Temporal analysis of natural radionuclides deposition at Málaga(2005-2016)

Atmospheric deposition of radionuclides has been investigated in many studies from the aspects of both radiation protection and geochemistry. The present study, carried out in the city of Málaga, in the southeast of Spain, focuses on the assessment of the bulk depositional fluxes of three natural radionuclides: 7Be (cosmogenic origin), and 210Pb and 40K (crustal origin). These three radionuclides are useful markers of particles arising from their respective sources. To obtain fundamental information of atmospheric transportation, sedimentation and geological process of particulate matter, a long-term monitoring of atmospheric deposition has been carried out in Málaga from January 2005-December 2016. Samples of bulk deposition were collected on a monthly basis on a stainless steel tray from January 2005 to December 2016. Afterwards, a volume of 6 L of the bulk deposition was reduced via evaporation to 1 L approximately and transferred to a Marinelli geometry container for gamma counting. Additionally, aerosols samples were collected weekly in cellulose membrane filters of 0.8μm pore size and 47mm diameter with an air sampler lodged in an all-weather sampling station, situated on the roof near the bulk rain collector. Gamma counting of the aerosols and bulk deposition samples was performed using an intrinsic germanium coaxial detector, Re-Ge-type (CANBERRA). This study describes the results and then discusses characteristics of atmospheric deposition of mentioned radionuclides with respect to seasonal variations and dependency on controlling factors. The depositional fluxes of all radionuclides showed a clear seasonal trend with summer minimum and high values in wintertime

Mealiness assessment in apples using MRI techniques

Small samples of Top Red apples stored 6 months under controlled atmosphere (expected to be non-mealy) and 2°C (expected to be mealy) have been used for MRI imaging. Multi-slice-multi-echo magnetic resonance images (64*64 pixels) have been recorded with a 8 ms echo time. Three out of four apples corresponding to the sample maintained under controlled atmosphere did not developed mealiness while three out of four fruits corresponding to the sample stored at 2°C became mealy after 6 months of storage. The minimum T2 values obtained for the mealy apples show to be significantly lower (F = 13.21) when compared with non-mealy apples pointing that a more desegregated structure and a lower juiciness content leads to lower T2 signal. Also, there is a significant linear correlation (r = −0.76) between the number of pixels with a T2 value below 35 ms within a fruit image and the deformation parameter registered during the Magness–Taylor firmness test. Finally, all T2 maps of mealy apples show a regional variation of contrast which is not shown for non-mealy apples. Significant differences (F = 19.43) between mealy and non-mealy apples are found in the histograms of the T2 maps as mealy apples show a skew histogram combined with a “tail” in their high T2 extreme which is not shown in the histograms of non-mealy apples. These histogram features are also shown for an apple showing internal breakdown indicating that in mealy apples there is a differential water movement that may precede internal breakdown

Natural radiactivity from building materials in Spain

The industrial construction sector is very important in Spain. Building materials used in this industry are sources of radiation from natural radionuclides they contain. The European Commission published some recommendations to facilitate the trade of these materials in the E.U. The studies about this subject have increased notably during last years. This, probably, can be associated with the increase interest from natural radiation radiological risk on indoor exposure.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear. CSN-201

Mealiness assessment in apples and peaches using MRI techniques

Mealiness (woolliness in peaches) is a negative attribute of sensory texture that combines the sensation of a desegregated tissue with the sensation of lack of juiciness. In this study, 24 apples cv. Top Red and 8 peaches cv. Maycrest, submitted to 3 and 2 different storage conditions respectively have been tested by mechanical and MRI techniques to assess mealiness. With this study, the results obtained on apples in a previous work have been validated using mathematical features from the histograms of the T2 maps: more skewed and the presence of a tail in mealy apples, similar to internal breakdown. In peaches, MRI techniques can also be used to identify woolly fruits. Not all the changes found in the histograms of woolly peaches are similar from those observed in mealy apples pointing to a different underlying physiological change in both disorder

Results on main elasmobranch species from 2001 to 2021 Porcupine Bank (NE Atlantic) bottom trawl surveys

This working document presents the results of the most significant elasmobranch species caught on the Porcupine Spanish Groundfish Survey (SP-PORC-Q3) in 2021. Biomass and abundance index, distribution and length frequency information is presented for Galeus melastomus (blackmouth catshark), Deania calcea (birdbeak dogfish), Deania profundorum (arrowhead dogfish), Scymnodon ringens (knifetooth dogfish), Scyliorhinus canicula (lesser spotted dogfish), Etmopterus spinax (velvet belly lantern shark), Dalatias licha (kitefin shark), Hexanchus griseus (bluntnose sixgill shark), Dipturus nidarosiensis (Norwegian skate), Dipturus batis (common skate), Dipturus intermedius (common skate), Leucoraja circularis (sandy ray) and Leucoraja naevus (cuckoo ray), Squalus acanthias (picked dogfish), Raja clavata (thornback ray) and Raja montagui (spotted ray). In 2021 the biomass of G. melastomus, D. calcea, S. ringens, D. licha, S. acanthias, L. naevus, L. circularis and D. batis increased, whereas it decreased for D. nidarosiensis, H. griseus, S. canicula and E. spinax. Signs of recruitment were found for G. melastomus, D. calcea, S. ringens, D. licha, D. nidarosiensis and D. batis. Only a few specimens of R. clavata, R. montagui, Centroscymnus coelolepis, Oxynotus paradoxus, Centroscymnus crepidater, Apristurus laurussonii, Galeus murinus and Centrophorus squamosus were caught. The species Centroscyllium fabricii and Neoraja caerulea were captured for the first time in the survey. The species D. profundorum and D. intermedius, with regular presence in the historical series, were not found in 2021 survey

Results on main elasmobranches species from 2001 to 2020 Porcupine Bank (NE Atlantic) bottom trawl surveys

This working document presents the results of the most significant elasmobranch species caught on the Porcupine Spanish Groundfish Survey (SP-PORC-Q3) in 2020. Biomass, abundance, distribution and length frequency were analysed for Galeus melastomus (blackmouth catshark), Deania calcea (birdbeak dogfish), Deania profundorum (arrowhead dogfish), Scymnodon ringens (knifetooth dogfish), Scyliorhinus canicula (lesser spotted dogfish), Etmopterus spinax (velvet belly lantern shark), Dalatias licha (kitefin shark), Hexanchus griseus (bluntnose sixgill shark), Dipturus nidarosiensis (Norwegian skate), Dipturus batis (common skate), Dipturus intermedius (common skate), Leucoraja circularis (sandy ray) and Leucoraja naevus (cuckoo ray), Squalus acanthias (picked dogfish) and Raja clavata (thornback ray). In 2020 the biomass of D. calcea, S. ringens, D. nidarosiensis, H. griseus and D. licha increased, whereas it decreased for G. melastomus, S. canicula, E. spinax and L. circularis. Signs of recruitment were found for S. ringens and E. spinax. Only a few specimens of S. acanthias, D. profundorum, R. clavata, D. batis, L. naevus and D. intermedius were captured. The species R. montagui, with regular presence in the historical series, was not found in 2020 survey