Risk analysis of LPG tanks at the wildland-urban interface

In areas of wildland-urban interface (WUI), especially residential developments, it is very common to see liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanks, particularly with a higher ratio of propane, in surface installations serving homes. The most common tanks are between 1 and 5 m3 of capacity, but smaller ones of less than 1 m3 are more frequent. In case of accident, installations may be subject to fires and explosions, especially in those circumstances where legal and normative requirements allow very close exposure to flames from vegetable fuel near LPG tanks. In this project, it is intended to do a comprehensive diagnosis of the problem, addressing the compilation of information on real risk scenarios in historical fires. First, a preliminary presentation of the properties and characteristics of liquefied petroleum gas will be exposed. Its physical and chemical properties, production methodology, pressure and temperature diagrams and important considerations will be defined when using this type of substances in a storage tank of a certain volume. Next, a review of the situation of the existence of LPG tanks in the urban forest interfaces will be exposed. In this case, the main accidents caused by problems with the storage of LPG will be analyzed taking into account the relevance of BLEVE events in this type of incidents. To do this, the main scenarios that could take place in the event of a fire will be presented. Next, the existing legislation on the storage of LPG in these environments in some Mediterranean countries will be studied. In order to develop a comprehensive analysis, the main safety measures and distances will be considered, as well as the awareness of the possibility of vegetation material in the vicinity of LPG storage tanks, which is the main problem that will arise in a possible BLEVE scenario in case of fire. To finalize and facilitate understanding, a comparative table will be included with the aim of visualizing the main advantages and legislative deficiencies between the different countries. Following, the state of the art in terms of modelling LPG accidents at the WUI will be reviewed. Trying to simulate and predict this type of scenarios, it will see the models normally chosen to obtain the tolerable values selected and the answers obtained in each case. Finally, several fire scenarios will be simulated by means of a CFD tool (FDS, Fire Dynamics Simulator). In these simulations, the wind velocity and the distance of the combustible vegetal mass to the tank will be controlled in a WUI fire in which there is a tank of fixed dimensions. The temperature and the heat flow in each of the scenarios will be obtained, and the differences among the location of the sensors and the characteristics of the scenario will be analyzed. As a conclusion, it has been observed that there is a great amount of variables that are not contemplated by the regulatory organisms and that the existing legislation does not guarantee the safety of the population in this type of environment. From the simulations results, variables as temperature should be studied for further characterizations

El uso de la música en el tratamiento del Trastorno Específico del Lenguaje

La Música y el Lenguaje presentan varias características en común pero, sobre todo, resalta la capacidad para producir diferentes tipos de efectos en el oyente, aspecto fundamental cuando las personas se quieren comunicar. Dadas sus similitudes, sería comprensible el uso de ellas como una manera de adquirir y desarrollar el aprendizaje de la otra. El siguiente trabajo se centra en esta idea y tiene como objeto responder a los déficits en el Trastorno Específico del Lenguaje utilizando la música como recurso para tratar este problema. Esta alteración afecta en una alta frecuencia a los niños en proceso de adquisición y desarrollo del lenguaje provocando diversas dificultades lingüísticas. Por lo tanto, la música será un buen recurso dentro de la terapia realizada para solventar estas carencias debido a su carácter lúdico.Grado en Logopedi

Feminine identity as the site of struggle: the confrontation of different models of femininity in contemporary Spanish cinema directed by women (1990-2005)

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyThe last two decades have witnessed an unprecedented incorporation of women within the Spanish film industry. This is part of a general increase in newcomers since the beginning of the 1990s, when the industry was undergoing a deep restructuring. The media has celebrated this incorporation of women filmmakers, recurrently referring to their different sensibility, a feminine perspective noticeable in their films. Despite the socio-cultural interest of this incorporation, no thorough study of their work has been completed. This research project surveys the extent and scope of these women's incorporation within the industry, and explores the varied ways that their films engage with the main discursive trends that define femininity in Spanish cinema and mass media. Femininity is broadly understood here as the socio-cultural interpretations of what constitutes 'correct womanhood', but, also, discursively: as the space of struggle wherein individual (fictional) women engage with these constructions, by contesting and / or adopting some of their elements. Further attention is given to the ways that these new filmmakers's films engage with traditional and modern formulations of femininity, as articulated in implicit relation to, respectively, Francoism and postfeminism. In the core chapters, several detailed analyses are given of especially relevant films by these women, using a critical discourse analysis approach. These chapters address topics that are foregrounded in these women’s films and that have been central to feminine experience, namely: the family and motherhood, romanticism and sexuality, and the ‘Other’. From the study it emerges that these women’s films adopt a different perspective if only because they often render visible discriminatory behaviours (e.g. discrimination at work) and representational practices (e.g. the sexual objectification of women). Regarding their treatment of the aforementioned ‘feminine themes’ (i.e. family and romanticism), these filmmakers self-consciously engage with the conventions that have constructed femininity in the media

La Universidad española: preocupaciones, retos y desafíos actuales

Es opinión de consenso, por su evidencia lógica, que la universidad española debe rendir cuentas a la sociedad, especialmente si la institución se financia con fondos públicos como ocurre con la universidad pública. Lo cierto es que el sistema universitario español ha ido evolucionando y adaptándose a los nuevos tiempos en un entorno constantemente sometido a cambios normativos y/o legislativos (leyes orgánicas universitarias, decretos, órdenes,…). En la actualidad la pertenencia al Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior marca la evolución a seguir, en un contexto de globalización que propicia una mayor competitividad entre las distintas instituciones de educación superior. Se trata de ser mejores, calidad en docencia e investigación, con los recursos disponibles, de alcanzar ese término tan deseado como es la excelencia, aunque pueda no tenerse siempre claro cómo medirla. Algunas preocupaciones y desafíos laten como el acceso, selección y promoción del profesorado, la financiación,… Surgen nuevos retos que afrontar como la internacionalización en sentido amplio mientras se genera controversia respecto a la duración de los estudios universitarios. De estas cuestiones tratamos en este trabajo con la finalidad de contribuir a la reflexión, siempre necesaria

La econometría aplicada al servicio de la predicción: Valoración del crecimiento económico regional

El interés por la predicción en economía, fundamentada en diversas técnicas y modelos, además de recogerse en numerosas publicaciones al respecto, ha tenido su reconocimiento académico, siendo galardonados con el Premio Nobel de Economía diversos autores por sus contribuciones y trabajos relativos a la conexión entre modelos teóricos y modelos empíricos y al desarrollo de la modelización aplicada a la economía. La creciente necesidad sobre análisis cuantitativos referidos a la situación económica de cada país o región ha propiciado el desarrollo de modelos econométricos, construidos con propósitos de previsión y de simulación de política económica. En la actualidad, los avances en el campo de las tecnologías de la información, la mayor y mejor accesibilidad a fuentes de información, el procesamiento de los datos y el desarrollo de programas informáticos específicos han posibilitado un progreso notable de las técnicas y modelos aplicados a la predicción económica. Nos referiremos, en particular, al caso de las predicciones de crecimiento económico regional en Españ

De la Econometría a la Economía social de Mercado: El legado de Emilio Fontela

La obra de Emilio Fontela, posiblemente el “economista español más conocido en el extranjero”, es muy extensa y amplia en la variedad de temas estudiados y analizados y de enfoques empleados en el ámbito de la Economía Aplicada. Entre sus más de 250 libros y artículos, referidos a cuestiones tan diversas como el desarrollo sostenible y la globalización, las posibilidades de la nanotecnología, nueva economía, fuentes de energía…, sus principales contribuciones científicas se han desarrollado en la investigación en el campo de la modelización econométrica y el análisis input-ouput y sistemas de contabilidad nacional. En estas materias el profesor Fontela desarrolló una ingente labor teórica y aplicada, contribuyendo al avance y perfeccionamiento de la investigación cuantitativa en economía, y colaboró estrechamente con economistas de la talla de los premios Nobel Wassily Leontief y Richard Stone, no al alcance de cualquier persona. Predicción y prospectiva fueron también dos ámbitos en los que el profesor Fontela presentaba un auténtico dominio. Precisamente este es un elemento diferenciador de la figura del profesor Fontela, siempre interesado por el futuro, algo que contrasta con el tópico del economista más orientado a explicar el pasado como justificación del presente que a explorar el futur

