Efficient transfer entropy analysis of non-stationary neural time series

Information theory allows us to investigate information processing in neural systems in terms of information transfer, storage and modification. Especially the measure of information transfer, transfer entropy, has seen a dramatic surge of interest in neuroscience. Estimating transfer entropy from two processes requires the observation of multiple realizations of these processes to estimate associated probability density functions. To obtain these observations, available estimators assume stationarity of processes to allow pooling of observations over time. This assumption however, is a major obstacle to the application of these estimators in neuroscience as observed processes are often non-stationary. As a solution, Gomez-Herrero and colleagues theoretically showed that the stationarity assumption may be avoided by estimating transfer entropy from an ensemble of realizations. Such an ensemble is often readily available in neuroscience experiments in the form of experimental trials. Thus, in this work we combine the ensemble method with a recently proposed transfer entropy estimator to make transfer entropy estimation applicable to non-stationary time series. We present an efficient implementation of the approach that deals with the increased computational demand of the ensemble method's practical application. In particular, we use a massively parallel implementation for a graphics processing unit to handle the computationally most heavy aspects of the ensemble method. We test the performance and robustness of our implementation on data from simulated stochastic processes and demonstrate the method's applicability to magnetoencephalographic data. While we mainly evaluate the proposed method for neuroscientific data, we expect it to be applicable in a variety of fields that are concerned with the analysis of information transfer in complex biological, social, and artificial systems.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figures, submitted to PLOS ON

DISEÑO DE UNA RED LOGÍSTICA DE TRANSPORTE PARA LA CADENA DE SUMINISTRO Y DISTRIBUCIÓN DE UNA EMPRESA FLORÍCOLA

El objetivo de la presente investigación fue diseñar una red logística de transporte terrestre del sector florícola de la región sur del Estado de México con el fin de conocer por medio de datos numéricos procedentes de una empresa florícola la cuál realiza exportaciones de bouquets de flores naturales a Estados Unidos. Para ello se emplearon cuestionarios, indicadores estadísticos y un modelo de transporte eficiente para su mayor entendimiento del estudio. Se acierta que los factores de competitividad mundial para poder realizar este diseño de red son las distancias mínimas que se recorren, la efectividad de los costos, los productos que se ofrecen, la producción y comercialización de los mismos. Se concluye que el sector florícola de la región sur del Estado de México, por medio de una empresa florícola destina sus productos al mercado exterior en mayor volumen y que en el mercado interior existe aplazamiento y por lo tanto el diseño de esta red resistiría un cambio a largo plazo. Palabras clave: red de logística, transporte, cadena de suministro, sector florícola. Abstract: The objective of the present research was to design a logistics network of land transport of the floriculture sector of the southern region of the State of Mexico in order to know through data numerical from a floriculture company which carries out exports of bouquets of natural flowers to united states. For this purpose, questionnaires, statistical indicators and an efficient transport model are used to better understand the study. It is correct factors of global competition to make this network design are the minimum distances that are traveled, the effectiveness of the costs, the products that are offered, the production and commercialization of the same. It is concluded that the floriculture sector of region State of Mexico through a floriculture company destines its products to the foreign market in greater volume and that in the internal market there is postponement and therefore the design of this network would resist a long-term change

Using BAM and CEP for Process Monitoring in Cloud BPM

BAM (Business Activity Monitoring) and CEP (Complex Event Processing) have been deeply studied in traditional BPM, according to the procurement of relevant results about process execution, especially for improvement and monitoring purposes. Once BPM was introduced in the cloud and it was necessary to decompose processes in order to execute them in hybrid environments, the conception of monitoring has suffered several changes. In previous works we have designed an architecture for process execution and monitoring which considers several services in order to gather and show the recollected information as relevant results. A new approach over this architecture takes place in this work: it considers BAM and CEP as mechanisms for the information gathering process, and also enhances the monitoring application taking advantage of these two methodologies, now under the distributed perspective. Additionally we make a comparison about when it is convenient to use BAM or CEP alternatively in a distributed environment, according to the nature of the recollected data, the type of indicators needed to be shown and also the latency window over the data used as a source.Facultad de Informátic

Using BAM and CEP for Process Monitoring in Cloud BPM

BAM (Business Activity Monitoring) and CEP (Complex Event Processing) have been deeply studied in traditional BPM, according to the procurement of relevant results about process execution, especially for improvement and monitoring purposes. Once BPM was introduced in the cloud and it was necessary to decompose processes in order to execute them in hybrid environments, the conception of monitoring has suffered several changes. In previous works we have designed an architecture for process execution and monitoring which considers several services in order to gather and show the recollected information as relevant results. A new approach over this architecture takes place in this work: it considers BAM and CEP as mechanisms for the information gathering process, and also enhances the monitoring application taking advantage of these two methodologies, now under the distributed perspective. Additionally we make a comparison about when it is convenient to use BAM or CEP alternatively in a distributed environment, according to the nature of the recollected data, the type of indicators needed to be shown and also the latency window over the data used as a source.Facultad de Informátic

Clinical management of homocystinuria; case report and review of the literature

La homocistinuria es un error congénito del metabolismo de la metionina que conduce al acúmulo de metionina y de su principal metabolito, homocisteína, en plasma, orina y tejidos. El acúmulo de homocisteína posee toxicidad sobre los sistemas óseo (osteoporosis), ocular (luxación del cristalino), nervioso (convulsiones, alteraciones psiquiátricas) y vascular (accidentes cerebrovasculares, enfermedad cardiovascular). Presentamos 2 casos de homocistinuria en 2 pacientes hermanos y, a continuación, revisamos las estrategias terapéuticas disponiblesHomocystinuria is a congenital disorder of methyonine metabolism that leads to increased plasmatic, urinary and tissue deposits of methyonine and its main metabolite: homocysteine. Homocysteine deposits are toxic for the skeletal system (osteoporosis), the eyes (lens dislocation), central nervous system (seizures, psychiatric disorders) and also induce vascular damage (stroke and other cardiovascular events). This article reports two patients with homocystinuria in two siblings, followed by a concise review on the therapeutic strategies available for this disorde

Influence of Moderate High-Pressure Homogenization on Quality of Bioactive Compounds of Functional Food Supplements

Current interest in health has led to an increase in demand for functional food supplements as well as in industry concern for maintaining the bioactive compounds of such foods via the application of new technologies. In this study, we evaluated the effect of moderate high-pressure homogenization (HPH) treatments (80 and 120 MPa) versus thermal treatment (80°C, atmospheric pressure) on the functional bioactive compounds from four different functional supplements stored under accelerated conditions (40°C  ±  2°C and 75%  ±  5% relative humidity) for 6 months. HPH proved to be a better alternative than thermal treatment for functional supplements containing heat-sensitive compounds such as vitamin C, vitamin A, and unsaturated fatty acids (10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid). The proanthocyanidin, cynarin, chlorogenic, and iron contents, however, were not initially affected by HPH treatments. The storage time caused important reductions in the majority of the compounds studied (mainly in vitamins C, B12, and A), although the lowest decrease was found in the HPH samples. The food matrix had an important effect on the final functional composition and required the optimization of HPH treatments for each functional food supplement. HPH is a recommended alternative to thermal treatment for functional food supplements, in particular when they are rich in thermolabile bioactive compounds

“Desarrollo local desde la perspectiva de la organización comunitaria en el Municipio de Jocoaitique, desde los años 2015 al 2018”

RESUMEN: Este proyecto consiste en la investigación de los procesos organizativos y el involucramiento de los actores locales en la toma de decisiones del municipio Jocoaitique debido a que se ha caracterizado un sistema de gobierno centralizado a través de su historia. Para que exista Desarrollo Territorial Local, es necesario fortalecer el tejido organizacional del municipio de Jocoaitique, en el Departamento de Morazán, de tal manera que, esto permita dinamizar el desarrollo integral de cualquier territorio, en un momento determinado y poder acceder una diversidad de proyectos y programas de bienestar social. Contextualizamos toda la información del municipio de Jocoaitique, su reseña histórica de su fundación como municipio, extensión geográfica, la división política administrativa, cantones y caseríos, sus recursos naturales, la cultura propia, las diferentes actividades económicas, los diferentes sistemas de servicios públicos proporcionados por el gobierno central la educación, salud, seguridad pública y los demás que presta la municipalidad. ABSTRAC: This project consists of the investigation of the organizational processes and the involvement of local actors in the decision-making of the Jocoaitique municipality due to the fact that a centralized government system is characterized throughout its history. In order for there to be Local Territorial Development, it is necessary to strengthen the organizational fabric of the municipality of Jocoaitique, in the Department of Morazán, in such a way that, this allows to boost the integral development of any territory, at a certain moment and to be able to access a diversity of projects and social welfare programs. We contextualize all the information of the municipality of Jocoaitique, its historical review of its foundation as a municipality, geographical extension, the administrative political division, cantons and hamlets, its natural resources, its own culture, the different economic activities, the different systems of public services provided by the central government education, health, public safety and others provided by the municipalit

Mercury and selenium retention in fly ashes: Influence of unburned particle content

7 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables.-- Printed version published Sep 2007.-- Issue title: "The 6th European Conference on Coal Research and its Applications".Mercury and selenium are present as trace elements in coal and may be emitted to the environment in gas phase during coal conversion processes or be partially retained on the fly ashes. The present work explores the possibility that selenium may contribute to mercury capture in fly ashes in two different situations: firstly the power station itself, in order to evaluate the influence of typical working conditions, and secondly in a fixed bed of fly ashes enriched with Se, in order to study the capture of mercury in more severe conditions. It was found that the presence of selenium in fly ashes may improve their capacity to capture mercury. However, in the four fly ashes of different origin studied, selenium is not the most important component for mercury retention. In fact, the presence of selenium in fly ash samples enriched in unburned carbon does not have any significant effect on mercury retention.The results of this work were obtained as part of the projects PPQ2001-2359-C02-02 and CTM2004-04252.CO2-02/TECNO.Peer reviewe