Irene Pérez | Upv Ehu (original) (raw)

Papers by Irene Pérez

Research paper thumbnail of Noncommercial collection of spur-thighed tortoises ( Testudo graeca graeca): a cultural problem in southeast Spain

Biological Conservation, 2004

Collecting tortoises for the pet trade is one of the factors threatening species of Testudo in th... more Collecting tortoises for the pet trade is one of the factors threatening species of Testudo in the Mediterranean area. The collection of Testudo graeca graeca for pets is described in southeast Spain, where the main European population of this subspecies coincides with an area where keeping tortoises in captivity is a long-established custom. This present paper, based on inquiries made to children, reveals that this practice continues to be a common activity, and estimates a captive population in the order of tens of thousand of tortoises. Tortoises are collected as a result of chance encounters with wild animals by local inhabitants, and without any commercial objectives. The captive breeding and the release of tortoises without any institutional control is also common. These activities could be an important threat for the species. Implications for conservation are discussed and a critical review of the conservation strategies developed in relation to this threat (trade control and re-introduction programmes) are presented. We suggest that environmental education programmes are necessary to reduce casual collection and to change the social perception of tortoises as pets.

Research paper thumbnail of Technical, economic and environmental assessment of household biogas digesters for rural communities

Research paper thumbnail of A Distributed Clinical Decision Support System Applied to Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

Advances in Intelligent and Soft Computing, 2010

Currently, the best way to reduce the mortality of cancer is to detect it and treat it in the ear... more Currently, the best way to reduce the mortality of cancer is to detect it and treat it in the earliest stages. Automatic decision support systems are very helpful in this task but their performance is constrained by different factors and sometimes it is difficult to find a method ...

Research paper thumbnail of Neural Networks versus Genetic Algorithms as Medical Classifiers

In this article we want to assess the feasibility of using genetic algorithms as classifiers that... more In this article we want to assess the feasibility of using genetic algorithms as classifiers that could be used in clinical decision support systems, for urological diseases diagnosis in our case. The use of artificial neural networks is more common in this field, and we have previously tested their use with the same purpose. At the end of the document we compare the obtained results using genetic algorithms and two different artificial neural networks implementations. The obtained accuracy rates show that genetic algorithms could be a useful tool to be used in the clinical decision support systems field.

Research paper thumbnail of Use of radial basis functions in computer-aided diagnosis of prostate cancer

Conference proceedings : ... Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Conference, 2011

In this paper, we show the results of a study in which we try to test the feasibility of using ra... more In this paper, we show the results of a study in which we try to test the feasibility of using radial basis functions neural networks (RBFs for short) in clinical decision support systems. We have implemented two instances of RBFs in order to diagnose possible prostate cancer cases from a clinical database. To give an idea about how good the results are, we follow a two-fold approach. On the one hand they are independently evaluated in terms of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity and on the other hand they are compared with the performance over the same database of a classifier widely applied to the medical field problems, as it is multi-layer perceptron (MLP). The experimental results show that RBFs are a useful tool to build up clinical decision support systems.

Research paper thumbnail of The effect of spatial heterogeneity and mobility on the performance of social–ecological systems

Ecological Modelling, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Impacts of exurban sprawl: The effects of the perceptions and practices of new residents toward the spur-thighed tortoise ( Testudo graeca )

Wildlife Society Bulletin, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of A qualitative examination of the social practices and representations towards a species of endangered tortoise

Research paper thumbnail of Transformation of resource management institutions under globalization: the case of songgye community forests in South Korea

Ecology and Society, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of Exurban sprawl increases the extinction probability of a threatened tortoise due to pet collections

Ecological Modelling, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of ers at high altitude

Ecological Engineering, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of ¿ Demasiadas reintroducciones?: una propuesta de criterios de decisión

Research paper thumbnail of PCR-based detection of gene transfer vectors: application to gene doping surveillance

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 2013

Athletes who illicitly use drugs to enhance their athletic performance are at risk of being banne... more Athletes who illicitly use drugs to enhance their athletic performance are at risk of being banned from sports competitions. Consequently, some athletes may seek new doping methods that they expect to be capable of circumventing detection. With advances in gene transfer vector design and therapeutic gene transfer, and demonstrations of safety and therapeutic benefit in humans, there is an increased probability of the pursuit of gene doping by athletes. In anticipation of the potential for gene doping, assays have been established to directly detect complementary DNA of genes that are top candidates for use in doping, as well as vector control elements. The development of molecular assays that are capable of exposing gene doping in sports can serve as a deterrent and may also identify athletes who have illicitly used gene transfer for performance enhancement. PCR-based methods to detect foreign DNA with high reliability, sensitivity, and specificity include TaqMan real-time PCR, nested PCR, and internal threshold control PCR.

Research paper thumbnail of Resource intruders and robustness of social-ecological systems: an irrigation system of Southeast Spain, a case study

International Journal of the Commons, Sep 14, 2011

Abstract Globalization increases the vulnerability of traditional social-ecological systems (SES)... more Abstract Globalization increases the vulnerability of traditional social-ecological systems (SES) to the incursion of new resource appropriators, ie intruders. New external disturbances that increase the physical and socio-political accessibility of SES (eg construction of a new road) and weak points in institutional SES of valuable common-pool resources are some of the main factors that enhance the encroachment of intruders. The irrigation system of the northwest Murcia Region (Spain) is an example used in this article ...

Research paper thumbnail of Examen termo 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Noncommercial collection of spur-thighed tortoises ( Testudo graeca graeca): a cultural problem in southeast Spain

Biological Conservation, 2004

Collecting tortoises for the pet trade is one of the factors threatening species of Testudo in th... more Collecting tortoises for the pet trade is one of the factors threatening species of Testudo in the Mediterranean area. The collection of Testudo graeca graeca for pets is described in southeast Spain, where the main European population of this subspecies coincides with an area where keeping tortoises in captivity is a long-established custom. This present paper, based on inquiries made to children, reveals that this practice continues to be a common activity, and estimates a captive population in the order of tens of thousand of tortoises. Tortoises are collected as a result of chance encounters with wild animals by local inhabitants, and without any commercial objectives. The captive breeding and the release of tortoises without any institutional control is also common. These activities could be an important threat for the species. Implications for conservation are discussed and a critical review of the conservation strategies developed in relation to this threat (trade control and re-introduction programmes) are presented. We suggest that environmental education programmes are necessary to reduce casual collection and to change the social perception of tortoises as pets.

Research paper thumbnail of Technical, economic and environmental assessment of household biogas digesters for rural communities

Research paper thumbnail of A Distributed Clinical Decision Support System Applied to Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

Advances in Intelligent and Soft Computing, 2010

Currently, the best way to reduce the mortality of cancer is to detect it and treat it in the ear... more Currently, the best way to reduce the mortality of cancer is to detect it and treat it in the earliest stages. Automatic decision support systems are very helpful in this task but their performance is constrained by different factors and sometimes it is difficult to find a method ...

Research paper thumbnail of Neural Networks versus Genetic Algorithms as Medical Classifiers

In this article we want to assess the feasibility of using genetic algorithms as classifiers that... more In this article we want to assess the feasibility of using genetic algorithms as classifiers that could be used in clinical decision support systems, for urological diseases diagnosis in our case. The use of artificial neural networks is more common in this field, and we have previously tested their use with the same purpose. At the end of the document we compare the obtained results using genetic algorithms and two different artificial neural networks implementations. The obtained accuracy rates show that genetic algorithms could be a useful tool to be used in the clinical decision support systems field.

Research paper thumbnail of Use of radial basis functions in computer-aided diagnosis of prostate cancer

Conference proceedings : ... Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Conference, 2011

In this paper, we show the results of a study in which we try to test the feasibility of using ra... more In this paper, we show the results of a study in which we try to test the feasibility of using radial basis functions neural networks (RBFs for short) in clinical decision support systems. We have implemented two instances of RBFs in order to diagnose possible prostate cancer cases from a clinical database. To give an idea about how good the results are, we follow a two-fold approach. On the one hand they are independently evaluated in terms of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity and on the other hand they are compared with the performance over the same database of a classifier widely applied to the medical field problems, as it is multi-layer perceptron (MLP). The experimental results show that RBFs are a useful tool to build up clinical decision support systems.

Research paper thumbnail of The effect of spatial heterogeneity and mobility on the performance of social–ecological systems

Ecological Modelling, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Impacts of exurban sprawl: The effects of the perceptions and practices of new residents toward the spur-thighed tortoise ( Testudo graeca )

Wildlife Society Bulletin, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of A qualitative examination of the social practices and representations towards a species of endangered tortoise

Research paper thumbnail of Transformation of resource management institutions under globalization: the case of songgye community forests in South Korea

Ecology and Society, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of Exurban sprawl increases the extinction probability of a threatened tortoise due to pet collections

Ecological Modelling, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of ers at high altitude

Ecological Engineering, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of ¿ Demasiadas reintroducciones?: una propuesta de criterios de decisión

Research paper thumbnail of PCR-based detection of gene transfer vectors: application to gene doping surveillance

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 2013

Athletes who illicitly use drugs to enhance their athletic performance are at risk of being banne... more Athletes who illicitly use drugs to enhance their athletic performance are at risk of being banned from sports competitions. Consequently, some athletes may seek new doping methods that they expect to be capable of circumventing detection. With advances in gene transfer vector design and therapeutic gene transfer, and demonstrations of safety and therapeutic benefit in humans, there is an increased probability of the pursuit of gene doping by athletes. In anticipation of the potential for gene doping, assays have been established to directly detect complementary DNA of genes that are top candidates for use in doping, as well as vector control elements. The development of molecular assays that are capable of exposing gene doping in sports can serve as a deterrent and may also identify athletes who have illicitly used gene transfer for performance enhancement. PCR-based methods to detect foreign DNA with high reliability, sensitivity, and specificity include TaqMan real-time PCR, nested PCR, and internal threshold control PCR.

Research paper thumbnail of Resource intruders and robustness of social-ecological systems: an irrigation system of Southeast Spain, a case study

International Journal of the Commons, Sep 14, 2011

Abstract Globalization increases the vulnerability of traditional social-ecological systems (SES)... more Abstract Globalization increases the vulnerability of traditional social-ecological systems (SES) to the incursion of new resource appropriators, ie intruders. New external disturbances that increase the physical and socio-political accessibility of SES (eg construction of a new road) and weak points in institutional SES of valuable common-pool resources are some of the main factors that enhance the encroachment of intruders. The irrigation system of the northwest Murcia Region (Spain) is an example used in this article ...

Research paper thumbnail of Examen termo 2012