A note on Sugihara algebras

In [41 Blok and Pigozzi prove syntactically that RM, the propositional calculus also called R-Mingle, is algebraizable, .and as a consequence there is a unique quasivariety (the so-called equivalent quasivariety semantics) associated to it . In [3] it is stated that this quasivariety is the variety of Sugihara algebras . Starting from this fact, in this paper we present an equational base for this variety obtained as a subvariety of the variety of R-algebras, found in [7] to be associated in the same sense to the calculus Rof relevance logic, and we determine the totally ordered, the subdirectly irreducible, and the simple members of this variety, by using some consequences of the algebraizability of the logic RM (R-Mingle) with which they are associated

Apunts de matemàtiques empresarials III

[eng] This text studies from a mathematical and elementary point of view the most important propertys of the non linear and linear programmation as well as the theory of differential and diference equations in the scope of the economic and business applications[cat] En aquest text s'estudien els conceptes i propietats més importants de la programació lineal i no lineal, i de les equacions diferencials ordinàries i en diferències finites, així com algunes de les seves aplicacions en l'àmbit econòmic i empresarial[spa] En este texto se analizan los conceptos y propiedades más relevantes de la programación lineal, no lineal y de las ecuaciones diferenciales ordinarias y en diferencias finitas, así como también algunas de sus aplicaciones en el entorno económico y empresaria

On the effect of thin film growth mechanisms on the specular reflectance of aluminum thin films deposited via filtered cathodic vacuum arc

The optimisation of the specular reflectance of solar collectors is a key parameter to increase the global yield of concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. In this work, the influence of filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition parameters, particularly working pressure and deposition time, on the specular and diffuse reflectance of aluminium thin films, was studied. Changes in specular reflectance, measured by ultraviolet–visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (UV-vis-NIR) spectro photometry, were directly correlated with thin film elemental concentration depth profiles, obtained by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), and surface and cross-sectional morphologies as measured by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and profilometry. Finally, atomic force microscopy (AFM) provided information on the roughness and growth mechanism of the films. The two contributions to the total reflectance of the films, namely diffuse and specular reflectance, were found to be deeply influenced by deposition conditions. It was proven that working pressure and deposition time directly determine the predominant factor. Specular reflectance varied from 12 to 99.8% of the total reflectance for films grown at the same working pressure of 0.1 Pa and with different deposition times. This transformation could not be attributed to an oxidation of the films as stated by RBS, but was correlated with a progressive modification of the roughness, surface, and bulk morphology of the samples over the deposition time. Hence, the evolution in the final optical properties of the films is driven by different growth mechanisms and the resulting microstructures. In addition to the originally addressed CSP applications the potential of the developed aluminium films for other application rather than CSP, such as, for example, reference material for spectroscopic diffuse reflectance measurements, is also discussed

Death pluralism: a proposal

Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE‑CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. This paper has been funded by the INEDyTO II project PID2020‑118729RB‑I00, by the Dead Bodies project PID2020‑119717GA‑I00 and by the Banc Sabadell foundation.The debate over the determination of death has been raging for more than fifty years. Since then, objections against the diagnosis of brain death from family members of those diagnosed as dead-have been increasing and are causing some countries to take novel steps to accommodate people's beliefs and preferences in the determination of death. This, coupled with criticism by some academics of the brain death criterion, raises some questions about the issues surrounding the determination of death. In this paper, we discuss some of the main approaches to death determination that have been theoretically proposed or currently put into practice and propose a new approach to death determination called "weak pluralism" as a reasonable ethical and political alternative to respect diversity in death determination.CRUE‑CSICINEDyTO II: PID2020‑118729RB‑I00Dead Bodies PID2020‑119717GA‑I00Banc Sabadell foundatio

Simultaneous determination of the position, release time and mass release rate of an unknown gas emission source in short-term emissions by inverse problem

This article proposes a protocol for the simultaneous determination of the position, release time and mass release rate of an unknown gas emission source from experimental data in the form of an inverse problem, since these are the main variables in the short duration release of pollutants. Records of pollutant concentration and of measurement time (with their inherent errors) carried out at two measuring stations are the input data for the inverse problem. The actions of the protocol are divided into two well-differentiated stages. In the first, the simulations are started for each iteration, the functionals are calculated to program the next iteration, setting the new values of measurement time and the distance of the emission source in downwind direction with respect to the measuring stations by comparing the simulated and experimental values, and so on until reaching the final solution. In the second, an analogous procedure is followed until the mass rate and the emission source position is obtained. In addition, it has been necessary to define a new coefficient that relates the effect of dispersion in the measurement time, the distance in the downwind direction and the atmospheric stability categories. The reliability of the proposed protocol is checked by means of a problem whose parameters are known a priori. First, the direct problem is solved to obtain the values of contaminant concentration and the measurement time of the stations. These variables are then affected by random errors of up to 2% to provide the input data for the inverse problem. In all the examples shown in this work, solutions have been obtained that can be considered very successful in this field of engineering.The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper

Macrophage-bacteria interactions: a 3D microfluidics-based approach

Las infecciones bacterianas causan numerosas muertes anualmente, por lo que es esencial entender los procesos de infección para desarrollar estrategia de prevención y cura. Habitualmente, los estudios in vitro se realizan con métodos tradicionales que, a pesar de aportar un gran conocimiento, no recrean de manera realista los entornos fisiológicos y los resultados obtenidos no siempre concuerdan con los estudios in vivo. Por tanto, en esta tesis proponemos los dispositivos microfluídicos como un modelo in vitro novedoso para el estudio de estos procesos. La microfluídica permite incorporar tridimensionalidad, flujo y cocultivos, entre otros, para conseguir escenarios más realistas. Dado que las infecciones patógenas son procesos largos de múltiples etapas, en esta tesis, nos hemos centrado en la interacción macrófagos-patógenos.En primer lugar, se estudió la extravasación de monocitos dellumen endotelial a la matriz extracelular. Este proceso es necesario para que las células inmunes alcancen las bacterias. Para ello, se utilizó un dispositivo microfluídico que permitía el desarrollo de un vaso endotelial a través del cual se hacían pasar monocitos, permitiendo la cuantificación de los monocitos adheridos y extravasados al cabo de 24 horas. Se analizó el efecto de estímulos mecánicos en este proceso: la aplicación de flujo oscilatorio y la rigidez del entorno. Se determinó que el flujo aumentaba la integridad de membrana del vaso, dificultando la extravasación de los monocitos. Por otro lado, una mayor rigidez de la matriz extracelular, debido a un aumento en la concentración de colágeno, reduce la integridad de barrera del vaso, aumentando la extravasación de los monocitos.En segundo lugar, se estudió la migración de resultados macrófagos en respuesta a fracciones bacterianas obtenidas de bacterias patógenas, Solmonella typhimurium y Mycobacterium tuberculosis, y no patógenas, Escherichio coli y Mycobocterium smegmotis. Los muestran que los macrófagos migran direccionalmente atraídos hacia las fracciones detodas las bacterias, tanto patógenas, como no patógenas, sugiriendo la existencia de patrones moleculares asociados a patógenos en las moléculas de las muestras. Bacterial infections cause numerous deaths annually, so it is essential to understand the infection processes in order to develop prevention and cure strategies. Usually, in vitro studies are performed with traditional methods that, despite providing great knowledge, do not realistically recreate physiological environments and the results obtained do not always agree with in vivo studies. Therefore, in this thesis we propose microfluidic devices as a novel in vitro model for the study of these processes. Microfluidics allows the incorporation of three-dimensionality, flow and co-cultures, among others, to achieve scenarios that are more realistic. Since pathogenic infections are long multistage processes, in this thesis, we focused on the macrophage-pathogen interaction. First, the extravasation of monocytes from the endothelial lumen into the extracellular matrix was studied. This process is necessary for immune cells to reach bacteria. For this purpose, a microfluidic device was used that allowed the development of an endothelial vessel through which monocytes were passed, allowing the quantification of adherent and extravasated monocytes after 24 hours. The effect of mechanical stimuli on this process was analyzed: the application of oscillatory flow and environmental stiffness. It was determined that flow increased the membrane integrity of the vessel, hindering monocyte extravasation. However, higher stiffness of the extracellular matrix, due to high collagen concentration, reduced the barrier integrity of the vessel, increasing monocyte extravasation. Second, macrophage migration was studied in response to bacterial fractions obtained from pathogenic bacteria, Salmonella typhimurium and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and non-pathogenic bacteria, Escherichia coli and Mycobacterium smegmatis. The results show that macrophages migrate directionally attracted to fractions of all bacteria, both pathogenic and non-pathogenic, suggesting the existence of pathogen-associated molecular patterns in the sample molecules.<br /