Microbial mats and the search for minimal ecosystems

This article reviews some ecological concepts common to all kinds of ecosystems, describes the characteristics of microbial mats, and focuses on the description of the Ebro Delta microbial mats, to assess whether they fit the concept of a minimal ecosystem. First, microorganisms as components of ecosystems are considered, and some features of microbial life, including ubiquity, size and metabolism, genetic versatility, and strategies to overcome unfavorable conditions, are discussed. Models for ecosystems, regardless of their size, have the same basic components; tropical forests, multilayered planktonic microbial communities, and benthic microbial mats are analogous ecosystems at different scales. The structure –in terms of populations and communities– and ecophysiology of microbial mats are also discussed. The linear distribution of microbial populations along steep gradients of light and hydrogen sulfide allows for the simultaneous presence of different microbial populations. Defining the minimal ecosystem requirements necessary for the survival and proliferation of organisms is crucial in the search for extraterrestrial life and for establishing ecosystems beyond the Earth

Realizing live sequence charts in SystemVerilog.

The design of an embedded control system starts with an investigation of properties and behaviors of the process evolving within its environment, and an analysis of the requirement for its safety performance. In early stages, system requirements are often specified as scenarios of behavior using sequence charts for different use cases. This specification must be precise, intuitive and expressive enough to capture different aspects of embedded control systems. As a rather rich and useful extension to the classical message sequence charts, live sequence charts (LSC), which provide a rich collection of constructs for specifying both possible and mandatory behaviors, are very suitable for designing an embedded control system. However, it is not a trivial task to realize a high-level design model in executable program codes effectively and correctly. This paper tackles the challenging task by providing a mapping algorithm to automatically synthesize SystemVerilog programs from given LSC specifications

The Revised Mental Health Inventory-5 (MHI-5) as an ultra-brief screening measure of bidimensional mental health in children and adolescents

The Mental Health Inventory-5 (MHI-5) is a brief, valid, and reliable international instrument for assessing mental health in adults. The aim of the present study is to examine the psychometric properties of the MHI-5 in children and adolescents. A sample of 595 students (10-15 years old) completed the MHI-5 Spanish version adapted for this study, as well as another measure of anxiety and depression symptoms, and a clinical interview as a gold standard. The overall coefficient obtained indicate good internal consistency. A unique factor solution explaining a 53.70% and a two-factor structure explaining 69.20% of the total variance were obtained. The correlations with total and subscale scores of anxiety and depression were significant. A ROC analysis showed good properties as a screening test to predict anxiety and depressive diagnoses in children and adolescents. The Revised MHI-5 presents two essential changes: a simplified 4-point response format and a new factor solution including distress and well-being. These outcomes show that the Revised MHI-5 is a brief, valid, and reliable measure to bidimensionally assess mental health and screening emotional disorders in children and adolescents. Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KEYWORDS: Anxiety; Assessment; Depression; Detection; Distress; Factorial structure; MHI-5; Psychometrics; Spanish; Validation; Well-bein

Outflows of hot molecular gas in ultra-luminous infra-red galaxies mapped with VLT-SINFONI

We present the detection and morphological characterization of hot molecular gas outflows in nearby ultra-luminous infrared galaxies, using the near-IR integral-field spectrograph SINFONI on the VLT. We detect outflows observed in the 2.12 micron H$_{2}$ 1-0 S(1) line for three out of four ULIRGs analyzed; IRAS 12112+0305, 14348-1447, and 22491-1808. The outflows are mapped on scales of 0.7-1.6 kpc, show typical outflow velocities of 300-500 km/s, and appear to originate from the nuclear region. The outflows comprise hot molecular gas masses of ~6-8x10$^3$ M(sun). Assuming a hot-to-cold molecular gas mass ratio of 6x10$^{-5}$, as found in nearby luminous IR galaxies, the total (hot+cold) molecular gas mass in these outflows is expected to be ~1x10$^{8}$ M(sun). This translates into molecular mass outflow rates of ~30-85 M(sun)/yr, which is a factor of a few lower than the star formation rate in these ULIRGs. In addition, most of the outflowing molecular gas does not reach the escape velocity of these merger systems, which implies that the bulk of the outflowing molecular gas is re-distributed within the system and thus remains available for future star formation. The fastest H$_{2}$ outflow is seen in the Compton-thick AGN of IRAS 14348-1447, reaching a maximum outflow velocity of ~900 km/s. Another ULIRG, IRAS 17208-0014, shows asymmetric H$_{2}$ line profiles different from the outflows seen in the other three ULIRGs. We discuss several alternative explanations for its line asymmetries, including a very gentle galactic wind, internal gas dynamics, low-velocity gas outside the disk, or two superposed gas disks. We do not detect the hot molecular counterpart to the outflow previously detected in CO(2-1) in IRAS 17208-0014, but we note that our SINFONI data are not sensitive enough to detect this outflow if it has a small hot-to-cold molecular gas mass ratio of < 9x10$^{-6}$.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A (11 pages, 10 figures

