How many active regions are necessary to predict the solar dipole moment?

We test recent claims that the polar field at the end of Cycle 23 was weakened by a small number of large, abnormally oriented regions, and investigate what this means for solar cycle prediction. We isolate the contribution of individual regions from magnetograms for Cycles 21, 22 and 23 using a 2D surface flux transport model, and find that although the top ~10% of contributors tend to define sudden large variations in the axial dipole moment, the cumulative contribution of many weaker regions cannot be ignored. In order to recreate the axial dipole moment to a reasonable degree, many more regions are required in Cycle 23 than in Cycles 21 and 22 when ordered by contribution. We suggest that the negative contribution of the most significant regions of Cycle 23 could indeed be a cause of the weak polar field at the following cycle minimum and the low-amplitude Cycle 24. We also examine the relationship between a region's axial dipole moment contribution and its emergence latitude, flux, and initial axial dipole moment. We find that once the initial dipole moment of a given region has been measured, we can predict the long-term dipole moment contribution using emergence latitude alone.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Modelling the distribution of Bonelli's eagle in Spain: Implications for conservation planning

Bonelli’s eagle, Hieraaetus fasciatus , has recently suffered a severe population decline and is currently endangered. Spain supports about 70% of the European population. We used stepwise logistic regression on a set of environmental, spatial and human variables to model Bonelli’s eagle distribution in the 5167 UTM 10 × 10 km quadrats of peninsular Spain. We obtained a model based on 16 variables, which allowed us to identify favourable and unfavourable areas for this species in Spain, as well as intermediate favourability areas. We assessed the stepwise progression of the model by comparing the model’s predictions in each step with those of the final model, and selected a parsimonious explanatory model based on three variables — slope, July temperature and precipitation — comprising 76% of the predictive capacity of th

Introducing active methodologies in a basic subject: Veterinary Pharmacology

[EN] In recent years changes in higher education, as a result of convergence to European Higher Education Area, are pointing towards a more active learning by the students and also towards a teachers’ new role. This new role involves providing to the students the conditions for learning and accompanying them through the learning process. This paper presents the adaptation process since 2003 to the new context in a basic Subject of the Veterinary Degree: Pharmacology. During this period, problem-based learning and Aronson’s jigsaw have been introduced to acquire specific competencies in Therapeutics and in Pharmaceutical Forms respectively, furthermore of other transversal competencies offered by these methodologies. Students’ self-assessment and teamwork students’ peer assessment have been also included. Moreover other experiences have been developed, including coordination with another subject, General Pathology, to solve common problems and clinical cases, and to prepare materials about pharmacological research in infectious and parasitic processes. In general, these new experiences have been highly valuated by all stakeholders: students and faculty.[ES] Los cambios producidos en los últimos años en la Educación Superior con motivo de la convergencia al Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior apuntan hacia un aprendizaje más activo por parte del estudiante y a un nuevo papel del profesorado, que proporciona las condiciones para que el aprendizaje del estudiante se produzca y le acompaña en el proceso. En este artículo se presenta la adaptación a este nuevo contexto que se ha ido produciendo desde el año 2003 en una asignatura básica de los estudios conducentes a la licenciatura o el grado de Veterinaria de la Universidad de Zaragoza: Farmacología. En este periodo se han incorporado el Aprendizaje Basado en Problemas (ABP) y el Puzzle de Aronson para la adquisición de competencias específicas en Terapéutica y Formas Farmacéuticas respectivamente, además de las competencias transversales propias de estas metodologías. También se ha incluido la autoevaluación y la evaluación por pares del trabajo en equipo de los estudiantes. Así mismo, se han realizado otras experiencias que incluyen la coordinación con otra asignatura, Patología General, para la resolución de problemas o casos clínicos comunes, así como la preparación de diversos materiales para el estudio de la Farmacología de los procesos infecciosos y parasitarios. En general, la introducción de estas nuevas experiencias ha sido valorada positivamente por todos los actores implicados: los estudiantes y el profesorado.A la Universidad de Zaragoza por la concesión de los proyectos de innovación docente: “El aprendizaje basado en la solución de problemas aplicado a Farmacología Veterinaria (2004), PIIDUZ_08_2_199, PIIDUZ_09_2_078, PIIDUZ_09_2_310, PIIDUZ_10_2_116, PIIDUZ_10_1_056, PIIDUZ_12_1_203, y especialmente por el proyecto de evaluación, divulgación y reconocimiento de experiencias innovadoras de especial interés PIIDUZ_08_5_195. Ana Rosa Abadía es Coordinadora del Grupo de Investigación en Docencia e Innovación Universitaria (GIDIU) reconocido por el Gobierno de Aragón y financiado por el Fondo Social Europeo. A los compañeros y compañeras que a lo largo de este tiempo han colaborado en estos proyectos y a los estudiantes, porque sin su implicación nada hubiese sido posible.Abadía Valle, A.; Muñoz Gonzalvo, MJ. (2017). Introducción de metodologías activas en la docencia de una asignatura básica: Farmacología Veterinaria. REDU. Revista de Docencia Universitaria. 15(2):11-33. https://doi.org/10.4995/redu.2017.5953SWORD113315

Feature Extraction and Classification of Biosignals - Emotion Valence Detection from EEG Signals

In thisworkavalencerecognitionsystembasedonelectroencephalogramsispresented.Theperformanceof the systemisevaluatedfortwosettings:singlesubjects(intra-subject)andbetweensubjects(inter-subject). The featureextractionisbasedonmeasuresofrelativeenergiescomputedinshorttimeintervalsandcertain frequencybands.Thefeatureextractionisperformedeitheronsignalsaveragedoveranensembleoftrialsor on single-trialresponsesignals.Thesubsequentclassificationstageisbasedonanensembleclassifier,i.e.a random forestoftreeclassifiers.Theclassificationisperformedconsideringtheensembleaverageresponsesof all subjects(inter-subject)orconsideringthesingle-trialresponsesofsinglesubjects(intra-subject).Applying a properimportancemeasureoftheclassifier,featureeliminationhasbeenusedtoidentifythemostrelevant features of the decision making.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Parametric analysis of energy harvesting pavements operated by air convection

In this paper, an energy harvesting pavement prototype using air as the operating fluid is described and analysed. The prototype harvests the thermal energy available in the pavement through pipes embedded in its structure, where air flows thanks to natural convection. The air is able to exit the system through an updraft chimney. A parametric analysis of the controllable parameters of interest is performed in this work in order to evaluate the variation in the performance of the energy harvesting prototype in different experimental setups. This study shows that there exists a maximum value for the air speed in each configuration and that the energy harvesting efficiency depends on the height and the diameter of the chimney. Moreover, there is a minimum value of the chimney diameter that does not allow air movement and makes the whole system behave as if no pipes were embedded in the pavement structure

Mimicking the bioelectrocatalytic function of recombinant CotA laccase through electrostatically self-assembled bioconjugates

Unprecedented 3D nanobiosystems composed of recombinant CotA laccases and citrate-stabilised gold nanoparticles have been successfully achieved by an electrostatic self-assembly strategy. The bioelectrochemical reduction of O2 driven by CotA laccase at the spore coat was mimicked. Consequently key insights into its bioelectrocatalytic function were unravelled

Construction and configuration of convection-powered asphalt solar collectors for the reduction of urban temperatures

In this paper, an analysis of a convection-powered asphalt solar collector prototype is approached by the means of experimental trials and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations in order to evaluate how to optimise its design for the reduction of high urban pavement temperatures. Since the energy harvesting setup consists of a series of pipes buried in the pavement, their arrangement is here studied and experimentally compared to a possible construction technique consisting of concrete corrugations that aim at replacing the pipes. CFD simulations are employed to optimise the air collection chamber which is placed immediately before the heated air leaves the asphalt solar collector prototype. The data gathered is analysed in terms of energy harvested and exergy. The results obtained show that for an overall optimal performance, pipes should be installed in a single row under the pavement wearing course. This allowed a surface temperature reduction of up to 5.5 °C in the pavement prototype studied and the highest absorbed energy and exergy measured. In addition, the CFD simulations showed that care has to be put in finding the optimal shape and size for the air collection chamber, as they significantly influence the behaviour of the system

Participación comunitaria y procesos de comunicación en la implementación de programas de reasentamiento de familias dentro del contexto del desarrollo urbano en Barranquilla (Colombia)

Planning processes of development and growth of the city of Barranquilla have required the relocation of the population living in areas of intervention actions. As part of the implementation of the New Management Plan Territorial (POT), the city plans to revitalize an area around the Magdalena River with a view to improving the quality of life of citizens and to increase competitiveness of the city. The revitalization project is known as project “La Loma “. Under the current Land Use Plan of Barranquilla (POT), the urban development project “La Loma” includes, among other activities, the transfer of a large number of people currently living in this area. For this reason, this article aims to review the current POT and documents from City Council and the Mayor’s office associated with the POT and “La Loma” project, in order to identify and analyze the component of community participation and communication related to the implementation of this project. The results of the documents revealed the presence of regulatory elements associated with community participation. The results also showed potentially useful spaces for the implementation of inclusive communication processes. Therefore, this article proposes a guide for the formulation of a strategic communication plan with a focus on participatory communication and dialogue facilitator to be used during the execution of urban projects that include the relocation of families. © 2016, Universidad del Norte. All rights reserved

Cicloestratigrafía del Grupo Enciso, Cuenca oriental de Cameros (N de España)

El Grupo Enciso (Cretácico Inferior) se localiza en la parte oriental de la Cuenca de Cameros. Está formado por arenis- cas, limolitas, margas y calizas organizadas en ciclos de diferente rango que han sido interpretados como de origen orbital (Angulo y Muñoz, 2013; Hernán, 2018; Muñoz et al., en prensa). En los alrededores de Navalsaz (La Rioja) se ha levantado un perfil estratigráfico de 1.371 m donde se han medido valores de susceptibilidad magnética cada 50 cm y se han tomado muestras cada metro para la medida en laboratorio del contenido en carbonato y de parámetros de color (CIE L*a*b*). Se han construido series de tiempo continuas cuantitativas de la susceptibilidad magnética, el contenido total de carbonato, la luminosidad (L*), y las coordenadas rojo/verde (a*) y amarillo/azul (b*). El análisis espectral de estas series de tiempo ha puesto de manifiesto la existencia de ciclos referibles a las frecuencias de Milankovitch de excentricidad, oblicuidad y precesión. The Enciso Group (Lower Cretaceous) is located in the eastern part of Cameros Basin. It is made up of sandstones, limolites, marls and limestones organized in different rank cycles which have been interpreted as orbitally-controlled cycles (Angulo and Muñoz, 2013; Hernán, 2018; Muñoz et al., in press). Magnetic susceptibility was measured every 50 cm in a 1,371 m-thick stratigraphic column made nearby of Navalsaz (La Rioja), and samples, spaced every meter, taken for carbonate content and colour parameter measurements (CIE L* a* b*) in the laboratory. Continuous quantitative time series were built based on magnetic susceptibility values, total carbonate content, luminosity (L*), as well as red/green (a*) and yellow/blue (b*) coordinates. The spectral analysis of such series reveals the existence of cycles that can be referred to eccentricity, obliquity and precession Milankovitch frequencies