Ave Maria

Handwritten transcription of Father Lluís Romeu I Corominas\u27 Ave Maria for unaccompanied solo voice. The identity of the transcriber is unknown; the sheet music was penned in the early twentieth century.https://ecommons.udayton.edu/imri_sheetmusic/1094/thumbnail.jp

Nova interpretació del bosc de roure pènol (Quercus robur) del territori catalanístic septentrional

Proposem una nova interpretació fitosociològica i fisiognòmica dels boscos de roure pènol i de les freixenedes de freixe de fulla petita, que es fan a la plana de la Selva i a l'Alt Maresme (territori catalanídic septentrional), que hem anomenat l'associació de la freixeneda amb càrex remot (Carici remotae-Fraxinetum oxycarpae Pedrotti 1970 corr. Pedrotti 1992). A més, atenent criteris florístics, ecològics i geogràfics, creem dos hàbitats naturals nous per al manual CORINE català (44.461+ Boscos mixtos de roure pènol (Quercus robur), freixe de fulla petita (Fraxinus angustifolia) i om (Ulmus minor), aŀluvials, del territori catalanídic septentrional i 44.462+ Freixenedes de freixe de fulla petita (Fraxinus angustifolia), sovint amb om (Ulmus minor) i roure martinenc (Quercus pubescens), aŀluvials, del territori catalanídic septentrional), els quals els adscrivim a l'hàbitat d'interès comunitari: 91F0 Boscos mixtos de roure pènol, oms i freixes, de les riberes i les planes aŀluvials. Ambdós hàbitats presenten un elevadíssim interès de conservació i un alt grau d'amenaça. Finalment, modifiquem la visió que es tenia fins ara de la vegetació potencial de la depressió selvatana, i situem catenalment la freixeneda amb càrex remot entre la verneda amb ortiga morta (Lamio-Alnetum glutinosae) i la roureda acidòfila de roure africà (Carici-Quercetum canariensis).We propose a new phytosociological and physiognomic interpretation of the forests of pedunculate oak and narrow-leaved ash forests, situated in the plain of La Selva and in the Alt Maresme area (northern Catalanidic territory, NE Iberian Peninsula), which we have denominated as ash forest in association with Carex remota (Carici remotae-Fraxinetum oxycarpae; Pedrotti 1970 corr. Pedrotti 1992). Furthermore, taking into account floristic, ecological and geographical criteria, we have created two new natural habitats for the Catalan CORINE Manual: 44.461+ Alluvial mixed forests with Quercus robur, Fraxinus angustifolia and Ulmus minor of the northern Catalanidic territory and 44.462+ Alluvial Fraxinus angustifolia-dominated forests, often with Ulmus minor and Quercus pubescens, of the northern Catalanidic territory. We ascribe these two habitats to the following Habitat of Community Interest: 91F0 Riparian mixed forest of Quercus robur, Ulmus laevis and Ulmus minor, Fraxinus excelsior or Fraxinus angustifolia along the great rivers (Ulmenion minoris). Both habitats are areas of very high conservational interest and subject to a high level of threat. Finally, we have modified the view held thus far of the potential vegetation in the plain of La Selva, and situate the ash forest with remote sedge in a catenal arrangement among alder groves with Lamium flexuosum (Lamio-Alnetum glutinosae) and acidophilous oak forests of Quercus canariensis (Carici-Quercetum canariensis)

