Combined heterotrophic and autotrophic denitrification (HAD) is a sustainable and practical method for removing nitrate from organic-limited wastewater. However, the active microorganisms responsible for denitrification in wastewater treatment have not been clearly identified. In this study, a combined microelectrolysis, heterotrophic, and autotrophic denitrification (CEHAD) process was established. DNA-based stable isotope probing was employed to identify the active denitrifiers in reactors fed with either C-labeled inorganic or organic carbon sources. The total nitrogen removal efficiencies reached 87.2-92.8% at a low organic carbon concentration (20 mg/L COD). Real-time polymerase chain reaction of the  nirS gene as a function of the DNA buoyant density following the ultracentrifugation of the total DNA indicated markedC-labeling of active denitrifiers. High-throughput sequencing of the fractionated DNA in HCO/CHCOO-fed and HCO/CHCOO-fed reactors revealed that Thermomonas-like phylotypes were labeled by C-bicarbonate, while Thauera-like and Comamonas-like phylotypes were labeled byC-acetate. Meanwhile, Arenimonas-like and Rubellimicrobium-like phylotypes were recovered in the "heavy" DNA fractions from both reactors. These results suggest that nitrate removal in CEHAD is catalyzed by various active microorganisms, including autotrophs, heterotrophs, and mixotrophs. Our findings provide a better understanding of the mechanism of nitrogen removal from organic-limited water and wastewater and can be applied to further optimize such processes.

Background: The Dickkopf1 (DKK1) gene encodes a protein that belongs to the Dickkopf family. The protein can inhibit the Wnt signaling pathway which plays a key role in the carcinogenesis and progression of various types of cancers. Based on this, we hypothesized that the differential expression of DKK1 may figure significantly in cancers by regulating Wnt signaling pathway transduction. In this study, we conducted bioinformatics analysis to evaluate the prognostic and therapeutic value of DKK1 expression level in human cancers.Methods: The expression level was analyzed by using the Oncomine database and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis tool. The analysis of prognosis was conducted by using the UALCAN, Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA), and DriverDBv3 databases. We also investigated using DKK1 promoter methylation to define cancer types through the UALCAN database. Meanwhile, the related functional networks of DKK1 were analyzed by using the GeneMANIA interactive tool and Cytoscape software. Furthermore, Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis was conducted using the Metascape online website, and we used the cBioPotartal database to explored DKK1 expression, aberrant information, and the co-expression genes in the subgroups of lung cancer. Finally, we performed the overall survival (OS) meta-analysis of the DKK1 expression in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) via the Lung Cancer Explorer (LCE).Results: DKK1 was differentially expressed in different types of human cancers. DKK1 was overexpressed in human cancers including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC), LUSC, and pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD). Overexpression of DKK1 indicated adverse OS in bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA), HNSC, and PADD, but no difference in OS was found between the LUSC and healthy groups.The high expression of DKK1 was also associated with shorter disease-free survival (DFS) in HNSC, LUSC, and PAAD. Gene regulation network analysis indicated that DKK1 was mainly involved in Wnt signaling pathways and several other signaling pathways.Conclusions: Our findings showed that DKK1 is significantly expressed in various cancers and could be a biomarker for targeted therapy and a predictor for prognosis of these specific cancers. The bioinformatics analysis revealed a significant overexpression of DKK1 in HNSC, LUSC, and PAAD, with DKK1 overexpression being associated with adverse outcome in these patients, but how DKK1 expression levels relate to hematological malignancies and prognosis is still unclear. These new insights into the function of DKK1 may provide a basis for new targeted drug therapy and an avenue for further investigation into the mechanisms underlying carcinogenesis of DKK1 in different cancer types.

Background This meta-analysis aimed to clarify the diagnostic role of plasma methylated SEPT9 (mSEPT9) in colorectal cancer (CRC) and examined its association with CRC. Material/Methods A systematic review was conducted prior to July 2018. Summary sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative likelihood ratio (PLR/NLR) were calculated for the diagnostic value of mSEPT9 for CRC. The areas under the receiver operating curves (AUCs) were used to summarize the overall test performance. Results Twenty-two studies with 2271 CRC patients were enrolled. The summary sensitivity, specificity, PLR, NLR, DOR, and AUC of the overall analysis of mSEPT9 were 0.69, 0.92, 8.1, 0.34, 24, and 0.89, respectively. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses demonstrated that the diagnostic value was higher for the Epi proColon 2.0 assay, Asian ethnicity, and mSEPT9 test combined with fecal occult blood test (FOBT) or fecal immunochemical test (FIT) than for other test methods, white ethnicity, and mSEPT9 test alone. The rate of mSEPT9 positivity was higher in advanced CRC cases compared with early-stage CRC cases, and was higher in CRC cases than in adenoma cases. No significant difference in mSEPT9 positivity rate was found between left- and right-sided CRC. Conclusions Plasma mSEPT9 has a high diagnostic value for CRC, especially on the newly developed Epi proColon test 2.0 method. The diagnostic sensitivity is superior among Asians compared to whites, and the combination of mSEPT9 and FOBT/FIT has a better performance than mSEPT9 alone. Finally, the expression of mSEPT9 is associated with CRC stage but not with location.

Background The mechanisms underlying the online modulation of motor speech in Parkinson’s disease (PD) have not been determined. Moreover, medical and rehabilitation interventions for PD-associated motor speech disorder (MSD) have a poor long-term prognosis.Methods To compare risk factors in PD patients with MSD to those without MSD (non-MSD) and determine predictive independent risk factors correlated with the MSD phenotype, we enrolled 314 PD patients, including 250 with and 64 without MSD. We compared demographic, characteristic data, as well as PD-associated evaluations between the MSD group and non-MSD group.Results Univariate analysis showed that demographic characteristics, including occupation, educational level, monthly income and speaking background; clinical characteristics, including lesions in the frontal and temporal lobes, and concurrent dysphagia; and PD-associated evaluations, including the activity of daily living (ADL) score, non-motor symptoms scale (NMSS) domain 4 score (perceptual problem), and NMSS domain 5 score (attention/memory) were all significantly different between the MSD and non-MSD group (all P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that educational level, frontal lesions, and NMSS domain 5 score (attention/memory) were independent risk factors for PD-associated MSD (all P < 0.005).Conclusions We determined an association between MSD phenotype and cognitive impairment, reflected by low-level education and related clinical profiles. Moreover, attention and memory dysfunction may play key roles in the progression of MSD in PD patients. Further studies are required to detail the mechanism underlying abnormal speech motor modulation in PD patients. Early cognitive intervention may enhance rehabilitation management and motor speech function in patients with PD-associated MSD.