Bioremediation of Neonicotinoid Pesticide, Imidacloprid, Mediated by Bacillus cereus

Imidacloprid, a toxic pesticide of the chloronicotinyl category, is employed extensively in agricultural fields, and its exposure causes serious health issues. Biodegradation is considered to be a green and economical approach to remediate pesticides. Herein, imidacloprid degradation efficiency of Bacillus sp. is highlighted, among which Bacillus cereus exhibited the greatest degradation; optimization of experimental variables (pH, imidacloprid and agitation time) via Box-Behnken factorial design and analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed 92% biodegradation at the initial substrate concentration of 0.03 mM, aerobically in 11 days under favorable pH 7. The subsequent metabolites, identified through liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, were 5-hydroxy imidacloprid, imidacloprid-guanidine and 6-chloronicotinic acid.

Effect of Reactive Black 5 azo dye on soil processes related to C and N cycling

Azo dyes are one of the largest classes of synthetic dyes being used in textile industries. It has been reported that 15-50% of these dyes find their way into wastewater that is often used for irrigation purpose in developing countries. The effect of azo dyes contamination on soil nitrogen (N) has been studied previously. However, how does the azo dye contamination affect soil carbon (C) cycling is unknown. Therefore, we assessed the effect of azo dye contamination (Reactive Black 5, 30 mg kg^-1 dry soil), bacteria that decolorize this dye and dye + bacteria in the presence or absence of maize leaf litter on soil respiration, soil inorganic N and microbial biomass. We found that dye contamination did not induce any change in soil respiration, soil microbial biomass or soil inorganic N availability (P > 0.05). Litter evidently increased soil respiration. Our study concludes that the Reactive Black 5 azo dye (applied in low amount, i.e., 30 mg kg^-1 dry soil) contamination did not modify organic matter decomposition, N mineralization and microbial biomass in a silty loam soil.

Microbial communities in the native habitats of Agaricus sinodeliciosus from Xinjiang Province revealed by amplicon sequencing

Agaricus sinodeliciosus is an edible species described from China and has been successfully cultivated. However, no studies have yet reported the influence factors implicated in the process of fructification. To better know abiotic and biotic factors, physiochemical characteristics and microbial communities were investigated in five different soil samples collected in the native habitats of specimens from northern Xinjiang, southern Xinjiang, and Zhejiang Province, respectively. There are major differences in texture and morphology among different specimens of A. sinodeliciosus from Xinjiang Province. A. sinodeliciosus from southern Xinjiang was the largest. Concentrations of DOC and TN and C/N ratio are not the main reason for the differences. Microbial communities were analyzed to find out mushroom growth promoting microbes (MGPM), which may lead to the differences. Functional microbes were picked out and can be divided into two categories. Microbes in the first category may belong to MGPM. There may be symbiotic relationships between microbes in the second category and A. sinodeliciosus. Certain analyses of microbial communities support the hypothesis that interactions between microbes and mushrooms would be implicated in morphological variation of the collected mushrooms. Redundancy analysis results indicate that high DOC/NH₄⁺-N ratio and NH₄⁺-N concentration can improve the yield of A. sinodeliciosus.

Function of PD-L1 in antitumor immunity of glioma cells

Human glioma is a highly fatal tumor with a significant feature of immune suppression. The functions of PD-L1 refer to co-simulation and immune regulation. To investigate expression and functional activity of PD-L1 in human glioma cell in vivo and in vitro. Expressions of PD-L1mRNA and protein in the human glioma cell line were analyzed with quantitative RT-PCR and flow cytometer; and then expression of PD-L1 in tissue specimens of 10 glioma patients was treated with immunohistochemical analysis; glioma cell and allogeneic CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were co-cultured, and cytokine IFN-γ, IL-2 and IL-10 in cultured supernatant fluid were determined with ELISA; upon blocking the interaction between glioma cell and the immune cell with PD-L1 monoclonal antibody (5H1), surface markers on immune cells were analyzed using flow cytometer. All human glioma cell lines constitutively expressed PD-L1, and IFN-γ induced glioma cell to highly express PD-L1. It was shown through immunohistochemical analysis that glioma specimen expressed PD-L1, while expression of PD-L1 was not observed in normal tissue and normal human brain near the tumor location. The release of IFN-γ and IL-2 was inhibited, while IL-10 was increased slightly. Glioma cell may escape from immune recognition and injury with the help of PD-L1, which is a significant pathogenic mechanism of glioma.

