237 research outputs found

    Performance of a Photovoltaic Pumping System

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    In this work, a PV pumping system was installed in a building at the University of Malaga. The system simulates a conventional PV pumping system which in real conditions would supply a small agricultural installation. In the installation under examination it has been find that it is possible to improve the overall efficiency of the system obtaining a similar volume of water with a less photovoltaic modules installed. It can be concluded that the optimal performance allow a lower investment cost. Also a lower surface for the PV generator is a benefit.Pumping water with solar photovoltaic (PV) is an application of particular interest in isolated systems. This technology has proven over the years to be an effective way to supply drinking water to communities, as well as for agricultural use (irrigation) and livestock (troughs). The earlier installations of PV pumping were based on the use of DC motors of medium and low power directly coupled to the PV generator operating centrifugal pumps. Later they have been proposing and using various types of systems based on different combinations of DC motors, AC motors, DC brushless motors, centrifugal pumps, positive displacement pumps, DC/DC converters and DC/AC inverters. They all have the common characteristic of being a result of specific developments to efficiently use in PV pumping systems. In this work a PV pumping system was installed on a building at the University of Malaga. The system simulates a conventional PV pumping system. A set of experiments has been carried out to study the performance of the system. In the installation studied, it has been proved that it is possible to improve the overall efficiency of the system by reducing the photovoltaic power installed to obtain the same volume of water. As a conclusion it may be said that a lower investment and less surface occupied by photovoltaic system is achieved.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

    CONSECUENCIAS PSICOLÓGICAS DE LOS ATENTADOS TERRORISTAS DEL 11-M EN MADRID. PLANTEAMIENTO GENERAL DE LOS ESTUDIOS Y RESULTADOS EN LA POBLACIÓN GENERAL

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    On the morning of March 11 of 2004, Madrid city suffered the most violent terrorist attack occurred in the modern European history. Ten bombs exploded in four commuter trains at morning rush hour, when many people went to Madrid down-town, resulted in 191 deaths and 1800 persons in-jured. After terrorist attacks, we started out three longitudinal studies with the aim of assessing the psychological impact of this event in the Madrid city population, and focused on: (1) general population, (2) victims and relatives, and (3) emergency person-nel and rescue workers. Among other variables, it is explored the onset and evolution of different psycho-logical pathologies such as panic attack, PTSD, and depression. In this study a representative sample of Madrid city residents of 1,589 subjects (1,265 resi-dents of the 21 Madrid city districts plus an over-sampling of 324 residents in the affected areas) is addressed. Research design and telephone interview used in this study are similar to those employed by Galea et al. (2002) in the study of September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in NYC. Among psycho-pathological prevalence rates, there are remarkable data regarding the 10,9% of panic attack, the 8% of major depression, and the 4% of PTSD after March 11, and the 2,3% of PTSD directed attributable to terrorist attacks.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40311/2/Miguel-Tobal_Consecuencias Psicologicas De Los Atentados_2004.pd

    Combining SfM Photogrammetry and Terrestrial Laser Scanning to Assess Event-Scale Sediment Budgets along a Gravel-Bed Ephemeral Stream

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    [EN] Stream power represents the rate of energy expenditure along a stream reach and can be calculated using topographic data acquired via structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS). This study sought to quantitatively relate morphological adjustments in the Azohia Rambla, a gravel-bed ephemeral stream in southeastern Spain, to stream power (omega), critical power (omega(c)), and energy gradients ( partial differential omega/ partial differential s), along different reference channel reaches of 200 to 300 m in length. High-resolution digital terrain models (HRDTMs), combined with ortophotographs and point clouds from 2018, 2019, and 2020, and ground-based surveys, were used to estimate the spatial variability of morphological sediment budgets and to assess channel bed mobility during the study period at different spatial scales: reference channel reaches (RCRs), pilot bed survey areas (PBSAs), and representative geomorphic units (RGUs). The optimized complementary role of the SfM technique and terrestrial laser scanning allowed the generation of accurate and reliable HRDTMs, upon which a 1-D hydrodynamic model was calibrated and sediment budgets calculated. The resulting high-resolution maps allowed a spatially explicit analysis of stream power and transport efficiency in relation to volumes of erosion and deposition in the RCR and PBSA. In addition, net incision or downcutting and vertical sedimentary accretion were monitored for each flood event in relation to bedforms and hydraulic variables. Sediment sources and sinks and bed armoring processes showed different trends according to the critical energy and stream power gradient, which were verified from field observations. During flows exceeding bankfull discharges (between 18 and 24 m(3) s(-1) according to channel reach), significant variations in partial differential omega/ partial differential s values and omega/omega(c) ratios (e.g., -15 2 for a peak discharge of 31 m(3) s(-1)) were associated with a large amount of bedload mobilized upstream and vertical accretion along the middle reach (average rise height of 0.20 to 0.35 m for the same event). By contrast, more moderate peak flows (<= 10 m(3) s(-1)) only produced minor changes resulting in surface washing, selective transport, and local bed scouring.This research was funded by ERDF/Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities-State Research Agency/Project CGL2017-84625-C2-1-R (CCAMICEM); State Program for Research, Development and Innovation Focused on the Challenges of Society, the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and EU FEDER under Project TEC2017-85244-C2-1-P and by the University of Alicante (vigrob-157 and GRE18-05).Conesa-García, C.; Puig-Mengual, C.; Riquelme, A.; Tomás, R.; Martinez-Capel, F.; García-Lorenzo, R.; Pastor, JL.... (2020). Combining SfM Photogrammetry and Terrestrial Laser Scanning to Assess Event-Scale Sediment Budgets along a Gravel-Bed Ephemeral Stream. Remote Sensing. 12(21):1-27. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12213624S127122

    PTSD and Depression After the Madrid March 11 Train Bombings

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    The March 11, 2004, train bombings in Madrid, Spain, caused the largest loss of life from a single terrorist attack in modern European history.We used a cross-sectional random digit dial survey ofMadrid residents to assess the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression in the general population of Madrid 1 to 3 months after the March 11 train bombings. Of respondents 2.3% reported symptoms consistent with PTSD related to the March 11 bombings and 8.0% of respondents reported symptoms consistent with major depression. The prevalence of PTSD was substantially lower, but the prevalence of depression was comparable to estimates reported after the September 11 attacks in Manhattan. The findings suggest that across cities, the magnitude of a terrorist attack may be the primary determinant of the prevalence of PTSD in the general population, but other factors may be responsible for determining the population prevalence of depression.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40310/2/Miguel-Tobal_PTSD and Depression After the Madrid_2006.pd

    A Forward Collision Warning System for Smartphones Using Image Processing and V2V Communication

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    [EN] In this paper, we present a forward collision warning application for smartphones that uses license plate recognition and vehicular communication to generate warnings for notifying the drivers of the vehicle behind and the one ahead, of a probable collision when the vehicle behind does not maintain an established safe distance between itself and the vehicle ahead. The application was tested in both static and mobile scenarios, from which we confirmed the working of our application, even though its performance is affected by the hardware limitations of the smartphones.Patra, S.; Veelaert, P.; Tavares De Araujo Cesariny Calafate, CM.; Cano, J.; Zamora-Mero, WJ.; Manzoni, P.; Gonzalez, F. (2018). A Forward Collision Warning System for Smartphones Using Image Processing and V2V Communication. Sensors. 18(8):1-17. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18082672S11718

    The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

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    The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14 happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov 2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected

    Effectiveness and safety of anti-CGRP monoclonal antibodies in patients over 65 years: a real-life multicentre analysis of 162 patients

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    Background Anti-CGRP monoclonal antibodies have shown notable effectiveness and tolerability in migraine patients; however, data on their use in elderly patients is still lacking, as clinical trials have implicit age restrictions and real-world evidence is scarce. In this study, we aimed to describe the safety and effectiveness of erenumab, galcanezumab and fremanezumab in migraine patients over 65 years old in real-life. Methods In this observational real-life study, a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from 18 different headache units in Spain was performed. Migraine patients who started treatment with any anti-CGRP monoclonal antibody after the age of 65 years were included. Primary endpoints were reduction in monthly migraine days after 6 months of treatment and the presence of adverse effects. Secondary endpoints were reductions in headache and medication intake frequencies by months 3 and 6, response rates, changes in patient-reported outcomes and reasons for discontinuation. As a subanalysis, reduction in monthly migraine days and proportion of adverse effects were also compared among the three monoclonal antibodies. Results A total of 162 patients were included, median age 68 years (range 65-87), 74.1% women. 42% had dyslipidaemia, 40.3% hypertension, 8% diabetes, and 6.2% previous cardiovascular ischaemic disease. The reduction in monthly migraine days at month 6 was 10.17.3 days. A total of 25.3% of patients presented adverse effects, all of them mild, with only two cases of blood pressure increase. Headache and medication intake frequencies were significantly reduced, and patient-reported outcomes were improved. The proportions of responders were 68%, 57%, 33% and 9% for reductions in monthly migraine days >= 30%,>= 50%,>= 75% and 100%, respectively. A total of 72.8% of patients continued with the treatment after 6 months. The reduction in migraine days was similar for the different anti-CGRP treatments, but fewer adverse effects were detected with fremanezumab (7.7%). Conclusions Anti-CGRP mAbs are safe and effective treatments in migraine patients over 65 years old in real-life clinical practice

    Preclinical models for prediction of immunotherapy outcomes and immune evasion mechanisms in genetically heterogeneous multiple myeloma

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    The historical lack of preclinical models reflecting the genetic heterogeneity of multiple myeloma (MM) hampers the advance of therapeutic discoveries. To circumvent this limitation, we screened mice engineered to carry eight MM lesions (NF-κB, KRAS, MYC, TP53, BCL2, cyclin D1, MMSET/NSD2 and c-MAF) combinatorially activated in B lymphocytes following T cell-driven immunization. Fifteen genetically diverse models developed bone marrow (BM) tumors fulfilling MM pathogenesis. Integrative analyses of ∼500 mice and ∼1,000 patients revealed a common MAPK-MYC genetic pathway that accelerated time to progression from precursor states across genetically heterogeneous MM. MYC-dependent time to progression conditioned immune evasion mechanisms that remodeled the BM microenvironment differently. Rapid MYC-driven progressors exhibited a high number of activated/exhausted CD8+ T cells with reduced immunosuppressive regulatory T (Treg) cells, while late MYC acquisition in slow progressors was associated with lower CD8+ T cell infiltration and more abundant Treg cells. Single-cell transcriptomics and functional assays defined a high ratio of CD8+ T cells versus Treg cells as a predictor of response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). In clinical series, high CD8+ T/Treg cell ratios underlie early progression in untreated smoldering MM, and correlated with early relapse in newly diagnosed patients with MM under Len/Dex therapy. In ICB-refractory MM models, increasing CD8+ T cell cytotoxicity or depleting Treg cells reversed immunotherapy resistance and yielded prolonged MM control. Our experimental models enable the correlation of MM genetic and immunological traits with preclinical therapy responses, which may inform the next-generation immunotherapy trials

    Analysis of the melon (Cucumis melo) small RNAome by high-throughput pyrosequencing

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    Abstract Background Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is a commercially important fruit crop that is cultivated worldwide. The melon research community has recently benefited from the determination of a complete draft genome sequence and the development of associated genomic tools, which have allowed us to focus on small RNAs (sRNAs). These are short, non-coding RNAs 21-24 nucleotides in length with diverse physiological roles. In plants, they regulate gene expression and heterochromatin assembly, and control protection against virus infection. Much remains to be learned about the role of sRNAs in melon. Results We constructed 10 sRNA libraries from two stages of developing ovaries, fruits and photosynthetic cotyledons infected with viruses, and carried out high-throughput pyrosequencing. We catalogued and analysed the melon sRNAs, resulting in the identification of 26 known miRNA families (many conserved with other species), the prediction of 84 melon-specific miRNA candidates, the identification of trans-acting siRNAs, and the identification of chloroplast, mitochondrion and transposon-derived sRNAs. In silico analysis revealed more than 400 potential targets for the conserved and novel miRNAs. Conclusion We have discovered and analysed a large number of conserved and melon-specific sRNAs, including miRNAs and their potential target genes. This provides insight into the composition and function of the melon small RNAome, and paves the way towards an understanding of sRNA-mediated processes that regulate melon fruit development and melon-virus interactions.This work was supported by grants AGL2009-07552/AGR, BIO2006-13107 (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain) and MELONOMICS (Fundación Genoma España, Spain).Peer Reviewe

    Ultra-processed foods consumption as a promoting factor of greenhouse gas emissions, water, energy, and land use: A longitudinal assessment

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    Background: Dietary patterns can produce an environmental impact. Changes in people's diet, such as the increased consumption of ultra-processed food (UPF) can not only influence human health but also environment sustainability. Objectives: Assessment of the impact of 2-year changes in UPF consumption on greenhouse gas emissions and water, energy and land use. Design A 2-year longitudinal study after a dietary intervention including 5879 participants from a Southern European population between the ages of 55-75 years with metabolic syndrome. Methods Food intake was assessed using a validated 143-item food frequency questionnaire, which allowed classifying foods according to the NOVA system. In addition, sociodemographic data, Mediterranean diet adherence, and physical activity were obtained from validated questionnaires. Greenhouse gas emissions, water, energy and land use were calculated by means of the Agribalyse® 3.0.1 database of environmental impact indicators for food items. Changes in UPF consumption during a 2-year period were analyzed. Statistical analyses were conducted using computed General Linear Models. Results: Participants with major reductions in their UPF consumption reduced their impact by −0.6 kg of CO2eq and −5.3 MJ of energy. Water use was the only factor that increased as the percentage of UPF was reduced. Conclusions: Low consumption of ultra-processed foods may contribute to environmental sustainability. The processing level of the consumed food should be considered not only for nutritional advice on health but also for environmental protection
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