Crowdlending: un placement adapté pour diversifier son épargne ?

Suite aux nombreuses crises financières survenues récemment, les banques sont devenues réticentes à prêter aux jeunes entrepreneurs à la recherche de financement. Porté par le développement des nouvelles technologies et le web 2.0, le crowdfunding fait son apparition dans le début de l’année 2008 comme une solution à ce manque de soutien bancaire. Le concept de base est simple : un entrepreneur nécessite des fonds afin de démarrer son projet, faute de parvenir à récolter la somme nécessaire avec les moyens traditionnels il va se servir internet afin d’atteindre un large éventail d’investisseurs potentiels. Sous son modèle le plus traditionnel, les internautes se voient reverser une contrepartie en fonction du montant de leurs contributions. Les échanges s’effectuent à travers une plateforme regroupant une multitude de projets et d’investisseurs. Le crowdfunding, anglicisme utilisé pour désigner la finance participative, réalise une croissance exponentielle dès ses premières années, la presse s’empare du phénomène, certains projets parviennent à récolter des centaines de milliers de dollars en seulement quelques jours. Peu après, de nouvelles formes de financement participatif font leurs apparitions, notamment le crowdinvesting et le crowdlending. Ce dernier modèle est semblable au crédit bancaire, mais il prend place sur le web avec les internautes faisant office de banque pour l’emprunteur. C’est sur le crowdlending, appelé également financement par le prêt, que je vais me focaliser à travers ce travail. À différence du crowdfunding classique, ce modèle est spéculatif. L’esprit de participation communautaire est toujours présent, l’investisseur participera également au développement d’un projet. Toutefois ici notre contribution est faite sous forme de prêt pour lequel on espère recevoir des intérêts réguliers. Ce modèle permet aux particuliers, même les plus néophytes de la finance, d’investir aisément leur épargne de manière à la faire fructifier. Les chiffres soulevés par le crowdlending ont rapidement dépassé ceux des autres formes de financement participatif, il a réussi à attirer de nombreux investisseurs notamment par les hauts rendements qu’il promet. Toutefois, afin de profiter des nombreux avantages que propose ce mode de financement il faut sélectionner convenablement la plateforme que l’on utilisera. Cela passe d’abord par une compréhension du modèle des plateformes de prêt ainsi que d’une prise de conscience concernant les risques auquel nous nous exposons

Coneixement del territori i raonament espacial mitjançant cartografia cognitiva : un assaig amb estudiants de batxillerat del delta de l'Ebre

Al present article, s'hi mostra l'interès de la cartografia cognitiva per valorar el coneixement del territori i el raonament espacial. L'estudi es desenvolupa al delta de l'Ebre i s'estructura a partir de consignar topònims i elements d'interès territorial en un mapa mut. La població mostral són 132 estudiants de darrer curs de batxillerat dels cinc centres d'educació secundària del Delta. Mitjançant diferents tècniques d'anàlisi cartogràfica, s'evidencien aspectes de cognició espacial difícils de detectar amb altres procediments. Els resultats assenyalen que els participants tenen un bon coneixement del territori però que presenten dificultats a l'hora de concretar-lo en un mapa a escala detallada, a causa d'unes habilitats espacials poc treballades.This article demonstrates the importance of cognitive mapping to assess geographic knowledge and spatial thinking. The study was carried out with a sample population comprising 132 A2-level students from five secondary schools of the Ebro Delta who were asked to record place names and landmarks on a blank map. Cartographic analyses revealed a number of spatial cognition issues. The results show that students have good geographic knowledge but find it difficult to display such knowledge on a detailed map due to weak spatial skills.En el presente artículo, se muestra el interés de la cartografía cognitiva para valorar el conocimiento del territorio y el razonamiento espacial. El estudio se desarrolla en el delta del Ebro y se estructura a partir de consignar topónimos y elementos de interés territorial en un mapa mudo. La población muestral son 132 estudiantes de último curso de bachillerato de los cinco centros de educación secundaria del Delta. Mediante distintas técnicas de análisis cartográfico, se evidencian aspectos de cognición espacial difíciles de detectar mediante otros procedimientos. Los resultados señalan que los participantes tienen un buen conocimiento del territorio pero que presentan dificultades a la hora de concretarlo en un mapa a escala detallada, a causa de unas habilidades espaciales poco trabajadas.Nous montrons dans le présent article l'intérêt de la cartographie cognitive pour évaluer la connaissance du territoire et le raisonnement spatial. L'étude est réalisée dans le delta de l'Èbre, en plaçant des toponymes et des éléments d'intérêt territorial sur un fond de carte. L'échantillon se compose de 132 étudiants de baccalauréat des cinq lycées du territoire du delta. Le traitement cartographique de l'information montre des aspects de cognition spatiale difficiles à détecter par d'autres procédés. Les résultats mettent en évidence une bonne connaissance territoriale mais des difficultés à la traduire sur une carte à échelle détaillée, en raison de compétences spatiales peu travaillées

Inflammatory markers and bone mass in children with overweight/obesity: the role of muscular fitness

