Modelling the exposure to Cronobacter sakazakii by consumption of a cocoa-milk-based beverage processed by pulsed electric fields

peer-reviewedM.C. Pina-Pérez is grateful to CSIC for providing a DOCTOR contract linked to the INNPACTO project IPT-2011-1724-060000. This study was carried out with funds from BISOSTAD project PSE-060000-2009-003, Generalitat Valenciana I+D+I emergent research groups GV/2010/064 and CYCIT project AGL2010-22206-C02-01.Infants’ exposure (Nf ) to Cronobacter sakazakii via the consumption of infant-rich-inpolyphenols cocoa-milk-based beverages (CCX-M) treated with high-intensity pulsed electric fields (PEF) was evaluated. Monte Carlo simulation enabled the prediction of the variability in C. sakazakii load in beverages at the time of consumption to be estimated. Different scenarios (initial contamination levels; PEF treatment conditions; and time-temperature combinations of CCX-M beverages storage after treatment) were simulated. Cocoa addition and PEF treatment resulted in the most influential input factors to control bacterial final load. Cronobacter spp. exposure risk was reduced by a maximum of 100 times at 95% of iterations due to addition of cocoa at 5 g/100 mL, corresponding to scenario 3 (PEF: 15 kV/cm–3,000 μs; storage 120 h at 8 °C). Moreover, the probability of illness for a healthy population was reduced from 2.15 × 10-8, in the baseline scenario, to 4.78 × 10-10 due to cocoa addition and application of 15 kV/cm–3,000 μs PEF treatment.BISOSTAD projec

Renewable Integration in Island Electricity Systems – A System Dynamics Assessment

Island electricity systems tend to rely heavily on the use of fossil fuels for the everyday supply of customer needs, so there are both significant economic and environmental benefits from the decarbonisation of these systems. One such key global environmental benefit is the anticipated reduction in CO2 emissions and its associated effects on climate change. In recognition, many islands are already pursuing ambitious goals for renewable energy sources integration. The resulting effects of policy on the long-term investment decisions however, need to be better understood. This paper presents a system dynamics simulation model which evaluates the adoption and diffusion of renewable generation sources within an existing island electricity system. In particular, renewable sources within the Azorean island of São Miguel are considered, with findings revealing that the requisite long-term investments are framed by the local experience of the renewable technologies and the pursuit of further renewable integration policy targets

Tools for the implementation of a SCADA system in a desalination process

In this work a system is designed and implemented in SCADA MOVICON 11.5, in which the operation of five seawater desalination lines by reverse osmosis which work in parallel, with four coastal wells and two end-of-line pumps of the permeated water obtainedare integrated, synchronized and supervised as a single plant. Each desalination line has its own control system and can operate independently. As a product, synchronization algorithms were obtained that were added to the system through script codes, which guarantee continuous productivity in the desalination process, achieving synchronization between the mentioned sub-processes. Simultaneous operations of starting, washing and stopping that affected the performance of the osmosis lines are avoided. Alarmsare generated, reports are created, historical records and trends for the decision making on failures prediction, predictive maintenance and troubleshooting

Aspectos a considerar en el diseño y ejecución de espigones de baja cota : el caso del espigón de Fuentebravía

Los espigones de baja cota de coronación se han utilizado con éxito como obras necesarias para evitar la pérdida lateral de arena, en los casos en que se minimicen los efectos negativos que dichos espigones puedan causar en las playas cercanas. Han sido varios los espigones de baja cota de coronación utilizados en el litoral gaditano (Playas de Santa María del Mar en Cádiz, Regla en Chipiona, La Costilla en Rota, y Fuentebravía, en El Puerto de Santa María). Entre los factores a tener en cuenta en su diseño, destacan principalmente los siguientes aspectos (Gómez Pina, 2003): i) Técnicos, ii) Ambientales, iii) Económicos, iv) De integración en el entorno, v) Estéticos, vi) Recreacionales. Todos estos aspectos deben abordarse de una forma integral, siendo los tres últimos—aunque puedan parecer de menor importancia—cruciales a la hora de obtener la aceptación social, entre los distintos grupos que utilizan la playa

Coste de la limpieza “cotidiana” de playas

Más de 90.000 buques mercantes al año cruzan el Estrecho de Gibraltar de los que aproximadamente un 5% son petroleros. Ello, conjuntamente con la existencia de varios puertos con refinerías y polígonos industriales petroquímicos y la práctica del bunkering para aprovisionamiento de combustible, hace a la costa gaditana un punto de riesgo para la contaminación por hidrocarburos (Carmona et al., 2009). La Demarcación de Costas de Andalucía-Atlántico (DCAA), dependiente del Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente, ha realizado en numerosas ocasiones la limpieza de su litoral debido a la polución producida por ese tipo de vertidos (Carmona et al., 2012), existiendo ya alguna bibliografía sobre cómo abordar la retirada de alquitrán y otros derivados similares de las playas (e.g. DGC 2005, CEPRECO 2006a, CEPRECO 2006b). Sin embargo, además de la fracción no volátil de los hidrocarburos, existe otro tipo de desechos, naturales y/o antrópicos, que llegan a nuestras playas y que, debido sobre todo al carácter turístico de nuestro litoral, deben ser recogidos. Por ley, esta limpieza corresponde a las autoridades locales. No obstante, debido a la escasez de su presupuesto, los municipios suelen atender prioritariamente a la limpieza de las playas más urbanas y de máxima utilización. Es por este motivo que, dentro de un espíritu de colaboración entre Administraciones, la DCAA, mediante su partida de conservación y mantenimiento, ha apoyado las tareas de los Ayuntamientos, reforzando la labor municipal en las playas más concurridas y limpiando aquellas que son menos visitadas ya sea por su lejanía del casco urbano o por su escasez de servicios. En esta ponencia se presentarán los medios humanos y materiales con los que se cuenta para esta tarea, aportando cifras de toneladas de basura retiradas y coste del trabajo, junto con una comparación superficial con los datos de otros organismos y alguna sugerencia de posibles mejoras de la productividad

