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BackgroundSeptic encephalopathy represents an acute cerebral dysfunction following systemic inflammation by pathogens. Notably, more than 70% of sepsis survivors present this disorder years after the hospital discharge (Widmann and Heneka, 2014). In rodents, septic shock can be modelled by an intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and our previous findings indicate that LPS can lead to neuronal loss and synaptic destruction accompanied by glial activation (Semmler et al., 2007; Weberpals et al., 2009; Tejera et al., 2019). However, it remains elusive what ultimately drives this cognitive impairment and how neuroinflammation contributes to these cerebral changes.MethodWe intraperitoneally injected 1.5 mg/kg LPS on two consecutive days in mice at 14 months of age. Two different serotypes of LPS (Salmonella enterica and E. coli O55:B5) were compared. The brains were biochemically and histologically analysed at 7 or 63 days post-injection (dpi) in order to study cytokine levels, microglia morphology, neuron/synapse loss and synaptic pruning by microglia. To quantify number of synapses and synaptic pruning, synaptic puncta were visualised by a super-resolution microscope with an Airyscan detector.ResultProinflammatory responses to septic shock were detected at 7 dpi, including elevated cytokines and the less ramified morphology of microglia. These changes were mostly normalised at 63 dpi, except a persisting high IL-6 level. Neuron density in the hippocampus was found to be normal at 7 dpi and 63 dpi. However, excitatory synapses and synaptic complement factor C3 were reduced in the CA3 at 63 dpi. Similar changes were not obtained at 7 dpi and in other subfields (CA1 and DG). Moreover, the engulfed synaptic puncta density inside CA1 and CA3 microglia lysosomes remained normal at 7 dpi and 63 dpi.ConclusionNeuroinflammation elicited by systemic LPS injection was mostly resolved at 63 dpi, while the IL-6 level remained elevated. Whereas the hippocampal neurons were intact, the excitatory CA3 synapses were locally reduced by 63 dpi in a manner independent of microglial synaptic pruning. We postulate this synapse loss might be associated with the long-lasting cognitive impairments of sepsis survivors.

Introduction: Multiple immunity biomarkers have been suggested as tracers of neuroinflammation in neurodegeneration. This study aimed to verify findings in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) subjects from the network of the European, Innovative Medicines Initiative-funded project AETIONOMY. Methods: A total of 227 samples from the studies/centres AETIONOMY, ICEBERG, and IDIBAPS were used to analyse 21 selected immunity biomarkers in CSF. Results were compared to data of an independent cohort of 399 subjects previously published. Results: Immunity markers were predominantly and reproducibly associated with pathological levels of tau isoforms, but also with amyloid levels, aging, sex, APOE genotype, and center-specific factors. Discussion: Immunity biomarker levels in CSF reflect molecular and cellular pathology rather than diagnosis in neurodegenerative disorders. Assay standardization and stratification for age and other covariates could improve the power of such markers in clinical applications or intervention studies targeting immune responses in neurodegeneration.

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Hundreds of millions of people worldwide have tattoos, which predominantly contain black inks consisting of soot products like Carbon Black or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). We recently found up to 200 μg/g of PAH in commercial black inks. After skin tattooing, a substantial part of the ink and PAH should be transported to other anatomical sites like the regional lymph nodes. To allow a first estimation of health risk, we aimed to extract and quantify the amount of PAH in black tattooed skin and the regional lymph nodes of pre-existing tattoos. Firstly, we established an extraction method by using HPLC – DAD technology that enables the quantification of PAH concentrations in human tissue. After that, 16 specimens of human tattooed skin and corresponding regional lymph nodes were included in the study. All skin specimen and lymph nodes appeared deep black. The specimens were digested and tested for 20 different PAH at the same time.PAH were found in twelve of the 16 tattooed skin specimens and in eleven regional lymph nodes. The PAH concentration ranged from 0.1–0.6 μg/cm2 in the tattooed skin and 0.1–11.8 μg/g in the lymph nodes. Two major conclusions can be drawn from the present results. Firstly, PAH in black inks stay partially in skin or can be found in the regional lymph nodes. Secondly, the major part of tattooed PAH had disappeared from skin or might be found in other organs than skin and lymph nodes. Thus, beside inhalation and ingestion, tattooing has proven to be an additional, direct and effective route of PAH uptake into the human body.

Un processo integrato fotocatalisi-pervaporazione può essere utilizzato sia nella depurazione di correnti acquose sia nella “sintesi verde” di aldeidi aromatiche. Le modalità di accoppiamento di reazione e separazione determinano l‟efficacia dell‟integrazione, che deve essere garantita per ottenere un‟effettiva sinergia tra i due processi. In effetti, al fine di fare agire i singoli processi nelle specifiche migliori condizioni operative, è opportuno mantenere separati il reattore dal separatore. In tal caso però i due processi risultano effettivamente integrati e non semplicemente operanti in maniera sequenziale, solo se sono rispettate alcune regole, che fanno riferimento sia alla configurazione del sistema sia al valore di alcuni parametri operativi. Vengono pertanto studiati le diverse opzioni impiantistiche e gli effetti dei parametri adimensionali, che risultano dall‟analisi dimensionale del problema. Vengono così ricavate anche le linee guida progettuali per l‟ottimizzazione del processo integrato. Sono infine evidenziati i benefici del processo integrato nella sintesi verde di aldeidi aromatiche.

