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Pyroptosis is closely related to inflammation. However, the molecular mechanisms and pathologic contributions of pyroptotic epithelial cell are not yet fully understood. This study aimed to explore the function and molecular mechanisms of IL-17A on human nasal epithelial cell (hNEC) pyroptosis. The expression of pyroptosis-related biomarkers and IL-17A was assessed in sinonasal mucosa from control individuals, patients with chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps, and patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) by using quantitative RT-PCR. Their localization was analyzed via immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. The ultrastructural characteristics of IL-17A–induced pyroptosis in hNECs were visualized by using electron microscopy. IL-17A functional assays were performed on hNECs and airway epithelial cell lines. Cytokine levels were quantified via ELISA. The signaling pathways involved in IL-17A–induced pyroptosis were studied via unbiased RNA sequencing and Western blotting. The expression of IL-17A and the pyroptotic biomarkers NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), caspase-1, gasdermin D, and IL-1β was increased in nasal mucosa from patients with CRSwNP compared with in those with chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps and the control subjects. IL-17A was positively correlated and colocalized with the pyroptotic biomarkers. IL-17A treatment induced pyroptosis in the hNECs and cell lines analyzed, primarily through the extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK)-NLRP3/caspase-1 signaling pathway, and increased IL-1β and IL-18 secretion in hNECs. Moreover, IL-17A–induced pyroptosis contributed to steroid resistance by affecting glucocorticoid receptor-α and glucocorticoid receptor-β expression, and the inhibition of pyroptotic proteins partially abolished IL-17A–induced steroid resistance in hNECs. Elevated IL-17A level promotes pyroptosis in hNECs through the ERK-NLRP3/caspase-1 signaling pathway and contributes to glucocorticoid resistance by affecting glucocorticoid receptor homeostasis in patients with CRSwNP. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A reliable method was developed for the analysis of four bisphenols in foodstuffs. • Plackett-Burman design and response surface methodology were used to determine the optimal conditions. • Dietary exposure assessment was performed combining the contamination monitoring data and daily food consumption. An effective method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of four bisphenols (bisphenol A, S, F and B) in various foodstuffs. The contaminants were extracted by QuEChERS-based strategy and subjected to ion-exchange solid-phase extraction for further clean-up. The critical variables were screened by Plackett-Burman design and then optimized by central composite design. Under the optimized conditions, satisfactory accuracy (recoveries 76%–116%) and precision (RSDs < 12%) were achieved. The established method was then used to assess the contamination status of 379 real samples. Bisphenol A was demonstrated to be the predominant bisphenol with highest incidence (79.7%) and average concentration (14.3 μg/kg). The positive rates (mean concentration) of bisphenol S, F and B were 37.7% (1.6 μg/kg), 26.9% (1.4 μg/kg) and 0.0% (not detected), respectively. Finally, the daily dietary intakes of ∑ 4 b i s p h e n o l s for adult residents were estimated (55.9–76.1 ng/kg bw/day) according to the contamination concentrations and the daily recommended intakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decision support models for satisfactory restaurants have attracted numerous researchers' attention. Many extant models do not consider the active, neutral and passive information in online reviews all at once. Moreover, they ignore the effect of interdependence among criteria on tourists' decision-making. To cover these defects, this study proposes a restaurant decision support model using social information for tourists on TripAdvisor.com . The model introduces fuzzy sets to denote online reviews and utilizes Bonferroni mean to consider interdependence among criteria. Furthermore, it uses a novel similarity measurement which can handle sparse data in fuzzy environments. To validate the model, we conduct a case study of TripAdvisor.com which compares the proposed model with four other models. The performance of each model is evaluated by the metric called the mean absolute error. The study shows that the proposed model can effectively support tourists' decision-making and it performs better than the other four models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, knowledge of internal human exposure to BPA and its analogues (particularly bisphenol S and bisphenol F, etc.) remains limited. In the present study, a method involving dispersive solid-phase extraction and LC/MS was proposed to investigate the contamination levels of 28 precursor bisphenols and 9 major metabolites in serum. The critical variables of preparation method were screened out by Plackett-Burman design and further optimized by central composite design. Left in optimal conditions, a total of 286 samples consisting of 153 males and 133 females were analyzed. The results showed that BPA dominated over all the cases with the highest positive rate (82.2% of all the surveyed people), and totally four metabolites (BPA β-D-glucuronide, BPA monosulfate, BPA bis-(β-D-glucuronide) and BPS monosulfate) were detectable. The occurrence of BPA bis-(β-D-glucuronide) in serum is reported for the first time and its higher positive rate and contamination concentrations suggested that it may be a more important metabolite of BPA than others. Negligible potential risk of health effects to blood donors was observed, since the estimated exposure levels (mean 32.1 ng/kg bw/day, 95th 123.2 