Purification of dredged water by magnetic coagulation: Response surface optimization and dissolved organic matter removal characteristics.

In the present study, magnetic coagulation was used to treat dredged water and the response surface method was used to optimize process parameters. The dissolved organic matter (DOM) removal characteristics were characterized by three-dimensional fluorescence spectrometry and ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry. During the magnetic coagulation process, the suspended solids (SS) removal rate increased initially and then decreased under conditions of increasing magnetic powder dosage and stirring rate. After magnetic coagulation and precipitation for 20 min, the contents of SS, ammonia nitrogen, chemical oxygen demand, and total phosphorus in the treated dredged water met the requirements of the discharge standard (GB8978-1996, China). Three-dimensional fluorescence results showed that magnetic coagulation selectively removed fulvic acids and humic acid substances. After magnetic coagulation with precipitation for 10 min and 20 min, the total relative content of lignins, tannins, proteins, lipids, aminosugars, unsaturated hydrocarbons, condensed aromatic structures, and carbohydrates decreased by 26.3% and 39.4%, respectively. After magnetic coagulation, the distribution range of small molecule DOM shifted to the low H/C and high O/C regions. This study provides a novel perspective for studies on the removal of DOM in dredged water by magnetic coagulation. PRACTITIONER POINTS: SS and DOM removal were significantly enhanced by the use of magnetic coagulation. SS removal efficiency was affected by stirring rate and magnetic powder dosage. Magnetic coagulation selectively removed fulvic acids and humic acid substances. DOM molecule shifted to low H/C and high O/C regions after magnetic coagulation.

Clinical pathological characteristics and prognostic analysis of diabetic women with luminal subtype breast cancer.

This study selected luminal-type breast cancer patients as the study subjects. The patients were divided into groups according to the presence of diabetes and the types of medication used, and the patients' clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic indicators were explored. A total of 5,785 patients with luminal-type breast cancer admitted to Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital between January 2002 and December 2006 were selected as the study subjects. The subjects included 680 breast cancer patients with diabetes and 5,105 breast cancer patients without diabetes. The patients were divided into Luminal A, Luminal B (high ki67), and Luminal B (her-2/neu+) subtypes. Each subtype was further divided into a metformin group, a non-metformin group, and a nondiabetic group. The research indicators included breast cancer mortality, age, body mass index (BMI), amenorrhea, the presence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, pathological stage, pathological type, lymph node involvement, vessel carcinoma embolus, and the chemotherapy and endocrine regimen. A Kaplan-Meier analysis was conducted to analyze the differences in breast cancer mortality rates among the groups. The Cox proportional hazard model was adopted to detect independent factors related to prognosis. Kaplan-Meier univariate analysis showed that for the Luminal A, Luminal B (high ki67), and Luminal B (her-2/neu+) subtypes, the cancer-specific mortality rates differed significantly among the metformin, non-metformin, and nondiabetic groups. The 5-year survival rates were 94%, 82%, and 91% (P = 0.002); 93.5%, 81%, and 89% (P < 0.001); and 84%, 77%, and 83% (P = 0.035) for the subtypes within each group, respectively. Cox regression multivariate analysis showed that compared with the metformin group, all three subtypes of the, the non-metformin group showed poorer prognosis (hazard ratio [HR], 3.579; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.506-8.506 [P = 0.004]; HR, 3.232; 95% CI, 1.839-5.678 [P < 0.001]; HR, 2.034; 95% CI,1.019-4.059 [P = 0.044] for Luminal A, Luminal B (high ki67), and Luminal B (her-2/neu+, respectively). Compared with the metformin group, the diabetic group showed poorer prognosis only for the Luminal B (high ki67) subtype (HR, 1.762; 95% CI, 1.033-3.005 [P = 0.038]). In addition, for the Luminal A, Luminal B (high ki67), and Luminal B (her-2/neu+) subgroups, there was a higher proportion of elderly patients (P < 0.001) and postmenopausal patients (P < 0.001) in the metformin and non-metformin groups than in the nondiabetic group. Moreover, the probability of having cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease was also higher (P < 0.001) in the metformin and non-metformin groups. For the Luminal B (high ki67) and Luminal B (her-2/neu +) subgroups, there was a higher proportion of obese patients in the metformin and non-metformin groups (P < 0.001). In terms of clinical characteristics, for the Luminal B (high ki67) subtype, the proportion of patients with invasive ductal carcinoma was lower in the non-metformin group than in the other two groups (P = 0.001). In both the metformin and non-metformin groups, the proportion of T3/4 patients was higher (P < 0.001), the proportion of patients with lymph node metastasis was higher (P = 0.001), and the proportion of patients with vessel carcinoma embolus was higher (P = 0.001) compared with the nondiabetic group. In conclusion, compared with the metformin group, the non-metformin group had a poorer prognosis for all subtypes of luminal breast cancer. In the diabetic group, only patients with the Luminal B (high ki67) subtype exhibited a poorer prognosis. Therefore, different diabetes medication may have a different impact on the prognosis of different subtypes of luminal breast cancer.

