Origin of the Activity of Electrochemical Ozone Production over Rutile PbO2 Surfaces.

Ozonation water treatment technology has attracted increasing attention due to its environmental benign and high efficiency. Rutile PbO2 is a promising anode material for electrochemical ozone production (EOP). However, the reaction mechanism underlying ozone production catalyzed by PbO2 was rarely studied and not well-understood, which was in part due to the overlook of the electrochemistry-driven formation of oxygen vacancy (OV) of PbO2. Herein, we unrevealed the origin of the EOP activity of PbO2 starting from the electrochemical surface state analysis using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, activity analysis, and catalytic volcano modeling. Interestingly, we found that under experimental EOP potential (i.e., a potential around 2.2 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode), OV can still be generated easily on PbO2 surfaces. Our subsequent kinetic and thermodynamic analyses show that these OV sites on PbO2 surfaces are highly active for the EOP reaction through an interesting atomic oxygen (O*)-O2 coupled mechanism. In particular, rutile PbO2(101) with the "in-situ" generated OV exhibited superior EOP activities, outperforming (111) and (110). Finally, by catalytic modeling, we found that PbO2 is close to the theoretical optimum of the reaction, suggesting a superior EOP performance of rutile PbO2. All these analyses are in good agreement with experimental observations.

Fouling evolution of extracellular polymeric substances in forward osmosis based microalgae dewatering.

Membrane fouling was still a challenge for the potential application of forward osmosis (FO) in algae dewatering. In this study, the fouling behaviors of Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus obliquus were compared in the FO membrane filtration process, and the roles of their soluble-extracellular polymeric substances (sEPS) and bound-EPS (bEPS) in fouling performance were investigated. The results showed that fouling behaviors could be divided into two stages including a quickly dropped and later a stable process. The bEPS of both species presented the highest flux decline (about 40.0%) by comparison with their sEPS, cells and broth. This performance was consistent with the largest dissolved organic carbon losses in feed solutions, and the highest interfacial free energy analyzed by the extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (XDLVO) theory. The chemical characterizations of algal foulants further showed that the severe fouling performance was also consistent with a proper ratio of carbohydrates and proteins contents in the cake layer, as well as the higher low molecular weight (LMW) components. Compared with the bEPS, the sEPS was crucial for the membrane fouling of S. obliquus, and an evolution of the membrane fouling structure was found in both species at the later filtration stage. This work clearly revealed the fundamental mechanism of FO membrane fouling caused by real microalgal suspension, and it will improve our understanding of the evolutionary fouling performances of algal EPS.

Protective effect of adrenomedullin on hyperoxia-induced lung injury. / è‚¾ä¸Šè ºé«“è´¨ç´ å¯¹é«˜æ°§è‚ºæŸä¼¤çš„ä¿æŠ¤ä½œç”¨ç ”ç©¶.

OBJECTIVES: To study the role of adrenomedullin (ADM) in hyperoxia-induced lung injury by examining the effect of ADM on the expression of calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CRLR), receptor activity-modifying protein 2 (RAMP2), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and protein kinase B (PKB) in human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (HPMECs) under different experimental conditions. METHODS: HPMECs were randomly divided into an air group and a hyperoxia group (n=3 each).The HPMECs in the hyperoxia group were cultured in an atmosphere of 92% O2 (3 L/minute) +5% CO2. RT-qPCR and Western blot were used to measure the mRNA and protein expression levels of ADM, CRLR, RAMP2, ERK1/2, and PKB. Other HPMECs were divided into a non-interference group and an interference group (n=3 each), and the mRNA and protein expression levels of ADM, ERK1/2, and PKB were measured after the HPMECs in the interference group were transfected with ADM siRNA. RESULTS: Compared with the air group, the hyperoxia group had significant increases in the mRNA and protein expression levels of ADM, CRLR, RAMP2, ERK1/2, and PKB (P<0.05). Compared with the non-interference group, the interference group had significant reductions in the mRNA and protein expression levels of ADM, ERK1/2, and PKB (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: ERK1/2 and PKB may be the downstream targets of the ADM signaling pathway. ADM mediates the ERK/PKB signaling pathway by regulating CRLR/RAMP2 and participates in the protection of hyperoxia-induced lung injury.

Inhibition of sphingomyelin synthase 1 ameliorates alzheimer-like pathology in APP/PS1 transgenic mice through promoting lysosomal degradation of BACE1.

Sphingolipids emerge as essential modulators in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) with unclear mechanisms. Elevated levels of SM synthase 1 (SMS1), which catalyzes the synthesis of SM from ceramide and phosphatidylcholine, have been observed in the brains of Alzheimer's disease (AD), where expression of ß-site APP cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1), a rate limiting enzyme in amyloid-ß (Aß) generation, are upregulated. In the present study, we show knockdown of SMS1 via andeno associated virus (serotype 8, AAV8) in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 transgenic mice, attenuates the densities of Aß plaques, neuroinflammation, synaptic loss and thus rescuing cognitive deficits of these transgenic mice. We further describe that knockdown or inhibition of SMS1 decreases BACE1 stability, which is accompanied with decreased BACE1 levels in the Golgi, whereas enhanced BACE1 levels in the early endosomes and the lysosomes. The reduction of BACE1 levels induced by knockdown or inhibition of SMS1 is prevented by inhibition of lysosomes. Therefore, knockdown or inhibition of SMS1 promotes lysosomal degradation of BACE1 via modulating the intracellular trafficking of BACE1. Knockdown of SMS1 attenuates AD-like pathology through promoting lysosomal degradation of BACE1.

Role of granular activated carbon in the microalgal cultivation from bacteria contamination.

Microalgal wastewater treatment has been considered as one of the most promising measures to treat nitrogen and phosphorus in the municipal wastewater. While the municipal wastewater provides sufficient nitrogen and phosphorus for microalgal growth, the microalgae still faces serious biological contamination caused by bacteria in wastewater. In this study, the commercial granular activated carbon (GAC) was added into the simulated municipal wastewater to avoid the influence of bacteria on the growth of microalgae. The extracellular organic matter (EOM) in microalgal broth was then characterized to enlighten the role of GAC in reducing the bioavailability of EOM. The results showed that the GAC addition could increase the dry weight of microalgae from 0.06mgL-1 to 0.46mgL-1 under the condition of bacterial inoculation. The GAC could mitigate bacterial contamination mainly due to its adsorption of both bacteria and EOM that might contain algicidal extracellular substances. Moreover, compared to the control group, the GAC addition could mitigate the microalgal lysis caused by bacteria and thus greatly reduce the bioavailability of EOM from 2.80mgL-1 to 0.61mgL-1, which was beneficial for the improvement of biostability and reuse of effluent after the microalgal harvesting.

Validation of two Chinese-version pain observation tools in conscious and unconscious critically ill patients.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the construct validities of the Chinese-versions Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool and Behavioural Pain Scale as measures of critically ill patients' pain by (a) discriminant validation of behavioural scales and vital signs (e.g. heart rate and mean arterial pressure) during a non-nociceptive procedure (noninvasive blood pressure] assessment) and a nociceptive procedure (endotracheal suctioning), (b) criterion validation of behavioural scales and vital signs with patients' self-reported pain and (c) testing the interrater reliability of both scores. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY/DESIGN: In this crossover, observational study, pain responses of 316 critically ill patients (213 conscious; 103 unconscious) were measured by both the Critical Care Pain Observation Tool and the Behavioural Pain Scale scores, vital signs and self-report (if conscious) during noninvasive blood pressure assessment and endotracheal suctioning procedures. Interrater reliability was tested in nociceptive procedures of a pilot study on 20 critically ill patients. Data were analysed by descriptive statistics, multiple logistic regression analysis and receiver-operating characteristic curves. SETTING: A medical intensive care unit in a regional teaching hospital in northern Taiwan. RESULTS: Patients' self-reported pain was predicted by total Critical Care Pain Observation Toolscores (odds ratio=1.93, p<0.01) and total Behavioural Pain scores (odds ratio=1.83, p<0.01) but not by vital signs after controlling for patients' demographic and clinical characteristics. Moreover, Chinese-versions had areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of 76.4% and 73.1%, respectively, indicating good ability to detect pain. CONCLUSIONS: The Chinese-versions of the Critical care Pain Observation Toll and Behavioural Pain Score have good construct validity and can sensitively discriminate when critically ill patients experience pain or no pain.

Phosphate and ammonium adsorption of the modified biochar based on Phragmites australis after phytoremediation.

To effectively remove N and P from eutrophic water, the Phragmites australis after phytoremediation was harvested for preparation of modified biochar. The MgCl2-modified biochar (MPB) was successfully synthesized at 600 °C under N2 circumstance. The physiochemical characteristics, the adsorption capacity for N and P in the simulated solution, and their adsorption mechanism of MPB were then determined, followed by the treatment of eutrophic water of Tai lake and its inflow river from agricultural source. The results demonstrated that the MPB presented high adsorption capacity to both simulated NH4-N and PO4-P with the maximum adsorption capacity exceeding 30 and 100 mg g-1, respectively. The entire ammonium adsorption process could be described by a pseudo-second-order kinetic model whereas the phosphate adsorption process could be divided into three phases, as described by both intra-particle diffusion model and the pseudo-first-order kinetic. It was further found that the dominant mechanism for ammonium adsorption was Mg2+ exchange instead of functional groups and surface areas and the Mg-P precipitation was the main mechanism for phosphate adsorption. The MPB also showed high removal ratio of practical TP which reached nearly 90% for both the water in Tai lake and its agricultural source. It suggested that MPB based on harvested P. australis was a promising composite for eutrophic water treatment and it could deliver multiple benefits. Graphic abstract.

Saline wastewater treatment by Chlorella vulgaris with simultaneous algal lipid accumulation triggered by nitrate deficiency.

Chlorella vulgaris, a marine microalgae strain adaptable to 0-50 g L(-1) of salinity, was selected for studying the coupling system of saline wastewater treatment and lipid accumulation. The effect of total nitrogen (T N) concentration was investigated on algal growth, nutrients removal as well as lipid accumulation. The removal efficiencies of TN and total phosphorus (TP) were found to be 92.2-96.6% and over 99%, respectively, after a batch cultivation of 20 days. To illustrate the response of lipid accumulation to nutrients removal, C. vulgaris was further cultivated in the recycling experiment of tidal saline water within the photobioreactor. The lipid accumulation was triggered upon the almost depletion of nitrate (<5 mg L(-1)), till the final highest lipid content of 40%. The nitrogen conversion in the sequence of nitrate, nitrite, and then to ammonium in the effluents was finally integrated with previous discussions on metabolic pathways of algal cell under nitrogen deficiency.

Effect of carbon source on biomass growth and nutrients removal of Scenedesmus obliquus for wastewater advanced treatment and lipid production.

The combination of tertiary wastewater treatment and microalgal lipid production is considered to be a promising approach to water eutrophication as well as energy crisis. To intensify wastewater treatment and microalgal biofuel production, the effect of organic and inorganic carbon on algal growth and nutrient removal of Scenedesmus obliquus were examined by varying TOC (total organic carbon) concentrations of 20-120mgL(-1) in wastewater and feeding CO2 concentrations in the range of 0.03-15%, respectively. The results showed that the maximal biomass and average lipid productivity were 577.6 and 16.7mgL(-1)d(-1) with 5% CO2 aeration. The total nitrogen, total phosphorus and TOC removal efficiencies were 97.8%, 95.6% and 59.1% respectively within 6days when cultured with real secondary municipal wastewater. This work further showed that S. obliquus could be utilized for simultaneous organic pollutants reduction, N, P removal and lipid accumulation.

Application of memberane dispersion for enhanced lipid milking from Botryococcus braunii FACHB 357.

To improve the mixing efficiency in an aqueous-tetradecane system and thus to increase the lipid milking efficiency, poly (ether sulfones) hollow fiber membrane was applied as dispersion medium to establish an in situ lipid extraction process from Botryococcus braunii FACHB 357. The lipid location of this microalga was characterized by fluorescence microscope and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. The results showed that B. braunii excreted lipids into the outer matrix, which allowed it possible to extract algal lipids in situ by organic solvent. Within an aqueous-organic biphasic system, the lipid extraction ratio of tetradecane increased from 38.05% to 50.15% by introducing a microporous membrane as the dispersion medium, mainly because smaller solvent droplets were produced. Under this experimental condition (the volume ratio of tetradecane: 10%, the flow rate: 10 ml min(-1)), solvent toxicity and shearing stress had not shown significant impact on algal cells viability in 96 h. Within the same time period, the lipid amount extracted by solvent was enhanced with the increase of the solvent flow rate and the initial biomass concentration. These results suggested membrane dispersion was a good choice to improve mixing effect in the algal lipid milking process or other similar cell products extracted processes.

Evaluation of FT-IR and Nile Red methods for microalgal lipid characterization and biomass composition determination.

To characterize lipid content of microalgal cells rapidly and accurately, the gravimetric determination, FT-IR and Nile Red (NR) staining were investigated on six typical eukaryotic and prokaryotic algae species. FT-IR and Nile Red were relative quantification methods and a standard curve was required in contrast to the gravimetric method. The FT-IR method determined the lipid, carbohydrate and protein contents simultaneously assuming that the algal cells only consisted of those three components. The Nile Red method was a relatively rapid method for neutral lipid content characterization by spectrofluorometry and could locate lipid body of the algal cell by fluorescence microscopy. According to sample sources and processing purposes, the gravimetric determination was preferable for large-scale cultivation with low-frequency monitoring, while FT-IR and Nile Red were suitable for general laboratory cultivation with medium-frequency monitoring, in particularly Nile Red was appropriate for small samples when high-frequency screening was required.

Concentration of lignocellulosic hydrolyzates by solar membrane distillation.

