Evaluation of the techniques to mitigate early shrinkage cracking through an image analysis methodology

This is the accepted version of the following article: [Ruiz-Ripoll, L., Barragán, B. E., Moro, S., and Turmo, J. (2016) Evaluation of the Techniques to Mitigate Early Shrinkage Cracking through an Image Analysis Methodology. Strain, 52: 492–502. doi: 10.1111/str.12191], which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/str.12191/abstractNowadays, new products are introduced in concrete mixes to reduce the effects of shrinkage, which are the main reason of most of early age cracking phenomena, especially when curing is not performed in accordance to best practices. The lack of a standardized methodology to quantify concrete cracking complicates the determination of the effectiveness of different solutions and comparison between them. This research presents an evaluation through images of the suitability of fibres and shrinkage-reducing admixtures to control early shrinkage cracking in slab-type concrete elements. The use of this technique has permitted quantifying the typical cracking parameters objectively and analyse probabilistically the average crack width. Results show a delay and reduction of cracking after adding shrinkage-reducing admixtures and fibres in concrete, especially 1kgm-3 of polymeric microfibres. The incorporation of these components directly into the mix modified the behaviour of concrete, reducing shrinkage cracking from the beginning of moisture losses.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Assessment of different pre-treatment methods for the removal of limonene in citrus waste and their effect on methane potential and methane production rate

The objective of this study was to assess the limonene removal efficiency of three pre-treatment methods when applied to citrus waste and to evaluate their effects on the biochemical methane potential (BMP) and the methane production rate (MPR) using batch anaerobic testsPostprint (published version

Desarrollo de un soporte a la planificación de operación para la reducción del riesgo a la colisión de obstáculos para aeronaves no tripuladas

This document presents the development of a support operation planning for RPAs which tries to reduce the risk of collision with aerial obstacles and reduce the people damage. For an emerging and young company of RPAs as HEMAV, it is interesting to develop economic systems and profitable for the technical and professional growth in the market. For this reason, it is required a study that poses alternatives to the economic impact as small as possible. In this report, it has identified potential risks in flight during operations, their corresponding mitigations to the different causes of the collision between the two aircraft and finally, it has recommended the possible solutions to deploy for the fleet of drones of HEMAV. The contributions of different experts in the field of aviation from the balloon pilots to aircraft engineers have been an essential part of the project to determine alternatives to mitigate the causes of collisions between drones and other aircraft. Some of these solutions developed during the project are : -Operational mitigations (Consult and report NOTAMs using Ícaro software, Consult meteorology by using the AEMET service, Maximum flight level at 400 feet (120m)) -Instrumental Mitigation (Using Radio on the ground control station) -Visual Mitigation (Installing red and white strobe lights in RPA) Finally, several suggestions in the operation of HEMAV for further work would continue with the line of the objectives of this document. These are mainly to increase the safety of the fleet of drones, develop an operational methodology where the "Collision Avoidance" would be the good planning of the mission and provide economic solutions too.Este documento presenta el desarrollo de un soporte a la planificación de operaciones con RPAs reduciendo el riesgo a la colisión con obstáculos aéreos móviles y posibles daños a personas. Para una empresa emergente y joven de RPAs como HEMAV, es de gran interés desarrollar sistemas y soportes económicos y rentables para el continuo crecimiento técnico y profesional en el mercado. Por este motivo, se requiere un estudio que plantee diferentes alternativas para que el impacto económico sea el menor posible. En este trabajo se identifican los riesgos potenciales en vuelo durante las operaciones, sus correspondientes mitigaciones a las distintas causas de la colisión entre ambas aeronaves y finalmente, se recomiendan soluciones a implementar en la flota de drones de HEMAV. Las aportaciones de distintos expertos en el ámbito de la aviación desde pilotos de globos hasta ingenieros aeronáuticos han constituido una parte fundamental del proyecto en determinar las alternativas para mitigar las causas de las colisio nes entre drones y otras aeronaves. Algunas de estas soluciones desarrolladas durante el proyecto son las siguientes: Mitigaciones Operacionales Consulta y publicación de NOTAM mediante el uso de Ícaro o Consulta de la meteorología mediante el uso del servicio de AEMET o Altura máxima de vuelo a 400 pies (120m) Mitigación Instrumental Uso de la Radio Aeronáutica en la estación de control tierra Mitigación Visual Instalación de luces estroboscópicas rojas y blancas al RPA. Por último, se presentan varias propuestas en la operativa de HEMAV para un trabajo futuro que seguiría con la línea de los objetivos del presente documento. Estos objetivos son principalmente incrementar la seguridad operacional de la flota de drones, desarrollar una metodología operacional donde el “Collision Avoidance” recaiga en la buena planificación de la misión y aportar soluciones económicas

Desarrollo de un soporte a la planificación de operación para la reducción del riesgo a la colisión de obstáculos para aeronaves no tripuladas

This document presents the development of a support operation planning for RPAs which tries to reduce the risk of collision with aerial obstacles and reduce the people damage. For an emerging and young company of RPAs as HEMAV, it is interesting to develop economic systems and profitable for the technical and professional growth in the market. For this reason, it is required a study that poses alternatives to the economic impact as small as possible. In this report, it has identified potential risks in flight during operations, their corresponding mitigations to the different causes of the collision between the two aircraft and finally, it has recommended the possible solutions to deploy for the fleet of drones of HEMAV. The contributions of different experts in the field of aviation from the balloon pilots to aircraft engineers have been an essential part of the project to determine alternatives to mitigate the causes of collisions between drones and other aircraft. Some of these solutions developed during the project are : -Operational mitigations (Consult and report NOTAMs using Ícaro software, Consult meteorology by using the AEMET service, Maximum flight level at 400 feet (120m)) -Instrumental Mitigation (Using Radio on the ground control station) -Visual Mitigation (Installing red and white strobe lights in RPA) Finally, several suggestions in the operation of HEMAV for further work would continue with the line of the objectives of this document. These are mainly to increase the safety of the fleet of drones, develop an operational methodology where the "Collision Avoidance" would be the good planning of the mission and provide economic solutions too.Este documento presenta el desarrollo de un soporte a la planificación de operaciones con RPAs reduciendo el riesgo a la colisión con obstáculos aéreos móviles y posibles daños a personas. Para una empresa emergente y joven de RPAs como HEMAV, es de gran interés desarrollar sistemas y soportes económicos y rentables para el continuo crecimiento técnico y profesional en el mercado. Por este motivo, se requiere un estudio que plantee diferentes alternativas para que el impacto económico sea el menor posible. En este trabajo se identifican los riesgos potenciales en vuelo durante las operaciones, sus correspondientes mitigaciones a las distintas causas de la colisión entre ambas aeronaves y finalmente, se recomiendan soluciones a implementar en la flota de drones de HEMAV. Las aportaciones de distintos expertos en el ámbito de la aviación desde pilotos de globos hasta ingenieros aeronáuticos han constituido una parte fundamental del proyecto en determinar las alternativas para mitigar las causas de las colisio nes entre drones y otras aeronaves. Algunas de estas soluciones desarrolladas durante el proyecto son las siguientes: Mitigaciones Operacionales Consulta y publicación de NOTAM mediante el uso de Ícaro o Consulta de la meteorología mediante el uso del servicio de AEMET o Altura máxima de vuelo a 400 pies (120m) Mitigación Instrumental Uso de la Radio Aeronáutica en la estación de control tierra Mitigación Visual Instalación de luces estroboscópicas rojas y blancas al RPA. Por último, se presentan varias propuestas en la operativa de HEMAV para un trabajo futuro que seguiría con la línea de los objetivos del presente documento. Estos objetivos son principalmente incrementar la seguridad operacional de la flota de drones, desarrollar una metodología operacional donde el “Collision Avoidance” recaiga en la buena planificación de la misión y aportar soluciones económicas

Machine learning in critical care: state-of-the-art and a sepsis case study

Background: Like other scientific fields, such as cosmology, high-energy physics, or even the life sciences, medicine and healthcare face the challenge of an extremely quick transformation into data-driven sciences. This challenge entails the daunting task of extracting usable knowledge from these data using algorithmic methods. In the medical context this may for instance realized through the design of medical decision support systems for diagnosis, prognosis and patient management. The intensive care unit (ICU), and by extension the whole area of critical care, is becoming one of the most data-driven clinical environments. Results: The increasing availability of complex and heterogeneous data at the point of patient attention in critical care environments makes the development of fresh approaches to data analysis almost compulsory. Computational Intelligence (CI) and Machine Learning (ML) methods can provide such approaches and have already shown their usefulness in addressing problems in this context. The current study has a dual goal: it is first a review of the state-of-the-art on the use and application of such methods in the field of critical care. Such review is presented from the viewpoint of the different subfields of critical care, but also from the viewpoint of the different available ML and CI techniques. The second goal is presenting a collection of results that illustrate the breath of possibilities opened by ML and CI methods using a single problem, the investigation of septic shock at the ICU. Conclusion: We have presented a structured state-of-the-art that illustrates the broad-ranging ways in which ML and CI methods can make a difference in problems affecting the manifold areas of critical care. The potential of ML and CI has been illustrated in detail through an example concerning the sepsis pathology. The new definitions of sepsis and the relevance of using the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) in its diagnosis have been considered. Conditional independence models have been used to address this problem, showing that SIRS depends on both organ dysfunction measured through the Sequential Organ Failure (SOFA) score and the ICU outcome, thus concluding that SIRS should still be considered in the study of the pathophysiology of Sepsis. Current assessment of the risk of dead at the ICU lacks specificity. ML and CI techniques are shown to improve the assessment using both indicators already in place and other clinical variables that are routinely measured. Kernel methods in particular are shown to provide the best performance balance while being amenable to representation through graphical models, which increases their interpretability and, with it, their likelihood to be accepted in medical practice.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Neuroleadership: a new way for happiness management

In a post-pandemic era, managers and leaders have a role to enable the changes needed to make workplaces happier and more productive. This paper aims to analyse the role of neuroleadership in the application of happiness management. Two research questions are proposed: what do we know about neuroleadership? and what role can neuroleadership play in happiness management? A mixed methodology is applied. A bibliometric technique is used to identify the main topics studied in neuroleadership. An in-depth analysis and logical reasoning are applied to propose a neuroleadership research roadmap and to present some research pathways for neuroleadership for happiness management. A neuroleadership research roadmap is proposed, considering the approaches, practices/actions, and purposes. It is observed that the consideration of the management of emotions and cognitive processes in the work environment is attracting interest to develop a leadership focused on making better workplaces. A new line of action focused on the management of happiness is emerging. In addition, neuroleadership is presented as a new way of understanding management. Their combined application can mark a before and after in business management, and for that, a proposal of future research lines and questions is developed. This paper presents four future research pathways-perspectives, reasons, adoption and implementation, and results-for studying neuroleadership for happiness management.14 página

Dispersive micro solid-phase extraction (DµSPE) with graphene oxide as adsorbent for sensitive elemental analysis of aqueous samples by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS)

In this work, the combination of dispersive micro solid-phase extraction (DµSPE) with laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was evaluated for simultaneous preconcentration and detection of Zn, Cd, Mn, Ni, Cr and Pb in aqueous samples. Two adsorbent materials were tested in the microextraction step, namely graphene oxide and activated carbon. In both cases, the microextraction process consisted in the dispersion of a small quantity of adsorbent in the sample solution containing the analytes. However, while the use of activated carbon required a previous chelation of the metals, this step was avoided with the use of graphene oxide. After extraction, the analytes retained in the adsorbents were analysed by LIBS. Several experimental factors affecting the extraction of the metals (adsorbent amount, pH and extraction time) were optimized by means of the traditional univariate approach. Under optimum microextraction conditions, the analytical features of the proposed DµSPE-LIBS methods were assessed, leading to limits of detection below 100 µg kg−1 and 50 µg kg−1 with the use of activated carbon and graphene oxide, respectively, as adsorbents in the DµSPE process. Trueness evaluation of the most sensitive procedure was carried out by spike and recovery experiments in a real sample of tap water, leading to recovery values in the range 98–110%.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, (Spain) (Project no. CTQ2016-79991-R and fellowship number BES-2012-058759 (FPI-MICINN)); the Regional Government of Valencia (Spain) (Project no. PROMETEO/2013/038); and the University of Alicante, (Spain) (Grant no. UAUSTI16-04)

A Continuous Dynamic Traffic Assignment Model From Plate Scanning Technique

[EN] This paper presents a methodology for the dynamic estimation of traffic flows on all links of a network from observable field data assuming the first-in-first-out (FIFO) hypothesis. The traffic flow intensities recorded at the exit of the scanned links are propagated to obtain the flow waves on unscanned links. For that, the model calculates the flow-cost functions through information registered with the plate scanning technique. The model also responds to the concern about the parameter quality of flow-cost functions to replicate the real traffic flow behaviour. It includes a new algorithm for the adjustment of the parameter values to link characteristics when its quality is questionable. For that, it is necessary the a priori study of the location of the scanning devices to identify all path flows and to measure travel times in all links. A synthetic network is used to illustrate the proposed method and to prove its usefulness and feasibilityRivas, A.; Gallego, I.; Sánchez-Cambronero, S.; Ruiz-Ripoll, L.; Barba, R. (2016). A Continuous Dynamic Traffic Assignment Model From Plate Scanning Technique. En XII Congreso de ingeniería del transporte. 7, 8 y 9 de Junio, Valencia (España). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1132-1141. https://doi.org/10.4995/CIT2016.2015.4215OCS1132114

Estudio piloto de diseño de un sitio web para el bienestar de cuidadores de niños con parálisis cerebral

The objective is to present a website designed to improve the quality of life of caregivers of children with cerebral palsy and show data concerning its usefulness. The website was developed in accordance with scientific literature about caregivers' burden. We organized the website around different sections (e.g. family communication, learning to relax) and social support forums. The interactive features of the site were designed to accommodate different caregivers' needs and enable them to choose different pathways according to their own individual needs. Participants were 10 caregivers who took part in a pilot study and completed a questionnaire to analyze the usefulness of the website after five months using it. Preliminary results suggested that the website was useful for participants. The most useful sections were the 'peer-to-peer' and the professional forums. This study shows the potential of an online intervention for parents of children with cerebral palsy.El objetivo del artículo es presentar un sitio web diseñado para mejorar la calidad de vida de cuidadores de niños con parálisis cerebral y mostrar los datos correspondientes a su utilidad. Este sitio fue desarrollado acorde con la literatura científica sobre el tema de carga de los cuidadores y se organizó en torno a diferentes secciones (comunicación familiar, aprender a relajarse, entre otros) y foros de apoyo social. Las características interactivas del sitio fueron diseñadas para satisfacer las necesidades de los cuidadores, eligiendo diferentes caminos en función de las propias. En el estudio piloto participó una muestra de 10 cuidadores que completaron un cuestionario para analizar la utilidad del sitio web después de cinco meses de usarlo. Los resultados preliminares sugieren que este fue útil para los participantes y que las secciones de mayor utilidad fueron la denominada 'de par a par' y los foros profesionales. El presente trabajo muestra el potencial de una intervención en línea, para padres de niños con parálisis cerebral

A Quotient Basis Kernel for the prediction of mortality in severe sepsis patients

In this paper, we describe a novel kernel for multinomial distributions, namely the Quotient Basis Kernel (QBK), which is based on a suitable reparametrization of the input space through algebraic geometry and statistics. The QBK is used here for data transformation prior to classification in a medical problem concerning the prediction of mortality in patients suffering severe sepsis. This is a common clinical syndrome, often treated at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in a time-critical context. Mortality prediction results with Support Vector Machines using QBK compare favorably with those obtained using alternative kernels and standard clinical procedures.Postprint (published version