Uniformly reweighted belief propagation for distributed Bayesian hypothesis testing

Belief propagation (BP) is a technique for distributed inference in wireless networks and is often used even when the underlying graphical model contains cycles. In this paper, we propose a uniformly reweighted BP scheme that reduces the impact of cycles by weighting messages by a constant ?edge appearance probability? rho ? 1. We apply this algorithm to distributed binary hypothesis testing problems (e.g., distributed detection) in wireless networks with Markov random field models. We demonstrate that in the considered setting the proposed method outperforms standard BP, while maintaining similar complexity. We then show that the optimal ? can be approximated as a simple function of the average node degree, and can hence be computed in a distributed fashion through a consensus algorithm.

Does the natural "microcosm" created by Tuber aestivum affect soil microarthropods? A new hypothesis based on Collembola in truffle culture

microarthropods play an important role in fungi dispersion, but little is still known about the interaction between truffle and soil microarthropods. The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of the truffle Tuber aestivum to modify soil biogeochemistry (i.e. create a zone of scarce vegetation around the host plant, called a burn or brûlé) and to highlight the effects of the brûlé on the soil fauna community. We compared soil microarthropod communities found in the soil inside versus outside the T. aestivum brûlé with the chemistry of soil collected inside versus outside the brûlé. The study was carried out in three Mediterranean areas, two in Italy and one in Spain. The results confirmed the ability of T. aestivum to modify soil biogeochemistry in the brûlé: pH was higher and total organic carbon tended to be lower inside the brûlé compared to outside. Soil fauna communities showed some interesting differences. Some groups, such as Symphyla and Pauropoda, adapted well to the soil; some Collembolan families, and biodiversity and soil quality indices were generally higher outside the brûlé. Folsomia sp. showed higher abundance in the soil of the brûlé compared to outside. The results suggest that some Collembola groups may be attracted by the fungal metabolites produced by T. aestivum, while other Collembola and other microarthropods may find an unfavourable environment in the soil of the brûlé. The next steps will be to confirm this hypothesis and to extend the study to other keys groups such as nematodes and earthworms and to link fluctuations of soil communities with the biological phases of truffle growth.

Parameter-based mechanism for unifying user interaction, applications and communication protocols

In the smart building control industry, creating a platform to integrate different communication protocols and ease the interaction between users and devices is becoming increasingly important. BATMP is a platform designed to achieve this goal. In this paper, the authors describe a novel mechanism for information exchange, which introduces a new concept, Parameter, and uses it as the common object among all the BATMP components: Gateway Manager, Technology Manager, Application Manager, Model Manager and Data Warehouse. Parameter is an object which represents a physical magnitude and contains the information about its presentation, available actions, access type, etc. Each component of BATMP has a copy of the parameters. In the Technology Manager, three drivers for different communication protocols, KNX, CoAP and Modbus, are implemented to convert devices into parameters. In the Gateway Manager, users can control the parameters directly or by defining a scenario. In the Application Manager, the applications can subscribe to parameters and decide the values of parameters by negotiating. Finally, a Negotiator is implemented in the Model Manager to notify other components about the changes taking place in any component. By applying this mechanism, BATMP ensures the simultaneous and concurrent communication among users, applications and devices.

El vacío colonizador : vivienda y espacio público en los poblados de colonización de Valuengo y La Bazana de Alejandro de la Sota

El legado de una época, una situación social y unos criterios arquitectónicos, aparecen recogidos en el conjunto de edificios y en la trama urbana, de los pueblos de colonización de La Bazana y Valuengo (Jerez de los Caballeros, Badajoz, 1954), proyectados por Alejandro de la Sota durante la etapa en la que trabajó de forma externa para el Instituto Nacional de Colonización (INC). Al inicio de esta investigación no se habían realizado análisis en profundidad ni valoraciones críticas de su arquitectura, ni eran objeto de estudio en los ambientes universitarios, siendo prácticamente desconocidos para el conjunto de la profesión, que solía tomar como referencia de esta etapa de la arquitectura de Alejandro de la Sota para el INC, el poblado de Esquivel, en Sevilla, profusamente publicitado. Aunque en los últimos tiempos se han elaborado tesis en las Escuelas de Arquitectura abordando el tema de la colonización agraria en España en la década de los 50, los poblados de colonización en Extremadura o la arquitectura de Alejandro de la Sota para el INC, la presente tesis se aleja de la visión global unificadora o biográfica, para centrarse en el estudio monográfico de un objeto arquitectónico singular. El trabajo pretende documentar, estudiar, analizar y poner en valor, estas obras enclavadas en la arquitectura española de la década de los 50, denominados por su propio autor como “pueblos todo de plazas”, donde la arquitectura surge como respuesta a una realidad territorial, social y cultural, y a unas estrictas imposiciones prefijadas, que se resuelven teniendo como punto de partida las condiciones materiales y culturales del lugar en el que se ubican, para concluir planteando interpretaciones y lecturas que incorporan la tradición, pero que trascienden a ella. La metodología empleada consiste en un trabajo de documentación y análisis del objeto arquitectónico en tres fases: proyecto, obra construida y estado actual. En cada una de las fases se realiza un trabajo de campo consistente en la recopilación de la documentación original y en la elaboración de una nueva documentación gráfica, en base a los estudios y análisis realizados. El cotejo entre los datos obtenidos de los proyectos, las obras inicialmente construidas y el estado actual, darán como resultado un material de análisis inédito, que junto con la bibliografía incluida en el trabajo y los anexos que contienen la documentación original recabada sobre las obras en los organismos e instituciones que la custodian, ofrecen una interpretación más precisa de la realidad arquitectónica de estos pueblos, dejando el estudio abierto a nuevas vías de investigación que profundicen en la hipótesis del espacio vacío como organizador y colonizador del paisaje. ABSTRACT The legacy of an age, a social situation and a group of architectural criteria, appears reflected in the group of buildings and the urban design of colonization villages La Bazana and Valuengo (Jerez de los Caballeros, Badajoz, 1954), designed by Alejandro de la Sota during the time that he was working externally to the National Institute of Colonization(INC). At the beginning of this investigation they had not been analyzed or critically evaluated in depth and not even were being studied in university circles and for this reason were practically unknown to the profession, who used as a reference of this architecture period of Alejandro de la Sota for the INC, the colonization village of Esquivel in Seville, widely publicized. Although recently some doctoral thesis have been elaborated in the Architecture Schools about the topic of rural colonization in Spain in the 50s, the colonization villages in Extremadura or the architecture by Alejandro de la Sota for the INC, this thesis wants to get away from unifying or biographical overview, in order to centre the study about a singular architectural object. The work expects to document, study, analyze and push the value of this architectural pieces nestled in the Spanish architecture of 50s,and that were named by their author as “squares-villages”, where the architecture appears like answer to a territorial, social and culture reality, and a strict program impositions by the INC, which are solved by the architect taking as a starting point the material and cultural conditions from the place where are situated, to conclude with a interpretations and readings which incorporate the tradition and transcend it. The methodology used consists in documenting and analyzing work about the architectonic object in three stages: project, building and present state. In every stage, we make a field work in order to compile the original documents and at the same time a new graphical documentation is developed with the studies and analysis that were made before. The information about the projects, the architecture built at the beginning of the process, and the current state were compared and achieved an unpublished material which together with the bibliography and original documents, collected in the organizations and institutions that guard them, offer a more accurate interpretation about the architectural reality of these villages, leaving the study open for a new research which could go into detail about the hypothesis of urban empty space as element for colonize and organize the landscape.