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[Display omitted] • A mainstream anammox MBBR was started in 120 days by stepwise decreasing influent N. • 4-stage biofilm formation involved distinct morphology and community composition. • Low-affinity Ca. Jettenia and filamentous Anaerolineaceae were initial colonizers. • Mature biofilm was dominated by Ca. Kuenenia and Ignavibacteriaceae. • Inoculation strategy was optimized based on an anammox biofilm development model. The application of mainstream anammox process is hampered by its overlong start-up and instability under disturbance. A lab-scale mainstream anammox moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) was successfully started in 120 days with stepwise decrement in influent nitrogen concentration from sidestream to mainstream condition. The initial colonization by Candidatus Jettenia and filamentous fermenter Anaerolineaceae were potentially mediated by hydrophobic interaction and type IV pilus. Ca. Kuenenia with higher substrate affinity outcompeted Ca. Jettenia, and the predominant fermenters shifted to fermentative Ignavibacteriaceae in the mature biofilm. A novel mainstream anammox biofilm development (MABD) model was constructed to describe biofilm growth, population dynamics, and nitrogen removal performance. The simulation results suggested that higher inocula biomass (460–690 mgVSS·L−1), relative abundance of low-affinity AnAOB in the inocula (e.g., Ca. Jettenia , 1.3–2%), and the early-stage solids retention time (45–68 days) were desired to form thicker biofilm and improve effluent quality during 120-day mainstream anammox MBBR start-up. The mechanistic insights into biofilm formation and predictive power of the newly developed MABD model are of importance to the design and operation of mainstream anammox processes towards more biofilm biomass and higher nitrogen removal efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new tripodal compound, 1,1,1-tris(N-ethyl-N-phenylamino-carboxylmethoxymethyl) propane, has been synthesized and evaluated as an ionophore in PVC membrane electrode for the analysis of alkali and alkaline earth metal cations. The influence of the nature of the plasticizers (o-NPOE, DBP and DOP) and of the amount of incorporated ionophore on the characteristics of the electrode was discussed. Selectivity coefficients against alkali and alkaline earth metal cations were calculated. The electrodes based on the tripodal compound with o-NPOE and DBP as plasticizer gave good performance (slope, limits of detection) to lithium and sodium ions. The electrode plasticized with o-NPOE also exhibited near-Nernstian response to divalent ions: Ca2+, Sr2+ and Ba2+. The electrode prepared with 3.9 mg ionophore, 185 mg o-NPOE, 92 mg PVC and 0.46 mg KTpClPB can be used as a Ca2+ electrode. The influence of pH has also been studied. The electrodes exhibited better potential stability and operational lifetime of more than 3 months. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• A gradient structured hydrogel evaporator was designed. • The evaporator showed long-term stability against salt/bacteria accumulation. • The hydrogel owned long-term stable evaporation rate at 2.3 ~ 2.4 kg m-2h−1. • The evaporator can also be applied for high brine treatment (15 wt% salinity). • The stability against dehydration/compression makes it easy for use and storage. Interfacial solar evaporation has been demonstrated as a promising strategy to mitigate water scarcity. However, for practical application in marine environment, the accumulation of salt and growth of microorganisms such as bacteria will cause scarring and fouling of the evaporators, depressing the potential for long-term sustainable use. Here, we report a hydrogel evaporator (chitosan/PAAm/PPy) with integrated three-layer structure containing individual functions for heat localization to improve solar evaporation efficiency, salt redissolution and antibacterial growth for sustainable long-term use, as well as management of thermal energy loss, respectively. The as-fabricated hydrogel evaporator presented a high-water evaporation rate of 2.41 kg m-2h−1 under 1-sun illumination, and excellent self-cleaning property against the salt accumulation and bacteria growth. During a two-week continuous evaporation experiment in simulated marine water with 3.5 wt% salinity and mixture of bacteria, the evaporator generated vapor stably in a range of 2.30 ~ 2.41 kg m-2h−1, without noticeable performance decay. Additionally, the hydrogel evaporator shows a stable vapor generation rate during cycled dehydration-hydration processes, as well as against repeated weight loading–unloading tests, indicating its convenience for long-term use and storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Autotrophs and heterotrophs in anammox systems are versatile in using organics. • Endogenous organics facilitate biofilm formation and cross-feeding interactions. • 19 core and 7 keystone taxa are identified based on 149 wastewater anammox samples. • Appropriate organics management is key to enhancing nitrogen removal by anammox. Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) represents a promising technology for wastewater nitrogen removal. Organics management is critical to achieving efficient and stable performance of anammox or integrated processes, e.g., denitratation-anammox. The aim of this systematic review is to synthesize the state-of-the-art knowledge on the multifaceted impacts of organics on wastewater anammox community structure and function. Both exogenous and endogenous organics are discussed with respect to their effects on the biofilm/granule structure and function, as well as the interactions between anammox bacteria (AnAOB) and a broad range of coexisting functional groups. A global core community consisting of 19 taxa is identified and a co-occurrence network is constructed by meta-analysis on the 16S rDNA sequences of 149 wastewater anammox samples. Correlations between core taxa, keystone taxa, and environmental factors, including COD, nitrogen loading rate (NLR) and C/N ratio are obtained. This review provides a holistic understanding of the microbial responses to different origins and types of organics in wastewater anammox reactors, which will facilitate the design and operation of more efficient anammox-based wastewater nitrogen removal process. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogenous disinfection byproducts (N-DBPs) are notorious for their serious health risks, yet nitrate (NO 3 - ) mediates N-DBPs generation during UV/chlorine treatment remains unexplored. This study investigated the interaction of chlorine and NO 3 - on N-DBPs formation and developed a specific fragment-based screening method using UPLC-QTOF-MS to explore the underlying mechanism. Results showed that the chlorine-to-nitrogen (Cl/NO 3 - -N) molar ratio significantly affects dichloroacetonitrile (DCAN) and dichloroacetamide (DCAM) generation, with peak concentrations at a Cl/NO 3 - -N molar ratio of around 15. NO 3 - promotes the production of HO • , which positively correlates with DCAN and DCAM concentrations, also peaking at this ratio. Utilizing our developed method, three key hydroxyl-substituted intermediates that circumvent the previously reported "limiting-steps" in DCAN formation were identified. This reaction proceeds via a stepwise mechanism involving hydroxylation and chlorine substitution to produce hydroxyl-phenylacetonitrile and hydroxyl-chlorine-phenylacetonitrile. The conversion rate of hydroxyl-chlorine-phenylacetonitrile to DCAN was 8.6 times higher at Cl/NO 3 - -N molar ratio of 15 compared to conditions without NO 3 - , attributed to the weakened bond strength of the side chain, as supported by density functional theory calculations. This study provides novel insights into the mechanistic pathways of DCAN and DCAM formation, critical for developing more effective drinking water disinfection technologies to control N-DBPs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Zinc (Zn) is a vital micronutrient that strengthens the immune system, aids cellular activities, and treats infectious diseases. A deficiency in Zn can lead to an imbalance in the immune system. This imbalance is particularly evident in severe deficiency cases, where there is a high susceptibility to various viral infections, including COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2. This review article examines the nutritional roles of Zn in human health, the maintenance of Zn concentration, and Zn uptake. As Zn is an essential trace element that plays a critical role in the immune system and is necessary for immune cell function and cell signaling, the roles of Zn in the human immune system, immune cells, interleukins, and its role in SARS-CoV-2 infection are further discussed. In summary, this review paper encapsulates the nutritional role of Zn in the human immune system, with the hope of providing specific insights into Zn research., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Jin, Wei, He, Zhong, Lu, Lan, Wei, Liu and Liu.)

