Microbial decolorization of azo dyes by Proteus mirabilis

A bacterium identified as Proteus mirabilis was isolated from acclimated sludge from a dyeing wastewater treatment plant. This strain rapidly decolorized a deep red azo dye solution (RED RBN). Features of the decolorizing process related to biodegradation and biosorption were also studied. Although P. mirabilis displayed good growth in shake culture, color removal was best in anoxic static cultures. For color removal, the optimal pH and temperature were 6.5-7.5 and 30-35 degrees C, respectively. The organism exhibited a remarkable color removal capability, even at a high concentration of azo dye. More than 95% of azo dye was reduced within 20 h at a dye concentration of 1.0 g L-1. Decolorization appears to proceed primarily by enzymatic reduction associated with a minor portion, 13-17%, of biosorption to inactivated microbial cells.

Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass for the treatment of type II diabetes mellitus in Chinese patients with body mass index of 25-35

BACKGROUND

Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) can dramatically ameliorate type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in morbidly obese patients. However, there is little evidence supporting the effectiveness of LRYGB in low body mass index (BMI) patients. The study was designed to evaluate the safety and results of LRYGB for achieving T2DM remission in patients with BMI in the range of 25-35 kg/m(2).

METHODS

Twenty-two patients (two men and 20 women) with T2DM underwent LRYGB. Data on patient demographics, BMI, co-morbidities, and details of diabetes mellitus, including disease duration, family history, medication use, and remission, were prospectively collected and analyzed.

RESULTS

The mean age was 47 years (range, 28-63 years), mean BMI was 30.81 (range, 25.00-34.80 kg/m(2)), and mean duration of T2DM onset was 6.57 years (range, 1-20 years). Sixteen (72.27%) patients had a family history of T2DM. There was no mortality, but two (9%) patients experienced complications: an early gastrojejunostomy hemorrhage and frequent loose stools that required revision surgery. At 12 months, 14 (63.6%) patients showed T2DM remission, six (27.3%) showed glycemic control, and two (9.1%) showed improvement. The group achieving remission had a higher BMI (p = 0.001), younger age (p = 0.002), and shorter duration of diabetes (p = 0.001). These three factors may be predictors of diabetes resolution at 12 months.

CONCLUSION

Early intervention in low-BMI patients yields better remission rates because age, BMI, and duration of T2DM predict glycemic outcomes.

Serum levels of total p-cresylsulphate are associated with angiographic coronary atherosclerosis severity in stable angina patients with early stage of renal failure

OBJECTIVE

p-Cresylsulphate (PCS), a protein-bound uraemic retention solute, is known to cause endothelial dysfunction and possibly plays a role in coronary atherosclerosis. We aimed to investigate the relationship of total PCS with traditional biomarkers associated with chronic coronary atherosclerosis. In addition, the relationship between serum total PCS levels and the severity of coronary artery stenosis was also explored.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Serum total PCS concentrations were measured by using the Ultra Performance LC System in 202 consecutive stable angina patients, and their associations with angiographic indexes of the number of diseased vessels and modified Gensini score were estimated. Patients with significant coronary artery stenosis have higher median serum total PCS levels than patients with normal coronary arteries. Statistically significant associations were observed between the serum total PCS levels and the number of diseased vessels (beta=0.261, p=0.0002), and modified Gensini score (beta=0.171, p=0.016). Using multivariate analysis, serum total PCS level was independently associated with the presence and severity of CAD.

CONCLUSIONS

This study indicates that serum total PCS levels are significantly higher in the presence of CAD and are correlated with the severity of the disease, which suggest that increased serum total PCS may be involved in the pathogenesis of coronary atherosclerosis.

Effect of conjugated linoleic acid supplementation on weight loss and body fat composition in a Chinese population

OBJECTIVE

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) has several benefits, including body fat reduction, as proved in animals. However, the results of CLA-induced body composition alterations in humans are inconsistent, and no related data are available for Chinese populations. This study aimed to determine whether CLA affects body weight (BW) loss and body composition of overweight and obese Chinese subjects.

METHODS

In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, subjects with a body mass index (BMI) of 24 to 35 kg/m(2) randomly received 1.7 g of cis-9,trans-11 and trans-10,cis-12 CLA (n = 30) or placebo (salad oil; n = 33) in 200 mL of sterilized milk twice daily for 12 wk. Changes in body composition were determined by bioimpedance measurements.

RESULTS

Sixty-three subjects completed the study (CLA, n = 30). After 12 wk, compared with the baseline, the BW, BMI, total fat mass, fat percentage, subcutaneous fat mass, and waist-to-hip ratio decreased in the CLA group (P < 0.05). The CLA group was stratified by BMI and gender. The BW, BMI, subcutaneous fat mass, and waist-to-hip ratio decreased in 27 subjects with a BMI ≥ 27, and these indices, except subcutaneous fat mass, were lower in female subjects. The levels of total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, low-density lipoprotein, and plasma fasting glucose increased, whereas those of high-density lipoprotein decreased after 3 mo of CLA treatment. The changes were not significantly different from the baseline values.

CONCLUSION

The supplementation of CLA for 12 wk in overweight and grade I obese Chinese subjects yielded lower obesity indices, with no obvious adverse effects.

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of Lonicera japonica Thunb. var. sempervillosa Hayata flower bud extracts prepared by water, ethanol and supercritical fluid extraction techniques

Lonicera japonica Thunberg (LJ) has long been used as an antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and anti-infectious agent in East Asia. The subspecies L. japonica Thunb. var. sempervillosa Hayata (LJv) is a variant that mainly grows in Taiwan. This study examined the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the extracts from the flower buds of these two species. The extracts were obtained by three extraction methods: water extraction, ethanol extraction, and supercritical-CO2 fluid extraction (SFE). The antioxidant activities of dry LJ (dLJ) extracts were superior to those of LJv extracts. Water extracts possessed higher activities than that prepared by ethanol or SFE. The total polyphenols content, total flavonoids content, and the amount of chlorogenic acid and luteolin-7-O-glucoside were all higher in the water extracts compared to the other two. The SFE extracts of these two species all exhibited excellent anti-inflammatory activities. Although the water and ethanol extracts of dLJ extracts had higher anti-inflammatory activity than that of LJv extracts, the SFE extracts prepared from fresh LJv flower buds (fLJv) exhibited the highest activity among all extracts. The SFE effectively isolates the bioactive components of L. japonica and can obtain the L. japonica extracts with high anti-inflammatory activity.

Typhonium blumei extract inhibits proliferation of human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells via induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Typhonium blumei Nicolson & Sivadasan is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb endowing with detumescence, detoxification, anti-inflammation activities, and has been used as a folk prescription on anticancer in Taiwan.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study is to investigate the inhibitory effect of Typhonium blumei (Tb) extract on the viability of different cancer cells and the apoptotic effect of this extract on A549 lung cancer cells.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Human A549 cell line and other cancer cell lines were treated with different concentrations of Tb extract at different time intervals. Growth inhibition was determined by MTT assay. Apoptosis was detected by cell morphologic observation, cell cycle analysis, and immunoblot analysis on the expression of protein associated with cell death. GC-MS were used to determine the chemical constituents of this extract.

RESULTS

The Tb extract had cytotoxicity toward A549 lung cancer cells (IC(50)=97.7 μg/ml), LNCaP prostate cancer cells (IC(50)=124.5 μg/ml) and MCF-7 breast cancer cells (IC(50)=125.8 μg/ml). Conversely, the adverse effects of Tb extract on normal embryonic lung fibroblast MRC-5 cells (IC(50)=245.5 μg/ml) and embryonic kidney fibroblast HEK293 cells (IC(50)=251.1 μg/ml) were comparatively low. Cytometric analysis results demonstrate that A549 cells were arrested at the G2/M phase by treatment with Tb extract. The extract induced A549 cell apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway by down-regulating Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL protein expression, up-regulating Bax, Bad and Bak protein expression, and activating caspase-9 and caspase-3. Experimental results of bioactive compound analysis indicate that dibutyl phthalate, α-linolenic acid, phytol, campesterol, stigmasterol and β-sitosterol were the major bioactive ingredients of Tb extract. Although all these compounds had good anti-proliferative effects on A549 cells, campesterol (IC(50)=2.2 μM for 24h treatment) and β-sitosterol (IC(50)=1.9 μM for 24h treatment) displayed the greatest inhibitory activity.

CONCLUSIONS

Experimental results of this study suggest that the Tb extract exerts potential anticancer activity through the growth inhibition and the apoptosis on A549 cells.

