Delimited Massively Parallel Algorithm based on Rules Elimination for Application of Active Rules in Transition P Systems

In the field of Transition P systems implementation, it has been determined that it is very important to determine in advance how long takes evolution rules application in membranes. Moreover, to have time estimations of rules application in membranes makes possible to take important decisions related to hardware/software architectures design. The work presented here introduces an algorithm for applying active evolution rules in Transition P systems, which is based on active rules elimination. The algorithm complies the requisites of being nondeterministic, massively parallel, and what is more important, it is time delimited because it is only dependant on the number of membrane evolution rules

Application of digital speckle interferometry to visualize surface changes in metallic samples immersed in Cu(NO3)2 solutions

Digital speckle pattern interferometry (DSPI) has been applied to analyze surface corrosion processes in a metallic sample immersed in a 0.1 M Cu(NO3)2 solution. The corrosion process induces changes in the surface and in the solution refractive index. A detailed analysis of the DSPI measurements has been performed to obtain a two-dimensional visualization of the surface changes and an evaluation of the refractive index changes of the solution. The possibilities of DSPI for measuring surface changes in these conditions have been analyzed.Funding of this research by Spanish MINECO and the European FEDER Program (Project MAT2011-22719) and by Gobierno de Aragón (Research groups T12 and T76) is gratefully acknowledged. Authors would also like to acknowledge the use of Servicio General de Apoyo a la Investigación-SAI, Universidad de Zaragoza.Peer Reviewe

A task-driven design model for collaborative AmI systems

Proceedings of the CAISE*06 Workshop on Ubiquitous Mobile Information and Collaboration Systems UMICS '06. Luxemburg, June 5-9, 2006.The proceedings of this workshop also appeared in printed version In T. Latour and M. Petit (eds), Proceedings of Workshops and Doctoral Consortium, The 18th International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering - Trusted Information Systems (CAiSE'06), June 5-9, 2006, Presses Universitaires de Namur, 2006, ISBN 2-87037-525.Also published online by CEUR Workshop Proceedings (CEUR-WS.org, ISSN 1613-0073)Ambient intelligence (AmI) is a promising paradigm for humancentred interaction based on mobile and context-aware computing, natural interfaces and collaborative work. AMENITIES (a conceptual and methodological framework based on task-based models) has been specially devised for collaborative systems and is the starting point for a new design proposal for application to AmI systems. This paper proposes a task-based model for designing collaborative AmI systems, which attempts to gather the computational representation of the concepts involved (tasks, laws, etc.) and the relationships between them in order to develop a complete functional environment in relation with the features of AmI systems (collaborative, context-aware, dynamic, proactive, etc.). The research has been applied to an e-learning environment and is implemented using a blackboard model.This research is partially supported by a Spanish R&D Project TIN2004-03140, Ubiquitous Collaborative Adaptive Training (U-CAT)

A design model applied to development of AmI systems

Also published online by CEUR Workshop Proceedings (CEUR-WS.org, ISSN 1613-0073)Proceedings of the I International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing: Applications, Technology and Social Issues Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain, June 7-9, 2006.Ambient intelligence (AmI) represents a promising paradigm for group-centred collaborative interaction with the surrounding environment. The complexity for AmI designs is closely connected with the mechanism for describing their inherent features. What would be interesting is a method which is capable of describing these properties in a straightforward way. Task modelling techniques are a suitable method for AmI systems. This paper describes a new design and implementation proposal for developing AmI systems, starting from the conceptual and methodological frameworks proposed by AMENITIES, a methodology based on task and behaviour models for the study and development of cooperative systems, extending it with inherent AmI features. With respect to the implementation of AmI systems, an intermediate software layer supporting common functional requirements is supplied in order to simplify their development. The overall scheme therefore simplifies the analysis and development of such systems. These features are shown in a case study of a collaborative e-learning AmI systemThis research is partially supported by a Spanish R&D Project TIN2004-03140, Ubiquitous Collaborative Adaptive Training (U-CAT)

Development of ambient intelligence systems based on collaborative task models

So far, the Ambient Intelligence (AmI) paradigm has been applied to the development of a great variety of real systems. They use advanced technologies such as ubiquitous computing, natural interaction and active spaces, which become part of social environments. In the design of AmI systems, the inherent collaboration among users (with the purpose of achieving common goals) is usually represented and treated in an ad-hoc manner. However, the development of this kind of systems can take advantage of rich design models which embrace concepts in the domain of collaborative systems in order to provide the adequate support for explicit or implicit collaboration. Thereby, relevant requirements to be satisfied, such as an effective coordination of human activities by means of task scheduling, demand to dynamically manage and provide group- and context-awareness information. This paper addresses the integration of both proactive and collaborative aspects into a unique design model for the development of AmI systems; in particular, the proposal has been applied to a learning system. Furthermore, the implementation of this system is based on a blackboardbased architecture, which provides a well-defined high-level interface to the physical layer.This research is partially supported by a Spanish R&D Project TIN2004-03140, Ubiquitous Collaborative Adaptive Training (U-CAT)

Single-Incision Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: Is It a Plausible Alternative to the Traditional Four-Port Laparoscopic Approach?

