16 research outputs found
Oxygen Stability in the New [FeFe]-Hydrogenase from <i>Clostridium beijerinckii</i> SM10 (CbA5H)
No full textThe
newly isolated Clostridium beijerinckii [FeFe]-hydrogenase
CbA5H was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
coupled to enzymatic activity assays. This showed for the first time
that in this enzyme the oxygen-sensitive active state Hox can be simply and reversibly converted to the oxygen-stable inactive
Hinact state. This suggests that oxygen sensitivity is
not an intrinsic feature of the catalytic center of [FeFe]-hydrogenases
(H-cluster), opening new challenging perspectives on the oxygen sensitivity
mechanism as well as new possibilities for exploitation in industrial
applications
Climate Change Websites and Web Film Annotation: Applying Web Tools and Techniques developed in the Living Knowledge Project
No full textAt the start of the Internet era, a web page was mainly made up of written texts containing, every now and then, some hot words (i.e. hyperlinks) that took you to a related web page. So, you started reading from the top of the page and ended at the bottom of the same page. But with the development of increasingly visually-oriented programs (e.g. Adobe Flash), in the last 15 years, web pages have evolved greatly: they have become even more complex. Sophisticated animations, short videos, and interactive objects have often taken the place of written text. The real trick for readers and web analysts is in finding ways of keeping track of the complexity of web pages, which is where multimodal web page analysis comes in handy.
With specific reference to the issue of climate change, one of the major social issues of the contemporary age, this paper reports on part of the research into websites and web film analysis and annotation carried out within the Living Knowledge Project (Baldry, 2010, 2011a, 2011b; Baldry, Coccetta, in press). In particular, Sections 2, 3, and 4 explore a multimodal model of web analysis inspired by scalar principles (Baldry, Thibault, 2006a, 2006b; Coccetta, 2011) and shows the kind of information researchers can gather when applying a scalar model to film clips and web pages. Section 5 briefly describes the climate change film corpus that the author has compiled for research purposes while Section 6 explores the concept of thematic system (Baldry, 2010; Baldry, O’Halloran, 2010; Baldry, Thibault, 2006a) in relation to this corpus and, in particular, provides some examples of multimodal intertextual thematic formations (Baldry, Thibault, 2006a: 55). Finally, Section 7 examines websites and web film annotation in relation to the McaWeb tools (http://mcaweb.unipv.it) developed as part of the Living Knowledge Project and reports on the benefits they bring to web genre analysis
Clostridia from a pilot plant for enhanced hydrogen gas production: isolation, molecular characterization and hydrogenase genes cloning for exploitation in biotechnology
No full textIsolation of strains from a bio-hydrogen plant: Novel [FeFe]-hydrogenases for Exploitation in Biotechnology
No full textBetter catalysts for solar-driven hydrogen producing devices: isolation and characterisation of novel [FeFe]-hydrogenases from the bacterial consortium of a pilot plant producing biohydrogen from waste
No full textMedical CLIL (Part IV): How the brain works
No full textThe article describes the content and language integration strategy adopted by the author with thirty trainee hospital doctors attending five or six year postgraduate specialisation courses in medicine. It describes the role of personality as a content and language linking factor. Personality contentwise refers to abormal personalities affected by brain disorders, language-wise to confidence in public speaking in English on medical matters. The article explores attempts to measure student performance in relation to other CLIL projects and exemplifies the approach adopted in relation to web genres (two films accessible via the web) and web tools (google docs)
Biohydrogen and biomethane production sustained by untreated matrices and alternative application of compost waste
No full text© 2016 Elsevier Ltd Biohydrogen and biomethane production offers many advantages for environmental protection over the fossil fuels or the existing physical-chemical methods for hydrogen and methane synthesis. The aim of this study is focused on the exploitation of several samples from the composting process: (1) a mixture of waste vegetable materials (“Mix”); (2) an unmatured compost sample (ACV15); and (3) three types of green compost with different properties and soil improver quality (ACV1, ACV2 and ACV3). These samples were tested for biohydrogen and biomethane production, thus obtaining second generation biofuels and resulting in a novel possibility to manage renewable waste biomasses. The ability of these substrates as original feed during dark fermentation was assayed anaerobically in batch, in glass bottles, in order to determine the optimal operating conditions for hydrogen and/or methane production using “Mix” or ACV1, ACV2 or ACV3 green compost and a limited amount of water. Hydrogen could be produced with a fast kinetic in the range 0.02–2.45mLH2g−1VS, while methane was produced with a slower kinetic in the range 0.5–8mLCH4g−1VS. It was observed that the composition of each sample influenced significantly the gas production. It was also observed that the addition of different water amounts play a crucial role in the development of hydrogen or methane. This parameter can be used to push towards the alternative production of one or another gas. Hydrogen and methane production was detected spontaneously from these matrices, without additional sources of nutrients or any pre-treatment, suggesting that they can be used as an additional inoculum or feed into single or two-stage plants. This might allow the use of compost with low quality as soil improver for alternative and further applications
How to deal with the conservation of the archaeological remains of earthen defensive architecture: the case of Southeast Spain
No full textThe southeast of the Iberian Peninsula counts with a large number of earthen defensive architecture built in the medieval period. This heritage has been granted the highest level of protection by Spanish legislation and some of these structures are even listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites worldwide. Notwithstanding, the natural and anthropic risks threatening their survival and the advanced deterioration state they present place them in a position of imminent loss if appropriate action is not taken. The present paper proposes a methodology of study implemented on 8 of the 229 fortifications located in the southeast of Spain focused on the combined analysis of the risks affecting these structures in relation to the damage they generate, with the novelty of considering them both at the macro-scale, which implies the consideration of the property integrated in its geographical environment, and at the micro-scale, which enables to know precisely the effect they cause on the material features. In this way, we provide an innovative strategy based on a multidisciplinary study (geology, chemistry, architecture, archaeology, engineering) that is meant to contribute to the complete understanding of these sites, with the aim of ensuring the proper management and conservation of this particular heritage. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature
Expression of different types of [FeFe]-hydrogenase genes in bacteria isolated from a population of a bio-hydrogen pilot-scale plant
No full text[FeFe]-hydrogenases are the enzymes responsible for high yield H 2 production during dark fermentation in bio-hydrogen production plants. The culturable bacterial population present in a pilot-scale plant efficiently producing H2 from waste materials was isolated, classified and identified by means of 16S rDNA gene analysis. The culturable part of the mixed population consists of nine bacterial species that include non-hydrogen producers (Lactobacillus, Enterococcus and Staphylococcus) and several Clostridium that are directly responsible for H2 production. An extensive analysis of the expression of [FeFe]-hydrogenases in the three best producer strains was achieved by RT-PCR, covering the complete set of known genes for each species. This revealed that during H2 production there are several different [FeFe]-hydrogenases simultaneously expressed, with genes belonging to the same phylogenetic and structural classification sharing similar transcriptional profiles. © 2014, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
The Influence of the Type of Lime on the Hygric Behaviour and Bio-Receptivity of Hemp Lime Composites Used for Rendering Applications in Sustainable New Construction and Repair Works
No full textThe benefits of using sustainable building materials are linked not only to the adoption of manufacturing processes that entail reduced pollution, CO2 emissions and energy consumption, but also to the onset of improved performance in the building. In particular, hemp-lime composite shows low shrinkage and high thermal and acoustic insulating properties. However, this material also shows a great ability to absorb water, an aspect that can turn out to be negative for the long-term durability of the building. For this reason, the hygric properties of hemp-based composites need to be studied to ensure the correct use of this material in construction and repair works. The water absorption, drying and transpirability of hemp composites made with aerial (in the form of dry powder and putty) and hydraulic limes were investigated here and related to the microbial growth induced by the water movements within the material. Results show that hemp-natural hydraulic lime mixes exhibit the highest transpirability and drying rate, the lowest water absorption by immersion and capillary uptake and the least intense microbial attack and chromatic change. A microscopical study of the hemp shives also related their great ability to absorb water to the near-irreversible swelling of their structure under dry-wet conditions.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 326983 (NaturALiMe), and the Spanish project MAT-2012-34473 of the Ministerio de Ciencia y Competitividad. Author MB, owner of the CANNABRIC company, had some role in the design and preparation of mortar samples and in the preparation of this manuscript, but did not have any additional role in data collection and analysis