Objectives To examine which inflammatory markers are associated with bone mass and whether this association varies according to muscular fitness in children with overweight/obesity. Methods Plasma interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), epidermal growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF), and C-reactive protein were analyzed in 55 children aged 8–11 years. A muscular fitness score was computed. Bone mineral content (BMC) of the total body-less head (TBLH) and lumbar spine (LS) were assessed using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Results IL-6 (β = −0.136) and VEGF (β = −0.099) were associated with TBLH BMC, while TNF-α (β = −0.345) and IL-1β (β = 0.212) were associated with LS BMC (P < 0.05). The interaction effect of muscular fitness showed a trend in the association of VEGF with TBLH BMC (P = 0.122) and TNF-α with LS BMC (P = 0.057). Stratified analyses by muscular fitness levels showed an inverse association of VEGF with TBLH BMC (β = −0.152) and TNF-α with LS BMC (β = −0.491) in the low-fitness group, while no association was found in the high-fitness group. Conclusion IL-6, VEGF, TNF-α, and IL-1β are significantly associated with bone mass. Higher muscular fitness may attenuate the adverse effect of high VEGF and TNF-α on bone mass

Functional hubs in mild cognitive impairment

We investigate how hubs of functional brain networks are modified as a result of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a condition causing a slight but noticeable decline in cognitive abilities, which sometimes precedes the onset of Alzheimer's disease. We used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to investigate the functional brain networks of a group of patients suffering from MCI and a control group of healthy subjects, during the execution of a short-term memory task. Couplings between brain sites were evaluated using synchronization likelihood, from which a network of functional interdependencies was constructed and the centrality, i.e. importance, of their nodes was quantified. The results showed that, with respect to healthy controls, MCI patients were associated with decreases and increases in hub centrality respectively in occipital and central scalp regions, supporting the hypothesis that MCI modifies functional brain network topology, leading to more random structures

CCSDS 131.2-B-1 transmitter design on FPGA with adaptive coding and modulation schemes for satellite communications

Satellite communications are a well-established research area in which the main innovation of last decade has been the use of multi-carrier modulations and more robust channel coding techniques. However, in recent years, novel advanced signal processing has started being developed for these communications due to the increase in the signal processing capacity of transmitters and receivers. Although signal processing capabilities are increasing, they are still constrained by large limitations because these techniques need to be implemented in real hardware, thus making complexity a matter of critical importance. Therefore, this paper presents the design and implementation of a transmitter with adaptable coding and modulation on a field-programmable-gate-array (FPGA). The main motivation came from the standard CCSDS 131.2-B-1 which recommends that such a novel transmitter which has to date not been implemented in a real system The system was modeled by MATLAB with the purpose of being programmed in VHDL following the AXI-stream protocol between components. Behavioral simulation results were obtained in VIVADO and compared with MATLAB for verification purposes. The transmitter logical circuit was synthesized in a FPGA Zynq Ultrascale RFSoC ZU28DR, showing low resource consumption and correct functioning, leading us to conclude that the deployment of new communication systems in state-of-the-art hardware in satellite communications is justified.The research was funded by Projects IRENE (PID2020-115323RB-C33) (MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE) and MFOC (Madrid Flight on Chip "Innovation Cooperative Projects Comunidad of Madrid" HUBS 2018/ Madrid Flight on Chip)

Exploring feasibility maps for trajectory planning of redundant manipulators using RRT

Redundant manipulators offer several advantages, including improved manipulability, singularity avoidance, and obstacle evasion. However, kinematic redundancy also introduces additional challenges, such as the need to solve an underdetermined inverse kinematic problem to control the manipulator. This paper introduces a novel approach for motion planning of redundant manipulators, based on the exploration of feasibility maps. The proposed method is an extension of the RRT algorithm, modified to explore the redundant space in order to find a suboptimal feasible path in the joint space, sacrificing optimality for scalability to higher degrees of redundancy. The method is able to follow a given task trajectory while considering other constraints, such as joint limits, self-collisions, and obstacles

Past strong experiences determine acute cardiovascular autonomic responses to acoustic stress

Background: Stress is a major risk factor for cardiovascular (CV) disease. We hypothesized that past strong experiences might modulate acute CV autonomic responses to an unexpected acoustic stimulus. A i m: The study’s aim was to compare acute CV autonomic responses to acoustic stress between students with and without a past strong experience associated with the acoustic stimulus. Materials and Methods: Twenty five healthy young volunteers - medical and non-medical students - were included in the study. CV hemodynamic parameters, heart rate (HR), and blood pressure (BP) variability were assessed for 10 min at rest and for 10 min after two different acoustic stimuli: a standard sound signal and a specific sound signal used during a practical anatomy exam (so-called "pins"). Results: Both sounds stimulated the autonomic nervous system. The "pins" signal caused a stronger increase in HR in medical students (69 ± 10 vs. 73 ± 13 bpm, p = 0.004) when compared to non-medical students (69 ± 6 vs. 70 ± 10, p = 0.695). Rises in diastolic BP, observed 15 seconds after sound stressors, were more pronounced after the "pins" sound than after the standard sound signal only in medical students (3.1% and 1.4% vs. 3% and 4.4%), which was also reflected by low-frequency diastolic BP variability (medical students: 6.2 ± 1.6 vs. 4.1 ± 0.8 ms2, p = 0.04; non-medical students: 6.0 ± 4.3 vs. 4.1 ± 2.6 ms2, p = 0.06). Conclusions: The "pins" sound, which medical students remembered from their anatomy practical exam, provoked greater sympathetic activity in the medical student group than in their non-medical peers. Thus, past strong experiences modulate CV autonomic responses to acute acoustic stress