Monitoring and Prevention the Smart Cities

Nowadays, the intensive use of Technology Information (TI) provide solutions to problems of the high population density, energy conservation and cities management. This produces a newest concept of the city, Smart City. But the inclusion of TI in the city brings associated new problems, specifically the generation of electromagnetic fields from the available and new technological infrastructures installed in the city that did not exist before. This new scenario produces a negative effect on a particular group of the society, as are the group of persons with electromagnetic hypersensitivity pathology. In this work we propose a system that would allow you to detect and prevent the continuous exposure to such electromagnetic fields, without the need to include more devices or infrastructure which would only worsen these effects. Through the use of the architecture itself and Smart City services, it is possible to infer the necessary knowledge to know the situation of the EMF radiation and thus allow users to avoid the areas of greatest conflict. This knowledge, not only allows us to get EMF current map of the city, but also allows you to generate predictions and detect future risk situations.

Smart Sentinel: Monitoring and Prevention System in the Smart Cities

Today, faced with the constant rise of the Smart cities around the world, there is an exponential increase of the use and deployment of information technologies in the cities. The intensive use of Information Technology (IT) in these ecosystems facilitates and improves the quality of life of citizens, but in these digital communities coexist individuals whose health is affected developing or increasing diseases such as electromagnetic hypersensitivity. In this paper we present a monitoring, detection and prevention system to help this group, through which it is reported the rates of electromagnetic radiation in certain areas, based on the information that the own Smart City gives us. This work provides a perfect platform for the generation of predictive models for detection of future states of risk for humans.

Cellular responses following retinal injuries and therapeutic approaches for neurodegenerative diseases

Retinal neurodegenerative diseases like age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and retinitis pigmentosa each have a different etiology and pathogenesis. However, at the cellular and molecular level, the response to retinal injury is similar in all of them, and results in morphological and functional impairment of retinal cells. This retinal degeneration may be triggered by gene defects, increased intraocular pressure, high levels of blood glucose, other types of stress or aging, but they all frequently induce a set of cell signals that lead to well-established and similar morphological and functional changes, including controlled cell death and retinal remodeling. Interestingly, an inflammatory response, oxidative stress and activation of apoptotic pathways are common features in all these diseases. Furthermore, it is important to note the relevant role of glial cells, including astrocytes, Müller cells and microglia, because their response to injury is decisive for maintaining the health of the retina or its degeneration. Several therapeutic approaches have been developed to preserve retinal function or restore eyesight in pathological conditions. In this context, neuroprotective compounds, gene therapy, cell transplantation or artificial devices should be applied at the appropriate stage of retinal degeneration to obtain successful results. This review provides an overview of the common and distinctive features of retinal neurodegenerative diseases, including the molecular, anatomical and functional changes caused by the cellular response to damage, in order to establish appropriate treatments for these pathologies.

A Construction Management Framework for Mass Customisation in Traditional Construction

A Mass Customisation model is discussed as a competitive positioning strategy in the marketplace adding value to the customer’s end-use. It includes the user as part of the construction process responding to the customer’s demands and wishes. To the present day, almost all proposals for Mass Customisation have been focused on the design phase and single family houses. The reality is that the processes carried out in the work execution are so inefficient that the costs of the Mass Customisation models are assumed by the customer and they do not offer solutions that support the change management. Furthermore, this inefficiency often makes Mass Customisation unfeasible in terms of deadlines and site management. Therefore, the present proposal focuses on achieving the paradigm of Mass Customisation in the traditional residential construction complementary to the existing proposals in the design phase. All this through the proposal of a framework for the integral management in the work execution, which will address change management introduced by the users offering an efficient and productive model that reduces costs in the process. This model will focus on the synergy between different strategies, techniques and technologies currently used in the construction management (such as Lean Construction or Six Sigma), together with, other strategies and technologies that have proven to be valid solutions in other fields (such as Business Process Management, Service Oriented Architecture, etc.).

Algorithm for the detection of outliers based on the theory of rough sets

Outliers are objects that show abnormal behavior with respect to their context or that have unexpected values in some of their parameters. In decision-making processes, information quality is of the utmost importance. In specific applications, an outlying data element may represent an important deviation in a production process or a damaged sensor. Therefore, the ability to detect these elements could make the difference between making a correct and an incorrect decision. This task is complicated by the large sizes of typical databases. Due to their importance in search processes in large volumes of data, researchers pay special attention to the development of efficient outlier detection techniques. This article presents a computationally efficient algorithm for the detection of outliers in large volumes of information. This proposal is based on an extension of the mathematical framework upon which the basic theory of detection of outliers, founded on Rough Set Theory, has been constructed. From this starting point, current problems are analyzed; a detection method is proposed, along with a computational algorithm that allows the performance of outlier detection tasks with an almost-linear complexity. To illustrate its viability, the results of the application of the outlier-detection algorithm to the concrete example of a large database are presented.

