Downscaling of global solar irradiation in R

A methodology for downscaling solar irradiation from satellite-derived databases is described using R software. Different packages such as raster, parallel, solaR, gstat, sp and rasterVis are considered in this study for improving solar resource estimation in areas with complex topography, in which downscaling is a very useful tool for reducing inherent deviations in satellite-derived irradiation databases, which lack of high global spatial resolution. A topographical analysis of horizon blocking and sky-view is developed with a digital elevation model to determine what fraction of hourly solar irradiation reaches the Earth's surface. Eventually, kriging with external drift is applied for a better estimation of solar irradiation throughout the region analyzed. This methodology has been implemented as an example within the region of La Rioja in northern Spain, and the mean absolute error found is a striking 25.5% lower than with the original database

Provision of Health Care Services in Canada: Challenges and Opportunities

The Canadian health care system provides comprehensive coverage of hospital and outpatient care, including therapeutic, diagnostic and preventive services. The level of coverage of services varies across the country. This study examines the key characteristics of the Canadian health and long-term care systems; presents a structured analysis of the insurance, financing and provision of health and long-term care services in Canada; describes the main challenges of the Canadian health and long-term care systems; and concludes with feasible opportunities for the Canadian health policy. Main challenges to the Canadian system are related to population ageing; prevalence of avoidable diseases caused by poor health habits; coverage and financing of long-term care services; financing of expensive new technologies and pharmaceuticals; and the shortage and unbalanced geographic distribution of health care professionals. Opportunities for the Canadian health policy are: strengthening public health policy, continuing shifting care to the ambulatory level; improving the coordination between primary care and specialist services; implementing a system-wide national human resources planning; and integrating home-based care as part of overall primary health care

Aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida y emprendizaje

Trabajo fin de master de profesorado basado sobre el aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida y el emprendizaje realizado por Pablo Antoñanzas Ortoneda y autorizado por Luis Berges Mur

Simulación basada en agentes aplicada a la cadena de suministro

El proyecto “Simulación basada en agentes aplicada a la cadena de suministro” se realiza dentro del departamento de Logística y TICs del Instituto Tecnológico de Aragón. El objetivo del proyecto es afrontar el problema existente en la toma de decisiones asociadas a la cadena de suministro. Tomando la compartición de información y la negociación como base del comportamiento de los miembros integrantes de la cadena de suministro, se trata de mejorar el funcionamiento de la misma. Se utilizan tecnologías de modelado basadas en agentes, lo que permitirá caracterizar la cadena de suministro desde los siguientes puntos de vista: autonomía, comunicación, aprendizaje y toma de decisiones determinadas por el contexto. Para validar el modelo, se utilizarán datos reales de una cadena de suministro del sector de la gran distribución como Centros Comerciales Carrefour S.A. En las fases previas del proyecto se desarrolla un Documento de Visión y se planifica el proyecto. Teniendo cómo fin adquirir conocimiento y verificar que es factible su utilización, se hace un estudio sobre el modelado basado en agentes. También se comparan las diferentes herramientas existentes. Tras este punto de partida, se desarrolla el análisis y diseño del sistema, teniendo como referencia el modelo UML (Unified Modelling Language). El proyecto se implementa con una herramienta libre y de código abierto llamada Repast Simphony. Esta herramienta destinada al modelado basado en agentes simplifica la creación y el uso del concepto de agentes en simulación. A partir de la implementación de los modelos correspondientes se obtienen resultados en forma de gráficas y listados de datos, que son posteriormente interpretados para la obtención de conclusiones. El uso de agentes y dotándolos de comportamiento a través de algoritmos de negociación y compartición de información han permitido alcanzar los objetivos definidos. Se obtienen resultados que mejoran ciertos aspectos de la cadena de suministro (incremento de ingresos, disminución de costes de inventario) a través de la aplicación de la aplicación de técnicas de negociación y compartición de información entre agentes. En concreto, se ha conseguido mejorar los beneficios en proveedores y tiendas, y disminuir los costes globales en las plataformas, siendo estos los objetivos principales de cada uno de los integrantes de la cadena de suministro que se ha modelado

Evaluation and improvement of empirical models of global solar irradiation: Case study northern Spain

This paper presents a new methodology to build parametric models to estimate global solar irradiation adjusted to specific on-site characteristics based on the evaluation of variable im- portance. Thus, those variables higly correlated to solar irradiation on a site are implemented in the model and therefore, different models might be proposed under different climates. This methodology is applied in a study case in La Rioja region (northern Spain). A new model is proposed and evaluated on stability and accuracy against a review of twenty-two already exist- ing parametric models based on temperatures and rainfall in seventeen meteorological stations in La Rioja. The methodology of model evaluation is based on bootstrapping, which leads to achieve a high level of confidence in model calibration and validation from short time series (in this case five years, from 2007 to 2011). The model proposed improves the estimates of the other twenty-two models with average mean absolute error (MAE) of 2.195 MJ/m2 day and average confidence interval width (95% C.I., n=100) of 0.261 MJ/m2 day. 41.65% of the daily residuals in the case of SIAR and 20.12% in that of SOS Rioja fall within the uncertainty tolerance of the pyranometers of the two networks (10% and 5%, respectively). Relative differences between measured and estimated irradiation on an annual cumulative basis are below 4.82%. Thus, the proposed model might be useful to estimate annual sums of global solar irradiation, reaching insignificant differences between measurements from pyranometers

BIOSIMILAR MEDICINE PRICE ANALYSIS IN BRAZIL: THE ANTIRHEUMATIC CASE

Objective: The introduction of biosimilar medicines in markets can bring savings to health systems, expanding the population’s access to various treatments. This study aims to analyze the price competition of biological agents and their biosimilars in Brazil within the scope of rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: Prices for 14 presentations of original and biosimilar medicines were analyzed from January 2003 to October 2019 in Brazil. Prices were taken from official lists and were noted since launch and during the later trading period. Prices were converted to United States dollars and adjusted for inflation for the 2003 base year. Results: In Brazil, during this review period, prices of biopharmaceuticals decreased in real values, reaching up to a 50% reduction. The introduction of biosimilars did not affect the price sharing of biological medicines. Conclusion: Biosimilar antirheumatics do not yet have a significant impact on the price of biologics marketed in Brazil. A change in this scenario is expected in the medium and long term

Methodology based on micro-projects in DIY desktop machines for educational purposes in engineering degrees

[EN] The 21st century university has the big educational challenge of how to encourage “a will to learn” in students living in a world saturated with a huge amount of information and distractions. A needed step to keep students motivated is to update their learning environments. Herein we present a proposal with a methodology based on microprojects in DIY desktop machines (MicroP-DIY-DkM). The main idea is to consolidate students’ theoretical background using motivating microprojects in which foreign entities act as petitioners. The students will also receive a broad view of current state of manufacturing technologies. At the same time, English language and Information and Communication Technologies skills can be promoted by our methodology. We provide information about the implementation of several examples of these microprojects, which were applied in the technical subject ‘Manufacturing Technology’. The use of open source DIY-DkM offers students the possibility to understand essential principles of industrial technologies and processes. According to our surveys, students’ scores and success rate results, the methodology proposed demonstrated its convenience to be applied in technical subjects. Students showed greater motivation level and success rate than previous years using conventional methods. Limitation of the proposal and possible means of improvement are also included.Pernia-Espinoza, A.; Sanz-García, A.; Sodupe-Ortega, E.; Antoñanzas-Torres, J.; Antoñanzas-Torres, F.; Urraca-Valle, R. (2016). Methodology based on micro-projects in DIY desktop machines for educational purposes in engineering degrees. En 2nd. International conference on higher education advances (HEAD'16). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 317-325. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD16.2015.2731OCS31732

Economic Analyses of Respiratory Tract Infection Diagnostics:A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND: Diagnostic testing for respiratory tract infections is a tool to manage the current COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the rising incidence of antimicrobial resistance. At the same time, new European regulations for market entry of in vitro diagnostics, in the form of the in vitro diagnostic regulation, may lead to more clinical evidence supporting health-economic analyses. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this systematic review was to review the methods used in economic evaluations of applied diagnostic techniques, for all patients seeking care for infectious diseases of the respiratory tract (such as pneumonia, pulmonary tuberculosis, influenza, sinusitis, pharyngitis, sore throats and general respiratory tract infections). METHODS: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, articles from three large databases of scientific literature were included (Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed) for the period January 2000 to May 2020. RESULTS: A total of 70 economic analyses are included, most of which use decision tree modelling for diagnostic testing for respiratory tract infections in the community-care setting. Many studies do not incorporate a generally comparable clinical outcome in their cost-effectiveness analysis: fewer than half the studies (33/70) used generalisable outcomes such as quality-adjusted life-years. Other papers consider outcomes related to the accuracy of the test or outcomes related to the prescribed treatment. The time horizons of the studies generally are limited. CONCLUSIONS: The methods to economically assess diagnostic tests for respiratory tract infections vary and would benefit from clear recommendations from policy makers on the assessed time horizon and outcomes used. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40273-021-01054-1