Biodegradation of natural and synthetic estrogens in moving bed bioreactor

Estrogen hormones as a group of endocrine disruptive compounds （EDC） can interfere with endocrine system in humans and animals. The goal of this study was to investigate the elimination rate of Estrone （El）, 17β-estradiol （E2） and 17α-ethinyl estradiol （EE2） in Moving Bed Bioreactor （MBBR）. These analytes extracted by Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction （DLLME） technique, followed by derivatization, and detected by GC/MS. Estrogen removal efficiency in MBBR improved at high solid retention times （SRTs）, which notion is owing to development ofnitrification. Estrogenspecificremovalratewasbetween 0,22-1.45μg.（gVSS） 1.d -1 for natural and synthetic hormones. The adsorption rate was 0.9%-3.2% 0-1.3%, and 0.7%-5.7% for E1, E2, and EE2, respectively. In addition, the biodegradation rates were more than 95% for these compounds. These results illustrated that in MBBR, the hiodegradation and the adsorption to biomass are considered as two significant routes for elimination of estrogenic compounds. As a whole, the deterioration rate of estrogens enhanced by MBBR compared to other biological wastewater treatment processes such as conventional activated sludge.

Does being female provide a neuroprotective advantage following spinal cord injury?

It has been controversial whether gender has any effect on recovery following spinal cord injury（SCI）. Past experimental and clinical research aimed at addressing this subject has led to constrasting findings on whether females hold any advantage in locomotor recovery. Additionally, for studies supporting the notion of a female gender related advantage, a definite cause has not been explained. In a recent study, using large sample sizes for comparative male and female spinal cord injury cohorts, we reported that a significant gender advantage favoring females existed in both tissue preservation and functional recovery after taking into consideration discrepancies in age and weight of the animals across sexes. Prior animal research frequently used sample sizes that were too small to determine significance with certainty and also did not account for two other factors that influence locomotor performance： age and weight. Our finding is important in light of controversy surrounding the effect of gender on outcome and the fact that SCI affects more than ten thousand new individuals annually, a population that is disproportionately male. By deepening our understanding of why a gender advantage exists, potential new therapeutics can be designed to improve recovery for the male population following the initial trauma or putatively augment the neuroprotective privilege in females for enhanced outcomes.