MARECHIARA-phytoplankton long-term time-series (1984-2006) at the fixed coastal station in the Gulf of Naples, Southern Tyrrhenian Sea

The "MARECHIARA-phytoplankton" dataset contains phytoplankton data collected in the ongoing time-series at Stn MC ( 40°48.5' N, 14°15' E) in the Gulf of Naples. This dataset spans over the period 1984-2006 and contains data of phytoplankton species composition and abundance. Phytoplankton sampling was regularly conducted from January 1984 till July 1991 and in 1995-2006. Sampling was interrupted from August 1991 till January 1995. The sampling frequency was fortnightly till 1991 and weekly since 1995. Phytoplankton samples were collected at 0.5 m depth using Niskin bottles and immediately fixed with formaldehyde (0.8-1.6% final concentration) for species identification and counts.

A ferrous oxalate mediated photo-Fenton system: Toward an increased biodegradability of indigo dyed wastewaters

This study assessed the applicability of a ferrous oxalate mediated photo-Fenton pretreatment for indigo-dyed wastewaters as to produce a biodegradable enough effluent, likely of being derived to conventional biological processes. The photochemical treatment was performed with ferrous oxalate and hydrogen peroxide in a Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) under batch operation conditions. The reaction was studied at natural pH conditions (5–6) with indigo concentrations in the range of 6.67–33.33 mg L−1, using a fixed oxalate-to-iron mass ratio (C2O42−/Fe2+ = 35) and assessing the system's biodegradability at low (257 mg L−1) and high (1280 mg L−1) H2O2 concentrations. In order to seek the optimal conditions for the treatment of indigo dyed wastewaters, an experimental design consisting in a statistical surface response approach was carried out. This analysis revealed that the best removal efficiencies for Total Organic Carbon (TOC) were obtained for low peroxide doses. In general it was observed that after 20 kJ L−1, almost every treated effluent increased its biodegradability from a BOD5/COD value of 0.4. This increase in the biodegradability was confirmed by the presence of short chain carboxylic acids as intermediate products and by the mineralization of organic nitrogen into nitrate. Finally, an overall decrease in the LC50 for Artemia salina indicated a successful detoxification of the effluent.

Evaluación y análisis de la trazabilidad metrológica en redes para la verificación y calibración de instrumental GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System)

Los estudios realizados hasta el momento para la determinación de la calidad de medida del instrumental geodésico han estado dirigidos, fundamentalmente, a las medidas angulares y de distancias. Sin embargo, en los últimos años se ha impuesto la tendencia generalizada de utilizar equipos GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) en el campo de las aplicaciones geomáticas sin que se haya establecido una metodología que permita obtener la corrección de calibración y su incertidumbre para estos equipos. La finalidad de esta Tesis es establecer los requisitos que debe satisfacer una red para ser considerada Red Patrón con trazabilidad metrológica, así como la metodología para la verificación y calibración de instrumental GNSS en redes patrón. Para ello, se ha diseñado y elaborado un procedimiento técnico de calibración de equipos GNSS en el que se han definido las contribuciones a la incertidumbre de medida. El procedimiento, que se ha aplicado en diferentes redes para distintos equipos, ha permitido obtener la incertidumbre expandida de dichos equipos siguiendo las recomendaciones de la Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement del Joint Committee for Guides in Metrology. Asimismo, se han determinado mediante técnicas de observación por satélite las coordenadas tridimensionales de las bases que conforman las redes consideradas en la investigación, y se han desarrollado simulaciones en función de diversos valores de las desviaciones típicas experimentales de los puntos fijos que se han utilizado en el ajuste mínimo cuadrático de los vectores o líneas base. Los resultados obtenidos han puesto de manifiesto la importancia que tiene el conocimiento de las desviaciones típicas experimentales en el cálculo de incertidumbres de las coordenadas tridimensionales de las bases. Basándose en estudios y observaciones de gran calidad técnica, llevados a cabo en estas redes con anterioridad, se ha realizado un exhaustivo análisis que ha permitido determinar las condiciones que debe satisfacer una red patrón. Además, se han diseñado procedimientos técnicos de calibración que permiten calcular la incertidumbre expandida de medida de los instrumentos geodésicos que proporcionan ángulos y distancias obtenidas por métodos electromagnéticos, ya que dichos instrumentos son los que van a permitir la diseminación de la trazabilidad metrológica a las redes patrón para la verificación y calibración de los equipos GNSS. De este modo, ha sido posible la determinación de las correcciones de calibración local de equipos GNSS de alta exactitud en las redes patrón. En esta Tesis se ha obtenido la incertidumbre de la corrección de calibración mediante dos metodologías diferentes; en la primera se ha aplicado la propagación de incertidumbres, mientras que en la segunda se ha aplicado el método de Monte Carlo de simulación de variables aleatorias. El análisis de los resultados obtenidos confirma la validez de ambas metodologías para la determinación de la incertidumbre de calibración de instrumental GNSS. ABSTRACT The studies carried out so far for the determination of the quality of measurement of geodetic instruments have been aimed, primarily, to measure angles and distances. However, in recent years it has been accepted to use GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) equipment in the field of Geomatic applications, for data capture, without establishing a methodology that allows obtaining the calibration correction and its uncertainty. The purpose of this Thesis is to establish the requirements that a network must meet to be considered a StandardNetwork with metrological traceability, as well as the methodology for the verification and calibration of GNSS instrumental in those standard networks. To do this, a technical calibration procedure has been designed, developed and defined for GNSS equipment determining the contributions to the uncertainty of measurement. The procedure, which has been applied in different networks for different equipment, has alloweddetermining the expanded uncertainty of such equipment following the recommendations of the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement of the Joint Committee for Guides in Metrology. In addition, the three-dimensional coordinates of the bases which constitute the networks considered in the investigationhave been determined by satellite-based techniques. There have been several developed simulations based on different values of experimental standard deviations of the fixed points that have been used in the least squares vectors or base lines calculations. The results have shown the importance that the knowledge of experimental standard deviations has in the calculation of uncertainties of the three-dimensional coordinates of the bases. Based on high technical quality studies and observations carried out in these networks previously, it has been possible to make an exhaustive analysis that has allowed determining the requirements that a standard network must meet. In addition, technical calibration procedures have been developed to allow the uncertainty estimation of measurement carried outby geodetic instruments that provide angles and distances obtained by electromagnetic methods. These instruments provide the metrological traceability to standard networks used for verification and calibration of GNSS equipment. As a result, it has been possible the estimation of local calibration corrections for high accuracy GNSS equipment in standardnetworks. In this Thesis, the uncertainty of calibration correction has been calculated using two different methodologies: the first one by applying the law of propagation of uncertainty, while the second has applied the propagation of distributions using the Monte Carlo method. The analysis of the obtained results confirms the validity of both methodologies for estimating the calibration uncertainty of GNSS equipment.

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.

ClimApp: A Novel Approach of an Intelligent HVAC Control System

This paper describes a novel deployment of an intelligent user-centered HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioner) control system. The main objective of this system is to optimize user comfort and to reduce energy consumption in office buildings. Existing commercial HVAC control systems work in a fixed and predetermined way. The novelty of the proposed system is that it adapts dynamically to the user and to the building environment. For this purpose the system architecture has been designed under the paradigm of Ambient Intelligence. A prototype of the system proposed has been tested in a real-world environment.

Energy payback time of grid connected pv systems: comparison between tracking and fixed systems

A review of existing studies about LCA of PV systems has been carried out. The data from this review have been completed with our own figures in order to calculate the Energy Payback Time of double and horizontal axis tracking and fixed systems. The results of this metric span from 2 to 5 years for the latitude and global irradiation ranges of the geographical area comprised between −10◦ to 10◦ of longitude, and 30◦ to 45◦ of latitude. With the caution due to the uncertainty of the sources of information, these results mean that a GCPVS is able to produce back the energy required for its existence from 6 to 15 times during a life cycle of 30 years. When comparing tracking and fixed systems, the great importance of the PV generator makes advisable to dedicate more energy to some components of the system in order to increase the productivity and to obtain a higher performance of the component with the highest energy requirement. Both double axis and horizontal axis trackers follow this way, requiring more energy in metallic structure, foundations and wiring, but this higher contribution is widely compensated by the improved productivity of the system.

E-Flow: A communication system for user notification in dynamic evacuation scenarios

Most of the current evacuation plans are based on static signaling, fixed monitoring infrastructure, and limited user notification and feedback mechanisms. These facts lead to lower situation awareness, in the case event of an emergency, such as blocked emergency exits, while delaying the reaction time of individuals. In this context, we introduce the E-Flow communication system, which improves the user awareness by integrating personal, mobile and fixed devices with the existing monitoring infrastructure. Our system broadens the notification and monitoring alternatives, in real time, among, safety staff, end-users and evacuation related devices, such as sensors and actuators.

