Sustainable recovery of melanoidins from thermal hydrolyzed sludge by macroporous resin and properties characterization.

Melanoidins, the dark-color recalcitrant Maillard reaction by-products in thermal hydrolyzed sludge (THS), cause significant adverse effects on wastewater treatment. This study aimed to develop an efficient adsorption method for recovering melanoidins from THS by macroporous resin. The adsorptive characteristics of six macroporous resins (XAD761, XAD8, XAD16HP, FPX66, HPD-600 and IRA958Cl) showed that XAD761, not yet reported for melanoidins extraction, was the most appropriate with the highest recovery ratio. The adsorption kinetics followed pseudo-second-order model, and the adsorption process was confirmed to be physical, spontaneous, and exothermic, without changing the structure of the adsorbed melanoidins. In the dynamic adsorption, the breakthrough point increased with a decreasing flow rate. After five consecutive regeneration cycles, XAD761 resin maintained stable adsorption efficiency and thus had a good potential for reuse. Furthermore, the physicochemical properties of the extracted THS melanoidins were compared with model melanoidins to lay the foundation for their management, in terms of morphology, molecular weight (MW), and spectrophotometric properties. These results demonstrate that XAD761 resin extraction is a promising sustainable method for practical application in the recovery of melanoidins from THS.

Method development for the identification, extraction and characterization of melanoidins in thermal hydrolyzed sludge.

Melanoidins, the brown late-stage Maillard reaction products, are responsible for color development and refractoriness in thermal hydrolyzed sludge (THS), causing negative effects on wastewater treatment. This study aimed to develop a methodology for the identification, isolation and preliminary characterization of the THS melanoidins. After thermal hydrolysis, the formation of melanoidins were confirmed by physicochemical indicators and excitation-emission matrix fluorescence analysis. The macroporous resin adsorption method was adopted to successfully extract melanoidins from THS with high recovery and selectivity. The main chemical components of the extracted melanoidins were carbohydrate (23.1 %), protein (43.8 %) and phenol (13.7 %), and the C/N was 4.5. In addition, furans, alcohols and sulfur-containing volatile substances were detected by pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy determined that functional groups such as CO, CN, NH, C-O-C, amide I and phenyl were present in the structure of THS melanoidins, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy indicated the formation of heterocyclic macromolecular structures. Their formation pathways were speculated to involve the cross-linkage of low-molecular-weight components (e.g. proteins, Amadori and Schiff base compounds) and the polymerization of heterocyclic units (e.g. furans, pyroles and pyrazines). The above results clarify the fundamental characteristics of the melanoidins formed during sludge thermal hydrolysis and will help improve subsequent research on melanoidins control.

Carbohydrate-to-protein ratio regulates hydrolysis and acidogenesis processes during volatile fatty acids production.

In this study, the typical model solubilized and hydrolyzed substrates of protein and carbohydrate were anaerobically fermented at different carbohydrate-to-protein (Car/Pro) ratios to examine volatile fatty acids (VFAs) production and substrate consumption. The highest VFAs yields of 0.71 and 0.72 mg COD/mg CODsubstrate both occurred at Car/Pro ratio of 1 by BSA-dextran and amino acids (AAs)-glucose fermentation, respectively. The limiting processes were hydrolysis and acidogenesis for the higher Car/Pro ratio of 3 and lower Car/Pro ratio of 0.25, respectively. An inhibitory effect of AAs accumulation was found, and VFAs production could be raised by 25.5% through quartic fed-batch strategy. There existed a significant relationship between activity of hydrolytic and acid-forming enzymes and acidogenic metabolism efficiency, which could be fitted by first-order kinetic and Logistic-based models. Understanding the effects of Car/Pro ratio on VFAs production is of guiding significance for regulating hydrolysis and acidogenesis processes during anaerobic fermentation of organic wastes.

[Gardner syndrome with chronic osteomyelitis of the jaw: a case report].

Gardner syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant disease. Its symptoms include multiple intestinal polyps, soft tissue tumors, dental disorders, osteoma, and congenital hypertrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium. Here, we present a patient with Gardner syndrome and chronic osteomyelitis of the jaw to highlight the serious damage that can be caused by Gardner syndrome.

Serine-arginine protein kinase 1 is associated with breast cancer progression and poor patient survival.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of mortality for women worldwide. It is necessary to identify valuable molecular markers to predict breast cancer progression in patients and treatment effect. Serine-arginine protein kinase 1 (SRPK1), a member of SR kinase family, phosphorylates the SR splicing factors which plays essential roles in normal cell development and multiple human diseases. In the current study, we wanted to explore if there are any relationships between SRPK1 expression in breast cancer and its clinical characteristics. The results showed that SRPK1 is upregulated in breast cancer cell lines and tissues at both mRNA and protein levels, measured by quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR and Western blotting. Immunohistochemical analysis showed a high expression of SRPK1 in 132 paraffin samples of patients with breast cancer; statistical analyses demonstrated that high expression of SRPK1 significantly correlated with clinical staging of patients with breast cancer (P < 0.001), TNM classification (P < 0.05). Low expression of SRPK1 leads to longer survival time, while high expression of SRPK1 leads to shorter survival time of patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that upregulation of SRPK1 might be an independent prognostic marker for the outcomes of patients with breast cancer. In conclusion, upregulation of SRPK1 might play an important role in the progression of breast cancer and might be considered as the potential diagnostic and therapeutic target to this malignancy.