Polymeric Inclusion Membranes Based on Ionic Liquids for Selective Separation of Metal Ions.

In this work, poly(vinyl chloride)-based polymeric ionic liquid inclusion membranes were used in the selective separation of Fe(III), Zn(II), Cd(II), and Cu(II) from hydrochloride aqueous solutions. The ionic liquids under study were 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, [omim+][PF6-] and methyl trioctyl ammonium chloride, [MTOA+][Cl-]. For this purpose, stability studies of different IL/base polymer compositions against aqueous phases were carried out. Among all polymer inclusion membranes studied, [omim+][PF6-]/PVC membranes at a ratio of 30/70 and [MTOA+][Cl-]/PVC membranes at a ratio of 70/30 were able to retain up to 82% and 48% of the weight of the initial ionic liquid, respectively, after being exposed to a solution of metal ions in 1 M HCl for 2048 h (85 days). It was found that polymer inclusion membranes based on the ionic liquid methyl trioctyl ammonium chloride allowed the selective separation of Zn(II)/Cu(II) and Zn(II)/Fe(III) mixtures with separation factors of 1996, 606 and, to a lesser extent but also satisfactorily, Cd(II)/Cu(II) mixtures, with a separation factor of 112. Therefore, selecting the appropriate ionic liquid/base polymer mixture makes it possible to create polymeric inclusion membranes capable of selectively separating target metal ions.

Science production of pesticide residues in honey research: A descriptive bibliometric study.

This work aims to provide a comprehensive study of the available research information on pesticide residues in honey through literature analysis. The research advancements within this research field from 1948 to 2019 are addressed using the Web of Science database. The results from the 685 articles analyzed indicate that this research field is in the focus of interest nowadays (Price index: 47.5%). The yearly production increased steadily from 2001 on, and authors, journals, and institutions followed Lotka's law. On the other hand, Pico, Y (Spain) (2.5%), Journal of Chromatography A (5.8%), the USA (15.0%) and Agricultural Research Service (USA) (4.0%) were the most productive author, journal, country and institution, respectively. The research hotspots of this field, according to keyword analysis, are related to the chromatographic techniques for the determination of pesticides such as imidacloprid, neonicotinoids, or coumaphos in honey and derivate products such as propolis and wax.

A descriptive bibliometric study on bioavailability of pesticides in vegetables, food or wine research (1976-2018).

A bibliometric analysis based on the Web of Science© (WOS) database was performed on bioavailability of pesticides in vegetables, food or wine related studies published from inception to 2018. A total of 1202 articles were subjected to examination. The results reveal that yearly production of scientific articles increased steadily. Journal and institution production, and author's keywords frequencies followed the Lotka's Law. Khan SU and White JC were the most productive authors. The most productive journals were Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (55), and Journal of Ethnopharmacology (48), and the most common WOS subject category was Pharmacology & Pharmacy (419). USA (h-index of 40) produced 21.7 % of all articles, closely followed by China (20.6 %). Chinese Academy of Sciences (34) was the most productive research institutions. Finally, current and future trends in this area should focus on keywords such as pharmacokinetics, curcumin, in-vitro, nanoparticles, oral (bioavailability) and cell.

Bioreactor Membranes for Laccase Immobilization Optimized by Ionic Liquids and Cross-Linking Agents.

A novel concept of membrane bioreactor based on polymeric ionic liquids laccase membrane has been implemented in batch process for decolorization of the anthraquinonic dye Remazol Brillant Blue R (RBBR). New laccase immobilization strategy has been optimized by casting the enzyme into a polymeric inclusion membrane (PIM) using ionic liquids (ILs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) leading to laccase polymeric IL membrane (PILM). Four different ILs (1-octyl-3-metylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [OMIM][NTF2]; cholinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [Ch ol][NTF2]; cholinium dihydrogenphosphate, [Chol][H2PO4] and hydroxyethylammonium formate, [HEA][Fo]) have been screened and mixed to constitute the active phase of the support of PIM. This strategy has been fully succeeded since high laccase immobilization rates were recorded (about 98%) when using the optimal mixture containing three ILs (45% [OMIM][NTf2]/5% [Chol][NTf2]/2.5% [HEA][Fo]) and supplemented by 0.5% glutaraldehyde. It was found that such mixture contributes to increase the stability and reusability of laccase-PILM during eight successive assays in a batch discontinued stirred reactor. Decolorization rate of 75% has been reached in the batch decolorization process of RBBR with high reusability yield. Graphical Abstract Decolorization of RBBR by PILM_laccase.

Candida spp. en la microbiota intestinal de las personas con autismo: revisión sistemática / Candida spp. in the gut microbiota of people with autism: a systematic review

Introducción. Existe gran interés en los estudios sobre las implicaciones que la microbiota intestinal ejerce en el comportamiento de personas con trastornos del espectro autista (TEA) a través del eje microbiota-intestino-cerebro. La mayoría de los estudios sobre microbiota están enfocados en la posible implicación de las bacterias sobre personas con TEA, pero pocos versan sobre el efecto de los microorganismos del reino Fungi. Sujetos y métodos. Se realiza una revisión sistemática mediante el protocolo PRISMA de la presencia de Candida spp. en las personas con TEA. Resultados. Se encontró un total de tres artículos tras aplicar los criterios de exclusión e inclusión de la revisión sistemática. Dos estudios coincidieron en mostrar diferencias significativas en el aumento de la frecuencia del género Candida spp. en personas con TEA, mientras que en otro no se hallaron diferencias. Conclusiones. Pese a que existe una clara falta de investigación tanto del género Candida ssp. como de todo el reino Fungi en las personas con TEA, los estudios apuntan a una importante presencia de dicho género en este colectivo. Concretamente, en los resultados encontrados se destaca la mayor prevalencia del género C. albicans en los niños con TEA. Sin embargo, aún se sabe poco sobre la implicación de Candida spp. y otros tipos de hongos sobre los síntomas gastrointestinales y la sintomatología del autismo en niños con TEA

Introduction. There is great interest in studies on the implications that gut microbiota exerts on the behavior of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), through the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Most studies on microbiota are focused on the possible involvement of bacteria on people with ASD, but few of them are focussed on the effect of microorganisms in the Fungi kingdom. Subjects and methods. The present study performs a systematic review of the presence of Candida spp. in people with ASD using the PRISMA method. Results. A total of three articles were found after applying the exclusion and inclusion criteria of the systematic review. Two studies coincided in reporting significant differences in the increase in the frequency of the Candida spp. genus in people with ASD. while the third study did not report significant differences of Candida spp. genus between people with ASD. Conclusions. Although there is a clear lack of investigation of both the Candida ssp. genus and the whole Fungi kingdom in people with ASD, the studies point to an important presence of this genre in this group. Specifically, in the results found in this review, the highest prevalence of the C. albicans in children with ASD stands out. However, little is still known about the involvement of Candida spp., and other types of fungi, on gastrointestinal symptoms and ASD symptoms, in children with ASD

Domestic wastewaters reuse reclaimed by an improved horizontal subsurface-flow constructed wetland: A case study in the southeast of Spain.

The aim of this case study was to assess the performance of a horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland (HF-CW) located in southeastern Spain, filled with blast furnace slags (BFS), planted with Phragmites australis and designed to treat artificially aerated domestic wastewater to produce effluents suitable for agriculture reuse. The water quality parameters, included in the Spanish regulations for reclaimed wastewater reuse as agricultural quality 2.1, were monitored for one year. Data for all studied parameters, except electrical conductivity (EC) and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), met the Spanish standards for reclaimed wastewater reuse due to the high evapotranspiration (ET) during the summer. The introduced improvements were effective for turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), total nitrogen (TN), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and, specially, for total phosphorus (TP) with an average abatement of 96.9±1.7%. The improved HF-CW achieved similar or better percentage abatements than those reported using some hybrid systems.

A whole biodiesel conversion process combining isolation, cultivation and in situ supercritical methanol transesterification of native microalgae.

A coupled process combining microalgae production with direct supercritical biodiesel conversion using a reduced number of operating steps is proposed in this work. Two newly isolated native microalgae strains, identified as Chlorella sp. and Nannochloris sp., were cultivated in both batch and continuous modes. Maximum productivities were achieved during continuous cultures with 318mg/lday and 256mg/lday for Chlorella sp. and Nannochloris sp., respectively. Microalgae were further characterized by determining their photosynthetic performance and nutrient removal efficiency. Biodiesel was produced by catalyst-free in situ supercritical methanol transesterification of wet unwashed algal biomass (75wt.% of moisture). Maximum biodiesel yields of 45.62wt.% and 21.79wt.% were reached for Chlorella sp. and Nannochloris sp., respectively. The analysis of polyunsaturated fatty acids of Chlorella sp. showed a decrease in their proportion when comparing conventional and supercritical transesterification processes (from 37.4% to 13.9%, respectively), thus improving the quality of the biodiesel.

Organosolv extraction of lignin from hydrolyzed almond shells and application of the delta-value theory.

The solubility of lignin from hydrolyzed almond (Prunus amygdalus) shells in different acetone, ethanol and dioxane-water mixtures and conditions (extraction time and temperature) was studied. The concept of the solubility parameter (delta-value) was applied to explain the effect of organic solvent concentration on lignin solubility. The organic solvent-water mixture that led to the highest lignin extraction was composed of a 75% vol. of organic solvent for all the solvent series investigated (acetone, ethanol and dioxane). Moreover, the best lignin extraction conditions were a temperature of 210 degrees C and an extraction time of 40 min for the acetone and ethanol series, and 25 min for the dioxane series. The delta-value of the hydrolyzed almond shell lignin [14.60 (cal/cm(3))(1/2)] and that of the organic solvent-water mixtures was calculated. The experimental delignification capacity of the aqueous organic solvents clearly reflected the proximity of their delta-value to that of lignin. The hydrogen-bonding capacity of the solvent-water mixtures was also taken into account.