Contribution to the quality improvement of the antenna measurement using post-processing techniques = Contribución a la mejora de la calidad de medida de antena usando técnicas de post-procesado

One important task in the design of an antenna is to carry out an analysis to find out the characteristics of the antenna that best fulfills the specifications fixed by the application. After that, a prototype is manufactured and the next stage in design process is to check if the radiation pattern differs from the designed one. Besides the radiation pattern, other radiation parameters like directivity, gain, impedance, beamwidth, efficiency, polarization, etc. must be also evaluated. For this purpose, accurate antenna measurement techniques are needed in order to know exactly the actual electromagnetic behavior of the antenna under test. Due to this fact, most of the measurements are performed in anechoic chambers, which are closed areas, normally shielded, covered by electromagnetic absorbing material, that simulate free space propagation conditions, due to the absorption of the radiation absorbing material. Moreover, these facilities can be employed independently of the weather conditions and allow measurements free from interferences. Despite all the advantages of the anechoic chambers, the results obtained both from far-field measurements and near-field measurements are inevitably affected by errors. Thus, the main objective of this Thesis is to propose algorithms to improve the quality of the results obtained in antenna measurements by using post-processing techniques and without requiring additional measurements. First, a deep revision work of the state of the art has been made in order to give a general vision of the possibilities to characterize or to reduce the effects of errors in antenna measurements. Later, new methods to reduce the unwanted effects of four of the most commons errors in antenna measurements are described and theoretical and numerically validated. The basis of all them is the same, to perform a transformation from the measurement surface to another domain where there is enough information to easily remove the contribution of the errors. The four errors analyzed are noise, reflections, truncation errors and leakage and the tools used to suppress them are mainly source reconstruction techniques, spatial and modal filtering and iterative algorithms to extrapolate functions. Therefore, the main idea of all the methods is to modify the classical near-field-to-far-field transformations by including additional steps with which errors can be greatly suppressed. Moreover, the proposed methods are not computationally complex and, because they are applied in post-processing, additional measurements are not required. The noise is the most widely studied error in this Thesis, proposing a total of three alternatives to filter out an important noise contribution before obtaining the far-field pattern. The first one is based on a modal filtering. The second alternative uses a source reconstruction technique to obtain the extreme near-field where it is possible to apply a spatial filtering. The last one is to back-propagate the measured field to a surface with the same geometry than the measurement surface but closer to the AUT and then to apply also a spatial filtering. All the alternatives are analyzed in the three most common near-field systems, including comprehensive noise statistical analyses in order to deduce the signal-to-noise ratio improvement achieved in each case. The method to suppress reflections in antenna measurements is also based on a source reconstruction technique and the main idea is to reconstruct the field over a surface larger than the antenna aperture in order to be able to identify and later suppress the virtual sources related to the reflective waves. The truncation error presents in the results obtained from planar, cylindrical and partial spherical near-field measurements is the third error analyzed in this Thesis. The method to reduce this error is based on an iterative algorithm to extrapolate the reliable region of the far-field pattern from the knowledge of the field distribution on the AUT plane. The proper termination point of this iterative algorithm as well as other critical aspects of the method are also studied. The last part of this work is dedicated to the detection and suppression of the two most common leakage sources in antenna measurements. A first method tries to estimate the leakage bias constant added by the receiver’s quadrature detector to every near-field data and then suppress its effect on the far-field pattern. The second method can be divided into two parts; the first one to find the position of the faulty component that radiates or receives unwanted radiation, making easier its identification within the measurement environment and its later substitution; and the second part of this method is able to computationally remove the leakage effect without requiring the substitution of the faulty component. Resumen Una tarea importante en el diseño de una antena es llevar a cabo un análisis para averiguar las características de la antena que mejor cumple las especificaciones fijadas por la aplicación. Después de esto, se fabrica un prototipo de la antena y el siguiente paso en el proceso de diseño es comprobar si el patrón de radiación difiere del diseñado. Además del patrón de radiación, otros parámetros de radiación como la directividad, la ganancia, impedancia, ancho de haz, eficiencia, polarización, etc. deben ser también evaluados. Para lograr este propósito, se necesitan técnicas de medida de antenas muy precisas con el fin de saber exactamente el comportamiento electromagnético real de la antena bajo prueba. Debido a esto, la mayoría de las medidas se realizan en cámaras anecoicas, que son áreas cerradas, normalmente revestidas, cubiertas con material absorbente electromagnético. Además, estas instalaciones se pueden emplear independientemente de las condiciones climatológicas y permiten realizar medidas libres de interferencias. A pesar de todas las ventajas de las cámaras anecoicas, los resultados obtenidos tanto en medidas en campo lejano como en medidas en campo próximo están inevitablemente afectados por errores. Así, el principal objetivo de esta Tesis es proponer algoritmos para mejorar la calidad de los resultados obtenidos en medida de antenas mediante el uso de técnicas de post-procesado. Primeramente, se ha realizado un profundo trabajo de revisión del estado del arte con el fin de dar una visión general de las posibilidades para caracterizar o reducir los efectos de errores en medida de antenas. Después, se han descrito y validado tanto teórica como numéricamente nuevos métodos para reducir el efecto indeseado de cuatro de los errores más comunes en medida de antenas. La base de todos ellos es la misma, realizar una transformación de la superficie de medida a otro dominio donde hay suficiente información para eliminar fácilmente la contribución de los errores. Los cuatro errores analizados son ruido, reflexiones, errores de truncamiento y leakage y las herramientas usadas para suprimirlos son principalmente técnicas de reconstrucción de fuentes, filtrado espacial y modal y algoritmos iterativos para extrapolar funciones. Por lo tanto, la principal idea de todos los métodos es modificar las transformaciones clásicas de campo cercano a campo lejano incluyendo pasos adicionales con los que los errores pueden ser enormemente suprimidos. Además, los métodos propuestos no son computacionalmente complejos y dado que se aplican en post-procesado, no se necesitan medidas adicionales. El ruido es el error más ampliamente estudiado en esta Tesis, proponiéndose un total de tres alternativas para filtrar una importante contribución de ruido antes de obtener el patrón de campo lejano. La primera está basada en un filtrado modal. La segunda alternativa usa una técnica de reconstrucción de fuentes para obtener el campo sobre el plano de la antena donde es posible aplicar un filtrado espacial. La última es propagar el campo medido a una superficie con la misma geometría que la superficie de medida pero más próxima a la antena y luego aplicar también un filtrado espacial. Todas las alternativas han sido analizadas en los sistemas de campo próximos más comunes, incluyendo detallados análisis estadísticos del ruido con el fin de deducir la mejora de la relación señal a ruido lograda en cada caso. El método para suprimir reflexiones en medida de antenas está también basado en una técnica de reconstrucción de fuentes y la principal idea es reconstruir el campo sobre una superficie mayor que la apertura de la antena con el fin de ser capaces de identificar y después suprimir fuentes virtuales relacionadas con las ondas reflejadas. El error de truncamiento que aparece en los resultados obtenidos a partir de medidas en un plano, cilindro o en la porción de una esfera es el tercer error analizado en esta Tesis. El método para reducir este error está basado en un algoritmo iterativo para extrapolar la región fiable del patrón de campo lejano a partir de información de la distribución del campo sobre el plano de la antena. Además, se ha estudiado el punto apropiado de terminación de este algoritmo iterativo así como otros aspectos críticos del método. La última parte de este trabajo está dedicado a la detección y supresión de dos de las fuentes de leakage más comunes en medida de antenas. El primer método intenta realizar una estimación de la constante de fuga del leakage añadido por el detector en cuadratura del receptor a todos los datos en campo próximo y después suprimir su efecto en el patrón de campo lejano. El segundo método se puede dividir en dos partes; la primera de ellas para encontrar la posición de elementos defectuosos que radian o reciben radiación indeseada, haciendo más fácil su identificación dentro del entorno de medida y su posterior substitución. La segunda parte del método es capaz de eliminar computacionalmente el efector del leakage sin necesidad de la substitución del elemento defectuoso.

