Model-Driven Technologies for Data Mining Democratisation

Data mining techniques allow discovering insights previously hidden in data from a domain. However, these techniques demand very specialised skills. People often lack these skills, which hinders data mining democratisation. To alleviate this situation, we defined a model-driven framework and some domain-specific languages that contribute to the democratisation of data mining. Here we summarise these contributions

Fomentando el trabajo autónomo mediante técnicas de gamificación

A pesar de llevar ya unos años inmersos en el Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior, aún existe un número apreciable de alumnos que no sigue las asignaturas de manera continuada, sino que se limita a estudiar cuando hay pruebas de evaluación. Con objeto de fomentar el trabajo continuo y cambiar las rutinas de estudio, se gamificaron dos asignaturas de la materia de bases de datos bajo estrategias distintas: una, basada en clasificación y otra, en medallas. Estas experiencias se describen y analizan en detalle atendiendo a la valoración de los docentes y a la opinión de los alumnos recogida mediante una encuesta anónima. Las experiencias tuvieron lugar en el curso académico 2017-18 con una participación total de 78 alumnos. Como resultado, se señalan consideraciones que puedan orientar a otros docentes en la propuesta de iniciativas de gamificación.Despite the existence of the European Higher Education Area for quite some years already, a considerable number of students still do not follow subjects continuously during the course. Instead, they limit their work to the study of any graded items. We promoted continuous work with the aim of changing study rutines and of improving the learning outcome. This promotion was based on the gamification of two subjects of database curricula following two different gamification strategies: the first one was defined around a ranking, while the second one consisted in badges earning. These experiences are described and analyzed in this work, taking into account the assessment of the teachers and the students? opinion gathered through a survey. Analyzed data correspond to the 2017-18 edition of each course with a participation of 78 students. As a result, we point out some considerations that may be of interest for teachers when formulating gamification initiatives.Este trabajo ha sido desarrollado en el marco del Proyecto de Innovación Docente de la Universidad de Cantabria

Desarrollo Eficiente de Lenguajes Específicos de Dominio para la Ejecución de Procesos de Minería de Datos

Aunque las técnicas de minería de datos están consiguiendo cada día una mayor popularidad, su complejidad impide que sean aún utilizables por personas sin un sólido conocimiento en las mismas. Una posible solución, ya explorada por los autores de este artículo, es la construcción de Lenguajes Específicos de Dominio que proporcionen una serie de primitivas de alto nivel para la ejecución de procesos de minería de datos. Dichas primitivas sólo hacen referencia a terminología propia del dominio analizado, enmascarando detalles técnicos de bajo nivel. No obstante, la construcción de un lenguaje específico de dominio puede ser un proceso costoso. Este artículo muestra cómo reducir los tiempos de desarrollo de estos lenguajes de análisis mediante la reutilización de partes comunes de estos DSLs.Este trabajo ha sido parcialmente financiado por el Gobierno de Cantabria (España) mediante el Programa de Personal Investigador en Formación Predoctoral de la Universidad de Cantabria y por el Gobierno de España en el proyecto TIN2014-56158-C4-2-P(M2C2)

On the Automated Transformation of Domain Models into Tabular Datasets

We are surrounded by ubiquitous and interconnected soft- ware systems which gather valuable data. The analysis of these data, although highly relevant for decision making, cannot be performed di- rectly by business users, as its execution requires very speci c technical knowledge in areas such as statistics and data mining. One of the com- plexity problems faced when constructing an analysis of this kind resides in the fact that most data mining tools and techniques work exclusively over tabular-formatted data, preventing business users from analysing excerpts of a data bundle which have not been previously traduced into this format by an expert. In response, this work presents a set of transfor- mation patterns for automatically generating tabular data from domain models. The described patterns have been integrated into a language, which allows business users to specify the elements of a domain model that should be considered for data analysis.This work has been partially funded by the Government of Cantabria (Spain) under the doctoral studentship program from the University of Cantabria, and by the Spanish Government under grant TIN2014- 56158-C4-2-P (M2C2)

