O petróglifo das Pedragueiras no concello de Muros

Nova sobre o descubrimento no lugar das Pedragueiras, no concello coruñés de Muros, dun conxunto de gravados de arte rupestre prehistórico ó aire libre, e unha primeira aproximación descritiva do xacemento co obxecto de dar a coñecer esta estación, así como o de insistir na necesidade de protexer estas manifestacións da nosa prehistoria recente incluíndoas no correspondente Catálogo de Bens Culturais do Plan Xeral de Ordenación Municipal, entre outras medidas. Analizáronse os soportes materiais e os motivos representados nelas perseguindo un resultado de carácter fundamentalmente descritivo que sirva de base para estudos posterioresAquest article tracta sobre el descobriment a Pedragueiras, al concello coruñés de Muro, d'un conjunt de gravats d'art rupestre prehistòric a l'aire lliure i una primera aproximació descriptiva del jaciment con l'objectiu de donar a conèixer aquest jaciment, així com d'insistir en la necessitat de protegir aquestes manifestacionsde la nostra prehistòria recent incloent-les al corresponent "Catálogo de Bens Culturais do Plan Xeral de Ordenación Muncipal", entre altres mesure. Analitzant els suports materials i els motius representats en ells perseguint un resultat de caràcter fonamentalment descriptiu que serveix de base per estudisposteriors.Report about the discovery in As Pedragueiras, in Muros, A Coruña, of a set of rock engravings of prehistoric origin in an open space and a first descriptive aproximation of the archaeological site with the objective of introduce it. As well as insist in the need of protect this our nearly prehistoric demonstration by adding in the appropriate "Catálogo de Bens Culturais do Plan Xeral de Ordenación Muncipal", besides others decisions. It been analysed the materials media and the represented motifs in, chasing a result fundamentally projective that it can be used in future researchs

Community pharmacists workforce readiness to deliver vaccination services: A cross-sectional study from Jordan

This study assesses Jordanian community pharmacists’ readiness and willingness to deliver vaccination services in their practice sites. Between February and April 2021, a self-administered online questionnaire was distributed via social media, WhatsApp messages, and personal communication. The questionnaire targeted practicing community pharmacies. Descriptive and inferential data analysis was carried out. A total of 403 community pharmacists participated in the study. Almost 146 (36%) community pharmacists reported vaccinating patients in their practice sites. However, readiness assessment revealed that only 54 (13.4%) pharmacists received the required training and qualifications. Moreover, 33 (8.2%) study participants worked in adequately equipped and designed community pharmacies. Overall, surveyed participants held positive attitudes toward their involvement in vaccination services: 260 (64.5%) pharmacists were willing to vaccinate patients, and 227 (65.0%) out of unready, unqualified, participants were willing to get needed training and qualifications. According to study participants, regulatory and professional bodies (Ministry of Health, Jordan Pharmacists Association) are influential in supporting pharmacist-vaccinators. Among the investigated factors, organizational structure and employment status were significantly associated with pharmacists’ readiness to deliver vaccination. This study revealed that further work is needed to increase pharmacists’ and pharmacies’ readiness to deliver vaccination services and that regulators should follow a more active approach in highlighting the importance of training and the impact of training in patients’ safety and satisfaction

Dynamic Analysis With Stress Mode Animation by the Integrated Force Method

Dynamic animation of stresses and displacements, which complement each other, can be a useful tool in the analysis and design of structural components. At the present time only displacement-mode animation is available through the popular stiffness formulation. This paper attempts to complete this valuable visualization tool by augmenting the existing art with stress mode animation. The reformulated method of forces, which in the literature is known as the integrated force method (IFM), became the analyzer of choice for the development of stress mode animation because stresses are the primary unknowns of its dynamic analysis. Animation of stresses and displacements, which have been developed successfully through the IFM analyzers, is illustrated in several examples along with a brief introduction to IFM dynamic analysis. The usefulness of animation in design optimization is illustrated considering the spacer structure component of the International Space Station as an example. An overview of the integrated force method analysis code (IFM/ANALYZERS) is provided in the appendix

Preparation, characterization and antimicrobial assessment of selected ciprofloxacin salts

The formation of salts is considered a simple strategy to modify the physicochemical properties of active pharmaceutical ingredients. In this study, seven novel binary and ternary organic salts of ciprofloxacin (CP) were prepared with benzoic acid (BA), acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), p-coumaric acid (PCMA) and p-aminosalicylic acid (PASA). They were characterized by spectroscopic techniques and differential scanning calorimetry. Solubility and partition coefficients values were also measured. Evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of the organic salts against Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis revealed that most of the new salts had higher antimicrobial activity than CP-HCl against both strains. The most active compounds against S. epidermidis and S. aureus were CP-PASA and CP-PCMA, resp., which were up to fourteen times more potent than parent CP-HCl. Our findings indicated a strong correlation between the lipophilicity of the formed salts and their antimicrobial activity and showed that an optimum value of lipophilicity (logP = 0.75) seemed to be necessary to maximize the antimicrobial activity. These findings highlighted the improved physical, thermal and antimicrobial properties of the new salts of CP that can aid in providing higher bioavailability than CP-HCl

