Modelling in anaerobic digestion will play a crucial role as a tool for smart monitoring and supervision of the process performance and stability. By far, the Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1 (ADM1) has been the most recognized and exploited model to represent this process. This study aims to propose simple extensions for the ADM1 model to tackle some overlooked operational and metabolic aspects. Extensions for the discontinuous feeding process, the reduction of the active working volume, the transport of the soluble compound from the bulk to the cell interior, and biomass acclimation are presented in this study. The model extensions are included by a change in the mass balance of the process in batch and continuous operation, the incorporation of a transfer equation governed by the gradient between the extra- and intra- cellular concentration, and a saturation-type function where the time has an explicit influence on the kinetic parameters, respectively. By adding minimal complexity to the existing ADM1, the incorporation of these phenomena may help to understand some underlying process issues that remain unexplained by the current model structure, broadening the scope of the model for control and monitoring industrial applications.

The agriculture and livestock industry generate waste used in anaerobic digestion to produce biogas containing methane (CH4), useful in the generation of electricity and heat. However, although biogas is mainly composed of CH4 (~65%) and CO2 (~34%), among the 1% of other compounds present is hydrogen sulphide (H2S) which deteriorates engines and power generation fuel cells that use biogas, generating a foul smell and contaminating the environment. As a solution to this, anoxic biofiltration, specifically with biotrickling filters (BTFs), stands out in terms of the elimination of H2S as it is cost-effective, efficient, and more environmentally friendly than chemical solutions. Research on the topic is uneven in terms of presenting performance markers, underestimating many microbiological indicators. Research from the last decade was analyzed (2010–2020), demonstrating that only 56% of the reviewed publications did not report microbiological analysis related to sulphur oxidising bacteria (SOB), the most important microbial group in desulphurisation BTFs. This exposes fundamental deficiencies within this type of research and difficulties in comparing performance between research works. In this review, traditional and microbiological performance markers of anoxic biofiltration to remove H2S are described. Additionally, an analysis to assess the efficiency of anoxic BTFs for biogas desulphurisation is proposed in order to have a complete and uniform assessment for research in this field.

This paper briefly reviews a number of fundamental measurements that need to be made in order to characterize turbulence in space plasmas such as the solar wind. It has long been known that many of these quantities require simultaneous multipoint measurements to attain a proper characterization that would reveal the fundamental physics of plasma turbulence. The solar wind is an ideal plasma for such an investigation, and it now appears to be technologically feasible to carry out such an investigation, following the pioneering Cluster and MMS missions. Quantities that need to be measured using multipoint measurements include the two-point, two-time second correlation function of velocity, magnetic field and density, and higher order statistical objects such as third and fourth order structure functions. Some details of these requirements are given here, with a eye towards achieving closure on fundamental questions regarding the cascade rate, spectral anisotropy, characteristic coherent structures, intermittency, and dissipation mechanisms that describe plasma turbuelence, as well as its variability with plasma parameters in the solar wind. The motivation for this discussion is the current planning for a proposed Helioswarm mission that would be designed to make these measurements,leading to breakthrough understanding of the physics of space and astrophysical turbulence.

Traditional plug-flow anaerobic reactors (PFRs) are characterized by lacking a mixing system and operating at high total solid concentrations, which limits their applicability for several kinds of manures. This paper studies the performance of a novel modified PFR for the treatment of pig manure, characterized by having an internal sludge mixing system by biogas recirculation in the range of 0.270–0.336 m3 m−3 h−1. The influence on the methane yield of four operating parameters (recirculation rate, hydraulic retention time, organic loading rate, and total solids) was evaluated by running four modified PFRs at the pilot scale in mesophilic conditions. While the previous biodegradability of organic matter by biochemical methane potential tests were between 31% and 47% with a methane yield between 125 and 184 LCH4 kgVS−1, the PFRs showed a suitable performance with organic matter degradation between 25% and 51% and a methane yield of up to 374 LCH4 kgVS−1. Operational problems such as solid stratification, foaming, or scum generation were avoided.

In November 1845, a naval and terrestrial battle between the forces of the Argentinean Confederation and an Anglo-French fleet took place in Vuelta de Obligado, Province of Buenos Aires. The objects and structures which survived after this event, together with the ulterior influence of the formation processes, resulted in an archaeological site characterized by palimpsests. Moreover, this location was under the effects of several looters. Thus, most of the materials located during the archaeological works are fragmented. Up to this date, more than 300 m2 were excavated. The research was performed in different areas of the site, emphasizing the "cores of the battle", those places used more intensively and where a major density of remains were fund. Archaeological surveys and test pits, as well as recovery of materials, were conducted along the Parana River coast. The archaeological record includes a wide variety of artifacts of glass, metal, ceramic and wood, and post traces carved in the tosca-rock, among others. In this paper, the fieldwork and cabinet research strategy employed in Vuelta de Obligado are discussed. Besides, the results obtained after fifteen years and more than twenty campaigns in this site are presented.

