Use of biologically synthesized antimicrobial nanoparticles for improving peritoneal dialysis technique： a translational research perspective

Peritoneal dialysis （PD） is a well-established renal replacement therapy （RRT） for end-stage renal failure （ESRF） and offers certain clear advantages over hemodialysis. However, PD is often associated with a high risk of infection of the intraperitoneal cavity, subcutaneous tunnel and catheter exit site, which may subsequently form microbial biofilms.

Advances in Breeding of Festuca arundinacea Schreb.

In this paper, domestic and foreign advances in breeding situation and conventional breeding methods of Festuca arundinacea Schreb. and the applica- tion of modem biological techniques （ somaclonal variation, somatic cell hybridization, genetic map construction, genetic diversity, gene cloning and expression, ge- netic engineering） in breeding of new varieties of F. arundinacea were summarized, which proposed new ideas for the development of F. arundinacea breeding and provided reference for breeding of new varieties of F. arundinacea.

Study of Coagulation Process with Lime in Treatment of Landfill Leachate from Fkih Ben Salah City (Morocco)

The leachates are the seat of complex processes which give them a heterogeneous character. Their compositions vary according to several factors: nature of the waste, conditions of their deposition, climatic conditions, their durations of stay, etc. They contain important quantities of organic, mineral matters even of bacteria, which require their treatment in order to safeguard the environment. To do this, several methods are used, such as membrane techniques (reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, etc.), biological techniques (activated sludge, SBR, etc.) and physicochemical techniques (Coagulation-flocculation, adsorption on activated carbon, etc.). Among these techniques, the leachate treatment by coagulation process with the lime showed interesting reduction of the various pollutants: 92.95% of turbidity, 88.23% of suspended matter, 89.89% of COD, 90.83% of BOD5, 78.39% of Fe, 77.78% of Mo, 38.29% of Cd, 48.75% of Al, 50.24% of S2-, 20.57% of K+, 27.24% of phosphorus and 19.53% of Cl-. Based on these results, the coagulation with the lime reveals interesting because it allows to reduce at a lesser cost the pollutants present in leachates.

Dynamic analysis of gene expression and determination of chemicals in agarwood in Aquilaria sinensis

Agarwood is the resinous heartwood of Aquilaria species.However,low yields and high costs of existing stimulation methods have led to the need for new techniques to produce agarwood rapidly and effectively.We developed a biological agarwood-inducing technique(Agar-Bit)that produces high yields and quality within 6 months.To better understand agarwood formation by Agar-Bit,dynamic gene expressions of key synthetases pathways of sesquiterpenes and chalcone-related enzymes at different times were determined after both Agar-Bit and the traditional burning chisel drilling(BCD)stimulation on Aquilaria sinensis trees.The qRT-PCR results show that some characteristic synthase genes were expressed at greatly different levels and times compared with the controls.For the Agar-Bit technology,main changes were after the 3rd or 5th month,while BCD expression clearly changed at the 5th month.Essential oils and total chromone contents were simultaneously determined.In the Agar-Bit group,both were higher and similar to natural levels.The Agar-Bit methodology is a new option for producing agarwood as demonstrated by genetic and chemical aspects.The differences in gene expression within 6 months for both groups indicates that the mechanisms of the two methods are different.These findings provide information on genetic variation during the process of agarwood formation.

Current molecular biologic techniques for characterizing environmental microbial community

Microbes are vital to the earth because of their enormous numbers and instinct function maintaining the natural balance. Since the microbiology was applied in environmental science and engineering more than a century ago, researchers desire for more and more information concerning the microbial spatio-temporal variations in almost every fields from contaminated soil to wastewater treatment plant （WWTP）. For the past 30 years, molecular biologic techniques explored for environ- mental microbial community （EMC） have spanned a broad range of approaches to facilitate the researches with the assistance of computer science： faster, more accurate and more sensitive. In this feature article, we outlined several current and emerging molecular biologic techniques applied in detection of EMC, and presented and assessed in detail the application of three promising tools.

Influences and mechanisms of nanofullerene on the horizontal transfer of plasmid-encoded antibiotic resistance genes between E.coli strains

The spread and development of antibiotic resistance globally have led to severe public health problems.It has been shown that some non-antibiotic substances can also promote the diffusion and spread of antibiotic resistance genes(ARGs).Nanofullerene(nC60)is a type of nanomaterial widely used around the world,and some studies have discovered both the biological toxicity and environmental toxicity of nC6O .In this study,cellular and molecular biology techniques were employed to investigate the influences of nC6O at sub-minimum inhibitory concentrations(sub-MICs)on the conjugation of ARGs between the E.coli strains.Compared with the control group,nC6O significantly increased the conjugation rates of ARGs by 1.32-10.82 folds within the concentration range of 7.03-1800μg/L.This study further explored the mechanism of this phenomenon,finding that sub-MICs of nC6O could induce the production of reactive oxygen species(ROS),trigger SOSresponse and oxidative stress,affect the expression of outer membrane proteins(OMPs)genes,increase membrane permeability,and thus promote the occurrence of conjugation.This research enriches our understanding of the environmental toxicity of nC6O,raises our risk awareness toward nC6O ,and may promote the more rational employment of nC6O materials.