Analysis of long-term statistical data of cobalt flows in the EU.

Long-term statistical data was explored, acquired, processed, and analysed in order to assess the historical domestic production and international trade of a number of cobalt-containing commodities in the EU. Different data sources were examined for data, such as the British Geological Survey (BGS), the US Geological Survey (USGS), and the Eurostat and UN Comtrade (UNC) databases, considering all EU-member states before and after they joined the EU. For the international trade, hidden flows related to data gaps such as data reported in monetary value or recorded as "special category" were identified and included in the analysis. In addition, data from the Finnish customs database (ULJAS) was used to complement flows reported by Eurostat and UNC. From UNC, data was obtained considering the member states as reporters or as partners of the trade, due to internal differences of the database. Based on the acquired data the domestic production and international trade of the commodities were reconstructed for the timeframes 1938-2018 and 1988-2018, respectively. Next to the analysis of the trend of the production and trade of the different commodities, the importance of including hidden flows was revealed, where hidden flows represented more than 50% of the flow of a year in some cases. In addition, it was identified that even from reliable data sources, strong differences (more than 100% in some cases) can be found in the reported data, which is crucial to consider when utilizing the data in research.

Characterization of persistent Listeria monocytogenes strains from ten dry-cured ham processing facilities.

The majority of cases of listeriosis are associated with the consumption of contaminated food. Some strains of Listeria monocytogenes can persist over months or years in meat processing plants increasing the risk of product contamination. The presence of L. monocytogenes was examined in 10 dry-cured ham processing facilities. A total of 1801 samples were collected from environment and equipment, during processing (1095) and after cleaning and disinfection (706). These samples were taken from non-food contact (736) and food contact (1065) surfaces. In addition, 204 samples from ham surfaces were also analysed. Prevalence varied from 6% to 34% among facilities, and was higher during processing than after cleaning and disinfection (24.8% vs 11.0%) and from non-food than from food contact surfaces (22.6% vs 17.4%). L. monocytogenes serotype 1/2a was predominant (53.9%), followed by 1/2c (26.0%) and 1/2b (15.3%) and less frequently 4b (4.8%). A total of 142 different pulsotypes were registered. Potential persistent L.monocytogenes strains were isolated in 9 out the 10 facilities, with no more than 6 pulsotypes in a given plant. Two pulsotypes were common in different installations, detected before and after cleaning and disinfection, highlighting the importance of monitoring the presence of this pathogen in dry-cured ham processing environments.

Data quality assessment framework for critical raw materials. The case of cobalt.

Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) require a deep understanding of their societal metabolism, for which robust data and information are needed. However, despite the efforts to build reliable data, some CRMs such as cobalt, are still characterised by lack of data harmonization, lack of connection between datasets, and significant data unavailability. Together with data gaps filling, data quality is a crucial aspect to improve Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and Criticality Assessment (CA). Nevertheless, most of the methodologies for Data Quality Assessment (DQA) are not designed for these tools, but for others, e.g. life cycle assessment. The current research addresses the following challenges; a better understanding of the societal metabolism of CRMs; the development and implementation of DQA in MFA and CA; and a better understanding of the available data related to current cobalt flows in the EU technosphere. The underlying life cycle phases of CRMs within the technosphere were identified, together with 15 key parameters. A new DQA matrix was developed, which was subsequently applied to the full dataset collected for cobalt. The dataset was built considering seven high-end applications of cobalt. More than 300 values were gathered, which were analysed in function of different aspects, such as the country/region, and year. Through the data analysis and the application of the DQA framework, data gaps were identified due to low availability and/or low quality. It was concluded that the main deficiency of cobalt data is its reliability, due to lack of information regarding its generation method, and the incomplete stakeholder coverage.

Cobalt in end-of-life products in the EU, where does it end up? - The MaTrace approach.

The use of cobalt has experienced a strong growth in the last decades. Due to its high economic importance and high supply risk, it has been classified as a critical raw material for the EU and other economies. Part of the EU's strategy is intended to secure its availability, through fostering its efficient use and recycling. The latter is affected by factors such as the amount of available end-of-life products, and their collection-to-recycling rate. A novel methodology to analyze the impact of these factors on the cobalt flows in society is the model MaTrace, which can track the fate of materials over time and across products. The MaTrace model was expanded, adapted, and applied to predict the fate of cobalt embedded in finished products in use in the EU, considering the underlying life cycle phases within the technosphere. Eleven scenarios were built, assessing different options in the implementation of relevant EU's policies. The flows were projected for a period of 25 years, starting in 2015. The results of the baseline scenario show that after 25 years, around 8% of the initial stock of cobalt stays in use, 3% is being hoarded by users, 28% has been exported, and 61% has been lost. The main contributors to the losses of the system are the non-selective collection of end-of-life products, and the export of end-of-life products, recycled cobalt and final products. The results of the scenarios show that higher collection-to-recycling rates and lower export could increase up to 50% the cobalt that stays in use.

In vitro assays of the antibacterial and antioxidant activity of aqueous leaf extracts from different Prunus salicina Lindl. cultivars.

