Study of the AFC technology development: a case study applied to wind turbines

The desire to harvest more energy has pushed the contemporary wind turbines to increase their blade spans in order to be able to harness more power from the wind resource. The objective of the following document is to analyze the challenges large scale wind turbines face, and to obtain active flow control solutions that are able to improve their aerodynamic, aeroacoustic and structural performance. To do so, this paper focuses on first understanding the adversities common to wind turbine performance and study their core sources to be able to solve the hindrances with active flow solutions. These are mainly derived from the unpredictable nature of the wind itself, like rapid wind direction and velocity variations, causing aerodynamic phenomena that limit wind turbine’s proper performance. These AFC technologies are then researched and discussed, and from the already marketed systems at Technical Readiness Level 9 Air Jet Vortex Generators were picked for their stall and fatigue reduction capabilities together with the annual energy production increase they are proven to provide. To test the implementation and the economical and environmental impact of AFC systems on wind turbine a script model was developed to serve as a guide for the viability of the project depending on the initial cost of investment. Variables used for the model are gathered through the bibliographic research done in AFC systems together with current programs that pursue our very same goal. This tool will aid in the development of the AFC product in order to accomplish the climate goals our society is heading albeit from a sensible economical standpoint

Las secciones del cubo

Es importante conocer bien los números y saber operar con ellos, pero las matemáticas son desde luego mucho más que esto. Las matemáticas son también imaginar formas en el plano y en el espacio, elaborar estrategias ganadoras en un juego, buscar patrones o reglas en comportamientos de la naturaleza o de la sociedad, tomar decisiones correctas, diseñar un algoritmo para resolver un puzzle, conocer los protagonistas de la historia de la ciencia

Clonal Glial Response in a Multiple Sclerosis Mouse Model

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease causing central nervous system (CNS) demyelination and axonal injury. In the last years the importance of astrocytes in MS is rapidly increasing, recognizing astrocytes as highly active players in MS pathogenesis. Usually the role assigned to astrocytes in MS lesions has been the formation of the glial scar, but now their implication during lesion formation and the immune response increasingly recognized. Since astrocytes are a heterogeneous cell population with diverse roles in the CNS, the aim of this study was to analyze the putative clonal response of astrocytes in a demyelinating scenario. To undertake this aim, we used the induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) as a murine model for MS in previously electroporated mice with in vivo multicolor lineage tracing system, the StarTrack methodology. Our data revealed a variety of morphological changes that were different among distinct clones. In many cases, cells of the same clone responded equally to the injury, while in other cases clonally-related cells responded differently to the injury. Therefore, whereas some clones exhibited a strong morphological alteration, other clones located at similar distances to the lesion were apparently unresponsive. Thus, at present there is no compelling evidences that clonal relationship influences the position or function of astrocytes in the EAE model. Further, the coexistence of different astroglial clonal responses to the bran injury reveals the significance of development to determine the astrocyte features that respond to brain injuries

«Pentagoneando» la circunferencia

En este artículo se estudiará el tercer problema de la final de la XXVIII Olimpiada Matemática Aragonesa de 2º de ESO. En él se mostrarán las resoluciones más interesantes propuestas por los alumnos. Así mismo, se analizarán y valorarán los resultados globales obtenidos

Evaluación de la Estrategia Nacional de Casas Maternas y su contribución a la reducción de la Mortalidad Materna en el SILAIS MATAGALPA año 2000 al 2016

En Nicaragua las casas maternas ha mostrado un impacto en la reducción de la mortalidad materna, según estudios realizados, a partir de ahí. Se realizó estudio descriptivo de corte transversal aplicado a la evaluación del impacto de la estrategia nacional de casas maternas en la reducción de la mortalidad materna en el SILAIS– Matagalpa, Año 2000–206, debido que anualmente se presentan casos de muertes maternas, siendo un departamento que presta las condiciones necesaria para este tipo de evento, la población mayormente rural, accesibilidad geografía, unidades de salud distanciada distantes. etc. El universo estuvo constituido por la totalidad de muertes maternas (231), oficialmente registradas por el MINSA y el número de casas maternas en el período comprendido desde año 2000 al 2016. Durante el desarrollo del estudio se constató que existe una cobertura del 100% de las casas maternas, el 90.5 % están ubicada en el casco urbano, cuentan con un recurso capacitado (parteras), se lleva registro de ingresos, egresos, se realizan actividades recreativas y se brindan charlas educativas. Generalmente las embarazadas que utilizan las casas maternas son del casco rural, más frecuentemente las edades de los 15 a los 25 años, siendo su principal motivo de ingresos y egresos la atención del parto y el puerperio y la mayoría permanecen entre 12 y 15 día de estancia, la alimentación es gratuita y son valoradas diario por el personal de salud. Se evidencia el impacto de la estrategia nacional de casas maternas en el SILAIS Matagalpa, los datos obtenidos reflejan una línea de tendencia ascendente de ingresos y egresos desde el año 2000 (2182) y el año 2016 (12198); y al analizar la tendencia de la razón de mortalidad materna se observa una línea descendente desde el año 2003 (13.4), logrando reducirla hasta el año 2016 (1.9

Effects of FTY720 on brain neurogenic niches in vitro and after kainic acid-induced injury

Background: FTY720 (fingolimod, Gilenya (TM)) is an oral, blood-brain barrier (BBB)-passing drug approved as immunomodulatory treatment for relapsing-remitting form of the multiple sclerosis (MS). In addition, FTY720 exerts several effects in the central nervous system (CNS), ranging from neuroprotection to reduction of neuroinflammation. However, the neurogenic and oligodendrogenic potential of FTY720 has been poorly investigated. In this study, we assessed the effect of FTY720 on the production of new neurons and oligodendrocytes from neural stem/precursor cells both in vitro and in vivo. Methods: Neural stem cells (NSCs) derived from the young rat subventricular zone (SVZ) were exposed to FTY720 (10, 100 nM), and their differentiation into neurons and oligodendrocytes was measured using immunofluorescence for anti-beta-III tubulin or CNPase (2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase) as markers of mature neurons or oligodendrocytes, respectively. In addition, intracerebroventricular (icv) administration of kainic acid (KA; 0.5 mu g/2 mu l) in Sprague-Dawley rats was used as an in vivo model of neuronal death and inflammation. FTY720 was applied icv (1 mu g/2 mu l), together with KA, plus intraperitoneally (ip; 1 mg/kg) 24 h before, and daily, until sacrifice 8 days after KA injection. To visualize cell proliferation in the hippocampus and in white matter regions, rats were administered 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) 100 mg/kg, ip injected every 2 days. Immunohistochemical analyses were performed on rat brain slices to measure the production of new neuronal precursors (doublecortin/DCX+ cells) and new oligodendrocytes precursors (proteoglycan/NG2(+) cells). Results: In this study, we observed that FTY720 increased postnatal NSCs differentiation into both neurons and oligodendrocytes in vitro. In turn, in adult animals, FTY720 enhanced the percentage of BrdU(+) cells coexpressing DCX marker, both in basal (FTY720 alone) and in neurodegenerative (FTY720 + KA) conditions. However, FTY720 had only a partial effect on proliferation and differentiation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cell (OPC) population in vivo. Conclusions: FTY720 promotes neurogenesis and oligodendrogenesis in vitro under basal conditions. In addition, it increases the generation of neuroblasts and oligodendrocytes after excitotoxic brain injury. This suggests that FTY720 has the potential to activate the neurogenic niche and thus favour tissue repair after lesion.This study was supported by the Novartis Farmaceutica SA, Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO) and Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED). RC was funded by Novartis Farmaceutica SA