Perspective-Semi-Solid Electrolytes Based on Deep Eutectic Solvents: Opportunities and Future Directions

In the past years the interest in deep eutectic solvents (DESs) has been steadily increasing, much due to the possibilities to rationally design their special physical properties by choosing the right combination of components. This perspective aims to help unifying how deep eutectic solvents should be reported and explores the vast opportunities for semi-solid electrolytes based on DESs. The latter connects well to the trend on research towards solid-state energy storage devices, emphasizing the aim of increased safety

Fluid dynamic analysis of dual fluidized bed gasifier for solar applications

A hydrodynamic model of a dual fluidized bed gasifier (DFBG) is developed and its predictions are compared with measurements of solids flux and pressure profiles from a cold flow model (CFM). Then, the performance of a DFBG gasifier is theoretically analyzed in terms of solids circulation and solids distribution under changes in riser and loop seal aeration, solids inventory and particle size, and a sensitivity analysis is made to delimit the model prediction capability. Furthermore, the model is applied to analyze the effects of key design aspects of DFBG, such as the relative size of riser and gasifier, the connection between both units, the circulation rate of solids and their distribution around the system. The model is further used to extend the DFBG operation with external solar energy carried by heated solid particles, i.e. to design solar DFBG (SDFBG). The analysis is focused on the performance with high solids inventory in the gasifier to increase the char conversion (operation with a large solar share) and the control of solids circulation to meet the heat demand of the gasifier with the availability of solar energy. The operation with large solids inventory in the gasifier requires the size of the gasifier to increase considerably compared to that of the conventional DFBG. The substitution of the connection pipe between the riser and the bubbling bed (current design in commercial DFBG) by a lower loop seal enables better control of the solids circulation, thus, benefiting the solar design

Electrochemical Behaviour of Nb-Doped Anatase TiO2 Microbeads in an Ionic Liquid Electrolyte

TiO(2)is a promising material for high-power battery and supercapacitor applications. However, in general TiO(2)suffers from an initial irreversible capacity that limits its use in different applications. A combination of a microbead morphology, Nb-doping, and the use of an ionic liquid electrolyte is shown to significantly decrease the irreversible capacity loss. A change in the electrochemical response in the first cycles indicates formation of a solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) or a modification of the structure of the surface layer of the TiO2/Nb microbeads, which apparently stabilises the performance. The change in the response is manifested in an increased charge transfer resistance and the presence of two charge transfer contributions. During prolonged cycling the TiO2/Nb electrode shows an excellent stability over 5000 cycles. Ex situ analysis after cycling shows that the overall microbead morphology is intact and that there are no changes in the crystal structure. However, a decrease in the intensity of the XRD pattern can point to a decrease in size of the nanocrystals building up the microbeads or the formation of amorphous phases

Use of Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Torulaspora delbrueckii strains in mixed and sequential fermentations to improve red wine sensory quality

One of the main opportunities in the use of non- Saccharomyces yeasts is its great intraspecific variability in relation to the synthesis of secondary products of fermentation. Thus, mixed or sequential fermentation with non- Saccharomyces can increase the synthesis of certain metabolites that are important for colour stability, such as acetaldehyde and pyruvic acid (vitisin precursors) or vinylphenols (vinylphenolic pyranoanthocyanin precursors). Furthermore, the selection and use of non- Saccharomyces yeast strains with good yields in the production of certain volatile compounds (ethyl lactate, 2,3-butanediol, 2-phenylethyl acetate), with limited formation of higher alcohols, is a way to improve the aromatic profile of red wine. The main aim of this work was to evaluate the influence of sequential and mixed fermentations with Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Torulaspora delbrueckii strains on red wine's sensory quality. Anthocyanins and aromatic profiles, as well as glycerol and organic acid content, were analysed in the red wines obtained. Results show that, in general, mixed fermentations can promote an increment in polyols synthesis, while sequential fermentations can enhance the herbaceous aroma. Moreover, the use of T. delbrueckii in mixed fermentations allowed an increase to the fruity character of red wine. The use of S. pombe in sequential fermentations increased the stability of the colouring matter by favouring vitisins and vinylphenolic pyranoanthocyanin formation. \ua9 2015 Elsevier Ltd

Expression, purification and thermal stability evaluation of an engineered amaranth protein expressed in Escherichia coli

Background: The acidic subunit of amarantin (AAC)\u2014the predominant amaranth seed storage protein\u2014has functional potential and its third variable region (VR) has been modified with antihypertensive peptides to improve this potential. Here, we modified the C-terminal in the fourth VR of AAC by inserting four VY antihypertensive peptides. This modified protein (AACM.4) was expressed in Escherichia coli. In addition, we also recombinantly expressed other derivatives of the amarantin protein. These include: unmodified amarantin acidic subunit (AAC); amarantin acidic subunit modified at the third VR with four VY peptides (AACM.3); and amarantin acidic subunit doubly modified, in the third VR with four VY peptides and in the fourth VR with the RIPP peptide (AACM.3.4). Results: E. coli BL21-CodonPlus (DE3)-RIL was the most favorable strain for the expression of proteins. After 6 h of induction, it showed the best recombinant protein titer. The AAC and AACM.4 were obtained at higher titers (0.56 g/L) while proteins modified in the third VR showed lower titers: 0.44 g/L and 0.33 g/L for AACM.3 and AACM.3.4, respectively. As these AAC variants were mostly expressed in an insoluble form, we applied a refolding protocol. This made it possible to obtain all proteins in soluble form. Modification of the VR 4 improves the thermal stability of amarantin acidic subunit; AAC manifested melting temperature (Tm) at 34\ub0C and AACM.4 at 37.2\ub0C. The AACM.3 and AACM.3.4 did not show transition curves. Conclusions: Modifications to the third VR affect the thermal stability of amarantin acidic subunit

24 mJ Cr+4:forsterite four-stage master-oscillator power-amplifier laser system for high resolution mid-infrared spectroscopy

We present the design of a Cr:forsterite based single-frequency master-oscillator power-amplifier laser system delivering much higher output energy compared to previous literature reports. The system has four amplifying stages with two-pass configuration each, thus enabling the generation of 24 mJ output energy in the spectral region around 1262 nm. It is demonstrated that the presented Cr:forsterite amplifier preserves high spectral and pulse quality, allowing a straightforward energy scaling. This laser system is a promising tool for tunable nonlinear down-conversion to the mid-infrared spectral range and will be a key building block in a system for high-resolution muonic hydrogen spectroscopy in the 6.8 \u3bcm rang

Model-independent evidence for J/ψpJ/\psi p contributions to Λb0→J/ψpK−\Lambda_b^0\to J/\psi p K^- decays

The data sample of $\Lambda_b^0\to J/\psi p K^-$ decays acquired with the LHCb detector from 7 and 8~TeV $pp$ collisions, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb$^{-1}$, is inspected for the presence of $J/\psi p$ or $J/\psi K^-$ contributions with minimal assumptions about $K^- p$ contributions. It is demonstrated at more than 9 standard deviations that $\Lambda_b^0\to J/\psi p K^-$ decays cannot be described with $K^- p$ contributions alone, and that $J/\psi p$ contributions play a dominant role in this incompatibility. These model-independent results support the previously obtained model-dependent evidence for $P_c^+\to J/\psi p$ charmonium-pentaquark states in the same data sample.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures (including the supplemental section added at the end

Quantum numbers of the X(3872)X(3872) state and orbital angular momentum in its ρ0Jψ\rho^0 J\psi decay

Angular correlations in $B^+\to X(3872) K^+$ decays, with $X(3872)\to \rho^0 J/\psi$, $\rho^0\to\pi^+\pi^-$ and $J/\psi \to\mu^+\mu^-$, are used to measure orbital angular momentum contributions and to determine the $J^{PC}$ value of the $X(3872)$ meson. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector. This determination, for the first time performed without assuming a value for the orbital angular momentum, confirms the quantum numbers to be $J^{PC}=1^{++}$. The $X(3872)$ is found to decay predominantly through S wave and an upper limit of $4\%$ at $95\%$ C.L. is set on the fraction of D wave.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Observation of Z production in proton-lead collisions at LHCb

The first observation of Z boson production in proton-lead collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per proton-nucleon pair of root(s) N N = 5TeV is presented. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1.6 nb(-1) collected with the LHCb detector. The Z candidates are reconstructed from pairs of oppositely charged muons with pseudorapidities between 2.0 and 4.5 and transverse momenta above 20 GeV/c. The invariant dimuon mass is restricted to the range 60-120 GeV/c. The Z production cross-section is measured to be sigma(Z ->mu+mu-) (fwd) = 13.5(-4.0)(+5.4)(stat.) +/- 1.2(syst.) nb in the direction of the proton beam and sigma(Z ->mu+mu-) (bwd) = 10.7(-5.1)(+8.4)(stat.) +/- 1.0(syst.) nb in the direction of the lead beam, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic