Transcriptomic profiling of the response to excess iodide in Keap1 hypomorphic mice reveals new gene-environment interactions in thyroid homeostasis.

Iodide plays a pivotal role in thyroid homeostasis due to its crucial involvement in thyroid hormone biosynthesis. Exposure to pharmacological doses of iodide elicits in the thyroid an autoregulatory response to preserve thyroid function, as well as an antioxidant response that is mediated by the Keap1/Nrf2 signaling pathway. The objective of the present study was to investigate the transcriptional response of the thyroid to excess iodide in a background of enhanced Nrf2 signaling. Keap1 knockdown (Keap1 <sup>KD</sup> ) mice that have activated Nrf2 signaling were exposed or not to excess iodide in their drinking water for seven days and compared to respective wild-type mice. RNA-sequencing of individual mouse thyroids identified distinct transcriptomic patterns in response to iodide, with Keap1 <sup>KD</sup> mice showing an attenuated inflammatory response, altered thyroidal autoregulation, and enhanced cell growth/proliferative signaling, as confirmed also by Western blotting for key proteins involved in antioxidant, autoregulatory and proliferative responses. These findings underscore novel gene-environment interactions between the activation status of the Keap1/Nrf2 antioxidant response system and the dietary iodide intake, which may have implications not only for the goiter phenotype of Keap1 <sup>KD</sup> mice but also for humans harboring genetic variations in KEAP1 or NFE2L2 or treated with Nrf2-modulating drugs

Green synthesis of polypyrrole-supported metal catalysts: application to nitrate removal in water

Pt and Pt/Sn catalysts supported on polypyrrole (PPy) have been prepared using Ar plasma to reduce the metal precursors dispersed on the polymer. The PPy support was synthesized by chemical polymerization of pyrrole with FeCl3·6H2O, this leading to the conducting form of the polymer (conductimetric measurements). The Ar plasma treatment produced a partial reduction of platinum ions, anchored as platinum chloro-complexes to the PPy chain, into metallic platinum. A homogeneous distribution of Pt and Sn nanoparticles was observed by TEM. Activity of the PPy-supported catalysts was evaluated in the reduction of aqueous nitrate with H2 at room temperature. Nitrate concentration in water below the maximum acceptable level of 50 mg L−1 was achieved with all catalysts. However, considering not only efficiency in nitrate reduction, but also minimized concentrations of undesired nitrite and ammonium, the monometallic Pt catalyst seems to be the most promising one.Financial support from Generalitat Valenciana, Spain (PROMETEO/2009/002 – FEDER and PROMETEOII/2014/004) is gratefully acknowledged. Support by PEst-C/EQB/LA0020/2013, financed by FEDER through COMPETE – Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade, and by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia; NORTE-07-0162-FEDER-000050, financed by QREN, ON2 and FEDER is acknowledged by LCM group. O. S. G. P. Soares acknowledges the grant received from FCT (SFRH/BPD/97689/2013)

The Transcriptomic Response of the Murine Thyroid Gland to Iodide Overload and the Role of the Nrf2 Antioxidant System.

Thyroid follicular cells have physiologically high levels of reactive oxygen species because oxidation of iodide is essential for the iodination of thyroglobulin (Tg) during thyroid hormone synthesis. Thyroid follicles (the functional units of the thyroid) also utilize incompletely understood autoregulatory mechanisms to defend against exposure to excess iodide. To date, no transcriptomic studies have investigated these phenomena in vivo. Nuclear erythroid factor 2 like 2 (Nrf2 or Nfe2l2) is a transcription factor that regulates the expression of numerous antioxidant and other cytoprotective genes. We showed previously that the Nrf2 pathway regulates the antioxidant defense of follicular cells, as well as Tg transcription and Tg iodination. We, thus, hypothesized that Nrf2 might be involved in the transcriptional response to iodide overload. C57BL6/J wild-type (WT) or Nrf2 knockout (KO) male mice were administered regular water or water supplemented with 0.05% sodium iodide for seven days. RNA from their thyroids was prepared for next-generation RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). Gene expression changes were assessed and pathway analyses were performed on the sets of differentially expressed genes. Analysis of differentially expressed messenger RNAs (mRNAs) indicated that iodide overload upregulates inflammatory-, immune-, fibrosis- and oxidative stress-related pathways, including the Nrf2 pathway. Nrf2 KO mice showed a more pronounced inflammatory-autoimmune transcriptional response to iodide than WT mice. Compared to previously published datasets, the response patterns observed in WT mice had strong similarities with the patterns typical of Graves' disease and papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) also responded to iodide overload, with the latter targeting mRNAs that participate mainly in inflammation pathways. Iodide overload induces the Nrf2 cytoprotective response and upregulates inflammatory, immune, and fibrosis pathways similar to autoimmune hyperthyroidism (Graves' disease) and PTC

Pd and Pd-Cu supported on different carbon materials and immobilized as flow-through catalytic membranes for the chemical reduction of NO3, NO2-and BrO3- in drinking water treatment

Powdered catalysts are commonly used in lab-scale tests for the catalytic reduction of oxoanions in drinking water, but their powder nature limits their application at full scale. In this work, Pd and Pd-Cu catalysts (5% wt.) supported on carbon materials with different structural properties, in powder form, were used to prepare catalytic membranes that were tested in a reactor with flow-through configuration (FTCMR) to study their performance in the reduction of NO3-, NO2- and BrO3-. Pd catalytic membranes showed high activity in the reduction of NO2-, being the selectivity to NH4+ lower than 2% at 80% NO2- conversion in all cases. In BrO3- reduction, they exhibited a wide range of conversions being the catalyst supported on materials with high conductivity the most active ones, which may be ascribed to the charge distribution at the metal-carbon interface. NO3- reduction using Pd-Cu catalytic membranes showed that catalysts supported on materials with small nanoparticle size and low electrical conductivity exhibited higher selectivity to NH4+. FTCMR led to a good control of H2 transfer and availability in the active sites, facilitating the tuning of H2 availability conditions to preserve the activity, while maintaining/diminishing selectivity to NH4+. In simultaneous oxoanions reduction tests, NO3- reduction was inhibited by Br species, probably by affection of the Pd-Cu redox cycle. This fact could be crucial to the future development of drinking water treatment processes, as conditions the order of the disinfection and NO3- reduction stepsThe authors greatly appreciate the support from Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigacion ´ (AEI, RTI2018–098431-BI00). Adrian ´ Marí thanks the Spanish AEI for a research grant (PRE-2019-088601). This work was also financially supported by: LA/P/0045/2020 (ALiCE), UIDB/50020/2020 and UIDP/50020/2020 (LSRE-LCM) and funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC), and project NORTE01–0145-FEDER-000069 (Healthy Waters) co-funded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through North Portugal Regional Operational Program (NORTE2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreemen

Complete Genome Sequence Of A Vaccinal Newcastle Disease Virus Strain Isolated From An Owl (rhinoptynx Clamator)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)A Newcastle disease virus (NDV) was isolated in chicken embryonated eggs after detection by real-time reverse transcription- PCR (RRT-PCR) from a captive owl swab. The complete genome sequence of APMV-1/Rhinoptynx clamator/Brazil/22516/2009 (APMV-1, avian paramyxovirus type 1) was obtained using Illumina sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis of the complete genome classified the isolate within NDV class II genotype II. © 2016 Van Borm et al.46CNPq, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e TecnológicoConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Covalent organic frameworks as catalyst support: A case study of thermal, hydrothermal, and mechanical pressure stability of β-ketoenamine-linked TpBD-Me2

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are crystalline, ordered networks, that, due to their high surface areas and the opportunity for periodic placement of catalytically active sites, are interesting materials for catalysis. Despite the great interest in the use of COFs for this application, there is currently a lack of fundamental understanding on how catalytically relevant conditions affect the integrity of the materials. To gain insight into the stability of COFs as catalyst supports, we herein subjected a β-ketoenamine-linked COF to thermal treatment at high temperatures, to autogenous pressure in water at different temperatures, and to mechanical pressure during pelletizing, after which the materials were thoroughly characterized to gain insight into the structural changes occurring during these catalytically relevant treatments. The COF was largely stable under all hydrothermal conditions studied, highlighting the applicability of β-ketoenamine-linked COFs under aqueous and vapor conditions. On the other hand, thermal and pressure treatments led to a rapid decline in the surface area already at the lowest temperatures and pressures studied. Theoretical calculations indicated this loss to stem from interlayer rearrangement or buckling of the COF layers induced by the applied conditions. This study demonstrates the suitability of β-ketoenamine-linked COFs for use under hydrothermal conditions, and sheds light on the degradation pathways under thermal and pressure treatments, opening the path to the design of COFs with increased stability under such conditions.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. UTA-EXPL/NPN/0055/2019Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. PTDC/QUI-OUT/2095/2021Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. PTDC/EQU-EQU/1707/2020Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. RYC2020-030414-IUniversidade de Vigo/CISU

Highly N2-Selective Activated Carbon-Supported Pt-In Catalysts for the Reduction of Nitrites in Water

The catalytic reduction of nitrites over Pt-In catalysts supported on activated carbon has been studied in a semi-batch reactor, at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, and using hydrogen as the reducing agent. The influence of the indium content on the activity and selectivity was evaluated. Monometallic Pt catalysts are very active for nitrite reduction, but the addition of up to 1 wt% of indium significantly increases the nitrogen selectivity from 0 to 96%. The decrease in the accessible noble metal surface area reduces the amount of hydrogen available at the catalyst surface, this favoring the combination of nitrogen-containing intermediate molecules to promote the formation of N2 instead of being deeply hydrogenated into NH4+. Several activated carbon-supported Pt-In catalysts, activated under different calcination and reduction temperatures, have been also evaluated in nitrite reduction. The catalyst calcined and reduced at 400°C showed the best performance considering both the activity and the selectivity to nitrogen. This enhanced selectivity is ascribed to the formation of Pt-In alloy. The electronic properties of Pt change upon alloy formation, as it is demonstrated by XPS.This work was financially supported by Base-UIDB/50020/2020 and Programmatic-UIDP/50020/2020 Funding of LSRE-LCM, funded by natiunal funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). Financial support from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spain, Project PID 2019-108453GB-C21 and PID 2020-116998RB-I00) is gratefully acknowledged

Nonfactorizable contributions to B→D(∗)MB \to D^{(*)} M decays

While the factorization assumption works well for many two-body nonleptonic $B$ meson decay modes, the recent measurement of $\bar B\to D^{(*)0}M^0$ with $M=\pi$, $\rho$ and $\omega$ shows large deviation from this assumption. We analyze the $B\to D^{(*)}M$ decays in the perturbative QCD approach based on $k_T$ factorization theorem, in which both factorizable and nonfactorizable contributions can be calculated in the same framework. Our predictions for the Bauer-Stech-Wirbel parameters, $|a_2/a_1|= 0.43\pm 0.04$ and $Arg(a_2/a_1)\sim -42^\circ$ and $|a_2/a_1|= 0.47\pm 0.05$ and $Arg(a_2/a_1)\sim -41^\circ$, are consistent with the observed $B\to D\pi$ and $B\to D^*\pi$ branching ratios, respectively. It is found that the large magnitude $|a_2|$ and the large relative phase between $a_2$ and $a_1$ come from color-suppressed nonfactorizable amplitudes. Our predictions for the ${\bar B}^0\to D^{(*)0}\rho^0$, $D^{(*)0}\omega$ branching ratios can be confronted with future experimental data.Comment: 25 pages with Latex, axodraw.sty, 6 figures and 5 tables, Version published in PRD, Added new section 5 and reference

Rare Decays of \Lambda_b->\Lambda + \gamma and \Lambda_b ->\Lambda + l^{+} l^{-} in the Light-cone Sum Rules

Within the Standard Model, we investigate the weak decays of $\Lambda_b \to \Lambda + \gamma$ and $\Lambda_b \to \Lambda + l^{+} l^{-}$ with the light-cone sum rules approach. The higher twist distribution amplitudes of $\Lambda$ baryon to the leading conformal spin are included in the sum rules for transition form factors. Our results indicate that the higher twist distribution amplitudes almost have no influences on the transition form factors retaining the heavy quark spin symmetry, while such corrections can result in significant impacts on the form factors breaking the heavy quark spin symmetry. Two phenomenological models (COZ and FZOZ) for the wave function of $\Lambda$ baryon are also employed in the sum rules for a comparison, which can give rise to the form factors approximately 5 times larger than that in terms of conformal expansion. Utilizing the form factors calculated in LCSR, we then perform a careful study on the decay rate, polarization asymmetry and forward-backward asymmetry, with respect to the decays of $\Lambda_b \to \Lambda \gamma$, $\Lambda l^{+}l^{-}$.Comment: 38 pages, 15 figures, some typos are corrected and more references are adde