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Ample research has demonstrated that electrocoagulation is a versatile technology capable of facilitating the removal of a wide range of physical, biological, organic, and inorganic constituents such as suspended solids, turbidity, bacteria, viruses, oil and grease, organic carbon (including chemical and biological oxygen demand), silica, fluoride, and so on. Despite its purported advantages and extensive lab-scale evaluations, it has not yet been widely adopted for water and wastewater treatment and reuse at commercial scale. This is symptomatic of a chasm between its technological capabilities on one hand and field performance and reputation on the other. Herein, we opine as to why this might be the case using our collective experiences with the oil and gas industry as an exemplar. We highlight scientific, technological, engineering, and business issues that need to be addressed to realize the full potential of this promising technology.

Microbial exopolysaccharides (EPSs) are biopolymer materials with advantages such as biodegradability, biocompatibility, ease of mass production, and reproducibility. The EPS that was isolated from Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae VF39 is an anionic polysaccharide with a backbone structure consisting of one galactose, five glucose molecules, and two glucuronic acids, along with 3-hydroxybutanoyl, acetyl, and pyruvyl functional groups. Through N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (NTG) mutagenesis, we isolated and purified a mutant EPS from VF39, VF39 #54, which demonstrated enhanced physicochemical and rheological properties compared to the wild-type VF39. The EPS structure of the VF39 #54 mutant strain showed a loss of glucuronic acid and 3-hydroxybutanoyl groups compared to the wild-type, as confirmed by FT-IR, NMR analysis, and uronic acid assays. The molecular weight of the VF39 #54 EPS was 250% higher than that of the wild-type. It also exhibited improved viscoelasticity and thermal stability. In the DSC and TGA analyses, VF39 #54 had a higher endothermic peak (172 °C) compared to the wild-type (142 °C), and its thermal decomposition point was 260 °C, surpassing the wild-type's value of 222 °C. Additionally, the VF39 #54 EPS maintained a similar viscosity to the wild-type in various pH, temperature, and metal salt conditions, while also exhibiting a higher overall viscosity. The cytotoxicity test using HEK-293 cells confirmed that the VF39 #54 EPS was non-toxic. Due to its high viscoelastic properties, the VF39 #54 EPS shows potential for use in products such as thickeners, texture enhancers, and stabilizers. Furthermore, its thermal stability and biocompatibility make it a promising candidate for applications in food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetic formulations. Additionally, its ability to maintain viscosity under varying environmental conditions highlights its suitability for industrial processes that require consistent performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autophagy is essential for cell survival and cellular homeostasis under various stress conditions. Therefore, autophagy dysfunction is associated with the pathogenesis of various human diseases. We explored the regulatory role of RhoBTB3 in autophagy and its interaction with activating molecules in AMBRA1. RhoBTB3 deficiency was found to induce autophagy, while its overexpression inhibited autophagy induction. Through immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry, AMBRA1 was identified as a substrate of RhoBTB3. The study revealed that RhoBTB3 regulates AMBRA1 stability by influencing its protein levels without affecting its mRNA levels. RhoBTB3 induced the ubiquitination of AMBRA1, leading to proteasome-mediated degradation, with the ubiquitination occurring at K45 on AMBRA1 through a K27-linked ubiquitin chain. The knockdown of AMBRA1 blocked RhoBTB3 knockdown-induced autophagy, indicating the dependency of autophagy on AMBRA1. Thus, RhoBTB3 negatively regulates autophagy by mediating AMBRA1 ubiquitination and degradation, suggesting RhoBTB3 as a potential therapeutic target for autophagy-related diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, bovine serum albumin (BSA) is used as a globular protein model to examine the conformational changes that occur during the interaction of BSA with N-hydroxysulfo-succinimide (sodium salt)-functionalized gold nanourchins (GNUs), for which dynamic spectroscopic techniques are employed. The results showed that the absorbance of phosphate-buffered saline-BSA at 278 nm decreased when a GNU was added to the solution due to adsorption, and it decreased further when the GNU was increased. The intensity and width of the peak of local surface plasmon resonance increased, indicating the effect of corona formation. Dynamic UV-vis spectroscopy and scattering revealed a nonlinear behavior of BSA–GNU interaction. The bioplasmonic solution resulted in higher transmission and scattering than the BSA solution. Fourier transform-near-infrared spectra exhibited several bands due to overtones and combinations of the amide group and different proportions of α-helix and β-sheet components in BSA before and after the addition of the GNU. Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy demonstrated an initial increase in blueshifted emission, followed by a redshifted quenching of two major peaks of Tyr and tryptophan (Trp). The binding and dissociation constants were determined as Kb = 2.17 × 1010 M−1 and Kd = 4.6 × 10−11, respectively, using the Stern–Volmer relation. Both the dynamic CMOS-based imaging and the cadmium sulfide sensors demonstrated a nonlinear response of bioplasmonic solution. By increasing the GNU, the resistance of the solution decreased in the order of A > S1 > S3, where S3 exhibited the highest initial transmission with a longer desorption time. MATLAB modeling showed 80% surface coverage by the protein in 15 s at 0.05M, equivalent to a thickness of 1.7 nm, which was in agreement with the value determined by using the Stokes–Einstein relation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]