Conservation status and updated census of Patella ferruginea (Gastropoda, Patellidae) in Ceuta: distribution patterns and new evidence of the effects of environmental parameters on population structure

The Strait of Gibraltar has important populations of the highly endangered patellid limpet Patella ferruginea. Between 2006 and 2010, an exhaustive census was carried out in Ceuta. The total coastline was divided into 17 sectors. The coast of each sector was examined by using 10 m transects. For the case of those sectors composed of breakwaters, jetties or islets, no transects were used, and instead, the total number of individuals was recorded. Each individual was measured to the nearest millimetre using a calliper. Moreover, the complete rocky shore length where the species could potentially be present was calculated, and an estimation of the total number of individuals that each sector could host was made. Results indicate that Ceuta could be home to around 44,000 individuals. The species found in Point Benzú, its westernmost limit of distribution on the North African coasts. The largest populations were recorded on the South Bay, with higher Mediterranean influence. Our results indicate that substrate roughness (topographic heterogeneity) and the area’s accessibility highly influence the abundance and population structure. Those populations located on high topographic heterogeneity substrates show higher recruitment rates and lower percentages of larger individuals, while medium to low rugosity surfaces presented the opposite pattern. Additionally, easily accessible areas (and frequented by humans) presented smaller average shell sizes. Implications of the results for conservation purposes are discussed

Competing risk models in early warning systems for in-hospital deterioration: the role of missing data imputation

Early Warning Systems (EWS) are useful and very important tools for evaluating the health deteriorating of hospitalised patients, using vital signs (such as heart rate, temperature, etc.) as the main input, based on electronic health records (EHR) which most of the time result in sparse data sets with high rates of missing data. In this work, we aim to study the effect of different imputation techniques on time-to-event (survival) models. For each case we have patient's sex and age, as well as longitudinal data along the hospitalisation for 7 vital signs (temperature, systolic and diastolic pressure, heart and respiratory rates, oxygen saturation and neurological state). We summarise these longitudinal data with the following central tendency, order and dispersion statistics: maximum, minimum, first observation, last observation, mean, standard deviation, average variance percentage and average derivative, transforming the original variables into a cross-sectional higher dimensional space, that still having missing data problems. Each hospitalisation has two possible final states: clinical deterioration or favourable discharge. Here, we model the time-to-event with competitive risk models taking into account the covariates. In the Galdakao-Usansolo University Hospital (Basque Country, Spain), a total of 19.602 hospitalisations (lengths of stay at least 24 hours) were collected during the year 2019, of which 852 (4.35\%) resulted in deterioration. These data correspond to 55.8\% of males and 44.2\% of females. We are using a set of imputation methods, such as central tendency statistics (mean and mode), Multiple Imputation by Chained Equations (MICE), Non-Linear Principal Components Analysis (NLPCA) and Random Forest. We evaluate the performances of the imputation methods described before, via root mean square error and conclude the pros and cons of using each one in medical practice. Then, we use Fine and Gray's competitive risk models and the cause-specific Cox proportional hazard regression to model the time-to-event as a function of imputed summarised data. Finally, we evaluate these models employing the traditional and time-dependent area under the ROC curve, for horizon times of 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hospitalisation hours

Competing risk modelling for in-hospital length of stay

In this study, we propose a framework for analysing in-hospital patient data from electronic health records. We transform longitudinal sparse vital signs measurements into cross-sectional data via descriptive statistics, imputing missing values, and evaluating variables strongly associated with time to mutually exclusive events (favourable medical discharge or deterioration). We employ competing risk and random survival forest techniques to predict patients’ length of stay and evaluate models’ performance via Brier score

