MC64-ClustalWP2: A Highly-Parallel Hybrid Strategy to Align Multiple Sequences in Many-Core Architectures

We have developed the MC64-ClustalWP2 as a new implementation of the Clustal W algorithm, integrating a novel parallelization strategy and significantly increasing the performance when aligning long sequences in architectures with many cores. It must be stressed that in such a process, the detailed analysis of both the software and hardware features and peculiarities is of paramount importance to reveal key points to exploit and optimize the full potential of parallelism in many-core CPU systems. The new parallelization approach has focused into the most time-consuming stages of this algorithm. In particular, the so-called progressive alignment has drastically improved the performance, due to a fine-grained approach where the forward and backward loops were unrolled and parallelized. Another key approach has been the implementation of the new algorithm in a hybrid-computing system, integrating both an Intel Xeon multi-core CPU and a Tilera Tile64 many-core card. A comparison with other Clustal W implementations reveals the high-performance of the new algorithm and strategy in many-core CPU architectures, in a scenario where the sequences to align are relatively long (more than 10 kb) and, hence, a many-core GPU hardware cannot be used. Thus, the MC64-ClustalWP2 runs multiple alignments more than 18x than the original Clustal W algorithm, and more than 7x than the best x86 parallel implementation to date, being publicly available through a web service. Besides, these developments have been deployed in cost-effective personal computers and should be useful for life-science researchers, including the identification of identities and differences for mutation/polymorphism analyses, biodiversity and evolutionary studies and for the development of molecular markers for paternity testing, germplasm management and protection, to assist breeding, illegal traffic control, fraud prevention and for the protection of the intellectual property (identification/traceability), including the protected designation of origin, among other applications

Project Communications Management

Este artículo presenta una revisión con relación al objeto de estudio: Gestión de Comunicaciones como factor importante en la gestión de proyectos. Dicha revisión incluye los artículos más relevantes y los autores más reconocidos en el campo de la gestión de proyectos, haciendo énfasis en los proyectos de telecomunicaciones, lo que permite definir un modelo de gestión de comunicaciones.This article presents a review in relation to the object of study: Communications Management as an important factor in the management of projects. The review includes the most relevant and most renowned authors in the field of project management, focusing on telecommunications projects, which lets you define a communications management model

MEMORIAS DE LA V REUNIÓN ECUATORIANA DE ORNITOLOGíA

Presentamos las memorias de la V Reunión Ecuatoriana de Ornitología (V REO), desarrollada en Zamora, en 11-14 Agosto 2016. La V REO contó con cinco charlas magistrales, un simposio sobre aves, café y cacao, 46 presentaciones orales y pósters, conversatorios sobre el Festival Mundial de las Aves, conteos navideños y Global Big Day, un taller de escritura científica, un taller de ilustración de aves en acuarela y una discusión abierta sobre la conformación de la Red Aves Ecuador. Contó con casi 150 participantes, entre expositores y asistentes. Palabras clave: Investigación, difusión, ornitología, conservación, Ecuador.   Abstracts of the V Ecuadorian Ornithology Meeting Abstract We present the abstracts of the V Ecuadorian Ornithology Meeting (V REO), held in Zamora, on 11-14 August 2016. The V REO included five plenary talks, a symposium on birds, coffee and cacao, 46 oral and poster presentations, round tables about the World Birds Festival, the Christmas bird counts and Global Big Days, a workshop on scientific writing, a workshop on bird illustration in watercolor, and an open discussion session about the creation of Red Aves Ecuador. Nearly 150 contributors and assistants participated in the V REO. Keywords: Conservation, divulgation, Ecuador, ornithology, research

When cheating turns into a stabilizing mechanism of plant-pollinator communities.