Optimizing rabbit production under heat stress: cage density and cage size during fattening, and breeding system and water quality on rabbit does

The aim of this work was to evaluate different management strategies to optimize rabbit production under chronic heat stress. To achieve it, three trials were conducted. In the first trial, to find the optimal cage density in tropical very dry forest condition, were measured growth performance, mortality rate, injured animals and carcass performance over an initial population of 300 cross-breed rabbits of New Zealand, California, Butterfly, Dutch and Satin, weaned at 30 days (535 ± 8 g, standard error). Treatments evaluated were: 6, 12, 18 and 24 rabbits/m2 (3, 6, 9 and 12 rabbits/cage, respectively, each cage of 0.5 m2). The maximal temperature-humidity index indicated a severe heat stress from weaning to 2.2 kg body weight (experimental time). At the end of experimental period 10, 20, 30 and 30 rabbits from the treatments of 6, 12, 18 and 24 rabbits/m2, respectively, were slaughtered and carcass performance recorded. Average daily gain and feed intake decreased by 0.31 ± 0.070 and 1.20 ± 0.25 g, respectively, per each unit that the density increased at the beginning of the experiment (P = 0.001). It increased the length of the fattening period by 0.91 ± 0.16 d (P = 0.001) per each unit of increment of density. However, rabbit production (kg/m2) increased linear and quadratically with the density (P < 0.008). Animals housed at the highest density compared to the lower one tended to show a higher incidence of ringworm (68.9 vs 39.4%; P = 0.075), injured animals (16.8 vs 3.03%; P = 0.12) and mortality (20.5 vs 9.63%; P = 0.043). The proportion of scapular fat (P = 0.042) increased linearly with increasing levels of density. Increasing density reduced linearly dorsal length (P = 0.001), and reduced linear and quadratically drip loss percentage (P = 0.097 and 0.018, respectively). In the second trial, 46 nulliparous rabbit does (23 clipped and 23 unclipped) with a BW of 3.67 ± 0.05 kg (s.e.) were used to evaluate heat stress and circadian rhythms comparing unclipped and clipped rabbit does, and to study if a more extensive breeding system increase litters performance at weaning without impairing rabbit doe performance,. Rectal temperature, feed and water 4 intake were recorded for 24 h. Rabbit does were mated 7 d after circadian measurements, and randomly assigned to two breeding systems. Control (C): mated at 14 d after parturition + litter weaned at 35 d of age. Extensive (E): mate at 21 after parturition + litter weaned at 42 d of age. The first three cycles were evaluated concerning to rabbit doe and litter performance. Two hundred twenty eight weaned rabbits, were divided into two cage sizes: 0.5 and 0.25 m2 with same density (16 rabbit/m2) and growing performance was recorded. Farm and rectal temperatures were minimal and feed and water intake maximal during the night (P < 0.001). Unclipped rabbit does showed higher rectal temperature (P = 0.045) and lower feed intake respect to clipped does (P = 0.019) which suggest a lower heat stress in the latter. Kits weaned per litter was reduced by 33% (P=0.038) in C group. This reduction was more important in the 2nd and 3rd cycles compared to the first (P ≤ 0.054). Rabbit doe feed efficiency tended to decrease in E respect C group (P = 0.093), whereas it was impaired from the first to the third cycle by 48% (P = 0.014). Growing rabbits from the E group were heavier at weaning (by 38%. P < 0.001), showed a higher feed intake (+7.4%) and lower feed efficiency (-8.4%) throughout the fattening period (P ≤ 0.056) respect to C group. Cage size had minor influence in growing performance. In the third trial, forty five non pregnant and non lactating rabbit does (21 nulliparous and 24 multiparous) were assigned randomly to farm water and to potable water to study if a water quality improvement can affect positively rabbit doe response to heat stress during pregnancy and lactation. A transponder was implanted in each animal to record subcutaneous temperature at 07:30 and 14:30 h. Experimental period extended from pregnancy (with no lactation) to the next lactation (until day 28). Body temperature and milk production were recorded daily, and body condition, feed and water intake weekly. Water quality did not affect any trait (P ≥ 0.15). Pregnant rabbit does were classified as does that weaned (W: 47%), not weaned (NW: 44%) or those pregnant that did not deliver (NB: 9%). Body temperature and feed intake decreased during pregnancy (P ≤ 0.031), but water intake remained constant. In this period body temperature decreased with metabolic weight (P ≤ 0.009). In W and NW does, 5 from mating to birth energy and protein balance impaired (P≤0.011). Body temperature of W does tended to be the lowest (P ≤ 0.090). Pregnancy length and total number of kits born tended to be longer and higher in NW than in W does (P = 0.10 and 0.053, respectively). Kit mortality at birth and from birth to 14 d of lactation was high, being worse for NW than for W does (97 vs. 40%; P<0.001). Body temperature during lactation was maximal at day 12, and milk production increased it (P ≤ 0.025). . In conclusion, in our heat stress conditions densities higher than 18 rabbits/m2 (34 kg/m2) at the end of fattening, are not recommended despite cage size, gestation and lactation productivity impaired not only when lactation is extended and along successive reproductive cycles but also due to a reduced embryo/kit survival and finally water quality improvement did not attenuate negative effect of heat stress. RESUMEN El propósito de éste trabajo fue evaluar diferentes estrategias de manejo para optimizar la producción de conejos bajo estrés térmico. Para lo cual se desarrollaron tres experimentos. En el primer experimento, para encontrar el número óptimo de gazapos por m2 de jaula durante el cebo en condiciones de bosque muy seco tropical, se estudiaron los rendimientos durante el cebo, mortalidad, animales lesionados y rendimiento de la canal sobre una población inicial de 300 conejos mestizos de Nueva Zelanda, California, Mariposa, Holandés y Satin, destetados a los 30 días de edad (535 ± 8g, error estándar). Los tratamientos evaluados fueron: 6, 12, 18 y 24 conejos/m2 (3, 6, 9 y 12 conejos/jaula, respectivamente, en jaulas de 0.5 m2). Durante el período experimental (destete a 2.2 kg de peso vivo), se observaron valores de THI correspondientes con un estrés térmico severo (THI max. De 31 a 35). Al final del período experimental, 10, 20, 30, y 30 conejos de los tratamientos con densidades de 6, 12, 18 y 24 conejos/m2, respectivamente, fueron sacrificados y su canal fue valorada. El promedio de la ganancia diaria y el consumo de alimento disminuyeron en 0.31 ± 0.070 y 1.20 ± 0.25 g, respectivamente, por cada unidad de incremento en la densidad al inicio del experimento (P=0.001). Esto alargó el período de engorde en 0.91 ± 0.16 d (P=0.001) por cada unidad de incremento de la densidad. Sin embargo, la producción de conejos (kg/m2) aumentó lineal y cuadráticamente con la densidad (P<0.008). Los animales alojados en las mayores densidades en comparación con el resto tendieron a mostrar una mayore incidencia de tiña (68.9 vs 39.4%; P=0.075), de cantidad de animales heridos (16.8 vs 3.03%; P=0.12), así como de mortalidad (20.5 vs 9.63%; P=0.043). El aumento en la densidad aumentó linealmente la proporción de grasa escapular (P=0.042) y redujo linealmente la longitud dorsal (P=0.001), y lineal y cuadráticamente el porcentaje de pérdida por goteo (P=0.018). En el segundo experimento, 46 conejas nulliparas (23 rasuradas y 23 no rasuradas) con un peso vivo de 3.67 ± 0.05 kg (e.e.) fueron usadas para evaluar el estrés 8 térmico y los ritmos circadianos comparando conejas rasuradas o no, y estudiar si un sistema de crianza más extensivo mejora el desempeño de la camada al destete sin perjudicar la productividad de la coneja. Durante 24 h se midió la temperatura rectal, consumo de alimento y de agua. Las conejas fueron montadas 7 días después, y distribuidas en dos sistemas de crianza. El control (C): monta a 14 días posparto y destete a 35 d de edad. El extensivo (E): monta a 21 días posparto y destete a 42 d de edad. Se controló la productividad de la coneja y la camada durante los tres primeros ciclos. Doscientos veintiocho gazapos fueron distribuidos en dos tamaños de jaulas (0.5 y 0.25 m2) con la misma densidad (16 conejos/m2) y se controlaron sus rendimientos productivos. Durante la noche se observaron los valores mínimos para la temperatura ambiental y rectal, y los máximos para consumo de alimento y agua (P< 0.001). Las conejas no rasuradas mostraron mayor temperatura rectal (P=0.045) y menores valores de consumo de alimento con respecto a las conejas rasuradas (P=0.019), lo que sugiere un menor estrés térmico en las últimas. El número de gazapos destetados por camada se redujo en 33% (P=0.038) en el grupo C. Este comportamiento se acentuó en el 2do y 3er ciclo en comparación con el primero (P≤0.054). La eficiencia alimenticia de las conejas tendió a disminuir en el grupo E con respecto al grupo C (P=0.093), dicha tendencia se acentúa del primer al tercer ciclo en un 48% (P=0.014). Los gazapos en fase de crecimiento provenientes del grupo E fueron más pesados al momento del destete (en 38% P<0.001), mostrando un mayor consumo de alimento (+7.4%) y menor eficiencia alimenticia (-8.4%) a lo largo del engorde (P≤0.056) con respecto al grupo C. El tamaño de la jaula tuvo una mínima influencia en el comportamiento durante el crecimiento de éstos gazapos. En el tercer experimento, cuarenta y cinco conejas no gestantes ni lactantes (21 nulíparas y 24 multíparas) se les asignó al azar agua dos tipos de agua: común de la granja y agua potable, con el fin de estudiar si una mejora en la calidad del agua puede afectar positivamente la respuesta de la coneja al estrés térmico durante la gestación y la lactancia. Se les implantó un transponder para registrar la temperatura subcutánea a las 7:30 y a las 14:30 h. El período experimental se extendió desde la gestación (sin 9 lactancia) hasta la lactanción consecutiva (hasta los 28 días). La temperatura corporal y la producción de leche se controlaron diariamente, y la condición corporal, consumo de agua y alimento, semanalmente. La calidad del agua no afectó a ninguna variable (P≥0.15). Las conejas preñadas fueron clasificadas como conejas que destetaron (W: 47%), que no destetaron (NW:44%) o aquellas que no parieron (NB: 9%). La temperatura corporal y consumo de alimento disminuyeron durante la gestación (P≤0.031), mientras que el consumo de agua se mantuvo constante. La temperatura corporal descendió con el peso metabólico durante la gestación (P≤0.009). El balance de energía y proteína disminuyó desde la monta al parto para las conejas W y NW (P≤0.011). Durante la gestación la temperatura corporal tendió a ser menor en las conejas W (P≤0.090). La longitud de la gestación y el número total de gazapos nacidos tendieron a ser mayores en conejas NW que en conejas W (P=0.10 y 0.053, respectivamente). La mortalidad de los gazapos al parto y del parto a los 14 días de lactancia fue alta, siendo peor para las conejas NW que para las W (97 vs 40%; P<0.001). Durante la lactancia la temperatura corporal alcanzó su valor máximo para el día 12, y la producción de leche indujo un incremento en la misma (P≤0.025). En conclusión, en nuestras condiciones de estrés térmico y sin importar el tamaño de la jaula, no se recomiendan densidades mayores a 18 conejos/m2 (34 kg/m2) al final del engorde. La productividad de la gestación y la lactancia disminuyen cuando la lactancia es mayor y se suceden varios ciclos reproductivos seguidos. Esto se debe al efecto negativo del estrés térmico sobre la vitalidad y supervivencia del embrión/gazapo. La mejora de la calidad del agua atenuó el efecto negativo del estrés térmico. Las conejas más productoras parece que son aquéllas que consiguen manejar mejor el estrés térmico.

Emission inventories and modeling requirements for the development of air quality plans. Application to Madrid (Spain)

Modeling is an essential tool for the development of atmospheric emission abatement measures and air quality plans. Most often these plans are related to urban environments with high emission density and population exposure. However, air quality modeling in urban areas is a rather challenging task. As environmental standards become more stringent (e.g. European Directive 2008/50/EC), more reliable and sophisticated modeling tools are needed to simulate measures and plans that may effectively tackle air quality exceedances, common in large urban areas across Europe, particularly for NO2. This also implies that emission inventories must satisfy a number of conditions such as consistency across the spatial scales involved in the analysis, consistency with the emission inventories used for regulatory purposes and versatility to match the requirements of different air quality and emission projection models. This study reports the modeling activities carried out in Madrid (Spain) highlighting the atmospheric emission inventory development and preparation as an illustrative example of the combination of models and data needed to develop a consistent air quality plan at urban level. These included a series of source apportionment studies to define contributions from the international, national, regional and local sources in order to understand to what extent local authorities can enforce meaningful abatement measures. Moreover, source apportionment studies were conducted in order to define contributions from different sectors and to understand the maximum feasible air quality improvement that can be achieved by reducing emissions from those sectors, thus targeting emission reduction policies to the most relevant activities. Finally, an emission scenario reflecting the effect of such policies was developed and the associated air quality was modeled.

Uso de marcadores moleculares para la racionalización y evaluación de la calidad en las colecciones de Recursos Fitogenéticos de trigo

Esta tesis tiene dos objetivos generales: el primero, analizar el uso de proteínas del endospermo y SSRs para la racionalización de las colecciones de trigo, y el segundo, estudiar la influencia de las proteínas del endospermo, del año de cultivo y del abonado nitrogenado en la calidad en un grupo de variedades locales españolas. Dentro del primer objetivo, se estudió la diversidad genética de la colección de Triticum monococcum L. (escaña menor), y de una muestra de la colección de Triticum turgidum L. (trigo duro) del CRF-INIA, con 2 y 6 loci de gliadinas, y 6 y 24 SSRs, para la escaña menor y el trigo duro, respectivamente. Ambas colecciones presentaron una gran diversidad genética, con una gran diferenciación entre las variedades y pequeña dentro de ellas. Los loci de gliadinas mostraron una gran variabilidad, siendo los loci Gli-2 los más útiles para distinguir variedades. En la escaña menor, las gliadinas presentaron mayor poder de discriminación que los SSRs; aunque en trigo duro los SSRs identificaron más genotipos. El número de alelos encontrado fue alto; 24 y 38 en gliadinas, y 29 y 203 en SSRs, en escaña menor y trigo duro, respectivamente. En trigo duro, se identificaron 17 alelos nuevos de gliadinas lo que demuestra que el germoplasma español es muy singular. En ambas especies, se detectaron asociaciones entre la variación alélica en prolaminas y el origen geográfico y filogenético de las variedades. La utilidad de las proteínas (6 loci de gliadinas, 2 loci de gluteninas y proteína total) y de los SSRs (24 loci) para verificar duplicados, y analizar la variabilidad intraaccesión, se estudió en 23 casos de duplicados potenciales de trigo duro. Los resultados indicaron que tanto los biotipos como las accesiones duplicadas mostraban el mismo genotipo en gliadinas, pocas diferencias o ninguna en las subunidades de gluteninas HMW y proteína total, y diferencias en menos de tres loci de SSRs. El mismo resultado se obtuvo para los biotipos de la colección de T. monococcum. Sin embargo, las discrepancias observadas en algunos casos entre proteínas y SSRs demostraron la utilidad del uso conjunto de ambos tipos de marcadores. Tanto las proteínas como los SSRs mostraron gran concordancia con los caracteres agro-morfológicos, especialmente cuando las diferencias entre los genotipos eran grandes. Sin embargo, los caracteres agro-morfológicos fueron menos discriminantes que los marcadores moleculares. Para el segundo objetivo de la tesis, se analizó la variación alélica en siete loci de prolaminas relacionados con la calidad en trigo duro: Glu-A1 y Glu-B1 de gluteninas HMW, Glu-A3, Glu-B3 y Glu-B2 de gluteninas B-LMW, y Gli-A1 y Gli-B1 de gliadinas. La submuestra analizada incluía variedades locales de todas las provincias españolas donde se ha cultivado tradicionalmente el trigo duro. Todos los loci, excepto el Glu-B2, mostraron gran variabilidad genética, siendo los Glu-3 los más polimórficos. En total, se identificaron 65 alelos, de los que 29 eran nuevos, que representan una fuente importante de variabilidad genética para la mejora de la calidad. Se detectaron diferencias en la composición en prolaminas entre la convar. turgidum y la zona norte, y la convar. durum y la zona sur; el genotipo Glu-B3new-1 - Gli-B1new-1 fue muy común en la convar. turgidum, mientras que el Glu-B3a - Gli-B1c, asociado con mejor calidad, fue más frecuente en la convar. durum. En la convar. turgidum, se observó mayor variabilidad que en la convar. durum, principalmente en los loci Glu-B1 y Glu-B3, lo que indica que esta convariedad puede ser una fuente valiosa de nuevos alelos de gluteninas. Esta submuestra fue evaluada para calidad (contenido en proteína, P, y test de sedimentación, SDSS) con dos dosis de abonado nitrogenado (N), y en dos años diferentes. No se detectaron interacciones Variedad × Año, ni Variedad × N en la calidad. Para la P, los efectos ambientales (año y N) fueron mayores que el efecto de la variedad, siendo, en general, mayor la P con dosis altas de N. La variedad influyó más en el test SDSS, que no se vio afectado por el año ni el N. El aumento del contenido en proteína no influyó significativamente sobre la fuerza del gluten estimada con el SDSS. Respecto a la influencia de las prolaminas en la fuerza del gluten, se confirmó la superioridad del Glu-B3a; aunque también se detectó una influencia alta y positiva de los alelos nuevos Glu-A3new-1, y Glu-B3new-6 y new-9. La no correlación entre el rendimiento (evaluado en un trabajo anterior) y la P, en las variedades adaptadas a bajo N, permitió seleccionar cuatro variedades locales con alto rendimiento y buena fuerza del gluten para producción con bajo N. SUMMARY There are two main objectives in this thesis: The first, to analyse the use of endosperm proteins and SSRs to rationalize the wheat collections, and the second, to study the influence on quality of endosperm proteins, year and nitrogen fertilization in a group of Spanish landraces. For the first objective, we studied the genetic diversity of the collection of Triticum monococcum L. (cultivated einkorn), and of a sample of the collection of Triticum turgidum L. (durum wheat) maintained at the CRF-INIA. Two and 6 gliadin loci, and 6 and 24 SSRs, were used for einkorn and durum wheat, respectively. Both collections possessed a high genetic diversity, being the differentiation large between varieties and small within them. Gliadin loci showed great variability, being the loci Gli-2 the most useful for distinguish among varieties. In einkorn, the gliadins showed higher discrimination power than SSRs; although SSRs identified more genotypes in durum wheat. Large number of alleles were found; 24 and 38 in gliadins, and 29 and 203 in SSRs, for einkorn and durum wheat, respectively. In durum wheat, 17 new alleles of gliadins were identified, which indicate that Spanish durum wheat germplasm is rather unique. Some associations between prolamin alleles and geographical and phylogenetic origin of varieties were found in both species. The value of endosperm proteins (6 gliadin loci, 2 glutenin loci and total protein) and SSRs (24 loci) for validation of duplicates, and monitoring the intra-accession variability, was studied in 23 potential duplicates of durum wheat. The results indicated that biotypes and duplicated accessions showed identical gliadin genotype, few or none differences in HMW glutenin subunits and total protein, and less than three different SSR loci. A similar result was obtained for biotypes of T. monococcum. However, the discrepancies in some cases support the convenience to use together both marker systems. A good concordance among endosperm proteins, agro-morphological traits and SSRs were also found, mainly when differences between genotypes were high. However, agro-morphological traits discriminated less between accessions than molecular markers. For the second objective of the thesis, we analysed the allelic variation at seven prolamin loci, involved in durum wheat quality: Glu-A1 and Glu-B1 of HMW glutenin, Glu-A3, Glu-B3 and Glu-B2 of B-LMW glutenin, and Gli-A1 and Gli-B1 of gliadin. The subsample analysed included landraces from all the Spanish provinces where the crop was traditionally cultivated. All the loci, except for Glu-B2, showed high genetic variability, being Glu-3 the most polymorphic. A total of 65 alleles were studied, 29 of them being new, which represent an important source of variability for quality improvement. Differences in prolamin composition were detected between convar. turgidum and the North zone, and the convar. durum and the South zone; the genotype Glu-B3new-1 - Gli-B1new-1 was very common in the convar. turgidum, while the Glu- B3a - Gli-B1c, associated with better quality, was more frequent in the convar. durum. Higher variability was detected in the convar. turgidum than in the convar. durum, mainly at the Glu-B1 and Glu-B3, showing that this convariety could be a valuable source of new glutenin alleles. The subsample was evaluated for quality (protein content, P, and sedimentation test, SDSS) with two doses of nitrogen fertiliser (N), and in two different years. No significant Variety x Year or Variety x Nitrogen interactions were detected. For P, environmental (year and N) effects were higher than variety effect, being P values , in general, larger with high dose of N. The variety exhibited a strong influence on SDSS test, which was not affected by year and N. Increasing values of P did not significantly influence on gluten strength, estimated with the SDSS. Respect to the prolamin effects on gluten strength, the superiority of Glu-B3a was confirmed; although a high positive effect of the new alleles Glu-A3new-1, and Glu-B3new-6 and new-9 was also detected. The no correlation between yield (evaluated in a previous research) and P, in the landraces adapted to low N, allowed to select four landraces with high yield and high gluten strength for low N production.

