70 research outputs found
Qualitative and quantitative characterization of a coal power plant waste by TG/DSC/MS, XRF and XRD
SO2 removal from coal-fired power plant flue gases can be done by dry, semi-dry or wet desulphurization processes, using limestone or lime-containing products as sorbents. In a Brazilian coal power plant, there is a dry desulphurization unit to capture SO2 with hydrated lime from the combustion gases. A part of the flying ashes produced is mixed with the bottom coal ashes and the spent sulphated product generated after SO2 capture. This residual solid blend is then buried in a non-productive area, from which coal was already extracted and is studied in this work. According to the authors’ experience in the development and characterization of adsorbents for low temperature dry desulphurization processes and in thermogravimetric analysis, this paper shows and discusses a method which was developed to characterize qualitatively and quantitatively the chemical and mineral composition of this waste by using thermogravimetry coupled with mass spectrometry, X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction, to preview new potential industrial applications for this waste.We are thankful to the University of Cantabria for the financial support under the Project: 51.VP61.64005, to the Brazilian Research Council, under the project CNPq no. 407005/2013-7, and to the Brazilian Education Council CAPES
Recurrent Scedosporium apiospermum mycetoma successfully treated by surgical excision and terbinafine treatment: a case report and review of the literature
Background:
Scedosporium apiospermum
is an emerging opportunistic filamentous fungus, which is notorious for its
high levels of antifungal
‑resistance. It is able to cause localized cutaneous or subcutaneous infections in both immu‑
nocompromised and immunocompetent persons, pulmonary infections in patients with predisposing pulmonary
diseases and invasive mycoses in immunocompromised patients. Subcutaneous infections caused by this fungus
frequently show chronic mycetomatous manifestation.
Case report:
We report the case of a 70
‑year
‑old immunocompromised man, who developed a fungal mycetoma‑
tous infection on his right leg. There was no history of trauma; the aetiological agent was identified by microscopic
examination and ITS sequencing. This is the second reported case of
S. apiospermum
subcutaneous infections in
Hungary, which was successfully treated by surgical excision and terbinafine treatment. After 7
months, the patient
remained asymptomatic. Considering the antifungal susceptibility and increasing incidence of the fungus,
Sce
-
dosporium
related subcutaneous infections reported in the past quarter of century in European countries were also
reviewed.
Conclusions:
Corticosteroid treatment represents a serious risk factor of
S. apiospermum
infections, especially if the
patient get in touch with manure
‑enriched or polluted soil or water. Such infections have emerged several times in
European countries in the past decades. The presented data suggest that besides the commonly applied voricona‑
zole, terbinafine may be an alternative for the therapy of mycetomatous
Scedosporium
infections
Finding needles in haystacks: Linking scientific names, reference specimens and molecular data for Fungi
DNA phylogenetic comparisons have shown that morphology-based species recognition
often underestimates fungal diversity. Therefore, the need for accurate DNA sequence
data, tied to both correct taxonomic names and clearly annotated specimen data, has
never been greater. Furthermore, the growing number of molecular ecology and microbiome
projects using high-throughput sequencing require fast and effective methods for
en masse species assignments. In this article, we focus on selecting and re-annotating a
set of marker reference sequences that represent each currently accepted order of Fungi.
The particular focus is on sequences from the internal transcribed spacer region in the
nuclear ribosomal cistron, derived from type specimens and/or ex-type cultures. Reannotated
and verified sequences were deposited in a curated public database at the
National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), namely the RefSeq Targeted Loci
(RTL) database, and will be visible during routine sequence similarity searches with
NR_prefixed accession numbers. A set of standards and protocols is proposed to improve
the data quality of new sequences, and we suggest how type and other reference
sequences can be used to improve identification of Fungi.B.R. and C.L.S. acknowledge support from the Intramural Research
Program of the National Institutes of Health, National Library of
MedicinePeer Reviewe
Thermogravimetric analysis of selected group (II) carbonateminerals - Implication for the geosequestration of greenhouse gases
The precursors of carbonate minerals have the potential to react with greenhouse gases to form many common carbonate minerals. The carbonate bearing minerals, magnesite, calcite, strontianite and witherite, were synthesised and analysed using a combination of thermogravimetry and evolved gas mass spectrometry. The DTG curves show that as both the mass and the size of the metal cationic radii increase, the inherent thermal stability of the carbonate also increases dramatically. It is proposed that this inherent effect is a size stabilisation relationship between that of the carbonate and the metal cation. As the cationic radius increases in size, the radius approaches and in the case of Sr2+ and Ba2+ exceeds that of the overall size of the carbonate anion. The thermal stability of these minerals has implications for the geosequestration of greenhouse gases. The carbonates with the larger cations show significantly greater stability
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