Application-layer Performance Analysis of PRIME in Smart Metering Networks

This paper assesses the performance of actual PRIME v1.3.6 and PRIME v1.4 systems when used for Smart Metering applications. The analysis is performed at the application level using the DLMS/COSEM stack. Hence, it considers performance indicators that are of practical interest for distribution system operators, such as the availability and the average time needed to read the energy load profile of all the meters. To this end, two test networks with 112 smart meters have been deployed in the laboratory (to ensure the stability of the network). In one of them all the Service Nodes communicate directly with the Base Node, while there exist up to 5 switching levels in the other tested network. First, the PRIME v1.3.6 system is evaluated, stressing the significant performance gain that can be obtained by implementing some MAC layer strategies, which are compatible with the specification but not specifically defined on it. Then,the improvement offered by the PRIME v1.4 system is assessed.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Dinámica de sistemas, política económica y política monetaria

System Dynamics, Economic Policy, and Monetary Policy. The advances in the Systems Approach and its tools are, in our view, well-known and undeniable. Altogether, they possess a great capacity, both for the understanding of the complex reality of social systems, and for permitting computer-simulated experiments with a considerable degree of realism, at low cost and with little risk. However, traditional Economic Analysis would appear to be impervious to these advances, remaining for the most part within an analytical-reductionist framework at some distance from reality. In the present study, our aim is to use the Systems Approach, and within it the instrumentation offered by the conceptualization phase of System Dinamics modelling, in orderto inter-relate the various objectives of Economic Policy in Spain, and to relate these to Monetary Policy, whose objectives must be subordinated to the former. The transparency and clarity of this approach and its tools facilitate significantly an understanding of the complex economic reality of this country, representing, in our judgment, a powerful tool for the transmission and assimilation of knowledge in Economics.El avance experimentado por el Enfoque de Sistemas y sus instrumentos resulta, a nuestro juicio, notorio e indiscutible. El conjunto posee una gran capacidad, tanto para la comprensión de la compleja realidad de los sistemas sociales, como para permitir experimentos simulados en ordenador con un notable grado de realismo y con escaso coste y riesgo. Sin embargo, el Análisis Económico convencional parece permanecer impermeable a tales avances y se mantiene, por lo general, dentro de un marco analítico-reduccionista bastante alejado de la realidad. En el presente trabajo, pretendemos utilizar el Enfoque de Sistemas y, dentro de él, la instrumentación ofrecida por la fase de conceptualización del modelado con Dinámica de Sistemasl, para relacionar los distintos objetivos de la Política Económica en España y a éstos con la Política Monetaria, cuyas metas deben supeditarse a los primeros. La transparencia y claridad ofrecida por dicho enfoque y sus instrumentos facilitan, de forma importante, la comprensión de la compleja realidad económica de este país pudiendo constituir, a nuestro juicio, un potente utensilio para la transmisión y asimilación del conocimiento en Economía

Nogo, myelin and axonal regeneration

El sistema nerviós dels mamífers té una baixa capacitat de reparació axonal després d'una lesió. En els últims anys, diversos estudis han demostrat que els axons lesionats no poden recréixer a causa de la presència d'un gran nombre de molècules inhibitòries. Les molècules associades a la mielina limiten el creixement axonal i el seu bloqueig afavoreix la regeneració de diverses connexions. Tres d'aquestes proteïnes, Nogo, MAG i OMgp, comparteixen un mateix receptor: NgR. El clonatge recent de Nogo ha obert noves vies per estudiar la regeneració axonal. No obstant això, molts dels elements involucrats en la via inhibitòria de la mielina són desconeguts, i els primers estudis amb animals knockout són, a més, contradictoris. Per aquesta raó, Nogo i el seu receptor han de caracteritzar-se abans de desenvolupar noves tècniques per promoure regeneració axonal.Adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS) axons have very limited capacity of regrowth after injury. In recent years, advances in the field of axonal regeneration have proved that neurons do not regenerate, mainly because of the presence of inhibitory molecules. Myelin-associated proteins limit axonal outgrowth and their blockage improves the regeneration of damaged fiber tracts. Three of these proteins, Nogo, MAG and OMgp, share a common neuronal receptor (NgR), and together represent one of the main hindrances to neuronal regeneration. The recent molecular cloning of Nogo and its receptors opened a new door to the study of axon regeneration. However, many of the elements involved in the myelin inhibitory pathway are still unknown, and the preliminary experiments with knockout mice are rather contradictory. Because of this complexity, Nogo and NgR need to be characterized before precise strategies to promote axon regeneration in the CNS can be designed

Multilayer hazes over Saturn’s hexagon from Cassini ISS limb images

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Sampling Frequency Error Estimators for PRIME v1.4 systems

The performance of PRIME v1.4 systems might be severely degraded by a sampling frequency offset (SFO). This work addresses the problem of the SFO estimation by means of the pilots transmitted in the header and payload symbols. Estimators based on the best linear unbiased estimation principle are proposed and the frame error rate (FER) achieved with them is assessed both in an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel and in a set of 174 links obtained from measurements. Results indicate that the estimator based on the header symbols suffices to achieve almost the same performance of the no SFO case. Gains are shown to be particularly important when only the highest PRIME channel is employed and uncoded DQPSK and D8PSK are used.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Cephalopods caught in the outer Patagonian shelf and its upper and medium slope in relation to the main oceanographic features

Ninety cephalopod specimens were collected during the bottom trawl survey ATLANTIS 2009 undertaken between 24 February and 1 April 2009 The surveyed area was the zone between parallels 44◦and 48◦S, east of the Argentinean EEZ down to the 1500m depth on the HS of the SW Atlantic The collection was composed of 16 species of squids and 5 of octopods. The best represented groups were Histioteuthida (5 species) and Octopodidae(5). The most abundant species were Gonatusantarcticus(25.5%), Histioteuthisatlantica (11.1%), and Muusoctopuseureka (8.9%) The geographic and/or bathymetric distribution ranges of 9 species are extended, and this is the first record of Galiteuthis glacialis outside circumpolar Antarctic water

Valorization of Tomato Processing by-Products: Fatty Acid Extraction and Production of Bio-Based Materials

A method consisting of the alkaline hydrolysis of tomato pomace by-products has been optimized to obtain a mixture of unsaturated and polyhydroxylated fatty acids as well as a non-hydrolysable secondary residue. Reaction rates and the activation energy of the hydrolysis were calculated to reduce costs associated with chemicals and energy consumption. Lipid and non-hydrolysable fractions were chemically (infrared (IR) spectroscopy, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS)) and thermally (differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)) characterized. In addition, the fatty acid mixture was used to produce cutin-based polyesters. Freestanding films were prepared by non-catalyzed melt-polycondensation and characterized by Attenuated Total Reflected-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), DSC, TGA, Water Contact Angles (WCA), and tensile tests. These bio-based polymers were hydrophobic, insoluble, infusible, and thermally stable, their physical properties being tunable by controlling the presence of unsaturated fatty acids and oxygen in the reaction. The participation of an oxidative crosslinking side reaction is proposed to be responsible for such modifications.Andalusian Regional Government P11-TEP-7418Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad AGL2015-65246-R and AGL2017-83036-RFondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) AGL2015-65246-R and AGL2017-83036-

5G Spectrum: enabling the future mobile landscape

© 2015 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.The arrival of the fifth generation (5G) is expected to come together with three important enablers. First, the densification of access nodes will continue. Second, 5G networks must be highly flexible and adapt to the dynamism of the traffic location and patterns. For this, some of the radio access network (RAN) functionalities will run in large computer centers, able to dynamically assign more or fewer units of computation to the virtual cells distributed in the network. Finally, a complex landscape of spectrum availability and access will emerge where multiple frequency bands, subject to different regulations including various forms of shared spectrum, are expected to be available to wireless communication systems.Schotten, HD.; Uusitalo, MA.; Monserrat Del Río, JF.; Queseth, O. (2015). 5G Spectrum: enabling the future mobile landscape. IEEE Communications Magazine. 53(7):16-17. doi:10.1109/MCOM.2015.7158260S161753

Impacto de las características de la red eléctrica en canales MIMO PLC domésticos

The recent release of indoor Power Line Communications (PLC) specifications with Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) capabilities has significantly increased the bit rates achieved in these channels. However, the performance reached by the use of these methods may differ from one location to another due to the heterogeneous nature of the domestic power grid. In this work, a closer look at the relation between channel performance and the power grid cabling is taken. To that end, some channel features like attenuation, spatial correlation and capacity are analyzed by means of a set of 50 simulated channel topologies in the frequency band from 1 to 80 MHz.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech