The effects of bicarbonate and mineral surfaces on uranium immobilization under anaerobic conditions

For four decades, from 1940 through 1980, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) extensively mined and processed uranium at various sites. As a result, widespread uranium contamination exists in subsurface sediments and aquifers. In subsurface environments, uranium primarily exists as U(VI) or U(IV), oxidized and reduced species, respectively. U(VI) is highly soluble and toxic, U(IV), while relatively toxic, is insoluble which greatly reduces its exposure pathways. We seek to examine the role of ferric iron on U(VI) reduction by adsorbing U(VI) onto ferric and non-ferric mineral surfaces in the presence of a reductant. Further, we seek to understand the role that NaHCO3, a natural groundwater buffer, has in the reductive geochemical transformations of U(VI) adsorbed on ferric and non-ferric mineral surfaces. Bench top studies were performed using 100 uM U(VI) and the reductant AHQDS, in the presence and absence of Fe-Gel (amorphous ferric oxyhydroxide) and gamma-Al2O3. In the presence of a HEPES buffer at pH 8, results demonstrate direct homogeneous reduction in several hours in the absence of Fe-Gel or gamma-Al2O3, and reduction within a 48-hour period in the presence Fe-Gel or gamma-Al2O3. While adsorbed to both ferric and non-ferric mineral surfaces, U(VI) reduction is inhibited. U(VI) reduction in the presence of NaHCO3 buffer also inhibits U(VI) reduction

The duration of the outdoor rearing period of pigs influences Iberian ham characteristics

peer-reviewedThe effect of outdoor rearing duration (75 v 50 days) and rearing system (outdoor v indoor based systems) of Iberian pigs on the chemical composition (fatty acid composition of fat and intramuscular fat, moisture, salt, pigment concentrations and water activity of lean meat), the instrumental colour (CIEL*a*b* system) and the sensory characteristics (descriptive analysis) of dry-cured hams were investigated. The fatty acid composition of subcutaneous fat was weakly affected by outdoor rearing duration, but greatly affected by rearing system with the indoor hams showing larger proportion of saturated fatty acids than outdoor rearing. Rearing system also affected L* of subcut aneous fat (the indoor hams were lighter than the outdoor ones). The instrumental colour of lean was only affected by outdoor rearing duration (scores for a* and its derived variables were larger in the long-outdoor group than in the short-outdoor one). The effect of outdoor rearing duration on the sensory characteristics of Iberian hams was marked, 13 sensory characteristics being affected. Among them, odour intensity, flavour intensity, and flavour persistence were greater in the long-outdoor hams than in the short-outdoor ones, whereas these characteristics were not affected by rearing system. However, rearing system also had a large effect influencing 12 sensory characteristics

Improvement of dry-cured Iberian ham sensory characteristics through the use of a concentrate high in oleic acid for pig feeding

peer-reviewedThe aim of this study was to investigate the sensory characteristics of dry-cured hams from confined Iberian pigs fed on a high oleic (HO) concentrate (HO-Pienso hams), and to study how different the characteristics of these hams are from those of Iberian hams from the best grade (Montanera hams, from extensively reared pigs). Nearly half of the fatty acids studied were similar in HO-Pienso and Montanera hams. No differences were found for 18:1, but some major fatty acids of subcutaneous fat of Iberian hams were different between the HO-Pienso and the Montanera hams (C16:0, C18:0, C18:2). The descriptive test revealed that 15 of the 23 sensory characteristics were not significantly different between both groups of hams. No sensory differences appeared for fat appearance or lean texture characteristics, but lean appearance, oiliness, saltiness and the most intensively perceived characteristics of odour and flavour were significantly different. These differences in the sensory traits between Montanera and Pienso hams were not as marked as found in previous studies. Therefore, the use of a concentrate high in oleic acid enables simulation, at least in part, of the sensory characteristics, especially texture.Ángela Jurado thanks the Junta de Extremadura for its support

Fragmentation of spherical radioactive heavy nuclei as a novel probe of transient effects in fission

Peripheral collisions with radioactive heavy-ion beams at relativistic energies are discussed as an innovative approach for probing the transient regime experienced by fissile systems evolving towards quasi-equilibrium. A dedicated experiment using the advanced technical installations of GSI, Darmstadt, permitted to realize ideal conditions for the investigation of relaxation effects in the meta-stable well. Combined with a highly sensitive experimental signature, it provides a measure of the transient effects with respect to the flux over the fission barrier. Within a two-step reaction process, 45 proton-rich unstable spherical isotopes produced by projectile-fragmentation of a stable 238U beam have been used as secondary projectiles. The fragmentation of the radioactive projectiles on lead results in nearly spherical compound nuclei which span a wide range in excitation energy and fissility. The decay of these excited systems by fission is studied with a dedicated set-up which permits the detection of both fission products in coincidence and the determination of their atomic numbers with high resolution. The width of the fission-fragment nuclear charge distribution is shown to be specifically sensitive to pre-saddle transient effects and is used to establish a clock for the passage of the saddle point. The comparison of the experimental results with model calculations points to a fission delay of (3.3+/-0.7).10-21s for initially spherical compound nuclei, independent of excitation energy and fissility. This value suggests a nuclear dissipation strength at small deformation of (4.5+/-0.5).1021s-1. The very specific combination of the physics and technical equipment exploited in this work sheds light on previous controversial conclusions.Comment: 38 pages, 15 figure

Wind loads analysis at the anchorages of the Talavera de la Reina cable stayed bridge

This paper describes wind tunnel tests performed on wind tunnel models of the Talavera de la Reina cable stayed bridge. The work describes the aeroelastic model construction and it is focused on the evaluation and analysis of the mean and peak wind loads at the tower foundation and the cable anchorages since these data can be very useful by the bridge manufacturer as a support for the bridge design. The work is part of a complete wind tunnel study carried out to analyze the aeroelastic stability of the bridge

Inventory Games

AMS classifications: 90D12, 90B05.inventory management;information;cooperative games;proportional division

Thermodynamics of nuclei in thermal contact

The behaviour of a di-nuclear system in the regime of strong pairing correlations is studied with the methods of statistical mechanics. It is shown that the thermal averaging is strong enough to assure the application of thermodynamical methods to the energy exchange between the two nuclei in contact. In particular, thermal averaging justifies the definition of a nuclear temperature.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figur

Research activities carried out by IEO in the Canary Islands during intersession

Regarding the research activities carried out by Oceanographic Centre of the Canary Islands (IEO-CSIC) during intersession, several studies on different topics were presented. Firstly, reproductive traits for the four main species have been analysed including all the data obtained since the monitoring system was launched in 2013. Although with some variations, the spawning season matched with winter and beginning spring for S. colias, T. picturatus and S. pilchardus. However, spawning individuals of S. aurita are present all year round. Sizes at first maturity (SFM) were also estimated, with slightly smaller sizes obtained for S. colias and T. picturatus (around 19 cm of total length) compared with the reference values (20 cm and 23 cm, respectively) (Jurado-Ruzafa and Santamaría, 2013; Lorenzo and Pajuelo, 1996). It seems that SFM remains stable for S. pilchardus (15 cm) (Méndez-Villamil et al., 1997). In the case of S. aurita, size at first maturity has been estimated for the first time in the Canary Islands, and has been recently published (Jurado-Ruzafa et al., 2022). Secondly, a first attempt to describe total catches of the Canary artisanal purse-seine fleet based on scientific observation shows that discards are more relevant than what was supposed, reaching the 25 percent of the total catches. The situation is even more concerning if only S. colias is considered, with discards around 40 percent of the total catches, mainly impacting on juveniles’ fraction, which is usually used as bait by commercial vessels but that are not officially reported. Finally, very preliminary results were shown to the working group about the potential adaptive plasticity in Scomber colias from the Canary Islands, based on otolith shape analyses. These results were obtained from analysing 748 otoliths extracted from August 2016 to December 2017. A DIvisive ANAlysis (DIANA) Clustering method using the fourth wavelet obtained from otolith contours resulted in the detection of five different morphotypes (or otolith phenotypes), with two of them representing 85 percent of the samples analysed, and whose individuals were slightly larger than for the other morphotypes. Further questions should be explored, addressing possible intraspecific variation in the growth rate among phenotypes; phenotypes proportions change in relation to seasonal variations; existence of different ecological strategies related to each phenotype and the presence of these otolith phenotypes in other geographical areas, as it has been described for T. picturatus (Tuset et al., 2019; Vasconcelos et al., 2021). References Jurado-Ruzafa, A. and M.T.G. Santamaría. 2013. Reproductive biology of the blue jack mackerel, Trachurus picturatus (Bowdich, 1825), off the Canary Islands. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 29(3): 526–531. Jurado-Ruzafa, A., B. Sotillo de Olano, Z. Santana Arocha, B. G. Mañé, C. Estil-las, E. Hernández, S. Jiménez, G. González-Lorenzo and C. Perales-Raya. 2022. Reproductive traits of the round sardinella in the Canary Islands (Spain, NW Africa). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK, (early view) 1-7. Lorenzo, J. M. and J.G. Pajuelo. 1996. Growth and reproductive biology of chub mackerel Scomber japonicus off the Canary Islands. South African Journal of Marine Science, 17(1): 275-280. Méndez-Villamil, M., J.M. Lorenzo, J.M. González and R. Soto. 1997. Periodo reproductor y madurez sexual de la sardina Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum, 1792) en aguas de Gran Canaria (Islas Canarias). Boletín del Instituto Español de Oceanografía, 13(1-2): 47-55. Tuset, V.M., A. Jurado-Ruzafa, J.L. Otero-Ferrer and M.T.G. Santamaría. 2019. Otolith phenotypic variability of the blue jack mackerel, Trachurus picturatus, from the Canary Islands (NE Atlantic): Implications in its population dynamic. Fisheries Research, 218: 48-58. Vasconcelos, J., A. Jurado-Ruzafa, J.L. Otero-Ferrer, A. Lombarte, R. Riera and V.M. Tuset. 2021. Thinking of Fish Population Discrimination: Population Average Phenotype vs. Population Phenotypes. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8(1489)

Irrigation Water Value Scenarios for 2015: Application to Guadalquivir River

This paper reviews the application of a scenario for the 2015 agricultural policy and markets for the irrigated agriculture in Europe. Scenarios for irrigated agriculture 2015 are also described in detail including Reformed CAP and biomass demand. It is applied at the basin level for the Guadalquivir River in southern Spain. The methodology is based upon residual value of water and it combines budget and farm analysis at municipality level, with the Guadalquivir basin divided at 50 ‘comarcas’; in each of them 24 possible crops are selected with specific ‘comarca’ data bases. The 2015 scenario studies the present level of water use and value, and makes an analysis for 2015.This model allows the knowledge of water value and irrigated agriculture at ‘comarca’ level and ‘aggregated basin level’.Water pricing, Irrigated agriculture, Value of water, Scenario analysis, Agricultural and Food Policy, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

The economic value of guaranteed water supply for irrigation under scarcity conditions

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,