Efficacy and inflammatory levels (IL-6, IL-10) of adjuvant application of vitamin-A in the treatment of pediatric Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of Vitamin A (VitA) as an adjuvant therapy for pediatric Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Pneumonia (MPP) through meta-analysis, and to investigate its impact on inflammation levels (IL-6, IL-10), in order to explore the role of VitA in pediatric MPP. Methods: Using a systematic literature search method, relevant research literature is searched, and RCT studies that meet the requirements are selected based on preset inclusion and exclusion criteria. Then, a quality evaluation was conducted on the included literature, and meta-analysis was used to calculate the combined effect values of mortality rate, hospital stay, lung rale disappearance time, cough duration, fever duration, IL-6 and IL-10 levels, and heterogeneity analysis was conducted. The levels of IL-6 and IL-10 represent the inflammatory levels in pediatric MPP patients, and exploring their changes has significant implications for the anti-inflammatory effect of treatment. Results: A total of 10 RCT studies were included, with a total sample size of 1,485, including 750 cases in the control group and 735 cases in the observation group. The meta-analysis results of this study showed that there was a significant difference in the total clinical efficacy of using VitA adjuvant therapy compared to the control group without VitA [OR = 3.07, 95%CI = (2.81, 4.27)], P < 0.05. However, there was no significant difference in the adverse reaction rate between the use of VitA as an adjuvant therapy and the control without VitA [OR = 1.17, 95%CI = (0.61, 2.27)], P > 0.05. At the same time, the hospitalization time [MSD = -0.86, 95% CI = (-1.61, -0.21)], lung rale disappearance time [MSD = -0.78, 95%CI = (-1.19,-0.51)], cough duration [MSD = -1.07, 95%CI = (-1.41, -0.71)], and fever duration [MSD = -0.47, 95%CI = (-0.72, -0.23)] using VitA as an adjuvant treatment were obviously lower. In addition, the meta-analysis outcomes also showed that the use of VitA adjuvant therapy can significantly reduce IL-6 [MSD = -1.07, 95%CI = (-1.81, -0.27)] and IL-10 [MSD = -0.13, 95%CI = (-0.31, 0.12)] levels. This indicates that the application of VitA in pediatric MPP also has the effect of reducing inflammatory response. Conclusion: Based on the meta-analysis results, VitA adjuvant therapy can significantly improve the clinical symptoms of pediatric MPP patients, shorten hospitalization time, promote the disappearance of lung rales, and alleviate cough and fever symptoms. In addition, VitA adjuvant therapy can effectively reduce inflammation levels, indicating its potential role in inhibiting inflammatory responses. In clinical practice, VitA adjuvant therapy for pediatric MPP can be promoted as a potential treatment option.

Effects of loading rates and N/S ratios in the sulfide-dependent autotrophic denitrification (SDAD) and Anammox coupling system.

This study investigated the shock resistance and the stability of a novel sulfide-dependent autotrophic denitrification (SDAD) and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) coupling process for simultaneous removal of sulfide and nitrogen-containing wastewater in a single reactor. Results show that the total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency reached 86.7% at a nitrogen loading rate (NLR) of 1.52 kgN m-3 d-1. Sulfide was fully oxidized, achieving the removal efficiency of 100% throughout the whole process. Batch tests suggest that Anammox remained dominant with the cooperation of partial SDAD (PSDAD) and could always compete over short-cut SDAD (SSDAD) for nitrite. High-throughput sequencing analysis revealed that Anammox bacteria remained active despite a relatively lower abundance and diversity than denitrifying bacteria. Candidatus Kuenenia might be the main contributor to Anammox, while Thiobacillus and Sulfurimonas were closely related to SDAD.

Phytoremediation potential of Miscanthus sinensis for mercury-polluted sites and its impacts on soil microbial community.

Phytoremediation potential of Miscanthus sinensis and its impacts on soil microbial community and nutrients were evaluated by pot experiment at soil mercury concentration from 1.48 to 706 mg kg-1. The changes in biomass yield in dry mass, chlorophyll content, and SOD activity indicated Miscanthus sinensis was tolerant to higher levels of soil mercury exposure, and could grow even if at soil mercury up to 706 mg kg-1. Mercury bioconcentration and translocation factors were close to or greater than 1 when exposed to soil mercury up to 183 mg kg-1, demonstrating Miscanthus sinensis a potential phytoremediator for mercury-polluted soils. Miscanthus sinensis planting could significantly improve the diversity and abundance of soil microbial community, but might cause potential loss of soil nitrogen and phosphorus in the early and middle of its growth. In a word, the study indicated Miscanthus sinensis was a promising energy crop linking biofuel production and phytoremediation of mercury-contaminated sites.

Short term performance and microbial community of a sulfide-based denitrification and Anammox coupling system at different N/S ratios.

A novel sulfide-based denitrification and Anammox process was established for simultaneous removal of nitrogen and sulfide in a UBF reactor. The effects of the N/S ratio on reactor performance were investigated under five N/S molar ratios (4.56, 2.38, 0.96, 0.73, and 0.51). The best total nitrogen removal efficiency was 82.8% at a N/S ratio of 2.38. When the N/S ratio exceeded 0.96, Anammox contributed to more than 90% of the N loss. Sulfide was completely removed during the full operational period and S0 accumulation occurred when N/S ratio was less than 1. Thiobacillus (6.1%) and Candidatus Kuenenia (18.8%) were the main functional microorganisms when nitrate was in excess on day 12. As nitrate became limited on day 50, Thiobacillus (21.0%), Sulfurimonas (3.9%), and Candidatus Kuenenia (19.7%) became dominated. In this study, Candidatus Kuenenia was not inhibited by the sulfide.

[Determination of three phenolic compounds in water samples by solid phase extraction with microemulsion liquid chromatography].

A method for the determination of phenol, bisphenol A (BPA), 2,4-dichlorophenol in water samples based on solid-phase extraction with microemulsion liquid chromatography (MELC) was established. The water sample was acidified, and then cleaned-up by a C18 solid phase extraction cartridge. The separation was carried out on an Inertsil C18 (150 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 microm) with a gradient elution using a microemulsion (consisting of 3.0% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), 6.0% butyl alcohol, 0.8% n-heptane, 90.2% (water + 0.5% acetic acid)) and acetonitrile as mobile phases at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min and a detection wavelength of 280 nm. The detection limits (S/N = 3) of phenol, BPA, 2,4-dichlorophenol were 0.74, 8.0, 8.0 microg/L, respectively. Good linearities were achieved for the target compounds over the range of 0.1 - 10 mg/L. The spiked recoveries of three phenolic compounds in blank water samples) were 82.7%, 87.8%, 82.6% for phenol, BPA, 2,4-dichlorophenol respectively. The recoveries of target compounds in real water samples ranged from 85.7% to 113.2%. The developed method is simple, selective, sensitive and applicable for the analysis of environmental water samples.