The current standard-of-care for treatment of cholecystectomy is the four port laparoscopic approach. The development of single incision/laparoendoscopic single site surgery (SILC/LESS) has now led to the development of new techniques for removal of the gallbladder. The use of SILC/LESS is now currently being evaluated as the next step in treatment of cholecystectomy. This review is an attempt to consolidate the current knowledge and analyze the feasibility of world-wide implementation of SILC/LESS

Down-regulation of a pectin acetylesterase gene modifies strawberry fruit cell wall pectin stracture and increases fruit firmness

Antisense-mediated down-regulation of several fruit-specific genes has previously demonstrated how the cell wall disassembly in strawberry fruit is mediated by a series of enzymes that act sequentially (Posé et al. 2011). An interesting example, the silencing of the polygalacturonase gene FaPG1, was also related with a significant increase of the post-harvest strawberry fruit firmness (Posé et al. 2013). Our research group has isolated a pectin acetylesterase gene, FaPAE1, which expression is enhanced during strawberry ripening. The main goal of this work was to elucidate the role of the degree of acetylation in cell wall integrity and fruit firmness through the antisense-mediated down-regulation of FaPAE1 in strawberry plants. Several transgenics lines were generated and 5 of them produced fruits 5-15% firmer than controls. Cell wall from ripe fruits was isolated from two independent transgenic lines and a control line, and sequentially extracted with different solvents (PAW, H2O, CDTA, Na2CO3). Modifications in fraction yield, its sugar composition and the degree of acetylation in each fraction were determined. Higher amounts of CDTA and Na2CO3 fractions were obtained in transgenic fruits, suggesting a decreased pectin solubilization as results of FaPAE1 silencing. Accordingly, the degree of acetylation of the Na2CO3-soluble pectins was greater in the transgenic lines than the control, but the opposite result was found in pectins from the CDTA fraction. These results suggest that PAE is preferentially active in pectis that are tightly bound to the cellulose-hemicellulose network and its activity could reduce the complexity of the cell wall structure, allowing that other hydrolytic enzymes could access the pectin chains. Thus, the increased fruit firmness observed in the transgenic FaPAE1 lines could be attributed to the direct effect of the silencing of the PAE enzyme and also to the indirect effect that the increase of the degree of acetylation of pectins has on the activity of other enzymes involved in the cell wall degradation. * Posé et al. (2011). Genes, Genomes and Genomics, 5 (Special Issue 1):40-48 * Posé et al. (2013). Plant Physiology, 150: 1022-1032 We acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and competitivity and Feder EU Funds (grant reference AGL2011-24814), FPI fellowships support for SP (BES-2006-13626) and CP (BES-2009027985), and grant "Ramón y Cajal" support for AJMA (RYC-2011-08839).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Respuesta de la Soya (Glycine max L. Merril) al Biorregulador Agrostemin y a la Inoculacion de Rhizobium Japánicum (Kirchner) en dos Tipos de Suelos

Este trabajo se realizó en el municipio de Santa Marta, departamento del Magdalena. El área donde se efectuó el ensayo se encuentra localizada en los terrenos de la Universidad Tecnológica del Magdalena, más exactamente en la granja experimental; presenta la o siguiente posición astronómica: 74° 07´ Y 74° 12´ de longitud oeste; 11° 11 y 11° 15' de latitud norte, situada en el noroeste de Colombia. La zona de experimento presenta una altura de 4 metros sobre el nivel del mar, una precipitación promedia de 624,4 mm anuales, temperaturas que oscilan entre los 28 y los 56°C y la humedad relativa entre 74 y 76%. Este ensayo se llevó a cabo con el fin de probar la respuesta de la variedad de soya (Glycine max (L) Merril), PELICAN SM-ICA al biorregulador Agrostemín con diferentes dosis en la semilla y foliarmente y a la inoculación con Rhizobium japonicum (Kirshner). El experimento se efectuó en un tiempo aproximado de 110 días comprendidos desde mediados de septiembre de 1984 hasta comienzos de enero de 1985. El diseño empleado en el ensayo fue una factorial con arreglo combinatorio y distribución en bloque al azar, 4 replicaciones y 10 tratamientos en dos tipos de suelos. Las dosis fueron de 0, 50, 100, 150 y 200 gr de Agrostemín por hectárea con y sin inoculó. Durante el desarrollo de este estudio se hicieron las siguientes observaciones: días de siembra a germinación, días de germinación a cosecha, dehiscencia en las vainas y volcamiento. Se evaluaron los siguientes parámetros: rendimiento, días de siembra a germanacion, altura de las Plantas a los 20, 30, 60 días y al momento de la cosecha, número de vainas por planta, número de nódulos, número de granos por vaina y longitud de la raíz. Al analizar los rendimientos obtenidos se puede ver que la mayor producción se logró en el suelo normal inoculado en dosis de 200, 150 y 190 gr de Agrostemín con 956,07, 740,66 y 724,57 kg/ha respectivamente y luego el suelo salino inoculado en dosis de 100 gr de Agrostemin/Ha con 708,32 kg/Ha. Al hacer el análisis de varianza para el rendimiento en kg/ha se observa que hubo una alta significancia en los tratamientos en lo que al inoculo se refiere, en tanto que el suelo presentó una significancia al 5%. No hubo diferencia significativa en bloques, producto ni las diferentes interacciones

Identifying the winter grounds of the recently described Barbary Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus baeticatus ambiguus)

The Iberian and North African populations of reed warblers have been described recently as a separate taxon, ambiguus, forming a sister clade to the Sahelian subspecies minor of African Reed Warbler Acrocephalus baeticatus. Although the breeding range of ambiguus has been identified, the migration strategy of its populations remained unknown. We deployed geolocators and sampled the innermost primary from breeding adults in Spain for stable hydrogen (d2H) analyses and also analysed stable carbon (d13C) and nitrogen (d15N) isotopes in feathers collected in two reed warbler taxa (Acrocephalus scirpaceus and Acrocephalus baeticatus ambiguus) in Morocco, to identify the moulting and wintering sites of these populations. Ring recoveries, geolocator tracks and probabilistic assignments to origin from d2H values indicate that Spanish ambiguus are likely to moult south of the Sahara and winter in West Africa, probably from Mauretania to southern Mali and Ivory Coast. Moroccan ambiguus, however, undergo post-breeding moult north of the Sahara, and possibly then migrate to West Africa. With other populations of ambiguus breeding from Algeria to Libya and probably wintering further east in the Sahelian belt, the Barbary Reed Warbler can therefore be considered a trans-Saharan migrant, with a post-breeding moult strategy that varies between populations, and probably structured according to breeding latitude

A first approach to the Paleoentomology present in the Quaternarian sites of Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain): the subfossil oribatid fauna (Acari, Oribatida)

8 páginas, 3 figuras, 2 tablas.[ES] Los yacimientos cuaternarios de la Sierra de Atapuerca ofrecen interés mundial por haber hospedado varias especies de homínidos que vivieron en el último millón de años. En este contexto, durante la campaña de excavaciones de 2003 se realizó un muestreo puntual en algunos de sus yacimientos para obtener los primeros datos de restos de artrópodos que pudieran conservarse en los mismos. En este trabajo se presentan los resultados obtenidos de ácaros subfósiles pertenecientes al suborden de los oribátidos (Acari, Oribatida). Después de procesar los sedimentos, se obtuvieron un total de 7 individuos en el conjunto de los yacimientos muestreados, de los cuales 6 aparecieron en Gran Dolina en un nivel con datación en torno a los 300.000 años. Los ejemplares, identificados en su mayoría a nivel taxonómico de especie, pertenecen a las familias Cosmochthoniidae, Scheloribatidae, Oribatulidae y Hemileiidae. Dado el conocimiento que se dispone de la biología de los taxones encontrados, que pertenecen a géneros y especies presentes en la actualidad, se han realizado inferencias sobre los ambientes pretéritos en que los animales vivieron.[EN] The Atapuerca Quaternarian sites are of worldwide interest due to the presence of human remains belonging to the last million years. The oribatid mites (Acari, Oribatida) found in several archaeological samples extracted from the Atapuerca Quaternarian deposits, have been analyzed during the 2003 excavation campaign to study the Palaeoentomology of the site. The oribatid mite fauna consists of 7 individuals, 6 of which were obtained from Gran Dolina site (about 300.000 years old) and belong to families Cosmochthoniidae, Scheloribatidae, Oribatulidae and Hemileiidae. Most of the taxa were identified to species level. The results obtained were used as a basis to reconstruct the paleo-environments of the site in correspondence with the biological and ecological preferences of the taxa.Las investigaciones entomológicas de Atapuerca se realizaron dentro del Proyecto BOS2003-08938-C03-02.Peer reviewe