Energy-efficient ventilation control strategies for surgery rooms

Surgery room specific energy use is among the highest in the built environment due to stringent indoor environmental quality and infection control requirements. This study uses a calibrated energy model to evaluate the environmental and economic performance of a variety of ventilation control strategies that reduce surgery room energy use while maintaining indoor environmental quality and infection control performance. The individual control strategies evaluated in this study are (1) temperature and relative humidity reset, (2) air recirculation, (3) airflow reset, and (4) particle concentration based airflow control. Combinations of these strategies are also evaluated. The best performing combinations of control strategies can reduce surgery room primary energy use, CO2 emissions, and energy costs by up to 86% relative to the standard practice. Temperature and relative humidity reset is the strategy that offers the largest benefits. Particle concentration based airflow control shows modest results partly due to the conservative infection control performance target. Future research should define infection control performance thresholds during operation.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft

Evaluación del aprendizaje en asignaturas de máster con alumnos procedentes de diferentes grados.

Podeu consultar la Vuitena trobada de professorat de Ciències de la Salut completa a: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/66524Se ha realizado un estudio comparativo del aprendizaje alcanzado por los alumnos de dos Másters oficiales en dos asignaturas de la misma área de conocimiento, en función de los estudios previos cursados por los alumnos y de otros factores. Las asignaturas estudiadas han sido: “Desarrollo y formulación de formas farmacéuticas” en el Máster oficial de Investigación, Desarrollo y Control de Medicamentos y “Nanotecnología farmacéutica” en el Máster oficial “Nanociencia y Nanotecnología”, durante los cursos académicos 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14. Ambas asignaturas, de 5 ECTS, abarcan competencias relacionadas con la adquisición e integración de conocimientos, habilidades y aptitudes relacionados con la Farmacia Galénica..

Polyamide fabric coated with a DHA-loaded chitosan hydrogel for a cosmeto-textile application

Cosmeto-textiles, which allow the administration of molecules when in contact with the skin, are increasingly being developed by cosmetic industries. We have designed an innovative approach for cosmeto-textile products, based on the impregnation of textile fibers with chitosan hydrogels, which have been cross-linked with genipin and loaded with dihydroxyacetone, which is an active component that induces sunless tanning. Dihydroxyacetone-loaded chitosan hydrogels have been prepared and characterized by means of cryogenic scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM). The images showed that genipin cross-linking decreases the mesh distance of hydrogels. The release of dihydroxyacetone from these cross-linked genipin chitosan hydrogels has been studied by a dialysis membrane method. These dihydroxyacetone-loaded chitosan hydrogels have been incorporated to polyamide textiles by a simple padding technique. The presence of dihydroxyacetone on these textiles has been detected by hyperspectral imaging on a dark field high resolution optical microscope. Finally, the performance of fabrics as cosmeto-textiles, with a tanning effect, has been evaluated by skin-colorimetry measured with an evaluation panel of 10 people. The results have demonstrated that dihydroxyacetone-loaded textiles produce a tanning effect on skin, and incorporation of dihydroxyacetone-loaded chitosan hydrogels into polyamide fabrics represents a friendly and appropriate strategy to obtain a cosmeto-textile with tanning effect

Information structure and language dominance in subject pronoun resolution in Catalan-Spanish bilingualism

Pronominal anaphora resolution, and particularly the interpretation of third-person null and overt subject pronouns, is a complex linguistic phenomenon of the syntax-pragmatics interface. On the one hand, it has been demonstrated to be sensitive to multiple factors, which have often overlapped in previous research, such as the syntactic function, the information status, or the linear and hierarchic position of the antecedent (Carminati, 2002; de la Fuente, 2015; Torregrossa et al., 2020). On the other hand, it has been defined as especially challenging for bilingual speakers: vulnerable to crosslinguistic influence and to the effects of bilingualism per se, consisting of the use of a bilingual strategy that would give rise to the overextension—or indeterminacy—of overt pronouns (Sorace, 2011). The aim of this study is twofold. Firstly, to examine how and to what extent syntactic, pragmatic, and sequential factors contribute to the interpretation of null and overt subject pronouns in Catalan and Spanish through the manipulation of information structure (comparing canonical sentences, clitic-left dislocations, subject clefts, and object clefts). Secondly, to investigate how language dominance affects pronoun resolution by early and highly functional Catalan-Spanish bilinguals in canonical sentences and when adding complexity with marked information structures. Using a bidirectional design, Catalan-Spanish bilinguals with different language dominance profiles (Catalan-dominant, balanced, and Spanish-dominant) completed two equivalent forced-choice tasks in Catalan and in Spanish, and a group of Spanish monolinguals completed the task in Spanish. Briefly, the observed impact of information structures on pronoun resolution supports a multifactorial and form-specific approach (Kaiser & Trueswell, 2008), similar in Catalan and in Spanish; no overriding factor was identified (syntactic, pragmatic, or sequential), and the interpretive preferences of each pronominal form were found to be driven by a different combination of factors. Whereas null pronouns tend to prefer subject and topic antecedents (showing sensitivity to syntactic and pragmatic factors), overt pronouns tend to prefer object and second-mentioned, hierarchically lower, antecedents (showing sensitivity to syntactic and sequential factors). In canonical sentences, microvariation was shown between the two typologically similar null subject languages under study: although the two languages comply with the Position of Antecedent Hypothesis (Carminati, 2002), Catalan null and overt subject pronouns show more polarized preferences than both bilingual and monolingual Spanish (Bel & García-Alcaraz, 2018). In these canonical contexts, unidirectional crosslinguistic influence was found from Spanish toward Catalan (Romano, 2019), modulated by language dominance: the higher the dominance in Spanish, the stronger the influence (i.e., the attenuation of the categorical Catalan biases). In marked information structures, no dominance (and no bilingualism) effects were observed, suggesting that Catalan-Spanish bilinguals do not rely on a general bilingual strategy, as would be derived from the Interface Hypothesis (Sorace, 2011). Overall, these findings demonstrate that null and overt subject pronouns are sensitive in different ways to the interaction between syntactic, pragmatic, and sequential factors, that crosslinguistic influence can occur in contexts of microvariation, being modulated by language dominance, and that the use of a bilingual strategy in pronoun resolution cannot be generalized to early and highly functional bilingual populations.La resolució de l’anàfora pronominal, i en particular la interpretació dels pronoms de subjecte nuls i explícits, és un fenomen complex de la interfície sintaxi-pragmàtica. Per una banda, s’ha demostrat que és sensible a múltiples factors, que amb freqüència s’han solapat en investigacions prèvies, com ara la funció sintàctica, l’estatus informatiu, o la posició lineal i jeràrquica de l’antecedent (Carminati, 2002; de la Fuente, 2015; Torregrossa et al., 2020). Per una altra banda, s’ha definit com a especialment costosa per als parlants bilingües: vulnerable a la influència translingüística i als efectes del bilingüisme per se, consistents en l’ús d’una estratègia bilingüe que donaria lloc a la sobreextensió—o indeterminació—de les propietats dels pronoms explícits (Sorace, 2011). Aquest estudi es proposa, en primer lloc, examinar com i fins a quin punt els factors sintàctics, pragmàtics i seqüencials contribueixen a la interpretació dels pronoms nuls i explícits en català i en espanyol mitjançant la manipulació de l’estructura informativa (comparant oracions canòniques, topicalitzacions de l’objecte via dislocació a l’esquerra, focalitzacions del subjecte via oracions escindides i focalitzacions de l’objecte via oracions escindides). En segon lloc, es proposa investigar si la dominança lingüística afecta la resolució pronominal en bilingües català-castellà primerencs i altament funcionals, tant en oracions canòniques com en oracions amb estructures informatives marcades, que hi afegeixen complexitat. Fent ús d’un disseny bidireccional, bilingües català-castellà amb diferents perfils de dominança lingüística (catalanodominants, equilibrats i castellanodominants) van completar dues tasques de selecció forçosa equivalents en català i en castellà, i un grup de monolingües de castellà va completar la tasca en castellà. En síntesi, l’impacte observat de l’estructura informativa en l’anàfora pronominal avala una visió multifactorial específica per a cada forma pronominal (Kaiser i Trueswell, 2008), semblant en català i en castellà; no es va identificar un factor predominant (sintàctic, pragmàtic o seqüencial) i les preferències interpretatives de cada forma pronominal es van veure afectades per una combinació de factors diferents. Mentre que els pronoms nuls tendeixen a preferir antecedents subjecte i tòpic (mostrant sensibilitat a factors sintàctics i pragmàtics), els pronoms explícits tendeixen a preferir antecedents objecte i en segona posició, una posició jeràrquicament més baixa (mostrant sensibilitat a factors sintàctics i seqüencials). En les oracions canòniques, es va observar microvariació entre les dues llengües objecte d’estudi, ambdues de subjecte nul i tipològicament semblants: malgrat que ambdues llengües segueixen les prediccions de la Hipòtesi de la Posició de l’Antecedent (Carminati, 2002), els pronoms de subjecte nuls i explícits en català mostren preferències més polaritzades que en castellà bilingüe i monolingüe (Bel i García-Alcaraz, 2018). En aquestes oracions canòniques, s’hi va observar influència translingüística unidireccional del castellà cap al català (Romano, 2019), modulada per la dominança lingüística: a major dominança del castellà, major influència (i.e., major flexibilització dels biaixos del català). En estructures informativament marcades, no es van apreciar efectes de dominança lingüística (ni de bilingüisme), la qual cosa suggereix que els bilingües català-castellà no recorren a una estratègia bilingüe, com es derivaria de la Hipòtesi de la Interfície (Sorace, 2011). En conjunt, aquests resultats demostren que els pronoms de subjecte nuls i explícits manifesten una sensibilitat diferent a la interacció entre factors sintàctics, pragmàtics i seqüencials, que la influència translingüística pot aparèixer en contextos de microvariació, modulada per la dominança lingüística, i que l’ús d’una estratègia bilingüe en la resolució de l’anàfora pronominal no sembla que es pugui generalitzar en poblacions de bilingües primerencs i altament funcionals.La resolución de la anáfora pronominal, y en particular la interpretación de los pronombres de sujeto nulos y explícitos, es un fenómeno complejo de la interfaz sintaxis-pragmática. Por un lado, se ha demostrado que es sensible a múltiples factores, que se han solapado con frecuencia en investigaciones previas, como la función sintáctica, el estatus informativo, o la posición lineal y jerárquica del antecedente (Carminati, 2002; de la Fuente, 2015; Torregrossa et al., 2020). Por otro lado, se ha definido como especialmente costosa para los hablantes bilingües: vulnerable a la influencia translingüística y a los efectos del bilingüismo per se, consistentes en el uso de una estrategia bilingüe que daría lugar a la sobreextensión—o indeterminación—de las propiedades de los pronombres explícitos (Sorace, 2011). Este estudio tiene un objetivo doble. En primer lugar, examinar cómo y hasta qué punto los factores sintácticos, pragmáticos y secuenciales contribuyen a la interpretación de los pronombres nulos y explícitos en catalán y en español mediante la manipulación de la estructura informativa (comparando oraciones canónicas, topicalizaciones del objeto vía dislocación a la izquierda, focalizaciones del sujeto vía oración escindida y focalizaciones del objeto vía oración escindida). En segundo lugar, investigar si la dominancia lingüística afecta a la resolución pronominal en bilingües catalán-español tempranos y altamente funcionales, tanto en oraciones canónicas como en oraciones con estructuras informativas marcadas, que añaden complejidad. Haciendo uso de un diseño bidireccional, bilingües catalán-español con diferentes perfiles de dominancia lingüística (catalanodominantes, equilibrados y castellanodominantes) completaron dos tareas de selección forzosa equivalentes en catalán y en español, y un grupo de monolingües de español completó la tarea en español. Brevemente, el impacto observado de la estructura informativa en la anáfora pronominal avala una visión multifactorial específica para cada forma pronominal (Kaiser y Trueswell, 2008), similar en catalán y en español; no se identificó un factor (sintáctico, pragmático o secuencial) predominante y las preferencias interpretativas de cada forma pronominal se vieron afectadas por una combinación de factores de distinta índole. Mientras que los pronombres nulos tienden a preferir antecedentes sujeto y tópico (mostrando sensibilidad a factores sintácticos y pragmáticos), los pronombres explícitos tienden a preferir antecedentes objeto y en segunda posición, una posición jerárquicamente más baja en la estructura sintáctica (mostrando sensibilidad a factores sintácticos y secuenciales). En las oraciones canónicas, se observó microvariación entre las dos lenguas objeto de estudio, ambas de sujeto nulo y tipológicamente similares: a pesar de que ambas lenguas siguen las predicciones de la Hipótesis de la Posición del Antecedente (Carminati, 2002), los pronombres de sujeto nulos y explícitos en catalán muestran preferencias más polarizadas que en español bilingüe y monolingüe (Bel y García-Alcaraz, 2018). En estas oraciones canónicas, se observó influencia translingüística unidireccional del español hacia el catalán (Romano, 2019), modulada por la dominancia lingüística: a mayor dominancia del español, mayor influencia (i.e., mayor flexibilización de los sesgos del catalán). En estructuras informativamente marcadas, no se apreciaron efectos de dominancia lingüística (ni de bilingüismo), lo que sugiere que los bilingües catalán-español no recurren a una estrategia bilingüe, como se derivaría de la Hipótesis de la Interfaz (Sorace, 2011). En conjunto, estos resultados demuestran que los pronombres de sujeto nulos y explícitos manifiestan una sensibilidad diferente a la interacción entre factores sintácticos, pragmáticos y secuenciales, que la influencia translingüística puede ocurrir en contextos de microvariación, siendo modulada por la dominancia lingüística, y que el uso de una estrategia bilingüe en la resolución de la anáfora pronominal no parece poderse generalizar a poblaciones de bilingües tempranos y altamente funcionales

Propietats pragmàtico-discursives de les expressions referencials en el discurs nadiu i no nadiu en espanyol

Treball de fi de grau en Llengües AplicadesAnaphora resolution in null subject languages has been one of the most widely studied linguistic phenomena involving the interface between syntax and pragmatics, since it is the source of persistent difficulties for second language learners. It is well known that whereas syntactic properties of referring expressions are completely acquirable in a second language from early stages of acquisition, their syntax-discourse interface properties may not be fully acquirable, even at advanced proficiency levels (Alonso-Ovalle et al., 2002; Sorace & Filiaci, 2006; Lozano, 2009). This paper studies whether Spanish native and non-native speakers show different discourse function specializations of third person subject referring expressions (null and overt pronouns and noun phrases) and whether they prefer to select antecedents with a specific syntactic function. Moreover, it attempts to determine to what extent language transfer and proficiency level can influence L2 Spanish learners’ discourse. We work with written texts produced semi-spontaneously by a native control group and three experimental groups: L1 English speakers (lower and upper intermediate learners of Spanish) and L1 Italian speakers (upper intermediate learners). The mother tongues of non-native participants differ precisely in terms of the null subject parameter. Results confirm that L2 Spanish learners do not show a complete acquisition of pragmatic properties of the analysed referring expressions, although they seem to use similar patterns in the selection of antecedents. Furthermore, both linguistic transference and proficiency level play a role on the differences observed

On the impact of clause order on pronoun resolution: evidence from Spanish

In research on intra-sentential pronominal anaphora resolution in null subject languages, it has been argued that null pronouns tend to be biased towards subject antecedents, whereas overt pronouns tend to prefer object antecedents, as predicted by Carminati’s ‘Position of the Antecedent Hypothesis’. However, these studies have mainly focused on only one of the two possible clause orders (main-subordinate or subordinate-main), which have not been overtly contrasted. This paper investigates the effects of clause order on the interpretation of third-person subject pronouns in globally ambiguous intra-sentential contexts by 49 native speakers of Spanish. The results of an acceptability judgment task explicitly comparing both clause orders indicate that relative clause order is a key factor affecting the interpretation of pronouns: while a preference of overt pronouns for object antecedents holds across clause orders, null pronouns show a bias towards subject antecedents only in subordinate-main sequences. These findings refine the Position of the Antecedent Hypothesis predictions by restricting them to subordinate-main complex sentences.This research has been supported by research grants awarded by the Spanish State Research Agency (FFI2016-75082-P and PID2020- 114276GB-I00) and by the Catalan Agency for Management of University and Research Grants through the FI program (2020FI_B2_00081)

Indoor environmental quality and infection control in surgery rooms: code requirements vs. performance motivation. A critical review

Surgery rooms are a space type with particularly stringent indoor environmental quality (IEQ) requirements (large airflow rates and narrow comfort windows), which translate into high energy use. Due to the unclear IEQ and infection control requirements for surgery rooms in Spain, these spaces are often designed and operated 24 hours per day and 7 days per week, to meet the most stringent recommendations (not only the requirements) in the available standards and guidelines. This paper critically reviews the Spanish mandatory requirements for surgery rooms by comparing them against their performance motivation and other international standards. Regulatory ambiguities and code-compliant energy efficiency opportunities are identified.; The requirements and recommendations in the standards included in this review differ in their magnitude (particularly the airflow requirements), but are similar in their prescriptive nature. This paper identifies the performance goals associated to the prescriptive requirements, and proposes a method to adjust system operation (outdoor airflow rate, total supply air, indoor air temperature, and indoor air relative humidity) to meet IEQ performance goals while reducing energy use. Further work is required to define operation infection control requirements for the different surgery types and enable a performance based control strategy based on real time particle concentration monitoring.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Indoor environmental quality and infection control in surgery rooms: code requirements vs. performance motivation. A critical review

Surgery rooms are a space type with particularly stringent indoor environmental quality (IEQ) requirements (large airflow rates and narrow comfort windows), which translate into high energy use. Due to the unclear IEQ and infection control requirements for surgery rooms in Spain, these spaces are often designed and operated 24 hours per day and 7 days per week, to meet the most stringent recommendations (not only the requirements) in the available standards and guidelines. This paper critically reviews the Spanish mandatory requirements for surgery rooms by comparing them against their performance motivation and other international standards. Regulatory ambiguities and code-compliant energy efficiency opportunities are identified.; The requirements and recommendations in the standards included in this review differ in their magnitude (particularly the airflow requirements), but are similar in their prescriptive nature. This paper identifies the performance goals associated to the prescriptive requirements, and proposes a method to adjust system operation (outdoor airflow rate, total supply air, indoor air temperature, and indoor air relative humidity) to meet IEQ performance goals while reducing energy use. Further work is required to define operation infection control requirements for the different surgery types and enable a performance based control strategy based on real time particle concentration monitoring.Peer Reviewe

Energy-efficient ventilation control strategies for surgery rooms

Surgery room specific energy use is among the highest in the built environment due to stringent indoor environmental quality and infection control requirements. This study uses a calibrated energy model to evaluate the environmental and economic performance of a variety of ventilation control strategies that reduce surgery room energy use while maintaining indoor environmental quality and infection control performance. The individual control strategies evaluated in this study are (1) temperature and relative humidity reset, (2) air recirculation, (3) airflow reset, and (4) particle concentration based airflow control. Combinations of these strategies are also evaluated. The best performing combinations of control strategies can reduce surgery room primary energy use, CO2 emissions, and energy costs by up to 86% relative to the standard practice. Temperature and relative humidity reset is the strategy that offers the largest benefits. Particle concentration based airflow control shows modest results partly due to the conservative infection control performance target. Future research should define infection control performance thresholds during operation.Peer Reviewe