Discovering New Sentiments from the Social Web

A persistent challenge in Complex Systems (CS) research is the phenomenological reconstruction of systems from raw data. In order to face the problem, the use of sound features to reason on the system from data processing is a key step. In the specific case of complex societal systems, sentiment analysis allows to mirror (part of) the affective dimension. However it is not reasonable to think that individual sentiment categorization can encompass the new affective phenomena in digital social networks. The present papers addresses the problem of isolating sentiment concepts which emerge in social networks. In an analogy to Artificial Intelligent Singularity, we propose the study and analysis of these new complex sentiment structures and how they are similar to or diverge from classic conceptual structures associated to sentiment lexicons. The conjecture is that it is highly probable that hypercomplex sentiment structures -not explained with human categorizations- emerge from high dynamic social information networks. Roughly speaking, new sentiment can emerge from the new global nervous systems as it occurs in humans

An updated overview on the relationship between human gut microbiome dysbiosis and psychiatric and psychological disorders

Existe mucha evidencia que establece que el desarrollo del sistema nervioso está relacionado con la composición y funciones del microbioma intestinal. Además, el sistema nervioso central (SNC) controla el desequilibrio de la microbiota intestinal, constituyendo un sistema de comunicación bidireccional. En la actualidad, se han descrito varias rutas de comunicación entre el intestino y el cerebro, incluidos circuitos inmunológicos, endocrinos y neuronales a través de la vía vagal. Varios datos empíricos han asociado alteraciones de la microbiota intestinal (disbiosis) con enfermedades neuropsiquiátricas, como Enfermedad de Alzheimer, autismo y enfermedad de Parkinson, y con otros trastornos psicológicos, como ansiedad y depresión. La terapia de trasplante de microbiota fecal (FMT) ha demostrado que la microbiota intestinal puede transferir características de comportamiento a los animales receptores, lo que proporciona pruebas sólidas para establecer una relación causal-efecto. Las intervenciones, basadas en prebióticos, probióticos o simbióticos, han demostrado una importante influencia de la microbiota en los trastornos neurológicos mediante la síntesis de compuestos neuroactivos que interactúan con el sistema nervioso y por la regulación de procesos inflamatorios y endocrinos. Se necesitan más investigaciones para demostrar la influencia de la disbiosis de la microbiota intestinal en los trastornos psiquiátricos y psicológicos, y cómo las intervenciones basadas en la microbiota pueden usarse como posibles herramientas terapéuticas.Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBU

Human gut microbiome, diet, and mental disorders.

Diet is one of the most important external factor shaping the composition and metabolic activities of the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in host health, including immune system development, nutrients metabolism, and the synthesis of bioactive molecules. In addition, the gut microbiome has been described as critical for the development of several mental disorders. Nutritional psychiatry is an emerging field of research that may provide a link between diet, microbial function, and brain health. In this study, we have reviewed the influence of different diet types, such as Western, Mediterranean, vegetarian, and ketogenic, on the gut microbiota composition and function, and their implication in various neuropsychiatric and psychological disorders.Funding for Open Access: Universidad de Málaga/CBU

Influence of human gut microbiome on the healthy and the neurodegenerative aging

The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in host health throughout the lifespan by influencing brain function during aging. The microbial diversity of the human gut microbiome decreases during the aging process and, as a consequence, several mechanisms increase, such as oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammatory response, and microbial gut dysbiosis. Moreover, evidence indicates that aging and neurodegeneration are closely related; consequently, the gut microbiome may serve as a novel marker of lifespan in the elderly. In this narrative study, we investigated how the changes in the composition of the gut microbiome that occur in aging influence to various neuropathological disorders, such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), dementia, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and Parkinson’s disease (PD); and which are the possible mechanisms that govern the relationship between the gut microbiome and cognitive impairment. In addition, several studies suggest that the gut microbiome may be a potential novel target to improve hallmarks of brain aging and to promote healthy cognition; therefore, current and future therapeutic interventions have been also reviewed.Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBU

Fully convolutional architectures for multi-part body segmentation

Treballs finals del Màster de Fonaments de Ciència de Dades, Facultat de matemàtiques, Universitat de Barcelona, Any: 2018, Tutor: Meysam Madadi i Sergio Escalera Guerrero[en] Since the appearance of the baseline Fully Convolutinal Network (FCN), convolution architectures usage has spread widely among Deep Neural Networks: from classification tasks to object tracking, they are found ubiquitously in the Deep Learning field. In this study, three different convolutional architectures are studied with regard its application to the semantic segmentation of the human body: ICNet, a different resolution cascade network, SegNet, a encoder-decoder network, and Stacked Hourglass, a specially purposed network for the human body. For this purpose, the SURREAL (Synthetic hUmans foR REAL tasks) dataset, which consists of synthetically rendered but realistic images of people, is used. As a result, is shown that the best performing network for this task is the Stacked Hourglass. Due to its continuous refinement of the output and the use of the full network for inference a 55.3% mIoU is achieved on the 24 body part dataset

Surveillance studies of Lymphocystis disease virus in farmed gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) by real-time PCR

Lymphocystis disease (LCD) is the main viral infection reported to affect cultured gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) in Southern Atlantic and Mediterranean aquaculture. Its etiological agent is the Lymphocystis disease virus (LCDV), a member of the family Iridoviridae (genus Lymphocystivirus). The only adequate measures for LCD prevention in the aquaculture systems are general prophylactic practices, such as the control of fish to be introduced in the farm facilities in order to detect carrier fish. These animals may pose a risk for the introduction of LCDV in fish farms, as direct contact between fish specimens is considered the main route of LCDV spreading. More recently, asymptomatic carrier breeders, as well as virus contaminated-live food, have been involved in LCDV transmission to fish larvae. The detection of subclinical viral infections in carrier fish requires the use of sensitive diagnostic methods. In this context, the objective of this study was to establish the applicability of a real-time PCR assay for LCDV diagnosis in surveillance studies. In addition, the assay has been evaluated with samples from a gilthead seabream hatchery, in order to prove its utility to trace the origin of LCDV in fish farms. Juvenile fish were collected at four farms with different background regarding to LCD. LCDV was detected in all farms, and 30 to 100% of fish were identified as LCDV-infected. Estimated viral load in caudal fin of asymptomatic fish was two to five orders of magnitude lower than in diseased fish. Carrier fish were also identified in the broodstock from a farm with LCD records by analysing caudal fin samples by qPCR. In this farm, the q-PCR assay developed in this study allowed the quantitative detection of LCDV in all samples collected in the hatchery, including fertilized eggs, larvae and fingerlings, and also rotifer cultures and artemia metanauplii and cysts used for larval rearing.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Course of infection with Lymphocystis disease virus in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata)

Lymphocystis disease virus (LCDV) is the etiological agent of lymphocystis disease (LCD), a pathology that affects a wide variety of fish species. Data about LCDV pathogenesis are very short, and mainly limited to histopathological studies of skin lesions. Recent studies on viral genome detection (both by PCR or DNA-DNA in situ hybridization) suggest that LCDV establish a systemic and persistent infection in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), but further studies are necessary to prove if this infection is productive or not. In the present study viral quantification and viral mRNA detection (by qPCR and RT-qPCR) have been used to investigate LCDV multiplication in different organs of juvenile gilthead seabream. In addition, a histopathological study was carried out. Animals were collected from two commercial farms in Southwestern Spain. In one farm, where no LCD outbreaks have been recorded, apparently healthy fish were collected, whereas in the other farm, diseased and recovered (two months after LCD symptoms disappearance) fish were sampled. All the animals were LCDV-infected, and viral gene expression was detected in every organ analysed (caudal fin, intestine, liver, spleen, kidney and brain). In asymptomatic animals, both apparently healthy and recovered, a low-titre infection was observed, with the highest viral copy numbers detected in brain and kidney. In diseased fish, viral loads were significantly higher than in subclinical infected animals, being maximal in caudal fin, where lymphocysts were present in the dermis. Different histological alterations were observed in the internal organs from diseased fish analysed, although no hypertrophied cells were detected in any of them. In recovered fish, most of the organs examined presented similar histological features to those in healthy animals. Thus, pathological changes were only detected in the intestine and liver, although they were less severe than those observed in diseased fish. The results presented showed that LCDV establishes a systemic infection in juvenile gilthead seabream, which can be subclinical. In addition, although the disease is self-limiting, the virus is not removed after disease recovery, but produces a persistent infection.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

