Insurance: an R-Program to Model Insurance Data

Data sets from car insurance companies often have a high-dimensional complex dependency structure. The use of classical statistical methods such as generalized linear models or Tweedie?s compound Poisson model can yield problems in this case. Christmann (2004) proposed a general approach to model the pure premium by exploiting characteristic features of such data sets. In this paper we describe a program to use this approach based on a combination of multinomial logistic regression and [epsilon]-support vector regression from modern statistical machine learning. --Claim size,insurance tariff,logistic regression,statistical machine learning,support vector regression

Historical Linguistics: Afro-Romanic, Basque and the origins of Ibero-Romance languages

This paper presents the state of the art regarding questions such as: How much do we know about the continuity of Latin in Northwest Africa between the 5th and the 10th centuries? How well do we know Afro-Romanic? Could we determine some basic linguistic features of Afro-Romanic and, if yes, which ones? Which data are consistent with the presence of Berbers, Afro-Romanic speakers, in Al-Andalus? To what extent Afro-Romanic may have exerted an influence on Andalusi Romance? Which consequences this may have on the present knowledge of Iberian Romance languages? Some of the answers are striking and all of them deserve a closer revision into the origins of Ibero-Romance considering the latest data

Mozárabe

Este término tiene que ver con la caracterización socio-religiosa, se trata de cristianos, y no con una caracterización lingüística. No hubo ni lengua ni dialectos mozárabes, es decir, limitados a los cristianos. Hubo un romance andalusí, polimórfico, que era utilizado por los diversos habitantes de al-Ándalus, cristianos, musulmanes y judíos, junto con otras lenguas. Estas hablas romances ocuparían un estrato sociolingüístico bajo, al no alcanzar una normalización, ni emplearse para la escritura, en la que los mozárabes empleaban o el latín o el árabe

The measurement of amidolytic activity in kidney homogenates for the estimation of renal kallikrein

Renewed interest in the kallikrein-kinin system was awakened in the early seventies by the suggestion that it might be involved in the regulation of sodium excretion [1, 2] or in the development of hypertension [3, 4]. However, due to complexities inherent in the measurement of the enzyme in the kidneys, only a few reports on the activity of the renal kallikrein have been published to date [5–8]

A New Virtual Reality Interface for Underwater Intervention Missions

Ponencia presentada en IFAC-PapersOnLine, Volume 53, Issue 2, 2020, Pages 14600-14607Nowadays, most underwater intervention missions are developed through the well-known work-class ROVs (Remote Operated Vehicles), equipped with teleoperated arms under human supervision. Thus, despite the appearance on the market of the first prototypes of the so-called I-AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles for Intervention), the most mature technology associated with ROVs continues to be trusted. In order to fill the gap between ROVs and incipient I-AUVs technology, new research is under progress in our laboratory. In particular, new HRI (Human Robot Interaction) capabilities are being tested inside a three-year Spanish coordinated project focused on cooperative underwater intervention missions. In this work new results are presented concerning a new user interface which includes immersion capabilities through Virtual Reality (VR) technology. It is worth noting that a new HRI module has been demonstrated, through a pilot study, in which the users had to solve some specific tasks, with minimum guidance and instructions, following simple Problem Based Learning (PBL) scheme. Finally, it is noticeable that, although this is only a work in progress, the obtained results are promising concerning friendly and intuitive characteristics of the developed HRI module. Thus, some critical aspects, like complexity fall, training time and cognitive fatigue of the ROV pilot, seem more affordable now

Impact of astigmatism and high-order aberrations on subjective best focus

12 págs.; 9 figs.; 1 tab.© 2015 ARVO. We studied the role of native astigmatism and ocular aberrations on best-focus setting and its shift upon induction of astigmatism in 42 subjects (emmetropes, myopes, hyperopes, with-the-rule [WTR] and against-the-rule [ATR] myopic astigmats). Stimuli were presented in a custom-developed adaptive optics simulator, allowing correction for native aberrations and astigmatism induction (+1 D; 6-mm pupil). Best-focus search consisted on randomized-step interleaved staircase method. Each subject searched best focus for four different images, and four different conditions (with/without aberration correction, with/without astigmatism induction). The presence of aberrations induced a significant shift in subjective best focus (0.4 D; p < 0.01), significantly correlated (p = 0.005) with the best-focus shift predicted from optical simulations. The induction of astigmatism produced a statistically significant shift of the best-focus setting in all groups under natural aberrations (p = 0.001), and in emmetropes and in WTR astigmats under corrected aberrations (p < 0.0001). Best-focus shift upon induced astigmatism was significantly different across groups, both for natural aberrations and AO-correction (p < 0.0001). Best focus shifted in opposite directions in WTR and ATR astigmats upon induction of astigmatism, symmetrically with respect to the best-focus shift in nonastigmatic myopes. The shifts are consistent with a bias towards vertical and horizontal retinal blur in WTR and ATR astigmats, respectively, indicating adaptation to native astigmatism.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013)/ERC Grant Agreement n. [ERC-2011- AdC 294099]. This study was supported by grants FIS2011-24637 to SM and a collaborative research project funded by Essilor International. Optometric examinations were performed in the Faculty of Optometry Clinic of the University Complutense de Madrid (Madrid, Spain). GM and MH work for Essilor International.Peer Reviewe

Preliminary Work on a Virtual Reality Interface for the Guidance of Underwater Robots

The need for intervention in underwater environments has increased in recent years but there is still a long way to go before AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicleswill be able to cope with really challenging missions. Nowadays, the solution adopted is mainly based on remote operated vehicle (ROV) technology. These ROVs are controlled from support vessels by using unnecessarily complex human–robot interfaces (HRI). Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the complexity of these systems to make them easier to use and to reduce the stress on the operator. In this paper, and as part of the TWIN roBOTs for the cooperative underwater intervention missions (TWINBOT) project, we present an HRI (Human-Robot Interface) module which includes virtual reality (VR) technology. In fact, this contribution is an improvement on a preliminary study in this field also carried out, by our laboratory. Hence, having made a concerted effort to improve usability, the HRI system designed for robot control tasks presented in this paper is substantially easier to use. In summary, reliability and feasibility of this HRI module have been demonstrated thanks to the usability tests, which include a very complete pilot study, and guarantee much more friendly and intuitive properties in the final HRI-developed module presented here

Vagando na noite: encontros entre filosofia, educação e música, ao “som” de Derrida e Debussy

The present writing was elaborated from speculations about possible encounters between philosophy, education, and music. On the margins of music, where philosophy seeks some penetration, the theme of a supposed refusal to assimilation is announced, demanding the resumption of questions such as the permanence of a zone of indetermination not reached by the representational effort. This unavoidable opacity of the musical phenomenon moves it to a nocturnal dimension, a common destiny to everything that escapes the totalizing interests of a language committed to the objectification and nomination of things and of those conventionally called other. The nocturnal in philosophy and in music is the object of reflections of Derrida and other thinkers, from which it is possible to glimpse a widening of the world, just where it is evident the merely formal character of the limits between what is said and unsaid, between what is human and what’s not. The text presented here includes some of these philosophical reflections, compared to musical creations that insinuate this nocturnal character, like those of Debussy. Additionally, possible consequences of the weakening of representational politics to subjectivation processes and alterity relations are highlighted, opening space for a thought about an education not compromised with the centrality of the human. A presente escrita foi elaborada a partir de especulações sobre possíveis encontros entre flosofa, educação e música. Nas margens da música, onde a flosofa busca alguma penetração, o tema de uma suposta recusa à assimilação se anuncia, exigindo a retomada de questões como a permanência de uma zona de indeterminação não alcançada pelo esforço representacional. Essa opacidade incontornável do fenômeno musical desloca-o para uma dimensão noturna, destino comum a tudo que escapa aos interesses totalizantes de uma linguagem comprometida com a objetivação e nomeação das coisas e dos que, a partir dela própria, se convencionou chamar de outros. O noturno na flosofa e na música é objeto de reflexões de Derrida e de outros pensadores, a partir das quais é possível vislumbrar uma ampliação do mundo, justamente onde se evidencia o caráter meramente formal dos limites entre o que é dito e não dito, entre o que é humano ou não. O texto aqui apresentado inclui algumas dessas reflexões filosóficas, cotejadas com criações musicais que insinuam esse caráter noturno, como as de Debussy. Adicionalmente, são destacadas possíveis consequências do enfraquecimento da política representacional para processos de subjetivação e relações de alteridade, abrindo espaço para um pensamento sobre educação não comprometido com a centralidade do humano

Perceived Stress Latent Factors and the Burnout Subtypes: A Structural Model in Dental Students

Background: Students of health-professions suffer high levels of stress and burnout. the aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between perceived stress latent factors ('tenseness' and 'frustration') and the features ('overload', 'lack of development' and 'neglect') of the three burnout subtypes ('frenetic', 'under-challenged' and 'worn-out', respectively), in a sample of Spanish dental students.Methods: the study employed a cross-sectional design. A sample of Spanish dental students (n = 314) completed the 'Perceived Stress Questionnaire' and the 'Burnout Clinical Subtype Questionnaire Student Survey'. the associations among variables were observed by means of structural equation modelling using the unweighted least squares method from polychoric correlations.Results: Strong associations among perceived stress factors and the burnout characteristics were observed, although a distinct pattern of relations was observed for each burnout subtype. the 'overload' was moderately and positively associated with both 'tenseness' (0.45), and 'frustration' (0.38) dimensions of perceived stress; the 'lack of development' was positively associated with the 'frustration' dimension (0.72), but negatively associated with 'tenseness' (-0.69); the 'neglect' showed a weaker positive associated with 'frustration' (0.41), and a small negative association with 'tenseness' (-0.20). the model was a very good fit to the data (GFI = 0.96; RSMR = 0.07; AGFI = 0.96; NFI = 0.95; RFI = 0.95).Conclusions: the stress factors of 'frustration' and 'tenseness' seems to be related in a distinct way to the burnout subtypes in Spanish dental students. This finding suggests that intervention programs specifically tailored to these subtypes may be a promising future direction.Research Network on Preventative Activities and Health Promotion, Aragon Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Health and Sports (University of Zaragoza)Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry (University of Santiago de Compostela)Fac Hlth & Sport Sci, Huesca, SpainUniversidade Federal de São Paulo UNIFESP, Dept Prevent Med, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Bristol, Sch Social & Community Med, Bristol, Avon, EnglandUniv New S Wales, Ctr Res Excellence Mental Hlth & Sustance Use, Sidney, BC, CanadaUniv Balearic Isl, Inst Univ Invest Ciencies Salut IUNICS, Mallorca, SpainUniv Zaragoza, Miguel Servet Univ Hosp, Zaragoza, SpainPrimary Care Prevent & Hlth Promot Res Network Re, Zaragoza, SpainUniversidade Federal de São Paulo UNIFESP, Dept Prevent Med, São Paulo, BrazilResearch Network on Preventative Activities and Health Promotion, Aragon Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Health and Sports (University of Zaragoza): RD06/0018/0017Web of Scienc