The present paper compared, through life cycle assessment (LCA), the production of aviation biofuel from two hydrothermal routes of microalgae cultivated in wastewater. Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) and gasification followed by Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (G + FT) were compared. Both routes included biomass production, hydrotreatment for biofuel upgrading, and product fractionation. Secondary data obtained from the literature were used for the cradle-to-gate LCA. G + FT had a higher impact than HTL in the 18 impact categories assessed, with human carcinogenic toxicity exerting the most harmful pressure on the environment. The catalysts were the inputs that caused the most adverse emissions. The solvent used for bio-oil separation also stood out in terms of impacts. In HTL, emissions for global warming were -51.6 g CO2 eq/MJ, while in G + FT, they were 250 g CO2 eq/MJ. At the Endpoint level, HTL resulted in benefits to human health and ecosystems, while G + FT caused environmental damage in these two categories, as well as in the resources category. In the improvement scenarios, besides considering solid, aqueous, and gaseous products as co-products rather than just as waste/emissions, a 20% reduction in catalyst consumption and 90% recovery were applied. Thus, in HTL, 39.47 kg CO2 eq was avoided, compared to 35.44 kg CO2 eq in the base scenario. In G + FT, emissions decreased from 147.55 kg CO2 eq to the capture of 8.60 kg CO2 eq.

Reducing aviation emissions is important as they contribute to air pollution and climate change. Several alternative aviation fuels that may reduce life cycle emissions have been proposed. Comparative life cycle assessments (LCAs) of fuels are useful for inspecting individual fuels, but systemwide analysis remains difficult. Thus, systematic properties like fleet composition, performance, or emissions and changes to them under alternative fuels can only be partially addressed in LCAs. By integrating the geospatial fuel and emission model, AviTeam, with LCA, we can assess the mitigation potential of a fleetwide use of alternative aviation fuels on 210 000 shorter haul flights. In an optimistic case, liquid hydrogen (LH2) and power-to-liquid fuels, when produced with renewable electricity, may reduce emissions by about 950 GgCO2eq when assessed with the GWP100 metric and including non-CO2 impacts for all flights considered. Mitigation potentials range from 44% on shorter flights to 56% on longer flights. Alternative aviation fuels\' mitigation potential is limited because of short-lived climate forcings and additional fuel demand to accommodate LH2 fuel. Our results highlight the importance of integrating system models into LCAs and are of value to researchers and decision-makers engaged in climate change mitigation in the aviation and transport sectors.

Diabetes mellitus (DM), due to its long-term hyperglycemia, leads to the accumulation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), especially in the vessel walls. Skin autofluorescence (SAF) is a non-invasive tool that measures AGEs. DM patients have a rich dietary source in AGEs, associated with high oxidative stress and long-term inflammation. AGEs represent a cardiovascular (CV) risk factor, and they are linked with CV events. Our objective was to assess whether SAF predicts future CV events (CVE) by examining its association with other CV risk factors in patients with type 2 DM (T2DM). Additionally, we assessed the strengths and limitations of SAF as a predictive tool for CVE. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses methodology, we conducted a systematic review with CRD42024507397 protocol, focused on AGEs, T2DM, SAF, and CV risk. We identified seven studies from 2014 to 2024 that predominantly used the AGE Reader Diagnostic Optic tool. The collective number of patients involved is 8934, with an average age of 63. So, SAF is a valuable, non-invasive marker for evaluating CV risk in T2DM patients. It stands out as a CV risk factor associated independently with CVE. SAF levels are influenced by prolonged hyperglycemia, lifestyle, aging, and other chronic diseases such as depression, and it can be used as a predictive tool for CVE.

