Biomass-derived carbonaceous adsorbents for trapping ammonia

The preparation of low-cost carbonaceous adsorbents for nitrogen recovery is of interest from agricultural and waste management perspectives. In this study, the gaseous ammonia (NH3) and aqueous ammonium (NH4+) sorption capacities have been measured for different types of carbonaceous chars produced under different conditions. The study includes a comparison of an oak-based hydrochar produced from hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) at 250◦ C with two biochars produced from slow pyrolysis at 450◦ C and 650◦ C, respectively. The chars were also chemically modified with H2 SO4, H3 PO4, H2 O2, and KOH to investigate the potential for sorption enhancement. The highest sorption capacities for NH3 were observed for the hydrochars with typical uptake capacities ranging from 18–28 mg g−1 NH3. Sorption capacity for oak biochars is significantly lower and ranges from 4–8 mg g−1 for biochars produced at 450◦ C and 650◦ C, respectively. Hydrochar showed a substantially higher sorption capacity for NH3 despite its lower surface area. The CaCl2 extractable NH4+ following ammonia adsorption is incomplete. Typically, only 30–40% of the N is released upon washing with CaCl2 in form of NH4+. Post chemical modification of the chars resulted in only limited enhancement of char NH3 and NH4+ sorption. H3 PO4 treatment showed the greatest potential for increasing NH3 /NH4+ sorption in biochars, while KOH and H2 O2 treatment increased NH3 sorption in the hydrochar. As only marginal increases to char surface area were observed following char treatment, these findings suggest that char surface functionality is more influential than surface area in terms of char NH3 /NH4+ sorption

Cognition and resective surgery for diffuse infiltrative glioma: an overview

Compared to classical oncological outcome measures such as time to progression and survival, the importance of cognitive functioning in patients with diffuse infiltrative brain tumors has only recently been recognized. Apart from the relatively low incidence and the invariably fatal outcome of gliomas, the general assumption that cognitive assessment is time-consuming and burdensome contributes to this notion. Our understanding of the effects of brain surgery on cognition, for instance, is largely based on studies in surgical patients with refractory epilepsy, with only a limited number of studies in surgical patients with gliomas. The impact of other factors affecting cognition in glioma patients such as direct tumor effects, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and medical treatment, including anti-epileptic drugs and steroids, have been studied more extensively. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of cognition in patients with diffuse infiltrative gliomas and the impact of resective surgery as well as other tumor and treatment-related factors

The Flagellar Regulator fliT Represses Salmonella Pathogenicity Island 1 through flhDC and fliZ

Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI1), comprising a type III section system that translocates effector proteins into host cells, is essential for the enteric pathogen Salmonella to penetrate the intestinal epithelium and subsequently to cause disease. Using random transposon mutagenesis, we found that a Tn10 disruption in the flagellar fliDST operon induced SPI1 expression when the strain was grown under conditions designed to repress SPI1, by mimicking the environment of the large intestine through the use of the intestinal fatty acid butyrate. Our genetic studies showed that only fliT within this operon was required for this effect, and that exogenous over-expression of fliT alone significantly reduced the expression of SPI1 genes, including the invasion regulator hilA and the sipBCDA operon, encoding type III section system effector proteins, and Salmonella invasion of cultured epithelial cells. fliT has been known to inhibit the flagellar machinery through repression of the flagellar master regulator flhDC. We found that the repressive effect of fliT on invasion genes was completely abolished in the absence of flhDC or fliZ, the latter previously shown to induce SPI1, indicating that this regulatory pathway is required for invasion control by fliT. Although this flhDC-fliZ pathway was necessary for fliT to negatively control invasion genes, fliZ was not essential for the repressive effect of fliT on motility, placing fliT high in the regulatory cascade for both invasion and motility