Use of STATCOM in wind farms with fixed-speed generators for grid code compliance

The increasing penetration of wind energy into power systems has pushed grid operators to set new requirements for this kind of generating plants in order to keep acceptable and reliable operation of the system. In addition to the low voltage ride through capability, wind farms are required to participate in voltage support, stability enhancement and power quality improvement. This paper presents a solution for wind farms with fixed-speed generators based on the use of STATCOM with braking resistor and additional series impedances, with an adequate control strategy. The focus is put on guaranteeing the grid code compliance when the wind farm faces an extensive series of grid disturbances.

Application of user-centered design in the development of an atomated/assisted testing system for self-service devices

Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) are sensitive self-service systems that require important investments in security and testing. ATM certifications are testing processes for machines that integrate software components from different vendors and are performed before their deployment for public use. This project was originated from the need of optimization of the certification process in an ATM manufacturing company. The process identifies compatibility problems between software components through testing. It is composed by a huge number of manual user tasks that makes the process very expensive and error-prone. Moreover, it is not possible to fully automate the process as it requires human intervention for manipulating ATM peripherals. This project presented important challenges for the development team. First, this is a critical process, as all the ATM operations rely on the software under test. Second, the context of use of ATMs applications is vastly different from ordinary software. Third, ATMs’ useful lifetime is beyond 15 years and both new and old models need to be supported. Fourth, the know-how for efficient testing depends on each specialist and it is not explicitly documented. Fifth, the huge number of tests and their importance implies the need for user efficiency and accuracy. All these factors led us conclude that besides the technical challenges, the usability of the intended software solution was critical for the project success. This business context is the motivation of this Master Thesis project. Our proposal focused in the development process applied. By combining user-centered design (UCD) with agile development we ensured both the high priority of usability and the early mitigation of software development risks caused by all the technology constraints. We performed 23 development iterations and finally we were able to provide a working solution on time according to users’ expectations. The evaluation of the project was carried out through usability tests, where 4 real users participated in different tests in the real context of use. The results were positive, according to different metrics: error rate, efficiency, effectiveness, and user satisfaction. We discuss the problems found, the benefits and the lessons learned in the process. Finally, we measured the expected project benefits by comparing the effort required by the current and the new process (once the new software tool is adopted). The savings corresponded to 40% less effort (man-hours) per certification. Future work includes additional evaluation of product usability in a real scenario (with customers) and the measuring of benefits in terms of quality improvement.

Respuesta adaptada a las necesidades específicas de estudiantes con de espectro austista (TEA) trastorno en la materia de tecnología

El trabajo desarrollado pretende dar a conocer cuales son las necesidades especificas de alumnos con trastorno del espectro autista (TEA).Se enmarca en los estudios que afrontan la temática de la Atención a Diversidad y la inclusión de los alumnos con TEA en centros ordinarios educativos. Se pretende desarrollar recursos metodológicos para ofrecer una respuesta adaptativa ante el reto de afrontar las competencias clave a través de la nueva asignatura de “Tecnología, programación y robótica”; Para ello se analizan las características de cuatro estudiantes con TEA escolarizados en secundaria del centro concertado Colegio Lourdes (FUHEM) de la comunidad de Madrid y se ofrecen respuestas diferentes en función de ellas, apoyándonos en sus fortalezas para vencer sus dificultades, con el objetivo de alcanzar las mismas competencias claveque el resto de compañeros, como marca la Ley Orgánica de Mejora de la Calidad de la Educación, LOMCE, que entra en vigor en este nivel en el curso 2015-2016. ABSTRACT The developed work seeks to highlight what are the specific needs of students with autism spectrum (ASDs).The part of the studies faced the issue of Attention to diversity and the inclusion of students with ASD in mainstream schools educational disorder. It aims to develop methodological resources to offer an adaptive response to the challenge of addressing key skills through the new subject of "Technology, Programming and Robotics"; To do the characteristics of four students with ASD are discussed in secondary school concerted Lourdes (FUHEM) of the Madrid and different responses depending on them are offered, building on their strengths to overcome their difficulties, in order to achieve the same core competencies of other colleagues as brand organic law of Quality Improvement of Education, LOMCE, which takes effect in the 2015-2016 year.

