Creolizing Europe

Creolizing Europe critically interrogates creolization as the decolonial, rhizomatic thinking necessary for understanding the cultural and social transformations set in motion through trans/national dislocations. Exploring the usefulness, transferability, and limitations of creolization for thinking post/coloniality, raciality and othering not only as historical legacies but as immanent to and constitutive of European societies, this volume develops an interdisciplinary dialogue between the social sciences and the humanities. While not all the contributions in this volume explicitly address Edouard Glissant’s approach to creolization, they all engage with aspects of his thinking. All of the chapters explore the usefulness, transferability, and limitations of creolization to the European context. As such, this edited collection offers a significant contribution and intervention in the fields of European Studies, Postcolonial Studies, and Cultural Studies on two levels

Metabolic Effects of Insulin and IGFs on Gilthead Sea Bream (Sparus aurata) Muscle Cells

Primary cultures of gilthead sea bream myocytes were performed in order to examine the relative metabolic function of insulin compared with IGF-I and IGF-II (insulin-like growth factors, IGFs) at different stages in the cell culture. In these cells, the in vitro effects of insulin and IGFs on 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) and l-alanine uptake were studied in both myocytes (day 4) and small myotubes (day 9). 2-DG uptake in gilthead sea bream muscle cells was increased in the presence of insulin and IGFs in a time dependent manner and along with muscle cell differentiation. On the contrary, l-alanine uptake was also stimulated by insulin and IGFs but showed an inverse pattern, being the uptake higher in small myocytes than in large myotubes. The results of preincubation with inhibitors (PD-98059, wortmannin, and cytochalasin B) on 2-DG uptake indicated that insulin and IGFs stimulate glucose uptake through the same mechanisms, and evidenced that mitogenesis activator protein kinase (MAPK) and PI3K–Akt transduction pathways mediate the metabolic function of these peptides. In the same way, we observed that GLUT4 protein synthesis was stimulated in the presence of insulin and IGFs in gilthead sea bream muscle cells in a different manner at days 4 or 9 of the culture. In summary we describe here, for the first time, the effects of insulin and IGFs on 2-DG and l-alanine uptake in primary culture of gilthead sea bream muscle cells. We show that both MAPK and PI3K–Akt transduction pathways are needed in order to control insulin and IGFs actions in these cells. Moreover, changes in glucose uptake can be explained by the action of the GLUT4 transporter, which is stimulated in the presence of insulin and IGFs throughout the cell culture

Análisis biomecánico de la técnica individual de los finalistas masculinos del lanzamiento de peso en el Campeonato del Mundo de Atletismo Valencia 08

El objetivo de este estudio ha sido realizar un análisis descriptivo de la técnica individual de los ocho finalistas masculinos de lanzamiento de peso en el Campeonato del Mundo de Atletismo de Pista Cubierta, celebrado en Valencia, 2008. Para este estudio, se han utilizado técnicas fotogramétricas tridimensionales (3D) a partir de la filmación del gesto con dos cámaras de video sincronizadas temporalmente a 100 Hz, analizándose el mejor lanzamiento de cada atleta. Se parte de un análisis temporal, donde se ha dividido el gesto en seis fases. A partir de esas fases, se describen las gráficas de velocidad tangencial del CG y el peso con respecto al tiempo. A continuación, se registraron los factores que determinan la trayectoria del peso durante el vuelo (factores de producto), así como el compromiso de otros factores causales que determinan la eficacia del lanzamiento de peso. Además de confirmar la relación entre los factores de producto, los resultados ponen de manifiesto que cada lanzador utiliza una secuencia temporal y ritmo de ejecución propio e individual, confirmándose que la ejecución técnica del lanzamiento de peso es individual y está condicionada por características antropométricas, capacidad muscular y el grado de automatización de la secuencia temporal individual.The aim of this study is to make a descriptive analysis of the individual technique of the eight men finalists in the shot put in the 2008 Valencia Indoor World Championships. To do this three-dimensional photogrammetric techniques (3D) were used, filming the action with two video cameras temporally synchronized at 100 Hz. Six puts were recorded during the men’s final, subsequently analysing the longest throw of each putter. A temporal analysis was first made, dividing the throwing action into six phases. Starting from these phases, graphs of the tangential velocity of the thrower’s CG and the time taken in the shot are described. Then the factors that determine the trajectory of the shot during flight (product factors) and the contribution of the other causal factors for the efficiency of the put are recorded. As well as confirming the relation between the product factors, the results show that each thrower uses his/her own temporal sequence and rhythm of execution, confirming that the technical execution of the shot put is individual and conditioned by anthropometrical characteristics, muscular capacity and the degree of automation of the individual temporal sequence.Peer Reviewe

