Sensor Networks and derived products at Biscay AGL observatory. State of the art operational oceanography at IEO

Since 1991, shelf and slope waters of the Southern Bay of Biscay are regularly sampled in a monthly hydrographical section north of Santander, and on June 2007, an ocean meteorological buoy was moored at the end of Santander Section (www. boya_agl.st.ieo.es). Both are part of IEOOS (IEO Observing System). Biscay AGL is one observatory for the EU FixO3 project. Many sensor networks have been deployed to monitor marine environment, and more will follow in the future. Due to the large number of sensor technologies, integrating diverse sensors into observation systems is not straightforward. By defining standardized service interfaces (like those based on OGC standards) it is possible to enable access to sensor networks and archived sensor data that can be discovered and accessed using standard protocols and application programming interfaces, therefore complying with the requirements of the INSPIRE directive. Future developments include the deployment of a full sensor network as well as adding new devices to the Biscay AGL tool in order to achieve a deeper knowledge of the ocean. Biscay AGL is more than the combination of the AGL Buoy and the hydrographical samplings. This observatory produces not only time series of several parameters at different time resolutions but also derived products, both in real and in delayed time. Derived products from this buoy include annual cycles as well as anomalies of physical and biogeochemical magnitudes like air-sea heat fluxes, salinity and water temperatures, sub inertial currents, surface chlorophyll. Different products are derived from in-situ measurements at the AGL buoy like estimates of the mixed layer depth, wind and currents roses and wave intensity diagrams

Susceptibility patterns and molecular identification of Trichosporon species

The physiological patterns, the sequence polymorphisms of the internal transcriber spacer (ITS), and intergenic spacer regions (IGS) of the rRNA genes and the antifungal susceptibility profile were evaluated for their ability to identify Trichosporon spp. and their specificity for the identification of 49 clinical isolates of Trichosporon spp. Morphological and biochemical methodologies were unable to differentiate among the Trichosporon species. ITS sequencing was also unable to differentiate several species. However, IGS1 sequencing unambiguously identified all Trichosporon isolates. Following the results of DNA-based identification, Trichosporon asahii was the species most frequently isolated from deep sites (15 of 25 strains; 60%). In the main, other Trichosporon species were recovered from cutaneous samples. The majority of T. asahii, T. faecale, and T. coremiiforme clinical isolates exhibited resistance in vitro to amphotericin B, with geometric mean (GM) MICs >4 mug/ml. The other species of Trichosporon did not show high MICs of amphotericin B, and GM MICs were <1 mug/ml. Azole agents were active in vitro against the majority of clinical strains. The most potent compound in vitro was voriconazole, with a GM MIC </=0.14 mug/ml. The sequencing of IGS correctly identified Trichosporon isolates; however, this technique is not available in many clinical laboratories, and strains should be dispatched to reference centers where these complex methods are available. Therefore, it seems to be more practical to perform antifungal susceptibility testing of all isolates belonging to Trichosporon spp., since correct identification could take several weeks, delaying the indication of an antifungal agent which exhibits activity against the infectious strain.S

Research and operational products from the combination of a monthly hydrographic station and an oceanic buoy: The Biscay AGL fixed-point water column observatory.

Long term time series are an important tool for increasing the knowledge of ocean processes as well as for studying water masses variability in different time scales and changes and tendencies in marine ecosystems. Time series has been classically obtained by oceanographic ships that regularly cover standard sections and stations. From 1991, shelf and slope waters of the Southern Bay of Biscay are regularly sampled in a monthly hydrographic line north of Santander to a depth of 1000 m in early stages and for the whole water column down to 2580 m in recent times. Nearby, in June 2007, the IEO deployed an oceanic-meteorological buoy (AGL Buoy, 43º 50.67’N; 3º 46.20’W, and 40 km offshore, www.boya-agl.st.ieo.es). The long-term hydrographical record have allowed to define the seasonality, trends, and interannual variability at all levels, including the mixing layer and the main water masses North Atlantic Central Water and Mediterranean Water. The relation of these changes with high frequency surface conditions has been examined using the AGL buoy data from 2007 as well as satellite and reanalysis data. On that context and using that combination of sources, some products and quality controlled series of high interest and utility for scientific purposes have been developed and are offered hourly in the web page. Main products obtained are: SST and SSS anomalies, wave significant height character with respect to monthly average, and currents with respect to seasonal averages. Ocean-atmosphere heat fluxes (latent and sensible) are computed from the buoy atmospheric and oceanic measurements. Estimations of the mixed layer depth and bulk series at different water levels are provided in a monthly basis. Quality controlled series are provided for sea surface salinity, oxygen and chlorophyll data. Some sensors are particularly affected by biofouling, and monthly visits to the buoy permit to follow these sensors behaviour. Chlorophyll-fluorescence sensor is the main concern, but Dissolved Oxygen sensor is also problematic. Periods of realistic smooth variations present strong offset that is corrected based on the Winkler analysis of water samples. The incorporation of these observatories on larger scale research programs, as done in 2003 in the framework of the VACLAN and COVACLAN projects, is important in order to provide them with a larger spatial dimension and maximize its utility for process-oriented studies. In 2003, the Santander section was extended 90 miles offshore in the framework of a large-scale hydrographic and circulation monitoring program. Partnerships in a large EU project as FixO3 has provided tools for coordination, homogenization and data validation as well as improve the use of chemical-biological data.0,000

