An integrated olive stone biorefinery based on a two-step fractionation strategy

ABSTRACT: Olive stones (OS) constitute a waste lignocellulosic material produced by the olive oil industry in great amounts, that currently is only used as a low-value energy source for industrial or domestic boilers. Having in view its full valorization, this work proposes and validates an integrated strategy aiming to obtain three different streams of sugars / lignin-derived compounds. Dilute acid hydrolysis was used to obtain a xylose-rich hydroysate that was chemically converted into furfural with a 48.7 % yield. The resulting acid-pretreated solid biomass that consisted mainly of lignin and cellulose, was subjected to a catalyzed ethanol-based organosolv delignification. Temperature, time, and sulphuric acid concentration were optimized in order to recover added-value lignin products and digestible cellulose. At the optimal conditions (190 degrees C and 30 min), a 50 % delignification was reached, together with the highest enzymatic hydrolysis yields (190 g glucose/kg of OS). Phenolic compounds content in organosolv liquors reached 41.6 mg GAE/g OS. This extract presented an antioxidant capacity up to 10.9 mg TE/g OS. The pretreated solid fraction was used as a substrate for ethanol production by a pre-saccharification and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process, enabling to obtain an ethanol concentration of 47 g/L, with a fermentation yield of 61.4 % of the theoretical maximum. Globally, from 100 kg of OS processed according to this experimental scheme, 6.9 kg of furfural, 6.2 kg of ethanol, 7.4 kg of lignin, and 4.2 kg of phenolics compounds can be obtained as main products, thus constituting a way of valorization of renewable material in a multiproduct biorefinery strategy.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Reparative giant cell granuloma in a pediatric patient

Reparative giant cell granulomas are benign, infrequent tumors, of non-odontogenic origin, that develop at central or peripheral level. Peripherally located lesions are frequently denominated ?giant cell epulis?, and never correspond to true neoplasia, but rather to inflammatory reactions secondary to another lesion (hemorrhage, etc.). It should be taken into account, that in general, head and neck tumors of infancy usually demonstrate an atypical biological behaviour. Furthermore, the anatomicopathologic diagnosis is often compromised in this type of lesion. We present the case of a 6-year-old boy, who, three weeks after suffering a slight facial trauma, developed a painless, exophytic swelling of approximately 4 cm, with bleeding on palpation, in the ipsilateral hemimaxilla. The lesion demonstrated rapid, progressive and continuous growth. The facial CT and incisional biopsy confirmed the suspected diagnosis of reparative giant cell granuloma. The patient was surgically treated, carrying out a left marginal maxillectomy associated with the extirpation of the soft-tissue lesion. The resultant defect was reconstructed with a Bichat fat-pad providing the patient with optimal esthetic and functional results. The definitive anatomicopathologic report of the surgical piece is compatible with reparative giant cell granuloma

Litiasis por cistina: Reporte de un caso

La cistinuria es una enfermedad genética cuya expresión clínica es la formación de cálculos en las vías urinarias. Si bien este tipo de litiasis es poco frecuente se caracteriza por un elevado número de recidivas. En este trabajo, presentamos el caso de una paciente de 24 años con litiasis por cistina, en la que el diagnóstico se logró mediante el hallazgo de cristales de cistina en muestras de orina y la presencia de cistina como único componente de los cálculos expulsados espontáneamente en dos ocasiones y removidos por nefrolitotomía percutánea en una ocasión en un lapso de 6 meses. El tratamiento instaurado consistió en aumento de la ingesta de líquido, dieta con restricción de sodio y proteínas y administración de agentes alcalinizantes para aumentar el pH de la orina. Así mismo queremos mostrar la disponibilidad y el uso a nivel nacional de técnicas laboratoriales especializadas para el diagnóstico y seguimiento de pacientes con cistinuria

Whole-system metabolism and CO₂ fluxes in a Mediterranean Bay dominated by seagrass beds (Palma Bay, NW Mediterranean)

