A Hybrid and bio-inspired Architecture approach for self-configuring behaviours in Cognitive Agents

Abstract In this work, an hybrid, self-configurable, multilayered and evolutionary subsumption architecture for cognitive agents is developed. Each layer of the multilayered architecture is modeled by one different Machine Learning System (MLS) based on bio-inspired techniques such as Extended Classifier Systems (XCS), Artificial Immune Systems (AIS), Neuro Connectionist Q-Learning (NQL) and Learning Classifier Systems (LCS) among others. In this research an evolutionary mechanism based on Gene Expression Programming (GEP) to self-configure the behaviour arbitration between layers is suggested. In addition, a co-evolutionary mechanism to evolve behaviours in an independent and parallel fashion is used. The proposed approach was tested in an animat environment using a multiagent platform and it exhibited several learning capabilities and emergent properties for selfconfiguring internal agent's architecture

Gamification in Physical Education: effect of M-Learning methodology in the assimilation of academic knowledge

Introducción: La inclusión de nuevas tecnologías en la metodología docente ha sido reconocida como fuente de motivación para el alumnado y profesorado. No obstante, el impacto del uso de la metodología Mobile Learning (M-Learning) sobre la asimilación y evaluación de los contenidos académicos ha sido poco estudiado. El objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar el efecto de la implementación de una metodología gamificadora en la asimilación y evaluación de contenidos académicos en asignaturas afines al área de Educación Física. Material y método: Participaron un total de 232 alumnos y alumnas, matriculados en seis grupos en los grados de Educación Primaria y Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte. Fueron evaluados en tres cortes, al inicio de la asignatura como evaluación inicial, una segunda como evaluación formativa y al final del semestre como evaluación sumativa. Para la evaluación se utilizó un test de respuesta múltiple de 10 preguntas programado en Socrative y/o Kahoot. El alumnado respondió individualmente a través de sus dispositivos móviles. Para analizar la valoración por parte del alumnado, así como la sugerencia de posibles mejoras, se utilizó una encuesta de satisfacción elaborada por el profesorado. Resultados: Los resultados arrojan que la metodología M-Learning es altamente valorada por el alumnado (85,4%), que la percibe como una herramienta para mejorar el aprendizaje (75,1%) e incrementar su motivación en el aula (82,8%), aunque no su rendimiento académico (49,4%). La repetición y frecuencia de utilización de la aplicación aumentó la asimilación de contenidos en las evaluaciones periódicas (evaluación inicial-final: 5,6 vs 7,6 puntos). Conclusión: Estos datos sugieren la utilidad académica de la metodología M-Learning como favorecedora de la asimilación de contenidos, siendo una herramienta útil para la mejora del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje. Se requieren estudios de corte longitudinal en los que se evalúe esta metodología.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

The impact of the M-learning methodology on university students

Our goal in this paper is to analyse the impact of the implementation of M-Learning methodology on the motivation and assimilation of academic contents. A total of 283 university students participated in our study. They were assessed on two different occasions. For the assessment, a 10-question multiple-answer test set up in the Socrative mobile applications was used. To take into consideration the students’ opinion on the experiment a satisfaction survey was used. The results from the global satisfaction survey show that the M-Learning methodology is perceived as a motivating tool (74.6%) which generates a more pleasant environment in the classroom (71%), increases student satisfaction attending classes (80.5%) and helps students acquire learning contents better (72.5%). The repetition and frequency of use of the application increased the final score in all groups (initial-final assessment: 5.9 vs 7.4 points). Data obtained suggest that the M-Learning methodology as a facilitator of content assimilation is useful in the academic environment and is a useful tool for improving the teaching-learning process tooPeer Reviewe

Variación morfológica y reproductiva de nueve poblaciones naturales de Lupinus campestris Cham. & Schltdl. de la región centro oriente de Puebla, México

El género Lupinus L. (Fabaceae) es de alta calidad nutrimental por su alto porcentaje de proteína en semillas y follaje; útil para la restauración ecológica de suelos degradados por su capacidad para fijar nitrógeno. Para el estudio de diversidad genética existen marcadores; morfológicos y moleculares. El proceso de domesticación y obtención de variedades se basa en la caracterización morfológica del fenotipo, al estudiar la variabilidad morfológica entre diversas poblaciones naturales. El objetivo fue determinar la variación fenotípica, parámetros reproductivos y capacidad de fijación de nitrógeno a través de la reducción de acetileno de nueve poblaciones de L. campestris procedentes en un intervalo altitudinal del centro-oriente de Puebla, México. Se recolectó germoplasma, el cual se propagó en condiciones de invernadero. En la mayoría de las características evaluadas hubo diferencias significativas (p>0.001). La población de Atzitzintla produjo el número mayor de vainas (479), así como en peso total de semillas (22 g). La capacidad de fijación de N2 resultó mayor entre las plántulas procedentes de Tlalmotolo. Se observó variación significativa en las características morfológicas de las plantas y en el potencial reproductivo. En las semillas la variabilidad fue significativa entre y dentro de poblaciones

Initiation of lightning flashes simultaneously observed from space and the ground: Narrow bipolar events

We investigate the initiation of four lightning flashes detected from ground by means of the Colombia Lightning Mapping Array (Colombia-LMA) and simultaneously observed from space by the optical sensors of the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) on board the International Space Station (ISS), the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM), and the Lightning Imaging Sensor on the ISS. The initiations of the flashes are characterized by isolated and predominant optical blue pulses (337.0 nm). In three of the flashes, red emissions (777.4 nm), a dominant line of hot lightning, were not detected during their initiation. In these cases, the initiations were also accompanied by bipolar VLF/LF waveform with a narrow short duration (<40 μs) and VHF emissions with high radio frequency power (<269 kW). The detection of the blue emissions without any red luminosity supports that the fast breakdown processes at the flash initiation can be exclusively of streamer nature. The onset of the fourth flash was associated with both blue and red radiation, and with weak narrow bipolar waveform in VLF/LF and low VHF power. The flashes initiated between the midlevel negative and upper positive charge regions. This paper presents and discusses the first fast breakdown processes observed simultaneously from ground by means a Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) and from space during the onset of lightning flashes.publishedVersio

Clinical Profile and Determinants of Mortality in Patients with Interstitial Lung Disease Admitted for COVID-19.

BACKGROUND Concern has risen about the effects of COVID-19 in interstitial lung disease (ILD) patients. The aim of our study was to determine clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of ILD patients admitted for COVID-19. METHODS Ancillary analysis of an international, multicenter COVID-19 registry (HOPE: Health Outcome Predictive Evaluation) was performed. The subgroup of ILD patients was selected and compared with the rest of the cohort. RESULTS A total of 114 patients with ILDs were evaluated. Mean ± SD age was 72.4 ± 13.6 years, and 65.8% were men. ILD patients were older, had more comorbidities, received more home oxygen therapy and more frequently had respiratory failure upon admission than non-ILD patients (all p < 0.05). In laboratory findings, ILD patients more frequently had elevated LDH, C-reactive protein, and D-dimer levels (all p < 0.05). A multivariate analysis showed that chronic kidney disease and respiratory insufficiency on admission were predictors of ventilatory support, and that older age, kidney disease and elevated LDH were predictors of death. CONCLUSIONS Our data show that ILD patients admitted for COVID-19 are older, have more comorbidities, more frequently require ventilatory support and have higher mortality than those without ILDs. Older age, kidney disease and LDH were independent predictors of mortality in this population.S

Initiation of lightning flashes simultaneously observed from space and the ground: Narrow bipolar events

