Una nueva asociación de matorral gipsófilo para el Sur de España (Provincia Bética)

El estudio de los matorrales gípsicos en el sur de España, revela la presencia de una comunidad diferente del resto de asociaciones descritas hasta el momento dentro de la alianza Lepidion subulati, al existir diferencias florísticas, ecológicas y biogeográficas. Por ello se propone la asociación Ononido angustifolii-Anthyllidetum cytisoidi nova, con un área subbética e hispalense, que se presenta en ambientes, secos y subhúmedos, sobre substratos gípsicos, los cuales dependiendo del ombrotipo se encuentran más o menos lavados, por lo que el matorral puede presentar más o menos gipsófitos estrictos. Asociación que se desarrolla sobre sustratos gípsicos, los cuales experimentan una pérdida de sales en ambientes seco-subhúmedos, por lo que esta nueva comunidad presenta un bajo porcentaje de gipsófilos estrictos frente a una mayor frecuencia de especies menos estrictas. Por lo que se propone la nueva alianza Resedo constrictae-Helianthemion syriacae nova de distribución ibérico-magrebíA study of the thickets growing on gypsum soils in the south of Spain reveals the presence of a community different from the other associations already described within the suballiance Lepidienion subulati as a result of the floristic, ecological and biogeographical differences. Therefore, we propose the association Ononido angustifolii-Anthyllidetum cytisoidi nova with a Subbetic and Hispalensean distribution. The association occurs in semiarid, dry and subhumid environments, on gypsum soils which, depending on the ombrotype, are more or less washed-out and, consequently, the thicket may comprise more o less strict gypsophytes. The association grows on gypsum soils which undergo salt deprivation in dry-subhumid environments. Thus, in this new community the percentage of strict gypsophilous taxa is low as compared to the number of less strict gypsophytes. To propose the new alliance Resedo constrictae-Helianthemion syriacae iberico-magrebi distribution

Microstructural, Mechanical and Wear Properties of Atmospheric Plasma-Sprayed and High-Velocity Oxy-Fuel AlCoCrFeNi Equiatomic High-Entropy Alloys (HEAs) Coatings

In this investigation, atmospheric plasma spray (APS) and high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) techniques were used to produce AlCoCrFeNi coatings. High-entropy alloys (HEAs), due to their mechanical, chemical, and physical properties are capturing the attention of the international scientific community. Starting feedstock powders were characterized in terms of size, phase, and size, and corrosion test in NaCl, ball on disk, rubber wheel, and jet erosion tests was carried out on the obtained coatings. The results of the tribological investigation show that in the case of APS coatings, corrosion and wear behavior depend on the microstructure phases of the coating, as well as the amount of oxides. In particular, the wear morphology of APS surfaces is characterized by brittle fracture, with the presence of pores, cracks, and grooves. For HVOF coatings, further investigations on process parameters are needed because of the poor adhesion strength between the coating and the substrate. Anyway, the obtained corrosion resistance of HVOF coating is greater than that of the C steel substrate used to benchmark the results, and in addition, it ensures better performances in rubber wheel and jet erosion tests, but its wear resistance in the ball-ondisk test is worse because of the debris remaining in the wear track

Competencies of Graduates in the European Higher Education Area: life stories of university‘ new students against previous graduates

