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Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) is a promising technology for the intensification of chemical and physical processes, with applications in wastewater treatment, extraction from suspended solids, and disinfection. In this study, the effects of HC on different model compounds for dissolved organic matter (DOM) were investigated. These compounds, such as lignin, humic acids, and protein-like compounds, are commonly present in organic wastewaters and were studied under various conditions. Specifically, changes in UV-Vis spectra and fluorescence properties resulting from HC treatments were analyzed. Results show that HC had distinct effects on the spectral indices, fluorescence intensity, and peak positions of the model compounds. Changes in humic acid and lignin were attributed to the oxidation and fragmentation of polymers, while changes in tryptone were explained by the polymerization and partial oxidation of its amino acids. Pyrolysis was found to be the dominant mechanism affecting non-polar substances, such as zwitterions in tryptone, whereas radical attack predominantly affects hydrophilic compounds like large, charged molecules like humic acids. Large molecules with both charged and non-charged groups, such as lignin, experienced a mixed effect. Findings in this work provide a comprehensive understanding of HC effects on various DOM model compounds. These results could aid in the development of more efficient HC-based treatment processes for organic pollutants.

Key message: MsTFL1Ais an important gene involved in flowering repression in alfalfa (Medicago sativa) which conditions not only above-ground plant shoot architecture but also root development and growth. Abstract: Delayed flowering is an important trait for forage species, as it allows harvesting of high-quality forage for a longer time before nutritional values decline due to plant architecture changes related to flowering onset. Despite the relevance of delayed flowering, this trait has not yet been thoroughly exploited in alfalfa. This is mainly due to its complex genetics, sensitivity to inbreeding and to the fact that delayed flowering would be only advantageous if it allowed increased forage quality without compromising seed production. To develop new delayed-flowering varieties, we have characterized the three TERMINAL FLOWERING 1 (TFL1)family of genes in alfalfa: MsTFL1A, MsTFL1Band MsTFL1C. Constitutive expression of MsTFL1Ain Arabidopsis caused late flowering and changes in inflorescence architecture, indicating that MsTFL1Ais the ortholog of Arabidopsis TFL1. Overexpression of MsTFL1Ain alfalfa consistently led to delayed flowering in both controlled and natural field conditions, coupled to an increase in leaf/stem ratio, a common indicator of forage quality. Additionally, overexpression of MsTFL1Areduced root development, reinforcing the role of MsTFL1Anot only as a flowering repressor but also as a regulator of root development.We conclude that the precise manipulation of MsTFL1Agene expression may represent a powerful tool to improve alfalfa forage quality.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TA-TMA) and diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) are well recognized post-transplant complications that carry a high risk of mortality; however, the risk of DAH complicating the course of transplant patients with TA-TMA is not well understood. We conducted a ten-year retrospective study at our institution to determine the incidence of DAH in a cohort of pediatric patients with TA-TMA and described their presentation and outcomes. Additionally, autopsy slides, when available, were reviewed to assess for histological evidence of microvascular injury and alveolar hemorrhages. A total of 58 pediatric patients with TA-TMA were identified. Of these, 14 (24%) had DAH. Majority of DAH cases occurred within a week of TA-TMA diagnosis (n= 8, 57%, range 0-698 days). Mortality was 100% for patients with DAH and TA-TMA. Infections were found to be a significant risk factor for DAH in TA-TMA. Autopsy was performed in 11 of the 14 patients, and pulmonary slides were available for review in ten cases. 70% cases had pathological evidence of microvascular injury, concerning for pulmonary TA-TMA. We conclude that DAH is a potentially fatal complication in patients with TA-TMA and may be a result of pulmonary microangiopathy.

Background: Few studies have examined robotic surgery from a programmatic standpoint, yet this is how hospitals evaluate return on investment clinically and fiscally. This study examines the 10-year experience of a robotic program at a single academic institution. Study design: All robotic operations performed at our institution from August 2005 to December 2016 were reviewed. Data were collected from the robotic system and hospital databases. Results: A total of 3485 robotic operations were performed. Yearly case volume nearly quadrupled. There have been 37 robotic-trained surgeons in 5 specialties performing 53 different operations. Rate of conversion to open was 4.2%. American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class increased over time, with ASA class 3 increasing from 20% of patients to 45% of patients. Conclusions: Over 10 years, the use of robotic technology has grown significantly at our institution, with good fiscal and clinical outcomes. Operating room costs are high; however, efficiency has improved, LOS is shorter, admission costs are lower than open operations, and readmission rates are lower.

Monitoring soil health status is imperative to pursue sustainable agriculture. Aggregate stability (AS) is fundamental to define several soil functions and, therefore, physical soil health. The objectives of this work were to (i) evaluate the effect of contrasting cropping systems on AS, soil (SOC) and particulate (POC) organic carbon, and anaerobic nitrogen (AN) both in bulk soil and in macroaggregates (MA), and (ii) assess the relationship between AS and AN both in bulk soil and in MA to facilitate soil physical health monitoring. Aggregate stability, AN, SOC and POC were evaluated at three depths (0–5, 5–20, and 0–20 cm) in a Mollisol of the Southeastern Argentinean Pampas under a long‐term experiment of cropping systems (crop‐pasture rotations under conventional tillage [CT] and no‐tillage [NT]). Bulk‐soil SOC and POC contents and AN showed the effect of cropping systems, especially the effect of crop‐pasture rotation and at 0–5 cm depth. However, NT did not lead to SOC sequestration except at 0–5 cm depth. In turn, pastures in the rotation and NT improved AS. Bulk‐soil AN explained 75, 41, and 71% of AS at 0–5, 5–20, and 0–20 cm depths, respectively, and provides an indication of AS status. Instead, AN in MA did not explain bulk‐soil AS changes as much as bulk‐soil AN, except at 0–5 cm depth. Therefore, it is not worth determining AN in MA. However, routine bulk‐soil AN determination at 0–20 cm depth by producers to diagnose nitrogen soil fertility would also provide an additional valuable indication of AS status.

Aim:In this study, the CRISPR gene-editing approach was used to simultaneously inactivate all three members of the ALSgene family in the opportunistic pathogen Candida orthopsilosis. Materials & methods:Using a single gRNA and repair template, CRISPR-edited clones were successfully generated in a one-step process in both C. orthopsilosisreference and clinical strains. Results:The phenotypic characterization of the ALStriple-edited strains revealed no impact on growth in liquid or solid media. However, pseudohyphal formation and the ability to adhere to human buccal epithelial cells were significantly decreased in triple-edited clones. Conclusion:Our CRISPR/Cas9 system is a powerful tool for simultaneous editing of fungal gene families, which greatly accelerates the generation of multiple gene-edited Candidastrains. Data deposition:Nucleotide sequence data are available in the GenBank databases under the accession numbers MK875971, MK875972, MK875973, MK875974, MK875975, MK875976, MK875977.

Determining and controlling the trajectory of solid flocs in a settler are of paramount importance to ensure the desired solid–liquid separation. This work evinces the feasibility of determining the motion of solid particles in a lamellar settler by using radioactive particle tracking and extracting relevant dynamic information from an approximate two-dimensional (2D) reconstruction. The experimental procedure involves simultaneously scanning different regions of the settler with scintillation detectors located at a given distance from the examined vessel while a radioactive tracer particle is freely moving inside. The complete reconstruction considers the system geometry, the attenuation of the medium (water), the activity of the radioactive tracer, and the efficiency of the detectors, determined by calibration. The approximate reconstruction considers that the detectors located closer to the tracer are the ones that record the largest number of counts. Then, searching for the detector with the highest number of counts and considering the ratio of the intensity measured by the closest ones, an approximate tracer axial bidimensional location is estimated. Compared to the results given by the radioactive particle tracking (RPT) technique, although the information extracted is more limited, the approximate experimental procedure has the advantage of not requiring a calibration stage, which could be complex for systems with varying solid holdup. Analysis of the particles’ trajectories obtained with this methodology can be quite useful to assess a proper design of the settler. For instance, the upper limit of the working flow rate and the mean residence time of the flocs before settling can be determined. The particle motion is simulated with a volume-of-fluid (VOF) method implemented in Gerris open-access software, and compared to the experimental results.

Environmental context Sorption and oxidation reactions at mineral surfaces can substantially influence the mobility and toxicity of environmental contaminants. An understanding of the factors that control these reactions is crucial for predicting the fate of contaminant species. We investigate the reactivity of manganese oxides towards polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, persistent organic compounds of environmental concern. Abstract Birnessites are ubiquitous components of natural systems and may exert a significant influence on the mobility and toxicity of different types of contaminants, including organic species. Their small particle sizes and internal structure provide them with high sorption capacities and oxidising abilities for redox sensitive species. In the present work, the interactions of two MnIV birnessites (δ-MnO2 and acid birnessite) of different particle sizes and layer vacancy contents were investigated with four hydrophobic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) of three and four rings. Fluorene and anthracene were oxidised to produce the corresponding and less toxic quinones by both birnessites, but at a higher rate and extent by δ-MnO2. Phenanthrene and fluoranthene only adsorbed to δ-MnO2 but not to acid birnessite. The higher reactivity of δ-MnO2 is only partly explained by its higher specific surface area (114 v. 39m2g-1), i.e. by its smaller particle size. The repulsive effect of water molecules from hydrated cations sorbed on layer vacant sites is most likely decisive, because acid birnessite shows a considerably larger content of these vacancies. The results presented provide a fundamental understanding of the potential influence of birnessite minerals on the attenuation of low molecular weight PAHs in environments with low organic matter content, such as deep aquifers.

