Pròleg

Pròleg del quadern "Eponimia Mèdica Catalana II"

EngiMath online course. Effective feedback from upc mathematics teachers (concept)

EngiMath is a 3 ECTS online course in engineering mathematics, in seven different languages, and it is the main and practical output of the ERASMUS+ project entitled “Mathematics online learning model in engineering education” in which the authors were participating. The course is integrated with Learning Management Systems such as Moodle and it is compatible with other platforms using Learning Tools Interoperability. Once the project is finished, authors undertake, with the support of the Institute of Education Sciences at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-BarcelonaTECH (UPC), an innovation project, EngiMath@UPC, with three practical objectives: a) to incorporate EngiMath into the teaching activity of the widest as possible range of students at UPC, b) to gather students and faculty feedback regarding the tracking of materials and their performance in the student training process, and c) to statistically analyze the data collected in order to validate and adjust the follow-up of the materials. In connection with the above mentioned objective b) a training course addressed to the math professors has been prepared at UPC. The paper introduces, on the one hand, the EngiMath course as an online open educational resource for the academic community benefit, and on the other hand, analyzes the valuable feedback given by the training activity participants. Details on the online course implementation as well as main conclusions will be presented and discussed throughout the document

Strong Reflexivity of Abelian Groups

A reflexive topological group G is called strongly reflexive if each closed subgroup and each Hausdorff quotient of the group G and of itsdua l group isre flexive. In this paper we establish an adequate concept of strong reflexivity for convergence groups. We prove that complete metrizable nuclear groups and products of countably many locally compact topological groupsare BB-strongly reflexive

Cross-validation of methods used for analysis of MTBE and other gasoline components in groundwater.

Head space gas chromatography with flame-ionization detection (HS-GC-FID), ancl purge and trap gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (P&T-GC-MS) have been used to determine methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and benzene, toluene, and the ylenes (BTEX) in groundwater. In the work discussed in this paper measures of quality, e.g. recovery (94-111%), precision (4.6 - 12.2%), limits of detection (0.3 - 5.7 I~g L 1 for HS and 0.001 I~g L 1 for PT), and robust-ness, for both methods were compared. In addition, for purposes of comparison, groundwater samples from areas suffering from odor problems because of fuel spillage and tank leakage were analyzed by use of both techniques. For high concentration levels there was good correlation between results from both methods

Impacts of metals and nutrients released from melting multiyear Arctic sea ice

Nutrients (C, N, and P) and metals (iron, molybdenum, nickel, zinc, vanadium, copper, and cobalt) were determined in water and multiyear ice sampled along the Greenland current and Fram Strait in July 2007. Total metal and nutrient concentrations in ice varied fivefold to tenfold, for most elements, across the area sampled. Data show that some nutrients (i.e., NH4+) and metals (i.e., Fe, Zn, V, Cu, Ni, Mo, and Co) are enriched in Arctic ice relative to surface seawaters, suggesting that ice melting is a significant source of metals to the receiving seawaters, particularly Fe and Zn whose concentrations were significantly (t test, P < 0.05) more than 2 orders of magnitude higher in ice than in surface seawater.This research is part of the ATOS project, funded as part of the Spanish contribution to the International Polar Year (IPY) by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (POL2006-00550/CTM). This is a contribution to the GEOTRACES cluster of the IPY. We thank the ATOS participants, UTM and crew of R/V Hespérides for help with ice sampling and logistics. We thank R. Santiago, R. Martínez, and A. Massanet at IMEDEA and J. A. González (SCT, UIB) for help with chemical analyses. This manuscript was written in the field stations of Ses Salines Lighthouse.Peer reviewe

Association of neurexin 3 polymorphisms with smoking behavior.

The Neurexin 3 gene (NRXN3) has been associated with dependence on various addictive substances, as well as with the degree of smoking in schizophrenic patients and impulsivity among tobacco abusers. To further evaluate the role of NRXN3 in nicotine addiction, we analyzed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and a copy number variant (CNV) within the NRXN3 genomic region. An initial study was carried out on 157 smokers and 595 controls, all of Spanish Caucasian origin. Nicotine dependence was assessed using the Fagerstrom index and the number of cigarettes smoked per day. The 45 NRXN3 SNPs genotyped included all the SNPs previously associated with disease, and a previously described deletion within NRXN3. This analysis was replicated in 276 additional independent smokers and 568 controls. Case-control association analyses were performed at the allele, genotype and haplotype levels. Allelic and genotypic association tests showed that three NRXN3 SNPs were associated with a lower risk of being a smoker. The haplotype analysis showed that one block of 16 Kb, consisting of two of the significant SNPs (rs221473 and rs221497), was also associated with lower risk of being a smoker in both the discovery and the replication cohorts, reaching a higher level of significance when the whole sample was considered [odds ratio = 0.57 (0.42-0.77), permuted P = 0.0075]. By contrast, the NRXN3 CNV was not associated with smoking behavior. Taken together, our results confirm a role for NRXN3 in susceptibility to smoking behavior, and strongly implicate this gene in genetic vulnerability to addictive behaviors

Alternativa para obtener elementos fundamentales y presupuesto necesario de un sistema fotovoltaico, contribuyendo al mejoramiento energético y del ecosistema

An alternative method was carried out with the objective of developing a tool to calculate the budget necessary for the implementation of a photovoltaic system for energy sustainability and thereby improving the environment, contributing to decision-making in the use of renewable sources. of energy, without the need to request a project that would involve expenses for the entity in its preparation. It is aimed at responding to the current problem, since the entity itself cannot carry out the calculations of elements and budget necessary to install a photovoltaic system as it does not have specialized personnel in the matter. The implementation of the photovoltaic system also guarantees a certain energy independence from the national electrical grid, thus providing energy savings and improvements to the ecosystem. The calculations and essential technical operations are shown to obtain the fundamental elements and installation budget of the photovoltaic system connected to the national electrical grid based on deductive inductive analyses. The savings of fossil fuels and their environmental impact are determined. In addition, it includes the possible expense budget for your installation, the energy and economic analyzes of its implementation. The desirable results are revealed, aimed at achieving energy independence and increasing efficiency in energy indicators, providing economic, social and environmental benefits.Se realizó método alternativo con el objetivo de elaborar una herramienta para calcular el presupuesto necesario en la implementación de un sistema fotovoltaico, sin la necesidad de solicitar un proyecto que implicaría gastos a la entidad en su elaboración. Está encaminado a dar respuesta a la problemática actual, al no poder realizarse por la propia entidad los cálculos de elementos y presupuesto necesario para instalar un sistema fotovoltaico al no contar con personal especializado en la materia. La implementación del sistema fotovoltaico también garantiza cierta independencia energética de la red eléctrica nacional, aportando de este modo ahorro energético y mejoras al ecosistema. Se muestran los cálculos y las operaciones técnicas esenciales para obtener los elementos fundamentales y presupuesto de instalación del sistema fotovoltaico conectado a la red eléctrica nacional a partir de análisis deductivos inductivos. Está determinado el ahorro de combustibles fósil y su impacto ambiental. Además, incluye el posible presupuesto de gastos de su instalación, los análisis energéticos y económicos en su implementación. Se revelan las resultas deseables, encaminadas a lograr independencia energética y elevar eficiencia en los indicadores energéticos, aportando beneficios económicos, sociales y medioambientales