Parents' and students' talks about learning: A study with fifth grade students

O significado atribuído ao fenómeno “aprender” é influenciado pela inte-relação entre indivíduos, contextos e culturas. A idade do aluno, as concepções familiares e culturais e o contexto de ensino constituem-se como alguns dos aspectos que influenciam as concepções de aprendizagem dos alunos. O estudo apresentado, realizado no marco teórico fenomenográfico, está focalizado na descrição das concepções das pessoas sobre as várias facetas do fenómeno aprender. O principal objectivo centra-se no mapeamento das concepções de aprendizagem de alunos do 5.º ano de escolaridade e dos seus pais (encarregados de educação). Os dados foram obtidos através de entrevistas semiestruturadas e tratados qualitativa e quantitativamente. Os resultados sugerem que os pais conceptualizam o aprender maioritariamente como algo processual e experiencial, enquanto os filhos o conceptualizam sobretudo desde uma perspectiva processual e instrumental. São discutidas implicações destes dados para o processo de aprendizagem.People’s concept on ‘learning’ is influenced by the interrelation among individuals, contexts and cultures. The student’s age, his family and cultural conceptions and the learning context are some of the main aspects that can influence the conceptions regarding the student’s learning process. Under the framework of phenomenographic theory, this paper focus on people’s description of the learning conceptions which are present in daily life phenomena. Mapping fifth grade students and their parents’ conceptions concerning the learning process is the main goal of this study. Semi-structured interviews were used; data were treated by following qualitative and quantitative approaches. The outcomes suggest that parents use to conceptualize ‘learning´ as something ‘processual and experimental´, whereas their children, the students, understand ‘learning` under a processual, but also instrumental perspective. The implications of such findings, in relation to the learning process, are also discussed in the paper.El significado atribuido al fenómeno “aprender” es influenciado por la interrelación entre individuos, contextos y culturas. La edad del alumno, las concepciones familiares y culturales y el contexto de enseñanza se constituyen como algunos de los aspectos que influencian las concepciones de aprendizaje de los alumnos. El estudio presentado, realizado en el marco teórico fenómeno gráfico, está focalizado en la descripción de las concepciones de las personas sobre las varias facetas del fenómeno aprender. El principal objetivo se centra en el “mapeamiento” de las concepciones de aprendizaje de alumnos del 5.º año de escolaridad y de sus padres (encargados de educación). Los datos fueron obtenidos a través de entrevistas semiestructuradas y tratados cualitativa y cuantitativamente. Los resultados sugieren que los padres conceptualizan el aprender mayoritariamente como algo procesual y experiencial, mientras los hijos lo conceptualizan sobretodo desde una perspectiva procesual e instrumental. Se discuten implicaciones de estos datos para el proceso de aprendizaje.(undefined

Study of cliff shoreline erosion

doi: 10.9753/icce.v33.sediment.96In this paper the cliff shoreline erosion on the coastline between Punta Montijo and the Chipiona Port (Cadiz, Spain) is studied. The reasons which cause this erosive phenomenon and the future erosive tendency of these cliffs are estimated, obtaining magnitudes of recession and the rate at which it will occur. Analysis of the current situation has been carried out by determining its plan shape, the study of the theoretical erosion profile of the cliffs and the verification of their failure. The future evolution of the cliffs shoreline has been analysed through the simulation of its recession and the study of the profile response to storm wave action. Finally, is presented a model to estimate the recession of the cliff shoreline.Directorate General for the Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea of the Government of Spainhttp://journals.tdl.org/icce/index.php/icce/article/view/695

Turbidity and Other Effects Resulting from Trafalgar Sandbank Dredging and Palmar Beach Nourishment

Beach-nourishment requirements on the southwestern Spanish coast have led to a significant increase in offshore dredging. Following a new research line, assessment of changes recorded in physicochemical and biological parameters due to dredging and dumping operations was performed at the Cape of Trafalgar and Palmar Beach during June and July 2008. Turbidity, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and suspended-sediment data were collected at 10 stations. At the end of the study, a three-campaign monitoring program was implemented for 1 year to assess the possible effects on biological communities and sediment properties. The relevant results, such as the average extent of the sediment plume (< 400 m) and its persistence in the environment (< 10 min), are discussed in this paper. A precise correlation between turbidity and suspended sediments and the recovery time of ecological balance were also established. Furthermore, minimal and reversible effects caused by dredging and dumping operations in this type of marine environment were identified