Efficient semi-supervised hierarchical training for segmenting choroidal vessels and other structures on OCT images of multiple sclerosis patients

[Abstract]: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive imaging technique used to diagnose ocular and systemic diseases. Recently, several clinical studies have linked changes in different ocular layers to the development of multiple sclerosis (MS), so accurate segmentation of these structures has become an essential task. Unfortunately, segmenting the entire set of structures involved is a very difficult task, due to their large number and variability. These two factors hinder the labeling of images and therefore severely restrict the ability to achieve a large dataset with all structures manually annotated, limiting the use of a standard supervised approach. In this paper, we propose a semi-supervised learning methodology to robustly segment ocular structures in OCT images using a limited number of partially labeled images. Our methodology maximizes the information we can extract from labeled images through hierarchical learning, where multiple decoders are used to extract segmented structures progressively. We use a reconstruction loss function to provide structural coherence to the segmentation and a teacher–student strategy to effectively leverage the information present in the set of unlabeled images. In addition to the segmentation of labeled structures, this hierarchical approach allows segmenting structures that are not labeled in the dataset such as the choroidal vessels. To validate the proposed methodology, we have carried out extensive experimentation using two datasets with different characteristics. These experiments have demonstrated a great potential of this methodology to train networks efficiently with partially labeled images, which allows to accurately extract the main biomarkers linked to the development of MS.This research was funded by Government of Spain, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación y Universidades, Government of Spain, RTI2018-095894-B-I00 research project; Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Government of Spain through the research projects with reference PID2019-108435RB-I00, PDC2022-133132-I00 and TED2021-1312 01B-I00; Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Universidade, Xunta de Galicia through the Grupos de Referencia Competitiva, grant ref. ED431C 2020/24; CITIC, as Research Center accredited by Galician University System, is funded by ‘‘Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Universidade from Xunta de Galicia, Spain’’, supported in an 80% through ERDF Funds, ERDF Operational Programme Galicia 2014–2020, and the remaining 20% by ‘‘Secretaría Xeral de Universidades, Spain’’, grant ref. ED431G 2019/01. Emilio López Varela acknowledges its support under FPI, Spain Grant Program through PID2019-108435RB-I00 project.Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2020/24Xunta de Galicia; ED431G 2019/0

Rebuilding through art. The vedutas of Bernardo Bellotto and post-war Warsaw.

[Resumen] El trabajo responde a las preguntas que la autora se realiza durante su estancia Erasmus en Varsovia para cursar su cuarto año de estudios de arquitectura. Durante ese periodo asistió a la celebración de varios hitos relacionados con la Segunda Guerra Mundial, entre ellos a una exposición sobre el uso de los cuadros de Bernardo Bellotto en la reconstrucción de Varsovia tras dicha guerra. Se ha consultado bibliografia sobre la historia de Polonia, sobre los vedutistas y se ha dedicado una especial atención a los textos escritos por los protagonistas de la reconstrucción, centrando la atención en los textos de Jan Zachwatowicz (1900-1983), arquitecto polaco y codirector de la Oficina para la Reconstrucción de la Capital tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Finalmente se ha analizado un edificio conocido como la Casa de Juan para ejemplificar y comprobar la materialización del pensamiento de los protagonistas.[Resumo] O traballo aborda as preguntas que a autora se formulou durante a súa estadía Erasmus en Varsovia para cursar o cuarto ano de estudos de arquitectura. Durante ese período, asistiu a varios eventos conmemorativos de fitos relacionados coa Segunda Guerra Mundial, entre eles unha exposición sobre o uso dos cadros de Bernardo Bellotto na reconstrución de Varsovia tras a guerra. Consultouse bibliografía sobre a historia de Polonia e sobre os vedutistas, prestando especial atención aos textos escritos polos protagonistas da reconstrución. O enfoque centrouse nos textos de Jan Zachwatowicz (1900–1983), arquitecto polaco e codirector da Oficina para a Reconstrución da Capital tras a Segunda Guerra Mundial. Finalmente, analizouse un edificio coñecido como a Casa de Xoán para exemplificar e verificar a materialización do pensamento dos protagonistas.[Abstract] The work addresses the questions the author asked herself during her Erasmus stay in Warsaw to complete her fourth year of architecture studies. During that period, she attended several events commemorating milestones related to World War II, including an exhibition about the use of Bernardo Bellotto’s paintings in the reconstruction of Warsaw after the war. Bibliography on the history of Poland and vedutists was consulted, with special attention given to texts written by the key figures involved in the reconstruction. Focus was placed on the writings of Jan Zachwatowicz (1900–1983), a Polish architect and co-director of the Office for the Reconstruction of the Capital after World War II. Finally, a building known as the House of John was analyzed to exemplify and verify the materialization of the protagonists’ ideas.Traballo fin de grao (UDC.ETSA). Estudos en arquitectura. Curso 2024/202

