Paraxylene from Corn

This report details the preliminary design and economic analysis of a paraxylene production plant that uses glucose as the raw material in the form of a hydrolysate obtained from an ethanol plant. The process of taking glucose and converting it to paraxylene happens through three main chemical reactions. The first is the conversion of glucose to hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), the second is the hydrogenolysis of hydroxymethylfurfural to produce dimethylfuran (DMF) and the last is the reaction of dimethylfuran with ethylene gas to produce paraxyelene. In this report the overall process is broken down in two sections, the first is the production and purification of DMF and second is the production and purification of paraxylene. The first step in the production of DMF is the glucose to HMF conversion, which occurs in a continuously stirred, biphasic reactor with a selectivity of 75%. HMF is then concentrated in a butanol solution and fed into a trickle bed reactor where it reacts with hydrogen to produce DMF and water, DMF has selectivity of 70%. DMF is then purified in a separation train comprised by three distillation columns and one liquid-liquid extraction column. DMF is then fed to a fixed bed reactor where it reacts with ethylene to produce paraxylene using hexane as a solvent, the selectivity of DMF is 98%. Finally, paraxylene is purified in a separation train comprised by a decanter and two distillation columns. The process uses about 140,000 lbs/hr of hydrolysate feed and produces about 13,000 lbs/hr of paraxylene at a 99.9% purity. In this report it is assumed that the market price of paraxylene is $1.00 per pound, at that price the process presented is not profitable at a return on investment of -88$47 million. The main expense of the process is its utilities in energy intensive separation units; the steam requirement of a single distillation column is alone 37% of the cost of paraxylene

Relationship between Protein Oxidation Biomarkers and Uterine Health in Dairy Cows during the Postpartum Period

High neutrophil (PMN, Polymorphonuclear neutrophil) counts in the endometrium of cows affected by endometritis, suggests the involvement of oxidative stress (OS) among the causes of impaired fertility. Protein oxidation, in particular, advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP), are OS biomarkers linked to PMN activity. To test this hypothesis, the relationship between protein oxidation and uterus health was studied in thirty-eight dairy cows during the puerperium. The animals were found to be cycling, without any signs of disease and pharmacological treatments. PMN count was performed either through a cytobrush or a uterine horn lavage (UHL). Cows were classified into four groups, based on the uterine ultrasonographic characteristics and the PMN percentage in the uterine horns with a higher percentage of high neutrophil horn (HNH). They were classified as: Healthy (H); Subclinical Endometritis (SCE); Grade 1 Endometritis (EM1); and Grade 2 Endometritis (EM2). AOPP and carbonyls were measured in plasma and UHL. UHL samples underwent Western blot analysis to visualize the carbonyl and dityrosine formation. Plasma AOPP were higher (p < 0.05) in EM2. AOPP and carbonyl group concentrations were higher in the HNH samples (p < 0.05). Protein concentration in the UHL was higher in the EM2 (p < 0.05). Carbonyl and dityrosine formation was more intense in EM1 and EM2. Protein oxidation observed in the EM2 suggests the presence of an inflammatory status in the uterus which, if not adequately hindered, could result in low fertility

Small scale cell culture based assay for predicting antibody reduction susceptibility

Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Urban groundwater warming in Turin area (NW Italy)

Low enthalpy, geothermal systems, alluvial, temperatur

Adaptation of some energetic parameters during transition period in dairy cows

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of peripartum period and lactation class on serum β-hydroxybutyrate, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), insulin and glucose concentration in dairy cows. Thirty-five multiparous Holstein cows were selected from a high-producing dairy farm. The animals were divided according to their lactation class: second lactation group (L2, n = 16), third lactation group (L3, n = 10) and fourth lactation group (L4, n = 9). Blood sampling were performed 7 ± 5 days before calving (Pre/C) and 7 ± 5 days after calving (Post/C). Two-way analysis of variance was applied to determine significant effects of lactation class (L2, L3 and L4) and period (Pre/C and Post/C) on studied parameters. Increased NEFA values and lower insulin levels were found in Post/C respect to Pre/C in L2 and L4. These changes highlight the difficulty of dairy cows to cope with the energy demand characterizing the transition period. Improving in knowledge of energetic metabolism changes may help to supply a new strategy of farm management and reproductive performance in dairy cows during the transition period

A 3D bioelectrical interface to assess colorectal cancer progression in vitro

Conducting polymers such as PEDOT have attracted considerable attention in the tissue engineering field to add an active electrical read-out to 3D cell cultures. However, PEDOT is normally copolymerized with PSS− that possibly degrades acidic by-products in the long-term. Given this drawback, it is preferable to tailor PEDOT:polyelectrolyte dispersions that better meet the morphological and physiological microenvironment of the human tissues. Herein, a novel bioelectrical interface in the shape of a 3D porous scaffold made of the conducting PEDOT/hyaluronic acid (HA) and collagen (COL) is presented. For this purpose, first, the oxidative chemical polymerization of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) was carried out in the presence of the biopolymers. Then, porous scaffolds were constructed by freeze-drying the dispersions which allows good control of pore size and morphology, showing unique mechanical properties. Interestingly, these biocompatible, conducting scaffolds successfully support growth of 3D cell cultures of sw480 colon adenocarcinoma cancer cells, achieving good cell attachment and proliferation. When integrated with electrodes, they further allow real-time electrical monitoring of cell growth and proliferation. Upon the addition of the flavonoid morin, cell apoptosis and death were monitored by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and optical immunostaining., demonstrating the promise of these scaffolds for cancer cell progression modeling. We believe that our findings have demonstrated the great promise of combining PEDOT with biopolymers for cancer cell progression modeling but also will be of interest in broader applications in the fields of biomedicine, wearable electronics, and prospectively applied to clinic.This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 842356 ICE-METs project. DM acknowledges the economic support of Spanish MCIN/AEI/PID2020-119026 GB-I00 and by Marie Sklodowska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff Exchanges (RISE) under the grant agreement No 823989 “IONBIKE”

Understanding the Origin and Mixing of Deep Fluids in Shallow Aquifers and Possible Implications for Crustal Deformation Studies: San Vittorino Plain, Central Apennines

Expanding knowledge about the origin and mixing of deep fluids and the water–rock–gas interactions in aquifer systems can represent an improvement in the comprehension of crustal deformation processes. An analysis of the deep and meteoric fluid contributions to a regional groundwater circulation model in an active seismic area has been carried out. We performed two hydrogeochemical screenings of 15 springs in the San Vittorino Plain (central Italy). Furthermore, we updated the San Vittorino Plain structural setting with a new geological map and cross-sections, highlighting how and where the aquifers are intersected by faults. The application of Na-Li geothermometers, coupled with trace element and gas analyses, agrees in attributing the highest temperatures (&gt;150 °C), the greatest enrichments in Li (124.3 ppb) and Cs (&gt;5 ppb), and traces of mantle-derived He (1–2%) to springs located in correspondence with high-angle faults (i.e., S5, S11, S13, and S15). This evidence points out the role of faults acting as vehicles for deep fluids into regional carbonate aquifers. These results highlight the criteria for identifying the most suitable sites for monitoring variations in groundwater geochemistry due to the uprising of deep fluids modulated by fault activity to be further correlated with crustal deformation and possibly with seismicit

New observations in Central Italy of groundwater responses to the worldwide seismicity

Chemical and physical responses of groundwater to seismicity have been documented for thousands of years. Among the waves produced by earthquakes, Rayleigh waves can spread to great distances and produce hydrogeological perturbations in response to their passage. In this work, the groundwater level, which was continuously recorded in a monitoring well in Central Italy between July 2014 and December 2019, exhibited evident responses to dynamic crustal stress. In detail, 18 sharp variations of the groundwater level due to worldwide Mw ≥ 6.5 earthquakes were observed. Apart from earthquakes that occurred in Papua New Guinea and those with a hypocentral depth &gt; 150 km, all far away Mw ≥ 7.6 earthquakes produced impulsive oscillations of groundwater. As the earthquake magnitude decreased, only some earthquakes with 6.5 ≤ Mw &lt; 7.6 caused groundwater level perturbations, depending on the data acquisition frequency and epicentral distance from the monitoring well. A clear correlation between earthquake distance and magnitude in hydrogeological responses was found. Our results shed light on the hydrosensitivity of the study site and on the characteristics of fractured aquifer systems. Detecting the water table variations induced by distant earthquakes is another step towards a correct identification of (preseismic) hydrogeological changes due to near-field seismicity

Possible Indications of New Physics in Bd-mixing and in sin(2 beta) Determinations

Using the hadronic matrix elements from the lattice, B_K and xi_s, involving only the 4-quark operators for Delta flavor (F) = 2 Hamiltonian relevant for K, B_d and B_s mixing, along with V_cb, we deduce a non-trivial constraint on the SM, sin (2 beta) = 0.87+-0.09. This deviates from direct experimental measurements via the tree process, b -> c c s as well as the one via the penguin-loop b -> s decays by around 2.1 and 2.7 sigma respectively. If these deviations are confirmed they would imply the presence of new physics rather pervasively in both B_d mixing (i.e. very likely in b -> d) as well as in b -> s transitions requiring a beyond the SM CP-odd phase. Consequently, improvements in the relevant lattice calculations should be given a high priority.Comment: 4 pages, 2 eps figures. References added. A corrected expression for epsilon_K, following the paper from Buras and Guadagnoli (arXiv:0805.3887), is used and small changes in the numerics due to the new formula are propagate

A propensity score-weighted comparison between adalimumab originator and its biosimilars, ABP501 and SB5, in inflammatory bowel disease: a multicenter Italian study

Background: Adalimumab is an effective and safe biological drug for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Nowadays, several biosimilar agents are available, but data regarding their efficacy and safety in patients with IBD are still lacking. We aimed to compare the effectiveness and tolerability between adalimumab originator, ABP501 and SB5 biosimilars in patients with IBD in the short term (after induction and after 6 months of treatment) through a propensity score-weighted multicenter cohort study. Methods: We included 156 patients with IBD, 69 patients with ulcerative colitis and 87 patients with Crohn's disease (CD) receiving ABP501 or SB5 biosimilars from January 2019 to April 2020 for moderate-to-severe disease. For comparison, a group of age- and sex-matched patients treated with adalimumab originator was used. We collected clinical and biochemical data after induction and at 6 months of treatment. Endoscopic data were recorded only at baseline. Results: Overall, clinical benefit was achieved by 86.4% and 85.3% after induction and at 6 months, respectively, without a statistically significant difference between the three treatment groups (p = 0.68 and p = 0.46). However, after induction, we found significant differences between the two types of the disease (ulcerative colitis or CD, p = 0.004), with a greater clinical benefit achieved by patients with CD. Also, the therapeutic optimization rate between the three drugs was not statistically significant different (p = 0.30). All treatments showed a good safety profile, with only 10 patients who needed to stop therapy because of adverse events. Conclusion: Adalimumab biosimilars seem to be as effective and safe as the originator in patients with IBD. Surely, they represent a great opportunity to reduce the costs of biological therapies, however larger and longer real-life studies are necessary