Search results for: José Manuel Bernabeu Aubán

Authors: María Fernanda Quiceno Vallejo, Patricia del Portillo, María Mercedes Zambrano, Jeisson Alejandro Triana, Dayana Calderon, Juan Manuel Anzola

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Microorganisms from tropical ecosystems can be novel in terms of adaptations and conservation. Given the macrodiversity of Colombian ecosystems, it is possible that this diversity is also present in Colombian soils. Tropical soil bacteria could offer a potentially novel source of bioactive compounds. In this study we analyzed a metagenomic fosmid library constructed with tropical bacterial DNAs with the aim of understanding its underlying diversity and functional potential. 8640 clones from the fosmid library were sequenced by NANOPORE MiniOn technology, then analyzed with bioinformatic tools such as Prokka, AntiSMASH and Bagel4 in order to identify functional biosynthetic pathways in the sequences. The strains showed ample difference when it comes to biosynthetic pathways. In total we identified 4 pathways related to aryl polyene synthesis, 12 related to terpenes, 22 related to NRPs (Non ribosomal peptides), 11 related PKs (Polyketide synthases) and 7 related to RiPPs (bacteriocins). We designed primers for the metagenomic clones with the most BGCs (sample 6 and sample 2). Results show the biotechnological / pharmacological potential of tropical ecosystems. Overall, this work provides an overview of the genomic and functional potential of Colombian soil and sets the groundwork for additional exploration of tropical metagenomic sequencing.

Keywords: bioactives, biosyntethic pathways, bioinformatic, bacterial gene clusters, secondary metabolites

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Authors: Marcelo Müller Beuren, José Luis Duarte Ribeiro

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Studies point that Brazilian large airports are not managing their assets efficiently. Therefore, organizations seek improvements to raise their asset’s productivity. Hence, identification of assets useful life in airports becomes an important subject, since its accuracy leads to better maintenance plans and technological substitution, contribution to airport services management. However, current useful life prediction models do not converge in terms of determinant elements used, as they are particular to the studied situation. For that reason, the main objective of this paper is to identify the determinant elements for a useful life of major assets in airports. With that purpose, a case study was held in the key airport of the south of Brazil trough historical data analysis and specialist interview. This paper concluded that most of the assets useful life are determined by technical elements, maintenance cost, and operational costs, while few presented influence of technological obsolescence. As a highlight, it was possible to identify the determinant elements to be considered by a model which objective is to identify the useful life of airport’s major assets.

Keywords: airports, asset management, asset useful life

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Authors: José A. Menezes, Giordano Cabral, Bruno T. Gomes

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Choosing good features is an essential part of machine learning. Recent techniques aim to automate this process. For instance, feature learning intends to learn the transformation of raw data into a useful representation to machine learning tasks. In automatic audio classification tasks, this is interesting since the audio, usually complex information, needs to be transformed into a computationally convenient input to process. Another technique tries to generate features by searching a feature space. Genetic algorithms, for instance, have being used to generate audio features by combining or modifying them. We find this approach particularly interesting and, despite the undeniable advances of feature learning approaches, we wanted to take a step forward in the use of genetic algorithms to find audio features, combining them with more conventional methods, like PCA, and inserting search control mechanisms, such as constraints over a confusion matrix. This work presents the results obtained on particular audio classification problems.

Keywords: feature generation, feature learning, genetic algorithm, music information retrieval

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Authors: José Carlos Rodríguez, Mario Gómez

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This paper analyses innovation trends in Latin America countries by means of the number of patent applications filed by residents and non-residents during the period 1965 to 2012. Making use of patent data released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), we search for the presence of multiple structural changes in patent application series in Argentina, Brazil Chile, and Mexico. These changes may suggest that firms’ innovative activity has been modified as a result of implementing a particular science, technology and innovation (STI) policy. Accordingly, the new regulations implemented in these countries during 1980s and 1990s have influenced their intellectual property regimes. The question conducting this research is thus how STI policies in these countries have affected their innovation activity? The results achieved in this research confirm the existence of multiple structural changes in the series of patent applications resulting from STI policies implemented in these countries.

Keywords: econometric methods, innovation activity, Latin America countries, patents, science, technology and innovation policy

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Authors: Diala Bitar, Emmanuel Gourdon, Claude H. Lamarque, Manuel Collet

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Acoustic absorber devices play an important role reducing the noise at the propagation and reception paths. An electroacoustic absorber consists of a loudspeaker coupled to an electric shunt circuit, where the membrane is playing the role of an absorber/reflector of sound. Although the use of linear shunt resistors at the transducer terminals, has shown to improve the performances of the dynamical absorbers, it is nearly efficient in a narrow frequency band. Therefore, and since nonlinear phenomena are promising for their ability to absorb the vibrations and sound on a larger frequency range, we propose to couple a nonlinear electric shunt circuit at the loudspeaker terminals. Then, the equivalent model can be described by a 2 degrees of freedom system, consisting of a primary linear oscillator describing the dynamics of the loudspeaker membrane, linearly coupled to a cubic nonlinear energy sink (NES). The system is analytically treated for the case of 1:1 resonance, using an invariant manifold approach at different time scales. The proposed methodology enables us to detect the equilibrium points and fold singularities at the first slow time scales, providing a predictive tool to design the nonlinear circuit shunt during the energy exchange process. The preliminary results are promising; a significant improvement of acoustic absorption performances are obtained.

Keywords: electroacoustic absorber, multiple-time-scale with small finite parameter, nonlinear energy sink, nonlinear passive shunt

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Authors: Badino Manuel, Farias María Alejandra

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Anxiety and depression are considered the main mental health issues found in people with substance-related disorders. Furthermore, substance-related disorders, anxiety-related and depressive disorders are among the leading causes of disability and are associated with increased mortality. The co-occurrence of substance-related disorders and these mental health conditions affect the accuracy in diagnosis, treatment plan, and recovery process. The aim is to describe the prevalence of anxiety and depression in patients with substance-related disorders in a mental health service in Córdoba, Argentina. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among patients with substance-related disorders (N=305). Anxiety and depression were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) during the period from December 2021 to March 2022. For a total of 305 participants, 71,8% were male, 25,6% female and 2,6% non-binary. As regards marital status, 51,5% were single, 21,6% as a couple, 5,9% married, 15,4% separated and 5,6% divorced. In relation to education status, 26,2% finished university, 56,1% high school, 16,4% only primary school and 1,3% no formal schooling. Regarding age, 10,8% were young, 84,3% were adults, and 4,9% were elderly. In-person treatment represented 64,6% of service users, and 35,4% were conducted through teleconsultation. 15,7% of service users scored 3 or higher for anxiety, and 32,1% scored 3 or higher for depression in the PHQ-4. 13,1% obtained a score of 3 or higher for both anxiety and depression. It is recommended to identify anxiety and depression among patients with substance-related disorders to improve the quality of diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. It is suggested to apply PHQ-4, PHQ-9 within the protocol of care for these patients.

Keywords: addiction, anxiety, depression, mental health

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Authors: Jose Juan Peña, J. Morales, J. García-Ravelo

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In the search of potential models applied in the theoretical treatment of diatomic molecules, some of them have been constructed by using standard hyperbolic functions as well as from the so-called q-deformed hyperbolic functions (sc q-dhf) for displacing and modifying the shape of the potential under study. In order to transcend the scope of hyperbolic functions, in this work, a kind of generalized q-deformed hyperbolic functions (g q-dhf) is presented. By a suitable transformation, through the q deformation parameter, it is shown that these g q-dhf can be expressed in terms of their corresponding standard ones besides they can be reduced to the sc q-dhf. As a useful application of the proposed approach, and considering a class of exactly solvable multi-parameter exponential-type potentials, some new q-deformed quantum interactions models that can be used as interesting alternative in quantum physics and quantum states are presented. Furthermore, due that quantum potential models are conditioned on the q-dependence of the parameters that characterize to the exponential-type potentials, it is shown that many specific cases of q-deformed potentials are obtained as particular cases from the proposal.

Keywords: diatomic molecules, exponential-type potentials, hyperbolic functions, q-deformed potentials

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Authors: Dairo Jose Hernandez Paez

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The quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) allows us to obtain topological information on electronic density in quantum mechanical systems. The QTAIM starts by considering the electron density as a continuous mathematical object. On the other hand, the discretization of electron density is also a mathematical object, which, from discrete mathematics, would allow a new approach to its topological study. From this point of view, it is necessary to develop a series of steps that provide the theoretical support that guarantees its application. Some of the steps that we consider most important are mentioned below: (1) obtain good representations of the electron density through computational calculations, (2) design a methodology for the discretization of electron density, and construct the simplicial complex. (3) Make an analysis of the discrete vector field associating the simplicial complex. (4) Finally, in this research, we propose to use the discrete Morse theory as a mathematical tool to carry out studies of electron density topology.

Keywords: discrete mathematics, Discrete Morse theory, electronic density, computational calculations

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Authors: Maria Elisa B. Manuel

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The Philippine housing sector is bracing challenges with the massive housing backlog and the adamant cycle of relocation, resettlement and returns to the cities of informal settler families due to the vast inaccessibility of necessities and opportunities in the past off-city housing projects. Bistekville 2 has been established as a model socialized housing project by utilizing government partnerships with private developers and individuals in the first in-city and onsite resettlement effort in the country. The study looked into the resilience of the residents to idiosyncratic economic shocks by analyzing their vulnerabilities, assets and coping strategies. The study formulated an economic resilience framework to identify how these factors that interact to build the household’s capacity to positively adapt to sudden expenses in their households. The framework is supplemented with a scale that presents the proximity of the household to resilience by identifying through its indicators whether the households are in the level of subsistence, coping, adaptive or transformative. Survey interviews were conducted with 91 households from Bistekville 2 on the components that have been identified by the framework that was processed with qualitative and quantitative processes. The study has found that the households are highly vulnerable due to their family composition and other conditions such as unhealthy loans, inconsistent amortization payment. Along with their high vulnerability, the households have inadequate strategies to anticipate shocks and primarily react to the shock. This has led to the conclusion that the households do not reflect resilience to idiosyncratic economic shocks and are still at the level of coping.

Keywords: idiosyncratic economic shocks, socialized housing, economic resilience, economic vulnerability, adaptive capacity

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Authors: Debora B. Moretti, Wiolene M. Nordi, Thaline Maira P. Cruz, José Eurico P. Cyrino, Raul Machado-Neto

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Enzyme activity was evaluated in the intestine of juvenile dourado (Salminus brasiliensis) fed with diets containing 0, 10 or 20% of lyophilized bovine colostrum (LBC) inclusion for either 30 or 60 days. The intestinal enzymes acid and alkaline phosphatase (ACP and ALP, respectively), non-specific esterase (NSE), lipase (LIP), dipeptidyl aminopeptidase IV (DAP IV) and leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) were studied using histochemistry in four intestinal segments (S1, S2, S3 and posterior intestine). Weak proteolitic activity was observed in all intestinal segments for DAP IV and LAP. The activity of NSE and LIP was also weak in all intestines, except for the moderate activity of NSE in the S2 of 20% LBC group after 30 days and in the S1 of 0% LBC group after 60 days. The ACP was detected only in the S2 and S3 of the 10% LBC group after 30 days. Moderate and strong staining was observed in the first three intestinal segments for ALP and weak activity in the posterior intestine. The activity of DAP IV, LAP and ALP were also present in the cytoplasm of the enterocytes. In the present results, bovine colostrum feeding did not cause alterations in activity of intestinal enzymes.

Keywords: carnivorous fish, enterocyte, intestinal epithelium, teleost

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Authors: Karim Hajjar, Luis Lillo, Diego Martinez, Manuel Hermosilla, Nicholas Risko

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Objectives: This study examines the relationship between universal health coverage (UCH) and the burden of emergency diseases at a global level. Methods: Data on Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) from emergency conditions were extracted from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) database for the years 2015 and 2019. Data on UHC, measured using two variables, 1) coverage of essential health services and 2) proportion of population spending more than 10% of household income on out-of-pocket health care expenditure, was extracted from the World Bank Database for years preceding our outcome of interest. Linear regression was performed, analyzing the effect of the UHC variables on the DALYs of emergency diseases, controlling for other variables. Results: A total of 133 countries were included. 44.4% of the analyzed countries had coverage of essential health services index of at least 70/100, and 35.3% had at least 10% of their population spend greater than 10% of their household income on healthcare. For every point increase in the coverage of essential health services index, there was a 13-point reduction in DALYs of emergency medical diseases (95% CI -16, -11). Conversely, for every percent decrease in the population with large household expenditure on healthcare, there was a 0.48 increase in DALYs of emergency medical diseases (95% CI -5.6, 4.7). Conclusions: After adjusting for multiple variables, an increase in coverage of essential health services was significantly associated with improvement in DALYs for emergency conditions. There was, however, no association between catastrophic health expenditure and DALYs.

Keywords: emergency medicine, universal healthcare, global health, health economics

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Authors: José Leandro Melgar Néris, Claudinéia Brazil, Luciane Teresa Salvi, Isabel Cristina Damin

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The impact the climate change is not recent, the main variable in the hydrological cycle is the sequence and shortage of a drought, which has a significant impact on the socioeconomic, agricultural and environmental spheres. This study aims to characterize and quantify, based on precipitation climatic projections, the rainy and dry events in the region of the Uruguay River Basin, through the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). The database is the image that is part of the Intercomparison of Model Models, Phase 5 (CMIP5), which provides condition prediction models, organized according to the Representative Routes of Concentration (CPR). Compared to the normal set of climates in the Uruguay River Watershed through precipitation projections, seasonal precipitation increases for all proposed scenarios, with a low climate trend. From the data of this research, the idea is that this article can be used to support research and the responsible bodies can use it as a subsidy for mitigation measures in other hydrographic basins.

Keywords: climate change, climatic model, dry events, precipitation projections

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Authors: David Abad, M. Encarnación Lucas-Pérez, Antonio Minguez-Vera, José Yagüe

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We examine explicitly the relation between the gender diversity on corporate boards and the levels of information asymmetry in the stock market. Based on prior evidence that suggests that the presence of women on director boards increases the quantity and quality of public disclosure by firms, we expect firms with higher gender diversity on their boards to show lower levels of information asymmetry in the market. Using a Spanish sample for the period 2004-2009, proxies for information asymmetry estimated from high-frequency data, and a system GMM methodology, we find that the gender diversity on boards is negative associated with the level of information asymmetry in the stock market. Our findings support legislative changes implemented to increase the presence of women on boards in several European countries by providing evidence that gender diverse boards have beneficial effects on stock markets.

Keywords: corporate board, female directors, gender diversity, information asymmetry, market microstructure

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Authors: Jose Ramon Calvo-Ferrer

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Video games have been extensively employed in educational contexts to teach contents and skills, upon the premise that they engage students and provide instant feedback, which makes them adequate tools in the field of education and training. Term frequency, along with metacognition and implicit corrective feedback, has often been identified as powerful variables in the learning of vocabulary in a foreign language. This study analyses the learning of L2 mobile operating system terminology by a group of students and uses the data collected by the video game The Conference Interpreter to identify the predictive strength of term frequency (times a term is shown), positive metacognition (times a right answer is provided), and negative metacognition (times a term is shown as wrong) regarding L2 vocabulary learning and perceived learning outcomes. The regression analysis shows that the factor ‘positive metacognition’ is a positive predictor of both dependent variables, whereas the other factors seem to have no statistical effect on any of them.

Keywords: digital game-based learning, feedback, metacognition, frequency, video games

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Authors: Sara Blanc, José V. Benlloch-Dualde, Laura Grindei, Ana C. Torres, Angélica Monteiro

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This paper presents a study that leads a new experience by introducing digital learning applied to a case study focused on primary and secondary school garden-based education. The approach represents an example of interaction among different education and research agents at different countries and levels, such as universities, public and private research, and schools, to get involved in the implementation of education for sustainable development that will make students become more sensible to natural environment, more responsible for their consumption, more aware about waste reduction and recycling, more conscious of the sustainable use of natural resources and, at the same time, more ‘digitally competent’. The experience was designed attending to the European digital education context and OECD directives in transversal skills education. The paper presents the methodology carried out in the study as well as outcomes obtained from experience.

Keywords: school gardens, primary education, secondary education, science technology and innovation in education, digital learning, sustainable development goals, university, knowledge transference

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Authors: Manuel Rosales, Francisco Agrela, Julia Rosales

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The development of concrete pavements that include recycled waste with active and predictive safety features is a possible approach to mitigate the harmful impacts of the construction industry, such as CO2 emissions and the consumption of energy and natural resources during the construction and maintenance of road infrastructure. This study establishes the basis for formulating new smart materials for concrete pavements and carrying out the in-situ implementation of an experimental road section. To this end, a comprehensive recycled pavement solution is developed that combines eco-hybrid cement made with 25% mixed recycled aggregate powder (pMRA) and biomass bottom ash powder (pBBA) and a 30% substitution of natural aggregate by MRA and BBA. This work is grouped in three lines. 1) construction materials with high rates of use of recycled material, 2) production processes with efficient consumption of natural resources and use of cleaner energies, and 3) implementation and monitoring of road section with sustainable concrete made from waste. The objective of this study is to ensure satisfactory rheology, mechanical strength, durability, and CO2 capture of pavement concrete manufactured from waste and its subsequent application in real road section as well as its monitoring to establish the optimal range of recycled material. The concrete developed during this study are aimed at the reuse of waste, promoting the circular economy. For this purpose, and after having carried out different tests in the laboratory, three mixtures were established to be applied on the experimental road.

Keywords: biomass bottom ash, construction and demolition waste, recycled concrete pavements, full-scale experimental road, monitoring

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Authors: José Luis Lorenzo Bayona, Ljiljana Medic-Pejic, Isabel Amez Arenillas, Blanca Castells Somoza

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The communication presents the study results carried out by the Official Laboratory J. M. Madariaga (LOM) of the Polytechnic University of Madrid to analyze the reliability of methane detection systems used in underground mining. Poor firedamp control in work can cause from production stoppages to fatal accidents and since there is currently a great variety of equipment with different functional characteristics, a study is needed to indicate which measurement principles have the highest degree of confidence. For the development of the project, a series of fixed, transportable and portable methane detectors with different measurement principles have been selected to subject them to laboratory tests following the methods described in the applicable regulations. The test equipment has been the one usually used in the certification and calibration of these devices, subject to the LOM quality system, and the tests have been carried out on detectors accessible in the market. The conclusions establish the main advantages and disadvantages of the equipment according to the measurement principle used; catalytic combustion, interferometry and infrared absorption.

Keywords: ATEX standards, gas detector, methane meter, mining safety

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Authors: Maria Santana, Jose Estaire

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Even though recycling strategies are becoming more important in recent years, there is still a huge amount of industrial by-products that are the disposal of at landfills. Due to the size, possible dangerous composition, and heterogeneity, most of the wastes are located at landfills without a basic geotechnical characterization. This lack of information may have an important influence on the correct stability calculations. This paper presents the results of geotechnical characterization of some industrial wastes disposed at one landfill. The shear strength parameters were calculated based on direct shear test results carried out in a large shear box owned by CEDEX, which has a shear plane of 1 x 1 m. These parameters were also compared with the results obtained in a 30 x 30 cm shear box. The paper includes a sensitive analysis of the global safety factor of the landfill's overall stability as a function of shear strength variation. The stability calculations were assessed for various hydrological scenarios to simulate the design and performance of the leachate drainage system. The characterization was completed with leachate tests to study the potential impact on the environment.

Keywords: industrial wastes, landfill, leachate tests, stability

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Authors: Rubén Manrique, Delio Balcázar, José Parrado, Sebastián Rodríguez

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Hand in hand with the evolution of technology, education systems have moved to virtual environments to provide increased coverage and facilitate the access to education. However, measuring student performance in virtual environments presents significant challenges to ensure students are acquiring the expected skills. In this study, the confidence and performance of engineering students in virtual environments is analyzed through different evaluation strategies. The effect of the assessment strategy in student confidence is identified using educational data mining techniques. Four assessment strategies were used. First, a conventional multiple choice test; second, a multiple choice test with feedback; third, a multiple choice test with a second chance; and fourth; a multiple choice test with feedback and second chance. Our results show that applying testing with online feedback strategies can influence positively student confidence.

Keywords: assessment strategies, educational data mining, student performance, student confidence

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Authors: Yang Fu, Jaime Rodrigo Navarro, Jose F. Monserrat, Faiza Bouchmal, Oscar Carrasco Quilis

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Cellular Vehicle to Everything (C-V2X) is considered a promising solution for future autonomous driving. From Release 16 to Release 17, the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has introduced the definitions and services for 5G New Radio (NR) V2X. Experience from previous generations has shown that establishing a simulator for C-V2X communications is an essential preliminary step to achieve reliable and stable communication links. This paper proposes a complete framework of a link-level simulator based on the 3GPP specifications for the Physical Sidelink Share Channel (PSSCH) of the 5G NR Physical Layer (PHY). In this framework, several algorithms in the receiver part, i.e., sliding window in channel estimation and Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE)-based equalization, are developed. Finally, the performance of the developed PSSCH receiver is validated through extensive simulations under different assumptions.

Keywords: C-V2X, channel estimation, link-level simulator, sidelink, 3GPP

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Authors: María-José Palacin-Sanchez, Filippo Di Pietro, Reyes Samaniego-Medina

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This article examines, in an institutional context such as Spanish one, the corporate board structure characteristics and determinants in entrepreneurial firms to go public. Specifically, it explores these issues through all the initial public offerings in the Spanish Alternative Equity Market (MAB), which is a market segment for smaller growing companies. The results show that: a) firm size, age of the company, and the reputation of the auditor and the nominated advisor and Corporate Governance Code favour a larger and more independent board structure that enhances its monitoring functions; and b) leverage, opportunities of growth, sector risk and ownership by executive directors all lead towards a smaller broad of directors where the role of entrepreneurship provided by executive directors remains crucial. This reflects the delicate balance of power between small-business entrepreneurs and financial equity market forces, which demand more transparency and monitoring in the companies.

Keywords: board composition, board size, corporate governance, IPO, SMEs

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Authors: Gustavo Funes, Eduardo Peters, Jose Delpiano

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It is widely known that photovoltaic technology has been massively distributed over the last decade despite its low-efficiency ratio. Dust deposition reduces this efficiency even more, lowering the energy production and module lifespan. In this work, we developed an artificial vision algorithm based on CIELAB color space to identify dust over panels in an autonomous way. We performed several experiments photographing three different types of panels, 30W, 340W and 410W. Those panels were soiled artificially with uniform and non-uniform distributed dust. The algorithm proposed uses statistical tools to provide a simulation with a 100% soiled panel and then performs a comparison to get the percentage of dirt in the experimental data set. The simulation uses a seed that is obtained by taking a dust sample from the maximum amount of dust from the dataset. The final result is the dirt percentage and the possible distribution of dust over the panel. Dust deposition is a key factor for plant owners to determine cleaning cycles or identify nonuniform depositions that could lead to module failure and hot spots.

Keywords: dust detection, photovoltaic, artificial vision, soiling

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Authors: Toshifumi Hiramatsu, Satoshi Morita, Manuel Pencelli, Marta Niccolini, Matteo Ragaglia, Alfredo Argiolas

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Automation technologies for agriculture field are needed to promote labor-saving. One of the most relevant problems in automated agriculture is represented by controlling the robot along a predetermined path in presence of rough terrain or incline ground. Unfortunately, disturbances originating from interaction with the ground, such as slipping, make it quite difficult to achieve the required accuracy. In general, it is required to move within 5-10 cm accuracy with respect to the predetermined path. Moreover, lateral velocity caused by gravity on the incline field also affects slipping. In this paper, a path-tracking controller for tracked mobile robots moving on rough terrains of incline field such as vineyard is presented. The controller is composed of a disturbance observer and an adaptive controller based on the kinematic model of the robot. The disturbance observer measures the difference between the measured and the reference yaw rate and linear velocity in order to estimate slip. Then, the adaptive controller adapts “virtual” parameter of the kinematics model: Instantaneous Centers of Rotation (ICRs). Finally, target angular velocity reference is computed according to the adapted parameter. This solution allows estimating the effects of slip without making the model too complex. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed solution is tested in a simulation environment.

Keywords: the agricultural robot, autonomous control, path-tracking control, tracked mobile robot

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Authors: José Francisco Urrutia Reyes, Judith Espinosa Real

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This paper is meant to re-examine the role of street art in the contemporary world. By studying this form of art in Brussels, it can be explained how murals show the socio-political reality of a given community and influence on its interaction. Through the definitions of street art, murals and street artists, and analysing their role in Brussels, it is possible to understand how this counter culture movement serves as an engine of social development, as it interacts with its surroundings sending a clear message to a wider audience. Street art impacts on its environment because it interacts with the people who occupies the day-to-day public space. This has proven to be effective in the arouse of social consciousness, up to the point of being adopted by the government of Brussels to promote social movements such as the AIDS-HIV campaign along with the Plate-Forme Prévention Sida. It can be concluded that street art has evolved since its vandalic beginnings, to become a form of art that has not lost it counter official status, but now has a critical vision that can promote social awakening. Street art is now a global trend that uses visual inputs to create a positive impact.

Keywords: street art, Brussels, social impact, political perspective

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Authors: Sergio Mauricio Pérez López, Luis Rodrigo Valencia Pérez, Juan Manuel Peña Aguilar, Adelina Morita Alexander

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The culture of continuous improvement in organizations is very important as it represents a source of competitive advantage. This article discusses the transfer of knowledge between companies which formed cross-functional teams and used a dynamic model for knowledge creation as a framework. In addition, the article discusses the structure of cognitive assets in companies and the concept of "stickiness" (which is defined as an obstacle to the transfer of knowledge). The purpose of this analysis is to show that an improvement in the attitude of individual members of an organization creates opportunities, and that an exchange of information and knowledge leads to generating continuous improvements in the company as a whole. This article also discusses the importance of creating the proper conditions for sharing tacit knowledge. By narrowing gaps between people, mutual trust can be created and thus contribute to an increase in sharing. The concept of adapting knowledge to new environments will be highlighted, as it is essential for companies to translate and modify information so that such information can fit the context of receiving organizations. Adaptation will ensure that the transfer process is carried out smoothly by preventing "stickiness". When developing the transfer process on cross-functional teams (as opposed to working groups), the team acquires the flexibility and responsiveness necessary to meet objectives. These types of cross-functional teams also generate synergy due to the array of different work backgrounds of their individuals. When synergy is established, a culture of continuous improvement is created.

Keywords: knowledge transfer, continuous improvement, teamwork, cognitive assets

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Authors: María José López Rey, Mar Chaves Carrillo, Manuela Caballero Guisado

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The data presented here are part of a broader investigation on active population aging. The work was carried out in November 2020 in Extremadura, a region of southern Spain. This R + D + I project, called "Active aging scenarios in Extremadura: intervention proposals," was carried out by a team of professors, researchers from the University of Extremadura. The project has been financed by the European Regional Development Funds and the Government of Extremadura. Here, we focus on aspects that have to do with the experience of health, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how this has affected the population related to the main sociodemographic variables. In an exercise of methodological triangulation, thus providing robustness to the analysis, primary data, obtained from the survey designed ad hoc, are combined with other secondary data from various sources and studies carried out in Spain (Sociological Research Centre, and National Institute of Statistics). The survey was carried out on a representative sample of the population over 55 years old, coming from Extremadura. Among the findings, we must highlight the practical invariability of perceptions based on the main sociodemographic variables, as well as some differences indicated by the variables sex and age.

Keywords: aging, health, COVID-19, perceptions

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Authors: José Luis Carrillo-Medina, Roberto Latorre

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Experimental evidence has revealed that different living neural systems can sign their output signals with some specific neural signature. Although experimental and modeling results suggest that neural signatures can have an important role in the activity of neural networks in order to identify the source of the information or to contextualize a message, the functional meaning of these neural fingerprints is still unclear. The existence of cellular mechanisms to identify the origin of individual neural signals can be a powerful information processing strategy for the nervous system. We have recently built different models to study the ability of a neural network to process information based on the emission and recognition of specific neural fingerprints. In this paper we further analyze the features that can influence on the information processing ability of this kind of networks. In particular, we focus on the role that the duration of a refractory period in each neuron after emitting a signed message can play in the network collective dynamics.

Keywords: neural signature, neural fingerprint, processing based on signal identification, self-organizing neural network

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Authors: Estela Mayra de Moura Vianna, Thiago José Tavares Ávila, Bruno Morais Silva, Diego Henrique Bezerra, Paulo Henrique Gomes Silva, Alan Pedro da Silva

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The Brazilian Federal Constitution defines the access to information as a crucial right of the citizen and the Law on Access to Public Information, which regulates this right. Accordingly, the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2000, amended in 2009 by the “Law of Transparency”, began demanding a wider disclosure of public accounts for the society, including electronic media for public access. Thus, public entities began to create "Transparency Portals," which aim to gather a diversity of data and information. However, this information, in general, is still published in formats that do not simplify understanding of the data by citizens and that could be better especially available for audit purposes. In this context, a proposal of ontology about Brazilian Transparency Portal can play a key role in how these data will be better available. This study aims to identify and implement in ontology, the data model about Transparency Portal ecosystem, with emphasis in activities that use these data for some applications, like audits, press activities, social government control, and others.

Keywords: audit, government transparency, ontology, public sector

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Authors: Jorge Sandoval Lezama, Arturo Ivan Sandoval Rodriguez, Jose Arturo Correa Arredondo

Abstract:

This work aims to share innovative educational experiences at IPN Mexico, that involve collaborative learning at institutional and global level through course competition and global collaboration projects. Students from universities in China, USA, South Korea, Canada and Mexico collaborate to design electric vehicles to solve global urban mobility problems. The participation of IPN students in the 2015-2016 global competition (São Paolo, Brazil and Cincinnati, USA) Reconfigurable Shared-Use Mobility Systems allowed to apply pedagogical strategies of groups of collaboration and of learning based on projects where they shared activities, commitments and goals, demonstrating that students were motivated to develop / self-generate their knowledge with greater meaning and understanding. One of the most evident achievements is that the students are self-managed, so the most advanced students train the students who join the project with CAD, CAE, CAM tools. Likewise, the motivation achieved is evident since in 2014 there were 12 students involved in the project, and there are currently more than 70 students.

Keywords: collaboration projects, global competency, course competition, active learning

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Authors: Laura Rodrigues Carmona, Maria José Chambel, Vânia Sofia Carvalho

Abstract:

Background: In peacekeeping operations, military personnel are often exposed to the same traumatic stress factors found during conventional war and may also be subject to the physical risks and psychological stressors associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Objectives: To discuss the prevalence of PTSD among peacekeepers as well as the risks of and protective factors against this disorder and its comorbidities and/or consequences. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed with relevant keywords, and 53 articles were identified for this review. Results and conclusions: Military personnel deployed in peacekeeping operations have a higher prevalence of PTSD than nonmilitary personnel, a prevalence similar to that of military personnel deployed in war situations. Concerning the salient risk factors, the contextual factors are highlighted, and in regard to the protective factors, the individual factors are highlighted. This study thus demonstrates that there are factors in which the role of the military is essential, via both its selection and monitoring of peacekeepers during and after their deployment, to protect deployed personnel’s mental health.

Keywords: peacekeepers, peacekeeping, military, PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder

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