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In this article, microalgae Nannochloropsis sp. was used for fatty acid (FA) extraction, using a supercritical fluid-carbon dioxide (SF-CO2) extraction method. This study investigated the influence of different pre-treatment conditions by varying the grinding speed (200&ndash, 600 rpm), pre-treatment time (2.5&ndash, 10 min), and mixing ratio of diatomaceous earth (DE) and Nannochloropsis sp. biomass (0.5&ndash, 2.0 DE/biomass) on FAs extraction. In addition, the effect of different operating conditions, such as pressure (100&ndash, 550 bar), temperature (50&ndash, 75 &deg, C), and CO2 flow rate (7.24 and 14.48 g/min) on eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) recovery, was analyzed. Experimental data evidenced that, keeping constant the extraction conditions, the pre-treatment step enhanced the FAs extraction yield up to 3.4 fold, thereby the maximum extracted amount of FAs (61.19 mg/g) was attained with the pre-treatment with a ratio of DE/biomass of 1 at 600 rpm for 5 min. Moreover, by increasing both SF-CO2 pressure and temperature, the selectivity towards EPA was enhanced, while intermediate pressure and lower pressure promoted DHA recovery. The highest amount of extracted EPA, i.e., 5.69 mg/g, corresponding to 15.59%, was obtained at 75 &deg, C and 550 bar with a CO2 flow rate of 14.48 g/min, while the maximum amount of extracted DHA, i.e., ~0.12 mg/g, equal to 79.63%, was registered at 50 &deg, C and 400 bar with a CO2 flow rate of 14.48 g/min. Moreover, the increased CO2 flow rate from 7.24 to 14.48 g/min enhanced both EPA and DHA recovery.

Background: Adherence to inhaled drugs is linked to patients’ satisfaction with their device, and an incorrect use can negatively affect the outcomes of asthma treatment. We speculated that this is particularly true in elderly asthmatic subjects. Aim: We performed a national pre-post interventional multicentre study, enrolling moderate-to-severe asthmatic subjects aged ≥65 ​years treated with fixed inhaled combination drugs by dry powder inhaler (DPI) or pressurized metered dose inhaler (pMDI). Adherence and critical errors were evaluated by means of validated questionnaires at first visit (V1) and after 3–6 months (V2). At V1, subjects underwent intensive training on the correct use of their device by physical demonstration. Results: A total of 411 asthmatics (F/M: 238/173, mean age±SD: 72 ​± ​5 ​years) participated to the study. At V1, 50% of the study subjects showed an Asthma Control Test (ACT) score ≤19 despite GINA step 3 and 4 treatment, and 40% had experienced at least one severe asthma exacerbation in the previous year. Poor adherence to treatment was recorded in 43% of subjects, and at least one error in using the device was registered in 56% of subjects. At V2, available for 318 patients, both the percentage of individuals with poor adherence and with at least one critical error significantly decreased (from 46% to 25%, and from 49% to 25%, respectively; p ​

This research shows that carbon dioxide supercritical fluid (CO2-SF) is an emerging technology for the extraction of high interest compounds for applications in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and cosmetics from microalgae. The purpose of this study is to recover fatty acids (FAs) and, more precisely, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) from Nannochloropsis gaditana biomass by CO2-SF extraction. In the paper, the effect of mechanical pre-treatment was evaluated with the aim of increasing FAs recovery. Extraction was performed at a pressure range of 250&ndash, 550 bars and a CO2 flow rate of 7.24 and 14.48 g/min, while temperature was fixed at 50 or 65 &deg, C. The effect of these parameters on the extraction yield was assessed at each extraction cycle, 20 min each, for a total extraction time of 100 min. Furthermore, the effect of biomass loading on EPA recovery was evaluated. The highest EPA extraction yield, i.e., 11.50 mg/g, corresponding to 27.4% EPA recovery, was obtained at 65 &deg, C and 250 bars with a CO2 flow rate of 7.24 g/min and 1.0 g biomass loading. The increased CO2 flow rate from 7.24 to 14.48 g/min enhanced the cumulative EPA recovery at 250 bars. The purity of EPA could be improved by biomass loading of 2.01 g, even if recovery was reduced.

Background: Although several contributions exist on the role of fractional exhaled NO (FeNO) in diagnosis and management of asthma, no studies have analysed the association between FeNO in patients with severe asthma and nasal polyposis. Aim: We investigated the potential association between FeNO and the presence of nasal polyps in patients affected by severe asthma. Methods: Study population included 93 severe asthmatic adult patients consecutively enrolled from four Italian specialist clinic centres from 2015 to 2018. In these patients lung function, asthma control, FeNO, blood eosinophils and CT scan of paranasal sinuses were evaluated. Results: Nasal polyposis was observed in 28 patients (30%). Among univariate predictors (lower BMI, higher FeNO, eosinophil and neutrophil count), recursive partitioning analysis identified as best predictors of nasal polyposis high values of eosinophil count (≥6.5% or >420 cells/mm3) and FeNO (≥39 ppb). The 40 patients with low eosinophil count and FeNO had a significant lower occurrence of nasal polyposis than those with higher values (8% vs 58%; p < 0.001). The stratification algorithm had a good performance in discriminate patients with and without nasal polyposis (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.768). Conclusions: Our results show that FeNO might improve to detect nasal polyposis in patients with severe asthma and a low level of blood eosinophils counts, identifying individuals with high susceptibility to this condition.

This chapter is dedicated to an overview of the technological options to produce in an efficient way power from biomass gasification products. This is a very important task as it tries to couple two different aspects: the benefits coming from biomass gasification, in terms of efficiency and environmentally friendly operations, with the new trends of bio syngas energetic valorization. The final goal is to explore all the potential steps for an integrated process able to valorize fully the energy content of biomass in a wide range of potential sustainable energy vectors: from pure hydrogen to electrical energy via-fuel cells or high-performance internal combustion engines. More attention is paid to the effect of processing gas coming out from gasification of biomasses that exhibits some specific characteristics such as a wide variability on hydrocarbon composition or the presence of inorganic undesired compounds.

Introduction: Pidotimod, a synthetic dipeptide molecule with biological and immunological activities, is used to reduce the number of exacerbations or pneumonitis in patients with inflammatory diseases. In the present study, we investigated whether Pidotimod modifies the metabolomic pathways measured in the exhaled breath condensate (EBC) of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectatic patients (NCFB). Materials and Methods: We analyzed 40 adult patients affected by NCFB. They were randomly selected to receive Pidotimod 800 mg b/d for 21 consecutive days (3 weeks) per month for 6 months (20 patients, V1 group) or no drug (20 patients, V0 group), with a 1:1 criterion and then followed as outpatients. Results: EBC samples were collected from all patients at baseline and after 6 months. They were investigated by combined nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and multivariate statistical analysis to uncover metabolic differences between EBC from NCFB patients before and after therapy with Pidotimod. Pulmonary function test and pulmonary exacerbations were analyzed at baseline and at the end of Pidotimod therapy. The EBC metabolites were all identified, and through statistical evaluation, we were able to discriminate the two samples' classes, with acetate, acetoin, lactate, and citrate as statistically significant discriminatory metabolites. The model vas validated by using a blind set of 20 NCFB samples, not included in the primary analysis. No differences were observed in PFT after 6 months. At the end of the study, there was a significant decrease of exacerbation rate in V1 group as compared with V0 group, with a substantial reduction of the number of mild or severe exacerbations (p < 0.001). Discussion: Pidotimod modifies the respiratory metabolic phenotype ("metabotype") of NCFB patients and reduces the number of exacerbations.

Photocatalysis combined with membrane technology could offer an enormous potential for power generation in a renewable and sustainable way. Herein, we describe the one-step hydrogen and oxygen evolution through a photocatalytic membrane reactor. Experimental tests were carried out by means of a two-compartment cell in which a modified Nafion membrane separated the oxygen and hydrogen evolution semi-cells, while iron ions permeating through the membrane acted as a redox mediator. Nanosized Au/TiO2 and Au/CeO2 were employed as suspended photocatalysts for hydrogen and oxygen generation, respectively. The influence of initial Fe3+ ion concentration, ranging from 5 to 20 mM, was investigated, and the best results in terms of hydrogen and oxygen evolution were registered by working with 5 mM Fe3+. The positive effect of gold on the overall water splitting was confirmed by comparing the photocatalytic results obtained with the modified/unmodified titania and ceria. Au-loading played a key role for controlling the photocatalytic activity, and the optimal percentage for hydrogen and oxygen generation was 0.25 wt%. Under irradiation with visible light, hydrogen and oxygen were produced in stoichiometric amounts. The crucial role of the couple Fe3+/Fe2+ and of the membrane on the performance of the overall photocatalytic system was found.

Disease phenotyping is a key step towards an increasingly personalized approach to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), leading to a more precise assessment, treatment and definition of disease outcomes. The search for biomarkers able to guide the identification of COPD phenotypes are of great importance for both researchers and clinicians. However, while several biomarkers of inflammation [e.g., peripheral blood eosinophils and fractional expired nitric oxide] have been identified and applied in asthma, none has been successfully linked to discrete clinical parameters of COPD such as exacerbations, natural progression, and treatment response or mortality risk. Recently, several studies have shown that blood eosinophils are a potential biomarker for patient subset stratification in COPD therapy. Here we reviewed the value of blood eosinophils in predicting the response of COPD patients to treatment.

In this study, Scenedesmus almeriensis as green microalga was cultivated on bench-scale for carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and lutein production. The autotrophic cultivation of S. almeriensis was carried out by using a vertical bubble column photo-bioreactor (VBC-PBR) with a continuous flow of a gaseous mixture of oxygen (O2), nitrogen (N2), and CO2, the latter in content of 0.0–3.0 %v/v. The liquid phase was batch. S. almeriensis growth was optimized. In addition, lutein extraction was carried out by using accelerated solvent extraction with ethanol as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) solvent at 67 °C and 10 MPa. Upon optimization of CO2 concentration, the maximum biomass productivity, equal to 129.24 mg·L−1·d−1, was achieved during the cultivation by using a content of CO2 equal to 3.0 %v/v and it allowed to obtain a lutein content of 8.54 mg·g−1, which was 5.6-fold higher in comparison to the analogous process carried out without CO2 addition. The ion chemical analysis in the growth medium showed that by gradually increasing CO2 content, the nutrient consumption during the growth phase also increased. This study may be of potential interest for lutein extraction at industrial scale, since it is focused on pigment production from a natural source with a concomitantly CO2 capture.

The aim of the paper is to evaluate the bioenergy and bio-based material recovery from fruit scraps through an innovative process, e.g., supercritical water gasification, which presents several advantages in comparison to the traditional processes for energy and matter recovery. In particular, experimental tests of peach scraps were carried out using bench-scale plant plug flow reactor type, in which the selected liquid matter can be pumped until 300 bar and heated until 600°C to achieve the supercritical water condition of the water. The main results showed that, in the range of the feed flow rate of 5-30 mL/min and at fixed operative conditions of T and P (T = 550°C, and P = 250 bar), it is possible to obtain tar-free syngas with a higher heating value of 14-16 MJ/kgdry basis. The influence of the residence time was studied for the gaseous and liquid phases. For each one of them, it was possible to highlight a specific trend. In the liquid phase, the main components were acetic acid, hydroquinone, and syringaldehyde that are intermediates for the chemical synthesis of interesting bio-based chemicals and biochemicals. © 2016 American Chemical Society.

In this paper, the activity of a cobalt/molybdenum (Co/Mo) commercial catalyst for the Water Gas Shift Reaction for hydrogen production was investigated in a three fixed-bed reactor pilot plant using a tar-rich synthesis gas from a full-scale biomass gasification plant as feed-stream. A parametric variation study was carried out to assess CO conversion (X CO ) and selectivity for the water gas shift reaction as a function of the operating temperature (T) in the range 300–450 °C. The effects of four dry gas hourly space velocities (GHSV), Case A-Case D, two steam to dry synthesis gas ratios (H 2 O/SG), 56% v/v and 67% v/v, and a H 2 S concentration in the range 100–220 ppm v,db were investigated: the highest CO conversion (∼95%) was observed in the base case (Case A GHSV) at 67% v/v H 2 O/SG, and 450 °C, the lower the operating temperature the lower the CO concentration, the lower the gas hourly space velocity the higher the CO conversion and the higher the H 2 O/SG the higher the CO conversion. The effect of H 2 S variation on CO conversion was also studied, keeping the operating temperature constant (≈365 °C) and using the Case D GHSV: CO conversion increased as the H 2 S concentration increased and X CO ≈ 40%. Selectivity was not influenced by the parameters investigated. Finally, the effect of the catalyst on tar removal was studied and a CO conversion close to 85% was found.

The enzymatic hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse, an important source for the second generation bioethanol production, was optimized in a stirred tank reactor and the power of stirring was monitored. A synergistic effect of mixing and enzymatic hydrolysis occurs: the mixing increases the cellulose conversion rate, whilst the increased conversion eases the mixing. The objective was to evaluate the effect of an improved mixing on the efficiency of the enzymatic hydrolysis and the possibility to bypass the washing step carried out before hydrolysis reaction. This step removes the inhibitors of hydrolytic enzymes, but it represents an economical and an energetic cost for bioethanol process. In addition, other monomeric sugars contained in pretreated material as xylose, arabinose and mannose, are removed during the washing step. In this study, the yields of glucose, xylose, arabinose and mannose were evaluated after enzymatic hydrolysis performed under different stirring conditions: at 300 rpm and at 100/150 rpm. At the stirring rate of 300 rpm, the yield increase was 9% for glucose and as high as 90% for the other monosaccharides. These results suggest that the key to optimize the enzymatic hydrolysis reaction is an adequate mixing, proposing a way for an economical optimization of bioethanol synthesis. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The aim of the paper is a comparison among three innovative process layouts for biomethane and power production from humid biomasses: anaerobic digestion (AD), supercritical water gasification integrated in a supercritical steam turbine stages (SCWG + SuST) and a technology that combines these two, AD plus SCWG and SuST. All the solutions were implemented in an ad hoc simulative tool of Aspen Hysis® v.7.0.1. Livestock sludge (LS) with an energy content up to 10 wt% (ashes free) was used as reference biomass to establish and compare the performance of any proposed process scheme. LS feedstocks introduced in the SCWG + SuST increased both biomethane production and power production of about 50 % compared to AD process that produces 25 Nm3/(day t) of pure biomethane. Combining both technologies, the digestate from AD outflow is feeding the SCWG + SuST process, there is an increase of 50 % of power generation with a production of biomethane of about 36 Nm3/(day t). Another advantage of the SCWG + SuST is that, set the fed, it is possible to reduce drastically the volume of the plant because the fermentation step, which usually corresponds to 15–30 days, is not required. Considering that although AD process is a simple and consolidated technology, it does not allow the total recovery of the organic compounds and requires long period for the biomass, the proposed innovative processes could offer new solutions for biomethane and power production. © 2016, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

International audience; The fifth report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change forecasts that greenhouse gases will increase the global temperature as well as the frequency of extreme weather phenomena. An increasing body of evidence shows the occurrence of severe asthma epidemics during thunderstorms in the pollen season, in various geographical zones. The main hypotheses explaining association between thunderstorms and asthma claim that thunderstorms can concentrate pollen grains at ground level which may then release allergenic particles of respirable size in the atmosphere after their rupture by osmotic shock. During the first 20–30 min of a thunderstorm, patients suffering from pollen allergies may inhale a high concentration of the allergenic material that is dispersed into the atmosphere, which in turn can induce asthmatic reactions, often severe. Subjects without asthma symptoms, but affected by seasonal rhinitis can also experience an asthma attack. All subjects affected by pollen allergy should be alerted to the danger of being outdoors during a thunderstorm in the pollen season, as such events may be an important cause of severe exacerbations. In light of these observations, it is useful to predict thunderstorms and thus minimize thunderstorm-related events.

In the last decades the interest in the biomass gasification process has increased due to the growing attention to the use of sustainable energy. Biomass is a renewable energy source and represents a valid alternative to fossil fuels. Gasification is the thermochemical conversion of an organic material into a valuable gaseous product, called syngas, and a solid product, called char. The biomass gasification represents an efficient process for the production of power and heat and the production of hydrogen and second-generation biofuels. This paper deals with the state of the art biomass gasification technologies, evaluating advantages and disadvantages, the potential use of the syngas and the application of the biomass gasification. Syngas cleaning though fundamental to evaluate any gasification technology is not included in this paper since; in the authors' opinion, a dedicated review is necessary. © 2015 Science Press and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics.

This research shows that carbon dioxide supercritical fluid (CO2-SF) is an emerging technology for the extraction of high interest compounds for applications in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and cosmetics from microalgae. The purpose of this study is to recover fatty acids (FAs) and, more precisely, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) from Nannochloropsis gaditana biomass by CO2-SF extraction. In the paper, the effect of mechanical pre-treatment was evaluated with the aim of increasing FAs recovery. Extraction was performed at a pressure range of 250–550 bars and a CO2 flow rate of 7.24 and 14.48 g/min, while temperature was fixed at 50 or 65 °C. The effect of these parameters on the extraction yield was assessed at each extraction cycle, 20 min each, for a total extraction time of 100 min. Furthermore, the effect of biomass loading on EPA recovery was evaluated. The highest EPA extraction yield, i.e., 11.50 mg/g, corresponding to 27.4% EPA recovery, was obtained at 65 °C and 250 bars with a CO2 flow rate of 7.24 g/min and 1.0 g biomass loading. The increased CO2 flow rate from 7.24 to 14.48 g/min enhanced the cumulative EPA recovery at 250 bars. The purity of EPA could be improved by biomass loading of 2.01 g, even if recovery was reduced.

The present study aimed to develop an integrated treatment of agro-industrial waste for biofuel (biogas and syngas) production and for phosphorus recovery. In the first step, an anaerobic digestion (AD) process was carried out on two different mixtures of raw agro-industrial residues. Specifically, a mixture of asparagus and tomato wastes (mixture-1) and a mixture of potatoes and kiwifruit residues (mixture-2) were investigated. The results proved that the properties of mixtures notably affect the evolution of the digestion process. Indeed, despite the lower organic load, the maximum biogas yield, of about 0.44 L/gCODremoved, was obtained for mixture-1. For mixture-2, the digestion process was hindered by the accumulation of acidity due to the lack of alkalinity in respect to the amount of volatile fatty acids. In the second step, the digestates from AD were utilized for syngas production using supercritical water gasification (SCWG) at 450 &deg, C and 250 bar. Both the digestates were rapidly converted into syngas, which was mainly composed of H2, CO2, CH4, and CO. The maximum values of global gasification efficiency, equal to 56.5 g/kgCOD, and gas yield, equal to 1.8 mol/kgTS, were detected for mixture-2. The last step of the integrated treatment aimed to recover the phosphorus content, in the form of MgKPO4ˑ6H2O, from the residual liquid fraction of SCWG. The experimental results proved that at pH = 10 and Mg/P = 1 it is possible to obtain almost complete phosphorus removal. Moreover, by using the scanning electronic microscopy, it was demonstrated that the produced precipitate was effectively composed of magnesium potassium phosphate crystals.

Astaxanthin and lutein, antioxidants used in nutraceutics and cosmetics, can be extracted from several microalgal species. In this work, investigations on astaxanthin and lutein extraction from Haematococcus pluvialis (H. pluvialis) in the red phase were carried out by means of the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) technique, in which CO2 supercritical fluid was used as the extracting solvent with ethanol as the co-solvent. The experimental activity was performed using a bench-scale reactor in semi-batch configuration with varying extraction times (20, 40, 60, and 80 min), temperatures (50, 65, and 80 &deg, C) and pressures (100, 400, and 550 bar). Moreover, the performance of CO2 SFE with ethanol was compared to that without ethanol. The results show that the highest astaxanthin and lutein recoveries were found at 65 &deg, C and 550 bar, with ~18.5 mg/g dry weight (~92%) astaxanthin and ~7.15 mg/g dry weight (~93%) lutein. The highest astaxanthin purity and the highest lutein purity were found at 80 &deg, C and 400 bar, and at 65 &deg, C and 550 bar, respectively.

Asthma is an heterogeneous disease, with many patients experiencing severe disease despite use of recommended therapy. Severe exacerbations may lead to emergency department (ED) visits. Are ED patients always severe asthmatic ones? This is the first European study on characteristics of ED asthmatic patients. It is crucial to correctly phenotype patients to prevent and treat them. We followed up in a pneumology setting, patients discharged from ED the same day or the day after the discharge. 130 patients (F 89) were evaluated as reported in Tab1. All patients had history of frequent severe exacerbations in the last 12 months. We identified 2 different populations come to ED for asthma: a young adult population 40 years, with a late onset asthma (38,4 y), mostly females (F 68/M 28), smokers (63,5%) with comorbidities (GERD and obesity 66,7%), higher eosinophils (313/µl±195). They present an impaired quality of life. Severe Asthma Exacerbations recorded in over40 were compared to under40 (4.1 vs 2.5 p=.0001). SAE were also evaluated according to eosinophils ≥400/µl (4.7 vs 3.3 p=.001). This study suggests that physiopathology and susceptibility to exacerbations vary with age and with eosinophils count. More complete and multicentric studies are needed to phenotype asthmatic patients at risk.

Respiratory diseases present a very high prevalence in the general population, with an increase in morbidity, mortality and health-care expenses worldwide. They are complex and heterogeneous pathologies that may present different pathological facets in different subjects, often with personal evolution. Therefore, there is a need to identify patients with similar characteristics, prognosis or treatment, defining the so-called phenotype, but also to mark specific differences within each phenotype, defining the endotypes. : Biomarkers are very useful to study respiratory phenotypes and endotypes. Metabolomics, one of the recently introduced “omics”, is becoming a leading technique for biomarker discovery. For the airways, metabolomics appears to be well suited as the respiratory tract offers a natural matrix, the Exhaled Breath Condensate (EBC), in which several biomarkers can be measured. In this review, we will discuss the main methodological issues related to the application of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry (MS) to EBC metabolomics for investigating respiratory diseases.

Solvent Extraction was tested to extract astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis in red phase (HPR), by investigating effects of solvents, extraction pressure and temperature. Astaxanthin isomers were identified and quantified in the extract. The performances of acetone and ethanol, Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) solvents, were explored. Negligible effect of pressure was found, while with increasing extraction temperature astaxanthin recovery increased till a maximum value, beyond which thermal degradation seemed to be greater than the positive effect of temperature on extraction. Furthermore, to maximize the extraction yield of astaxanthin, mechanical pre-treatment of HPR biomass was carried out and several extraction runs were consecutively performed. Experimental results showed that after the mechanical pre-treatment the astaxanthin recovery strongly increased while a single extraction run of 20 min was sufficient to extract more than 99% of total astaxanthin extracted. After pre-treatment, maximum recovery of about 87% was found for acetone (pressure = 100 bar; temperature = 40 °C; total time = 60 min).

Microalgae is a sustainable and potent source of various bioactive natural compounds, including β-carotene, lutein, astaxanthin, fatty acids. Nowadays, the large-scale cultivation of microalgae for production of various bioactive compounds has gained significant interest with respect to commercial and industrial use for cosmetic, health and nutrition applications. For the enhancement of their exploitation, a suitable extraction method is fundamental to reach high yields, optimal extraction condition, without degrading process caused for high temperature, air and light exposure, and to eliminate trace of hazardous solvents. A well-known innovative method is CO2 supercritical fluid extraction (CO2– SFE) that uses CO2 as safe solvent and operate in mild conditions avoiding degrading process. This method is advantageous for the reduction of solvent use and extraction time, and the yield increase. However the CO2 – SFE of carotenoids from microalgae have still needed to be enhanced to improve the yield and extract quality. For the optimization of this technique, key parameters should be tested on microalgae biomass, as sample matrix pre-treatment, quantity of loaded material, process parameters (temperature and pressure) and entrainer co-solvent. In this work, the recovery and the extraction of astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis biomass and β-carotene, from Dunaliella salina, lutein production from Scenedesmus almeriensis and fatty acids from Nannochloropsis gaditana biomass could be extracted. This study summarize effect of different operative conditions for extraction of high value added chemicals from algal biomass. Acknowledgments This paper has received funding from the Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 745695 (VALUEMAG).

