Pulmonary Artery Dissection Post-blunt Thoracoabdominal Trauma

Background: Pulmonary artery dissection is a rare condition that is usually diagnosed in patients exhibiting chronic pulmonary arterial hypertension, congenital heart abnormalities or secondary to iatrogenic injury. Diagnosis is often made at autopsy as many patients experience sudden death when the pulmonary artery dissection progresses rapidly and ruptures into the pericardium, resulting in acute cardiac tamponade.Case Presentation: We report a case of pulmonary artery dissection, which resulted from blunt thoracic trauma diagnosed in the emergency department

Evolution des exploitations ovines et caprines en Méditerranée durant les dix dernières années. I. Proposition d'une méthodologie d'étude

L’objectif de ce travail est l’élaboration d’une méthode d’analyse comparative interrégionale de la situation et des évolutions des systèmes de production ovine et caprine. Des questionnaires d’enquête différents sont élaborés à destination des éleveurs d’une part, des agents de développement puis des personnes chargées de la commercialisation d’autre part. Des analyses statistiques de variance sont utilisées pour construire des typologies d’exploitation sur la base de la situation actuelle et de l’évolution des exploitations au cours des 10 dernières années. La méthode d’analyse clinique des écosystèmes a pour objet : (i) de connaître les points forts et les points faibles des systèmes et les relations de cause à effet ; (ii) de prévoir de manière prospective l’évolution future de chaque type d’exploitation ; et (iii) de proposer des actions concrètes pour optimiser les perspectives favorables de chaque système. Cette démarche s’inscrit dans l’Observatoire des systèmes de production ovine et caprine du réseau FAO/CIHEAM de recherche coopérative sur les ovins et les caprins.“Evolution of the sheep and goat farms in the Mediterranean over the last ten years. I. Proposal of a study methodology”. The main objective of this paper is to develop a methodology that could be used in diverse regions to make a comparative analysis of situation and changes that may occur in goat and sheep sectors among different regions from the same or different countries. This process has been elaborated for breeders on one hand, for extension and commercial agents on the other. Statistical analysis of variance is used to build up a typology of farms on the basis of the actual situation and changes in farms for the 10 last years. The method of clinical analysis of variance of ecosystems is used to: (i) determine system strengths and weaknesses and the cause-result relationships; (ii) foresee system evolution based on the established cluster; and (iii) propose actions to optimize future evolution in every system according to real possibilities in each particular case. This initiative is an action of the Monitoring Body of sheep and goat production systems of the FAO/CIHEAM network of cooperative research on sheep and goats

Maritime Spatial Planning Transboundary Pilot Projects and their implication in the national process in Spain

Los procesos de Ordenación del Espacio Marítimo (OEM) ya se están aplicando en muchas partes del mundo siendo Europa un punto caliente debido a la aprobación de la Directiva 2014/89/UE del Parlamento Europeo y del Consejo, de 23 de julio de 2014, por la que se establece un marco para la OEM, que obligaba a todos los Estados miembros costeros a tener planes aprobados para marzo de 2021. Para facilitar esto, se asignan fondos europeos específicos para apoyar el desarrollo de proyectos transfronterizos de ordenación del espacio marítimo entre países vecinos. Estos proyectos tienen principalmente dos objetivos, uno es proporcionar a los Estados conocimientos, capacidad y metodologías para aplicarlos en los procesos nacionales de ordenación del territorio, y otro es facilitar la coherencia entre los planes de los países que comparten la misma cuenca marítima. Este trabajo presenta una visión general del proceso español de MSP, y cómo algunos de los resultados que surgieron de estos proyectos piloto pueden ser incorporados al proceso nacional

Analysis of thermal fields generated by natural fires on the structural elements of tall buildings

The Windsor Tower in Madrid was involved in a major fire, on 12-13 February 2005, which caused extensive structural damage to the upper floors of the building. This fire has provoked intense interest amongst researchers hoping to better understand the performance of concrete structures in fire. A research team integrated for Group GIDAI (University of Cantabria –Spain) and BRE Centre for Fire Safety Engineering (The Edinburgh University – UK) has begun a study with the purpose of properly characterising the fire and the performance of the structure. The objectives of the study are (1) to analyze the fire growth conditions in order to understand the fire propagation mechanisms between floors of the building, using computational fire modelling, and (2) to evaluate the response of the structure to the fire. The research undertaken on the fire propagation on the 21st floor, the origin of the fire, has allowed assessment of the severity conditions reached as consequence of the fully-developed fire, due the combustion of the present flammable materials. Starting from these results, characteristic curves of heat release rate representative of the real fire have been determined, to facilitate study of the thermal attack (temperatures, heat flux, etc.) on the structural elements. The tools used for this purpose were the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) LES code, developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the SOFIE RANS code. These results will allow, in the next stages, to make use of finite element methods to obtain the corresponding thermal and mechanical state (stress and strain) of each element due to these conditions

Transboundary cooperation and Mechanisms for Maritime Spatial Planning implementation. SIMNORAT Project

El proyecto SIMNORAT, Supporting Implementation of Maritime Spatial Planning in the Northern European Atlantic region (SIMNORAT), fue un proyecto cofundado por la UE de ordenación del espacio marítimo desarrollado en la región atlántica. Los objetivos del proyecto eran apoyar a los Estados miembros (EM) para aplicar la Directiva 2014/89/UE del Parlamento Europeo y del Consejo, de 23 de julio de 2014, por la que se establece un marco para la ordenación del espacio marítimo (OEM); y poner en marcha y llevar a cabo iniciativas concretas y transfronterizas de OEM entre los EM participantes en el proyecto (España, Francia y Portugal). Para desarrollar y probar aspectos de la ordenación del espacio marítimo con el fin de elaborar directrices y recomendaciones útiles en un contexto transfronterizo, las autoridades competentes de los países también participaron en el proyecto. Los resultados de SIMNORAT, como el desarrollo de una metodología conceptual para la ordenación del espacio marítimo transfronterizo, el análisis de las herramientas y los datos aplicados en el proceso de ordenación del espacio marítimo, la evaluación de las demandas y tendencias espaciales de los sectores marítimos, y la participación de las partes interesadas, ayudaron a identificar las mejores prácticas en los aspectos científicos, técnicos y sociales de la ordenación del espacio marítimo para una cooperación eficaz, especialmente en las áreas de estudio de casos transfronterizos, para mejorar la aplicación de la Directiva sobre ordenación del espacio marítimo en cada país con esfuerzos de colaboración y una visión común. Esto, a su vez, puede apoyar la creación del marco adecuado para desarrollar una economía azul sostenible en la región, gestionando el sistema socioecológico asociado en un entorno cambiante

New measurement of neutron capture resonances of 209Bi

The neutron capture cross section of Bi209 has been measured at the CERN n TOF facility by employing the pulse-height-weighting technique. Improvements over previous measurements are mainly because of an optimized detection system, which led to a practically negligible neutron sensitivity. Additional experimental sources of systematic error, such as the electronic threshold in the detectors, summing of gamma-rays, internal electron conversion, and the isomeric state in bismuth, have been taken into account. Gamma-ray absorption effects inside the sample have been corrected by employing a nonpolynomial weighting function. Because Bi209 is the last stable isotope in the reaction path of the stellar s-process, the Maxwellian averaged capture cross section is important for the recycling of the reaction flow by alpha-decays. In the relevant stellar range of thermal energies between kT=5 and 8 keV our new capture rate is about 16% higher than the presently accepted value used for nucleosynthesis calculations. At this low temperature an important part of the heavy Pb-Bi isotopes are supposed to be synthesized by the s-process in the He shells of low mass, thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch stars. With the improved set of cross sections we obtain an s-process fraction of 19(3)% of the solar bismuth abundance, resulting in an r-process residual of 81(3)%. The present (n,gamma) cross-section measurement is also of relevance for the design of accelerator driven systems based on a liquid metal Pb/Bi spallation target.Comment: 10 pages, 5figures, recently published in Phys. Rev.

Measurement of the neutron capture cross section of the s-only isotope 204Pb from 1 eV to 440 keV

The neutron capture cross section of 204Pb has been measured at the CERN n_TOF installation with high resolution in the energy range from 1 eV to 440 keV. An R-matrix analysis of the resolved resonance region, between 1 eV and 100 keV, was carried out using the SAMMY code. In the interval between 100 keV and 440 keV we report the average capture cross section. The background in the entire neutron energy range could be reliably determined from the measurement of a 208Pb sample. Other systematic effects in this measurement could be investigated and precisely corrected by means of detailed Monte Carlo simulations. We obtain a Maxwellian average capture cross section for 204Pb at kT=30 keV of 79(3) mb, in agreement with previous experiments. However our cross section at kT=5 keV is about 35% larger than the values reported so far. The implications of the new cross section for the s-process abundance contributions in the Pb/Bi region are discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, article submitted to Phys. Rev.

Measurement of the (90,91,92,93,94,96)Zr(n,gamma) and (139)La(n,gamma) cross sections at n_TOF

Open AccessNeutron capture cross sections of Zr and La isotopes have important implications in the field of nuclear astrophysics as well as in the nuclear technology. In particular the Zr isotopes play a key role for the determination of the neutron density in the He burning zone of the Red Giant star, while the (139)La is important to monitor the s-process abundances from Ba up to Ph. Zr is also largely used as structural materials of traditional and advanced nuclear reactors. The nuclear resonance parameters and the cross section of (90,91,92,93,94,96)Zr and (139)La have been measured at the n_TOF facility at CERN. Based on these data the capture resonance strength and the Maxwellian-averaged cross section were calculated

Potential migratory routes of Urania boisduvalii (Lepidoptera: Uraniidae) among host plant populations

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Aim Migratory species depend on various habitats and resources along their migration routes. Characteristics such as dependence on distinct habitats and the presence of multiple threats along their migratory routes make these species vulnerable, and gaps in knowledge about their ecology and migration processes make them difficult to conserve. Urania boisduvalii is a diurnal moth endemic to Cuba that feeds on plants of Omphalea spp. during its larval phases. These plants produce secondary metabolites as a defence against the moth's larvae, which then are forced to migrate. Although some ecological aspects of Urania boisduvalii are known, its migration routes remain largely unknown. This research proposes potential migratory routes of Urania boisduvalii among populations of its host plant. Location Cuba. Methods We developed ecological niche models of the moth and its hosts based on environmental, anthropic, biotic and biogeographic factors to obtain potential distributional areas that include zones where positive interactions are found but exclude those where negative factors are present. These areas were overlapped to hypothesize potential breeding areas for the moths. Potential migratory corridors were proposed based on environmental connectivity. Results The moth and its hosts have broad potential distributions; however, limiting factors have substantially reduced these areas, especially for plants. The potential migratory routes of Urania boisduvalii are complex and mostly involve the western and eastern regions of Cuba. Most records outside potential breeding areas were close to these migratory corridors. Main conclusions We offer initial hypotheses of the migratory routes of U. boisduvalii, which may be useful to guiding monitoring projects that can provide more definitive views of the seasonal distribution of this species across the Cuban archipelago

Measurement of the radiative neutron capture cross section of 206Pb and its astrophysical implications

The (n, gamma) cross section of 206Pb has been measured at the CERN n_TOF facility with high resolution in the energy range from 1 eV to 600 keV by using two optimized C6D6 detectors. In the investigated energy interval about 130 resonances could be observed, from which 61 had enough statistics to be reliably analyzed via the R-matrix analysis code SAMMY. Experimental uncertainties were minimized, in particular with respect to (i) angular distribution effects of the prompt capture gamma-rays, and to (ii) the TOF-dependent background due to sample-scattered neutrons. Other background components were addressed by background measurements with an enriched 208Pb sample. The effect of the lower energy cutoff in the pulse height spectra of the C6D6 detectors was carefully corrected via Monte Carlo simulations. Compared to previous 206Pb values, the Maxwellian averaged capture cross sections derived from these data are about 20% and 9% lower at thermal energies of 5 keV and 30 keV, respectively. These new results have a direct impact on the s-process abundance of 206Pb, which represents an important test for the interpretation of the cosmic clock based on the decay of 238U.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, paper to be submitted to Phys. Rev.