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The International Network of Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services (HPH) was initiated by the World Health Organization as a settings approach toward reorienting health services. Over 600 members from 30 countries promote the integration of health promotion into the hospital/ health service setting. The International HPH Network developed the 2020 Standards for Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services, representing years of experience and expertise reflected in 5 standards, 18 substandards, and 85 standard statements. Complementary self-assessment tools were developed to operationalize the standards and to identify concrete measurable elements against which each standard can be measured. The aim of the tools is to assist hospitals and health services in transforming the setting into a health promoting one. The standards are comprehensive and address topics to encourage the complete refocusing of an organization’s strategy and to stimulate a process of continuous internal improvement. Standards address management, patient-centered care, occupational health, health literate organizations, environmental sustainability, and target groups such as the elderly and children and adolescents. Excel and pdf tools may be utilized by institutions to measure and track progress in implementing each of the standards. The tools state measurable elements for each standard that were identified by an expert panel of HPH members and external subject experts to be directly observable and applicable across various regional and institutional contexts. As part of internal and external assessment processes, standards can be rated on a scale from 1 (not implemented) to 10 (fully implemented). The tools store data and generate graphs that allow organizations to assess their level of performance, identify areas for improvement, and devise data-driven action plans. Key messages • Progress towards transforming the setting must be tracked and included in an organization’s continuous internal improvement processes. • The transformation of the hospitals/health service setting into a health promoting environment results in better health outcomes for patients, families, the community, and the environment.

To meet current economic demands enforcing the replacement of platinum-group metals, extensively used in three-way-catalytic converters (TWC), research is driven towards low-cost and widely available base metals. However, to cope with their lower activity, high metal loadings must be coupled with increased dispersion. Herein, a series of CuO/Al2O3 samples is produced and the effect of different alumina supports’ properties on CuO dispersion, speciation and eventually on the TWC performance is studied. The alumina samples are synthesized via different methods, including soft-templating routes and flame spray pyrolysis, and compared with a commercial one, while CuO used as the catalytic active phase is added through ammonia-driven deposition–precipitation. As found, the large surface area and low crystallinity of the aluminas produced by soft-templating routes favor strong metal–support interaction, generating highly dispersed and strongly bonded CuO species at low loading and copper-aluminate phases at high loading. Notably, the use of amorphous mesoporous alumina completely prevents the formation of crystalline CuO even at 15 wt% Cu. Such high metal loading and dispersion capacity without the application of elevated calcination temperatures is one of the best reported for nonreducible supports. Catalytic evaluation of this material reveals a pronounced enhancement of oxidation activity with metal loading increase.

The phase behavior and the properties of carbon dioxide confined in an ordered mesoporous carbon (CMK-3) during freezing near the bulk triple point have been investigated by in situ total neutron scattering. The CO2 condensed in the mesopores of CMK-3 is found to be in a much densified state comparable with the bulk dry ice. So far, CO2 densification effects have been observed only in microporous carbon materials.

The molecular structure and phase behavior of carbon dioxide confined in an ordered mesoporous carbon (CMK-3) are investigated by total neutron scattering with in situ adsorption and cooling/heating cycles. The neutron signal from CO2 sorbed in the micropores of CMK-3 shows clearly liquid-like properties. Close to the bulk CO2 triple point (T3), the mesopore-confined CO2 is found in a liquid yet strongly densified state with a density similar to that of solid dry ice. Upon cooling the CO2 loaded carbon sample below T3, it was observed that depletion of the confined phase occurs and CO2 molecules escape from the pores to solidify externally. It was concluded that depletion occurs only in “secondary” pores having larger sizes (>50 A) than the well-defined uniform mesopores (47 A) of CMK-3. These pores exist due to imperfect ordering of the hexagonal network of the carbon rods. Surprisingly, this phenomenon does not happen in the main mesopores (47 A), implying thus that 50 A is a critical size for depletion below T3. This in turn suggests that in larger pores a pore triple point cannot be attained. The depletion process is reversible with a temperature hysteresis; when heating the sample CO2 molecules re-fill the pores.

Viscose fabrics were modified with alginate and doped with copper ions, to investigate the effect of copper doping on their antibacterial and UV blocking properties. The modified fabrics were characterized using FTIR, UV spectroscopy, SEM and chromatometric analysis and their copper uptake properties were investigated. The antibacterial effect of the treatments was evaluated before and after repeated washings (up to 50 cycles). The resulting composite materials showed excellent antibacterial properties with up to 100 % reduction of bacteria, even from very low copper content, while alginate/copper treatment increased the UV radiation protection index by 261 %, offering a composite fabric with improved performance.

