Improving a Satellite Mission System by means of a Semantic Grid Architecture

The use of a semantic grid architecture can make easier the deployment of complex applications, in which several organizations are involved and diverse resources are shared. This paper presents the application of the architecture defined in the Ontogrid project (S-OGSA) into a scenario for the analysis of the quality of the products of satellite missions

Expansion for the solutions of the Bogomolny equations on the torus

We show that the solutions of the Bogomolny equations for the Abelian Higgs model on a two-dimensional torus, can be expanded in powers of a quantity epsilon measuring the departure of the area from the critical area. This allows a precise determination of the shape of the solutions for all magnetic fluxes and arbitrary position of the Higgs field zeroes. The expansion is carried out to 51 orders for a couple of representative cases, including the unit flux case. We analyse the behaviour of the expansion in the limit of large areas, in which case the solutions approach those on the plane. Our results suggest convergence all the way up to infinite area.Comment: 26 pages, 8 figures, slightly revised version as published in JHE

Evaluation of modern and mid-Holocene seasonal precipitation of the Mediterranean and northern Africa in the CMIP5 simulations

We analyse the spatial expression of seasonal climates of the Mediterranean and northern Africa in pre-industrial (piControl) and mid-Holocene (midHolocene, 6 yr BP) simulations from the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). Modern observations show four distinct precipitation regimes characterized by differences in the seasonal distribution and total amount of precipitation: an equatorial band characterized by a double peak in rainfall, the monsoon zone characterized by summer rainfall, the desert characterized by low seasonality and total precipitation, and the Mediterranean zone characterized by summer drought. Most models correctly simulate the position of the Mediterranean and the equatorial climates in the piControl simulations, but overestimate the extent of monsoon influence and underestimate the extent of desert. However, most models fail to reproduce the amount of precipitation in each zone. Model biases in the simulated magnitude of precipitation are unrelated to whether the models reproduce the correct spatial patterns of each regime. In the midHolocene, the models simulate a reduction in winter rainfall in the equatorial zone, and a northward expansion of the monsoon with a significant increase in summer and autumn rainfall. Precipitation is slightly increased in the desert, mainly in summer and autumn, with northward expansion of the monsoon. Changes in the Mediterranean are small, although there is an increase in spring precipitation consistent with palaeo-observations of increased growing-season rainfall. Comparison with reconstructions shows most models underestimate the mid-Holocene changes in annual precipitation, except in the equatorial zone. Biases in the piControl have only a limited influence on midHolocene anomalies in ocean–atmosphere models; carbon-cycle models show no relationship between piControl bias and midHolocene anomalies. Biases in the prediction of the midHolocene monsoon expansion are unrelated to how well the models simulate changes in Mediterranean climate

A graceful multiversal link of particle physics to cosmology

In this paper we work out a multiverse scenario whose physical characteristics enable us to advance the following the conjecture that whereas the physics of particles and fields is confined to live in the realm of the whole multiverse formed by finite-time single universes, that for our observable universe must be confined just in one of the infinite number of universes of the multiverse when such a universe is consistently referred to an infinite cosmic time. If this conjecture is adopted then some current fundamental problems that appear when one tries to make compatible particle physics and cosmology- such as that for the cosmological constant, the arrow of time and the existence of a finite proper size of the event horizon- can be solved.Comment: 10 pages, LaTe

Cardiovascular disease versus periodontal disease: chronic systemic infection as a link

Objective : Analysis of the alleged connection between the periodontal and cardiovascular disease, with reference to periodontal pathogens as a risk factor for heart disease. Researching method : A research was carried out at Medline/Pubmed. Included criteria and researching strategy. The articles selection has been made taking into account key-terms appearing either in the title or in the summary. Experimental studies in animals, clinical prospective studies performed with a minimum sample size (>30) and studies written in English have been included. The rejected criteria were the following: clinical retrospective studies and/or studies carried out with a low sample size (n<30). Results : Within systemic diseases related to periodontal ones, the alleged link between periodontal and heart and circulatory disease has been one of the most investigated in recent times. Different authors consider the existence of a link between the diseases as such, inappropriate and implausible since both the diseases have risk factors in common (age, gender, smoking, diet, oral hygiene and diabetes). However, speculations about the origin of the diseases were raised when it was demonstrated that some bacteria species, bacteria proteins and lipopolysaccharide are present at the plaques of atherosclerosis that obstruct the coronary arteries. The mechanisms of this connection have been analyzed following an actualized review. Conclusion : Most of the experimental and clinical studies ensure that a positive association between periodontal disease and heart disease has been found, once the con-founder factors have been eliminate

ANALISIS DE RIESGOS DE CIBERSEGURIDAD EN ARQUITECTURA DE VEHICULOS AUTOMATIZADOS

Los vehiculos conectados y automatizados han sido recientemente concebidos como entes ci- berf sicos, estrechamente relacionados con la red del Internet de las cosas (IoT). Este hecho supone un incremento en la super cie de ataque del veh culo, que junto a la creciente tendencia hacia veh culos automatizados, hacen que estos riesgos de ciberseguridad puedan tener conse- cuencias catastr o cas en seguridad vial. En el presente trabajo se expone un an alisis de riesgos de ciberseguridad en el marco de una arquitectura de veh culos automatizados. Este an alisis previo se realiza en el contexto de dos escenarios de estudio en maniobras cooperativas. Inicialmente se presenta un estado del arte de la ciberseguridad en automoci on, as como tambi en su repercusi on en entornos automatizados, haciendo especialenfasis en las comunicaciones entre veh culos y con infraestructura. Adem as, se analizan dos maniobras cooperativas, y se ilustran una serie de posibles ataques en la plataforma.H2020 SerIoT (780139

El aprendizaje autorregulado como medio y meta de la educación

En la actualidad, en los comienzos del siglo XXI, las principales necesidades a las que deben dar respuesta el sistema educativo y las leyes que lo amparen, y a las que trata de dar respuesta en la LOE son básicamente dos. Por un lado, proporcionar una educación de calidad a todos los niveles del sistema educativo, lo que conlleva la necesidad de asumir un importante desafío: conseguir el éxito escolar de todos los jóvenes, que se traduce básicamente en mejorar el nivel educativo de todo el alumnado y lograr que alcancen el máximo desarrollo de todas sus capacidades. Por otro lado, actualmente, más que nunca, la educación debe preparar adecuadamente para vivir en la nueva sociedad del conocimiento y para afrontar los retos que de ella se deriven. En este artículo se aborda este tema central a todos los niveles educativos, analizando, principalmente, qué implica estar capacitado para un aprendizaje autónomo y cómo promover dichas competencias en el aula.Nowadays, at the beginning of the XXI century, the main needs to be fulfilled by an educational system and the laws that support it, and which the LOE expects to meet, are basically two. On the one hand, the first need is to provide with a high quality education to all the educational system levels; which means the need to assume an important challenge: to achieve academic success for young people; this idea basically means to improve the educational level of all students, and to obtain the highest development of all their abilities. On the other hand, nowadays, more than ever, education must prepare appropriately people both to live in the new society of knowledge and to face the challenges derived from it. In this article, we tackle this main topic to all the educational levels; we essentially analyze what to be prepared for a self-governing learning means, and how to promote these competences in the classroom

Evaluación de los procesos de autorregulación mediante autoinforme

La evaluación de los procesos de autorregulación del aprendizaje escolar se encuentra hoy en un momento crítico debido a los problemas que presenta su estimación a través de instrumentos tipo autoinforme. En este artículo presentamos los resultados obtenidos en un trabajo de investigación en el que se trató de averiguar en qué medida el mayor o menor grado de conciencia que el alumno tenga sobre el proceso de autorregulación del aprendizaje y estudio (y las estrategias y actividades implicadas en el mismo) tiene efectos significativos sobre la calidad de las respuestas dadas en instrumentos de evaluación tipo autoinforme. Para comprobar esta hipótesis se ha diseñado y realizado un experimento con medida pretest y postest, sin grupo control, en el cual han participado 90 estudiantes de diferentes cursos y licenciaturas. La intervención ha tenido una duración de 45 horas, distribuidas en 8 sesiones de 5 horas cada una, y ha consistido en el trabajo teórico-práctico de las estrategias y tareas implicadas en el proceso de autorregulación del aprendizaje y estudio académico. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que la información aportada por un instrumento autoinforme es significativamente más precisa después de la intervención y han sido interpretados en el sentido de que este tipo de intervención previo a la evaluación mejora sustancialmente la información obtenida mediante este tipo de instrumentos.Self regulation processes measurement through self-report methodology. Nowadays the evaluation of self-regulated learning processes is having a critical time due to the problems concerning the assessment instruments. This paper presents the outcomes of a research study having a main goal: evaluate to what extent student’s consciousness of his/her own self-regulated learning and study processes (and the involved strategies and activities) has a significant impact on the quality of his/her answers on selfreport type instruments. In order to prove this hypothesis an experimental study was designed and built including a pre and a post-test, having no control group, using a sample of 90 college students from different degree courses. The intervention program lasted 45 hours, divided into 8 work sessions of 5 hours each. The developed work included both theoretical and practical tasks dealing with strategies and activities involved in the self-regulated learning and study processes. The results show that the collected data using a self-report instrument is much more significant and accurate after the intervention program has taken place and that the intervention greatly improves the obtained information using these kind of instruments

