Occurrences of Glucocorticoids in Aquatic Environment and Their Removal during Wastewater Treatment

Glucocorticoids(GCs) are a group of endocrine-disrupting compounds(EDCs) frequently prescribed against various medical conditions.Recently,GCs have been shown to be effective in managing septic shock in patients infected with the 2019 novel coronavirus(COVID-19).Due to colossal consumption and potential risks to aquatic organisms,GCs have immensely attracted the focus of the scientific research community as a water pollutant.Therefore,the aim of this paper is to review the current knowledge on the occurrence of various GCs in the aquatic environment and their removal during wastewater treatment.A variety of GCs are ubiquitous in surface water,hospital wastewater,and sewage water worldwide.And the minimum concentration in volume is below 0.01 ng/L,and the maximum one is 10 000 ng/L,and enter the environment through hospital and urban wastewater discharging.Compared with natural GCs,higher risks to aquatic environments could be induced by synthetic GCs.The current activated sludge processes used in wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs) are not fully effective in eliminating GCs,some of which may further increase the risk of GC in the environment.In comparison with the aerobic process in WWTPs,the anaerobic and anoxic processes were found to be more efficient for GC degradation.Of the studied GCs,fluticasone propionate,clobetasol propionate,fluocinolone acetonide,and triamcinolone acetonide need more attention due to their low removal efficiencies and strong toxicity.Among the advanced treatment processes,reverse osmosis,ultraviolet irradiation,CaO_(2),and plasma could achieve significant GC activity removal while micro/ultra-filtration,chlorination,and ozonation were less efficient.

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation for advanced municipal wastewater treatment: is it feasible?

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation（ANAMMOX） is a recently developed process to treat ammonia-rich wastewater. There were numerous articles about the new technology with focus on the ammonium-rich wastewater treatment, but few on advanced municipal wastewater treatment. The paper studied the anaerobic ammonium oxidation （ANAMMOX） process with a down flow anoxic biofilter for nitrogen removal from secondary clarifier effluent of municipal wastewater with low COD/N ratio. The results showed that ANAMMOX process is applicable to advanced wastewater treatment with normal temperature as well as ammonia-rich high temperature wastewater treatment. The results indicated that ammonia removal rate was improved by raising the nitrite concentration, and the reaction rate reached a climax at 118.4 mgN/L of the nitrite nitrogen concentration. If the concentration exceeds 118.4 mgN/L, the ANAMMOX process was significantly inhibited although the ANAMMOX bacteria still showed a relatively high reactivity. The data also indicated that the ratio of NO2^- -N：NH4 ＊ -N = 1.3：1 in the influent was appropriate for excellent nitrogen removal. The pH increased gradually along the ANAMMOX biofilter reactor. When the ANAMMOX reaction was ended, the pH was tend to calm. The data suggested that the pH could be used as an indicator to describe the course of ANAMMOX reaction.

Treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater containing recalcitrant compounds in a Fenton-coagulation process

The advanced treatment using integrated Fenton＇s reaction and coagulation process was investigated in this study. Before the advancement, the pharmaceutical wastewater containing lincomycin hydrochloride was pretreated by UASB （upflow anaerobic sludge bed） and a SBR （sequencing batch reactor） process. The residual recalcitrant compounds, measured by gas chromatographymass spectrometry （GC-MS）, mainly consisted of alcohols, phenols, and nitrogenous and sulfur compounds. The experimental results indicated that when the Fenton＇s reaction was conducted at pH=3.0, H2O2CODOcr=0.27, H2O2/Fe^2＋=3：1 and 30 min of reaction time, and the coagulation process operated at a sulfate aluminum concentration of 800 mg/L and pH value of 5.0, the color and COD in the wastewater decreased by 94% and 73%, respectively; with a finale COD concentration of 267 mg/L and color level of 40 units, meeting the secondary standard of GB8978-1996 for industrial wastewater.

Advances in minimally invasive treatment of hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke

Cerebrovascular diseases,including ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes,affect more than 6 million US adults annually.Strokes cause high rates of morbidity and mortality due to the central nervous system’s sensitivity to disruptions in blood flow,and are refractory to traditional surgical interventions.A variety of minimally invasive surgical and endovascular approaches have recently been developed to improve patient outcomes following stroke.

Advances in TCM Treatment of Gastric Cancer and Studies on the Apoptosis

The significance of apoptosis in gastric cancer is now widely recognized, and the induction of apoptosis as a new approach to treat gastric cancer has aroused great interest. In recent years, studies on certain TCM drugs for treating gastric cancer and for inducing apoptosis have brought about great attention both at home and abroad. The following is a summary made in this aspect.

Recent advances in the treatment of post-stroke aphasia

Aphasia is an impairment of language use following brain damage. There is no consensual definition of aphasia beyond this general description （Code and Petheram, 2011）. In a more restricted defini- tion, however, aphasia is an impairment of linguistic processing at the phonological, morphological, lexical semantic or syntactic level which is usually caused by lesions of the left cerebral hemisphere. This impairment can affect language reception and expression depending on the various aphasic syndromes （McNeil and Pratt, 2001）. Aphasia results in restrictions in those activities of daily living which rely on communication.

ADVANCES IN SURGICAL TREATMENT OF ACOUSTIC NEUROMA

Acoustic Neuroma (AN) arises from the eighth cranial nerve. It primarily involves the vestibular branch of the nerve and is therefore also called vestibular schwannoma(VS). To the date, diagnosis and surgical treatment of AN have advanced significantly. Along with advances in audiology and imaging technologies, cases of diagnosed AN have been increasing, making it a common

TEGAFUR PLUS MMC OR ACNU IN THE TREATMENT OF ADVANCED GASTRIC CANCER-A PILOT STUDY

Twenty four cases of advanced gastric cancer were divided into two groups according to the general condition of the patients (PS 0-2 and 3-4), further subdivided into localized abdominal form, liver metastatic form, ascitic form and distant metastatic form. These patients were allocated randomly into Regimen A or B. Regimen A: Tegafur 600 mg daily and Mitomycin C (MMC) 5 mg/m2/1-2 weeks. Regimen B: Tegafur 600 mg daily and ACNU (Nimustine, water-soluble Nitrosourea) 60 mg/week for 2 weeks. After a course of ACNU, it was with drawn for 4 weeks and then resumed again. The response rate of Regimen A was 3/11 (27%), that of Regimen B was 3/13 (23%).

Novel FGBAC reactor for controlling the leakage of microfauna in drinking water treatment

In order to reduce the microfauna leakage risk from a granular biological activated carbon （GBAC） reactor which employs granular activated carbon （GAC） as adsorption media in drinking water advanced treatment, a novel fiber and granular biological activated carbon （FGBAC） reactor which employs both GAC and activated carbon fiber （ACF） as adsorption media, was developed. The results showed that the species composition of microfauna leaking from FGBAC reactor is almost similar to that leaking from GBAC reactor, however the densities of microfauna leaking from FGBAC reactor is reduced by 26%-81% compared to those leaking from GBAC reactor. In addition, compared to GBAC reactor, FGBAC reactor can increase the removal efflciencies of chemical oxygen demand （COD） and turbidity by 7% and 10%, respectively, during the stable operation period of reactor.

Advanced Treatment of Biologically Treated Chemical Comprehensive Wastewater by Nano-TiO2 Photocatalytic Oxidation

Nano-TiO2 photocatalytic oxidation was used to perform the advanced treatment of biologically treated chemical comprehensive wastewater. The effects of reaction time,nano-TiO2 dosage and initial p H of the wastewater on the removal rate of COD were tested. The GC/MS and EEM techniques were used to qualitatively analyze organic compounds in the wastewater before and after treatment. The result showed that after the biologically treated chemical comprehensive wastewater was treated by nano-TiO2 photocatalytic oxidation under the conditions of reaction time 3 h,nano-TiO2 dosage 8 g/L,and pH 8. 0,the effluent COD was 61. 9 mg/L and its removal rate was 63. 8%. Additionally,the species of organic pollutants reduced from 12 to 6. Meanwhile,the content of humic-like and fulvic-like substances dropped dramatically.

Potential active compounds and mechanisms of Shen-Qi-Yi-Chang granule for the treatment of colorectal cancer:an analysis of network pharmacology and molecular docking

Background:In recent years,herbal formulations have assumed an influential part in preventing and treating tumors.Shenqi Yichang granules(SQYCG)have proven effective in the adjuvant treatment of colorectal cancer(CRC),but their mechanism has not been elucidated.This study aimed to explore the potential active compounds and mechanisms of SQYCG in the treatment of CRC using network pharmacology and molecular docking.Methods:The active compounds and targets of SQYCG and the CRC genes were found using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology,DrugBank,and DisGeNET databases.The intersected targets of disease genes and drug targets were depicted using a Venn diagram.The protein-protein interaction(PPI)network of these targets was obtained by String platform and visualized using Cytoscape.Gene Ontology(GO)and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)enrichment analysis were carried using the DAVID database to obtain the core molecular mechanism of SQYCG in CRC treatment.Molecular docking techniques were used to validate the results.Results:A total of 63 compounds and 245 targets were obtained from the herbal prescription after the screening,of which 122 targets crossed with CRC genes.PPI showed that the core regulatory targets include MAPK1,TNF,TP53,JUN,RELA,MAPK14,and MAPK 8.The GO analysis indicated regulation of drug response,apoptotic process,response to hypoxia,angiogenesis,and response to lipopolysaccharide.KEGG pathway enrichment analysis mainly involves TNF,T cell receptor,Toll-like receptor,PI3K-Akt,and MAPK signal pathway.Conclusion:Through network pharmacology,we havedemonstrated that SQYCG has multiple targets,components,and pathways in treating CRC,with anti inflammation and inhibition of cell proliferation being critical components of its mechanism.

Advances in TCM Treatment of Senile Vascular Dementia

Senile vascular dementia refers to organic loss of intellectual function due to cerebral damages caused by insufficient blood supply. The following is a summaryon achievements in its etiology, pathogenic mechanism, type identification and treatment in TCM, and the compound formulas, special formulas and drugs, and thepatent drugs used successfully for its treatment. ……

Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

1 Introduction Neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus(NPSLE)is a serious complication of systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE),with an incidence of about 30%to 40%[1].No matter early or late SLE patients are prone to concurrent,so early diagnosis and treatment of NPSLE is extremely important.

Clinical efficacy and tolerance of sunitinib in the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy and side effects of sunitinib in treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma. Methods Forty-five patients with advanced renal cell carcinorna and an average age of 48. 6 yrs were treated with sunitinib. of the study group。

Mitomycin C and capecitabine: An additional option as an advanced line therapy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND In recent years survival of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer(mCRC),though still limited,has improved significantly;clearly,when the disease becomes refractory to standard regimens,additional treatment options are needed.Studies have shown that mitomycin C(MMC),an antitumor antibiotic,and capecitabine,a precursor of 5-fluorouracil,may act synergistically in combination.The efficacy of MMC/capecitabine has been demonstrated in the first-line setting,but only a few small studies have tested it in the advanced-line setting,with contradictory results.received a median of 2 MMC/capecitabine cycles(range 0.5-9.0).Thirty-four patients(28.6%)experienced grade≥3 toxicity,including 2(1.7%)with grade 4;there was no drug-related mortality.The objective response rate was 0.8%,and the disease control rate,24.4%.Median progression-free survival(PFS)was 2.1 mo(range 0.2-20.3),and median overall survival,4.8 mo(range 0.2-27.5).The 6-month overall survival rate was 44%;8.7%of patients remained progression-free.Factors associated with longer PFS were lower gamma-glutamyl transferase level(P=0.030)and primary tumor location in the left colon(P=0.017).Factors associated with longer overall survival were lower gamma-glutamyl transferase level(P=0.022),left-colon tumor location(P=0.044),low-to-moderate histological grade(P=0.012),Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0-1(P=0.036),and normal bilirubin level(P=0.047).CONCLUSION MMC/capecitabine is an active,available,and relatively safe regimen for use beyond standard lines of therapy in mCRC.Several clinical and laboratory parameters can identify patients more likely to benefit.

Contemporary management of locally advanced rectal cancer:Resolving issues, controversies and shifting paradigms

Advancements in rectal cancer treatment have resulted in improvement only in locoregional control and have failed to address distant relapse, which is the predominant mode of treatment failure in rectal cancer. As the efficacy of conventional chemoradiotherapy（CRT） followed by total mesorectal excision（TME） reaches a plateau, the need for alternative strategies in locally advanced rectal cancer（LARC） has grown in relevance. Several novel strategies have been conceptualized to address this issue, including： 1） neoadjuvant induction and consolidation chemotherapy before CRT; 2） neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone to avoid the sequelae of radiation; and 3） nonoperative management for patients who achieved pathological or clinical complete response after CRT. This article explores the issues, recent advances and paradigm shifts in the management of LARC and emphasizes the need for a personalized treatment plan for each patient based on tumor stage, location, gene expression and quality of life.

