A Fuzzy Logic Programming Environment for Managing Similarity and Truth Degrees

FASILL (acronym of "Fuzzy Aggregators and Similarity Into a Logic Language") is a fuzzy logic programming language with implicit/explicit truth degree annotations, a great variety of connectives and unification by similarity. FASILL integrates and extends features coming from MALP (Multi-Adjoint Logic Programming, a fuzzy logic language with explicitly annotated rules) and Bousi~Prolog (which uses a weak unification algorithm and is well suited for flexible query answering). Hence, it properly manages similarity and truth degrees in a single framework combining the expressive benefits of both languages. This paper presents the main features and implementations details of FASILL. Along the paper we describe its syntax and operational semantics and we give clues of the implementation of the lattice module and the similarity module, two of the main building blocks of the new programming environment which enriches the FLOPER system developed in our research group.Comment: In Proceedings PROLE 2014, arXiv:1501.0169

Deposits with funeral structures of Recent Prehistory in the countryside and Atlantic coast band of Cadiz. State of the question

Se pretende realizar una reflexión, sobre los yacimientos de la Campiña Litoral y Banda Atlántica de la provincia de Cádiz que presentan restos óseos humanos. Las estructuras funerarias, sus cronologías, tipología y ajuar será reflejo de la sociedad. Poco a poco los estudios antropológicos aportan una valiosa información y complementan estudios anteriores sobre poblaciones de la Prehistoria Reciente en esta área geográfica. Los rituales de enterramientos se asocian al propio desarrollo de los aspectos económicos y sociales de estos grupos.It is intended to make a reflection on human remains’s deposits of the countryside and Atlantic coast of province the Cadiz. Funerary structures, their chronologies, type and trousseau will be a reflection of society. Gradually anthropological studies provide valuable information and complement previous studies on populations of Recent Prehistory in this geographical area. Burial rituals are associated with the own development of the economic and social aspects of these social groups

Michaelis-Menten Dynamics in Complex Heterogeneous Networks

Biological networks have been recently found to exhibit many topological properties of the so-called complex networks. It has been reported that they are, in general, both highly skewed and directed. In this paper, we report on the dynamics of a Michaelis-Menten like model when the topological features of the underlying network resemble those of real biological networks. Specifically, instead of using a random graph topology, we deal with a complex heterogeneous network characterized by a power-law degree distribution coupled to a continuous dynamics for each network's component. The dynamics of the model is very rich and stationary, periodic and chaotic states are observed upon variation of the model's parameters. We characterize these states numerically and report on several quantities such as the system's phase diagram and size distributions of clusters of stationary, periodic and chaotic nodes. The results are discussed in view of recent debate about the ubiquity of complex networks in nature and on the basis of several biological processes that can be well described by the dynamics studied.Comment: Paper enlarged and modified, including the title. Some problems with the pdf were detected in the past. If they persist, please ask for the pdf by e-mailing yamir(at_no_spam)unizar.es. Version to appear in Physica

Presencia de neospora caninum y otros parásitos gastrointestinales en perros procedentes de poblaciones de riesgo en españa

Neospora caninum es un protozoo parásito del grupo de los Apicomplexa descrito como agente productor de aborto y mortalidad neonatal en el ganado bovino. En el ciclo biológico del parásito, el perro actúa como hospedador definitivo y los bovinos como hospedadores intermediarios. En relación a la infección por N. caninum en el perro, se ha sugerido que los perros vagabundos y de granjas podrían tener un papel importante en la epidemiología de la neosporosis bovina. En este estudio se analizaron muestras de suero y heces de estas dos poblaciones de riesgo para la detección de anticuerpos frente a N. caninum así como de ooquistes del parásito. La presencia de anticuerpos anti-N. caninum se detectó por inmunofluorescencia indirecta (IFI) en el 47,5% (67/141) de los sueros procedentes de los perros de granja y en 39,5% (53/134) de los perros vagabundos (P>0,05; Chi-cuadrado). Cuando se analizaron los niveles de anticuerpos, los perros de granja tuvieron títulos significativamente superiores a los obtenidos en los perros vagabundos (

Spanish validation of the Shorter Version of the Workplace Incivility Scale: An employment status invariant measure