Objective: Oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and neuroin-flammation are pathological processes involved in amyotrophic lateralsclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a lossof upper and lower motor neurons. In animal models of neuro-degeneration several experiments using Thiazolidinediones (TZD),synthetic PPARγagonists, suggest a regulatory role of PPARγin inflam-matory pathways. However, clinical trials in ALS patients treated withagonists for PPARγhave failed. Thesefindings, together with the regu-lation of PPARγactivity mediated by post-translational modifications,brought us to study the specific inactivating phosphorylation site(Ser112/Ser82) of PPARγin human ALS tissue and in G93A SOD1mice, an animal model of ALS.Methods: G93A SOD1 mice from Jackson Laboratory were sacrificed at30, 60, 100 and 120 days of age. Cortex and spinal cord were analyzedin a total of 6 females and 3–6 males per age group. ALS and controlhuman spinal cord tissue was supplied by the Neurological TissueBank-University of Barcelona-Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS.The phospho-PPARγprotein content was studied by western blot,quantified by Quantity One Analysis software (BioRad) and analyzedby GraphPad PrismR.Results:We found an age-dependent effect on phosphorylation ofPPARγin the spinal cord of mice, statistically significant in 100- and120-day-old G93A SOD1 mice.In human samples an increasing tendency of phosphorylatedPPARγprotein was observed between ALS and control cases.That tendency was clearer when tissue sample were sorted in thosefrom pure ALS and ALS with some other pathology (fronto-temporallobar degeneration or Alzheimer's disease related pathology).Conclusions:The increment of inactive phosphorylated PPARγlevels inthe spinal cord of the clinically affected mice (100- and 120-day-oldG93A SOD1), prompt a possible explanation for the inflammatory pro-cesses in the brain, one of the hallmarks of ALS and other neurodegen-erative disorders.The failure of clinical trials with PPARγagonist in ALS patientscould be explained by the increased levels of phosphorylated PPARγfound in the human samples.The levels of active/inactive PPARγseem to be important notonly with regard to the clinical presentation of the disease, butalso regarding to treatment efficiency. Understanding of thePPARγactivation/inactivation mechanisms will help in the devel-opment of new treatment regimens for ALS and other neurodegen-erative diseases.

L’analisi LCA di un sistema energetico per la produzione di energia e di carburanti da biomassa spesso presenta un problema di allocazione di input, output e impatti tra più co-prodotti della filiera produttiva. Sebbene l’indicazione fornita dagli standard ISO sia di evitare l’allocazione, laddove possibile, una procedura metodologica di largo consenso è tuttora assente. Lo scopo del presente lavoro è affrontare il problema dell’allocazione per un sistema energetico che prevede la combustione di stocchi di mais per la produzione di energia elettrica. I risultati dello studio risultano fortemente influenzati dalle modalità applicative testate. Ciò conferma la necessità di prevedere sempre, in studi LCA con presenza di co-prodotti, un confronto trasparente tra più ipotesi operative atte ad affrontare il tema dell’allocazione.

The simultaneous implementation of pervaporation and photocatalysis allows to increase the yield of the process by a synergy. The synergetic mechanisms are discussed and the effects of the intervening parameters are studied to get a process intensification.

vengono esaminati i consumi energetici e le emissioni di gas serra associati alla produzione di biodiesel da biomasse cellulosiche utilizzando la via della sintesi Fisher-Tropsch. La metodologia LCA è utilizzata per analizzare il ciclo di vita che a partire dalla produzione agricola arriva fino alla fase di distribuzione del biodiesel ottenuto. Particolare attenzione è dedicata al processo industriale ricostruendo consumi ed emissioni attraverso una attenta ricostruzione del processo di sintesi e la conseguente valutazione degli aspetti (consumi ed emissioni) di interesse.

The current trend of the overweight and obese fraction of population is widely recognized as a severe individual and social problem in wealthy countries. Furthermore, the associated threaten to health heavily impact on economics of national healthcare systems. Though medical, social and economic consequences of overweight have been extensively studied, the pressure on the environment created by the excessive consumption of food is frequently neglected. The present contribution explores the use of an LCA approach to the quantification of the direct environmental impact of population overweight. A streamlined LCA of the overweight generated in consumers is presented. The assessment yields a preliminary footprint of the body overweight in terms of environmental indicators, that cast the basis for future and more detailed applications.

Biomass exploitation for the production of energy is one of the foremost issues in the European environmental policy. In particular, “second generation” bio-fuels appear a renewable, abundant and low GHG-emission source of energy. Nevertheless, work is still needed in order to strengthen the inherent advantages and to improve the weaknesses connected to their life cycles. The LCA analysis of a BtL process for the production of biodiesel from switchgrass through the Fischer-Tropsch process is the object of the present work. The analysis, extended from the biomass cultivation to the biodiesel production, allows useful indications for the life cycle stakeholders to be drawn and represents a solid basis for further studies.