Hydrothermal carbonization of municipal waste streams

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a novel thermal conversion process that can be used to convert municipal waste streams into sterilized, value-added hydrochar. HTC has been mostly applied and studied on a limited number of feedstocks, ranging from pure substances to slightly more complex biomass such as wood, with an emphasis on nanostructure generation. There has been little work exploring the carbonization of complex waste streams or of utilizing HTC as a sustainable waste management technique. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the environmental implications associated with the carbonization of representative municipal waste streams (including gas and liquid products), to evaluate the physical, chemical, and thermal properties of the produced hydrochar, and to determine carbonization energetics associated with each waste stream. Results from batch carbonization experiments indicate 49-75% of the initially present carbon is retained within the char, while 20-37% and 2-11% of the carbon is transferred to the liquid- and gas-phases, respectively. The composition of the produced hydrochar suggests both dehydration and decarboxylation occur during carbonization, resulting in structures with high aromaticities. Process energetics suggest feedstock carbonization is exothermic.     

Development of a Specific Monoclonal Antibody to Detect Male Cells Expressing the RPS4Y1 Protein

Hemophilia is an X-linked recessive bleeding disorder. In pregnant women carrier of hemophilia, the fetal sex can be determined by non-invasive analysis of fetal DNA circulating in the maternal blood. However, in case of a male fetus, conventional invasive procedures are required for the diagnosis of hemophilia. Fetal cells, circulating in the maternal bloodstream, are an ideal target for a safe non-invasive prenatal diagnosis. Nevertheless, the small number of cells and the lack of specific fetal markers have been the most limiting factors for their isolation. We aimed to develop monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the ribosomal protein RPS4Y1 expressed in male cells. By Western blotting, immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence analyses performed on cell lysates from male human hepatoma (HepG2) and female human embryonic kidney (HEK293) we developed and characterized a specific monoclonal antibody against the native form of the male RPS4Y1 protein that can distinguish male from female cells. The availability of the RPS4Y1-targeting monoclonal antibody should facilitate the development of novel methods for the reliable isolation of male fetal cells from the maternal blood and their future use for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis of X-linked inherited disease such as hemophilia.     

Green Process for Natural Rubber Latex Hydrogenation via Metathesis

Natural rubber (NR) is an important renewable polymeric material which contains cis-1,4-polyisoprene as a major component. A new approach for a green hydrogenation process has been developed in this research work. This metathesis/hydrogenation method has less detrimental environmental impact and provides improved thermal stability of NR.     

Comparison among direct,indirect and index selections on agronomic traits and nutritional quality traits in common bean

BACKGROUND: Selection indices are linear combinations that allow the selection of several characters simultaneously. The objective of this study was to verify the efficiency of direct selection, indirect selection and selection indices in the identification of higher inbred common bean lines for grain yield, morphological, phenological and nutritional traits. RESULTS: There is genetic variability for grain yield, lodging, general adaptation note, cycle, insertion of the first pod, calcium and iron concentrations in the seeds. Moderate phenotypic correlation coefficients were observed between grain yield and general adaptation note (r = ? 0.57) and cycle (r = ? 0.57). When direct selection was performed for grain yield, the insertion of the first pod, calcium and iron concentrations showed negative indirect selection gains. The classic index showed that the distribution of gains has become more balanced: grain yield (39.05%), calcium (8.29%) and iron concentration (1.64%). CONCLUSION: Direct selection and indirect selection are not efficient in the simultaneous selection of agronomic traits and nutritional quality in common bean. The classical, base and multiplicative indexes provide responses of gain balanced among traits and superior genetic progress in the selection of inbred common bean lines, and have a high coincidence between the lines selected. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Bridge residual service-life prediction through Bayesian visual inspection and data updating

The paper describes an integrated procedure for evaluation of the service-life curve of existing bridges, calibrated with data derived from visual inspections and aimed at assessing the degree of deterioration of their structural/non-structural elements. Visual inspections allowed a total sufficiency rating for the bridges to be calculated, together with data collection, to be used in Bayesian updating of element deterioration curves. The results were combined with information from simulations of potential bridge deterioration scenarios to quantify mean trends and related uncertainties of the remaining service-life curves of existing bridges. The proposed procedure was applied to two bridge stocks and results are critically discussed. The method used may allow public authorities/private managing companies to optimise economic resources allocated to long/medium-term maintenance plans for the most critical structures.