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The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of different pulp drying processes and extracting methods of avocado oil (Margarida), determined by quality indices, bioactive compounds and fatty acid profile. The avocado pulp was dried in air circulation oven at 40 °C and 60 °C, and in vacuum oven at 60 °C. The oil was extracted by mechanical press or by Soxhlet method. The acidity, peroxide value, iodine, refractive indices; phenolic compounds; carotenoids; chlorophyll; tocopherols; antioxidant activity; fatty acid profiles; ratio between hypocholesterolemic and hypercholesterolemic fatty acids (h/H); atherogenic and thrombogenic indices, besides avocado pulp characteristics were evaluated. The best oil quality was found for pulp dried at 60 °C under vacuum combined with Soxhlet extraction. The content of bioactive compounds was higher when the pulp was dried at 60 °C in an oven with air circulation combined with mechanical pressing. No significant effect was observed on the fatty acid profile. The atherogenic and thrombogenic indices showed low values and h/H ratio, within the desirable. The results showed advantage in drying the pulp at 60 °C. The oil evidenced being a good source of bioactive compounds, presenting an interesting fatty acid profile, h/h ratio, atherogenic and thrombogenic indices.

The main challenge of the agricultural sector is the increasing pressure on natural resources, mainly water and arable land. Consequently, an urgent imperative arises to explore technological advancements that can boost food production in alignment with the growing demands. The Soilless Production System (SPS) emerges as a proficient approach for managing irrigation water, thereby making a significant contribution to food security. This research focuses on the efficient use of SPS and identifies the best economic use of the soilless techniques for different crops within an area characterized by limited land and water availability. The database for the study was generated through a farm survey to investigate the benefits of adopting SPSs as a sustainable agricultural practice. A linear programming approach was applied to develop an optimization model for resource allocation and crop mix selection, considering the development opportunities through the SPSs. Different scenarios were applied in the model. The results proved that adopting SPSs is a sustainable irrigation practice, since the technique promotes water use efficiency, generates profitability, and conserves the associated natural resources. The SPSs ensure sustainable use of water resources by increasing water use efficiency. The hydroponics cultivation system had 11 ± 1.7 times higher yields but required 82 ± 11 times more energy in comparison to the lettuce crop produced by the conventional production system (CPS). The result of the optimal solution shows that the total revenue of scenarios of the study is 109% of the revenue of the original value of the largest farmer. The water resources and the investment cost as constraints in the model are totally used, but the operational costs in the optimal solutions are 74% of the total operational cost in the original data. The optimal solution showed the importance of using computerized systems in which the control of the fertigation is better.

Olive mill waste (olive pomace, OP, and olive stone, OS) was used in this work to produce adsorbents for the removal of five phenolic acids typically found in olive mill wastewater. OP and OS were subjected to different treatments (combined or not) that were chemically modified (NaOH) or physically modified by two different methods, incipient wetness impregnation (IWI) and hydrothermal deposition (HD), and even biochar production obtaining a total of 16 materials. The materials were characterized by different analytical techniques such as N2 absorption, scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and pH zero-potential charge. The mixture of five phenolic acids was used to evaluate in batch conditions the adsorption capacity of the prepared materials. OS chemically modified with IWI (OSM-IWI) and OS biochar with HD (BOS-HD) presented better adsorption capacity at 157.1 and 163.6 mg/g of phenolic acids, respectively, from a total of 200 mg/g. For some materials, the surface area cannot be correlated with adsorption capacity, unlike pHzpc, where high values fit better adsorption rates. The infrared spectroscopy profile indicates the presence of O-H and N-H functional groups and, the last one, red-shifted in the IWI preparation compared to the HD one. In addition to this, the prepared material from olive mill waste can be suitably used for the mixture of phenolic compounds.

Abstract Background Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Approximately one-third of patients with MDD do not respond to treatment, and often exhibit elevated inflammation biomarkers, which are associated with worse prognosis. Previous research has linked healthier dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet), with a lower risk of MDD and symptoms of depression, potentially due to their anti-inflammatory properties. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a nutritional counselling intervention promoting MedDiet to alleviate symptoms of depression in adults recently diagnosed with MDD and presenting with elevated inflammation biomarkers. Methods This study is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that will recruit adults from outpatient clinics, between the ages of 18 and 70 years who have been diagnosed with MDD and are currently receiving treatment with the first prescribed antidepressant, and who exhibit elevated inflammation biomarkers (interleukin-6 and/or C-reactive protein). The control group will receive treatment-as-usual (TAU) only. The primary outcome of the study will be the change in symptoms of depression, as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory 2 (BDI-II), after 12 weeks of intervention. Data analysis will follow an intention-to-treat approach. Secondary outcomes will include changes in inflammation biomarkers, quality of life, adherence to the MedDiet, and cost-effectiveness of nutritional counselling. All outcomes will be assessed at baseline, after the 12-week intervention, and at 6- and 12-months post-baseline. Discussion This study will be the first RCT to evaluate the effect of a nutritional intervention with anti-inflammatory properties, as an adjuvant in the treatment of MDD, in individuals diagnosed with MDD and elevated inflammation biomarkers. The results of this study may contribute to the development of more effective and personalized interventions for MDD patients with elevated inflammation biomarkers.

Mastitis has a significant impact on animal welfare and dairy industry profitability (regular losses 5–25%, outbreaks 85%), which is the main reason for antibiotic use (risk to the food chain) [...]

Swine wastewater (SW) was treated using industrial wastes as raw materials in a pre-treatment process (coagulation or adsorption), followed by a continuous heterogeneous Fenton reaction. Before the treatment conducted as a continuous operation, two different batch optimization strategies were evaluated, in which the effects of H2O2 concentration and pH were studied. The results show that using excessive H2O2 results in the same behavior, regardless of whether the pH is 3 or 7.5, while at low H2O2 concentrations, the acidic pH improves the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal due to a higher solubility of iron. The partial addition of H2O2 after 60 min of the reaction proved to be unbeneficial. Considering other perspectives, a continuous Fenton process using iron filings (IF) as the iron source ([H2O2] = 50 mg/L) was applied after the SW pre-treatment, consisting of adsorption with red mud (RM) or coagulation with poly-diallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDADMAC). The RM adsorption presented higher COD removal and lower toxicity than the PDADMAC coagulation, revealing to be a suitable material for this purpose, but for both pre-treatments, the application of a subsequent continuous Fenton process revealed to be essential to achieve the COD discharge limits imposed by the Portuguese law. In addition, high amounts of dissolved iron were present in the samples (55–58 mg/L) after the Fenton process. However, after the overall treatment, the samples showed no harmful characteristics for Lepidium sativum, being classified as “non-toxic”, contrary to the initial wastewater.

The adoption of third-party machine learning (ML) cloud services is highly dependent on the security guarantees and the performance penalty they incur on workloads for model training and inference. This paper explores security/performance trade-offs for the distributed Apache Spark framework and its ML library. Concretely, we build upon a key insight: in specific deployment settings, one can reveal carefully chosen non-sensitive operations (e.g. statistical calculations). This allows us to considerably improve the performance of privacy-preserving solutions without exposing the protocol to pervasive ML attacks. In more detail, we propose Soteria, a system for distributed privacy-preserving ML that leverages Trusted Execution Environments (e.g. Intel SGX) to run computations over sensitive information in isolated containers (enclaves). Unlike previous work, where all ML-related computation is performed at trusted enclaves, we introduce a hybrid scheme, combining computation done inside and outside these enclaves. The experimental evaluation validates that our approach reduces the runtime of ML algorithms by up to 41% when compared to previous related work. Our protocol is accompanied by a security proof and a discussion regarding resilience against a wide spectrum of ML attacks.

