Synthesis of surface-modified porous polysulfides from soybean oil by inverse vulcanization and its sorption behavior for Pb(II), Cu(II), and Cr(III).

Guided by efficient utilization of natural plant oil and sulfur as low-cost sorbents, it is desired to tailor the porosity and composition of polysulfides to achieve their optimal applications in the management of aquatic heavy metal pollution. In this study, polysulfides derived from soybean oil and sulfur (PSSs) with improved porosity (10.2-22.9 m2/g) and surface oxygen content (3.1-7.0 wt.%) were prepared with respect to reaction time of 60 min, reaction temperature of 170 °C, and mass ratios of sulfur/soybean oil/NaCl/sodium citrate of 1:1:3:2. The sorption behaviors of PSSs under various hydrochemical conditions such as contact time, pH, ionic strength, coexisting cations and anions, temperature were systematically investigated. PSSs presented a fast sorption kinetic (5.0 h) and obviously improved maximum sorption capacities for Pb(II) (180.5 mg/g), Cu(II) (49.4 mg/g), and Cr(III) (37.0 mg/g) at pH 5.0 and T 298 K, in comparison with polymers made without NaCl/sodium citrate. This study provided a valuable reference for the facile preparation of functional polysulfides as well as a meaningful option for the removal of aquatic heavy metals.

Partitioning and Mobility of Chromium in Iron-Rich Laterites from an Optimized Sequential Extraction Procedure.

Chromium (Cr) leached from iron (Fe) (oxyhydr)oxide-rich tropical laterites can substantially impact downstream groundwater, ecosystems, and human health. However, its partitioning into mineral hosts, its binding, oxidation state, and potential release are poorly defined. This is in part due to the current lack of well-designed and validated Cr-specific sequential extraction procedures (SEPs) for laterites. To fill this gap, we have (i) first optimized a Cr SEP for Fe (oxyhydr)oxide-rich laterites using synthetic and natural Cr-bearing minerals and laterite references, (ii) used a complementary suite of techniques and critically evaluated existing non-laterite and non-Cr-optimized SEPs, compared to our optimized SEP, and (iii) confirmed the efficiency of our new SEP through analyses of laterites from the Philippines. Our results show that other SEPs inadequately leach Cr host phases and underestimate the Cr fractions. Our SEP recovered up to seven times higher Cr contents because it (a) more efficiently dissolves metal-substituted Fe phases, (b) quantitatively extracts adsorbed Cr, and (c) prevents overestimation of organic Cr in laterites. With this new SEP, we can estimate the mineral-specific Cr fractionation in Fe-rich tropical soils more quantitatively and thus improve our knowledge of the potential environmental impacts of Cr from lateritic areas.

Efficient removal and transformation of Cr(VI) from alkaline wastewater to form a ferrochromium spinel multiphase via a modified ferrite process.

Chromium-containing wastewater causes serious environmental pollution due to the harmfulness of Cr(VI). The ferrite process is typically used to treat chromium-containing wastewater and recycle the valuable chromium metal. However, the current ferrite process is unable to fully transform Cr(VI) into chromium ferrite under mild reaction conditions. This paper proposes a novel ferrite process to treat chromium-containing wastewater and recover valuable chromium metal. The process combines FeSO4 reduction and hydrothermal treatment to remove Cr(VI) and form chromium ferrite composites. The Cr(VI) concentration in the wastewater was reduced from 1040 mg L-1 to 0.035 mg L-1, and the Cr(VI) leaching toxicity of the precipitate was 0.21 mg L-1 under optimal hydrothermal conditions. The precipitate consisted of micron-sized ferrochromium spinel multiphase with polyhedral structure. The mechanism of Cr(VI) removal involved three steps: 1) partial oxidation of FeSO4 to Fe(III) hydroxide and oxy-hydroxide; 2) reduction of Cr(VI) by FeSO4 to Cr(III) and Fe(III) precipitates; 3) transformation and growth of the precipitates into chromium ferrite composites. This process meets the release standards of industrial wastewater and hazardous waste and can improve the efficiency of the ferrite process for toxic heavy metal removal.

Study on the removal effect and mechanism of calcined pyrite powder on Cr(VI).

Pyrite exhibits considerable potential as an adsorbent in wastewater treatment. However, few pyrite adsorbents are directly obtained from natural pyrite, as most are composite materials that require a complex preparation process. To develop a pyrite-based adsorbent with a simple preparation process, pyrite was processed by calcination at 400, 600, and 800 °C for 4 h and ball-milled into a fine powder. The adsorption properties of the pyrite powder were systematically explored. The calcined pyrite powder was characterized by SEM-EDS and XRD. The results revealed that the pyrite calcined at 600 °C exhibited excellent adsorption properties and was primarily composed of Fe7S8. The optimum conditions for Cr(VI) removal were a temperature of 45 °C, an adsorbent dosage of 1 g, an equilibration time of 60 min, and an initial pH of 3. Moreover, the calcined pyrite powder exhibited excellent reusability, and the Cr(VI) removal rate exceeded 65% after three cycles. The Cr(VI) adsorption on pyrite can be well described by the Freundlich model and pseudo-second-order kinetic equation. The calcination temperature is the main factor affecting the adsorption performance of pyrite. Therefore, the calcined pyrite powder is expected to be an excellent adsorbent for Cr(VI) in the wastewater treatment industry.

Pyrite has shown promising development prospects in the field of wastewater purification. However, the preparation of most pyrite-based adsorbents is complicated. Upon high-temperature calcination, pyrite is used in traditional Chinese medicine clinics to promote the healing of fractures. The efficiency and underlying mechanism of Cr(VI) adsorption from water using calcined pyrite was investigated. The adsorbent was prepared using a simple method and exhibited excellent adsorption performance, thus allowing its application in preparing ore-based adsorbents for water pollution treatment.

What Are the Implications of Cr(III) Serving as an Inhibitor of the Beta Subunit of Mitochondrial ATP Synthase?

A recent report has shown the active site of the beta subunit of mitochondrial ATP synthase is probably the site of action of Cr(III) action, independent of the insulin signaling pathway. This works appears to answer an important question about the mode of action of Cr(III) at a molecular level when supplied in supra-nutritional levels to rodents. However, as with any good research, the research also raises several questions. The relationship between this study and the results of rodent studies of chromium supplementation and between this study and the current understanding the chromium(III) transport and detoxification system are put into perspective.

Sustainable removal of hexavalent chromium using graphene oxide - Iron oxide reinforced pectin/polyvinyl alcohol magnetic gel beads.

The study investigated removal of hexavalent chromium Cr (VI) from aqueous solution using graphene oxide­iron oxide reinforced pectin/polyvinyl alcohol magnetic gel beads prepared through co-precipitation and freeze-drying technique. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometer, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm, and zeta potential are used for characterization. The surface area of magnetic gel beads calculated by BET method was determined to be 100.95 m2/g, significantly higher than that of GO and GO-Fe3O4. The optimum removal efficiency of GO-Fe3O4/Pec/PVA was assessed by batch method at variables such as pH(1-6), adsorption time(0-180 min), and temperature(25-35 °C). Accordingly, 0.2 g GO-Fe3O4/Pec/PVA dose, pH 2, contact time: 120 min at 25 °C were found to be the optimal conditions, and maximum adsorption capacity of GO, GO-Fe3O4 and GO-Fe3O4/Pec/PVA toward Cr(VI) removal was found to be 39.5, 62.5 and 78.55 mg g-1, respectively. Kinetic and isotherm studies indicate adsorption data follow pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models. Thermodynamic studies showed adsorption capacities of adsorbents decreased when temperature increased which indicated adsorption for Cr (VI) was an exothermic process. The activation energies were found to be 34.92, 26.57, and 35.23 KJ mol-1 for GO, GO-Fe3O4, and GO-Fe3O4/Pec/PVA, respectively, which illustrated adsorption of Cr(VI) onto the surface of adsorbents was a physical process. The beads exhibit excellent recoverability and reusability over five cycles. Overall, GO-Fe3O4/Pec/PVA demonstrates exceptional adsorption properties and can serve as an efficient, stable, less toxic, and magnetically separable adsorbent for removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution.

Targeting Mitochondrial ATP-Synthase: Evolving Role of Chromium as a Regulator of Carbohydrate and Fat Metabolism.

The micronutrient trivalent chromium, 3 + (Cr(III)), is postulated to play a role in carbohydrate, lipid, and protein metabolism. Although the mechanisms by which chromium mediates its actions are largely unknown, previous studies have suggested that pharmacological doses of chromium improve cardiometabolic symptoms by augmenting carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. Activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) was among the many mechanisms proposed to explain the salutary actions of chromium on carbohydrate metabolism. However, the molecular pathways leading to the activation of AMPK by chromium remained elusive. In an elegant series of studies, Sun and coworkers recently demonstrated that chromium augments AMPK activation by binding to the beta-subunit of ATP synthase and inhibiting its enzymatic activity. This mini-review attempts to trace the evolving understanding of the molecular mechanisms of chromium leading to the hitherto novel pathway unraveled by Sun and coworkers and its potential implication to our understanding of the biological actions of chromium.

Proteomic analysis to unravel the biochemical mechanisms triggered by Bacillus toyonensis SFC 500-1E under chromium(VI) and phenol stress.

Bacillus toyonensis SFC 500-1E is a member of the consortium SFC 500-1 able to remove Cr(VI) and simultaneously tolerate high phenol concentrations. In order to elucidate mechanisms utilized by this strain during the bioremediation process, the differential expression pattern of proteins was analyzed when it grew with or without Cr(VI) (10 mg/L) and Cr(VI) + phenol (10 and 300 mg/L), through two complementary proteomic approaches: gel-based (Gel-LC) and gel-free (shotgun) nanoUHPLC-ESI-MS/MS. A total of 400 differentially expressed proteins were identified, out of which 152 proteins were down-regulated under Cr(VI) and 205 up-regulated in the presence of Cr(VI) + phenol, suggesting the extra effort made by the strain to adapt itself and keep growing when phenol was also added. The major metabolic pathways affected include carbohydrate and energetic metabolism, followed by lipid and amino acid metabolism. Particularly interesting were also ABC transporters and the iron-siderophore transporter as well as transcriptional regulators that can bind metals. Stress-associated global response involving the expression of thioredoxins, SOS response, and chaperones appears to be crucial for the survival of this strain under treatment with both contaminants. This research not only provided a deeper understanding of B. toyonensis SFC 500-1E metabolic role in Cr(VI) and phenol bioremediation process but also allowed us to complete an overview of the consortium SFC 500-1 behavior. This may contribute to an improvement in its use as a bioremediation strategy and also provides a baseline for further research.

Biorefining of rapeseed meal: A new and sustainable strategy for improving Cr(VI) biosorption on residual wastes from agricultural byproducts after phenolic extraction.

Phenolic recovery from agricultural byproducts has been highlighted due to their health-promoting bioactivities. However, uncontrolled discard of residues after extraction process would induce environmental pollution and bioresource waste. In this study, biorefining of phenolic-rich rapeseed meal (RSM) and its defatted sample (dRSM) was attempted by holistic utilization of phenolic extract and residue separately. Phenolic removal could significantly improve residues' Cr(VI) adsorption capacities by about 21%, which presented extended physical surface and more released functional groups. Moreover, simulating raw material by remixing 3% separated phenolic extracts or main component sinapic acid therein with corresponding residues further improved about 12% adsorption efficiencies. These indicated that the different present forms of phenolics had opposite effects on Cr(VI) removal. While natural conjugational form inhibited hosts' biosorption, free form had enhanced functions for either extract or residue. Four optimal adsorption parameters (pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time and initial Cr(VI) concentration), three kinetic (pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order and intra-particle diffusion) models and two isotherms (Langmuir and Freundlich) were used to reveal the adsorption process. The maximum Cr(VI) adsorption capacity on residues could reach about 100 mg/g, which was superior to that of most biosorbents derived from agricultural byproducts, even some biochar. Together with the residues' advantages with everlasting capacity after 3 adsorption-desorption cycles and excellent abilities for adsorbing multiple co-existed metal ions (Cr(VI), Cd(II), Cu(II), Pb(II), Ni(II) and Zn(II)), phenolic recovery was first proved to be a new and sustainable strategy for modifying biosorbents from agricultural byproducts with zero waste.

Preparation of a novel metal-free polypyrrole-red phosphorus adsorbent for efficient removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution.

The toxicity and carcinogenicity of Cr(VI) makes it a major threat to the health of animals and people. However, how to efficiently remove Cr(VI) still faces important challenges. In this study, a new metal-free polypyrrole-red phosphorus (PPy-RP) composite is successfully synthesized by in-situ oxidation polymerization for Cr(VI) removal from wastewater. The maximum adsorption capacity (qm) of Cr(VI) on PPy-RP-1 is 513.2 mg/g when the pH value is 2, which is far superior to RP nanosheets (207.8 mg/g) and PPy (294.9 mg/g). The improved qm can be ascribe to the good dispersion and increased specific surface area of PPy-RP adsorbent. Encouragingly, PPy-RP adsorbent still exhibits excellent stability after 7 cycles tests without a significant decline in removal efficiency, and remain above 81.4%. Based on the fittings of adsorption isotherms and kinetics, the process conforms to the pseudo-first-order kinetic model and the single-layer adsorption of the Langmuir model with an R2 value of 0.98533. The adsorption process is chemical and monolayer. The experimental result demonstrates that the PPy-RP can efficient removal Cr(VI) by electrostatic attraction and complexation reaction (formation of N-Cr(VI) bond) through the PPy on the surface. The results of this study indicate that PPy-RP is a promising adsorbent to remove the Cr(IV).

Biogenic fabrication of ZnO@EC and MgO@EC using Eucalyptus leaf extract for the removal of hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) ions from water.

Zinc and magnesium oxide nanoparticles were fabricated using green synthesis method for the sequestration of hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) from the aqueous medium. The biogenically prepared ZnO@EC and MgO@EC nanoparticles were successfully loaded on the Eucalyptus. The prepared nanomaterials were characterized using various techniques such as FESEM, TGA, XRD, EDX, FTIR, BET, and elemental mapping. FE-SEM analysis has revealed the surface morphology of ZnO nanoparticles, which were rod-like and spherical in shape, whereas MgO nanoparticles were of irregular shape. Batch mode was selected to remove the hexavalent chromium from aqueous solution using the prepared nanomaterials. The Cr(VI) adsorption was carried out under optimized conditions, viz., pH (3.0), adsorbent dose (0.05 g), contact time (150 min), temperature (25 ± 2 °C), and initial concentration (50 mg/L). The experimental results were compared using the different isotherm models; The observations have indicated that experimental data fit better with Freundlich (R2 = 0.99) and Langmuir (R2 = 0.99) isotherms, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity of ZnO@EC and MgO@EC for Cr(VI) was found to be 49.3 and 17.4 mg/g, respectively. The regeneration study of the adsorbents was conducted using different desorbing agents viz., ethanol, NaOH, and NaCl. The desorbing agent NaOH performed better and showed removal percentage of 34.24% and 20.18% for ZnO@EC and MgO@EC, respectively, after the three reusability cycles. The kinetics of reaction was assessed using the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. The experimental data of both the nanomaterials ZnO@EC and MgO@EC obeyed pseudo-second-order model with correlation coefficient values 0.999 and 0.983, respectively. The thermodynamic study confirmed that adsorption was feasible, spontaneous, and endothermic. The adsorbents were tested for spiked real water which confirms their applicability and potential in real water systems also. The results indicated fair removal of chromium suggesting applicability of both adsorbents.

Pharmacokinetics of chromium-enriched yeast in rats following oral administration.

Chromium (Cr) is required for carbohydrate, lipid, and protein metabolisms in humans and animals. Cr insufficiency is associated with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Chromium-enriched yeast (CrY) is a widely used Cr dietary supplement, but its pharmacokinetics remains unavailable. CrY was orally administered to rats at a single dose of 1 mg Cr/kg, and plasma Cr concentration at different time points was measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Pharmacokinetics of CrY in rats was well fitted to a non-compartmental model. Plasma Cr concentration reached the maximum of 8.68 ± 2.87 ng/mL at 0.25 h, and gradually decreased to 4.05 ± 0.47 ng/mL at 24 h. CrY was rapidly absorbed into the blood and was slowly eliminated after the oral administration, which could lead to the accumulation of Cr in vivo.

Investigation of Different Nutritional Effects of Dietary Chromium in Fish: A Literature Review.

