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One hundred fifty years ago, Friedrich Miescher discovered DNA when he isolated “Nuclein”—as he named it—from nuclei of human pus cells. Miescher recognized his isolate as a new type of molecule equal in importance to proteins. He realised that it is an acid of large molecular weight and high phosphorus content. Subsequently, he discovered Nuclein also in the nuclei of other cell types, realised that it chemically defines the nucleus, and speculated on its role in proliferation, heredity and fertilisation. While now universally recognised as the discoverer of DNA, whether Miescher also discovered RNA has not yet been addressed. To determine whether his isolation also yielded RNA, we first reproduced his historic protocols. Our resulting modern Nuclein contained a significant percentage of RNA. Encouraged by this result, we then analysed a sample of Nuclein isolated by Miescher from salmon sperm. Assuming that the RNA present in this sample had degraded to nucleobases, we tested for the presence of uracil in the historic Nuclein. Detection of significant levels of uracil by LC-UV-MS demonstrates that Miescher isolated both forms of nucleic acid—DNA and RNA—and underlines the fundamental nature of his discovery for the field of molecular genetics.

Steels alloyed with high phosphorus should be developed for those applications where both strength and corrosion resistance are required. Structural steels such as rebars are manufactured using high-temperature deformation. Hence, thermo-mechanical behaviour of Fe-0.13P-0.05C -0.015N steel is considered using high temperature compression experiments after austenitization at 1050 °C for 10 s. The temperatures selected were between 750 and 1050 °C and at intervals of 50 °C. The rates of strain varied from 0.001 to 10 s−1. Microstructural evolution was studied with the help of optical and scanning electron microscopy. Modified dynamic materials model is used to draw a processing map. The processing map helps in determining the domains which are safe for hot working. This alloy steel can be safely processed in the area confined by the rates of strain between 1 and 10 s−1 as well as the temperature interval of 900 to 1000 °C.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the tribology behavior of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) incorporated with three types of nickel–phosphorus (Ni-P) particles (i.e. low phosphorus [LP], medium phosphorus [MP] and high phosphorus [HP]) under dry sliding condition. Design/methodology/approach Ni-HP, Ni-MP and Ni-LP particles fabricated via an electroless plating process were incorporated into PTFE matrix with different additions to prepare Ni-P/PTFE composites (Ni-LP/PTFE, Ni-MP/PTFE and Ni-HP/PTFE). The tribology tests for these samples were carried out on a reciprocating ball-on-disc tribometer. The thermal stabilities, mechanical and tribological properties, morphologies and components of aforesaid Ni-P/PTFE composites were analyzed. Findings The marvelous effect of Ni-P incorporation on the simultaneous reduction in friction and wear of PTFE was corroborated. Originality/value Compared with that of pristine PTFE sample, the reduction on friction with a value of 27% and the reduction in wear about 94% for Ni-HP/PTFE composite is validated, which is probably related to the increased crystallinity and hardness due to the presence of Ni-P particles.

Cadmium is a heavy metal that is widely found in agricultural land because of the frequent use of inorganic phosphorus fertilizers. The use of high phosphorus inorganic fertilizers is also used by farmers who cultivate rice in Detusoko Barat Village. Therefore, research has been carried out with the aim of knowing the cadmium content in paddy soil and rice and its comparison with the minimum limit of cadmium in rice and soil. This research is survey research, in which the determination of soil and rice samples using a purposive sampling method. From this method, the soil samples taken are rice fields cultivating Palembang, Bengawan and Kental rice varieties. And the rice samples taken were rice from the three varieties. The variables observed were cadmium from the soil and rice and soil pH. The results showed that the cadmium content in Palembang rice soil was 0.015 ppm, Bengawan 0.006 ppm, and thick 0.001 ppm, while the results of the research on cadmium content in Palembang rice were 0.007 ppm, Bengawan rice was 0.008 ppm, and thick rice was 0.006 ppm. Where the cadmium content in rice is still below the minimum limit that has been set.

High phosphorus concentrations mainly result in environmental problems such as agricultural pollution and eutrophication, which have great negative influence on many natural water bodies. In this work, calcium lignosulfonate was employed to produce calcium-doped char at 400 and 800 °C. To compare the phosphorus adsorption behaviors of the two carbon materials, batch adsorption experiments were conducted in a phosphorus microenvironment. The factors including the initial solution pH, phosphorus concentration, and adsorbent amount were considered, and the main characteristics of calcium-doped chars before and after adsorption were assessed. The results revealed that the phosphorus removal processes fitted both the Freundlich and pseudo-second-order-kinetic models. According to the Langmuir model, the maximum adsorption capacities of the two adsorbents obtained at 400 and 800 °C toward phosphorus (50 °C) were 53.22 and 17.77 mg/g adsorbent, respectively. The former was rich in calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and hydroxyl and carboxyl groups, and it mainly served as a precipitant and a chelating agent, while the latter with a high surface area was dominant in P adsorption.

Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) is one indicator of community welfare in a country. One of the direct causes of maternal death is hypertension by 27.1%, with risk factors, including the imbalance of calcium. Calcium and phosphorus have a synergistic relationship. One of the food ingredients that contain calcium and phosphorus is sesame seeds, and the product was milky pie. The purpose of this study was to formulate sesame seeds and sesame seed flour to produce milky pie, a source of calcium and high phosphorus that is favored by panelists. Milky pie can be said to be a source of calcium and high phosphorus if it reaches an ALG of 195 mg of calcium and 210 mg of phosphorus. This study uses a completely randomized design (CRD). The treatment in this study was substituting wheat flour with the addition of 3 levels of sesame seeds flour (10%, 15%, and 20%), and substitution of sesame seeds by 1 level (20%). Data obtained from organoleptic tests will be analyzed statistically with ANOVA and followed by Duncan's Multiple Test with a significance level of 95%. The results showed that the addition of sesame seeds and sesame seed flour influenced the quality and level of overall panelist preference, but not at the preferred level of the taste of milky pie. The selected product is formula 3 with the substitution of wheat flour : sesame seed flour : sesame seeds equal to 60% : 20% : 20%. The serving of milky pie is and 90 g and has an energy content of 170 kcal, calcium 99 mg, and phosphorus 90 mg.

Made available in DSpace on 2022-04-28T19:29:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2020-08-01 Soils under intensive and successive cropping with central pivot irrigation tend to present high nutrient contents, especially phosphorus (P), which is a nutrient with a great impact on the yield and quality of agricultural products. Among the rotating crops, the application of high P rates is common in processing tomato, although not supported by research. This work evaluates the effect of phosphate fertilization (0, 200, 400, 600, 800, and 1000 kg ha-1 P2O5) on the yield and quality of industrial tomato 'Heinz 9553' grown in a soil with high available P content (145 mg dm-3) resulting of an intensive vegetables cultivation, which have high demand by P. The highest total (127.4 t ha-1) and commercial (108.6 t ha-1) yields were obtained with 413.9 and 384 kg ha-1 P2O5, respectively. The results showed that pH of tomato juice, the percentages of green, red, and commercial fruits were not influenced by the applied P rates. However, nutrient delivery increased the soluble solids content up to 356 kg ha-1 P2O5, which is interesting for tomato processing. After harvesting the fruits, the available soil P content was increased with P supply to the plants. For improvement of commercial yield and soluble solids characteristics, the tomato crop shall be fertilised with P even though the soil has high P content. Department of Plant Production Sao Paulo State University Predilecta Industry Department of Agricultural Sciences National University of Colombia Department of Plant Production Sao Paulo State University

There is little understanding as to whether the addition of biochar requires less fertilizer to obtain the potential yield. Furthermore, the additional yield ascribed to the non-nutrient effects of biochar is ambiguously quantified. Therefore, this study is aimed to elucidate the influence of biochar application rate and production temperature on (i) marginal agronomic efficiency (AELN), (ii) potential yield (Yopt), (iii) the amount of mineral fertilizer required to obtain the potential yield (Fopt); and (iv) nutrient use efficiency. AELN, Yopt and Fopt were calculated after fitting the yield response at different levels of mineral fertilizer with a second-degree polynomial. Application of biochar reduced marginal agronomic efficiency, implying that the plant utilized the applied nutrient more efficiently without biochar at a low dose of mineral fertilizer. Biochar increased potential yield but required more mineral fertilizer to obtain the optimum yield. The non-nutrient associated effect of biochar reached to 39% and is mainly attributed to its liming effect. The effect of biochar on AELN, Yopt, Fopt, fertilizer use efficiency and soil pH were more pronounced at the higher application rate. Addition of biochar, however, increased soil Mehlich-P and carbon content, irrespective of production temperature and application rate. This study demonstrated that the short-term effect of biochar application on fertilizer utilization should be examined with caution in low-input cropping systems because the biochar effects were dependent on fertilizer level, biochar application rate, production temperature and their interactions. Further manipulative experiments are recommended to identify the mechanisms that explain the non-nutrient effect of biochar on yield.

