Enhanced sludge dewaterability by ferrate/ferric chloride: The key role of Fe(IV) on the changes of EPS properties.

The complex characteristics of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) seriously affect the improvement of sludge dewaterability. Ferrate (Fe(VI))/ferric chloride (Fe(III)) was applied through its strong oxidability to effectively enhance sludge dewaterablity by changing the properties of EPS in this study. Results confirmed that water content (WC), specific resistance to filtration (SRF) and capillary suction time (CST) fell from 82.8 %, 9.3 × 1010 s2/g and 35.1 s to 76.1 %, 2.6 × 1010 s2/g and 16.2 s, respectively, when adding 12 mg Fe(VI)/g VSS and 12 mg Fe(III)/g VSS with the dosing interval of 5 min. Investigations of the mechanism strongly suggested that Fe(VI) was successfully catalyzed by Fe(III), promoting the generation of methyl phenyl sulfone (PMSO2) and facilitating the electron transfer, with Fe(IV) having the major role in the oxidation process. Furthermore, sludge water-holding capacity and hydrophilicity waned after oxidation due to the destruction of EPS structure, which promoted the decrement of bound water to enhance the discharge of sludge water, so as to improve the efficiency of dewatering.

Mannose-binding lectin activation is associated with the progression of diabetic nephropathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to investigate whether mannose-binding lectin (MBL) activation contributed to the progression of diabetic nephropathy (DN), and its role in predicting the renal prognosis of DN. METHODS: Seventy-seven patients who received renal biopsy in the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University between August 2013 and September 2016 were enrolled in the study. These patients were followed up until the endpoint of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) or the last follow-up time of August 31, 2018. They were divided into ESRD group (33 patients) and non-ESRD group (44 patients). Their baseline characteristics and MBL levels (serum and urine) were compared between groups. The correlation between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the MBL2 gene and renal outcomes was also analyzed. RESULTS: The median (interquartile ranges) of serum and urine MBL levels were significantly higher in ESRD group than those in non-ESRD group [2,783.75 (1,244.28, 3,837.07) vs. 1,141.60 (652.67, 3,188.44) ng/mL, P=0.016; 1.02 (0.43, 2.05) vs. 0.27 (0.04, 0.58) ng/mg, P<0.01, respectively]. Both univariate and multivariate Cox analysis showed that serum MBL >1,108.75 ng/mL (stratified by maximum Youden index) was an independent predictor for ESRD [hazard ratio (HR) =4.164, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.601-10.833, P=0.003; HR =4.644, 95% CI: 1.320-16.337, P=0.017; respectively]. For the patients with rs1800450 SNPs of MBL2 gene, patients with homozygous genotype (GG) had higher serum MBL level (median 2,963.52 ng/mL) compared with those with heterozygous genotype (GA) (median 665.38 ng/mL) (P<0.001). MBL2 rs1800450 GA genotype was an independent protective factor for ESRD with a HR of 0.485 (95% CI: 0.237-0.991; P=0.047). CONCLUSIONS: Activation of MBL contributed to the progression of DN. The rs1800450 SNP of the MBL2 gene may be of value in predicting the progression to ESRD in DN patients.

Telmisartan attenuates aortic hypertrophy in hypertensive rats by the modulation of ACE2 and profilin-1 expression.

Profilin-1 has recently been linked to vascular hypertrophy and remodeling. Here, we assessed the hypothesis that angiotensin (Ang) II type I receptor antagonist telmisartan improves vascular hypertrophy by modulation of expression of profilin-1 and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Ten-week-old male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were received oral administration of telmisartan (5 or 10mg/kg; daily) or saline for 10 weeks. Compared with Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats, there were marked increases in systolic blood pressure and profilin-1 expression and reduced ACE2 and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) levels in aorta of SHR, associated with elevated extracellular-signal regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) phosphorylation signaling and aortic hypertrophy characterized with increased media thickness, which were strikingly reversed by telmisartan. In cultured human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells (HUASMCs), Ang II induced a dose-dependent increase in profilin-1 expression, along with decreased ACE2 protein expression and elevated ERK1/2 and JNK phosphorylation. In addition, blockade of ERK1/2 or JNK by either specific inhibitor was able to abolish Ang II-induced ACE2 downregulation and profilin-1 upregulation in HUASMCs. Importantly, treatment with telmisartan (1 or 10 µM) or recombinant human ACE2 (2mg/ml) largely ameliorated Ang II-induced profilin-1 expression and ERK1/2 and JNK phosphorylation and augmented PPARγ expression in the cultured HUASMCs. In conclusion, telmisartan treatment attenuates vascular hypertrophy in SHR by the modulation of ACE2 and profilin-1 expression with a marked reversal of ERK1/2 and JNK phosphorylation signaling pathways.

