Mitochondria-associated endoplasmic reticulum membrane: Overview and inextricable link with cancer.

The mitochondrial-associated membrane (MAM) is a physical platform that facilitates communication between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria. It is enriched with many proteins and enzymes and plays an important role in the regulation of several fundamental physiological processes, such as calcium (Ca2+ ) transfer, lipid synthesis, cellular autophagy and ER stress. Accumulating evidence suggests that oncogenes and suppressor genes are present at the ER-mitochondrial contact site, and their alterations can affect Ca2+ flux, lipid homeostasis, and the dysregulation of mitochondrial dynamics, thereby influencing the fate of cancer cells. Understanding the fundamental role of MAM-resident proteins in tumorigenesis could support the search for novel therapeutic targets in cancer. In this review, we summarize the basic structure of MAM and the core functions of MAM-resident proteins in tumorigenesis. In addition, we discuss the mechanisms by which natural compounds promote cancer cell apoptosis from the perspective of ER stress.

Anaerobic acidification membrane bioreactor operating at acidic condition for treating concentrated municipal wastewater: Performance and implication.

To address the low-carbon treatment requirements for municipal wastewater, a novel anaerobic acidification membrane bioreactor (AAMBR) was developed for recovering organic matter in terms of volatile fatty acids (VFAs). While the AAMBR successfully generated VFAs from municipal wastewater through forward osmosis (FO) membrane concentration, its operation was limited to a single pH value of 10.0. Here, performance of the AAMBR operating at acidic condition was evaluated and compared with that at alkaline condition. The findings revealed that the AAMBR with pH 5.0 efficiently transformed organic matter into acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid, resulting in a VFAs yield of 0.48 g/g-CODfeed. In comparison with the AAMBR at pH 10.0, this study achieved a similar VFAs yield, a lower fouling tendency, a lower loss of nutrients and a lower controlling cost. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that a pH of 5.0 is optimal for the AAMBR treating municipal wastewater.

New insights on destruction mechanisms of waste activated sludge during simultaneous thickening and digestion process via forward osmosis membrane.

This study delved into the efficacy of sludge digestion and the mechanisms involved in sludge destruction during the implementation of forward osmosis process for sludge thickening and digestion (FO-MSTD). Utilizing a lab-scale FO membrane reactor for the thickening and digestion of waste activated sludge (WAS), the investigation explored the effects of sludge thickening and digestion in FO-MSTD processes using draw solutions of varying concentrations. The findings underscored the significance of hydraulic retention time (HRT) as a pivotal parameter influencing the swift thickening or profound digestion of sludge. Consequently, tailoring the HRT to specific processing objectives emerged as a key strategy for achieving desired treatment outcomes. In the investigation, the use of a 1 M NaCl draw solution in the FO-MSTD process showcased enhanced thickening and digestion capabilities. This specific setup raised the concentration of mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) to over 30 g/L and achieved a 42.7% digestion efficiency of mixed liquor volatile suspended solids (MLVSS) within an operational timeframe of 18 days. Furthermore, the research unveiled distinct stages in the sludge digestion process of the FO-MSTD system, characterized by fully aerobic digestion and aerobic-local anaerobic co-existing digestion. In the fully aerobic digestion stage, the sludge digestion rate exhibited a steady increase, leading to the breakdown of sludge floc structures and the release of a substantial amount of nutrients into the sludge supernatant. The predominant microorganisms during this stage were typical functional microorganisms found in wastewater treatment systems. Transitioning into the aerobic-local anaerobic co-existing digestion stage, both MLSS concentration and MLVSS digestion efficiency continued to rise, accompanied by a decreasing dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration. More organic matter was released into the supernatant, and sludge microbial flocs tended to reaggregate. The localized anaerobic environment within the FO-MSTD reactor fostered an increase in the relative abundance of bacteria with nitrogen and phosphorus removal functions, thereby positively impacting the mitigation of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in the sludge supernatant. The results of this research enhance comprehension of the advanced FO-MSTD technology in the treatment of WAS.

Integrating anaerobic acidification with two-stage forward osmosis concentration for simultaneously recovering organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus from municipal wastewater.

In order to meet the demand of municipal wastewater for low-carbon treatment and resource recovery, a novel process of anaerobic acidification membrane bioreactor (AAMBR) assisted with a two-stage forward osmosis (FO) (FO-AAMBR-FO) was developed for simultaneously recovering organic matter and nutrients from municipal wastewater. The results indicated that the first FO process concentrated the municipal wastewater to one tenth of the initial volume. The corresponding chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) and total phosphorus (TP) concentration reached up to 2800, 200 and 33 mg/L, respectively. Subsequently, the AAMBR was operated at pH value of 10 for treating the concentration of municipal wastewater, in which the organic matter was successfully converted to acetic acid and propionic acid with a total volatile fatty acids (VFAs) concentration of 1787 mg COD/L and a VFAs production efficiency of 62.36 % during 47 days of stable operation. After that, the NH4+-N and TP concentration in the effluent of the AAMBR were further concentrated to 175 and 36.7 mg/L, respectively, by the second FO process. The struvite was successfully recovered with NH4+-N and TP recovery rate of 94.53 % and 98.59 %, respectively. Correspondingly, the VFAs, NH4+-N and TP concentrations in the residual solution were 2905 mg COD/L, 11.8 and 7.92 mg/L, respectively, which could be used as the raw material for the synthesis of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). Results reported here demonstrated that the FO-AAMBR-FO is a promising wastewater treatment technology for simultaneous recovery of organic matter (in form of VFAs) and nutrients (in form of struvite).

Engineering pressure retarded osmosis membrane bioreactor (PRO-MBR) for simultaneous water and energy recovery from municipal wastewater.

Osmotic membrane bioreactors (OMBR) have gained increasing interest in wastewater treatment and reclamation due to their high product water quality and fouling resistance. However, high energy consumption (mostly by draw solution recovery) restricted the wider application of OMBR. Herein, we propose a novel pressure retarded osmosis membrane bioreactor (PRO-MBR) for improving the economic feasibility. In comparison with conventional FO-MBR, PRO-MBR exhibited similar excellent contaminants removal performance and comparable water flux. More importantly, a considerable amount of energy can be recovered by PRO-MBR (4.1 kWh/100 m2·d), as a result of which, 10.02% of the specific energy consumption (SEC) for water recovery was reduced as compared with FO-MBR (from 1.42 kWh/m3 to 1.28 kWh/m3). Membrane orientation largely determined the performance of PRO-MBR, higher power density was achieved in AL-DS orientation (peak value of 3.4 W/m2) than that in AL-FS orientation (peak value of 1.4 W/m2). However, PRO-MBR suffered more severe and complex membrane fouling when operated in AL-DS orientation, because the porous support layer was facing sludge mixed liquor. Further investigation revealed fouling was mostly reversible for PRO-MBR, it exhibited similar flux recoverability (92.4%) to that in FO-MBR (95.1%) after osmotic backwash. Nevertheless, flux decline due to membrane fouling is still a restricting factor to power generation of PRO-MBR, its power density was decreased by 38.2% in the first 60 min due to the formation of fouling. Overall, in perspective of technoeconomic feasibility, the PRO-MBR demonstrates better potential than FO-MBR in wastewater treatment and reclamation and deserves more research attention in the future.

Effect of Initial Water Flux on the Performance of Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor: Constant Flux Mode versus Varying Flux Mode.

Anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) have aroused growing interest in wastewater treatment and energy recovery. However, serious membrane fouling remains a critical hindrance to AnMBRs. Here, a novel membrane fouling mitigation via optimizing initial water flux is proposed, and its feasibility was evaluated by comparing the membrane performance in AnMBRs between constant flux and varying flux modes. Results indicated that, compared with the constant flux mode, varying flux mode significantly prolonged the membrane operating time by mitigating membrane fouling. Through the analyses of fouled membranes under two operating modes, the mechanism of membrane fouling mitigation was revealed as follows: A low water flux was applied in stage 1 which slowed down the interaction between foulants and membrane surface, especially reduced the deposition of proteins on the membrane surface and formed a thin and loose fouling layer. Correspondingly, the interaction between foulants was weakened in the following stage 2 with a high water flux and, subsequently, the foulants absorbed on the membrane surface was further reduced. In addition, flux operating mode had no impact on the contaminant removal in an AnMBR. This study provides a new way of improving membrane performance in AnMBRs via a varying flux operating mode.

A novel acidic phosphoric-based geopolymer binder for lead solidification/stabilization.

Many contaminated sites are acidic and the existing binders are mainly alkaline materials. Alkaline binders are used to treat contaminated sites in acidic environments and the solidification/stabilization (S/S) effect is affected by acid corrosion. Therefore, good application prospects exist in developing a binder suitable for the treatment of acidic contaminated sites. In this paper, a new acidic phosphoric-based geopolymer (named APG binder) was synthesized with fly ash as a raw material and aluminum dihydrogen phosphate as the reactant, and the APG binder was used for Pb2+ S/S for the first time. The pH of the APG binder with Pb2+ ranged from 2.56 to 4.09 during 7-28 days of curing, and its compressive strength with Pb2+ exceeded 10 MPa at 28 days. Moreover, Pb2+ had a significant impact on the APG binder compressive strength, and when the Pb2+ content was 0.6%, the APG binder yielded a maximum compressive strength of 6.5, 9.1 and 14.28 MPa at 7, 14, and 28 days, respectively. Furthermore, the compressive strength correlated well with pH and electrical conductivity. The proposed APG binder had a better S/S effect on Pb2+ than that of cement and alkali-activated geopolymers in acidic environments. The stabilization mechanism of the APG binder for Pb2+ included chemical precipitation, physical adsorption and encapsulation.

Terminal Groups-Dependent Near-Field Enhancement Effect of Ti3C2Tx Nanosheets.

Both multilayered (ML) and few-layered (FL) Ti3C2Tx nanosheets have been prepared through a typical etching and delaminating procedure. Various characterizations confirm that the dominant terminal groups on ML-Ti3C2Tx and FL-Ti3C2Tx are different, which have been assigned to O-related and hydroxyl groups, respectively. Such deviation of the dominant terminals results in the different physical and chemical performance and eventually makes the nanosheets have different potential applications. In particular, before coupling to Ag nanoparticles, ML-Ti3C2Tx can present stronger near-field enhancement effect; however, Ag/FL-Ti3C2Tx hybrid structure can confine stronger near-field due to the electron injection, which can be offered by the terminated hydroxyl groups.

Microbial community succession and its correlation with reactor performance in a sponge membrane bioreactor coupled with fiber-bundle anoxic bio-filter for treating saline mariculture wastewater.

The application of MBR in high saline wastewater treatment is mainly constrained by poor nitrogen removal and severe membrane fouling caused by high salinity stress. A novel carriers-enhanced MBR system was successfully developed for treating saline mariculture wastewater, which showed efficient TN removal (93.2%) and fouling control. High-throughput sequencing revealed the enhancement mechanism of bio-carriers under high saline condition. Bio-carriers substantially improved the community structure, representatively, nitrifiers abundance (Nitrosomonas, Nitrospira) increased from 2.18% to 9.57%, abundance of denitrifiers (Sulfurimonas, Thermogutta, etc.) also rose from 3.81% to 14.82%. Thereby, the nitrogen removal process was enhanced. Noteworthy, ammonia oxidizer (Nitrosomonas, 8.26%) was the absolute dominant nitrifiers compared with nitrite oxidizer (Nitrospira, 1.13%). This supported the finding of shortcut nitrification-denitrification process in hybrid system. Moreover, a series of biomacromolecule degraders (Lutibacterium, Cycloclasticus, etc.) were detected in bio-carriers, which could account for the mitigation of membrane fouling as result of EPS and SMP degradation.

