Organic sorbate-organoclay interactions in aqueous and hydrophobic environments: sorbate-water competition

Sorption of nitrobenzene, phenol, and m-nitrophenol from water and n-hexadecane was measured on Na-montmorillonite and organoclays in which 41 and 90% of the exchange capacity of the Na-clay was occupied by hexadecyltrimethylammonium. The strength of sorbate-sorbent interactions in n-hexadecane for all three sorbents was in the following order: nitrobenzene < phenol < m-nitrophenol. The magnitude of the distribution coefficients suggests that the contribution to solute uptake of partitioning between n-hexadecane and the organic pseudophase of the dried organoclays is minor, whereas the major contribution is from adsorptive sorbate-sorbent interactions. Sorption isotherms obtained in different solvents were compared using a sorbate activity scale. In the organoclays, the stronger the tendency of a sorbate to interact with sorption sites, the less pronounced is the reduction in the activity-based sorption due to competition with water. The order of this reduction for the different sorbates is nitrobenzene > phenol > m-nitrophenol. The weakening of sorbate-sorbent interactions resulting from water-sorbate competition might be mitigated by interaction between the organic sorbate and sorbed water molecules. Since the more strongly interacting organic compounds are less susceptible to suppression of sorption in the presence of water, hydrating organoclays may result in an increased differentiation between "weakly" and "strongly" interacting ("nonpolar" and "polar") compounds in the organoclay phase.     

Economic cost-benefit analysis for the agricultural use of sewage sludge treated with lime and fly ash

A tool for calculating the economic and environmental impacts of the use of byproducts of industrial processes that can substitute for perishable resources was ...     

Loss of Fer Jeopardizes Metabolic Plasticity and Mitochondrial Homeostasis in Lung and Breast Carcinoma Cells

Metabolic plasticity is a hallmark of the ability of metastatic cancer cells to survive under stressful conditions. The intracellular Fer kinase is a selective constituent of the reprogramed mitochondria and metabolic system of cancer cells. In the current work, we deciphered the modulatory roles of Fer in the reprogrammed metabolic systems of metastatic, lung (H358), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and breast (MDA-MB-231), triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), carcinoma cells. We show that H358 cells devoid of Fer (H358ΔFer), strictly depend on glucose for their proliferation and growth, and fail to compensate for glucose withdrawal by oxidizing and metabolizing glutamine. Furthermore, glucose deficiency caused increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and induction of a DNA damage response (DDR), accompanied by the onset of apoptosis and attenuated cell-cycle progression. Analysis of mitochondrial function revealed impaired respiratory and electron transport chain (ETC) complex 1 (comp. I) activity in the Fer-deficient H358ΔFer cells. This was manifested by decreased levels of NAD⁺ and ATP and relatively low abundance of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle metabolites. Impaired electron transport chain comp. I activity and dependence on glucose were also confirmed in Fer-deficient, MDA-MB-231ΔFer cells. Although both H358ΔFer and MDA-MB-231ΔFer cells showed a decreased aspartate level, this seemed to be compensated by the predominance of pyrimidines synthesis over the urea cycle progression. Notably, absence of Fer significantly impeded the growth of H358ΔFer and MDA-MB-231ΔFer xenografts in mice provided with a carb-deficient, ketogenic diet. Thus, Fer plays a key role in the sustention of metabolic plasticity of malignant cells. In compliance with this notion, targeting Fer attenuates the progression of H358 and MDA-MB-231 tumors, an effect that is potentiated by a glucose-restrictive diet.     

Adipokines,Myokines, and Hepatokines: Crosstalk and Metabolic Repercussions

Adipose, skeletal, and hepatic muscle tissues are the main endocrine organs that produce adipokines, myokines, and hepatokines. These biomarkers can be harmful or beneficial to an organism and still perform crosstalk, acting through the endocrine, paracrine, and autocrine pathways. This study aims to review the crosstalk between adipokines, myokines, and hepatokines. Far beyond understanding the actions of each biomarker alone, it is important to underline that these cytokines act together in the body, resulting in a complex network of actions in different tissues, which may have beneficial or non-beneficial effects on the genesis of various physiological disorders and their respective outcomes, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2), obesity, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Overweight individuals secrete more pro-inflammatory adipokines than those of a healthy weight, leading to an impaired immune response and greater susceptibility to inflammatory and infectious diseases. Myostatin is elevated in pro-inflammatory environments, sharing space with pro-inflammatory organokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 (IL-1), resistin, and chemerin. Fibroblast growth factor FGF21 acts as a beta-oxidation regulator and decreases lipogenesis in the liver. The crosstalk mentioned above can interfere with homeostatic disorders and can play a role as a potential therapeutic target that can assist in the methods of diagnosing metabolic syndrome and CVD.     