Advancements in the fight against globally distributed OXA-48 carbapenemase: evaluating the new generation of carbapenemase inhibitors

[Abstract] Carbapenemase OXA-48 and its variants pose a serious threat to the development of effective treatments for bacterial infections. OXA-48-producing Enterobacterales are the most prevalent carbapenemase-producing bacteria in large parts of the world. Although these bacteria exhibit low-level carbapenem resistance in vitro, the infections they cause are challenging to treat with conventional therapies, owing to their spread and complex detection in clinical settings. However, numerous β-lactamase inhibitors (BLIs) are currently in the pipeline or late clinical stages. To assess the potential of these compounds, this study compared the efficacy against OXA-48 of novel β-lactamase inhibitors, specifically the 1,6-diazabicyclo[3,2,1]octanes (DBOs) avibactam, relebactam, zidebactam, nacubactam, and durlobactam, along with the cyclic and bicyclic boronates vaborbactam, taniborbactam, and xeruborbactam. The extensive kinetics assays identified xeruborbactam, taniborbactam, and durlobactam, together with the already established avibactam, as BLIs with superior biochemical performance. Susceptibility testing further validated these findings but also demonstrated significantly improved bacterial killing by the DBOs zidebactam, nacubactam, and durlobactam. On the other hand, binding studies demonstrated the superior inhibitory capacity of the BLIs durlobactam and xeruborbactam. Combinations, such as cefepime/zidebactam, meropenem/nacubactam, and sulbactam/durlobactam, show promising activity against OXA-48-producing Enterobacterales, while ceftazidime/avibactam, cefepime/taniborbactam, and meropenem/xeruborbactam combinations also appear highly active, largely due to the excellent kinetics of these new inhibitors. Overall, this comprehensive analysis provides important insights into the effectiveness of new BLIs against OXA-48-producing Enterobacterales, highlighting xeruborbactam, durlobactam, and avibactam as leading candidates. Additionally, BLIs like zidebactam, nacubactam, and taniborbactam also showed potential in addressing the clinical challenges posed by OXA-48-mediated antimicrobial resistance.info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ISCIII/Programa Estatal de Generación de Conocimiento y Fortalecimiento del Sistema Español de I+D+I/PI20%2F01212/ES/DESARROLLO Y EVALUACION DE NUEVAS MOLECULAS ANTIMICROBIANAS DIRIGIDAS A PATOGENOS MULTIRRESISTENTES (INHIBIDORES DE ß-LACTAMASAS Y CONJUGADOS TETRACICLINAS-SIDEROFOROS). ESTUDIO NACIONAL ACINETOBACTER SPP.info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ISCIII/Programa Estatal para impulsar la investigación científico-técnica y su transferencia/PI23%2F00851/ES/Actividad in vivo de nuevos inhibidores de carbapenemasas frente a patógenos críticos multirresistentes: K. pneumoniae productor de carbapenemasas y P. aeruginosa.info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ISCIII/Programa Estatal de Generación de Conocimiento y Fortalecimiento del Sistema Español de I+D+I/PI21%2F00704/ES/VACUNAS AUXOTROFAS ORALES PARA LA ERRADICACION DE BACTERIAS INTESTINALES: COLONIZACIÓN INTESTINAL POR KLEBSIELLA PNEUMONIAE MULTIRRESISTENTE COMO MODELOinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ISCIII/Programa Estatal para Impulsar la Investigación Científico-Técnica y su Transferencia/PI22%2F01212/ES/Inhibidores de carbapenemasas: actividad frente a Enterobacterales productores de carbapenemasas, mecanismos e impacto en la evolución de la resistencia antimicrobiana (PROTECT)Instituto de Salud Carlos III; CB21/13/00055Xunta de Galicia; IN607A 2020/05Xunta de Galicia; IN607D 2024/008info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Programa Estatal para Impulsar la Investigación Científico-Técnica y su Transferencia/PID2022-136963OB-I00/ES/NUEVOS AGENTES ANTIBACTERIANOS DE PRECISION Y TERAPIAS COMBINADAS PARA COMBATIR INFECCIONES MULTIRRESISTENTESXunta de Galicia; ED431C 2021/29Xunta de Galicia; ED431G 2023/03info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ISCIII/Programa Estatal de Generación de Conocimiento y Fortalecimiento del Sistema Español de I+D+I/PI20%2F00686/ES/DETECCION RAPIDA DE RESISTENCIAS ANTIBIOTICAS MEDIANTE ESPECTROMETRIA DE MASAS MALDI-TOFInstituto de Salud Carlos III; CM23/00095Instituto de Salud Carlos III; CM23/00104Instituto de Salud Carlos III; JR23/00036This work was supported by Projects PI20/01212 and PI23/00851 awarded to A.B., Project PI21/00704 awarded to G.B., and Project PI22/01212 awarded to J.A.-S., funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) and co-funded by the European Union. The work was also supported by CIBER-Consorcio Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red- de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CB21/13/00055), Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and Unión Europea—NextGenerationEU and by project IN607A 2020/05 (GAIN-Agencia Gallega de InnovaciónConsellería de Economía, Emprego e Industria) awarded to G.B., project IN607D 2021/12 awarded to A.B and IN607D 2024/008 to J.A.-S. Financial support from the Spanish State Agency of Research (PID2022-136963OB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, CG-B), the Xunta de Galicia (ED431C 2021/29 and Centro singular de investigación de Galicia accreditation 2023–2027 [ED431G 2023/03], C.G.-B.], and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). T.B.-M. was financially supported by the ISCIII project PI20/00686 and by the Rio Hortega program (ISCIII, CM23/00095). S.R.-P. was financially supported by the ISCIII Río Hortega program (CM23/00104). I.A.-G. was financially supported by the Juan Rodés program (ISCIII, JR23/00036). L.G.-P. was financially supported by the ISCIII project PI21/00704 and by the PFIS program (ISCIII, FI23/00074). J.C.V.-U. was financially supported by the Xunta de Galicia (IN606B-2022/009). J.A.-S. was financially supported by the Juan Rodés program (ISCIII, JR21/00026). P.G.-S. was financially supported by IN606A 2021/021 Grant (Xunta de Galicia). M.O.-G. was financially supported by IN606A 2023/023 Grant (Xunta de Galicia)

Temporal Word Embeddings for Early Detection of Psychological Disorders on Social Media

[Abstract]: Mental health disorders represent a public health challenge, where early detection is critical to mitigating adverse outcomes for individuals and society. The study of language and behavior is a pivotal component in mental health research, and the content from social media platforms serves as a valuable tool for identifying signs of mental health risks. This paper presents a novel framework leveraging temporal word embeddings to capture linguistic changes over time. We specifically aim at at identifying emerging psychological concerns on social media. By adapting temporal word representations, our approach quantifies shifts in language use that may signal mental health risks. To that end, we implement two alternative temporal word embedding models to detect linguistic variations and exploit these variations to train early detection classifiers. Our experiments, conducted on 18 datasets from the eRisk initiative (covering signs of conditions such as depression, anorexia, and self-harm), show that simple models focusing exclusively on temporal word usage patterns achieve competitive performance compared to state-of-the-art systems. Additionally, we perform a word-level analysis to understand the evolution of key terms among positive and control users. These findings underscore the potential of time-sensitive word models in this domain, being a promising avenue for future research in mental health surveillance.The second and third authors thank the financial support supplied from projects: PLEC2021-007662 (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR) and PID2022-137061OB-C21 (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, ERDF A way of making Europe, by the European Union); Consellería de Educación, Universidade e Formación Profesional, Spain (accreditations 2019-2022 ED431G/01 and GPC ED431B 2022/33) and the European Regional Development Fund, which acknowledges the CITIC Research Center. The first and fourth authors thank the financial support supplied by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (Spain) (PID2022-137061OB-C22; PLEC2021-007662 MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia, Unión Europea-Next Generation EU), Consellería de Cultura, Educación, Formación Profesional e Universidades (Centro de investigación de Galicia accreditation 2024-2027 ED431G-2023/04 and Reference Competitive Group accreditation 2022-2025, ED431C 2022/19) and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund - ERDF). The fourth author thanks the support obtained from project SUBV23/00002 (Ministerio de Consumo, Subdirección General de Regulación del Juego). Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature.Xunta de Galicia; ED431G/01Xunta de Galicia; ED431B 2022/33Xunta de Galicia; ED431G-2023/04Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2022/1

Design, Implementation and Practical Evaluation of an Opportunistic Communications Protocol Based on Bluetooth Mesh and libp2p

[Abstract]: The increasing proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices has created a growing need for more efficient communication networks, especially in areas where continuous connectivity is unstable or unavailable. Opportunistic networks have emerged as a possible solution in such scenarios, allowing for intermittent and decentralized data sharing. This article presents a novel communication protocol that uses Bluetooth 5 and the libp2p framework to enable decentralized and opportunistic communications among IoT devices. The protocol provides dynamic peer discovery and decentralized management, resulting in a more flexible and robust IoT network infrastructure. The performance of the proposed architecture was evaluated through experiments in both controlled and industrial scenarios, with a particular emphasis on latency and on the impact of the presence of obstacles. The obtained results show that the protocol has the ability to improve data transfer in environments with limited connectivity, making it adequate for both urban and rural areas, as well as for challenging environments such as shipyards. Moreover, the presented findings conclude that the protocol works well in situations with minimal signal obstruction and short distances, like homes, where average latency values of about 8 s have been achieved with no losses. Furthermore, the protocol can also be used in industrial scenarios, even when metal obstacles increase signal attenuation, and over long distances, where average latency values of about 8.5 s have been obtained together with packet losses of less than 5%.This work has been supported by Centro Mixto de Investigación UDC-NAVANTIA (IN853C 2022/01), funded by GAIN (Xunta de Galicia) and ERDF Galicia 2021–2027. In addition, this work has been supported by the grant PID2020-118857RA-100 (ORBALLO) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033.Xunta de Galicia; IN853C 2022/0

Operaciones financieras para dummies: tipos de interés y leyes financieras

Si usted está interesado/a en este curso, puede matricularse en: https://udcaberta.udc.gal/El curso ha sido desarrollado en el marco del proyecto de creación de contenidos y evaluación de competencias digitales (DigCompEdu-FyA), financiado a través del Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia de la UE “NEXTGENERATIONEU”. El proyecto DigCompEdu-FyA forma parte de la estrategia nacional denominada Plan Unidigital regulada por el Real Decreto 641/2021 (Modificado por el Real Decreto 576/2023, del 4 de julio) y la Orden por la que se conceden las subvenciones previstas en el Real Decreto 641/2021, del 27 de julio, por el que se regula la concesión directa de subvenciones a universidades públicas españolas para la modernización y la digitalización del sistema universitario español, asociada a la BDNS 582721 del 07/09/2021 (componente 21, línea de acción C21.15, código subproyecto S2, código proyecto P1) en el marco del Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia y las órdenes HFP1030/2021 y HFP1031/2021 del Ministerio de Hacienda y Función Pública que lo desarrollan. Nivel A1, Indicadores: 6.2.A1.1., 6.2.A1.2., 6.2.A1.3. del marco DigCompEdu. Horas de trabajo para el alumnado: 10 Objetivo: El objetivo de este curso es ofrecer los principios básicos, los conocimientos y las pistas necesarias para ayudar a lo/as estudiantes en el proceso de toma de decisiones de carácter financier

Caso Breogan

[Resumen] El presente trabajo se adentra en el análisis de un caso práctico, el "Caso Breogán", que plantea cuestiones fundamentales relacionadas con la responsabilidad de los agentes de la edificación y el alcance de las pólizas de seguro de responsabilidad civil en el sector de la construcción. Este caso se centra en un proyecto de rehabilitación y ampliación de una vivienda unifamiliar en la provincia de A Coruña, donde se han identificado problemas relacionados con la cimentación y la omisión de estudios geotécnicos. Tales deficiencias han generado daños estructurales que derivan en la necesidad de evaluar las responsabilidades legales de los profesionales involucrados y de analizar el papel de las pólizas de seguro en la cobertura de estos daños.Traballo fin de grao (UDC.DER). Dereito. Curso 2024/202

Semantic-guided generative latent diffusion augmentation approaches for improving the neovascularization diagnosis in OCT-A imaging

This is the Accepted version of the article: Morís, D. I., de Moura, J., Carmona, E. J., Novo, J., & Ortega, M. (2025). ‘Semantic-guided generative latent diffusion augmentation approaches for improving the neovascularization diagnosis in OCT-A imaging’ published in: Pattern Recognition Letters, 189, p. 31-37. The Version of Record is available online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patrec.2025.01.003.[Abstract]: Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) presents an enormous challenge in Western Societies due to the increase in life expectancy. AMD is characterized for causing Macular Neovascularization. Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCT-A) represents an advanced method to help find evidence of the disease. In this context, deep learning algorithms are suitable to make a screening of the disease. However, biomedical imaging domains are usually affected by the data scarcity issue. The mitigation of this problem can be achieved with the support of generative latent diffusion models. This represents a powerful strategy to artificially augment the cardinality of the original dataset. In this work, we present a novel fully automatic methodology to generate OCT-A images, guided by semantic information, to reduce the impact of data scarcity and to enable an accurate neovascularization diagnosis. The evaluation has been performed with a specific dataset composed of two different fields of view commonly used by clinicians. The results demonstrate a top accuracy of 96.50% 1.37%, using 3 × 3 scans, and 95.79% 1.44%, when using 6 × 6 scans. The proposed methodology has great potential to be extrapolated to other imaging modalities and domains.This work received funding from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MCI) through the grants [PID2023-148913OB-I00], [TED2021-131201B-I00], and [PDC2022-133132-I00], and from the Consellería de Educación, Universidade, e Formación Profesional, Xunta de Galicia, Grupos de Referencia Competitiva, under grant [ED431C 2024/33]. Additional support was provided by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III under grant [FORT23/00010], as part of the Programa FORTALECE from the MCI. This work was also supported by the Horizon Europe Programme through the ACHILLES/101189689 project (HORIZON-CL4-2024-DATA-01-01).Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2024/3

Matemáticas y técnica

A Iniciativa “Principia”, presentada o día 26 de febrero de 2025 no Salón de actos da ETSAC, consta de 27 rexistros audiovisuais que inclúen clases maxistrais, entrevistas, conversacións, reflexións e sesións docentes, co obxetivo de construir e compartir a historia da ETSAC e deixar un rexistro audiovisual dunha significativa mostra do profesorado que contribuíu de xeito decisivo a poñela en marcha, conformando a súa identidade ao longo do tempo como resultado da confluencia das súas moi diversas traxectorias docentes e profesionais. Idea, dirección e montaxe do arquitecto Xosé Manuel Rosales Noves.Rexistro audiovisual que recolle unha conferencia da profesora da ETSAC, Rosa Fernández Esteller, e que forma parte da colección “Principia” que, con motivo do 50 aniversario da Escola Técnica Superior de Arquitectura da Coruña, fai un recoñecemento académico á súa labor e legado

Perception about sustainable development goals among Erasmus students in a Spanish university

[Abstract]: Purpose – This study aims to analyse the positioning of young people in the face of the challenges posed by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It focuses on the case of Erasmusþ students at a Spanish university and tries to evaluate the importance of each of the SDGs for them. Design/methodology/approach – Based on primary data obtained through a survey of more than 300 young people, factor analysis was applied to evaluate the importance assigned to each SDG and quantify the degree of concern assigned to each of them. Findings – Results show a high degree of concern for all the SDGs among Erasmus students, although they have done so with different levels of intensity. College students especially value education. Women are more concerned about socioeconomic problems. Furthermore, surprising results have been found in terms of gender equality, which indicates the need to deepen this analysis. Originality/value – This work contributes to the academic literature, still limited but growing, on how Erasmus students perceive the SDGs and to what level they feel committed to these objectives. Furthermore, it can be helpful for public policy managers regarding a specific group of young university students and a hot topic such as sustainability