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The effect of salinity on biological nitrogen and denitrifying phosphorus removal was investigated in a Modified University of Cape Town (MUCT) system. Removal rates of COD, NH4+-N, NO3−-N, NO2−-N, phosphorus and the sludge characteristics at salt concentrations (0.0, 3.2, 6.4, 11.2 and 16.0 g L−1) were analyzed. With the salt concentration increasing, all the COD, NH4+-N, TN and TP removal rates exhibited a trend of decline, and exhibited an initial reduction and subsequent increase at every stage of salt concentration. NH4+-N, TN and TP removal rates were 92.7%, 51.5% and 67.2% in 16 g L−1 salt concentration, respectively. And they were outperformed the literature reported and acceptable in practical applications. When the salinity of wastewater changed from 0.0 to 16.0 g L−1, the biomass yield coefficients increased from 0.0794 to 0.126 g VSS/g COD. Increased salinity had a detrimental effect on phosphorus-accumulating organisms (PAOs) and denitrifying PAOs (DPAOs) (especially DPAOs). Therefore, phosphorus removal gradually depended on PAO. The simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) rate and nitrogen removal rate (including nitrification rate, denitrification rate, and total nitrogen removal rate) gradually decreased with the increased salinity.

Although phosphate rock has been considered as a potential new rare earth elements (REEs) resource, the recovery of REEs from phosphate rock is impeded by technical challenges and cost issues. This study investigated the effects of operation conditions on the leaching efficiencies of REEs and phosphorus from Zhijin phosphate ore, a large phosphate deposit in China. The leaching process overtime was also studied by chemical analysis, scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results indicated that the REEs from Zhijin phosphate ore were mainly present in fluorapatite and dolomite, and REEs had similar trends of leaching efficiency to those of phosphorus and magnesium. Under the conditions of 25 wt% phosphoric acid concentration in the initial pulp, a weight ratio of liquid to solid of 12 mL/g, a temperature of 60°C, an agitation speed of 220 rpm, and leaching time of 120 min, REEs and phosphorus leaching efficiencies of 97.8% and 99.7% were obtained. Most parts of dissoluble substances were decomposed within 30 min. Chemical analysis, SEM-EDS, and XRD results indicated that leaching efficiencies of minerals in Zhijin phosphate ore increased following the order: quartz, aluminosilicate, pyrite, fluorapatite, dolomite, and calcite.

Glycosylation of proteins plays important roles in the occurrence and development of chronic diseases. In this study, we report an enrichment method of intact N-glycopeptides using a magnetic polyaniline nanomaterial (Fe3O4@PANI). Under the synergistic effect of hydrogen bonding and electrostatic adsorption, Fe3O4@PANI can rapidly and easily enrich N-glycopeptides derived from standard protein (bovine fetuin and transferrin) tryptic digests and serum haptoglobin tryptic digests. Finally we have detected 63 glycopeptides in the glycosylation sites of both N204 and N211 from the serum haptoglobin beta chain using MALDI FTICR MS. Compared with non-magnetic materials, Fe3O4@PANI can achieve complete separation from complex biological samples, meeting the requirement of the high purity of samples for mass spectrometric detection. Overall, Fe3O4@PANI exhibits great application potential in the highly efficient enrichment of intact N-glycopeptides due to its stability and convenient preparation.

Cough is induced by inhaled prostacyclin analogues including treprostinil (TRE), and, at higher doses, treprostinil palmitil (TP), a prodrug of TRE. In this report, we have investigated mechanisms involved in TRE- and TP-induced cough, using a dry powder formulation of TP (TPIP) to supplement previous data obtained with an aqueous suspension formulation of TP (TPIS). Experiments in guinea pigs and rats investigated the prostanoid receptor subtype producing cough and whether it involved activation of sensory nerves in the airways and vasculature. Experiments involved treatment with prostanoid, tachykinin and bradykinin receptor antagonists, a cyclooxygenase inhibitor and TRE administration to the isolated larynx or intravenously. In guinea pigs, cough with inhaled TRE (1.23 µg·kg−1) was not observed with an equivalent dose of TPIP and required higher inhaled doses (12.8 and 35.8 µg·kg−1) to induce cough. TRE cough was blocked with IP and tachykinin NK1 receptor antagonists but not with EP1, EP2, EP3, DP1 or bradykinin B2 antagonists or a cyclooxygenase inhibitor. TRE administered to the isolated larynx or intravenously in rats produced no apnoea or swallowing, whereas citric acid, capsaicin and hypertonic saline had significant effects. The mechanisms inducing cough with inhaled TRE likely involves the activation of prostanoid IP receptors on jugular C-fibres in the tracheobronchial airways. Cough induced by inhaled dry powder and nebulised formulations of TP occurs at higher inhaled doses than TRE, presumably due to the slow, sustained release of TRE from the prodrug resulting in lower concentrations of TRE at the airway sensory nerves., Cough induced by inhaled treprostinil and treprostinil palmitil involves the activation of prostacyclin (IP) receptors located on airway tachykinin nerves https://bit.ly/37sXz1I

Tilmicosin (TMS) is a semisynthetic macrolide antibiotic restricted to veterinary use but is only partially soluble in aqueous solutions, which limits its administration in treatments. We developed a strategy to enhance the supersaturated solubility of TMS using amorphous solid dispersion (SD). The dissolution profile shown that the dissolution rate of TMS-SD was obviously faster than TMS. The pharmacokinetics of tilmicosin (TMS) and tilmicosin solid dispersion (TMS-SD) in pigs after oral administration at a single dose of 50 mg/kg b.w were investigated. The tmax of TMS-SD (2.50 hr) was 1.80 times faster than TMS (4.50 hr) (p .05). The mean relative bioavailability of TMS-SD compared with TMS was 140.39%, according to the AUC0-inf values. These results demonstrated that the solid dispersion technique enhanced the bioavailability of TMS and the new formulation administered to animals via drinking water may be used as a therapeutic alternative for clinical treatments.