Abstract. Prolonged tracheal intubation of patients often leads to tracheal stenosis (TS), which may require surgical removal of the narrowed portion of the airway. We studied 20 patients with TS who underwent surgical ablation of the stenotic portion of trachea. The morphology of the tracheal segments was characterized and compared with clinical data and with the prognosis for the disease. We found that TS was usually due to an increase in the width of the mucosa as a result of the fibrosis associated with the chronic inflammation. Plasma cells were the predominant leukocyte type seen in the inflammatory infiltrates of the surgically removed portions of narrowed trachea. In the majority of TS samples, the epithelial surface was intact and presented cilia; in contrast, cilia disappeared when the tracheal lumen was completely obliterated. Mucosal cells and glands were also well preserved in TS samples. The need to remove TS segments was often related to previous tracheal surgery, which was also associated with closing of the tracheal lumen and ossification of cartilage rings. We conclude that (a) chronic inflammation and fibrosis are responsible for the narrowing of trachea in TS patients, (b) metaplastic ossification of cartilage rings only occurs after complete obliteration of the tracheal lumen, and (c) loss of cilia and presence of metaplastic bone tissue are indicators of a poor prognosis for TS. The French version of this article is available in the form of electronic supplementary material and can be obtained by using the Springer Link server located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00276-002-0031-8. Résumé. L'intubation trachéale prolongée entraîne fréquemment une sténose trachéale (ST), qui conduit parfois à la nécessité de l'ablation chirurgicale du segment sténosé. Nous avons étudié 20 patients chez lesquels l'ablation d'une portion sténosée de la trachée avait été réalisée. La morphologie des segments trachéaux enlevés a été caractérisée et corrélée aux données cliniques et au pronostic de la maladie. La ST était fréquemment associée à une inflammation chronique, où les cellules sanguines les plus abondantes étaient les leucocytes. L'épithélium de la ST était le plus souvent intègre et présentait des cellules ciliées; cependant, ces dernières disparaissaient en cas d'occlusion de la lumière trachéale. Les cellules muqueuses et glandulaires étaient également préservées dans les segments de ST. La nécessité d'ablation chirurgicale de la ST était souvent associée à des antécédents d'intervention chirurgicale trachéale, eux-mêmes associés à un collapsus de la lumière trachéale et à une ossification des anneaux trachéaux. Nous concluons que (a) l'inflammation chronique et la fibrose sont les principales étiologies de la ST; (b) l'ossification des cartilages trachéaux ne se produit qu'en cas d'oblitération complète de la lumière trachéale ; (c) la perte des cellules ciliées et la présence de tissu osseux sont des critères de mauvais pronostic de la ST.

The method of invariant imbedding, used extensively in astrophysics and in neutron transport theory, is applied to the analysis of dams whose input rate is a finite state-space continuous-parameter Markov chain. Passage-time distributions are considered as functions of the dam capacity. When the release rate is constant the method yields first-order non-linear differential equations with initial conditions obtained from the easily derived behaviour of a dam with zero capacity. Solutions of these equations are given. Some possible correlation functions for the increments of the cumulative input process are examined when the underlying Markov chain is stationary. Finally the analysis is extended to deal with dams having content-dependent release-rate of the form

A study is made of the maximum, minimum and range on [0, t] of the integral process where Sis a finite state-space Markov chain. Approximate results are derived by establishing weak convergence of a sequence of such processes to a Wiener process. For a particular family of two-state stationary Markov chains we show that the corresponding centered integral processes exhibit the Hurst phenomenon to a remarkable degree in their pre-asymptotic behaviour.

A 3-year-old female neutered Staffordshire Bull Terrier presented with a mixed germ cell tumor involving the base of the iris and the ciliary body of the right eye. The tumor mass was composed primarily of packeted vacuolated, polygonal (hepatoid) cells and small round cells; epithelial cells lining tubuloacinar structures were a less prominent component. The hepatoid and round cells stained positively for alpha-fetoprotein and cytokeratin. The epithelial cells stained positively for cytokeratin only, and some contained cytoplasmic mucin droplets. The polygonal cells were interpreted as a hepatoid variant of yolk sac tumor, and the epithelial cells were considered a teratomatous component. Trabeculae of bone were observed within the mass and may have been metaplastic or a teratomatous element. Extragonadal germ cell tumors are rare in dogs and have previously been reported only in the suprasellar region. This is the first report of this tumor type in the eye of a nonhuman species.

OBJECTIVES Diarrhea in AIDS patients is one of the most important and disabling symptom, and often decreases their quality of life. Cytomegalovirus colitis is among the principal causes of this sympton, and colonoscopy is the gold standard examination to diagnose it. The objetive of this study is to define the main endoscopic findings in AIDS patients with CMV colitis. PATIENTS AND METHODS On two hundred forty five colonoscopies perfomed in AIDS patients, over a ten year period, sixty two examinationts in fifty one patients diagnosed cytomegalovirus colitis. Full length colonocopy with ileum intubation and multiple biopsies of all segments examined were always attempted. All diagnoses were confirmed by histologic and inmunohistochemical studies. RESULTS Total colonoscopy was possible in 97,5% of these examinations, and ileum intubation was achieved in 87,2% of them. A heterogeneous ulcerative pattern was present in 82% of these cases and in 50% of then only the proximal segments were affected. The cytomegalovirus was also found in one patient with normal mucosa on total endoscopic examination. In 10% of these exams another infectious agent was observed. CONCLUSION We may conclude that full length colonoscopy with ileum intubation and multiple biopsies of all segments, even if they are endoscopically normal, has always to be attempted in all cases of AIDS patients with diarrhea.