First tests of the applicability of γ\gamma-ray imaging for background discrimination in time-of-flight neutron capture measurements

In this work we explore for the first time the applicability of using $\gamma$-ray imaging in neutron capture measurements to identify and suppress spatially localized background. For this aim, a pinhole gamma camera is assembled, tested and characterized in terms of energy and spatial performance. It consists of a monolithic CeBr$_3$ scintillating crystal coupled to a position-sensitive photomultiplier and readout through an integrated circuit AMIC2GR. The pinhole collimator is a massive carven block of lead. A series of dedicated measurements with calibrated sources and with a neutron beam incident on a $^{197}$Au sample have been carried out at n_TOF, achieving an enhancement of a factor of two in the signal-to-background ratio when selecting only those events coming from the direction of the sample.Comment: Preprint submitted to Nucl. Instr. and Meth.

Caffeine Encapsulation in Metal Organic Framework MIL-53(Al) at Pilot Plant Scale for Preparation of Polyamide Textile Fibers with Cosmetic Properties

Currently in the marketplace, we can find clothing items able to release skin-friendly ingredients while wearing them. These innovative products with high-added value are based on microencapsulation technology. In this work, due to its lightness, flexibility, porosity, chemical affinity and adsorption capacity, metal-organic framework (MOF) MIL-53(Al) was the selected microcapsule to be synthesized at a large scale and subsequent caffeine encapsulation. The synthesis conditions (molar ratio of reactants, solvents used, reaction time, temperature, pressure reached in the reactor and activation treatment to enhance the encapsulation capacity) were optimized by screening various scaling-up reactor volumes (from lab-scale of 40 mL to pilot plant production of 3.75 L). Two types of Al salts (Al(NO3)3·9H2O from the original recipe and Al2(SO4)3 as commercial SUFAL 8.2) were employed. The liporeductor cosmetic caffeine was selected as the active molecule for encapsulation. Caffeine (38 wt %) was incorporated in CAF@MIL-53(Al) microcapsules, as analyzed by TGA and corroborated by GC/MS and UV-vis after additive extraction. CAF@MIL-53(Al) microcapsules showed a controlled release of caffeine during 6 days at 25 °C (up to 22% of the initial caffeine). These capsules were incorporated through an industrial spinning process (with temperatures up to 260 °C) to manufacture PA-6 fibers with cosmetic properties. Up to 0.7 wt % of capsules were successfully incorporated into the fibers hosting 1700 ppm of caffeine. Fabrics were submitted to scouring, staining, and washing processes, detecting the presence of caffeine in the cosmetic fiber. © 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society

A multi-wavelength view of the central kiloparsec region in the Luminous Infrared Galaxy NGC1614

The Luminous Infrared Galaxy NGC1614 hosts a prominent circumnuclear ring of star formation. However, the nature of the dominant emitting mechanism in its central ~100 pc is still under debate. We present sub-arcsecond angular resolution radio, mid-infrared, Pa-alpha, optical, and X-ray observations of NGC1614, aimed at studying in detail both the circumnuclear ring and the nuclear region. The 8.4 GHz continuum emission traced by the Very Large Array (VLA) and the Gemini/T-ReCS 8.7 micron emission, as well as the Pa-alpha line emission, show remarkable morphological similarities within the star-forming ring, suggesting that the underlying emission mechanisms are tightly related. We used an HST/NICMOS Pa-alpha map of similar resolution to our radio maps to disentangle the thermal free-free and non-thermal synchrotron radio emission, from which we obtained the intrinsic synchrotron power-law for each individual region within the central kpc of NGC1614. The radio ring surrounds a relatively faint, steep-spectrum source at the very center of the galaxy, suggesting that the central source is not powered by an AGN, but rather by a compact (r < 90 pc) starburst. Chandra X-ray data also show that the central kpc region is dominated by starburst activity, without requiring the existence of an AGN. We also used publicly available infrared data to model-fit the spectral energy distribution of both the starburst ring and a putative AGN in NGC1614. In summary, we conclude that there is no need to invoke an AGN to explain the observed bolometric properties of the galaxy.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, 5 tables. Accepted for publication in Ap

Fuzzy-based forest fire prevention and detection by wireless sensor networks

Forest fires may cause considerable damages both in ecosystems and lives. This proposal describes the application of Internet of Things and wireless sensor networks jointly with multi-hop routing through a real time and dynamic monitoring system for forest fire prevention. It is based on gathering and analyzing information related to meteorological conditions, concentrations of polluting gases and oxygen level around particular interesting forest areas. Unusual measurements of these environmental variables may help to prevent wildfire incidents and make their detection more efficient. A forest fire risk controller based on fuzzy logic has been implemented in order to activate environmental risk alerts through a Web service and a mobile application. For this purpose, security mechanisms have been proposed for ensuring integrity and confidentiality in the transmission of measured environmental information. Lamport's signature and a block cipher algorithm are used to achieve this objective

Environmental Factors Involved in the High Incidence of Bladder Cancer in an Industrialized Area in North-Eastern Spain

Neoplasias de la vejiga; Contaminantes atmosféricos; Exposición ambientalUrinary bladder neoplasms; Air pollutants; Environmental exposureCàncer de bufeta; Contaminants atmosfèrics; Exposició ambientalBackground: Bladder cancer (BC) is the most common of those affecting the urinary tract, and a significant proportion of the cases are attributable to tobacco use as well as occupational and environmental factors. Objective: The aim of this study is to estimate the current incidence of BC in an industrialized area in northeastern Spain and to analyze its time trends over three decades from an ecological perspective. Methods: Patients diagnosed with histologically confirmed primary BC, during 2018-2019, in an area in northeastern Spain (430,883 inhabitants) were included. Crude and age-standardized incidence rates were estimated per 100,000 person-years based on the number of individuals getting their first diagnosis. An exploratory time trend analysis was carried out to describe the evolution in tobacco use and occupational or environmental risk factors and the incidence of BC in the same area from the 1990s. Results: 295 patients were included (age 72.5 ± 10.3 years; 89.8% men). The crude rate was 62.6 (95% CI: 51.9-73.2) for men and 6.8 (95% CI: 3.4-10.3) for women. The annual rate adjusted to the European Standard Population was 85.3 (95% CI:75.0-95.5) for men and 7.0 (95% CI:4.5-9.5) for women. From 1994 to 2018, the prevalence of smokers decreased in men (42.3% to 30.9%) as well as in the active population working in the industry (44.36% to 22.59%). Nevertheless, the car fleet, especially diesel, has increased considerably. The annual mean concentrations of air (PM10, PM2.5, O3, and NO2) and water (nitrates, arsenic, trihalomethanes) pollutants were within the regulatory limit values, but not the maximum levels. Conclusions: The incidence of BC is one of the highest in men but not in women, despite the decrease in tobacco use and industrial activity (perhaps related to high latency after carcinogen exposure cessation) and despite the control of environmental pollution (the maximum regulatory limit probably needs to be lowered). Finally, a similar exposure to the carcinogen would result in a gender-specific differential incidence

Resultados y gestión de la caza mayor en el Parque Natural Sierra de Hornachuelos (Córdoba)

Informe Técnico para la Delegación de Medio Ambiente de Córdoba. 96 págs.En este Informe Técnico se compila, analiza y contrasta la información oficial disponible sobre la actividad cinegética en los cotos de caza mayor del parque natural de la sierra de Hornachuelos con el objetivo de evaluar los resultados de la actividad cinegética y de contrastar la información de previsión de capturas de los Planes Técnicos con los datos de capturas de los partes de resultados y las memorias anuales

SHARDS: Constraints on the dust attenuation law of star-forming galaxies at z~2

We make use of SHARDS, an ultra-deep (<26.5AB) galaxy survey that provides optical photo-spectra at resolution R~50, via medium band filters (FWHM~150A). This dataset is combined with ancillary optical and NIR fluxes to constrain the dust attenuation law in the rest-frame NUV region of star-forming galaxies within the redshift window 1.5<z<3. We focus on the NUV bump strength (B) and the total-to-selective extinction ratio (Rv), targeting a sample of 1,753 galaxies. By comparing the data with a set of population synthesis models coupled to a parametric dust attenuation law, we constrain Rv and B, as well as the colour excess, E(B-V). We find a correlation between Rv and B, that can be interpreted either as a result of the grain size distribution, or a variation of the dust geometry among galaxies. According to the former, small dust grains are associated with a stronger NUV bump. The latter would lead to a range of clumpiness in the distribution of dust within the interstellar medium of star-forming galaxies. The observed wide range of NUV bump strengths can lead to a systematic in the interpretation of the UV slope ($\beta$) typically used to characterize the dust content. In this study we quantify these variations, concluding that the effects are $\Delta\beta$~0.4.Comment: 13 pages, 11+2 figures, 3 tables. MNRAS, in pres

Morphological studies of the Spitzer Wide-Area Infrared Extragalactic survey galaxy population in the UGC 10214 Hubble space telescope/advanced camera for surveys field

We present the results of a morphological analysis of a small subset of the Spitzer Wide-Area Infrared Extragalactic survey (SWIRE) galaxy population. The analysis is based on public Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) data taken inside the SWIRE N1 field, which are the deepest optical high-resolution imaging available within the SWIRE fields as of today. Our reference sample includes 156 galaxies detected by both ACS and SWIRE. Among the various galaxy morphologies, we disentangle two main classes, spheroids (or bulge-dominated galaxies) and disc-dominated ones, for which we compute the number counts as a function of flux. We then limit our sample to objects with Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) fluxes brighter than 10 μJy, estimated ~90 per cent completeness limit of the SWIRE catalogues, and compare the observed counts to model predictions. We find that the observed counts of the spheroidal population agree with the expectations of a hierarchical model while a monolithic scenario predicts steeper counts. Both scenarios, however, underpredict the number of late-type galaxies. These observations show that the large majority (close to 80 per cent) of the 3.6- and 4.5-μm galaxy population, even at these moderately faint fluxes, is dominated by spiral and irregular galaxies or mergers

Theoretical analysis of the focusing of acoustic waves by two-dimensional sonic crystals

Motivated by a recent experiment on acoustic lenses, we perform numerical calculations based on a multiple scattering technique to investigate the focusing of acoustic waves with sonic crystals formed by rigid cylinders in air. The focusing effects for crystals of various shapes are examined. The dependance of the focusing length on the filling factor is also studied. It is observed that both the shape and filling factor play a crucial role in controlling the focusing. Furthermore, the robustness of the focusing against disorders is studied. The results show that the sensitivity of the focusing behavior depends on the strength of positional disorders. The theoretical results compare favorably with the experimental observations, reported by Cervera, et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 023902 (2002)).Comment: 8 figure