In this paper, we present a voxel-based phantom of Medaka fish that can be used to assess the internal radiation doses that would be absorbed by different organs of this fish species if exposed to radioactive wastewater released into the ocean. The geometric model for fish was generated based on available Wavefront Object files for smooth-bodied Medaka fish organs, whereas due to the lack of Medaka fish material specification, the material model was constructed using material data appropriate to ICRP 110 adult male voxel-based phantom. Absorbed Fractions (AFs) and Specific Absorbed Fractions (SAFs) were calculated for eight organs of major interest as sources and for each organ as target at a set of discrete photon, electron, alpha and neutron energies. To validate the present model the calculated AFs in the studied organs were compared to ones obtained in similar organs in a voxel-based phantom of another teleost fish species called Limanda limanda. The results presented are consistent with the reference dosimetric data. We concluded that the Medaka model can be used in radioecology research to improve marine radiation protection.

In the present work, a new Monte Carlo Geant4 based code called InterDosi 1.0, was used to simulate specific absorbed fractions (SAFs) in the six reference pediatric voxel-based phantoms developed by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). The aim of this study was to assess the ability of this code to estimate SAFs in a variety of voxel-based phantoms. A large number of photon SAFs were calculated for pairs of organs corresponding to three sources and 170 target organs/regions. A total of 108 initial photons were uniformly emitted from the source organs with eight discrete energies. In order to speed up the calculation of SAFs, Monte Carlo multithreaded simulations were started on a workstation with 12 threads, and a Geant4 tracking optimization technique was applied that consists in skipping the voxel boundaries when two adjacent voxels share the same material, which seems to reduce the simulation time by an average of approximately 36%. The results showed good agreement with the reference data produced through the MCNP 2.7 code, with average and maximum absolute discrepancies of 0.5% and 7.68%, respectively. We concluded that these results confirm the feasibility of InterDosi code to perform photon internal dosimetry calculations at a voxel level.

When a radiotracer is injected into a patient\'s body as part of a nuclear medicine investigation, the entire body is exposed to the ionizing radiation emitted, which can cause biological damage. Therefore, it is important to predict the internal radiation dose to properly balance the advantages of radiological examinations. Currently, various Monte Carlo tools, such as MCNP, Geant4, and GATE, are available to estimate internal radiation dosimetry-related quantities, such as S values (S) and specific absorbed fractions (SAF). Such codes make physics easier for physicists who are experienced with computer programming; however, programming and/or simulation inputs remain a time-consuming and intensive task. In this study, we present a newly developed Geant4-based code for internal dosimetry calculations, namely \"DoseCalcs\". To assess the performance of the geometrical methods and computational capabilities of our developed tool, we used the GDML, TEXT, STL, and C++ methods to model the ORNL adult phantom, and a voxel-based structure to construct the ICRP adult male. SAFs in the ORNL and ICRP adult male phantoms for eight discrete mono-energetic photons with energies ranging from 0.01 to 2 MeV are calculated with DoseCalcs and compared to ORNL and OpenDose reference data. The two phantoms showed good agreement with both references, which indicates the accuracy of DoseCalcs for subsequent use in estimating internal dosimetry quantities using a variety of geometrical methods.

Tissue concentrations of advanced glycation end product (AGE) and peripheral soluble receptor of AGE (sRAGE) levels may be associated with periodontitis severity. Both parameters and periodontitis might serve as outcome predictors for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). This study aimed to investigate possible associations between periodontitis and AGE/sRAGE. Ultimately, we wanted to examine whether AGE, sRAGE, and severe periodontitis are associated with the incidence of new cardiovascular events within 3 years of follow-up after CABG. Ninety-five patients with coronary vascular disease (CVD) (age 69 years, 88.3% males) needing CABG surgery were included. Periodontal diagnosis was made according to the guidelines of the \"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)\" (2007) and staged according to the new classification of periodontal diseases (2018). AGE tissue concentrations were assessed as skin autofluorescence (sAF). sRAGE levels were determined by using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunoabsorbance assay (ELISA) kit. Univariate and multivariate baseline and survival analyses were carried out with Mann-Whitney U test, Chi² test, Kaplan-Meier curves with Log-Rank test, and logistic and Cox regression. sAF was identified as an independent risk indicator for severe periodontitis with respect to the cofactors age, gender, plaque index, and diabetes (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.9, p = 0.028). The degree of subgingival inflammation assessed as a percentage of sites with bleeding on probing (BOP) was inversely correlated with sRAGE concentration (r = -0.189, p = 0.034). Both sAF (Hazard Ratio [HR] = 2.4, p = 0.004) and sRAGE (HR = 1.9, p = 0.031) increased the crude risk for new adverse events after CABG. The occurrence of severe periodontitis trends towards a higher risk for new cardiovascular events (HR = 1.8, p = 0.115). Applying multivariate Cox regression, only peripheral arterial disease (adjusted HR = 2.7, p = 0.006) and history of myocardial infarction (adjusted HR = 2.8, p = 0.010) proved to be independent risk factors for cardiovascular outcome. We conclude that sAF may represent a new, independent risk indicator for severe periodontitis. In contrast, sAF, sRAGE, and severe periodontitis were not independent prognostic factors for postoperative outcome in patients undergoing CABG.

