Erwinia amylovora is a notorious plant pathogenic bacterium of global concern that has devastated the apple and pear production industry worldwide. Nevertheless, the approaches available currently to ...understand the genetic diversity of E. amylovora remain unsatisfactory because of the lack of a trustworthy index and data covering the globally occurring E. amylovora strains; thus, their origin and distribution pattern remains ambiguous. Therefore, there is a growing need for robust approaches for obtaining this information via the comparison of the genomic structure of Amygdaloideae-infecting strains to understand their genetic diversity and distribution. Here, the whole-genome sequences of 245 E. amylovora strains available from the NCBI database were compared to identify intraspecific genes for use as an improved index for the simple classification of E. amylovora strains regarding their distribution. Finally, we discovered two kinds of strain-typing protein-encoding genes, i.e., the SAM-dependent methyltransferase and electron transport complex subunit RsxC. Interestingly, both of these proteins carried an amino acid repeat in these strains: SAM-dependent methyltransferase comprised a single-amino-acid repeat (asparagine), whereas RsxC carried a 40-amino-acid repeat, which was differentially distributed among the strains. These noteworthy findings and approaches may enable the exploration of the genetic diversity of E. amylovora from a global perspective.
Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical and imaging results of patients who received intra-articular injections of autologous mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of knee ...osteoarthritis. Methods The study group comprised 18 patients (6 men and 12 women), among whom the mean age was 54.6 years (range, 41 to 69 years). In each patient the adipose synovium was harvested from the inner side of the infrapatellar fat pad by skin incision extension at the arthroscopic lateral portal site after the patient underwent arthroscopic debridement. After stem cells were isolated, a mean of 1.18 × 106 stem cells (range, 0.3 × 106 to 2.7 × 106 stem cells) were prepared with approximately 3.0 mL of platelet-rich plasma (with a mean of 1.28 × 106 platelets per microliter) and injected into the selected knees of patients. Clinical outcome was evaluated with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, the Lysholm score, and the visual analog scale (VAS) for grading knee pain. We also compared magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data collected both preoperatively and at the final follow-up. Results Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index scores decreased significantly ( P < .001) from 49.9 points preoperatively to 30.3 points at the final follow-up (mean follow-up, 24.3 months; range, 24 to 26 months). Lysholm scores also improved significantly ( P < .001) by the last follow-up visit, increasing from a mean preoperative value of 40.1 points to 73.4 points by the end of the study. Likewise, changes in VAS scores throughout the follow-up period were also significant ( P = .005); the mean VAS score decreased from 4.8 preoperatively to 2.0 at the last follow-up visit. Radiography showed that, at the final follow-up point, the whole-organ MRI score had significantly improved from 60.0 points to 48.3 points ( P < .001). Particularly notable was the change in cartilage whole-organ MRI score, which improved from 28.3 points to 21.7 points ( P < .001). Further analysis showed that improvements in clinical and MRI results were positively related to the number of stem cells injected. Conclusions The results of our study are encouraging and show that intra-articular injection of infrapatellar fat pad–derived mesenchymal stem cells is effective for reducing pain and improving knee function in patients being treated for knee osteoarthritis. Level of Evidence Level IV, therapeutic case series.
Fly ash (FA) and zeolite (Z) are known to reduce bioavailability of metals in soils via immobilization; however, these amendments may not only immobilize metals such as copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), but ...also reduce nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) availability in the soils via sorption (for N by Z) and precipitation (for P by FA). This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of application of FA and Z (0, 5, and 10% rate) on the availability of nutrients as well as metals in the metal-contaminated soils cultivated with paddy rice (Oryza sativa L.). Both FA and Z reduced Cu and Zn uptake by rice while increasing metal retention in the soils regardless of the application rates. However, reduced uptake of metals did not translate into increase in rice growth, especially at the 10% of amendment rates, due to decreased nutrient uptake as indicated by higher NH4+ and available P concentration in the soils amended with Z and FA, respectively, which inhibited tillering in the early rice growth period and thus reduced biomass accumulation at maturity. Our results suggest that FA and Z may reduce Cu and Zn uptake by rice in the soils contaminated with the metals; however, the availability of N and P is likely to be co-decreased. We suggest that the capacities of FA and Z to immobilize nutrients as well as metals need to be considered prior to using the amendments in metal-contaminated rice paddies.
