Growth of Chlorella pyrenoidosa on different septic tank effluents from rural areas for lipids production and pollutants removal.

Septic tank effluent from rural areas was an ideal medium for cultivating oleaginous microalgae. However, the characteristics of septic tank effluents varied greatly due to the different incoming wastewater, and bring uncertain risks for algal growth. In this study, an oleaginous microalgae was cultivated in septic effluents from different mixed wastewater. The results showed that the effluent from pure toilet wastewater was the best medium to achieve the highest biomass yield (1.68 g·L-1) and productivity (154.6 mg·L-1·d-1). In contrast, the discharge of kitchen or laundry wastewater reduced the biomass production by 50.5-79.1%. That caused much lower lipids production in effluents from mixed wastewater regardless of its high lipids content and saturation degree. The results suggest that the discharge of kitchen or laundry wastewater bring risks for biomass and lipids production, and should be separated from the toilet wastewater before entering into septic tank.

Toll-like receptor 2 promotes invasion by SGC-7901 human gastric carcinoma cells and is associated with gastric carcinoma metastasis.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a key role in cancer metastasis. The biological role of TLR2 in invasion and metastasis in gastric carcinoma cells and gastric carcinoma is not clear; therefore, we aimed to investigate the biological role of TLR2 in invasion by SGC-7901 human gastric carcinoma cells and to determine whether TLR2 is associated with gastric carcinoma metastasis. RT-PCR, real-time PCR, flow cytometry, and western blotting showed that TLR2 activation significantly increased TLR2 expression at the mRNA and protein levels and notably promoted the transcription of genes related to angiogenesis and invasion, such as VEGF-C and MMP-9. The invasive capacity of SGC-7901 cells was strikingly advanced by TLR2 stimulation on Transwell invasion assay. IL-6 in the supernatants of cultured SGC-7901 cells was increased under the condition of TLR2 stimulation and reduced after TLR2 blockade by ELISA. Combined with clinicopathological parameters, the expression of TLR2 protein examined by immunohistochemical analysis was higher in gastric carcinoma tissues than in adjacent non-cancerous tissues (p<0.001). There was a significant relationship between TLR2 expression and lymph node metastasis (p<0.01), distant metastasis (p<0.01). There was no significant correlation between gastric carcinoma and age (p>0.05), sex (p>0.05), or degree of differentiation (p>0.05). These findings indicate that TLR2 may participate in the progression and metastasis of human gastric carcinoma and provide a new therapeutic target against metastasis of gastric carcinoma.

An integrated method for degradation products detection and characterization using hybrid ion trap/time-of-flight mass spectrometry and data processing techniques: Application to study of the degradation products of danofloxacin under stressed conditions.

A new strategy using hybrid ion trap/time-of-flight mass spectrometry coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography and post-acquisition data mining techniques was developed and applied to the detection and characterization of degradation products of danofloxacin. The degradation products formed under different forced conditions were separated using an ODS-C18 column with gradient elution. Accurate full-scan MS data were acquired in the first run and processed with the combination of extracted ion chromatograms and LC-UV chromatograms. These processes were able to find accurate molecular masses of possible degradation products. Then, the accurate MS/MS data acquired through data-dependent analysis mode in another run facilitated the structural elucidations of degradation products. As a result, a total of 11 degradation products of danofloxacin were detected and characterized using the developed method. Overall, this analytical strategy enables the acquisition of accurate-mass LC/MS data, search of a variety of degradation products through the post-acquisition processes, and effective structural characterization based on elemental compositions of degradation product molecules and their product ions. The ability to measure degradation products via tandem mass spectrometry coupled with accurate mass measurement, all in only two experimental runs, is one of the most attractive features of this methodology. The results demonstrate that use of the LC/MS-IT-TOF approach appears to be rapid, efficient and reliable in structural characterization of drug degradation products.

The metabolism of olaquindox in rats, chickens and pigs.

Olaquindox is a growth-promoting feed additive for food-producing animals. Its toxicities were reported to be closely related to the metabolism. To provide the interpretation of toxicities in animals, this study explored the metabolism of olaquindox in rats, chickens and pigs of different genders by qualitative metabolite profiling. Animals were fed olaquindox in an oral dose, and then their urine, plasma, feces, liver, kidney and muscle were collected. Liquid chromatography combined with hybrid ion trap/time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used for structural investigation and identification of metabolites. The structures of metabolites were elucidated based on the accurate MS² spectra and comparison of their changes in accurate molecular masses and fragment ions with those of parent drug or metabolite. A total of 18, 18 and 16 metabolites of rats, chickens and pigs were identified, respectively. Among the identified metabolites, 8 known metabolites were confirmed as an early study had stated, and 15 metabolites were found for the first time in vivo. The major metabolic pathways of olaquindox were proposed to be N-O reduction and oxidation of hydroxyl to carboxylic acid followed by N-O reduction. The qualitative species difference on the metabolite profiles of olaquindox among the three species was observed. However, metabolite profiles of olaquindox appeared to be qualitatively similar between female and male for the same species. The proposed metabolic pathways of olaquindox in animals will provide comprehensive data to clarify the metabolism of olaquindox among different species, and will give scientific explanation for toxicities and residues of olaquindox.