The pharmacological treatment for stable COPD is based on the use of inhaled bronchodilators (long-acting muscarinic receptor antagonists and long-acting beta-2 adrenoceptor agonists) and inhaled corticosteroids. The use of triple inhaled therapy is recommended to selected patients with COPD. Among the various inhaler combinations in triple therapy, a new combination by fluticasone furoate, umeclidinium, and vilanterol is available for COPD patients. Recently, a large clinical trial using this combination has been published, resulting in a reduction in exacerbation rate in COPD patients. Furthermore, this combination has demonstrated efficacy and safety, with a single administration a day, through a dry powder inhalator device, which has shown a good adherence and is a preference of the patient. This review focuses on the main characteristics of this inhaler combination evaluating the main clinical effects, the patients' adherence, and the safety.

This work is focused on the production of activated carbon from waste tires by means of a two-steps process: steam gasification of starting material followed by steam activation of char. In particular the evaluation of the most appropriate hold time value for the activation step, in terms of quality and amount of activated carbons produced, and the energy balance of the overall process were performed. The hold time was choose as the best compromise between a high surface area of final product and a not excessively low burn-off value. Investigations were carried out through seven experimental tests on a pilot plant based on a rotary kiln reactor. Studies performed pointed out that, when other process parameters were kept constant (in steam gasification: temperature is 850 °C, steam to feed ratio is 1, mean residence time of material is 6 min, carrier flowrate of N2 is 0.9 Nm3h−1; in steam activation: temperature is 920 °C, steam to char ratio is 2, carrier flowrate of N2 is 1 Nm3h−1), a hold time in activation step set to 3 h is the best choice, resulting in a surface area of 786 m2·g−1 and a burn-off value equal to 78.4%. Moreover, the energy balance of the overall process which goes from waste tires to activated carbon was performed: if 1 kg·h−1 of waste tires are gasified and activated for three hours, an input power of 3.5 kW is requested. After the experimental tests, a theoretical model was developed, based on the Arrhenius equation whose parameters were determined from a sigmoidal regression of the experimental data. The theoretical model showed results in good agreement with the experimental data, especially for hold times greater than 2 h, and can represent a useful tool to make decision choices. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.

Haematococcus pluvialis biomass could produce significant amounts of astaxanthin, which are valuable antioxidants in nutraceutics, cosmetics, food and feed industries. Astaxanthin have several properties such as antioxidant, UV-light protection, anti-inflammatory and many possible role in many human health problems. As the optimal source of astaxanthin, Haematococcus pluvialis was cultivated using a vertical bubble column photobioreactor (closed system) under batch conditions. Interestingly, the 1 kg dry biomass of microalgae have the potential to mitigate around 1.8 kg of CO2, which reduces the greenhouse gases in the environment. Therefore, the different concentration of CO2 (i.e., 0.5, 1.5 and 3%) were tested to enhance the growth rate as well as the astaxanthin content. The growth phase and astaxanthin accumulation was investigated at different time intervals and at the end of growth phase. The biomass of H. pluvialis was harvested using the membrane filtration technology for effective recovery of biomass. After the filtration process, the biomass lyophilized and extraction of astaxanthin was carried out using accelerated solvent extraction system.The pretreatment of H. pluvialis was carried out under optimized conditions to enhance the recovery of astaxanthin. Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) solvents were used for the extraction of astaxanthin, which is considered by U.S. Food and Drug Administration as solvent normally accepted for pharmaceuticals and food industry. Acknowledgments This paper has received funding from the Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 745695 (VALUEMAG).

NMR profiling of EBC discriminates between asthma and COPD and this may help clinicians with differential diagnosis http://ow.ly/cNGI30hWYAE

The hydrogen peroxide, a green impregnating agent suitable for lignocellulosic biomass to bioethanol process, was used to pretreat sugarcane bagasse by steam explosion. Two different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (0.2% and 1%) were investigated. Then, the biomass was hydrolyzed after pretreatment using cellulase. The amount released of: (i) cellobiose; (ii) monosaccharides, as glucose, xylose, arabinose and mannose and (iii) lignocellulose derived by-products, as furans and small organic acids (acetic, formic, and levulinic acid), was evaluated in the hydrolysate samples, previously pretreated both in the presence and absence of impregnating agent. By adding of hydrogen peroxide in steam-pretreatment, the average yield increase was 12% for glucose and as high as 34% for xylose, and cellobiose yield was decreased of about 30%. No significant increase has been observed in arabinose and mannose yield. Furthermore, the hydrogen peroxide seems not increased the formation of lignocellulose derived by-products during pretreatment process, with the exception of the levulinic acid.

