Characterization of an 241AmBe neutron irradiation facility by different spectrometric techniques

An automated panoramic irradiator with a 3 Ci 241Am-Be neutron source is installed in a bunker-type large room at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). It was recently modified and a neutron spectrometry campaign was organized to characterize the neutron fields in different measurement points along the irradiation bench. Four research groups working with different Bonner Sphere Spectrometers (BSS) and using different spectral unfolding codes took part to this exercise. INFN-LNF used a BSS formed by 9 spheres plus bare detector, with cylindrical, almost point like, 6LiI(Eu) scintillator (4 mm x 4 mm, from Ludlum); UAZ-UPM employed a similar system but with only 6 spheres plus bare detector; UAB worked with a 3He filled proportional counter at 8kPa filling pressure, cylindrical 9 mm x 10 mm (05NH1 from Eurisys) with 11 spheres configuration; and CIEMAT used 12 spheres with an spherical 3He SP9 counter (Centronic Ltd., UK) with very high sensitivity due to the large diameter (3.2 cm) and the filling pressure of the order of 228 kPa. Each group applied a different spectral unfolding method: INFN and UAB worked with FRUIT ver. 3.0 with their own response matrixes; UAZ-UPM used the BUNKIUT unfolding code with the response matrix UTA4 and CIEMAT employed the GRAVEL-MAXED-IQU package with their own response matrix. The paper shows the main results obtained in terms of neutron spectra at fixed distances from the source as well as total neutron fluence rate and ambient dose equivalent rate H*(10) determined from the spectra. The latter are compared with the readings of a common active survey-meter (LB 6411). The small differences in the results of the various groups are discussed.

MOIRA-PLUS use in decision making on the long-term management of contaminated freshwater bodies and catchments

In the mid-long-term after a nuclear accident, the contamination of drinking water sources, fish and other aquatic foodstuffs, irrigation supplies and people?s exposure during recreational activities may create considerable public concern, even though dose assessment may in certain situations indicate lesser importance than for other sources, as clearly experienced in the aftermath of past accidents. In such circumstances there are a number of available countermeasure options, ranging from specific chemical treatment of lakes to bans on fish ingestion or on the use of water for crop irrigation. The potential actions can be broadly grouped into four main categories, chemical, biological, physical and social. In some cases a combination of actions may be the optimal strategy and a decision support system (DSS) like MOIRA-PLUS can be of great help to optimise a decision. A further option is of course not to take any remedial actions, although this may also have significant socio-economic repercussions which should be adequately evaluated. MOIRA-PLUS is designed to allow for a reliable assessment of the long-term evolution of the radiological situation and of feasible alternative rehabilitation strategies, including an objective evaluation of their social, economic and ecological impacts in a rational and comprehensive manner. MOIRA-PLUS also features a decision analysis methodology, making use of multi-attribute analysis, which can take into account the preferences and needs of different types of stakeholders. The main functions and elements of the system are described summarily. Also the conclusions from end-user?s experiences with the system are discussed, including exercises involving the organizations responsible for emergency management and the affected services, as well as different local and regional stakeholders. MOIRAPLUS has proven to be a mature system, user friendly and relatively easy to set up. It can help to better decisionmaking by enabling a realistic evaluation of the complete impacts of possible recovery strategies. Also, the interaction with stakeholders has allowed identifying improvements of the system that have been recently implemented.

Involutivity of the Hamilton-Cartan equations of a second-order Lagrangian admitting a first-order Hamiltonian formalism

Involutivity of the Hamilton-Cartan equations of a second-order Lagrangian admitting a first-order Hamiltonian formalism

Mechanical properties of peanut varieties

On the efforts for rationalizing the production of peanuts in Spain, one of the objectives was to obtain a well adapted variety, suitable for mechanization. We tried to get information on the characteristics that would condition the suitability of a variety to mechanized production, principally mechanical harvesting. All the characters studied would then be taken into account in a breeding program.

Optical Detection of Surface Defects in Oranges

An optical-based sorting device for oranges is presented. Its design has been based on homogeneity of illumination and detection of the light reflected and scattered by the fruit. Several configurations are studied and compared under semiempirical formulations .A general purpose microprocessor based hardware is proposed. A sorting rate over 10 fruits per second on each channel is achieved.

Non-destructive optical characterization of fruits in the red and near infrared.

Increasing attention is being paid to the possible development of non-invasive tests for the assessment of the quality of Fruits. We propose a novel non-destructive method for the measurement of the internal optical properties of fruits and vegetables by means of lime-resolved reflectance spectroscopy in the visible and NIR range. A Fully automated instrumentation for time-resolved reflectance measurements was developed. It is based on mode-locked laser sources and electronics for time-correlated single photon counting, and provides a time-resolution of 120-160 ps. The system was used to probe the optical properties of several species and varieties of Fruits and vegetables in the red and NIR range (650-1000 nm). In most Fruits, the absorption line shape is dominated by the absorption peak of water, centred around 970 nm. Generally, the absorption spectra also show the spectral features typical of chlorophyll, with maximum at 675 nm. In particular, for what concerns apples, variations in peak intensity are observed depending on the variety, the degree of ripeness as well as the position on the apple. For all the species and varieties considered, the transport scattering coefficient decreases progressively upon increasing the wavelength.

