The water footprint of olives and olive oil in Spain

This paper evaluates the water footprint of Spanish olives and olive oil over the period 1997-2008. In particular, it analyses the three colour components of the water footprint: green (rainwater stored in the soil), blue (surface and groundwater) and grey (freshwater required to assimilate load of pollutants). Apparent water productivity and virtual water embedded in olive oil exports have also been studied. Results show more than 99.5% of the water footprint of one liter of bottled olive oil is related to the olive production, whereas less than 0.5% is due to the other components such as bottle, cap and label. Over the studied period, the green water footprint in absolute terms of Spanish olive oil production represents about 72% in rainfed systems and just 12% in irrigated olive orchards. Blue and grey water footprints represent 6% and 10% of the national water footprint, respectively. It is shown that olive production is concentrated in regions with the smallest water footprint per unit of product. However, the increase of groundwater consumption in the main olive producing region (Andalusia), from 98 to 378 Mm3 between 1997 and 2008, has added significant pressure in the upstream Guadalquivir basin. This raises questions about the sustainability of irrigated olive orchards for export from the region. Finally, the virtual water related to olive oil exports illustrate the importance of green water footprint of rainfed olives amounting to about 77% of the total virtual water exports

A política externa de Angola na África Austral (1975-1992)

Este trabalho se destina analisar a forma como se desenrolou a política externa de Angola na África Austral, no período de 1975 á 1992 e aferir que elementos terão concorrido para que um partido de orientação política e ideológica socialista de inspiração soviética lograsse conquistar o poder em Angola e conseguisse fazer vingar a linha da sua política externa na região, apesar de contar com a forte oposição de uma série de países mais fortes e com governos consolidados como a África do Sul e o Zaíre, fortemente apoiados pelo bloco político ideológico que acabaria por se saldar como vencedor da Guerra Fria e no plano interno contar com a oposição de movimentos como a UNITA e a FNLA que reuniam o apoio tanto da África do sul e do Zaíre como até principalmente dos Estados Unidos da América; Abstract: Title: Angolan Foreign Policy in Southern Africa (1975-1992) This paper aim is to examine how Angola unfolded its foreign policy in southern Africa between 1975 and 1992, and assess what elements have contributed to an ideological orientation political Soviet-inspired socialist party to succeed in gaining power in Angola and enforce the line of its foreign policy in the region , despite the opposition from a number of stronger countries with consolidated governments like South Africa and Zaire in the regional Plan, strongly supported by the ideological political bloc that would eventually pay off as the winner of the Cold War and internally the opposition of movements such as UNITA and the FNLA which gathered support from both South Africa, Zaire and from the United States of America

A water footprint assessment of a pair of jeans: the influence of agricultural policies on the sustainability of consumer products.

This study reports the results of a water footprint (WF) assessment of five types of textiles commonly used for the production of jeans, including two different fibres (cotton and Lyocell fibre) and five corresponding production methods for spinning, dyeing and weaving. The results show that the fibre production is the stage with the highest water consumption, being cotton production particularly relevant. Therefore, the study pays particular attention to the water footprint of cotton production and analyses the effects of external factors influencing the water footprint of a product, in this case, the incentives provided by the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and the relevance of agricultural practices to the water footprint of a product is emphasised. An extensification of the crop production led to higher WF per unit, but a lower overall pressure on the basins water resources. This study performs a sustainability assessment of the estimated cotton WFs with the water scarcity index, as proposed by Hoekstra et al. (2011), and shows their variations in different years as a result of different water consumption by crops in the rest of the river basin. In our case, we applied the assessment to the Guadalquivir, Guadalete and Barbate river basins, three semi-arid rivers in South Spain. Because they are found to be relevant, the available water stored in dams and the outflow are also incorporated as reference points for the sustainability assessment. The study concludes that, in the case of Spanish cotton production, the situation of the basin and the policy impact are more relevant for the status of the basin s water resources than the actual WF of cotton production. Therefore, strategies aimed at reducing the impact of the water footprint of a product need to analyse both the WF along the value chain and within the local context

