Liuholt3502

Secondary aluminum dross (SAD) is regarded as a solid waste of aluminum recycling process that creates serious environmental and health concerns. However, SAD can also be used as a good source of aluminum, so that utilizing the SAD for the production of valuable products is a promising approach of recycling such waste. In the present work, a novel eco-friendly three-step process was proposed for the synthesis of cryolite (Na3AlF6) from the SAD, and it consisted of (1) water-washing pretreatment of SAD, (2) extraction of Al component via pyro-hydrometallurgy, including low-temperature alkaline smelting, water leaching and purification of leachate in sequence, (3) precipitation of cryolite from the purified NaAlO2 solution using the carbonation method. By analysis of the parameter optimization for each procedure, it was found that the maximum hydrolysis efficiency of aluminum nitride (AlN) in the SAD was around 68.3% accompanied with an extraction efficiency of Al reaching 91.5%. On this basis, the cryolite of high quality was synthesized under the following optimal carbonation conditions reaction temperature of 75 °C, NaAlO2 concentration of 0.11 mol/L, F/(6Al) molar ratio of 1.10, and 99.99% CO2 gas pressure, and flow rate of 0.2 MPa and 0.5 L/min respectively. The formation of Na3AlF6 phase can be detected by XRD. The morphological feature observed by SEM revealed that the as-synthesized cryolite had a polyhedral shape (~1 μm size) with obvious agglomeration. The chemical composition and ignition loss of the as-synthesized cryolite complied well with the requirements of the Chinese national standard (GB/T 4291-2017).The prevalence of obesity is rapidly rising in Spain. The Awareness, Care and Treatment in Obesity Management-An International Observation (ACTION-IO) study (NCT03584191) was an international cross-sectional survey conducted to identify the perceptions, attitudes, behaviors, and barriers to obesity management for people with obesity (PwO) and healthcare professionals (HCPs); results from Spain are presented. In Spain, 1500 PwO (body mass index ≥30 kg/m2 based on self-reported height and weight) and 306 HCPs (in direct patient care for ≥2 years) completed the survey. Fewer PwO (59%) than HCPs (93%) agreed that obesity is a chronic disease. Most PwO (80%) assumed complete responsibility for their own weight loss, whilst 19% of HCPs placed the responsibility on PwO. One-fifth of PwO stated they began struggling with weight before age 15. The mean delay in discussing weight for the first time with an HCP was 6 years. Only 24% of HCPs thought their patients were motivated to lose weight, whilst 45% of PwO reported being motivated. Of the 67% of PwO who had discussed their weight with an HCP in the last 5 years, 66% had been formally diagnosed with obesity. Our Spanish dataset reveals discrepancies in the perceptions and attitudes between PwO and HCPs, thus highlighting the need to improve education about obesity and its clinical management.Background and Aims Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Despite offering a prime paradigm for screening, CRC screening is often hampered by invasiveness. Endoo is a potentially painless colonoscopy method with an active locomotion tethered capsule offering diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities. Materials and Methods The Endoo system comprises a soft-tethered capsule, which embeds a permanent magnet controlled by an external robot equipped with a second permanent magnet. Capsule navigation is achieved via closed-loop interaction between the two magnets. Ex-vivo tests were conducted by endoscopy experts and trainees to evaluate the basic key features, usability, and compliance in comparison with conventional colonoscopy (CC) in feasibility and pilot studies. Results Endoo showed a 100% success rate in operating channel and target approach tests. Progression of the capsule was feasible and repeatable. The magnetic link was lost an average of 1.28 times per complete procedure but was restored in 100% of cases. The peak value of interaction forces was higher in the CC group than the Endoo group (4.12N vs. 1.17N). The cumulative interaction forces over time were higher in the CC group than the Endoo group between the splenic flexure and mid-transverse colon (16.53Ns vs. 1.67Ns, p less then 0.001), as well as between the hepatic flexure and cecum (28.77Ns vs. 2.47Ns, p = 0.005). The polyp detection rates were comparable between groups (9.1 ± 0.9% vs. 8.7 ± 0.9%, CC and Endoo respectively, per procedure). Robotic colonoscopies were completed in 67% of the procedures performed with Endoo (53% experts and 100% trainees). Conclusions Endoo allows smoother navigation than CC and possesses comparable features. Although further research is needed, magnetic capsule colonoscopy demonstrated promising results compared to CC.(1) Background Vitamin D compounds (VDC) are extensively studied in the field of anticancer properties, including breast cancer. Previously, we showed that calcitriol and its analogs (PRI-2191 and PRI-2205) stimulate metastasis in 4T1 murine mammary gland cancer models in young mice, whereas the reverse effect was observed in aged ovariectomized (OVX) mice; (2) Methods We determined the phenotype of monocytes/macrophages using FACS and examined the expression of selected genes and proteins by Real-Time PCR and ELISA; (3) Results Activities of VDC are accompanied by an increase in the percentage of Ly6Clow anti-inflammatory monocytes in the spleen of young and a decrease in aged OVX mice. Treatment of young mice with VDC resulted in an increase of CCL2 plasma and tumor concentration and Arg1 in tumor. In later stage of tumor progression the expression of genes related to metastasis in lung tissue was decreased or increased, in old OVX or young mice, respectively; (4) Conclusions Pro- or anti-metastatic effects of calcitriol and its analogs in young or aged OVX mice, respectively, can be attributed to the differences in the effects of VDC on the tumor microenvironment, as a consequence of differences in the immunity status of young and aged mice.The formation of biofilms on biomaterials causes biofilm-associated infections. 2-Aminoethanethiol chemical Available treatments often fail to fight the microorganisms in the biofilm, creating serious risks for patient well-being and life. Due to their significant antibiofilm activities, antimicrobial peptides are being intensively investigated in this regard. A promising approach is a combination therapy that aims to increase the efficacy and broaden the spectrum of antibiotics. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of temporin A and the short lipopeptides (C10)2-KKKK-NH2 and (C12)2-KKKK-NH2 in combination with gentamicin against biofilm formed by Staphylococcus aureus (SA) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA). Peptides were synthesized with solid-phase temperature-assisted synthesis methodology. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs), fractional inhibitory concentrations (FICs), minimum biofilm eradication concentrations (MBECs), and the influence of combinations of compounds with gentamicin on bacterial biofilm were determined for reference strains of SA (ATCC 25923) and PA (ATCC 9027). The peptides exhibited significant potential to enhance the antibacterial activity of gentamicin against SA biofilm, but there was no synergy in activity against planktonic cells. The antibiotic applied alone demonstrated strong activity against planktonic cells and poor effectiveness against SA biofilm. Biofilm formed by PA was much more sensitive to gentamicin, but some positive influences of supplementation with peptides were noticed. The results of the performed experiments suggest that the potential application of peptides as adjuvant agents in the treatment of biofilm-associated infections should be studied further.This study aimed to examine the concurrent validity of a novel motor-cognitive dual-task test, the Stepping Trail Making Test (S-TMT), as an indicator of cognitive impairment (CI), and compare its screening performance to that of motor or cognitive tests alone. This was a population-based cross-sectional study including 965 Japanese adults aged ≥ 70 years. To measure the time taken to perform the S-TMT, the participants were instructed to step on 16 numbers in sequence as quickly and accurately as possible. Motor and cognitive functions were assessed by gait speed and TMT part A (TMT-A), respectively. Participants were classified into CI ( 27 points) categories based on their Mini-Mental State Examination score. Binary logistic regression models showed that the addition of the S-TMT to the covariates model gave the highest discrimination index (c-statistics), and significantly improved reclassification indices (net reclassification improvement and integrated discrimination improvement) for screening both CI and MCI compared to those of gait speed or TMT-A alone. These results show that S-TMT has a concurrent validity as a dual-task test for screening CI and MCI and better discrimination and reclassification performance than motor or cognitive tests alone in older adults.It is well known that factors acting on the decrease of population of honeybees, can act on the male and female reproductive system, compromising the fertility of queens and drones. While there are many studies on female fertility, only a few studies have focused on male fertility and the possible alterations of the reproductive system. The testes of 25 samples of adult drones of Apis mellifera ligustica were analyzed by histopathology using an innovative histological processing technique and the alterations that were found are here described. Most of the samples showed unaltered testes but, in some cases, samples showed degenerated seminiferous tubules, while others appeared immature. Although a limited number of samples were analyzed, the results obtained displayed that histopathological alterations of the testes exist also in honeybees and that more interest should be put to the matter, as honeybees could be considered as bioindicators for endocrine disruptors. Future studies on a larger number of samples are necessary to analyze how different environmental factors can act and induce alterations in the honeybee reproductive system.In this work, we investigate the role of folding/unfolding equilibrium in protein aggregation and formation of a gel network. Near the neutral pH and at a low buffer ionic strength, the formation of the gel network around unfolding conditions prevents investigations of protein aggregation. In this study, by deploying the fact that in lysozyme solutions the time of folding/unfolding is much shorter than the characteristic time of gelation, we have prevented gelation by rapidly heating the solution up to the unfolding temperature (~80 °C) for a short time (~30 min.) followed by fast cooling to the room temperature. Dynamic light scattering measurements show that if the gelation is prevented, nanosized irreversible aggregates (about 10-15 nm radius) form over a time scale of 10 days. These small aggregates persist and aggregate further into larger aggregates over several weeks. If gelation is not prevented, the nanosized aggregates become the building blocks for the gel network and define its mesh length scale. These results support our previously published conclusion on the nature of mesoscopic aggregates commonly observed in solutions of lysozyme, namely that aggregates do not form from lysozyme monomers in their native folded state.