Forced Response Analysis of a Fan with Boundary Layer Inlet Distortion

Boundary layer ingesting propulsion systems have the potential to significantly reduce fuel burn for future generations of commercial aircraft, but these systems must be designed to overcome the challenge of high dynamic stresses in fan blades due to forced response. High dynamic stresses can lead to high cycle fatigue failures. High-fidelity computational analysis of the fan aeromechanics is integral to an ongoing effort to design a boundary layer ingesting inlet and fan for a wind-tunnel test. An unsteady flow solution from a Reynoldsaveraged Navier Stokes analysis of a coupled inlet-fan system is used to calculate blade unsteady loading and assess forced response of the fan to distorted inflow. Conducted prior to the mechanical design of a fan, the initial forced response analyses performed in this study provide an early look at the levels of dynamic stresses that are likely to be encountered. For the boundary layer ingesting inlet, the distortion contains strong engine order excitations that act simultaneously. The combined effect of these harmonics was considered in the calculation of the forced response stresses. Together, static and dynamic stresses can provide the information necessary to evaluate whether the blades are likely to fail due to high cycle fatigue. Based on the analyses done, the overspeed condition is likely to result in the smallest stress margin in terms of the mean and alternating stresses. Additional work is ongoing to expand the analyses to off-design conditions, on-resonance conditions, and to include more detailed modeling of the blade structure

Comparative Evaluation of Different Optimization Algorithms for Structural Design Applications

Non-linear programming algorithms play an important role in structural design optimization. Fortunately, several algorithms with computer codes are available. At NASA Lewis Research Centre, a project was initiated to assess the performance of eight different optimizers through the development of a computer code CometBoards. This paper summarizes the conclusions of that research. CometBoards was employed to solve sets of small, medium and large structural problems, using the eight different optimizers on a Cray-YMP8E/8128 computer. The reliability and efficiency of the optimizers were determined from the performance of these problems. For small problems, the performance of most of the optimizers could be considered adequate. For large problems, however, three optimizers (two sequential quadratic programming routines, DNCONG of IMSL and SQP of IDESIGN, along with Sequential Unconstrained Minimizations Technique SUMT) outperformed others. At optimum, most optimizers captured an identical number of active displacement and frequency constraints but the number of active stress constraints differed among the optimizers. This discrepancy can be attributed to singularity conditions in the optimization and the alleviation of this discrepancy can improve the efficiency of optimizers

A Cascade Optimization Strategy for Solution of Difficult Multidisciplinary Design Problems

A research project to comparatively evaluate 10 nonlinear optimization algorithms was recently completed. A conclusion was that no single optimizer could successfully solve all 40 problems in the test bed, even though most optimizers successfully solved at least one-third of the problems. We realized that improved search directions and step lengths, available in the 10 optimizers compared, were not likely to alleviate the convergence difficulties. For the solution of those difficult problems we have devised an alternative approach called cascade optimization strategy. The cascade strategy uses several optimizers, one followed by another in a specified sequence, to solve a problem. A pseudorandom scheme perturbs design variables between the optimizers. The cascade strategy has been tested successfully in the design of supersonic and subsonic aircraft configurations and air-breathing engines for high-speed civil transport applications. These problems could not be successfully solved by an individual optimizer. The cascade optimization strategy, however, generated feasible optimum solutions for both aircraft and engine problems. This paper presents the cascade strategy and solutions to a number of these problems

Термічний аналіз деревини та кори робінії несправжньоакації в деревостанах Північного степу України

