Competitive adsorption of metals on cabbage waste from multi-metal solutions

This study assessed the adsorption capacity of the agro-waste 'cabbage' as a biosorbent in single, binary, ternary and quaternary sorption systems with Cu(II), Pb(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) ions. Dried and ground powder of cabbage waste (CW) was used for the sorption of metals ions. Carboxylic, hydroxyl, and amine groups in cabbage waste were found to be the key functional groups for metal sorption. The adsorption isotherms obtained could be well fitted to both the mono- and multi-metal models. In the competitive adsorption systems, cabbage waste adsorbed larger amount of Pb(II) than the other three metals. However, the presence of the competing ions suppressed the sorption of the target metal ions. Except the case of binary system of Cd(II)-Zn(II) and Cd(II)-Cu(II), there was a linear inverse dependency between the sorption capacities and number of different types of competitive metal ions. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd

Operational management of data centers energy efficiency by dynamic optimization - Based on a vector autoregressive model - Reinforcement learning (VAR-RL) approach

Proceedings of the 6th Collaborative European Research Conference (CERC 2020). Belfast, Northern-Ireland, UK, September 10-11, 2020, paper 24. Available at: http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2815/.With the increasing demands of digital computing, Data Centers (DCs) have become a leading scheme for global energy issues. Major efforts that can be observed for DC energy efficacy solutions are focusing on relatively problematic infrastructure designs. Nevertheless, we emphasised the managerial strategies of using the existing facilities to achieve energy efficiency through active intervention. It is believed that there exists a trade-off between the cooling devices and IT devices. Accordingly, the Vector Autoregressive Model- Reinforcement Learning(VAR-RL) approach will be proposed as a combination of traditional multivariate time series modeling technique and the artificial intelligence technique which allows us to predict and adjust the prediction of an error would help to explore the complex dynamic interrelationships between the two types of devices. Moreover, an optimization decision support system will also be conducted subsequently to optimize Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) by controlling the combination of Air Conditioners (ACs). The proposed VAR-RL approach would not only increase the forecasting accuracy but also would adapt to the environment changes dynamically, this would give a better foundation for the DC energy efficiency optimization. The data we adopted is the real-time data from a DC located in Turkey. Consequently, the novel of this study would save the DC energy consumption tremendously.http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2815

The importance of waist circumference and body mass index in cross-sectional relationships with risk of cardiovascular disease in Vietnam

BackgroundWaist circumference (WC) is an indicator of intra-abdominal adipose tissue, high levels of which confer an increased risk of cardiometabolic disease. Population data on WC should be more informative than data on body mass index (BMI), which is a general indicator of body size. This study aimed to evaluate the importance of WC relative to BMI in cross-sectional relationships with blood pressure (BP), glucose, and total cholesterol (TC) in the adult population of Vietnam.MethodsThe data were collected in a population-based survey conducted during 2009-10 using the "WHO STEPwise approach to surveillance of risk factors for non-communicable disease" (STEPS) methodology. The survey participants (n = 14 706 aged 25 to 64 years) were selected by multi-stage stratified cluster sampling from eight provinces representative of the eight geographical regions of Vietnam. All measurements were performed in accordance with the STEPS protocols. All analyses were performed using complex survey methods.ResultsThe measurements of WC and BMI were highly correlated (men r = 0.80, women r = 0.77). For men, the strongest and predominant associations with BP, glucose, and TC were for WC or an index based on WC. For women, this was true for glucose but BMI was more important for BP and TC. WC or an index based on WC provided better discrimination than BMI of hypertension and elevated glucose, and of raised TC for men. Information on four new anthropometric indices did not improve model fit or subject discrimination.ConclusionFor BP/hypertension, glucose/elevated glucose, and TC/raised TC, WC was more informative than BMI for Vietnamese men, but both WC and BMI were important for Vietnamese women. Both WC and BMI need to be assessed for estimation of CVD risk in Vietnam

Genetic Variation in the EGFR Gene and the Risk of Glioma in a Chinese Han Population

Previous studies have shown that regulation of the epidermal growth factor gene (EGFR) pathway plays a role in glioma progression. Certain genotypes of the EGFR gene may be related to increased glioblastoma risk, indicating that germ line EGFR polymorphisms may have implications in carcinogenesis. To examine whether and how variants in the EGFR gene contribute to glioma susceptibility, we evaluated nine tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (tSNPs) of the EGFR gene in a case–control study from Xi'an city of China (301 cases, 302 controls). EGFR SNP associations analyses were performed using SPSS 16.0 statistical packages, PLINK software, Haploview software package (version 4.2) and SHEsis software platform. We identified two susceptibility tSNPs in the EGFR gene that were potentially associated with an increased risk of glioma (rs730437, p = 0.016; OR: 1.32; 95%CI: 1.05–1.66 and rs1468727, p = 0.008; OR: 1.31; 95%CI: 1.04–1.65). However, after a strict Bonferroni correction analysis was applied, the significance level of the association between EGFR tSNPs and risk of glioma was attenuated. We observed a protective effect of haplotype “AATT” of the EGFR gene, which was associated with a 29% reduction in the risk of developing glioma, while haplotype “CGTC” increased the risk of developing glioma by 36%. Our results, combined with previous studies, suggested an association between the EGFR gene and glioma development

Insight into Microevolution of Yersinia pestis by Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats

BACKGROUND: Yersinia pestis, the pathogen of plague, has greatly influenced human history on a global scale. Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat (CRISPR), an element participating in immunity against phages' invasion, is composed of short repeated sequences separated by unique spacers and provides the basis of the spoligotyping technology. In the present research, three CRISPR loci were analyzed in 125 strains of Y. pestis from 26 natural plague foci of China, the former Soviet Union and Mongolia were analyzed, for validating CRISPR-based genotyping method and better understanding adaptive microevolution of Y. pestis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using PCR amplification, sequencing and online data processing, a high degree of genetic diversity was revealed in all three CRISPR elements. The distribution of spacers and their arrays in Y. pestis strains is strongly region and focus-specific, allowing the construction of a hypothetic evolutionary model of Y. pestis. This model suggests transmission route of microtus strains that encircled Takla Makan Desert and ZhunGer Basin. Starting from Tadjikistan, one branch passed through the Kunlun Mountains, and moved to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Another branch went north via the Pamirs Plateau, the Tianshan Mountains, the Altai Mountains and the Inner Mongolian Plateau. Other Y. pestis lineages might be originated from certain areas along those routes. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: CRISPR can provide important information for genotyping and evolutionary research of bacteria, which will help to trace the source of outbreaks. The resulting data will make possible the development of very low cost and high-resolution assays for the systematic typing of any new isolate

Developmental Hippocampal Neuroplasticity in a Model of Nicotine Replacement Therapy during Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

The influence of developmental nicotine exposure on the brain represents an important health topic in light of the popularity of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) as a smoking cessation method during pregnancy.In this study, we used a model of NRT during pregnancy and breastfeeding to explore the consequences of chronic developmental nicotine exposure on cerebral neuroplasticity in the offspring. We focused on two dynamic lifelong phenomena in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus that are highly sensitive to the environment: granule cell neurogenesis and long-term potentiation (LTP).Pregnant rats were implanted with osmotic mini-pumps delivering either nicotine or saline solutions. Plasma nicotine and metabolite levels were measured in dams and offspring. Corticosterone levels, DG neurogenesis (cell proliferation, survival and differentiation) and glutamatergic electrophysiological activity were measured in pups.Juvenile (P15) and adolescent (P41) offspring exposed to nicotine throughout prenatal and postnatal development displayed no significant alteration in DG neurogenesis compared to control offspring. However, NRT-like nicotine exposure significantly increased LTP in the DG of juvenile offspring as measured in vitro from hippocampal slices, suggesting that the mechanisms underlying nicotine-induced LTP enhancement previously described in adult rats are already functional in pups.These results indicate that synaptic plasticity is disrupted in offspring breastfed by dams passively exposed to nicotine in an NRT-like fashion

Emerging roles of ATF2 and the dynamic AP1 network in cancer

Cooperation among transcription factors is central for their ability to execute specific transcriptional programmes. The AP1 complex exemplifies a network of transcription factors that function in unison under normal circumstances and during the course of tumour development and progression. This Perspective summarizes our current understanding of the changes in members of the AP1 complex and the role of ATF2 as part of this complex in tumorigenesis.Fil: Lopez Bergami, Pablo Roberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Lau, Eric . Burnham Institute for Medical Research; Estados UnidosFil: Ronai, Zeev . Burnham Institute for Medical Research; Estados Unido

Cigarette smoke induces endoplasmic reticulum stress and the unfolded protein response in normal and malignant human lung cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although lung cancer is among the few malignancies for which we know the primary etiological agent (i.e., cigarette smoke), a precise understanding of the temporal sequence of events that drive tumor progression remains elusive. In addition to finding that cigarette smoke (CS) impacts the functioning of key pathways with significant roles in redox homeostasis, xenobiotic detoxification, cell cycle control, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) functioning, our data highlighted a defensive role for the unfolded protein response (UPR) program. The UPR promotes cell survival by reducing the accumulation of aberrantly folded proteins through translation arrest, production of chaperone proteins, and increased degradation. Importance of the UPR in maintaining tissue health is evidenced by the fact that a chronic increase in defective protein structures plays a pathogenic role in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's syndromes, and cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Gene and protein expression changes in CS exposed human cell cultures were monitored by high-density microarrays and Western blot analysis. Tissue arrays containing samples from 110 lung cancers were probed with antibodies to proteins of interest using immunohistochemistry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We show that: 1) CS induces ER stress and activates components of the UPR; 2) reactive species in CS that promote oxidative stress are primarily responsible for UPR activation; 3) CS exposure results in increased expression of several genes with significant roles in attenuating oxidative stress; and 4) several major UPR regulators are increased either in expression (i.e., BiP and eIF2α) or phosphorylation (i.e., phospho-eIF2α) in a majority of human lung cancers.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These data indicate that chronic ER stress and recruitment of one or more UPR effector arms upon exposure to CS may play a pivotal role in the etiology or progression of lung cancers, and that phospho-eIF2α and BiP may have diagnostic and/or therapeutic potential. Furthermore, we speculate that upregulation of UPR regulators (in particular BiP) may provide a pro-survival advantage by increasing resistance to cytotoxic stresses such as hypoxia and chemotherapeutic drugs, and that UPR induction is a potential mechanism that could be attenuated or reversed resulting in a more efficacious treatment strategy for lung cancer.</p