Facing-up Challenges of Multiobjective Clustering Based on Evolutionary Algorithms: Representations, Scalability and Retrieval Solutions

Aquesta tesi es centra en algorismes de clustering multiobjectiu, que estan basats en optimitzar varis objectius simultàniament obtenint una col•lecció de solucions potencials amb diferents compromisos entre objectius. El propòsit d'aquesta tesi consisteix en dissenyar i implementar un nou algorisme de clustering multiobjectiu basat en algorismes evolutius per afrontar tres reptes actuals relacionats amb aquest tipus de tècniques. El primer repte es centra en definir adequadament l'àrea de possibles solucions que s'explora per obtenir la millor solució i que depèn de la representació del coneixement. El segon repte consisteix en escalar el sistema dividint el conjunt de dades original en varis subconjunts per treballar amb menys dades en el procés de clustering. El tercer repte es basa en recuperar la solució més adequada tenint en compte la qualitat i la forma dels clusters a partir de la regió més interessant de la col•lecció de solucions ofertes per l’algorisme.Esta tesis se centra en los algoritmos de clustering multiobjetivo, que están basados en optimizar varios objetivos simultáneamente obteniendo una colección de soluciones potenciales con diferentes compromisos entre objetivos. El propósito de esta tesis consiste en diseñar e implementar un nuevo algoritmo de clustering multiobjetivo basado en algoritmos evolutivos para afrontar tres retos actuales relacionados con este tipo de técnicas. El primer reto se centra en definir adecuadamente el área de posibles soluciones explorada para obtener la mejor solución y que depende de la representación del conocimiento. El segundo reto consiste en escalar el sistema dividiendo el conjunto de datos original en varios subconjuntos para trabajar con menos datos en el proceso de clustering El tercer reto se basa en recuperar la solución más adecuada según la calidad y la forma de los clusters a partir de la región más interesante de la colección de soluciones ofrecidas por el algoritmo.This thesis is focused on multiobjective clustering algorithms, which are based on optimizing several objectives simultaneously obtaining a collection of potential solutions with different trade¬offs among objectives. The goal of the thesis is to design and implement a new multiobjective clustering technique based on evolutionary algorithms for facing up three current challenges related to these techniques. The first challenge is focused on successfully defining the area of possible solutions that is explored in order to find the best solution, and this depends on the knowledge representation. The second challenge tries to scale-up the system splitting the original data set into several data subsets in order to work with less data in the clustering process. The third challenge is addressed to the retrieval of the most suitable solution according to the quality and shape of the clusters from the most interesting region of the collection of solutions returned by the algorithm

Association Among Polyphenol Intake, Uric Acid, and Hyperuricemia: A CrossSectional Analysis in a Population at High Cardiovascular Risk

Dietary polyphenol intake has been associated with a decreased risk of hyperuricemia, but most of this knowledge comes from preclinical studies. The aim of the present study was to assess the association of the intake of different classes of polyphenols with serum uric acid and hyperuricemia. This cross- sectional analysis involved baseline data of 6332 participants. Food polyphenol con- tent was estimated by a validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire and from the Phenol-Explorer database. Multivariable-adjusted linear regression models with serum uric acid (milligrams per deciliter) as the outcome and polyphenol intake (quintiles) as the main independent variable were fitted. Cox regression models with constant follow-up time (t=1) were performed to estimate the prevalence ratios (PRs) of hyperuricemia (≥7 mg/dL in men and ≥6 mg/dL in women). An inverse association between the intake of the phenolic acid class (β coefficient, −0.17 mg/dL for quintile 5 versus quintile 1 [95% CI, −0.27 to −0.06]) and hydroxycinnamic acids (β coefficient, −0.19 [95% CI, −0.3 to −0.09]), alkylmethoxyphenols (β coefficient, −0.2 [95% CI, −0.31 to −0.1]), and methoxyphenols (β coefficient, −0.24 [95% CI, −0.34 to −0.13]) subclasses with serum uric acid levels and hyperuricemia (PR, 0.82 [95% CI, 0.71– 0.95]; PR, 0.82 [95% CI, 0.71– 0.95]; PR, 0.80 [95% CI, 0.70– 0.92]; and PR, 0.79 [95% CI, 0.69– 0.91]; respectively) was found. The intake of hydroxybenzoic acids was directly and significantly as- sociated with mean serum uric acid levels (β coefficient, 0.14 for quintile 5 versus quintile 1 [95% CI, 0.02– 0.26]) but not with hyperuricemia

A chemical survey of exoplanets with ARIEL

Thousands of exoplanets have now been discovered with a huge range of masses, sizes and orbits: from rocky Earth-like planets to large gas giants grazing the surface of their host star. However, the essential nature of these exoplanets remains largely mysterious: there is no known, discernible pattern linking the presence, size, or orbital parameters of a planet to the nature of its parent star. We have little idea whether the chemistry of a planet is linked to its formation environment, or whether the type of host star drives the physics and chemistry of the planet’s birth, and evolution. ARIEL was conceived to observe a large number (~1000) of transiting planets for statistical understanding, including gas giants, Neptunes, super-Earths and Earth-size planets around a range of host star types using transit spectroscopy in the 1.25–7.8 μm spectral range and multiple narrow-band photometry in the optical. ARIEL will focus on warm and hot planets to take advantage of their well-mixed atmospheres which should show minimal condensation and sequestration of high-Z materials compared to their colder Solar System siblings. Said warm and hot atmospheres are expected to be more representative of the planetary bulk composition. Observations of these warm/hot exoplanets, and in particular of their elemental composition (especially C, O, N, S, Si), will allow the understanding of the early stages of planetary and atmospheric formation during the nebular phase and the following few million years. ARIEL will thus provide a representative picture of the chemical nature of the exoplanets and relate this directly to the type and chemical environment of the host star. ARIEL is designed as a dedicated survey mission for combined-light spectroscopy, capable of observing a large and well-defined planet sample within its 4-year mission lifetime. Transit, eclipse and phase-curve spectroscopy methods, whereby the signal from the star and planet are differentiated using knowledge of the planetary ephemerides, allow us to measure atmospheric signals from the planet at levels of 10–100 part per million (ppm) relative to the star and, given the bright nature of targets, also allows more sophisticated techniques, such as eclipse mapping, to give a deeper insight into the nature of the atmosphere. These types of observations require a stable payload and satellite platform with broad, instantaneous wavelength coverage to detect many molecular species, probe the thermal structure, identify clouds and monitor the stellar activity. The wavelength range proposed covers all the expected major atmospheric gases from e.g. H2O, CO2, CH4 NH3, HCN, H2S through to the more exotic metallic compounds, such as TiO, VO, and condensed species. Simulations of ARIEL performance in conducting exoplanet surveys have been performed – using conservative estimates of mission performance and a full model of all significant noise sources in the measurement – using a list of potential ARIEL targets that incorporates the latest available exoplanet statistics. The conclusion at the end of the Phase A study, is that ARIEL – in line with the stated mission objectives – will be able to observe about 1000 exoplanets depending on the details of the adopted survey strategy, thus confirming the feasibility of the main science objectives.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Fruit and Vegetable Consumption is Inversely Associated with Plasma Saturated Fatty Acids at Baseline in Predimed Plus Trial

