Poplar from phytoremediation as a renewable energy source:gasification properties and pollution analysis

Biomass gasification is a very efficient process to produce clean energy in the form of a fuel gas (syngas). Hazelnut shells and poplar have good energy production potential and they are abundant in nature. Hazelnut shells have the characteristics of a very good fuel and poplar is among the fastest growing trees; furthermore, poplar demonstrated the capability to absorb organic contaminants (i.e. heavy metals) from the soil in which they are cultivated. However, poplar is not usually used for biomass gasification and its potential is not fully assessed. Here, 3 types of biomass, hazelnut shells (HS), simple poplar (P) and poplar coming from a phytoremediation procedure (PHYP), were chosen as representative samples to be characterized and tested in a steam gasification process carried out on a bench scale fluidized bed gasifier. A comparison is reported on gasification results, such as gas composition, tar production and gas yield for the biomass feedstocks mentioned above. It was concluded that hazelnut shells and poplar (P and PHYP) could be easily gasified in a fluidized bed gasifier, thus producing a good quality gas with low polluting by-products. The PHYP sample showed lower tar content and higher gas yield. It is guessed that Ca and Mg, found in higher quantities in the PHYP sample, could have had a catalytic effect in tar reforming thus producing lower quantity of heavy hydrocarbons

Microvariation in the division of labor between null- and overt-subject pronouns: the case of Italian and Spanish

AbstractIn Italian, null pronouns are typically interpreted toward antecedents in a prominent syntactic position, whereas overt pronouns prefer antecedents in lower positions. Interpretation preferences in Spanish are less clear. While comprehension and production have never been systematically compared in Italian and Spanish, here we look at the preferences for overt- and null-subject pronouns in the two languages using the same production and comprehension materials. Using an offline comprehension task with a group of Spanish and Italian speakers, we tested sentences where the type of pronoun (null vs. explicit) and position of the pronoun (anaphoric vs. cataphoric) are manipulated, to determine how context affects speakers' interpretations in the two languages. With two production tasks, we measured referential choice in controlled discourse contexts, linking the production patterns to the differences observed in comprehension. Our results indicate microvariation in the two null-subject languages, with Spanish following the Position of Antecedent Hypothesis but to a lesser degree than Italian. More specifically, in Spanish, the weaker object bias for overt pronouns parallels with a higher use of overt pronouns (and with fewer null pronouns) in contexts of topic maintenance

Some Considerations on the ’s Morpheme in English: Acquisition and Theory

This article starts from the discussion of some data concerning the acquisition of English as a second language, which suggest that genitival ’s and copular ’s are considered one and the same morpheme by the experimental subjects. The ’s= is Hypothesis is then examined throughout some relevant linguistic literature. The examination of arguments in favour and against it leads to the proposal that ’s is indeed one and the same morpheme whose content is (third) person, in turn a quantificational feature which expresses denotation. In the final part of the paper extensions to plural -s and third person singular -s of lexical verbs are sketched

Some Considerations on the <i>’s</i> Morpheme in English: Acquisition and Theory

This article starts from the discussion of some data concerning the acquisition of English as a second language, which suggest that genitival ’s and copular ’s are considered one and the same morpheme by the experimental subjects. The ’s= is Hypothesis is then examined throughout some relevant linguistic literature. The examination of arguments in favour and against it leads to the proposal that ’s is indeed one and the same morpheme whose content is (third) person, in turn a quantificational feature which expresses denotation. In the final part of the paper extensions to plural -s and third person singular -s of lexical verbs are sketched

Disentangling Parsing and Grammar in Subject Pronouns Interpretation in Italian

In the present study, we investigate if and how null and overt subject pronouns interpretation preferences in Italian can be influenced by two factors: (i) the presence of c-commanding antecedents (Rizzi 2018) and (ii) the ‘impatient parser’ (Sorace and Filiaci 2006; Fedele and Kaiser 2014). To disentangle the effects of c-commanding antecedents and of the ‘impatient parser’, we compare experimental conditions differing for only one of the two factors. The comparison demonstrates that c-commanding antecedents influence the interpretation of null pronouns but not the interpretation of overt pronouns, while no effect of the impatient parser is found for either null or overt pronouns. In addition, we found that external referent interpretation preferences are modulated by Principle C effects for null and overt pronouns, albeit to different degrees. External referent choices also increase when an

Asymmetric Cortical Adaptation Effects during Alternating Auditory Stimulation

The present study investigates hemispheric asymmetries in the neural adaptation processes occurring during alternating auditory stimulation. Stimuli were two monaural pure tones having a frequency of 400 or 800 Hz and a duration of 500 ms. Electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded from 14 volunteers during the presentation of the following stimulus sequences, lasting 12 s each: 1) evoked potentials (EP condition, control), 2) alternation of frequency and ear (FE condition), 3) alternation of frequency (F condition), and 4) alternation of ear (E condition). Main results showed that in the central area of the left hemisphere (around C3 site) the N100 response underwent adaptation in all patterns of alternation, whereas in the same area of the right hemisphere the tones presented at the right ear in the FE produced no adaptation. Moreover, the responses to right-ear stimuli showed a difference between hemispheres in the E condition, which produced less adaptation in the left hemisphere. These effects are discussed in terms of lateral symmetry as a product of hemispheric, pathway and ear asymmetries

Metformin increases APP expression and processing via oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and NF-κB activation: Use of insulin to attenuate metformin's effect

AbstractClinical and experimental biomedical studies have shown Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) to be a risk factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study demonstrates the effect of metformin, a therapeutic biguanide administered for T2DM therapy, on β-amyloid precursor protein (APP) metabolism in in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo models. Furthermore, the protective role of insulin against metformin is also demonstrated. In LAN5 neuroblastoma cells, metformin increases APP and presenilin levels, proteins involved in AD. Overexpression of APP and presenilin 1 (Pres 1) increases APP cleavage and intracellular accumulation of β-amyloid peptide (Aβ), which, in turn, promotes aggregation of Aβ. In the experimental conditions utilized the drug causes oxidative stress, mitochondrial damage, decrease of Hexokinase-II levels and cytochrome C release, all of which lead to cell death. Several changes in oxidative stress-related genes following metformin treatment were detected by PCR arrays specific for the oxidative stress pathway. These effects of metformin were found to be antagonized by the addition of insulin, which reduced Aβ levels, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death. Similarly, antioxidant molecules, such as ferulic acid and curcumin, are able to revert metformin's effect. Comparable results were obtained using peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Finally, the involvement of NF-κB transcription factor in regulating APP and Pres 1 expression was investigated. Upon metformin treatment, NF-κB is activated and translocates from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, where it induces increased APP and Pres 1 transcription. The use of Bay11-7085 inhibitor suppressed the effect of metformin on APP and Pres 1 expression

Role of the National Immunisation Technical Advisory Groups in 13 European countries in the decision-making process on vaccine recommendations

: In Europe, National Immunisation Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) were established in most countries to promote evidence-informed decision-making in introducing new or improved vaccines or changing recommendations for existing ones. Still, the role, activities and outcomes of NITAGs have not been optimally implemented across Europe. Within the European Joint Action on Vaccination (EU-JAV), we conducted a survey to collect information on decision-making process including the main criteria for the introduction of new vaccines or changes to recommendations on their use. Between December 2021 and January 2022, 13 of the 28 European countries invited participated in an online survey. The criteria ranked as most relevant were disease burden and availability of financial resources. Only one country specified that the NITAG recommendations were binding for the government or the health authority. Vaccinations more often reported for introduction or recommendation changes were those against herpes zoster, influenza, human papillomavirus infection, pneumococcal and meningococcal disease. The planned changes will mainly address children and adolescents (2-18 years) and adults (≥ 45-65 years). Our findings show potential overlaps in the activities of NITAGs between countries; and therefore, collaboration between NITAGs may lead to optimisation of the workload and better use of resources

Bevacizumab plus XELOX as first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer: The OBELIX study

AIM: To confirm the efficacy and safety of bevacizumab/XELOX combination for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) in Italy. METHODS: This multicentric, prospective, open-label study included patients with CRC previously untreated with chemotherapy. Patients were administered bevacizumab in combination with XELOX. The primary efficacy end-point was progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary end-points included time to overall response (TOR), duration of response (DOR), time to treatment failure (TTF) and overall survival (OS). The incidence and type of adverse events AEs and severe AEs were evaluated. Also, the mutational status of BRAF and KRAS was assessed by high resolution melting and direct sequencing, and quality of life (QoL) was measured by the EuroQoL EQ-5D questionnaire at baseline and at the last visit. RESULTS: The intention-to-treat population included 197 patients (mean age: 62.3 ± 9.9 years, 56.4% males). At baseline, 16/34 evaluable subjects (47.1%) harbored a KRAS and/or a BRAF mutation; the mean QoL index was 80.2 ± 14.3. First-line therapy was given for 223.7 ± 175.9 d, and after a mean follow-up of 387.7 ± 238.8 d all patients discontinued from the study mainly for disease progression (PD, 45.4%) and AEs (25.4%). Median PFS was 9.7 mo (95%CI: 8.4-10.5) and the median values for secondary end-points were: TOR = 3.9 mo (95%CI: 2.6-4.7), DOR = 8.5 mo (95%CI: 7.3-10.3), TTF = 6.7 mo (95%CI: 6.0-7.7) and OS = 23.2 mo (95%CI: 20.1-27.2). Patients carrying at least one lesion had a lower overall response rate (66.7% vs 88.9%) and a lower probability of achieving complete or partial response than those without mutations, but the difference in relative risk was not statistically significant (P = 0.2). Mean EQ-5D-3L raw index score significantly decreased to 74.9 ± 19.1 at the last visit (signed-rank test, P = 0.0076), but in general the evaluation on QoL perceived by patients was good. CONCLUSION: The efficacy of bevacizumab in combination with XELOX in terms of PFS in patients with aCRC or mCRC in Italy was confirmed, with acceptable toxicity