Application of Soft Computing Technologies toward Assessment and Skills Development

Schools and universities face multiple challenges when they target initiating or expanding undergraduate programs. Education has traditionally utilized a teacher-centered educational and assessment approach. Only few attempts exist to involve objective feedback and non-traditional assessment methods and technologies to improve the processes of teaching, learning, and education in general. This paper addresses a novel objective multi-parameter assessment methodology based on Soft computing technology to discover the effect of students’ groupings by exploiting the interrelationships between the grades the students received for their laboratory subjects and the grade they obtained in the university enrolment exam. The research results allow for exploring non-desirable discordant teaching and assessment practices for individuals or groups. In addition, the results obtained illustrate opportunities to focus on the individual student during the education process and determine adaptive teaching strategies based on the particular level of knowledge and experience. Toward these results statistical and Soft computing models implementing Unsupervised Neural and Exploratory Projection Techniques have been applied to carry on the objective assessment of the students’ skills development during the entire higher education period. Empirical verification of the proposed assessment model is performed in a real environment, where a case study is defined, and analysed. The real data set to validate the performance of the proposed approach has been collected at the School of Dentistry of the Complutense University of Madrid

ICOS-Spain. Activity Report 2021-2022

Editors: O.E. García, S.F. León-Luis y Melchor González-Dávila.[ES]El Sistema Integrado de Observación del Carbono (ICOS) es una infraestructura europea de investigación (ERIC) que tiene por objetivo la monitorización de gases de efecto invernadero. Esta iniciativa está financiada por la Unión Europea y países socios. La Asamblea General de ICOS aprobó la solicitud de adhesión de España, y su incorporación se hizo oficial el 1 de enero de 2021. En la actualidad, la red ICOS-España, donde AEMET ejerce la coordinación, cuenta con cinco estaciones que cubren los dominios: atmosférico, oceánico y de ecosistema. El "Informe de Actividades ICOS-España: 2021-2022" presenta las principales tareas llevadas a cabo en cada estación, con el objetivo de obtener la certificación ICOS y mostrar el estado actual de avance en este proceso. Además, el informe también resume las actividades de comunicación y difusión realizadas por los investigadores que forman parte del nodo nacional.[EN]The Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) is a European Research Infrastructure (ERIC) that aims to monitor greenhouse gases. This initiative is funded by the European Union and partner countries. The ICOS General Assembly approved Spain's membership, and its incorporation officially began on January 1, 2021. Currently, the ICOS-Spain national network, coordinated by AEMET, has five stations covering atmospheric, oceanic, and ecosystem domains. The "ICOS-Spain Activities Report: 2021-2022" presents the main tasks carried out at each station, with the aim of obtaining ICOS certification and the current situation of this process. In addition, the report also summarizes the communication and dissemination activities carried out by the researchers who are part of the national node

Asociaciones de moluscos de fondos sedimentarios circalitorales y batiales del norte del mar de Alborán

Molluscan assemblages from shelf and slope soft bottoms of the Alboran Sea have been sampled with a beam trawl during 2014 and 2015 MEDITS expeditions. A total of 134 spp. of molluscs (shell size > 3 mm) were identified, being gastropods the most diverse and dominant group. Four main depth related assemblages were detected in multivariate analyses and characterized by (1) Turritella communis, Chamelea striatula and Nucula sulcata for the inner shelf, (2) Timoclea ovata, Clelandella miliaris and Neopycnodonte cochlear for the outer shelf, (3) Nassarius ovoideus, Calumbonella suturale and N. sulcata for the upper slope and (4) Abra longicallus, Euspira fusca and Aporrhais serresianus for the middle slope. Species richness and abundance decreased with depth, unlike evenness and Shannon-Wiener diversity which displayed an opposite pattern. A higher spatial variability was detected for the shelf, indicating that more assemblages may occur at this level and further sampling is needed for covering all sedimentary habitat types of the Alboran Sea.Versión del edito

A Review of the Progress and Potential of Energy Generation from Renewable Sources in Latin America

Sustainable energy economics in Latin America has become relevant due to the region’s dependence on the oil market and the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A systematic review of the ten major economies in the region based on gross domestic product is conducted. We primarily analyze production performance of hydro, wind, and solar energies, in terms of total gigawatt hours produced, current participation levels in energy matrices, and total installed capacity. Current and future trends and legal frameworks for each technology and country are discussed. Our analyses indicate that Latin America and the Caribbean can potentially increase the usage of renewable energy sources given a plethora of natural resources, favorable geographical and climatic conditions, and existing large-scale hydro installations to counteract the inconsistency of wind and solar projects. Therefore, governments in the region must overhaul sustainable policies to increase awareness and reduce energy dependence on foreign powers

Submarine canyons and related features in the Alboran Sea: continental margins and major isolated reliefs

The analysis of a data set of multibeam bathymetry plus high resolution seismic and parametric profiles allow us to characterize the geomorphologic units on the Alboran Sea-floor as well as the evolution of morpho-sedimentary systems along the Pliocene and Quaternary, later than the main erosive Messinian event. Since the opening of the Gibraltar Straits, the sedimentary evolution of this basin has been controlled by the interchange of water masses between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Basin physiography is also a consequence of the Pliocene-Quaternary compression which has progressively uplifted the sourrounding reliefs and deforms the interior and the margins of the basin. On this scenario, several submarine canyons and gullies have been developed in this basin which traverse especially the northern margin and the flanks of the Northern Alboran Ridge, without affecting the African margins. This fact must be related to the action of bottom contour currents which constitute the main morpho-sedimentary process. The influence of water masses distributed the sedimentary input carried by rivers and coming from the erosion of surrounding ranges. In the southern margin of this basin this influence is stronger and inhibits the development of transversal submarine canyons

From chemosynthesis-based communities to cold-water corals: Vulnerable deep-sea habitats of the Gulf of Cádiz

The Gulf of Cádiz (GoC) represents an area of ecological importance within the northeastern Atlantic Ocean due to the presence of Mediterranean and Atlantic water masses, a heterogeneous seafloor and a biological confluence. Nevertheless, information on the presence of vulnerable deep-sea habitats is still very scarce and it is of importance for further habitat monitoring within the context of the Habitats and Marine Strategy Framework Directives and for improving conservation and resource extraction management. From 2010 to 2012, fluid migration and emission related edifices (e.g., mud volcanoes, diapirs) from the Spanish continental margin of the GoC have been explored using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV; Liropus 2000) and an underwater camera sled (UCS; APHIA 2012) as well as several devices for collecting sediment and fauna. Different vulnerable deep-sea habitats have been observed, including anoxic bottoms with bacterial mats, sea-pen communities, sponge aggregations, antipatharian and gorgonian communities and also cold-water coral banks. Some of these habitats are included in conservation lists of the habitat directive and in international conventions (OSPAR, RAC/SPA), however some of them are located in areas of the GoC that are exposed to intense trawling. The diversity of habitats detected in the Spanish continental margin of the GoC highlights the importance of seepage related edifices as inducers of seabed and habitat heterogeneity in deep-sea areas.En prens

Asociaciones de crustáceos decápodos de volcanes de fango y fondos adyacentes en aguas españolas del Golfo de Cádiz

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Deep-sea habitat characterization using acoustic data and underwater imagery in Gazul mud volcano (Gulf of Cádiz, NE Atlantic)

Gazul is the shallowest mud volcano (MV) within the Shallow Field of Fluid Expulsion (SFFE) of the northeastern Gulf of Cádiz (NE Atlantic; 300–1200 m depth). The SFFE represents an important geo- and biodiversity area that was designated as a Site of Community Importance under the European Habitats Directive in 2014. In this study, geological features, habitats and associated biodiversity, as well as anthropogenic impacts, were characterized at Gazul MV from underwater imagery and multibeam bathymetry. Multivariate methods using the Bray-Curtis similarity index identified six main habitats, each of which harbored a characteristic faunal assemblage that included: (1) sandy ripple bottoms typified by the actiniarian Actinauge richardi; (2) sandy, muddy, coarse sand and bioclastic bottoms dominated by the solitary coral Flabellum chunii; (3) coarse sand and bioclastic bottoms, together with soft sediments covered by scattered methane-derived authigenic carbonates (MDACs) (mixed bottoms), characterized by the echinoid Cidaris cidaris; (4) hard bottoms comprising MDACs dominated by a wide variety of sponges and gorgonians; (5) coral-rubble bottoms typified by the presence of colonial scleractinian communities dominated by Madrepora oculata; and (6) mixed bottoms characterized by the presence of a styelid ascidian. Slope and water depth were the main factors explaining assemblages’ distribution, which was also supported by the presence of MDACs such as slabs, crusts and chimneys on the seafloor, as well as by the geomorphologic diversity of Gazul MV. The results highlight Gazul MV as an eco-biologically important area harboring different vulnerable marine ecosystem (VME) elements with indicator taxa such as scleractinians, sponges, gorgonians and black corals. ROV images revealed abandoned or lost fishing gears and marine debris on the seafloor, indicating anthropogenic impacts in Gazul MV and adjacent areas. Indeed trawling fisheries activities have also been detected in Vessel Monitoring System datasets. A fishery restricted area is recommended in Gazul MV due to the occurrence of diverse VMEs and species included in different conservation directives and conventions.Postprin