Prokaryotic 20β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase is an enzyme of the ‘short-chain, non-metalloenzyme’ alcohol dehydrogenase type

AbstractThe primary structure of 20β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase from Streptomyces hydrogenans was determined after FPLC purification of a commercial preparation. Peptides obtained from different proteolytic cleavages were purified by reverse phase HPLC. The 255-residue structure deduced was found to be distantly homologous to those of Drosophila alcohol dehydrogenase and several other dehydrogenases, establishing that prokaryotic 20β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase as a member of the ‘short-chain alcohol dehydrogenase family’. With the enzymes characterized, the identity is greatest (31–34%) towards 4 other prokaryotic dehydrogenases, but the family also includes mammalian steroid and prostaglandin dehydrogenases. These enzymes are low in Cys and have a strictly conserved Tyr residue that appears to be important

Stage II/III rectal cancer with intermediate response to preoperative radiochemotherapy: Do we have indications for individual risk stratification?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Response to preoperative radiochemotherapy (RCT) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer is very heterogeneous. Pathologic complete response (pCR) is accompanied by a favorable outcome. However, most patients show incomplete response. The aim of this investigation was to find indications for risk stratification in the group of intermediate responders to RCT.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>From a prospective database of 496 patients with rectal adenocarcinoma, 107 patients with stage II/III cancers and intermediate response to preoperative 5-FU based RCT (ypT2/3 and TRG 2/3), treated within the German Rectal Cancer Trials were studied. Surgical treatment comprised curative (R0) total mesorectal excision (TME) in all cases. In 95 patients available for statistical analyses, residual transmural infiltration of the mesorectal compartment, nodal involvement and histolologic tumor grading were investigated for their prognostic impact on disease-free (DFS) and overall survival (OS).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Residual tumor transgression into the mesorectal compartment (ypT3) did not influence DFS and OS rates (p = 0.619, p = 0.602, respectively). Nodal involvement after preoperative RCT (ypN1/2) turned out to be a valid prognostic factor with decreased DFS and OS (p = 0.0463, p = 0.0236, respectively). Persistent tumor infiltration of the mesorectum (ypT3) and histologic tumor grading of residual tumor cell clusters were strongly correlated with lymph node metastases after neoadjuvant treatment (p < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Advanced transmural tumor invasion after RCT does not affect prognosis when curative (R0) resection is achievable. Residual nodal status is the most important predictor of individual outcome in intermediate responders to preoperative RCT. Furthermore, ypT stage and tumor grading turn out to be additional auxiliary factors. Future clinical trials for risk-adapted adjuvant therapy should be based on a synopsis of clinicopathologic parameters.</p

Types of Corruption in Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs) in Ibadan, Nigeria

Corruption is a phenomenon that manifests in various types and forms especially among operators of Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs). Many actions of the operators which constitute corrupt practices often tend to be overlooked in spite of their grave consequences for the success SMEs in Nigeria. The fight against corruption in Nigeria is more concentrated in the formal sector. This study was, therefore, designed to investigate various forms in which corrupt practices are carried out among Small and Micro Enterprises in Ibadan, Nigeria. Business owners, their employees, apprentices and consumers constituted the study population. Primary data were collected using questionnaire administered on 200 business owners, 150 employees and 150 apprentices randomly chosen in five business districts in Ibadan; and the conduct of 10 in-depth interviews with purposively selected participants. Quantitative data were analysed at uni-variate level using simple percentages and frequencies while qualitative data were content analysed. Findings from the study revealed that corrupt practices were rampant among actors in SMEs and the common types of corrupt practices included stealing (60%), deception of customers (78.4%), tax evasion (62%), sale of fake products (76%), sale of expired products (65.2%), tampering with measurement scales (69.6%), bribery (82.4%), and poor service delivery (73%). The study concludes that the level of corruption in SMEs calls for concern and government should extend the fight against corruption to the informal sector in Nigeria

TXNIP Regulates Peripheral Glucose Metabolism in Humans

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by defects in insulin secretion and action. Impaired glucose uptake in skeletal muscle is believed to be one of the earliest features in the natural history of T2DM, although underlying mechanisms remain obscure. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We combined human insulin/glucose clamp physiological studies with genome-wide expression profiling to identify thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP) as a gene whose expression is powerfully suppressed by insulin yet stimulated by glucose. In healthy individuals, its expression was inversely correlated to total body measures of glucose uptake. Forced expression of TXNIP in cultured adipocytes significantly reduced glucose uptake, while silencing with RNA interference in adipocytes and in skeletal muscle enhanced glucose uptake, confirming that the gene product is also a regulator of glucose uptake. TXNIP expression is consistently elevated in the muscle of prediabetics and diabetics, although in a panel of 4,450 Scandinavian individuals, we found no evidence for association between common genetic variation in the TXNIP gene and T2DM. CONCLUSIONS: TXNIP regulates both insulin-dependent and insulin-independent pathways of glucose uptake in human skeletal muscle. Combined with recent studies that have implicated TXNIP in pancreatic β-cell glucose toxicity, our data suggest that TXNIP might play a key role in defective glucose homeostasis preceding overt T2DM

