Fractionation and fluxes of metals and radionuclides during the recycling process of phosphogypsum wastes applied to mineral CO2 sequestration

The industry of phosphoric acid produces a calcium-rich by-product known as phosphogypsum, which is usually stored in large stacks of millions of tons. Up to now, no commercial application has been widely implemented for its reuse because of the significant presence of potentially toxic contaminants. This work confirmed that up to 96% of the calcium of phosphogypsum could be recycled for CO2 mineral sequestration by a simple two-step process: alkaline dissolution and aqueous carbonation, under ambient pressure and temperature. This CO2 sequestration process based on recycling phosphogypsum wastes would help to mitigate greenhouse gasses emissions. Yet this work goes beyond the validation of the sequestration procedure; it tracks the contaminants, such as trace metals or radionuclides, during the recycling process in the phosphogypsum. Thus, most of the contaminants were transferred from raw phosphogypsum to portlandite, obtained by dissolution of the phosphogypsum in soda, and from portlandite to calcite during aqueous carbonation. These findings provide valuable information for managing phosphogypsum wastes and designing potential technological applications of the by-products of this environmentally-friendly proposal.Junta de Andalucía P10-RNM-6300, P12- RNM-226

New method for carbon dioxide mineralization based on phosphogypsum and aluminium-rich industrial wastes resulting in valuable carbonated by-products

A new carbon mineralization method was designed based on a sequestration agent synthesised exclusively from industrial wastes. Phosphogypsum waste from the fertiliser industry was dissolved into caustic aqueous waste from the aluminium anodising industry. The resulting precipitate consisted of katoite (Ca3Al2(OH)12, a Si-free hydrogrossular solid solution end-member of the Al-containing hydrogarnet) and thenardite (Na2SO4); the latter easily removed by rinsing with water. The carbonation performance of this katoite-rich sequestration agent was evaluated using two different methods, by bubbling in aqueous media and by weathering. Both procedures yielded high carbonation efficiencies (80% and 100%, respectively), and resulted in a solid precipitate composed primarily of calcite (CaCO3) and aluminium hydroxide (Al(OH)3). Priority attention was given to the transfer of trace elements and radionuclides of the uranium series typically present in the phosphogypsum. Results confirmed that the traces were transferred to resulting final solid carbonate at concentrations similar to those present in the raw phosphogypsum. In conclusion, these carbonated minerals would trap substantial amounts of CO2 and produce final materials with similar civil engineering uses to those proposed for current phosphogypsum wastes. This work offers new methods for jointly managing specific industrial wastes oriented to more sustainable industrial processes and controlling CO2 emissionsPeer reviewe

New method for carbon dioxide mineralization based on phosphogypsum and aluminium-rich industrial wastes resulting in valuable carbonated by-products

A new carbon mineralization method was designed based on a sequestration agent synthesised exclusively from industrial wastes. Phosphogypsum waste from the fertiliser industry was dissolved into caustic aqueous waste from the aluminium anodising industry. The resulting precipitate consisted of katoite (Ca3Al2(OH)12, a Si-free hydrogrossular solid solution end-member of the Al-containing hydrogarnet) and thenardite (Na2SO4); the latter easily removed by rinsing with water. The carbonation performance of this katoite-rich sequestration agent was evaluated using two different methods, by bubbling in aqueous media and by weathering. Both procedures yielded high carbonation efficiencies (80% and 100%, respectively), and resulted in a solid precipitate composed primarily of calcite (CaCO3) and aluminium hydroxide (Al(OH)3). Priority attention was given to the transfer of trace elements and radionuclides of the uranium series typically present in the phosphogypsum. Results confirmed that the traces were transferred to resulting final solid carbonate at concentrations similar to those present in the raw phosphogypsum. In conclusion, these carbonated minerals would trap substantial amounts of CO2 and produce final materials with similar civil engineering uses to those proposed for current phosphogypsum wastes. This work offers new methods for jointly managing specific industrial wastes oriented to more sustainable industrial processes and controlling CO2 emissionsGobierno de España MAT2013-42934- RJunta de Andalucía P12-RNM-226

Modelo de aparición de nudos en clavel (dianthus caryophyllus l.) cv. delphi cultivado en sustratos

