Urbanization suitability maps: a dynamic spatial decision support system for sustainable land use

Abstract. Recent developments in land consumption assessment identify the need to implement integrated evaluation approaches, with particular attention to the development of multidimensional tools for guiding and managing sustainable land use. Land use policy decisions are implemented mostly through spatial planning and its related zoning. This involves trade-offs between many sectorial interests and conflicting challenges seeking win-win solutions. In order to identify a decision-making process for land use allocation, this paper proposes a methodological approach for developing a Dynamic Spatial Decision Support System (DSDSS), denominated Integrated Spatial Assessment (ISA), supported by Geographical Information Systems (GIS) combined with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Through empirical investigation in an operative case study, an integrated evaluation approach implemented in a DSDSS helps produce "urbanization suitability maps" in which spatial analysis combined with multi-criteria evaluation methods proved to be useful for both facing the main issues relating to land consumption as well as minimizing environmental impacts of spatial planning

Isospin Dynamics in Peripheral Heavy Ion Collisions at Fermi Energies

We present a detailed study of isospin dynamics in peripheral collisions at Fermi energies. We consider symmetric and mixed collisions of (124,112)Sn isotopes at 35 and 50 AMeV to study the isospin transport between the different reaction components (residues, gas and possibly intermediate mass fragments) and, in particular, the charge equilibration in the mixed system. We evaluate the effects of drift terms due to asymmetry and density gradients, which are directly related to the poorly known value and slope of the symmetry energy below saturation density. We verify the importance of an isoscalar momentum dependence of the mean field, which is found to influence the isospin transport since it changes the reaction times. We finally suggest two observables particularly sensitive to the isovector part of the nuclear equation-of-state: the correlation between isospin equilibration and kinetic energy loss for binary events, and the isospin content of the produced mid-rapidity fragments for neck fragmentation events.Comment: 34 pages, 15 figures, Nucl.Phys. A, in pres

La enseñanza de la reumatología en la universidad: la travesía desde el aprendizaje basado en el profesor al centrado en el alumno

[Abstract] In recent years, university education has undergone profound changes as a result of the creation of the European Space for Higher Education. It has gone from a teacher-centred model, based on the transmission of knowledge through lectures, to being student-centred, based on the acquisition of skills and attaching great importance to independent learning. This transformation involves the need to reorganise academic activity and employ new teaching tools, such as active learning methodologies, more in line with current requirements. In this article, the backbones of the European Space for Higher Education are presented, and diverse experiences of teaching innovation described under Reumacademia and from three Spanish universities.[Resumen] En los últimos años la enseñanza universitaria ha experimentado un profundo cambio como consecuencia de la creación del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior. Se ha pasado de un modelo centrado en el profesor, basado en la transmisión de conocimientos a través de las clases magistrales, a otro centrado en el alumno, basado en la adquisición de competencias y que otorga gran importancia al aprendizaje autónomo. Esta transformación comporta la necesidad de reorganizar la actividad académica y de emplear nuevas herramientas docentes, como las metodologías activas de aprendizaje, más acorde con las exigencias actuales. En este artículo se exponen los ejes vertebradores del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior y se describen diversas experiencias de innovación docente en el marco de Reumacademia y de tres universidades españolas

Nuclear Matter and Nuclear Dynamics

Highlights on the recent research activity, carried out by the Italian Community involved in the "Nuclear Matter and Nuclear Dynamics" field, will be presented.Comment: Proceedings of the 12th Conference on Problems in Theoretical Nuclear Physics, to appear in Journal of Physics, Conference Serie

Un enfoque tolerante a interrupciones para la seguridad de la Internet de las cosas

La Internet de las cosas (IoT, Internet of Things) es un paradigma emergente que pretende la interconexión de cualquier objeto susceptible de contar con una parte de electrónica, favorecido por la miniaturización de los componentes. El estado de desarrollo de la IoT hace que no haya ninguna propuesta firme para garantizar la seguridad y la comunicación extremo a extremo. En este artículo presentamos un trabajo en progreso hacia una aproximación tolerante a retrasos (DTN, Delay and Disruption Tolerant Networks) para la comunicación en el paradigma de la IoT y planteamos la adaptación de los mecanismo de seguridad existentes en DTN a la IoT.Este trabajo ha sido parcialmente financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación Español, proyecto TIN2010-15764 y por la Generalitat de Cataluña, proyecto 2014SGR-619

Comment on “Nature and entropy content of the ordering transitions in RCo₂”

In their analysis of our perturbed angular correlation (PAC) study of the magnetic phase transitions of RCo₂ [Phys. Rev. B 68, 014409 (2003)], Herrero-Albillos [Phys. Rev. B 73, 134410 (2006)] come to the conclusion that it is very difficult for PAC spectroscopy to distinguish a first-order from a second-order phase transition. The statement is incorrect and does not resolve the conflict between the conclusion drawn from the PAC data and the differential scanning calorimetry data of Herrero- Albillos on the order of the magnetic phase transitions of PrCo₂ and NdCo₂. In this Comment we show that measurements of hyperfine interactions by PAC and other microscopic techniques are a very powerful tool for the investigation of phase transitions which may provide details on the transition not accessible to macroscopic methods. We explain why the PAC data leave no alternative to the conclusion that the spontaneous magnetization of PrCo₂ and NdCo₂ undergoes a discontinuous, first-order phase transition at T_(C)

Perturbed angular correlation study of the magnetic phase transitions in the rare-earth cobalt Laves phases RCo₂

The order and other properties of the magnetic phase transitions in the rare-earth (R)-cobalt Laves phases RCo2 have been studied for R=Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Sm, Nd, and Pr by measuring the temperature dependence of the magnetic hyperfine interaction of the nuclear probe ^111Cdon the cubic R sites using the perturbed angular correlation technique. Both for heavy and light R constituents the transitions change from second order (Gd, Tb, Sm) to first order (Dy, Ho, Er, Nd, Pr) at order temperatures of 150-200 K. For heavy R constituents, the order deduced from the hyperfine interaction is in agreement with previous investigations. The observation of first order transitions in NdCo₂ and PrCo₂, however, is unexpected. In earlier studies the transitions in these compounds are usually classified as second order transitions. Both in the heavy and the light RCo₂ the discontinuous jump of the hyperfine interaction at the first order transitions increases with decreasing order temperature. This trend implies that the Co magnetization at the transition increases with decreasing T_C which can be related to the temperature dependence of the coefficient of the M^(4) term of the free energy in the Wohlfarth-Rhodes-Shimizu theory of itinerant electron magnetism. All compounds investigated presented a spread of the order temperature of similar to1-2 K which results in a coexistence of the paramagnetic and the magnetically ordered phase near the transition and causes a critical increase of the relative linewidth of the hyperfine frequency diverging as δ ∞ [(1-T/T_(C)]^ε with ε =-1.0(1)

Phase transitions of hadronic to quark matter at finite T and \mu_B

The phase transition of hadronic to quark matter and the boundaries of the mixed hadron-quark coexistence phase are studied within the two Equation of State (EoS) model. The relativistic effective mean field approach with constant and density dependent meson-nucleon couplings is used to describe hadronic matter, and the MIT Bag model is adopted to describe quark matter. The boundaries of the mixed phase for different Bag constants are obtained solving the Gibbs equations. We notice that the dependence on the Bag parameter of the critical temperatures (at zero chemical potential) can be well reproduced by a fermion ultrarelativistic quark gas model, without contribution from the hadron part. At variance the critical chemical potentials (at zero temperature) are very sensitive to the EoS of the hadron sector. Hence the study of the hadronic EoS is much more relevant for the determination of the transition to the quark-gluon-plasma at finite baryon density and low-T. Moreover in the low temperature and finite chemical potential region no solutions of the Gibbs conditions are existing for small Bag constant values, B < (135 MeV)^4. Isospin effects in asymmetric matter appear relevant in the high chemical potential regions at lower temperatures, of interest for the inner core properties of neutron stars and for heavy ion collisions at intermediate energies.Comment: 24 pages and 16 figures (revtex4

Isospin Dynamics in Heavy Ion Collisions: EoS-sensitive Observables

Heavy Ion Collisions (HIC) represent a unique tool to probe the in-medium nuclear interaction in regions away from saturation and at high nucleon momenta. In this report we present a selection of reaction observables particularly sensitive to the isovector part of the interaction, i.e. to the symmetry term of the nuclear Equation of State (EoS) At low energies the behavior of the symmetry energy around saturation influences dissipation and fragment production mechanisms. Predictions are shown for deep-inelastic and fragmentation collisions induced by neutron rich projectiles. Differential flow measurements will also shed lights on the controversial neutron/proton effective mass splitting in asymmetric matter. The high density symmetry term can be derived from isospin effects on heavy ion reactions at relativistic energies (few AGeV range), that can even allow a ``direct'' study of the covariant structure of the isovector interaction in the hadron medium. Rather sensitive observables are proposed from collective flows and from pion/kaon production. The possibility of the transition to a mixed hadron-quark phase, at high baryon and isospin density, is finally suggested. Some signatures could come from an expected ``neutron trapping'' effect.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures; espcrc1 style; IX Int.Conf. on Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions, Rio de Janeiro Aug.2006; to appear in Nucl.Phys.