Workplace Incivility (WI) occurs worldwide and has negative consequences on individuals and organizations. Valid and comprehensive instruments have been used, specifically in English speaking countries, to measure sucadverse process at work, but it is not available a validated instrument for research carried out in Spanish speaking countries. In this study we aim to test the psychometric properties of the Matthews and Ritter’s four-item Workplace Incivility Scale (2016) with Spanish workers (N = 407) from different sectors. Participants’ mean age was 38.73 (SD = 10.45) years old and the percentage of female employees was 59.2%. Confirmatory factor analysis using AMOS 19.0 was carried out, presenting a good fit. The internal consistency, convergent and concurrent validity of the scale were examined. Results show good scale reliability and expected high correlations with social undermining. Moreover, the scale related to propensity to leave a job, job satisfaction, and psychological well-being in the expected way. After configural invariance across groups was established, testing for metric invariance and scalar invariance was performed. Considering Δχ2 and ΔCFI tests for two nested models, the 4-item scale was invariant when the employment status is considered (permanent vs. temporal, full-time vs. part-time, and supervisor vs. non-supervisors). Overall, our findings showed good psychometric properties of the shorter version of the WIS in Spain. Theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España PSI2015-64894-PFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) Portugal SFRH/BPD/121748/201

Macromodelling for analog design and robustness boosting in bio-inspired computing models

Setting specifications for the electronic implementation of biological neural-network-like vision systems on-chip is not straightforward, neither it is to simulate the resulting circuit. The structure of these systems leads to a netlist of more than 100.000 nodes for a small array of 100×150 pixels. Moreover, introducing an optical input in the low level simulation is nowadays not feasible with standard electrical simulation environments. Given that, to accomplish the task of integrating those systems in silicon to build compact, low power consuming, and reliable systems, a previous step in the standard analog electronic design flux should be introduced. Here a methodology to make the translation from the biological model to circuit-level specifications for electronic design is proposed. The purpose is to include non ideal effects as mismatching, noise, leakages, supply degradation, feedthrough, and temperature of operation in a high level description of the implementation, in order to accomplish behavioural simulations that require less computational effort and resources. A particular case study is presented, the analog electronic implementation of the locust's Lobula Giant Movement Detector (LGMD), a neural structure that fires a collision alarm based on visual information. The final goal is a collision threat detection vision system on-chip for automotive applications.European Union IST-2001-38097, TIC2003 - 09817-C02-0

Tactile on-chip pre-processing with techniques from artificial retinas

The interest in tactile sensors is increasing as their use in complex unstructured environments is demanded, like in tele-presence, minimal invasive surgery, robotics etc. The matrix of pressure data these devices provide can be managed with many image processing algorithms to extract the required information. However, as in the case of vision chips or artificial retinas, problems arise when the array size and the computation complexity increase. Having a look to the skin, the information collected by every mechanoreceptor is not carried to the brain for its processing, but some complex pre-processing is performed to fit the limited throughput of the nervous system. This is specially important for high bandwidth demanding tasks. Experimental works report that neural response of skin mechanoreceptors encodes the change in local shape from an offset level rather than the absolute force or pressure distributions. This is also the behavior of the retina, which implements a spatio-temporal averaging. We propose the same strategy in tactile preprocessing, and we show preliminary results when it faces the detection of the slip, which involves fast real-time processing.Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIC2003 - 09817-C0

Ciudades reales en tiempos digitales: cambios en las prácticas socio-espaciales.

Es evidente que nos encontramos en una era donde la tecnología y la digitalización rigen nuestra actividad humana en muchos aspectos de la vida cotidiana como no lo hacían antes. Esto hace importante cuestionarse los cambios que se producen en el espacio, pues éstos se llevan a cabo tan rápidamente como lo hace casi todo en la era de la información. ¿Es que la ciudad acaso está destinada a convertirse únicamente en un conglomerado de edificios sin relación alguna? ¿Si el espacio público pierde su sentido como lo conocemos hoy, debido a la virtualización en las relaciones sociales, debe éste ser sustituido?. En el presente artículo se realiza un análisis en torno a esta relación socio-espacial pues los fenómenos a los que ha sido enfrentada la ciudad a partir de la modernidad, nos conducen a entender la ciudad del siglo XXI como una ciudad multifacética, fragmentada y en conflicto, pues conserva una configuración que constantemente trata de amoldarse a los nuevos procesos