Investigation on co-firing of coal mine waste residues in pulverized coal combustion systems

Millions of tonnes of coal mine waste residues are piled up in dumping sites, causing serious environmental problems. Co-combustion in fluidized bed facilities is the most widespread alternative for the energy utilization of these by-products. However, no experiences have been so far reported of coal mine waste residues co-firing under pulverized fuel combustion technology. This work proves the technical feasibility of co-firing coal with up to 20% coal mine waste residues and investigates the impacts of transferring this co-firing alternative into a commercial unit. Experimental co-firing tests of coal mine waste residues were conducted on a 500 kWth pulverized fuel pilot plant. Regulated emissions (CO, CO2, SO2 and NOx) and visible flame radiation were monitored, obtaining regular and stable flicker and acceptable emissions levels for CO (200 mg/m3N) and NOx (700–800 mg/m3N). Finally, the impact analysis of co-firing coal mine waste residues in a full-scale pulverized fuel plant was performed by simulating the power cycle and combustion process in a 160 MWe pulverized coal combustion unit. Simulation results show the viability of this alternative in terms of plant efficiency, increase in power consumptions of auxiliary equipment and pollutant emissions for co-firing ratios under 10% in energy basis

Incidencia de los apartamentos turísticos en la economía y ocupación turística en las Islas Baleares

El turismo supone una de las mayores fuentes de ingresos en muchos países, lo que le otorga la consideración de una actividad clave en la economía de todos ellos, situándose, según La Organización Mundial del Turismo, entre las cinco categorías más importantes de las exportaciones mundiales. He elegido este tema por ser una situación novedosa en el sistema de alojamientos turísticos en las Islas Baleares entre 2008 y 2012, que supuso un cambio de tendencia en el comportamiento tanto de la oferta como de la demanda

Assessment of PFA-100 system for the measurement of bleeding time in oral surgery

Los métodos diagnósticos habituales para conocer la hemostasia primaria han sido calificados como cruentos, dependientes del operador, de difícil reproducción y en ocasiones no muy fiables. Es por ello que se han propuesto diferentes sistemas para valorar el tiempo de hemorragia, siendo uno de ellos el dispositivo PFA-100, el cual presentamos en este trabajo. Objetivo: Comparar la especificidad entre el método tradicional Ivy con el sistema PFA-100 para la determinación del tiempo de hemorragia. Material y método: Obtuvimos una muestra de 33 pacientes de entre 24-80 años en tratamiento antiplaquetario a los cuales se debía realizar una cirugía oral. Se les realizó un tiempo de hemorragia mediante el método Ivy , un INR mediante una analítica realizada el mismo día y un Coagucheck una hora antes de la cirugía así como la determinación del tiempo de sangrado mediante el dispositivo PFA-100. Resultados: El valor medio del tiempo de hemorragia mediante el método Ivy fue de 406.36 sg. El tiempo de hemorragia medio con el sistema PFA-100 para el cartucho de colágeno/epinefrina fue de 226.91 sg. y para el cartucho de colágeno/ ADP fue de 110.27 sg. Todos estos valores se encuentran dentro de la normalidad. Observamos desviaciones típicas muy altas con el método Ivy y más regulares para el sistema PFA-100 indicando una mayor especificidad del mismo. Obtuvimos también una gran correlación entre el cartucho colágeno/epinefrina y el ácido acetil salicílico. Conclusiones: Encontramos una mayor especificidad del analizador de función plaquetaria PFA-100 para la medición del tiempo de hemorragia en relación con el método tradicional Ivy

Incidence of oral health in paediatric patients with disabilities: sensory disorders and autism spectrum disorder. Systematic review II

Introduction: We are currently witnessing an increase in the number of disabled patients, creating the need for knowledge of each of the pathologies and of the different oral and dental conditions they present, in order to achieve efficient management and treatment. Objectives: To analyse the existing scientific literature on the oral conditions of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and children with sensory deficits (SD), in comparison with the healthy child population. Material and Method: The bibliographic search was carried out in Pubmed/Medline, Scopus and Cochrane Library and included articles taking a sample of children between 0 and 18 years of age diagnosed with the abovementioned disorders and including at least one of the following oral hygiene conditions - oral hygiene, dental caries, malocclusion, oral habits, dental trauma, and gingival-periodontal status - comparing them with a healthy population. Results: A total of 10 articles were obtained for autism spectrum disorder and six for sensory deficits. Conclusions: Of all the variables studied, only the state of oral, gingival and/or periodontal hygiene can be considered worse in patients with ASD and SD, although we believe a larger number of research studies is needed to corroborate these results

