Biochemical Pool Research Articles

Degradation of norfloxacin in a heterogeneous electro-Fenton like system coupled with sodium chloride as the electrolyte

To utilize the chloridion in practical pharmaceutical wastewater and to minimize the negative impact of chloridion on the aerobic bacteria in the biochemical pool, a composite electrocatalyst consisting of CeO2 and CoFe2O4 loaded on electrospun carbon nanofibers (CeO2/CoFe2O4@C-NCNFs-800) was prepared and employed for NOR degradation in the heterogeneous electro-Fenton/Cl- (hetero-EF/Cl-) system. A superior NOR degradation efficiency was discovered in the hetero-EF/Cl- system than in the hetero-EF system, which benefited from the generation of more selective oxidants (ClO·) when hydroxylradical (·OH) and Cl- were present simultaneously. The 20 min operation allowed 99.54% NOR removal under the appropriate conditions (pH = 6.05, current = 40 mA, and [Cl-] = 0.1 M) with a reaction rate constant (kobs) of 0.3032 min-1. According to the quenching and the probe experiments, ·OH, ClO·, and singletoxygen (1O2) were confirmed to be predominance during NOR degradation, whose steady-state concentrations were 2.00 × 10-11 M, 1.39 × 10-11 M, and 1.19 × 10-11 M, respectively. In short, this study offered a probable method to utilize chloridion in practical pharmaceutical wastewater.

Multi-macromolecular Extraction from Endosymbiotic Anthozoans.

Obligately symbiotic associations between reef-building corals (anthozoan cnidarians) and photosynthetically active dinoflagellates of the family Symbiodiniaceae comprise the functional basis of all coral reef ecosystems. Given the existential threats of global climate change toward these thermo-sensitive entities, there is an urgent need to better understand the physiological implications of changes in the abiotic milieu of scleractinian corals and their mutualistic algal endosymbionts. Although initially slow to leverage the immense breakthroughs in molecular biotechnology that have benefited humankind, coral biologists are making up for lost time in exploiting an array of ever-advancing molecular tools for answering key questions pertaining to the survival of corals in an ever-changing world. In order to comprehensively characterize the multi-omic landscape of the coral holobiont-the cnidarian host, its intracellular dinoflagellates, and a plethora of other microbial constituents-I introduce a series of protocols herein that yield large quantities of high-quality RNA, DNA, protein, lipids, and polar metabolites from a diverse array of reef corals and endosymbiotic sea anemones. Although numerous published articles in the invertebrate zoology field feature protocols that lead to sufficiently high yield of intact host coral macromolecules, through using the approach outlined herein one may simultaneously acquire a rich, multi-compartmental biochemical pool that truly reflects the complex and dynamic nature of these animal-plant chimeras.

Trans-generational response of TiO2 nanoparticles in inducing variability and changes in biochemical pool of lentil F2 progenies

Investigations were carried out to analyze the role of anatase nanoparticles in inducing genetic variability in lentils (Lens culinaris Medik.) for yield improvement and subsequent involvement in development, quality, and biochemical response of second-generation seedlings through their lifecycle. Trans-generational alterations in the morphological and biochemical pool of the plant system were evaluated over a range of concentrations (25-200 µg/mL). Analysis of F2 seedlings showed an increase in yield parameters at the lowest concentration (25 µg/mL). Biochemical studies revealed that the F2 plants experienced lower oxidative stress as compared with previous generation plants. Quality analysis of seeds revealed a slight positive shift in the mean values of seed protein content at the lowest concentration. The effect of nanoparticles on the growth parameters was antagonistic except at the lowest concentration, where the growth parameters were found to be slightly higher than in the controls. The variability present in different traits in the F2 populations was quantified as phenotypic variability and its components, which is a measure of the transmissibility of variations of the so-called mutated populations as a result of nanoparticle application.

Microplastics removal and characteristics of constructed wetlands WWTPs in rural area of Changsha, China: A different situation from urban WWTPs

