Understanding the impact of line-of-sight in the ergodic spectral efficiency of cellular networks

In this paper we investigate the impact of lineof-sight (LoS) condition in the ergodic spectral efficiency of cellular networks. To achieve this goal, we have considered the kappa-mu shadowed model, which is a general model that provides an excellent fit to a wide set of propagation conditions. To overcome the mathematical complexity of the analysis, we have split the analysis between large and small-scale effects. Building on the proposed framework, we study a number of scenarios that range from heavily-fluctuating LoS to deterministic-LoS. Finally, we shed light on the interplay between fading severity and spectral efficiency by means of the amount of fading.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Consideraciones para una óptima salud en el puesto de trabajo

La ergonomía desempeña un papel creciente en la solución del problema de rehabilitación de personas que en una u otra medida han perdido la capacidad de trabajo; también se estudian las aptitudes y peculiaridades psíquicas y físicas de las personas de edad avanzada y de aquellos individuos considerados como trabajadores especialmente sensibles. Por ello los principios ergonómicos se aplican para optimizar las condiciones de trabajo en relación al bienestar de la persona, su salud y su seguridad, sin olvidar la eficiencia tecnológica y económica. El abordaje de los factores de riesgo que intervienen en la producción de problemas de espalda en los profesionales, incluye al ser humano en sentido integral, desde el punto de vista físico, psicológico y social. En nuestro trabajo nos vamos a centrar en los factores físicos principalmente, destacaremos la adopción de posturas forzadas, movimientos bruscos, así como la inadecuada preparación física y el sedentarismo en una profesión sanitaria, la del técnico en transporte sanitario. Pero no debemos dejar de hacer mención de los otros puntos de vista: el estrés laboral, el apremio de tiempo, que da lugar a que se trabaje con mayor ritmo y no precisamente adoptando posiciones correctas. Aspectos relacionados con la satisfacción laboral también acentúan el estrés y la tensión muscular. La ausencia de una formación preventiva adecuada respecto a técnicas de movilización de enfermos. La falta de personal en los centros de trabajo, que implican una sobrecarga; el deficiente o nulo uso de medios mecánicos adecuadamente diseñados desde el punto de vista ergonómico.Ergonomics plays an increasing role in solving the problem of rehabilitation of people have lost the ability to work, it also examines the skills and mental and physical peculiarities of the elderly and those individuals considered workers are particularly sensitive. Therefore apply ergonomic principles to optimize the conditions of work for the welfare of the person, their health and safety, not forgetting the technological and economic efficiency. The approach of the risk factors involved in the production of back problems in the professionals, including the human being in integral sense from the standpoint of physical, psychological and social. In our work we focus mainly on physical factors, we will highlight the adoption of awkward postures, sudden movements, as well as inadequate physical fitness and physical inactivity in a health profession, the technician in health transport. But we must not fail to mention the other points of view: work stress, time pressure, which leads you to work with greater pace and not just taking proper positions. Aspects related to job satisfaction also accentuate stress and muscle tension. The absence of adequate preventive training on techniques of mobilization of patients. The lack of staff in the workplace, resulting in an overload, the poor or no use of properly designed mechanical means from the ergonomic standpoint.peerReviewe

EEG signal processing in mi-bci applications with improved covariance matrix estimators

Article number 8688582n brain–computer interfaces (BCIs), the typical models of the EEG observations usually lead to a poor estimation of the trial covariance matrices, given the high non-stationarity of the EEG sources. We propose the application of two techniques that significantly improve the accuracy of these estimations and can be combined with a wide range of motor imagery BCI (MI-BCI) methods. The first one scales the observations in such a way that implicitly normalizes the common temporal strength of the source activities. When the scaling applies independently to the trials of the observations, the procedure justifies and improves the classical preprocessing for the EEG data. In addition, when the scaling is instantaneous and inde pendent for each sample, the procedure particularizes to Tyler’s method in statistics for obtaining a distribution free estimate of scattering. In this case, the proposal pro vides an original interpretation of this existing method as a technique that pursuits an implicit instantaneous power-normalization of the underlying source processes. The second technique applies to the classifier and improves its performance through a convenient regularization of the features covariance matrix. Experimental tests reveal that a combination of the proposed techniques with the state-of-the-art algorithms for motor-imagery classification provides a significant improvement in the classification results.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad ( España) TEC2017-82807-

