Multistage remediation of heavy metal contaminated river sediments in a mining region based on particle size

Sediment pollution is an important environmental problem, and the remediation of heavy metal contaminated sediments is crucial to river ecosystem protection, especially in mining regions. In this work, characteristics of heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, As and Hg) were investigated, including contents and fractions based on particle size (PS) in river sediments. Chemical leaching and stabilization for sediment remediation were performed, and the technology feasibility was assessed. The results indicated that the heavy metals were primarily reserved within fine sediments (PS 150 mu m), while the oxidizable fraction, reducible fraction and weak acid extractable fraction dominated the total content in fine sediments, except for that of Hg. Chemical leaching can transform most metals in sediments from large-sized particles to fine particles because the metals are absorbed by fine particles in solution rather than complexation. The stabilization suggested that cement could be an effective agent for ecological risk control for heavy metals. In field engineering, a total of 145,000 m(3) sediment was divided into various sections by PS and synchronously washed by eluting agents. Finally, clean sediments (PS > 150 mu m) were used as building material and clean backfilling; meanwhile, heavily polluted sediments (PS < 150 mu m) were buried as general industrial solid waste after stabilization treatment. Over 90% of the contaminated sediments were reused throughout multistep remediation. Furthermore, a reduction in waste and harm, along with resources, was obtained. This study provided a feasible technology for heavy metal contaminated sediment remediation. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

A current transformer energy harvester with stable output based on the saturable magnetic core

One of the major bottlenecks of the traditional current transformer energy harvester (CTEH) is the instable output induced by the wide-range variations of the current in transmission lines. In this work, a novel CTEH capable of generating a stable output is demonstrated by using a core fabricated with saturable magnetic material. The stable output of the CTEH is enabled by the constant voltage-time product in its saturable characteristic. The proposed CTEH is implemented with a resistive load representing the load of electronic devices. When the current in the primary side of the CTEH's increases from 1 to 1000 A, the maximum power on the load can reach about 0.5 W, demonstrating the feasibility of using the CTEH with the saturable magnetic core as a quasi-stable power supply

Smad3 promotes cancer progression by inhibiting E4BP4-mediated NK cell development

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The human FK506-binding proteins: characterization of human FKBP19

Analysis of the human repertoire of the FK506-binding protein (FKBP) family of peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerases has identified an expansion of genes that code for human FKBPs in the secretory pathway. There are distinct differences in tissue distribution and expression levels of each variant. In this article we describe the characterization of human FKBP19 (Entrez Gene ID: FKBP11), an FK506-binding protein predominantly expressed in vertebrate secretory tissues. The FKBP19 sequence comprises a cleavable N-terminal signal sequence followed by a putative peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase domain with homology to FKBP12. This domain binds FK506 weakly in vitro. FKBP19 mRNA is abundant in human pancreas and other secretory tissues and high levels of FKBP19 protein are detected in the acinar cells of mouse pancreas

A novel duplex real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assay for the detection of hepatitis C viral RNA with armored RNA as internal control

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome is extremely heterogeneous. Several HCV infections can not be detected using currently available commercial assays, probably because of mismatches between the template and primers/probes. By aligning the HCV sequences, we developed a duplex real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay using 2 sets of primers/probes and a specific armored RNA as internal control. The 2 detection probes were labelled with the same fluorophore, namely, 6-carboxyfluorescein (FAM), at the 5' end; these probes could mutually combine, improving the power of the test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The limit of detection of the duplex primer/probe assay was 38.99 IU/ml. The sensitivity of the assay improved significantly, while the specificity was not affected. All HCV genotypes in the HCV RNA Genotype Panel for Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques could be detected. In the testing of 109 serum samples, the performance of the duplex real-time RT-PCR assay was identical to that of the COBAS AmpliPrep (CAP)/COBAS TaqMan (CTM) assay and superior to 2 commercial HCV assay kits.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The duplex real-time RT-PCR assay is an efficient and effective viral assay. It is comparable with the CAP/CTM assay with regard to the power of the test and is appropriate for blood-donor screening and laboratory diagnosis of HCV infection.</p

Neuronal Function and Dysfunction of Drosophila dTDP

Background: TDP-43 is an RNA- and DNA-binding protein well conserved in animals including the mammals, Drosophila, and C. elegans. In mammals, the multi-function TDP-43 encoded by the TARDBP gene is a signature protein of the ubiquitinpositive inclusions (UBIs) in the diseased neuronal/glial cells of a range of neurodegenerative diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD-U). Methodology/Principal Findings: We have studied the function and dysfunction of the Drosophila ortholog of the mammalian TARDBP gene, dTDP, by genetic, behavioral, molecular, and cytological analyses. It was found that depletion of dTDP expression caused locomotion defect accompanied with an increase of the number of boutons at the neuromuscular junctions (NMJ). These phenotypes could be rescued by overexpression of Drosophila dTDP in the motor neurons. In contrast, overexpression of dTDP in the motor neurons also resulted in reduced larval and adult locomotor activities, but this was accompanied by a decrease of the number of boutons and axon branches at NMJ. Significantly, constitutive overexpression of dTDP in the mushroom bodies caused smaller axonal lobes as well as severe learning deficiency. On the other hand, constitutive mushroom body-specific knockdown of dTDP expression did not affect the structure of the mushroom bodies, but it impaired the learning ability of the flies, albeit moderately. Overexpression of dTDP also led to the formation of cytosolic dTDP (+) aggregates

Identification of the Transcriptional Regulator NcrB in the Nickel Resistance Determinant of Leptospirillum ferriphilum UBK03

The nickel resistance determinant ncrABCY was identified in Leptospirillum ferriphilum UBK03. Within this operon, ncrA and ncrC encode two membrane proteins that form an efflux system, and ncrB encodes NcrB, which belongs to an uncharacterized family (DUF156) of proteins. How this determinant is regulated remains unknown. Our data indicate that expression of the nickel resistance determinant is induced by nickel. The promoter of ncrA, designated pncrA, was cloned into the promoter probe vector pPR9TT, and co-transformed with either a wild-type or mutant nickel resistance determinant. The results revealed that ncrB encoded a transcriptional regulator that could regulate the expression of ncrA, ncrB, and ncrC. A GC-rich inverted repeat sequence was identified in the promoter pncrA. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) and footprinting assays showed that purified NcrB could specifically bind to the inverted repeat sequence of pncrA in vitro; this was confirmed by bacterial one-hybrid analysis. Moreover, this binding was inhibited in the presence of nickel ions. Thus, we classified NcrB as a transcriptional regulator that recognizes the inverted repeat sequence binding motif to regulate the expression of the key nickel resistance gene, ncrA

Lipopolysaccharide O1 Antigen Contributes to the Virulence in Klebsiella pneumoniae Causing Pyogenic Liver Abscess

Klebsiella pneumoniae is the common cause of a global emerging infectious disease, community-acquired pyogenic liver abscess (PLA). Capsular polysaccharide (CPS) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) are critical for this microorganism's ability to spread through the blood and to cause sepsis. While CPS type K1 is an important virulence factor in K. pneumoniae causing PLA, the role of LPS in PLA is not clear. Here, we characterize the role of LPS O antigen in the pathogenesis of K. pneumoniae causing PLA. NTUH-K2044 is a LPS O1 clinical strain; the presence of the O antigen was shown via the presence of 1,3-galactan in the LPS, and of sequences that align with the wb gene cluster, known to produce O-antigen. Serologic analysis of K. pneumoniae clinical isolates demonstrated that the O1 serotype was more prevalent in PLA strains than that in non-tissue-invasive strains (38/42 vs. 9/32, P<0.0001). O1 serotype isolates had a higher frequency of serum resistance, and mutation of the O1 antigen changed serum resistance in K. pneumoniae. A PLA-causing strain of CPS capsular type K2 and LPS serotype O1 (i.e., O1:K2 PLA strain) deleted for the O1 synthesizing genes was profoundly attenuated in virulence, as demonstrated in separate mouse models of septicemia and liver abscess. Immunization of mice with the K2044 magA-mutant (K1− O1) against LPS O1 provided protection against infection with an O1:K2 PLA strain, but not against infection with an O1:K1 PLA strain. Our findings indicate that the O1 antigen of PLA-associated K. pneumoniae contributes to virulence by conveying resistance to serum killing, promoting bacterial dissemination to and colonization of internal organs after the onset of bacteremia, and could be a useful vaccine candidate against infection by an O1:K2 PLA strain

Preparation and thermal conductivity of CuO nanofluid via a wet chemical method

In this article, a wet chemical method was developed to prepare stable CuO nanofluids. The influences of synthesis parameters, such as kinds and amounts of copper salts, reaction time, were studied. The thermal conductivities of CuO nanofluids were also investigated. The results showed that different copper salts resulted in different particle morphology. The concentration of copper acetate and reaction time affected the size and shape of clusters of primary nanoparticles. Nanofluids with different microstructures could be obtained by changing the synthesis parameters. The thermal conductivities of CuO nanofluids increased with the increase of particle loading