Pregled tehnologija remedijacije perzistentnih otrovnih tvari

This paper gives a review of established and emerging technologies for the treatment of wastes and soils contaminated by Persistent Toxic Substances which include the Persistent Organic Pollutants. The technologies are classified as biological, physico-chemical, and thermal treatments, describing main unit operations and comparing technical, social and environmental limitations, including some potential risks and environmental impacts. Estimated overall costs, cleanup times, reliability, and maintenance levels are also presented in order to assess advantages and limitations of each technology.Ovaj članak donosi pregled postojećih i novonastajućih tehnologija obrade otpada i tla onečišćenog perzistentnim otrovnim tvarima uključujući i perzistentna organska onečišćivala (engl. persistent organic pollutants). Autor dijeli tehnologije obrade na biološke, fizikalno-kemijske i termalne te opisuje rad osnovnih uređaja i uspoređuje tehnička, društvena i ekološka ograničenja, uključujući moguće rizike i učinke na okoliš. Članak također razmatra ukupne procijenjene troškove, vrijeme potrebno za čišćenje te razine odgovornosti i održavanja dajući na uvid prednosti i ograničenja svake tehnologije zasebno

Unusually Low Heat of Adsorption of CO2 on AlPO and SAPO Molecular Sieves

[EN] The capture of CO2 from post-combustion streams or from other mixtures, such as natural gas, is an effective way of reducing CO2 emissions, which contribute to the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere. One of the developing technologies for this purpose is physisorption on selective solid adsorbents. The ideal adsorbents are selective toward CO2, have a large adsorption capacity at atmospheric pressure and are easily regenerated, resulting in high working capacity. Therefore, adsorbents combining molecular sieving properties and low heats of adsorption of CO2 are of clear interest as they will provide high selectivities and regenerabilities in CO2 separation process. Here we report that some aluminophosphate (AlPO) and silicoaluminophosphate (SAPO) materials with LTA, CHA and AFI structures present lower heats of adsorption of CO2 (13¿25 kJ/mol) than their structurally analogous zeolites at comparable framework charges. In some cases, their heats of adsorption are even lower than those of pure silica composition (20¿25 kJ/mol). This could mean a great improvement in the regeneration process compared to the most frequently used zeolitic adsorbents for this application while maintaining most of their adsorption capacity, if materials with the right stability and pore size and topology are found.We acknowledge the Spanish Ministry of Sciences, Innovation and Universities (MCIU), State Research Agency (AEI), and the European Fund for Regional Development (FEDER) for their funding via projects Multi2HYcat (EU-Horizon 2020 funded project under grant agreement no. 720783), Program Severo Ochoa SEV-2016-0683 and RTI2018-101033-B-I00 and also Fundacion Ramon Areces for funding through a research contract (CIVP18A3908). EP-B thanks the MCIU for his grant (FPU15/01602). NG-C thanks MCIU for her grant (BES-2016-078178).Pérez-Botella, E.; Martínez-Franco, R.; Gonzalez-Camuñas, N.; Cantin Sanz, A.; Palomino Roca, M.; Moliner Marin, M.; Valencia Valencia, S.... (2020). Unusually Low Heat of Adsorption of CO2 on AlPO and SAPO Molecular Sieves. Frontiers in Chemistry. 8:1-10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2020.588712S1108Bacsik, Z., Cheung, O., Vasiliev, P., & Hedin, N. (2016). Selective separation of CO2 and CH4 for biogas upgrading on zeolite NaKA and SAPO-56. Applied Energy, 162, 613-621. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.10.109BaerlocherC. H. McCuskerL. B. Database of Zeolite StructuresBoot-Handford, M. E., Abanades, J. C., Anthony, E. J., Blunt, M. J., Brandani, S., Mac Dowell, N., … Fennell, P. S. (2014). Carbon capture and storage update. Energy Environ. Sci., 7(1), 130-189. doi:10.1039/c3ee42350fBourgogneM. GuthJ.