Search

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are used in the treatment of urothelial and renal cell cancers. While some patients may have exceptional responses, better predictive biomarkers are needed. We profiled the circulating immune compartment of patients receiving ICI to identify possible immune markers associated with immunotherapy response or resistance. Peripheral blood samples were collected prior to, and 3 weeks after initiation of ICI. Using mass cytometry, 26 distinct immune populations were identified. Responders to immune checkpoint inhibitors had higher frequencies of naïve CD4+ T-cells, and lower frequencies of CD161+ Th17 cells and CCR4+ Th2 cells. Non-responders had a higher frequency of circulating PD1+ T-cells at baseline; there was a subsequent decrease in frequency with exposure to ICI with a concomitant increase in Ki67 expression. Flow cytometry for cytokines and chemokine receptors showed that CD4+ T cells of non-responder patients expressed less CXCR4 and CCR7. In addition, their PD1- CD4+ T cells had higher TNFα and higher CCR4 expression, while their PD1+ CD4+ T cells had higher interferon γ and lower CCR4 expression. The role of γ/δ T-cells was also explored. In responders, these cells had higher levels of interferon γ, TNFα and CCR5. One patient with a complete response had markedly higher frequency of γ/δ T-cells at baseline, and an expansion of these cells after treatment. This case was analyzed using single-cell gene expression profiling. The bulk of the γ/δ T cells consisted of a single clone of Vγ9/Vδ2 cells both before and after expansion, although the expansion was polyclonal. Gene expression analysis showed that exposure to an ICI led to a more activated phenotype of the γ/δ T cells. In this study, the circulating immune compartment was shown to have potential for biomarker discovery. Its dynamic changes during treatment may be used to assess response before radiographic changes are apparent, and these changes may help us delineate mechanisms that underpin both response and resistance to ICI. It also hypothesizes a potential role for γ/δ T cells as effector cells in some cases.

Background Metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) historically is treated with first‐line platinum‐based combination chemotherapy, preferably cisplatin plus gemcitabine whenever possible. In recent years, multiple classes of targeted therapy have demonstrated benefit, with some receiving approval in mUC. This review will summarize phase III efficacy and safety data for targeted agents, principally immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), as either first‐line or first‐line switch‐maintenance therapy for mUC and interpret these findings in the context of the current treatment landscape. Materials and Methods Published and presented phase III data on targeted therapy for the first‐line or first‐line switch‐maintenance treatment of mUC were identified using the key search terms “targeted therapy” AND “urothelial carcinoma” AND “advanced” OR respective aliases according to the guidelines for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA). Results Of the six eligible phase III targeted therapy trials, two assessing ICIs met their primary endpoints in platinum‐eligible patients. First‐line ICI plus chemotherapy combinations have not improved overall survival (OS), although final OS results of the IMVigor 130 trial are pending. Switch‐maintenance using an ICI in patients achieving at least stable disease following platinum‐based chemotherapy statistically significantly improved OS (21.4 vs. 14.3 months, hazard ratio, 0.69; 95% confidence interval, 0.56–0.86; p = .001). Current sequencing options for mUC include first‐line platinum‐based chemotherapy with a switch to ICI either immediately or upon disease progression. Conclusion Recent targeted therapy trials have expanded ICI sequencing options for mUC. The treatment landscape is likely to evolve rapidly, with results from multiple phase III trials expected in the next 5 years. Implications for Practice Multiple classes of targeted agents are approved for use in metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC). Six phase III trials have recently provided insight on the benefit of these agents in the first‐line setting. In platinum‐eligible patients, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) combined with first‐line platinum‐based chemotherapy failed to demonstrate improved survival, although ICI monotherapy as switch‐maintenance significantly improved overall survival in patients with mUC who had achieved at least stable disease following first‐line platinum‐based chemotherapy. In patients ineligible for any chemotherapy, pembrolizumab, atezolizumab, or pembrolizumab in combination with enfortumab vedotin may be options., Treatment options for metastatic urothelial carcinoma are evolving, with multiple targeted treatment options, including immune checkpoint inhibitors, showing benefit. It is unclear whether any of these agents will replace the long established first‐line standard of care, platinum‐based chemotherapy. This review summarizes efficacy and safety data from first‐line trials and considers these findings within the current treatment landscape to offer guidance on treatment selection and sequencing.

