Search

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell malignancy of bone marrow. In the present study, we aimed to study the function and potential mechanism of the antisense non-coding RNA in the INK4 Locus (ANRIL) in MM. The expression levels of ANRIL in MM patients and healthy donors were evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The effects and mechanisms of ANRIL in MM were evaluated by cell viability assay, BrdU incorporation assay, tumor xenograft model, flow cytometry, western blot, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), transcriptome RNA sequencing, and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). We found that ANRIL was upregulated in MM patients and cell lines, and associated with advanced international staging system (ISS) stage and poor overall survival. Enforced ANRIL expression promoted proliferation and tumor xenograft growth of MM cells, while knockdown of ANRIL exhibited opposite effects. Moreover, ANRIL overexpression increased the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of bortezomib and reduced bortezomib-induced apoptosis in MM cells. ANRIL was found to accumulate in the nuclei of MM cells, and interact with EZH2 by RIP assay. Transcriptome RNA sequencing identified PTEN as a target of ANRIL in MM cells. In the ChIP assay, knockdown of ANRIL reduced EZH2 occupancy and H3K27me3 binding to the promoter region of PTEN. Furthermore, EZH2 knockout or PTEN restoration abrogated the effects caused by ANRIL overexpression in MM cells. Our results indicated that ANRIL exerted oncogenic functions and conferred chemoresistance of MM cells by EZH2-mediated epigenetically silencing of PTEN.

Nursing competence is an essential element in ensuring high-quality nursing care and positive patient outcomes. Valid and reliable assessment tools for assessing nurse competence are needed to help nurse supervisors measure whether nurses are performing their job well and to provide a baseline for improving the competences of nurses.This study was designed to develop and psychometrically validate the Competence Scale for Clinical Nurses (CSCN).The CSCN was developed in three steps: (a) generalize assessment items from nursing competence-related scales and a review of the relevant literature, (b) determine the content validity of the developed scale, and (c) psychometrically test the developed scale. Five hundred nurses were recruited from a medical center in southern Taiwan. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were executed to analyze construct validity and internal consistency reliability.The scale-content validity index was .87, as determined by five experts. Two thirds (63.29%) of the variance was explained by three factors: basic care skills (nine items), being dedicated to work (five items), and patient-centered and ethical considerations (four items). A second-order confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the data fit the model well. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients for each of the three factors and the total scale were .84-.91.The 18-item CSCN is a feasible and time-efficient tool for assessing competence in clinical nurses. Nursing supervisors may use this tool to explore nurses' competency and routinely track the effect of continuing education on competence. Continuous evaluation of nurses' clinical-based competence using the CSCN is recommended.

The corrosive issues are comprehensively caused in oilfield rejection system, in which sulfide is one of (bio-)chemical factors leading to high corrosive rate and blocking problem. Generally, aerobic treatment is a well-established and cost-effective unit for sulfide removal before oilfield wastewater reinjection. However, the residual dissolved oxygen (DO), which causes chemical, biological and electrochemical corrosion to water injection pipeline equipment, is still high after multi-stage filtration of DO removal. Here, a novel system to achieve quick and efficient DO removal through a three-electrode (cathode-anode-cathode)-upflow bioelectrochemical reactor (RCAC) was constructed before wastewater reinjection. Bioelectrodes were well established by utilizing organic matters of oilfield wastewater and conducted extracellular electron transport to achieve a steady DO removal from ∼5 mg/L to 0.01 mg/L (HRT 6 h), the DO removal efficiency reached approximately 100%, and the downside biocathode made the largest contribution for DO removal. In the treated wastewater, the corrosion rate of stainless steel N80 ultimately declined over 30 days testing. As a result of DO removal and ammonia conversion to nitrate by bioelectrodes, the corrosive microorganisms were substantially changed. Especially, sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) on the surface of N80 immersed in treated wastewater were decreased in abundance; while nitrate-reducing bacteria (NRB) enriched more, which can compete with SRB to prevent biological corrosion.

