Liqiud-Liquid Extraction as an Alternative Separation Technique for Ethanol-Water Solutions

The feasibility of liquid extraction as an economic alternative to the ternary azeotrope distillation of an ethanol-water fermenta tion mixture was studied. Experimentation included the determination of the attractiveness of the potential solvents Freon TF, 1-pentene, ethyl ether, unleaded gasoline, and #2 diesel fuel. Selectivities and distribution coefficients for these solvents were determined. Analysis included generation of a process flowsheet and the resultant energy requirements and process economics. Unleaded gasoline was selected aver #2 diesel fuel as the more attractive solvent based on the distribution coefficients, and Freon TF, 1-pentene, and ethyl ether were ruled out as potential solvents. A fermentation plant incorporating a gasoline extraction process and a beer still to separate the fermentation mixture, with an ethanol recovery rate of 96 wt%, was found to yield an energy savings of 15.6% over a fermentation plant equipped with only a ternary azeotrope dis tillation separation process. Annual cost for this extraction scheme was found to be $3,998,600, as compared to an annual cost of$1,501,400 for the distillation process. Increasing the recovery rate of ethanol to greater than 99 wt% for the extraction process was suggested as a means to vastly improve its economics. An extraction scheme that did not include the beer still to preconcentrate the alcohol was found to be uneconomical

Presaditev pljuč v Sloveniji – izkušnje prvih treh let

Izhodišča: Presaditev pljuč je zahtevna metoda zdravljenja za izbrane bolnike z napredovalo pljučno boleznijo. Naraščanje števila primernih kandidatov in standarizacija posega sta v letu 2018 omogočila vzpostavitev transplantacijskega centra v UKC Ljubljana. Prispevek poroča o prvih rezultatih. Metode: Opravili smo analizo lastnega registra bolnikov. Rezultate smo primerjali s skupino bolnikov, ki so jim pred tem opravili presaditev v AKH Dunaj. Rezultati: Med 15. 9. 2018 in 15. 9. 2021 smo opravili 37 presaditev pljuč (od tega pri 13 ženskah). Indikacije so bile KOPB (n = 13, 35 %), pljučne fibroze (n = 7, 19 %), cistična fibroza (n = 5, 14 %), kovidna pljučnica (n = 4, 11 %), bronhiektazije (n = 3, 8 %), pljučna hipertenzija (n = 2, 5 %), limfangioleiomiomatoza (n = 1, 3 %), pomanjkanje alfa-1-antitripsina (n = 1, 3 %) in bronhiolitis (n = 1, 3 %). V primerjavi s prejšnjo skupino bolnikov, napotenih v AKH Dunaj (71 bolnikov, od tega 35 žensk), je bil delež bolnikov s KOPB višji (35 % in 16 %, p = 0,019), bolniki pa so bili starejši (mediana [razpon], 59 [14–68] in 43 [4–58] let, p = 0,001). 76 % darovanih pljuč ni ustrezalo standardnim merilom (30 % darovalcev je bilo starejših od 55 let, 22 % jih je imelo infiltrate na rentgenogramu pljuč, 24 % pa ni izpolnjevalo enega od ostalih meril), v 43 % pa je bila potrebna redukcija velikosti, kar pa ni vplivalo na primarno odpoved presadka. Kratkoročno preživetje je bili podobno v obeh skupinah (1-letno preživetje v UKC Ljubljana 89 % [95 % CI 78–99 %] in v AKH Dunaj 83 % [95 % CI 74–92 %]). Zaključek: Prvi rezultati kažejo, da so zgodnji izidi po presaditvi pljuč primerljivi pri bolnikih, ki so imeli presaditev v UKC Ljubljana ali v AKH Dunaj

Reproducibility and accuracy of microscale thermophoresis in the NanoTemper Monolith: a multi laboratory benchmark study (European Biophysics Journal, (2021), 50, 3-4, (411-427), 10.1007/s00249-021-01532-6)

Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2021.The article “Reproducibility and accuracy of microscale thermophoresis in the NanoTemper Monolith: a multi laboratory benchmark study” written by López-Méndez, B., Baron, B., Brautigam, C. A., Jowitt, T. A., Knauer, S. H., Uebel, S., Williams, M. A., Sedivy, A., Abian, O., Abreu, C., Adamczyk, M., Bal, W., Berger, S., Buell, A. K., Carolis, C., Daviter, T., Fish, A., Garcia-Alai, M., Guenther, C., Hamacek, J., Holková, J., Houser, J., Johnson, C., Kelly, S., Leech, A., Mas, C., Matulis, D., McLaughlin, S. H., Montserret, R., Nasreddine, R., Nehmé, R., Nguyen, Q., Ortega-Alarcón, D., Perez, K., Pirc, K., Piszczek, G., Podobnik, M., Rodrigo, N., Rokov-Plavec, J., Schaefer, S., Sharpe, T., Southall, J., Staunton, D., Tavares, P., Vanek, O., Weyand, M., Wu, D. was originally published Online First without Open Access. After publication in volume 50, issue 3–4, pages 411–427 the author decided to opt for Open Choice and to make the article an Open Access publication. Therefore, the copyright of the article has been changed topublishersversionpublishe

Reproducibility and accuracy of microscale thermophoresis in the NanoTemper Monolith: a multi laboratory benchmark study

Microscale thermophoresis (MST), and the closely related Temperature Related Intensity Change (TRIC), are synonyms for a recently developed measurement technique in the field of biophysics to quantify biomolecular interactions, using the (capillary-based) NanoTemper Monolith and (multiwell plate-based) Dianthus instruments. Although this technique has been extensively used within the scientific community due to its low sample consumption, ease of use, and ubiquitous applicability, MST/TRIC has not enjoyed the unambiguous acceptance from biophysicists afforded to other biophysical techniques like isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) or surface plasmon resonance (SPR). This might be attributed to several facts, e.g., that various (not fully understood) effects are contributing to the signal, that the technique is licensed to only a single instrument developer, NanoTemper Technology, and that its reliability and reproducibility have never been tested independently and systematically. Thus, a working group of ARBRE-MOBIEU has set up a benchmark study on MST/TRIC to assess this technique as a method to characterize biomolecular interactions. Here we present the results of this study involving 32 scientific groups within Europe and two groups from the US, carrying out experiments on 40 Monolith instruments, employing a standard operation procedure and centrally prepared samples. A protein–small molecule interaction, a newly developed protein–protein interaction system and a pure dye were used as test systems. We characterized the instrument properties and evaluated instrument performance, reproducibility, the effect of different analysis tools, the influence of the experimenter during data analysis, and thus the overall reliability of this method

Incidence of severe critical events in paediatric anaesthesia (APRICOT): a prospective multicentre observational study in 261 hospitals in Europe

Background Little is known about the incidence of severe critical events in children undergoing general anaesthesia in Europe. We aimed to identify the incidence, nature, and outcome of severe critical events in children undergoing anaesthesia, and the associated potential risk factors. Methods The APRICOT study was a prospective observational multicentre cohort study of children from birth to 15 years of age undergoing elective or urgent anaesthesia for diagnostic or surgical procedures. Children were eligible for inclusion during a 2-week period determined prospectively by each centre. There were 261 participating centres across 33 European countries. The primary endpoint was the occurence of perioperative severe critical events requiring immediate intervention. A severe critical event was defined as the occurrence of respiratory, cardiac, allergic, or neurological complications requiring immediate intervention and that led (or could have led) to major disability or death. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01878760. Findings Between April 1, 2014, and Jan 31, 2015, 31â127 anaesthetic procedures in 30â874 children with a mean age of 6·35 years (SD 4·50) were included. The incidence of perioperative severe critical events was 5·2% (95% CI 5·0â5·5) with an incidence of respiratory critical events of 3·1% (2·9â3·3). Cardiovascular instability occurred in 1·9% (1·7â2·1), with an immediate poor outcome in 5·4% (3·7â7·5) of these cases. The all-cause 30-day in-hospital mortality rate was 10 in 10â000. This was independent of type of anaesthesia. Age (relative risk 0·88, 95% CI 0·86â0·90; p<0·0001), medical history, and physical condition (1·60, 1·40â1·82; p<0·0001) were the major risk factors for a serious critical event. Multivariate analysis revealed evidence for the beneficial effect of years of experience of the most senior anaesthesia team member (0·99, 0·981â0·997; p<0·0048 for respiratory critical events, and 0·98, 0·97â0·99; p=0·0039 for cardiovascular critical events), rather than the type of health institution or providers. Interpretation This study highlights a relatively high rate of severe critical events during the anaesthesia management of children for surgical or diagnostic procedures in Europe, and a large variability in the practice of paediatric anaesthesia. These findings are substantial enough to warrant attention from national, regional, and specialist societies to target education of anaesthesiologists and their teams and implement strategies for quality improvement in paediatric anaesthesia. Funding European Society of Anaesthesiology

Incidence of severe critical events in paediatric anaesthesia (APRICOT): a prospective multicentre observational study in 261 hospitals in Europe

Background Little is known about the incidence of severe critical events in children undergoing general anaesthesia in Europe. We aimed to identify the incidence, nature, and outcome of severe critical events in children undergoing anaesthesia, and the associated potential risk factors. Methods The APRICOT study was a prospective observational multicentre cohort study of children from birth to 15 years of age undergoing elective or urgent anaesthesia for diagnostic or surgical procedures. Children were eligible for inclusion during a 2-week period determined prospectively by each centre. There were 261 participating centres across 33 European countries. The primary endpoint was the occurence of perioperative severe critical events requiring immediate intervention. A severe critical event was defined as the occurrence of respiratory, cardiac, allergic, or neurological complications requiring immediate intervention and that led (or could have led) to major disability or death. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01878760. Findings Between April 1, 2014, and Jan 31, 2015, 31 127 anaesthetic procedures in 30 874 children with a mean age of 6.35 years (SD 4.50) were included. The incidence of perioperative severe critical events was 5.2% (95% CI 5.0-5.5) with an incidence of respiratory critical events of 3.1% (2.9-3.3). Cardiovascular instability occurred in 1.9% (1.7-2.1), with an immediate poor outcome in 5.4% (3.7-7.5) of these cases. The all-cause 30-day in-hospital mortality rate was 10 in 10 000. This was independent of type of anaesthesia. Age (relative risk 0.88, 95% CI 0.86-0.90; p<0.0001), medical history, and physical condition (1.60, 1.40-1.82; p<0.0001) were the major risk factors for a serious critical event. Multivariate analysis revealed evidence for the beneficial effect of years of experience of the most senior anaesthesia team member (0.99, 0.981-0.997; p<0.0048 for respiratory critical events, and 0.98, 0.97-0.99; p=0.0039 for cardiovascular critical events), rather than the type of health institution or providers. Interpretation This study highlights a relatively high rate of severe critical events during the anaesthesia management of children for surgical or diagnostic procedures in Europe, and a large variability in the practice of paediatric anaesthesia. These findings are substantial enough to warrant attention from national, regional, and specialist societies to target education of anaesthesiologists and their teams and implement strategies for quality improvement in paediatric anaesthesia