Three New Species of Penicillium from East and Northeast China.

Penicillium species are ubiquitous in the environment and are of substantial importance, especially in industrial and medical aspects. During our investigation of the biodiversity of Penicillium, three new species were discovered in soil samples collected from East and Northeast China. They were determined as new to science based on morphological comparisons and phylogenetic analyses, and were found to belong to the subgenus Penicillium section Robsamsonia and subgenus Aspergilloides sections Aspergilloides and Citrina. Descriptions and illustrations of these species are provided, and their geographic distributions are also discussed.

Salinity effect on denitrification efficiency with reed biomass addition in salt marsh wetlands.

Five simulated salt marsh wetlands with reed were constructed to investigate the effect of salinity on denitrification efficiency and its enhancement by reed biomass addition. It was found that the salinity of 7 ‰ and 10 ‰ could promote the organic carbon release of reed biomass. Results showed that the nitrate removal was highest at the salinity of 7 ‰, and would be further enhanced from 54.06 ± 12.46 % to 74.37 ± 11.53 % after the addition of reed biomass. Meanwhile, the lowest nitrous oxide emission flux was also achieved, with 0.23 mg/(m2 h) at this salinity. Microbiological analysis showed that salinity changed the microbial community. The increasing salinity increased the relative abundance of Chloroflexi and Actinobacteria, but decreased that of Proteobacteria. Main functional genera of denitrification changed from Desulfuromonas to Azoarcus and Anaeromyxbacter when the salinity increased to 15 ‰. These results will help to understand the nitrogen removal capacity of salt marsh wetlands with reed biomass addition.

Enhanced nitrogen removal via iron­carbon micro-electrolysis in surface flow constructed wetlands: Selecting activated carbon or biochar?

The iron-assisted autotrophic denitrification was plagued by passivation when introduced in surface flow constructed wetlands (SFCWs). Iron­carbon micro-electrolysis (Fe/C-M/E) could facilitate the transfer of electrons during the utilization of iron. In this study, iron scraps coupling with activated carbon and biochar were applied to explore the effects of carbon materials on autotrophic denitrification. The results showed that TN removal rate in the SFCW with iron scraps and activated carbon (SFCW-IAC) and the SFCW with iron scraps and biochar (SFCW-IBC) were improved by 31.61% ± 8.18% and 14.09% ± 7.15%, and N2O fluxes were reduced to 2.73 and 3.12 mg m-2 d-1, respectively. The greater iron mass loss rate (0.91%) was confirmed in SFCW-IAC. Microbial community analysis reported that autotrophic denitrification and iron related genera were increased. This study proved that activated carbon was more suitable than biochar to Fe/C-M/E for denitrification enhancement and N2O emission reduction.

Expression and clinical significance of Notch signaling genes in colorectal cancer.

The objective of this study was to explore the expression and clinical significance of Notch signaling genes in colorectal cancer. Colorectal cancer samples were prospectively collected from patients post-surgery at the 3rd Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Immunohistochemistry of tissue arrays was used to analyze the samples and genes involved in the Notch signaling pathway. Microsatellite instability (MSI) was detected by fluorescence multiplex polymerase chain reaction. A total of 146 colorectal cancer samples were collected, including 84 men (57.7%) and 62 women (42.5%). The average age of the study population was 60.8 ± 10.5 years. Notch1 and Notch2 gene expression correlated with tumor pathology type and degree of differentiation. In addition, Jagged 1 (JAG1) and hairy enhancer of split 1 gene expression correlated with the degree of tumor differentiation. Delta-like 1 gene expression varied significantly with tumor location. There was a significant difference between gene expression and MSI. Of the 138 patients, 134 (91.8%) participated in on-site visits, and the average follow-up time was 42.3 ± 13.3 months. During this period, 86 patients (71.6%) were tumor-free. At 1 year post-surgery, 93% of patients were alive, 74% of patients lived for 3 years, and 67% of patients lived for 5 years. The log-rank test was used to perform univariate analysis, and the COX proportional hazards model was used for the multivariate analysis. Based on these analyses, tumor prognosis correlated with the TNM stage, pathological type, microsatellite status as well as Notch2 and JAG1 gene expression. Patients expressing high levels of Notch2 and JAG1 presented with a significantly better prognosis compared to patients expressing negative or weak levels of Notch2 and JAG1. The expression levels of genes associated with the Notch signaling pathway correlated with tumor pathology and the degree of differentiation. In addition, Notch2 and JAG1 expression levels correlated with survival; however, the underlying mechanism for these correlations remains unclear.