters required in the (modified) K-C equations showed a good correlation with DOB and effective particle size (d10). The predicted permeability based on the relationship between DOB (or d10) and equation parameters was within 3 times the difference compared to the measured values. The above results indicated that the modified K-C equation can be adopted to predict the permeability of fresh and degraded MSWs while more field-scale experiments should be conducted to further evaluate its feasibility.

Mechanical performance and water resistance of biochar admixture lightweight magnesium oxychloride cement.

The applications of magnesium oxychloride cement (MOC) have been extensively studied recently due to its eco-friendly and high-strength nature. However, one of the significant limitations of MOC is its poor water resistance. To address this limitation, this study explored the prospect of incorporating biochar particles (up to 25 % of the dry mass of MgO) to form lightweight MOC with improved water resistance. The compressive (fc) and flexural (ff) strengths were investigated after 28-day curing and under 56-day water attack. The fc of MOC after immersion was determined under both wet (directly after immersion) and dry (air-dried to constant weights) conditions. The results indicated that the inclusion of 5 % and 10 % biochar increased the 28-day fc, while the addition of biochar decreased ff regardless of its dosage. Microscopic examination uncovered that the increase in strength resulted from the promoted production of phase 5 (5 Mg(OH)2·MgCl2·8H2O) and the reduction in unreacted MgO. The inclusion of 5 % and 10 % biochar increased the compressive and flexural strength retention ratios after 56-day immersion. The ff with 5 % biochar inclusion after immersion was higher compared to that of pure MOC. Moreover, the inclusion of biochar had minimal effects on the thermal degradation of MOC. The above results suggest that biochar can be a potential additive to enhance the mechanical behaviour and water resistance of MOC. As fc of immersed MOC increased during air-drying, a new equation was developed to describe variations in fc of MOC subject to different degrees of saturation during drying.

Muscle-specific PGC-1α modulates mitochondrial oxidative stress in aged sarcopenia through regulating Nrf2.

BACKGROUND: Aged sarcopenia is characterized by loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength, and mitochondrial dysregulation in skeletal myocyte is considered as a major factor. Here, we aimed to analyze the effects of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1 alpha (PGC-1α) on mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in aged skeletal muscles. METHODS: C2C12 cells were stimulated by 50 µM 7ß-hydroxycholesterol (7ß-OHC) to observe the changes of cellular ROS, mitochondrial ROS, and expression of PGC-1α and Nrf2. Different PGC-1α expression in cells was established by transfection with small interfering RNA (siRNA) or plasmids overexpressing PGC-1α (pEX-3-PGC-1α). The effects of different PGC-1α expression on cellular ROS, mitochondrial ROS and Nrf2 expression were measured in cells. Wild type (WT) mice and PGC-1α conditional knockout (CKO) mice were used to analyze the effects of PGC-1α on aged sarcopenia and expression of Nrf2 and CD38 in gastrocnemius muscles. Diethylmaleate, a Nrf2 activator, was used to analyze the connection between PGC-1α and Nrf2 in cells and in mice. RESULTS: In C2C12 cells, the expressions of PGC-1α and Nrf2 were declined by the 7ß-OHC treatment or PGC-1α silence. Moreover, PGC-1α silence increased the harmful ROS and decreased the Nrf2 protein expression in the 7ß-OHC-treated cells. PGC-1α overexpression decreased the harmful ROS and increased the Nrf2 protein expression in the 7ß-OHC-treated cells. Diethylmaleate treatment decreased the harmful ROS in the 7ß-OHC-treated or PGC-1α siRNA-transfected cells. At the same age, muscle-specific PGC-1α deficiency aggravated aged sarcopenia, decreased Nrf2 expression and increased CD38 expression in gastrocnemius muscles compared with the WT mice. Diethylmaleate treatment improved the muscle function and decreased the CD38 expression in the old two genotypes. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that PGC-1α modulated mitochondrial oxidative stress in aged sarcopenia through regulating Nrf2.

