Sustainable manufacturing of new construction material from alkali activation of volcanic tuff

The current climate emergency leads to reduction of virgin raw material extraction and promotes circular economy. In this framework, alkali activation of unemployed fraction of grey tuff, combined with glass waste, provides a range of sustainable construction materials. For the sake of sustainability, tuff powder was subjected to rapid attack (30 min), operated by a 'weak' alkaline solution (3 M NaOH), and then left to dry at low temperature (75 degrees C) for 72 h. The addition of Triton X-100 surfactant was considered to obtain foams starting from slurries with different liquid-to-solid ratio. A thermal treatment was applied to selected samples, at low temperature (700 degrees C). Despite the 'mild' activation conditions, all products survived after immersion in boiling water or acid solution, already in the unfired state, according to the formation of a multiphasic gel. The strength-to density ratio, especially for foams, in both unfired and fired form, compares well with that of already existing construction materials (e.g. it could exceed 5 MPa cm3/g)

The novel lncRNA BlackMamba controls the neoplastic phenotype of ALK- anaplastic large cell lymphoma by regulating the DNA helicase HELLS.

The molecular mechanisms leading to the transformation of anaplastic lymphoma kinase negative (ALK-) anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) have been only in part elucidated. To identify new culprits which promote and drive ALCL, we performed a total transcriptome sequencing and discovered 1208 previously unknown intergenic long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), including 18 lncRNAs preferentially expressed in ALCL. We selected an unknown lncRNA, BlackMamba, with an ALK- ALCL preferential expression, for molecular and functional studies. BlackMamba is a chromatin-associated lncRNA regulated by STAT3 via a canonical transcriptional signaling pathway. Knockdown experiments demonstrated that BlackMamba contributes to the pathogenesis of ALCL regulating cell growth and cell morphology. Mechanistically, BlackMamba interacts with the DNA helicase HELLS controlling its recruitment to the promoter regions of cell-architecture-related genes, fostering their expression. Collectively, these findings provide evidence of a previously unknown tumorigenic role of STAT3 via a lncRNA-DNA helicase axis and reveal an undiscovered role for lncRNA in the maintenance of the neoplastic phenotype of ALK-ALCL

Characterization of greater middle eastern genetic variation for enhanced disease gene discovery

The Greater Middle East (GME) has been a central hub of human migration and population admixture. The tradition of consanguinity, variably practiced in the Persian Gulf region, North Africa, and Central Asia1-3, has resulted in an elevated burden of recessive disease4. Here we generated a whole-exome GME variome from 1,111 unrelated subjects. We detected substantial diversity and admixture in continental and subregional populations, corresponding to several ancient founder populations with little evidence of bottlenecks. Measured consanguinity rates were an order of magnitude above those in other sampled populations, and the GME population exhibited an increased burden of runs of homozygosity (ROHs) but showed no evidence for reduced burden of deleterious variation due to classically theorized ‘genetic purging’. Applying this database to unsolved recessive conditions in the GME population reduced the number of potential disease-causing variants by four- to sevenfold. These results show variegated genetic architecture in GME populations and support future human genetic discoveries in Mendelian and population genetics

Rapid and robust confirmation and quantification of 11-nor-\u3949-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid (THC-COOH) in urine by column switching LC-MS-MS analysis

A method for the rapid and robust confirmation of 11-nor- 9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid (THCA) in urine involving basic hydrolysis with NaOH and direct injection of the hydrolysate in a column-switching LC-MS-MS system was developed and validated. THCA-d3 was used as internal standard. Detection was performed in negative-ion mode bymonitoring the tran-sitions from the [M-CO2]- ionm/z299.2!245.2 and andm/z299.2!191.1 that were found to provide a better signal-to-noise ratio than the transition from the pseudomolecular ion atm/z343. The high sensitivity of detection enabled the injection of a small volume (10ml) of the NaOH hydrolysate which, together with the applied column switching system, proved to confer ruggedness to themethod and to avoid the deterioration of the instrumental apparatus despite the large amount of inorganic ions in the hydrolysate. The LLOQ was established at 5ng/ml, and the LLOD was calculated as 0.2ng/ml (S/N =3). The method was submitted to thorough validation including evaluation of the calibration range (5\u2013500ng/ml), accuracy and precision, ma-trix effects, overall process efficiency, autosampler stability, carryover and cross-talk, and 10-times reduction of sample vol-ume (0.1ml). Proof of applicability was obtained by direct comparison with the reference GC-MS method in use in the lab (the R2 between the two methods was 0.9951)

