Characterisation of Technological Collaborations and Evolution in the Spanish Defence Industry

Collaboration with technological partners as an innovation strategy has become widespread in recent years, and all sectors are immersed in this process. In particular, the defence industry is characterised by the technological complexity of the products and services offered, together with a constant innovation process. However, data that allow us to identify characteristics that are found in collaboration contracts are not usually available in this sector. This paper addresses this gap in the literature by studying the different characteristics of both the technological partners and the development agreements for the 1999-2017 period. This is possible thanks to a database of more than 300 collaboration technology agreements between public and private organisations and the Spanish Ministry of Defence. The results provide the Ministry of Defence with a clear picture of the type of collaborations in the Defence industry, their partners and their behaviour under different economic conditions, which will help it identify the type of collaborations that can contribute to improving the design of its innovation strategy

Study by optical spectroscopy and molecular dynamics of the interaction of acridine-spermine conjugate with DNA

International audienc

Sensitivity analysis in a camera-LiDAR calibration model

Recientemente, la fusión de datos entre una cámara y un sensor de profundidad del tipo LiDAR se ha convertido en un problema de gran interés en la industria y en la ingeniería. La calidad de los modelos 3D producidos depende, en buena manera, de un proceso correcto de calibración entre ambos sensores. En este artículo, se realiza un análisis de sensibilidad en un modelo de calibración cámara-LiDAR. Se ha calculado individualmente la variabilidad de cada parámetro por el método de Sobol, basado en la técnica de ANOVA, y el método FAST, que se basa en el análisis de Fourier. Se han definido los parámetros más sensibles y con mayor tendencia a introducir errores en nuestra plataforma de reconstrucción. Se han simulado múltiples conjuntos de parámetros para su análisis y comparación utilizando los métodos de Monte Carlo e Hipercubo Latino. Se muestran estadísticas sobre la sensibilidad total y global de cada parámetro. Además, se presentan resultados sobre la relación de sensibilidad en la calibración cámara-LiDAR, el costo computacional, el tiempo de simulación, la discrepancia y la homogeneidad en los datos simulados.Recently the data fusion between a camera and a depth sensor of LiDAR type, has become an issue of major concern in industry and engineering. The quality of the delivered 3D models depends greatly on a proper calibration between sensors. This paper presents a sensitivity analysis in a camera-lidar calibration model. The variability of each parameter was calculated individually by the Sobol method, based on ANOVA technique, and the FAST method, which is based on Fourier analysis. Multiple sets of parameters were simulated using Monte Carlo and Latin Hypercube methods for the purpose of comparing the results of the sensitivity analysis. We defined which parameters are the most sensitive and prone to introduce error into our reconstruction platform. Statistics for the total and global sensibility analysis for each sensor and for each parameter are presented. Furthermore, results on the sensitivity ratio on camera-LiDAR calibration, computational cost, time simulation, discrepancy and homogeneity in the simulated data are presented.Peer Reviewe

Improvement of learning through European educational projects

Proceedings TEEM 2020: Eighth International Conference on Technological Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturality.[EN]The purpose of this article is to set out the research plan for the doctoral thesis, which deals with the definition of a methodological guide for the successful use of digital technologies in education, especially in eLearning, taking as a reference European educational projects that have been successful in achieving an improvement in the teaching and learning process. We live in an increasingly digital society that requires citizens to be prepared to adapt to the needs of the moment and to solve the problems that arise. For this to be possible, the education system must be prepared to adequately train future citizens who will join a changing labor market. To this end, teachers must be trained and know how to carry out efficient educational projects that allow them to make the most of the potential of ICT in the classroom or in distance education. The situation experienced during the 2019-2020 school year with the COVID-19 pandemic has tested the education system and its ability to adapt to a situation where the use of distance education was required and where ICT was very much needed in most of the cases to bring education to the homes. These factors make it very necessary to work for a better teaching professionalization. Therefore, the main objective of this PhD work is to enable teachers to design their projects, involving electronic learning, in a more effective way. To achieve this, what better than to use the educational projects compiled in the Erasmus+ results platform, which allow the analysis of project typology, outcomes, topics and to see those that have been catalogued as a good practice or success story. This database will be a key tool to gather information together with the collaboration of the main actors of those projects that have been successful. A methodological guide would allow teachers and teacher trainers to know the key factors that help to achieve a good design of educational projects and allow an optimal use of ICT resources and the greatest impact on the teaching-learning process

The Calar Alto Lunar Occultation Program: Update and New Results

We present an update of the lunar occultation program which is routinely carried out in the near-IR at the Calar Alto Observatory. A total of 350 events were recorded since our last report (Fors et al. 2004, A&A, 419, 285). In the course of eight runs we have observed, among others, late-type giants, T-Tauri stars, and infrared sources. Noteworthy was a passage of the Moon close to the galactic center, which produced a large number of events during just a few hours in July 2004. Results include the determinations of the angular diameter of RZ Ari, and the projected separations and brightness ratios for one triple and 13 binary stars, almost all of which representing first time detections. Projected separations range from 0farcs09 to 0farcs007. We provide a quantitative analysis of the performance achieved in our observations in terms of angular resolution and sensitivity, which reach about 0farcs003 and K ≈8.5 mag, respectively. We also present a statistical discussion of our sample, and in particular of the frequency of detection of binaries among field stars

An algorithm to study the nonnegativity, regularity and stability via state-feedbacks of singular systems of arbitrary index