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are important pathways that discharged microplastics into the natural environment, but few relevant research has been conducted in rural areas, especially with horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands (HSSFCWs). This study systematically investigates the removal efficiency and characteristics of microplastics in two rural WWTPs with HSSFCW in Changsha city of China and compared the microplastic pollution data of urban and rural WWTPs, to provide some advice for improving the microplastics removal efficiencies in rural WWTPs. 3 L wastewater were collected at each sampling point. Then microplastics in wastewater were extracted by density separation. The size, shape, color, and type of microplastics were analyzed and identified using the integrated microscope and FTIR. The whole experiment was carried out about a month. The results showed that the microplastics removal efficiency of rural WWTP1 was 72.38%, and that of rural WWTP2 was 68.10%, which were lower than that of most urban WWTPs. The microplastics removal efficiency of constructed wetlands in rural WWTP1 was 26.59%, and that in rural WWTP2 was 10.61%. Based on the daily discharge volume and the abundance of microplastics in the effluent of WWTPs, approximately 1.45 ∗ 107 items and 1.73 ∗ 107 items of microplastics were released each day from two rural WWTPs, separately. Fiber was the primary microplastic in both influent and effluent. The polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS) were the main ingredients. The primary source of microplastics in rural WWTPs was inferred as domestic sewage. Microplastics removal efficiencies of rural WWTPs can be improved by regular maintenance, reducing the grid spacing, increasing the hydraulic stay time of biochemical pool, and increasing plant density, changing plant species, or adjusting the size and fill order of matrix in HSSFCWs, which can effectively help to prevent secondary pollution of microplastics from rural WWTPs.

Experimental Study on Purification Effect of Biochemical Pool Model for Treatment of Pavement Runoff by Aquatic Plants

The road runoff after rainfall carries a lot of pollutants that could cause great harm to the water environment. A biochemical pool can be used as a treatment for the road runoff. In order to further improve the efficiency of road runoff treatment by biochemical pool and to evaluate the purification effect of the aquatic plants, two aquatic plants of Iris pseudacorus and Myriophyllum verticillatum were chosen in this research. The effect of different planting densities on the treatment of runoff pollutants and the planting mode by different aquatic plants were studied. The results show that both plants have the ability to remove the pollutants like chemical oxygen demand (COD), Zn, Cu, oil, and suspended solids (SS), and the ability is increased with the increase of planting density. The Iris pseudacorus is better than Myriophyllum verticillatum on the removal of Zn, while Myriophyllum verticillatum does better on the removal of Cu, oil, and SS. Combined planting mode can effectively improve the purification effect of COD and petroleum.

Effect of Sorting by a Hydrocyclone on Denitrification Performance of Activated Sludge

Denitrification performance is an important indicator of the denitrification process in wastewater treatment. A lateral experiment was carried out on the campus wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) by using a SBR process equipped with a hydrocyclone. The results showed that the hydrocyclone in the SBR process was able to break activated sludge (AS) flocs into smaller flocs because of the rotation and revolution. At the same time, organic carbon sources such as polysaccharides and proteins were released, which supplemented the carbon source of the biochemical pool and improved the denitrification performance. After hydrocyclone treatment, the denitrification performance of sludge flocs increased by more than 50%, and the denitrification rate increased by 20.39%. Under continuous operating conditions, the average denitrification performance increased by 6.43%.

Highly effective enhancement of waste activated sludge dewaterability by altering proteins properties using methanol solution coupled with inorganic coagulants

Proteins are the dominant organic component of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in waste activated sludge (WAS), and play an important role during sludge dewatering processes. Methanol is a polar hydrophilic reagent and can denature proteins, which suggested to us that the modification of protein configurations with methanol could improve sludge dewatering performance.In this study, methanol was used to precondition WAS prior to adding inorganic coagulants for dewatering enhancement. The morphology and EPS properties (especially of proteins) were investigated to analyze and explain the effects of methanol in the sludge conditioning process. The results show that methanol performed much better than traditional inorganic coagulants in improving sludge dewaterability in term of specific resistance to filtration (SRF) and cake solid content (CSC). Extractable proteins in EPS increased to a maximum when the concentration of methanol reached 40% (w/w) because cell membranes were destroyed and intracellular substances and water were released. Floc protein content was reduced with the further increase in methanol concentration due to protein precipitation. Confocal laser scanning microscopy analysis indicated that proteins precipitated and formed larger aggregates because methanol destroyed both the hydration shell and the hydrophobic clusters of proteins and expanded the protein tertiary structure to release interstitial water and bound water. The combination treatment of methanol and inorganic coagulants (PAC or FeCl3) showed significant synergetic effects on enhancing sludge dewatering and cake drying. In practical applications, methanol from the dewatering sludge can be returned to the biochemical pool and used as the carbon source for nitrogen removal in the denitrification process. This integrated process is appropriate for sludge final disposal technologies that have high energy demands, such as incineration and pyrolysis. This paper describes a novel approach to improving sludge dewaterability through the alteration of protein properties by use of physiochemical techniques.

Network-based approach for analyzing intra- and interfluid metabolite associations in human blood, urine, and saliva.

Most studies investigating human metabolomics measurements are limited to a single biofluid, most often blood or urine. An organism's biochemical pool, however, comprises complex transboundary relationships, which can only be understood by investigating metabolic interactions and physiological processes spanning multiple parts of the human body. Therefore, we here propose a data-driven network-based approach to generate an integrated picture of metabolomics associations over multiple fluids. We performed an analysis of 2251 metabolites measured in plasma, urine, and saliva, from 374 participants of the Qatar Metabolomics Study on Diabetes (QMDiab). Gaussian graphical models (GGMs) were used to estimate metabolite-metabolite interactions on different subsets of the data set. First, we compared similarities and differences of the metabolome and the association networks between the three fluids. Second, we investigated the cross-talk between the fluids by analyzing correlations occurring between them. Third, we propose a framework for the analysis of medically relevant phenotypes by integrating type 2 diabetes, sex, age, and body mass index into our networks. In conclusion, we present a generic, data-driven network-based approach for structuring and visualizing metabolite correlations within and between multiple body fluids, enabling unbiased interpretation of metabolomics multifluid data.

Study on Feasibility of Concentrated Activated Sludge Reflow of Biochemical Pool of Small-Sized Wastewater Plant

Experimental research and engineering validation show concentrated activated sludge reflow stead of traditional reflow way still meets the national discharge standard, though the treatment efficiency of wastewater plant is slightly declined and further show concentrated activated sludge reflow process used in energy saving and consumption reduction of small-sized wastewater treatment plant is feasible.

LINKING TIME-DEPENDENT CARBON-FIXATION EFFICIENCIES IN DUNALIELLA TERTIOLECTA (CHLOROPHYCEAE) TO UNDERLYING METABOLIC PATHWAYS(1).

The chl-specific short-term (14) C-based production (P(b) ) measurement is a widely used tool to understand phytoplankton responses to environmental stresses. However, among the metabolic consequences of these stresses is variability in lifetimes of newly fixed carbon that cause P(b) to range between chl-specific net primary production (NPP*) and chl-specific gross photosynthetic electron flow that is available for carbon reduction () depending on growth rate. To investigate the basis for this discrepancy, photosynthate utilization was characterized in Dunaliella tertiolecta Butcher grown at three different growth rates in N-limited chemostats. P(b) was measured throughout a 2 min to 24 h time course and showed clear growth-rate-dependent differences in lifetimes of newly fixed carbon. (14) C pulse-chase experiments revealed differences in patterns of carbon utilization between growth rates. At high growth rate, the majority of (14) C was initially fixed into polysaccharide and lipid, but the relative contribution of each labeled biochemical pool to the total label changed over 24 h. In fast-growing cells, labeled polysaccharides decreased 50%, while labeled lipids increased over the first 4 h. At low growth rate, (14) C was initially incorporated primarily into protein, but the contribution of labeled protein to the total label increased over the next 24 h. Together, time-resolved measurements of P(b) and cellular NAD and NADP content suggest an enhanced role for alternative dissipation pathways at very low growth rate. Findings of this study contribute to an integrated understanding of growth-rate-dependent shifts in metabolic processes from photosynthesis to net growth.

Use of FT-IR to Identify Enhanced Biomass Production and Biochemical Pool Shifts in the Marine Microalgae, Chlorella ovalis, Cultured in Media Composed of Different Ratios of Deep Seawater and Fermented Animal Wastewater

Growth rates, photosystem II photosynthesis, and the levels of chlorophyll a and secondary metabolites of Chlorella ovalis were estimated to determine if they were enhanced by the addition of swine urine (BM) or cow compost water (EP) that had been fermented by soil bacteria to deep seawater (DSW) in an attempt to develop media that enabled batch mass culture at lower costs. Growth of C. ovalis in f/2, f/2-EDTA+BM60%, DSW+BM30%, and DSW+EP60% was enhanced and maintained in the log phase of growth for 16 days. The cell densities of C. ovalis in DSW+EP60% (4.1x10(6) Cells/ml) were higher than those of f/2 (2.9x10(6) Cells/ml), f/2-E+BM60% (3.7x10(6) Cells/ml), and DSW+BM30% (2.7x10(6) Cells/ml). The growth rate was also more favorable for C. ovalis cultured in DSW+EP60% (0.15 day(-1)) than that of C. ovalis cultured in the control medium (f/2) (0.12 day(-1)). Furthermore, the chlorophyll a concentration of C. ovalis cultured in DSW+EP60% (4.56 mg/l) was more than 2-fold greater than that of C. ovalis cultured in f/2 (2.35 mg/l). Moreover, the maximal quantum yields of photosystem II at 470 nm (Fv/Fm) were significantly higher in organisms cultured at f/2-E+BM60% (0.53) and DSW+EP60% (0.52) than in the other treatment groups. Finally, Fourier transformation infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy revealed that C. ovalis grown in DSW+EP60% had more typical peaks and various biochemical pool shifts than those grown in other types of media. Taken together, the results of this study indicate that the use of DSW+EP60% to culture C. ovalis can reduce maintenance expenses and promote higher yields.

