EL CENTRALIDAD COMO UN ARQUETIPO SOCIAL DE LA CIUDAD

La centralidad ligada al crecimiento de las ciudades se traduce en un arquetipo social y urbano. En su origen los centros contribuyeron de manera significativa al desarrollo de la vida comunitaria. Los grandes imperios convirtieron a la centralidad en un mecanismo de control y sometimiento social. Una excesiva centralidad producirá tarde o temprano una severa crisis sistémica. El reto de la nueva centralidad radica en recuperar el sentido democrático de los núcleos urbanos.La centralidad ligada al crecimiento de las ciudades se traduce en un arquetipo social y urbano. En su origen los centros contribuyeron de manera significativa al desarrollo de la vida comunitaria. Los grandes imperios convirtieron a la centralidad en un mecanismo de control y sometimiento social. Una excesiva centralidad producirá tarde o temprano una severa crisis sistémica. El reto de la nueva centralidad radica en recuperar el sentido democrático de los núcleos urbanos

Narrative balance management in an Intelligent biosafety training application for improving user performance

The use of three-dimensional virtual environments in training applications supports the simulation of complex scenarios and realistic object behaviour. While these environments have the potential to provide an advanced training experience to students, it is difficult to design and manage a training session in real time due to the number of parameters to pay attention to: timing of events, difficulty, user’s actions and their consequences or eventualities are some examples. For that purpose, we have extended our virtual Bio-safety Laboratory application used for training biohazard procedures with a Narrative Manager. The Narrative Manager controls the simulation deciding which events will take place in the simulation, and when, by controlling the narrative balance of the session. Our hypothesis is that the Narrative Manager allows us to increase the number of tasks for the user to solve and, due to balancing difficulty and intensity, it keeps the user interested in training. When evaluating our system we observed that the Narrative Manager effectively introduces more tasks for the user to solve, and despite that, is accepted by the users as more interesting and not harder than an identical system without a Narrative Manager. Also, a knowledge test demonstrated better results in users’ interest and learning output in the narrative condition

Simplified Mathematical Modeling on Person-to-Person Disease Transmission: The Coronavirus Case

In this paper, a simplified mathematical model is developed through a system of ordinary differential equations for the transmission of diseases from person to person, conditions for disease control are provided and cases are studied in which it is not possible to apply the Hurwitz criterion, the corresponding qualitative study is carried out to draw conclusions on the future evolution of the disease. Additionally, the ways in which the different diseases are transmitted are analyzed and the possibilities of epidemic development and the conditions that must be created to avoid them are studied A background of the Mathematical Modeling research group is also indicated

Managing with (fluorescent)-biomimetic dendrimers

Dendrimers that are modified through their peripheral groups have been employed for many biomedical purposes. Diagnosis via specific interactions with target proteins is one of the objectives that has been given more attention. In this way, we have been developing different methodologies for the detection of immunoglobulins, as an in vitro method for the diagnosis of allergic reactions to drugs [1], [2]. Specific cell interactions of surfaces grafted dendrimers have been applied to the study of cell adhesion. We have studied also the application of dendrimer-based uneven nanopatterns to evaluate the local RGD surface density effects on cell adhesion, as bioactive substrates to evaluate the impact of the RGD local surface density on the chondrogenic induction of adult human mesenchymal stem cells [3], [4], [5]. Although the use of PAMAM dendrimer has allowed us to develop useful methods for this purpose, for certain objectives we have required the development of new dendrimeric models. We have developed a new approach for the production of allaliphatic polyamide dendrimers (BAPAD) by iterative 3,3′-diaminopivalic acid connections as building blocks for dendrimer construction. These dendrimers were studied in explicit solvent by atomistic forcefield-based molecular dynamics to characterize structural properties such as shape, radius and monomer distribution [6]. Fluorescent labeling of these biomimetic dendrimers has been used as a tool to study their interaction with cells.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Sensitivity analysis of Component's Tolerance in Inductively Coupled Power Transfer System

ICPT systems help drivers to recharge their electrical vehicles via wireless. The core of the system is a pair of coils and two reactive structures. In order to predict the performance of a practical implementation, it is necessary to study the impact of using real components which suffer from variations in their nominal values. Basing on the performed study, we conclude that the components on the side where the inductance is in series with the capacitance should be carefully selected as variations in their values greatly affect the system performance. A 50 kW system has been evaluated in terms of efficiency and load voltage.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Green building rating systems and their application in the Mexican context

Revista indexada en SCOPUSThis article offers a review of the scientific literature aimed at putting forward a proposal on the main variables or categories of sustainable design to take into consideration to manage, plan, design, build and maintain buildings in Mexico. The methodology consisted in reviewing 5 successfully tried international green building models (rating systems), from which a series of requirements by sustainable category were taken in order to propose categories and variables proper to the Mexican context. The result was a checklist that comprises sustainable design requirements broken down by categories: natural, human, technologic and economic to apply in the Mexican context. It is concluded that successfully tried green building international models such as: LEED®, BREAM®, CASBEE®, ESTIDAMA® or Green Star® can be very useful to manage, plan, design and construct sustainable buildings around the world

Effective elastic thickness in the Central Andes. Correlation to orogenic deformation styles and lower crust high-gravity anomaly

Global studies have assessed the importance of elastic thickness (Te) on orogenic evolution, showing that the style and nature of upper crustal shortening are influenced by the inherited lithospheric strength. Thus, pioneer works have identified that the upper crustal deformation style in the easternmost sector of the Central Andes in South America are related to the elastic thickness (Te). There, the thick-skinned and pure-shear style of Santa Bárbara system was initially related to the existence of low Te values. In contrast, the thin-skinned and simple-shear style of deformation in the Subandean system involves high Te values. However, more recent Te studies in the Central Andes present conflicting results which lead to question this straightforward relation. Results from these studies show a strong dependence on the applied methodology hampering the general understanding of the lithospheric thermo-mechanical state of the Central Andes. To contribute to this issue, we perform a high-resolution Te map, using forward modeling by solving flexural equation of infinite plate model in two dimensions. To achieve this, the crust-mantle interface was calculated using a high-resolution gravity anomaly dataset which combines satellite and terrestrial data, and an average density contrast. Additionally, the gravity anomaly and the foreland basin depth in the Central Andes were best predicted by considering that lower crustal rocks fill the space deflected downward in the plate model. The obtained Te values show an inverse correlation with previous heat flow studies, and a strong spatial correlation with the styles and mechanisms of deformation in the easternmost sector of the Central Andes. In the Santa Bárbara system Te values less than 10 km predominate, whereas in the Subandean system high Te values were observed. Such high values correlate with the orogenic curvature and with an shallower gravity Moho zone, which breaks the regional trend of the Central Andes. This shallower gravity Moho is linked to a high-gravity anomaly located in the east part of the Eastern Cordillera and Subandean system. These results are also correlated with a high-velocity zone in the upper mantle previously found by receiver functions studies. This correlation could indicate changes in the properties of the lower crustal rocks that justify the shallower gravity Moho zone and explain in part the highest Te values.Fil: Garcia, Hector Pedro Antonio. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Gianni, Guido Martin. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lupari, Marianela Nadia. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez, Marcos Ariel. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Soler, Santiago Rubén. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ruiz, Francisco. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; ArgentinaFil: Lince Klinger, Federico Gustavo. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Child Head Circumference and Placental MFSD2a Expression Are Associated to the Level of MFSD2a in Maternal Blood During Pregnancy

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a world-wide health challenge, which prevalence is expected to increase in parallel to the epidemic of obesity. Children born from GDM mothers have lower levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in cord blood, which might influence their neurodevelopment. Recently, the membrane transporter Major Family Super Domain 2a (MFSD2a) was associated with the selective transportation of DHA as lysophospholipids. The expression of the DHA membrane transporter MFSD2a is lower in GDM placentas, which could affect materno-fetal DHA transport. Humans with homozygous inactivating mutations in the MFSD2a gene present severe microcephaly and intellectual impairments. Herein, we intended to identify early blood biomarkers that may be of use during pregnancy to monitor the offspring development and the adequate nutritional interventions, such as nutritional supplementation, that may be selected to improve it. We evaluated MFSD2a expression in maternal blood at the third trimester of pregnancy, and its potential relationship with the expression of placental MFSD2a at delivery and child outcomes. Three groups of pregnant women were recruited: 25 controls, 23 GDM with dietary treatment, and 20 GDM with insulin treatment. Maternal and neonatal anthropometric and biochemical parameters were evaluated. MFSD2a was analyzed in placenta, blood and serum. MFSD2a protein expression in maternal blood was significantly lower in GDM groups and correlated with placental MFSD2a and Z-score neonatal head circumference during the first 6 months of life. The cord/maternal serum ratio of DHA, a solid indicator of materno-fetal DHA transport, was reduced in GDM groups and correlated with MFSD2a in maternal blood at the third trimester and in placenta at delivery. This indicates that altered MFSD2a levels in maternal blood during pregnancy might influence placental nutrient transport and fetal neurodevelopment. Furthermore, MFSD2a levels in maternal blood on the third trimester were inversely correlated to DHA in maternal serum lyso-PL. Thus, the level of MFSD2a in maternal blood could be used as a potential biomarker for the early detection of disturbances of MFSD2a expression during pregnancy and the subsequent consequences for the neurodevelopment of the child, as well as it may help to choose the optimal treatment approach for the affected subjects

MOTION OF A LARGE OBJECT IN A 2D BUBBLING FLUIDIZED BED

The motion of a large object in a bubbling fluidized bed is experimentally studied using digital image analysis. A wide range of fluidized bed applications involves the motion of large objects within the bed, such objects being reactants, catalysts, agglomerates, etc. The experiments were run in a 2D bubbling fluidized bed with glass spheres as bed material. The object motion is measured using tracking techniques, while independent measurements of the dense phase velocity (using PIV) and bubble velocity were carried out. The effect of the excess gas velocity on the object motion was also analyzed. It is generally accepted that objects with densities in a range around the bed density will describe sinking-rising cycles throughout the whole bed, where the sinking motion is similar to that of the dense phase, and the rising motion is composed of a number of sudden jerks or jumps, as a result of the raising effect of passing bubbles. This work characterized the circulation patterns of an object with a density similar to that of the bed material, but much larger in size. A comparison between the object rising motion and the local bubble motion provided evidence for the study of the bubble ability to raise the object, depending on the bubble velocity and size. A comparison between the object sinking motion and the dense phase motion served to analyze the minor effect of buoyancy forces over the object sinking motion. Finally, the combined effects of the maximum attained depth and the number of jerks in the circulation time is studied, with some insight in the multiple-jerks phenomenon