Knowledge organization and scientific assessment in Spain: Information Science as a case study

[Resumen] El carácter interdisciplinar de la Documentación y el escaso consenso en lo que se refiere a su ubicación dentro de la organización del conocimiento, pueden generar efectos negativos en la evaluación científica de esta disciplina en España. Con el objetivo de lograr una aproximación a la problemática y contribuir a mejorar el sistema de evaluación, este estudio aborda la disciplina desde tres perspectivas consideradas posibles fuentes de conflicto: la ubicación de los estudios de Documentación en las universidades españolas y extranjeras, la estructura temática de los comités de las agencias de evaluación de la actividad científica, y finalmente las revistas del área, a partir del estudio de su difusión en bases de datos. A modo de conclusión preliminar, no se detecta interdisciplinariedad en las bases de datos, pero sí en la organización universitaria de los estudios y en los organismos de evaluación (o al menos un gran desacuerdo en lo relativo a la ubicación de la Documentación dentro de sus esquemas de organización del conocimiento).[Abstract] Information Science?s interdisciplinary character and the scarce consensus about its placement within knowledge organization could generate negative effects on its scientific evaluation in Spain. In order to achieve an approximation to the problem and help to find solutions to improve the system, this paper studies the discipline from three perspectives: the location of Information Science studies on Spanish and foreigner universities, thematic structure of committees in charge of research?s activity evaluation and,finally, the study of Information Science journals through the analysis of their inclusion on databases. First conclusions don?t detect interdisciplinarity on databases, but they do on university organization and on evaluation organisms (or at least a great disagreement concerning placement of this discipline in knowledge organization)

Influencia del SO2 en el proceso de oxidación de combustibles gaseosos en condiciones de oxi-combustión

El CO2 es el gas que más contribuye al Cambio Climático. La oxi-combustión es una tecnología de captura de CO2 muy prometedora, y en ella el combustible se quema con O2 puro en lugar de utilizar aire, junto con parte de los gases de salida que se recirculan para diluir el O2 y controlar la temperatura de la caldera. De esta forma, a la salida se tendrá una corriente muy concentrada en CO2 que puede ser capturado, almacenado o utilizado directamente. En el gas de salida, también pueden aparecer algunos contaminantes, como el SO2 o los NOx entre otros, que si son recirculados, pueden afectar en gran medida al proceso de combustión. En este contexto, el objetivo de este trabajo es el estudio de la influencia del SO2 en el proceso de oxidación de CO en condiciones de oxi-combustión. Los experimentos se realizan en un reactor de flujo pistón a escala de laboratorio. Se pretende estudiar el efecto de la presencia de SO2 analizando la influencia de las variables más importantes del proceso como la temperatura, la estequiometría y las concentraciones de CO2, SO2, CO y NO. Algunos de los experimentos más relevantes se realizan diluidos en N2 en lugar de CO2 para analizar la influencia de la atmósfera de reacción. Los experimentos se simulan utilizando un modelo de reactor de flujo pistón con el software de cinética química Chemkin-Pro. Se utiliza un mecanismo de reacción desarrollado por el propio grupo de investigación, obteniendo una buena correspondencia entre los resultados experimentales y las predicciones del modelo cinético en todos los casos. Se detecta una importante inhibición de la oxidación de CO en atmósfera de CO2 en comparación con el caso de N2, por la competencia entre el CO2 y O2 por radicales H. El efecto inhibidor del CO2 es mayor cuanto mayor es su concentración. A mayor concentración de CO, mayor porcentaje de conversión del mismo para una temperatura dada. El NO en cualquier concentración inhibe la reacción de oxidación en ausencia de SO2, y su efecto inhibidor es mayor cuanto mayor es su concentración. En presencia de SO2, el NO en bajas concentraciones favorece la reacción, mientras que la inhibe con mayores concentraciones. El efecto inhibidor del SO2 en atmósfera de CO2 se debe a que favorece los mecanismos de recombinación de radicales. En condiciones reductoras, la eliminación de radicales se rige por la interconversión: SO2 → HOSO → SO2. El efecto inhibidor del SO2 es menor en atmósfera de CO2 que en N2 a estas estequiometrías. Sin embargo cuando se dan condiciones pobres en combustible, su efecto parece ser similar en ambas atmósferas, con independencia de la concentración de CO2, debido a la importancia cada vez mayor de la reacción de recombinación SO2+O para dar SO3. Se produce una mayor inhibición de la oxidación de CO con un aumento en la concentración de SO2, aunque las diferencias disminuyen a medida que los niveles de concentración de SO2 aumentan. En presencia de NO, el efecto inhibidor del SO2 queda casi anulado

NH3 oxidation and NO reduction by NH3 in N2/Ar and CO2 atmospheres

Impact of using CO2 or N2/Ar as bath gas, representative respectively of oxy-fuel or air combustion scenarios, has been evaluated on the oxidation of ammonia under a variety of operating conditions in a combined experimental and simulation study. Variables of relevance as temperature and oxygen stoichiometry have been considered at atmospheric pressure and under carefully controlled experimental conditions. Additionally, the impact of the presence of NO, which can be formed from ammonia oxidation, has also been evaluated. The experimental results obtained have been simulated with significant success with a detailed literature kinetic mechanism, which has been further used to interpret the main experimental observations. The results obtained are of interest in the power and energy industry, and can be used for guiding the co-firing of NH3 and carbon containing fuels

Conversion of NH3 and NH3-NO mixtures in a CO2 atmosphere. A parametric study

The present work addresses the oxidation of ammonia and ammonia-nitric oxide mixtures in a CO2 atmosphere, characteristic of oxy-fuel processes and/or biogas combustion, from both experimental and kinetic modelling points of view. A parametric study of NH3 and NH3/NO mixtures oxidation is carried out, evaluating the influence of the temperature (700–1500 K), stoichiometry (from pyrolysis, λ = 0, to significantly oxidizing conditions, λ = 3.3), gas residence time (low values, 195/T(K) s and high values, 3100/T(K) s) and NH3/NO ratio (0.5–2.2), at atmospheric pressure under well-controlled laboratory conditions using two tubular flow reactor setups. Experimental results have been simulated with an updated literature reaction mechanism, which has been used to interpret the experimental observations

Sistema de programación y control automático de un riego por goteo subterráneo en un cultivo de olivar

En esta comunicación se presenta un nuevo sistema de programación y control automático del riego por goteo subterráneo para un cultivo de olivar ecológico de una finca situada en el T.M. de Tabernas en Almería (España) y propiedad de la empresa Rafael Alonso Aguilera S.L. La finca se riega mediante un novedoso sistema de riego subterráneo patentado por esta empresa. El sistema de control propuesto está basado en el establecimiento de un balance hídrico diario en el en el sistema suelo-planta a partir de la estimación de las necesidades de riego del cultivo en tiempo real a partir de los datos climáticos medidos en tiempo real a partir de una estación agroclimática. Se presentan también los resultados de la evaluación del funcionamiento del sistema a lo largo de un periodo de 5 años y se analiza el ahorro de agua proporcionado por la combinación del sistema de control del riego y del método de riego subterráneo

Mechanical design optimization for multi-finger haptic devices applied to virtual grasping manipulation

This paper describes the design of a modular multi-finger haptic device for virtual object manipulation. Mechanical structures are based on one module per finger and can be scaled up to three fingers. Mechanical configurations for two and three fingers are based on the use of one and two redundant axes, respectively. As demonstrated, redundant axes significantly increase workspace and prevent link collisions, which is their main asset with respect to other multi-finger haptic devices. The location of redundant axes and link dimensions have been optimized in order to guarantee a proper workspace, manipulability, force capability, and inertia for the device. The mechanical haptic device design and a thimble adaptable to different finger sizes have also been developed for virtual object manipulation

Dual-Polarization Interferometry: A Novel Technique To Light up the Nanomolecular World

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Chemical Reviews, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/cr5002063.[EN] The challenging lecture given in 1959 by physicist and Nobel Prize awarded R. P. Feynman: “There's plenty of room at the bottom” is considered to be the starting point for nanotechnology. With this peculiar title, Feynman encouraged researchers to explore beyond the atomic level and predicted exciting new phenomena that might revolutionize science and technology. Among these pioneering researchers are Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell and William E. Moerner, who have been awarded with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2014 for developing the super-resolved fluorescence microscopy. However, it is important to remark that the exploration of this amazing nanomolecular world began in the early 1980s with the invention of the scanning tunneling1 and the atomic force microscopes2 (Figure 1). Figure 1. Measurement scales. The study and manipulation of interactions of nanometric dimensions could begin as soon as measuring tools became more efficient. The last decades have witnessed the development of techniques able to obtain information at the sub-molecular level, and their applications especially on the biomedical field. As an example, the stimulating labor of studying the role of conformational dynamics in reaction mechanisms has resulted in Nanometers 10-1 10 102 103 1 104 105 106 107 108 DPI WORLD Atom IgG Erythrocyte Grain of salt Tennis ball Glucose Virus Amoeba Plea numerous advances in life sciences.3 In this regard, the precise knowledge about molecular interactions and their effects on protein function has greatly aided the discovery of new targets in medical chemistry. Figure 2. General scheme of different DPI applications. The role of the structure in the protein behavior is a fundamental step in the utilization, characterization and understanding of numerous biological processes. Consequently, highly advanced functional and structural measurement tools have been developed over the last decadess.4 Particularly, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X-ray crystallography and neutron reflectivity (NR) provide structural measurements, whereas tools such as microcalorimetry or surface plasmon resonance (SPR) provide functional data. Furthermore, the more recent approach based on Dual Polarization Interferometry (DPI), is allowing the molecular interactions to be quantitatively measured at nanometric dimensions. DPI is currently one of the most powerful label-free biosensing techniques in heterogeneous format to record real-time data of conformational dynamics, which is efficiently employed in different applications, such as bionanotechnology, surface science, Biotechnology Drug Discovery Lipid Studies Crystallography Surface Science DPI and crystallography or drug discovery (Figure 2). Their measurements can provide information about the connection between the biomolecule function and its structural changes. This technique is, to our knowledge, the most well-built and well-thought through such waveguide sensor. It has its weaknesses, e.g. the necessity of using a relatively long sensor element, but the information it delivers is the interaction of two polarization modes of the propagating light with a molecular film at the top of the waveguide with which it interacts through the evanescent field. It is well known that the use of an interferometric readout and a long waveguide makes the measurements very stable and more accurate than those of the competitor techniques. Accordingly, DPI can be described as a molecular ruler whose quantitative values can be correlated directly with those from other usual techniques, such as NMR, X-ray crystallography and NR, providing higher sensitivity and accuracy than the classical acoustic and optical biosensors. In 1996, Dr Neville Freeman conceived of the idea behind DPI as a robust and reproducible biosensing technology and, together with Dr Graham Cross, developed the concept and filed the original patent.5,6 This novel technique has gained popularity among the scientific community in the last decade and the number of publications dealing with this technique has increased considerably since the initial report in 2003.7 In this review, DPI is compared with other techniques, and its theoretical basis and applications are outlined. The fundamentals are specified together with strategies for chip functionalization and applications of the aforementioned technology in a wide variety of research areas. All this gives a unique chance to learn from this sensing technique, which may be an essential reference to facilitate the work of future users.We thank Dr. Marcus Swann and Dr. Sergi Morals, with whom we have had many helpful discussions about DPI sensing and interferometry in general. We acknowledge financial support from the Generalitat Valenciana (GVA-PROMETEO/2010/008) as well as the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Regional Development Fund under award numbers CTQ2013-45875-R and CTQ2013-42914-R.Escorihuela Fuentes, J.; González Martínez, MÁ.; López-Paz, JL.; Puchades, R.; Maquieira Catala, Á.; Giménez Romero, D. (2015). Dual-Polarization Interferometry: A Novel Technique To Light up the Nanomolecular World. Chemical Reviews. 115(1):265-294. https://doi.org/10.1021/cr5002063265294115

Elevated urinary Kidney Injury Molecule 1 (KIM-1) at discharge strongly predicts early mortality following an episode of acute decompensated heart failure

Introduction: Hospitalization for Acute Decompensation of Heart Failure (ADHF) is a frequent event associated with long-term adverse effects. Prognosis is even worse if Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) occurs during hospitalization. Objectives: To determine whether kidney damage biomarkers NGAL, KIM-1 and IL-18 might predict AKI and have prognostic value of in ADHF. Patients and methods: Serum NGAL on admission and urine NGAL, KIM-1 and IL-18 on discharge were determined in 187 ADHF patients enrolled in a prospective, observational, unblinded study. AKI was diagnosed using the KDIGO criteria. Patients were followed-up for 12 months to record all-cause mortality. Results: 22% patients died during follow-up, with 52.5% dying within 4 months after discharge. Serum NGAL (P <0.001), urine NGAL (P = 0.047), and urinary KIM-1 (P = 0.014) levels were significantly higher in deceased patients at discharge. After adjustment for eGFR, only urinary KIM-1 independently predicted mortality at month 4 (HR 3.166, 95%CI 1.203-8.334, P = 0.020) and month 12 (HR 1.969, 95%CI 1.123-3.454, P = 0.018) in Cox regression models. In ROC analysis urinary KIM-1 (AUC = 0.830) outperformed other markers of renal function. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed KIM-1 predictive value is additive to that of AKI incidence and admission eGFR. Admission serum NGAL was higher in AKI patients (P ≤0.001) with a modest diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.667), below urea (AUC = 0.732), creatinine (AUC = 0.696), or CysC (AUC = 0.676). Conclusions: Discharge urinary KIM-1 was a strong and independent predictor of mortality, particularly during the most vulnerable period shortly after hospitalization. Admission serum NGAL was inferior to conventional renal function parameters in predicting AKI during ADHF

Early Measurement of Blood sST2 Is a Good Predictor of Death and Poor Outcomes in Patients Admitted for COVID-19 Infection

Although several biomarkers have shown correlation to prognosis in COVID-19 patients, their clinical value is limited because of lack of specificity, suboptimal sensibility or poor dynamic behavior. We hypothesized that circulating soluble ST2 (sST2) could be associated to a worse outcome in COVID-19. In total, 152 patients admitted for confirmed COVID-19 were included in a prospective non-interventional, observational study. Blood samples were drawn at admission, 48-72 h later and at discharge. sST2 concentrations and routine blood laboratory were analyzed. Primary endpoints were admission at intensive care unit (ICU) and mortality. Median age was 57.5 years [Standard Deviation (SD: 12.8)], 60.4% males. 10% of patients (n = 15) were derived to ICU and/or died during admission. Median (IQR) sST2 serum concentration (ng/mL) rose to 53.1 (30.9) at admission, peaked at 48-72 h (79.5(64)) and returned to admission levels at discharge (44.9[36.7]). A concentration of sST2 above 58.9 ng/mL was identified patients progressing to ICU admission or death. Results remained significant after multivariable analysis. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) of sST2 for endpoints was 0.776 (p = 0.001). In patients admitted for COVID-19 infection, early measurement of sST2 was able to identify patients at risk of severe complications or death