Effect of pH regulation on the formation of biogenic schwertmannite driven by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and its arsenic removal ability.

The effect of pH regulation on schwertmannite bio-synthesis and its As removal ability were investigated in this study. The total Fe precipitation efficiency in a conventional schwertmannite bio-synthesis system (CK) reached 26.5%, with a mineral weight of 5.21 g/L and a mineral specific surface area of 3.18 m2/g. The total Fe precipitation efficiency increased to 88.4-95.8%, the mineral weight increased to 17.10-18.62 g/L, and the specific surface area increased to 3.61-90.67 m2/g of five different treatments in which the system pH was continually adjusted to 2.50, 2.70, 2.90, 3.10, and 3.30 every 3 h, respectively. The very small amounts of schwertmannite were transformed to goethite when the system pH was periodically adjusted to 2.90, 3.10 and 3.30. The increased specific surface area of bio-schwertmannite was due to the contribution of mesopores, with most pores having a diameter of 2-20 nm. For actual As-containing groundwater (27.4 µg/L), the As removal rate was 52.9% for bio-schwertmannite collected from the CK system. However, the removal rate of As increased to 92.7-97.8% for minerals which were collected after five adjusted pH treatments. The outcomes of this study provide a fresh insight into the bio-synthesis regulation of schwertmannite, and have great significance for the treatment of As-containing groundwater.

A comparison study between dimethyl itaconate and dimethyl fumarate in electrophilicity, Nrf2 activation, and anti-inflammation in vitro.

Dimethyl itaconate (DMI) is an analog of dimethyl fumarate (DMF), an approved NF-E2-related Factor 2 (Nrf2) activator for multiple sclerosis. This study evaluated the potential of DMI as an anti-inflammatory agent by comparing DMI with DMF in electrophilicity, Nrf2 activation, and anti-inflammation in vitro. The results showed that DMI was less electrophilic but better at inducing a durable activation of Nrf2 when compared with DMF. However, DMI demonstrated poor anti-inflammatory effects in Jurkat cells, bone marrow-derived dendritic cells, and RAW264.7 cells. Our study suggested that DMI was a potent electrophilic Nrf2 activator but was probably not a promising anti-inflammatory agent.

[Isolation of filamentous fungi capable of enhancing sludge dewaterability and study of mechanisms responsible for the sludge dewaterability enhancement].

To study the influence of filamentous fungi on the sludge dewaterability is very significant for the development of biological treatment methods for enhancing sludge dewaterability. In this study, filamentous fungi capable of enhancing sludge dewaterability were isolated from sewage sludge and the related mechanisms responsible for the sludge dewaterability enhancement were investigated. A filamentous fungus Mucor circinelloides ZG-3 was successfully isolated from sludge, and sludge dewaterability could be drastically improved by this fungus. Further study revealed that the enhancement of sludge dewaterability was influenced by inoculation method, inoculum size and solid content of sludge. The optimal inoculation method was mycelia inoculation, the optimal inoculum size was 10%, and the optimal solid content of sludge was about 4%. Under the optimized conditions, the specific resistance to filtration (SRF) of sludge could be decreased by 75.1% after being treated by M. circinelloides ZG-3. After the treatment, the COD value of sludge supernatant was only 310 mg x L(-1), and the treated sludge still exhibited good settleability. During the treatment of sewage sludge by M. circinelloides ZG-3, the mechanisms responsible for the sludge dewaterability enhancement included the degradation of sludge extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and the decrease of sludge pH. Therefore, the treatment of sewage sludge using M. circinelloides ZG-3 is a useful and novel method for sludge conditioning.

Supramolecular structures in three thiouracil derivatives: 5,6-trimethylene-2-sulfanylidene-1,2-dihydropyrimidin-4(3H)-one, 2-(4-fluorobenzylsulfanyl)-5,6-trimethylenepyrimidin-4(3H)-one and methyl 2-{[2-(4-fluorobenzylsulfanyl)-5,6-trimethylenepyrimidin-4-yl]oxy}acetate.

The molecules of the title compounds, C7H8N2OS, (1), C14H13FN2OS, (2), and C17H17FN2O3S, (3), crystallize in the space groups C2/m, C2/c and Ia, respectively. Compounds (1) and (2), an S-alkylated derivative of (1), consist of only one symmetry-independent molecule, while (3), an O-alkylated derivative of (2), contains two independent molecules in the asymmetric unit. The molecules of (1) sit on crystallographic mirror planes. In the supramolecular structure of (1), a combination of N-H···O and N-H···S hydrogen bonds creates a molecular strap with C(6) and R2(2)(8) motifs, which is further stabilized by an S···S contact. In the packing of (2), a one-dimensional molecular column is made up of two kinds of dimers. One dimer, with an R2(2)(18) motif, is formed by a pair of C-H···O soft hydrogen bonds and the other, with an R2(2)(8) motif, is produced via a pair of N-H···O hard hydrogen bonds. In the packing of (3), molecules A and B form two different types of one-dimensional chain by intermolecular C-H···N hydrogen bonds, and by C···N and O···S contacts, respectively. Two such kinds of chain are connected alternately via interchain C-H···O hydrogen bonds, giving a two-dimensional sheet. Finally, a three-dimensional supramolecular structure is formed through weak intersheet C-H···F hydrogen bonds. The study of the molecular and supramolecular structures of thiouracil derivatives is significant in the development of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 inhibitors.