Resolución numérica de flujos laminares con estructura tridimensional axialsimétrica. Análisis de diferentes situaciones

En el presente trabajo se implementa un algoritmo numérico basado en técnicas de diferencias finitas del tipo SIMPLE (Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure Linked Equations) para la resolución de las ecuaciones de conservación de la masa, de la cantidad de movimiento y de la energía, formuladas en coordenadas cilíndricas y para situaciones tridimensionales axialsimétricas, pudiéndose considerar regímenes permanentes y transitorios. El estudio se centra en el análisis de flujos laminares de fluidos newtonianos. En la formulación de las ecuaciones de cantidad de movimiento se han considerado, asumiendo la hipótesis de Boussinesq, los términos de fuerzas másicas; ello permite considerar casos de convección forzada, natural y naturallforzada. Para la validación del software se han resuelto situaciones con solución analítica conocida y casos para los que existen resultados experimentales y/o numéricos en la bibliografía. Se presentan diferentes resultados ilustrativos de las prestaciones de la simulación implementada y se hace referencia a posibles aplicaciones técnicas de la misma.Peer Reviewe

La aplicación del ISTOF para el estudio de la eficacia escolar y del docente

En España existen pocos estudios basados en la observación de la función docente con instrumentos para evaluar la eficacia escolar. Un grupo de escuelas con diferentes resultados en las pruebas de evaluación de diagnóstico de 2009 (cuarto curso de Educación Primaria), fueron seleccionadas en Mallorca, y los datos utilizados fueron: el rendimiento escolar de los alumnos (proporcionado por IAQSE), las características de las escuelas en la opinión de los maestros, los antecedentes de las escuelas y una serie de datos cualitativos obtenidos a partir de diversas visitas a las escuelas. Los observadores que recogieron los datos dentro de las escuelas recibieron capacitación de alta calidad. Se encontró un gran número de correlaciones, de moderadas a altas, entre las características de la enseñanza en las escuelas y los resultados directos de los alumnos y también con los resultados con “valor añadido” (resultados ajustados por factores del entorno). Hubo casos de fuertes asociaciones negativas entre la edad/experiencia de los profesores y sus comportamientos docentes, y entre el porcentaje de estudiantes de bajo nivel socio-económico y la calidad de la enseñanza de los profesores. Sin embargo, dado que las muestras son pequeñas, sólo un reducido número de esas relaciones son estadísticamente significativas. La discusión, por lo tanto, gira en torno a la importancia de los hallazgos de investigación educativa en Mallorca/España y al respecto de las políticas educativas.A Espanya existeixen pocs estudis basats en l’observació de la funció docent amb instruments per avaluar l’eficàcia escolar. Un grup d’escoles amb diferents resultats en les proves d’avaluació de diagnòstic de 2009 (quart curs d’Educació Primària), van ser seleccionades a Mallorca, i les dades utilitzades van ser: el rendiment escolar dels alumnes (proporcionat per l’IAQSE), les característiques de les escoles en l’opinió dels mestres, els antecedents de les escoles i una sèrie de dades qualitatives obtingudes a partir de diverses visites als centres. Els observadors que van recollir les dades a les escoles van rebre capacitació d’alta qualitat. Es va trobar un gran nombre de correlacions, de moderades a altes, entre les característiques de l’ensenyament a les escoles i els resultats directes dels alumnes i també amb els resultats amb “valor afegit” (resultats ajustats per factors de l’entorn). Va haver-hi casos de fortes associacions negatives entre l’edat/experiència dels professors i els seus comportaments docents, i entre el percentatge d’estudiants de baix nivell socioeconòmic i la qualitat de l’ensenyament dels professors. No obstant això, atès que les mostres són petites, només un reduït nombre d’aquestes relacions són estadísticament significatives. La discussió, per tant, gira entorn de la importància de la investigació educativa a Mallorca/Espanya i en relació amb les polítiques educatives.In Spain, there have been few studies based upon observation of teachers using systems that measure their effectiveness. A group of schools with different results upon tests of academic achievement (from students in the fourth year of primary education in 2009) were selected in Mallorca,and the data used (from IAQSE) was that on student academic achievement, teachers’ opinions of their schools, the social context of the schools and qualitative data obtained from informal school visits. We found a large number of correlations, moderate to high, between the characteristics of teaching in the classes of the schools and the “raw” results of students and also with the “value added” results of students, adjusting for background factors. There were strong negative associations between teacher’s age/experience and the quality of their teaching, and with the the quality of teaching and the proportion of pupils from low socio economic contexts. However, since the sample sizes were small, only a small number of relationships were statistically significant. Discussion concerns the importance of the findings for research in Mallorca/Spain and matters of educational policy

Prophylaxis of Macular Edema with Intravitreal Ranibizumab in Patients with Diabetic Retinopathy after Cataract Surgery: A Pilot Study

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of intravitreal ranibizumab (Lucentis, Genentech, South San Francisco, Calif, USA) combined with cataract surgery for the prevention of clinically significant macular edema (CSME) in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR). This prospective interventional case series included fifty-four eyes of 54 patients with a previous diagnosis of nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) without macular edema preoperatively. Subjects were assigned in a 1 : 1 ratio to receive an intraoperative intravitreal ranibizumab injection (n = 27) or not (control group, n = 27) associated with standardised phacoemulsification surgery. The main outcome measure was the incidence of CSME one and three months after surgery. One month after surgery the incidence of CSME in the control group was 25.92% and 3.70% in the treatment group and at three months was 22.22% and 3.70%, respectively. Short-term results suggest that intravitreal ranibizumab immediately after phacoemulsification prevents CS ME in patients with NPDR

Acute endothelial failure after cosmetic iris implants (NewIris®)

We report a case of an acute endothelial failure after the implantation of a new cosmetic, colored, artificial iris diaphragm implant called NewIris®. A 21-year-old woman came to us complaining of progressive loss of vision and pain after NewIris lenses had been implanted. Decreased visual acuity, corneal edema, and increased intraocular pressure in both eyes appeared only 3 weeks after the surgery. The lenses were removed as soon as possible but had already severely affected the endothelial cell count. NewIris implants are an alternative to cosmetic contact lenses, but they are not as safe as other phakic anterior chamber intraocular lenses, nor are they a good option for the patient

Infliximab reduces Zaprinast-induced retinal degeneration in cultures of porcine retina

Background: cGMP-degrading phosphodiesterase 6 (PDE6) mutations cause around 4 to 5% of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a rare form of retinal dystrophy. Growing evidence suggests that inflammation is involved in the progression of RP. The aims of this study were to corroborate the presence of high TNFα concentration in the eyes of RP patients and to evaluate whether the blockade of TNFα with Infliximab, a monoclonal anti-TNFα antibody, prevented retinal degeneration induced by PDE6 inhibition in cultures of porcine retina. Methods: Aqueous humor from 30 patients with RP and 13 healthy controls were used to quantify the inflammatory mediators IL-6, TNFα, IL-1β, IL-10 by a multiplex enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system. Retinal explants from pig were exposed to Zaprinast, a PDE6 inhibitor, for 24 hours in the absence or the presence of Infliximab. Cell death was evaluated by TUNEL assay. The number and distribution of caspase-3 positive cells, indirect poly(ADP)ribose polymerase (PARP) activation and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) content were visualized by immunolabeling. Antioxidant total capacity, nitrites and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) formation were determined to evaluate antioxidant-oxidant status. Results: IL-6 and TNFα concentrations were higher in the aqueous humor of RP patients than in controls. Infliximab prevented retinal degeneration, as judging by the reduced presence of TUNEL-positive cells, the reduction of caspase-3 activation and also reduction of glial activation, in an ex vivo model of porcine retina. Additionally, Infliximab partially reduced oxidative stress in retinal explants exposed to Zaprinast. Conclusions: Inflammatory mediators IL-6 and TNFα were elevated in the aqueous humor of RP patients corroborating previous studies suggesting sustained chronic inflammation. Our study suggests that TNFα is playing an important role in cell death in an ex vivo model of retinal degeneration by activating different cell pathways at different cell layers of the retina that should be further studied.This work was supported by the European Regional Development Fund, Institute of Health Carlos III, PI10/01825 and PI12/0481 from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MEC). CIBERER is an initiative of the Institute of Health Carlos III from the MEC. Regina Rodrigo has a research-contract SNS Miguel Servet (CP09/118) from Institute of Health Carlos III.Medicin

How building and district algorithms enhance renewable energy integration in energy markets

© 2019 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting /republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other worksThis study shows the results of the SABINA H2020 project, which analyzes the effect of two level optimization algorithms to increase the consumption of renewable power sources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. First, at building level, a building algorithm maximizes the self-consumption of generated energy by its own renewable power sources. Second, at district level, a market integrated district algorithm takes into account aspects related to the electricity grid, such as the electricity generation mix and the prices of electricity and ancillary services, and aggregates the energy flexibility forecast of buildings to minimize the overall CO 2 emissions while ensuring a cost reduction to prosumersPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Pallantia : vulgo (Valencia la vieja) : su historia, su rio Turia y el Palancia, sus acueductos o canales de riego y abastecimiento de aguas de algunas poblaciones y entre ellas nuestra ciudad de Valencia

Obra premiada en los Juegos Florales celebrados por "Lo Rat Penat" en 189

Intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin) for choroidal metastasis secondary to breast carcinoma: short-term follow-up

Uveal metastases are the most common intraocular malignancy. The most common primary sites of cancer are from the breast (47%) and lung (21%).1 The treatment for choroidal metastasis depends on many factors including location, multiplicity, and activity of each tumour.1 Bevacizumab (Avastins) is a full-length humanized murine monoclonal antibody against the VEGF molecule, and inhibits angiogenesis and tumour growth.2 In this report, we describe the effect of a single intravitreal injection of bevacizumab (4 mg) in a patient with choroidal metastasis secondary to breast cancerMedicin

Nutraceutical Supplementation Ameliorates Visual Function, Retinal Degeneration, and Redox Status in rd10 Mice

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of inherited retinal dystrophies characterized by progressive degeneration of photoreceptor cells. Ocular redox status is altered in RP suggesting oxidative stress could contribute to their progression. In this study, we investigated the effect of a mixture of nutraceuticals with antioxidant properties (NUT) on retinal degeneration in rd10 mice, a model of RP. NUT was orally administered to rd10 mice from postnatal day (PD) 9 to PD18. At PD18 retinal function and morphology were examined by electroretinography (ERG) and histology including TUNEL assay, immunolabeling of microglia, Müller cells, and poly ADP ribose polymers. Retinal redox status was determined by measuring the activity of antioxidant enzymes and some oxidative stress markers. Gene expression of the cytokines IL-6, TNFα, and IL-1β was assessed by real-time PCR. NUT treatment delayed the loss of photoreceptors in rd10 mice partially preserving their electrical responses to light stimuli. Moreover, it ameliorated redox status and reduced inflammation including microglia activation, upregulation of cytokines, reactive gliosis, and PARP overactivation. NUT ameliorated retinal functionality and morphology at early stages of RP in rd10 mice. This formulation could be useful as a neuroprotective approach for patients with RP in the future