Abnormal sub-pathways competitively regulated by lncRNAs contribute to postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Abnormal sub-pathways competitively regulated by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) for postmenopausal osteoporosis (PO) based on integration of lncRNA-mRNA expression data and pathway network topologies were investigated. Interesting lncRNA-mRNA pairs were selected by Pearsons correlation coefficient (PCC) algorithm on the basis of lncRNA-miRNA and miRNA-mRNA interactions and gene expression profiles. Then, lncRNAs in interesting pairs were embedded into pathway graphs as signature nodes by linking to their regulated-mRNAs, and lncRNA competitively regulated pathways (LCRPs) were gained for PO patients. Moreover, sub-pathways were detected dependent on the shortest distance similarity and the pathway topology. The abnormal sub-pathways were determined utilizing the Wallenius approximation methods through evaluating the statistical significance of sub-pathways. In total 75 interesting lncRNA-mRNA pairs (representing 17 lncRNAs and 74 mRNAs) were identified. Subsequently, 42 LCRPs were extracted from pathway graphs by signature lncRNA regulated mRNAs. Moreover, 14 abnormal sub-pathways with P<0.05 were obtained between PO patients and controls, such as sub-pathways of PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and long-term potentiation. This finding may facilitate understanding the molecular mechanism of PO, and point a new direction to identify potential biomarkers for treatment and prevention of the disease.

Facile synthesis of Cu(II) impregnated biochar with enhanced adsorption activity for the removal of doxycycline hydrochloride from water.

In this study, the effect factors and mechanisms of doxycycline hydrochloride (DOX) adsorption on copper nitrate modified biochar (Cu-BC) was investigated. Cu-BC absorbent was synthesized through calcination of peanut shells biomass at 450°C and then impregnation with copper nitrate. The Cu-BC has exhibited excellent sorption efficiency about 93.22% of doxycycline hydrochloride from aqueous solution, which was double higher than that of the unmodified biochar. The experimental results suggest that the adsorption efficiency of DOX on the Cu-BC is dominated by the strong complexation, electrostatic interactions between DOX molecules and the Cu-BC samples. Comprehensively considering the cost, efficiency and the application to realistic water, the Cu-BC hold the significant potential for enhancing the effectiveness to remove DOX from water.

Tetracycline absorbed onto nitrilotriacetic acid-functionalized magnetic graphene oxide: Influencing factors and uptake mechanism.

A novel magnetic nanomaterial was synthesized by grafting nitrilotriacetic acid to magnetic graphene oxide (NDMGO), which was applied as an adsorbent for removing tetracycline (TC) from aqueous solutions. The nanomaterial was characterized using TG-DTA, SEM, TEM, XRD, VSM, XPS, Raman, BET surface area and zeta potential measurements. Several experimental conditions (solution pH, adsorption time, temperature, ionic strength and foreign ions) affecting the adsorption process were investigated. The results showed that the TC adsorption capacity could be affected by solution pH. The adsorption capacity of TC increased rapidly in the initial 20min and finally reached equilibrium was about 600min. The pseudo-second-order kinetics provided the better correlation for the experiment data. Various thermodynamic parameters indicated that the adsorption was a spontaneous and endothermic process. The presence of NaCl and background electrolytes in the solution had a slight influence on TC adsorption. Hydrogen bonds, amidation reaction, π-π and cation-π interaction between NDMGO and TC could be used to explain the adsorption mechanism. The regeneration experiment demonstrated that this nanomaterial possessed an excellent regeneration performance. Based on the experimental results and comparative analysis with other adsorbents, the NDMGO was a high-efficiency and reusable adsorbent for TC pollution control.