Biogas upgrading by physical water washing in a micro-pilot absorption column conducted at low temperature and pressure

The European Energy Policy has currently two main goals to reach: to minimize exposure to volatility of fossil fuel prices and to reduce of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To reach these targets a practical way, among the others is represented by the biogas production by anaerobic digestion (Bonoli et al., 2014) (AD) and its upgrading to biomethane. In this work the absorption of CO2is studied using a column working at atmospheric pressure and low temperature (599%) and a stream of methane (>99.9 %) in order to reproduce a typical raw biogas composition, i.e. molar fraction of methane of about 0.6. The internal temperature was monitored by a thermocouple and the inlet and outlet flow of biogas (G) was measured using a mass flowmeter while the water flow rate (L) was monitored using a magnetic induction flowmeter. The compositions were determined using a 3000A micro-Gas Chromatograph Agilent, previously calibrated. The temperature was varied between 6.5 and 20 °C and the water flow rate between about 0.5 and 5 L/h. The composition of the gas exiting the micro-pilot plant was monitored every 5 minutes until the stationary condition

Photocatalytic porcelain grés large slabs digitally coated with AgNPs-TiO2

TiO2 is employed as both photocatalytic and structural materials, leading to its applications in external coatings or in interior furnishing devices, including cement mortar, tiles, floorings, and glass supports. The authors have already demonstrated the efficiency of photoactive micro-sized TiO2 and here its industrial use is reported using the digital printing to coat porcelain gr\ue9s slabs. Many advantages are immediately evident, namely rapid and precise deposition, no waste of raw materials, thus positively affecting the economy of the process. Data for the thin films deposited by digital printing were compared with those obtained for the conventional spray method. The use of metal-doped TiO2 is also reported so that the photoactivity of these materials can be exploited even under LED light. The digital inkjet printed coatings exhibited superior photocatalytic performance owing to both higher exposed surface area and greater volume of deposited anatase, as well as the greater areal distribution density of thinly and thickly coated regions. Moreover, the presence of TiO2 doped silver increased the efficiency of the materials in NOx degradation both under UVA and LED lights

An ultrasound-assisted photocatalytic treatment to remove an herbicidal pollutant from wastewaters

Pollutants of emerging concern contaminate surface and ground water. Advanced oxidation processes treat these molecules and degrade them into smaller compounds or mineralization products. However, little information on coupled advanced oxidation techniques and on the degradation pathways of these pollutants is available to identify possible ecotoxic subproducts. In the present work, we investigate the ultrasound assisted photocatalytic degradation pathway of the herbicide Isoproturon. We worked in batch mode in a thermostatic glass reactor. We compared the activity of nanometric TiO2 P25 with that of Kronos 1077, a micrometric TiO2. We discuss the individual, additive and synergistic degradation action of photolysis, sonolysis, sonophotolysis, and sonophotocatalysis by varying catalyst loading and/or ultrasound power for the last three techniques. With 0.1 g L 121 catalyst, photocatalysis and sonophotopcatalysis completely degrade Isoproturon within 240 min and 60 min, respectively (>99% conversion). Sonophotocatalysis breaks Isoproturon down into smaller molecules than photocatalysis alone

Cyclosporin A exacerbates skin irritation induced by tributyltin by increasing nuclear factor \u3bab activation

In searching for pharmacologic agents able to reduce xenobiotic-induced skin irritation, we found that cyclosporine A exacerbates the skin irritation induced by tributyltin. We previously demonstrated the involvement of interleukin-1\u3b1 and tumor necrosis factor \u3b1 in tributyltin-induced skin irritation. Here, we show that cyclosporine A (28 mg per kg), at a dose that results in systemic immunosuppression, potentiates tributyltin-induced skin irritation through increased tumor necrosis factor \u3b1 production, associated with increased tributyltin-induced activation of transcription factor nuclear factor \u3baB in cyclosporine-A-treated mice. On the other hand, under the same experimental conditions, cyclosporine A prevented the elicitation phase of oxazolone-induced contact allergy, but was ineffective in preventing benzalkonium-chloride-induced skin irritation. Using a murine keratinocyte cell line (HEL30) we demonstrated, also in vitro, that the cyclosporine A potentiates tributyltin-induced nuclear factor \u3baB activation and cytokine production, this being preceded by an increase in cellular oxidative activity, essential for nuclear factor \u3baB activation, that is time and dose (0.1-10 \u3bcM) dependent. This effect was not exclusive to tributyltin but could be extended to other mitochondrial poisons such as sodium arsenate. It has been reported that cyclosporine A binds to cyclophilins. An 18-mer antisense phosphor-othioate oligodeoxynucleotide was used to target mitochondrial cyclophilin D mRNA. After 24 h exposure to the oligonucleotide, the amount of cyclophilin D in the cells was decreased by 54% as judged by Western blot analysis. Cyclophilin D suppression prevented cyclosporine A potentiation of tributyltin-induced cellular oxidative activity, indicating the key role of the binding of cyclosporine A to mitochondrial cyclophilin D in mediating this effect

Ultrasonic free fatty acids esterification in tobacco and canola oil

Ultrasound accelerates the free fatty acids esterification rate by reducing the mass transfer resistance between methanol in the liquid phase and absorbed organic species on Amberlyst\uae46 catalyst. The reaction rates of canola oil is three times greater than for tobacco seed oil but half the reaction rate of pure oleic acid as measured in a batch reactor. The beneficial effects of ultrasound vs. the conventional approach are more pronounced at lower temperatures (20 \ub0C and 40 \ub0C vs. 63 \ub0C): at 20 \ub0C, the free fatty acids conversion reaches 68% vs. 23% with conventional mechanical stirring. The increased conversion is attributed to acoustic cavitation that increases mass transfer in the vicinity of the active sites. The Eley-Rideal kinetic model in which the concentration of the reacting species is expressed taking into account the mass transfer between the phases is in excellent agreement with the experimental data. Ultrasound increases the mass transfer coefficient in the tobacco oil 6 and 4.1 fold at 20 \ub0C and 40 \ub0C, respectively

THE INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT POSTURAL POSITIONS AND VISUAL INPUT ON RECRUITMENT OF MASTICATORY MUSCLES: A FEASIBILITY STUDY

reserved9mixedRozin Kleiner, Ana Francisca; Pimenta Ferreira, Cláudia Lucia; Cestaro, Giovana; Fosatto Luiz, Regiani Elvira; da Silva, Vania Daniela Ramos; Nanussi, Alessandro; Zago, Matteo; Sforza, Chiarella; Galli, ManuelaRozin Kleiner, Ana Francisca; Pimenta Ferreira, Cláudia Lucia; Cestaro, Giovana; Fosatto Luiz, Regiani Elvira; da Silva, Vania Daniela Ramos; Nanussi, Alessandro; Zago, Matteo; Sforza, Chiarella; Galli, Manuel

Clinical and instrumental assessment of herniated discs after nucleoplasty: A preliminary study

Background and Aim: The therapy for low back pain boasts different approaches; one of these is nucleoplasty. We wanted to assess the effectiveness of nucleoplasty both by clinical response both by MR imaging evaluation, including even extrusions larger than one third of the spinal canal. Methods: Fifty-seven patients were treated with nucleoplasty in our hospital, 11 of these patients accepted both clinical and MRI evaluation after six months from treatment. The clinical evaluation was performed with Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of pain, scored before and after the procedure. MRI evaluation consisted of analysing some imaging parameters of disc protrusions before and after the treatment. Results: In 10 out of 11 (91%) patients, VAS was reduced and only 1 out of 11 (9%) had the same pain after procedure. The mean of decrease of VAS score was 64%. In our population 8/11 (72%) patients had a herniation larger than 1/3 of the sagittal diameter of spinal canal and 100% of them had an improvement with a mean VAS reduction value of 75%. With MRI evaluation, the mean percentage of expulsion before and after treatment was respectively 40% and 34%. The expulsion decreased in 7/13 discs, remained equal in 4/13, and increased in 2/13 discs. Among the 9 larger protrusions, 3 didn\u2019t change, 6 reduced with a decrease mean value of 13%. Other MRI parameters didn\u2019t change significantly. Conclusions: Our preliminary experience supports the success of coblation on pain relief, aiming to show progressively that this treatment is suitable even in case of great extrusions, which are generally treated only with surgical approach. It\u2019s not clear the usefulness of MRI control yet, even if in most of cases we could have found a certain reduction of expulsion degree

Interleukin-1 beta released by gp120 drives neural death through tyrosine phosphorylation and trafficking of NMDA receptors

Interleukin-1 beta is a proinflammatory cytokine implicated under pathological conditions involving NMDA receptor activation, including the AIDS dementia complex (HAD). No information is available on the molecular mechanisms recruited by native interleukin-1 beta produced under this type of condition. Using a sandwich co-culture of primary hippocampal neurons and glia, we investigated whether native interleukin-1 beta released by HIV-gp120-activated glia (i) affects NMDAR functions and (ii) the relevance on neuronal spine density and survival, two specific traits of HAD. Increased phosphorylation of NR2B Tyr-1472 was observed after 24 h of exposure of neurons to 600 pM gp120. This effect occurred only when neurons were treated in the presence of glial cells and was abolished by the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra). Gp120-induced phosphorylation of NR2B resulted in a sustained elevation of intracellular Ca2+ in neurons and in a significant increase of NR2B binding to PSD95. Increased intracellular Ca2+ was prevented by 10 mu M ifenprodil, that selectively inhibits receptors containing the NR2B, by interleukin-1ra and by Ca-pYEEIE, a Src family SH2 inhibitor peptide. These last two inhibitors, prevented also NR2B binding to PSD95. Finally, gp120 reduced by 35% of the total PSD95 positive spine density after 48 h of treatment and induced by 30% of the neuronal death. Again, both of these effects were blocked by Ca-pYEEIE. Altogether, our data show that gp120 releasing interleukin-1 beta from glia increases tyrosine phosphorylation of NMDAR. Thus, tyrosine phosphorylation may contribute to the sensitization of the receptor increasing its function and synaptic localization. Both of these effects are relevant for neurodegeneration

Age-related decline in RACK-1 expression in human leukocytes is correlated to plasma levels of dehydroepiandrosterone

Aging is associated with remodeling of the immune system, contributing to increased incidence of infections, autoimmune diseases, and cancer among the elderly. Alterations in several signal transduction pathways have been reported to play an important role in immunosenescence. We show that peripheral blood leukocytes obtained from old donors ((greater-than or equal to)65 years) have a significantly reduced expression of receptor for activated C kinase 1 (RACK-1), a protein required for protein kinase C (PKC)-(beta) signaling, as compared with young donors ((less-than or equal to)40 years), both in males and females. The decline in RACK-1 immunoboth in reactivity was age-related (Spearman correlation, r=-0.278, P=0.012). All leukocyte subpopulations, namely lympho-monocytes, granulocytes, and B and T cells, showed a similar defect. We also observed a direct correlation between circulating dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and RACK-1 expression in leukocytes (Spearman correlation, r=0.388, P=0.001). Furthermore, in vitro treatment with DHEA resulted in increased RACK-1 expression in leukocytes and lymphocyte proliferation, confirming the role of this hormone in the modulation of its expression and immune functions. A relevant consequence of RACK-1-reduced expression was the observation that release of tumor necrosis factor (alpha) following lipopolysaccharide challenge and mitogen-induced lymphocye proliferation, which involves PKC-(beta) activation, was significantly reduced in elderly subjects. Overall, our findings contribute to the understanding of the complex process of immunosenescence and identify age-related loss in immunological responses as partially associated with decreased RACK-1 expression. (copyright) Society for Leukocyte Biology

In vivo dehydroepiandrosterone restores age-associated defects in the protein kinase C signal transduction pathway and related functional responses

Elderly subjects are at increased risk of pneumonia, influenza, and tuberculosis. Besides the known age-related decrease in mechanisms for mechanical clearance of the lungs, impaired alveolar macrophage function contributes to the increased risk of illness in the elderly. We have previously shown that age-induced macrophage immunodeficiencies are associated with a defective system for anchoring protein kinase C. Castration of young male rats produces effects on alveolar macrophages similar to those of aging, suggesting a relationship between circulating sex hormones, particularly androgens, and the decreases in the receptor for activated C kinase (RACK-1) and macrophage function observed. The aging process in humans and rats is associated with a decline in the plasma concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfate, among other steroid hormones. We report here that in vitro and in vivo administration of DHEA to rats restores the age-decreased level of RACK-1 and the LPS-stimulated production of TNF-\u3b1 in alveolar macrophages. DHEA in vivo also restores age-decreased spleen mitogenic responses and the level of RACK-1 expression. These findings suggest that the age-related loss in immunological responses, linked to defective pathways of signal transduction, are partially under hormonal control and can be restored by appropriate replacement therapy