Oral health in children with physical (Cerebral Palsy) and intellectual (Down Syndrome) disabilities: systematic review I

Introduction: Traditionally, patients with physical and/or intellectual disabilities presented greater oral pathology, owing to their condition and to other external factors. Improved social and health conditions make it necessary to update knowledge on their oral and dental health. Material and Methods: For this purpose, a bibliographic review was done regarding the state of oral health of children with these two types of disability, in comparison with a control group. Some of the guidelines of the PRISMA statement were taken into account. The ranking of the articles found is based on the modified Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale. The final number of articles evaluated was 14. Parameters such as dental caries, oral hygiene, gingival health, dental traumas, malocclusion and habits were considered. Results: There is no consensus among authors regarding dental caries, oral hygiene and gingival health. The different results obtained are due in part to the fact that the methodologies used were not the same. However, it has been noted that, when studying other parameters and regardless of the methodology employed, the results obtained are similar. Conclusions: Children with physical and intellectual disabilities constitute a group that needs early and regular dental care in order to prevent and limit the severity of the pathologies observed

El consumo moderado y continuado de vino tinto promueve el metabolismo fenólico intestinal

Los polifenoles presentes en el vino son ampliamente metabolizados por la microbiota a lo largo del tracto gastrointestinal. Estos metabolitos fenólicos de origen microbiano parecen tener un papel relevante en los efectos beneficiosos para la salud derivados del consumo moderado de vino. Entre otros efectos, los polifenoles del vino y/o sus metabolitos pueden modificar o modular selectivamente la microbiota oral y del intestino. Con el objetivo de dilucidar como el consumo de vino afecta al metabolismo fenólico intestinal y conocer la relevancia fisiológica de estos efectos, se ha realizado un estudio de intervención en humanos que incluye a 41 voluntarios sanos (33 casos y 8 controles), basado en el consumo moderado (250mL/día) de vino tinto, durante 4 semanas. Antes y después de la intervención, se recolectaron muestras de heces procedentes de los voluntarios. El análisis de metabolitos fenólicos mediante UPLC-ESI-MS/MS ha revelado un aumento significativo en el contenido total de metabolitos de origen microbiano, principalmente de ácidos benzoicos y 4-hidroxivaléricos, en las heces de los voluntarios tras la ingesta de vino, lo que demuestra que el perfil metabólico microbiano de las heces se modifica significativamente por la ingesta moderada de polifenoles del vino.Los autores agradecen al MINECO y al CSlC la financiación obtenida para este estudio.Peer reviewe

Moderate intake of red wine promotes a significant increase of phenolic metabolites in human faeces

With the final aim of ascertaining consistent data about the changes of phenolic metabolites in faeces after a regular wine consumption, the present paper compiles the data from two previous human intervention studies: a) a pilot study (n = 8), that compared the ingestion of de-alcoholised red wine (272 mL/day), red wine (272 mL/day), or gin (100 mL/day) during 20 days, and b) a large trial study (n = 41, 33 cases and 8 controls), that assessed variability among individuals after the intake of red wine (250 mL/day, 28 days). Great coincidence was observed in the main phenolic metabolites identified in the faecal samples from both studies that included benzoic acids, phenols, hippuric acids, phenylacetic acids, phenylpropionic acids, valeric acids, valerolactones and cinnamic acids. However, significant differences (P < 0.05) in the total phenolic content between faecal samples before and after the wine intervention was only observed for the large trial study (358 ± 270 and 625 ± 380 μg/g faeces, corresponding to the mean values before and after the intervention, respectively), emphasizing the large variability in the phenolic-metabolizing gut-microbial capacity among individuals. The overall results confirm that consumption of wine enhances phenolic metabolism, which might have physiological relevancy at the gut level.This work was funded by the MINECO (AGL2009-13361-C02-01, AGL2012- 04172-C02-01, and CONSOLIDER INGENIO 2010 (FUN-C-FOOD, CSD2007-063, Projects), and the Comunidad de Madrid (ALIBIRD P2009/AGR-1469 Project). AJ-G and IM-G would like to thank the European Social Fund and Jae-Doc (CSIC) and FPI Programs for their research contracts, respectively.Peer Reviewe

Phenolic Content of Blends of Tempranillo with Graciano or Cabernet Sauvignon Wines Produced in Spain

Utjecaj sorte Graciano (GRA, vrijedna španjolska sorta koja se proizvodi u malim količinama u mediteranskim zemljama) i sorte Cabernet Sauvignon (CS, svjetski poznata francuska sorta) na koncentraciju fenola (ukupnih polifenola (TP), ukupnih antocijanina (TA), katehina (CAT) i proantocijanidina (PRO)) u vinima Tempranillo (TEM-BASE, rasprostranjena španjolska sorta) istražen je u mješavinama s 26 i 10 % svake sorte nakon 4; 6; 9; 16,5 i 23 mjeseca čuvanja u bocama. Utvrđena je značajna razlika u koncentraciji katehina i ukupnih antocijanina u vinu (mješavinama i sortnom vinu), ovisno o faktoru miješanja. Osim toga, iako su tendencije razvoja različitih vrsta fenolnih spojeva tijekom starenja vina bile slične u mješavinama i u sortnom vinu, različite mješavine pokazale su bržu kinetiku razgradnje antocijanina od sortnih vina, vjerojatno zbog većeg udjela katehina, koji mogu pospješiti neke reakcije kondenziranja antocijanina tijekom starenja u boci. Taj je učinak nešto izraženiji u TEM-GRA nego u TEM-CS mješavinama. Daljnjim istraživanjem sastava fenola u jednosortnim vinima upotrijebljenim pri kupažiranju, a i u grožđu (kožici i sjemenkama) od kojih su vina dobivena, otkriveno je da se utjecaj kupažiranja na koncentraciju katehina može povezati s većom koncentracijom tih spojeva u sjemenkama grožđa Graciano i Cabernet Sauvignon nego u grožđu Tempranillo. Rezultati ovoga rada znanstveno potvrđuju da, što se tiče koncentracije fenola, vina Graciano imaju svojstva slična vinu Cabernet Sauvignon, a za kupažiranje s vinom Tempranillo.The effect of Graciano (GRA, Spanish valuable variety of limited production in Mediterranean countries) vs. Cabernet Sauvignon (CS, world-wide known French variety) on the phenolic content [total polyphenols (TP), total anthocyanins (TA), catechins (CAT) and proanthocyanidins (PRO)] of Tempranillo wines (TEM-BASE, a largely cultivated Spanish variety) was studied in blends prepared with 25 and 10 % of each variety after 4, 6, 9, 16.5 and 23 months of bottle ageing. Significant differences among wines (blends and base wine) according to the »blend« factor were observed for CAT and TA. Besides, although the evolution trend during wine ageing of different families of phenolic compounds studied was similar in the blends and base wine, different blends presented a faster anthocyanin disappearance kinetics than the base wine, probably due to their higher CAT content, which may favour the progress of certain anthocyanin condensation reactions during ageing in the bottle. This effect was slightly more pronounced in the TEM-GRA blends than in the TEM-CS ones. A further study of the phenolic composition of the monovarietal wines used for blending, as well as of the grapes (skins and seeds) from which these wines were elaborated, revealed that the blending effect on CAT could be associated with higher concentration of these compounds in Graciano and Cabernet Sauvignon grape seeds in comparison with Tempranillo. Finally, the findings of this work scientifically confirm that, in terms of the phenolic content, Graciano wines possess properties similar to Cabernet Sauvignon for blending with Tempranillo

Revalorization of coffee husk: Modeling and optimizing the green sustainable extraction of phenolic compounds

This study aimed to model and optimize a green sustainable extraction method of phenolic compounds from the coffee husk. Response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural networks (ANNs) were used to model the impact of extraction variables (temperature, time, acidity, and solid-to-liquid ratio) on the recovery of phenolic compounds. All responses were fitted to the RSM and ANN model, which revealed high estimation capabilities. The main factors affecting phenolic extraction were temperature, followed by solid-to-liquid ratio, and acidity. The optimal extraction conditions were 100◦C, 90 min, 0% citric acid, and 0.02 g coffee husk mL−1 . Under these conditions, experimental values for total phenolic compounds, flavonoids, flavanols, proanthocyanidins, phenolic acids, o-diphenols, and in vitro antioxidant capacity matched with predicted ones, therefore, validating the model. The presence of chlorogenic, protocatechuic, caffeic, and gallic acids and kaemferol-3-O-galactoside was confirmed by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS. The phenolic aqueous extracts from the coffee husk could be used as sustainable food ingredients and nutraceutical productsThis research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, SUSCOFFEE (grant number AGL2014–57239-R), COCARDIOLAC (grant number RTI 2018-097504-B-I00) projects, and the Community of Madrid and UAM Agreement (2019–2023). M. Rebollo-Hernanz thanks to the FPU program of the Ministry of Universities for his predoctoral fellowship (grant number FPU15/04238