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A fusant strain T1, which was constructed by protoplast fusion betweenAcinetobactersp. SRL8,Escherichiasp. XBR68 andAcinetobactersp. RC10, could simultaneously decolorize three different dyes, namely reactive brilliant blue XBR, disperse orange SRL, and red base RC. Maximum decolorization of initial 30 mg L−1was achieved at pH 7.0, 35°C and 3% inoculum (v/v) under anaerobic condition during 24 h incubation. The decolorization ratio for XBR, SRL, and RC by the strain T1 could reach 91.5, 87.6, and 65.7%, respectively. Supplementation with appropriate concentration of glucose (0.2%, w/v) in the decolorization reaction system could further enhance decolorization percent. The strain T1 was highly tolerant to three different dyes up to 400 mg L−1. Biological decolorization of the three different dyes by the strain T1 was investigated in a sequential anaerobic/aerobic process. The reaction system was operated at room temperature. The results indicated that over 95% color removal was obtained in anaerobic process and 97.6% COD removal occurred in the aerobic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insecticides are widely sprayed in modern agriculture for ensuring the crop yield, which could also lead to contamination and insecticide residue in soils. Paichongding (IPP) is a novel neonicotinoid insecticide and was developed recently in China. Soil bacterial community, diversity, and community composition vary widely depending on environmental factors. As for now, little is known about bacterial species thriving, bacterial community diversity, and structure in IPP-spraying soils. In present study, IPP degradation in yellow loam and Huangshi soils was investigated, and bacterial communities and diversity were examined in soil without IPP spray and with IPP spray through pyrosequencing of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene amplicons. The degradation ratio of IPP at 60 days after treatment (DAT) reached 51.22 and 34.01 % in yellow loam and Huangshi soil, respectively. A higher richness of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) was found in yellow loam soil (867 OTUs) and Huangshi soil (762 OTUs) without IPP spray while OUTs were relatively low in IPP-spraying soils. The community composition also differed both in phyla and genus level between these two environmental conditions. Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Planctomycetes, Chloroflexi, Armatimonadetes, and Chlorobi were stimulated to increase after IPP application, while IPP inhibited the phyla of Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, and Acidobacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study investigated the biological role of miR-367-3p upregulation in bladder cancer and verified the mutual relation between miR-367-3p and RAB23. Materials and methods: Expression levels of miR-367-3p were determined by RT–qPCR in bladder cancer cell lines and human bladder cancer tissues. The effects of miR-367-3p on proliferation, migration and invasion were evaluated by cell colony formation assays, wound healing assays and trans-well assays, respectively. The effects of miR-367-3p and RAB23 on cisplatin sensitivity of bladder cancer cells were assessed by CCK-8 assay. The expression of its target-RAB23 was determined by western blotting in T24, 5637. Plasmids used in dual-luciferase assays were constructed to confirm the action of miR-367-3p on downstream target-RAB23 in T24 cells. And also, the role of miR-367-3p in tumorigenesis was also confirmed in nude mouse models. Results: The downregulation of miR-367-3p was observed in human bladder cancer tissues. MiR-367-3p downregulation positively correlated with tumor stage and tumor grade. MiR-367-3p overexpression in T24, 5637 cells suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion of bladder cancer cells in vitro while decreasing IC50 values under T24 and 5637 cisplatin treatment conditions. RAB23 was shown to be upregulated in bladder cancer tissues and cell lines. MiR-367-3p directly bound to the 3′ UTR of RAB23 in T24 cells. RAB23 was potentially accounted for the aforementioned functions of miR-367-3p. Tumor formation experiments in nude mouse models confirmed that overexpression of miR-367-3p could inhibit tumor growth and invasion in vivo. Conclusions: miR-367-3p acts as a tumor suppressor in bladder cancer by downregulating RAB23 signaling. We conjecture that miR-367-3p-mediated downregulation of RAB23 expression may be a new therapeutic strategy for bladder cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enzyme activity and microbial population in soils have important roles in keeping soil fertility. ZJ0273 is a novel pyrimidynyloxybenzoic-based herbicide, which was recently developed in China. The effect of ZJ0273 on soil enzyme activity and microbial population in two different soils was investigated in this study for the first time. The protease activity was significantly inhibited by ZJ0273 and this inhibiting effect gradually weakened after 60-day incubation. The results also showed that ZJ0273 had different stimulating effects on the activities of dehydrogenase, urease, and catalase. Dehydrogenase was consistently stimulated by all the applied concentrations of ZJ0273. The stimulating effect on urease weakened after 60-day incubation. Catalase activity was subject to variations during the period of the experiments. The results of microbial population showed that the number of bacteria and actinomycetes increased in ZJ0273-treated soil compared with the control after 20 days of incubation, while fungal number decreased after only 10 days of incubation in soils. DT50 (half-life value) and k (degradation rate constant) of ZJ0273 in S1 (marine-fluvigenic yellow loamy soil) and S2 (Huangshi soil) were found 69.31 and 49.50 days and 0.010 and 0.014 day, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Emodin is an active ingredient of traditional Chinese medicine Rheum palmatum L. and Polygonum cuspidatum, which possesses anti-inflammatory and intestinal mucosal protection effects. Our previous study found that emodin significantly alleviated ulcerative colitis induced by sodium dextran sulfate (DSS). In this study, we found the underlying mechanism of emodin on ulcerative colitis (UC).Purpose: We aimed to further explore the mechanism of emodin in the treatment of ulcerative colitis from the perspective of metabolism and intestinal flora.Methods: Ulcerative colitis was induced by 3% sodium dextran sulfate (DSS) on mice, and the mice were respectively treated with mesalazine, rosiglitazone, emodin, and emodin combined with GW9662 (PPARγ inhibitor) simultaneously. Weight changes, the disease activity index (DAI), colonic length, and pathologic changes in colon were used to evaluate the efficacy of emodin. LC-MS/MS was performed for metabolomics analysis of colon. In addition, intestinal flora was assessed using 16S rDNA sequencing. A vector-based short hairpin RNA (shRNA) method was used to silence PPARγ gene expression in Caco-2 cells.Results: Emodin binds to the active site of PPARγ protein and forms hydrogen bond interaction with ARG288 and CYS285 amino acids. Furthermore, Emodin significantly promotes the protein expression of PPARγ, while inhibiting iNOS and NF-kB p65 in UC mice, however, this effect is hardly shown when it is combined with GW9662 (the inhibitor of PPARγ). Meanwhile, emodin suppresses the expression of iNOS in Caco-2 cells induced with IFNγ and IL-22, but has no effect on its expression in shPPARγ-Caco-2 cells. In addition, through activating PPARγ signal pathway, emodin is capable of regulating colonic metabolism including oxidative phosphorylation and citrulline metabolism and effecting luminal availability of oxygen and nitrate. This promotes the recovery of anoxic environment of colon epithelial cells, which strains the growth and expansion of Enterobacteriaceae.Conclusion: The mechanism of Emodin in the treatment of ulcerative colitis relies on its regulation of PPARγ signal pathway, which could modulate colonic metabolism and restore intestinal homeostasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]