A service oriented architecture to provide data mining services for non-expert data miners

In today's competitive market, companies need to use discovery knowledge techniques to make better, more informed decisions. But these techniques are out of the reach of most users as the knowledge discovery process requires an incredible amount of expertise. Additionally, business intelligence vendors are moving their systems to the cloud in order to provide services which offer companies cost-savings, better performance and faster access to new applications. This work joins both facets. It describes a data mining service addressed to non-expert data miners which can be delivered as Software-as-a-Service. Its main advantage is that by simply indicating where the data file is, the service itself is able to perform all the process. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

The competitor release effect applied to carnivore species: how red foxes can increase in numbers when persecuted

The objective of our study was to numerically simulate the population dynamics of a hypothetical community of three species of small to medium–sized carnivores subjected to non–selective control within the context of the competitor release effect (CRE). We applied the CRE to three carnivore species, linking interspecific competition with predator control efforts. We predicted the population response of European badger, the red fox and the pine marten to this wildlife management tool by means of numerical simulations. The theoretical responses differed depending on the intrinsic rate of growth (r), although modulated by the competition coefficients. The red fox, showing the highest r value, can increase its populations despite predator control efforts if control intensity is moderate. Populations of the other two species, however, decreased with control efforts, even reaching extinction. Three additional theoretical predictions were obtained. The conclusions from the simulations were: 1) predator control can play a role in altering the carnivore communities; 2) red fox numbers can increase due to control; and 3) predator control programs should evaluate the potential of unintended effects on ecosystems

A new species of Polydiscia (Acari, Prostigmata, Tanaupodidae) with reference to its host: a new species of Deuterosminthurus (Collembola, Symphypleona, Bourletiellidae)

During the sampling campaign to describe the Iberian fauna of Collembola, an undescribed species of the family Bourletiellidae living on Genista hispanica L. was found with parasitic mites. The attached parasitic mites were identified as the larval instar of a new species of Polydiscia, a prostigmatid mite of the family Tanaupodidae Thor, 1935. The genus was previously cited in Austria. The Collembola, Deuterosminthurus bisetosus sp. nov, which was found in distant localities on the Iberian Peninsula, and Polydiscia deuterosminthurus sp. nov., are both here described. Both species were found together on Genista for three consecutive years. The abundant material obtained has allowed us to study both species with SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy), and show characteristics in greater detail than has been possible with light microscopy

CRF(1) receptor antagonists attenuate escalated cocaine self-administration in rats

RATIONALE: Previous work suggests a role for stress-related corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) systems in cocaine dependence. However, the involvement of activation of CRF(1) receptors in rats self-administering cocaine with extended access is unknown. OBJECTIVE: The current study examined whether CRF(1) receptor antagonist administration alters cocaine self-administration in animals given extended access. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Wistar rats (n = 32) acquired cocaine self-administration (0.66 mg/kg per infusion) in 1 h sessions for up to 11 days. Rats then were assigned to receive either daily short (1 h, ShA) or long (6 h, LgA) access to cocaine self-administration (n = 7-9 per group). Following escalation of intake, animals received one of two selective CRF(1) antagonists: antalarmin (6.3-25 mg/kg, i.p.) or N,N-bis(2-methoxyethyl)-3-(4-methoxy-2-methylphenyl)-2,5-dimethyl-pyrazolo[1,5a]pyrimidin-7-amine (MPZP; 3.6-27.5 mg/kg, s.c.). RESULTS: By day 11 of the escalation period, LgA rats increased their cocaine intake, reaching an intake level of 15.1 mg/kg, compared to 11.1 mg/kg in ShA rats, during the first hour of sessions. Antalarmin reduced cocaine self-administration at the highest dose selectively in the LgA group but not the ShA group. MPZP reduced cocaine intake both in LgA and ShA rats. However, MPZP did so at a lower dose in LgA rats than in ShA rats. Within the LgA group, MPZP decreased cocaine intake in the first 10 min (loading phase) as well as in the latter session intake (maintenance phase). CONCLUSION: The data suggest that hypersensitivity of the CRF system occurs with extended access to cocaine self-administration and that this altered CRF system may contribute to the increased motivation to self-administer cocaine that develops during psychostimulant dependence

Achoramiento y corrupción en el Perú contemporáneo

This essay analyzes the corruption phenomenon occurred during the President Alberto Fujimori Regime. For this purpose, it uses the tentative hypothesis of "achoramiento", understood as a strategy to achieve social acceptation and upgrade that essentially violates ethnic and juridical norms. lt outlines the great bond and magnitude of these two phenomenons, both, products of the government's desire to monopolize control due to the corrupted political sphere, almost indeed a mafia, dominated an important part of Peruvian society.   lt specially focuses on the relationships of "achoramiento" that had the legal advisor of the Servicio de Inteligencia Nacional with a number of well-known businessmen who fell into the trap, to obtain economic and legal welfare. By using this, they lost their citizen condition and transformed in an added expression of social corruption in Peru. lt is well known and sustained that this portion of Peruvian entrepreneurs has historically considered the state as a mean to personal economic profit, leaving privacy and particularity as superior and universal values or aims.   Finally, this essay suggests that this behavior is not exclusively to Peruvian society but naturally adjustable to capitalist ideology, system that has deified money in the world, making this object at least in an absolute mean of power capable to corrupt conscience and social order.Este ensayo analiza el fenómeno de la corrupción durante el gobierno del presidente Alberto Fujimori. Emplea, para ello, la hipótesis de "achoramiento", entendida como una estrategia de ascenso social esencialmente violatoria de las normas éticas y jurídicas. Destaca la gran compenetración y magnitud de los dos fenómenos, productos ambos del copamiento total del Estado, por parte de una cúpula política convertida en una mafia, que dominó a gran parte de la sociedad peruana. En especial, presta atención a la relación de "achoramiento" que mantuvo el asesor del Servicio de Inteligencia Nacional con un conjunto de connotados empresarios, que cedieron a la corrupción a cambio de beneficios económicos y judiciales. Al aplicar esta estrategia, perdieron su condición de ciudadanos, transformándose en una expresión más del fenómeno de la corrupción. Se sostiene que este sector del empresariado nacional ha visto, históricamente, al Estado bajo la única óptica del beneficio económico personal, elevando lo privado y particular al rango de valor superior y universal. Sugiere, finalmente, que este comportamiento no es exclusivo de la sociedad peruana, sino que es connatural a la ideología profunda del capitalismo. Sistema que ha instalado en el mundo la dictadura del dinero, al hacer de este un culto y medio absoluto de poder, capaz de corromper la conciencia y el orden social

S3Mining: A model-driven engineering approach for supporting novice data miners in selecting suitable classifiers

Data mining has proven to be very useful in order to extract information from data in many different contexts. However, due to the complexity of data mining techniques, it is required the know-how of an expert in this field to select and use them. Actually, adequately applying data mining is out of the reach of novice users which have expertise in their area of work, but lack skills to employ these techniques. In this paper, we use both model-driven engineering and scientific workflow standards and tools in order to develop named S3Mining framework, which supports novice users in the process of selecting the data mining classification algorithm that better fits with their data and goal. To this aim, this selection process uses the past experiences of expert data miners with the application of classification techniques over their own datasets. The contributions of our S3Mining framework are as follows: (i) an approach to create a knowledge base which stores the past experiences of experts users, (ii) a process that provides the expert users with utilities for the construction of classifiers? recommenders based on the existing knowledge base, (iii) a system that allows novice data miners to use these recommenders for discovering the classifiers that better fit for solving their problem at hand, and (iv) a public implementation of the framework?s workflows. Finally, an experimental evaluation has been conducted to shown the feasibility of our framework

How do roots respond to osmotic stress? A transcriptomic approach to address this question in a non-model crop

Drought is a complex phenomenon that is relevant for many crops. Performing high-throughput transcriptomics in non-model crops is challenging. The non-model crop where our workflow has been tested on is banana (Musa spp.), which ranks among the top ten staple foods (total production over 145 million tons in 2013 (FAOstat)[1]). Bananas need vast amounts of water and even mild-drought conditions are responsible for considerable yield losses[2]. To characterize drought in the roots of different banana genotypes, we designed a lab model based on osmotic stress (5% PEG treatment for 3 days) and performed mRNA-seq analysis[3]. Using Illumina technology, 18 cDNA libraries were sequenced producing around 568 million high quality reads, of which 70-84% were mapped to the diploid reference genome[4]. We show that the applied stress leads to a drop in energy levels inducing a metabolic shift towards (i) higher oxidative respiration, (ii) alternative respiration and (iii) fermentation. We also analyzed the expression patterns of paralogous genes belonging to the same gene families and detected possible cases of sub-functionalization