褪黑素对小鼠MFC前胃癌细胞ERK、Akt及NF-κB表达的影响

目的探讨褪黑素对小鼠MFC前胃癌细胞ERK、Akt及NF-κB表达的影响。方法建立褪黑素在不同时间点干预胃癌细胞的体外模型,免疫印迹法观察褪黑素对小鼠MFC前胃癌细胞p-ERK/ERK、p-Akt/Akt,NF-κB表达的影响,CCK-8检测PI3K抑制剂Wortmannin对MFC细胞增殖的作用。结果①2mmol/L褪黑素作用24h、48h后明显下调MFC细胞ERK1/2、Akt的磷酸化,但对ERK1/2、Akt表达无影响;②Wortmannin明显抑制MFC细胞增殖活性,与MLT作用有明显协同效应;③褪黑素对NF-κB表达无影响。结论褪黑素可通过抑制ERK1/2、Akt的磷酸化从而抑制胃癌细胞增殖。     

铬还原菌的分离筛选及其在微生物燃料电池生物阴极中的应用

【目的】水溶性的Cr(Ⅵ)对环境及人类造成的危害是社会亟待解决的问题。Cr(Ⅵ)还原菌株的分离筛选、还原特性的分析和在微生物燃料电池中的应用为六价铬污染水体的微生物修复提供科学依据和新的方法。【方法】从黄河兰州段排污口采集样本,用平板法分离筛选获得具有Cr(Ⅵ)还原能力的菌株,并将Cr(Ⅵ)还原能力最强的LZU-26菌株应用到微生物燃料电池中,检测其产电能力和Cr(Ⅵ)还原特性。【结果】共分离得到21株具有Cr(Ⅵ)还原能力的菌株,其中LZU-26菌株Cr(Ⅵ)还原能力最强,属于Cellulosimicrobium cellilans。0.4 mmol/L初始Cr(Ⅵ)在LZU-26的作用下24 h铬还原率可达到95.89%,在48 h后达99.97%。将LZU-26运用在微生物燃料电池生物阴极,所获得的最大电压和最大功率密度分别为68 mV和6.8 W/cm~2。生物阴极Cr(Ⅵ)还原率(68.9%)也远高于化学阴极(14.7%)和对照组(2.7%)。【结论】利用Cr(Ⅵ)还原菌作为微生物燃料电池生物阴极处理含铬废水,将会是一种高效、节能和环境友好的方法。     

Effects of biofouling on ion transport through cation exchange membranes and microbial fuel cell performance

This study examines the effects of biofouling on the electrochemical properties of cation exchange membranes (CEMs), such as membrane electrical resistance (MER), specific proton conductivity (SC), and ion transport number (t₊), in addition to on microbial fuel cell (MFC) performance. CEM biofouling using a 15.5 ± 4.6 μm biofilm was found to slightly increase the MER from 15.65 Ω cm² (fresh Nafion) to 19.1 Ω cm², whereas an increase of almost two times was achieved when the electrolyte was changed from deionized water to an anolyte containing a high cation concentration supporting bacterial growth. The simple physical cleaning of CEMs had little effect on the Coulombic efficiency (CE), whereas replacing a biofouled CEM with new one resulted in considerable increase of up to 59.3%, compared to 45.1% for a biofouled membrane. These results clearly suggest the internal resistance increase of MFC was mainly caused by the sulfonate functional groups of CEM being occupied with cations contained in the anolyte, rather than biofouling itself.     

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha regulates autophagy to activate hepatic stellate cells

The role of autophagy in Hif-1α modulated activation of hepatic stellate cells was illustrated in current work. Autophagy markers were determined in livers of Schistosoma japonicum infected mice and hypoxia or LPS treated human hepatic stellate cell, LX-2 cells. The action of Hif-1 to autophagy was defined as increase of autophagy markers was significantly suppressed in Hif-1α siRNA transfected cells upon hypoxia or LPS stimulation. The function of autophagy in activation of LX-2 cells was assessed as increase of activation markers was blocked using autophagy inhibitors under hypoxia and LPS stimulation. Conclusively, Hif-1α regulates activation of hepatic stellate cell by modulating autophagy.     

eIF1 Controls Multiple Steps in Start Codon Recognition during Eukaryotic Translation Initiation

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor (eIF) 1 is a central mediator of start codon recognition. Dissociation of eIF1 from the preinitiation complex (PIC) allows release of phosphate from the G-protein factor eIF2, triggering downstream events in initiation. Mutations that weaken binding of eIF1 to the PIC decrease the fidelity of start codon recognition (Sui⁻ phenotype) by allowing increased eIF1 release at non-AUG codons. Consistent with this, overexpression of these mutant proteins suppresses their Sui⁻ phenotypes. Here, we have examined mutations at the penultimate residue of eIF1, G107, that produce Sui⁻ phenotypes without increasing the rate of eIF1 release. We provide evidence that, in addition to its role in gating phosphate release, dissociation of eIF1 triggers conversion from an open, scanning-competent state of the PIC to a stable, closed one. We also show that eIF5 antagonizes binding of eIF1 to the complex and that key interactions of eIF1 with its partners are modulated by the charge at and around G107. Our data indicate that eIF1 plays multiple roles in start codon recognition and suggest that prior to AUG recognition it prevents eIF5 from binding to a key site in the PIC required for triggering downstream events.     

