Diffusion Tensor Tractography in Cerebral White Matter

Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows researchers and clinicians to observe the anatomy and injuries of the cerebral white matter (CWM) in dogs. However, dynamic images based on the diffusion tensor (DT) technique are required to assess fiber tract integrity of the CWM. Diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) produces a three-dimensional representation in which data are displayed on a colored map obtained from the anisotropy of water molecules in the CWM tracts. Fractional anisotropy (FA) is a value that measures changes in water diffusion, which can occur if the CWM tracts are displaced, disrupted, or infiltrated. The goal of this study was to determine the feasibility of DTT for in vivo examination of the normal appearance of CWM in dogs through visual and quantitative analysis of the most representative CWM tracts

Learning a statistical model of product aspects for sentiment analysis

En este art culo se introduce una nueva metodolog a para modelar ca- racter sticas de productos a partir de una colecci on de opiniones de usuarios. La metodolog a propuesta se basa en modelos estad sticos de lenguajes y es aplicable a productos de dominio arbitrario. La metodolog a combina un kernel de palabras de opini on con un modelo de traducci on de palabras para estimar el modelo de caracter sticas. Se presenta adem as un m etodo para modelar las opiniones vertidas sobre las caracter sticas. Los experimentos realizados sobre diferentes colecciones de opiniones muestran resultados alentadores en el modelado tanto de caracter sticas como de opiniones vertidas sobre estasIn this paper, we introduce a new methodology for modeling product aspects from a collection of free-text customer reviews. The proposal relies on a lan- guage modeling framework and is domain independent. It combines both a kernel- based model of opinion words and a stochastic translation model between words to approach the aspect model of products. We also present a ranking-based met- hodology to model the sentiments expressed about the aspects. The experiments carried out over several collections of customer reviews show encouraging results in the modeling of product aspects and their sentiments even from individual customer review

Aprendizaje de un modelo de características de productos para el análisis de opiniones

En este artículo se introduce una nueva metodología para modelar características de productos a partir de una colección de opiniones de usuarios. La metodología propuesta se basa en modelos estadísticos de lenguajes y es aplicable a productos de dominio arbitrario. La metodología combina un kernel de palabras de opinión con un modelo de traducción de palabras para estimar el modelo de características. Se presenta además un método para modelar las opiniones vertidas sobre las características. Los experimentos realizados sobre diferentes colecciones de opiniones muestran resultados alentadores en el modelado tanto de características como de opiniones vertidas sobre éstas.In this paper, we introduce a new methodology for modeling product aspects from a collection of free-text customer reviews. The proposal relies on a language modeling framework and is domain independent. It combines both a kernel-based model of opinion words and a stochastic translation model between words to approach the aspect model of products. We also present a ranking-based methodology to model the sentiments expressed about the aspects. The experiments carried out over several collections of customer reviews show encouraging results in the modeling of product aspects and their sentiments even from individual customer reviews.This work has been partially funded by the “Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad” with contract number TIN2011-24147 and by the Fundació Caixa Castelló project P1-1B2010-49. Lisette García-Moya has been supported by the PhD Fellowship Program of the Universitat Jaume I (PREDOC/2009/12)

Impacto del compliance tributario en el tejido empresarial español

[ES] A lo largo de este trabajo se ha pretendido analizar el impacto del compliance tributario en las empresas españolas, estudiando las medidas que se llevan implementando en los últimos años a nivel internacional, especialmente impulsadas por la OCDE, con el denominado Plan BEPS, y la Unión Europea, con la aprobación de la Directiva conocida como DAC 6 que impulsa el intercambio automático de información en el ámbito de la fiscalidad. En el caso de España, desde 2010, se han desarrollado medidas para implementar el compliance tributario y mejorar las relaciones existentes con la AEAT, como el Código de Buenas Prácticas Tributarias o algunas modificaciones legislativas que han introducido el cumplimiento tributario. Al Código fundamentalmente se han adherido grandes empresas o grupos empresariales y no llega todavía a la mayoría del tejido empresarial español. Por otra parte, tras analizar la norma UNE 19602 de Sistemas de gestión de Compliance tributario se constata que pueden existir dificultades para que las empresas con un tamaño reducido cumplan con los requisitos que exige esta norma, que pese a ser voluntaria, puede contribuir a demostrar que la empresa apuesta por el compliance tributario y mejorar su imagen. Por último, se evidencia la necesidad de una mayor seguridad jurídica y transparencia por parte de la AEAT, así como, que en la Ley General Tributaria, existe cierto margen para incentivar la adopción del compliance tributario, que va a ser fundamental en los próximos años.[EN] Throughout this research we have tried to analyze the impact of tax compliance in the Spanish companies, to study the measures that have been implemented in recent years at the international level, especially driven by the OECD, with the called BEPS Plan, and the European Union, with the approval of the Directive, DAC 6 that promotes the automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation. In the case of Spain, since 2010, measures have been developed to implement tax compliance and improve the relationships with the AEAT, such as the Code of Best Tax Practices or some legislative amendments that have worked as tax compliance. Only large companies or business groups have been joined by the Code and does not yet reach the majority of the Spanish business. On the other hand, after analyzing the UNE 19602 standard of Tax Compliance Management Systems, it is noted that there may be difficulties for companies with a reduced size to comply with the requirements of this standard, which despite being voluntary, can help to demonstrate that the company is committed to tax compliance and improve its image. Finally, we see the need for greater legal security and transparency by the AEAT, as well as the General Tax Law, there is some scope to encourage the adoption of tax compliance, which will be essential in the coming years.Anaya García, A. (2019). Impacto del compliance tributario en el tejido empresarial español. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/125193TFG

The Autoimmune Tautology: From Polyautoimmunity and Familial Autoimmunity to the Autoimmune Genes

Autoimmune diseases (ADs) are chronic conditions initiated\ud by the loss of immunological tolerance to self-antigens and\ud represent a heterogeneous group of disorders that afflict specific\ud target organs ormultiple organ systems [1]. The chronic\ud nature of these diseases places a significant burden on the utilization\ud of medical care, direct and indirect economic costs,\ud and quality of life. The fact that ADs share several clinical\ud signs and symptoms (i.e., subphenotypes), physiopathological\ud mechanisms, and genetic factors has been called\ud autoimmune tautology and indicates that they have common\ud mechanism

Chitosan gel film bandages: correlating structure, composition, and antimicrobial properties

Chitosan gel films were successfully obtained by evaporation cast from chitosan solutions in aqueous acidic solutions of organic acids (lactic and acetic acid) as gel film bandages, with a range of additives that directly influence film morphology and porosity. We show that the structure and composition of a wide range of 128 thin gel films, is correlated to the antimicrobial properties, their biocompatibility and resistance to biodegradation. Infrared spectroscopy and solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to correlate film molecular structure and composition to good antimicrobial properties against 10 of the most prevalent Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. Chitosan gel films reduce the number of colonies after 24 h of incubation by factors of ∼105–107 CFU/mL, compared with controls. For each of these films, the structure and preparation condition has a direct relationship to antimicrobial activity and effectiveness. These gel film bandages also show excellent stability against biodegradation with lysozyme under physiological conditions (5% weight loss over a period of 1 month, 2% in the first week), allowing use during the entire healing process. These chitosan thin films and subsequent derivatives hold potential as low-cost, dissolvable bandages, or second skin, with antimicrobial properties that prohibit the most relevant intrahospital bacteria that infest burn injuries

Wild boar battues reduce crop damages in a protected area

Agricultural damages caused by wild boar Sus scrofa have given farmers a negative impression of protected areas and their management. To mitigate those damages and the social conflicts that they create, hunting battues involving experienced local hunters were used as a lethal population control method in a protected Iberian wetland. In the Ebro Sotos and Galachos Nature Reserve, Spain, between 1994 and 2011, 259 wild boars were culled during 476 battues. On average, battues involved six hunters and ten dogs, and culling efficiency (number of animals killed per animals seen during battues) was 39 %. The number of battues per year and the area of crop damages caused by wild boar were significantly negatively correlated, demonstrating battue efficiency to decrease damages. Moreover, intermittent population control through culling led to a substantial increase in the wild boar population, with an increase in crop damages. This underlines the importance of constant control. The numbers of hunters and dogs and the number of wild boar seen during battues were strongly correlated. To minimize the conflicts between farmers and the management of protected areas, we suggest that the inexpensive, volunteer-based population control program could be enhanced by incorporating stalking and mobile electric fences