Selective differentiation of indoleacetic acid and indolebutyric acid using colorimetric recognition after Ehrlich reaction.

A simple colorimetric method for the differentiation of indoleacetic acid (IAA) and indolebutyric acid (IBA) in plant samples is described. The color change is based upon the reaction between the auxins and p-(dimethylamino)benzaldehyde (PDAB, Ehrlich reagent) following the electrophilic substitution reaction mechanism at the indole ring. Using their different response to reaction temperature and time, the selective determination of IBA in the presence of IAA is achieved by controlling the incubation time of 40 min at 25 degrees C. The total absorbance of IAA and IBA is determined after they react to PDAB for 150 min at 70 degrees C. The concentration of IAA can then be calculated using the difference between their total absorbance and the calculated absorbance of IBA. The detection limits (3sigma) of IAA and IBA were 0.10 microM and 0.28 microM, respectively. The precisions for five replicate measurements of 10 microM IAA and IBA were less than 5% (RSD). The recovery from mung bean sprout samples varied from 87.5% to 108% for the two auxins. Moreover, the Ehrlich reaction conditions are compatible with the methanol-hydrochloric acid extraction procedure. All of the above results indicate that this protocol provides a rapid, simple, convenient and practical method for detection and differentiation of IAA and IBA. From the color changes of IAA and IBA after Ehrlich reaction, the identification of auxin at the microM level can be achieved even with the naked eye. The method was successfully used to investigate the auxin changes of mung bean sprout during the growth procedure.

Dual-cloud point extraction and tertiary amine labeling for selective and sensitive capillary electrophoresis-electrochemiluminescent detection of auxins.

The low concentrations of the auxins in samples of plant tissue necessitate the use of selective and sensitive techniques for their quantification. Herein a selective and sensitive method based on dual-cloud point extraction (dCPE) and tertiary amine labeling for the quantification of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) by capillary electrophoresis-electrochemiluminescence (CE-ECL) is proposed. The procedure for dCPE included two cloud point processes with Triton X-114 as the extractant. The two auxins became hydrophobic in an acidic solution and were extracted into surfactant-rich phase after the first cloud point procedure. They were then back-extracted into the alkaline aqueous phase during the second cloud point step. The extracted auxins were reacted with 2-(2-aminoethyl)-1-methylpyrrolidine (AEMP) in acetonitrile that contained N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and 3,4-dihydro-3-hydroxy-4-oxo-1,2,3-benzotriazine to produce their AEMP-derivatives. The two auxin-AEMP-derivatives were subjected into CE and detected by Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)-based ECL. The preconcentration factors for IAA and IBA with dCPE were 40.5 and 43.4, respectively. The on-capillary detection limits (S/N=3) were 2.5 and 2.8nM for IAA and IBA. This protocol presents a clear advantage in that it reduces the interference from the matrixes extensively and gives a high sensitivity for the detection of auxins. The proposed method was applied successfully to the detection of the two auxins in acacia tender leaves, buds, and bean sprout.

[Factors influencing the temperature-sensing accuracy of ablation catheters].

Factors influencing the temperature-sensing accuracy of an ablation catheter are analyzed, in this paper, from the two aspects of the thermocouple temperature sensor, which are the TC length and the TC hole's diameter of the ablation electrode. Meanwhile, differences between products from different companies are given too.