Physical simulation of as-extruded Fe-0.05 C-0.13P alloy was conducted on Gleeble® 3800 in the temperature range of 750–1050°C at the intervals of 50°C. Cumulative true strain of 0.7 and rates of s...

Background: Cardiovascular events are the primary cause of death for chronic kidney disease patients, which occurred via vascular calcification evolving pathogenically. Although a high level of phosphorus contributes to the induction of osteogenic differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), the role of lncRNA in this process awaits further study. Methods: In this study, we systematically investigated the variation of gene expression in human VSMCs induced by high phosphorus. LncRNAs and mRNAs expression were revealed by microarray analyses of the control group and high-phosphorus (HP) group. LncRNA-mRNA co-expression network was established based on the specific lncRNA-mRNA relationships. Hierarchical clustering was used to identify a common set of regulated genes. In addition, Gene Ontology enrichment, Kyoto Gene-Encyclopedia and genomic analyses were conducted for the mRNAs differentially expressed under high phosphorus. Result: RT-qPCR results confirmed that the expression of RUNX2, BMP2 and osteocalcin in HP group exhibited significant increases than in control group (p

It has been reported that wet foods for dogs and cats have high levels of sodium and phosphorus due to their composition. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the sodium and phosphorus contents in wet pet foods, and compare it to daily requirements for both species. Twenty‐five commercial wet foods for adult animals were evaluated, 13 for dogs and 12 for cats. The analyses’ results were compared to the European Pet Food Industry Federation (FEDIAF 2018) recommendations. All foods contained phosphorus and sodium amounts above minimum requirements. Three wet foods for dogs exceeded the safe upper limit for phosphorus, and four wet foods for dogs and three for cats exceeded 3.75 g of sodium/1,000 kcal metabolizable energy (ME), considered safe by FEDIAF. No studies were found at the present time evaluating whether higher sodium levels are safe for dogs and cats; however, consumption of high phosphorus diets has been associated with adverse effects on renal function parameters. Therefore, more studies are necessary to investigate the health implications of phosphorus and sodium concentrations observed in some foods evaluated in this research., It has been reported that wet foods for dogs and cats have high levels of sodium and phosphorus due to their composition. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the sodium and phosphorus contents in wet pet foods, and compared to daily requirements for both species.

Phosphorus (P) is an important element that is applied in the form of di-ammonium phosphate or single super phosphate in potatoes. An experiment was conducted at ICAR-Central Potato Research Station, Patna, Bihar during Rabi, 2017-18 and 2018-19 to evaluate invariably use of phosphorus fertilizers in potato crop. The use of phosphorus is often applied at higher rate than its uptake from the soil. Therefore, experiment was undertaken with the objective to optimize and utilize soil phosphorus more efficiently. Potato variety Kufri Khyati was planted in three replications with eight different treatments of fertilizer phosphorus. Data on tuber yield (t/ha) and tuber number (lacs/ha) was recorded. The maximum tubers were recorded at 20% of recommended dose of phosphorus i.e. 5.14 lacs/ha followed by 100% recommended dose of phosphorus (4.56 lacs/ha). The tuber yield was maximum at 100% recommended dose of phosphorus (33.53 t/ha) followed by 50% recommended dose of phosphorus (31.35 t/ha), which was at par with the yield obtained at 20% (30.29 t/ha) to 40% (29.98 t/ha) of recommended dose of phosphorus. The recorded results showed that the omission of phosphorus does not have any significant reduction in the yield as compare to tuber numbers. Therefore it may be recommended that in high P soils, the maintenance dose of 20 % of recommended dose of P is sufficient to harvest economic yield.

