Robot Arm Control System for Assisted Feeding of People with Disabilities in their Upper Limbs

This work proposes a robot arm control system for assisted feeding of people with reduced functionality in their upper limbs. It aims at improving their quality of life by helping users recover their independence when feeding, aided by the proposed system. Previous research presents solutions that often lack functionality to meet the user’s needs, such as a lack of emergency functions or the use of passive feeding techniques, due to the absence of adequate human-robot interaction. The proposed solution involves the design of an interface adapter between the robot arm and the spoon, for the correct transport and positioning of the food. Moreover, a PD-type electronic controller is implemented for the robot arm; it includes gravity compensation and trajectories defined from the detection of the user's position. Additionally, the system has two safety features: an emergency button and a proximity warning that triggers when undesired objects are too close to the robot arm. The proposed system was validated through position tests and interaction with people using rice and oatmeal. When carrying out the tests with rice, 80% success was obtained, while in the case of oatmeal, 98.9% success was achieved

La revegetación en las montañas españolas. ¿Dejar hacer o intervenir en el territorio?

Natural revegetation is the main effect of the productive marginalization in the Spanish mountains. This process has both positive and negative effects and two alternative scenarios future can be considered:i) to leave the lands to the natural revegetation without human interference and ii) to apply land management practices to control revegetation.This work provides information based on case-studies from the Pyrenees and the Iberian Range about the impact of the clearance of shrub areas, in abandoned fields. Our data show that the replacement of the shrubsby pastures in selected areas has very few negative consequences and several positive impacts: i) the increase of water resources, ii) more forage production, iii) better seasonal balance in the availability of pastures, iv) a more diverse landscape and v) the reduction of the fire risk.El efecto más evidente de la marginación productiva de lamontaña española es la revegetación de numerosas laderas, lo que tieneefectos positivos y negativos. De ahí, que se planteen dos alternativas:dejar que el proceso continúe o intervenir en el territorio. En este trabajose aporta información, a partir de varios estudios realizados en elPirineo y Sistema Ibérico, sobre los impactos que tiene el desbroce dematorrales en campos abandonados.En los casos estudiados se ha podido comprobar que, en áreas seleccionadas,la sustitución del matorral por prados y pastos implica aumentarla cantidad de agua, incrementar la disponibilidad de forraje, reducirlos desequilibrios estacionales en la oferta de pastos, mejorar la estructuradel paisaje y reducir el riesgo de génesis y propagación de incendios,sin apenas efectos ambientales negativos

Catchment soil moisture and rainfall characteristics as determinant factors for discharge/suspended sediment hysteretic loops in a small headwater catchment in the Spanish pyrenees

32 páginas, 7 figuras, 4 tablas.-- El PDF es el artículo en formato pre-print.The concentration of suspended sediment and discharge generated during flood events are not normally homogenous, and the curve representing sediment concentration vs. discharge through time is often a hysteretic loop. Three types of hysteretic loops were found at Arnás, a Mediterranean headwater catchment in the Central Spanish Pyrenees: clockwise (the most frequent), counter-clockwise and eight-shaped. They are associated with different levels of humidity and rainfall and therefore indicators of different processes of runoff and sediment transport. Clockwise loops are generated under ‘normal’ stormflow conditions, when the catchment is very moist and runoff generation and sediment supply is limited to areas next to the channel (i.e. sediments are removed, transported and depleted rapidly). Counter-clockwise curves occur under very high moisture and high antecedent rainfall conditions. In this case, flood propagation occurs as a kinematic wave. Sediment sources are incorporated all over the catchment. In both cases, saturation excess overland flow generates the superficial runoff. The eight-shaped loop (partial clockwise followed by counter-clockwise) occurs with low water content. Here, the runoff generation process is supposed to be infiltration excess overland flow, which causes a rapid extension of the contributing areas both near the channel and over the whole catchment.This paper has been supported by the following projects: ‘Water resources management in a changing environment: the impact of sediment on sustainability’ (WARMICE, ENV4-CT98-0789) funded by the European Comission, and ‘Assessment of sediment sources and runoff generation areas in relation to land use changes’ (HIDROESCALA, REN2000-1709-C04-01/GLO) and ‘Hydrological processes in semi-natural Mediterranean areas’ (PROHISEM, REN 2001-2268-C02-01/HID), both funded by CICYT. Monitoring of the catchment has been supported by the agreement between CSIC and the Spanish Ministry of Environment (RESEL).Peer reviewe

How do land use and land cover changes after farmland abandonment affect soil properties and soil nutrients in Mediterranean mountain agroecosystems?