[EN] The paper presented here is part of the research project “The education assessment impact on the competence development in the university. Perspectives from the new graduates groups” (reference EDU2012-32766), which, since 2012, involves seven Spanish universities in four of their degrees: primary education, pharmacy, computer science and electrical engineering. This study has the aim of analysing the impact of educational assessment in developing competencies in higher education from the perception of the first graduates groups formed under the new European Higher Education Area, through a predominantly qualitative methodology mainly based on life stories, interviews and focus groups. Concretely, this paper presents the analysis of the results of one phase of the study based on the life stories of the old diploma holders and of the first graduating groups that studied under the curricula developed for the EHEA. Through a constant comparison between the points of view of these participants, the following paper focuses on four key dimensions for improving the future of higher education: a) What competencies are being acquired at the university? b) What is the relationship between the acquisition of these competencies and the methodologies carried out? c) What is the relationship between the acquisition of these competencies and the educational assessment carried out? d) What do the non-formal and informal contexts bring for the competencies development? The results show that most perceived developed competencies are instrumental kind and that they are linked to cases and project based work but they are not strongly linked to the assessment strategies and tools. Moreover, labor contexts seem to be very important in skills development, according to participants[ES] El trabajo que se presenta a continuación forma parte del proyecto de investigación “El impacto de la evaluación educativa en el desarrollo de competencias en la universidad. La perspectiva de la primeras promociones de graduados ” (referencia EDU2012-32766), en el que, desde 2012, participan siete universidades españolas con cuatro de sus titulaciones: educación primaria, farmacia, ingeniería informática e ingeniería electrónica industrial. El estudio nace con el objetivo de analizar el impacto de la evaluación educativa en el desarrollo de competencias en la universidad a partir de la percepción de las primeras promociones de graduados formados en el marco del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior a través de una metodología eminentemente cualitativa basada principalmente en los relatos, las entrevistas y los grupos de discusión. Este artículo presenta el análisis de los resultados de una fase de la investigación, a partir de relatos abiertos de, por un lado, los diplomados, licenciados o ingenieros de las antiguas titulaciones, y por otro lado, de los nuevos graduados universitarios. A través de una comparación constante entre las opiniones de dichos participantes, el siguiente trabajo profundiza sobre cuatro dimensiones clave para la mejora del futuro de la formación universitaria: a) ¿qué competencias se adquieren en la carrera?; b) ¿cuál es la relación existente entre la adquisición de dichas competencias y las metodologías llevadas a cabo?; c) ¿cuál es la relación existente entre la adquisición de dichas competencias y las evaluaciones practicadas? y d) ¿qué aportan los contextos no formales e informales al desarrollo de competencias? Los resultados muestran que se percibe un mayor desarrollo de las competencias instrumentales y que se vinculan al trabajo por proyectos y casos prácticos pero no a las estrategias e instrumentos de evaluación. Por otra parte, los contextos laborales parecen tener un gran peso en el desarrollo competencial, a juicio de los participantes.Cano García, E.; Fernández Ferrer, M. (2016). Competencias de los egresados del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior: relatos de vida de los nuevos estudiantes universitarios frente a los antiguos licenciados. REDU. Revista de Docencia Universitaria. 14(2):187-203. doi:10.4995/redu.2016.5933.SWORD18720314

Biomarkers in ocular chronic graft versus host disease: tear cytokine- and chemokine-based predictive model.

Producción CientíficaPurpose: To develop a tear molecule level-based predictive model based on a panel of tear cytokines and their correlation with clinical features in ocular chronic graft versus host disease (cGVHD). Methods: Twenty-two ocular cGVHD patients and 21 healthy subjects were evaluated in a controlled environmental research laboratory (CERLab). Clinical parameters were recorded, and tears were collected. Levels of 15 molecules (epidermal growth factor [EGF], IL receptor antagonist [IL-1Ra], IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8/CXCL8, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-17A, interferon inducible protein [IP]-10/CXCL10, IFN-γ, VEGF, TNF-α, eotaxin 1, and regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted [RANTES]) were measured by multiplex-bead assay and correlated with clinical parameters. Logistic regression was used to develop a predictive model. Leave-one-out cross-validation was applied. Classification capacity was evaluated in a cohort of individuals with dry eye (DE) of other etiologies different from GVHD. Results: Epidermal growth factor and IP-10/CXCL10 levels were significantly decreased in ocular cGVHD, positively correlating with tear production and stability and negatively correlating with symptoms, hyperemia, and vital staining. Interleukin-1Ra, IL-8/CXCL8, and IL-10 were significantly increased in ocular cGVHD, and the first two correlated positively with symptoms, hyperemia, and ocular surface integrity while negatively correlating with tear production and stability. Predictive models were generated, and the best panel was based on IL-8/CXCL8 and IP-10/CXCL10 tear levels along with age and sex, with an area under the receiving operating curve of 0.9004, sensitivity of 86.36%, and specificity of 95.24%. Conclusions: A predictive model based on tear levels of IL-8/CXCL8 and IP-10/CXCL10 resulted in optimal sensitivity and specificity. These results add further knowledge to the search for potential biomarkers in this devastating ocular inflammatory disease.Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Madrid, Spain, SAF-2010 15631 (AES)

Large enhancement of thermal conductance at ambient and cryogenic temperatures by laser remelting of plasma-sprayed Al2O3 coatings on Cu

Joints of high thermal contact conductance and electrical insulation have been obtained by coating copper supports with thin alumina (Al2O3) layers (of 140–150 µm thickness). This has been achieved by a combination of plasma spraying process and the subsequent coating remelting by a near-Infrared (n-IR) laser. With a proper optimization of the laser processing conditions, it is possible to transform the metastable ¿-Al2O3 phase of the as-sprayed coatings to stable a-Al2O3, and to achieve denser alumina coatings. This results in a large enhancement of the thermal conductance of the joints, enabling their application as heat sinks at cryogenic and ambient temperatures. The process proposed in this work is scalable for the formation of alumina coatings on large metallic pieces of complex geometries. © 202

