Control en Red basado en Predictor-Observador No Uniforme (NUPO) para Sistemas Aéreos Pilotados de forma Remota (RPAS)

[ES] En este trabajo se pretende controlar en red un Sistema Aéreo Pilotado de forma Remota (RPAS, Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) haciendo uso de un sistema de control basado en Predictor-Observador No Uniforme (NUPO, Non-Uniform Predictor-Observer). Se considerará el uso de red inalámbrica con enlaces sensor-controlador y controlador-actuador, afrontándose retardos variantes en el tiempo, pérdida de paquetes y desorden de paquetes. Además, con el fin de reducir el uso de la red y de los dispositivos de red se incorporará técnicas de envío basado en eventos. De esta forma se enviará información a baja frecuencia, es decir, solo cuando sea necesario, consiguiendo descargar la red, ahorrar consumo energético en las baterías de los dispositivos y, además, todo ello manteniendo prestaciones de control.Errando Herranz, J. (2015). Control en Red basado en Predictor-Observador No Uniforme (NUPO) para Sistemas Aéreos Pilotados de forma Remota (RPAS). http://hdl.handle.net/10251/54128TFG

Making Sense of Complex Narration in Perfect Blue

This is an original manuscript / preprint of an article published by SAGE: Antonio Loriguillo-López, José Antonio Palao-Errando, Javier Marzal-Felici. Making Sense of Complex Narration in Perfect Blue. Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2020, vol. 15, no 1, pp. 77-92. Copyright © 2020 by SAGE Publications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1746847719898784Although identified as a feature of the film by both critics and researchers, the narrative complexity of Perfect Blue (Satoshi Kon, Madhouse, 1997) has been ambiguously defined. In this article, the authors examine the complex narration in Kon’s first feature film, equivocal and obscure in its more confusing points, through a narratological analysis of the film’s most ambiguous scenes. Using cognitive film theory as introduced by David Bordwell and Edward Branigan, they link its approach in terms of the modulation of information flow throughout the film – high knowledgeability, high self-consciousness and (occasionally) low communicativeness – with the conventions of the slasher genre. Their analysis of the more perplexing scenes in Perfect Blue is reinforced by monitoring the veiled changes of focalization between the film’s three focalizers: Mima, Uchida (aka Me-Mania) and Rumi. In order to do this, they explore how the narration – in the tradition of contemporary puzzle films – makes use of judgements, preconceptions and cognitive illusions in the spectators’ activity to conceal Rumi’s involvement in the persecution of Mima and the murders committed. In the conclusion, they associate the film’s complex narration with its critical commentary on the representation of Japanese pop idols (and former idols) and the state of audiovisual entertainment in Japan

Unreliable Narrators for Troubled Times: The Menacing “Digitalisation of Subjectivity” in Black Mirror

This article offers an examination of the television series Black Mirror (2011-) using a theoretical framework for studying post-classical narrative complexity. Its basic proposition is that narrative fracturing and misleading points of view are used in Black Mirror to offer a critique of the excessive confidence in digital technology and social networks as regulators of human subjectivity. While a mission historically attributed to science fiction is the exploration of a particular contemporary issue by expressing it in fiction form, Black Mirror offers an innovative twist on this objective by incorporating the narrative complexity of the mind-game film through the perspective of distorted subjectivities. In nearly every episode, the conflict that arises highlights the dangers inherent to the naturalisation of technological devices that virtually become appendages of the human body. Most episodes explore the negative consequences of the unrestrained use of new technologies to control memories, regulate personal relationships or reduce all human experience to data. The absence of any debate questioning their value results in a completely alienated society that feeds on the fictionalisation of politics and private life, in which individuals are incapable of distinguishing between reality and fiction, or even between what is happening outside and inside their own minds

Brands as New Forms of Religiosity: the Case of the World of Red Bull

Institutional religion’s loss of influence runs parallel to the emergence of the sa­cred in the secular. The transformation of the religious and the re-enchantment of the profane are also present in con­sumption, which is acquiring a growing ontological function. This paper identi­fies and analyses brands as a new form of religiosity because of their essential role in the lives of individuals and socie­ty, beyond their commercial nature, po­sitioning them as constructors of mean­ing, bringing world views together and making sense of reality. We also explore the advertising discourse of the World of Red Bull campaign (Spain, 2012) car­ried out by the international Red Bull brand. This analysis will confirm that advertising is no longer a mere instru­ment of capitalism, but rather a vehi­cle for spirituality, making increasing use of transcendental semiotics, taking elements from religious language and transforming them with the help of mesmerizing audiovisual techniques into a new form of communication, with a message that does nothing to hide its messianic nature.La pèrdua d’influència de la religió ins­titucional és paral·lela a l’emergència d’allò sagrat en l’àmbit secular. La transformació del fet religiós i el re-encantament d’allò profà també es fan presents al consum, que adquireix una creixent funció ontològica. Aquesta in­vestigació identifica i analitza les mar­ques com una nova forma de religio­sitat pel seu paper essencial en la vida de l’individu i la societat, més enllà del seu caràcter mercantil, situant-se com a constructores de significat, fent conver­gir visions del món i donant sentit a la realitat. Així mateix, explorem el discurs publicitari de la campanya World of Red Bull (Espanya, 2012) duta a terme per la marca internacional Red Bull. Aques­ta anàlisi ens confirmarà que la publici­tat ja no és simplement un instrument del capitalisme, sinó més aviat un vehi­cle d’espiritualitat que fa un ús cada ve­gada major d’una semiòtica transcen­dent, prenent elements del llenguatge religiós i transformant-los, amb l’ajuda de l’espectacularitat tècnica, en una co­municació nova que no amaga el seu caràcter messiànic

Study protocol of a randomized controlled trial to assess safety of teleconsultation compared with face-to-face consultation: the ECASeT study

BackgroundThe use of remote consultation modalities has exponentially grown in the past few years, particularly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although a huge body of the literature has described the use of phone (tele) and video consultations, very few of the studies correspond to randomized controlled trials, and none of them has assessed the safety of these consultation modalities as the primary objective. The primary objective of this trial was to assess the safety of remote consultations (both video and teleconsultation) in the follow-up of patients in the hospital setting.MethodsMulticenter, randomized controlled trial being conducted in four centers of an administrative healthcare area in Catalonia (North-East Spain). Participants will be screened from all individuals, irrespective of age and sex, who require follow-up in outpatient consultations of any of the departments involved in the study. Eligibility criteria have been established based on the local guidelines for screening patients for remote consultation. Participants will be randomly allocated into one of the two study arms: conventional face-to-face consultation (control) and remote consultation, either teleconsultation or video consultation (intervention). Routine follow-up visits will be scheduled at a frequency determined by the physician based on the diagnostic and therapy of the baseline disease (the one triggering enrollment). The primary outcome will be the number of adverse reactions and complications related to the baseline disease. Secondary outcomes will include non-scheduled visits and hospitalizations, as well as usability features of remote consultations. All data will either be recorded in an electronic clinical report form or retrieved from local electronic health records. Based on the complications and adverse reaction rates reported in the literature, we established a target sample size of 1068 participants per arm. Recruitment started in May 2022 and is expected to end in May 2024.DiscussionThe scarcity of precedents on the assessment of remote consultation modalities using randomized controlled designs challenges making design decisions, including recruitment, selection criteria, and outcome definition, which are discussed in the manuscript.Trial registrationNCT05094180. The items of the WHO checklist for trial registration are available in Additional file 1. Registered on 24 November 2021

Cost-effectiveness analysis of antimuscarinics in the treatment of patients with overactive bladder in Spain: A decision-tree model

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fesoterodine, a new once daily antimuscarinic, has proven to be an effective, safe, and well-tolerated treatment in patients with overactive bladder (OAB). To date, no analysis has evaluated the economic costs and benefits associated with fesoterodine, compared to antimuscarinics in Spain. The purpose of this analysis was to assess the economic value of OAB treatment with fesoterodine relative to extended release tolterodine and solifenacin, from the societal perspective.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The economic model was based on data from two 12-week, randomized, double-blind, and multicenter trials comparing fesoterodine and tolterodine extended released (ER). Treatment response rates for solifenacin were extracted from the published literature. Discontinuation and efficacy were based on the results of a 12-week multinational randomized clinical trial extrapolated to 52 weeks. Changes in health related quality of life were assessed with the King's Health Questionnaire, which was transformed into preference-based utility values. Medical costs included (expressed in € 2010) were antimuscarinics, physician visits, laboratory tests, incontinence pads and the costs of OAB-related comorbidities, fractures, skin infections, urinary tract infections, depression, and nursing home admissions associated with incontinence. Time lost from work was also considered. Univariate sensitivity analyses were also performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At week 12, continents accounted for 50.6%, 40.6% and 47.2% of patients in the fesoterodine, tolterodine, and solifenacin groups, respectively. By week 52, the projected proportions of patients remaining on therapy were 33.1%, 26.5% and 30.8%, respectively. The projected quality- adjusted life years (QALY) gain (compared to baseline) over the 52-week simulation period were 0.01014, 0.00846 and 0.00957, respectively. The overall treatment cost was estimated at €1,937, €2,089 and €1,960 for fesoterodine, tolterodine and solifenacin, respectively. Therefore, treatment with fesoterodine resulted in similar overall costs and greater QALY gain than treatment with either tolterodine or solifenacin. Sensitivity analysis showed that these results were robust to all changes performed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of this economic analysis suggest that fesoterodine is a cost-effective alternative to tolterodine and solifenacin for the treatment of patients with OAB in Spain. Fesoterodine provides additional health benefits while maintain a similar level of costs being a cost-effective treatment strategy from a societal perspective.</p

Polarized blazar X-rays imply particle acceleration in shocks

Most of the light from blazars, active galactic nuclei with jets of magnetized plasma that point nearly along the line of sight, is produced by high-energy particles, up to around 1 TeV. Although the jets are known to be ultimately powered by a supermassive black hole, how the particles are accelerated to such high energies has been an unanswered question. The process must be related to the magnetic field, which can be probed by observations of the polarization of light from the jets. Measurements of the radio to optical polarization—the only range available until now—probe extended regions of the jet containing particles that left the acceleration site days to years earlier1,2,3, and hence do not directly explore the acceleration mechanism, as could X-ray measurements. Here we report the detection of X-ray polarization from the blazar Markarian 501 (Mrk 501). We measure an X-ray linear polarization degree ΠX of around 10%, which is a factor of around 2 higher than the value at optical wavelengths, with a polarization angle parallel to the radio jet. This points to a shock front as the source of particle acceleration and also implies that the plasma becomes increasingly turbulent with distance from the shock

Discovery of X-ray polarization angle rotation in active galaxy Mrk 421

The magnetic field conditions in astrophysical relativistic jets can be probed by multiwavelength polarimetry, which has been recently extended to X-rays. For example, one can track how the magnetic field changes in the flow of the radiating particles by observing rotations of the electric vector position angle $\Psi$. Here we report the discovery of a $\Psi_{\mathrm x}$ rotation in the X-ray band in the blazar Mrk 421 at an average flux state. Across the 5 days of Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) observations of 4-6 and 7-9 June 2022, $\Psi_{\mathrm x}$ rotated in total by $\geq360^\circ$. Over the two respective date ranges, we find constant, within uncertainties, rotation rates ($80 \pm 9$ and $91 \pm 8 ^\circ/\rm day$) and polarization degrees ($\Pi_{\mathrm x}=10\%\pm1\%$). Simulations of a random walk of the polarization vector indicate that it is unlikely that such rotation(s) are produced by a stochastic process. The X-ray emitting site does not completely overlap the radio/infrared/optical emission sites, as no similar rotation of $\Psi$ was observed in quasi-simultaneous data at longer wavelengths. We propose that the observed rotation was caused by a helical magnetic structure in the jet, illuminated in the X-rays by a localized shock propagating along this helix. The optically emitting region likely lies in a sheath surrounding an inner spine where the X-ray radiation is released

Design of a quadrotor equipped with a video camera

An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle or UAV is an aircraft with no human pilot on board. UAVs, sometimes known as drones, are controlled either remotely (for example by a pilot from a ground station or from another aircraft) or autonomously by on-board computers with pre-programmed flight plans or control algorithms. Historically, UAVs have been always remotely piloted, but autonomous control is increasingly being used. Moreover, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are preferred for missions that are dangerous or hard for manned normal aircraft.Errando Herranz, J. (2014). Design of a quadrotor equipped with a video camera. Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/54476Archivo delegad