Incidental potable water reuse in a Catalonian basin: living downstream

A preliminary assessment of incidental potable water reuse (IPR) in the Llobregat River basin has been conducted by estimating the dilution factor of treated effluent discharges upstream of six river flow measurement sections. IPR in the Llobregat River basin is an everyday occurrence, because of the systematic discharge of treated effluents upstream of river sections used as drinking water sources. Average river flows at the Sant Joan Despí measurement section increased from 400,000 m3/d (2007) to 864,000 m3/d (2008) and to 931,000 m3/d (2013), while treated effluent discharges upstream of that section ranged from 109,000 m3/d to 114,000 m3/d in those years. The highest degree of IPR occurs downstream of the Abrera and Sant Joan Despí flow measurement sections, from where about half of the drinking water supplied to the Barcelona Metropolitan Area is abstracted. Based on average annual flows, the likelihood that drinking water produced from that river stretch contained treated effluent varied from 25% (2007) to 13% (2008) and to 12% (2013). Water agencies and drinking water production utilities have strived for decades to ensure that drinking water production satisfies applicable quality requirements and provides the required public health protection.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Bragg Coherent Diffraction Imaging for In Situ Studies in Electrocatalysis

Electrocatalysis is at the heart of a broad range of physicochemical applications that play an important role in the present and future of a sustainable economy. Among the myriad of different electrocatalysts used in this field, nanomaterials are of ubiquitous importance. An increased surface area/volume ratio compared to bulk makes nanoscale catalysts the preferred choice to perform electrocatalytic reactions. Bragg coherent diffraction imaging (BCDI) was introduced in 2006 and since has been applied to obtain 3D images of crystalline nanomaterials. BCDI provides information about the displacement field, which is directly related to strain. Lattice strain in the catalysts impacts their electronic configuration and, consequently, their binding energy with reaction intermediates. Even though there have been significant improvements since its birth, the fact that the experiments can only be performed at synchrotron facilities and its relatively low resolution to date (∼10 nm spatial resolution) have prevented the popularization of this technique. Herein, we will briefly describe the fundamentals of the technique, including the electrocatalysis relevant information that we can extract from it. Subsequently, we review some of the computational experiments that complement the BCDI data for enhanced information extraction and improved understanding of the underlying nanoscale electrocatalytic processes. We next highlight success stories of BCDI applied to different electrochemical systems and in heterogeneous catalysis to show how the technique can contribute to future studies in electrocatalysis. Finally, we outline current challenges in spatiotemporal resolution limits of BCDI and provide our perspectives on recent developments in synchrotron facilities as well as the role of machine learning and artificial intelligence in addressing them.Financial support from Brazilian agencies: P.S.F. thanks FAPESP (Grants 2017/11986-5, 2018/20952-0, and 2019/13888-6 (RAV fellowship)), CNPq (Grant136436/2019-6 (RAV fellowship)), Shell, and the strategic importance of the support given by ANP (Brazil’s National Oil, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency) through the R&D levy regulation. Use of the Center for Nanoscale Materials, an Office of Science user facility, was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences Data, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at DOE Scientific User Facilities program under Award No. 34532

Edible Mushrooms as Functional Ingredients for Development of Healthier and More Sustainable Muscle Foods: A Flexitarian Approach

Not Availableonsumers are increasingly interested in nutritious, safe and healthy muscle food products with reduced salt and fat that benefit their well-being. Hence, food processors are constantly in search of natural bioactive ingredients that offer health benefits beyond their nutritive values without affecting the quality of the products. Mushrooms are considered as next-generation healthy food components. Owing to their low content of fat, high-quality proteins, dietary fibre and the presence of nutraceuticals, they are ideally preferred in formulation of low-caloric functional foods. There is a growing trend to fortify muscle food with edible mushrooms to harness their goodness in terms of nutritive, bioactive and therapeutic values. The incorporation of mushrooms in muscle foods assumes significance, as it is favourably accepted by consumers because of its fibrous structure that mimics the texture with meat analogues offering unique taste and umami flavour. This review outlines the current knowledge in the literature about the nutritional richness, functional bioactive compounds and medicinal values of mushrooms offering various health benefits. Furthermore, the effects of functional ingredients of mushrooms in improving the quality and sensory attributes of nutritionally superior and next-generation healthier muscle food products are also highlighted in this paper.Not Availabl