Mediterranean mountains are sensitive agroecosystems that have suffered intense land use and land cover changes (LULCC) during the last century. From the middle of the twentieth century, most of the cultivated lands in Mediterranean mountains were abandoned, allowing the recovery of vegetation (through natural revegetation and afforestation programmes). To examine the effects of farmland abandonment, secondary succession (natural revegetation) and afforestation, an intensive soil sampling was carried out in the Aragu´as catchment (Central Spanish Pyrenees) including sparsely vegetated areas (badlands), grasslands, shrublands and afforested sites. LULCC were mapped, and soil physico-chemical properties were analysed in reference sites (unaltered areas during the last centuries) and in the different land uses. Likewise, the soil organic carbon (SOC) content in the bulk soils and in the fractions separated by density fractionation have been studied. This study evidenced that farmland abandonment led to a mosaic landscape with different land use and land covers. Results show that LULCC significantly affect soil physico-chemical properties (soil texture, stoniness, pH, SOC, total carbon, CorgN ratio, bulk density and field capacity). Significant differences were observed between secondary and afforested sites following farmland abandonment. Afforestation triggered higher SOC than shrubland sites (natural revegetation) (1.4 and 1.1% respectively), suggesting a slower process of organic matter accumulation after farmland abandonment in the natural revegetation compared to afforestation. The significant role of grassland sites for enhancing the accumulation of SOC has been also confirmed. The results showed also significant differences in the relative contribution of each organic fraction to the bulk SOC: the amount of labile fraction (free and occluded labile fractions) is significantly higher in afforested and shrubland sites (58.1 and 51.2% respectively) than in grassland sites (36.8%). Understanding the effects of LULCC on soil properties and SOC dynamics is essential when planning post-land management practices after farmland abandonment

Fire-related debris flows in the Iberian Range, Spain

38 páginas, 2 tablas, 11 figuras[EN] Debris flows occurred three weeks after a wildfire in August 1986 in the Najerilla River valley in the Iberian Range, northern Spain. The flows were triggered by a brief, intense rainstorm (approximately 25 mm h− 1 over 15 min) in a small area with steep slopes covered by a thick colluvium of quartzite clasts. This storm resulted in the development of several unconfined hillslope debris flows and the formation of an alluvial fan at the mouth of the Pítare stream, which partially blocked the Najerilla River. We analysed the conditions that led to the development of the debris flows, and estimated the rainfall threshold for the debris flows to occur as well as the total volume of mobilised sediment. Four factors contributed to the debris flows: (i) the occurrence of a rainstorm three weeks after a wildfire, which had removed the plant cover from the soil; (ii) the steep slopes in the area (> 30°), which were the most affected by debris flows; (iii) the presence of quartzite scarps on the hillslopes, which favoured the development of a ‘firehose effect’ involving channelised surface runoff; and (iv) the low plasticity index values of the fine material of the colluvium (indices of 7 to 8), which enabled rapid liquefaction. Estimates of rainfall intensity derived from the estimated peak flow in the Pítare stream suggests that around 80 mm of rainfall fell in approximately 15 min, although this is clearly an overestimated value given the high proportion of sediment load transported during the peak flow. Various equations estimated a rainfall-threshold of approximately 25 mm h− 1 considering a concentration time of 15 min. The total sediment transported by the debris flows was 10,500 m3 (15,750 Mg, 6800 Mg km− 2), and the Pítare stream alone transported a minimum of 4000 m3 (6000 Mg, 2500 Mg km− 2). These results suggest that the rainfall threshold for initiating debris flows decreases following a wildfire, such that an ordinary rainstorm is able to trigger a severe erosion and sediment transport event. Given the absence of fresh landslide scars on the hillslopes, the origin of the fire-related debris flows in the Najerilla River valley appears to have been directly linked to increased rates of overland flow having a greater effect than infiltration for triggering debris flows.Support for this research was provided by the projects PROBASE (CGL2006-11619/HID) and INDICA (CGL2011-27753-C02-01 and CGL2011-27753-C02-02), which was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, and ACQWA (FP7-ENV-2007-1-212250), which was financed by the European Commission. Noemí Lana-Renault was the recipient of a research contract (Programme “Juan de la Cierva”, Human Resources Mobility, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity). The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr. Susan Canon, Dr. Francisco Gutiérrez-Santolalla and an anonymous reviewer for their comments and suggestions, which significantly helped to improve this paper.Peer reviewe

Evolution and defragmentation of the vineyard landscape in the Rioja Alta (Spain) in the period 1956-2000

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Erosión hídrica superficial en campos abancalados del sistema ibérico riojano (valles del Leza-Jubera)

In this paper the authors study the erosion processes due to surface water impact in abandoned agricultural terraces ("bancales") of Leza and Jubera valleys (Iberian System). After analysing a sample of 53 plots, two well differentiated groups can be distinguished. The first group (56% of the cases) does not show the effects of overland flow (null erosion); the second group (43 % of the cases) has suffered either mild or severe sheetwash erosion. The vegetal cover is the most important control. Its density and its growth discriminate the erosion in the different types and sectors of slope.En el presente articulo se estudian los procesos de erosión causados por el impacto de las escorrentias superficiales en bancales del sistema ibérico riojano (valles de Leza y Jubera). Analizadas 53 parcelas, se comprueba que en un grupo (56% de los casos) predomina la erosión nula; por el contrario, en otro (43% de los casos) actúa el arroyamiento difuso débil y severo. La cubierta vegetal parece ser el control más importante de la erosión. Su densidad y crecimiento discriminan la erosión en los distintos tipos y sectores de la ladera

Distribución espacial del viñedo en la Comunidad Autónoma de La Rioja: influencia de la topografía y de las formas del relieve

Mediante técnicas SIG y análisis estadísticos multivariables se estudian los factores que explican la distribución del viñedo en La Rioja, y se identifican áreas homogéneas. Los resultados muestran que la mayor parte del viñedo se localiza entre 400 y 600 m de altitud, en glacis y terrazas antiguos, sobre areniscas y arcillas, en pendientes con desniveles por debajo del 20%, y en todas las exposiciones, pero con ligero predominio de los viñedos en solana. Por otro lado, se han identificado 5 unidades homogéneas, siendo la pendiente y la exposición las variables con mayor incidencia. Se señala el interés de conocer la distribución espacial del viñedo para su gestión, al condicionar la localización la calidad de la uva y la conservación del suelo

Hacia una reconstrucción tridimensional de la terra sigillatahispánica decorada y los moldes del alfar Los Villares de Andújar (Jaén)

[ES] El objetivo de esta comunicación es la recreación y la medición de los fragmentos de terra sigillata y moldes que presentan la misma decoración documentados en el vertedero del Corte 30 de la campaña de 1999 de Los Villares de Andújar. Para ello nos hemos valido de la tecnología laser para la reconstrucción 3D de los materiales, mediante la utilización del scanner ARTEC; a continuación se ha llevado a cabo un estudio metrológico registrando las dimensiones de las variables que aparecen en las diversas unidades mínimas decorativas. Finalmente, pretendemos poder asociar los vasos a las herramientas, es decir, los moldes que se utilizaron para la elaboración de los vasos decorados, con el fin de profundizar en el proceso productivo de la terra sigillata, principalmente en la fase de modelado.[EN] The aim of this paper is the recreation and the measurement of the fragments of terra sigillata and molds which have the same decoration documented in the landfill court 30 of the 1999 campaign of Los Villares de Andújar. To carry it out, we have used the 3D laser technology for the reconstruction of the materials, using an ARTEC Scanner, which it carried out a metrological study recording the dimensions of the variables that appear in several decorative minimal units. In conclusión, we intented to associate the vessels to the tools, that is, the molds that were used for the elaboration of the vessels, in order to go into depht the production process of the terra Sigillata, mainly in the modeling phase.El presente trabajo ha contado con el soporte del Proyecto de I+D “Ex officina Meridionali: Tecnología, producción, difusión y comercialización de cerámicas finas de origen bético en el sur peninsular durante el Alto Imperio” (HAR2010-17507) Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.Serrano Arnáez, B.; Fernández García, MI.; Esquivel Guerrero, JA. (2013). Towards a three-dimensional reconstruction of decorated hispanic terra sigillata and pottery molds from the pottery workshop at Villares de Andújar (Jaén). Virtual Archaeology Review. 4(9):100-107. https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2013.4254OJS1001074