Is there evidence of strategic corporate tax interaction among EU countries?

In this paper we empirically investigate whether EU countries set their corporate tax interdependently and, at the same time, we examine which space may be relevant in the construction of this association. Our findings indicate the presence of tax interdependency among the EU-15 in statutory and effective corporate taxes based on the tax codes. Moreover, corporate taxes in the EU-15 seem to suffer from common external shocks.Tax mimicking; tax competition; spatial panel

Un algoritme per detectar la relació temporal de dues paraules.

La informació sobre la relació temporal entre dues paraules és una informació que nosaltres deduïm del text però és un camp actualment en investigació al nivell d'intel·ligència artificial. Aquest projecte està basat en el processament del llenguatge natural i té l'objectiu de implementar un sistema capaç de extreure les relacions temporals entre paraules. Aquest sistema utilitza una support vector machine amb un model prèviament entrenat. Aquest sistema ha donat bons resultats comparat amb altres sistemes que donen solució al mateix problema i ha definit un sistema base amb el qual poder seguir la investigació sobre l'extracció de relacions temporals mitjançant el processament del llenguatge natural

Distributed data management in internet of things networking environments

Distributed ledger technology (DLT) is one of the latest digital technologies, which appear to be heading towards a new industrial revolution. However, when we consider its suitability for dynamic networking environments, issues like transaction fees or scalability have not been resolved

KaSI: a Ka-band and S-band Cross-track Interferometer

A dual-frequency system is needed to better understand natural processes that constitute the environment and seasonal cycles of the Earth. A system working at two different wavelengths acquiring data simultaneously will give a valuable dataset since the conditions on the ground will be exactly the same. Hence, elements such as wind, soil moisture or any other changes on the ground will not interfere in the mea- surements. This thesis explains how an S-band radar was built and tested. Moreover, the experiments done with a Ka-band radar used as a scatterometer are explained as well as the data processing and analysis. Finally, the two systems are used to get dual-frequency measurements from an airborne platform. The dual-frequency data is explored, showing the differences in normalized radar cross-section between frequencies and discussing the interferometric measurements

Low cost experimental software defined radio system

This paper documents the design of a low cost experimental SDR Platform as a research tool. In order to keep costs to a minimum and provide the maximum flexibility a processor-less architecture is chosen. All signal processing is carried out using a standard notebook computer. The platform consists of four hardware elements. These are baseband transmitter board, baseband receiver board, RF transmitter board and RF receiver board. The baseband transmitter board consists of a USB 2.0 interface and two 16-bit DACs. The baseband receiver board consists of a USB 2.0 interface and two 16-bit ADCs. The transmitter RF board consists of a direct conversion modulator, local oscillator, variable gain RF amplifier and power amplifier. The receiver board consists of a low noise amplifier, a direct conversion down-converter with gain control and a local oscillator

Quantitative analysis of risk from fragmental rockfalls

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10346-018-1087-9Rockfalls are ubiquitous diffuse hazard in mountain regions, cliffs, and cutslopes, with the potential of causing victims and severely damaging buildings and infrastructures. A vast majority of detached rock masses break up when impacting the ground, generating multiple trajectories of rock fragments. In this paper, we present the quantitative risk analysis (QRA) of fragmental rockfalls. Fragmentation in rockfalls requires the redefinition of the probability of reach and the evaluation of the effect of multiple rock blocks trajectories on the exposure. An example of QRA was carried out at the Monasterio de Piedra, Spain, using RockGIS, a rockfall propagation model that takes fragmentation into account (Matas et al. Landslides 14:1565–1578, 2017). The results show that fragmentation has a significant but contrasting effect in the calculation of risk. The risk is reduced if the slope where blocks propagate is sufficiently long and gentle. The reason for this is that, compared to the unfragmented rock masses, the new fragments generated travel shorter distances with lesser kinetic energy. The effect disappears in case of large rockfalls. Conversely, the risk increases if the rock fragments propagate over steep slopes. The reason is that few blocks stop along the way while the generation of a cone of fragments increases the exposure. Our simulations also show that assuming a continuous flow of visitors or segregating the flow in groups of different number of people has only a minor influence on the results. Finally, we observed that the capability of the protection barriers to stop rockfalls of up to a few tens of cubic meters increases with fragmentation.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Software engine development for SDR

This paper focuses on the development of the software engine for an SDR hardware platform [1][2]. This SDR hardware system operates across the frequency band from 1.6GHz to 2.5GHz with the capability to support the GSM1800, PCS 1900, UMTS-FDD, UMTS-TDD and 802.11b standards. It consists of TX/RX RF front-ends, data converters and the USB 2.0 PHY interface

Projecte GOLEM: una aplicació distribuı̈da per a l’avaluació automàtica d’excercicis de programació

Treballs Finals de Grau d'Enginyeria Informàtica, Facultat de Matemàtiques, Universitat de Barcelona, Any: 2024, Director: Daniel Ortiz Martínez i Eloi Puertas i Prats[en] Throughout history, humans have constantly sought automation in order to simplify and improve efficiency in various tasks. From its roots with rudimentary tools to the age of modern machines, the trend towards automation has been a marked evolution. Today, this trend has expanded into more abstract areas, incorporating the automation of intellectual processes. An example of this evolution is the correction of practices in education, which historically has been a manual and labour-intensive task. However, with advances in technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning, the idea of automatic remediation has emerged as an area of interest. In this context, I have developed a web application that allows users to upload their programming assignments. In contrast to manual correction, these practices are evaluated by an automatic correction program. This approach not only aims to simplify the correction process, but also to promote an interactive and effective learning environment in the world of programming. By implementing this application, the aim is to provide an innovative solution to the traditional manual correction of practicals. The benefits go beyond efficiency, as it creates an opportunity for students and teachers to actively participate in a more dynamic and automated correction process. Thus, this project not only aims at simplifying tasks, but also contributes to the transformation of education in programming-related fields. With faster and more dynamic interaction, learning becomes a more effective and engaging process for students, promoting the adoption of new technologies in teaching and learning

Requirement for a Uroplakin 3a-like protein in the development of zebrafish pronephric tubule epithelial cell function, morphogenesis, and polarity

Uroplakin (UP)3a is critical for urinary tract development and function; however, its role in these processes is unknown. We examined the function of the UP3a-like protein Upk3l, which was expressed at the apical surfaces of the epithelial cells that line the pronephric tubules (PTs) of the zebrafish pronephros. Embryos treated with upk3l-targeted morpholinos showed decreased pronephros function, which was attributed to defects in PT epithelial cell morphogenesis and polarization including: loss of an apical brush border and associated phospho-ERM proteins, apical redistribution of the basolateral Na+/K+-ATPase, and altered or diminished expression of the apical polarity complex proteins Prkcz (atypical protein kinase C zeta) and Pard3 (Par3). Upk3l missing its C-terminal cytoplasmic domain or containing mutations in conserved tyrosine or proline residues did not rescue, or only partially rescued the effects of Upk3l depletion. Our studies indicate that Upk3l promotes epithelial polarization and morphogenesis, likely by forming or stimulating interactions with cytoplasmic signaling or polarity proteins, and that defects in this process may underlie the pathology observed in UP3a knockout mice or patients with renal abnormalities that result from altered UP3a expression. © 2012 Mitra et al

Kinematics of subduction in the Ibero-Armorican arc constrained by 3D microstructural analysis of garnet and pseudomorphed lawsonite porphyroblasts from Île de Groix (Variscan belt)

The research was supported by Spanish government project CGL2016-80687-R AEI/FEDER and projects RNM148, P18-RT-3275 and B-RNM-301-UGR18 of the Andalusia Autonomous Government.The first author wishes to thank José Ramón Martínez Catalán for his guidance and friendship during a postdoc in Salamanca (1996–1999). We thank Michel Ballèvre for helping us obtain permission from the Préfecture du Morbihan to collect samples on Île de Groix and for suggesting we include the Pouldu schists in our study. Île de Groix national park guide Catherine Robert (and her dog) provided Domingo Aerden with helpful information and pleasant company during fieldwork. We thank Fátima Linares-Ordoñez for X-ray scanning our samples and Bernhardt Schulz for clarifying various aspects about the petrology of the study area. The authors are very grateful to the two anonymous reviewers, who provided constructive comments, and the handling editors of Solid Earth, Ícaro Dias da Silva and Federico Rossetti.The small island of Groix in southern Brittany, France, is well known for exceptionally well-preserved outcrops of Variscan blueschists, eclogites, and garnetiferous mica schists that mark a Late Devonian suture between Gondwana and Armorica. The kinematics of polyphase deformation in these rocks is reconstructed based on 3D microstructural analysis of inclusion trails within garnet and pseudomorphed lawsonite porphyroblasts using differently oriented thin sections and X-ray tomography. Three sets of inclusion trails striking NE-SW, NNW-SSE, and WNW-ESE are recognized and interpreted to witness a succession of different crustal shortening directions orthogonal to these strikes. The curvature sense of sigmoidal and spiral-shaped inclusion trails of the youngest set is shown to be consistent with northwest and northward subduction of Gondwana under Armorica, provided that these microstructures developed by overgrowth of actively forming crenulations without much porphyroblast rotation. Strongly non-cylindrical folds locally found on the island are reinterpreted as fold-interference structures instead of having formed by progressive shearing and fold-axis reorientation. Six samples of a lower-grade footwall unit of the Groix ophiolitic nappe (Pouldu schists) were also studied. Inclusion trails in these rocks strike E-W, similar to the youngest set recognized on Groix island. They record Carboniferous N-S shortening during continental collision. These new microstructural data from southern Brittany bear a strong resemblance to earlier measured in inclusion-trail orientations in the northwestern Iberia Massif. A best fit between both regions suggests not more than about 15 degrees anticlockwise rotation of Iberia during the Cretaceous opening of the Gulf of Biscay.Spanish Government CGL2016-80687-RAndalusia Autonomous Government RNM148 P18-RT-3275 B-RNM-301-UGR1