Improving Knowledge Retrieval in Digital Libraries Applying Intelligent Techniques

Nowadays an enormous quantity of heterogeneous and distributed information is stored in the digital University. Exploring online collections to find knowledge relevant to a user’s interests is a challenging work. The artificial intelligence and Semantic Web provide a common framework that allows knowledge to be shared and reused in an efficient way. In this work we propose a comprehensive approach for discovering E-learning objects in large digital collections based on analysis of recorded semantic metadata in those objects and the application of expert system technologies. We have used Case Based-Reasoning methodology to develop a prototype for supporting efficient retrieval knowledge from online repositories. We suggest a conceptual architecture for a semantic search engine. OntoUS is a collaborative effort that proposes a new form of interaction between users and digital libraries, where the latter are adapted to users and their surroundings

Condicionamientos ambientales de Erica Andevalensis Cabezudo & Rivera : respuesta frente a metales pesados

Se ha estudiado el contenido en metales de las distintas partes de Erica andevalensis (Cabezudo & Rivera) y se han caracterizado las aguas y los suelos de su entorno. Erica andevalensis es capaz de medrar en un medio extremadamente ácido, con suelos pobres y arenosos, y un elevado contenido en metales pesados, siendo su principal mecanismo de defensa la exclusión de los compuestos tóxicos por parte de las raíces y la posible precipitación de éstos en formas inertes, sea en la pared celular o en células determinadas. Queda excluida la probabilidad de hiperacumulación de los principales metales existentes en su entorno, pues en general muestras analizadas presentaron contenidos de metales en la parte aérea poco superiores a los considerados normales

Cuerpos representados, cuerpos dominados. Poder y representación en los carteles de propaganda nazi

La representación del cuerpo humano ha sido una constante en la historia de la humanidad desde la revolución simbólica del neolítico. Pero, lejos de buscar la mera objetividad, dicha representación es un hecho de cultura que refleja las tensiones y mecanismos de poder existentes en la vida social. A través del análisis de las distintas representaciones del cuerpo, en distintas fases de la vida y en distintos contextos que aparecen en los carteles de propaganda nazi se percibe la violencia ejercida hacia la alteridad judía usando como mecanismo mediador la representación del cuerpo. El poder por tanto se manifiesta también en la forma y el modo cómo los cuerpos pueden ser representados. De esta forma el trabajo concluye apelando a una lectura social y cultural del cuerpo, alejada de principios racistas.Through the human history since the symbolic revolution of the Neolithic, the representation of the human body has been a constant. This doesn’t search the mere objective representation, rather reflects the tensions and mechanisms of power which exist in the social life. It is possible to appreciate the violence exerted towards the jewish alterity using as a tool, the representation of the body, through the analysis of the different representations which appear on the posters of nazi propaganda, on different life stages and on different contexts. Power can be manifested on the way the bodies are represented. This article ends with a call for a social and cultural reading of the body, moving away from racist principles

Intelligent Integrated Management for Telecommunication Networks

As the size of communication networks keeps on growing, faster connections, cooperating technologies and the divergence of equipment and data communications, the management of the resulting networks gets additional important and time-critical. More advanced tools are needed to support this activity. In this article we describe the design and implementation of a management platform using Artificial Intelligent reasoning technique. For this goal we make use of an expert system. This study focuses on an intelligent framework and a language for formalizing knowledge management descriptions and combining them with existing OSI management model. We propose a new paradigm where the intelligent network management is integrated into the conceptual repository of management information called Managed Information Base (MIB). This paper outlines the development of an expert system prototype based in our propose GDMO+ standard and describes the most important facets, advantages and drawbacks that were found after prototyping our proposal

Development of a geopolymer-based cementitious coating for the rehabilitation of buried concrete infrastructure

The current research project was devoted to the incorporation of geopolymers as a new material for Trenchless projects, taking advantage of their properties in a field in which they had not been used before, providing a substantial help to municipalities to meet their rehabilitation needs. Trenchless Technologies are a family of methods, materials and equipment capable of being used for the installation of new or replacement or rehabilitation of existing underground infrastructure with minimal disruption to surface traffic, business, and other activities. The dissertation research work described herein is divided into six primary objectives: (1) the evaluation of geopolymer as a suitable candidate material for the rehabilitation of aging buried concrete infrastructure; (2) the study of the main parameters behind the process of geopolymerization; (3) the development of a geopolymer-based rehabilitation method with enhanced workability by means of a surface-active agent; (4) the evaluation of copper-substituted geopolymer with possible biocide properties; (5) testing and field validation of the resulting material; and (6) the study of its commercialization potential. Materials of a new generation are needed to suit the growing rehabilitation needs of buried concrete infrastructure. Many municipalities currently undergo difficult material selection processes; based on the best match between low cost and high quality. An optimal solution is not easy to achieve since ordinary Portland cement (OPC) provides low cost and good workability, but, in many cases, does not provide extended durability; on the other hand epoxies and other organic polymers often resist biogenic corrosion well, yet are many times not within the budget of municipalities. Geopolymers are cementitious materials of a new generation. Their outstanding properties are the object of growing research all over the world, especially in France, Australia and the USA. However, regardless of their excellent mechanical strength and corrosion resistance properties, geopolymers are often seen by the construction industry as materials with poor workability and unsuitable for big scale projects. This perception and other drawbacks are addressed in the present work. The dissertation begins with the identification and study of the main variables controlling the geopolymerization process and their influence on the final material properties. A selection of materials is then conducted and the design of an appropriate formulation is achieved. The next step was to solve the problem of turning geopolymers into a friendly material for contractors. As spray coatings are a very common and convenient method for the application of cementitious materials, this process was especially emphasized throughout the dissertation. Several additives and mixing methods were experimented with during this research project to help on this objective. Having produced a sprayable geopolymer admixture, work was then conducted to evaluate the final properties of the resulting material and a comparison with products currently used by the industry. The encapsulation of copper with the intention of a future evaluation as a biogenic agent embedded in geopolymer was also considered. Important conclusions are made in this regard. An evaluation of the commercialization potential of this material is further discussed

Can ecosystem properties be fully translated into service values? an economic valuation of aquatic plant services

Ecological Applications 21. 5 (2011): 3083-3103 copyright by the Ecological Society of AmericaWe carried out an integrated analysis of ecosystem services in the Doñana social-ecological system (southwestern Spain), from the providers (different aquatic plant functional groups) to the beneficiaries (different stakeholders living in or visiting the area). We explored the ecosystem services supplied by aquatic plants by linking these services to different plant functional traits, identifying relevant ecosystem services and then working our way backward to ecosystem properties and the functional traits underpinning them. We started from 15 ecosystem services associated with aquatic systems (freshwater marshes, salt marshes, ponds on aeolian sheets, temporal coastal ponds, and estuaries) and related them to plant traits (directly or indirectly through intermediate ecosystem properties). We gathered information from the literature on the functional traits of 144 plants occurring in the aquatic ecosystems of Doñana. We analyzed the species×trait matrix with multivariate classification and ordination techniques and obtained seven functional groups with different potentials for delivering ecosystem services. A survey was then administered to 477 stakeholders to analyze, through the use of a contingent valuation exercise, how the ecosystem services provided by the different functional groups were valued. We identified connections between individual plant traits, ecosystem processes, and ecosystem services, but a mismatch appeared between the functional groups and the economic values placed on them by the beneficiaries. We found that contingent valuation applied to ecosystem services tended to ignore the ecosystem properties and biodiversity underpinning them. Our results cast doubts over the suitability of the economic valuation framework of ecosystem services to capture the full value of biodiversity and ecosystems to peopleThis research was partially supported by a grant from the Madrid Regional Government of Education, which was co-funded by the Social European Fund (F.S.E.), the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (Project CGL2006- 14121/BOS), and the Spanish Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs through project 018/2009. S. Díaz acknowledges support from FONCyT and CONICET (Argentina) and IAI (CRN 2015, supported by US NSF GEO- 0452325

Louis Kahn en la costa de Amalfi (1929)

En 1929, durante su primer viaje a Italia, Louis Kahn visitó varias localidades de la Costiera Amalfitana: Positano, Ravello, Atrani y Amalfi; realizando un amplio conjunto de acuarelas y dibujos. Aunque todos ellos fueron recogidos en 1991 en el catálogo de Jan Hochstim, no se logró entonces identificar las localidades y lugares concretos en que fueron realizados estos apuntes. En 1996, con ocasión de una exposición realizada en Chicago y Nueva York sobre los dibujos de viaje de Kahn, se ofreció información exacta sobre el lugar en el que fueron realizados diez de estos dibujos. En el presente artículo se identifican otros siete apuntes más y se ofrece información más precisa sobre los anteriores. Junto con estos datos, se analizan las intenciones de Kahn al realizar estos dibujos, su estilo gráfico, las influencias concretas de las técnicas y modos de representación popularizados en la segunda mitad de los años veinte en los Estados Unidos, y la posible repercusión de estos dibujos de viaje en los proyectos que desarrollaría en su madurez

'Nosotros somos latinos'. Españoles dibujando en Nueva York, 1930

El texto aborda la fascinación de la ciudad de Nueva York, y de sus nuevos rascacielos, en arquitectos, dibujantes, viajeros y literatos, a comienzos de los años treinta. Joaquín Vaquero ilustrará el libro del viajero francés Paul Morand; Luis Moya Blanco dibujará los grandes edificios en altura como fuente de inspiración para sus proyectos; Federico García Lorca escribirá su libro Poeta en Nueva York, expresando su rechazo a la gran metrópoli, a la vez que realiza algunos dibujos en los que deja ver sus nostalgias y vivencias