This paper deals with singular systems of index k ≥ 1. Our main goal is to find a state-feedback such that the closed-loop system satis- fies the regularity condition and it is nonnegative and stable. In order to do that, the core-nilpotent decomposition of a square matrix is applied to the singular matrix of the system. Moreover, if the Drazin projector of this matrix is nonnegative then the previous decomposition allows us to write the core-part of the matrix in a specific block form. In addition, an algorithm to study this kind of systems via a state-feedback is designed.This paper has been partially supported by Ministry of Education of Spain [grant number DGI MTM2010-18228].Herrero Debón, A.; Francisco J. Ramírez; Thome, N. (2014). An algorithm to study the nonnegativity, regularity and stability via state-feedbacks of singular systems of arbitrary index. Linear and Multilinear Algebra. 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/03081087.2014.904559S11

Herd-level risk factors of bovine tuberculosis in England and Wales after the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease epidemic

We present the results of a 2005 case–control study of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) breakdowns in English and Welsh herds. The herd management, farming practices, and environmental factors of 401matched pairs of case and control herds were investigated to provide a picture of herd-level risk factors in areas of varying bTB incidence. A global conditional logistic regression model, with region-specific variants, was used to compare case herds that had experienced a confirmed bTB breakdown to contemporaneous control herds matched on region, herd type, herd size, and parish testing interval. Contacts with cattle from contiguous herds and sourcing cattle from herds with a recent history of bTB were associated with an increased risk in both the global and regional analyses. Operating a farm over several premises, providing cattle feed inside the housing, and the presence of badgers were also identified as significantly associated with an increased bTB risk. Steps taken to minimize cattle contacts with neighboring herds and altering trading practices could have the potential to reduce the size of the bTB epidemic. In principle, limiting the interactions between cattle and wildlife may also be useful; however this study did not highlight any specific measures to implement

Transgenic mice expressing bovine PrP with a four extra repeat octapeptide insert mutation show a spontaneous, non-transmissible, neurodegenerative disease and an expedited course of BSE infection

AbstractTransgenic (Tg) mice carrying four extra octapeptide repeats (OR) in the bovine PrP gene (10OR instead of 6) have been generated. In these mice, neuropathological changes were observed depending upon the level of transgene expression. These changes primarily involved a slowly advancing neurological disorder, characterized clinically by ataxia, and neuropathologically, by vacuolization in different brain areas, gliosis, and loss of cerebellar granule cells. Accumulation of insoluble bovine 10OR-PrP (bo10OR-PrP) was observed depending on the level of expression but no infectivity was found associated with this insoluble form. We also compared the behavior of bo6OR-PrP and bo10OR-PrP Tg mouse lines in response to BSE infection. BSE-inoculated bo10ORTg mice showed an altered course of BSE infection, reflected by reduced incubation times when compared to bo6ORTg mice expressing similar levels of the wild type 6OR-PrP. In BSE-inoculated mice, it was possible to detect PrPres in 100% of the animals. While insoluble bo10OR-PrP from non-inoculated bo10ORTg mice was non-infectious, brain homogenates from BSE-inoculated bo10ORTg mice were highly infectious in all the Tg mouse lines tested. This Tg mouse model constitutes a new way of understanding the pathobiology of bovine transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. Its potential applications include the assessment of new therapies against prion diseases

Aprender a aprender en la universidad: perspectivas del profesorado y de los estudiantes

The aim of this study was to explain the perceptions of university students and professors regarding the “learning to learn” approach. We set up focus groups with both collectives, using the GIPU-EA model as it was operative and integrative enough to permit systematization of the coding. We analyzed maturity and density and computed an intra-dimensional coherence score. The results showed two different profi les in perceiving “learning to learn”; one matching the professors and the other the students. The implications for university teaching were discussed at the end of the paper, together with the limitations of the results we found.El objetivo de este estudio fue interpretar las perspectivas del profesorado y de los estudiantes universitarios acerca de la competencia “aprender a aprender”. Llevamos a cabo grupos de discusión con ambos colectivos y nos apoyamos en el Modelo GIPU-EA, ya que era lo suficientemente operativo e integrador como para sistematizar las codificaciones. Analizamos el enraizamiento y la densidad, y calculamos un puntaje de coherencia intradimensional. Los resultados mostraron dos perfiles diferentes en la percepción de la competencia. Uno se ajustó al profesorado y otro a los estudiantes. Las implicaciones para la docencia universitaria se discuten al final del documento, junto con las limitaciones del estudio

Evaluation of turbulent dissipation rate retrievals from Doppler Cloud Radar

Turbulent dissipation rate retrievals from cloud radar Doppler velocity measurements are evaluated using independent, in situ observations in Arctic stratocumulus clouds. In situ validation data sets of dissipation rate are derived using sonic anemometer measurements from a tethered balloon and high frequency pressure variation observations from a research aircraft, both flown in proximity to stationary, ground-based radars. Modest biases are found among the data sets in particularly low- or high-turbulence regimes, but in general the radar-retrieved values correspond well with the in situ measurements. Root mean square differences are typically a factor of 4-6 relative to any given magnitude of dissipation rate. These differences are no larger than those found when comparing dissipation rates computed from tetheredballoon and meteorological tower-mounted sonic anemometer measurements made at spatial distances of a few hundred meters. Temporal lag analyses suggest that approximately half of the observed differences are due to spatial sampling considerations, such that the anticipated radar-based retrieval uncertainty is on the order of a factor of 2-3. Moreover, radar retrievals are clearly able to capture the vertical dissipation rate structure observed by the in situ sensors, while offering substantially more information on the time variability of turbulence profiles. Together these evaluations indicate that radar-based retrievals can, at a minimum, be used to determine the vertical structure of turbulence in Arctic stratocumulus clouds