New developments on Biscay-AGL Observatory. From derived products to sensor networks.

Biscay-AGL Observatory. Since 1991, shelf and slope waters of the Southern Bay of Biscay are regularly sampled in a monthly hydrographical section north of Santander to a maximum depth of 2500m, as part of the IEO Radiales program. On June 2007, an ocean-meteorological buoy (AGL) was moored at the end of Santander standard section, 22nm north at 2850m depth, to complete the ocean information with the ocean-atmosphere interaction. All of them are part of IEO Observing System (1). The integrated system of AGL and its nearest hydrographic station (2600m depth) is named Biscay-AGL observatory. It is also one station for the EU FixO3 project. Joint resources and systematic analysis lead to a powerful tool, which is much more than the combination of the AGL buoy and the hydrographical samplings. Data Access. All AGL buoy collected data are added to the local database sited at IEO-Santander in real-time and, after rutinary automatised quality controls, they are immediately available through its dedicated webpage (www.boya_agl.st.ieo.es). Monthly CTDO2 data from the hydrographic section are lab-calibrated in order to obtain acurated values of salinity, dissolved oxygen and density, and added to the long-term time series. Biscay-AGL data are quality controlled, flagged and formatted according internationally agreed standards (2, 3) and routinely sent to the IEO Datacenter. This added-value controlled data are incorporated to the IEO permanent archive and made freely available through the SeaDataNet infrastructure for data access and discovery. Derived products. Data acquired by Biscay-AGL may be displayed as timeseries as usual, but end-users are benefited by derived products which provide direct information. A recently developed software tool produces not only timeseries of several parameters at different time resolutions but also derived products, both real and delayed time. Derived products from this buoy include, but not only, annual cycles as well as anomalous values, air-sea heat fluxes, salinity and water temperature anomalies, subinertial currents series, chlorophyll surface series, estimations of the mixed layer depth and wind and currents roses. Sensor Web Enablement (SWE). Sensor Web infrastructures are setup to access real-time data observed by sensors. This system has been implemented in AGL buoy sensors in order to simplify the retrieved events and alerts triggered through sensors. All those functionalities of the Sensor Web are provided in an interoperable way, following the standards stablished by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). By defining standardized service interfaces, these services hides the heterogeneity of the sensor network, its communication details, enabling the access to archived sensor data that can be discovered and accessed using standard protocols and application programming interfaces

Laparoscopic Video Analysis for Training and Image Guided Surgery

Automatic analysis of Minimally Invasive Surgical video has the potential to drive new solutions for alleviating needs of safe and reproducible training programs, objective and transparent evaluation systems and navigation tools to assist surgeons and improve patient safety. Surgical video is an always available source of information, which can be used without any additional intrusive hardware in the operating room. This paper is focused on surgical video analysis methods and techniques. It describes authors' contributions in two key aspects, the 3D reconstruction of the surgical field and the segmentation and tracking of tools and organs based on laparoscopic video images. Results are given to illustrate the potential of this field of research, like the calculi of the 3D position and orientation of a tool from its 2D image, or the translation of a preoperative resection plan into a hepatectomy surgical procedure using the shading information of the image. Research efforts are required to further develop these technologies in order to harness all the valuable information available in any video-based surgery

A new alternative for obtaining nanocrystalline bioactive coatings: study of hydroxyapatite deposition mechanisms by cold gas praying

The present article is intended to study the deposition mechanisms of bioactive hydroxyapatite (HA) particles by means of Cold Gas Spraying (CGS). A comparison of the deposition on two different substrates (Ti6Al4V and Al7075T6) and different particle sizes is presented. Although this is a more specific deposition technique for ductile materials, it is here shown that, in certain conditions, ceramic deposition is possible despite the inherent low ductility. The resulting internal structure and the features at the particle-substrate interface are discussed in view of Transmission Electron Microscopy examinations of a Focused Ion Beam lift-out prepared sample. Mainly, under shock compressive loading, the porous sintered powder proceeds through pore collapse, fragmentation and densification as well as grain refinement. The process is described through different plastic mechanisms in ceramics. This opens a new alternative route to produce nanocrystalline HA coatings through a cost-effective proces

Dense nanostructured calcium phosphate coating on titanium by cold spray

This article deals with the understanding of building-up mechanisms of bioactive nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite coatings by Cold Spray, revealing very promising results in contrast to more conventional techniques such as Plasma Spray. A full characterization of feedstock and coatings is provided. The agglomerated structure of the powder proved to be suitable to obtain successfully thick hydroxyapatite coatings. A crystallite size below similar to 20 nm in the powder and the as-sprayed coatings is calculated by the Rietveld X-ray refinement method and agreed by Transmission Electron Microscopy. Some wipe tests were carried out on Ti6Al4V substrates in order to study the deposition of single particles and the nanoscale features were evaluated. The resulting structure indicates that there is no delimitation of particle boundaries and the overall coating has been formed by effective compaction of the original nanocrystallites, leading to consistent and consolidated layers

Differences in job satisfaction and stress among self-employed people and employees

Recepción: 20 de mayo de 2016 | Revisión: 21 de mayo de 2016 | Aceptado: 30 de mayo de 2016Correspondencia: [email protected] esta investigación se ha pretendido buscar las posibles diferencias existentes en la satisfacción y el estrés laboral entre los trabajadores autónomos y los trabajadores por cuenta ajena. Para llevar esto a cabo se han utilizado dos cuestionarios a partir de los cuales se han obtenido los datos para su posterior análisis. A la vista de los resultados, se ha hallado una correlación negativa entre la satisfacción y el estrés laboral. Sin embargo, no se han encontrado evidencias de que los trabajadores autónomos tengan mayores niveles de satisfacción laboral y menores de estrés en el trabajo.The aim of this research study was to determine the possible existence of differences in job satisfaction and stress among self-employed people and employees. In order to do so two questionnaires were used from which we obtained all the data for the subsequent analysis. In the light of the results a negative correlation between the two aforementioned variables was found. However, no evidence was found concerning self-employed people having higher job satisfaction levels and lower levels of stress.Universidad de Granada. Departamento de Psicología Social. Proyecto de Innovación Docente ReiDoCre

The Spanish Institute of Oceanography Observing System around N and NW Iberia

In the late 80's, the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) began some ambitious programs of monitoring around the Iberian Peninsula. The coastal observing system core structure was the Radiales program, a series of transects nearby most coastal IEO laboratories where a minimum set of hydrographical, chemical and biological parameters is sampled monthly. The sections are designed to be completed in one-day journeys so the system is supported by quite small vessels, mainly covering the continental shelf with the noteworthy exception of the Santander Section, where the proximity of the shelf-break allows sampling deep waters monthly. During the last 20 years the program has supported many specific scientific research projects and has created a detailed description of seasonal to interannual variability in the coastal ecosystem that serves as a baseline to explore long-term changes or trends...Versión de auto

Jóvenes controlando riesgos: estrategias participativas frente al consumo desmedido de alcohol en colectividad

Fundamento: La experiencia de los jóvenes que abandonaron espontáneamente conductas relacionadas con el consumo de alcohol puede servir de referente para evitar que otros jóvenes menores de edad se inicien o eviten estas conductas de riesgo. Objetivo principal: Determinar la capacidad que tienen las estrategias educativas sustentadas en el proceso natural de abandono del consumo desmedido de alcohol en jóvenes para reducir las conductas de riesgo en adolescentes. Diseño: Estudio cualitativo mediante Investigación-Acción Participativa (IAP). Participantes: Jóvenes, educadores y profesionales de la salud vinculados a entornos educativos de la ciudad de Granada. Variables: Las dimensiones tentativas son: percepción social del riesgo, significados sociales, condicionantes sociales, acciones naturales y estrategias. De forma inductiva, las variables concretas irán surgiendo del análisis en progreso. Recogida de datos: Observación participante, grupo nominal y DAFO-CAME, enmarcadas en las fases de la IAP: sensibilización, inducción, interacción, implementación y sistematización. Análisis: Para la sistemática IAP, análisis cualitativo en progreso desde dos planos: intragrupo y intergrup