Multi-Agent Systems and Complex Networks: Review and Applications in Systems Engineering

Systems engineering is an ubiquitous discipline of Engineering overlapping industrial, chemical, mechanical, manufacturing, control, software, electrical, and civil engineering. It provides tools for dealing with the complexity and dynamics related to the optimisation of physical, natural, and virtual systems management. This paper presents a review of how multi-agent systems and complex networks theory are brought together to address systems engineering and management problems. The review also encompasses current and future research directions both for theoretical fundamentals and applications in the industry. This is made by considering trends such as mesoscale, multiscale, and multilayer networks along with the state-of-art analysis on network dynamics and intelligent networks. Critical and smart infrastructure, manufacturing processes, and supply chain networks are instances of research topics for which this literature review is highly relevant

LAS EMPRESAS DE BASE TECNOLÓGICA (START-UPS), SINÓNIMO DE INNOVACIÓN, COMPETITIVIDAD E INTANGIBLES. SU IMPORTANCIA EN EL CRECIMIENTO Y DESARROLLO ECONÓMICO. EL CASO DE TABASCO, MÉXICO

Actualmente la innovación tecnológica desempeña un papel fundamental en el mundo empresarial. Esta es la principal característica de las empresas de base tecnológica, más conocidas como Start-ups, mismas que a través de ideas innovadoras y amparadas en las nuevas tecnologías de la comunicación ofrecen soluciones más eficientes a problemas cotidianos, generando empleos y riqueza. Por estas razones, las Start-ups tienen cada vez mayor presencia en el mundo. Por ello se analiza su potencialidad para el desarrollo y crecimiento económico de Tabasco, México. El propósito de la investigación es describir las características de las Start-ups, su potencial para el desarrollo y crecimiento económico y el grado de conocimiento de las mismas, tomando como referencia el personal docente de una institución de educación superior pública. Particularmente, se llevó a cabo una investigación con enfoque cuantitativo y de tipo descriptivo; en su diseño se partió de un universo poblacional constituido por los docentes de la División Académica de Ciencias Económico-Administrativas (DACEA) de la Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT), determinándose un tamaño de muestra de 56 profesores, a quienes se aplicó un cuestionario estructurado a partir del objetivo de la investigación. Los resultados demuestran la potencialidad de las Star-ups para impulsar el desarrollo y crecimiento económico de los países y sus regiones

Biological Efficacy of <em>Trichoderma</em> spp. and <em>Bacillus</em> spp. in the Management of Plant Diseases

This chapter will cover topics about the microbial antagonists Trichoderma spp. and Bacillus spp. from the perspective of use as potential biological control agents on plant diseases. Results obtained in the laboratory about from their isolation, microbial strain collections for both genera, taxonomic identification, antifungal activity in in vitro tests, obtained evaluation of the antifungal effect of secondary metabolites from microbial antagonists will be shown. Besides, results obtained from bioassays in the greenhouse and field are used as biopesticides in the control of diseases in fruit trees and vegetables and their effects on the promotion of plant growth and increased crop yield

Infection by <i>Salmonella enterica</i> Promotes or Demotes Tumor Development

Cancer is a disease that claims the lives of millions of people every year around the world. To date, multiple risk factors that may contribute to its development have been described. In recent years, a factor that has been associated to cancer development is the presence of bacterial infections that could contribute to its occurrence not only by favoring the inflammatory process, but also through the release of proteins that trigger tumorigenesis. One of the bacterial species that have recently generated interest due to its possible role in cancer development is Salmonella enterica. Nevertheless, for more than a decade, attenuated strains of Salmonella enterica have been proposed as a treatment for different neoplasms due to its bacterium tropism for the tumor microenvironment, its oncolytic activity and its ability to activate the innate and adaptive immune responses of the host. These two facets of Salmonella enterica are addressed in detail in this chapter, allowing us to understand its possible role in cancer development and its well-documented antitumor activity

Características y unidimensionalidad de las autolesiones no suicidas en una muestra comunitaria de adolescentes españoles.

Few studies have explored the prevalence and unidimensional structure of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) in Spanish adolescents. Method: In this study, we estimated the prevalence, types, and functions of NSSI in 1,733 Spanish adolescents, and we tested the unidimensional factorial structure of non-suicidal self-injury. Results: 24.6% of the adolescents referred to having self-injured at least once during their lifetime, and 12.7% had self-injured using more severe methods of NSSI. The most frequent types of NSSI were interfering with wounds (14.6%), scratching (12.5%), and hitting (11.7%). We found no differences between genders in NSSI frequency. The majority of the participants who self-injured referred to intrapersonal functions. The confi rmatory factor analyses of the ISAS-I structure showed a single factor with 10 items, thus supporting the unidimensionality of the construct of NSSI. Conclusions: NSSIs refl ect diffi culties in regulating emotions or managing interpersonal relationships in young Spanish people, and these behaviours seem to constitute a unique and latent dimension. Thus, there is a need for intervention programmes focused on managing problems of emotional regulation and maladaptive self-injury behaviours.Antecedentes: muy pocos estudios han explorado la prevalencia y la estructura unidimensional de las autolesiones no suicidas (ANS) –ISAS-I– en adolescentes españoles. Método: en este estudio, estimamos la prevalencia, tipos y funciones de las ANS en 1.733 adolescentes españoles y probamos la estructura factorial unidimensional de las ANS. Resultados: un 24,6% de los adolescentes refi rieron haberse autolesionado al menos una vez en su vida, y un 12,7% se autolesionaron utilizando métodos más graves. Los tipos más frecuentes de ANS fueron interferir en la curación de heridas (14,6%), rascarse (12,5%) y golpearse (11,7%). No encontramos diferencias por género en la frecuencia de las ANS. La mayoría de los participantes que se autolesionaron refi rieron funciones intrapersonales. El análisis factorial confi rmatorio para la estructura de los tipos de ANS mostró un factor único con 10 ítems, apoyando así la unidimensional del constructo de ANS. Conclusiones: las ANS refl ejan difi cultades para regular las emociones o manejar las relaciones interpersonales en los jóvenes españoles y estos comportamientos parecen constituir una dimensión única y latente. Por lo tanto, es necesaria la existencia de programas de intervención enfocados en el manejo de problemas de regulación emocional y de conductas autolesivas no suicidas en este tipo de población.Psicologí

Control and Optimization of Multi-Agent Systems and Complex Networks for Systems Engineering

Systems engineering crosses multiple engineering disciplines for the design, control, and overall management of engineered systems [...

Protective effects of Spirulina maxima on hyperlipidemia and oxidative-stress induced by lead acetate in the liver and kidney

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Oxidative damage has been proposed as a possible mechanism involved in lead toxicity, specially affecting the liver and kidney. Previous studies have shown the antioxidant effect of <it>Spirulina maxima </it>in several experimental models of oxidative stress. The current study was carried out to evaluate the antioxidant activity of <it>Spirulina maxima </it>against lead acetate-induced hyperlipidemia and oxidative damage in the liver and kidney of male rats. Control animals were fed on a standard diet and did not receive lead acetate (Control group). Experimental animals were fed on a standard laboratory diet with or without <it>Spirulina maxima </it>5% in the standard laboratory diet and treated with three doses of lead acetate (25 mg each/weekly, intraperitoneal injection) (lead acetate with <it>Spirulina</it>, and lead acetate without <it>Spirulina </it>groups).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results showed that <it>Spirulina maxima </it>prevented the lead acetate-induced significant changes on plasma and liver lipid levels and on the antioxidant status of the liver and kidney. On the other hand, <it>Spirulina maxima </it>succeeded to improve the biochemical parameters of the liver and kidney towards the normal values of the Control group.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>It was concluded that <it>Spirulina maxima </it>has protective effects on lead acetate-induced damage, and that the effects are associated with the antioxidant effect of <it>Spirulina</it>.</p

