•Catalytic pyrolysis of wood biomass is studied in an auger reactor.•Calcium-based catalysts were evaluated for bio-oil upgrading.•Oxygen content and acidity of bio-oils were remarkably reduced.•An ...energy self-sustained system was proposed.
Wood catalytic pyrolysis using calcium-based materials was studied in an auger reactor at 450°C. Two different catalysts, CaO and CaO·MgO were evaluated and upgraded bio-oils were obtained in both cases. Whilst acidity and oxygen content remarkable decrease, both pH and calorific value increase with respect to the non-catalytic test. Upgrading process was linked to the fact that calcium-based materials could not only fix the CO2-like compounds but also promoted the dehydration reactions. In addition, process simulation demonstrated that the addition of these catalysts, especially CaO, could favour the energetic integration since a lowest circulation of heat carrier between combustor and auger reactor should be needed. An energy self-sustained system was obtained where thermal energy required for biomass drying and for pyrolysis reaction was supplied by non-condensable gas and char combustion, respectively.
Solid-state physics and quantum electrodynamics, with its ultrarelativistic (massless) particles, meet in the electronic properties of one-dimensional carbon nanotubes, two-dimensional graphene or ...topological-insulator surfaces. However, clear experimental evidence for electronic states with a conical dispersion relation in all three dimensions, conceivable for certain bulk materials, is still missing. Here, we study a zinc-blende crystal, HgCdTe, at the point of the semiconductor-to-semimetal topological transition. For this compound, we observe three-dimensional massless electrons, as certified from the dynamical conductivity increasing linearly with the photon frequency, with a velocity of about 106 m s-1. Applying a magnetic field B results in a -dependence of dipole-active inter-Landau-level resonances and spin splitting of Landau levels also following a -dependence--well-established signatures of ultrarelativistic particles but until now not observed experimentally in any solid-state electronic system.
mTORC2 phosphorylates AKT in a hydrophobic motif site that is a biomarker of insulin sensitivity. In brown adipocytes, mTORC2 regulates glucose and lipid metabolism, however the mechanism has been ...unclear because downstream AKT signaling appears unaffected by mTORC2 loss. Here, by applying immunoblotting, targeted phosphoproteomics and metabolite profiling, we identify ATP-citrate lyase (ACLY) as a distinctly mTORC2-sensitive AKT substrate in brown preadipocytes. mTORC2 appears dispensable for most other AKT actions examined, indicating a previously unappreciated selectivity in mTORC2-AKT signaling. Rescue experiments suggest brown preadipocytes require the mTORC2/AKT/ACLY pathway to induce PPAR-gamma and establish the epigenetic landscape during differentiation. Evidence in mature brown adipocytes also suggests mTORC2 acts through ACLY to increase carbohydrate response element binding protein (ChREBP) activity, histone acetylation, and gluco-lipogenic gene expression. Substrate utilization studies additionally implicate mTORC2 in promoting acetyl-CoA synthesis from acetate through acetyl-CoA synthetase 2 (ACSS2). These data suggest that a principal mTORC2 action is controlling nuclear-cytoplasmic acetyl-CoA synthesis.
In this paper, we examine prospects for the manufacture of patient-specific biomedical implants replacing hard tissues (bone), particularly knee and hip stems and large bone (femoral) intramedullary ...rods, using additive manufacturing (AM) by electron beam melting (EBM). Of particular interest is the fabrication of complex functional (biocompatible) mesh arrays. Mesh elements or unit cells can be divided into different regions in order to use different cell designs in different areas of the component to produce various or continually varying (functionally graded) mesh densities. Numerous design elements have been used to fabricate prototypes by AM using EBM of Ti-6Al-4V powders, where the densities have been compared with the elastic (Young) moduli determined by resonant frequency and damping analysis. Density optimization at the boneimplant interface can allow for bone ingrowth and cementless implant components. Computerized tomography (CT) scans of metal (aluminium alloy) foam have also allowed for the building of Ti-6Al-4V foams by embedding the digital-layered scans in computer-aided design or software models for EBM. Variations in mesh complexity and especially strut (or truss) dimensions alter the cooling and solidification rate, which alters the -phase (hexagonal close-packed) microstructure by creating mixtures of / (martensite) observed by optical and electron metallography. Microindentation hardness measurements are characteristic of these microstructures and microstructure mixtures (/) and sizes.
Based on colony spreading, chitosan from shrimp waste in agar media inhibited the growth of
Aspergillus niger by 47.26%; there were not differences (
P
>
0.05) with respect to commercial chitosan ...(Fluka, BioChemika) (56.16%). All chitosan films showed similar glass transition temperatures (
P
>
0.05) with respect to cellophane control; however, chemically, all chitosan films showed an increase in the
T
g values that could be related with the decrease (
P
≤
0.05) in elongation percentage with respect to the control film. According to FT-IR spectroscopic analysis of chitosan films, the fungistatic activity can be related to the hydrogen bonds’ formation between the amino groups of chitosan with the hydroxyl groups from polymer or sorbitol. The plasticizer addition increased (
P
≤
0.05) the elongation of chitosan films. The Young's module,
E, was lower (
P
≤
0.05) for all chitosan films comparing with cellophane. When incorporated into the composite films elaborated by casting, chitosan retained its fungistatic activity. Even though the activity against fungi growth was lower (15.66% for non-plasticized silage chitosan films, pC
S), a reduction (
P
≤
0.05) in the hyphae diameter of
A. niger was observed. Results suggest that it is feasible to elaborate antifungal chitosan films, with good thermal stability and acceptable mechanical properties for food packaging.
Microstructures and a microstructural, columnar architecture as well as mechanical behavior of as-fabricated and processed INCONEL alloy 625 components produced by additive manufacturing using ...electron beam melting (EBM) of prealloyed precursor powder are examined in this study. As-fabricated and hot-isostatically pressed (“hipped”) at 1393 K (1120 °C) cylinders examined by optical metallography (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive (X-ray) spectrometry (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) exhibited an initial EBM-developed
γ
″ (bct) Ni
3
Nb precipitate platelet columnar architecture within columnar 200 textured
γ
(fcc) Ni-Cr grains aligned in the cylinder axis, parallel to the EBM build direction. Upon annealing at 1393 K (1120 °C) (hot-isostatic press (HIP)), these precipitate columns dissolve and the columnar,
γ
, grains recrystallized forming generally equiaxed grains (with coherent {111} annealing twins), containing NbCr
2
laves precipitates. Microindentation hardnesses decreased from ~2.7 to ~2.2 GPa following hot-isostatic pressing (“hipping”), and the corresponding engineering (0.2 pct) offset yield stress decreased from 0.41 to 0.33 GPa, while the UTS increased from 0.75 to 0.77 GPa. However, the corresponding elongation increased from 44 to 69 pct for the hipped components.
Escherichia coli is one of the most-studied microorganisms worldwide but its characteristics are continually changing. Extraintestinal E. coli infections, such as urinary tract infections and ...neonatal sepsis, represent a huge public health problem. They are caused mainly by specialized extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) strains that can innocuously colonize human hosts but can also cause disease upon entering a normally sterile body site. The virulence capability of such strains is determined by a combination of distinctive accessory traits, called virulence factors, in conjunction with their distinctive phylogenetic background. It is conceivable that by developing interventions against the most successful ExPEC lineages or their key virulence/colonization factors the associated burden of disease and health care costs could foreseeably be reduced in the future. On the other hand, one important problem worldwide is the increase of antimicrobial resistance shown by bacteria. As underscored in the last WHO global report, within a wide range of infectious agents including E. coli, antimicrobial resistance has reached an extremely worrisome situation that ‘threatens the achievements of modern medicine’. In the present review, an update of the knowledge about the pathogenicity, antimicrobial resistance and clinical aspects of this ‘old friend’ was presented.
New knowledgements about pathogenesis, antimicrobial resistance and clinical aspects of Escherichia coli.
Graphical Abstract Figure.
New knowledgements about pathogenesis, antimicrobial resistance and clinical aspects of Escherichia coli.
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