Algae biodiesel: latest discoveries and market prospects

Pulsed Electric Fields is an innovative treatment based in the concept of electroporation (or electropermeabilitzation). This, despite not being fully understood, can be briefly described as the permeabilization of a cell membrane, result of the application of an electric field to the cell. This effect is used to break the cell walls that contain the lipids used in biodiesel production. The application of the electric fields in short pulses avoids undesired overheating problems as well as saves energy. Further understanding in the electroporation process will probably lead to better optimization of the PEF treatment. PEF units basically consist of three units: High Voltage Pulse Generator, Treatment Chamber and Control System. The characteristics of the pulse generator and the treatment chamber such as pulse shape, resistivity and chamber geometry are determinant factors in the process. The system can be directly applied to the algae medium (wet biomass), without a typical drying step, this advantage dramatically reduces costs and energy consumption. The process starts with the product (wet biomass) pumped to the treatment chamber there, it is under the effects of the pulsed electric fields generated with the pulse generator. This step, which only requires a few milliseconds to have effect is where the electroporation occurs. Hence the microalgae membranes are opened and the lipids released. Finally, a solvent such as chloroform, ethanol or hexane is used to recover the lipids from the medium. This process permits an enhanced extraction of lipids and, at the same time, has many benefits for the overall process. Is easily scalable for industrial production, it can treat the full algae medium without a drying step, does not harm other valuable co-products derived from microalgae and reduces the use of solvents (usually hazardous and expensive)

Evolució de la vegetació de l'antic estany de Sils (la Selva) en els darrers 50 anys

Es descriu l'evolució històrica de la vegetació de l'antic estany de Sils (la Selva) durant la darrera meitat del segle XX mitjançant l'estudi de la cartografia vegetal antiga (Bolòs, 1954; Vilar, 1981) i l'actual (Mercadal, 2002), així com de les primeres fotografies aèries dels anys 1956 i 1980 i de l'ortofotomapa de l'any 2000. Aquesta llacuna interior fou dessecada definitivament el 1851 i les seves terres van ser convertides, majoritàriament, en prats de dall (Gaudinio fragilis- Arrhenatheretum elatioris Br.-Bl. in Br.-Bl., Roussine & Nègre 1952), una comunitat semicultural d'elevada singularitat florística per a la regió mediterrània. Els resultats demostren que, en els darrers 50 anys, els canvis d'usos del sòl han anat transformant aquell antic paisatge, eminentment pradenc i cerealístic, cap a arbredes, herbassars humits, àrees urbanitzades i boscs submediterranis, amb la consegüent pèrdua de superfície de prats dalladors i de diversitat florística. D'altra banda, a partir de la cartografia històrica, es proposen els espais prioritaris per tal de ser recuperats i gestionats com a àrees pradenques.The historical evolution of vegetation in the former Sils Pond (la Selva) during the second half of the 20th century is described through the study of past (Bolòs, 1954; Vilar, 1981) and present-day (Mercadal, 2002) vegetation cartography, the first aerial photographs (1956 and 1980) and current orthophotos (2000). This inland pool was finally drained in 1851 and most of its area was converted into meadows (Gaudinio fragilis-Arrhenatheretum elatioris Br.-Bl. in Br.-Bl., Roussine & Nègre 1952), a semi cultural community which was very distinct florally, for the Mediterranean region. The results demonstrate that in the last 50 years changes in land use have transformed the former landscape, which was prominently meadow-like and grain-producing, into woodlands, wet grasslands, developed areas and sub-Mediterranean forests, with the consequent loss of meadow areas and floristic diversity. In response, based on historical cartography, we propose spaces to prioritize for recovery and management such as meadow areas.Se describe la evolución histórica de la vegetación de la antigua laguna de Sils (Girona, NE de la península Ibérica) durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX mediante el estudio de la cartografía vegetal antigua (Bolòs, 1954; Vilar, 1981) y la actual (Mercadal, 2002), de las primeras fotografías aéreas de los años 1956 y 1980 y del ortofotomapa del año 2000. Esta laguna se desecó definitivamente en 1851 y sus tierras fueron convertidas, principalmente, en prados de guadaña (Gaudinio fragilis-Arrhenatheretum elatioris Br.-Bl. in Br.-Bl., Roussine & Nègre 1952), una comunidad semicultural de elevada singularidad florística para la región mediterránea. Los resultados demuestran que, en los últimos 50 años, los cambios en los usos del suelo han transformado el antiguo paisaje, eminentemente pratense y cerealista, hacia arboledas, herbazales húmedos, zonas urbanizadas y bosques submediterráneos, con la consiguiente pérdida de superficie de prados de siega y de diversidad florística. Por otra parte, a partir de la cartografía histórica, se proponen los espacios prioritarios para ser recuperados y gestionados como áreas pratenses

