Comparison of Reed and Water Lettuce in Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment.

In the present study two designs, vertical and horizontal systems, were used and two different plant species, Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) and Reed plant (Phragmites karka), compared for their removal efficiency. The vertical system appeared to be more stable and efficient for almost all the parameters. The vertical system, planted with Water Lettuce, showed percentage removal efficiency for BOD, phosphate and chloride as 82, 95.4, and 51, respectively, whereas turbidity and total suspended solids removal efficiencies were almost the same. However, fecal coliform removal by the Water Lettuce was 98.8% for both designs (vertical and horizontal), showing the ability of the plant to uptake nutrients and release toxins for pathogen disinfection. It appears that the vertical system could be the better option, planted with Water Lettuce, or with both plants in a co-culture environment.

Nickel-adsorbed two-dimensional Nb2C MXene for enhanced energy storage applications.

Owing to the tremendous energy storage capacity of two-dimensional transition metal carbides (MXenes), they have been efficiently utilized as a promising candidate in the field of super-capacitors. The energy storage capacity of MXenes can be further enhanced using metal dopants. Herein, we have reported the synthesis of pristine and nickel doped niobium-carbide (Nb2C) MXenes, their computational and electrochemical properties. Upon introduction of nickel (Ni) the TDOS increases and a continuous DOS pattern is observed which indicates coupling between Ni and pristine MXene. The alterations in the DOS, predominantly in the nearby region of the Fermi level are profitable for our electrochemical applications. Additionally, the Ni-doped sample shows a significant capacitive performance of 666.67 F g-1 which can be attributed to the additional active sites generated by doping with Ni. It is worth noting that doped MXenes exhibited a capacitance retention of 81% up to 10 000 cycles. The current study unveils the opportunities of using MXenes with different metal dopants and hypothesize on their performance for energy storage devices.

Mechanism underlying inhibition of intestinal apical Cl/OH exchange following infection with enteropathogenic E. coli.

Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) is a major cause of infantile diarrhea, but the pathophysiology underlying associated diarrhea is poorly understood. We examined the role of the luminal membrane Cl(-)/OH(-) exchange process in EPEC pathogenesis using in vitro and in vivo models. Cl(-)/OH(-) exchange activity was measured as OH(-) gradient-driven (36)Cl(-) uptake. EPEC infection (60 minutes-3 hours) inhibited apical Cl(-)/OH(-) exchange activity in human intestinal Caco-2 and T84 cells. This effect was dependent upon the bacterial type III secretory system (TTSS) and involved secreted effector molecules EspG and EspG2, known to disrupt the host microtubular network. The microtubule-disrupting agent colchicine (100 muM, 3 hours) also inhibited (36)Cl(-) uptake. The plasma membrane expression of major apical anion exchanger DRA (SLC26A3) was considerably reduced in EPEC-infected cells, corresponding with decreased Cl(-)/OH(-) exchange activity. Confocal microscopic studies showed that EPEC infection caused a marked redistribution of DRA from the apical membrane to intracellular compartments. Interestingly, infection of cells with an EPEC mutant deficient in espG significantly attenuated the decrease in surface expression of DRA protein as compared with treatment with wild-type EPEC. EPEC infection in vivo (1 day) also caused marked redistribution of surface DRA protein in the mouse colon. Our data demonstrate that EspG and EspG2 play an important role in contributing to EPEC infection-associated inhibition of luminal membrane chloride transport via modulation of surface DRA expression.

Ti3C2-MXene/Bismuth Ferrite Nanohybrids for Efficient Degradation of Organic Dyes and Colorless Pollutants.

