EU polluting emissions: an empirical analysis

We provide an empirical study of the evolution of emissions of some specific air pollutants on a panel of EU member states from 1990 to 2000, and we relate observed patterns to macroeconomic performance. The ratio pollution emission to GDP, so-called emission intensity, has decreased over the period considered in most EU member states. However, a non-parametric analysis reveals that the relative positions of different countries in terms of GDP growth and reduction of emissions have remained basically unchanged. More specifically, remarkable differences can be detected between the richest and the poorest EU members notwithstanding. Also, more dispersion in emissions levels can be found in those countries with lower per capita GDP

EU Polluting Emissions: an empirical analysis

We provide an empirical study of the evolution of emissions of some specific air pollutants on a panel of EU member states from 1990 to 2000, and we relate observed patterns to macroeconomic performance. The ratio pollution emission to GDP, so-called emission intensity, has decreased over the period considered in most EU member states. However, a non-parametric analysis reveals that the relative positions of different countries in terms of GDP growth and reduction of emissions have remained basically unchanged. More specifically, remarkable differences can be detected between the richest and the poorest EU members notwithstanding. Also, more dispersion in emissions levels can be found in those countries with lower per capita GDP.Polluting emissions, European Union

Mixing asymmetries in B meson systems, the D0 like-sign dimuon asymmetry and generic New Physics

The measurement of a large like-sign dimuon asymmetry AbSL by the D0 experiment at the Tevatron departs noticeably from Standard Model expectations and it may be interpreted as a hint of physics beyond the Standard Model contributing to ΔB≠0 transitions. In this work we analyse how the natural suppression of AbSL in the SM can be circumvented by New Physics. We consider generic Standard Model extensions where the charged current mixing matrix is enlarged with respect to the usual 3×3 unitary Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix, and show how, within this framework, a significant enhancement over Standard Model expectations for AbSL is easily reachable through enhancements of the semileptonic asymmetries AdSL and AsSL of both B0d - B¯0d and B0s - B¯0s systems. Despite being insufficient to reproduce the D0 measurement, such deviations from SM expectations may be probed by the LHCb experiment

Comparativa del uso de HLLs en FPGA, GPU y Multicore para la aceleración de una aplicación de red IP

Afrontar la creación de aplicaciones a partir de lenguajes de alto nivel (High Level Lenguajes - HLLs) tiene la incuestionable ventaja de reducir el tiempo de desarrollo. Con ello, es viable una evaluación anticipada del prototipo para conocer cuanto antes si se alcanza el rendimiento especificado como objetivo. En este trabajo se han utilizando tres tecnologías de aceleración: multicore, coprocesador gráfico y coprocesador reconfigurable, que aprovechan el procesamiento paralelo, y se ha realizado una discusión crítica de su experiencia de uso a través de abstracciones de alto nivel. Las soluciones basadas en el uso de coprocesadores no sólo han aportado un nivel de rendimiento superior a la aplicación que se deseaba acelerar, sino que con vista al sistema final en producción, estas alternativas son especialmente interesantes por dejar libres los cores de procesamiento para la realización de las operaciones de envío/recepción en la red de comunicaciones

Learning Levels of Mario AI Using Genetic Algorithms

This procceding at: 16th Conference of the Spanish Association for Artificial Intelligence, CAEPIA 2015, took place at: November 9-12, 2015, in Albacete, Spain.This paper introduces an approach based on Genetic Algorithms to learn levels from the Mario AI simulator, based on the Infinite Mario Bros. game (which is, at the same time, based on the Super Mario World game from Nintendo). In this approach, an autonomous agent playing Mario is able to learn a sequence of actions in order to maximize the score, not looking at the current state of the game at each time. Different parameters for the Genetic Algorithm are explored, and two different stages are executed: in the first, domain independent genetic operators are used; while in the second knowledge about the domain is incorporated to these operators in order to improve the results. Results are encouraging, as Mario is able to complete very difficult levels full of enemies, resembling the behavior of an expert human player.This research work is co-funded by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce under grant agreement no. TSI-090302-2011-11.Publicad

FPGA acceleration using high-level languages of a Monte-Carlo method for pricing complex options

