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Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biobased and biodegradable polymers that may be considered to replace fossil-based materials. However, their widespread deployment is slowed down because of the high production cost and their low quality. Using methane during the generation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHB-co-HV) could reduce the production costs, which are usually owed to the carbon source used, and enhance the performance of the material. In fact, the properties of PHB-co-HV make it more suitable than the most common homopolymer, named poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), for many applications since it is more flexible, has a wider thermal processing range, a lower crystallinity and permeability to water. In this work, the production of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) was simulated using an innovative process scheme consisting of two bioreactors working in series equipped with a gas recycling unit, which was designed to increase the methane mass transfer from the gas to the liquid. During the first step, a Methylocystis dominated culture was grown on ammonia and methane to reach a high cell concentration; then, the cells were moved to the second bioreactor and subjected to nutrients starvation to favour the metabolic pathway addressed to the accumulation of PHB-co-HV. The effect of the variation of valeric acid concentration (100-400 ppm), which was used as co-substrate, on the fraction of PHB-co-HV stored in the cells and the percentage of 3-hydroxyvalerate (3-HV) was investigated: results showed that the highest the valeric acid concentration, the lower the total polymer content and the higher the HV fraction accumulated.

Thanks to their properties, fossil fuel-based plastics are widely used daily (for industrial, domestic and environmental applications). However, they are not biodegradable, and their end of life is the cause of one of the most dangerous pollution in the world. Plastic, if recovered, can be recycled or used to recover energy, but it is not possible to recover all the tons of waste produced, so some end up in landfills. Therefore all non-recycled and non-collected plastic can take up to a thousand years to degrade. So the scientific idea is to produce biodegradable plastic capable of replacing conventional plastics. One possible solution is the poly(3Hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) of the polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) family. PHB is a biopolymer accumulated in intracellular granules, under unfavourable growth conditions, by many prokaryotes and can be extracted with eco-friendly solvents. In particular, the extraction phase consists of the disruption of the cells and the subsequent separation of the biopolymer from the non-biopolymeric material (non-PHB). Currently, solvent extraction is the most used method for PHB recovery because it guarantees a high recovery yield and keeps the characteristics of the extracted biopolymer almost unaltered. In this study, the extraction of PHB with eco-friendly solvents was investigated. Simulations were carried out using 1,2-propylene carbonate as the solvent and acetone as the anti-solvent. Two process schemes were analyzed, without and with the recirculation of solvents (by distillation) and with two different types of biomass (wet and dry). The present work aims to study the final recovery yield in different operating conditions and the influence of PHB solubility on the process. The simulation results confirm the importance of solubility for optimizing the extraction process and underline the problem related to the lack of data in the literature.

In this work, a risk analysis of a supercritical fluid extraction plant is presented. The plant aims to extract valuable compounds from microalgae and uses carbon dioxide as a solvent at high temperature and pressure. Hazard events that could occur are related to the high pressure at which equipment operate and they, in addition to causing damage to the plant structure, could cause the release of CO2, which in high concentrations endangers the health of workers involved in the activities, therefore, an assessment of this type is crucial. The hazard scenario considered in this work is the equipment rupture. Generally, the rupture is analysed through methods based on indices determination such as the Fire and Explosion Index, the Probit analysis and the Safety Weighted Hazard Index. In this case, the commercial software “Phast & Safeti” of DNV GL Company was used, based on the modelling of the plant together with the process conditions definition. Among the equipment present in the plant, the extraction vessel was chosen since the extraction pressure of bioproducts is the highest in the plant and is equal to 500 bar. Risk parameters obtained after the analysis allow to select the most appropriate safety system able to limit the damage to structures and people.

