A majority of global secondary organic aerosol (SOA) comes from terpenoids. In this study, we carried out a 1 year nationwide observation of pinenes (α‐ and β‐pinene) and SOA tracers from ...monoterpenes (SOAM) and β‐caryophyllene (SOAC) over China for the first time. SOAM and SOAC tracers ranged from 9.80 to 49.0 ng m−3 and 1.72 to 7.72 ng m−3, respectively, with high levels in southern China. Pinenes ranged from 34 to 102 parts per trillion by volume, with α‐pinene dominant over β‐pinene. SOAM tracers were correlated between paired sites, suggesting a regional impact of SOAM, while pinenes were uncorrelated between sites due to their rapid oxidation. High levels of SOAM tracers were observed in spring and summer. However, at the Hailun site in Northeast China, SOAM tracers increased during winter. The positive correlation between SOAM tracers and the biomass burning (BB) tracer levoglucosan during winter at Hailun indicated that the unexpected increase of SOAM was associated with BB. The SOAC tracer, β‐caryophyllenic acid, increased during winter and was positively correlated with levoglucosan, suggesting substantial contributions from BB to SOAC production in wintertime. Together with SOA tracers from isoprene, these tracers were applied to estimate biogenic secondary organic carbon (BSOC) from isoprene, monoterpenes, and β‐caryophyllene. The annual average BSOC was 0.91 ± 0.41 μgC m−3,with the majority from monoterpenes and the highest level in Southwest China. BSOC was elevated from April to September and was lowest in January and February. BSOC composition dramatically changed from a monoterpene majority in fall‐spring to an isoprene majority in summer.
Key Points
The first nationwide measurements of BSOA tracers showed high concentrations in southern China
Unexpected increases of SOA from monoterpenes and β‐caryophyllene during winter were correlated with biomass burning
BSOC composition dramatically changed from a monoterpene majority in fall‐spring to an isoprene majority in summer
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
China's national development strategy now prioritizes environmental protection over economic growth, which has driven a rapid development of China's wastewater sector. In particular, the treatment ...capacity of municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has been substantially strengthened and stricter effluent quality control enforced. However, the operating performance of most WWTPs is still poor and does not meet the sustainable development demands. In this study, the current status of WWTPs operation in China was comprehensively analyzed, the key barriers to improving the plants operating efficiency were identified by taking into account the different plant scales, geographic distribution, discrepancy between cities and counties, and the influence of environmental policies and supplementary facilities. The underdeveloped sewer network was mainly responsible for the low operating ratios (i.e., utilization degree of the designed treatment capacity) of the plants (76% in counties and 85% in cities) especially for those in north China, although the situation is plant specific because a considerable fraction of plants (19%) are still running under overload condition. Other challenges include the high energy consumption of the plants (0.313 kWh/m3), and severely lagged implementation of sludge disposal (up to 40% sludge was still improperly disposed), arising mainly from the poor management on the sewer and sludge. Lastly, several possible directions of improvement to overcome these barriers were discussed. This work may provide valuable implications for optimizing municipal wastewater management in China towards higher efficiency and sustainability.
