Extending a property-based testing tool with parallel and distributed execution

[Abstract] Software testing plays an important role in software development, as it not only helps find bugs in the code, but also boosts the confidence of the developers that the program behaves correctly, besides reducing the cost of fixing such errors or flaws if done in early stages. One of the most common methods of software testing is unit testing, which tests individual components of the software by asserting whether for cherry-picked test cases (i.e., for a given input), the component or unit produces the expected output. This approach to testing has however its downsides, as it is a tedious time-consuming activity, prone to errors of the developer, such as not covering every possible case. Property-Based Testing is a method of testing that fixes the problems found in unit testing, for it uses properties, which are simply logical statements that capture partial correctness of the program, to generate random input to test whether the program satisfies those properties or not. However, while automation allows for the execution of many more tests, increasing their number also means longer test running times. The main goal of this project is to extend PropEr, the most powerful property-based testing tool written in Erlang, with parallel and distributed execution and measure the obtained speedup from doing so.[Resumo] Probar o noso código é unha das cousas máis importantes na disciplina do desenvolvemento do software, xa que non só nos axuda a encontrar erros no noso código, se non que tamén aumenta a confianza das desenvoldedoras e desenvoldedores de que o seu programa se comporta correctamente, ademais de reducir o custo de arranxar devanditos erros ou fallos se se fai dende o inicio. Un dos métodos máis comúns para facer probas ao software son as denominadas probas de unidade, nas que para probar compoñentes individuáis do software, mírase se para casos específicos (ou sexa, para entradas concretas) o compoñente ou unidade produce a saída esperada. Esta forma de probar o código ten, porén, as súas desvantaxes, xa que é unha tarefa tediosa e pesada de facer que consume moito tempo, e a maiores é propensa e susceptíbel a erros das desenvoldedoras e desenvolvedores, coma non cubrir tódolos casos posibles. As probas baseadas en propiedades son un método de probar software que soluciona estes problemas das probas de unidade, xa que no seu lugar empregan o concepto de propiedade, que é un predicado lóxico que captura a corrección parcial do programa. Estas propiedades son usadas para xerar entradas aleatorias para comprobar se o programa satisface as súas expectativas ou non. Porén aínda que a automatización permite realizar moitas máis probas, os tempos de execución tenden a incrementarse correlativamente. O obxectivo principal deste proxecto é estender PropEr, a ferramenta de probas baseadas en propiedades máis potente escrita en Erlang, para permitir a súa execución paralela ou distribuída.Traballo fin de grao (UDC.FIC). Enxeñaría informática. Curso 2019/202

Sampling Plan for an Acoustic Survey of Kükenthal Peak (NAFO Division 6G) to Quantify Alfonsino (Beryx splendens) Biomass, Abundance and Size Composition

NAFO Commission requested that the Scientific Council review the protocols for survey methodology, to inform the alfonsino assessment. Thus, this document presents an possible acoustic survey plan of the alfonsino population inhabiting Kükenthal Peak, located in the Corner Rise Seamount Chain, following the Commission’s request. The main objective of this survey plan will be to estimate the distribution, abundance, biomass and size composition of alfonsino (Beryx splendens) on Kükenthal Peak (NAFO Div. 6G) by conducting a hydroacoustic survey during February. Specific objectives will be: estimate the abundance (in number) and biomass (in weight) of alfonsino in Kükenthal Peak. Estimate the alfonsino size composition, length-weight relationship, sex ratio and sexual maturity characterization by sex. Collection of alfonsino gonad and otolith samples for future studies of maturity and age. And characterize the biological environment and the physical environment (Tº, S ‰,) of the pelagic habitat of this species to produce a map of these variables within the survey area in association with alfonsino abundance estimates. It is advisable for economic reasons to conduct the subject acoustic survey with a commercial vessel. Two strata with different levels of sampling effort are proposed due to the patchy distribution of alfonsino as revealed by the echograms provided by the skipper, and also the major occurrence of the species around the slope of the mountains, with little extension towards deeper water (i.e., no extension towards open waters). The survey design will consist on a systematic parallel transects with random starting point, with two different levels of sampling intensity, allocating the maximum effort in the area that historically contained the bulk of the acoustic and trawl commercial records. Transects will be placed to ensure they are perpendicular to the bathymetry of the survey area. There is some evidence that relates vertical migrations of alfonsino concentrations to the illumination of the sea (by the Sun and the Moon). The acoustic survey will carry during moon rising season in February and only collect acoustic data during the daylight hours (0800-2000 hours). Trawl hauls will be conducted only for fish identification and the collection of alfonsino length distribution and biological data. Therefore, trawl station locations will be selected according to the acoustic records.Versión del edito

A workflow management system for early feeding of the European hake

Versión del editor2,04

Nudges: diseño y evaluación

The literature on nudges and their evaluation is extensive, and it highlights the diversity of behavioural biases and possible interventions. Nudges seek to modify the architecture of individual decisions. They change people’s behavior in a specific direction and at a low cost. Its impact must take into account the cost-effectiveness of the money invested, compared to other traditional public interventions that pursue the same objective. The use of experiments in its evaluation has made nudges an important tool of evidence-based policy, thus improving the design and effectiveness of public action. In this article we seek to review the current knowledge regarding the design and evaluation of nudges, and its importance for the development of evidence-based policies.La literatura sobre nudges y su evaluación es extensa, y destaca la diversidad de sesgos de comportamiento y posibles intervenciones. Los nudges buscan modificar la arquitectura de las decisiones individuales, intentando cambiar el comportamiento de las personas en una dirección concreta y a un bajo coste. Su impacto debe tener en cuenta el coste-efectividad del dinero invertido, en comparación a otras intervenciones públicas más tradicionales que persiguen el mismo objetivo. El uso de experimentos en su evaluación ha convertido a los nudges en una importante herramienta de la política basada en la evidencia, mejorando así el diseño y efectividad de la acción pública. En este artículo buscamos revisar el conocimiento actual en torno al diseño y evaluación de los nudges, y su importancia para el desarrollo de políticas basadas en evidencia

Una breve historia de los críticos británicos, o de la jurisprudencia restringida a la general

La enseñanza del derecho ha sido limitada al estudio tecnocrático de la ley y se ha tornado en académicamente periférica de las otras ciencias y disciplinas sociales, lo cual ha resultado en un empobrecimiento en el estudio del derecho y en un empobrecimiento ético, manteniendo la responsabilidad moral por fuera de la ley. Los críticos británicos han asumido nuevas formas de abordar el estudio del derecho, separándose de lo propuesto por las escuelas continentales y norteamericanas, mediante la deconstrucción, el giro ético y la política de resistencia u olvido crítico

Intelligent energy storage management trade-off system applied to Deep Learning predictions

The control of the electrical power supply is one of the key bases to reach the sustainable development goals set by United Nations. The achievement of these objectives encourages a dual strategy of creation and diffusion of renewable energies and other technologies of zero emission. Thus, meet the emerging necessities require, inevitably, a significant transformation of the building sector to improve the design of the electrical infrastructure. This improvement should be linked to advanced techniques that allows the identification of complex patterns in large amount of data, such as Deep Learning ones, in order to mitigate potential uncertainties. Accurate electricity and energy supply prediction models, in combination with storage systems will be reflected directly in efficiency improvements in buildings. In this paper, a branch of Deep Learning models, known as Standard Neural Networks, are used to predict electricity consumption and photovoltaic generation with the purpose of reduce the energy wasted, by managing the storage system using Reinforcement Learning technique. Specifically, Deep Reinforcement Learning is applied using the Deep Q-Learning agent. Furthermore, the accuracy of the predicted variables is measured by means of normalized Mean Bias Error (nMBE), and normalized Root Mean Squared Error (nRMSE). The methodologies developed are validated in an existing building, the School of Mining and Energy Engineering located on the Campus of the University of Vigo.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. TED2021-130677B-I00Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISU

Machine learning and deep learning models applied to photovoltaic production forecasting

The increasing trend in energy demand is higher than the one from renewable generation, in the coming years. One of the greatest sources of consumption are buildings. The energy management of a building by means of the production of photovoltaic energy in situ is a common alternative to improve sustainability in this sector. An efficient trade-off of the photovoltaic source in the fields of Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB), nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) or MicroGrids (MG) requires an accurate forecast of photovoltaic production. These systems constantly generate data that are not used. Artificial Intelligence methods can take advantage of this missing information and provide accurate forecasts in real time. Thus, in this manuscript a comparative analysis is carried out to determine the most appropriate Artificial Intelligence methods to forecast photovoltaic production in buildings. On the one hand, the Machine Learning methods considered are Random Forest (RF), Extreme Gradient Boost (XGBoost), and Support Vector Regressor (SVR). On the other hand, Deep Learning techniques used are Standard Neural Network (SNN), Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). The models are checked with data from a real building. The models are validated using normalized Mean Bias Error (nMBE), normalized Root Mean Squared Error (nRMSE), and the coefficient of variation (R2). Standard deviation is also used in conjunction with these metrics. The results show that the models forecast the test set with errors of less than 2.00% (nMBE) and 7.50% (nRMSE) in the case of considering nights, and 4.00% (nMBE) and 11.50% (nRMSE) if nights are not considered. In both situations, the R2 is greater than 0.85 in all models.Universidade de Vigo | Ref. 00VI 131H 641021

Mecanismos moleculares involucrados en el control de la expresión génica y el desarrollo tumoral

Además de diversos procesos fisiológicos que controlan el desarrollo tumoral, existen mecanismos moleculares por los cuales se determina el destino de una célula. Estos mecanismos permiten la proliferación de las células que el organismo detecta como sanas o normales o bien, ante daños genómicos que no pudieron ser reparados y el riesgo de expansión de estos errores, las células son eliminadas por apoptosis o entran en estado de senescencia replicativa. El correcto funcionamiento de estos mecanismos es el que garantiza el estado de salud del individuo.Fil: Costas, Monica Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Medicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; ArgentinaFil: Micenmacher, Sabrina Mariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Medicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; ArgentinaFil: Rubio, Maria Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Medicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez Larrosa, Pablo Nicolas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Medicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; Argentin

Genetic structuring in farmed and wild Gilthead seabream and European seabass in the Mediterranean Sea: implementations for detection of escapees

Microsatellite markers were used to investigate the genetic structure of the two most important cultured fish in the Mediterranean Sea, the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) and the European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax), from two (one wild and one farmed) populations in Western Mediterranean (Spain) and from two (one wild and one farmed) populations Eastern Mediterranean (Greece). All populations were in Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium. Interestingly, wild and farmed populations for both species from Greece were genetically differentiated and could be distinguished from each other. We used Bayesian methods for cluster analysis of farmed and wild populations. Our analysis has implications for the identification of escapees from fish farms to the wild.This study was financed by the European Union 7th Research Framework Project “Prevent Escape” (no. 226885; www.preventescape.eu)