The thermal degradation of the wood and bark of the main forest-forming spesies of artificial forest plantations of the Northern Steppe of Ukraine – Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) has been investigated using thermogravimetric methods – a thermogravimetric curve (TG) and a differential thermogravimetric curve (DTG), or a curve of the rate of change in the mass of the investigated sample. Thermal analysis of samples of wood and bark was carried out in an oxidizing (air) atmosphere. Some stages of thermal decomposition of wood and bark under conditions of a programmable heating up to 600°C at heating rates 10°C/min (TG/DTG/DTA) and their temperature intervals, mass loss, mass loss intensity and thermal effects have also been investigated. Wood and bark samples were fully characterized from that data which deals with the activation energy analysis at the individual stages of thermal decomposition. The dependences of the activation energy on the degree of conversion, as well as by comparison of the mass loss at the appropriate stages of the thermal degradation, thermal effects, residual mass and some other parameters of TG/DTG have also been evaluated. A greater content of constitutional moisture in the composition of the bark samples with decrease in the temperature of the onset of intensive destruction of the bark in comparison with wood have been revealed. The results of thermogravimetric measurements were analysed in the framework of the kinetic model of Brodo. The activation energy of processes of bark and wood destruction in each temperature range and in the whole investigated range is calculated and mathematical models are proposed for estimating the dependence of mass loss on the temperature degradation of the components of the aboveground phytomass of the studied forest-forming species. Comparison of DTA curves showed that the thermal effect of thermooxidative destruction of the bark as a whole is greater than that of wood, which correlates well with a decrease in the activation energy.За допомогою методів термогравіметрії – термогравіметричної кривої (ТГ), диференціальної термогравіметричної кривої (ДТГ), або кривої інтенсивності зміни маси досліджуваного зразка, досліджено термічну деструкцію деревини і кори головної лісотвірної породи штучних лісових насаджень Північного Степу України – робінії несправжньоакації (Robinia pseudoacacia L.). Термічний аналіз зразків деревини і кори здійснено в окиснювальній (повітря) атмосфері. Встановлено стадії термічного розкладання деревинної речовини і кори в умовах програмованого нагріву до 600 оС зі швидкістю 10 оС/хв (ТГ/ДТГ/ДТА), їх температурні інтервали, втрату маси, інтенсивність втрати маси та теплові ефекти. На основі аналізу величин енергії активації на окремих стадіях термічного розкладання, залежності енергії активації від ступеня конверсії деревини і кори, а також із порівняння втрати маси на відповідних стадіях термодеструкції, теплових ефектів, залишкової маси і інших параметрів ТГ/ДТГ, охарактеризовано деревину і кору робінії. Деревина робінії характеризується значнішою термостабільністю, ніж кора. Запропоновано математичні моделі для оцінювання залежності втрати маси від температури деструкції складників надземної фітомаси (кори, деревини) досліджуваного деревного виду

Cascade Optimization Strategy for Aircraft and Air-Breathing Propulsion System Concepts

Design optimization for subsonic and supersonic aircraft and for air-breathing propulsion engine concepts has been accomplished by soft-coupling the Flight Optimization System (FLOPS) and the NASA Engine Performance Program analyzer (NEPP), to the NASA Lewis multidisciplinary optimization tool COMETBOARDS. Aircraft and engine design problems, with their associated constraints and design variables, were cast as nonlinear optimization problems with aircraft weight and engine thrust as the respective merit functions. Because of the diversity of constraint types and the overall distortion of the design space, the most reliable single optimization algorithm available in COMETBOARDS could not produce a satisfactory feasible optimum solution. Some of COMETBOARDS' unique features, which include a cascade strategy, variable and constraint formulations, and scaling devised especially for difficult multidisciplinary applications, successfully optimized the performance of both aircraft and engines. The cascade method has two principal steps: In the first, the solution initiates from a user-specified design and optimizer, in the second, the optimum design obtained in the first step with some random perturbation is used to begin the next specified optimizer. The second step is repeated for a specified sequence of optimizers or until a successful solution of the problem is achieved. A successful solution should satisfy the specified convergence criteria and have several active constraints but no violated constraints. The cascade strategy available in the combined COMETBOARDS, FLOPS, and NEPP design tool converges to the same global optimum solution even when it starts from different design points. This reliable and robust design tool eliminates manual intervention in the design of aircraft and of air-breathing propulsion engines where it eases the cycle analysis procedures. The combined code is also much easier to use, which is an added benefit. This paper describes COMETBOARDS and its cascade strategy and illustrates the capability of the combined design tool through the optimization of a subsonic aircraft and a high-bypass-turbofan wave-rotor-topped engine

Degradation and Removal Methods for Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Water

Several perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been identified as chemicals of concern in the environment due to their persistence, global ubiquity, and classification as reproductive and developmental toxicants, endocrine disrupters, and possible carcinogens. Multiple PFASs are often found together in the environment due to product manufacturing methods and abiotic and biotic transformations. Treatment methods are needed to effectively sequester or destroy a variety of PFASs from groundwater, drinking water, and wastewater. This review presents a comprehensive summary of several categories of treatment approaches: (1) sorption using activated carbon, ion exchange, or other sorbents, (2) advanced oxidation processes, including electrochemical oxidation, photolysis, and photocatalysis, (3) advanced reduction processes using aqueous iodide or dithionite and sulfite, (4) thermal and nonthermal destruction, including incineration, sonochemical degradation, sub- or supercritical treatment, microwave-hydrothermal treatment, and high-voltage electric discharge, (5) microbial treatment, and (6) other treatment processes, including ozonation under alkaline conditions, permanganate oxidation, vitamin-B_(12) and Ti(III) citrate reductive defluorination, and ball milling. Discussion of each treatment technology, including background, mechanisms, advances, and effectiveness, will inform the development of cost-effective PFAS remediation strategies based on environmental parameters and applicable methodologies. Further optimization of current technologies to analyze and remove or destroy PFASs below regulatory guidelines is needed. Due to the stability of PFASs, a combination of multiple treatment technologies will likely be required to effectively address real-world complexities of PFAS mixtures and cocontaminants present in environmental matrices