Preliminary study on the feasibility of using a zeolite A membrane in a membrane reactor for methanol production

The permeation of a mixture containing H2, CO2 and water through a zeolite membrane was studied under several operating conditions. The aim was to obtain insight on the feasibility of using such membrane in a zeolite membrane reactor for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. The effects of total pressure (100–270 kPa), water partial pressure (10–18 kPa) and temperature (160–260 °C) were studied. Promising water-permanent gas separation factors were obtained up to 240 °C. A surprisingly high water partial pressure was found in the permeate in some cases, which is explained by the radial temperature gradient in the experimental system. The good capability of this zeolite A membrane to selectively separate water vapor makes it a promising material for its use in a zeolite membrane reactor

La música de los cuatro elementos

Traducción del Francés: Alberto Leongómez H.I. Hay siempre un punto de partida para toda cosa humana; también existe siempre ese cuestionamiento de los orígenes que conduce a la obra de arte, por poco que ella lo quiera, a consentir a esta fragilidad, durante el tiempo de su fabricación. Cuestionamiento que no deja de ser vano, puesto que se conoce su salida, pero que compromete en un camino, un sendero paciente, obstinado, amante. Las obras de Sophie Lacaze se experimentan en la confrontación con otras obras, aún las suyas, que uno observa, escucha, interroga, prolonga, estirándose hasta producir la ilusión de que nada puede perderse, extraviarse u olvidarse. Para ello es necesario elegir un objeto (de deseo) y comentarlo, comentar los comentarios que ha suscitado. Entendamos por comentario el hecho de dar una forma singular al aura de una obra, a la emoción que ella nos despierta. Este proceso de visitación, de rememoración, implica aquel de una re-escritura. Gesto propio de Sophie Lacaze, puesto que afecta sus obras, que ella no ha dejado de retomar, de las que se desprende y vuelve a retomar, para inventar nuevas versiones. Reescribir es siempre precisar un gesto, discernir una vez más una intuición, y es también completarla, aplazarla, desviarla, curvarla, traicionarla, sin acabarla jamás: eso sería firmar su sentencia de muerte. Si el compositor se encuentra en una dinámica cuyo torrente lleva objetos visuales, táctiles o sonoros, el escucha se mueve en sentido inverso: hermenéutica de una escucha, de un saber, de un proceso que se reconstruye mediante una puesta en abismode los objetos, que son ordenados de nuevo para volver a encontrar finalmente el objeto primero, original. Podrían ser así descritas las músicas de Sophie Lacaze. Los Cuatro Elementos es una obra que parece sin embargo escapar a este proceso de una memoria que se hurga. Aquí encontramos cuatro imágenes yuxtapuestas sobre un mismo plano, lado a lado. Intentemos una descripción………

How land use/land cover changes can affect water, flooding and sedimentation in a tropical watershed: a case study using distributed modeling in the Upper Citarum watershed, Indonesia

[EN] Human activity has produced severe LULC changes within the Upper Citarum watershed and these changes are predicted to continue in the future. With an increase in population parallel to a 141% increment in urban areas, a reduction of rice fields and the replacement of forests with cultivations have been found in the past. Accordingly, LCM model was used to forecast the LULC in 2029. A distributed model called TETIS was implemented in the Upper Citarum watershed to assess the impact of the different historical and future LULC scenarios on its water and sediment cycles. This model was calibrated and validated with different LULCs. For the implementation of the sediment sub-model, it was crucial to use the bathymetric information of the reservoir located at the catchment's outlet. Deforestation and urbanization have been shown to be the most influential factors affecting the alteration of the hydrological and sedimentological processes in the Upper Citarum watershed. The change of LULC decreases evapotranspiration and as a direct consequence, the water yield increased by 15% and 40% during the periods 1994-2014 and 2014-2029, respectively. These increments are caused by the rise of three components in the runoff: overland flow, interflow and base flow. Apart from that, these changes in LULC increased the area of non-tolerable erosion from 412 km(2) in 1994 to 499 km(2) in 2029. The mean sediment yield increased from 3.1 Mton -yr(-1) in the 1994 LULC scenario to 6.7 Mton-yr(-1) in the 2029 LULC scenario. An increment of this magnitude will be catastrophic for the operation of the Saguling Dam.This study was partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the research projects TETISMED (CGL2014-58,127-C3-3-R) and TETISCHANGE (RTI2018-093717-B-I00). The authors are also thankful to the Directorate General of Higher Education of Indonesia (DIKTI) for the Ph.D. funding of the first author.Siswanto, SY.; Francés, F. (2019). How land use/land cover changes can affect water, flooding and sedimentation in a tropical watershed: a case study using distributed modeling in the Upper Citarum watershed, Indonesia. Environmental Earth Sciences. 78(17):1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8561-0S115781

P and R Wave Detection in Complete Congenital Atrioventricular Block

Complete atrioventricular block (type III AVB) is characterized by an absence of P wave transmission to ventricles. This implies that QRS complexes are generated in an autonomous way and are not coordinated with P waves. This work introduces a new algorithm for the detection of P waves for this type of pathology using non-invasive electrocardiographic surface leads. The proposed algorithm is divided into three stages. In the first stage, the R waves located by a QRS detector are used to generate the RR series and time references for the other stages of the algorithm. In the second stage, the ventricular activity (QT segment) is removed by using an adaptive filter that obtains an averaged pattern of the QT segment. In the third stage, a new P wave detector is applied to the residual signal obtained after QT cancellation in order to detect P wave locations and get the PP time series. Eight Holter records from patients with congenital type III AVB were used to verify the proposed algorithm. Although further improvements should be made to improve the algorithm¿s performance, the results obtained show high average values of sensitivity (90.52 %) and positive prediction (90.98%)

Resveratrol inhibits nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is high. NAFLD is linked to obesity, diabetes mellitus, and hypertriglyceridemia. Approximately 20% of patients with NAFLD will eventually develop cirrhosis. Our purpose was to investigate whether resveratrol decreased hepatic steatosis in an animal model of steatosis, and whether this therapeutic approach resulted in a decrease in tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) production, lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Male Wistar CRL: Wi (Han) (225 g) rats were randomized into three groups. A control group (n = 12) was given free access to regular dry rat chow for 4 weeks. The steatosis (n = 12) and resveratrol (n = 12) groups were given free access to feed (a high carbohydrate-fat free modified diet) and water 4 days per week, and fasted for the remaining 3 days for 4 weeks. Rats in the resveratrol group were given resveratrol 10 mg daily by the oral route. All rats were killed at 4 weeks and assessed for fatty infiltration and bacterial translocation. Levels of TNF-α in serum, hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA), oxidative stress (superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase and nitric oxide synthase) and biochemical parameters were measured.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Fat deposition was decreased in the resveratrol group as compared to the steatosis group (Grade 1 vs Grade 3, P < 0.05). TNF-α and MDA levels were significantly increased in the steatosis group (TNF-α; 33.4 ± 5.2 vs 26.24 ± 3.47 pg/ml and MDA; 9.08 ± 0.8 vs 3.17 ± 1.45 μM respectively, <it>P </it>< 0.05). This was accompanied by increased superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase and decreased nitric oxide synthase in the liver of resveratrol group significantly (<it>P </it>< 0.05 vs steatosis group). Bacterial translocation was not found in any of the groups. Glucose levels were decreased in the group of rats given resveratrol (<it>P </it>< 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Resveratrol decreased NAFLD severity in rats. This effect was mediated, at least in part, by TNF-α inhibition and antioxidant activities.</p

Effective Gene Therapy in a Mouse Model of Prion Diseases

Classical drug therapies against prion diseases have encountered serious difficulties. It has become urgent to develop radically different therapeutic strategies. Previously, we showed that VSV-G pseudotyped FIV derived vectors carrying dominant negative mutants of the PrP gene are efficient to inhibit prion replication in chronically prion-infected cells. Besides, they can transduce neurons and cells of the lymphoreticular system, highlighting their potential use in gene therapy approaches. Here, we used lentiviral gene transfer to deliver PrPQ167R virions possessing anti-prion properties to analyse their efficiency in vivo. Since treatment for prion diseases is initiated belatedly in human patients, we focused on the development of a curative therapeutic protocol targeting the late stage of the disease, either at 35 or 105 days post-infection (d.p.i.) with prions. We observed a prolongation in the lifespan of the treated mice that prompted us to develop a system of cannula implantation into the brain of prion-infected mice. Chronic injections of PrPQ167R virions were done at 80 and 95 d.p.i. After only two injections, survival of the treated mice was extended by 30 days (20%), accompanied by substantial improvement in behaviour. This delay was correlated with: (i) a strong reduction of spongiosis in the ipsilateral side of the brain by comparison with the contralateral side; and (ii) a remarkable decrease in astrocytic gliosis in the whole brain. These results suggest that chronic injections of dominant negative lentiviral vectors into the brain, may be a promising approach for a curative treatment of prion diseases

Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis Is Associated with Inflammation and Bacterial Translocation in Mice with CCl4-Induced Fibrosis

BACKGROUND: Gut is the major source of endogenous bacteria causing infections in advanced cirrhosis. Intestinal barrier dysfunction has been described in cirrhosis and account for an increased bacterial translocation rate. HYPOTHESIS AND AIMS: We hypothesize that microbiota composition may be affected and change along with the induction of experimental cirrhosis, affecting the inflammatory response. ANIMALS AND METHODS: Progressive liver damage was induced in Balb/c mice by weight-controlled oral administration of carbon tetrachloride. Laparotomies were performed at weeks 6, 10, 13 and 16 in a subgroup of treated mice (n = 6/week) and control animals (n = 4/week). Liver tissue specimens, mesenteric lymph nodes, intestinal content and blood were collected at laparotomies. Fibrosis grade, pro-fibrogenic genes expression, gut bacterial composition, bacterial translocation, host's specific butyrate-receptor GPR-43 and serum cytokine levels were measured. RESULTS: Expression of pro-fibrogenic markers was significantly increased compared with control animals and correlated with the accumulated dose of carbon tetrachloride. Bacterial translocation episodes were less frequent in control mice than in treated animals. Gram-positive anaerobic Clostridia spp count was decreased in treated mice compared with control animals and with other gut common bacterial species, altering the aerobic/anaerobic ratio. This fact was associated with a decreased gene expression of GPR43 in neutrophils of treated mice and inversely correlated with TNF-alpha and IL-6 up-regulation in serum of treated mice along the study protocol. This pro-inflammatory scenario favoured blood bacterial translocation in treated animals, showing the highest bacterial translocation rate and aerobic/anaerobic ratio at the same weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Gut microbiota alterations are associated with the development of an inflammatory environment, fibrosis progression and bacterial translocation in carbon tetrachloride-treated mice

Justice and Corporate Governance: New Insights from Rawlsian Social Contract and Sen’s Capabilities Approach

By considering what we identify as a problem inherent in the ‘nature of the firm’—the risk of abuse of authority—we propound the conception of a social contract theory of the firm which is truly Rawlsian in its inspiration. Hence, we link the social contract theory of the firm (justice at firm’s level) with the general theory of justice (justice at society’s level). Through this path, we enter the debate about whether firms can be part of Rawlsian theory of justice showing that corporate governance principles enter the “basic structure.” Finally, we concur with Sen’s aim to broaden the realm of social justice beyond what he calls the ‘transcendental institutional perfectionism’ of Rawls’ theory. We maintain the contractarian approach to justice but introduce Sen’s capability concept as an element of the constitutional and post-constitutional contract model of institutions with special reference to corporate governance. Accordingly, rights over primary goods and capabilities are (constitutionally) granted by the basic institutions of society, but many capabilities have to be turned into the functionings of many stakeholders through the operation of firms understood as post-constitutional institutional domains. The constitutional contract on the distribution of primary goods and capabilities should then shape the principles of corporate governance so that at post-constitutional level anyone may achieve her/his functionings in the corporate domain by exercising such capabilities. In the absence of such a condition, post-constitutional contracts would distort the process that descends from constitutional rights and capabilities toward social outcomes

International lower limb collaborative (INTELLECT) study: a multicentre, international retrospective audit of lower extremity open fractures

Trauma remains a major cause of mortality and disability across the world1, with a higher burden in developing nations2. Open lower extremity injuries are devastating events from a physical3, mental health4, and socioeconomic5 standpoint. The potential sequelae, including risk of chronic infection and amputation, can lead to delayed recovery and major disability6. This international study aimed to describe global disparities, timely intervention, guideline-directed care, and economic aspects of open lower limb injuries