The geographical information system and the natural resources management

The Geographical Information System (GIS) works on databases that contain different kinds of information (town-planning, geographical and environmental). It is able to correlate, to integrate and to consult them just using simple or complex inquiries allowing in any moment the introduction of new data or the updating of those available. The management of the natural resources well it is lent to be done through the creation of a GIS : natural resources are connected to the punctual knowledge of the territory but have to be referred to lots of other factors, primarily linked to human activities, that contributes to organize and transform them. It is needed a suitable cartography containing the basic dates and the general subjects to overlap to the whole other series of information, different for origin and contents. The aim is to represent the natural and human structure of the territory, to know the spontaneous or induced events, to manage the norms and to plan the existing resources: from the integration of all the information it is created an adding value. A concrete example of this statement is represented by a project, in course of elaboration, promoted by the province of Rome for the Realization of an Ecological Network in the mountainous complex of the Lucretili-Simbruini-Ruffi. The study area is situated in the centre of Italy and more precisely in Lazio region throw the border with Abruzzo. The location of this place makes it to be a key element in the environmental continuity at territorial scale, therefore the study of the same one will be made analysing more levels, beginning from the landscape, in its components natural and human, continuing with the definition of the functional ecological network, and concluding with the aspects of managerial nature, that more than the others will receive advantages from the creation of the GIS. There are essential elements able to suggest guidelines for planning and maintaining with ecological criteria: it means to verify the planning instruments, to point out the areas with different kind of constraints and to analyze the incongruities and the conflict points that will become the most important in the new action-plan.

The European Parliament's Political Leadership: The Case Study of EU Foreign Policy towards Turkey

This article presents an empirical analysis of how the European Parliament’s eighth legislature mobilised to shape European Union (EU) foreign policy towards Turkey during the refugee crisis. On a conceptual and methodological level, we propose an analytical framework based on the mechanism of political leadership to trace the EP’s role in two specific areas of EU foreign policy towards Turkey: enlargement and cooperation on migration. We argue that EP foreign policy re sources allow it to play a political leadership role in this policy domain. Empirically, the analysis feeds into the claim of New Institutional Leadership since it reveals that the informal governance at the time of the refugee crisis favoured the mobilisation of the EP, mainly to protect its institutional prerogatives. The analysis also shows that the EP adopted a contradictory approach to EU foreign policy towards Turkey that affected the Parliament’s reputation as the guardian of EU values

Argentinean copper concentrates: structural aspects and thermal behaviour

In Argentina, there are many sources of copper concentrates. Some of them are currently in operation, while others are in the exploration stage. All copper concentrates produced are exported to other countries for copper refinement and to create various finished products. It is desirable that in the near future, these copper concentrates be processed in an Argentinean industrial plant. The aim of this paper was to present the results of a characterisation study carried out on five different copper concentrate samples. The thermal decomposition of the copper concentrates was determined by differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetry (DTA TG). The information was correlated with the chemical composition and the mineralogical phases of the samples identified by X-ray diffraction. A melting test at temperatures of up to 1300˚C was performed to complete the study of the concentrate’s behaviour during heating. After the test, all of the samples were observed by light and electronic scanning microscopy to identify the different phases generated under high-temperature conditions.Fil: Bazan Brizuela, Vanesa Lucia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan; ArgentinaFil: Brandaleze, Elena. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional San Nicolás. Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Santini, Leandro Matias. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional San Nicolás. Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Sarquis, Pedro Edgardo. Universidad Nacional de San Juan; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

The European Parliament's Political Leadership: The Case Study of EU Foreign Policy towards Turkey

This article presents an empirical analysis of how the European Parliament's eighth legislature mobilised to shape European Union (EU) foreign policy towards Turkey during the refugee crisis. On a conceptual and methodological level, we propose an analytical framework based on the mechanism of political leadership to trace the EP's role in two specific areas of EU foreign policy towards Turkey: enlargement and cooperation on migration. We argue that EP foreign policy resources allow it to play a political leadership role in this policy domain. Empirically, the analysis feeds into the claim of New Institutional Leadership since it reveals that the informal governance at the time of the refugee crisis favoured the mobilisation of the EP, mainly to protect its institutional prerogatives. The analysis also shows that the EP adopted a contradictory approach to EU foreign policy towards Turkey that affected the Parliament's reputation as the guardian of EU values

Treatments and Recycling of Metallurgical Slags

Steelmaking plants continuously strive to reduce the environmental load in the steelmaking process, resulting in the recycling of energy, water, and other byproducts. In this chapter, techniques for the treatment and recycling of metallurgical slags are described. Metallurgical slags are considered secondary raw materials and are used or added during the process to improve steelmaking practice. Steelmaking slag added into ladle slags makes it possible to minimize slag line wear. BOF-converter slags are also applied in buildup, foaming, or slag splashing practices carried out to prolong the lifespan of refractory lining. Also, EAF slags are commonly used to avoid refractory wear and decrease energy consumption. It is known that cement concrete is one of the most common building materials. Blast furnace crystallized slags are used in cement production, in different percentages. In this sense, understanding the properties of slags is a prerequisite to apply them in different functions. This chapter deals with the measurement and modeling of thermochemical properties of slags, thermophysical properties, and interproperty correlations. Different experimental tests applied in slag characterization are also detailed

A refractory wear predictive model developed for BOF converters

In order to contribute to the experience of the BOF operators, related with the wear of the refractory lining, a Wear Predictive Model (WPM) was developed. It is based on the database of many measurements made using a laser scanner. Not only this WPM model could be consider as a tool that supports decision such as doing a gunning repair or not, but also as guide to analyze changes in the initial refractory lining that led to a performance increase or cost reduction, for instance. The wear rate of MgO-C refractory lining depends on the material itself and the different erosive and corrosive agents present during the process. This WPM was developed in a BOF that do not operates with sublance, therefore the areas have been defined as the most critical ones are: barrel (B), tapping area (T), slag lines (horizontal (SLh), vertical (SLv) and the crossing of both (SLc)) and trunnions (T). The results obtained after several scans along many lining campaigns have been tabulated for a subsequent analysis. As output of this statistic WPM, curves with minimum and maximum thickness have been drawn. These curves show two main areas: secure work (WS) operation area and risky work (WR) operation area. It is possible to define the impact of different operating parameters as well. Keywords: Converter, refractory, wear, predictive model.Fil: Brandaleze, Elena. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional San Nicolás. Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico de Materiales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Torresi Domínguez, Ulises. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional San Nicolás. Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico de Materiales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Santini, Leandro Matias. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional San Nicolás. Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico de Materiales; Argentin

Ductal Carcinoma In Situ: What Can We Learn from Clinical Trials?

Ductal Carcinoma in situ has been diagnosed more frequently in the last few years and now accounts for approximately one-fourth of all treated breast cancers. Traditionally, this disease has been treated with total mastectomy, but conservative surgery has become increasingly used in the absence of unfavourable clinical conditions, if a negative excision margin can be achieved. It is controversial whether subgroups of patients with favourable in situ tumors could be managed by conservative surgery alone, without radiation. As the disease is diagnosed more frequently in younger patients, these issues are very relevant, and much research has focused on this topic in the last two decades. We reviewed randomized trials regarding adjuvant radiation after breast-conservative surgery and compared data with available retrospective studies

Colony shape as a genetic trait in the pattern-forming Bacillus mycoides

BACKGROUND: Bacillus mycoides Flügge, a Gram-positive, non-motile soil bacterium assigned to Bacillus cereus group, grows on agar as chains of cells linked end to end, forming radial filaments curving clock- or counter-clockwise (SIN or DX morphotypes). The molecular mechanism causing asymmetric curving is not known: our working hypothesis considers regulation of filamentous growth as the prerequisite for these morphotypes. RESULTS: SIN and DX strains isolated from the environment were classified as B. mycoides by biochemical and molecular biology tests. Growth on agar of different hardness and nutrient concentration did not abolish colony patterns, nor was conversion between SIN and DX morphotypes ever noticed. A number of morphotype mutants, all originating from one SIN strain, were obtained. Some lost turn direction becoming fluffy, others became round and compact. All mutants lost wild type tight aggregation in liquid culture. Growth on agar was followed by microscopy, exploring the process of colony formation and details of cell divisions. A region of the dcw (division cell wall) cluster, including ftsQ, ftsA, ftsZ and murC, was sequenced in DX and SIN strains as a basis for studying cell division. This confirmed the relatedness of DX and SIN strains to the B. cereus group. CONCLUSIONS: DX and SIN asymmetric morphotypes stem from a close but not identical genomic context. Asymmetry is established early during growth on agar. Wild type bacilli construct mostly uninterrupted filaments with cells dividing at the free ends: they "walk" longer distances compared to mutants, where enhanced frequency of cell separation produces new growing edges resulting in round compact colonies