Leather manufacturing by using treated municipal wastewaters

Leather processing requires copious amounts of freshwater, approximately between 15 and 20 L per kg of raw hide. The possibility of reusing reclaimed municipal wastewaters in the leather production assumes a great significance, proving a sustainable solution to the conservation of the groundwater reserves. In the present work, a combination of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) and nanofiltration (NF) membrane processes was investigated for the municipal wastewater reclamation, and their performances were evaluated and designed to meet water quality criteria required by the wet stages of tanning process. The results showed that the municipal wastewaters treated by combing MBR and NF met the required quality criteria in terms of total/permanent hardness, Fe, Mn and ammonium contents. The quality of the leathers produced both on pilot and industrial scale using treated water did not show any significant difference in terms of physical and technical properties, and satisfied fully the tannery specifications

Probiotic administration in patients with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis for ulcerative colitis is associated with expansion of mucosal regulatory cells.

BACKGROUND: Probiotics have anti-inflammatory effects in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and appear to regulate mucosal immune response through reductions in proinflammatory cytokines. The probiotic VSL#3 prevents pouchitis if started within a week of ileostomy closure and maintains remission following antibacterial treatment in patients with refractory or recurrent pouchitis. However, the efficacy of probiotics and their effects on regulatory cells if started at a greater time after surgery in patients undergoing ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) for ulcerative colitis are unknown. METHODS: We conducted an open-label study in which 31 patients at different periods from surgery without signs and symptoms of pouchitis were randomized to 2 sachets of VSL#3 once daily or no treatment for 12 months. Pouchitis disease activity index (PDAI) was evaluated at baseline and after 3, 6, and 12 months. The percentage of CD4+ T lymphocytes expressing CD25 and the inactive form of transforming growth factor-beta [latency-associated peptide (LAP)] were evaluated at baseline and after 3 and 6 months in peripheral-blood mononuclear cells and mucosal biopsies. Variation in tissue interleukin-1beta and Foxp3 mRNA expression was also evaluated. RESULTS: During the study period, VSL#3-treated patients showed a significant reduction in PDAI score and a significant increase in the percentage of mucosal CD4+CD25(high) and CD4+ LAP-positive cells compared with baseline values. Tissue samples at different points showed a significant reduction in IL-1beta mRNA expression, and a significant increase in Foxp3 mRNA expression. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that VSL#3 administration in patients with IPAA modulates the PDAI and expands the number of mucosal regulatory T cells

The case of study of hazelnut shells biorefinery: Synthesis of active carbons from the hydrochar recovered downstream of levulinic acid production

Hazelnut processing industry generates significant waste streams, in particular cuticles and shells. Extractives are the main components of the cuticle fraction (~36 wt%), mainly including polyphenols and fatty acids, which can be advantageously employed in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. Focusing on the shell fraction, this represents ~50 % of the total nut weight. Differently from cuticles, shells are rich in recalcitrant lignin (~38 wt%), in addition to cellulose and hemicellulose (each component accounting for ~23 wt%). Up to now, this waste, which is preponderantly produced in Italy and Turkey, is mostly underutilized, being limitedly used as a boiler fuel for domestic heating and for landscaping. On the other hand, both these fractions of hazelnut shells can be successfully valorized and, in agreement with the objectives of the project PRIN 2020 LEVANTE “LEvulinic acid Valorization through Advanced Novel Technologies” (2020CZCJN7), we have proposed a new cascade approach, converting its cellulosic fraction into levulinic acid (∼9-12 wt%), recovering as final waste an abundant carbonaceous hydrochar (∼45 wt%), mainly composed of aromatic (from lignin) and furanic (from degradation of C5/C6 sugars) units. In the LEVANTE project, this hydrochar was activated by pyrolysis and chemical treatments (H3PO4, ZnCl2, KOH, NaOH), and the synthesized new active carbons (ACs) have been properly characterized (ultimate and proximate analysis, FT-IR, surface properties and SEM microscopy). This preliminary screening allowed us to select the KOH-AC as the most interesting one, as further confirmed by the highest CO2 adsorption capacity (~90 mg/g), due to its well-developed microporous texture. This new AC was also effective for the removal of the bulkier methylene blue (complete removal, corresponding to ~250 mg/g). This proposed integrated approach makes possible to fully exploit the hazelnut shell feedstock, smartly closing the biorefinery cycle of the hazelnut wastes, in a circular economy perspective. In addition, the selective fractionation of soluble C5 and C6 sugars of shell fraction is currently under investigation and this will enable us to obtain an hydrochar with a less-degraded lignin fraction, thus moving towards progressively more sustainable hydrothermal and activation reaction conditions. The authors are grateful to Italian “Ministero dell'Istruzione dell'Università e della Ricerca” for the financial support provided through the stated PRIN 2020 LEVANTE project

New exploitation strategies of the by-products deriving from the hazelnut supply chain

Hazelnut processing industry generates significant waste streams, in particular cuticles and shells. Extractives are the main components of the cuticle fraction (~36 wt%), mainly including polyphenols and fatty acids, which can be advantageously used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. Focusing on the shell fraction, this represents ~50 % of the total nut weight (about 273 thousand metric tons, based on the 2021-2022 worldwide data on hazelnut production). Differently from cuticles, shells are rich in recalcitrant lignin (~38 wt%), in addition to cellulose and hemicellulose (each component accounting for ~23 wt%). Up to now, this waste, which is preponderantly produced in Italy and Turkey, is mostly underutilized, being limitedly used as a boiler fuel for domestic heating and for landscaping. On the other hand, these both fractions of hazelnut shells can be successfully valorized and, in this perspective, we have proposed a new cascade approach, converting its cellulosic fraction into levulinic acid (∼9-12 wt%), and recovering an abundant carbonaceous hydrochar as the final waste (∼45 wt%), mainly composed of aromatic and furanic units. In this work, the exploitation of this waste biomass-derived hydrochar for environmental applications has been investigated, after its pyrolysis and chemical activation treatments (H3PO4, ZnCl2, KOH, NaOH). The synthesized new active carbons (ACs) have been properly characterized and used as adsorbents for CO2 and methylene blue removal. This proposed integrated approach makes possible to fully exploit the hazelnut shell feedstock, smartly closing the biorefinery cycle of the hazelnut wastes, in a sustainable and circular perspective

A possible cause of misdiagnosis in tumors of the axilla: schwannoma of the brachial plexus

The Authors report a rare case of a 57 years old man affected by a left radial nerve schwannoma that occurred as an asymptomatic lesion of the axilla. At clinical examination the lump was undistinguishable from the most common axillary lymphadenopathy. A lymphoadenopathy was erroneously diagnosed with ultrasonography (US). This mistake was due to the low specificity of the instrumental methodology and to the rarity of an asymptomatic schwannoma of the infraclavicular brachial plexus. The neoplasia was excised without using the microscope. In the early post-operative follow up, a “falling” attitude of the wirst, the hand and the fingers appeared, peculiar for a lesion of the radial nerve. Furthermore a hypoaesthesia of the skin of first finger and of the first interosseus space was associated. The sensitive and motor electromyography showed a radial nerve suffering. The “stupor” of the nerve trunk was treated with steroid therapy for 7 days and the patient underwent to some series of neuro-rehabilitative physical therapy for 12 weeks. The postoperative total body CT, showed that the lesion was unique: therefore it was possible to exclude the diagnosis of neurofibromatosis. After 28 months electromyography and axillary US were performed showing the complete resolution of the motor and sensitive deficit and the absence of local recurrence

Follicular Origin of a Subset of CD5+ Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphomas

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A clinical radiographic and histologic revaluation of a 10 years sample of surgically treated cysts of the jaws, with special emphasis on keratocysts.

The aim of this study was to compare the histologic features of the cysts as regards their radiographic and clinical aspects, in order to assess the accuracy of the diagnosis, the appropriateness of the treatment and the reliability of the follow-up. A sample of 173 cysts of the jaws was reviewed in accordance with the 1992 WHO histological classification. Of these cysts, 77.44% were inflammatory, 12.71% follicular and 8.67% keratocysts. The cysts were slightly more frequently located in the mandible (52.60%) than in the maxilla (47.39%) and they affected men more frequently (60.11%) than women (39.88%). However keratocysts and nasopalatine cysts were twice as frequent in women than in men. No recurrence of keratocysts was found, either in those correctly diagnosed at the moment of the first histologic examination, or in those firstly erroneously diagnosed as an other type of cysts. On the basis of the fairly high percentage of non-inflammatory cysts in adult patients, it can be suggested to perform an orthopantomography as a preventive measure, every 5 years, particularly when impaired teeth are present