Claytonengland0348

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been well-established to act as regulators and mediators of development and cell fate specification programs. LncRNA Mrhl (meiotic recombination hotspot locus) has been shown to act in a negative feedback loop with WNT signaling to regulate male germ cell meiotic commitment. In our current study, we have addressed the role of Mrhl in development and differentiation using mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) as our model system of study. Mrhl is a nuclear-localized, chromatin-bound lncRNA with moderately stable expression in mESCs. Transcriptome analyses and loss-of-function phenotype studies revealed dysregulation of developmental processes, lineage-specific transcription factors and key networks along with aberrance in specification of early lineages during differentiation of mESCs. Genome-wide chromatin occupancy studies suggest regulation of chromatin architecture at key target loci through triplex formation. Our studies thus reveal a role for lncRNA Mrhl in regulating differentiation programs in mESCs in the context of appropriate cues through chromatin-mediated responses.Heavy metal removal from water resources is essential for environmental protection and the production of safe drinking water. In this direction, Zinc doped Aluminium Oxide (ZnAl2O3) nanoparticles were incorporated into Polysulfone (PSf) to prepare mixed matrix membranes for the efficient removal of heavy metals from water. These ZnAl2O3 nanoparticles prepared by the solution combustion method have a very high surface area (261.44 m2/g) with an approximate size of 50 nm. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy analysis showed that the Al and Zn were in +3 and + 2 oxidation states, respectively. Cross-sectional Scanning Electron Microscopy images revealed the finger-like morphology and porous nature of the membranes. In this study, the optimum loading amount of ZnAl2O3 nanoparticles was determined. Synthesized membranes showed enhanced hydrophilicity, surface charge, and porosity, which enabled the removal of arsenic and lead with efficiencies of 87% and 98%, respectively. A study of the antifouling properties carried out at various pressures with a feed solution containing Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) showed 98.4% of flux recovery ratio and reusability up to three continuous cycles. Moreover, this work demonstrates a rational design of novel mixed matrix membranes exhibiting characteristics of hydrophilicity, surface charge, and porosity adequate to realize the efficient removal of heavy metals.Porous media are widely adopted as immobilization sorbents in environmental engineering. The microscale difference in pore structure formation causes significant deflection in a vast landscape. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) offers a comparative approach to evaluate the individual influence from pore structure formation with strictly controlled surface and volume properties. This paper presents a comprehensive comparison between the performance of cylindrical media and spherical-media in heavy metal immobilization. read more Digital testing was performed to measure the surface area, specific surface area, density and porosity. Image-based input technique was developed to reconstruct the cylindrical media. It was found that although the surface area, specific surface area and porosity were the same, the spherical media still had an accelerated immobilization rate. Results further showed that the spherical media in floatation arrangement had an immobilization rate of 16% higher than the cylindrical media with the same surface properties. Non-floatation arrangement of the spherical media caused a reduction in immobilization capacity up to 32.8% lower than the cylindrical media. The cylindrical media demonstrated an advantage of being structurally stable under high porosity, the latter of which resulted in an increased immobilization capacity compared with the spherical-media. The results suggest that the cylindrical bio-microstructure is desirable for heavy metal immobilization in a non-flotational environment. The computational approach provides a digital solution to evaluate the immobilization in 3D architected media. The proposed testing methods are feasible for both experimentally obtained images and structures from algorithm-generation.Triphenyl phosphate (TPP) is a frequently used aryl organophosphate flame retardant. Epidemiological studies have shown that TPP and its metabolite diphenyl phosphate (DPP) can accumulate in the placenta, and positively correlated with abnormal birth outcomes. TPP can disturb placental hormone secretion through the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) pathway. However, the extent and mechanism of placental toxicity mediation by TPP remains unknown. In this study, we used JEG-3 cells to investigate the role of PPARγ-regulated lipid metabolism in TPP-mediated placental toxicity. The results of lipidomic analysis showed that TPP increased the production of triglycerides (TG), fatty acids (FAs), and phosphatidic acid (PA), but decreased the levels of phosphatidylethanol (PE), phosphatidylserine (PS), and sphingomyelin (SM). TG accumulation was accompanied by increased levels of sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 1 (SREBP1), acetyl-coA carboxylase (ACC), and fatty acid transport protein (CD36). Although PPARγ and its target CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins (C/EBPα) was decreased, the TG content and gene expression of SREBP1, ACC, and CD36 decreased when TPP was co-exposed to the PPARγ antagonist GW9662. TPP also induced inflammatory responses, endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS), and cell apoptosis. Expression of genes related to ERS and apoptosis were attenuated by GW9662. Together, these results show that TPP can disturb lipid metabolism and cause lipid accumulation through PPARγ, induce ERS, and cell apoptosis. Our findings reveal that the developmental toxicity of TPP through placental toxicity should not be ignored.The Zn/Fe-modified biochar on nitrobenzene (NB) removal during the electrolysis was investigated in this study. Both the Fe and Zn-modified biochar enhanced the NB adsorption compared with the un-modified biochar due to their greater specific surface area and more abundant surface function groups, respectively. The electrolysis under 2-11 V with the assist of both Fe/Zn-modified biochar achieved effective NB removal (>93%). The removal rate under 2 V using Zn/Fe-modified biochar (∼94%) was higher than that of the un-modified biochar (∼80%), whereas the removal was similar for those under 5, 8 and 11 V. The NB removal under 2 and 5 V was attributed to both adsorption and electrochemical decomposition of NB molecules. Electrolysis under 5 V by Fe-modified biochar had a higher degree of NB mineralisation than that using un-modified and Zn-modified biochar. This was likely that the Fe-modified biochar exhibited higher electrocatalytic properties, facilitating the further NB mineralisation. The ∙OH played significant roles in the degradation of NB by Fe-modified and un-modified biochar but did not significantly participated for the test using Zn-modified biochar.