Algorithms of causal inference for the analysis of effective connectivity among brain regions

In recent years, powerful general algorithms of causal inference have been developed. In particular, in the framework of Pearl’s causality, algorithms of inductive causation (IC and IC*) provide a procedure to determine which causal connections among nodes in a network can be inferred from empirical observations even in the presence of latent variables, indicating the limits of what can be learned without active manipulation of the system. These algorithms can in principle become important complements to established techniques such as Granger causality and Dynamic Causal Modeling (DCM) to analyze causal influences (effective connectivity) among brain regions. However, their application to dynamic processes has not been yet examined. Here we study how to apply these algorithms to time-varying signals such as electrophysiological or neuroimaging signals. We propose a new algorithm which combines the basic principles of the previous algorithms with Granger causality to obtain a representation of the causal relations suited to dynamic processes. Furthermore, we use graphical criteria to predict dynamic statistical dependencies between the signals from the causal structure. We show how some problems for causal inference from neural signals (e.g., measurement noise, hemodynamic responses, and time aggregation) can be understood in a general graphical approach. Focusing on the effect of spatial aggregation, we show that when causal inference is performed at a coarser scale than the one at which the neural sources interact, results strongly depend on the degree of integration of the neural sources aggregated in the signals, and thus characterize more the intra-areal properties than the interactions among regions. We finally discuss how the explicit consideration of latent processes contributes to understand Granger causality and DCM as well as to distinguish functional and effective connectivity

Unamuno y Ángel Lázaro: noticia de una relación desconocida (A propósito de dos olvidados artículos en el desaparecido diario "Pueblo")

En este trabajo se saca a la luz la relación entre el poeta gallego Ángel Lázaro y M. de Unamuno, que se concreta en dos artículos publicados en la revista española Pueblo, por el antiguo escritor, después de su regreso del exilio. En ellos se hace referencia a un homenaje frustrado al Rector de la Universidad de Salamanca con motivo de su exilio en Fuerteventura, con una curiosa arenga por el Dr. Marañón durante la dictadura de Primo de Rivera. Se analiza la visita de Lázaro a Hendaya. Anunciamos la próxima publicación de la correspondencia inédita entre Lázaro y Unamuno.In this paper we bring to light the relationship between the Galician poet Ángel Lázaro and M. de Unamuno, referred to in two articles published in the Spanish journal Pueblo, by the former writer, after his return from exile. In them he refers to a frustrated homage to the Rector of the University of Salamanca on the occasion of his exile to Fuerteventura, with a curious harangue by Dr. Marañón during Primo de Rivera's dictatorship. Lázaro's visit to Hendaya is analysed. We announce the forthcoming publication of the unpublished correspondence between Lázaro and Unamuno.notPeerReviewe

Recreando la sociedad del pasado : modernización y conflicto social en La Señora

El presente trabajo ahonda en la función socializadora del medio televisivo. Parte del supuesto de que el relato televisivo tiene la capacidad de proveer a sus públicos de estructuras de interpretación sobre la realidad circundante. Concretamente, algunos de sus productos, si bien situados en el plano de la ficción, presentan lecturas explicativas sobre la sociedad española del presente y del pasado. A partir de ahí, nuestra investigación se concreta en el estudio de la telenovela La Señora. Insertada en el macrogénero del melodrama, presenta un discurso adaptado a las características culturales de su público objetivo. Su relación con otros textos, así como su utilización de estrategias emocionales y realistas, viene facilitando su acercamiento a la audiencia. El análisis de este texto nos permitirá identificar las claves semánticas conforme a las que se dibuja el devenir de la sociedad española, presentada en clave sentimental, pero también ideológica.This paper aims to conduct a profound study into the socialization function performed by television. We start from the assumption that television narration has the capacity to provide its audiences with useful frameworks for interpreting the surrounding reality. More specifically, some of its products, although they belong in the realm of fiction, build explanatory interpretations of Spanish society in the present and past. From there our research focuses on the study of the soap opera La Señora (The Lady). This soap opera, under the macro-genre of melodrama, presents a discourse that adapts to the cultural features of its target audience. Its relationship with other texts, as well as its use of emotional and realistic strategies, facilitate its proximity to the audience. The analysis of this text will enable us to identify the semantic keys used by this soap opera to reflect the evolution of Spanish society. This process of change has been presented not only in a sentimental but also in an ideological way

Exponential sums over finite fields and Stepanov's method

The goal of the thesis is to understand Stepanov’s method, which is used to prove in an elementary way the Riemann hypothesis for curves over finite fields. We also study how curves and exponential sums are related, and examine other interesting applications of the method such as Heath-Brown’s estimate for Heilbronn’s exponential sum

