•Several pre-treatments were applied for carbohydrate saccharification of three microalgal species.•Cell wall composition of microalgae determined pre-treatments efficiency.•Microwave, autoclave and ...alkaline hydrolysis resulted in poor sugar release.•Combination of pre-treatments enhanced monosaccharides release.•Cell wall disruption was essential for enzymatic attack improving sugar release.
Fermentation of carbohydrates to produce bioethanol is one of the pathways to produce biofuels from microalgae. This process currently needs many stages that are complex and energy consuming. Cell wall disruption and hydrolysis are two of the stages that must be carried out, since most carbohydrates are entrapped within the cell wall or intracellularly as energy storage in the form of starch. In the present work, physical, chemical, and enzymatic pre-treatments were performed on three microalgal species to disrupt and break down complex carbohydrates into simple sugars, as a preliminary stage to produce bioethanol. Pre-treatments were carried out alone and combined with each other. According to the results obtained in the present work, the highest concentration of monosaccharides per g of microalgae dry weight was achieved by the combination of pre-treatments; for Chlorellasorokiniana and Nannochloropsis gaditana the combination of acid hydrolysis followed by enzymatic hydrolysis produced 128and 129mg/g, respectively. In the case of Scenedesmus almeriensis the highest monosaccharide concentration (88mg/g) was obtained after acid hydrolysis with sulphuric acid for 60min at 121°C. The results obtained proved the effectiveness of the combination of acid pre-treatment and enzymatic hydrolysis to enhance complex carbohydrates break down into simple sugars in bioethanol production process from microalgal biomass.
An evaluation of the location of the photoplethysmogram (PPG) sensor for respiratory rate estimation is performed.
Finger PPG, forehead PPG, and respiratory signal were simultaneously recorded from ...35 subjects while breathing spontaneously, and during controlled respiration experiments at a constant rate from 0.1 Hz to 0.6 Hz, in 0.1 Hz steps. Four PPG-derived respiratory (PDR) signals were extracted from each one of the recorded PPG signals: pulse rate variability (PRV), pulse width variability, pulse amplitude variability and the respiratory-induced intensity variability (RIIV). Respiratory rate was estimated from each one of the four PDR signals for both PPG sensor locations. In addition, different combinations of PDR signals, power distribution of the respiratory frequency range and differences of the morphological parameters extracted from both PPG signals have been analysed.
Results show better performance in terms of successful estimation and relative error when: (i) PPG signal is recorded in the finger; (ii) the respiratory rate is less than 0.4 Hz; (iii) RIIV signal is not considered. Furthermore, lower spectral power around the respiratory rate in the PDR signals recorded from the forehead was observed.
These results suggest that respiratory rate estimation is better at lower rates (0.4 Hz and below) and that the finger is better than the forehead to estimate respiratory rate.
There is an urgent need for highly efficacious antiviral therapies in immunosuppressed hosts who develop coronavirus disease (COVID-19), with special concern for those affected by hematological ...malignancies.
Here, we report the case of a 75-year-old male with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who was deficient in CD19
CD20
B-lymphocyte populations due to previous treatment with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies. The patient presented with severe COVID-19 pneumonia due to prolonged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and was treated with two courses of the antiviral plitidepsin on a compassionate use basis. The patient subsequently achieved an undetectable viral load, and his pneumonia resolved.
Treatment with plitidepsin was well-tolerated without any further hematological or cardiovascular toxicities. This case further supports plitidepsin as a potential antiviral drug in SARS-CoV-2 patients affected by immune deficiencies and hematological malignancies.
► Two agroindustrial wastewaters are used as culture medium for microalgae production. ► Phosphorous limitation triggers lipid accumulation in produced biomass. ► Anaerobic batch experiments are ...carried out using the produced biomass. ► Lower TCOD/VS ratio (0.5) promotes higher methane yield. ► The higher lipid content (30%), the higher methane yield.
Two combined processes were studied in order to produce second generation biofuels: microalgae biomass production and its further use to produce biogas. Two 5L photobioreactors for treating wastewater from a potato processing industry (from now on RPP) and from a treated liquid fraction of pig manure (from now on RTE) were inoculated with Chlorella sorokiniana and aerobic bacteria at 24±2.7°C and 6000lux for 12h per day of light supply. The maximum biomass growth was obtained for RTE wastewater, with 26.30mg dry weightL−1d−1. Regarding macromolecular composition of collected biomass, lipid concentration reached 30.20% in RPP and 4.30% in RTE. Anaerobic digestion results showed that methane yield was highly influenced by substrate/inoculum ratio and by lipids concentration of the biomass, with a maximum methane yield of 518mL CH4 g COD−1added using biomass with a lipid content of 30% and a substrate/inoculum ratio of 0.5.