Hypoglycemia and the Origin of Hypoxia-Induced Reduction in Human Fetal Growth

The most well known reproductive consequence of residence at high altitude (HA >2700 m) is reduction in fetal growth. Reduced fetoplacental oxygenation is an underlying cause of pregnancy pathologies, including intrauterine growth restriction and preeclampsia, which are more common at HA. Therefore, altitude is a natural experimental model to study the etiology of pregnancy pathophysiologies. We have shown that the proximate cause of decreased fetal growth is not reduced oxygen availability, delivery, or consumption. We therefore asked whether glucose, the primary substrate for fetal growth, might be decreased and/or whether altered fetoplacental glucose metabolism might account for reduced fetal growth at HA.Doppler and ultrasound were used to measure maternal uterine and fetal umbilical blood flows in 69 and 58 residents of 400 vs 3600 m. Arterial and venous blood samples from mother and fetus were collected at elective cesarean delivery and analyzed for glucose, lactate and insulin. Maternal delivery and fetal uptakes for oxygen and glucose were calculated.The maternal arterial – venous glucose concentration difference was greater at HA. However, umbilical venous and arterial glucose concentrations were markedly decreased, resulting in lower glucose delivery at 3600 m. Fetal glucose consumption was reduced by >28%, but strongly correlated with glucose delivery, highlighting the relevance of glucose concentration to fetal uptake. At altitude, fetal lactate levels were increased, insulin concentrations decreased, and the expression of GLUT1 glucose transporter protein in the placental basal membrane was reduced.Our results support that preferential anaerobic consumption of glucose by the placenta at high altitude spares oxygen for fetal use, but limits glucose availability for fetal growth. Thus reduced fetal growth at high altitude is associated with fetal hypoglycemia, hypoinsulinemia and a trend towards lactacidemia. Our data support that placentally-mediated reduction in glucose transport is an initiating factor for reduced fetal growth under conditions of chronic hypoxemia

Genomic perspectives on the evolution of fungal entomopathogenicity in Beauveria bassiana

The ascomycete fungus Beauveria bassiana is a pathogen of hundreds of insect species and is commercially produced as an environmentally friendly mycoinsecticide. We sequenced the genome of B. bassiana and a phylogenomic analysis confirmed that ascomycete entomopathogenicity is polyphyletic, but also revealed convergent evolution to insect pathogenicity. We also found many species-specific virulence genes and gene family expansions and contractions that correlate with host ranges and pathogenic strategies. These include B. bassiana having many more bacterial-like toxins (suggesting an unsuspected potential for oral toxicity) and effector-type proteins. The genome also revealed that B. bassiana resembles the closely related Cordyceps militaris in being heterothallic, although its sexual stage is rarely observed. A high throughput RNA-seq transcriptomic analysis revealed that B. bassiana could sense and adapt to different environmental niches by activating well-defined gene sets. The information from this study will facilitate further development of B. bassiana as a cost-effective mycoinsecticide

Hitomi (ASTRO-H) X-ray Astronomy Satellite

The Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission is the sixth Japanese x-ray astronomy satellite developed by a large international collaboration, including Japan, USA, Canada, and Europe. The mission aimed to provide the highest energy resolution ever achieved at E  >  2  keV, using a microcalorimeter instrument, and to cover a wide energy range spanning four decades in energy from soft x-rays to gamma rays. After a successful launch on February 17, 2016, the spacecraft lost its function on March 26, 2016, but the commissioning phase for about a month provided valuable information on the onboard instruments and the spacecraft system, including astrophysical results obtained from first light observations. The paper describes the Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission, its capabilities, the initial operation, and the instruments/spacecraft performances confirmed during the commissioning operations for about a month

Recovery of phosphate with chemically modified biochars

The use of biochar for the recovery of phosphate has potential for environmental and socio-economic benefits but it is often characterised by relatively low nutrient adsorption capacity. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential for improving biochar phosphate adsorption capacities following chemical modification with metal salts, acids and alkali. Modified biochars were produced from oak wood and paprika waste (greenhouse waste) following either chemical treatment of biomass (in-situ modification) or biochar (post modification). Other chemical treatments investigated included chemical oxidation, activation and salt treatment. Phosphate adsorption uptake capacities were determined by laboratory batch sorption tests, and results indicated that phosphate adsorption could be enhanced from relatively low levels (2.1% - 3.6%) to relatively high levels (66.4% - 70.3%) by impregnation with magnesium. These findings suggest that biochar mineral composition is a key property influencing biochar phosphate adsorption uptake capacity while surface area has less influence on sorption