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) through its publications recommends the estimation of Specific Absorbed Fractions (SAFs) using voxelized phantoms in order to assess the doses internally absorbed by organs exposed to ionizing radiation. In the present work, we report a large set of SAFs calculated using the ICRP Adult Female (ICRP-AF) phantom. The new Geant4-based code called InterDosi version 1.0 was used to simulate monoenergetic electrons of 20 different energies, ranging from 0.005 to 10 MeV, emitted uniformly from 18 different source organs. In order to estimate SAFs in 169 target organs/regions, 360 Monte Carlo multithreaded simulations were run on 32 CPUs of the HPC-MARWAN-CNRST computing grid. The calculated SAFs were compared to the recent results obtained using GATE 8.1 code and published by the OpenDose collaboration. It is shown that the obtained results are in well-agreement with the reference values, with absolute discrepancies less than 0.6% for a self-absorption condition and less than 5% in almost all energies for a cross-absorption condition. We concluded that InterDosi code might be used for dosimetry of internal electron emitters.

To appraise the outcome of file systems and activation of the final irrigant on the push-out bond strength of root fillings in oval canals. Single-rooted mandibular premolars (n = 180) with oval canals were divided into three groups (n = 60) for instrumentation: ProTaper Next (PTN), WaveOne (WO), and Self-adjusting File (SAF). The specimens were further divided into subgroups (n = 20) and subjected to final irrigation with activation by EndoActivator or passive ultrasonic irrigation or without activation. Then, the specimens were again subdivided (n = 10) and obturated with gutta-percha and AH Plus (GP-AH) or C-Point with EndoSequence bioceramic sealer (C-EBC). One-millimeter-thick horizontal slices were cut from the apical third of the root, 5 mm from the apex, and subjected to push-out bond strength (BS) testing. Specimens for which SAF was used exhibited higher BS values than those for which PTN or WO was used (p < 0.05). Activation of the final irrigation did not affect the BS of the root fillings. Root fillings made of C-EBC presented a higher BS than those made of GP-AH (p < 0.05). Adhesive failure was more common with specimens instrumented using PTN and WO. Root canals instrumented with SAF, showed the highest bond strength values for both root filling materials. The C-EBC produced significantly higher bond strength values than those of the GP-AH.

In this work we used the InterDosi code to estimate photon specific absorbed fractions (SAFs) for some organs of the Zubal adult male voxelized phantom. Chemical compositions and densities of ICRP 110 adult male organs were attributed to those of the studied voxelized phantom. The SAFs of monoenergetic photons with energies ranging from 0.01 to 2 MeV, were calculated for three target regions, namely kidneys, liver, and spleen, which were the radiation source regions too. The obtained SAFs were compared to recent results obtained with the GATE code. In the GATE study, chemical compositions and densities of different organs were obtained from the ICRU report number 44. The inter-comparisons between the two studies show reasonably similar results, as 80% of the calculated SAFs are consistent within 2.5% discrepancy. This demonstrates the usefulness and applicability of the InterDosi code for internal dose calculations in a voxel-based phantom. We completed this work by studying the alpha SAFs in some organs for energies emitted by 213Bi used in targeted alpha-therapy and an analytical formula was derived for rapid alpha self-irradiation calculation in soft tissues.