Customer-oriented risk assessment in Network Utilities

For companies that distribute services such as telecommunications, water, energy, gas, etc., quality perceived by the customers has a strong impact on the fulfillment of financial goals, positively increasing the demand and negatively increasing the risk of customer churn (loss of customers). Failures by these companies may cause customer affection in a massive way, augmenting the intention to leave the company. Therefore, maintenance performance and specifically service reliability has a strong influence on financial goals. This paper proposes a methodology to evaluate the contribution of the maintenance department in economic terms, based on service unreliability by network failures. The developed methodology aims to provide an analysis of failures to facilitate decision making about maintenance (preventive/predictive and corrective) costs versus negative impacts in end-customer invoicing based on the probability of losing customers. Survival analysis of recurrent failures with the General Renewal Process distribution is used for this novel purpose with the intention to be applied as a standard procedure to calculate the expected maintenance financial impact, for a given period of time. Also, geographical areas of coverage are distinguished, enabling the comparison of different technical or management alternatives. Two case studies in a telecommunications services company are presented in order to illustrate the applicability of the methodology

Equidad y representación de género en los órganos de gobernanza

Equity and gender representation are still a goal of equal social policies in companies in the European Union. The organs of governance of European public broadcasters notes that aspiration, despite the development of legal, general and specific, frameworks and selfregulation policies through its Corporate Social Responsibility statements. The presence of women in newsrooms is prevailed but not in the governance bodies. This research chooses the mirror of European public broadcasters to reflect the empirical reality of women in leadership positions.La equidad y representación de género son todavía un objetivo de igualdad de las políticas sociales en las empresas, tanto públicas como privadas, de la Unión Europea. Los órganos de gobernanza de las radiotelevisiones públicas europeas constatan esa aspiración, a pesar del desarrollo de los marcos legales, generales y específicos, y de las políticas de autorregulación a través de sus declaraciones de Responsabilidad Social Corporativa. La presencia femenina se va imponiendo en las redacciones pero todavía no en los órganos de gobernanza. Esta investigación escoge el espejo de las radiotelevisiones públicas europeas para reflejar la realidad empírica de la mujer en los puestos de mando

IMS signalling for multiparty services based on network level multicast

3rd EURO-NGI Conference on Next Generation Internet Networks. Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway, 21-23 may 2007.The standardization process of the UMTS technology has led to the development of the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). IMS provides a framework that supports the negotiation of the next generation multimedia services with QoS requirements that are envisioned for 3G networks. But even though many of these services involve the participation of multiple users in a multiparty arrangement, the delivery technology at network level is still unicast based. This approach is not optimum, in terms of transmission efficiency. In this paper, a new approach is presented proposing to use a network level multicast delivery technology for the multiparty services that are signalled through IMS. The main advantages and drawbacks related with this new approach are analyzed in the article. Finally, as a starting point in the development of the presented solution, a new SIP signalling dialogue is proposed allowing the negotiation of a generic multiparty service, and supporting at the same time the configuration of the corresponding network level multicast delivery service with QoS requirements that will be used in the user plane.Publicad

La Garza Real en España. I. Población reproductora (1950-2000)

En este trabajo se analiza la evolución de la población reproductora de Garza Real, Ardea cinerea, en España durante el período 1950-2000. El territorio español se ha dividido en siete grandes zonas: Norte, Levante, y las cuencas de los cinco grandes ríos (Guadalquivir, Guadiana, Tajo, Duero y Ebro). Los datos sobre colonias y número de parejas nidificantes fueron obtenidos a partir de prospecciones de los autores, de citas bibliográficas y de comunicaciones de organismos y personas conocedoras de las colonias. Es probable que ya antes de 1950 hubiera colonias ocupadas, pero se carece de datos publicados sobre ellas. En 1950 pudo haber 168 parejas reproductoras en 4 colonias, mientras que en 2000 hubo 4790 parejas en 75 colonias. Las subpoblaciones de garza real asentadas de las cuencas del Duero y Tajo parecen estar próximas al equilibrio numérico, mientras que las del Ebro, Guadalquivir y Levante han aumentado notablemente su tamaño en la década 1990-2000. La cuenca del Guadiana contenía relativamente pocas parejas en el período de estudio y en el Norte de España la población reproductora de la garza real es aún poco significativa

DEDUCCIÓN DE LA ALTITUD DE LA LÍNEA DE EQUILIBRIO GLACIAR DURANTE EL LGM EN SIERRA NEVADA (ESPAÑA).: Deduction of the equilibrium line altitude of the Glaciers during the LGM in Sierra Nevada (Spain)

In this research we present a case os study of the GIS applications to the calculation of the Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA) in paleoglaciers of Sierra Nevada during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). For the analysis of this case of study, a delimitation of the area of the paleoglaciers of Guarnón and Río Seco, the subsequent reconstructions of its paleotopography and the calculation of their ELAs were done, all using GIS. The obtained results show paleoELA values, during the LGM period, of 2818 m for Río Seco paleoglacier and 2527 m for Guarnón paleoglacier, in both cases calculated with the AABR method. The use of GIS and its combination with other techniques has demonstrated to be valid for the reconstruction of the paleoglaciers of the study area and the calculation of their ELAs during the LGMEn este trabajo se presenta un caso de estudio de aplicaciones de los SIG al cálculo de la línea de equilibrio glaciar (ELA) en paleoglaciares de Sierra Nevada durante el Último Máximo Glaciar (LGM). Para el análisis de este caso de estudio se ha realizado una delimitación del área de los paleoglaciares de Guarnón y Río Seco, la posterior reconstrucción de su paleotopografía y la obtención de las ELAs, todo ello mediante software SIG. Los resultados obtenidos arrojan unos valores de la paleoELA durante el periodo del Último Máximo Glaciar de 2818 m para el paleoglaciar del Río Seco y de 2527 m en el paleoglaciar de Guarnón, en ambos casos calculadas con el método AABR. La utilización de los SIG y su combinación con otras técnicas ha demostrado ser efectiva para la reconstrucción de los paleoglaciares del área de estudio y el cálculo de sus ELAs durante el LGM.Este trabalho apresenta um estudo de caso de aplicações de SIG para o cálculo da linha de equilíbrio glacial (ELA) em paleoglaciais da Sierra Nevada durante a Última Geleira Máxima (LGM). Para a análise deste estudo de caso, foi realizada uma delimitação da área dos paleoglaciais de Guarnón e Río Seco, a subsequente reconstrução de sua paleotopografia e a obtenção de ELAs, todos usando o software GIS. Os resultados obtidos mostram os valores de paleoELA durante o período da LGM de 2818 m para o paleoglacier Rio Seco e 2527 m para o paleoglacier Guarnón, em ambos os casos calculados pelo método AABR. O uso de SIG e sua combinação com outras técnicas provaram ser eficazes para a reconstrução de paleoglaciais na área de estudo e o cálculo de seus ELAs durante a LGM

Neuroscience for Content Innovation on European Public Service Broadcasters

En el nuevo panorama mediático, caracterizado por la fragmentación y desafección de las audiencias hacia la televisión tradicional, urge la incorporación de innovadoras estrategias que atiendan a las demandas de sus públicos y conecten con ellos. El presente artículo analiza la capacidad de la Neurociencia para optimizar la producción de contenidos adaptados a las preferencias de los espectadores y comprueba la introducción de esta metodología en las radiotelevisiones públicas europeas. Para ello se realizó una revisión de los informes de gestión, memorias de cuentas y webs de las radiotelevisiones públicas estatales y regionales de la Unión Europea (n=100) así como de la evolución de sus audiencias de 2010-15. Complementariamente, a partir de un análisis exploratorio y de entrevistas en profundidad con cuestionario abierto y cerrado, se recogió la opinión de expertos neurocientíficos, consultores de Neuromarketing, académicos y profesionales de la televisión pública europea (n=22) sobre la utilidad e introducción de esta ciencia para el estudio de las audiencias y su aplicación en la programación, y el rol de la Neuroeducación en el diseño de programas educativos. Los resultados determinan que cerca de una docena de RTV públicas ya aplican el Neuromarketing Audiovisual como herramienta innovadora para probar y diseñar productos de entretenimiento, bloques comerciales y estrategias de mejora de la competitividad frente a su implementación en la programación educativa, encomienda principal del servicio públicoThe new media landscape is characterized by the fragmentation and disaffection of the audience towards traditional television. Such a context requires innovative strategies to meet the needs of the public and connect with it. This article analyses the ability of Neuroscience to optimize the production of content adapted to audiences. For this purpose, a review of management and economic reports and corporate websites of the European public broadcasters (n=100) was carried out, as well as the evolution of the audience in the period 2010-15. Also, an exploratory analysis and in-depth interviews with open and closed questionnaires was undertaken. The data collect the opinion of neuroscientific experts, Neuromarketing consultants, academics and professionals in European public television (n=22) on the usefulness and introduction of this science for audience research, its possible application in programming, and the role of Neuroeducation in the design of educational programmes. The findings determine that almost a dozen public service media in Europe are already applying audiovisual Neuromarketing as an incipient and innovative tool to test entertainment programmes, commercial spaces and competitiveness improvement strategies. However, it has not been implemented in educational content, which is a core mission of public broadcaster

