An environmental assessment of the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and the Key Largo Coral Reef Marine Sanctuary (Unpublished 1983 Report)

The Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park was established in 1960 and the Key Largo National Marine Sanctuary in 1975. Field studies, funded by NOAA, were conducted in 1980 - 1981 to determine the state of the coral reefs and surrounding areas in relation to changing environmental conditions and resource management that had occurred over the intervening years. Ten reef sites within the Sanctuary and seven shallow grass and hardbottom sites within the Park were chosen for qualitative and quantitative studies. At each site, three parallel transects not less than 400 m long were run perpendicular to the reef or shore, each 300 m apart. Observations, data collecting and sampling were done by two teams of divers. Approximately 75 percent of the bottom within the 18-m isobath was covered by marine grasses, predominantly turtle grass. The general health of the seagrasses appeared good but a few areas showed signs of stress. The inner hardbottom of the Park was studied at the two entrances to Largo Sound. Though at the time of the study the North Channel hardbottom was subjected to only moderate boat traffic, marked changes had taken place over the past years, the most obvious of which was the loss of the extensive beds of Sargassum weed, one of the most extensive beds of this alga in the Keys. Only at this site was the green alga Enteromorpha encountered. This alga, often considered a pollution indicator, may denote the effects of shore run off. The hardbottom at South Channel and the surrounding grass beds showed signs of stress. This area bears the heaviest boat traffic within the Park waters causing continuous turbidity from boat wakes with resulting siltation. The offshore hardbottom and rubble areas in the Sanctuary appeared to be in good health and showed no visible indications of deterioration. Damage by boat groundings and anchors was negligible in the areas surveyed. The outer reefs in general appear to be healthy. Corals have a surprising resiliency to detrimental factors and, when conditions again become favorable, recover quickly from even severe damage. It is, therefore, a cause for concern that Grecian Rocks, which sits somewhat inshore of the outer reef line, has yet to recover from die-off in 1978. The slow recovery, if occurring, may be due to the lower quality of the inshore waters. The patch reefs, more adapted to inshore waters, do not show obvious stress signs, at least those surveyed in this study. It is apparent that water quality was changing in the keys. Water clarity over much of the reef tract was observed to be much reduced from former years and undoubtedly plays an important part in the stresses seen today over the Sanctuary and Park. (PDF contains 119 pages

Scanning Electron Microscopy to Establish the Marble Weathering Mechanism in the Alhambra of Granada (Spain)

The weathering processes of the white marble from Macael quarries (Almeria, Spain) used in the Alhambra of Granada have been studied with the aim of establishing the weathering factors and mechanism. Unaltered quarry samples have been submitted to diverse accelerated weathering experiments and their morphology compared to the altered materials from the monument. The weathering process stages have been established and the degree of weathering in some monumental dependencies evaluated

Predation of Myrmeleon obscurus (Navas, 1912) (neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) on the ground ant Myrmicaria opaciventris emery (Formicidae: yrmicinae)

comprehension of the feeding behaviour of this pit building sit-and-wait predator. The predatory behaviour observed after a 24-hour starvation, pointed out that a 3rd instar larva of Myrmeleon obscurus (NAVAS, 1912) needs 90.7±2.54 min for its first predation on the ground ant Myrmicaria opaciventris EMERY (Formicidae : Myrmicinae). For the following ones, only 54.83 ± 12.9 min is allocated to the predation on a single prey. Thepredation is made up of 4 main steps: capture and subduing, suction, removal of mandibles and abandonment of remains of the prey. Maximizing predation is a strategy for these seasonal insects to store energy that might help them to survive during the unfavourable rainy season.© 2010 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: Ant lion larvae, Cameroon, mandibles, feeding behaviour, handling time

Ionic behavior assessment of surface-active compounds from corn steep liquor by exchange resins

Depending on their ionic nature, biosurfactants can be classified as nonionic, anionic, cationic, or amphoteric. The ionic behavior of biosurfactants is an important characteristic that dictates their use in industrial applications. In this work, a biosurfactant extract obtained from corn steep liquor was subjected to anionic or cationic resins, in order to study the ionic behavior under different operational conditions using response surface methodology. The independent variables included in the study are the dilution of biosurfactant solution, the amount of cationic or anionic resin, and the extraction time, whereas the dependent variables studied consisted of the surface tension of biosurfactant aqueous solution, after contacting with anionic or cationic resin. The results showed that biosurfactant extracted from corn steep liquor is amphoteric, since both resins were able to entrap this biosurfactant, making it particularly suited for use in personal care preparations for sensitive skin.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

The Influence of Metakaolin from Saaba (Burkina Faso) over Physico-Mechanical and Durability Properties of Mortars

