Minivideos tutorials to reinforce the learning of basic concepts for an Automatic Control course

[EN] This work proposes an initiative to introduce and promote the use of screencasts as a supporting tool for learning basic concepts of automatic control in technical University Degrees. The contents developed are available in the Youtube canal named “Automatica”, grouped by conceptual blocks. This material has been shared with the students of the University of Malaga through the Virtual Campus of 13 subjects given by the Department of Systems Engineering and Automation during the academic courses 2017/2018 and 2018/2019. The results derived from opinion surveys taken by the students show the good acceptance of this type of material. On the other hand, the cross-referring data between the effective reproduction time and the students’ qualifications in knowledge tests designed ad-hoc reveal a direct relation between the time employed by the students watching the screencasts and an improvement in their academic performance.[ES] En este trabajo se presenta una iniciativa encaminada a introducir y fomentar el uso de los videotutoriales como herramienta de apoyo para el aprendizaje de los conceptos básicos del control automático en titulaciones universitarias técnicas. Los contenidos desarrollados, disponibles en el canal de YouTube denominado “Automática”, se han agrupado de acuerdo a los principales bloques conceptuales de la materia y han sido puestos a disposición del alumnado en el espacio del campus virtual de la Universidad de Málaga (UMA) asociado a 13 asignaturas impartidas por el Dpto. de Ingeniería de Sistemas y Automática de la UMA en los cursos académicos 2017/2018 y 2018/2019. Los resultados obtenidos a través de encuestas de opinión cumplimentadas por los estudiantes muestran la buena acogida de los mismos. Por otro lado, el cruce de los datos de uso (entendido como tiempo efectivo de reproducción) recogidos durante este periodo y las calificaciones obtenidas a través de pruebas de conocimiento diseñadas ad-hoc revelan la existencia de una relación entre el empleo del material desarrollado y la mejora del rendimiento académico de los estudiantes.Este trabajo ha sido financiado a través del Plan de Innovación Educativa de la Universidad de Málaga (convocatoria 2017/2019) bajo la referencia PIE17-090.Arevalo, V.; Vicente-Del-Rey, J.; Garcia-Morales, I.; Rivas-Blanco, I. (2020). Minivídeos tutoriales como apoyo al aprendizaje de conceptos básicos para un curso de Fundamentos de Control Automático. Revista Iberoamericana de Automática e Informática industrial. 17(2):107-115. https://doi.org/10.4995/riai.2020.12156OJS10711517

Current perspectives on the use of anti-VEGF drugs as adjuvant therapy in glaucoma

The approval of one of the first anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration one decade ago marked the beginning of a new era in the management of several sight-threatening retinal diseases. Since then, emerging evidence has demonstrated the utility of these therapies for the treatment of other ocular conditions characterized by elevated VEGF levels. In this article we review current perspectives on the use of anti-VEGF drugs as adjuvant therapy in the management of neovascular glaucoma (NVG). The use of anti-VEGFs for modifying wound healing in glaucoma filtration surgery (GFS) is also reviewed. Selected studies investigating the use of anti-VEGF agents or antimetabolites in GFS or the management of NVG have demonstrated that these agents can improve surgical outcomes. However, anti-VEGF agents have yet to demonstrate specific advantages over the more established agents commonly used today. Further studies are needed to evaluate the duration of action, dosing intervals, and toxicity profile of these treatments

An example of localized D-branes solution on PP-wave backgrounds

In this note we provide an explicit example of type IIB supersymmetric D3-branes solution on a pp-wave like background, consisting in the product of an eight-dimensional pp-wave times a two-dimensional flat space. An interesting property of our solution is the fully localization of the D3-branes (i.e. the solution depends on all the transverse coordinates). Then we show the generalization to other Dp-branes and to the D1/D5 system.Comment: 14 pages, 1 table; v2. references adde

Land and Peace in Colombia: FFP Methodology for Field Data Collection and Data Handling

Effective land administration is an essential step on the road to peace in Colombia. The Colombian government plans to have a complete nation-wide land tenure coverage within seven years. The traditional approach to land administration in Colombia is not up to this policy challenge: the pace is too slow, the costs too high, the procedures too complex. Fast and effective land administration is essential for the implementation of the Reforma Rural Integral of the Peace Agreements, and to maintain public confidence in the peace process. The Netherlands contributes to the implementation of the peace agreements by focussing on fast and effective land administration, together with the Colombian institutions. This paper presents a methodology for a project where fit-for-purpose Land Administration is tested at scale – after a successful field test. The test will be done in two pilot areas. These are participatory and integrated pilots, leading to cadastral maps and, more important, to land titles whenever the legal framework and institutional cooperation allows for land regularization and adjudication

Empirical leucine-to-carbon conversion factors for estimating heterothrophic bacterial production in surface waters of the world oceans

Comunicación oralBacterial biomass production is a key parameter for evaluating the role of bacterioplankton in ocean carbon cycling. However, bacterial production cannot be directly measured and is typically estimated from the incorporation rates of radiolabelled leucine. The conversion of leucine uptake rates into bacterial carbon production rates requires the use of conversion factors (CFs) which must be empirically determined. Despite the empirical leucine-to-carbon CFs vary widely across environments very little is known about its potential controlling factors. We conducted a set of 10 surface seawater cultures experiments where the growth of the natural bacterial assemblage was promoted by filtration (removal of grazers) or by both filtration and dilution. Sampling stations were located between 30 ºN and 30 ºS, including the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. CFs varied from 0.13 to 1.47 Kg C mol Leu-1, being higher in the filtrated than in the filtrated and diluted treatment. The abundance of picocyanobacteria explained 60% of the observed variability. Our results further suggest that the composition of bacterioplankton, as assessed by ARISA fingerprinting, may partially explain the observed variation in CFs

Manipulating the Tomonaga-Luttinger exponent by electric field modulation

We establish a theoretical framework for artificial control of the power-law singularities in Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid states. The exponent governing the power-law behaviors is found to increase significantly with an increase in the amplitude of the periodic electric field modulation applied externally to the system. This field-induced shift in the exponent indicates the tunability of the transport properties of quasi-one-dimensional electron systems.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Sample dilution and bacterial community composition influence empirical leucine-to-carbon conversion factors in surface waters of the world's oceans

Research articleThe transformation of leucine incorporation into prokaryotic carbon production rates requires the use of either theoretical or empirically determined conversion factors. Empirical leucine-to-carbon conversion factors (eCFs) vary widely across environments, and little is known about their potential controlling factors. We conducted 10 surface seawater manipulation experiments across the world’s oceans, where the growth of the natural prokaryotic assemblages was promoted by filtration (i.e. removal of grazers; F treatment) or filtration combined with dilution (i.e. relieving also resource competition; FD treatment). The impact of sunlight exposure was also evaluated in the FD treatments, and we did not find a significant effect on the eCFs. The eCFs varied from 0.09 to 1.47 kg C mol Leu-1 and were significantly lower in the filtered and diluted (FD) than in the filtered (F) treatments. Also, changes in bacterial community composition during the incubations, as assessed by Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis (ARISA), were stronger in the FD than in the F treatments, as compared to unmanipulated controls. Thus, we discourage the common procedure of diluting samples (in addition to filtration) for eCFs determination. The eCFs in the filtered treatment were negatively correlated with the initial chlorophyll a concentration, picocyanobacterial abundance (mostly Prochlorococcus) and the percentage of heterotrophic prokaryotes with high nucleic acid content (%HNA). The latter two variables explained 80% of the eCFs variability in the F treatment, supporting the view that both Prochlorococcus and HNA prokaryotes incorporate leucine in substantial amounts although resulting into relatively low carbon production rates in the oligotrophic ocean.En prensa3,829

One entropy function to rule them all

We study the entropy of extremal four dimensional black holes and five dimensional black holes and black rings is a unified framework using Sen's entropy function and dimensional reduction. The five dimensional black holes and black rings we consider project down to either static or stationary black holes in four dimensions. The analysis is done in the context of two derivative gravity coupled to abelian gauge fields and neutral scalar fields. We apply this formalism to various examples including $U(1)^3$ minimal supergravity.Comment: 29 pages, 2 figures, revised version for publication, details adde