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New strategies implementing a resource-efficient and competitive economy, which transforms environmental problems into opportunities, are encouraged at global scale (UN Sustainable Development Goals, SDG). In recent years, mine residues are attracting scientific interest, since they can turn into viable sources of secondary and critical raw materials (SRMs and CRMs). Planning the sustainable supply and circular use of resources, integrating incomplete information, providing environmentally sound technologies for the simultaneous reduction of environmental risks and recovery of SRMs and CRMs are the key steps for overcoming such ambitious challenges. In this study, a multidisciplinary and eco-sustainable strategy is presented for the characterization, mapping, classification and valorization of mine residues.

Mining and mineral-processing wastes have been giving a lot of concern in recent times. We have evaluated an integrated multidisciplinary strategy for mining residues characterization, as well as for the recovery of secondary (e.g., Fe, Mn) and critical (e.g., Ga) raw materials. After the in situ sampling campaigns in Bichakundi Joda West iron and manganese mine (Keonjhar district, State of Odisha, India), residues have been characterized and the acquired mineralogical, chemical and spectral information have been used to create a map of mining residue deposits by means of the new multispectral satellite Sentinel-2A classification. Furthermore, mycorrhizal-assisted phytoextraction of metals from previously classified soils, based on sunflowers colonized by an AM fungal strain GA5 Rhizophagus intraradices, was carried out in the perspective of subsequent recovery of Ga, Fe and Mn from biomass using hydrometallurgical and electrochemical techniques. The bioconcentration factors in aerial and radicular parts (BCS and BCR, respectively), and translocation factors (TF) followed the order Ga>Mn>Fe for BCS and TF, while for BCR was Ga>Fe>Mn. The results were used to estimate the bioextracting potential by phyto-mycoremediation into a Vegetable Depuration Module (VDM): the highest extraction was estimated for Fe (60 g/VDM), followed by Mn (35 g/VDM) and Ga (1.02 g/VDM), thus confirming a good potential for their subsequent recovery by hydrometallurgical techniques with final purification by selective electrodeposition. Results are encouraging and the application of such multidisciplinary approach can be important to develop a circular model for sustainable exploitation of mining residues.

Our economy needs to collect raw materials (RMs) from mining activities and this produces an impressive amount of mining wastes and a number of environmental problems associated with the disposal of them. Nowadays, the advances of the innovative technologies and markets make mining waste sources of valuable minerals/elements, but, in order to exploit them, it is necessary to know accurate information and to develop smart strategies of management and planning. In this framework, we tested an integrated multidisciplinary approach for sustainable management and optimisation of mining wastes. We sampled iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) wastes produced in Joda West Mine (State of Odisha-India). Afterward, X-Ray Powde r Diffraction, X-Ray Fluorescence and spectral signatures analysis were used in order to characterize the mining waste samples. Mineralogical, chemical and spectral data were used as input to classify Sentinel-2A image. The characterized mining waste map identified waste deposit areas with different percentage of Fe and Mn and represented a suitable tool for further optimizing strategies of mining waste management. In particular, the potentialities of phyto-mycoremediation of classified mining wastes for heavy metals up take and bioaccumulation were evaluated, in the perspective of their subsequent recovery from biomass through hydrometallurgical methods. The mycorrhized plant species tolerated the high concentrations of metals and were effective for the phytostabilization and phytoextraction of Cr, Cu, Ni, Sr, Zn, Mn, Fe, P, As, S, Sr, P and Rb although overall biomass growth was not suf ficient to sustain a significant recovery of heavy metals at this stage (i. e., process conditions should be optimized). Preliminary results showed that an approach based on both advanced techniques and low cost treatment methods successfully lead to significant waste reduction and materials recovery.

A smart economy minimizes the production of waste and reuses waste as a potential resource, moving towards a near-zero waste society. Mining waste not of interest for steel industry due to their low iron content and need of prior ore dressing, are dumped in overburden dumps as waste and can find a valuable use in applications other than mining industry. The wastes having higher percentage of Fe, Mn and Al oxy-hydroxides, are materials widely used as adsorption filters for metals and metalloids, especially arsenic (As), in drinking water treatments. In addition, due to chemical similarity between arsenate and phosphate, their application in P-recovery, from treated wastewater, where phosphate is present at high concentration, has recently gained attention since P is a critical raw material and an essential and limited resource. Aim of our research is to individuate suitable waste mining materials of iron ore for the efficient reuse in water treatment, in particular for the removal of As and extraction of P.

Expression of PTPRJ, which is a ubiquitous receptor-type protein tyrosine phosphatase, is significantly reduced in a vast majority of human epithelial cancers and cancer cell lines (i.e. colon, lung, thyroid, mammary and pancreatic tumours). A possible role for microRNAs (miRNAs) in the negative regulation of PTPRJ expression has never been investigated. In this study, we show that overexpression of microRNA-328 (miR-328) decreases PTPRJ expression in HeLa and SKBr3 cells. Further investigations demonstrate that miR-328 acts directly on the 3'UTR of PTPRJ, resulting in reduced mRNA levels. Luciferase assay and site-specific mutagenesis were used to identify a functional miRNA response element in the 3'UTR of PTPRJ. Expression of miR-328 significantly enhances cell proliferation in HeLa and SKBr3 cells, similar to the effects of downregulation of PTPRJ with small interfering RNA. Additionally, in HeLa cells, the proliferative effect of miR-328 was not observed when PTPRJ was silenced with small interfering RNA; conversely, restoration of PTPRJ expression in miR-328-overexpressing cells abolished the proliferative activity of miR-328. In conclusion, we report the identification of miR-328 as an important player in the regulation of PTPRJ expression, and we propose that the interaction of miR-328 with PTPRJ is responsible for miR-328-dependent increase of epithelial cell proliferation.

Il Progetto RECAT è giunto al suo secondo giro di boa ed ha prodotto una notevole serie di risultati, che vengono qui presentati in forma sintetica. Molti di questi sono già o saranno oggetto di pubblicazioni: tra esse, le nuove metodiche di indagine per la determinazione del grado di attivazione, la realizzazione del processo di lisciviazione via "succo di limone" del lantanio dalla carcassa dei catalizzatori esausti trattati per via meccanochimica, e anche lo stesso processo MECCANOCHIMICO, che finora è stato oggetto di interesse solo per pochi. La meccanochimica sembra molto più vicina all'alchimia che alla chimica, apparentemente. In realtà le leggi che la governano sono semplici come quelle della chimica e sottendono un mondo dove l'energia che innesca le reazioni non viene erogata dalla ossidazione violenta di ostanze o dall'introduzione di reagenti aggressivi e costosi, bensì da reazioni a movimenti meccanici, che in modo regolare e controllabile generano attriti e urti che a loro volta determinano delle trasformazioni in modo più semplice e facile rispetto ai metodi tradizionali. In queste fasi del progetto abbiamo imparato a cristallizzare zeoliti a pressione ambientale a partire dai residui della lisciviazione e abbiamo capito come queste zeoliti potranno esserci utili come assorbenti di inquinanti e come catalizzatori di reazioni di ossidazione, ad esempio per ridurre il TOC di un rifiuto. Abbiamo altresì imparato a estrarre il lantanio non come fanno gli Altri, cioè con l'acido nitrico, bensì con il succo di agrumi di Sicilia.. e la resa non è male.. Giovani ricercatori sono stati chiamati a lavorare nel nostro Gruppo di Ricerca e hanno prodotto importanti risultati sulle metodiche di speciazione chimica del nichel, uno degli inquinanti più perniciosi dei catalizzatori esausti e anche sulle metodiche di caratterizzazione per via microscopia ottica accoppiata alla spettroscopia Raman delle particelle da sottoporre a trattamento o cristallizzate. Infine abbiamo progettato l'Impianto, e ne abbiamo creato un protocollo di sperimentazione che abbiamo presentato alla Regione Siciliana per le necessarie autorizzazioni. In questo protocollo abbiamo messo una folta schiera di controlli, alcuni dei quali ridondanti per un impianto industriale ma molto utili per noi che dobbiamo monitorare lo status dell'ambiente di lavoro e ciò che accade nell'interno del processo, in vista di successivi sviluppi. Quest'ultime due tematiche verranno presentaeo nella prossima relazione relativa al terzo atto.

Il Progetto Recat è alla fase di startup di impianto. La realizzazione delle strutture e dei cablaggi ha richiesto molto tempo per via dell'utilizzo di sostanze chimiche a temperature più elevate di quella ambiente. Alla data di redazione di questa relazione, comunque, l'impianto ha finalmente iniziato a lavorare. In questa relazione verranno quindi esposti e primi risultati di produzione, le modifiche apportate all'impianto per aumentare il rendimento. Verranno altresì riportate le esperienzre condotte nella zeolitizzazione coadiuvata da altre sostanze di rifiuto o comunque di derivazione secondaria, quali le ceneri vulcaniche che in Sicilia e in particolare nelle aree etnee costituiscono un rifiuto costoso da smaltire. Quindi parleremo di geopolimeri, realizzati con catalizzatore trattato e le pozzolane, come materia prima per la stabilizzazione dei rifiuti speciali. Tale argomento suscita interesse in quanto si tratta di materiali innovativi, impiegati nell'industria ambientale per la stabilizzazione di rifiuti pericolosi e di sostanze radioattive, ma anche nel ripascimento di aree contaminate a bonifica.

