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Non-thermal plasma-based NO x synthesis from ambient air is receiving an increasing amount of interest for its potential in small-scale, sustainable fertilizer production. Nevertheless, most reported research focuses on lab-scale systems and a single reactor with limited production. In this work, two gliding arc reactors (GARs) with 2 mm discharge gaps were connected in series or in parallel to explore strategies for scaling up the productivity. A single GAR with an enlarged discharge gap of 4 mm was also investigated for comparison. Operation parameters such as flow rate, discharge power & mode, and effective residence time were tested. The NO x concentration increased for all configurations with an increase in specific energy input (SEI), and effective residence time. The case of reactors connected in series outperformed all other configurations. The energy consumptions and NO x productions achieved were 2.29-2.42 MJ mol N -1 and 124.6-158.3 mmol N h -1 , respectively. The NO 2 selectivity could be enhanced by prolonging the post-plasma oxidation time while consuming the excess O 2 in the feed and utilizing the low temperatures at the reactor(s) outlet. By using this connection strategy, NO x production can be doubled with a 20.9% improvement in energy consumption compared to a single reactor., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Plasma-sorbent systems are a novel technology for single-stage carbon capture and utilization (CCU), where the plasma enables the desorption of CO 2 from a sorbent and the simultaneous conversion to CO. In this study, we test the flexibility of a plasma-sorbent system in a single unit, specifically for sorption-enhanced dry reforming of methane (DRM). The experimental results indicate the selective adsorption of CO 2 by the sorbent zeolite 5A in the first step, and CH 4 addition during the plasma-based desorption of CO 2 enables DRM to various value-added products in the second step, such as H 2 , CO, hydrocarbons, and the byproduct H 2 O. Furthermore, our work also demonstrates that zeolite has the potential to increase the conversion of CO 2 and CH 4 , attributed to its capability to capture H 2 O. Aside from the notable carbon deposition, material analysis shows that the zeolite remains relatively stable under plasma exposure., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Honeybees are insects very sensitive to environmental pollution and at the same time very good indicators of the pollution levels for certain types of pollutants. The morphology and ethology of these insects make them perfect vectors for dust and substances, including heavy metals produced by anthropic activities or naturally generated and deposited on foraged flora. When bees are raised to produce foods such as honey and pollen, they can easily transfer pollutants collected from contaminated flower affecting the quality of these products. However, depending on geographical location of the apiaries and their distance from pollution sources, the risk to contaminate bee products can be higher or lower requiring deep investigations. In this study, two apiaries were built near ground transport infrastructures and used as monitoring stations for investigating heavy metal presence in beehive products such as bee wax, pollen, and honey. Another apiary was placed between these two locations at a distance of 500 m from each one and used as central node to asses possible diffusion trends. Parallel, air quality was monitored in the proximity of each apiary to verify the air pollution of the environments close to these sites. The results of the study suggest that the presence of the highway and the train station affected the levels of heavy metal presence in the apiary products. Air quality near apiaries was also negatively affected by ground transport, especially in proximity of the highway. Wax resulted significantly more polluted in the apiary close to train station with elements such as Al, Zn, and Ni, while honey and pollen were significantly more polluted in the proximity of the highway with elements such as Al, Fe, Cu, and Zn. Honey was the product suffering less the contamination by heavy metals while pollen was the worse. In conclusion, the presence of transportation nodes determined a higher accumulation of heavy metals in beehive products respect the apiary placed in between, suggesting to pay particular attention in the site selection for the placement of apiaries to protect both bees and human health., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Biological communities are currently facing multi-stressor scenarios whose ecological impacts are challenging to estimate. In that respect, considering the complex nature of ecosystems and types and interaction among stressors is mandatory. Microcosm approaches using free-living nematode assemblages can effectively be used to assess complexity since they preserve the interactions inherent to complex systems when testing for multiple stress effects. In this study, we investigated the interaction effects of three stress factors, namely i-metallic mixture of Cu, Pb, Zn, and Hg (control [L0], low, [L1] and high [L2]), ii- CO 2 -driven acidification (pH 7.6 and 8.0), and iii- temperature rise (26 and 28 °C), on estuarine free-living nematode assemblages. Metal contamination had the greatest influence on free-living nematode assemblages, irrespective of pH and temperature scenarios. Interestingly, whilst the most abundant free-living nematode genera showed significant decreases in their densities when exposed to contamination, other, less abundant, genera were apparently favored and showed significantly higher densities in contaminated treatments. The augmented densities of tolerant genera may be attributed to indirect effects resulting from the impacts of toxicity on other components of the system, indicating the potential for emergent effects in response to stress. Temperature and pH interacted significantly with contamination. Whilst temperature rise had potentialized contamination effects, acidification showed the opposite trend, acting as a buffer to the effects of contamination. Such results show that temperature rise and CO 2 -driven acidification interact with contamination on coastal waters, highlighting the importance of considering the intricate interplay of these co-occurring stressors when assessing the ecological impacts on coastal ecosystems., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

As respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine distribution gains traction in Europe and Italy, healthcare workers (HCWs) can strategize about vaccine promotion to increase uptake among patients at risk of RSV consequences, such cardiac patients. This cross-sectional survey investigated the knowledge about and attitude towards RSV and RSV vaccines, and the intention to recommend vaccination within a cardiological hospital in Italy. To explore factors associated with the outcomes of interest, multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted. Of 197 invited HCWs, 78.2% returned the survey. The knowledge about market authorisation for new RSV vaccines for older adults (present in 46.9% of respondents) was significantly associated with the HCWs' age, education, and previous update on vaccinations. HCWs with a higher educational level and those with a positive attitude towards RSV vaccines safety reported a higher attitude towards the importance of vaccinating people at risk. The willingness of recommending RSV vaccination to patients (70.5% of respondents) was more likely in HCWs who were knowledgeable about market authorisation for RSV vaccines and in physicians. This tempestive research sheds light on current factors influencing the strategies of cardiac HCWs regarding RSV vaccination. The results suggest the need for training events on the protective role of RSV vaccination in cardiac patients.

