Development of MAIT 2 - A complete metabolomics analysis

Metabolomics, which is defined as the comprehensive analysis of metabolites in a biological system, has lots of applications that are leading to an important step forward in medicine. Since it is still an emerging field, researchers are trying to create computational tools that improve the processing, analysis and interpretation of metabolomics data. In this project, we have developed a new library in R based on MAIT (Metabolite Automatic Identification Toolkit) R package. Our algorithm provides a set of state-of-the-art tools to perform the whole metabolomics workflow, from raw liquid-chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) data to the biological interpretation

"Un sexo desconocido confunde a ésos" : masculinidades y conflicto social en El zorro de arriba y el zorro de abajo, de José María Arguedas

Un tema central de El Zorro de Arriba y el Zorro de Abajo (en adelante, Los zorros) es la sexualidad, la cual, tanto en los diarios como en el relato ficcional, está marcada por la violencia y la dominación. En este trabajo, se ha analizado la disciplina que posibilita esta dominación bajo el orden simbólico de la Masculinidad Hegemónica (en adelante, M.H.). A partir de ello, se examina la actuación de tres personajes, Chaucato, el Mudo y Maxwell. Luego, este análisis, se ha hecho dialogar con el discurso del autor en los diarios, mediante el cual construye su propia identidad masculina. Como resultado, se explica la propuesta de una forma distinta de ser hombre: la masculinidad alternativa.Tesi

Modelling of the mechanical behaviour of the photopolymerization processes of resins intended for additive manufacturing (AMT) using laserstereolithography: The influence on part quality

This study presents a simplified model of the polymerization process of photo-cured epoxy resin, with the aim of finding theoretical values for the mechanical properties of the material in its transition stage from liquid to solid state, approximating these properties to a single figure at the instant of its gelation in the time denominated as tg. By evaluating a phenomenon observed during the fabrication of samples using a stereolithography additive manufacturing printer, it is hoped to fit a model that will replicate the mechanical forces undergone by the manufactured part. The introduction of new hypotheses to simplify the case under study will be tested by simulating these cases using the finite element method, taking the values obtained from previous publications that used experimental and analytical analysis so that the congruence of the results will be constant throughout the model. Finding these theoretical values will help develop future criteria for the feasibility of manufacturing the parts using laser stereolithography and therefore have a direct influence on the quality of the end part

Comparison of Outlier-Tolerant Models for Measuring Visual Complexity

[Abstract] Providing the visual complexity of an image in terms of impact or aesthetic preference can be of great applicability in areas such as psychology or marketing. To this end, certain areas such as Computer Vision have focused on identifying features and computational models that allow for satisfactory results. This paper studies the application of recent ML models using input images evaluated by humans and characterized by features related to visual complexity. According to the experiments carried out, it was confirmed that one of these methods, Correlation by Genetic Search (CGS), based on the search for minimum sets of features that maximize the correlation of the model with respect to the input data, predicted human ratings of image visual complexity better than any other model referenced to date in terms of correlation, RMSE or minimum number of features required by the model. In addition, the variability of these terms were studied eliminating images considered as outliers in previous studies, observing the robustness of the method when selecting the most important variables to make the prediction.The Carlos III Health Institute from the Spanish National plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation 2013-2016 and the European Regional Development Funds (FEDER) “A way to build Europe” support this work through the “Colaborative Project in Genomic Data Integration (CICLOGEN)” Pl17/01826. This work has also been supported by the General Directorate of Culture, Education and University Management of Xunta de Galicia (Ref. ED431G/01, ED431D 2017/16), the “Galician Network for Colorectal Cancer Research” (Ref. ED431D 2017/23) and Competitive Reference Groups (Ref. ED431C 2018/49). On the other hand, the unique installation BIOCAI (UNLC08-1E-002, UNLC13-13-3503) was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Regional Development Funds (FEDER)Xunta de Galicia; ED431G/01Xunta de Galicia; ED431D 2017/16Xunta de Galicia; ED431D 2017/23Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2018/4

Visual complexity modelling based on image features fusion of multiple kernels

[Abstract] Humans’ perception of visual complexity is often regarded as one of the key principles of aesthetic order, and is intimately related to the physiological, neurological and, possibly, psychological characteristics of the human mind. For these reasons, creating accurate computational models of visual complexity is a demanding task. Building upon on previous work in the field (Forsythe et al., 2011; Machado et al., 2015) we explore the use of Machine Learning techniques to create computational models of visual complexity. For that purpose, we use a dataset composed of 800 visual stimuli divided into five categories, describing each stimulus by 329 features based on edge detection, compression error and Zipf’s law. In an initial stage, a comparative analysis of representative state-of-the-art Machine Learning approaches is performed. Subsequently, we conduct an exhaustive outlier analysis. We analyze the impact of removing the extreme outliers, concluding that Feature Selection Multiple Kernel Learning obtains the best results, yielding an average correlation to humans’ perception of complexity of 0.71 with only twenty-two features. These results outperform the current state-of-the-art, showing the potential of this technique for regression.Xunta de Galicia; GRC2014/049Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology; SBIRC; PTDC/EIA EIA/115667/2009Xunta de Galicia; Ref. XUGA-PGIDIT-10TIC105008-PRMinisterio de Ciencia y Tecnología; TIN2008-06562/TINMinisterio de Ecnomía y Competitividad; FJCI-2015-2607

Artificial Intelligence Applied to Conceptual Design. A Review of Its Use in Architecture

Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade da Coruña/CISUG[Abstract] Conceptual architectural design is a complex process that draws on past experience and creativity to generate new designs. The application of artificial intelligence to this process should not be oriented toward finding a solution in a defined search space since the design requirements are not yet well defined in the conceptual stage. Instead, this process should be considered as an exploration of the requirements, as well as of possible solutions to meet those requirements. This work offers a tour of major research projects that apply artificial intelligence solutions to architectural conceptual design. We examine several approaches, but most of the work focuses on the use of evolutionary computing to perform these tasks. We note a marked increase in the number of papers in recent years, especially since 2015. Most employ evolutionary computing techniques, including cellular automata. Most initial approaches were oriented toward finding innovative and creative forms, while the latest research focuses on optimizing architectural form.This project was supported by the General Directorate of Culture, Education and University Management of Xunta de Galicia (Ref. ED431G/01, ED431D 2017/16), and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness via funding of the unique installation BIOCAI (UNLC08-1E-002, UNLC13-13-3503) and the European Regional Development Funds (FEDER)Xunta de Galicia; ED431G/01Xunta de Galicia; ED431D 2017/1

Validation of an Aesthetic Assessment System for Commercial Tasks

[Abstract] Automatic prediction of the aesthetic value of images has received increasing attention in recent years. This is due, on the one hand, to the potential impact that predicting the aesthetic value has on practical applications. Even so, it remains a difficult task given the subjectivity and complexity of the problem. An image aesthetics assessment system was developed in recent years by our research group. In this work, its potential to be applied in commercial tasks is tested. With this objective, a set of three portals and three real estate agencies in Spain were taken as case studies. Images of their websites were taken to build the experimental dataset and a validation method was developed to test their original order with another proposed one according to their aesthetic value. So, in this new order, the images that have the high aesthetic score by the AI system will occupy the first positions of the portal. Relevant results were obtained, with an average increase of 52.54% in the number of clicks on the ads, in the experiment with Real Estate portals. A statistical analysis prove that there is a significant difference in the number of clicks after selecting the images with the AI system.This work is supported by the General Directorate of Culture, Education and University Management of Xunta de Galicia (Ref. ED431D 201716), Competitive Reference Groups (Ref. ED431C 201849) and Ministry of Science and Innovation project Society challenges (Ref. PID2020-118362RB-I00). We also wish to acknowledge the support received from the Centro de Investigación de Galicia “CITIC”, funded by Xunta de Galicia and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund- Galicia 2014-2020 Program), by grant ED431G 2019/01Xunta de Galicia; ED431D 201716Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 201849Xunta de Galicia; ED431G 2019/0

A General-Purpose Architecture to Control Mobile Robots

This paper at: 15th Workshop of Physical Agent. at took place, June 12 and 13, 2014 in León (Spain)Complex robotic tasks require the coordination of a considerable amount of skills. This is generally achieved generating and executing action plans that fulfill the preconditions of the given objective. These tasks can be highly dynamic, since the appearance of new objects or unexpected situations is a constant during the plan execution. In this context, robot control systems require the capability of managing a suitable world model (creating, removing or retyping dynamically objects as a result of the plan execution), and the capability of monitoring and replanning when unexpected situations are detected. In this paper we introduce a general-purpose architecture for autonomous mobile robots providing these features. The architecture allows to generate planning applications since it integrates planning, re-planning, monitoring and learning capabilities, and, at the same time, manages a consistent graph-like world model. Finally, we present some preliminary results of the deployment of such architecture in an advertisement promoting robot domain.This paper has been partially supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2012-TIN2012-38079 and FEDER funds, and by the Innterconecta Programme 2011 project ITC-20111030 ADAPTA.Publicad

Estimulación musical temprana en casa: propuesta de aplicación móvil

CITIC, como Centro de Investigación del Sistema Universitario Gallego, está financiado por la Consellería de Educación, Universidad y Formación Profesional de la Xunta de Galicia a través del Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) con un 80%, Programa Operativo FEDER Galicia 2014-2020 y el 20% restante por la Secretaría General de Universidades (Ref. ED431G 2019/01). Este trabajo también ha sido apoyado por la Dirección General de Cultura, Educación y Gestión Universitaria de la Xunta de Galicia (Ref. ED431D 2017/16) y por los Grupos de Referencia Competitiva (Ref. ED431C 2018/49).Xunta de Galicia; ED431D 2017/16Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2018/49Xunta de Galicia; ED431G 2019/0

Epidemiology and diagnosis of pleural tuberculosis in a low incidence country with high rate of immigrant population : A retrospective study

Background: The confirmatory diagnosis of pleural tuberculosis (pTB) remains challenging. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of pTB patients and assess the yield of different diagnostic procedures in a low burden country with a high rate of immigrant population. Methods: All adult patients with pTB between 2007 and 2014 were studied retrospectively. Results: One hundred and three out of 843 patients with tuberculosis had pTB. Fifty-three (54.1%) were male, and the median age was 45 years (range 18-87 years). Fifty-two (50.49%) patients were immigrants. A confirmed diagnosis was reached in 16 patients (15.5%) by microbiological studies of pleural effusion. Lung involvement was demonstrated by sputum smear microscopy in 13/49 (26.5%), sputum GeneXpert MTB/RIF test in 13/20 (65%), and sputum culture in 16/37 (43.2%). High-resolution computed tomography (CT) showed lung involvement in 47.7% of the patients. The cure rate was 91.3% at the 1-year follow-up. Three patients died, all of them within the first month after diagnosis. Conclusions: The detection of lung involvement increased by two-fold when lung CT was used; this correlated with the likelihood of finding a positive microbiological result on sputum sample testing. Pleural microbiological studies had a low diagnostic yield, and sputum could have a complementary role