Temperature and residence time influence on the cattle manure separated solid phase carbonization

This work aim to investigate the effect of temperature and residence time on the carbonization of the cattle manure separated solid phase. The same lab scale auger pyrolizer presented at the 26th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition in the work \u201cCarbonization of residual biomass from river maintenance using waste heat from gasification power plants\u201d was used to carbonize the separated solid obtained from the \u201cSEPCOM Cow Bedding\u201d cattle manure separator. This material is a high quality organic soil conditioner, easy to shovel, store and transport, it is odorless and it can be use as bedding or as soil conditioner. First of all, the material was analyzed measuring its ash percentage, its moisture and its elemental composition, and performing thermal gravimetric and differential thermal analyses on it. 11 pyrolysis tests were carried out with three different temperatures, 300 \ub0C, 400 C\ub0 and 500 \ub0C, and 5 residence times, 11, 22, 30, 60 and 90 minutes. As thermal source the exhaust gas from a portable petrol powered generator was used sending it into the jacket around the auger. The residence time was controlled through an Arduino Board that managed the auger movement. The residues of the 11 carbonization tests were analyzed again to measure their ash quantitative and elemental composition. The results showed that with the pyrolysis temperatures at 500 \ub0C it was possible to achieve a percentage of carbon over the 70% and reduce the dry matter of the material by two \u2013 third, moreover longer residence times bring to higher weight losses, compared to the shorter ones, mostly for low pyrolysis temperatures

Emission analysis of syngas combustion and flammability limit assessment

Gasification of biomass can be a very effective technology to fight climate change due to the carbon negativity of the process. However, syngas combustion could release a variety of pollutant compounds such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide. Improving the emissions of syngas combustion is very important in order to promote the diffusion of small scale gasifiers that often have no complex flue gas treatment systems. In this work a study on syngas combustion from a small scale gasification system is presented. A combustion chamber designed after a preliminary numerical evaluation was built to test different geometrical configurations. Two metal plates were used to modify the combustion chamber geometry in order to test different flare shapes. An experimental campaign with an emission analyzer was carried out to identify the best combustion chamber shape and to evaluate the pollutant released by syngas combustion. To further explore syngas combustion, the flammability limits were evaluated through the “Le Chatelier” equation and considering the presence of various inert gases

UCP1 is essential for mitochondrial structural integrity and function in brown adipose tissue

With the recent discovery of functional brown adipose tissue (BAT) in humans, there is a renewed interest in harnessing this thermogenic organ for the therapeutic treatment of diabetes and obesity. BAT activation increases energy expenditure and BAT mitochondria, through the actions of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), are integral to this energy wasting process. In response to adrenergic stimulation, UCP1 uncouples the proton pumping actions of the electron transport chain from ATP synthesis releasing the stored chemical energy as heat. While this phenomenon has been intensely investigated, surprisingly little is known about how BAT mitochondria distinctively adapt to the expression and activation of UCP1, which makes up a large percentage of BAT mitochondrial proteome. By taking advantage of UCP1-null animals in combination with bioenergetic profiling and transmission electron microscopy, we provide clear evidence that UCP1 is necessary to maintain mitochondrial structure and function in brown fat. Furthermore, using novel ‘complexomic’ and proteomic profiling we demonstrate that mitochondrial supercomplex formation and stability in BAT requires UCP1. Finally, we show that the loss of UCP1 induces cellular stress, mitochondrial structural alterations and mitochondrial autophagy in an activation dependent manner. Taken together these data suggest that UCP1 is necessary for optimal mitochondrial function and health in brown adipose tissue and call into question any direct mitochondrial mechanism for heat generation in brown fat lacking UCP1

Prevalence of nonpolypoid colorectal neoplasia: an italian multicenter observational study

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of nonpolypoid lesions (NPLs) in Italy and their risk of containing neoplasia or advanced histology.PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a multicenter cross-sectional observational study on consecutive patients undergoing total colonoscopy over a 3-month period in 80 Italian centers.RESULTS: In all, 27,400 total colonoscopies were analyzed. Cancer was diagnosed in 801 patients (2.9 %). A total of 6553 precancerous lesions were detected in 5609 patients. Of these, 4154 patients (74.1 %) had polypoid lesions and 1455 patients (25.9 %) had NPLs. Therefore, the prevalence of NPLs was 5.3 % (95 %CI 5.0 - 5.6). NPLs larger than 10 mm were detected in 254 patients (17.5 %). NPLs were more predominant in the proximal colon (OR 2.92, 95 %CI 2.56 - 3.43; P < 0.0001 vs. polypoid lesions). Neoplastic tissue was diagnosed in 79.0 % and advanced histology (high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia or more) in 20.9 % of resected lesions. The risk of advanced histology was similar for polypoid and nonpolypoid lesions when adjusted for size. Depressed lesions had the highest risk of advanced histology (OR 10.56, 95 %CI 6.02 - 18.55; P < 0.0000 vs. flat-elevated). Age was an independent predictor of both neoplasia and advanced histology ( P = 0.0001).CONCLUSIONS: NPLs are relatively common in the Italian population, with a prevalence similar to that in other Western series. NPLs are not more aggressive than polypoid lesions, except for those with depressed morphology