PurposeThe aim of the research is to investigate the influence of leadership on firm financial performance and to explore the mediating role of employees' readiness to change.Design/methodology/approachThe paper hypothesizes that employees' readiness to change mediates the relationship between leadership and firm financial performance. A total of 213 employees of Greek shipping firms completed questionnaires examining their firms' leadership style and concurrently, their supervisors appraised their readiness to change. The research model was tested with the use of Structural Equation Modelling.FindingsThe research findings note the importance of leadership in fostering firm financial performance; they describe how each leadership style influences employees' readiness to change; as well as, they confirm that employee readiness mediates the relationship between leadership and firm financial performance. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are analysed.Research limitations/implicationsGiven that the research was conducted during the severe Greek economic crisis, a time when employees' behaviour is highly influenced by distinctive and complex internal and external relationships, there is scope for further work to verify that the relationships identified in this study remain valid during periods when market conditions are more favourable.Practical implicationsThe findings provide further support on the significance of employees' readiness to change and the paper suggests policies for its development.Originality/valueThe originality of this study lies in the finding that employees' readiness to change mediates the relationship between leadership and firm financial performance. Further, the study was carried out in Greek shipping industry that plays a vital role in the international shipping industry which is responsible for the carriage of around 90% of world trade.

In this study, efficient commercial photocatalyst (Degussa P25) nanoparticles were effectively dispersed and stabilized in alginate, a metal binding biopolymer. Taking advantage of alginate’s superior metal chelating properties, copper nanoparticle-decorated photocatalysts were developed after a pyrolytic or calcination-sintering procedure, yielding ceramic beads with enhanced photocatalytic and mechanical properties, excellent resistance to attrition, and optimized handling compared to powdered photocatalysts. The morphological and structural characteristics were studied using LN2 porosimetry, SEM, and XRD. The abatement of an organic pollutant (Methyl Orange, MO) was explored in the dark and under UV irradiation via batch experiments. The final properties of the photocatalytic beads were defined by both the synthesis procedure and the heat treatment conditions, allowing for their further optimization. It was found that the pyrolytic carbon residuals enabled the adhesion of the TiO2 nanoparticles, acting as binder, and increased the MO adsorption capacity, leading to increased local concentration in the photocatalyst vicinity. Well dispersed Cu nanoparticles were also found to enhance photocatalytic activity. The prepared photocatalysts exhibited increased MO adsorption capacity (up to 3.0 mg/g) and also high photocatalytic efficiency of about 50% MO removal from water solutions, reaching an overall MO rejection of about 80%, at short contact times (3 h). Finally, the prepared photocatalysts kept their efficiency for at least four successive photocatalytic cycles.

In this study, efficient commercial photocatalyst (Degussa P25) nanoparticles were effectively dispersed and stabilized in alginate, a metal binding biopolymer. Taking advantage of alginate’s superior metal chelating properties, copper nanoparticle-decorated photocatalysts were developed after a pyrolytic or calcination-sintering procedure, yielding ceramic beads with enhanced photocatalytic and mechanical properties, excellent resistance to attrition, and optimized handling compared to powdered photocatalysts. The morphological and structural characteristics were studied using LN2 porosimetry, SEM, and XRD. The abatement of an organic pollutant (Methyl Orange, MO) was explored in the dark and under UV irradiation via batch experiments. The final properties of the photocatalytic beads were defined by both the synthesis procedure and the heat treatment conditions, allowing for their further optimization. It was found that the pyrolytic carbon residuals enabled the adhesion of the TiO2 nanoparticles, acting as binder, and increased the MO adsorption capacity, leading to increased local concentration in the photocatalyst vicinity. Well dispersed Cu nanoparticles were also found to enhance photocatalytic activity. The prepared photocatalysts exhibited increased MO adsorption capacity (up to 3.0 mg/g) and also high photocatalytic efficiency of about 50% MO removal from water solutions, reaching an overall MO rejection of about 80%, at short contact times (3 h). Finally, the prepared photocatalysts kept their efficiency for at least four successive photocatalytic cycles.

Neurological disorders significantly impact the world’s economy due to their often chronic and life-threatening nature afflicting individuals which, in turn, creates a global disease burden. The Group of Twenty (G20) member nations, which represent the largest economies globally, should come together to formulate a plan on how to overcome this burden. The Neuroscience-20 (N20) initiative of the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics (SBMT) is at the vanguard of this global collaboration to comprehensively raise awareness about brain, spine, and mental disorders worldwide. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the various brain initiatives worldwide and highlight the need for cooperation and recommend ways to bring down costs associated with the discovery and treatment of neurological disorders. Our systematic search revealed that the cost of neurological and psychiatric disorders to the world economy by 2030 is roughly $16T. The cost to the economy of the United States is $1.5T annually and growing given the impact of COVID-19. We also discovered there is a shortfall of effective collaboration between nations and a lack of resources in developing countries. Current statistical analyses on the cost of neurological disorders to the world economy strongly suggest that there is a great need for investment in neurotechnology and innovation or fast-tracking therapeutics and diagnostics to curb these costs. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, SBMT, through this paper, intends to showcase the importance of worldwide collaborations to reduce the population’s economic and health burden, specifically regarding neurological/brain, spine, and mental disorders.

In this study, structured photocatalytic systems were successfully developed by a facile method based on Alginate molds and a wet-spinning/cross-linking technique, yielding commercial photocatalyst (Degussa P25) in the form of all-ceramic hollow fibers (HFs). Taking advantage of alginate’s exceptional sorption properties, copper augmented HFs were also developed. The structured photocatalysts were thoroughly characterised by a variety of techniques, including nitrogen adsorption, SEM/EDS, XRD, XPS and Raman. Synthesis and heat treatment parameters were found to affect the fibers’ properties, allowing their optimization. Treatment at 600 °C under Ar was found to produce the best performing photocatalysts in terms mechanical stability, resistance to attrition and photocatalytic performance. Ca-Alginate precursors led to structures with increased mechanical stability, while Cu-Alginate decorated the surface of the photocatalyst with highly dispersed copper nanoparticles, in the state of metallic and CuO. The developed materials were photo-catalytically active, while the copper decorated ceramic HFs exhibited the highest MO adsorption and photocatalytic degradation performance, reaching a MO removal of 73.4%. The synergestic effect of adsorption on the MO degradation performance was also noticed. Moreover, the copper addition facilitated the photocatalytic process by improving the electron-hole separation and inhibiting the recombination effects. The presence of carbon residue was also beneficial, enhancing the MO sorption on the photocatalysts. It is noteworthy that the structured photocatalysts retained their efficiency for at least four photocatalytic cycles. The prepared ceramic HFs exhibited enhanced mechanical properties and excellent resistance to attrition after subsequent cycles, rendering them excellent candidates for application in industrial wastewater processes.

Online ahead of print; International audience; Having the means to share research data openly is essential to modern science. For human research, a key aspect in this endeavor is obtaining consent from participants, not just to take part in a study, which is a basic ethical principle, but also to share their data with the scientific community. To ensure that the participants' privacy is respected, national and/or supranational regulations and laws are in place. It is, however, not always clear to researchers what the implications of those are, nor how to comply with them. The Open Brain Consent (https://open-brain-consent.readthedocs.io) is an international initiative that aims to provide researchers in the brain imaging community with information about data sharing options and tools. We present here a short history of this project and its latest developments, and share pointers to consent forms, including a template consent form that is compliant with the EU general data protection regulation. We also share pointers to an associated data user agreement that is not only useful in the EU context, but also for any researchers dealing with personal (clinical) data elsewhere.

Oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (oxCNTs) were functionalized by a simple non-covalent modification procedure using quaternized hyperbranched poly(ethyleneimine) derivatives (QPEIs), with various quaternization degrees. Structural characterization of these hybrids using a variety of techniques, revealed the successful and homogenous anchoring of QPEIs on the oxCNTs&rsquo, surface. Moreover, these hybrids efficiently dispersed in aqueous media, forming dispersions with excellent aqueous stability for over 12 months. Their cytotoxicity effect was investigated on two types of gram(&minus, ) bacteria, an autotrophic (cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942) and a heterotrophic (bacterium Escherichia coli). An enhanced, dose-dependent antibacterial and anti-cyanobacterial activity against both tested organisms was observed, increasing with the quaternization degree. Remarkably, in the photosynthetic bacteria it was shown that the hybrid materials affect their photosynthetic apparatus by selective inhibition of the Photosystem-I electron transport activity. Cytotoxicity studies on a human prostate carcinoma DU145 cell line and 3T3 mouse fibroblasts revealed that all hybrids exhibit high cytocompatibility in the concentration range, in which they also exhibit both high antibacterial and anti-cyanobacterial activity. Thus, QPEI-functionalized oxCNTs can be very attractive candidates as antibacterial and anti-cyanobacterial agents that can be used for potential applications in the disinfection industry, as well as for the control of harmful cyanobacterial blooms.

