Classification and characterisation of SRF produced from different flows of processed MSW in the Navarra region and its co-combustion performance with olive tree pruning residues.

The scope of this work is to study the co-combustion of a solid recovered fuel (SRF) produced from household wastes and packaging wastes recovered from selective collection (SC) in the autonomous community of Navarra, located in the northeast of Spain. The municipal solid waste (MSW) is subjected to a mechanical biological treatment (MBT) in order to stabilize the organic matter and recover the recyclable materials as it is done for packaging wastes. Afterwards, rejects from this treatment plant were preconditioned and compressed by a pelletizing process to produce a secondary fuel according to quality and classification criteria of EN 15359, producing the so-called SRF. A fuel characterisation was carried out according to CEN standards and the SRF was classified as follows: NCV 2; Cl 3; Hg 1. SRF pellets were cofired with residual biomass pellets from olive tree pruning (OTP) in a bubbling fluidised bed combustor, as an option of energy recovery. The mixture of fuels, with a mixing ratio close to 50% by weight, showed a significant calorific value of 18.25 MJ/kg at 8% of moisture content. In addition, elemental composition of the mixture based on nitrogen (N), sulphur (S) and chlorine (Cl) (1% N, 0.2% S and 0.4% Cl) was not far from some herbaceous biomasses. The co-combustion showed good results as an energy recovery technology because of the synergies of both fuels, improving notably the combustion conditions and reducing significantly CO concentration, regarding to the combustion of OTP, though other contaminants such as NOx and HCl increased. During eight hours of stable operation, the concentration of dioxins and furans was measured obtaining a value of 7.68 ng/Nm(3) (toxic equivalence: i-TEQ of 0.33 ng/Nm(3)). Proportions of SRF lower than 50% in the mixtures should be tested in order to cut down the emissions of these pollutants, or an abatement system for organochloride compounds may be required.

Eficacia y seguridad de tamsulosina para el tratamiento conservador del cólico nefrítico: revisión sistemática con metaanálisis de ensayos clínicos aleatorizados / Tamsulosin efficacy and safety for conservative management of renal colic: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Fundamento y objetivo: El objetivo fue evaluar la eficacia y seguridad de tamsulosina, comparada con otro tratamiento estándar o con placebo, en la expulsión de las litiasis ureterales distales. Material y métodos: Se realizaron búsquedas sistemáticas en PubMed, SCOPUS y The Cochrane Library para identificar los ensayos clínicos aleatorizados y controlados en pacientes tratados con tamsulosina con resultados de expulsión de litiasis ureteral y de episodios adversos, publicados hasta diciembre de 2014, sin limitaciones de idioma. Se calculó el efecto de los tratamientos junto con el intervalo de confianza del 95% (IC 95%) utilizando el método de la inversa de la variancia para efectos aleatorios. La heterogeneidad se determinó mediante el estadístico I2. El sesgo de publicación se evaluó mediante la prueba de Egger. Resultados: La búsqueda identificó 480 artículos. Treinta y ocho cumplían los criterios de selección, con un total de 3.107 participantes. El riesgo relativo (RR) de expulsión de litiasis de los pacientes tratados con tamsulosina comparado con el tratamiento control fue de 1,53 (IC 95% 1,38-1,69; I2 = 71%). El RR de cualquier episodio adverso de tamsulosina fue de 1,79 (IC 95% 1,19-2,71; I2 = 0%). Conclusiones: El tratamiento con tamsulosina parece favorecer la expulsión de litiasis renales, aunque con un riesgo no desdeñable de efectos secundarios (AU)

Background and objective: The aim is to evaluate tamsulosin efficacy and safety on the expulsion of distal ureteral stones compared to a standard therapy. Material and methods: Systematic searches were conducted on PubMed, SCOPUS and The Cochrane Library so as to identify randomized and controlled clinical trials in patients treated with tamsulosin with ureteral stone expulsion and adverse events published until 2014 December, without language restriction. Treatment effect was calculated along with the 95% confidence interval (95% CI), using the variance inverse method for random effects. Heterogeneity was determined by I2. Publication bias was assessed by Egger test. Results: The search identified 480 articles. Thirty-eight met the selection criteria, a total of 3,107 patients. The relative risk (RR) of expulsion was 1.53 (95% CI 1.38-1.69; I2 = 71%.), while the RR of adverse effects was 1.79 (95% CI 1.19-2,71; I2 = 0). Conclusions: Tamsulosin treatment seems to bring on the expulsion of distal ureteral stones, although at the expense of an appreciable risk of side effects (AU)

