A functional data analysis (FDA) based methodology for detecting anomalous flows in urban water networks is introduced. Primary hydraulic variables are recorded in real-time by telecontrol systems, so they are functional data (FD). In the first stage, the data are validated (false data are detected) and reconstructed, since there could be not only false data, but also missing and noisy data. FDA tools are used such as tolerance bands for FD and smoothing for dense and sparse FD. In the second stage, functional outlier detection tools are used in two phases. In Phase I, the data are cleared of anomalies to ensure that data are representative of the in-control system. The objective of Phase II is system monitoring. A new functional outlier detection method is also proposed based on archetypal analysis. The methodology is applied and illustrated with real data. A simulated study is also carried out to assess the performance of the outlier detection techniques, including our proposal. The results are very promising.

The present work describes the 100% virtual ATIDES (Avances en Tecnologı ´as, Innovacio ´n y Desafı ´os de la Educacio ´n Superior) conference that was held between October 15 and 31, 2018, sponsored by Universitat Jaume I (UJI), Spain. Online conferences like this have been the subject of some controversy in the field of education over the last decade. Indeed, we have found a few texts that are against them. One of these is [1], whose authors claim that "interaction is not enough" to ensure efficient simulation of face-to-face contact. However, the Canadian academic community (for instance, the Centre for Distance Education at Athabasca University) is a strong advocate of online conferences (see [2,3]). Among other advantages, this kind of conference is "family-friendly," i.e., they break barriers for researchers with family obligations [4], in particular many women [5]. In addition, these conferences overcome the drawback of parallel sessions at face-to-face conferences, at which participants must choose certain talks and miss others. Anderson and Anderson [6] even put forward environmental and economic arguments: "Transportation is a major contributor of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions." On the other hand, Abdullah [7] and Kear, Chetwynd, and Jefferis [8] look at the matter from another point of view that is also important: Social presence at online conferences. Gichora and colleagues [9] propose 10 rules for organizing a virtual conference, but they only focus on real-time virtual conferences. Real-time virtual conferences emulate the structure of well-known on-site conferences, with the use of video-conferencing tools for connecting the participants in a virtual meeting. We, on the other hand, focus on non-real-time web conferences. In this kind of conference, a web platform connects the participants, but the event does not take place live. Communication can be made through posts on a forum, which can sometimes take hours or even days. Non-real-time web conferences share many of the advantages of real-time virtual conferences, such as being family friendly and allowing the involvement of participants with a low budget for traveling, which makes this kind of conference more participative and inclusive. However, non-real-time web conferences have other advantages that real-time web conferences do not. Asynchronous interaction allows the attendees to have more time for reflection before they put forward their questions and comments, and, likewise, the speaker has enough time to prepare an appropriate answer. This makes up for the lack of face-to-face social interaction in this type of conference. In fact, numerous interactions occur via forums and are, in many cases, numerous and more informal and flexible than at classical scientific meetings [10]. Forums give rise to stimulating discussions like those that can occur at unconferences [11]. Furthermore, this asynchrony allows participants from all over the world to take part without worrying about time zone differences.

In this paper, we use an SIRD model to analyze the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, caused by a new virus called SARS-CoV-2 from the coronavirus family. This model is governed by a nonlinear system of differential equations that allows us to detect trends in the pandemic and make reliable predictions of the evolution of the infection in the short term. This work shows this evolution of the infection in various changing stages throughout the period of maximum alert in Spain. It also shows a quick adaptation of the parameters that define the disease in several stages. In addition, the model confirms the effectiveness of quarantine to avoid the exponential expansion of the pandemic and reduce the number of deaths. The analysis shows good short-term predictions using the SIRD model, which are useful to influence the evolution of the epidemic and thus carry out actions that help reduce its harmful effects.

In this paper we present a pilot study to improve the learning process on distance learning Engineering master's degrees. We propose an activity where the students individually produce a video in which they explain the solution to one of their assignments. They then receive the teacher's feedback and are acquainted with the assessment rubric. Finally, they produce a second version of the video, the assessment of which is the basis for their overall mark. The results of the study show that students improved their ability to give oral presentations.

In this paper, a numerical algorithm is presented and analyzed based on the shooting method to approximate the solution of a model for the diffusion and absorption of oxygen in living tissue. The model is a variant of one originally proposed by Crank and Gupta (J. Inst. Math. Appl., 10 (1972), pp. 19–33). In that article, the rate of consumption of oxygen is assumed to be constant. In this paper this rate is assumed to be a function of the distance to the outer surface of the tissue. This allows for an inhomogeneous medium, i.e., the oxygen consumption rate could vary from point to point.