Abstract

Abstract
While the popularity of virtual reality (VR) grows in a wide range of application contexts - e.g. entertainment, training, cultural heritage and medicine -, its economic impact is expected to reach around 15bn USD, by the year of 2020. Within VR field, 360video has been sparking the interest of development and research communities. However, editing tools supporting 360panoramas are usually expensive and/or demand programming skills and/or advanced user knowledge. Besides, application approaches to quickly and intuitively set up such 360video-based VR environments complemented with diverse types of parameterizable virtual assets and multimedia elements are still hard to find. Thereby, this paper aims to propose a system specification to simply and rapidly configure immersive VR environments composed of surrounding 360video spheres that can be complemented with parameterizable multimedia contents - namely 3D models, text and spatial sound -, whose behavior can be either time-range or user-interaction dependent. Moreover, a preliminary prototype that follows a substantial part of the previously mentioned specification and implements the enhancement of 360videos with time-range dependent virtual assets is presented. Preliminary tests evaluating usability and user satisfaction were also carried out with 30 participants, from which encouraging results were achieved. © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd..

Abstract
Biofouling represents a major economic, environmental and health concern for which new eco-friendly solutions are needed. International legislation has restricted the use of biocidal-based antifouling coatings, and increasing efforts have been applied in the search for environmentally friendly antifouling agents. This research work deals with the assessment of the interest of a series of synthetic chalcone derivatives for antifouling applications. Sixteen chalcone derivatives were synthesized with moderate yields (38-85%). Antifouling bioactivity of these compounds was assessed at different levels of biological organization using both anti-macrofouling and anti-microfouling bioassays, namely an anti-settlement assay using mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) larvae, as well as marine bacteria and microalgal biofilms growth inhibition bioassays. Results showed that three compounds (11, 12, and 16) were particularly active against the settlement of mussel larvae (EC50 7.24-34.63 mu M), being compounds 12 and 16 also able to inhibit the growth of microfouling species (EC50 4.09-20.31 mu M). Moreover, the most potent compounds 12 and 16 were found to be non-toxic to the non-target species Artemia salina (<10% mortality at 25 mu M). A quantitative structure-activity relationship model predicted that descriptors describing the ability of molecules to form hydrogen bonds and encoding the shape, branching ratio and constitutional diversity of the molecule were implied in the antifouling activity against the settlement of mussel larvae. This work elucidates for the first time the relevance of synthesizing chalcone derivatives to generate new nontoxic products to prevent marine biofouling.

Abstract
This research underlines the need to improve water management policies for areas linked to confined karstic aquifers subjected to intensive exploitation, and to develop additional efforts towards monitoring their subsidence evolution. We analyze subsidence related to intensive use of groundwater in a confined karstic aquifer, through the use of the InSAR technique, by the southern coast of Spain (Costa del Sol). Carbonates are overlain by an unconfined detritic aquifer with interlayered high transmissivity rocks, in connection with the Mediterranean Sea, where the water level is rather stable. Despite this, an accumulated deformation in the line-of-sight (LOS) direction greater than -100 mm was observed by means of the ERS-1/2 (1992-2000) and Envisat 2003-2009) satellite SAR sensors. During this period, the Costa del Sol experienced a major population increase due to the expansion of the tourism industry, with the consequent increase in groundwater exploitation. The maximum LOS displacement rates recorded during both time spans are respectively -6 mm/yr and -11 mm/yr, respectively. During the entire period, there was an accumulated descent of the confined water level of 140 m, and several fluctuations of more than 80 m correlating with the subsidence trend observed for the whole area. Main sedimentary depocenters (up to 800 m), revealed by gravity prospecting, partly coincide with areas of subsidence maxima; yet ground deformation is also influenced by other factors, the main ones being the fine-grained facies distribution and rapid urbanization due to high touristic pressure.

Abstract
The Aswan High Dam, Egypt, was built in the 1960s and is one of the biggest dams in the world. It stopped the seasonal flood of Nile river allowing the urban expansion of cities/villages and the full year cultivation, producing 10x10(9) kWh of power annually. The dam is located in an area where several earthquakes (M-L<6) occurred from 1981 to 2007. In this paper, we want to identify any potential damage that could be caused to the dam, and assess its overall structural stability using Multi-Temporal InSAR (MT-InSAR). To reach this goal, we process Envisat data from descending orbits acquired between 2003 and 2010. Our initial estimates show relatively small rates (maximum around -3 mm/yr in the satellite Line-Of-Sight) of subsidence, whose implications must be further investigated. In addition, we perform a preliminary stress-strain analysis of the dam using FEL and FEM methods to assess if the detected movements correspond to the expected vertical behavior for such mega-structure.

Abstract
In this paper we analyze the subsidence behavior of a coastal area in the province of Málaga (Costa del Sol), southern Spain, in the period 1992-2018 using C-band SAR interferometry. The area comprises several zones of interest where continuous deformation has happened during the analyzed period. Using SAR data from ESA's ERS-1/2, Envisat, and Sentinel-1A/B satellites, and Multi-Temporal InSAR methods we detect and monitor subsidence in highly populated and industrial areas, airport, harbor, as well as local instabilities over a railway line and a highway. In a previous work, we reported a subsidence due to intensive use of groundwater in some populated towns in the period 1992-2009 with maximum line-of-sight (LOS) rates of the order of -11 mm/yr. In this contribution, we confirm the subsidence trend. Furthermore, we detect an increase in the deformation rates for the most recent period (2014-2018), suggesting that the overexploitation of the aquifers has not ceased. © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.