La hipótesis de la diferenciación y el efecto Flynn

Many studies have shown that IQs have been increasing over the last half century. These increases have come to be known as «the Flynn effect». The «Flynn effect» represents a difference on ability-level between groups of the same age but different cohort. The ability-level differentiation hypothesis represents a difference on the relevance of cognitive factors between groups of high and low ability. Hence, it should be possible to imitate the ability-level differentiation effect by comparing groups of the same age but different cohort. The indifferentiation hypothesis represents no differences on the elevance of cognitive abilities in all age groups within the same cohort. The aim of the present study is to test the relationships between these phenomena. For this purpose we analyzed the American standardisation samples of the WISC, WISC-R and WISC-III. Results support the link between the Flynn effect and the differentiation hypothesis. Also, reported evidence replicate previous findings supporting the indifferentiation hypothesis. Implications for the assessment of the intelligence are discussedMuchos estudios han mostrado que las puntuaciones en CI se han venido incrementando durante la última mitad del siglo pasado. Este incremento es conocido como «Efecto Flynn». El efecto Flynn representa una diferencia en el nivel cognitivo entre grupos de la misma edad pero de diferentes cohortes. La hipótesis de la diferenciación por nivel representa una diferencia en la relevancia de los factores cognitivos entre grupos de alto y bajo nivel de habilidad. Por tanto, puede ser posible imitar el efecto de la diferenciación por nivel mediante la comparación de grupos de la misma edad pero de diferente cohorte. La hipótesis de la indiferenciación representa la ausencia de diferencias en la relevancia de los factores cognitivos en todos los grupos de edad dentro de la misma cohorte. El objetivo del presente estudio es comprobar la relación entre estos fenómenos. Para ello, se analizarán las muestras de estandarización americanas del WISC, WISC-R y WISC-III. Los resultados mantienen la relación entre el Efecto Flynn y la hipótesis de la diferenciación. También aportan evidencia replican resultados previos que permiten mantener la hipótesis de la indiferenciación. Implicaciones para la evaluación de la inteligencia son discutida

NuIl sex differences in General Intelligence: Evidence from the WAIS-III.

