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What does an electronic nose smell?

These innovative systems serve both to detect diseases through olfactory patterns and to find and deactivate explosive devices

When it comes to competing in the animal kingdom, the human nose loses the battle at the first moment of change. According to a study by Japanese researchers, elephants have a smell five times more developed than that of humans and more than dogs. They have 811 olfactory receptors. Humans only 386, although for some scientists there is no problem.

"We can detect and discriminate an extraordinary range of smells, we are more sensitive than rodents and dogs to some of them, we are able to track odor traces and our behavioral and affective states are influenced by our sense of smell," says John McGann , associate professor at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

Although the best friends of the human being, dogs, are still the preferred ones to detect explosives and prohibited substances, the advance of technology has introduced a new protagonist in this sector: the electronic naris. "A person or an animal is able to distinguish according to what smell due to sensors that connect with the neurons of the brain." An "eNose", in a certain way, does the same, "says Juan Bautista Talens, a professor at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV).

Bautista is part of the group of researchers at the Gandía campus of the UPV and the La Fe Sanitary Research Institute (IIS La Fe) that has developed a prototype electronic nose that can distinguish patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. More than 400 tests conducted since 2014, all based on a simple 'software' and 32 sensors. "Through the use of 'software' for data mining, we can test with different algorithms and / or neural networks reserving samples to test them and samples to train," says Bautista. This system is able to recognize olfactory patterns, so they are trying to test those substances that may have differences in their aroma. "Stools in the case of digestive diseases and urine in other pathologies",

The device - called Moosy 32 eNose - also detects if the disease is active with an accuracy close to 90%. The nose devised by the Valencian researchers can detect volatile organic compounds that act as diagnostic markers or of intensity of the activity of the disease. "Although it may seem simple, it requires a lot of analysis, repetitions, adjustments and simulations."

Pilar Nos, Head of Digestive Medicine at Hospital La Fe, explains that "volatile organic compounds are originated by physiological processes of metabolism in the human body, and are expelled as waste through faeces. being a differential marker in certain intestinal diseases and its precise detection, through non-invasive devices such as the electronic nose, would be a great advance for the diagnosis and monitoring of the evolution of these diseases. "

The development of this prototype has been funded by the Generalitat Valenciana. In addition, the initial part of the project - the feasibility study that served to establish the foundations of the system - was paid for by Inbio, a scientific collaboration structure between the UPV and La Fe. Although "funding has been terminated", denounce Baptist.

'ENose' cops
The technological advance in this sector is not only focused on medicine. Two researchers from the Group of Perception and Intelligent Systems (PSI) of the University of Extremadura together with the chief inspector of the TEDAX-NRBQ Group of Badajoz have developed the research work "Artificial Olfactory Systems for the Detection of Hazardous Agents".

A laborious project whose authors, Jesús Lozano Rogado and José Luis Herrero and policeman José Miguel Sánchez, have been awarded the Spanish Police Foundation Research Prize for 2016-2017. Its proposal of artificial olfactory system allows to detect chemical and explosive atmospheres remotely by means of gas sensors, combined with artificial intelligence techniques . The device, which is easy to use through a mobile phone or tablet, has as its main advantage the security it offers TEDAX specialists to be able to work remotely.

"It is an electronic system that incorporates several sensors of gases, temperature and humidity that are connected wirelessly to a device that performs data processing and indicates what type of environment the device is in," Jesús Lozano explains in an interview. release.

Current threats require a very wide field in the search for new detection technologies that are translated at the field level in equipment with high response speed, sensitivity, small size, low cost, low frequency of false alarms, etc., for improve the response to these NRBC-E attacks, in which the price does not represent a stumbling block to guarantee security.

'Low cost' system
"This electronic system, compared to other technologies on the market, has the added value of its low cost, since with only 700 euros you have similar benefits than other much more expensive detectors," says the University of Extremadura on its website.

In addition, the main advantage offered by this device is the possibility of working remotely. For the TEDAX work of the Police , one of the key requirements is security, so this point becomes vital. The electronic nose can be adapted to a drone or mobile robot avoiding personal travel to the dangerous area. In addition, you can consult the data in real time.

Laboratory tests support this system for the detection of explosives, dynamite, gunpowder, pentrite and chemical substances such as chlorine, ammonia, acetone and hydrogen peroxide. It can also detect the precursors of the TATP explosive, commonly used by jihadist terrorism. Until now, there was no detector that contemplated such a diverse range of explosives and narcotics.

Your payroll in bitcoins

Spanish companies begin to get on the cryptocurrency cart and some already think of bitcoins to pay their employees and receive payments

A large part of the population is not clear about what bitcoins are, although it is a term that has become very popular in the last two years, but on the other hand there are those who already receive part of their salary in this virtual currency and even have the possibility of buying houses and trips with her. As in all technological advances, "it will take a few years" for the population to adapt to change and "cryptocurrencies become a day-to-day thing".

Curro Quevedo works from Zooo, a mobile repair shop in the ABC Serrano shopping center in Madrid, where one of the first cryptocurrencies ATMs in the Bitnovo company has been installed. The responsible says that although it has been installed for a year and a half, at first it was not very used. However now "every day people come to buy bitcoins"

How does it work? It is not a cashier to use, but rather it is a vending machine in which you enter the amount in euros that you want to exchange for bitcoins (from 10 to 500 euros) and generate a coupon that the customer You can change on your website for the virtual currency within three months. "There are people who although they bought it today, do not exchange it for another week because they are waiting for the change, this currency fluctuates a lot," explains Quevedo.

Are there already salaries in bitcoins?
"Some companies already pay in bitcoins in Spain," says Pablo F. Burgueño, founder of NevTrace and an expert in crypto-dumbs. In his case explains that they raised in the company but decided it was better to continue charging in euros and then each "bought the bitcoins you want" because by law "you can only receive 30% of salary in this currency" because it is recognized as a payment in kind to be a digital asset.

It is, therefore, a payment in kind of very high risk. "If this large amount is given to the worker, he runs the risk of losing everything, so it can not be imposed that the collection is like that and at most 30% of the total salary," explains Burgueño.

Different is the case of the company ReparaTuDeuda , where they have decided that their employees can collect the part of the salary that they decide in bitcoins although they make it clear that "not as a tax benefit because everything will pay the same, but to encourage the use of new technologies" , says Enrique Espinosa, CTO of the company.

At the moment they are in the phase of training courses so that workers learn more about this cryptocurrency and make their decision. In addition, the CTO announces that ATMs will be installed in its headquarters so that people with their "virtual wallet can change bitcoins for euros".

There are more cases outside our borders. The Japanese Internet services giant GMO announced last December that it will pay in bitcoin part of the salaries to those of its 4,700 employees who wish to do so starting in February, which is the first initiative of its kind among large companies in the world. country. The company offers to receive a fraction of its salary between 10,000 yen (74 euros) and 100,000 yen (748 euros) in the virtual currency. Its objective is to "promote the active use of virtual currency" among its employees and "increase its knowledge about this type of currency," according to a statement from the Japanese company.

Houses in bitcoins
Despite the distrust it generates in the market, the recent restrictions against it and the increase of its control by the Treasury, the bitcoin is also getting stronger in the real estate market, where experts believe that the consolidation of this Currency is just a matter of time. In fact, there are already houses that are for sale only in bitcoins in the photo portal Fotocasa.

It is a house in El Sauzal, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife of 200 m2 with sea views. It can be purchased only through the cryptocurrency for a price of 45 bitcoins (about 450,000 euros). From Fotocasa assure this newspaper that this is a trend "totally new and not yet has many followers." Currently in the portal have nine homes that accept payment in bitcoins. They emphasize the fact that of these houses, four are in Catalonia. "Being intermediaries are not present at any time of the exchange, so while the type of payment is legal and regulated, we will let them announce the type of payment that owners want to make", explain the same sources.