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).We investigate the initiation of four lightning flashes detected from ground by means of the Colombia Lightning Mapping Array (Colombia-LMA) and simultaneously observed from space by the optical sensors of the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) on board the International Space Station (ISS), the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM), and the Lightning Imaging Sensor on the ISS. The initiations of the flashes are characterized by isolated and predominant optical blue pulses (337.0 nm). In three of the flashes, red emissions (777.4 nm), a dominant line of hot lightning, were not detected during their initiation. In these cases, the initiations were also accompanied by bipolar VLF/LF waveform with a narrow short duration (<40 μs) and VHF emissions with high radio frequency power (<269 kW). The detection of the blue emissions without any red luminosity supports that the fast breakdown processes at the flash initiation can be exclusively of streamer nature. The onset of the fourth flash was associated with both blue and red radiation, and with weak narrow bipolar waveform in VLF/LF and low VHF power. The flashes initiated between the midlevel negative and upper positive charge regions. This paper presents and discusses the first fast breakdown processes observed simultaneously from ground by means a Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) and from space during the onset of lightning flashes. © 2021 The Authors.The UPC contribution: This work was supported by research Grants ESP2013-48032-C5-3-R, ESP2015-69909-C5-5-R and ESP2017-86263-C4-2-R funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”, by the “European Union”; and Grant PID2019-109269RB-C42 funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033. The IAA contribution: This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (AEI) under project PID2019-109269RB-C43 and the FEDER program. FJPI acknowledges the sponsorship provided by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research of Germany through the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. AL was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under European Union Horizon 2020 Framework Programme/ERC Grant Agreement 681257. Authors FJGV, FJPI, and AL acknowledge financial support from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the “Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa” award for the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (SEV- 2017-0709). The UV contribution: This work was supported by research grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER): ESP2013-48032-C5-1-R, ESP2015-69909-C5-1-R and ESP2017-86263-C4-1-R. The UB (University of Bergen) would like to thank the Research Council of Norway under contracts 223252/F50 (CoE). The USP (University of Sao Paulo) contribution: This work was supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)— Print Project (grant number: 88887.370081/2019-00). ASIM is a mission of The European Space Agency (ESA). The project is funded by ESA and by national grants of Denmark, Norway, and Spain. We thank Keraunos(Colombia) for the LINET data.Peer reviewe

Predictors of Response to Exclusive Enteral Nutrition in Newly Diagnosed Crohn´s Disease in Children: PRESENCE Study from SEGHNP

Exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) has been shown to be more effective than corticosteroids in achieving mucosal healing in children with Crohn´s disease (CD) without the adverse effects of these drugs. The aims of this study were to determine the efficacy of EEN in terms of inducing clinical remission in children newly diagnosed with CD, to describe the predictive factors of response to EEN and the need for treatment with biological agents during the first 12 months of the disease. We conducted an observational retrospective multicentre study that included paediatric patients newly diagnosed with CD between 2014–2016 who underwent EEN. Two hundred and twenty-two patients (140 males) from 35 paediatric centres were included, with a mean age at diagnosis of 11.6 ± 2.5 years. The median EEN duration was 8 weeks (IQR 6.6–8.5), and 184 of the patients (83%) achieved clinical remission (weighted paediatric Crohn’s Disease activity index [wPCDAI] 15 mg/L and ileal involvement tended to respond better to EEN. EEN administered for 6–8 weeks is effective for inducing clinical remission. Due to the high response rate in our series, EEN should be used as the first-line therapy in luminal paediatric Crohn’s disease regardless of the location of disease and disease activityS

Constraints on Higgs boson production with large transverse momentum using H →b b ¯ decays in the ATLAS detector

This paper reports constraints on Higgs boson production with transverse momentum above 1 TeV. The analyzed data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV were recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider from 2015 to 2018 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 136 fb-1. Higgs bosons decaying into bb¯ are reconstructed as single large-radius jets recoiling against a hadronic system and are identified by the experimental signature of two b-hadron decays. The experimental techniques are validated in the same kinematic regime using the Z→bb¯ process. The 95% confidence-level upper limit on the cross section for Higgs boson production with transverse momentum above 450 GeV is 115 fb, and above 1 TeV it is 9.6 fb. The Standard Model cross section predictions for a Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV in the same kinematic regions are 18.4 fb and 0.13 fb, respectively