Effect of pyrolysis conditions on sewage sludge derived biochars for high value composites applications

The economy of the whole wastewater treatment system is significantly burdened by the increasing amounts of sewage sludge due to the progressive implementation of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive 91/271/EEC and by the complexity of the treatments required for guaranteeing a safe handling and a proper end-of-life of the sludge. For this reason, thermal treatments of sewage sludge have been studied in the past for their efficient valorization in terms of energy and/or matter recovery. Among them, pyrolysis represents a viable route aiming at the recycling of resources without production of harmful substances to the humans or the environment. A lot of work has been done on the use of sludge-derived char as a fertilizer and soil conditioner showing its safer application with respect to the untreated sludge. The nutrients were intensified with the temperature rising (except nitrogen) and the bioavailability and the leaching of heavy metals was reduced [1]. However, the physical and chemical characteristics of biochar can be exploited also for the production of high value-added materials. Carbon materials such as nanotubes received a great attention due to their ability to enhance mechanical, electrical and thermal properties of polymer composites [2], but high costs and low reproducibility have discouraged their use. In this study sludge-derived char (SCHAR) is studied as a possible alternative to other high cost carbon fillers. Sewage sludge from a civil wastewater treatment plant was pyrolyzed both in slow [3] and fast [4] pyrolysis conditions at three different temperatures, 500, 600 and 700 °C. A lignocellulosic biomass was also processed in the same experimental conditions for comparing the SCHARs with typical biochars (BCHARs). Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

A prognostic score for predicting survival in patients with pancreatic head adenocarcinoma and distal cholangiocarcinoma

Background/aim: Survival of patients with pancreatic cancer remains poor despite improvements in therapeutic strategies. This study aims to create a novel preoperative score to predict prognosis in patients with tumors of the pancreaticobiliary head. Patients and methods: Data on 190 patients who underwent to pancreaticoduodenectomy at Sapienza University of Rome from January 2010 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. After exclusion criteria, 101 patients were considered eligible for retrospective study. Preoperative biological, clinical and radiological parameters were considered. Results: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma [hazard ratio (HR)=1.995, 95% confidence intervaI (CI)=1.1-3.3; p=0.01], carbohydrate antigen 19.9 (CA 19.9) >230 U/ml (HR=2.414, 95% CI=2.4-1.5, p<0.0001) and Wirsung duct diameter >3 mm (HR=1.592, 95% CI=1.5-0.9; p=0.08) were the only parameters associated with poor prognosis. Through these parameters, a prognostic score (PHT score) was developed which predicted worst survival when exceeding 2 and better survival when ≤2. Conclusion: The PHT score may have a potential impact on predicting overall survival and consequently modulate the timing and type of treatment (up-front surgery vs. neoadjuvant therapy) patients are offered

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and distal cholangiocarcinoma: a proposal of preoperative diagnostic score for differential diagnosis

Purpose:The differential diagnosis between primary adenocarcinoma of the pancreas head and distalcholangiocarcinoma remains a clinical challenge. Recent studies have shown important differences in terms ofsurvival between these tumors. Therefore, different treatments should be considered, but the preoperativehistological diagnosis is still difficult. Aim of this study is to create a preoperative diagnostic score for differentialdiagnosis between primary pancreatic adenocarcinoma and primary distal cholangiocarcinoma.Methods:One hundred eighty consecutive patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy at SapienzaUniversity of Rome from January 2010 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Inclusion criteria werepancreatic or biliary histologic origin obtained by definitive postoperative histological examination. Exclusion criteriawere diagnosis of ampullary carcinoma, non-ampullary duodenal adenocarcinoma, pancreatic metastasis, andbenign disease. One hundred one patients were considered eligible for the retrospective study. Preoperativebiological, clinical, and radiological parameters were considered.Results:CRP > 10 mg/dL (p= 0.001), modified Glasgow Prognostic Score 2 (p= 0.002), albumin < 35 g/L (p= 0.05),CA 19-9 > 230 U/mL (p= 0.001), and Wirsung diameter > 3 mm (p< 0.001) were significant at univariate logisticanalysis. Multivariate logistic analysis has shown that parameters independently associated with primary pancreaticadenocarcinoma were CRP > 10 mg/dL (p= 0.012), CA 19-9 > 230 U/mL (p= 0.043), and diameter of the Wirsung> 3 mm (p= 0.005). Through these parameters, a diagnostic score has been developed to predict a primarypancreatic adenocarcinoma when > 1 and a primary distal cholangiocarcinoma when < 1.Conclusion:This feasible and low-cost diagnostic score could have a potential impact to differentiate pancreaticcancer histologic origin and to improve target therapeutic strategy

