Enhancing carbon sequestration in soil with coal combustion products: a technology for minimising carbon footprints in coal-power generation and agriculture

Coal-fired power generation and agriculture account for more than half of global greenhouse gas emissions, but the coal fly ash (CFA) produced in the former can be a resource for reducing emissions from agriculture to minimise environmental footprints in both industries. Our aim in this study was to test how acidic and alkaline CFA addition could minimise loss of C and N from acidic soil, with or without added manure. We determined composition and structural characteristics of acidic and alkaline CFA for their capacity to adsorb organic carbon, but observed poor adsorption because of low concentrations of cenospheres and unburnt carbon as the primary absorbents in the ash. Addition of CFA had no impact on the loss of carbon or nitrogen from unmanured soil in which concentrations of these nutrients were low. Loss of carbon from manured soil was reduced by 36% with alkaline ashes and by 3-fold with acidic ashes; while loss of N was 30–50% lower with acidic ashes, but 28% higher with alkaline ashes, compared with no ash treatment. The increases in C sparing with CFA addition were achieved not by direct C absorption but by restraining microbial population and respiration, and potentially emissions. Alkaline CFA increased soil pH and if used to substitute just 10% of lime for ameliorating soil acidity would reduce CO2 emission associated with the mining of the lime and its eventual dissolution in soil by ~ 2.66 Tg or 2.8% of Australia’s annual agricultural emissions. High concentrations of oxides of phosphorus, silicon, titanium and clay particles in acidic ashes, and oxides of cations in alkaline ashes, were associated with potential for promoting C storage and acidity amelioration in soil

Antihypertensive and antioxidant effects of dietary black sesame meal in pre-hypertensive humans

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It has been known that hypertension is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in developed and developing countries. Elevation of blood pressure (BP) increases the adverse effect for cardiovascular outcomes. Prevention of increased BP plays a crucial role in a reduction of those outcomes, leading to a decrease in mortality. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary black sesame meal on BP and oxidative stress in individuals with prehypertension.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty-two women and eight men (aged 49.8 ± 6.6 years) with prehypertension were randomly divided into two groups, 15 subjects per group. They ingested 2.52 g black sesame meal capsules or placebo capsules each day for 4 weeks. Blood samples were obtained after overnight fasting for measurement of plasma lipid, malondialdehyde (MDA) and vitamin E levels. Anthropometry, body composition and BP were measured before and after 4-week administration of black sesame meal or a placebo.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results showed that 4-week administration of black sesame meal significantly decreased systolic BP (129.3 ± 6.8 vs. 121.0 ± 9.0 mmHg, <it>P </it>< 0.05) and MDA level (1.8 ± 0.6 vs. 1.2 ± 0.6 μmol/L, <it>P </it>< 0.05), and increased vitamin E level (29.4 ± 6.0 vs. 38.2 ± 7.8 μmol/L, <it>P </it>< 0.01). In the black sesame meal group, the change in SBP tended to be positively related to the change in MDA (<it>R = 0.50, P </it>= 0.05), while the change in DBP was negatively related to the change in vitamin E (<it>R = -0.55, P </it>< 0.05). There were no correlations between changes in BP and oxidative stress in the control group.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results suggest the possible antihypertensive effects of black sesame meal on improving antioxidant status and decreasing oxidant stress. These data may imply a beneficial effect of black sesame meal on prevention of CVD.</p

Expansion and Evolution of the X-Linked Testis Specific Multigene Families in the melanogaster Species Subgroup