Exploration of ATR FTIR spectroscopy assisted by multivariate analysis for estimating the time since deposition of human and canine oral fluid on porous substrates

Oral fluid is commonly found at crime scenes, as a liquid sample or more frequently as a stain (i.e., cigarette butts, bottles, chewing gum, cloths, etc.). The study of the time since deposition (TSD) is of great significance in forensics because it allows to collect and analyse only those samples directly related to the criminal case, excluding the occupational traces, and reducing laboratory costs and efforts. In the present study, we evaluated the suitability of attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR FTIR) to establish the TSD of human and canine oral fluid stains on different porous substrates such as paper, cotton, denim, and polyester fabric. We used the ATR FTIR spectra and chemometrics to detect the presence of human and canine oral fluid as stains on these substrates. Our results showed that Orthogonal Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA) models were able to distinguish human and canine oral fluid stains according to their TSD independently of the substrate.European Commissio

A study of the dry forest communities in the Dominican Republic

This paper is a floristic and phytosociological study of the dry forest communities of the Dominican Republic. A total of 69 relevés in dry forest biotopes were carried out. The samples were subsequently subjected to Detrended Correspondence Analysis for the determination and study of possible groupings. The study does not cover tree formations growing on serpentines, nor the so-called semideciduous forests, peculiar to areas with higher rainfall. A total of nine phytocoenoses were identified. The most significant results led to the description of six new phytosociological associations: Simaroubetum berteroani (thorny dry forest on coastal dunes), Phyllostylo rhamnoidis-Prosopidetum juliflorae (southern Dominican disturbed dry forest), Consoleo moniliformis-Camerarietum linearifoliae (dry forest on hard limestones), Lemaireocereo hystricis-Prosopidetum juliflorae (northern Dominican disturbed dry forest), Lycio americani-Prosopidetum juliflorae (disturbed dry forest on saline soils) and Guettardo ellipticae-Guapiretum discoloris (dry forest on flat-topped hillocks in Montecristi). This is an important step forward in the phytosociological and floristic studies of the Caribbean territories.Este trabalho apresenta um estudo florístico e fitossociológico das comunidades de florestas secas da República Dominicana. Um total de 69 amostras foram obtidas pelo método relevé em biótopos florestais secos. As amostras foram posteriormente submetidas à análise de correspondência destendenciada para a determinação e estudo de possíveis agrupamentos. O estudo não abrange formações arbóreas desenvolvidas sobre serpentinitos, nem as chamadas florestas semideciduais, peculiares às áreas de maior pluviosidade. Foram identificados nove fitocenoses. Os resultados mais significativos levaram à descrição de seis novas associações fitossociológicas: Simaroubetum berteroani (floresta espinhosa seca em dunas costeiras), Phyllostylo rhamnoidis-Prosopidetum juliflorae (floresta seca perturbada do sul da República Dominicana), Consoleo moniliformis-Camerarietum linearifoliae (floresta seca sobre calcários compactos), Lemaireocereo hystricis-Prosopidetum juliflorae (floresta seca perturbada do norte da República Dominicana), Lycio americani-Prosopidetum juliflorae (floresta seca perturbada desenvolvida em solos salinos) Guettardo ellipticae-Guapiretum discoloris (floresta seca em colinas de topo achatado em Montecristi). O trabalho realizado representa um importante avanço nos estudos fitossociológicos e florísticos dos territórios do Caribe.This research paper was possible thanks to the sponsorship of the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID), under the auspices of the Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación de España, which funded the project (cod. A/3499/05)

Stability of the Horizontal Curvature of the LHC Cryodipoles During Cold Tests

The LHC will be composed of 1232 horizontally curved, 15 meter long, superconducting dipole magnets cooled at 1.9 K. They are supported within their vacuum vessel by three Glass Fiber Reinforced Epoxy (GFRE) support posts. Each cryodipole is individually cold tested at CERN before its installation and interconnection in the LHC 27 km circumference tunnel. As the magnet geometry under cryogenic operation is extremely important for the LHC machine aperture, a new method has been developed at CERN in order to monitor the magnet curvature change between warm and cold states. It enabled us to conclude that there is no permanent horizontal curvature change of the LHC dipole magnet between warm and cold states, although a systematic horizontal transient deformation during cool-down was detected. This deformation generates loads in the dipole supporting system; further investigation permitted us to infer this behavior to the asymmetric thermal contraction of the rigid magnet thermal shield during cool-down. Controlling the helium flow rate in the thermal shield of the cryomagnet enabled us to reduce the maximal deformation by a factor of approximately two, thus increasing significantly the mechanical safety margin of the supporting system during the CERN cold tests