CEReS -Co-processing of Coal Mine & Electronic Wastes: Novel Resources for a Sustainable Future

International audienceMany coal mines produce waste which causes acid mine drainage (AMD) potentially resulting in severe environmental damage. This drainage can be treated, but most wastes will continue to produce such drainage for hundreds of years. Therefore, longer term, permanent solutions are needed. At the same time, the pace of technological development means most electrical and electronic equipment becomes obsolete within a matter of years. This results in the generation of vast and growing quantities of electronic waste (e-waste) every year. Where this cannot be recycled, it must be discarded. CEReS was a 3.2 M€ RFCS-funded project comprising eight partners from five countries. It targeted the development of a co-processing approach to treat these waste streams to produce metals and other valuable products, while eliminating their environmental impact. This brings together two waste streams from opposite ends of the supply chain (for which no alternative treatment option exists); turning each into a novel resource in a single, coherent 'grave-to-cradle' process. This industrial ecology approach is key to supporting a circular economy while securing the sustainable supply of critical raw materials. The project successfully elaborated a novel co-processing flow-sheet comprising: (i) the accelerated weathering of AMD-generating coal production wastes to generate a biolixiviant; (ii) the pyrolysis and catalytic cracking of low-grade PCBs to produce hydrocarbon fuel, a halogen brine a Cu-rich char; (iii) the leaching of base metals from the char using the biolixiviant; (iv) the reuse of the stabilised coal wastes; and (v) the recovery of valuable metal while concentrating precious and critical metals into enriched substrates. These individual process units were demonstrated individually at lab-pilot scale. The data were then used to validate the entire flow-sheet in an integrated process simulator. Finally an LCA approach was used to demonstrate the environmental benefits of the CEReS process over the status quo

Intramontane lacustrine basins in the Siberian Altai: recorders of Cenozoic intracontinental tectonic and climatic events

The Altai Mountains are part of the vast intracontinental Central Asian orogenic system that formed during the Cenozoic as a distal effect of continued indentation of the Indian plate into the Eurasian continent. In the Siberian part of the Altai Mountains there is ample evidence to suggest that the pre-Cenozoic structural fabric of its basement is a controlling factor in the Cenozoic deformation and development of this intracontinental orogen. We give evidence that important Paleozoic fault zones were reactivated during the Cenozoic, particularly the Late Cenozoic and play a key role in the formation, evolution and current morphology of the Siberian Altai Mountains. Some of these faults are still active and recent and historic movements along them have triggered large seismic events. Late Cenozoic reactivation was expressed as pure thrust, oblique thrust to pure strike-slip faulting, resulting in an overall transpressive tectonic regime. In some cases, as for the graben basin of Lake Teletskoye, local, pure extensional stresses are responsible for its formation as we show in this contribution. Various other intramontane, tectonic basins developed. Some of these are very recent structures (the Teletskoye Basin) and are Pleistocene in age or younger, others have a prolonged history and contain a relatively complete Cenozoic sedimentary section, with evidence of Late Mesozoic precursor basins (Chuya Basin, Dzhulukul Basin). Some of these exhibit indications of marine incursions, but the basins are predominantly continental. The development of these basins is clearly associated with the location and Cenozoic reactivation of aforementioned long-lived fault zones in the Altai tectonic assemblage. Many of these basins accommodated fresh water lakes during their evolution and some are still the site of contemporary mountain lakes. Their stratigraphy, as well as the sedimentary architecture and basin morphology is manifestly influenced by and progresses with the stages of (Late) Cenozoic intracontinental mountain building and erosive denudation of the growing mountain ranges. Together with the clastic sedimentary input and the provenance characteristics, the intramontane Altai basin deposits are affected by evolving climatic conditions. These conditions dictate the main mode of erosion and transport, influence the sedimentary facies and supply rate and create the framework for a specific biocoenosis signature found in the fossil record. Our contribution reviews the data obtained over the last years from a selection of intramontane lacustrine basins in the Siberian Altai Mountains. We direct our attention in particular to the Teletskoye basin, the Chuya-Kurai Basin and the Dzhulukul Basin. We combine sedimentologic-stratigraphic data with basin architecture and morphology, and with basement geochronologic-thermochronologic constraints (apatite fission-track, U/Pb and Ar-dating) in order to show the potential of these basins as recorders of Cenozoic tectonic and climatic events in relation with basement features. While for example the data obtained from the Chuya Basin yields a continuous Cenozoic picture of deformation and climatic evolution of the Altai area, data from the Teletskoye Basin zooms in with higher resolution on the Pleistocene to Recent history. In general, all data point towards intensifying tectonic reactivation and mountain building of the Siberian Altai Mountains since the Middle Cenozoic, with clear peak activity in the Pliocene to Recent. This is demonstrated by the molassetype deposits in these basins, and by thermochronologic constraints. This activity is ongoing and structural, (paleo)seismic, geomorphologic and sedimentologic data corroborates this. The lacustrine Altai basins provide a record for a more or less continuous progressive cooling and aridification of the Altai area during the Cenozoic as manifested in the pollen fossil assemblages found in the Altai sediments

