Escherichia coli and its application to biohydrogen production

"Hydrogen is an attractive energy carrier because of its high energy density, and used as a raw material in various chemical processes. Nowadays, hydrogen demand is supplied from non-renewable sources, and alternative sources are becoming mandatory. Hydrogen production by biological methods uses renewable resources as substrate and its production occurs at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure. Thus, it is less energy intensive than the chemical and thermochemical methods used to produce hydrogen. This review is focused on fermentative hydrogen production by Escherichia coli. The hydrogen production pathway, the genetic manipulations, and expression of non-native pathways into this microorganism are reviewed. The hydrogen production using alternative substrates is a critical point to develop sustainable process by this reason the principal substrates for hydrogen production using E. coli are revised. Other strategies like two stages processes and immobilized cells are also discussed.

A Precise Electrical Disturbance Generator for Neural Network Training with Real Level Output

Power Quality is defined as the study of the quality of electric power lines. The detection and classification of the different disturbances which cause power quality problems is a difficult task which requires a high level of engineering expertise. Thus, neural networks are usually a good choice for the detection and classification of these disturbances. This paper describes a powerful tool, developed by the Institute for Natural Resources and Agrobiology at the Scientific Research Council (CSIC) and the Electronic Technology Department at the University of Seville, which generates electrical patterns of disturbances for the training of neural networks for PQ tasks. This system has been expanded to other applications (as comparative test between PQ meters, or test of effects of power-line disturbances on equipment) through the addition of a specifically developed high fidelity power amplifier, which allows the generation of disturbed signals at real levels.Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología DPI2006-15467-C02-0

OLIMPO, An Ad-Hoc Wireless Sensor Network Simulator for Public Utilities Applications

This paper introduces OLIMPO, an useful simulation tool for researchers who are developing wireless sensor communication protocols. OLIMPO is a discreteevent simulator design to be easily recon gured by the user, providing a way to design, develop and test communication protocols. In particular, we have designed a self-organizing wireless sensor network for low data rate. Our premise is that, due to their inherent spread location over large areas, wireless sensor networks are well-suited for SCADA applications, which require relatively simple control and monitoring. To show the facilities of our simulator, we have studied our network protocol with OLIMPO, developing several simulations. The purpose of these simulations is to demonstrate, quantitatively, the capability of our network to support this kind of applications

Heterogeneous data source integration for smart grid ecosystems based on metadata mining

The arrival of new technologies related to smart grids and the resulting ecosystem of applications andmanagement systems pose many new problems. The databases of the traditional grid and the variousinitiatives related to new technologies have given rise to many different management systems with several formats and different architectures. A heterogeneous data source integration system is necessary toupdate these systems for the new smart grid reality. Additionally, it is necessary to take advantage of theinformation smart grids provide. In this paper, the authors propose a heterogeneous data source integration based on IEC standards and metadata mining. Additionally, an automatic data mining framework isapplied to model the integrated information.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TEC2013-40767-

Expansion of CD34+ human hematopoietic cells from umbilical cord blood using roller bottles

"El transplante de células madre hematopoyéticas está limitado por la cantidad de células CD34+ presentes en las unidades de sangre de cordón umbilical; el objetivo de este trabajo fue obtener la expansión in vitro de células madre hematopoyéticas. Se establecieron cultivos de células CD34+ de sangre de cordón umbilical en medio IMDM suplementado con citocinas para promover la expansión de progenitores hematopoyéticos. En 5 días de cultivo en frascos giratorios se obtuvo la máxima expansión de unidades formadoras de colonias (UFC) totales de 16.94±2.82 veces, mientras que en cultivo estático fue de 17.28±4.47. La máxima expansión de células totales fue de 20.31±6.18 veces en frasco giratorio y de 26.45±9.89 veces en cultivo estático a los 10 días de cultivo. Se demostró la eficacia del sistema de frascos giratorios con medio IMDM para el cultivo a corto plazo de células enriquecidas CD34+ provenientes de sangre de cordón umbilical y para la expansión de progenitores hematopoyéticos, potencializando el uso de este sistema para otros experimentos y aplicaciones clínicas a futuro."Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation is limited by the initial CD34+ cell content in cord blood units; the aim of this work was the in vitro expansion of HSC to overcome this issue. Supplemented IMDM roller bottle cultures of CD34+ cells from human umbilical cord blood were established for hematopoietic progenitor expansion. The maximum total colony forming cells (CFC) expansion was achieved after 5 days of culture, being 16.94±2.82 folds in roller bottles and 17.28±4.47 in static cultures. However, the maximum total cell fold expansion was attained after 10 days of culture. It was of 20.31±6.18 for the roller bottles and 26.45±9.89 for the static cultures. The efficacy of the roller bottles system for short-term cultures of CD34+ cells and expanding hematopoietic progenitors in IMDM was demonstrated; encouraging the use of this culture system for other experiments and may be used for future clinical applications.

Optimization of fermentation conditions for the production of the mezcal from Agave salmiana using response surface methodology

"Response surface methodology was applied to optimize the fermentative phase for the mezcal production from Agave salmiana. A 3k factorial design was used to obtain models describing the relationship between the ethanol production, process productivity, and product yield with respect to the fermentation temperature and the initial sugar concentration. The results showed that the fermentative conditions affected the composition of higher alcohols (referred as a quality indicator) in the mezcal as well as the amount of ethanol. The highest ethanol production was attained by employing the following predicted optimum operational conditions: temperature of 28 °C and an initial sugar concentration of 105 g/l. However, the maximum productivity process was attained with 34.6 °C and 90 g/l, whereas the maximum product yield and the best quality mezcal at 28 °C and 77 g/l. Results show that the simultaneous optimization for high ethanol production and fast production rate are not compatible, since high ethanol production requires a high substrate concentration, which in turn inhibit the growth rate.

La UE: Fundamentos y políticas comunes. Fondos Next Generation EU, Plan de Recuperación para Europa

El objetivo que persigue este trabajo será analizar la respuesta otorgada por parte de la Unión Europea a las consecuencias de la pandemia y los diferentes desafíos del continente, a través de los Fondos NextGenerationEU, donde trataremos de entender qué son y cuál es su funcionamiento y principalmente qué objetivos persiguen. También se pondrá especial atención en como estos fondos han sido recibidos y gestionados en España, estudiando los diferentes puntos del Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia español, con el objetivo de comprender hacia qué medidas están orientadas el uso de estos fondos para lograr los cambios y avances necesarios para superar esta crisis y lograr un futuro resiliente. Finalmente, también estudiaremos la recepción de los fondos en el contexto de nuestro Comunidad Autónoma, Andalucía

Formulación y evaluación integral de proyectos productivos agroforestales para impulsar el desarrollo sostenible de la orinoquia alta colombiana para el beneficio del mundo :informe final proyecto.

En cabeza del Ministerio de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural, en alianza con CORPOICA, se avanzó en la identificación y evaluación de sistemas agroforestales multiestrata factibles de ser establecidos en esta región del país, como elemento básico para convertir a fa Orinoquia colombiana en atractivo nacional, desde el punto de vista productivo, comercial y social y, desde la óptica internacional, en un foco de generación de oxigeno y en un centro de captura de carbono que permita participar en la mejora del ambiente y el bienestar del mundo.Forestales-Foresterí

Effects of nitrogen-doped multiwall carbon nanotubes on murine fibroblasts

"The effect of nitrogen-doped multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNx) on the proliferation of NIH-3T3murine fibroblasts is presented. CNTs were dispersed in distillated water and incubated with mammalian cells in order to evaluate their toxicity. Also, the influence of factors such as dosage (7 and 70 mu g/mL), exposure time (24 to 96 h), and the exposure route (before and after cell liftoff) on the cell proliferation was evaluated. When the CNx were simultaneously incubated with the cells, the control culture reached a maximum cell concentration of 1.3 x 10(5) +/- 3.4 x 10(4) cells per well at 96 h, whereas cultures with 7 mu g/mL reached a concentration of 2.6 x 10(4) +/- 5.3 x 10(3) cells. In the case of 70 mu g/mL of CNx most of the cells were dead. The CNx that were added 24 h after cell dissociation showed that live cells decreased, with a cell concentration of 9.6 x 10(4) +/- 9 x 10(3) for 7 mu g/mL and 5.5 x 10(4) +/- 9.5 x 10(3) for 70 mu g/mL, in contrast to control cultures with 1.1 x 10(6) +/- 1.5 x 10(4). The results showed that the CNx had cytotoxic effects depending on the concentration and exposure route.

Maximizing hydrogen production and substrate consumption by Escherichia coli WDHL in cheese whey fermentation

"Fermentative hydrogen production is strongly affected by pH. In order to maximize hydrogen production and substrate consumption in Escherichia coli ΔhycA, ΔlacI (WDHL) cheese whey fermentation, the influence of pH control at values of 5.5, 6, and 6.5 was studied in batch stirred-tank bioreactors. From the conditions evaluated, pH 6.5 was the best condition, at which the highest cumulative hydrogen production and yield (1.78 mol H2/mol lactose) were obtained. Moreover, at this pH, all carbohydrates from the cheese whey were consumed, and a mix of ethanol and organic acids, mainly lactate, were produced from glucose, whereas galactose yielded acetate, ethanol, and succinate. Operating the reactor at pH 5.5 resulted in the highest maximum specific production rate, but smaller hydrogen yield because only glucose was metabolized and galactose was accumulated. At pH 6, not all cheese whey carbohydrates were consumed, and it was not favorable for hydrogen production. Lactose consumption and growth kinetics were not affected by the pH. The results show the importance of controlling pH to maximize hydrogen production and substrate consumption using cheese whey as substrate.