Dominance of the planktonic diatom Thalassiosira minima in recent summers in the Bahia Blanca Estuary, Argentina

The diatom Thalassiosira minima was first recorded in the Baha Blanca Estuary in 1992. In 19921993 it exhibited a broad seasonal occurrence. A recent survey (20062007) showed a seasonal appearance restricted mainly to summer together with a greater relative abundance within the phytoplankton. A close connection was found with warmer, more saline and highly turbid conditions experienced in recent summers in the estuary. Whether these changes will impact the estuary trophic dynamics remains an open question

Seasonal and interannual variability of cladoceran communities in two peri-alpine lakes: uncoupled response to the 2003 heat wave

Seasonal and interannual dynamics of cladoceran species were analyzed during the period 1995–2003 in two deep peri-alpine lakes morphologically different but subjected to similar regional climatic forcing. The seasonal succession of cladoceran species was characterized and the impact of extreme climatic events on the annual pattern of species succession was assessed. Using a multivariate method, we show that the cladoceran species display marked seasonality patterns that differed in the two lakes. The differences observed between the lakes were driven by their trophic state, the plankton species composition and the abundance of predators. We show that the sensitivity of the annual pattern of species succession to extreme weather changes, illustrated by the 2003 heat wave, differs markedly in these two lakes. In Lake Annecy, the annual pattern of cladoceran succession observed in 2003 is not different from the one usually observed. In contrast, in Lake Geneva, the annual pattern recorded in 2003 is unusual and characterized by the maintenance of herbivorous cladocera during summer. These findings underline the need to consider the morphology of lakes and trophic state in the assessment of ecological responses to global warming. Our results contribute to the debate about the predictability of the impacts of climate change on aquatic ecosystems, and their extrapolation from one site to another

Smartphone-interrogated test supports for the enzymatic determination of putrescine and cadaverine in food

Diamino-oxidase (DAO), horseradish peroxidase (HRP), and tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) have been immobilized into cellulose to obtain circular cellulose test supports (CCTSs) for the determination of cadaverine (Cad) and putrescine (Put). During the enzymatic reaction, TMB is oxidized and a blue spot is obtained. This color (RGB coordinates) is measured with a smartphone and a commercial application. The highest sensitivity is provided by the component R and a linear response is observed for low biogenic amine (BA) concentrations, but a second-order polynomial response better fits the experimental results for a wider concentration range. This has been successfully explained with a model developed to explain the RGB values obtained in this type of analytical system. Optimization studies enable CCTSs to be obtained for Put and Cad determination, which could be used (kept at 4 °C) for at least 45 days if a stabilizer (StabilCoat™ or StabilGuard™) is added during its synthesis. In these conditions, the R coordinate follows the model up to at least 4 × 10-4 M Put and/or Cad (both analytes give the same response). The method permits the Put and Cad determination from 5 × 10-5 M up to 4 × 10-4 M (RSD = 3%, n = 3). The CCTSs have been applied to Put + Cad determination in a tuna sample without any interference by other biogenic amines. The concentration found statistically agrees with that obtained using a HPLC-MS-validated method

Processing and mechanical properties of novel biodegradable poly-lactic acid/Zn 3D printed scaffolds for application in tissue regeneration

The feasibility to manufacture scaffolds of poly-lactic acid reinforced with Zn particles by fused filament fabrication is demonstrated for the first time. Filaments of 2.85 mm in diameter of PLA reinforced with different weight fractions of $\mu$m-sized Zn - 1 wt. \% Mg alloy particles (in the range 3.5 to 17.5 wt. \%) were manufactured by a double extrusion in method in which standard extrusion is followed by a precision extrusion in a filament-maker machine. Filaments with constant diameter, negligible porosity and a homogeneous reinforcement distribution were obtained for Zn weight fractions of up to 10.5\%. It was found that the presence of Zn particles led to limited changes in the physico-chemical properties of the PLA that did not affect the window temperature for 3D printing nor the melt flow index. Thus, porous scaffolds could be manufactured by fused filament fabrication at 190\textdegree C with poly-lactic acid/Zn composites containing 3.5 and 7 wt. \% of Zn and at 170\textdegree C when the Zn content was 10.5 wt. \% with excellent dimensional accuracy and mechanical properties

Physical and mathematical modeling of wave propagation in the Ariane 5 VEB structure

The separation of the lower stage of the ARIANE 5 Vehicle Equipment Bay (VEB) Structure is to be done using a pyrotechnic device. The wave propagation effects produced by the explosion can affect the electronic equipment, so it was decided to analyze, using both physical and numerical modeling, a small piece of the structure to determine the distribution of the accelerations and the relative importance of damping, stiffness, connections, etc. on the response of the equipment

Relationship between Structure, Entropy and Diffusivity in Water and Water-like Liquids

Anomalous behaviour of the excess entropy ($S_e$) and the associated scaling relationship with diffusivity are compared in liquids with very different underlying interactions but similar water-like anomalies: water (SPC/E and TIP3P models), tetrahedral ionic melts (SiO$_2$ and BeF$_2$) and a fluid with core-softened, two-scale ramp (2SRP) interactions. We demonstrate the presence of an excess entropy anomaly in the two water models. Using length and energy scales appropriate for onset of anomalous behaviour, the density range of the excess entropy anomaly is shown to be much narrower in water than in ionic melts or the 2SRP fluid. While the reduced diffusivities ($D^*$) conform to the excess entropy scaling relation, $D^* =A\exp (\alpha S_e)$ for all the systems (Y. Rosenfeld, Phys. Rev. A {\bf 1977}, {\it 15}, 2545), the exponential scaling parameter, $\alpha$, shows a small isochore-dependence in the case of water. Replacing $S_e$ by pair correlation-based approximants accentuates the isochore-dependence of the diffusivity scaling. Isochores with similar diffusivity scaling parameters are shown to have the temperature dependence of the corresponding entropic contribution. The relationship between diffusivity, excess entropy and pair correlation approximants to the excess entropy are very similar in all the tetrahedral liquids.Comment: 24 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Journal of Physical Chemistry

Modeling Molecular Interactions in Water: From Pairwise to Many-Body Potential Energy Functions.

Almost 50 years have passed from the first computer simulations of water, and a large number of molecular models have been proposed since then to elucidate the unique behavior of water across different phases. In this article, we review the recent progress in the development of analytical potential energy functions that aim at correctly representing many-body effects. Starting from the many-body expansion of the interaction energy, specific focus is on different classes of potential energy functions built upon a hierarchy of approximations and on their ability to accurately reproduce reference data obtained from state-of-the-art electronic structure calculations and experimental measurements. We show that most recent potential energy functions, which include explicit short-range representations of two-body and three-body effects along with a physically correct description of many-body effects at all distances, predict the properties of water from the gas to the condensed phase with unprecedented accuracy, thus opening the door to the long-sought "universal model" capable of describing the behavior of water under different conditions and in different environments

Ab initio van der Waals interactions in simulations of water alter structure from mainly tetrahedral to high-density-like

The structure of liquid water at ambient conditions is studied in ab initio molecular dynamics simulations using van der Waals (vdW) density-functional theory, i.e. using the new exchange-correlation functionals optPBE-vdW and vdW-DF2. Inclusion of the more isotropic vdW interactions counteracts highly directional hydrogen-bonds, which are enhanced by standard functionals. This brings about a softening of the microscopic structure of water, as seen from the broadening of angular distribution functions and, in particular, from the much lower and broader first peak in the oxygen-oxygen pair-correlation function (PCF), indicating loss of structure in the outer solvation shells. In combination with softer non-local correlation terms, as in the new parameterization of vdW-DF, inclusion of vdW interactions is shown to shift the balance of resulting structures from open tetrahedral to more close-packed. The resulting O-O PCF shows some resemblance with experiment for high-density water (A. K. Soper and M. A. Ricci, Phys. Rev. Lett., 84:2881, 2000), but not directly with experiment for ambient water. However, an O-O PCF consisting of a linear combination of 70% from vdW-DF2 and 30% from experiment on low-density liquid water reproduces near-quantitatively the experimental O-O PCF for ambient water, indicating consistency with a two-liquid model with fluctuations between high- and low-density regions

Influence of age, gender and delay on overtaking dynamics

"This paper is a preprint of a paper submitted to [journal] and is subject to Institution of Engineering and Technology Copyright. If accepted, the copy of record will be available at IET Digital Library"Overtaking is one of the most dangerous manoeuvres on two-lane rural highways. The most influential factors are related to drivers, so ITS and assistance systems are not yet common. This research is based on experimental data of overtaking manoeuvres collected using an instrumented passenger car, equipped with four cameras, laser rangefinders and a global positioning service (GPS) tracker. This vehicle was driven along four different road segments in the surroundings of Valencia (Spain) at a speed slightly slower than the operating speed of each segment. Overtaking time and speeds were measured. Unlike previous work, the influence of human factor was also considered. Age and gender of overtaking driver, as well as time spent following were used to characterise this influence. More than 200 manoeuvres were recorded and the influence of driver characteristics and delay on gap acceptance, manoeuvre duration and speed differences have been analysed. Results show differences in behaviour between age and gender groups, since young male overtaking drivers have shown a more aggressive behaviour. Overtaking times were around 1 s lower than other drivers, whereas average speed difference was 4 km/h higher. Collected data and their analysis have provided a basis to review design criteria and to develop future assistance systems.Authors would like to thank Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness that subsidizes the research project with reference code TRA2010-21736. Authors thank also Spanish General Traffic Directorate, Spanish Ministry of Public Works and Valencia Regional Governance for their collaboration during field study.Llorca García, C.; García García, A.; Moreno Chou, AT.; Pérez Zuriaga, AM. (2013). Influence of age, gender and delay on overtaking dynamics. IET Intelligent Transport Systems. 7(2):174-181. https://doi.org/10.1049/iet-its.2012.0147S17418172Farah, H. (2011). Age and Gender Differences in Overtaking Maneuvers on Two-Lane Rural Highways. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2248(1), 30-36. doi:10.3141/2248-04Hassan, Y., Easa, S. M., & El Halim, A. O. A. (1996). Passing sight distance on two-lane highways: Review and revision. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 30(6), 453-467. doi:10.1016/0965-8564(95)00032-1Wang, Y., & Cartmell, M. P. (1998). New Model for Passing Sight Distance on Two-Lane Highways. Journal of Transportation Engineering, 124(6), 536-545. doi:10.1061/(asce)0733-947x(1998)124:6(536)Polus, A., Livneh, M., & Frischer, B. (2000). Evaluation of the Passing Process on Two-Lane Rural Highways. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1701(1), 53-60. doi:10.3141/1701-07Carlson, P., Miles, J., & Johnson, P. (2006). Daytime High-Speed Passing Maneuvers Observed on Rural Two-Lane, Two-Way Highway: Findings and Implications. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1961, 9-15. doi:10.3141/1961-02Hegeman, G., Tapani, A., & Hoogendoorn, S. (2009). Overtaking assistant assessment using traffic simulation. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 17(6), 617-630. doi:10.1016/j.trc.2009.04.010El Zarif, J., Hobeika, A., & Rakha, H. (2003). Evaluating a Detection and Warning System to Deter No-Passing Zone Violations. Journal of Transportation Engineering, 129(6), 590-599. doi:10.1061/(asce)0733-947x(2003)129:6(590)Llorca, C., & García, A. (2011). Evaluation of Passing Process on Two-Lane Rural Highways in Spain with New Methodology Based on Video Data. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2262(1), 42-51. doi:10.3141/2262-0