BNL Citric Acid Technology: Pilot Scale Demonstration

The objective of this project is to remove toxic metals such as lead and cadmium from incinerator ash using the Citric Acid Process developed at Brookhaven National Laboratory. In this process toxic metals in bottom ash from the incineration of municipal solid waste were first extracted with citric acid followed by biodegradation of the citric acid-metal extract by the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens for metals recovery. The ash contained the following metals: Al, As, Ba, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, Sr, Ti, and Zn. Optimization of the Citric Acid Process parameters which included citric acid molarity, contact time, the impact of mixing aggressiveness during extraction and pretreatment showed lead and cadmium removal from incinerator ash of >90%. Seeding the treated ash with P. fluorescens resulted in the removal of residual citric acid and biostabilization of any leachable lead, thus allowing it to pass EPA?s Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure. Biodegradation of the citric acid extract removed >99% of the lead from the extract as well as other metals such as Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ti, and Zn. Speciation of the bioprecipitated lead by Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure at the National Synchrotron Light Source showed that the lead is predominantly associated with the phosphate and carboxyl functional groups in a stable form. Citric acid was completely recovered (>99%) from the extract by sulfide precipitation technique and the extraction efficiency of recovered citric acid is similar to that of the fresh citric acid. Recycling of the citric acid should result in considerable savings in the overall treatment cost. We have shown the potential application of this technology to remove and recover the metal contaminants from incinerator ash as well as from other heavy metal bearing wastes (i.e., electric arc furnace dust from steel industry) or soils. Information developed from this project is being applied to demonstrate the remediation of lead paint contaminated soils on Long Island

BNL Citric Acid Technology: Pilot Scale Demonstration

The objective of this project is to remove toxic metals such as lead and cadmium from incinerator ash using the Citric Acid Process developed at Brookhaven National Laboratory. In this process toxic metals in bottom ash from the incineration of municipal solid waste were first extracted with citric acid followed by biodegradation of the citric acid-metal extract by the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens for metals recovery. The ash contained the following metals: Al, As, Ba, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, Sr, Ti, and Zn. Optimization of the Citric Acid Process parameters which included citric acid molarity, contact time, the impact of mixing aggressiveness during extraction and pretreatment showed lead and cadmium removal from incinerator ash of >90%. Seeding the treated ash with P. fluorescens resulted in the removal of residual citric acid and biostabilization of any leachable lead, thus allowing it to pass EPA?s Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure. Biodegradation of the citric acid extract removed >99% of the lead from the extract as well as other metals such as Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ti, and Zn. Speciation of the bioprecipitated lead by Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure at the National Synchrotron Light Source showed that the lead is predominantly associated with the phosphate and carboxyl functional groups in a stable form. Citric acid was completely recovered (>99%) from the extract by sulfide precipitation technique and the extraction efficiency of recovered citric acid is similar to that of the fresh citric acid. Recycling of the citric acid should result in considerable savings in the overall treatment cost. We have shown the potential application of this technology to remove and recover the metal contaminants from incinerator ash as well as from other heavy metal bearing wastes (i.e., electric arc furnace dust from steel industry) or soils. Information developed from this project is being applied to demonstrate the remediation of lead paint contaminated soils on Long Island

Engaging fathers in child welfare services: a narrative review of recent research evidence

It is widely recognized as problematic that there are generally low levels of engagement with child welfare services from biological and social fathers. The result can be limited resources for children's care and potentially poor risk assessment and management. This paper reviews the published research from 2000 to 2010 about the barriers to and facilitators of better father engagement, as well as the very limited evidence on the effectiveness of work with maltreating fathers. There is relatively little known about what works in engaging men, but there are some promising indicators from family support and child protection practice contexts. These include early identification and early involvement of fathers; a proactive approach, including an insistence on men's involvement with services; and the use of practical activities. In the light of what is known about the characteristics of maltreating fathers, there is a logical fit with cognitive‐behavioural approaches. Although there is no direct evidence of the effectiveness of motivational interviewing in this context, its effectiveness in allied fields of practice would suggest that it may hold some promise for the initial engagement of fathers who pose a risk to children.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90556/1/j.1365-2206.2012.00827.x.pd

Outcome After Surgical Stabilization of Rib Fractures Versus Nonoperative Treatment in Patients With Multiple Rib Fractures and Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury (CWIS-TBI)

BACKGROUND Outcomes after surgical stabilization of rib fractures (SSRF) have not been studied in patients with multiple rib fractures and traumatic brain injury (TBI). We hypothesized that SSRF, as compared with nonoperative management, is associated with favorable outcomes in patients with TBI. METHODS A multicenter, retrospective cohort study was performed in patients with rib fractures and TBI between January 2012 and July 2019. Patients who underwent SSRF were compared to those managed nonoperatively. The primary outcome was mechanical ventilation-free days. Secondary outcomes were intensive care unit length of stay and hospital length of stay, tracheostomy, occurrence of complications, neurologic outcome, and mortality. Patients were further stratified into moderate (GCS score, 9–12) and severe (GCS score, ≤8) TBI. RESULTS The study cohort consisted of 456 patients of which 111 (24.3%) underwent SSRF. The SSRF was performed at a median of 3 days, and SSRF-related complication rate was 3.6%. In multivariable analyses, there was no difference in mechanical ventilation-free days between the SSRF and nonoperative groups. The odds of developing pneumonia (odds ratio [OR], 0.59; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.38–0.98; p = 0.043) and 30-day mortality (OR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.11–0.91; p = 0.032) were significantly lower in the SSRF group. Patients with moderate TBI had similar outcome in both groups. In patients with severe TBI, the odds of 30-day mortality was significantly lower after SSRF (OR, 0.19; 95% CI, 0.04–0.88; p = 0.034). CONCLUSION In patients with multiple rib fractures and TBI, the mechanical ventilation-free days did not differ between the two treatment groups. In addition, SSRF was associated with a significantly lower risk of pneumonia and 30-day mortality. In patients with moderate TBI, outcome was similar. In patients with severe TBI a lower 30-day mortality was observed. There was a low SSRF-related complication risk. These data suggest a potential role for SSRF in select patients with TBI. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic, level IV

