Science and technology policies: A tale of political use, misuse and abuse of traditional R&D indicators

Future political priorities for science and technology (S&T) policy formulation usually rest on a rather simplistic interpretation of past events. This can lead to serious errors and distortions and can negatively affect the innovation system. In this article we try to highlight the riskiness involved in policy making based on traditional R&D indicators and trends. We would emphasise that this approach does not take account of structural aspects crucial for the analysis of the innovation system. We examine the implications for science, technical and human resources policies of the political challenge of R&D convergence in a peripheral EU region. Three scenarios are developed based on application of the same criteria to the trends observed in traditional R&D input indicators

Logarithmic cohomology of the complement of a plane curve

Let D, x be a plane curve germ. We prove that the complex Ω•(log D)x computes the cohomology of the complement of D, x only if D is quasihomogeneous. This is a partial converse to a theorem of F.J. Castro-Jiménez, D. Mond and L. Narváez-Macarro. Cohomology of the complement of a free divisor. Transactions of the A.M.S., 348 (1996), 3037– 3049, which asserts that this complex does compute the cohomology of the complement, whenever D is a locally weighted homogeneous free divisor (and so in particular when D is a quasihomogeneous plane curve germ). We also give an example of a free divisor in D ⊂ C3 which is not locally weighted homogeneous, but for which this (second) assertion continues to hold.Ministerio de Educación y CienciaEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Counci

ASIC-in-the-loop methodology for verification of piecewise affine controllers

This paper exposes a hardware-in-the-loop metho- dology to verify the performance of a programmable and confi- gurable application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) that imple- ments piecewise affine (PWA) controllers. The ASIC inserted into a printed circuit board (PCB) is connected to a logic analyzer that generates the input patterns to the ASIC (in particular, the values to program the memories, configuration parameters, and values of the input signals). The output provided by the ASIC is also taken by the logic analyzer. A Matlab program controls the logic analyzer to verify the PWA controller implemented by the ASIC in open-loop as well as in closed-loop configurations.Comunidad Europea FP7-INFSO-ICT-248858Gobierno Español TEC2011-24319Junta de Andalucía P08-TIC-0367

Asymmetric clock driver for improved power and noise performances

One of the most important sources of switching noise and power consumption in large VLSI circuits is the clock generation and distribution tree. This paper analyzes how the use of an asymmetric clock can be an important solution to reduce the switching noise generated by the global clock, with a very reduced degradation in performances and reliability. The suited sizing of clock generators and the design of asymmetric clock tree cells, show the benefits of the proposed technique, validated through a design example where a 50% of noise reduction is achieved with 10% of loss in operation frequency and no penalty, even saving, in power consumption.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TEC2004-01509Junta de Andalucía TIC2006-63

Effects of buffer insertion on the average/peak power ratio in CMOS VLSI digital circuits

The buffer insertion has been a mechanism widely used to increase the performances of advanced VLSI digital circuits and systems. The driver or repeater used to this purpose has effect on the timing characteristics on the signal on the wire, as propagation delay, signal integrity, transition time, among others. The power concerns related to buffering have also received much attention, because of the low power requirements of modern integrated systems. In the same way, the buffer insertion has strong impact on the reliability of synchronous systems, since the suited distribution of clock requires reduced or controlled clock-skew, being the buffer and wire sizing, a crucial aspect. In a different way, buffer insertion has been also used to reduce noise generation, especially in heavily loaded nets, since the inclusion of buffers help to desynchronize signal transitions. However, the inclusion of buffers of inverters to improve one or more of these characteristics have often negative effect on another parameters, as it happens in the average and peak of supply current. Mainly, the inclusion of a buffer to reduce noise (peak power), via desynchronizing transitions, could introduce more dynamic consumption, but reducing the short-circuit current because of the increment of signal slope. Thus, the average/peak current optimization can be considered a design trade-off. In this paper, the mechanism to obtain an average/peak power optimization procedure are presented. Selected examples show the feasibility of minimizing switching noise with negligible impact on average power consumption.MEC TEC2004-01509 DOCJunta de Andalucía TIC2006-635 Project

Optically active Er–Yb doped glass films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

3 pages, 2 figures.Active rare-earth Er3 + –Yb3 + co-doped phosphate glass films are produced in a single step by pulsed laser deposition. The films are multimode waveguides and exhibit the highest refractive index, optical density and 1.54 µm photoluminescence intensity and lifetime when deposited at low oxygen pressure (Pox4 (menor o igual) 10–5 Torr). The density of the films obtained under these conditions is higher than that of the target material as a consequence of the high kinetic energy of the species generated during ablation. Luminescent emission can be excited by optical pumping the Er3 + ions either directly or through cross-relaxation of the Yb3 + . Post-deposition annealing allows us to improve the luminescence performance.This work has been partially supported by CICYT (Spain) under Project No. TIC96-0467. One of the authors (J.M.B.) acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Education.Peer reviewe

Serological and molecular survey of hepatitis E virus in cats and dogs in Spain

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen that is currently recognized as one of themajor causes of acute human hepatitis worldwide. In Europe, the increasing number of hepatitis E cases is mainly associated with the consumption of animal food products or contact with infected animals. Dogs and cats have been suggested as a zoonotic source of HEV infection. The aim of this study was to assess Orthohepevirus circulation, including HEV-A, HEV-B and HEV-C species, in sympatric urban cats and dogs in southern Spain. Between 2017 and 2020, blood samples were collected from 144 stray cats and 152 dogs, both strays and pets. The presence of antibodies againstHEV were tested using a double-antigen sandwich ELISA and seropositive simples were further analysed bywestern blot.ART-PCR was performed to detect RNAof Orthohepevirus species (HEV-A,HEV-B andHEV-C).Atotal of 19 (6.4%; 95%CI: 3.6-9.2) of the 296 animals tested showed anti-HEV antibodies by ELISA. Seropositivity was significantly higher in dogs (9.9%; 15/152; 95%CI: 5.1-14.6) than in cats (2.8%; 4/144; 95%CI: 0.1-5.5). Ten of the 18 ELISA-positive animals that could be further analysed by western blot, reacted against HEV-3 and/or HEV-C1 antigens, which suggest circulation of both genotypes in urban cats and dogs in the study area. However, HEV-A, HEV-B and HEV-C RNA were not detected in any of the tested sera. This is the first study to assess HEV circulation in both stray cats and dogs in Europe. Our results provide evidence of HEV exposure in sympatric urban cat and dog populations in southern Spain. Further studies are needed to determine the role of these species in the epidemiology of HEV

Evaluation of gait parameters on subjects with hallux limitus using an optogait sensor system: a case–control study

Background and Objetives: The foot is a part of the body’s kinetic chain and needs to be efficient during the entire gait cycle. Electronic Sensor Gait analysis is useful and an important tool within the area of podiatry to assess the physical state of patients that helps the comprehensive intervention in situations where the daily activity is limited. The aim of this research is to evaluate if the presence of a hallux limitus (HL) can alter gait space–time parameters and consequently can affect the take-off phase of the gait and the limitation of the range of motion (ROM) of the hallux. Materials and Methods: A case–control study was designed to verify whether there are alterations in the spatiotemporal parameters of the gait cycle between subjects with structural HL compared to the group of subjects with a normal hallux range. A total of n = 138 participants, cases (68 HL subjects) and healthy controls (70 subjects) were studied using an OptoGait LED sensor system to identify gait imbalances using OptoGait photocell gait analysis sensors. Results: Significant differences were found between the two groups with respect to stride length, gait cycle duration in seconds (for both feet) and for total stride and load response (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The limitation of the Hallux ROM may alter the normal gait patterns measured with an Optogait system. The early identification and treatment of gait disturbances due to HL are important to achieve normal gait physical activity to maintain a healthy lifestyle

Validación de la escala de engagement y efectos de la gamificación en el e-Commerce español

En este artículo presentamos la Escala de Engagement de Usuario (UES) como un instrumento válido y fiable para medir el engagement en el e-commerce español. Una vez confirmada su robustez, pretendemos comprobar si los elementos de Gamificación que se incluyen en la actualidad en sitios web de e-commerce influyen en el engagement del usuario. Se desarrollará un marco teórico sobre la escala del engagement y la Gamificación proponiendo un modelo de investigación. La UES será validada mediante el análisis exploratorio y confirmatorio, viéndose reducidos los factores que la componen. La influencia de la Gamificación sobre el engagement será comprobada mediante el empleo de modelos de ecuaciones estructurales.In this paper we present the User Engagement Scale (UES) as a valid and reliable instrument to measure engagement in Spanish e-commerce. Once confirmed its robustness, we try to verify if the elements of Gamification that are currently included in e-commerce websites influence the engagement of the user. A theoretical framework will be developed on the scale of engagement and Gamification proposing a research model. The UES will be validated through the exploratory and confirmatory analysis, reducing the factors that compose it. The influence of Gamification on engagement will be verified by the use of structural equation models