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Wastewater with residual streptomycin sulphate usually contains high content of ammonia-nitrogen. However, the biological removal process of ammonia-nitrogen under streptomycin sulphate circumstance was unclear. In this study, short-term and long-term effects of streptomycin sulphate on biological nitrification systems, including AOB, NOB, SAOR, SNOR and SNPR, were evaluated comprehensively. The results indicated IC50 for AOB and NOB were 7.5 and 6.6 mg/L. SAOR and SNPR could be decreased to 3.43 ± 0.52 mg N/(g MLSS·h) and 0.24 ± 0.03 mg N/(g MLSS·h) while the addition of streptomycin sulphate was 10 mg/L. When streptomycin sulphate addition was stopped, nitrification ability recovered slightly, SAOR and SNPR increased to 9.37 ± 0.36 mg N/(g MLSS·h) and 1.66 ± 0.49 mg N/(g MLSS·h), respectively. The protein of EPS increased gradually during the acclimatization process, and the maximal protein value was 68.24 mg/g MLSS on the 100th day, however, no significant change of polysaccharose was observed during the acclimatization process. High abundance of ARGs and intI1 was detected in effluent and sludge of the biological treatment system. The maximal relative abundance of aadA1 in the sludge appeared on the 140th day, and increased by 0.99 orders of magnitude. Biological diversity decreased significantly during the acclimatization process, relative abundance of nitrosomonas was changed from 9.07% to 38.68% on the 61st day, while relative abundance of nitrobacter was changed from 1.30% to 0.64%. It should be noted that relative abundances of nitrosomonas and nitrobacter were reduced to 16.17% and 0.25% on the 140th day. This study would be helpful for nitrogen removal in wastewater with antibiotic.

At present, biomass-based polymers can be applied in several fields, such as medicine, biology, aerospace and so on. Due to their good biodegradability, more environmentally friendly products with desirable functions can be designed and processed by people. Therefore, it can be a potential candidate to solve the serious environmental pollution caused by using petroleum-based polymeric materials in the production process. In this article, cellulose, lignin and vegetable oil are taken as examples, all of which are typical biomass-based polymer monomers, by reviewing their synthesis process and applications based on the recent studies on their production, modification and performance enhancements. The properties of final products in the industry stand out compared with many other products synthesized from petroleum-based polymeric materials as there exist different scientific modification methods to synthesize materials with desirable properties. One of the most practical applications is that all of them can be used to synthesize composite materials with enhanced properties. However, more research is required to quantify the environmental benefits and reduce the costs of biomass-based polymers so that we can make full use of biomass-based polymers and even expand their application fields. The article analyzed the application of biomass-based polymers and proposed some suggestions for its future development to help solve the present environmental problems.

The phenotypic color of seeds is a complex agronomic trait and has economic and biological significance. The genetic control and molecular regulation mechanisms have been extensively studied. Here, we used a multi-omics strategy to explore the color formation in soybean seeds at a big-data scale. We identified 13 large quantitative trait loci (QTL) for color with bulk segregating analysis in recombinant inbreeding lines. GWAS analysis of colors and decomposed attributes in 763 germplasms revealed associated SNP sites perfectly falling in five major QTL, suggesting inherited genetic control on color during natural selection. Further transcriptomics analysis before and after color accumulation revealed 182 differentially expression genes (DEGs) in the five QTL, including known genes CHS, MYB, and F3’H involved in pigment accumulation. More DEGs with consistently up- or down-regulation were identified as shared regulatory genes for two or more color formations while some DEGs were only for a specific color formation. For example, five up-regulated DEGs in QTL qSC-3 were in flavonoid biosynthesis responsible for black and brown seed. The DEG (Glyma.08G085400) was identified in the purple seed only, which encodes gibberellin 2-beta-dioxygenase in the metabolism of colorful terpenoids. The candidate genes are involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, transcription factor regulation, gibberellin and terpenoid metabolism, photosynthesis, ascorbate and aldarate metabolism, and lipid metabolism. Seven differentially expressed transcription factors were also found to regulate color formation, including a known MYB. The finds expand QTL and gene candidates for color formation, which could guide to breed better cultivars with designed colors.

Interstitial stromal cells play critical roles in muscle development, regeneration and repair and we have previously reported that Hoxa11 and Hoxd11 are expressed in the interstitial cells of muscles attached to the zeugopod, and are crucial for the proper embryonic patterning of these muscles. Hoxa11eGFP expression continues in a subset of muscle interstitial cells through adult stages. The induction of Hoxa11-CreERT2-mediated lineage reporting (Hoxa11iTom) at adult stages in mouse results in lineage induction only in the interstitial cells. However, Hoxa11iTom+ cells progressively contribute to muscle fibers at subsequent stages. The contribution to myofibers exceeds parallel Pax7-CreERT2-mediated lineage labeling. Nuclear-specific lineage labeling demonstrates that Hoxa11-expressing interstitial cells contribute nuclear contents to myofibers. Crucially, at no point after Hoxa11iTom induction are satellite cells lineage labeled. When examined in vitro, isolated Hoxa11iTom+ interstitial cells are not capable of forming myotubes, but Hoxa11iTom+ cells can contribute to differentiating myotubes, supporting Hox-expressing interstitial cells as a new population of muscle progenitors, but not stem cells. This work adds to a small but growing body of evidence that supports a satellite cell-independent source of muscle tissue in vivo.

In orthodontics, mechanical stress plays an important role in the process of bone remodeling. Mechanical stress has an effect on osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). However, the mechanism remains to be studied. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of demethyltransferase fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) on osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs under mechanical stress condition.The rat BMSCs were cultured in vitro, followed by flow cytometry to identify the cell surface antigens. Osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs was induced by mechanical stress by using the flexcell tension system for 6 h every day and 3 days in total. BMSCs were transfected by using plasmid for FTO knockdown. The expression level of FTO, hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α, runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were measured by real-time qPCR, western blotting. ALP activity were determined by ALP staining assays. The expression of FTO and HIF-1α in BMSCs with mechanical stress were significantly higher than BMSCs without mechanical stress, also, the expression of osteogenic differentiation markers were higher in BMSCs with mechanical stress. Knockdown of FTO decreased expression of osteogenic differentiation marker and ALP activity in stretched BMSCs. In addition, the expression of HIF-1α was decreased after knocking down FTO.FTO promotes the expression of HIF-1α and osteogenic differentiation under the condition of mechanical stress. This finding may facilitate the clinical application of orthodontics and the mechanism research of mechanical stress-induced osteogenesis.

Adult skeletal muscle possesses remarkable regenerative capacity. This is attributed to tissue-specific stem cells, satellite cells. Interstitial stromal cells also play critical roles in muscle, and we have previously reported that Hoxa11 and Hoxd11, expressed in the interstitial cells of muscles that attach to the zeugopod (radius and ulna), are critical for the proper patterning and development of these muscles during embryogenesis. Using a Hoxa11eGFP knock-in reporter, we show that expression continues in a subset of muscle interstitial cells through adult stages. Using Hoxa11-CreERT2 mediated lineage reporting induced at adult stages, we observe lineage initiation only in the interstitial cells of muscle, as expected. However, this Hoxa11-expressing interstitial cell lineage progressively contributes to muscle fibers at postnatal and adult stages. The contribution to these muscles at adult homeostasis significantly exceeds parallel Pax7-CreERT2 mediated lineage labeling performed in parallel. To confirm that interstitial cell nuclear contents are contributed to muscle fibers, we additionally used the nuclear specific lineage reporter, ROSA-LSL-H2BmCherry with Hoxa11-CreERT2 and observe that Hoxa11-expressing interstitial cells contribute their nuclei to myofibers. Hox lineage contribution is observed into all four muscle sub-types over months of lineage labeling. At no point after Hoxa11-mediated lineage induction do we observe lineage labeling into Pax7-expressing satellite cells. This adds to a small but growing body of evidence that supports a satellite cell-independent source of muscle tissue in vivo.Summary StatementHoxa11 expression marks a novel population of muscle interstitial cells capable of extensive, satellite cell-independent contribution to skeletal muscle fibers during adult homeostasis.

To construct a saliva-based caries risk assessment model, saliva samples from 176 severe early childhood caries (S-ECC) children and 178 healthy (H) children were screened by real-time PCR-based quantification of the selected species, including Streptococcus mutans, Prevotella pallens, Prevotella denticola and Lactobacillus fermentum. Host factors including caries status, dmft indices, age, gender, and geographic origin were assessed in their influence on abundance of the targeted species, which revealed host caries status as the dominant factor, followed by dmft indices (both P S. mutans and P. denticola in the S-ECC group were significantly higher than those in the healthy group (P S. mutans and P P. denticola). Interestingly, the co-occurrence network of these targeted species in the S-ECC group differed from that from the healthy group. Finally, based on the combined change pattern of S. mutans and P. pallens, we constructed an S-ECC diagnosis model with an accuracy of 72%. This saliva-based caries diagnosis model is of potential value for circumstances where sampling dental plague is difficult.

A complex dataset with 140 sampling events was generated using triple quadrupole gas chromatography-mass spectrometer to track the occurrence of 95 odorants in raw and finished water from 98 drinking water treatment plants in 31 cities across China. Data analysis identified more than 70 odorants with concentrations ranging from not detected to thousands of ng/L. In raw water, Pearson correlation analysis determined that thioethers, non-oxygen benzene-containing compounds, and pyrazines were classes of chemicals that co-occurred, and geosmin and p(m)-cresol, as well as cyclohexanone and benzaldehyde, also co-occurred, indicating similar natural or industrial sources. Based on classification and regression tree analysis, total dissolved organic carbon and geographical location were identified as major factors affecting the occurrence of thioethers. Indoles, phenols, and thioethers were well-removed through conventional and advanced treatment processes, while some aldehydes could be generated. For other odorants, higher removal was achieved by ozonation-biological activated carbon (39.3%) compared to the conventional treatment process (14.5%). To our knowledge, this is the first study to systematically identify the major odorants in raw water and determine suitable treatment strategies to control their occurrence by applying data analytics and statistical methods to the complex dataset. These provide informative reference for odor control and water quality management in drinking water industry.

Biofilms drive crucial ecosystem processes in rivers. This study provided the basis for overall quantitative calculations about the contribution of biofilms to the nitrogen cycle. At the early stage of biofilm formation, dissolved oxygen (DO) could penetrate the biofilms. As the biofilm grew and the thickness increased, then the mass transfer of DO was restricted. The microaerobic layer firstly appeared in biofilm under the turbulent flow conditions, with the appearance of the microaerobic and anaerobic layer, the nitrification and denitrification reaction could proceed smoothly in biofilm. And the removal efficiency of total nitrogen (TN) increased as the biofilm matured. Under the turbulent flow conditions, mature biofilms had the smallest thickness, but the highest proportion the anaerobic layer to the biofilm thickness, the highest density, and the highest nitrogen removal efficiency. However, the nitrogen removal efficiency of biofilm was the lowest under laminar flow conditions. The difference of layered structure of biofilm and the DO flux in biofilm explained the difference of nitrogen migration and transformation in river water under different hydrodynamic conditions. This study would help control the growth of biofilm and improve the nitrogen removal capacity of biofilm by regulating hydrodynamic conditions.

Microbial biofilms are common on abiotic and biotic surfaces, especially in rivers, which drive crucial ecosystem processes. The microorganisms of biofilms are surrounded by a self-produced extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). In this study, we investigated the effects of different hydrodynamic conditions on the composition, spatiotemporal distribution of different extracellular polymeric substances, and the architecture of biofilms. Multidisciplinary methods offer complementary insights into complex architecture correlations in biofilms. The biofilms formed in turbulent flow with high shear force were thin but dense. However, the biofilms formed under laminar flow conditions were thick but relatively loose. The thickness and compactness of the biofilms formed in the transitional flow were different from those of the other biofilms. The compact structure of the biofilm helped to resist shear forces to minimize detachment. Under the turbulent flow condition, bacteria, exopolysaccharides, and extracellular proteins permeated through the biofilm, and more extracellular polysaccharides enveloped bacteria and extracellular proteins. However, under the transitional flow condition, the extracellular polysaccharides and proteins were fewer than those under the turbulent flow condition; bacteria and algae were seen more prominently in the upper layer of the biofilm. Under the laminar flow condition, the distribution of extracellular polysaccharides, extracellular proteins, and bacteria was relatively uniform throughout the biofilm. The number of extracellular polysaccharides was greater than that of extracellular proteins. The total number of EPS in the biofilm was the largest under turbulent flow condition, followed by that under transitional flow condition and then under laminar flow condition. This study also observed that soluble EPS (S-EPS) were secreted first, followed by loosely bound EPS (LB-EPS) and tightly bound EPS (TB-EPS). In particular, the adhesion of LB-EPS and flocculation capability of TB-EPS play some role in regulating biofilm formation. This study would help to perfect the five-stages theory of biofilm formation.

Anammox has been widely used for the treatment of nitrogen wastewater. However, the problem of stable NO2− supplement becomes one of the limiting factors. It is an effective method to obtain NO2− by denitrifying the NO3−, including the by-product of Anammox. In this study, NO2− was reinforced by bio-electrochemical system (BES) through the reaction of partial denitrification in situ in an Anammox reactor. Our results showed that both NO3− and NO2− can be reduced on the cathode with different Coulombic efficiencies. The reduction of NO3− amount increased with an increase in Inf-NO3−, which was greater than that of NO2−. The conversion amount of NO3− was 2.50% ± 17.25% to the theoretical Eff-NO3−, and the maximum reduction amount was 23.24% with the highest Coulombic efficiency of 3.56%. High throughput results showed that denitrifying bacteria, such as Limnobacter, Thauera, Denitratisoma, Nitrosomonas and Nitrospira, were attached to the cathode surface and in Anammox granular sludge. This study showed that NO2− can be supplied by reducing the by-product NO3− with denitrification cathode at Anammox environment in-situ.

