Innate and adaptive immune responses play critical roles in the body's defense against viruses. We investigated the host immune response against the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus [A(H1N1)pdm09] in patients before and after anti-influenza therapy and found that the numbers of dendritic cells and T cells were significantly reduced compared with those of a healthy control group. In contrast, the frequency of natural killer, cdT and T regulatory (T reg ) cells increased, and the concentrations of plasma interferon (IFN)-a/c and interleukin (IL-15) were significantly higher than those of the control. Following therapy the frequency of cdT and T reg cells returned to normal; the counts of myeloid dendritic and plasmacytoid dendritic cells were still lower than the control, while the concentrations of IFN-a/c and IL-15 remained high. We show that infection with A (H1N1)pdm09 was accompanied by changes in peripheral blood lymphocyte subgroups and cytokine profiles, leading to deleterious imbalances in innate and adaptive immunity.

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To evaluate the safety and efficacy of retroperitoneal laparoscopic ureterolithotomy (RLU) in the treatment of proximal ureteral stones accompanied with obstructive pyelonephritis without preoperative drainage.We retrospectively reviewed 21 cases of proximal ureteral stones with infected kidney undergoing RLU between July 2013 and September 2016. Stone-induced obstructive infected hydronephrosis was diagnosed using blood and urine tests and imaging modalities. Empirical effective broad spectrum antibiotic therapy was initiated immediately, and then urgent RLU was performed without preoperative drainage. During the surgical procedure, infected urine was also aspirated before stone was removed. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative clinical data were collected.Operations were performed successfully without open conversion or blood transfusion. The mean operation time was 69.3 ± 12.33 minutes. For all the patients, the level of plasma procalcitonin decreased after RLU. The mean hospital stay duration was 6.4 ± 1.54 days. No septic shock or other severe complications occurred. By discharge, the body temperature and hemogram of each patient returned to normal. A 100% stone-free rate was achieved.Our study suggests that RLU is a potentially safe and effective method to treat proximal ureteral stones accompanied with obstructive pyelonephritis without any need of preoperative drainage.

Environmental pollution caused by excessive Sb(III) in the water environment is a global issue. We investigated the effect of processing parameters, their interaction and mechanistic details for the removal of Sb(III) using an iron salt-modified biosorbent (Fe(III)-modified Proteus cibarius (FMPAs)). Our study evaluated the optimisation of the adsorption time, adsorbent dose, pH, temperature and the initial concentration of Sb(III). We use response surface methodology to optimize this process, determining optimal processing conditions and the adsorption mechanism evaluated based on isotherm model and adsorption kinetics. The results showed that—(1) the optimal conditions for the adsorption of Sb(III) by FMPAs were an adsorption time of 2.2 h, adsorbent dose of 3430 mg/L, at pH 6.0 and temperature 44.0 °C. For the optimum initial concentration of Sb(III) 27.70 mg/L, the removal efficiency of Sb(III) reached 97.60%. (2) The adsorption process for Sb(III) removal by FMPAs conforms to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model, and its maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) is as high as 30.612 mg/g. A pseudo-first-order kinetic model provided the best fit to the adsorption process, classified as single layer adsorption and chemisorption mechanism. (3) The adsorption of Sb(III) takes place via the hydroxyl group in Fe–O–OH and EPS–Polyose–O–Fe(OH)2, which forms a new complex Fe–O–Sb and X≡Fe–OH. The study showed that FMPAs have higher adsorption capacity for Sb(III) than other previously studied sorbents and with low environmental impact, it has a great potential as a green adsorbent for Sb(III) in water.

The phosphate rock has great potential value in the application of cut-off walls for heavy metal contaminated sites. The effects of initial concentration of Pb2+, contact time, temperature and pH on the adsorption performance of phosphate rock modified soil-bentonite (PSB) were analyzed by Batch tests, also the microstructure and physicochemical properties of the adsorbent were characterized and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The results showed that the incorporation of phosphate rock improves the adsorption performance of the mixed material for Pb2+ in acidic environment, and the maximum adsorption amount of PSB can be 154% greater than that of soil-bentonite (SB). The kinetic analysis showed that intraparticle diffusion and liquid film diffusion participate in control of the adsorption process at the same time, and the Langmuir model could fit the isothermal adsorption data better. The adsorption process of PSB to Pb2+ is an exothermic reaction process, and the low temperature environment is beneficial to the adsorption of Pb2+. Studies on the microscopic mechanism show that the PO43− react with Pb2+ in the solution to form phosphate precipitation, and –OH and PO43− on the surface or interlayer of the adsorbent participate in the adsorption process of Pb2+.

The treatment of expansive soil is always a difficult problem in engineering. Using coal gangue, fly ash, and other solid waste to treat expansive soil has gradually become a new way of energy saving and environmental protection. Most of the existing studies focus on using one or two kinds of admixtures to improve expansive soil, but there are few studies on improving expansive soil with multiple admixtures. In this paper, the expansion and shrinkage deformation and strength characteristics of expansive soil modified by coal gangue, fly ash, and lime are studied experimentally. Nine groups of different mixing schemes were designed through orthogonal tests, and the physical and mechanical properties of the improved expansive soil under different mixing ratios were tested. The sensitivity analysis of the test results was carried out to study the effect of each admixture on the improved expansive soil under different mixing ratios, and the optimal mix ratio under different conditions was obtained. The optimal mix ratio is 8% for coal gangue, 11% for fly ash, and 6% for lime. Further scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tests were carried out to analyze the microstructure of the improved expansive soil and explore the improvement mechanism of the multiadmixture. The results show that the optimal moisture content and the maximum dry density of the expansive soil with ash are decreased, and the properties of liquid plastic limit, free expansion rate, shear strength, and unconfined compressive strength of the expansive soil are improved obviously. Through the analysis of the comprehensive balance method, it is found that the content of lime has the greatest influence on the improvement effect of expansive soil, followed by that of coal gangue, and the least is that of fly ash. SEM structure analysis reveals that the particles of improved expansive soil are mainly aggregates, the soil structure is dense, particle agglomeration increases, and the overall structure is stronger. The research results can provide reference for the improvement of expansive soil with various admixtures and the resource utilization of coal gangue, fly ash, and other solid wastes.

As the 2 m thick compacted clay liner with permeability coefficient of 1 × 10−7 cm/s is required in the Chinese technical specifications about landfill, the performance of this compacted clay liner was analyzed considering three different adsorption isotherms (convex, straight, and concave). The effects of source concentration, adsorption mode, and waterhead on the breakthrough curve and breakthrough time of Pb2+ were discussed. The results indicate that reducing the concentration of pollution sources is beneficial to prolonging the breakthrough time. With the waterhead of 10 m, the absolute breakthrough time, respectively, increased from 2.77 to 3.7 years (concave type isotherm), from 17.63 to 26.58 years (straight type isotherm), and from 35.43 to 59.6 years (convex type isotherm), as the source concentration decreased from 1000 mg/L to 10 mg/L. The effect of adsorption isotherm type on the performance of the barrier is very obvious: with the waterhead of 10 m, the absolute breakthrough time corresponding to the convex isotherm is more than twice that of the straight adsorption isotherm, and more than 12.8 times that of the concave isotherm. The absolute breakthrough time corresponding to 0.3 m waterhead is more than 4 times that of 10 m, and reducing the waterhead can effectively increase the breakthrough time.

BackgroundPolyporus polysaccharide (PPS), an active ingredient of traditional Chinese medicinal Polyporus umbellatus, has multiple biological functions, such as anti-cancer, immune-regulating and hepatoprotective activities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanism of PPS activated macrophages in the treatment of bladder cancer.Methods100 ng/mL Phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) was used to induce THP-1 human leukemic cells as a macrophage model. Flow cytometry was used to detect the expression of CD14 and CD68 to verify the establishment of macrophage model. After that, Macrophages derived from THP-1 were treated with different concentrations of PPS (1,10 and 100 ug/mL). Flow cytometry and RT-PCR were used to detected the expression of CD16, CD23, CD86, CD40 and interleukin (IL)-Iβ, iNOS mRNA. ELISA was used to test the change of IL-1β and TNF-α in macrophage after the treatment with PPS. The conditioned medium from PPS-polarized macrophages was used to detect the effect of activated macrophages on bladder cancer. MTT assay, 5-ethynyl-2¢-deoxyuridine assay, flow cytometry, Transwell assay, and Western blot analysis were used to detect the effects of polarized macrophages on the viability, proliferation, apoptosis, and migration of bladder cancer cells. Western blot was also used to analysis the change of JAK2/NF-κB pathway protein.ResultsPPS promoted the expression of pro-inflammatory factors, such as IL-Iβ, TNF-α and iNOS, and surface molecules CD86, CD16, CD23, and CD40 in macrophages and then polarized macrophages to M1 type. The results demonstrated that activated macrophages inhibited the proliferation of bladder cancer cells, regulated their apoptosis, and inhibited migration and epithelial–mesenchymal transformation (EMT). JAK2/NF-κB pathways were downregulated in the anti-bladder cancer process of activated macrophages. ConclusionThe findings indicated that PPS inhibited the proliferation and progression of bladder cancer by the polarization of macrophages to M1 type, and JAK2/NF-κB pathway was downregulated in the process of anti-bladder cancer.