The Abundance, Geographical Distribution and Habitat Use of an Introduced Patas Monkey (Erythrocebus patas) Population in Southwest Puerto Rico

The southwest portion of Puerto Rico is home to introduced free-ranging populations of patas (Erythrocebus patas) and rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) monkeys. The rhesus macaque population originated from a colony established in 1961 on the islands of Guayacán and Cuevas off the southwest coast of Puerto Rico as part of the La Parguera Primate Research Center, which was administered by the Caribbean Primate Research Center. The descendants of these escapees have established free-ranging introduced monkey populations in mainland southwest Puerto Rico and the only previous study done on their ecology was conducted from 1990 to 1993 by González- Martínez (1995). Since that study, these populations had not been surveyed to determine their status and detect changes, if any, in their ecology and population biology. I carried out a reassessment of patas monkeys in southwest Puerto Rico

Análisis evolutivo del conjunto de Sant Agustí Velí (Es Migjorn-Menorca)

Sin resume

Wind turbine model with implementation of a pitch controller

This work is inspired by the motivation to give more importance to the difficult task of mathematical modeling in the engineering industry by providing an own wind turbine model design. Model design is a complex and very important work which lacks attribution in most engineering projects. Moreover, current global problems such as climate change have prompted the decision to design a model of a technology that is helping to alleviate the effects of this major problem; wind turbines, capable of generating energy through renewable sources. This paper shows the importance of model design and focuses on the process of modeling the most essential parts of a wind turbine. The aerodynamic design that captures the kinetic energy of the wind and the gearbox which transforms that energy into generated power are the most relevant aspects. In the latter, two types of gearbox models are analyzed: one-mass and two-mass models. Both are designed and subsequently compared. In addition, a pitch controller is also implemented to automate this turbine in the case of variable winds which may damage the parts that make up the wind turbine. Finally, to prove the correct functionality of the model designed in this work, a variable wind profile has been created, so that the dynamic behavior in different situations can be analyzed. After validating the design of this work it is concluded that the realization of mathematical models can greatly help in many engineering projects and are able to avoid serious errors during design and fabrication stages. The simulation of these models provides useful data and allows for the testing of different ideas that can help with the creation of more efficient and beneficial technologies for both companies and society in general

Electrodes modification with silver nanoparticles for the detection of arsenic

L'arsènic és un dels 10 productes químics de l'OMS (Organització Mundial de la Salut) de major preocupació per la salut pública. El límit actual recomanat d'arsènic a l'aigua potable és de 10 ppb. Les tècniques habituals per la seva quantificació són cares i utilitzen instruments grans i voluminosos que només són aptes per al seu ús en laboratori. En canvi, les tècniques voltamperomètriques són més simples, de baix cost i permeten la utilització d’equips portàtils capaços de determinar elements traça. Aquest és el cas dels elèctrodes screen printed (SPE). A més a més, la composició de la seva superfície pot ser fàcilment modificada amb l’addició de nanopartícules per millorar la sensibilitat. En aquest sentit, es va proposar detectar arsènic en solució mitjançant voltamperometria i SPEs modificats amb nanopartícules de plata, les quals es poden obtenir per diferents tipus de síntesi. En aquest treball s’han estudiat dos tipus de nanopartícules (NPs): de via sintètica de diferents formes i mides (llavors i nanoprismes de plata) i també NPs de síntesi respectuosa amb el medi ambient o “verdes”. Tots els tipus es van caracteritzar microscòpicament i es van utilitzar en la modificació de SPEs comercials de nanofibres de carboni. La determinació d’arsènic es va realitzar mitjançant voltamperometria de redissolució anòdica en el mode de pulsos diferencials (DPASV) i es van optimitzar els paràmetres experimentals. El millor resultat es va aconseguir amb les NPs sintètiques i més concretament, amb les llavors de plata, aconseguint un límit de detecció de 1,66 ppb per un rang lineal de fins 50 ppb. Finalment, es va aplicar a una mostra real (aigua de l’aixeta “spiked”) , de la qual s’ha pogut determinar la seva concentració amb una desviació d’un 1%

Genetic linkage studies in the pseudoautosomal region of the human sex chromosomes

The two pseudoautosomal regions (PARs) of the human sex chromosomes have drawn considerable interest from researchers in cytogenetics, cytology, evolutionary biology and developmental genetics. However, theses two regions have been widely ignored by the two genetic mapping approaches, using linkage and association analysis methods. At least 29 genes are known to be located in the PARs, most of them of unknown function. Accurate and comprehensive linkage maps are crucial for the success of gene mapping projects. The difference between male and female genetic maps, chromosomal position and population under study, are a challenge to genetic map construction in diploid organisms in which sex is determined by a pair of different sex chromosomes. A high-resolution genetic map that is based on the largest set of polymorphic markers in the PARs so far has been estimated. Based on this map it is determined how genetically different in size is the female X chromosomes from the male X chromosome