Impedance Spectroscopy Analysis of a Thermo-Electrochemical Cell Under Operating Conditions

Proceedings from the 2022 International Workshop on Impedance Spectroscopy (IWIS), Chemnitz, Germany, 2022.Low-grade (<200°C) heat is an abundant and available energy not generally exploited. In this regard, the so-called thermo-electrochemical cells have become a valid opportunity to harvest this ubiquitous source of heat. They are capable to convert heat into electricity by means of the temperature-redox potential dependency of a redox couple. In fact, they present Seebeck coefficient values in order of mV/K, much higher than solid-state thermoelectrics. In this work, a system formed by two Pt electrodes in contact with a 0.4 M ferro/ferricyanide aqueous solution has been studied by means of impedance spectroscopy under operating conditions (ΔT=40 K). The main processes which govern the performance of the system have been identified, which lead to different resistances: (i) electrolyte ionic resistance, (ii) charge transfer resistance and (iii) mass transfer resistance. It was also demonstrated that the current-voltage characteristics of the device can be obtained knowing the open-circuit potential and performing a single impedance spectroscopy measurement, which determines the device dc resistance. This method can save a significant amount of time in many cases

Efecto del tratamiento térmico sobre la digestión de proteínas en la seta "Sarcodon imbricatus"

Los hongos son un alimento de bajo aporte calórico, con un buen perfil de nutrientes aportando gran cantidad de hidratos de carbono y baja cantidad de grasa. También contienen una cantidad elevada de fibra y un perfil proteico más aprovechable que el de plantas o vegetales, y una gran cantidad de vitaminas como pueden ser tiamina, riboflavina, piridoxina o ácido ascórbico, entre otras. En cuanto a minerales encontramos fósforo, hierro, calcio y potasio. Además, poseen propiedades, como pueden ser la capacidad antioxidante, inmunomoduladora, antialérgica, antitumoral o antiinflamatoria, que se describen en este trabajo, que les convierte en un alimento funcional muy interesante. El presente trabajo experimental trata sobre el “Sarcodon imbricatus”, una seta comestible poco conocida y que es ampliamente consumida en centro y norte Europa, pero poco consumida en España. Existen muy pocos estudios sobre “S. imbricatus”. En el presente estudio se aborda el análisis del perfil proteínico y la digestibilidad gástrica e intestinal de sus proteínas mediante electroforesis en el de poliacrilamida (PAGE) en presencia de dodecilsulfato sódico (SDS). Se ha encontrado que, aunque la mayor parte de proteínas se degradan por un fluido gástrico simulado, hay algunas que aparentemente no sufren degradación por una digestión secuencial primero fluido gástrico simulado y después pancreatina. El resultado parece depender del procedimiento de obtención del crudo de proteínas. El cocinado por salteado suave provoca una profunda degradación de las proteínas.Grado en Nutrición Humana y Dietétic

Algunos aspectos ecológicos de fases de vida libre de Haemaphysalis juxtakochi Cooley, 1946 (Acari: Ixodidae) en Panamá