Cyclist Injury Severity in Spain: A Bayesian Analysis of Police Road Injury Data Focusing on Involved Vehicles and Route Environment

This study analyses factors associated with cyclist injury severity, focusing on vehicle type, route environment, and interactions between them. Data analysed was collected by Spanish police during 2016 and includes records relating to 12,318 drivers and cyclist involving in collisions with at least one injured cyclist, of whom 7230 were injured cyclists. Bayesian methods were used to model relationships between cyclist injury severity and circumstances related to the crash, with the outcome variable being whether a cyclist was killed or seriously injured (KSI) rather than slightly injured. Factors in the model included those relating to the injured cyclist, the route environment, and involved motorists. Injury severity among cyclists was likely to be higher where an Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) was involved, and certain route conditions (bicycle infrastructure, 30 kph zones, and urban zones) were associated with lower injury severity. Interactions exist between the two: collisions involving large vehicles in lower-risk environments are less likely to lead to KSIs than collisions involving large vehicles in higher-risk environments. Finally, motorists involved in a collision were more likely than the injured cyclists to have committed an error or infraction. The study supports the creation of infrastructure that separates cyclists from motor tra c. Also, action needs to be taken to address motorist behaviour, given the imbalance between responsibility and risk.European Regional Development Fund (Ref. FEDER BU300P18)

Influencia de la Educación Nutricional sobre la Adopción de Preferencias Alimentarias en Estudiantes de Gastronomía

The university students require an accompaniment in nutritional education, which allows them to maintain good eating habits. This research evaluates the influence of nutritional education on food preferences of gastronomy students, compared to students who do not have this type of training. For this, a sample of 72 students from the Universidad Católica Luis Amigó, Medellín, Colombia is used, to which an instrument is applied with data about: the frequency of food consumption, number of meals eaten daily, feeding times , places of food consumption different from the home, among others. It is found that students include more meat, eggs and dried legumes in their diet. Conversely, fruits and vegetables do not occupy an important place in their eating practices. Furthermore, no significant differences were found between the two groups of students compared. It is concluded that the level of knowledge in nutritional education that an individual has, is not synonymous with healthy eating practices.Los universitarios requieren un acompañamiento en educación nutricional, que les permita mantener buenos hábitos alimenticios. Esta investigación, evalúa la influencia que ejerce la educación nutricional sobre las preferencias alimentarias de los estudiantes de gastronomía, comparados con los estudiantes que no cuentan con este tipo de formación. Para ello, se emplea una muestra de 72 estudiantes de la Universidad Católica Luis Amigó, Medellín, Colombia a los cuales se les aplica un instrumento con datos acerca de: la frecuencia de consumo de alimentos, número de comidas ingeridas a diario, horarios de alimentación, lugares de consumo alimentario diferentes al hogar, entre otros. Se encuentra que los estudiantes incluyen más en su alimentación carnes, huevos y leguminosas secas. De manera contraria, frutas y verduras no ocupan un lugar importante en sus prácticas alimentarias.  Además, no se encuentran diferencias significativas entre los dos grupos de estudiantes comparados. Se concluye que el nivel de conocimiento en educación nutricional que tenga un individuo, no es sinónimo de prácticas alimentarias saludable

Motorcycle detection for ADAS through camera and V2V communication, a comparative analysis of two modern technologies

Motorcycles are one of the most dangerous means of transportation. Its death toll is higher than in others, due to the inherent vulnerability of motorcycle drivers. The latest strategies in Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS) are trying to mitigate this problem by applying the advances of modern technologies to the road transport. This paper presents two different approaches on motorcycle protection, based on two of the most modern available technologies in ADAS, i.e. Computer Vision and Vehicle to Vehicle Communication (V2V). The first approach is based on data fusion of Laser Scanner and Computer Vision, providing accurate obstacle detection and localization based on laser scanner, and obstacle classification using computer vision and laser. The second approach is based on ad-hoc V2V technology and provides detection in case of occlusion for visual sensors. Both technologies have been tested in the presented work, and a performance comparison is given. Tests performed in different driving situations allows to measure the performance of every algorithm and the limitations of each of them based on empirical and scientific foundations. The conclusions of the presented work help foster of expert systems in the automotive sector by providing further discussion of the viability and impact from each of these systems in real scenarios