Multimode interference filter to solve degradation on coupler common-mode rejection

After quantifying degradation of a common mode rejection ratio (CMRR) 3dB-coupler due to excitation of TE01 mode, a novel compact circuit including multimode interference (MMI) coupler+bend+MMI+filter (CBF) is proposed. We show a CBF circuit has better CMRR at the expense of moderate loss. A complete tolerance analysis to main geometrical parameters has also been carried out.Publicad

Strategies for development of media literacy in Primary: Action proposal

La competencia digital desempeña un papel fundamental en la formación de los estudiantes actualmente. Sólo tenemos que considerar que la tecnología es ubicua en la vida de los estudiantes y también en sus rutinas diarias. Las escuelas deben plantearse cómo implementar e integrar en el currículo la tecnología educativa. La alfabetización mediática se refiere al conocimiento y destrezas que el alumnado debe adquirir para poder analizar, evaluar y crear mensajes mediáticos. Este artículo trata sobre alumnado entre 8 y 11 años que no tiene formación multimedia previa, y aprende lo básico sobre la competencia digital, así como el impacto que esa formación tiene en su progreso académico. Dada la edad de la muestra, las destrezas mediáticas trabajadas no han ido más allá de las tecnológicas, aunque algunas habilidades evaluadoras y críticas se han practicado oralmente. Los resultados muestran que los estudiantes han mejorado significativamente sus destrezas básicas y también su conocimiento sobre los media. Sin embargo, no podemos concluir que una formación tan corta y básica impacte su progreso académico.Digital competency plays an essential role in students' training nowadays. We just need to consider that technology is ubiquitous in students' lives and also part of their daily routines. Schools need to address how ICT is going to be implemented and integrated into the curriculum. Media literacy refers to the knowledge and skills individuals are to be achieved in order to analyze, evaluate, or produce media messages. This article is about how 8 to 11 years old students with no previous background, learn the basics on ICT and its impact on their grades. Because of students' age, literacy skills do not go beyond creating media messages, although some critical and evaluative skills were also orally practiced. Results show that students have significantly improved their basic skills and also their knowledge on media. However, we cannot conclude that this type of short in time and basic training impacts their academic grades

EMBT haciendo (casi) nada en Mercaders = EMBT doing (almost) nothing in Mercaders

Cualquier indagación sobre proyectos representativos en la historia contemporánea de la vivienda, nos lleva inevitablemente a darnos cuenta como predomina en gran parte de ellos una actitud que tiene que ver con producir indiscriminadamente nuevos productos arquitectónicos. EMBT construyen su propia casa en la calle Mercaders de Barcelona, e inciden en entender la arquitectura no como la creación de nuevos productos sino como una capa más dentro de un sustrato ya informado(materia no prima), una característica puramente postproductiva. Como ellos apuntan su nueva capa de información se ‘instala’, añade sólo información precisa de su tiempo, pero no intenta volver hacia atrás ni rehabilitar o restaurar el edificio existente. Esta comunicación persigue poner de manifiesto la existencia velada de esta otra actitud dentro del campo de la vivienda, una actitud no opuesta y si complementaria, que opera desde una voluntad de no ser, de hacer con (casi) nada. ABSTRACT: Any inquiry about representative projects in the contemporary history of housing, lead us to inevitably understand how in lots of them dominates an attitude related to the indiscriminate production of new architectural products. EMBT build their own house on Mercaders street of Barcelona, and promote the understanding of architecture not as the creation of new products but as a new layer within a substrate already full of information (not a raw material), a feature purely postproductive. As they point, the new information layer is ‘installed’, adds only precise information of its time, but does not try to get back or restore the existing building. This paper aims to demonstrate the veiled existence of this different attitude within the housing field, an attitude not opposed but complementary, that works from a desire of not to do, a desire to do with (almost) nothing

Channel estimation and prediction in a pilot-less massive MIMO TDD using non-coherent DMPSK

A novel time division duplex massive MIMO technique is proposed based on performing a pilot-less channel estimation in the uplink (UL) utilizing reconstructed differentially encoded data. Spatial multiplexing and differentially encoded data is applied both in the UL and in the downlink (DL). In this system, a reference signal is the first one of the differentially encoded streams in the UL and DL, and the pilots for data estimation are avoided while maintaining spatial multiplexing capabilities. To improve the channel estimation we propose to use a linear Wiener filter and we also propose different symbols placing strategies in an OFDM grid. We also propose a detection improvement of the UL data utilizing the predicted channels. We perform an analysis of the MSE of the blind channel estimation using the differentially encoded data and analyze the symbol-error-rate for both the UL and the DL when channel aging is considered. The analysis is corroborated via numerical results and the proposed scheme is shown to outperform its pilot-based counterpart.This work was supported in part by the European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie European Training Network (ETN) TeamUp5G under Grant 813391, and in part by the Spanish National Project IRENE-EARTH (MINECO/AEI/FEDER/UE) under Grant PID2020-115323RB-C33

Structural analysis and sintering aids effects in La2Ce2O7 proton conductors

Global warming is an important problem that has to be solved without delay. The development of environmental-friendly energy technology is needed to deal with this issue. Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) technology has been proposed as a real alternative to fossil fuel combustion. Proton conductors like La2Ce2O7 (LDC), has several advantages in comparison with BaCeO3 due to its high stability in H2O or CO2 conditions [1]. Furthermore, for industry application is necessary to low the high sintering temperature of typical electrolyte materials. La2Ce2O7 was synthesized by the freeze-drying precursor method and calcination conditions have been optimized to obtain single phase with high compaction at 1400 ºC for 1h. A fully characterization has been carried out using X-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The total conductivity was determined by complex impedance spectroscopy in dry and wet air. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) was used to clarify certainly the structure of La2Ce2O7 due to its still unknown. SAEDs patterns revealed a disordered fluorite, not appearing secondary reflections typical of pyrochlore superstructure, finishing the controversy around the correct structure in this material [2,3]. Moreover, an exhaustive study about lowering the sintering temperature with Co and Zn as sintering aids has been investigated obtaining electrolytes that can be used for SOFC. The sintering aids were impregnated using cobalt and zinc nitrates in ethanol media. Both sintering aids allow for obtain high dense pellets lowering the sintering temperature 300 ºC and 400 ºC for samples with cobalt and zinc, respectively, without compromising the electrical and microstructural properties (Fig 1).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Principal Component Analysis of Results Obtained from Finite-Difference Time-Domain Algorithms

Finite-Differences Time-Domain (FDTD) algorithms are well established tools of computational electromagnetism. Because of their practical implementation as computer codes, they are affected by many numerical artefact and noise. In order to obtain better results we propose using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) based on multivariate statistical techniques. The PCA has been successfully used for the analysis of noise and spatial temporal structure in a sequence of images. It allows a straightforward discrimination between the numerical noise and the actual electromagnetic variables, and the quantitative estimation of their respective contributions. Besides, The GDTD results can be filtered to clean the effect of the noise. In this contribution we will show how the method can be applied to several FDTD simulations: the propagation of a pulse in vacuum, the analysis of two-dimensional photonic crystals. In this last case, PCA has revealed hidden electromagnetic structures related to actual modes of the photonic crystal

Aproximación al "esquema L" de Lacan y sus implicaciones en la clínica (parte I)

En la segunda parte del trabajo intentamos presentar el funcionamiento global del “esquema L” y demostrar su utilidad práctica en el tratamiento analítico. En este sentido, en las relaciones sociales es el “yo” el que tiene todo el protagonismo, mientras el “sujeto” queda excluido de las mismas; de ahí que estos contactos cotidianos se muestren como la incomunicación más radical, aunque parezca lo contrario. El tratamiento que realizamos, por contra, debe escapar a esos parámetros, pues durante el mismo se procura que el “imaginario” facilite progresivamente la manifestación del “sujeto del inconsciente” en toda su dimensión, traspasando las constantes y molestas interferencias yoicas. Este procedimiento, si se realiza adecuadamente como Lacan nos enseña, permite que la “palabra plena” fluya entre paciente y analista, de modo tal que el contacto que se produzca sea de “sujeto” a “sujeto”, mientras que en las relaciones sociales las conexiones se formulan en términos de “ego” y “alter ego”. Para lograrlo, quién se coloque al lado del paciente debe saber que ha de ocupar el lugar de la alteridad radical, del “Otro”, y no del “otro” especula

Psychological Problems Derived from Mastectomy: A Qualitative Study

Advances in treatment of breast cancer have not avoided using mastectomy in all cases, and when this happens, we are dealing with a woman who is suffering from psychological problems. In order to study this issue we have carried out a research with the collaboration of The Andalusian Association of Women with Mastectomies (AMAMA) in Seville, which provided us with a sample of 46 mastectomized women. The objective of this study is to analyze in depth the psychological reaction of women to mastectomy through its different stages from diagnosis to surgical treatment. We chose a cualitative method so as to explore the subjective components of psicologycal respons. As a result, we found in studied women: (a) The “fracture” of the “corporal imaginary” related to the disappearance of a valuable organ, linked to the feeling of loss of personal attractiveness, low self-esteem and avoidance of social relationships. (b) The problem with “femininity” has been linked to the issue of “desirability”, something innate in the “feminine position”. (c) Many of them keep in mind the idea of mutilation, as a “hole” which is impossible to integrate. (d) Finally, we demonstrate how certain features of personality made them especially vulnerable to the explained phenomena

Interest Groups Incentives to Cooperate in the Production of Information in the Context of the EU Policy-Making

[Abstract] The literature on information economics serves the European Commission to justify the participation of interest groups in response to problems of asymmetric information in the European Union (EU) policy-making processes. Using the framework of the agency theory, the role of interest groups as information producers is incorporated into a model where the types of conditions in which they would have the incentive to cooperate in the production of information are examined. The results of the model show that the interest group’s expected utility when acting independently is equal to the reserve utility, while it increases when acting cooperatively. It can therefore be concluded that incentives for cooperation in the production of information among interest groups exist. One potential policy implication for the EU is that the EC could decrease the conditions of the contracts, thereby diminishing the costs of obtaining information

Perception of employers and employees regarding the attitude of businesses toward the environment: a qualitative analysis

Commitment and involvement from the different members of an organization are two key elements for an organization to achieve its environmental excellence. Firstly, businesses are aware of the close relationship between their activities and the environment, for they are not only polluting agents but also agents with the capacity to reduce adverse environmental impacts. Secondly, the fact that employees can play a relevant role in terms of the socially responsible measures to be taken by organizations has started to become an irrefutably important issue. This piece of research is intended to help gain knowledge concerning the attitude of the two main actors in productive activity toward the environmental, that is, employers and employees; as well, this research intends to identify factors determining behaviour towards the environmental. For this, we have gathered the ideas and assessments contained in the discourse of a group of small and medium-sized businesses, large company owners and officers, employees, and work related risk prevention representatives. Qualitative work consisted of in-depth interviews and the creation of discussion groups