Improving Knowledge Retrieval in Digital Libraries Applying Intelligent Techniques

Nowadays an enormous quantity of heterogeneous and distributed information is stored in the digital University. Exploring online collections to find knowledge relevant to a user’s interests is a challenging work. The artificial intelligence and Semantic Web provide a common framework that allows knowledge to be shared and reused in an efficient way. In this work we propose a comprehensive approach for discovering E-learning objects in large digital collections based on analysis of recorded semantic metadata in those objects and the application of expert system technologies. We have used Case Based-Reasoning methodology to develop a prototype for supporting efficient retrieval knowledge from online repositories. We suggest a conceptual architecture for a semantic search engine. OntoUS is a collaborative effort that proposes a new form of interaction between users and digital libraries, where the latter are adapted to users and their surroundings

Development of a geopolymer-based cementitious coating for the rehabilitation of buried concrete infrastructure

The current research project was devoted to the incorporation of geopolymers as a new material for Trenchless projects, taking advantage of their properties in a field in which they had not been used before, providing a substantial help to municipalities to meet their rehabilitation needs. Trenchless Technologies are a family of methods, materials and equipment capable of being used for the installation of new or replacement or rehabilitation of existing underground infrastructure with minimal disruption to surface traffic, business, and other activities. The dissertation research work described herein is divided into six primary objectives: (1) the evaluation of geopolymer as a suitable candidate material for the rehabilitation of aging buried concrete infrastructure; (2) the study of the main parameters behind the process of geopolymerization; (3) the development of a geopolymer-based rehabilitation method with enhanced workability by means of a surface-active agent; (4) the evaluation of copper-substituted geopolymer with possible biocide properties; (5) testing and field validation of the resulting material; and (6) the study of its commercialization potential. Materials of a new generation are needed to suit the growing rehabilitation needs of buried concrete infrastructure. Many municipalities currently undergo difficult material selection processes; based on the best match between low cost and high quality. An optimal solution is not easy to achieve since ordinary Portland cement (OPC) provides low cost and good workability, but, in many cases, does not provide extended durability; on the other hand epoxies and other organic polymers often resist biogenic corrosion well, yet are many times not within the budget of municipalities. Geopolymers are cementitious materials of a new generation. Their outstanding properties are the object of growing research all over the world, especially in France, Australia and the USA. However, regardless of their excellent mechanical strength and corrosion resistance properties, geopolymers are often seen by the construction industry as materials with poor workability and unsuitable for big scale projects. This perception and other drawbacks are addressed in the present work. The dissertation begins with the identification and study of the main variables controlling the geopolymerization process and their influence on the final material properties. A selection of materials is then conducted and the design of an appropriate formulation is achieved. The next step was to solve the problem of turning geopolymers into a friendly material for contractors. As spray coatings are a very common and convenient method for the application of cementitious materials, this process was especially emphasized throughout the dissertation. Several additives and mixing methods were experimented with during this research project to help on this objective. Having produced a sprayable geopolymer admixture, work was then conducted to evaluate the final properties of the resulting material and a comparison with products currently used by the industry. The encapsulation of copper with the intention of a future evaluation as a biogenic agent embedded in geopolymer was also considered. Important conclusions are made in this regard. An evaluation of the commercialization potential of this material is further discussed

Cuerpos representados, cuerpos dominados. Poder y representación en los carteles de propaganda nazi

La representación del cuerpo humano ha sido una constante en la historia de la humanidad desde la revolución simbólica del neolítico. Pero, lejos de buscar la mera objetividad, dicha representación es un hecho de cultura que refleja las tensiones y mecanismos de poder existentes en la vida social. A través del análisis de las distintas representaciones del cuerpo, en distintas fases de la vida y en distintos contextos que aparecen en los carteles de propaganda nazi se percibe la violencia ejercida hacia la alteridad judía usando como mecanismo mediador la representación del cuerpo. El poder por tanto se manifiesta también en la forma y el modo cómo los cuerpos pueden ser representados. De esta forma el trabajo concluye apelando a una lectura social y cultural del cuerpo, alejada de principios racistas.Through the human history since the symbolic revolution of the Neolithic, the representation of the human body has been a constant. This doesn’t search the mere objective representation, rather reflects the tensions and mechanisms of power which exist in the social life. It is possible to appreciate the violence exerted towards the jewish alterity using as a tool, the representation of the body, through the analysis of the different representations which appear on the posters of nazi propaganda, on different life stages and on different contexts. Power can be manifested on the way the bodies are represented. This article ends with a call for a social and cultural reading of the body, moving away from racist principles

Condicionamientos ambientales de Erica Andevalensis Cabezudo & Rivera : respuesta frente a metales pesados

Se ha estudiado el contenido en metales de las distintas partes de Erica andevalensis (Cabezudo & Rivera) y se han caracterizado las aguas y los suelos de su entorno. Erica andevalensis es capaz de medrar en un medio extremadamente ácido, con suelos pobres y arenosos, y un elevado contenido en metales pesados, siendo su principal mecanismo de defensa la exclusión de los compuestos tóxicos por parte de las raíces y la posible precipitación de éstos en formas inertes, sea en la pared celular o en células determinadas. Queda excluida la probabilidad de hiperacumulación de los principales metales existentes en su entorno, pues en general muestras analizadas presentaron contenidos de metales en la parte aérea poco superiores a los considerados normales

Estimation of regulatory credit risk models

Incluye bibliografíaThis article estimates a general credit risk model with both macroeconomic and latent credit factors for Spanish banks during the period 2004-2010. The proposed framework allows to estimate with bank level data both the standard credit risk model of Basel II and generalized models. I find evidence of persistence in the credit latent factor and of a significant effect of GDP growth and interbank rates on loan default rates. The estimated default correlation is low across specifications. The model is also used to calculate the impact on the probabilities of default of stressed economic scenariosEste artículo estima un modelo general de riesgo de crédito que incluye tanto factores macroeconómicos como factores de crédito latentes para los bancos españoles durante el período 2004-2010. El marco propuesto permite la estimación con datos de bancos individuales tanto del modelo de crédito estándar de Basilea II como de modelos más generales. Se encuentra evidencia de un factor de crédito latente persistente y de un efecto significativo del crecimiento del PIB y de los tipos de préstamo interbancarios en la tasa de impago. La estimación de la correlación entre impagos es baja para las distintas especificaciones, lo que indica una relación positiva entre concentración bancaria y estabilidad financiera. Se utiliza el modelo para calcular el impacto en las probabilidades de impago de distintos escenarios económicos estresado

Intelligent Integrated Management for Telecommunication Networks

As the size of communication networks keeps on growing, faster connections, cooperating technologies and the divergence of equipment and data communications, the management of the resulting networks gets additional important and time-critical. More advanced tools are needed to support this activity. In this article we describe the design and implementation of a management platform using Artificial Intelligent reasoning technique. For this goal we make use of an expert system. This study focuses on an intelligent framework and a language for formalizing knowledge management descriptions and combining them with existing OSI management model. We propose a new paradigm where the intelligent network management is integrated into the conceptual repository of management information called Managed Information Base (MIB). This paper outlines the development of an expert system prototype based in our propose GDMO+ standard and describes the most important facets, advantages and drawbacks that were found after prototyping our proposal

High Resolution Vision-Based Servomechanism Using a Dynamic Target with Application to CNC Machines

This dissertation introduces a novel three dimensional vision-based servomechanism with application to real time position control for manufacturing equipment, such as Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine tools. The proposed system directly observes the multi-dimensional position of a point on the moving tool relative to a fixed ground, thus bypassing the inaccurate kinematic model normally used to convert axis sensor-readings into an estimate of the tool position. A charge-coupled device (CCD camera) is used as the position transducer, which directly measures the current position error of the tool referenced to an absolute coordinate system. Due to the direct-sensing nature of the transducer no geometric error compensation is required. Two new signal processing algorithms, based on a recursive Newton-Raphson optimization routine, are developed to process the input data collected through digital imaging. The algorithms allow simultaneous high-precision position and orientation estimation from single readings. The desired displacement command of the tool in a planar environment is emulated, in one end of the kinematic chain, by an active element or active target pattern on a liquid-crystal display (LCD). On the other end of the kinematic chain the digital camera observes the active target and provides visual feedback information utilized for position control of the tool. Implementation is carried out on an XYθZ stage, which is position with high resolution. The introduction of the camera into the control loop yields a visual servo architecture; the dynamic problems and stability assessment of which are analyzed in depth for the case study of the single CAM- single image processing thread-configuration. Finally, two new command generation protocols are explained for full implementation of the proposed structure in real-time control applications. Command issuing resolutions do not depend upon the size of the smallest element of the grid/display being imaged, but can instead be determined in accordance with the sensor\u27s resolution

The impact of interbank and public debt markets on the competition for bank deposists

