A review of LCA assessments of forest-based bioeconomy products and processes under an ecosystem services perspective

The emergence of politically driven bioeconomy strategies worldwide calls for considering the ecological issues associated with bio-based products. Traditionally, life cycle analysis (LCA) approaches are key tools used to assess impacts through product life cycles, but they present limitations regarding the accounting of multiple ecosystem service-related issues, at both the land-use and supply chain levels. Based on a systematic review of empirical articles, this study provides insights on using LCA assessments to account for ecosystem service-related impacts in the context of bioeconomy activities. We address the following research questions: what is the state of the art of the literature performing LCA assessments of forest-based bioeconomy activities, including the temporal distribution, the geographic areas and products/processes at study, and the approaches and methods used? 2. Which impacts and related midpoints are considered by the reviewed studies and what types of ecosystem service- related information do they bear? Out of over 600 articles found through the Scopus search, 155 were deemed relevant for the review. The literature focuses on North-America and Europe. Most of the articles assessed the environmental impact of lower-value biomass uses. Climate change was assessed in over 90% of the studies, while issues related to ozone, eutrophication, human toxicity, resource depletion, acidification, and environmental toxicity were assessed in 40% to 60% of the studies. While the impact categories accounted for in the reviewed LCA studies bear information relevant to certain provisioning and regulating services, several ecosystem services (especially cultural ones) remain unaccounted for. The implications of our study are relevant for professionals working in the ecosystem services, circular bioeconomy, and/or LCA communities. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Kinetic Model for Simultaneous Adsorption/Photodegradation Process of Alizarin Red S in Water Solution by Nano-TiO2 under Visible Light.

The simultaneous adsorption and visible light photodegradation of Alizarin Red S in water solutions were studied in real time mode by using nano-TiO2, such as Anatase and Aeroxide P-25, supported on polypropylene strips. Kinetic results of the overall process were compared with those obtained from separated steps of adsorption and photodegradation previously studied; kinetic advantages were evidenced with the simultaneous approach. From the study of different dye concentrations, a kinetic model has been proposed which describes the overall process. This model considered two consecutive processes: The adsorption of dye on TiO2 surface and its photodegradation. The obtained results were in good agreement with experimental data and can predict the profiles of free dye, dye adsorbed on TiO2 and photoproduct concentrations during the total process

Kinetic Model for Photocatalytic Degradation of Alizarin Red-S by Polypropylene coated nano-TiO2

The aim of this study is optimize and clarify the total mechanism of adsorption/ visible-photodegradation of Alizarin Red S polypropylene coated nano-TiO2 Degussa P-25 and TiO2 Anatase as photocatalysts. The characterization of Alizarin Red S and its chemical interaction with TiO2 surface has been studied. The acid dissociation constants of Alizarin Red S are determined. Adsorption and photodegradation steps were simultaneously studied in order to propose a simple kinetic model which can describe the process in an adequate way. The results obtained from this kinetics model are in good agreement with experimental data

Band Gap Implications on Nano-TiO2 Surface Modification with Ascorbic Acid for Visible Light-Active Polypropylene Coated Photocatalyst

The effect of surface modification using ascorbic acid as a surface modifier of nano-TiO2 heterogeneous photocatalyst was studied. The preparation of supported photocatalyst was made by a specific paste containing ascorbic acid modified TiO2 nanoparticles used to cover Polypropylene as a support material. The obtained heterogeneous photocatalyst was thoroughly characterized (scanning electron microscope (SEM), RAMAN, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), photoluminescence (PL), and Diffuse Reflectance Spectra (DRS) and successfully applied in the visible light photodegradation of Alizarin Red S in water solutions. In particular, this new supported TiO2 photocatalyst showed a change in the adsorption mechanism of dye with respect to that of only TiO2 due to the surface properties. In addition, an improvement of photocatalytic performances in the visible light photodegration was obtained, showing a strict correlation between efficiency and energy band gap values, evidencing the favorable surface modification of TiO2 nanoparticles