Bubble column reactors basically consist of a vertical cylinder filled by a liquid phase in which a gas phase is distributed in the liquid at the column bottom by an appropriate distributor system and moves along the column in the form of bubbles. The aim of a bubble column is to control the rate of mass transfer and reaction between the phases. The liquid phase is modelled as a continuous phase and can be operated in batch mode, or it may move co-currently or counter-currently to the flow of the gas phase. Two-phase and slurry bubble columns are widely used in the chemical- and biochemical industry for carrying out gas-liquid and gas-liquid-solid (catalytic) reaction; in particular, they are used for microalgae growth, aerobic fermentations processes, aerobic treatment of small quantities of highly polluted effluents, as well as oxidation, hydrogenation, chlorination, chemical gas cleaning and, also various biotechnological applications. In this paper, the mass transfer of CH4 to liquid in a bubble column was investigated by means of Computational Fluid Dynamic simulations in a turbulent regime. The effects of the variation of the most significant fluid dynamic parameters, such as inlet gas velocity, on CH4 concentration in the liquid phase and mass transfer from gas to liquid were studied by using COMSOL Multiphysics® Modeling Software. Results point out that the higher inlet velocities, the higher the mass transfer rate, which trend shows a pick after which it reduces to zero when CH4 concentration in the liquid becomes equal to saturation one.

This work presents a risk analysis of a plant that uses supercritical fluid extraction technology with carbon dioxide as a solvent to obtain bioproducts from microalgae. Given the high pressure at which it operates, the extraction plant called "Luwar" could be affected by dangerous events, such as the gas release in concentrations that are harmful to human health. In order to limit the damage, the risk analysis is of primary importance. The gas release could occur following the breakage of a pipe, which was the scenario being considered. It was analyzed using the commercial software "Phast & Safeti", an alternative tool to the methods traditionally used in the literature in hazard events of this type, such as the Threshold Limit Value-Time Weighted Average (TLV-TWA) and the Threshold Limit Value-Short Term Exposure Limit (TLV-STEL), that are defined on the basis of the characteristics of the substance dispersed in the air. Since the pressure of the extraction vessel is the highest in the system, the risk analysis was carried out on the breakage of a pipe coming out of the extractor. The results obtained made it possible to identify the risk parameters on the basis of which to make the best choices in terms of safety to cope with the type of hazard analyzed.

Objectives: This study sought to evaluate 1-year safety and efficacy of dual-layered mesh-covered carotid stent systems (DLS) for carotid artery stenting (CAS). Background: Small clinical studies evaluating 1-year outcomes of CAS performed with 2 available DLS, Roadsaver (RS) (Terumo Corp., Tokyo, Japan) and CGuard (CG) (InspireMD, Boston, Massachusetts), have been published. Methods: The authors performed an individual patient–level meta-analysis including studies enrolling more than 100 CAS with DLS. The primary endpoint was the death and stroke rate; secondary endpoints were restenosis and in-stent thrombosis rates at 1 year. Results: Patients were divided into 2 groups according to DLS (RS n = 250; CG n = 306). At 1 year, 11 patients died (1.97%), 7 patients in the group RS (2.8%) and 4 patients in the CG one (1.31%); and 10 strokes occurred, 4 in the group RS (1.6%) and 6 in the CG one (1.96%). Overall death and stroke rate was 3.77% (n = 21), 11 events in the group RS group (4.4%) and 10 in the CG group (3.27%). Symptomatic status was the only predictor of death and or stroke. At 1 year, restenosis occurred in 12 patients (2.1%), 10 in the group RS (4%) and 2 in the CG one (0.65%) (p = 0.007). In-stent thrombosis occurred in 1 patient (0.18%) in the CG group (0.32%). RS use was the only independent predictor of restenosis. Conclusions: This study suggests that DLS use for CAS is associated with a low 1-year death and stroke rate, and the specific DLS stent used could affect the restenosis rate.

The global cosmetic market is promptly growing, showing a strong boost with the growth of economic well-being. In this context, the demand of innovative, more and more specific cosmetic ingredients has been the key for searching alternative, preferably naturally-based, active components. Microalgae represent one of the most attracting microorganisms and natural deposit for bioactive compounds for their peculiar compositions and properties. In the cosmetic sector, their efficient application has recently been highlighted by the placing on the market of different cosmetic preparations. A powerful antioxidant, 550 times more effective than Vitamin E, with enormous potential for cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications, is astaxanthin. Although high-quality astaxanthin can be obtained from microalgae, particularly from H. pluvialis specie, actually the major part of the market is occupied by the synthetic form (99%), conferring substantial differences between their price. In fact, algal-based astaxanthin costs>6000 €/Kg, while the synthetic form 600 €/kg. Thus, along with novel natural product launch, the development of cost-effective technologies able to match the existing ones, represents the major challenge for the microalgae application. This study aims to determine the feasibility of microalgal-based astaxanthin production, by exploring both procedural issues and costs evaluation.

Microalgae are among the most interesting eukaryotic photosynthethic microorganisms able to use solar energy, nutrients and carbon dioxide to convert them into proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and other valuable organic compounds including carotenoids. Astaxanthin is one of the most interesting antioxidant molecules which has attracted crescent interest due to its positive effects on health and the numerous applications in different sectors, from nutraceutical to cosmetic and aquaculture. Even though the astaxanthin properties are well-known, its price still remains high if associated to the algal form, exceeding ∼6000 Eur/Kg. This can be explained by considering the process expenses related to the extraction and purification steps of microalga intracellular metabolites. In fact, the downstream stage of this biotechnological process often accounts for more than 60-70% of total production costs. Optimized extraction and purification operations might contribute to microalgae market with the advantage to commercialize a natural existing astaxanthin form. The aim of this paper is the evaluation of the use of commercial activated carbon Darco™ G-60 for the purification of astaxanthin from an extraction broth. Astaxanthin was firstly extracted from Haematococcus pluvialis red phase supplied by Micoperi Blue Growth, an Italian Company that is working for a long time and it is specialized in the microalgae growth. Extraction was performed by Accelerated Solvent Extractor (ASE®200 DIONEX) at 100 bar and 67°C by using ethanol as green solvent with the main advantage to separate all the unipolar fractions as well as insoluble fractions from astaxanthin extracts (fibers, carbohydrate, ashes). In the second step, astaxanthin was purified with a column filled with activated carbon. Experimental tests by changing the mass of activated carbon were carried out (50mg, 100mg and 200mg) and with a flow rate in the range 0.9-1.0ml/min. All the experimental tests were carried out at room temperature (20°C). Results showed that by using activated carbon, it is possible to obtain an adsorption capacity of DARCO G60 in the range 21, 9-23, 9 mg/g.

Immobilization of living cells is a useful technique that allows to enhance the biotechnological properties of many organisms. Currently, cell-immobilization is obtained via carrier adsorption, self-aggregation and entrapment. We are currently investigating the possibility to immobilize microalgae cells using magnetic nanoparticles on a magnetic surface. The principle is based on the introduction, inside the cell-body of microalgae, superparamagnetic nanoparticles through electroporation. Once microalgae have absorbed enough magnetic nanoparticles they will be responding to an external magnetic field. By using a flat magnetic surface, it will be possible to trap them in a specific position by means of magnetic force. Importantly, immobilized cells will be covered with a thin layer of water and during cell division only one of the daughter cells will keep the magnetic nanoparticles since they will face permanently the magnetic surface. The first step towards this goal is the introduction of magnetic nanoparticles in the microalgae cells. This work will present preliminary results of magnetic cells preparation. Magnetic nanoparticles covered with lipid, to make them biocompatible, and electroporation method to inset nanoparticles in the cells have been used. The protocol to obtain magnetic cells and viability assay that proved the feasibility of the method will be described.

Anaerobic digestion is a technology used to biologically convert organic substrates into biogas in the absence of oxygen. The resulting biogas is a renewable energy source mainly consisting of a mixture of methane (60÷70% v/v) and carbon dioxide (30÷40% v/v), with traces of some minor compounds, such as H2S and NH3. Anaerobic digestion takes place through a sequence of four biological phases - hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis, and methanogenesis - performed by the action of particular species of bacteria. Operating parameters such as temperature, pH, pressure and organic substrates govern the process and affect the starting biomass transformation and the content of methane into the biogas. The biogas from anaerobic digestion can be upgraded to biomethane by removing CO2 and the minor compounds. The techniques commonly used for this purpose, like pressure swing adsorption and membrane separation, are energy-intensive as they require the compression of biogas. In this paper, an innovative energy-saving approach for biogas production and its upgrading to biomethane is proposed. The concept is based on anaerobic digestion carried out at a pressure higher than the atmospheric one, called pressured anaerobic digestion (PAD), in order to directly produce high pressure biogas that can be upgraded to high pure biomethane (CH4 ≥ 95% v/v) avoiding the compression phase during the upgrading. The variation of the main operating parameters has been simulated in order to investigate their effect on biomethane production and composition and to define the best operating conditions. The simulation of the process has been carried out by using Aspen Plus®.

A problem for both historical and contemporary research on inequality is a scarcity of high quality data on wealthy households. In this paper we explore a rich source of such data for historical periods: the account books of aristocratic households preserved in their family archives. We make three contributions: i) a survey of the nobility in Italy and of their publicly accessible archives; ii) an assay of the type and quality of budget data they contain; and iii) an assessment of the impact of adding upper-tail families to a household budget sample on inequality estimates. In a nutshell, our assessment is that the data are relatively abundant, accurate, and highly impactful. An enhanced sample of noble families will enable us to significantly improve estimates of Italian inequality right back to the country's founding in 1861. There is no reason to think the approach would be any less feasible or fruitful in other European countries.

© 2017, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l. In the last decades, iron oxide nanoparticle application has taken root in several technological fields, such as magnetic separation of biomolecules, biosensors, bio-fuel production, nano-devices and nano-adsorption. Various approaches can be found for the magnetic nanoparticle manufacturing. Among them a new technology to manufacture core-cell super-paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), based on a vapour composition using single ion precursors, like cyclodextrines, has been recently developed. In this paper, we present the synthesis of functionalized SPIONs as well as the modelling for an innovative application of this magnetic nanotechnology. It consists on the use of SPIONs to trap target organic or inorganic molecules in a continuous-flow apparatus. SPIONs with proper ligands are immobilized on a magnetic surface. On that surface, the solution containing target molecules is circulated. We modelled the magnetic properties of the magnetic surface and SPIONs as well as the velocity of liquid needed in order to avoid removal of nanoparticles by the solution flow.

This paper deals with the design and the preliminary optimization of the remediation of a . Tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated aquifer by Pump and Treat technique (P&T) or Permeable . Reactive Barrier (PRB). The experimental site is located near a solid waste landfill in the metropolitan area . North of Naples (Italy) where a considerable amount of solid waste has been deposited over the past . decades. For both remediation technologies, adsorption onto granular activated carbon was adopted to . remove PCE from water. In particular, a comparison of the results obtained, both in terms of efficacy of . pollutant removal and the corresponding preliminary overall cost, was conducted. The design of both . remediation techniques was conducted by using a commercial 3D hydrodynamic code to simulate . groundwater flow and contamination transport and a second code, developed by the authors, to describe . the adsorption phenomena involving the pollutant.

At ENEA-Trisaia research centre an inclined plug-flow type anaerobic digestor was coupled with an upgrading section consisting in a polymeric membrane, for biomethane production. The biogas produced by biomass and agroresidues fermentation is a mixture of different gases such as methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, nitrogen, hydrogen, mercaptans and oxygen. Low-pressure biogas membrane upgrading tests showed that at a pressure < 1 MPa biomethane recovery is over 50% (with a purity of about 70% v/v). High-pressure biogas membrane upgrading tests showed that at a pressure close to 3.0 MPa, it is possible to obtain a high purity biomethane stream with a CH4 concentration of about 99.5% v/v, but with a recovery of about 20% and CO2 selectivity < 1. A secondary membrane separation stage is required to overcome this problem allowing for an increased biomethane recovery keeping the purity unchanged. On this aspect further research work is necessary.

Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) steam gasification tests were performed in a rotary kiln pilot plant. The gas features were evaluated by varying the feeding ratio (FR), in the range 0.4-2.67, at a constant temperature equal to 850 °C. Several experimental tests were carried out in order to evaluate the best values for the main operating variables: kiln temperature, gas and solid residence time, etc., before evaluating the effect of the FR increase on the gas energy content and composition. Results show that the gas energy content decreases as the FR increases and, in the range of the FR studied, it achieves the maximum for FR=0.4, which corresponds to a volumetric gas composition of H 2 =59.1 %vv, CO=16.8 %v/v, CO 2 =20.1 %v/v, CH 4 =3 %v/v (not considering N 2 ) and the highest lower heating value (LHV) equal to 16 MJ kg gas -1 is obtained.

As known, the water network partitioning in district meter areas (DMAs) is one of the most effective way to improve water loss detection, pressure management and user protection from accidental and intentional contamination. Nevertheless, the definition of permanent DMAs is very complex because can drastically change the hydraulic performance of a network, since the insertion of gate valves in several pipes can reduce its energy and topological redundancy. In the last years, some optimization procedures, based on graph theory, network analysis and heuristic optimization methods, allowed to overcame the empirical approaches traditionally adopted to define the permanent district meter areas (DMAs) of a water distribution system. These approaches are essentially arranged in two phases: the clustering, in which the optimal shape and dimension of each DMA is found minimizing the number of boundary pipes and balancing the number of nodes between each districts, and the partitioning, in which the optimal positioning of flow meters and gate valves is found minimizing the energy decreasing of the network due to the closure of some pipes with valves. However, these procedures apply the clustering and partitioning phases only on the original network layout not considering that, for each pipe closure, the network topology changes and it is possible to face the optimization problem recursively adding an optimal closure at time. This paper proposes a novel combined recursive optimization for clustering and partitioning phases that, for each step, before found the optimal positioning of a single gate valve and then, on the changed network topology obtained closing the pipe, found the next positioning of gate valves. The case study confirms, using some energy and topological performance indices that the recursive procedure, even on a small Italian network, is able to find a better water network partitioning than previous solutions.

Bacterially produced polyhydroxyalkanoates are valuable substitutes for petrochemical plastics, but their current production capacities are very scarce. Producing poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHB-co-HV) from methane and odd-chain carbon fatty acids could make the production of this biodegradable polymer cost-effective. This study analyzes the main factors affecting methanotrophic growth and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) accumulation, simulating a pilot-scale process based on a double-stage approach. The effects of the nitrogen source and the oxygen partial pressure during a 20 day growth phase were studied; the cosubstrate concentration, the culture selected, and the methane partial pressure were investigated during the poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) production stage performed within 15 days under nutrient starvation. Methylocystis parvus OBBP and Methylosinus thricosporum OB3b reached the maximum growth productivities with ammonium as the nitrogen source and oxygen at high partial pressure. The simulation of the PHB-co-HV accumulation revealed that methanotrophs could better accumulate the polymer with low valeric acid concentrations. A methane-abundant gas stream (0.5 atm of methane) could increase process yields up to 0.32 kg m-3 d-1. © 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.