New Perspectives in Monitoring Drinking Water Microbial Quality

The safety of drinking water is evaluated by the results obtained from faecal indicators during the stipulated controls fixed by the legislation. However, drinking-water related illness outbreaks are still occurring worldwide. The failures that lead to these outbreaks are relatively common and typically involve preceding heavy rain and inadequate disinfection processes. The role that classical faecal indicators have played in the protection of public health is reviewed and the turning points expected for the future explored. The legislation for protecting the quality of drinking water in Europe is under revision, and the planned modifications include an update of current indicators and methods as well as the introduction of Water Safety Plans (WSPs), in line with WHO recommendations. The principles of the WSP approach and the advances signified by the introduction of these preventive measures in the future improvement of dinking water quality are presented. The expected impact that climate change will have in the quality of drinking water is also critically evaluated

Explainable Artificial Intelligence in Data Science: From Foundational Issues Towards Socio-technical Considerations

A widespread need to explain the behavior and outcomes of AI-based systems has emerged, due to their ubiquitous presence. Thus, providing renewed momentum to the relatively new research area of eXplainable AI (XAI). Nowadays, the importance of XAI lies in the fact that the increasing control transference to this kind of system for decision making -or, at least, its use for assisting executive stakeholders- already afects many sensitive realms (as in Politics, Social Sciences, or Law). The decision making power handover to opaque AI systems makes mandatory explaining those, primarily in application scenarios where the stakeholders are unaware of both the high technology applied and the basic principles governing the technological solu tions. The issue should not be reduced to a merely technical problem; the explainer would be compelled to transmit richer knowledge about the system (including its role within the informational ecosystem where he/she works). To achieve such an aim, the explainer could exploit, if necessary, practices from other scientifc and humanistic areas. The frst aim of the paper is to emphasize and justify the need for a multidisciplinary approach that is benefciated from part of the scientifc and philosophical corpus on Explaining, underscoring the particular nuances of the issue within the feld of Data Science. The second objective is to develop some arguments justifying the authors’ bet by a more relevant role of ideas inspired by, on the one hand, formal techniques from Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, and on the other hand, the modeling of human reasoning when facing the explanation. This way, explaining modeling practices would seek a sound balance between the pure technical justifcation and the explainer-explainee agreement.Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2019-109152GB-I00/AEI/10.13039/50110001103

Workshop on preparation of Laquer Peels to teach Sedimentology

El presente trabajo presenta el proceso técnico para la elaboración de una piel de laca sobre un perfil de sedimento en el medio natural o en testigos en caja. Estas pieles de laca son reproducciones fieles del original y fáciles de transportar y conservar y en ellas se resalta la estructura interna de tal forma que ésta se visualiza mejor que en el propio perfil sedimentario. El análisis de los perfiles obtenidos mediante la aplicación de esta técnica ofrece una posibilidad de profundización en el proceso de comprensión de los principios de la sedimentología y constituye una herramienta útil en el proceso de enseñanzaaprendizaje.This paper presents the technical process for preparing lacquer peels on a sedimentary profile in the natural environment or in a boxcore. These laquer peels are accurate reproductions of the original, easy to transport and conserve; they highlight the internal structure in such a way that it can be seen better than in the original profile. The analysis of the profiles obtained by applying this technique provides a better understanding of the principles of sedimentology and is a useful tool in the teaching-learning process