-L. WeyR. Process for the Preparation of Synthetic Zeolites, and Zeolites Obtained by Said Process1985Bui, M., Adjiman, C. S., Bardow, A., Anthony, E. J., Boston, A., Brown, S., … Mac Dowell, N. (2018). Carbon capture and storage (CCS): the way forward. Energy & Environmental Science, 11(5), 1062-1176. doi:10.1039/c7ee02342aCheung, O., Liu, Q., Bacsik, Z., & Hedin, N. (2012). Silicoaluminophosphates as CO2 sorbents. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 156, 90-96. doi:10.1016/j.micromeso.2012.02.003Corma, A., Rey, F., Rius, J., Sabater, M. J., & Valencia, S. (2004). Supramolecular self-assembled molecules as organic directing agent for synthesis of zeolites. Nature, 431(7006), 287-290. doi:10.1038/nature02909Dawson, D. M., Griffin, J. M., Seymour, V. R., Wheatley, P. S., Amri, M., Kurkiewicz, T., … Ashbrook, S. E. (2017). A Multinuclear NMR Study of Six Forms of AlPO-34: Structure and Motional Broadening. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 121(3), 1781-1793. doi:10.1021/acs.jpcc.6b11908Díaz-Cabañas, M.-J., & Barrett, P. A. (1998). Synthesis and structure of pure SiO2 chabazite: the SiO2 polymorph with the lowest framework density. Chemical Communications, (17), 1881-1882. doi:10.1039/a804800bFischer, M. (2017). Computational evaluation of aluminophosphate zeotypes for CO2/N2 separation. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 19(34), 22801-22812. doi:10.1039/c7cp03841kGarcía, E. J., Pérez-Pellitero, J., Pirngruber, G. D., Jallut, C., Palomino, M., Rey, F., & Valencia, S. (2014). Tuning the Adsorption Properties of Zeolites as Adsorbents for CO2 Separation: Best Compromise between the Working Capacity and Selectivity. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 53(23), 9860-9874. doi:10.1021/ie500207sGirnus, I., Jancke, K., Vetter, R., Richter-Mendau, J., & Caro, J. (1995). Large AlPO4-5 crystals by microwave heating. Zeolites, 15(1), 33-39. doi:10.1016/0144-2449(94)00004-cGlobal Status Report of CCS2019International Zeolite Association Synthesis CommissionLee, K. B., Beaver, M. G., Caram, H. S., & Sircar, S. (2008). Reversible Chemisorbents for Carbon Dioxide and Their Potential Applications. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 47(21), 8048-8062. doi:10.1021/ie800795yLee, S.-Y., & Park, S.-J. (2015). A review on solid adsorbents for carbon dioxide capture. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 23, 1-11. doi:10.1016/j.jiec.2014.09.001Lemishko, T., Valencia, S., Rey, F., Jiménez-Ruiz, M., & Sastre, G. (2016). Inelastic Neutron Scattering Study on the Location of Brønsted Acid Sites in High Silica LTA Zeolite. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 120(43), 24904-24909. doi:10.1021/acs.jpcc.6b09012Leung, D. Y. C., Caramanna, G., & Maroto-Valer, M. M. (2014). An overview of current status of carbon dioxide capture and storage technologies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 39, 426-443. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2014.07.093Liu, X., Vlugt, T. J. H., & Bardow, A. (2011). Maxwell–Stefan diffusivities in liquid mixtures: Using molecular dynamics for testing model predictions. Fluid Phase Equilibria, 301(1), 110-117. doi:10.1016/j.fluid.2010.11.019Man, P. P., Briend, M., Peltre, M. J., Lamy, A., Beaunier, P., & Barthomeuf, D. (1991). A topological model for the silicon incorporation in SAPO-37 molecular sieves: Correlations with acidity and catalysis. Zeolites, 11(6), 563-572. doi:10.1016/s0144-2449(05)80006-5Martin, C., Tosi-Pellenq, N., Patarin, J., & Coulomb, J. P. (1998). Sorption Properties of AlPO4-5 and SAPO-5 Zeolite-like Materials. Langmuir, 14(7), 1774-1778. doi:10.1021/la960755cMartínez-Franco, R., Cantín, Á., Vidal-Moya, A., Moliner, M., & Corma, A. (2015). Self-Assembled Aromatic Molecules as Efficient Organic Structure Directing Agents to Synthesize the Silicoaluminophosphate SAPO-42 with Isolated Si Species. Chemistry of Materials, 27(8), 2981-2989. doi:10.1021/acs.chemmater.5b00337Martínez-Franco, R., Li, Z., Martínez-Triguero, J., Moliner, M., & Corma, A. (2016). Improving the catalytic performance of SAPO-18 for the methanol-to-olefins (MTO) reaction by controlling the Si distribution and crystal size. Catalysis Science & Technology, 6(8), 2796-2806. doi:10.1039/c5cy02298cMiyamoto, M., Fujioka, Y., & Yogo, K. (2012). Pure silica CHA type zeolite for CO2 separation using pressure swing adsorption at high pressure. Journal of Materials Chemistry, 22(38), 20186. doi:10.1039/c2jm34597hVan Nordstrand, R. A., Santilli, D. S., & Zones, S. I. (1988). An All-Silica Molecular Sieve That Is Isostructural with AlPO4-5. Perspectives in Molecular Sieve Science, 236-245. doi:10.1021/bk-1988-0368.ch015Palomino, M., Corma, A., Rey, F., & Valencia, S. (2009). New Insights on CO2−Methane Separation Using LTA Zeolites with Different Si/Al Ratios and a First Comparison with MOFs. Langmuir, 26(3), 1910-1917. doi:10.1021/la9026656Pham, T. D., Hudson, M. R., Brown, C. M., & Lobo, R. F. (2014). Molecular Basis for the High CO2Adsorption Capacity of Chabazite Zeolites. ChemSusChem, 7(11), 3031-3038. doi:10.1002/cssc.201402555Prakash, A. M., & Unnikrishnan, S. (1994). Synthesis of SAPO-34: high silicon incorporation in the presence of morpholine as template. Journal of the Chemical Society, Faraday Transactions, 90(15), 2291. doi:10.1039/ft9949002291Riboldi, L., & Bolland, O. (2017). Overview on Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) as CO2 Capture Technology: State-of-the-Art, Limits and Potentials. Energy Procedia, 114, 2390-2400. doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2017.03.1385Rubin, E. S., Davison, J. E., & Herzog, H. J. (2015). The cost of CO2 capture and storage. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 40, 378-400. doi:10.1016/j.ijggc.2015.05.018Schreyeck, L., Stumbe, J., Caullet, P., Mougenel, J.-C., & Marler, B. (1998). The diaza-polyoxa-macrocycle `Kryptofix222’ as a new template for the synthesis of LTA-type AlPO4. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 22(1-3), 87-106. doi:10.1016/s1387-1811(98)00082-1Shang, J., Li, G., Singh, R., Gu, Q., Nairn, K. M., Bastow, T. J., … Webley, P. A. (2012). Discriminative Separation of Gases by a «Molecular Trapdoor» Mechanism in Chabazite Zeolites. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 134(46), 19246-19253. doi:10.1021/ja309274ySircar, S., & Myers, A. (2003). Gas Separation by Zeolites. Handbook of Zeolite Science and Technology. doi:10.1201/9780203911167.ch22Tagliabue, M., Farrusseng, D., Valencia, S., Aguado, S., Ravon, U., Rizzo, C., … Mirodatos, C. (2009). Natural gas treating by selective adsorption: Material science and chemical engineering interplay. Chemical Engineering Journal, 155(3), 553-566. doi:10.1016/j.cej.2009.09.010Thommes, M., Kaneko, K., Neimark, A. V., Olivier, J. P., Rodriguez-Reinoso, F., Rouquerol, J., & Sing, K. S. W. (2015). Physisorption of gases, with special reference to the evaluation of surface area and pore size distribution (IUPAC Technical Report). Pure and Applied Chemistry, 87(9-10), 1051-1069. doi:10.1515/pac-2014-1117NIST Chemistry WebBook, SRD 69–Carbon DioxideWilson, S. T., Lok, B. M., Messina, C. A., Cannan, T. R., & Flanigen, E. M. (1982). Aluminophosphate molecular sieves: a new class of microporous crystalline inorganic solids. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 104(4), 1146-1147. doi:10.1021/ja00368a062Young, D., & Davis, M. E. (1991). Studies on SAPO-5: synthesis with higher silicon contents. Zeolites, 11(3), 277-281. doi:10.1016/s0144-2449(05)80232-5Zibrowius, B., Löffler, E., & Hunger, M. (1992). Multinuclear MAS n.m.r. and i.r. spectroscopic study of silicon incorporation into SAPO-5, SAPO-31, and SAPO-34 molecular sieves. Zeolites, 12(2), 167-174. doi:10.1016/0144-2449(92)90079-5Zones, S. I. (1991). Conversion of faujasites to high-silica chabazite SSZ-13 in the presence of N,N,N-trimethyl-1-adamantammonium iodide. Journal of the Chemical Society, Faraday Transactions, 87(22), 3709. doi:10.1039/ft9918703709Zones, S. I., & Van Nordstrand, R. A. (1988). Novel zeolite transformations: The template-mediated conversion of Cubic P zeolite to SSZ-13. Zeolites, 8(3), 166-174. doi:10.1016/s0144-2449(88)80302-

Polycrystalline Ni nanotubes under compression: a molecular dynamics study

Mechanical properties of nanomaterials, such as nanowires and nanotubes, are an important feature for the design of novel electromechanical nano-architectures. Since grain boundary structures and surface modifications can be used as a route to modify nanostructured materials, it is of interest to understand how they affect material strength and plasticity. We report large-scale atomistic simulations to determine the mechanical response of nickel nanowires and nanotubes subject to uniaxial compression. Our results suggest that the incorporation of nanocrystalline structure allows completely flexible deformation, in sharp contrast with single crystals. While crystalline structures at high compression are dominated by dislocation pinning and the multiplication of highly localized shear regions, in nanocrystalline systems the dislocation distribution is significantly more homogeneous. Therefore, for large compressions (large strains) coiling instead of bulging is the dominant deformation mode. Additionally, it is observed that nanotubes with only 70% of the nanowire mass but of the same diameter, exhibit similar mechanical behavior up to 0.3 strain. Our results are useful for the design of new flexible and light-weight metamaterials, when highly deformable struts are required.Fil: Rojas Nunez, J.. Universidad de Santiago de Chile; ChileFil: Baltazar, S. E.. Universidad de Santiago de Chile; ChileFil: Gonzalez, R. I.. Universidad Mayor; ChileFil: Bringa, Eduardo Marcial. Universidad Mayor; Chile. Universidad de Mendoza. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Allende, S.. Universidad de Santiago de Chile; ChileFil: Kiwi, M.. Universidad de Santiago de Chile; ChileFil: Valencia, F. J.. Universidad de Santiago de Chile; Chile. Universidad Mayor; Chil

Progesterone regulates corticosterone elevation and alterations in spatial memory and exploratory behavior induced by stress in Wistar rats

The hippocampus is sensitive to high levels of glucocorticoids during stress responses; it suffers biochemical and cellular changes that affect spatial memory and exploratory behavior, among others. We analyzed the influence of the neurosteroid progesterone (PROG) on stress-induced changes in urinary corticosterone (CORT) levels, spatial memory and exploratory behavior.Castrated adult male rats were implanted with PROG or vehicle (VEHI),and then exposed for ten days to chronic stress created by overcrowding or ultrasonic noise. PROG and CORT levels were assessed in urine using highperformanceliquid chromatography (HPLC). Implanted PROG inhibited the rise of stress-induced CORT, prevented spatial memory impairment in the Morris water maze, and eliminated increased exploratory behavior in the hole-board test. These results suggest a protective role of PROG, possibly mediated by its anxiolytic mechanisms, against corticosteroids elevation and the behavioral deficit generated by stressful situations

Protocolos de genómica para monitoreo ambiental asociado a acciones de respuesta por impacto o contingencia ambiental formalizados y listos para ser transferidos a usuarios interesados

En este documento se describen los aspectos más relevantes para aplicar la técnica de metabarcoding en estudios de biodiversidad. En la primera sección se realiza un recuento de los aspectos relevantes en el diseño experimental propios a la técnica. En la segunda se plantea una propuesta de protocolo para la aplicación del metabarcoding, incluyendo la toma de muestra, el procesamiento molecular y el procesamiento o depuración bioinformática. El diseño de muestreo y los análisis ecológicos no son incluidos desde que estos son totalmente contexto-dependientes. En la tercera sección se describe un estudio de caso usando metabarcoding en la caracterización de microorganismos de una zona altamente contaminada por actividades relacionadas a la extracción convencional de hidrocarburos. En la cuarta parte se realiza una revisión del potencial uso del metabarcoding en el monitoreo ambiental a través insectos. Finalmente, en la quinta y última parte se exponen algunas de las perspectivas y limitaciones del uso de la técnica en Colombia. El objetivo de este documento es fomentar el uso de esta herramienta en escenarios colombianos, generando datos cuantitativos de diversidad que puedan ser incluidos en la toma de decisiones.Bogotá, ColombiaPrograma de Ciencias de la Biodiversida

