RUOLO DEGLI INTEGRONI NELLA TRASMISSIONE DI ANTIBIOTICO- RESISTENZE IN ACINETOBACTER

2001/2002XV Ciclo1974Versione digitalizzata della tesi di dottorato cartacea

Photocatalytic processes for sustainable hydrogen production from renewable sources

2010/2011The importance of hydrogen as an appealing energy vector, due to its high efficiency and environment-friendly use in Fuel Cells, is nowadays well recognized and documented. Nevertheless, in spite of several research activities in this field, the large-scale production of H2 is still a challenging issue in view of the possible transition to an H2-based economy. In this context, the development of materials capable of acting as multi-functional platforms for the sustainable generation, though representing a strategic target, is still far from being completely satisfied. In order to make feasible the dream of utilizing sunlight for sustainable energy production, it is of paramount importance to develop catalytic systems that are not affected by leaching or poisoning phenomena and possess a high photonic efficiency, in particular upon visible activation. Heterogeneous catalysis is a key area that can help solving this issue. Using the tools offered by nanotechnology, the tailored preparation of nanoarchitectures can lead to the obtainment of photocatalytic materials that show remarkably better performance than that currently achievable even with state-of-the-art materials. The main focus of this thesis is the preparation of such tailored photoactive materials and their characterization in order to obtain catalysts that are active and stable for the sustainable photocatalytic hydrogen production by photoreforming of biomass derived compounds as raw materials. Different synthetic approaches are developed in this work to achieve the above mentioned scopes. The materials were prepared either in the form of nanopowders with controlled morphology or of supported nanostructures. Embedding approach, in which preformed metal nanoparticles are encapsulated in porous titania, and photodeposition of metal nanoparticles over preformed tailored supporting titania were investigated for nanopowder materials. Different oxide-based materials were synthesized by Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) and Plasma enhanced-CVD for the supported systems. The CVD route is compatible with large-scale production, to prepare metal oxide nanostructures on Si (100), enabling the resulting metal oxide phase composition and nanoscale organization to be controlled by simple variation of the growth temperature. In addition, and more interestingly, the photocatalytic production of hydrogen on the supported catalysts upon irradiation with UV and even visible light proved that the control of the system morphogenesis is crucial to obtain good performances even in the absence of TiO2. The results obtained represent an important step forward in the exploration of new active nanosystems for the conversion of solar light into storable chemical energy. All the findings significantly contributed to the development of photocatalytic materials for hydrogen production.XXIV Ciclo196

Collaborative Interlaboratory Studies for the Validation of ELISA Methods for the Detection of Allergenic Fining Agents Used in Wine According to the Criteria of OIV Resolution 427–2010 Modified by OIV–Comex 502–2012

The clarification or fining of wine removes undesired substances (mainly proteins, phenols, and tannins), which would roil the wine and cause bitterness and astringency. A common fining agent, egg white, can be directly added to wine through the inlet of a circulating pump, but more typically egg white comes as commercial preparation in powdered form (commercially named egg albumin). Skimmed milk or more frequently purified caseinates are used to remove bitterness and hardness of white wine and sherry. Both egg white and caseinates are fining agents with optimal enological properties, but their residues could represent a risk for subjects suffering from food allergy. The rules for allergen labeling were detailed in Directives 2003/89/EC, and Directive 2005/26/EC established a list of food ingredients provisionally excluded from labeling, that included wine fining agents. Extended till June 2012, wine labeling exemption can be now maintained only if (1) egg and milk derivatives are not used and cross-contamination is under control; and (2) wine clarified with such products is negative for the presence of residues using techniques with detection and quantification limits of 0.25 and 0.5 ppm, respectively. Analytical requirements were defined in the OIV resolution 427–2010 (OIV 2010) modified by OIV/COMEX 502–2012 (OIV 2012). On the basis of a previous experience, an interlaboratory collaborative trial was organized to validate a commercial ELISA kit designed to measure allergenic residues in red wine fined with egg white proteins. In the meantime, the performance of the commercial caseinate ELISA kit for white wine was rechecked according to the new limit of detection and limit of quantification values, recommended by OIV in 2012. The collaborative interlaboratory studies showed that both ELISA kits had good reproducibility, repeatability, and robustness in detecting residues of allergenic fining agents in wine, in good agreement with the requirements of the OIV resolution 427–2010 modified by OIV/COMEX 502–2012

From: Trash to resource: Recovered-Pd from spent three-way catalysts as a precursor of an effective photo-catalyst for H2 production