An alkali-mediated hydrothermal approach was optimized for partial extraction of high-purity hemicellulose (xylan) from a timber waste product (unbleached eucalyptus sawdust). The extraction process was: a) extractives removal using sequential solvent extraction; b) alkali-mediated hydrothermal extraction of hemicellulose; and c) purification of the isolated hemicellulose fraction. Biomass was extracted in an autoclave at a fixed temperature of 121 °C while varying the extraction time (1 h to 2.5 h) and alkali concentration (10%, 15%, and 20% w/v). Using this simple approach, high purity polymeric hemicellulose with molecular mass (21 to 30 kDa) was recovered in yields of 35 to 37%. The isolated hemicellulose can be chemically transformed into high-value commercial products such as prebiotics (xylooligosaccharides), surfactants, hydrogels, and food packaging materials. The purified residue can be utilized in existing kraft pulping processes. The integration of hemicellulose extraction into existing pulping process represents additional valorization of timber resources.

Active germ cell malignancies express high levels of specific circulating micro-RNAs (miRNAs), including miR-371a-3p (miR371), which is undetectable in teratoma. Teratoma markers are urgently needed for theselection of patients and treatments because of the risk of malignant transformation and growing teratoma syndrome. To assess the accuracy of plasma miR375 alone or in combination with miR371 in detecting teratoma, 100 germ cell tumor patients, divided into two cohorts, were enrolled in a prospective multi-institutional study. In the discovery cohort, patients with pure teratoma and with no/low risk of harboring teratoma were compared; the validation cohort included patients with confirmed teratoma, active germ cell malignancy, or complete response after chemotherapy. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values for miR375, miR371, and miR371-miR375 were, respectively, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.87-0.99), 0.59 (95% CI: 0.44-0.73), and 0.95 (95% CI: 0.90-0.99) in the discovery cohort and 0.55 (95% CI: 0.36-0.74), 0.74 (95% CI: 0.58-0.91), and 0.77 (95% CI: 0.62-0.93) in the validation cohort. Our study demonstrated that the plasma miR371-miR375 integrated evaluation is highly accurate to detect teratoma. PATIENT SUMMARY: The evaluation of two micro-RNAs (miR375-miR371) in the blood of patients with germ cell tumors is promising to predict teratoma. This test could be particularly relevant to the identification of teratoma in patients with postchemotherapy residual disease. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Advanced and metastatic tumors with complex treatment histories drive cancer mortality. Here we describe the POG570 cohort, a comprehensive whole-genome, transcriptome and clinical dataset, amenable for exploration of the impacts of therapies on genomic landscapes. Previous exposure to DNA-damaging chemotherapies and mutations affecting DNA repair genes, including POLQ and genes encoding Polζ, were associated with genome-wide, therapy-induced mutagenesis. Exposure to platinum therapies coincided with signatures SBS31 and DSB5 and, when combined with DNA synthesis inhibitors, signature SBS17b. Alterations in ESR1, EGFR, CTNNB1, FGFR1, VEGFA and DPYD were consistent with drug resistance and sensitivity. Recurrent noncoding events were found in regulatory region hotspots of genes including TERT, PLEKHS1, AP2A1 and ADGRG6. Mutation burden and immune signatures corresponded with overall survival and response to immunotherapy. Our data offer a rich resource for investigation of advanced cancers and interpretation of whole-genome and transcriptome sequencing in the context of a cancer clinic. Marra and colleagues describe POG570, a pan-cancer, whole-genome, transcriptome and clinical dataset stressing the molecular interactions in advanced and post-therapy cancer patients.

In this work, the co-processing of waste surgical masks, waste motor oil, and biomass was investigated to reduce the environmental impacts of the increasing medical-derived plastic pollution as well as to elucidate its effect on the production of chemicals . The results showed high yields towards an oily product with an interesting hydrocarbon content in the diesel range. Furthermore, although the initial waste motor oil had a high sulfur content, the oily products showed a low sulfur content, that was logically distributed in the solid and gas phases. In addition, all oily products presented HHVs ​​higher than 44 MJ/Kg, with cetane indices, densities, and viscosities lower than those of petroleum-derived diesel. This work could impact on the management of waste surgical masks and the joint recovery of everyday waste towards high value-added products.

Adrenocortical cancer (ACC) is a rare cancer of the adrenal gland. Several driver mutations have been identified in both primary and metastatic ACCs, but the therapeutic options are still limited. We performed whole-genome and transcriptome sequencing on seven patients with metastatic ACC. Integrative analysis of mutations, RNA expression changes, mutation signature, and homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) analysis was performed. Mutations affecting

Introduction Given the high level of uncertainty surrounding the outcomes of early phase clinical trials, whole genome and transcriptome analysis (WGTA) can be used to optimize patient selection and study assignment. In this retrospective analysis, we reviewed the impact of this approach on one such program. Methods Patients with advanced malignancies underwent fresh tumor biopsies as part of our personalized medicine program (NCT02155621). Tumour molecular data were reviewed for potentially clinically actionable findings and patients were referred to the developmental therapeutics program. Outcomes were reviewed in all patients, including those where trial selection was driven by molecular data (matched) and those where there was no clear molecular rationale (unmatched). Results From January 2014 to January 2018, 28 patients underwent WGTA and enrolled in clinical trials, including 2 patients enrolled in two trials. Fifteen patients were matched to a treatment based on a molecular target. Five patients were matched to a trial based upon single-gene DNA changes, all supported by RNA data. Ten cases were matched on the basis of genome-wide data (n = 4) or RNA gene expression only (n = 6). With a median follow-up of 6.7 months, the median time on treatment was 8.2 weeks. Discussion When compared to single-gene DNA-based data alone, WGTA led to a 3-fold increase in treatment matching. In a setting where there is a high level of uncertainty around both the investigational agents and the biomarkers, more data are needed to fully evaluate the impact of routine use of WGTA.

Following the COP21 conference in Paris, most of the world’s industrialized countries, as well as emerging markets, pledged to reduce or stabilize their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in light of increasing concerns regarding climate change [1]. The necessity to decrease GHG emissions will have implications on the consumption patterns of different types of energies around the world. Apart from the obvious need to replace part of the increasing fossil fuel consumption in transportation (including road, rail, air and sea), there is a growing demand in other sectors as well, such as for electricity production, heating and cooling. Many opportunities are being investigated to address some of the issues related to this green energy transition, including the increased harnessing of alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and biomass. Despite varying potential for each of the mentioned energy sources to help replace or supplement fossil fuels, only biomass currently has the potential to address most of these needs without requiring significant changes to existing energy distribution networks. For example, biomass can be burnt to generate combined heat and power, but it can also be used as a source of carbon to produce biofuels. In the latter case, biofuels such as ethanol could be blended into the existing fuel pool as well as distributed and utilized in engines without requiring significant modifications to the existing chain of distribution. This adaptiveness is not necessarily the case when considering electric vehicles (EV), although they are also of crucial importance towards collectively reducing GHG emissions. This manuscript will review the Biorefinery Done Right-concept, developed by the company RéSolve Énergie in close collaboration with the Biomass Technology Laboratory. This simple feedstock-agnostic technology allows conversion of any type of residual biomass (including but not limited to softwood bark) to three-types of biofuels. The first objective is to take advantage of the carbohydrate content in the biomass through hydrolysis of the constitutive hemicellulose and cellulose. The fermentable sugars are then converted to ethanol, achieved without any constraints, since the RéSolve process generates a hydrolysate with very low inhibitor levels. The lignin recovered from the process is essentially unmodified lignin and after washing, it is pelletized. Pellets, containing the most energetic components of the lignocellulosic biomass, can provide up to 26 GJ/tonne. Finally, the non-fermentable sugars (C5), as well as the lignin that does not comply with Grade A lignin characteristics, are predigested for utilization in a classical biomethanation system. Hence, through this approach, 100% of the carbon from the biomass is converted into commercial products, which at this point are all related to the energy market. The authors would like to acknowledge the participation of RéSolve Énergie to this project as well as the CRIBIQ, MITACS and NSERC who contributed in funding this work.

Introduction Le port du casque à vélo est reconnu comme étant une mesure efficace pour prévenir les traumatismes crâniens chez les cyclistes. Plusieurs pays ont légiféré pour rendre obligatoire le port du casque, mais ce type de mesure est contesté, de crainte qu’elle ait pour effet de réduire la pratique du vélo, en particulier chez les adolescents. La municipalité de Sherbrooke a adopté en 2011 un règlement rendant obligatoire le port du casque à vélo pour les mineurs. L’objectif de cette étude était d’évaluer l’effet de ce règlement sur la pratique du vélo et sur le port du casque à vélo. Méthodologie L’effet du règlement a été évalué en comparant l’évolution de la pratique du vélo et du port du casque à vélo avant et après sa promulgation, chez les jeunes âgés de 12 à 17 ans de la région de Sherbrooke (n = 248) et de trois régions témoins (n = 767), au moyen d’analyses de régression logistique. Résultats La pratique du vélo est demeurée stable dans la région de Sherbrooke (passant de 49,9 % à 53,8 %) alors qu’elle a diminué dans les régions témoins (passant de 59,1 % à 46,3 %). Cette évolution différente fait que la pratique du vélo s’est révélée plus importante dans la région de Sherbrooke après la promulgation du règlement comparativement aux régions témoins (rapport de cotes [RC] du terme d’interaction : 2,32; intervalle de confiance [IC] à 95 % : 1,01 à 5,35). Quant au port du casque à vélo, une tendance à la hausse, non statistiquement significative, a été observée dans la région de Sherbrooke (passant de 43,5 % à 60,6 %), alors qu’il est demeuré stable dans les régions témoins (passant de 41,5 % à 41,9 %). Aucune différence significative n’est observée dans l’évolution du port du casque à vélo entre les deux groupes (RC du terme d’interaction : 2,70; IC à 95 % : 0,67 à 10,83). Conclusion Après la promulgation du règlement, chez les jeunes âgés de 12 à 17 ans de la région de Sherbrooke, la pratique du vélo est demeurée stable et le port du casque à vélo a augmenté, mais de façon non significative.

PURPOSE Our objective was to evaluate operating characteristics, particularly specificity and positive predictive value (PPV), by mapping plasma miR371 expression to actual clinical events in patients with a history of germ cell tumor. PATIENTS AND METHODS One hundred eleven male patients with a history of or newly diagnosed germ cell tumors were evaluable. Biospecimens obtained before confirmed clinical events were analyzed for miR371 expression with blinding of providers and laboratory personnel to analytic results or clinical status, respectively. Cases (patients with clinically confirmed active germ cell malignancy [aGCM]) and controls (patients with no clinically confirmed aGCM) were assigned over the course of the management. Patients were assigned risk status (high, low, or moderate) based on the composite clinical picture at time points in management. RESULTS Considering all cases and controls and results of prospectively obtained biosamples analyzed for miR371 expression, 46 (35%) of 132 samples had clinically confirmed aGCM over the course of management; 44 (96%) of these 46 patients had plasma miR371 expression (true positives) with no false positives. Two (4%) of 46 patients had no miRNA expression despite pathologic confirmation of aGCM (false negatives). Plasma miR371 expression in confirmed aGCM had a specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 100%, 96%, 100%, and 98%, respectively. Interpretation of sensitivity and negative predictive value is limited by modest follow-up. Specificity and sensitivity were 100% and 98%, 100% and 92%, and 100% and 97% in the low-, moderate-, and high-risk groups, respectively, with a median follow-up time of 15 months. CONCLUSION Plasma miR371 expression predicts aGCM with high specificity and positive predictive value. Although other operating characteristics of miR371 await longer follow-up for more complete definition, the findings of a highly specific liquid biopsy strongly support moving forward with large-scale, real-world clinical trials to further define full operating characteristics and to identify clinical utility and areas of patient benefit.

The management of metastatic urothelial cancer is rapidly evolving since immune checkpoint inhibitors were introduced. We present the case of a patient with metastatic upper tract urothelial cancer who had a complete response to durvalumab and tremelimumab. This patient then developed multiple non-invasive papillary bladder tumours. Next-generation sequencing revealed that the tumours shared ancestry with the upper tract cancer, although there were key differences, most notably the presence of a TP53 missense mutation in the upper tract disease that was absent in the bladder tumours. This illustrates an important practice point in the management of exceptional responders to checkpoint inhibitors.

Among the various agro-industrial by-products, sugar beet molasses produced by sugar refineries appear as a potential feedstock for ethanol production through yeast fermentation. A response surface methodology (RSM) was developed to better understand the effect of three process parameters (concentration of nutrient, yeast and initial sugar) on the ethanol productivity using diluted sugar beet molasses and Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast. The first set of experiments performed at lab-scale indicated that the addition of 4 g/L of nutrient combined with a minimum of 0.2 g/L of yeast as well as a sugar concentration lower than 225 g/L was required to achieve high ethanol productivities (>15 g/L/d). The optimization allowed to considerably reduce the amount of yeast initially introduced in the fermentation substrate while still maximizing both ethanol productivity and yield process responses. Finally, scale-up assays were carried out in 7.5 and 100 L bioreactors using the optimal conditions: 150 g/L of initial sugar concentration, 0.27 g/L of yeast and 4 g/L of nutrient. Within 48 h of incubation, up to 65 g/L of ethanol were produced for both scales, corresponding to an average ethanol yield and sugar utilization rate of 82% and 85%, respectively. The results obtained in this study highlight the use of sugar beet molasses as a low-cost food residue for the sustainable production of bioethanol.

Liquid effluents generated during the gasification process of municipal solid wastes (MSW) represent highly heterogenous and recalcitrant substrates, and thus require energy-intensive treatments prior to their discharge into the environment. However, these streams represent untapped carbon sources which can be converted, under the right conditions, to platform molecules, decreasing thus the elevated costs of current mitigation approaches. Thus, the present study describes a novel two-step chemical and biological effluent treatment process which co-generates microalgal biomass containing valuable functional components. The detoxification potential of ozone, ultrasonication and a combination of both of these advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) were initially evaluated using wastewater generated from scrubbing primary syngas produced from the gasification of MSW. The pretreated effluents were subsequently used to cultivate Chlorella vulgaris microalgae under various illumination (light/dark cycles of 24h/0h, 12h/12h and 0h/24h) and nutrient (supplementation of yeast extract) regimes, in order to assess their potential to further convert the remaining carbon into value-added functional biomolecules, such as photosynthetic pigments. The use of ozone, either individually or combined with ultrasounds, showed the best performances for the substrate detoxification prior to the biological treatment step. It was determined that 20 min of oxidative reaction using ozone coupled with ultrasounds was sufficient to degrade up to 70% of the total phenol compounds, 64% of the COD, and 75% of the color initially present in the gasification wastewater. The further microalgal phytoremediation and conversion experiments showed that 12 h of illumination per day, together with 0.5 g/L of yeast extract, generated the highest microalgae growth rate (0.29 d−1), biomass productivity (244 mg/L/d), photosynthetic pigment accumulation (12.0 and 4.5 mg/L of total chlorophyll and carotenoids, respectively) as well as total carbon removal (57 %). Therefore, the combination of AOPs with mixotrophic cultivation of C. vulgaris demonstrates for the first time an alternative to current treatment strategies of highly-recalcitrant industrial wastewaters, which includes the further valorization of the carbon available in these streams.

Many phytoplankton organisms are denser than their aquatic medium, and so sink relative to the surrounding water. Decreasing cell density relative to the medium allows upward movement, using gas vesicles in cyanobacteria and decreasing the density of the vacuole in large-celled eukaryotes. Upward movement can also occur in organisms with flagella. These three mechanisms can maintain the organisms in the photic zone with a small estimated minimum energy cost relative to those of cell growth (

Transitioning from the current linear economy to a circular, sustainable model requires a redesign of the status quo through new policies such as carbon pricing as well as inclusion of resource depletion, waste management and environmental pollution costs. Biofuels and biocommodities should unavoidably play a major role in shaping the new global energy landscape by providing alternatives to most of the current oil-refinery products. The accelerating shift toward lignocellulosic and microalgal biomass as well as waste effluents could considerably diminish the fossil fuel usage. Thus, innovative concepts such as microbial cell factories, green chemistry, and renewable Power-to-X technologies could convert these substrates to drop-in fuels, platform chemicals, and even biopolymers. State-of-the-art online process characterization is, however, critical to support these upcoming trends.

Full feedstock potential needs to be tapped to make lignocellulosic ethanol an economically viable reality. This work focuses on the Saccharomyces cerevisiae ethanol fermentation of fresh sorghum carbohydrates extracted through a mild steam-treatment process, and the subsequent Chlorella vulgaris cultivation using the generated liquid and gaseous fermentation effluents. The first section of the manuscript focuses on the effect of nutrient addition (fermentation effluent, yeast extract and urea) on the conversion efficiency of the sorghum carbohydrates to ethanol. Overall, the fermentation time was reduced to half when yeast extract and urea were supplemented to the free and hemicellulosic carbohydrate stream, accelerating the total sugar consumption time from 24 h to under 12 h. However, regarding the cellulosic carbohydrate hydrolysate, the sole addition of urea resulted in a slight improvement of the fermentation kinetics. The second half of the manuscript presents the impact of these different fermentation effluents and various process parameters (addition of yeast extract, antibiotic and CO2) on the microalgal cultivation and composition. The cellulosic hydrolysate yielded the highest concentrations of microalgal carbohydrates (507 mg/L) under a CO2-rich environment. Further cultivation scale-up assays confirmed these observations in the presence of 10% CO2 using the mixed fermentation effluents of the free and constitutive sorghum carbohydrates. Thus, an integrated sorghum-based first- (free carbohydrates), second- (constitutive carbohydrates) and third-generation (microalgal carbohydrates) ethanol production process was thoroughly investigated. This work could represent a step towards bridging the gap leading to full-scale commercialization of these advanced-biofuel technologies.

