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Molten salt hydrate (MSH) is unique in cellulose dissolution and in one-pot conversion of crystalline cellulose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF). However, low yield of 5-HMF was obtained using raw biomass substrate in MSHs. Herein, we investigated conversion of raw biomass towards HMF using MSHs. We showed that the release of acetic acid from hemicellulose degradation in MSH is a key to influence the yield of 5-HMF. Thus, an autohydrolysis pretreatment method was proposed to remove hemicellulose before conversion of cellulose into 5-HMF. After being pretreated at 180 °C for 40 min, hemicellulose was removed from biomass with 91.8% yield of cellulose remained in solid part. By eliminating the negative effect of acetic acid, 5-HMF yield was significantly improved from 40.9% to 64.6%, together with 9.3% yield of glucose for cellulose conversion in MSH/acetone at 180 °C for 20 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Anammox bacteria were in situ highly enriched to 2.22% under the mainstream. • Anammox loss was decreased when SS exist, while denitrification was increased. • Metagenomic sequencing revealed SS weakened NO→N 2 but enhanced NO 3 −→NO. • Migration mechanism of anammox in biofilm alleviated the adverse effect of SS. • Novel real-time pH strategy on controlling PD/A process was firstly proposed. The basic premise of anammox-technical application reliability in municipal wastewater treatment is substantially enriched anammox bacteria. To enrich the anammox, the special interaction mechanism between the suspended sludge (SS) and anoxic biofilm was investigated over three months in a partial denitrification/anammox biosystem subjected to dynamic changes in SS (absence→ presence→ absence). Results show that the introduction of SS significantly decreased the anammox nitrogen removal efficiency (83.8 ± 6.5%→ 48.7 ± 17.0%). With the presence or absence of SS, the spatial distribution of anammox bacteria within the anoxic biofilm gradually changed between the inner and outer layers, as detected by CLSM-FISH. qPCR and metagenomic sequencing show that changes in the presence and absence status of SS significantly reduced the abundance of the NO reducing functional gene, while the NO supply capacity (NO 3 −→NO) was improved, further favoring the anammox process. Batch tests and typical cycles further demonstrated that the anammox bacteria can stably acquire NO 2 −, and anammox bacteria in the anoxic biofilm competed far more NO 2 − than denitrifying bacteria according to the typical pH curve. Accordingly, the abundance of Candidatus Brocadia, as detected by high throughput sequencing, decreased in the anoxic biofilms with the introduction of SS, but greatly increased (0.82%→2.22%) after SS discharge. This study sheds new light on the high in-situ enrichment of anammox in mainstream. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Anammox contribution to nitrogen removal was robustly maintained at 91.3 ± 6.6 %. • Compared with stable NO 3 – → NO 2 –, NO 2 – → N 2 was sensitive to temperature reduction. • Anammox abundance was increased (0.56% to 1.22%) despite of decreased temperature. • NO 2 – accumulation at lower temperature was unexpectedly helpful to enrich anammox. Effluent quality deterioration caused by seasonal temperature reductions in wastewater treatment systems using partial anammox technology is a challenge that cannot be ignored. Here, relationships of denitrification and anammox under decreasing temperature were investigated in an anoxic moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR). Compared with stable partial-denitrification (NO 3 – → NO 2 –), the NO 2 – reduction to N 2 was considerably inhibited when the temperature decreased, conversely helping to the competition of NO 2 – for anammox. Namely, this transformation provided sufficient substrates for anammox bacteria. Although the TIN removal decreased slightly, anammox contribution was robustly maintained at 91.3 ± 6.6 %, even increased. High-throughput sequencing results revealed that anammox bacteria were enriched (0.56 % to 1.22 %). Moreover, qPCR results showed that increased ratio of hzsB /(nirK + nirS) further supported anammox gained an enhancement. This study demonstrated partial-denitrification/anammox process using anoxic MBBR could maintain stable autotrophic nitrogen removal contribution when encountering temperature decrease, providing a new perspective on the application of mainstream anammox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid growth of data and the requirement of designers to track massive data to obtain design stimuli have posed challenges to conceptual design, thereby promoting the development of data-driven design. Concept networks precisely capture design information from a large volume of unstructured and heterogeneous textual data and saliently decrease time and labor cost for designers to read texts, which creates new opportunities for developing a smart product design system. To advance data-driven design, this study proposes the novel function-structure concept network (FSCN) construction method, which combines sentence parsing and word/phrase extraction to integrate functional and structural information. Furthermore, a network analysis method is proposed to explore design information associations that contain both explicit and implicit associations together and thereby recommend them simultaneously to designers as inspirational stimuli to support design ideation. This approach can enhance designers' capabilities to build associations between design information, conceive new design ideas during conceptual design, and increase creativity for solving design problems. The proposed FSCN construction and analysis method can be used as an auxiliary tool to visualize associations among design information so as to inspire idea generation in the early stage of conceptual design. An illustrative example was used to validate the practicability of the proposed methodology. The code of the proposed method is available at https://github.com/KWflyer/FSCN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the hepatoprotective activity of naringin loaded solid nanoparticles (NRG-SLNs) and compared with free naringin (FNRG) against aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) induced hepatocellular carcinoma. The liver's self-healing ability was studied using a self-recovery group that received no therapy. Following AFB1 therapy, rats were given NRG-SLNs produced using the ion-gelation technique. Histology, serum injury indicators, oxidative stress biomarkers, a pro-inflammatory response biomarker, and tumor indicators were used to evaluate the liver tumor and its responsiveness to therapy. At a dosage of 6.18 mg/kg BW, NRG-SLNs (128 ± 4 nm) provided substantially greater hepatoprotection than free NRG. The actions of NRG-SLNs were equivalent to those of silymarin (SILY), which was given at a dosage of 20 mg/kg BW. The lack of regeneration potential of liver tissue after the damage was verified by the self-recovery group. NRG's efficiency in treating hepatic cancer was increased by using SLN's approach. The increased impact is most likely due to: a) enhanced oral bioavailability, b) the regulated and sustained action of enclosed NRG, and c) a decrease in discomfort and toxicity if any after orally administered. NRG-SLNs may be considered as a therapeutic option for hepatic ailments as effectiveness post-induction of liver carcinoma, is demonstrated presently. • Aflatoxins are very poisonous secondary metabolites generated by several fungus species. • NRG has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties both in vitro and in vivo. • NRG packed into solid lipid nanoparticles for increasing a bioavailability. • NRG-SLNs produced using the ion-gelation technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Anammox coupled with partial denitrification enhanced to nitrogen removal above 55%. • Ultra-high abundance of Ca. Brocadia (5.5, 6.5%, 5.8%) in connected anoxic biofilms. • Ca. Brocadia sapporoensis is acetate-resistant, explaining its high enrichment in biofilms. • Anammox activity increased with decreasing denitrifying activity along anoxic zones. For municipal wastewater treatment via partial-denitrification/anammox (PD/A) in the anoxic zone, the primary challenge is effective enrichment of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria with a stable autotrophic nitrogen removal performance. This long-term study investigated a pure-biofilm anoxic/oxic reactor using real municipal wastewater with an ammonia concentration of 49.1 ± 3.6 mg N/L, achieving a total inorganic nitrogen concentration of 11.2 ± 3.5 mg N/L in the effluent, resulting in a removal efficiency of 77.4 ± 7.2%. Driven by partial denitrification, the anammox contribution to total nitrogen removal represented an ultra-high level over 55%, and was considerable in the first anoxic zone. Candidatus Brocadia, the only anammox genus detected by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, reached robust abundances of 5.46, 6.49 and 5.79% in the three sequentially connected anoxic zones. Metagenomic sequencing further identified that the main species was Ca. Brocadia sapporoensis, which is inhibited by nitrite but not by acetate, supporting its high-level enrichment under acetate conditions in the anoxic zone. Batch tests indicate that heterotrophic denitrification activity decreased while anammox