Antioxidant activity, cytotoxicity, and DNA information of Glossogyne tenuifolia

This study investigates the antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity of Glossogyne tenuifolia extract on various cancer cell lines. The 5.8s DNA of G. tenuifolia was isolated, and the species of this plant was confirmed by NCBI's DNA database. G. tenuifolia was then extracted with ethanol and separated into several fractions using the partition procedure with water, n-butanol, and ethyl acetate (EA). Among these, the EA fraction most significantly affected the activity of DPPH(*) and superoxide anion scavenging. Additionally, only the EA fraction exhibited cytotoxicity on breast cancer cells (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) and liver cancer cells (Hep G2 and Hep 3B). Next, the EA fraction was further separated by column chromatography, and 15 fractions were obtained. Three effective components were isolated and identified separately from the active fractions: oleanolic acid (OA) from fraction 6, luteolin from fractions 8-10, and luteolin-7-glucoside from fraction 12. The test of these three compounds on scavenging activity of DPPH(*) and superoxide anion indicates that luteolin had the highest antioxidant activity, whereas the effect of OA was negligible. Additionally, a synergistic effect between luteolin and luteolin-7-glucoside was observed. Kick-out experiments showed that the activities were vanished or decreased. Especially on MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells, the cytotoxicity completely disappeared when luteolin was eliminated from fractions 8-10. These findings demonstrate that luteolin plays a crucial role in the inhibition of the growth of hepatoma cancer cell lines. Fraction 3, which did not contain luteolin, luteolin-7-glucoside, and oleanolic acid, had cytotoxicity on MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, Hep G2, Hep 3B, and A549, which implies that this fraction contained some other effective ingredients and requires further study. The investigation is currently underway in our laboratory.

Kinetic resolution of amino acid esters catalyzed by lipases

Racemic amino acids were resolved by lipase via hydrolysis of their esters. Lipases (Pseudomonas lipase from Amano PS, Rhizopus lipase from Serva, and porcine pancrease lipase from Sigma) could selectively hydrolyze the L-amino acid esters in aqueous solution with high reactivities and selectivities. The effect of the structural changes in the ester moiety on the stereoselectivity of the lipases was also investigated using D,L-homophenylalanine as a model. Procedures were developed for the resolution of natural and unnatural amino acids.

Real-time control of an immobilized-cell reactor for wastewater treatment using ORP

The performance of an immobilized-cell reactor for simultaneous carbon nitrogen removal in synthetic wastewater with an intermittent aeration (IA) process under real-time control of oxygen supply was investigated. The oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) was monitored during operation. The ORP-time profile showed distinctive turning points. which directly correlated with the changes in the system chemistry and biological activity. The reactor was conducted by cyclic fixed-time aeration nonaeration operation at the beginning, followed by real-time control technology using ORP setpoint. A moving window along the slope of the ORP curve was employed to search for the nitrate breakpoint of the aeration cycle. Once the breakpoint was found, the reactor was aerated for a fixed period. The treatment process could effectively avoid the anoxic fermentation state under the real-time control. The cycle time was reduced around 30%. The duration of aeration period was found to be optimum at 3 h under the consideration of the removal efficiencies of COD and total nitrogen. The real-time control system not only exhibited a better nitrogen removal efficiency than the fixed-time control operation, but it also showed a stable effluent quality during the change of HRT from 3 to 8 h. Good operation stability was demonstrated even when a very high disturbance of the influent loading occurred.

11 alpha-Hydroxylation of progesterone in biphasic media using alginate-entrapped Aspergillus ochraceus gel beads coated with polyurea

A novel cell-immobilization technique was developed in this study for increasing substrate partition to the gel matrix by coating a polyurea thin layer on the surface of Ca-alginate beads. The proposed method was simple and could be performed under mild conditions. The bioconversion of progesterone to 11 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone with these polyurea-coating alginate-entrapped Aspergillus ochraceus cells was investigated using different organic solvents in biphasic media. The reaction medium of ethyl acetate could markedly enhance the bioconversion rate with the existence of a hydrophobic layer, most likely resulting from the increasing partition of substrate to gel matrix. Bioconversion with higher substrate concentration was possible using an ethyl acetate-water medium. The conversion rate increased almost linearly with increasing substrate concentration from 10 to 80 g l-1. The rate with 80 g l-1 progesterone increased up to six times greater than the rate with the immobilized cells without coating, and also exhibited a much higher rate than that reported in the literature.

Circulating adiponectin level is associated with major adverse cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetic patients with coronary artery disease

Elevated levels of circulating adiponectin (ADPN), an anti- inflammatory and anti-oxidative peptide, are associated with unfavorable cardiovascular outcomes in patients with cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate whether plasma ADPN levels could help predict major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with documented coronary artery disease (CAD). We prospectively enrolled 193 CAD patients, who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and/or stenting and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. ELISA was used to measure plasma ADPN concentrations. MACE--myocardial infarction, PCI, CABG, stroke, carotid revascularization, and death--was evaluated during a follow-up period of median 15.3 months (range 5-21 months). Cox regression analysis revealed that diabetes status, waist circumference, and plasma ADPN levels were significantly associated with MACE occurrence. On stratification according to diabetes status, plasma ADPN levels helped predict MACE only in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed higher MACE rates in diabetic patients with high-plasma ADPN levels than in those with low-plasma ADPN levels. High ADPN plasma concentrations can independently be associated with MACE in CAD with T2DM but not in those without diabetes. This indicates that plasma ADPN may have potential roles in high risk T2DM patients with ischemic heart disease.

