EVALUATION OF A MODELING AND AUTOMATIC C CODE GENERATION TOOLSET AS AN OPEN SOURCE ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION

International audienceThis paper is focused on the model based design (MBD) approach, more particularly on the automatic C code generation. The goal of our project consists in evaluating how far the toolset called Scilab-Scicos and GeneAuto can be used as the open source alternatives to other solutions

Ownership, Incentives and Hospitals

This article analyzes hospital privatization by comparing costs and quality between different ownership forms. We put the attention on the distinction between public hospitals and private hospitals with public funding. Using information about Spanish hospitals, we have found that private hospitals provide services at a lower cost at expenses of lower quality. We observe that property rights theory is fulfilled at least for the Spanish hospital market. The way that Heath Authorities finance publicly funded hospitals may be responsible for the differences in incentives between public and private centers. We argue that the trade-off between costs and quality could be minimized by designing financing contracts with fixed and variable components

Estudi experimental pel disseny de piles d'electròlit orgànic, emprant polímers conductors com a elèctrodes

Les exigències de les noves tecnologies i la fabricació industrial requereixen constants avenços en quant a ciències i tecnologia dels materials, tant en l’aspecte de l’abaratiment de costos en la seva obtenció o fabricació com en l’eficàcia i les característiques d’aquests. La variabilitat en les seves propietats i els seus reduïts costos obren als polímers un món de possibilitats per a la seva aplicació en la indústria tecnològica. Típicament, els polímers han estat utilitzats per substituir altres materials de característiques similars, oferint noves possibilitats amb propietats diferents. Els polímers conductors, per exemple, presenten conductivitats comparables a les d’alguns metalls, i a més afegeixen diverses qualitats, com la facilitat de producció, la flexibilitat i la possibilitat de dipositar-los fàcilment a qualsevol lloc, convertint-los en un bon material per a produir circuits integrats i altres materials electrònics. En aquest assaig es caracteritzarà les propietats del poli[2,7-bis(2,3-dihydrothieno[3,4- b][1,4]dioxin-5-yl)-9-methyl-9H-carbazol], un polímer conductor heterocíclic format per monòmers de 3,4-etilendioxitiofè (EDOT) i carbazol, i es compararà les seves propietats amb les del PEDOT, que és un polímer conductor conegut i d’ús comú. Es comentarà també de forma superficial el possible impacte mediambiental tant del projecte en sí com de la implementació de bateries basades en polímers conductors

2005-2017 Ozone trends and potential benefits of local measures as deduced from air quality measurements in the north of the Barcelona metropolitan area

We analyzed 2005–2017 data sets on ozone (O3) concentrations in an area (the Vic Plain) frequently affected by the atmospheric plume northward transport of the Barcelona metropolitan area (BMA), the atmospheric basin of Spain recording the highest number of exceedances of the hourly O3 information threshold (180¿µg¿m-3). We aimed at evaluating the potential benefits of implementing local-BMA short-term measures to abate emissions of precursors. To this end, we analyzed in detail spatial and time variations of concentration of O3 and nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2, including OMI remote sensing data for the latter). Subsequently, a sensitivity analysis is done with the air quality (AQ) data to evaluate potential O3 reductions in the north of the BMA on Sundays compared with weekdays as a consequence of the reduction in regional emissions of precursors. The results showed a generalized decreasing trend for regional background O3 as well as the well-known increase in urban O3 and higher urban NO decreasing slopes compared with those of NO2. The most intensive O3 episodes in the Vic Plain are caused by (i) a relatively high regional background O3 (due to a mix of continental, hemispheric–tropospheric and stratospheric contributions); by (ii) intensive surface fumigation from mid-troposphere high O3 upper layers arising from the concatenation of the vertical recirculation of air masses; but also by (iii) an important O3 contribution from the northward transport/channeling of the pollution plume from the BMA. The high relevance of the local-daily O3 contribution during the most intense pollution episodes is clearly supported by the O3 (surface concentration) and NO2 (OMI data) data analysis. A maximum decrease potential (by applying short-term measures to abate emissions of O3 precursors) of 49¿µg¿O3¿m-3 (32¿%) of the average diurnal concentrations was determined. Structurally implemented measures, instead of episodically, could result in important additional O3 decreases because not only the local O3 coming from the BMA plume would be reduced, but also the recirculated O3 and thus the intensity of O3 fumigation in the plain. Therefore, it is highly probable that both structural and episodic measures to abate NOx and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions in the BMA would result in evident reductions of O3 in the Vic PlainPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Youth policy adaptation in the spanish rural context: a case of study of youth policy programs

This article aims to describe a series of policies concerning Spanish youth and their degree of adaptation to Spanish rural areas in terms of the key elements of social dynamics in Spain's rural areas. It considers some of the general youth policies being implemented, and identifies those which appear to be closer to these specific territories. After discussing these policies, it is clear that, on the one hand, there is a lack of flexibility and adaptation to the particular circumstances of rural areas. However, on the other hand, it is also possible to cautiously point out some policies which do indeed propose more appropriate actions for rural areas, as well as observe pilot experiences and partnerships between NGOs and the administration that not only have some outstanding elements, but also the potential to stretch into the futur

One-shot license plate recognition using YOLOv2

En aquesta tesi s'aborda el repte de detectar i reconèixer múltiples matrícules de cotxe en una sola imatge. Primer de tot es fa una recerca d'articles previs i es miren opcions factibles per crear un model propi. A partir d'aquí es crea, s'entrena i es testeja el model en un escenari real. A partir dels resultats es conclourà o no la viabilitat del model.En esta tesis se aborda el reto de detectar y reconocer múltiples matrículas de coche en una sola imagen. Primero de todo se hace una búsqueda de artículos previos y se miran opciones factibles para crear un modelo propio. A partir de ahí se crea, entrena y testea el modelo en un escenario real. Con los resultados obtenidos se concluirá o no la viabilidad del modelo.This thesis addresses the challenge of detecting and recognizing multiple car license plates in a single image. First of all, a search of previous articles is made and feasible options are looked at to create a unique model. From here the model is created, trained and tested on a real scenario. Based on the results, it will be concluded whether or not the model is viable