Atmospheric Corrosion Studies in a Decommissioned Nuclear Power Plant

Metallic corrosion progresses at a very low rate at room temperature in a perfectly dry atmosphere and for practical purposes may be ignored, but on humid surfaces is a very relevant phenomenon. The mechanism is electrochemical, with an electrolyte constituted by an extremely thin moisture film of just a few monolayers or an aqueous film of hundreds of microns in thickness due, for instance, to rain or dew (Rozenfeld, 1972; Barton, 1976; Feliu and Morcillo, 1982; Kucera & Mattson, 1986; Costa et al., 2006). A considerable part of the damage that atmospheric corrosion causes to structures and equipment may be attributed to the condensation of humidity as a result of periodic cooling of the air. The formation of dew depends on the relative humidity (RH) of the air and the change in the metal surface temperature. The drier the atmosphere, the more the temperature must fall in order for humidity to condense; while at high RH a slight drop in temperature can lead to the saturation in humidity of the atmosphere. The fraction of time in which an atmosphere presents a high RH level has been shown to be a good indicator of its potential aggressivity.Peer reviewe

Looking back on contributions in the field of atmospheric corrosion offered by the MICAT ibero-american testing network

The Ibero-American Map of Atmospheric Corrosiveness (MICAT) project was set up in 1988 sponsored by the International Ibero-American programme >Science and Technology for Development (CYTED)> and ended in 1994 after six years of activities. Fourteen countries were involved in this project: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Research was conducted both at laboratories and in a network of 75 atmospheric exposure test sites throughout the Ibero-American region, thus considering a broad spectrum of climatological and pollution conditions. Although with its own peculiarities, the project basically followed the outline of the ISOCORRAG and ICP/UNECE projects, with the aim of a desirable link between the three projects. This paper summarizes the results obtained in the MICAT project for mild steel, zinc, copper, and aluminum specimens exposed for one year in different rural, urban, and marine atmospheres in the Ibero-American region. Complementary morphological and chemical studies were carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and fourier transform infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques, in order to correlate climatic and atmospheric conditions and properties of the corrosion products. © 2012 M. Morcillo et al.Peer Reviewe

Atmospheric corrosion of reference metals in Antarctic sites

This paper presents the results obtained at three Antarctic test sites participating in the >Ibero-American Map of Atmospheric Corrosiveness> (MICAT), a project on atmospheric corrosion carried out during the period 1988-1994 at some 70 sites distributed across 12 countries of the Latin-American region, Spain and Portugal. The three Antarctic sites are located near the coastline. The singular climatic characteristics of Antarctic regions are related with the purity of the air, the absence of rainfall and the formation of ice on the metallic surface during an important part of the exposure time. However, electrochemical activity is possible below ice layers. This situation affects the structure and morphology of corrosion product films and the resulting corrosion rates of metallic surfaces. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer Reviewe

Elaboración de una propuesta técnica y económica de la red HFC para el servicio de IPTV en la parroquia Calpi para la empresa Riotelecom Network.

El objetivo del trabajo de titulación fue la elaboración de una propuesta técnica y económica de una red Híbrido de Fibra Coaxial (HFC) para el servicio de Televisión por Protocolo de Internet (IPTV) en la parroquia Calpi para la empresa Riotelecom-Network. La investigación fue realizada a través de un estudio de mercado en el área del entretenimiento de televisión, empleando encuestas dirigidas a los moradores de la Parroquia Calpi, seguido de la tabulación de resultados, con lo cual se estimó el nivel de aceptación del nuevo servicio tecnológico IPTV, además, se realizó la proyección de la demanda para afianzar la viabilidad del proyecto. Desde el punto de vista técnico, se consideraron criterios de diseño e implementación para redes HFC que se sustentan en: recomendaciones aprobadas en la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT); además, se llevó a cabo el estudio del estándar DOCSIS 3.0 para determinar los aspectos y parámetros más importantes acompañado de estándares de las tecnologías que utiliza el sistema IPTV, como, por ejemplo, modos de transmisión multicast y unicast, y los protocolos de compresión de audio MPEG-1 y video MPEG-4, que permiten dimensionar la capacidad total del sistema HFC. Se incluyó la topología de la propuesta de tendido de la red en los planos arquitectónicos haciendo uso del software Autocad seguido de la selección de los equipos requeridos. Como resultados de la investigación desarrollada se expone el cálculo del presupuesto de potencia de la red, el estudio económico de los costos referenciales por la obtención de bienes y servicios para determinar la inversión inicial, asimismo una aproximación de los gastos operativos para mantener una alta disponibilidad del nuevo servicio. Se recomienda a la empresa Riotelecom-Network, que al momento de realizar la implementación se considere cada proceso y lineamiento especificado en este estudio.The objective of the qualification work was the elaboration of a technical and economic proposal of a hybrid network of coaxial fiber (HFC) for the television service by internet (IPTV) in the parish Calpi for the company Riotelecom-Network. The research was conducted through a market study in the area of television entertainment, using surveys aimed at the residents of the parish Calpi, followed by the tabulation of results, which estimated the level of acceptance of the new IPTV technology service, in addition, the projection of the demand was carried out to strengthen the viability of the project. From the technical point of view, design and implementation criteria for HFC networks were considered, based on: recommendations adopted at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU); In addition, the study of the standard DOCSIS 3.0 was carried out to determine the most important aspects and parameters, accompanied by standards of the technologies used by the IPTV system, such as multicast and unicast transmission modes, and Protocols of Comprehension of MPEG-1 audio and MPEG-4 video, which allow to dimension the total capacity of the HFC system. The topology of the proposed network lay-out was included in the architectural drawings using the AUTOCAD software followed by the selection of the required equipment. The results of the research carried out are the calculation of the power budget of the network, the economic study of the reference costs for obtaining goods and services to determine the initial investment, also an approximation of the Operating expenses to maintain a high availability of the new service. It is recommended to the company Riotelecom-Network, which at the time of implementation, is considered each process and guidelines specified in this study

Reproducibility of parameters of postocclusive reactive hyperemia measured by diffuse optical tomography

The application of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to assess microvascular function has shown promising results. An important limitation when using a single source-detector pair, however, is the lack of depth sensitivity. Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) overcomes this limitation using an array of sources and detectors that allow the reconstruction of volumetric hemodynamic changes. This study compares the key parameters of postocclusive reactive hyperemia measured in the forearm using standard NIRS and DOT. We show that while the mean parameter values are similar for the two techniques, DOT achieves much better reproducibility, as measured by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). We show that DOT achieves high reproducibility for muscle oxygen consumption (ICC: 0.99), time to maximal HbO2HbO2 (ICC: 0.94), maximal HbO2HbO2 (ICC: 0.99), and time to maximal HbT (ICC: 0.99). Absolute reproducibility as measured by the standard error of measurement is consistently smaller and close to zero (ideal value) across all parameters measured by DOT compared to NIRS. We conclude that DOT provides a more robust characterization of the reactive hyperemic response and show how the availability of volumetric hemodynamic changes allows the identification of areas of temporal consistency, which could help characterize more precisely the microvasculature

Los proyectos de Ingeniería electrónica en el marco de los resultados de aprendizaje EUR-ACE

El sello EUR-ACE® es un certificado que una agencia autorizada (en España ANECA) otorga a un título de grado o máster en ingeniería que cumple unos determinados estándares de calidad. Se trata de una marca de calidad internacionalmente reconocida que facilita la movilidad y el reconocimiento de los titulados. Uno de los resultados de aprendizaje más importantes e incluido como requisito específico del sello es el relativo a Proyectos de Ingeniería. Este artículo presenta este resultado de aprendizaje en el ámbito de las titulaciones de grado y muestra cómo puede incluirse en el caso concreto de varias asignaturas relacionadas con la Ingeniería Electrónica