Cross-cutting Perspective Freshwater

One singularity of northwestern Europe (NWE) is that severe droughts are rare events in the region and water scarcity has hardly been experienced in its history. The DROP pilot sites are not exceptions to this context. Although the lack of a drought history in wet areas can explain why drought and water scarcity are not necessarily the focus of (if ever considered in) river basin management plans, it must be noted that freshwater availability for drinking water provision remains a priority stake in both quantitative and qualitative aspects. Providing a reliable and safe supply of drinking water may thus be a leading entryway to the development of drought risk awareness and drought adaptation measures in a river basin. When such essential resource is threatened and the competition for water among users increases, there is a good chance that reflections and changes will be triggered. Water use conflicts and drinking water supply threats may arise due to increased water demand, but also due to decreased water availability. The later may occur because of natural climate variability, i.e., drier years than average, or as the result of the impact of climate change on local water resources. Climate change awareness is then an important asset to manage water availability. Where climate change awareness is low and adaptation measures are basically inexistent, social and political responses to drought adaptation may be slow and inefficient. However, even in those cases where climate change awareness is still low in general society, water authorities and other stakeholders are conscious that water demand tends to intensify with population and economic growth, rendering water scarcity conceivable and even foreseeable. Freshwater availability for drinking water supply is therefore an issue that can motivate the introduction of drought and water scarcity risks into the political and public agenda , even in “ drought-scarce ” regions. This chapter highlights the links between drought governance and the vulnerability of freshwater for drinking water supply, with a focus on drought adaptation. The main issues presented here are illustrated with how freshwater issues are managed in the DROP project cases with a particular focus on the two “ freshwater reservoir ” pilot sites: the Arzal dam in Brittany France (see Chap. 6 ) and the Eifel-Rur in Germany (see Chap. 4 ). Those two cases deal with reservoir management not only for drinking water supply (Fig. 11.1 ) but also for other uses, with various priority sets

Membranas híbridas de polieterimida-sílice. Caracterización por espectroscopia de IR y MEB.

Se prepararon membranas híbridas de polieterimida-sílice por incorporación de nanopartículas de sílice a la solución polimérica y a través de la generación del relleno inorgánico empleando la técnica sol-gel. Las membranas híbridas obtenidas fueron caracterizadas por FTIR, MEB y MEB-EDS. Los estudios de FTIR permitieron realizar un seguimiento del grado de hidrólisis del alcóxido metálico precursor (TEOS) y analizar la interacción existente entre la sílice generada y el polímero. Las imágenes de MEB reflejaron la evolución de la morfología de las membranas frente a modificaciones producidas durante la síntesis tales como la incorporación de un agente de acoplamiento, la polimerización de TEOS in situ, el incremento del contenido de sílice y el efecto de la redisolución de las membranas sintetizadas. El análisis químico elemental de las membranas híbridas usando EDS, permitió corroborar la presencia de partículas de sílice en las membranas, a través de la observación de la intensidad del pico correspondiente al silicio

Properties of polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membranes modified with polyethylene glycols

Polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membranes have been prepared using polyethylene glycols (PEGs) of 400, 1000, and 10,000 gmol, as additive with dimethylacetamide as solvent. Infrared analysis proves that PEG leaves almost completely the surface of the membranes after 24 h of water immersion. Scanning electron microscopy, contact angle, and liquid-liquid displacement porometry have been used to characterize the membrane morphology, surface hydrophilicity and porous structure. The relative flux reduction factor, flux, retention - of PEG (20,000 and 35,000 g/mol) and bovine serum albumin (67,000 g/mol) - and pure water permeability have been measured for the membranes. Results show that the addition of PEG increases slightly hydrophilicity and decreases pore size and narrows the corresponding pore size distribution while thickening the skin layer, in spite of the fast disappearance of the added PEG form the membrane surface. The resulting flux and pure water permeability are higher when middle size PEGs are added but decrease again when very high molecular weight (MW) PEGs are added. Retention decreases initially for increasing MWs of PEG although for very long PEG chains (MW of 10,000 g/mol) retention increases again. After filtration, the membranes with PEG added showed a lower relative flux reduction that decreases for increasing MW of the added PEGs.Fil: Méndez, Mercedes Liliana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones para la Industria Química; ArgentinaFil: Romero, Analía Irma. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones para la Industria Química; ArgentinaFil: Rajal, Verónica Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones para la Industria Química; ArgentinaFil: Castro Vidaurre, Elza Fani. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones para la Industria Química; ArgentinaFil: Calvo, José I.. Universidad de Valladolid. Facultad de Ciencias; EspañaFil: Palacio, Laura. Universidad de Valladolid. Facultad de Ciencias; EspañaFil: Hernandez, Antonio. Universidad de Valladolid. Facultad de Ciencias; Españ