Shift work is associated with metabolic syndrome in male steel workers-the role of resistin and WBC count-related metabolic derangements

AIMS

There is increasing evidence linking a shift work schedule with various adverse health effects. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between shift work and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in male steel workers, and also the possible mechanism of shift work-related metabolic derangements.

METHODS

A total of 1732 men aged 42 ± 8 years were enrolled in this cross-sectional study, including 862 day workers and 870 shift workers. Circulating levels of resistin were measured by ELISA using monoclonal specific antibodies.

RESULTS

The shift workers had higher rates of MetS and its components (central obesity, hypertension, and hypertriglyceridemia) than the day workers. In multiple logistic regression analysis, shift work was independently associated with MetS. In further analysis, the shift workers had elevated circulating levels of resistin (13 ± 10 vs. 10 ± 7 ng/mL) and total white blood cell (WBC) count (6.865 ± 1.819 vs. 6.304 ± 1.547 10⁹/L) than the day workers. In addition, both resistin level and total WBC count were significantly associated with shift work, MetS, and its components (body mass index, fasting glucose, triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels), and plasma resistin levels were significantly associated with total WBC count (β = 0.34, p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

Shift work was independently associated with MetS in male steel workers. Resistin and WBC count were associated with shift work-related metabolic derangements.

Plasma visfatin levels are associated with major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction

PURPOSE

Circulating levels of visfatin, a ubiquitous adipokine, may reflect both the severity of plaque as well as degree of plaque stabilization in acute myocardial injury. The purpose of this study was to test whether the level of visfatin is associated with the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

METHODS

Consecutive patients (n=185) with acute STEMI were prospectively enrolled in the study. ELISA was used to measure plasma visfatin concentrations. Composite MACEs included death, recurrent myocardial infarction, target lesion revascularization or re-advanced heart failure.

RESULTS

Plasma visfatin levels were significantly higher in composite MACE patients than in non-MACE patients. A multivariate Cox hazard regression model revealed that the predictive independent risk factors for the occurrence of composite MACEs were visfatin level (relative risk = 1.04) and age (relative risk = 6.05). When patients were grouped according to their plasma visfatin levels, composite MACEs occurred more frequently in patients presenting with high visfatin levels. Moreover, Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that high visfatin levels were significantly associated with the occurrence of composite MACEs.

CONCLUSIONS

The level of plasma visfatin may be associated with risk of composite MACEs in STEMI patients, and may be useful for risk stratification.

Increased Levels of Total p-Cresylsulfate Are Associated with Pruritus in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

BACKGROUND

Pruritus is a common and distressing symptom that affects patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Indoxyl sulfate (IS) and p-cresylsulfate (PCS) are uremic toxins with similar protein binding, dialytic clearance, and proinflammatory features. Pruritus in CKD may correlate better with uremic toxins than the glomerular filtration rate (GFR), suggesting that uremic toxins either in the central nervous system or peripherally may play an important role in the pathophysiology.

OBJECTIVE

We sought to investigate the potential contribution of serum total IS and PCS to the pathogenesis of pruritus.

METHODS

The serum levels of total IS and PCS concentrations were measured in all patients by using the Ultra Performance LC System. The characteristics of pruritus were assessed using a visual analog scale score and an interview questionnaire.

RESULTS

Among the 320 CKD patients, 35% had pruritus. The patients with pruritus were older and had a higher frequency of diabetes mellitus, higher uric acid, calcium, phosphorus, creatinine, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and total IS and PCS levels, and lower albumin concentrations and estimated GFR (eGFR) than those without pruritus. Increasing concentrations of total PCS were independently and significantly associated with pruritus. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed total PCS as an independent association factor for pruritus, even after full adjustment of known biomarkers. Furthermore, serum total PCS levels were positively associated with calcium, phosphorus, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, and white blood cell count, and negatively associated with eGFR, hemoglobin, and hematocrit.

CONCLUSION

Our results indicate that total PCS may play a role in the pathogenesis of pruritus.

Applying slow-release biocatalysis to the asymmetric reduction of ethyl 4-chloroacetoacetate

Amberlite XAD 2 resin enhanced the asymmetric reduction of ethyl 4-chloroacetoacetate (ECA) to S-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutyric acid ethyl ester as catalyzed by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The absorbed ECA was released slowly to the solution during the reaction so that the substrate inhibition and the spontaneous chemical hydrolysis of ECA were considerably lessened. With 75 g resin l(-1) and ECA at 74 mM, the reaction yield and the product's optical purity increased from 75% to 84% and from 88% to 93%, respectively.