Time-predictable parallel programming models

Embedded Computing (EC) systems are increas-ingly concerned with providing higher performance in real-time while HPC applications require huge amounts of information to be processed within a bounded amount of time. Addressing this convergence and mixed set of requirements needs suitable programming methodologies to exploit the massively parallel computation capabilities of the available platforms in a pre-dictable way. OpenMP has evolved to deal with the programma-bility of heterogeneous many-cores, with mature support for fine-grained task parallelism. Unfortunately, while these features are very relevant for EC heterogeneous systems, often modeled as periodic task graphs, both the OpenMP programming interface and the execution model are completely agnostic to any timing requirement that the target applications may have. The goal of our work is to enable the use of the OpenMP parallel programming model in real-time embedded systems, such that many-cores architectures can be adopted in critical real-time embedded systems. To do so, it is required to guarantee the timing behavior of OpenMP applications

Trunk injection of fosetyl-aluminium controls the root disease caused by Phytophthora cinnamomi on Quercus ilex woodlands

In Spain, Quercus open woodlands are animal ranching systems of organic production seriously threatened by the exotic pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi. The root disease it causes kills thousands of oaks annually. Effective disease management needs to integrate different techniques, and the use of a resistance inducer such as fosetyl‐Al can play a key role, because the use of potassium phosphite is prohibited in Spain. In a woodland where the pathogen recently arrived, 60 holm oaks in three different defoliation classes (asymptomatic, slight and moderate defoliation) were selected for trunk injection with pressurised capsules containing 4% of commercial fosetyl‐Al or water (controls). Holm oaks were checked periodically for defoliation and presence of the pathogen in roots and rhizosphere soil. Three years after treatments, defoliation was significantly lower in oaks treated with fosetyl‐Al, which even increased canopy cover, in comparison with control oaks, independent of the initial defoliation class considered. Chlamydospore density in rhizosphere soil, as well as the presence of the pathogen into the roots, was not significantly influenced by fosetyl‐Al treatments, although a trend to a lower presence of P. cinnamomi in roots was observed in treated oaks at every soil inoculum density detected. This study has shown that fosetyl‐Al, a phosphonate registered as a fungicide in the European Union, provides protection to holm oaks against P. cinnamomi, even exhibiting a therapeutic effect on pre‐existing infections. Consequently, this effective measure should be considered as part of the integrated approach to control this highly destructive pathogen in holm oak woodlands

Practical Characterization of Cell-Electrode Electrical Models in Bio-Impedance Assays

This paper presents the fitting process followed to adjust the parameters of the electrical model associated to a cell-electrode system in Electrical Cell-substrate Impedance Spectroscopy (ECIS) technique, to the experimental results from cell-culture assays. A new parameter matching procedure is proposed, under the basis of both, mismatching between electrodes and time-evolution observed in the system response, as consequence of electrode fabrication processes and electrochemical performance of electrode-solution interface, respectively. The obtained results agree with experimental performance, and enable the evaluation of the cell number in a culture, by using the electrical measurements observed at the oscillation parameters in the test circuits employed.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TEC2013-46242-C3-1-

El paleógeno del sector suroccidental de la Cuenca del Duero: nueva división estratigráfica y controles sobre su sedimentación

A Paleogene four-fold stratigraphical division is proposed here as result from the detailed studies carried out during the elaboration of 22 sheets of the Geological Map of Spain (E. 1:50.000). This units (T.S.U.) are limited by regional discordances and they have a Upper Cretaceous to Oligocene ages. The previous stratigraphical schemes are rearranged due to the different stratigraphicalrelations observed between the lithostratigraphical units proPosed by other workers (Jiménez, 1970; Corrochano, 1977; Alonso, 1981 ...). An Upper Cretaceous-Paleocene age is assumed to T.S.U. MC which is mainly composed by siliciclastic sediments strongly silicified forming a FU megasequence. It is interpretated as braided streams that flowed downslope filling paleovalleys eroded onto Paleozoic materials. Mineralogical features point to a tropical climate. Lower Eocene (T.S.U. P1) is identified in the Salamanca area, where it was considered as lacking. It is composed by arkosic sediments forming a CU megasequence. Fossil faunas of this T.S.U. record a subtropical climate. It is observed a transition from high sinuosity streams to braided ones. T.S.U. P2 (Middle Eocene-Lower Oligocene) is composed of two lithostratigraphical units previously considered as bounded by a discordance (Alonso, 198 1). It has a subarkosic to lithic nature and forms a CU megasequence. This unit records a subtropical climate with short arid periods and is interpretated as braided streams showing an increasing stability and enviromental energy to the top. T.S.U. P3 (Upper Oligocene) is composed by arkosic sediments previously considered of Vallesian (Middle to Upper Miocene) age. They form a CU megasequence that records braided streams prograding basin ward from higher areas. Palinological associations and pedological features indicate an arid mediterranean climate with long arid periods and a short rainy season with strong floods. We consider that most of Lower Miocene sediments are of Paleogene age. They are afected by a widespread alteration profile developed along Lower Miocene that masked its more significative features. Sedimentological analysis of T.S.U. shows that its megasequentiality is related to the rates of tectonical uplift of source areas whereas a distensive regime developed in the sedimentation basin

Analysis of the Zone Connecting Consecutive Sectors in Generalized Distillation Columns by Using the Ponchon-Savarit Method

Ponchon-Savarit is a classical graphical method for the design of binary distillation columns. This method is still widely used, mainly with didactical purposes, though it is also valid for preliminary calculations. Nevertheless, no complete description has been found in books and situations such as different thermal feed conditions, multiple feeds, possibilities to extract by-products or to add or remove heat, are not always considered. In this work we provide, a systematic analysis of the Ponchon-Savarit method by developing generalized equations for the operating lines or difference points, as well as a consistent analysis of what may happen in the zone between two consecutive trays of the corresponding sectors separated by a lateral stream of feed, product, or a heat removal or addition. The graphical interpretation of all situations shown allows a clarifying view of the different possibilities in the rectifying column and completes the existing literature about this method

An AER handshake-less modular infrastructure PCB with x8 2.5Gbps LVDS serial links

Nowadays spike-based brain processing emulation is taking off. Several EU and others worldwide projects are demonstrating this, like SpiNNaker, BrainScaleS, FACETS, or NeuroGrid. The larger the brain process emulation on silicon is, the higher the communication performance of the hosting platforms has to be. Many times the bottleneck of these system implementations is not on the performance inside a chip or a board, but in the communication between boards. This paper describes a novel modular Address-Event-Representation (AER) FPGA-based (Spartan6) infrastructure PCB (the AER-Node board) with 2.5Gbps LVDS high speed serial links over SATA cables that offers a peak performance of 32-bit 62.5Meps (Mega events per second) on board-to-board communications. The board allows back compatibility with parallel AER devices supporting up to x2 28-bit parallel data with asynchronous handshake. These boards also allow modular expansion functionality through several daughter boards. The paper is focused on describing in detail the LVDS serial interface and presenting its performance.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TEC2009-10639-C04-02/01Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TEC2012-37868-C04-02/01Junta de Andalucía TIC-6091Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad PRI-PIMCHI-2011-076

Efficiency of university education: A partial frontier analysis

This article investigates the efficiency of the university education using two linked databases (Saber Pro and Saber 11) from the Colombian Institute for Evaluation of Education (ICFES) corresponding to 2014. We use a non-parametric frontier approach that combines the "order m" technique with the concept of a meta-frontier to disaggregate students' total efficiency in generic skills in quantitative reasoning, critical reading, and written communication, into the parts attributable to the students themselves and the university. The analysis is performed by academic programme and by education sector (public vs. private). Results indicate that most of the inefficiency of students in the assessment of generic skills in higher education is attributable to the students themselves and a significant number of students could improve their performance in the assessment in each of the academic programmes if they performed as efficiently as those located on the frontier. Furthermore, the inefficiency share of students varies between academic programmes and university sectors, with students in the private sector more inefficient than those in the public sector in some and less inefficient in others. This research constitutes the first application of the technique of "order m" with the approach of the meta-frontier for the analysis of educational efficiency using data at the student and university levels

Live Demonstration: Multiplexing AER Asynchronous Channels over LVDS Links with Flow-Control and Clock- Correction for Scalable Neuromorphic Systems

In this live demonstration we exploit the use of a serial link for fast asynchronous communication in massively parallel processing platforms connected to a DVS for realtime implementation of bio-inspired vision processing on spiking neural networks

La raza bovina autóctona española Pajuna: Situación actual y programa de recuperación

La raza bovina Pajuna es una raza autóctona andaluza que está al borde de la extinción. Su aptitud es mixta carne-trabajo y es posiblemente la raza española más rústica, al ser capaz de adaptarse a los medios marginados, aprovechando los escasos recursos de las sierras andaluzas, que no pueden ser utilizados por otras razas más carniceras. El cruzamiento indiscriminado con razas especializadas, la mecanización del campo y la pérdida del hábitat de explotación han llevado esta raza a una situación de inminente desaparición, con sólo 300 animales puros, relegados en la mayoría de los casos a meros vientres para el cruce industrial en vacadas mixtas. En el presente artículo describimos la situación actual y las causas que la han llevado a esta situación, así como las actuaciones de la Asociación de Criadores (GRAPA), creada en el año 2001, dentro de un programa de preservación y recuperación. Estas razones se pueden resumir en la localización de todos los efectivos existentes, el análisis de la estructura demográfica de la población, la actualización de su estándar racial y creación del Libro Genealógico, la caracterización genética, y determinación del nivel de variabilidad intra e interpoblacional a partir del polimorfismo de loci moleculares microsatélites como a través de la variabilidad de la región control del ADN mitocondrial.The Pajuna is a cattle breed native to Andalusia in Spain. It is an endangered breed exhibiting both meat quality and draft animal attributes. The Pajuna breed is possibly the most resilient bovine breeds in Spain. This breed is adapted to adverse conditions, taking advantage of the limited resources of the Andalusian mountains which cannot be used by other breeds. However, massive crossbreeding with other breeds, the mechanization of rural areas and the loss of its habitat have led this breed to the brink of extinction. At the moment there are 300 pure animals, most of which are females destined for industrial crossing in mixed farms. The present work is intended to describe the causes of this situation. The Association of Breeders (GRAPA), created in 2001, is working towards a program of preservation and recovery for this breed and accordingly the following steps have been taken. The existing population of Pajunas has been identified, and an analysis made of its demographic structure allowing for the establishment of a breed standard and the creation of a studbook. We have also genetically characterized this breed. The level of inter- and intra-population variability has been determined using polymorphism of microsatellites loci and D-loop region of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA) RZ 02-0