A high-performance IoT solution to reduce frost damages in stone fruits

[EN] Agriculture is one of the key sectors where technology is opening new opportunities to break up the market. The Internet of Things (IoT) could reduce the production costs and increase the product quality by providing intelligence services via IoT analytics. However, the hard weather conditions and the lack of connectivity in this field limit the successful deployment of such services as they require both, ie, fully connected infrastructures and highly computational resources. Edge computing has emerged as a solution to bring computing power in close proximity to the sensors, providing energy savings, highly responsive web services, and the ability to mask transient cloud outages. In this paper, we propose an IoT monitoring system to activate anti-frost techniques to avoid crop loss, by defining two intelligent services to detect outliers caused by the sensor errors. The former is a nearest neighbor technique and the latter is the k-means algorithm, which provides better quality results but it increases the computational cost. Cloud versus edge computing approaches are analyzed by targeting two different low-power GPUs. Our experimental results show that cloud-based approaches provides highest performance in general but edge computing is a compelling alternative to mask transient cloud outages and provide highly responsive data analytic services in technologically hostile environments.This work was partially supported by the Fundación Séneca del Centro de Coordinación de la Investigación de la Región de Murcia under Project 20813/PI/18, and by Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities under grants TIN2016-78799-P (AEI/FEDER, UE) and RTC-2017-6389-5. Finally, we thank the farmers for the availability of their resources to be able to asses and improve the IoT monitoring system proposed.Guillén-Navarro, MA.; Martínez-España, R.; López, B.; Cecilia-Canales, JM. (2021). A high-performance IoT solution to reduce frost damages in stone fruits. Concurrency and Computation: Practice and Experience (Online). 33(2):1-14. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpe.529911433

Responsabilidade social em mpmes de sincelejo, sucre /

Universidad Autónoma del Carib

Un análisis de los sistemas de comunicación sociopolítica

El objetivo del presente ensayo es demostrar la relación entre las formas de estado y los regímenes de gobierno frente al sesgo informativo y la transformación de contenidos políticos por parte de los medios de comunicación en referencia a la agenda pública y la opinión pública. Para tal propósito, se analizan los tipos de democracias presidencial, parlamentaria y semi-presidencial como dimensiones en torno a las cuales, los medios de comunicación construyen imágenes y frases para persuadir al ciudadano independiente o disuadir al militante adherente. En torno a la relación tríadica entre el Estado, los medios de comunicación y la sociedad civil, se construye una agendas pública que es determinada por la estructura sociopolítica democrática, pero trastocada por los medios masivos de comunicación y referenciada por la ciudadanía al momento de llevar a cabo movilizaciones en escenarios de contienda y debate político diversificados. El contenido del presente ensayo permitirá explicar la relevancia de la estructura sociopolítica en un contexto económico–financiero que tiene su principal adversidad en dicha estructura sociopolític

Modelling spatially sampled proportion processes​​

Many ecological processes are measured as proportions and are spatially sampled. In all these cases the standard procedure has long been the transformation of proportional data with the arcsine square root or logit transformation, without considering the spatial correlation in any way. This paper presents a robust regression model to analyse this kind of data using a beta regression and including a spatially correlated term within the Bayesian framework. As a practical example, we apply the proposed approach to a spatio-temporally sampled fishery discard dataset

Long-term Evaluation of Fistulotomy and Immediate Sphincteroplasty as a Treatment for Complex Anal Fistula

Background: Fistulotomy with immediate sphincteroplasty is a technique that can heal fistulas and decrease fecal incontinence more effectively than fistulotomy alone, in selected patients. Objective: We aimed to perform a long-term evaluation of fecal incontinence after fistulotomy and immediate sphincteroplasty in patients with complex anal fistula. Design: This prospective study included patients undergoing fistulotomy and immediate sphincteroplasty for complex anal fistula from January 2000 to December 2010. Settings: The study was conducted by 2 colorectal surgeons in the coloproctology unit of the General Hospital of Elche. Patients: We included patients aged ≥18 years with complex anal fistulas of cryptoglandular origin. Main outcome measures: Main outcomes were recurrence and continence after fistulotomy and immediate sphincteroplasty, according to fistula tract height and preoperative continence status. Results: A total of 107 patients were included; 68.2% were men, with a mean age of 48 years and mean fistula duration of 12.8 months. The range and median follow-up period were 84 to 204 and 96 months. Thirty-seven fistulas were not primary. The overall healing rate was 84.1%. Primary fistulas healed by the end of follow-up in 58 (82.9%) of 70 patients; recurrent fistulas healed in 32 (86.5%) of 37; high tracts healed in 31 (83.8%) of 37, and nonhigh fistulas healed in 59 (84.3%) of 70. Male sex (OR = 0.66 (95% CI, 0.20-2.13); p > 0.05) and recurrent fistulas (OR = 0.43 (95% CI, 0.11-1.68); p > 0.05) could have a protective effect against postoperative fecal incontinence; however, more studies with larger sample sizes are necessary to confirm this result, whereas high fistulas showed a 4-fold increased risk of incontinence (range, 1.22-13.06; p < 0.01). One in 5 high-tracts patients experienced continence deterioration. Limitations: This was a prospective study, and randomized clinical trials with more patients and longer follow-up are needed to compare fistulotomy and immediate sphincteroplasty with other sphincter-preserving techniques. Conclusions: Fistulotomy and immediate sphincteroplasty are good options for treating complex anal fistulas, especially for recurrent fistulas, men, and patients with nonhigh tracts, with acceptable recurrence and incontinence rates. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/B498

Screening for selective anticancer activity of plants from Grazalema Natural Park, Spain

Since plants are an important source of anticancer drugs, we have carried out a random screening for selective anticancer activity of 57 extracts from 45 plants collected in Grazalema Natural Park, an area in the South of Spain of high plant diversity and endemism. Using lung cancer cells (A549) and lung non-malignant cells (MRC-5), we found that several extracts were more cytotoxic and selective against the cancer cells than the standard anticancer agent cisplatin. Five active extracts were further tested in cancer and normal cell lines from other tissues, including three skin cell lines with increasing degree of malignancy. An extract from the leaves of Daphne laureola L. (Thymelaeaceae) showed a striking potency and selectivity on lung cancer cells and leukemia cells; the IC50 values against these cancer cells were approximately 10,000-fold lower than against the normal cells. Daphnane-type diterpene orthoesters may be responsible for this highly selective anticancer activity

Analysis of Minor Proteins Present in Breast Milk by Using WGA Lectin

Breast milk is a complex and dynamic biological fluid and considered an essential source of nutrition in early life. In its composition, the proteins have a relevant biological activity and are related to the multiple benefits demonstrated when compared with artificial milks derived from cow’s milk. Understanding human milk composition provides an important tool for health care providers toward the management of infant feeding and the establishment of breastfeeding. In this work, a new technique was developed to increase the knowledge of human milk, because many of the components remain unknown. To isolate minor proteins present in breast milk by using WGA lectin, breast milk was centrifuged to remove cells and separate the fat phase from the serum phase. The serum obtained was separated into two groups: control (n = 3; whole serum sample from mature milk) and WGA lectin (n = 3; sample processed with WGA lectin to isolate glycosylated proteins). The samples were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS). A total of 84 different proteins were identified from all of the samples. In the WGA lectin group, 55 different proteins were isolated, 77% of which had biological functions related to the immune response. Of these proteins, there were eight WGA lectin group exclusives, and two had not previously been described in breast milk (polyubiquitin-B and POTE ankyrin domain family member F). Isolation by WGA lectin is a useful technique to detect minor proteins in breast milk and to identify proteins that could not be observed in whole serum

Hacia un nuevo modelo económico

El Seminario Nacional sobre Alternativas para la Economía Mexicana desarrolló un análisis integral de la situación y perspectivas de la economía mexicana bajo el actual entorno mundial, con el propósito de determinar las alternativas viables de política económica que permitan a México lograr un crecimiento económico sostenido con menor vulnerabilidad externa y mejor distribución del ingreso en el marco de un desarrollo ambientalmente sustentable. Convocado por centros de investigación y docencia de la UNAM, UAM, U de G., IPN, UIA, UAP, UPN, UACH, UAS, UNISON, UAEM, UAZ, UADY, UAJ, UNACH y COLSON, el Seminario contó con la participación de más de trescientos científicos sociales de importantes instituciones académicas del país (además de las mencionadas, UANI, COLMEX, ITESM, ITAM, COLEF, COLMICH, CIAD, U. la Salle, etc.) y se celebró en dos grandes fases: seminarios modulares por bloques temáticos, realizados en diversas sedes del país en el curso de octubre de 1993, y un seminario general, realizado en noviembre, que abordó el conjunto de la problemática económica y social de México y las alternativas viables de desarrollo económico con equidad. El análisis interdisciplinario y multidisciplinario de la economía mexicana y de su entorno internacional arrojó resultados altamente relevantes en tres grandes direcciones: 1) la determinación de los márgenes de libertad que el entorno económico mundial otorga a México para el diseño e instrumentación de una nueva estrategia de desarrollo económico; 2) la evaluación objetiva, basada en las evidencias empíricas, de los principios, instrumentos y resultados de las políticas neoliberales de ajuste económico y estabilización instrumentadas en México a partir de 1983; 3) la delineación de los principios e instrumentos fundamentales de una estrategia alternativa de desarrollo incluyente de la mayoría de los mexicanos y asentada en equilibrios macroeconómicos sólidos derivados del fortalecimiento de nuestra economía real y del bienestar mexicanos. Este volumen incluye versiones revisadas de trabajos presentados en el Seminario, así como contribuciones especiales elaboradas por sus autores en 1997