Intertidal wetland sediment as a novel inoculation source for developing aerobic granular sludge in membrane bioreactor treating high-salinity antibiotic manufacturing wastewater.

This study proposed a novel approach of cultivating aerobic granular sludge (AGS) using intertidal wetland sediment (IWS) as inoculant in MBR for saline wastewater treatment. Granulation was observed in IWS-MBR during start-up, with increased sludge particle size (3.1-3.3 mm) and improved settling property (23.8 ml/g). The abundant inorganic particulates (acted as nuclei) and distinctive microbial community in IWS contributed to the granules formation. With the help of AGS, IWS-MBR system exhibited excellent TOC reduction of 90.3 ± 6.1% and significant TN reduction of 31.2 ± 5.0%, while the control MBR (Co-MBR) only showed 58.9 ± 7.2% and 10.4 ± 2.7%, respectively. Meanwhile, membrane fouling was mitigated in IWS-MBR, with a longer filtration cycle of 21.5 d, as compared with that of 8.9 d for Co-MBR. Microbial community analysis revealed that abundant functional bacteria associated with granulation and pollutants removal were enriched from IWS and set the basis for AGS formation and the superior treatment performance.

Assessment of Deep Brain Stimulation Implantation Surgery: A Practical Scale.

BACKGROUND: Patients requiring deep brain stimulation (DBS) will undergo extensive preoperative and postoperative evaluations. However, the field lacks a robust scoring system for quantifying the outcomes of DBS surgery. We sought to determine whether a practical scale could assess the outcomes of DBS surgery and the clinical significance. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed of the data from 150 patients who had undergone DBS from February 2017 to February 2019. An independence analysis and multivariate testing were used to identify significant independent predictors. The scale scores were computed by summing across the weighted predictors. The correlation between the scale scores and the intraoperative electrophysiological signal length (IESL), DBS power-on voltage, improvement rate in the unified Parkinson disease rating scale (UPDRS) and UPDRS part III (UPDRS III) scores was analyzed. Receiver operating characteristics curve analysis was used to quantify the discriminative capacity of the scale for predicting the prognosis. RESULTS: Listwise exclusion of patients with incomplete data sets yielded a final sample of 130 patients with Parkinson disease who had undergone bilateral DBS. Multivariate testing identified 3 independent predictors of the prognosis, including electrode implantation duration, postoperative pneumocephalus volume, and electrode fusion error. The scale scores correlated significantly with the subthalamic nucleus DBS power-on voltage (r = -0.4063; P < 0.0001), globus pallidus internus DBS power-on voltage (r = -0.4723; P = 0.0014), and improvement rate of the UPDRS (r = 0.3490; P < 0.0001) and UPDRS III (r = 0.6623; P < 0.0001) scores. However, the scale scores did not significantly correlate with the subthalamic nucleus IESL and globus pallidus internus IESL. Receiver operating characteristics curve analysis revealed impressive outcome discrimination for the UPDRS and UPDRS III scores (UPDRS: area under the curve, 0.62, P = 0.0219; UPDRS III: area under the curve, 0.85, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: We have introduced a novel practical scale capable of assessing the outcomes of DBS surgery and predicting the prognosis of patients after DBS surgery.

