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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases characterized by cognitive deficits and dementia. AD entails predominant pathological characteristics including amyloid beta (Aβ) plaque formation, neurofibrillary entanglements, and brain atrophy, which gradually result in cognitive dysfunctions. Studies showed that these pathological changes are found in a myriad of brain structures, including the claustrum (CLA), a nucleus that penetrates deeply into the brain and is extensively interconnected to various brain structures. The CLA modulates many aspects of cognitive functions, with attention, executive function, visuospatial ability, language, and memory in particular. It is also implicated in multiple neuropsychiatric disorders, of which one worthy of particular attention is AD-related cognitive impairments. To inspire novel AD treatment strategies, this review has summarized the CLA functionality in discriminative cognitive dysfunctions in AD. And then propose an array of potential mechanisms that might contribute to the cognitive impairments caused by an abnormal CLA physiology. We advocate that the CLA might be a new promising therapeutic target in combination with existing anti-AD drugs and brain stimulation approaches for future AD treatment.

BackgroundColorectal cancer (CRC) is among the most common malignant cancers worldwide, and its development is influenced by inflammation, nutrition, and the immune status. Therefore, we combined C-reactive protein (CRP), albumin, and lymphocyte, which could reflect above status, to be the CRP-albumin-lymphocyte (CALLY) index, and evaluated its association with overall survival (OS) in patients with CRC.MethodsThe clinicopathological and laboratory characteristics of 1260 patients with CRC were collected from the Investigation on Nutrition Status and Clinical Outcome of Common Cancers (INSCOC) study. Cox regression analysis was performed to assess the association between the CALLY index and OS. A nomogram including sex, age, the CALLY index and TNM stage was constructed. The Concordance Index (C-index) was utilized to evaluate the prognostic value of the CALLY index and classical CRC prognostic factors, such as modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS), neutrocyte to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), systemic immune inflammation index (SII), and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), as well as to assess the prognostic value of the nomogram and TNM stage.ResultsMultivariate Cox regression analyses demonstrated that the CALLY index was independently associated with OS in patients with CRC [Hazard ratio (HR) = 0.91, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.87-0.95, PPPConclusionThe CALLY index was independently associated with OS in patients with CRC and showed higher prognostic value than classical CRC prognostic factors. The nomogram could provide more accurate prognostic prediction than TNM stage.

ObjectiveEarly identification and intervention for children with global developmental delay (GDD) can significantly improve their prognosis and reduce the possibility of developing intellectual disability in the future. This study aimed to explore the clinical effectiveness of a parent-implemented early intervention program (PIEIP) for GDD, providing a research basis for the extended application of this intervention strategy in the future.MethodsDuring the period between September 2019 and August 2020, children aged 3 to 6 months diagnosed with GDD were selected from each research center as the experimental group and the control group. For the experimental group, the PIEIP intervention was conducted for the parent-child pair. Mid-term and end-stage assessments were performed, respectively, at 12 and 24 months of age, and parenting stress surveys were completed.ResultsThe average age of the enrolled children was 4.56 ± 1.08 months for the experimental group (n = 153) and 4.50 ± 1.04 months for the control group (n = 153). The comparative analysis of the variation in the progress between the two groups by independent t-test showed that, after the experimental intervention, the developmental quotient (DQ) of locomotor, personal-social, and language, as well as the general quotient (GQ) of the Griffiths Mental Development Scale-Chinese (GDS-C), the children in the experimental group demonstrated higher progress than those in the control group (P P ConclusionsPIEIP intervention can significantly improve the developmental outcome and prognosis of children with GDD, especially in the areas of locomotor, personal-social, and language.

