Oxidative Fast Pyrolysis of High-Density Polyethylene on a Spent Fluid Catalytic Cracking Catalyst in a Fountain Confined Conical Spouted Bed Reactor

The oxidative fast pyrolysis of plastics was studied in a conical spouted bed reactor with a fountain confiner and draft tube. An inexpensive fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) spent catalyst was proposed for in situ catalytic cracking in order to narrow the product distribution obtained in thermal pyrolysis. Suitable equivalence ratio (ER) values required to attain autothermal operation were assessed in this study, i.e., 0.0, 0.1, and 0.2. The experiments were carried out in continuous regime at 550 °C and using a space-time of 15 g_catalyst min g_HDPE ^-1. The influence of an oxygen presence in the pyrolysis reactor was analyzed in detail, with special focus on product yields and their compositions. Operation under oxidative pyrolysis conditions remarkably improved the FCC catalyst performance, as it enhanced the production of gaseous products, especially light olefins, whose yields increased from 18% under conventional pyrolysis (ER = 0) to 30% under oxidative conditions (ER = 0.1 and 0.2). Thus, conventional catalytic pyrolysis led mainly to the gasoline fraction, whereas light olefins were the prevailing products in oxidative pyrolysis. Moreover, the oxygen presence in the pyrolysis reactor contributed to reducing the heavy oil fraction yield by 46%. The proposed strategy is of great relevance for the development of this process, given that, on one hand, oxygen cofeeding allows solving the heat supply to the reactor, and on the other hand, product distribution and reactor throughput are improved.

Conversion of HDPE into Value Products by Fast Pyrolysis Using FCC Spent Catalysts in a Fountain Confined Conical Spouted Bed Reactor

Continuous catalytic cracking of polyethylene over a spent fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalyst was studied in a conical spouted bed reactor (CSBR) with fountain confiner and draft tube. The effect of temperature (475-600 °C) and space-time (7-45 gcat  min gHDPE -1 ) on product distribution was analyzed. The CSBR allows operating with continuous plastic feed without defluidization problems and is especially suitable for catalytic pyrolysis with high catalyst efficiency. Thus, high catalyst activity was observed, with waxes yield being negligible above 550 °C. The main product fraction obtained in the catalytic cracking was made up of C5 -C11 hydrocarbons, with olefins being the main components. However, its yield decreased as temperature and residence time were increased, which was due to reactions involving cracking, hydrogen transfer, cyclization, and aromatization, leading to light hydrocarbons, paraffins, and aromatics. The proposed strategy is of great environmental relevance, as plastics are recycled using an industrial waste (spent FCC catalyst).

AB0666 PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF SERUM KREBS VON DEN LUNGEN-6 GLYCOPROTEIN CIRCULATING LEVELS IN COVID-19 PNEUMONIA: A PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY

Background:

Currently, there are no biomarkers to predict respiratory worsening in patients with Coronavirus infectious disease, 2019 (COVID- 19) pneumonia.

Objectives:

We aimed to determine the prognostic value of Krebs von de Lungen-6 circulating serum levels (sKL-6) predicting COVID- 19 evolving trends.

Methods:

We prospectively analyzed the clinical and laboratory characteristics of 375 COVID- 19 patients with mild lung disease on admission. sKL-6 was obtained in all patients at baseline and compared among patients with respiratory worsening.

Results:

45.1% of patients developed respiratory worsening during hospitalization. Baseline sKL-6 levels were higher in patients who had respiratory worsening (median [IQR] 303 [209-449] vs. 285.5 [15.8-5724], P=0.068). The best sKL-6 cut-off point was 408 U/mL (area under the curve 0.55; 33% sensitivity, 79% specificity). Independent predictors of respiratory worsening were sKL-6 serum levels, age >51 years, time hospitalized, and dyspnea on admission. Patients with baseline sKL-6 ≥ 408 U/mL had a 39% higher risk of developing respiratory aggravation seven days after admission. In patients with serial determinations, sKL-6 was also higher in those who subsequently worsened (median [IQR] 330 [219-460] vs 290.5 [193-396]; p<0.02).

