Development and Implementation of Electronic Applications based on Arduino Platform for a First Basic Course

This paper shows a learning guide about the use of Arduino platform and the different utilities that can be implemented based on this platform for a first basic course. The paper can be useful as a guide for someone who wants to start in the world of microcontroller programming, with examples to consolidate the knowledge learned. Some students of the School of Industrial Engineering of the University of Malaga (Degree in Industrial Design) approach the study of an engineering career with little knowledge of electronics. This degree contains basic skills on learning electronics and the use of the Arduino platform and its development possibilities can offer students an interesting view of electronics, making better use of classes. The work is based on both theoretical (to make the components known) and practical (using real assemblies) development to consolidate the knowledge learned. Therefore, once the basic components necessary to carry out various practices have been explained, the theoretical performance and the programming of Arduino is explained and the various practices that will be set up in the laboratory are presented, as an application of Arduino for different uses. The main idea of this work is to replace the traditional laboratory practices that require more advanced knowledge in electronics with a set of simple practices carried out in Arduino that allow students to have an approximate idea of basic electronics with little knowledge. After three years of carrying out this new methodology for this first basic electronic course, the surveys demonstrate a better adaptation of the students to the study of electronics. In addition, the marks obtained have improved considerably and the students have the sensation of learning electronics in a simple and fun way.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Cancer: evolutionary, genetic and epigenetic aspects

There exist two paradigms about the nature of cancer. According to the generally accepted one, cancer is a by-product of design limitations of a multi-cellular organism (Greaves, Nat Rev Cancer 7:213–221, 2007). The essence of the second resides in the question “Does cancer kill the individual and save the species?” (Sommer, Hum Mutat 3:166–169, 1994). Recent data on genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of cell transformation summarized in this review support the latter point of view, namely that carcinogenesis is an evolutionary conserved phenomenon—a programmed death of an organism. It is assumed that cancer possesses an important function of altruistic nature: as a mediator of negative selection, it serves to preserve integrity of species gene pool and to mediate its evolutionary adjustment. Cancer fulfills its task due apparently to specific killer function, understanding mechanism of which may suggest new therapeutic strategy

A new algorithm for obtaining the operating point of photovoltaic systems

A new algorithm is presented which can be used to find the operating point of a solar panel when only the load resistance is known, using a single diode ideal solar cell model. The algorithm uses a modified version of the binary search algorithm to rapidly discover the operating point of the panel, which makes it particularly suited to use within simulation environments such as Matlab/Simulink. A review of relevant solar cell theory is provided, followed by a discussion of existing methods that may be used to solve this problem. This is then followed by a full description of the new algorithm and a comparison of its performance with existing methods. An example is then provided of how the algorithm can be used to define a Thévenin equivalent model for a solar panel

Possible incorporation of free N7-platinated guanines in DNA by DNA polymerases, relevance for the cisplatin mechanism of action

Cisplatin, cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II), is one of the most widely used anticancer drugs. The main cellular target of cisplatin is DNA, where the platinum atom is able to form covalent bonds with the N7 of purines. It is commonly accepted that there is a direct attack of cisplatin to DNA. But it should be noted that, inside cells, free purine bases, which can react with cisplatin, are also available. Free bases have many functional roles, not least the constitution of building blocks for the synthesis of new DNA and RNA molecules. For this reason, under physiological conditions, the erroneous insertion of platinated bases in the synthesized nucleic acids could compete with direct DNA/RNA platination. Moreover, due to the lower sterical hindrance offered by single nucleobases with respect to nucleic acids, platination is expected to be even easier for free purines with respect to DNA and RNA. We have recently shown, for the first time, that platinated DNA can be formed in vitro by Taq DNA polymerase promoted incorporation of platinated purines. Cytotoxicity tests with [Pt(dien)(N7-G)], dien = diethylenetriamine, G = 5’-dGTP, 5’-dGDP, 5’-GMP, 5’-dGMP, GUO, dGUO, complexes on HeLa cancer cells support this hypothesis being the relative cytotoxicity of [Pt(dien)(N7-G)] derivatives clearly related to their bioavailability. In vivo platination of free purines before their incorporation in nucleic acids opens therefore new perspectives in platinum based antitumour drugs, for both action mechanism better understanding and new molecular design

Molecular Shape

Molecular shape is recognized as an emergent property that complements the projection fromfour-dimensional space-time to tangent Euclidean space. Projection from hypercomplex algebra to real algebra necessitates the three-dimensional definition of concepts such as chirality, quantum uncertainty and probability density to compensate for errors of abstraction. The emergent alternative description of extranuclear charge density as spherical standing waves, optimized by a golden spiral, reveals atomic structure in line with the periodic table of the elements and underpinning the concepts of bond order, interatomic distance and stretching force constant, related to chemical interaction. The principles giving rise to molecular structure are shown to depend, like bond order, on the constructive interference of atomic wave fields, optimized by minimal adjustment to bond orders. The procedure is shown to be equivalent to the philosophy of molecular mechanics. Arguments based on the traditional interpretation of electronegativity, are presented to relate the parameters of strain-free bond lengths, dissociation energies and harmonic force constants, used in molecular mechanics, to quantum-mechanically defined ionization radii of atoms. Atomic electron densities and a bond-order function, both obtained by number-theory optimization, enable the direct calculation of interatomic distance, dissociation energy and stretching force constant for all pairwise interactions of any order. Torsional interaction determines the final shape of a molecule and presumably can only be understood as a four-dimensional effect.http://www.springer.com/series/430hj201