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•Current status of municipal WWTPs operation in China was evaluated.•Operation performances in different regions, centralized degrees and plant sizes were specified.•Undeveloped sewers were responsible for low operating ratio of WWTPs.•High energy consumption and laggard sludge disposal restrict the WWTPs upgrading.•Optimizing WWTPs operation requires better technologies and improved management.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
A syndrome (Zheng in Chinese) plays a critical role in disease identification, diagnosis, and treatment in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Clinically, the liver Qi stagnation and spleen ...deficiency syndrome (LQSSDS) is one of the most common syndrome patterns. Over the past few decades, several animal models have been developed to understand the potential mechanisms of LQSSDS, but until now, simulation of the syndrome is still unclear. Recently, several studies have confirmed that an animal model combining a disease and a syndrome is appropriate for simulating TCM syndromes. Overlapping previous studies have reported that depression is highly associated with LQSSDS; hence, we attempted to develop a rat model combining depression and LQSSDS. We exposed the rats to different durations of chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). Subsequently, the evaluation indicators at macrolevel consisted of behavioral tests including open field test, sucrose preference test, and forced swim test, food intake, body weight, white adipose tissue, fecal water content, visceral hypersensitivity, and small bowel transit, and the evaluation indicators at microlevel included changes of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. Serum D‐xylose absorption was used to comprehensively confirm and assess whether the model was successful during the CUMS‐induced process. The results showed that rats exposed to 6‐week CUMS procedure exhibited significantly similar traits to the phenotypes of LQSSDS and depression. This study provided a new rat model for the LQSSDS and could potentially lead to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of LQSSDS and the development of new drugs for this syndrome.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The study aimed at evaluating the influence of nano zero-valent iron (nZVI) on the activity of anaerobic granular sludge (AGS) from both macroscopic and microcosmic aspects using different ...methodologies. The tolerance response of AGS to nZVI was firstly investigated using short-term and long-term experiments, and also compared with anaerobic flocs. The Fe fate and distribution, the change of contents/structure of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), and the variation of microbial community in the AGS after exposure to nZVI were further explored. Contrary to the anaerobic floc, insignificant inhibition of nZVI at dosage lower than 30 mmoL/L on the activity of AGS was observed. Additionally, the extra hydrogen gas released from the oxidation of nZVI was presumably suggested to stimulate the hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis process, resulting in 30% methane production enhancement when exposure to 30 mmoL/L nZVI. The microscopic analysis indicated that nZVI particles were mainly adsorbed on the surface of AGS in the form of iron oxides aggregation without entering into the interior of the granule, protecting most cells from contact damage. Moreover, surrounded EPS located outer surface of anaerobic granule could react with nZVI to accelerate the corrosion of nZVI and slow down H2 release from nZVI dissolution, thus further weakening the toxicity of nZVI to anaerobic microorganisms. The decrease in bacteria involved in glucose degradation and aceticlastic methanogens as well as the increase of hydrogenotrophic methanogens indicated a H2 mediated shift toward the hydrogenotrophic pathway enhancing the CH4 production.
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•nZVI exhibited insignificant inhibition on the activity of anaerobic granule sludge.•Fe fate and distribution after nZVI exposure to the AGS were investigated.•Changes of EPS contents and structure in the AGS were elucidated.•Variation of microbial community in the AGS after nZVI addition were explored.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Immune dysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, X-linked syndrome (IPEX) is a serious disorder, which may comprise diabetes, thyroid disease, enteropathy, cytopenias, eczema, and other ...multi-system autoimmune dysfunction features. IPEX syndrome is caused by mutations in the forkhead box P3 (
FOXP3
) gene. Here, we report the clinical manifestations of a patient with IPEX syndrome onset in the neonatal period. A de novo mutation at exon 11 of the
FOXP3
gene (c.1190G > A, p.R397Q) was found, and its main clinical manifestations included hyperglycemia and hypothyroidism. Subsequently, we comprehensively reviewed the clinical characteristics and
FOXP3
mutations of 55 reported neonatal IPEX cases. The most frequent clinical presentation included symptoms of gastrointestinal involvement (
n
= 51, 92.7%), followed by skin-related symptoms (
n
= 37, 67.3%), diabetes mellitus (DM) (
n
= 33, 60.0%), elevated IgE (
n
= 28, 50.9%), hematological abnormality (
n
= 23, 41.8%), thyroid dysfunction (
n
= 18, 32.7%), and kidney-related symptoms (
n
= 13, 23.6%). In total, 38 variants were observed in the 55 neonatal patients. The most frequent mutation was c.1150G > A (
n
= 6; 10.9%), followed by c.1189C > T (
n
= 4; 7.3%), c.816 + 5G > A (
n
= 3; 5.5%), and C.1015C > G (
n
= 3; 5.5%), which were reported more than twice. The genotype–phenotype relationship showed that the repressor domain mutations were associated with DM (
P
= 0.020), and the leucine zipper mutations were associated with nephrotic syndrome (
P
= 0.020). The survival analysis suggested that treatment with glucocorticoids increased the survival of the neonatal patients. This literature review provides an informative reference for the diagnosis and treatment of IPEX syndrome in the neonatal period.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Hepatitis C remains a major public health problem in the world. The host immune system plays a key role in viral clearance. This study aimed to investigate the connection between retinoic ...acid-inducible gene I-like (RIG-I-like) receptor gene polymorphism and hepatitis C chronicity in the Chinese Han population. The current study genotyped three SNPs (IFIH1 rs10930046 and DHX58 rs2074158, rs2074160) to assess their association with the chronicity of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among 1,590 participants (590 spontaneous HCV clearance cases and 1,000 persistent infection patients). Our research shows that DHX58 rs2074158-G allele (dominant model: adjusted OR = 1.53, 95% CI 1.20-1.95,
= 0.001; additive model: adjusted OR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.27-1.78,
< 0.001) and IFIH1 rs10930046-C allele (additive model: adjusted OR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.07-1.49,
= 0.005) were associated with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). And the risk of CHC increased in people carrying more unfavorable genotypes (rs2074158-AG/GG or rs10930046-CC), with the chronic rates for genotypes number from zero to two in 60.69%, 57.33%, and 85.93%, respectively (adjusted OR = 3.64, 95% CI 2.18-6.08;
< 0.001). Genetic polymorphism of IFIH1 and DHX58 may be related to CHC in the Chinese Han population. Furthermore, the risk of CHC increases as the number of unfavorable genotypes carried by the HCV-infected person increases. IFIH1 rs10930046, DHX58 rs2074158, age, ALT, and AST levels were all independent predictors of CHC.
