A robust partial least squares method with applications

Partial least squares regression (PLS) is a linear regression technique developed to relate many regressors to one or several response variables. Robust methods are introduced to reduce or remove the effect of outlying data points. In this paper we show that if the sample covariance matrix is properly robustified further robustification of the linear regression steps of the PLS algorithm becomes unnecessary. The robust estimate of the covariance matrix is computed by searching for outliers in univariate projections of the data on a combination of random directions (Stahel-Donoho) and specific directions obtained by maximizing and minimizing the kurtosis coefficient of the projected data, as proposed by Peña and Prieto (2006). It is shown that this procedure is fast to apply and provides better results than other procedures proposed in the literature. Its performance is illustrated by Monte Carlo and by an example, where the algorithm is able to show features of the data which were undetected by previous methods

A robust partial least squares method with applications

Partial least squares regression (PLS) is a linear regression technique developed to relate many regressors to one or several response variables. Robust methods are introduced to reduce or remove the effect of outlying data points. In this paper we show that if the sample covariance matrix is properly robustified further robustification of the linear regression steps of the PLS algorithm becomes unnecessary. The robust estimate of the covariance matrix is computed by searching for outliers in univariate projections of the data on a combination of random directions (Stahel-Donoho) and specific directions obtained by maximizing and minimizing the kurtosis coefficient of the projected data, as proposed by Peña and Prieto (2006). It is shown that this procedure is fast to apply and provides better results than other procedures proposed in the literature. Its performance is illustrated by Monte Carlo and by an example, where the algorithm is able to show features of the data which were undetected by previous methods.

An educational proposal to face the challenges of the european higher education area: international service learning experience in medicine and education of the University of Malaga, Spain

Higher Education need to be paced to world and society evolution and to technology and scientific advances. Specifically in Europe, in the last years, we had to adapt the curricula to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). We have reached a high level of scientific and technycal competences but we detect, some lacks of time and tools to developed all the transversal competences and skills of the professionals profile that are demand by the present society in which exists glaring gaps and inequities, in particular in health, that need a responsable answer/action. Actually a “redesign of professional health education is necessary and timely, in view of the opportunities for mutual learning and joint solutions offered by global interdependence due to acceleration of flows of knowledge, techologies, and financing across borders and the migration of both professionals and patients” (Frenk et al 2010, Lancet). In the educational panorama, it has been possible to expand the training of future teachers in one year, the reduction of the number of students for groups to provide a more individualized teaching and the slight increase of the time of practicum. It is required to implemented an sostainable innovation in medical education to evolve a high quality medicine in all the areas and competences needed. Likewise, it seems necessary that student-teachers known spaces that are not properly school-based and have experiences in contexts of either informal education or with marginal groups outside of the standardized schooling. International Service Learning (ISL) has provided health professional students and tearches-students the opportunity to provide healthcare and education under the direction of trained faculty, to underserved populations in developing countries (Seifer SD et al1998. Acad Med). Objective: To verify the usefulness of SL experience as an educational methodology in higher education in order to support or not the modification of the current contents of the medical and education curricula and design new subjects based on SL in Malaga University. Methods We designed a cooperation project with The NGO’s ACOES-Honduras and Fe y Alegría-Perú to develop a training experience for students of Medicine and Education. This study is based on the qualitative analysis of the final reports of 16 participants, in which they described their personal and professional experiences. To verify the academic results, the competences of the curriculum have been checked in the sections of the practicum in Education, or the specific ones for Pharmacology in Medicine. In this summary appeared some of them as an example. There are no specifications of names or places of any of the countries or names or references of adults or children. Results In Education six competences (between sixteen) have been pointed out that are enhanced by the context variables in both the organizational and the cultural aspects. In one hand, school functioning may be very similar throughout the world, but the connections between family and the education centre, relationships with students, the influence of the family and the family home, etc., are very different between the experience of the Students with an European lifestyle linked to the "welfare state", consumption, street safety, etc., and rural life and the economic and cultural situation of destinations. Related to the analysis of the medical curricula, it was focused on 27 transversal and 19 specific competences that covered areas of practice and others related to Pharmacology. In the case of transversal competences, around 70% were covered in the activities carried out. Specific competences were covered up to 75%. Volunteer narratives provided an image of the experience that shows the effectiveness of this type of program, both in increasing sensitivity and attention to diversity and in the implementation of "theoretical" training, and the original response to unforeseen situations. Conclusions SL was found to be an effective method to acquire personal and professional competences and skills in the area of pharmacology demand by our present society. Hence we will suggest this methodology in the design of a new subject: “Pharmacotherapeutics in disadvantaged environments”. Most, if not all, of the general views on experience valued those working months with people and marginal contexts very positively. Personal and professional learning is valued as meaningful and profound, affecting the way of understanding the world and its profession: As I tell all my relatives, friends and colleagues "This experience can not be tell you can only live it." (Student)Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Optimal railway infrastructure maintenance and repair policies to manage risk under uncertainty with adaptive control

The aim of this paper is to apply two adaptive control formulations under uncertainty, say open-loop and closed-loop, to the process of developing maintenance and repair policies for railway infrastructures. To establish the optimal maintenance and repair policies for railway lines, we use a previous design of risk model based on two factors: the criticality and the deterioration ratios of the facilities. Thus, our theory benefits from the Reliability Centered Management methodology application, but it also explicitly models uncertainty in characterizing a facility deterioration rate to decide the optimal policy to maintain the railway infrastructures. This may be the major contribution of this work. To verify the models presented, a computation study has been developed and tested for a real scenario: the railway line Villalba-Cercedilla in Madrid (Spain). Our results demonstrate again that applying any adaptive formulation, the cost of the railway lines maintenance shown is decreased. Moreover applying a Closed Loop Formulation the cost associated to the risk takes smaller values (40% less cost for the same risk than the deterministic approach), but with an Open Loop formulation the generated risk in the railway line is also smaller

Response perseveration and the triarchic model of psychopathy in an undergraduate sample.