ng/kg bw/day) were well below far less than the temporary tolerable reference dose of BPA that recommended by the European Food Safety Authority (4 μg/kg bw/day by). The reference level of BPA for healthy population was determined to be 4.09 μg/L via the percentile method. [Display omitted] • A new approach to direct analysis of bisphenols and metabolites in serum was proposed. • The results showed that BPA (82.2%) and totally four metabolites were detectable. • The predominant metabolite of BPA in serum should be BPA bis-(β-D-glucuronide). • No obvious health risks have been identified for healthy adults in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Fungal community displayed dynamic change during hyperthermophilic composting. • Fungal community experienced stochastic and deterministic assembly processes. • Heavy metals displayed essential effect on fungal community during composting. • Keystone fungi and potential drivers for humification were identified. • Some keystone taxa and drivers were thermophilic- and heavy metal-resistant fungi. The succession of fungal community and effects of heavy metals on fungi during industrial-scale hyperthermophilic composting of municipal sludge remain unclear. Results showed hyperthermophilic composting enhanced decomposition and humification of municipal sludge in the short terms, while heavy metal concentrations and speciation had no significant change with high copper and zinc levels (101–122 and 292–337 mg/kg, respectively) in compost samples. The fungal community and its ecological assembly displayed dynamic change during hyperthermophilic composting. Some thermophilic-resistant fungi, such as phylum Ascomycota and genera Candida , Aspergillus , Thermomyces and Petriella dominated in hyperthermophilic phase. Heavy metals served important effects on fungal community structure and functions during composting. Some fungal drivers (e.g., Thermomyces , Petriella and Schizophyllum) and keystone fungi (e.g., Candida and Pichia) might be thermophilic- and heavy metal-resistant fungi which played important roles in decomposition and humification of municipal sludge. This study reveals fungal community accelerating humification and its influencing factors during composting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flood indicators are generally used to understand floods from management perspective. The indicators are designed to recognize the flood intensities including their magnitude and clustering features. Peak flood discharge or peak flood level is usually used to describe the flood intensity. In this paper, we describe flood event by five elements including the peak discharge, the peak level, the maximum 24-h volume, the maximum 72-h volume and the total flood volume. To demonstrate the significance of using multiple indicators, we investigate the flood events in Wujiang River, South China, over 53 years as a case study. The analysis revealed significant increasing trends on the peak discharge and the maximum 24-h volume while the flood peak level, the total flood volume and the maximum 72-h volume had only weak increasing trends. That is, different indicators showed different ranks of flood intensity. Therefore, a single indicator cannot capture all vital aspects of a flood event. The fuzzy c-means algorithm (FCM) is then used to categorize flood events into similar groups within which the flood intensities exhibit high internal (within-cluster) homogeneity. The clustering results showed that heavy floods have increasingly occurred in the research river basin since the 1990s, and therefore the flood situation in Wujiang River needs more attention to guarantee the flood mitigation by strengthening flood protection facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new outranking approach for multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problems is developed in the context of a simplified neutrosophic environment, where the truth-membership degree, indeterminacy-membership degree and falsity-membership degree for each element are singleton subsets in [0,1]. Firstly, the novel operations of simplified neutrosophic sets (SNSs) and relational properties are developed. Then some outranking relations for simplified neutrosophic number (SNNs) are defined, based on ELECTRE, and the properties within the outranking relations are further discussed in detail. Additionally, based on the outranking relations of SNNs, a ranking approach is developed in order to solve MCDM problems. Finally, two practical examples are provided to illustrate the practicality and effectiveness of the proposed approach. Moreover, a comparison analysis based on the same example is also conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Hyperthermophilic composting enhanced the removal of toxic organic pollutants. • Hyperthermophilic composting reduced bacterial diversity and shifted its structure. • Extremophilic and heat-resisting Deinococcus-Thermus is predominant during composting. • Sludge composting enriched the bacterial functions related to xenobiotics degradation. • The PICRUSTs revealed the promotion of pollutant degradation by bacterial community. The dissipation of toxic organic pollutants during plant-scale hyperthermophilic composting and the influence of microbial community remain unclear. The results of plant-scale hyperthermophilic composting of municipal sludge with green waste showed that the residual concentrations of polyaromatic hydrocarbons, phthalates, polybrominated diphenyl ethers were <5 mg/kg and decreased over time, with the removal percentages from 12.1% to 51.2% during seven days of composting. High-throughput sequencing reveals that hyperthermophilic composting significantly reduced the diversity (e.g., observed species, chao1 and Shannon index) of bacterial community, shifting their structure and functions. The relative abundances of dominant phyla Proteobacteria and Firmicutes declined