Grafting melons onto potential cucumis spp. rootstocks

Cucumís melo is an economically importar]t crop. Its culture is hampered by differen t types of soil stresses. Grafting melons onto different resistant cucurbits belonging to the genera, Cucurbíta, Lagenaría, Luffa, etc. have been successfully used to avoid these problems. However, me Ion quality has been nega.tively modified as a consequence of grafting. In general, variation in fruit shape, seed cavity and sugar content have been observed. The use of rootstocks more genetically c\oser to the melon scions could be useful to obtain fru i ts with better quality from melon grafted plantsPostprint (published version

Teletándem: actividad interactiva del discente de I/LE y su percepción mediante una encuesta de autoevaluación

El curso 2009-2010 se puso en marcha un proyecto de trabajo colaborativo a distancia (Teletándem), inscrito en el ámbito del EEES, entre las universidades de Alicante y Suor Orsola Benincasa de Nápoles que se vio ampliado posteriormente con la de Salerno. La actividad pretende ejercitar producción, recepción e interacción oral entre discentes (E/LE e I/LE) y nativos italófonos e hispanófonos (que alternan entre sí el rol de interlocutor nativo y no nativo), utilizando Skype y Pamela for Skype que permite grabar las conversaciones. Éstas forman parte del portfolio discente, con diferente presencia en el mismo en función del programa establecido por cada docente. Además se está recopilando un corpus oral de interlengua en italiano y español, CORINÉI (corpus comparable bilingüe). En esta comunicación, fruto de la red 2991 de investigación en docencia universitaria que estamos llevando a cabo y, a partir de un cuestionario extenso respondido voluntariamente por los participantes, trataremos aspectos de autoevaluación, reflexión y análisis sobre la actividad desde la perspectiva de los propios discentes. Aquí nos referiremos únicamente a las cuestiones relativas a la línea I/LE de la UA (que se verá completada con otra propuesta paralela desde la línea E/LE, por otros miembros de la red)

Dielectric control of spin in semiconductor spherical quantum dots

The ground state electronic configuration of semiconductor spherical quantum dots populated with different numbers of excess electrons, for different radii and dielectric constants of the embedding medium is calculated and the corresponding phase diagram drawn. To this end, an extension of the spin density functional theory to study systems with variable effective mass and dielectric constant is employed. Our results show that high/low spin configurations can be switched by appropriate changes in the quantum dot embedding environment and suggest the use of the quantum dot spin as a sensor of the dielectric response of medi

High-sensitivity large-area photodiode read-out using a divide-and-conquer technique

In this letter, we present a novel technique to increase the sensitivity of optical read-out with large integrated photodiodes (PD). It consists of manufacturing the PD in several pieces, instead of a single device, and connecting a dedicated transimpedance amplifier (TIA) to each of these pieces. The output signals of the TIAs are combined, achieving a higher signal-to-noise ratio than with the traditional approach. This work shows a remarkable improvement in the sensitivity and transimpedance without the need for additional modifications or compensation techniques. As a result, an increase in sensitivity of 7.9 dBm and transimpedance of 8.7 dBO for the same bandwidth is achieved when dividing the photodiode read-out into 16 parallel paths. The proposed divide-and-conquer technique can be applied to any TIA design, and it is also independent of the core amplifier structure and fabrication process, which means it is compatible with every technology allowing the integration of PDs

Teletándem y CORINÉI: las nuevas tecnologías para el aula de I/LE en la UA

De la colaboración entre UA, UNISOB y UNISA nace en 2009 un proyecto de teletándem entre estudiantes de IL/E y EL/E para ejercitar la interacción oral entre hablantes nativos (HN) y no nativos (HNN). Cada universidad adapta esa actividad a sus respectivos programas docentes que, en la UA en el grado en Traducción e Interpretación, se integra como tarea fuera del aula aportando contenido a prácticas reconocidas en las guías docentes de los cursos: trabajo dirigido y evaluación de la lengua oral (la producción conversacional “HNN/HN” sustituye al clásico examen “discente/docente”). El objetivo final de la tarea, colaborativa y evaluable, pretende ofrecer al discente la oportunidad de interaccionar con nativos a través de las TICs, enfrentarse a problemas de carácter pragmático y sociolingüístico en conversación espontánea, reflexionar sobre aspectos metalingüísticos y tomar conciencia del propio proceso de enseñanza/aprendizaje. El material producido (HNN/HN), clasificado y en proceso de digitalización, configura un corpus de interlengua oral español/italiano (CORINÉI), dirigido a la investigación y la metodología contrastiva de estas lenguas afines. En el póster que proponemos ilustraremos las aportaciones de Teletándem y CORINÉI en calidad de herramientas de trabajo didácticas en I/LE impartida en la UA y presentaremos la página web que las alojará

Bridging the gap between cluster and grid computing

The Internet computing model with its ubiquitous networking and computing infrastructure is driving a new class of interoperable applications that benefit both from high computing power and multiple Internet connections. In this context, grids are promising computing platforms that allow to aggregate distributed resources such as workstations and clusters to solve large-scale problems. However, because most parallel programming tools were primarily developed for MPP and cluster computing, to exploit the new environment higher abstraction and cooperative interfaces are required. Rocmeμ is a platform originally designed to support the operation of multi-SAN clusters that integrates application modeling and resource allocation. In this paper we show how the underlying resource oriented computation model provides the necessary abstractions to accommodate the migration from cluster to multicluster grid enabled computing

Radio over fiber: An alternative broadband network technology for Iot

Wireless broadband access networks have been positioning themselves as a good solution for manufacturers and users of IoT (internet of things) devices, due mainly to the high data transfer rate required over terminal devices without restriction of information format. In this work, a review of two Radio over Fiber strategies is presented. Both have excellent performance and even offer the possibility to extend wireless area coverage where mobile networks do not reach or the 802.11 network presents issues. Radio Frequency over Fiber (RFoF) and intermediate Frequency over Fiber (IFoF) are two transmission strategies compatible with the required new broadband services and both play a key role in the design of the next generation integrated optical–wireless networks, such as 5G and Satcom networks, including on RAU (Remote Antenna Unit) new functionalities to improve their physical dimensions, employing a microelectronic layout over nanometric technologies

Programmable low-power low-noise capacitance to voltage converter for MEMS accelerometers

In this work, we present a capacitance-to-voltage converter (CVC) for capacitive accelerometers based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Based on a fully-differential transimpedance amplifier (TIA), it features a 34-dB transimpedance gain control and over one decade programmable bandwidth, from 75 kHz to 1.2 MHz. The TIA is aimed for low-cost low-power capacitive sensor applications. It has been designed in a standard 0.18-µm CMOS technology and its power consumption is only 54 µW. At the maximum transimpedance configuration, the TIA shows an equivalent input noise of 42 fA/vHz at 50 kHz, which corresponds to 100 µg/vHz

Retrofitting strategies for improving the energy and environmental efficiency in industrial furnaces: A case study in the aluminium sector

This study aims to analyse some of the most relevant issues that the energy intensive industry needs to face in order to improve its energy and environmental performance based on innovative retrofitting strategies. To this end, a case study based on the aluminium industry, as one of the most relevant within the European energy intensive industry has been thoroughly discussed. In particular, great efforts must be addressed to reduce its environmental impact; specifically focusing on the main stages concerning the manufacturing of an aluminium billet, namely alloy production, heating, extrusion and finishing. Hence, an innovative DC (direct current) induction technology with an expected 50% energy efficiency increase is used for retrofitting conventional techniques traditionally based on natural gas and AC (alternating current) induction. A life cycle assessment was applied to analyse three different scenarios within four representative European electricity mixes. The results reported reductions up to 8% of Green House Gases emissions in every country. France presented the best-case scenario applying only DC induction; unlike Greece, which showed around 150% increment. However, the suitability of the new DC induction technology depends on the electricity mix, the technological scenario and the environmental impact indicators. Finally, environmental external costs were assessed with comparison purposes to evaluate the increase of energy and environmental efficiency in existing preheating and melting industrial furnaces currently fed with natural gas