Objective. To describe the seasonal variation and perform a comparative analysis on habitat preference of Haemaphysalis juxtakochi in Panama. Materials and methods. Ticks were collected from the vegetation, using a white cloth, between January 2009 and March 2010, in four site located in Summit Municipal Park (SMP), two in wooded area (WA) and two in grasslands (GR).The ticks were determined as larvae, nymphs and adults of H. juxtakochi. The number of ticks collected in each area was employed to describe the seasonal distribution of both immature and adult stages, and the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test. Results. A total of 2.338 ticks in WA and 560 ticks in GR were collected. The major peak of adults from May to July, nymphs peaked from January to April and the peak of larvae abundance from December and January. There was a significant difference in the numberof ticks collected in the two areas for each tick stage (larvae, mean number (MN) in WA 120.14, MN in GR 57.07, P: 0.02; nymphs, MN in WA 46.42, MN in GR 16.38, P: 0.018; adults, MN in WA 6.64, MN in GR 1.78, P: 0.02). Conclusions. The results suggest that H. juxtakochi maintains a one-year cycle in the study areas. This cycle would be characterized by the immature population peaks in the dry season; while adults are distributed throughout year, with a peak in the transition from the rainy and dry. Moreover, H. juxtakochi was more abundant in forests than in grasslands, which could lead to a better adaptation to forested conditions.Objetivo. Describir la variación estacional y realizar un análisis comparativo de la preferencia de hábitat de H. juxtakochi en Panamá. Materiales y métodos. Se recolectaron mensualmente garrapatas de la vegetación utilizando una tela blanca, entre enero de 2009 y marzo de 2010 en cuatro sitios establecidos en el Parque Municipal Summit (PMS), dos en área de pastizales (AP) y dos en área boscosa (AB). Las garrapatas fueron identificadas como larva, ninfa y adulto de H. juxtakochi. El número de garrapatas recolectadas en cada área fue empleado para describir la distribución estacional de ambos estadios inmaduros y adultos, y se compararon con la prueba no paramétrica Mann-Whitney U. Resultados. Se recolectó un total de 2.338 garrapatas en AP y 560 garrapatas en AB. El mayor pico de garrapatas adultas fue de mayo hasta julio, los picos de ninfas fueron de enero hasta abril y los picos de abundancia de larvas desde diciembre hasta enero. Hubo diferencias significativas en el número de garrapatas recolectadas en las dos áreas para cada estadio (número promedio de larvas en AB 120.14, en AP 57.07, P: 0.02; número promedio de ninfas en AB 46.42, en AP 16.38, P:0.018; número promedio de adultos en AB 6.64, en AP 1.78, P: 0.02). Conclusiones. Los resultados sugieren que H. juxtakochi mantiene un ciclo de un año en las áreas de estudio. Este ciclo estaría caracterizado por picos poblacionales de ejemplares inmaduros en la época seca; mientras que los adultos se distribuyen a lo largo de todo año, con un pico en la transición entre la época lluviosa yseca. Por otra parte, H. juxtakochi fue más abundante en bosques que en pastizales, lo cual podría suponer mejores adaptaciones a condiciones boscosas.Fil: García, Gleydis. Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de Salud; PanamáFil: Castro, Angélica. Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de Salud; PanamáFil: Bermúdez, Sergio. Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de Salud; PanamáFil: Nava, Santiago. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Comparison of a Lightweight Experimental Shaker and an Orchard Tractor Mounted Trunk Shaker for Fresh Market Citrus Harvesting

[EN] A designed lightweight experimental shaker successfully used to collect ornamental oranges has been tested to harvest fresh market citrus. The aim of this study was to evaluate the removal efficiency and operational times of this experimental device compared to an orchard trunk shaker. Three different collecting systems were studied. 'Caracara' citrus trees were tested. Removal efficiency, vibration parameters, fruit and tree damages, and fruit quality were measured. A high-speed camera was used to record operational times and determine cumulative removal percentage over vibration time. The canvases on the ground reduced the severe fruit damages but were not useful to protect against light damages. The experimental shaker produced a higher percentage of slightly damaged oranges. No significant differences in removal efficiency were found between the two harvesting systems. However, removal efficiency using the experimental device could be reduced by 40 percent and working time increase by more than 50 percent when access to the main branches was difficult. In agreement with previous results, the curve representing the branch cumulative removal percentage in time followed a sigmoidal pattern. A model was built showing that during the first 5 s more than 50 percent of the fruits were detachedThis research has been fund by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and cofounded by the Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentacion (project GO "Avances tecnologicos para la modernizacion y la sostenibilidad en la produccion de citricos CITRUSTECH").Ortiz Sánchez, MC.; Torregrosa, A.; Castro-García, S. (2021). Comparison of a Lightweight Experimental Shaker and an Orchard Tractor Mounted Trunk Shaker for Fresh Market Citrus Harvesting. Agriculture. 11(11):1-10. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11111092110111

Vibration analysis of the fruit detachment process in late-season ‘Valencia’ orange with canopy shaker technology

The mechanical harvesting of juice oranges can be achieved by the application of forced vibration to the tree canopy to detach fruit. Among the available harvesting technologies, canopy shaker systems have the advantage of working continuously, with rods that penetrate the tree canopy generating low-frequency, high-amplitude movement. The objective of this work is to analyse the fruit detachment process in order to improve the design and management of canopy shaker systems, reducing the risk of damage to fruit during the mechanical harvesting process. Three different canopy shaker systems were used to remove oranges in a well-adapted intensive orchard during the harvesting period. The fruit detachment process was recorded with a triaxial accelerometer sensor with a datalogger inserted into each tested fruit. Fruit movement displayed a similar frequency value as harvester rods (4.1-4.9 Hz), while the resultant acceleration depended on the interaction of the tree-machine system (38.8-60.4 m s-2). The fruit detachment event occurrence required a vibration time ranging between 1.45-5.75 s, which can limit the machine’s maximum speed. After the detachment event, fruit presented a short mean time (0.28 s) with no interaction with other fruit, branch or machine. The interaction of fruit during the harvesting process was more important, in terms of maximum acceleration, after the detachment event (527.6 m s-2) than before (401.0 m s-2). The use of a catch frame to collect fruit and of padding material in the machinery are fundamental measures to reduce the damage caused to fruit with canopy shaker technologie

HySEA model verification for Tohoku 2011 Tsunami. Application for mitigation tsunami assessment

In many aspects Tohoku-Oki 2011 mega tsunami has changed our perception of tsunami risk. The tsunami-HySEA model is used to numerically simulate this event and observed data will we used to verify the model results. Three nested meshes of enhanced resolution (4 arc-min, 32 arc-sec and 2 arc-sec) will be used by the numerical model. The propagation mesh covers all Pacific Ocean with more of 7 million cells. An intermediate mesh with 5 millions cells contains the Japanese archipelago and, finally, two finer meshes, with nearly 8 and 6 millions cells, cover Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures at Tohoku region, the most devastated areas hit by the tsunami. The presentation will focus on the impact of the tsunami wave in these two areas and comparisons with observed data will be performed. DART buoys time series, inundation area and observed runup is used to assess model performance. The arrival time of the leading flooding wave at the vicinity of the Senday airport, as recorded by video cameras, is also used as verification data for the model. After this tsunami, control forests as well as breakwaters has been discussed as suitable mitigation infrastructures. As particular case, we will analyse the evolution of the tsunami in the area around the Sendai airport (Miyagi Prefecture) and its impact on the airport. A second simulation has been performed, assuming the existence of a coastal barrier protecting the area. The role of this barrier in modifying tsunami wave evolution and mitigating flooding effects on the airport area are discussed. The protection effect of the breakwaters near Kamaishi (Iwate Prefecture) is also assessed. The numerical model shows how these structures, although did not provide a full protection to tsunami waves, they helped to largely mitigate its effects in the area.Acknowledgements. This research has been partially supported by the Junta de Andalucía research project TESELA (P11-RNM7069), the Spanish Government Research project DAIFLUID (MTM2012-38383-C02-01) and Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. The multi-GPU computations were performed at the Laboratory of Numerical Methods (University of Malaga)

Physical animations using reinforcement learning

Trabajo de Fin de Grado en Desarrollo de Videojuegos, Facultad de Informática UCM, Departamento de Ingeniería del Software e Inteligencia Artificial, Curso 2020/2021, tanto el código fuente como todos los recursos que se han utilizado pueden encontrarse en el siguiente repositorio github.com/sergioabreu-g/physical-animations bajo la licencia de uso Apache 2.0.En la mayoría de videojuegos, las animaciones de los personajes están predefinidas, los artistas las crean durante el proceso de producción y así se quedan, cómo una serie de movimientos inmutables que se realizan al margen de la física del mundo en el que se encuentran. Las animaciones basadas en físicas vienen a solucionar este problema. Son igualmente creadas por artistas, pero dentro del juego las ejecutan personajes cuyos cuerpos están simulados mediante físicas realistas. Es decir, se simula cada parte del cuerpo cómo un objeto físico diferente, y se conectan entre ellas mediante articulaciones capaces de aplicar fuerzas, imitando el comportamiento de un cuerpo real. Aplicando las fuerzas adecuadas se puede hacer que estos personajes ejecuten las animaciones previamente creadas por los artistas. Esto consigue personajes que, no sólo pueden ver sus animaciones modificadas de manera natural ante perturbaciones externas, sino que también pueden interactuar con su entorno de forma realista. El movimiento natural que se consigue con esta técnica produce en el jugador una sensación de realismo e inmersión que sería imposible con animaciones tradicionales. Sin embargo, simular un personaje de esta forma presenta dos grandes problemas: el equilibrio y la estabilidad. Si simplemente se reprodujesen estas animaciones tal cual fueron creadas, el personaje no se mantendría de pie y perdería su trayectoria ante la más mínima perturbación. Esto se puede solucionar aplicando fuerzas artificiales que aseguren una postura concreta, pero así se pierde gran parte del realismo propio de esta técnica de animación. Una solución mejor es utilizar aprendizaje automático para que el personaje aprenda a estabilizarse aplicando fuerzas en sus articulaciones, intentando que al hacerlo su postura se parezca lo máximo posible a la de la animación. Esto es aún una frontera del desarrollo de videojuegos. En este trabajo exploramos el uso de aprendizaje por refuerzo para resolver la tarea del equilibrio en animaciones físicas. Para ello utilizamos Unity, uno de los motores de videojuegos más extendidos en la industria, con lo cual buscamos también comprobar cómo de accesibles son estas técnicas a día de hoy para los estudios de desarrollo.In most videogames, character animations are predefined, artists make them during the production process and so they stay, as an immutable series of movements that are played apart from the physics of the world they’re in. Physics-based animations try to solve that problem. They’re made by artists alike, but inside the game they’re played by characters whose bodies are being simulated with realistic physics. Namely, each part of the body is simulated as a different physical object, and then they’re connected by joints that can apply forces, mimicking the behavior of a real body. Applying the right forces one can make those characters play the animations previously made by the artists. And so you can achieve characters that not only can their animations be modified by external perturbations, but they can also interact with their environment in a more realistic manner. The movement attained with this technique provokes a sensation of realism and immersion in the player that would be impossible with traditional animation techniques. Nevertheless, physically simulating a character this way presents two big problems: balance and stability. If animations were just played as they were made, the character wouldn’t be able to stand or it would lose its trajectory when facing even the smallest perturbation. This can be fixed by applying artificial forces that ensure a specific pose, but at the cost of losing much of this technique’s realism. A better solution is to use machine learning so the character can learn to balance applying forces at its joints, trying to reach a pose as close as possible to the animation. This is still a frontier in game development. In this project, we explore the use of reinforcement learning to solve the task of balance in physics-based animations. For that we use Unity, one of the most renowned videogame engines, with which we also aim to test the accessibility of these techniques to game studios as of today.Depto. de Ingeniería de Software e Inteligencia Artificial (ISIA)Fac. de InformáticaTRUEunpu

Situaciones aditivas: análisis didáctico y propuesta de enseñanza de los algoritmos para primero de primaria.

trabajo de didáctica de matemáticas análisis didáctico

Palaeogeographic significance of rugose corals: El Guadiato Area (Southwestern Spain) as a case study

Carboniferous rugose corals are useful for palaeoecological, palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographic studies. However, most analyses are qualitative and/or comprise corals from long stratigraphical intervals, and detailed palaeogeographic studies in the Carboniferous from western Palaeotethys are scarce. This report presents a quantitative analysis of the late Visean coral assemblages from the El Guadiato Area (Southwestern Spain), which has been thoroughly studied during the last 30 years. This case study aims to check the utility of rugose corals in detailed palaeogeographic studies, reconstructing tectonic movements in the suture zone between the Ossa Morena and Centroiberian domains in the Iberian Massif. Sixty-one rugose coral species from the El Guadiato Area were included in the analyses. Moreover, two other late Visean rugose coral faunas have been added as an external reference: Los Santos de Maimona (Southwestern Spain) and Kingscourt (Ireland). The presence/absence datasets have been treated with paired group (UPGMA) Hierarchical Clustering and a Detrended Correspondence Analysis. The results of this study support previous observations about the palaeogeography of the El Guadiato Area, backing the hypothesis that the strike slip faults of the area produced large lateral displacements. The results of analyses conducted at this level of detail appear to be conditioned by palaeoenvironmental differences, but the results of the comparison with Los Santos de Maimona and with Kingscourt’s faunas look promising for future larger comparisons between different basins