Influence of ball milling on CaO crystal growth during limestone and dolomite calcination: Effect on CO2 capture at Calcium Looping conditions

The multicycle CO2 capture performance of CaO derived from the calcination of ball-milled limestone and dolomite have been tested under high temperature and high CO2 concentration environment for the first time. Here it is shown that the CO2 capture capacity of CaO is inversely related to the milling power applied to the starting mineral and the size of nascent CaO nanocrystals. In situ X-ray diffraction analysis used to follow the average crystallite size of CaCO3 and CaO during the calcination process as a function of temperature demonstrates that crystal growth is notably enhanced in a CO2-rich atmosphere for milled sorbents. Contrary to early reports suggesting improved reactivity towards carbonation of CaO from milled sorbents, promoted agglomeration, and crystal growth under these more “realistic” conditions lead to a severe deterioration of both capture capacity and recyclability, as observed from the multicyclic carbonation/calcination experiments. Yet the negative effect of milling is less pronounced in dolomite due to the constrained sintering effect of the inert MgO grains that results in smaller CaO crystallite sizes, reduced crystal growth rate, and improved performance. These results provide insight on the role of CaO crystallinity on the carbonation reaction, useful for devising strategies to improve sorbents performance.Peer reviewe

Effect of dolomite decomposition under CO2 on its multicycle CO2 capture behaviour under calcium looping conditions

One of the major drawbacks that hinder the industrial competitiveness of the calcium looping (CaL) process for CO capture is the high temperature (∼930-950 °C) needed in practice to attain full calcination of limestone in a high CO partial pressure environment for short residence times as required. In this work, the multicycle CO capture performance of dolomite and limestone is analysed under realistic CaL conditions and using a reduced calcination temperature of 900 °C, which would serve to mitigate the energy penalty caused by integration of the CaL process into fossil fuel fired power plants. The results show that the fundamental mechanism of dolomite decomposition under CO has a major influence on its superior performance compared to limestone. The inert MgO grains resulting from dolomite decomposition help preserve a nanocrystalline CaO structure wherein carbonation in the solid-state diffusion controlled phase is promoted. The major role played by the dolomite decomposition mechanism under CO is clearly demonstrated by the multicycle CaO conversion behaviour observed for samples decomposed at different preheating rates. Limestone decomposition at slow heating rates yields a highly crystalline and poorly reactive CaCO structure that requires long periods to fully decarbonate and shows a severely reduced capture capacity in subsequent cycles. On the other hand, the nascent CaCO produced after dolomite half-decomposition consists of nanosized crystals with a fast decarbonation kinetics regardless of the preheating rate, thus fully decomposing from the very first cycle at a reduced calcination temperature into a CaO skeleton with enhanced reactivity as compared to limestone derived CaO.Junta de Andalucía FQM-5735 TEP-7858 TEP-1900España Mineco CTQ2014-52763-C2-1-R CTQ2014-52763-C2-2-

Experimental Characterisation of the Fire Behaviour of Thermal Insulation Materials for a Performance-Based Design Methodology

A novel performance-based methodology for the quantitative fire safe design of building assemblies including insulation materials has recently been proposed. This approach is based on the definition of suitable thermal barriers in order to control the fire hazards imposed by the insulation. Under this framework, the concept of “critical temperature” has been used to define an initiating failure criterion for the insulation, so as to ensure there will be no significant contribution to the fire nor generation of hazardous gas effluents. This paper proposes a methodology to evaluate this “critical temperature” using as examples some of the most common insulation materials used for buildings in the EU market, i.e. rigid polyisocyanurate foam, rigid phenolic foam, rigid expanded polystyrene foam and low density flexible stone wool. A characterisation of these materials, based on a series of ad-hoc Cone Calorimeter and thermo-gravimetric experiments, serves to establish the rationale behind the quantification of the critical temperature. The temperature of the main peak of pyrolysis, obtained from differential thermo-gravimetric analysis under a nitrogen atmosphere at low heating rates, is proposed as the “critical temperature” for materials that do not significantly shrink and melt, i.e. charring insulation materials. For materials with shrinking and melting behaviour it is suggested that the melting point could be used as “critical temperature”. Conservative values of “critical temperature” proposed are 300°C for polyisocyanurate, 425°C for phenolic foam and 240°C for expanded polystyrene. The concept of a “critical temperature” for the low density stone wool is examined in the same manner and found to be non-applicable due to the inability to promote a flammable mixture. Additionally, thermal inertia values required for the performance-based methodology are obtained for PIR and PF using a novel approach, providing thermal inertia values within the range 4.5 to 6.5\ua0×\ua010\ua0W\ua0s\ua0K\ua0m

Effectiveness of an intervention for improving drug prescription in primary care patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy:Study protocol of a cluster randomized clinical trial (Multi-PAP project)