Disability assessment using Google Maps

Objectives To evaluate the concordance between Google Maps  application (GM ) and clinical practice measurements of ambulatory function (e.g., Ambulation Score (AS) and respective Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS)) in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). Materials and methods This is a cross-sectional multicenter study. AS and EDSS were calculated using GM  and routine clinical methods; the correspondence between the two methods was assessed. A multinomial logistic model is investigated which demographic (age, sex) and clinical features (e.g., disease subtype, fatigue, depression) might have influenced discrepancies between the two methods. Results Two hundred forty-three pwMS were included; discrepancies in AS and in EDDS assessments between GM  and routine clinical methods were found in 81/243 (33.3%) and 74/243 (30.4%) pwMS, respectively. Progressive phenotype (odds ratio [OR] = 2.8; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1–7.11, p = 0.03), worse fatigue (OR = 1.03; 95% CI 1.01–1.06, p = 0.01), and more severe depression (OR = 1.1; 95% CI 1.04–1.17, p = 0.002) were associated with discrepancies between GM  and routine clinical scoring. Conclusion GM  could easily be used in a real-life clinical setting to calculate the AS and the related EDSS scores. GM  should be considered for validation in further clinical studies

Gliadin Peptide P31-43 Localises to Endocytic Vesicles and Interferes with Their Maturation

BACKGROUND: Celiac Disease (CD) is both a frequent disease (1:100) and an interesting model of a disease induced by food. It consists in an immunogenic reaction to wheat gluten and glutenins that has been found to arise in a specific genetic background; however, this reaction is still only partially understood. Activation of innate immunity by gliadin peptides is an important component of the early events of the disease. In particular the so-called "toxic" A-gliadin peptide P31-43 induces several pleiotropic effects including Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR)-dependent actin remodelling and proliferation in cultured cell lines and in enterocytes from CD patients. These effects are mediated by delayed EGFR degradation and prolonged EGFR activation in endocytic vesicles. In the present study we investigated the effects of gliadin peptides on the trafficking and maturation of endocytic vesicles. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Both P31-43 and the control P57-68 peptide labelled with fluorochromes were found to enter CaCo-2 cells and interact with the endocytic compartment in pulse and chase, time-lapse, experiments. P31-43 was localised to vesicles carrying early endocytic markers at time points when P57-68-carrying vesicles mature into late endosomes. In time-lapse experiments the trafficking of P31-43-labelled vesicles was delayed, regardless of the cargo they were carrying. Furthermore in celiac enterocytes, from cultured duodenal biopsies, P31-43 trafficking is delayed in early endocytic vesicles. A sequence similarity search revealed that P31-43 is strikingly similar to Hrs, a key molecule regulating endocytic maturation. A-gliadin peptide P31-43 interfered with Hrs correct localisation to early endosomes as revealed by western blot and immunofluorescence microscopy. CONCLUSIONS: P31-43 and P57-68 enter cells by endocytosis. Only P31-43 localises at the endocytic membranes and delays vesicle trafficking by interfering with Hrs-mediated maturation to late endosomes in cells and intestinal biopsies. Consequently, in P31-43-treated cells, Receptor Tyrosine Kinase (RTK) activation is extended. This finding may explain the role played by gliadin peptides in inducing proliferation and other effects in enterocytes from CD biopsies

Infected pancreatic necrosis: outcomes and clinical predictors of mortality. A post hoc analysis of the MANCTRA-1 international study

: The identification of high-risk patients in the early stages of infected pancreatic necrosis (IPN) is critical, because it could help the clinicians to adopt more effective management strategies. We conducted a post hoc analysis of the MANCTRA-1 international study to assess the association between clinical risk factors and mortality among adult patients with IPN. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify prognostic factors of mortality. We identified 247 consecutive patients with IPN hospitalised between January 2019 and December 2020. History of uncontrolled arterial hypertension (p = 0.032; 95% CI 1.135-15.882; aOR 4.245), qSOFA (p = 0.005; 95% CI 1.359-5.879; aOR 2.828), renal failure (p = 0.022; 95% CI 1.138-5.442; aOR 2.489), and haemodynamic failure (p = 0.018; 95% CI 1.184-5.978; aOR 2.661), were identified as independent predictors of mortality in IPN patients. Cholangitis (p = 0.003; 95% CI 1.598-9.930; aOR 3.983), abdominal compartment syndrome (p = 0.032; 95% CI 1.090-6.967; aOR 2.735), and gastrointestinal/intra-abdominal bleeding (p = 0.009; 95% CI 1.286-5.712; aOR 2.710) were independently associated with the risk of mortality. Upfront open surgical necrosectomy was strongly associated with the risk of mortality (p < 0.001; 95% CI 1.912-7.442; aOR 3.772), whereas endoscopic drainage of pancreatic necrosis (p = 0.018; 95% CI 0.138-0.834; aOR 0.339) and enteral nutrition (p = 0.003; 95% CI 0.143-0.716; aOR 0.320) were found as protective factors. Organ failure, acute cholangitis, and upfront open surgical necrosectomy were the most significant predictors of mortality. Our study confirmed that, even in a subgroup of particularly ill patients such as those with IPN, upfront open surgery should be avoided as much as possible. Study protocol registered in ClinicalTrials.Gov (I.D. Number NCT04747990)

