Hydrogen Production and Carbon Capture by Gas‐Phase Methane Pyrolysis: A Feasibility Study

Using natural gas and sustainable biogas as feed, high-temperature pyrolysis represents a potential technology for large-scale hydrogen production and simultaneous carbon capture. Further utilization of solid carbon accruing during the process (i. e., in battery industry or for metallurgy) increases the process\u27s economic chances. This study demonstrated the feasibility of gas-phase methane pyrolysis for hydrogen production and carbon capture in an electrically heated high-temperature reactor operated between 1200 and 1600 °C under industrially relevant conditions. While hydrogen addition controlled methane conversion and suppressed the formation of undesired byproducts, an increasing residence time decreased the amount of byproducts and benefited high hydrogen yields. A temperature of 1400 °C ensured almost full methane conversion, moderate byproduct formation, and high hydrogen yield. A reaction flow analysis of the gas-phase kinetics revealed acetylene, ethylene, and benzene as the main intermediate products and precursors of carbon formation

Outcomes of haploidentical stem cell transplantation for chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a retrospective study on behalf of the chronic malignancies working party of the EBMT

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) may result in long-term disease control in high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Recently, haploidentical HCT is gaining interest because of better outcomes with post-transplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCY). We analyzed patients with CLL who received an allogeneic HCT with a haploidentical donor and whose data were available in the EBMT registry. In total 117 patients (74% males) were included; 38% received PTCY as GVHD prophylaxis. For the whole study cohort OS at 2 and 5 yrs was 48 and 38%, respectively. PFS at 2 and 5 yrs was 38 and 31%, respectively. Cumulative incidence (CI) of NRM in the whole group at 2 and 5 years were 40 and 44%, respectively. CI of relapse at 2 and 5 yrs were 22 and 26%, respectively. All outcomes were not statistically different in patients who received PTCY compared to other types of GVHD prophylaxis. In conclusion, results of haploidentical HCT in CLL seem almost identical to those with HLA-matched donors. Thereby, haploidentical HCT is an appropriate alternative in high risk CLL patients with a transplant indication but no available HLA-matched donor. Despite the use of PTCY, the CI of relapse seems not higher than observed after HLA-matched HCT

THREE HOURS OF MODERATE INTENSITY EXERCISE TRAINING REDUCES GLUCOSE TOLERANCE IN ENDURANCE TRAINED ATHLETES

BACKGROUND It is well accepted that exercise training improves glucose uptake and insulin sensitivity, and that endurance trained athletes in general show a high capacity for these parameters and excellent metabolic control. However, some studies fail to observe positive effects on glucose regulation in healthy, trained subjects the day after exercise. These, often unexpected, results have been postulated to be caused by excessive training loads, muscle damage, energy deficit, differences in glucose uptake in the exercised and non-exercised musculature and a metabolic interaction through increased fatty acid metabolism which suppresses glucose oxidation and uptake. The mode or volume of exercise that can lead to glucose intolerance in trained athletes as well as mechanistic insights and its relevance for health and performance are, however, not fully understood. AIM We studied the metabolic response to a glucose load the day after a session of high intensity interval training (HIIT) or three hours of continuous exercise (3h) in endurance trained athletes and compared the results with measurements during rest. METHOD Nine endurance trained athletes (5 females, 4 males) underwent oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) after rest and ~14 hours after exercise on a cycle ergometer (HIIT 5x4 minutes at ~95% of VO2max or 3h at 65% of VO2max). Venous blood was sampled at 15-minute intervals for 120 minutes and concentrations of glucose, insulin, free fatty acids (FFA) and ketones (β-hydroxybutyrate) were measured. Statistical analysis was performed using a RM one-way ANOVA with the Giesser-Greenhouse correction and Dunnett’s test was used to compare the exercise conditions to the resting condition. RESULTS The area under the curve (AUC) during the OGTT increased greatly after 3h (668±124 mM · min) (p<0.01) compared to rest (532±89) but was found to be unchanged after HIIT (541±96). Resting values of FFA and ketones were increased after 3h (p<0.01 and p<0.05, respectively) but not after HIIT. Insulin was found to be unaltered during all conditions. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Here, we show manifestation of glucose intolerance in endurance trained athletes together with concomitant increases in plasma concentrations of FFA and ketones the day after a session of prolonged exercise training but not after HIIT. This could be a protective response for securing glucose delivery to the brain and therefore have a positive effect on endurance. It also has the potential to reduce the recovery of glycogen depots, glucose uptake during exercise and performance at higher work rates

