Optimized profile planar UWB monopole antenna for optimal adaptation

This work deals with the possibility of making a completely blind optimization of th profile of a planar monopole antenna in order to satisfy previously defined demands, in this case minimal return losses for an UWB system. Previous results in this topic were already discussed in [1]. In that work, optimization of the profile of the antenna was not completely blind due to the high computational effort needed to obtain results, which can tirn to be a complete failure. Hence, to speed up the method, the global optimization was performed using a less accurate but quicker analysis and then refining the solution with a local optimization using a very accurate analysis

Accurate characterization of multi-resonant reflectarray cells by artificial neural networks

This paper describes the accurate characterization of the reflection coefficients of a multilayered reflectarray element by means of artificial neural networks. The procedure has been tested with different RA elements related to actual specifications. Up to 9 parameters were considered and the complete reflection coefficient matrix was accurately obtained, including cross polar reflection coefficients. Results show a good agreement between simulations carried out by the Method of Moments and the ANN model outputs at RA element level, as well as with performances of the complete RA antenna designed

Contribution to the geometric characterization of Agricultural Water Reservoirs as a tool for the calculation of sustainability indicators

[SPA] Las balsas a diferencia de las presas presentan desde un punto de vista geométrico elementos y formas similares que pueden ser estudiadas y caracterizadas para la obtención de relaciones y expresiones útiles para la planificación y análisis de diferentes aspectos. En el presente artículo se pretende recopilar y analizar las diferentes relaciones geométricas en balsas. En primer lugar, se realiza una recopilación con las relaciones entre las diferentes variables encontradas en la bibliografía especializada. A partir de la información recopilada por la Generalitat Valenciana de aproximadamente unas 50 balsas, se han obtenido diferentes relaciones entre las variables. Estas relaciones permiten que de una manera aproximada y en fase de predimensionado de una balsa o gestión del territorio, la estimación rápida de diferentes parámetros como la superficie ocupada en función del volumen, superficie impermeabilizada y otro tipo de variables útiles tanto para los proyectistas, gestores y Comunidades de Regantes. El desarrollo y utilización de este tipo de herramientas analíticas debe permitir la caracterización de este tipo de infraestructura dentro de los sistemas hidráulicos, proporcionando indicadores que permitan una mejor planificación y gestión en base a Objetivos de desarrollo Sostenible. [ENG] The Agricultural Water Reservoirs, unlike dams, present from a geometrical point of view similar elements and shapes that can be studied and characterized in order to obtain relations and expressions useful for the planning and analysis of different aspects. In this article we intend to compile and analyze the different geometric relationships in Agricultural Water Reservoirs. First of all, a compilation of the relationships between the different variables found in the specialized literature is made. From the information compiled by the Generalitat Valenciana of approximately 50 Agricultural Water Reservoirs, different relationships between the variables have been obtained. These relationships allow, in an approximate way and in the pre-dimensioning phase of a Agricultural Water Reservoirs or management of the territory, the fast estimation of different parameters such as the occupied surface in function of the volume, waterproofed surface and other types of useful variables for designers, managers and Irrigation Communities. The development and use of this type of analytical tools should allow the characterization of this type of infrastructure within the hydraulic systems, providing indicators that allow better planning and management based on Sustainable Development Objectives

Reflections on the elaboration and implementation of emergency plans in agricultural water reservoirs

