Xabier Basogain

Hardware implementation of a pipeline fuzzy controller and software tools

This article describes a pipeline sequential fuzzy controller endowed with great flexibility and high performance. Its design allows for the possibility to implement it on programmable devices at low cost. To optimise the design and performance of the circuit, a number of simplifications over traditional fuzzy algorithms are pointed out. For the manipulation of simplification procedures, some software tools of knowledge acquisition and compilation have been developed. The hardware design is presented at a level of block diagram showing the different components and the solutions adopted in each case. The characteristics of this design make it adequate for working with a great number of input and output variables and with a high number of rules. Under these conditions, the speed of calculation and the circuit dimensions are optimal. It can be used in any field of application where a fuzzy control of high complexity is to be established.

Wearable Personal Assistants for the Management of Historical Centers

One of the main tasks facing the manager of a historical centre is to avoid degradation while retaining the historical value. For this reason, any intervention which takes place on the environment, should be carefully managed. Only when performing a proper diagnosis of the environment and its reality is possible to follow a high quality intervention. The integration of new information technologies has been crucial to the improvement of these processes providing new tools. Within the project called RASMAP, we have designed and implemented a mobile augmented reality platform based on a service oriented architecture. This project introduces the concept of Wearable Personal Assistant (WPA). WPA in the RASMAP platform represents an innovative wearable tool, which provides support to professionals in their daily activities (mechanical engineer, safety responsible person, diagnosis expert, etc.). This tool is based on augmented reality technologies, mobile devices and communication infrastructures. The development of the platform for the WPAs implies addressing several technological challenges: a) to overcome the limitations inherent in the mobile devices: speed, capacity of memory, capacity of storage, graphical features and others, b) to obtain tracking systems that they do not need to alter or to adapt the environment, c) to optimize for the transmission and reproduction of multimedia contents through wireless networks on mobile devices. In this article, we describe the RASMAP platform, as a basis for the development of WPA and the extension of its use for the management of historical centres. The quality and usefulness of the scientific-technological results provided by the WPA have been validated developing a demonstrator for the diagnosis of the conservation status of the historical centre of a small town in the Basque Country. The advantages to be gained by using WPA in the proposed scenario are among others: more efficient processes, improved communication between users, and local and distributed multimedia content records.

Computational Thinking in pre-university Blended Learning classrooms

This article describes the implementation of various core elements of Computational Thinking (CT) in the classrooms of schools of Latin America and USA in two specific courses: PC-01 and ECE130. These courses were designed for students of primary and secondary education, as well as for students of high school as part of a dual enrollment program with a local university. Both courses introduce the core concepts and processes of CT aided by the visual programming environments Scratch and Alice. The courses are facilitated by the classroom teacher with the support of a learning platform. This platform is configured to provide innovative pedagogical strategies based on emerging educational technologies. This article describes the concepts integrated under the term CT, and discusses the benefits of learning environments used to incorporate CT in the classroom. It describes as well the syllabi and assessments of both courses, and analyzes their impact of these courses on the educational institutions, the teachers and the students.

Transition to a Modern Education System through e-Learning

All around the world, governments are using international benchmarking of education systems as the method to identify the top performing countries. After the world best education systems have been identified, they are used as models for the rest of the countries. This procedure has an obvious limitation: if the rankings are obtained assessing content and methods already established, these are perpetuated. New curriculum and methodologies are difficult to integrate into existing education systems. Research in the last two decades has shown the limitations of the current education systems and the need to incorporate new paradigms. However, the current method that the governments use to design their education systems makes the adoption of radically new paradigms a highly risky proposition. This paper reviews the limitations of the current education systems, in particular in the area of mathematics. It discusses a set of fundamental changes in curriculum and teaching methodology. Finally, it reviews the role of e-learning as an integral part of the transition from traditional education systems to modern systems.

An artificial neural network approach for predicting functional outcome in fibromyalgia syndrome after multidisciplinary pain program.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of artificial neural networks (ANNs) to predict, on the basis of clinical variables, the response of persons with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) to a standard, 4-week interdisciplinary pain program. DESIGN The design of this study is retrospective longitudinal. SETTING Fibromyalgia outpatient clinic in a tertiary-care general hospital. SUBJECTS The subjects of this study include outpatients with FMS. INTERVENTION Multidisciplinary pain program including pain pharmacotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy. OUTCOME MEASURES Reliable change (RC) of scores on the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), and accuracy of ANNs in predicting RC at discharge or at 6-month follow-up as compared to Logistic Regression. RESULTS ANN-based models using the sensory-discriminative and affective-motivational subscales of the McGill Pain Questionnaire, the HAQ disability index, and the anxiety subscale of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale at baseline as input variables correctly classified 81.81% of responders at discharge and 83.33% of responders at 6-month follow-up, as well as 100% of nonresponders at either evaluation time-point. Logistic regression analysis, which was used for comparison, could predict treatment outcome with accuracies of 86.11% and 61.11% at discharge and follow-up, respectively, based on baseline scores on the HAQ and the mental summary component of the Medical Outcomes Study-Short Form 36. CONCLUSIONS Properly trained ANNs can be a useful tool for optimal treatment selection at an early stage after diagnosis, thus contributing to minimize the lag until symptom amelioration and improving tertiary prevention in patients with FMS.

Mobile locator: Helping the context awareness

This paper presents a work related to context-awareness developed by Multimedia-EHU research group at the University of the Basque Country. The proposed context-awareness is oriented to acquire and utilize information about the physical position of the users through their wireless mobile devices in order to provide services that support users in their activities. In particular the context awareness includes the users location based on a local Wi-Fi communication network interface to gather indoor location information capitalizing both the wireless Wi-Fi network of the buildings and the users mobile devices. This technology could help improve the services of scenarios such as: hospitals, trade fair with several multi-storey buildings and enterprises.

In Search of a New Space of K-12 Mathematics in the Classroom

When proposing structural changes in an educational system three elements are required: a set of oppositional principles to evaluate alternatives; a formal analysis of the status quo; and a comprehensive description and evaluation of proposed spaces. Using this three-phase approach, this paper proposes a set of alternative spaces of mathematics for K-12 education in which the skills demanded by today’s society are taken into consideration. In addition, these spaces of mathematics supplement the traditional and limited fields of arithmetic, Euclidean and Cartesian geometries, algebra, and basic trigonometry. The cognitive capabilities and limitations of the human mind that in the last two decades have been identified are described and illustrated as guide for the evaluation of oppositional principles. This paper formally evaluates both the cognitive demands and the potentials for growth and development of areas in mathematics in current and alternative educational spaces, and uses specific educational examples to illustrate the mathematical, pedagogical and cognitive potentials and limitations of current and alternative mathematical educational systems.

Exploring the Implementation of e-Health Practices in a Low Income Country

In low income countries like Paraguay, broad segments of the population have only limited access to health services and lack sufficient human and financial resources as well as infrastructure for an appropriate health service delivery. At the same time, access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) varies across countries and population groups.

P1-104 Community syndromic surveillance system using information and communication technology in Paraguay

The objective of syndromic surveillance is to identify illness clusters early and to mobilise a rapid response, thereby reducing morbidity and mortality. Objective To describe the system named Bonis, which uses Information and Communication Technology to prevent, warn, monitor and control the spread of febrile syndromes and influenza like illness (ILI) at the community level. Methods Bonis has a kernel free software application; Asterisk, a phone center with VoIP service, PHP as Script language and Mysql as data base management. The system was implemented in a primary healthcare. Results The developed system has the ability to record, classify, and prioritise automatically through the Interactive Voice Response the suspected cases. It has been programmed in a PHP language script AGI to improve the functionality of the Asterisk, in a way that during the user call to report a possible case, the system feeds a database, through the manager module based in a web application developed in PHP. The system, to which the users access from a mobile or fixed telephone, automatically receives the call with 9 questions on signs and symptoms. The system is working since May 2010 and records the phone calls correctly; follow-ups of these patients are performed by the teams within a period of 24 h. Conclusion The developed system is allowing the community to notify and register events that require surveillance, and the community health agents is prioritising visits to those homes from where fever cases are reported for sooner and more appropriate interventions.