Urban wastewater disinfection by FeCl3-activated biochar/peroxymonosulfate system: Escherichia coli inactivation and microplastics interference.

Biochar coupled with peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to produce sulfate radicals and its application to urban wastewater disinfection has been rarely investigated and no information is available about microplastics (MPs) interference on the disinfection process. In this study, FeCl3-activated biochar (Fe-BC) was coupled to PMS to evaluate the inactivation of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in real secondary treated urban wastewater. Surface morphology of Fe-BC sample, characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), showed a rough texture with uniform distribution of iron particles over the entire surface area. E. coli inactivation improved (∼3.8 log units, detection limit = 1 CFU/100 mL) as Fe-BC concentration was decreased (from 1.0 g/L to 0.5 g/L), at a constant PMS dose (300 mg/L). Besides, removal efficiency of E. coli was negatively affected by the presence of small (30-50 µm) polyethylene MPs (PE MPs) (200 mg/L), which could be attributed to the adsorption of MPs on Fe-BC surface, according to SEM images of post-treated Fe-BC. The low disinfection efficiency of Fe-BC/PMS system in presence MPs could be due to blocking of Fe-BC sites for PMS activation and/or radicals scavenging during treatment. These results allowed to unveil the mechanisms of MPs interference on E. coli inactivation by Fe-BC/PMS, as well as the potential of this process to make the effluent in compliance with the stringent limit for agricultural reuse.

Iron Selenide Particles for High-Performance Supercapacitors.

Nowadays, iron (II) selenide (FeSe), which has been widely studied for years to unveil the high-temperature superconductivity in iron-based superconductors, is drawing increasing attention in the electrical energy storage (EES) field as a supercapacitor electrode because of its many advantages. In this study, very small FeSe particles were synthesized via a simple, low-cost, easily scalable, and reproducible solvothermal method. The FeSe particles were characterized using cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge/discharge (GCD) measurements, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), revealing enhanced electrochemical properties: a high capacitance of 280 F/g at 0.5 A/g, a rather high energy density of 39 Wh/kg and a corresponding power density of 306 W/kg at 0.5 A/g, an extremely high cycling stability (capacitance retention of 92% after 30,000 cycles at 1 A/g), and a rather low equivalent series resistance (RESR) of ~2 Ω.

Oil lubricant tribological behaviour improvement through dispersion of few layer graphene oxide.

Few layer graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were prepared by a very fast modified Hummers method and widely characterized. Avoiding further chemical reactions, trying to take advantage of the easy exfoliation of GO favoring the formation of a tribofilm, and using a methodology well known to the lubricant industry, they were added to a mineral oil by the help of a dispersant. The tribological behaviour of GO in mineral oil was investigated under a wide spectrum of conditions, from boundary and mixed lubrication to elastohydrodynamic regimes. A ball on disc setup tribometer has been used to verify the friction reduction due to nanosheets dispersed in mineral oil. Their good friction and anti-wear properties may possibly be attributed to the small and extremely thin laminated structure, which offer lower shear stress and prevent interaction between metal interfaces. Furthermore, the results clearly prove that graphene platelets in oil easily form a protective film to prevent the direct contact between steel surfaces and, thereby, improving the frictional behaviour of the base oil. This evidence is also related to the frictional coefficient trend in boundary regime.

An abridged photographic history of organ transplantation.

OBJECTIVES: Organ transplantation is one of the most remarkable therapeutic advances in modern medicine; it started as an experiment and has become a life-saving practice. We briefly describe the major milestones of this multidisciplinary clinical science, the challenges that it still faces, and we consider the crucial contribution that its example could set for other medical fields. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A review of the literature was conducted and a selection of images was made to complete a brief history of organ transplantation, with a particular focus on liver transplantation. RESULTS: The largest problem affecting organ transplantation today is the shortage of organs. Attention should be given to preserving the peculiar high ethical value that characterizes the very nature of organ transplantation. CONCLUSIONS: Methods successfully adopted by organ transplantation during the past 60 years can inspire promising fields, such as stem cell research, and provide useful tools to face the ethical challenges posed by scientific discoveries.

[Benign retroperitoneal schwannoma: a case report and review of the literature]. / Schwannoma benigno del retroperitoneo: caso clinico e revisione della letteratura.

Retroperitoneal schwannoma is a very rare benign tumour that accounts for only a small percentage of retroperitoneal tumours. The preoperative diagnosis is difficult and the only treatment is complete surgical excision. The authors report their experience with a case of a voluminous retroperitoneal mass in a 42-year- old male patient, incidentally discovered during a diagnostic search for a blunt abdominal trauma. Because of the unclear origin of this mass, the patient underwent periodic radiological and ultrasonographic examinations. Three years later, owing to a slight increase in this mass and vague abdominal discomfort reported by the patient, surgical excision was performed. Histological examination of the surgical specimen revealed an "ancient schwannoma". The patient is alive and well and has had no recurrence in the twenty months since surgery. The authors, after a short discussion of the subject, go on to examine the diagnostic and therapeutic treatments of this rare benign neoplasm, which always arouses lively clinical and scientific interest.

[Desmoid tumor of the chest wall foiling surgery]. / Desmoide della parete toracica, ad insorgenza postchirurgica.

AIM OF THE STUDY: The Authors report on a patient personally observed owing to a tumefaction, mimicking a pomelo, located on the posterior chest wall, in the same site of another past surgical operation dating back to four years ago. This tumefaction was clear at the inspection, not aching and hard-elastic at the palpation, mobile synchronously with respiratory movements, but unable to alter respiratory mechanics. CASE REPORT: The patient was subjected to laboratory tests, which showed nothing pathological, and to instrumental tests (RX and TAC of the chest, bony scintigraphy) which showed a roundish solid tumefaction, with no "secondary" interest of bony tissue. In this case, it was executed a posterior-lateral thoracothomy, at the VI intercostal space, in the area circumscribing the past surgical scar. The careful removal of the adhesions between the mass and the costal plane, not without the sacrifice of the periosteum, permitted us the total exeresis. The anatomo-pathological test showed a desmoid fibromatosis (desmoid tumor) extra-abdominal (12.5 x 9 x 5 cm). About this kind of neoplastic masses, the risk of post-surgical relapse is very high; so many Authors consider opportune a radio-chemical adjuvant therapy. In this case, the radical excision allowed the Authors to avoid the post surgery pharmacological treatment and to get no relapses after two years from the operation.

[Inguinal endometriosis]. / Le endometriosi del canale inguinale.

This study was conducted from September 2000 to September 2004 on 8 cases of inguinal canal endometriosis. All the patients presented an inguinocrural tumefaction of variable size. In 3 cases (symptomatic endometriosis), the patient's medical history yielded a preoperative diagnosis. In the other 5 cases (asymptomatic endometriosis) we obtained an incidental intraoperative diagnosis. In 2 of these, concomitant frank inguinocrural disease further hampered the preoperative diagnosis, while in the other 3 cases we were oriented towards an inguinal adeno-lymphatic disease. We found no signs of neoplastic transformation in our case series. The histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of endometriosis in all 8 cases, without any atypical cellular signs. From an analysis of the literature we deduced that the worldwide incidence of endometriosis is about 10% of the female population, though it is known that in the vast majority of cases there are few or no symptoms. Even today, despite the routine use of advanced diagnostic and surgical procedures, endometriosis foci are very often identified only incidentally owing to the greater incidence of asymptomatic or paucisymptomatic forms. The aim of our study is to stress the difficulty in diagnosing asymptomatic endometriosis and, above all, to suggest that, in the presence of a concomitant hernial pathology in a woman of child-bearing age, the diagnostic hypothesis of endometriosis should never be disregarded.

[Giant atypical muscle-involving lipoma of the right thigh: a case report and review of the literature]. / Lipoma atipico gigante intramuscolare della coscia destra: caso clinico e analisi della letteratura.

The clinical case reported here concerns a giant lipoma (22 x 12 x 10 cm; 2740 g) located in the distal region of the right thigh, in a subfascial zone. The patient was referred to our department for a relapse of thrombophlebitis of the right lower limb (occurring about two years earlier) and presented a large tumefaction of the mid third of thigh at objective examination, the presumed onset of which dated back about ten years after a traumatic accident. Ultrasonography confirmed the presence of the tumefaction but did not allow us to identify its origin with certainty. Musculoskeletal magnetic resonance imaging, however, revealed a gross expansive lesion closely connected to the distal part of the femur, suggesting its probable benign nature. The mass was totally resected without either muscle section or the sacrifice of periosteum. The histological findings indicated an atypical lipomatous tumour. The therapy of giant lipomas is invariably surgical excision. Nevertheless, the high risk of relapse (which is typical of this kind of neoplastic proliferation) despite radical resection, makes a systematic postoperative follow-up necessary.

Giant bilateral ovarian cysts in an adolescent masked by obesity and mimicking ascites: a case report.

Ovarian cysts are a common pathology after the 4th decade of life. We can find either smaller functional, non-neoplastic ones (belonging to the follicular and luteinic varieties) or larger tumoral cysts, which, however, are usually benign. These may be of the serous or mucinous type and can sometimes reach really large sizes. Reports of giant ovarian manifestations were more frequent a few decades ago. Prior to the advent of modern radiological, ultrasonographic, tomographic and magnetic resonance imaging techniques, diagnosis was often difficult. Nevertheless, even today, in some cases (as a result of pronounced obesity, for example, associated perhaps with diagnostic negligence), cases of giant ovarian cysts may still be encountered. We report the case of a (previously obese) 19-year-old female, admitted to our hospital for presumed ascites, identified and ultrasonographically misdiagnosed by her gynaecologist. The patient was, in fact, suffering from giant serous cystoadenomas in both ovaries.