Dinâmica populacional do caranguejo Austinixa aidae (Brachyura, Pinnotheridae): simbionte de Callichirus major (Thalassinidea, Callianassidae) no Atlântico sudoeste

The Pinnotheridae family is one of the most diverse and complex groups of brachyuran crabs, many of them symbionts of a wide variety of invertebrates. The present study describes the population dynamics of the pea crab Austinixa aidae (Righi, 1967), a symbiont associated with the burrows of the ghost shrimp Callichirus major (Say, 1818). Individuals (n = 588) were collected bimonthly from May, 2005 to September, 2006 along a sandy beach in the southwestern Atlantic, state of São Paulo, Brazil. Our data indicated that the population demography of A. aidae was characterized by a bimodal size-frequency distribution (between 2.0 and 4.0 mm and between 8.0 and 9.0 mm CW) that remained similar throughout the study period. Sex ratio does not differ significantly from 1:1 (p > 0.05), which confirms the pattern observed in other symbiontic pinnotherids. Density values (1.72 ± 1.34 ind. • ap.-1) are in agreement with those found for other species of the genus. The mean symbiosis incidence (75.6%) was one of the highest among species of the Pinnotheridae family, but it was the lowest among the three studied species of the genus. Recruitment pattern was annual, beginning in May and peaking in July, in both years, after the peak of ovigerous females in the population (from March to May). Our findings describe ecological and biological aspects of A. aidae similar to those of other species of this genus, even from different geographic localities.Pinnotheridae constitui um dos mais diversos e complexos grupos de caranguejos, sendo muitos deles simbiontes de uma grande variedade de invertebrados. O presente estudo descreve a dinâmica populacional do caranguejo pinoterídeo Austinixa aidae (Righi, 1967), um simbionte que vive associado às galerias do "corrupto" Callichirus major (Say, 1818). Os exemplares (n = 588) foram coletados a cada dois meses entre maio de 2005 e setembro de 2006, em uma praia arenosa no litoral de São Paulo, Brasil. Nossos resultados indicaram que a população de A. aidae foi caracterizada por uma distribuição bimodal em classes de tamanho (entre 2,0 e 4,0 mm (CC: comprimento da carapaça) e entre 8,0 e 9,0 mm (CC)), padrão constante ao longo do período de estudo. A razão sexual não diferiu significativamente de 1:1 (p > 0,05), confirmando o padrão observado para outros pinoterídeos simbiontes. Os valores de densidade desta espécie (1,72 ± 1,34 indivíduos por toca) estão de acordo com os estabelecidos para o gênero. A incidência média (75,6%) está entre as mais altas das espécies de Pinnotheridae, entretanto é a menor dentre as três espécies do gênero já estudadas. O padrão de recrutamento foi anual (tendo início em maio e atingindo maior proporção em julho, nos dois anos de estudo), e foi registrado após os picos de ocorrência de fêmeas ovígeras na população (de março a maio). Nossos resultados confirmam que A. aidae possui padrões ecológicos e biológicos similares aos desenvolvidos pelas espécies do gênero, mesmo em diferentes localidades

Use of partial load operating conditions for latent thermal energy storage management

A proper management of thermal energy storage (TES) charging and discharging processes allows the final users to optimize the performance of TES systems. In this paper, an experimental research is carried out to study how the percentage of charge in a latent heat TES system (partial load operating conditions) influences the discharge process. Several charging and discharging processes were performed at a constant heat transfer fluid (HTF) mass flow rate of 0.5 kg/s and temperature of 155 °C and 105 °C, respectively. High density polyethylene (HDPE) with a total mass of 99.5 kg was used as phase change material (PCM) in a 0.154m3 storage tank based on the shelland-tube heat exchanger concept. Five different percentages of charge have been studied: 58 %, 73 %, 83 %, 92 %, and 97 % (baseline test). Results showed that by modifying the percentage of charge, the time required for the charging process was reduced between 97.2% and 68.8% in comparison to the baseline case. However, the energy accumulated was only reduced a maximum of 35.1% and a minimum of 5.2%, while the heat transfer rates during the first 60 min of discharge were reduced a maximum of 45.8% and a minimum of 6%. Therefore, partially charging the TES system not lower than 85% of its maximum energy capacity becomes a good option if the final application accepts a maximum decrease of discharging heat transfer rates of 10% if compared to the fully charged system.The work was partially funded by the Spanish government (ENE2015-64117-C5-1-R (MINECO/FEDER), ENE2015-64117-C5-3-R (MINECO/FEDER), and ULLE10-4E-1305). The authors would like to thank the Catalan Government for the quality accreditation given to their research group (2014 SGR 123). GREA is certified agent TECNIO in the category of technology developers from the Government of Catalonia. This project has received funding from the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013) under Grant agreement No. PIRSES-GA-2013-610692 (INNOSTORAGE) and from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 657466 (INPATH-TES). Jaume Gasia would like to thank the Departament d'Universitats, Recerca i Societat de la Informació de la Generalitat de Catalunya for his research fellowship (2017 FI_B1 00092). Alvaro de Gracia would like to thank Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad de España for Grant Juan de la Cierva, FJCI-2014-19940. Simone Arena would like to thank the Department of Mechanical, Chemical and Materials Engineering of the University of Cagliari for funding his research grant

Sistemas de clasificación de pacientes en centros de media y larga estancia: evolución y perspectivas de futuro

ResumenLa atención de media y larga estancia es un sector cada vez más importante de la prestación de cuidados sanitarios. La utilización de sistemas de clasificación de pacientes se contempla cada vez más como un elemento necesario tanto en la planificación como en la gestión de servicios en el sector de atención a enfermos crónicos y geriátricos.Aunque mucho menos conocidos, los sistemas de clasificación de pacientes han tenido en el sector de la atención de media y larga estancia un desarrollo mucho más rico y precoz que en el sector hospitalario. De este modo, puede verse la evolución desde clasificaciones basadas exclusivamente en la valoración de la capacidad funcional de los residentes, hacia clasificaciones que incluyen progresivamente variables de complejidad asistencial, hasta sistemas elaborados como la clasificación RUG-III.Los sistemas de clasificación de pacientes se utilizaron inicialmente como instrumentos para soportar los sistemas de financiación de los centros de media y larga estancia basándose en las características de paciente. Posteriormente, sus aplicaciones se han ido extendiendo hacia otros objetivos relacionados con la gestión de los centros, la evaluación de la calidad asistencial, la determinación de niveles de dotación de personal, el control del acceso a la atención y la formulación de políticas gubernamentales. En España, la única experiencia de utilización de un sistema de clasificación de pacientes es la del Programa Vida Als Anys en Cataluña, que desde 1990 utiliza una clasificación para la financiación de los centros acogidos al mismo.SummaryThe importance of long term care sector is increasingly growing. Actually, the use of patient classification systems is a useful tool for the planning and management of health services for chronic and geriatric patients.Despite being much less known, patient classification systems have had a richer and earlier development in the long term care sector than in the acute care sector. Thus, one could see the evolution from classifications based on the assessment of functional dependency to classifications progressively including variables corresponding to clinical complexity, and finally to complex systems such as RUG-III.Patient classification systems were first utilised as tools for the financing of long term centres, based on the patients' characteristics. Later, their applications have spread out to objectives related to the management of centres, assessment of quality of care, staff allocation level, control of access and national policies. In Spain, the only experience in the use of a patient classification system is the one used by the Catalan Health Care Administration which uses a classification for the financing of their centres

IL-1β inhibition in cardiovascular complications associated to diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease that affects nowadays millions of people worldwide. In adults, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) accounts for the majority of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. The course of the T2DM is characterized by insulin resistance and a progressive loss of β-cell mass. DM is associated with a number of related complications, among which cardiovascular complications and atherosclerosis are the main cause of morbidity and mortality in patients suffering from the disease. DM is acknowledged as a low-grade chronic inflammatory state characterized by the over-secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-1β, which reinforce inflammatory signals thus contributing to the development of complications. In this context, the pharmacological approaches to treat diabetes should not only correct hyperglycaemia, but also attenuate inflammation and prevent the development of metabolic and cardiovascular complications. Over the last years, novel biological drugs have been developed to antagonize the pathophysiological actions of IL-1β. The drugs currently used in clinical practice are anakinra, a recombinant form of the naturally occurring IL-1 receptor antagonist, the soluble decoy receptor rilonacept and the monoclonal antibodies canakinumab and gevokizumab. This review will summarize the main experimental and clinical findings obtained with pharmacological IL-1β inhibitors in the context of the cardiovascular complications of DM, and discuss the perspectives of IL-1β inhibitors as novel therapeutic tools for treating these patients.This work was supported by grants from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (SAF2014-52762-R) and Banco de Santander-Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (CEAL-AL/2015-17

Strain-driven elastic and orbital-ordering effects on thickness-dependent properties of manganite thin films

We report on the structural and magnetic characterization of (110) and (001) La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 (LCMO) epitaxial thin films simultaneously grown on (110) and (001)SrTiO3 substrates, with thicknesses t varying between 8 nm and 150 nm. It is found that while the in-plane interplanar distances of the (001) films are strongly clamped to those of the substrate and the films remain strained up to well above t=100 nm, the (110) films relax much earlier. Accurate determination of the in-plane and out-of-plane interplanar distances has allowed concluding that in all cases the unit cell volume of the manganite reduces gradually when increasing thickness, approaching the bulk value. It is observed that the magnetic properties (Curie temperature and saturation magnetization) of the (110) films are significantly improved compared to those of (001) films. These observations, combined with 55Mn-nuclear magnetic resonance data and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, signal that the depression of the magnetic properties of the more strained (001)LCMO films is not caused by an elastic deformation of the perovskite lattice but rather due to the electronic and chemical phase separation caused by the substrate-induced strain. On the contrary, the thickness dependence of the magnetic properties of the less strained (110)LCMO films are simply described by the elastic deformation of the manganite lattice. We will argue that the different behavior of (001) and (110)LCMO films is a consequence of the dissimilar electronic structure of these interfaces.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figure

On the drivers of successful crowdfunding: The case of the platform Verkami

This article analyzes the determinants of successful crowdfunding initiatives using a sample of 5,251 projects from the reward-based Spanish platform Verkami. In contrast to most of the literature that has measured success with a dichotomous variable, we approach success with a continuous one, namely the ratio of achievement, which is measured as the obtained resources over the total amount requested by the promoter. We consider a set of potential determinants of success, which are theoretically well-grounded and cover a variety of spheres related to project features. Results suggest that factors related to the signaling theories such as partnership, having previous experience and interaction with backers are positively associated with the achievement ratio, whereas no significant impact is found for the number of rewards. In addition, we find uneven effects for low and high ratios of achievement, identifying the key determinants in different project stages

Adaptation of a project of teaching innovation in the subject of statistics in the degree of aerospace engineering in times of COVID-19

[EN] The rapid spread of the SARSCoV-2 virus (COVID-19) in Spain caused a general lockdown of the population at home for 44 days. Due to this, lecturers had to design new learning strategies, adapted to the general lockdown, to deliver content and learning materials. The goal of this work is to describe and analyze the adaptation carried out in a teaching innovation project at the Statistics course at BSc. in Aerospace Engineering. The project involves students participating in project-based learning. The adaptation of the project-based learning activity aimed to tackle the obstacles and particularities of the lockdown period. A total of 118 students participated in the activities, with all of them positively evaluating the experience and adaptation carried out. 92.6% of the students considered that, after participating in the project, they improved their critical thinking and creativity. In addition, 88.8% suggested that their innovation skills improved. Overall, the students showed a high degree of engagement and motivation.The authors would like to thank the Universitat Politècnica de València and their support by funding this article with Education Improvement and Innovation Project (PIME-185).Sempere-Ferre, F.; Trull, O.; Soler Torro, JM.; Conchado Peiró, A. (2021). Adaptation of a project of teaching innovation in the subject of statistics in the degree of aerospace engineering in times of COVID-19. IATED Academy. 11553-11557. https://doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2021.2418S115531155