Supplementary Material 1

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-tct-10.1177_15330338231185285 for Comprehensive Mutation Profiling of Colorectal Cancer Patients With Lung or Liver Metastasis by Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing by Chun-Ting Hu, Jing-Long Wang, Ting Hou, Zhao-Wen Yan, Li-Dong Zu, Guo-Hui Fu and Wei-Wei Shen in Technology in Cancer Research & Treatment

BackgroundCachexia is one of the most common complications affecting lung cancer patients that seriously affects their quality-of-life and survival time. This study aimed to analyze the predictors and prognostic factors of lung cancer cachexia as well as to develop a convenient and accurate clinical prediction tool for oncologists.MethodsIn this multicenter cohort study, 4022 patients with lung cancer were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were randomly categorized into training and verification sets (7:3 ratio). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the risk factors of cachexia in patients with lung cancer. Cox regression analysis was applied to determine independent prognostic factors in the patients with lung cancer cachexia. Meanwhile, two nomograms were established and evaluated by time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve, calibration curve, and decision curve analysis (DCA).ResultsStage, serum albumin, ALI, anemia, and surgery were independent risk factors for cachexia in patients with lung cancer. Patients with lung cancer cachexia have a shorter survival time. Sex, stage, serum albumin, ALI, KPS score, and surgery served as independent prognostic factors for patients with lung cancer cachexia. The area under the curves (AUCs) of diagnostic nomogram in the training and validation sets were 0.702 and 0.688, respectively, the AUCs of prognostic nomogram in the training set for 1-, 3-, and 5-year were 0.70, 0.72, and 0.75, respectively, while in the validation set the AUCs were 0.71, 0.75, and 0.79, respectively. The calibration curves and DCA of the two nomograms were consistent and the clinical benefit rate was high.ConclusionCachexia brings an additional economic burden and worsens the prognosis of lung cancer patients. The two nomograms can accurately screen and predict the probability of occurrence of cachexia in lung cancer and the prognosis of patients with lung cancer cachexia, and guide clinical work.

With the blooming of Internet-of-Things (IoT), we are witnessing an explosion in the number of IoT terminals, triggering an unprecedented demand for ubiquitous wireless access globally. In this context, the emerging low-Earth-orbit satellites (LEO-SATs) have been regarded as a promising enabler to complement terrestrial wireless networks in providing ubiquitous connectivity and bridging the ever-growing digital divide in the expected next-generation wireless communications. Nevertheless, the harsh conditions posed by LEO-SATs have imposed significant challenges to the current multiple access (MA) schemes and led to an emerging paradigm shift in system design. In this article, we first provide a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art MA schemes and investigate their limitations in the context of LEO-SATs. To this end, we propose a novel next generation MA (NGMA), which amalgamates the grant-free non-orthogonal multiple access (GF-NOMA) mechanism and the orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS) waveform, for simplifying the connection procedure with reduced access latency and enhanced Doppler-robustness. Critical open challenging issues and future directions are finally presented for further technical development., Comment: Accepted by IEEE Network

Additional file 1. Appendices

This paper briefly analyzes COVID-19 cases during Wuhan lockdown and travel restrictions on 23 January 2020 to 23 June 2020, which included total confirmed, in critical condition, deaths, recovered, and suspected cases in China. Results showed that there were 28,942 suspected cases on February 8, 2020, at the peak; then, it almost declined continually to only several cases. Total confirmed cases were more than 80,000 on March 1, 2020, but less than 84,000, and deaths were more than 3000 on March 4, 2020, but less than 4640, totally, thanks for the right public measures for COVID-19 in China, such as the Wuhan City lockdown and travel restrictions for isolation; positive screening and testing; and establishing a Huoshenshan hospital, a Leishenshan hospital, and a number of Fangcang shelter hospitals, traditional Chinese medicine and a combination of Chinese and western medicine, and the launch of the clinical trials of antiviral drugs (Lianhua Qingwen, remdesivir, and chloroquine). In addition, the iRT-ABCDEF program is very useful to control domestic, imported, and asymptomatic cases. Cases in critical condition decrease continually after the peak of 11,977 cases on February 18, 2020, and recovered cases increase continually to over 78,400 cases due to these right public measures and effective treatments. In recent months, there are only 2 deaths and only about ten cases in critical condition. All in all, these public measures in China are confirmed to be very effective and are worth conducting in countries worldwide.