BACKGROUND Obesity-hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) is defined as daytime hypercapnia and hypoxemia in obese patients with sleep-disordered breathing. We evaluated the electrocardiographic P-wave duration and dispersion (PD) and echocardiographic noninvasive indicators of atrial conduction heterogeneity in OHS patients and the impact of CPAP on atrial conduction and atrial fibrillation incidence. METHODS AND RESULTS We enrolled 50 OHS patients and 50 sex- and age-matched obese subjects as control. Study population underwent cardiologic evaluation and polysomnography before enrollment, at 1- and 6-month follow-ups after CPAP therapy. The OHS group showed a significant increase in inter-atrial (35.2 ± 8 milliseconds vs. 20.1 ± 2.7 milliseconds, P < 0.0001), intra-left (30.5 ± 7.2 milliseconds vs. 16.5 ± 2 milliseconds, P < 0.0001), and intra-right atrial electromechanical delays (AEMD)(24.8 ± 10 milliseconds vs. 15 ± 2.6 milliseconds, P < 0.0001) as well as in Pmax (130 ± 7.4 milliseconds vs. 97 ± 7.2 milliseconds, P = 0.002) and PD (56.5 ± 8.5 milliseconds vs. 31 ± 7.2 milliseconds, P = 0.002) compared to the control group. Significant improvement was noted after 6 months of CPAP therapy in inter-atrial (35.2 ± 8 milliseconds vs. 24.5 ± 6.3 milliseconds, P < 0.0001), intra-left (30.5 ± 7.2 milliseconds vs. 20.6 ± 5 milliseconds, P = 0.003), and intra-right AEMD (24.8 ± 10 milliseconds vs. 17 ± 7.5 milliseconds, P < 0.0001), as well as in Pmax (130 ± 7.4 milliseconds vs. 95 ± 10 milliseconds, P < 0.0001) and in PD (56.5 ± 8.5 milliseconds vs. 32.5 ± 6 milliseconds, P < 0.0001) in the OHS group. External loop recorder monitoring detected paroxysmal AF in 19 OHS patients (38%) with significant reduction in paroxysmal AF episodes (12 ± 6 vs. 47 ± 12, P < 0.0001) after 6-month CPAP therapy. CONCLUSION Our findings showed a significant increase of electrocardiographic and echocardiographic indexes of atrial conduction heterogeneity in OHS patients. The CPAP therapy, having a positive impact on atrial conduction time, seems to reduce AF incidence in OHS patients.

Introduction Chronic cough is usually defined as a cough that lasts for eight weeks or longer. Its etiological diagnosis is not always straightforward, and the measurement of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) has been proposed in patients' evaluation. No studies have assessed the usefulness of extended exhaled NO measurement for the evaluation of chronic cough. Therefore, we aimed at evaluating the usefulness of an extended exhaled NO measurement and nasal NO for an initial evaluation of chronic cough. Methods We studied 52 non-smoker patients with prolonged cough lasting more than eight weeks. Etiologies of cough were identified. Nasal NO and FeNO were assessed using multiple single-breath NO analysis at different constant expiratory flow-rates. From the fractional NO concentration measured at each flow-rate, the total NO flux between tissue and gas phase in the bronchial lumen (J'awNO), and the alveolar NO concentration (C ano ) were extrapolated. Results The patients were classified in four categories: cough variant asthma (CVA), nonasthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis (NAEB), upper airway cough syndrome (UACS) and gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD). Compared with UACS and GERD, both exhaled NO and J'awNO were higher in CVA and NAEB, and no differences were found in C ano and nasal NO level among the four groups. Conclusions Our study suggests a potentially useful role for FeNO measurement in the etiological diagnosis of chronic cough. We did not find any additive value of performing exhaled NO at multiple flow-rates and nasal NO measurements.

The aim of the paper is to provide thermodynamic evaluations for the production of synthetic natural gas from biomasses in order to determine parameters such as purity and productivity obtained with different configurations process. Analysis results showed that, fixed biomethane productivity, with a single stage of methanation, the use of a water gas shift reactor (WGS) prior to the methanation stage, may contribute to increase of purity in methane, although modest, increasing from 65% to 80 vol.% The final effect is the increase of the heating value of SNG from 23 to 26 MJ/Nm3. Numerical results showed that with a single stage methanation for SNG production, in isothermal conditions, it is possible to obtain a productivity of about 0.30 Nm3biomethane/Nm3syngas with a purity of 80 vol.% but with different complications for the process, such as introduction of WGS stage and/or double CO2 adsorption stage. Other evaluations are proposed in the paper in order to improve the performance of the process, such as the use of isothermal reactor although more difficult to manage compared to the pseudo adiabatic configuration plant. Using isothermal configuration it is possible to have higher conversion levels with smaller dimensions plant and therefore it may be an alternative to conventional systems at the end to create demo as driving force for technological development. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patients with heart failure (HF) may develop a range of bradyarrhythmias including sinus node dysfunction, various degrees of atrioventricular block, and ventricular conduction delay. Device implantation has been recommended in these patients, but the specific etiology should be sought as it may influence the choice of the type of device required (pacemaker vs. implantable cardiac defibrillator). Also, pacing mode must be carefully set in patients with heart failure (HF) and left ventricular systolic dysfunction.In this chapter, we summarize the knowledge required for a tailored approach to bradyarrhythmias in patients with heart failure.

The Combined Pulmonary Fibrosis and Enphysema (CPFE)is a typical example of “coexisting pattern” of great importance from a clinical point of view.

Diagnosis and management of non CF bronchiectasis has been largely empirical and therapies other than antibiotics are subject of relatively few controlled clinical trials.

Background: Small airways are considered the major site of airflow limitation in COPD. Impulse oscillometry (IOS) is a forced oscillation technique, which provides passive measurement of lung mechanics. It can differentiate small airway from large airway obstruction and is more sensitive than spirometry for peripheral airway disease. In this study the efficacy of the combination of Indacaterol/Glycopirronium (IND/GLY) versus Tiotropium on airway resistance (R5, R20, R5–20), lung reactance (X) and resonant frequency in moderate to severe COPD patients has been evaluated. We also evaluated inspiratory capacity (IC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), exacerbation rate and quality of life. Methods: Forty patients were monitored with forced oscillation technique and spirometry. Patients were randomized in 2 groups: 20 received fixed dose once daily Indacaterol/Glycopyrronium (Group A) and 20 received single Tiotropium (Group B). The oscillometry parameters were the measure of resistance in the airways at 5 Hz (R5), at 20 Hz (R20) and the lung reactance (X). Results: There was a statistically significant difference between pre-dosing at V1 and at follow up visits in R5, R20 and X values in patients receiving dual bronchodilation but not in control group. Pre-dosing IC value at follow up visits in patients receiving dual bronchodilation had a statistical significant variation. Conclusions: The “new” bronchodilator combination LABA/LAMA significantly reduces bronchial obstruction in small airways too. The oscillometry demonstrated greater sensitivity compared with spirometry for monitoring outcome measures of airway obstruction and the effect of long-term therapy.

The most common system for flue gas desulfurization (FGD) is the wet scrubbing process in which, the contact between the flue gases to be treated and an alkaline sorbent such limestone is realized with the correspondent production of gypsum. The production of gypsum represent a perfect example of how is possible to obtain a new product for the market starting from the need of environmental protection (the sulphur dioxide (SO2) removal). Today, limestone is ground in long drum mill reaching a size in the range 5–10 mm. With the intent of increasing the specific surface area of limestone and consequently the gypsum production, the raw limestone was treated in a high-energy mill. The performance of such micronized limestone in terms of gypsum production and SO2 removal were then evaluated by means of a bench scale desulfurization test. Subsequently, a feasibility study with the goal to verify the possible advantages simulating the application of the micronized limestone on a full-scale Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plant was realized. Results showed how the micronization process occurred securely, with a greater production of gypsum and better performance in terms of SO2 removal. Additionally, the micronization solutions tested in the present study showed the suitability also from economic and environmental point of view. Since there are many power plants or WtE plants worldwide and, in many cases, they adopt a wet FGD, this study may be attractive for plant operators. The greater production of gypsum through the use of micronized limestone may help reduce the consumption of raw materials, which increased in recent years due to growing demand of the building industry. © 2017 Institution of Chemical Engineers

Background: The weight loss induced by bariatric surgery (BS) improves asthma clinical control evaluated usually after a short time. The long-term effects of weight loss attained by BS on asthma control and health related-quality of life (HRQoL) in patients affected by asthma and obesity are not known. Objective: To investigate the five-year effect of weight reduction induced by BS on asthma control, quality of life and pulmonary functional parameters in severely obese intermittent or mild-to-moderate asthmatic patients. Methods: Twenty-six consecutive severe obese subjects with previous diagnosis of asthma with indication for laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) were enrolled into the study. Fifteen of them agreed to undertake the surgery (treatment group, TG) while the remaining eleven non-operated patients represented the control group (CG). Body mass index (BMI), Asthma Control Test (ACT), Mini Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (mini-AQLQ) and spirometric parameters were evaluated at baseline and after one and five years from surgery. Results: Mean BMI of TG significantly decreased at one and five years after the surgery, while it remained unchanged in CG. After surgery, both the overall ACT and the mini-AQLQ score significantly improved in TG after one year, persisting improved after 5-years (p < 0.001), while these outcomes remained unchanged in CG. As compared with the pre-surgery values, the percentage of predicted FEV1 and FVC significantly increased at five-year follow-up from surgery in TG, while it remained unchanged in CG. Conclusions: In severe obese asthmatic patients, the significant improvement of asthma control test and HRQoL, observed one year after LAGB, persists five years after surgery.

// Chiara Colarusso 1 , Michela Terlizzi 1 , Antonio Molino 2 , Aldo Pinto 1 and Rosalinda Sorrentino 1 1 Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, ImmunePharma s.r.l., Fisciano, Salerno, Italy 2 Department of Medicine and Surgery, Respiratory Division, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy Correspondence to: Rosalinda Sorrentino, email: // Keywords : inflammation, COPD, lung injury, immune response, inflammasome, Pathology Section Received : January 31, 2017 Accepted : April 19, 2017 Published : May 13, 2017 Abstract Inflammation is central to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a pulmonary disorder characterized by chronic bronchitis, chronic airway obstruction, emphysema, associated to progressive and irreversible decline of lung function. Emerging genetic and pharmacological evidence suggests that IL-1-like cytokines are highly detected in the sputum and broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) of COPD patients, implying the involvement of the multiprotein complex inflammasome. So far, scientific evidence has focused on nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptors protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, a specialized inflammatory signaling platform that governs the maturation and secretion of IL-1-like cytokines through the regulation of caspase-1-dependent proteolytic processing. Some studies revealed that it is involved during airway inflammation typical of COPD. Based on the influence of cigarette smoke in various respiratory diseases, including COPD, in this view we report its effects in inflammatory and immune responses in COPD mouse models and in human subjects affected by COPD. In sharp contrast to what reported on experimental and clinical studies, randomized clinical trials show that indirect inflammasome inhibitors did not have any beneficial effect in moderate to severe COPD patients.

The aim of the paper is to investigate the thermal conversion of Municipal Waste Leachate (MWL) to Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG), based on two step process: gasification with water in supercritical conditions (SCWG) followed by a catalytic upgrading of the resulting gas phase. The proposed combination showed advantages in terms of biomass conversion efficiency with respect to the conventional approaches. As the initial biomass liquid phase includes some carboxylic acids, which are the usual intermediate of biomass decomposition process in SCWG, it is expected that the combined effect of catalysis and SCW leads to an increase of syngas yield, together with an enrichment in hydrogen. Experimental tests, carried out by varying MWL flow rate, showed that SCWG technology allows to produce a syngas with a Higher Heating Value (HHV) of about 15–17 MJ/kg. Hydrogen and methane compositions of the produced syngas varied in the range 25–47%v/v and 11–18%v/v, respectively. Syngas upgrading experimental tests were carried out by using a Nickel based catalyst increasing methane SNG fraction up to 50%v/v.

Inflammation is central to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), caused by inhalation of noxious particles or gas, especially cigarette smoke (CS). Emerging genetic and pharmacological evidence suggests that IL-1-like cytokines are highly detected in the sputum and broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) of COPD patients, implying the involvement of the multiprotein complex inflammasome. In order to understand the role of this complex in COPD, we isolated PBMCs from healthy volunteers (smoker and non-smoker) and COPD patients. To mimic environmental pollution, PBMCs were treated with ultrafine particulate matter (UFP

Patients with heart failure (HF) may develop a range of bradyarrhythmias including sinus node dysfunction, various degrees of atrioventricular block, and ventricular conduction delay. Device implantation has been recommended in these patients, but the specific etiology should be sought as it may influence the choice of the type of device required (pacemaker vs. implantable cardiac defibrillator). Also, pacing mode must be carefully set in patients with heart failure (HF) and left ventricular systolic dysfunction.In this chapter, we summarize the knowledge required for a tailored approach to bradyarrhythmias in patients with heart failure.

Aim of the paper is the analysis of experimental data from digestate from buffalo sewage gasification carried out at high pressure, close water critical condition. Experiments were performed in a semi-continuous reactor, by loading the biomass, continuously feeding the pressurised water and removing the gas product from the reaction vessel. At a fixed value of temperature (310 °C), two pressure levels were investigated across the water critical pressure (110 bar and 320 bar). According to the expectation, from the treatment of this type of biomass a liquid fraction, containing some components that can be used as chemicals for the "green industries", was obtained. Aldehydes and carboxylic acids were the main product obtained and the liquid phase composition was revealed to be sensitive to the pressure level, since a more concentrated product was obtained at lower pressure level. In addition, a reaction pathways is proposed coherently to the observed evolution of the liquid phase composition. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The paper reports on experiments of glucose gasification with water in supercritical conditions (SCW). The adoption of these process conditions revealed advantages in terms of biomass conversion efficiency as the resulting liquid phase includes some important compounds (Acetic Acid, 5-HFM, furfurals). In addition the high operative pressures allow either to consider the possibility to use this technology inside the steam cycle in order to produce power and liquid/gaseous biofuels such as synthetic natural gas and/or methanol/DME(di methyl ether). In fact, from the experimental tests, it was possible to evaluate that using glucose, that is the main intermedia of SCW gasification from wet biomass, is possible to estimate a syngas production of about 100 lt – 200 lt for each kg of glucose fed, while the global gasification efficiency was of about 10–18%. Syngas product to SCWG has been analysed and the main results shows that, in the range investigated, CO content was 40–50%vol., H2 10–15%, CH4 10–20%, C2+2–8% and at the end CO2 with a volume content of about 20–30% and then with lower calorific value of about 20 MJ/Nm3. Analysis on the liquid phase was carried out and the main results has been an high production of both 5-hydromethil furfural and 2-Furaldehyde that have a great potential as “carbon-neutral” feedstock for fuels and green chemicals.

Lutein has several benefits for human health, playing an important role in the prevention of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), cataracts, amelioration of the first stages of atherosclerosis, and some types of cancer. In this work, the Scenedesmus almeriensis microalga was used as a natural source for the supercritical fluid (SF) extraction of lutein. For this purpose, the optimization of the main parameters affecting the extraction, such as biomass pre-treatment, temperature, pressure, and carbon dioxide (CO2) flow rate, was performed. In the first stage, the effect of mechanical pre-treatment (diatomaceous earth (DE) and biomass mixing in the range 0.25&ndash, 1 DE/biomass, grinding speed varying between 0 and 600 rpm, and pre-treatment time changing from 2.5 to 10 min), was evaluated on lutein extraction efficiency. In the second stage, the influence of SF-CO2 extraction parameters such as pressure (25&ndash, 55 MPa), temperature (50 and 65 &deg, C), and CO2 flow rate (7.24 and 14.48 g/min) on lutein recovery and purity was investigated. The results demonstrated that by increasing temperature, pressure, and CO2 flow rate lutein recovery and purity were improved. The maximum lutein recovery (~98%) with purity of ~34% was achieved operating at 65 &deg, C and 55 MPa with a CO2 flow rate of 14.48 g/min. Therefore, optimum conditions could be useful in food industries for lutein supplementation in food products.

Background Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) measurement is a simple and non-invasive method for monitoring eosinophilic airway inflammation. New portable analyzers for FeNO measurements are constantly being developed. The aim of our study was to evaluate the agreement of FeNO values measured by new portable analyzers. Materials and methods FeNO was measured in 20 healthy subjects, 20 asthmatic and 20 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients using the analyzers Niox-VERO, Vivatmo-PRO and HypAir-FeNO. A linear relationship was estimated with Pearson's coefficient (r), and absolute agreement by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and bias with the limits of agreement (95% of paired differences) were assessed according to the Bland-Altman method. Results In the study population (58 ± 14 years, 20 females), mean values of FeNO with their 95% confidence interval were 24.0 (18.6-29.4) with the Niox-VERO, 19.6 (13.6-25.7) with the Vivatmo-PRO and 20.4 (15.7-25.1) with the HypAir-FeNO. FeNO measured with the Niox-VERO was higher than the Vivatmo-PRO (mean difference of paired values +4.3; limits -16.0 to 25.7 ppb) and the HypAir-FeNO (+3.6; -12.2 to 19.4 ppb); the Vivatmo-PRO and HypAir-FeNO showed large variability of paired differences (-0.7; -16.5 to 15.0 ppb). Measurements linearly correlated with an imperfect absolute agreement: Niox-VERO versus Vivatmo-PRO r = 0.90 and ICC = 0.87; Niox-VERO versus HypAir-FeNO r = 0.93 and ICC = 0.90, Vivatmo-PRO versus HypAir-FeNO r = 0.96 and ICC = 0.93. Most of the disagreement was greater in some asthmatic patients at high values of FeNO. Conclusions The present study indicates that absolute exhaled NO measurements may differ to a clinically relevant extent using the Niox-VERO, Vivatmo-PRO and HypAir-FeNO analyzers. The devices cannot be used interchangeably.

Microalgae Dunaliella salina contains useful molecules such as &beta, carotene and fatty acids (FAs), which are considered high value-added compounds. To extract these molecules, supercritical carbon dioxide was used at different operative conditions. The effects of mechanical pre-treatment (grinding speed at 0&ndash, 600 rpm, pre-treatment time of 2.5&ndash, 7.5 min) and operating parameters for extraction, such as biomass loading (2.45 and 7.53 g), pressure (100&ndash, 550 bars), temperature (50&ndash, 75 &deg, C) and CO2 flow rate (7.24 and 14.48 g/min) by varying the extraction times (30&ndash, 110 min) were evaluated. Results showed that the maximum cumulative recovery (25.48%) of &beta, carotene was achieved at 400 bars and 65 &deg, C with a CO2 flow rate of 14.48 g/min, while the highest purity for stage (55.40%) was attained at 550 bars and 65 &deg, C with a CO2 flow rate of 14.48 g/min. The maximum recovery of FAs, equal to 8.47 mg/g, was achieved at 550 bars and 75 &deg, C with a CO2 flow rate of 14.48 g/min. Moreover, the lowest biomass loading (2.45 g) and the first extraction cycle (30 min) allowed the maximum extraction of &beta, carotene and FAs.