Diputacions : l’ens qüestionat

Treball Final de Grau en Periodisme. Codi: PE0932.Curs: 2014/2015Es presenta un reportatge que aprofundeix sobre l’administració provincial i les diputacions provincials. El reportatge desenvolupa el debat sobre la utilitat, avantatges i problemes de les diputacions provincials en l’actualitat. Aquesta discussió ha estat present en els darrers anys a l’esfera política i social. Des de l’any 2011, aquest debat es va fer més patent, quan en el moment més crític de la crisi econòmica, molts partits polítics van analitzar el funcionament de les diputacions i es van posicionar. El debat sobre l’eficàcia i la utilitat de les diputacions provincials inclou diferents temes, com el seu funcionament, la seva eficàcia i el seu futur. El reportatge ofereix diferents punts de vista de la situació actual de les diputacions mitjançant entrevistes de càrrecs polítics que han treballat per a l’administració i l’opinió experta d’un professor de dret que analitza aquesta administració.A report that involves the debate of the provincial administration and the provincial government. This report develops the debate about the usefulness, advantages and problems of the provincial government nowadays. The discussion about the utility of the provincial administration has been present regularly in the political and social sphere. Since 2011 it became more relevant when in the most critical moment of the economic crisis, political parties analyzed the situation of the administration. The debate over the usefulness and utility of the provincial administration covers several topics, such its functioning, their efficiency and its future. The report offers different points of view on the current situation of the provincial government with interviews to politicians who have worked in the administration and the expert opinion of a law professor that gives an outlook of the regional administrations

eCultura. Platform for Preservation and Exploitation of Cultural Content

Poster presentado en Cultural Heritage on line (2009).The eCultura project aims at developing a semantically-enriched web platform that enables cultural heritage institutions to manage and exhibit the semantics of publicly available web assets at a minimal cost and with a short investments on required software infrastructure. The platform will provide a complete set of applications and services to enhance the user experience when accessing web-based contents of the cultural domain. These services include semantic wikis, multimedia annotations, timeline presentations, interactive maps, and so on, which are deployed on a common platform. The eCultura platform is integrated by a number of open source applications grounded on a semantic web infrastructure that supports the semantic integration of all services. Semantic web technologies enable to share information among these services, as well as provide interoperability with external systems. W3C knowledge representation languages and standards are used to describe concepts of the cultural domain and provide a semantically interoperable environment. Web 2.0 techniques are used to build user communities around the shared information of cultural institutions, having the specific goal of exploiting their knowledge base in learning and educational environments. The communication among software components and applications is based on a producer/consumer model. Some services, such as wikis and blogs, work as source of information and knowledge, while other services, such as interactive maps and timeline, work as consumers to exploit the semantically enriched information. The knowledge base is stored on a shared OWL repository gathering the semantics of diverse cultural fields, including the CIDOC reference model, the FRBR ontology and the MusicOntology

Factors influencing the charge distribution on PdxPty bimetallic nanoparticles

AbstractWe performed quantum mechanics calculations to elucidate the electronic behavior of Pd-Pt bimetallic nanoparticles, using density functional theory, in response to particle size and stoichiometric composition. Using neutrally charged nanoparticles and the Bader charge analysis, we found that external Pd atoms were positively charged, which agrees with previous XPS observations of supported Pd-Pt nanoparticles. From the calculations, unsupported nanoparticles exhibit an electron transfer from Pd to Pt. This result supports the idea that Pd electron-deficient species are possibly responsible of the hydrogenating function of these catalysts, in the hydrodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene. Additionally, it was found that the particle size does not affect the electronic charge distribution and the stoichiometric composition is the factor that greatly influences this property in nanoparticles.Keywords: Pd-Pt nanoparticles, Bader charge analysis, DFT, bimetallic clusters.Factores que influyen en la distribución de carga en nanopartículas bimetálicas de PdxPtyResumenSe llevó a cabo la simulación del comportamiento electrónico de nanopartículas bimetálicas de Pd-Pt mediante cálculos mecanocuánticos, utilizando la teoría del funcional de densidad, con el fin de predecir la influencia en dicho comportamiento, de factores como el tamaño y la composición estequiométrica de la nanopartícula. Al considerar nanopartículas con carga neutra, se encontró, mediante el análisis de cargas de Bader que los átomos externos de Pd presentan una carga positiva, lo cual concuerda con análisis experimentales mediante XPS de catalizadores de Pd-Pt soportados. De las simulaciones, se encontró que las nanopartículas exhiben una transferencia de carga del Pd al Pt. Este resultado da crédito a la idea que especies electrodeficientes de Pd son las responsables de la función hidrogenante, de estos catalizadores, en la hidrodesulfuración del dibenzotiofeno. También se encontró que la influencia del tamaño de la nanopartícula no afecta la distribución electrónica, y que la composición estequiométrica es el factor que más influye en dicha propiedad de las nanopartículas.Palabras clave: nanopartículas Pd-Pt, análisis de cargas de Bader, DFT, clusters bimetálicos

Functional requirements to mitigate the Risk of Harm to Patients from Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

The Directorate General for Parliamentary Research Services of the European Parliament has prepared a report to the Members of the European Parliament where they enumerate seven main risks of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in medicine and healthcare: patient harm due to AI errors, misuse of medical AI tools, bias in AI and the perpetuation of existing inequities, lack of transparency, privacy and security issues, gaps in accountability, and obstacles in implementation. In this study, we propose fourteen functional requirements that AI systems may implement to reduce the risks associated with their medical purpose: AI passport, User management, Regulation check, Academic use only disclaimer, data quality assessment, Clinicians double check, Continuous performance evaluation, Audit trail, Continuous usability test, Review of retrospective/simulated cases, Bias check, eXplainable AI, Encryption and use of field-tested libraries, and Semantic interoperability. Our intention here is to provide specific high-level specifications of technical solutions to ensure continuous good performance and use of AI systems to benefit patients in compliance with the future EU regulatory framework.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure, 1 tabl

Factors influencing the charge distribution on PdxPty bimetallic nanoparticles

AbstractWe performed quantum mechanics calculations to elucidate the electronic behavior of Pd-Pt bimetallic nanoparticles, using density functional theory, in response to particle size and stoichiometric composition. Using neutrally charged nanoparticles and the Bader charge analysis, we found that external Pd atoms were positively charged, which agrees with previous XPS observations of supported Pd-Pt nanoparticles. From the calculations, unsupported nanoparticles exhibit an electron transfer from Pd to Pt. This result supports the idea that Pd electron-deficient species are possibly responsible of the hydrogenating function of these catalysts, in the hydrodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene. Additionally, it was found that the particle size does not affect the electronic charge distribution and the stoichiometric composition is the factor that greatly influences this property in nanoparticles.Keywords: Pd-Pt nanoparticles, Bader charge analysis, DFT, bimetallic clusters.Factores que influyen en la distribución de carga en nanopartículas bimetálicas de PdxPtyResumenSe llevó a cabo la simulación del comportamiento electrónico de nanopartículas bimetálicas de Pd-Pt mediante cálculos mecanocuánticos, utilizando la teoría del funcional de densidad, con el fin de predecir la influencia en dicho comportamiento, de factores como el tamaño y la composición estequiométrica de la nanopartícula. Al considerar nanopartículas con carga neutra, se encontró, mediante el análisis de cargas de Bader que los átomos externos de Pd presentan una carga positiva, lo cual concuerda con análisis experimentales mediante XPS de catalizadores de Pd-Pt soportados. De las simulaciones, se encontró que las nanopartículas exhiben una transferencia de carga del Pd al Pt. Este resultado da crédito a la idea que especies electrodeficientes de Pd son las responsables de la función hidrogenante, de estos catalizadores, en la hidrodesulfuración del dibenzotiofeno. También se encontró que la influencia del tamaño de la nanopartícula no afecta la distribución electrónica, y que la composición estequiométrica es el factor que más influye en dicha propiedad de las nanopartículas.Palabras clave: nanopartículas Pd-Pt, análisis de cargas de Bader, DFT, clusters bimetálicos

Environmental Determinants of COVID 19 Transmission Across a Wide Climatic Gradient in Chile

Several studies have examined the transmission dynamics of the novel COVID-19 disease in different parts of the world. Some have reported relationships with various environmental variables, suggesting that spread of the disease is enhanced in colder and drier climates. However, evidence is still scarce and mostly limited to a few countries, particularly from Asia. We examined the potential role of multiple environmental variables in COVID-19 infection rate [measured as mean relative infection rate = (number of infected inhabitants per week / total population) × 100.000) from February 23 to August 16, 2020 across 360 cities of Chile. Chile has a large climatic gradient (≈ 40º of latitude, ≈ 4000 m of altitude and 5 climatic zones, from desert to tundra), but all cities share their social behaviour patterns and regulations. Our results indicated that COVID-19 transmission in Chile was mostly related to three main climatic factors (minimum temperature, atmospheric pressure and relative humidity). Transmission was greater in colder and drier cities and when atmospheric pressure was lower. The results of this study support some previous findings about the main climatic determinants of COVID-19 transmission, which may be useful for decision-making and management of the disease.Funding was provided by the Initiation Fondecyt project 11170390 to F.C.A. D.N. received a CONICYT-PFCHA/ Doctorado Nacional/2019-21191862 scholarship. A.C. received a scholarship of the National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (SENACYT, Panama) and by the National Research System of Panama (SNI; doctoral student category)

GBStools: A Statistical Method for Estimating Allelic Dropout in Reduced Representation Sequencing Data

Reduced representation sequencing methods such as genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) enable low-cost measurement of genetic variation without the need for a reference genome assembly. These methods are widely used in genetic mapping and population genetics studies, especially with non-model organisms. Variant calling error rates, however, are higher in GBS than in standard sequencing, in particular due to restriction site polymorphisms, and few computational tools exist that specifically model and correct these errors. We developed a statistical method to remove errors caused by restriction site polymorphisms, implemented in the software package GBStools. We evaluated it in several simulated data sets, varying in number of samples, mean coverage and population mutation rate, and in two empirical human data sets (N = 8 and N = 63 samples). In our simulations, GBStools improved genotype accuracy more than commonly used filters such as Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium p-values. GBStools is most effective at removing genotype errors in data sets over 100 samples when coverage is 40X or higher, and the improvement is most pronounced in species with high genomic diversity. We also demonstrate the utility of GBS and GBStools for human population genetic inference in Argentine populations and reveal widely varying individual ancestry proportions and an excess of singletons, consistent with recent population growth.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y MuseoInstituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celula

GBStools: A Statistical Method for Estimating Allelic Dropout in Reduced Representation Sequencing Data

Reduced representation sequencing methods such as genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) enable low-cost measurement of genetic variation without the need for a reference genome assembly. These methods are widely used in genetic mapping and population genetics studies, especially with non-model organisms. Variant calling error rates, however, are higher in GBS than in standard sequencing, in particular due to restriction site polymorphisms, and few computational tools exist that specifically model and correct these errors. We developed a statistical method to remove errors caused by restriction site polymorphisms, implemented in the software package GBStools. We evaluated it in several simulated data sets, varying in number of samples, mean coverage and population mutation rate, and in two empirical human data sets (N = 8 and N = 63 samples). In our simulations, GBStools improved genotype accuracy more than commonly used filters such as Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium p-values. GBStools is most effective at removing genotype errors in data sets over 100 samples when coverage is 40X or higher, and the improvement is most pronounced in species with high genomic diversity. We also demonstrate the utility of GBS and GBStools for human population genetic inference in Argentine populations and reveal widely varying individual ancestry proportions and an excess of singletons, consistent with recent population growth.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y MuseoInstituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celula

Canes domésticos como reservorio de Leptospira spp y Toxoplasma gondii en una comunidad campesina del Bosque nuboso del noreste de Perú

The aim of this study was to identify the role of domestic dogs as reservoirs of Leptospira spp and Toxoplasma gondii in the Rural Community of Corosha, department of Amazonas, Peru, through the analysis of prevalence and epidemiological characteristics, as well as tenure associated with dog positivity. A survey was carried out on the dog owners and blood samples were taken. In total, 55 samples were analyzed by the Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT) for the identification of anti-Leptospira spp antibodies and 62 samples with the Indirect Hemagglutination technique (HAI) for anti-T. gondii. The seroprevalence of Leptospira spp was 82.3%, detecting antibodies against the Grippotyphosa (58.2%), Icterohaemorrhagiae (54.6%), Pomona (40.0%), Canicola (32.7%), Bratislava (30.9%) and Georgia (21.8%) serovars. Dogs with access to the river showed a higher prevalence of Leptospira (94.9%) compared to individuals without access (68.8%) (p<0.05). Likewise, 37.1% of the evaluated dogs were seropositive for T. gondii. The study reveals the circulation of Leptospira spp and T. gondii in domestic dogs of the rural community of Corosha.El objetivo del estudio fue identificar el rol de los canes domésticos como reservorios de Leptospira spp y Toxoplasma gondii en la Comunidad Campesina de Corosha, departamento de Amazonas, Perú, mediante el análisis de prevalencia y de las características epidemiológicas, así como de tenencia asociadas a la positividad de los canes. Se realizó una encuesta a los tutores de los canes y se tomaron muestras sanguíneas. En total, 55 muestras fueron analizadas por la Prueba de Aglutinación Microscópica (MAT) para la identificación de anticuerpos anti-Leptospira spp y 62 muestras con la técnica de Hemaglutinación Indirecta (HAI) para anticuerpos anti-T. gondii. La seroprevalencia de Leptospira spp fue de 82.3%, detectándose anticuerpos contra los serovares Grippotyphosa (58.2%), Icterohaemorrhagiae (54.6%), Pomona (40.0%), Canicola (32.7%), Bratislava (30.9%) y Georgia (21.8%). Los canes con acceso al río mostraron mayor prevalencia de Leptospira (94.9%) en comparación a los individuos que no tienen acceso (68.8%) (p<0.05). Asimismo, 37.1% de los canes evaluados resultaron seropositivos para T. gondii. El estudio da a conocer la circulación de Leptospira spp y T. gondii en canes domésticos de la comunidad campesina de Corosha