[en] This study analyses the product design management in several companies of the Spanish ceramic sector and its relationship with organizational learning. We carried out a case study of four companies in order to assess the organizational learning factors involved in the two phases of the product design process: the analytical-conceptual and the technical-creative phases. The case study shows a positive relationship between the organizational learning factors analysed and the product design process. Specifically, the factors related to market, technology and organization knowledge acquisition are linked to the analytical-conceptual phase. The organizational learning factors related to knowledge dissemination and use are linked to the technical-creative phase or the global management of the design process. (Author) 42 refs.

[en] In this paper, the level of exposure to broadband radiofrequency electromagnetic field in a mid-size European city was evaluated in accordance with the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection guidelines from 1998. With the aim to analyse all the potential electromagnetic waves present in the city up to 18 GHz, a total of 271 locations distributed along Terrassa (Spain) have been measured. To show the results in an easy-to-interpret way by the citizen, the results have been represented in a set of raster maps. The measurement results obtained showed that the electromagnetic wave measured in all broadband frequency range along the city is much lower than the safety level according to the international regulations for both public and occupational sectors.

[en] We studied 36 patients with vesicoureteral reflux into 45 renal units by means of isotope cystography and a dynamic renal function scan performed 24 to 48 hours after the cystography. Functional impairment was found in 21 renal units. To evaluate the significance of the time between voiding and complete disappearance of the radioisotope that refluxed from the kidney (retention time) the presence of the labeled particles in the kidney was followed continuously and intermittently during a prolonged interval. There was a significant difference between the retention time found in the impaired kidneys and that in the normally functioning kidneys. In 91.7 per cent of the normally functioning kidneys retention time was less than 5 minutes, whereas in 86 per cent of the impaired kidneys it was more than 10 minutes and in 56 per cent it was more than 20 minutes. No significant correlation was found between the retention time and intrarenal reflux or dilatation of the collecting system (patients classified as having radiological grades III and IV reflux were not included in this study). A retention time greater than 10 minutes may be correlated with decreased renal function. The retention of technetium sulfur colloid particles may be analogous to the retention of similar size bacteria and suggests a possible pathophysiologic explanation for the development of renal dysfunction owing to the prolonged presence of bacteria in the kidney after reflux

[en] The biokinetics of plutonium (Pu) were compared in rats after its administration by inhalation or intramuscular injection as Pu-trilaurylamine (Pu-TLA) or Pu-tri-n-butylphosphate (Pu-TBP). To study the mass effect, ²³⁸Pu and ²³⁹Pu were used. Translocation from the lungs and injection site was faster for ²³⁸Pu than ²³⁹Pu, and faster for Pu-TLA than Pu-TBP. The skeleton was always the main organ of deposition of the transferable Pu fraction. At 50 days after inhalation, the skeletal content, in per cent of the body content at death was 10% for ²³⁹Pu-TBP, 54% for ²³⁸Pu-TBP, 24% for ²³⁹Pu-TLA and 62% for ²³⁸Pu-TLA. The amounts in the liver were respectively 2, 6, 3, and 10% of the body content. Thirty days after intramuscular injection of ²³⁹Pu-TLA, more Pu was translocated than after ²³⁹Pu-TBP (26% versus 16%) and the skeletal deposit was 10 times the deposit in the liver. DTPA therapy after inhalation or injection of ²³⁸Pu-TLA reduced the skeletal content by 35-58% with a corresponding increase in urinary excretion. (author)

[en] The use of High Strength Steels (HSS) in the deep drawing processes has an impact on the temperature that is achieved on the die surfaces. Due to the heat that is created through the deformation of the material and the friction itself, the tools temperature increase considerably up to approximately 100°C. This temperature increment has an effect on both the wear of the surface and also the coefficient of friction (COF). In this work the influence of the tool temperature on the coefficient of friction is studied. For that, Strip Drawing Tests have been carried out at different tool temperatures with a DP780, High Strength Steel. Moreover, different contact pressures have been considered in the study to analyse the combined effect of the contact pressure with the temperature increment. It has been proved that the temperature increment has to be taken into account to predict accurately the behavior of the coefficient of friction between the sheet and the tool. This change in the coefficient of friction has a high impact on the prediction of the deep drawing process. (paper)

[en] The competitiveness of the automotive sector has led to a high demand of accuracy and reduction in lead-time of the deep drawing tool making process. In that regard, the numerical simulation of the deep drawing process has become a key method for the correct die design. Even though the accuracy of these simulations reached some high quality levels in terms of formability and defects, the material holding force remains an open issue among the die maker companies. This inaccuracy is related with the inability of shell elements to correctly reproduce the behavior of the material around the drawbeads. In order to overcome this problem, commercial stamping software used an analytical model to predict the drawbead holding forces. Nevertheless, most of these models are based on an experimental methodology developed in the 70’s that do not exactly represent the industrial drawbead configuration. In order to be able to experimentally analyze the necessary up-lift force of each drawbead, in this work a new experimental procedure is presented. A wide range of automotive sector materials, ranging from mild steels up to high strength steels, have been tested and new values, compared with previous experiments, have been found. In that regard, the force distribution on the drawbead is also studied stressing the importance of the flat surfaces around the drawbead more than the drawbead punch itself. (paper)

[en] Neutrinoless double beta decay measurements are the most promising experiments both to reveal the Majorana nature of the neutrino and to set a value for its mass. The NEXT project propose to build a High pressure Xenon TPC in the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (Huesca, Spain) to measure double-beta decay of ¹³⁶Xe, both normal and neutrinoless, with a source mass of 100 kg of enriched xenon.

[en] The lateral and longitudinal profiles of hadronic showers detected by a prototype of the ATLAS Iron-Scintillator Tile Hadron Calorimeter have been investigated. This calorimeter presents a unique longitudinal configuration of scintillator tiles. Using a fine-grained pion beam scan at 100 GeV, a detailed picture of transverse shower behaviour is obtained. The underlying radial energy densities for the four depth segments and for the entire calorimeter have been reconstructed. A three-dimensional hadronic shower parametrisation has been developed. The results presented here are useful for understanding the performance of iron-scintillator calorimeters, for developing fast simulations of hadronic showers, for many calorimetry problems requiring the integration of a shower energy deposition in a volume and for future calorimeters design