Ca-amendement and tillage: medium term synergies for improving key soil properties of acid soils. Soil and tillage research, 134: 195-206

Ca-amendments are routinely applied to improve acid soils, whilst no-tillage (NT) has been widely recommended in soils where traditional tillage (TT) has led to losses of organic matter. However, the potential interactions between the two treatments are only partially known. Our study was conducted on an annual forage crop agrosystem with a degraded Palexerult soil located in SW Spain, in order to assess if the combination of NT plus a Ca-amendment provides additional benefits to those of their separate use. To this end we analysed the effects of four different combinations of tillage and Ca-amendment on selected key soil properties, focusing on their relationships. The experimental design was a split-plot with four replicates. The main factor was tillage (NT versus TT) and the second factor was the application or not of a Ca-amendment, consisting of a mixture of sugar foam (SF) and red gypsum (RG). Soil samples were collected from 3 soil layers down to 50 cm after four years of treatment (2009). The use of the Ca-amendment improved pH and Al-toxicity down to 25 cm and increased exchangeable Ca2+ down to 50 cm, even under NT due to the combined effect of SF and RG. Both NT and the Ca-amendment had a beneficial effect on total organic carbon (TOC), especially on particulate organic carbon (POC), in the 0–5 cm layer, with the highest contents observed when both practices were combined. Unlike NT, the Ca-amendment failed to improve soil aggregation in spite of the carbon supplied. This carbon was not protected within the stable aggregates in the medium term, making it more susceptible to mineralization. We suggest that the fraction of Al extracted by oxalate from solid phase (AlOxa-Cu-K) and the glomalin-related soil proteins (GRSPs) are involved in the accumulation of carbon within water stable aggregates, probably through the formation of non-toxic stable Al-OM compounds, including those formed with GRSPs. NT alone decreased AlK in the 0–5 cm soil layer, possibly by increasing POC, TOC and GRSPs, which were observed to play a role in reducing Al toxicity. From our findings, the combination of NT and Ca-amendment appears to be the best management practice to improve chemical and physical characteristics of acid soils degraded by tillage.

Research lines in Hyperthermia at the Bioinstrumentation Laboratory of the Centre for Biomedical Technology

The Bioinstrumentation Laboratory belongs to the Centre for Biomedical Technology (CTB) of the Technical University of Madrid and its main objective is to provide the scientific community with devices and techniques for the characterization of micro and nanostructures and consequently finding their best biomedical applications. Hyperthermia (greek word for “overheating”) is defined as the phenomenon that occurs when a body is exposed to an energy generating source that can produce a rise in temperature (42-45ºC) for a given time [1]. Specifically, the aim of the hyperthermia methods used in The Bioinstrumentation Laboratory is the development of thermal therapies, some of these using different kinds of nanoparticles, to kill cancer cells and reduce the damage on healthy tissues. The optical hyperthermia is based on noble metal nanoparticles and laser irradiation. This kind of nanoparticles has an immense potential associated to the development of therapies for cancer on account of their Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) enhanced light scattering and absorption. In a short period of time, the absorbed light is converted into localized heat, so we can take advantage of these characteristics to heat up tumor cells in order to obtain the cellular death [2]. In this case, the laboratory has an optical hyperthermia device based on a continuous wave laser used to kill glioblastoma cell lines (1321N1) in the presence of gold nanorods (Figure 1a). The wavelength of the laser light is 808 nm because the penetration of the light in the tissue is deeper in the Near Infrared Region. The first optical hyperthermia results show that the laser irradiation produces cellular death in the experimental samples of glioblastoma cell lines using gold nanorods but is not able to decrease the cellular viability of cancer cells in samples without the suitable nanorods (Figure 1b) [3]. The generation of magnetic hyperthermia is performed through changes of the magnetic induction in magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) that are embedded in viscous medium. The Figure 2 shows a schematic design of the AC induction hyperthermia device in magnetic fluids. The equipment has been manufactured at The Bioinstrumentation Laboratory. The first block implies two steps: the signal selection with frequency manipulation option from 9 KHz to 2MHz, and a linear output up to 1500W. The second block is where magnetic field is generated ( 5mm, 10 turns). Finally, the third block is a software control where the user can establish initial parameters, and also shows the temperature response of MNPs due to the magnetic field applied [4-8]. The Bioinstrumentation Laboratory in collaboration with the Mexican company MRI-DT have recently implemented a new research line on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Hyperthermia, which is sustained on the patent US 7,423,429B2 owned by this company. This investigation is based on the use of clinical MRI equipment not only for diagnosis but for therapy [9]. This idea consists of two main facts: Magnetic Resonance Imaging can cause focal heating [10], and the differentiation in resonant frequency between healthy and cancer cells [11]. To produce only heating in cancer cells when the whole body is irradiated, it is necessary to determine the specific resonant frequency of the target, using the information contained in the spectra of the area of interest. Then, special RF pulse sequence is applied to produce fast excitation and relaxation mechanism that generates temperature increase of the tumor, causing cellular death or metabolism malfunction that stops cellular division

A software process improvement solution for small and medium-size enterprises

The focus of this paper is to outline the main structure of an alternative software process improvement method for small- and medium-size enterprises. This method is based on the action package concept, which helps to institutionalize the effective practices with affordable implementation costs. This paper also presents the results and lessons learned when this method was applied to three enterprises in the requirements engineering domain.

Direct estimation wave setup as a medium level in swash

The extreme runup is a key parameter for a shore risk analysis in which the accurate and quantitative estimation of the upper limit reached by waves is essential. Runup can be better approximated by splitting the setup and swash semi-amplitude contributions. In an experimental study recording setup becomes difficult due to infragravity motions within the surf zone, hence, it would be desirable to measure the setup with available methodologies and devices. In this research, an analysis is made of evaluated the convenience of direct estimation setup as the medium level in the swash zone for experimental runup analysis through a physical model. A physical mobile bed model was setup in a wave flume at the Laboratory for Maritime Experimentation of CEDEX. The wave flume is 36 metres long, 6.5 metres wide and 1.3 metres high. The physical model was designed to cover a reasonable range of parameters, three different slopes (1/50, 1/30 and 1/20), two sand grain sizes (D50 = 0.12 mm and 0.70 mm) and a range for the Iribarren number in deep water (ξ0) from 0.1 to 0.6. Best formulations were chosen for estimating a theoretical setup in the physical model application. Once theoretical setup had been obtained, a comparison was made with an estimation of the setup directly as a medium level of the oscillation in swash usually considered in extreme runup analyses. A good correlation was noted between both theoretical and time-averaging setup and a relation is proposed. Extreme runup is analysed through the sum of setup and semi-amplitude of swash. An equation is proposed that could be applied in strong foreshore slope-dependent reflective beaches.

Reflectance properties analysis of mineral based mortars for renders: research of their energy performance

Passive performance of buildings is nowadays one of the key points, not only for reducing energy consumption of buildings, but also for decreasing “fuel poverty”. Among the constructive systems in buildings, façades are the ones having higher influence on thermal performance in urban spaces. Lime renders are specialized systems which can improve not only the durability of the support but also the thermal properties. According to previous researches, a modification of their radiative properties can reduce thermal fluxes between 24% and 89%. In this paper, the influences of the aggregate content in lime pastes, as well as the nature of the aggregates, colour and roughness, on the visible near and medium infrared reflectance are analyzed. Ten types of aerial lime mortars were prepared and two methods of reflectance determination were performed. Finally, the effect of the resulted reflectance on the constructive systems of façades was analyzed using pseudotime-dependent software, for which an annulation of the thermal fluxes or significant reduction of them can be observed, when modifying the aggregate nature.

ITIL in Small to Medium-Sized Enterprises: toward a proposal based on an ITIL processes implementation sequence and a pofile scheme strategy for implementing the first process in the sequence

The backdrop of actual problematic about the implementation of Information Technology (IT) services management in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) will be described. It will be exposed the reasons why reaching a maturity/capability level through well-known standards or the implementation of good software engineering practices by means of IT infrastructure Library are really difficult to achieve by SMEs. Also, the solutions to the exposed problems will be explained. Also master thesis goals are presented in terms of: purpose, research questions, research goals, objectives and scope. Finally, thesis structure is described.

How small and medium enterprises can begin their implementation of ITIL?

Sequencing of Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) processes related to their order of implementation is one of the pending issues in the ITIL handbooks. Other frameworks and process models related to service management (e.g., COBIT, COSO and CMMI-SVC) are quite well described in the literature and their handbooks. However, the identifi cation of the fi rst process to be implemented has not been deeply analysed in the previous frameworks and models, and it is also a complex question to answer for organizations, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Moreover, SMEs are the organizations that have the largest presence in the world economy; offi cial data of General Business Directory, show that their range of presence in different countries around the world is between 93% and 99%, and the average of employment contribution is around 60%. Consequently, the improvement of information technology service management is of vital importance to accomplish in this type of enterprises. This research has focused on two surveys that aim at helping SMEs to select the ITIL process by which starting the implementation of ITIL. In the fi rst survey, data were gathered through a questionnaire to SMEs registered in the region of Madrid. The second survey obtained data from experts and enterprises in countries as Spain, Ecuador, Chile, Luxembourg, Colombia, Norway, El Salvador, and Venezuela. Finally, the results of both surveys show that the tendency for starting an ITIL implementation in SMEs points to one of the processes included in the Service Operation.