Representaciones de la mujer en la ficción postfeminista : Ally McBeal, Sex and the City y Desperate Housewives

El presente trabajo explora las conexiones entre la ideología postfeminista y la cultura popular, ejemplificada en tres productos de ficción televisiva, de proyección internacional y de consumo masivo. Se parte, entonces, de la consideración de la televisión como artefacto ideológico, reflejo de dinámicas culturales, así como agente de socialización capaz de reproducir y legitimar modelos femeninos. Así, esta investigación examina Ally McBeal, Sex in the City y Desperate Housewives en tanto que textos en los que leer cómo la filosofía feminista más clásica viene siendo revisada, criticada y adaptada. De este modo, el análisis, sobre todo semántico, de estos tres formatos permitirá identificar los modelos de feminidad propuestos, así como sus contradicciones con las imágenes femeninas y/o feministas hegemónicas tiempo atrás.This paper explores the relationship between post-feminist ideology and popular culture, which is exemplified in three internationally-distributed television fiction products for mass consumption. It starts from the assumption that television is an ideological artefact reflecting cultural dynamics as well as a socialization agent that is able to reproduce and legitimate feminine models. This research examines Ally McBeal, Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives as texts in which the process of revisiting, criticizing and adapting feminist philosophy can be read. The analysis of these three formats, especially their semantics, allows identifying the women's models presented in the series as well as their contradictions with feminine and/or feminist images that were hegemonic in the past

Learning from television fiction. The reception and socialization effects from watching «Loving in Troubled Times»

La ficción televisiva suele ser entendida como producto cultural encaminado a la evasión y el entretenimiento. Sin embargo, sus funciones no son estrictamente comerciales. De hecho, el presente trabajo surge del interés por conocer los efectos socializadores y educativos de los mensajes de ficción. Del mismo modo, reflexiona sobre el papel activo de los espectadores en el proceso de recepción, sobre su capacidad para definir e interpretar los mensajes de acuerdo con sus características personales y sociales. Más concretamente, el trabajo se interesa por las utilidades informativas y significados identitarios de un género televisivo concreto: la telenovela. Si bien focaliza el grueso de sus tramas en los avatares románticos y los conflictos personales, este producto de ficción, puede además proveer al espectador de explicaciones e interpretaciones en relación con el pasado y el presente de una sociedad. Concre - tando nuestro análisis en un formato melodramático concreto, «Amar en tiempos revueltos», analizaremos los significados y representaciones que ofrece a sus públicos femeninos. A partir de ahí, y mediante el análisis de contenido de los discursos obtenidos a través de la técnica de la entrevista en profundidad, se explorarán los procesos de recepción de las espectadoras, en función de variables como la edad y el nivel educativo. De este modo, se concluirá señalando cómo el grueso de las espectadoras utiliza la ficción en un sentido explicativo, y se reconocen en ella personal y grupalmente.____________________________________________Television fiction is often understood as a cultural product whose aim is entertainment and escapism. However, its functions are not merely commercial. In fact, this article aims to improve understanding of the socializing and educational effects of television’s fictional messages. It also reflects on the active role of the audience in the process of reception, and on its capacity to define and interpret messages according to the viewer’s personal and social characteristics. This work examines the informational usefulness and significance for personal identity of a specific television genre, the telenovela, a fictional product which, despite focusing its narrative on romantic events and personal conflicts, can also provide the viewer with explanations and interpretations of society’s past and present. In particular, this analysis of the melodramatic format sets out to establish the meanings and representations in «Amar en tiempos revueltos» («Loving in Troubled Times») for its female viewers. Based on the analysis of in-depth interviews, the article will explore the female audience’s reception processes through variables such as age and education. This study concludes that the majority of female viewers use fiction in an explanatory sense, and that the telenovela is a genre in which women identify themselves individually and as a group

Caracterización petrológico-metalogénica de un granito especializado : el stock de Logrosán (Cáceres)

Tesis inédita presentada en la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Departamento de Cristalografía y Mineralogía, leída el 04-12-2015Depto. de Mineralogía y PetrologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEunpu

Sentiment Analysis

Recent advances in machine learning have led to computer systems that are human-like in behaviour. Sentiment analysis, the automatic determination of emotions in text, is allowing us to capitalize on substantial previously unattainable opportunities in commerce, public health, government policy, social sciences, and art. Further, analysis of emotions in text, from news to social media posts, is improving our understanding of not just how people convey emotions through language but also how emotions shape our behaviour. This article presents a sweeping overview of sentiment analysis research that includes: the origins of the field, the rich landscape of tasks, challenges, a survey of the methods and resources used, and applications. We also discuss discuss how, without careful fore-thought, sentiment analysis has the potential for harmful outcomes. We outline the latest lines of research in pursuit of fairness in sentiment analysis