Enhancing bioelectrochemical hydrogen production from industrial wastewater using Ni-foam cathodes in a microbial electrolysis cell pilot plant.

Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) have garnered significant attention as a promising solution for industrial wastewater treatment, enabling the simultaneous degradation of organic compounds and biohydrogen production. Developing efficient and cost-effective cathodes to drive the hydrogen evolution reaction is central to the success of MECs as a sustainable technology. While numerous lab-scale experiments have been conducted to investigate different cathode materials, the transition to pilot-scale applications remains limited, leaving the actual performance of these scaled-up cathodes largely unknown. In this study, nickel-foam and stainless-steel wool cathodes were employed as catalysts to critically assess hydrogen production in a 150 L MEC pilot plant treating sugar-based industrial wastewater. Continuous hydrogen production was achieved in the reactor for more than 80 days, with a maximum COD removal efficiency of 40 %. Nickel-foam cathodes significantly enhanced hydrogen production and energy efficiency at non-limiting substrate concentration, yielding the maximum hydrogen production ever reported at pilot-scale (19.07 ± 0.46 L H2 m-2 d-1 and 0.21 ± 0.01 m3 m-3 d-1). This is a 3.0-fold improve in hydrogen production compared to the previous stainless-steel wool cathode. On the other hand, the higher price of Ni-foam compared to stainless-steel should also be considered, which may constrain its use in real applications. By carefully analysing the energy balance of the system, this study demonstrates that MECs have the potential to be net energy producers, in addition to effectively oxidize organic matter in wastewater. While higher applied potentials led to increased energy requirements, they also resulted in enhanced hydrogen production. For our system, a conservative applied potential range from 0.9 to 1.0 V was found to be optimal. Finally, the microbial community established on the anode was found to be a syntrophic consortium of exoelectrogenic and fermentative bacteria, predominantly Geobacter and Bacteroides, which appeared to be well-suited to transform complex organic matter into hydrogen.

Continuous high-purity bioelectrochemical nitrogen recovery from high N-loaded wastewaters.

Microbial electrolysis cells (MEC) have been identified as an energy efficient system for ammonium recovery from wastewater. However, high ammonium concentrations at the anode can have inhibitory effects. This work aims to determine the effects on current generation performance and active ammonia nitrogen recovery in wastewater containing 0.5 to 2.5 g N-NH4+/L. The study also evaluates the effect of two cathode materials, stainless steel (SS-MEC) and nickel foam (NF-MEC). When the concentration of ammonium in the feed was increased from 0.5 to 1.5 g N-NH4+/L the maximum current density increased from 3.2 to 3.9 A/m2, but a further increase to 2.5 g N-NH4+/L inhibited the biofilm activity, decreasing the current density to 0.5 A/m2. The maximum ammonium removal and recovery efficiencies were 71 % and 33 % at 0.5 g N-NH4+/L. The SS-MEC exhibited more energy efficient ammonium recovery compared to the NF-MEC, requiring 3.6 kWh/kgN,recovered at 0.5 gN-NH4+/L. The highest ammonium recovery rate of 33 gN/m2/d (1.5 gN-NH4+/L) was obtained with an energy consumption of 4.5 kWh/kgN,recovered. Conversely, a lower recovery rate (10 gN/m2/d for 2.5 gN-NH4+/L) resulted in reduced energy consumption at 2.1 kWh/kgN,recovered. This highlights the inherent trade-off between energy consumption and efficient ammonium recovery in the process.

'It depends': what 86 systematic reviews tell us about what strategies to use to support the use of research in clinical practice.