The effects of nitrogen application or earthworms on soil respiration in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of China have received increasing attention. However, the response of soil carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission to nitrogen application and earthworm addition is still unclear. A field experiment with nitrogen application frequency and earthworm addition was conducted in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain. Results showed nitrogen application frequency had a significant effect on soil respiration, but neither earthworms nor their interaction with nitrogen application frequency were significant. Low-frequency nitrogen application (NL) significantly increased soil respiration by 25%, while high-frequency nitrogen application (NH), earthworm addition (E), earthworm and high-frequency nitrogen application (E*NH), and earthworm and low-frequency nitrogen application (E*NL) also increased soil respiration by 21%, 21%, 12%, and 11%, respectively. The main reason for the rise in soil respiration was alterations in the bacterial richness and keystone taxa (Myxococcales). The NH resulted in higher soil nitrogen levels compared to NL, but NL had the highest bacterial richness. The abundance of Corynebacteriales and Gammaproteobacteria were positively connected with the CO 2 emissions, while Myxococcales, Thermoleophilia, and Verrucomicrobia were negatively correlated. Our findings indicate the ecological importance of bacterial communities in regulating the carbon cycle in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2024 Jiang et al.)

Cephalosporins have been widely applied in clinical and veterinary settings and detected at increasing concentrations in water environments. They potentially induce high-level antibiotic resistance at environmental concentrations. This study characterized how typical wastewater bacteria developed heritable antibiotic resistance under exposure to different cephalosporins, including pharmacophore-resistance correlation, resistance mechanism, and occurrence of resistance-relevant mutations in different water environments. Wastewater-isolated E. coli JX1 was exposed to eight cephalosporins individually at 25 µg/L for 60 days. Multidrug resistance developed and diverse mutations arose in selected mutants, where a single mutation in ATP phosphoribosyltransferase encoding gene (hisG) resulted in up to 128-fold increase in resistance to meropenem. Molprint2D pharma RQSAR analysis revealed that hydrogen-bond acceptors and hydrophobic groups in the R1 and R2 substituents of cephalosporins contributed positively to antibiotic resistance. Some of these pharmacophores may persist during bio- or photo-degradation in the environment. hisG mutation confers a novel resistance mechanism by inhibiting fatty acid degradation, and its variants were more abundant in water-related E. coli (especially in the effluent of wastewater treatment plants) compared with those in non-water environments. These results suggest that specific degradation of particular pharmacophores in cephalosporins could be useful for controlling resistance development, and mutations in previously unreported resistance genes (e.g., hisG) can lead to overlooked antibiotic resistance risks in water environments., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) is a euryhaline crustacean capable of tolerating a wide range of ambient salinity, but the strategies of hepatopancreas to rapid adaptive or acute stimulatory responses to extremely low salinity fluctuations remains unclear. In this study, we integrated transcriptomic and proteomic analyses on the hepatopancreas derived from rapid adaptative (RA) and acute stimulatory (AS) responses to extremely low salinity stress (0.3 ppt) to unveil specific regulatory mechanisms. The RA group displayed normal epithelial cells and tubule structures, while the AS group showed histological changes and lesions. A total of 754 and 649 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in RA and AS treatments, respectively. For proteome, a total of 206 and 66 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were obtained in the RA/CT and AS/CT comparison groups, respectively. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis were conducted among the DEGs and DEPs, revealing that metabolic related pathways were significantly enriched pathways in both comparison groups. In addition, correlation analysis of transcriptomic and proteomic results showed that 20 and 3 pairs of DEGs/DEPs were identified in RA vs. CT and AS vs. CT comparison groups, respectively. This study is the first report on the rapid adaptive and acute stimulatory transcriptomic and proteomic responses of L. vannamei to extremely low salinity, shedding light on the mechanisms underlying osmoregulation in euryhaline crustaceans., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Phages are increasingly recognized for their importance in microbial aggregates, including their influence on microbial ecosystem services and biotechnology applications. However, the adaptive strategies and ecological functions of phages in different aggregates remain largely unexplored. Herein, we used membrane bioreactors to investigate bacterium-phage interactions and related microbial functions within suspended and attached microbial aggregates (SMA vs AMA). SMA and AMA represent distinct microbial habitats where bacterial communities display distinct patterns in terms of dominant species, keystone species, and bacterial networks. However, bacteria and phages in both aggregates exhibited high lysogenicity, with 60% lysogenic phages in the virome and 70% lysogenic metagenome-assembled genomes of bacteria. Moreover, substantial phages exhibited broad host ranges (34% in SMA and 42% in AMA) and closely interacted with habitat generalist species (43% in SMA and 49% in AMA) as adaptive strategies in stressful operation environments. Following a mutualistic pattern, phage-carried auxiliary metabolic genes (pAMGs; 238 types in total) presumably contributed to the bacterial survival and aggregate stability. The SMA-pAMGs were mainly associated with energy metabolism, while the AMA-pAMGs were mainly associated with antioxidant biosynthesis and the synthesis of extracellular polymeric substances, representing habitat-dependent patterns. Overall, this study advanced our understanding of phage adaptive strategies in microbial aggregate habitats and emphasized the importance of bacterium-phage symbiosis in the stability of microbial aggregates.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a well-known endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) that has estrogenic activities. In addition to disrupting reproductive development and function via estrogenic signaling pathways, BPA can also interfere with nonreproductive functions through nonestrogenic pathways; however, the mechanisms underlying such nonestrogenic activities are not well understood. In this study, we demonstrated that BPA could disrupt otolith formation during the early development of zebrafish with long-lasting ethological effects. Using multiple mutants of estrogen receptors, we provided strong genetic evidence that the BPA-induced otolith malformation was independent of estrogen signaling. Transcriptome analysis revealed that two genes related to otolith development, otopetrin 1 ( otop1 ) and starmaker ( stm ), decreased their expression significantly after BPA exposure. Knockout of both otop1 and stm genes could phenocopy the BPA-induced otolith malformation, while microinjection of their mRNAs could rescue the BPA-induced abnormalities of otolith formation. Further experiments showed that BPA inhibited the expression of otop1 and stm by activating the MEK/ERK-EZH2-H3K27me3 signaling pathway. Taken together, our study provided comprehensive genetic and molecular evidence that BPA induced the otolith malformation through nonestrogenic pathway during zebrafish early development and its activities involved epigenetic control of key genes (e.g., otop1 and stm ) participating in otolith formation.

The splenic interendothelial slits fulfill the essential function of continuously filtering red blood cells (RBCs) from the bloodstream to eliminate abnormal and aged cells. To date, the process by which 8 [Formula: see text]m RBCs pass through 0.3 [Formula: see text]m-wide slits remains enigmatic. Does the slit caliber increase during RBC passage as sometimes suggested? Here, we elucidated the mechanisms that govern the RBC retention or passage dynamics in slits by combining multiscale modeling, live imaging, and microfluidic experiments on an original device with submicron-wide physiologically calibrated slits. We observed that healthy RBCs pass through 0.28 [Formula: see text]m-wide rigid slits at 37 °C. To achieve this feat, they must meet two requirements. Geometrically, their surface area-to-volume ratio must be compatible with a shape in two tether-connected equal spheres. Mechanically, the cells with a low surface area-to-volume ratio (28% of RBCs in a 0.4 [Formula: see text]m-wide slit) must locally unfold their spectrin cytoskeleton inside the slit. In contrast, activation of the mechanosensitive PIEZO1 channel is not required. The RBC transit time through the slits follows a [Formula: see text]1 and [Formula: see text]3 power law with in-slit pressure drop and slip width, respectively. This law is similar to that of a Newtonian fluid in a two-dimensional Poiseuille flow, showing that the dynamics of RBCs is controlled by their cytoplasmic viscosity. Altogether, our results show that filtration through submicron-wide slits is possible without further slit opening. Furthermore, our approach addresses the critical need for in vitro evaluation of splenic clearance of diseased or engineered RBCs for transfusion and drug delivery.

Antibiotics pollution in soil poses increasing threats to human health due to stimulated proliferation and transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) is a promising material for the remediation of antibiotics, but how NZVI affects the diversity, abundance, and horizontal gene transfer potentials of ARGs remains unclear. Herein, the biotic and abiotic effects of NZVI at different concentrations on tetracyclines (TCs) and the associated ARGs were investigated. Results showed NZVI could effectively accelerate the degradation of TCs, which increased from 51.38% (without NZVI) to 57.96%- 71.66% (1-10 g NZVI/kg) in 20 days. Biotic degradation contributed to 66.10%- 76.30% of the total TCs removal. NZVI induced TCs biodegradation was probably due to alleviated toxicity of TCs on cells and increased microbial biomass and enzyme activities. Additionally, TCs-related ARGs were attenuated with decreased horizontal gene transfer potentials of intI1 and ISCR1, but opposite effects were observed for non TC-related ARGs, especially during excess exposure to NZVI. This study illustrated the possibility of remediating of antibiotic contaminated soil by NZVI and meanwhile reducing the potential risks of ARGs., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Mitochondrial-derived peptides are a family of peptides encoded by short open reading frames in the mitochondrial genome, which have regulatory effects on mitochondrial functions, gene expression, and metabolic homeostasis of the body. As a new member of the mitochondrial-derived peptide family, mitochondrial open reading frame of the 12S rRNA-c (MOTS-c) is regarding a peptide hormone that could reduce insulin resistance, prevent obesity, improve muscle function, promote bone metabolism, enhance immune regulation, and postpone aging. MOTS-c plays these physiological functions mainly through activating the AICAR-AMPK signaling pathways by disrupting the folate-methionine cycle in cells. Recent studies have shown that the above hormonal effect can be achieved through MOTS-c regulating the expression of genes such as GLUT4, STAT3, and IL-10. However, there is a lack of articles summarizing the genes and pathways involved in the physiological activity of MOTS-c. This article aims to summarize and interpret the interesting and updated findings of MOTS-c-associated genes and pathways involved in pathological metabolic processes. Finally, it is expected to develop novel diagnostic markers and treatment approaches with MOTS-c to prevent and treat metabolic disorders in the future.

Rice exposed to organic pollutants such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) usually experiences reduced biomass and increased soluble sugar content. This study showed that 2, 2', 4, 4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47) led to increased glucose, fructose, and sucrose in rice leaves, accompanied by decreased photosynthetic rate and biomass. In order to identify the key enzyme that BDE-47 interacted with, a diazirine-alkynyl photoaffinity probe was designed, and photoaffinity labeling based chemoproteomics was conducted. Among all differentially expressed proteins, fructose-1, 6-bisphosphate aldolase (FBA) involved in carbohydrate metabolism was most likely the target protein of BDE-47. Spectral techniques and molecular docking analysis further revealed that the pollutant-protein interaction was driven by hydrophobic force. BDE-47 inhibited FBA catalytic efficiency by competing with its substrate, fructose-1, 6-diphosphate (F-1, 6-P), leading to soluble sugar accumulation, photosynthetic rate decline and biomass reduction. This study unraveled the influencing mechanism of PBDEs on rice by combining the novel photoaffinity labeling-based chemoproteomics with conventional proteomics. The improved knowledge on direct interaction between organic pollutants and proteins will help alleviate the harmful effects of soil pollution on plants., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

