Antibiotic resistance in soil-plant systems: A review of the source, dissemination, influence factors, and potential exposure risks

As an emerging environmental contaminant, the widespread of antibiotic resistance has caused a series of environmental issues and human health concerns. A load of antibiotic residues induced by agricultural practices have exerted selective pressure to bacterial communities in the soil-plant system, which facilitated the occurrence and dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) through horizontal gene transfer. As a result, the enrichment of ARGs within crops at harvest under the influence of food ingestion could lead to critical concerns of public health. In this review, the prevalence and dissemination of antibiotic resistance in the soil-plant system are highlighted. Moreover, different underlying mechanisms and detection methods for ARGs transfer between the soil environment and plant compartments are summarized and discussed. On the other hand, a wide range of influencing factors for the transfer and distribution of antibiotic resistance within the soil-plant system are also presented and discussed. In response to exposure of antibiotic residues and resistomes, corresponding hazard identification assessments have been summarized, which could provide beneficial guides of the toxicological tolerance for the general population. Finally, further research priorities for detection and management ARGs spread are also suggested.

Comprehensive pan-cancer analysis of STAT3 as a prognostic and immunological biomarker

Numerous studies have indicated that STAT3 plays a key role in promoting oncogenesis and it is considered a potential therapeutic target for cancer treatment; however, there are no reports on STAT3 using pan-cancer analysis. Therefore, it is important to investigate the role of STAT3 in different types of tumors using pan-cancer analysis. In the present study, we used multiple databases to comprehensively analyze the relationship between STAT3 expression and prognosis, different stages of patients with cancer, investigate the clinical value of STAT3 in predicting prognosis, and the relationship between STAT3 genetic alteration and prognosis, drug sensitivity, and STAT3 expression, to determine whether STAT3 participates in tumor immunity, to provide a rationale for STAT3 as a treatment target for a broad-spectrum malignancies. Our results indicate that STAT3 can serve as a prognostic, sensitivity prediction biomarker and a target for immunotherapy, which has been of great value for pan-cancer treatment. Overall, we found that STAT3 significantly predicted cancer prognosis, drug resistance, and immunotherapy, providing a rationale for further experimental studies.

[Evaluation of clinical safety and diagnostic efficacy of domestic liver-specific magnetic resonance contrast agent (gadoxetate disodium)]

Objective: To evaluate the clinical safety and diagnostic efficacy of domestic gadoxetate disodium (GdEOBDTPA). Methods: The imaging data from patients with space-occupying liver lesions who underwent GdEOBDTPA enhanced magnetic resonance examination at West China Hospital of Sichuan University between January 2020 and September 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. Clinical indicators were evaluated by the incidental condition of transient severe respiratory motion artifacts (TSM) in the arterial phase to assess the safety profile.The differences in quantitative and qualitative indicators for the risk factors of TSM in the arterial phase between the TSM group and the non-TSM group were compared by t-test and χ2 test. Observational indicators of the accuracy of diagnostic procedures: The 2018 version of the Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) was used to evaluate the main signs, auxiliary signs, and LR grades of lesions. Postoperative pathological findings were used as the gold standard for evaluating and diagnosing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Simultaneously, the relative enhancement degree of the liver, the contrast between the lesion and the liver, and the cholangiography in the hepatobiliary phase were evaluated. The McNemar test was used to compare the differences in the diagnostic efficiency of physician 1 and physician 2 in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma according to the 2018 version of LI-RADS. Results: A total of 114 cases were included in this study. The incidence rate of TSM was 9.6% (11/114). Age [(53.8 ± 11.3) years vs. (55.4 ± 15.4) years, t = 0.465, P = 0.497], body weight [(65.8 ± 11.1) kg vs. (60.8 ± 7.6) kg, t = 1.468, P = 0.228], body mass index [(23.9 ± 3.1) kg/m(2) vs. (23.4 ± 3.0) kg/m(2), t = 0.171, P = 0.680], liver cirrhosis ratio (39 cases vs. 4 cases, χ (2) =1.776, P = 0.183), proportion of mild to moderate pleural effusion (32 cases vs. 4 cases, χ (2) = 0.000, P = 0.986), and proportion of mild to moderate ascites (47 cases vs. 5 cases χ (2) = 0.000, P = 0.991) had no statistically significant difference between the groups of non-TSM and TSM patients. According to the 2018 version of LI-RADS for the LR5 category, there was no statistically significant difference between the two physicians' HCC diagnoses in terms of sensitivity (91.4% vs.86.4%, χ (2) = 1.500, P = 0.219), specificity (72.7 % vs. 69.7%, χ (2) = 0.000, P = 1.000), positive predictive value (89.2% vs. 87.5%, χ (2) = 2.250, P = 0.125), negative predictive value (77.4% vs. 67.6%, χ (2) = 2.250, P = 0.125), and accuracy (86.0% vs. 81.6%, χ (2) = 0.131, P = 0.125). According to physicians 1 and 2 film review results, 91.2% (104/114) and 89.5% (102/114) of the contrast agent were discharged into the common bile duct or duodenum, respectively. In addition, 86.0% (98/114) of the patients had good liver enhancement, and 91.2% (104/114) of the lesions showed low signals relative to the liver background. Conclusion: Domestic gadoxetate disodium has a good clinical safety profile and diagnostic efficacy.