Los modelos fenológicos son herramientas diseñadas para conocer y predecir el desarrollo de las plantas. El objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar la temperatura base (Tb) para la aparición de nudos y en función de este parámetro generar un modelo fenológico para tallos florales de clavel estándar cv. Delphi a primer pico de producción. El ensayo se estableció en un invernadero, en el SENA ubicado en el municipio de Mosquera (Cundinamarca, Colombia). Se sembraron esquejes en tres tipos de sustrato (100% cascarilla de arroz quemada; mezcla de 65% de cascarilla de arroz quemada y 35% de fibra de coco; mezcla de 35% de cascarilla de arroz quemada y 65% de fibra de coco). La Tb se estimó mediante el ajuste de un modelo exponencial entre la tasa de aparición de nudos y la temperatura acumulada. Se usó el método de Euler para la simulación de nudos y el desarrollo fenológico de la planta se determinó a través del tiempo térmico. El tipo de sustrato no influenció la tasa promedio de aparición de nudos (0,102 nudos/día). El valor estimado de la Tb fue de 0,12°C. A partir del pinch, y hasta la aparición del botón floral se acumularon 1.363,2 grados día (gdd); y el pico de cosecha se alcanzó a los 2.226,5 gdd. La aparición de nudos fue un proceso acelerado en los primeros estadios de desarrollo, que disminuyó paulatinamente luego de la aparición del botón floral. El máximo número de nudos observado fue 16,18 y el máximo estimado por el modelo fue 16,89. El modelo se ajusta de manera satisfactoria para las condiciones evaluadas y presenta un bajo índice de raíz cuadrada del cuadrado medio del error (RSME = 0,28)

A fatigue damage model for seismic response of RC structures

Numerous damage models have been developed in order to analyze seismic behavior. Among the different possibilities existing in the literature, it is very clear that models developed along the lines of continuum damage mechanics are more consistent with the definition of damage as a phenomenon with mechanical consequences because they include explicitly the coupling between damage and mechanical behavior. On the other hand, for seismic processes, phenomena such as low cycle fatigue may have a pronounced effect on the overall behavior of the frames and, therefore, its consideration turns out to be very important. However, most of existing models evaluate the damage only as a function of the maximum amplitude of cyclic deformation without considering the number of cycles. In this paper, a generalization of the simplified model proposed by Cipollina et al. [Cipollina A, López-Hinojosa A, Flórez-López J. Comput Struct 1995;54:1113–26] is made in order to include the low cycle fatigue. Such a model employs in its formulation irreversible thermodynamics and internal state variable theory

Research Trends on Pillared Interlayered Clays (PILCs) Used as Catalysts in Environmental and Chemical Processes: Bibliometric Analysis

Over the last four decades, a large number of studies have been published on pillared interlayered clays (PILCs) used as adsorbent materials and catalysts or supports for transition metals in heterogeneous catalysis. Particularly, PILCs have been used for water treatment through advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) to remove organic pollutants. They have also been studied in various chemical and environmental processes. Because of the growing interest in PILCs, this article is focused on analyzing scientific publications such as research/review articles and book chapters from the last four decades (from 1980 to 2019) through a bibliometric analysis (BA) to visualize and describe research trends on PILCs. By narrowing the bibliographic search to titles, keywords, and abstracts of publications related to PILCs, using Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) (the two scientific databases), a total of 3425 documents have been retrieved. The bibliometric dataset was analyzed by VantagePoint®. The main research trends identified in the last four decades were the use of PILCs in environmental processes (34.4% of total publications) along with chemical processes (petrochemical reactions 17.5%, SCR NOx 10.8%, and decomposition 8.2%). In environmental processes, PILCs have been used in photo-oxidation (32%), CWPO (21.1%), and heterogeneous catalysis (19.4%). Phenols, dyes, and VOCs have been the main pollutants studied using PILCs as catalysts. Fe, Ti, Zr, Cu, and Co are the most supported active phases in PILCs. Other research trends grouped by characterization techniques, countries, research areas, institutes, scientific journals that have published the most on this topic, number of publications per 5-year period, and most frequently used keywords through the last four decades have been identified. It was determined that the number of publications on PILCs has increased since 1980 and the countries with the highest number of publications are China, Spain, and The United States of America.Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicada

Lattice Distortions Around a Tl+ Impurity in NaI:Tl+ and CsI:Tl+ Scintillators. An Ab Initio Study Involving Large Active Clusters

Ab initio Perturbed Ion cluster-in-the-lattice calculations of the impurity centers NaI:Tl+ and CsI:Tl+ are pressented. We study several active clusters of increasing complexity and show that the lattice relaxation around the Tl+ impurity implies the concerted movement of several shells of neighbors. The results also reveal the importance of considering a set of ions that can respond to the geometrical displacements of the inner shells by adapting selfconsistently their wave functions. Comparison with other calculations involving comparatively small active clusters serves to assert the significance of our conclusions. Contact with experiment is made by calculating absorption energies. These are in excellent agreement with the experimental data for the most realistic active clusters considered.Comment: 7 pages plus 6 postscript figures, LaTeX. Submmited to Phys, Rev.

Insulinomatosis: una causa muy rara de tumor neuroendocrino pancreático

Los tumores neuroendocrinos pancreáticos representan del 2-10 % de todos los tumores del páncreas y aproximadamente el 7 % de todos los tumores neuroendocrinos. Estos se clasifican como funcionales o no funcionales según la presencia o ausencia de síndromes clínicos asociados con la hipersecreción hormonal. Los insulinomas son los tumores neuroendocrinos pancreáticos funcionales más frecuentes (45 % de los casos) y la causa más frecuente de hipoglucemia hiperinsulinémica endógena persistente en adultos. Además, el 10 % de los tumores neuroendocrinos pancreáticos se asocian con neoplasia endocrina múltiple tipo 1. La insulinomatosis es una entidad clínica distinta en la que existen múltiples insulinomas. Objetivos: exponer los casos reportados hasta el momento de insulinomatosis y describir las causas genéticas, las características clínicas, el tratamiento, y el pronóstico de la insulinomatosis. Métodos: se realizó una búsqueda sobre insulinomatosis y los factores que controlan la proliferación de las células ? en las bases de datos PubMed, Medline y Google Scholar hasta Julio 2020. Resultados: 108 casos con insulinomatosis se han reportado hasta la fecha, siendo recurrente y rara vez malignos. Múltiples protooncogenes y supresores de tumores controlan de forma local y sistémica el crecimiento de las células ?; sin embargo, solo la mutación de MafA en p.Ser64Phe ha sido asociada. Conclusión: la insulinomatosis se caracteriza por la aparición sincrónica y metacrónica de insulinomas. Tiene un fenotipo histológico, clínico y genético diferente a los tumores neuroendocrinos pancreáticos; la mutación MEN-1 es negativa; puede ser esporádica o hereditaria; y MafA podría ser una mutación conductora

Manual lymphatic drainage therapy in patients with breast cancer related lymphoedema

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Lymphoedema is a common and troublesome condition that develops following breast cancer treatment. The aim of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of Manual Lymphatic Drainage in the treatment of postmastectomy lymphoedema in order to reduce the volume of lymphoedema and evaluate the improvement of the concomitant symptomatology.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A randomized, controlled clinical trial in 58 women with post-mastectomy lymphoedema. The control group includes 29 patients with standard treatment (skin care, exercise and compression measures, bandages for one month and, subsequently, compression garnments). The experimental group includes 29 patients with standard treatment plus Manual Lymphatic Drainage. The therapy will be administered daily for four weeks and the patient's condition will be assessed one, three and six months after treatment.</p> <p>The primary outcome parameter is volume reduction of the affected arm after treatment, expressed as a percentage. Secondary outcome parameters include: duration of lymphoedema reduction and improvement of the concomitant symptomatology (degree of pain, sensation of swelling and functional limitation in the affected extremity, subjective feeling of being physically less atractive and less feminine, difficulty looking at oneself naked and dissatisfaction with the corporal image).</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The results of this study will provide information on the effectiveness of Manual Lymphatic Drainage and its impact on the quality of life and physical limitations of these patients.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials (NCT): <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01152099">NCT01152099</a></p