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AbstractReview: 105 refs.

Treball final de Grau en Psicologia. Codi: PS1048. Curs acadèmic 2015-2016 El estresante estilo de vida de la sociedad actual junto con la mala concepción sobre las posibles consecuencias del consumo de alcohol podrían ser algunas de las causas de que actualmente el alcohol sea una de las drogas más consumidas a nivel mundial según la OMS. Sin embargo, a pesar de todos los avances de la neurociencia, el mecanismo exacto de cómo actúa el alcohol en el SNC nos es aún desconocido. El objetivo de este trabajo es tratar de plantear y dar pruebas a favor de una hipótesis sobre como podría actuar realmente el alcohol en el cerebro. El método de este trabajo consta del análisis de 4 estudios que muestran las manipulaciones de diferentes mediadores de calcio y AMPc-­‐PKA y las consecuencias de esas manipulaciones a nivel molecular, celular, neurobiológico y conductual. Por una parte los resultados obtenidos nos muestran que posiblemente, estos mediadores de calcio tengan una función muy importantes a la hora de explicar el mecanismo de acción del alcohol en el cerebro. Pero, no obstante, no son suficientes evidencias como para afirmar con completa claridad y certeza que este sea el mecanismo exacto de actuación del alcohol en el SNC. The stressfull way of life of our nowadays society in adition to the missconception of the potencial consequences from alcohol consum could be some of the reasons for why alcohol is the worldwide most consumed drug according to OMS. However, besides all the neuroscience developments, the true mechanism of alcohol functionament on the SNC has been not proved. The method of this paper consists of the analysis of 4 studies that show the manipulations of the different mediators of calcium and cAMP-­‐PKA and the consequences of these manipulations at a molecular, cellular, neurobiological and behavioural level. The results, in one hand, show that is possible that those mediators of calcium are important for understands the true mechanism of how alcohol works in the brain. However, there are no enough evidences to completely agree that this is the exact mechanism by which alcohol acts at a central level.

Abstract The organic Rankine cycle (ORC) has been growing in importance as a technology for producing electricity from low temperature waste and renewable heat sources. In small-scale applications, the most used working fluid has been HFC-245fa, although this is being substituted for low GWP alternatives. A new HCFO working fluid, HCFO-1224yd(Z), has appeared as a possible alternative for HFC-245fa. In this study, this alternative working fluid is analysed and, finally, the working fluid is experimentally tested as drop-in alternative in a commercial ORC system. The main purpose is to determine the feasibility of using HCFO-1224yd(Z) as a drop-in replacement for HFC-245fa in a real facility that was initially designed to operate with HFC-245fa. The results show how the use of HCFO-1224yd(Z) offers power output that ranges from 7.5% to 17.4% lower than that provided by HFC-245fa. Although HFC-245fa offers higher power output, the results show that HCFO-1224yd(Z) offers up to 7.7% higher cycle net efficiency; this is due to the higher input thermal rate required by HFC-245fa. Finally, HCFO-1224yd(Z) has been stated as a suitable alternative to HFC-245fa as a drop-in replacement in a small-scale, low-temperature ORC, which increases its attractiveness for heat source with higher temperatures.

Treball Final de Màster Universitari en Estudis Internacionals de Pau, Conflictes i Desenvolupament (Pla de 2013). Codi: SBG120. Curs acadèmic: 2019/2020 Menstruation is a natural phenomenon in women and girl’s life and yet millions of menstruators are denied the right to manage their period in dignity and in a healthy manner around the world. From taboos within religious practices to the modern corporate taxes on menstrual products in the western world, menstrual health and hygiene is linked to gender inequality, discriminatory social norms, cultural taboos, poverty, conflicts, lack of basic services and access to health care and health products. Afghan women and girls are not spared from these insecurities, menstruation in the Afghan society is a subject that cannot be mentioned publicly nor privately. According to the available data, Afghan women do not have access to menstrual products due to poverty, market proximity, and lack of subject knowledge. In fact, it is sadly documented that a girl misses one week of school due to her menstruation. This pilot project aims to change the current approach on menstruation and accessibility of menstrual products through stakeholders and civil societies that run Human shelters, family guidance centers, family protection centers and other health facilities by awareness sessions within the community, trainings and economic empowerment on pads productions and various other menstrual products. The outcome of this pilot project is to give back the dignity to afghan menstruators by allowing them to have access to products but mainly to understand that menstruation is not a shame and also get familiar with what is available for them. The activities are carried out in socially acceptable manner in order to reach remote areas of Afghanistan once the pilot project becomes eventually a national project.

Abstract In the European Union F-gas Regulation limited the use of some refrigerants in several applications. Regarding the domestic refrigeration sector, the F-gas Regulation banned the use of refrigerants with GWP values higher than 150. This fact led the scientific community to search for a replacement of R-134a, that is the most common refrigerant used in domestic refrigerators in USA. In this work, a comprehensive environmental analysis of the drop-in substitution of R-134 with a low GWP refrigerant (R-152a) in a no-frost domestic refrigerator was performed. The comparison, based on experimental data, between the environmental performance of the refrigeration system with the two refrigerants was carried out developing two different evaluation methods, which led to the evaluation of TEWI and LCCP, respectively. Both these metrics consider both direct and indirect contributions to global warming. Historical data of different countries were used to forecast the carbon intensity values for the next 15 years, which were then used to evaluate indirect emissions of the system during its lifetime. Considering the Italian case study, the results showed that the refrigerator working with an optimal charge of R-152a, identified as the mass charge that minimises TEWI and/or LCCP index, has better environmental performance than the system working with R-134a, with a reduction of TEWI and LCCP values of 10.3% and 9.4%, respectively. The same comparison, in terms of LCCP, was also performed for other European countries, showing a strong dependence of the LCCP index on carbon intensity values.

Treball Final de Grau en Finances i Comptabilitat. Codi: FC1049. Curs: 2018/2019 This document analyses the microfinance investment vehicles that finance MFIs and facilitates their access to the international market, thus boosting microfinance. Given the current growing interest in socially responsible business investments, the function of these vehicles is progressing considerably. It can be stated that they are a good investment opportunity due to their negative relationship with the markets. In the Spanish instance, there are representative cases for their involvement in impact finance. Despite its great importance, few papers analyse in depth the MIVs, which hinder the analysis of them. Through their clear information, a more complete comparison analysis could be made in the Spanish case in the future, to decide which one is supposed to be a better investment.

Previous studies have shown that both 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (AT), which inhibits metabolism of ethanol (EtOH) to acetaldehyde by inhibiting catalase, and D-penicillamine (D-P), an acetaldehyde-sequestering agent, modulate EtOH-conditioned place preference (CPP) in male albino Swiss (IOPS Orl) mice. These studies followed a reference-dose-like procedure, which involves comparing cues that have both been paired with EtOH. However, the role of EtOH-derived acetaldehyde has not been examined using a standard CPP method, and efficacy of these treatments could be different under the two circumstances. In the present investigation, we manipulated the strength of CPP across five separate studies and evaluated the effect of D-P and AT on EtOH-induced CPP following a standard unbiased CPP procedure. Mice received pairings with vehicle-saline injections with one cue and, alternatively, with AT- and D-P-EtOH with another cue. Our studies indicate that AT and D-P only disrupt CPP induced by EtOH in mice when the number of conditioning sessions and the dose of EtOH are low. These findings suggest that acquisition of EtOH-induced CPP may depend on the levels of acetaldehyde available during memory acquisition and the strength of the memory. Therefore, we propose that, at least when the memory processes are labile, brain acetaldehyde could participate in the formation of Pavlovian learning elicited by EtOH.

Proyecto profesional : Máster Universitario Internacional en estudios de paz, conflictos y desarrollo. Curs 2012/2013

Using impedance spectroscopy, we demonstrate that the low fill factor (FF) typically observed in small molecule solar cells is due to hindered carrier transport through the active layer and hindered charge transfer through the anode interfacial layer (IFL). By carefully tuning the active layer thickness and anode IFL in BDT(TDPP)2 solar cells, the FF is increased from 33 to 55% and the PCE from 1.9 to 3.8%. These results underscore the importance of simultaneously optimizing active layer thickness and IFL in small molecule solar cells.