Cross-Linked and Doped Graphene Oxide Membranes with Excellent Antifouling Capacity for Rejection of Antibiotics and Salts

Graphene oxide (GO) membranes have suffered from the instability of water permeability and low rejection of pollutant separation. In this paper, a reasonable modification protocol for GO nanosheets at the molecular level was proposed. A molecular cross-linking strategy was adopted to regulate the interlayer spacing of GO nanosheets, and nanofiltration membranes with high water stability and excellent antifouling capacity were prepared, which could effectively reject antibiotics and salts. The GO₁-MPD_0.5 (the mass ratio of GO nanosheets to MPD is 1:0.5) and GO/GO₁-MPD_0.5-0.25 (the doping ratio of GO₁-MPD_0.5 is 25%) membranes had stable water permeability of 4.22 ± 0.06 and 3.65 ± 0.11 L m^-2 h^-1 bar^-1, and the rejection rates for ciprofloxacin (CIP) and ofloxacin (OFX) were 93.35 ± 3.62 and 95.48 ± 2.97 and 85.89 ± 6.52 and 88.21 ± 3.67%, respectively. Molecular dynamics simulations well explained the high water stability of membranes, and the cross-linked hydrophobic benzene ring played a role in the rejection of pollutant molecules. Moreover, the GO₁-MPD_0.5 membrane showed excellent antifouling capacity and the flux recovery ratio (FRR) was more than 98%. This paper provides a new idea for the design of nanofiltration membranes with high stability and good rejection permeability at the molecular level and provides a prospect for the application of nanofiltration membranes in practical water treatment and water purification.

PPAR-γ alleviates the inflammatory response in TNF-α-induced fibroblast-like synoviocytes by binding to p53 in rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by synovial inflammation, synoviocyte expansion and damage to cartilage and bone. We recently reported that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ inhibited the proliferation and activation of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS), and was downregulated in RA synovial. In this study we investigated the role of PPAR-γ in RA and the underlying mechanisms. Adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) was induced in rats; from D15, AIA rats were orally administered pioglitazone (30 mg·kg-1·d-1) or rosiglitazone (4 mg·kg-1·d-1) for 14 days. Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) was induced in wild-type and Ppar-γ+/- mice. We showed that the expression of PPAR-γ was significantly reduced, whereas that of TNF-α was markedly increased in human RA FLS. In CIA mice, knockdown of PPAR-γ expression (Ppar-γ+/-) aggravated the ankle inflammation. Similarly, T0070907 (a PPAR-γ antagonist) or si-PPAR-γ promoted the activation and inflammation of TNF-α-induced FLS in vitro. On the contrary, administration of PPAR-γ agonist pioglitazone or rosiglitazone, or injection of ad-Ppar-γ into the ankle of AIA rat in vivo induced overexpression of PPAR-γ, reduced the paw swelling and inflammation, and downregulated activation and inflammation of FLS in RA. Interesting, injection of ad-Ppar-γ into the ankle also reversed the ankle inflammation in Ppar-γ+/- CIA mice. We conducted RNA-sequencing and KEGG pathway analysis, and revealed that PPAR-γ overexpression was closely related to p53 signaling pathway in TNF-α-induced FLS. Co-IP study confirmed that p53 protein was bound to PPAR-γ in RA FLS. Taken together, PPAR-γ alleviates the inflammatory response of TNF-α-induced FLS by binding p53 in RA.

Single atom Mn anchored on N-doped porous carbon derived from spirulina for catalyzed peroxymonosulfate to degradation of emerging organic pollutants

Highly efficient single atom catalysts are critical to substantially promote for peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation to organic pollutant degradation, but it remains a challenge at present. Herein, single atom Mn anchored on N-doped porous carbon (SA-Mn-NSC) was synthesized by ball milling of Mn-doped carbon nitride and spirulina biochar to dominantly activate PMS. The precursor of carbon nitride and spirulina possessed a strong coordinating capability for Mn(II), facilitating the formation of highly dispersed nitrogen-coordinated Mn sites (Mn-N₄). The SA-Mn-NSC catalyst exhibited high activity and stability in the heterogeneous activation of PMS to degrade a wide range of pollutants within 10 min, showing an outstanding degradation rate constant of 0.31 min^-1 in enrofloxacin (ENR) degradation. The high surface density of Mn-N₄ sites and abundant interconnected meso-macro pores were highly favorable for activating PMS to produce ¹O₂ and high-valent manganese (Mn(IV)) for pollutant degradation. This work offers a new pathway of using a low-cost and easily accessible single-atom catalysts (SACs) and could inspire more catalytic oxidation strategies.

Identification and verification of ferroptosis-related genes in gastric intestinal metaplasia

Background: Gastric intestinal metaplasia (IM) is the key link of gastric precancerous lesions. Ferroptosis is a novel form of programmed cell death. However, its impact on IM is unclear. The focus of this study is to identify and verify ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs) that may be involved in IM by bioinformatics analysis. Materials and methods: Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained from microarray dataset GSE60427 and GSE78523 downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differentially expressed ferroptosis-related genes (DEFRGs) were obtained from overlapping genes of DEGs and FRGs got from FerrDb. DAVID database was used for functional enrichment analysis. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis and Cytoscape software were used to screen hub gene. In addition, we built a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and verified the relative mRNA expression by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Finally, the CIBERSORT algorithm was used to analyze the immune infiltration in IM. Results: First, a total of 17 DEFRGs were identified. Second, a gene module identified by Cytoscape software was considered as hub gene: PTGS2, HMOX1, IFNG, and NOS2. Third, ROC analysis showed that HMOX1 and NOS2 had good diagnostic characteristics. qRT-PCR experiments confirmed the differential expression of HMOX1 in IM and normal gastric tissues. Finally, immunoassay showed that the proportion of T cells regulatory (Tregs) and macrophages M0 in IM was relatively higher, while the proportion of T cells CD4 memory activated and dendritic cells activated was lower. Conclusion: We found significant associations between FRGs and IM, and HMOX1 may be diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for IM. These results may enhance our understanding of IM and may contribute to its treatment.

Circular RNA 0000157 depletion protects human bronchial epithelioid cells from cigarette smoke extract-induced human bronchial epithelioid cell injury through the microRNA-149-5p/bromodomain containing 4 pathway

BACKGROUND

Circular RNA (circRNA) has been reported to regulate respiratory diseases. In the study, we aimed to elucidate the role of circ_0000157 in smoke-related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the inner mechanism.

METHODS

COPD-like cell injury was induced by treating human bronchial epithelioid cells (16HBE) with cigarette smoke extract (CSE). The expression of circ_0000157, miR-149-5p, bromodomain containing 4 (BRD4), BCL2-associated x protein (Bax) and B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) was analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) or Western blotting. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed to detect interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels. Malondialdehyde (MDA) production was detected by a lipid peroxidation MDA assay kit. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was analyzed by a SOD activity assay kit.

RESULTS

Circ_0000157 and BRD4 expression were upregulated, while miR-149-5p expression was downregulated in the blood of smokers with COPD and CSE-induced 16HBE cells compared with control groups. CSE treatment inhibited 16HBE cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis, inflammation, and oxidative stress; however, these effects were remitted when circ_0000157 expression was decreased. In addition, circ_0000157 acted as a miR-149-5p sponge and regulated CSE-caused 16HBE cell damage by targeting miR-149-5p. The overexpression of BRD4, a target gene of miR-149-5p, attenuated the inhibitory effects of miR-149-5p introduction on CSE-induced cell damage. Further, circ_0000157 modulated BRD4 expression by associating with miR-149-5p in CSE-treated 16HBE cells.

CONCLUSION

Circ_0000157 knockdown ameliorated CSE-caused 16HBE cell damage by targeting the miR-149-5p/BRD4 pathway, providing a potential therapeutic strategy for clinic intervention in COPD.

