Membrane synthesis by microemulsion polymerisation stabilised by commercial non-ionic surfactants

Earlier works had demonstrated that microemulsion polymerisation is a well suited technique to produce nanostructured membranes if surfmers (polymerisable surfactants) are used to stabilise the primary template (sponge phase microemulsion). Up to now, however; same hadn't been done using common surfactants. Present work aims to show this is possible if proper surfactants are selected. Specific formulation selection was done by means of phase diagram. Phase diagram was obtained by conductivity, surface tension and QELS measurements through several dilution lines. Polymerisation region was selected from phase diagram were no globular system was observed. Membranes were characterised by SEM, DSC and permeation experiment

Hydrogen enriched syngas production via gasification of biofuels pellets/powders blended from olive mill solid wastes and pine sawdust under different water steam/nitrogen atmospheres

International audienceIn this paper we focused on the gasification of biomass charcoal using a macro TG under the CO2 gasifier agent mixed with nitrogen at different mass molar fractions; 40%, 70% and 100% respectively. Moreover, the gasification tests were conducted at different isothermal temperatures; 750°C, 800°C, and 900°C respectively. For this purpose, two densified residues were selected; the exhausted olive mill solid wastes (EOMSW) and the pine sawdust (PS). Then, four different samples were prepared from these residues when investigating the impregnated and the non-impregnated samples using the olive mill waste water (OMWW) as by-product for the impregnation process. A comparison between obtained results during this current study and those obtained during our latest study when using steam as gasifier agent was carried out. We observe that the mass loss profiles meet the usual lingo-cellulosic gasification behaviours. Moreover, the increase of the isothermal temperatures or of the CO2 percentage affects positively the conversion, the gasification rate and the char reactivity. It is worth noting that the CO2 agent acts differently by comparison to the steam. Indeed, the gasification process using steam is found to be faster and more reactive

La forma urbana como objeto pedagógico: los casos de Learning from Las Vegas y Made in Tokyo.

The form of the contemporary city is the result of a cumulative process of spatial actions, both planned and spontaneous. However, this apparent “spontaneity” conceals commonly accepted patterns of development in the occupation of urban space, for instance the road network architecture. From an academic point of view, the interpretation of these models of unplanned urban development has been the subject of university workshops. This type of urban analysis workshop, very close to participatory and sociological practices, proliferated in the convulsed 1960s. At that time, pedagogical practices were born in the form of political actions that sought to incorporate the urban phenomenon into the demand for public space and architectural form. Based on this context, and in an attempt to incorporate the debate into current affairs, the aim is to analyse two reference experiences in the field of teaching and theory. The first, Learning from Las Vegas, is the result of the seminars of Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown at the Yale School of Art and Architecture (1968), and is a direct consequence of the social, political and educational changes of the time. On the other hand, Made in Tokyo appears with the new century, a publication derived from the workshops of Atelier Bow-Wow at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (1997-2001). Methodologically, the article deals with the conceptual approach as well as the pedagogical and logistical resources used in the organization of the workshops and the two derivative publications, with special attention to the theoretical background and graphic methods of representation of the spontaneous city.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Teaching practice as research: the case of the ‘Dutch Academy’ in the 1960’s and 1970’s

Postprint (published version

Biological production of H2, CH4 and CO2 in the deep subsurface of the iberian pyrite belt

Most of the terrestrial deep subsurfaces are oligotrophic environments in which some gases, mainly H2, CH4 and CO2, play an important role as energy and/or carbon sources. In this work, we assessed their biotic and abiotic origin in samples from subsurface hard-rock cores of the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB) at three different depths (414, 497 and 520 m). One set of samples was sterilized (abiotic control) and all samples were incubated under anaerobic conditions. Our results showed that H2, CH4 and CO2 remained low and constant in the sterilized controls while their levels were 4, 4.1 and 2.5 times higher respectively, in the unsterilized samples compared to the abiotic controls. The δ13CCH4-values measured in the samples (range −31.2 to −43.0 ‰) reveals carbon isotopic signatures that are within the range for biological methane production. Possible microorganisms responsible for the biotic production of the gases were assessed by CARD-FISH. The analysis of sequenced genomes of detected microorganisms within the subsurface of the IPB allowed to identify possible metabolic activities involved in H2 (Rhodoplanes, Shewanella and Desulfosporosinus), CH4 (Methanobacteriales) and CO2 production. The obtained results suggest that part of the H2, CH4 and CO2 detected in the deep subsurface has a biological originAuthors thank all the IPBSL project team members for facilitating access to the samples. This work was supported by MICINN grant PID2019‐1048126GB‐I00. Thanks are due to A. I. Morato for her valuable technical assistanc

Information flow between resting state networks

The resting brain dynamics self-organizes into a finite number of correlated patterns known as resting state networks (RSNs). It is well known that techniques like independent component analysis can separate the brain activity at rest to provide such RSNs, but the specific pattern of interaction between RSNs is not yet fully understood. To this aim, we propose here a novel method to compute the information flow (IF) between different RSNs from resting state magnetic resonance imaging. After haemodynamic response function blind deconvolution of all voxel signals, and under the hypothesis that RSNs define regions of interest, our method first uses principal component analysis to reduce dimensionality in each RSN to next compute IF (estimated here in terms of Transfer Entropy) between the different RSNs by systematically increasing k (the number of principal components used in the calculation). When k = 1, this method is equivalent to computing IF using the average of all voxel activities in each RSN. For k greater than one our method calculates the k-multivariate IF between the different RSNs. We find that the average IF among RSNs is dimension-dependent, increasing from k =1 (i.e., the average voxels activity) up to a maximum occurring at k =5 to finally decay to zero for k greater than 10. This suggests that a small number of components (close to 5) is sufficient to describe the IF pattern between RSNs. Our method - addressing differences in IF between RSNs for any generic data - can be used for group comparison in health or disease. To illustrate this, we have calculated the interRSNs IF in a dataset of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) to find that the most significant differences between AD and controls occurred for k =2, in addition to AD showing increased IF w.r.t. controls.Comment: 47 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables, 3 supplementary figures. Accepted for publication in Brain Connectivity in its current for

Methanogenesis at high temperature, high ionic strength and low pH in the volcanic area of Dallol, Ethiopia

The Dallol geothermal area originated as a result of seismic activity and the presence of a shallow underground volcano, both due to the divergence of two tectonic plates. In its ascent, hot water dissolves and drags away the subsurface salts. The temperature of the water that comes out of the chimneys is higher than 100C, with a pH close to zero and high mineral concentration. These factors make Dallol a polyextreme environment. So far, nanohaloarchaeas, present in the salts that form the walls of the chimneys, have been the only living beings reported in this extreme environment. Through the use of complementary techniques: culture in microcosms, methane stable isotope signature and hybridization with specific probes, the methanogenic activity in the Dallol area has been assessed. Methane production in microcosms, positive hybridization with the Methanosarcinales probe and the δC-values measured, show the existence of extensive methanogenic activity in the hydrogeothermic Dallol system. A methylotrophic pathway, carried out by Methanohalobium and Methanosarcina-like genera, could be the dominant pathway for methane production in this environment.Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI), grant MDM-2017-0737 (Unidad de Excelencia “María de Maeztu”-Centro de Astrobiología INTA-CSIC) and the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN

Formulation, caractérisation et mise en œuvre des barrières perméables réactives à base de phosphate de calcium, utilisation pour la fixation de polluants

