Men and women differ in their perception of gender bias in research institutions.

There is extensive evidence of gender inequality in research leading to insufficient representation of women in leadership positions. Numbers revealing a gender gap in research are periodically reported by national and international institutions but data on perceptions of gender equality within the research community are scarce. In the present study, a questionnaire based on the British Athena Survey of Science, Engineering and Technology (ASSET 2016) was distributed among researchers working in Spain. Consistent with the original UK-based study, women in research perceived a greater degree of gender inequality than men. This difference was consistent from junior to senior positions, within public and private universities as well as research centres, and across all research disciplines. When responses were compared with the existing UK-based questionnaire, researchers in Spain felt that women and men are treated more equally in the workplace, yet they perceived their home departments to be less supportive regarding matters of gender equality. The results of this study provide clear evidence that men and women do not share the same perceptions of gender equality in science and that their differing perceptions are relatively consistent across two major European countries. The fact that men occupy the majority of senior positions while not perceiving the same inequality as women do, may be critical when it comes to ensuring the fair ascent of women to senior positions in an academic system. These data encourage the implementation of measures to ensure that both men and women are aware of gender biases in research

Customer resistance to tourism innovations: entrepreneurs’ understanding and management strategies

Customer resistance is the greatest risk to innovation for the entrepreneur. The aim of this exploratory study is to provide insights into this underdeveloped area in the tourism innovation literature. A qualitative approach is adopted to understand the resistance experienced by 57 entrepreneurs when introducing their innovations into the market, the causes and the actions taken to minimise resistance. Findings indicate that most entrepreneurs often encounter resistance from sceptical customers, satisfied with their status quo and with no or low appetites for innovation. The analysis reveals two main sources of resistance: the association of the innovations with particular risks, and the customers' lack of understanding of the innovation value. Communication strategies are crucial to decrease the associated risks and for trust building. The paper provides a critical perspective on the challenges faced by innovators, challenges which are often overlooked given the near-iconic status of innovation in studies of economic development.This research has been supported by the European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme [grant agreement 700893]

Tailoring Anderson localization by disorder correlations in 1D speckle potentials

We study Anderson localization of single particles in continuous, correlated, one-dimensional disordered potentials. We show that tailored correlations can completely change the energy-dependence of the localization length. By considering two suitable models of disorder, we explicitly show that disorder correlations can lead to a nonmonotonic behavior of the localization length versus energy. Numerical calculations performed within the transfer-matrix approach and analytical calculations performed within the phase formalism up to order three show excellent agreement and demonstrate the effect. We finally show how the nonmonotonic behavior of the localization length with energy can be observed using expanding ultracold-atom gases

Localization from quantum interference in one-dimensional disordered potentials

We show that the tails of the asymptotic density distribution of a quantum wave packet that localizes in the the presence of random or quasiperiodic disorder can be described by the diagonal term of the projection over the eingenstates of the disordered potential. This is equivalent of assuming a phase randomization of the off-diagonal/interference terms. We demonstrate these results through numerical calculations of the dynamics of ultracold atoms in the one-dimensional speckle and quasiperiodic potentials used in the recent experiments that lead to the observation of Anderson localization for matter waves [Billy et al., Nature 453, 891 (2008); Roati et al., Nature 453, 895 (2008)]. For the quasiperiodic case, we also discuss the implications of using continuos or discrete models.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; minor changes, references update

Filling in the gaps in biowaste biorefineries : The use of the solid residue after enzymatic hydrolysis for the production of biopesticides through solid-state fermentation

Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UABAlternative production processes using waste are necessary to preserve non-renewable resources and prevent scarcity of materials for future generations. Biowaste, the organic fraction of municipal solid waste, is abundant and easily available. It can be fractionated into building blocks for which fermentative processes can be designed. By using solid-state fermentation, this paper proposes a method of valorizing biowaste's residual solid fraction after enzymatic hydrolysis. In a 22 L bioreactor, two digestates from anaerobic digestion processes were evaluated as cosubstrates to modify the acidic pH of the solid residue after enzymatic hydrolysis and promote the growth of the bacterial biopesticide producer Bacillus thuringiensis. Regardless of the cosubstrate used, the final microbial populations were similar indicating microbial specialization. The final product contained 4 × 10 spores per gram of dry matter and also crystal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis var israelensis, which have insecticidal activity against pests. This method allows for the sustainable use of all materials liberated during the enzymatic hydrolysis of biowaste, including residual solids

