Reliability and quality in the area of statistical thinking in Engineering

There is remarkable growing concern about the quality control at the time, which has led to the search for methods capable of addressing effectively the reliability analysis as part of the Statistic. Managers, researchers and Engineers must understand that 'statistical thinking' is not just a set of statistical tools. They should start considering 'statistical thinking' from a 'system', which means, developing systems that meet specific statistical tools and other methodologies for an activity. The aim of this article is to encourage them (engineers, researchers and managers) to develop a new way of thinking.

Physical properties of peanuts related to harvesting mecanization.

This study on the mechanical properties of peanuts intended complete information on the suitability to mechanize the varieties that had been of interest in the production tests made in Valencia (Spain). The results obtained established the basis for a breeding program.

Space-time analysis of the urban-rural grafient in the metropolitan area of Madrid and ist surroundings -Guadalajara and Toledo.

According to UN provisions in the period from 2007 to 2050 world population will grow up to 9200 million people. In fact, for the first time in history, in the year 2008 world urban population became higher than rural population. The increase of urban areas and their transport infrastructures has influenced agricultural land use due to their irreversible change, especially when they remain as periurban vacant land, losing their character and identity. In the Europe of the nineties, the traditional urban-rural gradient, characterized by a neat contact between both land types, has become so complex that it has change to a gradient in which it is difficult to separate urban and rural land uses. [Antrop 2004]. A literature review has been made on methodologies used for the urban-rural gradient analysis. One of these methodologies was selected that integrates ecological characterization based on the use of spatial metrics and geographical characterization based on spatial components. Cartographical sources used were Corine Land Cover at 1: 100000 scale and the Spanish Land Use Information System at 1:25000 scale. Urban-rural gradient paradigm is an analysis methodology, coming from landscape ecology, which enables to investigate how urbanization provokes changes in ecological patterns and processes into landscape. [Hahs and McDonnell 2006].The present research adapt this methodology to study the urban-rural gradient in the outskirts of Madrid, Toledo and Guadalajara. Both scales (1:25000 and 1:100000) were simultaneously used to reach the next objectives: 1) Analysis of landscape pattern dynamics in relation to distance to the town centre and major infrastructures. 2) Analysis of landscape pattern dynamics in the fringe of protected areas. The paper presents a new approach to the urban-rural relationship which allows better planning and management of urban áreas.

Safety and operability of small fishing vessels: study of a series of stability-related accidents

The intact stability of five small Spanish fishing vessels with ages between 3 and 8 years old which sunk in stability related accidents between 2004 and 2007 is compared to the stability of the fishing vessels which were retired from service to build those. The seakeeping performance of both sets of vessels is also compared. The differences found between the results obtained by the two methods have been analyzed. The suitability of seakeeping methods to assess stability performance is discussed.

Fishing effort control regulations influence on stability, safety and operability of small fishing vessels: study of a series of stability related accidents occurred in Spain between 2004 and 2007

Entre los años 2004 y 2007 se hundieron por problemas de estabilidad cinco pesqueros españoles de pequeña eslora, de características parecidas, de relativamente poca edad, que habían sido construidos en un intervalo de pocos años. La mayoría de los tripulantes de esos pesqueros fallecieron o desaparecieron en esos accidentes. Este conjunto de accidentes tuvo bastante repercusión social y mediática. Entre ingenieros navales y marinos del sector de la pesca se relacionó estos accidentes con los condicionantes a los diseños de los pesqueros impuestos por la normativa de control de esfuerzo pesquero. Los accidentes fueron investigados y publicados sus correspondientes informes; en ellos no se exploró esta supuesta relación. Esta tesis pretende investigar la relación entre esos accidentes y los cambios de la normativa de esfuerzo pesquero. En la introducción se expone la normativa de control de esfuerzo pesquero analizada, se presentan datos sobre la estructura de la flota pesquera en España y su accidentalidad, y se detallan los criterios de estabilidad manejados durante el trabajo, explicando su relación con la seguridad de los pesqueros. Seguidamente se realiza un análisis estadístico de la siniestralidad en el sector de la pesca para establecer si el conjunto de accidentes estudiados supone una anomalía, o si por el contrario el conjunto de estos accidentes no es relevante desde el punto de vista estadístico. Se analiza la siniestralidad a partir de diversas bases de datos de buques pesqueros en España y se concluye que el conjunto de accidentes estudiados supone una anomalía estadística, ya que la probabilidad de ocurrencia de los cinco sucesos es muy baja considerando la frecuencia estimada de pérdidas de buques por estabilidad en el subsector de la flota pesquera en el que se encuadran los cinco buques perdidos. A continuación el trabajo se centra en la comparación de los buques accidentados con los buques pesqueros dados de baja para construir aquellos, según exige la normativa de control de esfuerzo pesquero; a estos últimos buques nos referiremos como “predecesores” de los buques accidentados. Se comparan las dimensiones principales de cada buque y de su predecesor, resultando que los buques accidentados comparten características de diseño comunes que son sensiblemente diferentes en los buques predecesores, y enlazando dichas características de diseño con los requisitos de la nueva normativa de control del esfuerzo pesquero bajo la que se construyeron estos barcos. Ello permite establecer una relación entre los accidentes y el mencionado cambio normativo. A continuación se compara el margen con que se cumplían los criterios reglamentarios de estabilidad entre los buques accidentados y los predecesores, encontrándose que en cuatro de los cinco casos los predecesores cumplían los criterios de estabilidad con mayor holgura que los buques accidentados. Los resultados obtenidos en este punto permiten establecer una relación entre el cambio de normativa de esfuerzo pesquero y la estabilidad de los buques. Los cinco buques accidentados cumplían con los criterios reglamentarios de estabilidad en vigor, lo que cuestiona la relación entre esos criterios y la seguridad. Por ello se extiende la comparativa entre pesqueros a dos nuevos campos relacionados con la estabilidad y la seguridad delos buques: • Movimientos a bordo (operatividad del buque), y • Criterios de estabilidad en condiciones meteorológicas adversas El estudio de la operatividad muestra que los buques accidentados tenían, en general, una mayor operatividad que sus predecesores, contrariamente a lo que sucedía con el cumplimiento de los criterios reglamentarios de estabilidad. Por último, se comprueba el desempeño de los diez buques en dos criterios específicos de estabilidad en caso de mal tiempo: el criterio IMO de viento y balance intenso, y un criterio de estabilidad de nueva generación, incluyendo la contribución original del autor de considerar agua en cubierta. Las tendencias observadas en estas dos comparativas son opuestas, lo que permite cuestionar la validez del último criterio sin un control exhaustivo de los parámetros de su formulación, poniendo de manifiesto la necesidad de más investigaciones sobre ese criterio antes de su adopción para uso regulatorio. El conjunto de estos resultados permite obtener una serie de conclusiones en la comparativa entre ambos conjuntos de buques pesqueros. Si bien los resultados de este trabajo no muestran que la aprobación de la nueva normativa de esfuerzo pesquero haya significado una merma general de seguridad en sectores enteros de la flota pesquera, sí se concluye que permitió que algunos diseños de buques pesqueros, posiblemente en busca de la mayor eficiencia compatible con dicha normativa, quedaran con una estabilidad precaria, poniendo de manifiesto que la relación entre seguridad y criterios de estabilidad no es unívoca, y la necesidad de que éstos evolucionen y se adapten a los nuevos diseños de buques pesqueros para continuar garantizando su seguridad. También se concluye que la estabilidad es un aspecto transversal del diseño de los buques, por lo que cualquier reforma normativa que afecte al diseño de los pesqueros o su forma de operar debería estar sujeta a evaluación por parte de las autoridades responsables de la seguridad marítima con carácter previo a su aprobación. ABSTRACT Between 2004 and 2007 five small Spanish fishing vessels sank in stability related accidents. These vessels had similar characteristics, had relatively short age, and had been built in a period of a few years. Most crewmembers of these five vessels died or disappeared in those accidents. This set of accidents had significant social and media impact. Among naval architects and seamen of the fishing sector these accidents were related to the design constraints imposed by the fishing control effort regulations. The accidents were investigated and the official reports issued; this alleged relationship was not explored. This thesis aims to investigate the relationship between those accidents and changes in fishing effort control regulations. In the introduction, the fishing effort control regulation is exposed, data of the Spanish fishing fleet structure and its accident rates are presented, and stability criteria dealt with in this work are explained, detailing its relationship with fishing vessel safety. A statistical analysis of the accident rates in the fishing sector in Spain is performed afterwards. The objective is determining whether the set of accidents studied constitute an anomaly or, on the contrary, they are not statistically relevant. Fishing vessels accident rates is analyzed from several fishing vessel databases in Spain. It is concluded that the set of studied accidents is statistically relevant, as the probability of occurrence of the five happenings is extremely low, considering the loss rates in the subsector of the Spanish fishing fleet where the studied vessels are fitted within. From this point the thesis focuses in comparing the vessels lost and the vessels that were decommissioned to build them as required by the fishing effort control regulation; these vessels will be referred to as “predecessors” of the sunk vessels. The main dimensions between each lost vessel and her predecessor are compared, leading to the conclusion that the lost vessels share design characteristics which are sensibly different from the predecessors, and linking these design characteristics with the requirements imposed by the new fishing control effort regulations. This allows establishing a relationship between the accidents and this regulation change. Then the margin in fulfilling the regulatory stability criteria among the vessels is compared, resulting, in four of the five cases, that predecessors meet the stability criteria with greater clearance than the sunk vessels. The results obtained at this point would establish a relationship between the change of fishing effort control regulation and the stability of vessels. The five lost vessels complied with the stability criteria in force, so the relation between these criteria and safety is put in question. Consequently, the comparison among vessels is extended to other fields related to safety and stability: • Motions onboard (operability), and • Specific stability criteria in rough weather The operability study shows that the lost vessels had in general greater operability than their predecessors, just the opposite as when comparing stability criteria. Finally, performance under specific rough weather stability criteria is checked. The criteria studied are the IMO Weather Criterion, and one of the 2nd generation stability criteria under development by IMO considering in this last case the presence of water on deck, which is an original contribution by the author. The observed trends in these two cases are opposite, allowing to put into question the last criterion validity without an exhaustive control of its formulation parameters; indicating that further research might be necessary before using it for regulatory purposes. The analysis of this set of results leads to some conclusions when comparing both groups of fishing vessels. While the results obtained are not conclusive in the sense that the entry into force of a new fishing effort control in 1998 caused a generalized safety reduction in whole sectors of the Spanish fishing fleet, it can be concluded that it opened the door for some vessel designs resulting with precarious stability. This evidences that the relation between safety and stability criteria is not univocal, so stability criteria needs to evolve for adapting to new fishing vessels designs so their safety is still guaranteed. It is also concluded that stability is a transversal aspect to ship design and operability, implying that any legislative reform affecting ship design or operating modes should be subjected to assessing by the authorities responsible for marine safety before being adopted.

Large-scale identification of gibberellin-related transcription factor defines group VII ERFs as functional of DELLA partners

DELLA proteins are the master negative regulators in gibberellin (GA) signaling acting in the nucleus as transcriptional regulators. The current view of DELLA action indicates that their activity relies on the physical interaction with transcription factors (TFs). Therefore, the identification of TFs through which DELLAs regulate GA responses is key to understanding these responses from a mechanistic point of view. Here, we have determined the TF interactome of the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) DELLA protein GIBBERELLIN INSENSITIVE and screened a collection of conditional TF overexpressors in search of those that alter GA sensitivity. As a result, we have found RELATED TO APETALA2.3, an ethylene-induced TF belonging to the group VII ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR of the APETALA2/ethylene responsive element binding protein superfamily, as a DELLA interactor with physiological relevance in the context of apical hook development. The combination of transactivation assays and chromatin immunoprecipitation indicates that the interaction with GIBBERELLIN INSENSITIVE impairs the activity of RELATED TO APETALA2.3 on the target promoters. This mechanism represents a unique node in the cross regulation between the GA and ethylene signaling pathways controlling differential growth during apical hook development.

Biomass and essential oil yields of cornmint (Mentha arvensis L.) grown in the irrigation area of Río Dulce, Santiago del Estero, Argentina.

