A thermodynamics-informed active learning approach to perception and reasoning about fluids

Learning and reasoning about physical phenomena is still a challenge in robotics development, and computational sciences play a capital role in the search for accurate methods able to provide explanations for past events and rigorous forecasts of future situations. We propose a thermodynamics-informed active learning strategy for fluid perception and reasoning from observations. As a model problem, we take the sloshing phenomena of different fluids contained in a glass. Starting from full-field and high-resolution synthetic data for a particular fluid, we develop a method for the tracking (perception) and simulation (reasoning) of any previously unseen liquid whose free surface is observed with a commodity camera. This approach demonstrates the importance of physics and knowledge not only in data-driven (gray-box) modeling but also in real-physics adaptation in low-data regimes and partial observations of the dynamics. The presented method is extensible to other domains such as the development of cognitive digital twins able to learn from observation of phenomena for which they have not been trained explicitly

Understand well to develop better: gifted students in physical education and sport

Introduction: The traditional view of gifted students in education emphasizes cognitive skills and academic excellence. Practical subjects like physical education and sports have an underestimate role in their inclusion. Moreover, the diversity of concepts used as synonyms (without being so) leads to widespread confusion that does not benefit this type of student. Objective: The aim of this narrative review is analyzing the different models of identification of talent to contribute to the optimal development of gifted students. Method: This narrative review combines theoretical analysis and reflective insights to explore the role of physical education in socially including gifted students. Engaging with expert literature, the authors propose a holistic educational approach that employs physical education to foster cognitive abilities beyond motor skills. The study discusses two dimensions: (a) models for identifying and developing gifted students, and (b) the contributions of these models to their optimal development. Results and conclusions: 10 theories concerning gifted/talented students’ identification and/or development are presented and share key elements. They adopt a holistic approach, recognizing cognitive, physical, emotional, and social aspects. Interaction between individuals and their environment is emphasized, especially in sport field, with models like Bloom and Gilbon model highlighting gradual progress. Ericsson's theory underscores commitment and practice. Models like Gagné and Balyi stress individual differences. All theories view talent as evolving, not innate. Choosing a model depends on goals and students. Combining approaches from different models might offers a holistic view. Educators benefit from tailored strategies that consider individual needs and variations. Continuous assessment and adaptation foster well-rounded growth and potential in gifted students.This research was financed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation (SPAIN) in the framework of the research project “Impact of a physical activity programme aimed at gifted and talented students in primary education” (PID2022-137397NB-I00)

Evaluación de la política comercial sobre el mercado del sorgo en México, 2000

La fuerte dependencia de las importaciones desde Estados Unidos y la reciente polémica en relación con los efectos negativos del Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, justifican la evaluación del impacto de políticas comerciales alternativas sobre el mercado del sorgo (Sorghum vulgare Pers) en México. Para analizar estos efectos se validó un modelo de programación cuadrática para producción, consumo e importaciones del grano de mayo de 1999 a abril de 2000. Los resultados del modelo validado indican que en 1999/2000, la producción, las importaciones y el consumo de sorgo fueron 6.1, 4.6 y 10.7 millones t. Si en 1999/2000 se hubiera permitido la importación de sólo 2.5 millones t, la producción y el consumo de sorgo hubieran sido mayor y menor en 1.4 y 0.7 millones de t, en relación con los niveles observados en ese año. Por el contrario, si se hubiera permitido el libre comercio, la producción hubiera sido 5.4 millones t, en tanto el consumo y las importaciones habrían aumentando en 0.3 y 1.0 millones t, en relación con los niveles de 1999/2000. Los beneficiados con la política de restricción de las importaciones habrían sido los productores, y los perjudicados los importadores y los consumidores. Con la política de libre comercio los beneficiados hubieran sido los consumidores e importadores, en tanto que los productores habrían resultado menos perjudicados

Low-complexity soft ML detection for generalized spatial modulation

[EN] Generalized Spatial Modulation (GSM) is a recent Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) scheme, which achieves high spectral and energy efficiencies. Specifically, soft-output detectors have a key role in achiev-ing the highest coding gain when an error-correcting code (ECC) is used. Nowadays, soft-output Maxi-mum Likelihood (ML) detection in MIMO-GSM systems leads to a computational complexity that is un-feasible for real applications; however, it is important to develop low-complexity decoding algorithms that provide a reasonable computational simulation time in order to make a performance benchmark available in MIMO-GSM systems. This paper presents three algorithms that achieve ML performance. In the first algorithm, different strategies are implemented, such as a preprocessing sorting step in order to avoid an exhaustive search. In addition, clipping of the extrinsic log-likelihood ratios (LLRs) can be incor-porating to this algorithm to give a lower cost version. The other two proposed algorithms can only be used with clipping and the results show a significant saving in computational cost. Furthermore clipping allows a wide-trade-off between performance and complexity by only adjusting the clipping parameter.Acknowledgements This work has been partially supported by Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and by European Union through grant RTI2018-098085-BC41 (MCUI/AEI/FEDER) , by GVASimarro, MA.; García Mollá, VM.; Martínez Zaldívar, FJ.; Gonzalez, A. (2022). Low-complexity soft ML detection for generalized spatial modulation. Signal Processing. 196:1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sigpro.2022.10850911219

Minor Compounds of Palm Oil: Properties and Potential Applications

The oil contained in ripe fruits produced by cultivars of African oil palm Elaeis guineensis Jacq., as well as that obtained from fresh fruit bunches of certain inter-specific hybrid cultivars derived from crossbreeding between Elaeis oleifera (Kunth) Cortés and E. guineensis Jacq., have shown to be lipid substrates rich in valuable phytochemicals with exceptional biological properties and functional applications for multiple human health tasks. Eight isoforms of vitamin E (four tocopherols and four tocotrienols), α- and β-carotene, squalene, and various phenolic structures, make up the largest group of minor compounds in palm oil and are essential nutrients with physiological functions that include, but are not limited to their antioxidant properties. Vitamin E regulates the redox (oxidation-reduction) balance in the body, and compounds such as squalene and carotenoids are ubiquitously distributed throughout the body, including cell membranes and lipoproteins. Several studies suggest that regular intake of foods rich in this group of phytonutrients minimizes the reactivity of oxidative chemical species at the cellular level and serves as an effective adjunct in the treatment of oxidative stress

Entity Identity Reconciliation based Big Data Federation-A MDE approach

“Information is power” is a sentence attributed to Francis Bacon that acquired a high important in the current era of the information. However, too much information can be a negative aspect. The term of “Infoxication” refers to the difficulty a person can have understanding an issue and making decisions that can be caused by the presence of too much information. With the increasing of relevance of open data and big database, the application of mechanisms and solutions to manage information is critical. This paper introduces the problem of unique identification and data reconciliation and offers a discussion about how to solve this problem in big and open data environment. The problem of data reconciliation in multiple databases and the unique identification of entities is not a new problem, but, how effective are classical mechanisms in the new internet environment? In this paper a solution based on model-driven engineering and virtual graph is presented in order to improve the processing of information in big open repositories. The paper illustrates the idea with a real example for the right exploitation of heritage information in the south of Spain

An Explicit Nodal Space-Time Discontinuous Galerkin Method for Maxwell’s Equations

A novel implicit nodal Space-Time Discontinuous Galerkin (STDG) method is proposed in this paper. An eigenvalue analysis is performed and compared with that for a DG scheme solved with a 4th-Order Runge-Kutta time integrator. We show that STDG offers a significant improvement of dissipative and dispersive properties and allows larger time steps, regardless of the spatial hp-refinement. A domain-decomposition technique is used to introduce an explicit formulation of the method in order to render it computationally efficient.This work is partially funded by the National Projects TEC2010-20841- C04-04, TEC2013-48414-C3-01, CSD2008-00068, P09-TIC-5327, P12-TIC- 1442, and from the GENIL excellence network

Preface

[ES] La serie «El rol de la inteligencia artificial y la computación distribuida en las aplicaciones IoT» contiene publicaciones sobre la teoría y aplicaciones de la computación distribuida y la inteligencia artificial en el Internet de las cosas. Prácticamente todas las disciplinas como la ingeniería, las ciencias naturales, la informática y las ciencias de la información, las TIC, la economía, los negocios, el comercio electrónico, el medio ambiente, la salud y las ciencias de la vida están cubiertas. La lista de temas abarca todas las áreas de los sistemas inteligentes modernos y la informática como: inteligencia computacional, soft computing incluyendo redes neuronales, inteligencia social, inteligencia ambiental, sistemas auto-organizados y adaptativos, computación centrada en el ser humano y centrada en el ser humano, sistemas de recomendación, control inteligente, robótica y mecatrónica, incluida la colaboración entre el ser humano y la máquina, paradigmas basados en el conocimiento, paradigmas de aprendizaje, ética de la máquina, análisis inteligente de datos, gestión del conocimiento, agentes inteligentes, toma de decisiones inteligentes y apoyo, seguridad de la red inteligente, gestión de la confianza, entretenimiento interactivo, inteligencia de la Web y multimedia. Las publicaciones en el marco de «El rol de la inteligencia artificial y la computación distribuida en las aplicaciones IoT» son principalmente las actas de seminarios, simposios y conferencias. Abarcan importantes novedades recientes en la materia, tanto de naturaleza fundacional como aplicable. Un importante rasgo característico de la serie es el corto tiempo de publicación. Esto permite una rápida y amplia difusión de los resultados de las investigaciones[EN] The series «The Role of Artificial Intelligence and Distributed Computing in IoT Applications» contains publications on the theory and applications of distributed computing and artificial intelligence in the Internet of Things. Virtually all disciplines such as engineering, natural sciences, computer and information sciences, ICT, economics, business, e-commerce, environment, health and life sciences are covered. The list of topics covers all areas of modern intelligent systems and computer science: computational intelligence, soft computing including neural networks, social intelligence, ambient intelligence, self-organising and adaptive systems, human-centred and people-centred computing, recommendation systems, intelligent control, robotics and mechatronics including human-machine collaboration, knowledge-based paradigms, learning paradigms, machine ethics, intelligent data analysis, knowledge management, intelligent agents, intelligent decision making and support, intelligent network security, trust management, interactive entertainment, web intelligence, and multimedia. The publications in the framework of «The Role of Artificial Intelligence and Distributed Computing in IoT Applications» are mainly the proceedings of seminars, symposia and conferences. They cover important recent developments in the field, whether of a foundational or applicable character. An important feature of the series is the short publication time. This allows for the rapid and wide dissemination of research results

Influence of plasma-generated negative oxygen ion impingement on magnetron sputtered amorphous SiO2 thin films during growth at low temperatures

Growth of amorphous SiO2 thin films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering at low temperatures has been studied under different oxygen partial pressure conditions. Film microstructures varied from coalescent vertical column-like to homogeneous compact microstructures, possessing all similar refractive indexes. A discussion on the process responsible for the different microstructures is carried out focusing on the influence of (i) the surface shadowing mechanism, (ii) the positive ion impingement on the film, and (iii) the negative ion impingement. We conclude that only the trend followed by the latter and, in particular, the impingement of O- ions with kinetic energies between 20 and 200 eV, agrees with the resulting microstructural changes. Overall, it is also demonstrated that there are two main microstructuring regimes in the growth of amorphous SiO2 thin films by magnetron sputtering at low temperatures, controlled by the amount of O2 in the deposition reactor, which stem from the competition between surface shadowing and ion-induced adatom surface mobilityMinisterio de Innovación español-MAT 2007-65764Ministerio de Innovación español (CONSOLIDER INGENIO 2010)-CSD2008-00023Junta de Andalucía-TEP2275, TEP5283, P07-FQM-03298 y P10-FQM-690