•Slaughterhouse wastewater was used for microalgal production using HRAPs.•Greenhouse and lab-scale conditions were tested for microalgal growth.•Greenhouse conditions provided the highest biomass ...production.•Neutral lipids were extracted from biomass by SCCO2 and characterized.•The extraction of FFA by SCCO2 enhanced methane production.
The performance of two 75-L high rate algal ponds (HRAPs) treating slaughterhouse wastewater was evaluated for 115days with the aim of growing microalgae to produce biofuels (biodiesel, methane). One HRAP was placed indoors under controlled conditions of temperature (25±2°C) and light supply, while the other was placed in a greenhouse under 20±6°C and 9-fold higher light supply. The hydraulic retention time (HRT) was decreased from 15 to 10days. High removal efficiencies were achieved in HRAP placed indoors (92% and 71%) and placed in the greenhouse (86% and 91%) for total chemical oxygen demand and soluble phosphorous, respectively. The maximum biomass production obtained was 12.7gvolatile suspended solids (VSS)/m2day. High quality fatty acids (FFA) were extracted by supercritical carbon dioxide, obtaining 142mgFFA/gbiomass. The highest CH4 productions were obtained from lipid exhausted biomass corresponding to greenhouse HRAP at a HRT of 10days (195mLCH4/gVSSadded).
The potential of algal–bacterial symbiosis for the removal of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus from five agro-industrial wastewaters was investigated in enclosed batch biodegradation tests using a ...mixed microalgae consortium and activated sludge as model microorganisms. The target wastewaters were obtained from potato processing (PW), fish processing (FW), animal feed production (MW), coffee manufacturing (CW) and yeast production (YW). The initial C/N/P ratio of the agro-industrial wastewater was correlated with its biodegradability. Thus, the highest removals of total organic carbon (TOC) and nitrogen were recorded in two fold diluted FW (64 ± 2 % and 85 ± 1 %, respectively), while the maximum P-PO
4
3−
removal achieved was 89 ± 1 % in undiluted PW. The biodegradable TOC was in most cases the limiting component in the treatment of the wastewaters evaluated. This study confirmed the potential of coupling carbon and nutrient recovery from agro-industrial effluents with the production of a valuable algal–bacterial biomass, despite their poor biodegradability.
Chronic musculoskeletal pain affects more than 20% of the population, and the prevalence is increasing, causing suffering, loss of quality of life, disability, and an enormous expenditure on ...healthcare resources. The most common location for chronic pain is the spine. Many of the treatments used are mainly passive (pharmacological and invasive) and poor outcomes. The treatments currently applied in the public health system do not comply with the recommendations of the main clinical practice guidelines, which suggest the use of educational measures and physical exercise as the first-line treatment. A protocol based on active coping strategies is described, which will be evaluated through a clinical trial and which could facilitate the transfer of the recommendations of the clinical practice guidelines to a primary care setting.
Randomised and multicentre clinical trials, which will be carried out in 10 Primary Care centres. The trial will compare the effect of a Pain Neuroscience Education program (six sessions, 10 h) and group physical exercise (18 sessions program carried out in six weeks, 18 h), with usual care physiotherapy treatment. Group physical exercise incorporates dual tasks, gaming, and reinforcement of contents of the educational program. The aim is to assess the effect of the intervention on quality of life, as well as on pain, disability, catastrophism, kinesiophobia, central sensitisation, and drug use. The outcome variables will be measured at the beginning of the intervention, after the intervention (week 11), at six months, and a year.
Therapeutic interventions based on active coping strategies are essential for the treatment of chronic pain and the sustainability of the Public Health System. Demonstrating whether group interventions have an effect size is essential for optimising resources in such a prevalent problem.
NCT03654235 "Retrospectively registered" 31 August 2018.
In this research, a new generation of ternary nanocomposites based on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), phosphorylated chitosan and surface modified alumina nanoparticles were fabricated in four ...steps. The phosphorylation process was targeted for the insertion of phosphorus moieties as a flame retardant agent in the final PET nanocomposite. Likewise, environmentally friendly nano-alumina was used for PET matrix to improve the thermal properties of PET in collaboration with organic anchored phosphorus moieties. Alternatively, the presence of bio-safe modified alumina nanoparticles in combination with phosphorylated chitosan simultaneously improved the antibacterial activity and thermal properties of the PET matrix. Furthermore, the effects of the phosphorylated chitosan and alumina nanoparticles on the morphology and thermal properties of nanocomposites were inspected by different approaches. The structure and distribution of the nanoscale particles in PET were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. In addition, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analyses were used for the in-depth evaluation of the thermal properties of prepared nanocomposites. Prepared nanocomposites showed better growth inhibition activities against Escherichia coli bacteria compared to the PET and PET/phosphorylated chitosan samples. Also, the thermal characteristics of prepared nanocomposites were considerably improved.
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