Graph Neural Network contextual embedding for Deep Learning on tabular data

All industries are trying to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) based on their existing big data which is available in so called tabular form, where each record is composed of a number of heterogeneous continuous and categorical columns also known as features. Deep Learning (DL) has constituted a major breakthrough for AI in fields related to human skills like natural language processing, but its applicability to tabular data has been more challenging. More classical Machine Learning (ML) models like tree-based ensemble ones usually perform better. This paper presents a novel DL model using Graph Neural Network (GNN) more specifically Interaction Network (IN), for contextual embedding and modeling interactions among tabular features. Its results outperform those of a recently published survey with DL benchmark based on seven public datasets, also achieving competitive results when compared to boosted-tree solutions.

Epigenetic and Phenotypic Responses to Experimental Climate Change of Native and Invasive Carpobrotus edulis

Despite the recent discoveries on how DNA methylation could help plants to adapt to changing environments, the relationship between epigenetics and climate change or invasion in new areas is still poorly known. Here, we investigated, through a field experiment, how the new expected climate scenarios for Southern Europe, i.e., increased temperature and decreased rainfall, might affect global DNA methylation in relation to phenotypic variation in individuals of clonal plant, Carpobrotus edulis, from its native (Southern African) and invaded (northwestern Iberian Peninsula) area. Our results showed that changes in temperature and rainfall induced phenotypic but not global DNA methylation differences among plants, and the climatic effects were similar for plants coming from the native or invaded areas. The individuals from the Iberian Peninsula showed higher levels of global methylation than their native counterparts from South Africa. We also observed differences between natives and invasive phenotypes in traits related to the pattern of biomass partitioning and to the strategies for water uptake and use and found an epigenetic contribution to phenotypic changes in some leaf traits, especially on the nitrogen isotopic composition. We conclude that the increased temperature and decreased rainfall projected for Southern Europe during the course of the twenty-first century may foster phenotypic changes in C. edulis, possibly endowing this species with a higher ability to successful cope the rapid environmental shifts. The epigenetic and phenotypic divergence that we observed between native and invasive plants suggests an intraspecific functional variation during the process of invasion. This result could indicate that phenotypic plasticity and global DNA methylation are related to the colonization of new habitats. Our findings reinforce the importance of epigenetic plasticity on rapid adaptation of invasive clonal plants.

A trophic latitudinal gradient revealed in anchovy and sardine from the Western Mediterranean Sea using a multi-proxy approach

This work combines state-of-the-art methods (DNA metabarcoding) with classic approaches (visual stomach content characterization and stable isotope analyses of nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) and carbon (δ¹³C)) to investigate the trophic ecology of anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) and sardine (Sardina pilchardus) at high taxonomic and spatial resolution in the Western Mediterranean Sea. Gut contents observed are in accordance with the dietary plasticity generally described for anchovy and sardine, suggesting a diet related to the opportunistic ingestion of available prey in a certain area and/or time. Genetic tools also showed modest inter-specific differences regarding ingested species. However, inter-specific and intra-specific differences in ingested prey frequencies and prey biomass reflected a latitudinal signal that could indicate a more effective predation on large prey like krill by anchovy versus sardine, as well as a generalized higher large prey ingestion by both species southwards. In fact, both species presented lower δ¹⁵N in the northernmost area. This latitudinal gradient indicates changes in the trophic ecology of anchovy and sardine that coincide with previously described better biological conditions for fish in the southern part of the study area as well as higher landings of both species in recent years.

Isolation and characterization of fourteen polymorphic microsatellite markers in the viperine snake Natrix maura

Nineteen polymorphic microsatellite loci were identified and developed for Natrix maura. Polymorphism was assessed for 120 individuals sampled across four sampling sites from the French Pyrenees Mountains. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 to 15, and expected heterozygosity per locus ranged from 0.227 to 0.863. We tested for deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and linkage disequilibrium and assessed the presence of null alleles for all loci, resulting in a selection of 14 high-quality polymorphic markers. These markers will be extremely useful in identifying fine-scale genetic structures and providing insight into conservation management plans of this species.

Extended imposex monitoring in N Atlantic Spain confirms punctual attainment of European environmental objectives for TBT

Legislation in the European Union (EU) aimed at reaching by 2015 a Good Ecological Status in regard to tributyltin (TBT, the biocide used in traditional antifouling paints). With a view to check such an achievement in N Atlantic Spain, baseline monitoring of gastropod imposex (the recommended assessment tool) was extended up to that date. In Galicia (the Western part of the study area) the use of the rock snail Nucella lapillus since 1996 had shown this environmental objective to be met as soon as 2009, but new surveys reveal no further improvement thereafter. As for the Eastern Cantabrian coast, imposex levels in the mud snail Nassarius reticulatus progressively declined from 2006 to 2015, when records finally complied with expectations. Both data sets are confronted and discussed in relation to the diverse environmental factors that may be determining the distribution of gastropods in these regions.