[SPA] Las balsas de tierra impermeabilizadas con geomembranas son obras muy seguras, tanto por la tipología constructiva empleada, como por su tipo de explotación, tal y como demuestra la experiencia y la escasez de incidencias. En cualquier caso, se debe ser consciente que cualquier infraestructura puede colapsar y causar daños, y en el peor de los casos la pérdida de vidas humanas. Aunque la probabilidad de colapso nula no existe, es obligación tanto de los usuarios, técnicos implicados el intentar conseguirla. El desarrollo de las sociedades exige mayores niveles de seguridad, y en este sentido tanto para las balsas de tierra como para cualquier otro tipo de infraestructura, las exigencias en seguridad cada vez son mayores. La seguridad en las balsas de tierra viene determinada por tres pilares fundamentales que son: 1. Criterios de proyecto y control durante la ejecución, en ciertos puntos críticos. 2. Mantenimiento de la seguridad a lo largo del tiempo, lo que requiere de unos planes eficaces de Vigilancia y Mantenimiento, dentro de unas normas de Explotación, acordes con las entidades titulares que las tienen que implementar. 3. En el peor de los casos, la infraestructura puede fallar, por lo que interesa analizar cuáles serían sus consecuencias y hacerlo con el suficiente detalle para que puedan adoptarse medidas eficaces que aminores, e incluso anulen los daños, y en especial de vidas humanas. Esta preocupación por la seguridad en las balsas se vio establecida con la inclusión de las balsas en el Real Decreto 9/2008. Una mala concepción de la seguridad en balsas ha querido trasladar a estas infraestructuras, los criterios y planteamientos de las presas, lo cual ha provocado una gran confusión, tanto administrativa como técnica, e incluso un rechazo del sector a la exigencia del establecimiento de un marco normativo para este tipo de infraestructuras. En la presente ponencia se establecen una serie de reflexiones sobre los contenidos de los Planes de Emergencia, estableciendo la diferencia entre su aplicación a presas y balsas, las implicaciones sociales que pueden derivarse de los mismos, así como cuáles deben ser los criterios a seguir para incrementar la seguridad real de las balsas. [ENG] Agricultural Water Reservoirs waterproofed with geomembranes are very safe works, both because of the construction technology used and the type of operation, as shown by experience and the scarcity of incidents. In any case, one must be aware that any infrastructure can collapse and cause damage, and in the worst case, the loss of human lives. Although the probability of zero collapse does not exist, it is the obligation of both the users and the technicians involved to try to achieve it. The development of societies demands higher levels of safety, and in this sense, both for Agricultural Water Reservoirs and for any other type of infrastructure, the safety requirements are increasingly higher. Safety in Agricultural Water Reservoir is determined by three fundamental pillars: 1. Criteria for design and control during execution, at certain critical points. 2. Maintenance of safety over time, which requires effective surveillance and maintenance plans, within the framework of operating standards, in accordance with the entities that have to implement them. 3. In the worst case scenario, the infrastructure may fail, so it is important to analyze the consequences and to do so in sufficient detail so that effective measures can be adopted to reduce or even eliminate the damage, especially in terms of human lives. This concern for raft safety was established with the inclusion of rafts in Royal Decree 9/2008. A bad conception of safety in Agricultural Water Reservoir has wanted to transfer to these infrastructures, the criteria and approaches of dams, which has caused great confusion, both administrative and technical, and even a rejection of the sector to the demand for the establishment of a regulatory framework for this type of infrastructure. This paper sets out a series of reflections on the contents of the Emergency Plans, establishing the difference between their application to dams and agricultural reservoirs, the social implications that may derive from them, as well as the criteria to be followed in order to increase the real safety of reservoirs

New functions of the irrigation reservoirs in a transition towards a more sustanaible agriculture, in the Province of Alicante (Spain)

[SPA] Son bien conocidas las funciones de las balsas de tierra, como infraestructuras imprescindibles en la modernización, consolidación y sostenibilidad de regadíos, desde finales de los años 60 del siglo pasado. Actualmente, dichas funciones están plenamente vigentes, pero además, se amplían las mismas como infraestructuras básicas para la regulación de recursos en el ámbito comarcal, independientemente de su origen. Las nuevas funciones que cumplirán las balsas son: Regulación de volúmenes de aguas superficiales, derivadas de ríos, sin interferir en las dinámicas naturales de los mismos. Acoplar la oferta y la demanda de aguas residuales y desaladas, haciendo posible, además, la utilización de fuentes de energía renovables. Contribuir como micro-humedales, en combinación con la actividad agraria, en el aumento de la biodiversidad [ENG] The functions of earth reservoirs are well known, as essential infrastructures in the modernization, consolidation and sustainability of irrigation systems, since the end of the 60s of the last century. Currently, these functions are fully in force, but they are also expanded as basic infrastructures for the regulation of resources at the regional level, regardless of their origin. The new functions that the earth reservoirs will fulfill are: Regulation of surface water volumes derived from rivers, without interfering with their natural dynamics. Coupling the supply and demand of wastewater and desalinated, also making possible the use of renewable energy sources. Contribute as micro-wetlands, in combination with agricultural activity, in increasing biodiversity

Clinical intervals and diagnostic characteristics in a cohort of prostate cancer patients in Spain: a multicentre observational study

Background: Little is known about the healthcare process for patients with prostate cancer, mainly because hospital-based data are not routinely published. The main objective of this study was to determine the clinical characteristics of prostate cancer patients, the diagnostic process and the factors that might influence intervals from consultation to diagnosis and from diagnosis to treatment. Methods: We conducted a multicentre, cohort study in seven hospitals in Spain. Patients' characteristics and diagnostic and therapeutic variables were obtained from hospital records and patients' structured interviews from October 2010 to September 2011. We used a multilevel logistic regression model to examine the association between patient care intervals and various variables influencing these intervals (age, BMI, educational level, ECOG, first specialist consultation, tumour stage, PSA, Gleason score, and presence of symptoms) and calculated the odds ratio (OR) and the interquartile range (IQR). To estimate the random inter-hospital variability, we used the median odds ratio (MOR). Results: 470 patients with prostate cancer were included. Mean age was 67.8 (SD: 7.6) years and 75.4 % were physically active. Tumour size was classified as T1 in 41.0 % and as T2 in 40 % of patients, their median Gleason score was 6.0 (IQR:1.0), and 36.1 % had low risk cancer according to the D'Amico classification. The median interval between first consultation and diagnosis was 89 days (IQR:123.5) with no statistically significant variability between centres. Presence of symptoms was associated with a significantly longer interval between first consultation and diagnosis than no symptoms (OR:1.93, 95%CI 1.29-2.89). The median time between diagnosis and first treatment (therapeutic interval) was 75.0 days (IQR:78.0) and significant variability between centres was found (MOR:2.16, 95%CI 1.45-4.87). This interval was shorter in patients with a high PSA value (p = 0.012) and a high Gleason score (p = 0.026). Conclusions: Most incident prostate cancer patients in Spain are diagnosed at an early stage of an adenocarcinoma. The period to complete the diagnostic process is approximately three months whereas the therapeutic intervals vary among centres and are shorter for patients with a worse prognosis. The presence of prostatic symptoms, PSA level, and Gleason score influence all the clinical intervals differently

Bladder cancer index: cross-cultural adaptation into Spanish and psychometric evaluation

BACKGROUND: The Bladder Cancer Index (BCI) is so far the only instrument applicable across all bladder cancer patients, independent of tumor infiltration or treatment applied. We developed a Spanish version of the BCI, and assessed its acceptability and metric properties. METHODS: For the adaptation into Spanish we used the forward and back-translation method, expert panels, and cognitive debriefing patient interviews. For the assessment of metric properties we used data from 197 bladder cancer patients from a multi-center prospective study. The Spanish BCI and the SF-36 Health Survey were self-administered before and 12 months after treatment. Reliability was estimated by Cronbach's alpha. Construct validity was assessed through the multi-trait multi-method matrix. The magnitude of change was quantified by effect sizes to assess responsiveness. RESULTS: Reliability coefficients ranged 0.75-0.97. The validity analysis confirmed moderate associations between the BCI function and bother subscales for urinary (r = 0.61) and bowel (r = 0.53) domains; conceptual independence among all BCI domains (r ≤ 0.3); and low correlation coefficients with the SF-36 scores, ranging 0.14-0.48. Among patients reporting global improvement at follow-up, pre-post treatment changes were statistically significant for the urinary domain and urinary bother subscale, with effect sizes of 0.38 and 0.53. CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish BCI is well accepted, reliable, valid, responsive, and similar in performance compared to the original instrument. These findings support its use, both in Spanish and international studies, as a valuable and comprehensive tool for assessing quality of life across a wide range of bladder cancer patients

Predictive Power of the "Trigger Tool" for the detection of adverse events in general surgery: a multicenter observational validation study

Background In spite of the global implementation of standardized surgical safety checklists and evidence-based practices, general surgery remains associated with a high residual risk of preventable perioperative complications and adverse events. This study was designed to validate the hypothesis that a new “Trigger Tool” represents a sensitive predictor of adverse events in general surgery. Methods An observational multicenter validation study was performed among 31 hospitals in Spain. The previously described “Trigger Tool” based on 40 specific triggers was applied to validate the predictive power of predicting adverse events in the perioperative care of surgical patients. A prediction model was used by means of a binary logistic regression analysis. Results The prevalence of adverse events among a total of 1,132 surgical cases included in this study was 31.53%. The “Trigger Tool” had a sensitivity and specificity of 86.27% and 79.55% respectively for predicting these adverse events. A total of 12 selected triggers of overall 40 triggers were identified for optimizing the predictive power of the “Trigger Tool”. Conclusions The “Trigger Tool” has a high predictive capacity for predicting adverse events in surgical procedures. We recommend a revision of the original 40 triggers to 12 selected triggers to optimize the predictive power of this tool, which will have to be validated in future studies

75 años como referente de la investigación agraria y medioambiental española en condiciones de clima mediterráneo [Sitio Web]

1 .pdf con imagen de acceso al “website”, su url y los créditos relacionados con su creación y diseño.-- Créditos: Organización, Estación Experimental de Aula Dei (EEAD-CSIC); Dirección, Jesús Val Falcón; Coordinación, Ana Álvarez-Fernandez, Jorge Álvaro-Fuentes, Ernesto Igartua; Contenido, Anunciación Abadía, Javier Abadía, Carlos Albiñana, Miguel Alfonso, Arancha Arbeloa, Raúl Arbués, Isabel Armillas, Manuel Becana, Santiago Beguería, Carmen Castañeda, Ana Castillo, José Cavero, Bruno Contreras, Azahara Díaz, Edgar García, Elena García, Juan Manuel Gascuñana, Leticia Gaspar, Yolanda Gogorcena, Juan Herrero, Victoria Lafuente, María Victoria López, Juan Antonio Marín, José Martínez, José Carlos Martínez-Giménez, Ana Pilar Mata, Manuel Matamoros, Pierre Mignard, María Ángeles Moreno, Paula Murillo, Ana Navas, Antonio Pérez, Rafael Picorel, María Pilar Vallés, Irene Villar, Inmaculada Yruela, Nery Zapata, Isabel Zarazaga; Diseño y programación: DigitalWorks (Juanjo Ascaso y Asun Dieste); Vídeo, Delegación del CSIC en Aragón (Sara Gutiérrez y Yolanda Hernáiz); Fotografía, Archivo EEAD-CSIC, Anunciación Abadía, Jorge Álvaro-Fuentes, Arancha Arbeloa, Juanjo Ascaso, Santiago Beguería, Elena García, Ernesto Igartua, Ignasi Iglesias, José Manuel Lasa, José Carlos Martínez-Giménez, Pierre Mignard, María Ángeles Moreno, Rubén Sancho, Kosana Suvocarev, María Pilar Vallés, Nery Zapata."Sitio web" de nueva creación y conmemorativo del 75 Aniversario de la EEAD-CSIC que contiene: 1) Foto esférica de su personal en activo; 2) Recopilación de sus hitos históricos más destacados, en orden cronológico; 3) Un vídeo con participación de su personal y muestra de algunas de sus instalaciones; 4) Un mapa con la distribución geográfica de los egresado del Instituto; 5) Algunas fotos, destacando las tomadas a su personal en las celebraciones del 25 y 50 Aniversarios de la EEAD-CSIC.Presentado durante la "Jornada. 75 Aniversario EEAD-CSIC (Zaragoza, Patio de la Infanta. 30 octubre 2019)".Financiación: CSIC, Vicepresidencia Adjunta de Organización y Cultura Científica.N