This is the final version. Available on open access from Scientific Research Publishing via the DOI in this recordThe paper evaluates the feasibility of reducing clinker in the Portland Cement production using local metakaolin in Burkina Faso. Standardized testing methods have been used for this purpose, and experiments were performed on mortar prisms containing different amounts of metakaolin. Important results about the physical, mechanical and durability characterization of blended mortars were carried out in this study. The obtained results are discussed based on available literature data. These results have shown increased physical and durability properties for blended mortars. Although the mechanical strengths remained relatively low for higher MK incorporations, the latter grow to surpass these of PC mortars (the reference) at 28, 56 and 90 days of curing. The results in the paper, have confirmed the possibility of using metakaolin to partially substitute cement, a possibility to reduce the CO2 production by the cement industry in Burkina Faso.Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdiens

Investigación previa del conjunto catedralicio de Granada

Antes de emprender la restauración o estudio de los procesos de alteración de un monumento, es imprescindible la realización de una serie de estudios preliminares conocidos genéricamente como investigación previa; estos estudios deben proporcionar suficiente información sobre muy diversos aspectos al objeto de poder estar en condiciones de realizar una adecuada interpretación de los datos que se obtengan en las investigaciones siguientes a fin de garantizar, en la medida de lo posible, que las futuras intervenciones sean las más adecuadas. Es necesario, en primer lugar, realizar una investigación profunda que permita conocer las diversas etapas constructivas del monumento, las modificaciones que se han realizado sobre el proyecto original, así como todas aquellas incidencias que puedan haber tenido una repercusión directa sobre el monumento,tales como derrumbamientos, terremotos, modificaciones urbanísticas del entorno, etc. En segundo lugar, se ha de realizar una investigación bibliográfica que permita conocer la procedencia de los materiales pétreos empleados en la construcción; esta información será esencial tanto para el investigador como para el arquitecto restaurador. Al primero le servirá para poder obtener grandes cantidades de material inalterado para la realización de ensayos de laboratorio, que no puede detraerse del monumento sin causar en la mayor parte de los casos graves daños; al restaurador, esta información le permitirá disponer de material de las mismas o similares características al original por si fuese necesario realizar reposiciones. La localización de las canteras de procedencia de los materiales es a veces una tarea no demasiado fácil por diversas razones, entre las que se encuentra el hecho de que muchas de ellas no se encuentran en explotación desde hace muchos años, o el nombre por el que son mencionadas en los antiguos documentos no se corresponde con el actual, etc., no obstante, diversos estudios químicos y petrográficos pueden permitir la identificación inequívoca de las mismas comparando con los materiales del edificio . Por último, el conocimiento de las condiciones ambientales a las que se encuentra sometido el monumento resulta de un particular interés debido a que muchos procesos de alteración tendrán su origen en las mismas y, además, las tareas de restauración a realizar se pueden ver fuertemente condicionadas por aquellas

Robots in Industry. Past,present and future of a growing collaboration with humans

Robots have been part of automation systems for a very long time, and in public perception, they are often synonymous with automation and industrial revolution perse. Fueled by Industry 4.0 and Internet of Things (IoT) concepts as well as by new software technologies, the field of robotics in industry is currently undergoing a revolution on its own. This article gives an overview of the evolution of robotics from its beginnings to recent trends like collaborative robotics, autonomous robots, and human- robot interaction. Particular attention is devoted to the deep changes of the last decades, from the traditional industrial scenario based on isolated robotic cells up to the most recent coworking and collaborative robots. The role of robotics in the Industry 4.0 framework is analyzed, and the relationships with industrial communications and software technologies are also discussed. Some future directions for robotics are envisaged, focusing on the contributions coming from new materials, sensors, actuators, and technologies. Open issues are highlighted as well as the main barriers that currently limit the deployment of industrial robots in the small and medium enterprise (SME) world

Spatio-temporal variability in Mediterranean rocky shore microphytobenthos

Knowledge of spatio-temporal variability of assemblages is the first step in identifying key factors affecting the abundance and distribution of organisms. Despite a long history of ecological studies on rocky intertidal habitats, there is still a lack of basic knowledge about the microphytobenthic components. We investigated the spatio-temporal variability of microphytobenthos in the northwest Mediterranean at multiple scales, including both seasonal and daily observations, as well as its composition. Spatial variability of microphytobenthic biomass varied significantly with season, with an increase in small-scale variance from cold to warm periods. Furthermore, during warmer months, small-scale variances (tens to hundreds of centimeters) were larger than large-scale components (tens to thousands of meters). These results suggest large spatiotemporal variation in the processes driving variation in microphytobenthic assemblages, including interactive effects among stressful abiotic conditions, substratum topography and grazing. In addition, observed variability on a daily scale suggested that microphytobenthos at the study site (dominated by cyanobacteria) might cope with stressful environmental conditions through both physiological and behavioral strategies at micro-spatial scales, including small movements within the substratum. Additional research on ecological and physiological aspects of rocky shore microphytobenthos is needed to better understand its role within interaction webs and primary productivity processes