Aplicación del pesaje de vehículos en movimiento al dimensionamiento de firmes. Influencia de la precisión de los pesajes

Weigh-in-motion (WIM) techniques can provide data on vehicle and axle weights when they are travelling at full highway speeds. In this paper, the application of WIM data to the design of road pavements is described and the effect of WIM load data accuracy on the estimate of pavement service life is analysed. Thus, the main factors affecting WIM accuracy are explained, especially those related to vehicle-pavement interaction. Afterwards, a trial that has been conducted to evaluate the effect of WIM load data accuracy on pavement life prediction will be presented. The results obtained show that the errors in axle load measurements can lead to higher errors in pavement life estimates.El pesaje de vehículos en movimiento permite conocer los pesos de los vehículos y sus ejes cuando circulan a su velocidad normal de recorrido. En este artículo se describe su aplicación al dimensionamiento de firmes viarios y se estudia la influencia de la precisión de los datos obtenidos mediante el pesaje dinámico en el cálculo de la vida útil de los firmes. Para ello se describen, primeramente, los principales factores que afectan a la precisión del pesaje en movimiento, en especial, la interacción entre el vehículo y el pavimento. Luego, se presenta un ensayo realizado para comprobar el efecto de la precisión de los pesajes dinámicos en la estimación de la vida útil de los firmes. Los resultados obtenidos indican que los errores de las mediciones de pesos se incrementan notablemente al determinar la vida útil del firme

Designing data warehouses for geographic OLAP querying by using MDA

Data aggregation in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a desirable feature, spatial data are integrated in OLAP engines for this purpose. However, the development and operation of those systems is still a complex task due to methodologies followed. There are some ad hoc solutions that deal only with isolated aspects and do not provide developer and analyst with an intuitive, integrated and standard framework for designing all relevant parts. To overcome these problems, we have defined a model driven approach to accomplish Geographic Data Warehouse (GDW) development. Then, we have defined a data model required to implement and query spatial data. Its modeling is defined and implemented by using an extension of UML metamodel and it is also formalized by using OCL language. In addition, the proposal has been verified against a example scenario with sample data sets. For this purpose, we have accomplished a developing tool based on Eclipse platform and MDA standard. The great advantage of this solution is that developers can directly include spatial data at conceptual level, while decision makers can also conceptually make geographic queries without being aware of logical details.This work has been partially supported by the ESPIA project (TIN2007-67078) from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science and by the QUASIMODO project (PAC08-0157-0668) from the Castilla-La Mancha Ministry of Education and Science (Spain). Octavio Glorio is funded by the University of Alicante under the 11th Latin American grant program

Separation of n-hexane - ethyl acetate mixture by azeotropic batch distillation with heterogeneous entrainers

In this article, a systematic study of the separation of the n-hexane - ethyl acetate mixture with an entrainer by heterogeneous azeotropic batch distillation is performed. Based upon the thermodynamic behaviour of the ternary mixtures, potential entrainers partially miscible with one or two original azeotropic components are chosen. In all cases, the entrainer adds a heterogeneous binary or ternary azeotrope that is the lowest boiling point in the ternary diagram. Therefore, it leaves the column by the overhead stream which is subcooled to get two liquid phases in the decanter. The phase with the highest amount of the original component is removed as distillate product whereas the entrainer – rich phase is continuously refluxed to the column. Considering methanol, acetonitrile, water and nitromethane as heterogeneous entrainers, screening was performed based on the composition of the unstable heteroazeotropic mixture, the ratio of both liquid phases in the condensed top vapour and the purity of the distillate product determined by the liquid – liquid envelope at the decanter temperature. The process feasibility analysis is validated by using rigorous simulation with the batch process simulator ProSimBatch. Simulation results are then corroborated in a bench experimental column for the selected entrainer, showing several advantages of heterogeneous batch distillation compared to homogeneous systems

El sistema granito-mineralización de uranio de El Berrocal como análogo natural de un almacenamiento de residuos radiactivos

This work summarizes the analogical study of the radioactive elements and rare earths are deposits applied to the modelling and validation of the migration/retention processes of the high level radioactive artificial isotopes in a geological environment. The geological, mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of the El Berrocal granite- U mineralization system suggest that this system cannot be considered as a global natural analogue for a radioactive waste repository. However, the low-temperature hydrothermal processes, which affected it, including that one which originated the uraniferous mineralization, as well as the weathering processes, can be considered as geochemical processes analogous to those that could take place in a high level radioactive repository.En este trabajo se resume la aplicación del estudio analógico de los yacimientos de elementos radiactivos a la modelización y validación de los procesos de migración/retención de los radioisótopos artificiales de alta actividad, en un medio geológico. Las características geológicas, mineralógicas y geoquímicas del sistema granito-mineralización de uranio de El Berrocal sugieren que dicho sistema no puede considerarse como un análogo natural global de un almacenamiento de residuos radiactivos. Sin embargo, los procesos hidrotermales de baja temperatura que lo afectaron, incluido el que originó la mineralización uranífera, así como los de alteración supergénica, pueden considerarse como procesos geoquímicos análogos a los que podrían tener lugar en un almacenamiento de residuos radiactivos de alta actividad

Towards automatic generation of UML profile graphical editors for papyrus

We present an approach for defining the abstract and concrete syntax of UML profiles and their equivalent Papyrus graphical editors using annotated Ecore metamodels, driven by automated model-to-model and model-to-text transformations. We compare our approach against manual UML profile specification and implementation using Archimate, a non-trivial enterprise modelling language, and we demonstrate the substantial productivity and maintainability benefits it delivers

SM4MQ: a semantic model for multidimensional queries

On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) is a data analysis approach to support decision-making. On top of that, Exploratory OLAP is a novel initiative for the convergence of OLAP and the Semantic Web (SW) that enables the use of OLAP techniques on SW data. Moreover, OLAP approaches exploit different metadata artifacts (e.g., queries) to assist users with the analysis. However, modeling and sharing of most of these artifacts are typically overlooked. Thus, in this paper we focus on the query metadata artifact in the Exploratory OLAP context and propose an RDF-based vocabulary for its representation, sharing, and reuse on the SW. As OLAP is based on the underlying multidimensional (MD) data model we denote such queries as MD queries and define SM4MQ: A Semantic Model for Multidimensional Queries. Furthermore, we propose a method to automate the exploitation of queries by means of SPARQL. We apply the method to a use case of transforming queries from SM4MQ to a vector representation. For the use case, we developed the prototype and performed an evaluation that shows how our approach can significantly ease and support user assistance such as query recommendation.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

El proyecto de El Berrocal: síntesis preliminar

El Berrocal is an international research project on the natural radionuclide migration in a fissured granitic environment. This project is being carried out in the El Berrocal zone, north of the village of Nombela (Toledo). The gelogical formation studied is a granitic pluton with an epithermal vein-type mineralization comprising quartz, sphalerite, pyrite and chalcopyrite; and pitchblende, pyrite, carbonates and barite. The activities of the project are focused on the structural, lithological, geochemical, hydrochemical and hydrogeological aspects of the granite-U mineralization system, in order to establish a migration model of the natural radionuclides of the environment. The concurrence of the tectonic, hydrothermal and supergenic processes has originated several U remobilizations during the deuteric, hydrothermal and supergenic alteration phases, which affected the system. These phases are responsible of the mineralogical species and present distribution of this element within the system. The Th remobilization is much more limited, due to its different geochemical behavior. The present water-rock interaction processes account for the different types of water existing in the system, which are sulphatic, in the shallowest zones, and calcium bicarbonated in the deepest. The U contents in these waters vary from 1 to 100 ppb. The hydrogeology of the zone is controlled, at a local scale, by the topography and the fracture network, and the mineralized quartz dyke plays a major role on the groundwater flow. The isotopic analyses of the U and Th series in the infill materials seem to indicate recent sorption-desorption U processes and coprecipitation with carbonates.«El Berrocal», es un proyecto internacional de investigación sobre la migración de radionucleidos naturales en un medio granítico fisurado. Este proyecto se está desarrollando en la zona de El Berrocal, situada al norte de Nombela (Toledo), en un plutón granítico con una mineralización filoniana epitermal de uranio. El objetivo del proyecto es conocer los aspectos estructurales, litológicos, geoquímicos, hidroquímicos e hidrogeológicos del sistema granito-mineralización de U, a fin de establecer un modelo de migración de los radionucleidos naturales del medio. La convergencia de procesos tectónicos, hidrotermales y supergénicos ha dado lugar a sucesivas removilizaciones del uranio durante las fases deutérica, hidrotermal y supergénica, que afectaron al sistema. Estas fases son las responsables de la mineralogía y distribución actual de dicho elemento en el sistema. La removilización del torio es mucho más restringida debido a su diferente comportamiento geoquímico. Los procesos actuales de interacción agua-roca están condicionando los tipos de aguas existentes en el sistema que son: sulfatadas, en las zonas más superficiales y bicarbonatadas cálcicas, en las más profundas. Los contenidos en uranio en estas aguas están comprendidos entre 1 y 100 ppb. La hidrogeología de la zona está controlada, a nivel local, por la topografía y la red de fracturación, siendo el dique de cuarzo mineralizado un accidente con repercusión importante en la circulación de las aguas subterráneas. El análisis isotópico de las series del uranio y del torio en rellenos fisurales parece indicar procesos recientes de sorción-desorción de uranio y coprecipitación con carbonatos

Comparing the Clinical and Histological Diagnosis of Leprosy and Leprosy Reactions in the INFIR Cohort of Indian Patients with Multibacillary Leprosy

Leprosy affects skin and peripheral nerves. Although we have antibiotics to treat the mycobacterial infection, the accompanying inflammation is a major part of the disease process. This can worsen after starting antibacterial treatment with episodes of immune mediated inflammation, so called reactions. These are associated with worsening of nerve damage. However, diagnosing these reactions is not straightforward. They can be diagnosed clinically by examination or by microscopic examination of the skin biopsies. We studied a cohort of 303 newly diagnosed leprosy patients in India and compared the diagnosis rates by clinical examination and microscopy and found that the microscopic diagnosis has higher rates of diagnosis for both types of reaction. This suggests that clinicians and pathologists have different thresholds for diagnosing reactions. More work is needed to optimise both clinical and pathological diagnosis. In this cohort 43% of patients had Borderline Tuberculoid leprosy, an immunologically active type, and 20% of the biopsies showed only minimal inflammation, perhaps these patients had very early disease or self-healing. The public health implication of this work is that leprosy centres need to be supported by pathologists to help with the clinical management of difficult cases

Visual Modelling of Data Warehousing Flows with UML

Data warehousing involves complex processes that transform source data through several stages to deliver suitable information ready to be analysed. Though many techniques for visual modelling of data warehouses from the static point of view have been devised, only few attempts have been made to model the data flows involved in a data warehousing process. Besides, each attempt was mainly aimed at a specific application, such as ETL, OLAP, what-if analysis, data mining. Data flows are typically very complex in this domain; for this reason, we argue, designers would greatly benefit from a technique for uniformly modelling data warehousing flows for all applications. In this paper, we propose an integrated visual modelling technique for data cubes and data flows. This technique is based on UML profiling; its feasibility is evaluated by means of a prototype implementation