Heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification bacterium isolated from anaerobic/anoxic/oxic treatment system

A special strain of Alcaligenes denitrificans, designated as WY200811, with heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification ability was novel isolated from an anaerobic/anoxic/oxic treatment system and characterized. The average ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) and TN (total nitrogen) removal rates of the strain were 0.026 and 0.028 gN/g·Cell·h. Under the environmental conditions of 22% DO and C/N ratio of 5, the ultimate efficiencies of nitrification and denitrification were 57.0 and 57.3%, respectively. The pH in the medium was maintained between 6.0 and 7.0. The novel strain can rapidly reduce the ammonia to nitrogen gas without nitrite accumulation. The WY200811 can be used in a full-scale anaerobic/anoxic/oxic treatment system for efficiency in heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification.Key words: Heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification, Alcaligenes denitrificans, nitrogen balance

Scaling of Anisotropic Flows and Nuclear Equation of State in Intermediate Energy Heavy Ion Collisions

Elliptic flow ($v_2$) and hexadecupole flow ($v_4$) of light clusters have been studied in details for 25 MeV/nucleon $^{86}$Kr + $^{124}$Sn at large impact parameters by Quantum Molecular Dynamics model with different potential parameters. Four parameter sets which include soft or hard equation of state (EOS) with/without symmetry energy term are used. Both number-of-nucleon ($A$) scaling of the elliptic flow versus transverse momentum ($p_t$) and the scaling of $v_4/A^{2}$ versus $(p_t/A)^2$ have been demonstrated for the light clusters in all above calculation conditions. It was also found that the ratio of $v_4/{v_2}^2$ keeps a constant of 1/2 which is independent of $p_t$ for all the light fragments. By comparisons among different combinations of EOS and symmetry potential term, the results show that the above scaling behaviors are solid which do not depend the details of potential, while the strength of flows is sensitive to EOS and symmetry potential term.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Effect of YangZheng XiaoJi Extract, DME-25, on endothelial cells and their response to Avastin.

ackground: Angiogenesis is a cellular process that has been identified as a key target for therapy in solid cancer. However, over the course of anti-angiogenic therapies, cancer cells acquire resistance to these therapies after an initial period of success. DME-25 is an extract from Yang Zheng Xiao Ji, a traditional Chinese medicine that has been reported to benefit patients with cancer by alleviating chemotherapy-associated symptoms and possibly inhibiting key cancer cell traits. This study aimed to explore if DME-25 on its own and in combination with avastin affected endothelial cell behaviour in vitro in the presence of hypoxic lung cancer-conditioned medium (CM). Materials and Methods: Two lung cancer cell lines, A549 and SK-MES-1, were exposed to hypoxic conditions (O2 ≤1%) for 4 h, after which CM, and RNA were collected. Transcript expression of several influential angiogenic markers in lung cancer cells were assessed following hypoxic/normoxic conditions. Lung cancer CM was added in combination with avastin and DME-25, before or after vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) depletion, to endothelial cells (HECV) and cell migration and microtubule formation were assessed in vitro. Results: HECV cell migration was reduced in the presence of avastin, although less efficiently in the presence of lung cancer CM. A combination of DME-25 and avastin with lung cancer CM significantly reduced HECV cell migration irrespective of culture under hypoxia or normoxia. Depletion of VEGF from the CM reduced the inhibitory capacity of avastin, however, it appeared to have little impact on the anti-angiogenic effects of DME-25. Conclusion: DME-25 inhibits tubule formation irrespectively of the factors secreted by normoxic or hypoxic lung cancer cell CM depleted of VEGF

Phenomenological Scaling of Rapidity Dependence for Anisotropic Flows in 25 MeV/nucleon Ca + Ca by Quantum Molecular Dynamics Model

Anisotropic flows ($v_1$, $v_2$, $v_3$ and $v_4$) of light fragments up till the mass number 4 as a function of rapidity have been studied for 25 MeV/nucleon $^{40}$Ca + $^{40}$Ca at large impact parameters by Quantum Molecular Dynamics model. A phenomenological scaling behavior of rapidity dependent flow parameters $v_n$ (n = 1, 2, 3 and 4) has been found as a function of mass number plus a constant term, which may arise from the interplay of collective and random motions. In addition, $v_4/{v_2}^2$ keeps almost independent of rapidity and remains a rough constant of 1/2 for all light fragments.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

A pilot histomorphology and hemodynamic of vasculogenic mimicry in gallbladder carcinomas in vivo and in vitro

