Similar but different assembly processes of bacterial and micro-eukaryotic communities in an urban river.

Bacteria and micro-eukaryotes play important roles in river ecological systems. The processes that govern bacterial and micro-eukaryotic communities in urban rivers are still uncertain. The spatiotemporal characteristics and assembly processes of bacterial and micro-eukaryotic communities in the Xiangjianghe River were explored using 16 S and 18 S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing in the present study.

Incomplete Immune Reconstitution and Traditional Chinese Medicine in Patients with HIV/AIDS: Challenges and Perspectives.

Antiretroviral therapy can reduce human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) load to undetectable levels and restore CD4+ T cells to rebuild immune function in patients with HIV. However, some patients fail to achieve immune reconstitution despite treatment. Traditional Chinese medicine is an important branch of complementary and alternative medicine for the treatment of HIV infection, and a growing number of studies has demonstrated that traditional Chinese medicine can increase CD4+ T cell counts in patients, thereby promoting immune reconstitution, ameliorating symptoms and signs, and improving quality of life.

Clinical value of conventional magnetic resonance imaging combined with diffusion-weighted imaging in predicting pelvic lymph node metastasis of cervical cancer.

Background: In cervical cancer (CC), the involvement of pelvis lymph nodes is a crucial factor for patients' outcome. We aimed to investigate the value of conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in predicting CC pelvic lymph node metastasis (PLNM).

Methods: This retrospective study included CC patients who received surgical treatments.

Potential Effects of Traditional Chinese Medicine on COVID-19 and Cardiac Injury: Mechanisms and Clinical Evidence.

Coronavirus disease 2019 is a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern" from 30 January 2020 to 5 May 2023. While battling Coronavirus disease 2019, the Chinese government has actively promoted the collaborative treatment model of Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine, and clinical and scientific research has applied appropriate and rigorous methodology. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection may damage the cardiovascular system via an unclarified pathogenic mechanism.

A rare case report: vaginal paraganglioma.

Vaginal paraganglioma (VP), usually solitary and primary, is a rare adrenal type paraganglioma derived from the anterior neural crest, and can be classified as a functional or non-functional tumor. Only 10 cases of VP have been reported since 1955. Herein, we report an unusual case of a 39-year-old female VP patient with symptoms of hypercatecholaminism and a family history of hypertension.

The Preparation of N-Doped Titanium Dioxide Films and Their Degradation of Organic Pollutants.

N-doped TiO films supported by glass slides showed superior photocatalytic efficiency compared with naked TiO powder due to them being easier to separate and especially being responsive to visible light. The films in this study were prepared via the sol-gel method using TBOT hydrolyzed in an ethanol solution and the nitrogen was provided by cabamide. The N-doped TiO coatings were prepared via a dip-coating method on glass substrates (30 × 30 × 2 mm) and then annealed in air at 490 °C for 3 h.

Traditional Chinese Medicine in Treatment of COVID-19 and Viral Disease: Efficacies and Clinical Evidence.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains an uncontained, worldwide pandemic. While battling the disease in China, the Chinese government has actively promoted the use of traditional Chinese medicine, and many studies have been conducted to determine the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine for treating COVID-19. The present review discusses the effectiveness and safety of traditional Chinese medicine in curing COVID-19 and provides clinical evidence from all confirmed cases in China.

Dihydromyricetin ameliorates osteogenic differentiation of human aortic valve interstitial cells by targeting c-KIT/interleukin-6 signaling pathway.

Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is a chronic cardiovascular disease with high morbidity that lacks effective pharmacotherapeutics. As a natural flavonoid extracted from Ampelopsis grossedentata, dihydromyricetin (DHM) has been shown to be effective in protecting against atherosclerosis; yet, the therapeutic role of DHM in CAVD remains poorly understood. Herein, we aimed to clarify the therapeutic implications of DHM in CAVD and the underlying molecular mechanisms in human valvular interstitial cells (hVICs).

Cardioprotective Role of Swertiamarin, a Plant Glycoside Against Experimentally Induced Myocardial Infarction via Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Functions.

The study examined the protective effects of swertiamarin on rats with experimentally induced myocardial infarction. Three to six week-old male albino Wistar rats were used in this study and experimental myocardial infarction (MI) was induced using isoproterenol. Our results showed that swertiamarin restored the alteration in heart weight, body weight, and heart weight/tibia length ratio of MI-induced rats to basal levels significantly (p < 0.

Circ_0000395 Promoted CRC Progression via Elevating MYH9 Expression by Sequestering miR-432-5p.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) has been listed as the fourth deadly cancer. Circular RNA hsa_circRNA_001046, also termed as hsa_circ_0000395 (circ_0000395), has been shown to be upregulated in CRC. Nevertheless, the function of circ_0000395 in CRC progression is unclear.

The KMT1A/TIMP3/PI3K/AKT circuit regulates tumor growth in cervical cancer.

The epigenetic mechanism of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 3 (TIMP3), a well-known tumor suppressor, in cervical cancer (CC) is still unclear. Integrated GEO database, protein interaction network, and a pan-cancer analysis revealed a KMT1A/TIMP3 axis in CC. KMT1A was highly expressed, and TIMP3 was poorly expressed in CC tissues and cells.

