Epsomite as flame retardant treatment for wood: Preliminary study

The effect of epsomite as flame retardant for wood has been investigated and compared with a commercial boron salt. Both flame retardants have been introduced into wood samples by vacuum impregnation. Epsomite is a hydrated sulphate salt with a water solubility of 731 g L-1 at room temperature. Thanks to this high solubility it was possible to obtain elevated epsomite loadings in comparison with the borax salt. Flame retardancy was evaluated by means of the limiting oxygen index, the dripping test and the exposition to a direct flame (Bunsen test). The results showed that the addition of epsomite increases the limiting oxygen index, delays the time to ignition and the evolution of the temperatures trough the wood. © 2016 Elsevier LtdPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Exploring the excess mortality due to depressive symptoms in a community-based sample: The role of Alzheimer's Disease

BACKGROUND: Depression has been associated with increased risk of death. However, there is lack of studies exploring such relationship in the context of dementia. Given the high prevalence of both depression and Alzheimer's Disease (AD), investigating their temporal association with mortality is of public health relevance. METHODS: Longitudinal data from the WHICAP study were analyzed (1958 individuals aged ≥65 years). Depressive symptoms were assessed with the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Respondents were identified as having AD if they satisfied the criteria of the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer's Association workgroups on diagnostic guidelines for Alzheimer's disease. Cox regressions analyses were performed to determine the association between depressive symptoms and risk of all-cause mortality using the overall sample, and by AD status. RESULTS: Depressive symptoms were significantly associated with higher mortality risk after adjusting for all potential covariates in the overall sample (HR=1.22; 95% CI=1.02, 1.46) and in individuals with incident AD (HR=1.88; 95% CI=1.12, 3.18). LIMITATIONS: The CES-D does not measure clinical depression but depressive symptomatology. Since those who were exposed to known risk factors for mortality are likely to die prematurely, our results may have been skewed to the individuals with longer survival. CONCLUSIONS: Strategies focusing on prevention and early treatment of depression in the elderly may have a beneficial effect not only on patient quality of life and disability, but may also increase survival in the context of AD

Relevance of sex-differenced analyses in bioenergetics and nutritional studies

Sex-biased analyses still remain as one of the biggest limitations to obtain universal conclusions. In biomedicine, the majority of experimental analyses and a significant amount of patient-derived cohort studies exclusively included males. In nutritional and molecular medicine, sex-influence is also frequently underrated, even considering maternal-inherited organelles such as mitochondria. We herein illustrate with in-house original data examples of how sex influences mitochondrial homeostasis, review these topics and highlight the consequences of biasing scientific analyses excluding females as differentiated entities from males

Hybrid Ni@ZnO@ZnS-Microalgae for Circular Economy : a Smart Route to the Efficient Integration of Solar Photocatalytic Water Decontamination and Bioethanol Production

Water remediation and development of carbon-neutral fuels are a priority for the evermore industrialized society. The answer to these challenges should be simple, sustainable, and inexpensive. Thus, biomimetic-inspired circular and holistic processes combing water remediation and biofuel production can be an appealing concept to deal with these global issues. A simple circular approach using helical Spirulina platensis microalgae as biotemplates to synthesize Ni@ZnO@ZnS photocatalysts for efficient solar water decontamination and bioethanol production during the recycling process is presented. Under solar irradiation, the Ni@ZnO@ZnS-Spirulina photocatalyst exhibits enhanced activity (mineralization efficiency >99%) with minimal photocorrosion and excellent reusability. At the end of its effective lifetime for water remediation, the microalgae skeleton (mainly glycogen and glucose) of the photocatalyst is recycled to directly produce bioethanol by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process. An outstanding ethanol yield of 0.4 L kg, which is similar to the highest yield obtained from oxygenic photosynthetic microorganisms, is obtained. Thus, the entire process allows effective solar photocatalytic water remediation and bioethanol production at room temperature using simple and easily scalable procedures that simultaneously fixes carbon dioxide, thereby constituting a zero-carbon-emission circular process

Reporting reimbursement price decisions for onco-hematology drugs in Spain

Health technology assessment; Onco-hematologic prices; Price and reimbursement systemsAvaluació de tecnologies sanitàries; Preus onco-hematològics; Sistemes de preus i reemborsamentEvaluación de tecnologías sanitarias; Precios oncohematológicos; Sistemas de precios y reembolsosIntroduction: Even using well-established technology assessment processes, the basis of the decisions on drug price and reimbursement are sometimes perceived as poorly informed and sometimes may be seen as disconnected from value. The literature remains inconclusive about how Health Technology Assessment Bodies (HTAb) should report the determinants of their decisions. This study evaluates the relationship between oncology and hematology drug list prices and structured value parameters at the time of reimbursement decision in Spain. Methods: The study includes all new onco-hematological products (22), with a first indication authorized between January 2017 and December 2019 in Spain and pricing decisions published up until October 2022. For each product, 56 contextual and non-contextual indicators reflecting the structured multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) – Evidence-based Decision-Making (EVIDEM) framework were measured. The relationship between prices and the MCDA-EVIDEM framework was explored using univariate statistical analyses. Results: Higher prices were observed when the standard of care included for combinations, if there were references to long-lasting responses, for fixed-duration treatment compared to treatment until progression and treatment with lower frequencies of administration; lower prices were observed for oral administration compared to other routes of administration. Statistically significant associations were observed between prices and the median duration of treatment, the impact on patient autonomy, the ease of use of the drug, and the recommendations of experts. Discussion: The study suggests that indicators related to the type of standard of care, references to long-lasting responders, the convenience of the use of the drug, and the impact of treatment on patient autonomy, as well as contextual indicators such as the existence of previous clinical consensus, are factors in setting oncology drug prices in Spain. The implementation of MCDA-EVIDEM methodologies may be useful to capture the influence on pricing decisions of additional factors not included in legislation or consolidated assessment frameworks such as the European Network for Health Technology Assessment (EunetHTA) core model. It may be opportune to consider this in the upcoming revision of the Spanish regulation for health technology assessments and pricing and reimbursement procedures

Epsomite as flame retardant treatment for wood: preliminary study

The effect of epsomite as flame retardant for wood has been investigated and compared with a commercial boron salt. Both flame retardants have been introduced into wood samples by vacuum impregnation. Epsomite is a hydrated sulphate salt with a water solubility of 731 g¿L-1 at room temperature. Thanks to this high solubility it was possible to obtain elevated epsomite loadings in comparison with the borax salt. Flame retardancy was evaluated by means of the limiting oxygen index, the dripping test and the exposition to a direct flame (Bunsen test). The results showed that the addition of epsomite increases the limiting oxygen index, delays the time to ignition and the evolution of the temperatures trough the wood

Highly active ZnO-based biomimetic fern-like microleaves for photocatalytic water decontamination using sunlight

Here we present the highly enhanced sunlight photocatalytic efficiency and photocorrosion resistance of biomimetic ZnO-modified micro/nanofern fractal architectures, which are synthesized by using a novel, simple, inexpensive and green electrochemical deposition approach in high stirring conditions. Such fern-like hierarchical structures simultaneously combine enhanced angle independent light trapping and surface/bulk modifications of the ZnO morphology to drastically increase: i) the light trapping and absorption in the visible near-infrared range, and ii) the surface to volume ratio of the architecture. This combination is crucial for boosting the sunlight photocatalytic efficiency. To modulate the electronic properties for extending the operation of the ZnO photocatalysts into the visible domain we have used three different modification approaches: sulfidation (leading to a ZnS shell), Ag decoration, and Ni-doping. The different ZnO-modified bioinspired fern-like fractal structures have been used to demonstrate their efficiency in the photodegradation and photoremediation of three different persistent organic pollutants -methylene blue, 4-nitrophenol, and Rhodamine B - under UV light, simulated and natural UV-filtered sunlight. Remarkably, the ZnO@ZnS core@shell structures exhibited an outstanding photocatalytic activity compared to the pristine ZnO catalyst, with over 6-fold increase in the pollutant degradation rate when using solar light. In fact, the catalytic performance of the ZnO@ZnS micro/nanoferns for the photoremediation of persistent organic pollutants is comparable to or better than the most competitive state-of-the-art ZnO photocatalysts, but showing a negligible photocorrosion. Ag-decorated ZnO, and Ni-doped ZnO exhibited similar excellent visible-sunlight photodegradation efficiency. Although the Ni-doped photocatalysts showed a relatively poor photocorrosion resistance, it was acceptable for Ag-decorated ZnO. Therefore, the easy fabrication and the capacity to drastically enhance the sunlight photocatalytic efficiency of the ZnO@ZnS bioinspired micro/nanoferns, together with their practically negligible photocorrosion and simple recyclability in terms of non-catalyst poisoning, makes them very promising photocatalysts for water remediation

Highly reduced ecotoxicity of ZnO-based micro/nanostructures on aquatic biota: Influence of architecture, chemical composition, fixation, and photocatalytic efficiency

Developing efficient sunlight photocatalysts with enhanced photocorrosion resistance and minimal eco-toxicological effects on aquatic biota is critical to combat water contamination. Here, the role of chem-ical composition, architecture, and fixation on the ecotoxicological effects on microalgae of different ZnO and ZnO@ZnS based water decontamination photocatalysts was analyzed in depth. In particular, the ecotoxicological effects of films, nanoparticles and biomimetic micro/nano-ferns were carefully as-sessed by correlating the algae's viability to the Zn(II) release, the photocatalyst-microalgae interac-tion, and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The results showed a drastic improvement in algal viability for supported ZnO@ZnS core@shell micro/nanoferns, as their ecotoxicity after 96 h light exposure was significantly lower (3.7-10.0% viability loss) compared to the ZnO films (18.4-35.5% loss), ZnO micro/nanoferns (28.5-53.5% loss), ZnO nanoparticles (48.3-91.7% loss) or ZnO@ZnS nanoparticles (8.6-19.2% loss) for catalysts concentrations ranging from 25 mg L-1 to 400 mg L-1. In particular, the ZnO@ZnS micro/nanoferns with a concentration of 400 mg L-1 exhibited ex-cellent photocatalytic efficiency to mineralize a multi-pollutant solution (81.4±0.3% mineralization ef-ficiency after 210 min under UV-filtered visible light irradiation) and minimal photocorrosion (< 5% of photocatalyst dissolution after 96 h of UV-filtered visible light irradiation). Remarkably, the ZnO@ZnS micro/nanoferns showed lower loss of algal viability (9.8±1.1%) after 96 h of light exposure, with min-imal reduction in microalgal biomass (9.1±1.0%), as well as in the quantity of chlorophyll-a (9.5±1.0%), carotenoids (8.6±0.9%) and phycocyanin (5.6±0.6%). Altogether, the optimized ZnO@ZnS core@shell micro/nanoferns represent excellent ecofriendly photocatalysts for water reme-diation in complex media, as they combine enhanced sunlight remediation efficiency, minimal adverse effects on biological microorganisms, high reusability and easy recyclability

Effect of process parameters and operational mode on nitrous oxide emissions from a nitritation reactor treating reject wastewater

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) and methane emissions were monitored in a continuous granular airlift nitritation reactor from ammonium-rich wastewater (reject wastewater). N₂O emissions were found to be dependent on dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in the range of 1-4.5 mg O₂/L, increasing within this range when reducing the DO values. At higher DO concentrations, N₂O emissions remained constant at 2.2% of the N oxidized to nitrite, suggesting two different mechanisms behind N₂O production, one dependent and one independent of DO concentration. Changes on ammonium, nitrite, free ammonia and free nitrous acid concentrations did not have an effect on N₂O emissions within the concentration range tested. When operating the reactor in a sequencing batch mode under high DO concentration (>5 mg o₂/L), N₂O emissions increased one order of magnitude reaching values of 19.3+/-7.5% of the N oxidized. Moreover, CH₄ emissions detected were due to the stripping of the soluble CH4 that remained dissolved in the reject wastewater after anaerobic digestion. Finally, an economical and carbon footprint assessment of a theoretical scaled up of the pilot plant was conducted