Run-time Support to Manage Architectural Variability Speci ed with CVL

The execution context in which pervasive systems or mobile computing run changes continuously. Hence, applications for these systems should be adapted at run-time according to the current context. In order to implement a context-aware dynamic reconfiguration service, most approaches usually require to model at design-time both the list of all possible configurations and the plans to switch among them. In this paper we present an alternative approach for the automatic run-time generation of application configurations and the reconfiguration plans. The generated configurations are optimal regarding di erent criteria, such as functionality or resource consumption (e.g. battery or memory). This is achieved by: (1) modelling architectural variability at design-time using Common Variability Language (CVL), and (2) using a genetic algorithm that finds at run-time nearly-optimal configurations using the information provided by the variability model. We also specify a case study and we use it to evaluate our approach, showing that it is efficient and suitable for devices with scarce resources.Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucia Tech y proyectos de investigación TIN2008-01942, P09-TIC-5231 and INTER-TRUST FP7-317731

Posicionamiento y agrupación de la prensa española: Análisis de contenido de las noticias generadas en la Jornada Mundial de la Juventud 2011

In this paper we present a content analysis regarding the position held by several Spanish newspapers and press agencies concerning an international event; the World Youth Day 2011. Its main purpose is to analyse how different media positioned themselves when informing over such event by analyzing the frequency of negative terms in news pieces. To this end, word frequency analysis was applied to 4,860 news pieces, which were then processed through clustering techniques; Multidimensional Scaling and Hierarchical Ascendant Classification. Clustering analysis sheds light on the position of newspapers and their similarities. Results show differences in coverage and uses of keywords. We will find three main clusters of newspapers appear, according to their editorial lines.El presente trabajo es un análisis de contenido aplicado a las noticias españolas de prensa y agencias relacionadas con la Jornada Mundial de la Juventud. El objetivo principal es analizar cómo se posicionan los medios analizando los términos relacionados con noticias negativas de un total de 4860 noticias, utilizando como fuente la Base de Datos MynewsOnline®. La agrupación se consigue aplicando técnicas estadísticas de Escalamiento Multidimensional y Clasificación Ascendente Jerárquica. Así mismo se describe la producción de noticias por cabeceras y los términos negativos de mayor frecuencia y su posición en el ranking de frecuencias absolutas. Los resultados demuestran desigualdades de cobertura y uso de términos claves. Igualmente se producen tres agrupaciones de conjuntos de periódicos, muy relacionadas con la ideología editorial de sus cabeceras

Causes and success of brand deletions. The role of brand orientation

La eliminación de una marca es una decisión crítica dentro de la estrategia de marketing de una empresa. Pese a que en los últimos años muchas organizaciones han tomado este tipo de decisión y han acometido drásticos programas de eliminación de marcas, la literatura sobre este tema es muy escasa y fragmentada, y son múltiples las cuestiones que se deben abordar. Concretamente, en este trabajo nos proponemos examinar la influencia de las causas de eliminación de una marca –previamente clasificadas en proactivas y reactivas– en el éxito de la decisión. Además, exploramos el efecto que la orientación a la marca tiene en la mayor o menor ocurrencia de eliminaciones por causas proactivas o reactivas. Implícitamente, en el trabajo proponemos que la orientación a la marca tendrá un doble efecto indirecto positivo en el éxito de una eliminación. En primer lugar, a través de incremento de eliminaciones exitosas que ocurren por causas proactivas y, en segundo, por la reducción de eliminaciones no exitosas que sobrevienen por causas reactivas. La propuesta investigadora que realizamos se testa sobre una muestra de 155 casos de eliminación de marca. Los análisis preliminares indican que la orientación a la marca contribuye al éxito a través de la adopción de eliminaciones enfocadas en el aprovechamiento de oportunidades de la marca, tales como un mayor ajuste estratégico o unos menores costes de oportunidad. Además, la orientación a la marca previene de realizar eliminaciones simplemente por causas problemáticas, eliminaciones que no acaban arrojando grandes resultados.Brand deletion (BD) is a critical decision within a firm’s marketing strategy. Despite in recent years many organizations have pruned their brand portfolios and undertaken drastic BD programs, the literature on this topic is extremely scarce and fragmented, and several issues of BD can be investigated. This research is primarily concerned with the study of the impact of BD causes –previously classified as proactive versus reactive– on BD success. In addition, we explore the effect of the firm’s brand orientation on the occurrence of deletions by proactive versus reactive causes. Implicitly, we suggest that brand orientation will have a double positive indirect effect on BD success: first, through the increase of successful BDs due to proactive causes and, second, by the reduction of unsuccessful BDs precipitated by reactive causes. Our research proposal is tested on a sample of 155 cases of BD. Preliminary findings indicate that brand orientation contributes to the BD success through the adoption of BDs focused on taking advantage of brand opportunities, such as searching for a better strategic fit or avoiding opportunity costs. Besides, brand orientation prevents deletions due to merely problematic causes, deletions that, after all, do not generate success

Riesgo de transfusión perioperatoria en la cirugía del fémur

Se analiza el riesgo perioperatorio de ser transfundido de los pacientes intervenidos de fémur a partir de los datos codificados de los informes de alta. Se han incluido los pacientes operados de fémur durante 1996, codificados según la Clasificación Internacional de Enfermedades (CIE-9-MC), recogiéndose la edad, sexo, los códigos de diagnósticos, de procedimientos, incluidas las transfusiones, y de las intervenciones quirúrgicas. Fueron operados 256 pacientes, de los que 64 (25%) fueron transfundidos. Mediante análisis univariante, el mayor riesgo transfusional, (con significación estadística), es en pacientes mayores de 70 años (29.5%), pacientes con fracturas de fémur (27.7%), y pacientes a los que se realizaron tres o más técnicas quirúrgicas durante la intervención (50%). Mediante regresión logística, la edad y el número de técnicas realizadas, son los factores asociados con el riesgo de transfusión, siendo la probabilidad de transfusión en los pacientes con mayores de 70 años 2.49 veces respecto a los mayores de 70 años (p:0.01), y de 4.03 veces cuando se realizan 3 o más técnicas respecto al grupo con 1 o 2 técnicas (p:0.015). La edad y la complejidad de la operación son los factores con carácter pronóstico del riesgo de transfusión en la cirugía de fémur.The purpose is to analyse the likelihood of perioperative transfusion in fémur surgery ping the data of the abstracted patient discharge records. Patients with femur surgical procedures patient performed during 1996 in the Central Hospital of Asturas were studied. The abstracted patient discharge records were codified according to the ICD-0 CM codes. Gender, age, diagnosis, procedures, among them the transfusions of blood derivates and the surgical procedures were analysed. Out of 256 operated patients, 64 (25%) were transfused. The groups of patients more frequently transfused were those more older than 70 years (29.5), femur fracture (27.7%) and patients undergoing three o more surgical techniques during the surgical intervention (50%). By multivariate logistic regression analysis, the age and the number of surgical techniques where factors independently related with the likelihood of being transfused. The adjusted odds ratio of perioperative transfusion in patients than 70 year in 2.49 times in relation with the rest of people (p:0.01), and in patients who undergoing three or more surgical techniques 4.03 times in relation to those with 1 or 2 surgeries (p:0.015). Among the variables studied, age and the number surgical techniques (as an indirect surgical complexity index) are factors independently related with the likelihood of being transfused

Infosura en Equinos

La infosura en el caballo es una enfermedad que constituye una urgencia clínica de carácter grave, donde un alto porcentaje de los ejemplares que la cursan deben ser sometidos a eutanasia como producto de alteraciones tróficas inducidas por la patología, que hacen imposible evitar la rotación de la tercera falange y posterior desprendimiento del casco. No se conoce completamente la etiopatogenia del cuadro lo que hace imposible disponer hoy en día de un esquema terapéutico cien por ciento efectivo. Factores relacionados a falla de perfusión a nivel de unión dermo epidermal y activación de enzimas que destruyen la unión entre los hemidesmosomas de la lámina basal con el corion, están involucrados en la evolución de la patología. El pronóstico que podamos hacer dependerá del nivel de daño en el  pie, del grado de compromiso sistémico, del tiempo de evolución del cuadro, del número de miembros afectados y en la presentación crónica del grado de rotación de la falange distal.

Juncus emmanuelis

This species is endemic to a small area in the southwestern Iberian Peninsula, with subpopulations scattered in approximately 16 localities. It is assessed as Endangered (EN B2ab(ii,iii,iv)) because it has an Area of Occupancy (AOO) of less than 500 km2 and shows signs of severe fragmentation due to the ongoing transformation of its specific habitat of sandy soils with an impermeable underlayer in temporary pools, as a result of several ongoing major threats associated with intensive agricultural activities. Based on this information, a continuing decline in the AOO, habitat quality and number of subpopulations has been inferred. Additional research and conservation action is needed for this species

Modeling the heat transfer by conduction of nanocellular polymers with bimodal cellular structures

Nanocellular polymers are a new generation of materials with the potential of being used as very efficient thermal insulators. It has been proved experimentally that these materials present the Knudsen effect, which strongly reduces the conductivity of the gas phase. There are theoretical equations to predict the thermal conductivity due to this Knudsen effect, but all the models consider an average cell size. In this work, we propose a model to predict the thermal conductivity due to the conduction mechanisms of nanocellular materials with bimodal cellular structures, that is, with two populations of cells, micro and nanocellular. The novelty of our work is to consider not only the average cell size, but the cell size distribution. The predictions of the model are compared with the experimental conductivity of two real bimodal systems based on poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and it is proved that this new model provides more accurate estimations of the conductivity than the models that do not consider the bimodality. Furthermore, this model could be applied to monomodal nanocellular polymers. In particular, for monomodal materials presenting a wide cell size distribution and at low densities, the model predicts important variations in comparison with the current models in the literature. This result indicates that the cell size distribution must be included in the estimations of the thermal conductivity of nanocellular polymer

Local versus Global Information Relevance in Website Use: A Case Study with the Information Literacy Portal AlfinEEES

Introduction: A model to explore the relations among local and global relevance-based information behaviour is proposed that is based on objective and subjective measures of the relevance of the Website contents. Method: Global interest for the Website was researched using data on visits, while local use was explored with two surveys on the motivations and self-assessed knowledge of a group of fifteen students, administered to them before and after being exposed to the information site. Results: Results suggest that improvement in competence perception and the number of visits are, in general, measures of the site relevance that offer similar results. Regarding general data, the most visited competences are those of a more general interest (such as learning to learn), and the students show a big pre-test confidence in their knowledge of most of the studied competences. Conclusions: The increase in the subjective level of competence in an e-learning site is a good predictor of the whole success of a site, when working with their primary intended audience. In the future, to have independent measures, it would be interesting to carry out expert evaluation of the real competences of the students.This article has been produced as a result of a project initially granted by the Spanish Ministry of Education (Studies and Analysis Programme, EA2005-43)