Effects of the Combination of Music Therapy and Physiotherapy in the Improvement of Motor Function in Cerebral Palsy: A Challenge for Research

Background: There are different therapeutic strategies such as physiotherapy and music therapy for the treatment of cerebral palsy. Intervention protocols using both therapies to unify the measurement of motor function have not been investigated. Aims and scope: To summarize the effects of the treatment of cerebral palsy through the use of both for the improvement of motor function, analyse the challenges encountered, and submit proposals for improving them. Methods: The systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines and registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42020162493). Clinical trials that described the results obtained in terms of motor function through physiotherapy and music therapy were included. Results: Eight clinical trials with 234 participants were considered with a significant improvement in motor function. Results of meta-analysis suggested improvements in gait velocity in favour of the control group for cerebral palsy (mean differences = 0.03; 95% confidence interval = 0.01, 0.04, p = 0.001; I-2 = 97%). However, high heterogeneity was identified in the meta-analysis due to the small number of studies included. Conclusions: The combination can be effective in subjects with cerebral palsy to improve motor function, although due to the diversity of studies analysed, it is complex to extrapolate results.This research was funded by the Department of Nursing and Physiotherapy (University of Cadiz)

Joint Distribution of Distance and Angles in Finite Wireless Networks

Directional beamforming will play a paramount role in 5G and beyond networks in order to combat the higher path losses incurred at millimeter wave bands. Appropriate modeling and analysis of the angles and distances between transmitters and receivers in these networks are thus essential to understand performance and limiting factors. Most existing literature considers either infinite and uniform networks, where nodes are drawn according to a Poisson point process, or finite networks with the reference receiver placed at the origin of a disk. Under either of these assumptions, the distance and azimuth angle between transmitter and receiver are independent, and the angle follows a uniform distribution between $0$ and $2\pi$. Here, we consider a more realistic case of finite networks where the reference node is placed at any arbitrary location. We obtain the joint distribution between the distance and azimuth angle and demonstrate that these random variables do exhibit certain correlation, which depends on the shape of the region and the location of the reference node. To conduct the analysis, we present a general mathematical framework which is specialized to exemplify the case of a rectangular region. We then also derive the statistics for the 3D case where, considering antenna heights, the joint distribution of distance, azimuth and zenith angles is obtained. Finally, we describe some immediate applications of the present work, including the analysis of directional beamforming, the design of analog codebooks and wireless routing algorithms.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figure

Aplicación De Un Modelo Basado En La Gestión Del Conocimiento Para Mejorar El Nivel De Aprovechamiento De Las Tic. Estudio De Caso En Una Pyme Mexicana

A very dynamic environment and constant technological advances are surrounding small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their commercial activities. The business context is becoming increasingly complex, as there are continually numerous aspects related to the application of knowledge, both financial, legal, organizacional and technological. In relation to the application of information and communication technologies (ICT), SMEs need to acquire and apply knowledge correctly to obtain the best use of these technologies in their business processes. Taking this scenario into account, the objective of this paper is to present the case study on the application of a conceptual model based on knowledge management (KM) to improve the level of use of ICT in the business processes of mexican SMEs. The model was applied in an SME of the commercial sector. The results obtained are exposed, as well as the conclusions and future perspectives of the work developed

WM-SIMA: Herramienta de simulación para el enlace descendente LTE-Advanced

In this paper, we present a novel and efficient link level simulation framework for the donwlink (DL) of Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) cellular networks. The tool, called Wireless Mobile SIMulator Advanced (WM-SIMA), is available to be downloaded so that researchers can use it to evaluate the performance for different network configurations. In this work, the main characteristics of WM-SIMA are presented. As a case of use, the Average Spectral Efficiency (ASE) is obtained for the DL of a two-tier network, composed of Macro Access Points (MAPs) and Pico APs (PAPs). Simulation results confirms that there exist an optimal Cell Range Expansion (CRE) bias in the cell association that maximizes the ASE. Interestingly, it is confirmed that this optimal bias does not depend on the number of PAPs, while increasing the number of PAPs leads to a higher ASE for the same bias.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (TEC2013-44442-P). Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Influence of HLA Matching on the Efficacy of Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Therapies for Osteoarthritis and Degenerative Disc Disease

Producción CientíficaThe necessity for more effective therapies for chronic osteoarticular diseases has led to the development of treatments based on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), the natural precursors of musculoskeletal tissue. Treatments with autologous MSCs yielded excellent results, with nearly 70% improvement of pain and disability in osteoarthritis and degenerative disc disease. Using allogeneic MSCs is logistically more convenient and would widen the pool of eligible patients, but potential immune rejection should be considered. In this context, MSCs are purportedly immune evasive and better tolerated than other cell types. Methods We used samples collected during the performance of 2 randomized clinical trials using allogeneic bone marrow MSCs for treatment of osteoarthritis (NCT01586312) and degenerative disc disease (NCT01860417). Serum samples were used to determine anti-HLA antibodies, whereas either blood or MSC samples were used for HLA typing of recipients and donors, respectively. Algofunctional indexes were used as indicators of clinical evolution, and the correlation between the number of donor-host HLA mismatches and the efficacy of treatment was determined. Results Immune response was weak and transient, with reactivity decaying during the first year. Consistently, better donor-recipient HLA matching did not enhance efficacy. Conclusions This lack of reactivity is presumably due to the cooperation of 2 factors, (1) downregulation of the host immune responses by the transplanted MSCs and (2) effective insulation of these cells inside the articular cavity or the intervertebral disc, respectively. Interestingly, better HLA matching did not enhance efficacy. These observations have medical relevance as they support the clinical use of allogeneic cells, at least as a single-dose administration. Multiple-dose applications will require further research to exclude possible sensitization.Red de Terapia Celular of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (RD16/0011/0003) and Centro en Red de Medicina Regenerativa de Castilla y Leó

Aprendizaje colaborativo y evaluación por pares a través de rúbricas en las asignaturas de “Métodos específicos de intervención en Fisioterapia I y II”

Artículo dentro de la convocatoria de Innovación Docente 18-19La docencia siempre es un reto para cualquier profesor y es necesario poseer herramientas que motiven al alumnado para participar en el proceso de aprendizaje. El objetivo principal de este proyecto de innovación docente es integrar el uso de recursos audiovisuales para mejorar el aprendizaje mediante el trabajo en grupo, así como involucrar al alumnado en el proceso de evaluación mediante la utilización de rúbricas. Metodología: Este proyecto se llevó a cabo en dos asignaturas del tercer curso del Grado de Fisioterapia con la colaboración del Centro de Recursos Digitales de la UCA. Se basó en la organización de los alumnos por equipos, y cada grupo debía realizar un power point y un vídeo sobre una determinada técnica de Fisioterapia. Fueron 12 trabajos en total por cada asignatura involucrada. Posteriormente a su visualización por el profesorado y el alumnado, se debían valorar mediante una rúbrica consensuada Finalmente se elaboraron dos encuestas (una de expectativas y otra de satisfacción) que los alumnos debían realizar al inicio y al final del proyecto. Resultados y Conclusiones: Ante los resultados obtenidos podemos concluir que el trabajo colaborativo ha sido beneficioso, aunque les suponga una inversión de tiempo extra. No se han encontrado diferencias relevantes en las encuestas las encuestas al comparar ambas asignaturas. En cuanto a la evaluación por rúbricas, las notas realizadas por el docente y los compañeros han variado, siendo inferiores las calificaciones de los profesores.6 página

On the system performance of DFT-S-OFDM and CP-OFDM for 5G Uplink in mmWave band

Both conventional Cyclic Prefix Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (CP-OFDM) and Discrete Fourier Transform Spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) have been adopted for their use in the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) in the 5G New Radio (NR) standard. While CP-OFDM can better exploit the frequency characteristics of the channel, DFTS-OFDM has the advantage of a lower peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR). Due to the interactions between PAPR and power amplifier (PA) non-linearity, users adopting DFT-S-OFDM waveform may benefit from a potentially higher PA efficiency and extend their coverage by increasing their transmit power. In this paper we study the uplink performance of both waveforms and their interaction with non-linear PA and uplink power control in the millimeter-wave (mmWave) band to determine their optimal operational range