El crecimiento de los tipos de interés pagados por la deuda pública española desde 2008 y la disrupción del mercado interbancario han generado preocupación por sus efectos sobre la competencia del mercado de depósitos bancarios en España. Combino un modelo logit anidado de la oferta de depósitos con un modelo estructural de competencia para medir el impacto de los tipos de interés de referencia de la deuda pública y los mercados interbancarios en el retorno a los depósitos bancarios y la política de financiación de los bancos españoles durante 2003-2010. Se encuentra que el tipo interbancario está más correlacionado con el retorno en los depósitos que el tipo de interés de la deuda pública, pero la conexión entre tipos interbancarios y retorno a los depósitos bancarios es significativamente más débil en el período de crisis de 2008-2010. El análisis contrafactual revela un efecto importante del tipo interbancario y de las oportunidades de inversión en deuda pública en los tipos de depósito y los beneficios bancarios, y que los tipos de depósitos observados están de media 115 pb por encima de los niveles colusivosThe growth in the interest rates paid on Spanish public debt since 2008 and the impairment of the interbank market have generated concerns about their effects on competition for bank deposits in Spain. I combine a nested logit model of bank deposit supply with a structural model of competition to measure the impact of the reference interest rates on public debt and interbank markets on the returns on deposits and funding policy of Spanish banks in the period 2003-2010. The interbank rate is found to be more closely correlated with the return on deposits than the interest rate on public debt, but the connection between interbank rates and deposit returns is signifi cantly weaker in the crisis period 2008-2010. Counterfactual analysis shows a signifi cant effect of the interbank rate and investment opportunities in public debt on deposit rates and bank profi ts, and that observed deposit rates are on average 115bp above collusive level

Empire Exhibition of Scotland, 1938: imagen y representación de una efímera modernidad

[EN] In 1938 Glasgow was the location for the Empire Exhibition, an event that made little international impact because it was held a bare year before the Second World War, at a time when conflict between the European Great Powers was beginning to seem inevitable. However, within the field of the development of design and of modern architecture in Great Britain, a study of this exposition is of considerable interest, as it shows how Art Deco, with its slender shapes and vitalism in Streamline Moderne style, had gradually been gaining ground over the cold rationalist style brought in from 1933 onwards by a number of the expatriate architects from Germany and other countries.[ES] En 1938 tuvo lugar en Glasgow la Empire Exhibition, un evento de escasa repercusión internacional por celebrarse un año antes de la segunda guerra mundial, cuando el conflicto entre las potencias europeas se comenzaba a percibir como inevitable. Sin embargo su estudio, dentro del ámbito del desarrollo del diseño y de la arquitectura moderna en Gran Bretaña, tiene mayor interés, al mostrar cómo el Art Déco, con sus formas gráciles y su vitalismo a lo Streamline Moderne, se había ido imponiendo con fuerza sobre el frío estilo racionalista importado desde 1933 por algunos de los arquitectos inmigrados desde Alemania y otros países.Montes Serrano, C. (2020). The Empire Exhibition of Scotland, 1938: the image and representation of an ephemeral modernity. EGA Expresión Gráfica Arquitectónica. 25(39):32-45. https://doi.org/10.4995/ega.2020.13951OJS32452539GRADIDGE, R. 1979. "The Architecture of Oliver Hill", Architectural Design, 49, pp. 30-41.LAW, Michael John. 2018. 1938: Modern Britain. Social Change and Visions of the Future. London: Bloomsbury.LIZONDO SEVILLA, Laura. 2017. "Mies's opaque Cube: The Electric Utilities Pavilion at the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition". JSAH: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, vol. 76, 2, pp. 197-217. https://doi.org/10.1525/jsah.2017.76.2.197LIZONDO SEVILLA, Laura, et al. 2013. "Mies van der Rohe. From the Competitions to the Exhibitions; from the Photomontage to the Wallpaper". EGA. Revista de Expresión Gráfica Arquitectónica, 21, pp. 174-185. https://doi.org/10.4995/ega.2013.1485MILLÁN GÓMEZ, Antonio. 2010. "Espacios públicos, arquitectos silenciosos: en torno a la Exposición de Estocolmo, 1930". EGA. Revista de Expresión Gráfica Arquitectónica, 16, pp. 52-61.MONCLÚS FRAGA, Javier, JEREZ ABAJO, Enrique (editors). 2019. "Las huellas de lo efímero". ZARCH. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Architecture and Urbanism, 13, pp. 2-7. https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_zarch/zarch.2019133953MONTES SERRANO, Carlos, et al. 2019. "The South Bank Exhibition, Londres 1951: un análisis desde The Architectural Review". ZARCH. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Architecture and Urbanism, 13, pp. 50-61. https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_zarch/zarch.2019133873NEIL BAXTER, J. 1984. "Thomas S. Tait and the Glasgow Empire Exhibition". Thirties Society Journal, 4, pp. 26-30.POZO MUNICIO, José Manuel, et al. (editors). 2014. Las exposiciones de arquitectura y la arquitectura de las exposiciones. Pamplona: T6 ediciones.RICHARDS, J.M., et al. 1938. "Special issue: The Glasgow Exhibition", The Architectural Review, 500, 1938, pp. 1-40WESTWOOD, Norman, et al. 1938. "Empire Exhibition, Glasgow", The Architects' Journal, 1938, pp. 771-786