Transaction-tax evasion in the housing market

We model the behaviour of a buyer trying to evade the real estate transfer tax. We identify over-appraisal as a key, easily-observable element that is inversely related with tax evasion. We conclude that the tax authority could focus auditing efforts on low appraisal transactions. We include ‘behavioural’ components (shame and stigma) allowing to introduce buyers' (education) and societal (social capital) characteristics that explain individual and idiosyncratic variations. Our empirical analysis confirms the predictions using a unique database, where we directly observe: real payment, value declared to the authority, appraisal, buyers' educational level and local levels of corruption and trust

The Economic and Social Value of Science and Technology Parks. The Case of Tecnocampus

This article aims to measure both the economic and social value of Tecnocampus, a Science and Technology Park in its region of influence (Mataró city in the Maresme region of Catalonia, Spain). Our results show that the impact of Tecnocampus has a socioeconomic cost–benefit ratio of 2.39. Measuring the impact of this multifaceted centre requires a diverse approach. Although the methods used are not new, the combination of them presents a novel approach to measure the impact of an institution of this nature. We have measured the economic value with the Input–Output model, including the Social Accounting Matrix. On the other hand, for social value calculations, we have used cost–benefit analysis adding measurements of firm localisation to estimate externality effects. Our main results present an economic value of more than 0.054% of the Catalan GDP, whereas the employment impact represents almost 0.37% of total employment in the region. The total economic multiplier of Tecnocampus activity is estimated to be 1.89. Social value generates an additional 0.50 euros to the multiplier according with our analysis. This additional social value represents an increase of productivity estimated in 20 million euros of operational income for Catalan firms and the creation of seven additional firms in the Maresme region as a result of knowledge spillovers. The social value also includes reduction of over-education caused by a better matching between graduates and enterprises, a more direct application of research, and an increase in consumer surplus. Finally, we discuss the policy implications of our findings to promote investments in this kind of infrastructures

Privacy-preserving and accountable on-the-road prosecution of invalid vehicular mandatory authorizations

Nowadays, improving road safety is one of the major challenges in developed countries and, to this regard, attaining more effectiveness in the enforcement of road safety policies has become a key target. In particular, enforcing the requirements related to the technical and administrative mandatory documentation of on-the-road motor vehicles is one of the critical issues. The use of modern technologies in the context of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) could enable the design of a more convenient, frequent and effective enforcement system compared to the traditional human patrol controls. In this article we propose a novel system for the on-the-fly verification of mandatory technical and administrative documentation of motor vehicles. Vehicles not complying with the required regulations will be identified and sanctioned whereas those vehicles, observant of the mandatory regulations, will maintain anonymity and non-traceability of their whereabouts. The proposed system is based on the use of anonymous credentials which will be loaded onto the vehicle to automatically and on-the-fly prove holdership of required credentials without requiring the vehicle to stop beside the road. We also implement a prototype of the credential system and analyze the feasibility of our solution in terms of computational cost and time to perform such telematic controls.This work has been funded by grant CCG10-UC3M/TIC-5174 (project PRECIOUS) and partially by grant TIN2009-13461 (project E-SAVE).En prens

Interactive evaluation of surgery skills in surgery simulators: A new method based on string matching algorithms

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11548-013-0881-zMonserrat Aranda, C.; Lucas, A.; Hernández-Orallo, J.; Rupérez Moreno, MJ.; Alcañiz Raya, ML. (2013). Interactive evaluation of surgery skills in surgery simulators: A new method based on string matching algorithms. International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery. 8(1 Supplement):373-374. doi:10.1007/s11548-013-0881-zS37337481 Supplemen

Diversity of Cellulolytic Microorganisms Associated with the Subterranean Termite Reticulitermes grassei

Reticulitermes grassei is a subterranean termite species that forages on woody structures of the Iberian Peninsula, and is often a building and crops pest. A total of 23 microorganisms associated with the activity of R. grassei were isolated from colonized ecosystems in southern Spain. They were morphologically and molecularly characterized, with fungi being the most prevalent ones. The fungi showed high values of optimum growth temperature, suggesting that they could be able to survive and develop in warm regions. Their cellulolytic activity was tested in carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) agar, concluding that all fungal isolates produce cellulases, and the enzymatic index (EI) was revealed in CMC agar with Gram’s iodine solution, with Penicillium citrinum showing the highest EI and Trichoderma longibrachiatum the highest mycelial growth rate on CMC. A preliminary microorganism dispersion assay was carried out with the termites, concluding that these insects may have a positive influence on fungal dispersion and the subsequent colonization of new substrates. Our study suggests that fungi associated with R. grassei may potentially be of interest in biotechnological fields such as biofuel production and the food industry

