Modeling the bicarbonate uptake in Arthrospira maxima as a function of pH: batch and continuous experiments.

openMicroalgae industrial cultivation is still currently limited by high costs related to biomass production and harvesting. Among the others, the supply of CO2 by bubbling is one of the major costs related to CO2 insufflation in photobioreactors, due to the low solubility of CO2 and the slow uptake by microalgae, causing a consistent loss of the gas in the atmosphere. Hence, research efforts have been focused on the investigation of suitable alternative inorganic carbon sources. Some microalgae and cyanobacteria, called alkali halophilic species, are able to exploit bicarbonate ions for carbon fixation with efficiency comparable to that of CO2. Spirulina, one of the most cultivated microalgal species for industrial purposes, is able to use bicarbonate, and it was chosen as a model organism to describe the effect of bicarbonate on growth, accounting for the effect of pH on carbonate speciation. In this master thesis, Arthrospira maxima has been cultivated in continuous photobioreactors under different bicarbonate concentration, pH and under enriched CO2 bubbling. Experimental data were subsequently applied to implement a kinetic model for a numerical description of such a phenomenon.Microalgae industrial cultivation is still currently limited by high costs related to biomass production and harvesting. Among the others, the supply of CO2 by bubbling is one of the major costs related to CO2 insufflation in photobioreactors, due to the low solubility of CO2 and the slow uptake by microalgae, causing a consistent loss of the gas in the atmosphere. Hence, research efforts have been focused on the investigation of suitable alternative inorganic carbon sources. Some microalgae and cyanobacteria, called alkali halophilic species, are able to exploit bicarbonate ions for carbon fixation with efficiency comparable to that of CO2. Spirulina, one of the most cultivated microalgal species for industrial purposes, is able to use bicarbonate, and it was chosen as a model organism to describe the effect of bicarbonate on growth, accounting for the effect of pH on carbonate speciation. In this master thesis, Arthrospira maxima has been cultivated in continuous photobioreactors under different bicarbonate concentration, pH and under enriched CO2 bubbling. Experimental data were subsequently applied to implement a kinetic model for a numerical description of such a phenomenon

Henri Temianka Correspondence; (tagliaferro)

This collection contains material pertaining to the life, career, and activities of Henri Temianka, violin virtuoso, conductor, music teacher, and author. Materials include correspondence, concert programs and flyers, music scores, photographs, and books.https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/temianka_correspondence/4191/thumbnail.jp

State of archives report 2012

Like most academic and research libraries the University of Malta (UoM) Library holds “legacy” collections of rare and special materials. The Archives and Rare Book Collections, together with its sister collection - the Melitensia Collection - form part of the UoM Library’s Special Collections Department. The collections found here have a strong Maltese content but not exclusively as is the case with the Melitensia Collection. In common with other academic and research libraries, the UoM Library is committed to collect, preserve and provide access to its special collections on behalf of its parent institution and the needs of learning and scholarship everywhere.peer-reviewe

Editorial for the special issue on carbon based electronic devices

For more than 50 years, silicon has dominated the electronics industry [...]

An electrophysiological study of the primary retinal fibers of the retino-tectal and retino-thalamo-cortical visual systems of the frog, rana pipiens

An electrophysiological study was made of the primary retinal projections in the retino-tectal and retino-thalamo-cortical visual system of the frog (Rana pipiens). The data obtained from optic nerve stimulation indicated that the optic fibers are trimodally distributed in the surface layers of the contralateral tectum

On-Chain Smart Contract Verification over Tendermint

Smart contracts are computer code that runs in blockchain and expresses the rules of an agreement among parties. A bug in their code has major consequences, such as rule violations and security attacks. Smart contracts are immutable and cannot be easily replaced to patch a bug. To overcome these problems, there exist automatic static analyzers that find bugs before smart contracts are installed in blockchain. However, this off-chain verification is optional: programmers are not forced to use it. This paper defines on-chain verification instead, that occurs inside the same blockchain nodes, when the code of smart contracts is installed. It acts as a mandatory entry filter that bans code that does not abide to the verification rules, that are consequently part of the consensus rules of the blockchain. Thus, an improvement in on-chain verification entails a consensus update of the network. This paper provides an implementation of on-chain verification for smart contracts written in the Takamaka subset of Java, running as a Tendermint application. It shows that on-chain verification works, reporting actual experiments

Multiple cancer of the colon

A case study of a 68 year old woman who was admitted to St. Luke`s Hospital Malta on account of severe colicky pain in the right iliac region of the abdomen is presented. A diagnosis of acute appendicitis was made and retrocecal obstructive appendicitis was found at operation. After full examination, the diagnosis was once again revised, to multiple cancer of the colon, hepatic flexure and appendix. Multiple cancers may occur with no signs of adenomas or polyps as in this case. It is always difficult in any organ to say whether multiple cancers are all primary or whether one is primary and the others secondary since the problems of growth, local spread and metastases of malignant neoplasms are often bizarre and unpredictable.peer-reviewe

A Short Review on Nanostructured Carbon Containing Biopolymer Derived Composites for Tissue Engineering Applications

The development of new scaffolds and materials for tissue engineering is a wide and open realm of material science. Among solutions, the use of biopolymers represents a particularly interesting area of study due to their great chemical complexity that enables creation of specific molecular architectures. However, biopolymers do not exhibit the properties required for direct application in tissue repair—such as mechanical and electrical properties—but they do show very attractive chemical functionalities which are difficult to produce through in vitro synthesis. The combination of biopolymers with nanostructured carbon fillers could represent a robust solution to enhance composite properties, producing composites with new and unique features, particularly relating to electronic conduction. In this paper, we provide a review of the field of carbonaceous nanostructure-containing biopolymer composites, limiting our investigation to tissue-engineering applications, and providing a complete overview of the recent and most outstanding achievements

Biochar Emerging applications

This reference text covers the latest developments in biochar materials research, a field which is becoming increasingly popular due to the potential of biochar to replace carbon materials derived from non-renewable sources. Emerging and innovative applications of biochar materials are discussed, and all aspects of the field are covered, from production to applications, including details on the techniques used. There is a particular focus on biochar as a material for composites and sensors. This is the first book to cover emerging applications of biochar as an innovative, versatile, carbon-based renewable material, beyond its traditional uses in agriculture. It is a valuable reference for all researchers in the fields of biochar and carbon materials, including industry practitioners