During orthodontic treatment, mechanical force is applied to the teeth, and following a series of complex metabolism changes, the position of the teeth in the alveolar bone change. This process is closely associated with primitive bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), which may differentiate into osteoblasts precursor cell. A hypoxic microenvironment may be caused by orthodontic mechanical forces between the alveolar bone and the root. Hypoxia‑inducible factor 1α (HIF‑1α) is a specific receptor that adapts to a hypoxic environment. The present study was designed to investigate whether HIF‑1α was involved in the osteoblastic differentiation of BMSCs induced by cyclic tensile stress. During this process, HIF‑1α mRNA and protein expression were detected using a reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. It was revealed that alkaline phosphatase activity increased in a time‑dependent manner in three different stretching strength groups, which indicates that cyclic stretch promotes the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. The optimal force stage of osteogenesis was an unexpected discovery, which will provide theoretical guidance for selecting the most suitable orthodontic force for tooth movement in clinical orthodontic treatment. Most importantly, all experiments revealed that HIF‑1α mRNA and protein were significantly increased following stretching treatment in BMSCs. It was therefore concluded that HIF‑1α may be involved in BMSCs modulating osteogenic metabolism during exposure to cyclic stretch and a hypoxic microenvironment, which may prove useful for the reconstruction of a jaw during orthodontic treatment.

Disgusting fishy odor problems have become a major concern in drinking water quality, and are commonly related to algal proliferation in source water. Unlike the typical musty/earthy odorants 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) and geosmin, identification of the corresponding fishy odorants is still a big challenge. In this study, two species of fishy-odor-producing algae, Ochromonas sp. and Cryptomonas ovate, were cultured to explore the odor production characteristics and typical odorants. When algae were ruptured in the stationary and decline phases, fishy odor intensities of 4 to 8 characterized by FPA were produced. However, some frequently reported aldehydes that could cause fishy odor, including n-hexanal, 2-octenal, heptanal, 2,4-heptanal and 2,4-decadienal, were not detected in either of the cultured algae. The possible fishy odor-causing compounds were further identified by combining gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O/MS) and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC-TOFMS) using retention indices (RIs). From GC-O/MS analysis, twelve and six olfactometry peaks with various odor characteristics were identified in Ochromonas sp. and Cryptomonas ovate, respectively, of which three and two olfactometry peaks showed fishy odor characteristics. 2-Nonenal, 2,4-octadienal, fluorene and 2-tetradecanone were identified as fishy odorants in Ochromonas sp., and 1-octen-3-ol, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, 1-octen-3-one, 2-nonenal and 2,4-octadienal were identified in Cryptomonas ovate. Other identified compounds, including butyl butanoate (fragrant odor), ionone (fragrant odor), bis (2-chloroisopropyl) ether (chemical odor) etc., did not show fishy features. Therefore, the fishy odor might be a synthetic and comprehensive odor, which resulted from the combination of different odorants and their synergistic effects. The results of this study will be helpful for understanding fishy odor problems, which will provide support for fishy odor management and control in the drinking water industry.

Aim: Mechanical strain plays a crucial role in bone formation and remodeling. Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α and TWIST are upstream of master regulators of osteogenesis, including runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). This study investigated the effect of the HIF-1α-TWIST pathway on cyclic mechanical stretch-induced osteogenic differentiation of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and the underlying mechanism. Materials and Methods: BMSCs were isolated from bone marrow derived from the femurs and humeri of Sprague-Dawley rats. Osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs was induced by applying cyclic mechanical stretch using the Flexcell Tension System. HIF-1α and TWIST were knocked down using recombinant lentiviral vectors. Osteogenic differentiation was evaluated by real-time qPCR, western blotting, and the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity assay. Results: Cyclic mechanical stretch increased ALP activity and expression of HIF-1α and TWIST in BMSCs. Knockdown of HIF-1α decreased TWIST expression in stretched BMSCs. Moreover, knockdown of HIF-1α or TWIST enhanced cyclic mechanical stretch-induced osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. In addition, knockdown of TWIST increased expression of RUNX2 and BMP2 in stretched BMSCs. Conclusions: The HIF-1α-TWIST signaling pathway inhibits cyclic mechanical stretch-induced osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. This finding may facilitate cell and tissue engineering for clinical applications.

Revealing the main contributors to septic odor is a challenge since diverse compounds are responsible for this odor, and there might exist synergistic effects among different odorants. In this study, based on a reconstitution evaluation, the contribution of eighteen odorants identified in Huangpu River source water to the septic odor was explored. The reconstitution test result showed that the three typical odorants, including bis(2‑chloroisopropyl) ether (BCIE), diethyl disulfide (DEDS) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), with respective average odor activity values (OAVs) of 2.35, 1.65 and 0.78, only contributed 61 ± 3% of the FPA intensity for septic odor in Huangpu source water. At a BCIE concentration of 50 ng/L, synergistic effect for the septic odor occurred at 10 ng/L for geosmin and 20 ng/L for 2‑methylisoborneol (MIB), showing that coexisting musty odorants could enhance the septic odor intensity caused by some typical odorants. When both geosmin and MIB, with an average OAV of 4.54 and 1.38, were further included in addition to the three typical odorants, 88 ± 4% of the septic odor in Huangpu River source water could be explained. With addition of the remaining odorants with much lower OAVs (0.23), 94 ± 2% of the septic odor could be explained. The musty odor was not affected by the presence of the co-existing odorants at the concentration levels of the present study. This study indicated that the overall odor of water contaminated with musty and septic odorants is a combination of both concentrations of individual contaminants and their synergistic effects. This is the first study to reveal the synergistic effects of typical musty odorants on septic odor, and the results of this study demonstrated that the synergistic effects of other odorants should be considered when dealing with the septic odor in drinking water.

Taste and odor problems in drinking water have long been plaguing many water utilities and the public. Even though many odorants have been reported, up to now, identification of the odor-causing compounds is still a challenge for the water industry. In this study, 22 typical reported odor compounds with similar odor characteristics were selected as the training set to build the linear quantitative structure odor relationship (QSOR) model by the partial least squares (PLS) method. The logarithm of the odor threshold (OT) value divided by the molecular weight of the responsible compound (pOT) was selected as the response descriptor to express odor characteristics. The resulting good statistical results, with R2 (correlation coefficient) = 0.8988, RMSE (root mean square error) = 0.4374, XR2 (cross-validated correlation coefficient) = 0.8133, and XRMSE (cross-validated root mean square error) = 0.5993, indicate that the odor thresholds of potential odorants with similar or distinguishable odors could be predicted using the model with corresponding descriptor data of known-structure odorants. Moreover, external validation was also conducted using the nonlinear binary QSOR method, where the overall binary QSOR accuracy remained stable (around 90%) regardless of the chosen threshold values. By using the validated QSOR model, the pOT of the set of 8 test compounds was successfully predicted with good correlation to their experimental pOT values. This study could provide a novel and convenient way to screen the potential odorants from innumerable candidate chemicals.

Background: To improve the microbial safety of drinking water, an arrangement of O3–BAC with rear sand filtration (O3–BAC–sand) has been proposed. In this study, efforts were devoted to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of O3–BAC–sand in a full-scale water treatment plant. The performance of the two configurations was compared in terms of particles, turbidity, CODMn and typical odorants and pesticides. Results: The O3–BAC–sand yielded lower turbidity but higher CODMn (by approximately 7%) in the finished water than regular O3–BAC (sand–O3–BAC). Both systems removed odors in raw water; however, sand–O3–BAC was more effective on septic and musty odorants. The total pesticide removals by sand–O3–BAC and O3–BAC–sand were 78% and 72%, respectively; though the latter had shorter activated carbon durable years. Conclusion: The re-location of the sand filter would sacrifice the BAC efficiency in removals of organic matter and micropollutants. This tradeoff is a result of the loss of the particulate organic matter removal by sand filters, because locating the sand filter behind BAC causes particle load increase on BAC; some measures of enhanced coagulation should be suggested to improve the turbidity and particle removal. The study will be helpful for improvement of the O3–BAC process in drinking water treatment.

The microbial composition of dental caries may depend on age, diet, and geography, yet the effect of geography on these microbiomes is largely underexplored. Here, we profiled and compared saliva microbiota from 130 individuals aged 6 to 8 years old, representing both healthy children (H) and children with severe caries (C) from two geographical regions of China: Qingdao Guangzhou. First, the saliva microbiota exhibited profound differences in diversity and composition between the C and H groups. The caries microbiota featured a lower alpha diversity and more variable community structure than the healthy microbiota. Furthermore, the relative abundance of several genera (e.g., Lactobacillus, Gemella and Cryptobacterium) was significantly higher in the C group than in the H group. Next, geography dominated over disease status in shaping salivary microbiota, and a wide array of salivary bacteria was highly predictive of the individuals’ city of origin. Finally, we built a universal diagnostic model based on 14 bacterial species, which can diagnose caries with 87% and 85% accuracy within each city and 83% accuracy across cities. These findings demonstrated that despite the large effect size of geography, a universal model based on salivary microbiota has the potential to diagnose caries across human populations.