Background and Objectives : Cardiac patients are particularly at risk of herpes zoster (HZ), which is associated with a higher risk of major cardiovascular events. This research aimed to analyze the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) among cardiac healthcare professionals (HPs). Materials and Methods : A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a cardiological hospital in Italy. Multivariate regression models were built to identify factors associated with the outcomes of interest. Results : The response rate was 78.2% (154/197). Overall, age > 50 years and immunosuppression were recognized as risk factors for HZ by 38.3% and 75.3% of respondents, respectively. Regarding RZV, 29.1% of the HPs correctly responded about its schedule and 57.6% about the possibility of administration in immunocompromised individuals. This knowledge was significantly higher in HPs with a higher educational level (odds ratio (OR) = 4.42; 95%CI 1.70-11.47), in those who knew that HZ could cause postherpetic neuralgia (OR = 2.56; 95%CI 1.05-6.25) or major cardiovascular events (OR = 4.23; 95%CI 1.50-11.91), in those who had participated in professional updates on vaccinations (OR = 3.86; 95%CI 1.51-9.87) and in those who stated the need for further information about the RZV (OR = 6.43; 95%CI 1.42-29.98). Younger HPs (coefficient ( β ) = -0.02; 95%CI -0.04--0.01), those with a positive attitude toward RZV safety ( β = 2.92; 95%CI 2.49-3.36) and those who had previously cared for patients with HZ ( β = 0.45; 95%CI 0.03-0.88) reported a more positive attitude toward RZV effectiveness. The practice of recommending vaccination was more prevalent in younger HPs (OR = 0.94; 95%CI 0.89-0.99), in those who had a master's degree or higher education (OR = 7.21; 95%CI 1.44-36.08), in those with more positive attitudes toward RZV effectiveness (OR = 7.17; 95%CI 1.71-30.03) and in HPs who had already recommended the vaccine to patients in the past (OR = 4.03; 95%CI 1.08-14.96). Conclusions : Despite being a single-center study, our research brings attention to factors that currently impact cardiac HPs' approaches to RZV. The findings indicate potential measures to enhance HPs' awareness and practices, ultimately aiming to improve vaccination adherence and reduce the burden associated with HZ.

The promising direct dimethyl ether (DME) production through CO 2 hydrogenation was systematically analyzed in this research by synthesizing, characterizing, and testing several catalytic structures. In doing so, various combinations of precipitation and impregnation of copper- and zinc-oxides (CuO-ZnO) over a ZSM-5 zeolite structure were applied to synthesize the hybrid catalysts capable of hydrogenating carbon dioxide to methanol and dehydrating it to DME. The resulting catalytic structures, including the co-precipitated, sequentially precipitated, and sequentially impregnated CuO-ZnO/ZSM-5 catalysts, were prepared in the form of particle and electrospun fibers with distinguished chemical and structural features. They were then characterized using XRD, BET, XPS, ICP, TGA, SEM, and FIB-SEM/EDS analyses. Their catalytic performances were also tested and analyzed in light of their observed characteristics. It was observed that it is crucial to establish relatively small-size and well-distributed zeolite crystals across a hybrid catalytic structure to secure a distinguished DME selectivity and yield. This approach, along with other observed behaviors and the involved phenomena like catalyst particles and fibers, clusters of catalyst particles, or the whole catalytic bed, were analyzed and explained. In particular, the desired characteristics of a CuO-ZnO/ZSM-5 hybrid catalyst, synthesized in a single-pot processing of the precursors of all involved catalytically active elements, were found to be promising in guiding the future efforts in tailoring an efficient catalyst for this system.

Objective: As of today, healthcare systems worldwide face severe challenges that undermine their sustainability. The value-based healthcare (VBHC) approach has been proposed as a strategic and methodological framework to ensure the delivery of the best patient outcomes with economic efficiency. Through the illustrative example of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal proBNP (NT-proBNP) for heart failure (HF) patient management in the context of the Italian National Healthcare system, this article explores the role that in vitro diagnostics (IVDs) can play in enabling value-based care models., Subjects and Methods: 14 healthcare professionals representing the relevant professional figures involved in HF patient management met to revise the current HF patient journey and design a new care pathway that, leveraging on BNP/NT-proBNP, reflects the VBHC principles., Results: The literature recognizes the dosage of BNP/NT-proBNP as the gold stan-dard for diagnosing HF. However, as of today, these IVDs are not employed at their full potential regarding HF patient management. A new patient journey is proposed so that patients are diagnosed early and properly monitored in the aftermath of hospitalization, improving outcomes at contained costs., Conclusions: As testified by the example of HF patient management in Italy, laboratory medicine can represent a lever for adopting value-based care models. Still, large-scale adoption of VBHC will call for structural reforms that revise how healthcare delivery is organized, measured, and reimbursed.

Background: Identifying species, particularly small metazoans, remains a daunting challenge and the phylum Nematoda is no exception. Typically, nematode species are differentiated based on morphometry and the presence or absence of certain characters. However, recent advances in artificial intelligence, particularly machine learning (ML) algorithms, offer promising solutions for automating species identification, mostly in taxonomically complex groups. By training ML models with extensive datasets of accurately identified specimens, the models can learn to recognize patterns in nematodes' morphological and morphometric features. This enables them to make precise identifications of newly encountered individuals. Implementing ML algorithms can improve the speed and accuracy of species identification and allow researchers to efficiently process vast amounts of data. Furthermore, it empowers non-taxonomists to make reliable identifications. The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of ML algorithms in identifying species of free-living marine nematodes, focusing on two well-known genera: Acantholaimus Allgén, 1933 and Sabatieria Rouville, 1903., Methods: A total of 40 species of Acantholaimus and 60 species of Sabatieria were considered. The measurements and identifications were obtained from the original publications of species for both genera, this compilation included information regarding the presence or absence of specific characters, as well as morphometric data. To assess the performance of the species identification four ML algorithms were employed: Random Forest (RF), Stochastic Gradient Boosting (SGBoost), Support Vector Machine (SVM) with both linear and radial kernels, and K-nearest neighbor (KNN) algorithms., Results: For both genera, the random forest (RF) algorithm demonstrated the highest accuracy in correctly classifying specimens into their respective species, achieving an accuracy rate of 93% for Acantholaimus and 100% for Sabatieria , only a single individual from Acantholaimus of the test data was misclassified., Conclusion: These results highlight the overall effectiveness of ML algorithms in species identification. Moreover, it demonstrates that the identification of marine nematodes can be automated, optimizing biodiversity and ecological studies, as well as turning species identification more accessible, efficient, and scalable. Ultimately it will contribute to our understanding and conservation of biodiversity., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2023 Brito de Jesus et al.)

A two-dimensional gliding arc reactor for NO x synthesis was investigated in this study using AC pulsed mode operation. Tests with a duty cycle of 40 or 60% achieved the lowest energy consumption of 6.95 MJ/mol, which is an improvement of 15% from the case of continuous operation. Based on the results achieved, a new method for analyzing the spatial profile of the reactor was presented. The reactor was divided into five zones along the arc propagation, and results indicated that the first zone and last zone of the gliding arc reactor had higher energy consumption (9.59 and 8.63 MJ/mol, respectively), while lower consumption was observed in the middle parts of the reactor with a minimum of 5.00 MJ/mol. Spatial-resolved optical emission spectra, the deduced electron density, and temperature indicated the nonuniformity in plasma properties, which corresponds to the NO x production performance across the reactor. This research provides information and discussion that can be used for understanding and optimization of gliding arc reactors toward efficient nitrogen fixation., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Interactive effects of trace metal contamination, ocean warming, and CO 2 -driven acidification on the structure of a meiofaunal benthic community was assessed. Meiofauna microcosm bioassays were carried out in controlled conditions in a full factorial experimental design which included three fixed factors: metal contamination in the sediment (3 levels of a mixture of Cu, Pb, Zn, and Hg), temperature (26 and 28 °C) and pH (7.6 and 8.1). Metal contamination caused a sharp decrease in the densities of the most abundant meiobenthic groups and interacted with temperature rise, exacerbating deleterious effects for Nematoda and Copepoda, but mitigating effects for Acoelomorpha. CO 2 -driven acidification resulted in increased acoelomorphs density, but only in sediments with lower levels of metals. Copepod densities, in turn, were lower in the CO 2 -driven acidification scenario regardless of contamination or temperature. The results obtained in the present study showed that temperature rise and CO 2 -driven acidification of coastal ocean waters, at environmentally relevant levels, interacts with trace metals in marine sediments, differently affecting the major groups of benthic biota., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Hydrogen is often regarded as an ideal energy carrier. Its use in energy conversion devices does in fact not produce any pollutants. However, due to challenges related to its transportation and storage, liquid hydrogen carriers are being investigated. Among the liquid hydrogen carriers, ammonia is considered very promising because it is easy to store and transport, and its conversion to hydrogen has only nitrogen as a byproduct. This work focuses on a review of the latest results of studies dealing with ammonia decomposition for hydrogen production. After a general introduction to the topic, this review specifically focuses on works presenting results of membrane reactors for ammonia decomposition, particularly describing the different reactor configurations and operating conditions, membrane properties, catalysts, and purification steps that are required to achieve pure hydrogen for fuel cell applications., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

In the pathway towards decarbonization, hydrogen can provide valid support in different sectors, such as transportation, iron and steel industries, and domestic heating, concurrently reducing air pollution. Thanks to its versatility, hydrogen can be produced in different ways, among which steam reforming of natural gas is still the most commonly used method. Today, less than 0.7% of global hydrogen production can be considered low-carbon-emission. Among the various solutions under investigation for low-carbon hydrogen production, membrane reactor technology has the potential, especially at a small scale, to efficiently convert biogas into green hydrogen, leading to a substantial process intensification. Fluidized bed membrane reactors for autothermal reforming of biogas have reached industrial maturity. Reliable modelling support is thus necessary to develop their full potential. In this work, a mathematical model of the reactor is used to provide guidelines for their design and operations in off-design conditions. The analysis shows the influence of temperature, pressures, catalyst and steam amounts, and inlet temperature. Moreover, the influence of different membrane lengths, numbers, and pitches is investigated. From the results, guidelines are provided to properly design the geometry to obtain a set recovery factor value and hydrogen production. For a given reactor geometry and fluidization velocity, operating the reactor at 12 bar and the permeate-side pressure of 0.1 bar while increasing reactor temperature from 450 to 500 °C leads to an increase of 33% in hydrogen production and about 40% in HRF. At a reactor temperature of 500 °C, going from 8 to 20 bar inside the reactor doubled hydrogen production with a loss in recovery factor of about 16%. With the reactor at 12 bar, a vacuum pressure of 0.5 bar reduces hydrogen production by 43% and HRF by 45%. With the given catalyst, it is sufficient to have only 20% of solids filled into the reactor being catalytic particles. With the fixed operating conditions, it is worth mentioning that by adding membranes and maintaining the same spacing, it is possible to increase hydrogen production proportionally to the membrane area, maintaining the same HRF.

Non-oxidative methane coupling in an atmospheric pressure plasma jet reactor with an internal diameter of 3.0 mm has been studied. The jet reactor consisted of a quartz tube surrounded by a copper ring and a stainless-steel tube, which were separated by a variable distance. The stainless-steel tube (inner diameter: 1.0 mm, outer diameter: 1.5 mm) served as high voltage electrode and gas inlet. The jet characteristics with different tip angles of the high voltage electrode were investigated using voltage-current waveforms and gas analysis at a constant methane flow rate of 100 ml min -1 . The effect of the length of the ground electrode and the gap between the electrodes on conversion, C 2 selectivity and energy efficiency has been studied. The methane conversion was nearly tripled with a sharp angle of the electrode (15°), while the energy consumption was reduced from 150 to 55 kJ mol C 2 H y -1 . The carbon deposition was also reduced., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

In this work, the fluidized bed membrane reactor (FBMR) technology for the direct dehydrogenation of propane (PDH) was demonstrated at a laboratory scale. Double-skinned PdAg membranes were used to selectively remove H 2 during dehydrogenation tests over PtSnK/Al 2 O 3 catalyst under fluidization. The performance of the fluidized bed membrane reactor was experimentally investigated and compared with the conventional fluidized bed reactor (FBR) by varying the superficial gas velocity over the minimum fluidization velocity under fixed operating conditions (i.e., 500 °C, 2 bar and feed composition of 30vol% C 3 H 8 -70vol% N 2 ). The results obtained in this work confirmed the potential for improving the PDH performance using the FBMR system. An increase in the initial propane conversion of c.a. 20% was observed, going from 19.5% in the FBR to almost 25% in the FBMR. The hydrogen recovery factor displayed a decrease from 70% to values below 50%, due to the membrane coking under alkene exposure. Despites this, the hydrogen extraction from the reaction environment shifted the thermodynamic equilibrium of the dehydrogenation reaction and achieved an average increase of 43% in propylene yields.

The growing global energy demand requires the continuous development and optimization of the production of alternative energy sources. According to the circular economy approach, waste conversion into biogas and biomethane represent an interesting energy source. The input into the distribution network and energy conversion systems of biomethane requires quality monitoring and the use of cleaning up systems. Therefore, there is a need to constantly invest in the development of sampling and analysis systems that save time, costs, and materials. The purpose of this study was to use activated porous carbon fiber (APCF), an extremely versatile material for sampling and analysis by thermal desorption, to show the advantages it has over the adsorbents traditionally used for siloxane monitoring. Siloxanes are among the contaminating compounds that are mainly present in biogas and biomethane, and if not removed sufficiently, they endanger the quality and use of the gas. These are highly harmful compounds since during combustion, they produce quartz particles that are abrasive to the surfaces of the materials involved in the energy production process. In addition, siloxanes directly hinder the energy properties of biomethane during combustion, due to their radical scavenger properties. In this work, the efficiency of APCF tube was evaluated by comparing it with common multilayer tube thought sampling and analyzing siloxanes in lab scale and in real scale (biogas plant). Thermal desorption analysis coupled with GC-MS for the determination of siloxanes showed that the use of APCF allows to obtain better performance. This allows to deduce that APCF is an innovative material for the establishment of a better sampling and analysis method than the current ones, enabling better results to be achieved in the process of monitoring fuel quality in biomethane production and storage facilities.

