In this work, Cyrene™ was employed for the first time as solvent for polyethersulfone (PES) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membrane preparation via phase inversion. The two selected polymers ...are among the most required materials in the industrial membrane field. PES and PVDF membranes were prepared by coupling Vapour Induced- and Non-solvent Induced Phase Separation (VIPS and NIPS, respectively) with the aim to study the influence of the adopted operational conditions on the final membrane structure and properties. By changing the exposure time to fixed atmospheric relative humidity (55%) and temperature (25 °C) in the range between 0 and 5 min, membranes with different features, pore size and pure water permeability (PWP) could be tailored. The experimental data were discussed with respect to the casting solution viscosity, ternary phase diagram, membrane morphology, thickness, porosity, contact angle, pore size and PWP. In the case of PVDF, additional differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis were performed for evaluating the polymorphism and crystallinity change of the material, which influences the membrane properties too. By working in complete absence of additives and at room temperature, the combinations PES/Cyrene™ and PVDF/Cyrene™ allowed to develop a new sustainable approach of producing membranes for potential application in water treatment.
The bioderived Cyrene™ was used as solvent for PES and PVDF membrane preparation. Display omitted
•Cyrene™ was used for the first time for PES and PVDF membrane preparation.•PES/Cyrene™ and PVDF/Cyrene™ led to membrane production in absence of additives.•PES and PVDF membranes were prepared via NIPS and VIPS-NIPS.•Micro- and ultrafiltration membranes were fabricated by using Cyrene™ as solvent.•The use Cyrene™ offers new perspectives for a more sustainable membrane fabrication.
► Production of biomethane from biogas produced from anaerobic digestion of organic matter. ► Possibility to use biomethane in the grid injection. ► Use of polymeric membrane for biogas upgrading. ► ...Cleaning biogas.
Anaerobic Digestion (AD) is a biological process that takes place naturally when bacteria break down organic matter in environments with or without oxygen. Controlled anaerobic digestion of organic waste in enclosed landfill will generate methane. Almost any organic material can be processed with AD, including waste paper and cardboard (of a grade that is too low to recycle because of food contamination), grass clippings, leftover food, industrial effluents, sewage and animal waste. AD produces biogas which is comprised of around 60% methane (CH4) and 40% carbon dioxide (CO2). This biogas can be used to generate heat or electricity and/or can be used as a vehicular fuel. If the intended use is for power generation the biogas must be scrubbed to remove a number of impurities. After conditioning the biogas can be used for onsite power generation, to heat homes or can be added to the national natural gas grid. In recent years several research groups have shown the possibility of upgrading the biogas for biomethane production 1. This study will show the feasibility of integrating anaerobic digestion plant with onsite polymeric membrane purification system for conditioned biomethane production.
•Calcined sediments and potabilization sludge were used as geopolymer precursors.•Precast geopolymer paving bricks were produced after upscaling process.•Significant results were obtained for ...sustainable production of building materials.•The proposed recycling route is very advantageous for reservoir management.
The building materials industry is facing relevant challenges in terms of sustainability requirements. The same challenge is expected for other anthropogenic activities such as reservoir management. In this study, in the light of industrial ecology approach, two wastes, namely clayey sediments and water potabilization sludge, generated through reservoir life cycle, were used in a synergistic way in the synthesis of sustainable geopolymer binders. In order to guarantee a productive equilibrium between the different yearly evolution of building materials demand and wastes production by the basin, precast materials have been regarded as optimum potential application. In this regard, calcination conditions, mix design and curing conditions were preliminarily optimized. Particularly, geopolymerization kinetics were evaluated by means of mechanical and microstructural characterization of pastes to assess the influence of early age curing conditions and mix design on the engineering performance and, afterwards, the product was upscaled to a typical precast concrete element. The whole set of results demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed recycling route, revealing highly promising perspectives for further studies and broader application field.
•Thermodynamic evaluations for the production of synthetic natural gas from biomasses.•Biomethane productivity.•Performance of the process.
The aim of the paper is to provide thermodynamic ...evaluations for the production of synthetic natural gas from biomasses in order to determine parameters such as purity and productivity obtained with different configurations process.
Analysis results showed that, fixed biomethane productivity, with a single stage of methanation, the use of a water gas shift reactor (WGS) prior to the methanation stage, may contribute to increase of purity in methane, although modest, increasing from 65% to 80vol.% The final effect is the increase of the heating value of SNG from 23 to 26MJ/Nm3.
Numerical results showed that with a single stage methanation for SNG production, in isothermal conditions, it is possible to obtain a productivity of about 0.30Nm3biomethane/Nm3syngas with a purity of 80vol.% but with different complications for the process, such as introduction of WGS stage and/or double CO2 adsorption stage.
Other evaluations are proposed in the paper in order to improve the performance of the process, such as the use of isothermal reactor although more difficult to manage compared to the pseudo adiabatic configuration plant.
Using isothermal configuration it is possible to have higher conversion levels with smaller dimensions plant and therefore it may be an alternative to conventional systems at the end to create demo as driving force for technological development.
We present the results of prompt optical follow-up of the electromagnetic counterpart of the gravitational-wave event GW170817 by the Transient Optical Robotic Observatory of the South Collaboration. ...We detected highly significant dimming in the light curves of the counterpart ( mag, mag, mag) over the course of only 80 minutes of observations obtained ∼35 hr after the trigger with the T80-South telescope. A second epoch of observations, obtained ∼59 hr after the event with the EABA 1.5 m telescope, confirms the fast fading nature of the transient. The observed colors of the counterpart suggest that this event was a "blue kilonova" relatively free of lanthanides.
ABSTRACT In this paper we present the results of our search for and study of z 6 galaxy candidates behind the third Frontier Fields (FFs) cluster, MACS J0717.5+3745, and its parallel field, combining ...data from Hubble and Spitzer. We select 39 candidates using the Lyman break technique, for which the clear non-detection in optical make the extreme mid-z interlopers hypothesis unlikely. We also take benefit from z 6 samples selected using the previous FF data sets of Abell 2744 and MACS 0416 to improve the constraints on the properties of very high redshift objects. We compute the redshift and the physical properties such emission lines properties, star formation rate, reddening, and stellar mass for all FF objects from their spectral energy distribution using templates including nebular emission lines. We study the relationship between several physical properties and confirm the trend already observed in previous surveys for evolution of star formation rate with galaxy mass and between the size and the UV luminosity of our candidates. The analysis of the evolution of the UV luminosity function with redshift seems more compatible with an evolution of density. Moreover, no robust z ≥ 8.5 object is selected behind the cluster field and few z ∼ 9 candidates have been selected in the two previous data sets from this legacy survey, suggesting a strong evolution in the number density of galaxies between z ∼ 8 and 9. Thanks to the use of the lensing cluster, we study the evolution of the star formation rate density produced by galaxies with L > 0.03 L , and confirm the strong decrease observed between z ∼ 8 and 9.
Thunderstorm-related asthma: what happens and why D'Amato, G.; Vitale, C.; D'Amato, M. ...
Clinical & experimental allergy/Clinical and experimental allergy,
03/2016, Letnik:
46, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Summary
The fifth report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change forecasts that greenhouse gases will increase the global temperature as well as the frequency of extreme weather ...phenomena. An increasing body of evidence shows the occurrence of severe asthma epidemics during thunderstorms in the pollen season, in various geographical zones. The main hypotheses explaining association between thunderstorms and asthma claim that thunderstorms can concentrate pollen grains at ground level which may then release allergenic particles of respirable size in the atmosphere after their rupture by osmotic shock. During the first 20–30 min of a thunderstorm, patients suffering from pollen allergies may inhale a high concentration of the allergenic material that is dispersed into the atmosphere, which in turn can induce asthmatic reactions, often severe. Subjects without asthma symptoms, but affected by seasonal rhinitis can also experience an asthma attack. All subjects affected by pollen allergy should be alerted to the danger of being outdoors during a thunderstorm in the pollen season, as such events may be an important cause of severe exacerbations. In light of these observations, it is useful to predict thunderstorms and thus minimize thunderstorm‐related events.
Chemotherapy plus 1-year trastuzumab is the standard adjuvant treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer. The efficacy of less extended trastuzumab exposure is under investigation. The short-HER study ...was aimed to assess the non-inferiority of 9 weeks versus 1 year of adjuvant trastuzumab combined with chemotherapy.
HER2-positive breast cancer patients with node-positive or, if node negative, with at least one risk factor (pT>2 cm, G3, lympho-vascular invasion, Ki-67 > 20%, age ≤35 years, or hormone receptor negativity) were randomly assigned to receive sequential anthracycline–taxane combinations plus 1-year trastuzumab (arm A, long) or plus 9 weeks trastuzumab (arm B, short). This study was designed as a non-inferiority trial with disease-free survival (DFS) as primary end point. A DFS hazard ratio (HR) <1.29 was chosen as the non-inferiority margin. Analyses according to the frequentist and Bayesian approach were planned. Secondary end points included 2-year failure rate and cardiac safety.
A total of 1254 patients from 82 centers were randomized (arm A, long: n = 627; arm B, short: n = 626). Five-year DFS is 88% in the long and 85% in the short arm. The HR is 1.13 (90% CI 0.89–1.42), with the upper limit of the CI crossing the non-inferiority margin. According to the Bayesian analysis, the probability that the short arm is non-inferior to the long one is 80%. The 5-year overall survival (OS) is 95.2% in the long and 95.0% in the short arm (HR 1.07, 90% CI 0.74–1.56). Cardiac events are significantly lower in the short arm (risk-ratio 0.33, 95% CI 0.22–0.50, P < 0.0001).
This study failed to show the non-inferiority of a shorter trastuzumab administration. One-year trastuzumab remains the standard. However, a 9-week administration decreases the risk of severe cardiac toxicity and can be an option for patients with cardiac events during treatment and for those with a low risk of relapse.
EUDRACT number: 2007-004326-25; NCI ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT00629278.
We present the first systematic study of the stellar populations of ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) in the field, integrating the large area search and characterization of UDGs by the SMUDGes survey ...with the twelve-band optical photometry of the S-PLUS survey. Based on Bayesian modeling of the optical colors of UDGs, we determine the ages, metallicities, and stellar masses of 100 UDGs distributed in an area of ∼330 deg2 in the Stripe 82 region. We find that the stellar masses and metallicities of field UDGs are similar to those observed in clusters and follow the trends previously defined in studies of dwarf and giant galaxies. However, field UDGs have younger luminosity-weighted ages than do UDGs in clusters. We interpret this result to mean that field UDGs have more extended star formation histories, including some that continue to form stars at low levels to the present time. Finally, we examine stellar population scaling relations that show that UDGs are, as a population, similar to other low surface brightness galaxies.
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