Influence of the notch-sharpening technique on styrene-acrylonitrile fracture behavior

The Centre Catala del Plastic and Universidad Rey Juan Carlos laboratories joined forces to investigate the effect of the notch-sharpening technique on the fracture parameters of styrene-acrylonitrile. Contact notch-sharpening techniques, such as razor tapping, razor sliding, and razor broaching, and a noncontact procedure, femtolaser, were analyzed. The fracture values of the samples with notches sharpened via contact techniques were divided into two groups: one with pop-in and the other with no pop-in in the load-displacement records; this resulted in the lowest and highest fracture toughnesses, respectively. The fracture parameters of the specimens with notches sharpened via a femtolaser were between those of the samples with notches sharpened via contact procedures in which pop-in occurred and those in which it did not. To explain these results, the crack front of the nontested specimens after sharpening was investigated in depth, we identified the type of damage and measured its size and the crack tip radii. The morphology of the crack front was related to the fractographic study.Postprint (author's final draft

Surveys as cultural artefacts : applying the international self-report delinquency study to Latin American adolescents

Survey instruments are often watermarked with the language, thought patterns, experience and expectations of their designers’ cultural world. This creates some evident challenges when using surveys in international research projects (for example, in finding equivalent terms in translation), but also some less evident ones deriving from potentially hidden local variations in social experience, values and cognition. Using examples from the International Self-Report Delinquency Study, this article identifies several potential challenges to measurement that arise when an instrument designed with the youth of industrialized democracies in mind is presented to adolescents in a Latin American country (Venezuela). Some strategies for addressing these challenges are outlined

Daily Solar Energy Estimation for Minimizing Energy Storage Requirements in PV Power Plants

This paper proposes an optimized energy management strategy (EMS) for photovoltaic (PV) power plants with energy storage (ES) based on the estimation of the daily solar energy production. This EMS produces a constant-by-hours power reference which mitigates the stochastic nature of PV production typically associated to the solar resource, and enables PV power plants to take part in the day and intraday electricity markets. The possibility of using the intraday market sessions to refine the plant's power reference paves the way to minimizing the energy capacity ratings of the ES system required to operate the PV power plant without incurring excessive production deviations. This proposal is analyzed on an annual basis using actual irradiance data and theoretical irradiance models extracted from official databases

Predictive Power Control for PV Plants With Energy Storage

This work presents a model predictive control (MPC) approach to manage in real-time the energy generated by a grid-tied photovoltaic (PV) power plant with energy storage (ES), optimizing its economic revenue. This MPC approach stands out because, when a long enough prediction horizon is used, the saturation of the ES system (ESS) can be advanced by means of a prediction model of the PV panels production. Therefore, the PV+ES power plant can modify its production so as to manage the power deviations with regard to that committed in the daily and intraday electricity markets, with the objective of reducing economic penalties. The initial power commitment is supposed in this work to be given by a higher level energy management operator. By a proper definition of its objective function, the predictive control allows us to economically optimize the PV+ES power plant performance. This control strategy is tested in simulations with actual data measured for different days with varying meteorological conditions. Results provide a good reference on the economic benefits which can be obtained thanks to the MPC introduction

Characterization of plant growth promoting bacteria isolated from red fruits. Studies on growth promotion and fruit quality in strawberry plants

Microorganisms associated to the rizosphere of plants cultivated plants for human consumption are scarcely analyzed. However,nowadays, organic farming  where the use of microbial inoculants is essential, has arisenas emergent alternative with a great commercial interest.In this study, the characterization of the bacterial microbiotic presents in the rhizosphere of strawberry and blueberry plants has been carried out. In particular, three relevant characteristics have been determined order  to classify he isolated strains as plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB). These characteristics are: 1) the ability to produce auxins, 2) siderophores and 3)  the solubilization of phosphates presents in the medium.On the other hand, the behavior of bacterial strains previously identified as PGPB has been studied in strawberry plants  both in greenhouse and field trials. The plants located in the greenhouse, were inoculated with the endophytic strawberries isolated strains: LTE1, LTE2, LTE3, LTE4, LTE6, EF12a, EF35 and EF113, as well as with three blueberries insolated bacteria which possess a high leves of auxin production, named AC8, ACH2 and ACH7. The strawberries plants located in the field, were inoculated with the strains Hv16, Hvs8 and Rec3.At the greenhouse trials, production parameters (precocity in flowering, number and weight of fruits) as well as biometrical parameters at the end of the trial, the fresh and dry weigth of root and shoots will be analyzed. At the field trial, the following production parameters will be evaluated: number and weight of extra-early fruit (February), number and weight of early fruit (March) and number and weight of total fruit. Quality fruit parameters as color, shape, sugar content (ºBrix), acidity, pH, vitamin C and anthocyanin content will be determined twice, once in February and again at the end of the experiment. By the time, the micro and macro-nutrient will also be analyzaed

