A novel smart energy management as a service over a cloud computing platform for nanogrid appliances

There will be a dearth of electrical energy in the world in the future due to exponential increase in electrical energy demand of rapidly growing world population. With the development of Internet of Things (IoT), more smart appliances will be integrated into homes in smart cities that actively participate in the electricity market by demand response programs to efficiently manage energy in order to meet this increasing energy demand. Thus, with this incitement, the energy management strategy using a price-based demand response program is developed for IoT-enabled residential buildings. We propose a new EMS for smart homes for IoT-enabled residential building smart devices by scheduling to minimize cost of electricity, alleviate peak-to-average ratio, correct power factor, automatic protective appliances, and maximize user comfort. In this method, every home appliance is interfaced with an IoT entity (a data acquisition module) with a specific IP address, which results in a wide wireless system of devices. There are two components of the proposed system: software and hardware. The hardware is composed of a base station unit (BSU) and many terminal units (TUs). The software comprises Wi-Fi network programming as well as system protocol. In this study, a message queue telemetry transportation (MQTT) broker was installed on the boards of BSU and TU. In this paper, we present a low-cost platform for the monitoring and helping decision making about different areas in a neighboring community for efficient management and maintenance, using information and communication technologies. The findings of the experiments demonstrated the feasibility and viability of the proposed method for energy management in various modes. The proposed method increases effective energy utilization, which in turn increases the sustainability of IoT-enabled homes in smart cities. The proposed strategy automatically responds to power factor correction, to protective home appliances, and to price-based demand response programs to combat the major problem of the demand response programs, which is the limitation of consumer’s knowledge to respond upon receiving demand response signals. The schedule controller proposed in this paper achieved an energy saving of 6.347 kWh real power per day, this paper achieved saving 7.282 kWh apparent power per day, and the proposed algorithm in our paper saved $2.3228388 per day

Client orientation in fashion e-commerce: a comparative study

[EN] E-business and especially e-commerce represents one of the most important ways of doing business in the current context. That is why, researchers are doing a great effort in studying how Business to Consumer platforms manage the relationship with their clients. Regarding the most important channels of connection between consumers and companies in online market, the websites and Apps, this study analyzes the way in which e-businesses present the information to their clients from a client-focused strategy point of view. The present study evaluates how two important e-commerce companies deal with this in such a competitive market as fashion and aims to state some success guidelines for fashion e-commerces.Orero-Blat, M.; Botella-Carrubi, D.; Simón-Moya, V.; Sendra, J.; Mogorrón Guerrero, H. (2020). Client orientation in fashion e-commerce: a comparative study. IEEE. 1-6. https://doi.org/10.23919/CISTI49556.2020.9141057S1

PBL methodologies: BIM and 3D scanning applied to teaching in construction engineering projects

La creciente necesidad de los egresados universitarios de la educación técnica para lograr una formación integral, completa y actualizada en el uso de las tecnologías actuales y equipos avanzados, así como la adquisición de competencias relacionadas con la capacidad colaborativa y la interrelación entre disciplinas, requiere la revisión de metodologías de enseñanza y aprendizaje a estudiantes universitarios.La presente investigación recoge el estudio realizado en una asignatura de tercer curso del Grado en Edificación de la Universidad de Sevilla, sobre un total de ochenta y dos alumnos, pertenecientes a dos cursos académicos. Implementa un innovador sistema de aprendizaje, aplicando los principios de evaluación continua, fomentando el trabajo colaborativo, la participación en propuestas, y el impacto en su formación derivada de la propia experimentación con equipos tecnológicos avanzados y sistemas BIM (Building Information Modelling) presentes en el trabajo profesional contemporaneo. , con verificación de resultados, siguiendo siempre el método de aprendizaje basado en la resolución de problemas del ABP.Los resultados de este estudio indican que la comprensión e implementación de la metodología BIM y el uso de una herramienta de escaneo 3D, combinados con la metodología basada en el PBL son de gran utilidad para el desarrollo de proyectos en el campo de la ingeniería de edificación . Los datos obtenidos tras las encuestas en relación a la valoración de los alumnos sobre su aprendizaje son muy positivos y una gran mayoría de ellos afirma que tras este curso han aprendido a trabajar colaborativamente, y les ha ayudado a superar el miedo a trabajar con BIM. y herramientas de escaneo 3D

Respiratory infection by Corynebacterium striatum: Epidemiological and clinical determinants

© 2014 The Authors. The increasing prevalence of advanced chronic respiratory disease, with frequent exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics for repeated and prolonged hospitalizations, favours the emergence of nosocomial respiratory infection by Gram-positive bacteria, such as outbreaks of Corynebacterium striatum. There is little evidence about patterns of respiratory infection, transmission and adaptive ability of this pathogen. Seventy-two C. striatum isolates from 51 advanced respiratory patients, mainly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, were studied during 38 months. Patients were 74.8 ± 8.6 years old and 81.9% were men, who had required an average of 2.2 hospitalizations and 63.5 days in the hospital in the previous year. Of 49 isolates from 42 patients we were able to identify 12 clones by multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA), nine phenotypic variants and 22 antibiotic susceptibility patterns, and we determined their clinical and epidemiological determinants. MLSA allows identification of the existence of nosocomial outbreaks by transmission of the same or different clones, the persistence of the same clone in the environment or in patient airways for months. The study showed the high variability and adaptive capacity of the isolates, the antibiotic multidrug-resistance in all of them, and their contribution to a high morbidity and mortality (41%) during the study period.This work was supported by the General Board for Research, Technological Development and Innovation of the Department of Finance and Innovation of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands (Direcció General de Recerca, Desenvolupament Tecnològic i Innovació, de la Conselleria d'Hisenda i Innovació, de la Comunitat Autònoma de les Illes Balears). This work was supported also by funding from Spanish MINECO through Consolider CSD2009-00006. Margarita Gomila was supported by a postdoctoral contract from the University of the Balearic Islands, with funds from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports through the International Excellence Campus ProgrammePeer Reviewe

Identification and diversity of multiresistant Corynebacterium striatum clinical isolates by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and by a multigene sequencing approach

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The genus <it>Corynebacterium </it>is composed of Gram-positive bacteria that are widely distributed throughout the environment; these bacteria are also part of the normal microbiota of human skin and mucous membranes. Multiple studies have shown that species of this genus, including <it>C. striatum</it>, become pathogenic to humans under special conditions. Our aim was to determine the characteristics of clinical multiresistant strains of <it>C. striatum </it>that were isolated in our geographical region, to determine their diversity, and to compare them with the type strain and with related species. We studied fifty-two strains of <it>C. striatum </it>isolated from different hospitals from Mallorca, Spain, mainly from the Hospital Joan March in Bunyola, Mallorca. Most of the strains were isolated from sputum cultures of respiratory samples from patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. To gain further insight into the genetic diversity of the strains, we analysed several housekeeping genes and other genes associated with antibiotic resistance. Strains were also characterised phenotypically by their antibiotic resistance profiles and by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The ITS1 region, <it>gyrA </it>and <it>rpoB </it>were chosen as the appropriate genes in the <it>C. striatum </it>genome to study the genetic diversity of <it>C. striatum </it>species and to discriminate between strains. After analysing these three genes, four sequence types (ST2, ST4, ST1 and ST11) were found to be the most abundant. Splits tree analysis of the strains demonstrated that these clinical isolates did not share any alleles with the type strain of the species. Recombination was detected within all of the <it>C. striatum </it>isolates, and different clonal populations were detected within the samples.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results demonstrate that the isolates were best identified using gene-based molecular methods; using these methods, the isolated strains were determined to be different from the type strain of <it>C. striatum</it>. The ITS1 region and the <it>gyrA </it>and <it>rpoB </it>genes were selected because of their variability and were the most useful tools for discriminating between strains. The phenotype and antibiotype characteristics of the strains did not seem suitable for typing purposes. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry can be a useful method for identifying and discriminating between <it>C. striatum </it>strains.</p

Effect of high energy proton irradiation on MAPbI 3 films for space applications observed by micro-Raman spectroscopy

Irradiation of samples with 10 MeV protons is a standard test for simulation of outer space environment in order to qualify devices and materials for space applications. Micro-Raman spectroscopy allows to determine the irradiation effect in methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) thin films under ambient conditions and encapsulated. For the unprotected films, the vibrational modes matched previously reported lead oxide phonon frequencies and the appearance of superficial oxides was confirmed by EDAXS analysis. However, the Raman shifts corresponding to PbO were not observed for the irradiated encapsulated samples, indicating that oxidation occurs after surface exposure to ambient oxygen. Similar effects were observed by photooxidation where the superoxide highly reactive radical is involved in the oxidation mechanism. We propose that irradiation promotes excitation of the electronic cloud that readily reduces the surface adsorbed oxygen and later bonds to the accessible Pb atoms.Fil: Herrera Martinez, Walter Oswaldo. Comision Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia Física (CAC). Grupo Energía Solar; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología - Nodo Constituyentes | Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología - Nodo Constituyentes; ArgentinaFil: Giudici, Paula Inés. Comision Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia Física (CAC). Grupo Energía Solar; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología - Nodo Constituyentes | Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología - Nodo Constituyentes; ArgentinaFil: Correa Guerrero, Natalia Belén. Comision Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia Física (CAC). Grupo Energía Solar; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología - Nodo Constituyentes | Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología - Nodo Constituyentes; ArgentinaFil: Ibarra, María Luján. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología - Nodo Constituyentes | Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología - Nodo Constituyentes; Argentina. Comision Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia Física (CAC). Grupo Energía Solar; ArgentinaFil: Perez, Maria Dolores. Comision Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia Física (CAC). Grupo Energía Solar; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología - Nodo Constituyentes | Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología - Nodo Constituyentes; Argentin

Identification of Proteases and Protease Inhibitors in Seeds of the Recalcitrant Forest Tree Species Quercus ilex.

Proteases and protease inhibitors have been identified in the recalcitrant species Quercus ilex using in silico and wet methods, with focus on those present in seeds during germination. In silico analyses showed that the Q. ilex transcriptome database contained 2,240 and 97 transcripts annotated as proteases and protease inhibitors, respectively. They belonged to the different families according to MEROPS, being the serine and metallo ones the most represented. The data were compared with those previously reported for other Quercus species, including Q. suber, Q. lobata, and Q. robur. Changes in proteases and protease inhibitors alongside seed germination in cotyledon and embryo axis tissues were assessed using proteomics and in vitro and in gel activity assays. Shotgun (LC-MSMS) analysis of embryo axes and cotyledons in nonviable (NV), mature (T1) and germinated (T3) seeds allowed the identification of 177 proteases and 12 protease inhibitors, mostly represented by serine and metallo types. Total protease activity, as determined by in vitro assays using azocasein as substrate, was higher in cotyledons than in embryo axes. There were not differences in activity among cotyledon samples, while embryo axis peaked at germinated T4 stage. Gel assays revealed the presence of protease activities in at least 10 resolved bands, in the Mr range of 60-260 kDa, being some of them common to cotyledons and embryo axes in either nonviable, mature, and germinated seeds. Bands showing quantitative or qualitative changes upon germination were observed in embryo axes but not in cotyledons at Mr values of 60-140 kDa. Proteomics shotgun analysis of the 10 bands with protease activity supported the results obtained in the overall proteome analysis, with 227 proteases and 3 protease inhibitors identified mostly represented by the serine, cysteine, and metallo families. The combined use of shotgun proteomics and protease activity measurements allowed the identification of tissue-specific (e.g., cysteine protease inhibitors in embryo axes of mature acorns) and stage-specific proteins (e.g., those associated with mobilization of storage proteins accumulated in T3 stage). Those proteins showing differences between nonviable and viable seeds could be related to viability, and those variables between mature and germinated could be associated with the germination process. These differences are observed mostly in embryo axes but not in cotyledons. Among them, those implicated in mobilization of reserve proteins, such as the cathepsin H cysteine protease and Clp proteases, and also the large number of subunits of the CNS and 26S proteasome complex differentially identified in embryos of the several stages suggests that protein degradation via CNS/26S plays a major role early in germination. Conversely, aspartic proteases such as nepenthesins were exclusively identified in NV seeds, so their presence could be used as indicator of nonviability.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness in the framework of Projects BIO2015- 64737-R and PID2019-109038RB-I00.S

Estudio de la factibilidad de fabricación de celdas solares de perovskitas en Argentina mediante análisis de ciclo de vida e indicadores energéticos.

Las celdas solares de perovskita (PSC por sus siglas en inglés) son objeto de estudio en el campo de las energías renovables gracias a sus elevadas eficiencias de fotoconversión. En este trabajo se presenta el análisis de ciclo de vida (ACV) de la cuna a la puerta de PSC fabricadas en C.A.B.A. para evaluar su impacto adoptando como unidad funcional 1m2 de PSC fabricada considerando la configuración de una celda típica construida en los laboratorios de CNEA mediante spin coating. Se realizó un estudio de indicadores energéticos EPBT y EROI (Energy PayBack Time y Energy Return of Investment) de donde se obtuvo el tiempo de vida requerido para que la fabricación de los dispositivos pueda ser viable energéticamente. Además se estudió cómo varían estos según la localidad donde se implementen los dispositivos y cómo sería la variación de energía en todo el proceso si se aplican técnicas de encapsulado. Las PSC con eficiencias de 15% alcanzaron valores de EPBT de 10 meses en C.A.B.A., y valores de EROI comparables a otras tecnologías fotovoltaicas si se extrapola el tiempo de vida a 5 años como mínimo. Además del ACV se pudo observar que el mayor aporte energético está dado por el tipo de proceso elegido en la fabricación.Perovskite solar cells (PSC) are a relevant subject of study in the field on renewable energies due to their excepcional photoconversion efficiency. Even though the laboratory reports are very promising, it is necessary to perform a scale-up factibility analysis in order to determine if PSCs can become a useful technology. In this report we performed a life cycle assessment (LCA) from-cradle-to-door of PSCs fabricated in the Buenos Aires city area in order to evaluate the impact of each fabrication process. The functional unit consist of cells of 1m2 prepared at the CNEA laboratories via spin coating. The energy payback time (EPBT) and the energy return of investment (EROI) were analysed in order to examine the energy generation of the PSCs. Additionally, we studied those indicators under different conditions like solar irradiation and incorporating an extra encapsulation step in the PSC fabrication device. EPBT values for PSC with 15% photo conversion efficiency (PCE) result in 10 months for Buenos Aires. Moreover, the EROI values were similar to those reported in literature. From the LCA we could determine that the major energy intake is due to the kind of technology of choice for the device fabrication.Fil: Correa Guerrero, Natalia Belén. Comision Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia Física (CAC). Grupo Energía Solar; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnologia. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnologia - Nodo Constituyentes | Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnologia. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnologia - Nodo Constituyentes.; ArgentinaFil: Herrera Martinez, Walter Oswaldo. Comision Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia Física (CAC). Grupo Energía Solar; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Perez, Maria Dolores. Comision Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia Física (CAC). Grupo Energía Solar; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnologia. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnologia - Nodo Constituyentes | Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnologia. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnologia - Nodo Constituyentes.; Argentin

Decision Tree for Early Detection of Cognitive Impairment by Community Pharmacists

Purpose: The early detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is essential in aging societies where dementia is becoming a common manifestation among the elderly. Thus our aim is to develop a decision tree to discriminate individuals at risk of MCI among non-institutionalized elderly users of community pharmacy. A more clinically and patient-oriented role of the community pharmacist in primary care makes the dispensation of medication an adequate situation for an effective, rapid, easy, and reproducible screening of MCI.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 728 non-institutionalized participants older than 65. A total of 167 variables were collected such as age, gender, educational attainment, daily sleep duration, reading frequency, subjective memory complaint, and medication. Two screening tests were used to detect possible MCI: Short Portable Mental State Questionnaire (SPMSQ) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Participants classified as positive were referred to clinical diagnosis. A decision tree and predictive models are presented as a result of applying techniques of machine learning for a more efficient enrollment.Results: One hundred and twenty-eight participants (17.4%) scored positive on MCI tests. A recursive partitioning algorithm with the most significant variables determined that the most relevant for the decision tree are: female sex, sleeping more than 9 h daily, age higher than 79 years as risk factors, and reading frequency. Moreover, psychoanaleptics, nootropics, and antidepressants, and anti-inflammatory drugs achieve a high score of importance according to the predictive algorithms. Furthermore, results obtained from these algorithms agree with the current research on MCI.Conclusion: Lifestyle-related factors such as sleep duration and the lack of reading habits are associated with the presence of positive in MCI test. Moreover, we have depicted how machine learning provides a sound methodology to produce tools for early detection of MCI in community pharmacy.Impact of findings on practice: The community of pharmacists provided with adequate tools could develop a crucial task in the early detection of MCI to redirect them immediately to the specialists in neurology or psychiatry. Pharmacists are one of the most accessible and regularly visited health care professionals and they can play a vital role in early detection of MCI