Tratamiento de residuos en proyectos de eficiencia energética

El projecte present es centra en el tractament que reben els residus sorgits en projectes vinculats amb l’eficiència energètica. En primer lloc, faig referència als paràmetres als quals es troben sotmesos aquests processos dintre de la jurisdicció Europea. La Comissió Europea és l’encarregada de definir la normativa, per aquesta raó crea l’organisme Ecodesign que té com a objectiu reduir l’impacte mediambiental de tots els productes emprats en els esmentats projectes. A continuació, analitzo els conceptes inscrits a aquest projecte. Aquests conceptes han estat tractats compaginant la seva vessant general i la seva aplicació a la temàtica en qüestió. Així, no només s’obté un coneixement específic del tema, sinó que s’obté també una visió més global. Al llarg de l’elaboració del projecte s’han anat afegint i extraient apartats. Finalment, he decidit incloure el cicle de vida d’un producte, tant des d’un punt de vista general com econòmic; també, he tingut en compte i he explicat el mètode d’anàlisis híbrid LCA utilitzat per Ecodesign i he analitzat les diferents plantes de tractaments de residus existents, així com el tractament que reben els residus sòlids urbans. Amb la intenció d’aportar una visió més específica del que signifiquen tots aquests conceptes i la seva normativa corresponent, he optat per emprar el camp de la il·luminació, com a exemple per a tractar qüestions com: les diferències existents entre els models considerats eficients i els no eficients, el tractament que reben aquests models al llarg del seu cicle de vida complert, els requisits que Ecodesign considera necessaris per a atorgar la seva distinció Ecolabel i ja per últim, exposo la postura de la Comissió Europea davant les competències de l’Estat respecte al tractament de residus i el procés del tractament dels residus emprat a Catalunya. Finalment, s’han dedicat els últims apartats del projecte a la descripció del procés d’elaboració del mateix; partint de la redacció d’aquest procés, he inclòs les conclusions obtingudes, el motiu d’haver escollit aquest mètode de treball ha estat perquè així, no només s’obtenen unes conclusions globals sinó que aquestes conclusions, fan una referència puntual a cada pas i apartat que presenta l’actual projecte

Fast Bayesian parameter estimation for stochastic logistic growth models

The transition density of a stochastic, logistic population growth model with multiplicative intrinsic noise is analytically intractable. Inferring model parameter values by fitting such stochastic differential equation (SDE) models to data therefore requires relatively slow numerical simulation. Where such simulation is prohibitively slow, an alternative is to use model approximations which do have an analytically tractable transition density, enabling fast inference. We introduce two such approximations, with either multiplicative or additive intrinsic noise, each derived from the linear noise approximation of the logistic growth SDE. After Bayesian inference we find that our fast LNA models, using Kalman filter recursion for computation of marginal likelihoods, give similar posterior distributions to slow arbitrarily exact models. We also demonstrate that simulations from our LNA models better describe the characteristics of the stochastic logistic growth models than a related approach. Finally, we demonstrate that our LNA model with additive intrinsic noise and measurement error best describes an example set of longitudinal observations of microbial population size taken from a typical, genome-wide screening experiment.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figures and 2 table

Trailer: Histories of Science in Africa

Conor provides a short description of the topics we will discuss on the first season of our podcast. For more information please visit hsia.podcasts.library.columbia.edu Transcript is available for download in PDF forma

Self-Devouring Growth with Julie Livingston

In this episode guest Julie Livingston discusses the direction that her academic scholarship has taken over the years and her consideration of the past, present and future. Drawing on her latest book, Self Devouring Growth: A Planetary Parable as Told from Southern Africa, we discuss relationships between people, animals and the earth. We explore the implications that technological growth in pursuit of economic growth has for metaphysical understandings of the world and its future

Navigated functional alignment total knee arthroplasty achieves reliable, reproducible and accurate results with high patient satisfaction

Purpose: The decision on which technique to perform a total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has become more complicated over the last decade. Perceived limitations of mechanical alignment (MA) and kinematic alignment (KA) have led to the development of the functional alignment (FA) philosophy. This study aims to report the 2-year results of an initial patient cohort in terms of revision rate, PROMs and complications for Computer Aided Surgery (CAS) Navigated FA TKA. Methods: This paper reports a single surgeon’s outcomes of 165 consecutive CAS FA TKAs. The final follow-up was 24 months. Pre-operative and post-operative patient-reported outcome measures, WOMAC and KSS, and intra-operative CAS data, including alignment, kinematic curves, and gaps, are reported. Stress kinematic curves were analysed for correlation with CAS final alignment and CAS final alignment with radiographic long-leg alignment. Pre- and post-operative CPAK and knee phenotypes were recorded. Three different types of prostheses from two manufacturers were used, and outcomes were compared. Soft tissue releases, revision and complication data are also reported. Results: Mean pre-operative WOMAC was 48.8 and 1.2 at the time of the final follow-up. KSS was 48.8 and 93.7, respectively. Pre- and post-operative range of motion was 118.6° and 120.1°, respectively. Pre-operative and final kinematic curve prediction had an accuracy of 91.8%. CAS data pre-operative stress alignment and final alignment strongly correlate in extension and flexion, r = 0.926 and 0.856, p < 0.001. No statistical outcome difference was detected between the types of prostheses. 14.5% of patients required soft tissue release, with the lateral release (50%) and posterior capsule (29%) being the most common. Conclusion: CAS FA TKA in this cohort proved to be a predictable, reliable, and reproducible technique with acceptable short-term revision rates and high PROMs. FA can account for extremes in individual patient bony morphology and achieve desired gap and kinematic targets with soft tissue releases required in only 14.5% of patients. Level of evidence: IV (retrospective case series review)

Computer-Aided Surgery-Navigated, Functional Alignment Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Surgical Technique

The decision on which technique to use to perform a total knee arthroplasty has become much more complicated over the last decade. The shortfalls of mechanical alignment and kinematic alignment has led to the development of a new alignment philosophy, functional alignment. Functional alignment uses preoperative radiographic measurements, computer-aided surgery, and intraoperative assessment of balance, to leave the patient with the most “normal” knee kinematics achievable with minimal soft-tissue release. The purpose of this surgical technique article is to describe in detail the particular technique needed to achieve these alignment objectives

Systematic analysis of the DNA damage response network in telomere defective budding yeast

Functional telomeres are critically important to eukaryotic genetic stability. Scores of proteins and pathways are known to affect telomere function. Here, we report a series of related genome-wide genetic interaction screens performed on budding yeast cells with acute or chronic telomere defects. Genetic interactions were examined in cells defective in Cdc13 and Stn1, affecting two components of CST, a single stranded DNA (ssDNA) binding complex that binds telomeric DNA. For comparison, genetic interactions were also examined in cells with defects in Rfa3, affecting the major ssDNA binding protein, RPA, which has overlapping functions with CST at telomeres. In more complex experiments, genetic interactions were measured in cells lacking EXO1 or RAD9, affecting different aspects of the DNA damage response, and containing a cdc13-1 induced telomere defect. Comparing fitness profiles across these data sets helps build a picture of the specific responses to different types of dysfunctional telomeres. The experiments show that each context reveals different genetic interactions, consistent with the idea that each genetic defect causes distinct molecular defects. To help others engage with the large volumes of data, the data are made available via two interactive web-based tools: Profilyzer and DIXY. One particularly striking genetic interaction observed was that the chk1∆ mutation improved fitness of cdc13-1 exo1∆ cells more than other checkpoint mutations (ddc1∆, rad9∆, rad17∆, and rad24∆), whereas, in cdc13-1 cells, the effects of all checkpoint mutations were similar. We show that this can be explained by Chk1 stimulating resection—a new function for Chk1 in the eukaryotic DNA damage response network

Measurements of π± , K± , p and p¯ spectra in proton-proton interactions at 20, 31, 40, 80 and 158 GeV/c with the NA61/SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS

Measurements of inclusive spectra and mean multiplicities of π±, K±, p and p¯ produced in inelastic p+p interactions at incident projectile momenta of 20, 31, 40, 80 and 158 GeV/c (√s = 6.3, 7.7, 8.8, 12.3 and 17.3 GeV, respectively) were performed at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron using the large acceptance NA61/SHINE hadron spectrometer. Spectra are presented as function of rapidity and transverse momentum and are compared to predictions of current models. The measurements serve as the baseline in the NA61/SHINE study of the properties of the onset of deconfinement and search for the critical point of strongly interacting matter

Colonyzer: automated quantification of micro-organism growth characteristics on solid agar

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High-throughput screens comparing growth rates of arrays of distinct micro-organism cultures on solid agar are useful, rapid methods of quantifying genetic interactions. Growth rate is an informative phenotype which can be estimated by measuring cell densities at one or more times after inoculation. Precise estimates can be made by inoculating cultures onto agar and capturing cell density frequently by plate-scanning or photography, especially throughout the exponential growth phase, and summarising growth with a simple dynamic model (e.g. the logistic growth model). In order to parametrize such a model, a robust image analysis tool capable of capturing a wide range of cell densities from plate photographs is required.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Colonyzer is a collection of image analysis algorithms for automatic quantification of the size, granularity, colour and location of micro-organism cultures grown on solid agar. Colonyzer is uniquely sensitive to extremely low cell densities photographed after dilute liquid culture inoculation (spotting) due to image segmentation using a mixed Gaussian model for plate-wide thresholding based on pixel intensity. Colonyzer is robust to slight experimental imperfections and corrects for lighting gradients which would otherwise introduce spatial bias to cell density estimates without the need for imaging dummy plates. Colonyzer is general enough to quantify cultures growing in any rectangular array format, either growing after pinning with a dense inoculum or growing with the irregular morphology characteristic of spotted cultures. Colonyzer was developed using the open source packages: Python, RPy and the Python Imaging Library and its source code and documentation are available on SourceForge under GNU General Public License. Colonyzer is adaptable to suit specific requirements: e.g. automatic detection of cultures at irregular locations on streaked plates for robotic picking, or decreasing analysis time by disabling components such as lighting correction or colour measures.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Colonyzer can automatically quantify culture growth from large batches of captured images of microbial cultures grown during genome-wide scans over the wide range of cell densities observable after highly dilute liquid spot inoculation, as well as after more concentrated pinning inoculation. Colonyzer is open-source, allowing users to assess it, adapt it to particular research requirements and to contribute to its development.</p