Sustainable Recycling of Insoluble Rust Waste for the Synthesis of Iron-Containing Perovskite-Type Catalysts

Insoluble rust waste from the scraping of rusted iron-containing materials represents a cheap, eco-friendly, and available source of iron. LaFeO3 perovskite-type powders were successfully prepared by solution combustion synthesis using rust waste from an electricity transmission tower manufacturer. Solution combustion synthesis enabled introduction of this insoluble iron precursor directly into the final product, bypassing complex extraction procedures. Catalytic activity in the propylene oxidation of the waste-derived LaFeO3 with stoichiometric Fe/La ratio was almost identical to the commercial iron nitrate-derived LaFeO3 , thus demonstrating the viability of this recycling solution. The amount of waste iron precursor was varied and its effect on the powder properties was investigated. A lesser stoichiometric amount of precursor produced a LaFeO3 -La2O3 binary system, whereas a higher stoichiometric amount led to a LaFeO3 -Fe2O3 binary system. Catalytic activity of iron-rich compositions in the propylene oxidation was only slightly lower than the stoichiometric one, whereas iron-poor compositions were much less active. This eco-friendly methodology can be easily extended to other iron perovskites with different chemical compositions and to other iron-containing compounds

Diabetes Management in Preoperative Hospitalized Patients: Improving Quality Measures on an Orthopedic Trauma and Surgical Unit

Objective: Implement nursing education for the staff nurses on an orthopedic trauma and medical surgical unit to improve diabetes management in preoperative patients. Design: Evidence -based practice/quality improvement. Setting/Local Problem: 33-bed orthopedic trauma and surgical unit. Participants: Staff nurses employed on an orthopedic trauma and surgical unit Interventions/Measurements. A pre- and post- was design with an embedded education module to assess for understanding. The aim of this was to improve preoperative diabetes education to have better glycemic control postoperatively and reduce the number of adverse events. Results: Nurses preintervention mean scores were 14.00 and 16.00 after the e-learning module. The educational module provided was statistically significant (pConclusion: The use of an e-learning module to educate staff nurses resulted in a significant increase in perioperative diabetes management knowledge. Nurses play a vital role in perioperative diabetes management and preventing adverse events. The use of e-learning modules has the potential to increase nurses’ knowledge base leading to better patient outcomes

Interpretation of the Metamorphic Processes in Various Rock Types Using the Chemistry of Garnets (Selecka Mountain, Macedonia)

The garnets from the complex of Selecka Mountain could be divided in two groups on the basis of their chemical composition and zoning. The garnets from muscovite-schist and amphibole-schist show characteristics typical for a growth in prograde metamorphic conditions up to the medium metamorphic grade. Characteristics of the other garnets (from aplite granite, aplite veins and metabasite) suggest their formation in anatectic or highly metasomatic conditions. The inversion in chemical zoning, observed in some of them, is discussed and related to possible processes of growth

Dehydration of fructose to 5-HMF over acidic TiO2 catalysts

Different solid sulfonic titania-based catalysts were investigated for the hydrothermal dehydration of fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF). The catalytic behavior of the materials was evaluated in terms of fructose conversion and selectivity to 5-HMF. The surface and structural properties of the catalysts were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption isotherms, thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and acid capacity measurements. Special attention was focused on the reaction conditions, both in terms of 5-HMF selectivity and the sustainability of the process, choosing water as the solvent. Among the various process condition studied, TiO2-SO3H catalyzed a complete conversion (99%) of 1.1M fructose and 5-HMF selectivity (50%) and yield (50%) at 165 °C. An important improvement of the HMF selectivity (71%) was achieved when the reaction was carried out by using a lower fructose concentration (0.1M) and lower temperature (140 °C). The catalytic activities of the materials were related to their acid capacities as much as their textural properties. In particular, a counterbalance between the acidity and the structure of the pores in which the catalytic sites are located, results in the key issue for switch the selectivity towards the achievement of 5-HMF

Catalytic Conversion of Glucose and Chlorella sp. into Furans in the Presence of Niobium Oxide