In vitro biopesticide effect of alkaloids and flavonoids of some plants against Fusarium oxysporum

Alkaloids and flavonoids of three plants, namely Withania somnifera, Euphorbia hirta and Terminalia chebula, were tested for their antifungal potential against plant pathogenic fungi Fusarium oxysporum. The spore counting technique was followed for the antibiotic properties of the extracts tested at three different concentrations (2.5, 5 and 10?mg/ml). Results revealed that the bound flavonoid of root of W. somnifera and free flavonoids of stem bark and fruits of T. chebula totally inhibited spore germination of the fungi (100%). The range of minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum fungicidal concentration of extracts recorded was 0.039–0.625 and 0.039–1.25?mg/ml, respectively. Bound flavonoids of selected plants were more effective than free flavonoids and alkaloids. The study suggests that both alkaloids and flavonoids extracts of selected plants have a potential antifungal properties for the control of diseases of various crops.     

Integration of a microbial fuel cell with activated sludge process for energy-saving wastewater treatment: taking a sequencing batch reactor as an example

In the research and application of microbial fuel cell (MFC), how to incorporate MFCs into current wastewater infrastructure is an importance issue. Here, we report a novel strategy of integrating an MFC into a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) to test the energy production and the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal. The membrane-less biocathode MFC is integrated with the SBR to recover energy from the aeration in the form of electricity and thus reduce the SBR operation costs. In a lab-scale integrated SBR-MFC system, the maximum power production of the MFC was 2.34 W/m(3) for one typical cycle and the current density reached up to 14 A/m(3) . As a result, the MFC contributed to the 18.7% COD consumption of the integrated system and also recovered energy from the aeration tank with a volume fraction of only 12% of the SBR. Our strategy provides a feasible and effective energy-saving and -recovering solution to upgrade the existing activated sludge processes.     

Power overshoot in two-chambered microbial fuel cell (MFC)

A two-chamber microbial fuel cell was started using iron-reducing strains as inoculum and acetate as carbon sources. The tested microbial fuel cell had an open-circuit voltage of 0.67 V, and reached 1045 mA m⁻² and a power density of 486 mW m⁻² at 0.46 V before power overshoot occurred. Anodic reactions were identified as the rate-determining steps. Stirring the anolyte insignificantly increased cell performance, suggesting a minimal external mass transfer resistance from the anolyte to the anodic biofilm. Data regression analysis indicates that charge transfer resistance at the biofilm-anode junction was negligible. The order of magnitude estimation of electrical conductance indicates that electron transfer resistance had an insignificant effect on microbial fuel cell performance. Resistance in electrogens for substrate utilization is proposed to induce microbial fuel cell power overshoot.     

Upflow bio-filter circuit (UBFC): biocatalyst microbial fuel cell (MFC) configuration and application to biodiesel wastewater treatment

A biodiesel wastewater treatment technology was investigated for neutral alkalinity and COD removal by microbial fuel cell. An upflow bio-filter circuit (UBFC), a kind of biocatalyst MFC was renovated and reinvented. The developed system was combined with a pre-fermented (PF) and an influent adjusted (IA) procedure. The optimal conditions were operated with an organic loading rate (OLR) of 30.0 g COD/L-day, hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 1.04 day, maintained at pH level 6.5-7.5 and aerated at 2.0 L/min. An external resistance of circuit was set at 10 k?. The purposed process could improve the quality of the raw wastewater and obtained high efficiency of COD removal of 15.0 g COD/L-day. Moreover, the cost of UBFC system was only US$1775.7/m3 and the total power consumption was 0.152 kW/kg treated COD. The overall advantages of this invention are suitable for biodiesel wastewater treatment.     

Effect of operational parameters on Coulombic efficiency in bioelectrochemical systems

To create an efficient bioelectrochemical system, a high Coulombic efficiency is required. This efficiency is a direct measure for the competition between electrogens and methanogens when acetate is used as substrate. In this study the Coulombic efficiency in a microbial electrolysis cell was investigated. As a result of an increase in substrate concentration from 1 to 35 mM, the current density increased to 21.1A/m(2), while the Coulombic efficiency decreased to 52%. As a result of an increase in anode potential from -450 to -0.250 mV, the current density increased to 20.9A/m(2), while the Coulombic efficiency increased 21%. Knowledge about the substrate affinity and growth kinetics is crucial to control the Coulombic efficiency. Further research is required to optimize strategies to find a balance between the Coulombic efficiency, current density and removal rate of organic material.