Fuzzy logic programs as hypergraphs. Termination results

Graph theory has been a useful tool for logic programming in many aspects. In this paper, we propose an equivalent representation of multi-adjoint logic programs using hypergraphs, which are a generalization of classical graphs that allows the use of hypergraph theory in logic programming. Specifically, this representation has been considered in this paper to increase the level and flexibility of different termination results of the computation of the least model of fuzzy logic programs via the immediate consequence operator. Consequently, the least model of more general and versatile fuzzy logic programs can be obtained after finitely many iterations, although infinite programs or programs with loops and general aggregators will be consideredAgencia Estatal de Investigación PID2019-108991GB-I00Junta de Andalucía FEDER-UCA18-108612European Union COST Action CA1712

A Materials Screening Test of Corrosion Monitoring in LiNO3 Containing Molten Salts as a Thermal Energy Storage Material for CSP Plants

Concentrated solar power (CSP) plants, in the context of thermal energy storage (TES) upgrades, need to provide a timely and effective response to the corrosion process that occurs due to the effect of high temperatures, where one of the main challenges is to control its effect, and thus the costs related to the materials used. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and linear polarization resistance (LPR) were applied in this study as a corrosion monitoring technique. The electrochemical tests were carried out on the materials AISI304, AISI430, and HR-224 immersed in a mixture of ternary salt composed of 57 wt.% KNO3 + 13 wt.% NaNO3 + 30 wt.% LiNO3 at 550 °C during 100 h of exposure and subsequently compared with solar salt. The test was also carried out on the VM12 alloy in the ternary salt with lithium content at 100 and 1000 h of exposure at 550 °C. The corrosion tests show that the materials conform to a model of protective layer in which the same results were contrasted with the chemical corrosion mechanism of nitrate mixture. According to the results obtained in this research, electrochemical techniques could be an interesting option to control corrosion in CSP plants and reduce operational risks during operation.The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by CONICYT/FONDAP 15110019 “Solar Energy Research Center” SERC-Chile and FONDEQUIP EQM170111

Lack of Additive Effects of Resveratrol and Energy Restriction in the Treatment of Hepatic Steatosis in Rats

The aims of the present study were to analyze the effect of resveratrol on liver steatosis in obese rats, to compare the effects induced by resveratrol and energy restriction and to research potential additive effects. Rats were initially fed a high-fat high-sucrose diet for six weeks and then allocated in four experimental groups fed a standard diet: a control group, a resveratrol-treated group, an energy restricted group and a group submitted to energy restriction and treated with resveratrol. We measured liver triacylglycerols, transaminases, FAS, MTP, CPT1a, CS, COX, SDH and ATP synthase activities, FATP2/FATP5, DGAT2, PPAR alpha, SIRT1, UCP2 protein expressions, ACC and AMPK phosphorylation and PGC1 alpha deacetylation. Resveratrol reduced triacylglycerols compared with the controls, although this reduction was lower than that induced by energy restriction. The mechanisms of action were different. Both decreased protein expression of fatty acid transporters, thus suggesting reduced fatty acid uptake from blood stream and liver triacylglycerol delivery, but only energy restriction reduced the assembly. These results show that resveratrol is useful for liver steatosis treatment within a balanced diet, although its effectiveness is lower than that of energy restriction. However, resveratrol is unable to increase the reduction in triacylglycerol content induced by energy restriction.The aims of the present study were to analyze the effect of resveratrol on liver steatosis in obese rats, to compare the effects induced by resveratrol and energy restriction and to research potential additive effects. Rats were initially fed a high-fat high-sucrose diet for six weeks and then allocated in four experimental groups fed a standard diet: a control group, a resveratrol-treated group, an energy restricted group and a group submitted to energy restriction and treated with resveratrol. We measured liver triacylglycerols, transaminases, FAS, MTP, CPT1a, CS, COX, SDH and ATP synthase activities, FATP2/FATP5, DGAT2, PPAR alpha, SIRT1, UCP2 protein expressions, ACC and AMPK phosphorylation and PGC1 alpha deacetylation. Resveratrol reduced triacylglycerols compared with the controls, although this reduction was lower than that induced by energy restriction. The mechanisms of action were different. Both decreased protein expression of fatty acid transporters, thus suggesting reduced fatty acid uptake from blood stream and liver triacylglycerol delivery, but only energy restriction reduced the assembly. These results show that resveratrol is useful for liver steatosis treatment within a balanced diet, although its effectiveness is lower than that of energy restriction. However, resveratrol is unable to increase the reduction in triacylglycerol content induced by energy restriction

Análisis bibliométrico de la influencia de la corrupción y la regulación en la actividad emprendedora

The difficulty of starting a business, in relation to red tape, has awaken interest of researchers from different scientific fields. But, added to the problem of red tape, we find that entrepreneurial activity is influenced by informal institutions such as corruption, which become visible in the entrepreneurial process. This research analyzes the scientific evolution in relation to the influence of corruption and regulation in the entrepreneurial activity according to the economic growth, under the approach of the Institutional Economic Theory. Through the analysis of the number of published works, the percentage of the same in the field of investigation and the index of citation of the same. Our first conclusions lead us to think that in recent years there is a special interest in the influence of corruption and regulation on entrepreneurshipLa dificultad de iniciar un negocio, con relación a los trámites administrativos, ha despertado el interés de los investigadores de diferentes ámbitos científicos. Pero además, añadido al problema de la burocracia administrativa, nos encontramos que la actividad emprendedora se ve influenciada por instituciones informales como la corrupción, que se hacen visibles en el proceso emprendedor. El presente trabajo de investigación analiza la evolución científica con relación a la influencia de la corrupción y la regulación en la actividad emprendedora en función del crecimiento económico, bajo el enfoque de la Teoría Económica Institucional. A través del análisis de los trabajos publicados, el porcentaje de los mismos en el campo de investigación y el índice de citación de los mismos, nuestras primeras conclusiones nos llevan a pensar que en los últimos años existe un especial interés en la influencia de la corrupción y la regulación en la actividad emprendedora

