2,060 research outputs found
Technology roadmapping in security and defence foresight
Purpose:
This paper aims to provide an analysis of Spanish Defence National Foresight Exercise.
Design/methodology/approach:
The analysis is based on a content analysis of public domain Spanish Defence National Foresight Exercise, and a study directed to analyse the impact on defence technological and industrial base.
Findings:
Foresight studies on the defence and security environment uses hybrid methodologies, but rarely involve all the stakeholders, and specially the citizens. The authors place a particular emphasis on the impact of these defence and security foresight studies, and following policies to increase the competitiveness and advanced technologies in the future. The analysis of the Spanish contractors allows an evaluation of the roadmaps as a policy instrument for the industrial defence industry. The main challenges for the next exercises in the European countries are to increase the interest in the firms' intelligence systems, and the participation and representation of citizens as a way to guarantee their rights. Therefore, a technology roadmap must be complemented with other more participative foresight methods.
Originality/value:
Foresight studies on the defence and security environment have been the subject of very few systematic analyses of impact. This paper makes a contribution to such analysis
Groundwater pollution in quaternary aquifer of Vitoria - Gasteiz (Basque Country, Spain)
As a result of diverse changes in land use and in water-resource management in the high basin of the Zadorra River (Basque Country), an important loss of water resources and an intense contamination by nitrogen compounds has taken place. The purpose of this paper is to detail the land transformations that have taken place on the aquifer since the 1950s: increase of drainage network, change from dry to irrigated farming, and diversion of rivers at the aquifer unit inlet. Furthermore, we analyze the impact of these transformations on the hydrodynamics and water quality of this aquifer system
J. A. López Férez, Mitos en las obras conservadas de Eurípides. Guía para la lectura del trágico, Ediciones Clásicas, Madrid, 2014, 251 pp.
Sin partir de consideraciones previas sobre posturas fi losófi cas, religiosas o sociales, atribuidas con frecuencia a Eurípides y utilizadas para explicar su obra, lleva a cabo el Profesor J. A. López Férez esta monografía que contribuye a contextualizar la producción euripidea en su género literario y en su tiempo, a través del estudio pormenorizado del elemento mítico presente en las tragedias y en el único drama satírico completo conservado
The Performance of SiO2 and TiO2 Nanoparticles as Lubricant Additives in Sunflower Oil
In recent years, there has been growing concern regarding the use of petroleum-based lubricants. This concern has generated interest in readily biodegradable fluids such as vegetable oils. The present work evaluated the rheological and tribological characteristics of sunflower oil modified with silicon dioxide (SiO2) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles as lubricant additives at different concentrations. A parallel plate rheometer was used to evaluate the eects of concentration and shear rate on the shear viscosity, and the experimental data was compared with conventional models. The wear protection and friction characteristics of the oil-formulations were evaluated by conducting block-on-ring sliding tests. Surface analysis-based instruments, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and profilometry, were used to characterize the morphology and structure of the worn surfaces. The experimental results showed that the coeffcient of friction decreased with the addition of SiO2 and TiO2 nanoparticles by 77.7% and 93.7%, respectively when compared to base sunflower oil. Furthermore, the volume loss was lowered by 74.1% and 70.1%, with the addition of SiO2 and TiO2 nanoparticles, respectively. Based on the experimental results, the authors conclude that modified sunflower oil enhanced with nanoparticles has the potential for use as a good biodegradable lubricant
5 year Global 3-mm VLBI survey of Gamma-ray active blazars
The Global mm-VLBI Array (GMVA) is a network of 14 3\,mm and 7\,mm capable
telescopes spanning Europe and the United States, with planned extensions to
Asia. The array is capable of sensitive maps with angular resolution often
exceeding 50\,as. Using the GMVA, a large sample of prominent -ray
blazars have been observed approximately 6 monthly from later 2008 until now.
Combining 3\,mm maps from the GMVA with near-in-time 7\,mm maps from the
VLBA-BU-BLAZAR program and 2\,cm maps from the MOJAVE program, we determine the
sub-pc morphology and high frequency spectral structure of -ray
blazars. The magnetic field strength can be estimated at different locations
along the jet under the assumption of equipartition between magnetic field and
relativistic particle energies. Making assumptions on the jet magnetic field
configuration (e.g. poloidal or toroidal), we can estimate the separation of
the mm-wave "core" and the jet base, and estimate the strength of the magnetic
field there. The results of this analysis show that on average, the magnetic
field strength decreases with a power-law , .
This suggests that on average, the mm-wave "core" is \,pc downstream
of the de-projected jet apex and that the magnetic field strength is of the
order \,kG, broadly consistent with the predictions of
magnetic jet launching (e.g. via magnetically arrested disks (MAD)).Comment: 6 pages, 1 figur
Reaching unanimous agreements within agent-based negotiation teams with linear and monotonic utility functions
[EN] In this article, an agent-based negotiation model for negotiation teams that negotiate a deal with an opponent is presented. Agent-based negotiation teams are groups of agents that join together as a single negotiation party because they share an interest that is related to the negotiation process. The model relies on a trusted mediator that coordinates and helps team members in the decisions that they have to take during the negotiation process: which offer is sent to the opponent, and whether the offers received from the opponent are accepted. The main strength of the proposed negotiation model is the fact that it guarantees unanimity within team decisions since decisions report a utility to team members that is greater than or equal to their aspiration levels at each negotiation round. This work analyzes how unanimous decisions are taken within the team and the robustness of the model against different types of manipulations. An empirical evaluation is also performed to study the impact of the different parameters of the model.This work is supported by TIN2008-04446, PROMETEO/2008/051, TIN2009-13839-C03-01, CSD2007-00022 of the Spanish government, and FPU Grant AP2008-00600 awarded to Victor Sanchez-Anguix. This paper was recommended by Associate Editor X. Wang.Sanchez-Anguix, V.; Julian Inglada, VJ.; Botti, V.; García-Fornes, A. (2012). Reaching unanimous agreements within agent-based negotiation teams with linear and monotonic utility functions. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Part B: Cybernetics. 42(3):778-792. https://doi.org/10.1109/TSMCB.2011.2177658S77879242
Tenofovir (TDF) containing first-line HAART is associated with changes in plasma parameters suggestive of increased bone resorption
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