Sponge-like europium oxide from hollow carbon sphere as a template for an anode material for Reactive Blue 52 electrochemical degradation

The textile industry is one of the major pollutants of waterbodies with effluents high in biochemical and chemical oxygen demand values, high values of total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, and low dissolved oxygen values along with strong color. The existence of a successful method for its decontamination would be beneficial. In this work, we synthesized sponge-like europium oxide (Eu2O3) using a template-directed route from carbon hollow spheres, obtained from glucose as a carbon source. The material synthesis method was done in an aqueous environment, without using any organic solvents. Electrochemical properties of the synthesized material were investigated using cyclic voltammetry and electrical impedance spectroscopy, while morphological characterization was done using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray powder diffraction analysis. Eu2O3 were successfully immobilized at the surface of a screen-printed carbon electrode (Eu2O3/SPCE) using the drop-casting method. Finally, the prepared electrodes were tested toward the removal of Reactive Blue 52 (RB52) using electrochemical advanced oxidation processes (EAOPs). Important parameters, that is, the supporting electrolyte, its concentration, pH value, and the applied voltage, were optimized for RB52 degradation. The rate of removal was monitored spectrophotometrically and by high-performance liquid chromatography with a diode array detector (HPLC-DAD). It was found that the proposed approach reaches complete decolorization of the RB52 solution after a 60-min treatment, at pH 5.6 of KC1 supporting electrolyte at a concentration of 0.05 M. Under optimal parameters, after 3 h of treatment, total organic carbon (TOC) was lowered by similar to 40%. The obtained results indicate that the proposed method may find potential application in EAOPs, considering electrode stability, durability, and efficiency and simplicity of the method

Breast Cancer and p16: Role in Proliferation, Malignant Transformation and Progression

The definition of new molecular biomarkers could provide a more reliable approach in predicting the prognosis of invasive breast cancers (IBC). The aim of this study is to analyze the expression of p16 protein in IBC, as well as its participation in malignant transformation. The study included 147 patients diagnosed with IBC. The presence of non-invasive lesions (NIL) was noted in each IBC and surrounding tissue. p16 expression was determined by reading the percentage of nuclear and/or cytoplasmic expression in epithelial cells of IBC and NIL, but also in stromal fibroblasts. Results showed that expression of p16 increases with the progression of cytological changes in the epithelium; it is significantly higher in IBC compared to NIL (p < 0.0005). Cytoplasmic p16 expression is more prevalent in IBC (76.6%), as opposed to nuclear staining, which is characteristic of most NIL (21.1%). There is a difference in p16 expression between different molecular subtypes of IBC (p = 0.025). In the group of p16 positive tumors, pronounced mononuclear infiltrates (p = 0.047) and increased expression of p16 in stromal fibroblasts (p = 0.044) were noted. In conclusion, p16 protein plays an important role in proliferation, malignant transformation, as well as in progression from NIL to IBC