Advances in the valorization of waste and by-product materials as thermal energy storage (TES) materials

Today, one of the biggest challenges our society must face is the satisfactory supply, dispatchability and management of the energy. Thermal Energy Storage (TES) has been identified as a breakthrough concept in industrial heat recovery applications and development of renewable technologies such as concentrated solar power (CSP) plants or compressed air energy storage (CAES). A wide variety of potential heat storage materials has been identified depending on the implemented TES method: sensible, latent or thermochemical. Although no ideal storage material has been identified, several materials have shown a high potential depending on the mentioned considerations. Despite the amount of studied potential heat storage materials, the determination of new alternatives for next generation technologies is still open. One of the main drawbacks in the development of storage materials is their cost. In this regard, this paper presents the review of waste materials and by-products candidates which use contributes in lowering the total cost of the storage system and the valorization of waste industrial materials have strong environmental and societal benefits such as reducing the landfilled waste amounts, reducing the greenhouse emissions and others. This article reviews different industrial waste materials that have been considered as potential TES materials and have been characterized as such. Asbestos containing wastes, fly ashes, by-products from the salt industry and from the metal industry, wastes from recycling steel process and from copper refining process and dross from the aluminum industry, and municipal wastes (glass and nylon) have been considered. Themophysical properties, characterization and experiences using these candidates are discussed and compared. This review shows that the revalorization of wastes or by-products as TES materials is possible, and that more studies are needed to achieve industrial deployment of the idea

Association between Use of Enhanced Recovery after Surgery Protocol and Postoperative Complications in Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty in the Postoperative Outcomes Within Enhanced Recovery after Surgery Protocol in Elective Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Study (POWER2)

Importance: The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) care protocol has been shown to improve outcomes compared with traditional care in certain types of surgery. Objective: To assess the association of use of the ERAS protocols with complications in patients undergoing elective total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Design, Setting, and Participants: This multicenter, prospective cohort study included patients recruited from 131 centers in Spain from October 22 through December 22, 2018. All consecutive adults scheduled for elective THA or TKA were eligible for inclusion. Patients were stratified between those treated in a self-designated ERAS center (ERAS group) and those treated in a non-ERAS center (non-ERAS group). Data were analyzed from June 15 through September 15, 2019. Exposures: Total hip or knee arthroplasty and perioperative management. Sixteen individual ERAS items were assessed in all included patients, whether they were treated at a center that was part of an established ERAS protocol or not. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was postoperative complications within 30 days after surgery. Secondary outcomes included length of stay and mortality. Results: During the 2-month recruitment period, 6146 patients were included (3580 women [58.2%]; median age, 71 [interquartile range (IQR), 63-76] years). Of these, 680 patients (11.1%) presented with postoperative complications. No differences were found in the number of patients with overall postoperative complications between ERAS and non-ERAS groups (163 [10.2%] vs 517 [11.4%]; odds ratio [OR], 0.89; 95% CI, 0.74-1.07; P =.22). Fewer patients in the ERAS group had moderate to severe complications (73 [4.6%] vs 279 [6.1%]; OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.56-0.96; P =.02). The median overall adherence rate with the ERAS protocol was 50.0% (IQR, 43.8%-62.5%), with the rate for ERAS facilities being 68.8% (IQR, 56.2%-81.2%) vs 50.0% (IQR, 37.5%-56.2%) at non-ERAS centers (P <.001). Among the patients with the highest and lowest quartiles of adherence to ERAS components, the patients with the highest adherence had fewer overall postoperative complications (144 [10.6%] vs 270 [13.0%]; OR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.64-0.99; P <.001) and moderate to severe postoperative complications (59 [4.4%] vs 143 [6.9%]; OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.45-0.84; P <.001) and shorter median length of hospital stay (4 [IQR, 3-5] vs 5 [IQR, 4-6] days; OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.96-0.99; P <.001). Conclusions and Relevance: An increase in adherence to the ERAS program was associated with a decrease in postoperative complications, although only a few ERAS items were individually associated with improved outcomes

Evolution of the use of corticosteroids for the treatment of hospitalised COVID-19 patients in Spain between March and November 2020: SEMI-COVID national registry

Objectives: Since the results of the RECOVERY trial, WHO recommendations about the use of corticosteroids (CTs) in COVID-19 have changed. The aim of the study is to analyse the evolutive use of CTs in Spain during the pandemic to assess the potential influence of new recommendations. Material and methods: A retrospective, descriptive, and observational study was conducted on adults hospitalised due to COVID-19 in Spain who were included in the SEMI-COVID- 19 Registry from March to November 2020. Results: CTs were used in 6053 (36.21%) of the included patients. The patients were older (mean (SD)) (69.6 (14.6) vs. 66.0 (16.8) years; p < 0.001), with hypertension (57.0% vs. 47.7%; p < 0.001), obesity (26.4% vs. 19.3%; p < 0.0001), and multimorbidity prevalence (20.6% vs. 16.1%; p < 0.001). These patients had higher values (mean (95% CI)) of C-reactive protein (CRP) (86 (32.7-160) vs. 49.3 (16-109) mg/dL; p < 0.001), ferritin (791 (393-1534) vs. 470 (236- 996) µg/dL; p < 0.001), D dimer (750 (430-1400) vs. 617 (345-1180) µg/dL; p < 0.001), and lower Sp02/Fi02 (266 (91.1) vs. 301 (101); p < 0.001). Since June 2020, there was an increment in the use of CTs (March vs. September; p < 0.001). Overall, 20% did not receive steroids, and 40% received less than 200 mg accumulated prednisone equivalent dose (APED). Severe patients are treated with higher doses. The mortality benefit was observed in patients with oxygen saturation </=90%. Conclusions: Patients with greater comorbidity, severity, and inflammatory markers were those treated with CTs. In severe patients, there is a trend towards the use of higher doses. The mortality benefit was observed in patients with oxygen saturation </=90%

Thermo-physical Properties of a Steel-making by-product to be used as Thermal Energy Storage Material in a Packed-bed System

AbstractIn this paper the valorisation of an industrial and cheap by-product from the steel manufacturing, Electric Arc Furnace slag, is studied as new thermal energy storage material in a packed-bed system. For this application, the driving thermo-physical and the thermal and chemical stability of two different slags have been studied. The obtained results have revealed that this material presents similar properties to other materials typically studied as filler/thermal energy storage material in a packed-bed arrangement. The thermal stability and compatibility analysis have indicated that the slag is stable, at least up to 1000°C when working in direct contact with air as heat transfer fluid. In addition, in this work, a heat storage system based on air-packed bed configuration is proposed. In this frame, different operation methods have been computationally analysed in order to maximize the storage capacity and efficiency of the packed-bed design. Overall, this work has demonstrated the high potential of this waste material to obtain an efficient and cost-effective thermal energy storage solution

El dolor musculoesquelético en urgencias y emergencias

2.583 JCR (2013) Q1, 4/25 Emergency medicineUE

Measurement of in-plane thermal diffusivity of solids moving at constant velocity using laser spot infrared thermography

International audienc

PPV-PYCS/MVA-PYCS prime/boost improves cytokine secretion by memory CD8⁺ T-cells.

<p>Groups of BALB/c mice (4 per group) were immunized in prime/boost as indicated in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0034445#pone-0034445-t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a> and 53 days post boost splenocytes were processed for ICS as described under <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0034445#s4" target="_blank">Materials and Methods</a>. Phenotypic differentiation of CD8⁺ T-cells based on memory markers CD127 (V450) and CD62L (FITC). Each quadrant represents different memory population of CD8 cells with its respective percentages. The distribution of antigen specific CD8+ T-cells secreting cytokines in response to CS peptide stimulation, within the different memory population is also shown. The total CD8+ T-cell response is indicated by the black boxes. The boxes on left indicate the responses towards CS peptide stimulation while the ones on right represent its respective RPMI controls.</p

The CS-specific CD8+ T-cell priming effect of PPV-PYCS is markedly enhanced by boosting with replication competent VACV vector expressing CS.

<p>Different groups of BALB/c mice (5 per group) were immunized s.c with 10 or 50 µg of PPV-PYCS [PPV(10 µg) and PPV(50 µg) respectively] or with VACV vectors in prime/boost protocols. Fourteen days after the boost CS-specific IFN-γ secreting cells for the plasmodial epitope SYVPSAEQI in splenocytes were measured by ELISPOT as described under <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0034445#s4" target="_blank">Materials and Methods</a>. The results are expressed as the mean of triplicate assays using cultured pooled splenocytes. Statistical values were determined by one-way ANOVA; P values, *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001.</p