1,494 research outputs found
Hygrothermal Performance of Worship Spaces: Preservation, Comfort and Energy Consumption
The energy problem, one the most important on a global scale, greatly affects the environment. Much of the current energy consumption occurs in existing buildings, including heritage buildings with varying protected status. Energy intervention and heritage conservation conflict to some extent, as research focuses more on the search for improved energy efficiency solutions for materials and systems than on their application to heritage buildings. This study describes experimental research on environmental conditioning techniques in spaces of worship in a temperate climate in southern Spain. Buildings were monitored and assessed in the implementation of different environmental techniquesâactive and combined (passive and active)âwith the aim of improving the thermal comfort conditions of the faithful while preserving the cultural heritage of these buildings. The need for a control system of RH and the air system was concluded, as well as radiant floors and radiators, which, in the considered case studies, would barely affect the artworks. 24- and 12-h operation are better suited to heritage preservation than occasional use. All operation schedules are valid for thermal comfort.Universidad de Malaga
Universidad de Sevill
Deterministic Down-Converter and Continuous Photon-Pair Source within the Bad-Cavity Limit
Phosphodiesterases Inhibition Enhances the Effect of Glucagon on Cardiac Automaticity in the Isolated Right Ventricle of the Rat
Summary We evaluated the effect of glucagon on cardiac automaticity as well as the possible role of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDE) in regulating this effect. Concentration response curves for glucagon in the absence and in the presence of the non-selective PDE inhibitor IBMX were performed in the isolated right ventricle of the rat. We found that glucagon produces only a minor increase of ventricular automaticity (11.0±4.1, n=5) when compared to the full agonist of ÎČ-adrenoceptor isoproterenol These results indicate that PDE blunts proarrhythmic effects of glucagon in rat myocardium
Strong Constraints on the Parameter Space of the MSSM from Charge and Color Breaking Minima
A complete analysis of all the potentially dangerous directions in the
field-space of the minimal supersymmetric standard model is carried out. They
are of two types, the ones associated with the existence of charge and color
breaking minima in the potential deeper than the realistic minimum and the
directions in the field-space along which the potential becomes unbounded from
below. The corresponding new constraints on the parameter space are given in an
analytic form, representing a set of necessary and sufficient conditions to
avoid dangerous directions. They are very strong and, in fact, there are
extensive regions in the parameter space that become forbidden. This produces
important bounds, not only on the value of , but also on the values of
and . Finally, the crucial issue of the one-loop corrections to the
scalar potential has been taken into account in a proper way.Comment: 48 pages, LaTeX, 12 uuencoded postscript figures in additional file.
Only a small comment about the m=0 (no-scale) limit has been included in
sect.6 (Results) and sect.7 (Conclusions
Velocity-Based Heuristic Evaluation for Path Planning and Vehicle Routing for Victim Assistance in Disaster Scenarios
Published in "Robot 2019: Fourth Iberian Robotics Conference. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, Vol 1093. Silva M., LuĂs Lima J., Reis L., Sanfeliu A., Tardioli D. (eds)" published by Springer, Cham. Avalaible online at: https://doi.org/10.1007.987-3-030-36150-1_10Natural and human-made disasters require effective victim
assistance and last-mile relief supply operations with teams of ground vehicles.
In these applications, digital elevation models (DEM) can provide
accurate knowledge for safe vehicle motion planning but grid representation
results in very large search graphs. Furthermore, travel time, which
becomes a crucial cost optimization criterion, may be affected by inclination
and other challenging terrain characteristics. In this paper, our goal
is to evaluate a search heuristic function based on anisotropic vehicle velocity
restrictions for building the cost matrix required for multi-vehicle
routing on natural terrain and disaster sites. The heuristic is applied to
compute the fastest travel times between every pair of matrix elements
by means of a path planning algorithm. The analysis is based on a case
study on the ortophotographic-based DEM of natural terrain with different
target points, where theUniversidad de MĂĄlaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional AndalucĂa Tech.
This work has received funding from the national project RTI2018-093421-B-I00
(Spanish Government), the University of Malaga (AndalucĂa Tech) and the grant
BES-2016-077022 of the European Social Fund
Two different pathogenic mechanisms, dying-back axonal neuropathy and pancreatic senescence, are present in the YG8R mouse model of Friedreich's ataxia
Frataxin (FXN) deficiency causes Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA), a multisystem disorder with neurological and non-neurological symptoms. FRDA pathophysiology combines developmental and degenerative processes of dorsal root ganglia (DRG), sensory nerves, dorsal columns and other central nervous structures. A dying-back mechanism has been proposed to explain the peripheral neuropathy and neuropathology. In addition, affected individuals have non-neuronal symptoms such as diabetes mellitus or glucose intolerance. To go further in the understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of neuropathy and diabetes associated with the disease, we have investigated the humanized mouse YG8R model of FRDA. By biochemical and histopathological studies, we observed abnormal changes involving muscle spindles, dorsal root axons and DRG neurons, but normal findings in the posterior columns and brain, which agree with the existence of a dying-back process similar to that described in individuals with FRDA. In YG8R mice, we observed a large number of degenerated axons surrounded by a sheath exhibiting enlarged adaxonal compartments or by a thin disrupted myelin sheath. Thus, both axonal damage and defects in Schwann cells might underlie the nerve pathology. In the pancreas, we found a high proportion of senescent islets of Langerhans in YG8R mice, which decreases the beta-cell number and islet mass to pathological levels, being unable to maintain normoglycemia. As a whole, these results confirm that the lack of FXN induces different pathogenic mechanisms in the nervous system and pancreas in the mouse model of FRDA: dying back of the sensory nerves, and pancreatic senescence
Conceptual design of the ITER fast-ion loss detector
et al.A conceptual design of a reciprocating fast-ion loss detector for ITER has been developed and is presented here. Fast-ion orbit simulations in a 3D magnetic equilibrium and up-to-date first wall have been carried out to revise the measurement requirements for the lost alpha monitor in ITER. In agreement with recent observations, the simulations presented here suggest that a pitch-angle resolution of âŒ5° might be necessary to identify the loss mechanisms. Synthetic measurements including realistic lost alpha-particle as well as neutron and gamma fluxes predict scintillator signal-to-noise levels measurable with standard light acquisition systems with the detector aperture at âŒ11 cm outside of the diagnostic first wall. At measurement position, heat load on detector head is comparable to that in present devices.This research was supported in part by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Grant Nos. RYC2011-09152, FIS2015-69362-P, and ENE2012- 31087) and the Marie Curie FP7 Integration Grant (No. PCIG11-GA2012-321455).Peer Reviewe
Multiplexed vortex beam-based optical tweezers
The design and implementation of a multiplexed spiral phase mask in an
experimental optical tweezer setup are presented. This diffractive optical
element allows the generation of multiple concentric vortex beams with
independent topological charges. The generalization of the phase mask for
multiple concentric vortices is also shown. The design for a phase mask of two
multiplexed vortices with different topological charges is developed. We
experimentally show the transfer of angular momentum to the optically trapped
microparticles by enabling orbiting dynamics around the optical axis
independently within each vortex. The angular velocity of the confined
particles versus the optical power in the focal region is also discussed for
different combinations of topological charges
IKs Computational Modeling to Enforce the Investigation of D242N, a KV7.1 LQTS Mutation
A KCNQ1 mutation, D242N, was found in a pair of twins and characterized at the cellular level. To investigate whether and how the mutation causes the clinically observed lost adaptation to fast heart rate, we performed a computational study. Firstly, we identified a new I Ks model based on voltage clamp experimental data. Then we included this formulation in the human action potential model of O'Hara Rudy (ORd) and simulate d the effects of the mutation. We also included adrenergic stimulation to the action potential, since the basal adrenergic tone is likely to affect the influence of I Ks on QTc in vivo. Finally, we simulated the pseudo-ECG, taking into account the heterogeneity of the cardiac wall. At the basal rate (60bpm), the mutation had negligible effects for all cell types, whereas at the high rate (180bpm), with concomitant ÎČ-adrenergic stimulation (mimicking exercise conditions), the mutant AP failed to adapt its duration to the same extent as the wild-type AP (e.g. 281ms vs. 267ms in M cells), due to a smaller amount of I Ks current. Pseudo-ECG results show only a slight rate adaptation, and the simulated QTc was significantly prolonged from 387ms to 493ms, similar to experimental recordings
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