Population genetic structure and demography analysis in palinurus elephas populations from atlantic and mediterranean waters

Report for the scientific sojourn at the University of Reading, United Kingdom, from January until May 2008. The main objectives have been firstly to infer population structure and parameters in demographic models using a total of 13 microsatellite loci for genotyping approximately 30 individuals per population in 10 Palinurus elephas populations both from Mediterranean and Atlantic waters. Secondly, developing statistical methods to identify discrepant loci, possibly under selection and implement those methods using the R software environment. It is important to consider that the calculation of the probability distribution of the demographic and mutational parameters for a full genetic data set is numerically difficult for complex demographic history (Stephens 2003). The Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC), based on summary statistics to infer posterior distributions of variable parameters without explicit likelihood calculations, can surmount this difficulty. This would allow to gather information on different demographic prior values (i.e. effective population sizes, migration rate, microsatellite mutation rate, mutational processes) and assay the sensitivity of inferences to demographic priors by assuming different priors.

An efficient use of virtualization in grid/cloud environments

Grid is a hardware and software infrastructure that provides dependable, consistent, pervasive, and inexpensive access to high-end computational resources. Grid enables access to the resources but it does not guarantee any quality of service. Moreover, Grid does not provide performance isolation; job of one user can influence the performance of other user’s job. The other problem with Grid is that the users of Grid belong to scientific community and the jobs require specific and customized software environment. Providing the perfect environment to the user is very difficult in Grid for its dispersed and heterogeneous nature. Though, Cloud computing provide full customization and control, but there is no simple procedure available to submit user jobs as in Grid. The Grid computing can provide customized resources and performance to the user using virtualization. A virtual machine can join the Grid as an execution node. The virtual machine can also be submitted as a job with user jobs inside. Where the first method gives quality of service and performance isolation, the second method also provides customization and administration in addition. In this thesis, a solution is proposed to enable virtual machine reuse which will provide performance isolation with customization and administration. The same virtual machine can be used for several jobs. In the proposed solution customized virtual machines join the Grid pool on user request. Proposed solution describes two scenarios to achieve this goal. In first scenario, user submits their customized virtual machine as a job. The virtual machine joins the Grid pool when it is powered on. In the second scenario, user customized virtual machines are preconfigured in the execution system. These virtual machines join the Grid pool on user request. Condor and VMware server is used to deploy and test the scenarios. Condor supports virtual machine jobs. The scenario 1 is deployed using Condor VM universe. The second scenario uses VMware-VIX API for scripting powering on and powering off of the remote virtual machines. The experimental results shows that as scenario 2 does not need to transfer the virtual machine image, the virtual machine image becomes live on pool more faster. In scenario 1, the virtual machine runs as a condor job, so it easy to administrate the virtual machine. The only pitfall in scenario 1 is the network traffic.

Aplicación de la ingeniería software sobre la herramienta MATE Analyzer

MATE (Monitoring, Analysis and Tuning Environment) es un proyecto que surge en 2004 como tesis doctoral de Anna Sikora con el propósito de investigar la mejora de rendimiento de aplicaciones paralelas a través de la modificación dinámica. Nuestro proyecto supone un paso adelante en cuestiones de calidad de software y pretende dotar al proyecto MATE de una base de desarrollo sólida de cara a futuras lineas de trabajo. Para ello se hace frente a la problemática desde tres perspectivas: la creación de una metodología de desarrollo (y su aplicación sobre el proyecto existente), la implantación de un entorno de desarrollo de soporte y el desarrollo de nuevas características para favorecer la portabilidad y la usabilidad, entre otros aspectos.

Aplicación de la ingeniería del software sobre la herramienta MATE : application controller

Este proyecto tiene como objetivo crear y aplicar una metodología a una aplicación llamada MATE que fue creada en en el año 2003 por Anna Sikora para su tesis doctoral. Se trata de dotar el proyecto MATE de las herramientas necesarias para garantizar su evolución. La metodología creada consta de la especificación de un entorno de trabajo y una serie de documentos que detallan los procesos relativos al desarrollo de MATE. Además se han creado algunas nuevas características que hacen de MATE una herramienta más completa y cómoda.

Open to the users' needs : combining user-centered design, standards and open source software

This case study introduces our continuous work to enhance the virtual classroom in order to provide faculty and students with an environment open to their needs, compliant with learning standards and, therefore compatible with other e-learning environments, and based on open source software. The result is a modulable, sustainable and interoperable learning environment that can be adapted to different teaching and learning situations by incorporating the LMS integrated tools as well as wikis, blogs, forums and Moodle activities among others.

