TEM and SAED Characterization of Metakaolin. Pozzolanic Activity

The present study deals with a characterization of metakaolin pozzolanic activity and its chemical character exhibited in the Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) blends by means of Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Selected-Area Electron Diffraction (SAED) techniques principally. Metakaolin sample was prepared by calcination of kaolin rock (Guadalajara, Spain) at 780°C. Two OPC of different chemical composition from the tricalcium aluminate content point of view were chosen and Portland cement blends series elaborated and then submitted to the pozzolanic activity test (EN 196-5 or Frattini test). The main mineralogical components of the metakaolin are determined qualitatively: χ-alumina and quartz. The chemical character of the metakaolin is described because of its final composition as well as due to its Al atoms possible coordination. The crystalline order of the material is found to be of both amorphous and polycrystalline, being an intimate amorphous mixture of alumina and silica. Finally, all the alumina capable of reacting chemically is denominated and classified as reactive alumina component, Al2O3r−, of pozzolans, as well as the aluminic chemical character of metakaolin in OPC blends is once again proved and exhibited by means of Friedel's salt formation studied already at 4 h-age

Caracterización hidrogeoquímica de los manantiales del área geotermal de Ixtapan de la Sal-Tonatico (México)

La composición química del agua subterránea es el resultado de continuos procesos de interacción entre el agua de precipitación, que se infiltra en el terreno, y los minerales presentes en las rocas por donde circula. Parte de las características químicas del agua son adquiridas en la zona no saturada y otras más a lo largo de su recorrido dentro de la zona saturada, hasta donde pueden ser captadas o bien emerger como agua de manantial. Estos últimos según sus características, puede ser empleados para consumo humano, como generadores de energía o bien para fines recreativos, como es el caso de los manantiales termales de Ixtapan de la Sal y Tonatico. Los estudios hidrogeoquímicos de manantiales termales han permitido ampliar el conocimiento del origen, edad, composición físico-química de las aguas, de las condiciones de recarga y posibles mezclas de agua, así como identificar los procesos que tienen lugar en el acuífero y que permiten obtener una visión más completa del comportamiento del acuífero. También permiten deducir las características de la roca, composición mineralógica, textura, porosidad, grado de alteración, fracturación y compactación, tiempo de residencia o de contacto, temperatura y presión..

Carbon nanotubes as catalysts for wet peroxide oxidation: The effect of surface chemistry

Three magnetic carbon nanotube (CNT) samples, named A30 (N-doped), E30 (undoped) and E10A20 (selectively N-doped), synthesized by catalytic chemical vapor deposition, were modified by introducing oxygenated surface groups (oxidation with HNO3, samples CNT-N), and by heat treatment at 800 °C for the removal of surface functionalities (samples CNT-HT). Both treatments lead to higher specific surface areas. The acid treatment results in more acidic surfaces, with higher amounts of oxygenated species being introduced on Ndoped surfaces. Heat-treated samples are less hydrophilic than those treated with nitric acid, heat treatment leading to neutral or basic surfaces, only N-quaternary and N-pyridinic species being found by XPS on N-doped surfaces. These materials were tested in the catalytic wet peroxide oxidation (CWPO) of highly concentrated 4-nitrophenol solutions (4-NP, 5 g L−1) at atmospheric pressure, T=50 °C and pH=3, using a catalyst load of 2.5 g L−1 and the stoichiometric amount of H2O2 needed for the complete mineralization of 4-NP. The high temperature treatment enhanced significantly the activity of the CNTs towards CWPO, evaluated in terms of 4-NP and total organic carbon conversion, due to the increased hydrophobicity of their surface. In particular, E30HT and E10A20HT were able to remove ca. 100% of 4-NP after 8 h of operation. On the other hand, by treating the CNTs with HNO3, the activity of the less hydrophilic samples decreased upon increasing the concentration of surface oxygen-containing functionalities, whilst the reactivity generated inside the opened nanotubes improved the activity of the highly hydrophilic A30 N.This work is a result of project “AIProcMat@N2020 - Advanced Industrial Processes and Materials for a Sustainable Northern Region of Portugal 2020”, with the reference NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000006, supported by NORTE 2020, under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the ERDF and of Project Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM - UID/EQU/50020/2019 - funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). M. Martín Martínez acknowledges the postdoc grant 2017-T2/AMB-5668 from Comunidad de Madrid, Programme “Atracción de talento investigador”. B. Machado acknowledges the exploratory project under FCT Investigator Programme (ref. IF/00301/ 2015) with the financial support of FCT/MCTES through national funds (PIDDAC). S. Morales Torres acknowledges the financial support from University of Granada (Reincorporación Plan Propio).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Newcomer and receiving communities' perspectives on Latino immigrant acculturation in community B

Purpose of the project: to understand the perceptions of both Latino newcomers and receiving community members regarding the integration of Latino immigrants in rural communities in the Midwest. This study is part of a larger participatory action research project that seeks to examine effective strategies for integrating Latino newcomers into rural communities.Includes bibliographical references

Impact of compacted bentonite microbial community on the clay mineralogy and copper canister corrosion: a multidisciplinary approach in view of a safe Deep Geological Repository of nuclear wastes

Deep Geological Repository (DGR) is the preferred option for the final disposal of high-level radioactive waste. Microorganisms could affect the safety of the DGR by altering the mineralogical properties of the compacted bentonite or inducing the corrosion of the metal canisters. In this work, the impact of physicochemical parameters (bentonite dry density, heat shock, electron donors/acceptors) on the microbial activity, stability of compacted bentonite and corrosion of copper (Cu) discs was investigated after one-year anoxic incubation at 30 ºC. No-illitization in the bentonite was detected confirming its structural stability over 1 year under the experimental conditions. The microbial diversity analysis based on 16 S rRNA gene Next Generation Sequencing showed slight changes between the treatments with an increase of aerobic bacteria belonging to Micrococcaceae and Nocardioides in heat-shock tyndallized bentonites. The survival of sulfate-reducing bacteria (the main source of Cu anoxic corrosion) was demonstrated by the most probable number method. The detection of CuxS precipitates on the surface of Cu metal in the bentonite/Cu metal samples amended with acetate/lactate and sulfate, indicated an early stage of Cu corrosion. Overall, the outputs of this study help to better understand the predominant biogeochemical processes at the bentonite/Cu canister interface upon DGR closure

Versatile Graphene-Based Platform for Robust Nanobiohybrid Interfaces

Technologically useful and robust graphene-based interfaces for devices require the introduction of highly selective, stable, and covalently bonded functionalities on the graphene surface, whilst essentially retaining the electronic properties of the pristine layer. This work demonstrates that highly controlled, ultrahigh vacuum covalent chemical functionalization of graphene sheets with a thiol-terminated molecule provides a robust and tunable platform for the development of hybrid nanostructures in different environments. We employ this facile strategy to covalently couple two representative systems of broad interest: metal nanoparticles, via S-metal bonds, and thiol-modified DNA aptamers, via disulfide bridges. Both systems, which have been characterized by a multi-technique approach, remain firmly anchored to the graphene surface even after several washing cycles. Atomic force microscopy images demonstrate that the conjugated aptamer retains the functionality required to recognize a target protein. This methodology opens a new route to the integration of high-quality graphene layers into diverse technological platforms, including plasmonics, optoelectronics, or biosensing. With respect to the latter, the viability of a thiol-functionalized chemical vapor deposition graphene-based solution-gated field-effect transistor array was assessed

Identification of vaginal microbiome associated with IVF pregnancy

The factors that cause a preterm birth (PTB) are not completely understood up to date. Moreover, PTB is more common in pregnancies achieved by in-vitro fertilization (IVF) than in spontaneous pregnancies. Our aim was to compare the composition of vaginal microbiome at 12 weeks of gestation between women who conceived naturally or through IVF in order to study whether IVF PTB-risk could be related to vaginal microbiome composition. We performed an observational, prospective and multicentre study among two public hospitals and a fertility private clinic in Spain. Vaginal swabs from 64 pregnant women at 12 weeks of gestation were collected to analyse the microbiome composition by sequencing the V3–V4 region of the 16S rRNA. Our results showed that the vaginal microbiome signature at 12 weeks of pregnancy was different from women who conceived naturally or through IVF. The beta diversity and the genus composition were different between both cohorts. Gardnerella, Neisseria, Prevotella, and Staphylococcus genus were enriched genus in the vaginal microbiome from the IVF group, allowing us to create a balance model to predict both cohorts. Moreover, at species level the L. iners abundance was higher and L. gasseri was lower in the IVF group. As a conclusion, our findings were consistent with a proposed framework in which IVF pregnancy are related to risk for preterm birth (PTB) suggesting vaginal microbiome could be the reason to the relation between IVF pregnancy and risk for PTB

HADES RV Programme with HARPS-N at TNG VI. GJ 3942 b behind dominant activity signals

Short- to mid-term magnetic phenomena on the stellar surface of M-type stars cannot only resemble the effects of planets in radial velocity data, but also may hide them. We analyze 145 spectroscopic HARPS-N observations of GJ 3942 taken over the past five years and additional photometry to disentangle stellar activity effects from genuine Doppler signals as a result of the orbital motion of the star around the common barycenter with its planet. To achieve this, we use the common methods of pre-whitening, and treat the correlated red noise by a first-order moving average term and by Gaussian-process regression following an MCMC analysis. We identify the rotational period of the star at 16.3 days and discover a new super-Earth, GJ 3942 b, with an orbital period of 6.9 days and a minimum mass of 7.1 Me. An additional signal in the periodogram of the residuals is present but we cannot claim it to be related to a second planet with sufficient significance at this point. If confirmed, such planet candidate would have a minimum mass of 6.3 Me and a period of 10.4 days, which might indicate a 3:2 mean-motion resonance with the inner planet