This study aimed to examine the impact of childhood maltreatment on callous-unemotional (CU) traits among incarcerated male adolescents, focusing primarily on the roles of parental attachment and emotional intelligence. A total of 454 male incarcerated adolescents from two juvenile correctional facilities, ranging in age from 14 to 18 years, completed a set of questionnaires consisting of a childhood trauma questionnaire, parent-attachment scale, emotional intelligence scale, and the Inventory of CU traits. The results revealed that childhood maltreatment, parental attachment, and emotional intelligence were all correlated with CU traits. Structural equation modeling analysis and the bootstrap test indicated that parental attachment and emotional intelligence mediated, in part, the effect of childhood maltreatment on CU traits. These findings expand the outcomes of previous research and shed light on how childhood maltreatment is related to CU traits., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Job burnout is one of the most widespread mental problems in today's society and seriously affects the mental health and combat effectiveness of soldiers and officers. Herein, the effect of burnout on individual attention is studied from the perspective of neuroelectrophysiology. A total of 1,155 army soldiers and officers were included in this investigation and completed the Job Burnout Scale for Military Personnel. A total of 42 soldiers and officers were randomly selected from those with and without burnout to participate in an event-related potential (ERP) study using a visual oddball task. The characteristics of visual P3a and P3b at Fz, FCz, Cz, CPz, and Pz were recorded and analyzed by repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). P < 0.05 was the criterion for a significant difference. The total average score on the Job Burnout Scale for Military Personnel among the participants was 0.74 ± 0.46, and the detection rate of job burnout was 29.85%. In the Oddball task, the average number of target stimuli counted in the burnout group was lower than that in the control group, but no significant difference was found. For P3a, the Fz, FCz, Cz, CPz, and Pz amplitudes in the burnout group were significantly lower than those in the control group. The average amplitude of P3a evoked in the central parietal area was larger than that in the prefrontal area. For P3b, the amplitudes of the five electrodes in the burnout group were significantly lower than those in the control group. The average amplitude of P3b evoked in the parietal region was larger than those in the prefrontal and central parietal regions. A certain degree of job burnout is evident in army soldiers and officers. The voluntary attention and involuntary attention of individuals with burnout are both affected to some extent, as reflected by the lower amplitudes of P3a and P3b. The results suggest that P3a and P3b can be used as indicators to monitor cognitive neural function in soldiers and officers with burnout and can also be used as references for evaluating the effects of cognitive training and screening methods. In this study, ERP was used to research the attention ability of soldiers and officers with job burnout, and related issues were discussed from the aspects of the burnout results, behavioral results, ERP results, compensation effect of cognitive resources, application in the military field, limitations, and prospects., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Wu, Chen, Liu, Fang, Feng, Sun, Ren, Liang, Lu, Lin, Li, Wang, Li, Zhang, Ni and Wu.)

Antibiotics exert selective pressures on clinically relevant antibiotic resistance. It is critical to understand how antibiotic resistance evolves in environmental microbes exposed to subinhibitory concentrations of antibiotics and whether evolutionary dynamics and emergence of resistance are predictable. In this study, Comamonas testosteroni isolated from wastewater activated sludge were subcultured in a medium containing 10 ng/mL cefepime for 40 days (∼300 generations). Stepwise mutations were accumulated, leading to an ultimate 200-fold increase in the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of cefepime. Early stage mutation in DNA polymerase-encoding gene dnaE2 played an important role in antibiotic resistance evolution. Diverse resistance mechanisms were employed and validated experimentally, including increased efflux, biofilm formation, reduced antibiotic uptake, and drug inactivation. The cefepime minimal selective concentrations (MSCs) and relative fitness of susceptible, intermediate, and resistant mutants were determined. Agent-based modeling of the modified Moran process enabled simulations of resistance evolution and predictions of the emergence time and frequency of resistant mutants. The unraveled cefepime resistance mechanisms could be employed by broader bacteria, and the newly developed model is applicable to the predictions of general resistance evolution. The improved knowledge facilitates the assessment, prediction, and mitigation of antibiotic resistance progression in antibiotic-polluted environments.

Grafting is an effective way to improve Chinese hickory while salt stress has caused great damage to the Chinese hickory industry. Grafting and salt stress have been regarded as the main abiotic stress types for Chinese hickory. However, how Chinese hickory responds to grafting and salt stress is less studied. Auxin has been proved to play an essential role in the stress response through its re-distribution regulation mediated by polar auxin transporters, including PIN-formed (PIN) proteins. In this study, the PIN gene family in Chinese hickory ( CcPINs ) was identified and structurally characterized for the first time. The expression profiles of the genes in response to grafting and salt stress were determined. A total of 11 CcPINs with the open reading frames (ORFs) of 1,026-1,983 bp were identified. Transient transformation in tobacco leaves demonstrated that CcPIN1a, CcPIN3, and CcPIN4 were localized in the plasma membrane. There were varying phylogenetic relationships between CcPINs and homologous genes in different species, but the closest relationships were with those in Carya illinoinensis and Juglans regia . Conserved N- and C-terminal transmembrane regions as well as sites controlling the functions of CcPINs were detected in CcPINs. Five types of cis -acting elements, including hormone- and stress-responsive elements, were detected on the promoters of CcPINs . CcPINs exhibited different expression profiles in different tissues, indicating their varied roles during growth and development. The 11 CcPINs responded differently to grafting and salt stress treatment. CcPIN1a might be involved in the regulation of the grafting process, while CcPIN1a and CcPIN8a were related to the regulation of salt stress in Chinese hickory. Our results will lay the foundation for understanding the potential regulatory functions of CcPIN genes during grafting and under salt stress treatment in Chinese hickory., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Yang, Mei, Chen, Yang, Gu, Tang, Lu, Yang, Sharma, Wang, Yan, Wu, Zheng and Yuan.)

Staphylococcus and Streptococcus , two groups of major human pathogens, are equipped with a fatty acid kinase (Fak) machinery to scavenge host fatty acids. The Fak complex is contains an ATP-binding subunit FakA, which interacts with varied FakB isoforms, and synthesizes acyl-phosphate from extracellular fatty acids. However, how FakA recognizes its FakB partners and then activates different fatty acids is poorly understood. Here, we systematically describe the Fak system from the zoonotic pathogen, Streptococcus suis . The crystal structure of SsFakA complexed with SsFakB2 was determined at 2.6 Å resolution. An in vitro system of Fak-PlsX (phosphate: acyl-ACP transacylase) was developed to track acyl-phosphate intermediate and its final product acyl-ACP. Structure-guided mutagenesis enabled us to characterize a mechanism for streptococcal FakA working with FakB partners engaged in host fatty acid scavenging. These findings offer a comprehensive description of the Fak kinase machinery, thus advancing the discovery of attractive targets against deadly infections with Streptococcus .

The usage of quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) as disinfectants has increased dramatically since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, leading to potentially accelerated emergence of antibiotic resistance. Long-term exposure to subinhibitory level QACs can lead to multidrug resistance, but the contribution of mutagenesis to resistance evolution is obscure. In this study, we subcultured E. coli K-12 under subinhibitory (0.25 × and 0.5 × Minimum Inhibitory Concentration, MIC) or inhibitory (1 × and 2 × MIC) concentrations of benzalkonium chloride (BAC, mono-chained) or didecyldimethylammonium chloride (DDAC, twin-chained) for 60 days. The sensitivity of QAC-adapted cells to five typical antibiotics decreased significantly, and in particular, the MIC of rifampicin increased by 85 times. E. coli adapted faster to BAC but developed 20-167% higher antibiotic resistance with 56% more mutations under DDAC exposure. The broader mutations induced by QACs, including negative regulators (acrR, marR, soxR, and crp), outer membrane proteins and transporters (mipA and sbmA), and RNA polymerase (rpoB and rpoC), potentially contributed to the high multi-drug resistance. After QACs stresses were removed, the phenotypic resistance induced by subinhibitory concentrations of QACs was reversible, whereas that induced by inhibitory concentrations of QACs was irreversible. The different patterns and molecular mechanism of antibiotic resistance induced by BAC and DDAC is informative to estimating the risks of broader QACs present at varied concentrations in the environment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: The association between elevated body mass index (BMI) and perioperative and oncological outcomes among elderly patients undergoing minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy (MIE) remains unclear., Methods: We performed a single-center retrospective analysis of 526 consecutive patients aged 65 years or older who underwent MIE for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) between January 2016 and December 2019. Two groups were stratified by BMI: normal (18.5 ≤ BMI < 24 kg/m 2 ) and elevated groups (BMI ≥ 24 kg/m 2 ). A 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was used to compare perioperative and oncological outcomes between the two groups., Results: A total of 480 elderly patients were eventually enrolled, with a mean age of 70.2 years (range: 65-87), and 185 patients were eligible for elevated BMI, with a mean BMI of 26.3 ± 1.9 kg/m 2 . Compared with the normal BMI group, the elevated BMI group had prolonged operation time (261.7 ± 57.2 vs. 278.9 ± 62.7 mins, p = 0.002) and increased incidence of intraoperative hypoxemia (12.2% vs. 21.6%, p = 0.006). The differences in intraoperative estimated blood loss, transfusion, new-onset arrhythmia, and conversion rates and postoperative outcomes regarding pulmonary and surgical complications, intensive care unit and 30-day readmissions, the length of hospital stay, and oncological outcomes regarding R0 dissection, and the number of dissected lymph nodes between two groups were comparable. After a 1:1 PSM analysis, there was no significant difference in both perioperative and oncological outcomes between two groups., Conclusions: Among elderly patients undergoing MIE for esophageal SCC, there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that elevated BMI could increase perioperative and oncological adverse outcomes., (© 2022 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: As a nutritive feed additive, guanidine acetic acid (GAA) participates in the metabolism of energy and proteins. This study aimed to investigate the effects of GAA on growth performance, organ index, plasma and tissue free amino acid profiles, and related metabolites in finishing pigs. A total of 72 crossbred pigs (body weight 86.59 ± 1.16 kg) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 dietary treatments (GAA0, GAA500, GAA1000, and GAA1500). They were fed the basal diets supplemented with 0, 500, 1000, or 1500 mg/kg GAA for 42 days, respectively. The growth performance and organ weight were evaluated, and the contents of crude protein, free amino acids, and metabolites in plasma and tissues were determined. Spearman correlation between plasma and tissue free amino acids and related metabolites was also analyzed., Results: Growth performance in pigs was not altered by GAA (P > 0.05). The absolute and relative weight of kidneys increased (quadratic, P < 0.05). As dietary GAA concentration was increased, the contents of plasma glycine, serine, leucine, ornithine, and ratio of ornithine/arginine decreased (linear or quadratic, P < 0.05), but the contents of plasma isoleucine and taurine and the ratios of alanine/branched-chain amino acids and proline/ornithine increased quadratically (P < 0.05). The hepatic γ-amino-n-butyric acid content increased linearly and quadratically (P < 0.001), while the carnosine content decreased (quadratic, P = 0.004). The contents of renal arginine, proline, cystine, glutamate, and total amino acids (TAA) decreased quadratically (P < 0.05), but the contents of glycine (quadratic, P = 0.015) and γ-amino-n-butyric acid (linear, P = 0.008) increased. The pancreatic tryptophan content (quadratic, P = 0.024) increased, while the contents of pancreatic proline (linear, P = 0.005) and hydroxyproline (quadratic, P = 0.032) decreased in response to GAA supplementation. The contents of cardiac essential amino acids (EAA), nonessential amino acids (NEAA), and TAA in GAA1000 were higher than those in GAA1500 (P < 0.05). Supplementing with GAA linearly increased the contents of methionine, threonine, valine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, lysine, histidine, arginine, serine, alanine, glutamine, asparagine, tyrosine, proline, taurine, cystathionine, α-aminoadipic acid, β-aminoisobutyric acid, EAA, NEAA, and TAA in the spleen (P < 0.05). A strong Spearman correlation existed between plasma and tissue free amino acids and related metabolites., Conclusion: GAA supplementation did not altered pig growth performance, but it altered plasma and tissue free amino acid profiles and the contents of related metabolites in pigs in a tissue-dependent manner., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Schizophrenia patients with auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) are diseased groups of serious psychosis with still unknown etiology. The aim of this research was to identify the neurophysiological correlates of auditory verbal hallucinations. Revealing the neural correlates of auditory hallucination is not merely of great clinical significance, but it is also quite essential to study the pathophysiological correlates of schizophrenia. In this study, 25 Schizophrenia patients with AVHs (AVHs group, 23.2 ± 5.35 years), 52 Schizophrenia patients without AVHs (non-AVHs group, 25.79 ± 5.63 years) and 28 healthy subjects (NC group, 26.14 ± 5.45 years) were enrolled. Dynamic functional connectivity was studied with a sliding-window method and functional connectivity states were then obtained with the k-means clustering algorithm in the three groups. We found that schizophrenia patients with AVHs were characterized by significant decreased static functional connectivity and enhanced variability of dynamic functional connectivity (non-parametric permutation test, Bonferroni correction, p < 0.05). In addition, the AVHs group also demonstrated increased number of brain states, suggesting brain dynamics enhanced in these patients compared with the non-AVHs group. Our findings suggested that there were abnormalities in the connection of brain language regions in auditory verbal hallucinations. It appears that the interruption of connectivity from the language region might be critical to the pathological basis of AVHs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zhang, Wang, Lin, Yang, Qi, Wang, Liang, Lu, Zhang, Zhai, Hao, Cao, Huang, Guo, Hu and Zhu.)

