A New Freeze Concentration Process for Minimum Effluent Process in Bleached Pulp

This project researches freeze concentration as a primary volume reduction technology for bleaching plant effluents from paper-pulp mills before they are treated by expensive technologies, such as incineration, for the destruction of the adsorbable organic halogens. Previous laboratory studies show that freeze concentration has a greater than 99.5% purification efficiency for volatile, semivolatile, and nonprocess elements, or any other solute, thus producing pure ice that can be reused in the mill as water. The first section evaluates the anticipated regulatory and public pressures associated with implementing the technology; the remaining sections deal with the experimental results from a scaled-up freeze concentration process in a 100-liter pilot-plant at Tufts University. The results of laboratory scale experiments confirmed that the freeze concentration technology could be an efficient volume reduction technology for the above elements and for removing adsorbable organic hologens and or nonprocess elements from recycled water. They also provide the necessary data for designing and operating a larger pilot plant, and identify the technical problems encountered in the scale-up and the way they could be addressed in the larger scale plants. This project was originally planned to include the operation of a large pilot plant in the facilities of Swenson Process Equipment Inc., and a field test at a pulp mill, but the paper company withdrew its financial support for the field test. In place of a final economic evaluation after the field test, a preliminary evaluation based on the small pilot plant data predicts an economically reasonable freeze concentration process in the case of reduction of the bleaching-effluent flow to less than 5 m3/kkg pulp, a target anticipated in the near future

Qi-Dong-Huo-Xue-Yin Inhibits Inflammation in Acute Lung Injury in Mice via Toll-Like Receptor 4/Caveolin-1 Signaling

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a critical illness with no current effective treatment. Caveolin-1 indirectly activates inflammation-associated signaling pathways by inhibiting endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). This induces an imbalance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine levels, which are involved in the pathogenesis of ALI. The compound Chinese prescription Qi-Dong-Huo-Xue-Yin (QDHXY) is efficacious for ALI treatment via an anti-inflammatory effect; however, the exact underlying mechanism is unknown. Therefore, we explored the protective effect of QDHXY against lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced ALI in mice. Histopathological changes in mouse lung tissues were studied. Furthermore, alterations in the serum levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines were investigated. The levels of tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-)α, interleukin- (IL-) 6, IL-1β, and interferon-γ-induced protein 10 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were measured. Additionally, the expression levels of myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), caveolin-1, and eNOS were assessed. QDHXY significantly reduced lung infiltration with inflammatory cells and the production of serum pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and inhibited the expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, caveolin-1, and MyD88 but not eNOS. These indicate that QDHXY significantly improved the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine levels, possibly by inhibiting the caveolin-1 signaling pathway. Therefore, QDHXY may be a potential treatment for ALI

Research on Quality Dynamics and Shelf Life Prediction of Yogurt under Different Storage Conditions

In order to study the dynamic law of the quality change in low temperature yogurts,yogurts were stored at temperatures of 4 ℃,15 ℃,25 ℃ and 30 ℃ respectively,and the changes in protein level,fat level,acidity level,particle size,color,texture and total number of colonies were observed.The regression equation analysis shows that the changes of a* redness value (at 15℃,25℃ and 30 ℃),total color difference ΔE,colony number (at 4 ℃,15 ℃ and 25 ℃),softness and consistency (at 15 ℃ and 25 ℃)match the Zero-order kinetic model,while the changes of titratable acidity and b* yellowness value match the First-order kinetic model.The established shelf-life prediction model equation provides insights in the adjustment of storage and transportation conditions of low-temperature milk products,as well as quality monitoring during the storage period

Theoretical and cyclic voltammetry studies on antimalarial mechanism of artemisinin (Qinghaosu) derivatives

154-16

Study on the Quality Changes of Coffee Malt Premixed Powder Applied to Baking Products during Storage

In order to study the quality change of coffee malt premixed powder with the extension of storage period, the coffee malt premixed powder was stored at the environment where the temperature is 25 ℃ and 35 ℃, respectively, and the relative humidity is 50% respectively. Its moisture, fatty acid value and falling value were monitored during the whole storage period. The volatile compounds were separated and identified by solid phase microextraction accompanying gas chromatography-mass spectrometry during the whole storage period. The results demonstrated that with the extension of storage period, the overall moisture content shows a falling trend, while the fatty acid value and falling value show an overall rising trend. The higher the storage temperature, the more significant the change is 41 kinds of main volatile compounds of coffee malt ready mixed powder were identified. It mainly includes 13 kinds of aldehydes, 15 kinds of heterocycles, 7 kinds of esters, 4 kinds of alcohols and 2 kinds of ketones. Among them, the relative concentration of aldehydes (n-hexanal, nonanal, trans-2-nonenal) showed an increasing trend with the extension of storage period

Gastric juice microbiota in pediatric chronic gastritis that clinically tested positive and negative for Helicobacter pylori

PurposeHelicobacter pylori (HP) infection is an identified risk factor for pediatric chronic gastritis (PCG), but its impact on gastric juice microbiota (GJM) remains to be further elucidated in PCG. This study aimed to analyze and compare the microbial communities and microbial interactive networks of GJM in PCG that clinically tested positive and negative for HP (HP+ and HP−, respectively).MethodsA total of 45 PCG patients aged from 6 to 16 years were recruited, including 20 HP+ and 25 HP− patients tested by culture and rapid urease test. Gastric juice samples were collected from these PCG patients and subjected to high-throughput amplicon sequencing and subsequent analysis of 16S rRNA genes.ResultsWhile no significant change in alpha diversity, significant differences in beta diversity were observed between HP+ and HP− PCG. At the genus level, Streptococcus, Helicobacter, and Granulicatella were significantly enriched in HP+ PCG, whereas Campylobacter and Absconditabacteriales (SR1) were significantly enriched in HP− PCG. Network analysis showed that Streptococcus was the only genus positively correlated with Helicobacter (r = 0.497) in the GJM network of overall PCG. Moreover, compared to HP− PCG, HP+ PCG showed a reduction in microbial network connectivity in GJM. Netshift analysis identified driver microbes including Streptococcus and other four genera, which substantially contributed to the GJM network transition from HP− PCG to HP+ PCG. Furthermore, Predicted GJM function analysis indicated up-regulated pathways related to the metabolism of nucleotides, carbohydrates, and L-Lysine, the urea cycle, as well as endotoxin peptidoglycan biosynthesis and maturation in HP+ PCG.ConclusionGJM in HP+ PCG exhibited dramatically altered beta diversity, taxonomic structure, and function, with reduced microbial network connectivity, which could be involved in the disease etiology

China–Africa cooperation initiatives in malaria control and elimination

Malaria has affected human health globally with a significant burden of disease, and also has impeded social and economic development in the areas where it is present. In Africa, many countries have faced serious challenges in controlling malaria, in part due to major limitations in public health systems and primary health care infrastructure. Although China is a developing country, a set of control strategies and measures in different local settings have been implemented successfully by the National Malaria Control Programme over the last 60 years, with a low cost of investment. It is expected that Chinese experience may benefit malaria control in Africa. This review will address the importance and possibility of China–Africa collaboration in control of malaria in targeted African countries, as well as how to proceed toward the goal of elimination where this is technically feasible.China UK Global Health Support Programme (grant no.GHSP-CS-OP1, OP2, OP3).http://www.elsevier.com/books/book-series/advances-in-parasitologyhb201

Cadmium-Induced Oxidative Stress and Apoptotic Changes in the Testis of Freshwater Crab, Sinopotamon henanense

Cadmium (Cd), one of the most toxic environmental and industrial pollutants, is known to exert gonadotoxic and spermiotoxic effects. In the present study, we examined the toxic effect of Cd on the testis of freshwater crab, Sinopotamon henanense. Crabs were exposed to different Cd concentrations (from 0 to 116.00 mg·L−1) for 7 d. Oxidative stress and apoptotic changes in the testes were detected. The activities of SOD, GPx and CAT initially increased and subsequently decreased with increasing Cd concentrations, which was accompanied with the increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) and H2O2 content in a concentration-dependent manner. Typical morphological characteristic and physiological changes of apoptosis were observed using a variety of methods (HE staining, AO/EB double fluorescent staining, Transmission Electron Microscope observation and DNA fragmentation analysis), and the activities of caspase-3 and caspase-9 were increased in a concentration-dependent manner after Cd exposure. These results led to the conclusion that Cd could induced oxidative damage as well as apoptosis in the testis, and the apoptotic processes may be mediated via mitochondria-dependent apoptosis pathway by regulating the activities of caspase-3 and caspase-9