Compostabilidad de envases de bolsas de PBAT+PLA y envases rígidos de PLA mediante tecnologías de pila y túnel

Los polímeros compostables suponen en torno al 30% de los bioplásticos destinados a envasado, siendo a su vez esta aplicación el principal destino de la producción de este tipo de materiales que, en el año 2013, superó 1,6 millones de toneladas. La presente tesis aborda la biodegradación de los residuos de envases domésticos compostables en medio aerobio para dos tipos de formato y materiales, envase rígido de PLA (Clase I) y dos tipos de bolsas de PBAT+PLA (Clases II y III). Sobre esta materia se han realizado diversos estudios en escala de laboratorio pero para otro tipo de envases y biopolímeros y bajo condiciones controladas del compost con alguna proyección particularizada en plantas. La presente tesis da un paso más e investiga el comportamiento real de los envases plásticos compostables en la práctica del compostaje en tecnologías de pila y túnel, tanto a escala piloto como industrial, dentro del procedimiento y con las condiciones ambientales de instalaciones concretas. Para ello, con el método seguido, se han analizado los requisitos básicos que debe cumplir un envase compostable, según la norma UNE – EN 13432, evaluando el porcentaje de biodegradación de los envases objeto de estudio, en función de la pérdida de peso seco tras el proceso de compostaje, y la calidad del compost obtenido, mediante análisis físico-químico y de fitotoxicidad para comprobar que los materiales de estudio no aportan toxicidad. En cuanto a los niveles de biodegrabilidad, los resultados permiten concluir que los envases de Clase I se compostan adecuadamente en ambas tecnologías y que no requieren de unas condiciones de proceso muy exigentes para alcanzar niveles de biodegradación del 100%. En relación a los envases de Clase II, se puede asumir que se trata de un material que se composta adecuadamente en pila y túnel industrial pero que requiere de condiciones exigentes para alcanzar niveles de biodegradación del 100% al afectarle de forma clara la ubicación de las muestras en la masa a compostar, especialmente en el caso de la tecnología de túnel. Mientras el 90% de las muestras alcanza el 100% de biodegradación en pila industrial, tan sólo el 50% lo consigue en la tecnología de túnel a la misma escala. En cuanto a los envases de Clase III, se puede afirmar que es un material que se composta adecuadamente en túnel industrial pero que requiere de condiciones de cierta exigencia para alcanzar niveles de biodegradación del 100% al poderle afectar la ubicación de las muestras en la masa a compostar. El 75% de las muestras ensayadas en túnel a escala industrial alcanzan el 100% de biodegradación y, aunque no se ha ensayado este tipo de envase en la tecnología de pila al no disponer de muestras, cabe pensar que los resultados de biodegrabilidad que hubiera podido alcanzar habrían sido, como mínimo, los obtenidos para los envases de Clase II, al tratarse de materiales muy similares en composición. Por último, se concluye que la tecnología de pila es más adecuada para conseguir niveles de biodegradación superiores en los envases tipo bolsa de PBAT+PLA. Los resultados obtenidos permiten también sacar en conclusión que, en el diseño de instalaciones de compostaje para el tratamiento de la fracción orgánica recogida selectivamente, sería conveniente realizar una recirculación del rechazo del afino del material compostado para aumentar la probabilidad de someter este tipo de materiales a las condiciones ambientales adecuadas. Si además se realiza un triturado del residuo a la entrada del proceso, también se aumentaría la superficie específica a entrar en contacto con la masa de materia orgánica y por tanto se favorecerían las condiciones de biodegradación. En cuanto a la calidad del compost obtenido en los ensayos, los resultados de los análisis físico – químicos y de fitotoxicidad revelan que los niveles de concentración de microorganismo patógenos y de metales pesados superan, en la práctica totalidad de las muestras, los niveles máximos permitidos en la legislación vigente aplicable a productos fertilizantes elaborados con residuos. Mediante el análisis de la composición de los envases ensayados se constata que la causa de esta contaminación reside en la materia orgánica utilizada para compostar en los ensayos, procedente del residuo de origen doméstico de la denominada “fracción resto”. Esta conclusión confirma la necesidad de realizar una recogida selectiva de la fracción orgánica en origen, existiendo estudios que evidencian la mejora de la calidad del residuo recogido en la denominada “fracción orgánica recogida selectivamente” (FORM). Compostable polymers are approximately 30% of bioplastics used for packaging, being this application, at same time, the main destination for the production of such materials exceeded 1.6 million tonnes in 2013. This thesis deals with the biodegradation of household packaging waste compostable in aerobic medium for two format types and materials, rigid container made of PLA (Class I) and two types of bags made of PBAT + PLA (Classes II and III). There are several studies developed about this issue at laboratory scale but for other kinds of packaging and biopolymers and under composting controlled conditions with some specifically plants projection. This thesis goes one step further and researches the real behaviour of compostable plastic packaging in the composting practice in pile and tunnel technologies, both at pilot and industrial scale, within the procedure and environmental conditions of concrete devices. Therefore, with a followed method, basic requirements fulfilment for compostable packaging have been analysed according to UNE-EN 13432 standard. It has been assessed the biodegradability percentage of the packaging studied, based on loss dry weight after the composting process, and the quality of the compost obtained, based on physical-chemical analysis to check no toxicity provided by the studied materials. Regarding biodegradability levels, results allow to conclude that Class I packaging are composted properly in both technologies and do not require high exigent process conditions for achieving 100% biodegradability levels. Related to Class II packaging, it can be assumed that it is a material that composts properly in pile and tunnel at industrial scale but requires exigent conditions for achieving 100% biodegradability levels for being clearly affected by sample location in the composting mass, especially in tunnel technology case. While 90% of the samples reach 100% of biodegradation in pile at industrial scale, only 50% achieve it in tunnel technology at the same scale. Regarding Class III packaging, it can be said that it is a material properly composted in tunnel at industrial scale but requires certain exigent conditions for reaching 100% biodegradation levels for being possibly affected by sample location in the composting mass. The 75% of the samples tested in tunnel at industrial scale reaches 100% biodegradation. Although this kind of packaging has not been tested on pile technology due to unavailability of samples, it is judged that biodegradability results that could be reached would have been, at least, the same obtained for Class II packaging, as they are very similar materials in composition. Finally, it is concluded that pile technology is more suitable for achieving highest biodegradation levels in bag packaging type of PBAT+PLA. Additionally, the obtained results conclude that, in the designing of composting devices for treatment of organic fraction selectively collected, it would be recommended a recirculation of the refining refuse of composted material in order to increase the probability of such materials to expose to proper environmental conditions. If the waste is grinded before entering the process, the specific surface in contact with organic material would also be increased and therefore biodegradation conditions would be more favourable. Regarding quality of the compost obtained in the tests, physical-chemical and phytotoxicity analysis results reveal that pathogen microorganism and heavy metals concentrations exceed, in most of the samples, the maximum allowed levels by current legislation for fertilizers obtained from wastes. Composition analysis of tested packaging verifies that the reason for this contamination is the organic material used for composting tests, comes from the household waste called “rest fraction”. This conclusion confirms the need of a selective collection of organic fraction in the origin, as existing studies show the quality improvement of the waste collected in the so-called “organic fraction selectively collected” (FORM).