An effort has been made to search a cheaper, easily available and simple alternative for the immobilization of enzymes and practical utilization in dye treatment. In this study, a porous zeolite-like geopolymer membrane (Geo) was used as immobilization support considering environmental friendliness, low cost and chemical/mechanical stability. A facile “cyclic adsorption” method was adopted to prepare the laccase immobilized geopolymer composite membrane (Geo-Lac). The results indicated that the pH-temperature range and stability were improved by adding the Geo support. The feasibility of removing crystal violet (CV) by the Geo-Lac was investigated in a batch mode and a flow-through mode, respectively. More than 99 % of CV (C0 = 5 mg/L) was removed with the Geo-Lac in a batch mode and the removal efficiency still remained over 93 % within 8 h of high-throughput filtration in a flow-through mode. Moreover, the Geo-Lac was much more durable, and after 4 cycles, it still had a removal efficiency of 90.02 ± 0.33 % for CV within 6 h of filtration. These results indicated that the porous geopolymer membrane is a promising support for both laccase immobilization and further applications in dye removal.

A new green composite microsphere (SA/ML-BT) was prepared from sodium alginate by interspersing modified lignin–bentonite clay (ML-BT) and its adsorption performance to Hg (II) from aqueous solution in a batch mode and column mode was systematically investigated. The morphology and structure of the SA/ML-BT were characterized by SEM, XRD and FTIR. BET analysis showed that the pore type of SA/ML-BT is mainly mesoporous. The enlarged surface area of 5.98 m2/g and the insertion of SA improved the attraction of Hg (II) to porous surface. In batch tests, different initial Hg (II) concentration, pH values and contact time were studied, which were fitted with pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order kinetic models and Langmuir/Freundlich isotherms. Zeta potential analysis showed that isoelectric point charge of SA/ML-BT was 3.24 and Hg (II) removal rate increased with pH increasing in the range of 1 to 3 then kept the maximum value of 93% in the range of 3 to 9. Likewise, in the fixed-bed column tests, the effects of initial concentration (10–30 mg/L), bed height (1–3 cm) and influent flow rate (0.5–1.5 mL/min) were evaluated, which were fitted with Yoon–Nelson and Bohart–Adam models. The SA/ML-BT remained 85% removal rate after three repeated cycles, which indicated a promising potential in sustainable applications. A removal capacity of 24.4 mg/g in batch and 42.1 mg/g in column tests were obtained respectively. These findings revealed that the proposed SA/ML-BT has great potential for metallic cation remediation.

Lignocellulosic materials have received wide interest in adsorption of contaminants in water due to their abundance, eco-friendliness, and low cost. However, the development of new adsorbents from lignocellulose with excellent performance is still a big challenge. In this work, a new bowl-shaped biosorbent (BSB) with surface functionality is prepared from lignin that is extracted from the abundant sugarcane bagasse. The product is characterized by scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectrum, thermo gravimetric analysis and N2 adsorption techniques. The results show that the obtained BSB is obviously bowl-shaped in microscale with an enlarged surface area, and contains numerous oxygen and nitrogen functional groups. It exhibits an enhanced adsorption capacity toward Cd2+ that is 3.2 times of the original lignin. The adsorption process of Cd2+ by the BSB is well fitted by the Freundlich isothermal model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, respectively. The adsorption mechanism involves surface complexation, ion-exchange, electrostatic attraction, chemical precipitation and physical adsorption, etc., among them, the surface complexation is the rate-controlling step. Moreover, it shows a good reusability during five repeated cycling for Cd2+ adsorption.

Numerous types of diseases cause serious anemia, which is characterized by a significantly decreased number of circulating red blood cells. The key reason is retarded terminal erythroid differentiation, which is largely involved in the downregulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and insufficient iron uptake. Prussian blue nanoparticles (PBNPs) have been demonstrated to be capable of scavenging ROS via multienzyme-like activity and contain the iron element. The aim of this study was to figure out whether PBNPs can induce terminal erythroid differentiation in myeloid leukemia cells K562 and to investigate the underlying mechanisms. Our results showed that PBNPs were taken up by K562 cells, which reduced the intracellular ROS level in the cells, upregulated the late erythroid surface marker GYPA (CD235a) and downregulated the early erythroid surface marker TFRC (CD71), clearly indicating the occurrence of terminal erythroid differentiation. In addition, the cells became smaller in size after incubation with PBNPs, providing strong side evidence that the cells had undergone terminal differentiation. Mechanistic studies indicated that PBNP-induced terminal differentiation was associated with the upregulation of the nuclear transcriptional factor NFE2 and downregulation of GATA1, both of which are closely related to the variation of intracellular ROS levels. In conclusion, PBNPs demonstrated a novel function by effectively inducing terminal erythroid differentiation in myeloid leukemia cells, which is of great significance in improving the blood profiles of anemia patients.

Herein, a three-dimensional porous graphene oxide/alkali lignin aerogel composite was prepared by a simple green method, and its adsorption performance for methylene blue (MB) in water was studied. The graphene oxide/alkali lignin aerogel composite (GO-AL aerogel) was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy and the BET surface area. The adsorption kinetics study showed that the adsorption process conformed to the second-order kinetic model and this process was chemical adsorption. It was also found that intraparticle diffusion was not the only rate control step in the adsorption process. The adsorption isotherm study showed that the adsorption process conforms to the Langmuir isotherm adsorption model and the process was a single layer adsorption. The maximum adsorption capacity of MB on GO-AL aerogel was 1185.98 mg/g, at 303 K. Adsorption thermodynamics studies showed that adsorption process was a spontaneous endothermic process and the disorder increased during the adsorption process. Overall, this study indicated the GO-AL aerogel could be an eco-friendly, cost-effective and recyclable adsorbent for the removal of dyes from water.