Sudden odor incidents occurring in the source water have been a severe problem for water suppliers. In order to apply emergency control measures effectively, it is necessary to identify the target compounds responsible for odor incidents rapidly. The present work identified the odorants and explored emergency disposal mechanisms for sudden and severe odors in the QT River's drinking water source (HZ city, China). Medicinal, chemical, septic, and musty odors with strong intensities were detected in the source water. The effect of conventional treatments of drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) on odors' removal was limited, which was evident by the presence of medicinal, chemical, and musty odors with moderate intensities in the effluent of DWTP. Total seventeen odorants were identified successfully in the source water of QT River and the effluent of DWTP. The measured OAVs and reconstituting the identified odorants explained 87%, 87%, 89%, and 94% of medicinal, chemical, septic, and musty odors, respectively, in the source water of the QT River and 90%, 87%, and 88% of medicinal, chemical, and musty odors in the effluent. Styrene, phenol, 2-chlorophenol, 2-tert-butylphenol, and 2-methylphenol were associated with the medicinal odor, while propyl sulfide, diethyl disulfide, propyl disulfide, and indole were related to the septic odor. Geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB) were responsible for the musty odor, and cyclohexanone, 1,4-dichlorobenzene, and nitrobenzene were involved with the chemical odor. Based on the characteristics of identified odorants, powdered activated carbon (PAC) was applied to control the odors in the QT River. The results indicated that the medicinal, chemical, septic, and musty odors could be removed entirely after adding 15 mg/L PAC, which effectively controlled emergency odor problems. Overall, the study would offer a scientific basis and operational reference for emergency odor management and control in DWTP with similar complicated odor incidents.

Objective This research investigated the biological role of isoprenylcysteine carboxyl methyltransferase (ICMT) in tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) progression meanwhile to explore the conceivable mechanism. Methods The mRNA and protein expression were measured using real-time PCR and Western blot. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, cycle distribution, migration and invasion were evaluated by CCK-8 assay, flow cytometry, wound-healing assay and transwell assay. The anti-tumor activity of ICMT silencing was observed in nude mice. Results Our results indicated that silencing of ICMT-mediated methylation effectively inhibited TSCC cells proliferation in vitro and reduced tumor growth in vivo. Moreover, ICMT knockdown also induced cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest of both CAL-27 and SCC-4 cells. In addition, CAL-27 and SCC-4 cells migration and invasion were weakened by ICMT siRNA. Mechanistically, ICMT deficiency significantly decreased the K-Ras and RhoA membrane targeting localization, leading to the suppression of K-Ras- and RhoA-mediated downstream signaling in CAL-27 and SCC-4 cells. Conclusions Altogether, our findings identified a crucial role played by ICMT in the progression of TSCC and the potential mechanisms by which exerted its effects, indicating that targeting ICMT may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for TSCC. Availability of data and materials The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

The odor problems in river-type micro-polluted water matrixes are complicated compared to those in lakes and reservoirs. For example, the TY River in Jiangsu Province has been associated with complex odors, whereas the specific odor compounds were not clear. In this paper, a comprehensive study on characterizing the odors and odorants in source water from the TY River was conducted. Six odor types, including earthy, marshy, fishy, woody, medicinal, and chemical odors, were detected for the first time; correspondingly, thirty-three odor-causing compounds were identified. By means of evaluating odor activity values and reconstituting the identified odorants, 95, 93, 92, 90, 89 and 88% of the earthy, marshy, fishy, woody, medicinal and chemical odors in the source waters could be clarified. Geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol were associated with earthy odor, while amyl sulfide, dibutyl sulfide, propyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl trisulfide and indole were related to marshy odor. The major woody and fishy odor compounds were vanillin, geraniol, β-cyclocitral and 2,4-decadienal, 2-octenal, respectively. Medicinal and chemical odors were mainly caused by 2-chlorophenol, 4-bromophenol, 2,6-dichlorophenol and naphthalene, and 1,4-dichlorobenzene, respectively. This is the first study in which six odor types and thirty-three odorants were identified simultaneously in a river-type micro-polluted water source, which can offer a reference for odor management in drinking water treatment plants.

The odor problems in plain reservoirs are more complex compared to valley reservoirs and ground water reservoirs. Just as YL Reservoir with wetlands ecosystem in Lixiahe Plain, Jiangsu Province has been suffering from complex odors, however, the odorants were unclear. In this study, a systematic study on odorants characterization and evaluation of plain YL reservoir was accomplished. Totally musty, septic, fishy, chemical and grassy odors were first identified simultaneously, twenty-four odorants were identified correspondingly. According to odor activity value ranking, 2-methylisoborneol and geosmin, with odor activity values of 14–18 and 2.5–3.8, were major musty odorants, while bis(2-chloroisopropyl) ether, dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl trisulfide, pentanethiol and indole, with odor activity values of 15.3–18.8, 1–1.3, 1.5–2.3, 2–3 and 0.7-0.9, were major septic compounds. Fishy and grassy odors were associated with 2,4-decadienal, hexanal, nonanal, decanal, benzaldehyde and β-cyclocitral, while chemical odor was related to indane, eucalyptol, 2-nitrophenol, 2-methylphenol, tetramethylpyrazine, 1,4-dichlorobenzene, p-xylene and ethylbenzene. By reconstituting tests, 98, 95, 88, 85 and 81 % of musty, septic, fishy, chemical and grassy characteristics in source water could be explained. It was notable that wetlands ecosystem has almost no effect on odor removal. This study would offer more understandings and supports for odors's control in such source waters.

The relationship between mechanical force and alveolar bone remodeling is an important issue in orthodontics because tooth movement is dependent on the response of bone tissue to the mechanical force induced by the appliances used. Mechanical cyclical stretch plays an essential role in the cell osteogenic differentiation involved in bone remodeling. However, the underlying mechanisms are unclear, particularly the molecular pathways regulated by mechanical stimulation. In the present study, we reported a dynamic change of p21 level in response to mechanical cyclical stretch, and shRNA-p21 in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) induced osteogenic differentiation. The mechanism was mediated through TWIST/E2A/p21 axis. These results supported the mechanical stimulation-induced osteogenic differentiation is negatively regulated by p21.

Dwarf bunt of wheat caused by Tilletia controversa Kuhn has been identified an international quarantine disease, which replace the grain material into millions of teliospores. Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT) system is a powerful tool for fungi transformation with significant advantages of simple operation, high efficiency, and genetic stability of transformants. In this study, we constructed ATMT system for T. controversa. All the transformants were tested using Acetosyringone (AS) concentration at 150 μmol/l, hygromycin B at 25 μg/ml, 1 × 106 T. controversa hypha cells/ml, A. tumefaciens with OD600 of 0.5 co-cultivation at 16 °C for 48 h and culture was incubated at 16 °C for 20 days. Using the ATMT method, we cultivated 8 generations of transformants on complete medium (CM) containing hygromycin B antibiotic and validated by PCR, which indicate that T-DNA had been successfully inserted into each of T. controversa transformants. In addition, thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR (TAIL-PCR) evaluated the Ti element inserts were at random sites in the fungal genome. Thus, ATMT approach is an efficient tool for insertional mutagenesis of T. controversa.

The coupling between constructed wetlands and reservoir (CWs-R) afforded a novel ecosystem to improve the water quality and increase the emergency storage capacity of micro-polluted river drinking water source. In this study, spectroscopic characteristics of DOM in YL CWs-R ecosystem were first systematic studied based on a three-year field monitoring to investigate the chemical composition, sources and track the involved biogeochemical processes in the ecosystem. Three humic-like components (C1, C2, and C4, em >380 nm) and one protein-like component (C3, em 0.05), which implies that the biodegradation and production of protein-like component may balance each other in the CWs-R ecosystem. The ecological pond unit plays a major role in the removal and transformation of DOM, especially in summer, while wetland purification unit contributes little to DOM reduction. In addition, the decay of aquatic macrophytes in wetland purification unit and the risk of algal bloom in the ecological pond unit might become important autochthonous sources of DOM, especially in summer and autumn. These findings are critical for further understanding the transformation processes of DOM in large-scale CWs-R ecosystems, and could provide important implications to improve sustainable safety of drinking water sources.

