Analysis of the adverse reactions induced by natural product-derived drugs.

Compared with the therapeutic effects of established medicinal drugs, it is often considered that natural product-derived drugs are of a more benign nature in side-effects, which has made natural medicines become a popular form of therapy. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is generally considered as being natural and harmless. TCM has been paid much more attention than before and widely used for the treatment nowadays.

Effects of leachate accumulation on landfill stability in humid regions of China.

Leachate levels are important to landfill stability and safety. High leachate or water levels often lead to landfill instability, which can cause accidents. Here a case study of a landfill located in a humid region of southern China is presented.

Two new isopimarane diterpenes from the feces of Trogopterus xanthipes.

Chemical investigation of Trogopterus Feces has led to the isolation of two new isopimarane diterpenes, wulingzhic acid A (1) and wulingzhic acid B (2). Their structures were elucidated by chemical and extensive spectral analysis. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited weak activity of antithrombin and moderate activity of antiplatelet aggregation in vitro.

Bioactive components and pharmacological action of Wikstroemia indica (L.) C. A. Mey and its clinical application.

Wikstroemia indica (L.) C. A.

Disintegration of sewage sludge with bifrequency ultrasonic treatment.

A bifrequency ultrasonic generating trough was used to improve disintegration of sewage sludge from thickener tanks. Ultrasonic operating parameters such as frequency, power, and time were optimized. Ultrasonic treatment successfully disintegrated the floc structure of sewage sludge and promoted the release of organic matter and metal ions such as Ca2+ and Mg2+.

Identification and quality control of Chinese medicine based on the fingerprint techniques.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) contains a large number of herbal medicine and Chinese patent medicine, each of which contains many compounds that may be relevant to the medicine's putative activity. The homonym and synonym are very popular in TCM for its source complex. How to identify species and control the quality of TCM has become urgent, and fingerprint techniques have now been widely used in TCM for these purposes.

Continuous CO(2) capture and MSWI fly ash stabilization, utilizing novel dynamic equipment.

Novel dynamic equipment with gas in and out continuously was developed to study the capture capacity of CO(2). Municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash has a high capture rate of CO(2) in CO(2)-rich gas. Fly ash can sequester pure CO(2) rapidly, and its capacity is 16.

Effects of salinity changes on the growth of Dunaliella salina and its isozyme activities of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase.

Dunaliella salina could survive in media containing a wide range of NaCl concentrations ranging from about 0.05 M to saturation (around 5.5 M).

The metabolomics of carotenoids in engineered cell factory.

Carotenoids such as beta-carotene, lycopene, and antheraxanthin have plenty of scientific and commercial value. The comprehensive investigation of carotenoids drives people to improve and develop all kinds of analytical techniques to approach or even achieve "versatile" analysis. The metabolic engineering efforts in plants and algae have progressed rapidly, aiming to enable the use of plants and algae as "cell factories" for producing specific or novel carotenoids, such as beta-carotene (provitamin A) in Gold rice, while the emerging technologies of metabolomics support it by providing comprehensive analysis of carotenoids biochemical characterizations.

Application of metabonomic analytical techniques in the modernization and toxicology research of traditional Chinese medicine.

In the recent years, a wide range of metabonomic analytical techniques are widely used in the modern research of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). At the same time, the international community has attached increasing importance to TCM toxicity problems. Thus, many studies have been implemented to investigate the toxicity mechanisms of TCM.

Expression changes of angiotensin II pathways and bioactive mediators during human preadipocytes-visceral differentiation.

Obesity is a worldwide serious health problem; and it may result in a wide range of complications, such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus. As a consequence, molecular identification on the differentiation of preadipocytes and the generation of bioactive mediators is crucial in understanding the formation and development of obesity and obesity-associated health problems. In addition, exhaustive exhibition and purposeful control of adipocytes formation also play critical roles in the plastic and reconstructive surgical procedures.

Technology selection for MSW treatment in Altiplano areas using FMDM.

There are special requirements for municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment caused by lower oxygen content and atmospheric pressure on the Altiplano. The intention of this paper was to analyse the applicability of various technologies to MSW treatment in the Altiplano and select the best one based on the current MSW collection modes and technical levels, using the Fuzzy Mathematical Decision Method (FMDM). Technologies including landfill, incineration, composting, and anaerobic digestion (AD) were compared.

Application of targeted drug delivery system in Chinese medicine.

Targeted drug delivery system of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) refers to those using different carriers to make the effective parts or monomer extracted from TCM or natural medicine into agents which can directly concentrate on the target site. This system is an ideal delivery approach and has became a hot spot in the field of TCM pharmaceutical research since it can improve the pharmacological effects and reduce the adverse reactions. This paper reviews literatures on TCM targeted agents which were published in the past 10 years.

[Start-up of high solid anaerobic digestion process for treating straw with sludge cake as nitrogen additive].