Conclusion:

sKL-6 has a low sensibility to predict respiratory worsening in patients with mild COVID-19 pneumonia. Baseline sKL-6 ≥ 408 U/mL is associated to a higher risk of respiratory worsening. sKL-6 levels are not useful as a screening tool to stratify patients on admission but further research is needed to investigate if serial determinations of sKL-6 may be of prognostic use.

References:

[1]Zhou F, Yu T, Du R, Fan G, Liu Y, Liu Z, et al. Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet. 2020;395(10229):1054-62. 5.

[2]Tian W, Jiang W, Yao J, Nicholson CJ, Li RH, Sigurslid HH, et al. Predictors of mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Med Virol. 2020.

[3]Wang D, Li R, Wang J, Jiang Q, Gao C, Yang J, et al. Correlation analysis between disease severity and clinical and biochemical characteristics of 143 cases of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a descriptive study. BMC Infect Dis. 2020;20(1):519.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared.

Recovery Medication from Free Text to a Structured Form

We studied methods to convert medical prescriptions in free text to a structured form for pharmacy insructions and planning nursing activities in hospitalized patients. We compared Natural Language Processing (NLP) with Parsing Process (PP), both for the Spanish language. We studied 87,750 and processed 65,000 prescriptions and recovered 62% and 65% with NLP and PP to a structured format respectively. The difference between the methods is significant (p < 0.001) and further work is needed to determine if combining them will have higher performance.

Percutaneous Transhepatic Fontan-Kreutzer Completion of Hepatic Vein Inclusion

We report the case of an 11-year-old girl with heterotaxy syndrome, dextrocardia, and azygos continuation of an interrupted inferior vena cava who had developed pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas after a Kawashima procedure consisting of bilateral superior cavopulmonary anastomoses. She presented with profound cyanosis, fatigue, and failure to thrive. An operative procedure to direct hepatic vein effluent to the pulmonary circulation was performed with placement of an extracardiac conduit between the hepatic veins and the left pulmonary artery. Persistence of cyanosis led to investigation, which led to the discovery of an unintentionally excluded right hepatic vein. A percutaneous transhepatic catheter intervention was performed in which a vascular plug was implanted to occlude the "missed" right hepatic vein, redirecting the flow through intrahepatic venovenous channels to the conduit. Clinical condition and arterial oxygen saturation were substantially improved one year after the two-step hepatic vein inclusion procedure.

[Pulmonary embolism following percutaneous vertebroplasty]

Vertebroplasty is a minimally invasive technique for the treatment of osteoporotic fractures. Within its complications is pulmonary embolism, which can be asymptomatic or with respiratory distress and may be notes by radiography or computed tomography. At present there is no guide to indicate the routine performance of imaging techniques after treatment, and all agreed on the need to start anticoagulant therapy for 3 months or so with coumarin in symptomatic or asymptomatic central emboli.

Use of percutaneous ethanol injection therapy for recurrent secondary hyperparathyroidism after subtotal parathyroidectomy

We evaluated the efficacy of percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT) as a therapeutic option for recurrence of secondary hyperparathyroidism after subtotal parathyroidectomy in ESRD patients. Six patients underwent PEIT. A mean of 1.3 ± 0.8 ethanol injections was performed. Nodular volume was 1.5 ± 1.7 cm³, and 2.8 ± 2.8 cm³ of ethanol was injected per patient. After ethanol injection PTH decreased significantly (1897 ± 754 to 549 ± 863 pg/mL (P < .01)). There was also a reduction in serum calcium, phosphorus and calcium-phosphorus product. A positive and significant correlation was found between nodular volume with ethanol injected and time from parathyroidectomy. Only one patient required hospitalization due to severe hypocalcaemia. In other two cases, local discomfort and temporary mild dysphonia were registered. PEIT is an effective treatment to control recurrences of secondary hyperparathyroidism postsubtotal parathyroidectomy.