A new analog trigger system for the Cherenkov Telescope array

La astronomía de rayos γ estudia las partículas más energéticas que llegan a la Tierra desde el espacio. Estos rayos γ no se generan mediante procesos térmicos en simples estrellas, sino mediante mecanismos de aceleración de partículas en objetos celestes como núcleos de galaxias activos, púlsares, supernovas, o posibles procesos de aniquilación de materia oscura. Los rayos γ procedentes de estos objetos y sus características proporcionan una valiosa información con la que los científicos tratan de comprender los procesos físicos que ocurren en ellos y desarrollar modelos teóricos que describan su funcionamiento con fidelidad. El problema de observar rayos γ es que son absorbidos por las capas altas de la atmósfera y no llegan a la superficie (de lo contrario, la Tierra será inhabitable). De este modo, sólo hay dos formas de observar rayos γ embarcar detectores en satélites, u observar los efectos secundarios que los rayos γ producen en la atmósfera. Cuando un rayo γ llega a la atmósfera, interacciona con las partículas del aire y genera un par electrón - positrón, con mucha energía. Estas partículas secundarias generan a su vez más partículas secundarias cada vez menos energéticas. Estas partículas, mientras aún tienen energía suficiente para viajar más rápido que la velocidad de la luz en el aire, producen una radiación luminosa azulada conocida como radiación Cherenkov durante unos pocos nanosegundos. Desde la superficie de la Tierra, algunos telescopios especiales, conocidos como telescopios Cherenkov o IACTs (Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes), son capaces de detectar la radiación Cherenkov e incluso de tomar imágenes de la forma de la cascada Cherenkov. A partir de estas imágenes es posible conocer las principales características del rayo γ original, y con suficientes rayos se pueden deducir características importantes del objeto que los emitió, a cientos de años luz de distancia. Sin embargo, detectar cascadas Cherenkov procedentes de rayos γ no es nada fácil. Las cascadas generadas por fotones γ de bajas energías emiten pocos fotones, y durante pocos nanosegundos, y las correspondientes a rayos γ de alta energía, si bien producen más electrones y duran más, son más improbables conforme mayor es su energía. Esto produce dos líneas de desarrollo de telescopios Cherenkov: Para observar cascadas de bajas energías son necesarios grandes reflectores que recuperen muchos fotones de los pocos que tienen estas cascadas. Por el contrario, las cascadas de altas energías se pueden detectar con telescopios pequeños, pero conviene cubrir con ellos una superficie grande en el suelo para aumentar el número de eventos detectados. Con el objetivo de mejorar la sensibilidad de los telescopios Cherenkov actuales, en el rango de energía alto (> 10 TeV), medio (100 GeV - 10 TeV) y bajo (10 GeV - 100 GeV), nació el proyecto CTA (Cherenkov Telescope Array). Este proyecto en el que participan más de 27 países, pretende construir un observatorio en cada hemisferio, cada uno de los cuales contará con 4 telescopios grandes (LSTs), unos 30 medianos (MSTs) y hasta 70 pequeños (SSTs). Con un array así, se conseguirán dos objetivos. En primer lugar, al aumentar drásticamente el área de colección respecto a los IACTs actuales, se detectarán más rayos γ en todos los rangos de energía. En segundo lugar, cuando una misma cascada Cherenkov es observada por varios telescopios a la vez, es posible analizarla con mucha más precisión gracias a las técnicas estereoscópicas. La presente tesis recoge varios desarrollos técnicos realizados como aportación a los telescopios medianos y grandes de CTA, concretamente al sistema de trigger. Al ser las cascadas Cherenkov tan breves, los sistemas que digitalizan y leen los datos de cada píxel tienen que funcionar a frecuencias muy altas (≈1 GHz), lo que hace inviable que funcionen de forma continua, ya que la cantidad de datos guardada será inmanejable. En su lugar, las señales analógicas se muestrean, guardando las muestras analógicas en un buffer circular de unos pocos µs. Mientras las señales se mantienen en el buffer, el sistema de trigger hace un análisis rápido de las señales recibidas, y decide si la imagen que hay en el buér corresponde a una cascada Cherenkov y merece ser guardada, o por el contrario puede ignorarse permitiendo que el buffer se sobreescriba. La decisión de si la imagen merece ser guardada o no, se basa en que las cascadas Cherenkov producen detecciones de fotones en píxeles cercanos y en tiempos muy próximos, a diferencia de los fotones de NSB (night sky background), que llegan aleatoriamente. Para detectar cascadas grandes es suficiente con comprobar que más de un cierto número de píxeles en una región hayan detectado más de un cierto número de fotones en una ventana de tiempo de algunos nanosegundos. Sin embargo, para detectar cascadas pequeñas es más conveniente tener en cuenta cuántos fotones han sido detectados en cada píxel (técnica conocida como sumtrigger). El sistema de trigger desarrollado en esta tesis pretende optimizar la sensibilidad a bajas energías, por lo que suma analógicamente las señales recibidas en cada píxel en una región de trigger y compara el resultado con un umbral directamente expresable en fotones detectados (fotoelectrones). El sistema diseñado permite utilizar regiones de trigger de tamaño seleccionable entre 14, 21 o 28 píxeles (2, 3, o 4 clusters de 7 píxeles cada uno), y con un alto grado de solapamiento entre ellas. De este modo, cualquier exceso de luz en una región compacta de 14, 21 o 28 píxeles es detectado y genera un pulso de trigger. En la versión más básica del sistema de trigger, este pulso se distribuye por toda la cámara de forma que todos los clusters sean leídos al mismo tiempo, independientemente de su posición en la cámara, a través de un delicado sistema de distribución. De este modo, el sistema de trigger guarda una imagen completa de la cámara cada vez que se supera el número de fotones establecido como umbral en una región de trigger. Sin embargo, esta forma de operar tiene dos inconvenientes principales. En primer lugar, la cascada casi siempre ocupa sólo una pequeña zona de la cámara, por lo que se guardan muchos píxeles sin información alguna. Cuando se tienen muchos telescopios como será el caso de CTA, la cantidad de información inútil almacenada por este motivo puede ser muy considerable. Por otro lado, cada trigger supone guardar unos pocos nanosegundos alrededor del instante de disparo. Sin embargo, en el caso de cascadas grandes la duración de las mismas puede ser bastante mayor, perdiéndose parte de la información debido al truncamiento temporal. Para resolver ambos problemas se ha propuesto un esquema de trigger y lectura basado en dos umbrales. El umbral alto decide si hay un evento en la cámara y, en caso positivo, sólo las regiones de trigger que superan el nivel bajo son leídas, durante un tiempo más largo. De este modo se evita guardar información de píxeles vacíos y las imágenes fijas de las cascadas se pueden convertir en pequeños \vídeos" que representen el desarrollo temporal de la cascada. Este nuevo esquema recibe el nombre de COLIBRI (Concept for an Optimized Local Image Building and Readout Infrastructure), y se ha descrito detalladamente en el capítulo 5. Un problema importante que afecta a los esquemas de sumtrigger como el que se presenta en esta tesis es que para sumar adecuadamente las señales provenientes de cada píxel, estas deben tardar lo mismo en llegar al sumador. Los fotomultiplicadores utilizados en cada píxel introducen diferentes retardos que deben compensarse para realizar las sumas adecuadamente. El efecto de estos retardos ha sido estudiado, y se ha desarrollado un sistema para compensarlos. Por último, el siguiente nivel de los sistemas de trigger para distinguir efectivamente las cascadas Cherenkov del NSB consiste en buscar triggers simultáneos (o en tiempos muy próximos) en telescopios vecinos. Con esta función, junto con otras de interfaz entre sistemas, se ha desarrollado un sistema denominado Trigger Interface Board (TIB). Este sistema consta de un módulo que irá montado en la cámara de cada LST o MST, y que estará conectado mediante fibras ópticas a los telescopios vecinos. Cuando un telescopio tiene un trigger local, este se envía a todos los vecinos conectados y viceversa, de modo que cada telescopio sabe si sus vecinos han dado trigger. Una vez compensadas las diferencias de retardo debidas a la propagación en las fibras ópticas y de los propios fotones Cherenkov en el aire dependiendo de la dirección de apuntamiento, se buscan coincidencias, y en el caso de que la condición de trigger se cumpla, se lee la cámara en cuestión, de forma sincronizada con el trigger local. Aunque todo el sistema de trigger es fruto de la colaboración entre varios grupos, fundamentalmente IFAE, CIEMAT, ICC-UB y UCM en España, con la ayuda de grupos franceses y japoneses, el núcleo de esta tesis son el Level 1 y la Trigger Interface Board, que son los dos sistemas en los que que el autor ha sido el ingeniero principal. Por este motivo, en la presente tesis se ha incluido abundante información