Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Analyses Reveal Molecular Regulatory Networks for Pigmentation Deposition in Sheep.

Domestic animals have multiple phenotypes of skin and coat color, which arise from different genes and their products, such as proteins and metabolites responsible with melanin deposition. However, the complex regulatory network of melanin synthesis remains to be fully unraveled. Here, the skin and tongue tissues of Liangshan black sheep (black group) and Liangshan semi-fine-wool sheep (pink group) were collected, stained with hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and Masson-Fontana, and the transcriptomic and metabolomic data were further analyzed. We found a large deposit of melanin granules in the epidermis of the black skin and tongue. Transcriptome and metabolome analysis identified 744 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 443 differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) between the pink and black groups. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses revealed the DEGs and DEMs were mainly enriched in the pathways of secondary metabolic processes, melanin biosynthesis processes, melanin metabolism processes, melanosome membranes, pigment granule membranes, melanosome, tyrosine metabolism, and melanogenesis. Notably, we revealed the gene ENSARG00020006042 may be a family member of YWHAs and involved in regulating melanin deposition. Furthermore, several essential genes (TYR, TYRP1, DCT, PMEL, MLANA, SLC45A2) were significantly associated with metabolite prostaglandins and compounds involved in sheep pigmentation. These findings provide new evidence of the strong correlation between prostaglandins and related compounds and key genes that regulate sheep melanin synthesis, furthering our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms and molecular breeding of pigmentation in sheep.

Effects of particle size on the adsorption behavior and antifouling performance of magnetic resins.

Adequately choosing the physicochemical characteristics of adsorbent is crucial in improving its adsorption performance. This work investigated the effect of particle size of magnetic resins on adsorption behaviors of tetracycline (TC) and their antifouling performance. Smaller particle size resin Q150 (10-30 µm) shows notably faster TC adsorption kinetics when compared resins with hundreds of microns (Q100 and Q1). Simulated by Weber-Morris equation, the film diffusion time of Q150 was only 20 min, 2-25 times faster than that of other resins. At this adsorption time, Q150 can reach more than 80% of the maximum adsorption, and the ring-like fluorescence images indicate that the molecules are accumulated on the external surface. Q150 also shows better reusability and antifouling performance over Q100 and Q1. After 20 adsorption-desorption cycles, the adsorption capacity of Q150 at 20 min only decreases 9.7%. The presence of tannic acid also only slightly decreases the adsorption capacity. The faster adsorption kinetics and the superior antifouling performance of Q150 make it a promising adsorbent in future use.

Differential adsorption of zwitterionic PPCPs by multifunctional resins: The influence of the hydrophobicity and electrostatic potential of PPCPs.

Zwitterionic pharmaceuticals and personal care products can interact with adsorbents in different ways due to their various properties. In this work, the effects of hydrophobicity and electrostatic potential were explored through the adsorption of ciprofloxacin (CPX) and tetracycline (TC) onto multifunctional resins. Nonionic surface interaction was dominant for the adsorption on high-surface-area resin GMA10. Thereinto, hydrophobic and π-π interaction dominant for hydrophobic CPX and hydrophilic TC, respectively. Electrostatic interaction played an important role for high-anion-exchange-capacity resin GMA90. Upon their adsorption onto GMA50 resin, the relatively separated positive and negative electrostatic potentials of CPX+- due to the greater distance (∼12.33 Å) between the anionic and cationic groups led to electrostatic attraction and interaction (Ea = 8.64 ±â€¯0.31 kJ/mol) and the vertical orientation of molecule on the surface. However, TC+-0 displayed nonionic surface interaction (Ea = 7.96 ±â€¯0.14 kJ/mol) due to its relatively neutral electrostatic potential arising from the adjacent functional groups. Hence, the surface of GMA50 was covered with TC+-0 molecules adsorbed parallel to the surface, thereby restricting TC+-0 adsorption. Coexisted with monovalent salts, CPX adsorption was facilitated due to the salting-out effect. By contrast, the salting-out effect for TC was extremely weak, and TC adsorption was restrained due to the competitive adsorption of salts.

Spatial distribution, risk and potential sources of lead in soils in the vicinity of a historic industrial site.

