Influenza a from the rational choice theory: proposals for decision making in prevention policies

El artículo que presentamos es una reflexión sobre la incertidumbre social que gira en torno a la Gripe A y las consecuencias que puede generar en las decisiones sobre las polí- ticas de promoción de salud. Utilizamos conceptos y metáforas de la Teoría de la Elección Racional, entre ellas el “efecto ingratitud” y “el efecto desconfianza” y analizamos cómo estas pueden constituir obstáculos para la eficacia de las polí- ticas preventivas. Posteriormente, nos centramos en la asimetría informacional de la relación agente-principal y proponemos medidas para disminuir el “riesgo moral” que ocasionan. Por último, avanzamos algunas propuestas para el diseño de líneas y estrategias de actuación en políticas de promoción de salud.This article is a reflection on the social uncertainty caused by Influenza A and on the consequences that it can have on decision making in health promotion policies. We use concepts and metaphors of the Rational Choice Theory, among them, the “ingratitude effect” or the “distrust effect”, as we analyse how these can become obstacles for the efficiency of prevention policies. Then, we focus on the information asymmetry of the principal-agent relationship, and we propose measures to diminish the “moral risk” that they cause. We finish by advancing some proposals for designing lines and strategies of action in health promotion policies

Utilización de la realidad aumentada en el trabajo de campo geográfico: posibilidades y dificultades para su uso docente

La comunicación pretende evaluar las potencialidades de la realidad aumentada para el trabajo de campo de los alumnos en procesos de aprendizaje autónomo. En primer lugar, se hace una breve introducción acerca del concepto y la tecnología actual de la realidad aumentada, para, a continuación, presentar un estudio de caso referido al uso de esta tecnología dentro de un trabajo práctico realizado por alumnos del Grado de Geografía y Ordenación del Territorio. Finalmente, el trabajo reflexiona acerca de las posibilidades y limitaciones de la realidad aumentada en la geografía y plantea líneas de investigación

Antenna measurement and diagnostics processing techniques using unmanned aerial vehicles

European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP) (13th. 2019. Krakow, Poland

Unmanned aerial system for antenna measurement and diagnosis: evaluation and testing

This contribution analyses the performance of an unmanned aerial system for antenna measurement (UASAM) for different kinds of measurement scenarios. UASAM is conceived for antenna diagnostics and characterisation at the operational location of the antenna under test (AUT). The system measures the amplitude of the near field radiated by the AUT. Then, these measurements are post-processed using phase retrieval techniques and equivalent currents methods to obtain an electromagnetic model of the AUT. This model can be used for antenna diagnostics and for evaluating the far field pattern. Similar to antenna measurement systems in anechoic chamber, UASAM allows defining different acquisition grids depending on the type of AUT (planar, cylindrical, arc cylindrical), which also influences the flight time. In addition to this, the capability to measure circularly polarised antennas from amplitude-only measurements is presented, discussing the limitations found during the tests, and comparing the results with those from measurements at a spherical range in an anechoic chambe

Monitorización de laderas inestables mediante técnicas fotogramétricas a partir de vuelos UAV e históricos

Este trabajo presenta una metodología para la monitorización de laderas inestables mediante técnicas fotogramétricas, partiendo de vuelos UAV de muy alta resolución. Para ello se han realizado y analizado cuatro campañas de UAV desde noviembre de 2012 en una zona situada en las inmediaciones de la Guardia (Jaén), y además se ha utilizado un vuelo fotogramétrico previo de la misma zona. Los vuelos UAV se han realizado mediante una plataforma aérea ligera de tipo helicóptero o drone –provisto de GPS, sistema inercial y 8 rotores-, volando a 90 m de altura para cubrir una zona de unos 250 x 100 m con un tamaño de pixel centimétrico (2,5 cm). La orientación de los vuelos UAV se ha llevado a cabo mediante puntos de control medidos sobre el terreno con GPS, mientras que en los vuelos previos se han utilizado los parámetros de orientación directa y puntos de control de segundo orden, extraídos del último vuelo UAV que se toma como referencia. Los MDS de todas las campañas se han obtenido por correlación automática y posteriormente se han calculado los modelos diferenciales, lo que permitió estimar visualmente los cambios de la superficie. Al mismo tiempo se han obtenido las ortofotografías sobre las que se han medido los desplazamientos horizontales y verticales entre puntos relevantes del terreno. Se observan desplazamientos importantes entre algunas campañas (de orden centimétrico en la componente vertical y métrico en la horizontal) y próximos a 0 entre otras. Finalmente, se ha analizado la relación con las lluvias de los últimos años en la zona, encontrándose una correlación temporal significativa entre ambos fenómenos.Este trabajo ha sido financiado por los proyectos ISTEGEO RNM-06862 (Plan Andaluz de Investigación) y RICMI de la Corporación Tecnológica de Andalucía, así como el Grupo de Investigación PAIDI TEP-213

PI-based controller for low-power distributed inverters to maximise reactive current injection while avoiding over voltage during voltage sags

This paper is a postprint of a paper submitted to and accepted for publication in IET Power Electronics and is subject to Institution of Engineering and Technology Copyright. The copy of record is available at the IET Digital Library.In the recently deregulated power system scenario, the growing number of distributed generation sources should be considered as an opportunity to improve stability and power quality along the grid. To make progress in this direction, this work proposes a reactive current injection control scheme for distributed inverters under voltage sags. During the sag, the inverter injects, at least, the minimum amount of reactive current required by the grid code. The flexible reactive power injection ensures that one phase current is maintained at its maximum rated value, providing maximum support to the most faulted phase voltage. In addition, active power curtailment occurs only to satisfy the grid code reactive current requirements. As well as, a voltage control loop is implemented to avoid overvoltage in non-faulty phases, which otherwise would probably occur due to the injection of reactive current into an inductive grid. The controller is proposed for low-power rating distributed inverters where conventional voltage support provided by large power plants is not available. The implementation of the controller provides a low computational burden because conventional PI-based control loops may apply. Selected experimental results are reported in order to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.Peer ReviewedPostprint (updated version

Gait pattern and cognitive performance during treadmill walking in Parkinson disease

[Abstract] Objective: The aim of this study was to explore whether attentional demands are involved in gait improvements in Parkinson disease (PD) patients when they walk on a treadmill. Design: Nineteen individuals with idiopathic PD and 19 age-matched healthy controls participated in this study. Participants walked on a treadmill and on overground under single task (walk only) and dual task (walk performing a simultaneous cognitive task) conditions. The dual-task paradigm was used to reveal the attention allocation behavior. Gait pattern and cognitive performance was measured. Results: The PD group showed reduced gait variability when walking on a treadmill in comparison with overground. However, this reduction did not deteriorate during the dual task. Moreover, there were no differences in the cognitive performance between treadmill and overground walking. Conclusions: This study does not support the proposition attentional resource allocation as a possible mechanism for the treadmill-associated gait improvements observed in PD.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación; DEP2011-2246

Highly Enantioselective Iridium(I)-Catalyzed Hydrocarbonation of Alkenes: A Versatile Approach to Heterocyclic Systems Bearing Quaternary Stereocenters

We report a versatile, highly enantioselective intramolecular hydrocarbonation reaction that provides a direct access to heteropolycyclic systems bearing chiral quaternary carbon stereocenters. The method, which relies on an iridium(I)/bisphosphine chiral catalyst, is particularly efficient for the synthesis of five-, six- and seven-membered fused indole and pyrrole products, bearing one and two stereocenters, with enantiomeric excesses of up to >99 %. DFT computational studies allowed to obtain a detailed mechanistic profile and identify a cluster of weak non-covalent interactions as key factors to control the enantioselectivityThis work received financial support from the Spanish MINECO (SAF2016-76689-R, PID2019-108624RB-I00, CTQ2017-84767-P, PID2020-118579GB-I00), the Xunta de Galicia (ED431C 2017/19, 2015-CP082, Centro Singular de Investigación de Galicia accreditation 2019-2022, ED431G 2019/03, a predoctoral Fellowship to A. A. and M. C. and a postdoctoral Fellowship to D. F. F, ED481B-2019-005) and the ERDF, ERC (Adv. Grant No. 340055). The Orfeo-Cinqa network (CTQ2016-81797-REDC)S

Postural Stability and Cognitive Performance of Subjects With Parkinson's Disease During a Dual-Task in an Upright Stance

[Abstract] Background: The reviewed studies on center of pressure (COP) displacement in Parkinson’s disease (PD) subjects show important methodological differences and contradictory results with regard to healthy subjects. The dual-task paradigm method has been used to examine cognitive prioritization strategies to control concurrent postural and cognitive tasks. The motor requirements, such as pronouncing words, involved in the cognitive tasks used in double-task conditions could be related to the heterogeneity of the results. Research Objective: To compare postural sway and cognitive performance in subjects with PD and controls using a dual-task paradigm with a cognitive task free of motor demands. We tried to examine the prioritization strategy of PD patients regarding healthy adults to control for concurrent postural and cognitive tasks. Materials and Methods: 25 subjects with PD and 20 healthy controls carried out a postural task under both single-task and dual-task conditions. The postural task was to stand as still as possible, with eyes first open and then closed. The dual-task condition added a concurrent cognitive task based on phoneme monitoring. COP displacement variables and cognitive performance were compared between the groups and within-subject factors were also examined. Results: PD participants showed higher COP displacement results than the controls. All participants shortened the mean sway radius in dual-task conditions compared with single-task conditions; only healthy subjects presented less transversal COP sway in dual-task conditions than in single-task conditions. The cognitive performance of PD patients on a phoneme monitoring task worsened when they carried it out while maintaining balance in a standing position compared to sitting. The opposite effect occurred in control subjects. Conclusion: This study confirms the negative influence of Parkinson’s disease on the control of standing stability, increasing the COP sway amplitude. The attentional demands of a postural task, such as standing balance, may be greater in PD patients than in healthy subjects. This would affect the performance of patients during dual-task conditions to be able to control a postural task while performing other cognitive tasks. In these conditions, cognitive performance would be negatively affected. These results suggest that subjects with PD, at least during initial disease stages, prioritize postural control over other concurrent tasks, as is also seen in healthy subjects.The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support for the research received from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness (ref. DEP2017-87384-R