Bayesian image reconstruction with space-variant noise suppression

In this paper we present a Bayesian image reconstruction algorithm with entropy prior (FMAPE) that uses a space-variant hyperparameter. The spatial variation of the hyperparameter allows different degrees of resolution in areas of different statistical characteristics, thus avoiding the large residuals resulting from algorithms that use a constant hyperparameter. In the first implementation of the algorithm, we begin by segmenting a Maximum Likelihood Estimator (MLE) reconstruction. The segmentation method is based on using a wavelet decomposition and a self-organizing neural network. The result is a predetermined number of extended regions plus a small region for each star or bright object. To assign a different value of the hyperparameter to each extended region and star, we use either feasibility tests or cross-validation methods. Once the set of hyperparameters is obtained, we carried out the final Bayesian reconstruction, leading to a reconstruction with decreased bias and excellent visual characteristics. The method has been applied to data from the non-refurbished Hubble Space Telescope. The method can be also applied to ground-based images.

Roughness and light scattering of ion-beam-sputtered fluoride coatings for 193 nm

Scattering characteristics of multilayer fluoride coatings for 193 nm deposited by ion beam sputtering and the related interfacial roughnesses are investigated. Quarter- and half-wave stacks of MgF2 and LaF3 with increasing thickness are deposited onto CaF2 and fused silica and are systematically characterized. Roughness measurements carried out by atomic force microscopy reveal the evolution of the power spectral densities of the interfaces with coating thickness. Backward-scattering measurements are presented, and the results are compared with theoretical predictions that use different models for the statistical correlation of interfacial roughnesses.

Continued fraction solution for the radiative transfer equation in three dimensions

Starting from the radiative transfer equation, we obtain an analytical solution for both the free propagator along one of the axes and an arbitrary phase function in the Fourier-Laplace domain. We also find the effective absorption parameter, which turns out to be very different from the one provided by the diffusion approximation. We finally present an analytical approximation procedure and obtain a differential equation that accurately reproduces the transport process. We test our approximations by means of simulations that use the Henyey-Greenstein phase function with very satisfactory results.

A comparison of rapid bioassessment protocols used in 2 regions with Mediterranean climates, the Iberian Peninsula and South Africa

Abstract. The ability of 2 Rapid Bioassessment Protocols (RBPs) to assess stream water quality was compared in 2 Mediterranean-climate regions. The most commonly used RBPs in South Africa (SAprotocol) and the Iberian Peninsula (IB-protocol) are both multihabitat, field-based methods that use macroinvertebrates. Both methods use preassigned sensitivity weightings to calculate metrics and biotic indices. The SA- and IB-protocols differ with respect to sampling equipment (mesh size: 1000 lm vs 250 300 lm, respectively), segregation of habitats (substrate vs flow-type), and sampling and sorting procedures (variable time and intensity). Sampling was undertaken at 6 sites in South Africa and 5 sites in the Iberian Peninsula. Forty-four and 51 macroinvertebrate families were recorded in South Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, respectively; 77.3% of South African families and 74.5% of Iberian Peninsula families were found using both protocols. Estimates of community similarity compared between the 2 protocols were .60% similar among sites in South Africa and .54% similar among sites in the Iberian Peninsula (BrayCurtis similarity), and no significant differences were found between protocols (Multiresponse Permutation Procedure). Ordination based on Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling grouped macroinvertebrate samples on the basis of site rather than protocol. Biotic indices generated with the 2 protocols at each site did not differ. Thus, both RBPs produced equivalent results, and both were able to distinguish between biotic communities (mountain streams vs foothills) and detect water-quality impairment, regardless of differences in sampling equipment, segregation of habitats, and sampling and sorting procedures. Our results indicate that sampling a single habitat may be sufficient for assessing water quality, but a multihabitat approach to sampling is recommended where intrinsic variability of macroinvertebrate assemblages is high (e.g., in undisturbed sites in regions with Mediterranean climates). The RBP of choice should depend on whether the objective is routine biomonitoring of water quality or autecological or faunistic studies.

Cuando Frankenstein encontró a Dorian Gray: dandysmo, post-identidad y sujetos virtuales

The appearance and popularization of the internet has created new forms of writing, which compel us to think anew about identity and subjectivity. Webjournals or blogs are specially interesting because they are a massive phenomenon that use autobiographical writing in a peculiar way. These forms of writing stress a particular paradox of the genre: the coexistence between a purpose of private, confessional and spontaneous writing and a public image, carefully built, as a result of its writing. The technology is new, but, in fact, the paradox is old. This paper tries to explore this old paradox, our eternal condition of cyborgs, our use of technologies in order to construct a public, unique and recognizably identity. In oder to do so, I will try to show the virtual condition of any written individual ¿this issue has already been dealt with by autobiographical studies¿, focusing on blogs, and especially on concrete example (Lord Whimsy¿s Journal). I will pay attention to gender as a technology that constructs identity and, at the same time, is deconstructed by the autobiographical narratives analyzed. In short, I attempt to show that virtual and autobiographical discourse do not bring forth a new kind of subject but the permanence of an old phenomenon "clearly developed by dandyism, for instance¿: the use of tehnologies to re-invent, re-formulate and re-construct us as multiple, hybrid and mixed subjects."

Neuronal nicotinic receptors as new targets foramphetamine-induced oxidative damage and neurotoxicity

Amphetamine derivatives such as methamphetamine (METH) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) are drugs widely abused in a recreational context. This has led to concern because of the evidence that they are neurotoxic in animal models and cognitive impairments have been described in heavy abusers. The main targets of these drugs are plasmalemmal and vesicular monoamine transporters, leading to reverse transport and increased monoamine efflux to the synapse. As far as neurotoxicity is concerned, increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production seems to be one of the main causes. Recent research has demonstrated that blockade of 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) inhibits METH- and MDMA-induced ROS production in striatal synaptosomes which is dependent on calcium and on NO-synthase activation. Moreover, 7 nAChR antagonists (methyllycaconitine and memantine) attenuated in vivo the neurotoxicity induced by METH and MDMA, and memantine prevented the cognitive impairment induced by these drugs. Radioligand binding experiments demonstrated that both drugs have affinity to 7 and heteromeric nAChR, with MDMA showing lower Ki values, while fluorescence calcium experiments indicated that MDMA behaves as a partial agonist on 7 and as an antagonist on heteromeric nAChR. Sustained Ca increase led to calpain and caspase-3 activation. In addition, modulatory effects of MDMA on 7 and heteromeric nAChR populations have been found.

The Uncertain generalized probabilistic weighted average and its application in the theory of expertons

A new model for dealing with decision making under risk by considering subjective and objective information in the same formulation is here presented. The uncertain probabilistic weighted average (UPWA) is also presented. Its main advantage is that it unifies the probability and the weighted average in the same formulation and considering the degree of importance that each case has in the analysis. Moreover, it is able to deal with uncertain environments represented in the form of interval numbers. We study some of its main properties and particular cases. The applicability of the UPWA is also studied and it is seen that it is very broad because all the previous studies that use the probability or the weighted average can be revised with this new approach. Focus is placed on a multi-person decision making problem regarding the selection of strategies by using the theory of expertons.

Cuando Frankenstein encontró a Dorian Gray: dandysmo, post-identidad y sujetos virtuales

The appearance and popularization of the internet has created new forms of writing, which compel us to think anew about identity and subjectivity. Webjournals or blogs are specially interesting because they are a massive phenomenon that use autobiographical writing in a peculiar way. These forms of writing stress a particular paradox of the genre: the coexistence between a purpose of private, confessional and spontaneous writing and a public image, carefully built, as a result of its writing. The technology is new, but, in fact, the paradox is old. This paper tries to explore this old paradox, our eternal condition of cyborgs, our use of technologies in order to construct a public, unique and recognizably identity. In oder to do so, I will try to show the virtual condition of any written individual ¿this issue has already been dealt with by autobiographical studies¿, focusing on blogs, and especially on concrete example (Lord Whimsy¿s Journal). I will pay attention to gender as a technology that constructs identity and, at the same time, is deconstructed by the autobiographical narratives analyzed. In short, I attempt to show that virtual and autobiographical discourse do not bring forth a new kind of subject but the permanence of an old phenomenon "clearly developed by dandyism, for instance¿: the use of tehnologies to re-invent, re-formulate and re-construct us as multiple, hybrid and mixed subjects."

Historias de vida en educación: sujeto, diálogo, experiencia

[spa] En este libro presentamos los trabajos que compartieron en las II Jornadas de Historias de Vida en Educación: Sujeto, Diálogo y Experiencia, (Málaga 9 y 10 de junio, 2011). La diversidad caracteriza el conjunto de los textos, y a veces la contraposición de posiciones ideológicas y conceptuales, lo cual sirve para enriquecer el debate y la reflexión.Los textos se distribuyen en cuatro capítulos: El primero, sobre el sujeto, o relaciones entre sujetos en la investigación. El segundo entorno a cómo las narrativas y las historias de vida pueden convertirse en herramientas para el cambio. El tercero se centra en la entrevista como el espacio de encuentro y de diálogo que tiene lugar en el proceso de investigación. El cuarto y más complejo reúne los textos que hablan de la experiencia como uno de los focos necesarios en los estudios con historias de vida.

Desigualdades de género en la salud relacionadas con lacombinación de la vida laboral y familiar en Cataluña

Objetivos: Los objetivos de este estudio fueron: 1) analizar las desigualdades de género en la salud en la población asalariada, de 25 a 64 años, casada o que vive en pareja en Cataluña y 2) examinar las desigualdades de género en la relación entre las exigencias de la esfera doméstica y familiar, las horas de trabajo remunerado y la salud.Métodos: Los datos proceden de la Encuesta de Salud de Cataluña de 2006 (ESCA 2006). La población analizada fueron hombres y mujeres entre 25 y 64 años, asalariados y que convivían en pareja (N =4.537). Las variables dependientes fueron el estado de salud percibido, la salud mental, el consumo de psicofármacos y las horas de sueño. Las variables explicativas fueron el número de horas de trabajo remunerado, número de personas en el hogar, la convivencia con menores de 12 años, la convivencia con personas entre 65 y 74 años, la convivencia con personas mayores de 74 años y, tener una persona contratada para realizar trabajo doméstico.Resultados: Convivir con menores de 12 años se asoció negativamente con mala salud y con consumo de psicofármacos en las mujeres; que el consumo de psicofármacos en mujeres estaba relacionado positivamente con la convivencia con personas entre 65 y 74 años y con la convivencia con mayores de 74 años (aOR: 2,60; 95% IC: 1,41-4,80 y aOR: 2,93; 95% IC: 1,58-5,44 respectivamente) y en los dos sexos los largos horarios de trabajo se asociaron con problemas de salud mental aunque en mayor proporción en hombres.Conclusión: La combinación de las exigencias familiares y las horas de trabajo remunerado se asocia con diversos indicadores de salud con diferentes patrones en hombres y en mujeres.

Avaluació de la futura gestió i utilització de la biomassa forestal mitjançant un district heating a Bellver de Cerdanya

En aquest article es pretén explicar breument la viabilitat de la futura gestió i utilització de la biomassa forestal de Bellver de Cerdanya mitjançant un district heating al futur barri del Pla de Tomet. Les particularitats per les quals aquest poble és ideal per a aquest projecte són que l'ajuntament és propietari de gairebé un 90% dels boscos situats en aquest municipi; i que alhora ja ha realitzat diverses instal·lacions que utilitzen la biomassa forestal per a calefacció i ACS. La situació econòmica de la comarca és bastant complicada, ja que s'ha basat en el sector turístic i la construcció, però ambdós no passen pel millor moment. El projecte serviria per donar un valor a la biomassa forestal que fins ara no s'ha donat, i alhora s'intenta buscar nous inputs econòmics per a la Cerdanya. En aquest treball també s'analitza quins haurien de ser els futurs tractaments que s'haurien d'aplicar a la forest, tenint en compte les activitats que es realitzen actualment, i evitant en tot moment possibles efectes negatius, com podria ser la sobreexplotació. També es dedica una part del projecte a explicar els sistemes per obtenir i gestionar de forma correcta la biomassa. A continuació es tracta la part més tècnica, realitzant una estimació del possible futur consum energètic del barri del Pla de Tomet, encara no construït; i decidint quins sistema de calderes seria el més adequat, el tipus d’emmagatzematge més apropiat i els passos a seguir per millorar el rendiment del procés de la gestió i extracció de la biomassa. Seguint tots aquests passos s'arriba a la conclusió que aprofitar la biomassa forestal és millor solució que utilitzar combustibles fòssils. A part dels obvis beneficis medi ambientals, també és millor a nivell econòmic, tant pels futurs veïns com per l'ajuntament.

XML y web semántica : estudio del impacto de las aplicaciones comerciales basadas en tecnologías de web semántica

Much has been written about the Semantic Web, on the theory, its possible applications, how to implement it, how to make it effective and commercially attractive ... However, this work aims to be more specific. It is attempted to address a detailed analysis of the technologies that use concepts and tools of the Semantic Web, verifying their actual usefulness, quantifying as far as possible the impact and trying to extrapolate data about its future.It will be an analysis of what the Semantic Web is, how it is defined, which languages are the most appropriate for their development, the commercial applications that can be developed with Semantic Web technology, the applications that are currently running with this technology what kind of deployment of the Semantic Web currently exists, the real use of the Semantic Web technology...

Security in RFID devices

Aquest projecte inclou una aproximació als conceptes de RFID i targetes contactless centrant-se en l’ampliament usat MIFARE Classic chip. L’objectiu principal es mostrar el seu funcionament i les seves vulnerabilitats, així com alguns exemples pràctics fent una anàlisi de diferents serveis que les utilitzen.

Breast cancer incidence and overdiagnosis in Catalonia (Spain)

Introduction: Early detection of breast cancer (BC) with mammography may cause overdiagnosis and overtreatment, detecting tumors which would remain undiagnosed during a lifetime. The aims of this study were: first, to model invasive BC incidence trends in Catalonia (Spain) taking into account reproductive and screening data; and second, to quantify the extent of BC overdiagnosis. Methods: We modeled the incidence of invasive BC using a Poisson regression model. Explanatory variables were: age at diagnosis and cohort characteristics (completed fertility rate, percentage of women that use mammography at age 50, and year of birth). This model also was used to estimate the background incidence in the absence of screening. We used a probabilistic model to estimate the expected BC incidence if women in the population used mammography as reported in health surveys. The difference between the observed and expected cumulative incidences provided an estimate of overdiagnosis. Results: Incidence of invasive BC increased, especially in cohorts born from 1940 to 1955. The biggest increase was observed in these cohorts between the ages of 50 to 65 years, where the final BC incidence rates more than doubled the initial ones. Dissemination of mammography was significantly associated with BC incidence and overdiagnosis. Our estimates of overdiagnosis ranged from 0.4% to 46.6%, for women born around 1935 and 1950, respectively. Conclusions: Our results support the existence of overdiagnosis in Catalonia attributed to mammography usage, and the limited malignant potential of some tumors may play an important role. Women should be better informed about this risk. Research should be oriented towards personalized screening and risk assessment tools.

La inserción de las personas con discapacidad en el trabajo ordinario. El papel de la familia

La colaboración entre familia y profesionales es imprescindible en todos los procesos educativos, sobre todo en aquellos que conllevan una especial dificultad. Actualmente los procesos de transición a la vida adulta son complejos para la mayor ía de los jóvenes, y esta situación afecta especialmente a las personas con discapacidad. En el presente artículo, y sobre la base de las aportaciones de los profesionales que trabajan en los servicios que utilizan la metodología del trabajo con apoyo, analizamos qué aspectos relacionados con el ámbito familiar pueden contribuir a facilitar los procesos de inserción laboral de las personas con discapacidad en contextos ordinarios. Entre otros, la colaboración entre la institución familiar y los servicios y la generación de expectativas realistas respecto a las posibilidades laborales de las personas con discapacidad, se configuran como aspectos esenciales para favorecer la inserción en el mercado laboral ordinario a las personas con discapacidad.