Towards the Use of Hypergraphs in Multi-adjoint Logic Programming

The representation of a logic program by a graph is a useful procedure in order to obtain interesting properties of the program and in the computation of the least model, when it exists. In this paper, we consider hypergraphs for representing multi-adjoint logic programs and, based on this representation, the hypotheses of an interesting termination result have been weakened

Study of rapid ionisation for simulation of soft X-ray lasers with the 2D hydro-radiative code ARWEN

We present our fast ionisation routine used to study transient softX-raylasers with ARWEN, a two-dimensional hydrodynamic code incorporating adaptative mesh refinement (AMR) and radiative transport. We compute global rates between ion stages assuming an effective temperature between singly-excited levels of each ion. A two-step method is used to obtain in a straightforward manner the variation of ion populations over long hydrodynamic time steps. We compare our model with existing theoretical results both stationary and transient, finding that the discrepancies are moderate except for large densities. We simulate an existing Molybdenum Ni-like transient softX-raylaser with ARWEN. Use of the fast ionisation routine leads to a larger increase in temperature and a larger gain zone than when LTE datatables are used

Susceptibility of Domestic Goat (Capra aegagrus hircus) to Experimental Infection with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) B.1.351/Beta Variant

A wide range of animal species are susceptible to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Natural and/or experimental infections have been reported in pet, zoo, farmed and wild animals. Interestingly, some SARS-CoV-2 variants, such as B.1.1.7/Alpha, B.1.351/Beta, and B.1.1.529/Omicron, were demonstrated to infect some animal species not susceptible to classical viral variants. The present study aimed to elucidate if goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) are susceptible to the B.1.351/Beta variant. First, an in silico approach was used to predict the affinity between the receptor-binding domain of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.351/Beta variant and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 from goats. Moreover, we performed an experimental inoculation with this variant in domestic goat and showed evidence of infection. SARS-CoV-2 was detected in nasal swabs and tissues by RT-qPCR and/or immunohistochemistry, and seroneutralisation was confirmed via ELISA and live virus neutralisation assays. However, the viral amount and tissue distribution suggest a low susceptibility of goats to the B.1.351/Beta variant. Therefore, although monitoring livestock is advisable, it is unlikely that goats play a role as SARS-CoV-2 reservoir species, and they are not useful surrogates to study SARS-CoV-2 infection in farmed animals.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Un análisis de la actividad emprendedora de Extremadura de los últimos 15 años. Elaborado a partir de los datos del observatorio GEM 2003-2018

Universidad de Extremadura, Junta de Extremadura, Sodiex, CC. NN. Almaraz-Trillo, Philip Morris Spain, S.L., Grupo Ros Multimedia, Diputación de Badajoz, Tambo, Tany Nature, Avante Extremadura, Fundecyt-Parque Científico de Extremadur

Population-based colorectal cancer screening programmes using a faecal immunochemical test:Should faecal haemoglobin cut-offs differ by age and sex?

Abstract Background The Basque Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme has both high participation rate and high compliance rate of colonoscopy after a positive faecal occult blood test (FIT). Although, colorectal cancer (CRC) screening with biannual (FIT) has shown to reduce CRC mortality, the ultimate effectiveness of the screening programmes depends on the accuracy of FIT and post-FIT colonoscopy, and thus, harms related to false results might not be underestimated. Current CRC screening programmes use a single faecal haemoglobin concentration (f-Hb) cut-off for colonoscopy referral for both sexes and all ages. We aimed to determine optimum f-Hb cut-offs by sex and age without compromising neoplasia detection and interval cancer proportion. Methods Prospective cohort study using a single-sample faecal immunochemical test (FIT) on 444,582 invited average-risk subjects aged 50–69 years. A result was considered positive at ≥20 μg Hb/g faeces. Outcome measures were analysed by sex and age for a wide range of f-Hb cut-offs. Results We analysed 17,387 positive participants in the programme who underwent colonoscopy. Participation rate was 66.5%. Men had a positivity rate for f-Hb of 8.3% and women 4.8% (p < 0.0001). The detection rate for advanced neoplasia (cancer plus advanced adenoma) was 44.0‰ for men and 15.9‰ for women (p < 0.0001). The number of colonoscopies required decreased in both sexes and all age groups through increasing the f-Hb cut-off. However, the loss in CRC detection increased by up to 28.1% in men and 22.9% in women. CRC missed were generally at early stages (Stage I-II: from 70.2% in men to 66.3% in women). Conclusions This study provides detailed outcomes in men and women of different ages at a range of f-Hb cut-offs. We found differences in positivity rates, neoplasia detection rate, number needed to screen, and interval cancers in men and women and in younger and older groups. However, there are factors other than sex and age to consider when consideration is given to setting the f-Hb cut-off

Profundización en metodologías y espacios docentes innovadores

Fac. de FilologíaFALSEsubmitte