2019 Exchange Learning and Study Report

The report summarizes Ms. Huihui Zhong\u27s exchange librarian experience at Otterbein University from Oct. 7th, 2019, to Nov. 28th, 2019. Ms. Zhong is a subject librarian from Shanghai Jiaotong University Library

A novel forward osmosis reactor assisted with microfiltration for deep thickening waste activated sludge:performance and implication

Waste activated sludge (WAS) treatment has gained growing interests for its increasingly capacity and high process cost. Sludge thickening is generally the first process of the WAS treatment. However, traditional sludge thickening approach was restrained by large footprint, low thickening efficiency, and tendency of releasing phosphorus. Here, we reported a novel microfiltration (MF) membrane assisting forward osmosis (FO) process (MF-FO) for sludge thickening. The MF-FO reactor achieved a sludge thickening of the mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) concentration from approximately 7 to 50 g/L after 10-day operation. More importantly, the effluent quality after FO filtration was superior with total organic carbon (TOC), ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N), nitrate nitrogen (NO3−-N) and total phosphorus (TP) of 1.94 ± 0.46, 0.02 ± 0.07, 4.55 ± 1.59 and 0.24 ± 0.26 mg/L, respectively. Additionally, the integration of MF membrane successfully controlled the salinity of the MF-FO reactor in a low range of 1.6-3.1 mS/cm, which mitigated the flux decline of FO membrane and thus prolonged the operating time. In this case, the flux decline of FO membrane in the MF-FO reactor was mainly due to the membrane fouling. Furthermore, the fouling layer on the FO membrane surface was a gel layer mainly composed of biofoulants and organic foulants when the MLSS concentration was less than 30 g/L, while it turned to a cake layer when the MLSS concentration exceeded 30 g/L. Results reported here demonstrated that the MF-FO reactor is a promising WAS thickening technology for its excellent thickening performance and high effluent quality of FO membrane.</p

Host-guest Interaction at Molecular Interfaces: Binding of Cucurbit[7]uril on Ferrocenyl Self-assembled Monolayers on Gold

Ferrocene (Fc) encapsulated cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) supramolecular host-guest complex&nbsp; (Fc@CB[7]) as a synthetic recognition pair has been widely adapted for coupling biomolecules and nanomaterials due to its ultra-high binding affinity. In this paper, we have explored the binding of CB[7] on binary ferrocenylundecanethiolate/octanethiolate self-assembled monolayer on gold&nbsp; (FcC11S-/C8S-Au), a model system to deepen our understanding of host-guest chemistry at molecular interfaces. It has been shown that upon incubation with CB[7] solution, the redox behavior FcC11S-/C8S-Au changes remarkably, i.e., a new pair of peaks appeared at more positive potential with narrowed widths. The ease of quantitation of surface bound-redox species (Fc+/Fc and&nbsp; Fc+@CB[7]/ Fc@CB[7]) enabled us to determine the thermodynamic formation constant of&nbsp; Fc@CB[7] at FcC11S-/C8S-Au (7.3±1.8 × 104 M-1). With time-dependent redox responses, we were able to, for the first time, deduce both the binding and dissociation rate constants, 2.8±0.3 × 103&nbsp; M-1s-1 and 0.08±0.01 s-1, respectively. These results showed substantial differences both thermodynamically and kinetically for the formation of host-guest inclusion complex at molecular interfaces with respect to solution-diffused, homogenous environments

Determination, source analysis and preliminary risk assessment of benzoic acid in rice wine

Objective To analyze the concentration and source of benzoic acid in rice wine and evaluate the health risk of dietary benzoic acid intake from rice wine among adult consumers in China. Methods 231 samples of rice wine and 15 samples of raw materials were collected from five main rice wine production areas in China, including Shandong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Fujian and Shanghai; the content of benzoic acid and its precursors were determined by high performance liquid chromatography; the sources of benzoic acid in rice wine were analyzed by the benzaldehyde and phenylalanine simulation test and the real sample acceleration test; the benzoic acid intake among adult consumers was evaluated by simple distribution assessment method. Results In all rice wine samples, the detection rate of benzoic acid was 99.13% (229/231), the concentration range of benzoic acid was ND (not detectable) -37.00 mg/L, and the average was 2.28 mg/L. In 98 end products, the detection rate of benzoic acid was 100.00% (98/98), the concentration range of benzoic acid was ND-1.60 mg/L, and the average was 0.52 mg/L; in 133 base wine samples, the detection rate of benzoic acid was 98.50% (131/133), the content range of benzoic acid was ND-37.00 mg/L, and the average was 3.58 mg/L. The result of source analysis showed that the benzoic acid in rice wine mainly came from raw materials, degradation of phenylalanine and oxidation of benzaldehyde. Exposure assessment result showed that the average exposure of benzoic acid for rice wine consumers in China was 0.001 mg/kg BW, accounting for 0.02% of the acceptable daily intake (ADI); and the 95th percentile was 0.005 mg/kg BW, accounting for 0.1% of the ADI. Conclusion The detection rate of benzoic acid in rice wine was high but the concentration was low. Source analysis result indicated that benzoic acid in rice wine mainly came from raw materials, degradation of phenylalanine and oxidation of benzaldehyde; the health risk of benzoic acid exposure to adult rice wine consumers in China was low