Structure-performance correlation guided cerium-based metal-organic frameworks: Superior adsorbents for fluoride removal in water

Fluoride in the hydrosphere exceeds the standard, which could be critically hazardous to human health and the natural environment. The adsorption method is a mature and effective way to remove pollutants in water, including fluoride. In this study, we synthesized three kinds of cerium-based metal-organic frameworks (Ce-MOFs) with different structures and properties by modulating the organic ligands (i.e., trimesic acid (BTC), 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylic acid (PMA), and terephthalic acid (BDC)) via the solvothermal method. The adsorption kinetics of Ce-MOFs on fluoride well fit the pseudo second order model, and their adsorption isotherms also conform to Langmuir isothermal model. The thermodynamic study reveals that the adsorption process is a spontaneous endothermic reaction. The maximum saturated adsorption capacities of Ce-BTC, Ce-PMA, and Ce-BDC are 70.7, 159.6, and 139.5 mg g^-1, respectively. Ce-MOFs have stable and excellent adsorption capacity at pH = 3-9. Coexisting anions (Cl^-, SO₄^2-, and NO₃^-) do not affect the performance of Ce-MOFs for fluoride removal. Moreover, Ce-MOFs also show their broad prospect as superior fluoride adsorbents because of their excellent performance and reusability in real water samples. Organic ligands have a remarkable influence on the defluoridation performance of Ce-MOFs. This work will provide a feasible idea for designing MOFs as superiors adsorbents for defluoridation.

[The prevalence of atrial cardiomyopathy in patients with different types of acute ischemic stroke and its relationship with cryptogenic stroke]

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of atrial cardiomyopathy in patients with different types of acute ischemic stroke and its relationship with cryptogenic stroke. Methods: Patients with acute ischemic stroke within 7 days of onset who were admitted to the Department of Neurology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January to September 2019 were prospectively and consecutively enrolled. All included patients were classified according to TOAST classification of ischemic stroke. Chi-square test was used to compare the prevalence of atrial cardiomyopathy among patients with different TOAST classifications. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the related factors of cryptogenic stroke. Results: A total of 1 098 patients with acute ischemic stroke were enrolled in the study, including 661 males and 437 females, with a median age [M(Q₁,Q₃)] of 61 (53, 68) years. The prevalence of atrial cardiomyopathy in patients with cryptogenic stroke[53.5% (46/86)] was higher than that in patients with large artery atherosclerosis [38.0%(63/166), P=0.018] and small vessel occlusion [19.4%(37/191), P<0.001], but was lower than that of patients in the cardioembolic group [97.3% (72/74), P<0.001]. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that atrial cardiomyopathy was an associated factor for cryptogenic stroke (OR=2.945, 95%CI: 1.766-4.911, P<0.001). Conclusions: Atrial cardiomyopathy is associated with cryptogenic stroke. The prevalence of atrial cardiomyopathy in patients with cryptogenic stroke is higher than that in patients with large artery atherosclerosis and small vessel occlusion, but lower than that in patients with cardiac embolism.

PLCL1 regulates fibroblast-like synoviocytes inflammation via NLRP3 inflammasomes in rheumatoid arthritis

Background

Phospholipase C-like 1 (PLCL1), a protein that lacks catalytic activity, has similar structures to the PLC family. The aim of this research was to find the function and underlying mechanisms of PLCL1 in fibroblast-like synoviocyte (FLS) of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods

In this study, we first analyzed the expression of PLCL1 in the synovial tissue of RA patients and K/BxN mice by immunohistochemical staining. Then silencing or overexpressing PLCL1 in FLS before stimulating by TNF-α. The levels of IL-6, IL-1β and CXCL8 in FLS and supernatants were detected by Western Blot (WB), Real-Time Quantitative PCR and Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay. We used INF39 to specifically inhibit the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes, and detected the expression of NLRP3, Cleaved Caspase-1, IL-6 and IL-1β in FLS by WB.

Result

When PLCL1 was silenced, the level of IL-6, IL-1β and CXCL8 were down-regulated. When PLCL1 was overexpressed, the level of IL-6, IL-1β and CXCL8 were unregulated. The previous results demonstrated that the mechanism of PLCL1 regulating inflammation in FLS was related to NLRP3 inflammasomes. INF39 could counteract the release of inflammatory cytokines caused by overexpression of PLCL1.

Conclusion

Result showed that the function of PLCL1 in RA FLS might be related to the NLRP3 inflammasomes. We finally confirmed our hypothesis with the NLRP3 inhibitor INF39. Our results suggested that PLCL1 might promote the inflammatory response of RA FLS by regulating the NLRP3 inflammasomes.

Effects of activated carbon, biochar, and carbon nanotubes on the heterogeneous Fenton oxidation catalyzed by pyrite for ciprofloxacin degradation

Pyrite and engineering carbon materials have received increasing attention for their catalytic potential in Fenton reactions due to their extensive sources and low cost. However, effects of carbon materials on the degradation of pollutants by pyrite-catalyzed heterogeneous Fenton oxidation have not been fully understood. In this study, the performance of pyrite-catalyzed heterogeneous Fenton system on the degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) was investigated in the presence of activated carbon (AC), biochar (BC), and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Synchronous and asynchronous experiments (adsorption and catalysis) were conducted to elucidate the roles of the carbon materials in pyrite-catalyzed Fenton reactions. The results demonstrated that all the three carbon materials accelerated the pyrite-catalyzed Fenton oxidation of CIP. Under the experimental conditions, the reaction rates, which were obtained by fitting the synchronous experimental results with the pseudo-first-order kinetic model, of pyrite/AC, pyrite/BC and pyrite/CNTs with H₂O₂ for the removal of CIP were 8.28, 3.40 and 3.37 times faster than that of pyrite alone. Adsorption experiments and characterization analysis showed that AC had a higher adsorption capacity than BC and CNTs for CIP, which enabled it to distinguish itself in assisting the pyrite-catalyzed Fenton oxidation. In the presence of the carbon materials, the adsorption effect should not be neglected when studying the catalytic performance of pyrite. Free radical quenching experiments and electron spin-resonance spectroscopy (ESR) were used to detect and identify free radical species in the reactions. The results showed that hydroxyl radicals (•OH) contributed significantly to the degradation of CIP. The addition of carbon materials promoted the production of •OH, which favored the degradation of CIP. The results of this study suggested that the synergistic effect of oxidation and adsorption promoted the removal of CIP in pyrite/carbon materials/H₂O₂ systems, and coupling pyrite and carbon materials shows great potential in treating antibiotic wastewater.

Phage-host interactions: The neglected part of biological wastewater treatment

In wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), the stable operation of biological wastewater treatment is strongly dependent on the stability of associated microbiota. Bacteriophages (phages), viruses that specifically infect bacteria and archaea, are highly abundant and diverse in WWTPs. Although phages do not have known metabolic functions for themselves, they can shape functional microbiota via various phage-host interactions to impact biological wastewater treatment. However, the developments of phage-host interaction in WWTPs and their impact on biological wastewater treatment are overlooked. Here, we review the current knowledge regarding the phage-host interactions in biological wastewater treatment, mainly focusing on the characteristics of different phage populations, the phage-driven changes in functional microbiota, and the potential driving factors of phage-host interactions. We also discuss the efforts required further to understand and manipulate the phage-host interactions in biological wastewater treatment. Overall, this review advocates more attention to the phage dynamics in WWTPs.

Alfalfa biochar supported Mg-Fe layered double hydroxide as filter media to remove trace metal(loid)s from stormwater

Polluted stormwater (PSW) treatment is becoming increasingly important because of the existence of multiple pollutants from non-point pollution sources. Alfalfa biochar loaded with Mg/Fe layered double hydroxide (AF-LDH) was successfully synthesized to remove trace metal(loid)s from stormwater. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms of metal(loid)s in a mono-component system and the reusability of the composite materials was investigated in this study. The result showed that the maximum removal efficiency for Pb(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), As(V), and Cr(VI) were 98.98 %, 98.11 %, 97.88 %, 97.71 %, 98.81 %, and 50.89 %, respectively, when added calcined AF-LDH (AF-LDO) composite material to the multi-component solution. The AF-LDH and AF-LDO could efficiently remove trace pollutants (10-100 μg/L) from multi-component solution, especially for AF-LDO, which could completely remove the tested six trace metal(loid)s. Furthermore, Fourier transform infrared spectra and X-ray diffraction characterizations supported the Mg/Fe layered double hydroxide reconstruction. The main mechanisms of Pb(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), and Cd(II) (cationic metals) removal were ion exchange and surface precipitation, whereas As(V) and Cr(VI) (anionic metals) were mainly dislodged through the formation of surface complexation, electrostatic attraction, and interlayer anion exchange, concerning the -OH and -COOH of AF-LDH. Importantly, the results of the column experiment demonstrated that AF-LDO was superior to AF-LDH for anionic metal removal from stormwater. In this study, we synthesized AF-LDH and AF-LDO for trace metal(loid) removal and proposed a new and practical approach for stormwater purification.