Metabolic Bone Disease of Prematurity: Diagnosis and Management

Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) of prematurity is a multifactorial disorder commonly observed in very low birth weight (VLBW, <1,500 g) newborns, with a greater incidence in those extremely low birth weight (ELBW, <1,000 g). MBD is characterized by biochemical and radiological findings related to bone demineralization. Several antenatal and postnatal risk factors have been associated to MBD of prematurity, although the main pathogenetic mechanism is represented by the reduced placental transfer of calcium and phosphate related to preterm birth. The diagnosis of MBD of prematurity requires the assessment of several biochemical markers, radiological, and ultrasonographic findings. However, the best approach is the prevention of the symptomatic disease, based on the screening of subjects exposed to the risks of developing MBD. Regarding the subjects who need to be screened, there is a substantial agreement on the potential risk factors for MBD. On the contrary, different recommendations exist on the diagnosis, management and treatment of this disorder of bone metabolism. This review was aimed at: (1) identifying the subjects at risk for MBD of prematurity; (2) indicating the biochemical findings to take in consideration for the prevention of MBD of prematurity; (3) suggesting practical recommendations on nutritional intake and supplementation in these subjects. We searched for papers which report the current recommendations for biochemical assessment of MBD of prematurity and for its prevention and treatment. The majority of the authors suggest that MBD of prematurity is a disease which tends to normalize overtime, thus it is not mandatory to mimic the rate of mineral fetal accretion through parenteral or enteral supplementation. The optimization of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) and the early achievement of a full enteral feeding are important goals for the prevention and management of MBD of prematurity

From TiO2 and Graphite to Graphene doped TiO2 for visible light photocatalytic degradation of refractory dye.

Graphene production is an ongoing challenge for large-scale applications. Many processes are used to produce graphene 1. Top-down method such as the exfoliation of graphite powder in liquid phase by sonication is a promising route to create high quality graphene in great quantity due to its simplicity, its versatility and its low-cost 2. Graphene with the thickness of a single carbon atom owns unique physical and chemical properties like large surface area, highly flexible structure, high electrical and thermal conductivity and high chemical stability 3. With these properties, graphene is an attractive material in applications that require a fast electron transfer, such as photocatalysis. In fact, graphene based semiconductor nanocomposites are considered as good photocatalyst for pollutant degradation 4. Graphene is an ideal nanomaterial for doping TiO2 because the formation of Ti-O-C bonds extend the visible light absorption of TiO2. Furthermore, electrons are easily transported from TiO2 to graphene nano-sheets and the electron-hole recombination is reduced; this is enhances the oxidative reactivity 5. In this work, graphene doped TiO2 nanocomposite was used as photocatalytic materials for the Alizarin Red S degradation in water solutions. Graphene dispersions were prepared by liquid-phase exfoliation of graphite in the presence of a non-ionic surfactant, Triton X-100. The obtained graphene dispersion was characterized by X-Ray Diffraction, Dynamic Light Scattering and UV-Visible spectroscopy and was subsequently used for the preparation of graphene doped-TiO2 photocatalyst. Graphene doped-TiO2 nanocomposites showed higher adsorption of Alizarin Red S on the catalyst surface and higher photocatalytic activity for its degradation under visible light irradiation, respect to those obtained with pure TiO2 6. References: 1) Dimiev, A. M.; Tour, J. M. ACS Nano, 2014, 8, 3060 - 3068. 2) Samorì, P. et al. Chemical Society Reviews, 2014, 43, 381 - 398. 3) Geim, A.K.; Novoselov, K. S. Nature Materials, 2007, 6, 183 - 191. 4) Khalid, N. R.; Hong, Z. et al. Current Applied Physics, 2013, 13, 659 - 663. 5) Li, F.; Cheng, H. M. et al. Advanced Functional Materials, 2011, 21, 1717 - 1722. 6) Giovannetti, R.; D’ Amato, C. A. et al. Scientific Reports, 2015, 5, 17801

Oleanolic acid: A promising antidiabetic metabolite detected in Aglianico grape pomace

Grape pomace, a bulky component of winery waste, is a source of healthy compounds. So far, scientific research has mainly focused on its polyphenol content, but given the impressive number of bioactivities shown by grape pomace, it is not unlikely that, besides polyphenols, additional metabolites, so far undetected, may be involved. In order to verify such hypothesis, an in-depth chemical analysis of Aglianico (Vitis vinifera) grape pomace was conducted by NMR and LC-MS/MS. In addition to a number of polyphenols, a remarkable concentration of oleanolic acid (0.45 mg/g - fresh weight) was determined in the analyzed material. Oleanolic acid is a natural triterpenoid showing many bioactivities including antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic and antiviral properties. Also, it was proven a potential antidiabetic molecule in Type1 Diabetes rats. Hence, its influence on the mitochondrial and glucose uptake activities of C2C12 myoblast was here assessed, thus supporting oleanolic acid as a promising antidiabetic metabolite

NOTCH Activation Promotes Valve Formation by Regulating the Endocardial Secretome.

The endocardium is a specialized endothelium that lines the inner surface of the heart. Functional studies in mice and zebrafish have established that the endocardium is a source of instructive signals for the development of cardiac structures, including the heart valves and chambers. Here, we characterized the NOTCH-dependent endocardial secretome by manipulating NOTCH activity in mouse embryonic endocardial cells (MEEC) followed by mass spectrometry-based proteomics. We profiled different sets of soluble factors whose secretion not only responds to NOTCH activation but also shows differential ligand specificity, suggesting that ligand-specific inputs may regulate the expression of secreted proteins involved in different cardiac development processes. NOTCH signaling activation correlates with a transforming growth factor-β2 (TGFβ2)-rich secretome and the delivery of paracrine signals involved in focal adhesion and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition and remodeling. In contrast, NOTCH inhibition is accompanied by the up-regulation of specific semaphorins that may modulate cell migration. The secretome protein expression data showed a good correlation with gene profiling of RNA expression in embryonic endocardial cells. Additional characterization by in situ hybridization in mouse embryos revealed expression of various NOTCH candidate effector genes (Tgfβ2, Loxl2, Ptx3, Timp3, Fbln2, and Dcn) in heart valve endocardium and/or mesenchyme. Validating these results, mice with conditional Dll4 or Jag1 loss-of-function mutations showed gene expression alterations similar to those observed at the protein level in vitro These results provide the first description of the NOTCH-dependent endocardial secretome and validate MEEC as a tool for assaying the endocardial secretome response to a variety of stimuli and the potential use of this system for drug screening.We thank C. Martí Gómez-Aldaraví for help with graphic representation and critical reading of the manuscript, and S. Bartlett for English editing. RTC is supported by a Foundation La Caixa PhD fellowship (Ref LCF/BQ/ES15/10360023). LLZ is supported by a Ramón y Cajal postdoctoral contract (Ref: RYC-2016-20917). JLdlP is funded by grants SAF2016-78370-R, CB16/11/00399 (CIBER CV), and RD16/0011/0021 (TERCEL) from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, and grants from the Fundación BBVA (Ref.: BIO14_298) and Fundación La Marató TV3 (Ref.: 20153431). JV is supported by grants BIO2015-67580-P and CB16/11/00277 (CIBER CV) from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, and Carlos III Institute of Health-Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (Grant ProteoRed-PRB3-IPT17/0019-ISCIII-SGEFI/ERDF), the Fundación La Marató TV3 (Ref. 122/C/2015) and “La Caixa” Banking Foundation (project code HR17-00247). The cost of this publication was supported in part with funds from the ERDF. The CNIC is supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades and the Pro CNIC Foundation, and is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence (SEV-2015-0505).S