Current-Voltage Characteristic of Electrospray Processes in Microfluidics

4 páginas, 4 figuras.-- PACS numbers: 47.65.-d, 47.55.db, 47.60.KzWe use a glass-based microfluidic device to study the electric current behavior of an electrospray process in the presence of a coflowing liquid. The current shows strong voltage dependence and weak flow rate dependence, in stark contrast to classical electrospray. By considering that the current is dominated by convection near the apex of the conical meniscus and driven by tangential electric stresses, we quantitatively capture the voltage and flow rate dependence of the current. Our results elucidate the influence of external field strength and open the way to achieve robust electric control of the current and of the drop size in microfluidics.We thank DPI2008-06624-C03-03 and NSF (DMR- 0847304 and CBET-0967293).Peer reviewe

Nitrogen and oxygen isotopes of dissolved nitrate to evaluate the efficiency of induced groundwater denitrification at field-scale

Nitrate, pollutants, denitrification, nitrate vulnerable zones, stable isotopes

Use of nitrogen and oxygen isotopes of dissolved nitrate to trace field-scale induced denitrification efficiency throughout an in-situ groundwater remediation strategy

In the framework of the Life+ InSiTrate project, a pilot-plant was established to demonstrate the viability of inducing in-situ heterotrophic denitrification to remediate nitrate (NO3−)-polluted groundwater. Two injection wells supplied acetic acid by pulses to an alluvial aquifer for 22 months. The monitoring was performed by regular sampling at three piezometers and two wells located downstream. In the present work, the pilot-plant monitoring samples were used to test the usefulness of the isotopic tools to evaluate the efficiency of the treatment. The laboratory microcosm experiments determined an isotopic fractionation (ε) for N-NO3− of −12.6 and for O-NO3− of −13.3 . These ε15NNO3/N2 and ε18ONO3/N2 values were modelled by using a Rayleigh distillation equation to estimate the percentage of the induced denitrification at the pilot-plant while avoiding a possible interference from dilution due to non-polluted water inputs. In some of the field samples, the induced NO3− reduction was higher than 50% with respect to the background concentration. The field samples showed a reduced slope between δ18O-NO3− and δ15N-NO3− (0.7) compared to the laboratory experiments (1.1). This finding was attributed to the reoxidation of NO2− to NO3− during the treatment. The NO3− isotopic characterization also permitted the recognition of a mixture between the denitrified and partially or non-denitrified groundwater in one of the sampling points. Therefore, the isotopic tools demonstrated usefulness in assessing the implementation of the field-scale induced denitrification strategy

Environmental fate and behaviour of the biocontrol agent Bacillus amyloliquefaciens CPA-8 after preharvest application to stone fruit

BACKGROUND:Bacillus amyloliquefaciensstrain CPA-8 has been described as an effective biocontrol agent to control brownrot in stone fruit for both preharvest and postharvest applications. However, no information about the environmental fate andbehaviour of this strain under field conditions is available.RESULTS: The dispersion of the CPA-8 application was evaluated using water-sensitive papers, and complete coverage wasobserved on the leaves of treated trees, while<1% of non-treated tree leaves had CPA-8. CPA-8 persisted on the fruit of treatedtrees during preharvest and postharvest conditions, while a significant decrease on leaves and weeds was observed 21 daysafter treatment. On non-treated trees, CPA-8 was detected on leaves until 180 days after treatment, and on weeds, the CPA-8population was dependent on the distance from the treated trees. A high persistence of CPA-8 was detected on inert materials,suchasclothesandgloveswornbyhandlersandplasticharvestingboxes.Morethan99%ofthesampleswithaCPA-8phenotypewere confirmed as CPA-8 using polymerase chain reaction (PCR).CONCLUSION: This work demonstrated a good distribution, persistence and adaptation of the CPA-8 strain to field andpostharvest conditions. Monitoring of dispersion and persistence is an excellent tool to determine the time of application andprovides valuable information for registering issues.© 2017 Society of Chemical Industryinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Pla d’actuació a Catalunya enfront d’una possible pandèmia de grip: Protocol d’actuacions que cal seguir davant de la detecció d’un possible cas humà d’infecció pel virus de la grip A (H5N1). Fase d’alerta pandèmica 3 (fase sense transmissió interhumana)

Malalties infeccioses; Protocol d'actuació; Grip A (H5N1)Enfermedades infecciosas; Protocolo de actuación; Gripe A(H5N1)Infectious Diseases; Action protocol; Flu A (H5N1)Protocol d'actuació davant d'un cas sospitós o probable de grip aviària; com s'origina la infecció i els passos que cal seguir, l'acollida (centre d'atenció primària o a l'hospital) i les mesures higièniques de cara al personal sanitari.Protocolo de actuación ante un caso sospechoso o probable de gripe aviaria; como se origina la infección y los pasos a seguir, la acogida (centro de atención primaria o en el hospital) y las medidas higiénicas referentes al personal sanitario

Differential contribution of the two major polygalacturonases from Penicillium digitatum to virulence towards citrus fruit

The fungus Penicillium digitatum is the causal agent of the citrus green mould, the major postharvest diseases of citrus fruit. Lesions on the surface of infected fruits first appear as soft areas around the inoculation site, due to maceration of fruit. The macerating activity has been associated with pectinases secreted by the fungus during infection. In order to evaluate the contribution to virulence and macerating activity of the two major polygalacturonases (PGs) secreted by P. digitatum, we have obtained and characterized mutants lacking either pg1 or pg2, the genes encoding PG1 and PG2, respectively. Disease incidence of deletants in either gene was not different from that of the parental strain or ectopic transformants. However, disease progressed more slowly in deletants, especially in those lacking the pg2 gene. The lesions originated by the Δpg2 deletants were not as soft and the pH was not as acid as those originated by either the wild type strain or the ectopic transformants. Total PG activity in the macerated tissue was also lower in fruits infected with the Δpg2 deletants. Interestingly, the macerated tissue of oranges infected with Δpg2 deletants showed around 50% reduction in galacturonic acid content with respect to lesions caused by any other strain.The technical assistance of Ana Izquierdo is gratefully acknowledged. LG-C's research is funded in part by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (AGL2011-30519-C03-01 and AGL2014-55802-R) and the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEOII/2014/027). ML-P was supported by a “Formación de Personal Investigador” scholarship (BES-2006-12983). Authors want to thank the technical assistance of S. Dashevskaya and the financial support by AGL2011-30519-CO3-03 from the “Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad” (MINECO, Spain), and the CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya