University of Almería

About: University of Almería is a education organization based out in Almería, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 4674 authors who have published 10905 publications receiving 233036 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Almeria & Universidad de Almería.

Spatial and temporal patterns of precipitation in Spain for the period 1880–1992

Abstract: The longest series of precipitation records in Spain are analysed using the principal component analysis (PCA) method. EOF analysis was used to spatially summarise the rainfall data and to enable clarification of the role of the dominant circulation regimes affecting the region. Three significant EOFs have been obtained in general, except for summer, when four EOFs are found. The first EOF is associated with Andalusia and the Spanish interior, the second and third EOFs with the Mediterranean and Cantabric coasts, alternatively, depending on the season. The analysis of the principal components series using a moving average and the Mann‐Kendall test, shows significant long term decreases in precipitation for the Mediterranean and interior regions (at least in some seasons), and an increase in precipitation for the Northern coastal region. More of these changes can be related to variations in the large scale circulation features over Western Europe and North Atlantic. The results are also compared with GCM outputs. © 1998 Royal Meteorological Society.

Rapid simultaneous lipid extraction and transesterification for fatty acid analyses

Abstract: An improved adaptation of the direct transesterification method of Lepage and Roy (J. Lipid Res. 25, 1391–96, 1984) for the preparation of fatty acid methyl esters allows notable saving of time and reagents. The material being analysed is heated for 10 minutes with methanol, acetyl chloride and hexane. © Rapid Science Ltd. 1998

Prediction of dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide concentration profiles in tubular photobioreactors for microalgal culture

Abstract: A model is developed for prediction of axial concentration profiles of dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide in tubular photobioreactors used for culturing microalgae. Experimental data are used to verify the model for continuous outdoor culture of Porphyridium cruentum grown in a 200-L reactor with 100-m long tu- bular solar receiver. The culture was carried out at a di- lution rate of 0.05 h ˛1 applied only during a 10-h daylight period. The quasi-steady state biomass concentration achieved was 3.0 g ? L ˛1 , corresponding to a biomass productivity of 1.5 g ? L ˛1 ? d ˛1 . The model could predict the dissolved oxygen level in both gas disengagement zone of the reactor and at the end of the loop, the exhaust gas composition, the amount of carbon dioxide injected, and the pH of the culture at each hour. In predicting the various parameters, the model took into account the length of the solar receiver tube, the rate of photosyn- thesis, the velocity of flow, the degree of mixing, and gas-liquid mass transfer. Because the model simulated the system behavior as a function of tube length and operational variables (superficial gas velocity in the riser, composition of carbon dioxide in the gas injected in the solar receiver and its injection rate), it could potentially be applied to rational design and scale-up of photobio- reactors. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 62: 71-86, 1999.

Biotechnological production of lutein and its applications

Abstract: Lutein is an antioxidant that has gathered increasing attention due to its potential role in preventing or ameliorating age-related macular degeneration. Currently, it is produced from marigold oleoresin, but continuous reports of lutein-producing microalgae pose the question if those microorganisms can become an alternative source. Several microalgae have higher lutein contents than most marigold cultivars and have been shown to yield productivities hundreds of times higher than marigold crops on a per square meter basis. Microalgae and marigold are opposite alternatives in the use of resources such as land and labor and the prevalence of one or the other could change in the future as the lutein demand rises and if labor or land becomes more restricted or expensive in the producing countries. The potential of microalgae as a lutein source is analyzed and compared to marigold. It is suggested that, in the current state of the art, microalgae could compete with marigold even without counting on any of the improvements in microalgal technology that can be expected in the near future.