Photosynthetic carbon fixation is fundamental for plant growth and is a key process driving the global carbon cycle. This study explored the mechanism of disturbed carbon fixation in Oryza sativa L. by organic pollutants 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorobiphenyl (CB 61), 4'-hydroxy-2,3,4,5-tetrachlorobiphenyl (4'-OH-CB 61), 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromo diphenyl ether (BDE 47), tricyclazole (TRI), and pyrene. The biomass of rice exposed to 4'-OH-CB 61, TRI, and BDE 47 was on average 80.63% of that of the control ( p < 0.05), and the inhibition of net photosynthetic rate was 59.15% by 4'-OH-CB 61. Proteomics confirmed that 4'-OH-CB 61 significantly downregulated the enzymes in the photosynthetic carbon fixation pathway, which was attributed to the decrease in ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco), the rate-limiting enzyme in the Calvin cycle. In detail, decreased Rubisco activity (6.96-33.44%) and downregulated OsRBCS2-5 encoding small Rubisco subunits (-6.80 < log 2 FC < -2.13) by 4'-OH-CB 61, TRI, and BDE 47 were in line with biomass yield reduction. Molecular docking and dynamic simulation suggested that the three pollutants potentially competed with CO 2 for binding to the active sites in Rubisco, leading to reduced CO 2 capture efficiency. These results revealed the molecular mechanism of organic pollution-induced rice yield reduction, contributing to improving the understanding of crop growth and carbon sequestration capacity of organics-contaminated soils globally.

The current study explores the effect of nightshift work on the decision-making competence and performance of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and analyzes whether individual differences in the need for cognition (NFC) can moderate this effect. A total of 107 female nurses were recruited to complete the decision-making competence scale and IGT at two times, after a night shift and after a day shift. The results revealed that the IGT scores and decision-making competence of nurses after nightshift work significantly declined, and also that the decrease in decision-making competence was related to the nurses' performance of the IGT. Additionally, the decreasing degree of IGT and decision-making competence scores of the high-NFC group were significantly lower than those of the low-NFC group after nightshift work. In can be concluded that the decrease in decision-making competence which was related with poor decision-making due to nightshift work. NFC moderated the effect of nightshift work on decision-making., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Foxo1, a member of Foxo transcription factor family, is involved in a number of physiological processes including metabolism, cell cycle progression, aging, and apoptosis. In the ovarian granulosa cell of mouse, Foxo1 is implicated to inhibit the expression of Cyp19a1, a gene encoding the aromatase that converts androgens into estrogens. Currently, the information about the expression and physiological relevance of Foxo1 homologues in the ovary of teleosts is scarce. In the present study, cDNAs encoding two forms of Foxo1, Foxo1a and Foxo1b, were isolated from the orange-spotted grouper. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the orange-spotted groupers Foxo1a and Foxo1b were closely related to the counterparts of the ricefield eel. RT-PCR analysis showed that the orange-spotted groupers foxo1a and foxo1b were expressed in a wide range of tissues, with high levels detected in the brain regions, liver, and intestine. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed similar expression profiles for cyp19a1a, foxo1a, and foxo1b in the ovary during development from the primary growth to mature stages, with peak values detected at the vitellogenic stage. In situ hybridization detected mRNA of foxo1a, foxo1b, and cyp19a1a in granulosa cells surrounding vitellogenic oocytes. In vitro transfection showed that both Foxo1a and Foxo1b upregulated the orange-spotted grouper cyp19a1a promoter activities, possibly through the conserved Foxo binding site. Collectively, these results suggest that both Foxo1a and Foxo1b may be involved in the regulation of the ovarian functions in the orange-spotted grouper and the physiological roles of Foxo1 homologues in the ovary may be diversified in vertebrates., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

The aim of this study was to identify novel genetic variants affecting tacrolimus trough blood concentrations. We analyzed the association between 58 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the CYP3A gene cluster and the log-transformed tacrolimus concentration/dose ratio (log (C 0 /D)) in 819 renal transplant recipients (Discovery cohort). Multivariate linear regression was used to test for associations between tacrolimus log (C 0 /D) and clinical factors. Luciferase reporter gene assays were used to evaluate the functions of select SNPs. Associations of putative functional SNPs with log (C 0 /D) were further tested in 631 renal transplant recipients (Replication cohort). Nine SNPs were significantly associated with tacrolimus log (C 0 /D) after adjustment for CYP3A5*3 and clinical factors. Dual luciferase reporter assays indicated that the rs4646450 G allele and rs3823812 T allele were significantly associated with increased normalized luciferase activity ratios (p < 0.01). Moreover, CYP3A7*2 was associated with higher TAC log(C 0 /D) in the group of CYP3A5 expressers. Age, serum creatinine and hematocrit were significantly associated with tacrolimus log (C 0 /D). CYP3A7*2, rs4646450, and rs3823812 are proposed as functional SNPs affecting tacrolimus trough blood concentrations in Chinese renal transplant recipients. Clinical factors also significantly affect tacrolimus metabolism.

Not available.

Background: Anastomotic leakage is a dangerous postoperative complication of oesophageal surgery. The present study aimed to develop a simple and practical scoring system to predict the risk of anastomotic leakage after oesophageal resection., Methods: A consecutive series of 330 patients who underwent oesophageal cancer surgery from January 2016 to January 2018 at the Shanghai Chest Hospital were included to develop a prediction model. Anastomotic leakage was evaluated using oesophagography, computed tomography, or flexible endoscopy. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression based on a generalized linear model was used to select variables for the anastomotic leakage risk model while avoiding overfitting. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was applied to build forest plots and a prediction model. The concordance index or the area under the curve was used to judge the discrimination, and calibration plots verified the consistency. Internal validation of the model was conducted, and the clinical usefulness and threshold screening of the model were evaluated by decision curve analysis., Results: The factors included in the predictive nomogram included Sex, diabetes history, anastomotic type, reconstruction route, smoking history, CRP level and presence of cardiac arrhythmia. The model displayed a discrimination performance with a concordance index of 0.690 (95% confidence interval: 0.620-0.760) and good calibration. A concordance index value of 0.664 was maintained during the internal validation. The calibration curve showed good agreement between the actual observations and the predicted results., Conclusion: The present prediction model, which requires only seven variables and includes Sex, diabetes history, anastomotic type, reconstruction route, smoking history, CRP level and presence of cardiac arrhythmia, may be useful for predicting anastomotic leakage in patients after oesophagectomy.

Transcription factors of nuclear receptor 5A (Nr5a) subfamily play pivotal roles in regulation of steroidogenic enzymes in vertebrates including teleosts. In the orange-spotted grouper, the expression of Nr5a1a was only detectable in the ovary, spleen, and head kidney in the female. The immunoreactive Nr5a1a was present in ovarian follicular and germ cells. In the ovarian follicular cells surrounding vitellogenic oocytes, Nr5a1a was detected both in the nucleus and cytoplasm, and co-localized with Cyp19a1a and Nr5a2. In the ovarian follicular cells surrounding fully grown oocytes, Nr5a1a was localized almost exclusively to the cytoplasm together with Nr5a2. Nr5a1a could up-regulate cyp19a1a promoter activities through Nr5a sites, and further increase the responses elicited by Nr5a2 at sub-maximal doses. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis showed that Nr5a1a bound to cyp19a1a promoter in the vitellogenic but not fully grown ovary. Taken together, Nr5a1a up-regulates cyp19a1a additively with Nr5a2 during vitellogenesis, and its cytoplasmic sequestration may also contribute to the down-regulation of cyp19a1a in the fully grown ovary., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The ZnO nanoparticle (NP) effects on typical ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, Nitrosomonas europaea in a chemostat bioreactor, and the cells' toxicity adaptation and recovery potentials were explored. Hardly any inhibition was observed when the NP concentration was high up to 10 mg/L. The cells exposed to 50 mg/L ZnO NPs displayed time-dependent impairment and recovery potentials in terms of cell density, membrane integrity, nitrite production rate, and ammonia monooxygenase activity. The 6-h NP stress impaired cells were nearly completely restored during a 12-h recovery incubation, while the longer exposure time would cause irretrievable cell damage. Microarray analysis further indicated the transcriptional adaptation of N. europaea to NP stress. The regulations of genes encoding for membrane permeability or osmoprotectant, membrane integrity preservation, and inorganic ion transport during NP exposure and cell recovery revealed the importance of membrane fixation and the associated metabolisms for cells' self-protection and the following recovery from NP stress. The oxidative phosphorylation, carbon assimilation, and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycling pathways involved in the cells' antitoxicity activities and would promote the energy production/conversion efficiency for cell recovery. The heavy metal resistance, histidine metabolism, toxin-antitoxin defense, glycolysis, and sulfate reduction pathways were also suggested to participate in the cell detoxication and recovery processes. All these findings provided valuable insights into the mechanisms of cell-mediated ZnO NP cytotoxicity and their potential impacts on wastewater nitrogen removal system.

The model ammonia-oxidizing bacterium Nitrosomonas europaea represents one of the environmentally and biotechnologically significant microorganisms. Genome-based studies over the last decade have led to many intriguing discoveries about its cellular biochemistry and physiology. However, knowledge regarding the regulation of overall metabolic routes in response to various environmental stresses is limited due to a lack of comprehensive, time-resolved metabolomic analyses. In this study, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based metabolic profiling was performed to characterize the temporal variations of N. europaea 19718 intercellular metabolites in response to varied temperature (23 and 10 °C) and ammonia feeding patterns (shock loading and continuous feeding of 20 mg N/L). Approximately 87 metabolites were successfully identified and mapped to the existing pathways of N. europaea 19718, allowing interpretation of the influence of temperature and feeding pattern on metabolite levels. In general, varied temperature had a more profound influence on the overall metabolism than varied feeding patterns. Total extracellular metabolite concentrations (relative to internal standards and normalized to biomass weight) were lower under cold stress and shock loading conditions compared with the control (continuous feeding at 23 °C). Cold stress caused the widespread downregulation of metabolites involved in central carbon metabolism, amino acid, and lipid synthesis (e.g., malonic acid, succinic acid, putrescine, and phosphonolpyruvate). Metabolites that showed differences under varied feeding patterns were mainly involved in nucleotide acid, amino acid, and lipid metabolism (e.g., adenine, uracil, and spermidine). This study highlighted the roles of central carbon and nitrogen metabolism in countering cold stress and altered ammonia availability. In addition, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic data from three studies on N. europaea were compared to achieve a holistic view of some important synergy and interconnectivity among different cellular components (RNA, protein, and metabolites) during ammonia starvation.

Membrane biofouling is a complex process that involves bacterial adhesion, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) excretion and utilization, and species interactions. To obtain a better understanding of the microbial ecology of biofouling process, this study conducted rigorous, time-course analyses on the structure, EPS and microbial composition of the fouling layer developed on ultrafiltration membranes in a nitrification bioreactor. During a 14-day fouling event, three phases were determined according to the flux decline and microbial succession patterns. In Phase I (0-2 days), small sludge flocs in the bulk liquid were selectively attached on membrane surfaces, leading to the formation of similar EPS and microbial community composition as the early biofilms. Dominant populations in small flocs, e.g., Nitrosomonas, Nitrobacter, and Acinetobacter spp., were also the major initial colonizers on membranes. In Phase II (2-4 d), fouling layer structure, EPS composition, and bacterial community went through significant changes. Initial colonizers were replaced by fast-growing and metabolically versatile heterotrophs (e.g., unclassified Sphingobacteria). The declining EPS polysaccharide to protein (PS:PN) ratios could be correlated well with the increase in microbial community diversity. In Phase III (5-14 d), heterotrophs comprised over 90% of the community, whereas biofilm structure and EPS composition remained relatively stable. In all phases, AOB and NOB were constantly found within the top 40% of the fouling layer, with the maximum concentrations around 15% from the top. The overall microbial succession pattern from autotrophic colonization to heterotrophic domination implied that MBR biofouling could be alleviated by forming larger bacterial flocs in bioreactor suspension (reducing autotrophic colonization), and by designing more specific cleaning procedures targeting dominant heterotrophs during typical filtration cycles., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The accumulation of the denitrification intermediates in wastewater treatment systems is highly undesirable, since both nitrite and nitric oxide (NO) are known to be toxic to bacteria, and nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas and an ozone depleting substance. To date, two distinct concepts for the modelling of denitrification have been proposed, which are represented by the Activated Sludge Model for Nitrogen (ASMN) and the Activated Sludge Model with Indirect Coupling of Electrons (ASM-ICE), respectively. The two models are fundamentally different in describing the electron allocation among different steps of denitrification. In this study, the two models were examined and compared in their ability to predict the accumulation of denitrification intermediates reported in four different experimental datasets in literature. The N-oxide accumulation predicted by the ASM-ICE model was in good agreement with values measured in all four cases, while the ASMN model was only able to reproduce one of the four cases. The better performance of the ASM-ICE model is due to that it adopts an "indirect coupling" modelling concept through electron carriers to link the carbon oxidation and the nitrogen reduction processes, which describes the electron competition well. The ASMN model, on the other hand, is inherently limited by its structural deficiency in assuming that carbon oxidation is always able to meet the electron demand by all denitrification steps, therefore discounting electron competition among these steps. ASM-ICE therefore offers a better tool for predicting and understanding intermediates accumulation in biological denitrification., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Glycerol, a byproduct of biodiesel and oleo-chemical manufacturing operations, represents an attractive alternate to methanol as a carbon and electron donor for enhanced denitrification. However, unlike methanol, little is known about the diversity and activity of glycerol assimilating bacteria in activated sludge. In this study, the microbial ecology of glycerol assimilating denitrifying bacteria in a sequencing batch integrated fixed film activated sludge (SB-IFAS) reactor was investigated using (13)C-DNA stable isotope probing (SIP). During steady state SB-IFAS reactor operation, near complete nitrate removal (92.7 ± 5.8%) was achieved. Based on (13)C DNA clone libraries obtained after 360 days of SB-IFAS reactor operation, bacteria related to Comamonas spp. and Diaphorobacter spp. dominated in the suspended phase communities. (13)C assimilating members in the biofilm community were phylogenetically more diverse and were related to Comamonas spp., Bradyrhizobium spp., and Tessaracoccus spp. Possibly owing to greater substrate availability in the suspended phase, the glycerol-assimilating denitrifying populations (quantified by real-time PCR) were more abundant therein than in the biofilm phase. The biomass in the suspended phase also had a higher specific denitrification rate than the biofilm phase (p = 4.33e-4), and contributed to 69.7 ± 4.5% of the overall N-removal on a mass basis. The kinetics of glycerol based denitrification by suspended phase biomass were approximately 3 times higher than with methanol. Previously identified methanol assimilating denitrifying bacteria were not associated with glycerol assimilation, thereby suggesting limited cross-utilization of these two substrates for denitrification in the system tested.

Biological hydrogen production is a process of applying anaerobic biological fermentation method to produce hydrogen from organic wastes. Hydrogen production potential of different microbiological source and organic wastes, as well as the composition of fermentation product in liquid phase, were studied in the batch culture experiments. Magnifying experiment of biohydrogen production was carried out in 30 L improvement UASB reactor using anaerobic fermentation of artificial wastewater containing starch by activated sludge process. The experiment confirm that hydrogen and carbon dioxide percentage of biogas were 40%-51% and 49%-60% under the condition of hydrogen production process (pH was 4.5-5.5 sludge VSS was 10 g/L; starch-COD was 5000 mg/L), and no methane was observed. Hydrogen purity was more than 97% by an absorption of sodium hydrate solution, continuous hydrogen production was more than 120 days.

In this paper, treatment of 1,1'-(1,4-butanediyl) bis-1H-benzotriazole (bbbt) and KSCN with Co(II), Mn(II), or Cd(II) afforded three two-dimensional rhombohedral grid coordination polymers [M(bbbt)(2)(NCS)(2)](n)(M = Co, 1; Mn, 2; Cd, 3). The two-dimensional rhombohedral grids are parallel to the crystallographic ac plane. The rhombohedral grid consists of 44-membered rings of M(4)(bbbt)(4), and gives the dimensions of 12.913 x 10.764 A for polymer 1, 13.106 x 10.797 A for polymer 2, and 13.256 x 10.870 A for polymer 3. The three polymers' third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties were determined by Z-scan technique in DMF solution. The results show that all three polymers show very large NLO absorption and strong NLO refraction properties. The third-order NLO absorptive coefficients alpha(2) are 5.4 x 10(-9) m W(-1) for polymer 1, 5.2 x 10(-9) m W(-1) for polymer 2, and 5.0 x 10(-9) m W(-1) for polymer 3. The alpha(2) values are larger than those of all the reported cluster compounds. The NLO refractive index values n(2) of the three polymers are 5.73 x 10(-19), 3.55 x 10(-19), and 3.07 x 10(-19) m(2) W(-1), respectively. Their hyperpolarizability gamma values are calculated to be 2.40 x 10(-30) esu for polymer 1, 1.52 x 10(-30) esu for polymer 2, and 1.50 x 10(-30) esu for polymer 3. The gamma values are comparable to those of clusters and better than those of organometallic compounds, semiconductors, and fullerene.