Application of subsurface wastewater infiltration system to on-site treatment of domestic sewage under high hydraulic loading rate

In order to enhance the hydraulic loading rate （HLR） of a subsurface wastewater infiltration system （SWIS） used in treating domestic sewage, the intermittent operation mode was employed in the SWIS. The results show that the intermittent operation mode contributes to the improvement of the HLR and the pollutant removal rate. When the wetting-drying ratio （RwD） was 1.0, the pollutant removal rate increased by （13.6 ± 0.3）% for NH3-N, （20.7 ± 1.1）% for TN, （18.6± 0.4）% for TP, （12.2 ± 0.5）% for BOD, （10.1 ± 0.3）% for COD, and （36.2 ± 1.2）% for SS, compared with pollutant removal rates under the continuous operation mode. The pollutant removal rate declined with the increase of the HLR. The effluent quality met The Reuse of Urban Recycling Water - Water Quality Standard for Scenic Environment Use （GB/T 18921-2002） even when the HLR was as high as 10 cm/d. Hydraulic conductivity, oxidation reduction potential （ORP）, the quantity of nitrifying bacteria, and the pollutant removal rate of NH3-N increased with the decrease of the RWD. For the pollutant removal rates of TP, BOD, and COD, there were no significant difference （p 〈 0.05） under different RwDS. The suggested RWD was 1.0. Relative contribution of the pretreatment and SWlS to the pollutant removal was examined, and more than 80% removal of NH3-N, TN, TP, COD, and BOD occurred in the SWIS.

Overexpression of Gli1 in cancer interstitial tissues predicts early relapse after radical operation of breast cancer

Breast cancer is a significant global public health problem. Despite major advances in adjuvant therapy, therapeutic options for patients with unresectable metastatic disease, recurrent disease or triple negative breast cancer are limited. Approximately 39,840 patients died of this disease in the USA in 2010 （1）, emphasizing the need for new therapies. A better understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the development of breast cancer would help to identify novel molecular targets for its treatment and determine more accurate clinicopathological prognostic factors.

Preparation of Monoclonal Antibody Against HPT and Its Application to Detecting Marker Protein in Genetically Modified Rice

To produce the monoclonal antibodies （mAbs） against hygromycin B phosphotransferase （HPT） and to develop immunoassay based on mAbs for biosafety assessment of HPT in genetically modified rice （GM rice）. Methods BALB/c mice were immunized with purified recombinant 6His. HPT protein, and the conventional hybridoma technology was used to generate the monoclonal hybridoma cells. ELISA and Western blot were used to analyze the specificity of mAbs recognizing HPT and the cross reaction with other proteins. A double-Ab sandwich ELISA method was established to detect HPT expression level in the sck gene-modified rice plants. Results Four hybridomas, named F1,D4-2, D4-4, and D4-5, producing the mAbs against HPT were successfully obtained with the titer of ascetic mAbs ranging from 10×10^-4 to10×10^-5. Identification of subclass showed that all the produced mAbs belonged to IgG1. Western blot showed specific binding reaction between the mAbs to the HPT proteins expressed in the GM rice. A double sandwich ELISA coated with anti-HPT polyclonal antibody was established with mAbs as sandwich antibody, which showed a sensitivity of 30ng/mL and did not crossreact with other proteins. The expression level of HPT in the leaves of sck-transformed lines was detected （80-150ng/mL）. But HPT protein in the grain and seed of GM rice could not be detected using this ELISA assay, Conclusion Anti-HPT mAbs prepared herein have a high specificity and can be used for rapid assay of HPT antigen. The expression level of HPT in the GM rice grain and seed is lower than our ELISA detection limit.

Prophylaxis with carnosol attenuates liver injury induced by intestinal ischemia/reperfusion

AIM： To investigate the possible protective effects of carnosol on liver injury induced by intestinal ischemia reperfusion （I/R）. METHODS： Rats were divided randomly into three experimental groups： sham, intestinal I/R and carnosol treatment （n = 18 each）. The intestinal I/R model was established by clamping the superior mesenteric artery for 1 h. In the carnosol treatment group, surgery was performed as in the intestinal I/R group, with intraperitoneal administration of 3 mg/kg carnosol 1 h before the operation. At 2, 4 and 6 h after reperfusion, rats were killed and blood, intestine and liver tissue samples were obtained. Intestine and liver histology was investigated. Serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase （AST）, alanine aminotransferase （ALT） and interleukin （IL）-6 were measured. Liver tissue superoxide dismutase （SOD） and myeloperoxidase （IvIPO） activity were assayed. The liver intercellular adhesion molecule-1 （ICAM-1） and nuclear factor κB （NF-κB） were determined by immunohistochemical analysis and western blot analysis. RESULTS： Intestinal I/R induced intestine and liver injury, characterized by histological changes, as well as a significant increase in serum AST and ALT levels. The activity of SOD in the liver tissue decreased after I/R, which was enhanced by carnosol pretreatment. In addition, compared with the control group, carnosol markedly reduced liver tissue MPO activity and serum IL-6 level, which was in parallel with the decreased level of liver ICAI-1 and NF-κB expression. CONCLUSION： Our results indicate that carnosol pretreatment attenuates liver injury induced by intestinal I/R, attributable to the antioxidant effect and inhibition of the NF-κB pathway.

Effect of nuclear factor kappa B on intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression and neutrophil infiltration in lung injury induced by intestinal ischemia/reperfusion in rats

AIM： To investigate the role of nuclear factor kappa B （NF-κB） in the pathogenesis of lung injury induced by intestinal ischemia/reperfusion （I/R）, and its effect on intercellular adhesion molecule-1 （ICAM-1） expression and neutrophil infiltration. METHODS： Twenty-four Wistar rats were divided randomly into control, I/R and pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate （PDTC） treatment groups, n = 8 in each. I/R group and PDTC treatment group received superior mysenteric artery （SMA） occluding for 1 h and reperfusion for 2 h. PDTC group was administrated with intraperitoneal injection of 2% 100 mg/kg PDTC 1 h before surgery. Lung histology and bronchia alveolus lung fluid （BALF） protein were assayed. Serum IL-6, lung malondialdehyde （MDA） and myeloperoxidase （MPO） as well as the expression level of NF-κB and ICAM-1 were measured.RESULTS： Lung injury induced by intestinal I/R, was characterized by edema, hemorrhage and neutrophil infiltration as well as by the significant rising of BALF protein. Compared to control group, the levels of serum IL-6 and lung MDA and MPO increased significantly in I/R group （P=0.001）. Strong positive expression of NF-κB p65 and ICAM-1 was observed. After the administration of PDTC, the level of serum IL-6, lung MDA and MPO as well as NF-κB and ICAM-1 decreased significantly （P〈 0.05） when compared to I/R group.CONCLUSION： The activation of NF-κB plays an important role in the pathogenesis of lung injury induced by intestinal I/R through upregulating the neutrophil infiltration and lung ICAM-1 expression. PDTC as an inhibitor of NF-κB can prevent lung injury induced by intestinal I/R through inhibiting the activity of NF-κB.

Arsenic trioxide induces apoptosis of human gastrointestinal cancer cells

AIM: To investigate the changes in apoptosis in gastrointestinal cancer cells from patients with gastrointestinal cancers treated with arsenic trioxide (As2O3); and to study the possible molecular mechanisms of such changes by detecting the expression levels of p53 and Bcl-2.

Fate of nitrogen in subsurface infiltration system for treating secondary effluent

The concentration of total nitrogen(TN) is reported to vary between 20 and 35 mg/L in domestic wastewater. In raw wastewater, ammonia nitrogen eNHt4-NT is the main nitrogen form, accounting for 70%e82% of the TN concentration. Organic nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen eNOà2-NT,and nitrate nitrogen eNOà3-NT are present as well. For years, due to the lack of regulatory limits on nitrogen concentration in surface waters,nitrogen from secondary effluent has posed a significant threat to the health of aquatic ecosystems. Researchers have made substantial efforts to reduce the nitrogen concentration in secondary effluent. As a kind of advanced wastewater treatment technology, the subsurface infiltration(SI)system has been widely used, owing to its advantages, which include low operation cost, easy maintenance, and low energy consumption. This review discusses the fate of various forms of nitrogen in SI treatment, including organic nitrogen, NHt4-N, NOà2-N, and NOà3-N. Major biological processes involved in nitrogen removal and the main factors influencing its transformation are suggested. Finally, it is shown that ammonification followed by nitrification-denitrification plays a major role in nitrogen removal. Further research needs to focus on the emission characteristics of gaseous nitrogen(generated from the nitrification, denitrification, and completely autotrophic nitrogen-removal over nitrite(CANON) processes) with respect to their greenhouse effects.

Health status of transitional resettlement sites after the earthquake in Mianyang city of Sichuan province

Objective: To understand the health status of transitional resettlement sites and the needs of residents on health education, and to pro-vide basis for conducting health education after ear- thquakes and other public emergen-cies. Method: From May 31 to June 2, 2008 (19 to 21 days after the earthquake), field obser-vation, questionnaire survey, and structured interviews were conducted in five transitional resettlement sites. Information on health status, health service, health education, and residents’ needs on health education was col-lected. Results: 430 questionnaires were dis-tributed and 424 valid completed ones were returned. Food and water were adequately supplied. Clinics for health assistance were established and environment disinfecting was conducted regularly by public health profes-sionals. Health education was available to residents. The large proportion (98.6%, 97.9%, 88.7%, and 93.2% respectively) of the residents acknowledged that water supply, food supply, lavatories, and health service were adequate to fulfill basic needs. The overall disease in-cidence of surveyed residents was 44.8%, and diarrhea and fever with respiratory symptoms were the most common diseases. Among residents’ needs on disease prevention knowl-edge and skills, basic knowledge of infectious diseases was most desirable (49.8%), and safety knowledge of water uses was secon-darily most desirable (36.8%). The most fa-vored approach of obtaining knowledge was watching television. Conclusions: In the pe-riod of 20 days after the earthquake, Living security, health facilities, and health care ser-vice could satisfy residents’ basic needs. Post-disaster health education should con-centrate on basic knowledge and skills of communicable diseases and health- risky be-havior. Timely distributing disease prevention materials could be effective.

Richness of sputum microbiome in acute exacerbations of eosinophilic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background:The eosinophilic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)is known to be more sensitive to corticosteroid.The sputum microbiome has been shown to affect COPD prognosis,but its role in acute exacerbations of eosinophilic COPD is unclear.This study aimed to investigate the dynamic changes of the airway microbiome in patients with acute exacerbations of eosinophilic COPD.Methods:Fifty-seven patients with acute exacerbations of COPD from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University between June 2017 and June 2018 were divided into two groups.Patients with eosinophils≥300 cells/mL in the peripheral venous blood were assigned to the eosinophilic group(Eos)and the rest to the non-eosinophilic group(Noneos).All patients received similar treatment including inhaled budesonide according to the guidelines.The induced sputum microbiome was analyzed on the 1st and 7th day of treatment using the 16S ribosomal RNA(rRNA)method.The levels of interleukin(IL)-6 and IL-8 were measured in the plasma and the sensitivity to corticosteroids was determined in isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells.Quantitative data were compared between the two groups using the independent samples t test or Mann-Whitney U test.Categorical data were evaluated using Chi-squared test or Fisher’s exact test.Results:Twenty-six patients were classified into Eos group and 31 patients were classified into Noneos group.Prior to treatment,the alpha diversity(Shannon index)(2.65±0.63 vs.2.56±0.54,t=0.328,P=0.747)and the structure of the sputum microbiome were similar in the Eos group and the Noneos group.After 7 days of treatment,alpha diversity increased in both groups,while the microbiome richness(Ace index)was significantly lower in the Eos group(561.87±109.13 vs.767.88±148.48,t=-3.535,P=0.002).At the same time,IL-6(12.09±2.85 pg/mL vs.15.54±2.45 pg/mL,t=-4.913,P<0.001)and IL-8(63.64±21.69 pg/mL vs.78.97±17.13 pg/mL,t=-2.981,P=0.004)decreased more significantly in the Eos group,and the percentages of inhibition of IL-8 at dexamethasone concentrations 10-8 to 10-6 mol/L were significantly higher in the Eos group than those in the Noneos group(all P<0.05).Conclusions:The induced sputum microbiome richness decreased more significantly following treatment in the Eos patients compared to the Noneos patients.The lower plasma inflammatory factor levels and the higher percentage of inhibition of IL-8 might be due to higher corticosteroid sensitivity in Eos patients.

IκB kinase Mediating the Downregulation of p53 and p21 by Lipopolysaccharide in Human Papillomavirus 16^＋ Cervical Cancer Cells

Background：Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer of woman in the world,and human papillomavirus （HPV） infection plays an important role in the development of most of the cases.IκB kinase β （IKKβ） is a kinase-mediating nuclear factor kappa B （NF-κB） activation by phosphorylating the inhibitor ofNF-κB （IκB） and is related by some diseases caused by virus infection.However,there is little known about the correlation between IKKβ and HPV infection in cervical cancer.This study aimed to investigate the expression of IKKβ protein in cervical cancer tissues and effects of inflammation on HPV positive or negative cervical cancer cells through detecting the expression of IKKβ,IKBα,p53,and p21 proteins after treated with lipopolysaccharide （LPS） to mimic bacterial infection.We also examined the effects of LPS on cervical cancer cells after blocking IKKβ with pharmacological inhibitor.Methods：Thirty-six matched specimens of cervical cancer and adjacent normal tissues were collected and analyzed in the study.The expression of IKKβ in the tissue specimens was determined by immunohistochemical staining.In addition,Western blot was used to detect the expression level changes ofIKKβ,IκBα,p53,and p21 after LPS stimulated in the HPV16^＋ （SiHa） and HPV16-（C33A） cervical cancer cell lines.Furthermore,the effects of IKKβ inhibitor SC-514 on LPS-induced expression change of these proteins were investigated.Results：The expression of IKKβ was higher in cervical cancer than adjacent normal tissues,and there was no significant difference between tumor differentiation,size,and invasive depth with IKKβ expression.The LPS,which increased the expression level of IKKβ protein but decreased in the IκBα,p53 and p21 proteins,was illustrated in HPV16^＋ （SiHa） but not in HPV16^-（C33A） cells.Moreover,IKKβ inhibitor SC-514 totally reversed the upregulation of IKKβ and downregulation of p53 and p21 by LPS in SiHa cells.Conclusions：IKKβ may mediate the downregulation of p53 and p21 by LPS in HPV16^＋ cervical cancer cells.

Empirical Likelihood for Quantiles Under Associated Samples

The construction of confidence intervals for quantiles of a population under a associated sample is studied by using the blockwise technique. It is shown that the blockwise empirical likelihood （EL） ratio statistic is asymptotically X2-type distributed, which is used to obtain EL-based confidence intervals for quantiles of a population.

Estimation for Partially Linear Models with Missing Responses:the Fixed Design Case

Suppose that we have a partially linear model Yi = xiβ ＋ g（ti） ＋εi with independent zero mean errors εi, where （xi,ti, i = 1, ... ,n} are non-random and observed completely and （Yi, i = 1,...,n} are missing at random（MAR）. Two types of estimators of β and g（t） for fixed t are investigated： estimators based on semiparametric regression and inverse probability weighted imputations. Asymptotic normality of the estimators is established, which is used to construct normal approximation based confidence intervals on β and g（t）. Results are reported of a simulation study on the finite sample performance of the estimators and confidence intervals proposed in this paper.