Vavilosides A1/A2–B1/B2, new furostane glycosides from the bulbs of Allium vavilovii with cytotoxic activity

A phytochemical analysis of the bulbs of Allium vavilovii M. Pop. & Vved. was attained for the first time extensively, affording to the isolation of four new furostanol saponins, named vavilosides A1/A2–B1/B2 (1a/b–2a/2b), as two couple of isomers in equilibrium, together with ascalonicoside A1/A2 (3a/3b) and 22-O-methyl ascalonicoside A1/A2 (4a/4b), previously isolated from shallot, Allium ascalonicum. High concentrations of kaempferol, kaempferide, and kaempferol 4I-glucoside were also isolated. The chemical structures of the new compounds, established through a combination of extensive nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry and chemical analyses, were identified as (25R)-furost-5(6)-en-1b,3b,22a,26- tetraol 1-O-a-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1?2)-O-b-D-galactopyranosyl 26-O-a-L-rhamnopyranoside (vaviloside A1), (25R)-furost-5(6)-en-1b,3b,22b,26-tetraol 1-O-a-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1?2)-O-b-D-galactopyranosyl 26-O-a-L-rhamnopyranoside (vaviloside A2), (25R)-furost-5(6)-en-1b,3b,22a,26-tetraol 1-O-a-Lrhamnopyranosyl-( 1?2)-O-b-D-xylopyranosyl 26-O-a-L-rhamnopyranoside (vaviloside B1), (25R)-furost- 5(6)-en-1b,3b,22b,26-tetraol 1-O-a-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1?2)-O-b-D-xylopyranosyl 26-O-a-Lrhamnopyranoside (vaviloside B2). The isolated saponins showed cytotoxic activity on J-774, murine monocyte/macrophage, and WEHI-164, murine fibrosarcoma, cell lines with the following rank: vaviloside B1/B2 > ascalonicoside A1/A2 > vaviloside A1/A2. 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

3,4-Seco-spirostane sapogenins with cytotoxic activity from Allium umbilicatum boiss

Two new sapogenins, named seco-umbilicagenins A and B (1 and 2), possessing a new chem. structure based on a 3,4-seco-spirostane skeleton, were isolated from Allium umbilicatum Boiss. The chem. structures of seco-umbilicagenins A and B were established through a combination of extensive spectroscopic anal., mainly NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, and chem. methods as (2S,25R)-2,5α,6β-trihydroxy-3,4-seco-spirosta-3,4-dioic acid (1) and (2S,25R)-2,4,5α-trihydroxy-6-oxo-3,4-seco-spirostan-3-oic acid (2). Interestingly, the isolated compds. exhibited cytotoxic activity on J-774, murine monocyte/macrophage, and WEHI-164, murine fibrosarcoma, cell lines. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time that 3,4-seco-spirostane sapogenins are isolated from natural sources, being this skeleton obtained by synthetic modification of intact sapogenins. [on SciFinder(R)

3-Keto umbilicagenin A and B, new sapogenins from Allium umbilicatum Boiss

Two sapogenins, named 3-keto umbilicagenin A and B (1 and 2), possessing a novel chem. structure with a 3-keto group on the spirostane skeleton, have been isolated from Allium umbilicatum Boiss. Their chem. structure has been established through a combination of extensive spectroscopic anal., mainly NMR and mass spectrometry, and chem. methods as (25R)-3-keto-spirostan-2α,5α,6β-triol (1) and (25R)-3-keto-spirostan-2α,5α-diol (2). The isolated compds. were tested for cytotoxic activity on J-774, murine monocyte/macrophage, and WEHI-164, murine fibrosarcoma cell lines. [on SciFinder(R)