The testis specific X-linked genes whose evolution is traced here in the melanogaster species subgroup are thought to undergo fast rate of diversification. The CK2ßtes and NACβtes gene families encode the diverged regulatory β-subunits of protein kinase CK2 and the homologs of β-subunit of nascent peptide associated complex, respectively. We annotated the CK2βtes-like genes related to CK2ßtes family in the D. simulans and D. sechellia genomes. The ancestor CK2βtes-like genes preserved in D. simulans and D. sechellia are considered to be intermediates in the emergence of the D. melanogaster specific Stellate genes related to the CK2ßtes family. The CK2ßtes-like genes are more similar to the unique autosomal CK2ßtes gene than to Stellates, taking into account their peculiarities of polymorphism. The formation of a variant the CK2ßtes gene Stellate in D. melanogaster as a result of illegitimate recombination between a NACßtes promoter and a distinct polymorphic variant of CK2ßtes-like ancestor copy was traced. We found a close nonrandom proximity between the dispersed defective copies of DINE-1 transposons, the members of Helitron family, and the CK2βtes and NACβtes genes, suggesting an involvement of DINE-1 elements in duplication and amplification of these genes

Defensome against Toxic Diatom Aldehydes in the Sea Urchin Paracentrotus lividus

Many diatom species produce polyunsaturated aldehydes, such as decadienal, which compromise embryonic and larval development in benthic organisms. Here newly fertilized Paracentrotus lividus sea urchins were exposed to low concentration of decadienal and the expression levels of sixteen genes, implicated in a broad range of functional responses, were followed by Real Time qPCR in order to identify potential decadienal targets. We show that at low decadienal concentrations the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus places in motion different classes of genes to defend itself against this toxic aldehyde, activating hsp60 and two proteases, hat and BP10, at the blastula stage and hsp56 and several other genes (14-3-3ε, p38 MAPK, MTase, and GS) at the prism stage. At this latter stage all genes involved in skeletogenesis (Nec, uni, SM50 and SM30) were also down-expressed, following developmental abnormalities that mainly affected skeleton morphogenesis. Moreover, sea urchin embryos treated with increasing concentrations of decadienal revealed a dose-dependent response of activated target genes. Finally, we suggest that this orchestrated defense system against decadienal represents part of the chemical defensome of P. lividus affording protection from environmental toxicants

Chemokines cooperate with TNF to provide protective anti-viral immunity and to enhance inflammation

The role of cytokines and chemokines in anti-viral defense has been demonstrated, but their relative contribution to protective anti-viral responses in vivo is not fully understood. Cytokine response modifier D (CrmD) is a secreted receptor for TNF and lymphotoxin containing the smallpox virus-encoded chemokine receptor (SECRET) domain and is expressed by ectromelia virus, the causative agent of the smallpox-like disease mousepox. Here we show that CrmD is an essential virulence factor that controls natural killer cell activation and allows progression of fatal mousepox, and demonstrate that both SECRET and TNF binding domains are required for full CrmD activity. Vaccination with recombinant CrmD protects animals from lethal mousepox. These results indicate that a specific set of chemokines enhance the inflammatory and protective anti-viral responses mediated by TNF and lymphotoxin, and illustrate how viruses optimize anti-TNF strategies with the addition of a chemokine binding domain as soluble decoy receptors.We thank Javier Salguero for help with animal experimentation and immunohistochemistry, Rocío Martín and Carolina Sánchez for technical assistance and Daniel Rubio for discussions on the project. This work was funded by Grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiviness and European Union (European Regional Development’s Funds, FEDER) (grant SAF2015-67485-R), and the Wellcome Trust (grant 051087/Z97/Z). M.B.R.-A. and A. Alejo were recipients of a Ramón y Cajal Contract from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation

Korarchaeota Diversity, Biogeography, and Abundance in Yellowstone and Great Basin Hot Springs and Ecological Niche Modeling Based on Machine Learning