BACKGROUND The radial artery is recommended by international guidelines as the default vascular access in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) managed invasively. However, crossover from radial to femoral access is required in 4-10% of cases and has been associated with worse outcomes. No standardised algorithm exists to predict the risk of radial crossover. AIMS We sought to derive and externally validate a risk score to predict radial crossover in patients with ACS managed invasively. METHODS The derivation cohort consisted of 4,197 patients with ACS undergoing invasive management via the randomly allocated radial access from the MATRIX trial. Using logistic regression, we selected predictors of radial crossover and developed a numerical risk score. External validation was accomplished among 3,451 and 491 ACS patients managed invasively and randomised to radial access from the RIVAL and RIFLE-STEACS trials, respectively. RESULTS The MATRIX score (age, height, smoking, renal failure, prior coronary artery bypass grafting, ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, Killip class, radial expertise) showed a c-index for radial crossover of 0.71 (95% CI: 0.67-0.75) in the derivation cohort. Discrimination ability was modest in the RIVAL (c-index: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.59-0.67) and RIFLE-STEACS (c-index: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.57-0.75) cohorts. A cut-off of ≥41 points was selected to identify patients at high risk of radial crossover. CONCLUSIONS The MATRIX score is a simple eight-item risk score which provides a standardised tool for the prediction of radial crossover among patients with ACS managed invasively. This tool can assist operators in anticipating and better addressing difficulties related to transradial procedures, potentially improving outcomes.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to assess the impact of access-site crossover in patients with acute coronary syndrome undergoing invasive management via radial or femoral access. BACKGROUND There are limited data on the clinical implications of access-site crossover. METHODS In the MATRIX (Minimizing Adverse Haemorrhagic Events by Transradial Access Site and Systemic Implementation of Angiox)-Access trial, 8,404 patients with acute coronary syndrome were randomized to radial or femoral access. Patients undergoing access-site crossover or successful access site were investigated. Thirty-day coprimary outcomes were a composite of death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (major adverse cardiovascular events [MACE]) and a composite of MACE or Bleeding Academic Research Consortium type 3 or 5 bleeding (net adverse clinical events [NACE]). RESULTS Access-site crossover occurred in 183 of 4,197 patients (4.4%) in the radial group (mainly to femoral access) and 108 of 4,207 patients (2.6%) in the femoral group (mainly to radial access). In multivariate analysis, the risk for coprimary outcomes was not significantly higher with radial crossover compared with successful radial (MACE: adjusted rate ratio [adjRR]: 1.25; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.81 to 1.93; p = 0.32; NACE: adjRR: 1.40; 95% CI: 0.94 to 2.06; p = 0.094) or successful femoral access (MACE: adjRR: 1.17; 95% CI: 0.76 to 1.81; p = 0.47; NACE: adjRR: 1.26; 95% CI: 0.86 to 1.86; p = 0.24). Access site-related Bleeding Academic Research Consortium type 3 or 5 bleeding was higher with radial crossover than successful radial access. Femoral crossover remained associated with higher risks for MACE (adjRR: 1.84; 95% CI: 1.18 to 2.87; p = 0.007) and NACE (adjRR: 1.69; 95% CI: 1.09 to 2.62; p = 0.019) compared with successful femoral access. Results remained consistent after excluding patients with randomized access not attempted. CONCLUSIONS Crossover from radial to femoral access abolishes the bleeding benefit offered by the radial over femoral artery but does not appear to increase the risk for MACE or NACE compared with successful radial or femoral access. (Minimizing Adverse Haemorrhagic Events by Transradial Access Site and Systemic Implementation of Angiox [MATRIX]; NCT01433627) (C) 2021 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation. The MATRIX trial was sponsored by Societa Italiana di Cardiologia Invasiva (a nonprofit organization), which received grant support from The Medicines Company and Terumo. This substudy did not receive any direct or indirect funding. Dr. Leonardi has received grants and personal fees from AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb/ Pfizer, and Chiesi; and has received personal fees from Bayer outside the submitted work. Dr. Vranckx has received personal fees from AstraZeneca, Terumo, CSL Behring, Daiichi-Sankyo, and Bayer Health Care outside the submitted work. Dr. Frigoli is affiliated with CTU Bern, University of Bern, which has a staff policy of not accepting honoraria or consultancy fees. However, CTU Bern is involved in the design, conduct, or analysis of clinical studies funded by not-forprofit and for- profit organizations. In particular, pharmaceutical and medical device companies provide direct funding to some of these studies. For an up- to-date list of CTU Bern's conflicts of interest, see http://www.ctu.unibe.ch/research/declaration_of_interest/index_eng. html. Dr. Windecker has received research and educational grants to the institution from Abbott, Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Bayer, Boston Scientific, Biotronik, Cardinal Health, CardioValve, CSL Behring, Daiichi- Sankyo, Edwards Lifesciences, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Querbet, Polares, Sanofi, Terumo, and Sinomed; serves as an unpaid member of the steering and/or executive groups of trials funded by Abbott, Abiomed, Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Boston Scientific, Biotronik, Cardiovalve, Edwards Lifesciences, MedAlliance, Medtronic, Polares, Sinomed, V-Wave, and Xeltis (but has not received personal payments from any pharmaceutical company or device manufacturer); and is a member of the steering and/or executive committee groups of several investigator- initiated trials that receive funding from industry without impact on his personal remuneration. Dr. Valgimigli has received grants and personal fees from Abbott, Terumo, and AstraZeneca; has received personal fees from Chiesi, Bayer, Daiichi-Sankyo, Amgen, Alvimedica, Biosensors, and Idorsia; and has received grants from Medicure outside the submitted work. All other authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose. Valgimigli, M (corresponding author), Ente Osped Cantonale, Cardioctr Ticino Inst, Via Tesserete 48, CH-6900 Lugano, Switzerland. marco.valgimigli@cardiocentro.org

Background Pressurised anaerobic digestion allows the production of biogas with a high content of methane and, at the same time, avoid the energy costs for the biogas upgrading and injection into the distribution grid. The technology carries potential, but the research faces practical constraints by a.o. the capital investment needed in high-pressure reactors and sensors and associated sampling limitations. In this work, the kinetic model of an autogenerative high-pressure anaerobic digestion of acetate, as the representative compound of the aceticlastic methanogenesis route, in batch configuration, is proposed to predict the dynamic performance of pressurised digesters and support future experimental work. The modelling of autogenerative high-pressure anaerobic digestion in batch configuration, which is not extensively studied and simulated in the present literature, was developed, calibrated, and validated by using experimental results available from the literature. Results Under high-pressure conditions, the assessment of the Monod maximum specific uptake rate, the half-saturation constant and the first-order decay rate was carried out, and the values of 5.9 kg COD kg COD−1 d−1, 0.05 kg COD m−3 and 0.02 d−1 were determined, respectively. By using the predicted values, excellent fittings of the final pressure, the CH4 molar fraction and the specific methanogenic yield calculation were obtained. Likewise, the variation in the gas–liquid mass transfer coefficient by several orders of magnitude showed negligible effects on the model predictive values in terms of methane molar fraction of the produced biogas, while the final pressure seemed to be slightly influenced. Conclusions The proposed model allowed to estimate the Monod maximum specific uptake rate for acetate, the half-saturation rate for acetate and the first-order decay rate constant, which were comparable with literature values reported for well-studied methanogens under anaerobic digestion at atmospheric pressure. The methane molar fraction and the final pressure predicted by the model showed different responses towards the variation of the gas–liquid mass transfer coefficient since the former seemed not to be affected by the variation of the gas–liquid mass transfer coefficient; in contrast, the final pressure seemed to be slightly influenced. The proposed approach may also allow to potentially identify the methanogens species able to be predominant at high pressure.

Background. Systemic arterial hypertension (HTN) is the main risk factor for the development of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). The aim of the study was was to assess the trends in PASP, E/E’ and TAPSE during exercise Doppler echocardiography (EDE) in hypertensive (HTN) patients vs. healthy subjects stratified by age. Methods. EDE was performed in 155 hypertensive patients and in 145 healthy subjects (mean age 62 ± 12.0 vs. 54 ± 14.9 years respectively, p < 0.0001). EDE was undertaken on a semi-recumbent cycle ergometer with load increasing by 25 watts every 2 min. Left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) dimensions, function and hemodynamics were evaluated. Results. Echo-Doppler parameters of LV and RV function were lower, both at rest and at peak exercise in hypertensives, while pulmonary hemodynamics were higher as compared to healthy subjects. The entire cohort was then divided into tertiles of age: at rest, no significant differences were recorded for each age group between hypertensives and normotensives except for E/E’ that was higher in hypertensives. At peak exercise, hypertensives had higher pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) and E/E’ but lower tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) as age increased, compared to normotensives. Differences in E/E’ and TAPSE between the 2 groups at peak exercise were explained by the interaction between HTN and age even after adjustment for baseline values (p < 0.001 for E/E’, p = 0.011 for TAPSE). At peak exercise, the oldest group of hypertensive patients had a mean E/E’ of 13.0, suggesting a significant increase in LV diastolic pressure combined with increased PASP. Conclusion. Age and HTN have a synergic negative effect on E/E’ and TAPSE at peak exercise in hypertensive subjects.

Dear Editor, Teleconsulting - defined as real-time consultation between doctors by exploiting video conferencing technology over the Internet network - is exponentially being implemented through the western world lastly triggered by COVID-19 pandemic...

This paper aims to propose an innovative breakthrough methodology for hydrogen production through water splitting over Fe3O4 pellet at low temperature (T = 250 °C; 290 °C; 310 °C). In order to achieve this goal, the effects of magnetic field (B = 0 mT; 25.4 mT; 35.1 mT; 48.3 mT) and of electric power (P = 5 W; 12 W; 20 W) on reactive medium performance were investigated. Results show that production of hydrogen was mainly influenced by electric power applied and magnetic field, since the higher the magnetic field and the electric power the higher the production of hydrogen, while the temperature showed a secondary effect; however, feasible production of hydrogen was achieved at a temperature close to 300 °C.

BACKGROUND Contemporary definitions of bleeding endpoints are restricted mostly to clinically overt events. Whether hemoglobin drop per se, with or without overt bleeding, adversely affects the prognosis of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remains unclear. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to examine in the MATRIX (Minimizing Adverse Haemorrhagic Events by Transradial Access Site and Systemic Implementation of Angiox) trial the incidence, predictors, and prognostic implications of in-hospital hemoglobin drop in patients with ACS managed invasively stratified by the presence of in-hospital bleeding. METHODS Patients were categorized by the presence and amount of in-hospital hemoglobin drop on the basis of baseline and nadir hemoglobin values and further stratified by the occurrence of adjudicated in-hospital bleeding. Hemoglobin drop was defined as minimal (

Background: The normal limits of left ventricular (LV) hemodynamic forces (HDFs) are not exactly known. The aim of this study was to explore the full spectrum of HDF parameters in healthy subjects and determine their physiologic correlates. Methods: 269 healthy subjects were enrolled (mean age: 43 ± 14 years; 123 (45.7%) men). All participants underwent an echo-Doppler examination. Tri-plane tissue tracking from apical views was used to measure 2D global endocardial longitudinal strain (GLS), circumferential strain (GCS), and LV HDFs. HDFs were normalized with LV volume and divided by specific weight. Results: LV systolic longitudinal HDFs (%) were higher in men (20.8 ± 6.5 vs. 18.9 ± 5.6, p = 0.009; 22.0 ± 6.7 vs. 19.8 ± 5.6, p = 0.004, respectively). There was a significant correlation between GCS (increased) (r = −0.240, p < 0.001) and LV longitudinal HDFs (reduced) (r = −0.155, p = 0.01) with age. In a multivariable analysis age, BSA, pulse pressure, heart rate and GCS were the only independent variables associated with LV HDFs (β coefficient = −0.232, p < 0.001; 0.149, p = 0.003; 0.186, p < 0.001; 0.396, p < 0.001; −0.328, p < 0.001; respectively). Conclusion: We report on the physiologic range of LV HDFs. Knowledge of reference values of HDFs may prompt their implementation into clinical routine and allow a more comprehensive assessment of the LV function.