Chitinozoans recovered from one section of the Middle Devonian Los Monos Formation in the TCB X-1001-Tacobo borehole, sub-Andean basin of Bolivia, have been analysed. Eleven from the eighteen ...processed cutting samples yielded specimens that allowed taxonomic study. Eleven genera and thirty-five chitinozoan species were identified from the Los Monos Formation with four of them recorded for the first time in Western Gondwana. Ancyrochitina biconstricta, Ancyrochitina parisi, Angochitina galarzae and Ramochitina boliviensis are among the most relevant taxa restricted to Western Gondwana that support the affinity with this paleocontinent. One new species, Lagenochitina tacobensis sp. nov. is described, and Ramochitina candelariaensis sp. nov. (n. n.) is formally erected. The chitinozoan assemblage reinforces the late Eifelian-middle Givetian age previously proposed by organic-walled phytoplankton and miospores for this section of the TCB X-1001-Tacobo borehole. A new local chitinozoan biozonation based on the chitinozoan assemblages is proposed and a revision of the current chitinozoan biozonation for Western Gondwana and Bolivia is recommended.
Abstract
Floating offshore wind turbine designs can be further optimized if the controller and remaining systems are designed together, known as control co-design. To effectively perform control ...co-design, modeling tools predicting the influence of the control systems on the response of a system must be validated. This article presents an experimental validation that utilizes a scale model of a semisubmersible platform for an offshore wind turbine that is fitted with adjustable tuned mass dampers. These dampers can be tuned to attenuate either the hull-pitch resonance or the tower-bending resonance. The data from the experiment are used to validate state-of-the-art modeling tools. It is shown that the models capture the overall effects of the tuned mass dampers; however, some models overpredict the reduction in platform pitch motion when the dampers are tuned to the pitch resonance. The relative reduction in the tower-base bending moment is more consistently captured by the models when the dampers are tuned to the tower-bending resonance. However, there are significant differences in the absolute level of tower-base bending moment between the models and the experiment. Much of the differences observed are a consequence of the challenge with accurately predicting the baseline platform resonance motion and the tower-bending moment, which should be addressed in future modeling efforts.
•Bibliometric analysis focused on the temporal evolution of the keywords “maritime safety” and “VTS” show the importance of these issues nowadays.•Human factors are key in maritime safety related to ...VTS environment.•VTSOs’ functions depend, both on the geographical location and the type of service offered.•Experience and standardization are shown as essential to counteract the negative effects caused in VTSOs by the rest of the factors studied.
The growth of the world merchant fleet in recent decades has caused an increase in congestion and complexity in maritime traffic, especially in coastal areas, straits and nearby channels.
This fact, which acts negatively upon maritime safety, however, has meant a decrease in the number of accidents, rather, they have even been reduced by half in the last decade.
This anomaly is explained by the implementation of Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) in these conflict areas and for this reason, in this review we will study, through the analysis of different relevant studies on the subject, the relationship between the human element and maritime safety, focusing on the figure of the vessel traffic service operator (VTSO) as a link between safety and efficiency, exploring their staffing, training, functions and factors affecting them within the maritime system.
This review was conducted following the reporting guidelines for systematic reviews based on the PRISMA 2020 model (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and meta-Analyses).
Also, a bibliometric analysis of the extensive academic literature pertaining to maritime safety in relation to the human factor was carried out, focusing especially on VTS and the operators that act in them, with a special focus on the period from 2000 to 2020. Based on 371 articles, the bibliometric analyses yield to us the information on the publication patterns related to the year of publication and the keywords by identifying the main thematic groups, finally extracting 11 representative articles that have been investigated in detail focusing on the influence of the human factor in maritime safety in the VTS environment.
A large population of the acritarch genus PyloferitesQuadros 1999 was recovered from the Devonian strata of the Paraná Basin, Alto Garças Sub-basin (Brazil), at the Jaciara section. Based on a ...literature review and the examination of new material, including morphometric analyses, Pyloferites shows wide morphological variability, and, therefore, is herein emended. Additionally, a species emendation and a new species are instituted: Pyloferites escobaides (Cramer 1964) Daners et al. 2017 emend. nov., and Pyloferites paranaensis sp. nov. The stratigraphical distribution of P. escobaides is extended from the middle–late Pragian to the Famennian, while P. paranaeinsis is restricted to the Pragian to early Emsian, or possibly middle Emsian, of the Paraná Basin. The presence of Pyloferites in Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Spain supports a Gondwanan and Perigondwanan palaeobiogeographical distribution.
Geothermal energy has become of increasing scientific and industrial interest; hence, many works discuss and study its principles, uses, and technical/economic viability. However, much less research ...focuses on the environmental impact of geothermal energy projects.
In this research, we perform a life cycle assessment of five different geothermal heat pump systems (GHPS) installed across five different facilities: three single-family detached houses (heating capacity of GHPS: 10 kW, 15 kW, and 45 kWh, respectively), a multipurpose building (heating capacity of GHPS: 110 kW), and a residential area of semi-detached houses (heating capacity of GHPS: 210 kW).
The overall results demonstrate that the higher the heating capacity of a GHPS, the greater the environmental impact. Such results allow us to establish correlations between GHPS heating capacity and environmental impact across the 11 environmental impact categories.
Amortization periods were calculated with respect to the annual demand for heating and cooling of each facility. In the 10 kW and 15 kW GHPS, the amortization period is shorter than 11 years, followed by an eight-year period for the 45 kW GHPS. Similarly, the amortization period for the 210 kW GHPS decreases up to five years. Conversely, the 110 kW GHPS has an 18-year amortization period.
To effectively keep pace with the global IP traffic growth forecasted in the years to come, flex-grid over multi-core fiber (MCF) networks can bring superior spectrum utilization flexibility, as well ...as bandwidth scalability far beyond the non-linear Shannon's limit. In such a network scenario, however, full node switching re-configurability will require enormous node complexity, pushing the limits of current optical device technologies with prohibitive capital expenditures. Therefore, cost-effective node solutions will most probably be the key enablers of flex-grid/MCF networks, at least in the short- and mid-term future. In this context, this paper proposes a cost-effective reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM) architecture for flex-grid/MCF networks, called CCC-ROADM, which reduces technological requirements (and associated costs) in exchange for demanding core continuity along the end-to-end communication. To assess the performance of the proposed CCC-ROADM in comparison with a fully flexible ROADM (i.e., a fully non-blocking ROADM, called FNB-ROADM in this work) in large-scale network scenarios, a novel lightweight heuristic to solve the route, modulation, core, and spectrum assignment problem in flex-grid/MCF networks is presented in this work, whose goodness is successfully validated against optimal ILP formulations previously proposed for the same goal. The obtained numerical results in a significant number of representative network topologies with different MCF configurations of 7, 12, and 19 cores show almost identical network performance in terms of maximum network throughput when deploying CCC-ROADMs versus FNB-ROADMs, while decreasing network capital expenditures to a large extent.
Human milk banks pasteurize and freeze the milk in order to conserve it, but thawing and prolonged storage cause loss of nutritional components. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of ...pasteurization, high hydrostatic pressures, UV radiation, and spray drying in human milk packed and stored at 25 to 40°C by a period of 14 weeks, using an accelerated shelf life method with Arrhenius model. Effectiveness of packaging, microbiological viability, and deterioration of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins was evaluated. The results showed that proteins and carbohydrates in powdered human milk with different treatments did not show significant changes during storage at 25 to 40°C and without the growth of microorganisms. However, 33.3% deterioration of lipid oxidation was observed up at 40°C. We predict with the applied model that, at 18°C, the human milk powder will be preserved for approximately one year without significant changes in its composition.
The palynological assemblages of the Talacasto and Punta Negra formations, from the Argentinean Precordillera, were analysed. Marine phytoplankton is dominant in both stratigraphic units. ...?Cymatiosphaera florida, Evittia sommeri, Palacanthus ledanoisii, Riculasphaera fissa, Schizocystia pilosa, Tysanoprobolus polykion and Winwaloeusia distracta are among the most age-significant phytoplankton species of the Talacasto Formation, while Amicosporites sp. cf. A. streelii, Dictyotriletes emsiensis Morphon, Dictyotriletes favosus and ?Knoxisporites riondae prove the most biostratigraphically significant miospore species. A Lochkovian to probably late Pragian age is interpreted based on the marine and terrestrial palynomorphs. The lower part of the Punta Negra Formation contains phytoplankton species such as Cordobesia oriental, Cordobesia uruguayensis, Duvernaysphaera stellata, Navifusa bacilla, Polyedryxium fragosulum and Pterospermella sp. cf. P. pernambucensis as well as the miospores Acinosporites sp. cf. A. lindlarensis and Apiculatasporites microconus, which suggests an early Emsian age. Taxa such as Cordobesia, Schizocystia and Winwaloeusia support affinities of the Argentinean assemblages with Gondwana.
A cross-sectional study of geriatric patients was performed to provide a comprehensive description of the prevalence and clinical characteristics of chronic itch affecting Hispanic geriatric subjects ...in Mexico. Participants were recruited from both nursing homes and geriatric ambulatory care centers. Patients without dementia were evaluated using an itch intensity and characteristic questionnaire and were assessed for itch-related dermatoses (n = 302). Data on medications and underlying systemic diseases were obtained from medical records. The prevalence of chronic itch was 25% in this population. Of those with chronic itch, 69% had xerosis, 28% had itch-related dermatoses, and 96% had documented comorbidities. The most common comorbidities were diabetes mellitus (OR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.3-3.9, p = 0.003) and chronic venous insufficiency (OR = 4.4, 95% CI 1.6-12.2, p = 0.002). The most common areas where patients experienced itch were legs (54%), back (45%), scalp (28%) and arms (27%). Patients experienced the greatest amount of itch in the winter (77%) and during the night (65%). Chronic itch is a common problem in the studied Hispanic geriatric population, and its presence significantly correlates with xerosis, diabetes, and venous insufficiency.
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