Leather processing requires substantial inputs of energy, water and chemicals. Additionally, it generates significant amounts of liquid and solid waste, severely impacting the environment. Processing 1 Mg of raw hides yields up to 600-700 kg of waste, considerable amounts of which are solid tannery waste. Such waste contains chromium (Cr) compounds, which are commonly used as tanning agents. This paper reviews solid tannery waste treatment technologies, with emphasis on waste incineration in a specially designed experimental tunnel incinerator. Three different types of tannery waste were subjected to tests trimmings, shavings and buffing dust. As the research revealed, the process can be applied to all types of solid tannery waste. Moreover, it enables the reuse of the heat of the process and results in a Cr concentrate in the process residues. The conducted analyses (carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen elemental analysis; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy; powder X‑ray diffraction) proved that there is no or little organic content in the obtained residual ash, which contains up to 53.1%(w/w) Cr in the form of Cr (III) oxide. Such material may be used as a Cr ore substitute in the chemical or metallurgical industries.This paper reports on a new system for liquid density and viscosity measurement based on a freely suspended rectangular vibrating plate actuated by piezoelectric ceramic (PZT) actuators. The Lamb mode used for these measurements allows us to infer both the density and viscosity in a larger range as compared to the existing gold-standard techniques of MEMS resonators. The combination of the measured resonance frequency and quality factor enables extraction of density and viscosity of the surrounding liquid. The system is calibrated while performing measurements in water glycerol solutions with a density range from 997 to 1264 kg/m3 and viscosity from 1.22 to 985 mPa·s, which is a larger dynamic range compared to existing mechanical resonators showing an upper limit of 700 mPa·s. The out-of-plane vibrating mode exhibits quality factor of 169, obtained in deionized water (1.22 mPa·s viscosity), and 93 for pure glycerol with a viscosity of 985 mPa·s. This Lamb wave resonating sensor can achieve measurement in fairly large viscosity media while keeping a quality factor superior to 90. Measurements performed on oil validate the use of the Lamb system. Oil density is evaluated at 939 kg/m3 and dynamic viscosity at 43 mPa·s which corresponds to our expected values. selleck chemicals llc This shows the possibility of using the sensor outside of the calibration range.AIMS Organophosphates (OPCs), useful agents as pesticides, also represent a serious health hazard. Standard therapy with atropine and established oxime-type enzyme reactivators is unsatisfactory. Experimental data indicate that superior therapeutic results can be obtained when reversible cholinesterase inhibitors are administered before OPC exposure. Comparing the protective efficacy of five such cholinesterase inhibitors (physostigmine, pyridostigmine, ranitidine, tacrine, or K-27), we observed best protection for the experimental oxime K-27. The present study was undertaken in order to determine if additional administration of K-27 immediately after OPC (paraoxon) exposure can improve the outcome. METHODS Therapeutic efficacy was assessed in rats by determining the relative risk of death (RR) by Cox survival analysis over a period of 48 h. Animals that received only pretreatment and paraoxon were compared with those that had received pretreatment and paraoxon followed by K-27 immediately after paraoxon exposure. RESULTS Best protection from paraoxon-induced mortality was observed after pretreatment with physostigmine (RR = 0.30) and K-27 (RR = 0.34). Both substances were significantly more efficacious than tacrine (RR = 0.67), ranitidine (RR = 0.72), and pyridostigmine (RR = 0.76), which were less efficacious but still significantly reduced the RR compared to the no-treatment group (paraoxon only). Additional administration of K-27 immediately after paraoxon exposure (posttreatment) did not further reduce mortality. Statistical analysis between pretreatment before paraoxon exposure alone and pretreatment plus K-27 posttreatment did not show any significant difference for any of the pretreatment regimens. CONCLUSIONS Best outcome is achieved if physostigmine or K-27 are administered prophylactically before exposure to sublethal paraoxon dosages. Therapeutic outcome is not further improved by additional oxime therapy immediately thereafter.Obesity is characterized by a resistance to appetite-regulating hormones, leading to a misalignment between the physiological signals and the perceived hunger/satiety signal. A disruption of the synthesis rhythm may explain this situation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary-induced weight loss on the daily rhythms of leptin and ghrelin and its influence on the daily variability of the appetite sensations of patients with obesity. Twenty subjects with obesity underwent a hypocaloric dietary intervention for 12 weeks. Plasma leptin and ghrelin were analyzed at baseline and at the end of the intervention and in 13 normal-weight controls. Appetite ratings were analyzed. Weight loss decreased leptin synthesis (pauc less then 0.001) but not the rhythm characteristics, except the mean variability value (pmesor = 0.020). By contrast, the mean ghrelin level increased after weight loss. The rhythm characteristics were also modified until a rhythm similar to the normal-weight subjects was reached. The amount of variability of leptin and ghrelin was correlated with the effectiveness of the dietary intervention (p less then 0.020 and p less then 0.001, respectively). Losing weight partially restores the daily rhythms of leptin and modifies the ghrelin rhythms, but appetite sensations are barely modified, thus confirming that these hormones cannot exercise their physiological function properly.Currently, there is an increasing focus on mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) as therapeutic option in bone pathologies as well as in general regenerative medicine. Although human MSCs have been extensively characterized and standardized, ovine MSCs are poorly understood. This limitation hampers clinical progress, as sheep are an excellent large animal model for orthopedic studies. Our report describes a direct comparison of human and ovine MSCs from three corresponding sources under the same conditions. All MSCs presented solid growth behavior and potent immunomodulatory capacities. Additionally, we were able to identify common positive (CD29, CD44, CD73, CD90, CD105, CD166) and negative (CD14, CD34, CD45, HLA-DR) surface markers. Although both human and ovine MSCs showed strong osteogenic potential, direct comparison revealed a slower mineralization process in ovine MSCs. Regarding gene expression level, both human and ovine MSCs presented a comparable up-regulation of Runx2 and a trend toward down-regulation of Col1A during osteogenic differentiation.