A Wildland–Urban Interface Typology for Forest Fire Risk Management in Mediterranean Areas

The transitional areas that lie between wildlands and urbanized spaces, generally defined as wildland–urban interfaces (WUI), represent an increasing risk factor in Mediterranean areas; these define a new scenario in forest fire fighting and prevention. We have developed a methodological approach in order to assess the hazard and vulnerability of WUI which is based on landscape analysis, on the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques and remote sensing. Unlike traditional approaches which are based on local scale characterization of WUI, we propose a progressive multi-scale approach. In order to reach an operative classification of the WUI the methodology was developed in three stages: a regional urban development model, a landscape character assessment and finally, a WUI typology. The last WUI typology has been based on the identification of different urban morphologies and their context within the type of landscape in which they occur.     

Spectroscopic Sensor System for Quality Assurance of the Tube-To-Tubesheet Welding Process in Nuclear Steam Generators

In a previous paper a new technique was proposed to allow real-time, online operation for arc-welding quality assurance based on plasma spectroscopy. In this paper, the proposed system has been used to determine the appearance of weld defects in the arc-welding nuclear steam generator tube-to-tubesheet process. The system was implemented in the facilities of Equipos Nucleares S.A. (ENSA), where several welding tests were performed on weld test coupons. Results will show the feasibility of the proposed system to be used in a real industrial scenario, presenting successful examples of weld defect detections.     

The role of retained austenite in stress corrosion cracking of steels

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - The ability of retained austenite to affect stress corrosion cracking susceptibility has been examined in two steels, containing mechanically stable and...     

Multi‐element characterisation of carob,fig and almond liqueurs by MP‐AES

Carob pod, fig and almond liqueurs are produced in various Mediterranean regions. This work reports the mineral content of these traditional beverages and evaluates the influence of the raw material. Twenty‐five fruit liqueurs from 16 producers were analysed. A simple open‐vessel sample mineralization by wet digestion using nitric acid–hydrogen peroxide (1:1) was used before spectrometric analysis. Nine essential elements (Cu, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Fe, Zn, Mn and P) and two non‐essentials (Cd and Pb) were quantified by microwave plasma–atomic emission spectrometry (MP‐AES). Carob liqueur presented the broader profile of minerals and was the only fruit liqueur containing iron (72.7% of samples), phosphorous, manganese and low levels of lead (in two of the 11 samples). Conversely, almond liqueurs contained the lowest mineral content with only five elements detected. Fruit liqueurs showed variability in mineral content even within the same liqueur, presumably as a consequence of the different manufacturing processes. Despite this variability, application of principal component analysis to essential mineral concentrations (K, Na, Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe and Zn) resulted in satisfactory classification (PC1 and PC2 accounting for 78.5% of the total variance) of the Portuguese liqueurs evaluated. Copyright © 2018 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling     

The anthelmintic albendazole affects in vivo the dynamics and the detyrosination-tyrosination cycle of rat brain microtubules

The rate of verapamil-sensitive uptake of 45Ca by rat heart cells stimulated to beat in suspension with 0.2 mM Ca and isoproterenol was increased > 2-fold by cell loading with the chelator Quin-2. No effect of Quin-2 loading was observed on the rate of uptake of trace levels of 54Mn, present in addition to Ca, which was used as an index of Ca channel activity. Quin-2 loading also had little effect on the rate of 45Ca uptake by cells diluted into a high K/low Na medium, where Ca uptake was primarily by Na/Ca exchange. The fast chelator 1,2-bis(o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,-N',N'-tetraacetic acid (BAPTA) was 3-fold more effective than the slow chelator EGTA at preventing Ca efflux. BAPTA loading also caused an increase in sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca content. These results suggest that chelator loading had little effect on the rate of Ca influx by Ca channels or by Na/Ca exchange, and that the increased rate of 45Ca uptake seen with Quin-2 loading was caused by an inhibition of Ca efflux, either directly by chelation or by increased Ca uptake by the SR or by other intracellular organelles. This further suggests that most of the Ca entering the cell without chelator leaves again within the same beat, and that this may result from Ca efflux from a kinetically limited Ca pool in or around the diad cleft.     

Behaviour of the internal pressure of liquids in accordance with variations in temperature, volume and cohesive energy density

A study is made of the variations to be found in the internal pressure of different types of liquid in accordance with variations in temperature and volume. These relationships are established through simple analytical equations. Variations in the cohesive energy density and the Hildebrand parameter in accordance with temperature variations are also calculated and it is shown that the internal pressure and the cohesive energy density are both analogous manifestations of the cohesion property of liquids and of the diminution of this property with falls in temperature.     

Fully pipelined TSPC barrel shifter for high-speed applications

In this paper we describe a TSPC (True Single-Phase-Clock) barrel shifter for high-speed, real time applications. The circuit consists of a shift and rotate array and a control unit, both having a pipeline structure, which allows on-line programming. Using 1.5 μm CMOS technology, a full custom prototype for 16-b data shift and rotate array has been implemented, with a simplified control unit, and testing circuitry. Worst case HSPICE simulations indicate a maximum operating frequency of over 100 MHz, both for the barrel with on-line programming and for the barrel implemented. The full functionality of the prototype has been tested up to 25 MHz, although each bit path has been tested at 100 MHz