Competitive Benchmarking of Tourism Resources and Products in Extremadura as Factors of Competitiveness by Identifying Strengths and Convergences of Spanish Regions in the Period 2010–2018

In a globalized and interconnected world, and with increased leisure time, competition between tourism destinations has increased considerably. For this reason, the periodic measurement of tourism competitiveness has become a basic tool for tourism management today. It is not only necessary to determine the tourism competitiveness of destinations in a given period of time (static analysis); the continuous changes which are now occurring in the tourism industry also make it necessary to measure them from time to time (dynamic analysis). The periodic measurement of the competitiveness of Spanish regions as destinations is the objective of the Monitur report. This paper aims to analyze the evolution of one of its most important mainstays, namely the diversification and structuring of regional tourism products. Based on a set of 25 indicators, the relative evolution of the 17 Spanish Autonomous Regions regarding this mainstay between 2010 and 2018 has been compared, and those aspects in which the regions have shown increased relative competitiveness (convergence or competitive reinforcement) and those in which they have shown reduced relative competitiveness (divergence or competitive weakening) in each region have been identified. Based on the results obtained, a competitive benchmarking exercise was carried out to compare the evolution of Extremadura with that of the four regions with the best overall record in terms of competitiveness between 2010 and 2018. In this way it has been possible to suggest improvements in the region’s range of products and services so as to increase its tourism competitiveness in the medium and longer terms.

Quantum Approach to Damped Three Coupled Nano-Optomechanical Oscillators

We investigate quantum features of three coupled dissipative nano-optomechanical oscillators. The Hamiltonian of the system is somewhat complicated due not only to the coupling of the optomechanical oscillators but to the dissipation in the system as well. In order to simplify the problem, a spatial unitary transformation approach and a matrix-diagonalization method are used. From such procedures, the Hamiltonian is eventually diagonalized. In other words, the complicated original Hamiltonian is transformed to a simple one which is associated to three independent simple harmonic oscillators. By utilizing such a simplification of the Hamiltonian, complete solutions (wave functions) of the Schrödinger equation for the optomechanical system are obtained. We confirm that the probability density converges to the origin of the coordinate in a symmetric manner as the optomechanical energy dissipates. The wave functions that we have derived can be used as a basic tool for evaluating diverse quantum consequences of the system, such as quadrature fluctuations, entanglement entropy, energy evolution, transition probability, and the Wigner function.

Basic Tool Design Guidelines for Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a solid-state welding process that has multiple advantages over fusion welding. The design of tools for the FSW process is a factor of interest, considering its fundamental role in obtaining sound welds. There are some commercially available alternatives for FSW tools, but unlike conventional fusion welding consumables, their use is limited to very specific conditions. In this work, equations to act as guidelines in the design process for FSW tools are proposed for the 2XXX, 5XXX, 6XXX, and 7XXX aluminum series and any given thickness to determine: pin length, pin diameter, and shoulder diameter. Over 80 sources and 200 tests were used and detailed to generate these expressions. As a verification approach, successful welds by authors outside the scope of the original review and the tools used were evaluated under this development and used as case studies or verification for the guidelines. Variations between designs made using the guidelines and those reported by other researchers remain under 21%.

Best BLAST hit alone cannot be used as evidence of fraud

In a recent study, Blanco-Fernandez et al. applied molecular tools to authenticate fish products and conclude evidence of 'worrying international fraud'. They revealed mislabeling in recognizable and unrecognizable fish products labeled as anchovy, hake and tuna commercialized by European companies. Their analyses consisted on extracting DNA from the fish product to be authenticated followed by amplification and sequencing of a suite of DNA markers and on comparing the resulting sequences to the GenBank sequence database using BLAST (Basic Tool Alignment Search Tool) (https://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi). By carefully reanalyzing their data, we identify errors in their species identification and conclude that best BLAST hit alone cannot be used as evidence of fraud.

Diffraction Testbed for Use in Remote Teaching

The need for remote teaching tools in all education levels has experienced a big increase due to COVID-19 pandemic. Laboratory practical sessions have not been an exception, and many online and offline tools have been made available to respond to the lockdown of teaching facilities. This paper presents a software testbed named OPTILAB for teaching diffraction experiments to engineering students. The software simulates classical diffraction apertures (single slit, double slit, circular slit) under a wide variety of conditions. Explanation about the Physics behind the diffraction phenomenon is also included in OPTILAB to increase the students’ self-learning experience. Originally conceived as a complement to on-site teaching, due to COVID-19 pandemic OPTILAB has been adopted as the basic tool to build a brand-new, virtual laboratory session about diffraction in Physics III course (biomedical engineering) at Carlos III University of Madrid. Results obtained by the students taking this virtual lab during Fall 2020 are presented and discussed.

Foreground Estimation in Neuronal Images With a Sparse-Smooth Model for Robust Quantification

3D volume imaging has been regarded as a basic tool to explore the organization and function of the neuronal system. Foreground estimation from neuronal image is essential in the quantification and analysis of neuronal image such as soma counting, neurite tracing and neuron reconstruction. However, the complexity of neuronal structure itself and differences in the imaging procedure, including different optical systems and biological labeling methods, result in various and complex neuronal images, which greatly challenge foreground estimation from neuronal image. In this study, we propose a robust sparse-smooth model (RSSM) to separate the foreground and the background of neuronal image. The model combines the different smoothness levels of the foreground and the background, and the sparsity of the foreground. These prior constraints together contribute to the robustness of foreground estimation from a variety of neuronal images. We demonstrate the proposed RSSM method could promote some best available tools to trace neurites or locate somas from neuronal images with their default parameters, and the quantified results are similar or superior to the results that generated from the original images. The proposed method is proved to be robust in the foreground estimation from different neuronal images, and helps to improve the usability of current quantitative tools on various neuronal images with several applications.

Approximating Solutions of Matrix Equations via Fixed Point Techniques

The principal goal of this work is to investigate new sufficient conditions for the existence and convergence of positive definite solutions to certain classes of matrix equations. Under specific assumptions, the basic tool in our study is a monotone mapping, which admits a unique fixed point in the setting of a partially ordered Banach space. To estimate solutions to these matrix equations, we use the Krasnosel’skiĭ iterative technique. We also discuss some useful examples to illustrate our results.

A STUDY ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF METRIC EDUCATION SCHEDULED CASTE STUDENTS

Education is the only tool that enables the individual to develop knowledge value skills and attitudes. It is the foundation of a persons socio-economic development. Socio-political and wealth sharing is the channel to eliminate discrimination. Education is the basic tool for the fulfilment of the goals and objectives of each individual, and the protection of human rights. Especially among the socially and economically backward classes, undoubtedly, social reforms and education have the power to analyze the causes of their socially impoverished lives and create opportunities for them to thrive in society.