Within the framework of the recent approval of the National Plan Against Radon by the Council of Ministers of the Spanish Government, one of its five axes focuses on the delimitation of priority ...action areas. In line with this objective, this paper presents the indoor radon risk maps of the Canary Islands. Due to the volcanic origin of the Canary Islands, there is a great deal of geological heterogeneity in the soils on which buildings settle, making it very difficult to delimit radon-risk areas in the process of creating maps. Following a methodology developed in previous works for a study area formed of a set of representative municipalities, this paper presents radon risk maps of the Canary Islands based on lithostratigraphic information and high-resolution terrestrial gamma radiation maps. The goodness of fit of these maps is verified based on a statistical analysis of indoor radon concentration measurements carried out at representative building enclosures. In order to analyse the level of risk to the population, these maps were combined with built up areas (urban fabric) maps and estimations of the annual effective doses due to radon was obtained by applying a dosimetric model. This methodology improves the capability to delimit indoor radon risk areas, with a greater margin of safety. In this respect, it is estimated that areas classified as low risk have indoor radon concentrations 41 % below the current reference level of 300 Bq/m3 established by national regulations in compliance with the precepts laid down in the European EURATOM Directive.
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•Radon risk maps applying a methodology developed for volcanic islands•These maps combine lithostratigraphic information and terrestrial gamma radiation.•Indoor radon measurements confirm the suitability of risk maps.•Crossing risk maps with urban fabric allows evaluating the risk in the population.•An estimation of effective annual dose for each risk area defined is provided.
Autologous dendritic cells (DCs) loaded with tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) are a promising immunological tool for cancer therapy. These stimulate the antitumor response and immunological memory ...generation. Nevertheless, many patients remain refractory to DC approaches. Antigen (Ag) delivery to DCs is relevant to vaccine success, and antigen peptides, tumor-associated proteins, tumor cells, autologous tumor lysates, and tumor-derived mRNA have been tested as Ag sources. Recently, DCs loaded with allogeneic tumor cell lysates were used to induce a potent immunological response. This strategy provides a reproducible pool of almost all potential Ags suitable for patient use, independent of MHC haplotypes or autologous tumor tissue availability. However, optimizing autologous tumor cell lysate preparation is crucial to enhancing efficacy. This review considers the role of cancer cell-derived lysates as a relevant source of antigens and as an activating factor for ex vivo therapeutic DCs capable of responding to neoplastic cells. These promising therapies are associated with the prolonged survival of advanced cancer patients.
Zooplankton diversity in the deep “midnight zone” (>1000 m), where sunlight does not reach, remains largely unknown. Uncovering such diversity has been challenging because of the major difficulties ...in sampling deep pelagic fauna and identifying many (unknown) species that belong to these complex swimmer assemblages. In this study, we evaluated zooplankton diversity using two taxonomic marker genes: mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) and nuclear 18S ribosomal RNA (18S). We collected samples from plankton net tows, ranging from the surface to a depth of 5000 m above the Atacama Trench in the Southeast Pacific. Our study aimed to assess the zooplankton diversity among layers from the upper 1000 m to the ultra-deep abyssopelagic zone to test the hypothesis of decreasing diversity with depth resulting from limited carbon sources. The results showed unique, highly vertically structured communities within the five depth strata sampled, with maximal species richness observed in the upper bathypelagic layer (1000–2000 m). The high species richness of zooplankton (>750 OTUS) at these depths was higher than that found in the upper 1000 m. The vertical diversity trend exhibited a pattern similar to the well-known vertical pattern described for the benthic system. However, a large part of this diversity was either unknown (>50%) or could not be assigned to any known species in current genetic diversity databases. DNA analysis showed that the Calanoid copepods, mostly represented by
Subeucalanus monachus
, the Euphausiacea,
Euphausia mucronata
, and the halocypridade,
Paraconchoecia dasyophthalma
, dominated the community. Water column temperature, dissolved oxygen, particulate carbon, and nitrogen appeared to be related to the observed vertical diversity pattern. Our findings revealed rich and little-known zooplankton diversity in the deep sea, emphasizing the importance of further exploration of this ecosystem to conserve and protect its unique biota.
Line Transversals to Disjoint Disks González-Arreola, E.; Jerónimo-Castro, J.
Mathematical Notes,
12/2023, Letnik:
114, Številka:
5-6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The main purpose of this paper is to prove the following result: Let
be a
-disjoint finite family of disks with the property that every four of them have a common line transversal. Then there exists ...a line transversal to all members of
. Moreover, we prove that the number
is sharp.
•The PV-CSP system presents a LCOE only 2% higher than the PV-Battery system.•If the ORC is increased to 60 kWe, the LCOE is cheaper than the PV-Battery system.•For a community with demands exceeding ...500 kWe, the LCOE decreases to $0.37 USD/kWh.•LCOE costs can be reduced by up to $0.18 USD/kWh if the system is maximized energetically.
In this work an economic and technical analysis on a hybrid Photovoltaic (PV) – Concentrated solar power (CSP) system, to be used as an energy source in isolated microgrids, is conducted using the microgrid in Puertecitos, Baja California, Mexico as a case study. The PV-CSP system uses a field of solar concentrators with thermal storage to activate a 30 kW organic Rankine cycle, which satisfies the community's energy demand during periods of low or no solar radiation. The PV field provides 73 kW to cover the electrical needs of the community during the daytime, the period in which the CSP field stores sensible heat in tanks for later use. An operational and economic study that compares the hybrid system to the one currently used in the microgrid is presented. The results show that, for the case study, the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for the PV-CSP hybrid system is 0.524 USD/kWh, only 2% higher than the LCOE for the PV-Battery, 0.51 USD/kWh. However, if the PV-CSP were used in a community with an energy demand 50% larger, the LCOE would be of 0.506 USD/kWh. Furthermore, if the community’s demand exceeds 500 kW, the LCOE of the PV-CSP would be 26% lower. If the system is harnessed to its maximum capacity throughout the year, its LCOE can be comparable to, and as competitive as that of large commercial hybrid plants. The hybridization of these systems allows a manageability and complementarity of energy that, when applied to isolated microgrids, diminishes or eliminates the problem of battery storage, resulting in costs reduction during the useful life of the project.
The soil in general and that destined for agricultural use, more specifically, can act as a source or sink of carbon, hence its direct involvement in strategies for mitigating climate change. A large ...proportion of this mitigation potential is produced by the sequestration of carbon by soils and, to a lesser extent, by a reduction in emissions from the soil. The most effective practices for increasing the organic carbon in the soils are generally those linked to conservation agriculture, which includes practices of no tillage or minimum tillage and the use of cover crops. During the farming seasons of 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09 and 2009/10, a trial was conducted in which the carbon dioxide emissions in soil with a high percentage of clay in the Vega de Carmona (Seville) were estimated, and it was determined how climate conditions and the adoption of conservation agriculture practices vs. the use of traditional tillage influenced the flux of gas into the atmosphere.
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