The Smart Grid concept is being implemented and it is a close reality, its application has been accelerated by the reduction of the electronic components costs, the Internet of Things evolution and ...the necessity to develop more efficient solutions for electric vehicles and distributed generation. The main projects around the world are starting with the implementation of Smart Homes, due to the greater easy technical solution and high compensation. These implementations are accompanied by technical and economic barriers, due to the increase in data generation and the increase products price. This paper focuses on the study of the Sub-GHz, WiFi, and ZigBee wireless networks, making a technical and economic analysis of these networks. Experimental and simulation analysis were used to evaluate these technologies, allowing to simulate a complete Smart Home environment for energy and demand management, applying a communication node for each energy point. The economic analysis relates the direct cost of technology module and their energy consumption, based on rates from the local distributor of the residence. In conclusion, the document establishes the best wireless technology to apply in energy and demand management in smart homes environments, with higher transmission success rates and better cost benefit.
The aim of this study was to monitor maternal-fetal ecobiometric parameters during physiological pregnancy in goats using ultrasound to predict gestational age by establishing mathematical equations. ...Twenty-five Saanen goats were included in the study. Assessments were performed weekly from the 21st day of pregnancy until parturition. The abdominal, thoracic, biparietal, and eye socket diameters; distance from the neck to snout; crown-rump, humerus, radius-ulna, metacarpal, femur, tibia, metatarsal, and placentome lengths; kidney height and length; and heart area were measured. Heart rate was obtained using the pulsed Doppler mode. The variables were correlated with gestational age using Spearman's test, and the adjustment of these variables to simple and multiple regression models was done to determine the mathematical formulas for calculating the gestational age. The highest obtained coefficients of determination (R2) were for humerus length (96.2), heart area (95.6), and distance from the neck to the snout (95.3). Only the placentome length and fetal heart rate presented low determination coefficients (R2 = 54.3, R2 = 45.0). The results indicated significant correlations between measures of maternal-fetal structures and gestational age, and can be used as reference values for detection of abnormalities during fetal development.
•Mathematical equations to determine gestational age with predictive power above 90%.•Characterization of sonographic attributes/echogenicity of maternal-fetal structures.•Relation between gestational age and 17 biometric variables throughout goat pregnancy.•Report of echogenicity changes in the fetal lung and liver during the gestational period.•Description of ultrasound findings and their relation to physiological organogenesis.
The upper treeline provides a unique opportunity for documenting changes in forest dynamics in the context of current environmental fluctuations. Documenting the response of forests to present ...environmental changes will be very useful in developing and validating vegetation models that predict plant responses to global changes resulting from human activities. It is generally suggested that the expansion of the upper treeline is limited by cold temperatures, so warmer conditions are expected to induce an advance of forests into alpine vegetation. Significant changes in temperature and precipitation have already been documented in regional studies along the Patagonian Andes during the last decades. Across Patagonia, there are strong relationships between changes in climate and variations in the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). The atmospheric circulation indexes, act as climate packages summarizing climatic information since they combine changes in environmental variables. In order to complement previous studies in the northern Patagonia treeline, we have conducted a this study in the southern Patagonian Andes to: (1) characterize the patterns of Nothofagus pumilio establishment in the upper treeline along a precipitation gradient, (2) to establish the relationship between variations in regional climate and tree establishment and (3) to determine the influence of continental and hemispheric-scale climatic forcing on tree establishment at regional scale. Our studies suggest that the location of the upper treeline of the N. pumilio forest in the Patagonian Andes is sensitive to changes in climate variations. The temperature increment has facilitated the tree recruitment, however, the rate of seedling establishment appears to be more strongly modulated by the interaction between temperature increase and variations in precipitation. The expansion of the upper treeline has been limited to 5–10m from the abrupt treeline. This comparatively reduced advance of the forest in the alpine grassland is regulated by other biotic and abiotic factors rather than the temperature increase. While the recent expansion of the upper treeline in northern Patagonia was regulated by temperature and precipitation variations associated with the different phases of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, the establishment above the upper treeline in the southern Patagonian Andes was facilitated by climatic variations induced by the positive trend of the SAM during the last decades.
Trees at upper treelines are exposed to more extreme environmental conditions than those at lower elevations. Climate changes at the upper treeline facilitate the establishment or intensify the ...mortality of trees and, consequently, affect species distributions. The structure and density of individuals of Nothofagus pumilio above the upper treeline, together with their temporal patterns of establishment, were determined in three sites located along a west-east precipitation gradient across the Patagonian Andes. Patterns of tree establishment were compared to regional variations in temperature and precipitation, as well as to indexes of atmospheric circulation that modulate northern Patagonian climate. Mesic and dry sites along the moisture gradient have a lower density of newly established trees; however, individuals show larger basal diameters and greater annual growth rates, heights, and number of branches than those established in humid sites. In wet areas, the high density of individuals reflects the higher rates of N. pumilio establishment and survival. At drier treelines, low snow persistence, associated with longer growing seasons, appears to be related to the larger size of individuals. At all sites, patterns of tree establishment are characterized by an abrupt increase in recruitment starting in the mid-1970s and a marked decrease in the late 1990s. The onset of tree establishment above the treeline coincides with an increase in regional spring-summer temperature in the year 1977, concurrent with the negative-to-positive shift in the phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). In contrast, the decrease in N. pumilio establishment since the late 1990s coincides with an opposite shift (positive to negative) in the PDO. This recent change in the PDO phase did not significantly modify the mean values but increased the interannual variability of the spring-summer temperatures in the region. Changes in the PDO, which encompasses complex variations in environmental conditions at the upper treeline, are more closely related to N. pumilio establishment than are variations in temperature or precipitation alone. In addition, the distinction between the effects of changes in mean values versus the effects of climate variability is crucial for properly predicting forest responses to climate changes.
The aim of this study was to evaluate and correlate modifications of vaginal mucous impedance, vulvar temperature and ultrasonographic measurements (echobiometric parameters) to parturition in ...pregnant Saanen does. 30 does were selected for the study and submitted to an estrus synchronization protocol and natural mating. The females were evaluated daily from Day 143 of pregnancy to parturition. For the sonographic evaluations, the following structures were measured: biparietal diameter, thoracic diameter, abdominal diameter, ocular orbit, kidney length, kidney height, cardiac area, placentome length, cervical measurement and fetal heart rate; by means of two different approaches: transrectal and transabdominal, using a 7.5 MHz linear transducer. The vaginal mucous impedance was assessed using an electric estrous detector and vulvar temperature was measured using a non-contact infrared thermometer. Statistical analysis was performed using the R-project software and the significance level was set at 5% for all tests. 25 Saanen does became pregnant, resulting in 80.33% pregnancy rate. Fetal heart rate was negatively correlated to the hours to parturition (p<0,001; r-Pearson= -0,451), as well as vaginal temperature (p= 0,001; r-Pearson= -0,275), while cervical thickness was positively correlated to hours to parturition (p<0,001; r-Pearson= 0,490). The echobiometric parameters (biparietal diameter, thoracic diameter, abdominal diameter, ocular orbit, kidney length and height, cardiac area, placentome length), as well as vaginal mucous impedance did not vary throughout the timepoints of evaluation and did not correlate to the moment of parturition. It was concluded that the parameters of fetal heartbeat, vaginal temperature and cervical effacement in the last week of pregnancy provide valuable information regarding the proximity of parturition.
Resumen Los incendios forestales representan un disturbio frecuente en la Patagonia con importantes impactos en la dinámica del paisaje. Si bien nuestro conocimiento de los regímenes históricos de ...incendios y su relación con los cambios históricos en el uso de la tierra y la variabilidad climática es amplio, pocos estudios han evaluado la dinámica forestal pos-incendio como resul tante de los mismos. Nuestro objetivo fue comparar la historia de incendios y dinámica forestal pos-incendio en bosques de Nothofagus pumilio en dos sitios contrastantes dentro del gradiente de precipitaciones en la cuenca del río de las Vueltas, provincia de Santa Cruz utilizando téc nicas dendroecológicas. Nuestros resultados dan cuenta de diferentes historias de incendios y dinámica forestal pos-incendio. Mientras que en el sector seco ocurrió un único evento de alta severidad y de gran extensión espacial, en el sector húmedo tuvieron lugar tres incendios de me nor extensión y de menor intensidad. Las dinámicas pos-incendio reflejan tanto las diferentes historias de incendios como también la disponibilidad hídrica y la sensibilidad de N. pumilio a esta. Estudios retrospectivos de dinámica forestal combinando la reconstrucción del historial de incendios y el establecimiento de individuos son de gran valor para mejorar nuestro entendi miento de la dinámica del paisaje en el tiempo.
Las parcelas forestales permanentes son áreas de muestreo donde se registran periódicamente la identidad, abundancia y tamaño de los árboles, para estudiar cómo cambian los bosques en relación con el ...clima, los disturbios naturales y los usos y manejos. Hasta hoy, los patrones de cambio observados con parcelas permanentes en la Argentina tuvieron alcance local o regional. Para potenciar los vínculos entre los diferentes grupos de trabajo que promuevan colaboraciones a escalas intra- e inter-regionales creamos la Red Argentina de Parcelas Permanentes de Bosques Nativos (RAPP), abarcando las regiones forestales de los Bosques Andino-Patagónicos, Chaco Seco, Chaco Húmedo, Monte de Sierras y Bolsones, Monte de Llanuras y Mesetas, Selva Paranaense y Yungas. Aquí sintetizamos y caracterizamos la información de 317 parcelas permanentes (328.9 ha) incluidas en la RAPP, describiendo su distribución geográfica, objetivos, principales aspectos metodológicos y características de los bosques donde están establecidas (e.g., disturbios, tenencia de la tierra, estructura, riqueza de especies). Asimismo, se discute la complementariedad entre la RAPP y los inventarios nacionales de bosques nativos. Las parcelas se distribuyen entre 22.02° y 54.89° S y entre 19 y 2304 m s. n. m., aunque están concentradas principalmente en el Subtrópico (Chaco Seco, Chaco Húmedo, Selva Paranaense y Yungas) y en los Bosques Andino-Patagónicos. En todas las parcelas se identifica la taxonomía de los árboles y se miden diferentes variables dasométricas, fundamentales para responder preguntas ecológicas a una mayor escala mediante colaboraciones. Esperamos continuar incorporando grupos de trabajo a la RAPP e incentivar el establecimiento de nuevas parcelas permanentes en regiones poco representadas (e.g., Monte, Espinal y Delta e Islas del Paraná). La meta es que la RAPP permita avanzar en el estudio a largo plazo de todos los bosques nativos de la Argentina, aumentando la cobertura nacional y las interacciones entre los grupos de trabajo.
The aim of this study is to compare the precision of low and high-level padel players in a closed task and its relationships with the heart rate responses to the exercise. A sample of 49 male players ...of two practice levels (age, 36.73±1.50) was selected to participate in this study. Technical performance was analysed through the Groundstroke Padel Accuracy Test (GPA) and heart rate during and after the task was monitored. There were no statistically significant differences in the GPA test, but even so the results showed a heart rate recovery at 60 and 120 sec were significantly higher for the high-level group HRR1, U = 189, p = 0,026, d = 0,32 (moderate effect); HRR2, U = 186,50, p = 0,023 d = 0,32 (moderate effect). We conclude that it would be relevant to measure other product variables in order to make this field test (GPA) even more effective in the evaluation the real technical level of padel players. Additionally, high-level players recuperate faster after the effort, which appear to indicate that they may be better aerobically prepared.
Keywords: Padel, Groundstroke Padel Accuracy test, heart rate, precision, agility.
This study compared the shaping ability of TRUShape and XP-endo Shaper systems on C-shaped root canals replicas using microcomputed tomography (micro-CT).
Thirty three-dimensional replicas based on ...a mandibular second molar classified as C1 type I C-shaped canal were randomly divided into two groups (
= 15): TRUShape (G.TRU) and XP-endo Shaper (G.XP) and instrumented with each system according to the manufacturer's instructions. Changes in volume and surface and the unprepared area of the root canal were measured by scanning on micro-CT before and after instrumentation.
The unprepared areas were 39% in the G.TRU and 43% in the G.XP group with no significant difference between them (
> 0.05), but both the tested systems left a high percentage of unprepared root canal walls of C-shaped root canals.
TRUShape and XP-endo Shaper showed a high rate of unprepared areas with similar results after C-shaped root canals replicas for root canal preparation.
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