Synthesis and catalytic performance of CeOCl in Deacon reaction

Surface chlorinated CeO2 is an efficient material for HCl oxidation, which raises the question whether an oxychloride phase could be also active in the same reaction. CeOCl was synthesized by solid state reaction of cerium oxide with anhydrous cerium chloride and tested in HCl oxidation using various feed compositions at 703 K. X-ray diffraction of post-reaction samples revealed that CeOCl is unstable, in both oxygen-rich and -lean conditions. Applying oxygen over-stoichiometric feeds led to complete transformation of CeOCl into CeO2. Considerable HCl conversions were obtained only after this transformation, which confirms the essential role of bulk cerium oxide in this catalytic system

Foot Posture Index Does Not Correlate with Dynamic Foot Assessment Performed via Baropodometric Examination: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background. Clinicians employ foot morphology assessment to evaluate the functionality of the method and anticipate possible injuries. This study aims to correlate static foot posture and the dynamic barefoot evaluation in a sample of healthy adult participants. Methods. The foot posture was evaluated using the Foot Posture Index-6 (FPI-6) and the dynamics were evaluated through baropodometric examination. Two operators independently assessed the participants’ foot posture through FPI-6, and then a dynamic evaluation was performed by asking them to walk 8 times across a platform. One hundred participants (mean age: 32.15 ± 7.49) were enrolled. Results. The inter-rater agreement between the two assessors was found to be excellent. The majority of the feet belonged to the 0 < FPI < 4 class (32%), followed by the 4 < FPI < 8 (31%) and the FPI > 8 ranges (19.5%). Our “area of contact” analysis showed a significant poor correlation between FPI and total foot, midfoot, and the second metatarsophalangeal joint (MTPJ) (−0.3 < r < 0). Regarding “force” parameters, the analysis showed a poor correlation between the midfoot, hallux, and the second toe (−0.2 < r < 2); finally the “pressure” analysis showed a poor correlation between FPI, the fourth MTPJ, and the second toe (−0.2 < rs < 0.3) and a moderate correlation between the hallux (r = 0.374) and the fifth MTPJ (r = 0.427). Conclusions. This study emphasizes the constrained correlation between static foot posture observation and dynamic barefoot examination

International overview of somatic dysfunction assessment and treatment in osteopathic research: A scoping review

Background: Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is a patient-centred, whole-body intervention aimed at enhance the person’s self-regulation. OMT interventions are focused on somatic dysfunctions (SD) that can be defined as an altered regulative function associated with inflammatory signs palpable in the body framework in different body regions. The conceptual model that sustains SD, as well as its usefulness for the osteopathic profession, is still being discussed by the osteopathic community. Understanding the role and the application of SD is the aim of this scoping review. Methods: A literature search was carried out through the main biomedical databases: Pubmed (Medline), Cochrane, Central (Cochrane), Embase, PEDro and Scopus. Grey literature was considered via Google Scholar and the Osteopathic Research Web. The review was prepared by referring to the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews” (PRISMA-ScR). Results: A total of 37,279 records were identified through database searching and other sources. After the duplicates were removed, 27,023 titles and abstracts were screened. A total of 1495 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. The qualitative synthesis included 280 studies. Conclusions: Treating SD is an important part of osteopathic practice that varies from country to country. SD should be considered as a clinical value that assists in the clinical assessment and guides the decision-making process of osteopathic practitioners. Further studies should be designed to better understand why and how to choose the different assessment and intervention modalities to approach SD and to evaluate new osteopathic models

Supported CeO₂ catalysts in technical form for sustainable chlorine production

Bulk CeO2 has been recently reported as a promising catalyst for the oxidation of HCl to Cl2. In order to undertake the scale up of this system, various oxides (TiO2, Al2O3 , and low- and high-surface area ZrO2) have been evaluated as carriers. Supported CeO2 catalysts (3–20 wt.% Ce) prepared by dry impregnation were isothermally tested at the lab scale. Their performance was ranked as: CeO2/ZrO2 ≫ CeO2/Al2O3 ≥ CeO2/TiO2. Kinetic data revealed a lower activation energy and a similar activity dependence on the partial pressure of O2 for CeO2/ZrO2 compared to bulk CeO2. Pilot-scale testing over 3-mm pellets of this catalyst evidenced outstanding stability for 700 h on stream. In-depth characterization of the carriers and fresh catalysts by N2 sorption, Hg porosimetry, X-ray diffraction, temperature-programmed reduction with H2, Raman spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and in situ prompt gamma activation analysis, enabled to rationalize the different catalytic behavior of the materials. ZrO2 stabilizes nanostructures of CeO2 and a Ce–Zr mixed oxide phase, which offer high dispersion and improved oxidation properties. The catalyst also shows reduced chlorine uptake, and overall stands as a better Deacon material compared to bulk CeO2 and other supported systems. CeO2 is present on Al2O3 predominantly as well-distributed nanoparticles. Still, alumina does not induce any electronic effect, thus the supported phase behaves similarly to bulk ceria. TiO2, likely due to the structural collapse and dramatic sintering suffered during calcination, leads to the formation of very large ceria particles. Based on our results, CeO2/ZrO2 appears as a robust and cost-effective alternative to the current RuO2-based catalysts for large-scale chlorine recovery

Pengembangan Produk Tempat Sampah Penghancur Plastik Berbasis Green Technology

– Inovasi merupakan aspek kunci yang mendorong suatu Perusahaan semakin berkembang dan tetap bertahan dalam ketatnya persaingan di pasar. Seiringan dengan perkembangan teknologi yang revolusioner, menimbulkan adanya kebutuhan akan produk-produk dengan kemampuan yang mutakhir, oleh karena itu dibutuhan pola pikir yang kreatif dan berorientasi pada kreativitas bagi para Perusahaan untuk tetap mempertahankan kedudukannya di persaingan pasar. Dalam upaya menghasilkan produk yang inovatif dan berkualitas tinggi, diperlukan perencanaan dan pengembangan produk yang komprehensif, selain itu juga diharapkan memiliki manfaat yang berkelanjutan dan bermanfaat bagi kelestarian lingkungan. Salah satu orientasi yang ditujukan pada Perusahaan saat ini ialah mengembangkan Green Technology yang merujuk pada pembangunan dan aplikasi produk, peralatan serta sistem untuk memelihara alam sekitar dan meminimumkan dampak kerusakan lingkungan yang diakibatkan oleh manusia. Pada penelitian ini, dilakukan perencanaan dan pengembangan produk tempat sampah penghancur plastik ramah lingkungan bertenaga mekanik, dengan sensor elektrik yang mampu mendeteksi ketinggian sampah agar tidak menumpuk. Alur penelitian dilakukan mulai dari pencarian dan pengumpulan ide produk, penyaringan ide produk yang feasible dan berpotensi menguntungkan, pembuatan prototipe produk, hingga analisis ekonomi dari produk yang akan dikembangkan. Tempat sampah penghancur sampah yang ramah lingkungan ini diberi nama Trade (Trash Destroyer)

Constraints on the interpretation of S-to-P receiver functions

We present results from forward modelling to study the feasibility of using S-to-P converted phases to image the seismic discontinuity structure of the crust and upper mantle. We show that a significant level of P-wave energy arriving before the direct S-wave arrival can interfere with the S-to-P converted phases of interest and may result in Sp receiver function phases that do not represent true earth structure. The source of this P-wave energy is attributable to a number of phases, including those that have undergone multiple reflections off the Earth's surface. For deep focus earthquakes (300–600 km deep), a significant amount of P-wave energy is observed from pPPP, pPPPP and sPPPP phases, and arrives within the same time window as predicted for S-to-P converted phases from the direct S phase arrival. Furthermore, for earthquakes at all depths, interfering P-wave energy arrives within the same time window as predicted for S-to-P converted phases from the SKS phase arrival, limiting the usefulness of SKSp receiver functions for upper mantle imaging. To isolate true Sp receiver function phases from contamination due to other P-wave phases, we find it necessary to stack receiver functions from a range of epicentral distances and depths in order to aid the suppression of noise and other unwanted phases. We provide constraints on the noise levels to be expected as a function of epicentral distance and earthquake depth. We find that the lowest noise levels are achievable by restricting epicentral distance to less than 75 degrees and the depth of earthquakes used to less than 300 km

Stochastic Inversion of P-to-S Converted Waves for Mantle Composition and Thermal Structure: Methodology and Application

We present a new methodology for inverting P‐to‐S receiver function (RF) waveforms directly for mantle temperature and composition. This is achieved by interfacing the geophysical inversion with self‐consistent mineral phase equilibria calculations from which rock mineralogy and its elastic properties are predicted as a function of pressure, temperature, and bulk composition. This approach anchors temperatures, composition, seismic properties, and discontinuities that are in mineral physics data, while permitting the simultaneous use of geophysical inverse methods to optimize models of seismic properties to match RF waveforms. Resultant estimates of transition zone (TZ) topography and volumetric seismic velocities are independent of tomographic models usually required for correcting for upper mantle structure. We considered two end‐member compositional models: the equilibrated equilibrium assemblage (EA) and the disequilibrated mechanical mixture (MM) models. Thermal variations were found to influence arrival times of computed RF waveforms, whereas compositional variations affected amplitudes of waves converted at the TZ discontinuities. The robustness of the inversion strategy was tested by performing a set of synthetic inversions in which crustal structure was assumed both fixed and variable. These tests indicate that unaccounted‐for crustal structure strongly affects the retrieval of mantle properties, calling for a two‐step strategy presented herein to simultaneously recover both crustal and mantle parameters. As a proof of concept, the methodology is applied to data from two stations located in the Siberian and East European continental platforms.This work was supported by a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF project 200021_159907). B. T. was funded by a Délégation CNRS and Congé pour Recherches et Conversion Thématique from the Université de Lyon to visit the Research School of Earth Sciences (RSES), The Australian National University (ANU). B. T. has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement 79382

Sarilumab in patients admitted to hospital with severe or critical COVID-19: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial

Background: Elevated proinflammatory cytokines are associated with greater COVID-19 severity. We aimed to assess safety and efficacy of sarilumab, an interleukin-6 receptor inhibitor, in patients with severe (requiring supplemental oxygen by nasal cannula or face mask) or critical (requiring greater supplemental oxygen, mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal support) COVID-19. Methods: We did a 60-day, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multinational phase 3 trial at 45 hospitals in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Russia, and Spain. We included adults (≥18 years) admitted to hospital with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and pneumonia, who required oxygen supplementation or intensive care. Patients were randomly assigned (2:2:1 with permuted blocks of five) to receive intravenous sarilumab 400 mg, sarilumab 200 mg, or placebo. Patients, care providers, outcome assessors, and investigators remained masked to assigned intervention throughout the course of the study. The primary endpoint was time to clinical improvement of two or more points (seven point scale ranging from 1 [death] to 7 [discharged from hospital]) in the modified intention-to-treat population. The key secondary endpoint was proportion of patients alive at day 29. Safety outcomes included adverse events and laboratory assessments. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04327388; EudraCT, 2020-001162-12; and WHO, U1111-1249-6021. Findings: Between March 28 and July 3, 2020, of 431 patients who were screened, 420 patients were randomly assigned and 416 received placebo (n=84 [20%]), sarilumab 200 mg (n=159 [38%]), or sarilumab 400 mg (n=173 [42%]). At day 29, no significant differences were seen in median time to an improvement of two or more points between placebo (12·0 days [95% CI 9·0 to 15·0]) and sarilumab 200 mg (10·0 days [9·0 to 12·0]; hazard ratio [HR] 1·03 [95% CI 0·75 to 1·40]; log-rank p=0·96) or sarilumab 400 mg (10·0 days [9·0 to 13·0]; HR 1·14 [95% CI 0·84 to 1·54]; log-rank p=0·34), or in proportions of patients alive (77 [92%] of 84 patients in the placebo group; 143 [90%] of 159 patients in the sarilumab 200 mg group; difference −1·7 [−9·3 to 5·8]; p=0·63 vs placebo; and 159 [92%] of 173 patients in the sarilumab 400 mg group; difference 0·2 [−6·9 to 7·4]; p=0·85 vs placebo). At day 29, there were numerical, non-significant survival differences between sarilumab 400 mg (88%) and placebo (79%; difference +8·9% [95% CI −7·7 to 25·5]; p=0·25) for patients who had critical disease. No unexpected safety signals were seen. The rates of treatment-emergent adverse events were 65% (55 of 84) in the placebo group, 65% (103 of 159) in the sarilumab 200 mg group, and 70% (121 of 173) in the sarilumab 400 mg group, and of those leading to death 11% (nine of 84) were in the placebo group, 11% (17 of 159) were in the sarilumab 200 mg group, and 10% (18 of 173) were in the sarilumab 400 mg group. Interpretation: This trial did not show efficacy of sarilumab in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 and receiving supplemental oxygen. Adequately powered trials of targeted immunomodulatory therapies assessing survival as a primary endpoint are suggested in patients with critical COVID-19. Funding: Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals