3D printing as an enabling technology to implement maritime plastic Circular Economy

CircularSeas European Project, as part of the European Union Circular Economy [1], aims at promoting the Green Economy by encouraging the development of green products, parts and components by Maritime Industries. The strategy is a combination of Circular Economy principles, with the use of ocean plastic waste for developing new greener materials, and the uptake of advanced manufacturing technology, 3D printing, flexible enough to adapt to the manufacturing conditions for new eco-innovative small and medium parts and components. The paper presents the ongoing research in the project about strategies to introduce Circular Economy in the maritime sector from plastic wastes. This first prospective phase is focused on a series of interviews with each node stakeholders. The paper presents the survey results, together with the challenges to be faced for the implementation of Circular Economy in that specific scenario, despite the -apriori- short term low-profit disadvantages

Removal of yield-stress fluids from pipework using water

The emptying of product from process plant is a significant multiphase flow problem in food and personal care industries, controlling both product recovery, and cleaning time. Product and operational losses can be significant, especially with viscous products. It is necessary to maximize product recovery while minimizing cleaning time and effluent volume. The removal of a range of products from fully filled pipework using water has been characterized and monitored by weighing pipes at intervals and by inline turbidity probe. Data is presented for a range of products (toothpaste, hand cream, apple sauce, yoghurt, and shower gel) that have been cleaned from two pipe systems. The data can be fitted by a linear relationship between a dimensionless cleaning time, and the ratio of the product yield stress to the surface shear stress. The effect of pipe fittings is to reduce cleaning times, reflecting increased shear/energy dissipation in the pipe. (C) 2018 The Authors AIChE Journal published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Institute of Chemical EngineersTurkish Ministry of EducationTurkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK); ZEAL project [TP//ZEE/6/1/21191]; RCUK National Centre for Sustainable Energy Use in Food Chains [EP/K011820/1]IP acknowledges financial support from the Turkish Ministry of Education. This paper reports results from the ZEAL project (grant no. TP//ZEE/6/1/21191). The authors would also like to acknowledge the funding received from the RCUK National Centre for Sustainable Energy Use in Food Chains (grant no. EP/K011820/1)

Dasatinib inhibits CXCR4 signaling in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia cells and impairs migration towards CXCL12

Chemokines and their ligands play a critical role in enabling chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) cells access to protective microenvironmental niches within tissues, ultimately resulting in chemoresistance and relapse: disruption of these signaling pathways has become a novel therapeutic approach in CLL. The tyrosine kinase inhibitor dasatinib inhibits migration of several cell lines from solid-organ tumours, but effects on CLL cells have not been reported. We studied the effect of clinically achievable concentrations of dasatinib on signaling induced by the chemokine CXCL12 through its' receptor CXCR4, which is highly expressed on CLL cells. Dasatinib pre-treatment inhibited Akt and ERK phosphorylation in CLL cells upon stimulation with CXCL12. Dasatinib also significantly diminished the rapid increase in actin polymerisation observed in CLL cells following CXCL12 stimulation. Moreover, the drug significantly inhibited chemotaxis in a transwell assay, and reduced the percentage of cells able to migrate beneath a CXCL12-expressing murine stromal cell line. Dasatinib also abrogated the anti-apoptotic effect of prolonged CXCL12 stimulation on cultured CLL cells. These data suggest that dasatinib, akin to other small molecule kinase inhibitors targeting the B-cell receptor signaling pathway, may redistribute CLL cells from protective tissue niches to the peripheral blood, and support the investigation of dasatinib in combination strategies

Internal mammary artery dilatation in a patient with aortic coarctation, aortic stenosis, and coronary disease. Case report

The ideal surgical approach is unclear in adult patients with coarctation of the aorta that is associated with other cardiovascular pathologies that require intervention. Standard median sternotomy allows simultaneous, coronary revascularization surgery, valve replacement and repair of aortic coarctation. However the collateral circulation and the anatomy of the mammary arteries must be determined, to avoid possible complications. We report a case of a 69 year-old man with aortic coarctation, aortic stenosis, coronary artery disease and internal mammary artery dilatation who underwent concomitant surgical procedures through a median sternotomy

West Nile Virus Isolation in Human and Mosquitoes, Mexico

West Nile virus has been isolated for the first time in Mexico, from a sick person and from mosquitoes (Culex quinquefasciatus). Partial sequencing and analysis of the 2 isolates indicate that they are genetically similar to other recent isolates from northern Mexico and the western United States