Poly-Harmonic Distortion Model Extraction in Charge-Controlled One-Port Devices

A charge-controlled, one-port device is used to describe and discuss the extraction procedure of a Poly-Harmonic Distortion (PHD) model in detail. For this case, both voltage and current waveforms are shown to be enough to fully characterize the PHD model. It is also shown that all the information specifically required for this PHD model definition can be stored in the Fourier coefficients of the incremental conductance and capacitance. The results are validated by comparing them with those obtained using a commercial circuit simulation tool.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Ansiedad y personalidad como indicadores del rendimiento académico universitario en el aula de idiomas

The main purpose of this study is to test whether students’ performance in official language tests in the university context is influenced, apart from anxiety, by certain personality traits. A sample of 394 university students in Spain were assessed in language academic performance using the Test of English for International Communication: Listening and Reading (TOEIC L&R), Foreign Language Anxiety using the Spanish version of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), Test Anxiety, by means of the Spanish version of the Test Anxiety Inventory and Personality Traits through the Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Frequency analyses for the categorical variables, and means and standard deviations for continuous variables were calculated, and a forward stepwise regression model was used to assess the independent variables that contributed significantly to the variance in the score on the academic performance. Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) correlated most significantly with student foreign language academic performance, followed by the Neuroticism dimension, Test Anxiety and Extraversion. These results show that anxiety can still be considered the best indicator to predict language academic performance and that personality traits do play a relevant part in the foreign language learning process in the university context.El objetivo de este estudio es comprobar si, aparte de la ansiedad, ciertas dimensiones de la personalidad tienen influencia en el rendimiento académico universitario en exámenes oficiales de idiomas. En una muestra de 394 estudiantes de una universidad española, se evaluó el rendimiento académico en idiomas mediante el examen Test of English for International Communication: Listening and Reading (TOEIC L&R), la ansiedad en lengua extranjera con la FLCAS, la ansiedad ante los exámenes con el Test Anxiety Inventory y las dimensiones de la personalidad con el NEO-FFI. Se calcularon análisis de frecuencias para las variables categóricas, y medias y desviación estándar para las variables continuas, y se aplicó un modelo de regresión lineal múltiple por pasos para identificar las variables independientes que contribuyen de manera significativa a la varianza del resultado del rendimiento académico. La ansiedad en el aula de idiomas es la variable que correlaciona más significativamente con el rendimiento académico, seguida por la dimensión de Neuroticismo, la Ansiedad ante los Exámenes y Extraversión. Los resultados muestran que la ansiedad puede seguir siendo considerada el indicador más eficaz para predecir el rendimiento académico en idiomas y que las dimensiones de la personalidad tienen cabida en el proceso de aprendizaj

Caracterización no-lineal de dispositivos de un puerto basada en el principio de distorsión poli-armónica

In this contribution the computation of a nonlinear diode model based on the Poly-Harmonic Distortion principle is described. The diode is composed of a non-linear conductance shunt connected to a non-linear capacitance, both of them quasistatic. The procedure used to extract these parameters only requires port-voltage and -current waveforms. The computed parameters of the model at different frequencies and power levels are presented and have been validated by comparing them with those obtained using a commercial circuit simulation tool (specifically with X-parameters). Unlike commercial CAD tools or conventional measurement set-ups the proposed technique can easily provide all the sensitivities related to DC components.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Nucleation and growth of precipitates in a V-microalloyed steel according to physical theory and experimental results

Using a theoretical model, the nucleus number and nucleation time were determined for a V-microalloyed steel. The calculated data has made it possible to plot the nucleus number vs. temperature, nucleation critical time vs. temperature, and precipitate critical radius vs. temperature. The nucleus number was calculated by integration of the nucleation rate expression. On the other hand, an experimental study was performed and the nucleation time vs. temperature was plotted (PTT diagram), thus allowing a comparison between the theoretical values and experimental results. It has been found that the growth of precipitates during precipitation obeys a quadratic growth equation and not a cubic coalescence equation. The experimentally determined growth rate coincides with the theoretically predicted growth rate. The experimental nucleation time is longer than the calculated time due to conceptual differences.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

The Portuguese <em>Montado</em>: A Complex System under Tension between Different Land Use Management Paradigms

The Montado is a silvopastoral system and the dominant land use in Alentejo (Portugal). Its functionalities expand beyond agricultural and forestry production. It is a system where a low-density and heterogeneous tree cover is complemented with livestock grazing and fodder production, resulting in its recognition as a high-nature-value farming system. However, for it to be effectively preserved, a balance between its many components needs to be secured. Despite the relevance and urgency of its conservation, the Montado has long suffered a constant decay. To better understand such decay, it is crucial to unravel why and how land use management decisions are made, and the interplay of drivers influencing such decisions. We applied discourse analysis to identify the various management paradigms that currently co-exist underpinning strategies by land managers and others. Our analysis is based on a review of the scientific literature, a media analysis, participant observations, and in-depth interviews with Montado farmers in Central Alentejo between 2014 and 2017, along with a survey with producers implemented during 2018. We conclude that existing strategies, and underpinning paradigms, are frequently incompatible, leading to the poor progress in halting the current decay of the system, and thus, also in securing its sustainability

Analysis on the feasability of airborne GNSS-R receivers for weather nowcasting and target detection

Weather forecast relies to a large extent on data acquired by satellite. LEO polar satellites provide global coverage, but poor spatial resolution. GEO satellites provide a better coverage and revisit time, at expenses of poorer spatial resolution. LEO constellations of small satellites offer the promise of global coverage with good spatial resolution and revisit time. However, hosted payloads on aircrafts offer the potential of very high resolution and very low revisit time for regional applications. In this work, the idea of equipping commercial airliners with low-cost Global Navigation Satellite System - Reflectometer (GNSS-R) receivers is explored, with emphasis on real-world data and the implications the expected scientific yield would offer.This work has received funding from project Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades and EU ERDF project ref. RTI2018-099008-B-C21 ”SENSING WITH PIONEERING OPPORTUNISTIC TECHNIQUES,“ , and support grant MDM-2016-0600 to “María de Maeztu Excellence Units” CommSensLab, from Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO/FEDER).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Governance Discourses Reflecting Tensions in a Multifunctional Land Use System in Decay; Tradition Versus Modernity in the Portuguese Montado

Governance Discourses Reflecting Tensions in a Multifunctional Land Use System in Decay; Tradition Versus Modernity in the Portuguese Montad

Advanced Speech Communication System for Deaf People

This paper describes the development of an Advanced Speech Communication System for Deaf People and its field evaluation in a real application domain: the renewal of Driver’s License. The system is composed of two modules. The first one is a Spanish into Spanish Sign Language (LSE: Lengua de Signos Española) translation module made up of a speech recognizer, a natural language translator (for converting a word sequence into a sequence of signs), and a 3D avatar animation module (for playing back the signs). The second module is a Spoken Spanish generator from sign writing composed of a visual interface (for specifying a sequence of signs), a language translator (for generating the sequence of words in Spanish), and finally, a text to speech converter. For language translation, the system integrates three technologies: an example based strategy, a rule based translation method and a statistical translator. This paper also includes a detailed description of the evaluation carried out in the Local Traffic Office in the city of Toledo (Spain) involving real government employees and deaf people. This evaluation includes objective measurements from the system and subjective information from questionnaire

Cueva de Ardales, Province of Malaga

Artículo recopilatorio sobre los principales hallazgos y descubrimientos llevados a cabo en la Cueva de Ardales