A review of nature-based solutions for urban water management in European circular cities: a critical assessment based on case studies and literature

Nature-based solutions (NBS) can protect, manage and restore natural or modified ecosystems. They are a multidisciplinary, integrated approach to address societal challenges and some natural hazards effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits. NBS applications can be easily noticed in circular cities, establishing an urban system that is regenerative and accessible. This paper aims to offer a review on NBS for urban water management from the literature and some relevant projects running within the COST Action ‘Implementing nature-based solutions for creating a resourceful circular city’. The method used in the study is based on a detailed tracking of specific keywords in the literature using Google Scholar, ResearchGate, Academia.edu, ScienceDirect and Scopus. Based on this review, three main applications were identified: (i) flood and drought protection; (ii) the water-food-energy nexus; and (iii) water purification. The paper shows that NBS provide additional benefits, such as improving water quality, increasing biodiversity, obtaining social co-benefits, improving urban microclimate, and the reduction of energy consumption by improving indoor climate. The paper concludes that a systemic change to NBS should be given a higher priority and be preferred over conventional water infrastructure

Evidence for a chemically differentiated outflow in Mrk 231

Aims: Our goal is to study the chemical composition of the outflows of active galactic nuclei and starburst galaxies. Methods: We obtained high-resolution interferometric observations of HCN and HCO$^+$ $J=1\rightarrow0$ and $J=2\rightarrow1$ of the ultraluminous infrared galaxy Mrk~231 with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer. We also use previously published observations of HCN and HCO$^+$ $J=1\rightarrow0$ and $J=3\rightarrow2$, and HNC $J=1\rightarrow0$ in the same source. Results: In the line wings of the HCN, HCO$^+$, and HNC emission, we find that these three molecular species exhibit features at distinct velocities which differ between the species. The features are not consistent with emission lines of other molecular species. Through radiative transfer modelling of the HCN and HCO$^+$ outflow emission we find an average abundance ratio $X(\mathrm{HCN})/X(\mathrm{HCO}^+)\gtrsim1000$. Assuming a clumpy outflow, modelling of the HCN and HCO$^+$ emission produces strongly inconsistent outflow masses. Conclusions: Both the anti-correlated outflow features of HCN and HCO$^+$ and the different outflow masses calculated from the radiative transfer models of the HCN and HCO$^+$ emission suggest that the outflow is chemically differentiated. The separation between HCN and HCO$^+$ could be an indicator of shock fronts present in the outflow, since the HCN/HCO$^+$ ratio is expected to be elevated in shocked regions. Our result shows that studies of the chemistry in large-scale galactic outflows can be used to better understand the physical properties of these outflows and their effects on the interstellar medium (ISM) in the galaxy.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Rehabilitación de un taller de prácticas para la adaptación a las nuevas titulaciones según el proceso de Bolonia en la EUIT Agrícola (UPM).

El proceso de Bolonia supone una gran oportunidad para aplicar en el aula nuevas metodologías de aprendizaje activo. Sin embargo, estas técnicas necesitan la adaptación de las instalaciones de los distintos centros ya que la mayoría de las aulas, laboratorios y talleres tienen una distribución correcta para el desarrollo de clases magistrales, dificultando la realización de distintas técnicas grupales. Las nuevas titulaciones, orientadas a una mayor cooperación y adquisición de competencias transversales asociadas al trabajo grupal requieren, por tanto, la adaptación de estas instalaciones para la consecución de los objetivos de las asignaturas incluidas en los nuevos planes de estudio. En la Escuela Universitaria de Ingeniería Técnica Agrícola han finalizado las obras del taller de prácticas del departamento de Ingeniería Rural, donde se pretende mejorar la calidad docente orientando la docencia hacia las nuevas metodologías de enseñanza que vendrán determinadas con la implantación de las nuevas titulaciones adaptadas al EEES

Evaluation of the Suitability of NEON SIMD Microprocessor Extensions Under Proton Irradiation

This paper analyzes the suitability of single-instruction multiple data (SIMD) extensions of current microprocessors under radiation environments. SIMD extensions are intended for software acceleration, focusing mostly in applications that require high computational effort, which are common in many fields such as computer vision. SIMD extensions use a dedicated coprocessor that makes possible packing several instructions in one single extended instruction. Applications that require high performance could benefit from the use of SIMD coprocessors, but their reliability needs to be studied. In this paper, NEON, the SIMD coprocessor of ARM microprocessors, has been selected as a case study to explore the behavior of SIMD extensions under radiation. Radiation experiments of ARM CORTEX-A9 microprocessors have been accomplished with the objective of determining how the use of this kind of coprocessor can affect the system reliability

Molecular gas in the northern nucleus of Mrk273: Physical and chemical properties of the disk and its outflow

Aiming to characterise the properties of the molecular gas in the ultraluminous infrared galaxy Mrk273 and its outflow, we used the NOEMA interferometer to image the dense gas molecular tracers HCN, HCO+, HNC, HOC+ and HC3N at 86GHz and 256GHz with angular resolutions of 4.9x4.5 arcsec (3.7x3.4 kpc) and 0.61x0.55 arcsec (460x420 pc). We also modelled the flux of several H2O lines observed with Herschel using a radiative transfer code that includes excitation by collisions as well as by far-infrared photons. The disk of the Mrk273 north nucleus has two components with decoupled kinematics. The gas in the outer parts (1.5 kpc) rotates with a south-east to north-west direction, while in the inner disk (300 pc) follows a north-east to south-west rotation. The central 300 pc, which hosts a compact starburst region, is filled with dense and warm gas, contains a dynamical mass of (4-5)x10^9M_sun, a luminosity of L'_HCN=(3-4)x10^8 K km/s pc^2, and a dust temperature of 55 K. At the very centre, a compact core with R~50 pc has a luminosity of L_IR=4x10^11L_sun (30% of the total infrared luminosity), and a dust temperature of 95 K. The core is expanding at low velocities ~50-100 km/s, probably affected by the outflowing gas. We detect the blue-shifted component of the outflow, while the red-shifted counterpart remains undetected in our data. Its cold and dense phase reaches fast velocities up to ~1000 km/s, while the warm outflowing gas has more moderate maximum velocities of ~600 km/s. The outflow is detected as far as 460 pc from the centre in the northern direction, and has a mass of dense gas <8x10^8M_sun. The difference between the position angles of the inner disk (~70 degree) and the outflow (~10 degree) indicates that the outflow is likely powered by the AGN, and not by the starburst. Regarding the chemistry, we measure an extremely low HCO+/HOC+ ratio of 10+-5 in the inner disk of Mrk273.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 21 pages, 17 figures, 7 tables, and a lot of interesting tex

Food and nutrition myths among future secondary school teachers: A problem of trust in inadequate sources of information

The Internet and social networks are full of nutrition information, offering people guidance to make healthy eating choices. These sources always present themselves as a gateway to reliable information on healthy eating; however, too often this is not the case. Far from being trustworthy, there are usually plenty of food myths. A food myth is a widespread false belief about food, nutrition, and eating facts that gives rise to certain behaviors, from fashionable trends to diets. Academic training is a valuable tool to combat food myths and the pseudoscience linked to them, but educators must participate in this battle. To test this idea, we analyzed the prevalence of nine highly popular food myths held by 201 secondary school Spanish teachers. The aim was to assess whether expertise in science areas prevents teachers from falling into these food misconceptions. Our study results showed that food myths are held regardless of specialty area. The power of the media in popularizing and spreading nutrition myths among educators may be the cause, even more potent than academic training. We conclude that since scientific knowledge is not enough to erase food myths, we need further actions if we aim to prevent the problems that food myths may cause

Ectoparasites of Coragyps atratus (Bechstein, 1793) (Accipitriformes: Cathartidae) on Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia

Identificar y conformar una lista de especies de ectoparásitos en el gallinazo negro en dos localidades de la ciudad de Bucaramanga, Colombia. Alcance. Realizar un aporte al conocimiento sobre las especies de ectoparásitos encontrados en piel y plumaje del gallinazo negro en el área metropolitana de Bucaramanga, en el nororiente de los Andes. Metodología. Las aves fueron capturadas en la Plaza de Mercado Guarín y en el Centro de Disposición de Residuos Sólidos “El Carrasco”, ambos en el área metropolitana de Bucaramanga, Colombia. Para obtener los ectoparásitos, los gallinazos se introdujeron uno por uno, en una cámara de fumigación previamente modificada para preservar la vida del ave durante el procedimiento. Adicionalmente, se tomaron algunas plumas y se preservaron en etanol 70%. Principales resultados. Se colectaron 1.696 ectoparásitos sobre 18 gallinazos negros (Coragyps atratus) en dos sitios de Bucaramanga (Colombia). Los parásitos fueron identificados como Cathartacarus coragyps (Gabuciniidae), Dermanysus gallinae (Dermanyssidae), Cuculiphilus alternatus (Menoponidae), Falcolipeurus marginalis (Philopteridae), Laemobothrion glutinans (Laemobothriidae) y Olfesia bisulcata (Hippoboscidae). Las especies más abundantes fueron Cuculiphilus alternatus con 1.217 individuos y Cathartacarus coragyps con 295. Conclusiones. La mayor parte de estos registros son nuevos para la región y amplían el conocimiento con respecto a la distribución de estos ectoparásitos. Tanto las pruebas de Mann-Whitney como los índices parasitológicos calculados permiten observar diferencias entre los dos sitios de muestreo.To identify and to list ectoparasite species of black vulture in two locations in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Scope. To contribute to the knowledge of ectoparasites species found in black vultures in the metropolitan area of Bucaramanga, at the northeastern Andes. Methodology. The birds were captured in Guarin Marketplace and &quot;El Carrasco&quot; Solid Waste Disposal Center, both in the metropolitan area of Bucaramanga, Colombia. To obtain the ectoparasites, each black vulture were introduced into a fumigation chamber previously modified to preserve the life of the bird during the procedure. Moreover, some feathers were taken and preserved in ethanol 70%. Main results. In total, 1,696 ectoparasites were collected from 18 black vultures (Coragyps atratus) in two localities of Bucaramanga (Colombia). The parasites were identified as Cathartacarus coragyps (Gabuciniidae), Dermanysus gallinae (Dermanyssidae), Cuculiphilus alternatus (Menoponidae), Falcolipeurus marginalis (Philopteridae), Laemobothrion glutinans (Laemobothriidae) and Olfesia bisulcata (Hippoboscidae). The most abundant species were Cuculiphilus alternatus with 1,217 specimens and Cathartacarus coragyps with 295. Conclusions. Most of these records are new to the region and contribute to improving the knowledge concerning the ectoparasites distribution in the study area. Mann-Whitney tests and the calculated parasitological indexes show differences between the two sampling places

HIFI spectroscopy of low-level water transitions in M82

We present observations of the rotational ortho-water ground transition, the two lowest para-water transitions, and the ground transition of ionised ortho-water in the archetypal starburst galaxy M82, performed with the HIFI instrument on the Herschel Space Observatory. These observations are the first detections of the para-H2O(111-000) (1113\,GHz) and ortho-H2O+(111-000) (1115\,GHz) lines in an extragalactic source. All three water lines show different spectral line profiles, underlining the need for high spectral resolution in interpreting line formation processes. Using the line shape of the para-H2O(111-000) and ortho-H2O+(111-000) absorption profile in conjunction with high spatial resolution CO observations, we show that the (ionised) water absorption arises from a ~2000 pc^2 region within the HIFI beam located about ~50 pc east of the dynamical centre of the galaxy. This region does not coincide with any of the known line emission peaks that have been identified in other molecular tracers, with the exception of HCO. Our data suggest that water and ionised water within this region have high (up to 75%) area-covering factors of the underlying continuum. This indicates that water is not associated with small, dense cores within the ISM of M82 but arises from a more widespread diffuse gas component.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in A&

Online error detection through trace infrastructure in ARM microprocessors

This paper presents a solution for error detection in ARM microprocessors based on the use of the trace infrastructure. This approach uses the Program and Instrumentation Trace Macrocells that are part of ARM's CoreSight architecture to detect control-flow and data-flow errors, respectively. The proposed approach has been tested with low-energy protons. Experimental results demonstrate high accuracy with up to 95% of observed errors detected in a commercial microprocessor with no hardware modification. In addition, it is shown how the proposed approach can be useful for further analysis and diagnosis of the cause of errors

Update of the recommendations for the determination of biomarkers in colorectal carcinoma: National Consensus of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology and the Spanish Society of Pathology

In this update of the consensus of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (Sociedad Española de Oncología Médica SEOM) and the Spanish Society of Pathology (Sociedad Española de Anatomía Patológica SEAP), advances in the analysis of biomarkers in advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) as well as susceptibility markers of hereditary CRC and molecular biomarkers of localized CRC are reviewed. Recently published information on the essential determination of KRAS, NRAS and BRAF mutations and the convenience of determining the amplifcation of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), the expression of proteins in the DNA repair pathway and the study of NTRK fusions are also evaluated. From the pathological point of view, the importance of analysing the tumour budding and poorly diferentiated clusters, and its prognostic value in CRC is reviewed, as well as the impact of molecular lymph node analysis on lymph node staging in CRC. The incorporation of pan-genomic technologies, such as next-generation sequencing (NGS) and liquid biopsy in the clinical management of patients with CRC is also outlined. All these aspects are developed in this guide, which, like the previous one, will remain open to any necessary revision in the future