On the usage of the probability integral transform to reduce the complexity of multi-way fuzzy decision trees in Big Data classification problems

We present a new distributed fuzzy partitioning method to reduce the complexity of multi-way fuzzy decision trees in Big Data classification problems. The proposed algorithm builds a fixed number of fuzzy sets for all variables and adjusts their shape and position to the real distribution of training data. A two-step process is applied : 1) transformation of the original distribution into a standard uniform distribution by means of the probability integral transform. Since the original distribution is generally unknown, the cumulative distribution function is approximated by computing the q-quantiles of the training set; 2) construction of a Ruspini strong fuzzy partition in the transformed attribute space using a fixed number of equally distributed triangular membership functions. Despite the aforementioned transformation, the definition of every fuzzy set in the original space can be recovered by applying the inverse cumulative distribution function (also known as quantile function). The experimental results reveal that the proposed methodology allows the state-of-the-art multi-way fuzzy decision tree (FMDT) induction algorithm to maintain classification accuracy with up to 6 million fewer leaves.Comment: Appeared in 2018 IEEE International Congress on Big Data (BigData Congress). arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1902.0935

Rubert de Ventos, Xavier. Nacionalismos. El laberinto de la identidad

Reseña bibliográfica de la obra de Xavier Rubert de Ventós "Nacionalismos. El laberinto de la identidad"

Molecular phylogenies confirm the presence of two cryptic Hemimycale species in the Mediterranean and reveal the polyphyly of the genera Crella and Hemimycale (Demospongiae: Poecilosclerida)

Este artículo contiene 24 páginas, 4 figuras, 3 tablas.Background: Sponges are particularly prone to hiding cryptic species as their paradigmatic plasticity often favors species phenotypic convergence as a result of adaptation to similar habitat conditions. Hemimycale is a sponge genus (Family Hymedesmiidae, Order Poecilosclerida) with four formally described species, from which only Hemimycale columella has been recorded in the Atlanto-Mediterranean basin, on shallow to 80 m deep bottoms. Contrasting biological features between shallow and deep individuals of Hemimycale columella suggested larger genetic differences than those expected between sponge populations. To assess whether shallow and deep populations indeed belong to different species, we performed a phylogenetic study of Hemimycale columella across the Mediterranean. We also included other Hemimycale and Crella species from the Red Sea, with the additional aim of clarifying the relationships of the genus Hemimycale. Methods: Hemimycale columella was sampled across the Mediterranean, and Adriatic Seas. Hemimycale arabica and Crella cyathophora were collected from the Red Sea and Pacific. From two to three specimens per species and locality were extracted, amplified for Cytochrome C Oxidase I (COI) (M1–M6 partition), 18S rRNA, and 28S (D3–D5 partition) and sequenced. Sequences were aligned using Clustal W v.1.81. Phylogenetic trees were constructed under neighbor joining (NJ), Bayesian inference (BI), and maximum likelihood (ML) criteria as implemented in Geneious software 9.01. Moreover, spicules of the target species were observed through a Scanning Electron microscope. Results: The several phylogenetic reconstructions retrieved both Crella and Hemimycale polyphyletic. Strong differences in COI sequences indicated that C. cyathophora from the Red Sea might belong in a different genus, closer to Hemimycale arabica than to the Atlanto-Mediterranean Crella spp. Molecular and external morphological differences between Hemimycale arabica and the Atlanto- Mediterranean Hemimycale also suggest that Hemimycale arabica fit in a separate genus. On the other hand, the Atlanto-Mediterranean Crellidae appeared in 18S and 28S phylogenies as a sister group of the Atlanto-Mediterranean Hemimycale. Moreover, what was known up to now as Hemimycale columella, is formed by two cryptic species with contrasting bathymetric distributions. Some small but consistent morphological differences allow species distinction. Conclusions: A new family (Hemimycalidae) including the genus Hemimycale and the two purported new genera receiving C. cyathophora and Hemimycale arabica might be proposed according to our phylogenetic results. However, the inclusion of additional Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTUs) appears convenient before taking definite taxonomical decisions. A new cryptic species (Hemimycale mediterranea sp. nov.) is described. Morphologically undifferentiated species with contrasting biological traits, as those here reported, confirm that unidentified cryptic species may confound ecological studies.The research has been funded by MARSYMBIOMICS project (Spanish MINECO, CTM2013-43287-P), BluePharmTrain (FP7 People-INT, Ref. 2013-667786), and Grup Consolidat SGR-120, to Maria J. Uriz. Leire Garate benefited from a fellowship within the Benthomics project (Spanish MICINN, CTM-2010-22218-C02-01).Peer reviewe

Bases ecològiques per a la recerca de nous fàrmacs en els organismes marins

Hi ha una diversitat extraordinària de molècules bioactives en els éssers vius, les quals han estat utilitzades com a font de medicaments des de l'antiguitat. De fet, la major part dels medicaments que existeixen actualment al mercat són productes naturals o en deriven. Durant els darrers cinquanta anys, la investigació per al desenvolupament de nous fàrmacs a partir de productes naturals s'ha centrat en el mar, un medi poc explorat i amb unes condicions físiques particulars, les quals suggereixen la presència d'estructures químiques noves en el seus habitants. Les interaccions mitjançant substàncies bioactives estan ben esteses entre els organismes marins, ja que el mar ofereix una visibilitat molt inferior a la del medi aeri (terrestre) i a dins seu, per tant, les pistes químiques adquireixen una major rellevància. D'altra banda, a més dels vegetals, al mar s'ha desenvolupat una estratègia de vida animal, absent del medi terrestre. Aquesta estratègia està representada pels invertebrats sedentaris (fixos al fons marí), els quals, per evitar ser recoberts per altres organismes de creixement més ràpid (epibionts) o depredats pels animals mòbils, han desenvolupat una capacitat especial per produir substàncies bioactives de defensa, les quals han resultat tenir un interès potencial en farmacologia. En aquest estudi es descriu com la investigació de nous fàrmacs d'origen marí ha viatjat de la mà de la química de productes naturals i de l'ecologia química, i com aquestes investigacions representen un model en el qual la ciència bàsica i l'aplicada caminen en paral·lel. També, es revisa l'estat actual del coneixement en aquests camps i es mencionen les línies d'investigació actuals i la seva evolució previsible en un futur pròxim.Natural beings contain an extraordinary diversity of bioactive molecules, which have been used as a source of medicines since the Antiquity. The majority of the available drugs in the market, are or derive from natural products. During the last 50 years, the research for the development of new drugs from natural substances has focused on the marine environment. Marine organisms have been comparatively less explored than terrestrial ones and are thought to produce unusual chemical structures because of the particular physical characteristics of marine waters. The interactions mediated by bioactive substances are widespread among marine beings, since they inhabit a low-visibility environment where the chemical cues become particularly relevant. Moreover, besides vegetables (algae), in the sea, there is an animal form of life that does not exist in the terrestrial environment. This form of life is represented by sessile invertebrates (attached to the sea bottom as adults), which are particularly prone to develop a set of mechanisms to avoid being covered by other fast-growing organisms (epibionts) or predated by mobile animals. Among these mechanisms, the production of defensive chemicals is preponderant, and these chemicals have been found applications in the pharmacological industry. In this study, I describe the way the investigation on new drugs of marine origin has developed in parallel to that on natural products and on chemical ecology and how this research field is a model in which basic and applied sciences go close together. Furthermore, I review the state of the art of the research in these fields and outline the current research topics and their foreseeable evolution in the forthcoming years

The Res Digitans and the Birth of the Wikisophy in Information Technology Network

Las redes tecnológicas de la información han cambiado nuestra relación con la realidad de una manera fundamental. Hemos experimentado un tránsito desde la res cogitans a la res digitans. La characteristica universalis se ha transformado en mathesis digitalis a través de redes emergentes en un mundo virtual e infinito. Para analizar este cambio ontológico y epistémico, necesitamos un nuevo tipo de filosofía que llamamos “wikisofía”, una sabiduría colaborativa y cooperativa.Technological information networks have changed our relationship to reality in a fundamental way. We have experienced a shift from the res cogitans to the res digitans. The characteristica universalis has become mathesis digitalis through emerging networks in a virtual and infinite world. In order to analyze this ontological and epistemic shift, we need a new kind of philosophy that we call “wikisophy”, i.e., a collaborative and cooperative wisdom

Complexity and architecture of sustainable networks between the biosphere and the technoosphere: from the internet to gaia

Desde un mundo global, deberíamos perseguir la comprensión de la arquitectura de redes sostenibles entre la biosfera (real) y la tecnoosfera (virtual), desde la World Wide Web hasta la ecología global, desde Internet a Gaia en un planeta simbiótico, donde la Tierra es un cerebro o mente global.Focusing on a global world, we should seek to understand the architecture of sustainable networks between the (real) biosphere and the (virtual) technoosphere, from the World Wide Web to the global ecology, from the Internet to Gaia in a symbiotic planet, where the Earth is a global brain/mind

Essays in Economics of Digitization

While neoclassical economics implicitly assumes that [perfect] information is widely available to firms and decision makers, the crude reality is that imperfect and asymmetric information is ubiquitous in markets and organizations. In fact, economists have showed that information plays a central role in understanding the determinants of numerous economic outcomes. The rise of information technology in the last decades has dramatically lowered the costs of collecting, using, and passing information, originating the eruption of the Information Age. These three essays contribute to the understanding of the impacts of digitization on the development and functioning of economic institutions. Chapter one studies how a reduction in firm internal communication costs, coming from the adoption of new communication technologies, helps large corporations to achieve higher levels of innovation by overcoming limitations in internal organization. Chapter two evaluates the impact of an unprecedented Big Data information service, that diffused at zero cost by a large bank, provides information about the competitive environment of the firm. This program presents a unique opportunity to study how access to market information might impact small and medium size firms’ performance and strategic decision-making. Results show how adopting establishments are able to increase revenues by (i) targeting unexploited business opportunities and diversifying their customer portfolio, and (ii) streamlining resource allocation. Chapter three analyses the implementation of a driving-restriction policy in the city centre of Madrid known as Madrid Central. By restricting access by car to the ban-affected area, Madrid Central achieved its goal of reducing pollution levels in the city centre. However, this can come at the cost of increasing transportation costs for consumers, and discouraging consumption in the area. Results show how information technology, in the form of e-commerce adoption, allowed establishments in the ban-affected area to weather the situation and compensate the decrease in brick and mortar sales with an increase in online sales