Metal sulfide-based biological process is considered as a promising biotechnology for next-generation wastewater treatment. However, it is not clear if simultaneous bio-reduction of nitrate and chromate was achievable in this process. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of metal sulfides (FeS and MnS) on simultaneous denitrification and chromate reduction in autotrophic denitrifying column bioreactors. Results showed that simultaneous reduction of nitrate and chromate was achieved using metal sulfides (FeS and MnS) as electron donors, in which sulfate was the sole soluble end-product. Apart from the sulfur element in the metal sulfides, Fe(II) and Mn(II) were also involved in nitrate and chromate reduction as indicative by the formation of their oxidative states compounds. In microbial communities, SHD-231 and Thiobacillus were the most predominant bacteria, which might have played important roles in simultaneous denitrification and chromate reduction. Compared to FeS, MnS showed a higher performance on nitrate and chromate removal, which could also reduce the toxic inhibition of chromate on nitrate reduction. According to results of XRD and XPS, as well as a lower sulfate production in the FeS system, FeS might have been covered easily to hydroxides due to its bio-oxidation, which limited mass transfer efficiency and bio-availability of FeS. The findings in this study offered insights in the development of promising approaches for the treatment of toxic and hazardous compounds using metal sulfide.

Due to the potential hazard of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA, GenX) has become a typical alternative since 2009. However, GenX has recently been reported to have equal or even greater toxicity and bioaccumulation than PFOA. Considering the suitability of alternatives, it is quite essential to study and compare the degradation degree between PFOA and GenX in water. Therefore, in the present study, a comprehensive degradation comparison between them via electrooxidation with a titanium suboxide membrane anode was conducted. The degradation rate decreased throughout for PFOA, while it first increased and then decreased for GenX when the permeate flux increased from 17.3 L to 100.3 L m−2·h−1. The different responses of PFOA and GenX to flux might be attributed to their different solubilities. In addition, the higher kobs of PFOA demonstrated that it had a better degradability than GenX by 2.4-fold in a mixed solution. The fluorinated byproduct perfluoropropanoic acid (PFPrA) was detected as a GenX intermediate, suggesting that ether bridge splitting was needed for GenX electrooxidation. This study provides a reference for assessing the degradability of GenX and PFOA and indicates that it is worth reconsidering whether GenX is a suitable alternative for PFOA from the point of view of environmental protection.

Background Communication skills may be an important skill for the front-line emergency physicians. Aim This study aimed to investigate the effect of training in a SHARE communication course by emergency physicians on patient notification and signing of do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders for critical patients in the emergency room. Design From a total of 29 attending physicians in the emergency department, 19 physicians had been trained in the SHARE communication course. An observation form designed based on the SHARE training was completed by two observers who noted the communication process between physicians and patients and family members during patient notification and signing a DNR order. To assess the influence of physicians trained in a SHARE communication course on the signing of DNR orders, a propensity score-matched population was created to reduce the potential selection bias of patients and family members. Setting Level 1 trauma medical center in southern Taiwan. Results There were 145 individuals enrolled in the study, of which 93 signed the DNR order, and 52 did not sign it. Analysis from 23 matched pairs from this population revealed that significantly more family members would sign a DNR order if the physician had been trained in the SHARE communication course than when they did not receive this training (78.3% vs. 39.1%, respectively, p = 0.017). The overall score of the observation form for physicians was higher in those individuals who had signed a DNR order than in those who did not sign it (29.48 ± 3.72 vs. 26.13 ± 3.52, respectively, p = 0.003), especially when the physician had chosen a quiet environment (1.35 ± 0.65 vs. 0.87 ± 0.69, respectively, p = 0.020), understood the patient's wishes and confirmed them (1.78 ± 0.42 vs. 1.30 ± 0.70, respectively, p = 0.008), and expressed concern (1.48 ± 0.79 vs. 0.96 ± 0.77, respectively, p = 0.028). In addition, a feedback survey about the feelings experienced by these physicians during the process of patient notification did not reveal a significant difference during the communication with those who had or had not signed DNR orders. Conclusion The training in a SHARE communication course can improve the communication skills of emergency physicians in patient notification and signing of DNR orders for critical patients.

Traditional technologies for handling nitrogen oxides (NOx) from flue gas commonly entail the formation of harmless nitrogen gas (N2), while less effort has been made to recover the N-containing chemicals produced. In this work, we developed a novel nanomagnetic adsorbent, Fe3O4@EDTA@Fe(II) (MEFe(II)), for NO removal. The NO adsorbed by MEFe(II) was then selectively converted to N2O, a valuable compound in many industries, by using sulfite (a product from desulfurization in flue gas treatment) as the reductant for the regeneration of MEFe(II). Because of the magnetic and solid properties of MEFe(II), the processes of NO adsorption and N2O recovery can be readily carried out under their optimal pH conditions in separate systems. In addition, the produced N2O is easily handled without unwanted release to the atmosphere. At the optimal pH (7.5 and 8.0 for NO adsorption and N2O recovery, respectively), the maximum NO adsorption capacity of MEFe(II) was measured as 0.303 ± 0.037 mmol·g–1, over 90% of which was...

