Optimization of the thermal storage system in a solar-driven refrigeration system equipped with an adjustable jet-ejector

[EN] The present paper shows a numerical research about the influence of different thermal storage capacities and thermal power consumption strategies in a solar-driven air-conditioning system operating with refrigerant R1234yf. The computational model is fed with hourly climatic data (solar irradiance and ambient temperature) of the typical meteorological year of a Mediterranean location. A special focus is put on the dynamic response of the refrigeration system, the solar collector, and the sensible heat storage tank. Since the refrigeration needs are nearly synchronized with the sunny hours, small tank volumes are the most convenient architecture to achieve a rapid heating-up after tank discharges. For a parabolic trough collector span of 7.1 m, 13.3 kW of thermal power consumption represents a reasonable trade-off between the main performance indicators, mainly, the refrigeration capacity, COPth (thermal coefficient of performance) and the system's capability to operate properly ensuring an adequate thermal level in the heat reservoir.Authors want to acknowledge to the institution Conselleria dInnovacio, Universitats, Ciencia i Societat Digital de la Generalitat Valenciana for the public aid granted in the research project AICO/2021/124) .Luján, JM.; Galindo, J.; Dolz, V.; Ponce-Mora, A. (2022). Optimization of the thermal storage system in a solar-driven refrigeration system equipped with an adjustable jet-ejector. Journal of Energy Storage. 45:1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2021.1034951124

Gender differences in Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia severity

Background: Gender differences in organ involvement and clinical severity have been poorly described in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). The aim of this study was to describe differences in the severity of HHT manifestations according to gender. Methods: Severity was measured according to Epistaxis Severity Score (ESS), Simple Clinical Scoring Index for hepatic involvement, a general HHT-score, needing for invasive treatment (pulmonary or brain arteriovenous malformations -AVMs- embolization, liver transplantation or Young's surgery) or the presence of adverse outcomes (severe anemia, emergency department -ED- or hospital admissions and mortality). Results: One hundred forty-two (58.7%) women and 100 (41.3%) men were included with a mean age of 48.9 ± 16.6 and 49 ± 16.5 years, respectively. Women presented hepatic manifestations (7.1% vs 0%) and hepatic involvement (59.8% vs 47%), hepatic AVMs (28.2% vs 13%) and bile duct dilatation (4.9% vs 0%) at abdominal CT, and pulmonary AVMs at thoracic CT (35.2% vs 23%) more often than men. The Simple Clinical Scoring Index was higher in women (3.38 ± 1.2 vs 2.03 ± 1.2), and more men were considered at low risk of harboring clinically significant liver disease than women (61% vs 25.3%). These differences were mantained when considering HHT1 and HHT2 patients separetely. Duodenal telangiectasia were more frequent in men than women (21% vs 9.8%). Invasive treatments were more frequently needed in women (28.2% vs 16%) but men needed attention at the ED more often than women (48% vs 28.2%), with no differences in ESS, HHT-score, anemia hospital admissions or mortality. Conclusions: HHT women showed more severe hepatic involvement than men, also among HHT1 and HHT2 patients. Women had higher prevalence of pulmonary AVMs and needed invasive procedures more frequently, while men needed attention at the ED more often. These data might help physicians to individualize HHT patients follow-up

Memoria de la red de coordinación del tercer curso del grado en Ingeniería Multimedia

Durante el presente curso se ha constatado el asentamiento del tercer curso del grado en Ingeniería Multimedia, lo que se deriva de los informes de seguimiento de las asignaturas del curso que, en su gran mayoría, no han destacado problema alguno (con alguna excepción de la que se informa). Por otro lado, se ha llevado a cabo una iniciativa para contrastar si las dependencias entre las asignaturas de tercero con respecto a sus precedentes en el plan de estudios responden en realidad a los planteamientos que se hicieron durante el diseño del mismo, intentando descubrir carencias o inconsistencias en los contenidos. De esta manera, se han detectado dependencias que no son tales, dependencias que faltan y temarios de asignaturas básicas en los que, desde el punto de vista de las asignaturas de tercero faltan o sobran contenidos

Evaluación de la implantación transversal de 3º del grado en Ingeniera Multimedia

Durante el presente curso se han llevado a cabo las tareas para la evaluación de la implantación del grado en Ingeniería Multimedia en el marco de los nuevos estudios dentro del EEES, lo cual implica un trabajo extenso de análisis y recopilación del tratamiento concreto que se está dando a la adquisición por parte del alumnado de las diferentes competencias planteadas para cada asignatura en su ficha correspondiente y en la memoria para la solicitud de la verificación del título. Esto ha permitido tener una visión global de cuáles son los medios que se ponen para evaluar dichas competencias y también, desde un punto de vista más cercano, qué calendario de evaluación “ve” el alumno. En esta memoria nos hemos centrado en los aspectos relacionados con el curso tercero del grado

The Use of Corticosteroids or Tocilizumab in COVID-19 Based on Inflammatory Markers

SEMI-COVID-19 Network.[Background] The inflammatory cascade is the main cause of death in COVID-19 patients. Corticosteroids (CS) and tocilizumab (TCZ) are available to treat this escalation but which patients to administer it remains undefined.[Objective] We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of immunosuppressive/anti-inflammatory therapy in COVID-19, based on the degree of inflammation. .[Design] A retrospective cohort study with data on patients collected and followed up from March 1st, 2020, to May 1st, 2021, from the nationwide Spanish SEMI-COVID-19 Registry. Patients under treatment with CS vs. those under CS plus TCZ were compared. Effectiveness was explored in 3 risk categories (low, intermediate, high) based on lymphocyte count, C-reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), ferritin, and d-dimer values.[Patients] A total of 21,962 patients were included in the Registry by May 2021. Of these, 5940 met the inclusion criteria for the present study (5332 were treated with CS and 608 with CS plus TCZ).[Main Measures] The primary outcome of the study was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes were the composite variable of in-hospital mortality, requirement for high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC), non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV), invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), or intensive care unit (ICU) admission.[Key Results] A total of 5940 met the inclusion criteria for the present study (5332 were treated with CS and 608 with CS plus TCZ). No significant differences were observed in either the low/intermediate-risk category (1.5% vs. 7.4%, p=0.175) or the high-risk category (23.1% vs. 20%, p=0.223) after propensity score matching. A statistically significant lower mortality was observed in the very high–risk category (31.9% vs. 23.9%, p=0.049).[Conclusions] The prescription of CS alone or in combination with TCZ should be based on the degrees of inflammation and reserve the CS plus TCZ combination for patients at high and especially very high risk.Peer reviewe

Seminari d'Estudis i Recerques Prehistòriques (SERP). Núcleo de cohesión en formación e investigación en Prehistoria de la Universidad de Barcelona desde 1987

El artículo es un resumen amplio de todas las actividades científicas y académicas llevadas a cabo por el SERP (Seminari d'Estudis i Recerques Prehistòriques) desde su fundación en 1987 por parte del Dr. Fullola. Abarca desde programas de excavaciones a proyectos internacionales pasando por temas de Patrimonio arqueológico o de historiografía, entre muchos otros. Además del resumen de dichas actividades, se añade también una completa lista de publicaciones, la gran mayoría en revistas de impacto nacional e internacional. Se incide especialmente en siete líneas básicas de trabajo dentro del grupo, la arqueopetrología, la arqueozoología, el arte prehistórico, la geoarqueología, la paleobotánica, la tecnología, el patrimonio y los estudios territoriales. También se repasan todos y cada uno de los yacimientos objeto de excavación por parte del SERP en estos últimos tres decenios

Current HHT genetic overview in Spain and its phenotypic correlation: data from RiHHTa registry

Background: Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is a rare vascular disease with autosomal dominant inheritance. Disease-causing variants in endoglin (ENG) and activin A receptor type II-like 1 (ACVRL1) genes are detected in more than 90% of cases submitted to molecular diagnosis. Methods: We used data from the RiHHTa (Computerized Registry of Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia) registry to describe genetic variants and to assess their genotype-phenotype correlation among HHT patients in Spain. Results: By May 2019, 215 patients were included in the RiHHTa registry with a mean age of 52.5 ± 16.5 years and 136 (63.3%) were women. Definitive HHT diagnosis defined by the Curaçao criteria were met by 172 (80%) patients. Among 113 patients with genetic test, 77 (68.1%) showed a genetic variant in ACVRL1 and 36 (31.8%) in ENG gene. The identified genetic variants in ACVRL1 and ENG genes and their clinical significance are provided. ACVRL1 mutations were more frequently nonsense (50%) while ENG mutations were more frequently, frameshift (39.1%). ENG patients were significantly younger at diagnosis (36.9 vs 45.7 years) and had pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) (71.4% vs 24.4%) and cerebral AVMs (17.6% vs 2%) more often than patients with ACVRL1 variants. Patients with ACVRL1 variants had a higher cardiac index (2.62 vs 3.46), higher levels of hepatic functional blood tests, and anemia (28.5% vs 56.7%) more often than ENG patients

WHO Ordinal Scale and Inflammation Risk Categories in COVID-19

Background: The WHO ordinal severity scale has been used to predict mortality and guide trials in COVID-19. However, it has its limitations. Objective The present study aims to compare three classificatory and predictive models: the WHO ordinal severity scale, the model based on inflammation grades, and the hybrid model. Design Retrospective cohort study with patient data collected and followed up from March 1, 2020, to May 1, 2021, from the nationwide SEMI-COVID-19 Registry. The primary study outcome was in-hospital mortality. As this was a hospital-based study, the patients included corresponded to categories 3 to 7 of the WHO ordinal scale. Categories 6 and 7 were grouped in the same category. Key Results A total of 17,225 patients were included in the study. Patients classified as high risk in each of the WHO categories according to the degree of inflammation were as follows: 63.8% vs. 79.9% vs. 90.2% vs. 95.1% (p<0.001). In-hospital mortality for WHO ordinal scale categories 3 to 6/7 was as follows: 0.8% vs. 24.3% vs. 45.3% vs. 34% (p<0.001). In-hospital mortality for the combined categories of ordinal scale 3a to 5b was as follows: 0.4% vs. 1.1% vs. 11.2% vs. 27.5% vs. 35.5% vs. 41.1% (p<0.001). The predictive regression model for in-hospital mortality with our proposed combined ordinal scale reached an AUC=0.871, superior to the two models separately. Conclusions The present study proposes a new severity grading scale for COVID-19 hospitalized patients. In our opinion, it is the most informative, representative, and predictive scale in COVID-19 patients to date

Evaluación de la implantación transversal de 3º del grado en Ingeniera Multimedia

Durante el presente curso se han llevado a cabo las tareas para la evaluación de la implantación del grado en Ingeniería Multimedia en el marco de los nuevos estudios dentro del EEES, lo cual implica un trabajo extenso de análisis y recopilación del tratamiento concreto que se está dando a la adquisición por parte del alumnado de las diferentes competencias planteadas para cada asignatura en su ficha correspondiente y en la memoria para la solicitud de la verificación del título. Esto ha permitido tener una visión global de cuáles son los medios que se ponen para evaluar dichas competencias y también, desde un punto de vista más cercano, qué calendario de evaluación “ve” el alumno. En esta memoria nos hemos centrado en los aspectos relacionados con el curso tercero del grado

Mucosal immunization of sheep with a Maedi-Visna virus (MVV) env DNA vaccine protects against early MVV productive infection

International audienceGene gun mucosal DNA immunization of sheep with a plasmid expressing the env gene of Maedi-Visna virus (MVV) was used to examine the protection against MVV infection in sheep from a naturally infected flock. For immunization, sheep were primed with a pcDNA plasmid (pcDNA-env) encoding the Env glycoproteins of MVV and boosted with combined pcDNA-env and pCR3.1-IFN-gamma plasmid inoculations. The pcDNA plasmid used in the control group contained the lacZ coding sequences instead of the env gene. Within a month post-challenge, the viral load in the vaccinated group was lower (p <= 0.05) and virus was only detected transiently compared with the control group. Furthermore, 2 months later, neutralizing antibodies (NtAb) were detected in all the control animals and none of the vaccinated animals (P <= 0.01). These results demonstrated a significant early protective effect of this immunization strategy against MVV infection that restricts the virus replication following challenge in the absence of NtAb production. This vaccine protective effect against MVV infection disappeared after two years post-challenge, when active replication of MVV challenge strain was observed. Protection conferred by the vaccine could not be explained by OLA DRB1 allele or genotype differences. Most of the individuals were DRB1 heterozygous and none was totally resistant to infection