Chatbots4Mobile: Feature-oriented knowledge base generation using natural language

Chatbots4Mobile is a research project from the GESSI research group (UPC-BarcelonaTech) which aims at designing and developing a task oriented, knowledge based conversational agent to support mobile users in the process of managing and integrating the functionalities exposed by their own application portfolio. To support the design of the required knowledge base, the project focuses on the application of Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques to infer extended knowledge about the features exposed by a subset of mobile applications, including feature extraction from app-related documents, syntactic and semantic similarity analysis between features, and intent/entity classification focused on functionality identification from user requests. As next steps, we are focusing on the evaluation of embedded linguistic knowledge in large language models, as well as the application of granular sentiment analysis techniques to discern biased documents and process sentiment-based user feedback.With the support from the Secretariat for Universities and Research of the Ministry of Business and Knowledge of the Government of Catalonia and the European Social Fund. This paper has been funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación under project / funding scheme PID2020-117191RB-I00 / AEI/10.13039/501100011033.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Software-based dialogue systems: Survey, taxonomy and challenges

The use of natural language interfaces in the field of human-computer interaction is undergoing intense study through dedicated scientific and industrial research. The latest contributions in the field, including deep learning approaches like recurrent neural networks, the potential of context-aware strategies and user-centred design approaches, have brought back the attention of the community to software-based dialogue systems, generally known as conversational agents or chatbots. Nonetheless, and given the novelty of the field, a generic, context-independent overview on the current state of research of conversational agents covering all research perspectives involved is missing. Motivated by this context, this paper reports a survey of the current state of research of conversational agents through a systematic literature review of secondary studies. The conducted research is designed to develop an exhaustive perspective through a clear presentation of the aggregated knowledge published by recent literature within a variety of domains, research focuses and contexts. As a result, this research proposes a holistic taxonomy of the different dimensions involved in the conversational agents’ field, which is expected to help researchers and to lay the groundwork for future research in the field of natural language interfaces.With the support from the Secretariat for Universities and Research of the Ministry of Business and Knowledge of the Government of Catalonia and the European Social Fund. The corresponding author gratefully acknowledges the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and Banco Santander for the inancial support of his predoctoral grant FPI-UPC. This paper has been funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación under project / funding scheme PID2020-117191RB-I00 / AEI/10.13039/501100011033.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Blockchain-Based Services Implemented in a Microservices Architecture Using a Trusted Platform Module Applied to Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Microservice architectures exploit container-based virtualized services, which rarely use hardware-based cryptography. A trusted platform module (TPM) offers a hardware root for trust in services that makes use of cryptographic operations. The virtualization of this hardware module offers high usability for other types of service that require TPM functionalities. This paper proposes the design of TPM virtualization in a container. To ensure integrity, different mechanisms, such as attestation and sealing, have been developed for the binaries and libraries stored in the container volumes. Through a REST API, the container offers the functionalities of a TPM, such as key generation and signing. To prevent unauthorized access to the container, this article proposes an authentication mechanism based on tokens issued by the Cognito Amazon Web Service. As a proof of concept and applicability in industry, a use case for electric vehicle charging stations using a microservice-based architecture is proposed. Using the EOS.IO blockchain to maintain a copy of the data, the virtualized TPM microservice provides the cryptographic operations necessary for blockchain transactions. Through a two-factor authentication mechanism, users can access the data. This scenario shows the potential of using blockchain technologies in microservice-based architectures, where microservices such as the virtualized TPM fill a security gap in these architectures.Infineon TechnologiesProgram “Digitalisierung der EnergiewendeBundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und EnergieTrusted Blockchains fur das offene, intelligente Energienetz der Zukunft (tbiEnergy)FKZ 03EI6029DEuropean Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) program under Grant Agreement No 101092950 (EDGELESS project)FEDER/Junta de Andalucia-Consejeria de Transformacion Economica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades under Project B-TIC-588-UGR20

