Sustainable practices in the agro-industrial complex: A pathway to enhanced ecological stewardship

This article delves into the transformative potential of sustainable practices within the agro-industrial complex, positing them as crucial for advancing ecological stewardship and ensuring the long-term viability of our planet’s ecosystems. It critically examines the current environmental challenges posed by conventional agro-industrial operations, including soil degradation, water scarcity, and biodiversity loss, driven by the relentless pursuit of productivity and efficiency at the expense of ecological balance. Through a comprehensive review of recent innovations and case studies, the paper highlights effective strategies and technologies that promote sustainability in the agricultural sector, such as precision farming, organic agriculture, integrated pest management, and the use of renewable energy sources. It also explores the role of policy frameworks, market mechanisms, and community engagement in fostering a more sustainable agro-industrial paradigm. By synthesizing findings from diverse contexts, this article argues that integrating sustainable practices into the agro-industrial complex is not only essential for preserving environmental integrity but also for enhancing food security, farmer livelihoods, and resilience to climate change. The conclusion calls for a concerted effort among stakeholders to prioritize sustainability in agricultural policies and investments, thereby paving the way for a more ecologically responsible and economically viable agricultural future

Technological mineralogy: development of a comprehensive assessment of titanium ores (exemplified by the Pizhemskoye deposit)

Technological mineralogy of titanium ores is the basis for assessing their complexity. It enables, from a unified standpoint, to trace the entire course of changes in mineral matter through operating procedures, including beneficiation, processing, and obtaining target industrial products. The study targets are Pizhemskoye ilmenite-leucoxene sandstones, which are distinguished by a complex polymineral composition. Along with the main ore components, there are other metals with different speciation (isomorphic admixture, independent mineral phases). The optimal set of mineralogical analysis methods for the predictive assessment of their further use is substantiated exemplified by titanium ores of the Pizhemskoye deposit, which are complex, noted for a variable content of iron oxides and contain rare earth metals. Examinations by X-ray phase analysis and scanning electron microscopy confirm that the main titanium phases of sandstones are pseudorutile and a polymineral aggregate, “leucoxene”. Considering the granulometric peculiarities of the magnetic and non-magnetic fractions of the gravity concentrate, the prospects of technologies for processing titanium raw materials are discussed. Along with the problems of obtaining high-quality raw materials, the transformations of mineral phases as a result of extreme impacts and their physicochemical properties as a consequence of isomorphic substitution of a part of Ti atoms with natural modifier agents (Fe and V) in the synthesis of titanium oxide nanostructures for industrial applications are considered (photocatalytic nanoreactor)

High glucose enhances store-operated calcium entry by upregulating ORAI/STIM via calcineurin-NFAT signalling

© 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Abstract: ORAI and stromal interaction molecule (STIM) are store-operated channel molecules that play essential roles in human physiology through a coupling mechanism of internal Ca 2+ store to Ca 2+ influx. However, the roles of ORAI and STIM in vascular endothelial cells under diabetic conditions remain unknown. Here, we investigated expression and signalling pathways of ORAI and STIM regulated by high glucose or hyperglycaemia using in vitro cell models, in vivo diabetic mice and tissues from patients. We found that ORAI1-3 and STIM1-2 were ubiquitously expressed in human vasculatures. Their expression was upregulated by chronic treatment with high glucose (HG, 25 mM d-glucose), which was accompanied by enhanced store-operated Ca 2+ influx in vascular endothelial cells. The increased expression was also observed in the aortae from genetically modified Akita diabetic mice (C57BL/6-Ins2 Akita /J) and streptozocin-induced diabetic mice, and aortae from diabetic patients. HG-induced upregulation of ORAI and STIM genes was prevented by the calcineurin inhibitor cyclosporin A and NFATc3 siRNA. Additionally, in vivo treatment with the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) inhibitor A-285222 prevented the gene upregulation in Akita mice. However, HG had no direct effects on ORAI1-3 currents and the channel activation process through cytosolic STIM1 movement in the cells co-expressing STIM1-EYFP/ORAIs. We concluded that upregulation of STIM/ORAI through Ca 2+ -calcineurin-NFAT pathway is a novel mechanism causing abnormal Ca 2+ homeostasis and endothelial dysfunction under hyperglycaemia. Key message: ORAI1-3 and STIM1-2 are ubiquitously expressed in vasculatures and upregulated by high glucose.Increased expression is confirmed in Akita (Ins2 Akita /J) and STZ diabetic mice and patients.Upregulation mechanism is mediated by Ca 2+ /calcineurin/NFATc3 signalling.High glucose has no direct effects on ORAI1-3 channel activity and channel activation process

Adsorption of direct green 6 dye onto modified power plant ASH

Power plant ash and modified ash were used as the adsorbent, in this study, for the removal of textiledye direct green 6 (DG6) from aqueous solutions. The adsorbent was prepared by the alkaline attack in aqueous medium and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Brunauer- Emmett -Teller (BET) methods. The adsorbent in this study had a specific surface area of 7, for power plant ash and 40 m2g -1 for modified ash. Effects of various experimentalparameters, such as initialpH solution,adsorbent dosage, contact time and initial dye concentration are studied. The removal of DG6 effluent is a relatively rapid process. At pH 2 and ambient temperature, the adsorption equilibrium was reached after 4 hours and thekinetics follow a pseudo-second order model. The highest removal rate was obtained at pH 4, and was about 94% at ambient temperature. The adsorption isotherm is in goodagreement with the Langmuir model, the adsorption of dye on thesurface of new adsorbent materials was done in monolayer. The results obtained in this study confirm the potential of modified ash to be used as efficient adsorbent for the removal of direct green 6 dye from aqueous solution

Calcium Signaling Initiated by Agonists in Mesenchymal Stromal Cells from the Human Adipose Tissue

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) from different sources represent a heterogeneous population of proliferating non-differentiated cells that contain multipotent stem cells capable of originating a variety of mesenchymal cell lineages. By using Ca2+ imaging and the Ca2+ dye Fluo-4, we studied MSCs from the human adipose tissue and examined Ca2+ signaling initiated by a variety of GPCR ligands, focusing primarily on adrenergic and purinergic agonists. Being characterized by a relative change of Fluo-4 fluorescence, agonist-induced Ca2+ responses were generated in an “all-or-nothing” fashion. Specifically, at relatively low doses, agonists elicited undetectable responses but initiated quite similar Ca2+ transients at all concentrations above the threshold. The inhibitory analysis and Ca2+/IP3 uncaging pointed at the phosphoinositide cascade as a pivotal pathway responsible for agonist transduction and implicated Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release (CICR) in shaping agonists-dependent Ca2+ signals. Altogether, our data suggest that agonist transduction in MSCs includes two fundamentally different stages: an agonist initially triggers a local, gradual, and relatively small Ca2+ signal, which next stimulates CICR to accomplish transduction with a large and global Ca2+ transient. By involving the trigger-like mechanism CICR, a cell is capable of generating Ca2+ responses of virtually universal shape and magnitude at different agonist concentrations above the threshold

Mullite production: phase transformations of kaolinite, thermodynamics of the process

The growing demand for mullite raw materials, which meet industrial requirements originates the search for new and alternative sources, as well as efficient technologies for obtaining the target products (nanocomposites). The article suggests a method for obtaining mullite from kaolinite experimentally (Vezhayu-Vorykvinsky deposit, Russia). Structural kaolinite transformations (Al-Si-O-Me system), mineral phases transformations, and thermodynamics of the process have been studied. Based on the estimation of the thermodynamics of the reactions, the preferable reaction of mullite formation was determined. The article shows, that formation of the target product, mullite nanocomposite, has several intermediate phases (metakaolinite, pseudomullite). The transformations of the initial kaolinite structure include the removal of structural water and separation of the silica-oxygen tetrahedral and alumina-oxygen octahedral layers, the decomposition into free oxides, breaking of bonds between the silica-oxygen tetrahedrons and the partial increase in the coordination number of aluminium ions, the formation of mullite and cristobalite from free oxides. The proposed approach controls the ratio of Al2O3 and SiO2 phases at certain stages, which will further improve the mechanical and other properties of the matrix of the obtained raw materials for the target prototypes of industrial products

NFAT regulates the expression of AIF-1 and IRT-1: Yin and yang splice variants of neointima formation and atherosclerosis.

Aims Alternative transcription and splicing of the allograft inflammatory factor-1 (AIF-1) gene results in the expression of two different proteins: AIF-1 and interferon responsive transcript-1 (IRT-1). Here we explore the impact of AIF-1 and IRT-1 on vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) activation and neointima formation, the mechanisms underlying their alternative splicing, and associations of AIF-1 and IRT-1 mRNA with parameters defining human atherosclerotic plaque phenotype.Methods and results Translation of AIF-1 and IRT-1 results in different products with contrasting cellular distribution and functions. Overexpression of AIF-1 stimulates migration and proliferation of human VSMCs, whereas IRT-1 exerts opposite effects. Adenoviral infection of angioplasty-injured rat carotid arteries with AdAIF-1 exacerbates intima hyperplasia, whereas infection with AdIRT-1 reduces neointima. Expression of these variants is modulated by changes in nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) activity. Pharmacological inhibition of NFAT or targeting of NFATc3 with siRNA lowers the AIF-1/IRT-1 ratio and favors an anti-proliferative outcome. NFAT acts as a repressor on the IRT-1 transcriptional start site, which is also sensitive to interferon-γ stimulation. Expression of AIF-1 mRNA in human carotid plaques associates with less extracellular matrix and a more pro-inflammatory plaque and plasma profile, features that may predispose to plaque rupture. In contrast, expression of IRT-1 mRNA associates with a less aggressive phenotype and less VSMCs at the most stenotic region of the plaque.Conclusions Inhibition of NFAT signaling, by shifting the AIF-1/IRT-1 ratio, may be an attractive target to regulate the VSMC response to injury and manipulate plaque stability in atherosclerosis