•Fly ash (FA) and zeolite (Z) reduced rice uptake of Cu and Zn in polluted soils.•FA and Z also reduced N and P availability via sorption and precipitation.•FA and Z decreased rice growth due to the nutrient limitation.•Both nutrient and metal immobilization by FA and Z should be considered.
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•Effects of CFVs and air scouring on performance of OMBR system were investigated.•CFVs showed insignificant impacts on performance and membrane fouling mitigation.•Air scouring ...significantly mitigated membrane fouling and enhanced performance.•OMBR system showed consistently high performance with initial water flux of 15 LMH.•High removal efficiencies of contaminants and nutrients were achieved by OMBR system.
This study assessed impacts of cross-flow velocity (CFV) and air scouring on the performance and membrane fouling mitigation of a side-stream module containing outer-selective hollow fiber thin film composite forward osmosis membrane in osmosis membrane bioreactor (OMBR) system for urban wastewater treatment. CFV of draw solution was optimized, followed by the impact assessment of three CFVs on feed solution (FS) stream and periodic injection of air scouring into the side-stream module. Overall, the OMBR system exhibited high and stable performance with initial water flux of approximately 15 LMH, high removal efficiencies of bulk organic matter and nutrients. While FS’s CFVs insignificantly affected the performance and membrane fouling, regular air scouring showed substantial impact with better performance and high efficiency in mitigating membrane fouling. These results indicated that periodic air scouring can be applied into the side-stream membrane module for efficient fouling mitigation without interruption the operation of the OMBR system.
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•Performance of novel homemade OSFH TFC FO membrane in OMBR system was investigated.•OSHF TFC FO membrane exhibited excellent intrinsic properties.•OSHF TFC FO membrane produced high ...initial water flux of 14.4 LMH.•High cleaning efficiency using three different fouling mitigation methods.•OSHF TFC FO membrane showed high pollutant removals >98%
This paper investigates the efficiency of fouling mitigation methods using a novel outer selective hollow fiber thin-film composite forward osmosis (OSHF TFC FO) membrane for osmosis membrane bioreactor (OMBR) system treating municipal wastewater. Two home-made membrane modules having similar transport properties were used. Two operation regimes with three different fouling mitigation strategies were utilized to test the easiness of membrane for fouling cleaning. These two membrane modules demonstrated high performance with high initial water flux of 14.4 LMH and 14.1 LMH and slow increase rate of mixed liquor’s salinity in the bioreactor using 30 g/L NaCl as draw solution. OMBR system showed high removals of total organic carbon and NH4 + -N (>98%). High fouling cleaning efficiency was achieved using OSHF TFC FO membrane with different fouling control methods. These results showed that this membrane is suitable for OMBR applications due to its high performance and its simplicity for fouling mitigation.
We investigated the effect of galangin, a natural flavonoid, on osteoclastic bone destruction in collagen-induced arthritis and examined the molecular mechanisms by which galangin affects ...osteoclastogenesis in bone marrow derived macrophages. In mice with collagen-induced arthritis, administration of galangin significantly reduced the arthritis clinical score, edema and severity of disease without toxicity. Interestingly, galangin treatment during a later stage of collagen-induced arthritis, using mice with a higher clinical arthritis score, still significantly slowed the progression of the disease. Extensive cartilage and bone erosive changes as well as synovial inflammation, synovial hyperplasia and pannus formation were dramatically inhibited in arthritic mice treated with galangin. Furthermore, galangin-treated arthritic mice showed a significant reduction in the concentrations of IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-17 . We found that galangin inhibited osteoclastogenic factors and osteoclast formation in bone marrow-derived macrophages and osteoblast co-cultured cells, and increased osteoprotegerin (OPG) levels in osteoblasts. Galangin and NF-κB siRNA suppressed RANKL-induced phosphorylation of the c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), but not AKT and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2). Also, the JNK inhibitor SP600125 and p38 inhibitor SB203580 reduced RANKL-induced expressions of phospho-c-Jun, c-fos and NFATc1 genes during osteoclast development. In addition, galangin suppressed RANKL-induced phosphorylation of NF-κB, phospho-IκBα, inflammatory cytokines and osteoclast formation in bone marrow-derived macrophages. Our data suggest that galangin prevented osteoclastic bone destruction and osteoclastogenesis in osteoclast precursors as well as in collagen-induced arthritis mice without toxicity via attenuation of RANKL-induced activation of JNK, p38 and NF-κB pathways.
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•Model structures of homogenously (HMS) and heterogeneously (HTS) mixed CuFeO2 and CuO (CFO) surfaces.•DFT calculation for selective conversion of CO2 to formate on the CFO in terms ...of reaction energy and activation energy barrier.•The active sites of Cu constituting the CFO surface for CO2 adsorption followed by surface reactions.•More favorable formate production in monodentate CO2 adsorption configuration on the HTS surface.
This study examines the reaction pathways for the selective conversion of CO2 to formate on the surface of mixed CuFeO2 and CuO (CFO) by employing density functional theory (DFT) calculation of the reaction energy and activation energy barrier. Two different systems were employed to model the CFO structure: homogeneous structures (HMS) of uniformly mixed 40% CuFeO2 (012) and 60% CuO (111), and a heterogeneous structure (HTS) created with CuO (111) clusters intermittently supported on the CuFeO2 (012) surface. The monodentate and bidentate oxygen coordinations (OCO2) in possible CO2 adsorption configurations were investigated for the preferential reduction of CO2 to formate on the surface Cu sites constrained by dense electron density. In the OCO2-monodentate configuration, the reaction energy and activation barrier for formate formation using PBE + D3 were −0.41 eV and 0.28 eV, respectively, for the HTS and −0.69 eV and 0.72 eV, respectively, for the HMS. In the OCO2-bidentate configuration, the corresponding values were −0.58 eV and 0.53 eV, respectively, for the HTS and −1.17 eV and 0.54 eV, respectively, for the HMS. Consequently, the conversion of CO2 to formate in the OCO2-monodentate mode was kinetically more advantageous in the HTS. This result indicated that the heterogeneity of the CFO structure, as well as the CO2 adsorption configuration, would change the rate-limiting energy barrier through the reaction coordinates, ultimately supporting the selective conversion of CO2 on HTS.
Membrane fouling is an inevitable phenomenon and common issue in Reverse Osmosis (RO) membrane systems used for water reclamation. Severe membrane fouling in RO system could consequently increases ...the operation cost as it requires frequent membrane chemical cleaning process thus consuming more chemical agents and shorten lifespan of RO membrane module. In this study, potential foulants of RO membranes that are used at Sydney's urban wastewater recycling facility which treated for domestic and commercial wastewaters, were investigated via membrane autopsy method. The three-year-old spiral wound RO membrane modules were taken from the site for membrane autopsy and to investigate major fouling factors as well as in-depth study of fouling mechanisms throughout various characterization methods. Additionally, a flux recovery rate of fouled RO membranes via the chemical cleaning was also examined using different kind of chemical cleaning agents to find a most effective chemical cleaning combination.
•Three-year-old RO membranes in WWTP were conducted membrane autopsy.•Membrane fouling factors were investigated using various analysis methods.•Effective chemical cleaning condition was found via variety use of cleaning agents.•Organic fouling on the membrane was predominant by protein and polysaccharides.•Mg and Na were the primary components of the foulants on the membrane.
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