Algal Biotechnology: Properties of Bioactive Derivatives and Pharmaceutical Applications

Continuous development of new pathologies and mutations together with the increment of drug resistance make the research of new treatments and therapies more urgent and essential. Among the renewable resources, algae and related bioactive compounds are strongly considered. Algae are eukaryotic organisms characterised by high therapeutic potential. Indeed, because of biotic and abiotic factors, algae produce a wide variety of metabolites, which are useful for treating dysfunctions and diseases. The most produced metabolites are proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, polyphenols, and pigments, which find several applications in daily life, as indicated in Fig. 1. The different classes of metabolites are relevant to the species they belong to; they are also divided into groups according to their medical properties. Over the years, advantages and performances of algae derivatives have been demonstrated by a growing number of analyses and researches, especially in recent years. Among the various properties of algae metabolites, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, antioxidant and antidiabetic are the most promising. Pigments (e.g. fucoxanthin) and polyphenols are the main compounds with anti-inflammatory activity; the latter also show antiviral, antidiabetic and antibacterial effects. Other compounds with antidiabetic activity are some xanthophylls and some polysaccharides (e.g. fucoidan and alginate). Among the antioxidant metabolites of algae, the most useful are flavonoids (i.e. polyphenols), carotenoids, pigments, vitamins, minerals and enzymes. Fatty acids show antibacterial ability, while carrageenans and other polysaccharides show both antibacterial and antiviral effects. Supporting algal research is a valid strategy to improve ongoing trials, expand or confirm obtained results, discover and include new molecules in biotechnology applications with the aim to introduce novel medical and pharmacological uses in modern medicine. A typical example is related to diabetes mellitus, which is a disease in constant growth. Nowadays, numerous trials are ongoing to develop innovative and more efficient treatments and several algae are analysed with respect to this pathology. Indeed, some algal bioactive compounds, in particular polyphenol derivatives, polysaccharides and pigments, have antidiabetic properties; these metabolites inhibit the enzymes α-glucosidase, α-amylase and aldose reductase, reduce reactive oxygen species, decrease lipid peroxidation and interfere on metabolic pathways. The results are decrement of blood glucose levels and increment of insulin values, which are critical in diabetic patients.

Algae Culture Conditions and Process Parameters for Phycoremediation and Biomaterials Production

Abstract Climate change and increasing world population call for careful utilization of water and energy sources. Microalgae to treat wastewater in a coupled process to produce biofuels and other value-added products for human consumption are promising solutions. An analysis of culture parameters and cultivation processes is presented as essential to achieve economical sustainability from the algae. Results of the activity of microalgal strains in detoxification of wastewater are compared and discussed, particularly in remediation of nitrogen and phosphorous compounds, heavy metal, pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Phycoremediation mechanisms and culture conditions to obtain optimal microalgal growth are discussed. Finally, valuable products that can be produced by microalgae and ecological problems of untreated wastewater are presented

CFD Modelling of Biomass Mixing in Anaerobic Digesters of Biogas Plants

Abstract Cut in greenhouse gas emissions, increment of energy from renewables and improvement in energy efficiency represent the three key targets for future energy systems. Among the available bioenergy technologies, biogas production via biodegradation and anaerobic digestion is a widely applied approach, not only to produce biofuels but also to manage industrial and domestic organic waste. Within the biogas production, a sufficient mixing of the organic mass is a crucial step to ensure high biogas yields by bacteria and enzymes. Measurements of the electric power consumption of biogas plants revealed that the electrical energy demand of the stirrer system has a high share of the total electricity consumption of a biogas plant. Investigations on real biogas digesters to optimize the mixing process are cost and time intensive. Therefore, laboratory prototypes and computational simulations represent promising alternatives to analyse and improve the efficiency of mixing systems. In this paper, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is presented, which is applied to commercial stirring systems. The case of two propeller stirrers, located in diametrically opposite positions in a tank filled with ca. 1400 m3 of substrate is described in detail. For the simulation, the rheology of the fluid is adapted to a biomass with 12 wt % dry matter content and obeying the non-Newtonian generalized Ostwald-de Waele power law. The developed simulation procedure considers the rotation angle of each propeller and its height. A total of 441 mixing configurations are calculated and evaluated in terms of the technical benefit. The investigation reveals that locations of the rotors far away from the bottom and high rotational angles cause advantageous fluid dynamics

Hydronic Road-Heating Systems: Environmental Performance and the Case of Ingolstadt Ramps

Abstract Snowfall and ice formation on road surface significantly impact the safety of driving conditions. To resolve this, every year salt and de-icing chemicals are sprinkled on roads. However, use of salts and snow ploughing have environmental as well as economical disadvantages. To resolve these problems, hydronic road heating systems are valid alternatives. Heat transfer fluid, i.e. mixture of ethanol and water, is pumped into a tubular circulation system under the asphalt. By this technology, the road and pavements shall stay ice-free even in times of snowfall and temperatures below the freezing point. The system can also be used to cool the asphalt in case of extreme heat, which – besides the heating effect – could also prevent road from damages in extreme summers. This study aims to compare the environmental impact of use of salts and road-heating system in terms of GHG emissions. To assess the environmental impact, an operational road heating system for a ramp in Ingolstadt, Germany, is considered. A cradle-to-grave analysis technique is used to determine the environmental effects based on a life-cycle assessment (LCA) framework. The analysis includes nine components solemnly responsible for hydronic heating of asphalt surface such as local heating pipe, insulation, pumps, and heat meters. Comparison is performed in terms of relative and total impact over 50-year lifetime of three heated ramps having 1989 m2 surface area in total. The results show that the asphalt and heating-circuit causes the major fraction (65 %) of overall GHG emissions, with total life-time emissions of 28.10 kg CO2 eq./m2 of heated surface. During an operational life of 50 years, road heating systems emit 18 % less CO2 eq./m2 as compared to the use of salts

Time-resolved EPR investigation of oxygen and temperature effects on synthetic eumelanin

Synthetic eumelanin produced using 5,6-dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid as precursor and H2O2/horseradish peroxidase as oxidative reagent, in form of dry powder, has been investigated under photoexcitation by TR-EPR spectroscopy. The formation of spin polarized radical pairs from triplet excited states of melanin has been observed both in absence and in presence of oxygen and has been followed as a function of the temperature in the range 140–290 K. The triplet mechanism explains the observed polarization pattern in net emission. In the presence of oxygen new radical pairs are formed by interaction of melanin with molecular oxygen

Novel approach to copper sintering using surface enhanced brass micro flakes for microelectronics packaging

Copper pastes suitable for low temperature and low pressure die-attach bonding were developed to enable sintering at 275 °C under N2 atmosphere. First, brass flakes were treated with HCl to selectively etch Zn and to realize enhanced surface modifications on the flakes. Then, polyethylene glycol was added as binder to the modified flakes due to its reducing effects on copper oxides and its property to prevent agglomeration. Shear strength of ca. 50 MPa was achieved while sintering with 10 MPa bonding pressure thereby providing suitable, easy and low-cost sintering pastes for microelectronics packaging applications

Give more data, awareness and control to individual citizens, and they will help COVID-19 containment.

The rapid dynamics of COVID-19 calls for quick and effective tracking of virus transmission chains and early detection of outbreaks, especially in the "phase 2" of the pandemic, when lockdown and other restriction measures are progressively withdrawn, in order to avoid or minimize contagion resurgence. For this purpose, contact-tracing apps are being proposed for large scale adoption by many countries. A centralized approach, where data sensed by the app are all sent to a nation-wide server, raises concerns about citizens' privacy and needlessly strong digital surveillance, thus alerting us to the need to minimize personal data collection and avoiding location tracking. We advocate the conceptual advantage of a decentralized approach, where both contact and location data are collected exclusively in individual citizens' "personal data stores", to be shared separately and selectively (e.g., with a backend system, but possibly also with other citizens), voluntarily, only when the citizen has tested positive for COVID-19, and with a privacy preserving level of granularity. This approach better protects the personal sphere of citizens and affords multiple benefits: it allows for detailed information gathering for infected people in a privacy-preserving fashion; and, in turn this enables both contact tracing, and, the early detection of outbreak hotspots on more finely-granulated geographic scale. The decentralized approach is also scalable to large populations, in that only the data of positive patients need be handled at a central level. Our recommendation is two-fold. First to extend existing decentralized architectures with a light touch, in order to manage the collection of location data locally on the device, and allow the user to share spatio-temporal aggregates-if and when they want and for specific aims-with health authorities, for instance. Second, we favour a longer-term pursuit of realizing a Personal Data Store vision, giving users the opportunity to contribute to collective good in the measure they want, enhancing self-awareness, and cultivating collective efforts for rebuilding society

Paramagnetic states of fulle-rene C60 derivatives

Dottorato di ricerca in scienze chimiche. 11. ciclo. Coordinatore U. Tonellato. Tutore C. CorvajaConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Biblioteca Centrale - P.le Aldo Moro, 7, Rome; Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale - P.za Cavalleggeri, 1, Florence / CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle RichercheSIGLEITItal