Introduction: The evolution of space exploration will eventually lead to permanent extraterrestrial habitation. In 2015, NASA released its plan for establishing permanent settlements on Mars stating “We seek the capacity for people to work, learn, operate, and sustainably live beyond Earth for extended periods of time ... Efforts made today and in the next decade will lay the foundation for an Earth-independent, sustained presence in deep space. Living and working in space require accepting risk and the journey is worth the risk” [1]. In addition, there are other organizations for which extraterrestrial colonization is the explicit goal. For instance, Elon Musk the founder and CEO at SpaceX has stressed many times that his goal is to make humanity a multiplanet species. It is within this context of establishing an Earth-independent permanent extraterrestrial habitat (EIPEH) system that we direct this study. The habitat system is intended to provide a living condition for more than 1,000 inhabitants, and will be designed to operate for at least 100 years. In the context of permanent extraterrestrial habitation, resilience and safety should be given consideration early on. An EIPEH system should function, as intended, under continuous disruptive conditions, such as wild temperature fluctuations, galactic cosmic rays, as well as discrete disruptive events, such as meteoroid impacts, vibrations, solar particle events, and equipment failures. In this study, resilience is understood as the ability of a system to adapt, absorb and recover quickly from a disruption, whether expected or unexpected, without fundamental changes in function or sacrifices in safety. Note that resilience is an umbrella under which other factors can be found, for instance reconfigurability, robustness, scalability and rapidity. Reconfigurability is the ability to change configuration to enable an EIPEH system to perform at multiple system performance levels. Robustness is the ability of an EIPEH system to continue to function as intended during disruptive conditions. Scalability is the ability to grow, with resilience, the size of an EIPEH system. Finally, rapidity is the ability of an EIPEH system to repair structures and restore functionality in a timely manner, containing losses and avoiding cascading and/or escalating events. In the current design of space structures/missions, Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) and Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) are widely applied. FMEA and FMECA both allow identifying the product or process failure modes, estimating the risk associated with specific causes and prioritizing mitigating actions. Since the Challenger accident in the 1986, the optimistic perceptions about risk analysis changed and motivated NASA moving towards a more sophisticated risk management approach, Probability Risk Assessment (PRA), for major space missions, such as the International Space Station (ISS) [2]. Using PRA, the probability of a major accident can be obtained as a function of the probabilities of component and subsystem failures. The ISS PRA tool is an accident-scenariobased model of the Station that includes nearly 2,000 basic events, 400 sequences fed by nearly 450 fault trees resulting in 53 adverse end states [3]. However, from a system resiliency standpoint, the ISS has areas where a single failure could cause the loss of a major subsystem [3]. Indeed, in the context of an EIPEH system, a more comprehensive approach is needed which considers not only the identification of potentially major conditions/accidents and their causes but also the reaction, response, recovery, and performance level of the system subjected to disruptive and degrading conditions.

This study shows the implementation of the Anaerobic Digestion Model (ADM1) in an anaerobic plug-flow reactor (PFR) with two approaches based on the use of consecutive continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTR) connected in serie for considering non-ideal mixing. The two-region (TR) model splits each CSTR into two regions, while the particulate retention (PR) model adds a retention parameter. The models were calibrated and validated based on experimental data from a bench-scale reactor treating cow manure. The PFR conventional model slightly outperformed the non-ideal mixing approaches. However, the PR model showed an increase in biomass retention time treating high solid content substrate. Biogas production was not sensitive to variations of the mixing parameters. The liquid fraction content was better represented by the PR model than the PFR and TR models. The study shows how reactor modelling is useful for monitoring and supervising biogas plants.

In November 1845, a naval and terrestrial battle between the forces of the Argentinean Confederation and an Anglo-French fleet took place in Vuelta de Obligado, Province of Buenos Aires. The objects and structures which survived after this event, together with the ulterior influence of the formation processes, resulted in an archaeological site characterized by palimpsests. Moreover, this location was under the effects of several looters. Thus, most of the materials located during the archaeological works are fragmented. Up to this date, more than 300 m2 were excavated. The research was performed in different areas of the site, emphasizing the “cores of the battle”, those places used more intensively and where a major density of remains were fund. Archaeological surveys and test pits, as well as recovery of materials, were conducted along the Parana River coast. The archaeological record includes a wide variety of artifacts of glass, metal, ceramic and wood, and post traces carved in the tosca-rock, among others. In this paper, the fieldwork and cabinet research strategy employed in Vuelta de Obligado are discussed. Besides, the results obtained after fifteen years and more than twenty campaigns in this site are presented.