This study was funded by the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias ISCIII (Grant Numbers PI15/00276, PI15/00572, PI15/00996), REDISSEC (Project Numbers RD12/0001/0012, RD16/0001/0005), and the European Regional Development Fund ("A way to build Europe").Background: Multimorbidity is associated with negative effects both on people's health and on healthcare systems. A key problem linked to multimorbidity is polypharmacy, which in turn is associated with increased risk of partly preventable adverse effects, including mortality. The Ariadne principles describe a model of care based on a thorough assessment of diseases, treatments (and potential interactions), clinical status, context and preferences of patients with multimorbidity, with the aim of prioritizing and sharing realistic treatment goals that guide an individualized management. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a complex intervention that implements the Ariadne principles in a population of young-old patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy. The intervention seeks to improve the appropriateness of prescribing in primary care (PC), as measured by the medication appropriateness index (MAI) score at 6 and 12months, as compared with usual care. Methods/Design: Design:pragmatic cluster randomized clinical trial. Unit of randomization: family physician (FP). Unit of analysis: patient. Scope: PC health centres in three autonomous communities: Aragon, Madrid, and Andalusia (Spain). Population: patients aged 65-74years with multimorbidity (≥3 chronic diseases) and polypharmacy (≥5 drugs prescribed in ≥3months). Sample size: n=400 (200 per study arm). Intervention: complex intervention based on the implementation of the Ariadne principles with two components: (1) FP training and (2) FP-patient interview. Outcomes: MAI score, health services use, quality of life (Euroqol 5D-5L), pharmacotherapy and adherence to treatment (Morisky-Green, Haynes-Sackett), and clinical and socio-demographic variables. Statistical analysis: primary outcome is the difference in MAI score between T0 and T1 and corresponding 95% confidence interval. Adjustment for confounding factors will be performed by multilevel analysis. All analyses will be carried out in accordance with the intention-to-treat principle. Discussion: It is essential to provide evidence concerning interventions on PC patients with polypharmacy and multimorbidity, conducted in the context of routine clinical practice, and involving young-old patients with significant potential for preventing negative health outcomes. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02866799Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Formin Homology 2 Domain Containing 3 (FHOD3) Is a Genetic Basis for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND: The genetic cause of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy remains unexplained in a substantial proportion of cases. Formin homology 2 domain containing 3 (FHOD3) may have a role in the pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy but has not been implicated in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. OBJECTIVES: This study sought to investigate the relation between FHOD3 mutations and the development of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. METHODS: FHOD3 was sequenced by massive parallel sequencing in 3,189 hypertrophic cardiomyopathy unrelated probands and 2,777 patients with no evidence of cardiomyopathy (disease control subjects). The authors evaluated protein-altering candidate variants in FHOD3 for cosegregation, clinical characteristics, and outcomes. RESULTS: The authors identified 94 candidate variants in 132 probands. The variants' frequencies were significantly higher in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (74 of 3,189 [2.32%]) than in disease control subjects (18 of 2,777 [0.65%]; p < 0.001) or in the gnomAD database (1,049 of 138,606 [0.76%]; p < 0.001). FHOD3 mutations cosegregated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in 17 families, with a combined logarithm of the odds score of 7.92, indicative of very strong segregation. One-half of the disease-causing variants were clustered in a small conserved coiled-coil domain (amino acids 622 to 655); odds ratio for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was 21.8 versus disease control subjects (95% confidence interval: 1.3 to 37.9; p < 0.001) and 14.1 against gnomAD (95% confidence interval: 6.9 to 28.7; p < 0.001). Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients carrying (likely) pathogenic mutations in FHOD3 (n = 70) were diagnosed after age 30 years (mean 46.1 ± 18.7 years), and two-thirds (66%) were males. Of the patients, 82% had asymmetric septal hypertrophy (mean 18.8 ± 5 mm); left ventricular ejection fraction <50% was present in 14% and hypertrabeculation in 16%. Events were rare before age 30 years, with an annual cardiovascular death incidence of 1% during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: FHOD3 is a novel disease gene in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, accounting for approximately 1% to 2% of cases. The phenotype and the rate of cardiovascular events are similar to those reported in unselected cohorts. The FHOD3 gene should be routinely included in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy genetic testing panels

Outcomes from elective colorectal cancer surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

This study aimed to describe the change in surgical practice and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mortality after surgical resection of colorectal cancer during the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Effect of dolomite decomposition under CO2 on its multicycle CO2 capture behaviour under calcium looping conditions

One of the major drawbacks that hinder the industrial competitiveness of the calcium looping (CaL) process for CO capture is the high temperature (∼930-950 °C) needed in practice to attain full calcination of limestone in a high CO partial pressure environment for short residence times as required. In this work, the multicycle CO capture performance of dolomite and limestone is analysed under realistic CaL conditions and using a reduced calcination temperature of 900 °C, which would serve to mitigate the energy penalty caused by integration of the CaL process into fossil fuel fired power plants. The results show that the fundamental mechanism of dolomite decomposition under CO has a major influence on its superior performance compared to limestone. The inert MgO grains resulting from dolomite decomposition help preserve a nanocrystalline CaO structure wherein carbonation in the solid-state diffusion controlled phase is promoted. The major role played by the dolomite decomposition mechanism under CO is clearly demonstrated by the multicycle CaO conversion behaviour observed for samples decomposed at different preheating rates. Limestone decomposition at slow heating rates yields a highly crystalline and poorly reactive CaCO structure that requires long periods to fully decarbonate and shows a severely reduced capture capacity in subsequent cycles. On the other hand, the nascent CaCO produced after dolomite half-decomposition consists of nanosized crystals with a fast decarbonation kinetics regardless of the preheating rate, thus fully decomposing from the very first cycle at a reduced calcination temperature into a CaO skeleton with enhanced reactivity as compared to limestone derived CaO.Peer Reviewe