Etnografía de la Andalucía Occidental

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Quasar 3C 298: a test-case for meteoritic nanodiamond 3.5 µm emission

Aims. We calculate the dust emission expected at 3.43 and 3.53 µm if meteoritic (i.e. hydrogenated) nanodiamonds are responsible for most of the far-UV break observed in quasars. Methods. We integrate the UV flux that hydrogenated nanodiamonds must absorb to reproduce the far-UV break. Based on laboratory spectra of H-terminated diamond surfaces, we analyse the radiative energy budget and derive theoretically the IR emission profiles expected for possible C-H surface stretch modes of the diamonds. Results. Using as test case a spectrum of 3C 298 provided by the Spitzer Observatory, we do not find evidence of these emission bands. Conclusions. While diamonds without surface adsorbates remain a viable candidate for explaining the far-UV break observed in quasars, hydrogenated nanodiamonds appear to be ruled out, as they would give rise to IR emission bands, which have not been observed so far

Synthesis of Oligosaccharides Derived from Lactulose (OsLu) Using Soluble and Immobilized Aspergillus oryzae β-Galactosidase

β-Galactosidase from Aspergillus oryzae offers a high yield for the synthesis of oligosaccharides derived from lactulose (OsLu) by transgalactosylation. Oligosaccharides with degree of polymerization (DP) ≥ 3 have shown to possess higher in vitro bifidogenic effect than di- and tetrasaccharides. Thus, in this work, an optimization of reaction conditions affecting the specific selectivity of A. oryzae β-galactosidase for synthesis of OsLu has been carried out to enhance OsLu with DP ≥ 3 production. Assays with β-galactosidase immobilized onto a glutaraldehyde–agarose support were also carried out with the aim of making the process cost-effective and industrially viable. Optimal conditions with both soluble and immobilized enzyme for the synthesis of OsLu with DP ≥ 3 were 50 °C, pH 6.5, 450 g/L of lactulose, and 8 U/mL of enzyme, reaching yields of ca. 50% (w/v) of total OsLu and ca. 20% (w/v) of OsLu with DP 3, being 6′-galactosyl-lactulose the major one, after a short reaction time. Selective formation of disaccharides, however, was favored at 60 °C, pH 4.5, 450 g/L of lactulose and 8 U/mL of enzyme. Immobilization increased the enzymatic stability to temperature changes and allowed to reuse the enzyme. We can conclude that the use, under determined optimal conditions, of the A. oryzae β-galactosidase immobilized on a support of glutaraldehyde–agarose constitutes an efficient and cost-effective alternative to the use of soluble β-galactosidases for the synthesis of prebiotic OsLu mixturesThis work has been supported by projects AGL2014-53445-R from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad; ALIBIRD-CM S-2013/ABI-2728 from Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid and COOPB20099 from CSI

Quantification of prebiotics in commercial infant formulas

Since breastfeeding is not always possible, infant formulas (IFs) are supplemented with prebiotic oligosaccharides, such as galactooligosaccharides (GOS) and/or fructooligosaccharides (FOS) to exert similar effects to those of the breast milk. Nowadays, a great number of infant formulas enriched with prebiotics are disposal in the market, however there are scarce data about their composition. In this study, the combined use of two chromatographic methods (GC-FID and HPLC-RID) for the quantification of carbohydrates present in commercial infant formulas have been used. According to the results obtained by GC-FID for products containing prebiotics, the content of FOS, GOS and GOS/FOS was in the ranges of 1.6-5.0, 1.7-3.2, and 0.08-0.25/2.3-3.8 g/100 g of product, respectively. HPLC-RID analysis allowed quantification of maltodextrins with degree of polymerization (DP) up to 19. The methodology proposed here may be used for routine quality control of infant formula and other food ingredients containing prebiotics.This work has been supported by projects AGL2011-27884 and AGL2014-58205-REDC from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad; ALIBIRD-CM S-2013/ABI-272 (Comunidad de Madrid).Peer Reviewe

Host responses in an ex-vivo human skin model challenged with Malassezia sympodialis

FUNDING: This project was funded by a Wellcome Trust Strategic Award for Medical Mycology and Fungal Immunology (097377/Z/11/Z). We would like to acknowledge the support of Internal Funding through a Core Facilities Voucher from the University of Aberdeen. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The authors gratefully acknowledge the Technology hubs at the University of Aberdeen (Microscopy and Histology, qPCR facility and Proteomics) for their support, sample processing and training. Special thanks to Professor Annika Scheynius from the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden for sharing her expertise and constructive discussions and for giving us the inspiration to work on Malassezia.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Characterization and improvement of rheological properties of sodium caseinate glycated with galactose, lactose and dextran

