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Food waste digestate (FWD) disposal is a serious bottleneck in anaerobic digestion plants to achieve a circular bioeconomy. FWD could be recycled into nitrogen-rich compost; however, the co-composting process optimisation along with bulking agents is required to reduce nitrogen loss and unwanted gaseous emissions. In the present study, two different-sized bulking agents, namely, wood shaving (WS) and fine sawdust (FS), were used to investigate their impact on FWD composting performance along with the nitrogen dynamics. The mixing of FWD with different bulking agents altered the physiochemical characteristics of composting matrix and the effective composting performance was observed through reduced ammonium nitrogen and increased seed germination index during 28 days of composting. The carbon loss of 19-22% through CO

In this work, a general and convenient protocol for the blue light-promoted radical-mediated cascade spiro-cyclization/Michael addition of N-arylpropiolamides with thiophenols under metal-free conditions was developed.

Sewage sludge (SL), Chinese medicinal herbal residues (CMHRs) and the raw materials of biochar (BC) are normally treated as wastes. However, SL, CMHRs and BC are potential candidates for soil amendments. The performances of soils amended with three different proportions (5%, 10% and 20% on a dry-weight basis) of SL-BC and SL-CMHR-BC in terms of ameliorating soil properties and attenuating antibiotics in soil–plant systems were investigated with two common crop species: carrot and lettuce. The amended soils in general showed higher nutrient levels than the control soils, and particularly for the 20% SL-CMHR-BC. The soils with 10% or 20% SL-BC or SL-CMHR-BC apparently retarded the germination performances of the two crop species, but the negative effects were not noticeable after a growing period. Six target antibiotics, amoxicillin (AMX), tetracycline (TC), sulfamethazine (SMX), norfloxacin (NOR), erythromycin (ERY) and chloramphenicol (CAP), were applied for growing the crops by using irrigation water with 3 μg L−1 (IW3) and 30 μg L−1 (IW30) of each antibiotic. The amended soils led to lower levels of antibiotics in the soils and crop tissues as compared with the control, with the 20% SL-CMHR-BC soils showing the most pronounced effect. The effects of the soil amendments on the bioconcentration factor (BCF) varied, but generally with lower values in the amended soils. Both SL-BC and SL-CMHR-BC were proven in the study as potential soil amendments for alleviating the environmental dispersal and human exposure risks of different antibiotics, and specifically 20% SL-CMHR-BC.

The Mo–N surface bonding states and quantum effect leading to superior tetracycline degradation activity of α-MoC1−x modified carbon nitride were reported.

Transforming biomass waste into cost-effective catalysts for chemical reactions provides new opportunity for biomass waste valorization. In this work, we examined the possibility of using food waste solid digestate as raw materials for the production of a heterogeneous catalyst for glucose isomerization to fructose, which is one of the important intermediates for the production of platform chemicals, hydrocarbon fuels and synthetic materials from biomass. Hydroxyapatite-based catalysts were obtained from food waste digestate by a coupled hydrothermal-calcination approach. In the hydrothermal treatment process, the addition of exogenous calcium can adjust the alkalinity of the catalyst, which is beneficial to improve the activity of the catalyst. The reaction parameters such as reaction temperature, reaction time and catalyst dosage have also been optimized. The catalyst showed excellent catalytic performance in the glucose isomerization reaction resulting in a high fructose yield of 32.3% with a reaction time of only 20 ​min at 80 ​°C in water. The catalyst can be reused after a simple regeneration without significant activity. This work provides a win-win strategy, which not only solves the problem of the disposal and utilization of digestate, but also expands the synthesis method of the glucose isomerization reaction catalyst.

High accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) is one of the major concerns during mesophilic anaerobic co-digestion of food waste (FW) and sewage sludge (SS). Therefore, improving the stability of the anaerobic digestion process could surpass quick acidification while accelerating methanogenesis. In this study, the suitability of biochar-assisted co-digestion was evaluated at different inoculum and substrate ratios (I/S ratios: 0.1, 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9). The maximum methane yield of 256.85 mL/gVS

The influence of biochar on anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic waste have been widely studied. However, the effect of biochar on the mitigation of acidification and subsequently the stimulation of methanogenesis recovery during mono food waste (FW) digestion process under a low inoculum to substrate (I/S) ratio (i.e. a high organic loading) is rarely investigated. In this study, the benefit of biochar with respect to methane production from FW was explored in a mono FW AD system with four different additional amounts of biochar, i.e. 0, 5, 10 and 15 g/L. Results revealed that biochar boosted methane production in AD at a low I/S ratio by 390-530% through stimulating methanogenic activity, improving organics removal and enhancing process stability. The biochar dosage of 10 g/L demonstrated the highest biodegradability of 92.3% and the highest specific methane production of 553.0 mL/g VS

The annual increase of waste activated sludge (WAS) has become an urgent problem to be solved in sewage plants worldwide. Anaerobic digestion (AD) of WAS is an attractive choice to maximize the resource utilization rate. Nevertheless, the disintegration of sludge complex polymers is difficult, resulting in low bioconversion rate. Potassium ferrate (PF), as a green oxidant with strong oxidizing property, has been attracted great attention in WAS pretreatment recently. The effects of PF pretreatment on WAS hydrolysis and its dosage-response on methane production were investigated in the present study. Results show that as PF dosage raise from 0 to 50 g-K

Junfeng Gong,* Liwen Luo,* Huan Liu, Changqing Li, Yu Tang, Yue Zhou Department of Orthopedics, The Second Affiliated Xinqiao Hospital of Army Military Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yue Zhou; Yu TangDepartment of Orthopedics, The Second Affiliated Xinqiao Hospital of Army Military Medical University, Xinqiao Street, Shapingba District, Chongqing, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 13908390792; +86 18623422628Fax +86 23-68755012Email happyzhou@vip.163.com; tangyu628@qq.comPurpose: We aimed to explore the role of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in patients who underwent percutaneous endoscopic lumbar interbody fusion (PELIF).Patients and Methods: We performed a retrospective, observational, cohort study on 91 patients who underwent PELIF for degenerative disc disease. The primary outcomes were postoperative opioid consumption, hospital length of stay (LOS), and hospital cost.Results: Forty-six patients comprised the ERAS group, and 45 patients comprised the pre-ERAS group (control group). The groups had comparable demographic characteristics. Good compliance with the ERAS pathway was observed in the ERAS group. Patients in the ERAS group used significantly fewer morphine equivalents compared with the pre-ERAS group (25.0 vs 33.3, respectively; p = 0.017). Hospital LOS did not decrease significantly in the ERAS group compared with the pre-ERAS group (3.1days vs 3.4 days, respectively; p = 0.096). Likewise, there was no significant difference in hospital cost between the pre-ERAS group and the ERAS group ($10,598.60 vs $10,384.50, respectively; p = 0.468).Conclusion: In the present study, the benefit of ERAS in the context of PELIF was limited. Although a multidisciplinary ERAS protocol can improve analgesia and decrease opioid consumption, no significant reduction in hospital LOS and cost was observed.Keywords: enhanced recovery after surgery, hospital length of stay, opioid use, hospital costs, percutaneous endoscopic spine surgery

In this study, exogenous Megasphaera elsdenii inoculum and acetate supplementation were introduced at the acidogenic phase to regulate the acidogenic fermentation pathway and assess their effects on food waste (FW) carbon conversion in two-phase anaerobic digestion (AD) system. These two additives significantly accelerated organic removal efficiency and subsequently increased FW hydrolysis and acidogenesis by 16% and 35%, respectively. As expected, two exogenous additives promoted butyrate fermentation during FW acidogenesis. With regard to the role of exogenous additives, both hydrogen and butyrate yields increased by over 60%. This desired increment resulted in a 25% increase in methane production. The overall carbon conversion from FW in the integrated two-phase AD system was enhanced by biochemical additives, which was 1.3-fold higher than that in control without any additives. Collectively, findings demonstrate the feasibility of regulating acidogenic fermentation via exogenous biochemical additives and its benefits on FW carbon conversion during AD process.

Degeneration of the cartilage endplate (CEP) induces intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). Nucleus pulposus cell (NPC) apoptosis is also an important exacerbating factor in IVDD, but the cascade mechanism in IVDD is not clear. We investigated the apoptosis of NPCs and IVDD when stimulated by normal cartilage endplate stem cell (CESC)‐derived exosomes (N‐Exos) and degenerated CESC‐derived exosomes (D‐Exos) in vitro and in vivo. Tert‐butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) was used to induce inflammation of CESCs. The bioinformatics differences between N‐Exos and D‐Exos were analyzed using mass spectrometry, heat map, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis. NPC apoptosis was examined using TUNEL staining. The involvement of the AKT and autophagy signaling pathways was investigated using the signaling inhibitor LY294002. Magnetic resonance imaging, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence staining were used to evaluate the therapeutic effects of N‐Exos in rats with IVDD. TBHP effectively induced inflammation and the degeneration of CEP in rat. N‐Exos were more conducive to autophagy activation than D‐Exos. The apoptotic rate of NPCs decreased obviously after treatment with N‐Exos compared to D‐Exos. N‐Exos inhibited NPCs apoptosis and attenuated IVDD in rat via activation of the AKT and autophagy pathways. These results are the first findings to confirm that CEP delayed the progression of IVDD via exosomes. The therapeutic effects of N‐Exos on NPC apoptosis inhibition and the slowing of IVDD progression were more effective than D‐Exos due to activation of the PI3K/AKT/autophagy pathway, which explained the increase in the incidence of IVDD after inflammation of the CEP., Graphical abstract of the mechanism that cartilage endplate (CEP) inflammation accelerated the progression of intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). Normal cartilage endplate stem cell (CESC)‐derived exosomes (N‐Exos) can more effectively inhibit nucleus pulposus cell (NPC) apoptosis than degenerated CEPC‐derived exosomes (D‐Exos) due to the anti‐apoptotic protein carried by exosomes decreasing after the CEP degeneration. Furthermore, N‐Exos also activate the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in NPC more conducively compared with D‐Exos, enhancing autophagy, alleviating NPC apoptosis in vitro and ameliorating IVDD in vivo

This work reported a new waste functionalization and utilization method, which use digestate to prepare hydrochar to improve methane production from food waste (FW) and sewage sludge (SS). Experimental results presented that 10 g/L hydrochar obtained the cumulative methane production of 133.11 ± 1.18 mL/g volatile solids added, 26.99 % higher than that without hydrochar addition. By monitoring the conversion of model metabolic intermediates, 10 g/L hydrochar was determined to favor hydrolysis, acidogenesis and methonogenesis bio-processes involved in methane production, thus improving the degradation of solubilized organics and consumption of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) during the co-digestion. Microbial investigation revealed that 10 g/L hydrochar enriched the microbes relevant to methane production (e.g., Methanosaeta and Syntrophomonas), but reduced the abundances of hydrolysis- and acidogenesis-related microbes (e.g., Acinetobacter). This hydrochar-based preparation and utilization strategy might offer a novel paradigm for waste-control-waste, bringing economic and environmental benefits.

Recently, conductive materials (i.e., carbon-based and iron-based materials) as a feasible and attractive approach have been introduced to anaerobic co-digestion (ACoD) system for promoting its performance and stability through direct interspecies electron transfer. Owing to the key roles of conductive materials in ACoD process, it is imperative to gain a profound understanding of their specific functions and mechanisms. Here, this review critically examined the state of the art of conductive materials assisted ACoD of food waste and common municipal organic solid waste. Then, the fundamental roles of conductive materials on ACoD enhancement and the relevant mechanisms were discussed. Last, the perspectives for co-digestate treatment, reutilization, and disposal were summarized. Moreover, the main challenges to conductive materials amended ACoD in on-site application were proposed and the future remarks were put forward. Collectively, this review poses a scientific basis for the potential application of conductive materials in ACoD process in the future.

There is no effective serologic parameter to distinguish different types of pancreatitis now. To distinguish between acute pancreatitis (AP) and acute exacerbations of chronic pancreatitis (CP) and to determine whether fibrosis occurs in CP, we evaluated the ability to produce white blood cells (WBCs), the neutrophil-to-retinol-binding protein (RBP) ratio (called the WNR), the product of the gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) level, and the 5′-nucleotide-to-RBP ratio (called the GNR). We evaluated the newly proposed difference index RBP and analyzed the effectiveness of the WNR and GNR in 691 patients with pancreatic diseases. We performed univariate and multivariate analyses of serological indices and their correlations with RBP and performed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses of the WNR and GNR. The serum RBP level decreased markedly in AP compared with that in the acute stage of CP (p < 0.05). The GGT, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), prealbumin (PA), 5′-nucleotide, and uric acid (UC) serum levels were significantly higher for fibrotic CP than for the acute stage of CP without fibrosis (p < 0.05). With progressing to pancreatic fibrosis, the liver injury-related indicators, prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), D-Dimer, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and GGT, gradually increased (p < 0.05). ROC curve analysis suggests that both the WNR (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.821) and GNR (AUC = 0.778) can be used to differentiate pancreatitis types., Graphical Abstract, To distinguish different types of pancreatitis by serological index, Luo and colleagues evaluated the ability to produce white blood cells (WBCs), the neutrophil-to-retinol-binding protein (RBP) ratio (called the WNR), the product of the gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) level, and the 5′-nucleotide-to-RBP ratio (called the GNR). Both can be used to differentiate pancreatitis types.

We previsouly found that installing filters in odourous air-conditioning units (ACUs) to block the entry of skin squames could well tackle the odour problems. In this study, we revisited and sampled the ACUs installed with filters earlier to study the bacterial communities inside the ACUs using 16S amplicon sequencing. We identified 26 genera and found that the skin bacteria isolated in the previous work were absent in this study. Two pathogenic bacteria, Methylobacterium and Sphingomonas, dominated ACUs instead. Afterwards, these two bacteria were identified to species level (Methylobacterium organophilum and Sphingomonas paucimobilis, respectively), and examined in terms of their biofilm formation ability and resistance to changing moisture conditions together with another prevalent species isolated in our previous study, namely Micrococcus luteus, in order to understand the mechanisms of the survival of bacteria in ACUs. In general, M. organophilum and M. luteus showed good biofilm formation ability at all tested temperature levels, but S. paucimobilis only displayed limited biofilm formation. Whereas, all these three bacteria well maintained their survival after wet-dry cycles. These results suggest that compared to biofilm formation, ability to survive under hygrodynamics tends to play a more important role in helping bacteria dominate ACUs. Further, this study implies that the absence of odour problem does not guarantee a healthy environment, more attentions should be given to limit the abundance of hydrodynamic-resistant pathogenic bacteria.

This study explored a green and efficient method for cellulose extraction from corn bract. The cellulose extraction by the CHB (CH3COOH/H2O2/Bio-enzyme) method and the N-CHB (NH3·H2O-CH3COOH/H2O2/Bio-enzyme) method were compared and analyzed. The effect of ammonia pretreatment on cellulose extraction by bio-enzymatic methods was discussed. The results showed that ammonia promoted the subsequent bio-enzymatic reaction and had a positive effect on the extraction of cellulose. Sample microstructure images (SEM) showed that the cellulose extracted by this method was in the form of fibrous bundles with smooth surfaces. The effect of different pretreatment times of ammonia on cellulose was further explored, and cellulose was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis. The results showed that the N3h-CHB (NH3·H2O 50 °C 3 h, CH3COOH/H2O2 70 °C 11 h, Bio-enzyme 50 °C 4 h) method was the best way to extract cellulose in this study. FTIR showed that most of the lignin and hemicellulose were removed. XRD showed that all the cellulose extracted in this study was type I cellulose. TG analysis showed that the cellulose was significantly more thermally stable, with a maximum degradation temperature of 338.9 °C, close to that of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). This study provides a reference for the utilization of corn bract and offers a new technical route for cellulose extraction.

As a member of the CLAVATA3 (CLV3)/EMBRYO SURROUNDING REGION (CLE) family, the dodecapeptide tracheary element differentiation inhibitory factor (TDIF) has a major impact on vascular development in plants. However, the influence of polymorphisms in the TDIF peptide motif on activity remains poorly understood. The model plant, Arabidopsis provides a fast and effective tool for assaying the activity of TDIF homologs. Five TDIF homologs from a group of 93 CLE genes in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), a perennial biomass crop, named PvTDIF-like (PvTDIFL) genes were studied. The expression levels of PvTDIFL1, PvTDIFL3MR3, and PvTDIFL3MR2 were relatively high and all of them were expressed at the highest levels in the rachis of switchgrass. The precursor proteins for PvTDIFL1, PvTDIFL3MR3, and PvTDIFL3MR2 contained one, three, and two TDIFL motifs, respectively. Treatments with exogenous PvTDIFL peptides increased the number of stele cells in the hypocotyls of Arabidopsis seedlings, with the exception of PvTDIFL_4p. Heterologous expression of PvTDIFL1 in Arabidopsis strongly inhibited plant growth, increased cell division in the vascular tissue of the hypocotyl, and disrupted the cellular organization of the hypocotyl. Although heterologous expression of PvTDIFL3MR3 and PvTDIFL3MR2 also affected plant growth and vascular development, PvTDIFL activity was not enhanced by the multiple TDIFL motifs encoded by PvTDIFL3MR3 and PvTDIFL3MR2. These data indicate that in general, PvTDIFLs are functionally similar to Arabidopsis TDIF but that the processing and activities of the PvTDIFL peptides are more complex.

The advantages of anaerobic digestion (AD) technology in organic solid waste treatment for bioenergy recovery are evidenced in worldwide. Recently, more attention has been paid to on-site biogas research, as well as biogenic CO2 sequestration from AD plant, to promote "carbon neutral". Single-phase and two-phase AD system can be incorporated with various CO2 bioconversion technologies through H2 mediated CO2 bioconversion (in-situ and ex-situ biogas upgrading), or other emerging strategies for CO2 fixation without exogenous H2 injection; these include in-situ direct interspecies electron transfer reinforcement, electromethanogenesis, and off-gas reutilization. The existing and potential scenarios for on-site CO2 bio-sequestration within the AD framework are reviewed from the perspectives of metabolic pathways, functional microorganisms, the limitations on reaction kinetics. This review concluded that on-site CO2 bio-sequestration is a promising solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase renewable energy recovery.

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is recognized as the major contributor to low back pain, which results in disability worldwide and heavy burdens on society and economy. Here we present evidence that the lower level of Nrf2 is closely associated with higher grade of IDD. The apoptosis and senescence of nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) were exacerbated by Nrf2 knockdown, but suppressed by Nrf2 overexpression under oxidative stress. Based on findings that Kinsenoside could exert multiple pharmacological effects, we found that Kinsenoside rescued the NPC viability under oxidative stress and protected against apoptosis, senescence and mitochondrial dysfunction in a Nrf2-dependent way. Further experiments revealed that Kinsenoside activated a signaling pathway of AKT-ERK1/2-Nrf2 in NPCs. Moreover, in vivo study showed that Kinsenoside ameliorated IDD in a puncture-induced model. Together, the present work suggests that Nrf2 is involved in the pathogenesis of IDD and shows the protective effects as well as the underlying mechanism of Kinsenoside on Nrf2 activation in NPCs.

The advantages of anaerobic digestion (AD) technology in organic solid waste treatment for bioenergy recovery are evidenced in worldwide. Recently, more attention has been paid to on-site biogas research, as well as biogenic CO

