Diagnosis of a Chopper Controlled DC Motor by Boosting

This paper proposes a methodology to diagnose a transient state of a dynamic system using boosting. The methodology is composed by two steps: one off-line process and another on-line process. The off-line phase begins gathering data from the system, both when it is running free of fault and when the system is running in each fault mode. A segmentation and normalization algorithm is used to reduce the large amount of gathered data. The final step is the generation of a decision tree by a classification tool. The boosting technique is used with the aim of improving the classification results. The on-line process of the methodology consists of evaluating a new reading of the system sensors with the generated decision trees. The diagnosis of the system is the result of this evaluation which has very low computational cost due to the simplicity of the decision trees. Also, the implementation cost is very low due to this simplicity.Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología DPI2003-07146-C02-0

Filter optimization and complexity reduction for video coding using graph-based transforms

The basis functions of lifting transform on graphs are completely determined by finding a bipartition of the graph and defining the prediction and update filters to be used. In this work we consider the design of prediction filters that minimize the quadratic prediction error and therefore the energy of the detail coefficients, which will give rise to higher energy compaction. Then, to determine the graph bipartition, we propose a distributed maximum-cut algorithm that significantly reduces the computational cost with respect to the centralized version used in our previous work. The proposed techniques show improvements in coding performance and computational cost as compared to our previous work.This work was supported in part by NSF under grant CCF-1018977Publicad

Aggressive and bullying from the perspective of, physical activity, place of residence and sex behavior among adolescents in Granada

En este trabajo de investigación se tiene como objetivo analizar y establecer los índices de Victimización, Bullying y Conducta Violenta y su posible relación con el género, residencia habitual y práctica de A.F de adolescentes de 13 a 17 años de Granada (España). La participación de un total de 2.273 adolescentes permitió el registro y evaluación de las variables Victimización (escala de Victimización en la Escuela), Conducta Violenta (medida con la escala de Conducta Violenta en la Escuela), Bullying, género, lugar de residencia y práctica de Actividad Física. Los resultados mostraron que los adolescentes en más de la mitad de los casos indicaron que sin ser agresores sí que fueron testigos de casos de Bullying, también se detectó que los niveles de Agresividad (Manifiesta y Relacional) eran similares, mientras que la Victimización de tipo Verbal era la más usual. Asimismo los jóvenes residentes fuera del contexto familiar eran más acosadores y habían sufrido más acoso y tenían mayores índices de agresividad y victimización. La práctica de Actividad Física era más asidua en varones, y estos se caracterizaban por tener mayor agresividad manifiesta y un índice superior de victimización física, encontrándose más acosadores entre los varones y siendo estos más testigos de hechos violentos, mientras las chicas lo sufrían más y a la vez percibían menos situaciones de Bullying. Como principal recomendación indicamos la necesidad de estudiar con mayor profundidad a la población deportivamente activa para intentar dilucidar la casuística de estos resultados.In this research the aim was to analyze and establish the rates of victimization, bullying and violent conduct and its possible relationship to gender, habitual residence and Physical Activity Practice among teens from13-17 years of Granada (Spain). The participation of a total of 2, 273 adolescents allowed the registration and evaluation of Victimization (Scale  Victimization at School), Violent Conduct (measured with the scale of violent conduct at the School), Bullying, Gender, Place of residence and  Physical Activity practice variables. The results showed that adolescents in over half of the cases indicated that without being perpetrators themselves had witnessed cases of bullying, also found that levels of aggressiveness (Manifest and Relational) were similar, while the verbal victimization was more usual. It was also found that young teenagers residing outside the family context were bullies and had suffered further harassment and had higher rates of aggressiveness and victimization. The practice of physical activity was more frequent in males, and these were characterized by greater manifestation of aggressiveness and a higher rate of physical victimization, existing more stalkers among men and still more witnesses to these violent events, while the girls suffered more and perceived less bullying situations. It could be indicated as a main recommendation the need to further explore the physically active population to try to elucidate the casuistry of these results

Analysis of the Part Distortions for Inconel 718 SLM: A Case Study on the NIST Test Artifact

The present paper evaluates the misalignment and geometry distortion of the standard National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) test artifact in Inconel 718 alloy, when several layers with and without supports are employed to manufacture it by the Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process. To this end, a coordinate-measuring machine (CMM) is used to measure the geometrical distortion in each manufacturing configuration, following the same measurement protocol. The results show that the laser path strategy favors a thermal gradient which, consequently, induces geometrical distortions in the part. To prove this hypothesis, a numerical simulation is performed to determine the thermal gradient and the pattern of the residual stresses. It was found that the geometrical distortion certainly depends on the position of the feature position and laser strategy, where thermal cycles and residual thermal stresses had an impact in the end-part geometry, especially if a high strength-to-weight ratio commonly used in aeronautics is present.This work is supported by the Serra Húnter program (Generalitat de Catalunya) reference number [UPC-LE-304 (2018)] and by the Aeronautics Advanced Manufacturing Center (CFAA) in the JANO—Joint action toward digital transformation project framework. Diego Celentano acknowledges Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC), Wallonie-Bruxelles International (WBI) and National Council for Scientific and Technological Research CONICYT (FONDECYT Projects No. 3180006 and 1180591) for the financial supports provided for this work

Influence of agronomic factors on mycotoxin contamination in maize and changes during a 10-day harvest-till-drying simulattion period: a different perspective

Aquest article pertany al número especial: "Evaluation and Prevention of Mycotoxin Contamination and Toxicological Effects"Agronomic factors can affect mycotoxin contamination of maize, one of the most produced cereals. Maize is usually harvested at 18% moisture, but it is not microbiologically stable until it reaches 14% moisture at the drying plants. We studied how three agronomic factors (crop diversification, tillage system and nitrogen fertilization rate) can affect fungal and mycotoxin contamination (deoxynivalenol and fumonisins B1 and B2) in maize at harvest. In addition, changes in maize during a simulated harvest-till-drying period were studied. DON content at harvest was higher for maize under intensive tillage than using direct drilling (2695 and 474 μg kg−1, respectively). We found two reasons for this: (i) soil crusting in intensive tillage plots caused the formation of pools of water that created high air humidity conditions, favouring the development of DON-producing moulds; (ii) the population of Lumbricus terrestris, an earthworm that would indirectly minimize fungal infection and mycotoxin production on maize kernels, is reduced in intensive tillage plots. Therefore, direct drilling is a better approach than intensive tillage for both preventing DON contamination and preserving soil quality. Concerning the simulated harvest-tilldrying period, DON significantly increased between storage days 0 and 5. Water activity dropped on the 4th day, below the threshold for DON production (around 0.91). From our perspective, this study constitutes a step forward towards understanding the relationships between agronomic factors and mycotoxin contamination in maize, and towards improving food safety.This work is part of the R+D+I project PID2020-114836RB-I00, financed by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033. B.B.-V. and J.F.-O. have been funded by the FD pre-doctoral fellowship (PRE2018- 085278 and PRE2018-084610 respectively) of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities

Aproximación a los sensores biométricos para medir el perfil de stress

n este artículo se realiza un estudio sobre los sen sores biométricos que pueden ayudar a tomar me didas sobre el estrés que sufre una individuo con el objetivo de combinar esta información con la infomración obtenida de los entornos inteligentes y que éstos últimos sean capaces de adaptarse a las condiciones de los individuos moderando la situación de estrés. Se realiza un estudio sobre los cambios biométricos que se producen en situa ciones de estrés así como una taxonomía de los sen sores biométricos del mercado además de presentar un entorno inteligente donde desplegar estos sen sores y dos escenarios de trabajo futuro

Actividad física, hidratación y salud

Since the beginning of mankind, man has sought ways to promote and preserve health as well as to prevent disease. Hydration, physical activity and exercise are key factors for enhancing human health. However, either a little dose of them or an excess can be harmful for health maintenance at any age. Water is an essential nutrient for human body and a major key to survival has been to prevent dehydration. However, there is still a general controversy regarding the necessary amount to drink water or other beverages to properly get an adequate level of hydration. In addition, up to now the tools used to measure hydration are controversial. To this end, there are several important groups of variables to take into account such as water balance, hydration biomarkers and total body water. A combination of methods will be the most preferred tool to find out any risk or situation of dehydration at any age range. On the other hand, physical activity and exercise are being demonstrated to promote health, avoiding or reducing health problems, vascular and inflammatory disea ses and helping weight management. Therefore, physical activity is also being used as a pill within a therapy to promote health and reduce risk diseases, but as in the case of drugs, dose, intensity, frequency, duration and precautions have to be evaluated and taken into account in order to get the maximum effectiveness and success of a treatment. On the other hand, sedentariness is the opposite concept to physical activity that has been recently recognized as an important factor of lifestyle involved in the obesogenic environment and consequently in the risk of the non-communicable diseases. In view of the literature consulted and taking into account the expertise of the authors, in this review a Decalogue of global recommendations is included to achieve an adequate hydration and physical activity status to avoid overweight/obesity consequences.Desde los comienzos del género humano, el hombre ha buscado el modo de promover y preservar la salud, así como prevenir la enfermedad. La hidratación, la actividad física y el ejercicio son factores clave para mejorar la salud. Sin embargo, estos factores en dosis excesivamente bajas o en exceso pueden ser perjudiciales para el mantenimiento de la salud a cualquier edad. El agua es un nutriente esencial para el organismo y un factor clave para la supervivencia y la prevención de la deshidratación. Sin embargo, hay todavía una controversia general en cuanto a la cantidad necesaria de ingesta de agua u otros líquidos con objeto de conseguir un nivel adecuado de hidratación. Además, hasta la fecha no hay consenso sobre las herramientas a utilizar para medir la hidratación. Con este fin, hay varios grupos importantes de variables a tener en cuenta, como el equilibrio de agua, biomarcadores de hidratación y el agua total corporal. Se prefiere en general una combinación de métodos para evaluar riesgo de situaciones de deshidratación en cualquier franja etaria. Por otro lado, se ha demostrado que la actividad física y el ejercicio promueven la salud, evitando o reduciendo la susceptibilidad a enfermedades de tipo vascular o inflamatorio, así como para ayudar en el manejo del peso. Por todo ello, la actividad física está siendo utilizada también a modo de “píldora” en terapias para promover la salud y reducir el riesgo de enfermedad. Como en el caso de los medicamentos, hay que evaluar la dosis, intensidad, frecuencia, duración y tener en cuenta las precauciones necesarias para conseguir la máxima eficacia y el mayor éxito del tratamiento. Por el contrario, el sedentarismo es el concepto opuesto a la actividad física y se ha reconocido recientemente como un factor importante de estilo de vida implicado en el ámbito obesogénico y en consecuencia en el riesgo de las enfermedades no transmisibles. Teniendo en cuenta la bibliografía consultada y la experiencia de los autores, en esta revisión se concluye con unas recomendaciones a modo de decálogo dirigido a la población general para conseguir un estatus de hidratación y actividad física adecuados con el fin de evitar las consecuencias del sobrepeso y la obesidad

Parathyroid hormone-related protein as a renal regulating factor: From Vessels to Glomeruli and Tubular Epithelium

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and PTH-related protein (PTHrP) produce similar biological effects through the PTH/PTHrP receptor. Less is known about the physiological role of PTHrP, which was first identified as the agent of the humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy. Despite the widespread production of PTHrP in healthy individuals, the concentration of the protein is below the detectable limit of current assays, suggesting that PTHrP normally functions locally in an autocrine or paracrine manner. Thus, some differences in their biological activities have been described and they may be related to the presence of different receptors. In this regard, a second receptor that binds selectively to PTH has also been found. Recent studies have demonstrated the expression of both PTH/PTHrP receptor and protein in the renal glomeruli. Moreover, there are convincing data that support a direct role of PTH and PTHrP in modulating renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate. This multifunctional protein, PSHrP, also has a proliferative effect on both glomerular mesangial cells and tubular epithelial cells. Increases in the expression of PTHrP have been observed in several experimental models of nephropathies, suggesting that PTHrP upregulation is a common event associated with the mechanism of renal injury and repair