BACKGROUND: The gap between research findings and clinical practice is well documented and a range of strategies have been developed to support the implementation of research into clinical practice. The objective of this study was to update and extend two previous reviews of systematic reviews of strategies designed to implement research evidence into clinical practice. METHODS: We developed a comprehensive systematic literature search strategy based on the terms used in the previous reviews to identify studies that looked explicitly at interventions designed to turn research evidence into practice. The search was performed in June 2022 in four electronic databases: Medline, Embase, Cochrane and Epistemonikos. We searched from January 2010 up to June 2022 and applied no language restrictions. Two independent reviewers appraised the quality of included studies using a quality assessment checklist. To reduce the risk of bias, papers were excluded following discussion between all members of the team. Data were synthesised using descriptive and narrative techniques to identify themes and patterns linked to intervention strategies, targeted behaviours, study settings and study outcomes. RESULTS: We identified 32 reviews conducted between 2010 and 2022. The reviews are mainly of multi-faceted interventions (n = 20) although there are reviews focusing on single strategies (ICT, educational, reminders, local opinion leaders, audit and feedback, social media and toolkits). The majority of reviews report strategies achieving small impacts (normally on processes of care). There is much less evidence that these strategies have shifted patient outcomes. Furthermore, a lot of nuance lies behind these headline findings, and this is increasingly commented upon in the reviews themselves. DISCUSSION: Combined with the two previous reviews, 86 systematic reviews of strategies to increase the implementation of research into clinical practice have been identified. We need to shift the emphasis away from isolating individual and multi-faceted interventions to better understanding and building more situated, relational and organisational capability to support the use of research in clinical practice. This will involve drawing on a wider range of research perspectives (including social science) in primary studies and diversifying the types of synthesis undertaken to include approaches such as realist synthesis which facilitate exploration of the context in which strategies are employed.

Evaluating the opportunities for mainstream P-recovery in anaerobic/anoxic/aerobic systems.

Mainstream P-recovery can help wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to effectively maintain good enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) while helping to recover P. In this study, a pilot-scale anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic (A2O) process was operated for simultaneous COD/N/P removal and P-recovery under different operational conditions. The operation with conventional extraction of waste activated sludge (WAS) from the aerobic reactor was compared to the mainstream P-recovery strategy of WAS extraction from the anaerobic reactor. Successful nutrient removal was obtained for both scenarios, but the anaerobic WAS extraction results improved polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) activity by increasing almost 27 % P concentration in the anaerobic reactor. WAS fermentation was also evaluated, showing that anaerobic WAS required only 3 days to reach a high P concentration, while the aerobic WAS fermentation required up to 7 days. The fermentation process increased the amount of soluble P available for precipitation from 24.4 % up to 51.6 % in the fermented anaerobic WAS scenario. Results obtained by precipitation modelling of these streams showed the limitations for struvite precipitation due to Ca2+ interference and Mg2+ and NH4+ as limiting species. The optimum precipitation scenario showed that P-recovery could reach up to 51 % of the input P, being 90 % struvite.

The Role of the Policy Process on Health Service Reconfigurations: Evidence, Path Dependency and Framing Comment on "'Attending to History' in Major System Change in Healthcare in England: Specialist Cancer Surgery Service Reconfiguration".

Historically healthcare services have largely developed on an incremental basis, with various piecemeal changes and some notable policy leaps that illustrate a punctuated equilibrium health policy process. More recently policy-makers have attempted, successfully and unsuccessfully, to reconfigure healthcare services to address perceived problems in the delivery of important services such as stroke, cancer, and trauma. Perry et al provide a welcome addition to research in this area by focusing on the importance of history in a reconfiguration of cancer services in Greater Manchester (GM). Perry et al analyse how and why this configuration was successful after several failed attempts in the past and in this commentary, I want to reflect on the explanatory role health policy analysis can contribute to studying the reconfiguration of healthcare services.

Exploring the stability of an A-stage-EBPR system for simultaneous biological removal of organic matter and phosphorus.

This work evaluates the performance and stability of a continuous anaerobic/aerobic A-stage system with integrated enhanced biological phosphorus removal (A-stage-EBPR) under different operational conditions. Dissolved oxygen (DO) in the aerobic reactor was tested in the 0.2-2 mgDO/L range using real wastewater amended with propionic acid, obtaining almost full simultaneous COD and P removal without nitrification in the range 0.5-1 mgDO/L, but failing at 0.2 mgDO/L. Anaerobic purge was tested to evaluate a possible mainstream P-recovery strategy, generating a P-enriched stream containing 22% of influent P. COD and N mass balances indicated that about 43% of the influent COD could be redirected to the anaerobic digestion for methane production and 66% of influent NH4+-N was discharged in the effluent for the following N-removal B-stage. Finally, when the system was switched to glutamate as sole carbon source, successful EBPR activity and COD removal were maintained for two months, but after this period settleability problems appeared with biomass loss. Microbial community analysis indicated that Propionivibrio, Thiothrix and Lewinella were the most abundant species when propionic acid was the carbon source and Propionivibrio was the most favoured with glutamate. Thiothrix, Hydrogenophaga, Dechloromonas and Desulfobacter appeared as the dominant polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) under different operation stages.

Synthesis of Nonisocyanate Poly(hydroxy)urethanes from Bis(cyclic carbonates) and Polyamines.

Nonisocyanate polyurethane materials with pending alcohol groups in the polymeric chain were synthesized by polyaddition reaction of bis(cyclic carbonates) onto diamines. For the platform molecule, 1,4-butanediol bis(glycidyl ether carbonate) (BGBC, 1) was used. The polyaddition reaction of 1 onto a wide range of diamines with different electronic and physical properties was explored. All PHUs were obtained quantitatively after 16 h at 80 °C temperature in MeCN as solvent. The low nucleophilicity of L-lysine has proven unable to ring-open the cyclic carbonate and, thus, no reaction occurred. The addition of DBU or TBD as the catalyst was tested and allows the obtention of the desired PHU. However, the presence of strong bases also led to the formation of polyurea fragments in the new PHU. The different poly(hydroxyurethane) materials were characterized using a wide range of spectroscopic techniques such as NMR, IR, MALDI-ToF, and using GPC studies. The thermal properties of the NIPUs were investigated by DSC and TGA analyses. Moreover, reactions employing different monomer ratios were performed, obtaining novel hydroxycarbamate compounds. Finally, sequential and one-pot experiments were also carried out to synthesize the PHUs polymers in one-step reaction.

Exploring GHG emissions in the mainstream SCEPPHAR configuration during wastewater resource recovery.

The wastewater sector paradigm is shifting from wastewater treatment to resource recovery. In addition, concerns regarding sustainability during the operation have increased. In this sense, many water utilities have become aware of the potential GHG emissions during the operation of wastewater treatment. This study assesses the nitrous oxide and methane emissions during the long-term operation of a novel wastewater resource recovery facility (WRRF) configuration: the mainstream SCEPPHAR. The long-term N2O and CH4 emission factors calculated were in the low range of the literature, 1 % and 0.1 %, respectively, even with high nitrite accumulation in the case of N2O. The dynamics and possible sources of production of these emissions are discussed. Finally, different aeration strategies were implemented to study the impact on the N2O emissions in the nitrifying reactor. Results showed that operating the pilot-plant under different dissolved oxygen concentrations (between 1 and 3 g O2 m-3) did not have an effect on the N2O emission factor. Intermittent aeration was the aeration strategy that most mitigated the N2O emissions in the nitrifying reactor, obtaining a reduction of 40 % compared to the normal operation of the pilot plant.

Genomic Survey and Resources for the Boring Giant Clam Tridacna crocea.

The boring giant clam Tridacna crocea is an evolutionary, ecologically, economically, and culturally important reef-dwelling bivalve targeted by a profitable ornamental fishery in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. In this study, we developed genomic resources for T. crocea. Using low-pass (=low-coverage, ~6×) short read sequencing, this study, for the first time, estimated the genome size, unique genome content, and nuclear repetitive elements, including the 45S rRNA DNA operon, in T. crocea. Furthermore, we tested if the mitochondrial genome can be assembled from RNA sequencing data. The haploid genome size estimated using a k-mer strategy was 1.31-1.39 Gbp, which is well within the range reported before for other members of the family Cardiidae. Unique genome content estimates using different k-mers indicated that nearly a third and probably at least 50% of the genome of T. crocea was composed of repetitive elements. A large portion of repetitive sequences could not be assigned to known repeat element families. Taking into consideration only annotated repetitive elements, the most common were classified as Satellite DNA which were more common than Class I-LINE and Class I-LTR Ty3-gypsy retrotransposon elements. The nuclear ribosomal operon in T. crocea was partially assembled into two contigs, one encoding the complete ssrDNA and 5.8S rDNA unit and a second comprising a partial lsrDNA. A nearly complete mitochondrial genome (92%) was assembled from RNA-seq. These newly developed genomic resources are highly relevant for improving our understanding of the biology of T. crocea and for the development of conservation plans and the fisheries management of this iconic reef-dwelling invertebrate.

A plant-wide model describing GHG emissions and nutrient recovery options for water resource recovery facilities.

In this study, a plant-wide model describing the fate of C, N and P compounds, upgraded to account for (on-site/off-site) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, was implemented within the International Water Association (IWA) Benchmarking Simulation Model No. 2 (BSM2) framework. The proposed approach includes the main biological N2O production pathways and mechanistically describes CO2 (biogenic/non-biogenic) emissions in the activated sludge reactors as well as the biogas production (CO2/CH4) from the anaerobic digester. Indirect GHG emissions for power generation, chemical usage, effluent disposal and sludge storage and reuse are also included using static factors for CO2, CH4 and N2O. Global and individual mass balances were quantified to investigate the fluxes of the different components. Novel strategies, such as the combination of different cascade controllers in the biological reactors and struvite precipitation in the sludge line, were proposed in order to obtain high plant performance as well as nutrient recovery and mitigation of the GHG emissions in a plant-wide context. The implemented control strategies led to an overall more sustainable and efficient plant performance in terms of better effluent quality, reduced operational cost and lower GHG emissions. The lowest N2O and overall GHG emissions were achieved when ammonium and soluble nitrous oxide in the aerobic reactors were controlled and struvite was recovered in the reject water stream, achieving a reduction of 27% for N2O and 9% for total GHG, compared to the open loop configuration.

Characterization of the Complete Mitochondrial Genome of the Bromeliad Crab Metopaulias depressus (Rathbun, 1896) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Sesarmidae).

Metopaulias depressus is a non-marine crab endemic to Jamaica that dwells in rainforest bromeliads and exhibits elaborate active parental care behavior. Current genomic resources on M. depressus are rare, limiting the understanding of its adaptation to terrestrial life in species that evolved from marine ancestors. This study reports the complete mitochondrial genome of M. depressus assembled using Sanger sequencing. The AT-rich mitochondrial genome of M. depressus is 15,765 bp in length and comprises 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and 22 transfer RNA genes. A single 691 bp-long intergenic space is assumed to be the control region (CR) or D-loop. A set of selective pressure analyses indicate that the entirety of the PCGs experience purifying selection. Cox1, cox2, nad5, cox3, and atp6 experience strong purifying selection, and atp8 experiences weak purifying selection compared to the rest of the PCGs. The secondary structures of most tRNA genes exhibit a standard 'cloverleaf' structure, with the exception of trnS1, which lacks the dihydroxyuridine (DHU) arm but not the loop, the trnH gene, which lacks the thymine pseudouracil cytosine (T) loop but not the arm, and trnM, which exhibits an overly developed T loop. A maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis based on all PCGs indicated that M. depressus is more closely related to the genera Clistocoeloma, Nanosesarma, and Parasesarma than to Chiromantes, Geosesarma, and Orisarma. This study contributes to deciphering the phylogenetic relationships within the family Sesarmidae and represents a new genomic resource for this iconic crab species.