Seeking adsorbents with high adsorption capacity and ease of regeneration is imperative for environmental remediation. Herein, strongly negatively charged two-dimensional (2D) ultrathin InVO4 nanoribbons (NRs) were synthesized. The material exhibited impressive selective adsorption capabilities towards cationic dyes, and the fitted Langmuir maximum adsorption capacity is 789.7 mg/g when using RhB as a model signal pollutant. The adsorption curve towards Rhodamine B (RhB) fits well with the pseudo-second-order (PSO) reaction. The corresponding adsorption isotherm is confirmed in accordance with the Freundlich model, indicating the adsorption is likely a multi-layer adsorption process. Through examining its adsorption activities with positively charged upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) and dyes with different surface charges, the strong electrostatic attraction is found to be the predominant adsorption mechanism. Furthermore, the new adsorbents showed remarkable resilience to even large pH variation (from 3 to 12), and could be rapidly and efficiently regenerated using a mixture of water and ethanol (volume ratio 1:1) in 30 min. These advantages are highly favorable for the application of efficient adsorbents for wastewater treatment and resource recovery. Nanyang Technological University This paper was supported by funding from NEWRI (04-OI-S-00140-N025 OOE01).

The present work studied the levels, distribution, potential sources, ecological and human health risks of typical hormones and phenolic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in the mariculture areas of the Pearl River Delta (PRD), China. The environmental levels of 11 hormones (6 estrogens, 4 progestogens, and 1 androgen) and 2 phenolic EDCs were quantified in various matrices including water, sediment, cultured fish and shellfish. Ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry analyses showed that all the 13 target compounds were detected in biotic samples, whereas 10 were detected in water and sediment, respectively. The total concentrations ranged from 35.06–364.53 ng/L in water and 6.31–29.30 ng/g in sediment, respectively. The average contaminant levels in shellfish (Ostrea gigas, Mytilus edulis and Mimachlamys nobilis) were significantly higher than those in fish (Culter alburnus, Ephippus orbis and Ephippus orbis). Source apportionment revealed that the pollution of hormones and phenolic EDCs in PRD mariculture areas was resulted from the combination of coastal anthropogenic discharges and mariculture activities. The hazard quotient values of the contaminants were all less than 1, implying no immediate human health risk. Overall, the present study is of great significance for scientific mariculture management, land-based pollution control, ecosystem protection, and safeguarding human health.

The core elements of THE NSGA-II algorithm are genetic search and non-dominant sorting based on elite retention strategy It belongs to passive search and lacks an active search mechanism. In some cases, it will affect the efficiency of the algorithm in searching for the optimal Pareto front. According to the distribution characteristics of each generation of population samples, this paper calculates the non-dominated direction of the Pareto front from the solution set with Pareto ranks 1 and 2 in the population of that generation, and actively searches for a step toward the non-dominated direction from each sample of the Pareto front to find the better Non-dominant may solve and participate in the next generation of subgroup reconstruction. In the experimental verification, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through classic calculation examples and multi-objective optimization problems after power grid black start.

C66H34N4O12F12Er2, triclinic, P1̄ (no. 2), a = 11.8934(5) Å, b = 12.0041(4) Å, c = 12.4578(5) Å, α = 68.718(4)°, β = 64.205(4)°, γ = 87.053(3)°, V = 1480.09(12) Å3, Z = 1, R gt(F) = 0.0326, wR ref(F 2) = 0.0626, T = 293(2) K.

This study investigated the occurrence, distribution, and potential sources of 34 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in water, sediments, aquatic organisms (fish and shellfish), and fish feeds from the mariculture areas of the Pearl River Delta (PRD). The health risk presented by this class of compounds was also assessed in relation to their intake via seafood consumption. Of the 34 PPCPs, a total of 9, 21, 14, and 28 PPCPs were detected in water, sediments, fish feeds, and aquatic organisms, respectively. Trimethoprim, norfloxacin, ofloxacin, and spectinomycin were detected in all matrices. The levels of PPCPs in water and sediment samples were relatively low. Spectinomycin, paracetamol, ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, and ibuprofen were the most frequently detected PPCPs in feeds. Ibuprofen and ketoprofen were widely detected in aquatic organisms, with average concentrations of 562 and 267 ng/g wet weight, respectively. The residual levels of PPCPs in shellfish such as ME (mussel, Mytilus edulis) and OS (oyster, Ostrea gigas) were significantly higher (p

