PVT-Robust CMOS Programmable Chaotic Oscillator: Synchronization of Two 7-Scroll Attractors

Designing chaotic oscillators using complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit technology for generating multi-scroll attractors has been a challenge. That way, we introduce a current-mode piecewise-linear (PWL) function based on CMOS cells that allow programmable generation of 2–7-scroll chaotic attractors. The mathematical model of the chaotic oscillator designed herein has four coefficients and a PWL function, which can be varied to provide a high value of the maximum Lyapunov exponent. The coefficients are implemented electronically by designing operational transconductance amplifiers that allow programmability of their transconductances. Design simulations of the chaotic oscillator are provided for the 0.35μ m CMOS technology. Post-layout and process–voltage–temperature (PVT) variation simulations demonstrate robustness of the multi-scroll chaotic attractors. Finally, we highlight the synchronization of two seven-scroll attractors in a master–slave topology by generalized Hamiltonian forms and observer approach. Simulation results show that the synchronized CMOS chaotic oscillators are robust to PVT variations and are suitable for chaotic secure communication applications.Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala CACyPI-UATx-2017Program to Strengthen Quality in Educational Institutions C/PFCE-2016-29MSU0013Y-07-23National Council for Science and Technology 237991 22284

A barley PHD finger transcription factor that confers male sterility by affecting tapetal development

Controlling pollen development is of major commercial importance in generating hybrid crops and selective breeding, but characterized genes for male sterility in crops are rare, with no current examples in barley. However, translation of knowledge from model species is now providing opportunities to understand and manipulate such processes in economically important crops. We have used information from regulatory networks in Arabidopsis to identify and functionally characterize a barley PHD transcription factor MALE STERTILITY1 (MS1), which expresses in the anther tapetum and plays a critical role during pollen development. Comparative analysis of Arabidopsis, rice and Brachypodium genomes was used to identify conserved regions in MS1 for primer design to amplify the barley MS1 gene; RACE-PCR was subsequently used to generate the full-length sequence. This gene shows anther-specific tapetal expression, between late tetrad stage and early microspore release. HvMS1 silencing and overexpression in barley resulted in male sterility. Additionally, HvMS1 cDNA, controlled by the native Arabidopsis MS1 promoter, successfully complemented the homozygous ms1 Arabidopsis mutant. These results confirm the conservation of MS1 function in higher plants and in particular in temperate cereals. This has provided the first example of a characterized male sterility gene in barley, which presents a valuable tool for the future control of male fertility in barley for hybrid development

DYRK1A: the double-edged kinase as a protagonist in cell growth and tumorigenesis

DYRK1A (dual-specificity tyrosine-regulated kinase 1A) is a kinase with multiple implications for embryonic development, especially in the nervous system where it regulates the balance between proliferation and differentiation of neural progenitors. The DYRK1A gene is located in the Down syndrome critical region and may play a significant role in the developmental brain defects, early neurodegeneration, and cancer susceptibility of individuals with this syndrome. DYRK1A is also expressed in adults, where it might participate in the regulation of cell cycle, survival, and tumorigenesis, thus representing a potential therapeutic target for certain types of cancer. However, the final readout of DYRK1A overexpression or inhibition depends strongly on the cellular context, as it has both tumor suppressor and oncogenic activities. Here, we will discuss the functions and substrates of DYRK1A associated with the control of cell growth and tumorigenesis with a focus on the potential use of DYRK1A inhibitors in cancer therapy.This study was supported by grants from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria, PI12/00775 and from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Red Temática de Investigación Cooperativa en Cancer (RD12/0036/0027) to PSG.S

νμ\nu_\mu disappearance at the SPL, T2K-I and the Neutrino Factory

We study the $\nu_\mu$ disappearance channel at T2K-phase I and the SPL and analyse the achievable reduction of present uncertainties in $\theta_{23}$ and $\Delta m^2_{23}$. We analyse the impact of discrete ambiguities in sign($\Delta m^2{23}$) and sign($2 \tan \theta_{23}$). We show how the disappearance channel at the Neutrino Factory is complementary to the ``golden'' and ``silver'' appearance channels and can be used to reduce the eightfold-ambiguity problem in ($\theta_{13}-\delta$).Comment: 2 pages, 3 epsfig; NUFACT'05, 21-26 June 2005, Frascat

Influencia del sedentarismo en las desviaciones raquídeas de la población escolar de Léon

Nuestra investigación trata de evaluar los hábitos sedentarios, en los escolares de 10 y 14 años de una zona de León, y su influencia en las desviaciones raquídeas. Para la obtención de los hábitos nos basamos en el tets de Medoza, R. también se realizó una evaluación física de los niños para observar las desviaciones raquídeas. En el tratamiento de la información se utilizó el análisis de la varianza univariante y multivariante, además del análisis de componentes principales y análisis discriminante. Llegando a la conclusión, respecto al tiempo de televisión que el día de la semana que más tiempo dedican los niños a ver la televisión es discrimante de los escolares que tienen desviación raquídea

Transformacións urbanas no sudoeste de vigo. 1940-2019

As intensas transformações urbanas de Vigo nas últimas décadas resultaram numa forma urbana híbrida e complexa, especialmente nas zonas de transição entre diferentes períodos de urbanização e nas zonas periféricas. No entanto, a habitual invisibilização destes espaços fez com que, com algumas excepções, os estudos urbanos tendessem a concentrar-se nas áreas onde as categorias de cidade compacta e cidade difusa são mais claramente expressas. Para além do facto de estas zonas intermédias não terem sido objecto de estudo preferencial, outras limitações à compreensão da evolução da forma urbana nestas áreas são as múltiplas camadas que actuaram neste espaço e a falta de cartografia que ajuda a compreender como os diferentes processos de urbanização tiveram impacto na forma urbana resultante. Por esta razão, a reconstrução da cartografia em diferentes períodos é uma base essencial para analisar a transformação da forma urbana. Neste trabalho reconstruímos, pela primeira vez, a forma urbana década a década, desde os anos 40 até ao presente, da zona sudoeste da cidade, permitindo-nos assim analisar as transformações urbanas do sudoeste de Vigo nos últimos oitenta anos, os processos generativos e os padrões da forma urbana. A análise é realizada recorrendo ao repertório teórico dos estudos de raíz morfogenética, que entendem a forma urbana como uma dimensão em que diferentes aspectos são sintetizados. Com base neste quadro teórico, são identificados os principais aspectos socioeconómicos e de planeamento para cada período estudado, e são analisados os principais aspectos da forma urbana resultante, estabelecendo-se a relação entre os factores que impulsionam os processos e a forma resultante. As principais conclusões retiradas da investigação são, por um lado, o papel fundamental desempenhado pelo planeamento no processo de peri-urbanização de baixa densidade; a identificação de três fases caracterizadas por diferentes estratégias e formas de compreender a periferia e o seu papel no conjunto urbano; e, finalmente, como a forma urbana actual é o resultado de tudo o anterior.As intensas transformacións urbanas de Vigo nas últimas décadas deron como resultado unha forma urbana híbrida e complexa, especialmente nas zonas de transición entre diferentes períodos urbanizadores, e nas zonas de periferia. Porén, a habitual invisibilización destes espazos fai con que, salvo excepcións, os estudos urbanos tendan a centrarse naqueles espazos onde se expresa de forma máis nidia as categorías de cidade compacta ou de cidade difusa. Alén de que estas zonas intermedias non teña sido tema de estudo preferentes, outros dos handicaps para comprender a evolución da forma urbana nestas áreas son as múltiples capas que actúaron sobre este espazo e a falta de cartografías que axuden a comprender como os distintos procesos urbanizadores impactaron na forma urbana. É por iso que a reconstrución da cartografía en diferentes períodos constitúe unha base imprescindible para analizar a transformación da forma urbana. Neste traballo fíxose a reconstrución da forma urbana década a década dende os anos 1940 até a actualidade, da área sudoeste da cidade, que permiten analizar as transformacións urbanas do sudoeste de Vigo nos últimos oitenta anos, os procesos xenerativos e os patróns da forma urbana. Para enfrontar a análise emprégase o repertorio teórico dos estudos de raíz morfoxenética, que comprenden a forma urbana como dimensión na que se sintetizan distintos aspectos. A partir deste marco teórico identifícanse para cada período estudado, os principais aspectos socioeconómicos e da planificación, e analízanse os principais aspectos da forma urbana resultante, establecendo a relación entre os factores que impulsan os procesos e a forma resultante. As principais conclusións que se extraen da investigación son, por unha banda, o papel fundamental que xogou a planificación no proceso de periurbanización de baixa densidade; a identificación de tres etapas singularizadas por diferentes estratexias e maneiras de entendera periferia e o seu rol no conxunto urbano; e, finalmente, como a forma urbana actual é resultado de todo o anterior.The intense urban transformations of Vigo in the last decades resulted in a hybrid and complex urban form, especially in the transition zones between different urbanizing periods and in the peripheral areas. However, the usual invisibilization of these spaces has meant that, with few exceptions, urban studies have tended to focus on those areas where the categories of compact city and diffuse city are most clearly expressed. Beyond the fact that these intermediate zones have not been the subject of preferential study, other handicaps to understanding the evolution of urban form in these areas are the multiple layers that acted on this space and the lack of cartographies that help to understand how the different urbanizing processes impacted the resulting urban form. For this reason, the reconstruction of the cartography in different periods constitutes an essential basis for analyzing the transformation of the urban form. In this work, for the first time, the reconstruction of the urban form decade by decade, from the 1940s to the present, of the southwest area of the city is performed, thus allowing to analyze the urban transformations of the southwest of Vigo in the last eighty years, the generative processes and the patterns of the urban form. The analysis is carried out by resorting to the theoretical repertoire of morphogenetic root studies, which understand urban form as a dimension in which different aspects are synthesized. From this theoretical framework, the main socioeconomic and planning aspects are identified for each period studied, and the main aspects of the resulting urban form are analyzed, establishing the relationship between the factors that drive the processes and the resulting form. The main conclusions drawn from the research are, on the one hand, the fundamental role played by planning in the process of low-density peri-urbanization; the identification of three stages characterized by different strategies and ways of understanding the periphery and its role in the urban ensemble; and, finally, how the current urban form is the result of all of the above

Two-dimensional plasmons in the random impedance network model of disordered thin-film nanocomposites

Random impedance networks are widely used as a model to describe plasmon resonances in disordered metal-dielectric nanocomposites. In order to study thin films, two-dimensional networks are often used despite the fact that such networks correspond to a two-dimensional electrodynamics [J.P. Clerc et al, J. Phys. A 29, 4781 (1996)]. In the present work, we propose a model of two-dimensional systems with three-dimensional Coulomb interaction and show that this model is equivalent to a planar network with long-range capacitive connections between sites. In a case of a metal film, we get a known dispersion $\omega \propto \sqrt{k}$ of plane-wave two-dimensional plasmons. In the framework of the proposed model, we study the evolution of resonances with decreasing of metal filling factor. In the subcritical region with metal filling $p$ lower than the percolation threshold $p_c$, we observe a gap with Lifshitz tails in the spectral density of states (DOS). In the supercritical region $p>p_c$, the DOS demonstrates a crossover between plane-wave two-dimensional plasmons and resonances associated with small clusters.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, revtex; references adde

Current status of IMRT in head and neck cancer

AbstractBackgroundIMRT provides highly conformal dose distributions creating non uniform spatial intensity using different segments in the beam.Material & Methods and ResultsDifferent retrospective studies have shown a high capability of IMRT to treat tumours close to the base of skull. Prospective studies have shown a decrease in xerostomia compared with conventional 3D conformal treatment (3DCRT). Modulation of intensity is performed by the movement of the multileaf collimator (MLC) that can deliver the radiation in different ways, such as static field segments, dynamic field segments and rotational delivery (arc therapy and tomotherapy). There are slight differences among the different techniques in terms of homogeneity, dose conformity and treatment delivery time.ConclusionsThe best method to deliver IMRT will depend on multiple factors such as deliverability, practicality, user training and plan quality

Integration of a Canine Agent in a Wireless Sensor Network for Information Gathering in Search and Rescue Missions

Search and rescue operations in the context of emergency response to human or natural disasters have the major goal of finding potential victims in the shortest possible time. Multi-agent teams, which can include specialized human respondents, robots and canine units, complement the strengths and weaknesses of each agent, like all-terrain mobility or capability to locate human beings. However, efficient coordination of heterogeneous agents requires specific means to locate the agents, and to provide them with the information they require to complete their mission. The major contribution of this work is an application of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) to gather information from a multi-agent team and to make it available to the rest of the agents while keeping coverage. In particular, a canine agent has been equipped with a mobile node installed on a harness, providing information about the dog’s location as well as gas levels. The configuration of the mobile node allows for flexible arrangement of the system, being able to integrate static as well as mobile nodes. The gathered information is available at an external database, so that the rest of the agents and the control center can use it in real time. The proposed scheme has been tested in realistic scenarios during search and rescue exercises