Nonclassicality and criticality in symmetry-protected magnetic phases

Quantum and global discord in a spin-1 Heisenberg chain subject to single-ion anisotropy (uniaxial field) are studied using exact diagonalisation and the density matrix renormalisation group (DMRG). We find that these measures of quantum nonclassicality are able to detect the quantum phase transitions confining the symmetry protected Haldane phase and show critical scaling with universal exponents. Moreover, in the case of thermal states, we find that quantum discord can increase with increasing temperature.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, Close to published version. Includes a link to data used for the figure

Heat fluxes between the Guadalquivir river and the Gulf of Cádiz Continental Shelf

An 18-year time series of daily sea surface temperature of Gulf of Cadiz and an 18-month time series of temperature collected in the vicinity of the Guadalquivir estuary mouth have been analyzed to investigate the heat exchange between the estuary and the adjacent continental shelf. The first time identifies a continental shelf area where seasonal thermal oscillation signal (amplitudes and phase) changes abruptly. In order to explain this anomaly, the second data set allows a description of thermal fluctuations in a wide range of frequencies and an estimation of the upstream heat budget of the Guadalquivir estuary. Results show that high frequency thermal signal, diurnal and semidiurnal, and water flux signal through Guadalquivir mouth, mainly semidiurnal, apparently interact randomly to give a small exchange of thermal energy at high frequency. There is no trace, at the estuary's mouth, of daily heat exchanges with intertidal mudflats probably because it tends to cancel on daily time scales. Results also show that fluctuations of estimated air-sea fluxes force fluctuations of temperature in a quite homogeneous estuarine, with a delay of 20 days. The along-channel thermal energy gradient reaches magnitudes of 300-400 J m-4 near the mouth during the summer and winter and drives the estuary-shelf exchange of thermal energy at seasonal scale. Particularly, the thermal heat imported by the estuary from the shelf area during late fall-winter-early spring of 2008/2009 is balanced by the thermal heat that the estuary exports to the shelf area during late spring-summer of 2008. In summary, Guadalquivir river removes/imports excess of thermal energy towards/from the continental shelf seasonally, as a mechanism to accommodate excess of heat from one side respect to the other side.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Autoridad Portuaria de Sevilla (APS

3D hydrodynamic model as a tool for more efficient port management and operations.

Ports have been attempting to increase their competitiveness by enhancing their productivity and operate in a more environmentally friendly way. The Port of Seville is located in the Guadalquivir River in the south of Spain and it is the unique Spanish inland port. The estuary has generated and is still generating conflicts of interests. The access channel to the port is being periodically dredged, the natural course has been anthropologically modified several times, original salt marshes have been transformed to grow rice and approximately one-fourth of the total surface of the estuary is now part of two protected areas, one of them is a UNESCO_MAB Biosphere Reserve. Despite its socio-economic and environmental significance there is a surprising lack of scientific and technical information about the environmental interactions between the port activities and the Guadalquivir estuary stakeholders. A 3D hydrodynamic model has been developed to study the tidal regime, water circulation, temperature and salinity distributions, flooding areas and the sediment dynamics in the estuary. The model output has been validated with in situ current speed, direction, water elevation and also with temperature and salinity measurements. Good agreement between modeled and real measurements have been obtained. Our preliminary results show that the vessel traffic management could be improved by using the tidal elevations and currents calculated by the model in the whole estuary. The interactions among the port activities (mainly due of changes in the sediments dynamics), the watershed management and the saline intrusion evolution will be studied in detail. 3D Hydrodynamic Modelling provide spatially explicit information on the key variables governing the dynamics of estuarine areas. The numerical model is a powerful tool to effectively guide the management and operations of ports located in a complex socio-ecological systems.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Study of the stress intensity factors in the bulk of the material with synchrotron diffraction

Artículo de Proceedings de Congreso Internacional Fatigue2017In this work we present the results of a hybrid experimental and analytical approach for estimating the stress intensity factor. It uses the elastic strains within the bulk obtained by synchrotron X-ray diffraction data. The stress intensity factor is calculated using a multi-point overdeterministic method where the number of experimental data points is higher than the number of unknowns describing the elastic field surrounding the crack-tip. The tool is tested on X-ray strain measurements collected on a bainitic steel. In contrast to surface techniques the approach provides insights into the crack tip mechanics deep within the sample.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. The authors are grateful to the ESRF for ID15 beamtime awarded under MA-1483. Financial support of Universidad de Malaga through Plan Propio, Junta de Andalucía through Proyectos de Excelencia grant reference TEP-3244, Campus de Excelencia Internacional del Mar (CEIMAR) and Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad through grant reference MAT2016-76951-C2-2-P is also acknowledged. PJW acknowledges an ERC advanced grant

