Co-treatment with surfactant and sonication signifi cantly improves Agrobacterium-mediated resistant bud formation and transient expression efficiency in soybean

Soybean is a widely planted genetically modified crop around the world. However, it is still one of the most recalcitrant crops for genetic transformation due to the difficulty of regeneration via organogenesis and some factors that affect the transformation efficiency. The percentages of resistant bud formation and transient expression efficiency are important indexes reflecting the regeneration and transformation efficiency of soybean. In this study, the percentages of resistant bud formation and transient expression of 13-glucuronidase （GUS） were compared after treatment with sonication or surfactant and co-treatment with both. The results showed that treatment with either sonication or surfactant increased the percentage of resistant bud formation and transient expression efficiency. The highest percentages were acquired and significantly improved when cotyledon node explants were co-treated with sonication for 2 s and surfactant at 0.02% （v：v） using two different soybean genotypes, Jack and Zhonghuang 10. The improved transformation efficiency of this combination was also evaluated by development of herbicide-tolerant soybeans with transformation efficiency at 2.5-5.7% for different geno- types, which was significantly higher than traditional cotyledonary node method in this study. These results suggested that co-treatment with surfactant and sonication significantly improved the percentages of resistance bud formation, transient expression efficiency and stable transformation efficiency in soybean.

Metallurgical properties of CaO–SiO_(2)–Al_(2)O_(3)–4.6wt%MgO–Fe_(2)O_(3)slag system pertaining to spent automotive catalyst smelting

The metallurgical properties of the CaO–SiO_(2)–Al_(2)O_(3)–4.6wt%Mg O–Fe_(2)O_(3)slag system,formed by the co-treatment process of spent automotive catalyst(SAC)and copper-bearing electroplating sludge(CBES),were studied systematically in this paper.The slag structure,melting temperature,and viscous characteristics were investigated by Fourier transform infrared(FTIR)spectroscopy,Raman spectroscopy,Fact Sage calculation,and viscosity measurements.Experimental results show that the increase of Fe_(2)O_(3)content(3.8wt%–16.6wt%),the mass ratio of CaO/SiO_(2)(m(CaO)/m(SiO_(2)),0.5–1.3),and the mass ratio of SiO_(2)/Al_(2)O_(3)(m(SiO_(2))/m(Al_(2)O_(3)),1.0–5.0)can promote the depolymerization of silicate network,and the presence of a large amount of Fe_(2)O_(3)in form of tetrahedral and octahedral units ensures the charge compensation of Al^(3+)ions and makes Al_(2)O_(3)only behave as an acid oxide.Thermodynamic calculation and viscosity measurements show that with the increase of Fe_(2)O_(3)content,m(Ca O)/m(SiO_(2)),and m(SiO_(2))/m(Al_(2)O_(3)),the depolymerization of silicate network structure and low-melting-point phase transformation first occur within the slag,leading to the decrease in melting point and viscosity of the slag,while further increase causes the formation of high-melting-point phase and a resultant re-increase in viscosity and melting point.Based on experimental analysis,the preferred slag composition with low polymerization degree,viscosity,and melting point is as follows:Fe_(2)O_(3)content of 10.2wt%–13.4wt%,m(CaO)/m(SiO_(2))of 0.7–0.9 and m(SiO_(2))/m(Al_(2)O_(3))of 3.0–4.0.This work provides a theoretical support for slag design in co-smelting process of SAC and CBES.

Effect of Domestic Wastewater as Co-Substrate on Biological Stain Wastewater Treatment Using Fungal/Bacterial Consortia in Pilot Plant and Greenhouse Reuse

In this study, a pilot wastewater treatment plant was used to evaluate the co-treatment of biological-staining residues and domestic wastewater under non-sterile conditions. A novel microbial consortia formed by Trametes versicolor, Trametes sp, Pleurotus ostreatus, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas azotoformans, Pseudomonas sp, Enterobacter xianfangensis and Bacillus subtillis was inoculated in an extended aeration type bio-reactor. The treatment units were operated during three consecutive cycles during a period of 147 h. After the last operating cycle, the concentrations of Chemical Oxygen Demand, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Color Units, Total suspended solids, and the pH value were 1695 mg/L, 105 mg/L, 106 CU, 5), 1367 (CU), 566 mg/L (TSS) and 7.0 (pH) respectively. The reduction of pollutants load was related with the ratio of the two types of wastewater (3.5:0.5) combined to increase biodegradability, the concentration of fungi and bacteria used in the consortia (30 × 103 - 55 × 106 CUF/mL Total Fungi and 70 × 107 - 83 × 108 CFU/mL of Total Bacteria) and ligninolytic enzymes production, Laccase (13 - 96 U/L), MnP (9.8 - 39 U/L) and LiP (0.3 - 5.3 U/L). The post-treated effluent was used as irrigation water. Lolium perenne plants were watered during 60 days with post-treated effluent. The results of root weight showed that there are significant differences between the initial water and the effluent obtained after the operational cycles (p = 0.00470). The highest root weights (1 - 1.12 g) were found in plants irrigated with water obtained from the last treatment cycle.

Understanding Interactions Between Chinese Medicines and Pharmaceutical Drugs in Integrative Healthcare

In the 21st century, the public are more informed, mainly via the Internet, about health and medical products and have become more knowledgeable about matters relating to their health conditions and well-being in curing and preventing illnesses. They often self-medicate themselves with various health products and over-the-counter （OTC） medicines apart from prescribed pharmaceutical drugs （PD）. Some of those non-prescribed products may have doubtful quality control and contain harmful additives or unchecked ingredients; thus their usefulness is in doubt. The increasing popularity world-wide of using Chinese medicines （CM） and related OTC functional products has raised concerns over their concomitant use with PD and the consequential adverse effects. In most cases the alleged causes of adverse effects are linked with herbal sources, although the authorised information on the interactions between CM-PD is not plentiful in the literature. There is an urgent need for such a data base. The future professionals in health and medical care should be knowledgeable or aware of what their patients have been taking or given. In actual practice the patients may receive both treatments intentionally or unintentionally, with or without the awareness of the practitioner. In these situations a reliable database for interactions between CM-PD will be extremely useful for consultation when treatment problems appear or during emergency situations. Their combining of medications may be involved with possible outcomes of adverse reactions or beneficial effects. Such a database will be welcomed by both practitioners of herbal medicines and orthodox medicine practitioners in the emerging trend of integrative medicine. The author has been involved in various research projects of basic and clinical aspects in mainly CM among other herbal and PD. Examples will be given largely on those related to these disciplines as illustrations in this overview.