Inorganic and polymeric microsieves : strategies to reduce fouling

The research presented in this thesis describes several aspects concerning the use of high-flux screen filters like microsieves in microfiltration. The main focus of this work is based on fouling of both inorganic and polymeric microsieves with model solutions, so that fundamental knowledge and insight is gained and applied to a possible application like milk filtration

Адміністративно-господарські санкції та їх застосування в зовнішньоекономічній сфері

У цій статті розглядаються адміністративно-господарські санкції в системі заходів державного примусу, аргументується можливість їх дослідження як засобів адміністративного припинення правопорушень. Автор аналізує також правове регулювання адміністративно-господарських санкцій у зовнішньоекономічній сфері. Ключові слова: адміністративно-господарські санкції, спеціальні санкції, заходи адміністративного примусу, заходи адміністративного припинення правопорушень.В данной статье рассматриваются административно-хозяйственные санкции в системе мер государственного принуждения, аргументируется возможность их исследования как средств административного прекращения правонарушений. Автор анализирует также правовое регулирование административно-хозяйственных санкций в внешнеэкономической сфере. Ключевые слова: административно-хозяйственные санкции, специальные санкции, меры административного принуждения, меры административного прекращения правонарушений.The article contains administrative economic sanctions in the system of state coercive measures, presents arguments concerning the opportunity of their research as means of the administrative termination of the offences. The author also analyzes legal regulation of administrative economic sanctions in the foreign economic area. Key words: administrative economic sanctions, special sanctions, administrative coercive measures, measures of the administrative termination of the offences

Public health risks associated with hepatitis E virus (HEV) as a food-borne pathogen

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an important infection in humans in EU/EEA countries, and over the last 10 years more than 21,000 acute clinical cases with 28 fatalities have been notified with an overall 10- fold increase in reported HEV cases; the majority (80%) of cases were reported from France, Germany and the UK. However, as infection in humans is not notifiable in all Member States, and surveillance differs between countries, the number of reported cases is not comparable and the true number of cases would probably be higher. Food-borne transmission of HEV appears to be a major route in Europe; pigs and wild boars are the main source of HEV. Outbreaks and sporadic cases have been identified in immune-competent persons as well as in recognised risk groups such as those with preexisting liver damage, immunosuppressive illness or receiving immunosuppressive treatments. The opinion reviews current methods for the detection, identification, characterisation and tracing of HEV in food-producing animals and foods, reviews literature on HEV reservoirs and food-borne pathways, examines information on the epidemiology of HEV and its occurrence and persistence in foods, and investigates possible control measures along the food chain. Presently, the only efficient control option for HEV infection from consumption of meat, liver and products derived from animal reservoirs is sufficient heat treatment. The development of validated quantitative and qualitative detection methods, including infectivity assays and consensus molecular typing protocols, is required for the development of quantitative microbial risk assessments and efficient control measures. More research on the epidemiology and control of HEV in pig herds is required in order to minimise the proportion of pigs that remain viraemic or carry high levels of virus in intestinal contents at the time of slaughter. Consumption of raw pig, wild boar and deer meat products should be avoided

Generación de mallas de hexaedros en geometrías múltiplemente conexas mediante submapping

En este trabajo se presenta una mejora del método de submapping para ampliar su aplicabilidad. El algoritmo de submapping tiene dos limitaciones principales. La primera de ellas es que sólo se puede aplicar en geometrías tales que los ángulos entre las aristas y las caras de la geometría tienen que ser, aproximadamente, múltiplos enteros de π/2. La segunda limitación es que la geometría tiene que ser simplemente conexa. En este trabajo se presenta una extensión del algoritmo de submapping para mallar geometrías con agujeros totalmente interiores.Peer Reviewe

Aridity influences the recovery of vegetation and shrubland birds after wildfire

Wildfires play a determining role in the composition and structure of many plant and animal communities. On the other hand, climate change is considered to be a major driver of current and future fire regime changes. Despite increases in drought in many areas of the world, the effects of aridity on post-fire colonization by animals have been rarely addressed. This study aims to analyse how a regional aridity gradient affects post-fire recovery of vegetation, bird species richness and the numbers of four early to middle-successional warbler species associated with the shrub cover. The database contains bird relative abundance and environmental variables from 3072 censuses in 695 transects located in 70 recently burnt areas (1 to 11 years after wildfire) in Catalonia (Spain), which were sampled between 2006 and 2013. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) showed that plant cover was affected by time since fire, aridity and forest management. However, only the highest vegetation height layer (>100 cm) recovered slower in arid areas after fire. Time since fire positively influenced bird species richness and the relative abundance of the four focal species. The post-fire recovery of Melodious (Hippolais polyglotta) and Subalpine warblers (Sylvia cantillans) was hampered by aridity. Although this was not demonstrated for Dartford (S. undata) and Sardinian warblers (S. melanocephala), their occurrence was low in the driest areas during the first three years after fire. Overall, this study suggests that future increases in aridity can affect plant regeneration after fire and slow down the recovery of animal populations that depend on understorey and shrublands. Given the recently highlighted increases in aridity and fire frequency in Mediterranean-climate regions, improved knowledge on how aridity affects ecological succession is especially necessary