Design of a hands-on course in networked control systems

This report presents a hands-on course in networked control systems (NCS) to be integrated in the education of embedded control systems engineers. The course activities have a strong practical component and most of them are ap- plied exercises to be implemented in a NCS setup. The report containts four parts: a) a report that describes the experimental setup, proposing several activities that can be shaped into a course program according to the needs and diverse background of the targeted audience, b) a tentative program ex- ample for master students, c) a user manual to help setting up the hardware and software from a Live CD, and d) a quick guide to start working with the programming environment.Preprin

Treatment of early borderline lesions in low immunological risk kidney transplant patients : a Spanish multicenter, randomized, controlled parallel-group study protocol: the TRAINING study

Subclinical inflammation, including borderline lesions (BL), is very common (30-40%) after kidney transplantation (KT), even in low immunological risk patients, and can lead to interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy (IFTA) and worsening of renal function with graft loss. Few controlled studies have analyzed the therapeutic benefit of treating these BL on renal function and graft histology. Furthermore, these studies have only used bolus steroids, which may be insufficient to slow the progression of these lesions. Klotho, a transmembrane protein produced mainly in the kidney with antifibrotic properties, plays a crucial role in the senescence-inflammation binomial of kidney tissue. Systemic and local inflammation decrease renal tissue expression and soluble levels of α-klotho. It is therefore important to determine whether treatment of BL prevents a decrease in α-klotho levels, progression of IFTA, and loss of kidney function. The TRAINING study will randomize 80 patients with low immunological risk who will receive their first KT. The aim of the study is to determine whether the treatment of early BL (3rd month post-KT) with polyclonal rabbit antithymocyte globulin (Grafalon®) (6 mg/kg/day) prevents or decreases the progression of IFTA and the worsening of graft function compared to conventional therapy after two years post-KT, as well as to analyze whether treatment of BL with Grafalon® can modify the expression and levels of klotho, as well as the pro-inflammatory cytokines that regulate its expression. This phase IV investigator-driven, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial will examine the efficacy and safety of Grafalon® treatment in low-immunological-risk KT patients with early BL. : NCT04936282. Registered June 23, 2021, . Protocol Version 2 of 21 January 2022. Sponsor: Canary Isles Institute for Health Research Foundation, Canary Isles (FIISC). [email protected]

Temperature Effects Explain Continental Scale Distribution of Cyanobacterial Toxins

Insight into how environmental change determines the production and distribution of cyanobacterial toxins is necessary for risk assessment. Management guidelines currently focus on hepatotoxins (microcystins). Increasing attention is given to other classes, such as neurotoxins (e.g., anatoxin-a) and cytotoxins (e.g., cylindrospermopsin) due to their potency. Most studies examine the relationship between individual toxin variants and environmental factors, such as nutrients, temperature and light. In summer 2015, we collected samples across Europe to investigate the effect of nutrient and temperature gradients on the variability of toxin production at a continental scale. Direct and indirect effects of temperature were the main drivers of the spatial distribution in the toxins produced by the cyanobacterial community, the toxin concentrations and toxin quota. Generalized linear models showed that a Toxin Diversity Index (TDI) increased with latitude, while it decreased with water stability. Increases in TDI were explained through a significant increase in toxin variants such as MC-YR, anatoxin and cylindrospermopsin, accompanied by a decreasing presence of MC-LR. While global warming continues, the direct and indirect effects of increased lake temperatures will drive changes in the distribution of cyanobacterial toxins in Europe, potentially promoting selection of a few highly toxic species or strains.Peer reviewe

On Three Ethical Aspects Involved in Using Agent-Based Social Simulation for Policy-Making

[EN]The use of agent-based social simulation for policy-making involves ethical considerations of three different kinds: (i) in the agent-based policy model itself: the choice of values that are to be imbued in the simulated agents and in the policies; (ii) in the functionality of the system that is designed to support a policy-making process; and (iii) in the use of the system to design, negotiate, deploy and monitor an actual policy. In this paper we propose a value-driven framework to elucidate the corresponding ethical concerns of these kinds and then outline some guidelines to address them. We use the water policy domain to motivate and illustrate the proposal.The first and third author are supported with the industrial doctoral grants 2016DI043 and 2016DI042, respectively, which are provided by the Catalan Secretariat for Universities and Research (AGAUR). The first and second authors also received support from the CIMBVAL project (Spanish government, project # TIN2017-89758-R).Peer reviewe

Modelling Domestic Water Use in Metropolitan Areas Using Socio-Cognitive Agents

In this paper, we present an agent-based model for exploring the interplay of basic structural and socio-cognitive factors and conventional water saving measures in the evolution of domestic water use in metropolitan areas. Using data of Barcelona, we discuss three scenarios that involve plausible demographic and cultural trends. Results show that, in the three scenarios, aggregate outcomes are consistent with available conventional modelling (while total water use grows, per capita water use declines); however, the agent-based simulation also reveals, for each scenario, the different dynamics of simple policy measures with population growth, cultural trends and social influence; thus providing unexpected insights for policy design

Agent-based modelling to simulate the socio-economic effects of implementing time-of-use tariffs for domestic water

Designing and implementing innovative and effective policies to reduce domestic water demand is vital to enhance sustainability of cities. Past research has shown that Time-of-Use Tariffs (TOUT) is a powerful tool to reduce water consumption in urban settings. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of this dynamic water pricing approach might be influenced by the socioeconomic conditions and preferences of households. To shed light on this issue, this paper employed an agent-based modelling method to simulate the possible socioeconomic effects of implementing TOUT in a Spanish municipality. The types of households were characterized according to size, number of inhabitants, income and to socio-cognitive profiles (clients, techno-solutionist, committed and environmentalist). Results from the modelling indicate that the implementation of a TOUT system would reduce domestic water use by 17.2%. However, this reduction was not homogenous for the socioeconomic groups of households defined. Low-income households are those who most reduced their water consumption (25.0%) but had the lowest water bill savings (9.3%). By contrast, high-income households present the largest water bill savings (11.9%) but the lowest reduction in water use (10.4%). The findings of this study evidence the importance of considering the socioeconomic and socio-cognitive differences among water users to evaluate the effectiveness of TOUTs

Hands-on course in networked control systems

In many industrial robotic applications there is a need to track periodic reference signals and/or reject periodic disturbances. This paper presents a novel repetitive control design for systems with constant time-delays in both forward and feedback control channels. An additional delay is introduced together with plant delays to construct an internal model for periodic signals, and a simple proportional control is utilized to stabilize the closed-loop system. Sufficient stability conditions of the closed-loop system and the robustness analysis under modeling uncertainties are studied. Experimental results are included to evaluate the validity and effectiveness of the proposed method

Hands-on course in networked control systems

In many industrial robotic applications there is a need to track periodic reference signals and/or reject periodic disturbances. This paper presents a novel repetitive control design for systems with constant time-delays in both forward and feedback control channels. An additional delay is introduced together with plant delays to construct an internal model for periodic signals, and a simple proportional control is utilized to stabilize the closed-loop system. Sufficient stability conditions of the closed-loop system and the robustness analysis under modeling uncertainties are studied. Experimental results are included to evaluate the validity and effectiveness of the proposed method

Tacrolimus and mycophenolate regimen and subclinical tubulo-interstitial inflammation in low immunological risk renal transplants

The aim was to evaluate the relationship between maintenance immunosuppression, subclinical tubulo-interstital inflammation and interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy (IF/TA) in surveillance biopsies performed in low immunological risk renal transplants at two transplant centers. The Barcelona cohort consisted of 109 early and 66 late biopsies in patients receiving high tacrolimus (TAC-C0 target at 1-year 6-10 ng/mL) and reduced MMF dose (500 mg bid at 1-year). The Oslo cohort consisted of 262 early and 237 late biopsies performed in patients treated with low TAC-C0 (target 3-7 ng/mL) and standard MMF dose (750 mg bid). Subclinical inflammation, adjusted for confounders, was associated with low TAC-C0 in the early (OR: 0.75, 95%CI: 0.61-0.92; p=0.006) and late biopsies (OR: 0.69, 95%CI: 0.50-0.95; p=0.023) from Barcelona. In the Oslo cohort, it was associated with low MMF in early biopsies (OR: 0.90, 95%CI: 0.83-0.98; p=0.0101) and with low TAC-C0 in late biopsies (OR: 0.77, 95%CI: 0.61-0.97; p=0.0286). MMF dose was significantly reduced in Oslo between early and late biopsies. IF/TA was not associated with TAC-C0 or MMF dose in the multivariate analysis. Our data suggest that in TAC and MMF based regimens, TAC-C0 levels are associated with subclinical inflammation in patients receiving reduced MMF dose. This research has been accepted and published in Transplant International. © 2017 Wile