Effects of common ions, namely hydroxyl ions and carbonate, on the adsorption and flotation of malachite with salicylaldoxime as a collector was investigated, making use of solubility, micro-flotation, zeta potential, contact angle, FTIR, and XPS measurements. The results suggested that hydroxyl and carbonate ions affect malachite recovery through altering solubility of this mineral. Under conditions of lower solubility, more stable copper atoms acted as adsorption sites for retaining salicylaldoxime on the malachite surface, and the collector consumed by copper species in slurry was reduced. This allowed more collectors to get adsorbed onto malachite surface, resulting in improved malachite recovery. Zeta potential, FTIR, and XPS measurements indicated that salicylaldoxime chemically adsorbs onto malachite by forming copper salicylaldoxime chelates, in which two salicylaldoxime molecules react with one copper atom by N atom and the O atom combined with benzene ring.

Background Porcine circovirus type 3 (PCV3) is a newly emerging circovirus that might be associated with porcine dermatitis and nephropathy syndrome, reproductive failure, and cardiac and multisystemic inflammation. To aid the prevention and control of the infectious disease caused by PCV3, we developed a novel isothermal amplification assay using polymerase spiral reaction (PSR), which allows the visual detection of preserved strains and clinical samples. Results This assay precisely amplified the PCV3 genome with the use of a water bath at 62 °C for 50 min. The detection limit was found to be 1.13 × 102 copies/μL by gel electrophoresis or with the use of a visible dye (an indicator comprising phenol red and cresol red). No cross-reaction with other porcine infectious viruses was observed. The detection results for 23 PCV3-positive samples by PSR were in accordance with loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay. The detection rate of the PSR assay for PCV3 positivity of clinical samples was 68/97, which was higher than LAMP assay (67/97). Conclusions These results indicated that the PSR assay provides an accurate and rapid method for the detection of PCV3 with high sensitivity and specificity. It is particularly suited for use in a simple laboratory setting without a thermal cycler or gel electrophoresis equipment.

The adsorption of chelating collector octyl hydroxamate onto malachite was studied at various pH to reveal the adsorption mechanism. Below pH 6, a substantial amount of octyl hydroxamate wa...

Natural-occurring polymer intercalated inorganic clay composites have received increasing interests in water cleanup for the features of eco-friendliness, cost-effectiveness, and availability. Herein, a new lignin xanthate resin (LXR) intercalated bentonite clay composite (LXR-BT) for the adsorption of representative organic doxycycline hydrochloride (DCH) antibiotic and inorganic Hg(II) in water was created through a feasible process. Structural characterizations by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Thermo gravimetric analysis (TG), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed LXR was successfully intercalated between the layers of bentonite clay. The adsorption performance of DCH/Hg(II) by LXR-BT was studied in detail with varied dosage, solution pH, contact time, and initial DCH/Hg(II) concentration. The results indicated that the adsorption capacities of DCH/Hg(II) on LXR-BT were much higher than that on bentonite, and the adsorption kinetics and isotherms followed the pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir model, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis confirmed the adsorption mechanisms of DCH (or Hg(II)) was mainly due to π-π interaction and hydrogen bonding interaction of DCH (or the complexation of Hg(II)) with the functional groups in the LXR-BT. This study suggested the possibility of LXR-BT as a new cost-effective adsorbent for both organic and inorganic pollutants removal in water.

Water pollution produced by various contaminants is presently a major worldwide issue, posing a significant challenge to the development of novel materials for water treatment. Herein, robust and recyclable biochar-graphene oxide (BC-GO) composite monoliths were prepared utilizing lignin precursor as a carbon source in a one-pot hydrothermal process free of hazardous chemicals. Characterization results indicated the BC-GO composite monolith had abundant microchannels, nanopores, and a large specific surface area, thereby exhibiting a high adsorption capacity of 796.8 mg g−1 to doxycycline in water, which was superior to conventional adsorbents. Furthermore, by annealing the BC-GO composite monolith, it could be transformed to hydrophobic (CA = 140°). The annealed BC-GO composite monolith retained a pronounced porous structure with a larger surface area and showed exceptional absorption capabilities of 55–130 g g−1 toward various oils and solvents, which were higher/comparable to previously reported graphene-based materials. In addition, both BC-GO composite monoliths were highly stable and could be reused for a number of cycles of pollutants removal. The simplicity, environmental friendliness, and effectiveness of our approach to building BC-GO composite monoliths may pave the way for their future applications in the field of water purification.

A new strategy for co-immobilization of laccase (Lac) and mediator 2,2′-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) on geopolymer microspheres (GM) was reported in this work, which was promoted by pre-embedded homologous amino acids, i.e., histidine (His) and cysteine (Cys). The GM-H2C1 produced with a His/Cys ratio of 2:1 was highly efficient in co-immobilizing Lac and ABTS. The as-prepared composite biocatalyst (Lac-ABTS@GM-H2C1) exhibited the highest degradation rate (94.78%) to the model pollutant (Congo Red, CR), which was superior to free Lac-ABTS (79.23%) and Lac@GM-H2C1 (53.82%). The enhanced degradation efficiency of CR by the Lac-ABTS@GM-H2C1 was due to the promoted electron transfer and shortened mass transfer distance. Moreover, Lac-ABTS@GM-H2C1 demonstrated good pH resistance, competitive storage stability, and good reusability during ten cycles of CR degradation.

Chronic pulmonary methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) disease in cystic fibrosis (CF) has a high probability of recurrence following treatment with standard-of-care antibiotics and represents an area of unmet need associated with reduced life expectancy. We developed a lipoglycopeptide therapy customized for pulmonary delivery that not only demonstrates potent activity against planktonic MRSA, but also against protected colonies of MRSA in biofilms and within cells, the latter of which have been linked to clinical antibiotic failure. A library of next-generation potent lipoglycopeptides was synthesized with an emphasis on attaining superior pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics to similar compounds of their class. Our strategy focused on hydrophobic modification of vancomycin, where ester and amide functionality were included with carbonyl configuration and alkyl length as key variables. Candidates representative of each carbonyl attachment chemistry demonstrated potent activity in vitro, with several compounds being 30 to 60 times more potent than vancomycin. Selected compounds were advanced into in vivo nose-only inhalation PK evaluations in rats, where RV94, a potent lipoglycopeptide that utilizes an inverted amide linker to attach a 10-carbon chain to vancomycin, demonstrated the most favorable lung residence time after inhalation. Further in vitro evaluation of RV94 showed superior activity to vancomycin against an expanded panel of Gram-positive organisms, cellular accumulation and efficacy against intracellular MRSA, and MRSA biofilm killing. Moreover, in vivo efficacy of inhaled nebulized RV94 in a 48 h acute model of pulmonary MRSA (USA300) infection in neutropenic rats demonstrated statistically significant antibacterial activity that was superior to inhaled vancomycin.

Background and aims Early diagnosis is key to improving the prognosis of gastric cancer. Altered phospholipid metabolism has been observed in different types of cancer. This study assessed serum phospholipid levels of patients with gastric cancer to explore biomarkers for its early diagnosis. Materials and methods A total of 199 participants were enrolled, including patients with early gastric cancer or precancerous gastric lesions and healthy controls. Serum phospholipids were extracted and identified using mass spectrometry. The relative abundances of these phospholipids were compared among patients at different disease stages. Twenty-four patients with early gastric cancer were followed up, and their serum phospholipid levels were compared beween before and after resection. Results Fifty-four phospholipids were identified. Phosphatidylethanolamine (36:3), phosphatidylethanolamine (36:2), phosphatidylcholine (32:0), and sphingomyelin (d18:0/18:1(9Z)) were more abundant in patients with early gastric cancer than in healthy controls. The area under the receiver operating curve of sphingomyelin (d18:0/18:1(9Z)) reached 0.883 in the training set (sensitivity 81.08%, specificity 78.82%) and 0.874 in the validation set. The levels of phosphatidylethanolamine (36:2), phosphatidylcholine (32:0), and sphingomyelin (d18:0/18:1(9Z)) significantly declined after the cancerous lesions were resected. Conclusion Serum phospholipids can serve as potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis of gastric cancer.

Background: Little cherry virus 1 (LChV-1) is one of the most pathogenic virus that frequently infect cherry and have caused serious economic damage to production and quality of cherry. But current detection methods of LChV-1 was less.Objective: This study aims to optimization of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) detection method on Little cherry virus 1, and lies the foundation for the application of LChV-1 fast diagnosis in the field in Shandong province.Methods: We performed one-step RT-LAMP at temperature of 59℃ for 60 minutes, whereas the reaction system contained 5.2 mM Mg2+, 8 U Bst 2.0 DNA polymerase, 1.4 mM deoxyribonucleotide and 0.2 and 1.6 µM of the outer and inner primers, respectively. And,we used the RT-LAMP method to detect 65 field samples from Shandong province, and discovered that 5 samples were infected by LChV-1, the detection results were consistent with the RT-PCR results.Conclusions: The RT-LAMP method is highly specific, sensitive, practicable and efficient and suitable method for detection LChV-1 samples.

Phosphate rock has been considered as one of the most significant secondary rare-earth resource, and the utilization of rare earth elements (REEs) in phosphate rock has attracted increasing attention. In this study, the leaching kinetics of REEs from a phosphate ore from China was studied with the variation of temperature and phosphoric acid concentration under the conditions: ratio of liquid to solid of 12 mL/g, stirring speed of 120 r/min, and phosphate particle size of −0.074 mm amounts 61.1%. The results suggest that there were two distinct stages in leaching process and kinetics of both stages followed shrinking core model. At fast reaction stage, the semi-empirical equation describing the kinetics was 1 − 3(1 − α)2/3 + 2(1 − α) = 1.885CH3PO40.89exp(−11220/8.31T)t. The semi-empirical equation for slow reaction stage was 1 − 3(1 − α)2/3 + 2(1 − α) = 0.299CH3PO42.50exp(−18720/8.31T)t. Using shrinking core model and time-to-a-given-fraction method, we found that leaching rate of fast reaction stage was controlled by solid product layer diffusion, and both solid product layer diffusion and chemical reaction determined slow reaction stage.

The adsorption of cations on minerals plays an important role theoretically in surface and colloidal chemistry, and applicably in various engineering processes such as water treatment, agriculture and flotation of minerals. This chapter introduces the fundamentals of the adsorption of cations on minerals, the measurements, and classifies the applications. Then, structure and surface chemistry of clay minerals, which have been proved to be the most workable mineral in cations adsorption, are introduced. Other oxide minerals, such as goethite, are present for their structure and adsorption behavior as well. After that, the chapter summarizes and differentiates the adsorption on the basis of different types of cations, namely lead, mercury, copper, chromium and other cations. It tries to present the research results through a novel classification, rather than the types of adsorbents. The gaps between fundamental research and engineering applications are discussed, as well as the further research opportunities are present.

Introduction: Sugen/Hypoxia (Su/Hx) challenge to rats produces many pathophysiological markers of human pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Aim: Compare the effects of TPIS, a long-acting prodrug of treprostinil (TRE) and the PDE5 inhibitor Sild on the increase in pulmonary arterial blood pressure, right heart size (Fulton index), decrease in cardiac output (CO), and pulmonary vascular and cardiac histopathology in Su/Hx challenged rats. Methods: Male Sprague Dawley rats were injected with subcutaneous Su (20 mg/kg) followed by 3-week exposure to Hx (10% O2) and normoxia (Nx) for 10-weeks. The rats received daily nose-only inhalation of TPIS (daily total delivered doses of 52 and 135 mg/kg, QD) or oral Sild (50 mg/kg, BID) during the Nx exposure. Pulmonary vascular hemodynamics, Fulton index, CO and histopathology were assessed along with pharmacokinetic data of plasma TRE and lung treprostinil palmitil (TP) concentrations. Results: TPIS not only reduced the increase in pulmonary vascular hemodynamics, Fulton index, and the decrease in CO but also reduced the increases in wall thickness, muscularization and occlusion in pulmonary arteries and collagen deposition in the heart. TPIS almost completely restores vascular hemodynamics and Fulton index to normal values with the 135 µg/kg dose. Sild had only partial effects on all parameters. TPIS produced dose-dependent increases in plasma TRE and lung TP concentrations. Conclusions: These results demonstrate beneficial effects of TPIS to ameliorate the pathophysiology and histopathology in the pulmonary blood vessels and heart of Su/Hx challenged rats with effects superior to that produced by Sild.

Aberrant changes in the expression levels and structure of lipids may shape tumor microenvironment. In this study, we have performed mass spectrometry imaging and profiling analysis of 63 tissues of five types of cancer, namely, breast, colorectal, esophageal, lung, and gastric cancer, using in situ liquid extraction electrosonic spray ionization mass spectrometry imaging. Alteration of fatty-acyl chain length of unsaturated phosphatidylcholines, phosphatidylinositols, and phosphatidylserines and of chain length of (un)saturated fatty acids are associated with different cancerous areas of five types of cancer. The ratios of the same fatty-acyl carbon atom lipids with one double bond difference and the ratios of the same chain-length fatty acids with one double bond difference exhibited significant differences among the cancerous areas of five types of cancer. Our data may reveal that there were different lipid metabolism networks among five types of cancer.

In this research, malachite particles with different roughness values were produced by grinding malachite sample together with quartz (mohs hardness: 7) and montmorillonite (mohs hardness: 1–2), respectively. Micro-flotation results showed that higher recovery was achieved by using malachite particles of higher surface roughness as feed. The contact angle measurements demonstrated that the contact angle of natural malachite surface decreased with the increase of its surface roughness, while the contact angle of malachite conditioned with 5 × 10−5 mol/L sodium oleate increased with the increase of its surface roughness. It might be concluded that grinding media can influence minerals surface roughness, thus affecting the wettability of their surface and, consequently, the flotation performance.

Diverse functional nanomaterial with minimal environmental impact and reduced production cost is currently great needed because of the growing environmental awareness and shortage of petroleum resources. Herein we reported the creation of a lignin-based nano-trap (LBNT) through functionalizing one of the most abundant biomass on Earth, lignin, with both soft and borderline bases facilitating the coordination of different types of heavy metal ions. The resultant LBNT exhibited remarkable removal efficiencies of >99% toward both soft (Ag(I), Hg(II), Cd(II)) and borderline (Pb(II), Cu(II), Zn(II)) ions, of which the residual concentrations were diminished from 5 mg/L to 3–9 μg/L that were below the permission values of drinking water regulated by the World Health Organization (WHO). Moreover, the produced nanomaterial could be adopted to load metal ions in atomic-level dispersion for preparing advanced nanocomposite. This was evidenced by the high bactericide rate of the silver-loaded nanocomposite (Ag@LBNT) as an antimicrobial toward Escherichia coli (99.68%) and Staphylococcus aureus (99.76%). This work may pave a way for the production of cost-effective and biomass-based nanomaterial that could be applied in the field of separation and antimicrobial.

Background: To explore whether the transcription factor ELF1 affects the GFI1-FBW7 through MEIS1, thus participating in the occurrence and development of glioma. In this study, key transcription factors were identified by differential analysis of GEO database, and downstream regulatory pathways were predicted by available literature.Methods and results: Based on bioinformatics analysis and existing studies, we speculate that the transcription factor ELF1 may regulate FBW7 through MEIS1-mediated GFI1 and thus affect the occurrence of glioma. The expressions of transcription factors ELF1, MEIS1 and GFI1 were up-regulated in glioma tissues, and the prognosis of glioma patients with high expression of ELF1 was worse.We found that interfering with ELF1 expression in glioma cells can reduce the proliferation, migration and invasion of tumor cells and induce cell apoptosis. The results of Western-blot showed that the expressions of PCNA and MMP9 were decreased, while the expression of cleaved caspase-3 was up-regulated. ChIP experiments showed that ELF1 binds to the MEIS1 promoter region, and MEIS1 can activate the enhancer of GFI1. In vivo experiments were carried out in nude mice, the results showed that interfering ELF1 could inhibit tumor growth in nude mice through the MEIS1-GFI1/FBW7.Conclusion: Therefore, interference of ELF1 in glioma can reduce its ability to recruit the transcription factor MEIS1, and further impair the activation ability of MEIS1 to GFI1 enhancer, which resulting in suppression of proliferation, migration and invasion and induction of cell apoptosis in glioma cells.

In situ detection of nucleoside sand nucleotides still remains a challenge. In this study, we used matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) to investigate the distribution of small molecule metabolites(SMMs, typically

Macrophages, the important cells of immune system, have exhibited distinct gene phenotypes with diverse functions in different microenvironments. In the present study, macrophages RAW264.7 (M0 macrophages) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) plus interferon gamma (INF-γ)-treated M0 macrophages (M1 macrophages) were cultured in different lung cell-derived culture supernatants (CSs) as imitative tumor microenvironments. The lipids (mainly from cell membrane) of intact macrophages were in situ detected by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Approximately 300 of small molecules were observed in negative ion mode. Partial least square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) suggested that two types of the macrophages have different membrane lipid phenotypes. Changes in the levels of phosphatidylethanolamine PE(16:1/18:0), PE(18:1/18:0), PE(36:2), PE-Cer(d36:1), and PE(P-16:0/18:1) were closely associated with membrane phenotypes of macrophages. The heatmap also revealed that directional induction to classically activated macrophages (M1 macrophages) in vitro had greater impact on the membrane lipid phenotypes of macrophages than different lung cell-derived CSs. The results are consistent with the data obtained by biological technologies.

The sodium oleate collector used in malachite flotation usually exhibits low selectivity. By partially replacing sodium oleate with alcohols, this study presents a method for increasing the selectivity of sodium oleate-based collectors in malachite flotation. By combining 3 × 10−5 mol/L alcohols, such as 1-octanol, 2-ethylhexanol, and α-terpineol, with 1 × 10−5 mol/L sodium oleate, malachite floatability values higher than 98% are achieved. Contact angle and zeta potential measurements reveal that the co-adsorption of alcohols with sodium oleate may be resulted from the hydrophobic interactions between their hydrocarbon chains. The co-adsorption of methyl isobutyl carbinol, along with its shorter hydrocarbon chain, makes it more difficult to render the malachite surface highly hydrophobic. However, the co-adsorption of straight-chain and branched-chain alcohols with sodium oleate shows the ability consistently to induce high malachite floatability.

The objective of this work was to measure and correlate the solubility of lidocaine hydrochloride in eight pure solvents, including ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, n-butanol, isobutanol, acetone, methyl acetate, water, and binary mixtures at (291.15 to 331.15) K by using gravimetric method under atmospheric pressure. The results reveal that the solubility of lidocaine hydrochloride increases with increasing temperature in all solvent selected. The modified Apelblat equation, van’t Hoff equation, λh equation, Wilson model and NRTL model were successfully used to correlate the experimental solubility in pure solvents and binary solvent mixtures. In addition, the thermodynamic properties of dissolution of Lidocaine hydrochloride such as Gibbs energy (∆G°sol), molar enthalpy of dissolution (∆H°sol), and molar entropy of dissolution (∆S°sol ) were calculated. Consequently, the experimental solubility and correlation equations can be used as essential data and simulation models in the purification and separation of lidocaine hydrochloride.

Background Deregulation of circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) is always associated with development and progression of human diseases. We aimed to assess whether patients with brain arteriovenous malformations (BAVMs) possess a distinct miRNA signature compared with healthy subjects. Methods Three patients with unruptured BAVMs and 3 normal control subjects were recruited as case and control groups. Peripheral blood was collected, and miRNA signature was obtained by next-generation sequencing, followed by comparative, functional, and network analyses. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was performed to validate expression of specific miRNAs. Results Deep sequencing detected 246 differentially expressed miRNAs in blood samples of patients with BAVMs compared with normal control subjects. For the top 5 miRNAs, 946 target genes were predicted, and a BAVM-specific miRNA-target gene regulatory network was constructed. Functional annotation suggested that 15 of the predicted miRNA-targeted genes were involved in vascular endothelial growth factor signaling, in which 3 critical miRNAs were involved: miR-7-5p, miR-199a-5p, and miR-200b-3p. Conclusions We explored the miRNA expression signature of BAVMs, which will provide an important foundation for future studies on the regulation of miRNAs involved in BAVMs.

In saline water flotation, the salinity can cause a distinguishable slime coating of clay minerals on chalcopyrite particles through its effect on their electrical double layers in aqueous solutions. In this work, kaolinite was used as a representative clay mineral for studying slime coating during chalcopyrite flotation. The flotation of chalcopyrite in the presence and absence of kaolinite in tap water, seawater, and gypsum-saturated water and the stability of chalcopyrite and kaolinite particles in slurries are presented. Zeta-potential distributions and scanning electron microscopy images were used to characterize and explain the different slime coating degrees and the different flotation performances. Kaolinite particles induced slime coating on chalcopyrite surfaces and reduced chalcopyrite floatability to the greatest extent when the pH value was in the alkaline range. At 0.24wt% of kaolinite, the chalcopyrite floatability was depressed by more than 10% at alkaline pH levels in tap water. Salinity in seawater and gypsum-saturated water compressed the electrical double layers and resulted in extensive slime coating.

We have set up an ex vivo ovine abomasal model, which can mimic the multicellular process to explore the early steps in haemonchine nematode infection using RNA-seq technology. Ovine abomasal explants were collected for histological and transcriptional analysis and supernatants collected to quantitate lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) enzymes. Atotal of 233 were substantially induced genes between L4-inoculated and uninoculated-control tissues, respectively. However, a total of 14 were considerably down-regulated genes between the 51 aforementioned tissues. Fifteen pathways were annotated by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes, and Genomes pathway analysis accounted for the significant percentage in immediate response to larval-stage of H. contortus. Key genes upregulated in response to the addition of L4-inoculum of H. contortus were IL-6, IL-8, C1q, Atypical chemokine receptor-3, chemokine ligand-2, manganese superoxide dismutase, integrin alpha-7, -8, -9, integrin subunit beta-1, integrin subunit beta 6, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and actin alpha-1. This study shows for the first time that galectin-1 is up-regulated in an ex vivo abomasal segment model exposed to L4-inoculum of H. contortus following 6 h of incubation. The abomasal segment model has been shown to be a suitable tool to study the haemonchine larval-stage effects on the ovine abomasal tissues prior to in vivo assessment.

Water pollution by heavy metal ions is currently of great concern due to their high toxicity and carcinogenicity. In recent years, great efforts have been devoted to the search for new cost-effective adsorbents derived from biomass. Lignin is a natural amorphous polymer that has great potential for use as a building block in the production of biorenewable materials. Due to its unique polyphenol structure, physicochemical properties, and abundance, a wide variety of sorbents, particularly heavy metal ion sorbents, can be potentially obtained from lignin. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the literature about different feedstock lignin and versatile lignin derivatives used as heavy metal ion adsorbents. The adsorption capability improvement mechanism of the lignin derivatives and the comparison with commercial resins are also discussed. Therefore, this review aims to discuss the different modification categories that have been reported for the conversion of lignins into advanced heavy metal ion ...

The utilization of lignin is of high interest since it represents the most abundant polyphenol worldwide. For the application of lignin as a natural antioxidant more phenolic hydroxyl groups (Ph–OH...

