Processing of Sliding Spotlight and TOPS SAR Data Using Baseband Azimuth Scaling

This paper presents an efficient phase preserving processor for the focusing of data acquired in sliding spotlight and TOPS (Terrain Observation by Progressive Scans) imaging modes. They share in common a linear variation of the Doppler centroid along the azimuth dimension, which is due to a steering of the antenna (either mechanically or electronically) throughout the data take. Existing approaches for the azimuth processing can become inefficient due to the additional processing to overcome the folding in the focused domain. In this paper a new azimuth scaling approach is presented to perform the azimuth processing, whose kernel is exactly the same for sliding spotlight and TOPS modes. The possibility to use the proposed approach to process ScanSAR data, as well as a discussion concerning staring spotlight, are also included. Simulations with point-targets and real data acquired by TerraSAR-X in sliding spotlight and TOPS modes are used to validate the developed algorithm

A Framework for Strategic Intelligence Systems Applied to Education Management: A Pilot Study in the Community of Madrid

The management of educational policies is a complex issue. There are complexities related to the country's organizational system (competencies delegated by different areas in some cases), and to the limited resources in the educational system. In addition, there are many variables that need to be managed: ICT resources, special educational needs, human resources available, the socioeconomic characteristics of each district, etc. These types of issues are similar to those dealt with by strategic intelligence management. In this field, commonly included within innovation management, methodological frameworks are established that enable collection and consolidation of data from various sources and their subsequent exploitation to enhance decision-making based on previously identified needs. This article presents the details of a pilot plan aimed at implementing a framework for strategic intelligence management in the educational management system of the Community of Madrid (Spain). These intelligence systems are difficult to deploy in educational organizations that have highly fragmented management as in the case described in our pilot plan, although their implementation leads to more correct and agile decision-makings. This paper describes the steps carried out to define the new management platform requirements, its technical implementation issues, and the validation results that demonstrate its functional validity and acceptance by end-users participating in the described pilot project

Accretion of clumpy cold gas onto massive black holes binaries: the challenging formation of extended circumbinary structures

Massive black hole binaries (MBHBs) represent an unavoidable outcome of hierarchical galaxy formation, but their dynamical evolution at sub-parsec scales is poorly understood, due to a combination of uncertainties in theoretical models and lack of firm observational evidence. In gas rich environments, it has been shown that a putative extended, steady circumbinary gaseous disc plays an important role in the MBHB evolution, facilitating its coalescence. How gas on galactic scales is transported to the nuclear region to form and maintain such a stable structure is, however, unclear. If, following a galaxy merger, turbulent gas is condenses in cold clumps and filaments that are randomly scattered, gas is naturally transported on parsec scales and interacts with the MBHB in discrete incoherent pockets. The aim of this work is to investigate the gaseous structures arising from this interaction. We employ a suite of smoothed-particle-hydrodynamic simulations to study the formation and evolution of gaseous structures around a MBHB constantly perturbed by the incoherent infall of molecular clouds. We investigate the influence of the infall rate and angular momentum distribution of the clouds on the geometry and stability of the arising structures. We find that the continuous supply of incoherent clouds is a double-edge sword, resulting in the intermittent formation and disruption of circumbinary structures. Anisotropic cloud distributions featuring an excess of co-rotating events generate more prominent co-rotating circumbinary discs. Similar structures are seen when mostly counter-rotating clouds are fed to the binary, even though they are more compact and less stable. In general, our simulations do not show the formation of extended smooth and stable circumbinary discs, typically assumed in analytical and numerical investigations of the the long term evolution of MBHBs. (Abridged)Comment: 22 Pages, 17 Figures. To be submitted to MNRA

Antimonene: a tuneable post-graphene material for advanced applications in optoelectronics, catalysis, energy and biomedicine.

The post-graphene era is undoubtedly marked by two-dimensional (2D) materials such as quasi-van der Waals antimonene. This emerging material has a fascinating structure, exhibits a pronounced chemical reactivity (in contrast to graphene), possesses outstanding electronic properties and has been postulated for a plethora of applications. However, chemistry and physics of antimonene remain in their infancy, but fortunately recent discoveries have shed light on its unmatched allotropy and rich chemical reactivity offering a myriad of unprecedented possibilities in terms of fundamental studies and applications. Indeed, antimonene can be considered as one of the most appealing post-graphene 2D materials reported to date, since its structure, properties and applications can be chemically engineered from the ground up (both using top-down and bottom-up approaches), offering an unprecedented level of control in the realm of 2D materials. In this review, we provide an in-depth analysis of the recent advances in the synthesis, characterization and applications of antimonene. First, we start with a general introduction to antimonene, and then we focus on its general chemistry, physical properties, characterization and synthetic strategies. We then perform a comprehensive study on the allotropy, the phase transition mechanisms, the oxidation behaviour and chemical functionalization. From a technological point of view, we further discuss the applications recently reported for antimonene in the fields of optoelectronics, catalysis, energy storage, cancer therapy and sensing. Finally, important aspects such as new scalable methodologies or the promising perspectives in biomedicine are discussed, pinpointing antimonene as a cutting-edge material of broad interest for researchers working in chemistry, physics, materials science and biomedicine

The interplay among acorn abundance and rodent behavior drives the spatial pattern of seedling recruitment in mature Mediterranean oak forests

The patterns of seedling recruitment in animal-dispersed plants result from the interactions among environmental and behavioral variables. However, we know little on the contribution and combined effect of both kinds of variables. We designed a field study to assess the interplay between environment (vegetation structure, seed abundance, rodent abundance) and behavior (seed dispersal and predation by rodents, and rooting by wild boars), and their contribution to the spatial patterns of seedling recruitment in a Mediterranean mixed-oak forest. In a spatially explicit design, we monitored intensively all environmental and behavioral variables in fixed points at a small spatial scale from autumn to spring, as well as seedling emergence and survival. Our results revealed that the spatial patterns of seedling emergence were strongly related to acorn availability on the ground, but not by a facilitationeffect of vegetation cover. Rodents changed seed shadows generated by mother trees by dispersing most seeds from shrubby to open areas, but the spatial patterns of acorn dispersal/predation had no direct effect on recruitment. By contrast, rodents had a strong impact on recruitment as pilferers of cached seeds. Rooting by wild boars also reduced recruitment by reducing seed abundance, but also by changing rodent's behavior towards higher consumption of acorns in situ. Hence, seed abundance and the foraging behavior of scatter-hoarding rodents and wild boars are driving the spatial patterns of seedling recruitment in this mature oak forest, rather than vegetation features. The contribution of vegetation to seedling recruitment (e.g. facilitation by shrubs) may be context dependent, having a little role in closed forests, or being overridden by directed seed dispersal from shrubby to open areas. We warn about the need of using broad approaches that consider the combined action of environment and behavior to improve our knowledge on the dynamics of natural regeneration in forests

LA PARTICIPACIÓN DEL ALUMNADO TEA DE UN CENTRO DE EDUCACIÓN ESPECIAL EN EL ÁREA DE EDUCACIÓN FÍSICA

Este trabajo de Fin de Grado, pretende mostrar la implicación y la conducta del alumnado con NEE (TEA) en el área de Educación Física en un Centro de Educación Especial.<br /

Accretion of clumpy cold gas onto massive black hole binaries: a possible fast route to binary coalescence

In currently favoured hierarchical cosmologies, the formation of massive black hole binaries (MBHBs) following galaxy mergers is unavoidable. Still, due the complex physics governing the (hydro)dynamics of the post-merger dense environment of stars and gas in galactic nuclei, the final fate of those MBHBs is still unclear. In gas-rich environments, it is plausible that turbulence and gravitational instabilities feed gas to the nucleus in the form of a series of cold incoherent clumps, thus providing a way to exchange energy and angular momentum between the MBHB and its surroundings. Within this context, we present a suite of smoothed-particle-hydrodynamical models to study the evolution of a sequence of near-radial turbulent gas clouds as they infall towards equal-mass, circular MBHBs. We focus on the dynamical response of the binary orbit to different levels of anisotropy of the incoherent accretion events. Compared to a model extrapolated from a set of individual cloud-MBHB interactions, we find that accretion increases considerably and the binary evolution is faster. This occurs because the continuous infall of clouds drags inwards circumbinary gas left behind by previous accretion events, thus promoting a more effective exchange of angular momentum between the MBHB and the gas. These results suggest that sub-parsec MBHBs efficiently evolve towards coalescence during the interaction with a sequence of individual gas pockets.Comment: 18 pages, 17 figures. Accepted for publication by MNRAS. Find companion paper at arXiv:1801.06179 Animations available at http://multipleclouds.xyz/movies

Modelado y propuesta de mejora de un sistema de riego por goteo para el riego de frutales

En el presente proyecto se va a modelar una red de riego por goteo ya instalada. Se busca obtener un modelo que refleje de forma fiel las condiciones de la red real. A partir de este modelo se generará una propuesta de ampliación de dicha red a una serie de parcelas adyacente. Es importante verificar la correspondencia de los datos obtenidos con el modelo y la red real ya que se va a tratar de obtener una ampliación que trabaje de la manera más óptima posible. Las fases del proyecto se definen en 4: a) Recogida de datos para modelar la red. b) Creación de un modelo informático fiel. c) Comprobación de los resultados. d) Propuesta de ampliación de dicha red. Se van a utilizar los conocimientos adquiridos en el grado de ingeniería mecánica de distintas áreas lo cual, sumado a que es un proyecto real, hace el proyecto muy atractivo. Para la caracterización de los elementos se van a aplicar los conocimientos de las asignaturas de la rama de fluidos y con más importancia sobre las demás la asignatura de “Teoría de máquinas e instalaciones de fluidos”. A parte de esto, se aplicarán conocimientos informáticos y de programación por la necesidad de crear un programa de apoyo en la creación de los modelos, así como conocimientos de manipulación y creación de planos técnicos