Influence of the Ni-Co/Al-Mg catalyst loading in the continuous aqueous phase reforming of the bio-oil aqueous fraction

The effect of catalyst loading in the Aqueous Phase Reforming (APR) of bio-oil aqueous fraction has been studied with a Ni-Co/Al-Mg coprecipitated catalyst. Because of the high content of water in the bio-oil aqueous fraction, APR could be a useful process to convert this fraction into valuable products. Experiments of APR with continuous feeding of aqueous solution of acetol, butanol and acetic acid as the only compound, together with a simulated and a real aqueous fraction of bio-oil, were carried out. Liquid products in the liquid effluent of the APR model compounds were quantified and the reaction pathways were revised. The increase of catalyst loading produced an increase of gas production and a gas with higher alkanes content. Acetol was the compound with the highest reactivity while the conversion of acetic acid was very low. The presence of acetic acid in the feed caused catalyst deactivation

UN SERVICIO DE RECOMENDACIONES DE RIEGO PARA EL CULTIVO DE LA FRESA BASADO EN EL PRONÓSTICO METEOROLÓGICO DE LA ETc

[EN] The Institute of Agricultural and Fishery Research and Training (IFAPA in Spanish) is working to improve the management of water use in the strawberry crop. The objective of this work is to propose a methodology for estimating strawberry crop water requirements, which was applicable under growing conditions in the province of Huelva, in Southern Spain. This paper reports a simple method for performing daily irrigation schedules for strawberry crop under greenhouse. The method is based on estimating crop evapotranspiration using estimations of greenhouse reference evapotranspiration (ETo green) and crop coefficients. The ETo green was estimated, using a model based on solar radiation inside the greenhouse, using the weekly meteorological forecast provided by the Spanish Meteorology Agency (AEMET in Spanish). The comparison between estimated values from weather forecasting and those obtained using meteorological measurements was made weekly, as a quality indicator of information provided to the farmers.[ES] Dentro de las actividades que el Sistema de Asistencia al Regante (SAR) adscrito al Instituto de Investigación y Formación Agraria y Pesquera (IFAPA) realiza en el ámbito del regadío andaluz, se está trabajando para mejorar el uso y gestión del agua en el cultivo de la fresa. Uno de los objetivos es establecer una metodología para el cálculo de las necesidades de riego, que sea aplicable en las condiciones de cultivo existentes la provincia de Huelva. Este trabajo presenta un método sencillo para la realización de calendarios de riego diarios para el cultivo de la fresa en invernadero del tipo macrotúnel. Dicho método está basado en la estimación de la evapotranspiración del cultivo utilizando valores de evapotranspiración de referencia bajo plástico (ETo inv) y coeficientes de cultivo. La ETo inv se ha estimado aplicando un modelo basado en la radiación solar, utilizando para ello las predicciones meteorológicas semanales de la Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (AEMET). Posteriormente, se realiza semanalmente la comparación de los valores estimados a partir del pronóstico meteorológico con los obtenidos usando de los datos meteorológicos medidos, como un indicador de la calidad de la información suministrada al agricultor.Gavilán, P.; Bohórquez, J.; Ruiz, J.; Lozano, D. (2015). UN SERVICIO DE RECOMENDACIONES DE RIEGO PARA EL CULTIVO DE LA FRESA BASADO EN EL PRONÓSTICO METEOROLÓGICO DE LA ETc. En XXXIII CONGRESO NACIONAL DE RIEGOS. Valencia 16-18 junio de 2015. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/CNRiegos.2015.1508OC

EFECTO DE LA FRECUENCIA DE RIEGO SOBRE LA EFICIENCIA DEL RIEGO Y LA PRODUCCIÓN DE UN CULTIVO DE FRESA

[EN] The effect on crop yield of several daily drip-irrigation frequencies was investigated for strawberry (Fragaria x anannasa) on sandy soil for one experiment conducted during 2013 to 2014 irrigation season. T1, T2 and T3 treatments were daily irrigated with 5, 10, and 15 minutes irrigation pulses and the same overall irrigation time. Therefore, these treatments received the same amount of irrigation water. T4 was daily irrigated according to the irrigation practices of the farmer. Irrigation frequency had little effect on yield. In all treatments production exceeded 900 g plant-1 , resulting in 3% and 7% reductions of significant yield of T2 and T1 treatments with respect to T3 and T4. No significant differences were detected between T3 and T4 treatments. Probably, the fall of T1 and T2 yields were due to a water stress induced by the distribution uniformity decrease when high irrigation frecuencies were applied. These results suggest that 15 minutes irrigation pulses are adequate for this type of soils. There was no yield benefit for short time irrigation pulses and, therefore, they were not advisable. T3 irrigation efficiency was 79% versus 42% for T4. In all irrigation treatments water use effciciency were around 23 Kg m-3 .[ES] Este experimento ha permitido conocer los efectos del riego por pulsos de diferente duración y frecuencia sobre la eficiencia del riego y la producción de un cultivo de fresa. El trabajo se realizó sobre un suelo arenoso del entorno de Doñana. Se hizo un ensayo con cuatro tratamientos y cuatro repeticiones. Los tres primeros fueron regados diariamente con la misma cantidad de agua, aplicando pulsos de 5 (T1), 10 (T2) y 15 (T3) minutos de duración. El cuarto tratamiento (T4) recibió el riego de la parte comercial de la finca, con pulsos diarios de 15 minutos aproximadamente. En el tratamiento T3 se obtuvieron ahorros de agua del 44% sin pérdida de producción, con respecto a la parte comercial de la finca (T4), y pérdidas de cosecha de tan solo el 3% para el de pulsos de duración intermedia (10 minutos). El tratamiento de pulsos más cortos, T1, experimentó una pérdida de producción del 7%, probablemente como consecuencia de la menor uniformidad de distribución del riego en estas condiciones y, por tanto, un mayor déficit hídrico en algunos puntos del invernadero. Por tanto, podemos concluir que los pulsos de riego entre 10 y 15 minutos serían los más aconsejables en este tipo de suelos. Además, pulsos muy cortos, como los del T1, deberían ser evitados. La eficiencia del riego del tratamiento más productivo (T3) fue del 79%, mientras que la finca tuvo una eficiencia media del 42%. Las producciones superaron los 1,000 g planta-1 en el tratamiento de pulsos “largos” (T3) y en el T4. Además, las eficiencias en el uso del agua obtenidas en los diferentes tratamientos fueron muy similares, situándose alrededor de 23 Kg m-3 .Gavilán, P.; Ruiz, N.; Lozano, D.; Bohórquez, JM.; Molina, F. (2015). EFECTO DE LA FRECUENCIA DE RIEGO SOBRE LA EFICIENCIA DEL RIEGO Y LA PRODUCCIÓN DE UN CULTIVO DE FRESA. En XXXIII CONGRESO NACIONAL DE RIEGOS. Valencia 16-18 junio de 2015. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/CNRiegos.2015.1425OC

Modificaciones en variables antropométricas, analíticas de riesgo metabólico y composición corporal en pequeños para la edad gestacional en tratamiento con hormona de crecimiento

Introducción Los niños pequeños para la edad gestacional (PEG) sin crecimiento recuperador pueden beneficiarse del tratamiento con hormona de crecimiento (rhGH). Sin embargo, deben ser monitorizados de forma muy estrecha ya que son población de riesgo metabólico. Material y métodos Se han incluido 28 niños PEG, con una media de edad de 8, 79 años, sin crecimiento recuperador, tratados con rhGH. Hemos evaluado las modificaciones producidas en la antropometría, variables de riesgo metabólico y composición corporal durante 4 años de tratamiento. Resultados El tratamiento con rhGH se acompañó de un aumento de talla (–2, 76 ± 0, 11 DE hasta –1, 53 ± 0, 17 DE; p = 0, 000), peso (–1, 50 ± 0, 09 DE hasta –1, 21 ± 0, 13 DE; p = 0, 016) y velocidad de crecimiento (–1, 43 ± 0, 35 DE hasta 0, 41 ± 0, 41 DE; p = 0, 009), sin producir modificaciones en el índice de masa corporal (IMC). Se han visto aumentos significativos de la insulinemia (9, 33 ± 1, 93 mU/ml hasta 16, 55 ± 1, 72 mU/ml; p = 0, 044) y del índice HOMA (3, 63 ± 0, 76 hasta 6, 43 ± 0, 67; p = 0, 042), sin producirse modificaciones en el perfil lipídico. En el estudio de composición corporal se ha comprobado un aumento significativo de la masa magra (73, 19 ± 1, 26 hasta 78, 74 ± 1, 31; p = 0, 037) con una disminución de la masa grasa (26, 81 ± 1, 26 hasta 21, 26 ± 1, 31; p = 0, 021). Conclusión El tratamiento con rhGH se ha acompañado de una ganancia en la talla sin producir alteraciones en el IMC. Asimismo, se han observado cambios en la composición corporal, con un aumento de la proporción de masa magra a expensas de una disminución de la de masa grasa, que podrían conducir a un descenso del riesgo metabólico de estos pacientes. Sin embargo, se ha detectado cierta resistencia insulínica. Es importante continuar el seguimiento de estos niños para determinar las posibles repercusiones en la edad adulta. Introduction and objectives Small for gestational age (SGA) children without catch-up growth can benefit from treatment with growth hormone (rhGH). However, they should be monitored very closely because they are at increased risk of metabolic syndrome. Material and method A group of 28 SGA children with a mean age of 8.79 years and undergoing treatment with rhGH were selected for evaluation. Over the course of 4 years, an annual evaluation was performed on the anthropometric variables (weight, height, body mass index [BMI], growth rate, blood pressure and waist perimeter), metabolic risk variables (glycaemia, glycosylated haemoglobin, cholesterol ratio, insulinaemia, insulin-like growth factor 1[IGF1], IGF binding protein-3 [IGFBP-3], IGF1/IGFBP3 ratio, and HOMA index), and body composition variables. Results Treatment with rhGH was associated with a significant increase in height (–2.76 ± .11 SD to –1.53 ± .17 SD, P = .000), weight (–1.50 ± .09 SD to –1.21 ± .13 SD; P = .016), and growth rate (–1.43 ± .35 SD to .41 ± .41 SD; P = .009), without a corresponding change in the BMI. Insulinaemia (9.33 ± 1.93 mU/ml to 16.55 ± 1.72 mU/ml; P = .044) and the HOMA index (3.63 ± .76 to 6.43 ± .67; P = .042) increased, approaching insulin resistance levels. No changes were observed in the lipid profile. Body composition changes were observed, with a significant increase in lean mass (73.19 ± 1.26 to 78.74 ± 1.31; P = .037), and a reduction of fat mass (26.81 ± 1.26 to 21.26 ± 1.31; P = .021). Conclusion Treatment with rhGH is effective for improving anthropometric variables in SGA patients who have not experienced a catch-up growth. It also produces changes in body composition, which may lead to a reduction in risk of metabolic syndrome. However, some insulin resistance was observed. It is important to follow up this patient group in order to find out whether these changes persist into adulthood

Preparation and characterization of micro-nano engineered targets for high-power laser experiments

[EN] The continuous development of ultra-fast high-power lasers (HPL) technology with the ability of working at unprecedented repetition rates, between 1 and 10 Hz, is raising the target needs for experiments in the different areas of interest to the HPL community. Many target designs can be conceived according to specific scientific issues, however to guarantee manufacturing abilities that enable large number production and still allow for versatility in the design is the main barrier in the exploitation of these high repetition rate facilities. Here, we have applied MEMS based manufacturing processes for this purpose. In particular, we have focused on the fabrication and characterization of submicrometric conductive membranes embedded in a silicon frame. These kinds of solid targets are used for laser-driven particle acceleration through the so-called Target Normal Sheath Acceleration mechanism (TNSA). They were obtained by top-down fabrication alternating pattern transfer, atomic layer deposition, and selective material etching. The adaptability of the approach is then analyzed and discussed by evaluating different properties of targets for use in laser-driven particle acceleration experiments. These characteristics include the surface properties of membranes after fabrication and the high density of the target array. Finally, we were able to show their efficiency for laser-driven proton acceleration in a series of experiments with a 3 TW table-top laser facility, achieving stable proton acceleration up to 2 MeV.The authors highly appreciate the collaboration of Radosys (Budapest) which provided CR-39 detector material, etching bath, and readout equipment. This project has been financed by the Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness within the Retos-Colaboracion 2015 initiative, ref. RTC-2015-3278-1. P. Mur has received a grant of the Garantia Juvenil 2015 program. This work has made use of the Spanish ICTS Network MICRONANOFABS partially supported by MEINCOM.Zaffino, R.; Seimetz, M.; Quirión, D.; Ruiz-De La Cruz, A.; Sánchez, I.; Mur, P.; Benlliure, J.... (2018). Preparation and characterization of micro-nano engineered targets for high-power laser experiments. Microelectronic Engineering. 194:67-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mee.2018.03.011S677019

Role of Myotonic Dystrophy Protein Kinase (DMPK) in Glucose Homeostasis and Muscle Insulin Action

Myotonic dystrophy 1 (DM1) is caused by a CTG expansion in the 3′-unstranslated region of the DMPK gene, which encodes a serine/threonine protein kinase. One of the common clinical features of DM1 patients is insulin resistance, which has been associated with a pathogenic effect of the repeat expansions. Here we show that DMPK itself is a positive modulator of insulin action. DMPK-deficient (dmpk−/−) mice exhibit impaired insulin signaling in muscle tissues but not in adipocytes and liver, tissues in which DMPK is not expressed. Dmpk−/− mice display metabolic derangements such as abnormal glucose tolerance, reduced glucose uptake and impaired insulin-dependent GLUT4 trafficking in muscle. Using DMPK mutants, we show that DMPK is required for a correct intracellular trafficking of insulin and IGF-1 receptors, providing a mechanism to explain the molecular and metabolic phenotype of dmpk−/− mice. Taken together, these findings indicate that reduced DMPK expression may directly influence the onset of insulin-resistance in DM1 patients and point to dmpk as a new candidate gene for susceptibility to type 2-diabetes

Ownership and control in a competitive industry

We study a differentiated product market in which an investor initially owns a controlling stake in one of two competing firms and may acquire a non-controlling or a controlling stake in a competitor, either directly using her own assets, or indirectly via the controlled firm. While industry profits are maximized within a symmetric two product monopoly, the investor attains this only in exceptional cases. Instead, she sometimes acquires a noncontrolling stake. Or she invests asymmetrically rather than pursuing a full takeover if she acquires a controlling one. Generally, she invests indirectly if she only wants to affect the product market outcome, and directly if acquiring shares is profitable per se. --differentiated products,separation of ownership and control,private benefits of control

Wafer-scale fabrication of target arrays for stable generation of proton beams by laser-plasma interaction

[EN] Large-scale fabrication of targets for laser-driven acceleration of ion beams is a prerequisite to establish suitable applications, and to keep up with the challenge of increasing repetition rate of currently available high-power lasers. Here we present manufacturing and test results of large arrays of solid targets for TNSA laser-driven ion acceleration. By applying micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) based methods allowing for parallel processing of thousands of targets on a single Si wafer, sub-micrometric, thin-layer metallic membranes were fabricated by combining photolithography, physical and chemical vapor deposition, selective etching, and Si micromachining. These structures were characterized by using optical and atomic force microscopy. Their performance for the production of laser-driven proton beams was tested on a purpose-made table-top Ti:Sapphire laser system running at 3 TW peak power with a contrast over ASE of 108. We have performed several test series achieving maximum proton energy values around 2 MeV.This work has made use of the Spanish ICTS Network MICRONANOFABS partially supported by MEINCOM. This project has been financed by the Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness within the Retos- Colaboración 2015 initiative, ref. RTC-2015-3278-1. P. Mur has received a grant of the Garantía Juvenil 2015 program.Zaffino, R.; Seimetz, M.; Ruiz-De La Cruz, A.; Sánchez, I.; Mur, P.; Bellido-Millán, PJ.; Lera, R.... (2018). Wafer-scale fabrication of target arrays for stable generation of proton beams by laser-plasma interaction. Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Online). 1079. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1079/1/012007S0120071079Abedi, S., Dorranian, D., Abari, M. E., & Shokri, B. (2011). Relativistic effects in the interaction of high intensity ultra-short laser pulse with collisional underdense plasma. Physics of Plasmas, 18(9), 093108. doi:10.1063/1.3633529Antici, P., Fuchs, J., d’ Humières, E., Lefebvre, E., Borghesi, M., Brambrink, E., … Pépin, H. (2007). Energetic protons generated by ultrahigh contrast laser pulses interacting with ultrathin targets. Physics of Plasmas, 14(3), 030701. doi:10.1063/1.2480610Ceccotti, T., Lévy, A., Popescu, H., Réau, F., D’Oliveira, P., Monot, P., … Martin, P. (2007). Proton Acceleration with High-Intensity Ultrahigh-Contrast Laser Pulses. Physical Review Letters, 99(18). doi:10.1103/physrevlett.99.18500

Efficient proton acceleration from a 3 TW table-top laser interacting with submicrometric mass-produced solid targets

[EN] Thin layer membranes with controllable features and material arrangements are often used as target materials for laser driven particle accelerators. Reduced cost, large scale fabrication of such membranes with high reproducibility, and good stability are central for the efficient production of proton beams. These characteristics are of growing importance in the context of advanced laser light sources where increased repetition rates boost the need for consumable targets with design and properties adjusted to study the different phenomena arising in ultra-intense laser-plasma interaction. Wepresent the fabrication of sub-micrometric thin-layer gold or aluminum membranes in a silicon wafer frame by using nano/micro-electro-mechanical-system (N/MEMS) processing which are suitable for rapid patterning and machining of many samples at the same time and allowing for high-throughput production of targets for laser-driven acceleration. Obtained targets were tested for laserproton acceleration through the Target Normal Sheath Acceleration mechanism (TNSA) in a series of experiments carried out on a purpose-made table-top Ti:Sa running at 3 TW peak power and 10 Hz diode pump rate with a contrast over ASE of 10(8)The authors highly appreciate the collaboration of Radosys (Budapest) which provided CR-39 detector material, etching bath, and readout equipment. This project has been financed by the Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness within the Retos-Colaboracion 2015 initiative, ref. RTC-2015-3278-1. P Mur has received a grant of the Garantia Juvenil 2015 program. This work has made use of the Spanish ICTS Network MICRONANOFABS partially supported by MEINCOM.Zaffino, R.; Seimetz, M.; Ruiz-De La Cruz, A.; Sánchez, I.; Mur, P.; Quirión, D.; Bellido-Millán, PJ.... (2018). Efficient proton acceleration from a 3 TW table-top laser interacting with submicrometric mass-produced solid targets. Journal of Physics Communications. 2(4):1-6. https://doi.org/10.1088/2399-6528/aabc25S1624Borghesi, M., Campbell, D. H., Schiavi, A., Haines, M. G., Willi, O., MacKinnon, A. J., … Bulanov, S. (2002). Electric field detection in laser-plasma interaction experiments via the proton imaging technique. Physics of Plasmas, 9(5), 2214-2220. doi:10.1063/1.1459457Ledingham, K., Bolton, P., Shikazono, N., & Ma, C.-M. (2014). Towards Laser Driven Hadron Cancer Radiotherapy: A Review of Progress. Applied Sciences, 4(3), 402-443. doi:10.3390/app4030402Spindloe, C., Arthur, G., Hall, F., Tomlinson, S., Potter, R., Kar, S., … Tolley, M. K. (2016). High volume fabrication of laser targets using MEMS techniques. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 713, 012002. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/713/1/012002Schomburg, W. K. (2011). Thin Films. RWTHedition, 9-20. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-19489-4_4Bellido, P., Lera, R., Seimetz, M., Cruz, A. R. la, Torres-Peirò, S., Galán, M., … Benlloch, J. M. (2017). Characterization of protons accelerated from a 3 TW table-top laser system. Journal of Instrumentation, 12(05), T05001-T05001. doi:10.1088/1748-0221/12/05/t05001Mayer, M. (1999). SIMNRA, a simulation program for the analysis of NRA, RBS and ERDA. AIP Conference Proceedings. doi:10.1063/1.59188Ceccotti, T., Lévy, A., Popescu, H., Réau, F., D’Oliveira, P., Monot, P., … Martin, P. (2007). Proton Acceleration with High-Intensity Ultrahigh-Contrast Laser Pulses. Physical Review Letters, 99(18). doi:10.1103/physrevlett.99.185002Dollar, F., Reed, S. A., Matsuoka, T., Bulanov, S. S., Chvykov, V., Kalintchenko, G., … Maksimchuk, A. (2013). High-intensity laser-driven proton acceleration enhancement from hydrogen containing ultrathin targets. Applied Physics Letters, 103(14), 141117. doi:10.1063/1.4824361Neely, D., Foster, P., Robinson, A., Lindau, F., Lundh, O., Persson, A., … McKenna, P. (2006). Enhanced proton beams from ultrathin targets driven by high contrast laser pulses. Applied Physics Letters, 89(2), 021502. doi:10.1063/1.2220011Green, J. S., Carroll, D. C., Brenner, C., Dromey, B., Foster, P. S., Kar, S., … Zepf, M. (2010). Enhanced proton flux in the MeV range by defocused laser irradiation. New Journal of Physics, 12(8), 085012. doi:10.1088/1367-2630/12/8/085012Giuffrida, L., Svensson, K., Psikal, J., Dalui, M., Ekerfelt, H., Gallardo Gonzalez, I., … Margarone, D. (2017). Manipulation of laser-accelerated proton beam profiles by nanostructured and microstructured targets. Physical Review Accelerators and Beams, 20(8). doi:10.1103/physrevaccelbeams.20.08130