In response to the unprecedented global healthcare crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific community has joined forces to tackle the challenges and prepare for future pandemics. Multiple modalities of data have been investigated to understand the nature of COVID-19. In this paper, MIDRC investigators present an overview of the state-of-the-art development of multimodal machine learning for COVID-19 and model assessment considerations for future studies. We begin with a discussion of the lessons learned from radiogenomic studies for cancer diagnosis. We then summarize the multi-modality COVID-19 data investigated in the literature including symptoms and other clinical data, laboratory tests, imaging, pathology, physiology, and other omics data. Publicly available multimodal COVID-19 data provided by MIDRC and other sources are summarized. After an overview of machine learning developments using multimodal data for COVID-19, we present our perspectives on the future development of multimodal machine learning models for COVID-19.

This research work is a significant step toward further understanding of the β-σ two-fluid model for the simulation of fully-suspended slurry flows in pipeline systems, with the goal of enhancing its potential for scientific research and engineering applications. Particularly, the focus of the study is the characterization and handling of the two main empirical coefficients of the model, namely, β and σ, which require case-specific tuning based on a given set of experimental data. Reference is made to the relevant case of slurry transport in horizontal pipes with infinite length. The influence of β and σ on different features of the fluid dynamic solution has been extensively investigated, considering also the role played by the specific testing conditions. Based on these findings, a procedure for determining appropriate values of β and σ has been developed, which requires only two experimental measurements, namely the concentration profile from a test at moderate slurry concentration, and the hydraulic gradient from another test in which the same slurry flows at high concentration. The procedure has been satisfactorily tested against published experimental data on pipe transport of fine glass bead and sand slurry.

Photocatalytic oxidation is promising technology for removal of recalcitrant pollutants from water. Solar energy can be an interesting radiation source since the operating costs can be lower. However, the use of powder photocatalyst is a major drawback of the technology since suitable separation technologies are required and catalysts recovery is difficult. This work aims to test the suitability of using polymeric supports to immobilize TiO 2 in the reactor and apply it for parabens removal from water by solar photocatalytic oxidation. Polyurethanes (PU) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes were prepared and modified with TiO 2. While PU materials are only able to adsorb (35% in 1 h) parabens whichever the modification applied, modified PDMS was able to promote parabens photocatalytic oxidation removing 20% in 1 h under solar energy. Plasma/UV modification was able to active PDMS membranes (16% of methyl paraben (MP) removal) and further entrapment of TiO 2 in the polymeric matrix did not improve the process (18% of MP removal). Thus, only the superficial TiO 2 was active. Results show that PDMS is suitable material to support TiO 2 aiming photocatalytic wastewater treatment process using the Sun as a clean and renewable energy source.

The potential of hyperspectral UV–VIS–NIR reflectance for the in-field, non-destructive discrimination of bacterial canker on kiwi leaves caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa) was analyzed. Spectral data (325–1075 nm) of twenty kiwi plants were obtained in vivo and in situ with a handheld spectroradiometer in two commercial kiwi orchards in northern Portugal over 15 weeks, resulting in 504 spectral measurements. The suitability of different vegetation indexes (VIs) and applied predictive models (based on supervised machine learning algorithms) for classifying non-symptomatic and symptomatic kiwi leaves was evaluated. Eight distinct types of VIs were identified as relevant for disease diagnosis, highlighting the relevance of the Green, Red, Red-Edge, and NIR spectral features. The class prediction was achieved with good model metrics, achieving an accuracy of 0.71, kappa of 0.42, sensitivity of 0.67, specificity of 0.75, and F1 of 0.67. Thus, the present findings demonstrated the potential of hyperspectral UV–VIS–NIR reflectance for the non-destructive discrimination of bacterial canker on kiwi leaves.

Introduction: Recurrent ventricular tachycardia (VT) episodes have a negative impact on the clinical outcome of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) patients. Modification of the arrhythmogenic substrate has been used as a promising approach for treating recurrent VTs. However, there are limited data on long-term follow-up. Aim: To analyze long-term results of VT substrate-based ablation using high-density mapping in patients with severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and recurrent appropriate ICD therapy. Methods: We analyzed 20 patients (15 men, 55% with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, age 58±15 years, LV ejection fraction 32±5%) and repeated appropriate shocks or arrhythmic storm (>2 shocks/24 h) despite antiarrhythmic drug therapy and optimal heart failure medication. All patients underwent ventricular programmed stimulation (600 ms/S3) to document VT. A sinus rhythm (SR) voltage map was created with a three-dimensional electroanatomic mapping system (CARTO, Biosense Webster, CA) using a PentaRay® high-density mapping catheter (Biosense Webster, CA) to delineate areas of scarred myocardium (ventricular bipolar voltage ≤0.5 mV – dense scar; 0.5-1.5 mV – border zone; ≥1.5 mV – healthy tissue) and to provide high-resolution electrophysiological mapping. Substrate modification included elimination of local abnormal ventricular activities (LAVAs) during SR (fractionated, split, low-amplitude/long-lasting, late potentials, pre-systolic), and linear ablation to obtain scar homogenization and dechanneling. Pace-mapping techniques were used when capture was possible. The LV approach was retrograde in nine cases, transseptal in five and epi-endocardial in four. In two patients ablation was performed inside the right ventricle. Results: LAVAs and scar areas were modified in all patients. Mean procedure duration was 149 min (105-220 min), with radiofrequency ranging from 18 to 70 min (mean 33 min) and mean fluoroscopy time of 15 min. Non-inducibility was achieved in 75% of cases (in four patients with hemodynamic deterioration and an LV assist device, VT inducibility was not performed). There were two cases of pericardial tamponade, drained successfully. During a follow-up of 50±24 months, 65% had no VT recurrences. Among the seven patients with recurrences, three underwent redo ablation and four, with fewer VT episodes, received appropriate ICD therapy. There were five hospital readmissions due to heart failure decompensation, one patient died in the first week after unsuccessful ablation of a VT storm and three died (stroke and pneumonia) >1 year after ablation. Conclusion: Catheter ablation based on substrate modification is feasible and safe in patients with frequent VTs and severe LV dysfunction. This approach may be of clinical relevance, with potential long-term benefits in reducing VT burden. Resumo: Os episódios de taquicardia ventricular (TV) recorrente têm um impacto negativo na evolução clínica de doentes (D) com cardioversor-desfibrilhador implantável (CDI). A modificação do substrato arritmogénico tem sido usada como uma abordagem promissora para o tratamento de TV recorrente. No entanto, são limitados os dados sobre o seguimento em longo prazo. Objetivo: Analisar os resultados em longo prazo da ablação de TV baseada na modificação do substrato, com recurso a mapeamento de alta densidade em D com disfunção ventricular esquerda (VE) grave e terapia recorrente apropriada via CDI. Métodos: 20D (15 homens, miocardiopatia não isquémica 55%, 58 ± 15 anos, fração de ejeção do VE 32 ± 5%) e choques apropriados recorrentes ou tempestade arrítmica (> 2 choques/24 h) apesar de terapêutica medicamentosa antiarrítmica e otimização da medicação para insuficiência cardíaca. Todos os D foram submetidos a estimulação ventricular programada (600 ms/S3) para documentação da TV. Foi criado um mapa de voltagem em ritmo sinusal (RS) com sistema de mapeamento eletroanatómico 3D (CARTO, Biosense Webster, CA), usando um cateter de mapeamento de alta densidade PentaRay® (Biosense Webster, CA) para delinear áreas de miocárdio com cicatriz (voltagem bipolar ventricular ≤0,5 mV - cicatriz densa; 0,5-1,5 mV - zona de contorno; ≥ 1,5 mV - tecido saudável) e fornecer mapeamento eletrofisiológico de alta resolução. A modificação do substrato incluiu a eliminação de locais com atividade eletrofisiológica ventricular anormal (LAVA: eletrogramas fracionados, com duplo potencial, de baixa amplitude/longa duração, potenciais tardios, pré-sistólicos) durante RS e ablação linear para obter a homogeneização das cicatrizes, com eliminação de canais de condução lenta. A técnica de pace-mapping foi usada sempre que a captura local era possível. A abordagem do VE foi retrógrada em nove casos, transeptal em cinco e endoepicárdica em quatro casos. Em 2D a ablação endocárdica foi realizada no ventrículo direito. Resultados: As áreas de LAVA e cicatriz foram modificadas em todos os D. A duração média do procedimento foi de 149 min (105-220 min), com tempo de radiofrequência variando de 18 a 70 min (média 33 min) e tempo médio de fluoroscopia de 15 min. A não inducibilidade foi obtida em 75% dos casos (em 4P - deterioração hemodinâmica/dispositivo de assistência VE - a inducibilidade de TV não foi realizada). Foram drenados dois tamponamentos pericárdicos com sucesso. Durante um follow-up de 50 ± 24 meses, 65% não tiveram recorrências de TV. Entre os 7D com recorrências, três foram submetidos a «redo» da ablação e 4D, com menos episódios de TV, receberam terapia apropriada do CDI. Houve cinco reinternamentos hospitalares devido à descompensação de insuficiência cardíaca, 1D faleceu na 1.ª semana após ablação sem sucesso, devido a tempestade arrítmica e ocorreram 3 óbitos > 1 ano após a ablação (acidente vascular cerebral e pneumonia). Conclusão: A ablação por cateter baseada na modificação do substrato é exequível, eficaz e segura em D com episódios recorrentes de TV e disfunção VE grave. Esta abordagem pode ter relevância clínica, com benefícios potenciais em longo prazo na redução da carga de TV.

In this study, the heterogeneous photosensitized oxidation treatment of winery effluents was optimized using chitosan carriers immobilized with Zn(II) Phthalocyanine tetrasulfonic acid. The influence of main operating parameters such as initial pH, aeration flow rate, photocatalyst load, and concentration of the photosensitizer used in the photocatalysts’ preparation was investigated. Results for chemical oxygen demand (COD) and phenolic content (TPh) removals are presented for each of the tests performed. Best reductions were obtained after 30 min of treatment in natural sunlight at an initial pH of 4.0 and an aeration flow of 2.8 L/min since it allowed reductions of 45% for COD and 73% for phenolic content (TPh). In addition, the possibility of reusing the photocatalysts during several cycles was also assessed, where an acidic initial pH allowed their reuse, being the only pH value studied where the leaching of the photosensitizer was not observed. In these conditions, the same photocatalysts were reused for six reaction cycles, and efficiency started to decrease after the third use. Thus, a greater mass and concentration of photosensitizer contributed to a superior reduction in organic matter. The results show that heterogeneous photosensitized oxidation using sunlight radiation as an energy source is an interesting approach for obtaining reusable water from winery effluents.

Introduction: Paravalvular leak (PVL) is a common serious complication associated with prosthetic valve implantation. Objective: The aim of this study was to report our single-center experience in a retrospective review and to analyze possible predictors of success. Methods: We performed 33 percutaneous PVL closures in 26 patients (54% female, mean age 65±13 years). All mitral prostheses were studied previously with 3D transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), and aortic prostheses with 2D/3D TEE. 3D TEE and fluoroscopy were used for the assessment, planning, and guidance of the interventions. Twelve patients also underwent computed tomography angiography for better characterization of anatomic details. Results: Eighteen patients (69.2%) were admitted due to heart failure (New York Heart Association [NYHA] III or IV, seven (26.9%) because of heart failure and hemolysis, and one (3.8%) due to hemolysis only. Regarding the leaks, 46.2% were in aortic and 53.8% in mitral prostheses, 88.5% in mechanical and 7.7% in biological prostheses, and 3.8% in transcatheter aortic valve implants. All the aortic patients had severe aortic regurgitation. Furthermore, all mitral patients but one had moderate to severe or severe mitral regurgitation. Closure was successful in 17 patients (65.4%), partially successful in four (15.4%) and unsuccessful in five (19.2%). After the procedure, 69% were in NYHA I-II. Hemolysis worsened in three patients despite successful closure; all required further valvular surgery and two died. Regarding angiographic and echocardiographic procedural success, we analyzed age, gender, type of prosthesis (mechanical or biological), location (aortic or mitral), clinical data, maximum leak diameter, anatomic regurgitant orifice, leak location (anterior, posterior, inferior and lateral for mitral leaks and left, right and non-coronary sinus for aortic leaks), and number of devices (plugs) used for closure. No parameters presented a significant relationship with success excepting previous hemolysis. There was a relationship between clinical improvement and reduction of PVL (p=0.0001). In follow-up, cardiac-related events (new hospital admissions, cardiac valvular surgery, need for transfusion) were more frequent in patients with partially successful or unsuccessful closure (p=0.012). There was a relationship between cardiac-related events and death (p=0.029). Conclusion: Percutaneous PVL closure has emerged as an alternative treatment for PVL. Predictors of procedural success are difficult to establish. Survival is related to reduction of regurgitation and improvement in NYHA functional class. Resumo: Introdução: Os leaks perivalvulares são uma complicação potencialmente grave após cirurgia protésica, com uma taxa de mortalidade ainda importante, sobretudo em doentes submetidos a reoperações sucessivas. Objetivo: Avaliar retrospetivamente a nossa experiência e resultados e encontrar possíveis fatores preditores de sucesso. Métodos: Revimos 33 procedimentos consecutivos de encerramento de leak perivalvular efetuados em 26 doentes (dts) (54% dos dts eram de sexo feminino, idade média 65 ± 13 anos). Todos os casos de leaks em posição mitral foram previamente estudados com ecocardiograma transesofágico 3 D (ETE), os leaks em posição aórtica foram avaliados por ETE 2D e nalguns casos 3D. Utilizaram-se a ecocardiografia transesofágica (2D/3D) e a fluoroscopia para a avaliação, planeamento, orientação e libertação dos dispositivos de encerramento; 12 dts efetuaram previamente angioTAC para melhor caracterização e definição anatómica do leak. Resultados: Clinicamente 18 dts tinham queixas de insuficiência cardíaca (New York Heart Association [NYHA] III/IV (69,2%), 7 dts tinham insuficiência cardíaca e hemólise (26,9%) e um doente apenas emólise (3,8%); 46,2% dos leaks eram aórticos e 53,8% mitrais, a maioria, 88,5%, em próteses mecânicas, 7,7% em próteses biológicas e 3,8% (um dt) em prótese percutânea aórtica (VAP). Todos os dts de leak aórtico tinham insuficiência cardíaca por regurgitação grave, os dts com leak mitral tinham insuficiência cardíaca, alguns, hemólise e um tinha apenas hemólise. O grau de regurgitação mitral era moderado a grave ou grave, com excepção do doente só com hemólise.O encerramento foi considerado de sucesso em 17 dts (65,4%), sucesso parcial em 4 (15,4%) e insucesso em 5 (19,2%). Após o procedimento, 69% melhoraram, com melhoria das queixas de ICC (NYHA I-II), 3 dts tiveram um agravamento da hemólise apesar do encerramento ser considerado de sucesso, tendo necessitado de cirurgia, complicada em dois casos (morte).Na tentativa de encontrar fatores preditores de sucesso de encerramento do leak, analisámos dados clínicos (idade, sexo, tipo e localização da prótese, manifestações clinicas), dados ecocardiográficos (diâmetro máximo do leak, área do orifício anatómico, localização do leak, classificando-o em anterior, posterior, inferior e lateral para as próteses mitrais e para as próteses aórticas de acordo com o seio coronário adjacente em esquerdo, direito e não coronário) e ainda o número de dispositivos de encerramento utilizados (plugs). Nenhum dos parâmetros avaliados teve correlação com o sucesso do encerramento, com excepção para a hemólise. Verificou-se relação entre melhoria clínica e redução do leak (p = 0,0001). Os dts com sucesso parcial/insucesso tiveram mais eventos cardíacos (p = 0,012), a ocorrência de mais eventos cardíacos (internamento hospitalar, nova cirurgia cardíaca, transfusões) se relacionou com pior prognóstico e morte (p = 0,029). Conclusão: O encerramento percutâneo de leaks protésicos pode ser uma opção ao tratamento convencional cirúrgico. Os fatores preditores de sucesso do encerramento são difíceis de estabelecer. A sobrevida destes dts relacionou-se com redução da regurgitação e melhoria clínica (NYHA).

