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In this paper, combination of multi-stage biological contact oxidation (MBCO) and single-stage autotrophic nitrogen removal using anammox and partial nitrification (SNAP) was used to treat high concentration of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia nitrogen in landfill leachate. MBCO was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM), achieving 91.3% COD removal efficiency. For ammonium nitrogen, nitrogen removal rate (NRR) of 1.68 kg N/m3/d was obtained in 140 days. Since MBCO effluent contained 350 mg/L COD, bio-oxidized humic acid was used as the stimulant COD source in SNAP influent. As a result, refractory COD almost had no impact on nitrogen removal ability of SNAP reactor and 20% COD was removed. Besides, the bacteria community structure analysis also demonstrated that the bio-oxidized humic acid didn’t change the bacterium proportion obviously. This new combination provided landfill leachate treatment with an effective alternative.

Background Limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2Y (LGMD2Y) is a rare subgroup of limb girdle muscular dystrophy featuring limb-girdle weakness, tendon contracture and cardiac involvement. It is caused by the mutation of TOR1AIP1, which encodes nuclear membrane protein LAP1 (lamina-associated polypeptide 1) and comprises heterogeneous phenotypes. The present study reported a patient with a novel homozygous TOR1AIP1 mutation that presented with selective muscle weakness, which further expanded the phenotype of LGMD2Y- and TOR1AIP1-associated nuclear envelopathies. Case presentation A 40-year-old male presented with Achilles tendon contracture and muscle weakness that bothered him from 8 years old. While the strength of his distal and proximal upper limbs was severely impaired, the function of his lower limbs was relatively spared. Muscle pathology showed dystrophic features, and electron microscopy showed ultrastructural abnormalities of disrupted muscle nuclei envelopes. Whole-exome sequencing showed a frameshift mutation in TOR1AIP1 (c.98dupC). Conclusion We reported a novel mild phenotype of LGMD2Y with relatively selective distal upper limb weakness and joint contracture and revealed the heterogeneity of LGDM2Y and the role of the LAP1 isoform by literature review.

Landfill leachate is a wastewater contained solid waste and is hard to treat due to its complex composition. The most effective treatment is biological method among leachate transfer, biological treatment, and physical and chemical methods, however, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency of present biological treatment has not been more than 90% at influent COD concentration of 2000 mg/L to 5000 mg/L. In this study, the multistage biological contact oxidation (MBCO) is performed for treating landfill leachate. The optimized parameters as followed achieve 91.28% COD removal efficiency: influent COD landfill leachate concentration of 4000 mg/L; 0.1 L/min·L (reactor volume) aeration rate; temperature (T) of 35 °C and hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 24 h and also obtained 318.64 mg/L ammonium nitrogen (NH3-N) effluent concentration, Besides, biofilm community structure show that Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes are identified as the dominant in phylum. All the results indicate that the MBCO is an effective technology for landfill leachate treatment.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked genetic neuromuscular disease that is characterized by progressive muscle wasting and by defects in the regenerative capacity and inflammatory infiltration of muscle. Many noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) participate in the pathophysiological mechanisms of this disease. To explore the role of circular RNAs (circRNAs), a type of ncRNAs, in DMD, microarray analysis was performed to explore the expression patterns of circRNAs in the gastrocnemius muscles in mdx mice, a DMD animal model, and C57 mice. The microarray data were validated by qRT-PCR. Further, gene ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis were performed to predict the function of the differentially expressed circRNAs (DEcRNAs). A circRNA/microRNA (miRNA) interaction network was predicted by bioinformatics. We also predicted the protein-coding ability of the circRNAs based on their N6-methyladenosine motifs and open-reading frames. We identified 197 differentially expressed circRNAs between mdx mice and C57 mice. Of the 197 DEcRNAs, 6 circRNAs were randomly selected to validate the microarray data, and twenty-two circRNAs were randomly selected to construct a circRNA/miRNA interaction network. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the linear counterparts of the DEcRNAs were mainly associated with muscle structure, nervous system development, and the cAMP signaling pathway. A total of 189 circRNAs were predicted to have protein-coding potential, and there were 98 circRNAs that could potentially be translated into polypeptides with 150 or more amino acids. This work described the expression pattern of circRNAs in mdx mice and indicated that circRNAs may play pivotal roles in the pathophysiological mechanisms of DMD.