Condicionamientos ambientales de Erica Andevalensis Cabezudo & Rivera : respuesta frente a metales pesados

Se ha estudiado el contenido en metales de las distintas partes de Erica andevalensis (Cabezudo & Rivera) y se han caracterizado las aguas y los suelos de su entorno. Erica andevalensis es capaz de medrar en un medio extremadamente ácido, con suelos pobres y arenosos, y un elevado contenido en metales pesados, siendo su principal mecanismo de defensa la exclusión de los compuestos tóxicos por parte de las raíces y la posible precipitación de éstos en formas inertes, sea en la pared celular o en células determinadas. Queda excluida la probabilidad de hiperacumulación de los principales metales existentes en su entorno, pues en general muestras analizadas presentaron contenidos de metales en la parte aérea poco superiores a los considerados normales

The role of desalination in water management in Southeast Spain

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the importance of seawater desalination to the supply of fresh water to SE Spain, in order to tackle the problem of the shortage of water resources. The Mancomunidad de los Canales del Taibilla (MCT) supplies water to a population of more than 2,400,000 inhabitants in SE Spain. Resources managed by the MCT include the Taibilla river basin, water from the Tajo-Segura transfer, other unusual occasional groundwater contributions and from 2003, sea water desalination. Four desalination plants: Alicante I and II and San Pedro del Pinatar I and II together with resources from other desalination plants provide a significant amount of resources. For a decade (2004-2013) the resources coming from sea water desalination averaged 20.2% of all the resources used by MCT, with 432 Mm3 of total production in the period studied. However, the yearly contribution of desalination has changed depending on the availability of other resources. Moreover, seawater desalination has been essential to ensure water supply in the Alicante and Murcia areas. This resource has been important in periods of shortage, but also in unusual exploitation situations, such as that of the post-transfer tunnel detachment, which was classified as the most important breakdown of this infrastructure within its long lifetime. Moreover, scenarios of future climate changes could increase demands for water supply.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spanish government), for the financial aid with Project CTM2013-46669-R

Pain Catastrophizing and Its Relationship with Health Outcomes: Does Pain Intensity Matter?

Pain catastrophizing is known to contribute to physical and mental functioning, even when controlling for the effect of pain intensity. However, research has yet to explore whether the strength of the relationship between pain catastrophizing and painrelated outcomes varies across pain intensity levels (i.e., moderation). If this was the case, it would have important implications for existing models of pain and current interventions. The present investigation explored whether pain intensity moderates the relationship between pain catastrophizing and pain-related outcomes. Participants were 254 patients (62% women) with heterogeneous chronic pain. Patients completed a measure of pain intensity, pain interference, pain catastrophizing, and physical and mental health. Pain intensity moderated the relationship between pain catastrophizing and pain interference and between pain catastrophizing and physical health status. Specifically, the strength of the correlation between pain catastrophizing and these outcomes decreased considerably as pain intensity increased. In contrast, pain intensity did not moderate the relationship between pain catastrophizing and mental health. Study findings provide a new insight into the role of pain intensity (i.e., moderator) in the relationship between pain catastrophizing and various pain-related outcomes, which might help develop existent models of pain. Clinical implications are discussed in the context of personalized therapy

Customized Nios II multi-cycle instructions to accelerate block-matching techniques

This study focuses on accelerating the optimization of motion estimation algorithms, which are widely used in video coding standards, by using both the paradigm based on Altera Custom Instructions as well as the efficient combination of SDRAM and On-Chip memory of Nios II processor. Firstly, a complete code profiling is carried out before the optimization in order to detect time leaking affecting the motion compensation algorithms. Then, a multi-cycle Custom Instruction which will be added to the specific embedded design is implemented. The approach deployed is based on optimizing SOC performance by using an efficient combination of On-Chip memory and SDRAM with regards to the reset vector, exception vector, stack, heap, read/write data (.rwdata), read only data (.rodata), and program text (.text) in the design. Furthermore, this approach aims to enhance the said algorithms by incorporating Custom Instructions in the Nios II ISA. Finally, the efficient combination of both methods is then developed to build the final embedded system. The present contribution thus facilitates motion coding for low-cost Soft-Core microprocessors, particularly the RISC architecture of Nios II implemented in FPGA. It enables us to construct an SOC which processes 50×50 @ 180 fps

Fieldtrip manual for Plant Biodiversity

Plant Biodiversity is a subject taught during the second year of the Undergraduate Degree in Biology at the University of Alicante. The main principles about the diversity and morphology of the plants are mostly given during the theoretical classes. This fieldtrip practical manual, together with the laboratory sessions, gives the students an opportunity to see our most common wild plant species. Their direct observations allow them to identify properly the main botanical families, genera and species of our wild flora. This Fieldtrip manual for Plant Biodiversity has been written to enhance the understanding of plant diversity and to identify the different ecological conditions for plant species. Students have to understand that “plants do not grow everywhere”. Most of our natural flora, and specially the endemic one, requires specific environmental conditions to grow. So, the objectives of these fieldtrips are to identify wild flora and to recognise the ecological habitats where many of the identified plant species live