Novel genes and sex differences in COVID-19 severity

[EN] Here, we describe the results of a genome-wide study conducted in 11 939 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positive cases with an extensive clinical information that were recruited from 34 hospitals across Spain (SCOURGE consortium). In sex-disaggregated genome-wide association studies for COVID-19 hospitalization, genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10−8) was crossed for variants in 3p21.31 and 21q22.11 loci only among males (P = 1.3 × 10−22 and P = 8.1 × 10−12, respectively), and for variants in 9q21.32 near TLE1 only among females (P = 4.4 × 10−8). In a second phase, results were combined with an independent Spanish cohort (1598 COVID-19 cases and 1068 population controls), revealing in the overall analysis two novel risk loci in 9p13.3 and 19q13.12, with fine-mapping prioritized variants functionally associated with AQP3 (P = 2.7 × 10−8) and ARHGAP33 (P = 1.3 × 10−8), respectively. The meta-analysis of both phases with four European studies stratified by sex from the Host Genetics Initiative (HGI) confirmed the association of the 3p21.31 and 21q22.11 loci predominantly in males and replicated a recently reported variant in 11p13 (ELF5, P = 4.1 × 10−8). Six of the COVID-19 HGI discovered loci were replicated and an HGI-based genetic risk score predicted the severity strata in SCOURGE. We also found more SNP-heritability and larger heritability differences by age (<60 or ≥60 years) among males than among females. Parallel genome-wide screening of inbreeding depression in SCOURGE also showed an effect of homozygosity in COVID-19 hospitalization and severity and this effect was stronger among older males. In summary, new candidate genes for COVID-19 severity and evidence supporting genetic disparities among sexes are provided.S

Familial hypercholesterolaemia in children and adolescents from 48 countries: a cross-sectional study

Background: Approximately 450 000 children are born with familial hypercholesterolaemia worldwide every year, yet only 2·1% of adults with familial hypercholesterolaemia were diagnosed before age 18 years via current diagnostic approaches, which are derived from observations in adults. We aimed to characterise children and adolescents with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HeFH) and understand current approaches to the identification and management of familial hypercholesterolaemia to inform future public health strategies. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, we assessed children and adolescents younger than 18 years with a clinical or genetic diagnosis of HeFH at the time of entry into the Familial Hypercholesterolaemia Studies Collaboration (FHSC) registry between Oct 1, 2015, and Jan 31, 2021. Data in the registry were collected from 55 regional or national registries in 48 countries. Diagnoses relying on self-reported history of familial hypercholesterolaemia and suspected secondary hypercholesterolaemia were excluded from the registry; people with untreated LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) of at least 13·0 mmol/L were excluded from this study. Data were assessed overall and by WHO region, World Bank country income status, age, diagnostic criteria, and index-case status. The main outcome of this study was to assess current identification and management of children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia. Findings: Of 63 093 individuals in the FHSC registry, 11 848 (18·8%) were children or adolescents younger than 18 years with HeFH and were included in this study; 5756 (50·2%) of 11 476 included individuals were female and 5720 (49·8%) were male. Sex data were missing for 372 (3·1%) of 11 848 individuals. Median age at registry entry was 9·6 years (IQR 5·8-13·2). 10 099 (89·9%) of 11 235 included individuals had a final genetically confirmed diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolaemia and 1136 (10·1%) had a clinical diagnosis. Genetically confirmed diagnosis data or clinical diagnosis data were missing for 613 (5·2%) of 11 848 individuals. Genetic diagnosis was more common in children and adolescents from high-income countries (9427 [92·4%] of 10 202) than in children and adolescents from non-high-income countries (199 [48·0%] of 415). 3414 (31·6%) of 10 804 children or adolescents were index cases. Familial-hypercholesterolaemia-related physical signs, cardiovascular risk factors, and cardiovascular disease were uncommon, but were more common in non-high-income countries. 7557 (72·4%) of 10 428 included children or adolescents were not taking lipid-lowering medication (LLM) and had a median LDL-C of 5·00 mmol/L (IQR 4·05-6·08). Compared with genetic diagnosis, the use of unadapted clinical criteria intended for use in adults and reliant on more extreme phenotypes could result in 50-75% of children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia not being identified. Interpretation: Clinical characteristics observed in adults with familial hypercholesterolaemia are uncommon in children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia, hence detection in this age group relies on measurement of LDL-C and genetic confirmation. Where genetic testing is unavailable, increased availability and use of LDL-C measurements in the first few years of life could help reduce the current gap between prevalence and detection, enabling increased use of combination LLM to reach recommended LDL-C targets early in life

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery