Behavior modeling for a beacon-based indoor location system

In this work we performed a comparison between two different approaches to track a person in indoor environments using a locating system based on BLE technology with a smartphone and a smartwatch as monitoring devices. To do so, we provide the system architecture we designed and describe how the different elements of the proposed system interact with each other. Moreover, we have evaluated the system’s performance by computing the mean percentage error in the detection of the indoor position. Finally, we present a novel location prediction system based on neural embeddings, and a soft-attention mechanism, which is able to predict user’s next location with 67% accuracy

Location Based Indoor and Outdoor Lightweight Activity Recognition System

In intelligent environments one of the most relevant information that can be gathered about users is their location. Their position can be easily captured without the need for a large infrastructure through devices such as smartphones or smartwatches that we easily carry around in our daily life, providing new opportunities and services in the field of pervasive computing and sensing. Location data can be very useful to infer additional information in some cases such as elderly or sick care, where inferring additional information such as the activities or types of activities they perform can provide daily indicators about their behavior and habits. To do so, we present a system able to infer user activities in indoor and outdoor environments using Global Positioning System (GPS) data together with open data sources such as OpenStreetMaps (OSM) to analyse the user’s daily activities, requiring a minimal infrastructure

Microfluidic Devices for Examining the Physical Limits of Migration in Confined Environments

Cell migration plays a key role in many physiological and pathological conditions during which cells migrate primarily in the 3D environments formed by tissues. Microfluidics enables the design of simple devices that can mimic in a highly controlled manner the geometry and dimensions of the interstices encountered by cells in the body. Here we describe the design, fabrication, and implementation of an array of channels with a range of cross sections to investigate migration of cells and cell clusters through confined spaces. By combining this assay with a motorized microscope stage, image data can be acquired with high throughput to determine the physical limits of migration in confined environments and their biological origin

Efecto antioxidante y citoprotector del tocosh de Solanum tuberosum ‘papa’ en la mucosa gástrica de animales de experimentación

El tocosh es un producto alimenticio obtenido por una técnica de conservación andina y que tiene propiedades nutritivas y terapéuticas. Objetivo: Demostrar la capacidad antioxidante y el efecto citoprotector del tocosh de Solanum tuberosum ‘papa’ en la mucosa gástrica de animales de experimentación. Diseño: Experimental. Institución: Centro de Investigación de Bioquímica y Nutrición, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Perú. Material biológico: Tocosh seco y molido administrado a ratas albinas. Intervenciones: A 6 grupos de ratas albinas machos (200 ± 50 g) se les dividió en: (GI) solución NaCl 0,9%, 10 mL/kg; (GII) etanol al 70% a 10 mL/kg; (GIII, IV y V) Tocosh equivalente a 900 mg/kg, 1 800 mg/kg y 2 700 mg/kg, respectivamente, y (GVI) sucralfato 30 mg/kg. En todos los casos, una hora después se indujo injuria con etanol 70° a 10 mL/kg y por laparotomía abdominal se obtuvo el tejido gástrico. Principales medidas de resultados: Porcentaje de citoprotección gástrica en imagen digitalizada por image analysis software for plant disease quantification y capacidad antioxidante por lipoperoxidación método espectrofotométrico de la reacción de especies reactivas al ácido tiobarbitúrico (TBARS). Resultados: La marcha fitoquímica identificó compuestos fenólicos, alcaloides, triterpenoides y esteroides, azúcares reductores y aminoácidos libres como metabolitos secundarios. Las dosis de 2 700 mg/kg y 900 mg/kg resultaron en 0,72 y 1,81 nmol/g tejido de lipoperoxidación, respectivamente. La dosis de 1 800 mg/kg protegió un 97% del área de la mucosa gástrica, 2 700 mg/kg un 95% y la de 900 mg/kg, 88% (p<0,05). La dosis de 1 800 mg/kg exhibió mejor efecto citoprotector y la de 2 700 mg/kg mejor actividad antioxidante, comparada con sucralfato 30 mg/kg. Conclusiones: El tocosh de Solanum tuberosum ‘papa’ tuvo efecto citoprotector y actividad antioxidante

The first World Cell Race

Motility is a common property of animal cells. Cell motility is required for embryogenesis [1], tissue morphogenesis [2] and the immune response [3] but is also involved in disease processes, such as metastasis of cancer cells [4]. Analysis of cell migration in native tissue in vivo has yet to be fully explored, but motility can be relatively easily studied in vitro in isolated cells. Recent evidence suggests that cells plated in vitro on thin lines of adhesive proteins printed onto culture dishes can recapitulate many features of in vivo migration on collagen fibers 5, 6. However, even with controlled in vitro measurements, the characteristics of motility are diverse and are dependent on the cell type, origin and external cues. One objective of the first World Cell Race was to perform a large-scale comparison of motility across many different adherent cell types under standardized conditions. To achieve a diverse selection, we enlisted the help of many international laboratories, who submitted cells for analysis. The large-scale analysis, made feasible by this competition-oriented collaboration, demonstrated that higher cell speed correlates with the persistence of movement in the same direction irrespective of cell origin

Enseñanza de Ciencias en Nivel Secundario: Experimentación Remota Usando VISIR

La actividad experimental es fundamental en la enseñanza de las ciencias en cualquier nivel de educación, para la comprensión de los contenidos, pero también para despertar el interés en las asignaturas científicas. La motivación de los estudiantes y el trabajo colaborativo son aspectos esenciales para lograr resultados positivos en el aprendizaje. Este artículo describe la implementación de una serie de actividades de experimentación remota utilizando el laboratorio remoto VISIR en una asignatura de Física en nivel secundario. Datos cualitativos y cuantitativos fueron analizados con el objetivo de estudiar la influencia del uso de VISIR en la motivación de los estudiantes. Los resultados mostraron que la experimentación remota es una herramienta muy útil para fomentar el interés en tópicos de circuitos electrónicos.N/

Targeting cholesterol-rich microdomains to circumvent tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer

Adjuvant treatment with tamoxifen substantially improves survival of women with estrogen-receptor positive (ER+) tumors. Tamoxifen resistance (TAMR) limits clinical benefit. RRR alpha tocopherol ether-linked acetic acid analogue (alpha-TEA) is a small bioactive lipid with potent anticancer activity. We evaluated the ability of alpha-TEA in the presence of tamoxifen to circumvent TAMR in human breast cancer cell lines. Methods: Two genotypically matched sets of TAM-sensitive (TAMS) and TAM-resistant (TAMR) human breast cancer cell lines were assessed for signal-transduction events with Western blotting, apoptosis induction with Annexin V-FITC/PI assays, and characterization of cholesterol-rich microdomains with fluorescence staining. Critical involvement of selected mediators was determined by using RNA interference and chemical inhibitors. Results: Growth-factor receptors (total and phosphorylated forms of HER-1 and HER-2), their downstream prosurvival mediators pAkt, pmTOR, and pERK1/2, phosphorylated form of estrogen receptor-alpha (pER-alpha at Ser-167 and Ser-118, and cholesterol-rich lipid microdomains were highly amplified in TAMR cell lines and enhanced by treatment with TAM. alpha-TEA disrupted cholesterol-rich microdomains, acted cooperatively with TAM to reduce prosurvival mediators, and induced DR5-mediated mitochondria-dependent apoptosis via an endoplasmic reticulum stress-triggered pro-death pJNK/CHOP/DR5 amplification loop. Furthermore, methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (M beta CD), a chemical disruptor of cholesterol rich microdomains, acted cooperatively with TAM to reduce prosurvival mediators and to induce apoptosis. Conclusions: Data for the first time document that targeting cholesterol-rich lipid microdomains is a potential strategy to circumvent TAMR, and the combination of alpha-TEA + TAM can circumvent TAMR by suppression of prosurvival signaling via disruption of cholesterol-rich lipid microdomains and activation of apoptotic pathways via induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress.Clayton Foundation for ResearchCenter for Molecular and Cellular Toxicology at the University of TexasNIEHS/NIH T32 ES07247Nutritional Science

The VISIR+ Project – Preliminary results of the training actions

Experimental competences allow engineering students to consolidate knowledge and skills. Remote labs are a powerful tool to aid students in those developments. The VISIR remote lab was considered the best remote lab in the world in 2015. The VISIR+ project main goal is to spread VISIR usage in Brazil and Argentina, providing technical and didactical sup- port. This paper presents an analysis of the already prosecuted actions regarding this project and an assessment of their impact in terms of conditioning factors. The overall outcomes are highly positive since, in each Latin American Higher Education Institution, all training actions were successful, the first didactical implementations were designed and ongoing in the current semester. In some cases, instead of one foreseen implementation, there are several. The most statistically conditioning factors which affected the outcomes were the pre-experience with re- mote labs, the pre-experience with VISIR and the training actions duration. The teachers’ per- ceptions that most conditioned their enrollment in implementing VISIR in their courses were related to their consciousness of the VISIR effectiveness to teach and learn. The lack of time to practice and discuss their doubts and the fulfillment of their expectations in the training actions, also affected how comfortable in modifying their course curricula teachers were.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Research designs considerations for chronic pain prevention clinical trials: IMMPACT recommendations

Although certain risk factors can identify individuals who aremost likely to develop chronic pain, few interventions to prevent chronic pain have been identified. To facilitate the identification of preventive interventions, an IMMPACTmeeting was convened to discuss research design considerations for clinical trials investigating the prevention of chronic pain. We present general design considerations for prevention trials in populations that are at relatively high risk for developing chronic pain. Specific design considerations included subject identification, timing and duration of treatment, outcomes, timing of assessment, and adjusting for risk factors in the analyses.We provide a detailed examination of 4 models of chronic pain prevention (ie, chronic postsurgical pain, postherpetic neuralgia, chronic low back pain, and painful chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy). The issues discussed can, inmany instances, be extrapolated to other chronic pain conditions. These examples were selected because they are representative models of primary and secondary prevention, reflect persistent pain resulting from multiple insults (ie, surgery, viral infection, injury, and toxic or noxious element exposure), and are chronically painful conditions that are treated with a range of interventions. Improvements in the design of chronic pain prevention trials could improve assay sensitivity and thus accelerate the identification of efficacious interventions. Such interventions would have the potential to reduce the prevalence of chronic pain in the population. Additionally, standardization of outcomes in prevention clinical trials will facilitate meta-analyses and systematic reviews and improve detection of preventive strategies emerging from clinical trials

Chapter 1

Experimenting is fundamental to the training process of all scientists and engineers. While experiments have been traditionally done inside laboratories, the emergence of Information and Communication Technologies added two alter-natives accessible anytime, anywhere. These two alternatives are known as virtual and remote labs, and are sometimes indistinguishably referred as online labs. Sim-ilarly to other instructional technologies, virtual and remote labs require some ef-fort from teachers in integrating them into curricula, taking into consideration sev-eral factors that affect their adoption (i.e. cost) and their educational effectiveness (i.e. benefit). This chapter analyses these two dimensions and sustains the case where only through international cooperation it is possible to serve the large num-ber of teachers and students involved in engineering education. It presents an ex-ample in the area of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, based on a remote lab named Virtual Instruments System in Reality, and it then describes how a number of European and Latin-American institutions have been cooperating under the scope of an Erasmus+ project2, for spreading its use in Brazil and Argentina.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio