Integrative proteomic analysis reveals potential high-frequency alternative open reading frame-encoded peptides in human colorectal cancer

Synthetic coalification of microalgae through hydrothermal carbonization: strategies for enhanced hydrochar characteristics and technological advancements

This review explores the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of microalgae through a comprehensive evaluation of the influence of process parameters on the resultant products. The findings revealed that HTC of microalgae takes place at lower temperatures (170 - 250 °C) compared to lignocellulosic feedstocks, and the resulting hydrochar and hydrolysate have a higher N-content. Additionally, secondary char production varies based on reaction conditions, with yields between 4 % and 35 %. The interaction between carbohydrates and nitrogenous compounds in the hydrolysate at varying reaction severities was discussed, underlining the extent of nitrogen fixation in the hydrochar and total organic C-content of up to 26.8 g L-1. The article also suggests strategies to improve hydrochar properties by assessing different technical strategies and emphasizing future direction research. In summary, this review underscores the potential of microalgal HTC as a sustainable approach for applications in energy and environmental applications via process optimization and technological upgradation.

The Role of Proteomics and Genomics in the Development of Colorectal Cancer Diagnostic Tools and Potential New Treatments

The complex molecular mechanisms involving genetic and epigenetic modifications contribute to colorectal cancer (CRC), which remains a significant threat to world health. This review elucidates the role of proteomics and genomics in the progression, diagnosis, and treatment of colorectal cancers. All potential key pathways involved in CRC, including WNT, MAPK, PI3K, and TGF-β pathways, are reviewed with a systematic analysis, concluding with their involvement in tumorigenesis and therapeutic resistance. Emerging next-generation sequencing technologies revealed critical mutations that are relevant to CRC development. Proteomics has contributed to identifying biomarkers and post-translational modifications that hold promise for targeted therapies. Recent technological advances have provided functional insights into protein signaling networks and pathways through mass spectrometry and integrated proteogenomic approaches. This work emphasizes biomarker-driven translational efforts that integrate genomic insights with protein expression profiles to refine personalized treatments. The application of innovations in liquid biopsy and computational biology advocates for precision medicine paths to improve the outcomes for CRC. Now, pharmacoproteomics offers novel domains for drug discovery and resistance management and serves as a foundation for comprehensive CRC treatment paradigms.

Preparation of solid organic fertilizer by co-hydrothermal carbonization of peanut residue and corn cob: A study on nutrient conversion

With continuous recognition of green, organic and pollution-free products, the organic fertilizer plays an increasingly important role in agricultural production. Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is an efficient and environmentally friendly biomass treatment technology that can achieve value-added utilization of solid wastes. This study evaluated the potential of two typical agricultural and forestry wastes (corn cob and peanut residue) in preparing as solid organic fertilizers through HTC. The effects of reaction temperature, residence time, and the raw material composition on hydrochar yield, total nutrient content (TNC), nitrogen recovery, and nutrient elements transformation in HTC were investigated. Corn cob was proven to be not an ideal raw material for the preparation of organic fertilizers because of the low TNC and the high C/N ratio of its hydrochar. On the contrary, peanut residue was suitable for preparing organic fertilizers due to its high TNC and appropriate C/N ratio. The co-HTC of corn cob and peanut residue could further improve the N recovery rate from 8.52% (for peanut residue only) to 19.51% due to the synergistic effect between them. Under the optimal hydrothermal conditions of 240 °C, 120 min, and mixing ratio of 1:1, the hydrochar yield was as high as 27.86%, and the C/N value (11.98) and TNC (6.331%) were both appropriate as fertilizer. Furthermore, the potential migration and transformation paths of nutrients including N, P, K and metal elements in the co-HTC were analyzed. The thermodynamic conditions and raw materials composition significantly affect the migration and transformation of N, P and K between solid and liquid. N dissolved into process water (mainly ammonia) would migrate into hydrochar and bio-oil with increasing of reaction temperature. P was fixed in hydrochar through precipitation and adsorption reaction with metal ions. Further, adjusting pH or adding metal salts can promote the fixation of N and P in solid.

Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies Multiple Susceptibility Loci for Malignant Neoplasms of the Brain in Taiwan

Primary brain malignancy is a rare tumor with a global incidence of less than 10 per 100,000 people. Hence, there is limited power for identifying risk loci in individual studies, especially for Han Chinese. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in Taiwan, including 195 cases and 195 controls. We identified five new genes for malignant neoplasms of the brain: EDARADD (rs645507, 1p31.3, p = 7.71 × 10⁻⁵, odds ratio (OR) = 1.893), RBFOX1 (rs8044700, p = 2.35 × 10⁻⁵, OR = 2.36), LMF1 (rs3751667, p = 7.24 × 10⁻⁷, OR = 2.17), DPP6 (rs67433368, p = 8.32 × 10⁻⁵, OR = 3.94), and NDUFB9 (rs7827791, p = 9.73 × 10⁻⁶, OR = 4.42). These data support that genetic susceptibility toward GBM or non-GBM tumors is highly distinct, likely reflecting different etiologies. Combined with signaling analysis, we found that RNA modification may be related to major risk factors in primary malignant neoplasms of the brain.

Nascent alt-protein chemoproteomics reveals a pre-60S assembly checkpoint inhibitor

Many unannotated microproteins and alternative proteins (alt-proteins) are coencoded with canonical proteins, but few of their functions are known. Motivated by the hypothesis that alt-proteins undergoing regulated synthesis could play important cellular roles, we developed a chemoproteomic pipeline to identify nascent alt-proteins in human cells. We identified 22 actively translated alt-proteins or N-terminal extensions, one of which is post-transcriptionally upregulated by DNA damage stress. We further defined a nucleolar, cell-cycle-regulated alt-protein that negatively regulates assembly of the pre-60S ribosomal subunit (MINAS-60). Depletion of MINAS-60 increases the amount of cytoplasmic 60S ribosomal subunit, upregulating global protein synthesis and cell proliferation. Mechanistically, MINAS-60 represses the rate of late-stage pre-60S assembly and export to the cytoplasm. Together, these results implicate MINAS-60 as a potential checkpoint inhibitor of pre-60S assembly and demonstrate that chemoproteomics enables hypothesis generation for uncharacterized alt-proteins.

Co-hydrothermal carbonization of sewage sludge and polyvinyl chloride for the production of high-quality solid fuel with low nitrogen content

Sewage sludge (SS) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are typical solid wastes. Their co-hydrothermal carbonization behavior was investigated in this study. The low-nitrogen solid fuel (0.94 wt%) with high heating value (9.84 MJ·Kg^-1) was prepared through parameter optimization at 240 °C for 1.5 h under water loading amount of 0.84 g·cm^-3. In an acidic environment, the stubborn protein in SS could be converted into free amino acids, which were generated by the decomposition of PVC under hydrothermal conditions. The stubborn N could be translated into easy-to-remove N, such as nitrile-N and inorganic N, and the dehydration reaction was evidently promoted. The acidic environment at high temperatures caused the dissolution of ash in SS and improved the combustion performance of hydrochar. FT-IR results showed that, with increased PVC loading proportion, -C=N- was converted into -C=O-. Co-hydrothermal carbonization could effectively improve the combustion performance of hydrochar. The addition of PVC could lead to the generation of increased volatile matter, fixed carbon, and unsaturated CC, and the combustion temperature range shifted to a high range. However, the generation of graphite-like carbon was caused by further increasing the PVC loading proportion, which hindered the improvement of its combustion performance. In the parameter optimization study, the increased water loading amount (from 0.54 g·cm^-3 to 0.84 g·cm^-3) had the most evident effect on the N content in the hydrochar (from 1.50 wt% to 0.94 wt%), which promoted the denitrification efficiency (from 60.11% to 75.00%) and the conversion of -C=N- components, and prevented further polymerization of solid products.