Comparison of Subthalamic Nucleus and Globus Pallidus Internus Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery on Parkinson Disease-Related Pain.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze and compare the effects of subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) and globus pallidus internus (GPi)-DBS on Parkinson disease (PD)-related pain. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed of 64 patients (28 who underwent GPi-DBS and 36 who underwent STN-DBS) with PD-related pain in our hospital between January 2017 and July 2019. A numerical rating scale (NRS) was used to evaluate the degree of pain preoperatively and 4 months after operation, and the unified PD scale III (UPDRS-III) was completed simultaneously to assess motor symptoms. RESULTS: The average NRS score of all 64 patients after surgery was 1.09 ± 1.39, which was significantly lower than that before operation (4.44 ± 1.67; P < 0.0001). The improvement rate of NRS was 75 ± 27% in the 28 GPi-DBS patients and 79 ± 27% in the 36 STN-DBS patients, with no significant difference (P = 0.577). The improvements in NRS and UPDRS-III were significantly correlated in the STN-DBS group (r = 0.3707, P = 0.026) but not significantly correlated in the GPi-DBS group (P = 0.516). CONCLUSIONS: Both GPi-DBS and STN-DBS were effective for analyzing PD-related pain and seemed to have similar efficacy. This study provides an important first-step toward determining different DBS targets for controlling PD-related pain. Follow-up prospective research is an appropriate next step on the path to multicenter clinical trials.

A comparative study of asleep and awake deep brain stimulation robot-assisted surgery for Parkinson's disease.

To compare the differences between asleep and awake robot-assisted deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery for Parkinson's Disease (PD), we conducted this retrospective cohort study included 153 PD patients undergoing bilateral robot-assisted DBS from June 2017 to August 2019, of which 58 cases were performed under general anesthesia (GA) and 95 cases under local anesthesia (LA). Procedure duration, stimulation parameters, electrode implantation accuracy, intracranial air, intraoperative electrophysiological signal length, complications, and Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS) measurements were recorded and compared. The clinical evaluation was conducted by two raters who were blinded to the choice of anesthesia. Procedure duration was significantly shorter in the GA group, while on stimulation off medication motor scores (UPDRS-III) were significantly improved in both the GA and LA group. ANCOVA covariated for the baseline UPDRS-III and levodopa challenge exhibited no significant differences. In terms of amplitude, frequency, and pulse width, the stimulation parameters used for DBS power-on were similar. There were no significant differences in electrode implantation accuracy, intraoperative electrophysiological signal length, or intracerebral hemorrhage (no occurrences in either group). The pneumocephalus volume was significantly smaller in the GA group. Six patients exhibited transient throat discomfort associated with tracheal intubation in the GA group. The occurrence of surgical incision infection was similar in both groups. Compared with the awake group, the asleep group exhibited a shorter procedure duration with a similar electrode implantation accuracy and short-term motor improvement. Robot-assisted asleep DBS surgery is a promising surgical method for PD.

Efficacy Analysis of Robot-Assisted Minimally Invasive Surgery for Small-Volume Spontaneous Thalamic Hemorrhage.

OBJECTIVE: To test whether robot-assisted surgery can improve prognosis of small-volume thalamic hemorrhage and to provide a surgical basis for treatment of small-volume thalamic hemorrhage. METHODS: This retrospective study included patients with thalamic hemorrhage and hematoma volume of 5-15 mL treated from December 2015 to December 2018. Patients were divided into an operation group and a nonoperation group. General data, types of hematoma, incidence of complications, Scandinavian Stroke Scale score, and modified Rankin Scale score were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: Retrospectively, 84 cases met inclusion criteria: 35 cases in operation group and 49 cases in nonoperation group. At 90 days after onset, mortality was 11.4% in the operation group and 4.1% in the nonoperation group (P > 0.05). The Scandinavian Stroke Scale score in the operation group (43.3 ± 8.5) was higher than in the nonoperation group (36.1 ± 10.0) (P < 0.05). The modified Rankin Scale score in the operation group (2.9 ± 0.3) was lower than in the nonoperation group (3.7 ± 0.2) (P < 0.05). The incidence of pneumonia (8.6%) and renal dysfunction (14.3%) was lower in the operation group than in the nonoperation group (28.6% and 34.7%, respectively) (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in the incidence of central fever (5.7% vs. 12.2%), stress ulcer (11.4% vs. 16.3%), and ion balance disturbance (20.0% vs. 26.5%) (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Robot-assisted drainage of thalamic hemorrhage can improve prognosis and reduce the incidence of pneumonia and renal dysfunction.