Correlation study between motion analysis of laparoscopic instruments and a suturing checklist

Purpose: To compare assessment capabilities of a motion analysis tool against a validated checklist during laparoscopic training.

Sex and age differences on lipid profile changes after intervention of weight loss: the Pronaf study.

Diferencias en el perfil lipídico tras un tratamiento de pérdida de peso con dieta y ejercicio por sexo y edad.

Statistical characterization of soft tissue inelastic parameters and application to the material failure of the aortic ach

Caracterización de los procesos de disipación mecánica basándose en la microestructura de los tejidos blandos. We present a continuous damage model with regularized softening (smeared crack models) for fiber reinforced soft tissues. Material parameters of the continuous model derive from the mesoscopic scale. In the mesoscopic scale continuum is considered as a collagenous fibrilreinforced composite. We want to study the continnumlevel response as a function of the nanoscale properties of the collagen and the adherent forces between the tropocollagen molecules.

Quantification of impacts in artistic gymnastics with accelerometry: an approximation

Intensity and volume of training in Artisti Gymnastics are increasing as the sooner athlete's age of incorporation creating some disturbance in them.

Effect of yoga and swimming on body temperature of pregnant women

Physical activity for pregnant women should be controlled and adapted in order to minimize the risk of loss of balance and fetal trauma (Davies, Wolfe, Mottola, y MacKinnon, 2003). Noninvasive technologies are required for understanding better the effects of physical activity on pregnant women. Infrared thermography allows, remotely, securely and without any contact, to measure and display accurate temperatures on the human skin.

Reliability and reproductibility of skin temperature of overweight subjects by an infrared thermograpy software designed for human beings

The technical improvement and new applications of Infrared Thermography (IRT) with healthy subjects should be accompanied by results about the reproducibility of IRT measurements in different popula-tion groups. In addition, there is a remarkable necessity of a larger supply on software to analyze IRT images of human beings. Therefore, the objectives of this study were: firstly, to investigate the reproducibility of skin temperature (Tsk) on overweight and obese subjects using IRT in different Regions of Interest (ROI), moments and side-to-side differences (?T); and secondly, to check the reliability of a new software called Termotracker®, specialized on the analysis of IRT images of human beings. Methods: 22 overweight and obese males (11) and females (11) (age: 41,51±7,76 years; height: 1,65±0,09 m; weight: 82,41±11,81 Kg; BMI: 30,17±2,58 kg/m²) were assessed in two consecutive thermograms (5 seconds in-between) by the same observer, using an infrared camera (FLIR T335, Sweden) to get 4 IRT images from the whole body. 11 ROI were selected using Termotracker® to analyze its reproducibility and reliability through Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and Coefficient of Variation (CV) values. Results: The reproducibility of the side-to-side differences (?T) between two consecutive thermograms was very high in all ROIs (Mean ICC = 0,989), and excellent between two computers (Mean ICC = 0,998). The re-liability of the software was very high in all the ROIs (Mean ICC = 0,999). Intraexaminer reliability analysing the same subjects in two consecutive thermograms was also very high (Mean ICC = 0,997). CV values of the different ROIs were around 2%. Conclusions: Skin temperature on overweight subjects had an excellent reproducibility for consecutive ther-mograms. The reproducibility of thermal asymmetries (?T) was also good but it had the influence of several factors that should be further investigated. Termotracker® reached excellent reliability results and it is a relia-ble and objective software to analyse IRT images of humans beings.

Use of Schizosaccharomyces pombe to produce stable pigments during red winemaking

This work has studied the production of stable pyranoanthocyanin pigments during fermentation using S. pombe and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Along the fermentation, anthocyanins were determined by HPLC-DAD/MS, acetaldehyde was measured using GC-FID and pyruvic acid was quantified by enzymatic tests. Results show that S. pombe strains produce higher amounts of pyruvic acid, and therefore also of vitisin A, than Saccharomyces controls.

Reduction of 4-ethylphenol contents in red wines using HCDC+ yeasts and cinnamyl esterases

In this work we have studied the combined effect of using cinnamyl esterases (CE) and HCDC+ yeast strains of S. cerevisiae to transform TE-HCAs into vinylphenols to condense them with grape anthocyanins forming VPAs. These VPAs improve the color stability of the wine and at the same time remove EP precursors of the wine.

Aerodynamic study of a blended wing body, comparison with a conventional transport airplane.

Blended-wing-body (BWB) aircraft are being studied with interest and effort to improve economic efficiency and to overcome operational and infrastructure related problems associated to the increasing size of conventional transport airplanes. The objective of the research reported here is to assess the aerodynamic feasibility and operational efficiency of a great size, blended wing body layout, a configuration which has many advantages. To this end, the conceptual aerodynamic design process of an 800 seat BWB has been done completed with a comparison of performance and operational issues with last generation of conventional very large aircraft. The results are greatly encouraging and predict about 20 percent increase in transport productivity efficiency, without the burden of new or aggravated safety or operational problems.