Estudio de viabilidad económica de la implantación de bioceldas en una planta de tratamiento de aguas residuales

Las aguas residuales generadas en la industria de los zumos se caracterizan entre otras cosas por presentar altas concentraciones de materia orgánica, la cual es muy costosa de eliminar con los tratamientos que existen actualmente.En los últimos años están surgiendo numerosos estudios en torno al uso de celdas de combustible microbiológicas o bioceldas como método de tratamiento de aguas residuales. En este artículo se ha realizado un estudio de viabilidad económica de la implantación de 10 bioceldas para tratar las aguas residuales generadas en una industria de este tipo. Para ello, se analizaron tres posibles escenarios que podrían darse utilizando estos sistemas y se compararon los resultados obtenidos con el uso de un reactor convencional de fangos activos. Los resultados obtenidos para el VAN mostraron que la utilizaciónde bioceldas podría proporcionar un ahorro comprendido entre un 10 y 20 % aproximadamente dependiendo de si es un escenario pesimista u optimista, respectivamente, teniendo en cuenta un tiempo de vida de la planta de 15 años. El área de electrodo por celda considerada en este estudio fue de 0,36 m2, la cual dio lugar a densidades de potencia algo más altas que las encontradas en la bibliografía. Por ello, se decidió realizar un análisis de sensibilidad considerando áreas de electrodo de 0,5 m2 y 0,8 m2 en las bioceldas. Se encontró que aún utilizandoáreas de 0,5 m2 el VAN seguiría siendo positivo en todos los escenarios considerados y para el valor de 0,8 m2 se obtuvieron también resultados favorables en el escenario optimista. Estos resultados muestran que siempre que se cumplan los criterios establecidos en este estudio, la depuración mediante bioceldas en una industria de este tipo podría ser una alternativa más rentable que la depuración convencional mediante fangos activos

A simple and robust high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a diode-array detector method for the analysis of genistein in mouse tissues

A simple liquid-liquid extraction procedure and quantification by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method coupled to a diode-array detector (DAD) of genistein (GEN) was developed in various mouse biological matrices. 7-ethoxycoumarin was used as internal standard (IS) and peaks were optimally separated using a Kinetex C18 column (2.6 µm, 150 mm X 2.10 mm I.D.) at 40 ºC with an isocratic elution of mobile phase with sodium dihydrogen phosphate 0.01M in water at pH 2.5 and methanol (55:45, v/v), at a flow rate of 0.25 mL/min. The injection volume was 10 µL. In all cases, the range of GEN recovery was higher than 61%. The low limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 25 ng/mL. The linearity of the calibration curves was satisfactory in all cases as shown by correlation coefficients >0.996. The within-day and between-day precisions were <15% and the accuracy ranged in all cases between 90.14 and 106.05%. This method was successfully applied to quantify GEN in liver, spleen, kidney and plasma after intravenous administration of a single dose (30 mg/Kg) in female BALB/C mice

Effect of Hesperidin with and without a Calcium (Calcilock®) Supplement on Bone Health in Postmenopausal Women

Context: Citrus fruits contain unique flavanones. One of the most abundant of the flavanones, hesperidin, has been shown to prevent bone loss in ovariectomized rats. Objective: The objective of the study was to measure the effect of hesperidin with or without calcium supplementation on bone calcium retention in postmenopausal women. Design: The study was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized-order crossover design of 500 g hesperidin with or without 500 mg calcium supplement in 12 healthy postmenopausal women. Bone calcium retention was determined from urinary excretion of the rare isotope, 41Ca, from bone. Results: Calcium plus hesperidin, but not hesperidin alone, improved bone calcium retention by 5.5% (P < .04). Conclusion: Calcium supplementation (Calcilock), in combination with hesperidin, is effective at preserving bone in postmenopausal women. - See more at: http://press.endocrine.org/doi/10.1210/jc.2015-3767#sthash.ztalWWcv.dpu

Chitosan-coated mesoporous MIL-100(Fe) nanoparticles as improved bio-compatible oral nanocarriers

Nanometric biocompatible Metal-Organic Frameworks (nanoMOFs) are promising candidates for drug delivery. Up to now, most studies have targeted the intravenous route, related to pain and severe complications; whereas nanoMOFs for oral administration, a commonly used non-invasive and simpler route, remains however unexplored. We propose here the biofriendly preparation of a suitable oral nanocarrier based on the benchmarked biocompatible mesoporous iron(III) trimesate nanoparticles coated with the bioadhesive polysaccharide chitosan (CS). This method does not hamper the textural/ structural properties and the sorption/release abilities of the nanoMOFs upon surface engineering. The interaction between the CS and the nanoparticles has been characterized through a combination of high resolution soft X-ray absorption and computing simulation, while the positive impact of the coating on the colloidal and chemical stability under oral simulated conditions is here demonstrated. Finally, the intestinal barrier bypass capability and biocompatibility of CS-coated nanoMOF have been assessed in vitro, leading to an increased intestinal permeability with respect to the noncoated material, maintaining an optimal biocompatibility. In conclusion, the preservation of the interesting physicochemical features of the CS-coated nanoMOF and their adapted colloidal stability and progressive biodegradation, together with their improved intestinal barrier bypass, make these nanoparticles a promising oral nanocarrier

Economic evaluation of the treatment of Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections (ABSSSIs) from the national payer perspective : introduction of a new treatment to the patient journey. A simulation of three European countries

The aim of this study was to develop a spending predictor model to evaluate the direct costs associated with the management of ABSSSIs from the National health-care provider's perspective of Italy, Romania, and Spain. METHODOLOGY: A decision-analytic model was developed to evaluate the diagnostic and clinical pathways of hospitalized ABSSSI patients based on scientific guidelines and real-world data. A Standard of Care (SoC) scenario was compared with a dalbavancin scenario in which the patients could be discharged early. The epidemiological and cost parameters were extrapolated from national administrative databases (i.e., hospital information system). A probabilistic sensitivity analysis (PSA) and one-way sensitivity analysis (OWA) were performed. RESULTS: Overall, the model estimated an average annual number of patients with ABSSSIs of approximately 50,000 in Italy, Spain, and Romania. On average, the introduction of dalbavancin reduced the length of stay by 3.3 days per ABSSSI patient. From an economic perspective, dalbavancin did not incur any additional cost from the National Healthcare perspective, and the results were consistent among the countries. The PSA and OWA demonstrated the robustness of these results. CONCLUSION: This model represents a useful tool for policymakers by providing information regarding the economic and organizational consequences of an early discharge approach in ABSSSI management

Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine: Brussels, Belgium. 15-18 March 2016.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]