Suchergebnisse

Nanocrystalline ZrO2 and WOx–ZrO2 catalysts with good control over the zirconia phase and the nature of the W species were synthesized by a microwave-assisted aqueous route. The monoclinic ZrO2 (m-ZrO2) and tetragonal ZrO2 (t-ZrOz) polymorphs were isolated through accurate control of the synthetic conditions, in acidic and basic media, respectively. The evolution of the zirconia and W species under annealing of the WOx–ZrO2 nanocomposites at 500 °C and 800 °C was studied, and the resulting materials were tested as catalysts for aldoxime dehydration and hydration of alkynes for the production of nitriles and carbonyls, respectively. In the dehydration reaction, the most active species are W(VI) in tetrahedral coordination, independently of the ZrO2 polymorph, while in the hydration reaction the zirconia phase plays a key role, as the tungsten doped t-ZrO2 appears to be the most active catalyst. ; F. G. is grateful to Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte for his PhD grant (AP2010-2748); B. J.-L. and F. G. thank the Spanish Government (MAT2011-27008 project) and University Jaume I (UJI, P1 1B2014-21). F. G. and A. C. thank financial support from Spanish Government-MINECO through "Severo Ochoa" (SEV 2012-0267). D. P., C. S. and K. V. would like to strongly acknowledge the Foundation du Collège de France for support and thank the French Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives for financial support. SCIC from Universitat Jaume I and Servicio de Microscopía Electrónica at Universitat Politècnica de València are also acknowledged for instrumental facilities.

Copper-doped titanium dioxide materials with anatase phase (Cu-TiO2, atomic Cu contents ranging from 0 to 3% relative to the sum of Cu and Ti), and particle sizes of 12–15 nm, were synthesised by a solvo-thermal method using ethanol as the solvent and small amounts of water to promote the hydrolysis-condensation processes. Diffuse reflectance UV-vis spectroscopy show that the edges of absorption of the titania materials are somewhat shifted to higher wavelengths due to the presence of Cu. X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) indicate that Cu(II) is predominant. Photocatalytic CO2 reduction experiments were performed in aqueous Cu-TiO2 suspensions under UV-rich light and in the presence of different solutes. Sulfide was found to promote the efficient production of H2 from water and formic acid from CO2. The effect of the Cu content on the photoactivity of Cu-TiO2 was also studied, showing that copper plays a role on the photocatalytic reduction of CO2. ; 1) Financial support by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Severo Ochoa and CTQ2012-32315). F.G. 2) Financial support from Spanish Government (AP2010-2748 PhD grant and MAT2011- 27008 project) 3) Jaume I University (P1 1B2014-21 project). 4) Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientifiıcas (CSIC) and the European Social Fund (ESF) for a JAE-Doc postdoctoral grant.

Live animal trade is considered a major mode of introduction of viruses from enzootic foci into disease-free areas. Due to societal and behavioural changes, some wild animal species may nowadays be considered as pet species. The species diversity of animals involved in international trade is thus increasing. This could benefit pathogens that have a broad host range such as arboviruses. The objective of this study was to analyze the risk posed by live animal imports for the introduction, in the European Union (EU), of four arboviruses that affect human and horses: Eastern and Western equine encephalomyelitis, Venezuelan equine encephalitis and Japanese encephalitis. Importation data for a five-years period (2005-2009, extracted from the EU TRACES database), environmental data (used as a proxy for the presence of vectors) and horses and human population density data (impacting the occurrence of clinical cases) were combined to derive spatially explicit risk indicators for virus introduction and for the potential consequences of such introductions. Results showed the existence of hotspots where the introduction risk was the highest in Belgium, in the Netherlands and in the north of Italy. This risk was higher for Eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) than for the three other diseases. It was mainly attributed to exotic pet species such as rodents, reptiles or cage birds, imported in small-sized containments from a wide variety of geographic origins. The increasing species and origin diversity of these animals may have in the future a strong impact on the risk of introduction of arboviruses in the EU.

Animal health surveillance enables the detection and control of animal diseases including zoonoses. Under the EU-FP7 project RISKSUR, a survey was conducted in 11 EU Member States and Switzerland to describe active surveillance components in 2011 managed by the public or private sector and identify gaps and opportunities. Information was collected about hazard, target population, geographical focus, legal obligation, management, surveillance design, risk-based sampling, and multi-hazard surveillance. Two countries were excluded due to incompleteness of data. Most of the 664 components targeted cattle (26·7%), pigs (17·5%) or poultry (16·0%). The most common surveillance objectives were demonstrating freedom from disease (43·8%) and case detection (26·8%). Over half of components applied risk-based sampling (57·1%), but mainly focused on a single population stratum (targeted risk-based) rather than differentiating between risk levels of different strata (stratified risk-based). About a third of components were multi-hazard (37·3%). Both risk-based sampling and multi-hazard surveillance were used more frequently in privately funded components. The study identified several gaps (e.g. lack of systematic documentation, inconsistent application of terminology) and opportunities (e.g. stratified risk-based sampling). The greater flexibility provided by the new EU Animal Health Law means that systematic evaluation of surveillance alternatives will be required to optimize cost-effectiveness.