THREE HOURS OF MODERATE INTENSITY EXERCISE TRAINING REDUCES GLUCOSE TOLERANCE IN ENDURANCE TRAINED ATHLETES

BACKGROUND It is well accepted that exercise training improves glucose uptake and insulin sensitivity, and that endurance trained athletes in general show a high capacity for these parameters and excellent metabolic control. However, some studies fail to observe positive effects on glucose regulation in healthy, trained subjects the day after exercise. These, often unexpected, results have been postulated to be caused by excessive training loads, muscle damage, energy deficit, differences in glucose uptake in the exercised and non-exercised musculature and a metabolic interaction through increased fatty acid metabolism which suppresses glucose oxidation and uptake. The mode or volume of exercise that can lead to glucose intolerance in trained athletes as well as mechanistic insights and its relevance for health and performance are, however, not fully understood. AIM We studied the metabolic response to a glucose load the day after a session of high intensity interval training (HIIT) or three hours of continuous exercise (3h) in endurance trained athletes and compared the results with measurements during rest. METHOD Nine endurance trained athletes (5 females, 4 males) underwent oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) after rest and ~14 hours after exercise on a cycle ergometer (HIIT 5x4 minutes at ~95% of VO2max or 3h at 65% of VO2max). Venous blood was sampled at 15-minute intervals for 120 minutes and concentrations of glucose, insulin, free fatty acids (FFA) and ketones (β-hydroxybutyrate) were measured. Statistical analysis was performed using a RM one-way ANOVA with the Giesser-Greenhouse correction and Dunnett’s test was used to compare the exercise conditions to the resting condition. RESULTS The area under the curve (AUC) during the OGTT increased greatly after 3h (668±124 mM · min) (p<0.01) compared to rest (532±89) but was found to be unchanged after HIIT (541±96). Resting values of FFA and ketones were increased after 3h (p<0.01 and p<0.05, respectively) but not after HIIT. Insulin was found to be unaltered during all conditions. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Here, we show manifestation of glucose intolerance in endurance trained athletes together with concomitant increases in plasma concentrations of FFA and ketones the day after a session of prolonged exercise training but not after HIIT. This could be a protective response for securing glucose delivery to the brain and therefore have a positive effect on endurance. It also has the potential to reduce the recovery of glycogen depots, glucose uptake during exercise and performance at higher work rates

Whole bone testing in small animals: systematic characterization of the mechanical properties of different rodent bones available for rat fracture models

Abstract Objectives Rat fracture models are extensively used to characterize normal and pathological bone healing. Despite, systematic research on inter- and intra-individual differences of common rat bones examined is surprisingly not available. Thus, we studied the biomechanical behaviour and radiological characteristics of the humerus, the tibia and the femur of the male Wistar rat—all of which are potentially available in the experimental situation—to identify useful or detrimental biomechanical properties of each bone and to facilitate sample size calculations. Methods 40 paired femura, tibiae and humeri of male Wistar rats (10–38 weeks, weight between 240 and 720 g) were analysed by DXA, pQCT scan and three-point-bending. Bearing and loading bars of the biomechanical setup were adapted percentually to the bone’s length. Subgroups of light (skeletal immature) rats under 400 g (N = 11, 22 specimens of each bone) and heavy (mature) rats over 400 g (N = 9, 18 specimens of each bone) were formed and evaluated separately. Results Radiologically, neither significant differences between left and right bones, nor a specific side preference was evident. Mean side differences of the BMC were relatively small (1–3% measured by DXA and 2.5–5% by pQCT). Over all, bone mineral content (BMC) assessed by DXA and pQCT (TOT CNT, CORT CNT) showed high correlations between each other (BMC vs. TOT and CORT CNT: R 2 = 0.94–0.99). The load–displacement diagram showed a typical, reproducible curve for each type of bone. Tibiae were the longest bones (mean 41.8 ± 4.12 mm) followed by femurs (mean 38.9 ± 4.12 mm) and humeri (mean 29.88 ± 3.33 mm). Failure loads and stiffness ranged from 175.4 ± 45.23 N / 315.6 ± 63.00 N/mm for the femurs, 124.6 ± 41.13 N / 260.5 ± 59.97 N/mm for the humeri to 117.1 ± 33.94 N / 143.8 ± 36.99 N/mm for the tibiae. Smallest interindividual differences were observed in failure loads of the femurs (CV% 8.6) and tibiae (CV% 10.7) of heavy animals, light animals showed good consistency in failure loads of the humeri (CV% 7.7). Most consistent results of both sides (left vs. right) in failure loads were provided by the femurs of light animals (mean difference 4.0 ± 2.8%); concerning stiffness, humeri of heavy animals were most consistent (mean difference of 6.2 ± 5%). In general, the failure loads showed strong correlations to the BMC (R 2 = 0.85–0.88) whereas stiffness correlated only moderate, except for the humerus (BMC vs. stiffness: R 2 = 0.79). Discussion Altogether, the rat’s femur of mature specimens showed the most accurate and consistent radiological and biomechanical results. In synopsis with the common experimental use enabling comparison among different studies, this bone offers ideal biomechanical conditions for three point bending experiments. This can be explained by the combination of a superior aspect ratio and a round and long, straight morphology, which satisfies the beam criteria more than other bones tested