Mutualistic interactions, such as plant-mycorrhizal or plant-pollinator interactions, are widespread in ecological communities and frequently exploited by cheaters, species that profit from interactions without providing benefits in return. Cheating usually negatively affects the fitness of the individuals that are cheated on, but the effects of cheating at the community level remains poorly understood. Here, we describe 2 different kinds of cheating in mutualistic networks and use a generalized Lotka-Volterra model to show that they have very different consequences for the persistence of the community. Conservative cheating, where a species cheats on its mutualistic partners to escape the cost of mutualistic interactions, negatively affects community persistence. In contrast, innovative cheating occurs with species with whom legitimate interactions are not possible, because of a physiological or morphological barrier. Innovative cheating can enhance community persistence under some conditions: when cheaters have few mutualistic partners, cheat at low or intermediate frequency and the cost associated with mutualism is not too high. Under these conditions, the negative effects of cheating on partner persistence are overcompensated at the community level by the positive feedback loops that arise in diverse mutualistic communities. Using an empirical dataset of plant-bird interactions (hummingbirds and flowerpiercers), we found that observed cheating patterns are highly consistent with theoretical cheating patterns found to increase community persistence. This result suggests that the cheating patterns observed in nature could contribute to promote species coexistence in mutualistic communities, instead of necessarily destabilizing them

Network structure of avian mixed-species flocks decays with elevation and latitude across the Andes.

Birds in mixed-species flocks benefit from greater foraging efficiency and reduced predation, but also face costs related to competition and activity matching. Because this cost-benefit trade-off is context-dependent (e.g. abiotic conditions and habitat quality), the structure of flocks is expected to vary along elevational, latitudinal and disturbance gradients. Specifically, we predicted that the connectivity and cohesion of flocking networks would (i) decline towards tropical latitudes and lower elevations, where competition and activity matching costs are higher, and (ii) increase with lower forest cover and greater human disturbance. We analysed the structure of 84 flock networks across the Andes and assessed the effect of elevation, latitude, forest cover and human disturbance on network characteristics. We found that Andean flocks are overall open-membership systems (unstructured), though the extent of network structure varied across gradients. Elevation was the main predictor of structure, with more connected and less modular flocks upslope. As expected, flocks in areas with higher forest cover were less cohesive, with better defined flock subtypes. Flocks also varied across latitude and disturbance gradients as predicted, but effect sizes were small. Our findings indicate that the unstructured nature of Andean flocks might arise as a strategy to cope with harsh environmental conditions. This article is part of the theme issue 'Mixed-species groups and aggregations: shaping ecological and behavioural patterns and processes'

Improving Latin American soil information database for digital soil mapping enhances its usability and scalability

Spatial soil databases can help model complex phenomena in which soils are decisive, for example, evaluating agricultural potential or estimating carbon storage capacity. The Soil Information System for Latin America and the Caribbean, SISLAC, is a regional initiative promoted by the FAO's South American Soil Partnership to contribute to the sustainable management of soil. SISLAC includes data coming from 49,084 soil profiles distributed unevenly across the continent, making it the region's largest soil database. However, some problems hinder its usages, such as the quality of the data and its high dimensionality. The objective of this research is twofold. First, to evaluate the quality of SISLAC and its data values and generate a new, improved version that meets the minimum quality requirements to be used by different interests or practical applications. Second, to demonstrate the potential of improved soil profile databases to generate more accurate information on soil properties, by conducting a case study to estimate the spatial variability of the percentage of soil organic carbon using 192 profiles in a 1473 km2 region located in the department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. The findings show that 15 percent of the existing soil profiles had an inaccurate description of the diagnostic horizons. Further correction of an 4.5 additional percent of existing inconsistencies improved overall data quality. The improved database consists of 41,691 profiles and is available for public use at ttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6540710 (Díaz-Guadarrama, S. & Guevara, M., 2022). The updated profiles were segmented using algorithms for quantitative pedology to estimate the spatial variability. We generated segments one centimeter thick along with each soil profile data, then the values of these segments were adjusted using a spline-type function to enhance vertical continuity and reliability. Vertical variability was estimated up to 150 cm in-depth, while ordinary kriging predicts horizontal variability at three depth intervals, 0 to 5, 5 to 15, and 15 to 30 cm, at 250 m-spatial resolution, following the standards of the GlobalSoilMap project. Finally, the leave-one-out cross validation provides information for evaluating the kriging model performance, obtaining values for the RMSE index between 1.77% and 1.79% and the R2 index greater than 0.5. The results show the usability of SISLAC database to generate spatial information on soil properties and suggest further efforts to collect a more significant amount of data to guide sustainable soil management.Fil: Diaz Guadamarra, Sergio. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Agronomía; ColombiaFil: Lizarazo, Iván. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Agronomía; ColombiaFil: Guevara, Mario. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Campus Juriquilla. Centro de Geociencias; MéxicoFil: Guevara, Mario. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.Campus Juriquilla. Centro de Geociencias; México. United States Department of Agriculture. Soil Salinity National Laboratory, Estados UnidosFil: Angelini, Marcos Esteban. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Suelos; Argentina. Wageningen University. Soil Geography and Landscape Group; Países Bajos. International Soil Reference and Information Centre. World Soil Information; Países BajosFil: Araujo Carrillo, Gustavo A. Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria AGROSAVIA; ColombiaFil: Argeñal, Jainer. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras. Facultad de Ciencias; Honduras.Fil: Armas, Daphne. Universidad de Almería. Departamento de Agronomía, Edif. CITEIIB, España.Fil: Balsa, Rafael A. Ministerio de Desarrollo Agrario y Riego. Dirección General de Asuntos Ambientales Agrarios, Perú.Fil: Bolivar, Adriana. Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi. Subdirección Agrología; ColombiaFil: Bustamante, Nelson. Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero; Chile.Fil: Dart, Ricardo O. Embrapa Solos; BrasilFil: Dell Acqua, Martín. Ministerio de Ganadería, Agricultura y Pesca. Dirección General de Recursos Naturales; UruguayFil: Lencina, Arnulfo. Universidad Nacional de Asunción. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; ParaguayFil: Figueredo, Hernán. Sociedad Boliviana de la Ciencia del Suelo; Bolivia.Fil: Fontes, Fernando. Ministerio de Ganadería, Agricultura y Pesca. Dirección General de Recursos Naturales; UruguayFil: Gutierrez Diaz, Joan S. Aarhus University. Faculty of Science and Technology,.Department of Agroecology; DinamarcaFil: Jiménez, Wilmer. Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería; Ecuador.Fil: Rodriguez, Dario Martin. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Suelos; ArgentinaFil: Schulz, Guillermo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Suelos; ArgentinaFil: Tenti Vuegen, Leonardo Mauricio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Suelos; Argentin

Investigación en sistemas de trading, una propuesta para mejorar el desempeño de las AFOREs en México

El principal objetivo de un sistema de trading es maximizar sus beneficios utilizando señales y confirmaciones de tendencia que ayuden a mejorar el porcentaje de entradas y salidas apropiadas. En este proyecto, la fuente de estas señales proviene de un modelo de inteligencia artificial, específicamente una red neuronal multicapa. El entrenamiento del modelo utiliza datos diarios de contratos futuros continuos. Para mejorar el desempeño del sistema se tomó en cuenta un criterio de selección e importancia de variables con base a la estadística, así como una optimización de los hiper parámetros del modelo. Con el fin de disminuir la minusvalía de las posiciones abiertas, se propuso la implementación de una cobertura dinámica. Dicha cobertura se ejecutó con opciones para preservar el capital y gestionar el riesgo. El impacto de esta investigación se dirigió a contribuir e innovar el proceso de estrategias de inversión que realizan actualmente los fondos de pensión (AFORES) en México. Siendo el rendimiento un factor determinante para el retiro de futuras generaciones, y tomando en cuenta el contexto actual y recientes reformas en la materia, las estrategias de inversión apoyadas en tecnología se ha convertido en un área de suma importancia para nuestra sociedad.ITESO, A.C

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London