Search results for "Policy"
showing 10 items of 4513 documents
Enhancing methane production from lignocellulosic biomass by combined steam-explosion pretreatment and bioaugmentation with cellulolytic bacterium Ca…
2018
Abstract Background Biogas production from lignocellulosic biomass is generally considered to be challenging due to the recalcitrant nature of this biomass. In this study, the recalcitrance of birch was reduced by applying steam-explosion (SE) pretreatment (210 °C and 10 min). Moreover, bioaugmentation with the cellulolytic bacterium Caldicellulosiruptor bescii was applied to possibly enhance the methane production from steam-exploded birch in an anaerobic digestion (AD) process under thermophilic conditions (62 °C). Results Overall, the combined SE and bioaugmentation enhanced the methane yield up to 140% compared to untreated birch, while SE alone contributed to the major share of methane…
Behavioural and structural interventions in cancer prevention: towards the 2030 SDG horizon
2020
Interventions in individual lifestyles have often been viewed as the main component of cancer prevention strategies. However, environmental factors may facilitate or impede healthy behaviours. The behavioural‐structural dichotomy of cancer prevention can only be resolved by incorporating the ‘Health in All Policies’ perspective at multiple levels (legislation, promotion of healthy choices, health support groups, health education).
Current state of genomic policies in healthcare among EU member states: results of a survey of chief medical officers
2016
Abstract Background A need for a governance of genomics in healthcare among European Union (EU) countries arose during an international meeting of experts on public health genomics (PHG). We have conducted a survey on existing national genomic policies in healthcare among Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) of the 28 EU member states, plus Norway. Methods A questionnaire was sent to CMOs after a meeting on the policy implications of PHG held during the Italian presidency of the Council of EU in 2014. The survey was closed in November 2015. Results CMOs response rate was 65.5% (19/29). Twelve (63.2%) reported that their countries had a policy for genomics in healthcare in place, and 15 (78.9%) rep…
Selection of a Sustainable Functional Pasta Enriched with Opuntia Using ELECTRE III Methodology
2017
In the last decade, the nutritional and health benefits of Opuntia (Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.) were discussed by academic scientists and private companies. In particular, the introduction of this substance in frequently consumed foods, like, for example, pasta and bakery products, could have a wide diffusion due to its rich composition in polyphenols, vitamins, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and amino acids. The identified natural cactus compounds are responsible for biologically relevant activities including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, hypoglycemic, antimicrobial, and neuro-protective properties. The aim of this paper is the evaluation of the best combination of Opuntia quantity an…
Control of VOCs from printing press air emissions by anaerobic bioscrubber: Performance and microbial community of an on-site pilot unit
2017
Abstract A novel process consisted of an anaerobic bioscrubber was studied at the field scale for the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from a printing press facility. The pilot unit worked under high fluctuating waste gas emissions containing ethanol, ethyl acetate, and 1-ethoxy-2-propanol as main pollutants, with airflows ranging between 184 and 1253 m 3 h −1 and an average concentration of 1126 ± 470 mg-C Nm −3 . Three scrubber configurations (cross-flow and vertical-flow packings and spray tower) were tested, and cross-flow packing was found to be the best one. For this packing, daily average values of VOC removal efficiency ranged between 83% and 93% for liquid to a…
Anaerobic degradation of glycol ether-ethanol mixtures using EGSB and hybrid reactors: Performance comparison and ether cleavage pathway.
2017
Abstract The anaerobic biodegradation of ethanol-glycol ether mixtures as 1-ethoxy-2-propanol (E2P) and 1-methoxy-2-propanol (M2P), widely used in printing facilities, was investigated by means of two laboratory-scale anaerobic bioreactors at 25oC: an expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor and an anaerobic hybrid reactor (AHR), which incorporated a packed bed to improve biomass retention. Despite AHR showed almost half of solid leakages compared to EGSB, both reactors obtained practically the same performance for the operating conditions studied with global removal efficiencies (REs) higher than 92% for organic loading rates (OLRs) as high as 54 kg of chemical oxygen demand (COD) m−3 d…
Effect of long residence time and high temperature over anaerobic biodegradation of Scenedesmus microalgae grown in wastewater
2018
[EN] Anaerobic digestion of indigenous Scenedesmus spp. microalgae was studied in continuous lab-scale anaerobic reactors at different temperatures (35 degrees C and 55 degrees C), and sludge retention time - SRT (50 and 70 days). Mesophilic digestion was performed in a continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) and in an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR). Mesophilic CSTR operated at 50 days SRT only achieved 11.9% of anaerobic biodegradability whereas in the AnMBR at 70 days SRT and 50 days HRT reached 39.5%, which is even higher than the biodegradability achieved in the thermophilic CSTR at 50 days SRT (30.4%). Microbial analysis revealed a high abundance of cellulose-degraders in both re…
Bacterial community structure and removal performances in IFAS-MBRs: A pilot plant case study
2017
Abstract The paper reports the results of an experimental campaign carried out on a University of Cape Town (UCT) integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) membrane bioreactor (MBR) pilot plant. The pilot plant was analysed in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and nutrients removal, kinetic/stoichiometric parameters, membrane fouling and sludge dewaterability. Moreover, the cultivable bacterial community structure was also analysed. The pilot plant showed excellent COD removal efficiency throughout experiments, with average value higher than 98%, despite the slight variations of the influent wastewater. The achieved nitrification efficiency was close to 98% for most of the experimen…
Influence of food waste addition over microbial communities in an Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor plant treating urban wastewater
2018
[EN] Notorious changes in microbial communities were observed during and after the joint treatment of wastewater with Food Waste (FW) in an Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor (AnMBR) plant. The microbial population was analysed by high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and dominance of Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, Synergistetes and Proteobacteria phyla was found. The relative abundance of these potential hydrolytic phyla increased as a higher fraction of FW was jointly treated. Moreover, whereas Specific Methanogenic Activity (SMA) rose from 10 to 51 mL CH4 g(-1) VS, Methanosarcinales order increased from 34.0% over 80.0% of total Archaea, being Methanosaeta the dominant genus. The effect o…
Genome wide DNA methylation profiling identifies specific epigenetic features in high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma
2019
ABSTRACTCutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is the second most common skin cancer. Although most cSCCs have good prognosis, a subgroup of high-risk cSCC has a higher frequency of recurrence and mortality. Therefore, the identification of molecular risk factors associated with this aggressive subtype is of major interest. In this work we carried out a global-scale approach to investigate the DNA-methylation profile in patients at different stages, from premalignant actinic keratosis to low-risk invasive and high-risk non-metastatic and metastatic cSCC. The results showed massive non-sequential changes in DNA-methylome and identified a minimal methylation signature that discriminates bet…