The relationship between whole-system metabolism estimates based on planktonic and benthic incubations (bare sediments and seagrass, Posidonia oceanica meadows), and CO2 fluxes across the air-sea interface were examined in the Bay of Palma (Mallorca, Spain) during two cruises in March and June 2002. Moreover, planktonic and benthic incubations were performed at monthly intervals from March 2001 to October 2002 in a seagrass vegetated area of the bay. From the annual study, results showed a contrast between the planktonic compartment, which was heterotrophic during most of the year, except for occasional bloom episodes, and the benthic compartment, which was slightly autotrophic. Whereas the seagrass community was autotrophic, the excess organic carbon production therein could only balance the excess respiration of the planktonic compartment in shallow waters (<10 m) relative to the maximum depth of the bay (55 m). This generated a horizontal gradient from autotrophic or balanced communities in the shallow, seagrass-covered areas of the bay, to strongly heterotrophic communities in deeper areas, consistent with the patterns of CO2 fields and fluxes across the bay observed during the two extensive cruises in 2002. Finally, dissolved inorganic carbon and oxygen budgets provided NEP estimates in fair agreement with those derived from direct metabolic estimates based on incubated samples over the Posidonia oceanica meadow

Intratumoral injection of bone-marrow derived dendritic cells engineered to produce interleukin-12 induces complete regression of established murine transplantable colon adenocarcinomas

Stimulation of the antitumor immune response by dendritic cells (DC) is critically dependent on their tightly regulated ability to produce interleukin-12 (IL-12). To enhance this effect artificially, bone marrow (BM)-derived DC were genetically engineered to produce high levels of functional IL-12 by ex vivo infection with a recombinant defective adenovirus (AdCMVIL-12). DC-expressing IL-12 injected into the malignant tissue eradicated 50-100% well established malignant nodules derived from the injection of two murine colon adenocarcinoma cell lines. Successful therapy was dependent on IL-12 transfection and was mediated only by syngeneic, but not allogeneic BM-derived DC, indicating that compatible antigen-presenting molecules were required. The antitumor effect was inhibited by in vivo depletion of CD8+ T cells and completely abrogated by simultaneous depletion with anti-CD4 and anti-CD8 mAbs. Mice which had undergone tumor regression remained immune to a rechallenge with tumor cells, showing the achievement of long-lasting systemic immunity that also was able to reject simultaneously induced concomitant untreated tumors. Tumor regression was associated with a detectable CTL response directed against tumor-specific antigens probably captured by DC artificially released inside tumor nodules. Our results open the possibility of similarly treating the corresponding human malignancies

Constituents and antiproliferative activity of extracts from leaves of Croton macrobothrys

Croton macrobothrys Baill, Euphorbiaceae, is a tree from the Atlantic Forest in Southern Brazil, used in traditional medicine and popularly known as "dragon's blood" and "pau-sangue". Leaf n-hexane, dichloromethane and methanol extracts were analyzed by GC/MS and evaluated for their in vitro antiproliferative activity on cell lines 786-0 (kidney), HT-29 (colon), K562 (leukemia), NCI-ADR/RES (drug resistant ovary), NCI-H460 (lung), MCF-7 (mammary), PC-3 (prostate), OVCAR-3 (ovary), U251 (glioma) and UACC-62 (melanoma). The dicloromethane extract exhibited activity against all cell lines at the concentration 25 µg/mL, in particular on cell lines NCI-H460 (GI50 0.33 &#956;g/mL) and K5662 (GI50 0.91 &#956;g/mL). Relevant constituents in dichloromethane extract are the alkaloids corydine and salutaridine, as well as the diterpenes geranylgeraniol and crotonin-derived clerodanes

Constituents and antiproliferative activity of extracts from leaves of croton macrobothrys

Croton macrobothrys Baill, Euphorbiaceae, is a tree from the Atlantic Forest in Southern Brazil, used in traditional medicine and popularly known as "dragon's blood" and "pau-sangue". Leaf n-hexane, dichloromethane and methanol extracts were analyzed by GC/MS and evaluated for their in vitro antiproliferative activity on cell lines 786-0 (kidney), HT-29 (colon), K562 (leukemia), NCI-ADR/RES (drug resistant ovary), NCI-H460 (lung), MCF-7 (mammary), PC-3 (prostate), OVCAR-3 (ovary), U251 (glioma) and UACC-62 (melanoma). The dicloromethane extract exhibited activity against all cell lines at the concentration 25 µg/mL, in particular on cell lines NCI-H460 (GI50 0.33 μg/mL) and K5662 (GI50 0.91 μg/mL). Relevant constituents in dichloromethane extract are the alkaloids corydine and salutaridine, as well as the diterpenes geranylgeraniol and crotonin-derived clerodanes216972977CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPSem informaçãoSem informação08/10595-3; 08/09942-

Constituents and antiproliferative activity of extracts from leaves of Croton macrobothrys

Croton macrobothrys Baill, Euphorbiaceae, is a tree from the Atlantic Forest in Southern Brazil, used in traditional medicine and popularly known as "dragon's blood" and "pau-sangue". Leaf n-hexane, dichloromethane and methanol extracts were analyzed by GC/MS and evaluated for their in vitro antiproliferative activity on cell lines 786-0 (kidney), HT-29 (colon), K562 (leukemia), NCI-ADR/RES (drug resistant ovary), NCI-H460 (lung), MCF-7 (mammary), PC-3 (prostate), OVCAR-3 (ovary), U251 (glioma) and UACC-62 (melanoma). The dicloromethane extract exhibited activity against all cell lines at the concentration 25 µg/mL, in particular on cell lines NCI-H460 (GI50 0.33 &#956;g/mL) and K5662 (GI50 0.91 &#956;g/mL). Relevant constituents in dichloromethane extract are the alkaloids corydine and salutaridine, as well as the diterpenes geranylgeraniol and crotonin-derived clerodanes.21697297

Perspectives in anaerobic digestion of lipid-rich wastewater

Lipid-rich wastewaters are ideal sources for methane production, but lipids are generally separated and removed prior to anaerobic treatment to avoid sludge flotation and microbial inhibition. In this work, we review the major technological and microbiological advances in the anaerobic digestion (AD) of lipids, while highlighting the most important breakthroughs in the field and identifying the future perspectives. In the past decades, several treatment processes have been developed for lipidrich wastewaters, moving from the upflow granular sludge based reactor designs to anaerobic membrane bioreactors and in situ flotation based bioreactors all now commercially available. Knowledge on the complexity of microbial communities and microbial interactions has increased greatly, allowing a better interpretation of lipids anaerobic biodegradation. However, there are still knowledge gaps and bottlenecks in lipids AD that need to be overcome to improve industrial applications. A multi-faceted approach with industrial and academic partners will provide a unique strategy for future widespread usage of waste-lipids as valuable resource for AD.The authors acknowledge the funding from EPA Research (Ireland), the Irish Dairy Processing Technology Centre, The Irish Research Council (EBPS2012) and the Microbiology Society; the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684), of Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462), POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007679 (UID/CTM/50011/2013), and by BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. The authors also acknowledge the financial support of the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013)/ERC Grant Agreement no. 323009 and the funding of ANII-Uruguay, UNESCO-IHE and LATU (Uruguay).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Search for Low-Mass Quark-Antiquark Resonances Produced in Association with a Photon at s =13 TeV

A search for narrow low-mass resonances decaying to quark-antiquark pairs is presented. The search is based on proton-proton collision events collected at 13 TeV by the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb-1, recorded in 2016. The search considers the case where the resonance has high transverse momentum due to initial-state radiation of a hard photon. To study this process, the decay products of the resonance are reconstructed as a single large-radius jet with two-pronged substructure. The signal would be identified as a localized excess in the jet invariant mass spectrum. No evidence for such a resonance is observed in the mass range 10 to 125 GeV. Upper limits at the 95% confidence level are set on the coupling strength of resonances decaying to quark pairs. The results obtained with this photon trigger strategy provide the first direct constraints on quark-antiquark resonance masses below 50 GeV obtained at a hadron collider