I.D.-L. is supported by the [FI_B 00256] from the FI-AGAUR Research Fellowship Program, Generalitat de Catalunya and M.M.-M is supported by the FPU17/00513 grant. a.-H. is supported by the [CD17/00122] grant and S.K.N. is supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Fellowship. We also thank all the volunteers for their participation in and the personnel for their contribution to the PREDIMED-Plus trial. This research was funded by CiCYT [AGL2016-75329-R] and CIBEROBN from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, ISCIII from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades, (AEI/FEDER, UE), Generalitat de Catalunya (GC) [2017SGR196]. The PREDIMED-Plus trial was supported by the official Spanish Institutions for funding scientific biomedical research, CIBER Fisiopatologia de la Obesidad y Nutricion (CIBERobn) and Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), through the Fondo de Investigacion para la Salud (FIS), which is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (four coordinated Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias projects lead by J.S.-S. and J.V., including the following projects: PI13/00673, PI13/00492, PI13/00272, PI13/01123, PI13/00462, PI13/00233, PI13/02184, PI13/00728, PI13/01090, PI13/01056, PI14/01722, PI14/00636, PI14/00618, PI14/00696, PI14/01206, PI14/01919, PI14/00853, PI14/01374, PI14/00972, PI14/00728, PI14/01471, PI16/00473, PI16/00662, PI16/01873, PI16/01094, PI16/00501, PI16/00533, PI16/00381, PI16/00366, PI16/01522, PI16/01120, PI17/00764, PI17/01183, PI17/00855, PI17/01347, PI17/00525, PI17/01827, PI17/00532, PI17/00215, PI17/01441, PI17/00508, PI17/01732, PI17/00926 and PI19/00781), the Especial Action Project entitled Implementacion y evaluacion de una intervencion intensiva sobre la actividad fisica Cohorte PREDIMED-Plus grant to J.S.-S., European Research Council (Advanced Research Grant 2014-2019, 340918) to M.a.M.-G., the Recercaixa grant to J.S.-S. (2013ACUP00194), grants from the Consejeria de Salud de la Junta de Andalucia (PI0458/2013, PS0358/2016, and PI0137/2018), a grant from the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2017/017), a SEMERGEN grant, Fundacio la Marato de TV3 (PI044003), 2017 SGR 1717 from Generalitat de Catalunya, a CICYT grant provided by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades (AGL2016-75329-R), and funds from the European Regional Development Fund (CB06/03 and CB12/03). Food companies Hojiblanca (Lucena, Spain) and Patrimonio Comunal Olivarero (Madrid, Spain) donated extra virgin olive oil, and the Almond Board of California (Modesto, CA, USA), American Pistachio Growers (Fresno, CA, USA), and Paramount Farms (Wonderful Company, LLC, Los Angeles, CA, USA) donated nuts. J.K. was supported by the "FOLIUM" program within the FUTURMed project entitled Talent for the medicine within the future from the Fundacio Institut d'Investigacio Sanitaria Illes Balears. This call was co-financed at 50% with charge to the Operational Program FSE 2014-2020 of the Balearic Islands. This work is partially supported by ICREA under the ICREA Academia programme to J.S.-S.Scope: Plasma fatty acids (FAs) are associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases and metabolic syndrome. The aim of our study is to assess the relationship between fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption and plasma FAs and their subtypes. Methods and Results: Plasma FAs are assessed in a cross-sectional analysis of a subsample of 240 subjects from the PREDIMED-Plus study. Participants are categorized into four groups of fruit, vegetable, and fat intake according to the food frequency questionnaire. Plasma FA analysis is performed using gas chromatography. Associations between FAs and F&V consumption are adjusted for age, sex, physical activity, bodymass index (BMI), total energy intake, and alcohol consumption. Plasma saturated FAs are lower in groups with high F&V consumption (-1.20 mg cL−1 [95% CI: [-2.22, - 0.18], p-value = 0.021), especially when fat intake is high (-1.74 mg cL−1 [95% CI: [-3.41, -0.06], p-value = 0.042). Total FAs and n-6 polyunsaturated FAs tend to be lower in high consumers of F&V only in the high-fat intake groups. Conclusions: F&V consumption is associated with lower plasma saturated FAs when fat intake is high. These findings suggest that F&V consumption may have different associations with plasma FAs depending on their subtype and on the extent of fat intake.Generalitat de Catalunya FI_B 00256Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)Consejo Interinstitucional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CICYT)European Commission AGL2016-75329-RCIBEROBN from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III ISCIII from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades, (AEI/FEDER, UE)Generalitat de Catalunya 2017SGR196CIBER Fisiopatologia de la Obesidad y Nutricion (CIBERobn)Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), through the Fondo de Investigacion para la Salud (FIS)European Commission PI13/00673 PI13/00492 PI13/00272 PI13/01123 PI13/00462 PI13/00233 PI13/02184 PI13/00728 PI13/01090 PI13/01056 PI14/01722 PI14/00636 PI14/00618 PI14/00696 PI14/01206 PI14/01919 PI14/00853 PI14/01374Especial Action Project entitled Implementacion y evaluacion de una intervencion intensiva sobre la actividad fisica Cohorte PREDIMED-Plus grantEuropean Research Council (ERC) European Commission 340918Recercaixa grant 2013ACUP00194Junta de Andalucia PI0458/2013 PS0358/2016 PI0137/2018Generalitat Valenciana European Commission PROMETEO/2017/017SEMERGEN grant, Fundacio la Marato de TV3 PI044003Generalitat de Catalunya 2017 SGR 1717Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades AGL2016-75329-R"FOLIUM" program within the FUTURMed project within Fundacio Institut d'Investigacio Sanitaria Illes BalearsICREA under the ICREA Academia programmeThe European Regional Development Fund PI17/01347 PI17/00525 PI17/01827 PI17/00532 PI17/00215 PI17/01441 PI17/00508 PI17/01732 PI17/00926 PI19/00781 CB06/03 CB12/03European Commission PI14/00972 PI14/00728 PI14/01471 PI16/00473 PI16/00662 PI16/01873 PI16/01094 PI16/00501 PI16/00533 PI16/00381 PI16/00366 PI16/01522 PI16/01120 PI17/00764 PI17/01183 PI17/00855 FPU17/00513 CD17/0012

Validación de Competencias en Titulaciones Universitarias Usando Minería de Datos

Nowadays the successful acquisition of competences is the base for the achievement of the professional skills and, consequently, the educational methodologies need to be reconsidered. This work describes a methodological procedure proposed to help educational experts to assess if the competences developed in a degree program are really acquired by the student. Due to the huge amount of information, this analysis is addressed through Data Mining techniques. The procedure has been successfully tested in the Computer Engineering and in the Telecommunication Engineering degrees of our institution. The analysis of results allowed experts to identify some non promoted competences

Análisis de titulaciones universitarias basadas en competencias mediante una técnica de clustering evolutiva multiobjetivo