Pyrolysis and gasification of food waste has been identified as a potential emerging waste-to-energy technology. This chapter presented an overview on pyrolysis and gasification of food waste. The characteristics of various pyrolysis and gasification reactors and the parameters such as moisture content, temperature, and copyrolysis are summarized in this chapter. The characteristics and utilization of gas, liquid, and biochar produced during pyrolysis and gasification are discussed. The main factors that affect the pyrolysis and gasification of food waste are the proportion of various materials, the pyrolysis and gasification temperatures, the type of reactor, and the operating parameters. Furthermore, improvements in pyrolysis and gasification of food waste are proposed. To improve resource recovery, it is necessary to optimize the control parameters, increase the reaction rate, promote the high value of the target product, inhibit the formation of other products and pollutants, and investigate the mechanism of the operation parameters so as to produce more useful products toward zero discharge in the further study.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is severely affecting the health and lives of patients. Clarifying the composition and regulatory factors of tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) is helpful for the treatment of PDAC. We analyzed the unique TIMEs and gene expression patterns between PDAC and adjacent normal tissue (ANT) using Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) to find new immunotherapy targets. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets were used to elucidate the possible mechanism of which tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) changed in PDAC. We found that the composition of TAMs subtypes, including M0, M1, and M2, was different between PDAC and ANT, which was validated in recently published single-cell RNA-seq data. Many immune cells interacted with each other to affect the TIME. There were many DEGs enriched in some pathways that could potentially change the immune cell composition. KRT6A was found to be a DEG between PDAC and ANT that overlapped with DEGs between the M0-high group and the M0-low group in TCGA datasets, and it might alter and regulate TAMs via a collection of genes including COL5A2, COL1A2, MIR3606, SPARC, and COL6A3. TAMs, which could be a target of immunotherapy, might be influenced by genes through KRT6A and indicate an undesirable prognosis in PDAC.

In the DC power system, arc fault caused by insulation defects and loose joints is easy to cause fire, explosion, and other safety accidents, but it is not easy to extinguish and detect. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the electrical characteristics of the DC arc and propose effective detection methods. Detection of DC arc faults in photovoltaic systems has attracted widespread attention from scholars at home and abroad. In this paper, several experimental conditions that may affect arc characteristics are analyzed. By using the photovoltaic strings and the arc generator, a lot of field experiments are carried out to obtain the current data during arc fault in an actual photovoltaic system under different conditions of current, cable lengths, and arc gaps. According to the experimental data under different conditions, several characteristic variables from both the time domain and the frequency domain are extracted to identify the arc fault. In this paper, three machine learning methods in the field of artificial intelligence: Random Forest, Support Vector Machine, and Bayes Classifier, are used to learn the experimental samples. Through training, a model is obtained in each method to distinguish between normal current and arc fault current. Then, the three classifier models are validated by hundreds of sets of experimental data under normal and arc conditions, and the classifier with the highest accuracy is found. According to the results, the proposed method can accurately identify arc fault conditions and normal working conditions. Among them, the random forest algorithm has the highest recognition accuracy.

Background Nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) apoptosis is an important factor in exacerbating intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) that can be effectively suppressed by exosomes. The aim of this study was to reaearch whether normal cartilage endplate stem cells (CESCs) derived exosomes (N-Exos) were more conducive to activation of autophagy and inhibition of NPCs apoptosis and IVDD than degenerated CESCs derived exosomes (D-Exos) or not. Methods Rat CESCs were isolated and identified, and the exosomes produced by normal CESCs and degenerated CESCs were extracted. The bioinformatics differences between normal CESCs derived exosomes (N-Exos) and degenerated CESCs derived exosome (D-Exos) were analyzed by mass spectrometry, heat map and KEGG enrichment analysis biology. The effects of N-Exos and D-Exos on the inhibition of NPCs apoptosis were examined by TUNEL staining, flow cytometry and western blotting. The involvement of the AKT and autophagy signaling pathways was investigated using the signaling inhibitor LY294002. Magnetic resonance imaging, western blotting and immunofluorescence staining were used to evaluate the therapeutic effects of N-Exos in vivo. Results CESCs in the cartilage endplate (CEP) could secrete a large amount of exosomes. N-Exos were more conducive to activation of autophagy than D-Exos. The apoptotic rate of NPCs was decreased obviously after treatment with N-Exos than after D-Exos treatment. N-Exos inhibited NPCs apoptosis or attenuated IVDD in a rat tail model by activating the AKT and autophagy signaling pathways. Conclusions It was the first to confirm that CEP could delay the progression of IVDD through exosomes secreted by normal CESCs. The therapeutic effects of N-Exos on inhibiting NPCs apoptosis and slowing IVDD progression was more effective than D-Exos by activating the PI3K/AKT/autophagy pathway, which explained the reason that the incidence of IVDD was increased after inflammation of the CEP.

Objectives: To distinguish between primary mild COVID-19 patients and the patients with recovery positive virus detection after discharge (recovery positive patients), the clinical characteristics and biochemical indicators were analyzed. Methods: By evaluation of correlations between biochemical indicators and serum ferritin (FE) through univariate and multivariate analyses, we evaluated the differences of FE index and analyzed the effectiveness of the FE* pre-albumin (PA) on discrimination between primary mild and recovery positive COVID-19 patients. The area under curve (AUC) and a predictive nomogram were further employed to evaluate the effectiveness of discrimination. Results: In comparison with recovery positive patients, liver damage-related indicators such as serum FE and PA were significantly lower in primary COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms. Area under the ROC curve values of FE, PA and FE*PA were 0.81, 0.78 and 0.83, respectively. In combination with multivariate analysis and nomogram, FE and FE*PA can be considered as reasonable evaluation systems for predicting primary mild and recovery positive patients. Conclusions: FE*PA was an independent predictive biomarker for distinguishing primary mild and recovery positive COVID-19 cases.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) microplastics on greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions during 60 days composting. PE, PVC and PHA microplastics were respectively mixed with the cow manure; and a treatment without microplastics was used as the control. Compared to the control, PE and PVC inhibited organic matter degradation. Conversely, PHA accelerated temperature increases and organic matter degradation. Meanwhile, PE and PHA aggravated CH4 and NH3 emissions by 7.9–9.1% and 20.9–33.9%, respectively. PVC decreased CH4 and NH3 emissions by 6.6% and 30.4%, respectively. Additionally, the N2O emissions of the PE and PVC treatments were higher than those of the control while PHA decreased N2O emissions by 11.8%. Furthermore, PE, PVC and PHA microplastics reduced the NO3−-N contents and compost maturity. The results indicated that microplastics reduced compost quality while the effects of microplastics on greenhouse gases and ammonia emissions were related to their sources.

Despite growing interest in conductive materials amended anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and sewage sludge and demonstrated process improvement, little information is available on how conductive materials affect the digestate dewaterability. This study traced the dewaterability and physicochemical properties of digestate in anaerobic co-digestion process by supplying three representative conductive materials (i.e., zero-valent iron (ZVI), magnetite, and biochar) and evaluated the practicability of indigenous peroxides activation to improve digestate dewaterability. Results showed that supplying conductive materials, especially ZVI and biochar performed the higher methane yield (enhanced by > 23.1%) and better digestate dewaterability (specific resistance of filtration reduction > 57.1%). The mechanism exploration demonstrated that the ZVI and biochar supplement in anaerobic co-digestion system effectively changed the microbial community probably related to organics-degrading bacteria, causing the reduction of hydrophilic tyrosine-like/tryptophan-like components (> 13.2%) and protein secondary structure (the reduction value of α–helix/(β–sheet + random coil) > 46.9%) in extracellular polymeric substances. Accordingly, the water-bound energy and hydrophilicity of digestate were significantly weakened, thus promoting digestate dewaterability. The downstream dewatering experiments indicated that the residual ZVI in digestate could more efficiently active peroxides for further enhancing dewaterability with economic advantage. These findings pioneer the potential application of the conductive materials assisted anaerobic co-digestion combined with coagulants/peroxides conditioning technology for advantages of environmental sustainability.

Effects of biochar on co-digestion of pig manure and dewatered sewage sludge under different total solids (TS) were investigated. Biochar could accelerate the start-up of methanogenesis and shorten the adaptation phase. At TS5%, the methane daily production in biochar group was 60.6% higher than the control; nevertheless, when TS increased, the gap between two groups gradually narrowed. Additionally, the change on antibiotics resistance genes (ARGs) was also affected by TS and the biochar addition. Moreover, biochar was beneficial to reduce ARGs in liquid phase. At TS14%, the total ARGs abundance in the liquid phase of biochar group was 41.4% lower than the control, among which the reduction rates of etB(P), sul1, rpoB2, macA, mupA and mupB were more prominent. These findings could provide useful guidance for developing ARGs elimination strategy before their release into the environment.