Determination of free amino acids in burley tobacco by high performance liquid chromatography

A reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for determining free amino acids in burley tobacco. The test was done by OPA/3-mercaptopropionic acid as the pre-column derivatizing reagent. Chromatographic column was Elitte C(18) column (4.6 mm × 250 mm i.d., 5 μm). Mobile phase A was 18 mol/l NaAc (pH7.2) including 0.002%(v/v) triethylamine and 0.3%(v/v) furanidine. Mobile phase B was 100 mol/l NaAc (pH7.2)-acetonitrile-methanol (v/v = 1:2:2). The column temperature was 40 °C and the flow rate was 1.0 ml/min. The fluorescence detector was used with 350 nm excitation wave length and 450 nm emission wave length. The average recoveries of the method ranged from 95.3-100.7% with the relative standard deviation of 2.32-9.24%. The method is simple, accurate and has good repeatability. The results of the determination of seventeen kinds of free amino acids in burley leaves were produced by the way of different ratios of cake fertilizer and inorganic fertilizer. The results show that Aspartic acid has the highest content however ratio of cake fertilizer and inorganic fertilizer. The contents of most of the free amino acids are increased and then gradually decreased with the increase in organic manure. The contents of most of the free amino acids are very close at 15:85% ratio and 30:70% ratio of cake fertilizer and inorganic fertilizer. The total amount of free amino acids is the highest at 30:70% ratio of cake fertilizer and inorganic fertilizer. Considering comprehensively, the quality of burley leaves is the best at 30:70% ratio of cake fertilizer and inorganic fertilizer.

Review on antibacterial biocomposites of structural laminated veneer lumber

In this review, the characteristics and applications of structural laminated veneer lumber made from planted forest wood is introduced, and its preparation is explained, including various tree species and slab qualities, treatments for multiple effects and reinforced composites. The relevant factors in the bonding technology and pressing processes as well as the mechanical properties, research direction and application prospects of structural laminated veneer lumber made from planted forest wood are discussed.

Measurement of filter paper activities of cellulase with microplate-based assay

It is always a challenge to determine the total cellulase activity efficiently without reducing accuracy. The most common total cellulase activity assay is the filter paper assay (FPA) established by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). A new procedure to measure the FPA with microplate-based assay was studied in this work, which followed the main idea of IUPAC to dilute cellulase preparation to get fixed glucose release. FPAs of six cellulase preparations were determined with the microplate-based assay. It is shown that FPAs of cellulase Youtell, RCconc, R-10, Lerkam, Yishui and Sinopharm were 67.9, 46.0, 46.1, 27.4, 7.6 and 8.0 IU/ml respectively. There was no significant difference at the 95% confidence level between the FPA determined with IUPAC and the microplate-based assay. It could be concluded that the FPA could be determined by the microplate-based assay with the same accuracy and much more efficiency compared with that by IUPAC.

The optimization of Marasmius androsaceus submerged fermentation conditions in five-liter fermentor

Using desirability function, four indexes including mycelium dry weight, intracellular polysaccharide, adenosine and mannitol yield were uniformed into one expected value (Da) which further served as the assessment criteria. In our present study, Plackett-Burman design was applied to evaluate the effects of eight variables including initial pH, rotating speed, culture temperature, inoculum size, ventilation volume, culture time, inoculum age and loading volume on Da value during Marasmius androsaceus submerged fermentation via a five-liter fermentor. Culture time, initial pH and rotating speed were found to influence Da value significantly and were further optimized by Box-Behnken design. Results obtained from Box-Behnken design were analyzed by both response surface regression (Design-Expert.V8.0.6.1 software) and artificial neural network combining the genetic algorithm method (Matlab2012a software). After comparison, the optimum M. androsaceus submerged fermentation conditions via a five-liter fermentor were obtained as follows: initial pH of 6.14, rotating speed of 289.3 rpm, culture time of 6.285 days, culture temperature of 26 °C, inoculum size of 5%, ventilation volume of 200 L/h, inoculum age of 4 days, and loading volume of 3.5 L/5 L. The predicted Da value of the optimum model was 0.4884 and the average experimental Da value was 0.4760. The model possesses well fitness and predictive ability.