A review on the integration of mainstream P-recovery strategies with enhanced biological phosphorus removal.

Phosphorus (P), an essential nutrient for all organisms, urgently needs to be recovered due to the increasing demand and scarcity of this natural resource. Recovering P from wastewater is a feasible and promising way widely studied nowadays due to the need to remove P in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). When enhanced biological P removal (EBPR) is implemented, an innovative option is to recover P from the supernatant streams obtained in the mainstream water line, and then combine it with liquor-crystallisation recovery processes, being the final recovered product struvite, vivianite or hydroxyapatite. The basic idea of these mainstream P-recovery strategies is to take advantage of the ability of polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAO) to increase P concentration under anaerobic conditions when some carbon source is available. This work shows the mainstream P-recovery technologies reported so far, both in continuous and sequenced batch reactors (SBR) based configurations. The amount of extraction, as a key parameter to balance the recovery efficiency and the maintenance of the EBPR of the system, should be the first design criterion. The maximum value of P-recovery efficiency for long-term operation with an adequate extraction ratio would be around 60%. Other relevant factors (e.g. COD/P ratio of the influent, need for an additional carbon source) and operational parameters (e.g. aeration, SRT, HRT) are also reported and discussed.

Perfil de composición corporal en militares élite chilenos / Body composition profile of elite Chilean military

RESUMEN: La Bioimpedancia Eléctrica (BIA), al ser una técnica no invasiva pero de elevada precisión, se ha convertido en la actualidad en una herramienta valiosa para determinar la composición corporal en militares, facilitado el control de las distintas variables que se asocian a cada especialidad. El objetivo del presente estudio fue describir el perfil de composición corporal en militares de elite al momento de finalizar un curso de especialización. Participaron 11 militares con un rango de edad entre 22 y 29 años. Se evalúo la composición corporal a través de BIA, inmediatamente después de finalizado un curso de especialización para militares de élite. Las evaluaciones en los militares sobre las variables de la composición corporal a través de BIA mostraron: peso corporal de 84,3 ± 4,52 kg, talla 1,78 ± 0,06 m, índice de masa corporal (IMC) 26,5 ± 1,09, tejido adiposo de 13,7 ± 3,65 %, tejido muscular 49,5 ± 2,34 %, masa libre de grasa 72,7 ± 5,23 kg y 53,2 ± 3,78 l de agua corporal total. Conclusiones: Los militares de elite presentaron elevados niveles de masa libre de grasa, tejido muscular y bajos niveles de tejido adiposo lo que favorece el desarrollo de las actividades militares especializadas y disminuye el riesgo de lesiones. Los datos aquí recogidos sirven como marco de referencia para futuros estudios.

SUMMARY: Electrical bioimpedance (BIA), being a non- invasive technique but with high precision, has become a valuable tool for determining body composition in the military, facilitating the control of the different variables associated with each specialty. The aim of the present study was to describe the body composition profile of elite military personnel at the end of a specialization course. Eleven military personnel between 22 and 29 years of age participated in the study. Body composition was assessed by BIA immediately after completion of a specialization course for elite military personnel. Assessments in the military on body composition variables through BIA showed: body weight of 84.3 ± 4.52 kg, height 1.78 ± 0.06 m, body mass index (BMI) 26.5 ± 1.09, adipose tissue of 13.7 ± 3.65 %, muscle tissue 49.5 ± 2.34 %, fat free mass 72.7 ± 5.23 kg and 53.2 ± 3.78 l of total body water. Conclusions: Elite military personnel presented high levels of fat free mass, muscle tissue and low levels of adipose tissue which favors the development of specialized military activities and decreases the risk of injury. The data collected here serve as a frame of reference for future studies.

First report of an egg-predator nemertean worm in crabs from the south-eastern Pacific coast: Carcinonemertes camanchaco sp. nov.

