Mechanical characterization of a new architectural concrete with glass-recycled aggregate

Concrete is a material which is widely used in architecture, not only for structural purposes but also for architectural elements for its versatility and excellent performance. However, the manufacturing of this material as a mixture of water, cement, and ¿ne and coarse aggregate comes with a high environmental cost, such as gas emissions, among other things. This is the reason why di¿erent alternatives are being proposed in order to replace coarse aggregates with other recycled materials, as it is one of the less sustainable components of the mixture in terms of extraction. One of these alternatives is recycled glass coming from drinking bottles, crushed into small grains and mixed in the same proportions as regular aggregates. This study proposes the mechanical characterization of a new architectural concrete mixture by using white Lafarge cement and glass-recycled aggregates. This proposed concrete is made especially for architectural elements like façade panels, rather than structural elements. The mechanical evaluation of this new material is done through a set of experimental tests under compression and also bending, comparing three di¿erent ratios of glass aggregate in the mixture.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Transcorneal Permeation in a Corneal Device of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in Drug Delivery Systems

This work is focused on the ex vivo study of corneal permeation of two anti-inflammatory drugs: diclofenac, and flurbiprofen (as a model of hydrophilic and lipophilic drug, respectively) loaded to cyclodextrins or polymeric nanoparticles in order to determine differences in their corneal permeation against free drug or commercial eye drops. These studies were carried out in a corneal device designed and developed in our laboratory. In this work the habitual conditions for the permeation studies were modified to reproduce the behaviour when eye drops were administered. For this reason a new tetracompartmental pharmacokinetic model was developed. The complex formation of diclofenac with cyclodextrins and the flurbiprofen loaded to polymeric nanoparticles has been shown as effective procedures to remarkably increase the bioavailability of the anti-inflammatory drugs. The efficiency of polymeric nanoparticles of Poly (D-L lactic-coglycolyc) acid and poly-ε-caprolacton as intraocular targeting of NSAIDs has also been proved, being the latter polymer more effective to increase the flurbiprofen corneal permeation. The apparent corneal permeability coefficient of samples has been calculated getting a low permeation values for free drugs

Challenges in real-time virtualization and predictable cloud computing

Cloud computing and virtualization technology have revolutionized general-purpose computing applications in the past decade. The cloud paradigm offers advantages through reduction of operation costs, server consolidation, flexible system configuration and elastic resource provisioning. However, despite the success of cloud computing for general-purpose computing, existing cloud computing and virtualization technology face tremendous challenges in supporting emerging soft real-time applications such as online video streaming, cloud-based gaming, and telecommunication management. These applications demand real-time performance in open, shared and virtualized computing environments. This paper identifies the technical challenges in supporting real-time applications in the cloud, surveys recent advancement in real-time virtualization and cloud computing technology, and offers research directions to enable cloud-based real-time applications in the future

Planned vs. Real City: 3D GIS for Analyzing the Transformation of Urban Morphology

Ponencias, comunicaciones y pósters presentados en el 17th AGILE Conference on Geographic Information Science "Connecting a Digital Europe through Location and Place", celebrado en la Universitat Jaume I del 3 al 6 de junio de 2014.Cities are constantly evolving: buildings are built and demolished, altering the landscape of our cities; Urban Plans describe what we want our cities to be, undergoing revisions as we change our vision of the future of our cities. This paper presents a methodology to model the interactions between what the city is and what it wants to become. The old quarter of Sant Andreu in Barcelona (Spain) was used in a pilot study for the development of a methodology to automatically quantify and visualize the outcome of regulation changes as a strategic tool for the Urban Planning Department of the Barcelona City Council. This paper describes a methodology developed to measure the magnitude of the buildings conformity or disconformity to the determinations of the Urban Plan (current and proposed), and to display this information in 3D, to allow a more natural interpretation of the results. Special care was put into the methodological approach to ensure that it could be replicated at neighbourhood or city-wide scales. A methodology for the interpretation of the heights of staircase towers and ventilation courtyards from neighbouring entities heights, through the analysis of adjacency relationships in a non-topological Geographic Information System is also discussed

El reagrupament familiar a la província de Barcelona, 2004-2006. Trets demogràfics i disribució territorial

El reagrupament familiar és un dels fenòmens que desperta més interès en l'estudi de les migracions internacionals. En primer lloc, perquè, amb el temps, els corrents migratoris que es deriven del reagrupament familiar tendeixen a adquirir més protagonisme, tant que, de vegades, el volum que acapara acaba superant uns altres fluxos. D'altra banda, el reagrupament familiar canvia substancialment l'estructura demogràfica de la població de nacionalitat estrangera resident, i aquest canvi genera necessitats noves i demandes específiques. L'interès sobre aquest fenomen a l'Estat espanyol contrasta, això no obstant, amb la manca de dades disponibles sobre les característiques sociodemogràfiques, tant dels reagrupadors com dels reagrupats. En aquest article, s'hi fa, per primer cop, una anàlisi exhaustiva de les característiques demogràfiques i de la distribució territorial de les persones involucrades en els permisos de reagrupació familiar concedits entre 2004 i 2006 a la província de Barcelona.La reagrupación familiar es uno de los fenómenos que despierta más interés en el estudio de las migraciones internacionales. En primer lugar, porque, con el tiempo, las corrientes migratorias que se derivan de la reagrupación familiar tienden a adquirir un mayor protagonismo, tanto que, a veces, en volumen acaban superando a otros flujos. Por otro lado, la reagrupación familiar varía sustancialmente la estructura de la población de nacionalidad extranjera residente, cuanto a las características de sexo y edad, pero también cuanto a las demandas que la especificidad de este perfil cambiante comporta. El interés sobre este fenómeno en el Estado español contrasta, no obstante, con una falta de datos disponibles sobre las características sociodemográficas, tanto de los reagrupadores como de los reagrupados. En este artículo, se hace por primera vez un análisis exhaustivo de las características demográficas y de la distribución territorial de las personas involucradas en los permisos de reagrupación familiar concedidos durante el período que va de 2004 a 2006 en la provincia de Barcelona.Le regroupement familier est un des phénomènes qui attirent le plus d'attention dans l'étude des migrations internationales. D'abord, parce que les courants migratoires qui dérivent au regroupement familier sont en train d'augmenter, jusqu'au point de représenter parfois la partie la plus importante des flux d'immigration internationale. D'autre part, parce que les effets du regroupement sur la structure démographique de la population étrangère sont notoires, et que cette nouvelle structure entraîne des nouvelles demandes. L'intérêt versé sur ce phénomène en Espagne doit cependant faire face au manque de données statistiques sur les caractéristiques sociodémographiques des acteurs du regroupement, c'est-à-dire ceux qui regroupent et ceux qui sont regroupés. Cet article présente une analyse exhaustive des caractéristiques démographiques et de la distribution territoriale des sujets des permis de regroupement familiale accordés entre 2004 et 2006 à la province de Barcelone.Family reunification is one of the subjects that arouse more interest while studying international migrations. On the first place, because the migration flows generated by family reunification are becoming even more important outpacing the traditional ones. On the second place, because of the generated demographic change as a consequence of family reunification, at the same time that generates new specific demands and needs. The interest for this phenomenon in Spain is nevertheless contrasted to the absence of specific databases of the sociodemographic characteristics of the reunified members. This article presents, for the fist time, an exhaustive demographic and territorial analysis of the family reunification residence permissions issued at the Barcelona province between 2004 and 2006

An optimization of the work disruption by 3D cavity mapping using GPR: A new sewerage Project in Torrente (Valencia, Spain)

[EN] This paper describes the inspection for cavity detection in an urban area in Torrente (Valencia, Spain). A shallow cave was found during the excavation work for a new sewerage project. Digging activities were stopped immediately and a GPR survey (400 MHZ antenna) was required to reorganise the sewerage planning. The 3D GPR-mapping pinpointed most of the detected cavities on one side of the street. As a result, the sewerage system layout was moved to the side of the street where less evidence of cavities was detected. Therefore, GPR technique is a helpful tool for minimizing costs, time, work safety risks and inconveniences to people living in the neighbourhood during civl engineering works, especially in urbanised areas.Garcia-Garcia, F.; Valls-Ayuso, A.; Benlloch Marco, J.; Valcuende Payá, MO. (2017). An optimization of the work disruption by 3D cavity mapping using GPR: A new sewerage Project in Torrente (Valencia, Spain). Construction and Building Materials. 154:1226-1233. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.06.116S1226123315

Resistance to and Transformations of Gender-Based Violence in Spanish Universities: A Communicative Evaluation of Social Impact

Researchers in many fields, especially those engaged in the study of gender-based violence, have shown an interest in using mixed designs as innovative methodological procedures to transform social realities. In this article, we introduce the ''communicative evaluation of social impact'' as a methodological tool to reveal the social impact achieved by a multiphase mixed methods design conducted sequentially on gender-based violence in Spanish universities. This tool shows the transformative power of mixed methods with a communicative orientation to generate new legislation, create proper conditions for reporting abuse, and establish new solidarity dynamics with and among the victims to promote violence-free universities

Analysis of slab-column connections in CFT sections without continuity of the tube

The conference is intended to provide a forum to discuss the recent progress and advances in the research, design and practice of steel-concrete composite as well as hybrid structures. The general topics are focussed on different subjects such as beams, slabs, columns, connections, applications, case studies and new materials, earthquake, fatigue and dynamic response, design and standard developments,fire resistance, impact, blast and robustness. In addition, twelve keynote speakers will give their vision on the recent progress and advances in the research, design and practice of steel-concrete composite as well as hybrid structures. This book contains the proceedings of the conference where more than 209 abstracts were received. All papers were internationally peer-reviewed and eventually 123 papers from 24 countries were accepted for publication. Selected papers will be published ona special issue of Structures, a joint international journal launched by the Institution of Structural Engineers and Elsevier.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

SIG para la gestión eficiente de la información urbanística local

La dificultad de hacer el seguimiento del grado de cumplimiento del planeamiento urbanístico con la realidad construida y cambiante en la ciudad, demanda el uso de herramientas de Sistemas de Información Geográfica (SIG) en la gestión local para desarrollar y mantener un conocimiento preciso de las características físicas, urbanas y económicas del parque inmobiliario, así como de las determinaciones de planeamiento que afectan a los valores de su potencial edificable y urbano. En este trabajo se propone implementar un nuevo proceso innovador para el estudio y la gestión de la ciudad con SIG, dónde se establecen las pautas para obtener el potencial urbanístico de un ámbito, un barrio o una ciudad, a partir de la comparación de la realidad existente con el planeamiento urbanístico, detectando de manera automática tanto las parcelas que no agotan su potencial como las que están sobreedificadas. Para ello se ha realizado un estudio piloto en el núcleo antiguo del barrio de Sant Andreu de Barcelona, el cual está en un proceso de modificación del planeamiento general vigente, afrontando el reto de desarrollar nuevas herramientas que permitan emular las consecuencias de las modificaciones y acometer una gestión eficiente de la información urbanística local.Peer Reviewe