This study aimed to extend previously reported links between distinctive configurations of traits in the psychopathic personality and maladaptive response perseveration, by examining performance in the Card Perseveration Task (CPT) within the framework of the triarchic model of psychopathy in a mixed-gender undergraduate sample. A computerized version of the CPT was administered to 222 undergraduates (142 women) assessed for triarchic psychopathy dimensions using the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM). Maladaptive response perseveration (more cards played and less money earned) was uniquely associated with trait boldness scores for both women and men. Moreover, analyses of response times following feedback indicated that poor performance on the CPT was related to lack of overall reflection. Further mediation analyses did not reveal significant effects of trait boldness on the response perseveration deficit through reflection times. Our results provide new evidence for the role of trait boldness in the failure to suspend reward-approach behavior in the face of increasing punishment contingencies, probably due to an absence of fear or insensitivity to punishment cues rather than to an unreflective response style

OPTIMAL RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR POLICIES TO MANAGE RISK UNDER UNCERTAINTY WITH ADAPTIVE CONTROL

The aim of this paper is to apply two adaptive control formulations under uncertainty, say open-loop and closed-loop, to the process of developing maintenance and repair policies for railway infrastructures. To establish the optimal maintenance and repair policies for railway lines, we use a previous design of risk model based on two factors: the criticality and the deterioration ratios of the facilities. Thus, our theory benefits from the Reliability Centered Management methodology application, but it also explicitly models uncertainty in characterizing a facility deterioration rate to decide the optimal policy to maintain the railway infrastructures. This may be the major contribution of this work. To verify the models presented, a computation study has been developed and tested for a real scenario: the railway line Villalba-Cercedilla in Madrid (Spain). Our results demonstrate again that applying any adaptive formulation, the cost of the railway lines maintenance shown is decreased. Moreover applying a Closed Loop Formulation the cost associated to the risk takes smaller values (40% less cost for the same risk than the deterministic approach), but with an Open Loop formulation the generated risk in the railway line is also smaller.

A PUF-and biometric-based lightweight hardware solution to increase security at sensor nodes

Security is essential in sensor nodes which acquire and transmit sensitive data. However, the constraints of processing, memory and power consumption are very high in these nodes. Cryptographic algorithms based on symmetric key are very suitable for them. The drawback is that secure storage of secret keys is required. In this work, a low-cost solution is presented to obfuscate secret keys with Physically Unclonable Functions (PUFs), which exploit the hardware identity of the node. In addition, a lightweight fingerprint recognition solution is proposed, which can be implemented in low-cost sensor nodes. Since biometric data of individuals are sensitive, they are also obfuscated with PUFs. Both solutions allow authenticating the origin of the sensed data with a proposed dual-factor authentication protocol. One factor is the unique physical identity of the trusted sensor node that measures them. The other factor is the physical presence of the legitimate individual in charge of authorizing their transmission. Experimental results are included to prove how the proposed PUF-based solution can be implemented with the SRAMs of commercial Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) chips which belong to the communication module of the sensor node. Implementation results show how the proposed fingerprint recognition based on the novel texture-based feature named QFingerMap16 (QFM) can be implemented fully inside a low-cost sensor node. Robustness, security and privacy issues at the proposed sensor nodes are discussed and analyzed with experimental results from PUFs and fingerprints taken from public and standard databases.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad TEC2014-57971-R, TEC2017-83557-

A bacterial acetyltransferase targets the protein kinase ZIP1, a positive regulator of plant immunity

Pseudomonas syringae is a model bacterial pathogen that penetrates the leaf to reach the plant apoplast, where it replicates causing disease. In order to do that, the pathogen must interfere and suppress a two-tiered plant defense response: PTI (PAMP-Triggered Immunity, or basal resistance) and ETI (Effector-Triggered Immunity). P. syringae uses a type III secretion system to directly deliver effector proteins inside the plant cell cytosol, many of which are known to suppress PTI, some of which are known to trigger ETI, and a handful of which are known to suppress ETI. Bacterial infection can also trigger a systemic plant defense response that protects the plant against additional pathogen attacks known as SAR (Systemic Acquired Resistance). We are particularly interested in the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in effector-mediated defense evasion by P. syringae, in particular those involved in the suppression of ETI and SAR, and/or mediation of hormone signaling. Here we present data describing effector-mediated interference with plant immunity, by means of acetylation of a key positive regulator of local and systemic responses. Our work identifies a novel plant target for effector function, and characterizes its function. This work illustrates how analyzing the means by which a given effector interferes with its target can provide novel information regarding eukaryotic molecular mechanisms.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. MINECO BIO2015-64391R y FEDE