Amorphous CNx layers from neon electron cyclotron resonance plasmas with N2 and CH4 as precursors

© The Electrochemical Society, Inc. 2000. All rights reserved. Except as provided under U.S. copyright law, this work may not be reproduced, resold, distributed, or modified without the express permission of The Electrochemical Society (ECS). The archival version of this work was published in Journal of The Electrochemical Society. Barbadillo, L., Hernández, M. J., Cervera, M. and J. Piqueras. Amorphous CNx layers from neon electron cyclotron resonance plasmas with N2 and CH4 as precursors. Journal of The Electrochemical Society 147.10 (2000): 3864-386

Shape-controlled synthesis and cathodoluminescence properties of elongated α-Fe_2O_3 nanostructures

α-Fe_2O_3 (hematite) nanostructures with various morphologies have been grown by thermal oxidation of compacted iron powder at temperatures between 700 and 900 degrees C. Different thermal treatments have been found to induce the growth of single-crystalline nanowires, nanobelts, nanoplates and featherlike structures, free and caped nanopillars, and pyramidal microcrystals or cactuslike microstructures. The experimental conditions leading to the different morphologies have been systematically investigated, as well as the possible growth mechanisms. The obtained nanostructures have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy in the SEM. The formation of the nanostructures induces changes in the intensity and spectral distribution of the CL emission, as compared with the bulk material. Ligand to metal charge transfer transitions as well as Fe^(3+) ligand field transitions are thought to be involved in the observed luminescence. The evolution of the panchromatic CL intensity in the visible range as a function of temperature shows some anomalies that may be induced by magnetic ordering effects

Turbine and exhaust ports thermal insulation impact on the engine efficiency and aftertreatment inlet temperature

[EN] Worldwide emission regulations are driven the efforts of the automotive industry to meet challenging targets concerning pollution reduction. Nowadays, advances in exhaust aftertreatment systems are primarily required to achieve regulation requirements within the whole engine operating range. Nevertheless, flow parameters, such as the exhaust gas temperature, must be also addressed. This makes engine calibration a fundamental step, but also leads to reconsider the passive design of the exhaust line as a way to improve the engine efficiency. Under this context, a study has been conducted to explore the benefits of heat losses limitation looking for aftertreatment inlet temperature increase at the same time fuel economy is improved. To do so, a baseline diesel engine has been modeled using a gas dynamic software taking special care of the heat transfer processes in the exhaust. The investigation covers the definition of different strategies for exhaust ports and turbine thermal insulation, which are evaluated in a representative range of steady-state operating conditions. As a first step, the theoretical limits and representative technology solutions are considered for each exhaust region. Then, a combination of the most promising strategies has been computed to provide a comprehensive database and analysis of the potential of passive exhaust heat losses control.This research has been partially supported by FEDER and the Government of Spain through project TRA2016-79185-R. Additionally, the Ph.D. student Bárbara Diesel has been funded by a grant from the Government of Generalitat Valenciana with reference ACIF/2018/109.Luján, JM.; Serrano, J.; Piqueras, P.; Diesel Costa, B. (2019). Turbine and exhaust ports thermal insulation impact on the engine efficiency and aftertreatment inlet temperature. Applied Energy. 240:409-423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.02.043S40942324

The influence of consumption context on indulgent versus healthy yoghurts: exploring the relationship between the associated emotions and the actual choices

This work examines the associated emotions of consumers transmitted from extrinsic attributes (fat-related nutrition claims (full-fat, low-fat, and fat-free) and ingredient features (plain, berries, and double chocolate chunk)) labelled on yoghurt packages. It differentiates by consumption context (health versus indulgent) at the time of the survey and studies the relationship between the associated emotions (e.g., positive versus negative) attached to extrinsic attributes and the actual choices. The research was conducted in the Netherlands in 2019, with 209 regular consumers of yoghurt. Participants were divided into two treatments according to each consumption context and a control group (no context); they were instructed to imagine purchasing yoghurt to consume it as a healthy snack or as a dessert or received no instructions. After choosing their preferred option from a discrete choice experiment, participants indicated how the choice made them feel from a list of emotions. The results revealed significant differences between positive emotional profiles for choosing healthy (low-fat) yoghurts with berries and negative profiles for choosing less healthy alternatives (full-fat) with double chocolate chunk sensory features. The findings from a random parameter logit model showed that participants who continuously chose the same type of yoghurt in all choice tasks selected mostly positive rather than negative emotions. The overall findings suggest that the associated emotions affect yoghurt choices. However, the emotions were mainly affected by the consumption context. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland