Estudio de la funcionalización de secciones eficaces de celda en multigrupos para cálculos best-estimate 3D pin-by-pin de núcleos PWR

Uno de los objetivos del Proyecto europeo NURISP (NUclear Reactor Integrated Platform) del 7º Programa Marco es avanzar en la simulación de reactores de agua ligera mediante el acoplamiento de códigos best-estimate que profundicen en la física de núcleo, termohidráulica bifásica y comportamiento del combustible [1]. Uno de estos códigos es COBAYA3, código de difusión 3D en multigrupos pin-by-pin desarrollado en la UPM, que requiere de librerías de secciones eficaces homogeneizadas a nivel de la barrita de combustible.

Metodologías de modelado, monitorización y asistencia robótica en neurorrehabilitación funcional de extremidad superior

La Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) prevé que para el año 2020, el Daño Cerebral Adquirido (DCA) estará entre las 10 causas más comunes de discapacidad. Estas lesiones, dadas sus consecuencias físicas, sensoriales, cognitivas, emocionales y socioeconómicas, cambian dramáticamente la vida de los pacientes y sus familias. Las nuevas técnicas de intervención precoz y el desarrollo de la medicina intensiva en la atención al DCA han mejorado notablemente la probabilidad de supervivencia. Sin embargo, hoy por hoy, las lesiones cerebrales no tienen ningún tratamiento quirúrgico que tenga por objetivo restablecer la funcionalidad perdida, sino que las terapias rehabilitadoras se dirigen hacia la compensación de los déficits producidos. Uno de los objetivos principales de la neurorrehabilitación es, por tanto, dotar al paciente de la capacidad necesaria para ejecutar las Actividades de Vida Diaria (AVDs) necesarias para desarrollar una vida independiente, siendo fundamentales aquellas en las que la Extremidad Superior (ES) está directamente implicada, dada su gran importancia a la hora de la manipulación de objetos. Con la incorporación de nuevas soluciones tecnológicas al proceso de neurorrehabilitación se pretende alcanzar un nuevo paradigma centrado en ofrecer una práctica personalizada, monitorizada y ubicua con una valoración continua de la eficacia y de la eficiencia de los procedimientos y con capacidad de generar conocimientos que impulsen la ruptura del paradigma de actual. Los nuevos objetivos consistirán en minimizar el impacto de las enfermedades que afectan a la capacidad funcional de las personas, disminuir el tiempo de incapacidad y permitir una gestión más eficiente de los recursos. Estos objetivos clínicos, de gran impacto socio-económico, sólo pueden alcanzarse desde una apuesta decidida en nuevas tecnologías, metodologías y algoritmos capaces de ocasionar la ruptura tecnológica necesaria que permita superar las barreras que hasta el momento han impedido la penetración tecnológica en el campo de la rehabilitación de manera universal. De esta forma, los trabajos y resultados alcanzados en la Tesis son los siguientes: 1. Modelado de AVDs: como paso previo a la incorporación de ayudas tecnológicas al proceso rehabilitador, se hace necesaria una primera fase de modelado y formalización del conocimiento asociado a la ejecución de las actividades que se realizan como parte de la terapia. En particular, las tareas más complejas y a su vez con mayor repercusión terapéutica son las AVDs, cuya formalización permitirá disponer de modelos de movimiento sanos que actuarán de referencia para futuros desarrollos tecnológicos dirigidos a personas con DCA. Siguiendo una metodología basada en diagramas de estados UML se han modelado las AVDs 'servir agua de una jarra' y 'coger un botella' 2. Monitorización ubícua del movimiento de la ES: se ha diseñado, desarrollado y validado un sistema de adquisición de movimiento basado en tecnología inercial que mejora las limitaciones de los dispositivos comerciales actuales (coste muy elevado e incapacidad para trabajar en entornos no controlados); los altos coeficientes de correlación y los bajos niveles de error obtenidos en los corregistros llevados a cabo con el sistema comercial BTS SMART-D demuestran la alta precisión del sistema. También se ha realizado un trabajo de investigación exploratorio de un sistema de captura de movimiento de coste muy reducido basado en visión estereoscópica, habiéndose detectado los puntos clave donde se hace necesario incidir desde un punto de vista tecnológico para su incorporación en un entorno real 3. Resolución del Problema Cinemático Inverso (PCI): se ha diseñado, desarrollado y validado una solución al PCI cuando el manipulador se corresponde con una ES humana estudiándose 2 posibles alternativas, una basada en la utilización de un Perceptrón Multicapa (PMC) y otra basada en sistemas Artificial Neuro-Fuzzy Inference Systems (ANFIS). La validación, llevada a cabo utilizando información relativa a los modelos disponibles de AVDs, indica que una solución basada en un PMC con 3 neuronas en la capa de entrada, una capa oculta también de 3 neuronas y una capa de salida con tantas neuronas como Grados de Libertad (GdLs) tenga el modelo de la ES, proporciona resultados, tanto de precisión como de tiempo de cálculo, que la hacen idónea para trabajar en sistemas con requisitos de tiempo real 4. Control inteligente assisted-as-needed: se ha diseñado, desarrollado y validado un algoritmo de control assisted-as-needed para una ortesis robótica con capacidades de actuación anticipatoria de la que existe un prototipo implementado en la actualidad. Los resultados obtenidos demuestran cómo el sistema es capaz de adaptarse al perfil disfuncional del paciente activando la ayuda en instantes anteriores a la ocurrencia de movimientos incorrectos. Esta estrategia implica un aumento en la participación del paciente y, por tanto, en su actividad muscular, fomentándose los procesos la plasticidad cerebral responsables del reaprendizaje o readaptación motora 5. Simuladores robóticos para planificación: se propone la utilización de un simulador robótico assisted-as-needed como herramienta de planificación de sesiones de rehabilitación personalizadas y con un objetivo clínico marcado en las que interviene una ortesis robotizada. Los resultados obtenidos evidencian como, tras la ejecución de ciertos algoritmos sencillos, es posible seleccionar automáticamente una configuración para el algoritmo de control assisted-as-needed que consigue que la ortesis se adapte a los criterios establecidos desde un punto de vista clínico en función del paciente estudiado. Estos resultados invitan a profundizar en el desarrollo de algoritmos más avanzados de selección de parámetros a partir de baterías de simulaciones Estos trabajos han servido para corroborar las hipótesis de investigación planteadas al inicio de la misma, permitiendo, asimismo, la apertura de nuevas líneas de investigación. Summary The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that by the year 2020, Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) will be among the ten most common ailments. These injuries dramatically change the life of the patients and their families due to their physical, sensory, cognitive, emotional and socio-economic consequences. New techniques of early intervention and the development of intensive ABI care have noticeably improved the survival rate. However, in spite of these advances, brain injuries still have no surgical or pharmacological treatment to re-establish the lost functions. Neurorehabilitation therapies address this problem by restoring, minimizing or compensating the functional alterations in a person disabled because of a nervous system injury. One of the main objectives of Neurorehabilitation is to provide patients with the capacity to perform specific Activities of the Daily Life (ADL) required for an independent life, especially those in which the Upper Limb (UL) is directly involved due to its great importance in manipulating objects within the patients' environment. The incorporation of new technological aids to the neurorehabilitation process tries to reach a new paradigm focused on offering a personalized, monitored and ubiquitous practise with continuous assessment of both the efficacy and the efficiency of the procedures and with the capacity of generating new knowledge. New targets will be to minimize the impact of the sicknesses affecting the functional capabilitiies of the subjects, to decrease the time of the physical handicap and to allow a more efficient resources handling. These targets, of a great socio-economic impact, can only be achieved by means of new technologies and algorithms able to provoke the technological break needed to beat the barriers that are stopping the universal penetration of the technology in the field of rehabilitation. In this way, this PhD Thesis has achieved the following results: 1. ADL Modeling: as a previous step to the incorporation of technological aids to the neurorehabilitation process, it is necessary a first modelling and formalization phase of the knowledge associated to the execution of the activities that are performed as a part of the therapy. In particular, the most complex and therapeutically relevant tasks are the ADLs, whose formalization will produce healthy motion models to be used as a reference for future technological developments. Following a methodology based on UML state-chart diagrams, the ADLs 'serving water from a jar' and 'picking up a bottle' have been modelled 2. Ubiquitous monitoring of the UL movement: it has been designed, developed and validated a motion acquisition system based on inertial technology that improves the limitations of the current devices (high monetary cost and inability of working within uncontrolled environments); the high correlation coefficients and the low error levels obtained throughout several co-registration sessions with the commercial sys- tem BTS SMART-D show the high precision of the system. Besides an exploration of a very low cost stereoscopic vision-based motion capture system has been carried out and the key points where it is necessary to insist from a technological point of view have been detected 3. Inverse Kinematics (IK) problem solving: a solution to the IK problem has been proposed for a manipulator that corresponds to a human UL. This solution has been faced by means of two different alternatives, one based on a Mulilayer Perceptron (MLP) and another based on Artificial Neuro-Fuzzy Inference Systems (ANFIS). The validation of these solutions, carried out using the information regarding the previously generated motion models, indicate that a MLP-based solution, with an architecture consisting in 3 neurons in the input layer, one hidden layer of 3 neurons and an output layer with as many neurons as the number of Degrees of Freedom (DoFs) that the UL model has, is the one that provides the best results both in terms of precission and in terms of processing time, making in idoneous to be integrated within a system with real time restrictions 4. Assisted-as-needed intelligent control: an assisted-as-needed control algorithm with anticipatory actuation capabilities has been designed, developed and validated for a robotic orthosis of which there is an already implemented prototype. Obtained results demonstrate that the control system is able to adapt to the dysfunctional profile of the patient by triggering the assistance right before an incorrect movement is going to take place. This strategy implies an increase in the participation of the patients and in his or her muscle activity, encouraging the neural plasticity processes in charge of the motor learning 5. Planification with a robotic simulator: in this work a robotic simulator is proposed as a planification tool for personalized rehabilitation sessions under a certain clinical criterium. Obtained results indicate that, after the execution of simple parameter selection algorithms, it is possible to automatically choose a specific configuration that makes the assisted-as-needed control algorithm to adapt both to the clinical criteria and to the patient. These results invite researchers to work in the development of more complex parameter selection algorithms departing from simulation batteries Obtained results have been useful to corroborate the hypotheses set out at the beginning of this PhD Thesis. Besides, they have allowed the creation of new research lines in all the studied application fields.

Evolution not revolution of farming systemswill best feed and green the world

The challenge to properly feed a world population of 9.2 billion by 2050, that must be achieved on essentially currently cropped area, requires that food production be increased by 70%. This large increase can only be achieved by combinations of greater crop yields and more intensive cropping adapted to local conditions and availability of inputs. Farming systems are dynamic and continuously adapt to changing ecological, environmental and social conditions, while achieving greater production and resource-use efficiency by application of science and technology. This article argues that the solution to feed and green the world in 2050 is to support this evolution more strongly by providing farmers with necessary information, inputs, and recognition. There is no revolutionary alternative. Proposals to transform agriculture to low-input and organic systems would, because of low productiv- ity, exacerbate the challenge if applied in small part, and ensure failure if applied more widely. The challenge is, however, great. Irrigation, necessary to increase cropping intensity in many areas cannot be extended much more widely than at present, and it is uncertain if the current rate of crop yield increase can be maintained. Society needs greater recognition of the food-supply problem and must increase funding and support for agricultural research while it attends to issues of food waste and over consumption that can make valuable reductions to food demand from agriculture

Analysis of the operator action and the single failure criteria in a SGTR sequence using best estimate assumptions with TRACE 5.0

Steam Generator Tube Rupture (SGTR) sequences in Pressurized Water Reactors are known to be one of the most demanding transients for the operating crew. SGTR are a special kind of transient as they could lead to radiological releases without core damage or containment failure, as they can constitute a direct path from the reactor coolant system to the environment. The first methodology used to perform the Deterministic Safety Analysis (DSA) of a SGTR did not credit the operator action for the first 30 min of the transient, assuming that the operating crew was able to stop the primary to secondary leakage within that period of time. However, the different real SGTR accident cases happened in the USA and over the world demonstrated that the operators usually take more than 30 min to stop the leakage in actual sequences. Some methodologies were raised to overcome that fact, considering operator actions from the beginning of the transient, as it is done in Probabilistic Safety Analysis. This paper presents the results of comparing different assumptions regarding the single failure criteria and the operator action taken from the most common methodologies included in the different Deterministic Safety Analysis. One single failure criteria that has not been analysed previously in the literature is proposed and analysed in this paper too. The comparison is done with a PWR Westinghouse three loop model in TRACE code (Almaraz NPP) with best estimate assumptions but including deterministic hypothesis such as single failure criteria or loss of offsite power. The behaviour of the reactor is quite diverse depending on the different assumptions made regarding the operator actions. On the other hand, although there are high conservatisms included in the hypothesis, as the single failure criteria, all the results are quite far from the regulatory limits. In addition, some improvements to the Emergency Operating Procedures to minimize the offsite release from the damaged SG in case of a SGTR are outlined taking into account the offsite dose sensitivity results.

Revisión de la best practice “red española de ciudades por el clima”, desde la estrategia europea medioambiental

En el siglo pasado la comunidad internacional comenzó un período de reflexión relacionado con los problemas ambientales de nuestro planeta, que ha llegado hasta hoy, situándose en el centro de discusión el problema del cambio limático. El modelo territorial impuesto ha contribuido notablemente al aumento del problema, teniendo como principal exponente el modelo de ordenación territorial y urbana. Gran parte de la transformación está en poder de los municipios, que tienen la responsabilidad de modificar el diseño y gestión de las áreas urbanas, así como del desarrollo y ejecución de políticas públicas para enfrentarnos a estos desafíos. Los programas presentados por los gobiernos nacionales o las agencias de la UE, pueden parecer ajenos o de difícil gestión por los municipios, pero en realidad sus atribuciones son adecuadas para atender a las realidades territoriales y además, de mayor comprensión por los ciudadanos.

