Modelling for Optimal Conjunctive Water Management: Irrigated Crop Production Versus NPS Pollution Prevention

Conjunctive water management{CWM)involves coordinating use of ground and surface water sources. Agricultural (A) and nonagricultural {NA)users compete for available water of adequate quality. A Simulation/Optimization (S/0) conjunctive water management model was developed to aid estimating the effects of water and environmental management decisions on crop yield and water quality. Included subsystems are groundwater, surface water, reservoir, delivery system, drainage, and A and NA water users. The nonlinear model addresses flows described by nonsmooth piecewise-linear functions which have discontinuous derivatives. Embedded constraints describe all significant subsystem flows. For example 1 deep percolation and runoff from surface irrigation are explicitly described as functions of furrow inflow rate. Solution involves quasilinearization and cycling. We apply the model to a study area representative of part of Salt Lake Valley, Utah. We use the E-constraint method to maximize irrigated crop production subject to constraint on leaching to groundwater. Tested scenarios demonstrate model capabilities for transient management

Формирование модели системы воспитания в школе на основе интеграции общего и дополнительного образования (из опыта работы)

Trabajo presentado en la European Hydrogen Energy Conference - EHEC, celebrada en Sevilla (España) del 12 al 14 de mayo de 2014.There is a growing interest in the development of power sources that use renewable fuels and reduce emission of pollutants. This interest is justified by the heightening concern about environmental degradation, energy security as well as the possible exhaustion of the fossil fuel resources. One example is the use of biogas (mainly composed by CH4 and CO2) which is generated from anaerobic digestion of sewage or wastewater [1]. In order to produce hydrogen from this renewable gas, it is necessary a reforming step. There are two alternatives: 1) carbon dioxide reforming (DR: CH4 + CO2 2H2 + 2CO) and 2) steam reforming (SR: CH4 + H2O 3H2 + CO). The first reaction has two drawbacks: the deactivation of the catalyst due to carbon deposition [2] and the participation of reverse water-gas-shift (RWGS: H2 + CO2 H2O + CO) which decreases the amount of the produced hydrogen. On the other hand, steam reforming is the most extended way to produce hydrogen from CH4, but it is necessary to eliminate the CO2 from the feed. Since previous studies [3] had reported good results when La-promoted catalysts, obtained from hydrotalcite-like precursor calcination, were used in dry reforming of methane, this catalyst will be used for these tests. The aim of this work is to study the influence of H2O addition over dry reforming and the addition of CO2 over steam reforming using a La-promoted catalyst obtained from hydrotalcite-like precursor.Financial support from Comunidad de Madrid (DIVERCELCM, S2009/ENE-1475) is gratefully acknowledged.Peer Reviewe

Study on mechanical properties of mortars containing steel shot and sea sand as fine aggregate replacement

In this study, the use of solid waste known in the metallurgical market as steel shot that is generated in the production of metallic elements has been analyzed. Normally the destination of this solid waste is the sanitary landfills of the cities or the security cells since it is classified as hazardous waste. In addition, the use of materials with high availability and that were not previously used in the construction industry, such as sea sand was used in the manufacture of mortar cubes as a fine aggregate. A granulometric analysis of each of the filling materials followed by the casting of 63 mortar cubes with four different fine aggregate replacement ratios (0%, 30%, 70% and 100%) were carried out. After the curing period, the compressive strength and the weight of the resulting mortars have been determined. The results from this study indicated that by completely replacing the fine aggregate with the s teel shot waste the density and the compressive strength of the resulting mortars were increased, which indicates that this new material can be used in the construction industry

Evaluación de la transformación del matorral del Parque Nacional de Doñana como medida de gestión y su impacto sobre la comunidad de micromamíferos.

Una de las principales medidas de gestión que se realizan en el Parque Nacional de Doñana dentro del Plan de manejo del lince (Lynx pardina) y del águila imperial (Aquila adalberti) es el desbroce de matorral, con ob- jeto de crear zonas abiertas de alimentación para el conejo (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Esta medida de gestión está produciendo una profunda modificación en la estructura de la vegetación, y aunque afecta positiva- mente a los conejos, se desconoce su efecto sobre otras especies características de este hábitat como son los micromamíferos, cuya comunidad podría estar sufriendo importantes procesos de cambio. En concreto una de las especies más características de esta comunidad, el lirón careto atlántico, Eliomys quercinus lusitanicus, abundante en el pasado es ahora extremadamente rara, e incluso podría haber desparecido del área. Este estudio tiene como objetivo evaluar el efecto de la eliminación del matorral, mediante quema con- trolada, sobre la comunidad de micromamíferos. Para ello hemos analizado la riqueza y abundancia es- pecíficas y la evolución temporal de estos parámetros en parcelas quemadas de diferente antigüedad y en zonas no sometidas a tratamiento. La toma de datos se realizó mediante captura-recaptura en pe- riodos estacionales, desde el verano de 2005 a la primavera de 2007. Los resultados mostraron que la riqueza específica fue muy baja, con tan solo 4 especies capturadas (Mus spretus, Apodemus sylvaticus, Crocidura russula y Eliomys quercinus). La abundancia presentó valo- res muy variables dependiendo de la especie, la época del año y el tipo de parcela; aunque se observa que la especie más abundante es Mus spretus con mucha diferencia sobre las demás. En general, el otoño y el invierno fueron las estaciones con mayor abundancia, y ésta se hace muy escasa durante el verano. La quema controlada del matorral mediterráneo senescente en el Parque Nacional de Doñana favorece la presencia de especies y su abundancia, no tanto en la propia parcela sometida a tratamiento, como en el matorral que la bordea. Mus es la especie dominante en todos los ambientes. Apodemus muestra mecanis- mos de evitación espacial y temporal con Mus. Eliomys quercinus no ha desaparecido de Doñana, aunque su abundancia es escasísima y aparece asociada al borde de parcelas quemadas de cuatro años de antigüedad. El proceso de colonización de las parcelas quemadas parece alcanzar la abundancia más alta y la mayor riqueza específica a los tres-cuatro años tras la quema. Esta colonización no sigue una pauta regular en el tiempo, sino que se encuentra condicionada por otros factores, entre los que parece encontrarse la pre- cipitación anual.Peer Reviewe

Razvoj sustava proizvodnje iberijskih svinja u Španjolskoj

Total number of Iberian swine sows in Spain is close to 230.000, giving rise to around 2 mill finished Iberian pigs in 2003. The Iberian swine constitutes a singular breed, strongly adapted to the ecological conditions of the "Dehesa" ecosystem. This breed includes a number of strains, all of them showing low prolific and growth rates, very early maturing fat deposition, and an excellent meat quality, which is valuated in the market according to the fatty acid Drofile (palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic acids) of subcutaneous fat. This paper mainly deals with available feeding sources of the "Dehesa" for Iberian pigs, the productive features of this breed and the evolution that feeding and production systems have experienced last years.Ukupan broj krmača iberijske svinje u Španjolskoj iznosi blizu 230 000 pa je prema tome u 2003. god. bilo oko 2 milijuna gotovih iberijskih svinja. Iberijska svinja je rijetka pasmina, dobro prilagođena ekološkim uvjetima ekosustava "Dehesa". Ova pasmina ima brojne značajke koje sve pokazuju nisku stopu plodnosti i rasta, vrlo rano dozrijevanje naslaga masti te izvrsnu kakvoću mesa koje se vrednuje na tržištu prema profilu masne kiseline (palmitinske, stearinske, oleinske i linolne kiseline) potkožne masti. Ovaj se članak uglavnom bavi dostupnim izvorima hranidbe "Dehesa" za iberijske svinje, proiz¬vodnim značajkama ove pasmine i razvojem sustava hranidbe i proizvodnje prošle godine

Nanoparticle-and liposome-carried drugs: New strategies for active targeting and drug delivery across blood-brain barrier

The blood-brain barrier (BBB), the unusual microvascular endothelial interface between the central nervous system (CNS) and the circulatory system, is a major hindrance to drug delivery in the brain parenchyma. Besides the absence of fenestrations and the abundance of tight junctions, ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters critically reduce drug entry within the CNS, as they carry many drugs back into the bloodstream. Nanoparticle-and liposome-carried drugs, because of their increased cellular uptake and reduced efflux through ABC transporters, have been developed in recent times to circumvent the low drug permeability of the BBB. This review discusses the role of ABC transporters in controlling drug penetration into the brain parenchyma, the rationale for using nanoparticle-and liposome-based strategies to increase drug delivery across the BBB and new therapeutic strategies for using nanoparticle-and liposome-carried drugs in different conditions, ranging from CNS tumors and neurodegenerative diseases to viral infections and epilepsy. © 2013 Bentham Science Publishers