SWL-LSE: A dataset of health-related signs in Spanish Sign Language with an ISLR Baseline Method

Progress in automatic sign language recognition and translation has been hindered by the scarcity of datasets available for the training of machine learning algorithms, a challenge that is even more acute for languages with smaller signing communities, such as Spanish. In this paper, we introduce a dataset of 300 isolated signs in Spanish Sign Language, collected online via a web application with contributions from 124 participants, resulting in a total of 8000 instances. This dataset, which is openly available, includes keypoints extracted using MediaPipe Holistic. The goal of this paper is to describe the construction and characteristics of the dataset and to provide a baseline classification method using a spatial–temporal graph convolutional network (ST-GCN) model, encouraging the scientific community to improve upon it. The experimental section offers a comparative analysis of the method’s performance on the new dataset, as well as on two other well-known datasets. The dataset, code, and web app used for data collection are freely available, and the web app can also be used to test classifier performance on-line in real-time.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2021-123988OB-C32Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PRE2019-088146Xunta de Galici

Active yaw control strategy for a hybrid offshore wind farm under typical wind conditions

This paper proposes an active yaw control strategy for the hybrid offshore wind farms to enhance the offshore wind farm's total power generation. Firstly, a three-dimensional yawed wake model is applied for calculating the power output of different types of wind turbines under active yaw control and the whole offshore wind farm. Next, the architecture of the proposed active yaw control system is demonstrated, and an optimization model is formulated. To solve this optimization problem, the quantum genetic algorithm is employed. Simulation results on a simplified layout of three wind turbines in a row and the Guishan offshore wind farm under three typical wind conditions demonstrate that the proposed strategy can effectively mitigate the inner-array wake effect in hybrid offshore wind farms. The results also suggest that applying active yaw control in the non-dominant wind directions and for small wind turbines in a hybrid offshore wind farm should be prioritized which yields the most significant improvement of 24.89 % in overall offshore wind farm power output. Additionally, the quantum genetic algorithm is shown to be an efficient and robust optimization tool for solving the optimal active yaw control problem in hybrid offshore wind farms with computation time of 17.83 min, 20.12 min, and 19.30 min in the three test cases, respectively.National Natural Science Foundation of China | Ref. 52207111National Natural Science Foundation of China | Ref. 52577112Hong Kong Scholars Program | Ref. XJ2024024State Key Laboratory of Power System Operation and Control | Ref. 2449State Key Laboratory of Alternate Electrical Power System with Renewable Energy Sources | Ref. LAPS25013Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Power Transmission & Distribution Equipment Technology | Ref. 2025JSSPD0

Inferring fast ecotypic divergence in a protected marine area: comparing QST and FST patterns in Littorina saxatilis subpopulations from Cíes Islands in Spain

The intertidal snail Littorina saxatilis is well known for its remarkable variety of locally adapted populations. A unique L. saxatilis habitat is represented by the sheltered rocky environment found in the natural coastal lagoon of the Cíes Islands (NW Spain). The present-day characteristics of this habitat are relatively recent (~ 70–150 years), some of these have been human induced. In this study, we indirectly tested local adaptation resulting in ecotypic variation in this habitat by estimating the additive genetic differentiation between populations (QST) for morphological shell traits in families of embryos. We compared the Qst and Fst (AFLP loci) between populations of the previously described Crab ecotype (outside the lagoon) and the new Cíes lagoon ecotype (inside) as a proxy for adaptation. For several traits (RW1 and RW2; associated with a change in size of shell aperture) the QST was higher than corresponding FST, which indeed suggest that natural selection could be the force behind the apparent phenotypic divergence observed between the Crab and the Cíes lagoon ecotype. The putative process of local adaptation occurring in the Cíes lagoon ecotype (favoring a reduction of shell aperture) might be considered a case of fast phenotypic evolution driven by anthropogenic effects and with important conservation implications. Further genetic and ecological studies must be carried out to advance our knowledge in such an interesting system.Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C 2016-037Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. CGL2016-75482-

Harnessing thermal spring water and hydrophobic eutectic solvent for galactoglucomannans, glucans and phenolics recovery from Evernia prunastri and their potential biological applications

Lichens produce polysaccharides scarcely studied, in addition to secondary metabolites, that can exhibit high bioactivity. The aim of this work is to evaluate the efficiency of subcritical water extraction using thermal spring water and hydrophobic eutectic solvent for the extraction of these compounds. Subcritical water extraction of E. prunastri compounds was performed between 150 and 190 °C with distilled or with thermal spring water, combined or not with eutectic solvent men:lau as modifier. The biochemical composition of the polysaccharide extracts from each process (P-D for distilled water, P-T for thermal spring water, P-DM and P-TM when the eutectic was added) and of the soluble liquid extracts free from the precipitated polysaccharides (E-D, E-T, E-DM and E-TM) was analyzed as well as their antioxidant capacity and biological activity against herpes viruses. After purification through resin of E-T170 and E-TM150, extracts with an antioxidant activity of 1.38 and 1.78 g Trolox eq./ g of extract were obtained. Polysaccharides were identified as galactoglucomannans and glucans by NMR analysis. All polysaccharides were formulated in films, however, those extracted with thermal water presented much better viscoelastic properties than those extracted with distilled water. P-T-170 °C and P-TM-150 °C were non-irritating according to Skinethic® test but did not exhibit protective activity against HSV-1 and HSV-2 viruses. E-T170 °C presented a slightly higher antiviral activity (around 40 % protection) with low cytotoxicity. In addition, the films' physical and mechanical properties suggest potential for biomedical applications, especially in topical or mucosal delivery systems-ISblue project | Ref. ANR-17-EURE-0015Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C 2022/08Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431G 2023/06Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431F 2020/01FCT/MCTES | Ref. 2024.01202.BDFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. 2023.14718.TENURE.016Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. UIDP/04378/2020Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. UIDB/04378/2020UCIBIO | Ref. LA/P/0140/2020Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. RYC2018-024454-

A versatile algorithm for the treatment of open boundary conditions in Smoothed particle hydrodynamics GPU models

An open boundary algorithm for weakly compressible Smoothed particle hydrodynamics (WCSPH) numerical models is presented. Open boundary conditions are implemented by means of buffer regions whereby physical quantities are either imposed or extrapolated from the fluid region using a first-order accurate SPH interpolation. A unique formulation has been developed which can be used for inflow, outflow, and mixed open boundary conditions. The extrapolation process from the fluid domain encompasses quantities such as velocity, density, pressure and also free-surface elevation. The algorithm has been parallelized for both CPU and general-purpose on graphics processing units (GPGPU) and it has been tested against the 2-D reference solutions of flow past a cylinder and open channel flow. Finally, its capability to simulate 2-D and 3-D complex flows such as water waves and flow past a surface-piercing extraterrestrial submarine is demonstrated

Glosando el Pórtico de la Gloria. El bestiario soteriológico del Maestro Mateo

El mensaje de salvación presentado por el conjunto escultórico del Pórtico de la Gloria de la Catedral de Santiago de Compostela, una de las obras cumbre del llamado «arte 1200», continúa detrás de sus tres arcos a través de la figuración plasmada por el taller del Maestro Mateo en los capiteles de los pilares del último tramo de la nave principal de la basílica en una suerte de glosa figurativa del programa del portal. En ellos, los escultores recurrirán a temas iconográficos tomados del bestiario medieval y que, en algunos casos, semejan una traducción pétrea de las miniaturas que ilustraban los bestiarios ingleses de finales del siglo XII lo que lleva a plantear la posibilidad de la presencia real de ejemplares de estos tratados en la biblioteca catedralicia y que, por lo tanto, estos hubiesen estado a disposición de los artistas para la definición de su repertorioThe message of salvation presented by the sculptural ensemble of the Portico de la Gloria in Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, one of the masterpieces of the so-called «1200 art», continues behind its three arches through the figuration created by the workshop of Master Mateo in the capitals of the pillars of the last section of the main nave of the basilica in a sort of figurative gloss of the portal’s programme. In them, the sculptors resorted to iconographic themes taken from the medieval bestiary and which, in some cases, resemble a stone translation of the miniatures that illustrated the English bestiaries of the late 12th century, which leads us to consider the possibility of the real presence of copies of these treatises in the cathedral library and that, therefore, they would have been available to the artists for the definition of their repertoire.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2019-108910GB-C2

Ranpo and Maruo, mirror images of eroguro

El presente artículo plantea las figuras de Edogawa Ranpo y Maruo Suehiro como reflejos especulares de unos mismos paradigmas estilísticos y temáticos dentro de sus respectivos medios. Se defenderá la idea de que Maruo configura, desde la década de 1980, el manga eroguro canónico, es decir, una transposición de los rasgos identificativos del eroguro original al medio del manga, y que, como consecuencia, es el artista que mejor reproduce el espíritu de esa corriente artística en las adaptaciones al manga de la obra de Edogawa Ranpo. Para ello, se analizarán las principales características del movimiento, del que Ranpo es el máximo representante, así como las situaciones políticas y sociales, referentes y presupuestos conceptuales que dieron origen a esta importante tendencia artística. Se analizará hasta qué punto esos rasgos están presentes también en el imaginario de Maruo. Por último, se hará una comparativa entre las diferentes adaptaciones al manga de la obra de Ranpo, con el fin de determinar si efectivamente Maruo es la traslación ideal del espíritu del eroguro original al manga.This article presents Edogawa Ranpo and Maruo Suehiro as mirror images of the same stylistic and thematic paradigms within their respective media. It will argue that, since the 1980s, Maruo has shaped canonical eroguro manga, that is, a transposition of the identifying features of the original eroguro to the medium of manga, and that, as a result, he is the artist who best reproduces the spirit of this artistic movement in his manga adaptations of Edogawa Ranpo's work. To this end, we will analyse the main characteristics of the movement, of which Ranpo is the leading representative, as well as the political and social situations, references and conceptual assumptions that gave rise to this important artistic trend. We will analyse the extent to which these features are also present in Maruo's imagination. Finally, a comparison will be made between the different manga adaptations of Ranpo's work, in order to determine whether Maruo is indeed the ideal translation of the spirit of the original eroguro into manga.Keywords:Ranpo, Maruo, eroguro, grotesque, abjection

Exploring the limitations on RFID technology in traceability systems at beverage factories

The application of RFID in traceability of products in beverage factories is analyzed in terms of the electromagnetic conditions defined by the massive presence of metallic elements and liquids. Various experiments are reported to determine the maximum reading range from RFID tags installed on tanks or to read RFID information around bottles, both empty and full of wine, trying to put in context the possible problems that could appear when installing an RFID-based traceability system within a winery, a brewery, or any other beverage factory.European Commission (CIP-Pilot Actions) | Ref. 250444Xunta de Galicia | Ref. CN 2012/26

A new approach to assess canoe performance through functional electromechanical dynamometry

The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive capacity of functional electromechanical dynamometry for sprint canoe performance. Twenty-one world-class sprint canoeists underwent two functional electromechanical dynamometry assessments (isometric and incremental load) in the sprint canoe-specific kneeling position. Race performance was assessed via official C1 500-m race times. Significant negative correlations were observed between 500-m race times and both the mean force (r=–0.72; p=0.001) and the peak force (r=–0.71; p=0.001) measured through the isometric dynamometric test. In the incremental test, a strong negative correlation was found between the race time and the number of strokes (Nreps; r=–0.85; p=0.001), as well as the absolute peak force (r=–0.80; p=0.001). These relationships remained significant when force values were adjusted for body mass. The strongest predictive model (R2 a=0.73) included the number of strokes from the incremental load test (C1 500-m race time=170.30–3.29 Nreps). These findings support the use of functional electromechanical dynamometry as a valid and sport-specific tool for assessing neuromuscular performance in elite sprint canoeists

Body composition and mortality from middle to old age: a prospective cohort study from the UK Biobank

Background How the association between adiposity and the risk of death changes with age, and which is the optimal level of adiposity to reduce mortality in older ages, is still not completely understood. We aimed to ascertain the age-specific risks of mortality associated with different measures of adiposity. Methods This was a prospective UK Biobank cohort study. Participants were categorized based on five different adiposity and body composition metrics. We explored the age-varying associations between body composition indices and all-cause mortality from 45 to 85 years of age at follow-up using hazard ratios (HR) from flexible parametric survival models with multivariable adjustment and age as timescale. Participants were followed from baseline (2006–2010) through 31 March 2020. Results We included 369,752 participants (mean baseline age = 56.3 ± 8.1 years; range 38.9–73.7 years; 54.1% women) and 10,660 deaths during a median follow-up of 11.4 years. Associations between body mass index and mortality were similar when using the fat mass index in magnitude and shape. Compared to participants with normal weight, overweight was not associated with the risk of death regardless of age and the adiposity measure used. Participants with obesity class I showed an HR of 1.20 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08, 1.33) and 1.14 (95%CI: 0.98, 1.30) at ages 60 and 80, respectively, and participants with obesity class II an HR about 1.55 across all age. More attenuated associations with higher age were found in individuals with the highest obesity using the fat mass index. Very high lean mass was associated with an increased risk of mortality in those aged 55–75 years (HR about 1.20 across all ages). Conclusion Obesity should be prevented at any age. Attenuated associations with older age were observed only among the individuals with the highest obesity, but the risk remained higher compared to normal-weight participants. Lean mass did not reduce mortality risk at any age.Ministerio de Universidade