Instabilities of infinite matter with effective Skyrme-type interactions

The stability of the equation of state predicted by Skyrme-type interactions is examined. We consider simultaneously symmetric nuclear matter and pure neutron matter. The stability is defined by the inequalities that the Landau parameters must satisfy simultaneously. A systematic study is carried out to define interaction parameter domains where the inequalities are fulfilled. It is found that there is always a critical density $\rho_{cr}$ beyond which the system becomes unstable. The results indicate in which parameter regions one can find effective forces to describe correctly finite nuclei and give at the same time a stable equation of state up to densities of 3-4 times the saturation density of symmetric nuclear matter.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.

Equation of state and magnetic susceptibility of spin polarized isospin asymmetric nuclear matter

Properties of spin polarized isospin asymmetric nuclear matter are studied within the framework of the Brueckner--Hartree--Fock formalism. The single-particle potentials of neutrons and protons with spin up and down are determined for several values of the neutron and proton spin polarizations and the asymmetry parameter. It is found an almost linear and symmetric variation of the single-particle potentials as increasing these parameters. An analytic parametrization of the total energy per particle as a function of the asymmetry and spin polarizations is constructed. This parametrization is employed to compute the magnetic susceptibility of nuclear matter for several values of the asymmetry from neutron to symmetric matter. The results show no indication of a ferromagnetic transition at any density for any asymmetry of nuclear matter.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables (submitted to Phys. Rev. C

Weak decay of uniformly accelerated protons and related processes

We investigate the weak interaction emission of spin-1/2 fermions from accelerated currents. As particular applications, we analyze the decay of uniformly accelerated protons and neutrons, and the neutrino-antineutrino emission from uniformly accelerated electrons. The possible relevance of our results to astrophysics is also discussed.Comment: 16 pages (REVTEX), 6 figures, to appear in Physical Review

Hydrolytic and enzymatic degradation of a poly(å-caprolactone) network

“NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Polymer Degradation and Stability. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Polymer Degradation and Stability, [Volume 97, Issue 8, August 2012, Pages 1241–1248] DOI 10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2012.05.038Long-term hydrolytic and enzymatic degradation profiles of poly(å-caprolactone) (PCL) networks were obtained. The hydrolytic degradation studies were performed in water and phosphate buffer solution (PBS) for 65 weeks. In this case, the degradation rate of PCL networks was faster than previous results in the literature on linear PCL, reaching a weight loss of around 20% in 60 weeks after immersing the samples either in water or in PBS conditions. The enzymatic degradation rate in Pseudomonas Lipase for 14 weeks was also studied, with the conclusion that the degradation profile of PCL networks is lower than for linear PCL, also reaching a 20% weight loss. The weight lost, degree of swelling, and calorimetric and mechanical properties were obtained as a function of degradation time. Furthermore, the morphological changes in the samples were studied carefully through electron microscopy and crystal size through X-ray diffraction. The changes in some properties over the degradation period such as crystallinity, crystal size and Young¿s modulus were smaller in the case of enzymatic studies, highlighting differences in the degradation mechanism in the two studies, hydrolytic and enzymatic.The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education through the DPI2010-20399-004-03 project. JM Meseguer-Duenas and A Vidaurre also would like to acknowledge the support of the CIBER-BBN, an initiative funded by the VI National R&D&i Plan 2008-2011, Iniciativa Ingenio 2010, Consolider Program, CIBER Actions and financed by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III with assistance from the European Regional Development Fund. The translation of this paper was funded by the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, SpainCastilla Cortázar, MIC.; Más Estellés, J.; Meseguer Dueñas, JM.; Escobar Ivirico, JL.; Marí Soucase, B.; Vidaurre, A. (2012). Hydrolytic and enzymatic degradation of a poly(å-caprolactone) network. Polymer Degradation and Stability. 97(8):1241-1248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2012.05.038S1241124897

Collective effects in ννˉ\nu \bar{\nu} synchrotron radiation from neutron stars

We have considered collective effects in $\nu \bar{\nu}$ synchrotron radiation from an ultrarelativistic degenerate electron gas in neutron stars with strong magnetic fields. For this problem we apply a calculation method which explicitly makes use of the fact that the radiating electron moves semi-classically, but takes into account the interaction among particles in a quantum way. First we apply this method to calculate $\nu \bar{\nu}$ synchrotron radiation by an ultrarelativistic electron in vacuum and we compare this result with that obtained previously by other techniques. When a degenerate plasma is considered, we show that collective effects lead to an essential enhancement (about three times) of the vector weak-current contribution to neutrino pair emissivity.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figure

