•Antipyrine, caffeine, carbamazepine, ciprofloxacin and sulfamethoxazol were completely degraded.•Solar/Fe/H2O2 and solar/Fe/S2O82− system mediated by EDDS have been compared.•Different Fe:EDDS ...ratios, initial iron species and oxidant agents have been tested.•Best ratio for solar/Fe:EDDS/H2O2 was 1:2 and 1:1 for solar/Fe:EDDS/S2O82−.
The main purpose of this pilot plant study was to compare degradation of five microcontaminants (MCs) (antipyrine, carbamazepine, caffeine, ciprofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole at 100 μg/L) by solar photo-Fenton mediated by EDDS and solar/Fe:EDDS/S2O82−. The effects of the Fe:EDDS ratio (1:1 and 1:2), initial iron species (Fe(II) or Fe(III) at 0.1 mM) and oxidizing agent (S2O82− or H2O2 at 0.25–1.5 mM) were evaluated. The higher the S2O82− concentration, the faster MC degradation was, with S2O82− consumption always below 0.6 mM and similar degradation rates with Fe(II) and Fe(III). Under the best conditions (Fe 0.1 mM, Fe:EDDS 1:1, S2O82− 1 mM) antipyrine, carbamazepine, caffeine, ciprofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole at 100 μg/L where 90% eliminated applying a solar energy of 2 kJ/L (13 min at 30 W/m2 solar radiation <400 nm). Therefore, S2O82− promotes lower consumption of EDDS as Fe:EDDS 1:1 was better than Fe:EDDS 1:2. In photo-Fenton-like processes at circumneutral pH, EDDS with S2O82- is an alternative to H2O2 as an oxidizing agent.
Inflammation has classically been defined histopathologically, especially by the presence of immune cell infiltrates. However, more recent studies suggest a role for "low-grade" inflammation in a ...variety of disorders ranging from metabolic syndrome to cancer, which is defined by modest elevations in pro-inflammatory gene expression. Consequently, there is a need for cost-effective, non-invasive biomarkers that, ideally, would have the sensitivity to detect low-grade inflammation and have a dynamic range broad enough to reflect classic robust intestinal inflammation. Herein, we report that, for assessment of intestinal inflammation, fecal lipocalin 2 (Lcn-2), measured by ELISA, serves this purpose. Specifically, using a well-characterized mouse model of DSS colitis, we observed that fecal Lcn-2 and intestinal expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, CXCL1, TNFα) are modestly but significantly induced by very low concentrations of DSS (0.25 and 0.5%), and become markedly elevated at higher concentrations of DSS (1.0 and 4.0%). As expected, careful histopathologic analysis noted only modest immune infiltrates at low DSS concentration and robust colitis at higher DSS concentrations. In accordance, increased levels of the neutrophil product myeloperoxidase (MPO) was only detected in mice given 1.0 and 4.0% DSS. In addition, fecal Lcn-2 marks the severity of spontaneous colitis development in IL-10 deficient mice. Unlike histopathology, MPO, and q-RT-PCR, the assay of fecal Lcn-2 requires only a stool sample, permits measurement over time, and can detect inflammation as early as 1 day following DSS administration. Thus, assay of fecal Lcn-2 by ELISA can function as a non-invasive, sensitive, dynamic, stable and cost-effective means to monitor intestinal inflammation in mice.
► Exergy analysis was used as decision-making tool for evaluation of microalgae oil extraction. ► A robust composition of Chlorella sp. biomass was modeled and used for simulation. ► Three ...solvent-based microalgae oil extraction methods at large scale were compared. ► Hexane based extraction presented the highest exergetic efficiency.
Several technologies for microalgae oil extraction are being evaluated in order to find the most adequate for large scale microalgae processing. In this work, exergy analysis was used as an instrument for screening three design alternatives for microalgae oil extraction in a large-scale process and as a decision-making tool for evaluation and selection of novel technologies from the energy point of view. Routes were simulated using dedicated industrial process simulation software, taking as feedstock a representative and robust modeled composition of Chlorella sp. microalgae biomass. Mass, energy and exergy balances were performed for each alternative, and physical and chemical exergies of streams and all specific microalgae constituents modeled were calculated with the help of the thermodynamic properties of biomass components and operating conditions of streams.
Exergetic efficiencies, total process irreversibilities, energy consumption and exergy destruction were calculated for all solvent-based microalgae oil extraction pathways evaluated. It was shown that exergy analysis led to identify the hexane-based oil extraction (HBE) as the most adequate alternative of the routes assessed for scaling up from the energy point of view, presenting a maximum exergy efficiency of 51% and exergetic losses of 982,000MJ considering a production of 104,000t of microalgae oil per year.
Climate change has significantly impacted tropical ecosystems critical for sustaining local economies and community livelihoods at global scales. Coastal ecosystems have largely declined, threatening ...the principal source of protein, building materials, tourism-based revenue, and the first line of defense against storm swells and sea level rise (SLR) for small tropical islands. Climate change has also impacted public health (i.e., altered distribution and increased prevalence of allergies, water-borne, and vector-borne diseases). Rapid human population growth has exacerbated pressure over coupled social–ecological systems, with concomitant non-sustainable impacts on natural resources, water availability, food security and sovereignty, public health, and quality of life, which should increase vulnerability and erode adaptation and mitigation capacity. This paper examines cumulative and synergistic impacts of climate change in the challenging context of highly vulnerable small tropical islands. Multiple adaptive strategies of coupled social–ecological ecosystems are discussed. Multi-level, multi-sectorial responses are necessary for adaptation to be successful.
