Mixed Elements in the Boundary Theory

The development of (static and dynamics)programs with constant and linear elements has shown good behaviour. It seems so natural to combine both advantages so that the results will not be affected by local distortions. This paper will be dedicated to presenting the reserch of mixed elements and the way to solve the over-determination that appears in some cases. Although all the study has been done with the potential theory, its application to elastic problems is straightforward

A Decision Tree and S-Transform Based Approach for Power Quality Disturbances Classification

In this paper, it is presented an automated classification based on S-transform as feature extraction tool and Decision Tree as algorithm classifier. The signals generated according to mathematical models, including complex disturbances, have been used to design and test this approach, where noise is added to the signals from 40dB to 20dB. Finally, several disturbances, simple and complex, have been considered to test the implemented system. Evaluation results verifying the accuracy of the proposed method are presented.IEE

Monocarboxylate transporter 1 mediates DL-2-hydroxy-(4-methylthio)butanoic acid transport across the apical membrane of Caco-2 cell monolayers.

The methionine hydroxy analogue DL-2-hydroxy-(4-methylthio)butanoic acid (DL-HMB) is a supplementary source of methionine commonlyadded to commercial animal diets to satisfy the total sulfur amino acid requirement. In this study, we characterized DL-HMB transport acrossthe apical membrane of Caco-2 cells to identify the transport mechanism involved in the intestinal absorption of this methionine source. DLHMBtransport induced a significant decrease in intracellular pH (pHi) and was inhibited in the presence of the protonophore carbonyl cyanide 4-(trifluoromethoxy)-phenylhydrazone. Moreover, both Na1 removal and 5-(N-ethyl-N-isopropyl)amiloride, an inhibitor of apical Na1/H1 exchanger(NHE3), significantly reduced substrate uptake and pHi recovery, suggesting cooperation between H1-dependent DL-HMB transport and NHE3activity. cis-Inhibition experiments with L-Ala, b-Ala, D-Pro, betaine, or glycyl-sarcosine excluded the participation of systems proton amino acidtransporter 1 and peptide transporter 1. In contrast, a-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate, phloretin, L-lactate, b-hydroxybutyrate, butyrate, andpyruvate, inhibitors and substrates of monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1), significantly reduced DL-HMB uptake. Dixon plot analysis of Llactatetransport in the presence of DL-HMB revealed a competitive interaction (inhibition constant, 17.5 6 0.11 mmol/L), confirming theparticipation of system MCT1. The kinetics of DL-HMB uptake was described by a model involving passive diffusion and a single low-affinity,high-capacity transport mechanism (KD, 1.9 nL/mg protein; Km, 13.16 0.04 mmol/L; and Vmax, 43.6 6 0.14 pmol/mg protein) compatible withMCT1 kinetic characteristics. In conclusion, the methionine hydroxy analogue is transported in Caco-2 cell apical membrane by a transportmechanism with functional characteristics similar to those of MCT1.</p

Synthetic precursor to make alkali activated cements

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Mapping of landslide susceptibility of coastal cliffs : the Mont-Roig del Camp case study

The weathered and fractured conglomerate cliffs of Mont Roig del Camp constitute a rock fall hazard for the surrounding pocket beaches and, therefore, for the population that frequent them, especially over the summer. Landslide susceptibility of the cliff has been assessed using the Rock Engineering System method (RES). The determinant and triggering factors considered in this study include: wave exposure, shoreline variations, cliff height, cliff slope, geotechnical quality of the rocky mass, superficial runoff and cliff orientations favoring landslides. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been employed to facilitate the information analysis and generate new susceptibility maps. The quality of the rock mass and cliff orientation are the most interactive factors for the stability of the cliff. However, shoreline variations and surface runoff are the most dominant factors in the system. Thus, the quality of the rock mass has been determined to be a basic variable in the cliff characterization because of its high dependence on the variations of the remaining factors. The landslide susceptibility map depicts a predominance of surfaces with moderate degrees of susceptibility concentrated mainly in the headlands, where the combined actions of subaerial and marine processes control the weathering and eroding processes. Therefore, the landslide susceptibility assessment based on this methodology has allowed the identification of hazardous areas that should be considered in future management plans

Study of the reaction 2-(p-nitrophenyl)ethyl bromide + OH- in dimeric micellar solutions

The dehydrobromination reaction 2-(p-nitrophenyl)ethyl bromide + OH− was investigated in several alkanediyl---bis(dodecyldimethylammonium) bromide, 12-s- 12,2Br− (with s = 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12) micellar solutions, in the presence of NaOH 5 × 10−3 M. The kinetic data were quantitatively rationalized within the whole surfactant concentration range by using an equation based on the pseudophase ion-exchange model and taking the variations in the micellar ionization degree caused by the morphological transitions into account. The agreement between the theoretical and the experimental data was good in all the dimeric micellar media studied, except for the 12-2-12,2Br− micellar solutions. In this case, the strong tendency to micellar growth shown by the 12-2-12,2Br− micelles could be responsible for the lack of accordance. Results showed that the dimeric micelles accelerate the reaction more than two orders of magnitude as compared to waterConsejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa de la Junta de Andalucía FQM-274and P07-FQM-03056DGCYT grant BQU2009-0747

Estudio de los usos de las WebQuests en la universidad. Una propuesta de repositorio

Se presentan los datos más relevantes obtenidos en el informe Difusión y uso de Webquests en el ámbito universitario español, elaborado por el Observatorio de la Educación Digital de la UB, que indaga en el uso, difusión y percepción de la que gozan en la universidad las WebQuests (WQ) en el marco del EEES y del sistema de enseñanza por competencias. En parte como resultado de esa investigación, tal como se sugiere en sus conclusiones, se ha elaborado un espacio virtual que funciona como repositorio de WQs, con diferentes facilidades de etiquetado y de búsqueda adaptadas al nivel universitario y que, al mismo tiempo, sirve como herramienta de edició

Identification and characterization of the TonB region and its role in transferrin-mediated iron acquisition in Haemophilus parasuis

12 p.Haemophilus parasuis is the causative agent of Glässer's disease, which is responsible for considerable economic losses in the pigrearing industry. The aim of the study reported here was the identification, sequencing and molecular characterization of the TonB region that includes tonB, exbBD, and tbpBA genes in H. parasuis. In addition, two fusion proteins were generated. One of them (pGEX-6P-1-GST-TbpB) contained the first 501 amino acids of H. parasuis TbpB protein, while the second (pBAD-Thio-TbpBV5- His) included the first 102 amino acids of H. parasuis TbpB N-terminus domain. A panel of 14 hybridomas secreting monoclonal antibodies was raised against the two recombinant TbpB fusion proteins. Furthermore, to assess whether the expression of the H. parasuis ExbB, TbpB, and TbpA proteins was upregulated under conditions of restricted availability of iron, a rabbit polyclonal antibody against H. parasuis TbpB-His fusion protein was produced. A rabbit polyclonal antibody against serotype 7 of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae ExbB and TbpA proteins was also used for the detection of the homologous proteins in H. parasuis. Overall, the data indicate that H. parasuis, like other members of the Pasteurellaceae family, possesses the genetic elements of the TonB region for iron acquisition and the transferrin-binding proteins encoded under this region are upregulated under restricted iron availabilityS

Orientational transitions in a nematic confined by competing surfaces

The effect of confinement on the orientational structure of a nematic liquid crystal model has been investigated by using a version of density-functional theory (DFT). We have focused on the case of a nematic confined by opposing flat surfaces, in slab geometry (slit pore), which favor planar molecular alignment (parallel to the surface) and homeotropic alignment (perpendicular to the surface), respectively. The spatial dependence of the tilt angle of the director with respect to the surface normal has been studied, as well as the tensorial order parameter describing the molecular order around the director. For a pore of given width, we find that, for weak surface fields, the alignment of the nematic director is perpendicular to the surface in a region next to the surface favoring homeotropic alignment, and parallel along the rest of the pore, with a interface separating these regions (S phase). For strong surface fields, the director is distorted uniformly, the tilt angle exhibiting a linear dependence with the distance normal to the surface (L phase). Our calculations reveal the existence of a first-order transition between the two director configurations, which is driven by changes in the surface field strength, and also by changes in the pore width. In the latter case the transition occurs, for a given surface field, between the S phase for narrow pores and the L phase for wider pores. A link between the L-S transition and the anchoring transition observed for the semi-infinite case is proposed. We also provide calculations with a phenomenological approach that yields the same main result that DFT in the scale length where this is valid.Comment: submitted to PR