Magnetic Properties of Sputtered Permalloy/Molybdenum Multilayers

In this work, we report the magnetic properties of sputtered Permalloy (Py: Ni80Fe20)/molybdenum (Mo) multilayer thin films. We show that it is possible to maintain a low coercivity and a high permeability in thick sputtered Py films when reducing the out-of-plane component of the anisotropy by inserting thin film spacers of a non-magnetic material like Mo. For these kind of multilayers, we have found coercivities which are close to those for single layer films with no out-of-plane anisotropy. The coercivity is also dependent on the number of layers exhibiting a minimum value when each single Py layer has a thickness close to the transition thickness between Neel and Bloch domain walls

A RISC-V simulator and benchmark suite for designing and evaluating vector architectures

Vector architectures lack tools for research. Consider the gem5 simulator, which is possibly the leading platform for computer-system architecture research. Unfortunately, gem5 does not have an available distribution that includes a flexible and customizable vector architecture model. In consequence, researchers have to develop their own simulation platform to test their ideas, which consume much research time. However, once the base simulator platform is developed, another question is the following: Which applications should be tested to perform the experiments? The lack of Vectorized Benchmark Suites is another limitation. To face these problems, this work presents a set of tools for designing and evaluating vector architectures. First, the gem5 simulator was extended to support the execution of RISC-V Vector instructions by adding a parameterizable Vector Architecture model for designers to evaluate different approaches according to the target they pursue. Second, a novel Vectorized Benchmark Suite is presented: a collection composed of seven data-parallel applications from different domains that can be classified according to the modules that are stressed in the vector architecture. Finally, a study of the Vectorized Benchmark Suite executing on the gem5-based Vector Architecture model is highlighted. This suite is the first in its category that covers the different possible usage scenarios that may occur within different vector architecture designs such as embedded systems, mainly focused on short vectors, or High-Performance-Computing (HPC), usually designed for large vectors.This work is partially supported by CONACyT Mexico under Grant No. 472106 and the DRAC project, which is co-financed by the European Union Regional Development Fund within the framework of the ERDF Operational Program of Catalonia 2014-2020 with a grant of 50% of total cost eligible.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Meaning in Life Buffers the Association between Perceived Burdensomeness, Thwarted Belongingness, and Frequency of Non-Suicidal Self-Injuries in Spanish Adolescents.

Background: Adolescence is a developmental stage when there is a high risk of engaging in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). There is recent interest in the study of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensome as variables associated with the frequency of NSSI in adolescents. Meaning in life (MIL) might be negatively associated with thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. To date, no studies have analyzed the buffering role of MIL in the association between thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness and the frequency of lifetime NSSI in Spanish adolescents. Aims: (a) To test whether thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness are associated with frequency of lifetime NSSI; (b) to test whether MIL moderates the association between thwarted belongingness and frequency of lifetime NSSI; and (c) to test whether MIL moderates the association between perceived burdensomeness and frequency of lifetime NSSI. Method: The sample consisted of N = 1531 participants (n = 736, 48.1%, were men, and n = 795, 51.9%, were women) between 12 and 18 years old from Spain. The participants filled out the Inventory of Statements about Self-Injury, Purpose-In-Life Test-Adolescent Version, and Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire. Moderation analyses were performed. Results: No statistically significant differences were found in the frequency of lifetime NSSI in the adolescents based on gender. Thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness were positively associated with the frequency of lifetime NSSI in Spanish adolescents. MIL was a moderating variable between thwarted belongingness and the frequency of lifetime NSSI, and between perceived burdensomeness and the frequency of lifetime NSSI. Conclusions: Thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness might be positively associated with the frequency of lifetime NSSI, and MIL might be negatively associated with the frequency of lifetime NSSI. Thus, adding these variables to current descriptive theories of NSSI in adolescents would allow us to improve assessment and treatment protocols for adolescents with NSSI. Keywords: Spanish adolescents; meaning in life; non-suicidal self-injuries; perceived burdensomeness; thwarted belongingness