This paper studies the application of calcium oxide (CaO), peracetic acid (PAA) and a combination of both in order to reduce lignin content and increase biogas potential of cow manure and maize straw. Changes in organic matter were mainly affected by the type of reagent use and the dosage, with minimum influence of exposure time and dilution. Changes in pH may limit the application of chemicals. Increase in biogas production with a combination of CaO and PAA, and separate application of PAA and CaO was 156.5%, 39.1% and 26.1% for cow manure and 125%, 137.5% and 37.5% for maize straw, respectively, compared to unpretreated samples. Pretreating cow manure with the aforementioned reagents does not increase the profitability of a biogas plant due mainly to the increase in operational costs from the intensive use of chemicals.

Currently, construction tendencies tend to design flexible structures, such as footbridges, slabs and grandstands, due to the increased resistance of new materials and the regulation gap in building codes. These flexible structures are susceptible of excessive vibrations induced by human activities, producing serviceability failures and, sometimes, collapse. It is essential to improve the understanding of the effect of anthropic loads over the structures to mitigate serviceability problems and the risk of structural damage and, therefore, economic and human loses.The Human-Structure Interaction (HSI) involves the effect of human activities over a structure and, simultaneously, the effect of the structure's dynamics over the humans. The study of the HSI requires participation of multiple disciplines such as biomechanics and structural dynamics, and expertise in numerical modeling and experimental techniques, usually through finite elements and dynamic shakers or shaking tables. Analytical or numerical models are restricted to solve specific problems and, in most cases, they are not sufficiently detailed to simulate the complex behavior of the coupled human-structure system. Besides, experimental techniques required for HSI studies involve specialized instrumentation and equipment, increasing the cost and time to obtain such measurements.Because of the current interest in HSI, integrative projects should be formulated regarding this interdisciplinary problem. In 2015, the Universidad del Valle, in collaboration with Purdue University and the University of South Carolina, built the UV HSI footbridge testbed, a testbed for assessing effects of HSI in footbridges. The footbridge has a total length of 12 m and a total width of 1.2 m. Its structure is a simply supported steel truss with a steel-deck platform. Supports are four load cells, two at each end of the bridge. The first six natural frequencies of the bridge are between 3.86 and 25.54 Hz.The first challenge proposed through the testbed was a Blind Prediction Contest (BPC). Participants of the BPC were encouraged to use their own analytical or numerical HSI models to simulate three different types of experimental tests. The second challenge is a Benchmark problem where experimental data from more than 100 pedestrians walking twice at 10 different frequency gaits are provided. Pedestrians were female and male participants of weights between 50 and 105 kg, and heights between 1.45 and 1.90 m. This paper describes the UV HSI footbridge testbed and the Benchmark problem. Statistical results for the BPC and the Benchmark problem are provided.

The interaction between resonant magnetic perturbations (RMP) and plasma is an active topic in fusion energy research. RMP involves the use of radial magnetic fields generated by external coils installed on a tokamak device. The resonant interaction between the plasma and the RMP field has many favorable effects such as suppression of instabilities and, under certain conditions, improvement of discharge parameters in tokamaks. The RMP technique has been successfully implemented in the STOR-M tokamak. A set of (m = 2, n = 1) helical coils carrying a current pulse was used to study the effects of RMP on magnetic islands, plasma rotation, and other edge plasma parameters. A new RMP system is being developed for the STOR-M tokamak. The system consists of a number of external saddle coils distributed in the poloidal and toroidal directions and powered by AC power supplies to generate a rotating RMP field. Numerical simulations have been carried out to calculate several parameters for the new RMP system such as the magnetic field and the dominant modes generated by the coils. The dominant mode generated by the new RMP coil system may be tuned to (2, 1) with significant contributions from (2, 3) and (2, 5) modes. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

After more than half a century of community support related to the science of "solar activity'', IAU's Commission 10 was formally discontinued in 2015, to be succeeded by C.E2 with the same area of responsibility. On this occasion, we look back at the growth of the scientific disciplines involved around the world over almost a full century. Solar activity and fields of research looking into the related physics of the heliosphere continue to be vibrant and growing, with currently over 2,000 refereed publications appearing per year from over 4,000 unique authors, publishing in dozens of distinct journals and meeting in dozens of workshops and conferences each year. The size of the rapidly growing community and of the observational and computational data volumes, along with the multitude of connections into other branches of astrophysics, pose significant challenges; aspects of these challenges are beginning to be addressed through, among others, the development of new systems of literature reviews, machine-searchable archives for data and publications, and virtual observatories. As customary in these reports, we highlight some of the research topics that have seen particular interest over the most recent triennium, specifically active-region magnetic fields, coronal thermal structure, coronal seismology, flares and eruptions, and the variability of solar activity on long time scales. We close with a collection of developments, discoveries, and surprises that illustrate the range and dynamics of the discipline.

