Current status of las tablas de daimiel national park wetland and actions required for conservation

Wetlands are complex ecosystems that play multiple roles. ‘Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park’ (TDNP) undoubtedly plays a role in several ecosystem services and provides a connection between nature, farmers, scientists, residents, and other stakeholders. The state of degradation and/or vulnerability of this ecosystem (with a series of socio-economic implications) have led the publication of numerous articles. The work reported here provides a description of the growing importance of this wetland within the rural landscapes of La Mancha and emphasizes its state of degradation, mainly since pedological point of view. In this way, particular attention is required to assure the conservation of the Tablas of Daimiel Wetland; thus, several measures are proposed to improve the conservation of this area as to control and prohibit any dumping of any type of waste in the park or in its vicinityThis Research was funded by Organismo Autonomo Parques Nacionales (Autonomous Organism National Parks) of Spain (OAPN

Effect of shear processing on the linear viscoelastic behaviour and microstructure of bitumen/montmorillonite/MDI ternary composites

Polymer modified bitumens (PMBs) have largely been utilized as a construction material. However, lack of affinity between bitumen and polymer leads to phase separation, and eventually, performance depletion. In this paper, alternative formulations of bitumen with an organically-modified montmorillonite (OMMT) Cloisite 20A® and polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) were prepared by melt blending. Their comprehensive rheological characterization evidenced improved linear viscoelastic properties when OMMT is added, revealing a noticeable structural reinforcement and thermal stability. Rheological data also showed that MDI-involved reactions control the composite end properties, being greatly influenced by the shear conditions applied

LD Manager and ld tools: new software to operate lagragian drifters

Peer Reviewe

Attribution of risk factors for suicide in children and adolescents in the Latino immigrant community: a sample of Southern California

In the last years an alarming increase has taken place in the number of suicides in children and teenagers, being a daily reality in the panorama of the USA, especially in the case of Latino immigrants. In the current study, a survey about the perceived risk factors for suicide was established between risk population. The sample was composed of 593 children and adolescents aged between 11 and 18 years, most Latino ethnicity, belonging to "Latina Youth Program" (LYP), a program of suicide prevention in risk population, developed by Pacifics Clinics, an organization that operates in Los Angeles, California. They interviewed the participants about the factors they considered risk for suicidal behavior. Participants were randomly selected in 2003, 2005 and 2008. The factors most commonly identified risk were the regulation of emotions (96.57%), poor family communication, poor school performance, the influence of the peer group (89.67%, 82. 73% and 41.57% respectively). The found trend is towards an increase in the perception of risk factors detected in any case up to ten risk factors for suicide. The higher quantity of variables impede the precise determination of the (s) reason (s) that might end in this fatidical conclusion, being the most common a panorama in which converge multitude of variables, crucial to settling objectives in interventionsEn los últimos años se ha producido un incremento alarmante en el número de suicidios en niños y adolescentes, siendo una realidad cotidiana en el panorama de los EEUU, especialmente en el caso de inmigrantes latinos. En el presente estudio, se estableció un sondeo en población de riesgo acerca de los factores de riesgo de suicidio percibidos. La muestra quedó conformada por 593 niños y adolescentes de edades comprendidas entre los 11 y los 18 años, la mayoría de etnia latina, pertenecientes a “Latina Youth Program” (LYP), un programa de prevención del suicidio en población de riesgo, desarrollado por Pacifics Clinics, una organización que desarrolla su actividad en Los Ángeles, California. Se entrevistó a los participantes acerca de los factores que ellos consideraban de riesgo para la conducta suicida. Los participantes fueron seleccionados aleatoriamente en los años 2003, 2005 y 2008. Los factores de riesgo más comúnmente señalados fueron la regulación de emociones (96.57%), la pobre comunicación familiar, bajo rendimiento escolar, la influencia del grupo de iguales (89.67%, 82. 73% y 41.57% respectivamente). La tendencia encontrada apunta hacia un aumento en la percepción de factores de riesgo, detectándose en cualquier caso hasta diez factores de riesgo de suicidio. La cantidad de variables puestas en juego complejizan la determinación precisa de la(s) causa(s) que podrían desembocar en este fatídico desenlace, siendo lo más común un panorama en el que confluyen multitud de variables, cruciales para asentar objetivos en las intervencione

New lagragian drifter for coastal applications

Peer Reviewe

Integración de las construcciones rurales en el paisaje: encuestas y conclusiones

Design and integration of rural buildings in landscape: surveys and conclusions. The visual and aesthetic aspect of any object is defined by its characteristics of colour, form, line and texture. Any elements of compositive reference such as its scale and spatial character could also be added. This research applies a new method for predicting the value of the integration of buildings into the landscape, based on psychological aspects and the capacities of modern computers that are able to analyse easily these attributes. The designer can analyse the visual elements, all of them divided and studied in the properties that define them

Design and deployment of Low-Cost Drifting Buoys for coastal monitoring applications

Several Low-Coast Drifting Buoys (LCDB) have been designed and constructed at ICMAN-CSIC to determine flow characteristics of The Guadalquivir Estuary. Position and velocity of the driftes can be sent to a local server every ten minutes. The battery module has been dimensioned to provide experiment duration longer than two weeks. Flow patterns registered by the LCDB successfully match Acoustic Doppler Current (ADC) data from some others moored ADC profilers.Peer Reviewe

Export strategic orientations and their consequences: Analysis of forms heterogeneity

Two main objectives are intended to achieve in this work. Firstly, from a proposed model the implications of strategic export orientation on 1) export commitment, 2) the degree of marketing mix adaptation to the international context, 3) perceived competitive advantage in international markets, and 4) export performance are assessed. Secondly, the effect of heterogeneity in the proposed model is analyzed. To analyse data and evaluate relations between the different constructs, we chose structural equations modelling via PLS (partial least squares). To achieve the second proposed research objective we decided to use the latent cluster model. Results corroborate, from a sample of 150 Spanish export firms, eight of the eleven hypotheses, yielding important implications for managers and identifying three groups of exporting firms. To develop a study analyzing the antecedents and consequences of strategic orientation in the context of international marketing

Las nuevas construcciones ante la conservación del paisaje tradicional: un acercamiento a su estudio en el Páramo Leonés

Los paisajes se encuentran salpicados de numerosas edificaciones que influyen en la visualización que se tiene de ellos. Las construcciones rurales son un tipo de edificio que, por sus dimensiones y localización, influyen notablemente en la apreciación estética de la escena. Es notoria la importancia creciente en nuestro país del paisaje como recurso natural y, por tanto, de las construcciones como factor que afecta a la belleza paisajística. La sociedad en general, y los técnicos y proyectistas en particular, deberían tener en cuenta que la elección de los materiales de construcción, el emplazamiento y las relaciones de texturas y colores son consideraciones primordiales para el diseño de edificios rurales. Son elementos que intervienen en la conservación de los ecosistemas y en la potenciación del turismo rural, una de las principales vías económicas para muchas regiones españolas

Las nuevas construcciones antes la conservación del paisaje: un acercamiento a su estudio. Caso particular del páramo leonés

El paisaje es un recurso natural que cada vez aparece considerado con mayor profusión en la redacción de proyectos, y que debe ser protegido y conservado ante la construcción de Intervenciones antrópicas. Por tanto, el impacto visual ha de ser estudiado como una parte primordial en los estudios generales de impacto ambiental. Las nuevas tecnologías deben contribuir a ello proporcionando herramientas informáticas que realicen simulaciones y reproducciones de la realidad con alto grado de fidelidad