Xarxa social (Swarm)

Aquesta memòria presenta les línies generals que s'han seguit per tal d'implementar una aplicació anomenada SWARM. En aquest document es recullen les bases del nostre projecte utilitzant el llenguatge de programació C# i fent servir altres eines i frameworks per les diferents capes de què consta el projecte, com poden ser Silverlight o WCF.

Wasps (Insecta: Vespida=Hymenoptera) from the Early Cretaceous of Spain.

Wasps and their relatives from the Lower Cretaceous lithographic limestones of Spain have been studied. Thirty specimens representing 30 species (4 of them with undetermined placement), at least 21 genera and 11 families are recorded. We erect 1 new family - Andrenelidae-, 6 new genera and 11 new species: Meiaghilarella cretacica n.gen., n.sp. (Sepulcidae Ghilarellinae), Eosyntexis catalonicus n.sp., Cretosyntexis montsecensis n.gen., n.sp. (Anaxyelidae Syntexinae), Montsecephialtites zherikhini n.gen., n.sp. (Ephialtitidae Ephialtitinae), Karataus hispanicus n.sp. (Ephialtitidae Symphytopterinae), Manlaya ansorge i n.sp. (Gasteruptiidae Baissinae), Andrenelia pennata n.gen., n.sp. (Andrenelidae n. fam.), Cretoserphus gomezi n.gen., n.sp. (Mesoserphidae), Montsecosphex jarzembow skii n.gen., n.sp., Angarosphex penyalveri n.sp., Pompilopterus (?) noguerensis n.sp. (Sphecidae Angarosphecinae), Cretoscolia conquensis n.sp. (Scoliidae Archaeoscoliinae). The Mesozoic family Ephialtitidae is revisited based on the restudy of the type-species. We compare these Spanish Cretaceous assemblages with other ones from various parts of the world: Central and Eastern Asia, England, Australia, and Brazil. The number of genera and families identified in the Spanish fossil-sites is almost the same as in the English Purbeck and Wealden. The absence of some hymenopteran groups as Xyelidae, is consistent with the warm climate know to exist in Spain during the Early Cretaceous. We conclude that both La Cabrúa and La Pedrera assemblages - the two sites that have yielded the greatest number of species- correspond to the Lower Cretaceous"Baissin type" (sensu Rasnitsyn et al., 1998), but including some Jurassic"survivors". La Pedrera assemblage fits equally well in the"angarosphecine subtype", while La Cabrúa roughly corresponds to the"proctotrupid" one, although shows a comparative ly high proportion of angarosphecins. This fact may suggest: a) possibly asynchrony between these two fossilsites, b) environmental differences not reflected in the lithological record, c) different taphonomic processes and/or, d) insufficient sample size - to reflect the reality of the source populations-. La Pedrera assemblage is very similar to those from Weald Clay (England), Bon Tsagan (Mongolia) and Santana (Brazil). La Cabrúa approaches to a some extent, though not quite agrees with the Purbeck (UK), Koonwarra (Australia), and most Lower Cretaceous Asian assemblages.

Transcriptome analyses of primitively eusocial wasps reveal novel insights into the evolution of sociality and the origin of alternative phenotypes

BACKGROUND: Understanding how alternative phenotypes arise from the same genome is a major challenge in modern biology. Eusociality in insects requires the evolution of two alternative phenotypes - workers, who sacrifice personal reproduction, and queens, who realize that reproduction. Extensive work on honeybees and ants has revealed the molecular basis of derived queen and worker phenotypes in highly eusocial lineages, but we lack equivalent deep-level analyses of wasps and of primitively eusocial species, the latter of which can reveal how phenotypic decoupling first occurs in the early stages of eusocial evolution. RESULTS: We sequenced 20 Gbp of transcriptomes derived from brains of different behavioral castes of the primitively eusocial tropical paper wasp Polistes canadensis. Surprisingly, 75% of the 2,442 genes differentially expressed between phenotypes were novel, having no significant homology with described sequences. Moreover, 90% of these novel genes were significantly upregulated in workers relative to queens. Differential expression of novel genes in the early stages of sociality may be important in facilitating the evolution of worker behavioral complexity in eusocial evolution. We also found surprisingly low correlation in the identity and direction of expression of differentially expressed genes across similar phenotypes in different social lineages, supporting the idea that social evolution in different lineages requires substantial de novo rewiring of molecular pathways. CONCLUSIONS: These genomic resources for aculeate wasps and first transcriptome-wide insights into the origin of castes bring us closer to a more general understanding of eusocial evolution and how phenotypic diversity arises from the same genome.