Adaptive business intelligence for an open negotiation environment

Engineering of negotiation model allows to develop effective heuristic for business intelligence. Digital ecosystems demand open negotiation models. To define in advance effective heuristics is not compliant with the requirement of openness. The new challenge is to develop business intelligence in advance exploiting an adaptive approach. The idea is to learn business strategy once new negotiation model rise in the e-market arena. In this paper we present how recommendation technology may be deployed in an open negotiation environment where the interaction protocol models are not known in advance. The solution we propose is delivered as part of the ONE Platform, open source software that implements a fully distributed open environment for business negotiation

A distributed environment for virtual and/or real experiments for underwater robots

This paper presents the distributed environment for virtual and/or real experiments for underwater robots (DEVRE). This environment is composed of a set of processes running on a local area network composed of three sites: 1) the onboard AUV computer; 2) a surface computer used as human-machine interface (HMI); and 3) a computer used for simulating the vehicle dynamics and representing the virtual world. The HMI can be transparently linked to the real sensors and actuators dealing with a real mission. It can also be linked with virtual sensors and virtual actuators, dealing with a virtual mission. The aim of DEVRE is to assist engineers during the software development and testing in the lab prior to real experiments

A programming environment having three levels of complexity for mobile robotics = Entorno de programación con tres niveles de complejidad para robótica móvil

This paper presents a programming environment for supporting learning in STEM, particularly mobile robotic learning. It was designed to maintain progressive learning for people with and without previous knowledge of programming and/or robotics. The environment was multi platform and built with open source tools. Perception, mobility, communication, navigation and collaborative behaviour functionalities can be programmed for different mobile robots. A learner is able to programme robots using different programming languages and editor interfaces: graphic programming interface (basic level), XML-based meta language (intermediate level) or ANSI C language (advanced level). The environment supports programme translation transparently into different languages for learners or explicitly on learners’ demand. Learners can access proposed challenges and learning interfaces by examples. The environment was designed to allow characteristics such as extensibility, adaptive interfaces, persistence and low software/hardware coupling. Functionality tests were performed to prove programming environment specifications. UV BOT mobile robots were used in these tests

VariScan Software

VariScan is a software package for the analysis of DNA sequence polymorphisms at the whole genome scale. Among other features, the software:(1) can conduct many population genetic analyses; (2) incorporates a multiresolution wavelet transform-based method that allows capturing relevant information from DNA polymorphism data; and (3) it facilitates the visualization of the results in the most commonly used genome browsers.

Implantación del sistema VLE Moodle para la Escuela Internacional de Medios Audiovisuales (EIMA) : Administración de web y de comercio electrónico en entornos de software libre

Implantación de un virtual learning environment (VLE), en concreto Moodle, para la Escuela Internacional de Medios Audiovisuales (EIMA).

Concurrent : Easy to use Python computing environment

Concurrent aims to be a different type of task distribution system compared to what MPI like system do. It adds a simple but powerful application abstraction layer to distribute the logic of an entire application onto a swarm of clusters holding similarities with volunteer computing systems. Traditional task distributed systems will just perform simple tasks onto the distributed system and wait for results. Concurrent goes one step further by letting the tasks and the application decide what to do. The programming paradigm is then totally async without any waits for results and based on notifications once a computation has been performed.

A Virtual Mathematics Learning Environment for Engineering Students

Teachers of the course Introduction to Mathematics for Engineers at the UOC, an online distance-learning university, have designed and produced online study material which includes basic pre-university mathematics, instructions for correct follow-up of this content and recommendations for finding appropiate support and complementary materials.

Interactive Calculus in a Virtual Learning Environment

The teaching of higher level mathematics for technical students in a virtual learningenvironment poses some difficulties, but also opportunities, now specific to that virtuality.On the other hand, resources and ways to do now manly available in VLEs might soon extend to all kinds of environments.In this short presentation we will discuss anexperience carried at Universitat Oberta deCatalunya (UOC) involving (an on line university), first, the translation of LaTeX written existent materials to a web based format(specifically, a combination of XHTML andMathML), and then the integration of a symbolic calculator software (WIRIS) running as a Java applet embedded in the materials, intending to achieve an evolution from memorising concepts and repetitive algorithms to understanding and experiment concepts and the use of those algorithms.

Aplicaciones digitales con software libre para City Branding de Valledupar

El uso de las TIC se ha masificado dentro del ámbito del turismo convirtiéndose en herramienta fundamental y un aliado para llegar a conquistar turistas para los diferentes destinos que se promocionan a través de aplicaciones moviles o de website.Cada vez más las entidades turísticas o las empresas recurren a las tecnologías de la información, en particular Internet, como medio para promocionar sus productos y servicios turísticos. Estas nuevas tecnologías han cambiado el concepto de vida de personas en cuanto a la consulta de precio y rapidez de información de los diferentes servicios turísticos.En Valledupar se debe: aprovechar la tendencia mundial al rescate de los valores auténticos, el medio ambiente y las comunidades indígenas a través de diferentes modalidades de turismo: Ecoturismo, etnoturismo, agroturismo, cultural, religioso, compras, aventura, salud, deportivo, ciudad capital. Se debe ampliar el conocimiento del territorio municipal y de los valores autóctonos. Mediante uso de software libre y de código abierto se pueden crear soluciones para fortalecer la promoción del sector turístico de la ciudad de Valledupar.