Researching Context-Aware Recommendation Systems in Mobile Environments

The design and implementation of generic frameworks to support an easy development of context-aware recommendation systems has been relatively unexplored. In this paper, we briefly present our ongoing work for the definition of a framework that will support the development of context-aware recommendation systems in distributed and mobile environments. Those systems will allow suggesting relevant items to mobile users

Researching context-aware recommendation systems in mobile environments

The design and implementation of generic frameworks to support an easy development of context-aware recommendation systems has been relatively unexplored. In this paper, we briefly present our ongoing work for the definition of a framework that will support the development of context-aware recommendation systems in distributed and mobile environments. Those systems will allow suggesting relevant items to mobile users

Only low saline conditions benefited yield and quality of iceplant grown in pot culture

Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. or iceplant is an annual facultative halophyte adapted to extreme environmental conditions, as salinity. This characteristic has special importance in the Mediterranean region, where the drought conditions entail the most important problems of soil and water salinity. Furthermore, there is currently a great gastronomic interest for this plant due to its soft texture, fresh and salty taste, high content of water and beneficial compounds for health. Therefore, the objective of this work was to establish the optimal salt growth conditions for pot cultivation of iceplant in greenhouse. Thus, the effect of different salinity levels (0, 100, 200 and 300 mM NaCl) under controlled conditions was evaluated. Severe salinity treatments reduced crop production. However, results showed that the 100 mM NaCl treatment benefited plant growth. This treatment showed greater leaf fresh weight and area, pigment content and maintained its root and shoot biomass similar to control values. In addition, compared to control plants, salinity increased the specific leaf area and leaf relative water content, reduced leaf starch and K concentrations. Therefore, results confirm that iceplant pot culture can be strategically perform under low salinity conditions with an enhancement or maintenance of crop yield and quality.This work was financed by the Valencian Community – Spain (GV/2018/068)

Implementación de la producción de lechuga glacial (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L.) bajo condiciones semicontroladas

Ice plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L.) is regarded as a drought and saline stress-tolerant plant with many biological properties, and especially valued in gourmet cuisine. The objective of this work was to find an optimum plant cultivation mode to produce edible parts under greenhouse conditions. Three soilless media were evaluated: peat, vermiculite and hydroponic culture. Peat pot culture yielded reduced biomass. Vermiculite and hydroponics, however, led optimum M. crystallinum growth. Plants grown in vermiculite and irrigated with nutrient solution presented a significantly higher yield. In fact, vermiculite-grown plants presented enhanced leaf area and leaf fresh weight as well as high foliar N, Mg, Mn, Fe, Na, chlorophyll and carotenoid concentrations. To conclude, greater succulence and Na concentration in edible parts of the vermiculite-grown glacier lettuce can offer consumers a more interesting taste, consistency and improved nutrient contents.La lechuga glacial (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L.) muestra tolerancia a los estreses salino e hídrico, y posee diversas actividades biológicas que han permitido su revalorización como planta comestible en la alta cocina. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue evaluar el óptimo modo de cultivo para la producción de hojas de M. crystallinum bajo condiciones de invernadero. Para ello, se compararon tres formas de cultivo sin suelo: turba, vermiculita y cultivo hidropónico. El crecimiento en maceta con turba no resultó ser adecuado para la lechuga glacial, provocando una baja producción de biomasa. Sin embargo, tanto el cultivo en vermiculita como hidropónico permitieron un óptimo crecimiento de M. crystallinum, mostrando una producción significativamente superior las plantas crecidas en vermiculita mediante riego con solución nutritiva. La lechuga glacial desarrollada en vermiculita incrementó su área y materia fresca foliar, junto con elevadas concentraciones de N, Mg, Mn, Fe, Na, clorofilas y carotenoides en hojas. Además, el aumento de la suculencia y la concentración de Na en las partes comestibles de las plantas cultivadas en vermiculita pueden ofrecer un sabor, consistencia y contenido en nutrientes de mayor interés para el consumidor.This work was financed by the Valencian Community, Spain (GV/2018/068)

Hacia una nueva conceptualización del control parental desde la teoría de la autodeterminación

Resumen tomado de la publicaciónTítulo, palabras clave y resumen también en inglés y francésLas investigaciones desarrolladas sobre los estilos educativos parentales, específicamente, aquellas en las que se aborda el estudio del «control parental», se han realizado sobre múltiples conceptualizaciones de este término. Esta disparidad en la acepción del concepto ha tenido un efecto directo sobre los resultados de las investigaciones, de modo que la evidencia empírica sobre los efectos del control parental en menores ha sido frecuentemente inconsistente o equivocada. En este contexto, el artículo analiza los principales problemas epistemológicos y metodológicos producidos por el uso ambiguo del término. Además, y desde el marco que proporciona la teoría de la autodeterminación, se propone una nueva definición del constructo y se explicitan sus relaciones con otras dimensiones educativas parentales. Específicamente, se proponen dos dimensiones que son complementarias: apoyo a la autonomía versus control y estructura parental. Esta propuesta permite superar los problemas mencionados y abrir un nuevo campo en el estudio de la parentalidad.ES

Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics Workflows in Cancer Research: The Relevance of Choosing the Right Steps

The qualitative and quantitative evaluation of proteome changes that condition cancer development can be achieved with liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS). LC-MSbased proteomics strategies are carried out according to predesigned workflows that comprise several steps such as sample selection, sample processing including labeling, MS acquisition methods, statistical treatment, and bioinformatics to understand the biological meaning of the findings and set predictive classifiers. As the choice of best options might not be straightforward, we herein review and assess past and current proteomics approaches for the discovery of new cancer biomarkers. Moreover, we review major bioinformatics tools for interpreting and visualizing proteomics results and suggest the most popular machine learning techniques for the selection of predictive biomarkers. Finally, we consider the approximation of proteomics strategies for clinical diagnosis and prognosis by discussing current barriers and proposals to circumvent them.Research Council of Norway INFRASTRUKTUR-program (project number: 295910

Sensitivity of quinoa cv. ‘Titicaca’ to low salinity conditions

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Will.) is an annual herbaceous Andean plant. In recent years there is a growing interest on it due to its high quality as food, its wide adaptation to agroecological conditions and resistance to different abiotic stresses. In this work, we evaluate the growth pattern of quinoa plants cv. ‘Titicaca’, subjected to different levels of salinity, focusing on leaf production and nutrient content. In this sense, the results have shown that a high concentration of salinity negatively affects the growth of quinoa plants. In fact, plants grown with 200 mM NaCl reduced the photosynthetic rate and levels of chlorophylls and carotenoids in comparison with the rest of the treatments. Likewise, it has been proven how the progressive increase in salinity has negative effects on transpiration, stomatal conductance and photosynthetic rate, with significant subsequent reductions in shoot biomass, leaf area and nutrient adquisition, but without a decline in leaf dry weight (DW) production. However, the treatment of 200 mM NaCl demonstrated the best results regarding the water-use efficiency, as well as the number of saline glands. According to our results, the quinoa plant cv. ‘Titicaca’ seems to be tolerant to moderate concentrations of salinity (50–100 mM NaCl). This study could serve as a reference on this little known and cultivated species in the Mediterranean region, since it could become an alternative crop in areas with moderate salinity problems.Luna Morcillo was supported by the Spanish MICINN (PTA2019-018094). CEAM Foundation was funded by the Generalitat Valenciana

Estudio sobre la preocupación por la imagen corporal y la presencia de ideas de referencia : análisis en función del género

This research, which is explained below, is a contribution to a broader study on Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Specifically, we propound to demonstrate the close links that exist between concern for body image and the ideas of reference, as well as both variables in the gender. We will also study links with the age for going deeper into these concerns for body image. This study included 296 non-university people of Spanish nationality and aged between 18 and 65. These people filled out several questionnaires, and the information was analyzed by SPSS program in its last version. The results confirm that a significant correlation exists between the concern for body image , deas of reference and genderEl trabajo que se presenta a continuación constituye una aportación a un estudio más amplio sobre el Trastorno Dismórfico Corporal. Concretamente proponemos demostrar la estrecha relación existente entre la preocupación por la imagen corporal y las ideas de referencia, así como de ambas variables con el género. Para profundizar en las preocupaciones por la imagen corporal, estudiaremos su relación también con la edad. En el estudio participaron 296 sujetos no universitarios, de nacionalidad española y con edades comprendidas entre 18 y 65 años. Estos sujetos autocumplimentaron varios cuestionarios, y los datos obtenidos fueron analizados por el programa SPSS en su última versión. Los resultados confirman que existe una correlación significativa entre la preocupación por la imagen corporal, las ideas de referencia y el género

Towards Keyword-based Pull Recommendation Systems

Due to the high availability of data, users are frequently overloaded with a huge amount of alternatives when they need to choose a particular item. This has motivated an increased interest in research on recommendation systems, which filter the options and provide users with suggestions about specific elements (e.g., movies, restaurants, hotels, books, etc.) that are estimated to be potentially relevant for the user. In this paper, we describe and evaluate two possible solutions to the problem of identification of the type of item (e.g., music, movie, book, etc.) that the user specifies in a pull-based recommendation (i.e., recommendation about certain types of items that are explicitly requested by the user). We evaluate two alternative solutions: one based on the use of the Hidden Markov Model and another one exploiting Information Retrieval techniques. Comparing both proposals experimentally, we can observe that the Hidden Markov Model performs generally better than the Informatio n Retrieval technique in our preliminary experimental setup