técnica relativa a estos sistemas. Existen actualmente importantes líneas de desarrollo futuras relativas tanto al trigger de la cámara (implementación en ASICs), como al trigger entre telescopios (trigger topológico), que darán lugar a interesantes mejoras sobre los diseños actuales durante los próximos años, y que con suerte serán de provecho para toda la comunidad científica participante en CTA. ABSTRACT -ray astronomy studies the most energetic particles arriving to the Earth from outer space. This -rays are not generated by thermal processes in mere stars, but by means of particle acceleration mechanisms in astronomical objects such as active galactic nuclei, pulsars, supernovas or as a result of dark matter annihilation processes. The γ rays coming from these objects and their characteristics provide with valuable information to the scientist which try to understand the underlying physical fundamentals of these objects, as well as to develop theoretical models able to describe them accurately. The problem when observing rays is that they are absorbed in the highest layers of the atmosphere, so they don't reach the Earth surface (otherwise the planet would be uninhabitable). Therefore, there are only two possible ways to observe γ rays: by using detectors on-board of satellites, or by observing their secondary effects in the atmosphere. When a γ ray reaches the atmosphere, it interacts with the particles in the air generating a highly energetic electron-positron pair. These secondary particles generate in turn more particles, with less energy each time. While these particles are still energetic enough to travel faster than the speed of light in the air, they produce a bluish radiation known as Cherenkov light during a few nanoseconds. From the Earth surface, some special telescopes known as Cherenkov telescopes or IACTs (Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes), are able to detect the Cherenkov light and even to take images of the Cherenkov showers. From these images it is possible to know the main parameters of the original -ray, and with some -rays it is possible to deduce important characteristics of the emitting object, hundreds of light-years away. However, detecting Cherenkov showers generated by γ rays is not a simple task. The showers generated by low energy -rays contain few photons and last few nanoseconds, while the ones corresponding to high energy -rays, having more photons and lasting more time, are much more unlikely. This results in two clearly differentiated development lines for IACTs: In order to detect low energy showers, big reflectors are required to collect as much photons as possible from the few ones that these showers have. On the contrary, small telescopes are able to detect high energy showers, but a large area in the ground should be covered to increase the number of detected events. With the aim to improve the sensitivity of current Cherenkov showers in the high (> 10 TeV), medium (100 GeV - 10 TeV) and low (10 GeV - 100 GeV) energy ranges, the CTA (Cherenkov Telescope Array) project was created. This project, with more than 27 participating countries, intends to build an observatory in each hemisphere, each one equipped with 4 large size telescopes (LSTs), around 30 middle size telescopes (MSTs) and up to 70 small size telescopes (SSTs). With such an array, two targets would be achieved. First, the drastic increment in the collection area with respect to current IACTs will lead to detect more -rays in all the energy ranges. Secondly, when a Cherenkov shower is observed by several telescopes at the same time, it is possible to analyze it much more accurately thanks to the stereoscopic techniques. The present thesis gathers several technical developments for the trigger system of the medium and large size telescopes of CTA. As the Cherenkov showers are so short, the digitization and readout systems corresponding to each pixel must work at very high frequencies (_ 1 GHz). This makes unfeasible to read data continuously, because the amount of data would be unmanageable. Instead, the analog signals are sampled, storing the analog samples in a temporal ring buffer able to store up to a few _s. While the signals remain in the buffer, the trigger system performs a fast analysis of the signals and decides if the image in the buffer corresponds to a Cherenkov shower and deserves to be stored, or on the contrary it can be ignored allowing the buffer to be overwritten. The decision of saving the image or not, is based on the fact that Cherenkov showers produce photon detections in close pixels during near times, in contrast to the random arrival of the NSB phtotons. Checking if more than a certain number of pixels in a trigger region have detected more than a certain number of photons during a certain time window is enough to detect large showers. However, taking also into account how many photons have been detected in each pixel (sumtrigger technique) is more convenient to optimize the sensitivity to low energy showers. The developed trigger system presented in this thesis intends to optimize the sensitivity to low energy showers, so it performs the analog addition of the signals received in each pixel in the trigger region and compares the sum with a threshold which can be directly expressed as a number of detected photons (photoelectrons). The trigger system allows to select trigger regions of 14, 21, or 28 pixels (2, 3 or 4 clusters with 7 pixels each), and with extensive overlapping. In this way, every light increment inside a compact region of 14, 21 or 28 pixels is detected, and a trigger pulse is generated. In the most basic version of the trigger system, this pulse is just distributed throughout the camera in such a way that all the clusters are read at the same time, independently from their position in the camera, by means of a complex distribution system. Thus, the readout saves a complete camera image whenever the number of photoelectrons set as threshold is exceeded in a trigger region. However, this way of operating has two important drawbacks. First, the shower usually covers only a little part of the camera, so many pixels without relevant information are stored. When there are many telescopes as will be the case of CTA, the amount of useless stored information can be very high. On the other hand, with every trigger only some nanoseconds of information around the trigger time are stored. In the case of large showers, the duration of the shower can be quite larger, loosing information due to the temporal cut. With the aim to solve both limitations, a trigger and readout scheme based on two thresholds has been proposed. The high threshold decides if there is a relevant event in the camera, and in the positive case, only the trigger regions exceeding the low threshold are read, during a longer time. In this way, the information from empty pixels is not stored and the fixed images of the showers become to little \`videos" containing the temporal development of the shower. This new scheme is named COLIBRI (Concept for an Optimized Local Image Building and Readout Infrastructure), and it has been described in depth in chapter 5. An important problem affecting sumtrigger schemes like the one presented in this thesis is that in order to add the signals from each pixel properly, they must arrive at the same time. The photomultipliers used in each pixel introduce different delays which must be compensated to perform the additions properly. The effect of these delays has been analyzed, and a delay compensation system has been developed. The next trigger level consists of looking for simultaneous (or very near in time) triggers in neighbour telescopes. These function, together with others relating to interfacing different systems, have been developed in a system named Trigger Interface Board (TIB). This system is comprised of one module which will be placed inside the LSTs and MSTs cameras, and which will be connected to the neighbour telescopes through optical fibers. When a telescope receives a local trigger, it is resent to all the connected neighbours and vice-versa, so every telescope knows if its neighbours have been triggered. Once compensated the delay differences due to propagation in the optical fibers and in the air depending on the pointing direction, the TIB looks for coincidences, and in the case that the trigger condition is accomplished, the camera is read a fixed time after the local trigger arrived. Despite all the trigger system is the result of the cooperation of several groups, specially IFAE, Ciemat, ICC-UB and UCM in Spain, with some help from french and japanese groups, the Level 1 and the Trigger Interface Board constitute the core of this thesis, as they have been the two systems designed by the author of the thesis. For this reason, a large amount of technical information about these systems has been included. There are important future development lines regarding both the camera trigger (implementation in ASICS) and the stereo trigger (topological trigger), which will produce interesting improvements for the current designs during the following years, being useful for all the scientific community participating in CTA.

