Development of Cal Poly’s Hybrid AC/DC House

The Hybrid House provides an example for what sustainable housing solutions could look like. It also functions as a potential solution to the current rural electrification issues many developing countries face. The use of a DC-DC MISO converter allows for combining multiple power sources into a single DC bus. The Hybrid House integrates the DC bus by employing the use of DC-DC converters for home use. This system may potentially improve the overall system efficiency by avoiding the losses associated with AC-DC converters. The use of the DC bus further leverages the Solar Panel renewable energy solution to become a more formidable power solution. This increased efficiency aligns with the overall goal of the Hybrid House which is to utilize mostly renewable energy in a home while still having the capability of integrating the grid power. Consequently, the Hybrid AC-DC House also offers an alternative solution for future sustainable house with improved reliabilit

In vivo genetic manipulation of inner ear connexin expression by bovine adeno-Associated viral vectors

We have previously shown that in vitro transduction with bovine adeno-associated viral (BAAV) vectors restores connexin expression and rescues gap junction coupling in cochlear organotypic cultures from connexin-deficient mice that are models DFNB1 nonsyndromic hearing loss and deafness. The aims of this study were to manipulate inner ear connexin expression in vivo using BAAV vectors, and to identify the optimal route of vector delivery. Injection of a BAAV vector encoding a bacterial Cre recombinase via canalostomy in adult mice with floxed connexin 26 (Cx26) alleles promoted Cre/LoxP recombination, resulting in decreased Cx26 expression, decreased endocochlear potential, increased hearing thresholds, and extensive loss of outer hair cells. Injection of a BAAV vector encoding GFP-tagged Cx30 via canalostomy in P4 mice lacking connexin 30 (Cx30) promoted formation of Cx30 gap junctions at points of contacts between adjacent non-sensory cells of the cochlear sensory epithelium. Levels of exogenous Cx30 decayed over time, but were still detectable four weeks after canalostomy. Our results suggest that persistence of BAAV-mediated gene replacement in the cochlea is limited by the extensive remodeling of the organ of Corti throughout postnatal development and associated loss of non-sensory cells

Validation of an enzyme-linked inmunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit for the quantification of gliadins in medicines and cosmetics

Celiac disease is caused by intolerance to gluten and the only current treatment is a gluten-free diet. Gliadins are the alcohol-soluble proteins that make up the majority of gluten and are the ones that have the most harmful effect on patients with celiac disease. In recent years the issue of the presence of gluten in medicines and cosmetics, has become relevant since it is present in many excipients that are used as lubricants or absorbents, to provide mass or volume, give shape, color and consistency. The quantification of gliadins was carried out using the ELISA technique based on the R5 antibody, with a RIDASCREEN® Gliadin kit from R-Biopharm and a microplate ELISA spectrophotometer. To validate the immunological analytical method, the specificity, intermediate precision, relative accuracy and range were measured according to the USP 41 specifications for biologic assays. Recovery percentages of gliadins in positive control samples higher than 65 % were obtained. The relative standard deviation resulting from the amount of gliadins recovered to determine the intermediate precision of the kit was 7,6 %. Then, when determining the relative accuracy, an average absolute error value of 9,5 % was obtained. The range established to accurately and precisely analyze a sample was from 5 mg/kg to 80 mg/kg. The analytical method validated in this project meets performance characteristics such as specificity, intermediate precision, relative accuracy and range, suitable for the determination of gliadin content in drugs and cosmetics.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias de la Salud::Instituto de Investigaciones Farmacéuticas (INIFAR

Entanglement in correlated random spin chains, RNA folding and kinetic roughening

Average block entanglement in the 1D XX-model with uncorrelated random couplings is known to grow as the logarithm of the block size, in similarity to conformal systems. In this work we study random spin chains whose couplings present long range correlations, generated as gaussian fields with a power-law spectral function. Ground states are always planar valence bond states, and their statistical ensembles are characterized in terms of their block entropy and their bond-length distribution, which follow power-laws. We conjecture the existence of a critical value for the spectral exponent, below which the system behavior is identical to the case of uncorrelated couplings. Above that critical value, the entanglement entropy violates the area law and grows as a power law of the block size, with an exponent which increases from zero to one. Interestingly, we show that XXZ models with positive anisotropy present the opposite behavior, and strong correlations in the couplings lead to lower entropies. Similar planar bond structures are also found in statistical models of RNA folding and kinetic roughening, and we trace an analogy between them and quantum valence bond states. Using an inverse renormalization procedure we determine the optimal spin-chain couplings which give rise to a given planar bond structure, and study the statistical properties of the couplings whose bond structures mimic those found in RNA folding.We would like to thank J Cuesta for insights into the statistical mechanics of RNAfolding, and F Iglói and Z Zimborás for useful remarks. This work was funded by grants FIS-2012-33642 and FIS-2012-38866-C05-1,from the Spanish government, QUITEMAD+S2013/ICE-2801 from the Madrid regional government and SEV-2012-0249 of the ‘Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa’ Programme

Uso de bioingeniería en suelos que han sido afectados por procesos erosivos en canteras en los cerros orientales de la ciudad de Bogotá en el sector de Usaquén

Maestría en Desarrollo Sostenible y Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Ciencias Contables, Económicas y Administrativas.Una de las problemáticas que ha sufrido la ciudad de Bogotá fue la minería urbana, la extracción de material de canteras el cambio en el uso del suelo que durante años sirvió para el crecimiento y desarrollo de infraestructura en la ciudad, hoy en día ha dejado sus cicatrices caso en especial es el que se encuentra ubicado al costado oriental del sector de Usaquén. La explotación de canteras, la deforestación creciente, los procesos de urbanización formal e informal, la falta de control y seguimiento ha ocasionado un gran impacto y deterioro en los ecosistemas ubicados en esta zona principalmente la generación de procesos de erosión La explotación de minería urbana contribuye al desarrollo económico, el cual genera grandes expectativas entre los diferentes representantes involucrados: constructores, comunidades, entes de planeación y autoridades ambientales, cada uno cumple un papel fundamental en el logro de la meta enunciada pero la falta de seguimiento y control permite la explotación irracional de ahí es la importancia del uso de la bioingeniería como agente de mitigación en el impacto ambiental de la minería urbana en los cerros orientales de Bogotá

On the potential for Electromagnetic Energy Harvesting for a Linear Synchronous Motor based Transport System in Factory Automation

Transport systems incorporating linear synchronous motors (LSMs) enable linear motion at high speed for emerging factory automation applications. The goal of this work is to determine the feasibility of harvesting energy directly from an operational LSM transport system employed in high volume manufacturing. Microelectromechanical (MEMs) based sensor technology, deployed as part of a wireless cyber physical system (CPS), perform near real-time magnetic field measurement for a mobile LSM vehicle. The vehicle under study is purposed for mobile factory automation and is not wired for communications nor does it have an onboard power source. A series of experiments were designed and conducted to establish the magnetic profile of the system. Empirical data capture was conducted on a cycled LSM test-bed comprising of 2 shuttles and 2 x 3 meter lengths of LSM track (MagneMotion QuickStick®100). Varying vehicle speeds were incorporated in the experimental regime to determine how changes in velocity would impact the magnetic profile of the vehicle. The recorded magnetic field data was analysed and a relationship between LSM vehicle speed and magnetic field frequency was established. The study highlights the potential to employ a single receiving coil to enable energy recovery which in turn could power a cyber-physical system (CPS) tasked with performing condition based monitoring of the LSM transport vehicles. This in turn can form the basis for the development of a predictive maintenance system, deployed to an LSM based transport layer in high volume manufacturing environments

Diversity of human rotaviruses detected in Sicily, Italy, over a 5-years period (2001-2005).

It is well known that the death of dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) is the pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD), the second most common and disabling condition in the expanding elderly population. Nevertheless, the intracellular cascade of events leading to dopamine cell death is still unknown and, consequently, treatment is largely symptomatic rather than preventive. Moreover, the mechanisms whereby nigral dopaminergic neurons may degenerate still remain controversial. Hitherto, several data have shown that the earlier cellular disturbances occurring in dopaminergic neurons include oxidative stress, excitotoxicity, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction and altered proteolysis. These alterations, rather than killing neurons, trigger subsequent death-related molecular pathways, including elements of apoptosis. In rare incidences, PD may be inherited; this evidence has opened a new and exciting area of research, attempting to shed light on the nature of the more common idiopathic PD form. In this review, the characteristics of the SNc dopaminergic neurons and their lifecycle from birth to death are reviewed. In addition, of the mechanisms by which the aforementioned alterations cause neuronal dopaminergic death, particular emphasis will be given to the role played by inflammation, and the relevance of the possible use of anti-inflammatory drugs in the treatment of PD. Finally, new evidence of a possible de novo neurogenesis in the SNc of adult animals and in PD patients will also be examined

Arquitectura cloud basada en la técnica fuzzing para la generación de escenarios de pruebas en el sector de desarrollo de software

El desarrollo de software está en constante evolución, cada vez son más las nuevas tecnologías que se integran al ciclo de vida del desarrollo software y una de las fases más importantes es el aseguramiento de la calidad. A medida que el sistema va creciendo, son más las casuísticas que se generan y con ello la disminución del % de la cobertura de pruebas. Uno de los problemas en el desarrollo del software es que existen errores de programación no identificados con los métodos de pruebas convencionales durante la fase de desarrollo. Es por esta razón, que en el siguiente documento proponemos la implementación de una arquitectura cloud basada en la técnica fuzzing (AcFGTC) para la generación de escenarios de pruebas, con el fin de prevenir errores en el sistema.Software development is constantly evolving, new technologies are being integrated into the software development life cycle and one of the most important phases is the quality assurance. As the system grows, more cases are generated, and the percentage of test coverage decreases. One of the major issues in the software development is there are bugs not identified with conventional testing methods during the testing phase. For this reason, in the following document we propose the implementation of a cloud architecture based on the fuzzing technique (AcFGTC) for the generation of test scenarios. The objective here is prevent errors in the system.Tesi