Mismatched Decoding Reliability Function at Zero Rate

We derive an upper bound on the reliability function of mismatched decoding for zero-rate codes. The bound is based on a result by Koml ́os that shows the existence of a subcode with certain symmetry properties. The bound is shown to coincide with the expurgated exponent at rate zero for a broad family of channel-decoding metric pairs.ERC grant ITU

A Recursive Quantizer Design Algorithm for Binary-Input Discrete Memoryless Channels

The optimal quantization of the outputs of binary-input discrete memoryless channels is considered, whereby the optimal quantizer preserves at least a constant α-fraction of the original mutual information, with the smallest output cardinality. Two recursive methods with top-down and bottom-up approaches are developed; these methods lead to a new necessary condition for the recursive quantizer design. An efficient algorithm with linear complexity, based on dynamic programming and the new necessary optimality condition, is proposed.This work has been funded in part by the European Research Council under grant 725411, and by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under grant TEC2016-78434-C3-1-R

Developing Students Autonomy And Self-Regulation Thought A Co-Teaching Research Methods Experience

The College of Human Sciences at Oklahoma State University (OSU) and Universidad Popular Automa del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP) decided to offer Pedagogy Doctoral students from Mexico a 3 week co-teaching research methods experience. Two professors, one from each institution (OSU and UPAEP), designed the syllabus to offer a co-teaching experience in the United States. The objective of the course was to enhance students success in their research dissertation project, contributing to develop students autonomy and self-regulation while offering Mexican students an international experience at OSU and at the same time allowing students to access OSU facilities, including the library databases and different research software. Two evaluations were conducted to assess the effectiveness of the course and the impact in the students autonomous learning. The first assessment was conducted at the end of the course through a semi-structured personal interview. The second evaluation was conducted six months after concluding the experience and included one on-line survey. During both evaluations the students agreed that a co-teaching experience was beneficial because the course combined two kinds of expertise and the teaching styles of both professors. The study concluded that co-teaching experience was useful in the students journey to become autonomous learners and the level of understanding of the topics studied the students self-directed and self-regulated process and the achievement of the students expectations

Un enfoque tolerante a interrupciones para la seguridad de la Internet de las cosas

La Internet de las cosas (IoT, Internet of Things) es un paradigma emergente que pretende la interconexión de cualquier objeto susceptible de contar con una parte de electrónica, favorecido por la miniaturización de los componentes. El estado de desarrollo de la IoT hace que no haya ninguna propuesta firme para garantizar la seguridad y la comunicación extremo a extremo. En este artículo presentamos un trabajo en progreso hacia una aproximación tolerante a retrasos (DTN, Delay and Disruption Tolerant Networks) para la comunicación en el paradigma de la IoT y planteamos la adaptación de los mecanismo de seguridad existentes en DTN a la IoT.Este trabajo ha sido parcialmente financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación Español, proyecto TIN2010-15764 y por la Generalitat de Cataluña, proyecto 2014SGR-619

Animal Identification and Records Monitoring Tool using RFID (AIRMTR)

This study was conducted to design, develop and initially implement the Animal Identification and Records Monitoring Tool using RFID. Specifically, it identified the problems encountered in conducting Manual Tagging for Animal Clinic; the appropriate features of the tool that can be developed to address the problems encountered, and the respondents’ level of acceptance of the user toward the developed tool in termsof functionality, reliability, usability, and performance. The research used the qualitative-quantitative research method that utilized a researcher-made questionnaire and interview questions. The respondents of the studywere one (1) Animal Care Specialist representative, one (1) Pretty Paws representative, five (5) veterinarian representatives and eighty (80) pet owners from different places. The problems encountered in conducting tagging for animal clinic were traditional animal tag may cause death to some animals; animal diseases and injuries by animal tagging; duplication and confusion in using animal tagging; and difficulty in maintainingrecords of vaccination, medication health check-ups using animal tagging. The appropriate features of the tool that can be developed to address the problems encountered were: RFID can make the process of animal tagging faster and easier; and online scheduling and identification of pets in pet clinics are more convenient to use for both pet owners and veterinarians rather than the manual process. The respondents’ ratings for Animal Identification and Record Monitoring Tool using RFID were highly acceptable in terms of functionality (4.62); reliability (4.52); usability (4.68); and performance (4.59). The government agencies may suggest that animals should be tagged using the developed system for monitoring purposes. Further research on Internet controlleddevices may be conducted other than stand-alone offline software programs. This study may also be developed considering the following features: UHF as a tracking device for animals; individual registered users to make page where the client can edit, rate and price; displaying hex value using LCD; access to the shop’s system to bevalidated; contraction number of the project with logo and clinic’s validation. Keywords: Animal Identification, Manual Tagging, RFI

Maximum-likelihood estimation of specific differential phase and attenuation in rain

