PPAR gamma/mTOR signalling: striking the right balance in cartilage homeostasis

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt and build upon this work, for commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-20574

Survey on household solid waste sorting at source in developing economies : a case study of Nur-Sultan City in Kazakhstan

The exponential population growth in urban areas makes existing solid waste management policies and strategies challenging. The situation becomes more strenuous in fast-growing cities where increasing waste production can hardly be met by the capacity of existing facilities. Practices like waste prevention, recycling, reuse, and recovery are fundamental elements needed for the reduction of solid waste disposed in landfills, especially in fast-growing cities where more sustainable management practices need to be adopted. This study investigated the behavioral attitudes of citizens of the capital of Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan (former Astana), towards household solid waste disposal and separation at the source. The survey was conducted through stratified random sampling during April and July of 2018 with the participation of 3281 respondents. It is the first attempt, to our knowledge, of assessing recycling trends in Kazakhstan from the household perspective. The results showed that 24% of respondents were already sorting household solid waste despite the absence of a separation system at the source. The study further demonstrated that separation at source could be effective if the local authorities were to introduce sound public awareness campaigns and install recycling bins in close proximity to residential buildings

TOR complex 2 is needed for cell cycle progression and anchorage-independent growth of MCF7 and PC3 tumor cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>AKT signaling promotes cell growth, proliferation and survival and is hyperactivated in many cancers. TOR complex 2 (TORC2) activates AKT by phosphorylating it on the 'hydrophobic motif' site. Hydrophobic motif site phosphorylation is needed only for a subset of AKT functions. Whether proliferation of tumor cells depends on TORC2 activity has not been thoroughly explored.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used RNAi-mediated knockdown of rictor to inhibit TORC2 activity in MCF7 and PC3 tumor cells to analyze the importance of TORC2 on proliferation of tumor cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>TORC2 inhibition reduced proliferation and anchorage-independent growth of both cell lines. Rictor depleted cells accumulated G1 phase, and showed prominent downregulation of Cyclin D1.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study provides further evidence that inhibition of TORC2 activity might be a useful strategy to inhibit proliferation of tumor cells and subsequent tumor growth.</p

Characterization of tar generated from the mixture of municipal solid waste and coal pyrolysis at 800 oC

Nowadays, comprehensive perception of the tar characteristics generated from municipal solid waste (MSW) and coal to guide pyrolysis or gasification gas yield upgrading and cleaning has attracted massive research attention. In this study, MSW and coal samples were chosen as principal components. The mixture of these products was pyrolyzed in a horizontal tube furnace at 800 °C with a heating rate of 20 °C/min. The tar derived from the pyrolysis of this mixture was further studied. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS)coupled with a trace GC and a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer was applied to investigate the tar composition and characterization along with their molecular chemical structures. 1H and 13C NMR spectra indicated that the functional groups of the tar derived from the mixture of MSW and coal were dominant at the resonances of 0.9–1.8 ppm, 1.5–2.6 ppm and 3.8–4.1 ppm for 1H, 10–40 ppm and 60–80 ppm for 13C. The results from GC–MS showed that the tar derived from the mixture of MSW and coal contained about 20 major chemical compounds such as benzene, methyl isobutyl, toluene, xylene, phenol, cresol, naphthalene and others

Effective photochemical treatment of a municipal solid waste landfill leachate

This work aimed at studying the photochemical treatment of a landfill leachate using ultraviolet light, hydrogen peroxide, and ferrous or ferric ions, in a batch recycle photoreactor. The effect of inorganic carbon presence, pH, initial H2O2 amount (0–9990 mg L-1) as well as Fe (II) (200–600 ppm) and Fe(III) (300–700 ppm) concentrations on the total carbon removal and color change was studied. Prior to the photochemical treatment, a pretreatment process was applied; inorganic nitrogen and inorganic carbon were removed by means of air stripping and initial pH regulation, respectively. The leachate sent subsequently for photochemical treatment was free of inorganic carbon and contained only organic carbon with concentration 1200±100 mg L-1 at pH 5.1–5.3. The most favorable concentrations of H2O2 and ferric ions for carbon removal were 6660 mg L-1 and 400 ppm, respectively. Adjusting the initial pH value in the range of 2.2–5.3 had a significant effect on the organic carbon removal. The photo-Fenton-like process was more advantageous than the photo-Fenton one for leachate treatment. By applying the most favorable operating conditions, 88.7% removal of total organic carbon, 100% removal of total inorganic carbon, 96.5% removal of total nitrogen, and 98.2% color removal were achieved

Treatment of municipal solid waste landfill leachate by use of combined biological, physical and photochemical processes

The purpose of this work was to study the treatment of a leachate coming from the municipal solid waste landfill of Astana (Kazakhstan). Physical (striping and adsorption), biological and photochemical processes were applied separately or in combination, and the treatment efficiency was attended in terms of carbon and nitrogen removal. The leachate carbon was by 45%–60% inorganic while nitrogen was almost 100% inorganic in the form of ammonia. The results showed that inorganic carbon and ammonia can be almost entirely removed by air stripping at pH = 7 and pH = 12, respectively. The removal of organic carbon by stripping alone was lower than 4% but combined to adsorption reached 20%, and to biological treatment 30%. The removal of organic carbon by photochemical oxidation alone was 43%. The combination of stripping, adsorption and biological treatment resulted in 37% organic carbon and with the addition of photochemical oxidation step the removal was increased to 59%. In overall, total carbon removal reached 85% and total nitrogen removal almost 100%. The results showed that the decomposition of landfill leachate carbon is a challenging task requiring a combination of processes. On the contrary, as almost all nitrogen is inorganic, air stripping at elevated pH alone can sufficiently eliminate it

The antiproliferative activity of kinase inhibitors in chronic myeloid leukemia cells is mediated by FOXO transcription factors

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is initiated and maintained by the tyrosine kinase BCR-ABL which activates a number of signal transduction pathways, including PI3K/AKT signaling and consequently inactivates FOXO transcription factors. ABL-specific tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) induce minimal apoptosis in CML progenitor cells, yet exert potent antiproliferative effects, through as yet poorly understood mechanisms. Here, we demonstrate that in CD34+ CML cells, FOXO1 and 3a are inactivated and relocalized to the cytoplasm by BCR-ABL activity. TKIs caused a decrease in phosphorylation of FOXOs, leading to their relocalization from cytoplasm (inactive) to nucleus (active), where they modulated the expression of key FOXO target genes, such as Cyclin D1, ATM, CDKN1C, and BCL6 and induced G1 arrest. Activation of FOXO1 and 3a and a decreased expression of their target gene Cyclin D1 were also observed after 6 days of in vivo treatment with dasatinib in a CML transgenic mouse model. The over-expression of FOXO3a in CML cells combined with TKIs to reduce proliferation, with similar results seen for inhibitors of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling. While stable expression of an active FOXO3a mutant induced a similar level of quiescence to TKIs alone, shRNA-mediated knockdown of FOXO3a drove CML cells into cell cycle and potentiated TKI-induced apoptosis. These data demonstrate that TKI-induced G1 arrest in CML cells is mediated through inhibition of the PI3K/AKT pathway and reactivation of FOXOs. This enhanced understanding of TKI activity and induced progenitor cell quiescence suggests that new therapeutic strategies for CML should focus on manipulation of this signaling network

Linguistic features of phraseological units used media texts and the specifics of their translation

Язык необходим для формирования дискурса и передачи смысла в постоянно меняющемся мире медиакоммуникаций.Language is essential for forming discourse and delivering meaning in the everchanging world of media communication

Fixed-bed gasification and pyrolysis of organic fraction of MSW blended with coal samples

Buildup of vast quantities of municipal solid waste (MSW) including refuse derived fuel, organic fraction around the urban areas has negative environmental consequences. Gasification and pyrolysis of municipal solid waste could be an attractive option to utilize or convert to a valuable product. This study investigates the thermochemical properties of refuse derived fuel (RDF), organic fraction of MSW (Org MSW) and coal samples. Along with proximate and elemental analysis, calorific values were provided for RDF, MSW organic fraction, and coal samples. This followed by the thermogravimetric analysis of the same samples. In addition, Org MSW MSW and coal samples were blended in a proportion of 0.5/0.5 and 0.25/0.75 and then thermally treated in horizontal tube furnace both under air and inert gases to investigate the pyrolysis and gasification processes. TGA tests revealed that volatile content from Org MSW and RDF begin to be emitted at temperatures above 180-200 °C. Org MSW and RDF lose all their volatile contents at 500 °C and 700 °C. Pyrolysis experiments revealed that below 500 °C mostly tars are formed from Org MSW. Organic MSW and coal 0.5/0.5 blends yielded higher methane concentrations than coal or MSW alone, reaching 35-37 % at 800 °C. It could be concluded that both fixed bed and thermogravimetric method analysis have provided a good result to investigate the gasification and pyrolysis processes