PGM-Free Biomass-Derived Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction in Energy Conversion Devices: Promising Materials

Biomass is a low-cost, abundant and renewable resource that can be used to manufacture porous carbon-based materials for a variety of applications. Different mesoporous carbon supports can be obtained from the various synthetic approaches that are aimed at increasing the specific surface area and functionalization. Currently, most of the biomass is used for energy recovery. The circular economy approach could lead to the development of cheap and sustainable materials, and turning of wastes into a precious resource. In this review, we provide the recent advances in the field of electrochemistry for porous carbon materials derived from biomass, which offers wider applications in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) and Zn-air batteries (ZABs). The focus is on understanding the required properties of the materials and the role of synthetic pathways in platinum group metal (PGM) free electrocatalysts. The most promising materials are evaluated towards the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in PEMFC, AEMFC, and ZAB. The results achieved showed that the expected performances on these energy conversion devices still lack for deployment in practice, especially if compared with commercially available PGM-free electrocatalysts. This review article provides insights on how to improve the actual electrocatalytic activity of biomass-derived materials. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.

PET waste as organic linker source for the sustainable preparation of MOF-derived methane dry reforming catalysts

A catalyst made of Ni0 nanoparticles highly dispersed on a lamellar alumina support was prepared by an environmentally-friendly route. The latter involved the synthesis of an aluminum-containing metalorganic framework (MOF) MIL-53(Al) in which the linkers were derived from the depolymerization of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) originating from plastic wastes. After demonstrating the purity and structure integrity of the PET-derived MIL-53(Al), this MOF was impregnated with nickel nitrate salt and then calcined to form a lamellar Ni-Al2O3 mixed metal oxide with a high surface area (SBET = 1276 m2 g-1, N2 sorption). This mixed oxide consisted of nickel aluminate nanodomains dispersed within amorphous alumina, as revealed by PXRD and TPR analyses. Subsequent reduction under H2 resulted in the formation of well-dispersed 5 nm Ni0 nanoparticles homogeneously occluded within the interlamellar porosity of the γ-alumina matrix, as attested by electron microscopy. This waste-derived catalyst displayed catalytic performances in the reaction of dry reforming of methane (DRM) as good as its counterpart made from a MOF obtained from commercial benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid (BDC). Thus, under similar steady state conditions, at 650 °C and 1 bar, the PET-derived catalyst led to CH4 and CO2 conversions as high as those on the BDC-derived catalyst, and its catalytic stability and selectivity towards DRM were excellent as well (no loss of activity after 13 h and H2:CO products ratio remaining at 1). Moreover, both catalysts were much better than those of a reference nickel alumina catalyst prepared by conventional impregnation route. This work therefore demonstrates the possibility of using plastic wastes instead of commercial chemicals to prepare efficient porous nickel-alumina DRM catalysts from MOFs, fostering the concept of circular economy

STAT3, tumor microenvironment, and microvessel density in diffuse large B cell lymphomas

Constitutively activated STAT3 is correlated with more advanced clinical stage and overall poor survival of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The aim of this study was to evaluate STAT3 and Ki67 tumor cell expression, inflammatory cell infiltration, microvascular density in DLBCL bioptic specimens. RNA-scope showed that activated B cell (ABC) tissue samples contained a significant higher number of STAT3+ cells as compared to germinal center B (GCB) tissue samples. Immunohistochemical analysis showed a significant increased levels of CD3, CD8, CD68, CD163, CD34, and Ki67 positive cells in ABC patients. A positive correlation between STAT3 and CD3, CD8, CD68, and CD163 was evidenced in ABC group. In ABC group, we found also a positive correlation between CD8 and CD34 and a positive correlation between Ki67 and, CD68, and CD163. These data indicate that in ABC—as compared to GCB-DLBCL, a higher STAT3 expression is associated with a higher CD163+ TAM and CD8+ cell infiltration which induces a strong angiogenic response

Direct Alcohol Fuel Cells: A Comparative Review of Acidic and Alkaline Systems

In the last 20 years, direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) have been the subject of tremendous research efforts for the potential application as on-demand power sources. Two leading technologies respectively based on proton exchange membranes (PEMs) and anion exchange membranes (AEMs) have emerged: the first one operating in an acidic environment and conducting protons; the second one operating in alkaline electrolytes and conducting hydroxyl ions. In this review, we present an analysis of the state-of-the-art acidic and alkaline DAFCs fed with methanol and ethanol with the purpose to support a comparative analysis of acidic and alkaline systems, which is missing in the current literature. A special focus is placed on the effect of the reaction stoichiometry in acidic and alkaline systems. Particularly, we point out that, in alkaline systems, OH- participates stoichiometrically to reactions, and that alcohol oxidation products are anions. This aspect must be considered when designing the fuel and when making an energy evaluation from a whole system perspective

Microenvironment expression in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, is recognized as a heterogeneous disease with distinct molecular subtypes derived from different stages of B-cell differentiation. The contribution of the tumor microenvironment to the pathogenesis and tumor survival of DLBCL is poorly understood. However, several recent studies have yielded intriguing findings and shed some light on the possible roles of the microenvironment. In this retrospective study, data from 29 patients diagnosed with DLBCL between 2009 and 2013 were reviewed. All patients had pathologically confirmed DLBCL and had been treated with the R-CHOP regimen. In these patients, we correlated the expression of CD3 staining for T cells, tryptase staining for mast cells, CD68 for tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), and CD31 staining for blood vessels. CD68 and tryptase expression, as well as MVD, were increased in chemo-resistant patients compared to chemosensitive patients. Tryptase expression showed a positive correlation with MVD, supporting a role for mast cells in DLBCL tumor angiogenesis, while the CD68 correlation with MVD was not significant, indicating a different role for TAMs rather than angiogenesis in DLBCL. A statistically significant difference was observed in the expression of CD3 in patients with bulky disease. Specifically, a higher expression of CD3 was observed in nonbulky disease patients (mean expression 52.91%, n = 20) compared to bulky disease patients (mean expression 34.9%, n = 9), P value < .05. The reduction in T cells in bulky disease patients contributes to loosen the immune control over the tumor, resulting in an increased cell proliferation, leading to large tumor cell masses, which are predictive of poor prognostic and clinical outcomes. CD3 showed a positive correlation with tryptase and MVD, while multiple regression analysis efficaciously predicted MVD depending on CD3 and tryptase as predictors, supporting a complex interplay between these cells in sustaining tumor angiogenesis in DLBCL patients. The improved understanding of tumor biology and of the role of the tumor microenvironment has led to advances in the diagnosis, classification, prognostics, as well as novel treatments of patients with hematologic malignancies. In particular, translational research, leading to drugs that target the interaction between the tumor microenvironment and malignant cells, has provided many promising new approaches to cancer therapy. Ongoing dynamic and correlation studies of tumor biology and the contribution of the tumor microenvironment should be promoted in the context of novel drug development in order to identify optimal therapies for various lymphomas and improve the curability of these diseases

Autosomal Recessive Atrial Dilated Cardiomyopathy With Standstill Evolution Associated With Mutation of Natriuretic Peptide Precursor A

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A Novel High Dose Chemotherapy Strategy With Bendamustine in Adjunct to Etoposide, Cytarabine and Melphalan (BeEAM) Followed by Autologous Stem Cell Rescue Is Safe and Highly Effective for the Treatment of Resistant/Relapsed Lymphoma Patients: A Phase I-II Study on 44 Patients

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The future of biotic indices in the ecogenomic era: Integrating (e)DNA metabarcoding in biological assessment of aquatic ecosystems

The bioassessment of aquatic ecosystems is currently based on various biotic indices that use the occurrence and/ or abundance of selected taxonomic groups to define ecological status. These conventional indices have some limitations, often related to difficulties inmorphological identification of bioindicator taxa. Recent development of DNA barcoding and metabarcoding could potentially alleviate some of these limitations, by using DNA sequences instead of morphology to identify organisms and to characterize a given ecosystem. In this paper,we review the structure of conventional biotic indices, andwe present the results of pilotmetabarcoding studies using environmental DNA to infer biotic indices. We discuss the main advantages and pitfalls of metabarcoding approaches to assess parameters such as richness, abundance, taxonomic composition and species ecological values, to be used for calculation of biotic indices.We present some future developments to fully exploit the potential of metabarcoding data and improve the accuracy and precision of their analysis. We also propose some recommendations for the future integration of DNA metabarcoding to routine biomonitoring program