In this work, the dye-sensitization approach was used to optimize the compact layer/perovskite interface in planar perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The chemisorption of the triphenylamine-based metal-free organic (E)-3-(5-(4-(bis(2′,4′-dibutoxy-[1,1′-biphenyl]-4yl)amino)phenyl)thiophen-2-yl)-2-cyanoacrylic acid (D35) sensitizer via a bidentate anchor group on the titania surface resulted in both enhanced electron transfer and controlled growth of the top MAPbI3 perovskite layer. This modification led to planar PSC devices presenting significantly improved performance and increased stability. Using the Spiro-OMeTAD molecular hole conductor, stabilized output power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 13% were obtained for cells with titania sensitization, clearly outperforming those of cells without D35. This investigation gives new insights into how the molecular engineering via dye sensitization of the functional interfaces affects the performance in PSCs.

Excellent-quality graphene sheets produced via the direct liquid phase exfoliation of highly crystalline graphite (avoiding any oxidative treatment), were employed for the first time as 2D scaffolds for the in-situ synthesis of zeolitic-imidazolate-framework (ZIF-8) material. Our synthetic approach involved the efficient, urea-assisted exfoliation of natural graphite (without using any acids), and the subsequent selective, mild functionalization of the resulting high-quality graphene sheets with benzoic acid functional groups. The graphene derivatives were next decorated via the in-situ development of ultrasmall (approx. 30 nm) ZIF-8 nanocrystals. We discuss the critical role of the functionalized graphene to the selective nucleation and crystal growth of ZIF-8 nanocrystals exclusively at their surface. In-depth gas sorption studies of different gases revealed that the novel ZIF-8@Graph nano-composites exhibited improved porosity (in terms of surface area and pore volume) compared to analogous Graphene Oxide/ZIF-8 hybrids. In addition, the gate effect of the ZIF-8 nanocrystals anchored onto the high-quality graphene, was found very different compared to bulk ZIF-8, a behavior that is attributed mainly to the significantly smaller crystal size and the perfect 2D confinement of ZIF-8 along graphene. Finally, preliminary CO2 adsorption properties of the synthesized novel nano-composites are reported, at near ambient temperature.

Objectives At a European Society of Neuroradiology (ESNR) Annual Meeting 2015 workshop, commonalities in practice, current controversies and technical hurdles in glioma MRI were discussed. We aimed to formulate guidance on MRI of glioma and determine its feasibility, by seeking information on glioma imaging practices from the European Neuroradiology community. Methods Invitations to a structured survey were emailed to ESNR members (n=1,662) and associates (n=6,400), European national radiologists’ societies and distributed via social media. Results Responses were received from 220 institutions (59% academic). Conventional imaging protocols generally include T2w, T2-FLAIR, DWI, and pre- and post-contrast T1w. Perfusion MRI is used widely (85.5%), while spectroscopy seems reserved for specific indications. Reasons for omitting advanced imaging modalities include lack of facility/software, time constraints and no requests. Early postoperative MRI is routinely carried out by 74% within 24–72 h, but only 17% report a percent measure of resection. For follow-up, most sites (60%) issue qualitative reports, while 27% report an assessment according to the RANO criteria. A minority of sites use a reporting template (23%). Conclusion Clinical best practice recommendations for glioma imaging assessment are proposed and the current role of advanced MRI modalities in routine use is addressed. Key Points • We recommend the EORTC-NBTS protocol as the clinical standard glioma protocol. • Perfusion MRI is recommended for diagnosis and follow-up of glioma. • Use of advanced imaging could be promoted with increased education activities. • Most response assessment is currently performed qualitatively. • Reporting templates are not widely used, and could facilitate standardisation. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00330-018-5314-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Oxidation of industrially prepared carbon nanodiscs using a simple, versatile, and reproducible approach based on the Staudenmaier method yields a new hydrophilic form of nanocarbon. As a result of the strong acid treatment, which also enables the separation of carbon nanodiscs from the mixed starting material, the graphene planes detach from the discs, while the surface of the carbon nanodiscs is decorated with various oxygen-containing functional polar groups. Thus, the completely insoluble carbon nanodiscs are converted to a hydrophilic derivative dispersable in many polar solvents, including water. The new carbon structure is expected to have a wide range of applications in several fields including bioapplications. To this end, the functionalized carbon nanodiscs exhibit very low cytotoxicity, while they achieve high drug loadings, enabling their application as an effective drug nanocarrier. Furthermore, the carbon disks were evaluated as supports in nanobiocatalytic applications, increasing significantly the stability of the systems, due to carbon disks' nano-sized dimensions.

Membrane technology is a very emerging industrial process offering significant advantages in terms of low energy requirements, capital investments, easy to operate and compact equipment, in comparison with the traditional processes. This is due to the selective barrier, through the thin layer structure, which is called membrane, in which the separation occurs with relative lower energy demands. To this end, many types of materials, commercially available or synthesized in the laboratory, have been tested as candidate materials in various membrane applications. Properties such as, plasticization, solubility in inorganic or organic solvents, high thermal properties, flexibility, mechanical strength are required for the selection of the optimum material for every industrial application. In any case, the major factors that define the selection of a material as well as the efficiency of a certain filtration process are the high permeation and separation coefficients. The separation mechanism in a polymeric membrane mainly depends on material's nature combined with its formation process. Due to extreme differences between the polymer candidates many studies have been reported in the literature regarding the optimum materials for the different membrane types. Polyimides are a very attractive class of polymers that can be used on membrane technology, exhibiting high selectivities combined with high permeances for a large variety of applications including gas and liquid separations. In this article the principle theory of the mass transfer phenomena through polymers and a brief outline of polyimides based gas separation membranes are presented and discussed. In specific, selected works of the preparation routine and the gas permeation/selectivity properties of polyimide based membranes are presented and discussed by giving emphasis on the carbon dioxide permeation and separation properties.

Photocatalysis is an attractive advanced treatment process that can be used for water purification from emerging contaminants, including hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) removal. Up to now, photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) has been investigated mostly using titania (TiO 2 ) photocatalysts in acidic water solutions. In this work, copper (Cu) and cuprous oxide (Cu 2 O) nanoparticles (NPs) decorated TiO 2 –alginate beads were synthesized and studied in the photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) under UV/Vis irradiation. The target was to overcome the drawback of pristine TiO 2 which requires acidified solutions to achieve enhanced photocatalytic reduction of hexavalent chromium. Moreover, the spherical and uniform size of the photocatalytic beads ensures efficient mass transfer, addresses the problems of limited irradiation into slurries and facilitates separation of the catalyst after the photocatalytic treatment. The hexavalent chromium reduction efficiency of the Cu/Cu 2 O decorated TiO 2 /alginate beads was satisfactory at pH range 2–6 and practically did not depend on the treated solution acidity. Small quantities (10 g L −1 ) of the newly synthesized photocatalytic beads succeeded to remove all toxic loads from a 5 ppm Cr 6+ solution in only 15 min under UV light irradiation. These low-cost developed and non-toxic photocatalysts seam greatly promising for Cr(VI) pollution cleanup.

Early diagnosis and timely management of tooth or dental material wear is imperative to avoid extensive restorations. Previous studies suggested different methods for tooth wear assessment, but no study has developed a three‐dimensional (3D) superimposition technique applicable in cases where tooth surfaces, other than the occlusal, undergo extensive morphological changes. Here, we manually grinded plaster incisors and canines to simulate occlusal tooth wear of varying severity in teeth that received a wire retainer bonded on their lingual surfaces, during the assessment period. The corresponding dental casts were scanned using a surface scanner. The modified tooth crowns were best‐fit approximated to the original crowns using seven 3D superimposition techniques (two reference areas with varying settings) and the gold standard technique (GS: intact adjacent teeth and alveolar processes as superimposition reference), which provided the true value. Only a specific technique (complete crown with 20% estimated overlap of meshes), which is applicable in actual clinical data, showed perfect agreement with the GS technique in all cases (median difference: −0.002, max absolute difference: 0.178 mm3). The outcomes of the suggested and the GS technique were highly reproducible (max difference < 0.040 mm3). The presented technique offers low cost, convenient, accurate, and risk‐free tooth wear assessment. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

There are multiple nonneoplastic lesions that can mimic intracranial neoplasms on neuroimaging.

BackgroundMachine learning assisted MRI radiomics, which combines MRI techniques with machine learning methodology, is rapidly gaining attention as a promising method for staging of brain gliomas. This study assesses the diagnostic value of such framework applied to dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC)-MRI in classifying treatment-naïve gliomas from a multi-center patient pool into WHO grades II-IV and across their isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutation status.Methods333 patients from 6 tertiary centres, diagnosed histologically and molecularly with primary gliomas (IDH-mutant=151 or IDH-wildtype=182) were retrospectively identified. Raw DSC-MRI data was post-processed for normalised leakage-corrected relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) maps. Shape, intensity distribution (histogram) and rotational invariant Haralick texture features over the tumour mask were extracted. Differences in extracted features between IDH-wildtype and IDH-mutant gliomas and across three glioma grades were tested using the Wilcoxon two-sample test. A random forest algorithm was employed (2-fold cross-validation, 250 repeats) to predict grades or mutation status using the extracted features.ResultsFeatures from all types (shape, distribution, texture) showed significant differences across mutation status. WHO grade II-III differentiation was mostly driven by shape features while texture and intensity feature were more relevant for the III-IV separation. Increased number of features became significant when differentiating grades further apart from one another. Gliomas were correctly stratified by IDH mutation status in 71% of the cases and by grade in 53% of the cases. In addition, 87% of the gliomas grades predicted with an error distance up to 1.ConclusionDespite large heterogeneity in the multi-center dataset, machine learning assisted DSC-MRI radiomics hold potential to address the inherent variability and presents a promising approach for non-invasive glioma molecular subtyping and grading.Key points-On highly heterogenous, multi-centre data, machine learning on DSC-MRI features can correctly predict glioma IDH subtyping in 71% of cases and glioma grade II-IV in 53% of the cases (87% -Shape features distinguish best grade II from grade III gliomas.-Texture and distribution features distinguish best grade III from grade IV tumours.Importance of studyThis work illustrates the diagnostic value of combining machine learning and dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced MRI (DSC-MRI) radiomics in classifying gliomas into WHO grades II-IV as well as across their isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutation status. Despite the data heterogeneity inherent to the multi-centre design of the studied cohort (333 subjects, 6 centres) that greatly increases the theoretical challenges of machine learning frameworks, good classification performance (accuracy of 53% across grades (87% With its strong generalisability property, its ability to further incorporate participating centres and its possible use to identify borderline cases, the proposed machine learning framework has the potential to contribute to the clinical translation of machine-learning assisted diagnostic tools in neuro-oncology.

This brief work is an attempt to point to the possible common neurological breakdowns in giving rise to alexithymia, and impaired appreciation of humour. In particular, we present the case of a patient who lost the ability to enjoy humour after the surgical removal of a frontal groove meningioma, although he was still able to detect it, while at the same time was diagnosed with organic alexithymia. Our results indicate that problems in the affective appreciation of humour and in emotionalizing (alexithymic symptoms) may be the result of damage to the ventral-rostral portions of the ACG/mPFC, which prevent the patient from assessing the salience of emotion and motivational information, and generating emotional reactions; as a result he has trouble experiencing emotions, knowing how he and others feel, and enjoy humour.

Asymmetric carbon hollow fiber membranes (CHFs) were prepared and their gas permeance properties were investigated at high pressures up to ∼60 bar. The main target of this work was to study the effect of the gas feed pressure on the permeance through carbon membranes. Specifically, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane and ethane were chosen for studying the permeance performance of the developed membranes at conditions of industrial interest. It has been observed that CO2 obtains a maximum permeance of 412 GPU at 27.5 bar and 765 GPU at 22 bar for M1 and M3 membranes respectively while C2H6 presents maximum permeance values of 482 and 825 GPU at 22.45 and 16.13 bar for M1 and M3 membranes respectively. These maxima in permeances can be explained in terms of orientational correlations of the confined molecules, originating from inter–molecular quadrupolar interactions. Discussion on the diffusion mechanism of all the studied gases is also provided. Note that natural gas (NG) treatment, i.e. sweetening and purification processes, is energetically and economically convenient if it takes place under the conditions where the NG stream is extracted from the wells (i.e. pressure 30–60 bar). This practically means that if it is known the pressure where the used membranes provide the highest permeability factors, concerning the gas of interest, then the pressure can be fixed at this grade without pointless depressing actions. The presented testing methodology is very useful for identifying the optimum operation conditions towards an efficient gas separation process.

TiO2 photocatalysis is an advanced process, employed worldwide for the oxidation of organic compounds, that leads to significant technological applications in the fields of health and environment. The use of the photocatalytic approach in reduction reactions seems very promising and can open new horizons for green chemistry synthesis. For this purpose, titanium dioxide nanotubes (TNTs) were developed in autoclave conditions using TiO2 P25 as a precursor material. Based on these nanotubular substrates, TiO2/CoFe2O4 (TCF) nanocomposites were further obtained by wet impregnation method. The materials were thoroughly characterized and their structural, textural, vibrational, optoelectronic and magnetic properties were determined. The composite materials combine absorbance in the visible optical range and high BET surface area values (˜100 m2/g), showing extremely high yield in the photocatalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), exceeding 94% within short illumination time (only 35 min). The developed nanocomposites were successfully reused in consecutive photocatalytic experiments and were easily removed from the reaction medium using magnets. Both remarkable recycling ability and high-performance stability in the photocatalytic reduction of nitrophenol were observed, thus justifying the significant economic potential and industrial perspectives for this advanced reduction process.

A series of Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanocomposite films containing quaternized hyperbranched polyethyleneimine (PEI) functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (ox-CNTs@QPEI) are prepared by solvent casting technique. The modified carbon based material exhibits high aqueous solubility, due to the hydrophilic character of the functionalized hyperbranched dendritic polymer. The quaternized PEI successfully wraps around nanotube walls, as polycations provide electrostatic repulsion. Various contents of ox-CNTs@QPEI ranging from 0.05 to 1.0 % w/w were employed to prepare functionalized PVA nanocomposites. The developed films exhibit adequate optical transparency, improved mechanical properties and extremely high antibacterial behavior due to the excellent dispersion of the functionalized carbon nanotubes into the PVA matrix.

The chlorophyll a fluorescence based antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) method presented in a previous work was based on the measurement of Chl a fluorescence of the gram(-) cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942. Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 as a gram(-) bacterium is affected by antibacterial agents via mechanisms affecting all gram(-) bacteria, however, as an exclusively phototrophic organism it would also be affected by photosynthesis inhibitory action of an agent that otherwise has no antibacterial properties. In this report, the method is modified by replacing the exclusively phototrophic Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 with the Synechocystis sp. PCC 6714, capable of both phototrophic and heterotrophic growth in order to add versatility and better reflect the antibacterial effects of surfaces under study towards nonphotosynthetic bacteria.

To perform a meta-analysis of advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) metrics, including relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV), normalized apparent diffusion coefficient (nADC), and spectroscopy ratios choline/creatine (Cho/Cr) and choline/N-acetyl aspartate (Cho/NAA), for the differentiation of high- and low-grade gliomas (HGG, LGG) and metastases (MTS).For systematic review, 83 articles (dated 2000-2013) were selected from the NCBI database. Twenty-four, twenty-two, and eight articles were included respectively for spectroscopy, rCBV, and nADC meta-analysis. In the meta-analysis, we calculated overall means for rCBV, nADC, Cho/Cr (short TE-from 20 to 35 ms, medium-from 135 to 144 ms), and Cho/NAA for the HGG, LGG, and MTS groups. We used random effects model to obtain weighted averages and select thresholds.Overall means (with 95% CI) for rCBV, nADC, Cho/Cr (short and medium echo time, TE), and Cho/NAA were: for HGG 5.47 (4.78-6.15), 1.38 (1.16-1.60), 2.40 (1.67-3.13), 3.27 (2.78-3.77), and 4.71 (3.24-6.19); for LGG 2.00 (1.71-2.28), 1.61 (1.36-1.87), 1.46 (1.20-1.72), 1.71 (1.49-1.93), and 2.36 (1.50-3.23); for MTS 5.06 (3.85-6.27), 1.35 (1.06-1.64), 1.89 (1.72-2.06), 3.14 (1.57-4.72), (Cho/NAA was not available). LGG had significantly lower rCBV, Cho/Cr, and Cho/NAA values than HGG or MTS. No significant differences were found for nADC.Best differentiation between HGG and LGG is obtained from rCBV, Cho/Cr, and Cho/NAA metrics. MTS could not be reliably distinguished from HGG by the methods investigated.