Accumulation and Distribution of Rare Earth Elements (REEs) and Non-REEs With Vetiver Grass in The Abandoned Ion-Absorbed Rare Earth Mine

Overexploitation of rare earth elements (REEs) has caused serious desertification and environmental pollution, and ecological restoration of mines has attracted increasing national attention. In this paper, experiments involved land plowing, organic fertilizer broadcasting and vetiver cultivation were carried out to repair abandoned ion-absorbed rare earth mines (REM). Toxic metals content and pH in mining soil, distribution and transportation of toxic metals in the soil – vetiver grass system were investigated in detail.Results revealed that the abandoned REM soil was weakly acidic (pH=4.09) and rich in various toxic metals composed of REEs (La, Ce, Nd, Y, Gd, Dy) of 657.57mg/kg and Non-REEs (Pb, Cu, Se, As, Cd) of 109.98mg/kg. The distribution pattern in vetiver grass illustrated that toxic metals accumulation was mainly concentrated in the roots instead of shoot, and then the cumulative concentration of REEs in roots were much greater than that of Non-REEs. Furthermore, vetiver grass exhibited preferential accumulation of Cd, Se and REEs during the absorption process (from soil to root) and preferential accumulation of Pb, Cu and As during the translocation process (from root to leaf). The adsorption behavior of toxic metals by vetiver was confirmed due to these observed irregular particles in the scanning electron microscopy.

Nitroxide-functional PEGylated nanostars arrest cellular oxidative stress and exhibit preferential accumulation in co-cultured breast cancer cells

Conjugation to nanostars enhances the biological performance of TEMPO.

Molecular signature of slowly expanding lesions in progressive multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is an immune-mediated chronic inflammatory disease of the CNS that leads to demyelinated lesions in the grey and white matter. Inflammatory, active demyelinating white matter lesions predominate in the relapsing-remitting disease stages, whereas in the progressive stage the so-called slowly expanding lesion is characteristic. These lesions show an accumulation of macrophages/microglia at their borders, mediating the ongoing myelin breakdown and axonal degeneration. The exact pathogenetic mechanisms of lesion progression in chronic multiple sclerosis are still not clear. In the present study, we performed a detailed immunological and molecular profiling of slowly expanding lesions (n = 21) from 13 patients aged between 30 to 74 years (five females and eight males), focusing on macrophage/microglia differentiation. By applying the microglia-specific marker TMEM119, we demonstrate that cells accumulating at the lesion edge almost exclusively belonged to the microglia lineage. Macrophages/microglia can be subdivided into the M1 type, which are associated with inflammatory and degenerative processes, and M2 type, with protective properties, whereby also intermediate polarization phenotypes can be observed. By using a panel of markers characterizing M1- or M2-type macrophages/microglia, we observed a preferential accumulation of M1-type differentiated cells at the lesion edge, indicating a crucial role of these cells in lesion progression. Additionally, unbiased RNA microarray analyses of macrodissected lesion edges from slowly expanding and chronic inactive lesions as well as normal-appearing white matter were performed. In slowly expanding lesions, we identified a total of 165 genes that were upregulated and 35 genes that were downregulated. The upregulated genes included macrophage/microglia-associated genes involved in immune defence and inflammatory processes. Among the upregulated genes were ALOX15B, MME and TNFRSF25. We confirmed increased expression of ALOX15B by quantitative PCR, and of all three genes on the protein level by immunohistochemistry. In conclusion, the present study characterized in detail slowly expanding lesions in progressive multiple sclerosis and demonstrated a preferential accumulation of resident microglia with M1 differentiation at the lesion edge. Microarray analysis showed an increased expression of genes related to immune function, metabolic processes as well as transcription/translation. Thus, these genes may serve as future therapeutic targets to impede lesion progression.

Distribution and Behaviour of Some Trace Elements as a Function of Apple Varieties in Northeastern Romania

The levels and distribution of 9 trace elements in apples from two orchards in north-east (NE) Romania were measured by means of Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) on 42 samples of 9 different apple varieties, with average content ranges of 0.909–4.458 mg·kg−1 Zn, 0.055–0.409 mg·kg−1 Cu, 0.700–2.476 mg·kg−1 Fe, 0.328–0.695 mg·kg−1 Mn, 0.054–0.257 mg·kg−1 Ni, 0.005–0.101 mg·kg−1 Cr, 0.027–0.420 mg·kg−1 Co, 0.413–1.149 mg·kg−1 Pb, and 0.025–0.127 mg·kg−1 Cd. For some apple varieties, Pb contents are 2 times higher than the maximum contents allowed according to national standards, Cd contents are 6 times higher, and in some cases Zn contents also exceed the national threshold, showing preferential accumulation on specific apple varieties. Whilst some research has been carried out on trace element distribution in apples, this study assessed the areal distribution of toxic trace elements in connection to the adjacent roads. The first apple orchard is located near a county road, with reduced car traffic, while the second orchard shares its southern limit with a high-volume traffic road (E583). The results point towards a proportional increase of Pb and, to some extent, of Cd in the samples close to the E583 road in contrast with the other orchard, where no such observation derived. Along the areal distribution of the selected elements, the preferential accumulation of dietary recommended trace elements in different apple varieties was assessed. In matters of daily nutrients content in trace elements, the best sources of Fe, Cu, and Zn in terms of apple varieties are Golden Delicious, Jonathan, and Kaltherer Böhmer.

Photodynamic therapy enables tumor-specific ablation in preclinical models of thyroid cancer

The incidence of differentiated thyroid cancer has increased significantly during the last several decades. Surgical resection is the primary treatment for thyroid cancer and is highly effective, resulting in 5-year survival rates greater than 98%. However, surgical resection can result in short- and long-term treatment-related morbidities. Additionally, as this malignancy often affects women less than 40 years of age, there is interest in more conservative treatment approaches and, an unmet need for therapeutic options that minimize the risk of surgery-related morbidities while simultaneously providing an effective cancer treatment. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has the potential to reduce treatment-related side effects by decreasing invasiveness and limiting toxicity. Owing to multiple advantageous properties of the porphyrin-HDL nanoparticle (PLP) as a PDT agent, including preferential accumulation in tumor, biodegradability and unprecedented photosensitizer packing, we evaluate PLP-mediated PDT as a minimally invasive, tumor-specific treatment for thyroid cancer. On both a biologically relevant human papillary thyroid cancer (K1) mouse model and an anatomically relevant rabbit squamous carcinoma (VX2)-implanted rabbit thyroid model, the intrinsic fluorescence of PLP enabled tracking of tumor preferential accumulation and guided PDT. This resulted in significant and specific apoptosis in tumor tissue, but not surrounding normal tissues including trachea and recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN). A long-term survival study further demonstrated that PLP-PDT enabled complete ablation of tumor tissue while sparing both the normal thyroid tissue and RLN from damage, thus providing a safe, minimally invasive, and effective alternative to thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer therapies.