The supply of food for the world population that is increasing is one of the concerns of governments. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations assessment shows that the aquaculture industry could help meet food needs for human communities. The aquaculture industry also relies on providing a feed of high quality. Minerals are one essential component of an aquatic diet. Chromium (Cr) is a trace element that finds the form of Cr+3 (trivalent) and Cr+6 (hexavalent) in nature and food items. Studies show that exposure to Cr waterborne have toxicity effects on fish. However, oral exposure to Cr has a different impact on fish. Cr is usually involved in the metabolism of fats, carbohydrates, proteins, growth function, enzyme functions, etc. This element could play a significant role in fish nutrition and physiology. Cr as a dietary supplement can improve growth performance and adjust the metabolism of carbohydrates and lipids. However, high concentrations of Cr can be toxic to fish. Although the physiological effects of Cr on aquatic organisms are well known, there are still ambiguities in determining the appropriate concentration in the diet of some species. Maybe, the physiological response of fish depends on the concentration, origin, and chemical composition of Cr, as well as the biological and individual characteristics of the fish. Therefore, it is necessary to estimate the appropriate concentration of Cr in fish diets. This article aims to summarize the available information about the effect of Cr on various physiological indicators and fish growth. Therefore, this information may help to find the appropriate concentration of Cr in the diet.

Tea saponin enhanced bioleaching of Fusarium solani to remove hexavalent chromium from soil.

Hexavalent chromium pollution is one of the most serious types of site pollution. In this study, a microorganism was screened to remove most hexavalent chromium from soil by leaching in 24 h. After ITS sequencing, the microorganism was identified as belonging to the genus Fusarium solani. The optimization experiment of leaching conditions determined that the removal rate reached the maximum 80% when the rotation speed was 200 rpm, the liquid-soil ratio was 15:1, the temperature was 35℃, and the pH was 7. The study has also shown that tea saponin can effectively strengthen the leaching of Fusarium solani to remove hexavalent chromium from the soil. Compared with tea saponin, the strengthening effect of glucose and rhamnolipid was relatively small. The removal rate of hexavalent chromium reached 85% when the added amount of tea saponin was 0.02 g/mL. The leaching solution destroyed part of the iron-manganese nodule structure of the soil, and its hydroxyl, carboxyl, and other groups complexed metal ions into the solution to achieve the purpose of removing hexavalent chromium. However, since the main crystal of the soil was SiO2, there was no obvious change in the XRD of the soil. Toxicity test showed that after leaching, the content of hexavalent chromium leached was 0.28 mg/L (< 1.5 mg/L), which meet the entry standard of the landfill site.

Treatment of distiller grain with wet-process phosphoric acid leads to biochar for the sustained release of nutrients and adsorption of Cr(VI).

Soil amendment products, such as biochar, with both sustained nutrient release and heavy metal retention properties are of great need in agricultural and environmental industries. Herein, we successfully prepared a new biochar material with multinutrient sustained-release characteristics and chromium removal potential derived from distiller grain by wet-process phosphoric acid (WPPA) modification without washing. SEM, TEM TG-IR, in situ DRIFTS and XRD characterization indicated that biochar and polyphosphate formed simultaneously and were tightly intertwined by one-step pyrolysis. The optimal product (PKBC-400) had the most stable carbon structure and an adequate P-O-P structure with less P loss. Batch experiments illustrated that 92.83% P (ortho-P), 85.94% K, 41.49% Fe, 78.42% Al and 65.60% Mg were continuously released in water from PKBC-400 within 63 days, and the maximum Cr removal rate reached 83.57% (50 mg/L K2Cr2O7, pH=3.0) with an increased BET surface area (304.0557 m2/g) after nutrient release. SEM, IC and 31P NMR analyses revealed that the dissolution and hydrolysis of polyphosphates not only realized the sustained release of multiple nutrients but also significantly improved the sustained release performance. The proposed resource utilization strategy provided new ideas for Cr hazard control, biomass waste utilization and fertilizer development.

Organic chromium derived from the chelation of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide and chromium (III) alleviates metabolic syndromes and intestinal microbiota dysbiosis induced by high-fat and high-fructose diet.

Organic chromium is of great interest and has become an important chromium supplement resource in recent years because of its low toxicity and easy absorption. In our previous study, we synthesized a novel organic chromium [GLP-Cr] through the chelation of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide and chromium (III). The purpose of this study was to investigate the beneficial effects of GLP-Cr on the improvement of metabolic syndromes (MetS) in mice fed with a high-fat and high-fructose diet (HFHFD) and its mechanism of action. The results indicated that oral administration of GLP-Cr inhibited the excessive exaltation of body weight, glucose tolerance, fasting blood glucose and lipid levels, hepatic total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) levels caused by HFHFD. Besides, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing showed that GLP-Cr intervention evidently ameliorated intestinal microbiota dysbiosis by changing the proportions of some intestinal microbial phylotypes. In addition, correlation network-based analysis indicated that the key intestinal microbial phylotypes were closely related to biochemical parameters associated with MetS under GLP-Cr intervention. Liver metabolomics analysis suggested that GLP-Cr intervention significantly regulated the levels of some biomarkers involved in alpha-linolenic acid metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis, steroid hormone biosynthesis, glycerophospholipid metabolism, glycerolipid metabolism, steroid hormone biosynthesis, primary bile acid biosynthesis, and so on. Moreover, GLP-Cr intervention regulated liver mRNA levels of key genes associated with glucose and lipid metabolism. The mRNA level of glucose transporter type 4 (Glut4) was markedly increased by GLP-Cr intervention, and the mRNA levels of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (Pepck) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) in the liver were significantly decreased. Meanwhile, GLP-Cr intervention significantly decreased hepatic mRNA levels of cluster of differentiation 36 (Cd36), acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (Acc1) and sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (Srebp-1c), indicating that GLP-Cr intervention inhibited the excessive accumulation of free fatty acids in the liver. These findings suggest that the prevention of hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia by GLP-Cr may be closely related to the regulation of gut microbial composition and hepatic metabolic pathways, thus GLP-Cr can be serving as a functional component in the prevention of MetS.

Desorption of Coffee Pulp Used as an Adsorbent Material for Cr(III and VI) Ions in Synthetic Wastewater: A Preliminary Study.

Some of the diverse agro-industrial waste generated in primary or secondary stages have proved to be promising biomaterials for treating aqueous effluents contaminated, in this case, with heavy metals. Therefore, it is necessary to know their optimal operating conditions and the regeneration or reusability of the solid by-product, an aspect related to desorption. Considering the above, this article presents the findings of a preliminary study related to the desorption process of coffee pulp without physicochemical modification (Castilla variety), an agricultural waste used as a sorbent of Cr(III and VI) ions in synthetic wastewater. The desorption efficiency of four eluting agents at defined concentrations (0.10M)-HC1, HNO3, H2SO4, and EDTA-was evaluated in a time interval of 1 to 9 days. Likewise, the proposals for the sorption and/or desorption mechanisms proposed and reported in the literature with respect to the use of biosorbents derived from the coffee crop are presented. With respect to the results, the coffee pulp used in previous studies of the adsorption of chromium species mentioned (optimal conditions in synthetic water of particle size 180 µm, dose 20 g·L-1, agitation 100 RPM, room temperature, time of 90 to 105 min) showed efficiencies in the removal of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) of 93.26% and 74.80%, respectively. Regarding the extracting substances used, H2SO4 0.10 M was the one that presented the highest desorption percentage in both chromic species, with a desorption of 45.75% Cr(VI) and 66.84% Cr(III) in periods of 5 and 9 days, respectively, with agitation of 100 RPM and room temperature. Finally, the dissemination of preliminary results on the desorption of coffee pulp contaminated with chromic species without physicochemical modification is novel in this study, as similar work with this specific material has not yet been reported in the literature. On the other hand, the limitations of the study and future research are related to the evaluation at different concentrations and of other extractor solutions that allow improving the efficiency of desorption of these chemical species in a shorter time from the coffee pulp (with and without modification) as well as the reuse cycles. As a result, the desorption of coffee pulp used as an adsorbent material in real water could help researchers identify the possible interfering factors that affect the process (foreign anions and cations, organic matter, environmental conditions, among others).

Tanned leather of the paiche Arapaima gigas Schinz, 1822 (Arapaimidae) with extracts of vegetable origin to replace chromium salts.

With the intensification of fish farming, the amount of residues also increased. One of the by-products generated is leather. However, several factors influence its quality, among them, the types of tanning used. Paiche (Arapaima gigas) is the largest freshwater fish in the world, and therefore has great potential in the use of leather, in addition to being one of the most cultivated fish in the Rondônia state. The aimed was to evaluate the physicomechanical resistance, histological and morphological aspects in different directions of the fibers of the paiche to evaluate the tanning with chromium oxide and vegetable tannin. Paiches with an average weight of 12.0 kg were used, skins were made and tanned using chromium and vegetable tannin as techniques. After tanning, 20 specimens were removed in longitudinal, transverse and diagonal directions to the fish body, to determine resistance in dynamometer and leather for histological analysis, scanning electron microscopy and physical-chemical analysis. The average thickness of the specimens of the leathers ranged 1.79mm to 2.82mm, in addition, there was no interaction between the type of tanning agent and the directions obtained for strength, traction and elongation. Regarding the progressive tearing test, there was also no interaction effect. However, the defined factors had relevant differences for the maximum and average amount applied, and the leathers tanned with vegetable tannin expanded to larger dimensions 110.19 and 85.52 N. According to the images obtained by histology and scanning microscopy, they presented that in the longitudinal and transverse direction the collagen fibers are presented in layers parallel to the leather surface and in the diagonal direction the interlacing is more intense, that is, in addition to the overlapping layers intercalated thinner, close to the surface, fiber bundles can also be seen crossing each other. It is concluded that leathers tanned with vegetable tannin have less resistance than leathers tanned with chromium salts for traction to rupture and greater resistance to tear.

Valorization of Cladophora glomerata Biomass and Obtained Bioproducts into Biostimulants of Plant Growth and as Sorbents (Biosorbents) of Metal Ions.

The aim of this study was to propose a complete approach for macroalgae biomass valorization into products useful for sustainable agriculture and environmental protection. In the first stage, the effects of macroalgal extracts and ZnO NPs (zinc oxide nanoparticles) on the germination and growth of radish were examined. Macroalgal extract was produced from freshwater macroalga, i.e., Cladophora glomerata by ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE). The extract was used to biosynthesize zinc oxide nanoparticles. In germination tests, extracts and solutions of ZnO NPs were applied on paper substrate before sowing. In the second stage, sorption properties of macroalga, post-extraction residue, and ZnO NPs to absorb Cr(III) ions were examined. In the germination tests, the highest values of hypocotyl length (the edible part of radish), i.e., 3.3 and 2.6 cm were obtained for 60 and 80% extract (among the tested concentrations 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100%) and 10 and 50 mg/L NPs, respectively. The highest sorption capacity of Cr(III) ions (344.8 mg/g) was obtained by both macroalga and post-extraction residue at a pH of 5 and initial Cr(III) ions concentration of 200 mg/L. This study proves that macroalgae and products based on them can be applied in both sustainable agriculture and wastewater treatment.

Effect of trivalent chromium on erythropoietin production and the prevention of insulin resistance in HepG2 cells.

In erythropoietin (EPO)-producing HepG2 cells, we investigated the effect of trivalent chromium (Cr) on the promotion of EPO production and the induction of insulin resistance. Cr increased hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α protein, EPO mRNA expression and EPO protein levels in HepG2 cells. The effect of Cr on EPO production was inhibited by inhibition of proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ). Insulin resistance was induced by culturing with insulin resistance induction medium supplemented with palmitic acid for 24 h. When Cr was added to the medium, the increase in glucose-6-phosphatase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1 mRNA expression levels and the decrease in the ratio of phosphorylated Akt to Akt protein were suppressed, and the induction of insulin resistance prevented. When a PPARγ inhibitor or siPPARγ was added together with Cr, the inhibitory effect of Cr on the induction of insulin resistance disappeared. In addition, pretreatment with siEPO suppressed the increase in EPO mRNA expression, and the inhibitory effect on the induction of insulin resistance due to the addition of Cr was significantly reduced. These results suggest that the inhibition of insulin resistance induction by Cr in HepG2 cells involves the promotion of EPO production mediated by PPARγ, in addition to other PPARγ-mediated activities.