Nonlinear Observability Algorithms with Known and Unknown Inputs: Analysis and Implementation

The observability of a dynamical system is affected by the presence of external inputs, either known (such as control actions) or unknown (disturbances). Inputs of unknown magnitude are especially detrimental for observability, and they also complicate its analysis. Hence, the availability of computational tools capable of analysing the observability of nonlinear systems with unknown inputs has been limited until lately. Two symbolic algorithms based on differential geometry, ORC-DF and FISPO, have been recently proposed for this task, but their critical analysis and comparison is still lacking. Here we perform an analytical comparison of both algorithms and evaluate their performance on a set of problems, while discussing their strengths and limitations. Additionally, we use these analyses to provide insights about certain aspects of the relationship between inputs and observability. We found that, while ORC-DF and FISPO follow a similar approach, they differ in key aspects that can have a substantial influence on their applicability and computational cost. The FISPO algorithm is more generally applicable, since it can analyse any nonlinear ODE model. The ORC-DF algorithm analyses models that are affine in the inputs, and if those models have known inputs it is sometimes more efficient. Thus, the optimal choice of a method depends on the characteristics of the problem under consideration. To facilitate the use of both algorithms, we implemented the ORC-DF condition in a new version of STRIKE-GOLDD, a MATLAB toolbox for structural identifiability and observability analysis. Since this software tool already had an implementation of the FISPO algorithm, the new release allows modellers and model users the convenience of choosing between different algorithms in a single tool, without changing the coding of their modelThis research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the project SYNBIOCONTROL (reference DPI2017-82896-C2-2-R). We acknowledge support of the publication fee by the CSIC Open Access Publication Support Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI) and by the Xunta de Galicia through grant ref. IN607B 2020-03S

La Ricarda : de l'excel·lència arquitectònica a l'avantguarda cultural

La Ricarda és una casa situada a les zones baixes del Prat de Llobregat de Barcelona, actualment reconeguda pel seu exclusiu valor arquitectònic i dissenyada per l'arquitecte Antoni Bonet en estreta col·laboració amb el propietari Ricardo Gomis i la seva esposa Inés Bertrand. És construïda en plena època de la dictadura franquista (1953-1963). La casa, que en un principi va ser erigida per ser habitada per la família Gomis-Bertrand va esdevenir un espai on expressions tant artístiques com intel·lectuals i filosòfiques podien ser compartides i difoses, a més d'acollir les inquietuds artístiques que no formaven part de l'art oficial. A través dels anys, el que ha perdurat ha sigut el seu valor arquitectònic, digne d'estudis i anàlisis. La falta de recursos i el reconeixement insuficient del seu llegat cultural han fet que la conservació d'aquesta obra es vegi amenaçada. Aquest article cerca ressaltar el valor històric i cultural de La Ricarda per elaborar una proposta d'intervenció que permeti revitalitzar, interpel·lar, revaloritzar i respectar els agents implicats, tot transformant aquest espai en un centre cultural.La Ricarda is a house located in the lower areas of Prat de Llobregat in Barcelona, currently recognized for its unique architectural value and designed by the architect Antoni Bonet in close collaboration with the owner Ricardo Gomis and his wife Inés Bertrand. The building was constructed with the purpose of be habited by the Gomis family, but eventually, it was used in order to create a space where expressions artistic as intellectual and philosophical could be shared and disseminated, in addition to harbour the repressed republican intellectual thought at that time. Over the years the house was losing its ideological legacy, but it remained standing as an architectural reference worthy of analysis and studies. However, the lack of resources and the little recognition of its cultural legacy have threatened the continuity of this work. This article seeks to highlight the historical and cultural value of La Ricarda and, from that, draw up an intervention proposal with the aim of revitalize, interpellate and revalue always respecting the wishes of the parts involved while transforming at the same time this space into a cultural center

On-Surface Hydrogen-Induced Covalent Coupling of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons via a Superhydrogenated Intermediate

The activation and subsequent covalent coupling of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are of great interest in fields like chemistry, energy, biology, or health, among others. However, this is not a trivial process. So far, it is based on the use of catalysts that drive and increase the efficiency of the reaction. Here, we report on an unprecedented method in which the dehydrogenation and covalent coupling is thermally activated in the presence of atomic hydrogen and a surface. This mechanism, which requires of the superhydrogenation of the PAHs, has been characterized by high-resolution scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and rationalized by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. This work opens a door toward the formation of covalent, PAH-based, macromolecular nanostructures on low-reactive surfaces, thus facilitating its applicability.Comment: This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 licens

Salud mental y adicciones: El consumo de sustancias psicoestimulantes y alucinógenas asociado a la psicosis

Salud mental y adicciones: El consumo de sustancias psicoestimulantes y alucinógenas asociado a la psicosi

Modelling and simulation of pathogen inactivation with sanitizers in a food washing tank operated continuously and with turbulent flow

[Resumen] Las autoridades de seguridad alimentaria en los últimos años están demandando avances en el modelado y simulación de la lavado de frutas y verduras que permitan diseñar modos de operación sostenible (mínimo consumo de agua) garantizando la seguridad final del alimento Se requiere, además, evitar que los residuos y patógenos se trasladen del agua de lavado al alimento (contaminación cruzada). En este estudio, se simula el proceso de lavado y desinfección en un tanque industrial en régimen turbulento. Para modelar el transporte de especies (desinfectante, patógenos y materia orgánica), se considera la ecuación de advección-difusión. Para describir la inactivación de los patógenos en el agua, se incluye el modelo de reacción describiendo las interacciones entre las distintas especies. Los resultados revelan que, aunque un incremento en las velocidades del flujo (aumento de la turbulencia) genera mayor homogeneidad en la distribución de desinfectante, el tiempo característico del proceso resulta insuficiente para inactivar eficazmente los patógenos en el agua.[Abstract] Food safety authorities in recent years are demanding advances in modeling and simulating the washing of fruits and vegetables to support the development of sustainable operation designs (minimum water use) and guaranteeing final product safety. It is required, moreover, to avoid the transference of residues and pathogens from the wash water to the food (cross-contamination). In this study, we simulate an industrial washing and disinfection process in a tank in a turbulent regime. We consider the advectiondiffusion equation to model the species (disinfectant, pathogens, and organic matter) transport, and we include the reaction model between the different species to describe pathogen inactivation in the wash water. The results reveal that, although increasing flow velocities (increased turbulence) generates greater homogeneity in the disinfectant distribution, the characteristic time of the process becomes insufficient to inactivate pathogens in the water.Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; 20213AT001Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; 202270I19

Expression of SATB1 and SATB2 in the brain of bony fishes: what fish reveal about evolution

Satb1 and Satb2 belong to a family of homeodomain proteins with highly conserved functional and regulatory mechanisms and posttranslational modifications in evolution. However, although their distribution in the mouse brain has been analyzed, few data exist in other non-mammalian vertebrates. In the present study, we have analyzed in detail the sequence of SATB1 and SATB2 proteins and the immunolocalization of both, in combination with additional neuronal markers of highly conserved populations, in the brain of adult specimens of different bony fish models at key evolutionary points of vertebrate diversification, in particular including representative species of sarcopterygian and actinopterygian fishes. We observed a striking absence of both proteins in the pallial region of actinopterygians, only detected in lungfish, the only sarcopterygian fish. In the subpallium, including the amygdaloid complex, or comparable structures, we identified that the detected expressions of SATB1 and SATB2 have similar topologies in the studied models. In the caudal telencephalon, all models showed significant expression of SATB1 and SATB2 in the preoptic area, including the acroterminal domain of this region, where the cells were also dopaminergic. In the alar hypothalamus, all models showed SATB2 but not SATB1 in the subparaventricular area, whereas in the basal hypothalamus the cladistian species and the lungfish presented a SATB1 immunoreactive population in the tuberal hypothalamus, also labeled with SATB2 in the latter and colocalizing with the gen Orthopedia. In the diencephalon, all models, except the teleost fish, showed SATB1 in the prethalamus, thalamus and pretectum, whereas only lungfish showed also SATB2 in prethalamus and thalamus. At the midbrain level of actinopterygian fish, the optic tectum, the torus semicircularis and the tegmentum harbored populations of SATB1 cells, whereas lungfish housed SATB2 only in the torus and tegmentum. Similarly, the SATB1 expression in the rhombencephalic central gray and reticular formation was a common feature. The presence of SATB1 in the solitary tract nucleus is a peculiar feature only observed in non-teleost actinopterygian fishes. At these levels, none of the detected populations were catecholaminergic or serotonergic. In conclusion, the protein sequence analysis revealed a high degree of conservation of both proteins, especially in the functional domains, whereas the neuroanatomical pattern of SATB1 and SATB2 revealed significant differences between sarcopterygians and actinopterygians, and these divergences may be related to the different functional involvement of both in the acquisition of various neural phenotypes.Depto. de Biología CelularFac. de Ciencias BiológicasTRUEMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación (grant no. PID2020- 112681GB100), and the Santander/Complutense University of Madrid, Grant/Award Number: PR108/20-17Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) /Banco de Santanderpu

Elementos facilitadores para la re-significación de la práctica educativa en estudiantes universitarias de educación infantil

El objetivo de este estudio de caso es analizar qué elementos pueden facilitar la re-significación de la práctica educativa en estudiantes universitarias de Educación infantil. El artículo analiza el contenido de los seminarios en los que ocurre la reflexión conjunta, la entrevista a la tutora y el cuestionario que responden las 13 estudiantes en prácticas. Los resultados sugieren que la re-significación acontece en la fase de actividad interactiva denominada interpretación y las ayudas de la tutora que han sido clave para la re-significación de la práctica son: ayudas dialógicas; las dirigidas a la identificación de factores; las orientadas a la construcción de un marco interpretativo; y las ayudas dirigidas al establecimiento de relaciones con experiencias previas, con la situación analizada y con conocimientos académicosThe objective of this case study is to define the elements that can facilitate attaching new meaning to student teaching among undergraduate students majoring in early childhood education. The article analyzes the content of seminars of joint reflection, interviews with the student teacher supervisor, and a questionnaire completed by thirteen student teachers. The results suggest that attaching new significance occurs in the interactive phase known as interpretation and that the forms of assistance from the student teacher supervisor that have been key in attaching new significance to student teaching are: help through dialog, help directed to identifying factors, help in constructing an interpretative framework, and help in establishing associations with previous experiences, with the analyzed situation, and with academic knowledgeEsta investigación ha sido financiada por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad del Gobierno de España (EDU2013-44632-P)

Naphthyl-Containing Organophosphonate Derivatives of Keggin-Type Polyoxotungstates

New organophosphonate derivatives of monovacant Keggin-type polyoxotungstates that contain naphthyl groups have been synthesized and characterized in both solid state and solution. Single-crystal structural analysis shows that two phosphonate groups occupy the vacant position of the lacunary cluster unit in the isostructural compounds [N(C4H9)(4)](3)[H(POC11H9)(2)(-HBW11O39)] (TBA-1) and [N(C4H9)(4)](3)[H(POC11H9)(2)(-SiW11O39)] (TBA-2). Liquid-solution UV-Vis transmittance and solid-state diffuse reflectance spectroscopy studies reveal the presence of a new absorption band in the visible region, the charge transfer character of which has been further confirmed by time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations. The latter evidence that the charge transfer process is dominated by transitions from the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO), localized in the aromatic ring of the organic group, to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO), localized in the Keggin anion. Photoluminescence studies show that the fluorescent properties of the 1-naphthylmethylphosphonate group are quenched upon its incorporation into the inorganic oxo-tungstate skeleton. The solution stability of the hybrid clusters has been evaluated by a combination of H-1-, C-13- and P-31-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy and Electrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry. The hybrid polyanion [H(POC11H9)(2)(-HBW11O39)](3-) (1) herein constitutes the first structurally characterized organo-p-block containing borotungstate, and hence it confirms that this strategy for the organic functionalization of polyoxometalate clusters can be applied to new platforms belonging to the family of group-13 heteropolyoxotungstates

Prospective associations between a priori dietary patterns adherence and kidney function in an elderly Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk

Purpose To assess the association between three diferent a priori dietary patterns adherence (17-item energy reduced Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet), Trichopoulou-MedDiet and Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH)), as well as the Protein Diet Score and kidney function decline after one year of follow-up in elderly individuals with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS). Methods We prospectively analyzed 5675 participants (55–75 years) from the PREDIMED-Plus study. At baseline and at one year, we evaluated the creatinine-based estimated glomerular fltration rate (eGFR) and food-frequency questionnaires derived dietary scores. Associations between four categories (decrease/maintenance and tertiles of increase) of each dietary pattern and changes in eGFR (ml/min/1.73m2 ) or≥10% eGFR decline were assessed by ftting multivariable linear or logistic regression models, as appropriate. Results Participants in the highest tertile of increase in 17-item erMedDiet Score showed higher upward changes in eGFR (β: 1.87 ml/min/1.73m2 ; 95% CI: 1.00–2.73) and had lower odds of≥10% eGFR decline (OR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.47–0.82) compared to individuals in the decrease/maintenance category, while Trichopoulou-MedDiet and DASH Scores were not associated with any renal outcomes. Those in the highest tertile of increase in Protein Diet Score had greater downward changes in eGFR (β: − 0.87 ml/min/1.73m2 ; 95% CI: − 1.73 to − 0.01) and 32% higher odds of eGFR decline (OR: 1.32; 95% CI: 1.00–1.75). Conclusions Among elderly individuals with overweight/obesity and MetS, only higher upward change in the 17-item erMedDiet score adherence was associated with better kidney function after one year. However, increasing Protein Diet Score appeared to have an adverse impact on kidney health. Trial Registration Number: ISRCTN89898870 (Data of registration: 2014)

Pulsed light for a cleaner dyeing industry: azo dye degradation by an advanced oxidation process driven by pulsed light

Water pollution by wastewater containing dyes is an environmental issue that can be mitigated by the use of advanced oxidation processes (AOP). Pulsed light (PL) is an emerging food processing technology that uses eco-friendly lamps and can potentially be adapted as light source of an UV-based AOP. In the present work, a PL/H2O2 process was tested for the decolourization of two azo dyes, and a pulsed light/H2O2/ferrioxalate process was tested for the decolourization of one azo dye. The efficiency of the PL/H2O2 process in a batch reactor under different parametric values: dye concentration, pH, H2O2 and salt doses was followed by spectrophotometry and fitted to first-order kinetics; and several degradation products were detected. In the PL/H2O2 process, decolourization rates increased at low dye concentrations and high H2O2 doses, were pH-dependent and were inhibited by the addition of NaCl, Na2SO3 or Na2CO3. More than 50 % decolouration was achieved with the PL/H2O2 process for both dyes after applying 54 J/cm2 (25 light pulses). The PL/H2O2/ferrioxalate process achieved > 95 % decolouration for Methyl orange when applying 21 J/cm2 (10 pulses); that level of energy can be supplied by PL commercial systems in nine and four seconds respectively. No known toxic degradation products were detected. Results show that a PL/H2O2 process has potential to be used for the efficient degradation of dyes from wastewater. Furthermore, the efficacy of this process can be improved by the use of ferrioxalate. PL technology could become an alternative light source to contribute to decrease the environmental impact of wastewater produced by the dyeing industry.Ciencias de la Alimentació