Removal of Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) from Pulp Mill Effluents by Ozonation

Ozone application was investigated for its effectiveness in the removal of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) from bleaching effluent. The objectives were to compare the efficiency of ozone reaction on Na-EDTA solution with pure Fe³⁺-EDTA complex and EDTA complexes in bleaching effluent, and to test if changing pH and addition of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) increases the removal of EDTA. Small ozone doses destroyed high proportions of Na-EDTA. This effect was diminished when EDTA formed complexes with other metal ions. It was shown that EDTA present in bleaching effluent was more easily oxidizable than in pure Fe³⁺-EDTA solution. Variation of initial pH value had no significant influence on the removal of Na-EDTA. Addition of hydrogen peroxide did not increase degradation of EDTA in bleaching effluent.     

Improving the performance of fluidized bed biomass/waste gasifiers for distributed electricity: A new three-stage gasification system

Methods to increase the conversion of char and tar in fluidized bed gasifiers (FBG) are discussed, with the focus on small to medium-size biomass/waste gasifiers for power production (from 0.5 to 10 MW_e). Optimization of such systems aims at (i) maximizing energy utilization of the fuel (maximizing char conversion), (ii) minimizing secondary treatment of the gas (by avoiding complex tar cleaning), and (iii) application in small biomass-to-electricity gasification plants. The efficiency of various measures to increase tar and char conversion within a gasification reactor (primary methods) is discussed. The optimization of FBG by using in-bed catalysts, by addition of steam and enriched air as gasification agent, and by secondary-air injection, although improving the process, is shown to be insufficient to attain the gas purity required for burning the gas in an engine to produce electricity. Staged gasification is identified as the only method capable of reaching the targets mentioned above with reasonable simplicity and cost, so it is ideal for power production. A promising new stage gasification process is presented. It is based on three stages: FB devolatilization, non-catalytic air/steam reforming of the gas coming from the devolatilizer, and chemical filtering of the gas and gasification of the char in a moving bed supplied with the char generated in the devolatilizer. Design considerations and comparison with one-stage FBG are discussed.     

Tracking the Aquatic Impacts of a Historical Metal Mine Using Lacustrine Protists and Diatom Algae

Two lake sediment cores collected near a closed Cu–Au mine were analyzed for testate amoebas, diatoms, and geochemistry to compare their utility for assessment and monitoring of aquatic impacts of metal mines. Geochemical profiles displayed the mine history as increases in mineral matter-related elements during the mining period, and as post-mining metal peaks. Biotic assemblages co-varied with geochemical shifts, and the most notable ecological changes coincided with the peaks in metal concentrations. Additionally, nutrient enrichment caused a major shift in biotic assemblages. According to the results, the mine affected the lake environment over a relatively large area but the changes were transient. Major ecological effects occurred only after the actual mining period as the tailings weathered, which delayed the metal release. This suggests that mine impacts can be significantly reduced by careful design and after-care of the waste facilities.     

Shape controlled spherical (0D) and rod-like (1D) silica nanoparticles in silica/styrene butadiene rubber nanocomposites: Role of the particle morphology on the filler reinforcing effect

Silica/styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) nanocomposites were prepared by blending method using shape-controlled spherical and rod-like nanoparticles with different aspect ratios as filler for the rubber reinforcement. The differently shaped silica particles were synthesized by sol–gel method using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and (3-mercaptopropyl) trimethoxysilane (MPTSM) as silica precursors, and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as structure directing agent. This strategy allowed to study the influence of the particle morphology on the reinforcing effect independently of the silica surface chemistry and considering the aspect ratio as the only geometrical variance. Spherical and anisotropic rod-like particles, dispersed in the nanocomposites, formed a network of particles bridged by thin rubber layers throughout the SBR matrix. Moreover, differently oriented domains of aligned rods are observed when the aspect ratio of particles increases and is ≥2. Dynamic-mechanical properties demonstrated that the rod-like particles with the higher aspect ratio provided stronger reinforcement of the rubber. This was related to the self-alignment of the anisotropic particles and to the consequent larger filler/polymer interface, compared to that of spherical ones.     

Sugar‐Based Arylsulfonamide Carboxylates as Selective and Water‐Soluble Matrix Metalloproteinase‐12 Inhibitors

Matrix metalloproteinase‐12 (MMP‐12) can be considered an attractive target to study selective inhibitors useful in the development of new therapies for lung and cardiovascular diseases. In this study, a new series of arylsulfonamide carboxylates, with increased hydrophilicity resulting from conjugation with a β‐N‐acetyl‐d ‐glucosamine moiety, were designed and synthesized as MMP‐12 selective inhibitors. Their inhibitory activity was evaluated on human MMPs by using the fluorimetric assay, and a crystallographic analysis was performed to characterize their binding mode. Among these glycoconjugates, a nanomolar MMP‐12 inhibitor with improved water solubility, compound 3 [(R)‐2‐(N‐(2‐(3‐(2‐acetamido‐2‐deoxy‐β‐d ‐glucopyranosyl)thioureido)ethyl)biphenyl‐4‐ylsulfonamido)‐3‐methylbutanoic acid], was identified.     

Intermittent Fasting Primes the Tumor Microenvironment and Improves Nanomedicine Delivery in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Fasting has many health benefits, including reduced chemotherapy toxicity and improved efficacy. It is unclear how fasting affects the tumor microenvironment (TME) and tumor-targeted drug delivery. Here the effects of intermittent (IF) and short-term (STF) fasting are investigated on tumor growth, TME composition, and liposome delivery in allogeneic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) mouse models. To this end, mice are inoculated either subcutaneously or intrahepatically with Hep-55.1C cells and subjected to IF for 24 d or to STF for 1 d. IF but not STF significantly slows down tumor growth. IF increases tumor vascularization and decreases collagen density, resulting in improved liposome delivery. In vitro, fasting furthermore promotes the tumor cell uptake of liposomes. These results demonstrate that IF shapes the TME in HCC towards enhanced drug delivery. Finally, when combining IF with liposomal doxorubicin treatment, the antitumor efficacy of nanochemotherapy is found to be increased, while systemic side effects are reduced. Altogether, these findings exemplify that the beneficial effects of fasting on anticancer therapy outcomes go beyond modulating metabolism at the molecular level.     

Design and implementation of mechanical resonators for optimized inertial electromagnetic microgenerators

This work describes the design and implementation of an electromagnetic inertial microgenerator for energy scavenging from ambient vibrations. The structure of the device is based in a mechanical resonator formed by a permanent magnet (inertial mass) mounted on a polymeric membrane, in combination with a fixed micromachined coil. ANSYS simulations are carried out to investigate the influence of the resonator geometry on the resonant frequency and on the parasitic damping, and to analyze the optimum geometry of the coil for optimization of the electromagnetic coupling in the devices. Generator prototypes have been fabricated with a modular manufacturing process in which the electromagnetic converter and the mechanical resonator are manufactured separately, diced and then assembled. The experimental results show the ability of these devices to generate power levels in the range of 50 μW with output voltages in the range of hundreds of mV. The parasitic damping of the resonator structures is estimated from the fitting of the experimental data, and suggests the existence of an intrinsic limitation of the polymers related to spring stiffening effects at large excitation amplitudes. The comparison of the simulations and the experimental results indicate that further optimizations of this parameter and of the coil series resistance would allow increasing the generated power in more than one order of magnitude.     

Cross-organizational collaboration supported by Augmented Reality

This paper presents a study where Augmented Reality (AR) technology has been used as a tool for supporting collaboration between the rescue services, the police and military personnel in a crisis management scenario. There are few studies on how AR systems should be designed to improve cooperation between actors from different organizations while at the same time supporting individual needs. In the present study, an AR system was utilized for supporting joint planning tasks by providing organization specific views of a shared map. The study involved a simulated emergency event conducted in close to real settings with representatives from the organizations for which the system is developed. As a baseline, a series of trials without the AR system was carried out. Results show that the users were positive toward the AR system and would like to use it in real work. They also experience some performance benefits of using the AR system compared to their traditional tools. Finally, the problem of designing for collaborative work as well as the benefits of using an iterative design processes is discussed.     

Astronomy and Etruscan Ritual: The Case of the Ara della Regina in Tarquinia

The ancient town of Tarquinia is the key place of the Etruscan system of beliefs, since its foundations were credited to Tarchon, descendant of the Greek hero Herakles, founder of the Etruscan League, and discloser of the sacred texts of the Etrusca Disciplina. These were said to come from the infant oracle Tages, who sprang out from the terrain in front of Tarchon while he was ploughing a field. In order to gain a better understanding of the relationship between the archaeological records and the Etruscan symbolic world we investigate here on different orientations and on their possible symbolic meaning at the Ara della Regina, the sanctuary of Tarquinia. The main base appears to be related to the sun rising a decades before the spring equinox, while the Archaic altar, probably representing Tarchon’s cenotaph, was orientated to the setting of the constellation Herakles.