Need for standardization in scientific illustration

El objetivo de este estudio fue identificar las nociones o conceptos transmitidos habitualmente mediante símbolos en las ciencias de la vida, así como determinar cuáles son las combinaciones de signos más utilizadas actualmente para expresar dichos conceptos y establecer cuáles de ellas se podrían considerar consolidadas por el uso repetido. Con dicho fin, se analizó una muestra de 3894 figuras extraídas de aquellos tratados científicos de carácter generalista que habían sido objeto de préstamo más frecuente en las bibliotecas de las facultades de Medicina, Biología y Veterinaria. Para cada una de las ilustraciones contenidas en ellos se identificaron los diferentes conceptos que habían sido representados mediante símbolos y se organizaron en una tabla. Posteriormente se analizaron para cada uno de estos conceptos los símbolos y recursos gráficos empleados para su representación, determinando las combinaciones más prevalentes. Entre las conclusiones de este estudio cabe destacar la falta de homogeneidad en los símbolos utilizados para expresar un determinado concepto, existiendo notables diferencias entre ellos incluso dentro de un mismo tratado, lo que podría disminuir su efectividad. Por otra parte, también se detectó un uso abusivo de algunos símbolos para representar conceptos muy distintos entre sí, lo que puede conducir a una mayor ambigüedad en su interpretación. Por estas razones se hace aconsejable establecer unas normas en la utilización de símbolos en el dibujo científico.The aim of this study was to identify ideas or concepts usually transmitted through images in the life sciences and also identify the most commonly used combinations of signs to express these concepts and establish which of them might be considered consolidated by continued use. For this purpose, a sample of 3894 figures was analyzed. These images were extracted from the most provided scientific books in the libraries of the faculties of Medicine, Biology and Veterinary. In each illustration different concepts that had been represented by symbols were identified and organized in a table. Then we analyzed for each of these concepts graphic symbols and resources used for their representation and we determining the most prevalent combinations. Later, for each of these concepts we analyzed the symbols and graphic resources used for its representation, and the most prevalent combinations were determined. Among the conclusions of this study include the lack of homogeneity in the symbols used to express a given concept. There are notable differences between them even within a single treaty, which could reduce its effectiveness. Furthermore, overuse of some symbols to represent concepts very different was also detected, which can produce a greater ambiguity in interpretation. For these reasons it is advisable to establish rules on the use of symbols in scientific drawing

Evolución de procesos técnicos en la creación escultórica de ojos hiperrealistas: desde las técnicas tradicionales hasta la creación digital

The creation of human-like eyes has been a goal historically pursued from different fields of knowledge, evidenced by the many technical advances achieved in this field in disciplines as diverse as ophthalmology, sculpture, robotics, toy industry or special effects in film. Currently, the popularization of new 3D printing technologies has made possible the development of new workflows in hyperrealistic sculpture for the production of artificial eyes. The aim of this study was to analyze through a case study the advantages of using a mixed approach, incorporating traditional and digital techniques, oriented to the manufacture of resin eyes for figurative sculpture. The results obtained using this methodology have been fully satisfactory. The artificial eyes created have an extraordinary resemblance to humans and reflect the small volumetric and chromatic details with a greater precision than that which can be achieved using only artisanal techniques. The main conclusion of this work is that the use of 3D modeling and printing technologies can be useful to speed up the process of making these anatomical structures and improve their reliability as well as the repeatability and quality of the results.La creación de ojos de apariencia humana ha sido un objetivo perseguido históricamente desde diferentes campos del conocimiento, como atestiguan los múltiples avances técnicos logrados en dicho campo en disciplinas tan diversas como la oftalmología, la escultura, la robótica, la industria juguetera o los efectos especiales cinematográficos. Actualmente, la popularización de las nuevas tecnologías de impresión 3D ha hecho posible el planteamiento de nuevos flujos de trabajo en escultura hiperrealista para la elaboración de ojos artificiales. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar mediante un caso práctico las ventajas de utilizar un abordaje mixto, incorporando técnicas tradicionales y digitales, orientado a la fabricación de ojos de resina para escultura figurativa. Los resultados obtenidos empleando esta metodología han sido plenamente satisfactorios. Los ojos artificiales creados presentan un extraordinario parecido con los humanos y reflejan los pequeños detalles volumétricos y cromáticos con una precisión mayor que la que se puede alcanzar empleando únicamente técnicas artesanales. La principal conclusión de este trabajo es que el empleo de tecnologías de modelado e impresión 3D puede resultar de utilidad para agilizar el proceso de elaboración de estas estructuras anatómicas y mejorar su fiabilidad y la repetibilidad y calidad de los resultados

DEFS - Data exchange with Free Sample Protocol

Distrust between data providers and data consumers is one of the main obstacles hampering digital-data commerce to take off. Data providers want to get paid for what they offer, while data consumers want to know exactly what are they paying for before actually paying for it. In this article, we present a protocol that overcomes this obstacle by building trust based on two main ideas. First, a probabilistic verification protocol, where some random samples of the real dataset are shown to buyers in order to allow them to make an assessment before committing any payment; and second a guaranteed, protected payment process, enforced with smart contracts on a public blockchain, that guarantees the payment of the data if and only if the data provided meets the agreed terms, and that refunds honest players otherwise.The architecture presented in this paper is supported and developed in the context of the i3-MARKET project [?]. The i3-MARKET project is an active European H2020 project focused on developing solutions for building an European data market economy by enhancing current marketplace platforms with innovative technologies (call H2020-ICT-2019-2 with grant agreement number 871754). This work is also supported by the TCO-RISEBLOCK (PID2019-110224RBI00), MINECO/FEDER funded project ARPASAT TEC2015-70197-R and by the Generalitat de Catalunya grant 2014-SGR-1504.Postprint (author's final draft

PKIX Certificate Status in Hybrid MANETs

Certificate status validation is a hard problem in general but it is particularly complex in Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs) because we require solutions to manage both the lack of fixed infrastructure inside the MANET and the possible absence of onnectivity to trusted authorities when the certification validation has to be performed. In this sense, certificate acquisition is usually assumed as an initialization phase. However, certificate validation is a critical operation since the node needs to check the validity of certificates in real-time, that is, when a particular certificate is going to be used. In such MANET environments, it may happen that the node is placed in a part of the network that is disconnected from the source of status data at the moment the status checking is required. Proposals in the literature suggest the use of caching mechanisms so that the node itself or a neighbour node has some status checking material (typically on-line status responses or lists of revoked certificates). Howeve to the best of our knowledge the only criterion to evaluate the cached (obsolete) material is the time. In this paper, we analyse how to deploy a certificate status checking PKI service for hybrid MANET and we propose a new criterion based on risk to evaluate cached status data that is much more appropriate and absolute than time because it takes into account the revocation process.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft

A protocol for data exchange with free samples using smart contracts

Distrust between data providers and data consumers is one of the main obstacles hampering digitaldata commerce to take off. Data providers want to get paid for what they offer, while data consumers want to know exactly what are they paying for before actually paying for it. In this paper, we summarize a protocol that overcomes this obstacle by building trust based on two main ideas. First, a probabilistic verification protocol, where some random samples of the real dataset are shown to buyers in order to allow them to make an assessment before committing any payment; and second a guaranteed, protected payment process, enforced with smart contracts on a public blockchain, that guarantees the payment of the data if and only if the data provided meets the agreed terms, and that refunds honest players otherwise.This research has been funded by i3Market (H2020- ICT-2019-2 grant number 871754). This work is also supported by the TCO-RISEBLOCK (PID2019-110224RBI00), ARPASAT (TEC2015-70197-R), Project RTI2018- 102112-B-I00 (AEI/FEDER,UE) and by the Generalitat de Catalunya grant 2014-SGR-1504Postprint (author's final draft

FLORA ARTEFACTA. History, Technology and Conservation of the Brendel Botanical Model Collection at the Complutense University of Madrid

La Universidad Complutense de Madrid cuenta con una extraordinaria colección de modelos Brendel elaborados en papel maché y/o gelatina. En el año 2020, nuestro grupo de investigación llevó a cabo el proyecto expositivo HERBARIOS IMAGINADOS. Entre el Arte y la Ciencia, en la sala c-arte-c del Centro de Arte Complutense, que supuso la oportunidad de restaurar una selección de 19 esculturas. El artículo ofrece una visión general historiográfica y epistemológica de estos objetos singulares para comprender cómo sus usos y funciones establecieron estrechas conexiones entre la historia de la ciencia y la producción artística. En una segunda parte se exponen las metodologías de conservación-restauración que se adoptaron, destacando la aportación de las técnicas digitales 3D en la toma de decisiones al posibilitar un conocimiento exhaustivo del objeto y ayudar a minimizar los riesgos por manipulación directa.The Complutense University of Madrid has an extraordinary collection of Brendel models made of papier-mâché and/our gelatin. In 2020, our research group carried out the exhibition project IMAGINARY HERBARIA. Between Art and Science, in the c-arte-c room of the Complutense Art Center, which provided the opportunity to restore a selection of 19 sculptures. The article offers a historiographic and epistemological overview of these unique objects to understand how their uses and functions established close connections between the history of science and artistic production. In a second part, the conservation-restoration methodologies that were adopted are presented, highlighting the contribution of 3D digital techniques in decision making by enabling an exhaustive knowledge of the object and helping to minimize the risks of direct manipulation.Fac. de Bellas ArtesTRUEMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN)pu

Atlas de anatomía humana y animal en realidad virtual

El objetivo de este proyecto fue la creación de un atlas de anatomía en realidad virtual accesible de forma gratuita desde Internet. Se crearon múltiples modelos tanto del ser humano como de diferentes especies animales y se hicieron copias impresas de algunos de ellos para su uso en el aula