El reconocimiento de los aprendizajes adquiridos por la experiencia previa: un nuevo reto para el sistema universitario

El propósito del Reconocimiento de los Aprendizajes derivados de la Experiencia Previa (RAEP) es hacer visible el abanico de competencias que posee una persona, independientemente del contexto donde la adquisición de éstas tuvo lugar. En este artículo se analiza el papel del reconocimiento del aprendizaje experiencial dentro de una visión amplia de la educación y se presentan sus elementos clave. Se comenta el rol del RAEP en la educación superior, señalando asimismo las oportunidades y desafíos que este tipo de procesos impone a los protagonistas de la enseñanza universitaria

Molecular Identification and Quantification of Tetracycline and Erythromycin Resistance Genes in Spanish and Italian Retail Cheeses

Large antibiotic resistance gene pools in the microbiota of foods may ultimately pose a risk for human health. This study reports the identification and quantification of tetracycline- and erythromycin-resistant populations, resistance genes, and gene diversity in traditional Spanish and Italian cheeses, via culturing, conventional PCR, real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR), and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The numbers of resistant bacteria varied widely among the antibiotics and the different cheese varieties; in some cheeses, all the bacterial populations seemed to be resistant. Up to eight antibiotic resistance genes were sought by gene-specific PCR, six with respect to tetracycline, that is, tet(K), tet(L), tet(M), tet(O), tet(S), and tet(W), and two with respect to erythromycin, that is, erm(B) and erm(F). The most common resistance genes in the analysed cheeses were tet(S), tet(W), tet(M), and erm(B). The copy numbers of these genes, as quantified by qPCR, ranged widely between cheeses (from 4.94 to 10.18 log10/g). DGGE analysis revealed distinct banding profiles and two polymorphic nucleotide positions for tet(W)-carrying cheeses, though the similarity of the sequences suggests this tet(W) to have a monophyletic origin. Traditional cheeses would therefore appear to act as reservoirs for large numbers of many types of antibiotic resistance determinants.The study was partially supported by a Spain-Italy bilateral collaboration program (Ref. IT2009-0080 and IT105MD12L). Financial support was further provided by projects from CICYT (Ref. AGL2011-24300-ALI) and INIA (Ref. RM2011-00005-00-00). A. B. Flórez and S. Delgado were supported by research contracts under Juan de la Cierva Program (Ref. JCI-2010-07457 and JCI-2008-02391, resp.). A. Alegría was awarded a scholarship of the Severo Ochoa program from FICYT (Ref. BP08-053).Peer Reviewe

Real-time motion detection by lateral inhibition in accumulative computation.

Many researchers have explored the relationship between recurrent neural networks and finite state machines. Finite state machines constitute the best characterized computational model, whereas artificial neural networks have become a very successful tool for modeling and problem solving. In the few last years, the neurally inspired lateral inhibition in accumulative computation (LIAC) method and its application to the motion detection task have been introduced. The article shows how to implement the tasks directly related to LIAC in motion detection by means of a formal model described as finite state machines. This paper introduces two steps towards that direction: (a) A simplification of the general LIAC method is performed by formally transforming it into a finite state machine. (b) A hardware implementation of such a designed LIAC module, as well as an 8×8 LIAC module, has been tested on several video sequences, providing promising performance results

Whole genome analysis as a tool for the safety assessment of antibiotic resistance in food-processing bacteria

Trabajo presentado en la 2nd EFSA Scientific Conference, celebrado en Milán, Italia, del 14 al 16 de octubre de 2015Acquisition of antibiotic resistances (AR) by pathogens leads ultimately to a failure of antibiotic therapy. The food chain is considered a key player in the transmission of AR determinants to pathogens from reservoirs in commensal and beneficial bacteria. Therefore, the absence of transmissible AR genes in bacteria used as starter and adjunct cultures for food and feed processing is considered to be critical (EFSA, 2012; EFSA Journal, 10:2740). Genome sequencing allows the inspection of the whole genetic makeup of bacteria in the search for the basis of desirable and undesirable traits, including that of AR. Thus, in silico sequence analysis and comparison against databases can be used as a tool for the safety assessment of microorganisms intended to be used in food systems. This communication reports on the genome analysis of three Leuconostoc mesenteroides strains of dairy origin showing atypical resistances to tetracycline (LbT16), erythromycin and clindamycin (LbE15), and kanamycin, streptomycin, tetracycline and virginiamycin (LbE16). Genes encoding for erythromycin [erm(B)] and tetracycline [tet(S)] resistance had already been detected by PCR. Genome analysis confirmed the presence of these genes and identified others which encode uncommon AR in lactic acid bacteria. Analysis of the genes and their flanking regions revealed a potential of some to be horizontally transferred to other bacteria. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of combining genome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis as an affordable tool for the safety assessment of food bacteria. This innovative approach could become a novel paradigm in the selection programs of starters for the food industry.Peer Reviewe