MOTION OF A LARGE OBJECT IN A 2D BUBBLING FLUIDIZED BED

The motion of a large object in a bubbling fluidized bed is experimentally studied using digital image analysis. A wide range of fluidized bed applications involves the motion of large objects within the bed, such objects being reactants, catalysts, agglomerates, etc. The experiments were run in a 2D bubbling fluidized bed with glass spheres as bed material. The object motion is measured using tracking techniques, while independent measurements of the dense phase velocity (using PIV) and bubble velocity were carried out. The effect of the excess gas velocity on the object motion was also analyzed. It is generally accepted that objects with densities in a range around the bed density will describe sinking-rising cycles throughout the whole bed, where the sinking motion is similar to that of the dense phase, and the rising motion is composed of a number of sudden jerks or jumps, as a result of the raising effect of passing bubbles. This work characterized the circulation patterns of an object with a density similar to that of the bed material, but much larger in size. A comparison between the object rising motion and the local bubble motion provided evidence for the study of the bubble ability to raise the object, depending on the bubble velocity and size. A comparison between the object sinking motion and the dense phase motion served to analyze the minor effect of buoyancy forces over the object sinking motion. Finally, the combined effects of the maximum attained depth and the number of jerks in the circulation time is studied, with some insight in the multiple-jerks phenomenon

Evaluation of the different numerical formats for HIL models of power converters after the adoption of VHDL-2008 by xilinx

Hardware in the loop is a widely used technique in power electronics, allowing to test and debug in real time (RT) at a low cost. In this context, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) play an important role due to the high-speed requirements of RT simulations, in which area optimization is also crucial. Both characteristics, area and speed, are affected by the numerical formats (NFs) and their rounding modes. Regarding FPGAs, Xilinx is one of the largest manufacturers in the world, offering Vivado as its main design suite, but it was not until the release of Vivado 2020.2 that support for the IEEE NF libraries of VHDL-2008 was included. This work presents an exhaustive evaluation of the performance of Vivado 2020.2 in terms of area and speed using the native IEEE libraries of VHDL-2008 regarding NF. Results show that even though fixed-point NFs optimize area and speed, if a user prefers the use of floating-point NFs, with this new release, it can be synthesized—which could not be done in previous versions of Vivado. Although support for the native IEEE libraries of VHDL-2008 was included in Vivado 2020.2, it still lacks some issues regarding NF conversion during synthesis while support for simulation is not yet includedThis research received no external fundin

Mixing and m(q) dependence of axial vector mesons in the Coulomb gauge QCD model.

We discuss pure q (q) over bar axial-vector mesons in the Tamm-Dancoff approximation of the Coulomb-gauge QCD model from North Carolina State University. While recent studies have put emphasis in configuration mixing with open meson-meson channels, we here concentrate on the simpler closed-channel problem and follow the 1(+) mixing through a wide range of quark masses. We also examine their radial excitations and discuss with them the concept of insensitivity to chiral symmetry breaking

Desarrollo de una placa de osteosíntesis personalizada como técnica de fijación y posicionamiento simultáneo del maxilar superior en osteotomías tipo Lefort I en cirugía ortognática

En este estudio se desarrolla una técnica de posicionamiento y fijación para osteotomías tipo Lefort I en cirugía ortognática. En concreto, se lleva a cabo una prueba de concepto de diseño de una placa de osteosíntesis multifunción customizada. Inicialmente se han analizado parámetros influyentes en la morfología y situación de la placa, según lo cual se ha diseñado la placa. Este diseño se ha validado mediante la impresión 3D de prototipos plásticos y ha sido validado por un cirujano maxilofacial especialista en cirugía ortognática. El resultado del diseño CAD (Computer-Aided Design) de la placa de osteosíntesis ha sido exitoso y se ha completado en un tiempo aceptable para una cirugía electiva. Gracias a las características de la placa se prevé que aumente la precisión del procedimiento y que, por tanto, se obtengan mejores resultados clínicos