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Background: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a mature procedure recommended for correcting knee osteoarthritis deformity, relieving pain, and restoring normal biomechanics. Although TKA is a successful and cost-effective procedure, patient dissatisfaction is as high as 50%. Knee pain after TKA is a significant cause of patient dissatisfaction; the most common location for residual pain is the anterior region. Between 4% and 40% of patients have anterior knee pain (AKP)., Aim: To investigate the effect of various TKA procedures on postoperative AKP., Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane from January 2000 to September 2022. Randomized controlled trials with one intervention in the experimental group and no corresponding intervention (or other interventions) in the control group were collected. Two researchers independently read the title and abstract of the studies, preliminarily screened the articles, and read the full text in detail according to the selection criteria. Conflicts were resolved by consultation with a third researcher. And relevant data from the included studies were extracted and analyzed using Review Manager 5.4 software., Results: There were 25 randomized controlled trials; 13 were comparative studies with or without patellar resurfacing. The meta-analysis showed no significant difference between the experimental and control groups ( P = 0.61). Six studies were comparative studies of circumpatellar denervation vs non-denervation, divided into three subgroups for meta-analysis. The two-subgroup meta-analysis showed no significant difference between the experimental and the control groups ( P = 0.31, P = 0.50). One subgroup meta-analysis showed a significant difference between the experimental and control groups ( P = 0.001). Two studies compared fixed-bearing TKA and mobile-bearing TKA; the results meta-analysis showed no significant difference between the experimental and control groups ( P = 0.630). Two studies compared lateral retinacular release vs non-release; the meta-analysis showed a significant difference between the experimental and control groups ( P = 0.002); two other studies compared other factors., Conclusion: Patellar resurfacing, mobile-bearing TKA, and fixed-bearing TKA do not reduce the incidence of AKP. Lateral retinacular release can reduce AKP; however, whether circumpatellar denervation can reduce AKP is controversial., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Dendrite growth and low Coulombic efficiency impede the practical application of Li-metal batteries. As such, monitoring Li deposition and stripping in real-time is crucial to understanding the fundamental lithium growth kinetics. This work presents an operando optical microscopic technique that enables precise current density control and quantification of Li layer properties (i.e., thickness and porosity) to study Li growth in various electrolytes. We discover the robustness and porosity of the remaining capping layer after the Li stripping process as the critical features governing the subsequent dendrite propagation behavior, resulting in distinct capping and stacking phenomena that affect Li growth upon cycling. While dendrite propagation quickly occurs through the fracture of the fragile Li capping layer, uniform Li plating/stripping can be facilitated by the compact and robust capping layer even at high current densities. This technique can be extended to evaluate dendrite suppression treatments in various metal batteries, providing in-depth information on metal growth mechanisms.

Bacteria are key denitrifiers in the reduction of nitrate (NO 3 - -N), which is a contaminant in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). They can also produce carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O). In this study, the autotrophic hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium Rhodoblastus sp . TH20 was isolated for sustainable treatment of NO 3 - -N in wastewater. Efficient removal of NO 3 - -N and recovery of biomass nitrogen were achieved. Up to 99% of NO 3 - -N was removed without accumulation of nitrite and N 2 O, consuming CO 2 of 3.25 mol for each mole of NO 3 - -N removed. The overall removal rate of NO 3 - -N reached 1.1 mg L -1  h -1 with a biomass content of approximately 0.71 g L -1 within 72 h. TH20 participated in NO 3 - -N assimilation and aerobic denitrification. Results from 15 N-labeled-nitrate test indicated that removed NO 3 - -N was assimilated into organic nitrogen, showing an assimilation efficiency of 58%. Seventeen amino acids were detected, accounting for 43% of the biomass. Nitrogen loss through aerobic denitrification was only approximately 42% of total nitrogen. This study suggests that TH20 can be applied in WWTP facilities for water purification and production of valuable biomass to mitigate CO 2 and N 2 O emissions., Competing Interests: 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., (© 2022 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences, Harbin Institute of Technology, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences.)

Superenhancer usages in single cancer form such as colorectal cancer (CRC) may provide novel efficient targeting candidates. It is unclear whether CRC contains recurrent superenhancers that confer a predisposition to malignancy. We investigated the superenhancer profile of CRC cell line HCT116 and compared it to that of a healthy sigmoid colon. We found that HCT116 had lost most of the normal colon superenhancer activities but gained a new set of tumor-favoring superenhancers that facilitate tumor proliferation, growth signalling, and hypoxia resistance. Inhibiting the superenhancers by JQ-1 treatment had significantly decreased the colony formation capability of HCT116. Then, by comparing the superenhancer genes and robust CRC upregulated genes, we identified a superenhancer associated with a common CRC upregulated oncogene, POU5f1B . POU5f1B overexpression is related to the worse outcome in CRCs. Via performing ChIP-PCR in 35 clinical samples and investigating CRC anti-H3K27ac ChiP-seq public dataset consisting of 36 samples, we further identified that the superenhancer of oncogene POU5F1B is recurrently activated in CRCs, taking 62 and 72 per cent, respectively. Moreover, JQ-1 treatment successfully inhibited the POU5F1B expression in 5 out of 6 POU5F1B superenhancer-positive samples. Therefore, we concluded that the superenhancer activation of POU5F1B contributes partially to its high expression in CRCs, in addition to the well-known gene amplification aetiology., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Han-chuan Tao et al.)

Anode-free lithium metal batteries are the most promising candidate to outperform lithium metal batteries due to higher energy density and reduced safety hazards with the absence of metallic lithium anode during initial cell fabrication. In general, researchers report capacity retention, reversible capacity, or rate capability of the cells to study the electrochemical performance of anode-free lithium metal batteries. However, evaluating the behavior of batteries from limited aspects may easily overlook other information hidden deep inside the meretricious results or even lead to misguided data interpretation. In this work, we present an integrated protocol combining different types of cell configuration to determine various sources of irreversible coulombic efficiency in anode-free lithium metal cells. The decrypted information from the protocol provides an insightful understanding of the behaviors of LMBs and AFLMBs, which promotes their development for practical applications.

There has long been a great concern with growing anthropogenic contaminants and their ecological and toxicological effects on living organisms and the surrounding environment for decades. Metabolomics, a functional readout of cellular activity, can capture organismal responses to various contaminant-related stressors, acquiring direct signatures to illustrate the environmental behaviours of anthropogenic contaminants better. This review entails the application of metabolomics to profile metabolic responses of environmental organisms, e.g. animals (rodents, fish, crustacean and earthworms) and microorganisms (bacteria, yeast and microalgae) to different anthropogenic contaminants, including heavy metals, nanomaterials, pesticides, pharmaceutical and personal products, persistent organic pollutants, and assesses their ecotoxicological impacts with regard to literature published in the recent five years. Contaminant-induced metabolism alteration and up/down-regulation of metabolic pathways are revealed in typical organisms. The obtained insights of variations in global metabolism provide a distinct understanding of how anthropogenic contaminants exert influences on specific metabolic pathways on living organisms. Thus with a novel ecotechnique of environmental metabolomics, risk assessments of anthropogenic contaminants are profoundly demonstrated., Competing Interests: 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., (© 2021 The Authors.)

Ideonella sp. TH17, an autotrophic hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium (HOB), was successfully enriched and isolated from activated sludge in a domestic wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Batch experiments were conducted to identify the cell growth and ammonium (NH 4 + -N) removal, and to verify the pathways of nitrogen utilization under different conditions. At a representative NH 4 + -N concentration of 100 mg/L in domestic wastewater, it was the first time that a HOB strain achieved a nearly 100% ammonium removal. More than 90% of NH 4 + -N was assimilated to biomass nitrogen by strain TH17. Only a little of N 2 (<10% of initial NH 4 + -N) was detected without N 2 O emission in aerobic denitrification process. Autotrophic NH 4 + -N assimilation contributed predominantly to biomass nitrogen production, supplemented by assimilatory nitrate (NO 3 - -N) reduction under aerobic conditions. A total of 17 amino acids, accounting for 54.25 ± 1.98% of the dry biomass, were detected in the bacterial biomass harvested at 72 h. These results demonstrated that the newly isolated strain TH17 was capable of removing NH 4 + -N and recovering nutrients from wastewater efficiently. A new solution was thus provided by this HOB strain for ammonium treatment in sustainable WWTPs of future., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Inflammation is one of the hallmarks of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. CD47 is a widely expressed transmembrane protein that signals through inhibitory receptor signal regulatory protein α (SIRPα) to inhibit macrophage activation and phagocytosis. In this study, we sought to investigate the role of CD47 in hepatosteatosis and fibrosis induced by a chronic high-fat diet (HFD), by comparing disease development in wild-type (WT) and CD47KO mice fed HFD for 40 weeks. The HFD induced remarkably more severe hepatic steatosis and fibrosis but less body weight gain and less subcutaneous fat accumulation in CD47KO mice compared to WT mice. Liver tissues from HFD-fed CD47KO mice exhibited enhanced inflammation characterized by increased proinflammatory cytokine production and increased nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation compared to similarly fed WT mice. Although higher expression of apolipoproteins was observed in CD47KO mice compared to WT mice under a low-fat diet (LFD), HFD-fed WT and CD47KO mice showed comparably prominent downregulation of these apolipoprotein genes, suggesting that the marked difference observed in lipid accumulation and hepatosteatosis between these mice cannot be explained by changes in apolipoproteins. Like apolipoproteins, sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (PPARα), which are involved in regulation of both lipid metabolism and inflammation, were more highly expressed in CD47KO than WT mice under LFD but more severely suppressed in CD47KO than in WT mice under HFD. Taken together, our results indicate that CD47 plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of HFD-induced hepatosteatosis and fibrosis through its role in regulation of inflammation and lipid metabolism., (Copyright © 2020 Tao, Chen, Wang, Chen, Zhao, Zheng and Yang.)