Effects of Protein Deficiency on Perinatal and Postnatal Health Outcomes

There are a variety of environmental insults that can occur during pregnancy which cause low birth weight and poor fetal health outcomes. One such insult is maternal malnutrition, which can be further narrowed down to a low protein diet during gestation. Studies show that perinatal protein deficiencies can impair proper organ growth and development, leading to long-term metabolic dysfunction. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie how this deficiency leads to adverse developmental outcomes is essential for establishing better therapeuticstrategies that may alleviate or prevent diseases in later life. This chapter reviews how perinatal protein restriction in humans and animals leads to metabolic disease, and it identifies the mechanisms that have been elucidated, to date. These include alterations in transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms, as well as indirect means such as endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and oxidative stress. Furthermore, nutritional and pharmaceutical interventions are highlighted to illustrate that the plasticity of the underdeveloped organs during perinatal life can be exploited to prevent onset of long-term metabolic disease

C. elegans Agrin Is Expressed in Pharynx, IL1 Neurons and Distal Tip Cells and Does Not Genetically Interact with Genes Involved in Synaptogenesis or Muscle Function

Agrin is a basement membrane protein crucial for development and maintenance of the neuromuscular junction in vertebrates. The C. elegans genome harbors a putative agrin gene agr-1. We have cloned the corresponding cDNA to determine the primary structure of the protein and expressed its recombinant fragments to raise specific antibodies. The domain organization of AGR-1 is very similar to the vertebrate orthologues. C. elegans agrin contains a signal sequence for secretion, seven follistatin domains, three EGF-like repeats and two laminin G domains. AGR-1 loss of function mutants did not exhibit any overt phenotypes and did not acquire resistance to the acetylcholine receptor agonist levamisole. Furthermore, crossing them with various mutants for components of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex with impaired muscle function did not lead to an aggravation of the phenotypes. Promoter-GFP translational fusion as well as immunostaining of worms revealed expression of agrin in buccal epithelium and the protein deposition in the basal lamina of the pharynx. Furthermore, dorsal and ventral IL1 head neurons and distal tip cells of the gonad arms are sources of agrin production, but no expression was detectable in body muscles or in the motoneurons innervating them. Recombinant worm AGR-1 fragment is able to cluster vertebrate dystroglycan in cultured cells, implying a conservation of this interaction, but since neither of these proteins is expressed in muscle of C. elegans, this interaction may be required in different tissues. The connections between muscle cells and the basement membrane, as well as neuromuscular junctions, are structurally distinct between vertebrates and nematodes

The FunGenES Database: A Genomics Resource for Mouse Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation

Embryonic stem (ES) cells have high self-renewal capacity and the potential to differentiate into a large variety of cell types. To investigate gene networks operating in pluripotent ES cells and their derivatives, the “Functional Genomics in Embryonic Stem Cells” consortium (FunGenES) has analyzed the transcriptome of mouse ES cells in eleven diverse settings representing sixty-seven experimental conditions. To better illustrate gene expression profiles in mouse ES cells, we have organized the results in an interactive database with a number of features and tools. Specifically, we have generated clusters of transcripts that behave the same way under the entire spectrum of the sixty-seven experimental conditions; we have assembled genes in groups according to their time of expression during successive days of ES cell differentiation; we have included expression profiles of specific gene classes such as transcription regulatory factors and Expressed Sequence Tags; transcripts have been arranged in “Expression Waves” and juxtaposed to genes with opposite or complementary expression patterns; we have designed search engines to display the expression profile of any transcript during ES cell differentiation; gene expression data have been organized in animated graphs of KEGG signaling and metabolic pathways; and finally, we have incorporated advanced functional annotations for individual genes or gene clusters of interest and links to microarray and genomic resources. The FunGenES database provides a comprehensive resource for studies into the biology of ES cells

Genome-wide meta-analysis of 241,258 adults accounting for smoking behaviour identifies novel loci for obesity traits

Few genome-wide association studies (GWAS) account for environmental exposures, like smoking, potentially impacting the overall trait variance when investigating the genetic contribution to obesity-related traits. Here, we use GWAS data from 51,080 current smokers and 190,178 nonsmokers (87% European descent) to identify loci influencing BMI and central adiposity, measured as waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio both adjusted for BMI. We identify 23 novel genetic loci, and 9 loci with convincing evidence of gene-smoking interaction (GxSMK) on obesity-related traits. We show consistent direction of effect for all identified loci and significance for 18 novel and for 5 interaction loci in an independent study sample. These loci highlight novel biological functions, including response to oxidative stress, addictive behaviour, and regulatory functions emphasizing the importance of accounting for environment in genetic analyses. Our results suggest that tobacco smoking may alter the genetic susceptibility to overall adiposity and body fat distribution.Peer reviewe