Validation of the procedure: Quantification of the degradation index of Photovoltaic Grid Connection Systems

The results obtained from the validation of the procedure ‟Quantification of the degradation index of Photovoltaic Grid Connection Systems” are presented, using statistical parameters, which corroborate its accuracy, achieving a coefficient of determination of 0.9896, a percentage of the root of the mean square of the error RMSPE = 1.498% and a percentage of the mean absolute error MAPE = 1.15%, evidencing the precision of the procedure

Fault Diagnostic Methodology for Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Systems

This research focuses on the design of a fault diagnosis methodology to contribute to the improvement of efficiency, maintainability and availability indicators of Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Systems. To achieve this, we start from the study of the mathematical model of the photovoltaic generator, then, a procedure is performed to quantify the operational losses of the photovoltaic generator and adjust the mathematical model of this to the real conditions of the system, through a polynomial adjustment. A real system of nominal power 7.5 kWp installed in the Solar Energy Research Center of the province of Santiago de Cuba is used to evaluate the proposed methodology. Based on the results obtained, the proposed approach is validated to demonstrate that it successfully supervises the system. The methodology was able to detect and identify 100% of the simulated failures and the tests carried out had a maximum false alarm rate of 0.22%, evidencing its capacity

Procedure for the quantification of the degradation index of Photovoltaic Generators

A procedure is presented for the quantification of the degradation index of Photovoltaic Generators, based on the quantification of the operational losses inherent in the system, which allows maintaining the nominal operating conditions and by the warranty terms of the photovoltaic generator. A photovoltaic generator connected to the network with a nominal power of 7.5 kWp, installed in the Solar Energy Research Center of Santiago de Cuba, is used to evaluate and validate the procedure. The starting point is the mathematical model of the photovoltaic generator, then the operational losses of the photovoltaic generator are quantified and the mathematical model is adjusted to real conditions, through a polynomial adjustment.  The results obtained show that the photovoltaic generator presents deviations in terms of the nominal power generation, because the operational losses are 7% with respect to the values ​​given by the manufacturer

Petrogenesis of fertile mantle peridotites from the Monte del Estado massif (Southwest Puerto Rico): a preserved section of Proto-Caribbean lithospheric mantle?

The Monte del Estado massif is the largest and northernmost serpentinized peridotite belt in southwest Puerto Rico. It is mainly composed of spinel lherzolite and minor harzburgite with variable clinopyroxene modal abundances. Mineral and whole rock major and trace element compositions of peridotites coincide with those of fertile abyssal mantle rocks from mid ocean ridges. Peridotites lost 2-14 wt% of relative MgO and variable amounts of CaO by serpentinization and seafloor weathering. HREE contents in whole rock indicate that the Monte del Estado peridotites are residues after low to moderate degrees (2-15%) of fractional partial melting in the spinel stability field. However, very low LREE/HREE and MREE/HREE in clinopyroxene cannot be explained by melting models of a spinel lherzolite source and support that the Monte del Estado peridotites experienced initial low fractional melting degrees (~ 4%) in the garnet stability field. The relative enrichment of LREE in whole rock is not due to alteration processes but probably reflects the capture of percolating fluid/melt fractions or the crystallization of sub-percent amounts of hydrous minerals (e.g., amphibole, phlogopite) along grain boundaries or as microinclusions in minerals. We propose that the Monte del Estado peridotite belt represents a section of ancient Proto-Caribbean (Atlantic) lithospheric mantle originated by seafloor spreading between North and South America in the Late Jurassic- Early Cretaceous. This portion of oceanic lithospheric mantle was subsequently trapped in the forearc region of the Greater Antilles paleo-island arc generated by the northward subduction of the Caribbean plate beneath the Proto-Caribbean ocean. Finally, the Monte del Estado peridotites belt was emplaced in the Early Cretaceous probably as result of the change in subduction polarity of the Greater Antilles paleo-island arc without having been significantly modified by subduction processes

First Record of Leea guineensis (Vitaceae) in Cuban Scientific Literature

The presence of Leea guineensis G. Don. was confirmed in Cuba. It is a widely cultivated alochtonous species used in Cuba as ornameltal plants, which had not been previously registered in the scientific literature of the country. Several botanical procedures (collections, specialized catalogs, descriptions, and scientific illustrations) were applied. It is a new taxon of the genus in the country. A key is suggested as a way to distinguish it from other genera of the Vitaceae family

Mapping participatory planning in Havana: patchwork legacies for a strengthened local governance

In 2019, Cuba approved a new political constitution that calls for deepening citizen participation to strengthen local governance. The emerging decentralization processes and the role of new actors in urban development open new possibilities for inclusive planning. While citizen participation is widely documented in the global South and under Western liberal democracy regimes, participatory urban planning in the context of Southern socialist cities such as Havana has been less scrutinized. This paper aims at mapping the framings, trajectories and legacies of such participatory planning initiatives. Based on mapping workshops and desktop research, we find that participatory initiatives within Havana are spatially dispersed, sporadic, lacking at the city level, and occurring in isolation at the neighbourhood level. We argue that establishing sustained participatory urban planning practices in Havana requires decision makers to scale outwards and upwards the lessons learned from existing initiatives to foster a city-wide participatory planning strategy

Complete atrial-specific knockout of sodium-calcium exchange eliminates sinoatrial node pacemaker activity.

The origin of sinoatrial node (SAN) pacemaker activity in the heart is controversial. The leading candidates are diastolic depolarization by "funny" current (If) through HCN4 channels (the "Membrane Clock" hypothesis), depolarization by cardiac Na-Ca exchange (NCX1) in response to intracellular Ca cycling (the "Calcium Clock" hypothesis), and a combination of the two ("Coupled Clock"). To address this controversy, we used Cre/loxP technology to generate atrial-specific NCX1 KO mice. NCX1 protein was undetectable in KO atrial tissue, including the SAN. Surface ECG and intracardiac electrograms showed no atrial depolarization and a slow junctional escape rhythm in KO that responded appropriately to β-adrenergic and muscarinic stimulation. Although KO atria were quiescent they could be stimulated by external pacing suggesting that electrical coupling between cells remained intact. Despite normal electrophysiological properties of If in isolated patch clamped KO SAN cells, pacemaker activity was absent. Recurring Ca sparks were present in all KO SAN cells, suggesting that Ca cycling persists but is uncoupled from the sarcolemma. We conclude that NCX1 is required for normal pacemaker activity in murine SAN

Primitive Cretaceous island-arc volcanic rocks in eastern Cuba : the Téneme Formation

The Téneme Formation is located in the Mayarí-Cristal ophiolitic massif and represents one of the three Cretaceous volcanic Formations established in northeastern Cuba. Téneme volcanics are cut by small bodies of 89.70 ± 0.50 Ma quarz-diorite rocks (Río Grande intrusive), and are overthrusted by serpentinized ultramafics. Téneme volcanic rocks are mainly basalts, basaltic andesites, andesites, and minor dacites, and their geochemical signature varies between low-Ti island arc tholeiites (IAT) with boninitic affinity (TiO2 < 0.4 %; high field strength elements « N-type MORB) and typical oceanic arc tholeiites (TiO2 = 0.5-0.8 %). Basaltic rocks exhibit low light REE/Yb ratios (La/Yb < 5), typical of intraoceanic arcs and are comparable to Maimón Formation in Dominican Republic (IAT, pre Albian) and Puerto Rican lavas of volcanic phase I (island arc tholeiites, Aptian to Early Albian). The mantle wedge signature of the Téneme Formation indicates a highly depleted MORB-type mantle source, without any contribution of E-MORB or OIB components. Our results suggest that Téneme volcanism represents a primitive oceanic island arc environment. If the Late Cretaceous age (Turonian or early Coniacian) proposed for Téneme Formation is correct, our results indicate that the Cretaceous volcanic rocks of eastern Cuba and the Dominican Republic are not segments of a single arc system, and that in Late Cretaceous (Albian-Campanian) Caribbean island arc development is not represented only by calc-alkaline (CA) volcanic rocks as has been suggested in previous works