A Computational Architecture Based on RFID Sensors for Traceability in Smart Cities

Information Technology and Communications (ICT) is presented as the main element in order to achieve more efficient and sustainable city resource management, while making sure that the needs of the citizens to improve their quality of life are satisfied. A key element will be the creation of new systems that allow the acquisition of context information, automatically and transparently, in order to provide it to decision support systems. In this paper, we present a novel distributed system for obtaining, representing and providing the flow and movement of people in densely populated geographical areas. In order to accomplish these tasks, we propose the design of a smart sensor network based on RFID communication technologies, reliability patterns and integration techniques. Contrary to other proposals, this system represents a comprehensive solution that permits the acquisition of user information in a transparent and reliable way in a non-controlled and heterogeneous environment. This knowledge will be useful in moving towards the design of smart cities in which decision support on transport strategies, business evaluation or initiatives in the tourism sector will be supported by real relevant information. As a final result, a case study will be presented which will allow the validation of the proposal.

Oportunidad de integración de la perspectiva de género en investigación e innovación en salud en Europa: red COST genderSTE

La Comisión Europea apoya, por varias vías, incorporar la perspectiva de género, ahora en el nuevo programa Horizonte 2020, pero también financiando proyectos como gendered innovations, que muestran cómo las innovaciones de género aportan calidad en investigación y en prácticas profesionales para la salud y el bienestar. Uno de sus instrumentos políticos es la Recomendación sobre Género, Ciencia e Innovación, a desarrollar en los Estados miembros. En este contexto se crea la red internacional de Género, Ciencia, Tecnología y Medio Ambiente (COST genderSTE), que pretende: 1) cambios estructurales de las instituciones, que promocionen a las investigadoras; 2) identificación de las dimensiones de género relevantes para el medio ambiente; y 3) promocionar una mejor integración de la perspectiva de género en investigación y tecnología. COST GenderSTE apoya la creación de redes y la difusión del conocimiento con perspectiva de género. Todas estas herramientas ofrecen la oportunidad de incorporar la perspectiva de género en investigación en Europa.

Seguimiento de calidad de las asignaturas de tercer curso del Grado en Ingeniería Informática

En esta memoria se describe el proyecto llevado a cabo para mejorar el seguimiento y la calidad de la docencia de las asignaturas del tercer curso del Grado en Ingeniería Informática. En concreto, en este proyecto, nos centramos en los mecanismos de evaluación y en su distribución a lo largo del curso, así como en los conceptos fundamentales que se asocian a las diferentes asignaturas que se imparten en tercer curso del Grado en Ingeniería Informática. Se realizaron diversas reuniones entre los coordinadores de las distintas asignaturas para poner en común problemas relacionados con la planificación de las asignaturas así como dudas sobre las actividades de evaluación. Las reuniones permitieron intercambiar diferentes planteamientos con los que se habían abordado la evaluación de las asignaturas participantes en la red y que posibilitaron resolver problemas comunes. De igual forma se plantearon cuestiones abiertas sobre la planificación y la evaluación de las asignaturas que se dirigieron desde la red a la coordinación de la titulación en la Escuela Politécnica Superior. Finalmente, también se discutieron diferentes propuestas junto con las redes de otros cursos de la titulación para abordarlas en futuras redes.

Conceptual Modelling of Complex Network Management Systems

Society, as we know it today, is completely dependent on computer networks, Internet and distributed systems, which place at our disposal the necessary services to perform our daily tasks. Moreover, and unconsciously, all services and distributed systems require network management systems. These systems allow us to, in general, maintain, manage, configure, scale, adapt, modify, edit, protect or improve the main distributed systems. Their role is secondary and is unknown and transparent to the users. They provide the necessary support to maintain the distributed systems whose services we use every day. If we don’t consider network management systems during the development stage of main distributed systems, then there could be serious consequences or even total failures in the development of the distributed systems. It is necessary, therefore, to consider the management of the systems within the design of distributed systems and systematize their conception to minimize the impact of the management of networks within the project of distributed systems. In this paper, we present a formalization method of the conceptual modelling for design of a network management system through the use of formal modelling tools, thus allowing from the definition of processes to identify those responsible for these. Finally we will propose a use case to design a conceptual model intrusion detection system in network.

Metodología ágil en el diseño e implantación de un Máster en Ingeniería Informática

Tras la vorágine de las renovaciones y nuevos diseños de todas las titulaciones universitarias, llegan momentos de calma, de análisis y de reflexión. Los másteres caracterizarán a las universidades. Y aunque el Máster en Ingeniería Informática sigue unas fichas comunes, debe imbricarse con la universidad y el contexto social en el que se implanta. En este artículo se hace uso de los conceptos de las metodologías ágiles para describir el proceso de diseño e implantación del Máster en Ingeniería Informática de la Escuela Politécnica Superior de la Universidad de Alicante. Desde su implantación este Máster ha seguido un proceso de mejora continua, identificando, en cada curso, los posibles aspectos de mejora a partir de la información recogida durante los cursos anteriores y las propuestas para realizar dichas mejoras para los cursos siguientes. Se pretende en este artículo describir las experiencias, lecciones aprendidas y futuros pasos encaminados a afianzar este proceso de mejora continua del Máster en Ingeniería Informática.

Propuesta de uso de last planner como sistema para la enseñanza de gestión del proceso constructivo en el grado en Arquitectura Técnica en la Universidad de Alicante

La enseñanza de Gestión del Proceso Constructivo en el grado de Arquitectura Técnica se realiza actualmente siguiendo un esquema teórico-práctico. A través de clases magistrales se define el proceso constructivo de una edificación y la relación e interdependencia entre los oficios. Estos contenidos se refuerzan en las sesiones prácticas a través de la herramienta gráfica diagrama de Gantt, donde el alumno se enfrenta de manera individual a la planificación de la obra siguiendo los criterios estipulados en la asignatura. Esta metodología no permite a los estudiantes enfrentarse a los problemas frecuentes de re-planificación y gestión de imprevistos en el entorno de la construcción. Como consecuencia, se plantea una propuesta para la implementación de la herramienta Last Planner en la asignatura como sistema de planificación colaborativa basado en la filosofía Lean Construction. A través del uso de Last Planner como técnica de Gamificación se pretende dotar de dinamismo a las sesiones teórico-prácticas. En cada sesión se simularán diferentes escenarios que requieran procesos constructivos variados, favoreciendo la motivación del alumnado, su capacidad para aprender y proponer soluciones justificadas huyendo de soluciones rígidas y estándar, y el trabajo en equipo de forma colaborativa.

A Computational Method based on Radio Frequency Technologies for the Analysis of Accessibility of Disabled People in Sustainable Cities

The sustainability strategy in urban spaces arises from reflecting on how to achieve a more habitable city and is materialized in a series of sustainable transformations aimed at humanizing different environments so that they can be used and enjoyed by everyone without exception and regardless of their ability. Modern communication technologies allow new opportunities to analyze efficiency in the use of urban spaces from several points of view: adequacy of facilities, usability, and social integration capabilities. The research presented in this paper proposes a method to perform an analysis of movement accessibility in sustainable cities based on radio frequency technologies and the ubiquitous computing possibilities of the new Internet of Things paradigm. The proposal can be deployed in both indoor and outdoor environments to check specific locations of a city. Finally, a case study in a controlled context has been simulated to validate the proposal as a pre-deployment step in urban environments.

Management of social networks in the educational process

The research developed in this work consists in proposing a set of techniques for management of social networks and their integration into the educational process. The proposals made are based on assumptions that have been proven with simple examples in a real scenario of university teaching. The results show that social networks have more capacity to spread information than educational web platforms. Moreover, educational social networks are developed in a context of freedom of expression intrinsically linked to Internet freedom. In that context, users can write opinions or comments which are not liked by the staff of schools. However, this feature can be exploited to enrich the educational process and improve the quality of their achievement. The network has covered needs and created new ones. So, the figure of the Community Manager is proposed as agent in educational context for monitoring network and aims to channel the opinions and to provide a rapid response to an academic problem.

La Historia de Paulina

Carmen Chamizo Vega es un referente de la enfermería española y más concretamente de la Historia de la Enfermería. Su labor docente, asistencial e investigadora seguirá marcando el futuro, así como su infatigable trabajo estableciendo redes y lazos de comunicación entre los estudiosos de la Enfermería en España y en América. Carmen, discreta y serenamente, se ha ausentado por un rato de nuestras vidas; con este texto, cuyo título está tomado de una narración suya, quiero honrarla sin panegíricos académicos, apelando solo a la emoción de la memoria.

An Interdisciplinary Practical for Multimedia Engineering Students

Interdisciplinary projects in the industry typically require collaboration between professionals from various fields. However, this relationship is not generally addressed in the training offered by university programs, which often ignore this interdisciplinary approach. This paper offers an example of interdisciplinary interaction through joint laboratory activities in the curricula of two very different degree programs, i.e., Multimedia Engineering and Teacher Training in Primary Education. The programs' students formed an interdisciplinary team of multimedia engineers and trainee teachers to develop a Web product for children's cognitive development. The complexity of the task required students to engage in close and strong interdisciplinary cooperation and communication; in turn, they benefited from the synergy offered by collaborative work. The results of this paper, presented from the perspective of the multimedia engineering students, demonstrate a significant increase in their academic performance compared to the control group. This paper shows that university studies can incorporate an interdisciplinary perspective to engineering education without the need to introduce a specific course on the topic, thus avoiding further demands on the curriculum schedule.