Preliminary Study on the Treatment Efficiency of Pasteurized Lime Thermal Alkaline Hydrolysis for Excess Activated Sludge and Reduction of Tetracycline Resistance Genes

Thermal alkaline hydrolysis is a common pretreatment method for the utilization of excess activated sludge(EAS).Owing to strict environment laws and need for better energy utilization,new methods were developed in this study to improve the efficiency of pretreatment method.Direct thermal hydrolysis(TH),pasteurized thermal hydrolysis(PTH),and alkaline pasteurized thermal hydrolysis(PTH+CaO and PTH+NaOH)methods were used to treat EAS.Each method was compared and analyzed in terms of dissolution in ammonium nitrogen(NH_(4)^(+)-N)and soluble COD(SCOD)in EAS.Furthermore,the removal of tetracycline resistance genes(TRGs)and class 1 transposon gene intI1 from EAS was investigated.The NH_(4)^(+)-N and SCOD concentrations in EAS treated by PTH were 1.24 and 2.58 times higher than those of TH.However,the removal efficiency of total TRGs and intI1 between the groups was comparable.The SCOD concentration of the PTH+NaOH group was 4.37 times higher than that of the PTH group,and the removal efficiency of total TRGs was increased by 9.52%compared with that by PTH.The NH_(4)^(+)-N and SCOD concentrations of the PTH+CaO group could reach 85.04%and 92.14%of the PTH+NaOH group,but the removal efficiency of total TRGs by PTH+CaO was 19.78%lower than that by PTH+NaOH.Thus,to reduce the financial cost in actual operation,lime(CaO)can be used instead of a strong alkali(NaOH),and pasteurized steam at 70℃ instead of conventional high-temperature heating to treat EAS.This study provides a reference for the development of alkaline hydrolysis under moderate temperatures along with the removal of TRGs in EAS.

Two human monoclonal SARS-CoV-2 antibodies that maintain neutralizing potency against the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)continues to sweep the globe with devastating consequences on human lives and world economy.As an RNA virus,SARS-CoV-2 has a relatively high mutation rate and is rapidly evolving.Thus,new SARS-CoV-2 variants continued to emerge,5 of which were designated by the World Health Organization(WHO)as variants of concern(VOCs),Alpha(B.1.1.7).

Identification of TMEM217 as a novel prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target in acute myeloid leukemia

Despite remarkable advances in molecular and cell biology of acute myeloid leukemia(AML),AML patients still frequently relapse and have low 5-year overall survival(OS)rates.1 It is worth noting that a recent study from the registry or clinical trial compilation has reported an improvement in the OS of adult AML patients,especially those under 60 years of age.

Palmitoylation of GNAQ/11 is critical for tumor cell proliferation and survival in GNAQ/11-mutant uveal melanoma

More than 85%of patients with uveal melanoma(UM)carry a GNAQ or GNA11 mutation at a hotspot codon(Q209)that encodes G proteinαsubunit q/11 polypeptides(Gα_(q/11)).GNAQ/11 relies on palmitoylation for membrane association and signal transduction.Despite the palmitoylation of GNAQ/11 was discovered long before,its implication in UM remains unclear.Here,results of palmitoylation-targeted mutagenesis and chemical interference approaches revealed that the loss of GNAQ/11 palmitoylation substantially affected tumor cell proliferation and survival in UM cells.Palmitoylation inhibition through the mutation of palmitoylation sites suppressed GNAQ/11^(Q209L)-induced malignant transformation in NIH3T3 cells.Importantly,the palmitoylation-deficient oncogenic GNAQ/11 failed to rescue the cell death initiated by the knock down of endogenous GNAQ/11 oncogenes in UM cells,which are much more dependent on Gα_(q/11) signaling for cell survival and proliferation than other melanoma cells without GNAQ/11 mutations.Furthermore,the palmitoylation inhibitor,2-bromopalmitate,also specifically disrupted Gα_(q/11) downstream signaling by interfering with the MAPK pathway and BCL2 survival pathway in GNAQ/11-mutant UM cells and showed a notable synergistic effect when applied in combination with the BCL2 inhibitor,ABT-199,in vitro.The findings validate that GNAQ/11 palmitoylation plays a critical role in UM and may serve as a promising therapeutic target for GNAQ/11-driven UM.

Optimal Combinations and Variable Departure Intervals for Micro Bus System

It is becoming increasingly difficult for Chinese citizens to access traditional public transport because of overcrowded community structures. Therefore, novel ideas are required to improve the transport system. In this respect, this study considers the design of a public transport scheduling model for a micro system. The model aims to minimize passenger waiting time and maximize number of passengers one bus carries, by simultaneously optimizing departure intervals and use of traditional and rapid buses. The model is superior to traditional models, as it analyzes the phenomena of vehicle overtaking, vehicle capacity limit, and passenger determination uncertainty. In addition, the model is a sophisticated nonlinear multi-objective optimization problem and contains more than one type of decision variable, therefore two composite algorithms, HPSO and GAPSO, are proposed, which are improvements of the Genetic Algorithm （GA） and Particle Swarm Optimization （PSO）. These two algorithms are compared to the classical GA with respect to stability and effect, and the results show them to be strong in both respects. In addition, the simultaneous optimization method has evident advantages compared to single-method optimizations.

A dynamically evolving war between autophagy and pathogenic microorganisms

Autophagy is an intracellular degradation process that maintains cellular homeostasis.It is essential for protecting organisms from environmental stress.Autophagy can help the host to eliminate invading pathogens,including bacteria,viruses,fungi,and parasites.However,pathogens have evolved multiple strategies to interfere with autophagic signaling pathways or inhibit the fusion of autophagosomes with lysosomes to form autolysosomes.Moreover,host cell matrix degradation by different types of autophagy can be used for the proliferation and reproduction of pathogens.Thus,determining the roles and mechanisms of autophagy during pathogen infections will promote understanding of the mechanisms of pathogen-host interactions and provide new strategies for the treatment of infectious diseases.

Middle Holocene hunting-gathering culture and environmental background of the steppe area of northern China

For a long time,the academic community has known very little about hunter-gatherers in the steppe area of northern China in the mid-Holocene.This article reports on the Ula Usu West site in Siziwangqi Banner,Inner Mongolia,including basic information about the site,animal bones,lithic artifacts and the environmental background.The age of the site is 4.8–4.4 cal.kyr BP,placing it in the Late Neolithic period.Considering integrated evidence from flotation,zooarchaeology,ZooMS analysis and lithic artifacts,the preliminary inference is that the population lived in a hunting-gathering economy.They used lithic tools represented by arrowheads to hunt mainly Antilopinae animals(e.g.,Procapra gutturosa).Pollen analysis suggests that the climate was relatively humid,providing advantageous living conditions for the population.The climate evidence is consistent with a warm event at approximately 4.7 kyr BP.A dry-cold event(4.5–4.0 kyr BP)and the gradual expansion of agriculture and breeding might have resulted in the final decline of the population.This article provides new materials for research on the“last”hunter-gatherers in the steppe area of northern China.