activity increased along the anoxic zones, and that excessive heterotrophic denitrifying activity was not conducive to increasing the anammox contribution. This study achieved robust anammox bacterial abundance using a pure-biofilm system, shedding fresh light on the application of mainstream anammox in municipal wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we explored the effects of cold ischemia on chronic steatosis and lipid signaling in vivo. Sprague Dawley (SD) rat models of chronic steatosis were established. Pathological observations and liver indices were assessed through hematoxylin-eosin (HE)- and Oil Red O staining. Autophagy and metabolism in adipose tissue were analyzed under post-ischemia and hypoxic conditions via western blotting and immunofluorescent analysis. We found that cold ischemia treatment exacerbated hepatic steatosis and reduced lipid phagocytosis. This manifested as a loss of Microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3 (LC3) and Perilipin 2 (PLIN2), and lower levels of autophagy. Cold ischemia also inhibited lipophagy in transplanted rat livers, most notably in moderate-to-severe steatosis models. Ischemia and hypoxia inhibited lipid phagocytosis and increased lipid accumulation. Collectively, these data show that chronic steatosis aggravates cold storage induced acute ischemic injury in rat donor livers through the inhibition of lipophagy. Moderate-to-severe steatosis therefore influences the postoperative recovery of liver transplant recipients, which should be immediately transplanted to reduce the risk of cold ischemia. • A lack of suitable donors is a problem for patients requiring liver transplantation. • Here, we investigated the effects of cold ischemia on lipid signalling. • Sprague Dawley (SD) rat models of chronic steatosis were established. • Cold ischemia was found to exacerbate hepatic steatosis. • Immediate transplant of steatosis livers is crucial to reduce the risk of cold ischemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Fast start-up of mainstream PD/A without inoculation in A2/O process in 60 days. • Rapid in situ enrichment of AnAOB (2.49%) on the virgin carriers in anoxic zone. • NRE improved 16.9% with a stable effluent TIN of 11.6 mg/L under low COD/N ratio. • Anammox contributed to nitrogen loss of 37.9 ± 6.2% treating actual municipal sewage. • Anoxic biofilm performed a better coordination between denitrifiers and AnAOB. It is of great significance to start up the anammox process in the most commonly used anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (A2/O) process in treating mainstream municipal wastewater. Recently, partial-denitrification/anammox (PD/A) has attracted increasing interest as a new avenue in mainstream. This study investigated the in situ start-up of PD/A process in a traditional A2/O process. The PD/A system was rapidly started up within 60 days by adding virgin carriers into the anoxic zone and then run stably for the next 90 days. The in situ anammox activity reached 1.0 ± 0.1 mg NH 4 +-N/L/h contributing 37.9 ± 6.2% of total nitrogen removal. As a result, the nitrogen removal efficiency of the system increased by 16.9%. The anammox bacteria (AnAOB) on the anoxic biofilms were enriched with a doubling time of 14.53d, and the relative abundance reached 2.49% on day 150. Phylogenetic analysis showed the dominant AnAOB was related to Ca. Brocadia sp. 40, which was the only detected anammox genus in the anoxic biofilm from start-up to stable operation. Batch tests and qPCR results revealed that compared with the floc sludge, the anoxic biofilms exhibited NO 2 − accumulation driven by PD and performed a better coordination between denitrifiers and AnAOB. Overall, this study provides great confidence for the in situ fast start-up of mainstream anammox using conventional activated sludge. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endometriosis (EMs) is characterized by inflammatory lesions, dysmenorrhea, infertility, and chronic pelvic pain. Single-target medications often fail to provide systemic therapeutic results owing to the complex mechanism underlying endometriosis. Although traditional Chinese medicines—such as Juan-Tong-Yin (JTY)—have shown promising results, their mechanisms of action remain largely unknown. To elucidate the therapeutic mechanism of JTY in EMs, focusing on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-induced autophagy. The major components of JTY were detected using high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS). The potential mechanism of JTY in EMs treatment was predicted using network pharmacological analysis. Finally, the pathogenesis of EMs was validated in a clinical case-control study and the molecular mechanism of JTY was validated