Deafferentation of the superior colliculus abolishes spatial summation of redundant visual signals

Two visual signals appearing simultaneously are detected more rapidly than either signal appearing alone. Part of this redundant target effect (RTE) can be attributed to neural summation that has been proposed to occur in the superior colliculus (SC). We report direct evidence in two neurological patients for neural summation in the SC, and that it is mediated by afferent visual information transmitted through its brachium. The RTE was abolished in one patient with a hemorrhage involving the right posterior thalamus that damaged part of the SC and that disrupted its brachium; and in another patient in whom the SC appeared intact but deafferented due to traumatic avulsion of its brachium. In addition reaction time for unilateral targets in the contralesional field was slowed in both patients, providing the first evidence that visual afferents to the SC contribute to the efficiency of target detection

Engineering an Advanced Location-Based Augmented Reality Engine for Smart Mobile Devices

Daily business routines more and more require to access information systems in a mobile manner, while preserving a desktop-like feeling at the same time. The goal of this work is to outline the engineering process of a sophisticated mobile service running on a smartphone. More precisely, we show how to develop the core of a location-based augmented reality engine for the iPhone 4S based on the operating system iOS 5.1 (or higher). We denote this engine as AREA. In particular, we develop concepts for coping with limited resources on a mobile device, while providing a smooth user augmented reality experience at the same time. We further present and develop a suitable application architecture in this context, which easily allows integrating augmented reality with a wide range of applications

Rice and Water: The Final Frontier

Outlines the threat of diminishing water resources for rice crops, the economic and social dimensions of the droughts' potential effects, and the new cultural systems and adapted rice varieties being pursued as potential solutions

Advances in quantitative microscopy

Microscopy allows us to peer into the complex deeply shrouded world that the cells of our body grow and thrive in. With the emergence of automated digital microscopes and software for anlysing and processing the large numbers of image that they produce; quantitative microscopy approaches are now allowing us to answer ever larger and more complex biological questions. In this thesis I explore two trends. Firstly, that of using quantitative microscopy for performing unbiased screens, the advances made here include developing strategies to handle imaging data captured from physiological models, and unsupervised analysis screening data to derive unbiased biological insights. Secondly, I develop software for analysing live cell imaging data, that can now be captured at greater rates than ever before and use this to help answer key questions covering the biology of how cells make the decision to arrest or proliferate in response to DNA damage. Together this thesis represents a view of the current state of the art in high-throughput quantitative microscopy and details where the field is heading as machine learning approaches become ever more sophisticated.Open Acces

Mobile application to enhance refugees integration in Greece

Traballo Fin de Grao en Enxeñaría Informática. Curso 2017-2018In the past years, Europe has been facing a massive increase in the immigration affluence, caused partially (but not exclusively) by the outbreak of the war in Syria. More than three hundred sixty thousand migrants risked their life to get to Europe in 2016 and more than one thousand had drowned in the Mediterranean at July 3, 2018, according to UNHCR. One of the most common ways for people to arrive is through the eastern Mediterranean, refugees coming mostly from Syria make their way along Turkey and cross the sea to Greece. Although applying for asylum can be a lengthy procedure, many applications are been received, many more than the countries are accepting so far. In 2015, EU countries offered asylum to 292,540 refugees, in contrast with the more than a million ones who applied for it on the same year. As indicated in the presentation of the UNINTEGRA project (further explanation later), more than fifty thousand refugees and asylum appliers are blocked in Greece and live in precarious conditions. In September 2017, the European relocation program of two years ended. As UNHCR reports, only a few refugees are able to leave Greece and move to a third country. The long time living in refugee camps or in irregular places have affected negatively these refugees in social and psychological terms. Despite of the efforts of the Greek and international authorities, the projects of the NGOs and the volunteers, refugees do not have complete access to the basic social and health services yet. There is a clear need of innovative projects to help refugees to get back into an active life, looking for a social integration and inclusion and putting special attention to special necessities like LGTB people, children in risk or mothers which are alone with kids. It is because of this that the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) leads, since 2017, the project UNINTEGRA, in collaboration with the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece), Universidade do Minho (Portugal), Fundació Acsar (Spain), Fundació Universitària Balmes (Spain) and Concello de Santiago de Compostela. The UNINTEGRA project is also co-funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) of the European Commission. This project has the main aim to intervene in the migration process by providing people in refugee sites and centres with the necessary resources to empower them, encouraging their participation in the host community. The duration of the project is 24 months and its period of implementation runs from 1st December 2017 to 30th November 2019, and it is divided in six work packages which affect different areas inside the general objectives. The project this document treats about corresponds to the fourth work package: the App4Refs application. This working package is led by the Fundació Acsar and counts with the collaboration of the Department of Electronics and Computer Science in the University of Santiago de Compostela, who offered it as a final project

Develop Best Practices for Designing Internal Business Database-Driven Web Applications

When developing using newer technology, it is important for smaller information technology organizations to have universally accepted set of best practices to be able to successfully complete that type of endeavor. How can these universally accepted set of best practices be developed? Conducting research on accepted best practices can build the basis for your theories and assumptions. Next, in the context of your applications, develop an example application in the newer technology to test your theories and assumptions. Build the application like a construction project, the initial design is the blueprint, the database is the foundation and the user interface is the actual building. When you get right down to it, the principals of simplicity, consistency and user interaction are always best practices in developing applications

Role of the immunoglobulin superfamily member Basigin in sensory neuron dendrite morphogenesis in Drosophila

Neurons develop highly stereotypic dendritic arbors that influence establishment of proper connections and integration of information they receive to generate an appropriate output. Morphogenesis of dendrites is coordinated by both cell-intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Recent studies have begun to elucidate how interactions between neurons shape dendrite morphogenesis. However, influence of the substrate upon which neurons grow their dendritic arbors in this process is relatively poorly understood. Here I have used the peripheral sensory neurons of the Drosophila larva that grow dendrites over epithelial cell substrates to gain insights into how interactions with the substrate may influence dendrite development. In this thesis, I present data showing that Basigin, an immunoglobulin superfamily member, has somatodendritic and axonal localization in sensory neurons, and is enriched at cell borders and beneath class IV dendrites in epithelial cells. Loss of function analyses indicate that Basigin is required both in neurons and epithelial cell substrates for proper morphogenesis of the highly complex dendrites of class IV sensory neurons. Reduced innervation of the dendritic field of basigin mutant neurons was observed even at an immature stage, indicating a requirement of Basigin in these neurons for developmental elaboration of dendritic arbors. Structure-function analysis revealed that membrane-tethering of Basigin on the neuronal surface is essential for its function. In addition, a highly conserved tri-basic motif consisting of positively charged residues that may bind cytoskeletal adaptor proteins is required for its function in neurons. Results of genetic interaction analysis suggest that Basigin-mediated regulation of dendrite morphogenesis does not involve Integrin and matrix metalloproteinases, both of which have been implicated in Basigin function in other cellular contexts. I show that Basigin exhibits genetic interaction with Tropomodulin, an actin-capping protein, suggesting that they function in the same molecular pathway in regulating dendrite development. Taken together, data presented in this thesis support a model in which interaction between Basigin on the surfaces of neurons and epithelial cells regulate the underlying cytoskeleton within dendrites to influence their development. Thus, these results identify a novel molecular pathway that may mediate communication between neurons and their substrates that is essential for proper dendrite morphogenesis

Augmented Reality Advertisement on Android as A New Marketing Strategy (ReADroid)

Augmented Reality Advertisement on Android as A New Marketing Stategy is a project to study the effectiveness of using augmented reality technology in marketing strategy based on the prototype being developed called Augmented Reality Advertisement on Android (ReADroid). ReADroid is an Android application for chocolate based advertisement which animate when ttre smartphone camera is pointed to the chocolate wrapper by using augmented reality (AR) approach. In the conventional physical advertising method which mostly dull and static, viewer has high tendency to ignore without gving any bodily responses towards the advertisement. This problem leads to viewer difficulties to remember the advertisement well. By creating and developing an interactive and engaging AR advertising application, ReADroid ensure that half of the advertisement viewers remember about the advertisement. As a little number of researches has been done to investigate the effectiveness of AR advertisement, this project is contributing to the evaluation on the usability and receptivity of users towards the AR advertisement. Men and women between 15 to 35 years old are the main target goup that will b€ using ReADroid on their Android smartphone to see the AR chocolate based advertisement on the chocolate wrapper. [n order to facilitate the requirement changes, ReADroid development is based on the modified version of Waterfdl Methodology Model called Sashimi Methodology Model. Based on the data gathering and analysis, by using Qualcomm Augmented Reality (QCAR) as the AR framework, together with unity 3D Pro, Blender and Android softrrare Development Kit (SDK), ReADroid satisfy more than 50 respondents' needs by allowing us€r to criticize or praise the advertised products directly at the advertisement, play the garnes provided, view the promotion or visiting the advertiser website. As conclusion, this interactive application will solve the ineffestiveness in conventional physical advertisement, thus creating bigger plaform for business to acquire more profit