Automatización y monitorización de una instalación de ensayo de motores

[Resumen] El objetivo del presente artículo es el de presentar la automatización y monitorizado (local y remoto) de las instalaciones (facilites) de un edificio de celdas de ensayo para probar motores de tractor en Turquía. El edificio de celdas de ensayo tiene la peculiaridad de haber sido prefabricado en contendedores en Austria y trasladado hasta su ubicación final. Las tareas aquí presentadas describen los diferentes componentes del sistema de control (PLC’s), los interface hombre máquina (HMI’s), los medios para acceso remoto, y las comunicaciones entre dispositivos. Se trata de una instalación real, estable y en funcionamiento

La resiliencia en el deporte: fundamentos teóricos, instrumentos de evaluación y revisión de la literatura = Resilience in sport: Theoretical foundations, instruments and literature review

P. 83-98El constructo de resiliencia, definido como la capacidad de hacer frente y adaptarse, de manera positiva, a las situaciones altamente estresantes, ha sido estudiado desde hace más de 60 años, sin embargo, parece que solo en estas últimas dos décadas ha suscitado un justificado y especial interés por parte de la Psicología del Deporte y del Ejercicio. Es por esto que, cada vez más, crece la demanda por artículos que sean capaces de compilar toda esta novedosa información. Nuestra investigación, por tanto, persigue el objetivo general de revisar los avances entorno a la resiliencia en el contexto deportivo, tratando de ofrecer una visión integradora, actualizada y sintética de la conceptualización del término y de los resultados de las investigaciones realizadas hasta el momento. De manera más específica, también se muestran los instrumentos de evaluación más referenciados y las posibles líneas de investigación a seguir entorno al constructo. Como conclusión, esta revisión subraya los descubrimientos más interesantes sobre la resiliencia y otros factores psicológicos y/o de rendimiento, facilitando la elaboración de estrategias de intervención para la optimización del resultado deportivo y aporta una visión holística del constructo y de sus perspectivas de investigación futurasS

Extinction risk of Mesoamerican crop wild relatives

Ensuring food security is one of the world's most critical issues as agricultural systems are already being impacted by global change. Crop wild relatives (CWR)—wild plants related to crops—possess genetic variability that can help adapt agriculture to a changing environment and sustainably increase crop yields to meet the food security challenge. Here we report the results of an extinction risk assessment of 224 wild relatives of some of the world's most important crops (i.e. chilli pepper, maize, common bean, avocado, cotton, potato, squash, vanilla and husk tomato) in Mesoamerica—an area of global significance as a centre of crop origin, domestication and of high CWR diversity. We show that 35% of the selected CWR taxa are threatened with extinction according to The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List demonstrates that these valuable genetic resources are under high anthropogenic threat. The dominant threat processes are land use change for agriculture and farming, invasive and other problematic species (e.g. pests, genetically modified organisms) and use of biological resources, including overcollection and logging. The most significant drivers of extinction relate to smallholder agriculture—given its high incidence and ongoing shifts from traditional agriculture to modern practices (e.g. use of herbicides)—smallholder ranching and housing and urban development and introduced genetic material. There is an urgent need to increase knowledge and research around different aspects of CWR. Policies that support in situ and ex situ conservation of CWR and promote sustainable agriculture are pivotal to secure these resources for the benefit of current and future generations

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

[Purpose]: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. [Methods]: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015.Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years,65 to 80 years,and ≥ 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. [Results]: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 ≥ 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients ≥80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%,65 years; 20.5%,65-79 years; 31.3%,≥80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%,<65 years;30.1%,65-79 years;34.7%,≥80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%,≥80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age ≥ 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI ≥ 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88),and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared,the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. [Conclusion]: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age ≥ 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI),and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality