40 research outputs found
IGF-binding protein-3 fragments in plasma of a child with acute renal failure
No full textThe insulin-like growth factors (IGF) -I and -II promote cellular growth and differentiation of various organs. Their growth-stimulating effects are modulated by a family of six IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs). Altered patterns of intact and fragmented IGFBPs have been reported in serum and urine of children with chronic renal failure (CRF), and it has been suggested that this may contribute to the growth failure observed in these patients. In the present study, a rapid and comprehensive method is presented to analyze IGFBPs and IGFBP fragments in the plasma of a child with acute renal failure (ARF) who had undergone plasmapheresis. The plasma IGF-I and IGFBP-3 levels were drastically reduced. Plasmapheresis filtrate (3 l) was fractionated by cation-exchange chromatography and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The fractions obtained were tested by ligand and immunoblotting. In addition to IGFBP-1 and -4 fragments, the majority of IGF-binding polypeptides were IGFBP-3 immunoreactive. N-terminal sequence analysis of a 17-kDa polypeptide revealed the isolation of a C-terminal fragment of IGFBP-3 starting with Lys 160. The IGF-II-binding polypeptide pattern in the ARF plasma resembles the pattern in hemofiltrate from CRF patients, suggesting that similar or identical proteases are involved in IGFBP-3 fragmentation and common mechanisms may lead to the accumulation of the fragments in both diseases
Application of infrared thermography in complex moisture inspection of the Schebek Palace
No full text
An ex-ante LCA study of rare earth extraction from NdFeB magnet scrap using molten salt electrolysis
No full textA new recycling process for the extraction of rare earths from neodymium–iron–boron (NdFeB) magnet scrap is being developed, based on the direct extraction of rare earths from end-of-life magnet material in a molten fluoride electrolysis bath. Rare earths are required in their metallic form for the production of new NdFeB magnets, and the suggested process achieves this through a single step. The process is being developed on a laboratory scale and has been proven to work in principle. It is expected to be environmentally beneficial when compared to longer processing routes. Conducting life cycle assessment at R&D stage can provide valuable information to help steer process development into an environmentally favorable direction. We conducted a life cycle assessment study to provide a quantitative estimate of the impacts associated with the process being developed and to compare the prospective impacts against those of the current state-of-the-art technology. The comparison of this recycling route with primary production shows that the recycling process has the potential for much lower process-specific impacts when compared against the current rare earth primary production route. The study also highlights that perfluorocarbon emissions, which occur during primary rare earth production, warrant further investigation.</p
Nutzungspotentiale unpolarer Carbonsäuren als Basischemikalien aus unterschiedlichen Herkunftsbereichen der Abfallwirtschaft
No full textModulare Sortierprozesse und künstliche Intelligenz als Mittel zum Recycling von Elektro(nik)-Altgeräten
No full textLife cycle assessment of pharmaceutical and clinical packaging required for medication administration practices
No full textPublisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s). Funding: Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.Purpose: Digital closed-loop medication administration (CLMA) is a prime example of how digitalization in healthcare can reduce time and costs while simultaneously increasing patient safety. However, in contrast to its social and economic benefits, associated environmental impacts have never been investigated. Since the required amount of packaging material is seen as a major subject of criticism, we assess associated environmental burdens using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to identify hotspots and provide adaptation recommendations. Methods: Digital, as well as conventional paper-based medication management (PBMM), involve two types of packaging: pharmaceutical packaging (blisters or bottles), containing purchased medication, and clinical packaging (unit doses or medical dispensers) for medication dispensation. Therefore, a cradle-to-grave life cycle model was established comparing impacts at pharmaceutical packaging level, clinical packaging level, and a combined level. While PBMM requires small, blistered boxes, CLMA requires large, bottled packages. Therefore, the functional unit allows to compare different box sizes but inhibits comparing medication from different manufacturers. Primary data is obtained from University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf which practices state-of-the-art CLMA. PBMM data is obtained in three dispenser scenarios, varying the reusability of medical dispensers. The life cycle impact assessment was performed for five impact categories using CML 2001(2016) method. Results and discussion: All compared blistered pharmaceutical packaging options yield higher impacts than their bottled counterparts. Cardboard and package inserts result in up to 40 times higher impacts for blisters than for bottles, which, however, is attributed to the methodology of comparing different box sizes. Yet, this does not influence the required amount of blister laminate. All blister materials were found to result in higher environmental burdens, peaking in nearly 240 times higher ozone depletion impacts for polyvinylchloride/polychlorotrifluoroethylene blisters. In terms of clinical packaging, two of three dispenser scenarios result in higher environmental burdens than the respective unit dose scenario. Only if reused, 7.2 times this trend is reversed. When combining selected impacts from both pharmaceutical and clinical impacts, all three dispenser scenarios perform worse than the unit dose scenario. Conclusions: Packaging impacts are lowest if unit dose dispensation is combined with bottled pharmaceutical packaging. Given a specific pharmaceutical packaging, dispensation via medical dispensers may perform better, if they are comprehensively reused. With this study, the authors disproved that packaging impacts are generally higher for CLMA than for PBMM. However, both systems certainly comprise other processes and materials like consumed paper or energy to run required digital infrastructure, which should be subject to future studies.publishersversionpublishe