Nemertean worms belonging to the genus Carcinonemertes have been tied to the collapse of crab fisheries in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. A new species is described from egg masses of two commercial crabs, Cancer porteri and Romaleon setosum, inhabiting the central-north Chilean coast. This is the first species of Carcinonemertes described from the southeastern Pacific Ocean. Total body length of Carcinonemertes camanchaco sp. nov. ranged from 2.38 to 4.93 and from 4.29 to 8.92 mm, in males and females, respectively. Among others, traits that distinguish this new species from other previously described congeneric species include: presence of two gonad rows on each side of the intestine, a simple (not decorated) mucus sheath, and a relatively wide stylet basis. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference phylogenetic analyses distinguished this new species from all other species of Carcinonemertes with available cox1 sequences in GenBank. Prevalence and mean (± SD) intensity of C. camanchaco sp. nov. was 24% and 2.6 (± 2.07) worms per egg mass in C. porteri and 38.1% and 3.8 (± 2.4) worms per egg mass in R. setosum. The formal description of this new species represents the first step towards the understanding of this worm's impact on the health of crab fisheries in the southeastern Pacific Ocean.

The mitochondrial genome of Faughnia haani (Stomatopoda): novel organization of the control region and phylogenetic position of the superfamily Parasquilloidea.

BACKGROUND: Stomatopod crustaceans are aggressive marine predators featuring complex compound eyes and powerful raptorial appendages used for "smashing" or "spearing" prey and/or competitors. Among them, parasquilloids (superfamily Parasquilloidea) possess eyes with 2-3 midband rows of hexagonal ommatidia and spearing appendages. Here, we assembled and analyzed the complete mitochondrial genome of the parasquilloid Faughnia haani and explored family- and superfamily-level phylogenetic relationships within the Stomatopoda based on mitochondrial protein coding genes (PCGs). RESULTS: The mitochondrial genome of F. haani is 16,089 bp in length and encodes 13 protein coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and a control region that is relatively well organized, containing 2 GA-blocks, 4 poly-T stretches, various [TA(A)]n-blocks, and 2 hairpin structures. This organized control region is likely a synapomorphic characteristic in the Stomatopoda. Comparison of the control region among superfamilies shows that parasquilloid species are more similar to gonodactyloids than to squilloids and lysiosquilloids given the presence of various  poly-T stretches between the hairpin structures and [TA(A)]n-blocks. Synteny is identical to that reported for other stomatopods and corresponds to the Pancrustacea ground pattern. A maximum-likelihood phylogenetic tree based on PCGs revealed that Parasquilloidea is sister to Lysiosquilloidea and Gonodactyloidea and not to Squilloidea, contradicting previous phylogenetic studies. CONCLUSIONS: The novel phylogenetic position of Parasquilloidea revealed by our study indicates that 'spearing' raptorial appendages are plesiomorphic and that the 'smashing' type is either derived (as reported in previous studies) or apomorphic. Our results raise the possibility that the spearing raptorial claw may have independently evolved twice. The superfamily Parasquilloidea exhibits a closer relationship with other stomatopod superfamilies with a different raptorial claw type and with dissimilar numbers of midband rows of hexagonal ommatidia. Additional studies focusing on the assembly of mitochondrial genomes from species belonging to different genera, families, and superfamilies within the order Stomatopoda are warranted to reach a robust conclusion regarding the evolutionary history of this iconic clade based on mitochondrial PCGs.

Understanding professional stratification and hybridisation in the medical profession: exploratory evidence from Brazilian federal university hospitals / Comprendiendo la estratificación e hibridación profesional en la profesión médica: evidencia exploratoria de los hospitales universitarios federales de Brasil / Compreendendo a estratificação profissional e hibridização na profissão médica: evidências exploratórias de hospitais universitários federais brasileiros

Abstract This paper explores drivers, implications, and trends of professional stratification and hybridisation in the medical profession employed in Brazilian substituir por: federal university hospitals (HUFs). Drawing on exploratory findings, we examine some repercussions of the migration of university hospitals to EBSERH, a public company established by the federal government to manage and organise HUFs integrated into the Unified Health System (SUS). Our research shows that transferring hospital administration to EBSERH has led to further internal stratification of the medical workforce. The shift from the logic of medical-academic professionalism to the new logic of business-like healthcare, with the adoption of distinct job contracts and more managerial logics of work and control, may well be changing subjective and formal links established between professionals, universities, and hospitals. We identify and discuss trends towards hybridisation and dehybridisation. These findings are relevant because this shift can have profound implications for the academic nature of HUFs and for the future of professionalism within these health and teaching organisations.

Resumen Este artículo explora impulsores, implicaciones y tendencias de la estratificación y la hibridación profesional en la profesión médica empleada en los hospitales universitarios federales brasileños (HUFs). A partir de hallazgos exploratorios, examinamos algunas de las repercusiones de la migración de los hospitales universitarios a la EBSERH, una empresa pública creada por el gobierno federal para administrar y organizar los HUFs integrados en el Sistema Único de Salud (SUS). Nuestra investigación muestra que la transferencia de la administración hospitalaria a la EBSERH ha llevado a una mayor estratificación interna de la fuerza laboral médica. El cambio de la lógica del profesionalismo médico-académico a una lógica empresarial en salud, con la adopción de diferentes regímenes de empleo y modos de trabajo y control más gerenciales, puede estar alterando los vínculos subjetivos y formales que se establecen entre los profesionales, las universidades y los hospitales involucrados. Se identifican y discuten tendencias hacia la hibridación y deshibridación. Estos hallazgos son relevantes porque tales cambios pueden tener profundas implicaciones para la naturaleza académica de los HUFs, así como para el futuro del profesionalismo dentro de estas organizaciones de salud y educación.

Resumo: Este artigo explora motivadores, implicações e tendências de estratificação e hibridização profissional na profissão médica atuante em hospitais universitários federais brasileiros (HUFs). Com base em achados exploratórios, examinamos algumas das repercussões da migração dos hospitais universitários para a EBSERH, uma empresa pública criada pelo governo federal para gerenciar e organizar os HUFs vinculados ao Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). A pesquisa mostra que a transferência da administração hospitalar para a EBSERH tem acarretado maior estratificação interna da força de trabalho médica. A mudança da lógica de profissionalismo médico-acadêmico para uma nova lógica empresarial de saúde, com a adoção de distintos regimes empregatícios e formas de trabalho e controle mais gerenciais, podem estar alterando vínculos subjetivos e formais estabelecidos entre os profissionais, as universidades e os hospitais envolvidos. Tendências em direção à hibridização e desibridização foram identificadas e discutidas. Esses achados são relevantes tendo em vista que tais movimentos podem representar implicações profundas para a natureza acadêmica dos HUFs e para o futuro do profissionalismo nessas organizações de saúde e ensino.

Efficient Bulky Organo-Zinc Scorpionates for the Stereoselective Production of Poly(rac-lactide)s.

The direct reaction of the highly sterically demanding acetamidinate-based NNN'-scorpionate protioligand Hphbptamd [Hphbptamd = N,N'-di-p-tolylbis(3,5-di-tertbutylpyrazole-1-yl)acetamidine] with one equiv. of ZnMe2 proceeds in high yield to the mononuclear alkyl zinc complex [ZnMe(κ3-phbptamd)] (1). Alternatively, the treatment of the corresponding lithium precursor [Li(phbptamd)(THF)] with ZnCl2 yielded the halide complex [ZnCl(κ3-phbptamd)] (2). The X-ray crystal structure of 1 confirmed unambiguously a mononuclear entity in these complexes, with the zinc centre arranged with a pseudotetrahedral environment and the scorpionate ligand in a κ3-coordination mode. Interestingly, the inexpensive, low-toxic and easily prepared complexes 1 and 2 resulted in highly efficient catalysts for the ring-opening polymerisation of lactides, a sustainable bio-resourced process industrially demanded. Thus, complex 1 behaved as a single-component robust initiator for the living and immortal ROP of rac-lactide under very mild conditions after a few hours, reaching a TOF value up to 5520 h-1 under bulk conditions. Preliminary kinetic studies revealed apparent zero-order dependence on monomer concentration in the absence of a cocatalyst. The PLA materials produced exhibited narrow dispersity values, good agreement between the experimental Mn values and monomer/benzyl alcohol ratios, as well as enhanced levels of heteroselectivity, reaching Ps values up to 0.74.

