The Use of Brewer’s Spent Grain after Beer Production for Energy Purposes

The aim of this study was to assess the possibilities to use brewer’s spent grains (BSGs) left over from beer production for energy purposes, and to determine its calorific value and chemical composition. The research materials were samples of wet spent grain from a brewery in Poland. Three samples, that are different in ingredient composition, were examined. The examined samples of BSGs were characterised by humidity that is typical for this product (approx. 77–80%). Convective drying of the spent grain contributed to a reduction in the water content in the biomass to below 10%. Samples of dry spent grain that were examined contained a similar amount of ash (3.8–4.1% d.m.) and organic matter (91.0–91.9% d.m.). All the examined spent grain samples demonstrated similar volatile matter content—approx. 77.8–78.7% d.m. and calorific value—approx. 15.6–15.9 MJ/kg. The estimated calorific value for wet samples (approx. 1.4–2.0 MJ/kg) indicated that it is necessary to lower water content in the biomass in order to improve its energy properties.     

Comparative Analysis of Postoperative Complications of Sentinel Node Identification Using the SentiMag® Method and the Use of a Radiotracer in Patients with Breast Cancer

(1) Background: The purpose of the study was a retrospective, comparative assessment of complications of the surgical sentinel node biopsy (SNB) procedure in breast cancer using the radiotracer method and the SentiMag^® method on groups of patients after 3.5 years of use. (2) Methods: The material was a group of 345 patients with primary surgical breast cancer who underwent the SNB procedure with the use of a radiotracer in combination with wide local excision (WLE), simple amputation (SA) with SNB and an independent SNB procedure in the period from May 2018 to January 2021 in the Department of Oncological Surgery. Of the patients who were monitored in the Hospital Outpatient Clinic, 300 were enrolled. The analyzed group was compared in terms of the occurrence of the same complications with the group of 303 patients also operated on in our center in the period from January 2014 to September 2017, in which SN identification was performed using the SentiMag^® method. (3) Results: The most common complications found were sensation disorders in the arm, which occurred in 16 (14.1%) patients using the radiotracer method, SentiMag^®-11 (9.9%). By comparing the complication rate between the methods with the radiotracer (n = 300) and SentiMag^® (n = 303), no significant differences were found. (4) Conclusions: Sentinel node (SN) identification using the radiotracer method and the SentiMag^® method are comparable diagnostic methods in breast cancer, with a low risk of complications.     

Brain activation during cognitive reappraisal depending on regulation goals and stimulus valence

Neural bases of cognitive reappraisal may depend on the direction of regulation (up- or downregulation) and stimulus valence (positive or negative). This study aimed to examine this using a cognitive reappraisal task and conjunction analysis on a relatively large sample of 83 individuals. We identified regions in which activations were common for all these types of emotion regulation. We also investigated differences in brain activation between the ‘decrease’ and ‘increase’ emotional response conditions, and between the regulation of negative and positive emotions. The common activation across conditions involved mainly the prefrontal and temporal regions. Decreasing emotions was associated with stronger involvement of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, while increasing with activation of the amygdala and hippocampus. Regulation of negative emotions involved stronger activation of the lateral occipital cortex, while regulation of positive emotions involved stronger activation of the anterior cingulate cortex extending to the medial prefrontal cortex. This study adds to previous findings, not only by doing a conjunction analysis on both emotional valences and regulation goals, but also doing this in a bigger sample size. Results suggest that reappraisal is not a uniform process and may have different neural bases depending on regulation goals and stimulus valence.     

Visual evoked potentials in patients with psoriasis vulgaris

Purpose: The aim of this study is an estimation of the visual evoked potentials (VEP) in patients with psoriasis vulgaris. The role of the nervous system was pointed out in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Also epidemiologic research confirms that patients with psoriasis are at increased risk of MS development. Materials and methods: A group of 30 psoriatic males aged between 18 and 54 was examined. The results were compared with those obtained from a group of 30 healthy age-matched males and they were correlated with the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI), the skin surface area involved, duration of the disease and duration of the last relapse. In neurological and ophthalmological examinations no pathological symptoms were detected in either group. The VEP examination was executed using pattern reversal (pr) and pattern flash (pf) stimulation. Results: Using pf stimulation, in the group of patients with psoriasis vulgaris, a statistically significant elongation in the latency of P-100 and reduction of response amplitude, not related to the PASI, nor the skin surface area involved, nor duration of the last relapse, were observed. Conclusions: The results of the study indicate subclinical damage of the visual pathway in patients with psoriasis vulgaris.     

Strong antioxidant activity of carane derivatives

Oxidants play a significant role in causing oxidative stress, which underlies the pathogenesis of inflammation and rheumatoid arthritis. The processes associated with inflammatory responses are complex and often involve reactive oxygen species. There are many mediators that initiate and amplify the inflammatory response such as histamine, serotonin and metabolic products of arachidonic acid (thromboxane, prostaglandins and leukotrienes). In the present study, we examined the antioxidant activity of carane derivatives – KP-23 and its optical isomers – that possess strong local anesthetic and anti-inflammatory activity. The antioxidant effects (expressed as Trolox Equivalent Antioxidants Capacity, TEAC) were observed for one of the optical isomers of carane, a derivative of propranolol – KP-23R. The relative scavenging effect (%R) of ABTS⁺ by KP-23S, KP-23R and standards measured at 30 min was the following, listed in decreasing order: tetracaine > KP-23S > KP-23R > procaine > lignocaine > benzocaine (99, 85, 80, 38, 21 and 20%, respectively, at a concentration of 10 mM). The IC₅₀ values also show strong antioxidant properties of the investigated KP compounds (ranging between 11–18 mM) and tetracaine (6.2 mM) compared to other local anesthetics (129–348 mM). Moreover, monoterpene derivatives were more effective as antioxidants than propranolol diastereoisomers (280–528 mM). We found that carane derivatives, in contrast to propranolol diastereoisomers, serve as potent antioxidants by scavenging radicals     

Enhanced Production of Biogas Using Biochar–Sulfur Composite in the Methane Fermentation Process

The methane fermentation of organic waste is one way to minimize organic waste, which accounts for 77% of the global municipal waste stream. The use of biochar as an additive for methane fermentation has been shown to increase the production potential of biogas. Sulfur waste has a potential application to synergistic recycling in a form of composites with other materials including biochar. A composite product in the form of a mixture of biochar and molten sulfur has been proposed. In this experiment, additions of the sulfur–biochar composite (SBC) were tested to improve the fermentation process. The biochar was produced from apple chips under the temperature of 500 °C. The ground biochar and sulfur (<1 mm particle size) were mixed in the proportion of 40% biochar and 60% sulfur and heated to 140 °C for sulfur melting. After cooling, the solidified composite was ground. The SBC was added in the dose rate of 10% by dry mass of prepared artificial kitchen waste. Wet anaerobic digestion was carried out in the batch reactors under a temperature of 37 °C for 21 days. As an inoculum, the digestate from Bio-Wat Sp. z. o. o., Świdnica, Poland, was used. The results showed that released biogas reached 672 mL × g_vs⁻¹, and the yield was 4% higher than in the variant without the SBC. Kinetics study indicated that the biogas production constant rate reached 0.214 d⁻¹ and was 4.4% higher than in the variant without the SBC.     

A New Model Supporting Stability Quality of Materials and Industrial Products

Stabilizing the quality of industrial product materials remains a challenge. This applies mainly to new or significantly modified materials. It also refers to special processes. The tests of product quality can stabilize the quality of industrial product materials. The popular method for this is using the non-destructive testing (NDT). The NDT identifies incompatibility but does not determine the cause of its occurrence. Hence, it was necessary to support the process of identifying causes of incompatibilities in products. The purpose of the article was to develop a model based on a new approach to determine the ranking of actions that are possible as part of the process of stabilizing the quality of industrial products. The model was developed to improve quality through sequential and systematic methods of identification (and reduce) and incompatibility. The quality management techniques and decision method were applied and combined in this model, i.e., SMART(-ER) the method, method of selecting a team of experts, brainstorming (BM), Ishikawa diagram with the 5M rule, Likert scale validation technique, arithmetic average, and Grey Relational Analysis (GRA). The test of this model was carried out to find cracks in the outer hull of 418 alloy four-point bearing (CPW-S 5616), which was identified by NDT (magnetic-powder method). As a result, a ranking of activities was obtained to stabilize the quality of the product and the main cause of incompatibility was indicated, i.e., the cause which can influence to the most degree influence on occurrence the incompatibility. The originality of the proposed model is an application in the right order of specially selected and combined qualitative methods and supporting decision methods. The finding of causes of incompatibility of products is the basis of product improvement in the area of stabilizing the quality of materials, mainly by the occurrence of special processes. The universality of the model refers to the possibility of its application for any material, processes of its formation, and processes of products, and any incompatibilities where the model can be integrated with quality control.