Legislative Coalition Size and Antigovernment Protests in Latin America

This work examines whether the size, as well as the composition, of legislative coalitions is an additional factor that affects the incidence of protests against national governments in Latin America. Based on aggregate data for 18 democracies from 1980 to 2014, the analysis reveals that the relationship between the size of legislative coalitions in the lower house of national assemblies and the odds of antigovernment protests is U-shaped. Specifically, the odds of antigovernment protests occurring decrease until the president has a coalition comprising 50–55 percent of the national assembly; once this threshold is passed, the odds of protests taking place increase as the coalition grows. This result holds after controlling for the party composition of the governing coalition and other factors previously linked to the occurrence of antigovernment protests. The evidence thus indicates that both minority and supermajority scenarios can be socially destabilizing for Latin American democracies.Este trabajo analiza si el tamaño y la composición de las coaliciones legislativas son factores adicionales en la incidencia de protestas en contra de los gobiernos nacionales de América Latina. Con base en datos agregados de 18 democracias de la región para el período 1980-2014, este estudio demuestra que la relación entre el tamaño de la coalición gubernamental en (la cámara baja de) la legislatura nacional y la probabilidad de protestas antigubernamentales tiene una forma de U. Específicamente, la probabilidad de protestas antigubernamentales disminuye hasta que el presidente cuenta con una coalición del tamaño de 50-55 por ciento de la asamblea nacional; después de este punto, la probabilidad de protestas aumenta a medida que crece el tamaño de la coalición. Este resultado es válido aún después de controlar por la composición partidista de la coalición, así como otros factores que estudios anteriores han vinculado con la incidencia de protestas antigubernamentales. La evidencia indica que tanto las minorías como las supermajorías legislativas pueden ser socialmente desestabilizadoras para las democracias latinoamericanas

Histone Mutants Separate R Loop Formation from Genome Instability Induction

R loops have positive physiological roles, but they can also be deleterious by causing genome instability, and the mechanisms for this are unknown. Here we identified yeast histone H3 and H4 mutations that facilitate R loops but do not cause instability. R loops containing single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), versus RNA-DNA hybrids alone, were demonstrated using ssDNA-specific human AID and bisulfite. Notably, they are similar size regardless of whether or not they induce genome instability. Contrary to mutants causing R loop-mediated instability, these histone mutants do not accumulate H3 serine-10 phosphate (H3S10-P). We propose a two-step mechanism in which, first, an altered chromatin facilitates R loops, and second, chromatin is modified, including H3S10-P, as a requisite for compromising genome integrity. Consistently, these histone mutations suppress the high H3S10 phosphorylation and genomic instability of hpr1 and sen1 mutants. Therefore, contrary to what was previously believed, R loops do not cause genome instability by themselves.European Research Council ERC2014 AdG669898Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad BFU2013-42918-P, BFU2016-75058-

Incidence and type of bicuspid aortic valve in two model species

Incidence and type of bicuspid aortic valve in two model species. MC Fernández 1,2, A López-García 1,2, MT Soto 1, AC Durán 1,2 and B Fernández 1,2. 1 Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Málaga, Spain. 2 Biomedical Research Institute of Málaga (IBIMA), University of Málaga, Spain. Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is the most frequent human congenital cardiac malformation, with an incidence of 1–2% worldwide. Two morphological types exist: type A (incidence 0.75–1.25%) and type B (incidence 0.25–0.5%), each with a distinct aetiology and natural history. Currently, ten animal models of BAV have been described in two different rodent species: one spontaneous Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) model of BAV type A and nine mutant laboratory mouse (Mus musculus) models of BAV type B. It remains to be elucidated whether the mutations leading to BAV in these models are typespecific or whether there are inter-specific differences regarding the type of BAV that hamsters, mice and humans may develop. To solve this issue, we have characterized the incidence and types of BAVs in four inbred, two outbred and two hybrid lines of Syrian hamsters (n=4,340) and in three inbred, three outbred and one hybrid lines of laboratory mice (n=1,661) by means of stereomicroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. In addition, we have reviewed and calculated the incidence and type of BAVs in the published papers dealing with this anomaly in mice. Our results indicate that the Syrian hamster develops BAVs type A and B including a variety of morphologies comparable to those of humans, whereas the mouse develops only BAVs type B with a short spectrum of valve morphologies. Thus, inter-specific differences between human and mouse aortic valves must be taken into consideration when studying valve disease in murine models. This work was supported by P10-CTS-6068.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. P10-CTS-6068