The current environmental and potable water crisis requires technological advancement to tackle the issues caused by different organic pollutants. Herein, we report the degradation of organic pollutants such as Congo Red and acetophenone from aqueous media using visible light irradiation. To harvest the solar energy for photocatalysis, we fabricated a nanohybrid system composed of bismuth ferrite nanoparticles with two-dimensional (2D) MXene sheets, namely, the BiFeO3 (BFO)/Ti3C2 (MXene) nanohybrid, for enhanced photocatalytic activity. The hybrid BFO/MXene is fabricated using a simple and low-cost double-solvent solvothermal method. The SEM and TEM images showed that the BFO nanoparticles are attached onto the surface of 2D MXene sheets. The photocatalytic degradation achieved by the hybrid is found to be 100% in 42 min for the organic dye (Congo Red) and 100% for the colorless aqueous pollutant (acetophenone) in 150 min. The BFO/MXene hybrid system exhibited a large surface area of 147 m2 g-1 measured via the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller sorption-desorption technique, which is found to be the largest among all BFO nanoparticles and derivatives. The photoluminescence spectra indicate a low electron-hole recombination rate. Fast and efficient degradation of organic molecules is caused by two factors: larger surface area and lower electron-hole recombination rate, which makes the BFO/MXene nanohybrid a highly efficient photocatalyst and a promising candidate for many future applications.

Inhibitors of EGFR signaling retard cytotoxicity of fenretinide in rat gliosarcoma cells.

PURPOSE: Fenretinide, 4-(N-hydroxyphenyl) retinamide, (4-HPR) is a well tolerated analog of alltrans retinoic acid. The gangliosideGM3, is a non-specific inhibitor of EGF receptor autophosphorylation (EGFR-phos). Both compounds were found preferentially cytotoxic to malignant and proliferating cells when compared to non-proliferating normal brain cells. Some of the small molecule inhibitors of EGFR-phos are also known to inhibit growth of brain tumors at relatively non-toxic doses. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate if 4-HPR and inhibitors of EGFR-phos could be used together in the treatment of brain tumors. METHODS: The 9L rat gliosarcoma cells were treated in vitro with 4-HPR either alone or in combination with the non-specific or specific inhibitors of EGFR-phos, GM3 or AG-1478, respectively. The relative viability of the control and treated cells was determined using 3-(4,5-imethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The experimental data were analyzed for statistical significance. RESULTS: In contrast to the expected additive/synergistic effect on cell growth inhibition, the sub-toxic and toxic concentrations of 4-HPR protected GM3 treated cells. The viable cells were 3.86 times higher following GM3 plus 4-HPR treatments compared to GM3 treatment alone. Additionally, a specific inhibitor of EGFR-phos signaling, AG-1478 caused a concentration dependent protection of cells from the toxicity of 4-HPR. Our results show counteracting cytotoxic responses of 4-HPR and EGFR-phos inhibitors when used together in 9L rat gliosarcoma cells.

Cis-parinaric acid effects, cytotoxicity, c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase, forkhead transcription factor and Mn-SOD differentially in malignant and normal astrocytes.

Cis-parinaric acid (c-PNA), a natural four conjugated polyunsaturated fatty acid, increases free radical production and it is preferentially cytotoxic to malignant glial cells compared to normal astrocytes in-vitro. In order to explain the increased cytotoxicity of c-PNA in malignant glial cells, we compared the effects of c-PNA on the oxidative stress-dependent signal transducing events in 36B10 cells, a malignant rat astrocytoma cell line, and in fetal rat astrocytes. Our results show that c-PNA treatment in 36B10 cells caused a persistent activation of c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase (JNK) at RNA and protein levels. Specific inhibitors of the kinase significantly reversed the cytotoxicity of c-PNA. Additionally, c-PNA caused the phosphorylated inactivation of forkhead transcription factor-3a (FKHR-L1, FOXO3a) and drastically decreased the activity of mitochondrial superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) that protects cells from oxidative stress. On the other hand, identical c-PNA treatments in normal astrocytes increased the dephosphorylated activation of FKHR-L1, maintained activity of Mn-SOD and failed to phosphorylate JNK. Taken together, the results imply that a selective activation of JNK and the opposite regulation of FKHR-L1 and Mn-SOD contribute to the differential cytotoxicity of c-PNA in malignant and normal glial cells.