Imaging in breast cancer – breast cancer imaging revisited

Imaging in breast cancer – breast cancer imaging revisited

Arginine vasopressin and forskolin regulate apical cell surface expression of epithelial Na+ channels in A6 cells

Both arginine vasopressin (AVP) and forskolin regulate vectorial Na+ transport across high-resistance epithelia by increasing the Na+ conductance of the apical membrane mediated by amiloride-sensitive Na+ channels. Pretreatment of A6 cells with brefeldin A partially inhibited the increase in Na+ transport in response to forskolin, suggesting recruitment of Na+ channels from an intracellular pool. The activation of Cl- secretion was not affected. Apical cell surface expression of Na+ channels was examined following activation of transepithelial Na+ transport across the epithelial cell line A6 by AVP or forskolin. Apical cell surface radioiodinated Na+ channels were immunoprecipitated to quantify the biochemical pool of Na+ channels at the apical plasma membrane and to determine whether an increment in the biochemical pool of Na+ channels expressed at the apical cell surface is a potential mechanism by which AVP and forskolin increase apical membrane Na+ conductance. The activation of Na+ transport across A6 cells by AVP was accompanied by a significant increase in the biochemical pool of Na+ channels at the apical plasma membrane within 5 min after addition of hormone, which was sustained for at least 30 min. The increase in apical cell surface expression of Na+ channels was also observed 30 min after application of forskolin. No changes in the oligomeric subunit composition of the channel were noted. Brefeldin A inhibited the forskolin-stimulated increase in apical cell surface expression of Na+ channels. These results suggest that AVP and forskolin regulate Na+ transport, in part, via rapid recruitment of Na+ channels to the cell surface, perhaps from a pool of channels in the subapical cytoplasm.

Aldosterone does not alter apical cell-surface expression of epithelial Na+ channels in the amphibian cell line A6.

The steroid hormone aldosterone regulates reabsorptive Na+ transport across specific high resistance epithelia. The increase in Na+ transport induced by aldosterone is dependent on protein synthesis and is due, in part, to an increase in Na+ conductance of the apical membrane mediated by amiloride-sensitive Na+ channels. To examine whether an increment in the biochemical pool of Na+ channels expressed at the apical cell surface is a mechanism by which aldosterone increases apical membrane Na+ conductance, apical cell-surface proteins from the epithelial cell line A6 were specifically labeled by an enzyme-catalyzed radioiodination procedure following exposure of cells to aldosterone. Labeled Na+ channels were immunoprecipitated to quantify the biochemical pool of Na+ channels at the apical cell surface. The activation of Na+ transport across A6 cells by aldosterone was not accompanied by alterations in the biochemical pool of Na+ channels at the apical plasma membrane, despite a 3.7-4.2-fold increase in transepithelial Na+ transport. Similarly, no change in the distribution of immunoreactive protein was resolved by immunofluorescence microscopy. The oligomeric subunit composition of the channel remained unaltered, with one exception. A 75,000-Da polypeptide and a broad 70,000-Da polypeptide were observed in controls. Following addition of aldosterone, the 75,000-Da polypeptide was not resolved, and the 70,000-Da polypeptide was the major polypeptide found in this molecular mass region. Aldosterone did not alter rates of Na+ channel biosynthesis. These data suggest that neither changes in rates of Na+ channel biosynthesis nor changes in its apical cell-surface expression are required for activation of transepithelial Na+ transport by aldosterone. Post-translational modification of the Na+ channel, possibly the 75,000 or 70,000-Da polypeptide, may be one of the cellular events required for Na+ channel activation by aldosterone.

Pattern of Protein, Glycogen and Trehalose During Development of Polyphenic Forms in the Aphid Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt.) (Aphididae:Hemiptera)

Polyphenism is a common feature in the mustard aphid, Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt.) in tropical countries. The function related changes in basic biochemical pool are reported during development of polyphenic forms. A gradual decrease in the protein content in this aphid was recorded, as the nymphs advanced in their instar number and reached adult stage. However, the protein content was significantly lower in the apterous forms as compared to alate. The number, density and mobility of protein bands varied as the nymphs passed through different instars and the number of bands was more in alate forms. The glycogen and trehalose contents showed a decrease upto the third instar and showed an increase in the fourth instar, but again declined in the adults of both the phases.