Experimental and Meshless Numerical Simulations on the Crack Propagation of Semi-Circular Bending Specimens Containing X-Shaped Fissures Under Three-Point Bending.

Cracks in rock and concrete have a great adverse effect on the stability of engineering structures; however, there are few studies on X-shaped fissures which widely exist in rock and concrete structures. Based on this background, three-point bending fracture tests of SCB specimens containing X-shaped fissures are carried out. The momentum equations in the SPH method are improved, and the crack propagations of SCB specimens under three-point bending are simulated. The results show that cracks grow simply along the vertical direction in the sample with no X-shaped fissures, and the existence of an X-shaped fissure changes the crack growth path and final failure modes of the SCB samples. The crack propagation simulation results are consistent with the experimental results, which verifies the rationality of the improved SPH method. The load-displacement curves mainly present three typical stages: the initial compaction stage, linear elastic deformation stage, and failure stage. The peak load decreases first then increases with an increase in eccentricity. With an increase in X-shaped fissure length and decrease in X-shaped fissure angle, the peak load decreases. The damage counts remain at 0 at the initial loading stage, corresponding to the initial compaction stage and the linear elastic deformation stage, and increase sharply at the later loading stage, corresponding to the failure stage, which is consistent with the experimental results. The influence mechanisms of X-shaped fissures on the crack propagation paths are discussed; the existence of different X-shaped fissure morphologies aggravate the tensile stress concentration at specific positions, leading to different crack propagation modes in the experiments. The research results can provide a certain reference for understanding the failure mechanisms of engineering structures containing X-shaped fissures and promote the applications of the SPH method into the simulations of cross-fissure crack propagations.

Experimental investigation of water retention curves of municipal solid wastes with different paper contents, dry unit weights and degrees of biodegradation.

This paper investigates the drying and wetting water retention curves (WRCs) of municipal solid wastes (MSWs) with different paper contents, dry unit weights and degrees of biodegradation (DOBs). Fresh synthetic samples were prepared based on the field composition of the MSWs at Mugga Lane Landfill, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Australia. The degraded samples were prepared in simulators with MSWs of different initial dry unit weights and decomposition periods with leachate recirculation. The water retention curves (WRCs) of the MSWs were determined using pressure plate tests, in both drying and wetting phases. The outflow from MSWs was analysed using Gardner's method to obtain the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. The results indicate that the WRCs of the MSWs are greatly affected by the DOB, paper content and dry unit weight. When DOB < 30 %, as DOB increases, the air-entry pressure of MSWs with paper increases, and the residual moisture content decreases regardless of paper content. With DOB > 30 %, the air entry pressure and residual water content depend on the balance between organic matter and highly decomposed organic constituents. The paper content affects the WRCs of MSWs due to its water retention capacity and change in the particle size distribution with decomposition. The increase in the dry unit weight of MSWs significantly increases the air entry pressure and residual moisture content, similar to the borehole samples with combined effects of biodegradation and increase in stress level from literature. Hysteresis effects have been observed during the drying and wetting of MSWs. The hysteresis of WRCs increases with the paper content and DOB.

Numerical modelling of settlement of municipal solid waste in landfills coupled with effects of biodegradation.

This paper presents the development of a new settlement model to predict the long-term settlement of municipal solid wastes (MSWs). The total settlement of the MSWs results from the direct loss of solids due to decomposition and compression due to stress variation induced by loss of solids, flow of gas and liquid and mechanical creep. The geotechnical properties of MSWs are considered as functions of degrees of biodegradation (DOB). To validate the model, two settlement profilers (2.5 years) and three geodetic monitoring networks (2 years) were installed at Mugga Lane Landfill, ACT, Australia to monitor the settlement of an MSW lift and three closed landfill cells, respectively. The settlement rates of the landfill cells with the ages of 7, 8, 14, and 8, 9 and 15 years are 0.53, 0.35, 0.06 and 0.46, 0.36, 0.05 mm/day, respectively. In addition, 5 large scale and 3 small scale bioreactors were set up in the field and laboratory to address the long-term physical, mechanical and biochemical behaviours of the MSWs under different stress levels. The predicted settlement is compared to the test results from the bioreactors, in-situ monitoring data and the settlement predicted using an existing model, which has been improved by coupling the geotechnical properties of MSWs with DOBs. The predicted settlement using the proposed model well fits the test results and monitoring data. The settlement strain is predicted to be 28.2 % during the filling stage of the landfill and 5.9 % in 5 years after the closure.