Regulation of Mammalian Mitochondrial Gene Expression: Recent Advances

Perturbation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) gene expression can lead to human pathologies. Therefore, a greater appreciation of the basic mechanisms of mitochondrial gene expression is desirable to understand the pathophysiology of associated disorders. Although the purpose of the mitochondrial gene expression machinery is to provide only 13 proteins of the oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) system, recent studies have revealed its remarkable and unexpected complexity. We review here the latest breakthroughs in our understanding of the post-transcriptional processes of mitochondrial gene expression, focusing on advances in analyzing the mitochondrial epitranscriptome, the role of mitochondrial RNA granules (MRGs), the benefits of recently obtained structures of the mitochondrial ribosome, and the coordination of mitochondrial and cytosolic translation to orchestrate the biogenesis of OxPhos complexes

ATP13A2 deficiency disrupts lysosomal polyamine export

ATP13A2 (PARK9) is a late endolysosomal transporter that is genetically implicated in a spectrum of neurodegenerative disorders, including Kufor-Rakeb syndrome—a parkinsonism with dementia1—and early-onset Parkinson’s disease2. ATP13A2 offers protection against genetic and environmental risk factors of Parkinson’s disease, whereas loss of ATP13A2 compromises lysosomes3. However, the transport function of ATP13A2 in lysosomes remains unclear. Here we establish ATP13A2 as a lysosomal polyamine exporter that shows the highest affinity for spermine among the polyamines examined. Polyamines stimulate the activity of purified ATP13A2, whereas ATP13A2 mutants that are implicated in disease are functionally impaired to a degree that correlates with the disease phenotype. ATP13A2 promotes the cellular uptake of polyamines by endocytosis and transports them into the cytosol, highlighting a role for endolysosomes in the uptake of polyamines into cells. At high concentrations polyamines induce cell toxicity, which is exacerbated by ATP13A2 loss due to lysosomal dysfunction, lysosomal rupture and cathepsin B activation. This phenotype is recapitulated in neurons and nematodes with impaired expression of ATP13A2 or its orthologues. We present defective lysosomal polyamine export as a mechanism for lysosome-dependent cell death that may be implicated in neurodegeneration, and shed light on the molecular identity of the mammalian polyamine transport system

Hoge prevalentie van mentale stoornissen in de eerste lijn. Resultaten van een cross-sectioneel onderzoek.

