PERSONAL(ONTO) : Personalizing the Learning Process in Virtual Environments by means of Adaptive Formative Itineraries based on Reusable Learning Objects and Ontologies TIN2006-15107-C02

Personalization in e-learning allows the adaptation of contents, learning strategiesand educational resources to the competencies, previous knowledge or preferences of the student. This project takes a multidisciplinary perspective for devising standards-based personalization capabilities into virtual e-learning environments, focusing on the conceptof adaptive learning itinerary, using reusable learning objects as the basis of the system and using ontologies and semantic web technologies.

Nuclear relaxation contribution to static and dynamic (infinite frequency approximation) nonlinear optical properties by means of electrical property expansions: Application to HF, CH4, CF4, and SF6

Electrical property derivative expressions are presented for the nuclear relaxation contribution to static and dynamic (infinite frequency approximation) nonlinear optical properties. For CF4 and SF6, as opposed to HF and CH4, a term that is quadratic in the vibrational anharmonicity (and not previously evaluated for any molecule) makes an important contribution to the static second vibrational hyperpolarizability of CF4 and SF6. A comparison between calculated and experimental values for the difference between the (anisotropic) Kerr effect and electric field induced second-harmonic generation shows that, at the Hartree-Fock level, the nuclear relaxation/infinite frequency approximation gives the correct trend (in the series CH4, CF4, SF6) but is of the order of 50% too small

A comparative analysis by means of quantum molecular similarity measures of density distributions derived from conventional ab initio and density functional methods

A procedure based on quantum molecular similarity measures (QMSM) has been used to compare electron densities obtained from conventional ab initio and density functional methodologies at their respective optimized geometries. This method has been applied to a series of small molecules which have experimentally known properties and molecular bonds of diverse degrees of ionicity and covalency. Results show that in most cases the electron densities obtained from density functional methodologies are of a similar quality than post-Hartree-Fock generalized densities. For molecules where Hartree-Fock methodology yields erroneous results, the density functional methodology is shown to yield usually more accurate densities than those provided by the second order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory

Tandem chimeric transcription as a means to increase protein diversity in the human genome

The “one-gene, one-protein” rule, coined by Beadle and Tatum, has been fundamental to molecular biology. The rule implies that the genetic complexity of an organism depends essentially on its gene number. The discovery, however, that alternative gene splicing and transcription are widespread phenomena dramatically altered our understanding of the genetic complexity of higher eukaryotic organisms; in these, a limited number of genes may potentially encode a much larger number of proteins. Here we investigate yet another phenomenon that may contribute to generate additional protein diversity. Indeed, by relying on both computational and experimental analysis, we estimate that at least 4%–5% of the tandem gene pairs in the human genome can be eventually transcribed into a single RNA sequence encoding a putative chimeric protein. While the functional significance of most of these chimeric transcripts remains to be determined, we provide strong evidence that this phenomenon does not correspond to mere technical artifacts and that it is a common mechanism with the potential of generating hundreds of additional proteins in the human genome.

Non-invasive monitoring of diaphragmatic timing by means of surface contact sensors: an experimental study in dogs

Background: Non-invasive monitoring of respiratory muscle function is an area of increasing research interest, resulting in the appearance of new monitoring devices, one of these being piezoelectric contact sensors. The present study was designed to test whether the use of piezoelectric contact (non-invasive) sensors could be useful in respiratory monitoring, in particular in measuring the timing of diaphragmatic contraction.Methods: Experiments were performed in an animal model: three pentobarbital anesthetized mongrel dogs. The motion of the thoracic cage was acquired by means of a piezoelectric contact sensor placed on the costal wall. This signal is compared with direct measurements of the diaphragmatic muscle length, made by sonomicrometry. Furthermore, to assess the diaphragmatic function other respiratory signals were acquired: respiratory airflow and transdiaphragmatic pressure. Diaphragm contraction time was estimated with these four signals. Using diaphragm length signal as reference, contraction times estimated with the other three signals were compared with the contraction time estimated with diaphragm length signal.Results: The contraction time estimated with the TM signal tends to give a reading 0.06 seconds lower than the measure made with the DL signal (-0.21 and 0.00 for FL and DP signals, respectively), with a standard deviation of 0.05 seconds (0.08 and 0.06 for FL and DP signals, respectively). Correlation coefficients indicated a close link between time contraction estimated with TM signal and contraction time estimated with DL signal (a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.98, a reliability coefficient of 0.95, a slope of 1.01 and a Spearman's rank-order coefficient of 0.98). In general, correlation coefficients and mean and standard deviation of the difference were better in the inspiratory load respiratory test than in spontaneous ventilation tests.Conclusion: The technique presented in this work provides a non-invasive method to assess the timing of diaphragmatic contraction in canines, using a piezoelectric contact sensor placed on the costal wall.

An inequality for uniform deviations of sample averages from their means

We derive a new inequality for uniform deviations of averages from their means. The inequality is a common generalization of previous results of Vapnik and Chervonenkis (1974) and Pollard (1986). Usingthe new inequality we obtain tight bounds for empirical loss minimization learning.

Improving electricity market price scenarios by means of forecasting factor models

In liberalized electricity markets, generation Companies must build an hourly bidthat is sent to the market operator. The price at which the energy will be paid is unknown during the bidding process and has to be forecast. In this work we apply forecasting factor models to this framework and study its suitability.

On the artificial creation of the EL2 center by means of boron implantation in gallium arsenide

In the present work, an analysis of the dark and optical capacitance transients obtained from Schottky Au:GaAs barriers implanted with boron has been carried out by means of the isothermal transient spectroscopy (ITS) and differential and optical ITS techniques. Unlike deep level transient spectroscopy, the use of these techniques allows one to easily distinguish contributions to the transients different from those of the usual deep trap emission kinetics. The results obtained show the artificial creation of the EL2, EL6, and EL5 defects by the boron implantation process. Moreover, the interaction mechanism between the EL2 and other defects, which gives rise to the U band, has been analyzed. The existence of a reorganization process of the defects involved has been observed, which prevents the interaction as the temperature increases. The activation energy of this process has been found to be dependent on the temperature of the annealing treatment after implantation, with values of 0.51 and 0.26 eV for the as‐implanted and 400 °C annealed samples, respectively. The analysis of the optical data has corroborated the existence of such interactions involving all the observed defects that affect their optical parameters

Amplification and displacement of chaotic attractors by means of unidirectional chaotic driving

Chaotic systems, when used to drive copies of themselves (or parts of themselves) may induce interesting behaviors in the driven system. In case the later exhibits invariance under amplification or translation, they may show amplification (reduction), or displacement of the attractor. It is shown how the behavior to be obtained is implied by the symmetries involved. Two explicit examples are studied to show how these phenomena manifest themselves under perfect and imperfect coupling.

Extending Learning Objects by Means of Social Networking

Learning objects have been the promise of providing people with high quality learning resources. Initiatives such as MIT Open-CourseWare, MERLOT and others have shown the real possibilities of creating and sharing knowledge through Internet. Thousands of educational resources are available through learning object repositories. We indeed live in an age of content abundance, and content can be considered as infrastructure for building adaptive and personalized learning paths, promoting both formal and informal learning. Nevertheless, although most educational institutions are adopting a more open approach, publishing huge amounts of educational resources, the reality is that these resources are barely used in other educational contexts. This paradox can be partly explained by the dificulties in adapting such resources with respect to language, e-learning standards and specifications and, finally, granularity. Furthermore, if we want our learners to use and take advantage of learning object repositories, we need to provide them with additional services than just browsing and searching for resources. Social networks can be a first step towards creating an open social community of learning around a topic or a subject. In this paper we discuss and analyze the process of using a learning object repository and building a social network on the top of it, with respect to the information architecture needed to capture and store the interaction between learners and resources in form of learning object metadata.

Early diagnosis of osteoporosis by means of orthopantomograms and oral x-rays: a systematic review

Osteoporosis is a systemic bone disease that is characterized by a generalized reduction of the bone mass. It is the main cause of fractures in elderly women. Bone densitometry is used in the lumbar spine and hip in order to detect osteoporosis in its early stages. Different studies have observed a correlation between the bone mineral density of the jaw (BMD) and that of the lumbar spine and/or hip. On the other hand, there are studies that evaluate the findings in the orthopantomograms and perapical X-rays, correlating them with the early diagnosis of osteoporosis and highlighting the role of the dentist in the early diagnosis of this disease. Materials and methods: A search was carried out in the Medline-Pubmed database in order to identify those articles that deal with the association between the X-ray findings observed in the orthopantomograms and the diagnosis of the osteoporosis, as well as those that deal with the bone mineral density of the jaw. Results: There were 406 articles, and with the limits established, this number was reduced to 21. Almost all of the articles indicate that when examining oral X-rays, it is possible to detect signs indicative of osteoporosis. Discussion: The radiomorphometric indices use measurements in orthopantomograms and evaluate possible loss of bone mineral density. They can be analyzed alone or along with the visual indices. In the periapical X-rays, the photodensimetric analyses and the trabecular pattern appear to be the most useful. There are seven studies that analyze the densitometry of the jaw, but only three do so independently of the photodensitometric analysis. Conclusions: The combination of mandibular indices, along with surveys on the risk of fracture, can be useful as indicators of early diagnosis of osteoporosis. Visual and morphometric indices appear to be especially important in the orthopantomograms. Photodensitometry indices and the trabecular pattern are used in periapical X-rays. Studies on mandibular dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry are inconclusive

An expression of mixed animal model equations to account for different means and variances in the base population

This paper presents a general expression to predict breeding values using animal models when the base population is selected, i.e. the means and variances of breeding values in the base generation differ among individuals. Rules for forming the mixed model equations are also presented. A numerical example illustrates the procedure.