FeCrBSi alloy powders without and with 2–6wt.% Mo (Mo-free and Mo-added, respectively) were deposited on a plain steel using plasma transferred arc (PTA) hardfacing. The effects of Mo addition on the ...microstructure and properties of the FeCrBSi alloy coating were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) attachment, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Vickers hardness tester, hydraulic universal testing machine, dry sand abrasion test (DSAT) and water quenching method. The results show that the Mo-free coating consists of γ (Fe, Ni), M7(C, B)3, and (Fe, Cr)2B phases. Adding Mo leads to the formation of M23(C, B)6, Mo2(B, C) and Fe3Mo3(C, B) phases, except for those phases existed in the Mo-free coating. The twinning with 101¯ twinning plane is observed in the orthorhombic M7(C, B)3 (M=Fe, Cr, Mo) phase. A hypoeutectic microstructure can be seen in the Mo-free and 2wt.% Mo-added coatings. Increasing Mo addition to 4wt.% and 6wt.%, a hypereutectic microstructure can be obtained. The microstructure of the Mo-free coating can be refined after adding 2–6wt.% Mo. The finest microstructure can be obtained in the 4wt.% Mo-added coating. Adding Mo in the FeCrBSi alloy coating can increase its abrasive wear resistance that has no direct relation with H/E or H3/E2 because brittle fracture occurred occasionally in the abrasive wear test. The thermal shock resistance of the Mo-free coating can be improved after adding 2–6wt.% Mo. The best abrasive wear resistance and thermal shock resistance can be received in the 4wt.% Mo-added coating.
•Study of effects of Mo on microstructure and properties of FeCrBSi alloy coating.•Mo promotes the formation of M23(C, B)6, Mo2(B, C) and Fe3Mo3(C, B) phases.•Wear resistance of the hardfacing has no direct relation with H/E or H3/E2.•Thermal shock resistance of the hardfacing has direct relation with H/E.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Intravenous dexmedetomidine has been reported to decrease the occurrence of postoperative delirium (POD) in elderly patients. Nevertheless, some previous studies have indicated that intratracheal ...dexmedetomidine and intranasal dexmedetomidine are also effective and convenient. The current study aimed to compare the effect of different administration routes of dexmedetomidine on POD in elderly patients.
We randomly allocated 150 patients (aged 60 years or more) scheduled for spinal surgery to receive intravenous dexmedetomidine (0.6 μg/kg), intranasal dexmedetomidine (1 μg/kg) before anesthesia induction, or intratracheal dexmedetomidine (0.6 µg/kg) after anesthesia induction. The primary outcome was the frequency of delirium during the first 3 postoperative days. The secondary outcomes were the incidence of postoperative sore throat (POST) and sleep quality. Adverse events were recorded, and routine treatment was performed.
Compared with the intranasal group, the intravenous group had a significantly lower occurrence of POD within 3 days (3 of 49 6.1% vs 14 of 50 28.0%; odds ratio OR, 0.17; 95% confidence intervals CIs, 0.05-0.63; P < .017). Meanwhile, patients in the intratracheal group had a lower incidence of POD than those in the intranasal group (5 of 49 10.2% vs 14 of 50 28.0%; OR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.10-0.89; P < .017). Whereas, there was no difference between the intratracheal and intravenous groups (5 of 49 10.2% vs 3 of 49 6.1%; OR, 1.74; 95% CI, 0.40-7.73; P > .017). The rate of POST was lower in the intratracheal group than that in the other 2 groups at 2 hours after surgery (7 of 49 14.3% vs 12 of 49 24.5% vs 18 of 50 36.0%, P < .017, respectively). Intravenous dexmedetomidine had the lowest Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score on the second morning after surgery (median interquartile range {IQR}: 4 3-5 vs 6 4-7 vs 6 4-7, P < .017, respectively). Compared with the intranasal group, the intravenous group had a higher rate of bradycardia and a lower incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting ( P < .017). The intranasal group was associated with the highest incidence of hypertension ( P < .017).