Ensuring drinking water quality is a key factor for public health and it is especially important given the increase in industrialization. Its quality is ensured by a water treatment process that includes a disinfection stage, mainly involving chlorination. However, by applying this disinfection method, unwanted disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are formed. These compounds have, in general, a negative impact on human health. Following this, the development of stricter regulations for drinking water quality standards has been conducted worldwide. Several techniques for the removal of DBPs have already been developed to prevent DBP formation or to reduce DBPs formed during disinfection. Nevertheless, controlling the water distribution systems after drinking water treatment is still important, since DBPs can reoccur along the distribution network. To achieve this, further research should be developed to efficiently monitor and allow the performance of the necessary actions to detect and control these contaminants throughout the water distribution system. Additionally, the most suitable places for sensing along the distribution system must be further assessed.

The Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) system is considered an Advanced Wastewater Treatment (AWT), which combines the best of Conventional Activated Sludge (CAS) and biofilter processes, making use of suspended biomass and attached biomass. This system requires less space than CAS to process the same amount of wastewater and can be adapted to the existing structures of CAS. The dairy wastewater obtained during the milk transformation and cleaning operations is a residue characterized by a high content of organic matter and hydrocarbon compounds which contribute to its biodegradability, normally allowing the use of biological processes for the treatment of these effluents. In this study, the performance of the MBBR at a lab-scale during batch and continuous operations was addressed while changing the Organic Load (OL), the Filling Ratio (FR) and the Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT). The MBBR shows to be more stable when a FR of 40% is used, which allows a reduction of the HRT from 8 to 4 h, reaching a COD removal of 95%, allowing a reduction on the energy consumption, compared to the conventional processes.

Abstract Colorectal cancer is a worldwide health burden, with high incidence and mortality, especially in the advanced stages of the disease. Preclinical models are very important and valuable to discover and validate early and specific biomarkers as well as new therapeutic targets. In order to accomplish that, the animal models must replicate the clinical evolution of the disease in all of its phases. In this article, we review the existent mouse models, with their strengths and weaknesses in the replication of human cancer disease progression, with major focus on orthotopic models.

The ubiquitous presence of CBZ, SMX and LRZ in water is a subject of increasing concern. This study represents a new approach in terms of these contaminants’ removal through Fenton process in three different ways, employing a solid catalyst, RM, which, alone, is a source of Fe3＋ just as much is a source of environmental problems. Alongside RM, 100 mg/L of H2O2 were utilized as the initial solution’s pH remained unaltered. It was observed that, at these operating conditions, an appreciable degradation rate of contaminants was achieved. Solar photo-Fenton under visible light radiation led the way by attaining more than 50% removal for all three contaminants, reaching its peak when degrading around 62% of LRZ initially present. Therefore, RM, a residue from the alumina industry, seems to be a promising choice in terms of CECs degradation through Fenton process. Nevertheless, some parameters still need optimization, in order to achieve a better understanding and certainty of this oxidation process’ skilfulness for detoxifying CECs from the world’s water resources. Keywords: Decontamination, Fenton process, Pharmaceuticals, Red mud, Sunlight radiation, Waste management

Conventional treatments cannot remove the emerging contaminants due to their refractory character, therefore improved methodologies should be applied for obtaining their total removal. The need of development of suitable technologies to treat these recalcitrant compounds is related with the wastewater reclamation. Advanced oxidation technologies such as photocatalysis and ozonation appear as suitable solutions for recalcitrant compounds removal. Moreover, the biofiltration can be applied as a pest management approach integrated with wastewater treatment. Due to the invasive character of Corbicula fluminea their usage as biofilter hosts can work as a reduction of their impact over native species or industrial damage. These methodologies were used to promote the degradation of a mixture of SMX, CBZ and LRZ at initial concentration of 1 mg/L of each one. Single ozonation was capable to remove totally SMX and CBZ in 5 min. Whereas only 50% of LRZ were removed in 60 min. The weather can affect the sunlight radiation photon flux which will promote impact on the photocatalytic oxidation using 1 wt% of Ag and Pd-TiO2 as catalysts, for SMX, CBZ and LRZ abatement. C. fluminea was capable to remove about 30% of CBZ and LRZ in 24h. Keywords: Biofiltration, Corbicula fluminea, Photocatalytic oxidation, Ozonation, Sunlight radiation

The efficiency of ozonation depends on the water matrix and the reaction time. Herein, these factors were addressed by assessing the removal of five pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) by ozonation. The main aims were: (i) to assess the effects of the water matrix on the degradation kinetics of PPCPs, individually and in mixture, following ozonation; and (ii) to assess the ecotoxicological impact of the ozone reaction time on the treatment of a spiked municipal wastewater (MW) added the five PPCPs over several species. The degradation of the PPCPs was faster in ultrapure water, with all PPCPs being removed in 20 min, whereas in the MW, a 30 min ozonation period was required to achieve a removal close to 100%. Increasing the number of PPCPs in the water matrix did not affect the time required for their removal in the MW. Regarding the ecotoxicity assessment, Raphidocelis subcapitata and Daphnia magna were the least sensitive species, whereas Lemna minor was the most sensitive. The temporal variation of the observed effects corroborates the degradation of the added PPCPs and the formation of toxic degradation by-products. The removal of the parent compounds did not guarantee decreased hazardous potential to biological species.

Abstract Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is frequently present in patients with aortic valve disease. Decreased kidney perfusion as a consequence of reduced cardiac output may contribute to renal dysfunction in this setting. Objective: Given the potential reversibility of kidney hypoperfusion after valve repair, this study aimed to analyze the impact of percutaneous transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) on kidney function. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 233 consecutive patients who underwent TAVI in a single center between November 2008 and May 2016. We assessed three groups according to their baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (mL/min/1.73 m2): Group 1 with eGFR ≥ 60; Group 2 with 30 ≤ eGFR < 60; and Group 3 with eGFR < 30. We analyzed the eGFR one month and one year after TAVI in these three groups, using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) formula to calculate it. Results: Patients from Group 1 had a progressive decline in eGFR one year after the TAVI procedure (p < 0.001 vs. pre-TAVI). In Group 2 patients, the mean eGFR increased one month after TAVI and continued to grow after one year (p = 0.001 vs. pre-TAVI). The same occurred in Group 3, with the mean eGFR increasing from 24.4 ± 5.1 mL/min/1.73 m2 before TAVI to 38.4 ± 18.8 mL/min/1.73 m2 one year after TAVI (p = 0.012). Conclusions: For patients with moderate-to-severe CKD, kidney function improved one year after the TAVI procedure. This outcome is probably due to better kidney perfusion post-procedure. We believe that when evaluating patients that might need TAVI, this ‘reversibility of CKD effect’ should be considered.

Water scarcity is one of the major concerns of this century. The photocatalysis through TiO2 can be suitable for improving liquid wastewater treatment. However, TiO2 is used as a powder (nanoparticles), which is a drawback for full-scale applications. To overcome this, in the present work, powder TiO2 was impregnated on ceramic material. Several parameters, such as support cleanliness, support load, TiO2 suspension concentration, powder dispersion in a solvent, contact method, and drying temperature, were evaluated on the impregnation method. The influence of TiO2 concentration in suspensions was tested from 1 to 10% w/w. The results showed that the preparation conditions impact the TiO2 impregnation yield. The 10%TiO2/Leca was the most effective in photocatalysis but had a relevant loss of TiO2 from the support by erosion. For 3.6%TiO2/Leca and 5%TiO2/Leca, at TiO2 concentrations of 86.6 and 102.5 mg/L promoted 71 to 85% of sulfamethoxazole removal in 6 h under UVA radiation, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the TiO2 adhesion onto the surface of the ceramic material, and the thickness of the TiO2 layer over the support can attain 7.64 to 10.9 μm. The work showed that the TiO2 impregnation method over Leca could be suitable for obtaining cost-effective photocatalysts.

The Causeway Coast World Heritage Site (Northern Ireland) is subject to rockfalls occurring on the coastal cliffs, thus raising major safety concerns given the number of tourists visiting the site. However, such high tourist frequentation makes this site favorable to implement citizen science monitoring programs. Besides allowing for the collection of a larger volume of data, better distributed spatially and temporally, citizen science also increases citizens’ awareness—in this case, about risks. Among citizen science approaches, Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry based on crowd-sourced photographs has the advantage of not requiring any particular expertise on the part of the operator who takes photos. Using a mock citizen survey for testing purposes, this study evaluated different methods relying on crowd-sourced photogrammetry to integrate surveys performed by citizens into a landslide monitoring program in Port Ganny (part of the touristic site of the Giant’s Causeway). Among the processing scenarios that were tested, the Time-SIFT method allows the use of crowd-sourced data in a very satisfactory way in terms of reconstruction quality, with a standard deviation of 8.6 cm.

Ozonation has been used to degrade persistent water contaminants, namely, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). However, ozonation can lead to by-products that can be more toxic than the parent compounds. This work aims to assess whether the ecotoxicological effects of ozonation are modified as the initial matrix being treated increases in complexity, considering mixtures of 2, 3, 4 and 5 PPCPs. The following PPCPs were used: two parabens (metylparaben (MP) and propylparaben (PP)), paracetamol (PCT), sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and carbamazepine (CBZ). The following model species were used to assess toxicity: the crustacean Daphnia magna, the microalgae Raphidocelis subcapitata, the macrophyte Lemna minor and the watercress Lepidium sativum. There was a trend of increased toxicity with increasing mixture complexity of the untreated samples, except for D. magna. The same was observed after ozonation with the exception of the mixture MP+PP, which showed high toxicity to all the tested species, namely 100% immobilization of D. magna. The toxicity of SMX to the primary producers decreased pronouncedly after ozonation, except for L. minor. This study highlights the importance of considering the complexity of the matrix being treated and of using an ecotoxicological test battery with a wide diversity of species for assessing ozonation efficiency.

Introduction: There is a lack of consensus on the definition of response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), and it is not clear which response criteria have most influence on cardiac event-free survival. Objectives: To assess the predictive value of various response criteria in patients undergoing CRT and the agreement between them. Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of the BETTER-HF trial. Patient response was classified at six months after CRT according to eleven criteria used in previous trials. The predictive value of response criteria for survival free from mortality, cardiac transplantation and heart failure hospitalization was assessed by Cox regression analysis. Agreement between the different response criteria was assessed using Cohen's kappa (κ). Results: A total of 115 patients were followed for a mean of 25 months. During follow-up, 15 deaths occurred (13%) and 29 patients had at least one adverse cardiac event (25%). Only five of the eleven response criteria were predictors of event-free survival. The most powerful isolated clinical and echocardiographic predictors were a reduction of ≥1 NYHA functional class (HR 0.39 for responders; 95% CI 0.18-0.83, p=0.014) and an increase of at least 15% in left ventricular ejection fraction (HR 0.43, 95% CI 0.20-0.90, p=0.024), respectively. Agreement between the different response criteria was poor. Conclusions: Most currently used response criteria do not predict clinical outcomes and have poor agreement. It is essential to establish a consensus on the definition of CRT response in order to standardize studies. Resumo: Introdução: Não existe consenso na definição de respondedor à ressincronização cardíaca (TRC), e desconhece-se qual o critério de resposta que poderá ter maior influência na sobrevida livre de eventos cardíacos. Objectivos: Avaliar o valor preditivo de vários critérios de resposta em doentes submetidos à TRC, e analisar a concordância entre eles. Métodos: Subanálise do ensaio BETTER-HF. Os doentes foram classificados aos seis meses após TRC em respondedores, de acordo com onze critérios utilizados na literatura. O valor preditivo dos diferentes critérios de resposta para uma sobrevida livre de morte, transplante cardíaco e hospitalização por insuficiência cardíaca foi avaliado usando a regressão de Cox. A concordância entre os diferentes critérios foi avaliada usando o coeficiente k de Cohen. Resultados: 115 doentes foram seguidos durante um período médio de 25 meses. Durante o follow-up ocorreram 15 mortes (13%) e 29 doentes tiveram, pelo menos, um evento cardíaco adverso (25%). Apenas cinco dos onze critérios de resposta foram preditores de sobrevida livre de eventos. Os preditores clínicos e ecocardiográficos isolados mais poderosos foram a redução de, pelo menos, uma classe funcional de NYHA (HR 0,39; IC 95% 0,18-0,83, p=0,014) e um aumento de, pelo menos, 15% na fração de ejeção ventricular esquerda (FEVE) (HR 0,43; IC 95% 0,20-0,90, p=0,024), respetivamente. A concordância entre os diferentes critérios de resposta foi fraca. Conclusão: A maioria dos critérios de resposta utilizados não prevê outcomes clínicos e têm fraca concordância. É essencial criar um consenso na definição de resposta à TRC de forma a uniformizar os estudos. Keywords: Cardiac resynchronization therapy, Heart failure, Predictors of events, Response criteria, Palavras-chave: Terapia de ressincronização cardíaca, Insuficiência cardíaca, Preditores de eventos, Critérios de resposta

Introduction: There are few and conflicting data concerning cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in cyanotic congenital heart disease (CHD) in whom the ventilation patterns could be affected. Aim was to assess the functional capacity and stratifying power of CPET in cyanotic CHD. Methods: Retrospective evaluation of CHD adults submitted to CPET in a tertiary centre and followed for at least one year. Patients were divided according to presence of cyanosis (rest oxygen saturation

Synthetic vitamin E is commonly used in aquafeeds to prevent oxidative stress in fish and delay feed and flesh oxidation during storage, but consumers’ preferences tend towards natural antioxidant sources. The potential of vegetable antioxidants-rich coproducts, dried tomato (TO), carrot (CA) and coriander (CO) was compared to that of synthetic vitamin E included in diets at either a regular (CTRL; 100 mg kg−1) or reinforced dose (VITE; 500 mg kg−1). Natural antioxidants were added at 2% to the CTRL. Mixes were then extruded and dried, generating five experimental diets that were fed to European sea bass juveniles (114 g) over 12 weeks. Vitamin E and carotenoid content of extruded diets showed signs of degradation. The experimental diets had very limited effects on fish growth or body composition, immunomodulatory response, muscle and liver antioxidant potential, organoleptic properties or consumer acceptance. Altogether, experimental findings suggest that neither a heightened inclusion dose of 500 mg kg−1 of vitamin E, nor a 2% inclusion of natural antioxidants provided additional antioxidant protection, compared to fish fed diets including the regular dose of 100 mg kg−1 of vitamin E.

The increasing consumption of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) by humankind has been causing an accumulation of contaminants (commonly referred to as contaminants of emerging concern), in effluents and water resources. Ozonation can be used to improve the removal of these contaminants during water treatment to alleviate this burden. In this work, the degradation of methyl (MP), propylparaben (PP), paracetamol (PCT), sulfamethoxazole (SMX), and carbamazepine (CBZ) by ozonation was assessed both for individual compounds and for mixtures with increasing complexity (two to five compounds). Ozonation was performed at pH3 to gain an insight on the exclusive action of molecular ozone as oxidizing agent. The degradation of contaminants was described as a function of time and transferred ozone dose, and the corresponding pseudo-first order kinetic rate constants (k’) were determined. PPCPs were degraded individually within 1.5 to 10 min. CBZ was the most quickly degraded (k’ = 1.25 min−1) and MP the most resistant to ozone (k’ = 0.25 min−1). When in the mixture, the degradation rate of the contaminants was slower. For parabens, the increase of the number of compounds in the mixture led to an exponential decrease of the k’ values. Moreover, the presence of more PPCPs within the mixture increased energy consumption associated with the treatment, thereby reflecting higher economic costs.

In recent years, alarm has been raised due to the presence of chemical contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in water. This concern is due to the risks associated with their exposure, even in small amounts. These complex compounds cannot be removed or degraded by existing technologies in wastewater treatment plants. Therefore, advanced oxidation processes have been studied, with the objective of developing a technology capable of complementing the conventional water treatment plants. Heterogenous photocatalysis stands out for being a cost-effective and environmentally friendly process. However, its most common form (with suspended catalytic particles) requires time-consuming and costly downstream processes. Therefore, the heterogeneous photocatalysis process with a supported catalyst is preferable. Among the available supports, polymeric ones stand out due to their favorable characteristics, such as their transparency, flexibility and stability. This is a relatively novel process; therefore, there are still some gaps in the scientific knowledge. Thus, this review article aims to gather the existing information about this process and verify which questions are still to be answered.

Abstract Proton magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to quantify regional ventilation–perfusion ( V˙A/Q˙) ratios combines specific ventilation imaging (SVI) and separate proton density and perfusion measures into a composite map. Specific ventilation imaging exploits the paramagnetic properties of O2, which alters the local MR signal intensity, in an FIO2‐dependent manner. Specific ventilation imaging data are acquired during five wash‐in/wash‐out cycles of breathing 21% O2 alternating with 100% O2 over ~20 min. This technique assumes that alternating FIO2 does not affect V˙A/Q˙ heterogeneity, but this is unproven. We tested the hypothesis that alternating FIO2 exposure increases V˙A/Q˙ mismatch in nine patients with abnormal pulmonary gas exchange and increased V˙A/Q˙ mismatch using the multiple inert gas elimination technique (MIGET).The following data were acquired (a) breathing air (baseline), (b) breathing alternating air/100% O2 during an emulated‐SVI protocol (eSVI), and (c) 20 min after ambient air breathing (recovery). MIGET heterogeneity indices of shunt, deadspace, ventilation versus V˙A/Q˙ ratio, LogSD V˙, and perfusion versus V˙A/Q˙ ratio, LogSD Q˙ were calculated. LogSD V˙ was not different between eSVI and baseline (1.04 ± 0.39 baseline, 1.05 ± 0.38 eSVI, p = .84); but was reduced compared to baseline during recovery (0.97 ± 0.39, p = .04). There was no significant difference in LogSD Q˙ across conditions (0.81 ± 0.30 baseline, 0.79 ± 0.15 eSVI, 0.79 ± 0.20 recovery; p = .54); Deadspace was not significantly different (p = .54) but shunt showed a borderline increase during eSVI (1.0% ± 1.0 baseline, 2.6% ± 2.9 eSVI; p = .052) likely from altered hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction and/or absorption atelectasis. Intermittent breathing of 100% O2 does not substantially alter V˙A/Q˙ matching and if SVI measurements are made after perfusion measurements, any potential effects will be minimized.

The main drawback of Fenton′s process is the formation of ferric sludge. In this work, ion exchange (IE) appears as a complement to the Fenton process, allowing, on the one hand, to remove the iron excess present in the sludge, as well as reduce the COD of the real olive oil industry extraction wastewater (OOIEW) from the Fenton process. The Fenton process uses iron (II) sulfate as catalyst, therefore concentrations of iron up to 2 g L−1 could be present in the treated OOIEW. The iron and COD adsorption equilibrium behavior has been modelized by Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherms. Moreover, the resin efficiency was tested in a continuous fixed-bed column. It was concluded that the resin maintains iron adsorption capacity over at least three reuse cycles. Overall Fenton’s process followed by ion exchange seems to be a promising approach for the treatment of cumbersome industrial wastewaters.

Introduction: Transposition of the great arteries (TGA) is a rare form of congenital heart disease in which most patients reach adulthood. Right ventricular dysfunction is the most severe residual complication in long-term follow-up, both in patients treated by atrial switch and in those with congenitally corrected TGA. New echocardiographic tools such as longitudinal strain by two-dimensional (2D) speckle tracking may improve assessment of ventricular function in these patients. Methods and Results: We performed a retrospective analysis of echocardiograms in adult patients with TGA (26 patients with dextro-TGA – 15 treated by atrial switch and six by arterial switch – and five with congenitally corrected TGA) and in a control group of 14 healthy individuals. Right ventricular strain was significantly worse (p

The CSEM method, which is frequently used as a risk-reduction tool in hydrocarbon exploration, is finally moving to a new frontier: reservoir monitoring and surveillance. In the present work, we present a CSEM time-lapse interpretation workflow. One essential aspect of our workflow is the demonstration of the linear relationship between the anomalous transverse resistance, an attribute extracted from CSEM data inversion, and the SoPhiH attribute, which is estimated from fluid-flow simulators. Consequently, it is possible to reliably estimate SoPhiH maps from CSEM time-lapse surveys using such a relationship. We demonstrate our workflow’s effectiveness in the mature Marlim oilfield by simulating the CSEM time-lapse response after 30 and 40 years of seawater injection and detecting the remaining sweet spots in the reservoir. The Marlim reservoirs are analogous to several turbidite reservoirs worldwide, which can also be appraised with the proposed workflow. The prediction of SoPhiH maps by using CSEM data inversion can significantly improve reservoir time-lapse characterization.

Incineration bottom ashes (IBA) are the main waste from municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration. In the Iberian countries (Portugal and Spain), MSW incineration with energy recovery (WtE) plays an important role in MSW management. IBA is highly produced and managed differently both between and within countries. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the management model of IBA using the Iberian Peninsula as a case study, addressing its properties, current management, incentives and difficulties in valorizing, and prospects. For this purpose, incineration plants of both countries were approached, and a broad literature review was conducted to gather information. About 10% and 41% of IBA have been landfilled in Portugal and Spain, respectively. Metals (mostly ferrous) from Portuguese (6% of IBA) and Spanish (9% of IBA) WtE plants are recycled. In Portugal, the remaining IBA (84%) has been temporarily stored (11%), applied to landfills as a substitute for soil in intermediate and final covers, construction of paths, accesses, and platforms (41%), or used in civil engineering work and road construction (48%). In Spain, the remaining IBA (50%) has been reused mainly as a secondary raw material in the construction and civil engineering fields (77%), while the rest has been temporarily stored (11%), applied in the conditioning of landfills (4%), alsoa secondary aggregate replacing natural materials. Both countries regulate IBA reuse outside landfills but consider different requirements and criteria. Nevertheless, there are both drivers and barriers to valorization. In the future, different IBA applications will likely continue to be developed, with the concern of protecting the environment. Growing confidence in IBA reuse following the publication of proper studies is expected. Globally, uniform legal frameworks among EU members with the same standards would likely lead to better IBA valorization.

Wastewaters from the olive oil industry are a regional environmental problem. Their phenolic content provides inherent toxicity, which reduces the treatment potential of conventional biological systems. In this study, Sulfate Radical based Advanced Oxidation Processes (SRbAOPs) are compared with advanced oxidation processes (namely Fenton’s peroxidation) as a depuration alternative. Synthetic olive mill wastewaters were submitted to homogeneous and heterogeneous SRbAOPs using iron sulfate and solid catalysts (red mud and Fe-Ce-O) as the source of iron (II). The homogenous process was optimized by testing different pH values, as well as iron and persulfate loads. At the best conditions (pH 5, 300 mg/L of iron and 600 mg/L of persulfate), it was possible to achieve 39%, 63% and 37% COD, phenolic compounds and TOC removal, respectively. The catalytic potential of a waste (red mud) and a laboratory material (Fe-Ce-O) was tested using heterogenous SRbAOPs. The best performance was achieved by Fe-Ce-O, with an optimal load of 1600 mg/L. At these conditions, 27%, 55% and 5% COD, phenolic compounds and TOC removal were obtained, respectively. Toxicity tests on A. fischeri and L. sativum showed no improvements in toxicity from the treated solutions when compared with the original one. Thus, SRbAOPs use a suitable technology for synthetic OMW.

The application of TiO2 as a slurry catalyst for the degradation of contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) in liquid effluents has some drawbacks due to the difficulties in the catalyst reutilization. Thus, sophisticated and expensive separation methods are required after the reaction step. Alternatively, several types of materials have been used to support powder catalysts, so that fixed or fluidized bed reactors may be used. In this context, the objective of this work is to systematize and analyze the results of research inherent to the application of ceramic materials as support of TiO2 in the photocatalytic CEC removal from liquid effluents. Firstly, an overview is given about the treatment processes able to degrade CEC. In particular, the photocatalysts supported in ceramic materials are analyzed, namely the immobilization techniques applied to support TiO2 in these materials. Finally, a critical review of the literature dedicated to photocatalysis with supported TiO2 is presented, where the performance of the catalyst is considered as well as the main drivers and barriers for implementing this process. A focal point in the future is to investigate the possibility of depurating effluents and promote water reuse in safe conditions, and the supported TiO2 in ceramic materials may play a role in this scope.

The agro-industry of tomato generates three types of residues: ripe rotten tomato (unfit for consumption) (RT), green (unripe) tomato (GT), and tomato branches including leaves and stems (TB). These materials are commonly wasted or used as feed for livestock. Energy production through anaerobic digestion is an alternative way to manage and simultaneously valorise these materials. Initially, the operating conditions of mono anaerobic digestion were investigated using RT. Thus, a design of experiments based on a two-level fractional factorial design with resolution V was performed to determine the factors that affect biochemical methane potential (BMP). The substrate to inoculum ratio (SIR), total volatile solids concentration (VSt), working volume (WV), presence of nutrients (Nu), and the pre-incubation of the inoculum (Inc) were investigated. The results showed that SIR is the most important factor. The maximum BMP for RT was 297 NmLCH4/gVS with SIR = 0.5; tVS = 20 g/L; WV = 20%; no pre-incubation and the presence of nutrients. Using these optimum operating conditions, co-digestion was investigated through a mixture design approach. The substrates RT and GT presented similar BMP values, whereas TB led to a significantly lower BMP. Indeed, when high concentrations of TB were used, a significant decrease in methane production was observed. Nonetheless, the highest BMP was achieved with a mixture of 63% RT + 20% GT + 17% TB, with a production of 324 NmLCH4/gVS, corresponding to a synergetic co-digestion performance index of about 1.20. In general, although the substrate RT generates the highest BMP, the mixture with GT did not impair the methane yield. Overall, the co-digestion of tomato residues must be conducted with SIR close to 0.5 and the content of tomato branches in the reaction mixture should be kept low (up to 20%).

Functional organic dyes play a key role in many fields, namely in biotechnology and medical diagnosis. Herein, we report two novel 2,3- and 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl substituted rosamines (3 and 4, respectively) that were successfully synthesized through a microwave-assisted protocol. The best reaction yields were obtained for rosamine 4, which also showed the most interesting photophysical properties, specially toward biogenic amines (BAs). Several amines including n- and t-butylamine, cadaverine, and putrescine cause spectral changes of 4, in UV–Vis and fluorescence spectra, which are indicative of their potential application as an effective tool to detect amines in acetonitrile solutions. In the gas phase, the probe response is more expressive for spermine and putrescine. Additionally, we found that methanolic solutions of rosamine 4 and n-butylamine undergo a pink to yellow color change over time, which has been attributed to the formation of a new compound. The latter was isolated and identified as 5 (9−aminopyronin), whose solutions exhibit a remarkable increase in fluorescence intensity together with a shift toward more energetic wavelengths. Other 9-aminopyronins 6a, 6b, 7a, and 7b were obtained from methanolic solutions of 4 with putrescine and cadaverine, demonstrating the potential of this new xanthene entity to react with primary amines.

Aims: There are conflicting data regarding the clinical benefits of device-based remote monitoring (RM). We sought to assess the effect of device-based RM on long-term clinical outcomes in recipients of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs). Methods: We assessed the incidence of adverse cardiac events, overall mortality and device therapy efficacy and safety in a propensity score-matched cohort of patients under RM compared to patients under conventional follow-up. Data on hospitalizations, mortality and cause of death were systematically assessed using a nationwide healthcare platform. The primary outcome was time to a composite outcome of first hospital admission for heart failure or cardiovascular death. Results: Of a total of 923 implantable device recipients, 164 matched patients were identified (84 under RM, 84 under conventional follow-up). The mean follow-up was 44 months (range 1-123). There were no significant differences regarding baseline characteristics in the matched cohorts. Patients under RM had a significantly lower incidence of the primary outcome (hazard ratio [HR] 0.42, confidence interval [CI] 0.20-0.88, p=0.022); there was a non-significant trend towards lower overall mortality (HR 0.53, CI 0.27-1.04, p=0.066). No significant differences between cohorts were found regarding appropriate therapies (RM vs. conventional follow-up, 8.1 vs. 8.2%, p=NS) or inappropriate therapies (6.8 vs. 5.0%, p=NS). Conclusion: In a propensity score-matched cohort of ICD recipients with long-term follow-up, RM was associated with a lower rate of a combined endpoint of hospital admission for heart failure or cardiovascular death. Resumo: Objetivos: Existem dados contraditórios acerca dos benefícios clínicos da monitorização remota (MR). Os autores procuraram aferir o efeito da MR de dispositivos cardíacos implantáveis em eventos clínicos a longo prazo. Métodos: Os autores avaliaram a incidência de eventos cardíacos adversos, mortalidade global, e a eficácia e segurança das terapêuticas entregues pelo dispositivo numa amostra de pacientes portadores de cardioversor-desfibrilhador implantável (CDI) após emparelhamento por propensity score, comparando doentes sob MR com doentes em seguimento convencional. Dados relativos a hospitalizações, mortalidade e causa de morte foram sistematicamente avaliados com recurso à Plataforma de Dados de Saúde. A análise primária consistiu no tempo até um evento composto de internamento por insuficiência cardíaca (IC) ou morte cardiovascular. Resultados: Num total de 923 portadores de dispositivos cardíacos, identificámos 164 pacientes emparelhados (84 sob MR, 84 sob seguimento convencional. O tempo médio de seguimento foi 44 meses (entre 1-123 meses). Não se observaram diferenças significativas nas características basais entre os dois grupos após emparelhamento por propensity score. Doentes sob MR tiveram uma incidência significativamente menor do evento composto de internamento por IC ou morte de causa cardiovascular (hazard ratio [HR] 0,42; intervalo de confiança [IC] 0,20-0,88; p=0,022); houve uma tendência não estatisticamente significativa para uma menor mortalidade global (HR 0,53; IC 0,27-1,04; p=0,066). Não se observaram diferenças entre grupos relativamente a terapêuticas apropriadas (MR versus seguimento convencional; 8,1 versus 8,2%, p=NS) ou terapêuticas inapropriadas (6,8 versus 5,0%, p=NS). Conclusão: Numa amostra emparelhada por propensity score de portadores de CDI, a MR associou-se a uma menor incidência de um evento composto de internamento por IC ou morte cardiovascular a longo prazo. Keywords: Remote monitoring, Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, Heart failure, Palavras-chave: Monitorização remota, Cardioversor-desfibrilhador implantável, Insuficiência cardíaca