Background and aims Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is an important cash fiber crop species, but its root traits related to phosphorus (P) acquisition have been poorly understood. Methods Eight cotton varieties that were released between 1950 and 2013 were grown in pots with or without arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) at three P supply levels. Eleven root traits were measured and calculated after seven weeks of growth. Results At the lower two P levels mycorrhizal plants acquired more P and produced more biomass than non-mycorrhizal plants. At the highest P level mycorrhizal plants took up more P than non-mycorrhizal plants, but there was no difference in biomass. At the intermediate P level, root diameter was significantly positively correlated with biomass, P concentration and P content of mycorrhizal plants. More recent accessions had smaller root diameters, acquired less P and obtained less biomass, indicating (inadvertent) varietal selection for thinner roots that provided less cortical space for AMF, which increased the need for high P fertilizer. Conclusion Our study provides support for the importance of the outsourcing model of nutrient acquisition in the root economics space framework. Inadvertent varietal selection in the last decades, resulting in thinner roots and a lower benefit from mycorrhizal colonization, has caused a lower productivity of cotton varieties at moderate P supply, indicating the need to rethink cotton breeding efforts in order to achieve agricultural sustainability.

Background and Aims The characteristics of valvular calcification (VC) in early stage are extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation and muti-cells activation. In our previous work, we found high-phosphorus (HP) diet aggravated ECM accumulation in both aortic valve and mitral valve in rats with chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the underlying mechanism of HP contribution in ECM accumulation of CKD-induced VC is still unknown. Method canine valvular interstitial cells (VICs), valvular endothelial cells (VECs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were used in this study. CKD mice (C57b and Tek-EGFP-PolyA) was build by 0.2% adenine-diet for 6 weeks and HP diet/NP diet for 10 weeks. Results As for VICs, HP induced qVICs transfer into aVICs, not oVICs, which was characterized with upregulated level of smoothelin and viemitin. There was no calcium accumulation was observed, suggesting that VICs do not have the ability to synthesize calcium crystals under pure HP intervention. As for VECs, aVICs activated by HP induced VECs EndMT in a transwell-assay, which was characterized with decreasing protein levels of endothelial markers (CD31, vWF, VE-cadherin) and increasing protein levels of mesenchymal makers (α-SMA, FSP1, N-cadherin). Then, IL-8 was found as the main factor releasing from VICs to induce VECs EndMT. In vitro, the concentration of IL-8 in the lower chamber could reach 2-4ng/ml. Reparixin was used to inhibit IL-8 receptor of VECs, which could relive aVICs-induced EndMT. In vivo, the expression of valve CXCL-2 (the mouse IL8 functional homolog) was increased in HP-diet compared with NP-diet, though the serum level of CXCL-2 was similar between two groups. AAV9-sm22a-CXCL-2 and Reparixin could inhibit VECs EndMT by inhibiting VICs relasing CXCL-2 and inhibiting VECs IL-8 receptor in CKD mice of Tek-EGFP-PolyA respectively. Then, IL-8 was found to induced VECs EndMT by miR-214-3p/PTEN/Akt pathway. Inhibiting EndMT by blocking IL-8/miR-214-3p could alleviate ECM accumulation. Conclusion HP could induce qVICs transfer into aVICs, and aVICs could cause VECs EndMT via IL-8/miR-214-3p/PTEN/Akt pathway. Both take part in ECM accumulation in CKD-induced VC.

Phosphorus is an essential macronutrient, both as a component of several important plant structural compounds and as a catalyst in the conversion of numerous important biochemical reactions in plants. The soil Olsen P (OP) level is an important factor affecting crop production and P-use efficiency (PUE). We tested the effect of six OP levels and P doses on maize yield, where the P doses were 0, 22, 44, 59, 73, and 117 kg P2O5 ha−1, with three replications, from 2017 to 2019. The response of crop yield to the OP level can be divided into two parts, below 28 mg kg−1 and above 28 mg kg−1. The change point between the two parts was determined as the agronomic critical level for maize crops in the study area. The PUE (%) increased with soil OP levels and decreased with P fertilizer application rates. In addition, results for the low P application rate (P2), 22 kg P2O5 ha−1, showed that PUE significantly increased with an increase in the soil OP level compared with PUE at a low OP level (OP1), 0 kg P2O5 ha−1. The PUE value increased by 49.5%, 40.1%, and 32.4% at a high OP level (OP6) in 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively, compared to that at a low OP level (OP1). At the same OP levels, in all three years, the PUE at a high P application rate (P6) decreased significantly, in the range of 62.8% to 78.7%, compared to that at a low P application rate (P2). Under an average deficit of 100 kg ha−1 P, the OP level of the soil in all three years decreased by 3.9 mg kg−1 in the treatment without P addition (P1) and increased by 2.4–3.5 mg kg−1 in the P treatments for each 100 kg ha−1 P surplus. A phosphorus application rate of 44 kg P2O5 ha−1 and an OP level of 28 mg kg−1 are sufficient to obtain an optimum yield, increase the PUE, and reduce environmental hazards in the study area in northeastern China.

In the Northern Patagonian Andes, the austral beech Nothofagus pumilio dominates the upper limit of the temperate forest and is an important source of allochthonous dissolved organic matter...

An acidic electroless nickel bath was formulated to plate high phosphorus nickel alloy at a low temperature from 45 to 50 °C. The low temperature EN bath, containing nickel ions, reducing agent, complexing agent, stabilizer, and accelerator, was optimized in composition to deposit high phosphorus nickel alloy (>11 wt% P) at temperature

Deposits of low grade and high-phosphorus iron ores are spreading globally, however, the usage of this kind of deposits in the manufacturing of steel bounded because of the high-phosphorus content as well as depression of iron in which affect the quality of the produced steel. The Bajrawia iron ore deposit is one of the largest in Sudan but it only contains (35.5% Fe) and undesirable amount of phosphorus (0.37% P). This paper investigated the utilization of reverse anionic flotation (RAF) for the upgrading of iron and dephosphorization. Additionally, the effect of microwave pre-treatment on forth flotation performance on a laboratory scale. Microwave pre-treatment was applied on optimized reverse anionic flotation parameters in an account of iron grade (47.31% Fe), iron recovery (86.43%) and phosphorus content (0.167% P). The findings into the microwave pre-treatment are quite promising. This investigation has revealed that microwave heating improves the flotation response of iron grade to (51.94%) and phosphorus content decreases into (0.127% P) due to increasing the liberation.

The iron-bearing ore, existing in the form of oolite, was mainly composed of hematite, limonite, daphnite, and collophane. The harmful element phosphorus content was 1.56%, belonging to high phosphorus ooliticiron ore in western Hubei. In this study, segregation roasting and low intensity magnetic separation techniques were applied for upgrading iron and removing phosphorus. The ores, the chlorinating agent, and the reducing agent were mixed into the roasting furnace for segregation roasting. After being transferred from the weak magnetic minerals to the strong ones, the iron was recovered by low intensity magnetic separation. During segregation roasting, new ore phases, metallic iron (Fe), a small amount of ferroferric oxide (Fe3O4), and ferrous oxide (FeO) could be observed. The results showed that the iron concentrate with the Fe content of 90.3%, the phosphorus content of 0.15%, and the iron recovery of 92.9% were obtained under the segregation roasting temperature of 1273 K, and the roasting time of 90 min, CaCl2 (calcium chloride) 20%, Ca (ClO)2 (calcium hypochlorite) 3%, the dosage of coke 20%, and low intensity magnetic separation field intensity 0.12 T.

A simultaneous reduction process followed by magnetic-separation is presented in this study for effective utilization of blast furnace dust and recovering of iron from blast furnace dust and high-p...

With the extensive usage of domestic low-grade iron ore with high phosphorus, abundant high (> 0.35%) phosphorus hot metal generates in China. To solve the dephosphorization issue of high-P hot metal under the premise of avoiding the environmental problem caused by CaF2 flux agent, a type of F-free CaO–SiO2–Al2O3–Fe2O3 slag was designed for the dephosphorization of high-P hot metal and systematically tested and analyzed combined with FactSage software under 1400 °C in this paper. The results show that it is an effective approach to remove phosphorus from hot metal-containing high phosphorus using F-free CaO–SiO2–Al2O3–Fe2O3 slag. The major driving force for this dephosphorization comes from the precipitation of $${\text{Ca}}_{{2}} {\text{SiO}}_{{4}} \cdot n{\text{Ca}}_{{3}} {\text{(PO}}_{{4}}^{{}} {)}_{{2}}$$ (C2S-C3P) phase which lowers the activity of phosphorus in liquid slag by providing a site to stabilize phosphorus in slag. The increase of basicity enhances the dephosphorization process by promoting the precipitation of the P-rich C2S-C3P phase. The Fe2O3 in slag favors the removal of phosphorus from hot metal-containing high phosphorus using CaO–SiO2–Al2O3–Fe2O3 slag by improving the oxidability of slag. The Al2O3 in slag will compete with P2O5 to combine with CaO and SiO2, which inhibits the formation of C2S-C3P and thus weakens the dephosphorization ability of slag.

Both water stress and P deficit limit soybean seed yield, but the effects of water regimes and P application rates, their interaction on P status, acquisition, and partitioning, and their roles in yield performance have not been well-studied. Two soybean genotypes (Huangsedadou (HD) and Zhonghuang 30 (ZH)) with contrasting seed yield and root dry weight (DW) were used to investigate the P status, P acquisition, P partitioning, and yield formation under two water regimes (well-watered (WW) and cyclic water stress (WS)) and three P rates (0 (P0), 60 (P60), and 120 (P120) mg P kg−1 dry soil). The results show that increased P and water supply increased the seed yield, shoot and root DW and P concentrations and accumulations in different organs. Cultivar ZH had a significantly higher seed yield than HD at P60 and P120 under WS and at P0 under WW, but a lower seed yield at P60 and P120 under WW. Cultivar ZH had a significantly higher P harvest index and P acquisition efficiency, but a significantly lower shoot and root DW than HD. The interaction between water treatments and P rates had significant effects on leaf and stem P concentration. Cultivar ZH had significantly lower P partitioning to leaves and stems but significantly higher P partitioning to seeds than HD. The seed yield was positively correlated with leaf and seed P accumulations and P acquisition efficiency under WS. We conclude that (1) adequate water supply improved the P mobilization from leaves and stems at maturity, which may have improved the seed yield, and (2) the high P acquisition efficiency is coordination to high P partition to seeds to produce a high seed yield under water- and P-limited conditions.

Hen eggshell is a waste with high phosphorus (P) removal capacity from synthetic solutions. However, there is a lack of knowledge about how to use this material on P removal from real wastewater. The present study proposed to evaluate two types of system for P removal from wastewater using eggshells. On the first system, eggshells grinded, sieved in 0.425 mm, and contained in coffee filters, were fixed to baffles using calico cloth bags. On the second, the eggshells in the same conditions were attached to vertical wooden rods and distributed at different heights. For both systems, P concentration was daily monitored for four weeks, with and without medium acidification and hydraulic retention time of one day. The baffles system was more efficient, reaching a maximum removal of 15.93% in wastewater with pH 4.73. P removals did not differ significantly over the weeks; however, there is a tendency to vary the efficiencies according to the change in pH. The baffled tank, for presenting higher performance in P removal, is the most suitable for use in a domestic wastewater treatment system. Hen eggshell is a waste with high phosphorus (P) removal capacity from synthetic solutions. However, there is a lack of knowledge about how to use this material on P removal from real wastewater. The present study proposed to evaluate two types of system for P removal from wastewater using eggshells. On the first system, eggshells grinded, sieved in 0.425 mm, and contained in coffee filters, were fixed to baffles using calico cloth bags. On the second, the eggshells in the same conditions were attached to vertical wooden rods and distributed at different heights. For both systems, P concentration was daily monitored for four weeks, with and without medium acidification and hydraulic retention time of one day. The baffles system was more efficient, reaching a maximum removal of 15.93% in wastewater with pH 4.73. P removals did not differ significantly over the weeks; however, there is a tendency to vary the efficiencies according to the change in pH. The baffled tank, for presenting higher performance in P removal, is the most suitable for use in a domestic wastewater treatment system.

Unraveling the complex regulatory pathways that mediate the effects of phosphate on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) may provide novel targets and therapies to limit the destructive effects of vascular calcification (VC) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Our previous studies have highlighted several signaling networks associated with VSMC autophagy, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Thereafter, the current study was performed to characterize the functional relevance of O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) transferase (OGT) in high phosphate-induced VC in CKD settings. We generated VC models in 5/6 nephrectomized rats in vivo and VSMC calcification models in vitro. Artificial modulation of OGT (knockdown and overexpression) was performed to explore the role of OGT in VSMC autophagy and VC in thoracic aorta, and in vivo experiments were used to substantiate in vitro findings. Mechanistically, co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) assay was performed to examine interaction between OGT and kelch like ECH associated protein 1 (KEAP1), and in vivo ubiquitination assay was performed to examine ubiquitination extent of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2). OGT was highly expressed in high phosphate-induced 5/6 nephrectomized rats and VSMCs. OGT silencing was shown to suppress high phosphate-induced calcification of VSMCs. OGT enhances KEAP1 glycosylation and thereby results in degradation and ubiquitination of NRF2, concurrently inhibiting VSMC autophagy to promote VSMC calcification in 5/6 nephrectomized rats. OGT inhibits VSMC autophagy through the KEAP1/NRF2 axis and thus accelerates high phosphate-induced VC in CKD.

The depletion of phosphorus resources and the excess discharge of phosphorus into waste streams are contrasting problems. The key to solving both problems is to recover phosphorus from the waste streams. Current phosphorus recovery technologies require high phosphorus concentrations and lack the ability to separate toxic substances from recovered phosphorus products. Membrane separation processes such as nanofiltration, forward osmosis, and electrodialysis are examples of effective methods for solving some of these issues. In this paper, the mechanisms, performance, and influential factors affect phosphorus recovery from membrane separation are reviewed. Membrane fouling, energy consumption, and the selectivity of toxic substances in membrane separation processes were evaluated. This work will serve as a basis for future research and development of phosphorus recovery by membrane separation processes and as a response to the increasingly pressing issues of eutrophication and the growing depletion of phosphorus resources.

Jamaica has about 7.1% of world bauxite reserves. Traditionally, local refineries process good-settling low phosphorus bauxites. As these ores become scarce, mining areas with poor-settling high phosphorus bauxites are being explored. In preparation for having to process these bauxites, this study sought to identify the main minerals that influence soluble phosphorus concentrations. Four correlations for predicting soluble phosphorus during low temperature digestion were applied to both the currently-mined and future bauxite resources. Soluble phosphorus concentrations were successfully predicted from total phosphorus in the bauxite. A simple mine-specific correlation that adjusts based on the calcium to phosphorus (CaO:P2O5) ratio in the bauxites was able to predict soluble phosphorus to within ±15% of measured values. The correlation was applicable even to ores with highly variable compositions. If the phosphorus impurity in the future bauxite is taken as crandallite, a correlation that over-predicts the measured soluble phosphorus by about 20–30% can be used to assess lime requirements for phosphorus control. Crandallite, calcite and silica were the main minerals that influence soluble phosphorus concentrations.

To relieve the increasing lack of high-quality iron ore, the medium and high phosphorus refractory mineral resources are being developed worldwide due to the rich storage. The novel method of pre-reducing sinter process was applied to remove phosphorus, characterized by reduced atmosphere, high temperature, and negative pressure. For medium phosphorus Bayan Obo iron ore concentrate, the effect of the carbon mixing ratio, reduction temperature, and time on phosphorous gasification and iron metallization during carbothermic reduction was investigated using XRD, FESEM-EDS, and FactSage software, in the presence of Na2CO3 and SiO2. The optimal carbothermic reduction is conducted at 1050 ℃ for 60 min with 20 wt% carbon mixing ratio. The corresponding gasificating dephosphorization and iron metallization are 31% and 96%, respectively. Moreover, the further increased carbon mixing ratio and reduction temperature causes the large absorption of reduced phosphorus gas into metallic iron. Notably, the above result provides data support for pre-reducing sinter process.