Objective: To deternine the prevalence of common mental disorders in an adult primary care population. Design: Cross-sectional survey in randomly selected subjects, using the PRIME-MD questionnaire. Setting: Eighty-six general practices in Belgium. Subjects: A total of 2316 randomly selected patients, aged 18 years or older and consulting their general practitioner for other than administrative reasons alone, with slightly more women (58.1%) than men (41.3%). Main outcome result: Prevalence rates of mental disorders most commonly seen in primary care practice (mood, anxiety, somatoform, eating and alcohol disorders). Methods: To facilitate data collection and processing, the entire PRIME-MD questionnaire was programmed on a handheld computer. Patient answers and physician assessments were immediately electronically recorded during the interview. All investigators were trained on the use of the PRIME-MD. The recruitment period lasted 6 weeks: from 15 February to 25 March 1999, and patients were randomly selected for the interview based on a computerized procedure. Results: Although onky 5.4% of all patients consulted for a psychiatric reason, a threshold/subthreshold psychiatric disorder was detected in 42.5% of all patients. Most commonly detected disorders were mood disorders in 31.0% (major depressive disorder, 13.9% and dysthymia, 12.6%), anxiety disorders in 19.0% (generalized anxiety disorder, 10.3%), somatoform disorders in 18.0% and probable alcohol abuse/dependence in 10.1%. The results also showed the important rate of comorbidity between these disorders. Conclusion: The present study confirms the high prevalence of mental disorders in a general practice setting, and their frequent association. Prevalence rates of our study are even higher than those obtained in previously conducted trials. Our study also demonstrates the utility of the PRIME-MD as a screening tool for mental disorders in primary care. Inaddition the use of the handheld computer software version of the PRIME-MD allowed us to screen for ental disorders inpatients who are unable to attend the GP office and are seen during ‘hotne’ visits

Een 18de-eeuwse wraksite op de Buiten Ratel-zandbank (Belgische territoriale wateren): 1. Multidisciplinair onderzoek van het vondstenmateriaal

In 1996 werd op de Buiten Ratel-zandbank, op 9 mijl van de kust, ter hoogte van Koksijde, een houten scheepswrak gelokaliseerd. Het werd onderzocht door een groep sportduikers, met de naam NATA. Jarenlange verkenning van de wraksite leverde talrijke vondsten op. In 2003 zochten de duikers steun bij het toenmalige IAP (Instituut voor het Archeologisch Patrimonium), nu Vlaams Instituut voor het Onroerend Erfgoed (VIOE), om het onderzoek en de conservatie op wetenschappelijke basis verder te zetten. Het VIOE ontfermde zich over het onderzoek van de tot nu toe geborgen materiële resten van de wraksite. Het eerste hoofdstuk van het artikel geeft een overzicht van de observaties van de wraksite via duikonderzoek en via gespecialiseerde technieken vanop een onderzoeksschip. In hoofdstuk 2 worden de objecten beschreven, hun betekenis aan boord van het schip besproken, evenals hun datering en herkomst. Hoofdstuk 3 brengt alle informatie samen en geeft aan wat er in de toekomst nog aan onderzoek kan gebeuren

Digital PCR methods improve detection sensitivity and measurement precision of low abundance mtDNA deletions

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations are a common cause of primary mitochondrial disorders, and have also been implicated in a broad collection of conditions, including aging, neurodegeneration, and cancer. Prevalent among these pathogenic variants are mtDNA deletions, which show a strong bias for the loss of sequence in the major arc between, but not including, the heavy and light strand origins of replication. Because individual mtDNA deletions can accumulate focally, occur with multiple mixed breakpoints, and in the presence of normal mtDNA sequences, methods that detect broad-spectrum mutations with enhanced sensitivity and limited costs have both research and clinical applications. In this study, we evaluated semi-quantitative and digital PCR-based methods of mtDNA deletion detection using double-stranded reference templates or biological samples. Our aim was to describe key experimental assay parameters that will enable the analysis of low levels or small differences in mtDNA deletion load during disease progression, with limited false-positive detection. We determined that the digital PCR method significantly improved mtDNA deletion detection sensitivity through absolute quantitation, improved precision and reduced assay standard error