Purpose: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have revolutionized the treatment of solid tumors with dramatic and durable responses seen across multiple tumor types. However, identifying patients who will respond to these drugs remains challenging, particularly in the context of advanced and previously treated cancers. Experimental Design: We characterized fresh tumor biopsies from a heterogeneous pan-cancer cohort of 98 patients with metastatic predominantly pretreated disease through the Personalized OncoGenomics program at BC Cancer (Vancouver, Canada) using whole genome and transcriptome analysis (WGTA). Baseline characteristics and follow-up data were collected retrospectively. Results: We found that tumor mutation burden, independent of mismatch repair status, was the most predictive marker of time to progression (P = 0.007), but immune-related CD8+ T-cell and M1-M2 macrophage ratio scores were more predictive for overall survival (OS; P = 0.0014 and 0.0012, respectively). While CD274 [programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1)] gene expression is comparable with protein levels detected by IHC, we did not observe a clinical benefit for patients with this marker. We demonstrate that a combination of markers based on WGTA provides the best stratification of patients (P = 0.00071, OS), and also present a case study of possible acquired resistance to pembrolizumab in a patient with non–small cell lung cancer. Conclusions: Interpreting the tumor-immune interface to predict ICI efficacy remains challenging. WGTA allows for identification of multiple biomarkers simultaneously that in combination may help to identify responders, particularly in the context of a heterogeneous population of advanced and previously treated cancers, thus precluding tumor type–specific testing.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are widely used because of their excellent antibacterial properties. They are, however, easily discharged into the water environment, causing potential adverse environmental effects. Meta-transcriptomic analyses are helpful to study the transcriptional response of prokaryotic and eukaryotic aquatic microorganisms to AgNPs. In the present study, microcosms were used to investigate the toxicity of AgNPs to a natural aquatic microbial community. It was found that a 7-day exposure to 10 μg L-1 silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) dramatically affected the structure of the microbial community. Aquatic micro eukaryota (including eukaryotic algae, fungi, and zooplankton) and bacteria (i.e., heterotrophic bacteria and cyanobacteria) responded differently to the AgNPs stress. Meta-transcriptomic analyses demonstrated that eukaryota could use multiple cellular strategies to cope with AgNPs stress, such as enhancing nitrogen and sulfur metabolism, over-expressing genes related to translation, amino acids biosynthesis, and promoting bacterial-eukaryotic algae interactions. By contrast, bacteria were negatively affected by AgNPs with less signs of detoxification than in case of eukaryota; various pathways related to energy metabolism, DNA replication and genetic repair were seriously inhibited by AgNPs. As a result, eukaryotic algae (mainly Chlorophyta) dominated over cyanobacteria in the AgNPs treated microcosms over the 7-d exposure. The present study helps to understand the effects of AgNPs on aquatic microorganisms and provides insights into the contrasting AgNPs toxicity in eukaryota and bacteria.

Lignin pellets were produced using a single pellet system as well as a laboratory-scale pellet mill. The feedstock used in this work was lignin isolated from poplar wood (Populus tremuloides) using a direct saccharification process. An investigation was performed on the influence of the initial moisture content on the dimensions, impact and water resistance, fines content, mechanical durability, calorific value, and ash content, and, finally, the ultimate analysis was performed. These properties were then compared to pellets made from softwood bark using the same pelletization unit. Lignin pellets were then manufactured using four different types of additives (corn oil, citric acid, glycerol, and d-xylose) and ultimately, they were stored in two different conditions prior being tested. In general, manufacturing pellets that were entirely made of lignin generated samples with an overall higher hydrophobicity and higher calorific value. However, the ash and sulfur content of the lignin pellets (1.58% and 0.32% in scenario 2, respectively) were slightly higher than the expected CANplus certification values for Grade A pellets of ≤0.7%, and ≤0.04%, respectively. This study intends to show that lignin could be used to produce this new kind of pellets, pending that the initial material has a low ash and moisture content.