significantly, while those of extremophilic and heat-resisting phyla Deinococcus-Thermus and Chloroflexi increased dramatically. Some genera capable of degrading organic pollutants presented stably in sludge composts. Moreover, hyperthermophilic composting enriched the bacterial functions related to degradation and metabolism of cellulose and xenobiotics pollutants, which promoted the dissipation of organic pollutants and humification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Based on the research of small and medium-sized enterprises'' life cycle, plus the data and the information that acquired from cancelled small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Changsha, Zhengzhou, Chengdu five metropolises during 2000-2007 period, this paper evaluated and comparatively analyzed the relation between the life cycle of SMEs in the five metropolises and the external environment that SMEs sit in, revealed the relation and the internal mechanism of SMEs and their external environmental situation. Further more, the countermeasures how to prolong the life cycle of SMEs in our country is proposed from perspective both of government and corporation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • PAHs and PAEs showed higher dissipation percentages than PCDD/Fs and PCBs during sludge composting. • Organic pollutants like PAHs and PAEs were removed mainly through degradation or mineralization. • Recalcitrant PCDD/Fs and PCBs can be sequestrated in organic fraction of sludge compost. • ARG abundance in some cases increased after sludge composting. • Innovative and efficient composting is necessary to remove recalcitrant POPs and ARG. Sewage sludge contains various classes of organic pollutants, limiting its land application. Sludge composting can effectively remove some organic pollutants. This review summarizes recent researches on concentration changes and dissipation of different organic pollutants including persistent organic pollutants during sludge composting, and discusses their dissipation pathways and the current understanding on dissipation mechanism. Some organic pollutants like PAHs and phthalates were removed mainly through biodegradation or mineralization, and their dissipation percentages were higher than those of PCDD/Fs and PCBs. Nevertheless, some recalcitrant organic pollutants could be sequestrated in organic fractions of sludge mixtures, and their levels and ARG abundance even increased after sludge composting in some studies, posing potential risks for land application. This review demonstrated that microbial community and their corresponding degradation for organic pollutants were influenced by different pollutants, bulking agents, composting methods and processes. Further research perspectives on removing organic pollutants during sludge composting were highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterogeneity caused by seasonality could lead to the estimation error of the design flood level (DFL). This research intended to examine the existence of seasonality in the extreme water levels in a tidal reach and to quantify its impact on the DFL estimation. The mixed-distribution, a commonly used method for design value estimation with heterogeneous samples, was tested. A case study was carried out in the Pearl River Delta, South China. Results showed that a significant seasonality existed in the extreme water levels that were generated from the flood-tide interactions in the delta. If the DFL was estimated with a single distribution, the DFL with a return period smaller than 1.1 years would be underestimated and more information of the non-flood season would be lost. The mixed-distribution was superior in its consideration of seasonality, however, when the return period was over 10 years or smaller than 5 years, the DFL estimation results of this approach were only shifted by <1% from that of a single distribution. Unlabelled Image • Significant seasonality results in heterogeneous annual maximum flood level series in the tidal reach. • Statistical differences of the seasonal series are highly correlated to different procedures of flood generation. • In a single-distribution model, flood season mainly affects the upper tail and the non-flood season affects the lower tail. • The mixed-distribution model is superior in design flood level estimation for it keeps more non-flood season information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various microbial fabrics characterize late Moscovian mounds in Houchang Town, southern Guizhou, South China. The dominant components of the mounds are microbial boundstones with stromatolitic structures, irregular oncoid-like forms, and wrinkle structures. Calcimicrobes recognized in the mounds include Girvanella, Ortonella, Wetheredella-like, Palaeomicrocodium-like, and some problematic calcimicrobes occurring in deposits between microbial boundstones, in thrombolitic textures, and in some intraclasts. Microbial carbonates are common in the substrate and interior of the mounds, including thrombolitic textures, microstromatolites, microbial ooids, oncoids, irregular encrusted layers, microbial mat debris, and microbial micrite. Calcimicrobes and microbial carbonates played an important role in the construction of the mounds: Girvanella might have contributed as a source of lime mud that formed the mound and stabilized the coral frame; thrombolitic mats could trap and fix sediments and bioclasts, contributing to the stabilization of substrate and mound limestones; and, microbial boundstone, clotted micrite and micritized bioclast could provide a hard substrate for encrusting metazoans (e.g., bryozoans, Ivanovia). The abundant microbial fabrics in the mounds indicate that microbial activity was widespread in Moscovian reef mounds in southern Guizhou, and this suggests that microbial organisms were the primary mound builders in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]