Effects of caffeine, beetroot juice and its interaction consumption on exercise-related fatigue

The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of different supplementation conditions on fatigue and performance in flywheel half-squat tests in senior men. Sixteen active males (age: 22.8±4.9 years; body mass index: 23.7±2.4 kg*m-2) participated in the intervention during a 4-week period. Four experimental conditions were established using a double-blind design: placebo, caffeine (CAF), beetroot juice (BRJ), and combined BRJ+CAF. To assess the effect of supplementation, participants completed a countermovement jump (CMJ) before (Pre), 30 s after (Post-30s) and 180 s after (Post-180 s) completing a flywheel half-squat exercise protocol (four sets of eight all-out repetitions, with a 3-min inter-set rest, using different inertial loads). Additionally, the mean power output during the flywheel half-squat protocol was recorded. A repeated measures ANOVA showed greater mean power (~1000 W, p<.001) produced in flywheel exercise after the CAF, BRJ and BRJ+CAF consumption compared to the placebo condition. After placebo, CAF and BRJ, CMJ performance at Post-180 s was reduced compared to Pre (p=.003-.087, two-way ANOVA; ES=-0.39/-0.49), although no significant performance reduction (p=.087) was noted after BRJ+CAF. In conclusion, compared to placebo, CAF, BRJ, and BRJ+CAF allow greater total mean power in the flywheel half-squat power test, although without effects on exercise-related fatigue. Additionally, BRJ+CAF improved recovery after a high demanding power-production protocol

CEPRAM: Compression for Endurance in PCM RAM

We deal with the endurance problem of Phase Change Memories (PCM) by proposing Compression for Endurance in PCM RAM (CEPRAM), a technique to elongate the lifespan of PCM-based main memory through compression. We introduce a total of three compression schemes based on already existent schemes, but targeting compression for PCM-based systems. We do a two-level evaluation. First, we quantify the performance of the compression, in terms of compressed size, bit-flips and how they are affected by errors. Next, we simulate these parameters in a statistical simulator to study how they affect the endurance of the system. Our simulation results reveal that our technique, which is built on top of Error Correcting Pointers (ECP) but using a high-performance cache-oriented compression algorithm modified to better suit our purpose, manages to further extend the lifetime of the memory system. In particular, it guarantees that at least half of the physical pages are in usable condition for 25% longer than ECP, which is slightly more than 5% more than a scheme that can correct 16 failures per block

Asesoramiento experto en la divulgación de la ciencia: equipos transdisciplinares como vía de concienciación poblacional frente al Cambio Climático

Introducción: En la era geológica actual, el Antropoceno, los medios de comunicación constituyen una herramienta vital en la divulgación social, siendo el asesoramiento de expertos fundamental para una correcta difusión de conocimientos científicos. Metodología-Desarrollo: Con la finalidad de comprobar el grado de conocimiento para con uno de los principales problemas ambientales de la actualidad y evaluar cómo el asesoramiento experto contribuye a una mejor comprensión de la Ciencia, se procedió a la realización de una encuesta cerrada dicotómica con individuos graduados procedentes de diferentes áreas de conocimiento. Dicho cuestionario se ejecutó de forma pareada a los mismos individuos antes y después de la impartición, por parte de especialistas, de clases magistrales sobre teoría del cambio climático dentro del contexto teórico del cambio global. Resultados: El estudio evidenció que los individuos procedentes de áreas afines a temáticas ambientales presentaban un mayor grado de conocimiento ante el dilema planteado. Por otra parte, el asesoramiento científico recibido derivó en un incremento significativo respecto al número de aciertos por parte de los encuestados. Conclusiones: El cambio climático es una temática integrada en los medios de comunicación, responsables de difundir los avances que surgen al respecto y de concienciar a la población sobre las posibles medidas de mitigación y adaptación frente a esta problemática. No obstante es fundamental la formación de equipos transdisciplinares de expertos junto a profesionales divulgativos para la correcta difusión informativa, evitando así incurrir en preocupaciones sensacionalistas donde convergen predilecciones ecologistas, políticas y económicas en detrimento de criterios científicos objetivos

Conexión de la innovación y el diseño para potenciar la innovación en las empresas