Las competencias son la piedra angular en base a la cual giran los modelos educativos en la actualidad y, por ello, el correcto estudio de su relación entre las asignaturas y la manera como son evaluadas es fundamental para adaptar las titulaciones al nuevo Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior. Este trabajo plantea el uso de técnicas de clustering multiobjetivo para el análisis de las relaciones anteriores

Toward high performance solution retrieval in multiobjective clustering

The massive generation of unlabeled data of current industrial applications has attracted the interest of data mining practitioners. Thus, retrieving novel and useful information from these volumes of data while decreasing the costs of manipulating such amounts of information is a major issue. Multiobjective clustering algorithms are able to recognize patterns considering several objective function which is crucial in real-world situations. However, they dearth from a retrieval system for obtaining the most suitable solution, and due to the fact that the size of Pareto set can be unpractical for human experts, autonomous retrieval methods are fostered. This paper presents an automatic retrieval system for handling Pareto-based multiobjective clustering problems based on the shape of the Pareto set and the quality of the clusters. The proposed method is integrated in CAOS, a scalable and flexible framework, to test its performance. Our approach is compared to classic retrieval methods that only consider individual strategies by using a wide set of artificial and real-world datasets. This filtering approach is evaluated under large data volumes demonstrating its competence in clustering problems. Experiments support that the proposal overcomes the accuracy and significantly reduces the computational time of the solution retrieval achieved by the individual strategie

Dietary polyphenol intake is associated with HDL-cholesterol and a better profile of other components of the metabolic syndrome: a PREDIMED-Plus sub-study

Dietary polyphenol intake is associated with improvement of metabolic disturbances. The aims of the present study are to describe dietary polyphenol intake in a population with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and to examine the association between polyphenol intake and the components of MetS. This cross-sectional analysis involved 6633 men and women included in the PREDIMED (PREvención con DIeta MEDiterranea-Plus) study. The polyphenol content of foods was estimated from the Phenol-Explorer 3.6 database. The mean of total polyphenol intake was 846 ± 318 mg/day. Except for stilbenes, women had higher polyphenol intake than men. Total polyphenol intake was higher in older participants (>70 years of age) compared to their younger counterparts. Participants with body mass index (BMI) >35 kg/m2 reported lower total polyphenol, flavonoid, and stilbene intake than those with lower BMI. Total polyphenol intake was not associated with a better profile concerning MetS components, except for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), although stilbenes, lignans, and other polyphenols showed an inverse association with blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, and triglycerides. A direct association with HDL-c was found for all subclasses except lignans and phenolic acids. To conclude, in participants with MetS, higher intake of several polyphenol subclasses was associated with a better profile of MetS components, especially HDL-c.The PREDIMED-Plus trial was supported by official Spanish institutions for funding scientific biomedical research, CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn) and Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), through the Fondo de Investigación para la Salud (FIS), which is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (four coordinated FIS projects led by J.S.-S. and J.Vi., including the following projects: PI13/00673, PI13/00492, PI13/00272, PI13/01123, PI13/00462, PI13/00233, PI13/02184, PI13/00728, PI13/01090, PI13/01056, PI14/01722, PI14/00636, PI14/00618, PI14/00696, PI14/01206, PI14/01919, PI14/00853, PI14/01374, PI14/00972, PI14/00728, PI14/01471, PI16/00473, PI16/00662, PI16/01873, PI16/01094, PI16/00501, PI16/00533, PI16/00381, PI16/00366, PI16/01522, PI16/01120, PI17/00764, PI17/01183, PI17/00855, PI17/01347, PI17/00525, PI17/01827, PI17/00532, PI17/00215, PI17/01441, PI17/00508, PI17/01732, and PI17/00926), the Special Action Project entitled: Implementación y evaluación de una intervención intensiva sobre la actividad física Cohorte PREDIMED-Plus grant to J.S.-S., the Recercaixa grant to J.S.-S. (2013ACUP00194), a grant from the Fundació la Marató de TV3 (PI044003), grants from the Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía (PI0458/2013, PS0358/2016, and PI0137/2018),grants from the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2017/017, APOSTD/2019/136), a SEMERGEN grant, a CICYT grant provided by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (AGL2016-75329-R) and funds from the European Regional Development Fund (CB06/03). The Spanish Ministry of Science Innovation and Universities for the Formación de Profesorado Universitario (FPU17/00785) contract. Food companies Hojiblanca (Lucena, Spain) and Patrimonio Comunal Olivarero (Madrid, Spain) donated extra virgin olive oil, and the Almond Board of California (Modesto, CA), American Pistachio Growers (Fresno, CA), and Paramount Farms (Wonderful Company, LLC, Los Angeles, CA) donated nuts. This call is co-financed at 50% with charge to the Operational Program FSE 2014-2020 of the Balearic Islands