Ozone and biological activated carbon (BAC) are known to be effective at removing odors in drinking water. However, the specific variations in complex odors and odorants along the course of advanced treatments in full-scale drinking water treatment plants (DWTP) have remained unclear. In this paper, the migration of odors and odorants through pre-ozonation, sedimentation, post-ozonation, and BAC treatment processes were studied from January to December 2019 in a DWTP. The results indicated that septic, musty, and chemical odors with intensities of 6-6.7, 6-7.5, 4-5 could be removed by both ozonation and BAC, while grassy, fishy odors with intensities of 3.3-4.8, 2.3-5.8 could not be removed until the BAC step. Twenty-four odorants identified in raw water were classified as musty (2-methylisoborneol, geosmin), chemical (e.g. indane, eucalyptol), septic (e.g. dimethyl disulfide, pentanethiol), fishy (2,4-decadienal) and grassy (nonanal, decanal) odor compounds. It is noteworthy that eleven additional odorants were produced after ozonation; in addition, the concentrations of fishy and grassy odorants were increased after ozonation, and the concentrations of musty, septic, fishy, and grassy odorants were increased after sedimentation, suggesting that sedimentation and ozonation should be carefully managed. BAC was the most effective at removing the above odorants simultaneously. This study would be helpful for providing more insights into the migration of odorants along treatment processes and understanding the mitigation of odors in DWTPs using raw waters with complex odors.

Smoking is identified as a risk factor for periodontitis. Carbon monoxide (CO)-releasing molecule-3 (CORM-3) is a compound that has demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects in vitro and in vivo studies. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of CORM-3 on the expression of inflammatory and osteoclastogenic cytokines in human periodontal ligament cells (PDLCs) stimulated by nicotine and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The cells were pretreated with CORM-3 and then cultured in medium in the presence of nicotine and LPS. The mRNA and protein expression levels of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX‑2), osteoprotegerin (OPG), receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) were evaluated using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis. The mRNA and protein expression levels of these cytokines were also evaluated in PDLCs transiently transfected with HO-1 small interfering RNA (siRNA) in response to nicotine and LPS stimulation. CORM-3 attenuated the LPS- and nicotine-induced production of PGE2, COX-2 and RANKL in human PDLCs by releasing CO, and upregulated the expression of OPG. However, these effects of CORM-3 were abrogated when HO-1 siRNA was transiently transfected into the cells. These results demonstrate that CORM-3 exerts anti-inflammatory and anti-osteoclastogenic effects on nicotine- and LPS-stimulated human PDLCs via the HO-1 pathway, which suggests its promising potential for use in the treatment of inflammatory periodontal disease.

Despite the strong oxidizing ability of ozone, pre-ozonation has seldom been employed for the purpose of micropollutant removal in drinking water utilities. In this paper, the possibility of using pre-ozonation instead of post-ozonation for the removal of micropollutants was explored because of the lower risk of forming carcinogenic bromate. A 1.0 m3/h pilot system was utilized to compare the efficacy of pre- and post-ozonation in the removal of bulk organic pollutants as well as micropollutants, including typical odor-causing compounds, pharmaceuticals, and typical pesticides, from one source water (Huangpu River) characterized by the occurrence of various micropollutants. Both pre-ozonation and post-ozonation could achieve similar water purification performance under an ozone dose of 1.5 mg/L, in terms of bulk water quality parameters like CODMn (66% in combination with biological activated carbon (BAC) treatment, compared to 62% with the pre-ozonation-BAC combination) or micropollutants including 27 pharmaceuticals (85% in combination with BAC compared to 87% with the pre-ozonation-BAC combination) and 25 pesticides (72% in combination with BAC compared to 61% with the pre-ozonation-BAC combination). Pre-ozonation exhibited slightly better odorant removal performance (100% in combination with BAC compared to 92% with the post-ozonation-BAC combination); however, post-ozonation generated approximately 6.0 μg/L bromate at an ozone dose of 2.0 mg/L, while pre-ozonation did not form bromate even at an ozone dose as high as 3.0 mg/L. So pre-ozonation in combination with BAC might be a solution for the removal of micropollutants from source water with high bromate formation risk. The results of this study will be helpful for the optimization of ozonation processes in the water supply industry.

Comparing with the normal mechanical inertial stabilized platform (ISP), the novel ISP with magnetic bearing to suspend the yaw gimbal owns the ability of isolating the vibration and disturbance of external gimbal. However, on the one hand, complex structure of the magnetically suspended gimbal introduces parametric uncertainties into modeling of magnetic suspension force, and the disturbance of magnetic fields brings the unmodeled force into dynamics of magnetically suspended gimbal. On the other hand, external disturbances such as wind drag affect the stability of magnetically suspended gimbal. Therefore, H∞robust controllers for translation and tilting of gimbal are designed to dampen the negative influence on stability and improve the robustness of system. The experimental results indicate that the robust controller of magnetically suspended gimbal owns the excellent robustness when the load of magnetically suspended gimbal changes.