Adatom decorated shape-controlled metal nanoparticles: advanced electrocatalysts for energy conversion

The use of adatom decorated shape-controlled metal nanoparticles in electrocatalysis, and particularly for energy conversion reactions, has made important contributions to the development of better electrocatalysts. In this short review, we highlight some of the most relevant findings and discuss about future challenges.J.S-G and P.S.F. acknowledges financial support from FAPESP (Process numbers 2017/09780-0 and 2016/01365-0). J.S-G. also acknowledges financial support from VITC (Vicerrectorado de Investigación y Transferencia de Conocimiento) of the University of Alicante (UATALENTO16-02). M.B.C.S acknowledges CAPES for his fellowship

Calidad percibida en una prueba de triatlón

The interest in knowing participant perceptions regarding the quality and value of the service, has moved to sports events popular character. Knowing what are the determining factors for achieving the overall participant satisfaction, the organizers will favor greater loyalty and improved planning of upcoming events. Through a questionnaire, this study analyzes the different dimensions of quality, which has a triathlon, the perceived value and future intentions as perceived by the participant broker in the "XXVI National Triathlon Villa de Fuente Álamo". The results show that the logistics infrastructure dimension as the most valued factor in quality and communication the worse punctuation. The participants with greater experience obtained lower scores than the other groups.El interés por conocer las percepciones del participante respecto a la calidad y el valor del servicio, se ha trasladado a los eventos deportivos de carácter popular. Conocer los elementos determinantes para alcanzar la satisfacción general del participante, propiciará a los organizadores una mayor fidelización y mejora enpróximos eventos. A través de un cuestionario, este estudio analiza las distintas dimensiones de la calidad que presenta una prueba de triatlón sobre valor percibido y las intenciones futuras según la percepción del corredor participante en el “XXVI Triatlón nacional Villa de Fuente Álamo”. Los resultados mostraron la dimensióninfraestructura logística como la mejor valorada dentro de los factores de calidad y la dimensión comunicación como la peor valorada. Los participantes con una mayor experiencia obtuvieron puntuaciones más bajas

Bi-modified Pt Electrodes toward Glycerol Electrooxidation in Alkaline Solution: Effects on Activity and Selectivity

Herein we investigate the effect of irreversibly adsorbed bismuth on polycrystalline platinum (Ptp) on the electrooxidation of glycerol in alkaline media by combining electrochemical, spectroscopic (in situ FTIR), and analytical (HPLC on line) techniques. We found that the activity of Ptp increases by about 5-fold when the optimal quantity of Bi ions is added to the solution. Besides, the adatom strongly impacts the reaction products by suppressing the pathways with C–C bond breaking, hindering the formation of CO (and other unknown intermediates) and enhancing the production of glycerate. Different from the results in acid media for Ptp-Bi systems where Bi blocks the oxidation pathway through the primary carbon, glycerate is the main product in alkaline media, and dihydroxyacetone is either produced in extremely low quantities or not produced. Besides, comparing our results with those in acid media, the peak current recorded at 1 mV·s–1 in this work was 1 order of magnitude higher. These results show the strong impact of the pH in the reaction rate and selectivity.Financial support from the Brazilian agencies: PSF and JLB thanks FAPESP (grants: 2016/01365-0) and Shell and the strategic importance of the support given by ANP (Brazil’s National Oil, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency) through the R&D levy regulation. MBCS thanks PRP-FAEPEX and RAV and VYY thanks SAE-Unicamp for their scholarships. J.S-G. acknowledges financial support from VITC (Vicerrectorado de Investigación y Transferencia de Conocimiento) of the University of Alicante (UATALENTO16-02)

Análisis comparativo de la calidad percibida por espectadores en deportes de combate

The interest in knowing the user's perceptions regarding the quality and value of the service has been transferred to the sports events. Knowing which are the determinant elements for the general satisfaction of the spectator, will cause to the organizations a greater loyalty and improvement in its sport projects. This study analyzes, through a questionnaire, the different dimensions from the quality perceived, services quality, competitions elements and futures intentions in the prediction of the general satisfaction of the spectator in Taekwondo and Wrestling Spanish Championships. The results indicated the quality dimension was the worst valued for the spectators in both sports, being the results quality the low punctuation dimension. However, the future intentions has got the best valued dimension for the spectators, there are no exist more differences between the both championships. These results would be relevant for managers in charge of sport events in order to plan strategies dedicated to services improvement.El interés por conocer las percepciones del espectador respecto a la calidad y el valor del servicio, se ha trasladado a los eventos deportivos. Conocer cuáles son los elementos determinantes para alcanzar la satisfacción general del espectador, propiciará a los organizadores una mayor lealtad y mejora en la planificación de próximos eventos. Este estudio analiza, a través de un cuestionario, las  distintas dimensiones de calidad percibida, que presenta un evento deportivo de combate, calidad de servicio global, satisfacción general, elementos de la competición e intenciones futuras, según la percepción del espectador en los Campeonatos de España absolutos de las modalidades deportivas de Taekwondo y Lucha Olímpica. La dimensión de calidad percibida fue la peor valorada de forma global por los espectadores de los dos campeonatos, siendo la calidad de resultado la menos puntuada. Sin embargo, las intenciones futuras fueron el factor más valorado, existiendo pequeñas diferencias entre ambos eventos. Estos resultados son relevantes para los gestores de eventos deportivos para planificar estrategas para la mejora del servicio

Investigating the representation of heatwaves from an ensemble of km-scale regional climate simulations within CORDEX-FPS convection

Heatwaves (HWs) are high-impact phenomena stressing both societies and ecosystems. Their intensity and frequency are expected to increase in a warmer climate over many regions of the world. While these impacts can be wide-ranging, they are potentially influenced by local to regional features such as topography, land cover, and urbanization. Here, we leverage recent advances in the very high-resolution modelling required to elucidate the impacts of heatwaves at these fine scales. Further, we aim to understand how the new generation of km-scale regional climate models (RCMs) modulates the representation of heatwaves over a well-known climate change hot spot. We analyze an ensemble of 15 convection-permitting regional climate model (CPRCM, ~ 2–4 km grid spacing) simulations and their driving, convection-parameterized regional climate model (RCM, ~ 12–15 km grid spacing) simulations from the CORDEX Flagship Pilot Study on Convection. The focus is on the evaluation experiments (2000–2009) and three subdomains with a range of climatic characteristics. During HWs, and generally in the summer season, CPRCMs exhibit warmer and drier conditions than their driving RCMs. Higher maximum temperatures arise due to an altered heat flux partitioning, with daily peaks up to ~ 150 W/m$^{2}$ larger latent heat in RCMs compared to the CPRCMs. This is driven by a 5–25% lower soil moisture content in the CPRCMs, which is in turn related to longer dry spell length (up to double). It is challenging to ascertain whether these differences represent an improvement. However, a point-scale distribution-based maximum temperature evaluation, suggests that this CPRCMs warmer/drier tendency is likely more realistic compared to the RCMs, with ~ 70% of reference sites indicating an added value compared to the driving RCMs, increasing to 95% when only the distribution right tail is considered. Conversely, a CPRCMs slight detrimental effect is found according to the upscaled grid-to-grid approach over flat areas. Certainly, CPRCMs enhance dry conditions, with knock-on implications for summer season temperature overestimation. Whether this improved physical representation of HWs also has implications for future changes is under investigation