51. Building of the Al-Containing secondary raw materials registry for the production of low CO2 mineral binders in South-Eastern European regionGorazd Žibret, Klemen Teran, Lea Žibret, Katarina Šter, Sabina Dolenec, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: The bottleneck in the process for increasing production of low CO2 mineral binders, based on BCSA (belite sulfoaluminate) clinkers, is the availability of Al-rich raw materials. For that purpose, a new registry of Al-containing secondary mineral residues (industrial and mine waste) has been developed and is presented in this paper. The methodology of creating the registry consists of three main steps: Gathering ideas, consolidation of ideas, and implementation. In order to achieve this, the following methodology was adopted: Analysis of similar registries by potential end-users and seeking potential solutions and tools to be used, and conducting 3 rounds of stakeholder consultations via workshops in order to determine crucial parameters and features the registry needs to contain. The key discussion points were about which data the registry needs to contain, who shall be the potential users, and what are the stakeholderʼs expectations from the registryʼs portal. Potential individual registry variables were identified as being relevant/irrelevant or available/unavailable, and potential solutions for the registrys sustainability were explored. Each Al-rich waste/residue data entry is divided into 10 slots, describing legal status, location, quantities, chemical (REE included), mineralogical, physical and radiological properties, life-cycle assessment, additional data, and data relevancy. The registry will act as a matchmaking tool between producers/holders of Al-rich secondary raw materials and potential producers of cement clinkers.
Keywords: cement, belite sulfoaluminate clinker, waste, by--product, deležniki
Published in DiRROS: 10.06.2022; Views: 593; Downloads: 337
 Full text (2,23 MB)
This document has many files! More... |
52. The valorisation of selected quarry and mine waste for sustainable cement production within the concept of circular economyEmilija Fidanchevski, Katarina Šter, Maruša Mrak, Ljiljana Kljajević, Gorazd Žibret, Klemen Teran, Bojan Poletanovic, Monika Fidanchevska, Sabina Dolenec, Ildikó Merta, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: The cement industry could potentially consume large amounts of solid industrial waste in order to improve its sustainability. The suitability of selected quarry and mine waste as secondary raw materials (SRM) was examined for the sustainable production of cement following the concept of a circular economy. The chemical, mineralogical, and radiological characterization of SRM was conducted in this study. Its potential use in low-carbon and low-energy belite-sulfoaluminate cement was investigated by incorporating the examined SRM into cement clinker. Various characterization methods were used to characterize the cement, including X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), thermal analysis (DTA/TG), and isothermal calorimetry. Depending on the chemical composition of the waste, lower or higher amounts were allowed to be incorporated into the raw clinker mixture for a targeted clinker phase composition. Among the samples, differences were observed in the phase composition of synthesized clinkers, which slightly influenced the reactivity of the cement but did not significantly change the compressive strength of the final product.
Keywords: mineralne surovine, rudarski odpadki, rudniki, kamnolomi, cement, klinker, krožno gospodarstvo, BCSA clinker, cement, circular economy, clinker, mine wastes, quarry waste
Published in DiRROS: 10.06.2022; Views: 645; Downloads: 340
Full text (3,34 MB)
This document has many files! More... |
53. Repository of drought event impacts across the danube catchment countries between 1981 and 2016 using publicly available sourcesJiří Jakubínský, Monika Bláhová, Lenka Bartošová, Klára Steinerová, Jan Balek, Petra Dížková, Daniela Semerádová, Daniel Alexandru, Galia Bardarska, Sabina Bokal, Gregor Gregorič, Gal Oblišar, Andreja Sušnik, 2019, original scientific article Abstract: Drought directly and indirectly affects human society in a number of ways. In many regions of the world climate change will exasperate the effects of droughts, affect national economies more intensely. The main aim of this article was to catalogue and analyze the drought impacts in the 11 Central and South Eastern European states located in the Danube river basin. The identification of dry episodes was based on information from publicly available sources, namely, newspaper and journal articles that reported drought impacts. Information on drought impact occurrences was classified into one of five defined categories in which the drought impact report was most clearly manifested (i.e., agriculture, forestry, soil systems, wildfires and hydrology). In terms of the spatial distribution of drought impacts, individual recorded events were analyzed at the level of EU NUTS regions (or their equivalent in non-EU countries). The analysis highlights country-specific vulnerability to drought. Furthermore, gradual increases in drought events and the number of reported impacts were identified, which was particularly evident in the agricultural sector.
Keywords: drought impact, Danube basin, agriculture, climate change, water stress
Published in DiRROS: 21.04.2022; Views: 886; Downloads: 394
Full text (2,24 MB)
This document has many files! More... |
54. Heterogeneous response of airway eosinophilia to anti-IL-5 biologics in severe asthma patientsMaruša Kopač, Matija Rijavec, Peter Korošec, Urška Bidovec, Izidor Kern, Romana Vantur, Sabina Škrgat, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: Many questions concerning responders (R) and nonresponders (NR) in severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA) after blocking the IL-5 (interleukin 5) pathway are still not clear, especially regarding the early parameters of response to biologics in personalized treatment strategies. We evaluated 17 SEA patients treated with anti-IL-5 biologics (16 patients mepolizumab, one patient benralizumab) before the introduction of biologics, and at a week 16 follow-up. Clinical, cellular and immunological parameters in peripheral blood were measured in R and NR. Sputum induction with the measurement of cellular and immunological parameters was performed at 16 weeks only. There were 12 R and 5 NR to biologics. After 16 weeks, there was a significant improvement in percentages of FEV1 (p = 0.001), and asthma control test (ACT) (p = 0.001) in the R group, but not in NR. After 16 weeks, the eosinophils in induced sputum were 27.0% in NR and 4.5% in R (p = 0.05), with no difference in IL-5 concentrations (p = 0.743). Peripheral eosinophilia decreased significantly in NR (p = 0.032) and R (p = 0.002). In patients with SEA on anti-IL-5 therapy, there was a marked difference in airway eosinophilic inflammation between R and NR already at 16 weeks, after anti-IL-5 introduction.
Published in DiRROS: 13.01.2022; Views: 1011; Downloads: 570
Full text (805,99 KB)
This document has many files! More... |
55. Covid-19 pulmonary pathology : the experience of European pulmonary pathologists throughout the first two waves of the pandemicFrancesco Fortarezza, Federica Pezzuto, Paul Hofman, Izidor Kern, Angel Panizo, Jan von der Thüsen, Sergei Timofeev, Gregor Gorkiewicz, Sabina Berezowska, Laurence de Level, Cristian Ortiz-Villalón, Francesca Lunardi, Fiorella Calabrese, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: Autoptic studies of patients who died from COVID-19 constitute an important step forward in improving our knowledge in the pathophysiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Systematic analyses of lung tissue, the organ primarily targeted by the disease, were mostly performed during the first wave of the pandemic. Analyses of pathological lesions at different times offer a good opportunity to better understand the disease and how its evolution has been influenced mostly by new SARS-CoV-2 variants or the different therapeutic approaches. In this short report we summarize responses collected from a questionnaire survey that investigated important pathological data during the first two pandemic waves (spring-summer 2020; autumn-winter 2020–2021). The survey was submitted to expert lung pathologists from nine European countries involved in autoptic procedures in both pandemic waves. The frequency of each lung lesion was quite heterogeneous among the participants. However, a higher frequency of pulmonary superinfections, both bacterial and especially fungal, was observed in the second wave compared to the first. Obtaining a deeper knowledge of the pathological lesions at the basis of this complex and severe disease, which change over time, is crucial for correct patient management and treatment. Autoptic examination is a useful tool to achieve this goal.
Keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, autopsy, lung - pathology, pulmonary aspergillosis
Published in DiRROS: 13.01.2022; Views: 1114; Downloads: 526
Full text (2,30 MB)
This document has many files! More... |
56. Triangular in vivo self-assembling coiled-coil protein origamiSabina Božič Abram, Helena Gradišar, Jana Aupič, Adam Round, Roman Jerala, 2021, original scientific article Keywords: coiled coil, enzyme clustering, biosynthesis, resveratrol, mevalonate
Published in DiRROS: 22.03.2021; Views: 1495; Downloads: 925
Full text (1,79 MB)
This document has many files! More... |
57. T2-high asthma, classified by sputum mRNA expression of IL4, IL5, and IL13, is characterized by eosinophilia and severe phenotypeMatija Rijavec, Tomaž Krumpestar, Sabina Škrgat, Izidor Kern, Peter Korošec, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: Asthma is a common chronic disease, with different underlying inflammatory mechanisms. Identification of asthma endotypes, which reflect a variable response to different treatments, is important for more precise asthma management. T2 asthma is characterized by airway inflammation driven by T2 cytokines including interleukins IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13. This study aimed to determine whether induced sputum samples can be used for gene expression profiling of T2-high asthma classified by IL4, IL5, and IL13 expression. Induced sputum samples were obtained from 44 subjects, among them 36 asthmatic patients and eight controls, and mRNA expression levels of IL4, IL5, and IL13 were quantified by RT-qPCR. Overall, gene expression levels of IL4, IL5, and IL13 were significantly increased in asthmatic patients' samples compared to controls and there was a high positive correlation between expressions of all three genes. T2 gene mean was calculated by combining the expression levels of all three genes (IL4, IL5, and IL13) and according to T2 gene mean expression in controls, we set a T2-high/T2-low cutoff value. Twenty-four (67%) asthmatic patients had T2-high endotype and those patients had significantly higher eosinophil blood and sputum counts. Furthermore, T2-high endotype was characterized as a more severe, difficult-to-treat asthma, and often uncontrolled despite the use of inhaled and/or oral corticosteroids. Therefore, the majority of those patients (15 [63%] of 24) needed adjunct biological therapy to control their asthma symptoms/exacerbations. In conclusion, we found that interleukins IL4, IL5, and IL13 transcripts could be effectively detected in sputum from asthmatic patients. Implementation of T2 gene mean can be used as sputum molecular biomarker to categorize patients into T2-high endotype, characterized by eosinophilia and severe, difficult-to-treat asthma, and often with a need for biological treatment.
Keywords: asthma, gene expression, interleukin-4, interleukin-5, interleukin-13, severe asthma, endotype, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, biologic treatment
Published in DiRROS: 02.02.2021; Views: 1349; Downloads: 874
Full text (1,31 MB)
This document has many files! More... |
58. Systemic and airway oxidative stress in competitive swimmersSabina Škrgat, Peter Korošec, Izidor Kern, Mira Šilar, Julij Šelb, Matjaž Fležar, Robert Marčun, 2018, original scientific article Abstract: Background: The environment in swimming pools, which contain chlorine, might interact with the airway epithelium, resulting in oxidative stress and/or inflammation during high intensity training periods. Methods: We evaluated pulmonary functional (metacholine challenge test, FEV1 and VC), cellular (eosinophils and neutrophils), inflammatory (FeNo, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-[alpha]), oxidative (8-isoprostanes) and angiogenesis factors (VEGF) in induced sputum and peripheral blood of 41 healthy non-asthmatic elite swimmers (median 16 years) during the period of high intensity training before a national championship. The second paired sampling was performed seven months later after training had been stopped for one month. Results: There was a ten-fold increase (median 82-924 pg/ml; P < 0.001) in 8-isoprostanes in induced sputum and five-fold increase (median 82-924 pg/ml; P < 0.001) in sera during training in comparison to the period of rest. However, there was no difference in FEV1 (113 vs 116%), VC (119 vs 118%), FeNo (median 34 vs 38 ppb), eosinophils (2.7 vs 2.9% in sputum; 180 vs 165 cells/[micro]l in blood), neutrophils, different cytokines or VEGF in induced sputum or sera. The only exception was TNF-[alpha], which was moderately increased in sera (median 23 vs 40 pg/ml; P=0.02) during the peak training period. Almost half (18 of 41) of swimmers showed bronchial hyperresponsiveness during the peak training period (PC20 cutoff was 4 mg/ml). There was no correlation between hyperresponsiveness and the markers of oxidative stress or inflammation. Conclusions: High intensity training in healthy, non-asthmatic competitive swimmers results in marked oxidative stress at the airway and systemic levels, but does not lead to airway inflammation. However, we could not confirm that oxidative stress is associated with bronchial hyperresponsiveness (AHR), which is often observed during the peak exercise training period.
Keywords: bronchial diseases, swimming, oxidative stress, bronchial hyperresponsiveness, competitive swimmers, training
Published in DiRROS: 23.11.2020; Views: 1764; Downloads: 484
 Link to file |
59. |
60. |