Future farming: protein production for livestock feed in the EU

Climate change can have a negative impact on agricultural production and food security. Vice versa, agricultural practices themselves contribute to climate change because of land, water, and energy use and anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gasses and waste. The European Green Deal focusses on ?transition to a sustainable food system that has a neutral or positive environmental impact, helps mitigate climate change and adapt to its impact, and reverses the loss of biodiversity?. Local production of feed proteins in the European Union may result in new agro-ecosystem services that can be integrated to maximize sustainability of agricultural practices. Feed crops with nutritional properties that are both benefcial to functional biodiversity, biocontrol, pollination, and other ecosystem services can be incorporated into livestock diets. However, implementation is hampered by lack of information, embedded habits of specialization, proft maximization priorities, a lack of awareness about the environmental impacts of existing production systems, and a lack of fow of resources and services between the sectors. When economic benefts from investments are not immediately evident, transition can only be successful with government policies that focus on providing knowledge and education, and fnancial support. To convince agriculturists and agricultural workers to adopt sustainable practices, policy changes are needed with close cooperation between, and support from, all actors involved, including producers, non-governmental and civil society organisations, and the retail industry.Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria-INIAConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-CSI

Towards a privacy-respectful telematic verification system for vehicle & driver authorizations

Poster of: Eighth Annual International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Systems: Computing, Networking and Services (MobiQuitous 2011), Copenhagen, Denmark, 2011The use of ubiquitous technologies to implement a telematic on-the-road verification of driver and vehicle authorizations would provide significant benefits regarding road safety, economic costs and convenience. Privacy-aware digital credentials would enable such a service although some challenges exist. The goal of this on-going work is to address these challenges. The first contribution herein presented is an enhanced data model of driver and vehicle authorizations. Secondly, we provide an analysis of existing privacy-aware digital credential systems that may support the implementation of the system.This work is partially supported by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion of Spain, project E-SAVE, under grant TIN2009-13461.Publicad

Deformable brain atlas validation of the location of subthalamic nucleus using T1-weighted MR images of patients operated on for Parkinson's

[EN] Parkinson¿s disease is a degenerative disease of the central nervous system. One of the most effective treatments is deep brain stimulation. This technique requires the localization of an objective structure: the subthalamic nucleus. Unfortunately this structure is difficult to locate. In this work the creation of a deformable brain atlas that enables the identification of the subthalamic nucleus in T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in an automatic, precise and fast way is presented. The system has been validated using data from 10 patients (20 nucleus) operated on for Parkinson¿s. Our system offers better results using a Wendland function with an error of 1.8853 ± 0.9959 mm.Ortega Pérez, M.; Juan Lizandra, MC.; Alcañiz Raya, ML.; Gil Gómez, JA.; Monserrat Aranda, C. (2008). Deformable brain atlas validation of the location of subthalamic nucleus using T1-weighted MR images of patients operated on for Parkinson's. Computerized Medical Imaging and Graphics. 32(5):367-378. doi:10.1016/j.compmedimag.2008.02.003S36737832

CPWalker - Plataforma robótica para la rehabilitación y el entrenamiento de la marcha en pacientes con Parálisis Cerebral

Este artículo presenta una plataforma robótica para la rehabilitación post-quirúrgica de personas con parálisis cerebral (PC). La PC define un conjunto de trastornos de la postura y el movimiento que aparece debido a una lesión en el cerebro inmaduro. La cirugía ortopédica es el mejor tratamiento cuando existen problemas musculoesquéleticos severos. La plataforma CPWalker combina un andador inteligente y un exoesqueleto con interfaces avanzados (BCI, EMG) para la interacción humanorobot. En este trabajo se describe tanto el diseño conceptual como el desarrollo de la plataforma CPWalker.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO). Plan Nacional. CP-WalkerPeer Reviewe