Remediation characteristics of surfactant-enhanced air sparging (SEAS) technology on volatile organic compounds contaminated soil with low permeability.

Surfactant-enhanced air sparging (SEAS) is an effective technology for the remediation of volatile organic compounds contamination of medium and high-permeability soil, though applying SEAS to low-permeability soil contamination has rarely been explored. In this study, a series of two-dimensional physical model tests were designed to explore the feasibility and remediation characteristics of SEAS on low-permeability soil. In the test results, the incorporation and increase in surfactant concentration promoted air channel formation in the low-permeability soil, finally reduced the capillary breakthrough pressure and improved the airflow rate. The majority of the exhausted gaseous contaminants were distributed along the horizontal direction, differing from the results observed in medium and high-permeability soils. The exhausted gaseous contaminant concentration changed slightly when the sparging pressure and surfactant concentration increased at relatively low levels and increased as the sparging pressure and surfactant concentration increased further. Increasing the air sparging pressure without surfactant incorporation or with a low surfactant concentration cannot effectively remove the contaminant, while the removal efficiency can be enhanced with further increases in surfactant concentration. The discrete remediation characteristics had been confirmed during SEAS application on low-permeability soil, then the relationships between the ratios of remediation area and remediation extent under different surfactant concentrations and sparging pressures were established for remediation efficiency evaluation. Using this method, the discrete remediation characteristics can be recreated once the surfactant concentration and the sparging pressure were chosen. On the other side, targeted improvements in the remediation area or extent can be achieved by controlling the surfactant concentration and sparging pressure. Through this study, SEAS technology and the proposed evaluation method were successfully implemented in soil with hydraulic conductivity around 9E-7 m/s, which expanded the application scope of SEAS technology for contaminant removal.

Anti-inflammatory effect of Marchantin M contributes to sensitization of prostate cancer cells to docetaxel.

As pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines contribute to the malignancy of many types of human cancer, we examined the anti-inflammatory effect of bisbibenzyls, a diverse bioactive group of naturally occurring compounds. Marchantin M (Mar M) was identified through a screening process of these compounds as a potent anti-inflammatory agent based on its capacity to inhibit LPS-induced IL6, IL1ß and CCL2 expression in HUVECs and PBMCs without affecting cell proliferation. Since Mar M has been found to exhibit anticancer activity, we observed that Mar M treatment also resulted in decreases in the expressions of IL6, IL1ß and TNFα in metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) cells. This effect was further confirmed in other cancer cell lines that express high level of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, inactivation of NF-κB, a critical transcription factor controlling many pro-inflammatory cytokine expressions, was observed in Mar M-treated PCa cells as evidenced by decreased phosphor-p65 and subsequently phosphor-STAT3. Mar M also suppressed phosphorylation of IKBα, an inhibitor of NF-κB in the cytosol. However, reduced phosphor-p65 by Mar M was slightly increased when knockdown of IKBα, suggesting that Mar M may target upstream molecules of IKBα/NF-κB signaling. Finally, treatment with Mar M resulted in more enhanced-sensitivity of PCa cells to docetaxel-induced apoptosis than that of the IL6 blocking. Our study demonstrates the potential of the anti-inflammatory agent Mar M as an adjuvant to improve the efficacy of traditional anticancer agents such as docetaxel.

Riccardin D induces cell death by activation of apoptosis and autophagy in osteosarcoma cells.

Macrocyclic bisbibenzyls, characteristic components derived from liverworts, have various biological activities. Riccardin D (RD), a liverwort-derived naturally occurring macrocyclic bisbibenzyl, has been found to exert anticancer effects in multiple cancer cell types through apoptosis induction. However, the underlying mechanisms of such effects remain undefined. In addition, whether RD induces other forms of cell death such as autophagy is unknown. In this study, we found that the arrest of RD-caused U2OS (p53 wild) and Saos-2 (p53 null) cells in G1 phase was associated with the induction of p53 and p21(WAF1) in U2OS cells. RD-mediated cell cycle arrest was accompanied with apoptosis promotion as indicated by changes in nuclear morphology and expression of apoptosis-related proteins. Further studies revealed that the antiproliferation of RD was unaffected in the presence of p53 inhibitor but was partially reversed by a pan-inhibitor of caspases, suggesting that p53 was not required in RD-mediated apoptosis and that caspase-independent mechanisms were involved in RD-mediated cell death. Except for apoptosis, RD-induced autophagy occurred as evidenced by the accumulation of microtubule-associated protein-1 light chain-3B-II, formation of AVOs, punctate dots, and increased autophagic flux. Pharmacological blockade of autophagy activation markedly attenuated RD-mediated cell death. RD-induced cell death was significantly restored by the combination of autophagy and caspase inhibitors in osteosarcoma cells. Overall, our study revealed RD-induced caspase-dependent apoptosis and autophagy in cancer cells, as well as highlighted the importance of continued investigation on the use of RD as a potential anticancer candidate.

Dicylopenta-dien-yl[4-(4-vinyl-benz-yloxy)pyridine-2,6-dicarboxyl-ato]titanium(IV) monohydrate.

The title compound, [Ti(C(5)H(5))(2)(C(16)H(11)NO(5))]·H(2)O, exhibits a titanocene unit coordinated to a styrene-substituted pyridine-2,6-dicarboxyl-ate ligand synthesized for use as a monomer for polymerization or copolymerization yielding metallocene-containing polymers. The compound crystallized as a monohydrate and the solvent water mol-ecule forms strong O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds with the carboxyl-ate O atoms of the Ti complex, which play an important role in the connection of adjacent mol-ecules. In addition, weak inter-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds also contribute to the crystal packing arrangement.

1-[Bicyclo[4.2.0]octa-1(6),2,4-trien-3-yl]-3-[bicyclo[4.2.0]octa-1(6),2,4-trien-3-yl-methyl]imidazolium hexa-fluoro-phos-phate.

In the title compound, C(20)H(19)N(2) (+)·PF(6) (-), the two benzocyclo-butene units are essentially planar and they form dihedral angles of 38.0 (2) and 72.7 (2)°, with the central imidazolium ring. In the crystal structure, weak C-H⋯π and π--π stacking inter-actions [centroid-centroid distance = 3.742 (2) Å] contribute to the stability of the crystal structure. The PF(6) (-) ion is disordered over two positions with site occupancies of 0.869 (9) and 0.131 (9).

1-[Bicyclo-[4.2.0]octa-1(6),2,4-trien-3-yl]-3-(but-3-en-yl)imidazolium bromide.

In the title compound, C(15)H(17)N(2) (+)·Br(-), the cyclo-butene and benzene rings are coplanar. The dihedral angle between the benzene and imidazolium rings is 21.2 (3)°. In the crystal structure, the C(15)H(17)N(2) (+) and Br(-) ions are linked into a zigzag chain along the b axis by C-H⋯Br hydrogen bonds, and weak C-H⋯π inter-actions involving the benzene ring of a screw-related cation.