Impact of patients’ judgment skills on asthma self-management: a pilot study

Background. The majority of current health literacy tools assess functional skills including reading, writing, and numeracy. Although these tools have been able to underline the impact of such skills on individuals’ health behaviour, there is a need for comprehensive measures to examine more advanced skills. The individual’s ability to use health-related information considering his/her own health context, and judging positive and negative consequences of their decisions has been conceptualized as judgment skills. The present study used a newly developed judgment skills tool to explore asthma self-management practices. Design and methods. Eighty asthma patients were recruited from medical offices during the year 2013. The questionnaire was self-administered and contained health literacy questions, the judgment skill tool, the Asthma Control Test, and several self-management questions.Results. Sixty-nine percent of participants had adequate health literacy, while 24% and 5% had marginal and inadequate levels, respectively. The high-judgment group referred more to their doctor when experiencing asthma problems t(76)=−2.18, P<0.032; complied more with the use of their control medicine t(77)=−3.24, P<0.002 and went more regularly to the doctor t(78)=−1.80, P<0.038 (one-tailed) than the low-judgment group.Conclusions. The judgment skills tool can help identify asthma patients’ health information use and reveal how this use may affect some self-management practices

Calcium looping sorbents for CO2 capture

Calcium looping (CaL) is a promising technology for the decarbonation of power generation and carbon-intensive (cement, lime and steel) industries. Although CaL has been extensively researched, some issues need to be addressed before deployment of this technology at commercial scale. One of the important challenges for CaL is decay of sorbent reactivity during capture/regeneration cycles. Numerous techniques have been explored to enhance natural sorbent performance, to create new synthetic sorbents, and to re-activate and re-use deactivated material. This review provides a critical analysis of natural and synthetic sorbents developed for use in CaL. Special attention is given to the suitability of modified materials for utilisation in fluidised-bed systems. Namely, besides requirements for a practical adsorption capacity, a mechanically strong material, resistant to attrition, is required for the fluidised bed CaL operating conditions. However, the main advantage of CaL is that it employs a widely available and inexpensive sorbent. Hence, a compromise must be made between improving the sorbent performance and increasing its cost, which means a relatively practical, scalable, and inexpensive method to enhance sorbent performance, should be found. This is often neglected when developing new materials focusing only on very high adsorption capacity

Health equity and quantifying the patient experience: A case study

The COVID-19 pandemic has invigorated efforts to address health inequities disproportionately burdened by racial/ethnic groups and individuals of low socioeconomic status. Measuring and monitoring patient experience is crucial to understanding why the gaps exist and identifying mechanisms necessary to close them. Electronic health records and digital health tools hold much promise in this regard and can lead to change. We present a case study describing the innovative efforts undertaken at Sutter Health, a large integrated health network in Northern California, to quantify gaps in health equity using electronic platforms and visualization modalities. More work is needed to identify and address barriers rooted in social context and structural inequities and ultimately impact health equity. Experience Framework This article is associated with the Policy & Measurement lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework. (https://www.theberylinstitute.org/ExperienceFramework). Access other PXJ articles related to this lens. Access other resources related to this lens

Sobrecargas en crecimiento de grietas por fatiga biaxial

El presente trabajo se centra en el estudio de grietas de fatiga bajo cargas biaxiales. Se presenta una nueva metodología para evaluar el efecto de las sobrecargas basada en la evaluación experimental del factor de intensidad de tensiones efectivo y de la apertura de la grieta (Crack Opening Displacement, COD). El estudio se ha realizado en probetas cilíndricas de acero de bajo contenido en carbono sometidas a cargas de tracción y torsión. Los datos experimentales se han obtenido mediante la técnica de correlación de imágenes digitales. Se ha comparado la evolución de la grieta con y sin sobrecarga. Además, se ha utilizado un procedimiento de detección de carga de apertura. Dicho procedimiento se había desarrollado previamente en fatiga uniaxial para el caso biaxial. Dicho procedimiento permite poner de manifiesto el cambio originado por un ciclo de sobrecarga.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Operation of a 25 kWth calcium looping pilot-plant with high oxygen concentrations in the calciner

Calcium looping (CaL) is a post-combustion CO2 capture technology that is suitable for retrofitting existing power plants. The CaL process uses limestone as a cheap and readily available CO2 sorbent. While the technology has been widely studied, there are a few available options that could be applied to make it more economically viable. One of these is to increase the oxygen concentration in the calciner to reduce or eliminate the amount of recycled gas (CO2, H2O and impurities); therefore, decreasing or removing the energy necessary to heat the recycled gas stream. Moreover, there is a resulting increase in the energy input due to the change in the combustion intensity; this energy is used to enable the endothermic calcination reaction to occur in the absence of recycled flue gases. This paper presents the operation and first results of a CaL pilot plant with 100% oxygen combustion of natural gas in the calciner. The gas coming into the carbonator was a simulated flue gas from a coal-fired power plant or cement industry. Several limestone particle size distributions are also tested to further explore the effect of this parameter on the overall performance of this operating mode. The configuration of the reactor system, the operating procedures, and the results are described in detail in this paper. The reactor showed good hydrodynamic stability and stable CO2 capture, with capture efficiencies of up to 70% with a gas mixture simulating the flue gas of a coal-fired power plant