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Phosphate recovery from wastewater can solve the problems of both phosphate pollution and phosphate resource depletion. The main obstacle to phosphate recovery is the high cost. Most of studies focus on phosphate removal from sewage. Adsorption by metal oxide is a promising method for phosphate removal. In order to reuse the adsorbent, the exhausted adsorbents are usually regenerated with alkaline solution. This paper proposed a ''Double Adsorption'' method that combing the phosphate removal by metal oxide adsorption and the phosphate recovery from the alkline regenerated solution by Ca(OH)2 adsorption. This method has the advantage of low effluent phosphate level, low cost and no secondary pollution. To test this method and the possibility of using oyster shell to recover phosphate from the regenerated alkaline solution, the effect of phosphate concentration on the phosphate recovery efficiency and hydroxyapatite purity were studied in this paper. The results show that both the hydrated lime and oyster shell have high phosphate recovery capacity in alkaline solution, and the high phosphate concentration samples have low phosphate recovery efficiency and high hydroxyapatite purity, and vice versa. Both the hydrated lime and calcined oyster shell can be used to recover phosphate from alkaline solution. This study proves that the ''Double Adsorption'' method is feasible and can promote the realization of phosphate recovery.

Scutellaria barbata D. Don (SB, Chinese: Ban Zhi Lian), a well-known medicinal plant used in traditional Chinese medicine, is rich in flavonoids. It possesses antitumor, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral activities. In this study, we evaluated the inhibitory activities of SB extracts and its active components against HIV-1 protease (HIV-1 PR) and SARS-CoV2 viral cathepsin L protease (Cat L PR). UPLC/HRMS was used to identify and quantify the major active flavonoids in different SB extracts, and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assays were used to determine HIV-1 PR and Cat L PR inhibitions and identify structure–activity relationships. Molecular docking was also performed, to explore the diversification in bonding patterns of the active flavonoids upon binding to the two PRs. Three SB extracts (SBW, SB30, and SB60) and nine flavonoids inhibited HIV-1 PR with an IC50 range from 0.006 to 0.83 mg/mL. Six of the flavonoids showed 10~37.6% inhibition of Cat L PR at a concentration of 0.1 mg/mL. The results showed that the introduction of the 4′-hydroxyl and 6-hydroxyl/methoxy groups was essential in the 5,6,7-trihydroxyl and 5,7,4′-trihydroxyl flavones, respectively, to enhance their dual anti-PR activities. Hence, the 5,6,7,4′-tetrahydroxyl flavone scutellarein (HIV-1 PR, IC50 = 0.068 mg/mL; Cat L PR, IC50 = 0.43 mg/mL) may serve as a lead compound to develop more effective dual protease inhibitors. The 5,7,3′,4′-tetrahydroxyl flavone luteolin also showed a potent and selective inhibition of HIV-1 PR (IC50 = 0.039 mg/mL).

Hypericum kouytchense Lévl is a semi-evergreen plant of the Hypericaceae family. Its roots and seeds have been used in a number of traditional remedies for antipyretic, detoxification, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antiviral functions. However, to date, no bioactivity compounds have been characterized from the insect gall of H. kouytchens. In this study, we evaluated the antiviral activities of different extracts from the insect gall of H. kouytchen against cathepsin L, HIV-1 and renin proteases and identified the active ingredients using UPLC–HRMS. Four different polar extracts (HW, H30, H60 and H85) of the H. kouytchense insect gall exhibited antiviral activities with IC50 values of 10.0, 4.0, 3.2 and 17.0 µg/mL against HIV-1 protease; 210.0, 34.0, 24.0 and 30.0 µg/mL against cathepsin L protease; and 180.0, 65.0, 44.0 and 39.0 µg/mL against human renin, respectively. Ten compounds were identified and quantified in the H. kouytchense insect gall extracts. Epicatechin, eriodictyol and naringenin chalcone were major ingredients in the extracts with contents ranging from 3.9 to 479.2 µg/mg. For HIV-1 protease, seven compounds showed more than 65% inhibition at a concentration of 1000.0 µg/mL, especially for hypericin and naringenin chalcone with IC50 values of 1.8 and 33.0 µg/mL, respectively. However, only hypericin was active against cathepsin L protease with an IC50 value of 17100.0 µg/mL, and its contents were from 0.99 to 11.65 µg/mg. Furthermore, we attempted to pinpoint the interactions between the active compounds and the proteases using molecular docking analysis. Our current results imply that the extracts and active ingredients could be further formulated and/or developed for potential prevention and treatment of HIV or SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Tao-He-Cheng-Qi decoction (THCQ) is an effective traditional Chinese medicine used to treat intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). This study was performed to investigate the possible neuroprotective effect of THCQ decoction on secondary brain damage in rats with intracerebral hemorrhage and to elucidate the potential mechanism based on a metabolomics approach. Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into five groups: the sham group, collagenase-induced ICH model group, THCQ low-dose (THCQ-L)-treated group, THCQ moderate-dose (THCQ-M)-treated group and THCQ high-dose (THCQ-H)-treated group. Following 3 days of treatment, behavioral changes and histopathological lesions in the brain were estimated. Untargeted metabolomics analysis with multivariate statistics was performed by using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS). THCQ treatment at two dosages (5.64 and 11.27 g/kg·d) remarkably improved behavior (p < 0.05), brain water content (BMC) and hemorheology (p < 0.05) and improved brain nerve tissue pathology and inflammatory infiltration in ICH rats. Moreover, a metabolomic analysis demonstrated that the serum metabolic profiles of ICH patients were significantly different between the sham group and the ICH-induced model group. Twenty-seven biomarkers were identified that potentially predict the clinical benefits of THCQ decoction. Of these, 4 biomarkers were found to be THCQ-H group-specific, while others were shared between two clusters. These metabolites are mainly involved in amino acid metabolism and glutamate-mediated cell excitotoxicity, lipid metabolism-mediated oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction caused by energy metabolism disorders. In addition, a correlation analysis showed that the behavioral scores, brain water content and hemorheology were correlated with levels of serum metabolites derived from amino acid and lipid metabolism. In conclusion, the results indicate that THCQ decoction significantly attenuates ICH-induced secondary brain injury, which could be mediated by improving metabolic disorders in cerebral hemorrhage rats.

Background: Myocardial fibrosis is closely associated with cardiac dysfunction, arrhythmia, and sudden cardiac death. A model of myocardial fibrosis induced by isoprenaline was used to determine the influence of exogenous adiponectin on myocardial fibrosis. Materials and Methods: A total of 30 mice were equally and randomly divided into three groups as follows: isoproterenol (ISO, n = 10), adiponectin and isoproterenol (APN + ISO, n = 10), and sham (n = 10). ISO (7.5 mg/kg/day) was injected intraperitoneally (i. p.) in the ISO group and APN + ISO group for three consecutive days to establish a model of myocardial fibrosis; normal saline was injected in the sham group. From day 4, adiponectin was injected (10 μg/kg/day; i. p.) in the APN + ISO group for 32 days; normal saline was injected in ISO and sham groups for 32 days. Five weeks later, mice were sacrificed, and myocardial tissue was dyed by Sirius Red to observe the collagen morphology. The collagen volume fraction was calculated. Protein and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of type-I and type-III collagen in the myocardium was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and western blotting, respectively. Results: Type-I collagen in myocardial interstitial tissue was significantly increased in the ISO group. Collagen in myocardial interstitial tissue in the ISO + APN group was decreased significantly compared with the ISO group. Expression of type-I collagen mRNA in ISO and ISO + APN groups was significantly higher than that in the sham group (3.01 ± 0.78, 2.32 ± 0.82 vs. 1, respectively; P < 0.01). Expression of type-I collagen mRNA in the ISO + APN group was significantly lower than that in the ISO group (2.32 ± 0.82 vs. 3.01 ± 0.78, respectively; P < 0.01). Expression of type-III collagen mRNA in the ISO group, and ISO + APN group was significantly higher than that in the sham group (2.39 ± 0.70, 1.62 ± 0.57 vs. 1, respectively; P < 0.01). Expression of type-III collagen mRNA in the ISO + APN group was significantly lower than that in the ISO group (1.62 ± 0.57 vs. 2.39 ± 0.70, respectively; P < 0.01). Expression of type-I collagen protein in the myocardium in the ISO + APN group was significantly higher than that in the sham group (0.73 ± 0.19 vs. 0.28 ± 0.15, respectively; P < 0.001), but it was significantly lower than the expression of type-I collagen protein in the ISO group (0.53 ± 0.17 vs. 0.73 ± 0.19, respectively; P < 0.001). Conclusions: Supplementation with exogenous adiponectin can inhibit myocardial fibrosis induced by ISO.

AIM: To investigate the clinical efficacy of treatment of dacryocystitis combined with canalicular obstruction by endonasal endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy with canalicular intubation. METHODS:A total of 27 cases of dacryocystitis combined with canalicular obstruction were treated by endonasal endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy with canalicular intubation. Canalicular obstruction was treated by laser under dacryoendoscopy and antegrade intubation. RESULTS: For 27 cases, operations were successful, with no complications. All patients were followed up for 6mo, 25 were cured, 2 were effective with no failed. The cure rate was 93%. CONCLUSION:Treatment of dacryocystitis combined with canalicular obstruction by endonasal endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy with canalicular intubation has clear field, minimal invasion, quick recovery, exact effect and less recurrence, so it is worthy of promotion.