New and revised maimetshid wasps from cretaceous ambers (Hymenoptera, Maimetshidae)

New material of the wasp family Maimetshidae (Apocrita) is presented from four Cretaceous amber de- posits- the Neocomian of Lebanon, the Early Albian of Spain, the latest Albian/earliest Cenomanian of France, and the Campanian of Canada. The new record from Canadian Cretaceous amber extends the temporal and paleogeographical range of the family. New material from France is assignable to Guyote- maimetsha enigmatica Perrichot et al. including the first females for the species, while a series of males and females from Spain are described and figured as Iberomaimetsha Ortega-Blanco, Perrichot & Engel, gen. n., with the two new species Iberomaimetsha rasnitsyni Ortega-Blanco, Perrichot & Engel, sp. n. and I. nihtmara Ortega-Blanco, Delclòs & Engel, sp. n.; a single female from Lebanon is described and figured as Ahiromaimetsha najlae Perrichot, Azar, Nel & Engel, gen. et sp. n., and a single male from Canada is described and figured as Ahstemiam cellula McKellar & Engel, gen. et sp. n. The taxa are compared with other maimetshids, a key to genera and species is given, and brief comments made on the family.

Swarm Intelligent Selection and Optimization of Machining System Parameters for Microchannel Fabrication in Medical Devices

Current technology trends in medical device industry calls for fabrication of massive arrays of microfeatures such as microchannels on to nonsilicon material substrates with high accuracy, superior precision, and high throughput. Microchannels are typical features used in medical devices for medication dosing into the human body, analyzing DNA arrays or cell cultures. In this study, the capabilities of machining systems for micro-end milling have been evaluated by conducting experiments, regression modeling, and response surface methodology. In machining experiments by using micromilling, arrays of microchannels are fabricated on aluminium and titanium plates, and the feature size and accuracy (width and depth) and surface roughness are measured. Multicriteria decision making for material and process parameters selection for desired accuracy is investigated by using particle swarm optimization (PSO) method, which is an evolutionary computation method inspired by genetic algorithms (GA). Appropriate regression models are utilized within the PSO and optimum selection of micromilling parameters; microchannel feature accuracy and surface roughness are performed. An analysis for optimal micromachining parameters in decision variable space is also conducted. This study demonstrates the advantages of evolutionary computing algorithms in micromilling decision making and process optimization investigations and can be expanded to other applications

Landscape context on generalist and specialist aphid natural enemies

Report for the scientific sojourn at the University of Lund, Sweden, between May and September 2007. A landscape-scale research approach has been highlighted by a growing body of literature as essential for understanding important ecosystem services as biological control. Aphids are victims of a diversity of enemies making the aphid-enemy interaction a nice example for the role of enemy diversity for the functioning of biological control. Here it is examined the effects of landscape complexity on cereal aphids and associated natural enemies that varied in the degree of specialization. Parasitoids wasps abundance did not differ between landscape types but was strongly negatively related to the percentage of arable land. In contrast, abundances of generalist predators like Coccinellidae were significantly higher in simple landscapes since can benefit from the high availability of a variety of alternative resources within cropping systems. Consequently coccinellidae-to-aphid ratio was significantly higher in fields in homogenous landscapes as compared to fields included in an heterogeneous landscape, suggesting that enemy pressure on cereal aphids increases with landscape simplification. The landscape effect will depend mainly on the degree of specialization of functionally dominant natural enemies, so that the results imply that conservation actions aiming to optimise abundance for one taxonomic group in the agricultural landscape will not automatically increase abundance of other groups. Given that the strength of natural enemy impact on biocontrol depends on landscape features and the role of functionally dominant natural enemies. So, therefore it is essential to focus the future empirical work in examining the schedule of agricultural landscapes that maintain a diversity of generalist and specialist natural enemies.

Estudi de comportaments socials amb eixams de robots reconfigurables

Els eixams de robots distribuïts representen tot un món de possibilitats al camp de la microrobòtica, però existeixen pocs estudis que n'analitzin els comportaments socials i les interaccions entre robots autònoms distribuïts. Aquests comportaments han de permetre assolir de la manera més efectiva possible un bon resultat. Prenent com a base l'objectiu esmentat, aquest treball detalla diferents polítiques de cerca i de reconfiguració dels robots i estudia els seus comportaments per tal de determinar quins d'ells són més útils per solucionar un problema concret amb les plagues d'erugues i corcs als camps de cigroneres.

Desenvolupament d'eines per l'apliació de l'aprenentatge basat en projectes a l'enginyeria tècnica de telecomunicacions

El projecte d'innovació docent s'emmarca dintre de la línia de treball de l'Escola Politècnica Superior de Castelldefels. Aquesta escola, des de els seus inicis ha destacat per la seva aposta per la innovació docent i l'aplicació de mètodes pedagògics pioners arreu d'Espanya. El sistema d'ensenyament basat en el seguiment individualitzat de l'estudiant, facilitat per una bona relació professor/nombre d'estudiants (grups de 40 o 20 estudiants), l'avaluació continuada, que parteix de les activitats acadèmiques realitzades en una matèria, i l'avaluació curricular, que atén el rendiment global de l'estudiant, fan que el sistema fomenti el treball regular al mateix temps que l'informa en tot moment del seu progrés acadèmic. Per un altre banda, dintre del sistema educatiu de la nostra escola podem destacar l'aplicació de l'Aprenentatge Basat en Projectes (PBL), aplicat inicialment als estudis de Segon Cicle. D'acord amb aquest model, els alumnes aprenen realitzant projectes en grup. Les intervencions del professorat i els materials del curs estan orientats a donar suport a les necessitats dels projectes que es desenvolupen a cada moment. Tot seguint la línia de treball de l'escola i la seva adequació als criteris determinats en el Espai Europeu d'Educació Superior, aquest projecte segueix tres línies d’actuació: (1) incideix en l'aplicació del PBL dintre d'assignatures Optatives i en assignatures de primers cursos de la Titulació d'Enginyeria de Telecomunicacions, (2) estimular l’alumnat, a través de treballs interdisciplinaris i la utilització de les noves tecnologies, (3) generació de documentació adaptada als nous plans d’estudi. Aquestes línies d’actuació es desenvolupen per motivar els alumnes en els estudis d'enginyeria que estan cursant i fer-los veure l'aplicabilitat, en el camp de la recerca, de gran quantitat dels coneixements que van adquirint durant la seva formació dintre de la Universitat.

Estudi de comportaments socials d'aixams robòtics amb aplicació a la neteja d'espais no estructurats

La intel·ligència d’eixams és una branca de la intel·ligència artificial que està agafant molta força en els últims temps, especialment en el camp de la robòtica. En aquest projecte estudiarem el comportament social sorgit de les interaccions entre un nombre determinat de robots autònoms en el camp de la neteja de grans superfícies. Un cop triat un escenari i un robot que s’ajustin als requeriments del projecte, realitzarem una sèrie de simulacions a partir de diferents polítiques de cerca que ens permetran avaluar el comportament dels robots per unes condicions inicials de distribució dels robots i zones a netejar. A partir dels resultats obtinguts serem capaços de determinar quina configuració genera millors resultats.

La Sociedad Geográfica de Madrid y el colonialismo español en Marruecos (1876-1956)

L’objectiu central de l’article és analitzar l’actitud que es manifestà a la Sociedad Geogràfica de Madrid en relació amb l’acció colonial espanyola al Marroc, des del 1876 —any de creació de la Societat— fins al 1956 —independència del Marroc i consegüent finalització del protectorat espanyol—. Així mateix, s’examinen les actuacions que dugué a terme per impulsar l’esmentat procés, els mecanismes que utilitzà per influir en la política exterior i en la societat espanyoles i les repercussions de la seva activitat

Estudi comparatiu de l'algorisme basat en una colònia artificial d'abelles

La finalitat d'aquest projecte és la realització d'un estudi comparatiu de l'algoritme basat en una colònia artificial d'abelles, Artificial Bee Colony (ABC), comparat amb un conjunt d'algoritmes fonamentats en el paradigma de la computació evolutiva. S'utilitzarà l'eficàcia a l'hora d'optimitzar diverses funcions com a mesura comparativa. Els algoritmes amb els quals es comparara l'algoritme ABC són: algoritmes genètics, evolució diferencial i optimització amb eixam de partícules.

In memoriam: Dr. Francesc Abel i Fabre, SJ.

The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy has been impoverished by the loss of Dr. Francesc Abel Fabre, S.J. (1933–2011), one of the founders of bioethics and a long-time member of the Editorial Advisory Board. 2011 brought the death of Dr. Francesc Abel Fabre, S.J., at the age of 78. He was the pioneer of European bioethics. Dr. Abel learned the discipline at Georgetown University, working side by side with the founder and first director of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, André Hellegers, as bioethics itself was coming into existence. He went from this experience to establish the Institute Borja of Bioethics in Catalonia in 1976, the first center of bioethics in Spain and in Europe. Through his scholarship and teaching, he established an influential dialogue in bioethics, as well as ethics committees in hospitals and in research centers. In 1986 he joined in founding the European Association of Centres of Medical Ethics, an organization in which he was involved and participated for the last 25 years. He contributed crucially to bioethics across the world, especially through the International Study Group on Bioethics (1980–1994). He was widely recognized as an outstanding bioethics expert in Latin America.

An Analysis of black-box optimization problems in reinsurance: evolutionary-based approaches

Black-box optimization problems (BBOP) are de ned as those optimization problems in which the objective function does not have an algebraic expression, but it is the output of a system (usually a computer program). This paper is focussed on BBOPs that arise in the eld of insurance, and more speci cally in reinsurance problems. In this area, the complexity of the models and assumptions considered to de ne the reinsurance rules and conditions produces hard black-box optimization problems, that must be solved in order to obtain the optimal output of the reinsurance. The application of traditional optimization approaches is not possible in BBOP, so new computational paradigms must be applied to solve these problems. In this paper we show the performance of two evolutionary-based techniques (Evolutionary Programming and Particle Swarm Optimization). We provide an analysis in three BBOP in reinsurance, where the evolutionary-based approaches exhibit an excellent behaviour, nding the optimal solution within a fraction of the computational cost used by inspection or enumeration methods.

Medicine and Science in a New Medical-surgical Context: The Royal College of Surgery of Barcelona (1760–1843)

Taking the Royal College of Barcelona (1760 -1843) as a case study this paper shows the development of modern surgery in Spain initiated by Bourbon Monarchy founding new kinds of institutions through their academic activities of spreading scientific knowledge. Antoni Gimbernat was the most famousinternationally recognised Spanish surgeon. He was trained as a surgeon at the Royal College of Surgery in Cadiz and was later appointed as professor of theAnatomy in the College of Barcelona. He then became Royal Surgeon of King Carlos IV and with that esteemed position in Madrid he worked resiliently to improve the quality of the Royal colleges in Spain. Learning human bodystructure by performing hands-on dissections in the anatomical theatre has become a fundamental element of modern medical education. Gimbernat favoured the study of natural sciences, the new chemistry of Lavoisier and experimental physics in the academic programs of surgery. According to the study of a very relevant set of documents preserved in the library, the so-called “juntas literarias”, among the main subjects debated in the clinical sessions was the concept of human beings and diseases in relation to the development of the new experimental sciences. These documents showed that chemistry andexperimental physics were considered crucial tools to understand the unexplained processes that occurred in the diseased and healthy human bodyand in a medico-surgical context. It is important to stress that through these manuscripts we can examine the role and the reception of the new sciences applied to healing arts.

Una mirada retrospectiva: de l'Escola Superior de Bibliotecàries a la Facultat de Biblioteconomia i Documentació (1915-2005)

November 2005 marked the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Escola Superior de Bibliotecàries [Superior School of Librarians] of the Mancomunitat de Catalunya, which was the predecessor of the current Facultat de Biblioteconomia i Documentació of the Universitat de Barcelona. This article offers text and images from an exhibit organised by the Facultat in order to commemorate this anniversary. A historic review is provided of different stages marking the evolution of the centre