Dialysis water is directly related to the safety of hemodialysis patients, thus its quality is generally ensured by a stepwise water purification cascade. To study the effect of water treatment on the presence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in dialysis water, this study used propidium monoazide (PMA) in conjunction with high throughput quantitative PCR to analyze the diversity and abundance of ARGs found in viable bacteria from water having undergone various water treatment processes. The results indicated the presence of 35 ARGs in the effluents from the different water treatment steps. Twenty-nine ARGs were found in viable bacteria from the effluent following carbon filtration, the highest among all of the treatment processes, and at 6.96 Log (copies/L) the absolute abundance of the cphA gene was the highest. Two resistance genes, erm (36) and mtrD-02, which belong to the resistance categories macrolides-lincosamides-streptogramin B (MLSB) and other/efflux pump, respectively, were detected in the effluent following reverse osmosis treatment. Both of these genes have demonstrated the potential for horizontal gene transfer. These results indicated that the treated effluent from reverse osmosis, the final treatment step in dialysis-water production, was associated with potential health risks. [Figure not available: see fulltext.].@en

Tianjin, one of the so-called Treaty Ports that opened to foreign trade under the unequal treaties was home to nine foreign concessions. In each concession, the foreign powers created urban forms and functions that mirrored practices in their respective home countries. This article explores the consecutive establishment and implementation of regulations in eight out of nine foreign concessions in Tianjin between 1860 and 1945. It firstly provides an overview of regulation types and legislative systems of the concessions. Secondly, it compares these regulations and bylaws with the ones in their home countries. Thirdly, it compares the specific cases of Tianjin concessions with each other. Finally, it places the Tianjin case in the context of other Chinese port city concessions. In conclusion, it argues that the regulations of concessions in Tianjin not only showed a strong influence from their home countries in a top-down setting, but also interacted with each other in a peer-to-peer setting. The circulation of these regulations, within Tianjin and among treaty ports in China, was promoted by governments’ central control, municipal councils’ intervention and individuals’ movements from one place to another.@en