Feature selection for microarray gene expression data using simulated annealing guided by the multivariate joint entropy

In this work a new way to calculate the multivariate joint entropy is presented. This measure is the basis for a fast information-theoretic based evaluation of gene relevance in a Microarray Gene Expression data context. Its low complexity is based on the reuse of previous computations to calculate current feature relevance. The mu-TAFS algorithm --named as such to differentiate it from previous TAFS algorithms-- implements a simulated annealing technique specially designed for feature subset selection. The algorithm is applied to the maximization of gene subset relevance in several public-domain microarray data sets. The experimental results show a notoriously high classification performance and low size subsets formed by biologically meaningful genes.Postprint (published version

Religiosidad y comportamientos económicos ante la muerte de los comerciantes de telas al por menor en la Valencia del XVIII

Este artículo analiza las actitudes ante la muerte de los comerciantes de telas al por menor en la Valencia del siglo XVIII, a través de las disposiciones testamentarias de tres miembros representativos de este grupo social; Bernardo Sumbiela, de origen francés, Juan Solernou, catalán y José Ellul, de procedencia maltesa. El hecho de que todos ellos sean de origen foráneo se corresponde con la composición social de este sector y el predominio de agentes comerciales extranjeros especialmente franceses y malteses durante toda la centuria. Observamos, especialmente, las actitudes religiosas (entierro, legado pro anima, mandas pías...), pero también sus comportamientos económicos y las estrategias sociales que subyacen ante la proximidad del momento de la muerte, reflejadas a través de los testamentos. (A

Identity and security in the competition for power in Israel

The language of security has immediate effects; it constitutes a speech act. By using the language of security, an actor reclaims the use of extraordinary media in order to deal with the threats that it presents to public opinion; this is called securitisation. However, security is not always objective, and sometimes the interests of specific sectors in their competition for power are concealed behind the argument of general interest. Starting from a concept of enlarged security, we propose a review of the concept of societal security as described by Barry Buzan and Ole Waever, which suggests a security based on the identity of communities, and we do so by focusing on the experience of Israel, where security and identity go hand-in-hand in the discourse. We also add a proposal from the sociology of power: the discourse of security is just another resource in the competition for power

Chapter The virus of fashion. Democratization of luxury and new commercial strategies in early modern Valencia

This work intends to analyze how the influence of fashion in eighteenth-century Spain transformed the commercial structure, being the petty bourgeoisie the main protagonists and the shop ("botiga") the priority scenario of these changes. To do this, we will focus on eighteenth-century Valencia as a case study, a dynamic city that experienced a remarkable economic development during this century. Undoubtedly, fashion stimulated economic growth not only in the more developed regions of north-western Europe, but this process was also present in the Mediterranean context, developing an important sector of petty bourgeoisie mercantile and a change in the consumption patterns of most of its population

Electronic administration in Spain: from its beginnings to the present

This study presents the basic lines of electronic administration in Spain. The complexity of the Spanish political-administrative system makes such a study challenging, in view of the considerable degree of autonomy and competences of the regional administrative bodies and local agencies with respect to the central government, the former being more visible in the 17 regions of Spain. Nonetheless, the central government maintains a series of legal instruments that allow a certain common framework of action to be imposed, aside from what is put into effect through diverse programs aimed precisely to develop common tools for the regions and municipalities of Spain. After an introduction that provides some necessary background, this study describes the legislative framework in which Spain's electronic administrative system has developed. The data included in the study refer to investment in information and communication technologies (ICT) and the services offered by the different Administrations on the internet; internet access by citizens, homes, businesses, and employees, as well as the interactivity existing with administrations by means of the internet; the origins and rise of various political initiatives of the Central Government involving electronic administration; and finally, the situation of civil service personnel, as catalysts of the success of Information Society in the Public Administration within Spain

Technical Note TN 2.2 Fuel load sampling of a Cupressus sempervirens hedge

In this document, data from a destructive sampling of a Cupressus sempervirens hedgerow are shown, as well as the followed methodology. Measures of sizes and weights have been taken. With these data, moisture content, fuel load and bulk density have been calculated. Different fuel classes (state and diameter) have been taken into account.Postprint (updated version