Bi-species imposex monitoring in Galicia (NW Spain) shows contrasting achievement of the OSPAR Ecological Quality Objective for TBT

Imposex is decreasing worldwide after the total ban on tributyltin (TBT) from antifouling paints. In order to assess improvement in the NE Atlantic, the OSPAR Convention designed an Ecological Quality Objective (EcoQO) based on the VDSI (vas deferens sequence index, an agreed measure of imposex) in the rock snail Nucella lapillus; wherever this is not available, the mud snail Nassarius reticulatus was proposed as a proxy. We determined VDSI in Galician populations of rock (n≥34) and mud (n≥18) snails at regular intervals from pre-ban times until 2009 and 2011, respectively. While imposex in the former started decreasing in 2006 and by 2009 the EcoQO had been met in the area, VDSI in the latter was not significantly reduced until 2011 and values contradict such an achievement. This suggests that the OSPAR imposex bi-species scheme may not be of direct application in the current post-ban scenario.

A combined whelk watch suggests repeated TBT desorption pulses

Environmental quality in coastal Europe has improved since the complete 2003 ban on the use of tributyltin (TBT) in antifouling paints. However, there is evidence that TBT is entering the water column, presumably from illegal practices. We determined the concentration of butyltins (BTs: TBT and derivatives) in populations of two gastropods, the rock snail Nucella lapillus (n=17) and the mud snail Nassarius reticulatus (n=18) at regular intervals from pre-ban times until 2009 and 2011, respectively, in NW Spain. Although a substantial decline in TBT occurred shortly after the ban, no significant changes were observed in either species over the last 3-year period of study. In addition, the proportion of TBT relative to the sum of BTs (a marker of recent pollution) in the most recent rock snail samples unexpectedly increased; this proportion therefore showed a generally decreasing but oscillatory trend over time. The results are consistent with the theoretical expectation of BT desorption from sediments; however, this natural phenomenon is now interpreted as a recurrent episode rather than a unique, transient event. Evidence of this subtle input improves our understanding of TBT persistence in the environment in Europe and worldwide.

An intelligent surveillance platform for large metropolitan areas with dense sensor deployment

This paper presents an intelligent surveillance platform based on the usage of large numbers of inexpensive sensors designed and developed inside the European Eureka Celtic project HuSIMS. With the aim of maximizing the number of deployable units while keeping monetary and resource/bandwidth costs at a minimum, the surveillance platform is based on the usage of inexpensive visual sensors which apply efficient motion detection and tracking algorithms to transform the video signal in a set of motion parameters. In order to automate the analysis of the myriad of data streams generated by the visual sensors, the platform's control center includes an alarm detection engine which comprises three components applying three different Artificial Intelligence strategies in parallel. These strategies are generic, domain-independent approaches which are able to operate in several domains (traffic surveillance, vandalism prevention, perimeter security, etc.). The architecture is completed with a versatile communication network which facilitates data collection from the visual sensors and alarm and video stream distribution towards the emergency teams. The resulting surveillance system is extremely suitable for its deployment in metropolitan areas, smart cities, and large facilities, mainly because cheap visual sensors and autonomous alarm detection facilitate dense sensor network deployments for wide and detailed coverage.

Hydrogeochemical variables regionalization--applying cluster analysis for a seasonal evolution model from an estuarine system affected by AMD

This study describes the spatial evolution of the hydrogeochemical parameters which characterise a strongly affected estuary by Acid Mine Drainage (AMD). The studied estuarine system receives AMD from the Iberian Pyrite Belt (SW Spain) and, simultaneously, is affected by the presence of an industrial chemical complex. Water sampling was performed in the year of 2008, comprising four sampling campaigns, in order to represent seasonality. The results show how the estuary can be divided into three areas of different behaviour in response to hydrogeochemical variables concentrations that define each sampling stations: on one hand, an area dominated by tidal influence; in the opposite end there is a second area including the points located in the two rivers headwaters that are not influenced by seawater; finally there is the area that can be defined as mixing zone. These areas are moved along the hydrological year due to seasonal chemical variations.

AFLPs reveal different population genetic structure under contrasting environments in the marine snail Nucella lapillus L

Dispersal has received growing attention in marine ecology, particularly since evidence obtained with up-to-date techniques challenged the traditional view. The dogwhelk Nucella lapillus L., a sedentary gastropod with direct development, is a good example: dispersal was traditionally assumed to be limited until studies with microsatellites disputed this idea. To shed some light on this controversy, the genetic structure of dogwhelk populations in northwest Spain was investigated with highly polymorphic AFLP markers giving special attention to the influence of hydrodynamic stress. In agreement with the expectations for a poor disperser, our results show a significant genetic structure at regional (<200 km) and areal scales (<15 km). However, the spatial genetic structure varied with wave-exposure in the present case study: IBD was evident under sheltered conditions but absent from the exposed area where genetic differentiation was stronger. Our results provide evidence that differences in wave-exposure can exert a detectable influence on the genetic structure of coastal organisms, even in species without a planktonic larva.

Temperature and relative humidity estimation and prediction in the tobacco drying process using Artificial Neural Networks

This paper presents a system based on an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for estimating and predicting environmental variables related to tobacco drying processes. This system has been validated with temperature and relative humidity data obtained from a real tobacco dryer with a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). A fitting ANN was used to estimate temperature and relative humidity in different locations inside the tobacco dryer and to predict them with different time horizons. An error under 2% can be achieved when estimating temperature as a function of temperature and relative humidity in other locations. Moreover, an error around 1.5 times lower than that obtained with an interpolation method can be achieved when predicting the temperature inside the tobacco mass as a function of its present and past values with time horizons over 150 minutes. These results show that the tobacco drying process can be improved taking into account the predicted future value of the monitored variables and the estimated actual value of other variables using a fitting ANN as proposed.

A semantic autonomous video surveillance system for dense camera networks in Smart Cities

This paper presents a proposal of an intelligent video surveillance system able to detect and identify abnormal and alarming situations by analyzing object movement. The system is designed to minimize video processing and transmission, thus allowing a large number of cameras to be deployed on the system, and therefore making it suitable for its usage as an integrated safety and security solution in Smart Cities. Alarm detection is performed on the basis of parameters of the moving objects and their trajectories, and is performed using semantic reasoning and ontologies. This means that the system employs a high-level conceptual language easy to understand for human operators, capable of raising enriched alarms with descriptions of what is happening on the image, and to automate reactions to them such as alerting the appropriate emergency services using the Smart City safety network.

Impact of millennial mining activities on sediments and microfauna of the Tinto River estuary (SW Spain)

In this paper, we analyze two short cores collected in the Tinto estuary (SW Spain), and describe the palaeoenvironmental evolution of this area during the last two millennia, along with the influence of historical mining activities and recent industrial pollution on sediments and microfauna (foraminifera and ostracoda). Although there were no significant changes in the distribution of microorganisms, a first pollution period (0-150 AD) was recorded in high sediment pollution by Cu in the shallow palaeochannels of the middle estuary. During this period and the following 1700 years, tolerant pioneer species of both foraminifera and ostracoda were found predominantly in the inner, protected areas of the estuary, while the bottom sediments were subjected to high hydrodynamic gradients, and consequently showed lower density and diversity of organisms. In the last 150 years, acid mine drainage processes, introduction of a new mining period, and the polluted inputs derived from two industrial processes resulted in increased heavy metal contamination of the bottom sediments, and corresponding extirpation of ostracodes and restriction of foraminifers to the inner zones of the estuary.

[Diffuse pulmonary calcification in a patient with renal insufficiency]

We report the case of a 37-year-old man with chronic renal insufficiency, on hemodialysis, with no respiratory symptoms but whose chest radiograph showed parenchymal consolidation in the middle and upper lung fields. High resolution computed tomography showed a high-attenuating diffuse alveolar pattern that indicated calcium deposits. Bronchoscopy revealed metastatic calcification on the interalveolar septa and bronchiolar and arteriolar. The present report, based on radiologic and bronchoscopic findings, describes the pathogenesis and anatomical distribution of the patient's diffuse pulmonary calcification.

Origin of the anomalies in light and middle REE in sediments of an estuary affected by phosphogypsum wastes (south-western Spain)

Sc, Y, Th, Cu and rare earth elements (REE) concentrations have been analyzed in 14 samples of surface sediments and in two gravity cores by means of ICP-MS. Mean concentrations of Sc, Y and Th in surface sediments are 6.23, 4.76 and 16.30 ppm, respectively, lower than those present in the Upper Continental Crust (UCC). Cu concentration in these sediments is very high, 1466 ppm, and is caused by inputs from the Odiel and Tinto rivers, affected by acid mine drainage. SigmaREE mean concentration is 106.8 ppm, lower than that observed in other rivers and estuaries. In the cores, Sc, Y and Th concentrations show a significant increase in the intermediate levels, between 10 and 40 cm depth. The same pattern exists with Cu, where concentrations of 4440 ppm can be reached. Vertical evolution patterns for Sc, Y, Cu and heavy REE (HREE) are similar, and contrary to those shown by Th, light REE (LREE) and middle REE (MREE). Plots of North American Shale Composite (NASC)-normalized REE data of surface sediments show a slight depletion in REE concentrations. Most samples present with middle REE enrichment relative to light REE and heavy REE. Conversely, samples of the intermediate levels of the cores show significant enrichment of REE relative to NASC and high values in the (La/Gd)NASC and (La/Yb)NASC ratios. These anomalies in the fractionation patterns caused by enrichments in LREE and MREE concentrations is related to the presence of high concentrations of Th. They were generated by effluents from fertilizer factories between 1968 and 1998 which used phosphorite as source material.