ELV recycling steps up a gear: development of improved sorting technologies for the non-ferrous fraction of auto-shredders

Although the number of end of life vehicles (ELVs) needing recycling is growing, due to processing limitations aluminium recycling rates are being hindered. A European-funded project - ShredderSort - aims to contribute to new solutions to the aluminium recycling industry. More than 10 million tons of automotive waste from end of life vehicles (ELV) are generated yearly in the EU and the values are continuously increasing. ELV wastes are managed by the auto-shredder plants which process ELVs through a series of mechanical and physical operations in order to separate the materials into different streams: ferrous, non-ferrous, heavy non-metal and fluff. Ferrous materials, constituting more than 60wt% (percentage by weight), are sent to steel-making plants, while the non-ferrous (NF) fraction, rich in aluminium and representing slightly less than 10wt%, is processed to separate some alloys

Separation of non-ferrous frations of shredded end-of-life vehicles for valorising its alloys

Worldwide the end-of-life vehicles (ELV) generate millions of tons of waste, requiring an adequate and efficient management. The non-ferrous fraction contains essentially aluminium, magnesium and copper alloys, being valorised by metallurgical processors to obtain new metals and alloys. However most of the recovered metals are downcycled, as is the case of aluminium where the recycled products are essentially used to produce less purity casting alloys. New or improved separation technologies are therefore necessary in order to allow an accurate separation of alloys or alloy groups, increasing the value of the non-ferrous streams. In this paper, the composition of the non-ferrous fractions of ELV shredders are assessed with particular relevance for the aluminium and magnesium alloys. Essentially, the main cast and wrought alloys are characterized and their markets and applications are discussed. Based on waste composition, several physical separation and sorting technologies can be applied to improve the products quality, which are here depicted and discussed. Physical processing includes operations such as eddy current and heavy media separations. For sorting alloys contained in the non-ferrous stream, other sensor-based technologies are being developed, such as electromagnetic sensing and novel laser induced breakdown spectroscopy systems, constituting an important contribution for boosting the non-ferrous metals recycling rates

Lesão intracraniana que respondeu ao tratamento anti-tuberculoso em paciente infectado pelo HIV

Cerebral tuberculomas constitute a major differential diagnosis of cerebral toxoplasmosis in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients in developing countries. We report the case of a 34-year old woman co-infected with HIV and possible disseminated tuberculosis (hepatitis, lymphadenopathy, and pleural effusion) who presented a large and solitary intracranial mass lesion. Despite extensive diagnostic efforts, including brain, ganglionar, and liver biopsies, no definitive diagnosis was reached. However, a trial with first-line antituberculous drugs led to a significant clinical and radiological improvement. Atypical presentations of cerebral tuberculomas should always be considered in the differential diagnosis of intracranial mass lesions in HIV-infected patients and a trial with antituberculous drugs is a valuable strategy to infer the diagnosis in a subset of patients.Os tuberculomas cerebrais constituem diagnóstico diferencial importante da toxoplasmose cerebral em pacientes infectados pelo vírus da imunodeficiência humana (HIV) de países em desenvolvimento. Os autores relatam o caso de uma mulher HIV positiva de 34 anos de idade, que apresentou provável tuberculose disseminada (hepatite, adenomegalia, e derrame pleural) associada à lesão expansiva cerebral única e gigante. Apesar dos esforços diagnósticos realizados, incluindo biópsia cerebral, ganglionar e hepática, o diagnóstico etiológico não foi confirmado. Porém, a resposta clínico-radiológica ao tratamento tuberculostático permitiu definir o diagnóstico de tuberculoma cerebral e a paciente teve alta hospitalar. Apresentações atípicas de tuberculomas cerebrais devem ser sempre consideradas no diagnóstico diferencial das lesões expansivas cerebrais em pacientes infectados pelo HIV e o uso do tratamento tuberculostático constitui ferramenta útil na definição diagnóstica em um sub-grupo de paciente

Whole blood transcriptional profiling in ankylosing spondylitis identifies novel candidate genes that might contribute to the inflammatory and tissue-destructive disease aspects

Introduction: A number of genetic-association studies have identified genes contributing to ankylosing spondylitis (AS) susceptibility but such approaches provide little information as to the gene activity changes occurring during the disease process. Transcriptional profiling generates a 'snapshot' of the sampled cells' activity and thus can provide insights into the molecular processes driving the disease process. We undertook a whole-genome microarray approach to identify candidate genes associated with AS and validated these gene-expression changes in a larger sample cohort

The role of automated sorting in the recovery of aluminium alloys waste

Selected papers from the 3rd Edition of the International Conference on Wastes: Solutions, Treatments and OpportunitiesA large number of aluminium alloys with varying alloying elements are present in vehicle structures and components, as well as in other household equipment. The recycling of these alloys is nowadays processed to low quality metal products due to high level of contamination, hindering the upgrading of recycling rates. The development and application of automated sorting technologies capable to detect, select and separate different alloy types could be of crucial importance in the progression of the recycling loop. This paper addresses the importance of sorting based on a study on the characterization of Al alloys in non-ferrous fraction of shredder plants

The metabolic microenvironment of melanomas: prognostic value of MCT1 and MCT4

BRAF mutations are known drivers of melanoma development and, recently, were also described as players in the Warburg effect, while this reprogramming of energy metabolism has been identified as a possible strategy for treating melanoma patients. Therefore, the aim of this work was to evaluate the expression and prognostic value of a panel of glycolytic metabolism-related proteins in a series of melanomas. The immunohistochemical expression of MCT1, MCT4, GLUT1, and CAIX was evaluated in 356 patients presenting melanoma and 20 patients presenting benign nevi. Samples included 20 benign nevi, 282 primary melanomas, 117 lymph node and 54 distant metastases samples. BRAF mutation was observed in 29/92 (31.5%) melanoma patients and 17/20 (85%) benign nevi samples. NRAS mutation was observed in 4/36 (11.1%) melanoma patients and 1/19 (5.3%) benign nevi samples. MCT4 and GLUT1 expression was significantly increased in metastatic samples, and MCT1, MCT4 and GLUT1 were significantly associated with poor prognostic variables. Importantly, MCT1 and MCT4 were associated with shorter overall survival. In conclusion, the present study brings new insights on metabolic aspects of melanoma, paving the way for the development of new-targeted therapies.This work was supported by FAPESP grant to VLV (2012/04194-1) and CP (2015/25351-6). VMG received a doctoral fellowship (SFRH/BD/51997/2012) from Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) and ON. 2 SR&TD Integrated Program (NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000017) co-funded by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2- O Novo Norte), Quadro de Referencia Estrategico Nacional (QREN), through Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Suporte Circulatório Percutâneo Total em Paciente com IAM e Choque Cardiogênico

Na oclusao aguda de artéria coronária, a recuperaçao da funçao miocárdica após a revascularizaçao pode requerer vários dias. Nesse período crítico, pacientes em choque cardiogênico podem apresentar baixo débito. Dispositivos de assistência circulatória podem oferecer tratamento rápido e eficaz para os pacientes

Suporte Circulatório Percutâneo Total em Paciente com IAM e Choque Cardiogênico

Na oclusao aguda de artéria coronária, a recuperaçao da funçao miocárdica após a revascularizaçao pode requerer vários dias. Nesse período crítico, pacientes em choque cardiogênico podem apresentar baixo débito. Dispositivos de assistência circulatória podem oferecer tratamento rápido e eficaz para os pacientes