Reduced glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity after prolonged exercise in endurance athletes.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to 1. investigate if glucose tolerance is affected after one acute bout of different types of exercise; 2. assess if potential differences between two exercise paradigms are related to changes in mitochondrial function; and 3. determine if endurance athletes differ from nonendurance-trained controls in their metabolic responses to the exercise paradigms. METHODS: Nine endurance athletes (END) and eight healthy nonendurance-trained controls (CON) were studied. Oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) and mitochondrial function were assessed on three occasions: in the morning, 14 h after an overnight fast without prior exercise (RE), as well as after 3 h of prolonged continuous exercise at 65% of VO2 max (PE) or 5 × 4 min at ~95% of VO2 max (HIIT) on a cycle ergometer. RESULTS: Glucose tolerance was markedly reduced in END after PE compared with RE. END also exhibited elevated fasting serum FFA and ketones levels, reduced insulin sensitivity and glucose oxidation, and increased fat oxidation during the OGTT. CON showed insignificant changes in glucose tolerance and the aforementioned measurements compared with RE. HIIT did not alter glucose tolerance in either group. Neither PE nor HIIT affected mitochondrial function in either group. END also exhibited increased activity of 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase activity in muscle extracts vs. CON. CONCLUSION: Prolonged exercise reduces glucose tolerance and increases insulin resistance in endurance athletes the following day. These findings are associated with an increased lipid load, a high capacity to oxidize lipids, and increased fat oxidation.At the time of Mikael Flockhart's dissertation, this article was a submitted manuscript.</p

Improving results in rat fracture models: enhancing the efficacy of biomechanical testing by a modification of the experimental setup

Abstract Background Animal fracture models, primarily performed in rats, are crucial to investigate normal and pathological bone healing. However, results of biomechanical testing representing a major outcome measure show high standard deviations often precluding statistical significance. Therefore, the aim of our study was a systematical examination of biomechanical characteristics of rat femurs during three-point bending. Furthermore, we tried to reduce variation of results by individually adapting the span of bearing and loading areas to the bone’s length. Methods We examined 40 paired femurs of male Wistar-rats by DXA (BMD and BMC of the whole femur) and pQCT-scans at the levels of bearing and loading areas of the subsequent biomechanical three-point bending test. Individual adjustment of bearing and loading bars was done respecting the length of each specimen. Subgroups of light ( 400 g, n = 18) animals were formed and analysed separately. We furthermore compared the results of the individualised bending-setting to 20 femurs tested with a fix span of 15 mm. Results Femurs showed a length range of 34 to 46 mm. The failure loads ranged from 116 to 251 N (mean 175.4 ± 45.2 N; heavy animals mean 221 ± 18.9 N; light animals mean 138.1 ± 16.4 N) and stiffness ranged from 185 N/mm to 426 N/mm (mean 315.6 ± 63 N/mm; heavy animals mean 358.1 ± 34.64 N/mm; light animals mean 280.8 ± 59.85 N/mm). The correlation of densitometric techniques and failure loads was high (DXA R2 = 0.89 and pQCT R2 = 0.88). In comparison to femurs tested with a fix span, individual adaptation of biomechanical testing homogenized our data significantly. Most notably, the standard deviation of failure loads (221 ± 18.95 N individualized setting vs. 205.5 ± 30.36 N fixed) and stiffness (358.1 ± 34.64 N/mm individualized setting vs. 498.5 ± 104.8 N/mm fixed) was reduced by at least one third. Conclusions Total variation observed in any trait reflects biological and methodological variation. Precision of the method hence affects the statistical power of the study. By simply adapting the setting of the biomechanical testing, interindividual variation could be reduced, which improves the precision of the method significantly

MOESM1 of Whole bone testing in small animals: systematic characterization of the mechanical properties of different rodent bones available for rat fracture models

Additional file 1: Table S1. Data-summary: Radiological and biomechanical results of each bone