•Climate change and sea level rise have impacted tropical islands at a global scale.•Impacts have resulted in declining local economies, livelihoods and public health.•Changes may enhance vulnerabilities through a combination of feedback mechanisms.•Multi-level, multi-sectorial responses are necessary for adaptation to be successful.•Rapid adaptive responses are necessary before impacts become irreversible.
We construct a topological invariant that classifies density matrices of symmetry-protected topological orders in two-dimensional fermionic systems. As it is constructed out of the previously ...introduced Uhlmann phase, we refer to it as the topological Uhlmann number n_{U}. With it, we study thermal topological phases in several two-dimensional models of topological insulators and superconductors, computing phase diagrams where the temperature T is on an equal footing with the coupling constants in the Hamiltonian. Moreover, we find novel thermal-topological transitions between two nontrivial phases in a model with high Chern numbers. At small temperatures we recover the standard topological phases as the Uhlmann number approaches to the Chern number.
The construction of a quantum computer remains a fundamental scientific and technological challenge because of the influence of unavoidable noise. Quantum states and operations can be protected from ...errors through the use of protocols for quantum computing with faulty components. We present a quantum error-correcting code in which one qubit is encoded in entangled states distributed over seven trapped-ion qubits. The code can detect one bit flip error, one phase flip error, or a combined error of both, regardless on which of the qubits they occur. We applied sequences of gate operations on the encoded qubit to explore its computational capabilities. This seven-qubit code represents a fully functional instance of a topologically encoded qubit, or color code, and opens a route toward fault-tolerant quantum computing.
Summary
Biodiversity is responsible for the provision of many ecosystem services; human well‐being is based on these services, and consequently on biodiversity. In soil, earthworms represent the ...largest component of the animal biomass and are commonly termed ‘ecosystem engineers’. This review considers the contribution of earthworms to ecosystem services through pedogenesis, development of soil structure, water regulation, nutrient cycling, primary production, climate regulation, pollution remediation and cultural services. Although there has been much research into the role of earthworms in soil ecology, this review demonstrates substantial gaps in our knowledge related in particular to difficulties in identifying the effects of species, land use and climate. The review aims to assist people involved in all aspects of land management, including conservation, agriculture, mining or other industries, to obtain a broad knowledge of earthworms and ecosystem services.
Toll-like receptors control autophagy Delgado, Mónica A; Elmaoued, Rasha A; Davis, Alexander S ...
The EMBO journal,
April 9, 2008, Volume:
27, Issue:
7
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Autophagy is a newly recognized innate defense mechanism, acting as a cell‐autonomous system for elimination of intracellular pathogens. The signals and signalling pathways inducing autophagy in ...response to pathogen invasion are presently not known. Here we show that autophagy is controlled by recognizing conserved pathogen‐associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). We screened a PAMP library for effects on autophagy in RAW 264.7 macrophages and found that several prototype Toll‐like receptor (TLR) ligands induced autophagy. Single‐stranded RNA and TLR7 generated the most potent effects. Induction of autophagy via TLR7 depended on MyD88 expression. Stimulation of autophagy with TLR7 ligands was functional in eliminating intracellular microbes, even when the target pathogen was normally not associated with TLR7 signalling. These findings link two innate immunity defense systems, TLR signalling and autophagy, provide a potential molecular mechanism for induction of autophagy in response to pathogen invasion, and show that the newly recognized ability of TLR ligands to stimulate autophagy can be used to treat intracellular pathogens.
To date, this is the largest prospective series in patients with malignant colorectal obstruction to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of colonic self-expanding metal stents (SEMSs) as an ...alternative to emergency surgery. SEMSs allow restoration of bowel transit and careful tumor staging in preparation for elective surgery, hence avoiding the high morbidity and mortality associated with emergency surgery and stoma creation.
This report is on the SEMS bridge-to-surgery subset enrolled in two multicenter international registries. Patients were treated per standard of practice, with documentation of clinical and procedural success, safety, and surgical outcomes.
A total of 182 patients were enrolled with obstructive tumor in the left colon (85%), rectum (11%), or splenic flexure (4%). Of these patients, 86% had localized colorectal cancer without metastasis. Procedural success was 98% (177/181). Clinical success was 94% (141/150). Elective surgery was performed in 150 patients (9 stomas) and emergency surgery in 7 patients for treatment of a complication (3 stomas). The overall complication rate was 7.8% (13/167), including perforation in 3% (5/167), stent migration in 1.2% (2/167), bleeding in 0.6% (1/167), persistent colonic obstruction in 1.8% (3/167), and stent occlusion due to fecal impaction in 1.2% (2/167). One patient died from complications related to surgical management of a perforation.
SEMSs provide an effective bridge to surgery treatment with an acceptable complication rate in patients with acute malignant colonic obstruction, restoring luminal patency and allowing elective surgery with primary anastomosis in most patients.
A general approach toward the light‐induced guest release from cucurbit7uril by means of a photoactivatable competitor was devised. An o‐nitrobenzyl‐caged competitor is photolyzed to generate a ...competitive guest that can displace cargo from the host macrocycle solely based on considerations of chemical equilibrium. With this method the release of terpene guests from inclusion complexes with cucurbit7uril was demonstrated. The binding of the herein investigated terpenes, all being lead fragrant components in essential oils, has been characterized for the first time. They feature binding constants of up to 108 L mol−1 and a high differential binding selectivity (spanning four orders of magnitude for the binding constants for the particular set of terpenes). By fine‐tuning the photoactivatable competitor guest, selective and also sequential release of the terpenes was achieved.
The competition is on: The phototriggered generation of competitor guests from o‐nitrobenzyl‐caged precursors can be used to displace functional guests from the cucurbit7uril cavity. This general approach was harnessed for the light‐triggered release of terpene fragrances from a supramolecule in a selective and also sequential manner.
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