Determinants of profitability in Spanish financial institutions. Comparing aided and non-aided entities

The last financial crisis has led to the greatest contribution of public funds ever made to Spanish banks. This paper studies why the need for support has been asymmetric, with not all of the institutions requiring aid. Based on profitability of assets (ROA), we determine using panel data econometric and logit response models the components of profit and loss accounts that generated profitability as well as the factors leading to some entities to ask for aid. The analyses show that before the beginning of the crisis there were significant differences between entities that needed aid and those that did not. The most profitable banks grounded their success in the traditional revenue components of financial institutions (such as margin on interest rates and commissions), as well as in revenues obtained from participated companies and extraordinary results. The model offers a tool to detect entities in difficulties in advance, reducing the financial and social costs of public interventions. The factors more impacting on profitability of Spanish institutions are also identifie

Burst Erasure Correction of 2D convolutional codes

In this paper we address the problem of decoding 2D convolutional codes over the erasure channel. In particular, we present a procedure to recover bursts of erasures that are distributed in a diagonal line. To this end we introduce the notion of balls around a burst of erasures which can be considered an analogue of the notion of sliding window in the context of 1D convolutional codes. The main result reduces the decoding problem of 2D convolutional codes to a problem of decoding a set of associated 1D convolutional codes

Fonamentació teórica del model de l'Economia del Bé Comú des de la perspectiva organitzativa

L'Economia del Bé Comú ( ebc ) representa un model, que sense qüestionar la llibertat del mercat, proposa una visió més humana de l'economia, a través del bé comú i la coope- ració. Es tracta d'un model global i integral que s'està desenvolupant sobretot en el camp de la microeconomia. L'objectiu del treball és, després d'identificar les característiques bàsiques del model de l' ebc , justificar els seus fonaments teòrics des del punt de vista orga- nitzatiu, en particular, des de la teoria dels stakeholders. El Balanç del Bé Comú, com a eina que val per a implementar el model de l' ebc , utilitza una matriu de doble entrada, que ser- veix per a mesurar l'aportació de les empreses a la consecució dels principis dels drets humans a través de la seua relació amb els stakeholders

Optical properties and refractive index sensitivity of reactive sputtered oxide coatings with embedded Au clusters

The following article appeared in Journal of Applied Physics 115.6 (2014): 063512 and may be found at http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jap/115/6/10.1063/1.4861136In the present study, nanocomposite coatings of Au clusters embedded in two different oxides, TiO2 and Al2O3, were synthesized using pulsed DC magnetron sputtering. The depositions were carried out in three steps, by depositing the oxide, the Au clusters, and again the oxide. The deposition time of the Au clusters was varied in order to achieve different cluster sizes, morphologies, and nanocomposite topographies. The structure, microstructure, morphology, and the optical properties of the coatings were studied. With the increase in Au content, red-shifted surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peaks with higher intensity and increased widths were observed due to changes in the metal clusters sizes and morphology and due to interparticle effects. In order to relate the peculiar SPR extinction bands with the different clusters shapes and distributions, a simulation of the optical properties of the nanocomposites was performed making use of the Renormalized Maxwell-Garnett approach. A theoretical study concerning the refractive index sensitivity was made in order to predict the optimal coatings parameters for sensing experiments. The increased surface area and the strong SPR extinction bands make these coatings suitable for gas sensing and also catalysis, albeit many other application fields can be envisaged.This research was sponsored by FEDER funds through the program COMPETE, Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade, by national funds through FCT, Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, under the Projects PEst-C/EME/UI0285/2013 and CENTRO-07-0224-FEDER-002001 (Mais Centro SCT_2011_02_001_4637), and through the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation by Projects FUNCOAT CSD2008-00023 and AIB2010PT-00241. R.E.G. wishes also to thank the MCINN for the financial support within the Ramón y Cajal programme. Funding by the European Community through Project Nano4Color is gratefully acknowledged

Mapping of the human visual cortex using image-guided transcranial magnetic stimulation

We describe a protocol using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to systematically map the visual sensations induced by focal and non-invasive stimulation of the human occipital cortex. TMS is applied with a figure of eight coil to 28 positions arranged in a 232-cm grid over the occipital area. A digitizing tablet connected to a PC computer running customized software, and audio and video recording are used for detailed and accurate data collection and analysis of evoked phosphenes. A frameless image-guided neuronavigational device is used to describe the position of the actual sites of the stimulation coils relative to the cortical surface. Our results show that TMS is able to elicit phosphenes in almost all sighted subjects and in a proportion of blind subjects. Evoked phosphenes are topographically organized. Despite minor inter-individual variations, the mapping results are reproducible and show good congruence among different subjects. This procedure has potential to improve our understanding of physiologic organization and plastic changes in the human visual system and to establish the degree of remaining functional visual cortex in blind subjects. Such a non-invasive method is critical for selection of suitable subjects for a cortical visual prosthesis.This research has been carried out with financial support from the Commission of the European Communities, specific RTD programme ‘Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources’, QLK6-CT-2001-00279 and by the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnologıa(MAT2000-1049)Fondo de Investigaciones de la Seguridad Social (FISS 01-0674)National Institute of Mental Health (MH60734, MH57980)National Eye Institute (EYEY12091)Harvard-Thorndike General Clinical Research Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (NCRR MO1 RR01032).Medicin

IUmote: A Framework for the Efficient Modelling, Evaluation, and Deployment of Algorithms and Hardware for Underwater Communications

We present an approach for the modelling and simulating of the modem section of underwater sensor networks. The proposal is based on a specially designed modem architecture and the use of simulation tools and models that represent each of the communication elements: the water medium, physical transducers, electronics, and coding/decoding software. The algorithms can be simulated in the modelling environment; this framework does not require recoding and allows the combination of real and modelled elements. In physical terms, the modem engine provides a decoupled pipelined design of the processing path for the algorithms which allows users to run complex algorithms without requiring a highly demanding specific hardware. The proposal includes a methodology that has allowed us to significantly reduce the effort required in the process, from algorithm development to the effective deployment of the system. As a case study, this paper shows its application and results in the evaluation of a multipath and Doppler-shift correction algorithms.The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the CICYT ANDREA: Automated Inspection and Remote Performance of Marine Fish Farms (CTM2011-29691-C02-01), RIDeWAM: Research on Improvement of the Dependability of WSN based Applications by developing a hybrid monitoring platform (TIN2011-28435-C03-01), Valencian Regional Government under Research Project GV/2014/012, and Universitat Politecnica de Valencia under Research Project UPV PAID-02-12. The translation of this paper was funded by the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Spain.Sánchez Matías, AM.; Perles Ivars, A.; Yuste Pérez, P.; Capella Hernández, JV.; Serrano Martín, JJ. (2015). IUmote: A Framework for the Efficient Modelling, Evaluation, and Deployment of Algorithms and Hardware for Underwater Communications. International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks. 2015:1-14. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/358315S114201

Mental disorders in primary health care: a study of their frequency and diagnosis in four developing countries

1624 patients who were attending primary health facilities in 4 developing countries were examined to determine how many were suffering from mental disorder. Using stringent criteria to establish the presence of psychiatric morbidity, 225 cases were found, indicating an overall frequency of 13·9 %. The great majority of cases were suffering from neurotic illnesses and for most the presenting complaint was of a physical symptom, such as headache, abdominal pain, cough or weakness. The health workers following their normal procedure correctly detected one third of the psychiatric case

Impact of the dosimetry approach on the resulting 90Y radioembolization planned absorbed doses based on 99mTc-MAA SPEC T-CT: is there agreement between dosimetry methods?

Background: Prior radioembolization, a simulation using 99mTc-macroaggregated albumin as 90Y-microspheres surrogate is performed. Gamma scintigraphy images (planar, SPECT, or SPECT-CT) are acquired to evaluate intrahepatic 90Y-microspheres distribution and detect possible extrahepatic and lung shunting. These images may be used for pre-treatment dosimetry evaluation to calculate the 90Y activity that would get an optimal tumor response while sparing healthy tissues. Several dosimetry methods are available, but there is still no consensus on the best methodology to calculate absorbed doses. The goal of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the impact of using different dosimetry approaches on the resulting 90Y-radioembolization pre-treatment absorbed dose evaluation based on 99mTc-MAA images. Methods: Absorbed doses within volumes of interest resulting from partition model (PM) and 3D voxel dosimetry methods (3D-VDM) (dose-point kernel convolution and local deposition method) were evaluated. Additionally, a new “Multi-tumor Partition Model” (MTPM) was developed. The differences among dosimetry approaches were evaluated in terms of mean absorbed dose and dose volume histograms within the volumes of interest. Results: Differences in mean absorbed dose among dosimetry methods are higher in tumor volumes than in non-tumoral ones. The differences between MTPM and both 3D-VDM were substantially lower than those observed between PM and any 3D-VDM. A poor correlation and concordance were found between PM and the other studied dosimetry approaches. DVH obtained from either 3D-VDM are pretty similar in both healthy liver and individual tumors. Although no relevant global differences, in terms of absorbed dose in Gy, between both 3D-VDM were found, important voxel-by-voxel differences have been observed. Conclusions: Significant differences among the studied dosimetry approaches for 90Y-radioembolization treatments exist. Differences do not yield a substantial impact in treatment planning for healthy tissue but they do for tumoral liver. An individual segmentation and evaluation of the tumors is essential. In patients with multiple tumors, the application of PM is not optimal and the 3D-VDM or the new MTPM are suggested instead. If a 3D-VDM method is not available, MTPM is the best option. Furthermore, both 3D-VDM approaches may be indistinctly used

Early imaging and molecular changes with neoadjuvant bevacizumab in stage ii/iii breast cancer

This prospective, phase II study evaluated novel biomarkers as predictors of response to bevacizumab in patients with breast cancer (BC), using serial imaging methods and gene expression analysis. Patients with primary stage II/III BC received bevacizumab 15 mg/kg (cycle 1; C1), then four cycles of neoadjuvant docetaxel doxorubicin, and bevacizumab every 3 weeks (C2–C5). Tumour proliferation and hypoxic status were evaluated using18F-fluoro-3'-deoxy-3'-L-fluorothymidine (FLT)-and18F-fluoromisonidazole (FMISO)-positron emission tomography (PET) at baseline, and during C1 and C5. Pre-and post-bevacizumab vascular changes were evaluated using dynamic contrastenhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI). Molecular biomarkers were assessed using microarray analysis. A total of 70 patients were assessed for treatment efficacy. Significant decreases from baseline in tumour proliferation (FLT-PET), vascularity, and perfusion (DCE-MRI) were observed during C1 (p = 0.001), independent of tumour subtype. Bevacizumab treatment did not affect hypoxic tumour status (FMISO-PET). Significant changes in the expression of 28 genes were observed after C1. Changes in vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR)-2p levels were observed in 65 patients, with a > 20% decrease in VEGFR-2p observed in 13/65. Serial imaging techniques. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Mechanistic changes observed in heavy water for nitrate reduction reaction on palladium-modified Pt(hkl) electrodes

Reduction of nitrate on palladium-modified platinum single-crystal electrodes has been investigated both voltammetrically and spectroscopically in acidic media (pH = 1). Results obtained in H2O and D2O solvents are compared for the three crystallographic orientations. FTIR and differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) results clearly indicate that the isotopic substitution of the solvent has a large effect in the mechanism of the reaction, changing the nature of the detected products. For Pt(111)/Pd and Pt(100)/Pd, N2O is detected as the main product of nitrate reduction when D2O is used as solvent, while no N2O is detected when the reaction is performed in H2O. For Pt(110)/Pd, N2O is detected in both solvents, although the use of D2O clearly favours the preferential formation of this product. The magnitude of voltammetric currents is also affected by the nature of the solvent. This has been analysed considering, in addition to the different product distribution, the existence of different transport numbers and optical constants of the solvent.MEC (Spain)MEC (Spain) [CTQ 2006-04071/BQU]CAPES (Brazil)CAPES (Brazil)CNPq (Brazil)CNPq (Brazil