Removal of Vanadium(III) and Molybdenum(V) from Wastewater Using Posidonia oceanica (Tracheophyta) Biomass

The use of dried and re-hydrated biomass of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica was investigated as an alternative and –low-cost biomaterial for removal of vanadium(III) and molybdenum(V) from wastewaters. Initial characterisation of this biomaterial identified carboxylic groups on the cuticle as potentially responsible for cation sorption, and confirmed the toxic-metal bioaccumulation. The combined effects on biosorption performance of equilibrium pH and metal concentrations were investigated in an ideal single-metal system and in more real-life multicomponent systems. There were either with one metal (vanadium or molybdenum) and sodium nitrate, as representative of high ionic strength systems, or with the two metals (vanadium and molybdenum). For the single-metal solutions, the optimum was at pH 3, where a significant proportion of vanadium was removed (ca. 70%) while there was ca. 40% adsorption of molybdenum. The data obtained from the more real-life multicomponent systems showed that biosorption of one metal was improved both by the presence of the other metal and by high ionic strength, suggesting a synergistic effect on biosorption rather than competition. There data ware used for the development of a simple multi-metal equilibrium model based on the non-competitive Langmuir approach, which was successfully fitted to experimental data and represents a useful support tool for the prediction of biosorption performance in such real-life systems. Overall, the results suggest that biomass of P. oceanica can be used as an efficient biosorbent for removal of vanadium(III) and molybdenum(V) from aqueous solutions. This process thus offers an eco-compatible solution for the reuse of the waste material of leaves that accumulate on the beach due to both human activities and to storms at sea.     

Opposite Roles of NMDA Receptors in Relapsing and Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis

Synaptic transmission and plasticity mediated by NMDA receptors (NMDARs) could modulate the severity of multiple sclerosis (MS). Here the role of NMDARs in MS was first explored in 691 subjects carrying specific allelic variants of the NR1 subunit gene or of the NR2B subunit gene of this glutamate receptor. The analysis was replicated for significant SNPs in an independent sample of 1548 MS subjects. The C allele of rs4880213 was found to be associated with reduced NMDAR-mediated cortical excitability, and with increased probability of having more disability than the CT/TT MS subjects. MS severity was higher in the CC group among relapsing-remitting MS (RR-MS) patients, while primary progressive MS (PP-MS) subjects homozygous for the T allele had more pronounced clinical worsening. Mean time to first relapse, but not to an active MRI scan, was lower in the CC group of RR-MS patients, and the number of subjects with two or more clinical relapses in the first two years of the disease was higher in CC compared to CT/TT group. Furthermore, the percentage of relapses associated with residual disability was lower in subjects carrying the T allele. Lesion load at the MRI was conversely unaffected by the C or T allele of this SNP in RR-MS patients. Axonal and neuronal degeneration at the optical coherence tomography was more severe in the TT group of PP-MS patients, while reduced retinal nerve fiber thickness had less consequences on visual acuity in RR-MS patients bearing the T allele. Finally, the T allele was associated with preserved cognitive abilities at the Rao’s brief repeatable neuropsychological battery in RR-MS. Signaling through glutamate NMDARs enhances both compensatory synaptic plasticity and excitotoxic neurodegeneration, impacting in opposite ways on RR-MS and PP-MS pathophysiological mechanisms.     

Age and sex differences in numerical responses,dietary shifts,and total responses of a generalist predator to population dynamics of main prey

Oecologia - Fluctuations in the abundance of main prey species might shape animal communities, by inducing numerical responses and dietary shifts in predators. Whether numerical responses and...     

Characterization of the first eukaryotic cold-adapted patatin-like phospholipase from the psychrophilic Euplotes focardii: Identification of putative determinants of thermal-adaptation by comparison with the homologous protein from the mesophilic Euplotes crassus

The ciliated protozoon Euplotes focardii, originally isolated from the coastal seawaters of Terra Nova Bay in Antarctica, shows a strictly psychrophilic phenotype, including optimal survival and multiplication rates at 4–5 °C. This characteristic makes E. focardii an ideal model species for identifying the molecular bases of cold adaptation in psychrophilic organisms, as well as a suitable source of novel cold-active enzymes for industrial applications. In the current study, we characterized the patatin-like phospholipase from E. focardii (EfPLP), and its enzymatic activity was compared to that of the homologous protein from the mesophilic congeneric species Euplotes crassus (EcPLP). Both EfPLP and EcPLP have consensus motifs conserved in other patatin-like phospholipases.     

Microcolonial Fungi on Rocks: A Life in Constant Drought?

Black microcolonial fungi (MCF) and black yeasts are among the most stress-resistant eukaryotic organisms known on Earth. They mainly inhabit bare rock surfaces in hot and cold deserts of all regions of the Earth, but some of them have a close phylogenetic relation to human pathogenic black fungi which makes them important model organisms also with respect to clinical mycology. The environment of those fungi is especially characterized by extreme changes from humidity to long periods of desiccation and extreme temperature differences. A key to the understanding of MCF ecology is the question about metabolic activity versus dormancy in the natural environments. In this study, the time lag from the desiccated state to rehydration and full metabolic activity and growth was measured and defined in accordance with simulated environmental conditions. The ability to survive after desiccation and the speed of rehydration as well as changes of the whole cell protein pattern are demonstrated. Whereas both mesophilic strains—Exophiala jeanselmei and Knufia perforans (=Coniosporium perforans)—show a clear reaction toward desiccation by production of small proteins, Cryomyces antarcticus—the extremotolerant MCF—does not show any response to desiccation but seems just to down-regulate its metabolism. Data on intracellular sugar suggest that both trehalose and mannitol might play a cell protective role in those fungi.