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These results indicate that biomass pretreatment using niobium derivates prior fast pyrolysis can be a promising technique for biomass thermochemical conversion in LGA and others important pyrolytic products.A large amount of spent bleaching earth (SBE) solid waste is generated by the vegetable oil refining industry. This spent bleaching earth contains entrapped crude oil and in most cases, it is disposed of in its pristine state, which is considered an environmental hazard. In this work, the regeneration of SBE by pyrolysis or solvent extraction, and the conversion of the recovered entrapped vegetable oil to biodiesel are investigated. The entrapped oil was extracted using n-hexane, methanol or steam as solvents, and the SBE was regenerated by pyrolysis under inert environment of Nitrogen at 450 °C, 550 °C and 650 °C. After oil extraction, the regenerated bleaching earth (RBE) was activated and employed in virgin vegetable oil bleaching. Peroxide activated samples of methanol-extracted and pyrolyzed regenerated bleaching earth at 450 °C and 650 °C exhibit superior bleaching property; demonstrating that the SBE could be regenerated to have superior bleaching capacity over fresh bleaching earth. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis of the SBE show that methanol extracted 23.5% out of the 35% residual oil (i.e. 67% efficiency) compared to 15.7% (i.e. 45% efficiency) by n-hexane, while pyrolysis extracted 33% out of the 35% residual oil (i.e. 95% efficiency). GC-MS analysis of the produced biodiesel shows that the n-hexane extracted oil produces more fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). Therefore, the choice of solvent depends on the intended application; as methanol regenerates the SBE better while retaining its adsorptive properties, while n-hexane gives a better biodiesel yield.With the widespread use of plastics and nanotechnology products, nanoplastics (NPs) have become a potential threat to human health. It is of great practical significance to study and evaluate the distribution of NPs in mice as mammal models and their entry, transport, and cytotoxicity in human cell lines. In this study, we detected the tissue distribution of fluorescent polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) in mice and assessed their endocytosis, transport pathways, and cytotoxic effects in GES-1 cells. We found that PS-NPs were clearly visible in gastric, intestine, and liver tissues of mice and in GES-1 cells treated with PS-NPs. Entry of PS-NPs into GES-1 cells decreased with the inhibition of caveolae-mediated endocytosis (nystatin), clathrin-mediated endocytosis (chlorpromazine HCl), micropinocytosis (ethyl-isopropyl amiloride), RhoA (CCG-1423), and F-actin polymerization (lantrunculin A). Rac1 inhibitors (NSC 23766) had no significant effect on PS-NPs entering GES-1 cells. F-actin levels significantly decreased in CCG-1423-pretreated GES-1 cells exposed to PS-NPs. GES-1 cell ultrastructural features indicated that internalized PS-NPs can be encapsulated in vesicles, autophagosomes, lysosomes, and lysosomal residues. RhoA, F-actin, RAB7, and LAMP1 levels in PS-NPs-treated GES-1 cells were remarkably up-regulated and the Rab5 level was significantly down-regulated compared to levels in untreated cells. PS-NPs treatment decreased cell proliferation rates and increased cell apoptosis. The formation of autophagosomes and autolysosomes and levels of LC3II increased with the length of PS-NPs treatment. The results indicated that cells regulated endocytosis in response to PS-NPs through the RhoA/F-actin signaling pathway and internalized PS-NPs in the cytoplasm, autophagosomes, or lysosomes produced cytotoxicity. These results illustrate the potential threat of NPs pollution to human health.Cadmium (Cd) is a widely distributed heavy metal in south of China. Growing evidence indicates that systemic exposure to Cd, particularly the long-term exposure, may cause neurotoxic effects. Nevertheless, mechanisms underlying Cd neurotoxicity remain not completely understood. In this report, we investigated the neural alterations in the spider Pardosa pseudoannulata (Bösenberg and Strand, 1906) exposed to long-term Cd (LCd) and short-term Cd (SCd) pressure. Cd stress lowered foraging ability and prey consuming time in the spiders. In addition, enzymatic analysis results indicated that Cd exposure reduced the level of acetylcholinesterase at subcellular level. We then identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the Cd exposed spiders using pairwise comparisons and found that a large number of DEGs were related to neurotransmitter receptors and ion transport and binding proteins. Notably, LCd exposure harbored more altered genes in ion transporter activity comparing with SCd exposure. From six K-means clusters, 53 putative transcriptional factors (TFs) belonging to 21 families were characterized, and ZBTB subfamily displayed the most distinctive alterations in the characterized genes, which is assumed to play a key role in the regulation of ion transmembrane process under Cd stress. A protein-to-protein interaction network constructed by the yielded DEGs also showed that ion and receptor binding activities were affected under long-term Cd exposure. Four key modules from the network indicated that Cd may further down-regulate energy metabolism pathway in spiders. Collectively, this comprehensive analysis provides multi-dimensional insights to understand the molecular response of spiders to Cd exposure.Lead (Pb) is an environmental pollutant that negatively affects rice plants, causing damage to the root system and chloroplast structures, as well as reducing growth. 24-Epibrasnolide (EBR) is a plant growth regulator with a high capacity to modulate antioxidant metabolism. The objective of this research was to investigate whether exogenous EBR application can mitigate oxidative damage in Pb-stressed rice plants, measure anatomical structures and evaluate physiological and biochemical responses connected with redox metabolism. The experiment was randomized with four treatments, including two lead treatments (0 and 200 μM PbCl2, described as - Pb and + Pb, respectively) and two treatments with brassinosteroid (0 and 100 nM EBR, described as - EBR and + EBR, respectively). The results revealed that plants exposed to Pb suffered significant disturbances, but the EBR alleviated the negative interferences, as confirmed by the improvements in the root structures and antioxidant system. Selleckchem Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester This steroid stimulated the root structures, increasing the epidermis thickness (26%) and aerenchyma area (50%), resulting in higher protection of this tissue against Pb2+ ions.