For patients aged ≥60 years undergoing spinal surgery, compared with the intranasal route of dexmedetomidine, intravenous and intratracheal dexmedetomidine reduced the incidence of early POD. Meanwhile, intravenous dexmedetomidine was associated with better sleep quality after surgery, and intratracheal dexmedetomidine resulted in a lower incidence of POST. Adverse events were mild in all 3 administration routes of dexmedetomidine.
In recent years, the utilization of medical devices has gradually increased and implantation procedures have become common treatments. However, patients are susceptible to the risk of implant ...infections. This study utilized chemical grafting to immobilize polyethylenimine (QPEI) and hyaluronic acid (HA) on the surface of the mesh to improve biocompatibility while being able to achieve antifouling antimicrobial effects. From the in vitro testing, PP–PDA-Q-HA exhibited a high antibacterial ratio of 93% against S. aureus, 93% against E. coli, and 85% against C. albicans. In addition, after five rounds of antimicrobial testing, the coating continued to exhibit excellent antimicrobial properties; PP–PDA-Q-HA also inhibits the formation of bacterial biofilms. In addition, PP–PDA-Q-HA has good hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility. In vivo studies in animal implantation infection models also demonstrated the excellent antimicrobial properties of PP–PDA-Q-HA. Our study provides a promising strategy for the development of antimicrobial surface medical materials with excellent biocompatibility.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
Objective:
To comprehensively evaluate the effect of acupuncture on gut microbiota, identify specific microbes closely related to the clinical efficacy of acupuncture, and explored the role of ...short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).
Methods:
A randomized placebo-controlled trial was conducted with 80 FC patients and 28 healthy controls (HCs). FC patients randomly received 16 acupuncture (
n
= 40) or sham acupuncture (
n
= 40) sessions over 4 weeks; HCs received no treatment. The change in the proportion of patients with mean weekly complete spontaneous bowel movements (CSBMs) was considered as the primary outcome measure. Moreover, the composition and the predictive metabolic function of the gut microbiota from feceal samples were analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, while feceal SCFAs were identified via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
Results:
Compared to sham acupuncture, acupuncture significantly increased the proportion of CSBM responders, and improved spontaneous bowel movements (SBMs), straining, stool consistency, and quality of life. Moreover, Sequencing of 16S rRNA genes revealed that acupuncture improved β-diversity and restored the composition of gut microbiota. Specifically, the abundance of beneficial bacteria such as
g_Lactobacillus
increased while that of pathogenic bacteria such as
g_Pseudomonas
decreased after acupuncture, which were significantly correlated with alleviated symptoms. Moreover, ten microbes including
g_Coprobacter, g_Lactobacillus,
and
g_Eubacterium_coprostanoligenes_group
might be considered acupuncture-specific microbes, and formed a stable interaction network. Additionally, GC-MS analysis indicated that acupuncture increased the content of butyrate acid in the gut, which was positively correlated with an increase in defecation frequency and a decrease in acupuncture-related pathogens. Finally, acupuncture specific-microbes including
g_Coprobacter
,
g_Lactobacillus
,
g_Pseudomonas
,
g_Eubacterium_coprostanoligenes_group
,
g_Erysipelotrichaceae_UCG.003
,
g_Prevotellaceae_UCG.001
, and
g_Rolstonia
could accurately predict the clinical efficacy of acupuncture (AUC = 0.918).
Conclusion:
Acupuncture could effectively improve clinical symptoms in FC patients, and was associated with gut microbiota reshaping and increased butyrate acid levels. Moreover, key microbial genera such as
g_Coprobacter
and
g_Lactobacillus
was predictive of acupuncture efficacy in treating FC. Future studies are required to validate the causal relationship between key microbial genera and acupuncture clinical efficacy, and should explore further metabolic pathways for designing personalized treatment strategies.
Clinical Trial Registration:
http://www.chictr.org.cn
, Identifier: ChiCTR2100048831.
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