The development of low-cost, high-efficienct, and environmentally benign adsorbents for the removal of antibiotics and heavy metal ions in water is greatly needed. Phosphorylated alkali lignin (PAL) microparticles were newly fabricated via a facile one-pot method. The characterization confirmed that the phosphate group was successfully introduced into the lignin matrix, and the specific surface area of the obtained PAL was 9.53 m2·g-1, 5.6 times that of lignin (1.71 m2·g-1). The adsorption behavior of PAL was initially investigated in a batch mode by using levofloxacin hydrochloride (LH) as a model. PAL performance was then validated to other contaminants as Pb(II), tetracycline (TC), and sulfadiazine (SA). The results indicated that 99.91% of LH (C0=80 mg·L-1) could be removed by PAL (0.02 g/50 mL) within 80 min. The adsorption capacity of PAL to LH and Pb(II) reached 389.1 mg·g-1 and 349.2 mg·g-1, respectively, better than earlier adsorbents. Importantly, PAL had a strong ability to remove the complex pollutants with coexisted Pb(II) and LH in water and was also applicable for adsorption of TC and SA. XPS and FTIR results show that the adsorption is mainly related to π-π stacking, hydrogen bonds and electrostatic interaction. The adsorption amount of LH in fixed-bed column was 240.5 mg·g-1 and removal percentage of LH and Pb2+ in real wastewater was above 90% and 70% which indicated the great application potential.

A simple and effective chemical method based on Mannich reaction, sulfonation, and acylation was adopted to anchor the hydrophilic sulfonic groups and lipophilic long carbon chains onto alk...

This article describes the preclinical pharmacology and pharmacokinetics (PK) of hexadecyl-treprostinil (C16TR), a prodrug of treprostinil (TRE), formulated in a lipid nanoparticle (LNP) for inhalation as a pulmonary vasodilator. C16TR showed no activity (>10 µM) in receptor binding and enzyme inhibition assays, including binding to prostaglandin E2 receptor 2, prostaglandin D2 receptor 1, prostaglandin I2 receptor, and prostaglandin E2 receptor 4; TRE potently bound to each of these prostanoid receptors. C16TR had no effect (up to 200 nM) on platelet aggregation induced by ADP in rat blood. In hypoxia-challenged rats, inhaled C16TR-LNP produced dose-dependent (0.06-6 µg/kg), sustained pulmonary vasodilation over 3 hours; inhaled TRE (6 µg/kg) was active at earlier times but lost its effect by 3 hours. Single- and multiple-dose PK studies of inhaled C16TR-LNP in rats showed proportionate dose-dependent increases in TRE Cmax and area under the curve (AUC) for both plasma and lung; similar results were observed for dog plasma levels in single-dose PK studies. In both species, inhaled C16TR-LNP yielded prolonged plasma TRE levels and a lower plasma TRE Cmax compared with inhaled TRE. Inhaled C16TR-LNP was well tolerated in rats and dogs; TRE-related side effects included cough, respiratory tract irritation, and emesis and were seen only after high inhaled doses of C16TR-LNP in dogs. In guinea pigs, inhaled TRE (30 µg/ml) consistently produced cough, but C16TR-LNP (30 µg/ml) elicited no effect. These results demonstrate that C16TR-LNP provides long-acting pulmonary vasodilation, is well tolerated in animal studies, and may necessitate less frequent dosing than inhaled TRE with possibly fewer side effects.

Soft donors of nitrogen and sulfur were incorporated into enzymatic hydrolysis lignin (EHL-NS) to make it suitable for multiple applications. Characterizations of the environmentally friendly material by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis confirmed the layered porous structure with nitrogen and sulfur groups. It exhibited high antioxidant activity due to the strong electron-donating capability of the soft donors. Moreover, the soft donors also contributed to the chemical complexation of Hg(II) with EHL-NS, which distinctly enhanced the adsorption of Hg(II) in water (Qe=180 mg/g, 25 °C). Given that the free radicals were highly effective at scavenging and adsorption, the functionalized enzymatic hydrolysis lignin is expected to serve a useful role.

Combining powerful selectivity, high stability, convenient operation, mild condition, and eco-friendliness, a novel graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)-based enrichment method of intact sialoglycopeptides (SGs) was developed. The intact SGs could be simply enriched and separated from protein tryptic digests by hydrogen bonding without damage of glycan structures due to the specific structure of g-C3N4. By optimizing the enrichment and elution conditions, 45 and 38 SGs were detected from the tryptic digests of bovine fetuin and transferrin, respectively. Under the synergistic effect of hydrogen bonding and electrostatic adsorption, the SGs could be enriched simply in less than 2 h with a detection limit of 50 fmol. The method is repeatable due to the high stability of g-C3N4 and the simple protocol of the method, indicating the potential application of g-C3N4 in efficient and selective enrichment of intact SGs.

Brain lipid homoeostasis is critical during recovery process after traumatic brain injury (TBI). In this study, we integrated liquid extraction and electrosonic spray ionization technology to develop an ionization device coupled with a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer for imaging of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-containing lipids on rat brain tissues. The ion images of the brain tissue sections from the normal rats and the rats after TBI at acute phase (0 and 1 day) and chronic phase (3, 5, and 7 days) were obtained. The imaging results indicate that the levels of DHA and lyso-phosphatidylethanolamine (22:6) in the injury area of TBI rats increased significantly at the acute phase and subsequently decreased at the chronic phase. But the levels of DHA-containing phospholipids including phosphatidylethanolamine (PE)(P-18:0/22:6), PE(18:0/22:6), and phosphatidylserine (18:0/22:6) decreased at the acute phase and gradually increased at the chronic phase in the injury area accompanied by the morphogenesis and wound healing. These findings indicate that the DHA may participate in the recovery process of brain injury. This is the first report to in situ detect the changes in the levels of DHA and DHA-containing lipids in the TBI model.