Advanced predictive quality control strategy involving different facilities

There are many industries that use highly technological solutions to improve quality in all of their products. The steel industry is one example. Several automatic surface-inspection systems are used in the steel industry to identify various types of defects and to help operators decide whether to accept, reroute, or downgrade the material, subject to the assessment process. This paper focuses on promoting a strategy that considers all defects in an integrated fashion. It does this by managing the uncertainty about the exact position of a defect due to different process conditions by means of Gaussian additive influence functions. The relevance of the approach is in making possible consistency and reliability between surface inspection systems. The results obtained are an increase in confidence in the automatic inspection system and an ability to introduce improved prediction and advanced routing models. The prediction is provided to technical operators to help them in their decision-making process. It shows the increase in improvement gained by reducing the 40 % of coils that are downgraded at the hot strip mill because of specific defects. In addition, this technology facilitates an increase of 50 % in the accuracy of the estimate of defect survival after the cleaning facility in comparison to the former approach. The proposed technology is implemented by means of software-based, multi-agent solutions. It makes possible the independent treatment of information, presentation, quality analysis, and other relevant functions.

VISIONS Vehicular communication Improvement : solution based on IMS Operational Nodes and Services

Digital services and communications in vehicular scenarios provide the essential assets to improve road transport in several ways like reducing accidents, improving traffic efficiency and optimizing the transport of goods and people. Vehicular communications typically rely on VANET (Vehicular Ad hoc Networks). In these networks vehicles communicate with each other without the need of infrastructure. VANET are mainly oriented to disseminate information to the vehicles in certain geographic area for time critical services like safety warnings but present very challenging requirements that have not been successfully fulfilled nowadays. Some of these challenges are; channel saturation due to simultaneous radio access of many vehicles, routing protocols in topologies that vary rapidly, minimum quality of service assurance and security mechanisms to efficiently detect and neutralize malicious attacks. Vehicular services can be classified in four important groups: Safety, Efficiency, Sustainability and Infotainment. The benefits of these services for the transport sector are clear but many technological and business challenges need to be faced before a real mass market deployment. Service delivery platforms are not prepared for fulfilling the needs of this complex environment with restrictive requirements due to the criticism of some services To overcome this situation, we propose a solution called VISIONS “Vehicular communication Improvement: Solution based on IMS Operational Nodes and Services”. VISIONS leverages on IMS subsystem and NGN enablers, and follows the CALM reference Architecture standardized by ISO. It also avoids the use of Road Side Units (RSUs), reducing complexity and high costs in terms of deployment and maintenance. We demonstrate the benefits in the following areas: 1. VANET networks efficiency. VISIONS provide a mechanism for the vehicles to access valuable information from IMS and its capabilities through a cellular channel. This efficiency improvement will occur in two relevant areas: a. Routing mechanisms. These protocols are responsible of carrying information from a vehicle to another (or a group of vehicles) using multihop mechanisms. We do not propose a new algorithm but the use of VANET topology information provided through our solution to enrich the performance of these protocols. b. Security. Many aspects of security (privacy, key, authentication, access control, revocation mechanisms, etc) are not resolved in vehicular communications. Our solution efficiently disseminates revocation information to neutralize malicious nodes in the VANET. 2. Service delivery platform. It is based on extended enablers, reference architectures, standard protocols and open APIs. By following this approach, we reduce costs and resources for service development, deployment and maintenance. To quantify these benefits in VANET networks, we provide an analytical model of the system and simulate our solution in realistic scenarios. The simulations results demonstrate how VISIONS improves the performance of relevant routing protocols and is more efficient neutralizing security attacks than the widely proposed solutions based on RSUs. Finally, we design an innovative Social Network service based in our platform, explaining how VISIONS facilitate the deployment and usage of complex capabilities. RESUMEN Los servicios digitales y comunicaciones en entornos vehiculares proporcionan herramientas esenciales para mejorar el transporte por carretera; reduciendo el número de accidentes, mejorando la eficiencia del tráfico y optimizando el transporte de mercancías y personas. Las comunicaciones vehiculares generalmente están basadas en redes VANET (Vehicular Ad hoc Networks). En dichas redes, los vehículos se comunican entre sí sin necesidad de infraestructura. Las redes VANET están principalmente orientadas a difundir información (por ejemplo advertencias de seguridad) a los vehículos en determinadas zonas geográficas, pero presentan unos requisitos muy exigentes que no se han resuelto con éxito hasta la fecha. Algunos de estos retos son; saturación del canal de acceso de radio debido al acceso simultáneo de múltiples vehículos, la eficiencia de protocolos de encaminamiento en topologías que varían rápidamente, la calidad de servicio (QoS) y los mecanismos de seguridad para detectar y neutralizar los ataques maliciosos de manera eficiente. Los servicios vehiculares pueden clasificarse en cuatro grupos: Seguridad, Eficiencia del tráfico, Sostenibilidad, e Infotainment (información y entretenimiento). Los beneficios de estos servicios para el sector son claros, pero es necesario resolver muchos desafíos tecnológicos y de negocio antes de una implementación real. Las actuales plataformas de despliegue de servicios no están preparadas para satisfacer las necesidades de este complejo entorno con requisitos muy restrictivos debido a la criticidad de algunas aplicaciones. Con el objetivo de mejorar esta situación, proponemos una solución llamada VISIONS “Vehicular communication Improvement: Solution based on IMS Operational Nodes and Services”. VISIONS se basa en el subsistema IMS, las capacidades NGN y es compatible con la arquitectura de referencia CALM estandarizado por ISO para sistemas de transporte. También evita el uso de elementos en las carreteras, conocidos como Road Side Units (RSU), reduciendo la complejidad y los altos costes de despliegue y mantenimiento. A lo largo de la tesis, demostramos los beneficios en las siguientes áreas: 1. Eficiencia en redes VANET. VISIONS proporciona un mecanismo para que los vehículos accedan a información valiosa proporcionada por IMS y sus capacidades a través de un canal de celular. Dicho mecanismo contribuye a la mejora de dos áreas importantes: a. Mecanismos de encaminamiento. Estos protocolos son responsables de llevar información de un vehículo a otro (o a un grupo de vehículos) utilizando múltiples saltos. No proponemos un nuevo algoritmo de encaminamiento, sino el uso de información topológica de la red VANET a través de nuestra solución para enriquecer el funcionamiento de los protocolos más relevantes. b. Seguridad. Muchos aspectos de la seguridad (privacidad, gestión de claves, autenticación, control de acceso, mecanismos de revocación, etc) no están resueltos en las comunicaciones vehiculares. Nuestra solución difunde de manera eficiente la información de revocación para neutralizar los nodos maliciosos en la red. 2. Plataforma de despliegue de servicios. Está basada en capacidades NGN, arquitecturas de referencia, protocolos estándar y APIs abiertos. Siguiendo este enfoque, reducimos costes y optimizamos procesos para el desarrollo, despliegue y mantenimiento de servicios vehiculares. Para cuantificar estos beneficios en las redes VANET, ofrecemos un modelo de analítico del sistema y simulamos nuestra solución en escenarios realistas. Los resultados de las simulaciones muestran cómo VISIONS mejora el rendimiento de los protocolos de encaminamiento relevantes y neutraliza los ataques a la seguridad de forma más eficientes que las soluciones basadas en RSU. Por último, diseñamos un innovador servicio de red social basado en nuestra plataforma, explicando cómo VISIONS facilita el despliegue y el uso de las capacidades NGN.

Green façades for urban comfort improvement. Implementation in a extreme Continental Mediterranean climate

Green façades constitute constructive technologies with a positive influence on sustainability in cities and several urban climate parameters such as thermal comfort, air quality and water management. According to the current research, the implementation of urban greenery contributes to increase the cooling effect and mitigate the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon. This paper focuses on the role of vegetation in improving the urban environment of Madrid (Spain). The simulation results show that green walls could be more effective in urban morphologies with narrow streets. During overheated periods, the streets with green walls have a higher relative humidity in the surrounding areas than those with trees. The air temperature is found to be a little lower. The reduction of wind speed means a positive effect on urban hygrothermal comfort. Therefore, green walls could be taken into account as suitable tools to modify the outdoor thermal environment in cities with an extreme Continental Mediterranean climate.

Testing equipment for the improvement of mechanical devices to minimize damage to fruit in commercial packing lines.

Damages -reduced in fruit packing lines is a major cause of grace reduction and quality loos in fresh marks: fruit. Fruit must be treated gently during in sir handling to improve their qualityin order to get a good price in a competitive market. The correct post-hardvest handling in fruit packing lines is a prerequisite to cut down the heavy post-harvest losses. Fruit packing lines must be evaluated, studying their design, the impacts applied to the fruits, the characteristics of the materials, etc. This study establishes the possibility of carrying out modifications and tests in a packing line during a long period of time. For this purpose, an experimental fruit packing line has been designed and located in the Agricultural Engineering Department of the Polythecnic University of Madrid with the aim of improving mechanical devices and fruit handling conditions to minimize damage to fruit. The experimental line consists of several transporting belts, one rollers transporter, one sizer, one elevator, one singularizer, and three trays to receive the calibrated fruit. The line has a length of 6.15 m and a width cf 1.9 m. Movement of the different components is regulated by electric motors with variable velocity electronically controlled. The height of the transfer points is variable and can be easily modified. The experimental line has been calibrated using two instrumented spheres IS 100 (8.8 cm Ø and6.2cm Ø). Average acceleration values obtained in all the transfers of the experimental line lay under 80 g's, although there is big variation for some of them being some values above 100 g's.

A multi-criteria optimization and decision-making approach for improvement of food engineering processes.

The objective of this study was to propose a multi-criteria optimization and decision-making technique to solve food engineering problems. This technique was demostrated using experimental data obtained on osmotic dehydratation of carrot cubes in a sodium chloride solution. The Aggregating Functions Approach, the Adaptive Random Search Algorithm, and the Penalty Functions Approach were used in this study to compute the initial set of non-dominated or Pareto-optimal solutions. Multiple non-linear regression analysis was performed on a set of experimental data in order to obtain particular multi-objective functions (responses), namely water loss, solute gain, rehydration ratio, three different colour criteria of rehydrated product, and sensory evaluation (organoleptic quality). Two multi-criteria decision-making approaches, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Tabular Method (TM), were used simultaneously to choose the best alternative among the set of non-dominated solutions. The multi-criteria optimization and decision-making technique proposed in this study can facilitate the assessment of criteria weights, giving rise to a fairer, more consistent, and adequate final compromised solution or food process. This technique can be useful to food scientists in research and education, as well as to engineers involved in the improvement of a variety of food engineering processes.

Selection, training and validation process of a sensory panel for bread analysis: Influence of cultivar on the quality of breads made from common wheat and spelta wheat

A protocol of selection, training and validation of the members of the panel for bread sensory analysis is proposed to assess the influence of wheat cultivar on the sensory quality of bread. Three cultivars of bread wheat and two cultivars of spelt wheat organically-grown under the same edaphoclimatic conditions were milled and baked using the same milling and baking procedure. Through the use of triangle tests, differences were identified between the five breads. Significant differences were found between the spelt breads and those made with bread wheat for the attributes ?crumb cell homogeneity? and ?crumb elasticity?. Significant differences were also found for the odor and flavor attributes, with the bread made with ?Espelta Navarra? being the most complex, from a sensory point of view. Based on the results of this study, we propose that sensory properties should be considered as breeding criteria for future work on genetic improvement.

Definition of masks related to psychovisual features for video quality assessment

Video Quality Assessment needs to correspond to human perception. Pixel-based metrics (PSNR or MSE) fail in many circumstances for not taking into account the spatio-temporal property of human's visual perception. In this paper we propose a new pixel-weighted method to improve video quality metrics for artifacts evaluation. The method applies a psychovisual model based on motion, level of detail, pixel location and the appearance of human faces, which approximate the quality to the human eye's response. Subjective tests were developed to adjust the psychovisual model for demonstrating the noticeable improvement of an algorithm when weighting the pixels according to the factors analyzed instead of treating them equally. The analysis developed demonstrates the necessity of models adapted to the specific visualization of contents and the model presents an advance in quality to be applied over sequences when a determined artifact is analyzed.