Over 100 hot spring sediment samples were collected from 28 sites in 12 areas/regions, while recording as many coincident geochemical properties as feasible (>60 analytes). PCR was used to screen samples for Korarchaeota 16S rRNA genes. Over 500 Korarchaeota 16S rRNA genes were screened by RFLP analysis and 90 were sequenced, resulting in identification of novel Korarchaeota phylotypes and exclusive geographical variants. Korarchaeota diversity was low, as in other terrestrial geothermal systems, suggesting a marine origin for Korarchaeota with subsequent niche-invasion into terrestrial systems. Korarchaeota endemism is consistent with endemism of other terrestrial thermophiles and supports the existence of dispersal barriers. Korarchaeota were found predominantly in >55°C springs at pH 4.7–8.5 at concentrations up to 6.6×106 16S rRNA gene copies g−1 wet sediment. In Yellowstone National Park (YNP), Korarchaeota were most abundant in springs with a pH range of 5.7 to 7.0. High sulfate concentrations suggest these fluids are influenced by contributions from hydrothermal vapors that may be neutralized to some extent by mixing with water from deep geothermal sources or meteoric water. In the Great Basin (GB), Korarchaeota were most abundant at spring sources of pH<7.2 with high particulate C content and high alkalinity, which are likely to be buffered by the carbonic acid system. It is therefore likely that at least two different geological mechanisms in YNP and GB springs create the neutral to mildly acidic pH that is optimal for Korarchaeota. A classification support vector machine (C-SVM) trained on single analytes, two analyte combinations, or vectors from non-metric multidimensional scaling models was able to predict springs as Korarchaeota-optimal or sub-optimal habitats with accuracies up to 95%. To our knowledge, this is the most extensive analysis of the geochemical habitat of any high-level microbial taxon and the first application of a C-SVM to microbial ecology

Fast Growth Increases the Selective Advantage of a Mutation Arising Recurrently during Evolution under Metal Limitation

Understanding the evolution of biological systems requires untangling the molecular mechanisms that connect genetic and environmental variations to their physiological consequences. Metal limitation across many environments, ranging from pathogens in the human body to phytoplankton in the oceans, imposes strong selection for improved metal acquisition systems. In this study, we uncovered the genetic and physiological basis of adaptation to metal limitation using experimental populations of Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 evolved in metal-deficient growth media. We identified a transposition mutation arising recurrently in 30 of 32 independent populations that utilized methanol as a carbon source, but not in any of the 8 that utilized only succinate. These parallel insertion events increased expression of a novel transporter system that enhanced cobalt uptake. Such ability ensured the production of vitamin B12, a cobalt-containing cofactor, to sustain two vitamin B12–dependent enzymatic reactions essential to methanol, but not succinate, metabolism. Interestingly, this mutation provided higher selective advantages under genetic backgrounds or incubation temperatures that permit faster growth, indicating growth-rate–dependent epistatic and genotype-by-environment interactions. Our results link beneficial mutations emerging in a metal-limiting environment to their physiological basis in carbon metabolism, suggest that certain molecular features may promote the emergence of parallel mutations, and indicate that the selective advantages of some mutations depend generically upon changes in growth rate that can stem from either genetic or environmental influences

The pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents: A systematic review with network meta-analyses of randomised trials

