Adding value to natural clays as low‑cost adsorbents of methylene blue in polluted water through honeycomb monoliths manufacture

natural Moroccan illite–smectite was used as an adsorbent for the removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions. The clay was characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, TGA, SEM–EDS, X-ray fluorescence, XRD and N2 physisorption. The influence of pH, temperature and time on the MB adsorption by the clay was investigated. The maximum equilibrium adsorption capacity was 100 mg g−1 at 45 °C. The kinetic behavior and the isotherms better-fitted with the pseudosecond- order and Langmuir models, respectively. Clay honeycomb monoliths (50 cells cm−2) were obtained by means of extrusion from the starting material without any additive except water. The structured filters exhibited better performance under dynamic conditions than the powdered clay, adding value to the application of this low-cost adsorbent

Clay honeycomb monoliths for the simultaneous retention of lead and cadmium in water

Natural illite-smectite and stevensite Moroccan clays were used for the simultaneous removal of lead and cadmium from aqueous medium. The clays were employed in raw state and extruded as honeycomb monoliths form without any additives, which confirms the novelty of this approach in water treatment. The experiments were done in batch conditions with continuous stirring and using a recirculated flow, respectively. In addition to a characterization of the clays by XRF, XRD, TGA, laser granulometry, N2 physisorption, FTIR spectroscopy, SEM-EDS and evaluation of the cation exchange capacity, special attention was paid to the influence on the co-adsorption of variables such as adsorbent dosage, contact time and initial concentration of Cd2+ and Pb2+. Pseudo-second order kinetics and good fitting to Redlich-Peterson model for both heavy metals were found. Our results also suggest that Pb2+ and Cd2+ uptake is controlled by chemisorption with predominance of Langmuir characteristics. No significant depletion of the metals retention attributable to competition was observed, particularly for the stevensite (maximum retention capacity of 1.2 mg Pb2+/g and 4.6 mg Cd2+/g) that showed higher specific surface area. For both clays, cadmium ions adsorption was relatively favoured in the bimetallic solution, and the honeycombs kept the powders performance. Honeycomb monoliths as a compact adsorbent offer a promising way of water treatment thanks to their stability and easy incorporation into dynamic processes avoiding the issues of pressure drop under wastewater circulation. (c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Lactate Dehydrogenase-B Is Silenced by Promoter Methylation in a High Frequency of Human Breast Cancers

Objective: Under normoxia, non-malignant cells rely on oxidative phosphorylation for their ATP production, whereas cancer cells rely on Glycolysis; a phenomenon known as the Warburg effect. We aimed to elucidate the mechanisms contributing to the Warburg effect in human breast cancer. Experimental design: Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) isoenzymes were profiled using zymography. LDH-B subunit expression was assessed by reverse transcription PCR in cells, and by Immunohistochemistry in breast tissues. LDH-B promoter methylation was assessed by sequencing bisulfite modified DNA. Results: Absent or decreased expression of LDH isoenzymes 1-4, were seen in T-47D and MCF7 cells. Absence of LDH-B mRNA was seen in T-47D cells, and its expression was restored following treatment with the demethylating agent 5'Azacytadine. LDH-B promoter methylation was identified in T-47D and MCF7 cells, and in 25/ 25 cases of breast cancer tissues, but not in 5/ 5 cases of normal breast tissues. Absent immuno-expression of LDH-B protein (<10% cells stained), was seen in 23/ 26 (88%) breast cancer cases, and in 4/8 cases of adjacent ductal carcinoma in situ lesions. Exposure of breast cancer cells to hypoxia (1% O2), for 48 hours resulted in significant increases in lactate levels in both MCF7 (14.0 fold, p = 0.002), and T-47D cells (2.9 fold, p = 0.009), but not in MDA-MB-436 (-0.9 fold, p = 0.229), or MCF10AT (1.2 fold, p = 0.09) cells. Conclusions: Loss of LDH-B expression is an early and frequent event in human breast cancer occurring due to promoter methylation, and is likely to contribute to an enhanced glycolysis of cancer cells under hypoxia

Lactate released by inflammatory bone marrow neutrophils induces their mobilization via endothelial GPR81 signaling.

Neutrophils provide first line of host defense against bacterial infections utilizing glycolysis for their effector functions. How glycolysis and its major byproduct lactate are triggered in bone marrow (BM) neutrophils and their contribution to neutrophil mobilization in acute inflammation is not clear. Here we report that bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) or Salmonella Typhimurium triggers lactate release by increasing glycolysis, NADPH-oxidase-mediated reactive oxygen species and HIF-1α levels in BM neutrophils. Increased release of BM lactate preferentially promotes neutrophil mobilization by reducing endothelial VE-Cadherin expression, increasing BM vascular permeability via endothelial lactate-receptor GPR81 signaling. GPR81-/- mice mobilize reduced levels of neutrophils in response to LPS, unless rescued by VE-Cadherin disrupting antibodies. Lactate administration also induces release of the BM neutrophil mobilizers G-CSF, CXCL1 and CXCL2, indicating that this metabolite drives neutrophil mobilization via multiple pathways. Our study reveals a metabolic crosstalk between lactate-producing neutrophils and BM endothelium, which controls neutrophil mobilization under bacterial infection

Significance of glycolytic metabolism-related protein expression in colorectal cancer, lymph node and hepatic metastasis

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies and a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Most cancer cells display high rates of glycolysis with production of lactic acid, which is then exported to the microenvironment by monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs). The main aim of this study was to evaluate the significance of MCT expression in a comprehensive series of primary CRC cases, lymph node and hepatic metastasis. Methods: Expressions of MCT1, MCT4, CD147 and GLUT1 were studied in human samples of CRC, lymph node and hepatic metastasis, by immunohistochemistry. Results: All proteins were overexpressed in primary CRC, lymph node and hepatic metastasis, when compared with non-neoplastic tissue, with exception of MCT1 in lymph node and hepatic metastasis. MCT1 and MCT4 expressions were associated with CD147 and GLUT1 in primary CRC. These markers were associated with clinical pathological features, reflecting the putative role of these metabolism-related proteins in the CRC setting. Conclusion: These findings provide additional evidence for the pivotal role of MCTs in CRC maintenance and progression, and support the use of MCTs as biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets in primary and metastatic CRC.This work was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) grant ref. PTDC/SAU-FCF/104347/2008, under the scope of ‘Programa Operacional Temático Factores de Competitividade’ (COMPETE) of ‘Quadro Comunitário de Apoio III’ and co-financed by the Fundo Europeu De Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER). Ricardo Amorim was recipient of the fellowship SFRH/BD/98002/2013, from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT Portugal).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Inside and out: the activities of senescence in cancer.

The core aspect of the senescent phenotype is a stable state of cell cycle arrest. However, this is a disguise that conceals a highly active metabolic cell state with diverse functionality. Both the cell-autonomous and the non-cell-autonomous activities of senescent cells create spatiotemporally dynamic and context-dependent tissue reactions. For example, the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) provokes not only tumour-suppressive but also tumour-promoting responses. Senescence is now increasingly considered to be an integrated and widespread component that is potentially important for tumour development, tumour suppression and the response to therapy.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from NPG via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nrc377

Étude expérimentale de la remise en suspension des particules

Concernant la pollution particulaire des ambiances, qu'elles soient habitables ou destinées à accueillir une population parfois importante (telles que les grands halls publics, les gares ou lieux de vie), c'est essentiellement l'étude du dépôt des particules ou de leur migration dans l'air, qui a le plus souvent été traité dans la bibliographie. Pour l'instant trop peu d'études ont été consacrées aux aspects de la remise en suspension des particules car de façon générale, qu'il s'agisse d'habitations ou de grands volumes ouverts au public, les vitesses de l'air restent relativement faibles et permettent difficilement d'"arracher" les particules déposées. C'est dans cet esprit que nous avons élaboré en cellule-test, un protocole expérimental pour mettre en évidence ce phénomène. Nos expérimentations permettront une quantification de la contribution de l'activité humaine (déplacement par la marche) dans la remise en suspension de particules initialement sur le plancher. Le paramètre sur lequel nous nous sommes focalisés ici concerne la rugosité du revêtement posé au plancher (même nature mais de rugosité différente). Nos résultats permettront d'une part de caractériser le facteur humain comme une "pseudo-source" de pollution particulaire, et d'autre part, de l'inclure dans la caractérisation particulaire des ambiances

Beta-adrenergic blocking drugs in breast cancer: a perspective review

The purpose of this review is to present the preclinical, epidemiological and clinical data relevant to the association between β-blockers and breast cancer progression. Preclinical studies have shown that β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR) signalling can inhibit multiple cellular processes involved in breast cancer progression and metastasis, including extracellular matrix invasion, expression of inflammatory and chemotactic cytokines, angiogenesis and tumour immune responses. This has led to the hypothesis that the commonly prescribed class of β-AR antagonist drugs (β-blockers) may favourably impact cancer progression. A number of recent pharmacoepidemiological studies have examined the association between β-blocker exposure and breast cancer progression. The results from these studies have suggested a potential role for targeting the β-AR pathway in breast cancer patients. Larger observational studies are, however, required to confirm these results. Questions regarding the type of β-blocker, predictive biomarkers or tumour characteristics, appropriate treatment paradigms and, most importantly, efficacy must also be answered in randomized clinical studies before β-blockers can be considered a therapeutic option for patients with breast cancer

Novel method to measure the soil clay’s permeability by laser interferometry

In this study, we’ll present a new method to measure the permeability of clay soils (or infiltration rate) by laser interferometry. The device is a modified Michelson interferometer. Indeed on the movable mirror is glued a clay sample in the form of a parallelepiped, dried, of length L, height H and shaped to retain the drops of water on its surface to control water’s content .When injecting a volume of distilled water (a few drops) to the surface of the sample, it swells and moves the mirror, then we can measure the swelling depending on the depth of a clay soil and its permeability. Therefore we measure time that takes water to reach a depth of Z and we determine the infiltration rate: V=6μm/s ± 3% in concordance with literal values included between 2,8 and 13,9μm/s in clayey silt. For this comparison, we used the study of the characterization of the clay fraction to our sample by XRD