Commission 10 deals with solar activity in all of its forms, ranging from the smallest nanoflares to the largest coronal mass ejections. This report reviews scientific progress over the roughly two-year period ending in the middle of 2008. This has been an exciting time in solar physics, highlighted by the launches of theHinodeandSTEREOmissions late in 2006. The report is reasonably comprehensive, though it is far from exhaustive. Limited space prevents the inclusion of many significant results. The report is divided into the following sections: Photosphere and chromosphere; Transition region; Corona and coronal heating; Coronal jets; flares; Coronal mass ejection initiation; Global coronal waves and shocks; Coronal dimming; The link between low coronal CME signatures and magnetic clouds; Coronal mass ejections in the heliosphere; and Coronal mass ejections and space weather. Primary authorship is indicated at the beginning of each section.

Introducción. La psoriasis es una enfermedad inflamatoria, crónica y sistémica, asociada al síndrome metabólico y a factores de riesgo cardiovascular que aumentan la morbilidad de quienes la padecen. Se estima que la prevalencia del síndrome metabólico en la población general varía entre 15 y 20 %, y, en el caso de los pacientes con psoriasis, puede aumentar hasta 39 %. Objetivo. Establecer la prevalencia del síndrome metabólico en una cohorte de pacientes con diagnóstico o en tratamiento para psoriasis, que consultaron al Centro Dermatológico CES Sabaneta entre el 1° de abril y el 15 de junio de 2012. Métodos. Se llevó a cabo un estudio observacional y descriptivo de pacientes con psoriasis que consultaron, al menos una vez, al Centro Dermatológico CES Sabaneta, entre el 1° de abril y 15 de junio de 2012. Se les hizo el examen físico y se practicaron pruebas de laboratorio para determinar la gravedad de la enfermedad y la presencia de síndrome metabólico, y se calcularon medidas de tendencia central y dispersión, además de proporciones. Resultados. Se incluyeron 46 pacientes con psoriasis. El 63 % tenía una psoriasis leve y el 37 % tenía formas de moderada a grave; se encontró una prevalencia de síndrome metabólico de 56,5 %. En aquellos con formas clínicas leves de psoriasis, el síndrome metabólico estuvo presente en 62,1 % y, en las formas moderadas a graves, en 90 %. El 43,5 % de los pacientes con psoriasis y síndrome metabólico tenían un índice normal de masa corporal; el 32,6 % tenían sobrepeso; el 19,6% eran obesos y el 4,3 % tenían bajo peso. Conclusión. Los resultados de este estudio demuestran que la psoriasis es una enfermedad sistémica con una alta prevalencia de síndrome metabólico asociado. Este puede estar presente, independientemente de la gravedad de la enfermedad. Aun en las formas leves, se obtuvieron altas prevalencias de síndrome metabólico.

Marinomonas mediterranea is a marine gamma-proteobacterium that synthesizes LodA, a novel L-lysine-ε-oxidase (E.C. 1.4.3.20). This enzyme oxidizes L-lysine generating 2-aminoadipate 6-semialdehyde, ammonium, and hydrogen peroxide. Unlike other L-amino acid oxidases, LodA is not a flavoprotein but contains a quinone cofactor. LodA is encoded by an operon with two genes, lodA and lodB. In the native system, LodB is required for the synthesis of a functional LodA. In this study, we report the recombinant expression of LodA in Escherichia coli using vectors that allow its expression and accumulation in the cytoplasm. To reveal the L-lysine-ε-oxidase activity using the Amplex Red method for hydrogen peroxide detection, it is necessary to first remove the E. coli cytoplasmic catalases. The flavoprotein LodB is the only M. mediterranea protein required in the recombinant system for the generation of the cofactor of LodA. In the absence of LodB, LodA does not contain the quinone cofactor and remains in an inactive form. The results presented indicate that LodB participates in the posttranslational modification of LodA that generates the quinone cofactor.

En este estudio se caracterizan los costos de produccion de cuatro sectores del Programa de Transformacion Productiva: Chocolateria, confiteria y sus materias primas, Cosmeticos y productos de aseo, Tercerizacion de Procesos de Negocios BPO - O, y Turismo de Salud. El Plan Nacional de Desarrollo (PND) 2010 2014, Prosperidad para todos, definio como prioridad nacional el crecimiento economico sostenido basado en una economia mas competitiva, productiva e innovadora, jalonada por sectores dinamicos que produzcan bienes y servicios que contengan un alto componente de valor agregado, con capacidad para competir en un agresivo entorno economico internacional.