Effect and mechanism of iron-carbon micro-electrolysis pretreatment of organic peroxide production wastewater.

The wastewater from organic peroxide production has high chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration and poor biodegradability, so it is necessary to find a cost-effective treatment method. The iron-carbon microelectrolysis (IC-ME) technology was used to pretreat the organic peroxide production wastewater, and the influence of reaction conditions on the removal effect of pollutants and the degradation mechanism were studied. The effects of initial pH, iron filings, iron-carbon ratio, and reaction time on the wastewater treatment were investigated by single-factor and response surface optimization experiments, and the degradation mechanism was analyzed by three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy, UV-Vis, and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The experimental results showed that the COD removal efficiency was 35.67% and the biodegradability of wastewater was increased from 0.113 to 0.173 under the conditions of initial pH of 3.1, the dosage of iron filings of 30.5 g/L, the ratio of iron-carbon of 1.01, and the reaction time of 122.8 min, and the process of IC-ME for degrading COD of wastewater from the production of organic peroxide was consistent with the secondary reaction. The IC-ME process could decompose macromolecular organic compounds such as tyrosine proteins and aromatic proteins, and improve the biodegradability of wastewater. It provides a theoretical reference for the practical application of IC-ME to treat this type of wastewater.

A rapid and convenient method for on-site detection of MON863 maize through real-time fluorescence recombinase polymerase amplification.

As large-scale planting of genetically modified (GM) crops increases, the development of a rapid and convenient method for on-site detection of GM crops is important. We combined the advantages of recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) and fluorescence detection to establish a rapid, sensitive, specific, and simple detection platform for on-site detection of MON863 maize. Test samples were added directly to the platform after simple pre-treatment with a DNA extraction-free method. Results were obtained through real-time monitoring with a portable instrument, which facilitated sample-in/answer-out on-site detection. The entire detection process, including sample preparation, RPA and identification of amplification results, was accomplished in approximately 10 min. Furthermore, the detection was achieved with a simple and inexpensive portable device. This method has high potential for application in other fields requiring rapid detection of DNA targets, such as in field research, resource-limited areas, and science education.

Haptoglobin Genotype and Vitamin E Versus Placebo for the Treatment of Nondiabetic Patients with Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis in China: A Multicenter, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial Design.

INTRODUCTION: Vitamin E is one of the most promising agents for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) treatment, and its drug responsiveness may be closely associated with haptoglobin (Hp) genotype. However, its efficacy and safety remain unknown in China. This clinical trial of vitamin E versus placebo for the treatment of nondiabetic patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (VENS) is conducted to evaluate (a) the efficacy and safety of treatment with vitamin E softgel (300 mg/day) determined from standardized histologic scoring of liver biopsies, (b) whether treatment with vitamin E improves biochemical parameters, cytokines, anthropometric parameters, controlled attenuation parameter (CAP), and transient elastography (TE) values determined by Fibroscan and health-related quality of life (SF-36), (c) whether the efficacy of vitamin E treatment is associated with the Hp genotype in nondiabetic adults with NASH. METHODS: VENS is a multicenter, randomized, double-masked, placebo parallel controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of treatment with vitamin E softgel in nondiabetic adults with NASH versus treatment with placebo in China. Liver biopsies are read by a pathological evaluation committee independently according to the NASH Clinical Research Network (CRN) scoring system. The NAFLD activity score (NAS) represents the sum of scores for steatosis, lobular inflammation, and hepatocyte ballooning. The definition of histologic improvement requires all three of the following criteria to be met: (a) either improvement in NAS by at least 2 points or post-treatment NAS score no higher than 3, (b) at least 1-point improvement in the score for ballooning, and (c) no worsening of fibrosis stages. We plan to recruit 120 biopsy-proven NASH patients from13 centers in China. Participants will be randomly assigned to groups treated with either with vitamin E (100 mg, tid) or placebo for 96 weeks then followed by 24 weeks of post-treatment observation. Biochemical parameters, cytokines, anthropometric parameters, CAP and TE values, Hp genotype, and several questionnaires will be collected as per the schedule. This protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Hangzhou Normal University Affiliated Hospital to ensure patients safety, and R&G Pharmastudies Co., Ltd. was established for monitoring the accumulated interim data to review efficacy and quality of data collection and overall study management. RESULTS: As a preliminary study, a mobile phone application (app) for lifestyle modification and database recording ( http://laiyivens.365hy.com ) was exploited for every participant. The percentage of NAFLD patients with Hp 2-2 allele is much higher than that of Western patients (65.71% vs 36%, respectively), which suggests that the Chinese benefit more from vitamin E treatment. CONCLUSION: VENS is the first randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the efficacy of Vitamin E in treating nondiabetic NASH patients in China. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study registered at https://clinicaltrials.gov (registration number: NCT02962297). FUNDING: Zhejiang Medicine Co., Ltd.

[Clinical observation on the modified external fixation with splints for double fractures of forearm in children].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the advantages of conservative treatment for trauma of children,and evaluate effect of external fixation for the treatment of double fractures of forearm. METHODS: From June 2007 to June 2008, 52 patients with double fractures of forearm were treated with manipulative reduction and modified external fixation by splints. Among them, 33 males and 19 females,the age was from 4 to 15 years with an average of 8.6 years. The course of disease was from 1 hour to 7 days. All patients had a definite history of trauma, and pre-treatment X-ray film showed double fracture of ulna and radius. RESULTS: All patients were followed up from 6 to 14 months with an average of 9.4 months. All fractures healed and the healing time was from 4 to 8 weeks with an average of 6 weeks. The clinical effect was evaluated according to Berton criteria, 37 cases obtained excellent result, 15 good. CONCLUSION: Strict choose indication of conservative treatment can obtain satisfied effect in treating double fractures of forearm in children. The method has advantages of safe operation, less injury, cheap expense, which can well obtain functional rehabilitation of patients.