Developing energy efficient lignin biomass processing: towards understanding mediator behaviour in ionic liquids

Environmental concerns have brought attention to the requirement for more efficient and renewable processes for chemicals production. Lignin is the second most abundant natural polymer, and might serve as a sustainable resource for manufacturing fuels and aromatic derivatives for the chemicals industry after being depolymerised. In this work, the mediator 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS), commonly used with enzyme degradation systems, has been evaluated by means of cyclic voltammetry (CV) for enhancing the oxidation of the non-phenolic lignin model compound veratryl alcohol and three types of lignin (organosolv, Kraft and lignosulfonate) in the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethyl sulfate, ([C2mim][C2SO4]). The presence of either veratryl alcohol or organosolv lignin increased the second oxidation peak of ABTS under select conditions, indicating the ABTS-mediated oxidation of these molecules at high potentials in [C2mim][C2SO4]. Furthermore, CV was applied as a quick and efficient way to explore the impact of water in the ABTS-mediated oxidation of both organosolv and lignosulfonate lignin. Higher catalytic efficiencies of ABTS were observed for lignosulfonate solutions either in sodium acetate buffer or when [C2mim][C2SO4] (15 v/v%) was present in the buffer solution, whilst there was no change found in the catalytic efficiency of ABTS in [C2mim][C2SO4]–lignosulfonate mixtures relative to ABTS alone. In contrast, organosolv showed an initial increase in oxidation, followed by a significant decrease on increasing the water content of a [C2mim][C2SO4] solution

Group motivational intervention in overweight/obese patients in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in the primary healthcare area

Background The global mortality caused by cardiovascular disease increases with weight. The Framingham study showed that obesity is a cardiovascular risk factor independent of other risks such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia and smoking. Moreover, the main problem in the management of weight-loss is its maintenance, if it is achieved. We have designed a study to determine whether a group motivational intervention, together with current clinical practice, is more efficient than the latter alone in the treatment of overweight and obesity, for initial weight loss and essentially to achieve maintenance of the weight achieved; and, secondly, to know if this intervention is more effective for reducing cardiovascular risk factors associated with overweight and obesity. Methods This 26-month follow up multi-centre trial, will include 1200 overweight/obese patients. Random assignment of the intervention by Basic Health Areas (BHA): two geographically separate groups have been created, one of which receives group motivational intervention (group intervention), delivered by a nurse trained by an expert phsychologist, in 32 group sessions, 1 to 12 fortnightly, and 13 to 32, monthly, on top of their standard program of diet, exercise, and the other (control group), receiving the usual follow up, with regular visits every 3 months. Discussion By addressing currently unanswered questions regarding the maintenance in weight loss in obesity/overweight, upon the expected completion of participant follow-up in 2012, the IMOAP trial should document, for the first time, the benefits of a motivational intervention as a treatment tool of weight loss in a primary care setting

Exploring new physics frontiers through numerical relativity

The demand to obtain answers to highly complex problems within strong-field gravity has been met with significant progress in the numerical solution of Einstein's equations - along with some spectacular results - in various setups. We review techniques for solving Einstein's equations in generic spacetimes, focusing on fully nonlinear evolutions but also on how to benchmark those results with perturbative approaches. The results address problems in high-energy physics, holography, mathematical physics, fundamental physics, astrophysics and cosmology

International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) report, data summary of 36 countries, for 2004-2009

The results of a surveillance study conducted by the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) from January 2004 through December 2009 in 422 intensive care units (ICUs) of 36 countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe are reported. During the 6-year study period, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN; formerly the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance system [NNIS]) definitions for device-associated health care-associated infections, we gathered prospective data from 313,008 patients hospitalized in the consortium's ICUs for an aggregate of 2,194,897 ICU bed-days. Despite the fact that the use of devices in the developing countries' ICUs was remarkably similar to that reported in US ICUs in the CDC's NHSN, rates of device-associated nosocomial infection were significantly higher in the ICUs of the INICC hospitals; the pooled rate of central line-associated bloodstream infection in the INICC ICUs of 6.8 per 1,000 central line-days was more than 3-fold higher than the 2.0 per 1,000 central line-days reported in comparable US ICUs. The overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia also was far higher (15.8 vs 3.3 per 1,000 ventilator-days), as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (6.3 vs. 3.3 per 1,000 catheter-days). Notably, the frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates to imipenem (47.2% vs 23.0%), Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (76.3% vs 27.1%), Escherichia coli isolates to ceftazidime (66.7% vs 8.1%), Staphylococcus aureus isolates to methicillin (84.4% vs 56.8%), were also higher in the consortium's ICUs, and the crude unadjusted excess mortalities of device-related infections ranged from 7.3% (for catheter-associated urinary tract infection) to 15.2% (for ventilator-associated pneumonia). Copyright (C) 2011 by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved