Clinkering of calcium sulfoaluminate clinkers: polymorphism of ye'elimite

The manufacture of CSA cements is more environmentally friendly than that of OPC as it releases less CO2. This reduction depends on CSA composition and is due to three factors: i) less emissions from decarbonation in the kilns; ii) lower clinkering temperature, consequently less fuel is needed, and iii) it is easier to grind, implying a depletion in indirect emissions. CSA cements are prepared by mixing the clinker with different amounts of calcium sulfate as a set regulator. Their main performances are fast setting time (followed by a rapid hardening), good chemical resistance and, depending on the amount of the added sulfate source they can work as shrinkage controllers. CSA cements present a wide range of phase assemblages, but all of them contain over 50 wt% of ye'elimite (C4A3s) jointly with belite (C2S), tetracalcium aluminoferrite (C4AF) and other minor components such as CA, Cs, CsH2 and so on [1]. Ye'elimite is also included (~25 wt%) in BYF (Belite- Ye'elimite-Ferrite) or BAY (Belite-Alite-Ye'elimite) clinkers. Ye'elimite has a sodalite type structure with general composition, M4[T6O12]X. Stoichiometric ye'elimite crystal structure at room temperature will be described in detailed. The role of different amounts of minor elements on the synthetic procedure and crystal structures will be also presented [2,3]. This keynote will be also focused on a revision of the effect of raw materials on the mineralogical composition of CSA, BYF and BAY. Specifically, the role of main elements contents in the ye'elimite formation in these systems will be described. Moreover, the effect of minor elements on the polymorphism of both ye'elimite and belite, especially on BYF and BAY clinkers, will be presented [4,5,6].Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Spanish MINECO and FEDER [BIA2017-82391-R] research project and I3 [IEDI-2016-0079] program

Nalaz gljivica tijekom mikrobiološke pretrage mesnih proizvoda

The study is focused on the microbial analysis of selected soft, heat-processed meat products and raw materials used for their production. A special attention has been paid to the isolation and identification of microscopic filamentous fungi. Five samples (from the surface of beef cuts, ground beef, ground pork, salami emulsion, and final product) were taken each month within a period of one year. The microbial investigation was aimed at the determination of total plate counts, the number of coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, the presence of Salmonella spp., and the number of moulds. The highest level of microbial contamination (total plate count, counts of coliforms and Staphylococcus aureus) was observed in both kinds of ground meat during summer months. The presence of Salmonella was not determined in any sample. The highest number of microscopic filamentous fungi was found in samples of salami emulsion in summer months. Toxicogenic genera (Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., and Fusarium spp.) have also been identified.U radu su prikazani rezultati mikrobioloških analiza odabranih toplinski obrađenih mesnih proizvoda te sirovina u njihovoj proizvodnji. Posebna je pozornost obraćena izolaciji i identifikaciji mikroskopskih nitastih gljivica. Tijekom jednogodišnjega razdoblja svaki je mjesec uzimano pet uzoraka (s površine goveđih trupova, mljevena govedina, mljevena svinjetina, emulzija za proizvodnju salame i finalni proizvod). Cilj mikrobiološke pretrage bio je utvrditi ukupan broj mikroorganizama, broj koliformnih mikroorganizama, Staphylococcus aureus, prisutnost salmonela te broj plijesni. Najviša razina mikrobne kontaminacije (ukupan broj mikroorganizama, broj koliformnih mikroorganizama i S. aureus) uočena je u objema vrstama mljevena mesa tijekom ljetnih mjeseci. Ni u jednom uzorku salmonele nisu izolirane. Najveći broj gljivica utvrđen je u uzorcima emulzije za proizvodnju salame u ljetnim mjesecima. Izdvojeni su i toksogeni rodovi (Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp. i Fusarium spp.)

A comparative study between wmms and tls for the stability analysis of the San Pedro church barrel vault by means of the finite element method

Stability of masonry constructions is highly conditioned by the geometric disposition of its elements due to its low tensile strength and great compressive mechanical properties. Under this framework, this paper attempts to evaluate the suitability of a wearable mobile mapping solution, equipped in a backpack and based on the well-known simultaneous location and mapping paradigm, for the structural diagnosis of historical constructions. To evaluate the suitability of this device, the structural analysis obtained is compared with a high precision terrestrial laser scanner, which is considered as ground truth. The Romanesque church of San Pedro (Becerril del Carpio, Spain) was selected as a study case. This construction, initially conceived in the XIIIth century, has experimented in the past a soil settlement promoting the leaning of the north wall, several plastic hinges in its barrel vault and a visible geometrical deformation. The comparison of both techniques was carried out at different levels: i) an evaluation of the time needed to obtain the point cloud of the church; ii) an accuracy assessment based on the comparison of a terrestrial network using artificial spheres as checkpoints and; iii) an evaluation of the discrepancies, in terms of safety factor and collapse topology, found during the advance numerical evaluation of the barrel vault by means of the finite element method. This comparison places this wearable mobile mapping solution as an interesting tool for the creation of advanced numerical simulations to evaluate the structural stability of historical constructionsJunta de Castilla y León | Ref. SA075P17FEDER | Ref. SOE1/P5/P025