Objective: To determine whether right ventricular and/or atrial speckle tracking strain is associated with previous arrhythmic events in patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot. Methods and Results: We studied right ventricular and atrial strain in 100 consecutive patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot referred for routine echocardiographic evaluation. Patients were divided into two groups, one with previous documentation of arrhythmias (n=26) and one without arrhythmias, in a median follow-up of 22 years. Patients with arrhythmias were older (p

Water scarcity represents a problem for billions of people and is expected to get worse in the future. To guarantee people’s water needs, the use of “first-hand water” or the reuse of wastewater must be done. Wastewater treatment and reuse are favorable for this purpose, since first-hand water is scarce and the economic needs for the exploration of this type of water are increasing. In wastewater treatment, it is important to remove contaminants of emerging concern, as well as pathogenic agents. Parabens are used in daily products as preservatives and are detected in different water sources. These compounds are related to different human health problems due to their endocrine-disrupting behavior, as well as several problems in animals. Thus, their removal from water streams is essential to achieve safe reusable water. Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) are considered very promising technologies for wastewater treatment and can be used as alternatives or as complements of the conventional wastewater treatments that are inefficient in the removal of such contaminants. Different AOP technologies such as ozonation, catalytic ozonation, photocatalytic ozonation, Fenton’s, and photocatalysis, among others, have already been used for parabens abatement. This manuscript critically overviews several AOP technologies used in parabens abatement. These treatments were evaluated in terms of ecotoxicological assessment since the resulting by-products of parabens abatement can be more toxic than the parent compounds. The economic aspect was also analyzed to evaluate and compare the considered technologies.

Parabens are widely used in different industries as preservatives and antimicrobial compounds. The evolution of analytical techniques allowed the detection of these compounds in different sources at µg/L and ng/L. Until today, parabens were already found in water sources, air, soil and even in human tissues. The impact of parabens in humans, animals and in ecosystems are a matter of discussion within the scientific community, but it is proven that parabens can act as endocrine disruptors, and some reports suggest that they are carcinogenic compounds. The presence of parabens in ecosystems is mainly related to wastewater discharges. This work gives an overview about the paraben problem, starting with their characteristics and applications. Moreover, the dangers related to their usage were addressed through the evaluation of toxicological studies over different species as well as of humans. Considering this, paraben detection in different water sources, wastewater treatment plants, humans and animals was analyzed based on literature results. A review of European legislation regarding parabens was also performed, presenting some considerations for the use of parabens.

The highly infiltrating nature of glioma cells is the major cause for the poor prognosis of brain malignancies. Motility, proliferation, and gene expression of cells in natural and synthetic gels have been analyzed by several authors, yet quantitative studies elucidating the role of matrix porosity and rigidity in the development of whole malignant masses are missing. Here, an experimental-computational framework is introduced to analyze the behavior of U87-MG cells and spheroids in compact hyaluronic acid gels (HA), replicating the brain parenchyma; and fibrous collagen gels (COL), resembling the organized structures of the brain. Experimentally it was observed that individual U87-MG cells in COL assumed an elongated morphology within a few hours post inclusion (p.i.) and travelled longer distances than in HA. As spheroids, U87-MG cells rapidly dispersed into COL resulting in infiltrating regions as large as tumor cores (≈600 μm, at 8 days p.i.). Conversely, cells in HA originated smaller and denser infiltrating regions (≈300 μm, at 8 days p.i.). Notably, COL tumor core size was only 20% larger than in HA, at longer time points. Computationally, by introducing for the first time the effects of matrix heterogeneity in our numerical simulations, the results confirmed that matrix porosity and its spatial organization are key factors in priming the infiltrating potential of these malignant cells. The experimental-numerical synergy can be used to predict the behavior of neoplastic masses under diverse conditions and the efficacy of combination therapies simultaneously aiming at killing cancer cells and modulating the tumor microenvironment.

The effect of moving load represents the current problem which is analyzed in engineering practice. The response of the vehicle and its dynamic effect on the pavement can be analyzed in an experimental or computational way. The road-vehicle interaction effect is one of the most important problems for the vibration propagation due to traffic. This paper shows the practical analysis of the Tatra 815 Lorry passing effect using two software systems based on the Finite Element Method (FEM). First system is better for a vehicle model and its passing on a simple road model based on Winkler-Pasternak theory of elastic half-space. In the second system, the vehicle model is not supported but it is better and more accurate for the road and geological environment model - where the subsoil layers were modeled separately. The computing is carried out in time domain. The results obtained by the FEM simulation are compared with the result obtained by the experiment in frequency domain.

Introduction: New scores have been developed and validated in the US for in-hospital mortality risk stratification in patients undergoing coronary angioplasty: the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) risk score and the Mayo Clinic Risk Score (MCRS). We sought to validate these scores in a European population with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and to compare their predictive accuracy with that of the GRACE risk score. Methods: In a single-center ACS registry of patients undergoing coronary angioplasty, we used the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), a graphical representation of observed vs. expected mortality, and net reclassification improvement (NRI)/integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) analysis to compare the scores. Results: A total of 2148 consecutive patients were included, mean age 63 years (SD 13), 74% male and 71% with ST-segment elevation ACS. In-hospital mortality was 4.5%. The GRACE score showed the best AUC (0.94, 95% CI 0.91–0.96) compared with NCDR (0.87, 95% CI 0.83–0.91, p=0.0003) and MCRS (0.85, 95% CI 0.81–0.90, p=0.0003). In model calibration analysis, GRACE showed the best predictive power. With GRACE, patients were more often correctly classified than with MCRS (NRI 78.7, 95% CI 59.6–97.7; IDI 0.136, 95% CI 0.073–0.199) or NCDR (NRI 79.2, 95% CI 60.2–98.2; IDI 0.148, 95% CI 0.087–0.209). Conclusion: The NCDR and Mayo Clinic risk scores are useful for risk stratification of in-hospital mortality in a European population of patients with ACS undergoing coronary angioplasty. However, the GRACE score is still to be preferred. Resumo: Introdução: Foram validados novos scores nos EU para estratificação de risco de mortalidade hospitalar em doentes submetidos a angioplastia coronária: da National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) e da Mayo Clinic (MC). Procurámos validar estes scores numa população Europeia com Síndrome Coronária Aguda (SCA) e comparar a sua acuidade preditiva com o score de GRACE. Métodos: Registo de SCA de um único centro de doentes submetidos a angioplastia coronária. Utilizaram-se as curvas Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) e a Area Under Curve (AUC), a mortalidade observada e esperada e a análise do Net Reclassification Index (NRI)/Integrated Discrimination Improvement (IDI). Resultados: Foram incluídos 2148 doentes consecutivos. Idade média de 63 (DP 13) anos, 74% do sexo masculino e 71% com SCA com elevação ST. A mortalidade hospitalar foi de 4,5%. O score GRACE foi o que mostrou melhor AUC (0,94, IC 95% 0,91 – 0,96) comparativamente com o NCDR (0,87, IC 95% 0,83 – 0,91, p=0,0003) e o MC (0,85, IC 95% 0,81 – 0,90, p=0,0003). Na análise da calibração, o GRACE mostrou o melhor poder preditivo. Com o score GRACE, os doentes foram mais corretamente classificados comparativamente com o da Mayo Clinic (NRI 78,7, IC 95% 59,6 – 97,7; IDI 0,136, IC 95% 0,073 – 0,199) e NCDR (NRI 79,2, IC 95% 60,2 – 98,2; IDI 0,148, IC 95% 0,087 – 0,209). Conclusão: Os scores NCDR e MC são úteis na estratificação de risco para mortalidade hospitalar numa população europeia de doentes com SCA submetidos a angioplastia coronária. Contudo, o score GRACE continua a ser o ideal. Keywords: Risk stratification, Scores, Acute coronary syndromes, Coronary angioplasty, Palavras-chave: Estratificação de risco, Scores, Síndromes coronárias agudas, Angioplastia coronária