L'objectif principal de cette thèse est la formulation des mélanges stables contenant l'hydroxyapatite gel synthétisée (Ca-HAGel). Le comportement rhéologique des mélanges Eau/(sulfate de calcium) et hydroxyapatite/(sulfate de calcium) a été étudié. Les résultats ont montré que tout les mélanges sont caractérisés par un comportement rhéologique rhefluidifiant et thixotrope. Le potentiel zeta a été utilisé dans cette étude pour mieux appréhender les interactions entre les particules et leur effet sur le comportement des mélanges. La fixation de sulfate sur la surface de Ca- HA favorise la stabilité de la structure du Ca-HAGel. Les analyses de caractérisation effectuées sur les formulations ont montré la formation de nouveaux composés tels que le sulfate-phosphate de calcium hydrate et l'Ardealite. Les tests de lixiviation et de percolation ont révélé que le taux de relargage de soufre et strontium à partir des sous-produits de gypse était négligeable pour les mélanges contenant Ca-HAGel. Ca- HAGel stabilise les métaux lourds relargués à partir du gypse et plâtre. Les particules du gypse améliorent les performances hydrauliques de Ca-HAGel et le plâtre hydraté stabilise la structure de Ca-HAGel par la formation des particules agglomérées. Le test colonne effectué sur la formulation AWPG2 a montré une grande performance à retenir le plomb et le cadmium avec des capacités de rétention de plus de 99% et 88% respectivement. Le traitement des métaux lourds était lié aux particules de Ca-HA et aux phosphate et calcium libres. La formulation AWPG2 peut être utilisée dans les barrières perméables réactives pour traiter les eaux souterraines contaminées.The main purpose of this thesis was the formulation of stable blends based on synthesized hydroxyapatite-gel (Ca-HAGel). The rheological behavior of water calcium sulfates and hydroxyapatite calcium sulfates blends was considered in this study. The results show that all blends and formulations exhibit a shearthinning effect and thixotropic behavior. The potential was used in this study to understand the interaction between particles and its effect on the global behavior of the blends. Fixation of sulfate on Ca-HA surface promotes the stability of Ca-HAGel suspension. Characterization analysis of formulation shown the presence of new compounds such as calcium sulfate-phosphate hydrate and Ardealite. Leaching and percolation tests revealed that the release rate of sulfur and strontium from gypsum by-product was negligible in blends based on Ca- Agel. Ca-HAGel was stabilized the heavy metals released from plaster and gypsum. Gypsum particles enhanced hydraulic performances of Ca-HAGel and hydrated plaster stabilized Ca-HAGel structure by the formation of agglomerated particles. Column test carried out on AWPG2 blend revealed high removal performances for lead and cadmium with retention capacity of 99% and 88% respectively. The reactivity was related to Ca-HA and free calcium and phosphate contained in the selected formulation. AWPG2 blend is to be used as permeable reactive barrier for in-situ contaminated groundwater remediationTOULOUSE-INP (315552154) / SudocSudocFranceF

Decision-Making Aid Tool to Support Renovation of Buildings with Industrialised All-in-One Technology Solutions

[EN] Unlike other interventions for the improvement of energy efficiency, in the case of the application of prefabricated elements in deep renovations, there is a certain lack of knowledge on the part of potential clients or even technical staff. This article arises from this need, and its objective and main result is the development and presentation of a tool to help in making decisions on whether the industrialized building envelope kits in general and those of the H2020 INFINITE project are applicable in each specific case.Serrano Lanzarote, AB.; Jareño Escudero, CI.; Sanz Almela, D.; Romero Clausell, J. (2021). Decision-Making Aid Tool to Support Renovation of Buildings with Industrialised All-in-One Technology Solutions. Environmental Sciences Proceedings. 11(1):1-5. https://doi.org/10.3390/environsciproc2021011004S1511

Partial enterectomy decreases somatostatin-binding sites in residual intestine of rabbits

Three weeks after partial enterectomy in the rabbit there was an increased somatostatin concentration and a decreased number of somatostatin-binding sites (without changes in the corresponding affinity values) in the cytosol of the residual intestinal tissue, except in the terminal ileum and the colon.\ud Five weeks after surgery both the somatostatin concentration and the number of somatostatin-binding sites returned towards control values.\ud These results suggest that an increase in bowel somatostatin content could lead to down-regulation of somatostatin-binding sites in the intestinal mucosa