Numerical Analysis of NOₓ Reduction Using Ammonia Injection and Comparison With Water Injection

[Abstract] This work analyzes NOₓ reduction in a marine diesel engine using ammonia injection directly into the cylinder and compares this procedure with water injection. A numerical model based on the so-called inert species method was applied. It was verified that ammonia injection can provide almost 80% NOₓ reduction for the conditions analyzed. Furthermore, it was found that the effectiveness of the chemical effect using ammonia is extremely dependent on the injection timing. The optimum NOₓ reduction was obtained when ammonia is injected during the expansion stroke, while the optimum injection timing using water is near top dead center. Chemical, thermal, and dilution effects of both ammonia and water injection were compared. The chemical effect was dominant in the case of ammonia injection. On the other hand, water injection reduces NOₓ through dilution and, more significantly, through a thermal effect

Design of a toy which helps children who suffer ADHD to develop their skills

ADHD are the acronym of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder. Children who are diagnosed with this disorder have worse academic grades because of their behavior and inattentive problems. This fact makes families, teachers and psychologists be concerned about the development of children that suffer ADHD and deals them to search a solution with the aim of giving to these children the same possibilities as the others. The objective of this thesis is to design a toy especially thought to be used by these children and that helps to develop their skills. This thesis reaches to the basic design of the product and a detailed design is required afterwards. Although the design of the product is not completely detailed, it is properly described to avoid repeating any of the analysis done in this thesis corresponding to the basic designing process.Outgoin

Optimization of a Multiple Injection System in a Marine Diesel Engine through a Multiple-Criteria Decision-Making Approach

[Abstract] In this work, a numerical model was developed to analyze the performance and emissions of a marine diesel engine, the Wärtsilä 6L 46. This model was validated using experimental measurements and was employed to analyze several pre-injection parameters such as pre-injection rate, duration, and starting instant. The modification of these parameters may lead to opposite effects on consumption and/or emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOₓ), carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrocarbons (HC). According to this, the main goal of the present work is to employ a multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach to characterize the most appropriate injection pattern. Since determining the criteria weights significantly influences the overall result of a MCDM problem, a subjective weighting method was compared with four objective weighting methods: entropy, CRITIC (CRiteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation), variance, and standard deviation. The results showed the importance of subjectivism over objectivism in MCDM analyses. The CRITIC, variance, and standard deviation methods assigned more importance to NOₓ emissions and provided similar results. Nevertheless, the entropy method assigned more importance to consumption and provided a different injection pattern

Mejora de las competencias socioemocionales en el aula, con jóvenes de Educación Secundaria, mediante el programa SEA

Introducción. En este trabajo se presenta la evaluación del impacto de un programa de desarrollo de las competencias emo-cionales en la base del modelo teórico SEA (atención y comprensión emocional, regulación y reparación emocional y expresión social adaptativa de las emociones) sobre tales competencias en jóvenes adolescentes y pre-adolescentes. Método. El programa se implementó en un IES público durante un curso escolar por parte de los propios profesores-tutores de los alumnos. Los participantes de este estudio son 156 alumnos de 11 a 14 años estudiantes de 1o de E.S.O. en sus di-ferentes condiciones experimentales y control. Se ha utilizado un diseño cuasiexperimental pretest-postest con grupo control para evaluar la eficacia del programa. Las pruebas usadas para ello miden las competencias socioemocionales, la empatía y el ajuste social de los participantes. Además, se hace una medida de seguimiento 3 meses después de la finalización de la implementación del programa. Resultados. La investigación demuestra una mejora significativa en las competencias socioemocionales de los participantes del programa, especialmente en las competencias más relacionadas con la expresión social adaptativa de las emociones. Además, se descubren mejoras también significativas en empatía y ajuste social. Discusión y conclusiones. Se corrobora la posibilidad de potenciar las competencias socioemocionales mediante la aplicación de un programa de intervención directa en el aula durante un curso escolar y el programa SEA se convierte en candidato para alcanzar este objetivo

Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae in Fresh Produce

15 p.Fresh vegetables are an essential part of a healthy diet, but microbial contamination of fruits and vegetables is a serious concern to human health, not only for the presence of foodborne pathogens but because they can be a vehicle for the transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This work aimed to investigate the importance of fresh produce in the transmission of extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae. A total of 174 samples of vegetables (117) and farm environment (57) were analysed to determine enterobacterial contamination and presence of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae. Enterobacterial counts above the detection limit were found in 82.9% vegetable samples and 36.8% environmental samples. The average count was 4.2 log cfu/g or mL, with a maximum value of 6.2 log cfu/g in a parsley sample. Leafy vegetables showed statistically significant higher mean counts than other vegetables. A total of 15 ESBL-producing isolates were obtained from vegetables (14) and water (1) samples and were identified as Serratia fonticola (11) and Rahnella aquatilis (4). Five isolates of S. fonticola were considered multi-drug resistant. Even though their implication in human infections is rare, they can become an environmental reservoir of antibiotic-resistance genes that can be further disseminated along the food chainS

Eating Disorders as New Forms of Addiction

Eating disorders (ED) seem to share many characteristics with substance-related disorders (SRD). As very often the two conditions run together, it has been proposed that eating dysfunctions could be understood as behavioral forms of addiction. This has lead to the concept of “food addiction,” a proposed new form of addiction. This chapter reviews recent research focusing on the relationship between ED and SRD. Three specific areas are addressed: (a) animal models that suggest the association between substance dependence and compulsive overeating; (b) epidemiological studies that confirm the comorbidity between ED and SRD; and (c) neuroimaging studies that reveal the existence of modifications in the reward circuits following binge eating and other eating dysfunctions. The data from the different studies can be integrated into a model based on the consideration of “food addiction” as a specific form of behavioral addiction that could be applied at least to a group of patients suffering from eating disorders

Aldh1 Expression and Activity Increase during Tumor Evolution in Sarcoma Cancer Stem Cell Populations

Tumors evolve from initial tumorigenic events into increasingly aggressive behaviors in a process usually driven by subpopulations of cancer stem cells (CSCs). Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) may act as the cell-of-origin for sarcomas, and CSCs that present MSC features have been identified in sarcomas due to their ability to grow as self-renewed floating spheres (tumorspheres). Accordingly, we previously developed sarcoma models using human MSCs transformed with relevant oncogenic events. To study the evolution/emergence of CSC subpopulations during tumor progression, we compared the tumorigenic properties of bulk adherent cultures and tumorsphere-forming subpopulations both in the sarcoma cell-of-origin models (transformed MSCs) and in their corresponding tumor xenograft-derived cells. Tumor formation assays showed that the tumorsphere cultures from xenograft-derived cells, but not from the cell-of-origin models, were enriched in CSCs, providing evidence of the emergence of bona fide CSCs subpopulations during tumor progression. Relevant CSC-related factors, such as ALDH1 and SOX2, were increasingly upregulated in CSCs during tumor progression, and importantly, the increased levels and activity of ALDH1 in these subpopulations were associated with enhanced tumorigenicity. In addition to being a CSC marker, our findings indicate that ALDH1 could also be useful for tracking the malignant potential of CSC subpopulations during sarcoma evolution.This work was supported by the Plan Nacional de I + D + i 2008-2011 [ISC III/FEDER (Miguel Servet Program CP11/00024) and RTICC (RD12/0036/0015)], the Plan Nacional de I + D + i 2013-2016 [MINECO/FEDER (SAF-2013-42946-R)] and the Plan de Ciencia Tecnología e Innovación del Principado de Asturias (GRUPIN14-003) to R.R; and the Plan Nacional de I + D + i 2008-2011 [ISC III/FEDER RTICC (RD12/0036/0027)] to J.G.-C.S

Factors affecting the presence of wrestling in school programs

This work is part of a broader research that attempts to analyse the presence of combat sports in secondary education. The study investigates the presence of Olympic wrestling in the curricula of teacher preparation programs, as well as the factors influencing the choice, based on the knowledge, perspective and the needs about these disciplines. Eighty-one active physical education (PE) teachers of Valencia’s secondary schools completed an online questionnaire (51 men and 30 women). Results highlight that most of the teachers select team sports such as basketball, handball and volleyball; however, only a few included combat sports in their program, with judo being the most frequently selected. The main factor justifying the scarcity of combative sports, refers to the fact that teachers are not able to provide an instructional unit, and that these activities are considered dangerous, risky and unsuitable to instructional values. These viewpoints indicate that more specialized instructional tools for basic education in the fundamentals of combative sports, including wrestling are needed.Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deport