Gold Ores Related to Shear Zones, West Santa Comba Fervenza Area (Galicia, NW Spain): A Mineralogical Study

Recent research has discovered high-grade Au ores in NNE-SSW trending shear zones in metamorphic proterozoic and palaeozoic terranes, some 40 km NW of Santiago de Compostela (NW Spain). The orebodies are bound to late-stage Hercynian structures, mainly due to brittle deformation, which are superimposed on earlier ductile shear zones, cutting through various catazonal lithologies, including ortho- and paragneisses, amphibolites, eclogites, and granites. Ore mineralogy, alteration, and ore textures define a frame whose main features are common to all prospects in the area. Main minerals are arsenopyrite and pyrite - accompanied by quartz, adularia, sericite, + (tourmaline, chlorite, carbonates, graphite), as main gangue minerals - with subordinate amounts of boulangerite, bismuthinite, kobellite, jamesonite, chalcopyrite, marcasite, galena, sphalerite, rutile, titanite, scheelite, beryl, fluorite, and minor native gold, electrum, native bismuth, fahlore, pyrrhotite, mackinawite, etc., defining a meso-catathermal paragenesis. Detailed microscopic study allows the author to propose a general descriptive scheme of textural classification for this type of ore. Most of the ores fill open spaces or veins, seal cracks or cement breccias; disseminated ores with replacement features related to alteration (mainly silicification, sericitization, and adularization) are also observed. Intensive and repeated cataclasis is a common feature of many ores, suggesting successive events of brittle deformation, hydrothermal flow, and ore precipitation. Gold may be transported and accumulated in any of these events, but tends to be concentrated in later ones. The origin of the gold ores is explained in terms of hydrotherreal discharge, associated with mainly brittle deformation and possibly related to granitic magmas, in the global tectonic frame of crustal evolution of West Galicia. The mineralogical and textural study suggests some criteria which will be of practical value for exploration and for ore processing. Ore grades can be improved by flotation of arsenopyrite. Non-conventional methods, such as pressure or bacterial leaching, may subsequently obtain a residue enriched in gold.

Reliability issues related to the usage of Cloud Computing in Critical Infrastructures

The use of cloud computing is extending to all kind of systems, including the ones that are part of Critical Infrastructures, and measuring the reliability is becoming more difficult. Computing is becoming the 5th utility, in part thanks to the use of cloud services. Cloud computing is used now by all types of systems and organizations, including critical infrastructure, creating hidden inter-dependencies on both public and private cloud models. This paper investigates the use of cloud computing by critical infrastructure systems, the reliability and continuity of services risks associated with their use by critical systems. Some examples are presented of their use by different critical industries, and even when the use of cloud computing by such systems is not widely extended, there is a future risk that this paper presents. The concepts of macro and micro dependability and the model we introduce are useful for inter-dependency definition and for analyzing the resilience of systems that depend on other systems, specifically in the cloud model.

A New Method to Retrieve, Cluster And Annotate Clinical Literature Related To Electronic Health Records

The access to medical literature collections such as PubMed, MedScape or Cochrane has been increased notably in the last years by the web-based tools that provide instant access to the information. However, more sophisticated methodologies are needed to exploit efficiently all that information. The lack of advanced search methods in clinical domain produce that even using well-defined questions for a particular disease, clinicians receive too many results. Since no information analysis is applied afterwards, some relevant results which are not presented in the top of the resultant collection could be ignored by the expert causing an important loose of information. In this work we present a new method to improve scientific article search using patient information for query generation. Using federated search strategy, it is able to simultaneously search in different resources and present a unique relevant literature collection. And applying NLP techniques it presents semantically similar publications together, facilitating the identification of relevant information to clinicians. This method aims to be the foundation of a collaborative environment for sharing clinical knowledge related to patients and scientific publications.

Outsourcing and acquisition models comparison related to IT supplier selection decision analysis

This paper presents a comparison of acquisition models related to decision analysis of IT supplier selection. The main standards are: Capability Maturity Model Integration for Acquisition (CMMI-ACQ), ISO / IEC 12207 Information Technology / Software Life Cycle Processes, IEEE 1062 Recommended Practice for Software Acquisition, the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) guide. The objective of this paper is to compare the previous models to find the advantages and disadvantages of them for the future development of a decision model for IT supplier selection.

Structural changes after videogame practice related to a brain network associated with intelligence

Here gray and white matter changes after four weeks of videogame practice were analyzed using optimized voxel-based morphometry (VBM), cortical surface and cortical thickness indices, and white matter integrity computed from several projection, commissural, and association tracts relevant to cognition. Beginning with a sample of one hundred young females, twenty right handed participants were recruited for the study and assigned to a practice or a control group carefully matched by their general cognitive ability scores. After the first scan, the practice group played ‘Professor Layton and The Pandora's Box’ 4 h per week during four weeks. A second scan was obtained at the end of practice and intelligence was measured again. Image analyses revealed gray and white matter changes in the practice group. Gray matter changes theoretically relevant for intelligence were observed for the practice group mainly in frontal clusters (Brodmann areas 9 and 10) and also in smaller parietal and temporal regions. White matter findings were focused in the hippocampal cingulum and the inferior longitudinal fasciculus. These gray and white matter changes presumably induced by practice did not interact with intelligence tests' scores.

Physical properties of peanuts related to harvesting mecanization.

This study on the mechanical properties of peanuts intended complete information on the suitability to mechanize the varieties that had been of interest in the production tests made in Valencia (Spain). The results obtained established the basis for a breeding program.

Fruit firmness and skin resistance of processing tomato varieties tested in Badajoz (Spain), related to mechanical harvesting.

Determinations of resistance to damage were carried out in a total of 31 tomato varieties for processing, with the purpose of choosing the most suitable ones for mechanical harvesting. The characteristics studied include: puncture, deformation and rupture of the fruits, the ease of detachment of the fruits also being determined. Seventeen varieties were chosen, for further tests, with values 0.76 to 1.7 2 N of resistance to puncture; 3 to 9 N/mm of resistance to compression and 2.16 to 29.40 N resistance to detachment.

Impact parameters related to bruising in selected fruits.

Impact testing with an instrumented free-fallingmass (50.4 g) device was applied to three varities of pears and two varieties of apples, forincreasing ripeness stages and impact energy (2 to 20 cm drops). Impact parameters were studied in relation to bruise and to ripeness, establishing relations between them and with the different characteristics of the fruits.

Models for the prediction of handling damage in citrus and peaches grading lines, related to their physical properties.

Fruit damage during harvesting and handling is a standing problem, particularly for susceptible fruits like peaches and apricots. The resulting mechanical damage is a combination of fruit properties and damage inflicting effects due to procedures and to the equipment. Nine packing lines in the region of Murcia (SE Spain) have been tested with the aid of two different-size electronic fruits IS-100. Probabilities of impacts above three preset thresholds (50 g's, 100 g's and 150 g's) were calculated for each transfer point. Interaction fruit-packing line tests have been also performed in order to study the real incidence of packing lines on natural produce: apricots (1 variety), peaches (3 v.), lemons (1 v.) and oranges (3 v.). Bruises of handled and not handled samples of fruits were compared.

Background noise and its influence on the brain waves related to attention

In this work, we present a study whose objective is to prove the influence of background noise produced inside university facilities on the brain waves related to attention processes. Recordings of background noise were carried out in study areas inside university facilities. Volunteers were asked to perform an attention test without any background noise but also while being exposed to the sound recordings, and their cerebral activity was recorded through electroencephalography (EEG). After the application of the test in both conditions, changes in the frequency bands related to attention processes (beta 13-30 Hz and theta 4-7 Hz) were studied. The results of this study show that when the students were performing the test while being exposed to background noise, both beta and theta frequency bands decreased statistically significantly. Because attentional improvement is related to increases of the beta and theta waves, we believe that those decreases are directly related to a lack of attention caused by the exposure to background noise. Nevertheless, the results do not allow us to conclude that background noise produced inside university facilities has an influence on the attentional processes.

MEG networks organization is related to white matter integrity

Many studies have assessed the characterization of anatomical or functional connectivity in mild cognitive impairment (MCI), however it is still unknown how they are related in the course of the pathology. Here we integrate the analysis of magnetoencephalographic (MEG) data with white matter (WM) integrity quantification from diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), to asses whether the damage in the WM tracts disrupt the organization of the functional networks.

A review of Tai Chi Chuan and parameters related to balance

Introduction: Previous systematic reviews of the literature on the effects of Tai Chi Chuan(TCC)on balance have focussed either on determining the quality of the research design or have provided just a general description of the studies.To the best of our knowledge none have approached this topic by conducting an analysis from the point of view of the factors which affect balance.It is important to present this perspective as it will help to guide future research in this field. Methodology: Seven electronic data bases were searched for publications dated between 1996 and 2012.The inclusion criteria were;randomized controlled trials(RCT)written in English. Results: From a total of 397 articles identified, 27 randomized controlled trials were eligible for the analysis. Conclusions: Studies reviewed appear to confirm that TCC improves static and dynamic balance and in the functional factors which affect balance in persons of over 55 years of age.Only one study was identified on people affected with problems with the vestibular system. No studies on the influence of TCC on improvement in balance in individuals suffering from deteriorated brain function were identified.

Analysis of Renewable Energy Policies Related to Repowering the Wind Energy Sector: the Spanish Case

In countries that started early with wind energy, the old wind turbines were located in places where the wind is often very good. Since the best places in which the wind is concerned are occupied by old wind turbines (with lower capacity than the more recent ones) the trend is to start replacing old turbines with new ones. With repowering, the first generation of wind turbines can be replaced by modern multi-megawatt wind turbines. The aim of this article is to analyze energy policies in the Spanish energy sector in the repowering of wind farms from the viewpoint of the current situation of the wind energy sector. The approach presented in this article is meant to explain what have been the policies related to the repowering sector making a brief analysis of the spectrum of different stimulii that are demanded by the market analyzing also the future perspectives of the repowering sector by establishing the new opportunities based on the new published regulations.

Review of experimental results related to the operation of intermediate band solar cells

The intermediate band solar cell (IBSC) has drawn the attention of the scientific community as a means to achieve high-efficiency solar cells. Complete IBSC devices have been manufactured using quantum dots, highly mismatched alloys, or bulk materials with deep-level impurities. Characterization of these devices has led, among other experimental results, to the demonstration of the two operating principles of an IBSC: the production of the photocurrent from the absorption of two below bandgap energy photons and the preservation of the output voltage of the solar cell. This study offers a thorough compilation of the most relevant reported results for the variety of technologies investigated and provides the reader with an updated record of IBSC experimental achievements. A table condensing the reported experimental results is presented, which provides information at a glance about achievements, as well as pending results, for every studied technology.

Potential issues related to emergency core cooling system strainers performance at boiling water reactors: application to Cofrentes NPP (Spain)

From the 60s to the 90s, a great number of events related to the Emergency Core Cooling Systems Strainers have been happened in all kind of reactors all over the world. Thus, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the USA emitted some Bulletins to address the concerns about the adequacy of Emergency Core Cooling Systems (ECCS) strainer performance at boiling water reactors (BWR). In Spain the regulatory body (Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear, CSN) adopted the USA regulation and Cofrentes NPP installed new strainers with a considerable bigger size than the old strainers. The nuclear industry conducted significant and extensive research, guidance development, testing, reviews, and hardware and procedure changes during the 90s to resolve the issues related to debris blockage of BWR strainers. In 2001 the NRC and CSN closed the Bulletins. Thereafter, the strainers issues were moved to the PWR reactors. In 2004 the NRC issued a Generic Letter (GL). It requested the resolution of several effects which were not noted in the past. The GL regarded to be resolved by the PWR reactors but the NRC in USA and the CSN in Spain have requested that the BWR reactors investigate differences between the methodologies used by the BWRs and PWRs. The developments and improvements done for Cofrentes NPP are detailed. Studies for this plant show that the head loss due to the considered debris is at most half of the limited head loss for the ECCS strainer and the NPSH (Net Positive Suction Head) required for the ECCS pumps is at least three times lower than the NPSH available.