This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Journal of Systems Architecture. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Journal of Systems Architecture, 59, 3 (2013) DOI: 10.1016/j.sysarc.2013.01.004In this paper we present an FPGA implementation of a Monte-Carlo method for pricing Asian options using Impulse C and floating-point arithmetic. In an Altera Stratix-V FPGA, a 149x speedup factor was obtained against an OpenMP-based solution in a 4-core Intel Core i7 processor. This speedup is comparable to that reported in the literature using a classic HDL-based methodology, but the development time is significantly reduced. Additionally, the use of a HLL-based methodology allowed us to implement a high-quality Gaussian random number generator, which produces more precise results than those obtained with the simple generators usually present in HDL-based designs

Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery Based on a Cathode of Copper Hexacyanoferrate

In this work, the performance of copper(II) hexacyanoferrate(III) (CuHCF) as a cathode material for lithium-ion batteries was studied. The compound was synthesized by a precipitation reaction in aqueous solution in a closed system. The morphology and structure show nanoparticles with sizes between 40 and 70 nm with a high agglomeration and a crystalline phase with a cubic structure, respectively. The material exhibited a stable performance with a working potential of around 3.6 V vs Li+/Li and a decrease in the charge transfer resistance due to increased ionic conductivity. The gravimetric capacity obtained is near 60 mAh g−1 during 300 cycles at a rate of C/20, close to the practical capacity. Considering its electrochemical performance, CuHCF could be a promising cathode material for lithium-ion batteries

Characterization of a multidrug resistant Citrobacter amalonaticus clinical isolate harboring blaNDM-1 and mcr-1.5 genes

A multidrug resistant isolate, identified as Citrobacter amalonaticus using MALDI-TOF MS and confirmed by genomic analysis, was recovered from a pediatric patient in a hospital from Buenos Aires, Argentina. By whole-genome sequencing a total of 16 resistance genes were detected, including blaNDM-1 and mcr-1.5. To the best of our knowledge this is the first description of these two genes together in a clinical isolate of the Citrobacter genus.Fil: Faccone, Diego Francisco. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Dirección Nacional de Institutos de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Área de Antimicrobianos; ArgentinaFil: Albornoz, Ezequiel Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Dirección Nacional de Institutos de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Área de Antimicrobianos; ArgentinaFil: Tijet, Nathalie. Public Health Ontario; CanadáFil: Biondi, Estefania. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños "Ricardo Gutiérrez"; ArgentinaFil: Gómez, Sonia Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Dirección Nacional de Institutos de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Área de Antimicrobianos; ArgentinaFil: Pasteran, Fernando. Dirección Nacional de Institutos de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Área de Antimicrobianos; ArgentinaFil: Vazquez, Miryam. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños "Ricardo Gutiérrez"; ArgentinaFil: Melano, Roberto Gustavo. University of Toronto; Canadá. Public Health Ontario; CanadáFil: Corso, Alejandra. Dirección Nacional de Institutos de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Área de Antimicrobianos; Argentin

Spanish citizens’ opinions on future trends in cardiology as expressed in digital ecosystems

[Abstract] Patient-centred medicine is a healthcare approach that focuses on patients’ wants, needs and preferences. An obstacle to implement patient-centred medicine is the difficulty of obtaining data that is relevant and representative of the whole society. In 2019, the Spanish Society of Cardiology highlighted eight trends that would exert a determining influence on the future of cardiology: “demographics”, “economic environment”, “political environment”, “citizens’ expectations”, “incorporation of women”, “technological innovation”, “health levels and cardiovascular risk factors” and “healthcare organisation and management”. In order to assess these trends from a pacient-centred approach, the aim of this study is to evaluate the opinions of the individuals who are part of Spanish society, regarding the eight trends identified by the Spanish Society of Cardiology, using natural language processing tools to analyse the communications expressed by citizens in digital ecosystems and official channels of communication. We analysed communications published between 2007 and 2019. Natural language processing identified 17 areas of opinion that support the eight trends. We evaluated the impact of each area of opinion based on the standard metrics of online reputation: presence, emotion and reach. Thus, 257,456 communications were analysed. The most relevant trend was “healthcare organisation and management” (54% of the total impact), followed by “health levels and cardiovascular risk factors” and “demographics” (14% and 10%, respectively). The least relevant trend was “citizens’ expectations” (1%). Within the areas of opinion identified, the one with greatest impact was “the cardiologist” (16% of the total impact). In conclusion, the results of this research show that natural language processing tools are a useful tool for patient-centred medicine. The high impact associated with the cardiologist’s role, together with the low impact observed for “citizen’s expectations” show that Spanish citizens identify the cardiologist as the leading figure regarding their cardiovascular health