New correlations for prediction of high-pressure phase equilibria of n-alkane mixtures with the RKPR EoS: Back from the use of l ij (Repulsive) interaction parameters

After detecting some inadequate predictions of volumetric properties and solid-liquid equilibria with the RKPR Equation of State coupled to previously correlated parameters (Cismondi Duarte, M.; et al. Fluid Phase Equilib. 2015, 403, 49-59), we analyzed the causes and concluded that the problems were related to the predominant role of the lij repulsive interaction parameter on those correlations. With the aim of proposing a model able to describe in a correct and consistent way the phase and volumetric behavior of the n-alkane-n-alkane binary mixtures, including the more asymmetric ones, here we made a turn back from our previous parameter correlations. Leaving behind the use of lij parameters, which combined with the arithmetic average combining rule transforms the quadratic into a linear mixing rule for the covolume, we developed in this work for PR and RKPR EoS new correlations of the kij attractive parameters with temperature dependence for the homologous series of binary mixtures formed by methane, ethane, propane, n-butane, or n-pentane with heavier normal alkanes, adopting zero values when both carbon numbers are equal to or higher than six. This also involved a new parametrization of pure n-alkanes for the RKPR EoS and new volume shift correlations for both models. The results show a very good predictive power for the phase behavior of n-alkane binary systems, with RKPR showing a much better performance than that of PR in the case of the more asymmetric systems, and a correct description of volumetric properties.Fil: Tassin, Natalia Giselle. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ingeniería de Procesos y Química Aplicada. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ingeniería de Procesos y Química Aplicada; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez Reartes, Sabrina Belen. Departamento de Ingenieria Quimica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; ArgentinaFil: Cismondi Duarte, Martín. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ingeniería de Procesos y Química Aplicada. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ingeniería de Procesos y Química Aplicada; Argentin

Activity coefficients in nearly athermal mixtures predicted from equations of state: Don't blame the cubic when it is the lack of a third parameter!

The idea that cubic EoS's are very primitive and limited models, quite extended at present among researchers working on fluid properties and phase equilibria, has different roots, including some limitations observed specifically for classic and popular equations like Peng-Robinson (PR) or Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK). These are two-parameter models, i.e. they have only an attractive and a repulsive parameter to characterize each molecule, while other models like SAFT but also cubic –and still for non-associating molecules-introduce also a third parameter related somehow to the molecular structure or shape. One of the alluded limitations, actually a very clear one, is the complete failure in describing the non-ideality in nearly athermal mixtures, like those composed of n-alkanes with different chain lengths: SRK and PR predict positive deviations from ideality, which increase with the system asymmetry, while experimental measurements show exactly the opposite, i.e. increasing negative deviations from ideality. This provides an excellent opportunity to try to clarify whether such failure is due to the cubic nature of these classic models or to their two-parameter character and/or to the classic van der Waals one-fluid (vdW1f) mixing rules typically used. With that motivation, in this work we used models representing three different categories, in a completely predictive way: a two-parameter cubic EoS (PR), a three-parameter cubic EoS (RKPR) and a three-parameter SAFT EoS (PC-SAFT). Their predictions of infinite dilution activity coefficients were analyzed and compared, in contrast to available data for different mixtures of n-butane to n-octane as the lighter compound and paraffins ranging from C16 to C36 as the heavier, in both extremes of dilution. The obtained results, and their analysis, allowed us to extract very clear conclusions which were not present in the literature so far, regarding the importance of a third parameter in any type of EoS.Fil: Tassin, Natalia Giselle. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ingeniería de Procesos y Química Aplicada. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ingeniería de Procesos y Química Aplicada; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez Reartes, Sabrina Belen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Ingeniería Química; ArgentinaFil: Cismondi Duarte, Martín. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ingeniería de Procesos y Química Aplicada. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ingeniería de Procesos y Química Aplicada; Argentina. YPF - Tecnología; Argentin

Maritime Data Transfer Protocol (MDTP): A Proposal for a Data Transmission Protocol in Resource-Constrained Underwater Environments Involving Cyber-Physical Systems

The utilization of autonomous maritime vehicles is becoming widespread in operations that are deemed too hazardous for humans to be directly involved in them. One of the ways to increase the productivity of the tools used during missions is the deployment of several vehicles with the same objective regarding data collection and transfer, both for the benefit of human staff and policy makers. However, the interchange of data in such an environment poses major challenges, such as a low bandwidth and the unreliability of the environment where transmissions take place. Furthermore, the relevant information that must be sent, as well as the exact size that will allow understanding it, is usually not clearly established, as standardization works are scarce in this domain. Under these conditions, establishing a way to interchange information at the data level among autonomous maritime vehicles becomes of critical importance since the needed information, along with the size of the transferred data, will have to be defined. This manuscript puts forward the Maritime Data Transfer Protocol, (MDTP) a way to interchange standardized pieces of information at the data level for maritime autonomous maritime vehicles, as well as the procedures that are required for information interchange.SWARMs (Smart and Networking Underwater Robots in Cooperation Meshes) 1034 European research project. It is under Grant Agreement 1035 n.662107-SWARMs-ECSEL-2014-1 and is being partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Ref: PCIN-2014-022-C02-02) and the ECSEL JU

Potentiometric textile-based pH sensor

Determining the pH of sweat provides valuable information for athletes and patient monitoring. This work presents a textile-based, highly sensitive pH sensor for pH determination. Three conductive fabrics (Argenmesh, Ristop silver and Sstainless steel mesh (SSM)) were modified with a pH sensitive electrodeposited iridium oxide film (EIROF). The three electrodeposited fabrics were characterized by impedance measurements. The stainless steel mesh showed the best sensitivity to pH changes and therefore was selected for further experiments. Two configurations of this fabric were evaluated, looking for improvement in pH sensitivity and temperature dependence. The best result was obtained with the configuration that maximizes the contact surface between the stainless steel fibers, showing an error of 0.15% in the pH measurement of a buffer solution. This configuration was also used to perform in vivo measurements, obtaining an error of 4% when compared to the measurements performed with a commercial pH test strip. The implementation of sensor into textiles brings some advantages such as comfort, biocompatibility and washability, among others; making the future incorporation of a sensor into a garment very possible.Fil: Zamora, Martín Lucas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Domínguez, Juan Martín. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Trujillo, Ricardo Matias. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnología; ArgentinaFil: Goy, Carla Belen. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez, Maria Alejandra. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Madrid, Rossana Elena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnología; Argentin

Developmental synaptic changes at the transient olivocochlear-inner hair cell synapse

In the mature mammalian cochlea, inner hair cells (IHCs) are mainly innervated by afferent fibers that convey sound information to the CNS. During postnatal development, however, medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferent fibers transiently innervate the IHCs. The MOC-IHC synapse, functional from postnatal day 0 (P0) to hearing onset (P12), undergoes dramatic changes in the sensitivity to acetylcholine (ACh) and in the expression of key postsynaptic proteins. To evaluate whether there are associated changes in the properties of ACh release during this period, we used a cochlear preparation from mice of either sex at P4, P6-P7, and P9-P11 and monitored transmitter release from MOC terminals in voltage-clamped IHCs in the whole-cell configuration. The quantum content increased 5.6× from P4 to P9-P11 due to increases in the size and replenishment rate of the readily releasable pool of synaptic vesicles without changes in their probability of release or quantum size. This strengthening in transmission was accompanied by changes in short-term plasticity properties, which switched from facilitation at P4 to depression at P9-P11. We have previously shown that at P9-P11, ACh release is supported by P/Q- and N-type voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) and negatively regulated by BK potassium channels activated by Ca2+ influx through L-type VGCCs. We now show that at P4 and P6-P7, release is mediated by P/Q-, R- and L-type VGCCs. Interestingly, L-type VGCCs have a dual role: they both support release and fuel BK channels, suggesting that at immature stages presynaptic proteins involved in release are less compartmentalized.Fil: Kearney, Graciela Inés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Zorrilla de San Martín, Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Vattino, Lucas Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Elgoyhen, Ana Belen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Farmacologia; ArgentinaFil: Wedemeyer, Carolina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Katz, Eleonora. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Celular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentin

Short-term synaptic plasticity regulates the level of olivocochlear inhibition to auditory hair cells

In the mammalian inner ear, the gain control of auditory inputs is exerted by medial olivocochlear (MOC) neurons that innervate cochlear outer hair cells (OHCs). OHCs mechanically amplify the incoming sound waves by virtue of their electromotile properties while the MOC system reduces the gain of auditory inputs by inhibiting OHC function. How this process is orchestrated at the synaptic level remains unknown. In the present study, MOC firing was evoked by electrical stimulation in an isolated mouse cochlear preparation, while OHCs postsynaptic responses were monitored by whole-cell recordings. These recordings confirmed that electrically evoked IPSCs (eIPSCs) are mediated solely by α9β10 nAChRs functionally coupled to calcium-activated SK2 channels. Synaptic release occurred with low probability when MOC-OHC synapses were stimulated at 1 Hz. However, as the stimulation frequency was raised, the reliability of release increased due to presynaptic facilitation. In addition, the relatively slow decay of eIPSCs gave rise to temporal summation at stimulation frequencies >10 Hz. The combined effect of facilitation and summation resulted in a frequency-dependent increase in the average amplitude of inhibitory currents in OHCs. Thus, we have demonstrated that short-term plasticity is responsible for shaping MOC inhibition and, therefore, encodes the transfer function from efferent firing frequency to the gain of the cochlear amplifier.Fil: Ballestero, Jimena Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Zorrilla de San Martín, Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Goutman, Juan Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Elgoyhen, Ana Belen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina; ArgentinaFil: Fuchs, Paul A.. The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Katz, Eleonora. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Celular; Argentin

Evaluación de estrategias de razonamiento para sistemas basados en reglas

La enseñanza de sistemas basados en el conocimiento es aconsejable acompañarla de prácticas en la que los estudiantes implementen algún sistema basado en reglas (rule based systems, RBS). En este artículo proponemos el uso de juegos de tablero como un escenario de aplicación pequeño pero realista y motivante para el alumno. En particular, describimos los ejercicios que hemos pedido a nuestros estudiantes y el software que hemos desarrollado para facilitar su desarrollo.Financiado por el Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (TIN2005-09382-C02-01)

Experimental radon exhalation measurements: Comparison of different techniques

[EN] Radon is a gas produced from the radioactive natural disintegration of radium and uranium, which is present in soils and different building materials. Due to its gaseous nature, it emanates to the surface and penetrates both by convection and diffusion into the houses. According to recent studies, radon is considered the second leading cause of lung cancer, and it has prompted legislative changes to reduce exposure to this gas. In Spain, the current legislation -R.D. 783/2001 Regulation on Sanitary Radiation Protection and IS-33 Instruction of the Nuclear Safety Council, establishes uniform rules for workers¿ health protection in radioactive installations. In 2013, the European legislation was updated with Directive 2013/59/EURATOM which sets limit values and action plans for radon exposure for homes, public buildings and workplaces for any entrance roads (soil, building materials or water). This Directive must be incorporated before 18th February 2018 into Spanish legislation, so it is necessary to perform, prior to that date, appropriate protocol techniques and methodologies for the measurement radon concentrations in air. This work aims at a preventive approach to the situation. That is, to measure the concentration levels of radon exhaled prior to the design and construction of the dwellings to avoid their accumulation inside The main purpose of this work is the comparison of different radon exhalation measurement techniques in order to define the most appropriate methodology in different cases for the implementation of the new radon control Directive.Noverques-Medina, A.; Verdú Martín, GJ.; Juste Vidal, BJ.; Sancho, M. (2019). Experimental radon exhalation measurements: Comparison of different techniques. Radiation Physics and Chemistry. 155:319-322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2018.08.002S31932215

Do we have friendly services to meet the needs of young women exposed to intimate partner violence in the Madrid region?

Introduction: Women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) do not tend to go very frequently to formal support services. The objective of this study is to identify barriers related to the accessibility, acceptability, equity, appropriateness and effectiveness of IPV services from the perspective of the professionals working in the IPV public services. Methods: A qualitative study was carried out in the Madrid region based on 13 semi-structured interviews of young women who had survived IPV as well as 17 interviews with professionals. A thematic content analysis was performed, guided by the dimensions proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) for friendly services for young people. Results: From the perspective of the young women and professionals, barriers were identified for all the dimensions of the WHO's friendly services for young people: accessibility: lack of information and support from the social setting, scarce dissemination of the services, economic cost, non-adapted schedules, inadequate locations or lack of services in settings close to young people; acceptability: lack of protocols to guarantee confidentiality, lack of speed in the provision of services or their referral, unwelcoming environments or unsympathetic professional malpractice; equity: discriminatory professional attitudes towards groups with different social status and lack of protocols to ensure the care of these groups; appropriateness: unmet needs and lack of multidisciplinary teams; and effectiveness: shortage of time, resources, competent professionals, protocols and coordination. Conclusions: Strategies are needed to make the necessary changes to promote friendly services for the care of young people exposed to IPV. Additionally, it must be emphasized that resources are needed to raise awareness and disseminate IPV services, as well as to train professionals in this area. Patient or Public Contribution: This paper is based on professionals' perspectives of public IPV-related services of different areas such as Psychology, Social Work, Nursing, Psychiatry, Social Education and young women exposed to IPV. They either work in the public administration at the local, regional or state level or in NGOs in Spain.This study was funded by the Health Institute Carlos III (Ref. PI17CIII/00022)

Vegetation patterns in a South American coastal wetland using high-resolution imagery

The aim of this study was to map and describe marsh patterns in a temperate coastal wetlands with high resolution imagery. We carried out a map of Samborombon Bay at 1:25,000 scale (central coordinates: 36º S 56º W, area: 320.25 km2) by using a WorldView-2 image acquired on November 17, 2010. An Object Based Image Analysis approach was chosen, and an unsupervised classification algorithm was applied. Overall classification accuracy was 81% and the Kappa index was 78.1%. We found four spatial patterns at a landscape scale. The lower intertidal was dominated by mudflats without vegetation in the exterior and middle estuary (patterns 1 and 2) and Bolboschoenus maritimus in the inner estuary (pattern 4). The middle intertidal was dominated by Sarcocornia ambigua in the four patterns while the higher intertidal was dominated by Spartina densiflorus and grasslands with Cortaderia selloana (pattern 3). The map allowed the discrimination of plant communities at a landscape scale and became a valuable baseline for future studies on wetland environmental indicators.Fil: Gonzalez, Eliana Belen. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación en Ingeniería Ambiental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez Trilla, Gabriela Liliana. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación en Ingeniería Ambiental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: San Martín, Laura. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación en Ingeniería Ambiental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Grimson, Rafael. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación en Ingeniería Ambiental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Kandus, Patricia. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación en Ingeniería Ambiental; Argentin