Measurement of Social Capital and Growth: an Economic Methodology

This paper develops a measure of social capital based on economic relationships and analyzes its effects on growth. Investment in social capital is modeled by using the conceptual framework for measuring physical capital services. The measure of social capital depends on expectations of income, its investment cost, inequality in society, the density of trust networks, the size of the social network and the rate of depreciation of social capital. With this methodology a database is constructed for 23 OECD countries covering the period 1970-2001 and the positive effect of social capital on economic growth is tested.Social capital, Investment, Social networks, Economic Growth

FPGA Implementations Comparison of Neuro-cortical Inspired Convolution Processors for Spiking Systems

Image convolution operations in digital computer systems are usually very expensive operations in terms of resource consumption (processor resources and processing time) for an efficient Real-Time application. In these scenarios the visual information is divided in frames and each one has to be completely processed before the next frame arrives. Recently a new method for computing convolutions based on the neuro-inspired philosophy of spiking systems (Address-Event-Representation systems, AER) is achieving high performances. In this paper we present two FPGA implementations of AERbased convolution processors that are able to work with 64x64 images and programmable kernels of up to 11x11 elements. The main difference is the use of RAM for integrators in one solution and the absence of integrators in the second solution that is based on mapping operations. The maximum equivalent operation rate is 163.51 MOPS for 11x11 kernels, in a Xilinx Spartan 3 400 FPGA with a 50MHz clock. Formulations, hardware architecture, operation examples and performance comparison with frame-based convolution processors are presented and discussed.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TEC2006-11730-C03-02Junta de Andalucía P06-TIC-0141

On the AER Convolution Processors for FPGA

Image convolution operations in digital computer systems are usually very expensive operations in terms of resource consumption (processor resources and processing time) for an efficient Real-Time application. In these scenarios the visual information is divided into frames and each one has to be completely processed before the next frame arrives in order to warranty the real-time. A spike-based philosophy for computing convolutions based on the neuro-inspired Address-Event- Representation (AER) is achieving high performances. In this paper we present two FPGA implementations of AER-based convolution processors for relatively small Xilinx FPGAs (Spartan-II 200 and Spartan-3 400), which process 64x64 images with 11x11 convolution kernels. The maximum equivalent operation rate that can be reached is 163.51 MOPS for 11x11 kernels, in a Xilinx Spartan 3 400 FPGA with a 50MHz clock. Formulations, hardware architecture, operation examples and performance comparison with frame-based convolution processors are presented and discussed.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TEC2006-11730-C03-02Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TEC2009-10639-C04-02Junta de Andalucía P06-TIC-0141

AER tools for Communications and Debugging

Address-event-representation (AER) is a communications protocol for transferring spikes between bio-inspired chips. Such systems may consist of a hierarchical structure with several chips that transmit spikes among them in real time, while performing some processing. To develop and test AER based systems it is convenient to have a set of instruments that would allow to: generate AER streams, monitor the output produced by neural chips and modify the spike stream produced by an emitting chip to adapt it to the requirements of the receiving elements. In this paper we present a set of tools that implement these functions developed in the CAVIAR EU projectUnión Europea IST-2001-34124 (CAVIAR)Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIC-2003-08164-C03-0

Interacción del patógeno humano Bacillus cereus con plantas de interés agronómico

Uno de los grandes retos de la industria agroalimentaria es reducir los continuos casos de intoxicaciones alimentarias causadas por el consumo de frutas y verduras contaminadas con patógenos de humanos, y las consecuentes pérdidas económicas. Bacillus cereus es una bacteria patógena de humanos responsable de intoxicaciones alimentarias que en ocasiones pueden ser letales. El ciclo de vida de esta bacteria se caracteriza por la formación de biopelículas y la esporulación. Las biopelículas son comunidades de bacterias difíciles de erradicar, y para su formación las bacterias ensamblan una matriz extracelular formada principalmente por exopolisacáridos y proteínas. En este trabajo, nos planteamos estudiar las bases moleculares que dirigen la formación de biopelículas en B. cereus, y su posible implicación en la interacción con diferentes plantas hortofrutícolas. Para ello, nos hemos centrado en el análisis de los componentes estructurales de la matriz extracelular, y más concretamente en posibles adhesinas de naturaleza proteica. B. cereus tiene dos ortólogos del gen tasa de B. subtilis que codifica para una proteína que polimeriza en la forma de fibras amiloides y es indispensable para la formación de las biopelículas. Mediante estudios de expresión heteróloga demostramos que el alelo de tasA de B. cereus rescata la formación de biopelículas de una cepa de B. subtilis que carece de su propio tasA. De la misma forma, un mutante de B. cereus en este alelo presenta un fenotipo defectuoso en la formación de biopelículas tanto in vitro como en la interacción con plantas. Finalmente estudios bioquímicos y morfológicos preliminares de esta proteína apuntan a su naturaleza tipo amiloide como su ortólogo de B. subtilis.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Response to fungal exudates of the rhizosphere isolate Pseudomonas sp. UMAF110 involves a GGDEF/EAL domain-containing protein

Pseudomonas sp. UMAF110, isolated from rhizosphere soil in Spain, display in vitro antagonism towards the pythopathogenic fungus Rosellinia necatrix and is able grow in fungal exudates (BM-RE medium). A transposon mutant library of this strain was constructed and several mutants were selected by their reduced competitiveness in BM-RE medium. Pseudomonas sp. UMAF110-G3, which contains the transposon into a gene encoding a putative REC/PAS/GGDEF/EAL protein, was selected for further characterization. Blastn searches using the sequence of the gene interrupted by the transposon in UMAF110-G3, here called cmpA (c-di-GMP Metabolizing Protein), yielded a single positive hit (98% cover, 78% identity) with a gene from a terpene-degrading Pseudomonas sp. strain isolated from soil. Context analysis of the cmpA gene in Pseudomonas sp. UMAF110 showed that this gene is located downstream from several genes involved in flagellar motility/chemotaxis. RT-PCR experiments further confirmed that cmpA form a transcriptional unit with the che gene cluster. Expression analysis of cmpA by qRT-PCR clearly showed upregulation of this gene after transfer of Pseudomonas sp. UMAF110 cells to BM-RE medium, suggesting a role for this operon in response to fungal exudates. Deletion of cmpA in Pseudomonas sp. UMAF110 did not affect the ability of the strain to form biofilms under the conditions tested. However, overexpression of wild type CmpA in Pseudomonas putida KT2440 negatively regulated biofilm formation in this strain. Together, these results suggest that CmpA could be involved in signal transduction pathways regulating flagellar motility/chemotaxis in response to fungal exudates.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Tools for Address-Event-Representation Communication Systems and Debugging

Address-Event-Representation (AER) is a communications protocol for transferring spikes between bio-inspired chips. Such systems may consist of a hierarchical structure with several chips that transmit spikes among them in real time, while performing some processing. To develop and test AER based systems it is convenient to have a set of instruments that would allow to: generate AER streams, monitor the output produced by neural chips and modify the spike stream produced by an emitting chip to adapt it to the requirements of the receiving elements. In this paper we present a set of tools that implement these functions developed in the CAVIAR EU project.European Commission IST-2001-34124Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIC-2003-08164-C03-0

Integrating analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and balanced scorecard (BSC) framework for sustainable business in a software factory in the financial sector

This work has been subsidized through the Plan of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Principality of Asturias (Ref: FC-15-GRUPIN14-132). The authors also thank anonymous referees who reviewed and gave important comments to this paper

The pivotal functionality of the amyloid protein TasA in bacillus physiology and fitness

Biofilms are complex bacterial communities formed on any virtual surface and composed of cells embedded in an extracellular matrix. Studies on Bacillus subtilis have demonstrated this tissue-like structure comprised of diverse exopolymeric substances (eps) including exopolysaccharides, the protein BslA, and TasA and TapA the two main components of the amyloid fibers that confer robustness to the architecture of the biofilm. It has been demonstrated that the genetic pathways involved in formation of biofilms are active in the interaction of B. subtilis with plant surfaces. Indeed, we previously showed that surfactin acts as a self-trigger of biofilm in the plant phylloplane, which connected with the suppressive activity of B. subtilis against phytopathogenic fungi. These findings led us to hypothesize a major contribution of the extracellular matrix in the ecology of B. subtilis in the poorly explore plant phylloplane. In this work, we show that the amyloid protein TasA has a meaningful role in adhesion and biofilm formation over the plant phylloplane, however, despite the inability of the tasA mutant to form a biofilm, it still retained a similar antagonistic activity compared to the wild type strain. An in-depth transcriptomic analysis of the mutant led us to find unexpected variations in the expression levels of over 300 genes, including the overexpression of: i) production of acetoin ii) secondary metabolites and non-ribosomal peptides iii) eps and other biofilm-related components and iv) general stress, among others. These findings suggested that besides the structural role, TasA might have a regulatory function on the physiological stage of the cells. Indeed, an allele of TasA unable to restore biofilm formation allowed us to separate both functions, supporting the importance of this functional amyloid in regulating bacterial physiology and fitness.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Integration of Balanced Scorecard (BSC), strategy map, and Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) for a sustainability business framework: A case study of a Spanish software factory in the financial sector

This work has been subsidized through the Plan of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Principality of Asturias (Ref: FC-15-GRUPIN14-132). The authors also thank anonymous referees who reviewed and gave important comments to this pape