A series of Nb2O5 solid catalysts have been prepared to be used for the catalytic dehydration of glucose and sugars from algae Chlorella sp. into added value furans. The glucose transformation gave rise to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF). Chlorella sp. was used in the same catalytic conditions to be valorised to furans. By preliminary studies we concluded that the algae aqueous suspension needed a previous treatment in the presence of SiO2 pellets to liberate the carbohydrates that in the catalytic reaction in the presence of Nb2O5 materials gave rise 5-HMF and furfural. The best operative conditions and Nb2O5 catalysts were individuated. The most performant Nb2O5 catalyst also showed an excellent reusability without deactivation. The selectivity to furans was related to the acidity of the solid used as catalyst

Adhesive and Rheological Features of Ecofriendly Coatings with Antifouling Properties

In this work, formulations of "environmentally compatible" silicone-based antifouling, synthesized in the laboratory and based on copper and silver on silica/titania oxides, have been characterized. These formulations are capable of replacing the non-ecological antifouling paints currently available on the market. The texture properties and the morphological analysis of these powders with an antifouling action indicate that their activity is linked to the nanometric size of the particles and to the homogeneous dispersion of the metal on the substrate. The presence of two metal species on the same support limits the formation of nanometric species and, therefore, the formation of homogeneous compounds. The presence of the antifouling filler, specifically the one based on titania (TiO2) and silver (Ag), facilitates the achievement of a higher degree of cross-linking of the resin, and therefore, a better compactness and completeness of the coating than that attained with the pure resin. Thus, a high degree of adhesion to the tie-coat and, consequently, to the steel support used for the construction of the boats was achieved in the presence of the silver-titania antifouling

Exposure to Endocrine Disruptors and Nuclear Receptors Gene Expression in Infertile and Fertile Men from Italian Areas with Different Environmental Features

Internal levels of selected endocrine disruptors (EDs) (i.e., perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), di-2-ethylhexyl-phthalate (DEHP), mono-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (MEHP), and bisphenol A (BPA)) were analyzed in blood/serum of infertile and fertile men from metropolitan, urban and rural Italian areas. PFOS and PFOA levels were also evaluated in seminal plasma. In peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of same subjects, gene expression levels of a panel of nuclear receptors (NRs), namely estrogen receptor α (ERα) estrogen receptor β (ERβ), androgen receptor (AR), aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and pregnane X receptor (PXR) were also assessed. Infertile men from the metropolitan area had significantly higher levels of BPA and gene expression of all NRs, except PPARγ, compared to subjects from other areas. Subjects from urban areas had significantly higher levels of MEHP, whereas subjects from rural area had higher levels of PFOA in both blood and seminal plasma. Interestingly, ERα, ERβ, AR, PXR and AhR expression is directly correlated with BPA and inversely correlated with PFOA serum levels. Our study indicates the relevance of the living environment when investigating the exposure to specific EDs. Moreover, the NRs panel in PBMCs demonstrated to be a potential biomarker of effect to assess the EDs impact on reproductive health

Photocatalytic CO 2 Valorization by Using Ti O2 , ZrO2 and Graphitic Based Semiconductors

In this century, a broad scientific interest has been devoted to fulfill sustainable industrial processes and climatic change remediation. In this prospective, various green technologies have been studied to valorize CO 2• The aim of this research is the CO 2 reduction in presence of water by using the photocatalytic technology with nanomaterials as the photocatalysts. The present work overviews the main outcomes obtained by using graphitic and oxide based photocatalysts both in gas/solid and liquid/solid batch reactors under simulated solar light. In all gas/solid regime tests the major products detected were methane, carbon monoxide, and acetaldehyde

The use of 35S and Tnos expression elements in the measurement of genetically engineered plant materials

An online survey was conducted by the International Life Sciences Institute, Food Biotechnology Committee, on the use of qualitative and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter and Agrobacterium tumefaciens Tnos DNA sequence elements for the detection of genetically engineered (GE) crop plant material. Forty-four testing laboratories around the world completed the survey. The results showed the widespread use of such methods, the multiplicity of published and in-house methods, and the variety of reference materials and calibrants in use. There was an interest on the part of respondents in validated quantitative assays relevant to all GE events that contain these two genetic elements. Data are presented by testing two variations each of five published real-time quantitative PCR methods for 35S detection on eight maize reference materials. The results showed that two of the five methods were not suitable for all the eight reference materials, with poor linear regression parameters and multiple PCR amplification products for some of the reference materials. This study demonstrates that not all 35S methods produce satisfactory results, emphasizing the need for method validation