Recently, the discharge of flue gas has become a global issue due to the rapid development in industrial and anthropogenic activities. Various dry and wet treatment approaches including conventional and hybrid hybrid wet scrubbing have been employing to combat against these toxic exhaust emissions. However, certain issues i.e., large energy consumption, generation of secondary pollutants, low regeneration of scrubbing liquid and high efficieny are hindering their practical applications on industrial level. Despite this, the hybrid wet scrubbing technique (advanced oxidation, ionic-liquids and solid engineered interface hybrid materials based techniques) is gaining great attention because of its low installation costs, simultaneous removal of multi-air pollutants and low energy requirements. However, the lack of understanding about the basic principles and fundamental requirements are great hurdles for its commercial scale application, which is aim of this review article. This review article highlights the recent developments, minimization of GHG, sustainable improvements for the regeneration of used catalyst via green and electron rich donors. It explains, various hybrid wet scrubbing techniques can perform well under mild condition with possible improvements such as development of stable, heterogeneous catalysts, fast and in-situ regeneration for large scale applications. Finally, it discussed recovery of resources i.e., N

N,S-co-doped carbons were synthesized through the calcination of sulfur-modified chitosan for the first time, and utilized as persulfate activators for sulfamethoxazole (SMX) remediation in water. The chitosan and sulfonyl chloride underwent one-step sulfonylation reaction to generate S-modified chitosan. The catalyst NSC-3 showed both excellent adsorption and catalytic oxidation efficiency, corresponding 98.62% removal and 81.34% mineralization rate within 90 min. The rate constant (kobs) was up to 0.0578 min−1, with 75.60-folders higher than that of sulfur-free catalyst NC (7.6580 ×10−4 min−1). The synergy of N and S contributed to the improvement of removal efficiency. The adsorption and oxidation performance were highly depended on the S/N atomic ratio. At the S/N ratio of 0.18, the maximum adsorption and oxidation capability were obtained. The NSC-3/PS system exhibited outstanding adaptability at the wide pH range from 3.07 to 9.28, while the inhibitory effect occurred at strong basic conditions (pH = 11.01). The thiophene sulfur and structural defects were identified as the catalytic sites in activating PS. Both radical and non-radical pathways were responsible for degradation process, where 1O2 played a major role, SO4·-exerted a minor contribution, and O2·- acts as the precursor for the production of 1O2. Another source of 1O2 was assigned to the activation of PS by structure defects. This work indicates that N,S-co-doped carbon at an optimal S/N atomic ratio effectively catalyzes persulfate, and provides an innovative method to construct bifunctional carbon materials of adsorption and oxidization.

Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) have been known as a promising technology for accelerating aromatic contaminants degradation and energy recovery. However, most existing studies concentrate on aromatics metabolized through a benzoyl-CoA pathway while those metabolized through other pathways are limited. In this work, resorcinol, a typical aromatic contaminant as well as a key central intermediate (other than benzoyl-CoA) involved in aromatics anaerobic biodegradation, was studied in BESs. Unlike the general impression of the relatively poor organic-to-current performance in the aromatics driven BESs, high efficiencies for resorcinol-fed BESs were observed with a current density and coulombic efficiency of up to 0.26 ± 0.05 mA cm−2 and 74.3 ± 10.7%, respectively. The higher performance likely correlates to the readily fermentable property of resorcinol. Analysis of microbial communities in the biofilm suggests a syntrophic interaction between resorcinol-degrading bacteria (RDB) and anode-respiring bacteria (ARB) was involved in current generation. Additional tests involving the removal of accumulated acetate through fast resorcinol feeding indicates that a mechanism based on direct utilization of resorcinol for current generation may also exist. This study extends the knowledge for the fate of aromatics in BESs and indicates that aromatics entering into the resorcinol metabolic pathway can be treated efficiently with good energy recovery efficiency in BESs.