Integration of chemical looping oxygen production and chemical looping combustion in integrated gasification combined cycles

Abstract Energy penalty is the primary economic challenge facing CO2 capture technology. This work aims to address this challenge through a novel power plant configuration, capable of achieving 45.4% electric efficiency from coal with a 95% CO2 capture efficiency. The COMPOSITE concept integrates chemical looping oxygen production (CLOP) and packed bed chemical looping combustion (PBCLC) reactors into an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant. Hot gas clean-up technology is implemented to boost plant efficiency. When commercially available cold gas clean-up technology is used, the plant efficiency reduces by 2%-points, but remains 2.3%-points higher than a comparative PBCLC-IGCC power plant and 8.1%-points higher than an IGCC power plant with pre-combustion CO2 capture. It was also shown that the COMPOSITE power plant performance was not sensitive to changes in the performance of the CLOP reactors, implying that uncertainties related to this novel process component do not reduce the potential of the COMPOSITE concept. The outstanding efficiency obtained for this concept is made possible by a complex and highly integrated plant configuration, whose operability and techno-economic feasibility must be demonstrated

Iron Biofortification of Greenhouse Soilless Lettuce: An Effective Agronomic Tool to Improve the Dietary Mineral Intake

The present experiment addressed the effects of different iron (Fe) concentrations in the nutrient solution supplied as Fe-HBED, i.e., 0.02 (Fe0, control), 1.02 (Fe1), and 2.02 mmol L-1 (Fe2) on lettuce ('Nauplus' and 'Romana') yield and compositional traits. This experiment was carried out in a greenhouse using an open soilless cultivation system, at the experimental farm of the University of Catania (Sicily, Italy: 37 degrees 24'31.5 '' N, 15 degrees 03'32.8 '' E, 6 m a.s.l.). The addition of Fe-HBED reduced the plants' aboveground biomass (-18%, averaged over Fe1 and Fe2), but promoted their dry matter content (+16% in Fe2). The concentration of chlorophylls, carotenoids, anthocyanins, and antioxidants peaked at Fe2, along with the antioxidant capacity and concentration of stress indicators in leaves. The Fe content in leaves was promoted in the Fe-treated plants (+187% averaged over Fe1 and Fe2). 'Romana' showed the highest Fe accumulation (reaching 29.8 mg kg(-1) FW in Fe1), but 'Nauplus' proved a higher tolerance to the Fe-derived oxidative stress. The Fe2 treatment maximized leaf N, P, K, S, and Zn contents, while those of Ca, Mg, Mn, and B peaked at Fe1. Overall, our study revealed the effectiveness of Fe-HBED in increasing the Fe content and improving the nutritional quality of lettuce grown in soilless cultivation systems

Cancer patient-centered home care: a new model for health care in oncology

Patient-centered home care is a new model of assistance, which may be integrated with more traditional hospital-centered care especially in selected groups of informed and trained patients. Patient-centered care is based on patients’ needs rather than on prognosis, and takes into account the emotional and psychosocial aspects of the disease. This model may be applied to elderly patients, who present comorbid diseases, but it also fits with the needs of younger fit patients. A specialized multidisciplinary team coordinated by experienced medical oncologists and including pharmacists, psychologists, nurses, and social assistance providers should carry out home care. Other professional figures may be required depending on patients’ needs. Every effort should be made to achieve optimal coordination between the health professionals and the reference hospital and to employ shared evidence-based guidelines, which in turn guarantee safety and efficacy. Comprehensive care has to be easily accessible and requires a high level of education and knowledge of the disease for both the patients and their caregivers. Patient-centered home care represents an important tool to improve quality of life and help cancer patients while also being cost effective

A Novel Swing Adsorption Reactor Cluster (SARC) for cost effective post-combustion CO2 capture: A thermodynamic assessment

The SARC consists of a number of standalone reactors where a solid sorbent is carbonated by a flue gas and regenerated by a combination of vacuum and temperature swing. Efficiency is maximized through heat integration between carbonation and regeneration using a heat pump. Initial power plant simulations showed 9.4%-points energy penalty when integrated into a pulverized coal plant. This is in-line with reported energy penalty for MEA and VPSA technologies, but great potential for further efficiency improvements exists. Future studies will investigate the effect of SARC process parameters and sorbent material selection on the energy penalty

The Evolving Scenario in the Assessment of Radiological Response for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in the Era of Immunotherapy: Strengths and Weaknesses of Surrogate Endpoints

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a challenging malignancy characterised by clinical and biological heterogeneity, independent of the stage. Despite the application of surveillance programs, a substantial proportion of patients are diagnosed at advanced stages when curative treatments are no longer available. The landscape of systemic therapies has been rapidly growing over the last decade, and the advent of immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has changed the paradigm of systemic treatments. The coexistence of the tumour with underlying cirrhosis exposes patients with HCC to competing events related to tumour progression and/or hepatic decompensation. Therefore, it is relevant to adopt proper clinical endpoints to assess the extent of treatment benefit. While overall survival (OS) is the most accepted endpoint for phase III randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and drug approval, it is affected by many limitations. To overcome these limits, several clinical and radiological outcomes have been used. For instance, progression-free survival (PFS) is a useful endpoint to evaluate the benefit of sequential treatments, since it is not influenced by post-progression treatments, unlike OS. Moreover, radiological endpoints such as time to progression (TTP) and objective response rate (ORR) are frequently adopted. Nevertheless, the surrogacy between these endpoints and OS in the setting of unresectable HCC (uHCC) remains uncertain. Since most of the surrogate endpoints are radiology-based (e.g., PFS, TTP, ORR), the use of standardised tools is crucial for the evaluation of radiological response. The optimal way to assess the radiological response has been widely debated, and many criteria have been proposed over the years. Furthermore, none of the criteria have been validated for immunotherapy in advanced HCC. The coexistence of the underlying chronic liver disease and the access to several lines of treatments highlight the urgent need to capture early clinical benefit and the need for standardised radiological criteria to assess cancer response when using ICIs in mono- or combination therapies. Here, we review the most commonly used clinical and radiological endpoints for trial design, as well as their surrogacy with OS. We also review the criteria for radiological response to treatments for HCC, analysing the major issues and the potential future perspectives

Emergency surgery in a tertiary hospital: The covid-19 experience

Objective: Evaluate the impact of Covid-19 in a critical area and analyze the changes in the daily activities in an Emergency Department of a tertiary COVID-Hospital. Methods: We reported and compared the surgical procedures performed for acute appendicitis and acute cholecystitis between two periods (March and April 2019 and March and April 2020) at Emergency Surgery Department of Parma University Hospital, a tertiary COVID-Hospital. Results: A total of 72 patients underwent surgery between March and April 2019 and 36 between March and April 2020 for acute appendicitis and cholecystitis. The average length of stay was comparable in the two considered years for LA (4.23±1.69 days in 2019 versus 4.5±2.33 days in 2020). The average length of stay in patients with acute cholecystitis was 5.9±3.8 days in 2019 and 8.23±5.5 days in 2020(P=0.038). The average hospitalization was comparable with 2019 data (5.62±3.77 days)n March 2020;whereas, April 2020 was statistically significantly longer 10.5±6 days (P= 0.023). Conclusions: Half of the emergency centers reported a drop in the overall number of urgent cases as confirmed in our department, where the number of total appendicectomy and cholecystectomy was halved comparing the two months in 2019 and 2020, 72 operations in 2019 versus 36 operations in 2020.During the pandemic, the confidence of the population to the healthcare systems was poor, and this can explain the delayed access to the emergency department of patients who suffered from an acute illness. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.19(0) 2020 p. S 66-S 6

Characterization of seismic signals recorded in Tethys Bay, Victoria Land (Antarctica): data from atmosphere-cryosphere-hydrosphere interaction

In this paper, we analysed 3-component seismic signals recorded during 27 November 2016 - 10 January 2017 by two stations installed in Tethys Bay (Victoria Land, Antarctica), close to Mario Zucchelli Station. Due to the low noise levels , it was possible to identify three different kinds of signals: teleseismic earthquakes, microseisms, and icequakes . We focus on the latter two. A statistically significant relationship was found between microseism amplitude and both wind speed and sea swell. Thus, we suggest that the recorded microseism data are caused by waves at the shore close to the seismic stations rather than in the deep ocean during storms. In addition, w e detected three icequakes , with dominant low frequencies (below 2 Hz), located in the David Glacier area with local magnitude of 2.4-2.6. These events were likely to have been generated at the rock–ice interface under the glacier. This work shows how seismic signals recorded in Antarctica provide insights on the interactions between the atmosphere-cryosphere-hydrosphere. Since climate patterns drive these interactions, investigations on Antarctic seismic signals could serve as a proxy indicator for estimating climate changes

Abnormal thymic stromal lymphopoietin expression in the duodenal mucosa of patients with coeliac disease

OBJECTIVE: The short isoform of thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), a cytokine constitutively expressed by epithelial cells, is crucial in preserving immune tolerance in the gut. TSLP deficiency has been implicated in sustaining intestinal damage in Crohn's disease. We explored mucosal TSLP expression and function in refractory and uncomplicated coeliac disease (CD), a T-cell-mediated enteropathy induced by gluten in genetically susceptible individuals. DESIGN: TSLP isoforms-long and short-and receptors-TSLPR and interleukin (IL)-7Rα-were assessed by immunofluorescence, immunoblotting and qRT-PCR in the duodenum of untreated, treated, potential and refractory patients with CD. The ability of the serine protease furin or CD biopsy supernatants to cleave TSLP was evaluated by immunoblotting. The production of interferon (IFN)-γ and IL-8 by untreated CD biopsies cultured ex vivo with TSLP isoforms was also assessed. RESULTS: Mucosal TSLP, but not TSLPR and IL-7Rα, was reduced in untreated CD and refractory CD in comparison to treated CD, potential CD and controls. Transcripts of both TSLP isoforms were decreased in active CD mucosa. Furin, which was overexpressed in active CD biopsies, was able to cleave TSLP in vitro. Accordingly, refractory and untreated CD supernatants showed higher TSLP-degrading capacity in comparison to treated CD and control supernatants. In our ex vivo model, both TSLP isoforms significantly downregulated IFN-γ and IL-8 production by untreated CD biopsies. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced mucosal TSLP expression may contribute to intestinal damage in refractory and untreated CD. Further studies are needed to verify whether restoring TSLP might be therapeutically useful especially in refractory patients with CD