A resorcinol-formaldehyde precursor was synthesized to fabricate the CO 2 selective Carbon Molecular Sieve Membranes (CMSMs) developed in this study. The degree of polymerization (DP) was analyzed via Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) and its effect on the CO 2 /N 2 perm-selectivity and CO 2 permeance was investigated. The membrane that was polymerized at 80 °C (named R80) was selected as the best performing CMSM after a preliminary test. The post treatment with oxidative atmosphere was performed to increase the CO 2 permeance and CO 2 /N 2 perm-selectivity on membrane R80. The gas permeation results and Pore Size Distribution (PSD) measurements via perm-porometry resulted in selecting the membrane with an 80 °C polymerization temperature, 100 min of post treatment in 6 bar pressure and 120 °C with an oxygen concentration of 10% (named R80T100) as the optimum for enhancing the performance of CMSMs. The 3D laser confocal microscopy results confirmed the reduction in the surface roughness in post treatment on CMSMs and the optimum timing of 100 min in the treatment. CMSM R80T100 exhibiting CO 2 /N 2 ideal selectivity of 194 at 100 °C with a CO 2 permeability of 4718 barrier was performed higher than Robeson's upper bound limit for polymeric membranes and also the other CMSMs fabricated in this work.

The adverse effects of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) on health and ecosystems, as well as on meteorology and climate change, are well known to the scientific community. It is therefore undeniable that a good understanding of the sources of PM is crucial for effective control of emissions and to protect public health. One of the major contributions to atmospheric PM is biomass burning, a practice used both in agriculture and home heating, which can be traced and identified by analyzing sugars emitted from the combustion of cellulose and hemicellulose that make up biomass. In this review comparing almost 200 selected articles, we highlight the most recent studies that broaden such category of tracers, covering research publications on residential wood combustions, open-fire or combustion chamber burnings and ambient PM in different regions of Asia, America and Europe. The purpose of the present work is to collect data in the literature that indicate a direct correspondence between biomass burning and saccharides emitted into the atmosphere with regard to distinguishing common sugars attributed to biomass burning from those that have co-causes of issue. In this paper, we provide a list of 24 compounds, including those most commonly recognized as biomass burning tracers (i.e., levoglucosan, mannosan and galactosan), from which it emerges that monosaccharide anhydrides, sugar alcohols and primary sugars have been widely reported as organic tracers for biomass combustion, although it has also been shown that emissions of these compounds depend not only on combustion characteristics and equipment but also on fuel type, combustion quality and weather conditions. Although it appears that it is currently not possible to define a single compound as a universal indicator of biomass combustion, this review provides a valuable tool for the collection of information in the literature and identifies analytes that can lead to the determination of patterns for the distribution between PM generated by biomass combustion.

Natural pH values in coastal waters vary largely among locations, ecosystems, and time periods; still, there is an ongoing acidification trend. In this scenario, more acidic pH values can alter bioavailability of organic contaminants, to organisms. Despite this, interactive effects between pH and chemical substances are not usually considered in Ecological Risk Assessment protocols. This study investigated the effects of pH on the toxicity of a hydrophobic organic compound on a benthic community using a microcosm experiment setup to assess the response of nematode assemblages exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of Irgarol at two natural pH conditions. Estuarine nematode assemblages were exposed to two concentrations of Irgarol at pH 7.0 and 8.0 for periods of 7 and 35 days. Lower diversity of nematode genera was observed at the highest tested Irgarol concentration (1281 ± 65 ng.g -1 ). The results showed that the effects of Irgarol contamination were independent of pH variation, indicating no influence of acidification within this range on the toxicity of Irgarol to benthic meiofauna. However, the results showed that estuarine nematode assemblages are impacted by long-term exposure to low (but naturally occurring) pHs. This indicates that estuarine organisms may be under naturally high physiological pressure and that permanent changes in the ecosystem's environmental factors, such as future coastal ocean acidification, may drive organisms closer to the edges of their tolerance windows., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The combustion of biomass is a process that is increasingly used for the generation of heat and energy through different types of wood and agricultural waste. The emissions generated by the combustion of biomass include different kinds of macro- and micropollutants whose formation and concentration varies according to the physical and chemical characteristics of the biomass, the combustion conditions, the plants, and the operational parameters of the process. The aim of this work is to evaluate the effect of biomass moisture content on the formation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during the combustion process. Wet and dry poplar chips, with a moisture content of 43.30% and 15.00%, respectively, were used in a cogeneration plant based on a mobile grate furnace. Stack's emissions were sampled through adsorbent tubes and subsequently analyzed by thermal desorption coupled with the GC/MS. The data obtained showed that, depending on the moisture content of the starting matrix, which inevitably influences the quality of combustion, there is significant variation in the production of VOCs.

The concept of liquid metal membranes for hydrogen separation, based on gallium or indium, was recently introduced as an alternative to conventional palladium-based membranes. The potential of this class of gas separation materials was mainly attributed to the promise of higher hydrogen diffusivity. The postulated improvements are only beneficial to the flux if diffusion through the membrane is the rate-determining step in the permeation sequence. Whilst this is a valid assumption for hydrogen transport through palladium-based membranes, the relatively low adsorption energy of hydrogen on both liquid metals suggests that other phenomena may be relevant. In the current study, a microkinetic modeling approach is used to enable simulations based on a five-step permeation mechanism. The calculation results show that for the liquid metal membranes, the flux is limited by the dissociative adsorption over a large temperature range, and that the membrane flux is expected to be orders of magnitude lower compared to the membrane flux through pure palladium membranes. Even when accounting for the lower cost of the liquid metals compared to palladium, the latter still outperforms both gallium and indium in all realistic scenarios, in part due to the practical difficulties associated with making liquid metal thin films.

The integrated capture and conversion of CO 2 has the potential to make valorization of the greenhouse gas more economically competitive, by eliminating energy-intensive regeneration processes. However, integration is hindered by the extremely low concentrations of CO 2 present in the atmosphere (0.04 vol.%), and the presence of acidic gas contaminants, such as SO x and NO x , in flue gas streams. This Review summarizes the latest technological progress in the integrated capture and conversion of CO 2 from dilute flue gases and atmospheric air. In particular, the Review analyzes the correlation between material properties and their capture and conversion efficiency through hydrogenation, cycloaddition, and solar thermal-mediated electrochemical processes, with a focus on the types and quantities of product generated, in addition to their energy requirements. Prospects for commercialization are also highlighted and suggestions are made for future research., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Industrial development and increased energy requirements have led to high consumption of fossil fuels. Thus, environmental pollution has become a profound problem. Every year, a large amount of agro-industrial, municipal and forest residues are treated as waste, but they can be recovered and used to produce thermal and electrical energy through biological or thermochemical conversion processes. Among the main types of agro-industrial waste, soluble coffee residues represent a significant quantity all over the world. Silver skin and spent coffee grounds (SCG) are the main residues of the coffee industry. The many organic compounds contained in coffee residues suggest that their recovery and use could be very beneficial. Indeed, thanks to their composition, they can be used in the production of biodiesel, as a source of sugar, as a precursor for the creation of active carbon or as a sorbent for the removal of metals. After a careful evaluation of the possible uses of coffee grounds, the aim of this research was to show a broad characterization of coffee waste for energy purposes through physical and chemical analyses that highlight the most significant quality indexes, the interactions between them and the quantification of their importance. Results identify important tools for the qualification and quantification of the effects of coffee waste properties on energy production processes. They show that (SCG) are an excellent raw material as biomass, with excellent values in terms of calorific value and low ash content, allowing the production of 98% coffee pellets that are highly suitable for use in thermal conversion systems. Combustion tests were also carried out in an 80kW th boiler and the resulting emissions without any type of abatement filter were characterized.

We tested the hypothesis that the ubiquity of marine meiofaunal nematodes and their indiscriminate passive dispersal create assemblages that are less limited by its environment; whereas the relatively smaller population sizes of macrofauna, associated with their ability to track environmental conditions before settlement, renders their distribution more environmentally-restricted. We compared the empirical distribution of macrofauna and nematode species with that of communities simulated under different assumptions of selection (e.g. environmental filtering) and non-selection (e.g. dispersal limitation) processes. Selection processes were the prime driver of both meio- and macrofauna assemblages, with rare species strongly contributing to this component. The total number of species explained by non-selection processes was 27% higher in nematodes than in macrofauna. Our results underline the importance of a species-level approach to determine the contribution of selection and non-selection assembly processes. Moreover, they highlight the important yet overlooked role of dispersal and stochastic processes in determining species dynamics., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Heart failure (HF) is still characterized by high mortality rates, despite the progress achieved in terms of treatment options. With regard to the treatment of HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), the 2016 European Society of Cardiology guidelines included in the therapeutic algorithm the angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor class, whose efficacy in modifying patient prognosis has been extensively proven in many clinical studies. Sacubitril/valsartan, the only representative of this drug class, can effectively affect the natural history of HF, thus reducing cardiovascular mortality (sudden death and death due to worsening cardiac function), total mortality, as well as first and recurrent hospitalization events, by improving renal function, cardiac remodeling, functional capacity and the patient's health-related quality of life.The purpose of this article is to analyze the different phases of the journey of patients with HFrEF (first general practitioner consultation; admission to the emergency department and subsequent hospitalization; referral to a specialist HF clinic) and promotion of a networking approach involving the general practitioner, the hospital and the HF specialist based on common pre-defined diagnostic and therapeutic protocols, that meets patient needs at all stages of the disease (case-specific dosing assessment, drug titration before follow-up and prevention of adverse events).

Since their discovery, deep eutectic solvents (DES) have been explored in multiple applications. However, the complete physicochemical characterization is still nonexistent for many of the proposed and used DES. In particular, vapor pressure, which is a crucial property for the application of DES as solvents, is very rarely available. In this work, the measurement of the total and partial pressures of two sulfolane-based DES, tetrabutylammonium bromide:sulfolane and tetrabutylphosphonium bromide:sulfolane, in several proportions, from 40 to 100 °C and atmospheric pressure, was performed using headspace gas chromatography mass spectrometry, HS-GC-MS. A large decrease on the total pressure was recorded which, together with the finding that total pressures showed negative deviations from Raoult's law, is indicative of the favorable, strong interactions between the two components within the DES. Additionally, the study of vapor pressure change with DES molar composition was carried out, and surprisingly, the existence of inflection points in the pressure curve was observed. Experimental results were modeled using the PC-SAFT equation of state, and in addition, MD simulations were performed to provide a molecular understanding of the pressure data. Considering the different results and insights obtained from the used strategies, it can be concluded that both DES systems have especially strong interactions between salt and sulfolane, at high sulfolane content, due to the different structural rearrangement of the liquid state.

Species responses to stress are expected to be dependent on their life-history strategy. In this study, we compare the responses of two free-living marine nematodes, Litoditis marina and Diplolaimella dievengatensis, both considered opportunistic, fast-growing, and stress-tolerant species, to the exposure to sublethal concentrations of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactant. Specifically, we evaluated the growth and reproduction rates, as well as the survival of individuals exposed from eggs and/or juveniles (J1) onwards. Exposure to SDS significantly affected the growth and reproduction rates of both species. However, whereas growth and reproduction rates of D. dievengatensis were significantly enhanced at low and intermediate concentrations of SDS (0.001% and 0.003%), for L. marina both parameters were significantly reduced by all SDS concentrations tested (0.001%, 0.003% and 0.006%). Exposure to SDS did not affect the survival of adult nematodes of D. dievengatensis, while for L. marina, survival of males exposed to 0.006% SDS was significantly reduced compared to the control. Responses of the life-history traits growth, fecundity and survival did not exhibit clear trade-offs. The contrasting responses of D. dievengatensis and L. marina indicate that biologically and ecologically similar species can have remarkably distinct tolerances to stress, and that, in agreement with recent studies, rhabditid nematodes cannot a priori be considered very stress tolerant. Consequently, single species traits and phylogenetic relatedness are poor predictors of nematode responses to toxic stress posed by anthropogenic activities., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Novel reactor configurations for the oxidative coupling of methane (OCM), and in particular membrane reactors, contribute toward reaching the yield required to make the process competitive at the industrial scale. Therefore, in this work, the conventional OCM packed bed reactor using a Mn-Na 2 WO 4 /SiO 2 catalyst was experimentally compared with a membrane reactor, in which a symmetric MgO porous membrane was integrated. The beneficial effects of distributive feeding of oxygen along the membrane, which is the main advantage of the porous membrane reactor, were demonstrated, although no significant differences in terms of performance were observed because of the adverse effects of back-permeation prevailing in the experiments. A sensitivity analysis carried out on the effective diffusion coefficient also indicated the necessity of properly tuning the membrane properties to achieve the expected promising results, highlighting how this tuning could be addressed.

Biogas plants are a widespread renewable energy technology. However, the use of digestate for agronomic purposes has often been a matter of concern. It is controversial whether biogas plants might harbor some pathogenic clostridial species, which represent a biological risk. Moreover, the inhabitance of Clostridium hard-cheese spoiling species in anaerobic digesters can be problematic for hard-cheese manufacturing industries, due to the issue of cheese blowing defects. This study investigated the effect of mesophilic anaerobic digestion processes on the Clostridium consortia distribution over time. Specifically, three lab-scale CSTRs treating agricultural biomass were characterized by considering both the whole microbial community and the cultivable clostridial spores. It is assessed an overall reduction of the Clostridium genus during the anaerobic digestion process. Moreover, it was evidenced a slight, but steady decrease of the cultivable clostridial spores, mainly represented by two pathogenic species, C. perfringens and C. bifermentans, and one hard-cheese spoiling species, C. butyricum. Thus, it is revealed an overall reduction of the clostridial population abundance after the mesophilic anaerobic digestion treatment of agricultural biomass.

Studies which showed the influence of organic carbon on the toxicity of sediment-associated contaminants on benthic invertebrates suggest this was primarily due to its influence on the interstitial water concentrations of the contaminant. A higher organic content offers more binding sites for organic contaminants, which means lower toxicity for organisms whose exposure route is mainly through contaminated interstitial water. However, a higher organic content in the sediment could mean a higher toxicity for deposit-feeding organisms, which can assimilate the contaminant by ingestion of contaminated particles. To investigate the influence of sedimentary organic carbon content on the toxicity of an organic contaminant on a benthic community, a microcosm experiment was carried out where natural nematode assemblages were exposed to three concentrations of Irgarol in sediments with two different levels of organic carbon for 7 and 35 days. The response of the nematode assemblage to sediment contamination by Irgarol differed between organically "Lower organic carbon" and "Higher organic carbon" sediments. Responses were genus specific and although community composition was the same in both sediments in the beginning of the assay, contamination by Irgarol affected different genera at each sediment type. Also, the differential amount of organic carbon promoted responses of different functional groups. In Lower organic carbon sediments, contaminated treatments showed lower abundances of the genus Viscosia and the group of predacious nematodes, which were probably affected by an increased availability of Irgarol in the interstitial water in this treatment. In Higher organic carbon sediments, the group of deposit-feeders were mainly affected, suggesting the ingestion of contaminated food as the main route of contamination in this condition. These results indicate that the bioavailability of toxic substances in sediments is not only determined by their partitioning between the different phases of the sediment but also by the organism's trophic ecology., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Over the past decades, the important topic of environmental sustainability, impact, and security of the fossil fuel supply has stimulated interest in using lignocellulosic feedstocks as biofuel to partially cover energy demands. Among energy no-food crops, giant reed (Arundo donax, L.), a perennial rhizomatous grass has been identified as a leading candidate crop for lignocellulosic feedstock, due to its positive energy balance, and low ecological/agro-management demands. The aim of the present study was to characterize the physiological response of Arundo donax (L.) to artificial soil contamination with three different Cu levels (200, 400, and 800 ppm), and to assess the relationship between plant Cu tolerance and S assimilation rate. The present study not only confirms the ability of Arundo donax L. to cope with Cu stress and therefore to grow in marginal, degraded lands abandoned by mainstream agricultural, but also shows that plant performance might be likely ascribed to a modulation of sulfate metabolism resulting in increased thiols content.

The present study compared the short-term effects of a diesel oil spill on the strucure and function of nematode and macrobenthic assemblages between tidal flats with different history of exposure to oil perturbation. A manipulative field experiment was conducted, where oil exposed treatments were contrasted with controls, during four successive times, two before and two after the oil spills. During the oil spill the death and the presence of diverse debilitated macrofaunal organisms were observed in the oil treatments. However, 24 h later no significant changes were identified, suggesting that the impacted plots were quickly recolonized. Nematode assemblages showed a decrease in overall density and an increase of r-strategist traits such as non-selective deposit feeders and colonizers at perturbed treatments from one of the historically non-perturbed tidal flats. We discuss the mechanisms responsible by distinctive patterns of response observed between the two benthic components., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This paper investigates the influence of the support material and its thickness on the hydrogen flux in Palladium membranes in the presence of sweep gas in fluidized bed membrane reactors. The analysis is performed considering both ceramic and metallic supports with different properties. In general, ceramic supports are cheaper but suffer sealing problems, while metallic ones are more expensive but with much less sealing problems. Firstly, a preliminary analysis is performed to assess the impact of the support in the permeation flux, which shows that the membrane permeance can be halved when the H 2 diffusion through the support is considered. The most relevant parameter which affects the permeation is the porosity over tortuosity ratio of the porous support. Afterward, the different supports are compared from an economic point of view when applied to a membrane reactor designed for 100 kg/day of hydrogen, using biogas as feedstock. The stainless steel supports have lower impact on the hydrogen permeation so the required membrane surface area is 2.6 m 2 compared to 3.6 m 2 of the best ceramic support. This ends up as 5.6 €/kg H 2@20bar and 6.6 €/kg H 2@700bar for the best stainless steel support, which is 3% lower than the price calculated for the best ceramic support., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Hand-foot syndrome (HFS) is a common skin toxicity of traditional chemotherapies. Some studies showed that HFS has an association with progression-free survival (PFS) and the overall survival (OS). So far, there is not available any systematic literature reviews or meta-analysis aimed to assess the associations between HFS, PFS and OS. For this reason, this study aims to quantitatively summarize, critically review, and interpret the recent literature related to the associations between HFS and efficacy of chemotherapy in terms of PFS and OS. Queries shaped by PICOM framework, a systematic search of three electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct) was carried out for the period between January 2010 and December 2017. Quantitative data pooling was based on the calculation of Hazard Ratio (HR) with 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI) for the OS and PFS associated to the presence of HFS, through the data of original publications. Five papers were included in this systematic review for the quantitative data pooling. Patients with HFS showed improved PFS (HR = 0.532 [0.431-0.656]; p = 0.000) and improved OS (HR = 0.522 [0.427-0.638]; p = 0.000). HFS causes a reduction of compliance with oncology treatments. Healthcare providers should use this result as a trigger to foster patients' coping and the one of their family caregivers, enhancing their adherence to cancer treatments.

In this paper, an overview on thermodynamic aspects related to hydrogen-metal systems in non-ideal conditions is provided, aiming at systematically merging and analyzing information achieved from several different studies present in the open literature. In particular, the relationships among inner morphology, dissolved hydrogen and internal stresses are discussed in detail, putting in evidence the conformation complexity and the various types of dislocations induced by the presence of H-atoms in the lattice. Specifically, it is highlighted that the octahedral sites are preferentially occupied in the FCC metals (such as palladium), whereas tetrahedral sites are more energetically favored in BCC-structured ones (such as vanadium). These characteristics are shown to lead to a different macroscopic behavior of the two classes of metals, especially in terms of solubility and mechanical failure due to the consequent induced stresses. Furthermore, starting from the expression of the chemical potential generally presented in the literature, a new convenient expression of the activity of the H-atoms dissolved into the metal lattice as a function of the H-concentration is achieved. Such an activity expression is then used in the dissolution equilibrium relationship, which is shown to be the overall result of two different phenomena: (i) dissociative adsorption of molecular hydrogen onto the surface; and (ii) atomic hydrogen dissolution from the surface to the metal bulk. In this way, the obtained expression for equilibrium allows a method to calculate the equilibrium composition in non-ideal conditions (high pressure), which are of interest for real industrial applications.

This study investigates the conversion of sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) into biomethane for automotive fuel or grid injection. A prototype plant was monitored in Northern Italy, based on vacuum swing adsorption (VSA) on synthetic zeolite 13×: this biogas upgrading method is similar to pressure swing adsorption (PSA) and commonly used for other kinds of biomass. Measurements of biogas inlet, biomethane outlet and off-gas were performed including CH 4 , CO 2 , CO, H 2 , O 2 , N 2 , HCl, HF, NH 3 , H 2 S and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Critical levels were observed in the biogas for of H 2 S and HCl, whose concentrations were 1570 and 26.8 mg m -3 , respectively. On the other hand, the concentration of halogenated VOCs (including tetrachloroethylene and traces of perfluoroalkilated substances, PFAS) and mercaptans were relatively low. A simultaneous and reversible adsorption on 13× zeolite was achieved for H 2 S and CO 2 , and carbon filters played a minor role in desulfurisation. The presence of HCl is due to clarifying agents, and its removal is necessary in order to meet the required biomethane characteristics: an additional carbon-supported basic adsorbent was successfully used to remove this contaminant. This study also highlights the interference of CO 2 towards HCl if sampling is performed in compliance with the new EU standard for biomethane. High total volatile silicon (TVS) was confirmed in sewage sludge biogas, with a major contribution of siloxane D5: the suitability of this compound as an indicator of total siloxanes is discussed. Results demonstrate that volatile methyl siloxanes (VMS) do not represent a critical issue for the VSA upgrading methodology., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The usual approaches used in ecological risk assessment have been based on individual and population level standard procedures. Although these have been important tools to assess adverse effects on ecosystems, they are generally simplified and therefore lack ecological realism. Microcosm studies using meiobenthic communities offer a good compromise between the complexity of the ecosystem and the often highly artificial settings of laboratory experiments. An experiment was designed to investigate the potential of the microcosm approach using meiofauna as a tool for ecotoxicological studies. The experiment tested the ecological effects of exposure to sewage-impacted pore water simultaneously at the community level using meiofauna microcosms and at the individual level using laboratory fecundity tests with the copepod Nitokra sp. Specifically, the experiment tested the toxicity of pore water from three sites according to a contamination gradient. Both approaches were efficient in detecting differences in toxicity between the less and more contaminated sites. However, only multivariate data from community analysis detected differences in the gradient of contamination. In addition to information about toxicity, the community level microcosm experiment gave indications about sensitive and tolerant species, indirect ecological effects, as well as raised hypothesis about contamination routes and bioavailability to be tested. Considering the importance of meiofauna for benthic ecosystems, the microcosm approach using natural meiobenthic communities might be a valuable addition as a higher tier approach in ecological risk assessment, providing highly relevant ecological information on the toxicity of contaminated sediments., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

For the first time, 12 different supported deep eutectic solvent (DES) liquid membranes were prepared and characterized. These membranes consist of a polymeric support impregnated with a hydrophobic DES. First, the different membranes were characterized and their stability in water and air was determined. Subsequently, the supported DES liquid membranes were applied for the recovery of furfural (FF) and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from aqueous solutions. The effects of substrate properties (e.g. pore size), DES properties (e.g. viscosity) and concentrations of FF and HMF in the feed phase on the observed diffusivities and permeabilities were assessed. It was found that the addition of DES enhances the transport of FF and HMF through the polymeric membrane support. In particular, the use of the DES consisting of thymol + lidocaine (in the molar ratio 2 : 1) impregnated in a polyethylene support resulted in enhanced transport for both FF and HMF, and is most interesting for (in situ) isolation of FF and HMF from aqueous solutions, e.g. in biorefinery processes.

Palladium-based membranes for hydrogen separation have been studied by several research groups during the last 40 years. Much effort has been dedicated to improving the hydrogen flux of these membranes employing different alloys, supports, deposition/production techniques, etc. High flux and cheap membranes, yet stable at different operating conditions are required for their exploitation at industrial scale. The integration of membranes in multifunctional reactors (membrane reactors) poses additional demands on the membranes as interactions at different levels between the catalyst and the membrane surface can occur. Particularly, when employing the membranes in fluidized bed reactors, the selective layer should be resistant to or protected against erosion. In this review we will also describe a novel kind of membranes, the pore-filled type membranes prepared by Pacheco Tanaka and coworkers that represent a possible solution to integrate thin selective membranes into membrane reactors while protecting the selective layer. This work is focused on recent advances on metallic supports, materials used as an intermetallic diffusion layer when metallic supports are used and the most recent advances on Pd-based composite membranes. Particular attention is paid to improvements on sulfur resistance of Pd based membranes, resistance to hydrogen embrittlement and stability at high temperature.

In this research the performance of a fluidized bed membrane reactor for high temperature water gas shift and its long term stability was investigated to provide a proof-of-concept of the new system at lab scale. A demonstration unit with a capacity of 1 Nm³/h of ultra-pure H₂ was designed, built and operated over 900 h of continuous work. Firstly, the performance of the membranes were investigated at different inlet gas compositions and at different temperatures and H₂ partial pressure differences. The membranes showed very high H₂ fluxes (3.89 × 10(-6) mol·m(-2)·Pa(-1)·s(-1) at 400 °C and 1 atm pressure difference) with a H₂/N₂ ideal perm-selectivity (up to 21,000 when integrating five membranes in the module) beyond the DOE 2015 targets. Monitoring the performance of the membranes and the reactor confirmed a very stable performance of the unit for continuous high temperature water gas shift under bubbling fluidization conditions. Several experiments were carried out at different temperatures, pressures and various inlet compositions to determine the optimum operating window for the reactor. The obtained results showed high hydrogen recovery factors, and very low CO concentrations at the permeate side (in average <10 ppm), so that the produced hydrogen can be directly fed to a low temperature PEM fuel cell.

For a better understanding and description of the mass transport phenomena in dense multiphase gas-solids systems such as fluidized bed reactors, detailed and quantitative experimental data on the concentration profiles is required, which demands advanced non-invasive concentration monitoring techniques with a high spatial and temporal resolution. A novel technique based on the selective detection of a gas component in a gas mixture using infra-red properties has been further developed. The first stage development was carried out using a very small sapphire reactor and CO₂ as tracer gas. Although the measuring principle was demonstrated, the real application was hindered by the small reactor dimensions related to the high costs and difficult handling of large sapphire plates. In this study, a new system has been developed, that allows working at much larger scales and yet with higher resolution. In the new system, propane is used as tracer gas and quartz as reactor material. In this study, a thorough optimization and calibration of the technique is presented which is subsequently applied for whole-field measurements with high temporal resolution. The developed technique allows the use of a relatively inexpensive configuration for the measurement of detailed concentration fields and can be applied to a large variety of important chemical engineering topics.

The influence of the temperature during the growth of Pd-Ag films by PVD magnetron sputtering onto polished silicon wafers was studied in order to avoid the effect of the support roughness on the layer growth. The surfaces of the Pd-Ag membrane films were analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the results indicate an increase of the grain size from 120 to 250-270 nm and film surface roughness from 4-5 to 10-12 nm when increasing the temperature from around 360-510 K. After selecting the conditions for obtaining the smallest grain size onto silicon wafer, thin Pd-Ag (0.5-2-µm thick) films were deposited onto different types of porous supports to study the influence of the porous support, layer thickness and target power on the selective layer microstructure and membrane properties. The Pd-Ag layers deposited onto ZrO₂ 3-nm top layer supports (smallest pore size among all tested) present high N₂ permeance in the order of 10(-6) mol·m(-2)·s(-1)·Pa(-1) at room temperature.

Aim: Cystic peritoneal mesothelioma is commonly regarded as a benign neoplasm at its first manifestation. It can only seldom show malignant transformation, and only after repeated postoperative recurrences., Material of Study: We hereby represent a unique case of peritoneal cystic mesothelioma, malignant since its first presentation. We observed a 73 year-old man presenting with intermittent abdominal pain and periumbilical swelling. At surgery, we found an extensive, oval-shaped, multi-lobed cystic formation that was surgically removed., Results: Histopathology was consistent with a malignant peritoneal cystic mesothelioma. In agreement with oncologists, we decided not to give any further therapy because of the few possibilities offered by systemic chemotherapy and the paucity of published data from the literature. We planned periodical follow-up including US scan every six and CTscan every 12 months., Discussion: Several cases of malignant transformation occurring after repeated recurrences of peritoneal mesothelioma have been reported. To our knowledge, this is the first case showing "ab initio" histological features of malignancy, typical of an active, proliferating and infiltrating lesion. In addition, advanced age and male gender of our patient are extremely peculiar, Conclusion: Our observation suggests the possibility, although very rare, that peritoneal cystic mesothelioma may present as malignant since its first manifestation., Key Words: Peritoneal cystic mesothelioma.

We report the results from an operando XRD-CT study of a working catalytic membrane reactor for the oxidative coupling of methane. These results reveal the importance of the evolving solid state chemistry during catalytic reaction, particularly the chemical interaction between the catalyst and the oxygen transport membrane.

The integration of mixed ionic electronic conducting (MIEC) membranes for air separation in a small-to-medium scale unit for H2 production (in the range of 650-850 Nm3/h) via auto-thermal reforming of methane has been investigated in the present study. Membranes based on mixed ionic electronic conducting oxides such as Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ (BSCF) give sufficiently high oxygen fluxes at temperatures above 800 °C with high purity (higher than 99%). Experimental results of membrane permeation tests are presented and used for the reactor design with a detailed reactor model. The assessment of the H2 plant has been carried out for different operating conditions and reactor geometry and an energy analysis has been carried out with the flowsheeting software Aspen Plus, including also the turbomachines required for a proper thermal integration. A micro-gas turbine is integrated in the system in order to supply part of the electricity required in the system. The analysis of the system shows that the reforming efficiency is in the range of 62%-70% in the case where the temperature at the auto-thermal reforming membrane reactor (ATR-MR) is equal to 900 °C. When the electric consumption and the thermal export are included the efficiency of the plant approaches 74%-78%. The design of the reactor has been carried out using a reactor model linked to the Aspen flowsheet and the results show that with a larger reactor volume the performance of the system can be improved, especially because of the reduced electric consumption. From this analysis it has been found that for a production of about 790 Nm3/h pure H2, a reactor with a diameter of 1 m and length of 1.8 m with about 1500 membranes of 2 cm diameter is required.

About 80% of all pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients suffer from a wasting syndrome referred to as the "cancer anorexia-cachexia syndrome" (CACS) characterized by abnormally low weight, weakness and loss of skeletal muscle mass with or without loss of body fat, which directly impacts overall survival, quality of life, and physical activity. The aim of this review was to examine recent findings about CACS' pathophysiology and to describe the current pharmacological approaches. In recent years many efforts were made to improve our knowledge of CACS; currently we know that cachexia arises from a complex and multifactorial interaction between various mechanisms including inflammation, anorexia/malnutrition, alterations of protein and lipid metabolism; consequently its management requires multidisciplinary and multipharmacological approach that should address the different causes underlying this clinical event. On these premises, several drugs have been proposed starting from the first pharmacological treatment based on progestational agents or corticosteroids; most of them are in the preclinical phase, but some have already reached the clinical experimentation stage. In conclusion, to date, there is no standard effective treatment and further studies are needed to unravel the basic mechanisms underlying CACS and to develop newer therapeutic strategies with the hope to improve the quality of life of pancreatic cancer patients., (Copyright © 2014 Medical University of Bialystok. Published by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) and the vagus nerve (VN) with a standardized approach in thyroid surgery., Methods: Retrospective study with an experimental group with which IONM was used, both with the RLN that the VN, and a control one, each consisting of 300 total thyroidectomies. Each patient underwent a pre-and post-operative videolaryngoscopy. The number of RLNs identified and the number of transient and permanent RNL injuries for each group were assessed, and then compared with χ(2) tests. In the experimental group Sensitivity, Specificity, Positive Predictability, Negative Predictability and Accuracy of IONM were evaluated, depending on the number of true positive results, false negatives, true negatives and false positives obtained by comparing the results of IONM with the post-operative videolaryngoscopies., Results: The results obtained for the experimental group vs. the control group were: RLNs identified 595 (99.1%) vs. 552 (92%) -P Value <0.0001; Permanent RLNs injuries 4 (1.33%) vs. 5 (1.67%) -P Value 1; transient RLNs injuries 1 (0.33%) vs. 8 (2.67%) -P Value 0.044. The IONM system, for the RLN and VN showed respectively: Sensitivity 66.7% vs. 83.3%; specificity 97.6% vs. 99.5%; Positive Predictability 22.2% vs. 62.5%; Negative Predictability 99.6% vs. 99.3%; Accuracy 97.3% vs. 99.3%., Conclusions: Our study highlights that using IONM with a standardized method in thyroid surgery, improves the ability to identify the RLN and a reduction in the incidence rate of transient RLN injuries., (Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)