[Use of gene therapy in a subcutaneous murine model of lung cancer]. / Aplicación de tratamiento génico a un modelo subcutáneo de cáncer de pulmón murino.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of in vivo gene therapy to treat subcutaneous tumors generated from murine lung cancer cells. MATERIAL AND METHODS: C57BL/6 mice received subcutaneus injections of 5 x 105 cells from the murine Lewis lung cancer cell line. By 10 days, subcutaneous tumors of approximately 5 mm diameter were formed. At that point, treatment was provided by intratumor injection of a replication-defective recombinant adenovirus carrying the gene for thymidine kinase (AdCMV-Tk) or interleukin (IL) 12 (AdCMV-IL12), or by injection of syngeneic dendritic cells previously transduced with adenovirus containing the IL-12 gene (DC-IL12). Control groups were treated with saline or adenovirus containing the gene for beta-galactosidase (AdCMV-LacZ), which functions as a reporter gene and does not have a therapeutic effect. The number of animals in each group ranged from 14 to 25 in experiments using adenovirus and from 10 to 12 in experiments using dendritic cells. Tumor size was followed for 3 weeks in the case of treatment with adenovirus and 4 weeks for treatment with dendritic cells. RESULTS: A significant reduction in subcutaneous tumor growth was observed in the groups treated with AdCMV-Tk, AdCMV-IL12, and DC-IL12 compared with control groups treated with saline or AdCMV-LacZ. The difference was statistically significant from day 7 of treatment in the AdCMV-Tk group, from day 9 in the AdCMV-IL12 group, and from day 10 in the DC-IL12 group, and in all cases it was maintained until the end of the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: Gene therapy with AdCMV-Tk, AdCMV-IL12, or DC-IL12 is effective in our model of subcutaneous tumors arising from cells of the Lewis lung cancer cell line. The treatment leads to a significant reduction in tumor growth compared with control groups.

Aplicación de tratamiento génico a un modelo subcutáneo de cáncer de pulmón murino / Use of gene therapy in a subcutaneous murine model of lung cancer

Objetivo: Demostrar la utilidad del tratamiento génico (TG) in vivo en los tumores subcutáneos de cáncer de pulmón murino. Material y métodos: Se inyectaron a ratones C57BL/6 por vía subcutánea 5 x 105 células de la línea de cáncer de pulmón murino de Lewis. A los 10 días se formaron tumores subcutáneos de unos 5 mm de diámetro. En ese momento se trataron mediante inyección intratumoral con un adenovirus recombinante defectivo portador del gen de la timidincinasa (AdCMV-Tk), o del gen de la interleucina 12 (AdCMV-IL12), o con células dendríticas (CD) singénicas transducidas con el gen de la interleucina 12 (CD-IL12). Como grupos control se incluyeron tumores tratados con suero salino o con un adenovirus con el gen de la β-galactosidasa (AdCMV-LacZ), que es un gen indicador sin efecto terapéutico. El número de animales por grupo osciló entre 14 y 25 con adenovirus y entre 10 y 12 con CD. A continuación se realizó un seguimiento del tamaño tumoral desde el primer día de tratamiento hasta la tercera (adenovirus) o cuarta (CD) semanas para comparar su evolución. Resultados: Se objetivó una disminución significativa del crecimiento de los tumores subcutáneos en los grupos tratados con AdCMV-Tk, AdCMV-IL12 y CD-IL12 comparados con los grupos control tratados con suelo salino y AdCMV-LacZ. En el grupo AdCMV-Tk esta diferencia fue estadísticamente significativa desde el día 7, en AdCMV-IL12 desde el día 9 y en CD-IL12 desde el día 10 y se mantuvo hasta el final del seguimiento. Conclusiones: El TG con AdCMV-Tk, AdCMV-IL12 o CD-IL12 es efectivo en nuestro modelo de tumores subcutáneos de células de carcinoma pulmonar de Lewis, ya que es capaz de disminuir su tasa de crecimiento de forma significativa respecto a los grupos de control

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of in vivo gene therapy to treat subcutaneous tumors generated from murine lung cancer cells. Material and methods: C57BL/6 mice received subcutaneus injections of 5 x 105 cells from the murine Lewis lung cancer cell line. By 10 days, subcutaneous tumors of approximately 5 mm diameter were formed. At that point, treatment was provided by intratumor injection of a replication-defective recombinant adenovirus carrying the gene for thymidine kinase (AdCMV-Tk) or interleukin (IL) 12 (AdCMV-IL12), or by injection of syngeneic dendritic cells previously transduced with adenovirus containing the IL-12 gene (DC-IL12). Control groups were treated with saline or adenovirus containing the gene for β-galactosidase (AdCMV-LacZ), which functions as a reporter gene and does not have a therapeutic effect. The number of animals in each group ranged from 14 to 25 in experiments using adenovirus and from 10 to 12 in experiments using dendritic cells. Tumor size was followed for 3 weeks in the case of treatment with adenovirus and 4 weeks for treatment with dendritic cells. Results: A significant reduction in subcutaneous tumor growth was observed in the groups treated with AdCMV-Tk, AdCMV-IL12, and DC-IL12 compared with control groups treated with saline or AdCMV-LacZ. The difference was statistically significant from day 7 of treatment in the AdCMV-Tk group, from day 9 in the AdCMV-IL12 group, and from day 10 in the DC-IL12 group, and in all cases it was maintained until the end of the follow-up period. Conclusions: Gene therapy with AdCMV-Tk, AdCMV-IL12, or DC-IL12 is effective in our model of subcutaneous tumors arising from cells of the Lewis lung cancer cell line. The treatment leads to a significant reduction in tumor growth compared with control groups