Seamless IPv6 connectivity for two-wheelers

Communications will be a must for two-wheel vehicles integrated into future smart mobility environments. Two-wheelers will be connected with vehicular networks and smart cities, and for this to happen it is necessary not only a base technological support, but also a proper communication middleware able to maintain reachable the bike or moped through the network. In this work, we present a communication node for two-wheelers supporting network mobility and including 3G and 802.11p communication technologies. The communication unit has been designed and prototyped, and it has been provided with an IPv6 communication stack with an enhanced mobility management. The operation of the unit has been assessed in real environments, presenting good performance results and thus offering a novel platform suitable for the next generation of telematics services embracing two-wheelers.This work has been sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the EDISON project (contract TIN2014-52099-R), and the Spanish Ministry of Home Affairs - Department of Transport (DGT) through 545 the S-CICLO project (SPIP2015-01757)

Evidencias sobre la eficacia de los corredores ecológicos: ¿Solucionan la problemática de fragmentación de hábitats?

Se realiza una revisión del estado de la cuestión con respecto al bagaje científico existente sobre la eficacia de los corredores ecológicos como elementos dirigidos a la conservación de especies en paisajes fragmentados. Previamente se enumeran los efectos potenciales positivos y negativos que pudieran tener los corredores sobre la vida silvestre y se describen las principales dificultades metodológicas que presentan los estudios que tienen como objetivo testar dicha eficacia. Se evidencia la existencia de un nivel probatorio creciente sobre los efectos positivos de corredores ecológicos de características adecuadas en materia de conservación, si bien se espera que aumente significativamente el bagaje científico al respecto en los próximos años. El principio de precaución en materia de conectividad ecológica se torna fundamental dentro de la planificación territorial y sectorial, con el objeto de prevenir la pérdida de funcionalidad de los corredores ecológicos remanentes en el territorio.A review of scientific knowledge about the effectiveness of ecological corridors as elements aimed at the conservation of species in fragmented landscapes is conducted. Before, the potential positive and negative effects that corridors might have on wildlife are listed and the main methodological difficulties that show the studies that aim to test that effectiveness are described. It is clear that there is a growing level of evidence about the positive effects of ecological corridors of appropriate characteristics in terms of conservation, although it is expected that the scientific knowledge in this regard increase significantly in the coming years. The precautionary principle in the field of ecological connectivity becomes crucial in landscape planning, in order to prevent the loss of function of ecological corridors remaining in the territory.On réalise une révision de l’état de la question à l’égard du bagage scientifique existant sur l’efficacité des corridors écologiques, comme des éléments dirigés à la conservation d’espèces dans des paisajes fragmentés. Au préalable on énumère les effets potentiels positifs et négatives que peuvent avoir les corridors sur la vie sauvage et on décrit les difficultés principales méthodologiques que présentent les études qui ont pour but tèster la dite efficacité. Bien que les effets positifs des corridors écologiques adecuats sont évidents, on s’attend que le bagage scientifique à ce sujet augmente significativement dans les prochaines années. Le principe de précaution en matière de connectivité écologique deviene fondamental dans la planification territoriale et séctorielle, afin de prévenir la perte de fonctionnalité des corridors écologiques rémanents dans le territoire

Comparación entre la respuesta de la actividad muscular lumbar en plataforma vibratoria y en ejercicio clásico de squat isométrico en 30º y 60º. (A comparison of the lumbar muscle activity responsein 30º and 60º isometric squat between whole-body vibration and a classic exercise).

<p align="justify">Whole-body vibration (WBV) has improved as a variety of exercises, so it is necessary know muscles responses to the vibration stimulus.The aim of this work was to study and to compare the change in muscle activation in the lumbar area and lower body between the whole-body vibration exercise and classic strength exercises in isometric squat.23 subjects were exposed to six different loads in one of each exercise mode: vibration or classic strength. Both exercises were performed at 30º and 60º semi-squat position. Muscle activity of the lower body and lumbar area was measured using surface electromyography activity (EMG).The results showed that the response of lumbar area in WBV was lower than in the classic strength exercise at the same value of lower body sEMG. Lumbar sEMG was highest for the classic exercise. Moreover, during 30º squat sEMG was higher than during 60ºsquat.</p>Resumen<p align="justify">El aumento del uso de la plataforma vibratoria como forma de realizar ejercicio conlleva la necesidad de conocer las respuestas musculares al estímulo de la misma.El objetivo de este trabajo ha sido estudiar y comparar la respuesta de la activación muscular de la zona lumbar y del tren inferior en el trabajo de plataforma vibratoria con el trabajo clásico de fuerza en un squat isométrico.23 sujetos fueron sometidos a 6 condiciones de vibración y a 6 de un trabajo clásico de pesas. Se analizó la sEMG del tren inferior y de la zona lumbar en un trabajo isométrico de un squat con flexión de 30º y 60º de rodilla.Los resultados muestran que para un mismo valor de sEMG del tren inferior, los valores de sEMG de la zona lumbar son menores en el ejercicio vibratorio. Existiendo en el trabajo de pesas una mayor exigencia en la zona lumbar. Además, con una flexión de 30º la activación muscular es mayor en todas las condiciones. (p<0,05)</p

Securing vehicular IPv6 communications

A common practice is applying security after a network has been designed or developed. We have the opportunity of not committing this error in vehicular networks. Apart from particular works in the literature, ETSI TC ITS has defined general security services for (vehicular) cooperative systems. However, existent efforts do not pay the needed attention to the integration of IPv6 yet. The potential of IPv6 in the field is being described within ISO TC 204, above all, but further work is needed for a proper integration of security. This work follows this direction, and a reference vehicular communication architecture considering ETSI/ISO regulations, uses Internet Protocol security (IPsec) and Internet Key Exchange version 2 (IKEv2) to secure IPv6 Network Mobility (NEMO). A key advance is also the implementation and experimental evaluation of the proposal in a challenging vertical handover scenario between 3G and 802.11p. The performance of the secured NEMO channel is widely analyzed in terms of the movement speed, bandwidth, traffic type or signal quality, and it is concluded that the addition of IPv6 security only implies a slight reduction in the overall performance, with the great advantage of providing confidentiality, integrity and authenticity to the communication path.This work has been sponsored by the EU 7th Framework Program through the ITSSv6, FOTsis, GEN6 and Inter-Trust projects (contracts 270519, 270447, 297239 and 317731), and the Ministry of Science and Innovation through the Walkie-Talkie project (TIN2011-27543-C03)

A Case of Critical Aortic Stenosis Masquerading as Acute Coronary Syndrome

Serum cardiac troponins I and T are reliable and highly specific markers of myocardial injury. Studies have shown that at least 20% of patients with severe aortic stenosis have detectable serum troponins. This case report describes a patient who presented as suspected acute coronary syndrome with markedly elevated troponin levels, who was later found to have normal coronaries and critical aortic stenosis. This case highlights the need for comprehensive and accurate physical examination in patients who present with angina. Critical aortic stenosis may cause such severe subendocardial ischemia as to cause marked elevation in cardiac markers and mimic an acute coronary syndrome. Careful physical examination will lead to an earlier use of non invasive techniques, such as echocardiography to confirm the correct diagnosis and the avoidance of inappropriate treatments such as intravenous nitroglycerin and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors

Prioritization of candidate cancer genes—an aid to oncogenomic studies

The development of techniques for oncogenomic analyses such as array comparative genomic hybridization, messenger RNA expression arrays and mutational screens have come to the fore in modern cancer research. Studies utilizing these techniques are able to highlight panels of genes that are altered in cancer. However, these candidate cancer genes must then be scrutinized to reveal whether they contribute to oncogenesis or are coincidental and non-causative. We present a computational method for the prioritization of candidate (i) proto-oncogenes and (ii) tumour suppressor genes from oncogenomic experiments. We constructed computational classifiers using different combinations of sequence and functional data including sequence conservation, protein domains and interactions, and regulatory data. We found that these classifiers are able to distinguish between known cancer genes and other human genes. Furthermore, the classifiers also discriminate candidate cancer genes from a recent mutational screen from other human genes. We provide a web-based facility through which cancer biologists may access our results and we propose computational cancer gene classification as a useful method of prioritizing candidate cancer genes identified in oncogenomic studies

Towards seamless inter-technology handovers in vehicular IPv6 communications

Network mobility plays an important role in communications when using different access networks while maintaining application sessions. This is the case of vehicular networks used by the emerging Cooperative Intelligent Transport System (C-ITS), where vehicles are constantly moving, changing their access network. Standardization bodies like IETF, and particular proposals in the literature, have already defined mobility mechanisms by using widely used Internet technologies. The usefulness of these mechanisms in vehicular networks is clear when using IPv6, however, its performance suffer from the high mobility of nodes, the fluctuating performance of communication technologies, and the need for a decision mechanism to choose a proper attachment point among the available access networks on roads. For this reason, here we propose an instantiation of the ISO/ETSI reference architecture for vehicular cooperative systems, by deploying a real vehicular network based on IPv6, as well as a mobility service provided by Network Mobility Basic Support (NEMO) and the Multiple Care of Addresses Registration (MCoA) extension. This mobility solution is embedded into a framework that integrates the IEEE 802.21 technology, which provides a greater control over the handover process. The resulting architecture not only provides a seamless handover but also supports the decision making when searching for the most suitable target network. Our experiments reveal that our combined NEMO/MCoA/802.21 system within a vehicular communication stack is able to provide uninterrupted communications during handovers with a dramatic reduction in the time needed by this process.This work has been sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the EDISON project (contract TIN2014-52099-R) and the Spanish Department of Transport (DGT) through the S-CICLO project (contract SPIP2015-01757)

