Fundamental finite key limits for information reconciliation in quantum key distribution

The security of quantum key distribution protocols is guaranteed by the laws of quantum mechanics. However, a precise analysis of the security properties requires tools from both classical cryptography and information theory. Here, we employ recent results in non-asymptotic classical information theory to show that information reconciliation imposes fundamental limitations on the amount of secret key that can be extracted in the finite key regime. In particular, we find that an often used approximation for the information leakage during one-way information reconciliation is flawed and we propose an improved estimate.

Two way clustering of Microarray Data using a Hybrid Approach

The Microarray technique is rather powerful, as it allows to test up thousands of genes at a time, but this produces an overwhelming set of data files containing huge amounts of data, which is quite difficult to pre-process, separate, classify and correlate for interesting conclusions to be extracted. Modern machine learning, data mining and clustering techniques based on information theory, are needed to read and interpret the information contents buried in those large data sets. Independent Component Analysis method can be used to correct the data affected by corruption processes or to filter the uncorrectable one and then clustering methods can group similar genes or classify samples. In this paper a hybrid approach is used to obtain a two way unsupervised clustering for a corrected microarray data.

Feature selection in the reconstruction of complex network representations of spectral data

Complex networks have been extensively used in the last decade to characterize and analyze complex systems, and they have been recently proposed as a novel instrument for the analysis of spectra extracted from biological samples. Yet, the high number of measurements composing spectra, and the consequent high computational cost, make a direct network analysis unfeasible. We here present a comparative analysis of three customary feature selection algorithms, including the binning of spectral data and the use of information theory metrics. Such algorithms are compared by assessing the score obtained in a classification task, where healthy subjects and people suffering from different types of cancers should be discriminated. Results indicate that a feature selection strategy based on Mutual Information outperforms the more classical data binning, while allowing a reduction of the dimensionality of the data set in two orders of magnitude

Analysis of spontaneous MEG activity in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease using spectral entropies and statistical complexity measures

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. Over the last few years, a considerable effort has been devoted to exploring new biomarkers. Nevertheless, a better understanding of brain dynamics is still required to optimize therapeutic strategies. In this regard, the characterization of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is crucial, due to the high conversion rate from MCI to AD. However, only a few studies have focused on the analysis of magnetoencephalographic (MEG) rhythms to characterize AD and MCI. In this study, we assess the ability of several parameters derived from information theory to describe spontaneous MEG activity from 36 AD patients, 18 MCI subjects and 26 controls. Three entropies (Shannon, Tsallis and Rényi entropies), one disequilibrium measure (based on Euclidean distance ED) and three statistical complexities (based on Lopez Ruiz–Mancini–Calbet complexity LMC) were used to estimate the irregularity and statistical complexity of MEG activity. Statistically significant differences between AD patients and controls were obtained with all parameters (p < 0.01). In addition, statistically significant differences between MCI subjects and controls were achieved by ED and LMC (p < 0.05). In order to assess the diagnostic ability of the parameters, a linear discriminant analysis with a leave-one-out cross-validation procedure was applied. The accuracies reached 83.9% and 65.9% to discriminate AD and MCI subjects from controls, respectively. Our findings suggest that MCI subjects exhibit an intermediate pattern of abnormalities between normal aging and AD. Furthermore, the proposed parameters provide a new description of brain dynamics in AD and MCI.

Uniformly Reweighted Belief Propagation: A Factor Graph Approach

Tree-reweighted belief propagation is a message passing method that has certain advantages compared to traditional belief propagation (BP). However, it fails to outperform BP in a consistent manner, does not lend itself well to distributed implementation, and has not been applied to distributions with higher-order interactions. We propose a method called uniformly-reweighted belief propagation that mitigates these drawbacks. After having shown in previous works that this method can substantially outperform BP in distributed inference with pairwise interaction models, in this paper we extend it to higher-order interactions and apply it to LDPC decoding, leading performance gains over BP.

Bases territoriales y metodológicas de la planificación para el desarrollo del turismo sustentable en la región de Coquimbo

