Production and Downstream Integration of 5-(Chloromethyl)furfural from Lignocellulose

The importance of reducing the strong dependence of the chemical industry on fossil feedstock is no longer a debate. Above-the-ground carbon is abundant, but scalable technologies to supply alternatives to fossil-fuel-derived chemicals and/or materials at the world scale are still not available. Lignocellulosic biomass is the most available carbon source, and a first requirement for its valorization is the complete saccharification of its sugar-bearing components. HCl-based technologies can achieve this at 20 °C and ambient pressure. These principles were disclosed in the 1920s, but the inability to economically separate sugars from acids impeded its commercialization. Avantium Chemicals B.V. developed a modern version of this “Bergius” highly concentrated acid hydrolysis, in which the saccharides in HCl are transformed into furanics without any prior purification, in particular, to 5-(chloromethyl)furfural (CMF). Saccharide conversion to CMF was developed by Mascal in the early 2000s. CMF is extracted in situ using immiscible organic solvents, allowing for an easy product separation. This study not only targets to investigate the viability and optimization of this integrated process but also aims to predict the outcome of the CMF formation reaction by applying design of experiment techniques from the hydrolyzed saccharides varying a broad range of reaction parameters

Tapered-amplified AR-coated laser diodes for Potassium and Rubidium atomic-physics experiments

We present a system of room-temperature extended-cavity grating-diode lasers (ECDL) for production of light in the range 760-790nm. The extension of the tuning range towards the blue is permitted by the weak feedback in the cavity: the diodes are anti-reflection coated, and the grating has just 10% reflectance. The light is then amplified using semiconductor tapered amplifiers to give more than 400mW of power. The outputs are shown to be suitable for atomic physics experiments with potassium (767nm), rubidium (780nm) or both, of particular relevance to doubly-degenerate boson-fermion mixtures

Plenty of Fish: Irony of Animation

Along with the trends in media, animation is rapidly changing. With these changes it becomes harder to identify what is truly a unique or original idea in this media art form. Parody, a common component found in animation can be the very foundation in regards to the creation of a cartoon or an animated art. But is it the animator’s or creator’s key goal to make a parody or are they trying to create a unique story that deviates from a traditional tale? Are the passions behind them to be comical, creative, or both? To find out, I decided to make an animated piece myself. This being the primary goal, the secondary was strengthening my skills as an animator and an artist

Impacto en los resultados de salud cardiovascular de la implantación del contrato de Dirección Clínica en atención primaria de Tarragona

ObjetivoLos objetivos del presente estudio son: a) determinar la mejora en la salud cardiovascular de una población tras la implantación del contrato de Dirección Clínica en los profesionales de los Equipos de Atención Primaria de Tarragona-Reus y Terres de l’Ebre (provincia de Tarragona), y b) identificar los factores predictivos que determinan una mejor salud cardiovascular tras la implantación del contrato de Dirección Clínica. La implantación del contrato de Dirección Clínica (basada en el liderazgo profesional, feedback de la información asistencial, control de los indicadores de riesgo cardiovascular basados en la evidencia científica concretadas en guías de práctica clínica) mejorará los resultados de salud cardiovascular de la población de referencia.DiseñoSe trata de un estudio antes-después y multicéntrico.EmplazamientoAtención primaria de salud.ParticipantesParticipan 30 centros de salud (totalidad de los centros de salud del ámbito de atención primaria del Institut Català de la Salut).Mediciones principalesCaracterísticas del centro. Variables de proceso: indicadores de buena práctica asistencial, cálculo del riesgo cardiovascular, aplicación de la guía de práctica clínica (hipertensión arterial, diabetes, dislipemia, tabaquismo y factores de riesgo cardiovascular), estándares de calidad de la prescripción farmacológica. Variables de resultados: cifras de riesgo cardiovascular, número de visitas en atención continuada, urgencias hospitalarias e ingresos por angina, infarto agudo de miocardio y accidente cerebrovascular, y cribados poblacionales de factores de riesgo.DiscusiónEste estudio es útil, ya que la dirección clinica pretende ser un motor para que los profesionales lideren la gestión asistencial y, mediante el control de indicadores y la «retroalimentación» de estos resultados a los profesionales, se mejore la calidad asistencial. Con este trabajo se pretende demostrar que una estrategia de gestión puede mejorar la salud cardiovascular de la población. La originalidad de este proyecto se basa en el desarrollo de una nueva herramienta de evaluación basada en una novedosa estrategia de gestión para medir resultados en salud cardiovascular.ObjectiveThe objectives of this study are: 1) to determine the improvement in the cardiovascular health of the population after the introduction of the clinical governance contract for primary care team professionals in Tarragona-Reus and the Terres de l’Ebre area (Tarragona province, Spain); 2) to identify the factors predictive of better cardiovascular health after the introduction of the clinical governance contract. The introduction of the clinical governance contract, which is based on professional leadership, feed-back of care information, and monitoring of indicators of cardiovascular risk based on scientific evidence and concretised in clinical practice guidelines, will improve the cardiovascular health results of the reference population. Improvements in indicators of procedure and result are specified in “Material and methods.”DesignThis is a before-and-after, multicentre study.SettingPrimary health care.ParticipantsTirty health centres (all the primary care Centres in the area).Main measurementsCharacteristics of the centre. Variables in procedures: indicators of good care practice, calculation of cardiovascular risk, application of clinical practice guidelines (hypertension, diabetes, lipaemia, tobacco and cardiovascular risk) and quality standards for drug prescription. Result variables: cardiovascular risk figures, number of ongoing care visits, hospital emergencies and admissions for angina, heart attack or stroke, and risk factor screenings of the population.DiscussionThis study is useful, in that clinical governance aims to be a dynamic device to bring professionals into the leadership of health care management and, through monitoring indicators and feeding the findings back to the professionals, to improve health care quality. The study aims to show that management strategy can improve the populatiońs cardiovascular health. The originality of the study lies in the development of a new tool of evaluation based on a novel management strategy for measuring cardiovascular health findings

Establishing and supporting educational research in engineering from a local and national perspective

This paper describes an action research approach to supporting an improvement in the educational research skills of engineering academics in the UK. Two engineering education centres based at Loughborough University (the engCETL which is funded to support academics based at the university and the Engineering Subject Centre which has a national remit) have worked collaboratively to develop resources, including guides, workshops and other events and have started to disseminate this work internationally. In response to an identified need to develop understanding and to facilitate collaborative opportunities, a Special Interest Group has been established that will promote high quality educational research and provide the UK voice for international research communities. This is work in progress and there will be further evaluation undertaken of the impact of these developments. The aim is to establish a selfsustaining community of researchers as there is limited funding for engineering education research in the UK

Coherent beam combining of high power quasi continuous wave tapered amplifiers

International audienceWe demonstrate coherent beam combining of four high brightness tapered amplifiers in pulsed, quasi continuous wave (QCW) operation, seeded by a 976 nm laser diode. The maximum power of 22.7 W was achieved with > 64 % combining efficiency in a close to diffraction limited beam. We discuss turn-on dynamics of tapered amplifiers operated in pulsed mode in detail

Présence du virus de peste équine type 9 en République algérienne. Identification des souches de virus isolées en 1965-1966

Isolement et identification, en 1965-66, de 14 souches de virus de peste équine type 9, au cours de l'épizootie apparue pour la première fois chez les équidés en Algérie à l'automne 1965 dans le sud algérien et qui s'est étendue en 1966 à plusieurs autres régions de la République Algérienn

Argentina. Sello Alimentos Argentinos

Resumen Alimentos Argentinos es un sello de calidad que distingue los alimentos argentinos y sus atributos diferenciadores –proceso, producto y envase-. Es gratuito, temporal, voluntario y puede ser solicitado por productores y/o elaboradores de alimentos, que cumplan con el Protocolo correspondiente. El cumplimiento a dichos protocolos es auditado por terceros independientes, habilitados para tal fin.Fil: Pighin, Darío Gabriel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). CIA. Instituto Tecnología de Alimentos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET); Argentina. Universidad de Morón; Argentina.Fil: Tam, C. Ministerio de Producción y Trabajo. Secretaría de Gobierno de Agroindustria; Argentina.Fil: Pazos, Adriana Alejandra. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). CIA. Instituto Tecnología de Alimentos; Argentina. Universidad de Morón; Argentina.Fil: Barcus, M. C. Ministerio de Producción y Trabajo. Secretaría de Gobierno de Agroindustria; Argentina.Fil: Moron, J. M. Ministerio de Producción y Trabajo. Secretaría de Gobierno de Agroindustria; Argentina.Fil: Moron, P. H. Ministerio de Producción y Trabajo. Secretaría de Gobierno de Agroindustria; Argentina.Fil: Nimo, M. Ministerio de Producción y Trabajo. Secretaría de Gobierno de Agroindustria; Argentina.Fil: Grigioni, Gabriela Maria. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). CIA. Instituto Tecnología de Alimentos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET); Argentina. Universidad de Morón; Argentina