Processing and characterisation of standard and doped alite-belite-ye'elimite ecocement pastes and mortars

Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2019.105911.Cement and Concrete Research 127 (2020) 105911Here, we report the processing optimisation of two laboratory-prepared alite-belite-ye'elimite ecocements (standard and doped) that release to the atmosphere ~13% less CO2 than Portland Cement during fabrication. The processing was optimised through rheological measurements, where homogeneous pastes and mortars were finally prepared through the study and optimisation of both the superplasticiser content and the water-to-cement ratio. Both parameters were correlated with the phase assembly of selected pastes and compressive strength of the corresponding mortars. After optimisation, mortars with high compressive strengths (~72 and ~77 MPa for the standard mortar, and ~41 and ~75 MPa for the doped one, at 7 and 28 days, respectively) were prepared. Furthermore, the important increase in compressive strength from 7 to 28 days of the optimised mortar prepared from the doped ecocement is due to its composition (the higher content of belite jointly with the reaction of its active polymorph (α'H-belite)).This work is part of the PhD of Mr. Jesus D. Zea-Garcia. This research has been supported by Spanish MINECO and FEDER [BIA2017- 82391-R research project and I3 (IEDI-2016-0079) program]

Applying laboratory thermal desorption data in an interstellar context: sublimation of methanol thin films

Methods by which experimental measurements of thermal desorption can be applied in astrophysical environments have been developed, using the sublimation of solid methanol as an example. The temperature programmed desorption of methanol from graphitic, amorphous silica and polycrystalline gold substrates was compared, with the kinetic parameters of desorption extracted by either a leading edge analysis or by fitting using a stochastic integration method. At low coverages, the desorption shows a substrate-dependent fractional order. However, at higher coverages methanol desorption is zeroth order with kinetic parameters independent of substrate. Using a kinetic model based on the stochastic integration analyses, desorption under astrophysically relevant conditions can be simulated. We find that the chemical and morphological nature of the substrate has relatively little impact on the desorption temperature of solid methanol, and that the substrate independent zeroth-order kinetics can provide a satisfactory model for desorption in astrophysical environments. Uncertainties in the heating rate and the distribution of grain sizes will have the largest influence on the range of desorption temperature. These conclusions are likely to be generally applicable to all species in dust grain ice mantles

El afloramiento costero y el fenómeno de el niño: implicaciones sobre los recursos biológicos del pacifico de Panamá

La costa del Pacífico panameño está bajo la influencia de cambios ambientales naturales, como el afloramiento costero y las manifestaciones del fenómeno de El Niño, que tienen implicaciones sobre los recursos biológicos. Durante este estudio se caracterizaron las variaciones hidrológicas estacionales e interanuales en el Golfo de Panamá, se estimó la intensidad del afloramiento utilizando los datos de la temperatura superficial del mar y se evaluó preliminarmente la diversidad genotípica de los corales. Se observaron cambios notables en la calidad del agua en el Golfo de Panamá como consecuencia del afloramiento. El análisis histórico de los afloramientos en el Golfo de Panamá indica que éstos son pulsativos y con más de dos períodos y asociados a las temperaturas superficiales del mar. La temperatura representa el mejor estimado cuantitativo de la intensidad de afloramiento periódico en el Golfo de Panamá. El análisis electroforético de las isoenzimas del coral Pocillopora damicornis en Panamá sugiere la existencia de una amplia diversidad genética en las áreas térmicamente estables del Golfo de Chiriquí y en áreas de afloramiento moderado como Isla Iguana en el Golfo de Panamá. Lo anterior contrasta con la limitada diversidad de genotipos que tiene la especie en las áreas con fuerte influencia del afloramiento, como en el Archipiélago de Las Perlas y en las islas de la Bahía de Panamá

CTCF genetic alterations in endometrial carcinoma are pro-tumorigenic

CTCF is a haploinsufficient tumour suppressor gene with diverse normal functions in genome structure and gene regulation. However the mechanism by which CTCF haploinsufficiency contributes to cancer development is not well understood. CTCF is frequently mutated in endometrial cancer. Here we show that most CTCF mutations effectively result in CTCF haploinsufficiency through nonsense-mediated decay of mutant transcripts, or loss-of-function missense mutation. Conversely, we identified a recurrent CTCF mutation K365T, which alters a DNA binding residue, and acts as a gain-of-function mutation enhancing cell survival. CTCF genetic deletion occurs predominantly in poor prognosis serous subtype tumours, and this genetic deletion is associated with poor overall survival. In addition, we have shown that CTCF haploinsufficiency also occurs in poor prognosis endometrial clear cell carcinomas and has some association with endometrial cancer relapse and metastasis. Using shRNA targeting CTCF to recapitulate CTCF haploinsufficiency, we have identified a novel role for CTCF in the regulation of cellular polarity of endometrial glandular epithelium. Overall, we have identified two novel pro-tumorigenic roles (promoting cell survival and altering cell polarity) for genetic alterations of CTCF in endometrial cancer

Mitochondrial phylogeography and demographic history of the Vicuña: implications for conservation

The vicuña (Vicugna vicugna; Miller, 1924) is a conservation success story, having recovered from near extinction in the 1960s to current population levels estimated at 275 000. However, lack of information about its demographic history and genetic diversity has limited both our understanding of its recovery and the development of science-based conservation measures. To examine the evolution and recent demographic history of the vicuña across its current range and to assess its genetic variation and population structure, we sequenced mitochondrial DNA from the control region (CR) for 261 individuals from 29 populations across Peru, Chile and Argentina. Our results suggest that populations currently designated as Vicugna vicugna vicugna and Vicugna vicugna mensalis comprise separate mitochondrial lineages. The current population distribution appears to be the result of a recent demographic expansion associated with the last major glacial event of the Pleistocene in the northern (18 to 22°S) dry Andes 14–12 000 years ago and the establishment of an extremely arid belt known as the 'Dry Diagonal' to 29°S. Within the Dry Diagonal, small populations of V. v. vicugna appear to have survived showing the genetic signature of demographic isolation, whereas to the north V. v. mensalis populations underwent a rapid demographic expansion before recent anthropogenic impacts

Evaluating open access journals using Semantic Web technologies and scorecards

This paper describes a process to develop and publish a scorecard from an OAJ (Open Access Journal) on the Semantic Web using Linked Data technologies in such a way that it can be linked to related datasets. Furthermore, methodological guidelines are presented with activities related to each step of the process. The proposed process was applied to a university OAJ, including the definition of the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) linked to the institutional strategies, the extraction, cleaning and loading of data from the data sources into a data mart, the transformation of data into RDF (Resource Description Framework), and the publication of data by means of a SPARQL endpoint using the Virtuoso software. Additionally, the RDF data cube vocabulary has been used to publish the multidimensional data on the Web. The visualization was made using CubeViz, a faceted browser to present the KPIs in interactive charts.This research was supported by National Polythecnic School of Quito, Ecuador. Alejandro Maté is funded by the Generalitat Valenciana (APOSTD/2014/064)

X-ray diffraction, cements and environment, three worlds in one

This keynote lecture will be focused on the strategies for reducing CO2 emissions in the cement production. Concretely, the production of ecocements with optimised formulations that yield reductions in CO2 emissions of up to 25%, when compared to OPC production. Phase assemblage has to be carefully optimised to be competitive and these new ecocements should develop compressive strengths of at least 50 MPa at 28 days of hydration. Optimised compositions of several ecocements will be discussed, but all of them are ye'elimite or calcium sulphoaluminate containing ones: belite-ye'elimite-ferrite (BYF), belite-alite-ye'elimite (BAY) and ye'elimite rich ones (CSA). The clinkering temperature of BYF and BAY has to be established to obtain the targeted phase assemblages. Moreover, the stabilisation of alpha-forms of belite is needed to develop high mechanical strengths at early ages. The benefits of the use of waste materials (such as fly ash or slag) as additions to ecocements are three-fold: lower CO2 emissions due to clinker replacement; valorisation of “useless” products that need a lot of landscape and the consequent efficient consumption of raw materials; and to enhance mechanical properties of the corresponding mortars. The design of appropriate CSA, BYF and BAY mortars, with the final aim of knowing and controlling the hydration mechanisms, will be presented. Particularly, the role of i) type and amount of set regulator (gypsum, anhydrite, etc.), ii) water/cement ratio (w/c); iii) superplasticiser; and iv) pozzolanic additions will be discussed. The role of these parameters in the microstructure and hydraulic behaviour has been investigated through traditional techniques as well as advanced synchrotron characterisation. The formers include laboratory/synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction combined with Rietveld methodology (to obtain phase assemblage), electron microscopy techniques for paste microstructure determination, rheological studies (to control the effect of the different additives, w/c ratio and setting time retarders) and mechanical tests (setting times, compressive strengths and dimensional stability). The latters comprise a group of techniques available at synchrotrons such as: i) high temperature x-ray diffraction for clinkering studies and ii) total scattering data to be analysed by pair distribution function, PDF.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. PhD D. Londono-Zuluaga thanks Colciencias and Enlaza Mundos program PhD grant. Spanish MINECO (BIA2014-57658-C2-2-R, which is co-funded by FEDER, BIA2014-57658-C2-1-R and I3 (IEDI-2016-0079) grants) are acknowledged