Can you (and should) be anonymous on the Internet?

The proposal of the PP to end anonymity in social networks will be difficult to get ahead

Both on social networks and on forums and websites, many users prefer not to give their real name and show their opinion under a pseudonym. A strategy almost as old as literature. But is this anonymity on the Internet legal?

For now, yes. Anyone can use many of the services and tools of the Internet without having to show their true identity. In fact, some of the accounts that more followers drag on many of these social networks respond to the profile of an anonymous.

"People have the right to surf anonymously on the Internet if they do not commit a crime and do so in a positive way," says the president of the Association of Internet Users, Víctor Domingo, who, therefore, considers that "it does not make sense" to legislate the anonymity so that it is illegal.

However, on December 26, the Popular Party presented in the Congress of Deputies a proposal not of law with which it aims to end the "impunity of anonymity on the Internet."

Legal sources consulted by this newspaper consider that it is very difficult to end anonymity on the Internet. They also explain that freedom of information is a fundamental right that one can exercise freely, anonymously or not. "Anonymity gives you a shell to say things that if you did not have it, you would not say," they maintain.

«You have to make a positive education about the use of the internet and its tools»

And in this context, Victor Domingo advocates improving the electronic DNI. "If the PP or the PSOE wanted us all to be identified, it would be better to have an electronic ID that worked. That would facilitate the work so that everyone was identified, "he says.

A few days ago the controversy arose because the alleged real identity of one of those anonymous accounts on Twitter had been revealed. Is it permissible to remove a user from this anonymity?

Here two assumptions must be distinguished: one in which yes and another in which no. In this case, as explained by these legal sources, it is a mere game of masks. Although intellectual property does protect authors who publish under a pseudonym, in this case there would be no crime in revealing the true identity of a user.

However, and as Domingo says, doing it "is a lack of decorum and education." Something that would also be incurred by those people who retweet and make known that leak. "The yardstick has to be the same for everyone. There is a paradox that other anonymous accounts have spread this forced 'exit from the closet', he says.

The proposal of the PP went more directed to avoid that some people shield themselves behind an avatar to insult and even to harass other Internet users. In any case, it should be noted that nobody is truly 100% anonymous on the Internet.

ID
Both Víctor Domingo and the legal sources consulted agree that the State Security Forces have adequate tools to identify any Internet user, if necessary, under judicial protection.

"If at any given time you need to know who is behind an account, I can require the social network to give me information under a court order," explain legal experts, who stress that "anonymity is not synonymous with impunity."

In addition, Domingo warns that it is easier to locate a crime on the Internet than in a physical world. "You are always associated with an IP number, which is a personal data and that is why you can not legislate."

Finally, this expert points out that we must make positive use of the law and the internet. «We must do a positive education on the use of the internet and its tools. All governments should have an impact on this type of education. The underlying problem is that we have found ourselves with a very powerful communication tool that is not always well used. We are learning almost self-taught. The administration should make this educational effort, and not laws that are useless, "he concludes.

R & D has a hard time overcoming the crisis in Spain

Europe is the accelerator of innovation, while here the public sector investment is 13% below 2009

Although the economic crisis began in 2008, the R & D & i sector (Research, Development and Innovation) comes later because there is a first drop in private spending in 2009, but public spending is not reduced until 2011. Cows fat of innovation occupied the year 2000 to 2008, beginning the millennium with an investment 50% higher than what the average of European countries, but reaching eight years later to 71%.

The report of the Cotec Foundation for Innovation (which takes data from the INE and Eurostat as a reference) reveals that public investment today stands 13% below pre-crisis levels , while private investment 5.8% below . Aleix Pons, director of Economy and Finance of Cotec, explains to this newspaper that currently "practically all European countries have recovered the investment prior to the crisis", but this is not the case of Spain.

The EU as a whole has increased investment by 27% compared to 2009, while in Spain in the same period it has fallen by 9%. Surrounding countries have bet much more than us in this field. This is the case of the United Kingdom, with an investment 40% higher in 2016 than in 2009 , Germany with 38% more or even Italy with a rise of 12%.

But Spain still does not recover the levels prior to the crisis. The responsibility falls on both the low investment of the private sector and the public, but according to INE data of November 2016, companies have two years of positive growth in investment, although the average is still far from the European. "This may have to do with the business structure composed of SMEs for the most part, but it is the larger companies that invest the most in R & D," says Pons.

However, the public sector reached its maximum level of investment in 2009, but since then there has been a cut of approximately 30%. "In addition, there is an additional cut because a part smaller than the budgeted one is being executed, that is to say, not everything that is available is being spent", affirms Cotec's director of Economy.

Not everything is negative

On the other hand, sources of the Secretary of State of Investigation, Development and Innovation assure to this newspaper that although there is "many things that to improve", in Spain it is made "very good science". "We have researchers with global impact in various areas and an important participation in many of the largest European and international facilities." Some of these aspects in which the public sector works are "progressive and stable long-term public financing , greater administrative flexibility and better contracts for researchers".

From the Secretariat of State they emphasize that not everything is as negative as it is painted, although the figures are what they are. They affirm that although R & D expenditure increased for the second consecutive year in 2016, the weight of science decreased "due to the significant increase in the Spanish economy", which ended up placing it at 1.19% of GDP, far from 2% that the State set itself as an objective in 2020. "It is the responsibility of the Central Administration, the Autonomous Communities and the companies to increase investment in R & D", explain the same sources.

"The biggest challenge we face is to increase the weight of private investment . The EU states that to achieve a healthy R & D & I system, two thirds of the total investment must come from companies. In Japan, the US, South Korea or Germany private contribution is higher than 65%, even close to 80% in some cases, while in Spain it stands at 53%. Since 2012 we have opted for public-private collaboration and we have worked with insistence to bring the actors of the system closer, they say.

Competitive position

However, Ángel San Segundo, a professor at the EAE Business School, does not see it as positive. "The competitive position of Spain in the field of R & D & I is doubly worrisome because on the one hand it is far from the reference countries for our economy and on the other hand that distance tends to increase according to the available data," he says. Although the expert recognizes that in the last five years the R + D + i efforts of most of the countries that surround us hardly grew, "in Spain they not only did not stagnate but they decreased 9% accumulated", laments San Second.

Roundtrip scientists

According to INE data, there are currently 8,000 fewer researchers in Spain than before the crisis, but Spain is recovering. Since 2014 there has been an "important" increase in the number of scientists, but the fall of the hardest years of the crisis was so strong that recovery is hard.

The professor of the EAE Business School, Ángel San Segundo, reveals that according to the latest available data, Spain has 7.9 researchers per 1,000 employees, a figure below France (9.9) and United Kingdom (8.9) . But remember that when these figures are analyzed taking into account the origin of the researchers, Spain has a similar number and even higher in the public and higher education sectors. "It is in the private sector where we are below our environment and where our shortcomings are evident".

Sources from the Secretary of State explain that in 2016 there was an increase of 5,000 R & D workers compared to 2015, of which more than 4,000 were researchers. And they reveal that in 2018 the Government will stabilize up to 90% of the positions filled with temporary contracts.

Spanish SMEs need help to join ecommerce

The leaders in this channel are the Aragonese companies

Seven out of ten small and medium-sized Spanish companies recognize that they need external support to integrate the mobile channel into their business, according to the study Spanish SMEs in the online field, conducted by the global e-commerce platform eBay.

This study emphasizes that the smartphone is one of the main means by which users search, compare and buy products.

However, the need for external support is offset by the willingness of SMEs to reinforce their strategy in several channels. Thus, 44.4% say that having mobile applications or optimized websites is vital for the growth of their business, while 43.1% recognizes that, in the future, everyone will buy through applications.

The study shows that 70.5% of the SMEs surveyed know the advantages of mobile commerce, but only 28.4% have an application or an optimized web of their business for this channel.

By region, Aragonese SMEs lead the implementation of the mobile channel, since 37.3% of them have an application or an optimized website. Aragonese autonomy is followed by Madrid (36.6%), Catalonia (33.1%) and Castilla y León (32.9%).

The first call 5G is achieved in Spain

Huawei and Vodafone manage to complete the first connection of this type with the new commercial standard NSA

Castelldefells (Barcelona) and Madrid. These two cities are the transmitter and receiver of the first 5G call in the world with the commercial standard NSA (Non Stand Alone). This framework approved last December will be the one that is incorporated into the commercial expansion of this new technology that will arrive in the coming months.

The new standard contemplates the use, in a first phase, of the infrastructure of the 4G network for the control and management of traffic, so it will be necessary that both terminals and base stations can establish "dual" connectivity to networks 4G and 5G at the same time.

This new standard reaches speeds above 2 Gbps and latencies below 10 milliseconds. "The first 5G call has been made just two months after the new 5G standard on dual infrastructures (5G / 4G) has been published, the deadline has been much shorter than that foreseen by the Industry," says Peter Meissner, CEO and member of the Board of the NGMN Alliance.

The promoters of this first call are Huawei and Vodafone who remember "that is the only standard that will support commercial phones in the short and medium term". "The success of the test conducted today will allow us to move forward with new tests throughout Europe throughout 2018," says Santiago Tenorio, director of Architecture and Network Strategy of the Vodafone Group.

"The test done today shows the maturity of the development of 5G over the standard approved by 3GPP. We are ready to advance our collaboration with Vodafone and start commercial trials, "adds Yang Chaobin, president of Huawei's 5G Product Line

Puigdemont clears his mansion in Google Maps Waterloo

Users who want to locate the home in the search engine will find a blurred spot that prevents them from seeing the house

A few weeks ago, it was announced that the former president of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, had rented a luxurious mansion in the Belgian town of Waterloo, south of Brussels. Within a few hours, the area around the residence was filled with media and curious people who wanted to see what the new home of the escaped politician could be.

However, faced with the expectation that caused the news, the former president of Catalonia has decided to delete it from Google Maps . That is, now, if you look for the 40 Avenue de l'Avocat , in Waterloo, what appears is a blur that prevents you from seeing the house. This decision may have taken also by the little grace that made the owner of the mansion see his property protagonist of all the news.

The residence is an area of 550 square meters, six rooms, three bathrooms and a sauna, for which Puigdemont pays 4,400 euros per month.

The deletion of this type of images in Google Maps is relatively common among public figures, who ask the company that their homes not appear clear in the searches, but that, as in this case, there is a blur that prevents them from seeing clarity the residence.

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What does an electronic nose smell?

These innovative systems serve both to detect diseases through olfactory patterns and to find and deactivate explosive devices

Your payroll in bitcoins

Spanish companies begin to get on the cryptocurrency cart and some already think of bitcoins to pay their employees and receive payments

Can you (and should) be anonymous on the Internet?

The proposal of the PP to end anonymity in social networks will be difficult to get ahead

R & D has a hard time overcoming the crisis in Spain

Europe is the accelerator of innovation, while here the public sector investment is 13% below 2009

Spanish SMEs need help to join ecommerce

The leaders in this channel are the Aragonese companies

The first call 5G is achieved in Spain

Huawei and Vodafone manage to complete the first connection of this type with the new commercial standard NSA

Puigdemont clears his mansion in Google Maps Waterloo

Users who want to locate the home in the search engine will find a blurred spot that prevents them from seeing the house

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