Effect of the Influent COD Concentration on the Anaerobic Digestion of Winery Wastewaters from Grape-Red and Tropical Fruit (Guava) Wine Production in Fluidized Bed Reactors with Chilean Natural Zeolite for Biomass Immobilization

The effect of the influent COD concentration on the performance of anaerobic fluidized bed reactors treating winery wastewaters from grape-red wine (GRWW) and guava wine production (GWW) was studied at laboratory scale. Two reactors were used: one treating GRWW (AFB1) and the other processing GWW (AFB2). The behaviour of these reactors packed with Chilean zeolite as biomass immobilization support was compared at mesophilic temperature (35 °C). Influent COD varied from γ = 1–24 g L–1 and the HRT was maintained constant at 1 day throughout the experiment. During the experiment, influent and effluent pH, TVFA, COD and methane gas production were determined. COD removal efficiency increased with the influent COD up to a maximum of around γ = 19 g L–1 for GRWW and up to around 22 g L–1 for GWW due to the increase of the concentration of phenols. Process performance was slightly better with guava winery wastewater than with grape-red winery wastewater due its lower phenolic content. During the period of non-inhibition the methane yield was virtually constant

Reference normal values and design of a vision screening for 4 to 5 years old preschoolers

A vision screening program for preschool children of 4-5 years old was designed and analyzed. Information of the prevalence of ocular conditions among preschool children was obtained. The vision health of a group of 127 children was evaluated by a comprehensive examination in their own school. If a child failed one or more screening tests, he was referred to the ophthalmologist. Of the children screened in this study, 61% passed distance visual acuity and retinoscopy tests, 17% were referred to the ophthalmologist and 22% will be annually monitoring. Values of monocular/binocular acuity worse than 0.5/0.6 are too poor for 4 years old children, whereas these limits increase up to 0.6/0.8 for 5 years old children. In conclusion, the prevalence of undetected vision problems in preschool children has been clearly demonstrated. Vision screening programs in schools are highly recommended. Nevertheless, coordination among professionals conducting screening, school personnel and parents are needed to reach high levels of success. The results of this study validate an easy and fast battery of tests. The vision screening has been highly reliable because reference normal values have been defined by analyzing statistically the results of these tests. Se diseñó y analizó un screening visual en preescolares de 4-5 años de edad. Se obtuvo información de la prevalencia de las condiciones oculares entre estos preescolares. Se evaluó la salud visual de un grupo de 127 niños con un examen completo en su propia escuela. Si el niño fallaba uno o más test era referido al oftalmólogo. De los niños revisados en el estudio, el 61% superó los test de agudeza visual y retinoscopía, al 17% se le refirió al oftalmólogo y el 22% será controlado anualmente. Valores de agudeza monocular/binocular peores de 0.5/0.6 son demasiado bajos para niños de 4 años de edad, mientras que estos límites se incrementan a 0.6/0.8 para niños de 5 años. En conclusión, la prevalencia de problemas de visión sin detectar en niños preescolares ha sido claramente demostrada. Sin embargo, es necesaria la coordinación entre profesionales que realicen el screening, personal del colegio y padres para alcanzar niveles altos de éxito. Los resultados de este estudio validan una batería rápida de test. El screening visual ha sido altamente fiable porque los valores normales de referencia han sido definidos analizando estadísticamente los resultados de estos tests

Enzymatic hydrolysis of esters from 2-carboxy-6- methoxy-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran acid

In this work we describe the results of the enzymatic hydrolysis of esters from 2-carboxy-6-methoxy-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran acid using Candida antarctica lipase supported on acrylic resin, with enantiomeric excesses ranging between 80 to 99%

Fish β-parvalbumin acquires allergenic properties by amyloid assembly

PRINCIPLES: Amyloids are highly cross-β-sheet-rich aggregated states that confer protease resistance, membrane activity and multivalence properties to proteins, all essential features for the undesired preservation of food proteins transiting the gastrointestinal tract and causing type I allergy. METHODS: Amyloid propensity of β-parvalbumin, the major fish allergen, was theoretically analysed and assayed under gastrointestinal-relevant conditions using the binding of thioflavin T, the formation of sodium dodecyl sulphate- (SDS-) resistant aggregates, circular dichroism spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy fibril imaging. Impact of amyloid aggregates on allergenicity was assessed with dot blot. RESULTS: Sequences of β-parvalbumin from species with commercial value contain several adhesive hexapeptides capable of driving amyloid formation. Using Atlantic cod β-parvalbumin (rGad m 1) displaying high IgE cross-reactivity, we found that formation of amyloid fibres under simulated gastrointestinal conditions accounts for the resistance to acid and neutral proteases, for the presence of membrane active species under gastrointestinal relevant conditions and for the IgE-recognition in the sera of allergic patients. Incorporation of the anti-amyloid compound epigallocatechin gallate prevents rGad m 1 fibrillation, facilitates its protease digestion and impairs its recognition by IgE. CONCLUSIONS: the formation of amyloid by rGad m 1 explains its degradation resistance, its facilitated passage across the intestinal epithelial barrier and its epitope architecture as allergen.Peer Reviewe

Influence of crystalline orientation on the thermal-energy convertion efficiency in shape memory alloys

A theoretical study about the influence of crystalline orientation on the energy conversion efficiency of two shape memory alloys is present. The study consider single crystal samples in simple tension. The results showed higher properties for of the NiTi than Cu-Al-Be, especially in the temperature-increment (ΔT) necessary for get a conversion energy cycle. However, the study showed a crystalline orientation favorable for Cu-Al-Be

State of the art, challenges and prospects of wide-area event identification on transmission systems

The proliferation of advanced metering devices such as phasor measurement units (PMUs) along with communication systems readiness has opened new horizons for centralized protection and control of transmission systems. Wide-area event identification (WAEI) is considered an indispensable enabling block to these advanced applications. This paper is aimed at scrutinizing existing WAEI methods and discussing their prospects and shortcomings in improving the situational awareness of complex transmission systems. The disturbances of interest are those that significantly impact system operation and stability, namely short-circuit faults, line outages, and generation outages. The reluctance of system operators to entrust WAEI methods is discussed and linked to the inability of existing methods to deal with real-world challenges such as communication latencies, temporarily incomplete network observability, and the loss of the time synchronization signal. The superimposed-circuit concept is detailed and promoted as a powerful methodology with great unleashed potential for addressing these problems. The paper ends with remarks on the remaining research gaps that need to be addressed to fulfill the needs of power system operators, thus facilitating the uptake of WAEI methods in practice

Astrophysics at n-TOF facility

The neutron time of flight (n_TOF) facility at CERN is a neutron spallation source, its white neutron energy spectrum ranges from thermal to several GeV, covering the full energy range of interest for nuclear astrophysics, in particular for measurements of the neutron capture cross section required in s-process nucleosynthesis. This contribution gives an overview on the astrophysical program made at n_TOF facility, the results and the implications will be reported.Postprint (published version

Study of the background in the measuring station at the n_TOF facility at CERN: sources and solutions

A background roughly two orders of magnitude higher than tolerable was found in the n_TOF facility at CERN during the first measurements. This note describes a series of additional measurements performed in the n_TOF experimental area to study the origin and the characteristics of the background. The program of these measurements was determined taking into account the results from the simulations carried out by the EET group. A first phase of measurements confirmed the results of the simulations, namely that the dominant source of background was due to neutrons generated by negative muon capture. Actions to reduce the background were taken according to the results from both measurements and simulations. An iron shielding wall 3.2 m thick was then placed in between the sweeping magnet and the second collimator, with the purpose of stopping most of the muons. In a second phase of measurements, results showed that the additional shielding reduced the main component of the background by about a factor of 30.Postprint (author's final draft

Measurement of the 70Ge(n,γ) cross section up to 300 keV at the CERN n_TOF facility

Neutron capture data on intermediate mass nuclei are of key importance to nucleosynthesis in the weak component of the slow neutron capture processes, which occurs in massive stars. The (n,γ) cross section on 70Ge, which is mainly produced in the s process, was measured at the neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF at CERN. Resonance capture kernels were determined up to 40 keV neutron energy and average cross sections up to 300 keV. Stellar cross sections were calculated from kT =5 keV tokT =100 keV and are in very good agreement with a previous measurement by Walter and Beer (1985) and recent evaluations. Average cross sectionsareinagreementwithWalterandBeer(1985)overmostoftheneutronenergyrangecovered,whilethey aresystematicallysmallerforneutronenergiesabove150keV.Wehavecalculatedisotopicabundancesproduced in s-process environments in a 25 solar mass star for two initial metallicities (below solar and close to solar). While the low metallicity model reproduces best the solar system germanium isotopic abundances, the close to solar model shows a good global match to solar system abundances in the range of mass numbers A=60–80.Austrian Science Fund J3503Adolf Messer Foundation ST/M006085/1European Research Council ERC2015-StGCroatian Science Foundation IP-2018-01-857