Development of novel catalytic materials for removal of emerging organic pollutants by advanced oxidation processes (AOPS)

L'objectiu principal del nostre treball és el desenvolupament de nous materials catalítics i mètodes prometedors, eficients i respectuosos amb el medi ambient, per la degradació i la mineralització de contaminants orgànics mitjançant Processos d'Oxidació Avançada (POA) per al tractament d'aigües residuals. Amb aquest propòsit, diverses famílies de catalitzadors han estat sintetitzades per diferents mètodes i s'ha evaluat la seva activitat catalítica en els processos d'oxidació avançada d'ozonització catalítica i el procés Fenton heterogeni, tant per al tractament de compostos farmacèutics emergents com l'àcid clofíbric (CFA) com compostos recalcitrants d'origen industrial com fenol, en condicions ambientals. Entre tots els catalitzadors estudiats en el procés d'ozonització catalítica, el catalitzador d'òxid de Cu-Al preparat per un mètode de co-precipitació, ha mostrat una excel·lent activitat i estabilitat en l'ozonització catalítica de CFA, assolint un 82% i 96% de mineralització en 2 i 6 h, respectivament. En quant al procés Fenton, catalitzadors d'òxid de Fe presentant fases d'hematita i maghemita, i a les que s'han afegit petites quantitats de Pd (Pd/FeOOH) han mostrat molt bons resultats en l'eliminació de CFA mitjançant un procés Fenton heterogeni. En el procés combinat d'adsorció+oxidació, la zeolita ZSM5 contenint Fe i Pd (Pd/Fe-ZSM5) ha presentat una bona activitat en l'eliminació de fenol mitjançant adsorció i oxidació per un procés Fenton heterogeni.El objetivo principal de nuestro trabajo es el desarrollo de nuevos materiales catalíticos y métodos prometedores, eficientes y respetuosos con el medio ambiente para la degradación y la mineralización de contaminantes orgánicos por medio de Procesos de Oxidación Avanzada (POA) para el tratamiento de aguas residuales. Con este propósito, varias familias de catalizadores han sido sintetizados por diferentes métodos y se ha evaluado su actividad catalítica en los procesos de oxidación avanzada de ozonización catalítica y el proceso Fenton heterogéneo, tanto para la eliminación de compuestos farmacéuticos emergentes como el ácido clofíbrico (CFA), como compuestos recalcitrantes de origen industrial, como fenol, en condiciones ambientales. Entre todos los catalizadores estudiados en el proceso de ozonización catalítica, el catalizador de óxido de Cu-Al preparado por un método de co-precipitación, ha mostrado una excelente actividad y estabilidad en la ozonización catalítica de CFA, alcanzando un 82% y 96% de mineralización en 2 y 6 h, respectivamente. En cuanto al proceso Fenton, catalizadores de óxido de Fe conteniendo fases de hematita y maghemita y a los que se le ha añadido pequeñas cantidades de Pd (Pd/FeOOH) han mostrado muy buenos resultados en la eliminación de CFA mediante un proceso Fenton heterogéneo. En el proceso combinado de adsorción+oxidación, la zeolita ZSM5 conteniendo Fe y Pd (Pd/Fe-ZSM5) ha presentado un buen desempeño en la eliminación de fenol mediante adsorción y oxidación por un proceso Fenton heterogéneo.The main aim of our work is to develop new catalytic materials and promising, efficient and environmental-friendly methods for the degradation and mineralization of organic pollutants by means of Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for wastewater treatment. For this purpose various families of catalysts were synthesized by different methods and their potential catalytic activity have been evaluated in Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) such as ozonation and Fenton-like process for treating emerging pharmaceutical compounds like clofibric acid (CFA) and recalcitrant compounds like phenol at ambient conditions. Among all the catalysts screened, the Cu-Al oxide catalyst prepared by a co-precipitation method, showed an excellent activity and stability in catalytic ozonation of CFA, achieving 82% and 96% mineralization in 2 and 6h, respectively. As for the Fenton process, catalysts containing Fe oxides presenting hematite and maghemite phases, and to which small amounts of Pd were added (Pd/FeOOH) have shown very good results in the removal of CFA by means of heterogeneous Fenton process. In the combined process of adsorption+oxidation, ZSM5 zeolite containing Fe and Pd (Pd/Fe-ZSM5) has presented good performance in the removal of phenol by adsorption and oxidation by heterogeneous Fenton-like process

Reporting trends, practices, and resource utilization in neuroendocrine tumors of the prostate gland: a survey among thirty-nine genitourinary pathologists

Background: Neuroendocrine differentiation in the prostate gland ranges from clinically insignificant neuroendocrine differentiation detected with markers in an otherwise conventional prostatic adenocarcinoma to a lethal high-grade small/large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. The concept of neuroendocrine differentiation in prostatic adenocarcinoma has gained considerable importance due to its prognostic and therapeutic ramifications and pathologists play a pivotal role in its recognition. However, its awareness, reporting, and resource utilization practice patterns among pathologists are largely unknown. Methods: Representative examples of different spectrums of neuroendocrine differentiation along with a detailed questionnaire were shared among 39 urologic pathologists using the survey monkey software. Participants were specifically questioned about the use and awareness of the 2016 WHO classification of neuroendocrine tumors of the prostate, understanding of the clinical significance of each entity, and use of different immunohistochemical (IHC) markers. De-identified respondent data were analyzed. Results: A vast majority (90%) of the participants utilize IHC markers to confirm the diagnosis of small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. A majority (87%) of the respondents were in agreement regarding the utilization of type of IHC markers for small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma for which 85% of the pathologists agreed that determination of the site of origin of a high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma is not critical, as these are treated similarly. In the setting of mixed carcinomas, 62% of respondents indicated that they provide quantification and grading of the acinar component. There were varied responses regarding the prognostic implication of focal neuroendocrine cells in an otherwise conventional acinar adenocarcinoma and for Paneth cell-like differentiation. The classification of large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma was highly varied, with only 38% agreement in the illustrated case. Finally, despite the recommendation not to perform neuroendocrine markers in the absence of morphologic evidence of neuroendocrine differentiation, 62% would routinely utilize IHC in the work-up of a Gleason score 5 + 5 = 10 acinar adenocarcinoma and its differentiation from high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma. Conclusion: There is a disparity in the practice utilization patterns among the urologic pathologists with regard to diagnosing high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma and in understanding the clinical significance of focal neuroendocrine cells in an otherwise conventional acinar adenocarcinoma and Paneth cell-like neuroendocrine differentiation. There seems to have a trend towards overutilization of IHC to determine neuroendocrine differentiation in the absence of neuroendocrine features on morphology. The survey results suggest a need for further refinement and development of standardized guidelines for the classification and reporting of neuroendocrine differentiation in the prostate gland

Global burden of cardiovascular diseases and risk factors, 1990-2019 : Update from the GBD 2019 Study

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), principally ischemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke, are the leading cause of global mortality and a major contributor to disability. This paper reviews the magnitude of total CVD burden, including 13 underlying causes of cardiovascular death and 9 related risk factors, using estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2019. GBD, an ongoing multinational collaboration to provide comparable and consistent estimates of population health over time, used all available population-level data sources on incidence, prevalence, case fatality, mortality, and health risks to produce estimates for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. Prevalent cases of total CVD nearly doubled from 271 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 257 to 285 million) in 1990 to 523 million (95% UI: 497 to 550 million) in 2019, and the number of CVD deaths steadily increased from 12.1 million (95% UI:11.4 to 12.6 million) in 1990, reaching 18.6 million (95% UI: 17.1 to 19.7 million) in 2019. The global trends for disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and years of life lost also increased significantly, and years lived with disability doubled from 17.7 million (95% UI: 12.9 to 22.5 million) to 34.4 million (95% UI:24.9 to 43.6 million) over that period. The total number of DALYs due to IHD has risen steadily since 1990, reaching 182 million (95% UI: 170 to 194 million) DALYs, 9.14 million (95% UI: 8.40 to 9.74 million) deaths in the year 2019, and 197 million (95% UI: 178 to 220 million) prevalent cases of IHD in 2019. The total number of DALYs due to stroke has risen steadily since 1990, reaching 143 million (95% UI: 133 to 153 million) DALYs, 6.55 million (95% UI: 6.00 to 7.02 million) deaths in the year 2019, and 101 million (95% UI: 93.2 to 111 million) prevalent cases of stroke in 2019. Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of disease burden in the world. CVD burden continues its decades-long rise for almost all countries outside high-income countries, and alarmingly, the age-standardized rate of CVD has begun to rise in some locations where it was previously declining in high-income countries. There is an urgent need to focus on implementing existing cost-effective policies and interventions if the world is to meet the targets for Sustainable Development Goal 3 and achieve a 30% reduction in premature mortality due to noncommunicable diseases

Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use in early acute respiratory distress syndrome: insights from the LUNG SAFE study

Contains fulltext : 218568.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Concerns exist regarding the prevalence and impact of unnecessary oxygen use in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We examined this issue in patients with ARDS enrolled in the Large observational study to UNderstand the Global impact of Severe Acute respiratory FailurE (LUNG SAFE) study. METHODS: In this secondary analysis of the LUNG SAFE study, we wished to determine the prevalence and the outcomes associated with hyperoxemia on day 1, sustained hyperoxemia, and excessive oxygen use in patients with early ARDS. Patients who fulfilled criteria of ARDS on day 1 and day 2 of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure were categorized based on the presence of hyperoxemia (PaO2 > 100 mmHg) on day 1, sustained (i.e., present on day 1 and day 2) hyperoxemia, or excessive oxygen use (FIO2 >/= 0.60 during hyperoxemia). RESULTS: Of 2005 patients that met the inclusion criteria, 131 (6.5%) were hypoxemic (PaO2 < 55 mmHg), 607 (30%) had hyperoxemia on day 1, and 250 (12%) had sustained hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use occurred in 400 (66%) out of 607 patients with hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use decreased from day 1 to day 2 of ARDS, with most hyperoxemic patients on day 2 receiving relatively low FIO2. Multivariate analyses found no independent relationship between day 1 hyperoxemia, sustained hyperoxemia, or excess FIO2 use and adverse clinical outcomes. Mortality was 42% in patients with excess FIO2 use, compared to 39% in a propensity-matched sample of normoxemic (PaO2 55-100 mmHg) patients (P = 0.47). CONCLUSIONS: Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use are both prevalent in early ARDS but are most often non-sustained. No relationship was found between hyperoxemia or excessive oxygen use and patient outcome in this cohort. TRIAL REGISTRATION: LUNG-SAFE is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02010073