BACKGROUND: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorders in childhood. A wide variety of treatments have been used for the management of ADHD. We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of pharmacological, psychological and complementary and alternative medicine interventions for the treatment of ADHD in children and adolescents. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We performed a systematic review with network meta-analyses. Randomised controlled trials (≥ 3 weeks follow-up) were identified from published and unpublished sources through searches in PubMed and the Cochrane Library (up to April 7, 2016). Interventions of interest were pharmacological (stimulants, non-stimulants, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and other unlicensed drugs), psychological (behavioural, cognitive training and neurofeedback) and complementary and alternative medicine (dietary therapy, fatty acids, amino acids, minerals, herbal therapy, homeopathy, and physical activity). The primary outcomes were efficacy (treatment response) and acceptability (all-cause discontinuation). Secondary outcomes included discontinuation due to adverse events (tolerability), as well as serious adverse events and specific adverse events. Random-effects Bayesian network meta-analyses were conducted to obtain estimates as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% credibility intervals. We analysed interventions by class and individually. 190 randomised trials (52 different interventions grouped in 32 therapeutic classes) that enrolled 26114 participants with ADHD were included in complex networks. At the class level, behavioural therapy (alone or in combination with stimulants), stimulants, and non-stimulant seemed significantly more efficacious than placebo. Behavioural therapy in combination with stimulants seemed superior to stimulants or non-stimulants. Stimulants seemed superior to behavioural therapy, cognitive training and non-stimulants. Behavioural therapy, stimulants and their combination showed the best profile of acceptability. Stimulants and non-stimulants seemed well tolerated. Among medications, methylphenidate, amphetamine, atomoxetine, guanfacine and clonidine seemed significantly more efficacious than placebo. Methylphenidate and amphetamine seemed more efficacious than atomoxetine and guanfacine. Methylphenidate and clonidine seemed better accepted than placebo and atomoxetine. Most of the efficacious pharmacological treatments were associated with harms (anorexia, weight loss and insomnia), but an increased risk of serious adverse events was not observed. There is lack of evidence for cognitive training, neurofeedback, antidepressants, antipsychotics, dietary therapy, fatty acids, and other complementary and alternative medicine. Overall findings were limited by the clinical and methodological heterogeneity, small sample sizes of trials, short-term follow-up, and the absence of high-quality evidence; consequently, results should be interpreted with caution. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical differences may exist between the pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment used for the management of ADHD. Uncertainties about therapies and the balance between benefits, costs and potential harms should be considered before starting treatment. There is an urgent need for high-quality randomised trials of the multiple treatments for ADHD in children and adolescents. PROSPERO, number CRD42014015008

Unraveling the forcings controlling the vegetation and climate of the best orbital analogues for the present interglacial in SW Europe

The suitability of MIS 11c and MIS 19c as analogues of our present interglacial and its natural evolution is still debated. Here we examine the regional expression of the Holocene and its orbital analogues over SW Iberia using a model-data comparison approach. Regional tree fraction and climate based on snapshot and transient experiments using the LOVECLIM model are evaluated against the terrestrial-marine profiles from Site U1385 documenting the regional vegetation and climatic changes. The pollen-based reconstructions show a larger forest optimum during the Holocene compared to MIS 11c and MIS 19c, putting into question their analogy in SW Europe. Pollen-based and model results indicate reduced MIS 11c forest cover compared to the Holocene primarily driven by lower winter precipitation, which is critical for Mediterranean forest development. Decreased precipitation was possibly induced by the amplified MIS 11c latitudinal insolation and temperature gradient that shifted the westerlies northwards. In contrast, the reconstructed lower forest optimum at MIS 19c is not reproduced by the simulations probably due to the lack of Eurasian ice sheets and its related feedbacks in the model. Transient experiments with time-varying insolation and CO2 reveal that the SW Iberian forest dynamics over the interglacials are mostly coupled to changes in winter precipitation mainly controlled by precession, CO2 playing a negligible role. Model simulations reproduce the observed persistent vegetation changes at millennial time scales in SW Iberia and the strong forest reductions marking the end of the interglacial "optimum".SFRH/BD/9079/2012, SFRH/BPD/108712/2015, SFRH/BPD/108600/2015info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Engineered Models of Metastasis with Application to Study Cancer Biomechanics

Three-dimensional complex biomechanical interactions occur from the initial steps of tumor formation to the later phases of cancer metastasis. Conventional monolayer cultures cannot recapitulate the complex microenvironment and chemical and mechanical cues that tumor cells experience during their metastatic journey, nor the complexity of their interactions with other, noncancerous cells. As alternative approaches, various engineered models have been developed to recapitulate specific features of each step of metastasis with tunable microenvironments to test a variety of mechanistic hypotheses. Here the main recent advances in the technologies that provide deeper insight into the process of cancer dissemination are discussed, with an emphasis on three-dimensional and mechanical factors as well as interactions between multiple cell types