Flash heat and flash cold phenomena in the Iberian Peninsula since 1900

Rapid and sudden changes in air temperature can be classified as extreme events, having a risk for human activities, human health and ecosystems. Flash heat and flash cold events are investigated in the Iberian Peninsula during since 1900. Flash heat events (Mazon et al., 2014; http://glossary.ametsoc.org/wiki/Flash_heat) is described as a discrete period of abnormal warming, nominally lasting more than an hour but less than a day (between heat burst and heat wave phenomena), occurring on the meso-beta scale. In a similar way, flash cold has been defined as a rapid drop of the air temperature lasting more than an hour but less than a day. We investigate the tendency since 1900 of these type of flash events in the Iberian Peninsula from homogeneous series of daily maximum and minimum temperature. The trend and the distribution of the intensity of these events are shown. Additionally, we show the convenience to analyze these type of flash events for a better understanding of the atmospheric dynamicsPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Enhanced Power Factor of PANI/GNP nanocomposites

Comunicación presentada en la 11th European Conference on Thermoelectrics (ECT2013), celebrada en Noordwijk (Holanda) del 18 al 20 de noviembre de 2013.Nowadays, the inorganic compounds (like Bi2Te3) are the best thermoelectric materials due to their suitable thermoelectric properties for room temperature applications. Nevertheless, organic materials, like conjugated polymers, are becoming more important recently due to their increasing Figure of Merit (0.25‐0.42). Polymers generally have low thermal conductivity (©§≈0.1‐0.5W/m∙K), flexibility, environmental stability, easily doping and de‐doping, non‐toxicity, potential processing advantages (e.g. printing) and straightforward preparation in comparison with inorganic semiconductors. The increase in the Power Factor of this materials, which is given by S2¥ò, is being achieved by two mechanisms: doping the polymers or blending them with different kinds of filling materials, such as carbon nanotubes, graphene nanosheets (GN) or graphene nanoplatelets.Peer Reviewe

High Pressure Sputtering of materials for selective contacts in emerging photovoltaic cells

In this work we have explored the growth by high pressure sputtering (HPS) of materials intended for novel selective contacts for photovoltaic cells. This technique shows promise for the low-damage low-temperature deposition of PV materials. We studied the deposition of ITO, MoOx and TiOx using pure Ar and mixed Ar/O2 atmospheres as well as ceramic or metallic targets. We show that HPS deposition of these materials is feasible. The growth rate is greatly reduced when oxygen is added to the argon sputtering atmosphere. The best sputtering RF power was 20-45 W for the pressure range studied. Finally, as-deposited films present high surface recombination, but a mild hot plate anneal at 200ºC recovers long effective lifetimes

Evaluación del programa de simulación NetLogo como herramienta motivadora y eficaz para trabajar destrezas científicas

Formar estudiantes competentes en el uso de las tecnologías de la información y comunicación (TIC) es actualmente un desafío para la enseñanza. Estas tecnologías pueden ser una herramienta didáctica potente y motivadora. Los programas de simulación están dentro de estas tecnologías y se enmarcan dentro de la modelización, la cual es una herramienta ampliamente utilizada en ciencia. Uno de estos programas es NetLogo, el cual permite implementar modelos basados en individuos. Estos modelos tienen la particularidad de cada individuo representado en el modelo posee unas características que lo hacen único. Se propuso una actividad a estudiantes de Biología de 4º de E.S.O en la que debían utilizar NetLogo para comprobar el alcance a nivel motivacional de este programa y su efectividad para facilitar la adquisición de destrezas científicas, más concretamente, la identificación y control de variables y la interpretación de datos presentados gráficamente. La motivación de los estudiantes se evaluó mediante un cuestionario de opinión que contestaron tras la actividad. La mejora en el desempeño de las destrezas científicas se midió comparando las calificaciones de un test previo a la actividad y otro posterior a esta. Por otro lado, se pidió la opinión sobre la actividad propuesta a los profesores de ciencias del centro donde se llevó a cabo la investigación. Los resultados no mostraron evidencias de una mejora estadísticamente significativa en el desempeño de las destrezas científicas. No obstante, la utilización de un programa de simulación y el alto nivel de indagación de la actividad fueron señalados como motivadores por los estudiantes. Los profesores evaluaron la actividad positivamente, señalando su potencial para trabajar contenidos procedimentales. Sin embargo, el tiempo requerido para preparar la actividad fue percibido como un inconveniente importante

Flash heat and flash cold phenomena in the Iberian Peninsula since 1900

Rapid and sudden changes in air temperature can be classified as extreme events, having a risk for human activities, human health and ecosystems. Flash heat and flash cold events are investigated in the Iberian Peninsula during since 1900. Flash heat events (Mazon et al., 2014; http://glossary.ametsoc.org/wiki/Flash_heat) is described as a discrete period of abnormal warming, nominally lasting more than an hour but less than a day (between heat burst and heat wave phenomena), occurring on the meso-beta scale. In a similar way, flash cold has been defined as a rapid drop of the air temperature lasting more than an hour but less than a day. We investigate the tendency since 1900 of these type of flash events in the Iberian Peninsula from homogeneous series of daily maximum and minimum temperature. The trend and the distribution of the intensity of these events are shown. Additionally, we show the convenience to analyze these type of flash events for a better understanding of the atmospheric dynamicsPeer Reviewe

Approche bond graphs pour la synthèse d'observateurs

LILLE1-BU (590092102) / SudocVILLENEUVE D'ASCQ-ECLI (590092307) / SudocSudocFranceF

Flash heat and flash cold phenomena in the Iberian Peninsula since 1900

Rapid and sudden changes in air temperature can be classified as extreme events, having a risk for human activities, human health and ecosystems. Flash heat and flash cold events are investigated in the Iberian Peninsula during since 1900. Flash heat events (Mazon et al., 2014; http://glossary.ametsoc.org/wiki/Flash_heat) is described as a discrete period of abnormal warming, nominally lasting more than an hour but less than a day (between heat burst and heat wave phenomena), occurring on the meso-beta scale. In a similar way, flash cold has been defined as a rapid drop of the air temperature lasting more than an hour but less than a day. We investigate the tendency since 1900 of these type of flash events in the Iberian Peninsula from homogeneous series of daily maximum and minimum temperature. The trend and the distribution of the intensity of these events are shown. Additionally, we show the convenience to analyze these type of flash events for a better understanding of the atmospheric dynamicsPeer Reviewe

Improved power factor of polyaniline nanocomposites with exfoliated graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs)

In this work, exfoliated graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs)/polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposites have been prepared by sequential processing comprising: (i) a first aniline oxidative polymerization step under acidic conditions and (ii) mechanical blending with GNPs at different percentages. Thermoelectric pellets of the hybrid materials have been obtained at suitable circular geometry by means of cold pressing. Thermoelectric parameters have been determined at room temperature (electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient and thermal conductivity). Thermoelectric measurements show a drastic enhancement in both electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient with the addition of GNPs. A respectable maximum power factor value of 14 μW m-1 K-2 is reached for hybrid materials charged at 50 wt% GNP content, evidencing a 1000-fold enhancement with respect to the raw PANI polymer. The measured thermal conductivity is in the range of 0.5 W m-1 K-1 for pure PANI to 3.3 W m-1 K-1 for 50 wt% GNP content, which matches the parallel thermal resistor model for this nanocomposite. © 2013 The Royal Society of Chemistry.This work has been supported by the ERC Starting Grant Nano-TEC number 240497, Consolider NANO-THERM, and the bilateral Spanish–Japanese NANOTHERMA projects are also acknowledged. I.A. acknowledges the Young Researcher award 2011 from the Spanish Ministry of Education for participation in this research at CSIC.Peer Reviewe

Preclinical animal models for temporomandibular joint tissue engineering

Copyright © 2018, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.There is a paucity of in vivo studies that investigate the safety and efficacy of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) tissue regeneration approaches, in part due to the lack of established animal models. Review of disease models for study of TMJ is presented herein with an attempt to identify relevant preclinical animal models for TMJ tissue engineering, with emphasis on the disc and condyle. Although degenerative joint disease models have been mainly performed on mice, rats, and rabbits, preclinical regeneration approaches must employ larger animal species. There remains controversy regarding the preferred choice of larger animal models between the farm pig, minipig, goat, sheep, and dog. The advantages of the pig and minipig include their well characterized anatomy, physiology, and tissue properties. The advantages of the sheep and goat are their easier surgical access, low cost per animal, and its high tissue availability. The advantage of the dog is that the joint space is confined, so migration of interpositional devices should be less likely. However, each species has limitations as well. For example, the farm pig has continuous growth until about 18 months of age, and difficult surgical access due to the zygomatic arch covering the lateral aspect of joint. The minipig is not widely available and somewhat costly. The sheep and the goat are herbivores, and their TMJs mainly function in translation. The dog is a carnivore, and the TMJ is a hinge joint that can only rotate. Although no species provides the gold standard for all preclinical TMJ tissue engineering approaches, the goat and sheep have emerged as the leading options, with the minipig as the choice when cost is less of a limitation; and with the dog and farm pig serving as acceptable alternatives. Finally, naturally occurring TMJ disorders in domestic species may be harnessed on a preclinical trial basis as a clinically relevant platform for translation.We gratefully acknowledge support from the NationalInstitutes of Health (National Institute of Dental and Cra-niofacial Research) with grant R01 DE022055.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Gene Editing for the Efficient Correction of a Recurrent COL7A1 Mutation in Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Keratinocytes

Clonal gene therapy protocols based on the precise manipulation of epidermal stem cells require highly efficient gene-editing molecular tools. We have combined adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated delivery of donor template DNA with transcription activator-like nucleases (TALE) expressed by adenoviral vectors to address the correction of the c.6527insC mutation in the COL7A1 gene, causing recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa in a high percentage of Spanish patients. After transduction with these viral vectors, high frequencies of homology-directed repair were found in clones of keratinocytes derived from a recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) patient homozygous for the c.6527insC mutation. Gene-edited clones recovered the expression of the COL7A1 transcript and collagen VII protein at physiological levels. In addition, treatment of patient keratinocytes with TALE nucleases in the absence of a donor template DNA resulted in nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ)-mediated indel generation in the vicinity of the c.6527insC mutation site in a large proportion of keratinocyte clones. A subset of these indels restored the reading frame of COL7A1 and resulted in abundant, supraphysiological expression levels of mutant or truncated collagen VII protein. Keratinocyte clones corrected both by homology-directed repair (HDR) or NHEJ were used to regenerate skin displaying collagen VII in the dermo-epidermal junction