•Cyanidin-3-(6″-malonylglucoside) was the major anthocyanin in blue maize.•Anthocyanins modified nutritional in vitro starch fractions.•Anthocyanins contributed to RS formation.•Blue maize products ...can present low starch digestibility.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of blue maize extracts obtained by acid-methanol treatment on the nutritional in vitro starch fractions such as: rapidly digestive starch (RDS), slowly digestive starch (SDS) and resistant starch (RS) of native and gelatinized commercial maize starch. Chromatographic analysis (HPLC-DAD/ESI-MS) of blue maize extracts showed the presence of seven anthocyanins, where cyanidin-3-(6″-malonylglucoside) was the main. Blue maize extracts modified nutritional in vitro starch fractions (decrease of RDS) while RS content increased (1.17 and 2.02 times for native and gelatinized commercial maize starch, respectively) when anthocyanins extracts were added to starch up to 75% (starch weight). This preliminary observation provides the basis for further suitability evaluation of blue maize extract as natural starch-modifier by the possible anthocyanins-starch interaction. Anthocyanin extracts can be a suitable to produce functional foods with higher RS content with potential human health benefits.
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•Porous CaCO3 and CaCO3-MgO composites prepared by decomposition of acetate precursors.•Large free volume and inert MgO additive synergistically improve sintering resistance.•Enhanced ...sintering resistance grants stable recyclability and minimizes deactivation.•Stable porous structure permits a high and stable effective conversion value of 0.7.•Simple and cost-effective preparation method allows real, large scale application.
High energy density, cycling stability, low cost and scalability are the main features required for thermochemical energy storage systems to achieve a feasible integration in Concentrating Solar Power plants (CSP). While no system has been found to fully satisfy all these requirements, the reversible CaO/CaCO3 carbonation reaction (CaL) is one of the most promising since CaO natural precursors are affordable and earth-abundant. However, CaO particles progressively deactivate due to sintering-induced morphological changes during repeated carbonation and calcinations cycles. In this work, we have prepared acicular calcium and magnesium acetate precursors using a simple, cost-effective and easily scalable technique that requires just the natural minerals and acetic acid, thereby avoiding expensive reactants and environmentally unfriendly solvents. Upon thermal decomposition, these precursors yield a stable porous structure comprised of well dispersed MgO nanoparticles coating the CaO/CaCO3 grains that is resistant to pore-plugging and sintering while at the same time exhibits high long term effective conversion. Process simulations show that the employment of these materials could significantly improve the overall CSP-CaL efficiency at the industrial level.
The present work is focused on thermochemical energy storage (TCES) in Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants by means of the Calcium-Looping (CaL) process using cheap, abundant and non-toxic natural ...carbonate minerals. CaL conditions for CSP storage involve calcination of CaCO3 in the solar receiver at relatively low temperature whereas carbonation of CaO is carried out at high temperature and high CO2 concentration to use the heat of reaction for power production by means of a CO2 closed power cycle. Under these conditions, large CaO particles derived from limestone to be used in industrial processes are rapidly deactivated due to pore-plugging, which limits the extent of the reaction. This is favored by the relatively small pores of the CaO skeleton generated by low temperature calcination, the large thickness of the CaCO3 layer built upon the CaO surface and the very fast carbonation kinetics. On the other hand, at CaL conditions for CSP storage does not limit carbonation of CaO derived from dolomite (dolime). Dolime is shown to exhibit a high multicycle conversion regardless of particle size, which is explained by the presence of inert MgO grains that allow the reacting gas to percolate inside the porous particles.
Thermochemical Energy storage of CSP using the Calcium-Looping process Display omitted
•CSP can be stored by means of the Calcium-Looping process in thermochemical form.•The CaL process uses cheap, abundant and non-toxic natural calcium carbonate minerals.•These materials may exhibit a high multicycle activity at CaL conditions that maximize the global plant efficiency.•Natural limestone performance is limited by particle size at practical conditions due to pore plugging.•Pore plugging does not pose a significant limitation to the performance of natural dolomite.
The application of adoptive T cell therapies, including those using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-modified T cells, to solid tumors requires combinatorial strategies to overcome immune suppression ...associated with the tumor microenvironment. Here we test whether the inflammatory nature of oncolytic viruses and their ability to remodel the tumor microenvironment may help to recruit and potentiate the functionality of CAR T cells. Contrary to our hypothesis, VSVmIFNβ infection is associated with attrition of murine EGFRvIII CAR T cells in a B16EGFRvIII model, despite inducing a robust proinflammatory shift in the chemokine profile. Mechanistically, type I interferon (IFN) expressed following infection promotes apoptosis, activation, and inhibitory receptor expression, and interferon-insensitive CAR T cells enable combinatorial therapy with VSVmIFNβ. Our study uncovers an unexpected mechanism of therapeutic interference, and prompts further investigation into the interaction between CAR T cells and oncolytic viruses to optimize combination therapy.
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•CaO/SiO2 composites were synthesized by a low cost biomimetic process from rice husk.•CaO/SiO2 composites are highly efficient for concentrated solar energy storage.•The composites ...show significantly better performance than natural limestone.•Pore-plugging is reduced by the composition and microstructure of the CaO/SiO2 composites.
An ever more environmentally conscious society demands the use of green, sustainable and high-efficiency renewable energy resources. However, large-scale energy storage remains a challenge for a deep penetration of power produced from renewables into the grid. The Calcium-Looping (CaL) process, based on the reversible carbonation/calcination of CaO, is a promising technology for thermochemical energy storage (TCES) in Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants. Natural limestone to be used as CaO precursor is cheap, non-toxic and abundant. Nevertheless, recent works have shown that carbonation of CaO derived limestone at optimum conditions for TCES is limited by pore-plugging, which leads to severe deactivation for large enough particles to be employed in practice. In our work, we have synthesized inexpensive CaO/SiO2 composites by means of a biotemplate method using rice husk as support. The morphological and compositional features of the biomorphic materials synthesized help improve the CaO multicycle activity under optimum CSP storage conditions and for particles sufficiently large to be managed in practical processes.
The Guadalquivir Accretionary Complex forms a largely oblique prism at the northern edge of the Betic‐Rif orogen, where Miocene sediments plus allochthonous evaporite‐bearing units were accreted ...during the displacement of the Alborán Domain toward the west. Traditional interpretations end the tectonic structuring of the Betic Cordillera at the present topographic front, beyond which gravitational and/or diapiric processes would predominate. However, this study shows pervasive tectonic deformation in the outer prism with coherent oblique shortening kinematics, which is achieved through an alternation of roughly N‐S arcuate thrust systems connected by E‐W transfer fault zones. These structures accord well with the geophysical models that propose westward rollback subduction. The main stage of tectonic activity occurred in the early‐middle Miocene, but deformation lasted until the Quaternary with the same kinematics. Evaporite rocks played a leading role in the deformation as evidenced by the suite of ductile structures in gypsum distributed throughout the area. S‐ and L‐ gypsum tectonites, scaly clay fabrics, and brittle fabrics coexist and consistently indicate westward motion (top to 290°), with subordinate N‐S contraction almost perpendicular to the transfer zones. This work reveals ductile tectonic fabrics in gypsum as a valuable tool to elucidate the structure and deformational history of complex tectonic mélanges involving evaporites above the décollement level of accretionary wedges.
Key Points
Evaporite‐bearing units form an accretional complex in Betics north end
Evaporites display a suite of ductile structures with coherent kinematics
Kinematics indicate westward motion, with subordinate N‐S contraction
The role of raw plantain flour (RPF) and its citric acid (CA)-esterified counterpart (EPF) on the carbohydrate nutritional properties of cookies was investigated. Cookies were elaborated with ...commercial wheat flour (CWF), RPF, EPF, or a CWF-EPF blend, and assessed for composition, starch digestibility, texture and sensory properties. EPF-cookie showed the lowest digestible starch (DS) content and estimated glycemic index (pGI) (25.0% and 59.3, respectively). Cookies made with CWF-EPF exhibited the highest indigestible fraction values attributed to the synergistic presence of the RS from EPF and the protein and non-starch polysaccharides from CWF. All RPF containing cookies exhibited lower hardness than CWF-cookie. Although the use of RPF decreased consumer’s acceptability compared to CWF-cookie, the cookies with EPF showed sensory characteristics of 52–65% compared with the CWF-cookie (100%). This study shows CA esterification of plantain flour as a successful strategy to manufacture cookies with low DS and pGI.
A ciphertext-policy attribute-based encryption protocol uses bilinear pairings to provide control access mechanisms, where the set of user's attributes is specified by means of a linear secret ...sharing scheme. In this paper we present the design of a software cryptographic library that achieves record timings for the computation of a 126-bit security level attribute-based encryption scheme. We developed all the required auxiliary building blocks and compared the computational weight that each of them adds to the overall performance of this protocol. In particular, our single pairing and multi-pairing implementations achieve state-of-the-art time performance at the 126-bit security level.
We show that BiFeO3, that is electrically homogeneous, is a good insulator, and has a low dielectric constant (the properties desired in its applications), can be produced by flash sintering, which ...is nominally difficult to achieve by conventional and spark plasma sintering processes. The flash‐sintered specimens had a uniform microstructure with a nanometric grain size of ~20 nm.
Cheap, efficient, and non‐toxic energy storage technologies are urgently needed to handle the rapidly increasing penetration of intermittent renewable energies into the grid. This work explores the ...use of limestone and dolomite for energy storage in concentrated solar power (CSP) plants by means of the calcium looping (CaL) process based on the multicycle carbonation/calcination of CaO. An efficient integration of the CaL process into CSP plants involves high temperature carbonation and calcination at moderate temperatures in a close CO2 cycle for power generation. These conditions differ from those of the CaL process for CO2 capture, which lead to CaO deactivation as extensively reported in recent years. In contrast, we show that limestone‐ and dolomite‐derived CaO give rise to a high residual conversion at CaL–CSP conditions and in short residence times, which would facilitate the development of a competitive and clean CSP technology with permanent energy storage.
Limestone goes thermal: There is an urgent need to identify inexpensive and reliable procedures to store energy from renewable sources. A possible solution would be thermochemical energy storage using concentrated solar power (CSP) plants in combination with calcium looping (CaL). We analyze the key role that CaL conditions (different to those used for CO2 capture) in the CSP–CaL process have on the properties of the materials.
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