Dynamics of F=1 87Rb condensates at finite temperatures

We investigate the dynamics of a F=1 spinor Bose-Einstein condensate of 87Rb atoms confined in a quasi-one-dimensional trap both at zero and at finite temperature. At zero temperature, we observe coherent oscillations between populations of the various spin components and the formation of multiple domains in the condensate. We study also finite temperature effects in the spin dynamics taking into account the phase fluctuations in the Bogoliubov-de Gennes framework. At finite T, despite complex multidomain formation in the condensate, population equipartition occurs. The length scale of these spin domains seems to be determined intrinsically by nonlinear interactions.Comment: 6 pages + 5 figures; matches the published version (and corrects some typos there

Anticipated regret and self-esteem in the Allais paradox

Our experiment aims at studying the impact of self-esteem on risk-prone choices in an Allais-type decision context using hypothetical money. We use an Internet protocol in order to reach a large heterogeneous student population sample. An anticipated regret explanation for the certainty effect implies that self-esteem is a crucial psychological variable in what concerns risky decision, but only when the choice is between a safe option and a risky option. Thus, in our experiment, we hypothesize that low self-esteem people will choose more frequently the safe option (rather than the risky-prone option) than high self-esteem people, whereas low self-esteem and high self-esteem individuals will show the same pattern of choices between two different risk-based options. Our data confirm our hypothesis. Regarding risky choices preferences, we also observe that females, non economists and older people significantly exhibit safer choice preferences than other participants. We find also that men and students in economics are more likely to conform to expected utility theory than females and other social science students respectively. We then discuss what these findings mean for economic regret theory, and suggest that a complete theory of decision-making under risk should introduce both situational and motivational explanations of individual behaviour.Allais paradox; Risk; Regret aversion; Self-esteem; Internet experiment; Gender differences

Guide for uploading PhD documents

Testimonial d'una doctoranda. Presentació realitzada dins de la Jornada de benvinguda als nous doctorands del curs 2015-16: "El doctorat com a etapa formativa. Una aproximació a l'ètica en la recerca i a la bona pràctica", organitzada per la UAB

Environmental performance of rainwater harvesting strategies in Mediterranean buildings

Purpose: The rapid urbanization and the constant expansion of urban areas during the last decades have locally led to increasing water shortage. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems have the potential to be an important contributor to urban water self-sufficiency. The goal of this study was to select an environmentally optimal RWH strategy in newly constructed residential buildings linked to rainwater demand for laundry under Mediterranean climatic conditions, without accounting for water from the mains. Methods: Different strategies were environmentally assessed for the design and use of RWH infrastructures in residential apartment blocks in Mediterranean climates. The harvested rainwater was used for laundry in all strategies. These strategies accounted for (i) tank location (i.e., tank distributed over the roof and underground tank), (ii) building height considering the number of stories (i.e., 6, 9, 12, and 15), and (iii) distribution strategy (i.e., shared laundry, supply to the nearest apartments, and distribution throughout the building). The RWH systems consisted of the catchment, storage, and distribution stages, and the structural and hydraulic calculations were based on Mediterranean conditions. The quantification of the environmental performance of each strategy (e.g., CO2eq. emissions) was performed in accordance with the life cycle assessment methodology. Results and discussion: According to the environmental assessment, the tank location and distribution strategy chosen were the most important variables in the optimization of RWH systems. Roof tank strategies present fewer impacts than their underground tank equivalents because they enhance energy and material savings, and their reinforcement requirements can be accounted for within the safety factors of the building structure without the tank. Among roof tanks and depending on the height, a distribution strategy that concentrates demand in a laundry room was the preferable option, resulting in reductions from 25 to 54 % in most of the selected impact categories compared to distribution throughout the building. Conclusions: These results may set new urban planning standards for the design and construction of buildings from the perspective of sustainable water management. In this sense, a behavioral change regarding demand should be promoted in compact, dense urban settlements.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Pèrdues alimentàries al sector hortícola català : On és el problema i com podem gestionar-lo?

Aquest policy brief és l'adaptació d'un article científic a llenguatge accessible per als actors interessats. Ha estat elaborat pel grup de recerca Sostenipra de l'ICTA-UAB.Reduir la pèrdua d'aliments en el sector hortícola és clau per assolir objectius polítics idonar suport a la transició cap a una agricultura i uns hàbits alimentaris més sostenibles. Hem quantificat les pèrdues alimentàries en el sector hortícola català per a l'any 2020 ihem estimat el seu valor econòmic, així com els principals productes que hi contribueixen. La pèrdua anual d'aliments equival a 19 milions €, els quals deriven dels productes sensecollir evitables (61%), la classificació per qualitat (21%) i les pèrdues inevitables (17%). Es necessiten solucions a curt i llarg termini per a controlar, planificar i invertir en cultius,solucions de mercat i suport financer als productors.Reducir la pérdida de alimentos en el sector hortícola es clave para alcanzar objetivos políticos y apoyar la transición hacia una agricultura y unos hábitos alimenticios más sostenibles. Se cuantificaron las pérdidas alimentarias en el sector hortícola catalán para el año 2020 y se estimó su valor económico, así como los principales productos que contribuyen a ello. La pérdida anual de alimentos equivale a 19 millones €, que derivan de los productos sin cosechar evitables (61%), la clasificación por calidad (21%) y las pérdidas inevitables (17%). Se necesitan soluciones a corto y largo plazo para controlar, planificar e invertir en cultivos, soluciones de mercado y soporte financiero a los productores.Reducing food loss in the horticultural sector is crucial to meet policy goals and support a transition towards more sustainable agriculture and eating habits. We quantified food loss in the Catalan horticultural sector for the year 2020 and estimated its economic value and main contributing products. Annual food loss is equivalent to 19 million €, which result from avoidable unharvested products (61%), quality sorting (21%) and unavoidable losses (17%). Short and long-term solutions are needed to monitor, plan and invest in crops, market solutions and financial support for producers

(Z)-Oxopropene-1,3-diyl, a linker for the conjugation of the thiol group of cysteine with amino-derivatized drugs

We have developed a conjugation reaction based on the thia-Michael addition to activated triple bonds, which can be an alternative to maleimides, the most commonly used reagents to link thiol groups (of Cys) to drugs and labels. An amino group is converted into its propynamide and, in aqueous media at 37 °C and pH 7.4, Cys derivatives are added. The oxopropene-1,3-diyl linker is formed with excellent Z selectivity without secondary reactions. No exchange with other thiols is observed

Addressing the life cycle of sewers in contrasting cities through an eco-efficiency approach

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: [Petit‐Boix, A. , Arnal, C. , Marín, D. , Josa, A. , Gabarrell, X. and Rieradevall, J. (2017), Addressing the Life Cycle of Sewers in Contrasting Cities through an Eco‐Efficiency Approach. Journal of Industrial Ecology. . doi:10.1111/jiec.12649], which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12649. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-ArchivingEvaluating the sustainability of the urban water cycle is not straightforward, although a variety of methods have been proposed. Given the lack of integrated data about sewers, we applied the eco-efficiency approach to two case studies located in Spain with contrasting climate, population, and urban and sewer configurations. Our goal was to determine critical variables and life cycle stages and provide results for decision making. We used life cycle assessment and life cycle costing to evaluate their environmental and economic impacts. Results showed that both cities have a similar profile, albeit their contrasting features, that is, operation and maintenance, was the main environmental issue (50% to 70% of the impacts) and pipe installation registered the greatest economic capital expenditure (70% to 75%) due to labor. The location of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is an essential factor in our analysis mainly due to the topography effects (e.g., the annual pump energy was 13 times greater in Calafell). Using the eco-efficiency portfolio, we observed that sewers might be less eco-efficient than WWTPs and that we need to envision their design in the context of an integrated WWTP-sewer management to improve sewer performance. In terms of methodological approach, the bidimensional nature of eco-efficiency enables the benchmarking of product systems and might be more easily interpreted by the general public. However, there are still some constraints that should be addressed to improve communication, such as the selection of indicators discussed in the article.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Recovered phosphorus for a more resilient urban agriculture : assessment of the fertilizer potential of struvite in hydroponics

Altres ajuts: Acord transformatiu CRUE-CSICAltres ajuts: the authors are grateful to Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona for awarding a research scholarship to M. Rufí-Salís (PIF-UAB 2017), to the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (Spain) for the grant awarded to V. Arcas-Pilz (FPI-MINECO 2018), and to the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (Chile) for the grant awarded to F. Parada (PFCHA-CONICYT 2018 - Folio 72180248). A. Petit-Boix thanks the German Federal Ministry of Educa-tion and Research for thefinancial support of the research group"Circulus - Opportunities and challenges of transition to a sustainablecircular bio-economy", grant number 031B0018.Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MUrban agriculture (UA) is a means for cities to become more resilient in terms of food sovereignty while shortening the distance between production and consumption. However, intensive soilless UA still depends on the use of fertilizers, which relies on depleting non-renewable resources such as phosphorous (P) and causes both local and global impact for its production and application. With the aim to reduce such impacts and encourage a more efficient use of nutrients, this study assesses the feasibility of using struvite precipitated from an urban wastewater treatment plant as the unique source of P fertilizer. To do so, we apply various quantities of struvite (ranging from 1 to 20 g/plant) to the substrate of a hydroponic Phaseolus vulgaris crop and determine the yield, water flows and P balances. The results show that treatments with more than 5g of struvite per plant produced a higher yield (maximum of 181.41 g/plant) than the control (134.6 g/plant) with mineral fertilizer (KPO4H2). On the other hand, P concentration in all plant organs was always lower when using struvite than when using chemical fertilizer. Finally, the fact that different amounts of struvite remained undissolved in all treatments denotes the importance to balance between a correct P supply to the plant and a decrease of P lost through the leachates, based on the amount of struvite and the irrigated water. The findings of this study show that it is feasible for UA to efficiently use locally recovered nutrients such as P to produce local food

Closed-loop crop cascade to optimize nutrient flows and grow low-impact vegetables in cities

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MAltres ajuts: the authors are grateful to Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona for awarding a research scholarship to MR-S (PIF-UAB 2017), the Spanish Ministry ofEconomy, Industry and Competitiveness (Spain) for the grant awarded to VA-P (FPI-MINECO 2018), and the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (Chile) for the grant awarded to FP (PFCHA- CONICYT 2018 - Folio 72180248). This work was supported by the "María de Maeztu" program for Units of Excellence in R&D [CEX2019- 000940-M]. AP-B thanks the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research for the financial support of the research group "Circulus - Opportunities and challenges oftransition to a sustainable circular bio-economy," grant number 031B0018. This work was supported by and ERC Consolidator grant awarded to Gara Villalba (818002-URBAG).Urban agriculture systems can significantly contribute towards mitigating the impacts of inefficient and complex food supply chains and increase urban food sovereignty. Moreover, improving these urban agriculture systems in terms of nutrient management can lead to a better environmental performance. Based on a rooftop greenhouse in the Barcelona region, we propose a cascade system where the leachates of a tomato cycle from January to July (donor crop) are used as the main irrigation source for five successive lettuce cycles (receiving crop). By determining the agronomic performance and the nutrient metabolism of the system, we aimed to define the potential of these systems to avoid nutrient depletion and mitigate eutrophication, while scaling the system in terms of nutrient supply between the donor and the receiving crops. The results showed that low yields (below 130 g per lettuce plant) are obtained if a cascade system is used during the early stage of the donor crop, as the amount of nutrients in donor's leachates, specially N (62.4 mg irrigated per plant in the first cycle), was not enough to feed the lettuce receiving crop. This effect was also observed in the nutrient content of the lettuce, which increased with every test until equaling the control (4.4% of N content) as the leachates got richer, although too high electrical conductivity values (near 3 dS/m) were reached at the end of the donor crop cycle. Findings on the uptake of the residual nutrient flows showed how the cascade system was able to take advantage of the nutrients to produce local lettuce while mitigating the effect of N and P in the freshwater and marine environments. Considering our case study, we finally quantified the scale between the donor and receiving crops and proposed three major ideas to optimize the nutrient flows while maintaining the yield and quality of the vegetables produced in the receiving crop