Will climate mitigation ambitions lead to carbon neutrality? An analysis of the local-level plans of 327 cities in the EU

Cities across the globe recognise their role in climate mitigation and are acting to reduce carbon emissions. Knowing whether cities set ambitious climate and energy targets is critical for determining their contribution towards the global 1.5 °C target, partly because it helps to identify areas where further action is necessary. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the mitigation targets of 327 European cities, as declared in their local climate plans. The sample encompasses over 25% of the EU population and includes cities of all sizes across all Member States, plus the UK. The study analyses whether the type of plan, city size, membership of climate networks, and its regional location are associated with different levels of mitigation ambition. Results reveal that 78% of the cities have a GHG emissions reduction target. However, with an average target of 47%, European cities are not on track to reach the Paris Agreement: they need to roughly double their ambitions and efforts. Some cities are ambitious, e.g. 25% of our sample (81) aim to reach carbon neutrality, with the earliest target date being 2020.90% of these cities are members of the Climate Alliance and 75% of the Covenant of Mayors. City size is the strongest predictor for carbon neutrality, whilst climate network(s) membership, combining adaptation and mitigation into a single strategy, and local motivation also play a role. The methods, data, results and analysis of this study can serve as a reference and baseline for tracking climate mitigation ambitions across European and global cities

Current Practice of Managing the Waste of the Waste: Policy, Market, and Organisational Factors Influencing Shredder Fines Management in Sweden

The recycling-industry residue called shredder fines (fines) presents a disposal problem,incurs handling costs, and reduces resource efficiency in general. This study aims to identify thechallenges of facilitating fines valorisation in the Swedish context. Hence, the shredding companyperspective of the underlying factors that sustain the current practice of fines management isestablished by studying the case of a specific shredding company using semi-structured interviews.Utilisation in landfill covering offers the company a secure outlet and a legislatively-compliant lowcostdisposal option for fines. Additionally, lack of specific regulatory standards, unfavourableregulation of waste reutilisation, and lack of market demand for secondary raw materials (SRMs)create disincentives to develop valorisation options. Also, the lack of corporate-level focus on theissue has resulted in a lack of organising for and capacities to improve the handling of the material.Initiating fines valorisation needs to challenge these prevailing circumstances and thus necessitatesgovernmental interventions. Simultaneously, favourable conditions for SRM utilisation are needed;that is, established outlets for fines-derived SRMs and clear regulatory and market playing rulesthat reduce uncertainty and investment risk of developing tailored processes for upgrading andresource recovery need to be available.Funding agencies: Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (Mistra)Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research [DIA 2013/036]; Linkoping University Library</p

Market prospects of secondary construction aggregates in Sweden

The transition towards a circular economy is being increasingly envisaged in Europe. Increased utilisation of secondary construction aggregates poses a great opportunity in this regard given its potential to avoid waste disposal, natural resource extraction, and reduce costs. Nevertheless, the Swedish construction aggregates market is dominantly characterised by primary aggregates utilisation. This study employs a qualitative approach to analyse the Swedish construction aggregates market from the user perspective in order to identify the challenges of increased utilisation of secondary aggregates. The dominant and systematic utilisation of primary aggregates is chiefly driven by market processes allowing economic advantages and convenience for the users in doing so, whereas the situational and non-systematic utilisation of secondary aggregates is opportunistically driven by different actors in order to seize opportunities such as avoided costs and improved environmental performance. The realisation of increased secondary aggregates utilisation needs to be first facilitated via changes to the institutional structure that makes such materials a priority issue for the supply chain actors, which necessitates national-level policy interventions and supply chain actor collaborations. Second, the competitiveness of secondary aggregates needs to be lifted to a comparable state to that of primary aggregates, which necessitates the development of specific sectoral application standards and vertical integration of secondary aggregates supply by construction corporations

Initial feasibility assessment of potential applications for valorisation of shredder fines : A Swedish case study on gate requirements and legislative conditions

Shredder fines is a residue of the shredding industry and is currently landfilled or used as landfill cover in Sweden. Throughout the time, the heterogeneity and small particle size have rendered resource recovery and recycling of it challenging. In spite of that, European policies envisioning circular economy, in concomitance with stringent resource recovery requirements and increased landfill taxes are challenging the current disposal practices of the shredding industry. As an attempt to address this issue, the present study has developed a systematic approach for performing an initial assessment of the feasibility of several selected mainstream applications for valorisation of shredder fines. First, sampling of shredder fines from a major shredding plant was obtained twice a week over a 10 weeks period. The main focus of the sampling program was to encompass the variation in the material’s physical and chemical composition. The two samples from each week were then mixed and divided into six subsamples. That is, one original fraction and five size fractions; ZA (7.10-5.00 mm), ZB (5.00-3.35 mm), ZC (3.35-2.00 mm), ZD (2.00-0.25 mm), and ZE (0.25-0.063 mm). These sub-samples were subsequently sent for laboratory analysis for characterisation of contaminants, potentially valuable metals and energy recovery related properties. Second, three potential main stream applications for shredder fines were identified based on existing research on similar industrial residues (e.g. municipal waste incineration bottom ash) and current practices of the Swedish shredding industry. The selected applications are; Smelting for copper, Energy recovery in cement kilns and municipal solid waste incinerators, and Substitution of aggregates in concrete making and road construction. Third, the gate requirements of potential users and legislative requirements with regards to the identified applications were established, and the characteristics of shredder fines were benchmarked against them. As far as copper smelting is concerned, the presence of high concentrations of lead and chromium is the biggest challenge. Otherwise, the fractions; ZA, ZB, and ZD show some potential due to manageable concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, and mercury. Concerning energy recovery, the calorific value apparently narrows down the options to municipal waste incinerators. There, the chlorine concentration only allows utilisation of the ZC fraction whereas heavy metal concentrations are too high with regards to all the fractions. With regards to the use as substitute material in construction, legislative requirements in Sweden for total content and leachate content of metals are too strict for shredder fines. In conclusion, the benchmarking reveals the need for prior upgrading of shredder fines with respect to the different applications. Thus, integrated upgrading processes that could handle the complexity of the material in terms of contaminants and valuable recoverables is needed in order to achieve holistic valorisation of the material

Framework of principal guidelines for improved valorization of heterogenic industrial production residues

Residue products often pose a huge challenge to material recycling industry. Especially heterogenic and fine granular residues. It increases the cost and reduces the efficiency of material separation and recovery. Currently, the most common practice is to landfill such residue products. However, decreasing availability of landfills, increasing landfill costs, and new policy instruments require higher rates of resource recovery. In spite of that, business initiatives for recovering secondary raw material from residue products are often deterred by stringent environmental legislation emphasizing human toxicity concerns. Shredding industry plays a huge role in the context of circular economy via recycling important waste streams such as end-oflife vehicles (ELVs), municipal white goods, construction and demolition waste, and different industrial wastes. The core business model of industrial shredding is driven by recovering different metals while a variety of residue products including plastics, rubber, foam, wood, glass, and sand are generated. Shredder fine residue (also called shredder fines) is a fine granular residue product with intrinsic heterogeneity, which is produced by the shredding industry. A share of 15-20% of the input would end up as shredder fines in a typical plant. The overall aim of this study is to draw technical, market and regulatory boundary conditions for improved material recovery from shredder fines. Thereby to build a framework of principal guidelines to support systematic identification, development, and evaluation of different valorization options for shredder fines. The outcome of this study is also envisioned to provide generic conclusions to the valorization of heterogenic residue products in general. The study is performed in collaboration with a major shredding company in Sweden. The methodology reflects the Swedish context and consists of two phases. During the initial phase, firstly, the overall shredding industry structure of Sweden is studied to understand the governing regulatory framework, level of competition, and the scale of operation. Secondly, the collaborating company is studied to gain knowledge on technical feasibility of implementing recovery processes, economic, business and market aspects, and implications of national and local legislation, from the shredding company perspective. Empirical methods such as interviews and study of documentation are used in this phase. During the second phase, detailed material and elemental characterization tests are performed on shredder fine samples. Thereby the distribution of basic elements, metals, heating value, and ash, in shredder fines as well as across different size fractions of shredder fines is established. The results are compared and contrasted against literature values. An extensive survey is also carried out to identify potential users for different materials which are possibly recoverable from shredder fines. Such potential users are then mapped against materials. Leaching tests are also performed to assess the mobility of heavy metals and thereby the potential environmental risk and human toxicity. As the main contribution of this study, knowledge is developed and synthesized, boundary conditions are set, and principal guidelines of general relevance are drawn in order to facilitate improved valorization of fine granular residue products