Critical evaluation of different mass transfer equations to model NO emissions from water resource recovery facilities with diffuse aeration.

NO measurements by liquid sensors in aerated tanks are an input to gas-liquid mass-transfer models for the prediction of NO off-gas emissions. The prediction of NO emissions from Water Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRFs) was evaluated by three different mass-transfer models using Benchmark Simulation Model 1 (BSM1) as a reference model. Inappropriate selection of mass-transfer model may result in miscalculation of carbon footprints based on soluble NO online measurements.

Life Cycle Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Technologies in Water Resource Recovery Facilities: The Case of Sludge Pyrolysis.

In Europe, sewage sludge is mostly used in agriculture (49%) or incinerated (25%). Technologies for sludge management that can support the transformation of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) are emerging. Sludge pyrolysis is one of them.

Heat recovery and water reuse in micro-distilleries improves eco-efficiency of alcohol production.

The number of micro-scale spirit distilleries worldwide has grown considerably over the past decade. With an onus on the distillery sector to reduce its environmental impact, such as carbon emissions, opportunities for increasing energy efficiency need to be implemented. This study explores the potential environmental benefits and financial gains achievable through heat recovery from different process and by-product streams, exemplified for a Scotch whisky distillery, but transferrable to micro-distilleries worldwide.

Mitotic H3K9ac is controlled by phase-specific activity of HDAC2, HDAC3, and SIRT1.

Histone acetylation levels are reduced during mitosis. To study the mitotic regulation of H3K9ac, we used an array of inhibitors targeting specific histone deacetylases. We evaluated the involvement of the targeted enzymes in regulating H3K9ac during all mitotic stages by immunofluorescence and immunoblots.

Challenges in carbon footprint evaluations of state-of-the-art municipal wastewater resource recovery facilities.

Wastewater treatment is an important source of direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which some wastewater operators report and account for CO-eq impacts through carbon footprint evaluations. We investigated the challenges with GHG emissions' accounting of three state-of-the-art energy-efficient wastewater resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) and reviewed their CO accounting reports. Our study aimed to highlight the major contributors and factors to estimate emissions, including direct NO and CH emissions and propose recommendations for public reporting of CO accounting of WRRFs.

Vav1 accelerates Ras-driven lung cancer and modulates its tumor microenvironment.

The potential impact of Vav1 on human cancer was only recently acknowledged, as it is detected as a mutant or an overexpressed gene in various cancers, including lung cancer. Vav1, which is normally and exclusively expressed in the hematopoietic system functions as a specific GDP/GTP nucleotide exchange factor (GEF), strictly regulated by tyrosine phosphorylation. To investigate whether Vav1 plays a causative or facilitating role in-vivo in lung cancer development and to examine whether it co-operates with other oncogenes, such as mutant K-Ras, we generated novel mouse strains that express: Vav1 or K-Ras in type II pneumocytes, as well as a transgenic mouse line that expresses both Vav1 and K-Ras in these cells.

Vav1 Promotes B-Cell Lymphoma Development.

Vav1 is normally and exclusively expressed in the hematopoietic system where it functions as a specific GDP/GTP nucleotide exchange factor (GEF), firmly regulated by tyrosine phosphorylation. Mutations and overexpression of Vav1 in hematopoietic malignancies, and in human cancers of various histologic origins, are well documented. To reveal whether overexpression of Vav1 in different tissues suffices for promoting the development of malignant lesions, we expressed Vav1 in transgenic mice by using the ubiquitous ROSA26 promoter (Rosa Vav1).

From wastewater treatment to water resource recovery: Environmental and economic impacts of full-scale implementation.

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote resource recovery, many wastewater treatment operators are retrofitting existing plants to implement new technologies for energy, nutrient and carbon recovery. In literature, there is a lack of studies that can unfold the potential environmental and economic impacts of the transition that wastewater utilities are undertaking to transform their treatment plants to water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs). When existing, literature studies are mostly based on simulations rather than real plant data and pilot-scale results.

The Influence of Supplemental Dietary Linoleic Acid on Skeletal Muscle Contractile Function in a Rodent Model of Barth Syndrome.

Barth syndrome is a rare and incurable X-linked (male-specific) genetic disease that affects the protein tafazzin (Taz). Taz is an important enzyme responsible for synthesizing biologically relevant cardiolipin (for heart and skeletal muscle, cardiolipin rich in linoleic acid), a critical phospholipid of mitochondrial form and function. Mutations to Taz cause dysfunctional mitochondria, resulting in exercise intolerance due to skeletal muscle weakness.

Chromosomal coordination and differential structure of asynchronous replicating regions.

Stochastic asynchronous replication timing (AS-RT) is a phenomenon in which the time of replication of each allele is different, and the identity of the early allele varies between cells. By taking advantage of stable clonal pre-B cell populations derived from C57BL6/Castaneous mice, we have mapped the genome-wide AS-RT loci, independently of genetic differences. These regions are characterized by differential chromatin accessibility, mono-allelic expression and include new gene families involved in specifying cell identity.

Vav1 and mutant K-Ras synergize in the early development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in mice.

To explore the contribution of Vav1, a hematopoietic signal transducer, to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) development, we generated transgenic mouse lines expressing, Vav1, K-Ras, or both K-Ras and Vav1 in pancreatic acinar cells. Co-expression of Vav1 and K-Ras synergistically enhanced acinar-to-ductal metaplasia (ADM) formation, far exceeding the number of lesions developed in K-Ras mice. Mice expressing only Vav1 did not develop ADM.

Vav1 mutations: What makes them oncogenic?

Vav1 is physiologically active as a GDP/GTP nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) in the hematopoietic system. Its wild-type form was recently implicated in mammalian malignancies of hematologic and non-hematologic tissue origins. Moreover, it was recently identified as a mutated gene in human cancers of various origins.

Vav1 mutations identified in human cancers give rise to different oncogenic phenotypes.

Vav1 is physiologically active as a GDP/GTP nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) in the hematopoietic system. Overexpression of Vav1 in multiple tumor types is known to enhance oncogenicity, yet whether or not Vav1 is a bona fide oncogene is still a matter of debate. Although mutations in Vav1 were recently identified in human cancers of various origins, the functional activities of these mutants are not known.

Germline DNA replication timing shapes mammalian genome composition.

Mammalian DNA replication is a highly organized and regulated process. Large, Mb-sized regions are replicated at defined times along S-phase. Replication Timing (RT) is thought to play a role in shaping the mammalian genome by affecting mutation rates.

Programming asynchronous replication in stem cells.

Many regions of the genome replicate asynchronously and are expressed monoallelically. It is thought that asynchronous replication may be involved in choosing one allele over the other, but little is known about how these patterns are established during development. We show that, unlike somatic cells, which replicate in a clonal manner, embryonic and adult stem cells are programmed to undergo switching, such that daughter cells with an early-replicating paternal allele are derived from mother cells that have a late-replicating paternal allele.

Vav1 promotes lung cancer growth by instigating tumor-microenvironment cross-talk via growth factor secretion.

Vav1 is a signal transducer that functions as a scaffold protein and a regulator of cytoskeleton organization in the hematopoietic system, where it is exclusively expressed. Recently, Vav1 was shown to be involved in diverse human cancers, including lung cancer. We demonstrate that lung cancer cells that abnormally express Vav1 secrete growth factors in a Vav1-dependent manner.

GTP exchange factor Vav regulates guided cell migration by coupling guidance receptor signalling to local Rac activation.

Guided cell migration is a key mechanism for cell positioning in morphogenesis. The current model suggests that the spatially controlled activation of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) by guidance cues limits Rac activity at the leading edge, which is crucial for establishing and maintaining polarized cell protrusions at the front. However, little is known about the mechanisms by which RTKs control the local activation of Rac.

Vav1 fine tunes p53 control of apoptosis versus proliferation in breast cancer.

Vav1 functions as a signal transducer protein in the hematopoietic system, where it is exclusively expressed. Vav1 was recently implicated in several human cancers, including lung, pancreatic and neuroblasoma. In this study, we analyzed the expression and function of Vav1 in human breast tumors and breast cancer cell lines.

Clonal allelic predetermination of immunoglobulin-κ rearrangement.

Although most genes are expressed biallelically, a number of key genomic sites--including immune and olfactory receptor regions--are controlled monoallelically in a stochastic manner, with some cells expressing the maternal allele and others the paternal allele in the target tissue. Very little is known about how this phenomenon is regulated and programmed during development. Here, using mouse immunoglobulin-κ (Igκ) as a model system, we demonstrate that although individual haematopoietic stem cells are characterized by allelic plasticity, early lymphoid lineage cells become committed to the choice of a single allele, and this decision is then stably maintained in a clonal manner that predetermines monoallelic rearrangement in B cells.

Oct-3/4 regulates stem cell identity and cell fate decisions by modulating Wnt/β-catenin signalling.

Although the transcriptional regulatory events triggered by Oct-3/4 are well documented, understanding the proteomic networks that mediate the diverse functions of this POU domain homeobox protein remains a major challenge. Here, we present genetic and biochemical studies that suggest an unexpected novel strategy for Oct-3/4-dependent regulation of embryogenesis and cell lineage determination. Our data suggest that Oct-3/4 specifically interacts with nuclear β-catenin and facilitates its proteasomal degradation, resulting in the maintenance of an undifferentiated, early embryonic phenotype both in Xenopus embryos and embryonic stem (ES) cells.

Tyrosine residues at the carboxyl terminus of Vav1 play an important role in regulation of its biological activity.

The guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) Vav1 is an essential signal transducer protein in the hematopoietic system, where it is expressed physiologically. It is also involved in several human malignancies. Tyrosine phosphorylation at the Vav1 amino terminus plays a central role in regulating its activity; however, the role of carboxyl terminal tyrosine residues is unknown.

The type III secretion effector NleE inhibits NF-kappaB activation.

The complex host-pathogen interplay involves the recognition of the pathogen by the host's innate immune system and countermeasures taken by the pathogen. Detection of invading bacteria by the host leads to rapid activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB, followed by inflammation and eradication of the intruders. In response, some pathogens, including enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC), acquired means of blocking NF-kappaB activation.

Direct proteasome binding and subsequent degradation of unspliced XBP-1 prevent its intracellular aggregation.

The non-canonical splicing of XBP-1 mRNA is a hallmark of the mammalian unfolded protein response (UPR). The proteasomal degradation of unspliced XBP-1 (XBP-1u) facilitates the termination of the UPR. Thus, understanding the mechanism of XBP-1u degradation may allow control over UPR duration and intensity.

Urban geochemistry: research strategies to assist risk assessment and remediation of brownfield sites in urban areas.

Urban geochemical maps of Wolverhampton and Nottingham, based on multielement analysis of surface soils, have shown distribution patterns of "total" metals concentrations relating to past and present industrial and domestic land use and transport systems. Several methods have been used to estimate the solubility and potential bioavailability of metals, their mineral forms and potential risks to urban population groups. These include sequential chemical extraction, soil pore water extraction and analysis, mineralogical analysis by scanning electron microscopy, source apportionment by lead isotope analysis and the development of models to predict metal uptake by homegrown vegetables to provide an estimate of risk from metal consumption and exposure.

Bioavailability of trace metals in brownfield soils in an urban area in the UK.

Thirty-two brownfield sites from the city of Wolverhampton were selected from those with a former industrial use, wasteland or areas adjacent to industrial processes. Samples (<2 mm powdered soil fraction) were analysed, using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) for 20 elements. Loss on ignition and pH were also determined.