Sin resume

Multi-AGV transport of a load: state of art and centralized proposal

[EN] An automatic guided vehicle is a battery powered fully automated industrial transport system. These vehicles are widely used in the industrial sector to substitute manual forklifts and conveyors. The challenge of using AGVs as transport agents in industrial environments goes through providing them with enough intelligence to develop collaborative tasks. Among these collaborative tasks the multi-AGV transport of one object is differentiated from the multi-object multi-AGV transport. This work presents the state of art of cooperative transport solutions of one object between several AGVs. The theoretical fundaments are revised and several proposals for its resolution are classified and described. Finally, an own proposal of one-object multi-AGV transport with omnidirectional AGVs based on centralized remote control is presented.[ES] Un vehículo de guiado automático (Automatic Guided Vehicle –AGV-en inglés) es un sistema de transporte industrial completamente automatizado y alimentado por baterías. Estos vehículos son ampliamente utilizados en el sector industrial para sustituir a carretillas manuales y cintas transportadoras. El reto de la utilización de AGVs como agentes de transporte en entornos industriales pasa por dotarles de la inteligencia suficiente para desarrollar tareas colaborativas. Dentro de estas tareas colaborativas se diferencia el transporte multi-AGV de un objeto del transporte multi-AGV de múltiples objetos. Este trabajo presenta el estado del arte de las soluciones de transporte cooperativo de un objeto entre varios AGVs. Para ello, se revisan los fundamentos teóricos y se clasifican y describen varias propuestas para su resolución. Finalmente se propone una solución de control remoto centralizado para el transporte de una carga con AGVs omnidireccionales.Este trabajo ha sido apoyado parcialmente por la Junta de Castilla y León bajo el proyecto 10/16/BU/0014 y la empresa ASTI Mobile Robotics.Espinosa, F.; Santos, C.; Sierra-García, JE. (2020). Transporte multi-AGV de una carga: estado del arte y propuesta centralizada. Revista Iberoamericana de Automática e Informática industrial. 18(1):82-91. https://doi.org/10.4995/riai.2020.12846OJS8291181Adăscăliţei, F., and Doroftei, I. 2011. Practical Applications for Mobile Robots based on Mecanum Wheels - A Systematic Survey. The Romanian Review Precision Mechanics, Optics & Mechatronics, nº 40.Alonso-Mora, J., Barker, S. and Rus, D. 2017. Multi-robot formation control and object transport in dynamic environments via constrained optimization. The International Journal of Robotics Research. August 10. https://doi.org/10.1177/0278364917719333Adreasson, H., Bourguerra, A., Driankov, D. and Karlsson. L. 2015. Autonomous Transport Vehicles: Where We Are and What Is Missing. IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine · March 2015. https://doi.org/10.1109/MRA.2014.2381357Amoozgar, M. and Zhang, Y. 2012. Trajectory tracking of wheeled mobile robots: A kinematical approach. Mechatronics and Embedded Systems and Applications (MESA), 2012 IEEE/ASME International Conference on, 2012, pp. 275- 280. https://doi.org/10.1109/MESA.2012.6275574Bahíllo, A. y otros, 2019. Libro blanco sobre espacios inteligentes y tecnologías de posicionamiento y navegación en entornos de interior. Editorial: Universidad de Alcalá. ISBN: 978-84-17729-47-9.Berman, S. and Edan Y. 2002. Decentralized autonomous AGV system for material handling. International Journal of Production Research 40(15):3995-4006 https://doi.org/10.1080/00207540210146990Borenstein, J., 1995. Control and Kinematic Design of Multi-Degree-ofFreedom Mobile Robots with Compliant Linkage. IEEE Trans. On Robotis and Automation. Vol. 1 I , nº I. https://doi.org/10.1109/70.345935Borenstein, J., 2000. The OmniMate: a guidewire and beacon-free AGV for highly reconfigurable applications. Int. Journal of Production Research. Vol. 38, nº 9, June 15, 2000. https://doi.org/10.1080/002075400188456Bostel, A.J. and Sagar, V,K. 1996. Dynamic control systems for AGVs. Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1049/cce:19960403Brown, R., and Jennings, J., 1995. A pusher/steerer model for strongly cooperative mobile robot manipulation. In Proc. of the IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. on Intelligent Robots and Systems. Human Robot Interaction and Cooperative Robots 3, 562-568Butdee, S., Vignat, F., Suebsomran, A. and Yarlagadda, P.K. 2009. Estimation and control of an automated guided vehicle. International Journal of Mechatronics and Manufacturing Systems 2(3). https://doi.org/10.1504/IJMMS.2009.026053Cameron, S. and Probert, P. 1994. Advanced Guided Vehicles: Aspects of the Oxford AGV Project. ISBN: 981-02-1393-X. https://doi.org/10.1142/2022Chen, X. and Li, Y., 2006. "Cooperative Transportation by Multiple Mobile Manipulators Using Adaptive NN Control". In 2006 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks.Chiacchio P. and Chiaverini S., 1997. Complex Robotic Systems. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0035182Choi, S.K., Easterday, O.T. 2001. An Underwater Vehicle Monitoring System and Its Sensors. Lecture Notes in Control and Information Sciences. Experimental robotics. Springer-Verlag. Pp551-560. ISBN 3-540-42104-1. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45118-8_55Digani, V., Sabattini, L., Secchi, C., Fantuzzi, C., 2014. Hierarchical Traffic Control for Partially De-centralized Coordination of Multi AGV Systems in Industrial Environments. IEEE Inter-national Conference on Robotics & Automation (ICRA). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2014.6907764Esposito, J. M., Feemster, M. G., Smith, E., 2008. Cooperative manipulation on the water using a swarm of autonomous tugboats. in Proc. 2008 IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation, pp. 1501-1506. https://doi.org/10.1109/ROBOT.2008.4543414Habibi, G., Kingston, Z., Xie, W., Jellins, M., McLurkin, J., 2015. Distributed Centroid Estimation and Motion Controllers for Collective Transport by Multi-Robot Systems. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2015.7139356Seattle, Washington Hasimoto, M. and Oba, F., 1993. Dynamic control approach for motion coordination of multiple wheeled mobile robots transporting a single object. Proceedings of the 1993 IEEE./RSJ lntemational Conference on lntelligent Robots and Systems Yokohama, Japan July 26-30, 1993Hichri, B., Adouane, L., Fauroux, J.C., Mezouar, Y. and Doroftei, I. Cooperative Mobile Robot Control Architecture for Lifting and Transportation of Any Shape Payload. Chapter book of Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems pp 177-191. ISBN 978-4-431-55877-4. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55879-8_13Hirata, Y., Kosuge, K., 2001. Motion Control of Distributed Robot Helpers Transporting a Single Object in Cooperation with a Human. Lecture Notes in Control and Information Sciences. Experimental robotics. SpringerVerlag. Pp. 313-322. ISBN 3-540-42104-1 https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45118-8_32Karim, N.A. and Ardestani, M.A. 2016. Takagi-Sugeno Fuzzy formation control of non-holonomic robots. 4th International Conference on Control, Instrumentation, and Automation (ICCIA), Qazvin, 2016, pp. 178-183. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCIAutom.2016.7483157Kosuge, K., Oosumi, T., 1996. Decentralized Control of Multiple Robots Handling an Object. Proc. Of 1996 IEEE Int. Conf. on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pp.318-323.Kosuge, K., Sato., M., 1999. Transportation of a Single Object by Multiple Decentralized- Controlled Nonholonomic Mobile Robots. Proceedings of the 1999 IEEVRSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.Krnjak, A., and others. 2015. Decentralized control of free ranging AGVs in warehouse environments. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2015.7139465Li, P.Y., 1999. Adaptive Passive Velocity Field Control. American Control Conference. June, 1999. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACC.1999.783145Li, P.Y., Horowitz, R., 2001. Passive Velocity Field Control (PVFC): Part I, Geometry and Robustness. IEEE Trans on Automatic Control. Vol 46, no 9. https://doi.org/10.1109/9.948463Li, P.Y., Horowitz, R., 2001. Passive Velocity Field Control (PVFC): Part II, Application to contour following. IEEE Trans on Automatic Control. Vol 46, no 9, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1109/9.948464Liu, Z., Hou, L., Shi, Y., Zheng X., Teng, H., 2018. A co-evolutionary design methodology for complex AGV system. Neural Computing and Applications 29:959-974. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00521-016-2495-1Meissner, H., Ilsen, R. and Aurich, J.C. 2017. Analysis of control architectures in the context of Industry 4.0. Proc CIRP 2017; 62:165-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2016.06.113Mellinger, D., Shomin, M., Michael, N., Kumar, V., 2010. Cooperative grasping and transport using multiple quadrotors. in Proc. Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems, Lusanne, pp 545-558. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32723-0_39Neumann, M.A., Chin, M.H., Kitts, C.A., 2014. Object Manipulation through Explicit Force Control Using Cooperative Mobile Multi-Robot Systems" Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2014 Vol I WCECS 2014, 22-24 October, 2014, San Francisco, USAOhashi, F., Kaminishi, K., Figueroa, J.D., Kato, H., Ogata, T., Hara T., Ota, J., 2016. Realization of heavy object transportation by mobile robots using handcarts and outrigger. Robomech Journal. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40648-016-0066-yON5G, 2020. 5G e industria 4.0: retos y oportunidades de la cuarta revolución industrial. Observatorio Nacional 5G. https://on5g.es/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/INFORME-ON5G-NDUSTRIA4.0-DIGITAL.pdf. Accesible el 31/03/2020.Owen-Hill. A., 2018. Why we're entering the age of robotic logistics. Robotiq. https://blog.robotiq.com/why-were-entering-the-age-of-robotic-logisticsParker, L. E., 2008. Multiple mobile robot systems. Springer Handbook of Robotics. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-30301-5_41Peng, T., Qian, J., Zi, B., Liu, J., Wang, X., 2016. Mechanical Design and Control System of an Omnidirectional Mobile Robot for Material Conveying. International Conference on Digital Enterprise Technology DET-2016. DOI: 10.1016/j.procir.2016.10.068. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00521-016-2495-1Pereira, G.A.S., Pimentel, B.S., Chaimowicz, L., Campos, M.F.M., 2002. Coordination of multiple mobile robots in an object carrying task using implicit communication. Proceedings of the 2002 IEEE International Conference on Robotics & Automation" May 2002. https://doi.org/10.1109/ROBOT.2002.1013374Quinn, M., 2004. The evolutionary design of controllers for minimallyequipped homogeneous multi-robot systems. Ph.D. thesis. Brighton: University of SussexReister, D. B., 1991. A New Wheel Control System for the Omnidirectional HERMIES-III Robot. Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation Sacramento, California, April 7-12, pp. 2322-2327.Ria, 2019. Robotic Industries Association. "Logistic Robots" https://www.robotics.org/service-robots/logistics-robots, available on June 7th, 2019.Saha, S.K. and Angeles, J. 1989. Kinematics and dynamics of a three-wheeled 2-DOF AGV. ICRA 1989. https://doi.org/10.1109/ROBOT.1989.100202Santos, C., Espinosa, F., Martinez-Rey, M., Gualda, D. and Losada, C. 2019. Self-Triggered Formation Control of Nonholonomic Robots. Sensors 2019, 19(12), 2689; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19122689Solaque, L.E., Avendaño, D.R., Molina, M.A., Pulido, C.A. 2015. Sistema de transporte cooperativo desarrollado para un grupo de robots móviles noholonómicos usando el método Líder Virtual. Congreso internacional 264 de ingeniería mecatrónica y automatización - CIIMA 2015Suh, J.H., Lee, Y.J., Lee, K.S., 2005. Object-transportation control of cooperative AGV systems based on virtual-passivity decentralized control algorithm. Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology. Vol 19 n09, pp. 1720-1735. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02984184Tan, W. 2002. Modeling and Control Design of an AGV. Proceedings of the 41st IEEE Conference on Decision and Control. 2002. https://doi.org/10.1109/CDC.2002.1184623Tuci, E., Alkilabi, M. H., & Akanyeti, O., 2018. Cooperative Object Transport in Multi-robot Systems: A Review of the State-of-the-Art. Frontiers in Robotics and AI. https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2018.00059Ullrich, G., 2015. Automated Guided Vehicle Systems. A Primer with Practical Applications. Springer. ISBN 978-3-662-44813-7 DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-44814-4Wada, M. 1996. Holonomic and omnidirectional vehicle with conventional tires. IEEE Int. Conference on Robotics and Automation. May, 1996.Wada, M., Torii, R., 2013. Cooperative transportation of a single object by omnidirectional robots using potential method. 16th International Conference on Advanced Robotics (ICAR). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICAR.2013.6766543Wang, Z., Nakano, E., and Matsukawa, T., 1994. Cooperating multiple behavior based robots for object manipulation. in Proc. of the IEEE/RSJ/GI Int. Conf. on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Vol. 3 1524-1531 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-68275-2_33Wang, 2016 Z. Wang and M. Schwager. Chapter book: "Multi-robot manipulation without communication". Book: Distributed autonomous robotic systems. Editors: N.Y. Chong and Y.J. ISBN 978-4-431-55877-4 DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55879-8Wang, T.M., Tao, Y., Liu, H., 2018. Current researches and future development trend of intelligent robot: a review. International Journal of Automation & Computing. Vol 15, no 5, pp. 525-548. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11633-018-1115-1Yan, Z., Jouandeau, N., and Cherif, A. A., 2013. A Survey and Analysis of Multi-Robot Coordination. Int. Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems 10 (12), 399. https://doi.org/10.5772/57313Yang, X., Watanabe, K., Kiguchi, K., Izumi, K., 2003. Coordinated transportation of a single object by two nonholonomic mobile robots. Artif Life Robotics. ISAROB 2003. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02480885Yufka, A., Ozkan, M., 2015. Formation-based Control Scheme for Cooperative Transportation by Multiple Mobile Robots. International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems, 2015. https://doi.org/10.5772/60972Zhan, M. and Yu, K. 2018. Wireless Communication Technologies in Automated Guided Vehicles: Survey and Analysis. IECON 2018 - 44th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society. https://doi.org/10.1109/IECON.2018.859278

Biomass estimation of bluefin tuna in sea cages by the combined use of acoustic and optical techniques

In this paper, an experimental setup to estimate the biomass of caged bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the Spanish Mediterranean coast is presented. Aims are to monitor individual tuna during all stages of growth, to control the transfer of fish caught in purse seines to towing cages and to be able to estimate the total number of specimens and the biomass transferred. To do this, we propose a combined system of acoustic and optical techniques (both non-intrusive), in order to obtain direct values of acoustical target strength (TS) and information on the orientation of tuna inside the acoustic beam and their size. To achieve complete information, ventral and dorsal acoustic measurements are done using in a first attempt a multiplexed scientific echosounder with two 200 KHz split-beam transducers, while a stereoscopic video system provides optical information and allows estimating the size and the weight of the specimens. Preliminary results indicate that thiscombined use of techniques provides precise information to determine the TS as a function of fish orientation and for proper monitoring of tuna in floating cages.Versión de editor

Bioactive pectic polysaccharides from bay tree pruning waste: Sequential subcritical water extraction and application in active food packaging

The potential isolation of bio-active polysaccharides from bay tree pruning waste was studied using sequential subcritical water extraction using different time-temperature combinations. The extracted polysaccharides were highly enriched in pectins while preserving their high molecular mass (10–100 kDa), presenting ideal properties for its application as additive in food packaging. Pectin-enriched chitosan films were prepared, improving the optical properties (=95% UV-light barrier capacity), antioxidant capacity (?95% radical scavenging activity) and water vapor permeability (=14 g·Pa-1·s-1·m-1·10-7) in comparison with neat chitosan-based films. Furthermore, the antimicrobial activity of chitosan was maintained in the hybrid films. Addition of 10% of pectins improved mechanical properties, increasing the Young's modulus 12%, and the stress resistance in 51%. The application of pectin-rich fractions from bay tree pruning waste as an additive in active food packaging applications, with triple action as antioxidant, barrier, and antimicrobial has been demonstrated.Authors would like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Ramon y Cajal contract RYC-2015-17109) and Universidad de Cordoba, ´ Spain (Predoctoral Grant 2019) for the financial support during this work

Experimental setup for monitoring the growth of tuna in cages by the combined use of acoustic and optical cages

Pre-prin

Using ultrasound for the monitoring and control of larval development of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) in tanks

In this work, we propose a non-invasive acoustic technique using ultrasound for the monitoring and control of larval development of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) in tanks. Biological measurements and target strength (TS) measurements have been carried out using a EK60 Simrad echosounder working at 200 kHz. The experiments have been carried out for three consecutive years in the marine aquaculture plant that Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) has at Mazarron (Murcia, Spain). For the interpretation of the results, backscatter models were considered using the finite element method. The target strength values were evidenced with and without the presence of the developed swimbladder, showing a statistically significant relationship with the standard length, the area of the swimbladder and the percentage of larvae with a swimbladder