The successful production of a nanostructured and highly dispersed Pd-TiO2 photo-catalyst, using [Pd(Me2dazdt)2](I3)2 (Me2dazdt = N,N\u2032-dimethyl-perhydrodiazepine-2,3-dithione) salt, obtained through the selective and safe recovery of palladium from model exhaust three-way catalysts (TWCs), is reported here. The photo-catalyst prepared by the impregnation/photo-reduction of palladium on the support showed improved performance in H2 production from methanol and in glycerol photo-reforming compared to reference photo-catalysts obtained from conventional Pd-salts. The reported results represent a case of successful palladium \u201crecovery and re-employment\u201d and thus constitute an example of green chemistry by providing, in one route, the environmentally friendly recovery of a critical metal and its employment in the renewable energy field

Posttreatment of olive mill wastewater by immobilized TiO2 photocatalysis

A photocatalytic reactor with UV/TiO2 was used for the post-treatment of olive mill wastewater after anaerobic digestion. A factorial experimental design was adopted to determine the statistical significance of each parameter tested, namely initial COD, pH, treatment time and recirculation flow, and possible interactions, in three response variables: phenols, colour, and COD removals. Removal efficiencies of 90.8 ± 2.7 %, 79.3 ± 1.9 %, and 50.3 ± 6.3 % were obtained for total phenols (TPh), colour, and COD, respectively. TPh and colour were almost completely removed after 24 h of treatment, while the COD removal was partial. Because increasing the treatment time is economically unfeasible a recirculation to the anaerobic reactor should be considered. Regarding the most significant variables, the TPh removal efficiency is dependent of the initial COD concentration; the colour removal efficiency decreased with increasing COD concentration and pH; and, the COD removal efficiency is directly linked with the treatment time. The interaction between the initial COD and treatment time affect negatively the response variables tested because of the inactivation of some active sites of the TiO2 paper.The Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) and the European Social Fund (ESF, POPH-QREN) gave financial support through the Post-Doctoral grant attributed to Jose Carlos Costa (SFRH/BDP/48 962/2008) and through the project PTDC/ENR/69 755/2006. The authors thank Dr. M.N. Pons and Dr. O. Zahraa the offer of the reactor and Mr Ing. J. Dussaud from Alstrohm (Pont-Eveque, France) for the TiO2 paper

Design and manufacture of packaging for bobbin lace products

Diplomsko delo obravnava oblikovanje in izdelavo embalaže za klekljan nakit ter vizitke, ki se povezujejo z embalažo. Cilj diplomskega dela je, da bi se za klekljan nakit izdelala posebna vrsta embalaže, ki se po navadi ne uporablja pri embaliranju nakita ter da embalaža ni za enkratno uporabo, temveč se jo lahko ponovno uporabi. Posebnost embalaže je tudi vrsta materiala, iz katerega je izdelana, saj gre za papirje in kartone izdelane iz invazivnih rastlin. Teoretični del predstavlja osnove embalaže, pomen in uporabo darilne embalaže ter pregled trga že obstoječih in uporabljenih embalaž za klekljane izdelke. V eksperimentalnem delu je opisano preizkušanje petih različnih vrst papirja, ki so jih izdelali na Inštitutu za celulozo in papir. Uporabili smo papir iz Miskantusa, dva vzorca papirja različne gramature iz Navadne robinije – »akacije« ter dva vzorca papirja različne gramature iz japonskega dresnika. Določene so bile osnovne, mehanske, površinske, strukturne in optične lastnosti papirjev. Na podlagi opravljenih meritev smo za izdelavo embalaže in vizitke izbrali visokogramska papirja iz Navadne robinije in Japonskega dresnika, saj oba vzorca izkazujeta primerno visoko razpočno in raztržno odpornost. Sama oblika embalaže za nakit je posebna, spominja na romantično kuverto. Dodan vzorec metulja nas obdaja z občutkom nežnosti ter doda 3D efekt. Kot ilustracijo, napis in logotip smo uporabljali osnovne elemente ter uporabljali samo črno barvo pri tisku.The thesis deals with the design and production of new packaging for a piece of bobbin lace jewellery and business cards, which is associated with the packaging. The goal of the thesis is to create a type of packaging for the bobbin lace jewellery, which is usualy not used in jewellery packaging, and to make the packaging reusable. The packaging is also special because of the type of material from which is made, as it is paper and paperboard produced from invasive plants. The theoretical part presents basic data about packaging, the meaning and the use of gift packaging, as well as an overview of the existing packaging for the bobbin lace products in the market. The experimental part describes the testing of five different types of paper produced at Pulp and Paper Institute in Ljubljana. Paper from Miscanthus, two samples of Robinia (black locust) paper of different grammage, and two samples of Japanese knotweed paper of different grammage were used. The basic, mechanical, surface, structural and optical properties were determined. Based on the measurements, we used high-grammage paper from Robinia and Japanese knotweed for the production of packaging and business cards, as both samples show a correspondingly high burst and tear resistance. The shape of the jewellery box itself is very special, reminiscent of a romantic envelope, and the added butterfly pattern surrounds us with a feeling of tenderness and adds a 3D effect. We used the basic elements as illustration, lettering and logo, and only used black for printing