Implementation of a Sulfide-Air Fuel Cell Coupled to a Sulfate-Reducing Biocathode for Elemental Sulfur Recovery.

Bio-electrochemical systems (BES) are a flexible biotechnological platform that can be employed to treat several types of wastewaters and recover valuable products concomitantly. Sulfate-rich wastewaters usually lack an electron donor; for this reason, implementing BES to treat the sulfate and the possibility of recovering the elemental sulfur (S0) offers a solution to this kind of wastewater. This study proposes a novel BES configuration that combines bio-electrochemical sulfate reduction in a biocathode with a sulfide-air fuel cell (FC) to recover S0. The proposed system achieved high elemental sulfur production rates (up to 386 mg S0-S L-1 d-1) with 65% of the sulfate removed recovered as S0 and a 12% lower energy consumption per kg of S0 produced (16.50 ± 0.19 kWh kg-1 S0-S) than a conventional electrochemical S0 recovery system.

Nitrite and nitrate inhibition thresholds for a glutamate-fed bio-P sludge.

Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) is an efficient and sustainable technology to remove phosphorus from wastewater. A widely known cause of EBPR deterioration in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is the presence of nitrate/nitrite or oxygen in the anaerobic reactor. Moreover, most existing studies on the effect of either permanent aerobic conditions or inhibition of EBPR by nitrate or free nitrous acid (FNA) have been conducted with a "Candidatus Accumulibacter" or Tetrasphaera-enriched sludge, which are the two major reported groups of polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAO) with key roles in full-scale EBPR WWTPs. This work reports the denitrification capabilities of a bio-P microbial community developed using glutamate as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen. This bio-P sludge exhibited a high denitrifying PAO (DPAO) activity, in fact, 56% of the phosphorus was uptaken under anoxic conditions. Furthermore, this mixed culture was able to use nitrite and nitrate as electron acceptor for P-uptake, being 1.8 µg HNO2-N·L-1 the maximum FNA concentration at which P-uptake can occur. Net P-removal was observed under permanent aerobic conditions. However, this microbial culture was more sensitive to FNA and permanent aerobic conditions compared to "Ca. Accumulibacter"-enriched sludge.

Ring-Opening Copolymerization of Cyclohexene Oxide and Cyclic Anhydrides Catalyzed by Bimetallic Scorpionate Zinc Catalysts.

The catalytic activity and high selectivity reported by bimetallic heteroscorpionate acetate zinc complexes in ring-opening copolymerization (ROCOP) reactions involving CO2 as substrate encouraged us to expand their use as catalysts for ROCOP of cyclohexene oxide (CHO) and cyclic anhydrides. Among the catalysts tested for the ROCOP of CHO and phthalic anhydride at different reaction conditions, the most active catalytic system was the combination of complex 3 with bis(triphenylphosphine)iminium as cocatalyst in toluene at 80 °C. Once the optimal catalytic system was determined, the scope in terms of other cyclic anhydrides was broadened. The catalytic system was capable of copolymerizing selectively and efficiently CHO with phthalic, maleic, succinic and naphthalic anhydrides to afford the corresponding polyester materials. The polyesters obtained were characterized by spectroscopic, spectrometric, and calorimetric techniques. Finally, the reaction mechanism of the catalytic system was proposed based on stoichiometric reactions.