Safe Coordination of Autonomous Vehicles

As more and more autonomous vehicles enter our road, new mechanisms must be considered to ensure the safe coordination between the autonomous vehicles. Al- though many algorithms have been proposed to coordinate autonomous vehicles, few of them have considered the robustness of the solution against disturbances. Therefore, in this master’s thesis, a vehicle coordination algorithm that uses vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication is design in order to achieve collision free trajectories, while rejecting disturbances. Specifically, a robust tube-based model predictive control (MPC) scheme is proposed in order to control the autonomous vehicle. This controller uses series of zonotopic reachable sets (also known as tube) to compute a set of state and input constraints, which ensure the robust feasibility of the problem. To reduce the computational burden of the MPC opti- mization problem, the vehicle model is reformulated into a pseudo-linear model by transforming its non-linear equations into the linear parameter varying (LPV) form. The disturbance rejection is performed by a H∞-optimal corrective con- troller. Finally, the collision avoidance is achieved by a V2V coordination algo- rithm, in which the lateral bounds of a collision free path are computed. To validate the proposed control scheme, a series of simulations have been performed to test the disturbance rejection of the corrective controller, as well as the vehicle coordination capabilities. The results from these tests show that the proposed controller is effective in coordinating a multiple overtaking maneuver, while rejecting the disturbances

La evaluación del Plan Nacional de Evaluación y Calidad Universitaria desde la Grounded Theory

Los profundos cambios que se han producido en las últimas dos décadas en las universidades europeas han facilitado que se pase del paradigma de cantidad al de calidad. Es decir, hace unos años el objetivo prioritario consistió en posibilitar un mayor acceso de estudiantes a la universidad; en la actualidad, y una vez alcanzado este primer objetivo, lo que se persigue es mejorar los servicios que la universidad presta a la sociedad. Una de las herramientas para conseguir este cambio, y con ello transformar la cultura universitaria, ha sido la institucionalización de la evaluación, entendida como una herramienta para la mejora continua. En España, no es hasta 1995 cuando se aprueba el Plan Nacional de Evaluación de la Calidad Universitaria, que ha concluido recientemente. Transcurridos unos años desde su aprobación, se ha realizado un profundo análisis del mismo, más concretamente, se ha metaevaluado el Plan para conocer cuáles han sido sus logros y desaciertos y proponer soluciones.The deep changes that have taken place in the Europeans Universities in the last two decades, have provoked a change of the paradigm of quantity to the one of quality. It means, that many years ago the prioritary aim consisted in making the access of the students to University as big as possible. Once reached this aim, nowadays, the services reddered to society by the University are pursued. One of the tools to achieve this change and transform the university culture, has been the institucionalization of the evaluation, which must be understood as a tool for a continuous improvement. In Spain, this has not happened until 1995, year in which a General Plan for the Evaluation of the University Quality was approved. This plan has been recently concluded. After a few years since its passing, a deep analysis of this plan has been made. To be precise, the plan has been metaeveluated to know which have been its successes and mistakes, and propose different solutions for them

Notas sobre la flora alóctona valenciana de origen ornamental.

Muchos de los neófitos detectados en los últimos años, tanto en la flora española como en la valenciana, corresponden a táxones introducidos en nuestro país con fines ornamentales, consecuencia de la creciente utilización de plantas alóctonas en jardinería

Plants of the Brother Bianor herbarium in the La Salle Paterna School Museum (Valencia, Spain)

El presente estudio muestra la documentación, digitalización e informatización de la obra completa del Hermano Bianor contenida en el Museo La Salle de Paterna (Valencia, España). Esta colección clásica recoge parte de las recolecciones que el propio Bianor llevó a cabo durante su estancia en las Islas Baleares a principios del siglo XX. La colección consta de 1214 pliegos de herbario recolectados entre los años 1905 y 1916 por diferentes localidades de la isla de Mallorca, especialmente en los municipios de Sóller y Palma de Mallorca. Además de una breve biografía del autor, se incluyen detalles sobre el origen de la colección, datos sobre los municipios donde se recolectaron las plantas, la frecuencia de recolección o la diversidad de familias.The present study shows the documentation, digitization and computerization of the complete work of the Brother Bianor located in the Museo La Salle in Paterna, (Valencia, Spain). This classic collection includes part of Bianor works developed during his stay, in the early 20th century, in the Balearic Islands, Spain. The collection bears 1214 herbarium sheets collected between 1905 to 1916 in different locations in the Majorca island, especially Sóller and Palma de Mallorca. Besides a brief biography of the author, this study also includes details on the origin of the collection, the localities where the plants were collected, frequency of the collection of plants or the families’ diversity

Effect of time to sentinel-node biopsy on the prognosis of cutaneous melanoma

Introduction: In patients with primary cutaneous melanoma, there is generally a delay between excisional biopsy of the primary tumour and sentinel-node biopsy. The objective of this study is to analyse the prognostic implications of this delay. Patients and method: This was an observational, retrospective, cohort study in four tertiary referral hospitals. A total of 1963 patients were included. The factor of interest was the interval between the date of the excisional biopsy of the primary melanoma and the date of the sentinel-node biopsy (delay time) in the prognosis. The primary outcome was melanoma-specific survival and disease-free survival. Results: A delay time of 40 days or less (hazard ratio (HR), 1.7; confidence interval (CI), 1.2-2.5) increased Breslow thickness (Breslow ⩾2 mm, HR, >3.7; CI, 1.4-10.7), ulceration (HR, 1.6; CI, 1.1-2.3), sentinel-node metastasis (HR, 2.9; CI, 1.9-4.2), and primary melanoma localised in the head or neck were independently associated with worse melanoma-specific survival (all P < 0.03). The stratified analysis showed that the effect of delay time was at the expense of the patients with a negative sentinel-node biopsy and without regression. Conclusion: Early sentinel-node biopsy is associated with worse survival in patients with cutaneous melanoma

Regulation of Fn14 Receptor and NF-κB Underlies Inflammation in Meniere’s Disease

Meniere’s disease (MD) is a rare disorder characterized by episodic vertigo, sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus, and aural fullness. It is associated with a fluid imbalance between the secretion of endolymph in the cochlear duct and its reabsorption into the subarachnoid space, leading to an accumulation of endolymph in the inner ear. Epidemiological evidence, including familial aggregation, indicates a genetic contribution and a consistent association with autoimmune diseases (AD). We conducted a case–control study in two phases using an immune genotyping array in a total of 420 patients with bilateral MD and 1,630 controls. We have identified the first locus, at 6p21.33, suggesting an association with bilateral MD [meta-analysis leading signal rs4947296, OR = 2.089 (1.661–2.627); p = 1.39 × 10−09]. Gene expression profiles of homozygous genotype-selected peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) demonstrated that this region is a trans-expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) in PBMCs. Signaling analysis predicted several tumor necrosis factor-related pathways, the TWEAK/Fn14 pathway being the top candidate (p = 2.42 × 10−11). This pathway is involved in the modulation of inflammation in several human AD, including multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, or rheumatoid arthritis. In vitro studies with genotype-selected lymphoblastoid cells from patients with MD suggest that this trans-eQTL may regulate cellular proliferation in lymphoid cells through the TWEAK/Fn14 pathway by increasing the translation of NF-κB. Taken together; these findings suggest that the carriers of the risk genotype may develop an NF-κB-mediated inflammatory response in MD

Mejora del sistema Moodle mediante personalización de contenido y generación evolutiva de actividades aleatorias

El presente trabajo se centra en el proceso de personalización y mejora de la herramienta de gestión del aprendizaje Moodle para su adaptación a los requisitos de dos asignaturas de la titulación de Ingeniería Informática.Vicerrectorado de Calidad y Armonización Europea de la Universidad de Alicante y Conselleria de Empresa, Universidad y Ciencia