in vitro using endometrial stromal cells (ESCs). In total, 241 compounds were analyzed and identified from JTY using UPLC–MS. Network pharmacology revealed 288 targets between the JTY components and EMs. Results of the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) analyses indicated that regulating autophagy, migration, apoptosis, and inflammation were the key mechanisms of JTY in treating EMs. Meanwhile, we found that protein kinase R-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK), Beclin-1, and microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 B (LC3B) expressions were lower in endometria of patients with EMs than in those with normal eutopic endometria (p < 0.05). Additionally, during in vitro experiments, treatment with 20% JTY-containing serum significantly suppressed ESC proliferation, achieving optimal effects after 48 h. Electron microscopy revealed significantly increased autophagy flux in the JTY group compared with the control group. Moreover, JTY treatment significantly reduced the migratory and invasive abilities of ESCs and upregulated protein expression of PERK, eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α)/phospho-eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (p-eIF2α), activating Transcription Factor-4 (ATF4), Beclin-1, and LC3BII/I, while subsequently downregulating NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 (NLRP3) and interleukin 18 (IL-18) expression. However, administration of GSK2656157—a highly selective PERK inhibitor—reversed these changes. JTY ameliorates EMs by activating PERK associated with unfolded protein reaction, enhancing cell ER stress and autophagy, improving the inflammatory microenvironment, and decreasing the migration and invasion of ESCs. [Display omitted] • We examined the therapeutic mechanism of Juan-Tong-Yin in endometriosis. • Juan-Tong-Yin suppressed endometrial cell proliferation. • Juan-Tong-Yin increased autophagy in endometrial stromal cells. • Juan-Tong-Yin ameliorates endometriosis by activating the unfolded protein reaction triggered endoplasmic reticulum stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Cellulose can be selectively converted into 5-HMF in monophasic MSH solvent. • 44.5 % yield of 5-HMF together with 75.0 % of carbon balance were obtained. • The total B/L acid sites of AlSiO-20 is the key issue in affecting 5-HMF yield. • AlSiO-20 can be recycled for more than 5 times with stable performance. • 5-HMF can be separated from MSH via HCP adsorption. Production of 5-HMF from cellulose is a promising approach for advanced bio-fuels preparation, but the degradation of active 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) is a critical challenge affecting 5-HMF selectivity. To address this issue, biphasic reaction system consisting of water and organic solvent is generally used to in-situ extract 5-HMF into organic phase to inhibit product degradation. Despite the high 5-HMF selectivity achieved in biphasic system, low product concentration and difficulty in separation restrict its industrial applications. Molten salt hydrate (MSH) is unique in cellulose conversion and 5-HMF preservation. In this work, MSH of LiBr was used as monophasic solvent for cellulose conversion and an acidity tunable solid acid AlSiO-x was used as the catalyst. It was found that a relatively high 5-HMF yield of 44.5% together with carbon balance of 75.0% were obtained at 170 °C for 20 min, which is higher than the results ever reported. Importantly, this work proved that the ratio of total Brønsted to Lewis acid sites on solid acid is the key issue affected 5-HMF yield. After reaction, solid acid can be recycled for more than 5 times without catalytic performance decline, and the dissolved 5-HMF can be sufficiently separated from MSH via hyper cross-linked polymer (HCP) adsorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conventional fractionation of lignocellulose is generally carried out at high temperatures, high acid or alkali, or using organic solvents due to the rigid matrix of lignocellulose and crystallinity of cellulose, leading to the condensation of lignin and environmental pollution, and hindering the further value-added utilization of lignin. In this work, a rapid fractionation method was proposed, in which hemicellulose and cellulose (holocellulose) were first dissolved and partially hydrolyzed in acidified LiCl molten salt hydrates, followed by a filtration process to isolate the lignin solid with a purity of 88.3%. It was found that the dissolution of holocellulose required the addition of a small amount of acid to break the cellulose chain into short chains. Due to the small amount of acid added and the rapid dissolution, the obtained lignin has as high as 89.5% of