This work explores the connection between innovation and design from various perspectives and delves into the capacity of design to enhance product and process innovations in companies. To do this, different definitions of design are analyzed, focusing on both the innovation field through the Oslo Manual and the design field. Evidence is sought regarding the connection between design and innovation in academic literature, European Commission policies, and businesses. Additionally, it highlights the importance of the service sector in the Spanish economy and its connection to the capacity of design to contribute to the generation of innovations of any kind.Este trabajo estudia la conexión entre la innovación y el diseño desde varias ópticas y profundiza en la capacidad del diseño para potenciar innovaciones de producto y de proceso en las empresas. Para ello se analizan distintas definiciones de diseño, poniendo el foco tanto en el ámbito de la innovación a través del Manual de Oslo, como en el ámbito del diseño. Se busca evidencia sobre la conexión del diseño y la innovación en la literatura académica, en las políticas de la Comisión Europea y en las empresas. Por otro lado se muestra&nbsp;la importancia del sector servicios en la economía española y se conecta con la capacidad del diseño para contribuir a la generación de innovaciones de cualquier índole

Ciencia y divulgación sobre la sexta extinción masiva de biodiversidad, ¿es realmente el cambio climático el principal responsable?

Introducción: Actualmente estamos ante una sexta extinción masiva en cuanto a pérdida de especies a nivel planetario. Sin embargo, aún no existe un consenso absoluto respecto a la principal causa de este desastre natural, derivando esto en una imposibilidad de informar correctamente a la ciudadanía, dando lugar a errores conceptuales que impiden atajar de forma efectiva el problema. Metodología-Desarrollo: Se procedió, tras la impartición de sesiones teóricas de carácter científico, a la realización de una serie de encuestas cerradas dicotómicas dirigidas a individuos con un grado superior clasificados acorde a su género y al medio informativo de uso mayoritario para ver, en primer lugar, si compartían la opinión de estar ante una sexta extinción masiva, pudiendo comprobar posteriormente el grado de conocimiento sobre las causas y efectos de dicha pérdida de especies. Resultados: Mientras que no se evidenció una influencia clara del género en el estudio realizado, los distintos medios informativos analizados como vía principal de información recibida por parte de los encuestados sí formaron grupos diferenciados en cuanto al nivel de conocimiento sobre la problemática planteada. Conclusiones: Si bien la tasa anual de pérdida de especies es realmente preocupante en la actualidad, a nivel divulgativo la principal preocupación ambiental es para con el cambio climático, no constituyendo sin embargo dicho fenómeno una causa principal de pérdida de biodiversidad, siendo en cambio la modificación de los usos del suelo el principal impulsor directo responsable de la fragmentación del territorio, motivo responsable de la elevada tasa de extinción biológica actual

Active Ageing Index: Application to Spanish regions

The World Health Organization definition for active ageing and the approach and measurement made by the UNECE/EC to define an Active Ageing Index (AAI) are the starting points for this work. This paper reflects on the proposed methodology of the European AAI for measuring and adapting it to sub-national spaces, in this case Spain and its regions. Consistently, evaluation of specific data sources and indicators that can be built from them, trying to homogenise with the national-level AAI, according to its calculation methodology, are also essential objectives of this paper. In general, Spanish data sources are broadly similar to those which have been used for calculating the AAI in Europe, while some limitations, difficulties for homogenization and distortions are inevitable due to the AAI specificity. These factors have conditioned the calculation of some indicators, tentatively replaced by other alternatives and approximations. The AAI for Spain, calculated on the basis of Spanish data sources, is consistent with the European AAI, although slightly lower. However, it is closely connected with other general indicators in Spain (Gross Domestic Product, Synthetic Quality of Life Index, New Index of Human Development) to differentiate the level of economic and social development of the Spanish regions. The future development of the AAI in Spain requires delving into the use of more adequate indicators and weights, and more crucially advancing its usefulness to assess the public policies for the elderly in Spain. In addition, it aims to extend its use to certain Latin American countries.This research was carried under the ELES Project (Ageing in Spain Longitudinal Study) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Competitiveness (National R&D&I Plan, Ref. CSO2011-30210-C02-01, PI. V. Rodriguez-Rodriguez). It is connected with other ongoing projects: i) the thematic networks ENACTIBE (Active Ageing in Ibero-America) (MINECO, ref. CSO2015-71193-REDT, PI. V. Rodriguez-Rodriguez) and RIIIES (Ibero-American Research Network on Ageing and Society, PI. F. Villar); ii) ENVACES project (Building the Active Ageing in Spain: self-assessment, determinants and quality of life expectations) MINECO/FEDER/ UE, ref. CSO2015-64115-R; PI. F Rojo-Perez); iii) ENCAGE-CM programme (Active Ageing, Quality of Life and Gender) (Community of Madrid and European Social Fund; ref. S2015/HUM-3367; Coord. G. Fernandez-Mayoralas). The authors thank Asghar Zaidi and the Editorial Board of the International Seminar of the Active Ageing Index, the Editor of the Journal of Population Ageing, and the two anonymous referees for their valuable comments that have helped to improve this paper.Peer reviewe

Rheological behaviour of submicron mullite-carbon nanofiber suspensions for Atmospheric Plasma Spraying coatings

Mullite is widely used as a structural material for applications like thermal and environmental barriers coatings. For some of these applications, thermal spray is a suitable technique due to its fast production time and versatility. This makes mullite a very interesting coating material for thermal spray industry. In the present work, the viability to produce coatings by thermal spray using mullite-CNFs agglomerated powders is analyzed. The stability of aqueous mullite and mullite-CNFs suspensions was studied in terms of zeta potential and rheological behaviour of concentrated slurries. Slurries were optimized in terms of dispersant concentration and solid content. The optimized suspensions were used for the granules preparation by spray drying technology. The obtained granules were characterized through the determination of particle size distribution and shape factor by field emission scanning electron microscopy and laser scattering. These granules were used to form the coatings by Atmospheric Plasma Spraying which were characterized by evaluating the composition, structure, shape, and thickness

Posibilidades de mando, control y comunicaciones en el VCI Pizarro

En los últimos años el Batallón "Badajoz" I/62 ha sufrido una profunda transformación orgánica, dejando de ser una unidad de montaña para pasar a ser una unidad mecanizada sobre la base de los Vehículos de Combate de Infantería (VCI) Pizarro. Este tipo de unidades requieren unos medios de Mando y Control mucho más complejos que los usados por una unidad de montaña debido a la naturaleza de su maniobra y a su modo de empleo. Actualmente, y con motivo del próximo despliegue de una de las Compañías en Letonia, 2a Compañía, en el Batallón se está empezando a trabajar con el sistema Battlefield Management System (BMS). Este trabajo, en su mayoría teórico, pretende explicar este sistema BMS, analizando su funcionamiento y exponiendo sus posibilidades de mejora futuras. Se debe tener en cuenta la complejidad de dicho sistema, ya que es capaz de mostrar la posición de la unidades propias como de transmitir la información que se desee en tiempo real, siempre con una limitación de tamaño de datos.<br /

Colloidal suspensions of totally inorganic perovskites nanoparticles: A new photoluminescent emission in the near-IR

Luminescent materials have attracted great attention due to the amazing applications. In this sense, perovskite halide materials have shown promising luminescent properties which allows them to be useful in various applications such as LEDs, sensors. In this work, colloidal suspensions of CsPbI3 and Pd-doped CsPbI3 perovskite nanoparticles were prepared at different temperatures, and their structure and luminescence properties were characterized to analyse the effect of the synthesis temperature and the Pd-doping. With the increase of temperature, the main photoluminescence band of perovskite nanoparticles are slightly red-shifted. But the most amazing result is that the Pd-doped CsPbI3 shows a new emission band at 877 nm under excitation at 785 nm. Therefore, this compound may be used as a highly sensitive luminescent sensor in several applications, such as in biosystems due to their emission in the first biological window under NIR excitatio

Stability and Thermal Properties Study of Metal Chalcogenide-Based Nanofluids for Concentrating Solar Power

Nanofluids are colloidal suspensions of nanomaterials in a fluid which exhibit enhanced thermophysical properties compared to conventional fluids. The addition of nanomaterials to a fluid can increase the thermal conductivity, isobaric-specific heat, diffusivity, and the convective heat transfer coefficient of the original fluid. For this reason, nanofluids have been studied over the last decades in many fields such as biomedicine, industrial cooling, nuclear reactors, and also in solar thermal applications. In this paper, we report the preparation and characterization of nanofluids based on one-dimensional MoS2 and WS2 nanosheets to improve the thermal properties of the heat transfer fluid currently used in concentrating solar plants (CSP). A comparative study of both types of nanofluids was performed for explaining the influence of nanostructure morphologies on nanofluid stability and thermal properties. The nanofluids prepared in this work present a high stability over time and thermal conductivity enhancements of up to 46% for MoS2-based nanofluid and up to 35% for WS2-based nanofluid. These results led to an increase in the efficiency of the solar collectors of 21.3% and 16.8% when the nanofluids based on MoS2 nanowires or WS2 nanosheets were used instead of the typical thermal oil