Cantus: Construction and evaluation of a software solution for real-time vocal music training and musical intonation assessment

The development of the ability to sing or play in tune is one of the most critical tasks in music training. In music education, melodic patterns are usually learned by imitative processes (modelling). Once modelled, pitch sounds are then associ-ated to a representation according to a syllabic system such as the Guidonian system - or an arbitrary single syllable - or western graphic notation system symbols. From a didactic standpoint, few advances have been made in this area besides the use of audio-supported guides and existing software, which use a microphone to analyse the input and estimate the pitch or fundamental frequency of the given tone. However, these programmes lack the necessary analytical algo-rithm to provide the student with precise feedback on their execution; and also they do not provide adequate noise-robust solutions to minimize the student assessment error rate. The ongoing research discussed in this article focuses on Cantus, a new software solution expressly designed as an assessment and diagnosis tool for online training and assessment of vocal musical intonation at the initial stages of music education. Cantus software embodies the latest research on real-time analy-sis of audio stream, which permits the teacher to customize music training by means of recording patterns and embedding them into the programme. The study presented in this article includes the design, implementation and assessment of Cantus by music teachers. The pilot study for the software assessment includes a sample of 21 music teachers working at thirteen music schools in Valencia, Spain. These teachers worked with the software at their own pace for a week in order to evaluate it. Subsequently, a two-part questionnaire was filled in with (1) ques-tions related to demographics, professional experience and the use of ITC; and (2) questions related to the software's technical and didactic aspects. The question-naire also included three open questions related to Cantus, namely advantages, issues and suggestions. The results show an excellent reception by teachers, who consider this software as a highly adequate music training tool at the initial stages of music education

Abordagem dos alunos à aprendizagem: análise do construto

A partir dos anos 70, emergiram dois referenciais para se investigar as abordagens dos alunos à aprendizagem. O primeiro, qualitativo, baseado nos estudos de Marton e colaboradores; o outro, desenvolvido por Biggs e colaboradores, e por Entwistle. O QPA (Questionário de Processos de Aprendizagem), uma adaptação para a língua portuguesa do Learning Processes Questionnaire, foi usado para avaliar as abordagens à aprendizagem. A dimensionalidade desse instrumento tem sido discutida na literatura, perguntando-se se três fatores (superficial, profundo e de alto rendimento) mostraram a descrição mais apropriada do construto. Os dados obtidos reforçam a convicção de que existem duas orientações fundamentais à aprendizagem, distinguindo-se pela presença ou ausência da intenção para compreender o material a aprender, tal como foi sugerido nos estudos iniciais por Marton e Säljö. Ressalta-se a necessidade de uma discussão complementar sobre a natureza substantiva da abordagem de alto rendimento em futuras investigações.Starting from the seventies, two frameworks investigating the approaches to learning emerged. The first one, qualitative, from Marton and collaborators’ studies, and the other one developed by Biggs and collaborators, and by Entwistle. Approaches to the learning evaluation was done with QPA (Questionário de Processos da Aprendizagem), a portuguese adaptation of Learning Processes Questionnaire. The dimensional structure of approaches to learning has been discussed in the literature, wondering if three factors superficial, deep and strategic, showed the most appropriate description of the construct. The data reinforce the conviction of two fundamental orientations to learning standing for the presence or absence of the intention to understand the material to learn, just as suggested in the initial studies by Marton and Saljo. A complementary discussion on the substantive nature of the strategic approach is needed on future research