The use of pyrolysis products of manures gives positive effects on soil fertility, crop productivity and soil carbon sequestration. However, effects depend on soil characteristics, plant species and the raw material from which the biochar is derived, and some negative effects of biochar have been reported. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of poultry manure (PM)‐derived biochar on the growth, and P, N, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn concentration of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) plant. The treatments as follows: control, 20 g/kg poultry manure (PM), 20 g/kg phosphorus‐enriched poultry manure (PM+P), 10 g/kg Biochar (B), 10 g/kg Biochar+P (B+P). Application of biochar and PM significantly increased lettuce growth, and P‐enriched forms of PM and biochar gave the higher growth. PM has no significant effect on the N concentrations but biochar and, P‐enriched PM and biochar treatments significantly increased N concentrations. Phosphorus concentration of the lettuce leaves significantly increased by PM and biochar treatments. Plant K concentrations were also increased by PM and biochar, and their P‐enriched forms. Leaf Ca and Mg concentrations were lower in Biochar and B+P treatments than that of PM and PM+P treatments. Compared to control and PM treatments, biochar applications reduced Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu concentrations of the lettuce plants. The results of this study indicated that application of biochar to alkaline soil is beneficial for crop growth and N, P and K nutrition, but it certainly reduced Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn nutrition of lettuce.

Direct use of poultry manure on agricultural lands may cause environmental concerns, so there is a need to establish the suitability of the application of biochar derived from poultry manure for calcareous soil chemical properties and plant growth. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of processed poultry manure (0, 5, 10 and 20 g/kg) and its biochar (0, 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 g/kg) on soil chemical properties of a calcareous soil and growth of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and maize (Zea mays) plants. In the incubation experiment, both processed poultry manure (PPM) and biochar decreased pH and the concentration of plant‐available Fe of soil but increased plant‐available P, Zn, Cu and Mn concentrations. PPM and biochar increased the concentrations of exchangeable cations (K, Ca and Mg) in soil. PPM and biochar applications increased the growth of maize and bean plants. PPM and biochar resulted in increased concentrations of N, P, K, Ca, Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn in bean plants. In maize plants, PPM and biochar applications increased the N, P, K, Zn, Cu and Mn but decreased the Ca and Mg concentrations. Results of this study reveal that poultry manure biochar can be used effectively for agricultural purposes.

Tumor necrosis factor related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) has tremendous promise in treating various forms of cancers. However, many cancer cells exhibit or develop resistance to TRAIL. Interestingly, many studies have identified several secondary agents that can overcome TRAIL resistance. To expand on these studies, we conducted an extensive drug-re-profiling screen to identify FDA-approved compounds that can be used clinically as TRAIL-sensitizing agents in a very malignant type of brain cancer, Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM). Using selected isogenic GBM cell pairs with differential levels of TRAIL sensitivity, we revealed 26 TRAIL-sensitizing compounds, 13 of which were effective as single agents. Cardiac glycosides constituted a large group of TRAIL-sensitizing compounds, and they were also effective on GBM cells as single agents. We then explored a second class of TRAIL-sensitizing drugs, which were enhancers of TRAIL response without any effect on their own. One such drug, Mitoxantrone, a DNAdamaging agent, did not cause toxicity to non-malignant cells at the doses that synergized with TRAIL on tumor cells. We investigated the downstream changes in apoptosis pathway components upon Mitoxantrone treatment, and observed that Death Receptors (DR4 and DR5) expression was upregulated, and pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic gene expression patterns were altered in favor of apoptosis. Together, our results suggest that combination of Mitoxantrone and TRAIL can be a promising therapeutic approach for GBM patients.

The nutritional quality of acid‐modified poultry manure biochar is unclear, so a better understanding of its properties and agronomic potential is needed. The biochar was modified with phosphoric acid (H3PO4) and nitric acid (HNO3) and a combination of the two, before and after pyrolysis. After characterization of biochar samples and determination of total and water‐soluble mineral element concentrations, biochars were applied to a calcareous soil at a rate of 0.5% (w/w) to find out their effects on the mineral nutrition and growth of maize. Treatment with H3PO4+ HNO3 enriches the biochar with phosphate, nitro groups and nitrate. The experimental results suggested that biochar modified with HNO3 and/or HNO3+H3PO4 after pyrolysis increased the water‐soluble phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn) concentrations and increased plant‐available nutrients and plant growth by positively affecting the absorption of plant nutrients. The highest plant dry weight was obtained from biochar post‐treated with HNO3+H3PO4, and this was followed by HNO3‐ and H3PO4‐modified biochars. Premodification with HNO3+H3PO4 also significantly increased plant dry weights. The results of this study revealed that poultry manure biochar modified with HNO3 and H3PO4 can be used effectively in calcareous soil for the improvement of plant mineral nutrition.

Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (35 mg/kg bw) in all rats of five groups after being fed for 2 weeks high-fat diet. Type 2 diabetic Nerium-oleander- (NO-) administered groups received the NO distillate at a dose of 3.75, 37.5, and 375 μg/0.5 mL of distilled water (NO-0.1, NO-1, NO-10, resp.); positive control group had 0.6 mg glibenclamide/kg bw/d by gavage daily for 12 weeks. Type 2 diabetic negative control group had no treatment. NO distillate administration reduced fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, insulin resistance, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein, atherogenic index, triglyceride-HDL ratio, insulin, and leptin levels. Improved beta cell function and HDL concentration were observed by NO usage. HDL percentage in total cholesterol of all NO groups was similar to healthy control. NO-10 distillate enhanced mRNA expressions of peroxisome proliferator-activated-receptor- (PPAR-) α, β, and γ in adipose tissue and PPAR-α–γ in liver. The findings from both in vivo and in vitro studies suggest that the considerable beneficial effect of NO distillate administration at a dose of 375 μg/0.5 mL of distilled water may offer new approaches to treatment strategies that target both fat and glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetes.

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) can selectively kill tumor cells. TRAIL resistance in cancers is associated with aberrant expression of the key components of the apoptotic program. However, how these components are regulated at the epigenetic level is not understood. In this study, we investigated novel epigenetic mechanisms regulating TRAIL response in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cells by a short-hairpin RNA loss-of-function screen. We interrogated 48 genes in DNA and histone modification pathways and identified KDM2B, an H3K36-specific demethylase, as a novel regulator of TRAIL response. Accordingly, silencing of KDM2B significantly enhanced TRAIL sensitivity, the activation of caspase-8, -3 and -7 and PARP cleavage. KDM2B knockdown also accelerated the apoptosis, as revealed by live-cell imaging experiments. To decipher the downstream molecular pathways regulated by KDM2B, levels of apoptosis-related genes were examined by RNA-sequencing upon KDM2B loss, which revealed derepression of proapoptotic genes Harakiri (HRK), caspase-7 and death receptor 4 (DR4) and repression of antiapoptotic genes. The apoptosis phenotype was partly dependent on HRK upregulation, as HRK knockdown significantly abrogated the sensitization. KDM2B-silenced tumors exhibited slower growth in vivo. Taken together, our findings suggest a novel mechanism, where the key apoptosis components are under epigenetic control of KDM2B in GBM cells.

The title mol­ecule, C21H24N2O2, is a macrocyclic multidentate Schiff base ligand containing two imine N and two ether O atoms which has a crystallographic twofold axis. The macro­cyclic inner‐hole size, estimated as twice the mean distance of the donor atoms from their centroid, is approximately 2.08 Å.

Macrocyclic multidentate N2O2 donor-type ligands have been investigated previously as potential metal-ion-selective reagents. 1,2 A series of these investigations have involved the synthetic, thermodynamic and structural properties of selective complex formation of a number of transition metal ions. 3 There are only a few reports about the structures of the free macrocyclic multidentate N2O2 and N2O3 donor-type ligands. [4][5][6] The title compound was prepared from the reduction of the reaction product of 1,5-bis(2-formylphenyl)-1,5-dioxapentane (2.84 g, 0.01 mol) and 1,3-diaminopropane (0.74 g, 0.01 mol) by NaBH4 (2.00 g, 0.05 mol) in THF-MeOH mixture (1:1). The residue was dissolved in CHCl3-light petroleum (1:1) and set aside for crystallization at ambient temperature [m.p. 91˚C and yield 1.4 g (49%)].The structure determination was carried out in order to estimate the relative macrocyclic ring hole size of the molecule. The intramolecular distances N1···O1 4.057 (3)