The aim of this study is to determine the yield and composition of the essential oil of cornmint (Mentha arvensis L.) grown in the irrigation area of Santiago del Estero, Argentina. Field tests were carried out under irrigation conditions, harvesting when 70% flowering was reached (in the summer and at the end of the winter seasons). Essential oil yields were 2% in the first cut and 1.6% in the second cut, respectively, the major constituents of the essential oil being menthol, menthone, isomenthone and menthofuran. In both cases, a high concentration of menthol was obtained, although during the winter the content decreased, increasing the concentration of menthofuran. It is concluded that during the summer a higher yield and better quality of essential oil are produced.

Vegetation and fire history since the last glacial maximum in an inland area of the western Mediterranean Basin (Northern Iberian Plateau, NW Spain)

We reconstructed vegetation responses to climate oscillations, fire and human activities since the last glacial maximum in inland NW Iberia, where previous paleoecological research is scarce. Extremely sparse and open vegetation composed of steppic grasslands and heathlands with scattered pioneer trees suggests very cold and dry conditions during the Oldest Dryas, unsuitable for tree survival in the surroundings of the study site. Slight woodland expansion during the Bolling/Allerod was interrupted by the Younger Dryas cooling. Pinewoods dominated for most of the early Holocene, when a marked increase in fire activity occurred. Deciduous trees expanded later reaching their maximum representation during the mid-Holocene. Enhanced fire activity and the presence of coprophilous fungi around 6400-6000 cal yr BP suggest an early human occupation around the site. However, extensive deforestation only started at 4500 calyrBP, when fire was used to clear the tree canopy. Final replacement of woodlands with heathlands, grasslands and cereal crops occurred from 2700 cal yr BP onwards due to land-use intensification. Our paleoecological record can help efforts aimed at restoring the natural vegetation by indicating which communities were dominant at the onset of heavy human impact, thus promoting the recovery of currently rare oak and alder stands.

Development and assessment of traffic-related emission abatement measures for the Madrid city (Spain) through the WRF-SMOKE-CMAQ modelling system

The achievement of the limit values established in the European legislation pose an important handicap for large urban areas with intense road traffic, such as Madrid (Spain). Despite permanent measures included in air quality plans it is important to assess additional measures that may be temporally applied under unfavourable conditions. This paper reports on the simulation of different traffic restriction strategies in Madrid for high-pollution episodes.

Definition of masks related to psychovisual features for video quality assessment

Video Quality Assessment needs to correspond to human perception. Pixel-based metrics (PSNR or MSE) fail in many circumstances for not taking into account the spatio-temporal property of human's visual perception. In this paper we propose a new pixel-weighted method to improve video quality metrics for artifacts evaluation. The method applies a psychovisual model based on motion, level of detail, pixel location and the appearance of human faces, which approximate the quality to the human eye's response. Subjective tests were developed to adjust the psychovisual model for demonstrating the noticeable improvement of an algorithm when weighting the pixels according to the factors analyzed instead of treating them equally. The analysis developed demonstrates the necessity of models adapted to the specific visualization of contents and the model presents an advance in quality to be applied over sequences when a determined artifact is analyzed.

Reptilian chemistry: Characterization of a family of dianeackerone-related steroidal esters from a crocodile secretion

The African dwarf crocodile, Osteolaemus tetraspis (Crocodilidae, Reptilia), possesses a pair of skin glands, the paracloacal glands, the secretion of which is thought to be used to mark nest sites or attract mates. Ten aromatic steroidal esters were isolated from this secretion and characterized on the basis of NMR spectroscopic investigations, electrospray ionization-MS analyses, and chemical degradation. These esters, which account for more than 90% of the paracloacal glandular secretion, are derived from either cholesterol or cholestanol, esterified with a C-20 or C-22 acid closely related to dianeackerone, the only significant volatile compound found in this secretion.

Rapid evolution of sex-related genes in Chlamydomonas

Biological speciation ultimately results in prezygotic isolation—the inability of incipient species to mate with one another–but little is understood about the selection pressures and genetic changes that generate this outcome. The genus Chlamydomonas comprises numerous species of unicellular green algae, including numerous geographic isolates of the species C. reinhardtii. This diverse collection has allowed us to analyze the evolution of two sex-related genes: the mid gene of C. reinhardtii, which determines whether a gamete is mating-type plus or minus, and the fus1 gene, which dictates a cell surface glycoprotein utilized by C. reinhardtii plus gametes to recognize minus gametes. Low stringency Southern analyses failed to detect any fus1 homologs in other Chlamydomonas species and detected only one mid homolog, documenting that both genes have diverged extensively during the evolution of the lineage. The one mid homolog was found in C. incerta, the species in culture that is most closely related to C. reinhardtii. Its mid gene carries numerous nonsynonymous and synonymous codon changes compared with the C. reinhardtii mid gene. In contrast, very high sequence conservation of both the mid and fus1 sequences is found in natural isolates of C. reinhardtii, indicating that the genes are not free to drift within a species but do diverge dramatically between species. Striking divergence of sex determination and mate recognition genes also has been encountered in a number of other eukaryotic phyla, suggesting that unique, and as yet unidentified, selection pressures act on these classes of genes during the speciation process.

A family of fibrinogen-related proteins that precipitates parasite-derived molecules is produced by an invertebrate after infection

After infection with the digenetic trematode Echinostoma paraensei, hemolymph of the snail Biomphalaria glabrata contains lectins comprised of 65-kDa subunits that precipitate polypeptides secreted by E. paraensei intramolluscan larvae. Comparable activity is lacking in hemolymph of uninfected snails. Three different cDNAs with sequence similarities to peptides derived from the 65-kDa lectins were obtained and unexpectedly found to encode fibrinogen-related proteins (FREPs). These FREPs also contained regions with sequence similarity to Ig superfamily members. B. glabrata has at least five FREP genes, three of which are expressed at increased levels after infection. Elucidation of components of the defense system of B. glabrata is relevant because this snail is an intermediate host for Schistosoma mansoni, the most widely distributed causative agent of human schistosomiasis. These results are novel in suggesting a role for invertebrate FREPs in recognition of parasite-derived molecules and also provide a model for investigating the diversity of molecules functioning in nonself-recognition in an invertebrate.

FosB mutant mice: Loss of chronic cocaine induction of Fos-related proteins and heightened sensitivity to cocaine’s psychomotor and rewarding effects

Chronic exposure to cocaine leads to prominent, long-lasting changes in behavior that characterize a state of addiction. The striatum, including the nucleus accumbens and caudoputamen, is an important substrate for these actions. We previously have shown that long-lasting Fos-related proteins of 35–37 kDa are induced in the striatum by chronic cocaine administration. In the present study, the identity and functional role of these Fos-related proteins were examined using fosB mutant mice. The striatum of these mice completely lacked basal levels of the 35- to 37-kDa Fos-related proteins as well as their induction by chronic cocaine administration. This deficiency was associated with enhanced behavioral responses to cocaine: fosB mutant mice showed exaggerated locomotor activation in response to initial cocaine exposures as well as robust conditioned place preference to a lower dose of cocaine, compared with wild-type littermates. These results establish the long-lasting Fos-related proteins as products of the fosB gene (specifically ΔFosB isoforms) and suggest that transcriptional regulation by fosB gene products plays a critical role in cocaine-induced behavioral responses. This finding demonstrates that a Fos family member protein plays a functional role in behavioral responses to drugs of abuse and implicates fosB gene products as important determinants of cocaine abuse.

Serotonin receptor 1A knockout: An animal model of anxiety-related disorder

To investigate the contribution of individual serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) receptors to mood control, we have used homologous recombination to generate mice lacking specific serotonergic receptor subtypes. In the present report, we demonstrate that mice without 5-HT1A receptors display decreased exploratory activity and increased fear of aversive environments (open or elevated spaces). 5-HT1A knockout mice also exhibited a decreased immobility in the forced swim test, an effect commonly associated with antidepressant treatment. Although 5-HT1A receptors are involved in controlling the activity of serotonergic neurons, 5-HT1A knockout mice had normal levels of 5-HT and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, possibly because of an up-regulation of 5-HT1B autoreceptors. Heterozygote 5-HT1A mutants expressed approximately one-half of wild-type receptor density and displayed intermediate phenotypes in most behavioral tests. These results demonstrate that 5-HT1A receptors are involved in the modulation of exploratory and fear-related behaviors and suggest that reductions in 5-HT1A receptor density due to genetic defects or environmental stressors might result in heightened anxiety.