DC Charging Station for Electric and Plug-in Vehicles

AbstractThis paper is focused on the evaluation of theoretical and experimental aspects related to the different operation modes of a laboratory power architecture, which realizes a micro grid for the charging of road electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. The analyzed power configuration is based on a DC bus architecture, which presents the main advantage of an easy integration of renewable energy sources and buffered storage systems. A first phase of simulations is aimed to evaluate the main energy fluxes within the studied architecture and to identify the energy management strategies, which optimize simultaneously the power requirements from the main grid and charging times of different electric vehicles. A second phase is based on the experimental characterization of the analyzed power architecture, implementing the control strategies evaluated in the simulation environment, through a laboratory acquisition and control system. Then the experimental results coming from the laboratory prototype are compared with the simulation results, in order to achieve a better parameter setting of the simulation model for the analyzed structure. This preliminary analysis makes possible other simulations to be carried out on more complex architecture of micro-grids, taking into account the integration of renewable energy sources and high power buffer storage systems. Particular attention is also given to the analysis of ultra-fast charging operations and the related performance in terms of total efficiency, charging times, total power factor and power requirements from the main grid. This study represents a further step toward the new concept of smart grid scenario for electric vehicles

The Elasticity of Substitution in Demand for Non-Tradable Goods in Latin America: The Case of Argentina

The objective of this paper is to estimate the elasticity of substitution in the demand for non-tradable goods relative to tradable goods in Argentina. This parameter plays a crucial role in the analysis of the macroeconomic equilibrium of a small open economy (Mendoza, Galindo and Izquierdo, 2003). Using two data sets, estimates of approximately 0. 40 and 0. 48, respectively, are found for this elasticity.

Impacto de la intervención enfermera en la calidad de vida del cuidador del paciente con enfermedad de Alzheimer Revisión integradora

Treball Final de Grau en Infermeria. Codi: IN1138. Curs: 2021/2022Introducción: La enfermedad de Alzheimer (EA) es un trastorno caracterizado por un deterioro cognitivo que afecta a la memoria, el pensamiento y el comportamiento, causando una dependencia y unas necesidades elevadas en las actividades básicas de la vida diaria. Los cuidadores de estos pacientes sufren sobrecarga y su calidad de vida se ve afectada a causa de la atención que requieren. Objetivo: Conocer y exponer las estrategias e intervenciones que mejoran la calidad de vida de los cuidadores de los pacientes con EA. Métodos: Se realizó una revisión integradora de la literatura acerca de las intervenciones enfermeras sobre la calidad de vida de los cuidadores de pacientes con EA. Esta se realizó en bases de datos mediante los descriptores de ciencias de la salud y los medical subject headings. Se tuvieron en cuenta unos criterios de inclusión y exclusión y se realizó una evaluación de la calidad metodológica de los estudios seleccionados. Resultados: Se escogieron para la revisión 9 estudios científicos. En estos, se observaron la cantidad de intervenciones que enfermería podía aportar a la mejora de la calidad de vida de los cuidadores. Entre estas intervenciones se encuentran: educación para la salud, apoyo físico y psicológico, disponibilidad de recursos sociosanitarios o intervenciones como las multicomponentes o psicoterapéuticas. Conclusión: Enfermería tiene un importante papel en el cuidado de este tipo de personas. A pesar de la falta de investigación, muchas intervenciones dan resultados beneficiosos y que aumentan la calidad de vida de los cuidadores.Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a disorder characterised by cognitive impairment affecting memory, thinking and behaviour, causing dependency and high needs in basic activities of daily living. Carers of these patients are overburdened and their quality of life is affected by the care they require. Objective: To know and present the strategies and interventions that improve the quality of life of caregivers of AD patients. Methods: An integrative review of the literature on nursing interventions on the quality of life of caregivers of patients with AD was carried out. This was carried out in databases using health science descriptors and medical subject headings. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were taken into account and the methodological quality of the selected studies was assessed. Results: Nine scientific studies were chosen for the review. In these, we observed the number of interventions that nursing could contribute to improving the quality of life of caregivers. These interventions included health education, physical and psychological support, availability of socio-health resources or interventions such as multicomponent or psychotherapeutic interventions. Conclusions: Nursing has an important role in the care of such people. Despite the lack of research, many interventions have beneficial and life-enhancing outcomes for carers

The SSSA-MyHand: a dexterous lightweight myoelectric hand prosthesis

The replacement of a missing hand by a prosthesis is one of the most fascinating challenges in rehabilitation engineering. State of art prostheses are curtailed by the physical features of the hand, like poor functionality and excessive weight. Here we present a new multi-grasp hand aimed at overcoming such limitations. The SSSA-MyHand builds around a novel transmission mechanism that implements a semi-independent actuation of the abduction/adduction of the thumb and of the flexion/extension of the index, by means of a single actuator. Thus, with only three electric motors the hand is capable to perform most of the grasps and gestures useful in activities of daily living, akin commercial prostheses with up to six actuators, albeit it is as lightweight as conventional 1-Degrees of Freedom prostheses. The hand integrates position and force sensors and an embedded controller that implements automatic grasps and allows inter-operability with different human-machine interfaces. We present the requirements, the design rationale of the first prototype and the evaluation of its performance. The weight (478 g), force (31 N maximum force at the thumb fingertip) and speed of the hand (closing time: <370 ms), make this new design an interesting alternative to clinically available multi-grasp prostheses

FGF-2 and anosmin-1 are selectively expressed in different types of multiple sclerosis lesions

Multiple sclerosis is a demyelinating disease that affects ~2,000,000 people worldwide. In the advanced stages of the disease, endogenous oligodendrocyte precursors cannot colonize the lesions or differentiate into myelinating oligodendrocytes. During development, both FGF-2 and Anosmin-1 participate in oligodendrocyte precursor cell migration, acting via the FGF receptor 1 (FGFR1). Hence, we performed a histopathological and molecular analysis of these developmental modulators in postmortem tissue blocks from multiple sclerosis patients. Accordingly, we demonstrate that the distribution of FGF-2 and Anosmin-1 varies between the different types of multiple sclerosis lesions: FGF-2 is expressed only within active lesions and in the periplaque of chronic lesions, whereas Anosmin-1 is upregulated within chronic lesions and is totally absent in active lesions. We show that the endogenous oligodendrocyte precursor cells recruited toward chronic-active lesions express FGFR1, possibly in response to the FGF-2 produced by microglial cells in the periplaque. Also in human tissue, FGF-2 is upregulated in perivascular astrocytes in regions of the normal-appearing gray matter, where the integrity of the blood-brain barrier is compromised. In culture, FGF-2 and Anosmin-1 influence adult mouse oligodendrocyte precursor cell migration in the same manner as at embryonic stages, providing an explanation for the histopathological observations: FGF-2 attracts/ enhances its migration, which is hindered by Anosmin-1. We propose that FGF-2 and Anosmin-1 are markers for the histopathological type and the level of inflammation of multiple sclerosis lesions, and that they may serve as novel pharmacogenetic targets to design future therapies that favor effective remyelination and protect the blood-brain barrier. © 2011 the authors.Peer Reviewe

Propuesta de estrategias mitigación de la huella de carbono de los procesos de la empresa Konecta BTO SL, sucursal en Perú, sede Lima cargo, durante el 2019

El presente trabajo de investigación se realizó en la empresa Konecta BTO SL Sucursal en Perú, dedicada a brindar el servicio outsourcing en la atención al cliente a través de llamadas diversos tipos de empresas en Perú y otros países. El objetivo fue proponer estrategias de mitigación de huella de carbono de los procesos de la organización. Para llevar a cabo el trabajo de investigación se tuvo como referencia las directrices del IPCC para inventarios de gases de efecto invernadero y la norma ISO 14064-1:2006. Se determinó que la sede Lima Cargo durante el 2019 tuvo una cuantificación total de emisiones 828.71 tCO2eq, que está compuesto por el alcance 1 de emisiones directas de GEI que contribuye el 9%, alcance 2 de emisiones indirectas de GEI por energía que aporta el 24%, alcance 3 otras emisiones indirectas de GEI que contribuye el 38% y otros gases que no son GEI (HCFC) que aportan el 28%. Se obtuvo un nivel de incertidumbre bajo para la cuantificación de la mayoría de fuentes de emisión, lo cual detalla que los resultados de la cuantificación son fiables. Finalmente, se propusieron 3 estrategias de mitigación para la huella de carbono: no programar vehículos que consuman gasolina y GLP para el transporte terrestre, cambiar los gases refrigerantes R-22 y R-410 A por el gas refrigerante R-32 en sistema de aire acondicionado, renovar todo el conjunto de CPU por un modelo que cuente alimentación energética de 65 watt cuentan una proyección de reducción de emisiones de 2.31%; 22.80%; 6.76% respectivamente.The present research work was carried out in the company Konecta BTO SL Branch in Peru, dedicated to provide outsourcing services in customer service through calls to various types of companies in Peru and other countries. The objective was to propose carbon footprint mitigation strategies for the organization's processes. The IPCC guidelines for greenhouse gas inventories and the ISO 14064-1:2006 standard were used as a reference for the research work. It was determined that the Lima Cargo headquarters during 2019 had a total quantification of emissions 828.71 tCO2eq, which is composed of scope 1 direct GHG emissions contributing 9%, scope 2 indirect GHG emissions from energy contributing 24%, scope 3 other indirect GHG emissions contributing 38% and other non-GHG gases (HCFC) contributing 28%. A low level of uncertainty was obtained for the quantification of most emission sources, which indicates that the quantification results are reliable. Finally, 3 mitigation strategies for the carbon footprint were proposed: not to program vehicles that consume gasoline and LPG for ground transportation, to change the refrigerant gases R-22 and R-410 A for the refrigerant gas R-32 in the air conditioning system, to renew the whole set of CPUs for a model that has an energy supply of 65 watts with a projected reduction of emissions of 2.31%; 22.80%; 6.76% respectively