UPCYCLING OF BORO-ALUMINO-SILICATE PHARMACEUTICAL GLASS IN SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

The present Covid-19 emergency has dramatically increased the demand for pharmaceutical containers and the amounts of related waste. This paper aims at presenting the upcycling of discarded pharmaceutical glass into various porous ceramics, starting from the activation of fine powders suspended in weakly alkaline solutions (2.5 M NaOH/KOH). The alkaline attack determines the gelation of glass suspensions, according to hydration of glass surfaces, followed by condensation starting from 40 degrees C (`cold consolidation'). Alkali are mostly expelled from the gel, according to the formation of water-soluble hydrated carbonates. The mutual binding of activated powders was exploited for the encapsulation of waste-derived glass (from the plasma processing of municipal solid waste) and quartz sand as coarse aggregate. Moreover, industrial mud could be used instead of water in the preparation of alkaline solutions. Depending on the formulations, products comparable to facing bricks can be obtained directly after cold consolidation or after application of low temperature (700 degrees C) firing. In addition, selected formulations led to highly porous glass foams, to be used for thermal and acoustic insulation

Double-life sustainable construction materials from alkali activation of volcanic ash/discarded glass mixture

Volcanic ash, according to the large amount of silica and alumina, may be considered as feedstock for geopolymers. However, the relatively low reactivity, mostly due to the relatively low amount of amorphous phase, implies the introduction of ash as minor component in complex mixtures and the activation with highly concentrated alkaline solutions. This paper aims at improving the sustainability of ash conversion into inorganic polymers with adequate strength-to-density ratio, by minimizing the addition of valuable compounds and including discarded material. Fine powders of volcanic ash from Mt Etna (Italy), in fact, were activated with NaOH solutions at low molarity (3 M), with a variable water/solid ratio (0.35–0.42), after mixing with waste glass powders, from cullet purification. The adopted ash/glass proportion (50 wt%-50 wt%) was intended to favour the reuse of inorganic polymers, by firing at 950 °C, in turn causing the transformation into porous glass-ceramics with a remarkable strength-to-density ratio. A significant foaming was effectively observed, due to decomposition of hydrated alkali alumino-silicates developed upon hardening. Foams with excellent strength-to-density ratio were also obtained by thermal transformation of highly porous cold consolidated materials

Prevalence of drug abuse among workers: Strengths and pitfalls of the recent Italian Workplace Drug Testing (WDT) legislation

BACKGROUND: In 2008 a Workplace Drug Testing (WDT) law became effective in Italy for workers involved in public/private transportation, oil/gas companies, and explosives/fireworks industry with the aim to ensure public safety for the community. AIMS: To examine and elaborate WDT data collected on a large group of workers (over 43,500) during March 2009-February 2010 in order to highlight pros and cons and to draw suggestions for policies in the field. SETTING: Northern Italy. METHODS: After 6424h notification, workers provided a urine sample screened for opiates, methadone, buprenorphine, cocaine, amphetamines, ecstasy, and cannabinoids (THC) by immunoassay. Positives were confirmed by GC-MS. RESULTS: The positive rate was 2.0%, THC being most frequent drug (1.3%; cocaine, 0.4%; opioids, 0.3%). 6.9% of the positive workers tested positive for 652 classes (most often THC+cocaine). Gender ratio and mean age were significantly lower in positives (F/M=0.007; 35.5\ub18.3years) than negatives (0.016 and 40.7\ub19.5, respectively). No decline in rates of positives and an increase of diluted samples over time were observed. The highest rates of positives were detected when sampling was performed just before/after week-end and during morning hours. Possible correlation between job type and drugs used were observed (e.g. more cocaine positives among road vehicle-drivers than among lift truck-drivers). Declared use of medicine/illicit drugs during the preceding week showed that illicit drug use was likely not always detected in urine and that almost 4% workers declared use of medicine drugs possibly affecting performance. CONCLUSIONS: This survey enabled to evidence relevant pitfalls of the law and to define strategies to improve the outcomes of WDT policies

Effects of silymarin, a natural hepatoprotector, in periparturient dairy cows

Silymarin, a natural acknowledged hepatoprotector used in humans to treat liver diseases, has been tested in dairy cows during peripartum, a period during which animals are subject to subclinical fatty liver. Ten grams of silymarin (76% pure extract consisting in flavonolignans, taxifolin, and other trace compounds) per day, was administered as a water suspension by an oral drench to 15 cows from d 10 before expected calving to 15 d after calving. Milk production was measured, and colostrum, milk, and blood samples were analyzed during the experimental period. Treated animals showed the peak of milk production at 55 \ub1 1.85 d after calving, 1 wk before the control group (62 \ub1 3.27d); the average peak production was 41.6 \ub1 1.05 kg for the treated group vs. 39.1 \ub1 1.44 kg for the control; the treated animals maintained a greater milk production than control cows throughout lactation (9922.1 \ub1 215.7 vs. 9597.8 \ub1 225.4 kg). Milk composition was unaffected by treatment. No silymarin residues were detected in colostrum and all milk samples. After calving, body condition score (BCS) decrease was greater for control compared with treated cows. Glucose, urea, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol, \u3b2-hydroxibutyrate (BHBA), and \u3b3-glutamyl transferase (GGT) in plasma were unaffected by treatment. Plasma nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) on d - 7 were higher in treated cows compared with the control group (741 vs. 181 \u3bcmol/L). From this evidence, it is possible to conclude that silymarin beneficially affected lactation performances and body condition of treated animals. Blood and milk parameters do not indicate any adverse effects of feeding this natural compound