An excellent biocompatible nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) was successfully synthesized from orange juice and ethylenediamine by hydrothermal decomposition method. The as-prepared N-CDs were mono-dispersed spherical nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution of 0.5–3.0 nm and showed a good dispersion and stability in aqueous solution with the pH value ranging from 3.0 to 13.0. Photoluminescence spectra of as-prepared N-CDs demonstrated that the fluorescence intensity of N-CDs was increased with the doped nitrogen atoms and the FL-QY (fluorescence quantum yield) of N-CDs was up to 31.7%. Compared with Gly-CQDs(CQDs synthesied by Gly), which were prepared from chemical carbon source via hydrothermal decomposition method, the as-prepared N-CDs showed much lower cytotoxicity for Human THP-1 macrophage cells. These results indicated N-CDs prepared by our proposed method have excellent compatibility and more suitable for the application in biolabeling and bioimage. Due to the fluorescence quenching of N-CDs by mercury (II) ion (Hg2+), a sensitive and selective method was developed for detecting Hg2+. The results indicated that the fluorescence intensity ratio of N-CDs was proportional to the concentration of Hg2+ in the range from 4.0 μg/mL to 32.0 μg/mL and the recovery of spiked samples was ranged from 102.0% to 103.0%, which hinted our proposed method has a good sensitivity and accuracy and was suitable for detecting Hg2+ with satisfactory in tap water.

Sialic acids as terminal entities of larger glycans linked to proteins and lipids are involved in multiple different pathological and physiological processes. Structural characterisation of sialoglycoconjugates is required to understand their biological function. However, a comprehensive sialylation analysis of sialoglycoconjugates has remained challenges. In this study, we employ a natural biomaterial, poplar catkin derived from white poplar tree (Populus tomentosa Carr.), to develop a novel capturing microtip for selective and efficient enrichment of sialoglycopeptides, without losses of sialic acid residues and water molecules from sialoglycopeptides. Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis, along with Maule and Wiesner staining assays, indicated that the main components on the outer layer of the poplar catkin are syringyl and guaiacyl lignins which play a key role in enriching sialoglycopeptides from complex peptide mixture.

With the development of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI), molecular interrogation of tissue sections over a wide mass range has become feasible, but small molecule analysis is still far from being fully reached due to the limited sensitivity and matrix interference. Herein, graphene oxide (GO) is used as a MALDI matrix to image small molecules in tissues in negative ion mode. Finally, 212 of molecules including 190 of lipids and 22 of low molecular weight metabolites were detected and spatially visualized in mouse brain tissue sections without the interference of matrix ions/clusters, and the structures of 69 of the lipids were confirmed by using in situ tandem mass spectrometry. A further application of GO matrix could reveal distinct spatio-molecular signatures in viable and necrotic tumor regions derived from a mouse breast cancer tissue. In addition, GO as a MALDI matrix has exhibited a better performance in MSI of lipids relative to N-(1-naphthyl) ethylenediamine dihydrochloride and 9-aminoacridine.

This study reports a new inorganic-organic composite membrane fabricated by an electrostatic self-assembling method. The low-cost and eco-friendly porous geopolymer (PG) was chosen as a support, on which chitosan (CS), a “green” biomaterial, was used to form an active layer. With optimum dosage of CS (2.0 mL of 1.0% CS solution), the obtained CS/PG membrane exhibited a high porosity of 50.97% with an average pore diameter of 13.93 nm as well as a high water flux of 1663.82 ± 22.46 L/m2·h·bar. The effects of initial concentration, pH, flow rate and temperature of the feed solution on crystal violet (CV) removal by the CS/PG were evaluated in a continuous mode. The results indicated ~95% CV could be removed from water during continuous treating of 14 h. The effectiveness in CV removal by the CS/PG membrane was attributed to the synergistic effect of rejection and adsorption. Furthermore, the composite membrane could be easily regenerated for prolonged use. Overall, this work opens a new possibility of building cost-saving and eco-friendly composite membranes for practical applications in water purification.

The abnormal expression of sialic acids (SAs) on cells and tissues is closely related to various pathophysiological states. Here we applied phenylboronic acid (PBA) functionalized graphitic carbon nitride fluorescent quantum dots (PCQDs) with sizes from 3 to 5 nm in efficient and selective labeling SAs on the surface of living cells and tissues. With abundant PBA in their structure, the water soluble PCQDs showed the relative SA level on the cell surface via selectively and efficiently staining different cell lines in 30 min and revealed that M1 macrophages may express more SAs on their surfaces compared with M0 and M2. The distinct demarcation of cancerous and para-noncancerous areas on cancer tissue sections was showed by PCQDs staining. PCQDs with their high selectivity, stable photoluminescence, low cost, and nontoxicity can be an ideal SA fluorescent probe for living cells and tissues.

Background Type 2 diabetes (T2D), a typical metabolic disease, is closely associated with serum free fatty acids. But the association between serum total fatty acids (TFAs, free fatty acids plus esterified fatty acids) and T2D has not been reported. Methods Serum esterified fatty acids were hydrolyzed under alkaline conditions, and serum TFAs were extracted after acidizing. Fourteen of serum TFAs in 1,828 serum samples, including 543 controls, 655 prediabetes, and 630 T2D patients, were simultaneously quantified based on the calibration curves of 8 fatty acids using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (MALDI-FTICR MS). Results Correlation analysis revealed strong correlations among serum TFAs and ratios of the TFAs in T2D patients compared with controls or prediabetes both in males and females. Receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated that a panel including fasting plasma glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin type A1c, gamma-glutamyltransferase, triglyceride, C18:1, and C20:3, has a good capability to distinguish prediabetes from T2D, with the sensitivity of 87.0%, the specificity of 91.0%, and the area under curve (AUC) of 0.96. Conclusions In this study, rapid, absolute, and simultaneous quantification of serum TFAs was performed using MALDI-FTICR MS. C18:1 and C20:3 were significantly correlated with prediabetes and T2D.