El proceso de planificación de una u otra forma ha estado implicado en el desarrollo del turismo, aunque su aplicación no ha sido del todo exitosa. Asimismo la revalorización que está teniendo la planificación en distintos ámbitos, público y privado, tampoco es ajena en el turismo, pero, aún requiere modificaciones en los métodos y técnicas para ser aplicada a un turismo sustentable. Las modificaciones en los métodos para la planificación del turismo sustentable en la Región de Coquimbo, constituyen el objeto de esta investigación. La investigación establece como hipótesis: “La integración de las metodologías de planificación con los principios del turismo sustentable permitiría generar un modelo de planificación turística sustentable, que incorpora los valores del territorio, las necesidades de los visitantes, la participación de la comunidad receptora y es aplicable a la Región de Coquimbo a través de un marco territorial-metodológico”. A partir de esta hipótesis, se define el objetivo general: Elaborar una propuesta de un marco territorial-metodológico para la planificación turística sustentable en la Región de Coquimbo. De este objetivo general se deducen los objetivos específicos relacionados con el análisis de los conceptos y enfoques teóricos de la planificación aplicada al turismo; el estudio de los instrumentos de planificación del desarrollo turístico de la Región de Coquimbo; la determinación de categorías y elementos estructurantes y la elaboración de un marco territorial-metodológico de la planificación para el desarrollo del turismo sustentable en la Región de Coquimbo. La metodología de la investigación es de carácter cualitativo, está relacionada principalmente con la teoría fundamentada o grounded theory y con las teorías procedimentales de la planificación. Ambas metodologías fueron utilizadas en la construcción del modelo genérico y en la elaboración del marco procedimental-territorial. La construcción del modelo genérico se asimiló con la de la teoría en la grounded theory y de esta forma, se generaron conceptos a partir del marco conceptual teórico (conceptualización o abstracción); se construyeron categorías de análisis procedimental, territorial y de turismo sustentable (codificación abierta), se elaboraron categorías síntesis procedimental-territoriales y de turismo sustentable (codificación axial); se analizó la dinámica relacional de las categorías procedimental-territoriales (codificación selectiva) y se estableció el modelo genérico de planificación del turismo sustentable (teoría), que cuenta con dos submodelos: el submodelo de Condiciones Generales y el submodelo de Etapas de la planificación. A partir del modelo genérico se jerarquizaron las categorías definidas y relacionadas en forma dinámica, de acuerdo a las características de la Región de Coquimbo. Conjuntamente se incluyeron los requisitos del turismo sustentable recomendados por el Servicio Nacional de Turismo (SERNATUR) a nivel nacional, regional y comunal y se incorporaron las etapas ausentes en los planes de desarrollo turístico formulados en la Región, para dar origen al marco procedimental-territorial aplicado en la Región de Coquimbo. La investigación entrega como resultado una metodología de planificación para el turismo sustentable (modelo genérico), que al aplicarse a un sistema territorial particular, como es la Región de Coquimbo, genera una nueva metodología específica de planificación para el turismo sustentable de esta región (marco procedimental-territorial). El modelo genérico podrá ser aplicable a cualquier territorio dentro o fuera de la Región de Coquimbo, relevando sus propios valores, las necesidades de los visitantes y la participación de la comunidad y generando sus propios marcos procedimentales—territoriales (considerando los rasgos propios de los territorios, los requisitos del turismo sustentable y corrigiendo las falencias de las planificaciones previas existentes en ese territorio particular). ABSTRACT One way or another the process of planning has been implied in the development of tourism, although its application has not been absolutely successful. Also the revaluation that the planning is having in different scopes, public and private, and tourism is not free from it either, but still it requires modifications in the methods and techniques to be applied to a sustainable tourism. The modifications in the methods for the planning of the sustainable tourism in the Region of Coquimbo constitute the object of this investigation. The research establishes as hypothesis: “The integration of planning methodologies with the principles of the sustainable tourism would allow to generate a model of sustainable tourist planning, that incorporates the values of the territory, the needs of the visitors, the participation of the receiving community and is applicable to the Region of Coquimbo through a territorial-methodologic frame”. From this hypothesis, the general objective is defined: To make a proposal of a territorial-methodologic frame for the sustainable tourist planning in the Region of Coquimbo. From this general objective the specific objectives related to the analysis of the concepts and theoretical approaches of the planning applied to the tourism are deduced; the study of the planning tools of the tourist development of the Region of Coquimbo; the determination of categories and structural elements and the elaboration of a territorial-methodologic frame of the planning for the development of the sustainable tourism in the Region of Coquimbo. The methodology of the investigation is of qualitative character, is related mainly to the based theory or grounded theory and to the procedural theories of the planning. Both methodologies were used in the construction of the generic model and in the elaboration of the procedural-territorial frame. The construction of the generic model assimilated with the one of the theory in grounded theory and thus, concepts from the theoretical conceptual frame were generated (conceptualization or abstraction); categories of procedural, territorial analysis were constructed and of sustainable tourism (open codification), procedural-territorial syntheses categories were elaborated and of sustainable tourism (axial codification); the relational dynamics of the procedural-territorial categories was analyzed (selective codification) and the generic model of sustainable tourism planning was established (theory), that counts with two submodels: the General Conditions submodel and the Stages of planning submodel. From the generic model the categories defined and related in dynamic way were hierarchized, according to the characteristics of the Region of Coquimbo. Together with the recommended requirements of sustainable tourism done by The National Service of Tourism (SERNATUR) were included at national, regional level and communal and the absent stages in the formulated plans of tourist development in the Region were included, to give rise to the applied procedural-territorial frame in the Region of Coquimbo. The research gives as a result a planning methodology for sustainable tourism (generic model), that when being applied to a given territorial system, as it is the Region of Coquimbo, it generates a new specific planning methodology for the sustainable tourism of this region (procedural-territorial frame). The generic model could be applicable to any territory inside or outside the Region of Coquimbo, standing out its own values, the needs of the visitors and the participation of the community generating its own procedural-territorial frames (considering the own features of the territories, the requirements of the sustainable tourism and correcting the mistakes of the previous existing planning in that particular territory).

