Search

Nylon-6,6 microplastics (NMPs) in aquatic systems have emerged as potential contaminants to the global environment and have garnered immense consideration over the years. Unfortunately, there is currently no efficient method available to eliminate NMPs from sewage. This study aims to address this issue by isolating Brucella intermedia ZL-06, a bacterium capable of producing a bacterial polysaccharide-based flocculant (PBF). The PBF generated from this bacterium shows promising efficacy in effectively flocculating NMPs. Subsequently, the precipitated flocs (NMPs + PBF) were utilized as sustainable feedstock for synthesizing PBF. The study yielded 6.91 g/L PBF under optimum conditions. Genome sequencing analysis was conducted to study the mechanisms of PBF synthesis and nylon-6,6 degradation. The PBF exhibited impressive flocculating capacity of 90.1 mg/g of PBF when applied to 0.01 mm NMPs, aided by the presence of Ca 2+ . FTIR and XPS analysis showed the presence of hydroxyl, carboxyl, and amine groups in PBF. The flocculation performance of PBF conformed to Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-first-order adsorption kinetics model. These findings present a promising approach for reducing the production costs of PBF by utilizing NMPs as sustainable nutrient sources., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To illustrate the status of all cancer clinical trials and characterize clinical trial enrollment disparities in the most common cancer., Methods: Clinical trial data were extracted from ClinicalTrials.gov website. All searched clinical trials were included in the current status analysis of clinical trials on cancer. Among all the clinical trials, only trials addressing single disease sites of breast, prostate, colorectal, or lung (BPCRL) cancer were included in the age disparities analysis. The difference in median age (DMA) between the trial participant median age and the population-based disease-site-specific median age was calculated for each trial., Results: A total of 7747 clinical trials were included in the current status analysis of clinical trials on cancer. The number of registered trials had been increasing from 2008 to 2021 (AAPC = 50.60, 95% CI 36.60, 66.00, P < 0.05). Of the 7747 trials, 1.50% (116) of the studies were clinical trials for the elderly aged 60 years or older. 322 trials were included in the age disparities analysis. For all trials, the median DMA was - 8.15 years (P 25 , P 75 , - 10.83 to - 2.98 years, P < 0.001). The median DMA were - 9.55 years (P 25 , P 75 , - 11.63 to - 7.11 years), - 7.10 years (P 25 , P 75 , - 9.80 to - 5.70 years), - 9.75 years (P 25 , P 75 , - 11.93 to - 7.35 years), 3.50 years (P 25 , P 75 , 0.60 to 4.55 years), respectively, for breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer., Conclusion: The numbers of registered clinical trials show an upward trend. Age disparities between trial participants and diagnosed disease population are present in BPCRL cancer trials and appear to be increasing over time. Equitable participation in clinical trials on the basis of age is crucial for advancing medical knowledge and evaluating the safety and efficacy of new treatments that are generalizable to aging populations., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Recalcitrant dissolved organic carbon (RDOC) resulting from microbial carbon (MCPs) holds promise as a relatively long-term natural carbon sink in marine environments. However, the RDOC formation mechanism remains uncertain in terrestrial aquatic systems. To determine the microbial impacts on autochthonous dissolved organic carbon (DOC), RDOC formation, and the critical influencing bacteria species, spatial changes in hydrochemistry, carbon isotopes, and microbial diversity were investigated in water samples from the karstic Lijiang River, southwest China. Samples were collected at various locations along the river system in May and July 2017. The biodegradable DOC (BDOC), RDOC, soil sourced DOC (SDOC), submerged aquatic vascular plant sourced DOC (PDOC) and microbial sourced DOC (MDOC) were calculated using the in-situ microbial incubation method, stable carbon isotopes and C/N ratio. RDOC accounted for 67% to 93% of DOC concentrations, measuring 1.3 mg/L and 1.2 mg/L in May and July, respectively. In May, BDOC concentrations increased by 0.05 mg/L from 0.18 mg/L to 0.23 mg/L, but decreased by 0.43 mg/L from 0.66 mg/L to 0.23 mg/L in July. The spatiotemporal variation of BDOC indicated photosynthesis was the main BDOC source and induced high autochthonous DOC formation, especially in May. However, RDOC was the dominant accumulation component in Lijiang River. MDOC increased by 0.86 mg/L from 0 to 0.86 mg/L in May and 0.78 mg/L from 0.10 mg/L to 0.88 mg/L in July, which was the dominant accumulated DOC and RDOC component. The abundance of Sporichthyaceae accounted for 3.4%-22.6% in May and Novosphingobium accounted for 3.5%-34.0% in July. These were the critical bacteria species induced MDOC formation, which were confirmed by their abundances in KEGG pathway modules determined by PICRUAST2. These results demonstrate that heterotrophic bacteria dominate autochthonous DOC and RDOC formation in the karst surface river, which is valuable for understanding organic carbon cycling in karstic aquatic systems., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Human interventions such as tunnel construction have caused groundwater depletion, which substantially affected the functions of forest tree species and their communities. However, the extent to which tunneling-induced groundwater depletion (TIGD) degrades their function levels at various spatial-temporal scales under varying climate conditions remains still unclear. Researchers used stand-scale dendrological records to track and extract the effects of TIGD associated with a single or series of tunneling events (three tunneling events during 1999-2001, 2006-2008, and 2010-2013) on short- and long-term growth levels of two dominant drought-tolerant tree species across (karst and non-karst) landscapes affected by tunnel construction and landscapes not subjected to tunnel construction in a mountainous forest ecosystem located in the southwest of China. The results showed that growth responses of both trees stand to TIGD, and the TIGD-linked water losses of other available water sources were negative and widespread across tunnel-affected landscapes, particularly in the karst landscapes known as delicate landscapes. Tree stands with faster (more vigorous) growth rates showed more significant adverse growth levels in response to either tunneling-induced or drought-induced water stresses. Also, they showed the highest recovered growth levels in response to favorable climatic conditions. Moreover, the growth level in the tunnel-affected forest never fully recovered during six years of very wet weather (2012-2018) after the construction of the final (third) tunnel in 2010-2013. Current research shows that tunnel construction has a cumulatively detrimental impact on the long-term survival of the forest. Even with the mediation of long-term very wet circumstances, it can substantially restrict the development dynamics of the forest compared to drought., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

High cost is one of the limiting factors in the industrial production of bioflocculant. Simultaneous preparation of bioflocculant from the contaminants in wastewater was considered as a potential approach to reduce the production cost. In this study, caprolactam was verified as sole feedstock for the growth of strain Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. phenolicus ZY-16 in batch experiments. Chemical analysis showed that the as-prepared MBF-16 consisted of heteropolysaccharides (88.3%) and peptides (9.4%). XPS result indicated the plentiful acylamino, hydroxyl and amino groups in MBF-16, which have an indispensable role in amoxicillin flocculation. The flocculation of amoxicillin can be well stimulated by Freundlich isotherm equation, and the Kf was up to 178.6524 for amoxicillin. The kinetic fitting results proved that the flocculation of amoxicillin by MBF-16 was chemisorbed. This contribution may develop a novel technology for the preparation of bacterial flocculants that can consume toxic substrates (caprolactam) and have potential applications in amoxicillin removal., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: There is controversy about whether the amniotic fluid contains bacteria. With the use of sequencing-based methods, recent studies report that the amniotic fluid is colonized by microorganisms. However, background-contaminating DNA might lead to false-positive findings when such a low microbial biomass sample is examined., Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the midtrimester amniotic fluid of patients who subsequently had normal pregnancy outcomes contains a microbial signature., Study Design: In this prospective cohort study, 42 amniotic fluid samples were collected from 37 pregnancies (5 twin and 32 singletons) during genetic amniocentesis in the midtrimester. The subsequent pregnancy outcomes of all the participants were followed. Multiple methods were used to detect the presence of microorganisms in this study, which included cultivation, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. Multiple positive control samples (n=16) served as quality control samples and included 3 adult fecal samples, 4 vaginal swabs, and 9 artificial bacterial communities that were run in parallel with negative control samples (n=12) that included 4 samples from the hospital operating room and 8 samples from the laboratory, to account for background-contaminating DNA during each step of the experiments., Results: No bacteria under anaerobic or aerobic conditions or genital mycoplasmas were cultured from any of the amniotic fluid samples. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction did not reveal greater copy numbers of 16S ribosomal RNA gene in amniotic fluid samples than in negative control samples. 16S Ribosomal RNA gene sequencing did not indicate a significant difference in the microbial richness or community structures between amniotic fluid and negative control samples., Conclusion: With multiple methods of microbiologic inquiry, no microorganisms were identified in the midtrimester amniotic fluid of healthy pregnancies with a normal pregnancy outcome., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Surface water suffering from nitrate (NO 3 - ) contamination in karst area is not only harmful to human health as drinking water but can also affect the process of carbonate rock weathering, so it is crucial to trace the sources and transformations of NO 3 - in karst surface water. In this study, an investigation of water chemical data and NO 3 - isotopes (δ 15 N and δ 18 O) was used to elucidate the transformations of NO 3 - and quantify a proportional apportionment of NO 3 - sources of individual potential sources (incl. soil organic nitrogen (SON), atmospheric precipitation (AP), manure and sewage wastes (M&S), and chemical fertilizer (CF)) in the Lijiang River (typical karst surface water), Guilin, Southwest China. δ 15 N-NO 3 - and δ 18 O-NO 3 - values of water samples from the Lijiang River range from 2.14 to 13.50‰ (mean, 6.59‰) and from - 2.44 to 6.97‰ (mean, 3.76‰), respectively. A positive correlation between Cl - and NO 3 - but no correlations between NO 3 - and δ 15 N-NO 3 - or δ 18 O-NO 3 - are found and the δ 18 O-NO 3 - values fitted the theoretical δ 18 O-NO 3 - values produced from nitrification, suggesting that the genesis of NO 3 - in waters of the Lijiang River is affected by nitrification processes and the mixing process has a major effect on NO 3 - transportation. Results of the Bayesian stable isotope mixing model show that the M&S and SON are the main NO 3 - source through the whole year (accounting for ~ 61% and 65% of the total NO 3 - in the wet and dry season, respectively), followed by CF (~ 29%). Furthermore, we find that nitrification of nitrogen in fertilizers, soil, and manure and sewage can promote the carbonate rock weathering. The estimated contribution of such nitrification to the weathering of carbonate rocks accounts for about 11% of the total carbonate rock weathering flux (calculated by HCO 3 - ) in the Lijiang River. This finding indicates that the weathering of carbonate rock is probably affected by nitrogen nitrification processes in karst catchment.

Objective: Hypomyelinating disorders are a group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous diseases characterized by neurological deterioration with hypomyelination visible on brain MRI scans. This study was aimed to clarify the clinical and genetic features of HMDs in Chinese population., Methods: 119 patients with hypomyelinating disorders in Chinese population were enrolled and evaluated based on their history, clinical manifestation, laboratory examinations, series of brain MRI with follow-up, genetic etiological tests including chromosomal analysis, multiplex ligation probe amplification, Sanger sequencing, targeted enrichment-based next-generation sequencing and whole exome sequencing., Results: Clinical and genetic features of hypomyelinating disorders were revealed. Nine different hypomyelinating disorders were identified in 119 patients: Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (94, 79%), Pelizaeus-Merzbacher-like disease (10, 8%), hypomyelination with atrophy of the basal ganglia and cerebellum (3, 3%), GM1 gangliosidosis (5, 4%), GM2 gangliosidosis (3, 3%), trichothiodystrophy (1, 1%), Pol III-related leukodystrophy (1, 1%), hypomyelinating leukodystrophy type 9 (1, 1%), and chromosome 18q deletion syndrome (1, 1%). Of the sample, 94% (112/119) of the patients were genetically diagnosed, including 111 with mutations distributing across 9 genes including PLP1, GJC2, TUBB4A, GLB1, HEXA, HEXB, ERCC2, POLR3A, and RARS and 1 with mosaic chromosomal change of 46, XX,del(18)(q21.3)/46,XX,r(18)(p11.32q21.3)/45,XX,-18. Eighteen novel mutations were discovered. Mutations in POLR3A and RARS were first identified in Chinese patients with Pol III-related leukodystrophy and hypomyelinating leukodystrophy, respectively., Significance: This is the first report on clinical and genetic features of hypomyelinating disorders with a large sample of patients in Chinese population, identifying 18 novel mutations especially mutations in POLR3A and RARS in Chinese patients, expanding clinical and genetic spectrums of hypomyelinating disorders.

Bioflocculants are widely used in a large variety of applications, because of their wide range of flocculation. There is limited information in the literature about the ability of bioflocculants to perform beneficial functions without having adverse effects on blood components. In this study, general hemocompatibility of a bioflocculant (MBF-06) was investigated in an in vitro system, measuring flocculation of plasma proteins, red blood cell integrity, blood cell counts, platelet activation, clot formation, complement activation, cytotoxicity and inflammatory response. Effects of MBF-06 included low plasma protein flocculation, low platelet activation, low inflammatory response, no hemolysis or cytotoxicity and increased expression of coagulation markers, including prothrombin fragments 1+2. These findings suggested that the rapid hemostasis caused by MBF-06 resulted, essentially, from humoral coagulation. Overall, our observations revealed the great potential of MBF-06 as a novel hemostatic agent., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A novel bioflocculant (MBF-79) prepared using formaldehyde wastewater as carbon resource was investigated in the study. The optimal conditions for bioflocculant production were determined to be an inoculum size of 7.0%, initial pH of 6.0, and formaldehyde concentration of 350 mg/L. An MBF-79 of 8.97 g/L was achieved as the maximum yield. Three main elements, namely C, H, and O, were present in MBF-79 with relative weigh percentages of 39.17%, 6.74%, and 34.55%, respectively. The Gel permeation chromatography analysis indicated that the approximate molecular weight (MW) of MBF-79 was 230 kDa. MBF-79 primarily comprised polysaccharide (71.2%) and protein (27.9%). Additionally, conditions for the removal of arsenic by MBF-79 were found to be MBF-79 at 120 mg/L, an initial pH 7.0, and a contact time 60 min. Under the optimal conditions, the removal efficiencies of arsenate (0.5 mg/L) and arsenite (0.5 mg/L) were 98.9% and 84.6%, respectively. Overall, these findings indicate bioflocculation offers an effective alternative method of decreasing arsenic during water treatment., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Ganoderma triterpenes (GTs) are the major secondary metabolites of Ganoderma lucidum, a traditional Chinese medicine, popularly used for complementary cancer therapy. GTs are lanostane-tetracyclic triterpenes. They have been reported to possess anti-tumor, anti-inflammation, antioxidant, antimicrobial and blood fat reducing effects. To date, 316 GTs have been found and their similar chemical structures have proved difficult to elucidate. This paper compiles 316 naturally occurring triterpenes from Ganoderma based on the literature published through January 2013 along with their structures, physiological activities and 13C-NMR spectral data.

This study evaluated the potential of an extracellular, novel biopolymeric flocculant produced by a strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from a sputum sample for removal of Acanthamoeba cysts, a potent pathogen prevalent in water, soil, air, and dust. The presence of cations did not enhance flocculating activity. The component of MBF-5 was mainly polysaccharide and protein with proportional of 96.8% and 2.1% respectively. Infrared spectrum analysis showed the presence of carboxyl and hydroxyl groups in MBF-5. MBF-5 is nontoxic and can be used for removal of amoebae cysts from water. Conditions for flocculation of kaolin suspension and Acanthamoeba cysts were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM) and determined to be 54.38 mg/L dosage, 26.14°C and pH 3.32 and 129.73 mg/L dosage, 30.75°C and pH 4.36, respectively. The results of this study indicates a possible use of the K. pneumoniae biopolymer as an alternative to typically used chemical flocculants for removal of amoebae cysts from water., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Central core disease is a rare inherited neuromuscular disorder caused by mutations in ryanodine receptor type 1 gene. The clinical phenotype of the disease is highly variable. We report a Chinese pedigree with central core disease confirmed by the gene sequencing. All 3 patients in the family presented with mild proximal limb weakness. The serum level of creatine kinase was normal, and electromyography suggested myogenic changes. The histologic analysis of muscle biopsy showed identical central core lesions in almost all of the muscle fibers in the index case. Exon 90-106 in the C-terminal domain of the ryanodine receptor type 1 gene was amplified using polymerase chain reaction. One heterozygous missense mutation G14678A (Arg4893Gln) in exon 102 was identified in all 3 patients. This is the first report of a familial case of central core disease confirmed by molecular study in mainland China.

While pathogenic copy number variations (CNVs) in 15q11.2 were recently identified in Caucasian patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsies (IGEs), the epilepsy-associated gene(s) in this region is/are still unknown. Our study investigated whether the CNVs in 15q11.2 are associated with childhood absence epilepsy (CAE) in Chinese patients and whether the selective magnesium transporter NIPA2 gene affected by 15q11.2 microdeletions is a susceptive gene for CAE. We assessed IGE-related CNVs by Affymetrix SNP 5.0 microarrays in 198 patients with CAE and 198 controls from northern China, and verified the identified CNVs by high-density oligonucleotide-based CGH microarrays. The coding region and exon-intron boundaries of NIPA2 were sequenced in all 380 patients with CAE and 400 controls. 15q11.2 microdeletions were detected in 3 of 198 (1.5%) patients and in no controls. Furthermore, we identified point mutations or indel in a heterozygous state of the NIPA2 gene in 3 out of 380 patients, whereas they were absent in 700 controls (P = 0.043). These mutations included two novel missense mutations (c.532A>T, p.I178F; c.731A>G, p.N244S) and one small novel insertion (c.1002&#95;1003insGAT, p.N334&#95;335EinsD). No NIPA2 mutation was found in 400 normal controls. We first identified that NIPA2, encoding a selective magnesium transporter, is a susceptible gene of CAE, and 15q11.2 microdeletions are important pathogenic CNVs for CAE with higher frequency in Chinese populations than that previously reported in Caucasians. The haploinsufficiency of NIPA2 may be a mechanism underlying the neurological phenotypes of 15q11.2 microdeletions.

Pinewood nematode (PWN) is the causal agent of the pine wilt disease. Previous studies have suggested that secretions from the esophageal glands of PWN play an important role in pathogenicity. A cluster of three venom allergen-like protein genes and one pseudogene, Bx-vap-1, Bx-vap-2, Bx-vap-3 and Bx-vap-P, were identified within a 3.7-kb region. Additionally, three putative modification, transport and regulatory protein genes were also detected in the same flanking region of the Bx-vap gene cluster. Genes vap-1, -2 and -3 are functional and encode three major allelic variants of PWN venom allergen-like proteins. But Bx-vap-P is an untranscribed pseudogene. Genes vap-1, -2 and -3 produce predicted products of 204, 206 and 203 amino acid residues, respectively, including the putative signal peptide sequence at the amino termini. In situ mRNA hybridization analysis showed that the transcripts of genes vap-1, -2 and -3 accumulated exclusively within the esophageal gland cells of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)