[26 year-old male patient with bone marrow transplantation. Report of a partial autopsy]

26 year-old male patient with diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2006, who underwent chemotherapy and suffered a relapse and pulmonary aspergillosis as a complication. In 2009, he received bone marrow transplant. After it, he developed cutaneous and intestinal graft versus host disease (GVH). He was admitted for diarrhea. Then he presented grade IV dyspnea, patchy alveolar infiltrates on chest computed tomography and pancytopenia with impaired renal function as laboratory findings. He entered Intensive Care Unit, dying 7 days later. The oncologist who discussed the case defined this patient as a high risk case because of type of transplant received, relapse and complications. His diagnostic hypotheses were: CMV infection, pulmonary aspergillosis reactivation, chronic GVH, Pneumocystis jiroveci infection, mycobacteriosis and pseudomembranous colitis. Partial autopsy revealed diffuse intra-alveolar hemorrhage, diffuse alveolar damage, right pulmonary infarction with microthrombosis and bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia.

Human mesenchymal stromal cells from adult and neonatal sources: comparative analysis of their morphology, immunophenotype, differentiation patterns and neural protein expression

BACKGROUND

Bone marrow (BM) has been recognized as the main source of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC); however, MSC have also been detected in umbilical cord blood (UCB) and placenta (PL). In the present study, we obtained MSC from these three sources and characterized them in a comparative manner.

METHODS

MSC were obtained from BM, UCB and PL samples and analyzed to determine their morphology, cell-surface antigen (Ag) expression and differentiation potential. Particular emphasis was placed on the expression of neural markers.

RESULTS

MSC were detected in 9/9, 11/104 and 5/5 samples from BM, UCB and PL, respectively. MSC populations comprised several morphologically distinct cell types, including neural-like cells. MSC were positive for 'mesenchymal' Ag (CD105, CD73 and CD90), although CD90 expression was very heterogeneous. Interestingly, CD13 expression was high in all three sources. In all cases, MSC showed osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation; however, UCB MSC showed no adipogenic potential. Furthermore, MSC from UCB produced a different type of cartilage compared with MSC from BM and PL. It is noteworthy that in all three sources we detected the expression of neural proteins without any neural differentiation stimuli. A significant increase in the proportion of neural marker-positive MSC was observed in the presence of neural inducers.

DISCUSSION

Our results indicate that PL may prove to be a more appropriate source for obtaining MSC than UCB, and suggest the possibility that a subpopulation of MSC may possess neural potential, which is favored by neural inducers.

Neuropharmacological effects of an ethanol extract of the Magnolia dealbata Zucc. leaves in mice

Magnolia dealbata Zucc. is considered to have tranquilizer and anticonvulsant properties in Mexican traditional medicine. In the present study we report the effects of a crude extract of Magnolia dealbata (30, 100 and 300 mg/kg) on mouse central nervous system (CNS). Pharmacological effects were tested on ambulatory activity, anti-anxiety response, sodium pentobarbital-induced hypnosis and pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizures in comparison to honokiol, buspirone, ethosuximide and diazepam as corresponding reference drugs. No changes in spontaneous locomotor activity were produced posterior to Magnolia dealbata administration; however, a significant and dose-dependent diminution in the anxiety response was observed in experimental models such as plus-maze, head-dipping and exploratory rearing tests. Magnolia dealbata not only prolonged the time of sodium pentobarbital-induced hypnosis and delayed the onset of PTZ-induced mioclonus and clonus, but also hindered the presence of tonic seizures and avoided mortality. The hypnotic, anxiolytic and anticonvulsant effects obtained in these experiments support the hypothesis that Magnolia dealbata possesses CNS activity and reinforces the popular use in Mexican traditional medicine.

Hyperthermia-Induced Seizures Modify the GABAA and Benzodiazepine Receptor Binding in Immature Rat Brain

Effects of hyperthermia-induced seizures (HS) on GABAA and benzodiazepine (BDZ) receptor binding in immature rat brain were evaluated using in vitro autoradiography. HS were induced in 10-day-old rats by a regulated stream of moderately heated air directed 50 cm above the animals. Rats were killed 30 min, 24 h, or 20 days after HS and their brains were used for in vitro autoradiography experiments to determine GABAA and BDZ receptor binding. GABAA binding was significantly enhanced in all brain areas evaluated 30 min after HS, an effect that endures 24 h and 20 days after seizures. Concerning BDZ receptor binding, a significant increase was detected in entorhinal and perirhinal cortices and decreased in basolateral amygdala 30 min following HS. One day after HS, animals demonstrated enhanced BDZ binding in the cingulate, frontal, posterior parietal, entorhinal, temporal, and perirhinal cortices; striatum, accumbens, substantia nigra pars compacta, and amygdala nuclei. Twenty days after HS enhanced BDZ binding was restricted in the cingulated, frontal, anterior and posterior parietal cortices, as well as in substantia nigra pars reticulata, whereas decreased values were found in accumbens nucleus and substantia nigra pars compacta. Our data indicate differential effects of HS in GABAA and BDZ binding in immature brain. HS-induced GABAA and BDZ changes are different from those previously described in experimental models of temporal lobe epilepsy in adult animals.

Ethanol increases plasma Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels and subjective effects after marihuana smoking in human volunteers

Marihuana and alcohol are often used together, yet little is known about why they are combined. Male volunteers were assigned to one marihuana treatment group (placebo, low or moderate dose Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)) and, on three separate study days, they also drank a different dose of ethanol (placebo, 0.35 or 0.7 g/kg). Plasma THC levels and changes in subjective mood states were recorded for 90 min after smoking. For many of the drug combinations, when subjects consumed ethanol they detected marihuana effects more quickly, reported more episodes of euphoria and had higher plasma THC levels than when they consumed placebo ethanol. These data suggest that ethanol may increase the absorption of THC resulting in an increase in the positive subjective mood effects of smoked marihuana and contributing to the popularity of this drug combination.

Gender differences in acculturation and aggression as predictors of drug use in minorities

High acculturation and aggression may signal increased risk of drug use among different ethnic groups. Drug use histories were compared with the degree of acculturation in 18 African-Americans and ten Hispanics. Aggressive responding was measured using The Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (PSAP) developed by Cherek, D.R., 1981, Psychopharmacology, 75, 339-345. Males were more acculturated and used more drugs than females. In PSAP responding, each gender responded more aggressively towards the ethnic group in which they identified with the most. Ethnic Identification and gender were associated with increased drug use. Acculturation and drug studies must consider the importance of gender within and across ethnic sub-populations.

Influence of alcohol on electrophysiological responses to facial stimuli

A facial discrimination task adapted for use in an event-related potential paradigm was administered to 15 male subjects following oral administration of placebo and 0.56 g/kg alcohol. The stimuli (digital photographs of males and females with happy, sad and neutral facial expressions) generated a series of waves including a prominent positive potential with a latency between 400-550 msec, designated the P450. Three factor repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance was used to evaluate the effect of alcohol on the amplitudes and latencies of the P450 component to the happy and sad faces. As compared to placebo, following alcohol ingestion, male subjects had decreased P450 amplitudes but only to male happy faces compared to female happy faces. These data suggest that this ERP paradigm may be sensitive to detecting subtle effects of alcohol on brain responses to gender-related affective stimuli.

Gender differences in electrophysiological responses to facial stimuli

BACKGROUND

A facial discrimination task was adapted to be used in an event-related potential (ERP) paradigm in order to evaluate whether young women's brain responses to affective stimuli differed from those of young men.