Development of a fuzzy control based self-adaptive system for energy saving in constrained networks for the Internet of Things

Las redes del futuro, incluyendo las redes de próxima generación, tienen entre sus objetivos de diseño el control sobre el consumo de energía y la conectividad de la red. Estos objetivos cobran especial relevancia cuando hablamos de redes con capacidades limitadas, como es el caso de las redes de sensores inalámbricos (WSN por sus siglas en inglés). Estas redes se caracterizan por estar formadas por dispositivos de baja o muy baja capacidad de proceso y por depender de baterías para su alimentación. Por tanto la optimización de la energía consumida se hace muy importante. Son muchas las propuestas que se han realizado para optimizar el consumo de energía en este tipo de redes. Quizás las más conocidas son las que se basan en la planificación coordinada de periodos de actividad e inactividad, siendo una de las formas más eficaces para extender el tiempo de vida de las baterías. La propuesta que se presenta en este trabajo se basa en el control de la conectividad mediante una aproximación probabilística. La idea subyacente es que se puede esperar que una red mantenga la conectividad si todos sus nodos tienen al menos un número determinado de vecinos. Empleando algún mecanismo que mantenga ese número, se espera que se pueda mantener la conectividad con un consumo energético menor que si se empleara una potencia de transmisión fija que garantizara una conectividad similar. Para que el mecanismo sea eficiente debe tener la menor huella posible en los dispositivos donde se vaya a emplear. Por eso se propone el uso de un sistema auto-adaptativo basado en control mediante lógica borrosa. En este trabajo se ha diseñado e implementado el sistema descrito, y se ha probado en un despliegue real confirmando que efectivamente existen configuraciones posibles que permiten mantener la conectividad ahorrando energía con respecto al uso de una potencia de transmisión fija. ABSTRACT. Among the design goals for future networks, including next generation networks, we can find the energy consumption and the connectivity. These two goals are of special relevance when dealing with constrained networks. That is the case of Wireless Sensors Networks (WSN). These networks consist of devices with low or very low processing capabilities. They also depend on batteries for their operation. Thus energy optimization becomes a very important issue. Several proposals have been made for optimizing the energy consumption in this kind of networks. Perhaps the best known are those based on the coordinated planning of active and sleep intervals. They are indeed one of the most effective ways to extend the lifetime of the batteries. The proposal presented in this work uses a probabilistic approach to control the connectivity of a network. The underlying idea is that it is highly probable that the network will have a good connectivity if all the nodes have a minimum number of neighbors. By using some mechanism to reach that number, we hope that we can preserve the connectivity with a lower energy consumption compared to the required one if a fixed transmission power is used to achieve a similar connectivity. The mechanism must have the smallest footprint possible on the devices being used in order to be efficient. Therefore a fuzzy control based self-adaptive system is proposed. This work includes the design and implementation of the described system. It also has been validated in a real scenario deployment. We have obtained results supporting that there exist configurations where it is possible to get a good connectivity saving energy when compared to the use of a fixed transmission power for a similar connectivity.