Membrane Systems Working with the PFactor: Best Strategy to Solve Complex Problems.

A membrane system is a massive parallel system, which is inspired by the living cells when processing information. As a part of unconventional computing, membrane systems are proven to be effective in solving complex problems. A new factor is introduced. This factor can decide whether a technique is worthwhile being used or not. The use of this factor provides the best chances for selecting the strategy for the rules application phase. Referring to the “best” is in reference to the one that reduces execution time within the membrane system. A pre-analysis of the membrane system determines the P-factor, which in return advises the optimal strategy to use. In particular, this paper compares the use of two strategies based on the P-factor and provides results upon the application of them. The paper concludes that the P-factor is an effective indicator for choosing the right strategy to implement the rules application phase in membrane systems.

Best practices for school leaders: Implementation of a profesional competence model for school management in Chile

In Chile, during the last three decades there has been a strong decentralization process whose main objective has been to improve the management of schools through the transfer of responsibilities and resources of education and thus improve the outcome of learning, reducing equity gaps between schools and territories. This is how, there has been an evolution of school principals¿ professional profile from an administrative to a management approach, in which principals have become project managers of educational projects. From a competence model for school leaders, based on IPMA guidelines, the present article presents an analysis of best practices for school management, allowing to generate a link between competencies and school management, from the perspective of project management. Results showed that the different competence elements, have relative weights according to the different practice fields, and that this analysis can be considered as a strategic element in educational project planning and development.

Best practices for school leaders: implementation of a professional competence model for school management in Chile

In Chile, during the last three decades there has been a strong decentralization process whose main objective has been to improve the management of schools through the transfer of responsibilities and resources of education and thus improve the outcome of learning, reducing equity gaps between schools and territories. This is how, there has been an evolution of school principals¿ professional profile from an administrative to a management approach, in which principals have become project managers of educational projects. From a competence model for school leaders, based on IPMA guidelines, the present article presents an analysis of best practices for school management, allowing to generate a link between competencies and school management, from the perspective of project management. Results showed that the different competence elements, have relative weights according to the different practice fields, and that this analysis can be considered as a strategic element in educational project planning and development.

Development of a PWR-W and an AP1000® containment building 3D model with a CFD code for Best-Estimate Thermal-Hydraulic Analysis

The simulation of design basis accidents in a containment building is usually conducted with a lumped parameter model. The codes normally used by Westinghouse Electric Company (WEC) for that license analysis are WGOTHIC or COCO, which are suitable to provide an adequate estimation of the overall peak temperature and pressure of the containment. However, for the detailed study of the thermal-hydraulic behavior in every room and compartment of the containment building, it could be more convenient to model the containment with a more detailed 3D representation of the geometry of the whole building. The main objective of this project is to obtain a standard PWR Westinghouse as well as an AP1000® containment model for a CFD code to analyze the thermal-hydraulic detailed behavior during a design basis accident. In this paper the development and testing of both containment models is presented.

Optimización del análisis best-estimate de un elemento combustible BWR con el código STAR-CCM+

The objective of the project is the evaluation of the code STAR-CCM +, as well as the establishment of guidelines and standardized procedures for the discretization of the area of study and the selection of physical models suitable for the simulation of BWR fuel. For this purpose several of BFBT experiments have simulated provide a data base for the development of experiments for measuring distribution of fractions of holes to changes in power in order to find the most appropriate models for the simulation of the problem.

Best practises for multilingual linked open data: a community effort

The W3C Best Practises for Multilingual Linked Open Data community group was born one year ago during the last MLW workshop in Rome. Nowadays, it continues leading the effort of a numerous community towards acquiring a shared view of the issues caused by multilingualism on the Web of Data and their possible solutions. Despite our initial optimism, we found the task of identifying best practises for ML-LOD a difficult one, requiring a deep understanding of the Web of Data in its multilingual dimension and in its practical problems. In this talk we will review the progresses of the group so far, mainly in the identification and analysis of topics, use cases, and design patterns, as well as the future challenges.

El espejismo de un problema arquitectónico: sobre la exposición «Buildings for Best Products» en el MOMA de Nueva York

El espejismo de un problema arquitectónico: sobre la exposición «Buildings for Best Products» en el MOMA de Nueva York