β-O-4 bond content close to the theoretical value, suggesting that a promising native lignin structure was preserved. The isolated lignin can be selectively depolymerized into monophenol over Ru/C catalyst with a high yield of 24.2%. In addition, the dissolved holocellulose without containing lignin was selectively hydrolyzed into sugars in acidified LiCl molten salt hydrates, giving 63.1% of xylose, 43.9% of glucose, 29.5% of xylan oligomers, and 48.2% of glucan oligomers, respectively. [Display omitted] • LiCl molten salt hydrates required little acid to dissolve holocellulose. • LiCl-AMSH could quickly dissolve holocellulose and separate noncondensed lignin. • 88.3% purity of noncondensed lignin was fractionated. • 24.2% of monophenol (88.0% to theoretical) was obtained from noncondensed lignin. • 63.1% of xylose, 43.9% of glucose, 29.5% of xylan oligomers, and 48.2% of glucan oligomers were obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-yield noncondensed lignin and cellulose possessing high enzymatic digestibility can be obtained using p -toluenesulfonic acid in methanol under microwave irradiation. [Display omitted] • 87.9% of noncondensed lignin with ether bonds preserved was obtained. • 42.0% of monophenol (74.9% to theoretical) obtained from noncondensed lignin. • 94.3% of enzymatically digestible cellulose was isolated. • Microwave irradiation facilitated lignin-carbohydrate complex bonds cleavage. • The α-methoxylation by methanol inhibited condensation of extracted lignin. Production of noncondensed lignin via lignocellulose fractionation usually shows limited yield. Promoting reaction conditions benefits lignin production but has negative effect on structural condensation and thus inhibits its value-added applications in depolymerization. To address this issue, a unique fractionation method was proposed using p -TsOH (p -toluenesulfonic acid) in methanol under microwave irradiation to produce high-yield noncondensed lignin. It was found that microwave irradiation efficiently decreased the activation energy of lignin-carbohydrate complex (LCC) bonds cleavage from 102.1 to 63.8 kJ/mol and thereby facilitated lignin exfoliation from carbohydrates. And an effective α-alkoxylation reaction occurred between methanol molecular and C α -OH group in lignin, which protected β -O-4 linkages from condensation. After being fractionated under a relatively mild fractionation condition of 85 ℃ for 30 min, a promising lignin yield of 87.9 % can be obtained from poplar sawdust, with 91.8 % of ether bonds preserved. The obtained lignin can be selectively depolymerized into monophenols with a high yield of 42.0 %, which was 74.9 % to the theoretical yield. Besides, 94.3 % of cellulose was retained in solid part after fractionation, which can be efficiently converted into glucose with a yield of 98.5 % via enzymatic hydrolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective hydrolysis of crystalline cellulose to cello-oligosaccharides in molten salt hydrates (MSHs) is a promising method for valorization of lignocellulose. However, the by-products derived from cellulose hydrolysis can facilitate cello-oligosaccharide degradation and decrease its selectivity. To address this issue, lignin-based hyper cross-linked polymers (LHCPs) were prepared to in situ adsorb by-products during hydrolysis and thus prevent cello-oligosaccharides from degradation. The synthesized LHCP‐33%, with a high lignin content of 33%, showed a remarkable surface area of 708.7 m2 g−1 and good hydrophilicity, exhibiting a promising adsorption capacity of 340 mg g−1 towards 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF), which is supposed to be the major cellulose-derived by-product. We showed that 5-HMF adsorption was driven by the formation of CH-π bonds between 5-HMF and aromatic rings on LHCP. When LHCP‐33% was employed in cellulose hydrolysis, the yield of cello-oligosaccharide can be efficiently enhanced from 39.5% to 78.2%. This work offered a new application of lignin in enhanced cello-oligosaccharide production from cellulose. [Display omitted] • 78.2 % yield of cello-oligosaccharide can be selectively produced from crystalline cellulose saccharification via in situ adsorption of by-products on lignin-based hyper cross-linked polymer (LHCP). • The synthesized LHCP shows a high surface area and good hydrophilcity which is beneficial for by-products adsorption. • The adsorption of hydrolysis-derived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) on LHCP is driven by the formation of CH-π bonds rather than hydrogen bonds. • This approach provides a new alternative in utilization of lignin for high-valued cello-oligosaccharide production from cellulose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]