Development of low-concentration mercury adsorbents from biohydrogen-generation agricultural residues using sulfur impregnation

Mercury adsorbents were derived from waste biohydrogen-generation barley husk and rice husk via carbonization, steam activation, and sulfur impregnation at 300-650 °C. The samples derived from agricultural residues showed a greater Hg⁰ adsorption than that of a coal-based activated carbon, confirming the feasibility of resource recovery of these agricultural residuals for low-concentration gaseous Hg adsorption. Sulfur impregnation reduced both the surface area and pore volume of the samples, with lower temperature causing a greater decrease. Elevating the impregnation temperature increased the organic sulfur contents, suggesting that in addition to elemental sulfur, organic sulfur may also act as active sites to improve Hg⁰ adsorption. Oxygen and sulfur functional groups accompanying the microporous structures may account for the enhancing Hg⁰ adsorption of the raw and sulfur-treated samples, respectively. The pseudo-second-order model can best describe the chemisorption characteristics, implying that Hg⁰ adsorption on the samples was in a bimolecular reaction form.     

DOG1 expression is predicted by the seed-maturation environment and contributes to geographical variation in germination in Arabidopsis thaliana

Seasonal germination timing of Arabidopsis thaliana strongly influences overall life history expression and is the target of intense natural selection. This seasonal germination timing depends strongly on the interaction between genetics and seasonal environments both before and after seed dispersal. DELAY OF GERMINATION 1 (DOG1) is the first gene that has been identified to be associated with natural variation in primary dormancy in A. thaliana. Here, we report interaccession variation in DOG1 expression and document that DOG1 expression is associated with seed‐maturation temperature effects on germination; DOG1 expression increased when seeds were matured at low temperature, and this increased expression was associated with increased dormancy of those seeds. Variation in DOG1 expression suggests a geographical structure such that southern accessions, which are more dormant, tend to initiate DOG1 expression earlier during seed maturation and achieved higher expression levels at the end of silique development than did northern accessions. Although elimination of the synthesis of phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) results in the elimination of maternal temperature effects on dormancy, DOG1 expression predicted dormancy better than expression of genes involved in ABA metabolism.     

Obesity, diabetes mellitus, and liver fibrosis

Obesity is a global epidemic with more than 1 billion overweight adults and at least 300 million obese patients worldwide. Diabetes is characterized by a defect in insulin secretion or a decrease in sensitivity to insulin, which results in elevated fasting blood glucose. Both obesity and elevated fasting glucose are risk factors for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a disease spectrum that includes hepatic steatosis (nonalcoholic fatty liver), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, and cirrhosis. Increased adiposity and insulin resistance contribute to the progression from NASH to fibrosis through the development of a profibrotic mileau in the liver, including increased hepatocellular death, increased reactive oxygen species generation, and an altered adipokine/cytokine balance. This review will summarize recent advances in our understanding of the pathological interactions among excessive fat accumulation, insulin resistance, and hepatic fibrogenesis and discuss specific molecular pathways that may be of interest in the development of therapeutic interventions to prevent and/or reverse hepatic fibrosis.     

Population structure of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nouelia insignis</Emphasis> (Asteraceae), an endangered species in southwestern China,based on chloroplast DNA sequences: recent demographic shrinking

Nouelia insignis, an endangered species, is distributed in the Jinsha and Nanpan drainage areas in southwestern China. In this study, we examined the genetic diversity and population structure based on the sequences of the cpDNA rpL 16 intron. Low levels of genetic variation were detected within all populations of the endemic species. A gene genealogy of 11 haplotypes recovered two major lineages I and II, with haplotypes H1 and H6 nested as interior nodes, respectively. Haplotype H1 was widespread in all populations, while haplotype H6 was restricted to populations southern of the Jinsha River. Low levels of genetic differentiation were detected, as most F _st values between populations were zero. This result, however, contradicts previous studies based on allozymes and fingerprinting. Genetic analyses suggested that coancestry due to low evolutionary rates resulted in the lack of geographical subdivision. Molecular dating estimated that the two lineages split about 3.224 MYA (95% CI 1.070–6.089 MYA). Maintenance of ancestral polymorphisms was possibly attributable to a long-standing large effective population size until recently. Postglacial demographic expansion was supported by a unimodal mismatch distribution and star-like phylogenies.     

Development of silver-containing austenite antibacterial stainless steels for biomedical applications part I: microstructure characteristics, mechanical properties and antibacterial mechanisms

The as-quenched (AQ) microstructure of the Ag-containing alloys was found to be essentially a mixture of austenite (γ) and Ag phases. The Ag phase precipitates had a face-centered-cubic structure and lattice parameter a = 4.09 ?. When the alloy contained Ag ≥0.2 wt%, the mechanical properties were slightly enhanced because of the precipitate strengthening by the Ag phase precipitates. Moreover, the Ag-containing alloys exhibited ductile fracture after tensile testing. The results of an antibacterial test revealed that the Ag phase precipitates play a key role in the antibacterial mechanism of Ag-containing alloys: Ag(+) ions released from the Ag phase precipitates can kill bacteria. It is suggested that as AISI 316L alloy has an Ag content ≥0.2 wt%, it will have excellent antibacterial properties against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, with an antibacterial rate of nearly 100%.     

Patients with Blepharitis Are at Elevated Risk of Anxiety and Depression

Purpose

Population-based cohort study on the risk of anxiety and depression in patients with blepharitis is limited. This study evaluated whether blepharitis patients are at a higher risk of anxiety and depression.

Design

A retrospective cohort study.

Methods

We used the universal insurance claims data from 1997 to 2010 in Taiwan to identify annually patients with newly diagnosed blepharitis (N = 9764) and without the disease (N = 39056). Incidences, rate ratios (IRR) and hazard ratios (HR) of anxiety and depression were measured for both cohorts by baseline demographic characteristics and comorbidities until the end of 2010.

Results

Compared with the non-blepharitis cohort, the blepharitis cohort had higher incidence of anxiety (15.9 vs. 9.5 per 1000 person-years), with an adjusted HR of 1.58 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.46–1.70). The incidence of depression was also higher in the blepharitis cohort (7.66 vs. 5.05 per 1000 person-years), with an adjusted HR of 1.42 (95% CI = 1.28–1.58). The blepharitis cohort to the non-blepharitis cohort IRR decreased from 1.73 in the first quartile to 1.32 in the 4^th quartile for anxiety, and from 1.67 to 1.29 for depression.

Conclusions

Patients with blepharitis are at elevated risks of anxiety and depression. The risk is higher in earlier period after the diagnosis of blepharitis, and declines by time, but remains significantly higher for those with blepharitis than those without blepharitis.