Physical, geotechnical and biochemical behaviours of municipal solid waste in field and laboratory bioreactors.

This paper investigates the effects of degrees of compaction (initial dry unit weights), recirculation liquid and rate, and environmental temperature on the long-term physical, geotechnical, and biochemical properties of municipal solid wastes (MSWs) biodegraded for approximately 800 days. Four field bioreactors were filled with fresh MSWs collected from a landfill site. Three laboratory bioreactors were filled with synthetic MSWs with the composition same as that used in the field bioreactors. The bioreactors were recirculated with water or leachate at different rates. Compared to water recirculation, leachate recirculation further promotes the settlement of the MSWs and methane generation. Increasing the recirculation rate does not significantly increase the settlement of the MSWs. The biocompression ratio increases with the environmental temperature. The MSWs with lower dry unit weights are more sensitive to the change in temperature, especially with leachate recirculation. However, opposite to common sense, the decomposition of MSWs may not significantly contribute to the settlement after analysing the relationship between the degrees of biodegradation and settlement of the MSWs. Over 90 % of the settlement during the test period was completed within 25 % degrees of biodegradation. The major change in the physical, geotechnical, and biochemical properties occurs at low (less than20 %) degrees of biodegradation. A new equation is proposed to describe the nonlinear variation in the methane generation rate. The modelled methane generation rate and accumulated volume of methane well match the test results from the laboratory scale bioreactors and other studies.

Effects of biochar-amended soils as intermediate covers on the physical, mechanical and biochemical behaviour of municipal solid wastes.

The effects of biochar-amended soils as landfill covers have been extensively studied in terms of liquid and gas permeability. However, the influences of biochar-amended soils on the performance of municipal solid wastes (MSWs) in bioreactor landfills have not been well understood. This paper investigates the potential application of biochar-amended soils as final and intermediate covers in landfills. The MSWs with biochar-amended soils as final and intermediate covers were recirculated with mature leachate in laboratory-scale bioreactors. The pH, chemical oxygen demand, ammonia and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) concentrations of leachates, mass reduction rates, settlement, methane, and total gas generations of MSWs were investigated. The results indicate that biochar-amended soils as intermediate landfill covers can provide pH-buffer capacity, increase the pH of leachate and decrease the accumulation of VFAs in the early stage of decomposition. The concentration of ammonia in the leachate with biochar-amended soils as intermediate cover is lower than that with natural soils. The application of biochar-amended soils as intermediate and/or final covers increases the biocompression ratios and settlement of MSWs. The application of biochar-amended soils as final cover slightly decreases the methane generation potential (L0). Biochar-amended soils as intermediate covers increase L0 by 10%, and biochar-amended soils as both intermediate and final covers enhance L0 by 25%. The increase in the ammonia removal, settlement, and methane yield indicates the viability of biochar-amended soils as intermediate landfill covers. Further studies can focus on the long-term behaviour of MSWs with soil covers with different biochar amendment rates and particle sizes.

Urban ecological security pattern construction coupled with risk and service: A case study of Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province, China.

How to combine regional ecological risks and local ecological needs to construct ecological security is one of the main issues of its application in territorial spatial governance and associated with whether it can be effectively applied. Based on the "source" accessibility and the quality of space, we constructed the ecological security pattern of Xianyang City through the way of source-corridor-node. During the construction processes, we combined the cha-racteristics of topography, influencing factors of regional ecological security, and landscape characteristics. We coupled them with morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and comprehensive evaluation results of ecological resistance, ecological connectivity and ecosystem service value, and superimposed with ecological gradient ana-lysis. The results showed that there were 66 ecological sources, with a total area of 2506.65 km2, accounting for 24.6% of the total area of Xianyang City, which were mainly distributed in the northeast, west and central mountainous areas. There were 106 ecological corridors with a total length of 823.5 km, including potential corridors, water systems, irrigation canal sites, Qinzhidao and other natural and cultural systems, which extended along the ecological source to the northwest and south Weihe River. There were 20 ecological nodes to improve ecological connectivity, which were mainly distributed between second layers of loess tableland and arid mountainous areas with banded distribution in the north part of the city.

Water retention and hydraulic properties of a natural soil subjected to microplastic contaminations and leachate exposures.

The influences of microplastics (MPs) contamination on soils have been extensively studied recently. Most of previous studies focus on saturated hydraulic conductivities and water retention of loose soils under laboratory conditions. The effects of MPs on the hydraulic properties of compacted soils for engineering purposes have not been well understood. This paper presents the laboratory investigation of water retention capacity, saturated (ksat) and unsaturated (kθ) hydraulic conductivities of a compacted natural soil contaminated by MPs and exposed to fresh, medium-aged, and stabilized leachates. The saturated (kg) and unsaturated air conductivities (kgθ) are calculated. The MPs with maximum particle sizes of 500, 150 and 50 µm were added to soils to obtain samples with mass ratios of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 5.0 %, respectively. Under similar ranges of dry densities, permeation of fresh leachates decreases ksat of the compacted soils by 30 % while exposure to stabilized leachates increases ksat by 10 %, due to the viscosities of liquids. The flow channel properties of the compacted soils contaminated with different sizes and concentrations of MPs vary. The most complex flow channel can be found in samples with 5 % 50 µm MPs. The inclusions of MPs decrease residual moisture contents of the compacted soils regardless of MP sizes and percentages. The effects of MPs on air-entry pressures and parameter n depend on the sizes of MPs. The kθ (kgθ) of compacted soils with MPs depend on the combined effects of ksat (kg) and tortuosity parameter (l). Though l ranges from -0.85 to 2.12 with different levels of MP exposures, it does not have a significant influence on the relative hydraulic (kθ/ksat) and air conductivities (kgθ/kg) of the compacted soils. Future studies can focus on the long-term hydraulic properties of soils under MP contamination.

Retrospective comparison of titanium elastic nail (TEN) and reconstruction plate repair of displaced midshaft clavicular fractures.

BACKGROUND: Titanium elastic nails (TENs) are commonly used to repair displaced midshaft clavicular fractures. Although several clinical studies have shown that the use of TENs is more effective and less invasive than traditional plate fixation, high rates of complications associated with TENs have been reported. This retrospective study compared the use of TENs with reconstruction plates in the treatment of displaced midshaft clavicular fractures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2005 to July 2007, 141 patients with displaced midshaft clavicular fractures were treated with TEN or plate fixation. At 6 and 24 months postoperatively, we evaluated the patients' general health, operative complications, and functional recovery. RESULTS: The mean bone union time of TEN patients was 12.4 ± 3.4 weeks, whereas that in the plate group was 14.4 ± 3.7 weeks. The time of union was significantly shorter in the TEN group than that in the plate group. There was no significant difference between these 2 groups' rates of complications such as nonunion or malunion. Shoulder function scores were significantly better in the TEN group than in the plate group at 6 months postoperatively. There was no significant difference at 24 months postoperatively. Patients were more satisfied with the cosmetic appearance and overall outcome after TEN repair than after plate fixation. CONCLUSIONS: TEN fixation of displaced midshaft clavicular fractures allows for a faster functional recovery, higher patient satisfaction, and a more cosmetically satisfactory appearance than plate fixation. The complication rates of both TENs and reconstruction plates were similar.