Precise estimation of propagation parameters in precipitation media is of interest to improve the performance of communications systems and in remote sensing applications. In this paper, we present maximum-likelihood estimators of specific attenuation and specific differential phase in rain. The model used for obtaining the cited estimators assumes coherent propagation, reflection symmetry of the medium, and Gaussian statistics of the scattering matrix measurements. No assumptions about the microphysical properties of the medium are needed. The performance of the estimators is evaluated through simulated data. Results show negligible estimators bias and variances close to Cramer–Rao bounds

Codes for channels with segmented edits

We consider insertion and deletion channels with the additional assumption that the channel input sequence is implicitly divided into segments such that at most one edit can occur within a segment. We further assume that there are no segment markers in the received sequence. We propose code constructions for the segmented deletion, segmented insertion, and segmented insertion-deletion channels based on subsets of VT codes chosen with pre-determined prefixes and/or suffixes. The proposed codes are zero-error, can be decoded segment-by-segment, and their rate scaling as the segment length increases is the same as that of the maximal code.This work has been funded in part by the European Research Council under ERC grant agreement 259663 and by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under grant TEC2016-78434-C3-1-R

Comparison of the information provided by electronic health records data and a population health survey to estimate prevalence of selected health conditions and multimorbidity

This is a freely-available open access publication. Please cite the published version which is available via the DOI link in this record.Background Health surveys (HS) are a well-established methodology for measuring the health status of a population. The relative merit of using information based on HS versus electronic health records (EHR) to measure multimorbidity has not been established. Our study had two objectives: 1) to measure and compare the prevalence and distribution of multimorbidity in HS and EHR data, and 2) to test specific hypotheses about potential differences between HS and EHR reporting of diseases with a symptoms-based diagnosis and those requiring diagnostic testing. Methods Cross-sectional study using data from a periodic HS conducted by the Catalan government and from EHR covering 80% of the Catalan population aged 15 years and older. We determined the prevalence of 27 selected health conditions in both data sources, calculated the prevalence and distribution of multimorbidity (defined as the presence of ≥2 of the selected conditions), and determined multimorbidity patterns. We tested two hypotheses: a) health conditions requiring diagnostic tests for their diagnosis and management would be more prevalent in the EHR; and b) symptoms-based health problems would be more prevalent in the HS data. Results We analysed 15,926 HS interviews and 1,597,258 EHRs. The profile of the EHR sample was 52% women, average age 47 years (standard deviation: 18.8), and 68% having at least one of the selected health conditions, the 3 most prevalent being hypertension (20%), depression or anxiety (16%) and mental disorders (15%). Multimorbidity was higher in HS than in EHR data (60% vs. 43%, respectively, for ages 15-75+, P <0.001, and 91% vs. 83% in participants aged ≥65 years, P <0.001). The most prevalent multimorbidity cluster was cardiovascular. Circulation disorders (other than varicose veins), chronic allergies, neck pain, haemorrhoids, migraine or frequent headaches and chronic constipation were more prevalent in the HS. Most symptomatic conditions (71%) had a higher prevalence in the HS, while less than a third of conditions requiring diagnostic tests were more prevalent in EHR. Conclusions Prevalence of multimorbidity varies depending on age and the source of information. The prevalence of self-reported multimorbidity was significantly higher in HS data among younger patients; prevalence was similar in both data sources for elderly patients. Self-report appears to be more sensitive to identifying symptoms-based conditions. A comprehensive approach to the study of multimorbidity should take into account the patient perspective.Ministry of Science and Innovation through the Instituto Carlos IIIISCiii-RETICSInstitut Universitari d’Investigació en Atenció Primària Jordi Gol (IDIAP Jordi Gol

In vitro inhibition of the replication of haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV) and African swine fever virus (ASFV) by extracts from marine microalgae. Antiviral Res

Abstract We have screened for in vitro inhibition of viral replication with extracts from the following marine microalgae: Porphyridium cruentum, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Tetraselmis suecica, Chlorella autotrophica, Dunaliella tertiolecta, Dunaliella bardawil, Isochrysis galbana, Isochrysis galbana 6ar Tiso, Ellipsoidon sp. and Tetraselmis tetrathele. We have used as viral models two enveloped viruses of significant economic importance, the viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) of salmonid fish and the African swine fever virus (ASFV). The aqueous extracts from P. cruentum, C. autotrophica and Ellipsoidon sp., produced a significant inhibition of the in vitro replication of both viruses in a dose-dependent manner. That this inhibition could be due to sulfated polysaccharides was suggested because the same pattern of viral inhibition was obtained by using exocellular extracts from microalgae enriched in these compounds and/or dextran sulfate of high molecular weight. However, the inhibition of viral replication did not correlate with the percentage of sulfatation of the exocellular polysaccharides. Extracts from marine microalgae may have prophylactic utility against fish and mammalian viral diseases