Bayesian estimate of the degree of a polynomial given a noisy data sample

A widely used method to create a continuous representation of a discrete data-set is regression analysis. When the regression model is not based on a mathematical description of the physics underlying the data, heuristic techniques play a crucial role and the model choice can have a significant impact on the result. In this paper, the problem of identifying the most appropriate model is formulated and solved in terms of Bayesian selection. Besides, probability calculus is the best way to choose among different alternatives. The results obtained are applied to the case of both univariate and bivariate polynomials used as trial solutions of systems of thermodynamic partial differential equations.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Metrologi

Reflexiones sobre el cráneo virreinal y su relación con lo contemporáneo

Cráneos descarnados cruzan la mirada con el espectador, algunas veces son sostenidos por un santo meditativo; otras forman parte de una elegante mujer novohispana. Los cráneos habitan los viejos y oscuros muros de la Pinacoteca de la Profesa en las antiguas calles del centro histórico de la Ciudad de México. Estas imágenes misteriosas pueden cautivar o ser repulsivas a los ojos profanos del público contemporáneo, que las contemplan sin entender el sentido que tuvieron en su origen. El presente estudio muestra algunos hallazgos sobre el sentido del cráneo en la pintura virreinal. Para la interpretación de las obras, se utilizó un método basado en la iconografía

Externalising moods and psychological states in a cloud based system to enhance a pet-robot and child’s interaction

Background:This PATRICIA research project is about using pet robots to reduce pain and anxiety in hospitalized children. The study began 2 years ago and it is believed that the advances made in this project are significant. Patients, parents, nurses, psycholo- gists, and engineers have adopted the Pleo robot, a baby dinosaur robotic pet, which works in different ways to assist children during hospitalization. Methods: Focus is spent on creating a wireless communication system with the Pleo in order to help the coordinator, who conducts therapy with the child, monitor, under- stand, and control Pleo’s behavior at any moment. This article reports how this techno- logical function is being developed and tested. Results: Wireless communication between the Pleo and an Android device is achieved. The developed Android app allows the user to obtain any state of the robot without stopping its interaction with the patient. Moreover, information is sent to a cloud, so that robot moods, states and interactions can be shared among different robots. Conclusions: Pleo attachment was successful for more than 1 month, working with children in therapy, which makes the investment capable of positive therapeutic possibilities. This technical improvement in the Pleo addresses two key issues in social robotics: needing an enhanced response to maintain the attention and engagement of the child, and using the system as a platform to collect the states of the child’s progress for clinical purposes.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Sense and sensitivity of double beta decay experiments

The search for neutrinoless double beta decay is a very active field in which the number of proposals for next-generation experiments has proliferated. In this paper we attempt to address both the sense and the sensitivity of such proposals. Sensitivity comes first, by means of proposing a simple and unambiguous statistical recipe to derive the sensitivity to a putative Majorana neutrino mass, m_bb. In order to make sense of how the different experimental approaches compare, we apply this recipe to a selection of proposals, comparing the resulting sensitivities. We also propose a "physics-motivated range" (PMR) of the nuclear matrix elements as a unifying criterium between the different nuclear models. The expected performance of the proposals is parametrized in terms of only four numbers: energy resolution, background rate (per unit time, isotope mass and energy), detection efficiency, and bb isotope mass. For each proposal, both a reference and an optimistic scenario for the experimental performance are studied. In the reference scenario we find that all the proposals will be able to partially explore the degenerate spectrum, without fully covering it, although four of them (KamLAND-Zen, CUORE, NEXT and EXO) will approach the 50 meV boundary. In the optimistic scenario, we find that CUORE and the xenon-based proposals (KamLAND-Zen, EXO and NEXT) will explore a significant fraction of the inverse hierarchy, with NEXT covering it almost fully. For the long term future, we argue that Xe-based experiments may provide the best case for a 1-ton scale experiment, given the potentially very low backgrounds achievable and the expected scalability to large isotope masses.Comment: 30 pages, 12 figures, 6 table