10 páginas, 7 figuras, 2 tablas.-- El pdf del artículo es la versión de autor.The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of non-enzymatic glycosylation with galactose, lactose, and 10 kDa dextran on the rheological properties of sodium caseinate. To promote the formation of covalent complexes, the reaction was done in solid state (aw = 0.67), pH 7.0 (0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer), and temperature set at 50 and 60 °C. The progress of Maillard reaction was indirectly traced by measuring the formation of the Amadori compound, through furosine (2-furoylmethyl-lysine) analysis, and brown polymers, and the resulting glycoconjugates were characterized by LC/ESI-MS and SEC. Results showed a higher reactivity of galactose than lactose and dextran to form the glycoconjugates, due to its smaller molecular weight. Glycation with galactose and lactose increased the viscosity of caseinate and also altered its flow characteristics from Newtonian to shear-thinning. Oscillatory testing showed a higher elastic modulus (G′) in glycoconjugates when compared to non-glycated caseinate, especially with galactose, where a gel-like behaviour was observed after long incubation times. Glycation with dextran did not produce substantial improvements in the rheological properties of caseinate, probably due to the limited extent of the reaction. Our results show that by controlling the rate and extent of the Maillard reaction is a technologically feasible operation to improve the viscosity and gelling properties of sodium caseinate-based ingredients.This work was supported by projects Consolider Ingenio 2010 FUN-C-FOOD CSD2007-00063 (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia), ALIBIRD S-0505/AGR/000153 (Comunidad de Madrid) and Hatch project TEN00332 (University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture). M. Corzo-Martínez thanks the CSIC for an I3P PhD-grant.Peer reviewe

Transient numerical assessment of race car dry-sump oil under different maneuvers

A numerical assessment of a dry-sump oil system was performed by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Unlike conventional cars, race cars are subjected to high accelerations that induce oil sloshing. Hence, dry-sump oil systems are required to collect the oil outside of the engine prior to be pumped inside of it again. To avoid engine malfunctions, the dry-sump must guarantee continuously oil suction in every maneuver. To perform such simulations, the model was subjected to different car maneuvers extracted from data acquisition available from real race car, showing that single and combined maneuvers, such as acceleration, braking and turnings can induce downward, upward and lateral accelerations higher than 2g during several seconds. Therefore, four different single maneuvers (acceleration, deceleration, turn right and turn left) as well as a set of contaminated maneuvers (braking and turning) were studied. Simulations were achieved by mean of the Volume of Fluid Method (VOF) for a air-oil system. The influence of the turbulence modeling was also investigated. First a forerunner design was analyzed and both the race car tests and CFD simulations showed that for the most extreme maneuvers (pure braking and combined with braking with turning right) the original design failed before the end of the maneuvers by air suction in the pump inlet. In consequence, the dry-sump was redesigned and assessed under these extreme conditions until to ensure stable oil aspiration.Publicado en: Mecánica Computacional vol. XXXV, no. 7.Facultad de Ingenierí

Transient numerical assessment of race car dry-sump oil under different maneuvers

A numerical assessment of a dry-sump oil system was performed by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Unlike conventional cars, race cars are subjected to high accelerations that induce oil sloshing. Hence, dry-sump oil systems are required to collect the oil outside of the engine prior to be pumped inside of it again. To avoid engine malfunctions, the dry-sump must guarantee continuously oil suction in every maneuver. To perform such simulations, the model was subjected to different car maneuvers extracted from data acquisition available from real race car, showing that single and combined maneuvers, such as acceleration, braking and turnings can induce downward, upward and lateral accelerations higher than 2g during several seconds. Therefore, four different single maneuvers (acceleration, deceleration, turn right and turn left) as well as a set of contaminated maneuvers (braking and turning) were studied. Simulations were achieved by mean of the Volume of Fluid Method (VOF) for a air-oil system. The influence of the turbulence modeling was also investigated. First a forerunner design was analyzed and both the race car tests and CFD simulations showed that for the most extreme maneuvers (pure braking and combined with braking with turning right) the original design failed before the end of the maneuvers by air suction in the pump inlet. In consequence, the dry-sump was redesigned and assessed under these extreme conditions until to ensure stable oil aspiration.Publicado en: Mecánica Computacional vol. XXXV, no. 7.Facultad de Ingenierí