Metabolic effects of insulin and IGFs on gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) muscle cells.

Primary cultures of gilthead sea bream myocytes were performed in order to examine the relative metabolic function of insulin compared with IGF-I and IGF-II (insulin-like growth factors, IGFs) at different stages in the cell culture. In these cells, the in vitro effects of insulin and IGFs on 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) and L-alanine uptake were studied in both myocytes (day 4) and small myotubes (day 9). 2-DG uptake in gilthead sea bream muscle cells was increased in the presence of insulin and IGFs in a time dependent manner and along with muscle cell differentiation. On the contrary, L-alanine uptake was also stimulated by insulin and IGFs but showed an inverse pattern, being the uptake higher in small myocytes than in large myotubes. The results of preincubation with inhibitors (PD-98059, wortmannin, and cytochalasin B) on 2-DG uptake indicated that insulin and IGFs stimulate glucose uptake through the same mechanisms, and evidenced that mitogenesis activator protein kinase (MAPK) and PI3K-Akt transduction pathways mediate the metabolic function of these peptides. In the same way, we observed that GLUT4 protein synthesis was stimulated in the presence of insulin and IGFs in gilthead sea bream muscle cells in a different manner at days 4 or 9 of the culture. In summary we describe here, for the first time, the effects of insulin and IGFs on 2-DG and L-alanine uptake in primary culture of gilthead sea bream muscle cells. We show that both MAPK and PI3K-Akt transduction pathways are needed in order to control insulin and IGFs actions in these cells. Moreover, changes in glucose uptake can be explained by the action of the GLUT4 transporter, which is stimulated in the presence of insulin and IGFs throughout the cell culture

TRATAMIENTO MULTIDISCIPLINAR EN PACIENTES PERIODONTALES: A PROPÓSITO DE DOS CASOS

La periodoncia es la especialidad que abarca el estudio, prevención y tratamiento de las patologías que afectan a los tejidos que rodean al diente como son las encías, hueso alveolar, ligamento periodontal y cemento. Así mismo, es importante mantener estas estructuras en salud para mantener unos soportes óptimos para los dientes. El objetivo es priorizar esta parte, realizar un buen diagnóstico, el tratamiento adecuado según las fases en la que estemos, reevaluaciones y retratamientos, con la finalidad de estabilizar la enfermedad cuando esté presente y ralentizar su evolución.También hemos plasmado los diferentes tratamientos de múltiples disciplinas dentro de la Odontología que se puede realizar, habiendo previamente estabilizado la enfermedad periodontal.Por consiguiente, se recogieron dos casos clínicos del Servicio Prácticas Odontológicas de la Universidad de Zaragoza para un estudio previo de anamnesis, exploración oral y pruebas diagnósticas como serie periapicales y periodontogramas, así como fotos y modelos de estudio para el diagnóstico de la enfermedad periodontal.<br /

SVtL: System Verification through Logic: tool support for verifying sliced hierarchical statecharts

SVtL is the core of a slicing-based verification environment for UML statechart models. We present an overview of the SVtL software architecture. Special attention is paid to the slicing approach. Slicing reduces the complexity of the verification approach, based on removing pieces of the model that are not of interest during verification. In [18] a slicing algorithm has been proposed for statecharts, but it was not able to handle orthogonal regions efficiently. We optimize this algorithm by removing false dependencies, relying on the broadcasting mechanism between different parts of the statechart model