Study of the diffusion of human’s volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in avalanche snow: a potential chemical tool to improve training of avalanche dogs

Recent years have seen a rapid improvement in the techniques for the localization of people buried in avalanches through the use of radio transmitters (transceivers). However, when the avalanche victims are not equipped with transmitter equipment, the use of rescue dogs remains the most effective method for locating them. Although the level of training of rescue dogs is generally good, there remains a considerable margin of improvement. Such an improvement could be achieved through innovative training methods based on the analysis of the dogs performance in a multi-disciplinary context. Among the problems that make this kind of study difficult, there is our lack of knowledge of the chemical and physical variables that govern the diffusion of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds rising from the buried body to the snow surface. Moreover, we still lack a study of a dog’s olfactory ability to discriminate among the different classes of molecules emitted by the human body (sweat, breath, clothes, etc.) and how these molecules reach the surface after moving through the snow mass. One of the ultimate goals of this study is to select specific olfactory targets that can be used for training avalanche dogs

MIGUEL MATEO DALLO Y LANA, MEXICAN BAROQUE COMPOSER: A FORGOTTEN TREASURE OF PUEBLA

Title from PDF of the title page, viewed on March 9, 2015Dissertation advisor: Robert BodeVitaDissertation (D.M.A)--Conservatory of Music and Dance. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2011Includes bibliographical references (pages 158-159)As research into the Mexican Baroque continues to expand, forgotten composers and their works are garnering deserved attention. Miguel Mateo Dallo y Lana (c. 1650-1705), who served as maestro de capilla [chapel master] at the Puebla Cathedral from 1686 to 1705, belongs to the tradition of polychoral composition inherited from musicians of the Spanish Renaissance. His liturgical settings, specifically Domine ad adjubandum me festina/Dixit Dominus and Beatus Vir, contain traits indicative of the Baroque period as well. These works reveal the Dallo y Lana's compositional techniques, which include homophonic declamation of text intermingled with polyphonic episodic material, layered above basso continuo. He worked in a time just before Mexican composers fully embraced Italian models, placing him at the end of the mostly autonomous Mexican tradition.Abstract -- Acknowledgments - Introduction -- Life of Miguel Matel Dallo y Lana -- Dallo y Lana and his contemporaries -- Dallo y Lana and his compositional techniques -- Conclusion -- Appendix: Performance edition of Domine ad adjubandum me festina/dixit dominus -- Performance edition of Beatus vir -- Performance edition of Beatus vir (transposed down) -- Bibliograph

Relation between Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor and Interleukin-6 in a human breast cell model and in the Cyp1a1/1a2/1b1(-/-) triple-knockout mouse model

This study investigates the relationship between Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AHR) and the pathway of Interleukin-6 (IL6). The physiologic expression of AHR and IL6 is tightly regulated by different mechanisms and dysregulations in the control of their activity have been associated with several adverse outcomes. Here, we analysed their mutual regulation in two different experimental models, a human epithelial breast cell model with an IL6-driven acute inflammation induction and a mouse model triple-knockout for the AHR target genes Cyp1a1/1a2/1b1 (CYP1-KO). Starting from current data demonstrating that AHR mediates the induction of IL6, the aim of this study was: 1) to evaluate if, in our cell model, inflammation driven by IL6 could, in turn, regulate the expression of AHR, and to evaluate whether AHR could assume a role in sustaining inflammation; 2) to investigate whether the CYP1-KO mouse model, which is characterized by a potentiated activation of AHR, presented an induced expression of Il6 or other inflammation-related features, or adverse effects in pathways in which AHR exerts physiological functions. Our results indicate that: i) IL6 administration stimulates STAT3 and AHR expression through the activation of pSTAT3; ii) The induction of endogenous IL6 is regulated by IL6 administration and by AHR activation; iii) IL6 affects cell cycle progression and migration activity; iv) AHR/CYP1 disrupted signaling does not interfere with Il6 expression, but affects Pparγ and Ahr transcription and mammary gland tissue morphology. These results demonstrate that, in MCF10A cell line, AHR could assume an active role in the complex puzzle of early steps of inflammation. In the CYP1-KO we did not identify an altered expression of Il6 indicating that an altered CYP1/AHR signaling does not interfere with IL6-related pathway. However, in contrast, we could observe an altered expression of Pparγ, an important marker in adipogenesis

Improvement of floor tile feet

Innovation, design, implementation of new technologies and awareness for the environment and society, is the basis of this project, which aims to provide an alternative to an existing product, giving it added value, generating energy cleanly and storing for reuse. The development of this project has been continuously linked to the need of using piezoelectric transducers to produce energy harvesting from the footsteps. This project started from an existing support, so we had to make a preliminary study of the needs required. And a comprehensive study of new technologies already existing, materials to use, as well as design and production according to the needs of the company. During development of the project, have been designed four types of supports with subsequent analysis to see which one best to satisfy our purpose. In this way solutions have been addressed to achieve the best outcome, whether by design, by the choice of elements and their colocation or the set of all.Ingeniería Técnica IndustrialIndustria Ingeniaritza Tekniko

Racial/ethnic inequities in the associations of allostatic load with all-cause and cardiovascular-specific mortality risk in U.S. adults

Non-Hispanic blacks have higher mortality rates than non-Hispanic whites whereas Hispanics have similar or lower mortality rates than non-Hispanic blacks and whites despite Hispanics' lower education and access to health insurance coverage. This study examines whether allostatic load, a proxy for cumulative biological risk, is associated with all-cause and cardiovascular (CVD)-specific mortality risks in US adults; and whether these associations vary with race/ethnicity and further with age, sex and education across racial/ethnic groups. Data from the third National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES III, 1988-1994) and the 2015 Linked Mortality File were used for adults 25 years or older (n = 13,673 with 6,026 deaths). Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate the associations of allostatic load scores (2 and >= 3 relative to <= 1) with a) all-cause and b) CVD-specific mortality risk among NHANES III participants before and after controlling for selected characteristics. Allostatic load scores are associated with higher all-cause and CVD-specific mortality rates among U.S. adults aged 25 years or older, with stronger rates observed for CVD-specific mortality. All-cause mortality rates for each racial/ethnic group differed with age and education whereas for CVD-specific mortality rates, this difference was observed for sex. Our findings of high allostatic load scores associated with all-cause and CVD-specific mortality among US adults call attention to monitor conditions associated with the allostatic load's biomarkers to identify high-risk groups to help monitor social inequities in mortality risk, especially premature mortality

Estudio sobre el vocoder homomórfico

El objetivo de este proyecto es el análisis de dos tipos de vocoder para su uso en codificación-decodificación con el objeto de buscar una representación de la señal de voz que permita comprimirla al máximo manteniendo una calidad aceptable. Se busca el mínimo número de bits para una calidad máxima, de esta forma se ahorra ancho de banda en transmisión y espacio de almacenamiento.Ingeniería Técnica de Telecomunicación, especialidad Sonido e ImagenTelekomunikazio Ingeniaritza Teknikoa. Soinua eta Irudia Berezitasun