DSP based platform for an enhanced HF channel simulator

With the aim of improving existing tools for testing new HF transmission systems, this article describes a modification of the basic Watterson (1970) model which can be implemented without any extra added complexity with a general purpose DSP card running an a PC IBM compatible.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Closed-form equation for natural frequencies of beams under full range of axial loads modeled with a spring-mass system

A new simple closed-form equation that accurately predicts the effect of an arbitrarily large constant axial load, residual stress or temperature shift on the natural frequencies of an uniform single-span beam, with various end conditions, is presented. Its accuracy and applicability range are studied by comparing its predictions with numerical simulations and with the approximate Galef’s and Bokaian’s formulas. The new equation may be understood as a refinement or extension of these two approximate formulas. Significant accuracy and applicability range improvements are achieved, especially near the buckling point and for large and moderate axial load. The new closed-form equation is applicable in the full range of axial load, i.e., from the buckling load to the tensioned-string limit. It also models well the beam-to-string transition region for the eight boundary conditions studied. It works remarkably well in the free-free and sliding-free cases, where it is a near-exact solution. In addition, it yields the natural frequencies of a 1-D spring-mass system that may be used to model tensioned beams, and potentially, more complex systems.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

The NADPH-Dependent thioredoxin reductase C-2-Cys peroxiredoxin redox system modulates the activity of thioredoxin x in arabidopsis chloroplasts

The chloroplast redox network is composed of a complex set of thioredoxins (Trxs), reduced by ferredoxin (Fdx) via a Fdx-dependent Trx reductase (FTR), and an NADPH-dependent Trx reductase with a joint Trx domain, NTRC, which efficiently reduces 2-Cys peroxiredoxins (2-Cys Prxs). Recently, it was proposed that the redox balance of 2-Cys Prxs maintains the redox state of f-type Trxs, thus allowing the proper redox regulation of Calvin-Benson cycle enzymes such as fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase). Here, we have addressed whether the action of 2-Cys Prxs is also exerted on Trx x. To that end, an Arabidopsis thaliana quadruple mutant, ntrc-trxx-δ "2cp, which is knocked out for NTRC and Trx x, and contains severely decreased levels of 2-Cys Prxs, was generated. In contrast to ntrc-trxx, which showed a severe growth inhibition phenotype and poor photosynthetic performance, the ntrc-trxx-δ "2cp mutant showed a significant recovery of growth rate and photosynthetic efficiency, indicating that the content of 2-Cys Prxs is critical for the performance of plants lacking both NTRC and Trx x. Light-dependent reduction of FBPase was severely impaired in mutant plants lacking NTRC or NTRC plus Trx x, despite the fact that neither NTRC nor Trx x is an effective reductant of this enzyme. However, FBPase reduction was recovered in the ntrc-trxx-δ "2cp mutant. Our results show that the redox balance of 2-Cys Prxs, which is mostly dependent on NTRC, modulates the activity of Trx x in a similar way as f-type Trxs, thus suggesting that the activity of these Trxs is highly interconnected.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad BIO2017-85195-C2-1-

Curvature of BEOL cantilevers in CMOS-MEMS processes

© 2017 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes,creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.This paper presents the curvature characterization results of released back-end-of-line 5 µm-wide cantilevers for two different 0.18-µm 1P6M complementary metal-oxide semiconductor microelectromechanical systems processes. Results from different runs and lots from each foundry are presented. The methodology and accuracy of the characterization approach, based on optical measurements of test cantilever curvature, are also discussed. Special emphasis is given to the curvature average and variability as a function of the number of stacked layers. Analythical equations for modeling the bending behavior of stacked cantilevers as a function of the tungsten (W) vias that join the metal layers are presented. In addition, the effect of various post-processing conditions and design techniques on the curvature of both single and stacked cantilevers is analyzed. In particular, surpassing certain time-dependent temperature stress conditions after release lead to curvature shifts larger than one order of magnitude. Also, the W via design was found to strongly affect the curvature of the test cantilevers.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

La intervención del psicólogo en los servicios sociales de familia e infancia: Evolución y retos actuales

In this article we review the situation of psychologists and their role in social intervention in the child and family sector. In order to do this, some of the key moments in the incorporation of these professionals will be reviewed, both at the community level, in charge of the municipal authority, and the specialized regional services such as foster care, residential care or adoption. Particular emphasis will be placed on the reform implemented in July 2015 of Organic Law 1/96 on the Legal Protection of Minors, which poses very significant challenges to the work of the interdisciplinary teams that are typical of this sector. The implications for psychologists at the community level will be discussed when addressing risk situations, as well as changes at the specialized level referring to novelties such as therapeutic residential care for behavioral problems, the need to use family foster care with younger children, or the possibility of carrying out open adoptions

3D photogrammetry as a tool for studying erosive processes at a Roman coastal site: the case of the Roman fish-salting plant at Sobreira (Vigo, Spain)

Rising sea levels, along with other biological and human factors, have increased erosion rates at a number of important sites located along the Atlantic coastline. Project GaltFish implemented a series of contingency measures to record some of these sites before they degraded further or totally disappeared. This process involved detailed photogrammetric recording of some of the sites under threat over a set period of time. One of the sites selected for this project was Sobreira (Vigo, Galicia): a Roman fish-salting factory which was partially destroyed by building activity in the 1980s and the remains of which are under threat from marine erosion and human action. In order to study the site, two photogrammetric models were created to examine the effect of erosive processes across the course of one year. The results illustrate that photogrammetry is an efficient tool for recording and analysing the issue of erosion. The data compiled helped in designing additional action in the factory, which was subject to a rescue excavation to record and help protect the site from further damage. This paper presents the results of this project, as well as the methodology used to produce the models, the data generated and their analysis. It is argued that the methodology can be used to collect and analyse data from other sites, and that this data could inform the political/administrative decision-making processes which concern the future management and preservation of archaeological sites under threat.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. RYC2018-024131-

Estructura y dimensiones de apoyo en la red social de los adolescentes

In this article the social support network in a sample of 889 young people (from 12 to 15 years old) is analysed. A social support questionnaire was used to evaluate both social network structure (size and composition) and three functional dimensions: confidence, instrumental help and affection. The results show notable differences between dimensions of social support and also between sexes. Certain developmental trends were also found with respect to the different ages during the adolescence.Este trabajo presenta un análisis de la red de apoyo social de una muestra de 889 adolescentes entre 12 y 18 años. Se ha aplicado un cuestionario que permite evaluar tanto los aspectos estructurales (tamaño y composición de la red) como los funcionales (grado de apoyo percibido) en tres dimensiones diferentes: confianza, ayuda y afectividad. La investigación revela importantes diferencias en el grado de apoyo percibido para cada una de las tres dimensiones. También se aprecian diferencias en función del género y en función de la evolución de las edades a lo largo de la adolescencia

Hacia una política educativa supranacional europea basada en la Dimensión Europea de la Educación

The European Union (EU-28) and the Council of Europe (COE-47) are two supranational political organizations that coexist within the region of Europe. Both organizations have developed a unique cooperation policy in the area of education since their beginnings in mid-20th century. METHOD. More than 60 years later, based on historical-comparative research studies undertaken ad hoc, both organizations maybe considered as leading playersin a novel way of the understanding the fundamentals of education policy beyond national borders. The precision of their policies based on the unique historical-political development and the existing analogies between them, make it possible to place them in a comparative perspective, as comparison units, and to be analyzed through the political-educational concept of the European Dimension in Education, developed by both of them as tertium comparationis. RESULTS. The existence of both policies, the number of relationships, their complementary divergences and their prominent convergences will make it possible to understand it as a single European supranational policy; that is, as a new field of political analysis, the core of which is located within the European Dimension in Education as a primary political-educational paradigm. DISCUSSION. However, the characteristics and idiosyncrasy inherent to the concept, the analysis of the related documents and their historical sequence enable us to understand the European Dimension in Education, based on Roselló’s definition, as an educational movement within the European supranational educational policy, which originatesat a specific period of time, is developed and becomes established within the framework of their policies and ends up disappearing just after the European Year of Citizenship through Education (2005). In conclusion, this article aims to discuss the importance, to reclaim the sense and to clarify the concept of the European Dimension in Education, as a substantive component of the European educational policies, capable of regenerating Europeanism, European identity and citizenship from the educational dimension