G protein-coupled receptor MAS1 induces an inhibitory effect on myocardial infarction-induced myocardial injury.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is the most prevalent disease with high mortality, leading to devastating heart injury. Here, we aimed to explore the effect of MAS1 on the MI-induced myocardial injury. Significantly, we identified that the expression of MAS1 was decreased in the MI rat model and hypoxia and reoxygenation (H/R)-treated H9C2 cells.

Mercury accumulation in vegetable Houttuynia cordata Thunb. from two different geological areas in southwest China and implications for human consumption.

Houttuynia cordata Thunb. (HCT) is a common vegetable native to southwest China, and grown for consumption. The results suggested that THg contents in all parts and MeHg in underground parts of HCT in Hg mining areas were much higher than those in non-Hg mining areas.

The Shock Effect of Inorganic Suspended Solids in Surface Runoff on Wastewater Treatment Plant Performance.

Previous studies on the water quality of surface runoff often focused on the chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrogen, phosphorus, and total suspended solid (TSS), but little is known in terms of the inorganic suspended solids (ISS). This research investigated the effects of ISS carried by surface runoff on the treatment efficiency of the pretreatment facilities and the ratio of mixed liquor volatile suspended solid to mixed liquor suspended solid (MLVSS/MLSS) of the activated sludge in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) with the anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (AAO) process in Chongqing city, China. The results showed that the surface runoff had a long-lasting impact on the grit removal capacity of the grit chamber, affecting the normal operation after the rainfall.

Metagenomic analysis of the inhibitory effect of chromium on microbial communities and removal efficiency in AO sludge.

This is the first study exploring the effects of persistent Cr(VI) treatment on microbial communities and function as well as the process efficiency of an AO system. The inhibitory effect was clearly higher at a high Cr(VI) concentration than a low Cr(VI) concentration, and different Cr(VI) concentrations had distinct effects on the microbial communities as well as on the performance efficiency of the system. Functional annotation analysis indicated that Cr(VI) stress inhibited most of the metabolic pathway and functional genes of the microbial communities, especially those involved in the denitrification pathway.

Ti self-doped mesoporous black TiO/graphene assemblies for unpredicted-high solar-driven photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

Ti self-doped mesoporous black TiO/graphene assemblies are fabricated by a facile solvothermal method and surface hydrogenation. The structure, crystallinity, morphology, and chemical state of the as-prepared samples are characterized in detail by X-ray diffraction, Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, N adsorption and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The results show that the presence of Ti can efficiently extend the photoresponse of anatase TiO to visible light region.

Effects of C/N ratio on nitrous oxide production from nitrification in a laboratory-scale biological aerated filter reactor.

Emission of nitrous oxide (NO) during biological wastewater treatment is of growing concern. This paper reports findings of the effects of carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio on NO production rates in a laboratory-scale biological aerated filter (BAF) reactor, focusing on the biofilm during nitrification. Polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) and microelectrode technology were utilized to evaluate the mechanisms associated with NO production during wastewater treatment using BAF.

Effect of copper on the performance and bacterial communities of activated sludge using Illumina MiSeq platforms.

The anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic (A2O) process is a highly efficient sewage treatment method, which uses complex bacterial communities. However, the effect of copper on this process and the bacterial communities involved remains unknown. In this study, a systematic investigation of the effect of persistent exposure of copper in the A2O wastewater treatment system was performed.

[Planktonic Algae's Distribution and Correlation with Dissolved Organic Matters' Fluorescence in the End of the Three Gorges Reservoir's Back Water Zone].

For researching the community structure, composition, and distribution of the planktonic algae in the Three Gorges Reservoir (TRG), especially, within TRG water levels' fluctuating, mpacting to water quality with the algae's growing, 6 sampling cites in the end of the TGR's back water zone, from Chaotianmen to Taihonggang Town, are chosen to monitor, at the sensitive stages time of algal bloom between March to May 2012, namely, water levels lowing from the highest impounding. The community's structure, composition, and distribution of the planktonic algae in the TGR, and the correlation of water quality parameters and DOM's fluorescence features with algae density, are obtained. According to the experimental results, blue algae fibre, chlorella, melosira, navicula are the dominated algae in the end of the TGR's back water zone, from Chaotianmen to Taihonggang Town, algae density are 0.

Vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction using a low-toxicity solvent for the determination of five organophosphorus pesticides in water samples by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection was applied to determine Isocarbophos, Parathion-methyl, Triazophos, Phoxim and Chlorpyrifos-methyl in water samples. 1-Bromobutane was used as the extraction solvent, which has a higher density than water and low toxicity. Centrifugation and disperser solvent were not required in this microextraction procedure.

Long-term evolution of an activated sludge system under low dissolved oxygen conditions.

This study aims to evaluate the impacts of low dissolved oxygen (DO) levels on activated sludge performance. Two sequencing batch reactors (SBR), each with a working volume of 10 l, were investigated with different DO levels. Compared with high DO conditions (above 2 mg l(-1) on average), low DO conditions in the SBR did not result in poor sludge bulking, lower chemical oxygen demand, and ammonium removal efficiency.