Effect of separation pretreatment on environmental and economic performance of sludge resource utilization.

As a new technology for accurate utilization of sludge resources, sludge inorganic-organic matter separation (IOMS) has attracted wide attention. This study examined the impact of this pretreatment on environmental and economic performance of sludge composting and incineration using life cycle assessment (LCA) and whole life costing (WLC). LCA results indicated that IOMS pretreatment reduced the energy conservation and emission reduction (ECER) values of composting and incineration by 56 % and 76 %, respectively. Meanwhile, WLC exhibited that IOMS pretreatment could cut the break-even year of incineration from 11 years to 4 years. The combination of organic sludge incineration/composting with inorganic sludge sintering ceramsite reveals excellent environmental and economic performance. The application optimization hypothesis analysis of these two routes in various provinces of China indicates that Jiangsu has the greatest development potential and should become a major promotion region.

Comparative life cycle assessment of landfill sludge treatment technologies in China.

Reasonable treatment of large amounts of sludge excavated from landfills has gained increasing attention due to the diminishing availability of landfill space in China. In this study, five landfill sludge (LS) treatment technologies using life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost (LCC) were investigated, i.e., co-incineration in coal-fired power plants (CFPP) and waste incineration power plant (WIPP), co-processing in cement kiln, bricks production, and sintering ceramsite. The LCA results demonstrate that sintering ceramsite outperforms other technologies and LCC results indicate sintering ceramsite also provides the highest economic benefit ($869.94). To further enhance environmental and economic performances of the LS treatment, the substitution of coal with natural gas and biomass can reduce Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction (ECER) index by 74% and 98%, respectively. This substitution can increase economic returns by 24% and 26%, respectively. Furthermore, national-level economic benefit and carbon emission reduction potential of different LS treatment technology alternative scenarios were assessed. Results display that a combination of 50% CFPP, 25% bricks, and 25% ceramsite (biomass) offers the highest economic gain, which is 3.02 times that of 50% CFPP and 50% cement (original case). Conversely, the replacement of 25% brick with 25% cement in the above combination result in the lowest carbon reduction, which is 9.35 times that of the original case.

A novel fluorescent nanosensor based on small-sized conjugated polyelectrolyte dots for ultrasensitive detection of phytic acid.

A novel nanosensor is developed for selective and highly sensitive detection of phytic acid (PA) based on small-sized conjugated polyelectrolyte dots (Pdots) fabricated from a new conjugated polymer (P1) by a modified reprecipitation method. P1 featuring a π-delocalized backbone bearing meta-substituted pyridyl groups can be endowed with enhanced flexibility and hence is beneficial for the synthesis of ultrasmall Pdots (i.e. Pdot-1, ∼3.8 nm in average diameter) as well as for the binding of Fe3+, thus leading to the obvious fluorescence quenching of Pdot-1 (∼444 nm) in the presence of Fe3+ via an electron transfer (ET) process. In addition, phytic acid with six phosphate groups exhibits strong chelating ability. When phytic acid is added, phytic acid readily binds to Fe3+ and the fluorescence of Pdot-1 around 444 nm can be recovered, rendering the supersensitive and selective sensing of PA. Under the optimum conditions, this ultra-small Pdot-based nanoprobe favors the fluorescent determination of PA with the detection limit as low as 10 nM. Particularly, Pdot-1 with bright blue fluorescence exhibits low cytotoxicity. Furthermore, the small-sized and biocompatible Pdot-1 can be applied to the sensitive fluorescence assay for PA in cell extracts and the efficient imaging of PA in live cells.

The little brown bat nuclear genome contains an entire mitochondrial genome: Real or artifact?

Nuclear mitochondrial DNA sequences (NUMTs) have been documented in almost all eukaryotic genomes studied. Recently, with the number of sequenced genomes increasing, extremely large NUMTs, even a nearly entire mitochondrial genome, have been reported in some plants and animals. However, few such studies provided strong experimental evidences for these important discoveries. In this study using a computer-based search method an entire mitochondrial genome (NUMT-1) was found in the nuclear genome of a bat species (Myotis lucifugus). This super-large NUMT shared a same scaffold with a 754bp nuclear genomic sequence and a second NUMT (NUMT-2, 3292bp). If NUMT-1 was real, it will be the largest NUMT found in animals and this finding will provide valuable insights into the mode of generation of NUMTs in the nuclear genome. Unfortunately, although the initial sequencing technology of the published M. lucifugus genome makes the possibility of artifact less likely, our results from both the PCR amplification followed by Sanger sequencing and mapping method based on the whole-genome resequencing datasets suggested that the scaffold containing the entire mitochondrial genome was artifact possibly due to a misassembly of mitochondrial and the nuclear DNA sequences. Our current study highlights the necessity to validate the authenticity of extremely large NUMTs identified in previous searches on whole-genome sequence assemblies.

Repetitive transpositions of mitochondrial DNA sequences to the nucleus during the radiation of horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus, Chiroptera).

Transposition of mitochondrial DNA into the nucleus, which gives rise to nuclear mitochondrial DNAs (NUMTs), has been well documented in eukaryotes. However, very few studies have assessed the frequency of these transpositions during the evolutionary history of a specific taxonomic group. Here we used the horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus) as a case study to determine the frequency and relative timing of nuclear transfers of mitochondrial control region sequences. For this, phylogenetic and coalescent analyzes were performed on NUMTs and authentic mtDNA sequences generated from eight horseshoe bat species. Our results suggest at least three independent transpositions, including two ancient and one more recent, during the evolutionary history of Rhinolophus. The two ancient transpositions are represented by the NUMT-1 and -2 clades, with each clade consisting of NUMTs from almost all studied species but originating from different portions of the mtDNA genome. Furthermore, estimates of the most recent common ancestor for each clade corresponded to the time of the initial diversification of this genus. The recent transposition is represented by NUMT-3, which was discovered only in a specific subgroup of Rhinolophus and exhibited a close relationship to its mitochondrial counterpart. Our similarity searches of mtDNA in the R. ferrumequinum genome confirmed the presence of NUMT-1 and NUMT-2 clade sequences and, for the first time, assessed the extent of NUMTs in a bat genome. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report on the frequency of transpositions of mtDNA occurring before the common ancestry of a genus.

A complete mitochondrial genome of the Damaraland mole rat Fukomys damarensis retrieved from the published genome of the brandt's bat Myotis brandtii.

We reported the complete mitochondrial genome of the Damaraland mole rat Fukomys damarensis which was retrieved from the published genome of the Brandt's bat Myotis brandtii. The mitogenome of F. damarensis is 16 868 bp in length with a base composition of 33.81% A, 30.79% T, 22.20% C, and 13.20% G, and contains 22 tRNA, two rRNA, 13 protein-coding genes, and a non-coding control region. The sequence of F. damarensis was verified by a phylogenetic analysis. Our study suggests a caution when utilizing the published genome assembly generated by next-generation sequencing.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the king horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus rex) using next-generation sequencing and Sanger sequencing.

The king horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus rex) is endemic to China. Here, we characterized the complete mitochondrial genome of R. rex using next-generation sequencing and Sanger sequencing. The mitogenome is 16 845 bp in length and contains 22 tRNAs, two rRNAs, 13 protein-coding genes, and a non-coding control region. Our traditional Sanger sequencing verified that mtDNA sequences generated from next-generation sequencing are reliable. The mitogenome of R. rex will be useful for the conservation genetics of this endangered species.

The complete mitochondrial genome of a Chinese rufous horseshoe bat subspecies, Rhinolophus sinicus sinicus (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae).

There are two subspecies of Rhinolophus sinicus currently recognized in China. In this study, using next generation sequencing approaches, the complete mitochondrial genome of one subspecies R. s. sinicus was obtained. The total length of the genome sequence is 16,898 bp. The arrangement and contents of R. s. sinicus mitochondrial genes exhibit high similarity with other bats of family Rhinolophida. Phylogenetic reconstructions support the sister relationship of the two subspecies and confirm the subspecies status of our specimen.

The great roundleaf bat (Hipposideros armiger) as a good model for cold-induced browning of intra-abdominal white adipose tissue.

BACKGROUND: Inducing beige fat from white adipose tissue (WAT) is considered to be a shortcut to weight loss and increasingly becoming a key area in research into treatments for obesity and related diseases. However, currently, animal models of beige fat are restricted to rodents, where subcutaneous adipose tissue (sWAT, benign WAT) is more liable to develop into the beige fat under specific activators than the intra-abdominal adipose tissue (aWAT, malignant WAT) that is the major source of obesity related diseases in humans. METHODS: Here we induced beige fat by cold exposure in two species of bats, the great roundleaf bat (Hipposideros armiger) and the rickett's big-footed bat (Myotis ricketti), and compared the molecular and morphological changes with those seen in the mouse. Expression of thermogenic genes (Ucp1 and Pgc1a) was measured by RT-qPCR and adipocyte morphology examined by HE staining at three adipose locations, sWAT, aWAT and iBAT (interscapular brown adipose tissue). RESULTS: Expression of Ucp1 and Pgc1a was significantly upregulated, by 729 and 23 fold, respectively, in aWAT of the great roundleaf bat after exposure to 10°C for 7 days. Adipocyte diameters of WATs became significantly reduced and the white adipocytes became brown-like in morphology. In mice, similar changes were found in the sWAT, but much lower amounts of changes in aWAT were seen. Interestingly, the rickett's big-footed bat did not show such a tendency in beige fat. CONCLUSIONS: The great roundleaf bat is potentially a good animal model for human aWAT browning research. Combined with rodent models, this model should be helpful for finding therapies for reducing harmful aWAT in humans.