ACTIVITY: a database on DNA/RNA sites activity adapted to apply sequence-activity relationships from one system to another

ACTIVITY is a database on DNA/RNA site sequences with known activity magnitudes, measurement systems, sequence-activity relationships under fixed experimental conditions and procedures to adapt these relationships from one measurement system to another. This database deposits information on DNA/RNA affinities to proteins and cell nuclear extracts, cutting efficiencies, gene transcription activity, mRNA translation efficiencies, mutability and other biological activities of natural sites occurring within promoters, mRNA leaders, and other regulatory regions in pro- and eukaryotic genomes, their mutant forms and synthetic analogues. Since activity magnitudes are heavily system-dependent, the current version of ACTIVITY is supplemented by three novel sub-databases: (i) SYSTEM, measurement systems; (ii) KNOWLEDGE, sequence-activity relationships under fixed experimental conditions; and (iii) CROSS_TEST, procedures adapting a relationship from one measurement system to another. These databases are useful in molecular biology, pharmacogenetics, metabolic engineering, drug design and biotechnology. The databases can be queried using SRS and are available through the Web, http://wwwmgs.bionet.nsc.ru/systems/Activity/.

Geometric incompatibility in a fault system.

Interdependence between geometry of a fault system, its kinematics, and seismicity is investigated. Quantitative measure is introduced for inconsistency between a fixed configuration of faults and the slip rates on each fault. This measure, named geometric incompatibility (G), depicts summarily the instability near the fault junctions: their divergence or convergence ("unlocking" or "locking up") and accumulation of stress and deformations. Accordingly, the changes in G are connected with dynamics of seismicity. Apart from geometric incompatibility, we consider deviation K from well-known Saint Venant condition of kinematic compatibility. This deviation depicts summarily unaccounted stress and strain accumulation in the region and/or internal inconsistencies in a reconstruction of block- and fault system (its geometry and movements). The estimates of G and K provide a useful tool for bringing together the data on different types of movement in a fault system. An analog of Stokes formula is found that allows determination of the total values of G and K in a region from the data on its boundary. The phenomenon of geometric incompatibility implies that nucleation of strong earthquakes is to large extent controlled by processes near fault junctions. The junctions that have been locked up may act as transient asperities, and unlocked junctions may act as transient weakest links. Tentative estimates of K and G are made for each end of the Big Bend of the San Andreas fault system in Southern California. Recent strong earthquakes Landers (1992, M = 7.3) and Northridge (1994, M = 6.7) both reduced K but had opposite impact on G: Landers unlocked the area, whereas Northridge locked it up again.

Pleasant sweeping grooming touch in rhesus monkey: effects on autonomic nervous system and its codification in posterior insular and secondary somatosensory cortex

Il tatto assume un'importanza fondamentale nella vita quotidiana, in quanto ci permette di discriminare le caratteristiche fisiche di un oggetto specifico, di identificarlo e di eventualmente integrare le suddette informazioni tattili con informazioni provenienti da altri canali sensoriali. Questa è la componente sensoriale-discriminativa del tatto. Tuttavia quotidianamente il tatto assume un ruolo fondamentale durante le diverse interazioni sociali, positive, come quando abbracciamo o accarezziamo una persona con cui abbiamo un rapporto affettivo e negative, per esempio quando allontaniamo una persona estranea dal nostro spazio peri-personale. Questa componente è la cosiddetta dimensione affettiva-motivazionale, la quale determina la codifica della valenza emotiva che l'interazione assume. Questa componente ci permette di creare, mantenere o distruggere i legami sociali in relazione al significato che il tocco assume durante l'interazione. Se per esempio riceviamo una carezza da un familiare, questa verrà percepita come piacevole e assumerà un significato affiliativo. Questo tipo di tocco è comunente definito come Tocco Sociale (Social Touch). Gli aspetti discriminativi del tatto sono stati ben caratterizzati, in quanto storicamente, il ruolo del tatto è stato considerato quello di discriminare le caratteristiche di ciò che viene toccato, mentre gli aspetti affettivi sono stati solo recentemente indagati considerando la loro importanza nelle interazioni sociali. Il tocco statico responsabile dell'aspetto discriminante attiva a livello della pelle le grandi fibre mieliniche (Aβ), modulando a livello del sistema nervoso centrale le cortecce sensoriali, sia primarie che secondarie. Questo permette la codifica a livello del sistema nervoso centrale delle caratteristiche fisiche oggettive degli oggetti toccati. Studi riguardanti le caratteristiche del tocco affiliativo sociale hanno messo in evidenza che suddetta stimolazione tattile 1) è un particolare tocco dinamico che avviene sul lato peloso delle pelle con una velocità di 1-10 cm/sec; 2) attiva le fibre amieliniche (fibre CT o C-LTMRs); 3) induce positivi effetti autonomici, ad esempio la diminuzione della frequenza cardiaca e l'aumento della variabilità della frequenza cardiaca; e 4) determina la modulazione di regioni cerebrali coinvolte nella codifica del significato affiliativo dello stimolo sensoriale periferico, in particolare la corteccia insulare. Il senso del tatto, con le sue due dimensioni discriminativa e affiliativa, è quotidianamente usato non solo negli esseri umani, ma anche tra i primati non umani. Infatti, tutti i primati non umani utilizzano la componente discriminativa del tatto per identificare gli oggetti e il cibo e l'aspetto emotivo durante le interazioni sociali, sia negative come durante un combattimento, che positive, come durante i comportamenti affiliativi tra cui il grooming. I meccanismi di codifica della componente discriminativa dei primati non umani sono simili a quelli umani. Tuttavia, si conosce ben poco dei meccanismi alla base della codifica del tocco piacevole affiliativo. Pur essendo ben noto che i meccanorecettori amilienici C-LTMRs sono presenti anche sul lato peloso della pelle dei primati non umani, attualmente non ci sono studi riguardanti la correlazione tra il tocco piacevole e la loro modulazione, come invece è stato ampiamente dimostrato nell'uomo. Recentemente è stato ipotizzato (Dunbar, 2010) il ruolo delle fibre C-LTMRs durante il grooming, in particolare durante il cosiddetto swepping. Il grooming è costituito da due azioni motorie, lo sweeping e il picking che vengono eseguite in modo ritmico. Durante lo sweeping la scimmia agente muove il pelo della scimmia ricevente con un movimento a mano aperta, per poter vedere il preciso punto della pelle dove eseguire il picking, ovvero dove prendere la pelle a livello della radice del pelo con le unghie dell'indice e del pollice e tirare per rimuovere parassiti o uova di parassiti e ciò che è rimasto incastrato nel pelo. Oltre il noto ruolo igenico, il grooming sembra avere anche una importante funzione sociale affiliativa. Come la carezza nella società umana, cosi il grooming tra i primati non umani è considerato un comportamento. Secondo l'ipotesi di Dunbar l'attivazione delle C-LTMRs avverrebbe durante lo sweeping e questo porta a supporre che lo sweeping, come la carezza umana, costituisca una componente affiliativa del grooming, determinando quindi a contribuire alla sua codifica come comportamento sociale. Fino ad ora non vi è però alcuna prova diretta a sostegno di questa ipotesi. In particolare, 1) la velocità cui viene eseguito lo sweeping è compatibile con la velocità di attivazione delle fibre CT nell'uomo e quindi con la velocità tipica della carezza piacevole di carattere sociale affiliativo (1-10 cm/sec)?; 2) lo sweeping induce la stessa modulazione del sistema nervoso autonomo in direzione della modulazione del sistema vagale, come il tocco piacevole nell'uomo, attraverso l'attivazione delle fibre CT?; 3) lo sweeping modula la corteccia insulare, cosi come il tocco piacevole viene codificato come affiliativo nell'uomo mediante le proiezioni delle fibre CT a livello dell'insula posteriore? Lo scopo del presente lavoro è quella di testare l'ipotesi di Dunbar sopra citata, cercando quindi di rispondere alle suddette domande. Le risposte potrebbero consentire di ipotizzare la somiglianza tra lo sweeping, caratteristico del comportamento affiliativo di grooming tra i primati non umani e la carezza. In particolare, abbiamo eseguito 4 studi pilota. Nello Studio 1 abbiamo valutato la velocità con cui viene eseguito lo sweeping tra scimmie Rhesus, mediante una analisi cinematica di video registrati tra un gruppo di scimmie Rhesus. Negli Studi 2 e 3 abbiamo valutato gli effetti sul sistema nervoso autonomo dello sweeping eseguito dallo sperimentatore su una scimmia Rhesus di sesso maschile in una tipica situazione sperimentale. La stimolazione tattile è stata eseguita a diverse velocità, in accordo con i risultati dello Studio 1 e degli studi umani che hanno dimostrato la velocità ottimale e non ottimale per l'attivazione delle C-LTMRs. In particolare, nello Studio 2 abbiamo misurato la frequenza cardiaca e la variabilità di questa, come indice della modulatione vagale, mentre nello Studio 3 abbiamo valutato gli effetti dello sweeping sul sistema nervoso autonomo in termini di variazioni di temperatura del corpo, nello specifico a livello del muso della scimmia. Infine, nello Studio 4 abbiamo studiato il ruolo della corteccia somatosensoriale secondaria e insulare nella codifica dello sweeping. A questo scopo abbiamo eseguito registrazioni di singoli neuroni mentre la medesima scimmia soggetto sperimentale dello Studio 2 e 3, riceveva lo sweeping a due velocità, una ottimale per l'attivazione delle C-LTMRs secondo gli studi umani e i risultati dei tre studi sopra citati, ed una non ottimale. I dati preliminari ottenuti, dimostrano che 1) (Studio 1) lo sweeping tra scimmie Rhesus viene eseguito con una velocità media di 9.31 cm/sec, all'interno dell'intervallo di attivazione delle fibre CT nell'uomo; 2) (Studio 2) lo sweeping eseguito dallo sperimentatore sulla schiena di una scimmia Rhesus di sesso maschile in una situazione sperimentale determina una diminuzione della frequenza cardiaca e l'aumento della variabilità della frequenza cardiaca se eseguito alla velocità di 5 e 10 cm/sec. Al contrario, lo sweeping eseguito ad una velocità minore di 1 cm/sec o maggiore di 10 cm/sec, determina l'aumento della frequenza cardiaca e la diminuzione della variabilità di questa, quindi il decremento dell'attivazione del sistema nervoso parasimpatico; 3) (Studio 3) lo sweeping eseguito dallo sperimentatore sulla schiena di una scimmia Rhesus di sesso maschile in una situazione sperimentale determina l'aumento della temperatura corporea a livello del muso della scimmia se eseguito alla velocità di 5-10 cm/sec. Al contrario, lo sweeping eseguito ad una velocità minore di 5 cm/sec o maggiore di 10 cm/sec, determina la diminuzione della temperatura del muso; 4) (Studio 4) la corteccia somatosensoriale secondaria e la corteccia insulare posteriore presentano neuroni selettivamente modulati durante lo sweeping eseguito ad una velocità di 5-13 cm/sec ma non neuroni selettivi per la codifica della velocità dello sweeping minore di 5 cm/sec. Questi risultati supportano l'ipotesi di Dunbar relativa al coinvolgimento delle fibre CT durante lo sweeping. Infatti i dati mettono in luce che lo sweeping viene eseguito con una velocità (9.31 cm/sec), simile a quella di attivazione delle fibre CT nell'uomo (1-10 cm/sec), determina gli stessi effetti fisiologici positivi in termini di frequenza cardiaca (diminuzione) e variabilità della frequenza cardiaca (incremento) e la modulazione delle medesime aree a livello del sistema nervoso centrale (in particolare la corteccia insulare). Inoltre, abbiamo dimostrato per la prima volta che suddetta stimolazione tattile determina l'aumento della temperatura del muso della scimmia. Il presente studio rappresenta la prima prova indiretta dell'ipotesi relativa alla modulazione del sistema delle fibre C-LTMRs durante lo sweeping e quindi della codifica della stimolazione tattile piacevole affiliativa a livello del sistema nervoso centrale ed autonomo, nei primati non umani. I dati preliminari qui presentati evidenziano la somiglianza tra il sistema delle fibre CT dell'uomo e del sistema C-LTMRs nei primati non umano, riguardanti il Social Touch. Nonostante ciò abbiamo riscontrato alcune discrepanze tra i risultati da noi ottenuti e quelli invece ottenuti dagli studi umani. La velocità media dello sweeping è di 9.31 cm / sec, rasente il limite superiore dell’intervallo di velocità che attiva le fibre CT nell'uomo. Inoltre, gli effetti autonomici positivi, in termini di battito cardiaco, variabilità della frequenza cardiaca e temperatura a livello del muso, sono stati evidenziati durante lo sweeping eseguito con una velocità di 5 e 10 cm/sec, quindi al limite superiore dell’intervallo ottimale che attiva le fibre CT nell’uomo. Al contrario, lo sweeping eseguito con una velocità inferiore a 5 cm/sec e superiore a 10 cm/sec determina effetti fisiologici negativo. Infine, la corteccia insula sembra essere selettivamente modulata dallo stimolazione eseguita alla velocità di 5-13 cm/sec, ma non 1-5 cm/sec. Quindi, gli studi sul sistema delle fibre CT nell’uomo hanno dimostrato che la velocità ottimale è 1-10 cm/sec, mentre dai nostri risultati la velocità ottimale sembra essere 5-13 cm / sec. Quindi, nonostante l'omologia tra il sistema delle fibre CT nell'umano deputato alla codifica del tocco piacevole affiliativo ed il sistema delle fibre C-LTMRs nei primati non umani, ulteriori studi saranno necessari per definire con maggiore precisione la velocità ottimale di attivazione delle fibre C-LTMR e per dimostrare direttamente la loro attivazione durante lo sweeping, mediante la misurazione diretta della loro modulazione. Studi in questa direzione potranno confermare l'omologia tra lo sweeping in qualità di tocco affiliativo piacevole tra i primati non umani e la carezza tra gli uomini. Infine, il presente studio potrebbe essere un importante punto di partenza per esplorare il meccanismo evolutivo dietro la trasformazione dello sweeping tra primati non umani, azione utilitaria eseguita durante il grooming, a carezza, gesto puramente affiliativo tra gli uomini.