Effect of pruning-derived biochar on heavy metals removal and water dynamics

Biomass-derived biochar is considered as a promising heavy metal adsorbent, due to abundance of polar functional groups, such as carboxylic, hydroxyl, and amino groups, which are available for heavy metal removal. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of an orchard pruning-derived biochar in removing some heavy metals (through the evaluation of isotherms) and to study water dynamics at the solid-liquid interface as affected by heavy metal adsorption (through an innovative nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry approach). Both isotherms and NMR spectra revealed that Pb and Cr showed a good affinity for the biochar surface (Pb > Cr), while Cu was less affine. Accordingly, higher amounts of Pb and Cr were adsorbed by biochar as compared to those of Cu in the single systems. In binary systems (i.e., when two metals were applied simultaneously), Pb showed the highest inhibition of the adsorption of the other two metals, whereas the opposite was evidenced when Cu was used; the competitive adsorption was also strongly influenced by the metal residence time on biochar surface. In ternary systems (i.e., when all metals were applied simultaneously), even in the presence of high amounts of Pb and Cr, considerable adsorption of Cu occurred, indicating that some biochar adsorption sites were highly specific for a single metal

MOBILITY AND BIOAVAILABILITY OF HEAVY METALS AND METALLOIDS IN SOIL ENVIRONMENTS

In soil environments, sorption/desorption reactions as well as chemical complexation with inorganic and organic ligands and redox reactions, both biotic and abiotic, are of great importance in controlling their bioavailability, leaching and toxicity. These reactions are affected by many factors such as pH, nature of the sorbents, presence and concentration of organic and inorganic ligands, including humic and fulvic acid, root exudates, microbial metabolites and nutrients. In this review, we highlight the impact of physical, chemical, and biological interfacial interactions on bioavailability and mobility of metals and metalloids in soil. Special attention is devoted to: i) the sorption/desorption processes of metals and metalloids on/from soil components and soils; ii) their precipitation and reduction-oxidation reactions in solution and onto surfaces of soil components; iii) their chemical speciation, fractionation and bioavailability

Histone deacetylase 4 protects from denervation and skeletal muscle atrophy in a murine model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Background: Histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4) has been proposed as a target for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) because it mediates nerve-skeletal muscle interaction and since its expression in skeletal muscle correlates with the severity of the disease. However, our recent studies on the skeletal muscle response upon long-term denervation highlighted the importance of HDAC4 in maintaining muscle integrity. Methods: To fully identify the yet uncharacterized HDAC4 functions in ALS, we genetically deleted HDAC4 in skeletal muscles of a mouse model of ALS. Body weight, skeletal muscle, innervation and spinal cord were analyzed over time by morphological and molecular analyses. Transcriptome analysis was also performed to delineate the signaling modulated by HDAC4 in skeletal muscle of a mouse model of ALS. Findings: HDAC4 deletion in skeletal muscle caused earlier ALS onset, characterized by body weight loss, muscle denervation and atrophy, and compromised muscle performance, although the main catabolic pathways were not activated. Transcriptome analysis identified the gene networks modulated by HDAC4 in ALS, revealing UCP1 as a top regulator that may be implicated in worsening ALS features. Interpretation: HDAC4 plays an important role in preserving innervations and skeletal muscle in ALS, likely by modulating the UCP1 gene network. Our study highlights a possible risk in considering HDAC inhibitors for the treatment of ALS. Fund: This work was supported by FIRB grant (RBFR12BUMH) from Ministry of Education, Universities and Research, by Fondazione Veronesi, by Sapienza research project 2017 (RM11715C78539BD8) and Polish National Science Center grant (UMO-2016/21/B/NZ3/03638)

Greater impairment of postprandial triacylglycerol than glucose response in metabolic syndrome subjects with fasting hyperglycaemia

Abstract Objective: Studies have started to question whether a specific component or combinations of metabolic syndrome (MetS) components may be more important in relation to cardiovascular disease risk. Our aim was to examine the impact of the presence of raised fasting glucose as a MetS component on postprandial lipaemia. Methods: Men classified with the MetS underwent a sequential test meal investigation, in which blood samples were taken at regular intervals after a test breakfast (t=0 min) and lunch (t=330 min). Lipids, glucose and insulin were measured in the fasting and postprandial samples. Results: MetS subjects with 3 or 4 components were subdivided into those without (n=34) and with (n=23) fasting hyperglycaemia (≥ 5.6 mmol/l), irrespective of the combination of components. Fasting lipids and insulin were similar in the two groups, with glucose significantly higher in the men with glucose as a MetS component (P<0.001). Following the test meals, there was a higher maximum concentration (maxC), area under the curve (AUC) and incremental AUC (P≤0.016) for the postprandial triacylglycerol (TAG) response in men with fasting hyperglycaemia. Greater glucose AUC (P<0.001) and insulin maxC (P=0.010) was also observed in these individuals after the test meals. Multivariate regression analysis revealed fasting glucose to be an important predictor of the postprandial TAG and glucose response. Conclusion: Our data analysis has revealed a greater impairment of postprandial TAG than glucose response in MetS subjects with raised fasting glucose. The worsening of postprandial lipaemic control may contribute to the greater CVD risk reported in individuals with MetS component combinations which include hyperglycaemia