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vasculogenic mimicry (VM), as a new blood supply for tumor growth and hematogenous metastases, has been recently described in highly aggressive human melanoma cells, etc. We previously reported VM in human gallbladder carcinomas and its clinical significance. In this study, we further studied histomorphology and hemodynamic of VM in gallbladder carcinomas <it>in vivo </it>and <it>in vitro</it>.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The invasive potential of human gallbladder carcinoma cell lines GBC-SD and SGC-996 were identified by Transwell membrane. The vasculogenic-like network structures and the signal intensities i.e. hemodynamic in gallbladder carcinomas stimulated via the three-dimensional matrix of GBC-SD or SGC-996 cells <it>in vitro</it>, the nude mouse xenografts of GBC-SD or SGC-996 cells <it>in vivo </it>were observed by immunohistochemistry (H&E staining and CD₃₁-PAS double staining), electron microscopy and micro-MRA with HAS-Gd-DTPA, respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Highly aggressive GBC-SD or poorly aggressive SGC-996 cells preconditioned by highly aggressive GBC-SD cells could form patterned networks containing hollow matrix channels. 85.7% (6/7) of GBC-SD nude mouse xenografts existed the evidence of VM, 5.7% (17/300) channels contained red blood cells among these tumor cell-lined vasculatures. GBC-SD xenografts showed multiple high-intensity spots similar with the intensity observed at tumor marginal, a result consistent with pathological VM.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>VM existed in gallbladder carcinomas by both three-dimensional matrix of highly aggressive GBC-SD or poorly aggressive SGC-996 cells preconditioned by highly aggressive GBC-SD cells <it>in vitro </it>and GBC-SD nude mouse xenografts <it>in vivo</it>.</p

Understanding the service gap between caregivers and recipients in the smart bed system

With the advancement of medical technologies and low birth rates, the world’s elderly population has risen sharply, and the aging society has increased more and more medical demand. Thus, how to provide a quality home care service is critical. To provide quality care, understanding the needs of the service system’s users is an important step. This research aims to identify the gaps in service needs as expected between two types of system users – caregivers and recipients. The Internet of things (IoT) based smart-bed system developed by H Company was adopted as the research object. Caregivers and recipients were asked to fill in an analytic-hierarchy-process (AHP) questionnaire to rank the importance of smart-bed system functions. In current stage, this study finds that caregivers and recipients consider the forewarning function the most important. For care recipients, functions related to physical sensations (e.g., data analysis on detailed sleeping behaviors) are more important. While for caregivers, functions that can improve their work efficiency and quality (e.g., customized data reporting) are more important. While caregivers concern more about how to complete their tasks, care recipients value more on safety and comfort of the system. Future research can study the importance of service functions and the reasons causing the gaps in order to provide valuable suggestions for IoT companies to improve their future services development and product marketing

Appropriate antivenom doses for six types of envenomations caused by snakes in taiwan

Six of the 15 species of venomous snakes found in Taiwan are responsible for most of the clinically significant envenomations in the country. These species are: Trimeresurus mucrosquamatus, Trimeresurus stejnegeri, Naja atra, Bungarus multicinctus, Deinagkistrodon acutus and Daboia russelii siamensis, which together can be subdivided into three groups based on their venom effects. Primary treatment consists of rapid administration of appropriate antivenoms. The present study aimed to identify a proper dose of antivenom for each snake group as well as to describe hemorrhagic, neurotoxic, and mixed effects of their venoms. A retrospective chart review identified 72 snakebite cases referred to an emergency department. Data on epidemiology, examination findings, snake identification, treatment, antivenom dose and complications were collected. After excluding 14 patients, data from 58 victims were analyzed. Most studied cases were male (86%). Significantly higher doses of antivenom were administered against neurotoxic envenomations (mean dose: three vials) compared with the other two (p < 0.05). Moreover, patients affected by neurotoxic bites were more likely to develop blurred vision and other complications (p < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that neurotoxic envenomation was a risk factor for complications (OR: 8.84, 95% CI: 1.06-73.73). Neurotoxic envenomations and complication occurrence were positively correlated with antivenom dosage. In conclusion, patients affected by neurotoxic envenomations received higher doses of antivenom than others whereas incidence of complications was associated with higher antivenom doses

A study on nitrogen removal efficiency of Pseudomonas stutzeri strains isolated from an anaerobic/anoxic/oxic wastewater treatment process

In order to improve the nitrogen removal efficiency in an anaerobic/anoxic/oxic treatment plant, a strain with high nitrification and denitrification capability was isolated from a specific anaerobic/anoxic/oxic treatment process. The characteristics of isolate were experimentally analyzed. By using the nitrogen balance method, the total nitrogen loss was calculated to be 40.1% (w/w) when the carbon source was citric acid with a C/N ratio of 5. Meanwhile, the isolated strain was identified by 16S rDNA to be a Pseudomonas stutzeri with a similarity of 99%. Varying the initial TN, the C/N, the pH value and the ambient temperature in the reaction system, the efficiency of nitrogen removal was studied. The results showed that the highest efficiency occurred when the C/N was 12, the pH value was 7 and the temperature was 32&#176;C. The results were also compared to the practically monitoring data coming with a good agreement. Consequently, it is viable to improve the nitrogen removal efficiency by varying the reaction conditions