This work proves for the first time the bioelectrochemical production of butyrate from CO2 as a sole carbon source. The highest concentration of butyrate achieved was 20.2 mMC, with a maximum ...butyrate production rate of 1.82 mMC d(-1). The electrochemical characterisation demonstrated that the CO2 reduction to butyrate was hydrogen driven. Production of ethanol and butanol was also observed opening up the potential for biofuel production.
Despite that basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is curative in the vast majority of cases, some patients are at high risk of recurrence and, in a few patients, lesions can progress to a point unsuitable for ...local therapy and prognosis is quite poor. The aim of the present work is to review clinical and pathologic characteristics as well as classical and new treatment options for high-risk, metastatic and locally advanced BCC. Surgery and radiotherapy remain the selected treatments for the majority of high-risk lesions. However, some patients are located on a blurry clinical boundary between high-risk and locally advanced BCC. Treatment of these patients is challenging and need an individualized and highly specialized approach. The treatment of locally advanced BCC, in which surgery or radiotherapy is unfeasible, inappropriate or contraindicated, and metastatic BCC has changed with new Hedgehog pathway inhibitors of which vismodegib is the first drug approved by FDA and EMA.
The growing development of technologies and processes for resource treatment and recovery is offering endless possibilities for creating new plant-wide configurations or modifying existing ones. ...However, the configurations’ complexity, the interrelation between technologies and the influent characteristics turn decision-making into a complex or unobvious process. In this frame, the Plant-Wide Modelling (PWM) library presented in this paper allows a thorough, comprehensive and refined analysis of different plant configurations that are basic aspects in decision-making from an energy and resource recovery perspective. In order to demonstrate the potential of the library and the need to run simulation analyses, this paper carries out a comparative analysis of WWTPs, from a techno-economic point of view. The selected layouts were (1) a conventional WWTP based on a modified version of the Benchmark Simulation Model No. 2, (2) an upgraded or retrofitted WWTP, and (3) a new Wastewater Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRF) concept denominated as C/N/P decoupling WWTP. The study was based on a preliminary analysis of the organic matter and nutrient energy use and recovery options, a comprehensive mass and energy flux distribution analysis in each configuration in order to compare and identify areas for improvement, and a cost analysis of each plant for different influent COD/TN/TP ratios. Analysing the plants from a standpoint of resources and energy utilization, a low utilization of the energy content of the components could be observed in all configurations. In the conventional plant, the COD used to produce biogas was around 29%, the upgraded plant was around 36%, and 34% in the C/N/P decoupling WWTP. With regard to the self-sufficiency of plants, achieving self-sufficiency was not possible in the conventional plant, in the upgraded plant it depended on the influent C/N ratio, and in the C/N/P decoupling WWTP layout self-sufficiency was feasible for almost all influents, especially at high COD concentrations. The plant layouts proposed in this paper are just a sample of the possibilities offered by current technologies. Even so, the library presented here is generic and can be used to construct any other plant layout, provided that a model is available.
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•Comparative analysis of evolutionary WWTP, from a techno-economic point of view.•Analysis of organic matter and nutrient energy use and recovery options.•Comparative analysis of COD and nutrient flux distributions in evolutionary plants.•Analysis of the costs distributions in WWTPs for different influent COD/N/P ratios.•Simulations based on the Plant-wide modelling methodology.
Summary
Background
The number needed to treat (NNT) ratio is an effective method for measuring accuracy in melanoma detection. Dermoscopy reduces the number of false positives and subsequently ...unnecessary excisions. In vivo reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is a noninvasive technique that allows examination of the skin with cellular resolution.
Objectives
To assess the impact of RCM analysis on the number of equivocal lesions, assumed to be melanocytic, excised for every melanoma.
Methods
Consecutive patients (n = 343) presenting with doubtful lesions were considered for enrolment. The lesions were analysed by dermoscopy and RCM, with histopathological assessment considered the reference standard. The main outcome was the NNT, calculated as the proportion of equivocal lesions excised for every melanoma.
Results
Dermoscopy alone obtained a hypothetical NNT of 3·73; the combination of dermoscopy and RCM identified 264 equivocal lesions that qualified for excision, 92 of which were confirmed to be a melanoma, resulting in an NNT of 2·87, whereas the analysis of RCM images classified 103 lesions as melanoma, with a consequent NNT of 1·12. The difference in the reduction of this ratio was statistically significant between the three groups (P < 0·0001). There was no significant improvement in sensitivity when comparing the combination of dermoscopy and RCM with RCM alone (94·6% vs. 97·8%; P = 0·043). However, the differences between specificities were statistically significant (P < 1 × 10−6), favouring RCM alone.
Conclusion
The addition of RCM analysis to dermoscopy reduces unnecessary excisions with a high diagnostic accuracy and could be a means for reducing the economic impact associated with the management of skin cancer.
What's already known about this topic?
Dermoscopy enhances the diagnostic accuracy for melanoma and dramatically decreases the number need to treat ratio when used by properly trained dermatologists.
Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is a novel technique that provides a significant improvement in melanoma detection.
What does this study add?
The addition of RCM to dermoscopy has a significant impact on the number of dermoscopically equivocal pigmented lesions excised for every melanoma, reducing the excision of benign lesions.
Summary
Background
Germline mutations in telomere‐related genes such as POT1 and TERT predispose individuals to familial melanoma.
Objectives
To evaluate the prevalence of germline mutations in POT1 ...and TERT in a large cohort of Spanish melanoma‐prone families (at least two affected first‐ or second‐degree relatives).
Methods
Overall, 228 CDKN2A wild‐type melanoma‐prone families were included in the study. Screening of POT1 was performed in one affected person from each family and TERT was sequenced in one affected patient from 202 families (26 families were excluded owing to DNA exhaustion/degradation). TERT promoter sequencing was extended to an additional 30 families with CDKN2A mutation and 70 patients with sporadic multiple primary melanoma (MPM) with a family history of other cancers.
Results
We identified four families with potentially pathogenic POT1 germline mutations: a missense variant c.233T>C (p.Ile78Thr); a nonsense variant c.1030G>T (p.Glu344*); and two other variants, c.255G>A (r.125_255del) and c.1792G>A (r.1791_1792insAGTA, p.Asp598Serfs*22), which we confirmed disrupted POT1 mRNA splicing. A TERT promoter variant of unknown significance (c.‐125C>A) was detected in a patient with MPM, but no germline mutations were detected in TERT promoter in cases of familial melanoma.
Conclusions
Overall, 1·7% of our CDKN2A/CDK4‐wild type Spanish melanoma‐prone families carry probably damaging mutations in POT1. The frequency of TERT promoter germline mutations in families with melanoma in our population is extremely rare.
What's already known about this topic?
Germline mutations in telomere‐related genes predispose to familial melanoma.
The prevalence of germline mutations in telomere‐related genes has not been widely studied in melanoma families of Iberian descent.
What does this study add?
This study evaluates for the first time the prevalence of POT1 and TERT promoter mutations in a hospital‐based series of 228 CDKN2A‐negative families with melanoma from Barcelona, Spain.
We identified POT1, but no TERT promoter, mutations in 1·7% of families.
The results will facilitate genetic counselling and screening of families with melanoma.
What is the translational message?
Analysis of telomere‐related genes showed rare POT1 variants in a subset of Spanish melanoma‐prone families, while mutations in the TERT promoter were extremely rare.
If extended to additional families and cancer types, these findings may have important implications for genetic counselling.
Linked Comment: Toland. Br J Dermatol 2019; 181:14–15.
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In the developed world, individuals spend most of their time indoors. Poor Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) has a wide range of effects on human health. The burden of disease associated with indoor air ...accounts for millions of premature deaths related to exposure to Indoor Air Pollutants (IAPs). Among them, CO2 is the most common one, and is commonly used as a metric of IAQ. Indoor CO2 concentrations can be significantly higher than outdoors due to human metabolism and activities. Even in presence of ventilation, controlling the CO2 concentration below the Indoor Air Guideline Values (IAGVs) is a challenge, and many indoor environments including schools, offices and transportation exceed the recommended value of 1000 ppmv. This is often accompanied by high concentration of other pollutants, including bio-effluents such as viruses, and the importance of mitigating the transmission of airborne diseases has been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, the relatively high CO2 concentration of indoor environments presents a thermodynamic advantage for direct air capture (DAC) in comparison to atmospheric CO2 concentration. This review aims to describe the issues associated with poor IAQ, and to demonstrate the potential of indoor CO2 DAC to purify indoor air while generating a renewable carbon stream that can replace conventional carbon sources as a building block for chemical production, contributing to the circular economy.
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•Environmental pressure requires further use of renewable energy and carbon sources.•Indoor CO2 from Direct Air Capture is assessed as potential renewable carbon feedstock.•Environmental and health risks associated to CO2 exposure are presented.•Factors influencing CO2 concentration in representative indoor air are reviewed.•Envisioned solutions aim to capture indoor air pollutants to transform them into green chemicals.
Distribution of improved germplasm of Theobroma cacao is essential for meeting the increased demand for cocoa beans. In cacao, the introduction of new diseases is prevented by exchanging material ...through a national and international quarantine system. In 2020, virus symptoms were observed on plants in a quarantine greenhouse, and Cacao mild mosaic virus (CaMMV) was detected in one plant using published diagnostic primers. However, no virus was detected in other symptomatic plants. To address high pathogen diversity and low virus titer in recently infected plants, a nested PCR test was developed based on 15 CaMMV sequences from Trinidad and Puerto Rico. The test was validated on a subset (n = 30) of plants in the greenhouse, of which 29 tested positive. Most infections are thought to have occurred during the later stage of the quarantine period, possibly due to spread by mealybugs. However, phylogenetic analysis revealed the presence of three strains, suggesting that it was introduced on scionwood from multiple sources. Results of PCR assays on different leaf tissues indicate that the virus is unevenly distributed and that petiole tissue should be used in molecular diagnostics. The movement of infected scionwood is a major dissemination pathway for CaMMV but can be managed through careful screening.
Summary
Background
Ex vivo fluorescence confocal microscopy (FCM) enables real‐time imaging of skin morphology directly in freshly excised tissue. FCM displays wide field‐of‐view mosaics with ...cellular resolution, thus enabling a rapid bedside pathology. An application of interest is rapid detection of residual basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in skin excisions during Mohs surgery.
Objectives
We sought to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of ex vivo imaging with FCM for the detection of residual BCC in Mohs tissue excisions, and to calculate the time invested up to the diagnosis for both FCM and frozen sections.
Methods
Eighty consecutive BCCs were prospectively collected and the margins scanned with ex vivo FCM, including excisions with and without residual BCC of all major subtypes. Each mosaic was divided into two or four, resulting in 480 submosaics for study. Every confocal submosaic was assessed for the presence or absence of BCC and compared with standard frozen sections as the gold standard. Furthermore, the time spent for each technique was calculated and compared.
Results
The overall sensitivity and specificity of detecting residual BCC were 88% and 99%, respectively. Moreover, the new technique reduced by almost two‐thirds the time invested when compared with the processing of a frozen section (P < 0·001).
Conclusions
The results demonstrate the feasibility of confocal mosaicing microscopy in fresh tissue for rapid surgical pathology, potentially to expedite and guide Mohs surgery with high accuracy. This observation is an important step towards the goal of using real‐time surgical pathology for skin tumours.
What's already known about this topic?
Ex vivo fluorescence confocal microscopy (FCM) enables real‐time imaging of freshly excised tissue.
The feasibility of a rapid tissue assessment has been described.
What does this study add?
This study demonstrates the potential of FCM for rapid surgical pathology to guide Mohs surgery with high accuracy.
FCM is a first step towards rapid ‘bedside pathology’ and represents a time‐saving alternative to frozen sections during Mohs surgery.
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•Up-flow velocity determines the minimum theoretical equivalent diameter recovered.•Air-flow is the control variable to adjust the up-flow velocity.•Particle size of the product ...recovered can be adjusted to customers’ requirements.
Struvite crystallization has been widely investigated, but little attention has been focused on particle size, an important characteristic in fertilizers that affects the agronomic response. Although there is no standard, it is an interesting parameter to be controlled as each crop and soil require a specific fertilizer size. Few attempts have been made to increase particle size. In air-lift reactors, the up-flow velocity could be used as a controlling parameter for particle size. It is hypothesized that the up-flow velocity determines the minimum theoretical equivalent diameter that can be recovered. Its effectiveness as a controlling parameter for particle size was evaluated in a combined air-lift reactor at different up-flow velocities (from 13.3 to 26.3mh−1). Particle size was found to be directly correlated with the up-flow velocity, and according to the theoretical approach about the minimum equivalent diameter. Moreover, particle growth was promoted by operating the crystallizer in continuous mode at the best up-flow velocity (22.6mh−1), having an increase of the mean particle size in time (138.6h) from 201μm to 314μm, and recovering particles up to 800–1000μm. The up-flow velocity control did not affect the phosphate recovery rates (>90%) and XRD confirmed that only pure struvite crystals were recovered. Therefore, this study shows that struvite can be recovered from a waste stream and control its particle size using the up-flow velocity to adjust to the customers’ requirements.
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