Aerobic Exercise and Pharmacological Treatments Counteract Cachexia by Modulating Autophagy in Colon Cancer

Recent studies have correlated physical activity with a better prognosis in cachectic patients, although the underlying mechanisms are not yet understood. In order to identify the pathways involved in the physical activity-mediated rescue of skeletal muscle mass and function, we investigated the effects of voluntary exercise on cachexia in colon carcinoma (C26)-bearing mice. Voluntary exercise prevented loss of muscle mass and function, ultimately increasing survival of C26-bearing mice. We found that the autophagic flux is overloaded in skeletal muscle of both colon carcinoma murine models and patients, but not in running C26-bearing mice, thus suggesting that exercise may release the autophagic flux and ultimately rescue muscle homeostasis. Treatment of C26-bearing mice with either AICAR or rapamycin, two drugs that trigger the autophagic flux, also rescued muscle mass and prevented atrogene induction. Similar effects were reproduced on myotubes in vitro, which displayed atrophy following exposure to C26-conditioned medium, a phenomenon that was rescued by AICAR or rapamycin treatment and relies on autophagosome-lysosome fusion (inhibited by chloroquine). Since AICAR, rapamycin and exercise equally affect the autophagic system and counteract cachexia, we believe autophagy-triggering drugs may be exploited to treat cachexia in conditions in which exercise cannot be prescribed

Cuerpo y disciplina, orden y poder: Del Instructor Popular a los Tribunales Infantiles

A fines del siglo XIX, en la República Argentina, el periódico mendocino El Instructor Popular publica el intercambio epistolar entre dos graduados de la Escuela Normal de Paraná: Carlos Norberto Vergara y Ernesto A.Bavio. Reprender, reformar y corregir el error, las faltas y la ignorancia, fueron las justificaciones para hacer uso de punteros y palmetas e incorporar la pena, el dolor y la culpa como correctivos, en las instituciones educativas de "la letra con la sangre entra" en manos de "maestros normales que quieren gobernar con el lático". El espistolario visibiliza y reprueba ciertas prácticas que tuvieron al cuerpo infantil como territorio de anclaje para la institucionalización educativa. Puntear esa conjetura nos permite trazar continuidades y discontinuidades entre los "principios de la disciplina" y "los castigos corporales" como antecedentes para los "tribunales infantiles", implementados en la Escuela Quintana de la Provincia de Mendoza, por Florencia Fossatti, en las primeras décadas del siglo XX.Fil: Alvarado, Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Ciencias Humanas, Sociales y Ambientales; Argentin

Is the pancreas affected in patients with septic shock? A prospective study

Hyperamylasemia can be observed anecdotally during the course of severe sepsis or septic shock. This study aimed to investigate the possibility of pancreatic involvement in patients with septic shock using serum pancreatic enzyme determinations and imaging techniques in 21 consecutive patients with septic shock and 21 healthy subjects as controls. METHODS: The serum activity of pancreatic amylase and lipase was assayed initially in all subjects and 24 and 48 hours after the initial observation in the 21 patients with septic shock. All patients also underwent radiological examination to detect pancreatic abnormalities. RESULTS: The serum activity of pancreatic amylase was significantly higher in the 21 patients with septic shock than in the 21 control subjects during the study period, while the serum activity of lipase was similar to that of the control subjects. Amylase and lipase serum activity did not significantly changed throughout the study period in the 21 patients with septic shock. None of the patients with pancreatic hyperenzymemia had clinical signs or morphological alterations compatible with acute pancreatitis. CONCLUSION: The presence of pancreatic hyperenzymemia in septic shock patients is not a biochemical manifestation of acute pancreatic damage, and the management of these patients should be dependent on the clinical situation and not merely the biochemical result

Arsenic-phosphorus interactions in the soil-plant-microbe system: dynamics of uptake, suppression and toxicity to plants

High arsenic (As) concentrations in the soil, water and plant systems can pose a direct health risk to humans and ecosystems. Phosphate (Pi) ions strongly influence As availability in soil, its uptake and toxicity to plants. Better understanding of As(V)-Pi interactions in soils and plants will facilitate a potential remediation strategy for As contaminated soils, reducing As uptake by crop plants and toxicity to human populations via manipulation of soil Pi content. However, the As(V)-Pi interactions in soil-plant systems are complex, leading to contradictory findings among different studies. Therefore, this review investigates the role of soil type, soil properties, minerals, Pi levels in soil and plant, Pi transporters, mycorrhizal association and microbial activities on As-Pi interactions in soils and hydroponics, and uptake by plants, elucidate the key mechanisms, identify key knowledge gaps and recommend new research directions. Although Pi suppresses As uptake by plants in hydroponic systems, in soils it could either increase or decrease As availability and toxicity to plants depending on the soil types, properties and charge characteristics. In soil, As(V) availability is typically increased by the addition of Pi. At the root surface, the Pi transport system has high affinity for Pi over As(V). However, Pi concentration in plant influences the As transport from roots to shoots. Mycorrhizal association may reduce As uptake via a physiological shift to the mycorrhizal uptake pathway, which has a greater affinity for Pi over As(V) than the root epidermal uptake pathway