Generating time series reference models based on event analysis

Creating a reference model that represents a given set of time series is a relevant problem as it can be applied to a wide range of tasks like diagnosis, decision support, fraud detection, etc. In some domains, like seismography or medicine, the relevant information contained in the time series is concentrated in short periods of time called events. In this paper, we propose a technique for generating time series reference models based on the analysis of the events they contain. The proposed technique has been applied to time series from two medical domains: Electroencephalography, a neurological procedure to record the electrical activity produced by the brain and Stabilometry, a branch of medicine studying balance-related functions in human beings

Deberes de los seres humanos frente a los derechos de los animales

The question about the treatment that human beings must give to animals has been current since the emergence of the first civilizations. Whereas some societies develop thinking schemes in which the role of these beings was to serve human needs, another ones, from its origins, have regarded that all being, whether human or not, ought to be respected. Nowadays it is a common attitude to asume that animals are only means in order to satisfy, from the most elementary to the most trivial human needs. The food industry takes the lives of thousand of marine as well as terrestrial animalas every single day in order to supply the excesive demand of meat consumption. In the field of biomedical, industrial and military reserach, it is estimated that between 50 and 60 millions are used yearly in order to carry out laboratory experiments The traffic of wild species stolen from its hábitat, poaching for sporting or comercial purposes, runs and shows with aquatic animals among others, as well as the irresponsible abandonment of dogs and cats, which causes the overpopulation of these species. Not to mention the impact that the way of life of people has, where it is estimated that in a short period of time a considerable percentage of the species will have dissapeared from the planet. The foregoing makes evident the reification of the animal, where its value is determined by the benefit and economic retribution it represents for human beings. These forms of abuse and instrumentalization denote the absence of any moral questioning that makes these attitudes permisible. But, above all, the lack of respect for animals that leads to kill and make a large number of them suffer. The present investigation has as purpose to offer a perspective about if the human beings have duties with respect to the rights of the animals and if so, to what rights and duties is appealed. For this, three of the most representatives positions of the current debate have been analyzed: Tom Reagan’s deontological position, Peter Singer’s utilitarian one and and the one proposed by Martha Nussbaum the so called capacities approach. In addition to addressing other related issues such as Nature’s rights, as well as going through into the west’s philosophical and religious discourse in search of dissenting voices that since ancient times have contributed to build, along with some eastern doctrines, the tradition of respect toward animals.La pregunta por el trato que los seres humanos deben dar a los animales ha estado presente desde el surgimiento de las primeras civilizaciones. Mientras que algunas sociedades desarrollaron esquemas de pensamiento en los que el papel de estos seres era servir a las necesidades humanas, otras, desde sus orígenes, han considerado que todo ser, humano o no humano, debía ser respetado. Asumir que los animales son medios para satisfacer las necesidades humanas desde las más elementales hasta las más triviales es una actitud común en la actualidad. La industria alimenticia toma cada día la vida de miles de animales marinos y terrestres para abastecer la demanda excesiva del consumo de carne. En el ámbito de la investigación biomédica, industrial y militar, se calcula que entre 50 y 60 millones son utilizados cada año para llevar a cabo experimentos de laboratorio. El tráfico de especies salvajes sustraídas de su hábitat, la caza furtiva con fines deportivos o comerciales, las corridas y los espectáculos con animales acuáticos entre otros, así como el abandono irresponsable de perros y gatos, que provoca la sobrepoblación de estas especies. Sin dejar de mencionar el impacto que tiene la forma de vida de las personas, donde se calcula que en poco tiempo un porcentaje considerable de las especies habrán desaparecido del planeta. Lo anterior hace evidente la cosificación del animal, en donde su valor está determinado por el beneficio y la retribución económica que representa para los seres humanos. Estas formas de maltrato e instrumentalización denotan la ausencia de algún cuestionamiento moral que hace permisibles estas actitudes. Pero, sobre todo, la falta de respeto por los animales que conduce a matar y a hacer sufrir a un gran número de éstos. La presente investigación tiene como fin ofrecer una perspectiva en torno a, si los seres humanos tienen deberes respecto a los derechos de los animales y de ser así, a qué tipo de derechos y deberes se apela. Para ello, se han analizado tres de las posturas más representativas del debate actual: la postura deontológica de Tom Regan, la utilitarista de Peter Singer y el enfoque de las capacidades que propone Martha Nussbaum. Además de abordar otras cuestiones relacionadas como los derechos de la Naturaleza, y hacer un recorrido dentro del discurso filosófico y religioso de occidente en busca de voces disidentes que desde los tiempos antiguos han ayudado a construir, junto con algunas doctrinas orientales la tradición de respeto hacia los animales

Green's functions for far-side seismic images: a polar expansion approach

We have computed seismic images of magnetic activity on the far surface of the Sun by using a seismic-holography technique. As in previous works, the method is based on the comparison of waves going in and out of a particular point in the Sun but we have computed here the Green's functions from a spherical polar expansion of the adiabatic wave equations in the Cowling approximation instead of using the ray-path approximation previously used in the far-side holography. A comparison between the results obtained using the ray theory and the spherical polar expansion is shown. We use the gravito-acoustic wave equation in the local plane-parallel limit in both cases and for the latter we take the asymptotic approximation for the radial dependencies of the Green's function. As a result, improved images of the far-side can be obtained from the polar-expansion approximation, especially when combining the Green's functions corresponding to two and three skips. We also show that the phase corrections in the Green's functions due to the incorrect modeling of the uppermost layers of the Sun can be estimated from the eigenfrequencies of the normal modes of oscillation.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, Astrophysical Journal, accepted (2010