Cerium(IV) chitosan-based hydrogel composite for efficient adsorptive removal of phosphates(V) from aqueous solutions.

The excess presence of phosphate(V) ions in the biosphere is one of the most serious problems that negatively affect aqueous biocenosis. Thus, phosphates(V) separation is considered to be important for sustainable development. In the presented study, an original cerium(IV)-modified chitosan-based hydrogel (Ce-CTS) was developed using the chemical co-precipitation method and then used as an adsorbent for efficient removal of phosphate(V) ions from their aqueous solutions. From the scientific point of view, it represents a completely new physicochemical system. It was found that the adsorptive removal of phosphate(V) anions by the Ce-CTS adsorbent exceeded 98% efficiency which is ca. 4-times higher compared with the chitosan-based hydrogel without any modification (non-cross-linked CTS). The best result of the adsorption capacity of phosphates(V) on the Ce-CTS adsorbent, equal to 71.6 mg/g, was a result of adsorption from a solution with an initial phosphate(V) concentration 9.76 mg/dm3 and pH 7, an adsorbent dose of 1 g/dm3, temperature 20 °C. The equilibrium interphase distribution data for the Ce-CTS adsorbent and aqueous solution of phosphates(V) agreed with the theoretical Redlich-Peterson and Hill adsorption isotherm models. From the kinetic point of view, the pseudo-second-order model explained the phosphates(V) adsorption rate for Ce-CTS adsorbent the best. The specific effect of porous structure of adsorbent influencing the diffusional mass transfer resistances was identified using Weber-Morris kinetic model. The thermodynamic study showed that the process was exothermic and the adsorption ran spontaneously. Modification of CTS with cerium(IV) resulted in the significant enhancement of the chitosan properties towards both physical adsorption (an increase of the point of zero charge of adsorbent), and chemical adsorption (through the presence of Ce(IV) that demonstrates a chemical affinity for phosphate(V) anions). The elaborated and experimentally verified highly effective adsorbent can be successfully applied to uptake phosphates(V) from aqueous systems. The Ce-CTS adsorbent is stable in the conditions of the adsorption process, no changes in the adsorbent structure or leaching of the inorganic filling were observed.

Loss of cancer cell-derived ADAM15 alters the tumor microenvironment in colorectal tumors.

Tumor progression and response to treatment are highly affected by interactions between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME). Many of the soluble factors and signaling receptors involved in this crosstalk are shed by a disintegrin and metalloproteinases (ADAMs). Upregulation of ADAM15 has been linked to worse survival in cancer patients and a tumor-promoting function both in vitro and in murine cancer models. Although ADAM15 has been involved in cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions, its role in the crosstalk between cancer cells and the TME in vivo remains unexplored. Therefore, we aimed to understand how ADAM15 regulates the cell composition of the TME and how it affects tumor progression. Here, we showed an upregulation of ADAM15 in tumor tissues from rectal cancer patients. Subcutaneous injection of wildtype and ADAM15-knockout CT26 colon cancer cells in syngeneic mice confirmed the protumorigenic role of ADAM15. Profiling of tumors revealed higher immune cell infiltration and cancer cell apoptosis in the ADAM15-deficient tumors. Specifically, loss of ADAM15 led to a reduced number of granulocytes and higher infiltration of antigen-presenting cells, including dendritic cells and macrophages, as well as more T cells. Using in vitro assays, we confirmed the regulatory effect of ADAM15 on macrophage migration and identified ADAM15-derived CYR61 as a potential molecular mediator of this effect. Based on these findings, we speculate that targeting ADAM15 could increase the infiltration of immune cells in colorectal tumors, which is a prerequisite for effective immunotherapy.

ADAM12 expression is upregulated in cancer cells upon radiation and constitutes a prognostic factor in rectal cancer patients following radiotherapy.

Radiotherapy is one of the most common cancer treatments, yet, some patients require high doses to respond. Therefore, the development of new strategies leans toward personalizing therapy to avoid unnecessary burden on cancer patients. This approach prevents the administration of ineffective treatments or uses combination strategies to increase the sensitivity of cancer cells. ADAM12 has been shown to be upregulated in many cancers and correlate with poor survival and chemoresistance, thus making it a potential candidate responsible for radioresistance. Here, we show that ADAM12 expression is upregulated in response to irradiation in both mouse and human cancer cells in vitro, as well as in tumor tissues from rectal cancer patients. Interestingly, the expression of ADAM12 following radiotherapy correlates with the initial disease stage and predicts the response of rectal cancer patients to the treatment. While we found no cell-autonomous effects of ADAM12 on the response of colon cancer cells to irradiation in vitro, depletion of ADAM12 expression markedly reduced the tumor growth of irradiated cancer cells when subcutaneously transplanted in syngeneic mice. Interestingly, loss of cancer cell-derived ADAM12 expression increased the number of CD31+FAP- cells in murine tumors. Moreover, conditioned medium from ADAM12-/- colon cancer cells led to increased tube formation when added to endothelial cell cultures. Thus, it is tempting to speculate that altered tumor vascularity may be implicated in the observed effect of ADAM12 on response to radiotherapy in rectal cancer. We conclude that ADAM12 represents a promising prognostic factor for stratification of rectal cancer patients receiving radiotherapy and suggest that targeting ADAM12 in combination with radiotherapy could potentially improve the treatment response.

A Promising Ash Supplementation Strategy in the Cultivation of Spirodela polyrrhiza Plants.

An innovative approach to the management of waste in the form of ash obtained during biomass combustion is justified due to its specific properties, including the presence of macro- and microelements. The aim of the current study was to determine the concentration of ash obtained from Sorghum combustion regarding its fertilizer value and its effect on the cytological structures, physiological parameters, growth and development of Lemnaceae plants, thereby demonstrating the possibility of using this waste to supplement culture media. The analyses showed that the use of ash in the in vitro cultivation of Lemnaceae aquatic plants had a dose-dependent effect. The addition of 2% ash favorably affected the condition of plant roots, i.e., meristem elongation and an increase in nucleoli sizes as well as improving the chlorophyll content index, gas exchange parameters, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and plant vigor via PSII, which was confirmed by a chlorophyll fluorescence measurement. On the other hand, too high of a concentration, i.e., 10% ash, adversely affected the plant development and parameters studied. Concluding, the use of ash at a low concentration favorably affected the yielding of Spirodela polyrrhiza, whose biomass can be used for energy purposes in the production of bioethanol, plant biogas or the phytoremediation of industrial waters and leachate.

Innovative Technological Approach for the Cyclic Nutrients Adsorption by Post-Digestion Sewage Sludge-Based Ash Co-Formed with Some Nanostructural Additives under a Circular Economy Framework.

This paper presents a new, innovative technological approach, in line with Circular Economy principles, to the effective management of sludge generated during municipal wastewater treatment processes and subsequently used for biogas production. This approach allows for optimal, functional, and controlled cascade-type biotechnological thermal conversion of carbon compounds present in sewage sludge, later in solid digestate residues (after biogas production), and finally in the ash structure (after incineration, purposefully dosed nanostructural additives make the production of a useful solid product possible, especially for cyclic adsorption and slow release of nutrients (N, P, K) in the soil). The idea is generally targeted at achieving an innovative conversion cycle under a Circular Economy framework. In particular, it is based on an energy carrier (methane biogas) and direct energy production. The functionalized combustion by-products can be advantageous in agriculture. The use of ashes with nanostructural additives (halloysite, kaolinite) from combustion of sewage sludge after the anaerobic fermentation as an adsorbent of selected nutrients important in agriculture (Na+, K+, NO3-, SO42-, PO43-, Cl-) was verified at laboratory scale. The tests were carried out both for pure ash and for the ash derived from combustion with the purposeful addition of kaolinite or halloysite. The equilibrium conditions for nitrate, potassium, sodium, phosphate(V), sulphate(VI), and chloride ions from aqueous solutions with the use of the three adsorbent structures were determined. The obtained innovative results were interpreted theoretically with adsorption isotherm models (Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, Jovanovic). The most spectacular and clearly favorable results related to the influence of nanostructural additives in the process of sludge combustion, and formation of sorption surfaces under high temperature conditions were identified in the case of sorption-based separation of phosphate(V) ions (an increase from 1.13% to 61.24% with the addition of kaolinite, and even up to 76.19% with addition of halloysite).

ADAM17-mediated EGFR ligand shedding directs macrophage-promoted cancer cell invasion.

Macrophages in the tumor microenvironment have a substantial impact on tumor progression. Depending on the signaling environment in the tumor, macrophages can either support or constrain tumor progression. It is therefore of therapeutic interest to identify the tumor-derived factors that control macrophage education. With this aim, we correlated the expression of A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase (ADAM) proteases, which are key mediators of cell-cell signaling, to the expression of protumorigenic macrophage markers in human cancer cohorts. We identified ADAM17, a sheddase upregulated in many cancer types, as a protein of interest. Depletion of ADAM17 in cancer cell lines reduced the expression of several protumorigenic markers in neighboring macrophages in vitro as well as in mouse models. Moreover, ADAM17-/- educated macrophages demonstrated a reduced ability to induce cancer cell invasion. Using mass spectrometry-based proteomics and ELISA, we identified heparin-binding EGF (HB-EGF) and amphiregulin, shed by ADAM17 in the cancer cells, as the implicated molecular mediators of macrophage education. Additionally, RNA-Seq and ELISA experiments revealed that ADAM17-dependent HB-EGF ligand release induced the expression and secretion of CXCL chemokines in macrophages, which in turn stimulated cancer cell invasion. In conclusion, we provide evidence that ADAM17 mediates a paracrine EGFR-ligand-chemokine feedback loop, whereby cancer cells hijack macrophages to promote tumor progression.

Surface Modification of Biomedical MgCa4.5 and MgCa4.5Gd0.5 Alloys by Micro-Arc Oxidation.

The aim of this work was to characterize the structure and corrosion properties of the MgCa4.5(Gd0.5) alloys surface treated by the micro-arc oxidation (MAO) process. The MgCa4.5 and MgCa4.5Gd0.5 alloy samples were processed by MAO in an electrolyte composed of NaOH (10 g/dm3), NaF (10 g/dm3), NaH2PO4 (5 g/dm3), Na2SiO2·5H2O (10 g/dm3) and water. Two different voltages (120 V and 140 V) were used in the MAO process. The alloys protected by an oxide layer formed in the MAO were then the subject of corrosion resistance tests in an environment simulating the human body (Ringer's solution). After the experiments, the resulting samples were investigated using SEM, XPS and EDS techniques. The addition of Gd affected the fragmentation of the coating structure, thereby increasing the specific surface; higher voltages during the MAO process increased the number and size of surface pores. Corrosion tests showed that the MgCa4.5Gd0.5 alloys were characterized by low polarization resistances and high corrosion current densities. The studies indicated the disadvantageous influence of gadolinium on the corrosion resistance of MgCa4.5 alloys. The immersion tests confirmed lower corrosion resistance of MgCa4.5Gd0.5 alloys compared to the referenced MgCa4.5 ones. The MgCa4.5 alloy with the MAO coating established at voltage 140 V demonstrated the best anticorrosion properties.

Scaling Risk Assessment in Nanofiltration of Mine Waters.

Nanofiltration can be applied for the treatment of mine waters. One of the main problems is the risk of crystallization of sparingly soluble salts on the membrane surface (scaling). In this work, a series of batch-mode nanofiltration experiments of the mine waters was performed in a dead-end Sterlitech® HP 4750X Stirred Cell. Based on the laboratory results, the concentration profiles of individual ions along the membrane length in a single-pass industrial-scale nanofiltration (NF) unit was calculated, assuming the tanks-in-series flow model inside the membrane module. These calculations also propose a method for estimating the maximum achievable recovery before the occurrence of the calcium sulfate dihydrate scaling in a single-pass NF 40″ length spiral wound module, simultaneously allowing metastable supersaturation of calcium sulfate dihydrate. The performance of three membrane types (NF270, NFX, NFDL) has been evaluated for the nanofiltration of mine water.

Acquisition of Torrefied Biomass from Jerusalem Artichoke Grown in a Closed Circular System Using Biogas Plant Waste.

The aim of the research was to investigate the effect of biogas plant waste on the physiological activity, growth, and yield of Jerusalem artichoke and the energetic usefulness of the biomass obtained in this way after the torrefaction process. The use of waste from corn grain biodigestion to methane as a biofertilizer, used alone or supplemented with Apol-humus and Stymjod, caused increased the physiological activity, growth, and yield of Jerusalem artichoke plants and can limit the application of chemical fertilizers, whose production and use in agriculture is harmful for the environment. The experiment, using different equipment, exhibited the high potential of Jerusalem artichoke fertilized by the methods elaborated as a carbonized solid biofuel after the torrefaction process. The use of a special design of the batch reactor using nitrogen, Thermogravimetric analysis, Differential thermal analysis, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and combustion of Jerusalem artichoke using TG-MS showed a thermo-chemical conversion mass loss on a level of 30% with energy loss (torgas) on a level of 10%. Compared to research results on other energy crops and straw biomass, the isothermal temperature of 245 °C during torrefaction for the carbonized solid biofuel of Jerusalem artichoke biomass fertilized with biogas plant waste is relativlely low. An SEM-EDS analysis of ash from carbonized Jerusalem artichoke after torrefaction was performed after its combustion.

Cell-free fetal DNA testing in prenatal diagnosis: Recommendations of the Polish Gynecological Society and the Polish Human Genetics Society.

This paper contains a joint position of the Polish Gynecological Society and Polish Human Genetics Society on the cell-free fetal DNA testing in prenatal diagnosis. We present situations where the cell-free fetal DNA testing should be applied and cases in which performing of the test is not useful. We indicate what diagnostic steps should be performed before the test and how the test results should be interpreted and followed.

Evaluation of Microfluidics-FISH method in prenatal diagnosis.

OBJECTIVES: Classical cytogenetic analysis remains a gold standard in invasive prenatal diagnosis. Recently, Microfluidics¬-FISH, a novel method based on FISH, has been introduced. This integral approach allows to obtain result for common aneuploidies within the same day from a much smaller sample of the amniotic fluid. In this study we compare effectiveness of Microfluidics-FISH to classical karyotype and Rapid FISH. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 52 samples of amniotic fluid were drawn from the pregnant women due to common indications. Cell cultures have been set up for classical cytogenetic analysis as well as amniotic cells have been loaded into the microchip of Microfluidics-FISH as well standard procedure of Rapid FISH was performed for evaluation of trisomy 21, 13, 18 chromosome and sex chromosomes numeric aberrations. RESULTS: 9 samples out of 52 showed chromosomal aberrations in both FISH methods what was consistent with karyoty¬ping. One case of small supernumerary marker chromosome was detected only in the classical cytogenetic analysis. For the majority of cases turnaround time was shortest for Microfluidics-FISH and the average volume of sample was smallest. Microfluidics-FISH proved to be reliable and cost-effective rapid testing method of common aneuploidies. Recognizing, ho¬wever, limitations of methods based on FISH it cannot replace conventional karyotyping and be the sole method of diagnosis.

Prevalence of recurrent pathogenic microdeletions and microduplications in over 9500 pregnancies.

OBJECTIVES: The implementation of chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) in prenatal testing for all patients has not achieved a consensus. Technical alternatives such as Prenatal BACs-on-Beads(TM) (PNBoBs(TM) ) have thus been applied. The aim of this study was to provide the frequencies of the submicroscopic defects detectable by PNBoBs(TM) under different prenatal indications. METHODS: A total of 9648 prenatal samples were prospectively analyzed by karyotyping plus PNBoBs(TM) and classified by prenatal indication. The frequencies of the genomic defects and their 95%CIs were calculated for each indication. RESULTS: The overall incidence of cryptic imbalances was 0.7%. The majority involved the DiGeorge syndrome critical region (DGS). The additional diagnostic yield of PNBoBs(TM) in the population with a low a priori risk was 1/298. The prevalences of DGS microdeletion and microduplication in the low-risk population were 1/992 and 1/850, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The constant a priori risk for common pathogenic cryptic imbalances detected by this technology is estimated to be ~0.3%. A prevalence higher than that previously estimated was found for the 22q11.2 microdeletion. Their frequencies were independent of maternal age. These data have implications for cell-free DNA screening tests design and justify prenatal screening for 22q11 deletion, as early recognition of DGS improves its prognosis.

Alcohol consumption in Polish middle and high school pupils--has this rapidly increased during 2009-11?

INTRODUCTION: The dynamic rise of alcohol consumption in adolescents is a matter of serious concern, requiring frequently updated monitoring. By such means, it is possible to optimise preventative measures for dealing with this problem. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the magnitude/amount and frequency of alcohol consumed by middle and high school pupils in Poland, including the circumstances when alcohol was first drunk. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A randomised survey was performed throughout Poland on middle school (junior high school) pupils, (n=9360) in 2009, followed by both middle and high school pupils in 2011 (n=7971). The questionnaire was devised by the Polish Chief Sanitary Inspectorate (GIS). RESULTS: A strikingly sharp increase in alcohol consumption (29%) was observed in subjects between 2009 - 2011. In the latter year, 1 month prior to survey, respectively, 50% and 71% of middle school and high school pupils drank alcohol, and correspondingly, 36% and 63% of these pupils ever became intoxicated/drunk. CONCLUSIONS: 1) Adolescent alcohol consumption increases with age and is highest in girls. Monitoring as well as in-depth analysis thus becomes necessary. 2) Systematic monitoring and analysis of changing healthy lifestyle behaviour should be used for taking the necessary corrective action. This should happen concurrently and consist of planned health education programmes, including health promotion.

Prenatal diagnosis of Langer-Giedion Syndrome confirmed by BACs-on-Beads technique.

Langer-Giedion Syndrome (LGS), with characteristic phenotypic features including craniofacial dysmorphic signs, postnatal growth retardation and skeletal abnormalities, mental impairment, urogenital malformations and heart defects, is caused by partial deletions of the long arm of chromosome 8. We present a case of a female fetus with LGS. The diagnosis was molecularly proven with the BACs on Beads method at 32 weeks of gestation. To the best of our knowledge, prenatal recognition of that genetic defect had previously been made in only one case. Also, it has never been described before.

The presence of prostate cancer at biopsy is predicted by a number of genetic variants.

Several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been associated with an elevated risk of prostate cancer risk. It is not established if they are useful in predicting the presence of prostate cancer at biopsy or if they can be used to define a low-risk group of men. In this study, 4,548 men underwent a prostate biopsy because of an elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA; ≥4 ng/mL) or an abnormal digital rectal examination (DRE). All men were genotyped for 11 selected SNPs. The effect of each SNP, alone and in combination, on prostate cancer prevalence was studied. Of 4,548 men: 1,834 (40.3%) were found to have cancer. A positive association with prostate cancer was seen for 5 of 11 SNPs studied (rs1800629, rs1859962, rs1447295, rs4430796, rs11228565). The cancer detection rate rose with the number of SNP risk alleles from 29% for men with no variant to 63% for men who carried seven or more risk alleles (OR = 4.2; p = 0.002). The SNP data did not improve the predictive power of clinical factors (age, PSA and DRE) for detecting prostate cancer (AUC: 0.726 vs. 0.735; p = 0.4). We were unable to define a group of men with a sufficiently low prevalence of prostate cancer that a biopsy might have been avoided. In conclusion, our data do not support the routine use of SNP polymorphisms as an adjunct test to be used on the context of prostate biopsy for Polish men with an abnormal screening test.

Phosphates (V) recovery from phosphorus mineral fertilizers industry wastewater by continuous struvite reaction crystallization process.

Continuous DT MSMPR (Draft Tube Mixed Suspension Mixed Product Removal) crystallizer was provided with typical wastewater from phosphorus mineral fertilizers industry (pH < 4, 0.445 mass % of PO4(3-), inorganic impurities presence), dissolved substrates (magnesium and ammonium chlorides) and solution alkalising the environment of struvite MgNH4PO4·6H2O reaction crystallization process. Research ran in constant temperature 298 K assuming stoichiometric proportions of substrates or 20% excess of magnesium ions. Influence of pH (8.5-10) and mean residence time (900-3600 s) on product size distribution, its chemical composition, crystals shape, size-homogeneity and process kinetics was identified. Crystals of mean size ca. 25-37 µm and homogeneity CV 70-83% were produced. The largest crystals, of acceptable homogeneity, were produced using 20% excess of magnesium ions, pH 9 and mean residence time 3600 s. Under these conditions nucleation rate did not exceed 9 × 10(7) 1/(s m(3)) according to SIG (Size Independent Growth) MSMPR kinetic model. Linear crystal growth rate was 4.27 × 10(-9) m/s. Excess of magnesium ions influenced struvite reaction crystallization process yield advantageously. Concentration of phosphate(V) ions decreased from 0.445 to 9.2 × 10(-4) mass %. This can be regarded as a very good process result. In product crystals, besides main component - struvite, all impurities from wastewater were detected analytically.

[Will the new molecular karyotyping BACs-on-Beads technique replace the traditional cytogenetic prenatal diagnostics? Preliminary reports]. / Czy nowa technika kariotypowania molekularnego BACs-on-Beads zastapi klasyczna cytogenetyczna diagnostyke prenatalna? Wyniki wstepne.

Recently several attempts have been made to introduce molecular karyotyping techniques into prenatal diagnosis. These methods can be used not only for the diagnosis of classical aneuploidies, but first of all they should be employed in the diagnostics of microaberrations, which are not revealed by low resolution methods of classical cytogenetics. The new method BACs-on-Beads is designed for quick detection of broad panel of aneuploidies and microdeletions, by the specified detection of deletions and duplications in the examined fetal DNA acquired from amniocytes. Prenatal diagnostics was performed with the use of BACs-on-Beads and classical amniocyte karyotyping simultaneously in a group of 54 pregnancies. This new method proved to be fully compatible with typical karyotyping in cultures of amniocytes in 98.2%. It was confirmed that the main advantage of this method is the possibility of quick diagnosis, within 48 hours, with much wider spectrum of detected anomalies when compared to classical methods. Contrary to other molecular karyotyping methods, the BACs-on-Beads technique is more economical, less time consuming and less complex equipment is needed than in case of other methods. We suppose that this technique can replace classical karyotyping methods in the near future.

Prenatal diagnosis of rare fetal anomalies--a case report.

Hereby we present a case of a pregnancy in which careful dysmorphology of the fetus in subsequent sonographic evaluation resulted in detection of a very rare anomaly. It allowed explanation of the fetal phenotype, compared then with that of the newborn and estimation of genetic risk for the next pregnancies in this family.

The results of prenatal screening in the group of 2285 pregnant women from Western Pomeranian Region of Poland diagnosed between 2005-2006.

UNLABELLED: In the following paper we have presented the results of non-invasive and invasive prenatal diagnostic tests performed on 2285 pregnant women from the Western-Pomeranian Region between 2005 and 2006. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis of screening tests on 2285 pregnant women. Medical history, including age, weight, familial data pedigrees up to third degree relatives, accompanying diseases, gestational complications in the family, type, dosage and period of any drugs intake, was obtained. Sonographic screening and evaluation of maternal serum PAPP-A and betaHCG levels. RESULTS: Screening tests identified 4.5% high-risk pregnancies in this group. 69% of the patients consented to invasive diagnosis. As a result, genetic anomalies were detected in 43.7% of cases. Significant differences in betaHCG levels correlated with oral gestagens intake and place of residence (coastal areas). CONCLUSION: Broad use of certified non-invasive methods of prenatal screening allow substantial reduction of invasive procedures with high levels of positive prediction. Medical drugs intake as well as place of inhabitation may influence on free betaHCG levels.