La protección de espacios y especies dentro de la ordenación territorial. Las diferentes escalas legislativas: Europa, España y País Vasco

En el presente artículo se analiza la protección de los espacios y las especies a través de los diferentes marcos normativos y legislativos existentes con competencias en este campo. Tomando en cuenta la necesidad, dentro de la ordenación territorial, de gestionar los valores medioambientales que presentan ciertos espacios, se analizan los tres escalones politico-administrativos: el europeo, el estatal y el autonómico, este último referido al País Vasco.In the present article one analyzes the protection of the spaces and the species through the different existing normative and legislative marks with competitions in this field. Taking into account the necessity, within the territorial planning, to manage the environmental values that present certain spaces, the three politico-administrative steps are analyzed: the European, state and the autonomic one, this last one referred the Basque Country

Ecología del Paisaje. Un marco para el estudio integrado de la dinámica territorial y su incidencia en la vida silvestre

A review on the conceptual basis and aims of Landscape Ecology, scientific discipline that presents an important geographical component, is realized. It assumes that landscape heterogeneity controls diverse movements and flows of organisms, matter and energy. One of the principal objects of study of the above mentioned discipline is the existing relations between landscape structural patterns and dynamics of wild populations and communities. This is an aspect of great applicability in biodiversity conservation and land-use planning policies. In relation to this subject matter, transdisciplinarity of Landscape Ecology is described.Se realiza una revisión sobre las bases conceptuales y los objetivos de la Ecología del Paisaje, disciplina científica que presenta un importante componente geográfico. Como punto de partida asume que la heterogeneidad espacio-temporal del paisaje, resultante de la interacción dinámica de las sociedades humanas con el medio, controla diversos movimientos y flujos de organismos, materia y energía. Uno de los principales objetos de estudio de dicha disciplina son las relaciones existentes entre los cambios estructurales del paisaje y la dinámica de poblaciones y comunidades silvestres, configurándose como un aspecto de gran aplicabilidad en las políticas de conservación de la biodiversidad y de planificación territorial con base ecológica. En relación a esta temática, se describe el carácter transdisciplinar de la Ecología del Paisaje

Valoración biogeográfica del bosque mediterráneo esclerófilo con palmeras (Jubaea chilensis Mol (Baillon)) en la cuenca del Quiteño (Chile), a partir de la aplicación del método de valoración LANBIOEVA

The present paper is based on research work that has been carried out for more than 20 years with the purpose of consolidating a method of biogeographic valuation of different plant scenes at a global scale. A few years ago, as a result of a research stay, different units of the Mediterranean environment of Chile were assessed. Among the results, the sclerophyllous Mediterranean forest with palms (Jubaea chilensis) clearly called one’s attention because it not only achieved the highest scores in this setting, but it got the absolute record to date. The paper is centered on, presents and analyzes the results obtained in that unit, but this time with systematic inventories and assessments made in 2015. The base study area is concentrated in a small microbasin, El Quiteño, in the coastal mountains of Viña del Mar. The natural and cultural values do not differ from some formations of the surrounding, even from formations situated in the European setting, yet the conservation priority shoots up taking into account that the participations referred to the global threat factor are very high.El artículo se basa en un trabajo de investigación desarrollado desde hace más de 20 años con el fin de consolidar un método de valoración biogeográfica de diferentes paisajes vegetales a escala global. Hace unos años, como consecuencia de una estancia de investigación, se valoraron diferentes unidades del ámbito mediterráneo de Chile. En los resultados llamaba la atención, sobremanera, el bosque mediterráneo esclerófilo con palmeras (Jubaea chilensis), ya que alcanzaba las puntuaciones más elevadas de este ámbito, y obtenía –además– el record absoluto hasta la fecha. El artículo se centra, expone y analiza los resultados obtenidos en la mencionada unidad, pero esta vez con inventarios y valoraciones sistemáticas realizadas en el año 2015. El área base de estudio se concentra en una pequeña microcuena: El Quiteño, del litoral montañoso de Viña del Mar. Los valores naturales y culturales no difieren de algunas formaciones del entorno, incluso de formaciones situadas en el ámbito europeo. Sin embargo, la prioridad de conservación se dispara teniendo en cuenta que las puntuaciones referidas al factor global de amenaza son muy elevadas