Occurrence and fate of antibiotics in advanced wastewater treatment facilities and receiving rivers in Beijing, ChinaOccurrence and fate of antibiotics in advanced wastewater treatment facilities and receiving rivers in Beijing, China

The occurrence and removal of 13 antibiotics were investigated in five wastewater treatment plants （WWTPs） with advanced wastewater treatment processes in Beijing, China. Most of the target antibiotics were detected in the secondary and tertiary effluents, with the concentrations of 4.8-1106.0 and 0.3-505.0ng·L^-1. Fluoroquinolone antibiotics showed relatively high concentrations in all samples （782-1814ng·L^-1）. Different tertiary treatment processes showed discrepant antibiotics removal performances. Ozonation process was found more effective in removing target antibiotics compared to the coagulation-flocculation-sedimentation process and sand filtration process. Investigation of the target antibiotics in three typical urban rivers in Beijing was carried out to understand antibiotics occurrence in surface water environment. Eight antibiotics were detected in the studied rivers, with highest concentration of antibiotics in the fiver which was mainly replenished by reclaimed water. This study showed the necessity of employing more effective advanced treatment facilities to further reduce the discharge amount of antibiotics.

Monitoring of 943 organic micropollutants in wastewater from municipal wastewater treatment plants with secondary and advanced treatment processes

To perform a systematic survey on the occurrence and removal of micropollutants during municipal wastewater treatment, 943 semi-volatile organic chemicals in 32 wastewater samples including influents of secondary treatments, secondary effluents and final effluents（effluents of advanced treatments）, which were collected from seven full-scale municipal wastewater treatment plants（MWTPs） in China, were examined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry（GC-MS） coupled with an automated identification and quantification system with a database（AIQS-DB）. In total, 196 and 145 chemicals were detected in secondary and final effluents, respectively. The majority of the total concentrations（average removal efficiency, 87.0%±5.9%） of the micropollutants were removed during secondary treatments. However, advanced treatments achieved different micropollutant removal extents from secondary effluents depending on the different treatment processes employed. Highly variable removal efficiencies of total concentrations（32.7%–99.3%） were observed among the different advanced processes. Among them,ozonation-based processes could remove 70.0%–80.9% of the total concentrations of studied micropollutants. The potentially harmful micropollutants, based on their detection frequency and concentration in secondary and final effluents, were polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons（PAHs）（2-methylnaphthalene, fluoranthene, pyrene, naphthalene and phenanthrene）, phosphorus flame retardants（tributyl phosphate（TBP）, tris（2-chloroethyl）phosphate（TCEP） and tris（1,3-dichloro-2-propyl） phosphate（TDCP））, phthalates（bis（2-ethylhexyl）phthalate（DEHP））, benzothiazoles（benzothiazole,2-（methylthio）-benzothiazol, and 2（3H）-benzothiazolone） and phenol. This study indicated that the presence of considerable amounts of micropollutants in secondary effluent creates the need for suitable advanced treatment before their reuse.

Removal of pharmaceutical and personal care products by sequential ultraviolet and ozonation process in a full-scale wastewater treatment plant

The application of appropriate advanced treat- ment process in the municipal wastewater treatment plants （WWTPs） has become an important issue considering the elimination of emerging contaminants, such as pharma- ceutical and personal care products （PPCPs）. In the present study, the removal of 13 PPCPs belonging to different therapeutic classes by the sequential ultraviolet （UV） and ozonation process in a full-scale WWTP in Beijing was investigated over the course of ten months. Most of the target PPCPs were effectively removed, and the median removal efficiencies of individual PPCPs, ranging from -13% to 89%, were dependent on their reaction rate constants with molecular ozone. Noticeable fluctuation in the removal efficiencies of the same PPCPs was observed in different sampling campaigns. Nevertheless, the sequential UV and ozonation process still made a significant contribution to the total elimination of most PPCPs in the full-scale WWTP, by compensating for the poor or fluctuant removal performance of PPCPs by biologic treatment process.