Current-Mode Techniques for the Implementation of Continuous- and Discrete-Time Cellular Neural Networks

This paper presents a unified, comprehensive approach to the design of continuous-time (CT) and discrete-time (DT) cellular neural networks (CNN) using CMOS current-mode analog techniques. The net input signals are currents instead of voltages as presented in previous approaches, thus avoiding the need for current-to-voltage dedicated interfaces in image processing tasks with photosensor devices. Outputs may be either currents or voltages. Cell design relies on exploitation of current mirror properties for the efficient implementation of both linear and nonlinear analog operators. These cells are simpler and easier to design than those found in previously reported CT and DT-CNN devices. Basic design issues are covered, together with discussions on the influence of nonidealities and advanced circuit design issues as well as design for manufacturability considerations associated with statistical analysis. Three prototypes have been designed for l.6-pm n-well CMOS technologies. One is discrete-time and can be reconfigured via local logic for noise removal, feature extraction (borders and edges), shadow detection, hole filling, and connected component detection (CCD) on a rectangular grid with unity neighborhood radius. The other two prototypes are continuous-time and fixed template: one for CCD and other for noise removal. Experimental results are given illustrating performance of these prototypes

Iniciativas globales para la Observación de la Tierra: Contribuciones europeas a GEOSS

El presente trabajo introduce las iniciativas europeas en materia de política espacial y datos medioambientales que contribuyen al Sistema Global de Sistemas para la Observación de la Tierra (Global Earth Observation System of Systems, GEOSS). En primer lugar se describe el contexto y objetivos de GEOSS como un sistema de sistemas que engloba y coordina multitud de sistemas independientes. En segundo lugar destacamos los principales objetivos, participantes y colaboraciones de las iniciativas concretas en el contexto europeo que aúnan esfuerzos de forma efectiva hacia GEOSSThis paper introduces the European initiatives in space policy and environmental data that contribute to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). In the first place, it describes the context and objectives of GEOSS as a system of systems that includes and coordinates a multitude of separate systems. Secondly, the paper highlights the main objectives, participants and collaborations of the concrete initiatives that effectively join forces towards GEOSS in the European context

Homogeneous CR submanifolds of complex hyperbolic spaces

Altres ajuts: The authors have been supported by projects PID2019-105138GB-C21/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 (Spain) and projects ED431C 2019/10, ED431F 2020/04 (Xunta de Galicia, Spain). The second author acknowledges support from the Ramón y Cajal program of the Spanish State Research Agency.We classify homogeneous CR submanifolds in complex hyperbolic spaces arising as orbits of a subgroup of the solvable part of the Iwasawa decomposition of the isometry group of the ambient space

Electricity Forecasting Improvement in a Destination Using Tourism Indicators

[EN] The forecast of electricity consumption plays a fundamental role in the environmental impact of a tourist destination. Poor forecasting, under certain circumstances, can lead to huge economic losses and air pollution, as prediction errors usually have a large impact on the utilisation of fossil fuel-generation plants. Due to the seasonality of tourism, consumption in areas where the industry represents a big part of the economic activity follows a different pattern than in areas with a more regular economic distribution. The high economic impact and seasonality of the tourist activity suggests the use of variables specific to it to improve the electricity demand forecast. This article presents a Holt¿Winters model with a tourism indicator to improve the effectiveness on the electricity demand forecast in the Balearic Islands (Spain). Results indicate that the presented model improves the accuracy of the prediction by 0.3%. We recommend the use of this type of model and indicator in tourist destinations where tourism accounts for a substantial amount of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), we can control a significant amount of the flow of tourists and the electrical balance is controlled mainly by fossil fuel power plants.Trull Domínguez, O.; Peiró Signes, A.; García-Díaz, JC. (2019). Electricity Forecasting Improvement in a Destination Using Tourism Indicators. Sustainability. 11(13). https://doi.org/10.3390/su1113365636561113Zhang, M., Li, J., Pan, B., & Zhang, G. (2018). Weekly Hotel Occupancy Forecasting of a Tourism Destination. Sustainability, 10(12), 4351. doi:10.3390/su10124351Bakhat, M., & Rosselló, J. (2011). Estimation of tourism-induced electricity consumption: The case study of Balearics Islands, Spain. Energy Economics, 33(3), 437-444. doi:10.1016/j.eneco.2010.12.009Gössling, S. (2000). Sustainable Tourism Development in Developing Countries: Some Aspects of Energy Use. 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Sustainability, 9(11), 2109. doi:10.3390/su9112109Wang, J. C. (2016). A study on the energy performance of school buildings in Taiwan. Energy and Buildings, 133, 810-822. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2016.10.036Warnken, J., Bradley, M., & Guilding, C. (2005). Eco-resorts vs. mainstream accommodation providers: an investigation of the viability of benchmarking environmental performance. Tourism Management, 26(3), 367-379. doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2003.11.017Financing Europe’s Low Carbon, Climate Resilient Futurehttps://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/climate/financing-europe2019s-low-carbon-climatePace, L. A. (2016). How do tourism firms innovate for sustainable energy consumption? A capabilities perspective on the adoption of energy efficiency in tourism accommodation establishments. Journal of Cleaner Production, 111, 409-420. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.01.095Sozer, H. (2010). Improving energy efficiency through the design of the building envelope. 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A Model for VLSI implementation of CNN image processing chips using current-mode techniques

A new Cellular Neural Network model is proposed which allows simpler and faster VLSI implementation than previous models. Current-mode building blocks are presented for the design of CMOS image preprocessing chips (feature extraction, noise filtering , compound component detection, etc.) using the cellular neural network paradigm. Area evaluation for the new model shows a reduction off about 50% as compared to the use of current-mode techniques with conventional models. Experimental measurements of CMOS prototypes designed in a 1.6 μm n-well double-metal single-poly technology are reported

Smart-Pixel Cellular Neural Networks in Analog Current-Mode CMOS Technology

This paper presents a systematic approach to design CMOS chips with concurrent picture acquisition and processing capabilities. These chips consist of regular arrangements of elementary units, called smart pixels. Light detection is made with vertical CMOS-BJT’s connected in a Darlington structure. Pixel smartness is achieved by exploiting the Cellular Neural Network paradigm [1], [2], incorporating at each pixel location an analog computing cell which interacts with those of nearby pixels. We propose a current-mode implementation technique and give measurements from two 16 x 16 prototypes in a single-poly double-metal CMOS n-well 1.6-µm technology. In addition to the sensory and processing circuitry, both chips incorporate light-adaptation circuitry for automatic contrast adjustment. They obtain smart-pixel densities up to 89 units/mm2, with a power consumption down to 105 µW/unit and image processing times below 2 µs

Hierarchical spatial modeling of the presence of Chagas disease insect vectors in Argentina. A comparative approach

We modeled the spatial distribution of the most important Chagas disease vectors in Argentina, in order to obtain a predictive mapping method for the probability of presence of the vector species. We analyzed both the binary variable of presence-absence of Chagas disease and the vector species richness in Argentina, in combination with climatic and topographical covariates associated to the region of interest. We used several statistical techniques to produce distribution maps of presence–absence for the different insect species as well as species richness, using a hierarchical Bayesian framework within the context of multivariate geostatistical modeling. Our results show that the inclusion of covariates improves the quality of the fitted models, and that there is spatial interaction between neighboring cells/pixels, so mapping methods used in the past, which assumed spatial independence, are not adequate as they provide unreliable results.We thank J. E. Rabinovich from Centro de Estudios Parasitologicos y de Vectores of Buenos Aires, Argentina for drawing our attention to this particular application problem and for providing access to the Chagas data base used. Work partially funded by grant MTM2013-43917-P from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education, grant PAPIIT IN114814 of the Direccio ́ n General de Asuntos del Personal Acade ́ mico of the Universidad Nacional Auto ́ noma de Me ́ xico and Grant CONACYT number 241195

Socrates thematic network to enhance European teaching of operations and supply chain management: goals, tasks and preliminary results

The EurOMA-sponsored THENEXOM network has been approved by the European Commission through its Socrates community action programme. THENEXOM’s short-term goal is to analyse the present state of Operations and Supply Chain Management in European universities and to identify strengths and weaknesses in order to instigate the use of better practices. A census is being drawn up of OM teachers throughout the 24 countries (and 27 universities) making up the network. A survey can then be taken of the teaching-staff, content and methods employed. The network’s medium-term aim is to tighten links between teaching, research and business practice by reducing imbalances. In compliance with EU recommendations, strategic connections are being sought with America and Asia to expand aforesaid objectives and actions throughout the world.La red THENEXOM, promovida por EurOMA, ha sido aprobada por la Comisión Europea (programa de acción comunitaria Sócrates). Su objetivo a corto plazo es estudiar la situación de la Dirección de Operaciones y la Gestión de Cadenas de Suministro en las universidades europeas, buscando identificar fortalezas y deficiencias y promover el empleo de las mejores prácticas. Para ello se está elaborando un censo de docentes de DO en los 24 países representados en la red (por 27 instituciones universitarias); éste permitirá el desarrollo de una encuesta sobre profesorado, contenidos y metodología docente. A medio plazo, la red ha de servir para estrechar vínculos entre enseñanza, investigación y práctica empresarial, limando los posibles desfases. Siguiendo las recomendaciones de la UE, se están realizando conexiones estratégicas con América y Asia para extender los objetivos y actuaciones mencionados

¿Hemos trazado el camino para Bolonia?

The educational change, settled by the European Space of High Education for Spain in 2010, is based on the development of a competential work, a needed methodological change, a curricular and physical movement and, also, the conception of Education as a permanent process. It proposes teaching procedures that imply more dynamic, diverse and guided didactics. The latest legislative reformations for Primary and Secondary Education shows these aspects in a way which results will be the immediate future. Our secondary scholars are the reserve of students that will conclude the change that the Bologna Plan means. Will they be ready for it? A short debriefing about the key points of the University reformation that has begun are, as a reflection, the image to which the basic educational levels must respond.El cambio educativo, fijado por el Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior para España en  2010, se basa en el desarrollo de un trabajo competencial, un necesario cambio metodológico, la movilidad espacial y curricular de los alumnos, y la concepción de la  educación como proceso permanente. Propone formas docentes con una didáctica más activa, diversa y tutelada, que incorpore las nuevas tecnologías. Las últimas reformas legislativas para la educación Primaria y Secundaria ya reflejan estos aspectos en un camino cuyos resultados serán el futuro inmediato. Nuestros bachilleres son la cantera de alumnos que concluirán el cambio que Bolonia marca. ¿Estarán preparados para el reto? Un breve repaso a las claves de la reforma universitaria comenzada son, a modo de espejo, la imagen a la que los niveles educativos básicos deben responder

Implementación de un sistema automatizado de los diferentes Protocolos de reconocimientos periciales y de datos estadísticos que realiza el Instituto de Medicina Legal de El Salvador

El sistema automatizado de los diferentes Protocolos de Reconocimientos Periciales y Datos Estadísticos que realiza el Instituto de Medicina Legal de El Salvador, es una herramienta que sustituye los procesos manuales que los médicos forenses, psicólogos y trabajadores sociales realizan para la elaboración de reconocimientos periciales y la creación de reportes, con la facilidad de generar datos estadísticos con la información contenida en los protocolos, los cuales ha sido clasificados en tres categorías: por fallecimiento, Violencia Física y Violencia Sexual con sus respectivos criterios de consultas. El sistema se ha desarrollado en ambiente web utilizando el lenguaje de programación PHP con un servidor Apache y la base de datos en MySQL, para favorecer y agilizar la comunicación entre regionales y clínicas forenses. El sistema permite crear un expediente por paciente donde se ingresan inicialmente los datos personales y luego se selecciona el protocolo que se le practicara a os pacientes (victimas e imputados), con la opción de agregar fotografías si el protocolo lo requiere. Dentro de cada expediente se pueden visualizar los diferentes protocolos de reconocimientos periciales practicados a los pacientes, los cuales pueden ser modificados mientras no se seleccione la opción de cerrar definitivamente, esto se debe a que se trata de dictámenes legales. Así mismo el sistema cuanta con los menús de seguridad, mantenimiento y utilidades, qua yuan a la administración del sistema, en el caso de seguridad controla los niveles de acceso de los usuarios, mientras que las utilidades permiten al usuario crear respaldos de la información y ayuda del sistema. Adicionalmente se han elaborado los manuales de: usuario, técnico, programador y de base de datos para brindarle tanto al usuario cono el administrador del sistema los conocimientos para optimizar el uso del sistem