Straw co-digestion with sludge cake as nitrogen additive from wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) can solve the pollution problems of improper treatment of straw and sludge. Moreover the products, including biogas and organic manures, can relieve the problems of energy supply and soil infertility in countryside. The properties of the start-up periods of two anaerobic digestors were studied.

Optimum extraction process of polyphenols from the bark of Phyllanthus emblica L. based on the response surface methodology.

Phyllanthus emblica L. is an economic plant used in Chinese medicine for the treatment of various diseases. The bark of P.

MINTEQ modeling for evaluating the leaching behavior of heavy metals in MSWI fly ash.

At present, all kinds of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash stabilization technology has been reported and successfully applied in many countries. However, leaching procedures are very different that the technologies lack uniform standard, and it is even impossible to predict the long-term stabilization. Geochemical model can explain the environmental stabilization based on chemical phase and thermodynamic crystal structure, and it is also able to guide the development of environment-friendly stabilization technology and choosing of chemical agents.

Osmotic responses of Dunaliella to the changes of salinity.

Some species in genus Dunaliella are unique in their remarkable abilities to accumulate large numbers of beta-carotene and thrive in media containing a wide range of NaCl concentrations ranging from about 0.05 M to saturation (around 5.5 M).

[Improvement of disintegration and anaerobic digestion for sewage sludge with ultrasonic generator].

Ultrasonic generating trough was applied to study the impact of ultrasonic on conditioning of sewage sludge. There are few ultrasonic generators for sludge treatment specifically, so we designed a double-frequency ultrasonic generating trough which could adjust frequency, energy density and treating time flexibly. In the research characteristics of sewage sludge treated by single-frequency and double-frequency ultrasonic were compared.

The current municipal solid waste management situation in Tibet.

The Tibetan Plateau has an average altitude of more than 4,000 m. The total area of Tibetan Plateau is 2,400,000 km2, which occupies 25% of the area of China. Due to the high altitude, the environment has low atmospheric pressure, low oxygen content, and low temperature, and is also fragile.

[Research on single phase high solid anaerobic digestion of organic fraction of municipal solid wastes].

Under mesophilic condition (35 degrees C), a bench-scale experiment based on high solid anaerobic digestion process was conducted in a fed-batch single phase reactor to treat the OFMSW. The experiment has lasted for more than half a year and significant results were obtained. At the start-up stage, acidification occurred and showed large inhibition to gas production and the gas production rate once dropped to 0.

Characterization of cDNA of lycopene beta-cyclase responsible for a high level of beta-carotene accumulation in Dunaliella salina.

Lycopene beta-cyclase (Lyc-B) is the key enzyme in the catalysis of linear lycopene to form cyclic beta-carotene, an indispensable part of the photosynthetic apparatus and an important source of vitamin A in human and animal nutrition. Studies showing that the microalga Dunaliella salina can accumulate a high level of beta-carotene are lacking. We hypothesize that D.

Pb stabilization in fresh fly ash from municipal solid waste incinerator using accelerated carbonation technology.

Carbonation technology with CO(2) absorption was used to enhance the stabilization of heavy metals in fresh fly ash from a municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI). The influence of fundamental parameters affecting the stabilization of heavy metals, especially Pb and diffusivity and reactivity of CO(2), was evaluated. The results indicated that the addition of 10% or more of water could remarkably accelerate the absorption of CO(2) and could also accelerate the stabilization of MSWI fly ash.

Biosynthesis and regulation of carotenoids in Dunaliella: progresses and prospects.

Natural carotenoids are high in demand in global market owing to their widespread applications in nutrition, medicine, food coloring agent and cosmetic, as well as to the natural and healthy preference of consumers today. Some strains of Dunaliella are well known for their talent of massive beta-carotene accumulation. Content of the high bioavailability stereoisomer of beta-carotene, the 9-cis stereoisomer, is highest in Dunaliella among all the natural carotenoids sources.

Influence of daily collection and culture medium recycling on the growth and beta-carotene yield of Dunaliella salina.

The halophilic green alga Dunaliella salina has the potential to be cultivated for beta-carotene-rich biomass, however, open-air systems need to be further improved in order to become more competitive and more economical, rather than leave the major beta-carotene consuming market derived from artificially synthesis. A set of daily collection ratios was designed and scaled up with the aim to harvest cell biomass and beta-carotene from D. salina at logarithmic phase; the yields were comparable to the normal culture without daily removal of culture.

Toxicity of carbon tetrachloride to Dunaliella salina, an environmentally tolerant alga.

Carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)), a water disinfection by-product, at low environmentally relevant concentrations exerts adverse effects on mammals. The unicellular microalga Dunaliella salina possessing a remarkable degree of environmental adaptation was selected as test organism to investigate low-level exposure to CCl(4). With incubation with less than 0.