HERMES: Towards an Integrated Toolbox to Characterize Functional and Effective Brain Connectivity

The analysis of the interdependence between time series has become an important field of research in the last years, mainly as a result of advances in the characterization of dynamical systems from the signals they produce, the introduction of concepts such as generalized and phase synchronization and the application of information theory to time series analysis. In neurophysiology, different analytical tools stemming from these concepts have added to the ‘traditional’ set of linear methods, which includes the cross-correlation and the coherency function in the time and frequency domain, respectively, or more elaborated tools such as Granger Causality. This increase in the number of approaches to tackle the existence of functional (FC) or effective connectivity (EC) between two (or among many) neural networks, along with the mathematical complexity of the corresponding time series analysis tools, makes it desirable to arrange them into a unified-easy-to-use software package. The goal is to allow neuroscientists, neurophysiologists and researchers from related fields to easily access and make use of these analysis methods from a single integrated toolbox. Here we present HERMES (http://hermes.ctb.upm.es), a toolbox for the Matlab® environment (The Mathworks, Inc), which is designed to study functional and effective brain connectivity from neurophysiological data such as multivariate EEG and/or MEG records. It includes also visualization tools and statistical methods to address the problem of multiple comparisons. We believe that this toolbox will be very helpful to all the researchers working in the emerging field of brain connectivity analysis.

HERMES: towards an integrated toolbox to characterize functional and effective brain connectivity

The analysis of the interdependence between time series has become an important field of research in the last years, mainly as a result of advances in the characterization of dynamical systems from the signals they produce, the introduction of concepts such as generalized and phase synchronization and the application of information theory to time series analysis. In neurophysiology, different analytical tools stemming from these concepts have added to the ?traditional? set of linear methods, which includes the cross-correlation and the coherency function in the time and frequency domain, respectively, or more elaborated tools such as Granger Causality. This increase in the number of approaches to tackle the existence of functional (FC) or effective connectivity (EC) between two (or among many) neural networks, along with the mathematical complexity of the corresponding time series analysis tools, makes it desirable to arrange them into a unified, easy-to-use software package. The goal is to allow neuroscientists, neurophysiologists and researchers from related fields to easily access and make use of these analysis methods from a single integrated toolbox. Here we present HERMES (http://hermes.ctb.upm.es), a toolbox for the Matlab® environment (The Mathworks, Inc), which is designed to study functional and effective brain connectivity from neurophysiological data such as multivariate EEG and/or MEG records. It includes also visualization tools and statistical methods to address the problem of multiple comparisons. We believe that this toolbox will be very helpful to all the researchers working in the emerging field of brain connectivity analysis.

Invención e innovación tecnológica en el ciclismo en España a través de la documentación de patentes : 1826-1929