Mechanical characteristics of antibacterial epoxy resin adhesive wood biocomposites against skin disease

Moldy wood can cause some skin disease. However epoxy resin adhesive (EP) can inhibit mold growth. Therefore, antibacterial EP/wood biocomposites were reinforced and analyzed by the nonlinear finite element. Results show that glass fiber cloth and aluminum foil have the obvious reinforced effect under flat pressure, but this was not the case under side pressure. And when the assemble pattern was presented in 5A way, the strengthening effect was better. The nonlinear finite element showed that the aluminum foil and glass fiber cloth have the obvious reinforced effect. The mutual influence and effect of span, thickness and length on the ultimate bearing capacity of specimen were studied. And the simulation results agreed with the test. It provided a theoretical basis on the preparation of antibacterial EP/wood biocomposites against skin disease.

Near infrared spectroscopy coupled with radial basis function neural network for at-line monitoring of Lactococcus lactis subsp. fermentation

In our previous work, partial least squares (PLSs) were employed to develop the near infrared spectroscopy (NIRs) models for at-line (fast off-line) monitoring key parameters of Lactococcus lactis subsp. fermentation. In this study, radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) as a non-linear modeling method was investigated to develop NIRs models instead of PLS. A method named moving window radial basis function neural network (MWRBFNN) was applied to select the characteristic wavelength variables by using the degree approximation (Da) as criterion. Next, the RBFNN models with selected wavelength variables were optimized by selecting a suitable constant spread. Finally, the effective spectra pretreatment methods were selected by comparing the robustness of the optimum RBFNN models developed with pretreated spectra. The results demonstrated that the robustness of the optimal RBFNN models were better than the PLS models for at-line monitoring of glucose and pH of L. lactis subsp. fermentation.

The effects of applying sewage sludge into Jiangxi red soil on the growth of vegetables and the migration and enrichment of Cu and Zn

Jiangxi red soil was used as the tested soil and water spinach (Ipomoea aquatic) and Chinese chive (Allium tuberosum) were used as the tested vegetables in this study to investigate the effects of different amounts of sewage-sludge application on the growth of vegetables and the migration and enrichment patterns of Cu and Zn in vegetables using the potted method. The results indicated that the application of sewage sludge could improve the properties of red soil and promote vegetable growth. The dry weight of water spinach and Chinese chive reached the maximal levels when treated with the amount of sewage sludge at 4% and 10%, which was 4.38 ± 0.82 g and 1.56 ± 0.31 g, respectively. The dry weights after the application of sewage sludge were all larger than control treatment (CK) without sludge application. With increases in the applied amount of sewage sludge, the concentrations of Cu and Zu in red soil continued to increase, and the peak value was not reached. After the two vegetables were planted, the concentrations of Cu and Zn in red soil decreased by different degrees. The degrees of decrease of Zn were generally higher than those of Cu. The enrichment coefficient of water spinach on Cu showed a trend of increase followed by a decrease and reached the peak value of 1.04 ± 0.38 when the applied amount was 4%. The enrichment coefficient of Chinese chive on Cu overall showed a decreasing trend and did not reach the peak value under the treatment levels used in this experiment. The enrichment pattern of Chinese chive on Zn was not obvious, and the differences among all treatment levels were not significant (p < 0.05). However, the enrichment coefficient after the application of sewage sludge was significantly lower than that without the application of sludge.

Characteristics of antibacterial molecular activities in poplar wood extractives

As one of the dominant plantations in north and central China, poplar was considered as the uppermost wood raw materials, however, the chemical constituents of poplar wood weren’t effectively used by high added value. Therefore, the molecules of wood extractives in Populus lasiocarpa and Populus tomentosa were extracted and studied to further utilize the bio-resources. The results showed that the LD-010, LD-021, LD-150, LD-174 wood extractives were identified as having 3, 24, 3 27 components, respectively. P. lasiocarpa wood was fit to extract 2,4-hexadiyne, 1,3,3-trimethyl-2-hydroxymethyl-3,3-dimethyl-4-(3-methylbut-2-enyl)-cyclohexene, and P. tomentosa wood was fit to extract 1,5-hexadien-3-yne, (all-E)-2,6,10,15,19,23-hexamethyl-2,6,10,14,18,22-tetracosahexaene. So the extractives of poplar wood contained rich and rare drug and biomedical activities.

Comparative pharmacokinetics of a proliposome formulation of Ginkgo biloba extract and Ginaton in rats by a sensitive ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method

As a novel oral drug delivery system, proliposome was applied to improve the solubility of active components of Ginkgo biloba extract (GbE). There are currently few reports focusing on the pharmacokinetic characteristics of proliposome of GbE (GbP). A rapid and sensitive ultra performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) method for the simultaneous quantification of active components of GbP and a commercial tablet product (Ginaton) in rat plasma was developed and successfully validated. The method was applied to the comparative pharmacokinetic evaluation of GbP and Ginaton in rat plasma. The results indicated that GbP has a significant effect on absorption, elimination and bioavailability of flavonoids and terpenoid lactones in comparison with Ginaton. The obtained results would be helpful for evaluating the absorption mechanism in the gastrointestinal tract in pharmacokinetic level and guiding the development of the novel oral drug delivery system.

