Hydrothermal Carbonization of Oat in a Lab-Scale Batch Reactor

Biomass as feedstock for renewable energy and biomaterials production is of great importance to tackle energy, economic and environmental issues. Biomass can be processed in several ways depending on its composition, moisture content and availability. Hydrothermal Carbonization (HTC) is one possible option to deal with the biomass streams. In this study, oat was processed in a lab-scale stirred-batch HTC reactor to evaluate the effect of reaction temperature and residence time on the composition and yield of hydrochar obtained during the process. The results demonstrate that these operating parameters strongly affect the characteristics and the amount of the hydrochar produced. The results indicate that the increasing of the HTC severity conditions produces an enrichment of hydrochar in carbon content up to 72.8%. On the other hand, the hydrochar yield decreases from 0.85 to 0.56 g/g as the severity factor increases from 0.11 to 0.37

Nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase during early lactation in water buffalo dams

Nitric oxide (NO) production and the presence of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in the mammary gland of water buffaloes (n=34) was investigated. A local production of NO in the mammary gland during lactation was hypothesized by the presence of high amounts of nitrite plus nitrate (NO 2 - + NO 3 -) in colostrum and milk. The iNOS was the main isoform and was detected in the alveoli epithelial cells. The highest quantities of both NO 2 - + NO 3 - and NOS was detected at the first day of lactation, suggesting an increase of NO production during the synthesis of colostrum. The results suggest that NO is involved in the development of mammary gland and a local NO-generating system may be activated at the onset of lactation