Fluctuating ecological networks: A synthesis of maximum-entropy approaches for pattern detection and process inference

1. Ecological networks such as plant–pollinator systems and food webs vary in space and time. This variability includes fluctuations in global properties such as the total number and intensity of interactions in the network but also in the number and intensity of local (i.e. node level) species interactions. 2. Fluctuations of species' properties can significantly affect higher-order network features, for example, robustness and nestedness, and should therefore be taken into account in null models for pattern detection and hypothesis testing. 3. In ecological research, classical null models treat node-level properties as ‘hard’ constraints that cannot fluctuate. Here, we review and synthesize a set of maximum-entropy methods that allow for fluctuating (‘soft’) constraints, offering a new addition to the classical toolkit of the ecologist. We illustrate the methods with some practical examples, pointing to currently available open-source computer codes. We clarify how this approach can be used by experimental ecologists to detect non-random patterns with null models that not only rewire, but also redistribute interaction strengths by allowing fluctuations in the enforced constraints. 4. Explicit modelling of interspecific heterogeneity through local (i.e. species level) fluctuations of topological and quantitative constraints offers a statistically robust and expanded (e.g. including weighted links) set of tools to understand the assembly and resilience of ecological networks

Caracterización de carbón activado sintetizado a baja temperatura a partir de cáscara de cacao (Theobroma cacao) para la adsorción de amoxicilina

(Eng) The objective of the present investigation was to synthesize and characterize activated carbon obtained at low temperature from cocoa shell (Theobroma cacao), which was modified with zinc chloride (ZnCl2) for its use in the removal of amoxicillin. Biomass was characterized by elemental analysis and activated carbon by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and surface area analysis (BET) in order to determine the chemical composition, morphological and structural characteristics. In the molecular adsorption tests of amoxicillin, an aqueous solution with a concentration of 20ppm of the contaminant at pH 6 and 9 was used, to which 5g of the adsorbent material impregnated with zinc chloride was added at 1: 3 and 1: 4 ratios. . For the 1: 3 and 1: 4 activated carbons, surface areas of 287.5 m2 / g and 205.4 m2 / g were reached respectively, with average pore sizes of 3 to 4 nm. The percentage of removal of amoxicillin was influenced by the pH of the solution to be treated, reaching the highest percentages at acidic pH, the removal values ​​reached for activated carbon 1: 3 were 75.4% and 67.2%, while for activated carbon 1: 4 they were 65.2% and 56.7% for solutions pH 6 and 9, respectively. It is concluded that the activated carbon obtained at low temperature is a good material to remove amoxicillin in solution.(Spa) El objetivo de la presente investigación fue sintetizar y caracterizar carbón activado obtenido a baja temperatura a partir de la cascara de cacao (Theobroma cacao), la cual se modificó con cloruro de zinc (ZnCl2) para su uso en la remoción de amoxi­cilina. La biomasa fue caracterizada mediante análisis elemental y el carbón activado mediante microscopia electrónica de barrido (SEM), difracción de rayos X (DRX) y análisis de área superficial (BET) con el fin de determinar la composición química, las características morfológicas y estructurales. En los ensayos de adsorción molecular de amoxicilina se utilizó una solución acuosa con una concentración de 20ppm del contaminante a pH 6 y 9, a la cual se le agregó 5g del material adsor­bente impregnado con Cloruro de zinc a relaciones 1:3 y 1:4. Para los carbones activados 1:3 y 1:4 se alcanzaron áreas super­ficiales de 287,5 m2/g y 205,4 m2/g respectivamente, con tamaños de poro promedio de 3 a 4 nm. El porcentaje de remoción de amoxicilina se vio influenciado por el pH de la solución a tratar, alcanzándose los mayores porcentajes a pH ácidos, los valores de remoción alcanzado para el carbón activado 1:3 fueron de 75,4% y 67,2%, mientras que para el carbón activado 1:4 fueron 65,2% y 56,7% para las soluciones pH 6 y 9, respectivamente. Se concluye que el carbón activado obtenido a baja temperatura es un buen material para remover amoxicilina en solución