Green hydrogen opportunities in selected industrial processes

This document summarises the contributions to the workshop "Green hydrogen opportunities in selected industrial processes" organised on the 26th of June 2018 in the Centre Albert Borschette in Brussels. The main aim of this workshop was to objectively assess the technical limitations and the potential benefits for the direct use of "green hydrogen" in three specific energy-intensive industrial processes: Ammonia production, Steelmaking, and Oil Refining. This focus was complemented by interventions surveying system modelling work relevant for the three technologies, guarantees of origin for green hydrogen and the European legislative context.JRC.C.1-Energy Storag

Current Status of Chemical Energy Storage Technologies

The aim of this report is to give an overview of the contribution of EU funding, specifically through Horizon 2020 (H2020), to the research, development and deployment of chemical energy storage technologies (CEST). In the context of this report, CEST is defined as energy storage through the conversion of electricity to hydrogen or other chemicals and synthetic fuels. On the basis of an analysis of the H2020 project portfolio and funding distribution, the report maps research activities on CESTs at the European level. In addition, projects funded at national and international level, occurring within the same timeframe, have been considered.JRC.C.1-Energy Storag

Is Orthodontic Treatment with Microperforations Worth It? A Scoping Review

Malformations of teeth and dental arches can produce functional modifications intermingled with esthetic alterations. Children’s rehabilitation may be long, requiring multiple interventions. One of the main challenges of contemporary orthodontics is to reduce treatment time by accelerating orthodontic tooth movements. Among the currently used methods, micro-osteoperforations (MOPs) are flapless, minimally invasive perforations that induce a local trauma to the bone, increase healing capacity, and accelerate dental movements. The use of MOPs in orthodontics is spreading but there are no definite and recognized protocols for their application. This scoping review collected the available evidence in the effect of MOPs during orthodontic therapy as compared to current treatments, to summarize the evidence. The guidelines proposed by PRISMA-ScR were followed: original clinical studies carried out from 2010 to 2021 were retrieved by medical databases combining the terms “micro-osteoperforations” and “accelerated orthodontic tooth movement”. From a total of 965 articles, nine were finally selected. The studies' aims, designs, methods, measurements, outcomes, and main findings were very heterogenous, with a duration ranging from 4 weeks to 7 months. This included only Class I malocclusion to any malocclusion. It assessed the effects of MOPs coupled with a variety of orthodontic mechanics on either the retraction of maxillary canines, the distalization of maxillary molars, or the modifications on premolar roots. Mostly, variations in the number, location, and timing of MOPs impeded a global assessment. Overall, most of the studies (six out of nine) reported moderately useful effects of MOPs, one was negative, and only two found significant advantages of MOPs over conventional treatment. The review synthesized the available evidence about MOP applications in orthodontics and identified some important gaps in knowledge that could be starting points for a systematic review of the literature. In conclusion, even if MOPs can accelerate tooth movements, the variety of aims and methods of the published research prevents suggestion of their widespread use

Incidental Finding in Pre-Orthodontic Treatment Radiographs of an Aural Foreign Body: A Case Report

The presence of foreign bodies in the external auditory canal of young patients may cause, if left untreated, severe permanent damage to the adjacent anatomical structures, and infections. A 10‐year‐old patient with an intellectual disability underwent orthodontic evaluation. An aural radiopaque finding was visible in the lateral cephalogram and in the orthopantomography. The patient’s mother reported that her son never showed any ear discomfort, except for a mild hearing impairment that was never investigated. The patient was referred to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist that removed the foreign body located in the left external auditory meatus. The careful evaluation of dental radiographs, including pre‐orthodontic and interim orthodontic radiographs, may help to identify silent incidental findings that may otherwise lead to severe complications if left untreated

Malignancies and Biosensors: A Focus on Oral Cancer Detection through Salivary Biomarkers

Oral cancer is among the deadliest types of malignancy due to the late stage at which it is usually diagnosed, leaving the patient with an average five-year survival rate of less than 50%. The booming field of biosensing and point of care diagnostics can, in this regard, play a major role in the early detection of oral cancer. Saliva is gaining interest as an alternative biofluid for non-invasive diagnostics, and many salivary biomarkers of oral cancer have been proposed. While these findings are promising for the application of salivaomics tools in routine practice, studies on larger cohorts are still needed for clinical validation. This review aims to summarize the most recent development in the field of biosensing related to the detection of salivary biomarkers commonly associated with oral cancer. An introduction to oral cancer diagnosis, prognosis and treatment is given to define the clinical problem clearly, then saliva as an alternative biofluid is presented, along with its advantages, disadvantages, and collection procedures. Finally, a brief paragraph on the most promising salivary biomarkers introduces the sensing technologies commonly exploited to detect oral cancer markers in saliva. Hence this review provides a comprehensive overview of both the clinical and technological advantages and challenges associated with oral cancer detection through salivary biomarkers

Controlled Release of H2S from Biomimetic Silk Fibroin-PLGA Multilayer Electrospun Scaffolds

