The informational mind and the information integration theory of consciousness

According to Aleksander and Morton’s informational mind hypothesis, conscious minds are state structures that are created through iconic learning. Distributed representations of colors, edges, objects, etc. are linked with proprioceptive and motor information to generate the awareness of an out-there world. The uniqueness and indivisibility of these iconically learnt states reflect the uniqueness and indivisibility of the world. This article summarizes the key claims of the informational mind hypothesis and considers them in relation to Tononi’s information integration theory of consciousness. Some suggestions are made about how the informational mind hypothesis could be experimentally tested, and its significance for work on machine consciousness is considered

Measurement of atmospheric production depths of muons with the pierre auger observatory

ISBN: volume 1: 978-2-7598-1025-3; volume 2: 978-2-7598-1026-0International audienceThe time structure of muons at ground retains valuable information about the longitudinal development of the hadronic component in extensive air showers. Using the signals collected by the surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory it is possible to reconstruct the Muon Production Depth (MPD) distribution. In this work we explore the main features of these reconstructions for zenith angles around 60° and different energies of the primary particle. From the MPDs we define a new observable, Xμmax as the depth, along the shower axis, where the maximum number of muons is produced. The potentiality of Xμmax to infer the mass composition of cosmic rays is studied

Studies of hadronic interactions at ultra-high energies with the Pierre Auger Observatory

International audienc

Composition and Self-Adaptation of Service-Based Systems with Feature Models

The adoption of mechanisms for reusing software in pervasive systems has not yet become standard practice. This is because the use of pre-existing software requires the selection, composition and adaptation of prefabricated software parts, as well as the management of some complex problems such as guaranteeing high levels of efficiency and safety in critical domains. In addition to the wide variety of services, pervasive systems are composed of many networked heterogeneous devices with embedded software. In this work, we promote the safe reuse of services in service-based systems using two complementary technologies, Service-Oriented Architecture and Software Product Lines. In order to do this, we extend both the service discovery and composition processes defined in the DAMASCo framework, which currently does not deal with the service variability that constitutes pervasive systems. We use feature models to represent the variability and to self-adapt the services during the composition in a safe way taking context changes into consideration. We illustrate our proposal with a case study related to the driving domain of an Intelligent Transportation System, handling the context information of the environment.Work partially supported by the projects TIN2008-05932, TIN2008-01942, TIN2012-35669, TIN2012-34840 and CSD2007-0004 funded by Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and FEDER; P09-TIC-05231 and P11-TIC-7659 funded by Andalusian Government; and FP7-317731 funded by EU. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Susceptibility to Flooding in Abdon Calderon of Canton Portoviejo Parish

This research was developed in the field of risk management against floods with the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to assess the susceptibility to flooding in the central part of the Abdón Calderón parish of the Portoviejo canton where there are geographical and climatic characteristics that create favorable conditions for the occurrence of this phenomenon (slopes, edaphic composition with significant presence of clay and existence of patterns of intense rainfall in the winter season. Work was proposed to determine the susceptibility to flooding to which the research area is subject through the analysis of cartographic data and the thematic maps of slope and soil with a weighting methodology of the importance of the mentioned variables according to the qualitative evaluation. Iva carried out preliminarily through observation visits and taking of reference data in situ. The result was the obtaining of a susceptibility map where the high, medium and low susceptibility level can be observed in the downtown part of the Abdón Calderón parish

Mejora de las propiedades mecánicas y compatibilidad de mezclas de PHBV/PLA con plastificantes comerciales de origen bio

Actas del Congreso publicadas por ed. Compobell. ISBN 978-84-942655-8-7Mezclas de poli (3-hidroxibutirato-co-3-hidroxivalerato) (PHBV) y ácido poliláctico (PLA) se prepararon con un plastificante comercial funcionalizado de origen bio. La morfología obtenida, así como las propiedades mecánicas y dinamo-mecánicas de probetas inyectadas se ha evaluado observándose una mejora en la compatibilidad del PHBV y el PLA y un aumento en la deformación a rotura en tracción.A number of samples of poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and polylactic acid (PLA) were treated with a commercial funcionalised bio plasticiser. The relevant assessment was made on the morphology and both the mechanic and dynamo-mechanic properties obtained in the injected test tubes. An improvement in terms of compatibility between PHBV and PLA has been observed, as well as an increase in strain at break in tensile testing.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (proyecto MAT2012-38947-C02-01) y Pla de Promoció de la Investigació de la Universitat Jaume I (PREDOC / 2012/32

Studying the nuclear mass composition of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays with the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Fluorescence Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory measures the atmospheric depth, $X_{max}$, where the longitudinal profile of the high energy air showers reaches its maximum. This is sensitive to the nuclear mass composition of the cosmic rays. Due to its hybrid design, the Pierre Auger Observatory also provides independent experimental observables obtained from the Surface Detector for the study of the nuclear mass composition. We present $X_{max}$-distributions and an update of the average and RMS values in different energy bins and compare them to the predictions for different nuclear masses of the primary particles and hadronic interaction models. We also present the results of the composition-sensitive parameters derived from the ground level component.Comment: Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics, TAUP 2011, Munich, German

The informational mind and the information integration theory of consciousness

According to Aleksander and Morton’s informational mind hypothesis, conscious minds are state structures that are created through iconic learning. Distributed representations of colors, edges, objects, etc. are linked with proprioceptive and motor information to generate the awareness of an out-there world. The uniqueness and indivisibility of these iconically learnt states reflect the uniqueness and indivisibility of the world. This article summarizes the key claims of the informational mind hypothesis and considers them in relation to Tononi’s information integration theory of consciousness. Some suggestions are made about how the informational mind hypothesis could be experimentally tested, and its significance for work on machine consciousness is considered