Wetland restoration and nitrate reduction: the example of the periurban wetland of Vitoria-Gasteiz (Basque Country, North Spain)

Changes in land use and agricultural intensification caused wetlands on the quaternary aquifer of Vitoria-Gasteiz (Basque Country) to disappear some years ago and nitrate concentration in groundwaters increased very quickly. The Basque Government recently declared the East Sector of this aquifer a Vulnerable Zone according to the 91/676/CEE European Directive. Recently, the wetlands have been restored through the closure of the main drainage ditches, the consequent elevation of the water table and the abondonment of agricultural practices near the wetlands. This is the case of the Zurbano wetland. Restoration has allowed the recovery of its biogeochemical function, which has reduced nitrate concentrations in waters. Nitrate concentrations which exceed 50 mg l–1 in groundwaters entering into the wetland are less than 10 mg l–1 at the outlet. Conditions in the wetland are conducive to the loss of nitrates: organic matter rich wetted soils, clay presence allowing a local semiconfined flow and very low hydraulic gradient. Water quality monitoring at several points around the wetland showed the processes involved in nitrate loss, although some aspects still remain unresolved. However, during storm events, the wetland effectively reduces the nitrate concentration entering the Alegria River, the most important river on the quaternary aquifer

El nomenament de Defensor judicial: competència i especificitats del dret civil català

[cat] Aquest treball té com a objecte l'estudi de l'expedient de nomenament de defensor judicial d'acord amb les previsions del Codi Civil de Catalunya, així com dels articles de la Llei estatal 15/2015, de Jurisdicció Voluntària. Prima facie es constata que la normativa pròpia presenta, de forma sobrevinguda i com a conseqüència de la desjudicialització de bona part dels expedients de jurisdicció voluntària, certes discordances respecte de la llei estatal, essencialment pel que fa a l'autoritat competent per fer-ne el nomenament. En aquest sentit, la llei catalana atorga la competència a l'autoritat judicial mentre que l'estatal estableix que coneixerà i decidirà el lletrat de l'administració de justícia. La finalitat d'aquest estudi és, a banda de fer un examen de l'expedient de nomenament de defensor judicial, proposar solucions de cara a garantir la compatibilitat normativa entre ambdues regulacions. En última instància, s'exposen aquells elements que permeten defensar la prevalença de la norma pròpia davant les previsions de la llei estatal.[eng] The paper studies the appointment of the judicial defender regulated by the Catalonian Civil Law and also the rules of the Spanish Law 15/2015, of Voluntary Jurisdiction. Suddenly the Catalonian law has some differences with the Spanish law because from now many procedure of voluntary jurisdiction are not solved by the judge. In fact, the Catalonian Civil Law says that only the judge is responsible and the competent authority for the appointment of the judicial defender but the Spanish Law gives the responsibility to the Court clerk. The review of the appointment of the judicial defender procedure rules is complemented by proposal of solutions in order to guarantee compatibility between the Catalonian Civil Law and the Spanish Law. Eventually, the author proposes some criteria that allow defending the prevalence of the Catalonian rules to the provisions of the Spanish law

Calizas de Triacastela, materia prima para la fabricación de cemento

[Resumen] Los niveles de producción y consumo actual de cemento; las exportaciones, en las que España en los últimos años ha adquirido el primer puesto, exigen un tamaño mínimo necesario de las factorias para lograr un nivel de costo razonable. El calcio ha sido el principal componente del cemento y, por consideraciones científicas, podernos estar seguros que mañana también lo será. En Galicia aparece en pocos lugares, en cantidades muy limitadas y en ocasiones con carbonato magnésico. Don Isidro Parga ha tenido el mérito de aportar una solución; la cantera de Triacastela. En este trabajo se describe su importante volumen (más de 100 millones de toneladas), su idónea composición química, las posibilidades de lograr unos costos de extracción muy favorables y los resultados experimentales logrados en los dos primeros años de explotación[Résumé] Le niveau de production et de consomation actuel de ciment, de même que les exportations, ou l'Espagne a atteint la premiere place ces dernieres années, exigent un volume minimun nécessaire des usines a ciment pour parvenir a un niveau de frais raisonnable. Le calcium a été le compossant principal du ciment et, par des considerations scientifiques, nous pouvons affirmer qu'il continuera a l'otre. En Galice il n'apparalt que rarement et dans des can tités tres limitées, meme parfois contenant du carbonate de magnesium. Mr. Isidro Parga a eu le mérite d'apporter une solution; la carriere de Triacastela. Dans cet étude on y voit décrit sa grande Quantité (plus de 100 Millions de Tm.), son adéquate composition chimique, la possibilité de réussir des frais d'extraction tres favorables et les resultats expérimentaux atteints durant les deux premieres années d'exploitatio

Effect of the solvent on the conformational behavior of the alanine dipeptide deduced from MD simulations

In general, peptides do not exhibit a well-defined conformational profile in solution. However, despite the experimental blurred picture associated with their structure, compelling spectroscopic evidence shows that peptides exhibit local order. The conformational profile of a peptide is the result of a balance between intramolecular interactions between different atoms of the molecule and intermolecular interactions between atoms of the molecule and the solvent. Accordingly, the conformational profile of a peptide will change upon the properties of the solvent it is soaked. To get insight into the balance between intraand intermolecular interactions on the conformational preferences of the peptide backbone we have studied the conformational profile of the alanine dipeptide in diverse solvents using molecular dynamics as sampling technique. Solvents studied include chloroform, methanol, dimethyl sulfoxide, water and N-methylacetami de. Different treatments of the solvent have been studied in the present work including explicit solvent molecules, a generalized Born model and using the bulk dielectric constant of the solvent. The diverse calculations identify four major conformations with different populations in the diverse solvents: the C-7(eq) only sampled in chloroform; the C-5 or extended conformation; the polyproline (PII) conformation and the right-handed alpha-helix conformation (alpha(R)). The results of present calculations permit to analyze how the balance between intra- and intermolecular interactions explains the populations of the diverse conformations observed. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Some applications of quasi-velocities in optimal control

In this paper we study optimal control problems for nonholonomic systems defined on Lie algebroids by using quasi-velocities. We consider both kinematic, i.e. systems whose cost functional depends only on position and velocities, and dynamic optimal control problems, i.e. systems whose cost functional depends also on accelerations. The formulation of the problem directly at the level of Lie algebroids turns out to be the correct framework to explain in detail similar results appeared recently (Maruskin and Bloch, 2007). We also provide several examples to illustrate our construction.Comment: Revtex 4.1, 20 pages. To appear in Int. J. Geom. Meth. Modern Physic

Scale for environmental attitude in physical aActivities in natural environments

La realización de actividades físico-deportivas en el medio natural debe conllevar una actitud de respeto hacia el medioambiente entre los participantes. El objetivo de este artículo es diseñar y validar un instrumento para valorar la actitud ambiental generada en este tipo de prácticas en ámbitos formativos. El cuestionario se concretó en 16 ítems con 5 opciones de respuesta (1, Nada de acuerdo; 5, Muy de acuerdo). Para la validación de la escala se contó con una muestra de 162 estudiantes universitarios de titulaciones relacionadas con la actividad física y el deporte (grado o máster en Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte), que han cursado alguna asignatura relacionada con las actividades físicas en el medio natural. La fiabilidad obtenida con el α de Cronbach fue de 0.75. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que la escala de actitudes hacia el medioambiente en la práctica de actividades físico-deportivas en el medio natural es un instrumento válido y fiable para valorar la actitud hacia el medioambiente en la participación en actividades físico-deportivas en el medio natural, desde un modelo ecológico. Las conclusiones extraídas, tras su construcción, indican la conveniencia de revisar si las actividades físicas en el medio natural se desarrollan desde una perspectiva sostenible para que, en el caso de que no sea así, se apliquen las estrategias necesarias para su transformaciónEngaging in physical-sport activities in nature should lead to an attitude of respect for the environment among participants. The objective of this article is to design and validate an instrument to assess the environmental attitude generated in this kind of practice within the sphere of training. The questionnaire has 16 items with 5 response choices (1, totally disagree to 5, totally agree). To validate the scale, a sample was used of 162 university students in degrees related to physical activity and sport (Bachelor’s or Master’s in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences) who were taking a course related to physical activities in nature. The reliability obtained with the Cronbach’s α was 0.75. The results show that the scale of attitudes towards the environment in the practice of physical-sport activities in nature is a valid, reliable instrument from an ecological model. After its construction, the conclusions extracted indicate the advisability of checking whether physical activities in nature are carried out from a sustainable perspective so that if they are not, the strategies needed to transform them can be applie