Hacia una aplicación efectiva de Metodología Inversa en las asignaturas de Física de primeros cursos de Grado

[ES] En el presente trabajo se presenta la experiencia de la implantación de la docencia inversa en asig-naturas de la materia de física en primeros cursos de las titulaciones de Ingeniería Aeroespacial, Ingeniería Informática e Ingeniería Biomédica. Para obtener la opinión del alumnado se han lle-vado a cabo una serie de encuestas con respuestas abiertas y de opción multiple. Los resultados obtenidos muestran una gran variabilidad de opiniones, incluso dentro del alumnado perteneciente a un mismo grupo. En general los alumnos valoran positivamente el esfuerzo realizado por el pro-fesorado, pero es necesario que los profesores lleven a cabo una serie de medidas para que la implantación de la metodología sea exitosa. Entre ellas, resulta necesario que los contenidos dis-ponibles estén perfectamente estructurados y accesibles, que los contenidos sean interactivos y per-mitan dar información sobre cómo se desarrolla el proceso de aprendizaje, que el nivel de carga de trabajo del alumnado sea sostenible y que el profesorado sea consciente de que la transición en el modelo de aprendizaje requiere de cierta empatía. La implantación de la docencia inversa es por tanto un proceso complejo que requiere una adaptación específica al contexto docente donde se aplica.[EN] En el presente trabajo se presenta la experiencia de la implantación de la docencia inversa en asig-naturas de la materia de física en primeros cursos de las titulaciones de Ingeniería Aeroespacial, Ingeniería Informática e Ingeniería Biomédica. Para obtener la opinión del alumnado se han lle-vado a cabo una serie de encuestas con respuestas abiertas y de opción multiple. Los resultados obtenidos muestran una gran variabilidad de opiniones, incluso dentro del alumnado perteneciente a un mismo grupo. En general los alumnos valoran positivamente el esfuerzo realizado por el pro-fesorado, pero es necesario que los profesores lleven a cabo una serie de medidas para que la implantación de la metodología sea exitosa. Entre ellas, resulta necesario que los contenidos dis-ponibles estén perfectamente estructurados y accesibles, que los contenidos sean interactivos y per-mitan dar información sobre cómo se desarrolla el proceso de aprendizaje, que el nivel de carga de trabajo del alumnado sea sostenible y que el profesorado sea consciente de que la transición en el modelo de aprendizaje requiere de cierta empatía. La implantación de la docencia inversa es por tanto un proceso complejo que requiere una adaptación específica al contexto docente donde se aplica.Gómez Tejedor, JA.; Tort-Ausina, I.; Vidaurre, A.; Meseguer Dueñas, JM.; Molina-Mateo, J.; Riera, J. (2021). Hacia una aplicación efectiva de Metodología Inversa en las asignaturas de Física de primeros cursos de Grado. En IN-RED 2020: VI Congreso de Innovación Educativa y Docencia en Red. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 83-94. https://doi.org/10.4995/INRED2020.2020.11934OCS839

Effect of the use of videos in the pre-class preparation of laboratory sessions taught by flip teaching

[EN] Nowadays, it is well stablished the effectiveness of flip teaching in different areas. Video is widely used as a pre-class learning material and it is progressively replacing text-document materials. The students, 70 in total, are enrolled in the laboratory practice of the subject of Physics (Bachelor¿s Degree: Industrial Electronics and Automation Engineering) at the Universitat Politècnica de València. Student¿s perception data were collected from the results of a survey. Students were asked about the usefulness of the videos and the in-class work, paying special attention to the roll of the instructor in relation to the flip teaching methodology and the pre-class material. The students were divided into two groups. In one of them, the videos were recorded by the same instructor present at the lab session, whereas the other group, the videos used were recorded by instructors different from the instructor present at the lab. The results indicate that students feel that the videos are very useful, rather than the written documents. They attribute a high value to the instructor in the lab session as they feel more confident with their work and they can ask for help when needed. They value positively the possibility of work autonomously. Small differences have been found in the opinion of both groups being the higher in the question that concerns the preference of the videos respect to the text.This work has been supported by the Universitat Politècnica de València through the Project of Innovation and Educational Improvement Program (Projects PIME/2018/B26 and PIME/2018/B25 Convocatoria de Proyectos de Innovación y Convergencia).Meseguer Dueñas, JM.; Quiles Casado, SDLS.; Sabater I Serra, R.; Serrano, M.; Gómez-Tejedor, J.; García-Sánchez, TM.; Tort-Ausina, I.... (2020). Effect of the use of videos in the pre-class preparation of laboratory sessions taught by flip teaching. Iated. 6107-6112. https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2020.1654S6107611