Hybrid mesoporous silicates: A distinct aspect to synthesis and application for decontamination of phenols

Water pollution due to organic compounds is of great concern and efforts are being made to develop efficient adsorbents for remediation of toxic pollutants. The development of new functionalized materials with increased performance is growing to meet the regulatory standards in response to public concerns for environment. In this study, an attempt has been made to investigate the influence of synthesis parameters like the reaction temperature, the surfactant-to-silica ratio and reaction time on the structural and textural properties of novel ordered mesoporous silica hybrids. In order to understand the effect of different synthesis parameters, all the prepared materials were systematically characterized by various analytical, spectroscopic and imaging techniques such as XRD, BET, TG etc. It was deduced from these studies that the synthesis temperature influence greatly the structural order whereas both the P104/Na₂SiO₃ molar ratio and reaction time found to influence textural properties significantly. However, under optimized experimental condition, we could achieve the functionalized silica hybrids that offers successful incorporation of -Amino, -Glucidoxy, -Methacrylate, -Vinyl and -Phenyl moieties indicated by FTIR peaks at 793 cm⁻¹, 2870 cm⁻¹, 796 cm⁻¹, 1630 cm⁻¹ and 954 cm⁻¹. XRD studies reveal orthorhombic and tetragonal symmetry for the hybrids and these materials were found to be thermally stable due to incorporation of organic moiety in silica matrix. Functionalized silica hybrids then applied as adsorbents demonstrated efficient and comparable removal of 4-aminophenol and p-nitrophenol in 20 min facilitated through organic moiety. Detailed modeling of the sorption using equilibrium and kinetic isotherms has been carried out to get an insight into the transport process. The adsorption isotherms of phenol derivatives are well-fitted with the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin Isotherms and the adsorption kinetics follows the pseudo second order model. The modeling confirms that the uptake is a chemisorption process.

The effect and action mechanism of resveratrol on the vascular endothelial cell by high glucose treatment

To investigate the effect and action mechanism of resveratrol on the vascular endothelial cell by high glucose treatment. Primarily cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were pretreated by resveratrol (0.2 μmol/L) and holding for 6 h, and then cultured in Dulbecco Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) within 0.45 mmol/L of palmimte acid and 32.8 mmol/L of glucose, which is holding for 12 h. The cells were collected to analyze the expression of E-selected element. Supernatant of cultured cells, induced by 100 nmol/L insulin for 30 min, was used to analyze the nitric oxide content. Compared with normal control cells, the secretion of nitric oxide is stimulated by insulin decrease, however, the expression of E-selected element increased in HUVEC. Resveratrol treatment increased the secretion of nitric oxide stimulated by insulin and decreased the expression of E-selected element and partly counteracts the impairment of high glucose and palmitate acid on the function of endothelial cells. Resveratrol can improve and protect the function of high glucose and fatty acid cultured endothelial cell, and therefore may be a promising medicine in the prevention or therapy of diabetic macrovascular diseases.

One-step synthesis of interpenetrating network hydrogels: Environment sensitivities and drug delivery properties

A novel interpenetrating network hydrogel for drug controlled release, composed of modified poly(aspartic acid) (KPAsp) and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCTS), was prepared in aqueous system. The surface morphology and composition of hydrogels were characterized by SEM and FTIR. The swelling properties of KPAsp, KPAsp/CMCTS semi-IPN and KPAsp/CMCTS IPN hydrogels were investigated and the swelling dynamics of the hydrogels was analyzed based on the Fickian equation. The pH, temperature and salt sensitivities of hydrogels were further studied, and the prepared hydrogels showed extremely sensitive properties to pH, temperature, the ionic salts kinds and concentration. The results of controlled drug release behaviors of the hydrogels revealed that the introduction of IPN observably improved the drug release properties of hydrogels, the release rate of drug from hydrogels can be controlled by the structure of the hydrogels and pH value of the external environment, a relative large amount of drug released was preferred under simulated intestinal fluid. These results illustrated high potential of the KPAsp/CMCTS IPN hydrogels for application as drug carriers.