Estudio de viabilidad de una planta de procesado de aletas de tiburón en Galicia

[Resumen] En este proyecto se lleva a cabo un estudio de viabilidad económica de la instalación de variadores de frecuencia, en los ventiladores, y un autómata programable en una planta de procesado de aletas de tiburón en Galicia. En primer lugar, se analiza el contexto de las aletas de tiburón y su procesado,centrándose en proceso de secado, ya que es donde se centrará el estudio de viabilidad por la implantación de los dispositivos considerados, en este proceso. A continuación, se realiza un estudio de las instalaciones y el caso concreto de la planta objeto de estudio en este proyecto. En base a ello, se definen las distintas alternativas de estudio que se considerarán. Una vez definidas las alternativas, se elabora un presupuesto para cada una de ellas, que determinará la inversión inicial necesaria. Se calculará el ahorro de energía y de coste, de la implantación de las distintas instalaciones considerada en cada alternativa, teniendo en cuenta las consideraciones oportunas en cada caso concreto. Por último, se lleva a cabo el análisis económico de las alternativas mediante el cálculo del Valor Actual Neto (VAN), la Tasa Interna de Retorno (TIR) y el periodo de recuperación, y se realizará un estudio de sensibilidad para determinar cuáles son los aspectos del proyecto que más influyen sobre el resultado final.[Resumo] Neste proxecto lévase a cabo un estudo de viabilidade económica da instalación de variadores de frecuencia, nos ventiladores, e un autómata programable nunha planta de procesado de aletas de tiburón en Galicia. En primeiro lugar, analízase o contexto das aletas de tiburón e o seu procesado, centrándose no proceso de secado, xa que é onde se centrará o estudo de viabilidade pola implantación dos dispositivos considerados, neste proceso. A continuación, realízase un estudo das instlacións e o caso concreto da planta obxecto de estudio neste proxecto. En base a iso, defínense as distintas alternativas de estudo que se considerarán. Unha vez definidas as alternativas, elabórase un presuposto para cada unha delas, que determinará o investimento inicial necesario. Calcularase o aforro de enerxía e de coste, da implantación das distintas instlacións consideradas en cada alternativa, tendo en conta as consideracións oportunas en cada caso concreto. Por último, lévase a cabo o análise económico das alternativas mediante o cálculo do Valor Actual Neto (VAN), a TASA Interna de Retorno (TIR) e o periodo de recuperación, se realizaráse un estudo de sensibilidade para determinar cales son os aspectos do proxecto que máis inflúen sobre o resultado final.[Abstract]: In this project an economic feasibility study of the installation of frequency inverters, in the fans, and a programmable automaton in a shark fin processing plant in Galicia is carried out. First, the context of shark fins and their processing is analyzed, focusing on the drying process, since this is where the feasibility study will focus on the implementation of the considered devices, in this process. Next, a study of the facilities and the specific case of the plant object of study in this project is carried out. Based on this, the different study alternatives that will be considered are defined. Once the alternatives have been defined, a budget is drawn up for each of them, which will determine the initial investment required. The energy and cost savings of the implementation of the different facilities considered in each alternative will be calculated, taking into account the appropriate considerations in each specific case. Finally, the economic analysis of the aforementioned alternatives is carried out by calculating the Net Present Value (NPV), the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and the payback period, and a sensitivity analysis is made to determine which aspects of the project have a greater influence on the final result.Traballo fin de grao (UDC.EPS). Enxeñaría en tecnoloxías industriais. Curso 2018/201

Imaging episodic memory during development and childhood epilepsy

Abstract Epilepsy affects 2.2 million adults in the USA, with 1 in 26 people developing epilepsy at some point in their lives. Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common form of focal epilepsy as medial structures, and the hippocampus in particular, are prone to generating seizures. Selective anterior temporal resection (which removes the hippocampus) is the most effective intractable TLE treatment, but given the critical role of the mesial temporal lobe in memory functioning, resection can have negative effects on this crucial cognitive skill. To minimize the adverse impact of temporal lobe surgery on memory functioning, reliable pre-surgical guides are needed. Clinical functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) provides reliable, noninvasive guidance of language functioning and plays a growing role in the pre-surgical evaluation for epilepsy patients; however, localization of memory function in children with epilepsy using fMRI has not been established. Aside from the lack of neuroimaging memory studies in children with TLE, studies of typical development are limited. This review will focus on the functional anatomy of memory systems throughout development, with a focus on TLE. TLE provides the ideal model from which to understand memory function and the limits of plasticity and compensation/reorganization throughout development

The relationship of language and explicit memory in pediatric epilepsy

Objective: Memory and language are often at risk in pediatric epilepsy but findings are mixed. We investigated the relationship between explicit memory and language in children with epilepsy and controls using data-driven statistical methods applying model-based clustering to explore if different cognitive profiles emerge. Participants and Methods: 276 children ages 6.1 to 17.5 were evaluated as part of ongoing studies. 149 patients with focal epilepsy (EPI) and 127 typically developing children (TD) completed language (EOWPVT, WASI VIQ) and memory (CVLT-C) measures. Six normative z-scores were used (4 from CVLT-C) for: (1) Pearson r correlations and (2) the model-based clustering procedure. For the latter, we applied Gaussian finite mixture model-based clustering on the 6 scores through R package mclust using Bayes Information Criterion to determine if scores clustered into distinct profiles and how EPI and TD fell in each profile. Epilepsy variables were compared to ascertain if they related to group membership. Results: Language scores were positively correlated with all memory scores (r’s\u3e0.26, p’s ≤ 0.001). The optimal cluster number was 2 across TD and EPI; language and memory separated into high (n=206, M z= 0.44, EPI=46%, TD=54%) and low performance groups (n=70, M z=-1.04, EPI=77%, TD=23%). The groups did not differ on age. Within EPI only, 2 was also the optimal number of clusters. Even though the majority of the low group was EPI, it represented only 1/3 of all patients. Epilepsy variables were no different across groups. Conclusions: Language and memory are associated and when included in model-based clustering two distinct groups were revealed. The method found heterogeneity within EPI that may explain prior mixed results. Parsing groups in a data driven manner may reveal subgroups that may have biomarkers for their cognitive profiles thus indicating a protective factor or a risk. Further studies will test for biomarkers (e.g. findings from structural or functional imaging) that predict these cognitive profiles

Vulnerability of the ventral language network in children with focal epilepsy

Children with focal epilepsy are at increased risk of language impairment, yet the neural substrate of this dysfunction is not yet known. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging we investigated the impact of focal epilepsy on the developing language system using measures of network topology (spatial organization of activation) and synchrony (functional connectivity). We studied healthy children (n = 48, 4–12 years, 24 females) and children with focal epilepsy (n = 21, 5–12 years, nine females) with left hemisphere language dominance. Participants performed an age-adjusted auditory description decision task during functional magnetic resonance imaging, to identify perisylvian language regions. Mean signal change was extracted from eight left perisylvian regions of interest and compared between groups. Paired region of interest functional connectivity analysis was performed on time course data from the same regions, to investigate left network synchrony. Two principal component analyses were performed to extract (i) patterns of activation (using mean signal change data); and (ii) patterns of synchronized regions (using functional connectivity data). For both principal component analyses two components (networks) were extracted, which mapped onto the functional anatomy of dorsal and ventral language systems. Associations among network variables, age, epilepsy-related factors and verbal ability were assessed. Activated networks were affected by age and epilepsy [F(2,60) = 3.74, P = 0.03]: post hoc analyses showed, for healthy children, activation in both ventral and dorsal networks decreased with age (P = 0.02). Regardless of age and task performance, children with epilepsy showed reduced activation of the ventral network (P \u3c 0.001). They also showed a trend for increased activation of the dorsal network (P = 0.08) associated with improved task performance (r = 0.62, P = 0.008). Crucially, decreased activation of the ventral network in patients predicted poorer language outcome ( = 0.47, P = 0.002). This suggests childhood onset epilepsy preferentially alters maturation of the ventral language system, and this is related to poorer language ability

Investigation of vibration-induced artifact in clinical diffusion-weighted imaging of pediatric subjects.

It has been reported that mechanical vibrations of the MRI scanner could produce spurious signal dropouts in diffusion-weighted images resulting in artifactual anisotropy in certain regions of the brain with red appearance in the Directionally Encoded Color maps. We performed a review of the frequency of this artifact across pediatric studies, noting differences by scanner manufacturer, acquisition protocol, as well as weight and position of the subject. We also evaluated the ability of automated and quantitative methods to detect this artifact. We found that the artifact may be present in over 50% of data in certain protocols and is not limited to one scanner manufacturer. While a specific scanner had the highest incidence, low body weight and positioning were also associated with appearance of the artifact for both scanner types evaluated, making children potentially more susceptible than adults. Visual inspection remains the best method for artifact identification. Software for automated detection showed very low sensitivity (10%). The artifact may present inconsistently in longitudinal studies. We discuss a published case report that has been widely cited and used as evidence to set policy about diagnostic criteria for determining vegetative state. That report attributed longitudinal changes in anisotropy to white matter plasticity without considering the possibility that the changes were caused by this artifact. Our study underscores the need to check for the presence of this artifact in clinical studies, analyzes circumstances for when it may be more likely to occur, and suggests simple strategies to identify and potentially avoid its effects