Hydrated metal salt pretreatment and alkali catalyzed reactive distillation: A two-step production of waste cooking oil biodiesel

In this work, a novel method was proposed for the conversion of waste cooking oil into biodiesel. A two-step approach based on a pretreatment with AlCl3•6H2O to convert FFA into the relevant methyl esters, followed by the complete transesterification of glycerides, under KOH catalysis in a reactive distillation column, was considered. The pretreatment with AlCl3•6H2O allowed to obtain two different phases: an oily phase, rich in FAME and triacylglycerols and with a very limited content of water (100 ppm), and residual FFA (1 mgKOH /goil), and a methanol phase, in which most of the catalyst, water and monoacylglycerols were dissolved in. The esterified stream was characterized by its composition and used to obtain new kinetic parameters to be used in the setting of the reactive distillation. The reactive distillation column was proved to be efficient in obtaining a biodiesel stream with a purity requirement conform to the EN14214 standards. The transesterification step was characterized by a specific heating requirement of 701.3 kJ per kg of biodiesel produced

Single-cell strand sequencing of a macaque genome reveals multiple nested inversions and breakpoint reuse during primate evolution

Rhesus macaque is an Old World monkey that shared a common ancestor with human ∼25 Myr ago and is an important animal model for human disease studies. A deep understanding of its genetics is therefore required for both biomedical and evolutionary studies. Among structural variants, inversions represent a driving force in speciation and play an important role in disease predisposition. Here we generated a genome-wide map of inversions between human and macaque, combining single-cell strand sequencing with cytogenetics. We identified 375 total inversions between 859 bp and 92 Mbp, increasing by eightfold the number of previously reported inversions. Among these, 19 inversions flanked by segmental duplications overlap with recurrent copy number variants associated with neurocognitive disorders. Evolutionary analyses show that in 17 out of 19 cases, the Hominidae orientation of these disease-associated regions is always derived. This suggests that duplicated sequences likely played a fundamental role in generating inversions in humans and great apes, creating architectures that nowadays predispose these regions to disease-associated genetic instability. Finally, we identified 861 genes mapping at 156 inversions breakpoints, with some showing evidence of differential expression in human and macaque cell lines, thus highlighting candidates that might have contributed to the evolution of species-specific features. This study depicts the most accurate fine-scale map of inversions between human and macaque using a two-pronged integrative approach, such as single-cell strand sequencing and cytogenetics, and represents a valuable resource toward understanding of the biology and evolution of primate species

Multiple Sclerosis Decreases Explicit Counterfactual Processing and Risk Taking in Decision Making

Deficits in decision making (DM) are commonly associated with prefrontal cortical damage, but may occur with multiple sclerosis (MS). There are no data concerning the impact of MS on tasks evaluating DM under explicit risk, where different emotional and cognitive components can be distinguished.Methods: We assessed 72 relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients with mild to moderate disease and 38 healthy controls in two DM tasks involving risk with explicit rules: (1) The Wheel of Fortune (WOF), which probes the anticipated affects of decisions outcomes on future choices; and (2) The Cambridge Gamble Task (CGT) which measures risk taking. Participants also underwent a neuropsychological and emotional assessment, and skin conductance responses (SCRs) were recorded.Results: In the WOF, RRMS patients showed deficits in integrating positive counterfactual information (p <0.005) and greater risk aversion (p <0.001). They reported less negative affect than controls (disappointment: p = 0.007; regret: p = 0.01), although their implicit emotional reactions as measured by post-choice SCRs did not differ. In the CGT, RRMS patients differed from controls in quality of DM (p = 0.01) and deliberation time (p = 0.0002), the latter difference being correlated with attention scores. Such changes did not result in overall decreases in performance (total gains).Conclusions: The quality of DM under risk was modified by MS in both tasks. The reduction in the expression of disappointment coexisted with an increased risk aversion in the WOF and alexithymia features. These concomitant emotional alterations may have implications for better understanding the components of explicit DM and for the clinical support of MS patients

Effects of thermal water inhalation in chronic upper respiratory tract infections in elderly and young patients

Background: Chronic upper respiratory tract infections (cURTI) are very frequent illnesses which occur at any age of life. In elderly, cURTI are complicated by immunosenescence, with involvement of lung immune responsiveness. Results: In the present study, 51 elderly (age range: 66-86) and 51 young (age range 24-58) cURTI patients underwent a single cycle (two weeks) of inhalatory therapy with salt-bromide-iodine thermal water in the thermal station "Margherita di Savoia" (Margherita di Savoia, BAT, Italy). Peripheral blood serum cytokines and clinical assessment were performed before therapy (T0) and after six months (T1) and 12 months (T2) from inhalatory treatment. In both elderly and young patients, at baseline an increased release of T helper (h)1-related cytokines [interleukin (IL)-2 and interferon-γ] and of Th2-related cytokine (IL-4) was documented. Inhalatory treatment reduced the excessive secretion of all the above-cited cytokines. IL-10 values were above normality at all times considered in both groups of patients. In addition, an increase in IL-17 and IL-21 serum levels following therapy was observed in both groups of patients. Pro-inflammatory cytokine (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor-α) baseline values were lower than normal values at T0 in both elderly and young cURTI patients. Their levels increased following inhalatory treatment. Clinically, at T2 a dramatic reduction of frequency of upper respiratory tract infections was recorded in both groups of patients. Conclusion: Thermal water inhalation is able to modulate systemic immune response in elderly and young cURTI patients, thus reducing excessive production of Th1 and Th2-related cytokines, on the one hand. On the other hand, increased levels of IL-21 (an inducer of Th17 cells) and of IL-17 may be interpreted as a protective mechanism, which likely leads to neutrophil recruitment in cURTI patients. Also restoration of pro-inflammatory cytokine release following inhalatory therapy may result in microbe eradication. Quite importantly, the maintenance of high levels of IL-10 during the follow-up would suggest a consistent regulatory role of this cytokine in attenuating the pro-inflammatory arm of the immune response

Adaptive learning using SCORM compliant resources

In recent years great efforts of e-learning research have been focused on customising learning paths according to user preferences. Starting from the consideration that individuals learn best when information is presented in ways that are congruent with their preferred cognitive styles, the authors built an adaptive learning object using the standard SCORM, which dynamically related different learning content to students’ cognitive styles. This was performed in order to organize an experimental study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of an adaptive learning object and the effective congruence of this adaptive learning object with the presentation modes and cognitive styles. The sample was made up of 170 students enrolled in two different University courses. The data were gathered by a Cognitive Styles Questionnaire to identify each student cognitive profile, a Computer Attitude Scale to assess the computer-related attitude, and Comprehension Tests. The results indicated that there was a good flexibility of the adaptive learning object, and that analytic and imaginer subjects showed more positive computer attitudes related to a better comprehension of the learning content

Studio del profilo plasmatico degli aminoacidi liberi in bambini con insufficienza renale cronica in terapia emodialitica

Some Authors found changes in plasma aminoacids concentration in patients with chronic renal failure treated with conservative therapy or with dialysis. Particularly they observed a reduction in the concentration of essential aminoacids (EAA) and an increase of the non essential (NEAA), with increase in their ratio. In our study we analyzed the plasma aminoacids pools in 12 children with chronic renal failure treated with hemodialysis. We have measured the plasma aminoacids concentrations before and after hemodialysis to evaluate their variations and their role in the pathogenesis of some symptoms of uremia. A decreased concentration of EAA and an increased concentration of NEAA, before hemodialysis, were observed. These findings were not modified by this therapy, but turned out to be related to protein intake

A novel CO2 activation at room temperature to prepare an engineered lanthanum-based adsorbent for a sustainable arsenic removal from water

A novel activation route for the preparation of carbon-based adsorbents functionalized with lanthanum and their application for arsenic adsorption was proposed. This procedure is based on carbon dioxide activation at room temperature, which could allow to reduce the energy consumption and adsorbent cost. A comparison of this novel activation approach with respect to the conventional thermal activation at 800 °C under N2 atmosphere was performed on biochar from avocado seeds and functionalized with lanthanum. Results showed that the arsenic adsorption properties of the lanthanum-functionalized adsorbent activated with CO2 at room temperature were higher up to 179% than those activated with N2 at 800 °C. The carbonation of lanthanum oxygenated functionalities on the adsorbent surface favored the ligand exchange and surface complexation interactions during the arsenic adsorption. Arsenic adsorption using this engineered lanthanum-based adsorbent was endothermic and transited from a multi-molecular process at 25 °C to a multi-anchorage process at 30 °C. The estimated arsenic adsorption capacities at saturation for these novel adsorbents were 15 – 20 mg/g at 25 – 40 °C, respectively