Recapitulating Actin Module Organization in the Drosophila Oocyte Reveals New Roles for Bristle-Actin-Modulating Proteins

The generation of F-actin bundles is controlled by the action of actin-binding proteins. In Drosophila bristle development, two major actin-bundling proteins—Forked and Fascin—were identified, but still the molecular mechanism by which these actin-bundling proteins and other proteins generate bristle actin bundles is unknown. In this study, we developed a technique that allows recapitulation of bristle actin module organization using the Drosophila ovary by a combination of confocal microscopy, super-resolution structured illumination microscopy, and correlative light and electron microscope analysis. Since Forked generated a distinct ectopic network of actin bundles in the oocyte, the additive effect of two other actin-associated proteins, namely, Fascin and Javelin (Jv), was studied. We found that co-expression of Fascin and Forked demonstrated that the number of actin filaments within the actin bundles dramatically increased, and in their geometric organization, they resembled bristle-like actin bundles. On the other hand, co-expression of Jv with Forked increased the length and density of the actin bundles. When all three proteins co-expressed, the actin bundles were longer and denser, and contained a high number of actin filaments in the bundle. Thus, our results demonstrate that the Drosophila oocyte could serve as a test tube for actin bundle analysis.     

Mixed alkanethiol monolayers on submicrometric gold patterns: a controlled platform for studying cell-ligand interactions

Nanoscale organization of surface ligands often has a critical effect on cell-surface interactions. We have developed an experimental system that allows a high degree of control over the 2-D spatial distribution of ligands. As a proof of concept, we used the developed system to study how T-cell activation is independently affected by antigen density and antigen amount per cell. Arrays of submicrometer gold islands at varying surface coverage were defined on silicon by electron beam lithography (EBL). The gold islands were functionalized with alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) containing a small antigen, 2,4,6-trinotrophenyl (TNP), at various densities. Genetically engineered T-cell hybridomas expressing TNP-specific chimeric T-cell antigen receptor (CAR) were cultured on the SAMs, and their activation was assessed by IL-2 secretion and CD69 expression. It was found that, at constant antigen density, activation increased monotonically with the amount of antigen, while at constant antigen amount activation was maximal at an intermediate antigen density, whose value was independent of the amount of antigen.     

Effects of long chain fatty acid unsaturation on the structure and controlled release properties of amylose complexes

The addition of functional long chain (LC) unsaturated fatty acids to foods is often hampered by their instability. This study aimed to probe the possibility of using molecular inclusion complexes formed by amylose, termed V-amylose, as a possible solution for the delivery of long chain (LC) fatty acids to the consumer. X-ray diffraction, light scattering and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were employed to study the micro- and nano-structure of V-amylose hosting LC fatty acids with different degrees of unsaturation. Additionally, enzymatic digestion tests were conducted to assess the release of the fatty acids from the complexes. X-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of V-amylose while light scattering measurements, and the AFM images revealed that increased fatty acid unsaturation lead to the formation of bigger and more disperse particle populations. Enzymatic digestion tests with mammalian pancreatin illustrated the control over guest release which is induced by enzymatic hydrolysis. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that guest chemistry affects some of the functional properties of V-amylose for the delivery of LC fatty acids.     

From the Tea to the Coffee Ceremony: Modernizing Buddhist Material Culture in Contemporary Korea

Tea has been associated with East Asian Buddhism at least since the eighth-century. Buddhist monks were involved in cultivating, selling, and transporting tea from its birthplace in southern China to Korea and Japan. In addition to using it as an offering and as an aid for wakefulness in meditation, they developed a Buddhist tea lore which has been mirrored in their poetry, myths and monastic rituals. Tea has become such a central symbol of the contemplative life in East Asia that it is rather surprising to discover that in some of the major monasteries in Korea today over half of the meditation monks are said to have switched to coffee. In fact, numerous Korean temples today possess top-of-the-line hand-drip (filter) coffee machines, some offer Buddhist coffee workshops and barista certificates for monks and laypeople, and others replace their old tea shops with new modern cafés. In this paper I will present what I think are fascinating ethnographic examples of the recent Korean Buddhist coffee trend, and discuss the debates regarding the appropriateness of coffee to Buddhist practice. I will illustrate how some Korean Buddhists attempt to remain relevant in contemporary coffee-crazed Korean society by re-branding the taste of Buddhism and creatively associating coffee with propagation, meditation and insight.     

Metabolic and Physiological Responses of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.) to Near Optimal Temperatures of 25 and 35 °C

Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon (Cs) grapevines were grown at near optimal temperatures (25 or 35 °C). Gas exchange, fluorescence, metabolic profiling and correlation based network analysis were used to characterize leaf physiology. When grown at 25 °C, the growth rate and photosynthesis of both cultivars were similar. At 35 °C Shiraz showed increased respiration, non-photochemical quenching and reductions of photosynthesis and growth. In contrast, Cs maintained relatively stable photosynthetic activity and growth regardless of the condition. In both cultivars, growth at 35 °C resulted in accumulations of secondary sugars (raffinose, fucose and ribulose) and reduction of primary sugars concentration (glucose, fructose and sucrose), more noticeably in Shiraz than Cs. In spite of similar patterns of metabolic changes in response to growth at 35 °C, significant differences in important leaf antioxidants and antioxidant precursors (DHA/ascorbate, quinates, cathechins) characterized the cultivar response. Correlation analysis reinforced Shiraz sensitivity to the 35 °C, showing higher number of newly formed edges at 35 °C and higher modularity in Shiraz as compared to Cs. The results suggest that the optimal growth temperatures of grapevines are cultivar dependent, and allow a first insight into the variability of the metabolic responses of grapevines under varied temperatures.