A small solar energy collector was run to heat lignocellulosic hydrolyzates through an exchanger, and the heated hydrolyzate was concentrated by vacuum membrane distillation (VMD). Under optimal conditions of velocity of 1.0m/s and 65°C, glucose rejection was 99.5% and the flux was 8.46Lm(-2)h(-1). Fermentation of the concentrated hydrolyzate produced 2.64 times the amount of ethanol as fermentation using the original hydrolyzate. The results of this work indicated the possibility to decrease the thermal energy consumption of lignocellulosic ethanol through using VMD.

Mechanism of lipid extraction from Botryococcus braunii FACHB 357 in a biphasic bioreactor.

Algal lipid of Botryococcus braunii could be produced continuously and in situ extracted in an aqueous-organic bioreactor. In this study, the cell ultra-structure and cell membrane permeability of B. braunii FACHB 357 were investigated to understand the mechanism of lipid extraction within the biphasic system. The results showed that biocompatible solvent of tetradecane could induce algal lipid accumulation, enable the cell membrane more active and the cell wall much looser. The exocytosis process was observed to be one of the mechanisms for lipid cross-membrane extraction in the presence of organic solvent.

Study on membrane reactors for biodiesel production by phase behaviors of canola oil methanolysis in batch reactors.

In comparison with the general stirring batch reactor, the membrane reactor has been reported to have higher molar ratios of methanol to oil but ultralow catalyst concentration in the biodiesel production. In this research, the methanolysis of canola oil is conducted in a stirring batch reactor in the presence of NaOH as a catalyst. Based on the investigation of the effects of operating conditions, including methanol to oil molar ration, catalyst concentrations and temperatures, the time course of the reaction path for the reactant composition in the ternary phase diagram of oil-FAME-MeOH offers an effective way to understand the operation of membrane reactors in the biodiesel production. The results show that increasing the residence time of the whole reactant system within the two-phase zone is good for the separation operation through the membranes.

Enhanced lipid production of Chlorella vulgaris by adjustment of cultivation conditions.

To increase the lipid productivity and thus to reduce the production cost of microalgal biodiesel, effects of cultivation conditions including KNO(3)-level, CO(2) concentration and irradiance on the cell growth, chlorophyll a content and lipid accumulation of Chlorella vulgaris were systematically investigated in a membrane sparged photobioreactor. The biochemical compositions including carbohydrates, proteins and lipids were analyzed simultaneously by the FT-IR spectroscopy. The results showed that the largest biomass productivity and the highest lipid content were obtained at different cultivation conditions. The algae should be harvested at a point that optimized the biomass productivity and lipid content. When the cultivation conditions were controlled at 1.0mM KNO(3), 1.0% CO(2) and 60 micromol photons m(-2)s(-1) at 25 degrees C, the highest lipid productivity obtained was 40 mg L(-1)d(-1), which was about 2.5-fold that had been reported by Illman et al. (2000). The influences of cultivation conditions on the cell growth, lipid accumulation, and other biochemical compositions of cells were further discussed and illustrated by a schematic which was also useful for other microalgal species.

[Model study on CO2 removal by photobioreactor].

The key point of study on CO2 removal by microalgae cultured in a photobioreactor is to improve CO2 removal capability. In this paper, a model of air-lift photobioreactor was developed by combination of conditions including the velocity of flow, the degree of mixing, the gas-liquid mass transfer and the rate of photosynthesis, and two corresponding simplified methods, such as time discretization and lumped parameters were put forward. Using a method of lumped parameters, the model for simulation of time course of DO, pH in the column air-lift photobioreactor and prediction of CO2, O2 concentrations in the outlet gas under different CO2 concentration in the aeration gas was thoroughly discussed. Experimental data were also used to verify the model which could potentially be applied to rational design of the photobioreactor, high-density culture of microalgae and efficient removal of CO2.

[Advances on CO2 fixation by microalgae].

The greenhouse effect, which is believed to occur primarily as a result of the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, has become one of the major environmental concerns and received worldwide attention. In this paper, algae species screening and cultivation for efficient CO2 fixation are reviewed. The related dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) utilization form and CO2 concentration mechanism (CCM) in the process of CO2 fixation by microalgae are analyzed. Four objectives of the highly effective photobioreactor design and operation are discussed, and the advances on CO2 mitigation technology with integration of microalgae (enzyme) and membrane bioreactor are also briefly introduced. In response to elevated CO2 concentration, much attention needs to be paid to the construction of transgenic microalgae with higher performance in CO2 fixation based on the further ascertainment of the related mechanism, and the development of effective CO2 biofixation system integrated with other kinds of advanced technology, such as membrane immobilization and separation.