A historical perspective of algorithmic lateral inhibition and accumulative computation in computer vision

Certainly, one of the prominent ideas of Professor José Mira was that it is absolutely mandatory to specify the mechanisms and/or processes underlying each task and inference mentioned in an architecture in order to make operational that architecture. The conjecture of the last fifteen years of joint research has been that any bottom-up organization may be made operational using two biologically inspired methods called ?algorithmic lateral inhibition?, a generalization of lateral inhibition anatomical circuits, and ?accumulative computation?, a working memory related to the temporal evolution of the membrane potential. This paper is dedicated to the computational formulation of both methods. Finally, all of the works of our group related to this methodological approximation are mentioned and summarized, showing that all of them support the validity of this approximation

Impact of a tire fire accident on soil pollution and the use of clay minerals as natural geo-indicators

Following the occurrence of a fire at a tire landfill in the surrounding area of Madrid City (Spain), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and trace elements present in soils were analyzed to assess the impact of the fire. The capacity of the soils’ clay mineral fraction to reflect this air pollution incident was studied. Fourteen soil samples were collected at different distances under the smoke plume, and they were subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography–photodiode array detection, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and X-ray diffraction analyses. Clay minerals content showed a strong correlation with the pollutants potentially released in the tire fire, acenaphthene, pyrene, benzo(a)pyrene and benzo(a)fluoranthene. Trace metals Zn and Se were related to the proximity of the tire fire without any relationship with clay minerals content. This work suggests the use of natural clay minerals as potential PAHs geo-indicators in response to air pollution, complementary to current air and biological analysesThis work has been economically supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain, Project AGL2016-78490-

Knowledge modeling through computational agents: application to surveillance systems.

In this work the concept of computational agent is located within the methodological framework of levels and domains of description of a calculus in the context of different usual paradigms in Artificial Intelligence (symbolic, situated, connectionist, and hybrid). Emphasis in the computable aspects of agent theory is put, leaving open the possibility to the incorporation of other aspects that are still pure cognitive nomenclature without any computational counterpart of equivalent semantic richness. The ideas presented are shown as currently being implemented on semi-automatic surveillance systems. A case study of a mobile robot application for the detection and following of humans is described

Valoración del diseño curricular del programa del internado profesionalizante Assessment of the Curricular Design for the Internship Program

Se realizó una valoración del diseño curricular del Programa del Internado profesionalizante que se imparte en el 6to año de la Carrera de Medicina en el cual se analizó el objeto de estudio de dicho programa, así como los objetivos, contenidos, métodos de enseñanza, medios de enseñanza, formas de organizar esta enseñanza y el sistema de evaluación de dicho programa. En nuestro análisis pudimos concluir que con el Diseño de Internado Profesionalizante el plan de estudios gana en pertinencia al desarrollar el último año a tiempo completo en los escenarios reales en que el egresado habrá de desempeñarse como médico General Integral Básico, permitiéndole un mayor vínculo con la práctica profesional, independencia en la actuación, responsabilidad con el trabajo y una estrecha relación con la comunidad. Todo esto se ha traducido en mejores resultados en el Examen Estatal y la opinión muy satisfactoria que sobre ellos han vertido las comunidades en las cuales han prestado sus servicios. No debemos dejar de mencionar, además, la meritoria labor que estos estudiantes han desarrollado en las funciones docentes como tutores de alumnos de años inferiores. Palabras clave: Estudiantes de Medicina, Curriculum, Evaluación Educacional. ABSTRACT An assessment of the curricular design for the Internship Program taught in the 6th academic year of medical major was carried out with the purpose of analyzing the object of study , objectives, contents, teaching methods, teaching aids, organization of learning and system of evaluation. The analysis showed that with the Internship Program the syllabus gained pertinence inserting those medical students enroll in 6th (last) academic year in professional practice, having independence in their performance, achieving responsibility towards work and a close relationship with the community. The fulfillment of these activities allow better results in the State Examination, and the communities where they carry out the Internship Program express a satisfactory opinion. It is worth to mention the task these students performed in the teaching process as tutors of medical students in lower academic courses. Key words: Medical Students, Curricular Design, Educational Evaluation

Neurally inspired mechanisms of the dynamic visual attention map generation task

A model for dynamic visual attention is briefly introduced in this paper. A PSM (problem-solving method) for a generic ?Dynamic Attention Map Generation? task to obtain a Dynamic Attention Map from a dynamic scene is proposed. Our approach enables tracking objects that keep attention in accordance with a set of characteristics defined by the observer. This paper mainly focuses on those subtasks of the model inspired in neuronal mechanisms, such as accumulative computation and lateral interaction. The subtasks which incorporate these biologically plausible capacities are called ?Working Memory Generation? and ?Thresholded Permanency Calculation?