This study evaluated uranium sequestration performance in iron-rich (30 g/kg) sediment via bioreduction followed by reoxidation. Field tests (1383 days) at Oak Ridge, Tennessee demonstrated that uranium contents in sediments increased after bioreduced sediments were re-exposed to nitrate and oxygen in contaminated groundwater. Bioreduction of contaminated sediments (1200 mg/kg U) with ethanol in microcosm reduced aqueous U from 0.37 to 0.023 mg/L. Aliquots of the bioreduced sediment were reoxidized with O 2 , H 2 O 2 , and NaNO 3 , respectively, over 285 days, resulting in aqueous U of 0.024, 1.58 and 14.4 mg/L at pH 6.30, 6.63 and 7.62, respectively. The source- and the three reoxidized sediments showed different desorption and adsorption behaviors of U, but all fit a Freundlich model. The adsorption capacities increased sharply at pH 4.5 to 5.5, plateaued at pH 5.5 to 7.0, then decreased sharply as pH increased from 7.0 to 8.0. The O 2 -reoxidized sediment retained a lower desorption efficiency at pH over 6.0. The NO 3 - -reoxidized sediment exhibited higher adsorption capacity at pH 5.5 to 6.0. The pH-dependent adsorption onto Fe(III) oxides and formation of U coated particles and precipitates resulted in U sequestration, and bioreduction followed by reoxidation can enhance the U sequestration in sediment., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

In this study, bacterial mercury (Hg) methylation was investigated under the influence of red-tide algae of Skeletonema costatum (S. costatum). The distribution and speciation of total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) were profiled by employing Geobacter metallireducens (G. metallireducens GS-15) as the methylating bacteria. G. metallireducens GS-15 showed different capabilities in methylating different inorganic forms of Hg(II) (HgCl 2 ) and Hg(II)-Algae (HgCl 2 captured by S. costatum) to MeHg. In the absence of S. costatum, a maximum methylation efficiency of 4.31 ± 0.47% was achieved with Hg(II) of 1-100 μg L -1 , while accelerated MeHg formation rate was detected at a higher initial Hg(II) concentration. In the presence of S. costatum, there were distinct changes in the distribution of THg and MeHg by altering the bioavailability of Hg(II) and Hg(II)-Algae. A larger proportion of THg tended to be retained by a higher algal biomass, resulting in decreased methylation efficiencies. The methylation efficiency of Hg(II) decreased from 3.01 ± 0.10% to 1.01 ± 0.01% with 10-mL and 250-mL algal media, and that of Hg(II)-Algae decreased from 0.83 ± 0.13% to 0.22 ± 0.01% with 10-mL and 250-mL Hg(II)-Algae media. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, surface charge properties and elemental compositions of S. costatum were used to infer that amine, carboxyl and sulfonate functional groups were most likely to interact with Hg(II) through complexation and/or electrostatic attraction. These results suggest that red-tide algae may be an influencing factor on bacterial Hg methylation in eutrophic water bodies., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Using sodium alginate hydrogel as skeleton, in combination with chitosan and magnetic Fe 3 O 4 , a new type of magnetic chitosan/sodium alginate gel bead (MCSB) was prepared. Adsorptive removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solutions was studied by using the MCSB as a promising candidate in environmental application. Different kinetics and isotherm models were employed to investigate the adsorption process. Based on Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscope, CHNS/O elements analysis, vibration magnetometer, and various means of characterization, a comprehensive analysis of the adsorption mechanism was conducted. The MCSB had a good magnetic performance with a saturation magnetization of 12.5 emu/g. Elemental analysis proved that the addition of chitosan introduced a considerable amount of nitrogen-rich groups, contributing significantly to copper adsorption onto gel beads. The contact time necessary for adsorption was optimized at 120 min to achieve equilibrium. Experimental data showed that the adsorption process agreed well with the Langmuir isotherm model and the pseudo-second-order kinetics model. The theoretical maximum adsorption capacity of MCSB for Cu(II) could reach as high as 124.53 mg/g. In conclusion, the MCSB in this study is a novel and promising composite adsorbent, which can be applied for practical applications in due course.

Algae and mercury (Hg) are ubiquitous in marine environments. In this study, we investigated the effects of a typical marine algae of diatom Skeletonema costatum on Hg methylation by an iron-reducing bacterium of Geobacter sulfurreducens (G. sulfurreducens) PCA. In the absence of Skeletonema costatum, the bacterial MeHg production rate maximized at 104.06 ± 11.7 ng L -1 h -1 with a high Hg level, while the highest methylation efficiency was achieved at a low Hg concentration. The existence of Skeletonema costatum greatly inhibited the capability of G. sulfurreducens PCA to methylate Hg. With the increase in algal biomass, there was a significant mitigation of MeHg formation and Hg 0 release, leaving a considerable proportion of immobilized Hg 2+ species (up to 47%) associated with algal cell materials. These results suggest that marine algae are crucial in determining the bioavailability of Hg contaminants and the methylating potential of G. sulfurreducens PCA., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Academics researchers and "citizen scientists" from 22 countries confirmed that yellow mealworms, the larvae of Tenebrio molitor Linnaeus, can survive by eating polystyrene (PS) foam. More detailed assessments of this capability for mealworms were carried out by12 sources: five from the USA, six from China, and one from Northern Ireland. All of these mealworms digested PS foam. PS mass decreased and depolymerization was observed, with appearance of lower molecular weight residuals and functional groups indicative of oxidative transformations in extracts from the frass (insect excrement). An addition of gentamycin (30 mg g -1 ), a bactericidal antibiotic, inhibited depolymerization, implicating the gut microbiome in the biodegradation process. Microbial community analyses demonstrated significant taxonomic shifts for mealworms fed diets of PS plus bran and PS alone. The results indicate that mealworms from diverse locations eat and metabolize PS and support the hypothesis that this capacity is independent of the geographic origin of the mealworms, and is likely ubiquitous to members of this species., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) differentiation antagonizing non-protein coding RNA (DANCR) has been reported to be a novel potential biomarker for colon cancer prognosis. However, its functional role in colon cancer remains unknown. In the present study, DANCR expression in colon cancer cell lines was determined by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Cell Counting kit-8 assay, colony formation assay, flow cytometry, Hoechst 33258 staining and western blotting were utilized to investigate the effect and mechanism of DANCR in the regulation of colon cancer growth. Establishment of a xenograft tumor model followed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) dUTP nick-end labeling assay and immunohistochemical staining were performed to confirm the findings in vitro . DANCR was revealed to be overexpressed in all human colon cancer cell lines. Silencing DANCR by small interfering RNA significantly inhibited cell proliferation and colony formation. Flow cytometry analyses and Hoechst 33258 staining revealed that apoptosis was induced upon DANCR-knockdown. Silencing DANCR was revealed to efficiently impair colon tumor growth by promoting caspase 3 expression and tumor apoptosis. In summary, the results of the present study demonstrated that DANCR is a potential therapeutic target in colon cancer.

Three kinds of functional monomers, 4-vinylpridine(4-VP), 2-(allylthio)nicotinic acid(ANA), and 2-Acetamidoacrylic acid(AAA), were used to synthetize palladium(II) ion-imprinted polymeric nanospheres (Pd(II) IIPs) via precipitation-polymerization method in order to study the effects of different functional monomers on the adsorption properties of ion-imprinted materials. The results of UV spectra in order to study the interaction between template ion PdCl 4 2- and functional monomers showed that there were great differences in structure after the template reacted with three functional monomers, 4-VP and ANA caused a large structural change, while AAA basically did not change. Further results on the adsorption performance of Pd(II) IIPs on Pd(II) confirmed 4-VP was the most promising candidate for the synthesis of Pd(II) IIPs with an adsorption capacity of 5.042 mg/g as compared with ANA and AAA. The influence of operating parameters on Pd(II) IIP's performance on Pd(II) adsorption was investigated. There was an increase in the adsorption capacity of Pd(II) IIPs at higher pH, temperature, and initial concentration of Pd(II). The results of multi-metal competitive adsorption experiments showed that Pd(II) IIPs had selectivity for Pd(II). An adsorption equilibrium could be reached at 180 min. Kinetic analysis showed that the adsorption test data fitted best to the pseudo-second order kinetic model, and the theoretical equilibrium adsorption capacity was about 5.085 mg/g. The adsorption isotherms of Pd(II) by Pd(II) IIPs agreed well with the Freundlich equation, suggesting a favorable adsorption reaction under optimal conditions. These results showed that Pd(II) IIPs have potential application in the removal of Pd(II) from aqueous solutions and may provide some information for the selection of functional monomers in the preparation of Pd(II) IIPs.

In the present study, the Hg contamination in mariculture sites located at the estuary of Pearl River was to investigate with an attempt to analyse associated health risks of dietary exposure to both total mercury (THg) and methyl mercury (MeHg) in cultured fish and shellfish. The highest total mercury concentration (7.037 ± 0.556 ng L -1 ) of seawater was observed at Zhuhai Estuary. The Hg concentrations of sediment in Guishan Island were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than in Daya Bay (away from the Pearl River). Besides, the both THg and MeHg levels in sediment at mariculture sites were higher (p < 0.05) than corresponding reference sites. It was attributed to the fact that mariculture activities increased Hg loading and promoted MeHg production. The vertical distribution of Hg in sediment cores demonstrated that mercury methylation mostly occurred at the sediment-water interface. Results of health risk assessments showed that fish consumption would impose a higher risk to children but less to adults, while shellfish produced in the studied area was safe for consumption., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Sewage sludge and bagasse were used as raw materials to produce cheap and efficient adsorbent with great adsorption capacity of Pb(2+). By pyrolysis at 800 °C for 0.5 h, the largest surface area (806.57 m(2)/g) of the adsorbent was obtained, enriched with organic functional groups. The optimal conditions for production of the adsorbent and adsorption of Pb(2+) were investigated. The results of adsorb-ability fitted the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order model well. The highest Pb(2+) (at pH = 4.0) adsorption capacity was achieved by treating with 60% (v/v) HNO3. This is a promising approach for metal removal from wastewater, as well as recycling sewage sludge and bagasse to ease their disposal pressure., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Heavy metal contamination has become a worldwide environmental concern due to its toxicity, non-degradability and food-chain bioaccumulation. Conventional physical and chemical treatment methods for heavy metal removal have disadvantages such as cost-intensiveness, incomplete removal, secondary pollution and the lack of metal specificity. Microbial biomass-based biosorption is one of the approaches gaining increasing attention because it is effective, cheap, and environmental friendly and can work well at low concentrations. To enhance the adsorption properties of microbial cells to heavy metal ions, the cell surface display of various metal-binding proteins/peptides have been performed using a cell surface engineering approach. The surface engineering of Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria and yeast towards the adsorption of heavy metals are reviewed in this article. The problems and future perspectives of this technology are discussed.

A macrocyclic aromatic pyridine pentamer was found to exhibit patterned recognition of metal ions and efficiently extract larger ions, such as Cs(+), Ba(2+), Tl(+), Au(+), K(+) and Rb(+) preferentially over the other 18 smaller metal ions from the aqueous phase into the chloroform layer.

A Pseudomonas putida whole-cell bioreporter for detecting bioavailable copper was constructed by inserting a CueR-regulated sensor element upstream of a promoterless green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter gene. The constructed bioreporter cells expressed GFP only in response to Cu and Ag when cultivated in different metal salt solutions. M9 supplemented medium provided higher sensitivity compared with LB medium. The optimal test condition was cell suspension with an OD600 of 0.4-0.5 incubated at 30 °C. The detection range of Cu is 1-70 mg/l under optimal test condition in M9 supplemented medium.

Based on environmental and energetic analysis, a novel combined approach using bioelectrochemical systems (BES) followed by electrolysis reactors (ER) was tested for heavy metals removal from fly ash leachate, which contained high detectable levels of Zn, Pb and Cu according to X-ray diffraction analysis. Acetic acid was used as the fly ash leaching agent and tested under various leaching conditions. A favorable condition for the leaching process was identified to be liquid/solid ratio of 14:1 (w/w) and leaching duration 10h at initial pH 1.0. It was confirmed that the removal of heavy metals from fly ash leachate with the combination of BESs and ER is feasible. The metal removal efficiency was achieved at 98.5%, 95.4% and 98.1% for Cu(II), Zn(II), and Pb(II), respectively. Results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) indicated that Cu(II) was reduced and recovered mainly as metal Cu on cathodes related to power production, while Zn(II) and Pb(II) were not spontaneously reduced in BESs without applied voltage and basically electrolyzed in the electrolysis reactors., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Pseudomonas sp. WYZ-2 was isolated from a biocathode which accelerating azo dye decolorization. When the electrode was polarized at -0.8 V (vs. SCE), WYZ-2 could exist on electrode, because the current of working electrode stabilized at -0.35 mA from -0.13 mA after inoculation. Moreover, cyclic voltammetry scanned an unidentified redox-active molecule which involved in the electron charge transfer potentially. On azo dye decolorization experiments by WYZ-2 modified electrode, electrochemical tests also indicated that the catalytic ability of WYZ-2 modified electrode was improved because charge transfer resistance decreased to 255 Ω from 720 Ω, azo dye reduction potential was shifted to -0.78 V from -0.89 V, and the maximum decolorization efficiency of azo dye was increased to 93.4% from 53.2%, comparing with unmodified electrode. Although numerous studies on azo dye decolorization employed biological agents, electrochemical activity bacteria accelerate the decolorization process using electrode as sole electron source has seldom been reported., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To study the association of free immunoglobulin light chain (FLC) with clinical manifestations and lung inflammation in smokers with normal lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients., Methods: Thirty-two patients with peripheral lung cancer undergoing surgical resection were enrolled from the Department of Thoracic Surgery,Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical College. They were divided into non-smoking with normal lung function group (non-smoking group, 10 cases), smoking with normal lung function group (smoking group, 12 cases) and smoking with stable COPD group (COPD group, 10 cases). Their preoperative fasting serum and lung tissues away from cancer were used in the study.Enzyme-linked immunesorbent assays (ELISA) were used to detect the levels of FLC-λ and FLC-κ in serum and lung tissue homogenates. The expression of FLC-λ and FLC-κ in the airway epithelium, alveolar wall and blood vessel wall was detected by immunohistochemistry. The correlation between FLC levels and pulmonary functions were analyzed., Results: The serum levels of FLC-λ and FLC-κ in COPD group and smoking group were (35 ± 11),(38 ± 12) and (26 ± 9),(26 ± 8) mg/L, respectively. They were all significantly increased compared with the non-smoking group [(16 ± 7),(16 ± 5) mg/L]. The differences were all statistically significant (q = 3.590-7.482, P < 0.01), and those of the COPD group were significantly higher than those of the smoking group (q = 3.209-4.198, P < 0.05 and P < 0.01). The concentrations of FLC-λ and FLC-κ in lung tissue homogenates of the COPD group and the smoking group were (1.29 ± 0.31),(1.32 ± 0.30) and (0.86 ± 0.42),(0.85 ± 0.37) µg/mg, respectively. They were all significantly increased compared with those of the non-smoking group [(0.45 ± 0.18),(0.42 ± 0.13) µg/mg],(q = 4.178- 9.795, P < 0.05 and P < 0.01). The levels of FLC-λ and FLC-κ in the lung tissue homogenates from the COPD group were significantly higher than those from the smoking group (q = 4.269-4.349, all P < 0.05). The expression of FLC-λ and FLC-κ was detected in airway epithelium, alveolar wall and blood vessel wall. The levels of FLC-λ and FLC-κ in serum and lung tissue homogenates showed a negative correlation with FEV1 percentage of predicted value (r = -0.476 to -0.591, all P < 0.01)., Conclusions: Expressions of FLC were increased in the serum and the lung tissues of COPD patients and smokers with normal lung function, and closely correlated with airflow limitation. The results suggest that FLC plays a proinflammatory role in the pathogenesis of COPD.

The metalloprotein, CadR, was redesigned to optimize cadmium and mercury specificity of CadR-based E. coli biosensors. By truncating 10 and 21 amino acids from the C-terminal extension of CadR, CadR-TC10 and CadR-TC21 were obtained, respectively. The genes cadR, cadR-TC10 and cadR-TC21 were used as sensing elements to construct green fluorescent protein based E.coli biosensors. Induction at 30 °C for 4 h in supplemented M9 medium was the optimized condition for the biosensor. Compared with CadR-based biosensor, there was a clear decline in induction coefficient for CadR-TC21-based biosensor (decreased by 86 % in Zn(II), 44 % in Hg(II), and only 37 % in Cd(II)). While in CadR-TC10-based biosensor, the induction coefficient decreased by 95 % in Zn(II), 70 % in Hg(II), and 67 % in Cd(II). Improved performances of CadR mutants based E. coli biosensors indicated that truncating C-terminal extension of CadR could improve the specificity.

This study confirmed the feasibility of natural limonite working as the iron catalyst for the PNP wastewater treatment in the BES-Fenton system. After the start-up period of the BES-Fenton systems, air and limonite powder were injected into the cathode chamber as the original materials for manufacturing Fenton reagents of H₂O₂ and Fe(II) respectively. The experiment parameters like pH, external resistance, limonite dosage and initial PNP concentration were investigated in this research. The removal efficiency of PNP (0.25 mM) could achieve 96% in 6h under the optimal experimental conditions. A limonite dosage of 112 mg per 50 ml of PNP solution at 0.25 mM concentration each time could sustain 7 cycles of the BES-Fenton system operation with PNP removal efficiency >94%. This study suggests an efficiency and cost-effective approach for the PNP removal by using the natural limonite as the iron catalyst of the BES-Fenton system., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Src homology 2 domain containing (SHC) is a proto-oncogene which mediates cell proliferation and carcinogenesis in human carcinomas. Here, the SHC SH2-domain binding protein 1 (SHCBP1) was first established to be up-regulated in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues by array-base comparative genome hybridization (aCGH). Meanwhile, we examine and verify it by quantitative real-time PCR and western blot. Our current data show that SHCBP1 was up-regulated in HCC tissues. Overexpression of SHCBP1 could significantly promote HCC cell proliferation, survival and colony formation in HCC cell lines. Furthermore, knockdown of SHCBP1 induced cell cycle delay and suppressed cell proliferation. Furthermore, SHCBP1 could regulate the expression of activate extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and cyclin D1. Together, our findings indicate that SHCBP1 may contribute to human hepatocellular carcinoma by promoting cell proliferation and may serve as a molecular target of cancer therapy.

The cathodic reduction of complex-state copper(II) was investigated in a dual chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC). The inner resistance of MFC system could be reduced in the presence of ionizing NH(4)(+), however, mass transfer was hindered at higher ammonia concentration. Thermodynamic and electrochemical analyses indicated that the processes of complex dissociation and copper reduction were governed by the ratio of T[Cu]:T[NH(3)] and the pH of solution. The reduction of Cu(NH(3))(4)(2+) could be achieved via two possible pathways: (1) releasing Cu(2+) from Cu(NH(3))(4)(2+), then reducing Cu(2+) to Cu or Cu(2)O and (2) Cu(NH(3))(4)(2+) accepting an electron and forming Cu(NH(3))(2)(+), and depositing as Cu or Cu(2)O consequently. At initial concentration of 350 mg T[Cu] L(-1), copper removal efficiency of 96% was obtained at pH=9.0 within 12 h (with △Cu/△COD=1.24), 84% was obtained at pH=3.0 within 8 h (with △Cu/△COD=1.72). Cu(NH(3))(4)(2+) was reduced as polyhedral deposits on the cathode., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Great efforts have been made in China to retrofit and upgrade the existing municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) for enhanced removal of organic substrates and in particular nutrients. However, the removal of trace recalcitrant or hazardous organic chemicals, e.g. steroid estrogens, one group of typical endocrine disrupting chemicals, has long been overlooked. The extensive investigations on estrogen removal rates in global and Chinese WWTPs and the estrogen biodegradation kinetics results in batch laboratory experiments are reviewed in this study. The effects of estrogen initial concentration and nitrifying activated sludge are highlighted. Challenges existing in current estrogen studies are pointed out, which are relevant for researches on fate and behavior of similar down-the-drain chemicals in both Chinese and global WWTPs., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A novel approach was tested for metallic silver recovery and power generation by using cathodic reduction in bioelectrochemical systems (BESs). In dual-chamber BESs (130 mL volume) with acetate as electron donor on anode, both Ag(+) ions and Ag(I) thiosulfate complex in catholyte were reduced on cathode. The reduction rate of Ag(+) was more rapid than the Ag(I) complex as expected by energetic analysis. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated that electrodeposits on cathodes from both catholyte were metallic silver with >91% purity. The feasibility of metallic silver recovery with the BESs was confirmed using simulated photographic wastewater and up to 95% of Ag(I) removal was achieved., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A pilot-scale, membrane-free, bioelectrochemical system (BES) reactor (16L in volume) installed by five cathodes with different distance to anode was tested for the removal of copper. CuSO4 solution was used as catholyte and anaerobic microorganisms grew as anodic biocatalyst. In the reactor, Cu(II) was reduced and recovered as solid-state copper deposits on cathodes accompanied with power production. When 600 and 2000 mg of Cu2+ were added into the cathode chamber, removal efficiency of 92% over 480 h and 48% over 672 h period with electric quantities of 2724 C and 8703 C, and cathodic efficiencies of 61.92% and 45.60% were achieved, respectively. The reduction reaction rate depended on the initial average Cu2+ concentration. The internal resistance decreased and voltage output increased as the distance of each cathode to anode decreased. The mass of metal Cu crystals and Cu(I) compounds deposited on each cathode was dependent on current intensity., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Based on energetic analysis, a novel approach for copper electrodeposition via cathodic reduction in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) was proposed for the removal of copper and recovery of copper solids as metal copper and/or Cu(2)O in a cathode with simultaneous electricity generation with organic matter. This was examined by using dual-chamber MFCs (chamber volume, 1L) with different concentrations of CuSO(4) solution (50.3 ± 5.8, 183.3 ± 0.4, 482.4 ± 9.6, 1007.9 ± 52.0 and 6412.5 ± 26.7 mg Cu(2+)/L) as catholyte at pH 4.7, and different resistors (0, 15, 390 and 1000 Ω) as external load. With glucose as a substrate and anaerobic sludge as an inoculum, the maximum power density generated was 339 mW/m(3) at an initial 6412.5 ± 26.7 mg Cu(2+)/L concentration. High Cu(2+) removal efficiency (>99%) and final Cu(2+) concentration below the USA EPA maximum contaminant level (MCL) for drinking water (1.3mg/L) was observed at an initial 196.2 ± 0.4 mg Cu(2+)/L concentration with an external resistor of 15 Ω, or without an external resistor. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that Cu(2+) was reduced to cuprous oxide (Cu(2)O) and metal copper (Cu) on the cathodes. Non-reduced brochantite precipitates were observed as major copper precipitates in the MFC with a high initial Cu(2+) concentration (0.1M) but not in the others. The sustainability of high Cu(2+) removal (>96%) by MFC was further examined by fed-batch mode for eight cycles., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A membrane-free baffled microbial fuel cell (MFC) was developed to treat synthetic Cu(II) sulfate containing wastewater in cathode chamber and synthetic glucose-containing wastewater fed to anode chamber. Maximum power density of 314 mW/m(3) with columbic efficiency of 5.3% was obtained using initial Cu(2+) concentration of 6400 mg/L. Higher current density favored the cathodic reduction of Cu(2+), and removal of Cu(2+) by 70% was observed within 144 h using initial concentration of 500 mg/L. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated that the Cu(2+) was reduced to Cu(2)O or Cu(2)O plus Cu which deposited on the cathode, and the deficient cathodic reducibility resulted in the formation of Cu(4)(OH)(6)SO(4) at high initial Cu(2+) concentration (500-6400 mg/L). This study suggested a novel low-cost approach to remove and recover Cu(II) from Cu(2+)-containing wastewater using MFC-type reactor., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The two-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were constructed with excess sludge as the anodic substrate and CuSO4 solution as the catholyte. The start up method, degradation of the anodic sludge, removal of the Cu2+ and products on cathode were investigated in the study. The results of batch experiments showed that Cu2+ can be used as cathodic electron acceptors, e. g. a stable voltage output of 0.478 V and a maximum power density of 536 mW/m3 were obtained at external resistance of 1 000 omega and Cu2+ concentration of 6 400 mg/L. The Cu2+ contained in wastewater could be removed effectively by the MFC process, e. g. 97.8% of Cu2+ was removed in a MFC reactor at the end of 288 h with initial Cu2+ concentration of 1 000 mg/L and external resistance of 0 omega. The cathodic products depended on cathodic reducibility, most of Cu2+ was deposited as Cu2O and a small part as Cu4 (OH), 6SO4 with lower cathodic reducibility, metal copper deposited on the cathode with higher cathodic reducibility. Using excess sludge as anodic substrate could support the MFCs for long-term operation. The acclimation stage of the exoelectrogenic bacteria on the anode had an impact on MFC performance and cathodic reduction of Cu2+, and the stability of exoelectrogenic biofilm on anode could be determined by monitoring the anode potential. The MFC with excess sludge as anodic substrate can degrade organic matter in sludge and accomplish Cu(2+) -containing wastewater treatment and copper recovery simultaneously.

Objective: To investigate the dynamic expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and caspase-3 during the carcinogenesis, invasion and metastasis of 3-methylcholanthrene (MCA) and diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced rat lung cancer and its significance., Methods: Iodized oil with MCA and DEN was instilled into the left bronchi of 80 Wistar rats to induce squamous cell lung carcinoma. Iodized oil without MCA and DEN was instilled into the left bronchi of 10 rats as control group. Sixteen rats in the experimental group and 2 rats in the control group were killed 10, 15, 35, 60, and 270 days after experiment respectively to undergo pathological examination. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the protein expression of COX-2 and caspase-3 in the bronchial endothelial cells. Immunohistochemical scores (IHS) were calculated., Results: Pathological changes of different phases, such as hyperplasia of bronchial mucosal endothelial cells (14 cases), squamous metaplasia (25 cases), atypical proliferation (35 cases), carcinoma in situ (12 cases), infiltrative carcinoma (54 cases), and metastatic carcinoma (15 cases) appeared successively in the left lung mucosal endothelium of the experimental group. Weak expression of COX-2 protein was occasionally seen in the normal bronchial mucosal endothelium. COX-2 protein expression was becoming stronger and the IHS was becoming higher along with the development of carcinoma (P < 0.01). Caspase-2 protein expression was positive in 8 of the 10 (80%) of the control rats with an HIS of 5.92 +/- 0.9. And caspase-2 protein expression was becoming weaker along with the development of carcinoma (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). Significant negative correlation was found between the COX-2 protein expression and caspase-3 expression (P < 0.01)., Conclusion: COX-2 and caspase-3 play important roles in the carcinogenesis of MCA and DEN-induced rat lung squamous cell carcinoma. COX-2 may take part in blocking cell apoptosis by inhibiting caspase-3 activity, thereby promoting the carcinogenesis of lung cancer. The imbalance between COX-2 and caspase-3 may be a critical factor affecting the biologic behavior of lung carcinogenesis, invasion and metastasis.