[Effect mechanism of NOD like receptor signaling pathway on intestinal mucosal barrier of rat during early phase of acute intra-abdominal infection].

OBJECTIVE: To initially investigate the expressing regularity and effect of enterocyte NOD like receptors on gut mucosal barrier during early phase of acute intra-abdominal infection. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly allocated into control group (n=6) and experimental group (n=24). Acute intra-abdominal infection model was induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). The level of NOD2 and NOD like receptor 3 (NLRP3) mRNA expression in gut mucosa was determined using fluorescent polymerase chain reaction (PCR); the expression of caspase-1 and tight junction protein was determined by Western blotting; the activity of nuclear factor-ΚB (NF-ΚB) was determined by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA); the level of serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) was determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The dead cell percentage of enterocyte was observed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated nick end labeling, and the gut mucosal permeability using an in situ loop preparation of gut with fluorescence isothiocyanate-conjugated dextran was determined. RESULTS: NOD2 mRNA expression was quickly increased to a very high apex at 2 hours after operation, compared with the control group, the difference was statistically significant (75.50±13.03 vs. 1.00±0.00, P<0.01), and quickly descended at 6 hours, and then slowing descended. The expression of NLRP3 mRNA was decreased at 2 hours after the operation, then increased gradually, and peaked at 12 hours, which was significantly higher than that in control group (4.03±0.71 vs. 1.00±0.00,P<0.05). The level of caspase-1 was significantly higher than that in control group at 2 hours (3.56±0.14 vs. 2.10±0.11,P<0.01) and then gradually increased. The levels of Occludin, ZO-1 and Claudin-4 were obviously lowered than that in control group at 2-6 hours (2 hours Occludin: 7.24±1.13 vs. 12.72±1.34, 6 hours ZO-1: 0.47±0.09 vs. 1.57±0.17, 2 hours Claudin-4: 1.63±0.28 vs. 3.40±0.34, P<0.05 or P<0.01), and then all slowly decreased. The activity of NF-ΚB was quickly increased at 2 hours, obviously higher than that in control group (24.85±0.57 vs. 12.42±0.73, P<0.01), and then slowly decreased at a state of high expression. The expression of IL-6 in experimental group had a peak at 6 hours (compared with the control group, 3088.07±330.03 vs. 26.19±7.58,P<0.01), and then slowly decreased. The level of TNF-α was significantly higher than that in control group at 2 hours (110.75±19.18 vs. 7.86±3.58,P<0.01), and then gradually increased. The percentage of dead enterocyte was higher than that in control group with infection progress (0.12±0.02 vs. 0.03±0.01,P<0.05), and then gradually increased, so mucosal permeability was gradually increased too. Compared with the control group, the difference was statistically significant through 2 hours [glucosans: (35.75±4.66)% vs. (2.84±0.35)%, P<0.01]. The relevance analysis showed that NLRP3 have a little higher correlation with mucosal permeability and caspase-1 protein expression than other targets. Caspase-1 had a strong correlation with the percentage of dead cell, TNF-α and gut mucosal permeability. Gut mucosal permeability had highest correlation with the expression of caspase-1 protein. CONCLUSIONS: The data of our study suggested that NOD2 and NLRP3 take role in early phase of intra-abdominal infection, the huge wave of the expression level of NOD2 hinted that it was feed backed by some accurate mechanism in case of its express was too strong or too weak. The correlation of NLRP3, caspase-1, and percentage of dead cell imply they maybe have some extent of causation, and the percentage of dead cell in gut mucosa was as important as tight junction protein in maintaining the function of intestinal mucosal barrier.