Effective removal of ammonia nitrogen from waste seawater using crystal seed enhanced struvite precipitation technology with response surface methodology for process optimization.

Traditional biological treatment was not effective for removing nitrogen from saline wastewater due to the inhibition of high salinity on biomass activity. In this context, a method of removing ammonia nitrogen from waste seawater was proposed by struvite precipitation which was enhanced by seeding technique. The abundant magnesium contained in waste seawater was used as the key component of struvite crystallization without additional magnesium. The effects of pH and P:N molar ratio on ammonia nitrogen removal efficiency were studied. The results showed that optimum pH value was in range of 8.5-10 and the P:N molar ratio should be controlled within 2:1-3:1. XRD and SEM-EDS analyses of the precipitates proved that Ca2+ and excess Mg2+ contained in waste seawater inhibited the struvite crystallization by competing PO43- to form by-products. Then, seeding technique for enhancing the struvite crystallization was investigated, and the results indicated that using preformed struvite as crystal seed significantly improved the ammonia nitrogen removal efficiency, especially when initial ammonia nitrogen concentration was relatively low. Moreover, response surface optimization experiment following a Box-Behnken design was conducted. A response surface model was established, based on which optimum process conditions were determined and interactions between various factors were clarified. At last, economic evaluation demonstrated this proposed method was economic feasible.

The characteristic evolution of soluble microbial product and its effects on membrane fouling during the development of sponge membrane bioreactor coupled with fiber bundle anoxic bio-filter for treating saline wastewater.

Membrane fouling mitigation was observed during the development of novel sponge membrane bioreactor coupled with fiber bundle anoxic bio-filter (AF-MBMBR). Soluble microbial product (SMP) was found to be positively correlated with membrane fouling. To further clarify the mechanism of fouling mitigation, the effects of bio-carriers (sponge and fiber bundles) on characteristics and fouling potential of SMP were investigated. Characterization of SMP implied that as a consequence of employing bio-carriers, tyrosine and tryptophan in SMP significantly decreased, instead relative proportions of humic and fulvic acids increased. Meanwhile, batch filtration tests demonstrated that fouling potential of SMP was significantly alleviated, flux decline caused by filtrating SMP decreased from 84.5% to 60.1%. Further analysis on foulants and filtrate revealed that proteins performed high adhesion propensity on membrane while humic and fulvic acids mainly can pass through the membrane; this finding could well explain the mitigation of SMP fouling potential induced by bio-carriers.

Membrane fouling mitigation in a moving bed membrane bioreactor combined with anoxic biofilter for treatment of saline wastewater from mariculture.

Membrane fouling mitigation in a novel AF-MBMBR system (moving bed membrane bioreactor (10L) coupled with anoxic biofilter (4L)) under high salinity condition (35‰) was systematically investigated. Pre-positioned AF served as a pretreatment induced significant decrease of suspended biomass by 85% and dissolved organic matters by 51.7% in subsequent MBR, which resulted in a reduction of cake layer formation. Based on this, sponge bio-carriers in MBMBR further alleviated the fouling propensity by modifying extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) properties. The protein component in EPS decreased from 181.4 to 116.5mg/g MLSS, with a decline of protein/carbohydrate ratio from 4.6 to 3.4. In particular, elimination of hydrophobic groups like aromatic protein-like substance in EPS was detected. These caused the less biomass deposition on membrane surface, thereby alleviating membrane fouling. In summary, mitigation of membrane fouling in AF-MBMBR should be attributed to contributions from both pre-positioned AF and sponge bio-carriers.