Mapa de Vegetació de Catalunya 1:50.000 (MVC50). Memòria del full de Santa Coloma de Farners (333)

Aquesta memòria va associada al mapa de vegetació que comprèn el territori administrat per la Generalitat de Catalunya inclòs en el full 333 (Santa Coloma de Farners). Inclou una descripció detallada del medi físic, i de les unitats de vegetació actual i potencial. Enllaç al mapa: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/6484

Sediment Level Prediction of a Combined Sewer System Using Spatial Features

The prediction of sediment levels in combined sewer system (CSS) would result in enormous savings in resources for their maintenance as a reduced number of inspections would be needed. In this paper, we benchmark different machine learning (ML) methodologies to improve the maintenance schedules of the sewerage and reduce the number of cleanings using historical sediment level and inspection data of the combined sewer system in the city of Barcelona. Two ML methodologies involve the use of spatial features for sediment prediction at critical sections of the sewer, where the cost of maintenance is high because of the dangerous access; one uses a regression model to predict the sediment level of a section, and the other one a binary classification model to identify whether or not a section needs cleaning. The last ML methodology is a short-term forecast of the possible sediment level in future days to improve the ability of operators to react and solve an imminent sediment level increase. Our study concludes with three different models. The spatial and short-term regression methodologies accomplished the best results with Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) with 0.76 and 0.61 R2 scores, respectively. The classification methodology resulted in a Gradient Boosting (GB) model with an accuracy score of 0.88 and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.909.The work described in this paper has been conducted within the project SCOREwater. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement no 820751. R. Béjar also acknowledges funding from project PID2019-111544GB-C22 from the Spanish Government. C. Mateu also acknowledges funding from project RTI2018-093849-B-C31 from the Spanish Government. Lluís Corominas acknowledges the Ministry of Economy and competitiveness for the Ramon and Cajal grant and the corresponding I3 consolidation (RYC-2013-465 14595). ICRA researchers thank funding from the CERCA program and from the Generalitat de Catalunya through the Consolidated Research Group 2017 SGR 1318. Marc Ribalta also acknowledges funding from AGAUR DI-2019-066

Wastewater-based epidemiology to assess human exposure to personal care and household products – A review of biomarkers, analytical methods, and applications

Humans are nowadays exposed to numerous chemicals in our day-to-day life, including parabens, UV filters, phosphorous flame retardants/plasticizers, bisphenols, phthalates and alternative plasticizers, which can have different adverse effects to human health. Estimating human's exposure to these potentially harmful substances is, therefore, of paramount importance. Human biomonitoring (HBM) is the existing approach to assess exposure to environmental contaminants, which relies on the analysis of specific human biomarkers (parent compounds and/or their metabolic products) in biological matrices from individuals. The main drawback is its implementation, which involves complex cohort studies. A novel approach, wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), involves estimating exposure from the analysis of biomarkers in sewage (a pooled urine and feces sample of an entire population). One of the key challenges of WBE is the selection of biomarkers which are specific to human metabolism, excreted in sufficient amounts, and stable in sewage. So far, literature data on potential biomarkers for estimating exposure to these chemicals are scattered over numerous pharmacokinetic and HBM studies. Hence, this review provides a list of potential biomarkers of exposure to more than 30 widely used chemicals and report on their urinary excretion rates. Furthermore, the potential and challenges of WBE in this particular field is discussed through the review of pioneer WBE studies, which for the first time explored applicability of this novel approach to assess human exposure to environmental contaminants. In the future, WBE could be potentially applied as an "early warning system", which could promptly identify communities with the highest exposure to environmental contaminants