Towards an online mitigation strategy for N2O emissions through principal components analysis and clustering techniques

Emission of N2O represents an increasing concern in wastewater treatment, in particular for its large contribution to the plant's carbon footprint (CFP). In view of the potential introduction of more stringent regulations regarding wastewater treatment plants' CFP, there is a growing need for advanced monitoring with online implementation of mitigation strategies for N2O emissions. Mechanistic kinetic modelling in full-scale applications, are often represented by a very detailed representation of the biological mechanisms resulting in an elevated uncertainty on the many parameters used while limited by a poor representation of hydrodynamics. This is particularly true for current N2O kinetic models. In this paper, a possible full-scale implementation of a data mining approach linking plant-specific dynamics to N2O production is proposed. A data mining approach was tested on full-scale data along with different clustering techniques to identify process criticalities. The algorithm was designed to provide an applicable solution for full-scale plants' control logics aimed at online N2O emission mitigation. Results show the ability of the algorithm to isolate specific N2O emission pathways, and highlight possible solutions towards emission control

Complementary Sensory and Associative Microcircuitry in Primary Olfactory Cortex

The three-layered primary olfactory (piriform) cortex is the largest component of the olfactory cortex. Sensory and intracortical inputs converge on principal cells in the anterior piriform cortex (aPC).Wecharacterize organization principles of the sensory and intracortical microcircuitry of layer II and III principal cells in acute slices of rat aPC using laser-scanning photostimulation and fast two-photon population Ca²⁺ imaging. Layer II and III principal cells are set up on a superficial-to-deep vertical axis. We found that the position on this axis correlates with input resistance and bursting behavior. These parameters scale with distinct patterns of incorporation into sensory and associative microcircuits, resulting in a converse gradient of sensory and intracortical inputs. In layer II, sensory circuits dominate superficial cells, whereas incorporation in intracortical circuits increases with depth. Layer III pyramidal cells receive more intracortical inputs than layer II pyramidal cells, but with an asymmetric dorsal offset. This microcircuit organization results in a diverse hybrid feedforward/recurrent network of neurons integrating varying ratios of intracortical and sensory input depending on a cell’s position on the superficial-to-deep vertical axis. Since burstiness of spiking correlates with both the cell’s location on this axis and its incorporation in intracortical microcircuitry, the neuronal output mode may encode a given cell’s involvement in sensory versus associative processing

A single-nucleus RNA-sequencing pipeline to decipher the molecular anatomy and pathophysiology of human kidneys

Defining cellular and molecular identities within the kidney is necessary to understand its organization and function in health and disease. Here we demonstrate a reproducible method with minimal artifacts for single-nucleus Droplet-based RNA sequencing (snDrop-Seq) that we use to resolve thirty distinct cell populations in human adult kidney. We define molecular transition states along more than ten nephron segments spanning two major kidney regions. We further delineate cell type-specific expression of genes associated with chronic kidney disease, diabetes and hypertension, providing insight into possible targeted therapies. This includes expression of a hypertension-associated mechano-sensory ion channel in mesangial cells, and identification of proximal tubule cell populations defined by pathogenic expression signatures. Our fully optimized, quality-controlled transcriptomic profiling pipeline constitutes a tool for the generation of healthy and diseased molecular atlases applicable to clinical samples

Acrylic acid plasma coated 3D Scaffolds for Cartilage tissue engineering applications

Abstract The current generation of tissue engineered additive manufactured scaffolds for cartilage repair shows high potential for growing adult cartilage tissue. This study proposes two surface modification strategies based on non-thermal plasma technology for the modification of poly(ethylene oxide terephthalate/poly(butylene terephthalate) additive manufactured scaffolds to enhance their cell-material interactions. The first, plasma activation in a helium discharge, introduced non-specific polar functionalities. In the second approach, a carboxylic acid plasma polymer coating, using acrylic acid as precursor, was deposited throughout the scaffolds. Both surface modifications were characterized by significant changes in wettability, linked to the incorporation of new oxygen-containing functional groups. Their capacity for chondrogenesis was studied using ATDC5 chondroblasts as a model cell-line. The results demonstrate that the carboxylic acid-rich plasma coating had a positive effect on the generation of the glucoaminoglycans (GAG) matrix and stimulated the migration of cells throughout the scaffold. He plasma activation stimulated the formation of GAGs but did not stimulate the migration of chondroblasts throughout the scaffolds. Both plasma treatments spurred chondrogenesis by favoring GAG deposition. This leads to the overall conclusion that acrylic acid based plasma coatings exhibit potential as a surface modification technique for cartilage tissue engineering applications

Deletion of TSPO resulted in change of metabolomic profile in retinal pigment epithelial cells

Age-related macular degeneration is the main cause of vision loss in the aged population worldwide. Drusen, extracellular lesions formed underneath the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, are a clinical feature of AMD and associated with AMD progression. RPE cells support photoreceptor function by providing nutrition, phagocytosing outer segments and removing metabolic waste. Dysfunction and death of RPE cells are early features of AMD. The translocator protein, TSPO, plays an important role in RPE cholesterol efflux and loss of TSPO results in increased intracellular lipid accumulation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. This study aimed to investigate the impact of TSPO knockout on RPE cellular metabolism by identifying the metabolic differences between wildtype and knockout RPE cells, with or without treatment with oxidized low density lipoprotein (oxLDL). Using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC/MS), we differentiated several metabolic pathways among wildtype and knockout cells. Lipids amongst other intracellular metabolites were the most influenced by loss of TSPO and/or oxLDL treatment. Glucose, amino acid and nucleotide metabolism was also affected. TSPO deletion led to up-regulation of fatty acids and glycerophospholipids, which in turn possibly affected the cell membrane fluidity and stability. Higher levels of glutathione disulphide (GSSG) were found in TSPO knockout RPE cells, suggesting TSPO regulates mitochondrial-mediated oxidative stress. These data provide biochemical insights into TSPO-associated function in RPE cells and may shed light on disease mechanisms in AMD