METHODS

The stimuli used to generate a late positive component of the ERP, designated the "P450," were male and female faces with neutral, sad, or happy facial expressions. Subjects were instructed to respond to the happy and sad faces but not to the neutral faces. The amplitude and latency of the P450 component was evaluated with respect to the gender of the subject, as well as the gender and emotional affect of the facial stimuli themselves.

RESULTS

In all subjects, the sad faces elicited longer latency and higher amplitude P450 components as compared to the happy faces. Female subjects were found to generate significantly longer latency and higher amplitude P450 components than male subjects to both happy and sad faces. All subjects were found to respond more quickly to: male happy faces > female happy faces > female sad faces > male sad faces.

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest that the morphology of the late positive component of the ERP differs depending on the emotional expression of the stimuli, the gender of the facial stimulus, and the gender of the subject.

[National survey of the infrastructure of research centers in advanced biotechnology and molecular epidemiology in Mexico]

An International Molecular Epidemiology Task Force group (IMETAF) was established in 1993, where the Mexican group include as their objectives: the evaluation of the main public health problems that could be improvement through molecular epidemiology; the analysis of the interaction between molecular biology and epidemiology; development of international nets of collaboration and the establishment of surveys toward the prevention and control of some diseases. As part of a general strategy the Mexican scientific committee developed the first national infrastructure survey of the centers of biotechnology and molecular epidemiology. This survey obtained data trough a questionnaire of the general characteristics the development of the molecular epidemiology, the main tools of surveys, equipment, material and reagents, the personnel trained in biotechnology, epidemiology and public health, the needs of training, the national and international nets, how to develop molecular epidemiology and areas to be considered. The results give a general idea of the possibilities to develop the field in Mexico. More than 50% are currently working in this theme. The majority in infectious diseases. The centers have the equipment, material reagents and human resources well trained to incorporate the molecular epidemiology in their usual work. They reported the need of technology transfer to develop collaborations and courses, symposia or congresses. We conclude that Mexico has the capability and the infrastructure to develop molecular epidemiology. A survey is needed on animals.

Etiology of oral habits

The pedodontic admission histories of 1600 Mexican children were analyzed, to determine general epidemiologic factors or oral habits, as well as their relationship with identifiable biopsychosociologic factors. Fifty-six percent of the children gave evidence of an oral habit, with significant predisposition among female patients, single children, subjects in poor physical health (particularly from allergies), as well as children with histories of chronic health problems. Oral habits should be considered a major health hazard because of their high incidence. Successful treatment requires a multidisciplinary approach to the basic cause of the problem.

Effect of spontaneous alcohol intake on heart rate and dietary intake of free-living women

Moderate alcohol consumers obtain excess calories from alcohol and these additional calories do not result in weight gain. This study examined the contribution of alcohol to the total caloric intakes and expenditures of light to moderate alcohol consumers and compared the data to soda drinkers. Physical activity levels were measured by employing continuous heart rate monitoring for a 6-day normal phase and a 6-day abstinence phase. The normal food intake of both groups was recorded in diet diaries. Subjects' overall intake of food energy during the alcohol week was significantly higher than during any of the other three phases (an excess of 241 kcal/day). This study suggests that excess alcohol calories are compensated by an increase in energy expenditure, as evidenced indirectly by increased heart rates occurring between the hours of 2300 and 0700 h, increased self-reported nightly restlessness, increased wake time, and exercise.

Effects of alcohol abstinence on spontaneous feeding patterns in moderate alcohol consuming humans

It has previously been found through observational techniques that moderate alcohol consumers tend to add alcohol calories to their diets without displacing macronutrient calories. The present investigation was an active manipulation of alcohol consumption to test for causation by instructing subjects to refrain from alcohol for five days. Twenty-five moderate alcohol consumers, identified with the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test, were asked to complete a food intake diary for ten consecutive days during which they refrained from drinking any alcoholic beverages for either the first five days or the last five days. The subjects recorded in a diary everything they either ate or drank, the time at which the meal began and ended, their subjective state before and after the meal, and the number of other people present. Subjects' overall intake of food energy during the alcohol week was significantly higher than during the no alcohol week (2205 vs. 1829 kcal) and meals eaten during the alcohol week contained significantly more food energy than did meals eaten during the no alcohol week (649 vs. 541 kcal). Alcohol added additional calories to the diets without altering any other macronutrient intake. These results could have both health and weight loss implications.

