Investigation of the perfomance of a large PV system

One of the main social challenges that society is facing nowadays is the energy crisis. So, head towards renewable energy resources such as solar, hydraulic, wind, geothermal and biomass, could be the best solution. Solar photovoltaic is one of the most promising sources to produce electricity due to its cleanness, noiselessness and sustainability, and the fact that it is inexhaustible. However, the power output of the PV systems varies notably because of the ambient conditions: temperature and solar radiation. The main aim of this thesis is to study if the PV system installed on the wall of the new football arena Gavlehov in Gävle is providing the amount of power promised before the installation. To achieve reliable results, the first step is to develop and install a monitoring system for recording the real power of the system and the ambient conditions at the same time. After that, an evaluation of the performance of the system during one week will be done, comparing the theoretical power and the real power obtained. The theoretical power will be calculated in two ways: using the data from a pyranometer and on the other hand, from a reference solar cell. This will permit to compare which one matches better with the reality. Different factors such as the temperature, the irradiance and the angle of incidence are studied to know the real influence that they have on the performance of a PV installation. The results obtained show that the measurement system installed is reliable and that the model used to evaluate the system is correct. It can be concluded that using a reference solar cell to calculate the theoretical power of the system is easier to align and it has the same angular behaviour as a PV module than employing a pyranometer. Regarding the installation, all the panels work similarly and the system works at nominal power. So, it provides the amount of power promised before the installation

Towards urban high-technolgy clusters : an international comparison

This paper presents the results of a comparative study of 23 urban or regional high-technology clusters (media, ICT, energy, biotechnology) all over the world, analyzing how they were created, how they are managed and how they operate, and the strategies followed to improve and excel in their fields of action. Special attention is given to issues related to descriptive aspects, R&D, performance of the clusters, location factors and incentives to attract companies. The empirical analysis applied to the identified clusters was done through a questionnaire sent to the representatives of the cluster's management. When analyzing the data, the study has combined quantitative and qualitative methods, depending on the information to be processed. The data collection was done through a selection of indicators chosen in order to cover the different elements that cluster literature coincide in consider essential to develop a competitive economic cluster in urban regions. The main obstacle we find with the information available to carry out this study has been its heterogeneity and different quality of the data. 22@Barcelona appears to be in a good position to compete with other excelling clusters, but it still needs to improve in areas such as financial supply for R&D and start-ups and coordination between the different actors involved in urban economic development. Our research also contributes to the discussion on the role of public institutions in the cluster development policies. In the clusters studied here, especially in 22@Barcelona, we have seen that a capable and resourceful public administration can determine the success of the cluster initiativ

Surveys assessing sports services and municipal governance

This study aims to investigate the social importance of sport in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat. As an instrument for social cohesion and integration, sport has become a very important part of municipal activity. We use two surveys: the Baròmetre, which gathers opinion about municipal services; and satisfaction surveys completed by the users of sports facilities. The sports offer (6.5) receives a better rating than overall municipal management (5.9), and counts for 20.4% of the global assessment of the municipal management. Satisfaction with facilities is 7.3 out of 10, while price receives the lowest mark. Detailed analysis of satisfaction surveys conducted among the population can help the municipal management of sports facilities. Policies that focus only on prices are unlikely to be as effective at improving members’ perception of sports facilities as those that also take other aspects into account

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Hungary: an overview of recent and historical occurrence

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Teamwork: Assessment of teamwork competence in higher education

[EN] Teamwork is a competence highly demanded among workers and an academic field with an extensive specialized literature. Based on this knowledge that comes from the study of organizational behavior, this communication presents a model to understand teamwork in higher education settings. The theoretical model considers structural components (i.e., task interdependence and task uncertainty), processes (i.e., team development and team climate for learning) and results (i.e., team effectiveness). Moreover, an assessment tool (and attitude questionnaire with 42 items-Likert scale with a range from 1 to 7) is also presented to measure these critical components that can allow us to distinguish between effective and ineffective teams in higher education. First results of the application of these tools to 18 team students show good consistency values of the tools being able to distinguish among teams. Additionally, we propose a procedure to obtain aggregated measures per group from the members’ responses considering the degree of agreement among members.Navarro, J.; Bosch, JL.; Palacín, M.; Solé, M.; Berger, R.; Leiva, D.; Ceppi, F.... (2017). Teamwork: Assessment of teamwork competence in higher education. En Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Higher Education Advances. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1024-1032. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD17.2017.55071024103

Co-culture of primary CLL cells with bone marrow mesenchymal cells, CD40 ligand and CpG ODN promotes proliferation of chemoresistant CLL cells phenotypically comparable to those proliferating in vivo

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells residing in the bone marrow (BM) and in secondary lymphoid tissues receive survival and proliferative signals from the microenvironment, resulting in persistence of residual disease after treatment. In this study, we characterized primary CLL cells cultured with BM stromal cells, CD40 ligand and CpG ODN to partially mimic the microenvironment in the proliferative centers. This co-culture system induced proliferation and chemoresistance in primary CLL cells. Importantly, co-cultured primary CLL cells shared many phenotypical features with circulating proliferative CLL cells, such as upregulation of ZAP-70 and CD38 and higher CD49d and CD62L expression. This indicates aggressiveness and capability to interact with surrounding cells, respectively. In addition, levels of CXCR4 were decreased due to CXCR4 internalization after CXCL12 stimulation by BM stromal cells. We suggest that this co-culture system can be used to test drugs and their combinations that target the proliferative and drug resistant CLL cells

Inhibition of BCR signaling using the Syk inhibitor TAK-659 prevents stroma-mediated signaling in chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells

Altres ajuts: This work was cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC, M.C). N.P. is a recipient of a PhD fellowship granted by Institut de Recerca Vall d'Hebron. C.C. is supported by a grant from Sociedad Española de Hematología y Hemoterapia (SEHH).Proliferation and survival of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells depend on microenvironmental signals coming from lymphoid organs. One of the key players involved in the crosstalk between CLL cells and the microenvironment is the B-cell receptor (BCR). Syk protein, a tyrosine kinase essential for BCR signaling, is therefore a rational candidate for targeted therapy in CLL. Against this background, we tested the efficacy of the highly specific Syk inhibitor TAK-659 in suppressing the favorable signaling derived from the microenvironment. To ex vivo mimic the microenvironment found in the proliferation centers, we co-cultured primary CLL cells with BM stromal cells (BMSC), CD40L and CpG ODN along with BCR stimulation. In this setting, TAK-659 inhibited the microenvironment-induced activation of Syk and downstream signaling molecules, without inhibiting the protein homologue ZAP-70 in T cells. Importantly, the pro-survival, proliferative, chemoresistant and activation effects promoted by the microenvironment were abrogated by TAK-659, which furthermore blocked CLL cell migration toward BMSC, CXCL12, and CXCL13. Combination of TAK-659 with other BCR inhibitors showed synergistic effect in inducing apoptosis, and the sequential addition of TAK-659 in ibrutinib-treated CLL cells induced significantly higher cytotoxicity. These findings provide a strong rationale for the clinical development of TAK-659 in CLL