Agent-based spatiotemporal simulation of biomolecular systems within the open source MASON framework

Agent-based modelling is being used to represent biological systems with increasing frequency and success. This paper presents the implementation of a new tool for biomolecular reaction modelling in the open source Multiagent Simulator of Neighborhoods framework. The rationale behind this new tool is the necessity to describe interactions at the molecular level to be able to grasp emergent and meaningful biological behaviour. We are particularly interested in characterising and quantifying the various effects that facilitate biocatalysis. Enzymes may display high specificity for their substrates and this information is crucial to the engineering and optimisation of bioprocesses. Simulation results demonstrate that molecule distributions, reaction rate parameters, and structural parameters can be adjusted separately in the simulation allowing a comprehensive study of individual effects in the context of realistic cell environments. While higher percentage of collisions with occurrence of reaction increases the affinity of the enzyme to the substrate, a faster reaction (i.e., turnover number) leads to a smaller number of time steps. Slower diffusion rates and molecular crowding (physical hurdles) decrease the collision rate of reactants, hence reducing the reaction rate, as expected. Also, the random distribution of molecules affects the results significantly.The authors thank the Agrupamento INBIOMED from DXPCTSUG-FEDER unha maneira de facer Europa (2012/273). The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme FP7/REGPOT-2012-2013.1 under Grant Agreement no. 316265 (BIOCAPS) and the [14VI05] Contract-Programme from the University of Vigo. This document reflects only the authors' views and the European Union is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained herein

Bilingual Counseling Competencies: A Call to the Counseling Profession

The Latine population in the United States is increasing, leading to a higher need for bilingual counseling services. Therefore, counselor educators and supervisors must ensure bilingual counselors receive proper ethnocultural and linguistic competence training. This article aims to highlight the significance of bilingual counseling competencies in counselor education, emphasize the importance of linguistic training in cultural competence training, and propose a set of linguistic and ethnocultural competencies to help establish a proficient bilingual counselor. Additionally, future recommendations are discussed

El problema de la igualdad, la desigualdad de la realidad

El problema de la igualdad reposa en la idea de que es algo dado en la vida social, que la igualdad viene dada por la ley y que por ello está supuesta en la vida cotidiana de cualquier persona, sin embargo, el modo en que las vidas humanas están puestas en relación nos demuestra que el asunto de la igualdad no puede ser una obviedad en la socialización humana, debido a que cada vida socialmente tomada está caracterizada por las circunstancias con las que se ha ido haciendo. Desde esa perspectiva, la igualdad no sólo queda como un problema, sino que abre la pregunta sobre aquello que en realidad puede sostener la posibilidad de afirmarla en la vida social. No obstante, la pregunta por la igualdad entre los seres humanos advierte una pregunta aún más profunda y radical: la pregunta por lo que es el ser humano. Pregunta que en este trabajo intenta ser respondida desde la propuesta noologica y antropológica de Xavier Zubiri, pues la pregunta por lo que es el ser humano la complementa con la cuestión de cómo se es humano. Un doble carácter de elementos característicos y de modos de ir quedando en la realidad para dar forma a aquello que denominamos humano. Con esos elementos, el modo compartido en que cada quien es humano o mejor dicho se apropia de su humanidad en el conjunto de las vidas socialmente tomadas que es la sociedad, va mostrando que el modo en que la unicidad de cada ser queda en la realidad, manifiesta la constante desigualdad que no necesariamente implica un aspecto negativo de la vida, sino que advierte modos de poner en relación cada vida con su especificidad, con las posibilidades recibidas y el modo de encargarse de la propia vida. Es este el asunto fundamental de este trabajo, advertir que la no-igualdad con la que cada uno es recibido en la vida y se va haciendo cargo de ella, reclama modos de una vida igualmente posible para cualquiera, de modo que la igualdad termine siendo respuesta y ajuste constante, más que una obviedad.ITESO, A. C

Interaction Effects on the Magneto-optical Response of Magnetoplasmonic Dimers

The effect that dipole-dipole interactions have on the magneto-optical (MO) properties of magnetoplasmonic dimers is theoretically studied. The specific plasmonic versus magnetoplasmonic nature of the dimer's metallic components and their specific location within the dimer plays a crucial role on the determination of these properties. We find that it is possible to generate an induced MO activity in a purely plasmonic component, even larger than that of the MO one, therefore dominating the overall MO spectral dependence of the system. Adequate stacking of these components may allow obtaining, for specific spectral regions, larger MO activities in systems with reduced amount of MO metal and therefore with lower optical losses. Theoretical results are contrasted and confirmed with experiments for selected structures