Monitoring dexamethasone skin biodistribution with ex vivo MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry imaging and confocal Raman microscopy

Two of the most promising techniques in terms of ex vivo skin imaging and quantifying are confocal Raman microscopy and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-TOF MSI). Both techniques were set up, and the semiquantitative skin biodistribution of previously developed dexamethasone (DEX) loaded lipomers was compared using Benzalkonium chloride (BAK) as a tracer of the nanoparticles. In MALDI-TOF MSI, DEX was derivatised with GirT (DEX-GirT) and the semiquantitative biodistribution of both DEX-GirT and BAK was successfully obtained. The amount of DEX measured by confocal Raman microscopy was higher than that measured by MALDI-TOF MSI, but MALDI-TOF MSI proved to be a more suitable technique for tracing BAK. An absorption-promoting tendency of DEX loaded in lipomers versus a free-DEX solution was observed in confocal Raman microscopy. The higher spatial resolution of confocal Raman microscopy (350 nm) with respect to MALDI-TOF MSI (50 mu m) allowed to observe specific skin structures like hair follicles. Nevertheless, the faster sampling rate of MALDI-TOF-MSI, permitted the analysis of larger tissue regions. In conclusion, both techniques allowed to simultaneously analyze semiquantitative data together with qualitative images of biodistribution, which is a very helpful tool when designing nanoparticles that accumulate in specific anatomical regions

Designing an Advanced Regional Research Network

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Committee-Based Profiles for Politician Finding

One step towards breaking down barriers between citizens and politicians is to help people identify those politicians who share their concerns. This paper is set in the field of expert finding and is based on the automatic construction of politicians’ profiles from their speeches on parliamentary committees. These committee-based profiles are treated as documents and are indexed by an information retrieval system. Given a query representing a citizen’s concern, a profile ranking is then obtained. In the final step, the different results for each candidate are combined in order to obtain the final politician ranking. We explore the use of classic combination strategies for this purpose and present a new approach that improves state-of-the-art performance and which is more stable under different conditions. We also introduce a two-stage model where the identification of a broader concept (such as the committee) is used to improve the final politician ranking.This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Economı́a y Competitividad under projects TIN2013-42741-P and TIN2016-77902-C3-2-P, and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF-FEDER)

Transungual Delivery, Anti-Inflammatory Activity, and In Vivo Assessment of a Cyclodextrin Polypseudorotaxanes Nail Lacquer

A new cyclodextrin polypseudorotaxanes nail lacquer (Regenail®) containing biotin, methyl sulphonyl methane (MSM), and dimethylsilanediol salicylate was developed and evaluated in vitro and in vivo. The product was developed to improve nail status and diminish signs of pathological nail alterations. A reference product (Betalfatrus®) was used for comparative purposes. An in vitro permeation experiment in hooves showed high MSM and biotin absorption. The content of sulfur and silicon in hooves was also found to be higher compared with the reference product. MSM was tested in human keratinocytes, exhibiting a good cytotoxicity profile and anti-inflammatory activity by the reduction in IL-8 and TNF-α under LPS stimuli. A clinical study was performed to check product safety and efficacy against nail brittleness and alterations such as Beau’s lines and onychorrhexis. A reduction in both alterations and in surface roughness without alteration of nail structure was observed, with a good level of patient acceptance and satisfactionS