Time series clustering using the the total variation distance with applications in Oceanography

Producción CientíficaA time series clustering algorithm based on the use of the total variation distance between normalized spectra as a measure of dissimilarity is proposed in this work. The oscillatory behavior of the series is thus considered the central characteristic for classi cation purposes. The proposed algorithm is compared to several other methods which are also based on features extracted from the original series and the results show that its performance is comparable to the best methods available and in some tests it outperforms the rest. As an application the algorithm is used to determine stationary periods for random sea waves, both in simulations and on a real data set, a problem in which changes between stationary sea states are usually slow

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

A transgenic mouse model for studying the role of the parathyroid hormone-related protein system in renal injury

Parathyroid hormone- (PTH-) related protein (PTHrP) and its receptor, the PTH1 receptor (PTH1R), are widely expressed in the kidney, where PTHrP exerts a modulatory action on renal function. PTHrP is known to be upregulated in several experimental nephropathies such as acute renal failure (ARF), obstructive nephropathy (ON) as well as diabetic nephropathy (DN). In this paper, we will discuss the functional consequences of chronic PTHrP overexpression in the damaged kidney using a transgenic mouse strain overexpressing PTHrP in the renal proximal tubule. In both ARF and ON, PTHrP displays proinflammatory and profibrogenic actions including the induction of epithelia to mesenquima transition. Moreover, PTHrP participates in the mechanisms of renal hypertrophy as well as proteinuria in experimental DN. Angiotensin II (Ang II), a critical factor in the progression of renal injury, appears to be, at least in part, responsible for endogenous PTHrP upregulation in these pathophysiological settings. These findings provide novel insights into the well-known protective effects of Ang II antagonists in renal diseases, paving the way for new therapeutic approaches.The studies included in this paper were supported in part by Grants from Ministerio de Educación y Cultura of Spain (SAF2002-04356-C03-01, -02, and -03),Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (SAF2009- 12009-C02-01), Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (CAM 08.6/0038.1/2000-2 and GR/SAL/0415/2004), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (RETICEF RD06/0013/1002), Spanish Society of Nephrology, Eugenio Rodríguez Pascual Foundation, and Conchita Rábago de Jiménez Díaz Foundation

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

Perceptions of university students regarding apologies from Spanish politicians

El presente trabajo analiza la percepción de los universitarios sobre la petición de disculpas de los políticos españoles cuyo objetivo, en la mayoría de ocasiones, responde a estrategias de restauración de su imagen. La investigación se centra en conocer si cumplen su objetivo este tipo de discursos, evaluando la efectividad de la petición de disculpas y conocer las acciones reprochables de los políticos que tienen mayor y menor permisividad para los encuestados. Se ha establecido una metodología cuantitativa y técnica de encuestas online a una muestra representativa de 385 casos extraídos, de forma estratificada por Comunidades Autónomas y segmentadas por sexo, de un universo de 1.329.109 estudiantes universitarios en España, con un margen de error del 5 % y un nivel de confianza del 95 %. Entre las principales conclusiones obtenidas encontramos la efectividad y el impacto positivo de las disculpas como estrategia de restauración de imagen de los políticos. Pese a ello, no basta el discurso como elemento único, sino, que se requiere de acciones complementarias para conseguir completa efectividad de la petición de disculpas con distinción en variables independientes como el sexo, la ideología, la intención de voto, la auto identificación política y la religión.This paper analyzes the perception of University Students about the Apologies of Spanish politicians whose objective, in most cases, responds to Image Restoration Strategies. The research focuses on knowing if this type of discourse meets its objective, evaluating the effectiveness of the apology speech and knowing which wrongful events are more likely to be forgiven by the audience. We’ve used a quantitative methodology with online surveys. It has been established for a representative sample of 385 cases extracted, stratified by regions and segmented by sex, of a universe of 1,329,109 university students in Spain, with a margin of error of 5 % and a confidence level of 95%. Among the main conclusions, we found the effectiveness and the positive impact of Apologies as a strategy to restore the image of politicians. Despite of this, discourse is not enough, rather, it requires complementary actions to achieve full effectiveness of the Apologies with distinction in independent variables such as sex, ideology, voting intention, political self-identification and religion

Trispyrazolylborate Ligands Supported on Vinyl Addition Polynorbornenes and Their Copper Derivatives as Recyclable Catalysts

Polynorbornenes prepared by vinyl addition poly- merization and bearing pendant alkenyl groups serve as skeletons to support trispyrazolylborate ligands (Tpx) built at those alkenyl sites. Reaction with CuI in acetonitrile led to VA-PNB–TpxCu(NCMe) (VA-PBN = vinyl addition polynorbor- nene) with a 0.8–1.4 mmol incorporation of Cu per gram of polymer. The presence of tetracoordinated copper(I) ions was been assessed by FTIR studies on the corresponding VA-PNB-TpxCu(CO) adducts, in agreement with those on discrete TpxCu(CO). The new materials were employed as heteroge- neous catalysts in several carbene- and nitrene-transfer reac- tions, showing a behavior similar to that of the homogene- ous counterparts but also being recycled several times main- taining a high degree of activity and selectivity. This is the first example of supported Tpx ligands onto polymeric sup- ports with catalytic applications.MINECO (CTQ2017-82893-C2-1-R, CTQ2016-80913-P and Red Intecat CTQ2016-81923-REDC)Junta de Castilla y León (VA051P17, VA062G18)European Union (CHAOS COST ACTION CA-15106)

Una familia de robots para la limpieza de cascos de buques

Actualmente, la mayoría de las operaciones de reparación que se llevan a cabo en astilleros no están automatizadas. Un ejemplo es la limpieza de cascos de buques. Este trabajo describe una solución: el sistema EFTCoR. Se trata de un conjunto de robots cuya misión es la realización de diferentes operaciones de mantenimiento en los cascos de buques como granallado, pintura, etc. respetando el medio ambiente. Para ello, se combinan técnicas de diferentes disciplinas con la experiencia en el desarrollo de sistemas teleoperados.Los trabajos aquí presentados han sido desarrollados dentro del V Programa Marco (GROWTH G3RD-CT-00794), y parcialmente financiados por el Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (CICYT DPI2002-11583-EEscuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería de Telecomunicació