Optimized Design of Hot Water Storage in Solar Thermal Cooling Facilities

Solar thermal installations can provide a significant contribution to the energy needs of cooling demand of single family buildings. Unfortunately oversizing facility elements is not uncommon. Most of the design flaws concern collector field or auxiliary elements, such as backup boilers or electric resistances inside storage devices. This leads to lower than expected facility COP and SCOP, but also higher cost. Customer dissatisfaction is the result. This paper presents a numerical model of the multiple purpose solar thermal facility installed at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) using the TRNSYS® tool. The solar cooling facility (http://termica.uc3m.es/solar.htm) is completely monitored for its performance characterization in the production of AC, DHW and heating. Operational data for various summer seasons have been recorded, simultaneously with 7 meteorological variables. The experimental facility includes a single effect BrLi absorption chiller working at part load under summer season. TRNSYS is a completely feasible platform for simulating solar facilities and is commonly used by researchers and planners, for its simplicity and ease manipulation. This simulation tool contains general solar cooling elements found in most experimental facilities and has been kept as simple as possible. The model developed aims at analyzing facility elements in order to resize collector field and storage volumes. Furthermore it allows studying different configurations of the facility and the control schemes. These configurations include different hot water storage capacities within the facility allowing comparing with the facility without any kind of storage excepting its own thermal inertia. The simulation has been validated with instantaneous and seasonal experimental data for different summer seasons including 2003, 2004 and 2005. Simulation results show that there is a hot storage tank capacity that optimizes the facility in terms of COP, SCOP and total cold produced. Even with no storage at all, the facility still improves its behavior from current operating conditions. Simulation and experimental results are compared and an optimum configuration of the facility is proposed.Universidad Carlos III de Madrid - ITEA Research GroupPublicad

La dialéctica de la regularización barrial en Bogotá: del urbanismo incompleto a la consolidación

El estudio de la producción habitacional popular va más allá de la discusión común de la informalidad como la contraparte de la formalidad. En este sentido, en el artículo se discute la importancia de la regularización barrial como parte de las políticas urbanas reactivas a la luz de la acentuada informalidad urbana en las metrópolis latinoamericanas. Para el caso particular de Bogotá, el análisis de la regularización barrial indaga por los vínculos entre la informalidad urbana y el modo de vida popular considerando una discusión sobre el derecho a la ciudad para, luego, realizar un balance de la eficacia de las políticas de vivienda basadas en el mercado formal como antesala al análisis de los resultados de los programas de regularización barrial. Finalmente se sugieren algunas líneas de acción al respecto de las políticas urbanas estatales.The study of popular housing production goes beyond the common discussion of the informality as a counterpart of formality. In this way, the article discusses the value of neighborhood regularization as part of reactive urban policies considering the outstanding urban informality in Latin American metropolises. In particular, for Bogotá, the analysis of neighborhood regularization inquires for the links between urban formality and the popular way of life, taking into account a discussion about the right of the city, and then to take stock of the effectiveness of the policies of Housing based on the formal market as a prelude to the analysis of the results of neighborhood regularization programs. Finally, we suggest some lines of action regarding the state urban policies

Nitrate- and nitric oxide-induced plant growth in pea seedlings is linked to antioxidative metabolism and the ABA/GA balance

This study looks at the effects of potassium nitrate (KNO3) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a nitric oxide (NO)-donor, on the development, antioxidant defences and on the abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellin (GA) levels inpea seedlings. Results show that 10 mM KNO3and 50μM SNP stimulate seedling fresh weight (FW), althoughthis effect is not reverted by the action of 2-4-carboxyphenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide(cPTIO), a NO-scavenger.The KNO3treatment increased peroxidase (POX) and ascorbate oxidase (AOX) activities. SNP, on the otherhand, reduced monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR) activity and produced a significant increase in su-peroxide dismutase (SOD), POX and AOX activities. The“KNO3plus cPTIO”treatment increased ascorbateperoxidase (APX), MDHAR, glutathione reductase (GR) and SOD activities, but POX activity decreased in re-lation to the KNO3treatment. The“SNP plus cPTIO”treatment increased APX and MDHAR activities, whereas ahuge decrease in POX activity occurred. Both the KNO3and the SNP treatments increased reduced ascorbate(ASC) concentrations, which reached control values in the presence of cPTIO. All treatments increased thedehydroascorbate (DHA) level in pea seedlings, leading to a decrease in the redox state of ascorbate. In the“KNO3plus cPTIO”treatment, an increase in the redox state of ascorbate was observed. Glutathione contents,however, were higher in the presence of SNP than in the presence of KNO3. In addition, KNO3produced anaccumulation of oxidised glutathione (GSSG), especially in the presence of cPTIO, leading to a decrease in theredox state of glutathione. The effect of SNP on reduced glutathione (GSH) levels was reverted by cPTIO, sug-gesting that NO has a direct effect on GSH biosynthesis or turnover.Both the KNO3and SNP treatments produced an increase in GA4 and a decrease in ABA concentrations, andthis effect was reverted in the presence of the NO-scavenger. Globally, the results suggest a relationship betweenantioxidant metabolism and the ABA/GA balance during early seedling growth in pea. The results also suggest arole for KNO3and NO in the modulation of GA4 and ABA levels and antioxidant metabolism in pea seedlings.Furthermore, this effect correlated with an increase in the biomass of the pea seedlingsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Symbiosis between panoramic photography, CGI and freehand drawing in landscape representation

[EN] This article aims to highlight the value of immersive panoramic photography, computerized drawing and traditional freehand drawing when representing the landscape, not only analyzing the particular interest inherent to each one of these techniques, but also underlining the added value that involves the integration of these three techniques when representing a landscape project. Architects learn to use most of the above mentioned representation methods, but photography seems to be the great absent in many of the curricula of the Spanish architecture schools. Therefore, in our lectures at Master¿s degree in Landscape, we emphasize the importance of photography as a representation technique and we show several panoramic photography techniques that are really useful in landscape representation. Panoramic landscape photography will help us to represent the landscape environment, since these panoramic images compose a starting canvas on which we can already work from an early phase of the project superimposing the elements that will conform the project, with the freshness spontaneity and dynamism that characterizes the freehand drawing. Later, when the project is mature, we can also superimpose more elaborate elements that can be carried out with the help of software tools that allow us a very detailed and precise definition. This methodology has an additional advantage, so the representations can complementarily be viewed interactively from a computer or mobile device or they can even be visualized immersively using a personal viewer such as the affordable Google Cardboard, which uses a Smartphone as a display. In order to illustrate the advantages and the interest of this integrative representation methodology, we will describe bellow the used techniques and tools, together with some results and application examples.Cabezos Bernal, PM.; Barros Da Rocha E Costa, HA.; Iñarra Abad, S. (2019). Symbiosis between panoramic photography, CGI and freehand drawing in landscape representation. DisegnareCon. 12(22):4.1-4.11. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/155706S4.14.11122

Social media content value for a brand : study case

This article aims to study the effects of the social media posts of sports brand (Nike) on the target audience and focusing in Facebook and Instagram, part of the top three most popular social media sites used by teenagers and young adults in the USA. We look at the content of the post (both the photo and caption) and analyze the audience's responses. We conclude celebrity endorsements have the ability to enhance a brand image, adding further credibility and encouraging User-Generated Content (UGC) and generating more responses in terms of number of likes, hashtags, comments, shares and views.Este artículo pretende estudiar los efectos de los posts de medios sociales de una marca deportiva (Nike) en su público objetivo en Facebook e Instagram, dos de los tres medios sociales más populares utilizados por adolescentes y adultos jóvenes en los EE.UU. Observamos el contenido del post (foto y texto) y analizamos las respuestas del público. Concluimos que la promoción de celebridades mejora la imagen de marca, aportando mayor credibilidad, promoviendo el Contenido Generado por el Usuario y generando más respuestas en términos de número de "Me gusta", hashtags, comentarios, acciones y visionados

Association of Adherence to Specific Mediterranean Diet Components and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Young Adults

Objective: Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and a healthy diet may be part of an overall healthy lifestyle. The association between cardiorespiratory fitness and adherence to an overall Mediterranean Diet (MedD) pattern and specific MedD foods has been assessed. Design: Subjects completed a lifestyle survey and dietary pattern, using the validated MedD Adherence 14-item questionnaire and two self-reported 24-h dietary recalls. Participants' height, body weight, waist circumference (WC), and CRF (maximum oxygen uptake, VO2max, ml/kg/min) were measured. Setting: University of Cadiz, Spain. Subjects: A sample of young adults (n = 275, 22.2 +/- 6.3 years). Results: Mean VO2max was 43.9 mL/kg/min (SD 8.5 mL/kg/min). Most participants had healthy CRF (75.9%). The average MedD score was 6.2 points (SD 1.8 points). Participants who consumed more servings of nuts had higher VO2max. Those who showed low CRF performed less physical activity (PA) and had a higher body mass index (BMI) and WC compared with those classified as having healthy CRF. Nut consumption was positively associated with VO2max (beta = 0.320; 95% CI 2.4, 10.7; p < 0.002), adjusting for sex, age, smoking PA, BMI, WC, and energy intake, showing the subjects who consumed more nuts were fitter than young adults who consumed less. Conclusions: CRF is positively associated with nut consumption but not with the overall MedD pattern and all other MedD foods in the young adults. The subjects who consumed more servings of nuts were fitter than young adults who consumed less. Moreover, fitter subjects performed more PA and had a lower BMI and WC than those who had lower fitness levels

Loss of mTORC1 signalling impairs β-cell homeostasis and insulin processing

Deregulation of mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) signalling increases the risk for metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes. Here we show that β-cell-specific loss of mTORC1 causes diabetes and β-cell failure due to defects in proliferation, autophagy, apoptosis and insulin secretion by using mice with conditional (βraKO) and inducible (MIP-βraKO(f/f)) raptor deletion. Through genetic reconstitution of mTORC1 downstream targets, we identify mTORC1/S6K pathway as the mechanism by which mTORC1 regulates β-cell apoptosis, size and autophagy, whereas mTORC1/4E-BP2-eIF4E pathway regulates β-cell proliferation. Restoration of both pathways partially recovers β-cell mass and hyperglycaemia. This study also demonstrates a central role of mTORC1 in controlling insulin processing by regulating cap-dependent translation of carboxypeptidase E in a 4EBP2/eIF4E-dependent manner. Rapamycin treatment decreases CPE expression and insulin secretion in mice and human islets. We suggest an important role of mTORC1 in β-cells and identify downstream pathways driving β-cell mass, function and insulin processing

El ciclo mortal de los habitantes de calle en Bogotá. Teorías, olvidos, políticas y desenlaces fatales

El fenómeno de la habitación de la calle es universal, si bien se presenta con mayor intensidad en las metrópolis tercermundistas. Un estado del arte reconstruido desde una perspectiva pluridisciplinar permite advertir ciertos olvidos acerca de sus determinantes. En este artículo se plantea la hipótesis de que la entrada a la habitación en la calle en Bogotá se realiza a cualquier edad y que, cuando ello ocurre, se anticipa la etapa de desesperanza con la que se inicia el ciclo mortal de las personas

O ciclo mortal dos moradores de rua em Bogotá. Teorias, esquecimento, políticas e resultados fatais

The deadly cycle of street dwellers in Bogotá Theories, forgetting, comparisons, policies and fatal outcomes The phenomenon of street homelessness is universal, although it occurs with greater intensity in the Third World metropolises. A state of the art reconstructed from a multidisciplinary perspective allows to notice certain forgetfulness about its determinants. This article hypothesizes that the entrance to habitability on the street in Bogotá takes place at any age, and that when this happens, the stage of despair with which the mortal cycle begins is anticipated.El fenómeno de la habitación de la calle es universal, si bien se presenta con mayor intensidad en las metrópolis tercermundistas. Un estado del arte reconstruido desde una perspectiva pluridisciplinar permite advertir ciertos olvidos acerca de sus determinantes. En este artículo se plantea la hipótesis de que la entrada a la habitación en la calle en Bogotá se realiza a cualquier edad y que, cuando ello ocurre, se anticipa la etapa de desesperanza con la que se inicia el ciclo mortal de las personas.O fenômeno da moradia de rua é universal, embora ocorra com maior intensidade nas metrópoles terceiromundistas. Um estado da arte reconstruído a partir de uma perspectiva multidisciplinar permite perceber certo esquecimento de seus determinantes. Este artigo traz a hipótese de que a entrada na moradia de rua em Bogotá (Colômbia) ocorra em qualquer idade e que, quando isso acontece, se antecipa o estágio de falta de esperança com o qual começa o ciclo mortal das pessoas&nbsp

Fractal diagnosis of left heart ventriculograms Fractal geometry of ventriculogram during cardiac dynamics

ANTECEDENTES Y OBJETIVOS: la geometría fractal permite describir y caracterizar los objetos irregulares, lo que resulta adecuado para medir estructuras del cuerpo humano. El propósito de este trabajo es caracterizar el ventrículo izquierdo durante la dinámica cardiaca con dimensiones fractales para desarrollar un diagnóstico matemático objetivo y reproducible de la ventriculografía izquierda. MÉTODO: este es un estudio de concordancia diagnóstica donde se calcularon las dimensiones fractales del ventrículo en sístole, en diástole y en un total de 36 ventriculogramas evaluados como normales, y anormales en leves, moderados y severos de acuerdo con la fracción de eyección según el diagnóstico clínico convencional; posteriormente se determinaron los grados de similitud de las dimensiones fractales entre los tres objetos componentes. RESULTADOS: los grados de similitud estuvieron entre 1 y 9.000, y al organizar estos valores en conjuntos, se encontró una progresión a partir de los normales hasta los anormales severos. Se establecieron los grados de similitud característicos que permiten diferenciar normalidad de enfermedad y evolución entre éstas, evidenciando que la clasificación de la clínica convencional presenta dificultades al evaluar de forma precisa y objetiva la evolución de un ventriculograma hacia la normalidad o la enfermedad. CONCLUSIONES: se desarrolló una nueva metodología diagnóstica objetiva y reproducible de aplicación clínica basada en evaluaciones geométricas independiente de la clasificación clínica.BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: fractal geometry allows to describe and characterize irregular objects, which is appropriate for measuring human body structures. The purpose of this study is to characterize the left ventricle during cardiac dynamics by means of fractal dimensions to develop an objective, mathematical and reproducible diagnosis of left ventriculography.METHOD: this is a diagnostic concordance study in which we calculated the fractal dimensions of the ventricle in systole, in diastole and in a total of 36 ventriculograms evaluated as normal, mild, moderate and severe according to the ejection fraction in accordance with the conventional clinical diagnosis ; subsequently, the degree of similarity of the fractal dimensions between the three components were determined. RESULTS: the degrees of similarity were between 1 and 9,000, and when arranging these values into sets, there was a progression from normal to severe. We established the characteristic degrees of similarity that allow to distinguish normality from disease and the evolution between them, showing that the conventional clinical classification presents difficulties to assess accurately and objectively the evolution of a ventriculogram towards normality or disease. CONCLUSIONS: we developed a new objective and reproducible diagnostic methodology of clinical application based on geometric assessments that is independent from the clinical classification