The 8th International Conference on Geochemistry in the Topics & Sub-tropics (GeoTrop 2017): Ecotoxicology of persistent toxic substances in food production was held during 9–12 December 2017 at the Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School in Shenzhen, China. The conference was organized due to the urgent needs to investigate the persistent evidence, environmental behavior and ecotoxicological effects of toxic substances of the food production systems which became a certain issue due to the rapid development of agricultural/aquacultural industries and growing concerns for public food safety. In Southeast Asia and especially South China (including Hong Kong), frequent occurrence of persistent toxic substances (PTSs) and their implication to health risks in humans have been reported in river/marine water and sediments (e.g. freshwater fish ponds and marine fish cages), farm soils (e.g. paddy soils), and garden soils (e.g. horticulture) and adjacent ecosystems (Lam et al. 2016; Liang et al. 2011; Tao et al. 2016; Xiong et al. 2016). The contamination levels of PTSs in these environmental media are crucial to the quality of fishery, aquatic and agricultural products, posing direct influences on food security. Therefore, there has been a special emphasis on environmental and health impacts of PTSs on food production systems in this region. The GeoTrop 2017 was co-organized by Peking -University Shenzhen Graduate School (China), Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China), Zhejiang A&F University (China), Jinan University (China), The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Baptist University and Korea University. The 1st Conference of this series was held in Kingston, Jamaica, 1994. The 2nd and the 3rd Conferences were held in Kula Lumpur, Malaysia and in Hong Kong, 1997 and 1999, with the 4th Conference in Townsville, Australia, 2001. The 5th and 6th Conferences were hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Haikou and Xiamen (China), 2004 and 2010, respectively. The 7th Conference was held in Bangkok, Thailand, 2012. Herein, the GeoTrop 2017 was co-chaired by Professor Huchun Tao from Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Professor Yong Sik Ok from Korea University, Professor Cehui Mo from Jinan University, and Professor Shengchun Wu from Zhejiang A&F University. The honorary chairman Professor Ming-Hung Wong was from The Education University of Hong Kong.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a high-value chemical which has been widely used in the semiconductor industry. There is currently a lot of work focusing on the removal of low concentration of PFOA due to its potential toxicity, whereas the recovery of high concentration of PFOA from semiconductor wastewater via adsorption could be more valuable. This work reported a novel pH-stimulated poly (dimethyl amino) ethyl methacrylate (PDMAEMA) microgel for selective PFOA recovery. The results showed that the calculated maximum adsorption capacity for PFOA on PDMAEMA microgel is as high as 2632 mg g−1 in the presence of 5% (v/v) isopropyl alcohol (IPA). Electrostatic interaction was considered as the main adsorption mechanism combined with hydrophobic interactions. The strong interactions made the adsorption highly selective; therefore, the components in the water matrix, including acids, metal ions, and organic solvents, would not affect the adsorption performance. Meanwhile, due to the pH responsiveness of PDMAEMA microgels, PFOA could be released easily when the solution pH was adjusted to higher values. Finally, the application mode was investigated by incorporating PDMAEMA microgels into a dense membrane, in which the separation of the microgels in a water system could be effectively achieved.

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Background: Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread around the world; therefore, more attention should be paid to the clinical features of COVID-19, with the aim of improving the diagnosis and treatment of patients. Methods: By 15 February 2020, 60 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 had been admitted to Nanjing Second Hospital. We analyzed the clinical features of different age segments infected with COVID-19 prospectively, including epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics; treatment, clinical outcomes, and prognosis of this cohort of patients. Results: The cohort comprised 29 male and 31 female patients (median age = 46.18 years old (range: 18–97). Fifty-five (91.7%) patients had a clear epidemiological contact history. The average incubation period was 7.92 days. The most common clinical manifestations were fever (85%) and cough (75%). Peripheral white blood cell counts were mostly normal at admission, 7 days, and 14 days, with no differences among patients of different ages. The lymphocyte counts of all patients were in the normal range on admission, and after 7 days and 14 days of treatment; however, the lymphocyte count in > 65-year-old patients was less than that in the < 40 and 40–65-year-old groups after 7 and 14 days of treatment (P < 0.05, respectively). At admission, the CD4 T lymphocyte count was within the normal range; however, the CD4 T lymphocyte count in >65-year-old group was less than that in the < 40 and 40–65-years-old groups after 14 days of treatment. The CD4 T lymphocyte counts were 723.46 ± 243.82/ml (< 40), 640.00 ± 242.30/ml (40–65), and 399.88 ± 256.16/ml (> 65) (P =0.0075). The > 65-years-old group had higher levels of lactate dehydrogenase (269.83 ± 73.36 vs. 208.52 ± 35.67 and 243.83 ± 76.66) after 14 days (P = 0.0496). Imaging revealed more lesions in the 40–65 and > 65-year-old groups (P < 0.0001). The days after the nucleic acid detection turned negative in the three age groups were: 9.19 ± 3.93 (< 40), 10.04 ± 4.10 (40–65), and 13.57 ± 2.76 (> 65) (P = 0.0373). After antiviral treatment, together with anti-infection regimen if the patient with lung infection and continuous oxygen inhalation if the patient is hypoxic, all patients achieved total recovery and were discharged with follow-up. Conclusion: Patients with COVID-19 pneumonia generally had an epidemiological history. Older patients showed more extensive lesions upon admission, more severe illness, slower recovery of immune function, the longer viral nucleic acid persistence.

Additional file 1 : Figure S1. The promoter sequence of OsNADK1 and its cis-element analysis. The cis-elements were scanned and identified by the PlantCARE programme (http://bioinformatics.psb.ugent.be/webtools/plantcare/html/) with the 2000-bp upstream nucleotide sequence of the OsNADK1 CDS (coding sequence).

In a cyber-physical system, the control component plays an essential role to make the cyber and physical components work harmoniously together. When information collected from the physical space contains private or sensitive data that cannot be passed onto the cyber space, properly controlling the cyber-physical system becomes a very challenging task. For instance, the smart grid systems, a replacement for the traditional power grid systems, have been widely used in the industries. To prevent power shortage, threshold-based power usage control (PUC) in a smart grid considers a situation where the utility company sets a threshold to control the total power usage or supply of a neighborhood. If the total power usage exceeds the threshold, either certain households need to reduce their power consumption or the utility company needs to buy additional power supplies to meet the increasing demand. In these scenarios, the utility company needs to frequently collect power usage data from smart meters. It has been well documented that these power usage data can reveal a person's daily activity and violate personal privacy. To mitigate the privacy concerns, the goal of this paper is to develop efficient and privacy-preserving power usage control protocols that allow a utility company to balance supply and demand in a smart grid without violating personal privacy of its customers. We will provide extensive empirical study to show the practicality of our proposed protocols.

Mealworms from three different regions: Guangzhou, Tai'an and Shenzhen, were fed with three commonly used microplastics of polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) for 1 month under favorable conditions, respectively. The survival rate and average weight of mealworms, the mass loss of microplastics and the production of frass were recorded every 4 days. Samples collected were characterized by X-ray diffraction, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analyzer and gel permeation chromatography. The results showed that mealworms from Tai'an and Shenzhen could effectively metabolize the whole microplastics tested, while those from Guangzhou could only metabolize PS and LDPE. Besides, LDPE could be degraded by mealworms from Tai'an and Shenzhen, while those from Guangzhou showed no such capability, indicating that mealworms from different regions present different metabolism effects. Furthermore, PS and LDPE are more likely to be metabolized compared with PVC.

A bioelectrochemical sensor (BES) was constructed for toxicity assessment of copper in contaminated domestic sewage. Electrochemically active bacteria (EAB), whose growth was supported by the bioenergy generated from an in situ metallurgical process, functioned as the sensing elements. The external resistance of metallurgical BES was optimized based on linear sweep voltammetry analysis. The stabilized BES was utilized to monitor the copper toxicity in real wastewater. During the less than 1-h sensing period, copper concentration ranging from 1 to 5 mg L−1 could be detected. A power output of around 100 Wh (kg Cu)−1 and metallic copper resource were obtained simultaneously. This study demonstrated that the highly active EAB species enriched in metallurgical BES could be a promising candidate for rapid and reliable evaluation of copper toxicity in real domestic wastewater.

Disposal of nitrogen nutrient and excess sludge is a keen concern in wastewater treatment plants. This study describes a simple method of preparing an economical adsorbent, i.e., magnetic excess sludge (MES) by compounding the excess sludge with Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Ammonia–nitrogen removal from simulated wastewater was investigated by using the MES as an adsorbent. The MES had an adsorption efficiency of up to 90% for ammonium removal. Highly efficient separation of adsorbed ammonium on the MES could be magnetically separated from wastewater within 30 s. The operating conditions for ammonium adsorption were optimized at MES dose of 20 g/L, initial ammonium concentration of 45 mg/L and operating temperature of 298–308 K. The equilibrium data of ammonium adsorption on the MES showed a good agreement with the Langmuir isotherm, while the kinetic data were best fitted by the pseudo-second-order model. FTIR analysis indicated that various functional groups, such as hydroxyl and carboxyl groups, existed on the surface of the MES and contributed to the excellent capability for ammonium adsorption. These results suggest that the MES is a promising candidate for removing ammonium from wastewater and recycling excess sludge to ease its disposal at low cost.

C48H30N4O12F12Cu3, monoclinic, P21/n (no. 14), a = 12.9112(5) Å, b = 28.1127(6) Å, c = 14.2324(5) Å, β = 110.665(4)°, V = 4833.5(3) Å3, Z = 4, R gt(F) = 0.0489, wR ref(F 2) = 0.1108, T = 173(10) K.

The channel of a disaster prevention (hereinafter referred to as DP) system for traditional villages are roads and alleys (hereinafter referred to as RA) whose accessibility decides DP efficiency and route. This paper aims to illustrate how potential the RA of Fenglin Ancient Village (hereinafter referred to as FAV) are as DP channel and define insecure area by looking into accessibility layout which is produced by analysis on 2 indexes of space syntax (integration and choice). The result shows that the RA of FAV enjoy a high value of integration (1.059), with the middle area being most prominent. The average choice value is 1161.57, which reveals their low potential as passage. In accordance with the research result, the DP route map is planned, and strategy optimization is put forward.

A straw cellulose-cerium oxide (SC-CeO2) nanocompsite has been synthesized through a hydrothermal method. Before this, the SC is oxidized and functionalized by a 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical (TEMPO)-mediated oxidation. The as-obtained SC displays carbon nanotube-like nanocellulose. When composited with CeO2, the nanocellulose grows on the surface of CeO2. The synergistic effect between SC and CeO2 results in an efficient separation of photogenerated carriers in the SC and CeO2 coupling system. It is confirmed in this work that the SC-CeO2 nanocomposite has good visible light-induced photocatalytic activity on reduction of aqueous Cr(VI) under acid condition (pH 4–6). More than 95% Cr(VI) (3–5 ppm) can be reduced under visible light irradiation for 60 min. Photocatalyst dosage and Cr(VI) concentration affect the conversion rate greatly.

A series of N-(furan-2-ylmethyl)-1H-indole-3-carboxamide derivatives(6a—6p) was designed and synthesized for developing novel indole scaffolds as anticancer agents targeting the epidemal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and the cytotoxic activities of the target compounds were evaluated against three EGFR high-expressed cancer cell lines[human lung adenocarcinoma cell line(A549), Henrietta Lacks strain of cancer cell line(HeLa) and human colorectal cancer cell line(SW480)], one EGFR low-expressed cell line(human liver cancer cell line, HepG2) and one human liver normal cell line(HL7702) using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Some target compounds exhibited potent anticancer activities against A549, HeLa, SW480 and weak activities on HepG2, which signifies that the target compounds are likely to be EGFR inhibitors as expected. And they showed weak cytotoxic effects on HL7702, which implies the target compounds are probably to be of low toxicity against normal cells. Among them, the target compound 1-ethyl-N-(furan-2-ylmethyl)-5-{2-{[2-(2-methoxyphenoxy)ethyl]amino}-2-oxoethoxy}-2-methyl-1H-indole-3-carboxamide(6p) with 2-{[2-(2-methoxyphenoxy)ethyl]-amino}-2-oxoethoxy group at the C5 position of the N-(furan-2-ylmethyl)-1H-indole-3-carboxamide scaffold exhibited the most potent anticancer activity. Also the binding interaction of the target compound 6p with EGFR was explored by molecular docking. Conclusively, the novel indole scaffold may be beneficial to investigate new anticancer agents for targeting the EGFR.

A TEMPO-oxidized straw cellulose-doped yttrium oxide (Y 2 O 3 -SC) was obtained via a hydrothermal method in the present work. The Y 2 O 3 -based materials were fully characterized. Plate count method was used to investigate the antibacterial activity of the Y 2 O 3 -SC composite. Antibacterial tests showed that Y 2 O 3 and its nanocomposites exhibited good antibacterial activities toward both Gram-negative Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ). Besides, visible light irradiation could improve antibacterial activity of the Y 2 O 3 -SC. Antibacterial mechanism was also presented based on the results of scavengers experiment. Considering the excellent antibacterial activity of Y 2 O 3 -SC, the silver nanoparticle free nanocomposite is a promising candidate for cleaning the microbial contamination.

Omega-3 fatty acids have proven to be very essential for human health due to their multiple health benefits. These essential fatty acids (EFAs) need to be uptaken through diet because they are unable to be produced by the human body. These are important for skin and hair growth as well as for proper visual, neural, and reproductive functions of the body. These fatty acids are proven to be extremely vital for normal tissue development during pregnancy and infancy. Omega-3 fatty acids can be obtained mainly from two dietary sources: marine and plant oils. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; C20:5 n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; C22:6 n-3) are the primary marine-derived omega-3 fatty acids. Marine fishes are high in omega-3 fatty acids, yet high consumption of those fishes will cause a shortage of fish stocks existing naturally in the oceans. An alternative source to achieve the recommended daily intake of EFAs is the demand of today. In this review article, an attempt has, therefore, been made to discuss the importance of omega-3 fatty acids and the recent developments in order to produce these fatty acids by the genetic modifications of the plants.

Detailed intervention content of the web-based lifestyle intervention program. (PDF 823 kb)

In this study, bacterial mercury (Hg) methylation was investigated under the influence of red-tide algae of Skeletonema costatum (S. costatum). The distribution and speciation of total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) were profiled by employing Geobacter metallireducens (G. metallireducens GS-15) as the methylating bacteria. G. metallireducens GS-15 showed different capabilities in methylating different inorganic forms of Hg(II) (HgCl2) and Hg(II)-Algae (HgCl2 captured by S. costatum) to MeHg. In the absence of S. costatum, a maximum methylation efficiency of 4.31 ± 0.47% was achieved with Hg(II) of 1–100 μg L−1, while accelerated MeHg formation rate was detected at a higher initial Hg(II) concentration. In the presence of S. costatum, there were distinct changes in the distribution of THg and MeHg by altering the bioavailability of Hg(II) and Hg(II)-Algae. A larger proportion of THg tended to be retained by a higher algal biomass, resulting in decreased methylation efficiencies. The methylation efficiency of Hg(II) decreased from 3.01 ± 0.10% to 1.01 ± 0.01% with 10-mL and 250-mL algal media, and that of Hg(II)-Algae decreased from 0.83 ± 0.13% to 0.22 ± 0.01% with 10-mL and 250-mL Hg(II)-Algae media. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, surface charge properties and elemental compositions of S. costatum were used to infer that amine, carboxyl and sulfonate functional groups were most likely to interact with Hg(II) through complexation and/or electrostatic attraction. These results suggest that red-tide algae may be an influencing factor on bacterial Hg methylation in eutrophic water bodies.

Acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL)-based quorum sensing (QS) in the anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox) consortia has attracted increasing attention. However, AHL synthase in anammox bacteria and the relationship between AHL synthetic genes and anammox activity are still not clear because anammox bacteria have not been isolated from the consortia. Two novel synthases of AHLs (JqsI-1 and JqsI-2), which are HdtS-type rather than the widely studied LuxI-type, were identified in anammox bacteria Candidatus Jettenia caeni and synthesized four AHLs. There was a correlation between AHL concentration, in situ transcriptional expression of the AHL synthase genes (jqsI-1 and jqsI-2) and genetic marker of anammox activity (hydrazine synthase gene, hzsA). And AHL add-back studies demonstrated that AHL influence the expression of hzsA to regulate anammox bacterial activity. This study provides insight into the QS communication pathway of anammox bacteria for wastewater treatment.

Ideonella sp. TH17, an autotrophic hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium (HOB), was successfully enriched and isolated from activated sludge in a domestic wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Batch experiments were conducted to identify the cell growth and ammonium (NH4+-N) removal, and to verify the pathways of nitrogen utilization under different conditions. At a representative NH4+-N concentration of 100 mg/L in domestic wastewater, it was the first time that a HOB strain achieved a nearly 100% ammonium removal. More than 90% of NH4+-N was assimilated to biomass nitrogen by strain TH17. Only a little of N2 (

Sewage sludge and bagasse were used as raw materials to produce cheap and efficient adsorbent with great adsorption capacity of Pb(2+). By pyrolysis at 800 °C for 0.5 h, the largest surface area (806.57 m(2)/g) of the adsorbent was obtained, enriched with organic functional groups. The optimal conditions for production of the adsorbent and adsorption of Pb(2+) were investigated. The results of adsorb-ability fitted the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order model well. The highest Pb(2+) (at pH = 4.0) adsorption capacity was achieved by treating with 60% (v/v) HNO3. This is a promising approach for metal removal from wastewater, as well as recycling sewage sludge and bagasse to ease their disposal pressure.

C34H24Cu2F8N4O8, monoclinic, P21/n (no. 14), a =13.074(3) Å, b = 20.229(4) Å, c = 14.419(3) Å, β = 108.889(2)°, V = 3608.2(12) Å3, Z = 4, R gt(F) = 0.0512, wR ref(F 2) = 0.1465, T = 296(2) K.

Energy crisis and water pollution are issues of considerable concerns today. In seeking a balance between protection of environment and conservation of energy, the bioelectrochemical system (BES) has been developed. The BES is a cutting-edge technology for generating bioelectricity from biomass by using bacteria. It is represented by an advanced oxidation process of bioelectro-Fenton (BEF) with interdisciplinary concepts between biology, biophysics, and biochemistry. As reviewed herein, the BEF technology offers an opportunity to solve multiple environment and energy problems. Firstly, the cathodic regeneration of Fe2+ and in situ production of hydrogen peroxide makes it a low-cost and energy-saving process. Secondly, it derives an additional merit of sustainable power generation and valuable substance production. And more importantly, it has been increasingly applied to treat various complicated pollutants including dyes, emerging contaminants of personal care products and endocrine-disrupting compounds, as well as many other wastes from real wastewater and landfill leachate. Despite having considerable advantages, most of BEF experiments were conducted in the laboratory; the development and optimization of a scaling-up and performance-efficient system are needed to be investigated and reported for practical application. A comprehensive control of individual unit for the high performance of whole system and the development of advanced materials for complete mineralization will enable this bioelectrochemical technology a competitive tool in environmental remediation and energy engineering.