The shared role of neutrophils in ankylosing spondylitis and ulcerative colitis.

This study aimed to analyze single-cell sequencing data to investigate immune cell interactions in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Vertebral bone marrow blood was collected from three AS patients for 10X single-cell sequencing. Analysis of single-cell data revealed distinct cell types in AS and UC patients. Cells significantly co-expressing immune cells (P < 0.05) were subjected to communication analysis. Overlapping genes of these co-expressing immune cells were subjected to GO and KEGG analyses. Key genes were identified using STRING and Cytoscape to assess their correlation with immune cell expression. The results showed the significance of neutrophils in both diseases (P < 0.01), with notable interactions identified through communication analysis. XBP1 emerged as a Hub gene for both diseases, with AUC values of 0.760 for AS and 0.933 for UC. Immunohistochemistry verified that the expression of XBP1 was significantly lower in the AS group and significantly greater in the UC group than in the control group (P < 0.01). This finding highlights the critical role of neutrophils in both AS and UC, suggesting the presence of shared immune response elements. The identification of XBP1 as a potential therapeutic target offers promising intervention avenues for both diseases.

Comparative structural and techno-functional elucidation of full-fat and defatted flaxseed extracts: implication of atmospheric pressure plasma jet.

BACKGROUND: The relatively inferior techno-functionality of flaxseed protein/polysaccharide complexes, especially regarding emulsifying and antioxidant activities, has partially limited their implication in the health food system. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) on the physicochemical, structural and selected techno-functional properties of flaxseed extracts. RESULTS: The results obtained showed that the full-fat and defatted flaxseed extract solutions (5 mg mL-1 ) displayed a sustainable decline in pH (-54.06%, -48.80%, P < 0.05) and zeta potential values (-29.42%, -44.28%, P < 0.05), but a gradual increase in particle sizes, as visualised by an optical microscope, during 0-120 s of APPJ treatment. Moreover, the APPJ led to initial decrease but subsequent increase in protein carbonyls and secondary lipid oxidation products, and concurrently changed the spatial conformation and microstructure of flaxseed extracts, as indicated by endogenous fluorescence properties and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Additionally, the protein subunit remodeling and gum polysaccharides depolymerization were different for full-fat and defatted flaxseed extracts after 30 s of APPJ exposure. Importantly, the emulsifying and antioxidant activities of defatted flaxseed extract were particularly improved, as assessed by cyro-SEM and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity following 15-30 s of APPJ treatment, as a result of the changing interactions between protein and gum polysaccharides, as well as the release of specific phenolic compounds. CONCLUSION: APPJ could serve as a promising strategy for tailoring the specific techno-functionality of flaxseed extracts based on mild structural modification. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Oxidation of diclofenac by birnessite: Identification of products and proposed transformation pathway.

Diclofenac (DCF), a widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, reacted readily with birnessite under mild conditions, and the pseudo first order kinetic constants achieved 8.84 × 10-2 hr-1. Five products of DCF including an iminoquinone product (2,5-iminoquinone-diclofenac) and four dimer products were observed and identified by tandem mass spectrometry during the reaction. Meanwhile, 2,5-iminoquinone-diclofenac was identified to be the major product, accounting for 83.09% of the transformed DCF. According to the results of spectroscopic Mn(III) trapping experiments and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Mn(IV) contained in birnessite solid was consumed and mainly converted into Mn(III) during reaction process, which proved that the removal of DCF by birnessite was through oxidation. Based on the identified products of DCF and the changes of Mn valence state in birnessite solid, a tentative transformation pathway of DCF was proposed.

Application of a self-organizing map and positive matrix factorization to investigate the spatial distributions and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soils from Xiangfen County, northern China.

The concentrations of 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in 128 surface soil samples from Xiangfen County, northern China. The total mass concentration of these PAHs ranged from 52 to 10,524ng/g, with a mean of 723ng/g. Four-ring PAHs contributed almost 50% of the total PAH burden. A self-organizing map and positive matrix factorization were applied to investigate the spatial distribution and source apportionment of PAHs. Three emission sources of PAHs were identified, namely, coking ovens (21.9%), coal/biomass combustion (60.1%), and anthracene oil (18.0%). High concentrations of low-molecular-weight PAHs were particularly apparent in the coking plant zone in the region around Gucheng Town. High-molecular-weight PAHs mainly originated from coal/biomass combustion around Gucheng Town, Xincheng Town, and Taosi Town. PAHs in the soil of Xiangfen County are unlikely to pose a significant cancer risk for the population.

Integrated assessment of environmental and economic impact of municipal solid waste incineration for power generation: A case study in China.

Municipal solid waste incineration for power generation is significant for reducing and reusing solid waste. The study conducted an integrated assessment of environment and economy on municipal solid waste incineration in China, from a "cradle to grave" perspective using 1 tonne of municipal solid waste incineration as the functional unit. The environmental impacts of each month are also calculated to analyze the dynamic change throughout one year. The results indicate that the environmental impacts are mainly concentrated in marine ecotoxicity, freshwater ecotoxicity, human carcinogenic toxicity, and human non-carcinogenic toxicity. Flue gas purification, waste incineration and transportation are the key processes, which account for 65.61 %, 18.50 %, and 11.93 % of the overall environmental impact, respectively. Urea, activated carbon, chelating agent (EDTA) and diesel fuel for transportation are key factors. The life cycle cost (LCC) is 132.26 RMB/t of waste, of which the initial capital causes the largest economic cost. When considering power generated from municipal solid waste incineration to replace electricity supply from the power grid, it achieves significant environmental benefits and the normalized environmental impact value changes from 0.85 to -12.19. The findings provide references for municipal solid waste treatment to mitigate the environmental impact and reduce the economic burden across the entire life cycle.

Fractionation of levofloxacin and ofloxacin during their transport in NOM-goethite: Batch and column studies.

Adsorption and transport of levofloxacin (LEV) and ofloxacin (OFL) enantiomers in a matrix containing goethite and natural organic matter (NOM) were investigated using batch and column experiments. In batch studies, competition and enantioselectivity were observed in the adsorption of LEV and OFL. Enantioselectivity upon adsorption was investigated by comparing changes in the enantiomer fraction (EF) (the ratio of LEV to the sum of LEV and OFL remaining in the solution) after and before adsorption. At pH < 7, there was hardly any selectivity in adsorption of OFL and LEV to goethite. At pH > 7, OFL showed a stronger adsorption than LEV to goethite, and this preference remained when NOM samples of Leonardite humic acid (LHA) and Elliott Soil fulvic acid (ESFA) were added. However, when Suwannee River NOM (SRNOM) was added, the preference was reversed, and LEV was adsorbed more strongly. In single systems, the presence of different types of NOM increased adsorption of LEV and OFL, especially LEV. In column studies, preloaded NOM decreased the transport of LEV and OFL through goethite-coated sand. The EF values in the effluent increased with retention time and reached the largest values (0.59-0.72) at around 1.5 pore volume (PV), and then decreased again, reaching a stable value at 5.0-30.0 PV. Both batch and column experiments showed that, fractionation of LEV and OFL occurred during adsorption and transport in the presence of NOM-goethite complexes, which would eventually affect their environmental fate.

Solution, exchangeable and fixed ammonium in natural diatomite as a simulated PRB material: effects of adsorption and bioregeneration processes.

Ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) is widely found in aquifers with strong reducibility or poor adsorptivity as a dissolved inorganic nitrogen pollutant. The application of adsorbents with effective long-term in situ bioregeneration as permeable reactive barrier (PRB) media for nitrogen removal has raised concern. In this study, the advantage of natural diatomite as a PRB material was investigated by exploring its NH4+-N adsorption and desorption characteristics, and the ability of diatomite and zeolite to be loaded nitrifying bacteria was also compared. The results showed that the exchangeable ammonium from chemical-monolayer adsorption was the main form of NH4+-N and was adsorbed by diatomite. Moreover, the adsorption process was limited with a maximum adsorption capacity of 0.677 mg g-1. However, diatomite demonstrated an excellent loading of aerobic-heterotrophic microorganisms, even stronger than zeolite. Compared with zeolite reactors, a higher OD600 value of nitrifiers, a faster NH4+-N degradation rate and more abundant functional genes were observed during the bioregeneration process of diatomite. Both the solution and exchangeable ammonium forms were bioavailable, and the regeneration of diatomite was more than 80.0% after two days. Moreover, desorption-biodegradation was systematically analysed to determine the bioregeneration mechanism of diatomite. Diatomite with good regeneration ability can be used as a competitive alternative to address sudden nitrogen pollution.

The physicochemical stability and in vivo gastrointestinal digestion of flaxseed milk: Implication of microwave on flaxseed.

The current study was to investigate how microwave on flaxseed affected the physicochemical stability and gastrointestinal digestion of oil bodies (OBs) in flaxseed milk. Flaxseed was subjected to moisture adjustment (30-35 wt%, 24 h), and microwave exposure (0-5 min, 700  W). Microwave treatment slightly weakened the physical stability of flaxseed milk indicated by Turbiscan Stability Index, but there were no visual phase separation during 21 days of storage at 4 °C. Upon microwave treatment, OBs experienced the layer-by-layer encapsulation into loose interface embedding by storage protein-gum polysaccharide complex from bulk phase, resulting in lower viscoelasticity of flaxseed milk. The OBs underwent earlier interface collapse and lipolysis during gastrointestinal digestion, followed by synergistic micellar absorption, faster chylomicrons transport within enterocytes of rats fed flaxseed milk. The accumulation of α-linolenic acid and synergistic conversion into docosapentaenoic and docosahexanoic acids in jejunum tissue were achieved accompanied by the interface remodeling of OBs in flaxseed milk.

Simultaneous analysis of small organic acids and humic acids using high performance size exclusion chromatography.

An accurate and fast method for simultaneous determination of small organic acids and much larger humic acids was developed using high performance size exclusion chromatography. Two small organic acids, i.e. salicylic acid and 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid, and one purified humic acid material were used in this study. Under the experimental conditions, the UV peaks of salicylic acid and 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid were well separated from the peaks of humic acid in the chromatogram. Concentrations of the two small organic acids could be accurately determined from their peak areas. The concentration of humic acid in the mixture could then be derived from mass balance calculations. The measured results agreed well with the nominal concentrations. The detection limits are 0.05 mg/L and 0.01 mg/L for salicylic acid and 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid, respectively. Applicability of the method to natural samples was tested using groundwater, glacier, and river water samples (both original and spiked with salicylic acid and 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid) with a total organic carbon concentration ranging from 2.1 to 179.5 mg C/L. The results obtained are promising, especially for groundwater samples and river water samples with a total organic carbon concentration below 9 mg C/L.

Water with low ionic strength recovers the passivated birnessite-coated sand reactivity towards lincomycin removal.

The ionic strength of infiltration water changes with the seasonal alternation of irrigation sources. In this study, reactivity changes of birnessite-coated sand with the fluctuations of ionic strength of infiltration water (i.e. from groundwater to rainwater) and the involved mechanism were investigated through column experiments. Birnessite-coated sand was less reactive in groundwater than in rainwater because of the higher cation content and higher pH of groundwater. The cations in the groundwater were adsorbed on birnessite-coated sand and then desorbed in presence of a dilute aqueous solution represented by rainwater. The reactivity of the passivated birnessite-coated sand was recovered instantaneously, and approximately one-third of the pristine reactivity was restored. During recovery, Na+ desorption and lincomycin (LIN) removal both exhibited a two-stage reaction pattern. The LIN removal correlated with Na+ desorption (r = 0.99) so that the reactive sites that were binding 5.602 µmol of Na+ became available for 1 µmol of LIN removal. These results suggest that the reactivity of manganese oxides toward organic contaminant is associated with the ionic strength of infiltration water and indicate that the partial reactivity can be naturally restored.

Comparative Composition Structure and Selected Techno-Functional Elucidation of Flaxseed Protein Fractions.

This study aimed to comparatively elucidate the composition structure and techno-functionality of flaxseed protein isolate (FPI), globulin (FG), and albumin (FA) fractions. The results showed that FA possessed smaller particle dimensions and superior protein solubility compared to that of FG (p < 0.05) due to the lower molecular weight and hydrophobicity. FA and FG manifested lamellar structure and nearly spherical morphology, respectively, whereas FPI exhibited small lamellar strip structure packed by the blurring spheres. The Far-UV CD, FTIR spectrum, and intrinsic fluorescence confirmed more flexible conformation of FA than that of FG, followed by FPI. The preferential retention of free phenolic acids was observed for FA, leading to excellent antioxidant activities compared with that of FG in FPI (p < 0.05). FA contributed to the foaming properties of FPI, relying on the earlier interfacial adsorption and higher viscoelastic properties. FA displayed favorable emulsifying capacity but inferior stability due to the limited interfacial adsorption and deformation, as well as loose/porous interface. By comparison, an interlayer anchoring but no direct interface coating was observed for lipid droplets constructed by FG, thereby leading to preferable emulsion stability. However, FPI produced lipid droplets with dense interface owing to the effective migration of FA and FG from bulk phase, concomitant with the easy flocculation and coalescence. Thus, the techno-functionality of flaxseed protein could be tailed by modulating the retention of albumin fraction and specific phenolic acids.

Influences of microwave exposure to flaxseed on the physicochemical stability of oil bodies: Implication of interface remodeling.

This study aimed to investigate the influences of microwave (MV) exposure to flaxseed on the physicochemical stability of oil bodies (OBs) focused on the interface remodeling. The results showed that the intracellular OBs subjected to absolute rupture and then partial dispersion by protein bodies visualized by TEM following MV exposure (1-5 min; 700 W). After aqueous extraction, native flax OBs manifested excellent spherical particles with completely intact surface and wide particle size distribution (0.5-3.0 µm) examined by cryo-SEM. Upon 1-5 min of MV exposure, the defective interface integrity and beaded morphology were successively observed for flax OBs, accompanied by the impaired physical stability and rheological behavior due to the newly assembled phospholipid/protein interface. Notably, the profitable migration of phenolic compounds effectively suppressed the lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation in flax OBs. Thus, MV exposure (1-5 min; 700 W) was unfavorable for improving the physical stability of flax OBs.

The high expression level of programmed death-1 ligand 2 in oral lichen planus and the possible costimulatory effect on human T cells.

BACKGROUND: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a T-cell-mediated chronic autoimmune disease whose precise etiology is unknown. The recently identified costimulatory programmed death-1 (PD-1) molecule and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, have been identified as CD28-B7 family molecules and constitute a regulatory pathway of potential therapeutic use in immune-mediated diseases. METHODS: We examined the expression of two ligands of PD-1 at both the protein and gene level in the focal mucosa and peripheral blood of OLP patients using immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR. Next, we used the PD-L2.Ig fusion protein and observed its effects on T cells, which were co-cultured with IFN-γ-treated keratinocytes (KCs) in the presence of PHA. RESULTS: We found that the expression of PD-L2 at both the gene and protein level was statistically different in peripheral blood and local lesion tissue of patients with OLP compared to the normal controls. The proliferation ability of T cells and the expression level of IFN-γ in the supernatant of the above co-culture model were significantly augmented (P < 0.05). PD-L2.Ig fusion protein significantly aggravated the apoptosis of T cells, inhibited the proliferation of T cells and decreased the release levels of IL-2 and IFN-γ in the model (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These data show that the increased expression of PD-L2, as a costimulatory molecule, may have an important modulatory function on the local immune responses of OLP in vivo.

Removal of lincomycin from aqueous solution by birnessite: kinetics, mechanism, and effect of common ions.

The removal of lincomycin (LIN) from aqueous solution by birnessite was investigated by batch experiments. When the dosage of birnessite is 500 mg L-1 and the initial concentration of LIN is 15.5 µmol L-1, more than 90% of LIN was removed within 240 min at pH 4.90. Under different conditions, the reactions were well fitted with the second-order model (R2 > 0.95). The removal kinetics and the reaction mechanism were described. The presence of cations (e.g., K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Fe2+, and Mn2+) inhibited the removal of LIN by birnessite, following the order: Mn2+ > Fe2+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+ ≈ Na+, due to the sorption of cations on birnessite, companying with the electron transfer and precipitation of oxides (for Mn2+ and Fe2+). The addition of Cu2+, SO42-, or NO3- improved the reactions. The presence of Cu2+ could oxidize antibiotics, and the repulsion between SO42-or NO3- and birnessite might disperse the birnessite suspensions during the reactions. Mn(IV) and Mn(III) were the core Mn species that play an important role in LIN removal. These findings will help to understand the removal process of LIN and illustrate the influence of cations and anions on the removal of similar pollutants by birnessite.

The quality and antioxidant elucidation of germinated flaxseed treated with acidic electrolyzed water.

The endogenous fortification of antioxidant lipid concomitants in flaxseed was imperative to improve the oxidative stability of α-linolenic acid (ALA) in flaxseed and flaxseed oil upon processing, storage and gastrointestinal digestion. The comparative effects of acidic electrolyzed water (ACEW) and tap water (TW) on the triglyceride configuration, typical lipid concomitants, and antioxidant properties of flaxseed were conducted during 0-5 days of germination. The results showed that ACEW enhanced the germination rate of flaxseed by 18.25% and simultaneously suppressed the dynamic depletion of ALA by 5.32% when compared with TW (p < .05). The total phenolic acids, lignans, and flavonoids were effectively accumulated in flaxseed following ACEW-mediated germination with the further increase by 4.82%, 15.48%, and 8.22% in comparison with those induced by TW (p < .05). The total contents of cyclolinopeptides in flaxseed progressively dropped following either ACEW or TW treatment, a slighter decrease by 5.59% for flaxseed treated by ACEW than that by TW. Notably, the maximum accumulation of tocopherols and phytosterols had been early obtained for flaxseed treated with ACEW for 2-3 days due to the de novo synthesis or intermolecular conformational transition (p < .05). Most importantly, ACEW-mediated germination led to higher increment of the thermal oxidative stability and antioxidant properties of flaxseed and flaxseed oil in comparison to TW. In brief, the initial oxidation temperature increased by 7.09% and 3.06% (p < .05), and the antioxidant activities as evaluated by DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP values raised by 3.86%-28.07% and 4.21%-9.18% (p < .05), respectively. These findings clarify that the germination especailly mediated by ACEW could be an effective method to further optimize the nutritional and functional properties of flaxseed through reconstructing the endogenous antioxidant system.

[Derivation of the Thresholds of Available Concentrations of Heavy Metals in Soil Based on Agricultural Product Safety].

Based on the total and available concentrations of heavy metal elements in agricultural soil, and the concentrations of heavy metals in rice collected from Daye city, Hubei province, and the thresholds of available concentrations of heavy metals were derived by species sensitivity distribution (SSD). The over-standard rates of Cd and Cu in the soil were 90.7% and 42.6%, respectively, which indicates that agricultural soil in Daye city exhibits signs of Cd and Cu pollution. The rates of Cd and Pb were 50.9% and 89.8% in brown rice samples, respectively, which exceeds the safety standards of agricultural products. The SSD curves for Cd and Pb were fitted with BurrⅢ distribution based on the ratio of the concentration in brown rice and the available concentration in the soil. The hazardous concentrations (HC5) were derived inversely from the agriculture product safety standards. The thresholds of available Cd and Pb were 0.02 mg·kg-1 and 0.005 mg·kg-1, respectively. Compared with those of available Cd in other countries and studies, the threshold of available Cd is scientifically shown to be reasonable. Soil is not necessarily the main source of Pb in rice; thus, the rice species does not represent the derivation of the threshold of available Pb. Moreover, a lack of the accumulation data of Pb at low accumulation levels and multiple soil pollution levels leads to unreliable derivation. The results indicate that the threshold of available Pb does not have practical significance in soil pollution control.

[Simultaneous determination of ofloxacin enantiomers in water by high performance liquid chromatography].

A simple and rapid method was developed for the analysis of ofloxacin enantiomers by chiral ligand exchange-high performance liquid chromatography (CLE-HPLC). In addition, the influences of common cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, Fe3+, Zn2+) and the content of humic acid (HA) on the separation were investigated. The separation was carried out on a C18 column (25 cm×0.46 cm, 5 µm). The mobile phase was 20% (v/v) methanol aqueous solution containing 4 mmol/L L-isoleucine (as ligand) and 3 mmol/L CuSO4. The pH of the mobile phase was 4.5, and the flow rate was 1.0 mL/min. The column temperature was 40℃, and the detection wavelength was 293 nm. The ofloxacin enantiomers (ofloxacin and levofloxacin) were separated within 18 min and the resolution (R) was 2.70. The results showed that metal cations and HA had no significant influence on the resolution of ofloxacin enantiomers. However, the measured peak area of ofloxacin enantiomers decreased particularly in presence of Fe3+ and on increasing HA content. The proposed method can rapidly and efficiently determine ofloxacin and its chiral isomers in surface water, the influences of Fe3+ and HA content should be considered for verifying the applicability of the method.

Adsorption of diclofenac onto goethite: Adsorption kinetics and effects of pH.

The adsorption of diclofenac (DCF), one of the widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, onto the surface of goethite was investigated with batch experiments. The adsorption at different pH values (5.3, 7.4, and 10.0) were well fitted with the pseudo-second-order model. The results showed that the adsorption of DCF onto goethite was strongly depended on solution pH. The amount of adsorbed DCF decreased with increasing pH duo to electrostatic repulsive interactions. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) results indicated that carboxyl group (COOH) might be involved in the adsorption, and DCF formed bidentate chelate and bridging bidentate complexes on the surface of goethite.

DDT, DDD, and DDE in soil of Xiangfen County, China: Residues, sources, spatial distribution, and health risks.

We collected and analyzed 128 surface soil samples from Xiangfen County for dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD), and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE). Total DDT concentrations (DDTs; sum of p,p'-DDD, p,p'-DDE, and p,p'-DDT) ranged from ND to 427.81 ng g(-1) (dry weight, dw), with a mean of 40.26 ng g(-1) (dw). Among the three compounds, p,p'-DDD was the most dominant. The DDTs in Xiangfen County soils mainly originated from historical DDT use, but there were also new inputs likely related to dicofol use. The DDTs in Xiangfen County soils were mainly degraded under anaerobic conditions, and direct degradation to DDD was the main degradation route. Regions with relatively high concentrations of DDTs were mainly located in North and South Xiangfen County. In these regions, many soil samples contained p,p'-DDT as the predominant pollutant, suggestive of extensive new inputs of DDT. A health risk assessment revealed that there are no serious long-term health impacts of exposure to DDTs in soil, for adults or children.

Removal of PCBs and HCB from contaminated solids using a novel successive self-propagated sintering process.

Thermal treatments are the primary technologies used to remove persistent organic pollutants from contaminated solids. The high energy consumption during continuous heating, required cost for treating the exhaust gas, and potential formation of secondary pollutants during combustion have prevented their implementation. A novel successive self-propagated sintering process was proposed for removing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) from contaminated solids in a low-cost and environmentally friendly way. Nine laboratory-scale experiments involving different initial concentrations of pollutants and solid compositions were performed. Almost all PCBs (>99%) and HCB (>97%) were removed from solids under constant experimental conditions. Varying initial concentrations of PCBs and HCB in the contaminated solids did not influence the removal efficiency of the pollutants; however, the degradation efficiency of pollutants increased as their initial concentrations increased. Although varying levels of PCDD/Fs were detected in the effluent gas, they were all within the emission standard limit.