Contribution to a Circular Economy Model: From LignocellulosicWastes from the Extraction of Vegetable Oils to the Development of a New Composite

[EN] The present works focuses on the development of a novel fully bio-based composite using a bio-based high-density polyethylene (Bio-HDPE) obtained from sugar cane as matrix and a by-product of extraction of chia seed oil (CO) as filler, with the objective of achieving a circular economy model. The research aims to revalorize an ever-increasing waste stream produced by the growing interest in vegetable oils. From the technical point of view, the chia seed flour (CSF) was chemically modified using a silane treatment. This treatment provides a better interfacial adhesion as was evidenced by the mechanical and thermal properties as well as field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The effect of silane treatment on water uptake and disintegration rate was also studied. On the other hand, in a second stage, an optimization of the percentage of treated CSF used as filler was carried out by a complete series of mechanical, thermal, morphological, colour, water absorption and disintegration tests with the aim to evaluate the new composite developed using chia by-products. It is noteworthy as the disintegration rate increased with the addition of CSF filler, which leads to obtain a partially biodegradable wood plastic composite (WPC) and therefore, becoming more environmentally friendly.I. D-C wants to thank Universitat Politecnica de Valencia for his FPI grant (PAID-2019-SP20190013) and Generalitat Valenciana (GVA) for his FPI grant (ACIF/2020/233).Domínguez-Candela, I.; Garcia-Garcia, D.; A. Perez-Nakai; Lerma-Cantó, A.; Lora-García, J.; Fombuena, V. (2021). Contribution to a Circular Economy Model: From LignocellulosicWastes from the Extraction of Vegetable Oils to the Development of a New Composite. Polymers. 13(14):1-26. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13142269S126131

Software público, libre, abierto, gratuito, privativo y comercial para la innovación y mejora de la calidad en la docencia, investigación, gestión y asistencia

The public free software (now renamed as open software) is the basis of the open source software (OSS) project. This initiative promotes the use of open standards and platform-independent accessibility. Many OSS products are free or low cost, which allows their deployment even in the absence of large economic resources (developing countries, schools, etc.). Besides, their source code can be modified, adapted and optimized by anyone, since it is public. Nevertheless, the OSS may also have drawbacks. Thus, its development may not be as orderly and hierarchical as the privative software is, and may not have an appropriate funding. This may jeopardize the ease of use and coherence of the final product, increasing the transition, training and technical support costs. Besides, it must be taken into account that there is also commercial open software, as well as free privative software. In any case, the excellence of the software may be independent of such variables. Thus, the best strategy is the coexistence and free competition of all kinds of software. This will allow a quality improvement and an innovation enhancement, which will benefit the education, research, management and assistance at the university in particular and at the whole society in general.El software público libre es el fundamento del movimiento de software de fuente abierta (OSS). Éste puede facilitar el uso de estándares abiertos, con accesibilidad independiente de plataforma informática. El bajo coste o gratuidad de muchos productos OSS permite su implantación cuando los recursos económicos son escasos (países en desarrollo, escuelas, etc.). Además, su código se puede modificar, adaptar y mejorar por cualquiera, ya que es público. No obstante, el OSS también puede presentar inconvenientes. Así, su desarrollo puede no ser tan ordenado y jerárquico como el del software privativo y puede no tener una financiación apropiada. De este modo, puede verse comprometida la facilidad de uso y coherencia del producto final. Ello puede incrementar los costes de transición, entrenamiento y soporte técnico. Por otra parte, conviene recordar que existe software libre comercial y software privativo gratuito. En cualquier caso, la excelencia del software puede ser independiente de dichas variables. Por tanto, la mejor estrategia es la coexistencia y libre competencia de todo tipo de software. Así se puede conseguir una mejora de calidad y una potenciación de la innovación, que beneficie a la docencia, investigación, gestión y asistencia universitarias en particular, así como a la sociedad en general

Male Meiosis as a Biomarker for Endo- to Ecodormancy Transition in Apricot

Dormancy is an adaptive strategy in plants to survive under unfavorable climatic conditions during winter. In temperate regions, most fruit trees need exposure to a certain period of low temperatures to overcome endodormancy. After endodormancy release, exposure to warm temperatures is needed to flower (ecodormancy). Chilling and heat requirements are genetically determined and, therefore, are specific for each species and cultivar. The lack of sufficient winter chilling can cause failures in flowering and fruiting, thereby compromising yield. Thus, the knowledge of the chilling and heat requirements is essential to optimize cultivar selection for different edaphoclimatic conditions. However, the lack of phenological or biological markers linked to the dormant and forcing periods makes it difficult to establish the end of endodormancy. This has led to indirect estimates that are usually not valid in different agroclimatic conditions. The increasing number of milder winters caused by climatic change and the continuous release of new cultivars emphasize the necessity of a proper biological marker linked to the endo- to ecodormancy transition for an accurate estimation of the agroclimatic requirements (AR) of each cultivar. In this work, male meiosis is evaluated as a biomarker to determine endodormancy release and to estimate both chilling and heat requirements in apricot. For this purpose, pollen development was characterized histochemically in 20 cultivars over 8 years, and the developmental stages were related to dormancy. Results were compared to three approaches that indirectly estimate the breaking of dormancy: an experimental methodology by evaluating bud growth in shoots collected periodically throughout the winter months and transferred to forcing chambers over 3 years, and two statistical approaches that relate seasonal temperatures and blooming dates in a series of 11–20 years by correlation and partial least square regression. The results disclose that male meiosis is a possible biomarker to determine the end of endodormancy and estimate AR in apricot. Copyright © 2022 Herrera, Lora, Fadón, Hedhly, Alonso, Hormaza and Rodrigo

Using the FVB strain of mice for the evaluation of clinical and experimental ketamine (IP) associated with phenothiazines, benzodiazepines and α2-agonists

El objetivo de este trabajo ha consistido en evaluar el estado fisiológico de los animales mediante el control de las frecuencias respiratoria y cardiaca así como la tasa de saturación de oxígeno durante la anestesia con ketamina asociada a otros fármacos. Para ello hemos utilizado 40 ratones FVB consanguíneos (20 machos y 20 hembras) de 11 semanas de edad, a los que se les administró por vía intraperitoneal ketamina asociada a un depresor del sistema nervioso central: acepromazina, diazepam, medetomidina, midazolam o xilazina. Obtuvimos resultados que difirieron mucho entre sexos, concluyendo que en machos los mejores resultados obtenidos fueron con la asociación a los α2-agonistas, mientras que en las hembras, al menos a las dosis empleadas, no pudimos afirmar que ninguna de las asociaciones fuese óptima.The aim of this work has been to evaluate the physiological status of animals by controlling the respiratory rate and heart rate and oxygen saturation during anesthesia with ketamine in combination with other drugs. We have used 40 consanguine FVB mice (20 males and 20 females) from 11 weeks of age, who were administered intraperitoneally with a ketamine-associated central nervous system depressant:acepromazina, diazepam, medetomidine, midazolam or xylazine. We obtained results that differed greatly between the sexes, in males, concluding that the best results were obtained with the association of α2- agonists, while in females, at least at the doses employed, did not say that none of the associations were optima

Sistema de Seguridad Basado en una Plataforma Heterogénea Distribuida

Este trabajo presenta el proyecto “Ecosistema Digital de Seguridad”, realizado en la asignatura Sistemas Empotrados Distribuidos, perteneciente a la titulación Máster en Ingeniería Informática de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid. En este trabajo se describe e implementa un sistema de seguridad por medio de una plataforma heterogénea, cuyo objetivo es la verificación de los usuarios autorizados. En concreto, la placa Raspberry Pi se encarga del reconocimiento de la imagen y la contraseña, mientras que la STM32F4 Discovery sirve de interfaz con el usuario, recibiendo la contraseña y enviándosela a la Raspberry a través de la interfaz RS-232.This work presents the project en titled “Digital Security Ecosystem”, carried out as a final project in th e Distributed Embedded Systems subject, which belongs to the Computer Engineering Master, at the Complutense University of Madrid. In this work, a security system is described and implemented through a hetero geneous platform, whose objective consists of the authorized users’ verification. Concretely , the Raspberry Pi board is responsible for identifying the image and the password, while the STM32F4 Discovery board acts as the user interface, receivi ng the password which will be sent to the Raspberry by using the RS-232 interface.Universidad de Granada: Departamento de Arquitectura y Tecnología de Computadores; Vicerrectorado para la Garantía de la Calidad

A theoretical study of the Pnma and R3m phases of Sb2S3, Bi2S3, and Sb2Se3

[EN] We report a comparative theoretical study of the Pnma and R3m phases of Sb2S3, Bi2S3, and Sb2Se3 close to ambient pressure. Our enthalpy calculations at 0 K show that at ambient pressure the R3m (tetradymite-like) phase of Sb2Se3 is energetically more stable than the Pnma phase, contrary to what is observed for Sb2S3 and Bi2S3, and irrespective of the exchange-correlation functional employed in the calculations. The result for Sb2Se3 is in contradiction to experiments in which all three compounds are usually grown in the Pnma phase. This result is further confirmed by free-energy calculations taking into account the temperature dependence of unit-cell volumes and phonon frequencies. Lattice dynamics and elastic tensor calculations further show that both the Pnma and R3m phases of Sb2Se3 are dynamically and mechanically stable at zero applied pressure. Since these results suggest that the formation of the R3m phase of Sb2Se3 should be feasible under close to ambient conditions, we provide a theoretical crystal structure and simulated Raman and infrared spectra to help in its identification. We also discuss the results of the two published works that have claimed to have synthesized tetradymite-like Sb2Se3. Finally, the stability of the R3m phase across the three group-15 A(2)X(3) sesquichalcogenides is analysed based on their van der Waals gap and X-X in-plane geometry.This publication is part of the MALTA Consolider Team network (RED2018-102612-T) (MINECO/AEI/10.13039/501100003329), and is supported by I + D + i project PID2019-106383GB41/42/43 (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033), by the PROMETEO/2018/123(EFIMAT) and CIPROM/2021/075 (GREENMAT) projects (Generalitat Valenciana), and by the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under a Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement (785789-COMEX). E. L. d. S., A. M., and P. R.-H. acknowledge computing time provided on the MALTA-Cluster at the University of Oviedo and on the MareNostrum facility through Red Espanola de Supercomputacion (RES) with technical support provided by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (QCM-2018-3-0032). E. L. d. S. also acknowledges the Network of Extreme Conditions Laboratories (NECL), financed by FCT and co-financed by NORTE 2020 through the Portugal 2020 and FEDER programmes. J. M. S. is grateful to UK Research and Innovation for the support of a Future Leaders Fellowship (MR/T043121/1) and to the University of Manchester for the previous support of a Presidential Fellowship.Da Silva, EL.; Skelton, JM.; Rodríguez-Hernández, P.; Muñoz, A.; Santos, MC.; Martínez-García, D.; Vilaplana Cerda, RI.... (2022). A theoretical study of the Pnma and R3m phases of Sb2S3, Bi2S3, and Sb2Se3. Journal of Materials Chemistry C. 10(40):15061-15074. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2tc01484j1506115074104

Fate of anthropogenic radionuclides (90Sr, 137Cs, 238Pu, 239Pu, 240Pu, 241Am) in seawater in the northern Benguela upwelling system off Namibia

A baseline study on anthropogenic radioactivity in the Namibian marine ecosystem, which is part of the northern Benguela upwelling system, known as one of the most productive ocean areas in the world, has been performed. A scientific cruise carried out in 2014 covering inshore and offshore areas, exhibiting different oceanographic features, has provided a basis for better understanding the distributions, ratios and inventories of six anthropogenic radionuclides (Sr, Cs, Pu, Pu, Pu and Am) in seawater. Although H was also measured, due to extremely low levels, its behaviour was not studied. The main source of Sr, Cs, Pu, Pu and Am in the samples analysed was proven to be global fallout, a finding further confirmed by Pu/Pu and Sr/Cs ratios. Furthermore, the Pu SNAP-9A satellite accident signal was confirmed once again through the determination of the Pu/Pu activity ratio. Inshore and offshore samples showed different patterns due to the unique oceanographic features of this upwelling system. The levels of anthropogenic radionuclides, comprehensively assessed for the first time in this region, are comparable with the few existing data and filled a critical gap for the Southern Atlantic Ocean.This work has been partly financed through the project PGC 2018-094546-B-I00 provided by the Spanish Government (Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades)

Educación y cooperación para el desarrollo mediante estándares universales de accesibilidad

II FORO «IBEROAMÉRICA EN LA ESCENA ECONÓMICA INTERNACIONAL: INVERSIONES Y EDUCACIÓN PARA EL DESARROLLO». UNIVERSIDAD REY JUAN CARLOS, MADRID (ESPAÑA), 14 DE DICIEMBRE DE 200

Accesibilidad a Internet: requisitos para la calidad en la docencia e investigación

A good Internet platform for teaching and research must be accessible, independently of the computer platform used, language and other peculiarities (personal or external). This work analyzes the current limitations of Internet access, as well as the potentialities that would represent an access being truly independent of the computer platform, discapacities, availability and speed of access, language and legislation. Thus, the benefits for a more accesible network for lecturing and investigation, overcoming the geographic location or possible discapacity, would be immediate and would have a broad impact spectrum. A more accesible Internet would enhace not only the dissemination of the information, approaching us to the 'global village', but also others aspects like university principles and values that sould be considered: an improvement of the equality of opportunities and the access to the culture and the education, that are the basis of the progress and the individual and collective liberties.Una buena plataforma de docencia e investigación en la red debe ser accesible, independientemente del entorno informático, idioma y condicionantes( personales o externos). Es este trabajo se analizan, por una parte, las limitaciones actuales que se presentan en el acceso a Internet, y por otra las potencialidades que tendría un acceso un acceso independiente de las plataforma informáticas, discapacidades, disponibilidad y velocidad de acceso, idioma y legislación. Así, los beneficios para la docencia y la investigación de una red más accesible, por encima de la localización geográfica o posible discapacidad, serán inmediatos y redundaría en otros campos. Una Internet más accesible abriría una nueva vía no sólo para la difusión de la información, acercándonos a la 'aldea global', sino también para otros aspectos de lo que entenderemos como principios y valores universitarios y que deben ser considerados: una mejora en la igualdad de oportunidades y en el acceso a la cultura y la formación, que son las bases del progreso y de las libertades tanto individuales como colectivas