Social facilitation of the spontaneous meal size of humans occurs regardless of time, place, alcohol or snacks

The amount eaten by humans in spontaneously ingested meals is positively correlated with the number of other people present. This could be due to a social facilitation or may be produced as an artifact of a covariation produced by a third factor. Possible covariations produced by time and location of eating, alcohol intake, and snack/meal ingestion were investigated by paying 78 adult humans to maintain 7-day diaries of everything they ingested, when and where they ingested it, and the number of other people present. The results demonstrate that, although the covariances exist, they could not account for the social correlation. Strong, positive and significant correlations between meal size and the number of other people present were found separately for meals eaten during the breakfast period, the lunch period and the dinner period, eaten in restaurants, at home and elsewhere, eaten accompanied by alcohol intake or without alcohol, and for only snacks or only meals. The results suggest that the correlation results from a true social facilitation of eating and that this facilitation is an important determinant of eating regardless of whether alcohol is ingested with the meal, a snack or a meal is eaten and regardless of when or where it is eaten.

Moderate alcohol intake and spontaneous eating patterns of humans: evidence of unregulated supplementation

Alcohol's effects on eating were investigated by paying 92 adult humans to maintain 7-d diaries of everything they ingested, the time of ingestion, their subjective state at the time of ingestion, and the number of people present at the time of ingestion. Total intakes, meal sizes, meal compositions, pre- and postmeal intervals, and deprivation and satiety ratios were compared between nondrinkers and drinkers and between meals associated with alcohol ingestion and those without. Univariate and multivariate prediction of meal size and of postmeal interval were also calculated to ascertain alcohol's contribution to the regulation. The results suggest that alcohol supplements rather than displaces macronutrient-supplied calories, that alcohol is associated with prolonged meal durations, and that alcohol calories may be unregulated. Other apparent changes in the meal pattern appear to be artifacts of time of day and meal duration.

Mexican Americans' performance on the MMPI as a function of level of acculturation

Previous researchers have concluded that differences in MMPI performance between Anglo and Mexican American surnamed subjects were due to cultural differences. The present research directly investigated this assumption by comparing MMPI scale score differences of 365 Anglo and Mexican American college students, with Acculturation, Age, and Socioeconomic status statistically controlled. Anglos scored significantly differently from Mexican American subjects on 10 of the 13 MMPI scales. With Acculturation and Age statistically controlled, however, Anglo vs. Mexican American subjects differed on only the L and MF scales. These results support previous conclusions that most MMPI differences between Anglo and Mexican American subjects are due to culture, or Acculturation. Our results are consistent with major findings within the MMPI literature and also support the hypothesis that personality differences identified by the L and MF scales reflect genuine characteristics of the Mexican-American culture.

MMPI supplemental scale performance of Mexican Americans and level of acculturation

Mexican American and Anglo American's performance on the Wiggins Content Scales, Harris-Lingoes subscales, and Serkownek subscales was assessed in a college student population. Level of acculturation (Mexican vs. Anglo orientation), age, and social class were statistically controlled. The results showed statistically significant differences between means of Anglo and Mexican Americans on most of the supplemental scales assessed. These differences were more numerous before scale validity criteria were applied. The number of statistically significant differences were further reduced when level of acculturation and age were statistically controlled. The results showed that level of acculturation is a highly important variable which moderates interpretation of the MMPI scale elevations we measured. Acculturation far outweighed the influence of the well established MMPI moderator variables of age and social class.