El objetivo general de esta investigación consiste en sacar a la luz un conjunto de documentos, los documentos de patentes presentadas en España, sobre un tema concreto, la bicicleta y el ciclismo, y durante un periodo determinado, 1826-1929, presentes en la Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas (OEPM), organizando esta documentación para su posterior utilización por la comunidad científica. Para ello se han identificado y sistematizado las patentes referidas a la bicicleta, presentadas entre 1826 y 1929, realizando tablas de frecuencia que permitan extraer datos de su incidencia en la invención en el periodo considerado. Ello ha permitido conocer una serie de datos de los inventores, que, en definitiva son los creadores del desarrollo tecnológico en este campo, extrayendo, ordenando y categorizando la información sobre lugar de origen, tipo de inventor (empresa o particular), sexo, práctica de colaboración y profesión. Finalmente se ha estudiado el tipo de inventos, mostrando los sectores en los que se producen las invenciones, identificando si se han puesto en práctica, y determinando aspectos tales como su carácter de invención incremental, su posible consideración como invento raro y curioso, y su coexistencia con una marca registrada. El trabajo se inicia con la introducción seguida de un apartado en el que se presenta el marco teórico en el que se desarrolla la investigación, en una doble vía: en primer lugar el contexto de los documentos de patente, su relación con la innovación y su utilidad como fuentes de información, y en segundo lugar el marco de la invención en el ciclismo, presentando las fases esenciales de la evolución de la bicicleta (capítulo 2). En el marco metodológico (capítulo 3) se explican fuentes y metodología, presentando a continuación el diseño de la investigación, que se resume como sigue: 1- Determinación del universo de datos, 2- Consulta en el Archivo Histórico de la OEPM, 3- Diseño y creación de la base de datos propia, 4- Consulta de los expedientes y toma de imágenes, 5- Tratamiento y análisis de los datos, 6- Búsqueda de información en fuentes para patentes extranjeras, y 7- Consulta a la base de datos de Marcas de la OEPM. El capítulo 4 está dedicado a la investigación propiamente dicha, estructurado en tres grandes bloques. El primero recoge las cuantificaciones tabuladas del total de patentes y el análisis de determinados aspectos generales como la cronología de la invención y diversas comparaciones con resultados obtenidos en otros trabajos. El segundo bloque está centrado en los estudios de solicitantes de patentes, protagonistas de las invenciones. De ellos se contemplan una serie de datos extraídos de los expedientes, y posteriormente tabulados y cuantificados: su procedencia geográfica, su adscripción como empresas o solicitantes particulares, y sus datos de colaboración, finalizando el bloque con un apartado que dedicamos a la innovación femenina, que consideramos una línea de investigación interés. El tercer bloque, el más amplio de todos, está dedicado a la descripción y análisis de los datos referidos a los propios inventos, puesto que es la aplicación de los inventos lo que marca el desarrollo tecnológico de la máquina bicicleta, y su consiguiente evolución histórica y social. Se estructura asimismo en varias secciones. La primera es la más amplia, donde se muestran y explican los datos que tienen que ver con la adscripción de los inventos a sectores temáticos, es decir, que desarrolla las funciones o componentes de la bicicleta que han sido objeto de invención. Los apartados siguientes muestran datos y consideraciones sobre las patentes puestas en práctica, las invenciones incrementales, los inventos curiosos, y las patentes con posible marca registrada de su nombre. Finalmente, las conclusiones del estudio, el establecimiento de posibles líneas abiertas de investigación, la relación de fuentes consultadas y los anexos cerrarán la exposición de esta tesis. ABSTRACT The main goal of this research thesis is to shed light on a specific documentary record: patents presented in Spain, regarding a specific theme: bicycles and cycling, within a given period: 1826-1929. This record is organized for the ulterior use by the scientific community. In order to carry out this goal, the mentioned patents have been identified and systematized, and analyzed for frequency in order to infer the incidence of its invention in the period under consideration. This has brought to light some information on the inventors which are, after all, the creators in the technological development of that field. Their bibliographical information: origin, type of inventor (company or individual), gender, collaboration behavior and profession. Finally, the type of inventions has been studied, showing the sectors in which inventions are produced, whether these were transferred to practice, and other key information like the incremental nature of their invention, their possible consideration as ‘rare or curious invention’, and their coexistence with a registered trademark. This thesis is organized with an initial introduction, after which a section outlines the theoretical framework for the research along two axes: first the context of the patent documents, their relation with innovation and their usefulness as information sources; second, the invention of cycling and the development phases of bicycles. In the methodological section the sources and methodology are explained and reasoned, followed by the research design: 1-determination of the data universe, 2-consultation at the historical archive of the OEPM (National Patent Office), 3-design and creation of a database, 3-analysis of the files and image catchment, 5-treatment and analysis of data, 6-browsing of source information for foreign patents, and 7-consultation of the trademark information at the OEPM. Chapter 4 is dedicated to research itself, in three main sections. The first one has the quantification of the patent total in tables and the analysis of specific overall chronological aspects of the invention, and some comparisons with the results obtained in other research. The second section is centered on the studies of patent requests and inventors. Some data extracted from the files has been systematized: geographical origin, adscriptions as companies or individuals, and their collaboration data, ending with a sub-section on women’s invention, which we consider an interesting research line. The third section, the biggest one of them all, is dedicated to the description and analysis of the data referred to the inventions themselves, because it is the application of the inventions which constitutes the technological development of the bicycle, and therefore its historical and social evolution. It is also structured in various sub-sections. The first one is the longest one, with information regarding the thematic typology of the inventions: functions and bicycle components which are innovated. The other ensuing subsections study patents which were actually incorporated and used, incremental inventions, curious inventions and patents with possible associated trademarks. Finally, the study conclusions, the establishment of lines of potential further research, the references used, and the annexes which culminate the thesis exposition.

Dominance Measuring Method Performance under Incomplete Information about Weights.

In multi-attribute utility theory, it is often not easy to elicit precise values for the scaling weights representing the relative importance of criteria. A very widespread approach is to gather incomplete information. A recent approach for dealing with such situations is to use information about each alternative?s intensity of dominance, known as dominance measuring methods. Different dominancemeasuring methods have been proposed, and simulation studies have been carried out to compare these methods with each other and with other approaches but only when ordinal information about weights is available. In this paper, we useMonte Carlo simulation techniques to analyse the performance of and adapt such methods to deal with weight intervals, weights fitting independent normal probability distributions orweights represented by fuzzy numbers.Moreover, dominance measuringmethod performance is also compared with a widely used methodology dealing with incomplete information on weights, the stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis (SMAA). SMAA is based on exploring the weight space to describe the evaluations that would make each alternative the preferred one.

Training organization of a middle-size company engaged in information technology services: theory and practice

In order to establish an active internal know-how -reserve~ in an information processing and engineering services . company, a training architecture tailored to the company as an whole must be defined. When a company' s earnings come from . advisory services dynamically structured i.n the form of projects, as is the case at hand, difficulties arise that must be taken into account in the architectural design. The first difficulties are of a psychological nature and the design method proposed here begjns wi th the definition of the highest training metasystem, which is aimed at making adjustments for the variety of perceptions of the company's human components, before the architecture can be designed. This approach may be considered as an application of the cybernetic Law of Requisita Variety (Ashby) and of the Principle of Conceptual Integrity (Brooks) . Also included is a description of sorne of the results of the first steps of metasystems at the level of company organization.

Contributions to trajectory prediction theory and its application to arrival management for air traffic control

La gestión del tráfico aéreo (Air Traffic Management, ATM) está experimentando un cambio de paradigma hacia las denominadas operaciones basadas trayectoria. Bajo dicho paradigma se modifica el papel de los controladores de tráfico aéreo desde una operativa basada su intervención táctica continuada hacia una labor de supervisión a más largo plazo. Esto se apoya en la creciente confianza en las soluciones aportadas por las herramientas automatizadas de soporte a la decisión más modernas. Para dar soporte a este concepto, se precisa una importante inversión para el desarrollo, junto con la adquisición de nuevos equipos en tierra y embarcados, que permitan la sincronización precisa de la visión de la trayectoria, basada en el intercambio de información entre ambos actores. Durante los últimos 30 a 40 años las aerolíneas han generado uno de los menores retornos de la inversión de entre todas las industrias. Sin beneficios tangibles, la industria aérea tiene dificultades para atraer el capital requerido para su modernización, lo que retrasa la implantación de dichas mejoras. Esta tesis tiene como objetivo responder a la pregunta de si las capacidades actualmente instaladas en las aeronaves comerciales se pueden aplicar para lograr la sincronización de la trayectoria con el nivel de calidad requerido. Además, se analiza en ella si, conjuntamente con mejoras en las herramientas de predicción trayectorias instaladas en tierra en para facilitar la gestión de las arribadas, dichas capacidades permiten obtener los beneficios esperados en el marco de las operaciones basadas en trayectoria. Esto podría proporcionar un incentivo para futuras actualizaciones de la aviónica que podrían llevar a mejoras adicionales. El concepto operacional propuesto en esta tesis tiene como objetivo permitir que los aviones sean pilotados de una manera consistente con las técnicas actuales de vuelo optimizado. Se permite a las aeronaves que desciendan en el denominado “modo de ángulo de descenso gestionado” (path-managed mode), que es el preferido por la mayoría de las compañías aéreas, debido a que conlleva un reducido consumo de combustible. El problema de este modo es que en él no se controla de forma activa el tiempo de llegada al punto de interés. En nuestro concepto operacional, la incertidumbre temporal se gestiona en mediante de la medición del tiempo en puntos estratégicamente escogidos a lo largo de la trayectoria de la aeronave, y permitiendo la modificación por el control de tierra de la velocidad de la aeronave. Aunque la base del concepto es la gestión de las ordenes de velocidad que se proporcionan al piloto, para ser capaces de operar con los niveles de equipamiento típicos actualmente, dicho concepto también constituye un marco en el que la aviónica más avanzada (por ejemplo, que permita el control por el FMS del tiempo de llegada) puede integrarse de forma natural, una vez que esta tecnología este instalada. Además de gestionar la incertidumbre temporal a través de la medición en múltiples puntos, se intenta reducir dicha incertidumbre al mínimo mediante la mejora de las herramienta de predicción de la trayectoria en tierra. En esta tesis se presenta una novedosa descomposición del proceso de predicción de trayectorias en dos etapas. Dicha descomposición permite integrar adecuadamente los datos de la trayectoria de referencia calculada por el Flight Management System (FMS), disponibles usando Futuro Sistema de Navegación Aérea (FANS), en el sistema de predicción de trayectorias en tierra. FANS es un equipo presente en los aviones comerciales de fuselaje ancho actualmente en la producción, e incluso algunos aviones de fuselaje estrecho pueden tener instalada avionica FANS. Además de informar automáticamente de la posición de la aeronave, FANS permite proporcionar (parte de) la trayectoria de referencia en poder de los FMS, pero la explotación de esta capacidad para la mejora de la predicción de trayectorias no se ha estudiado en profundidad en el pasado. La predicción en dos etapas proporciona una solución adecuada al problema de sincronización de trayectorias aire-tierra dado que permite la sincronización de las dimensiones controladas por el sistema de guiado utilizando la información de la trayectoria de referencia proporcionada mediante FANS, y también facilita la mejora en la predicción de las dimensiones abiertas restantes usado un modelo del guiado que explota los modelos meteorológicos mejorados disponibles en tierra. Este proceso de predicción de la trayectoria de dos etapas se aplicó a una muestra de 438 vuelos reales que realizaron un descenso continuo (sin intervención del controlador) con destino Melbourne. Dichos vuelos son de aeronaves del modelo Boeing 737-800, si bien la metodología descrita es extrapolable a otros tipos de aeronave. El método propuesto de predicción de trayectorias permite una mejora en la desviación estándar del error de la estimación del tiempo de llegada al punto de interés, que es un 30% menor que la que obtiene el FMS. Dicha trayectoria prevista mejorada se puede utilizar para establecer la secuencia de arribadas y para la asignación de las franjas horarias para cada aterrizaje (slots). Sobre la base del slot asignado, se determina un perfil de velocidades que permita cumplir con dicho slot con un impacto mínimo en la eficiencia del vuelo. En la tesis se propone un nuevo algoritmo que determina las velocidades requeridas sin necesidad de un proceso iterativo de búsqueda sobre el sistema de predicción de trayectorias. El algoritmo se basa en una parametrización inteligente del proceso de predicción de la trayectoria, que permite relacionar el tiempo estimado de llegada con una función polinómica. Resolviendo dicho polinomio para el tiempo de llegada deseado, se obtiene de forma natural el perfil de velocidades optimo para cumplir con dicho tiempo de llegada sin comprometer la eficiencia. El diseño de los sistemas de gestión de arribadas propuesto en esta tesis aprovecha la aviónica y los sistemas de comunicación instalados de un modo mucho más eficiente, proporcionando valor añadido para la industria. Por tanto, la solución es compatible con la transición hacia los sistemas de aviónica avanzados que están desarrollándose actualmente. Los beneficios que se obtengan a lo largo de dicha transición son un incentivo para inversiones subsiguientes en la aviónica y en los sistemas de control de tráfico en tierra. ABSTRACT Air traffic management (ATM) is undergoing a paradigm shift towards trajectory based operations where the role of an air traffic controller evolves from that of continuous intervention towards supervision, as decision making is improved based on increased confidence in the solutions provided by advanced automation. To support this concept, significant investment for the development and acquisition of new equipment is required on the ground as well as in the air, to facilitate the high degree of trajectory synchronisation and information exchange required. Over the past 30-40 years the airline industry has generated one of the lowest returns on invested capital among all industries. Without tangible benefits realised, the airline industry may find it difficult to attract the required investment capital and delay acquiring equipment needed to realise the concept of trajectory based operations. In response to these challenges facing the modernisation of ATM, this thesis aims to answer the question whether existing aircraft capabilities can be applied to achieve sufficient trajectory synchronisation and improvements to ground-based trajectory prediction in support of the arrival management process, to realise some of the benefits envisioned under trajectory based operations, and to provide an incentive for further avionics upgrades. The proposed operational concept aims to permit aircraft to operate in a manner consistent with current optimal aircraft operating techniques. It allows aircraft to descend in the fuel efficient path managed mode as preferred by a majority of airlines, with arrival time not actively controlled by the airborne automation. The temporal uncertainty is managed through metering at strategically chosen points along the aircraft’s trajectory with primary use of speed advisories. While the focus is on speed advisories to support all aircraft and different levels of equipage, the concept also constitutes a framework in which advanced avionics as airborne time-of-arrival control can be integrated once this technology is widely available. In addition to managing temporal uncertainty through metering at multiple points, this temporal uncertainty is minimised by improving the supporting trajectory prediction capability. A novel two-stage trajectory prediction process is presented to adequately integrate aircraft trajectory data available through Future Air Navigation Systems (FANS) into the ground-based trajectory predictor. FANS is standard equipment on any wide-body aircraft in production today, and some single-aisle aircraft are easily capable of being fitted with FANS. In addition to automatic position reporting, FANS provides the ability to provide (part of) the reference trajectory held by the aircraft’s Flight Management System (FMS), but this capability has yet been widely overlooked. The two-stage process provides a ‘best of both world’s’ solution to the air-ground synchronisation problem by synchronising with the FMS reference trajectory those dimensions controlled by the guidance mode, and improving on the prediction of the remaining open dimensions by exploiting the high resolution meteorological forecast available to a ground-based system. The two-stage trajectory prediction process was applied to a sample of 438 FANS-equipped Boeing 737-800 flights into Melbourne conducting a continuous descent free from ATC intervention, and can be extrapolated to other types of aircraft. Trajectories predicted through the two-stage approach provided estimated time of arrivals with a 30% reduction in standard deviation of the error compared to estimated time of arrival calculated by the FMS. This improved predicted trajectory can subsequently be used to set the sequence and allocate landing slots. Based on the allocated landing slot, the proposed system calculates a speed schedule for the aircraft to meet this landing slot at minimal flight efficiency impact. A novel algorithm is presented that determines this speed schedule without requiring an iterative process in which multiple calls to a trajectory predictor need to be made. The algorithm is based on parameterisation of the trajectory prediction process, allowing the estimate time of arrival to be represented by a polynomial function of the speed schedule, providing an analytical solution to the speed schedule required to meet a set arrival time. The arrival management solution proposed in this thesis leverages the use of existing avionics and communications systems resulting in new value for industry for current investment. The solution therefore supports a transition concept from mixed equipage towards advanced avionics currently under development. Benefits realised under this transition may provide an incentive for ongoing investment in avionics.

Implementation of the Heated Pulsed Theory using actively heated fiber optics: measurements of soil volumetric water content and soil volumetric heat capacity

Existe una creciente necesidad de hacer el mejor uso del agua para regadío. Una alternativa eficiente consiste en la monitorización del contenido volumétrico de agua (θ), utilizando sensores de humedad. A pesar de existir una gran diversidad de sensores y tecnologías disponibles, actualmente ninguna de ellas permite obtener medidas distribuidas en perfiles verticales de un metro y en escalas laterales de 0.1-1,000 m. En este sentido, es necesario buscar tecnologías alternativas que sirvan de puente entre las medidas puntuales y las escalas intermedias. Esta tesis doctoral se basa en el uso de Fibra Óptica (FO) con sistema de medida de temperatura distribuida (DTS), una tecnología alternativa de reciente creación que ha levantado gran expectación en las últimas dos décadas. Específicamente utilizamos el método de fibra calentada, en inglés Actively Heated Fiber Optic (AHFO), en la cual los cables de Fibra Óptica se utilizan como sondas de calor mediante la aplicación de corriente eléctrica a través de la camisa de acero inoxidable, o de un conductor eléctrico simétricamente posicionado, envuelto, alrededor del haz de fibra óptica. El uso de fibra calentada se basa en la utilización de la teoría de los pulsos de calor, en inglés Heated Pulsed Theory (HPP), por la cual el conductor se aproxima a una fuente de calor lineal e infinitesimal que introduce calor en el suelo. Mediante el análisis del tiempo de ocurrencia y magnitud de la respuesta térmica ante un pulso de calor, es posible estimar algunas propiedades específicas del suelo, tales como el contenido de humedad, calor específico (C) y conductividad térmica. Estos parámetros pueden ser estimados utilizando un sensor de temperatura adyacente a la sonda de calor [método simple, en inglés single heated pulsed probes (SHPP)], ó a una distancia radial r [método doble, en inglés dual heated pulsed probes (DHPP)]. Esta tesis doctoral pretende probar la idoneidad de los sistemas de fibra óptica calentada para la aplicación de la teoría clásica de sondas calentadas. Para ello, se desarrollarán dos sistemas FO-DTS. El primero se sitúa en un campo agrícola de La Nava de Arévalo (Ávila, España), en el cual se aplica la teoría SHPP para estimar θ. El segundo sistema se desarrolla en laboratorio y emplea la teoría DHPP para medir tanto θ como C. La teoría SHPP puede ser implementada con fibra óptica calentada para obtener medidas distribuidas de θ, mediante la utilización de sistemas FO-DTS y el uso de curvas de calibración específicas para cada suelo. Sin embargo, la mayoría de aplicaciones AHFO se han desarrollado exclusivamente en laboratorio utilizando medios porosos homogéneos. En esta tesis se utiliza el programa Hydrus 2D/3D para definir tales curvas de calibración. El modelo propuesto es validado en un segmento de cable enterrado en una instalación de fibra óptica y es capaz de predecir la respuesta térmica del suelo en puntos concretos de la instalación una vez que las propiedades físicas y térmicas de éste son definidas. La exactitud de la metodología para predecir θ frente a medidas puntuales tomadas con sensores de humedad comerciales fue de 0.001 a 0.022 m3 m-3 La implementación de la teoría DHPP con AHFO para medir C y θ suponen una oportunidad sin precedentes para aplicaciones medioambientales. En esta tesis se emplean diferentes combinaciones de cables y fuentes emisoras de calor, que se colocan en paralelo y utilizan un rango variado de espaciamientos, todo ello en el laboratorio. La amplitud de la señal y el tiempo de llegada se han observado como funciones del calor específico del suelo. Medidas de C, utilizando esta metodología y ante un rango variado de contenidos de humedad, sugirieron la idoneidad del método, aunque también se observaron importantes errores en contenidos bajos de humedad de hasta un 22%. La mejora del método requerirá otros modelos más precisos que tengan en cuenta el diámetro del cable, así como la posible influencia térmica del mismo. ABSTRACT There is an increasing need to make the most efficient use of water for irrigation. A good approach to make irrigation as efficient as possible is to monitor soil water content (θ) using soil moisture sensors. Although, there is a broad range of different sensors and technologies, currently, none of them can practically and accurately provide vertical and lateral moisture profiles spanning 0-1 m depth and 0.1-1,000 m lateral scales. In this regard, further research to fulfill the intermediate scale and to bridge single-point measurement with the broaden scales is still needed. This dissertation is based on the use of Fiber Optics with Distributed Temperature Sensing (FO-DTS), a novel approach which has been receiving growing interest in the last two decades. Specifically, we employ the so called Actively Heated Fiber Optic (AHFO) method, in which FO cables are employed as heat probe conductors by applying electricity to the stainless steel armoring jacket or an added conductor symmetrically positioned (wrapped) about the FO cable. AHFO is based on the classic Heated Pulsed Theory (HPP) which usually employs a heat probe conductor that approximates to an infinite line heat source which injects heat into the soil. Observation of the timing and magnitude of the thermal response to the energy input provide enough information to derive certain specific soil thermal characteristics such as the soil heat capacity, soil thermal conductivity or soil water content. These parameters can be estimated by capturing the soil thermal response (using a thermal sensor) adjacent to the heat source (the heating and the thermal sources are mounted together in the so called single heated pulsed probe (SHPP)), or separated at a certain distance, r (dual heated pulsed method (DHPP) This dissertation aims to test the feasibility of heated fiber optics to implement the HPP theory. Specifically, we focus on measuring soil water content (θ) and soil heat capacity (C) by employing two types of FO-DTS systems. The first one is located in an agricultural field in La Nava de Arévalo (Ávila, Spain) and employ the SHPP theory to estimate θ. The second one is developed in the laboratory using the procedures described in the DHPP theory, and focuses on estimating both C and θ. The SHPP theory can be implemented with actively heated fiber optics (AHFO) to obtain distributed measurements of soil water content (θ) by using reported soil thermal responses in Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) and with a soil-specific calibration relationship. However, most reported AHFO applications have been calibrated under laboratory homogeneous soil conditions, while inexpensive efficient calibration procedures useful in heterogeneous soils are lacking. In this PhD thesis, we employ the Hydrus 2D/3D code to define these soil-specific calibration curves. The model is then validated at a selected FO transect of the DTS installation. The model was able to predict the soil thermal response at specific locations of the fiber optic cable once the surrounding soil hydraulic and thermal properties were known. Results using electromagnetic moisture sensors at the same specific locations demonstrate the feasibility of the model to detect θ within an accuracy of 0.001 to 0.022 m3 m-3. Implementation of the Dual Heated Pulsed Probe (DPHP) theory for measurement of volumetric heat capacity (C) and water content (θ) with Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) heated fiber optic (FO) systems presents an unprecedented opportunity for environmental monitoring. We test the method using different combinations of FO cables and heat sources at a range of spacings in a laboratory setting. The amplitude and phase-shift in the heat signal with distance was found to be a function of the soil volumetric heat capacity (referred, here, to as Cs). Estimations of Cs at a range of θ suggest feasibility via responsiveness to the changes in θ (we observed a linear relationship in all FO combinations), though observed bias with decreasing soil water contents (up to 22%) was also reported. Optimization will require further models to account for the finite radius and thermal influence of the FO cables, employed here as “needle probes”. Also, consideration of the range of soil conditions and cable spacing and jacket configurations, suggested here to be valuable subjects of further study and development.