Advanced oxidation processes for the elimination of microplastics from aqueous systems: Assessment of efficiency, perspectives and limitations

Microplastics act as a vector of heavy metals, organic pollutants, pathogens and resistance genes in the environment further aggravate the pollution of plastics. The conventional wastewater/water treatment processes can physically capture and remove most of microplastics, but the success rates varies. How to quickly remove a large amount of microplastics from aqueous system is a key research topic at present. Recently, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) as a green elimination strategy has attracted attention because of its effective elimination, strong destruction and safety. The molecular chain of microplastics can be gradually degraded into small molecular organics until H₂O and CO₂ by strong oxidizing free radical produced by AOPs. Unfortunately, problematically, the elimination of microplastics in aqueous system by AOPs is recently carried out on a laboratory scale. The application and implementation of this strategy are restricted by long reaction time, low liquid phase degradation efficiency and the formation of nanoplastics. Generally, the technology is still in its infancy, and most studies are carried out under laboratory conditions. The degradation of microplastics in aqueous system also needs appropriate conditions, but it is not always feasible under field conditions in AOPs. Although AOPs can be used as a green degradation technology to eliminate microplastics in aqueous systems in theory, it still needs to be furtherly explored in practical application. Consequently, before AOPs as a green elimination strategy is successfully applied to the effective remove microplastics, more in-depth research is still required, such as the setting from single condition to complex environment, the transfer from laboratory scale to field scale, and systematic toxicity evaluation of corresponding products.

Microplastics in landfill and leachate: Occurrence, environmental behavior and removal strategies

Plastic wastes buried in landfill are gradually broken and decomposed into microplastics under physical, chemical and biological effects, bringing environmental risks to the exploitation of waste resources. Landfill leachate as a potential source of environmental microplastics has not good attention. Microplastics in leachate carry toxic and harmful pollutants and antibiotic resistance genes, and these vectors pose greater risks to human and environmental health without systematic treatment. Recently, the main technologies of landfill leachate treatment process include order batch activated sludge process, membrane biological reaction process, flocculation process, combined filtration process, and constructed wetland process. However, there is still little knowledge about microplastic removal of the existing leachate treatment facilities, and some technologies to alleviate the sources of such microplastics should be timely developed. This paper systematically summarizes the occurrence of plastics, microplastics and nanoplastics in leachate and their interactive pollution with other toxic pollutants. Meanwhile, the prospects of their environmental behaviors in landfill and leachate are put forward. The microplastic removal by existing leachate treatment equipment and the limitations and challenges to upgrading process of development and implementation are also discussed. The paper can provide a scientific basis for studying the fate of microplastics in landfill and leachate.

Processable Conjugated Microporous Polymer Gels and Monoliths: Fundamentals and Versatile Applications

Conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) as a new type of conjugated polymers have attracted extensive attention in academia and industry because of the combination of microporous structure and π-electron conjugated structure. The construction and application of gels and monoliths based on CMPs constitute a fertile area of research, promising to provide solutions to complex environmental and energy issues. This review summarizes and objectively analyzes the latest advances in the construction and application of processable CMP gels and monoliths, linking the basic and enhanced properties to widespread applications. In this review, we open with a summary of the construction methods used to build CMP gels and monoliths and assess the feasibility of different preparation techniques and the advantages of the products. The CMP gels and monoliths with enhanced properties involving various special applications are then deliberated by highlighting relevant scientific literature and discussions. Finally, we present the issues and future of openness in the field, as well as come up with the major challenges hindering further development, to guide researchers in this field.