The possibility of incorporating H2S slow-release donors inside biomimetic scaffolds can pave the way to new approaches in the field of tissue regeneration and anti-inflammatory treatment. In the present work, GYY4137, an easy-to-handle commercially available Lawesson's reagent derivative, has been successfully incorporated inside biomimetic silk fibroin-based electrospun scaffolds. Due to the instability of GYY4137 in the solvent needed to prepare silk fibroin solutions (formic acid), the electrospinning of the donor together with the silk fibroin turned out to be impossible. Therefore, a multilayer structure was realized, consisting of a PLGA mat containing GYY4137 sandwiched between two silk fibroin nanofibrous layers. Before their use in the multilayer scaffold, the silk fibroin mats were treated in ethanol to induce crystalline phase formation, which conferred water resistance and biomimetic properties. The morphological, thermal, and chemical properties of the obtained scaffolds were thoroughly characterized by SEM, TGA, DSC, FTIR, and WAXD. Multilayer devices showing two different concentrations of the H2S donor, i.e., 2 and 5% w/w with respect to the weight of PLGA, were analyzed to study their H2S release and biological properties, and the results were compared with those of the sample not containing GYY4137. The H2S release analysis was carried out according to an "ad-hoc" designed procedure based on a validated high-performance liquid chromatography method. The proposed analytical approach demonstrated the slow-release kinetics of H2S from the multilayer scaffolds and its tunability by acting on the donor's concentration inside the PLGA nanofibers. Finally, the devices were tested in biological assays using bone marrow derived mesenchymal stromal cells showing the capacity to support cell spreading throughout the scaffold and prevent cytotoxicity effects in serum starvation conditions. The resulting devices can be exploited for applications in the tissue engineering field since they combine the advantages of controlled H2S release kinetics and the biomimetic properties of silk fibroin nanofibers

Responsabilidad social universitaria en Maracaibo, Venezuela

This article aims to analyze university social responsibility in Maracaibo, Venezuela. The work is based on the postulates of Rodriguez (2010), De la Cuesta (2011) and the Ministry of Education in Spain (2011), among others. It is a descriptive, field study. The population consisted of authorities from five universities, one (1) public and four (4) private, located in Maracaibo, who were accessed through a questionnaire composed of thirty-two (32) closed items. The instrument was validated by experts in the university management field. To determine the questionnaire’s reliability, the test-retest method was applied, obtaining a 0.94 coefficient. To analyze data, the arithmetic mean or average was used. Results indicate that the universities under study exhibit a social responsibility model with an instrumental, entrepreneurial tendency, where knowledge is seen as the main asset available for society’s use. However, a greater integration of these higher education institutions with their stakeholders is required.  El presente artículo tiene como objetivo analizar la responsabilidad social universitaria en Maracaibo, Venezuela. El trabajo se sustenta en los postulados de Rodríguez (2010), De la Cuesta (2011), el Ministerio de Educación de España (2011), entre otros. El estudio fue descriptivo, de campo. La población estuvo conformada por autoridades de cinco (5) universidades, una (1) pública y cuatro (4) privadas ubicadas en Maracaibo, a las cuales se accedió mediante un cuestionario compuesto por treinta y dos (32) ítems cerrados. El instrumento fue validado por expertos en el ámbito de la gerencia universitaria. Para determinar la confiabilidad del cuestionario se aplicó el método test-retest, obteniéndose un coeficiente de 0,94. Para analizar los datos se utilizó el promedio aritmético o media. Los resultados indican que las universidades estudiadas exhiben un modelo de responsabilidad social de tendencia empresarial instrumental, donde el conocimiento se perfila como el principal activo disponible para su uso por la sociedad, pero se requiere una mayor integración de las instituciones de educación superior con sus stakeholders. &nbsp

Therapeutic Induction of Energy Metabolism Reduces Neural Tissue Damage and Increases Microglia Activation in Severe Spinal Cord Injury

: Neural tissue has high metabolic requirements. Following spinal cord injury (SCI), the damaged, tissue suffers from a severe metabolic impairment, which aggravates axonal degeneration and, neuronal loss. Impaired cellular energetic, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and oxidative, phosphorylation metabolism in neuronal cells has been demonstrated to be a major cause of neural tissue death and regeneration failure following SCI. Therefore, rewiring the spinal cord cell metabolism may be an innovative therapeutic strategy for the treatment of SCI. In this study, we evaluated the therapeutic effect of the recovery of oxidative metabolism in a mouse model of severe contusive SCI. Oral administration of TCA cycle intermediates, co-factors, essential amino acids, and branched-chain amino acids was started 3 days post-injury and continued until the end of the experimental procedures. Metabolomic, immunohistological, and biochemical analyses were performed on the injured spinal cord sections. Administration of metabolic precursors enhanced spinal cord oxidative metabolism. In line with this metabolic shift, we observed the activation of the mTORC1 anabolic pathway, the increase in mitochondrial mass, and ROS defense which effectively prevented the injury-induced neural cell apoptosis in treated animals. Consistently, we found more choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-expressing motor neurons and increased neurofilament positive corticospinal axons in the spinal cord parenchyma of the treated mice. Interestingly, oral administration of the metabolic precursors increased the number of activated microglia expressing the CD206 marker suggestive of a, pro-resolutive, M2-like phenotype. These molecular and histological modifications observed in treated animals ultimately led to a significant, although partial, improvement of the motor functions. Our data demonstrate that rewiring the cellular metabolism can represent an effective strategy to treat SCI