Use of Biomass Bottom Ash as an Alternative Solution to Natural Aggregates in Concrete Applications: A Review.

Biomass bottom ash (BBA) is a by-product of the energy industry and is produced from biomass-fired thermal power plants. They represent the coarsest fraction of the recovered ash and are mostly landfilled. Several researchers have investigated the feasibility of the use of BBA as a replacement for natural aggregates in cementitious material.

Overcoming the challenges of preserving lipid-rich Cannabis sativa L. glandular trichomes for transmission electron microscopy.

Cannabis glandular trichomes produce and store an abundance of lipidic specialised metabolites (e.g. cannabinoids and terpenes) that are consumed by humans for medicinal and recreational purposes.

A polarized supercell produces specialized metabolites in cannabis trichomes.

For centuries, humans have cultivated cannabis for the pharmacological properties that result from consuming its specialized metabolites, primarily cannabinoids and terpenoids. Today, cannabis is a multi-billion-dollar industry whose existence rests on the biological activity of tiny cell clusters, called glandular trichomes, found mainly on flowers. Cannabinoids are toxic to cannabis cells, and how the trichome cells can produce and secrete massive quantities of lipophilic metabolites is not known.

Cannabis Glandular Trichome Cell Walls Undergo Remodeling to Store Specialized Metabolites.

The valuable cannabinoid and terpenoid metabolites of Cannabis sativa L. are produced by floral glandular trichomes. The trichomes consist of secretory disk cells, which produce the abundant lipidic metabolites, and an extracellular storage cavity.

Evaluation of Patient Reported Safety and Efficacy of Cannabis From a Survey of Medical Cannabis Patients in Canada.

With the medical use of cannabis permitted in Canada since 2001, patients seek to use this botanical drug to treat a range of medical conditions. However, many healthcare practitioners express the need for further scientific evidence around the use of medical cannabis. This real-world evidence study aimed to address the paucity of scientific data by surveying newly registered medical cannabis patients, before beginning medical cannabis treatment, and at one follow up 6 weeks after beginning medical cannabis treatment.

Three novel transcription factors involved in cannabinoid biosynthesis in Cannabis sativa L.

Three novel transcription factors were successfully identified and shown to interact with the trichome-specific THCAS promoter regulatory region. Cannabinoids are important secondary metabolites present in Cannabis sativa L. (cannabis).

3D Bone Morphology Alters Gene Expression, Motility, and Drug Responses in Bone Metastatic Tumor Cells.

Patients with advanced skeletal metastases arising from primary cancers including breast, lung, and prostate suffer from extreme pain, bone loss, and frequent fractures. While the importance of interactions between bone and tumors is well-established, our understanding of complex cell-cell and cell-microenvironment interactions remains limited in part due to a lack of appropriate 3D bone models. To improve our understanding of the influence of bone morphometric properties on the regulation of tumor-induced bone disease (TIBD), we utilized bone-like 3D scaffolds in vitro and in vivo.

Terpene Synthases and Terpene Variation in .

Cannabis () resin is the foundation of a multibillion dollar medicinal and recreational plant bioproducts industry. Major components of the cannabis resin are the cannabinoids and terpenes. Variations of cannabis terpene profiles contribute much to the different flavor and fragrance phenotypes that affect consumer preferences.

Contributions of native forest protection to local water supplies in East Maui.

Tropical forests provide a suite of benefits including biodiversity, cultural value, and a range of ecosystem services. Globally, there is increasing interest in incentivizing native forest protection as a multi-benefit natural infrastructure strategy to secure clean and ample water supplies. In addition to conversion to agriculture and other non-forest land uses, non-native species invasion represents a major threat to these systems, particularly on islands.

Cannabis glandular trichomes alter morphology and metabolite content during flower maturation.

The cannabis leaf is iconic, but it is the flowers of cannabis that are consumed for the psychoactive and medicinal effects of their specialized metabolites. Cannabinoid metabolites, together with terpenes, are produced in glandular trichomes. Superficially, stalked and sessile trichomes in cannabis only differ in size and whether they have a stalk.

A physical and genetic map of identifies extensive rearrangements at the loci.

is widely cultivated for medicinal, food, industrial, and recreational use, but much remains unknown regarding its genetics, including the molecular determinants of cannabinoid content. Here, we describe a combined physical and genetic map derived from a cross between the drug-type strain Purple Kush and the hemp variety "Finola." The map reveals that cannabinoid biosynthesis genes are generally unlinked but that aromatic prenyltransferase (), which produces the substrate for THCA and CBDA synthases (THCAS and CBDAS), is tightly linked to a known marker for total cannabinoid content.

Stormwater management in nutrient-sensitive watersheds: a case study investigating impervious cover limits and pollutant-load regulations.

The objective of this research project was to compare two stormwater management strategies within a nutrient-sensitive watershed: impervious cover limits versus pollutant-load regulations. A case study was conducted in the nutrient-sensitive Falls Lake watershed in North Carolina, USA, where a commercial fitness complex was constructed in a zone previously restricted to low-density housing. The Falls Lake watershed has a stormwater regulation that limits total nitrogen and total phosphorus export loads to 2.

High performance modelling of the transport of energetic particles for photon radiotherapy.

This work consists of the validation of a new Grid Based Boltzmann Solver (GBBS) conceived for the description of the transport and energy deposition by energetic particles for radiotherapy purposes. The entropic closure and a compact mathematical formulation allow our code (M1) to calculate the delivered dose with an accuracy comparable to the Monte-Carlo (MC) codes with a computational time that is reduced to the order of few minutes without any special processing power requirement. A validation protocol with heterogeneity inserts has been defined for different photon sources.

Terpene synthases from Cannabis sativa.

Cannabis (Cannabis sativa) plants produce and accumulate a terpene-rich resin in glandular trichomes, which are abundant on the surface of the female inflorescence. Bouquets of different monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes are important components of cannabis resin as they define some of the unique organoleptic properties and may also influence medicinal qualities of different cannabis strains and varieties. Transcriptome analysis of trichomes of the cannabis hemp variety 'Finola' revealed sequences of all stages of terpene biosynthesis.

Characterization of Triticum aestivum Abscisic Acid Receptors and a Possible Role for These in Mediating Fusairum Head Blight Susceptibility in Wheat.

Abscisic acid (ABA) is a well-characterized plant hormone, known to mediate developmental aspects as well as both abiotic and biotic stress responses. Notably, the exogenous application of ABA has recently been shown to increase susceptibility to the fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum, the causative agent of Fusarium head blight (FHB) in wheat and other cereals. However roles and mechanisms associated with ABA's modulation of pathogen responses remain enigmatic.

The Genetic Structure of Marijuana and Hemp.

Despite its cultivation as a source of food, fibre and medicine, and its global status as the most used illicit drug, the genus Cannabis has an inconclusive taxonomic organization and evolutionary history. Drug types of Cannabis (marijuana), which contain high amounts of the psychoactive cannabinoid Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), are used for medical purposes and as a recreational drug. Hemp types are grown for the production of seed and fibre, and contain low amounts of THC.

Altering adsorbed proteins or cellular gene expression in bone-metastatic cancer cells affects PTHrP and Gli2 without altering cell growth.

The contents of this data in brief are related to the article titled "Matrix Rigidity Regulates the Transition of Tumor Cells to a Bone-Destructive Phenotype through Integrin β3 and TGF-β Receptor Type II". In this DIB we will present our supplemental data investigating Integrin expression, attachment of cells to various adhesion molecules, and changes in gene expression in multiple cancer cell lines. Since the interactions of Integrins with adsorbed matrix proteins are thought to affect the ability of cancer cells to interact with their underlying substrates, we examined the expression of Integrin β1, β3, and β5 in response to matrix rigidity.

Fabrication of 3D Scaffolds with Precisely Controlled Substrate Modulus and Pore Size by Templated-Fused Deposition Modeling to Direct Osteogenic Differentiation.

Scaffolds with tunable mechanical and topological properties fabricated by templated-fused deposition modeling promote increased osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow stem cells with increasing substrate modulus and decreasing pore size. These findings guide the rational design of cell-responsive scaffolds that recapitulate the bone microenvironment for repair of bone damaged by trauma or disease.

Matrix rigidity regulates the transition of tumor cells to a bone-destructive phenotype through integrin β3 and TGF-β receptor type II.

Cancer patients frequently develop skeletal metastases that significantly impact quality of life. Since bone metastases remain incurable, a clearer understanding of molecular mechanisms regulating skeletal metastases is required to develop new therapeutics that block establishment of tumors in bone. While many studies have suggested that the microenvironment contributes to bone metastases, the factors mediating tumors to progress from a quiescent to a bone-destructive state remain unclear.

Separation of isomeric short-chain acyl-CoAs in plant matrices using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry.

Acyl coenzyme A (acyl-CoA) thioesters are important intermediates in cellular metabolism and being able to distinguish among them is critical to fully understanding metabolic pathways in plants. Although significant advances have been made in the identification and quantification of acyl-CoAs using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), separation of isomeric species such as isobutyryl- and n-butyrl-CoA has remained elusive. Here we report an ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)-MS/MS method for quantifying short-chain acyl-CoAs including isomeric species n-butyryl-CoA and isobutyryl-CoA as well as n-valeryl-CoA and isovaleryl-CoA.

Wnt signaling induces gene expression of factors associated with bone destruction in lung and breast cancer.

Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) is an important regulator of bone destruction in bone metastatic tumors. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) stimulates PTHrP production in part through the transcription factor Gli2, which is regulated independent of the Hedgehog signaling pathway in osteolytic cancer cells. However, inhibition of TGF-β in vivo does not fully inhibit tumor growth in bone or tumor-induced bone destruction, suggesting other pathways are involved.

Cell protective, ABC triblock polymer-based thermoresponsive hydrogels with ROS-triggered degradation and drug release.

A combination of anionic and RAFT polymerization was used to synthesize an ABC triblock polymer poly[(propylenesulfide)-block-(N,N-dimethylacrylamide)-block-(N-isopropylacrylamide)] (PPS-b-PDMA-b-PNIPAAM) that forms physically cross-linked hydrogels when transitioned from ambient to physiologic temperature and that incorporates mechanisms for reactive oxygen species (ROS) triggered degradation and drug release. At ambient temperature (25 °C), PPS-b-PDMA-b-PNIPAAM assembled into 66 ± 32 nm micelles comprising a hydrophobic PPS core and PNIPAAM on the outer corona. Upon heating to physiologic temperature (37 °C), which exceeds the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of PNIPAAM, micelle solutions (at ≥2.

A porous tissue engineering scaffold selectively degraded by cell-generated reactive oxygen species.

Biodegradable tissue engineering scaffolds are commonly fabricated from poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) or similar polyesters that degrade by hydrolysis. PLGA hydrolysis generates acidic breakdown products that trigger an accelerated, autocatalytic degradation mechanism that can create mismatched rates of biomaterial breakdown and tissue formation. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are key mediators of cell function in both health and disease, especially at sites of inflammation and tissue healing, and induction of inflammation and ROS are natural components of the in vivo response to biomaterial implantation.