How sulfur species can accelerate the biological immobilization of the toxic selenium oxyanions and promote stable hexagonal Se0 formation

Toxic selenium oxyanions and sulfur species are often jointly present in contaminated waters and soils. This study investigated the effect on kinetics and resulting products for bio-reduction of selenium oxyanions in the presence of biologically produced sulfur resulting from bio-oxidation of sulfide in (bio)gas-desulfurization (bio-S⁰) and of sulfate. Selenite and selenate (~2 mmol L^-1) bio-reduction was studied in batch up to 28 days at 30 ^oC and pH 7 using lactic acid and a sulfate-reducing sludge, 'Emmtec'. Bio-S⁰ addition increased the selenite removal rate, but initially slightly decreased selenate reduction rates. Selenite reacted with biologically generated sulfide resulting in selenium-sulfur, which upon further bio-reduction creates a sulfur bio-reduction cycle. Sulfate addition increased the bio-reduction rate for both selenite and sulfate. Bio-S⁰ or sulfate promoted hexagonal selenium formation, whereas without these, mostly amorphous Se⁰ resulted. With another inoculum, 'Eerbeek', bio-S⁰ accelerated the selenite reduction rate less than for 'Emmtec' because of lower sulfur and higher selenite bio-reduction rates. Bio-S⁰ addition increased the selenate reduction rate slightly and accelerated hexagonal selenium formation. Hexagonal selenium formation is advantageous because it facilitates separation and recovery and is less mobile and toxic than amorphous Se⁰. Insights into the interaction between selenium and sulfur bio-reduction are valuable for understanding environmental pathways and considerations regarding remediation and recovery.

A CT-based nomogram for predicting the risk of adenocarcinomas in patients with subsolid nodule according to the 2021 WHO classification

Purpose

To establish a nomogram for predicting the risk of adenocarcinomas in patients with subsolid nodules (SSNs) according to the 2021 WHO classification.

Methods

A total of 656 patients who underwent SSNs resection were retrospectively enrolled. Among them, 407 patients were assigned to the derivation cohort and 249 patients were assigned to the validation cohort. Univariate and multi-variate logistic regression algorithms were utilized to identity independent risk factors of adenocarcinomas. A nomogram based on the risk factors was generated to predict the risk of adenocarcinomas. The discrimination ability of the nomogram was evaluated using the concordance index (C-index), its performance was calibrated using a calibration curve, and its clinical significance was evaluated using decision curves and clinical impact curves.

Results

Lesion size, mean CT value, vascular change and lobulation were identified as independent risk factors for adenocarcinomas. The C-index of the nomogram was 0.867 (95% CI, 0.833-0.901) in derivation cohort and 0.877 (95% CI, 0.836-0.917) in validation cohort. The calibration curve showed good agreement between the predicted and actual risks. Analysis of the decision curves and clinical impact curves revealed that the nomogram had a high standardized net benefit.

Conclusions

A nomogram for predicting the risk of adenocarcinomas in patients with SSNs was established in light of the 2021 WHO classification. The developed model can be adopted as a pre-operation tool to improve the surgical management of patients.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40644-022-00483-1.

Construction and validation of a novel ten miRNA-pair based signature for the prognosis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most predominate pathological subtype of renal cell carcinoma, causing a recurrence or metastasis rate as high as 20% to 40% after operation, for which effective prognostic signature is urgently needed.

METHODS

The mRNA and miRNA profiles of ccRCC specimens were collected from the Cancer Genome Atlas. MiRNA-pair risk score (miPRS) for each miRNA pair was generated as a signature and validated by univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Functional enrichment was performed, and immune cells infiltration, as well as tumor mutation burden (TMB), and immunophenoscore (IPS) were evaluated between high and low miPRS groups. Target gene-prediction and differentially expressed gene-analysis were performed based on databases of miRDB, miRTarBase, and TargetScan. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was adopted to establish the prognostic model and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed.

FINDINGS

A novel 10 miRNA-pair based signature was established. Area under the time-dependent receiver operating curve proved the performance of the signature in the training, validation, and testing cohorts. Higher TMB, as well as the higher CTLA4-negative PD1-negative IPS, were discovered in high miPRS patients. A prognostic model was built based on miPRS (1 year-, 5 year-, 10 year- ROC-AUC=0.92, 0.84, 0.82, respectively).

INTERPRETATION

The model based on miPRS is a novel and valid tool for predicting the prognosis of ccRCC.

FUNDING

This study was supported by research grants from the China National Natural Scientific Foundation (81903972, 82002018, and 82170752) and Shanghai Sailing Program (19YF1406700 and 20YF1406000).

Managing Fenton-treated sediment with biochar and sheep manure compost: Effects on the evolutionary characteristics of bacterial community

Fenton oxidation is a widely used method for the fast and efficient treatment of contaminated sediment, but few studies have investigated the management of Fenton-treated sediment for resource utilization. In this study, the evolutionary characteristics of bacterial community composition in Fenton-treated riverine sediment were investigated using 16S rRNA gene sequencing after the incorporation of rice straw biochar and sheep manure compost. The Fenton treatment caused a decline in the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes from 39% to 8% on the 7th day, and using biochar and compost rapidly increased the relative abundance of Firmicutes from 13% to 61% and 57%, respectively. Applying 1.25 wt% biochar after the Fenton treatment contributed to high Shannon diversity indices of 4.80, 4.69, and 4.76 on the 7th, 28th, and 56th day, respectively. The reduced differences of Shannon indexes on the 56th day indicated that the bacterial diversity among different treatments tended to be similar over time. The genera Flavisolibacter and Bacillus were representatively detected on the 7th day in the untreated sediment and Fenton/biochar-treated sediment, respectively. The number of feature bacteria decreased significantly from 88 on the 7th day to 29 on the 56th day. The community functions for the carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles were sensitive to the Fenton-treatment and the subsequent treatment with biochar and compost. This study may provide a useful reference for follow-up work on the remediation of contaminated sediment using advanced oxidation processes, and promote the development of resource utilization of amended sediment.

A study on quality control using delta data with machine learning technique

Background

In the big data era, patient-based real-time quality control (PBRTQC), as an emerging quality control (QC) method, is expanding within the clinical laboratory industry. However, the main issue of current PBRTQC methodology is data stability. Our study is aimed to explore a novel protocol for data stability by combining delta data with machine learning (ML) technique to improve the capacity of QC event detection.

Methods

A data set of 423,290 laboratory results from Beijing Chao-yang Hospital 2019 patient results were used as a training set (n = 380960, 90%) and internal validation set (n = 42330, 10%). A further 22,460 results from Beijing Long-fu Hospital 2019 patient results were used as a test set. Three-type data (1) Single-type data processed by truncation limits; (2) delta-type data processed by truncation limits and (3)delta-type data processed by Isolated Forest (IF) algorithm were evaluated with accuracy, sensitivity, NPed, etc., and compared with previously published statistical methods.

Results

The optimal model was based on Random Forest (RF) algorithm by using delta-type data processed by IF algorithm. The model had a better accuracy (0.99), sensitivity (0.99) specificity (0.99) and AUC (0.99) with the dependent test set, surpassing the critical bias of PBRTQC by over 50%. For the LYMPH#, HGB, and PLT, the cumulative MNPed of MLQC were reduced by 95.43%, 97.39%, and 97.97% respectively when compared to the best of the PBRTQC.

Conclusion

Final results indicate that by integrating an innovative ML algorithm with the overall data processing protocol the detection of QC events is improved.

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A protocol for data processing by using delta data together with machine learning algorithm, enables to improve data stability.

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After data processing, the performance of QC event prediction surpassed over 50% clinical recognized PBRTQC method, especially for the hard-to-detect error in QC event prediction.

A multi-model fusion algorithm as a real-time quality control tool for small shift detection

BACKGROUND

Patient-based real-time quality control (PBRTQC), a complement to traditional QC, may eliminate matrix effect from QC materials, realize real-time monitoring as well as cut costs. However, the accuracy of PBRTQC has not been satisfactory as physicians expect till now. Our aim is to set up a artificial intelligence-based QC for small error detection in real laboratory settings. Taking tPSA as our unique research subject, data extraction, data stimulation, data partition, model construction and evaluation were designed.

METHODS

84241 deidentified results for tPSA were extracted from Laboratory Information System of Aviation General Hospital. The data set was accumulated by way of data simulation. Independent training and test datasets were separated. After three classification models (RF, SVM and DNN) in ML constructed and weighted by information entropy, a multi-model fusion algorithm was generated. Performance of the fusion model was evaluated by comparing with optimal PBRTQC.

RESULTS

For 4 PBRTQC methods, MovSO showed overall better performance for 0.2 μg/L bias and optimal MNPed was equal to 200. For the fusion model, MNPeds were less than 12 for all biases, and ACC surpassed MovSO nearly 100 times. Except for 0.01 μg/L bias, ACC was more than 0.9 for the rest of biases. FPR was apparently lower than MovSO, only 0.2% and 0.1%.

CONCLUSION

The fusion model shows outstanding performance and reduces incorrect and omitting error detection, adaptable for the real settings.