Simplified sensor design for temperature-strain discrimination using Fiber Bragg Gratings embedded in laminated composites

Several easy-to-manufacture designs based on a pair of Fiber Bragg Gratings structure embedded in Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) have been explored. These smart composites can be used for strain and temperature discrimination. A Finite Elements Analysis and Matlab software were used to study the mechanical responses and its optical behaviors. The results exhibited different sensitivity and using a matrix method it is possible to compensate the thermal drift in a real application keeping a simple manufacture process

Entornos virtuales de investigación para la toma de decisiones en el ámbito del medio ambiente urbano

Since the beginning of the European program for research and innovation “Horizon 2020”, the EU has promoted the development and use of so-called virtual research environments beyond the usual academic boundaries. Such systems allow todemocratize decisions, investigate and validate results and transfer more quickly technological advances towards citizenship. In this communication we share the recent experience on developing a virtual research laboratory on water management (https://swirlvre.es) whose conceptual design and technology architecture can fit into the latent philosophy behind the concept of shared Greencities.Desde los inicios del programa europeo para la investigación e innovación “Horizonte 2020”, la Unión Europea ha promovido el desarrollo y el uso de los denominados entornos virtuales de investigación más allá de los límites académicos habituales. Este tipo de sistemas permiten democratizar las decisiones, investigar y validar resultados y, transferir con mayor celeridad los avances tecnológicos a la ciudadanía. En la presente comunicación se comparte la experiencia reciente del desarrollo de un laboratorio virtual de investigación en materia de gestión de aguas (https://swirlvre.es) cuyo diseño conceptual y arquitectura tecnológica pueden encajar en la filosofía latente tras el concepto de Greencities

International migratory agreements: the paradox of adverse interest

This article seeks to explain the contradiction between the promises of welfare gains derived from the economic models recommending the removal of immigration restrictions and the realities experienced by countries attempting to apply restrictions to immigration flows. A formal model is built in which the strategic reaction of countries considers not only the benefits derived from migration but also the (economic and non-economic) costs that migration can generate in the host country. Strategic reactions drive what may be called the “paradox of adverse interest”: the fewer potential gains associated with liberalization of migration, the easier it becomes for nations to reach an unrestrictive agreement. The existence of two asymmetries (between the bargaining power of receiving and sending countries, and between the private nature of most of migration’s benefits and the social nature of its main costs) can hinder the agreement when the countries involved exhibit a high wage differential. Results suggest that permissive international agreements on migration are easier to reach in regional contexts, among countries with proximate economic conditions and levels of income

Shrub diversity in Mediterranean shrublands: Rescuer or victim of productivity?

[ENG]Aims: Unravelling the most prevalent causal direction between diversity and function in naturally recovered plant assemblages can greatly improve our understanding of the functional significance of diversity and its applications under the ongoing envi- ronmental changes. In this study, we apply a structural equation model framework to unravel the most plausible causal direction in the diversity–productivity relationship in subseral Mediterranean shrub-dominated communities. Methods: Total shrub cover (as a proxy of productivity when controlled by the time since land use cessation or the last wildfire), the number of species, and the number of functional types based on the dominant life forms (phanerophytes vs. chamaephytes), and the dominant foliar syndromes (deciduous vs. evergreen, needled vs. broad- leaved), were sampled in 195 circular plots distributed along an elevation gradient ranging from 400 to 1400 m a.s.l. in the Central Iberian Peninsula. We first explored the distribution of functional types along the elevation gradient using a non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS). Secondly, a structural equation model (SEM) frame- work using mixed-effects models was defined to unveil the prevalent causal direction between diversity (species and functional types) and productivity at the landscape scale. Results: Model selection using the Fisher's C information criterion supported a causal direction from total shrub cover to diversity in this landscape. Interestingly, the best supported model also supported a positive relationship between species richness and the number of functional types, which in turn is driven by the total shrub cover along the elevation gradient. Conclusions: Our results suggest that more species might not necessarily boost pro- ductivity. On the contrary, ongoing warming temperatures and aridity, which are characteristic of low elevations compared to highlands, might significantly reduce the number of species (victim rather than rescuer) through deleterious effects on productivity

Continuous Packed Bed Reactor with Immobilized β-Galactosidase for Production of Galactooligosaccharides (GOS)

The β-galactosidase from Bacillus circulans was covalently attached to aldehyde-activated (glyoxal) agarose beads and assayed for the continuous production of galactooligosaccharides (GOS) in a packed-bed reactor (PBR). The immobilization was fast (1 h) and the activity of the resulting biocatalyst was 97.4 U/g measured with o-nitrophenyl-β-d-galactopyranoside (ONPG). The biocatalyst showed excellent operational stability in 14 successive 20 min reaction cycles at 45 °C in a batch reactor. A continuous process for GOS synthesis was operated for 213 h at 0.2 mL/min and 45 °C using 100 g/L of lactose as a feed solution. The efficiency of the PBR slightly decreased with time; however, the maximum GOS concentration (24.2 g/L) was obtained after 48 h of operation, which corresponded to 48.6% lactose conversion and thus to maximum transgalactosylation activity. HPAEC-PAD analysis showed that the two major GOS were the trisaccharide Gal-β(1→4)-Gal-β(1→4)-Glc and the tetrasaccharide Gal-β(1→4)-Gal-β(1→4)-Gal-β(1→4)-Glc. The PBR was also assessed in the production of GOS from milk as a feed solution. The stability of the bioreactor was satisfactory during the first 8 h of operation; after that, a decrease in the flow rate was observed, probably due to partial clogging of the column. This work represents a step forward in the continuous production of GOS employing fixed-bed reactors with immobilized β-galactosidases.This work was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (BIO2013-48779-C4-1-R and BIO2016-76601-C3-1-R). We thank the support of COST-Action CM1303 on Systems Biocatalysis. P.S.-M. thanks the Spanish Ministry of Education for FPU Grant (FPU13/01185). We acknowledge support by the CSIC Open Access Publication Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI)

Geomorphological record of extreme wave events during Roman times in the Guadalquivir estuary (gulf of cadiz, SW Spain): An archaeological and paleogeographical approach

Analysis of the geological record has made it possible to delimit for theGuadalquivir estuary the traces of extreme wave events (EWEs) during the Roman period in the Iberian Peninsula (218 BCE to 476 CE). The largest event occurred in the 2nd-3rd century CE. It generated clearly visible erosive effects in the coastal barriers, including washover fans and erosional scarps. In the inner estuary, however, the effects were minor: crevasse splays that broke levees and cheniers, as well as a residual sedimentary lag. The significant development of the spits protected the inner estuary from the marine incursion, which only caused a water level rise with low-regime waves. Correlation of the geomorphological and sedimentary marks left by this event with the archaeological and geological evidence of other events recognized elsewhere in the Gulf of Cadiz effectively argues for a tsunami as to the nature of the 2nd-3rd century CE event. Yet this and the other identified EWEs in the Guadalquivir estuary during the pre-Roman and the Roman period all fit a model of paleogeographic evolution dominated by processes of coastal progradation and estuarine infilling. Radiocarbon dating, geomorphological analysis, and historical references fail to warrant the so-called '218-209 BCE' Atlantic tsunami, as hypothesized in the received scientific literature. In pre-Roman and Roman times, human occupation at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River was strongly influenced by various geodynamic processes, the location of the settlements being contingent upon dependable, fast communication with the sea and, above all, upon adequate protection from EWEs, on the leeward side of spits. Progressive progradation of these coastal barriers combined with the gradual infilling of the estuary to make navigation to open sea increasingly difficult and, eventually, to result in the abandonment of settlements

F@rmación transatlántica (Informe del PIMCD 45/2015)

Informe final de los objetivos generales y concretos, la metodología y las actividades realizadas por docentes de las áreas de conocimiento de Farmacología, en las Facultades de Veterinaria de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid y de la Universidad de la Pampa en Argentina, al amparo del Proyecto de Innovación Docente del mismo nombre, concedido en la convocatoria de 2016 (nº 45). En el anexo se puede encontrar un ejemplo de una de las actividades realizadas con un grupo de estudiantes

Impedimetric Biosensor Based on a Hechtia argentea Lectin for the Detection of Salmonella spp.

A sensitive electrochemical detection method for Salmonella spp. was described, based on the use of Hechtia argentea lectin immobilised on a screen-printed gold electrode. The lectin was extracted from Hechtia argentea, a plant belonging to the Bromeliaceae family. The lectin with molecular weight near 27.4 kDa showed selectivity towards D-mannose, contained on the lipopolysaccharide cell wall of Salmonella spp. Carbohydrate selectivity of the lectin was measured as a change in impedance with respect to concentration. The binding of the bacteria to the biosensor surface increased impedance with increasing concentrations of Salmonella spp., achieving a linear range of detection of 15–2.57 × 107 CFU mL−1, with a limit of detection of 5 CFU mL−1. Increases in impedance were measured using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and analysed using Nyquist plots. The biosensor was applied in analysis of hen egg samples, and the results were consistent with those obtained using the official analysis methodologyS