Removal of emerging pollutants from the environment: From bioadsorbents to nanoparticle-based systems.

In the Call for Papers corresponding to this Virtual Special Issue (VSI), the Editors indicated that, as is well known, emerging pollutants include a variety of substances that pose remarkable risks for the environment and public health. In fact, emerging pollutants are considered a matter of concern deserving increasing efforts to elucidate their occurrence, fate, repercussions, and alternatives to their removal from the various environmental compartments where they can be found after spreading as contaminants. Also, the Editors commented that, among the various alternatives that can be considered for achieving their successful removal, some of them are based on the use of sorbent materials, and, specifically, bioadsorbents, which are attractive due to the efficacy and low cost associated with some of them.

Response of soil fertility to 25 years of experimental acidification in a temperate hardwood forest.

The effects of enhanced acid deposition from the atmosphere, and associated elevated inputs of N, are widely evident, especially for forests where excess N has led to a variety of deleterious effects. These include declines in biodiversity, a response that will likely require considerable time for recovery. The purpose of this study was to determine responses of plant nutrient availability in surface mineral soil to 25 yr of experimental acidification and N addition in a central Appalachian hardwood forest ecosystem.

Elemental composition and moisture prediction in manure by portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy using random forest regression.

Manure elemental composition determination is essential to develop farm nutrient budgets and assess environmental risk. Portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) spectrometers could facilitate hazardous waste-free, rapid, and cost-effective elemental concentration determinations. However, sample moisture is a problem for elemental concentration determination by X-ray methods.

Synthesis and direct comparison of the anticancer activities of phomopsolides D and E and two 7-oxa-/7-aza-analogues.

The synthesis of two stable phomopsolide natural products (D and E) and two analogues is presented. The cytotoxicities of these four compounds are surveyed and compared across a panel of NCI-cancer cell lines. This analysis found moderate cytotoxicities (2-50 μM) for the majority of the cell lines with phomopsolide D being more active than phomopsolide E and the 7-oxa analogue being commensurately more active than the 7-aza analogue.

Nutritional Quality and Physical Characteristics of Soluble Proteins Recovered from Silver Carp.

Unlabelled: The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritional quality and physical characteristics of soluble proteins separated from silver carp at 4, 20, and 40 °C. Ground silver carp was diluted, and soluble proteins were separated by centrifugation and dried. The proximate composition (dry wt) of the protein powders averaged 82.

Assessing Work-Related Risk Factors on Low Back Disorders among Roofing Workers.

Roofers have long suffered from low back disorders (LBDs), which are a primary nonfatal injury in construction. Ergonomic studies have identified several risk factors associated with LBDs in workplaces and developed biomechanical models for general LBD risk assessments. However, these models cannot be directly used for assessments in roof workplaces because they are designed for general tasks without considering roofers' posture variance and effects of working on slanted roof surfaces.

Effect of Hops Beta Acids on the Survival of Unstressed- or Acid-Stress-Adapted-Listeria Monocytogenes and on the Quality and Sensory Attributes of Commercially Cured Ham Slices.

This study evaluated the antilisterial activity of hops beta acids (HBA) and their impact on the quality and sensory attributes of ham. Commercially cured ham slices were inoculated with unstressed- and acid-stress-adapted (ASA)-L. monocytogenes (2.

CYP-epoxygenases contribute to A2A receptor-mediated aortic relaxation via sarcolemmal KATP channels.

Previously, we have shown that A(2A) adenosine receptor (A(2A)AR) mediates aortic relaxation via cytochrome P-450 (CYP)-epoxygenases. However, the signaling mechanism is not understood properly. We hypothesized that ATP-sensitive K(+) (K(ATP)) channels play an important role in A(2A)AR-mediated relaxation.

Effect of dietary vitamin E supplementation and refrigerated storage on quality of rainbow trout fillets.

Rainbow trout were fed a low vitamin E (200 mg/kg; LVE) or a high vitamin E (5000 mg/kg; HVE) diet for 9 wk to characterize the effect of vitamin E supplementation at 5000 mg/kg on fillet quality. Fish were sampled at 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 9 wk of the trial. Fillets were stored at 2 °C for 0, 7, and 14 d, and analyzed for pH, psychrotrophic counts, color, cook yield, shear force, crude fat and moisture content, α-tocopherol, fatty acid composition, and lipid oxidation.

Role of ω-hydroxylase in adenosine-mediated aortic response through MAP kinase using A2A-receptor knockout mice.

Previously, we have shown that A(2A) adenosine receptor (A(2A)AR) knockout mice (KO) have increased contraction to adenosine. The signaling mechanism(s) for A(2A)AR is still not fully understood. In this study, we hypothesize that, in the absence of A(2A)AR, ω-hydroxylase (Cyp4a) induces vasoconstriction through mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) via upregulation of adenosine A(1) receptor (A(1)AR) and protein kinase C (PKC).

Changes in eNOS phosphorylation contribute to increased arteriolar NO release during juvenile growth.

Nitric oxide (NO) mediates a major portion of arteriolar endothelium-dependent dilation in adults, but indirect evidence has suggested that NO contributes minimally to these responses in the young. Isolated segments of arterioles were studied in vitro to verify this age-related increase in NO release and investigate the mechanism by which it occurs. Directly measured NO release induced by ACh or the Ca(2+) ionophore A-23187 was five- to sixfold higher in gracilis muscle arterioles from 42- to 46-day-old (juvenile) rats than in those from 25- to 28-day-old (weanling) rats.

Early postnatal exposure of mice to side-steam tobacco smoke increases neuropeptide Y in lung.

Our recent study showed that prenatal and early postnatal exposure of mice to side-steam tobacco smoke (SS), a surrogate to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), leads to increased airway responsiveness and sensory innervation later in life. However, the underlying mechanism initiated in early life that affects airway responses later in life remains undefined. The concomitant increase in nerve growth factor (NGF) after exposures suggests that NGF may be involved the regulation of airway innervation.

The effect of using citric or acetic acid on survival of Listeria monocytogenes during fish protein recovery by isoelectric solubilization and precipitation process.

Isoelectric solubilization and precipitation (ISP) is a protein recovery process effective at reducing Listeria innocua, a nonpathogenic bacterium typically used as a surrogate for L. monocytogenes in recovered trout protein. The response of L.

Characteristics of Kcnn4 channels in the apical membranes of an intestinal epithelial cell line.

Intermediate-conductance K(+) (Kcnn4) channels in the apical and basolateral membranes of epithelial cells play important roles in agonist-induced fluid secretion in intestine and colon. Basolateral Kcnn4 channels have been well characterized in situ using patch-clamp methods, but the investigation of Kcnn4 channels in apical membranes in situ has been hampered by a layer of mucus that prevents seal formation. In the present study, we used patch-clamp methods to characterize Kcnn4 channels in the apical membrane of IEC-18 cells, a cell line derived from rat small intestine.

Spatial heterogeneity in skeletal muscle microvascular blood flow distribution is increased in the metabolic syndrome.

Previous studies have demonstrated that the metabolic syndrome is associated with impaired skeletal muscle arteriolar function, although integrating observations into a conceptual framework for impaired perfusion in peripheral vascular disease (PVD) has been limited. This study builds on previous work to evaluate in situ arteriolar hemodynamics in cremaster muscle of obese Zucker rats (OZR) to integrate existing knowledge into a greater understanding of impaired skeletal muscle perfusion. In OZR cremaster muscle, perfusion distribution at microvascular bifurcations (γ) was consistently more heterogeneous than in controls.

Improved measurements of intracellular nitric oxide in intact microvessels using 4,5-diaminofluorescein diacetate.

4,5-Diaminofluorescein diacetate (DAF-2 DA) has been widely used for the measurement of nitric oxide (NO) in living cells and tissues. We previously established a method that demonstrated platelet activating factor (PAF)-induced endothelial NO production in intact venules using DAF-2 DA. In previous applications, the loading dye was removed from the extracellular space before NO measurements.

Relating instrumental texture, determined by variable-blade and Allo-Kramer shear attachments, to sensory analysis of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, fillets.

Unlabelled: Texture is one of the most important quality attributes of fish fillets, and accurate assessment of variation in this attribute, as affected by storage and handling, is critical in providing consistent quality product. Trout fillets received 4 treatments: 3-d refrigeration (R3), 7-d refrigeration (R7), 3-d refrigeration followed by 30-d frozen storage (R3F30), and 7-d refrigeration followed by 30-d frozen storage (R7F30). Instrumental texture of raw and cooked fillets was determined by 3 approaches: 5-blade Allo-Kramer (AK) and variable-blade (VB) attachment with 12 blades arranged in perpendicular (PER) and parallel (PAR) orientations to muscle fibers.

Recovery of Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium and Tennessee in peanut butter after electron beam exposure.

Unlabelled: The effect of electron beam (e-beam) radiation on the recovery of Salmonella serotypes Tennessee (ATCC 10722) and Typhimurium (ATCC 14028) in creamy peanut butter over a 14-d storage period at 22 °C was studied. Each Salmonella type was independently inoculated into peanut butter and subjected to e-beam doses that ranged from 0 to 3.1 kGy, confirmed by film dosimetry.

Reciprocal regulation of the primary sodium absorptive pathways in rat intestinal epithelial cells.

Sodium absorption in the mammalian small intestine occurs predominantly by two primary pathways that include Na/H exchange (NHE3) and Na-glucose cotransport (SGLT1) on the brush border membrane (BBM) of villus cells. However, whether NHE3 and SGLT1 function together to regulate intestinal sodium absorption is unknown. Nontransformed small intestinal epithelial cells (IEC-18) were transfected with either NHE3 or SGLT1 small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and were grown in confluent monolayers on transwell plates to measure the effects on Na absorption.

Mucosal potassium efflux mediated via Kcnn4 channels provides the driving force for electrogenic anion secretion in colon.

Intermediate conductance K(+) (Kcnn4) channels are present in both mucosal and serosal membranes of colon. However, only serosal Kcnn4 channels have been shown to be essential for agonist-induced (cAMP and Ca(2+)) anion secretion. The present study sought to determine whether mucosal Kcnn4 channels also play a role in colonic anion secretion.

Mitochondrial dysfunction in the type 2 diabetic heart is associated with alterations in spatially distinct mitochondrial proteomes.

Cardiac complications and heart failure are the leading cause of death in type 2 diabetic patients. Mitochondrial dysfunction is central in the pathogenesis of the type 2 diabetic heart. However, it is unclear whether this dysfunction is specific for a particular subcellular region.

Inactivation of L-type calcium channel modulated by HCN2 channel.

Ca(2+) entry is delicately controlled by inactivation of L-type calcium channel (LTCC) composed of the pore-forming subunit alpha1C and the auxiliary subunits beta1 and alpha2delta. Calmodulin is the key protein that interacts with the COOH-terminal motifs of alpha1C, leading to the fine control of LTCC inactivation. In this study we show evidence that a hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channel, HCN2, can act as a nonchannel regulatory protein to narrow the L-type Ca(2+) channel current-voltage curve.

Colonial foresters versus agriculturalists: the debate over climate change and cocoa production in the Gold Coast.

This article draws attention to the unfolding debate concerning forest cover loss, climatic change, and declining cocoa production in the Gold Coast (colonial Ghana) during the early twentieth century. It argues that, although desiccationist theory was prevalent, its acceptance among colonial authorities in the Gold Coast was far from hegemonic. There were important dissenting colonial voices, particularly among agriculturalists, who argued that declining cocoa yields were due to plant diseases, most notably cocoa swollen shoot disease.

Survival and growth of hardwoods in brown versus gray sandstone on a surface mine in West Virginia.

Surface mining in West Virginia removes the eastern deciduous forest and reclaiming the mined land to a productive forest must consider soil depth, soil physical and chemical properties, soil compaction, ground cover competition, and tree species selection. Our objective was to evaluate tree survival and growth in weathered brown sandstone and in unweathered gray sandstone. Brown and gray sandstone are often substituted when insufficient native topsoil is available for replacement.

Effects of highway construction on stream water quality and macroinvertebrate condition in a mid-atlantic highlands watershed, USA.

Refining best management practices (BMPs) for future highway construction depends on a comprehensive understanding of environmental impacts from current construction methods. Based on a before-after-control impact (BACI) experimental design, long-term stream monitoring (1997-2006) was conducted at upstream (as control, n = 3) and downstream (as impact, n = 6) sites in the Lost River watershed of the Mid-Atlantic Highlands region, West Virginia. Monitoring data were analyzed to assess impacts of during and after highway construction on 15 water quality parameters and macroinvertebrate condition using the West Virginia stream condition index (WVSCI).