The strong genetic predisposition to papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) might be due to a combination of low-penetrance susceptibility variants. Thus, the research into gene variants involved in the increase of susceptibility to PTC is a relevant field of investigation. The gene coding for the receptor-type tyrosine phosphatase PTPRJ has been proposed as a cancer susceptibility gene and its role as a tumor suppressor gene is well established in thyroid carcinogenesis. In this study we want to ascertain the role of PTPRJ genotype in the risk for papillary thyroid carcinoma. We performed a case-control study in which we determined the PTPRJ genotype for the non-synonymous Gln276Pro and Asp872Glu polymorphisms by PCR amplification and sequencing. We calculated allele and genotype frequencies for the considered polymorphisms of PTPRJ in a total sample of 299 cases (PTC patients) and 339 controls (healthy subjects) selected from Caucasian populations. We observed a significantly higher frequency of homozygotes for the Asp872 allele in the group of PTC patients than in the control group (OR = 1.61, 95% CI 1.15-2.25, P = 0.0053). We observed a non-significant increased frequency of homozygotes for Gln276Pro polymorphism in PTC cases in two distinct Caucasian populations. Therefore, the results reported here show that the homozygous genotype for Asp872 of PTPRJ is associated with an increased risk to develop papillary thyroid carcinoma.

The material for rail ballast is normally obtained from the crushing of rocks with high mechanical strength, such as basalt, trachyte, gneiss and "green rocks", as ophiolites (serpentinites, amphibolites, gabbros, prasinites, etc.). Green rocks often contain discrete quantities of heavy metals and asbestos-like minerals, as chrysotile and amphibole asbestos. In Italy, the chrysotile asbestos mine in Balangero (Turin) has produced railroad ballast, over 5 million of tons, which was used for the railways of Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy and, partially, Tuscany and, partially, Emilia Romagna, from 1930s up to 1990. In addition to Balangero, several other serpentinite quarries provided the railways ballast from the 1940s to 2000. As a result, many railway lines are now contaminated with significant quantities of asbestos. Since 2005 it was started a very complex and ambitious monitoring project alongside the Rete Ferroviaria Italiana - Italian Railway Network S.p.A. in order to detect the exact contours of the problem and to find the most appropriate methods to solve it.

La crescente attenzione alla determinazione delle diverse forme chimiche (speciazione) del nichel deriva dalla differente pericolosità delle varie forme di aggregazione del nichel presente nei rifiuti solidi. In questo lavoro è proposto un metodo di speciazione del nichel che utilizza la diffrazione a raggi X di polveri: è stato messo a punto un protocollo analitico che si basa sull'analisi degli spettri di diffrazione utilizzando standard in NiCl2, NiSO4, Ni(NO3)2 (nei vari gradi di idratazione), NiO e nanometalli di nichel mescolati ad un suolo sintetico composto da quarzo e argilla caolinitica. Le rette di taratura sono state eseguite su concentrazioni da 1000 ppm fino a 50000 ppm. Il metodo è stato applicato all'analisi del contenuto di nichel nei catalizzatori FCC dell'industria petrolchimica e confrontato con il metodo BCR, uno dei pochi metodi accreditati di speciazione del nichel, ottenendo risultati analoghi in termini quantitativi in tempi minori.

We demonstrated previously that rat tyrosine phosphatase r-PTPeta expression was suppressed in rat and human thyroid neoplastic cells, and that restoration of r-PTPeta expression reverted the malignant phenotype. To investigate the potential of this gene for cancer therapy, we generated an adenovirus carrying the r-PTPeta cDNA (Ad-r-PTPeta). This virus infected human thyroid carcinoma cells and overexpressed the r-PTPeta protein. Overexpression of r-PTPeta significantly inhibited the growth of four thyroid carcinoma cell lines. Cell growth inhibition was associated with down-regulation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 activity, with increased levels of the cell-cycle inhibitor p27(kip1) protein and with dephosphorylation of PLCgamma1, a substrate of DEP-1, the human homologue of r-PTPeta. Finally, the growth of xenograft tumors induced in athymic mice by anaplastic thyroid carcinoma ARO cells transduced with the Ad-r-PTPeta virus was drastically reduced. These data suggest that gene therapy based on restoration of PTPeta function has potential in the treatment of human thyroid malignant neoplasias.

For several years in many countries industrial processes for carbon dioxide permanently capture have been investigating by solid state or in solution reactions using precursor materials and CO2 fluxes captured from industrial plants or in the atmosphere. The paper reports a new preparation process of materials made of magnesium oxide, magnesium hydroxide and magnesium carbonate starting from materials containing asbestos from natural sources (serpentine with chrysotile, ophiolites with amphiboles and asbestos of serpentine) through the use of mechanochemical high-energy mills. In the work we discuss the aspects related to the materials to be used, the mechanical activation parameters and the carbonation system in order to optimize the process and reduce the treatment costs. The method identified leads to the preparation of precursor materials usable in many chemical carbon dioxide capture process and as absorbent and dehydrating materials.

The reuse of agricultural waste mainly interests the regions of Southern Italy; in particular, Sicily produces 70% of national citrus (annually about 700,000 tonnes of citrus fruits), consequently many waste are generated from production and use of citrus fruits. More than 300,000 tonnes of waste derived from industrial use of citrus fruits end up in landfill sites with considerable problems of disposal, rising chain costs and leading to lower profit margins for the agriculture and manufacturing sectors. The idea exposed in this paper is to use a low cost technology to recovery the waste as raw material for the production of "Biopellets”, i.e. home heating products, healthier than wood pellets, with a higher calorific value. The technology utilized, in order to produce the Biopellets, is based on the use of a mechanochemical refining system named “Refolo”. The system, consisting in a micronizer mill for ligno-cellulosic and polymeric materials, is composed of an innovative device able to obtain a dry powder from any organic and polymeric waste. This technology has passed laboratory tests and was realized a little demonstrator, that gave considerable results in terms of calorific quality and sterility of the final product. The work focuses on this technology and discusses the possibilities of use., Proceedings of the 19th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 6-10 June 2011, Berlin, Germany, pp. 1969-1972

The steel slag is an important resource for the cement industry and construction. These wastes generally have a composition based on aluminum silicates, calcium and iron silicates and a chemistry more or less alkaline. Even the waste incineration slag can be a resource for the industry, provided to remove the residual organic materials and heavy metals. In recent years the need to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increased the number of studies on the use of slag for the capture of CO2. To achieve a high rate of CO2 capture, however, is necessary to activate the slag prior to use it. In this work was evaluated the carbonation capacity of various types of steel slag, subjected to different activation processes, and was determined an operational way to transfer the experience of the laboratory to pilot application. The experience carried out through the blowing of carbon dioxide on wet steel slag creates two benefits: the ability to take full advantage of inert materials from slag and the reduction of carbon dioxide emitted from the steel production cycle.

Le scorie d'acciaieria sono una risorsa importante per l'industria del cemento e delle costruzioni; in genere, hanno una composizione a base di silicati di alluminio, calcio e silicati di ferro e sono più o meno alcaline. Anche le scorie da termodistruzione dei rifiuti possono essere una risorsa per l'industria, a condizione di rimuovere le sostanze organiche residue ed i metalli pesanti. Negli ultimi anni la necessità di ridurre le emissioni di gas ad effetto serra nell'atmosfera ha incrementato il numero di studi sull'utilizzo delle scorie per la cattura di CO2. Per raggiungere un alto tasso di cattura, tuttavia, è necessario attivare le scorie prima di usarle. In questo lavoro si è valutata la capacità di carbonatazione di vari tipi di scorie d'acciaieria, sottoponendo le scorie a diversi processi di attivazione, e la riduzione del pH e determinato un modo operativo per trasferire l'esperienza di laboratorio in scala pilota. La sperimentazione svolta insufflando anidride carbonica in scorie d'acciaieria in soluzione acquosa evidenzia due vantaggi: la possibilità di sfruttare appieno i materiali inerti delle scorie e la riduzione della CO2 emessa dal ciclo produttivo dell'acciaio.

In recent years the need to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increased the number of studies on the use of slag for the capture of CO2: the use of mining and steel industry waste to capture carbon dioxide permanently is a method well known[1][2][3]; the question concerning the efficiency of these materials, however, is not solved[4]. In this paper we present the results obtained from tests on the carbonation of steel slag, studied by type, size class and composition, in order to verify the possibility of providing products to recover as much CO2 as possible. It was verified that most of the light and dark steel slag of blast furnace have a reactivity that, with the same content of alkaline oxide, depends on the particle size. This reactivity is expressed clearly with exothermic reactions, which can be emphasized if are used certain procedures that increase the reactivity, as agitation in ultrasound. The results show that we can achieve efficiencies of capture and reaction speed very high, but low energy consumption.

The fragile histidine triad (FHIT) gene at chromosome 3p14.2 is a tumor suppressor gene that is altered mainly by deletion in a large fraction of human tumors, including breast cancers. To evaluate the potential of FHIT gene therapy in this type of cancer, we have studied the biological effects of adenoviral FHIT transduction (Ad-FHIT) in breast cancer cell lines. The results showed that, after FHIT restoration in BT-549, MDA-MB-436, and HCC1806 cells, they underwent apoptosis by activation of the intrinsic pathway. In all three cell lines infected with Ad-FHIT, we have found activation of caspase-2, which is required for permeabilization of mitochondria, release of cytochrome c, and apoptosis. Furthermore, Fhit overexpression produces alteration in cell cycling properties, as well as reduction of the tumorigenic potential in nude mice.

Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) involving the short arm of chromosome 8 (8p) is a common feature of the malignant progression of human tumors, including gastric cancer. We have cloned and mapped a candidate tumor suppressor gene, FEZ1/LZTS1, to 8p22. Here we have analyzed whether FEZ1/LZTS1 alterations play a role in the development and progression of gastric carcinoma.We examined Fez1/Lzts1 expression in 8 gastric carcinoma cell lines by Western blot, and in 88 primary gastric carcinomas by immunohistochemistry. Twenty-six of these 88 primary gastric carcinomas were also microdissected and tested for LOH at the FEZ1/LZTS1 locus and for mutation of the FEZ1/LZTS1 gene. Furthermore, we studied the FEZ1/LZTS1 gene regulation and transcriptional control and the methylation status of the 5' region of the gene in all 8 gastric carcinoma cell lines.Fez1/Lzts1 protein was barely detectable in all of the gastric cancer cell lines tested and was absent or significantly reduced in 39 of the 88 (44.3%) gastric carcinomas analyzed by immunohistochemistry, with a significant correlation (P0.001) to diffuse histotype. DNA allelotyping analysis showed allelic loss in 3 of 17 (18%) and microsatellite instability in 4 of 17 (23.5%) cases informative for D8S261 at the FEZ1/LZTS1 locus. When we compared the presence of LOH with Fez1/Lzts1 expression, we found loss of protein expression in all three of the tumors with allelic imbalance at D8S261. A missense mutation was detected in one case that did not express Fez1/Lzts1. Hypermethylation of the CpG island flanking the Fez1/Lzts1 promoter was evident in six of the eight cell lines examined as well as in the normal control.Our findings support FEZ1/LZTS1 as a candidate tumor suppressor gene at 8p in a subtype of gastric cancer and suggest that its inactivation is attributable to several factors including genomic deletion and methylation.

An imbalance of immunoregulatory factors is believed to contribute to uncontrolled mucosal Th1 cell activation in Crohn's disease (CD), IL-18, a macrophage-like cell-derived cytokine, is involved in Th1 clone development, and IFN-gamma production. Therefore, IL-18 expression was investigated in CD, Whole mucosal intestinal tissue and lamina propria mononuclear cells (LPMC) of 12 CD and 9 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients and 15 non-inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) controls were tested for IL-18 by semiquantitative RT-PCR and Western blot analysis, Transcripts for IL-18 were found in all samples tested. However, increased IL-18 mRNA accumulation was detected in both mucosal and LPMC samples from CD in comparison to UC and controls. In CD, transcripts for IL-18 were more abundant in the mucosal samples taken from involved areas, An 18-kDa band consistent with mature IL-18 was predominantly found in CD mucosal samples, In mucosal samples from non-IBD controls, IL-18 was present as a 24-kDa polypeptide, Consistently, active IL-1 beta-converting enzyme (ICE) subunit (p20) was expressed in samples from either CD or UC, whereas, in colonic mucosa from non-IBD controls, ICE was synthesized as precursor (p45) only, To confirm that IL-18 produced in CD tissue was functionally active, CD LPMC were treated with a specific IL-18 antisense oligonucleotide. In these cultures, IL-18 down-regulation was accompanied by a decrease in IFN-gamma expression, In aggregate, our data indicate that IL-18 up-regulation is a feature of CD and suggest that IL-18 may contribute to the local immunoinflammatory response in CD.

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