Interactions between depositional regime and climate proxies in the northern South China Sea since the Last Glacial Maximum

Sedimentary deposits from the northern South China Sea (SCS) can provide important constraints on past changes in ocean currents and the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) in this region. However, the interpretation of such records spanning the last deglaciation is complicated because sea-level change may also have influenced the depositional processes and patterns. Here, we present new records of grain size, clay mineralogy, and magnetic mineralogy spanning the past 24 kyr from both shallow and deep-water sediment cores in the northern SCS. Our multi-proxy comparison among multiple cores helps constrain the influence of sea-level change, providing confidence in interpreting the regional climate-forced signals. After accounting for the influence of sea-level change, we find that these multi-proxy records reflect a combination of changes in (a) the strength of the North Pacific Intermediate Water inflow, (b) the EASM strength, and (c) the Kuroshio Current extent. Overall, this study provides new insights into the roles of varying terrestrial weathering and oceanographic processes in controlling the depositional record on the northern SCS margin in response to climate and sea-level fluctuations

A novel trifunctional IgG-like bispecific antibody to inhibit HIV-1 infection and enhance lysis of HIV by targeting activation of complement

BACKGROUND: The complement system is not only a key component of innate immunity but also provides a first line of defense against invading pathogens, especially for viral pathogens. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), however, possesses several mechanisms to evade complement-mediated lysis (CoML) and exploit the complement system to enhance viral infectivity. Responsible for this intrinsic resistance against complement-mediated virolysis are complement regulatory membrane proteins derived from the host cell that inherently downregulates complement activation at several stages of the cascade. In addition, HIV is protected from complement-mediated lysis by binding soluble factor H (fH) through the viral envelope proteins, gp120 and gp41. Whereas inhibition of complement activity is the desired outcome in the vast majority of therapeutic approaches, there is a broader potential for complement-mediated inhibition of HIV by complement local stimulation. PRESENTATION OF THE HYPOTHESIS: Our previous studies have proven that the complement-mediated antibody-dependent enhancement of HIV infection is mediated by the association of complement receptor type 2 bound to the C3 fragment and deposited on the surface of HIV virions. Thus, we hypothesize that another new activator of complement, consisting of two dsFv (against gp120 and against C3d respectively) linked to a complement-activating human IgG1 Fc domain ((anti-gp120 × anti-C3d)-Fc), can not only target and amplify complement activation on HIV virions for enhancing the efficiency of HIV lysis, but also reduce the infectivity of HIV through blocking the gp120 and C3d on the surface of HIV. TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS: Our hypothesis was tested using cell-free HIV-1 virions cultivated in vitro and assessment of virus opsonization was performed by incubating appropriate dilutions of virus with medium containing normal human serum and purified (anti-gp120 × anti-C3d)-Fc proteins. As a control group, viruses were incubated with normal human serum under the same conditions. Virus neutralization assays were used to estimate the degree of (anti-gp120 × anti-C3d)-Fc lysis of HIV compared to untreated virus. IMPLICATIONS OF THE HYPOTHESIS: The targeted complement activator, (anti-gp120 × anti-C3d)-Fc, can be used as a novel approach to HIV therapy by abrogating the complement-enhanced HIV infection of cells

Integrated Metagenomic and Transcriptomic Analyses Reveal the Dietary Dependent Recovery of Host Metabolism From Antibiotic Exposure

The balance of gut microbiome is essential for maintaining host metabolism homeostasis. Despite widespread antibiotic use, the potential long-term detrimental consequences of antibiotics for host health are getting more and more attention. However, it remains unclear whether diet affects the post-antibiotic recovery of gut microbiome and host metabolism. In this study, through metagenomic sequencing and hepatic transcriptome analysis, we investigated the divergent impacts of short-term vancomycin (Vac), or combination of ciprofloxacin and metronidazole (CM) treatment on gut microbiome and host metabolism, as well as their recovery extent from antibiotic exposure on chow diet (CD) and high-fat diet (HFD). Our results showed that short-term Vac intervention affected insulin signaling, while CM induced more functional changes in the microbiome. However, Vac-induced long-term (45 days) changes of species were more apparent when recovered on CD than HFD. The effects of antibiotic intervention on host metabolism were long-lasting, antibiotic-specific, and diet-dependent. The number of differentially expressed gene was doubled by Vac than CM, but was comparable after recovery on CD as revealed by the hepatic transcriptomic analysis. In contrast, HFD intake during recovery could worsen the extent of post-antibiotic recovery by altering infection, immunity, and cancer-related pathways in short-term Vac-exposed rats and by shifting endocrine system-associated pathways in CM-exposed rats. Together, the presented data demonstrated the long-term recovery extent after different antibiotic exposure was diet-related, highlighting the importance of dietary management during post-antibiotic recovery