The growing interest in the substitution of synthetic food antioxidants and antimicrobial additives by natural ones has fostered research on vegetable sources and on the screening of raw materials, for identifying new antioxidants and antimicrobial natural agents. The aim of the present study was to assess total phenolic contents and determine polyphenolic composition, related antioxidative and antimicrobial properties of plum leaves extracts from six cultivars. It was observed that the content of total phenolic compounds was cultivar dependent. High antioxidant capacity has been observed and related to the relative amounts of polyphenolic compounds with good antioxidant properties. The antimicrobial activity was confirmed against Listeria innocua and Escherichia coli, and it has found to be related with the high phenolic contents. Our results suggest that the use of plum leaf extracts is a feasible alternative as antibacterial and antioxidant agents to prevent the deterioration of stored foods by bacteria and oxidation.

Fundamentos de criopreservación / Basic points in cryopreservation

El entender y aplicar adecuadamente la criopreservación de material biológico es fundamental en laboratorios y bancos de células. Sin embargo, aunque se han implementado protocolos para criopreservación, aún no se tienen los ideales en la mayoría de los casos. El objetivo de esta revisión es dar a conocer ciertos parámetros inherentes al proceso de criopreservación y la importancia de conocer ciertas características de la célula que pueden incidir con la viabilidad del producto congelado para lograr la técnica adecuada. Para alcanzar este propósito, el documento se basará en el conocimiento de las propiedades fisicoquímicas de la célula y/o el tejido, pues este proceso es afectado por diferentes variables como permeabilidad celular, volumen osmóticamente inactivo y relación superficie/área de la célula, la cual es variable de acuerdo a la especie, tipo y estadio de la célula a congelar. La estructura y composición de las membranas plasmáticas determinan los principales eventos celulares que tienen lugar durante los procesos de criopreservación; las bajas temperaturas afectan la difusión y ósmosis a través de las membranas y cada célula maneja su propio perfil biofísico el cual interactúa con diferentes criopreservantes celulares. El hallar el protocolo adecuado será lo que garantice la viabilidad y funcionabilidad celular.

Embrioscopía en aborto retenido / Embrioscopy in missed abortion

Objetivo: describir los hallazgos por embrioscopía transcervical en pacientes con aborto retenido, de diferentes semanas de gestación en primer trimestre. Institución: Medifértil, Bogotá, Colombia. Materiales y métodos: estudio descriptivotipo serie de casos. Pacientes con aborto retenido diagnosticado por ecografía; se describe el cariotipo de la muestra obtenida por legrado obstétrico posterior al procedimiento de embrioscopía. Resultados: el procedimiento fue realizado exitosamente a las seis pacientes, cuatro de las cuales presentaron alteraciones fenotípicas todas con cariotipo normal, un caso presentó trisomía 21 sin alteraciones fenotípicas y un caso en que se identificó degeneración hidrópica, correspondió a una mola parcial. Conclusión: la embrioscopía transcervical previa al legrado obstétrico podría ser una alternativa diagnóstica útil, principalmente en pacientes con pérdida temprana posterior a reproducción asistida y pérdida recurrente a la gestación.

Complicaciones materno fetales en pacientes con Síndrome de Turner. Reporte de dos casos manejados con donación de óvulos / Maternal-fetal complications in patients suffering from Turner syndrome. A report of two cases with oocyte donation

El Síndrome de Turner (ST) es la patología más frecuente que compromete los cromosomas sexuales, es causada por la ausencia completa o parcial del cromosoma X. Las implicaciones reproductivas de estos pacientes que se constituyen en infertilidad por una falla ovárica prematura y disgenesia gonadal, sugieren que el manejo indicado es la donación de óvulos asociada con la generación de embriones in vitro y su posterior transferencia, previa preparación endometrial. En este artículo se informan dos casos de ST manejados con ovodonación y sus implicaciones clínicas en el embarazo: Desproporción cefalo-pélvica por talla baja, complicaciones cardiovasculares que generan linfedema, lesiones aórticas y preeclampsia.

Importancia de la respuesta a la inducción de ovulación y la edad en el resultado de las técnicas de reproducción asistida / Importance of the response to the ovulation induction and the age in the result of the assisted reproduction techniques

Objetivo: este estudio pretendió analizar la eficacia de las técnicas de reproducción asistida en un grupo de pacientes con una respuesta disminuida a la estimulación ovárica (tres folículos o menos al finalizar la estimulación ovárica) y correlacionarla con la edad. Materiales y métodos: se describen 966 casos de pacientes sometidas a fertilización in vitro o inyección intracitoplasmática de espermatozoides, de las cuales 100 tuvieron una respuesta pobre. Resultados: el grupo de las "pobres respondedoras" en un 80 por ciento de los casos correspondió a mujeres mayores de 35 años, siendo el 46 por ciento mayor de 40. El promedio de embriones transferidos fue 1,59 para el grupo de estudio y 3,47 para el grupo control, con una tasa de implantación de 11,34 y 12,34 respectivamente. La tasa de embarazo fue menor en el grupo de las "pobres respondedoras" (16,39 por ciento) comparado con el grupo control (29,62 por ciento). Conclusiones: los resultados sugieren que las pacientes con una respuesta pobre a la inducción de ovulación (tres folículos o menos) tienen mayor riesgo de un resultado adverso al someterse a técnicas de reproducción asistida por la poca producción de ovocitos, lo cual limita la posibilidad de seleccionar los mejores embriones para transferir y aumenta la probabilidad de obtener embriones con anomalías cromosómicas.