Because of measures taken by local and national government agencies to control releases of metals, former industrial sites in China that are contaminated with lead (Pb) in soils have been abandoned. Compared with historic sites themselves, little attention has been paid to contamination with Pb in areas surrounding these sites. In this study, a method by integrating sequential extraction and isotopic fingerprinting was proposed to reveal the key fractions of Pb contaminants in soils, trace their sources and determine the subject of liability for remediation. Topsoils from near a historic site, where lead oxide was produced, were found to be contaminated. Concentrations of Pb in soils were inversely proportional to distances from the industrial site and depth in soils. The predominant form of Pb was the Fe/Mn-oxide-bound fraction (FM3), which accounted for from 53.39% to 82.07% of total concentrations of Pb. Concentrations of Pb in vegetables produced on contaminated soils exceeded those allowed in food for consumption by humans. An assessment of hazards and risks posed by consumption of vegetables grown on these soils indicated relatively high potential for adverse effects on local residents around the closed plant. By use of isotopic finger printing for Pb, the abandoned factory was determined to be the most likely source of Pb in topsoils, especially fraction FM3. To mitigate exposures of people to Pb via consumption of locally produced food, recommended strategies should target legacy sources of Pb to soils in the vicinity of this historic industrial site.

Efficient and synergistic removal of tetracycline and Cu(II) using novel magnetic multi-amine resins.

A series of magnetic multi-amine resins (MMARs, named E1D9-E9D1) was proposed for the removal of tetracycline (TC) and Cu(II) in sole and binary solutions. Results showed that the N content of the resins increased sharply from 1.7% to 15.49%, and the BET surface areas decreased from 1433.4 m2/g to 8.9 m2/g with methyl acrylate ratio increasing from E1D9 to E9D1. Their adsorption capacities for TC and Cu(II) could reach 0.243 and 0.453 mmol/g, respectively. The adsorption isotherms of TC onto MMARs transformed from heterogeneous adsorption to monolayer-type adsorption with DVB monomer ratio in resin matrix decrease, suggesting the dominant physical adsorption between TC and benzene rings. TC adsorption capacity onto E9D1 was higher than that onto E7D3 when the equilibrium concentration of TC exceeded 0.043 mmol/L because the electrostatic interaction between negatively charged groups of TC and protonated amines of adsorbents could compensate for the capacity loss resulting from BET surface area decrease. In the binary system, the electrostatic interaction between negatively charged TC-Cu(II) complex and protonated amines of adsorbents was responsible for the synergistic adsorption onto E7D3 and E9D1. The XPS spectra of magnetic resins before and after adsorption were characterized to prove the probable adsorption mechanisms. This work provides alternative adsorbent for the efficient treatment of multiple pollution with different concentrations of organic micropollutants and heavy metal ions.

Insight into the adsorption of PPCPs by porous adsorbents: Effect of the properties of adsorbents and adsorbates.

Adsorption is an efficient method for removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). Magnetic resins are efficient adsorbents for water treatment and exhibit potential for PPCP removal. In this study, the magnetic hypercrosslinked resin Q100 was used for adsorption of PPCPs. The adsorption behavior of this resin was compared with those of two activated carbons, namely, Norit and F400D. Norit exhibited the fastest adsorption kinetics, followed by Q100. Norit featured a honeycomb shape and long-range ordered pore channels, which facilitated the diffusion of PPCPs. Moreover, the large average pore size of Q100 reduced diffusion resistance. The adsorbed amounts of 11 PPCPs on the three adsorbents increased with increasing adsorbate hydrophobicity. For Q100, a significant linear correlation was observed between the adsorption performance for PPCPs and hydrophobicity (logD value) of adsorbates (R(2) = 0.8951); as such, PPCPs with high logD values (>1.69) could be efficiently removed. Compared with those of Norit and F400D, the adsorption performance of Q100 was less affected by humic acid because of the dominant hydrophobic interaction. Furthermore, Q100 showed improved regeneration performance, which renders it promising for PPCP removal in practical applications.

Preparation of a novel magnetic microporous adsorbent and its adsorption behavior of p-nitrophenol and chlorotetracycline.

A novel method for fabricating hypercrosslinked magnetic polymer beads with improved acid resistance was developed. Magnetite nanoparticles were covered with tetraethoxysilane and vinyltriethoxysilane, followed by co-polymerization and post-crosslinking. The resulting M150 beads were highly stable at pH ≥ 2 and were superparamagnetic, with a saturation magnetization of 3.1 emu/g. M150 exhibited a specific surface area of 1022.4m(2)/g and an average pore width of 2.6 nm. The adsorption of p-nitrophenol and chlorotetracycline (CTC) onto M150 and the commercial non-magnetic resins NDA 150 and XAD-4 followed both pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order equations. M150 displayed much faster kinetics than the other resins because of its small particle size and abundant macropores. The adsorption isotherm of p-nitrophenol onto the three resins fitted the Freundlich equation (R(2)>0.98), whereas CTC adsorption was better described by the Langmuir isotherm. p-Nitrophenol adsorption was optimal at pH ≤ 4, whereas CTC adsorption was optimal at pH 5-6. All three sorbents showed high reusability for p-nitrophenol adsorption. XAD-4 demonstrated the highest reusability for CTC. The CTC adsorption capacities of M150 and NDA150 decreased by 12.42% and 20% after 10 adsorption-desorption cycles, respectively.

A magnetic sorbent for the efficient and rapid extraction of organic micropollutants from large-volume environmental water samples.

A magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) method based on a novel magnetic sorbent was proposed for the extraction of target compounds from large-volume water samples. First, magnetic hypercrosslinked microspheres (NAND-1) were prepared via membrane emulsification-suspension polymerization and post crosslinking reaction. To ensure that the Fe3O4 nanoparticles could completely pass through the membrane without blocking the pores, oleic acid was used to modify the Fe3O4 nanoparticles, which enhanced lipophilicity and monodispersity of the magnetite nanoparticles. The obtained NAND-1 microspheres exhibited super paramagnetic characteristics and excellent magnetic responsiveness with a saturation magnetization of 2.53 emu/g. In addition, a uniform particle size (~8 µm) and a large average surface area (1303.59 m(2)/g) were also observed, which were both beneficial for the extraction of the target compounds. Thus, NAND-1 has the potential to simultaneously exhibit good extraction efficiencies toward different types of organic micropollutants (OMPs), including triazines, carbamazepine and diethyl phthalate. The conditions of the MSPE based on NAND-1 were optimized by single factor and orthogonal design experiments. This MSPE method needed only a small amount of sorbent (50mg/L) for the extraction of OMPs from a large-volume aquatic sample (5L) and reached equilibrium in a short amount of time (30 min). Moreover, the solution volume, the pH, and the salinity had insignificant influences on the extraction of the eight target OMPs. Under the optimum conditions, the recoveries of the eight OMPs calculated by analyzing the spiked samples were from 91.7% to 99.4%. The NAND-1 could be recycled ten times and still achieve recoveries of the eight OMPs higher than 86%. The limits of detection of the eight OMPs ranged from 1.76 to 27.56 ng/L, and the limits of quantification were from 5.71 to 92.05 ng/L. These results indicated that the proposed method, based on the use of NAND-1 as a magnetic sorbent, has the advantages of convenience and high efficiency and can be successfully applied to analyze the OMPs in real water samples.

Quaternized magnetic microspheres for the efficient removal of reactive dyes.

In this paper, a novel quaternized magnetic resin, NDMP, was prepared and characterized. Two reactive dyes (RDs), Orange G (OG) and red RWO, were used as a small-molecular RD and large-molecular RD, respectively, to investigate their adsorption on NDMP. A common quaternized magnetic resin, MIEX, was selected for comparison. The adsorption kinetics of OG onto both resins and the adsorption kinetics of RWO onto NDMP followed pseudo-second-order kinetics, whereas the adsorption of RWO onto MIEX was better fitted by pseudo-first-order kinetics. The experimental data illustrated that the equilibrium adsorption amount of both RDs onto NDMP (1.9 mmol OG/g, 0.70 mmol RWO/g) was twice as large as that on MIEX (1.0 mmol OG/g, 0.35 mmol RWO/g). The Langmuir equation and the Freundlich model fit the isotherm data for OG and RWO adsorption, respectively. The adsorption of OG on the NDMP and MIEX resins declined in the presence of NaCl or Na2SO4. The effects of the salts on the adsorption of RWO were different. The recyclability of NDMP and MIEX were also evaluated. This work provides a reusable efficient adsorbent for the removal of RDs.