Mathematical Modeling of Tuberculosis Bacillary Counts and Cellular Populations in the Organs of Infected Mice

Background: Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a particularly aggressive microorganism and the host's defense is based on the induction of cellular immunity, in which the creation of a granulomatous structure has an important role. Methodology: We present here a new 2D cellular automata model based on the concept of a multifunctional process that includes key factors such as the chemokine attraction of the cells; the role of innate immunity triggered by natural killers; the presence of neutrophils; apoptosis and necrosis of infected macrophages; the removal of dead cells by macrophages, which induces the production of foamy macrophages (FMs); the life cycle of the bacilli as a determinant for the evolution of infected macrophages; and the immune response. Results: The results obtained after the inclusion of two degrees of tolerance to the inflammatory response triggered by the infection shows that the model can cover a wide spectrum, ranging from highly-tolerant (i.e. mice) to poorly-tolerant hosts (i.e. mini-pigs or humans). Conclusions: This model suggest that stopping bacillary growth at the onset of the infection might be difficult and the important role played by FMs in bacillary drainage in poorly-tolerant hosts together with apoptosis and innate lymphocytes. It also shows the poor ability of the cellular immunity to control the infection, provides a clear protective character to the granuloma, due its ability to attract a sufficient number of cells, and explains why an already infected host can be constantly reinfected

A method to construct a points system to predict cardiovascular disease considering repeated measures of risk factors

Current predictive models for cardiovascular disease based on points systems use the baseline situation of the risk factors as independent variables. These models do not take into account the variability of the risk factors over time. Predictive models for other types of disease also exist that do consider the temporal variability of a single biological marker in addition to the baseline variables. However, due to their complexity these other models are not used in daily clinical practice. Bearing in mind the clinical relevance of these issues and that cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide we show the properties and viability of a new methodological alternative for constructing cardiovascular risk scores to make predictions of cardiovascular disease with repeated measures of the risk factors and retaining the simplicity of the points systems so often used in clinical practice (construction, statistical validation by simulation and explanation of potential utilization). We have also applied the system clinically upon a set of simulated data solely to help readers understand the procedure constructed

Antecedentes históricos de la relación laboral de los deportistas de élite del motociclismo

Este trabajo aborda la regulación laboral de los profesionales del mundo del deporte, prestando especial atención al sector del motociclismo Español. Su relación de trabajo viene regulada por el Real Decreto 1006/1985, de 26 de Junio. Si bien tenemos conciencia de que una de las primeras carreras fue celebrada en 1924, no fue hasta los años 70, de mano de Ángel Nieto cuando se introdujo por completo el motociclismo en España. En la actualidad se trata de un deporte especialmente popular, en el que destaca Moto GP, globalizando las competiciones motociclistas y es el eslabón principal para la introducción de todo el soporte normativo. A lo largo de nuestra investigación analizamos los orígenes de la motocicleta, la primera creación de una Federación Internacional Motociclista y recorremos la historia de las normas laborales desde los orígenes de las competiciones hasta la actualidad de Moto GP. En este sentido, solo estudiamos la introducción de la normativa laboral y del estatuto de los trabajadores en el ámbito del deportista profesional si no que, además, analizamos los cambios relativos a la seguridad, evolución mecánica y humana y la complejidad de los recursos necesarios para poder disfrutar de este deporte. Para la realización de este trabajo hemos utilizado una biografía, así como fuentes primarias que nos han ayudado a explicar cada uno de los aspectos mencionados. Nuestra voluntad es plasmar, de la forma más clara posible, la evolución que ha sufrido la condición laboral de estos pilotos.This paper deals with the labour regulation of professionals in the world of sport, paying special attention to the Spanish motorcycling sector. Their employment relation-ship is regulated by Royal Decree 1006/1985, of 26 June 1985. Although we are aware that one of the first races was held in 1924, it was not until the 1970s, thanks to Ángel Nieto, that motorcycling was fully introduced in Spain. Now-adays, it is a particularly popular sport, in which Moto GP stands out, globalising motor-cycling competitions and it is the main trigger for the introduction of all the regulatory support. Throughout our research we analyse the origins of motorcycling, the first creation of an International Motorcycling Federation and we trace the history of labour regulations from the origins of the competitions to the present day of Moto GP. In this sense, we not only study the introduction of labour regulations and the workers' statute in the field of professional sportsmen, but we also analyse the changes related to safety, mechanical and human evolution and the complexity of the resources necessary to be able to enjoy this sport. In order to carry out this work, we have used a biography, as well as primary sources that have helped us to explain each of the aspects mentioned. Our aim is to show, as clearly as possible, the evolution that the working conditions of these pilots have under-gone

Stiffness map of the grasping contact areas of the human hand

The elasticity and damping of the soft tissues of the hand contribute to dexterity while grasping and also help to stabilise the objects in manipulation tasks. Although some previous works have studied the force-displacement response of the fingertips, the responses in all other regions of the hand that usually participate in grasping have not been analysed to date. In this work we performed experimental measurements in 20 subjects to obtain a stiffness map of the different grasping contact areas of the human hand. A force-displacement apparatus was used to simultaneously measure force and displacement at 39 different points on the hand at six levels of force ranging from 1 N to 6 N. A non-linear force-displacement response was found for all points, with stiffness increasing with the amount of force applied. Mean stiffness for the different points and force levels was within the range from 0.2 N/mm to 7.7 N/mm. However, the stiffness range and variation with level of force were found to be different from point to point. A total of 13 regions with similar stiffness behaviours were identified. The stiffness in the fingertips increased linearly with the amount of force applied, while in the palm it remained more constant for the range of forces considered. It is hypothesised that the differences in the stiffness behaviour from one region to another allow these regions to play different roles during grasping.

Hand posture prediction using neural networks within a biomechanical model

This paper proposes the use of artificial neural networks (ANNs) in the framework of a biomechanical hand model for grasping. ANNs enhance the model capabilities as they substitute estimated data for the experimental inputs required by the grasping algorithm used. These inputs are the tentative grasping posture and the most open posture during grasping. As a consequence, more realistic grasping postures are predicted by the grasping algorithm, along with the contact information required by the dynamic biomechanical model (contact points and normals). Several neural network architectures are tested and compared in terms of prediction errors, leading to encouraging results. The performance of the overall proposal is also shown through simulation, where a grasping experiment is replicated and compared to the real grasping data collected by a data glove device. 

Seismic behavior of 1960's RC buildings exposed to marine environment

Steel rebars corrosion is one of the most important problems of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. The mechanical performance loss of RC elements because of steel corrosion can be aggravated under horizontal loads (e.g. wind pressure or seismic actions). This paper presents a methodology for the study of the seismic behavior of a residential typology of the Mediterranean coast, which was widely spread during the 1960's. These RC frame structures are usually 10 to 15 stories high, located very close to the coast and are exempt buildings, which made them specially exposed to chloride corrosion. Besides, there are some design conditions that should be taken into account: (i) these structures were designed only under gravity loads, especially seismic actions were not considered. (ii) The raw materials had lower quality than those considered in current design codes, e.g. structural concrete strength was around 15 MPa, and made with natural beach sand as fine aggregates (hence including chlorides into the concrete mass). Therefore, two important aspects converge in these buildings, fifty years of marine exposure (i.e. degradation by corrosion) and the omission of the seismic loads in the original design, making them especially vulnerable to earthquakes (in an area with a moderate-high seismicity). Hence, a methodology for the seismic analysis of the corroded structure is proposed, in order to determine the structural safety factor of this type of structures, and evaluate the effectiveness of a retrofitting if necessary

Characterisation of Grasp Quality Metrics

Robot grasp quality metrics are used to evaluate, compare and select robotic grasp configurations. Many of them have been proposed based on a diversity of underlying principles and to assess different aspects of the grasp configurations. As a consequence, some of them provide similar information but other can provide completely different assessments. Combinations of metrics have been proposed in order to provide global indexes, but these attempts have shown the difficulties of merging metrics with different numerical ranges and even physical units. All these studies have raised the need of a deeper knowledge in order to determine independent grasp quality metrics which enable a global assessment of a grasp, and a way to combine them. This paper presents an exhaustive study in order to provide numerical evidence for these issues. Ten quality metrics are used to evaluate a set of grasps planned by a simulator for 7 different robot hands over a set of 126 object models. Three statistical analysis, namely, variability, correlation and sensitivity, are performed over this extensive database. Results and graphs presented allow to set practical thresholds for each quality metric, select independent metrics, and determine the robustness of each metric,providing a reliability indicator under pose uncertainty. The results from this paper are intended to serve as guidance for practical use of quality metrics by researchers on grasp planning algorithms

Relapses and obstetric outcomes in women with multiple sclerosis planning pregnancy

Abstract Objective To evaluate the effect of discontinuation of different disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) before pregnancy with respect to the occurrence of relapses and pregnancy outcomes. Methods Women with multiple sclerosis who desire to bear children were followed prospectively. Demographic data, clinical characteristics, and the information on the use of DMTs were collected. A multivariate analysis was used to assess the relationship between relapses and the prior use of different DMTs. Results The present study assessed 75 consecutive pregnancy plans (66 women), 65 of which resulted in pregnancy. The mean age of the participants was 32.1 ± 4.2 years, and the mean disease duration was 6.1 ± 4.2 years. No relapses before pregnancy were reported in the group of women who maintained their DMT until pregnancy confirmation, while 14 relapses were reported in 12/42 women (29%) who discontinued DMT before pregnancy. During pregnancy, patients on natalizumab or fingolimod before pregnancy had a higher rate of relapses. Most women restarted their previous DMT after delivery within the first trimester. The relapse rate in postpartum was 0.07. Conclusions Disease-modifying therapies received influences the risk of relapse and disease progression from women who are planning pregnancy. The risk of relapse during pregnancy was significantly higher in the group of women treated with natalizumab or fingolimod compared to the group of women treated with interferon beta or glatiramer acetate. The postpartum risk of relapses was lower than that found in previous reports

An introductory study of common grasps used by adults during performance of activities of daily living

This paper presents the results of a descriptive survey on human grasps. Sixty-four videos were selected to represent tasks performed in the main areas of activities of daily living (ADL) (personal care, meal preparation, eating, housekeeping, etc.). All the participants were right-handed. Elementary grasps were identified for each hand, and the grasp type (from a 9-type classification), the hands involved, and the duration were registered for each case. The results show that the most commonly used grasps are: pinch, non-prehensile, cylindrical, lateral pinch and lumbrical. The presence of these grasps in the areas of ADL is, however, very different (e.g., pinch is widely used in food preparation and very little in driving). Some grasps were used more frequently with one hand or when both hands were used simultaneously (e.g., special pinch was hardly used by the left hand). Knowing the grasp types most frequently used in ADL is essential to be able to assess grasp rehabilitation processes or hand prostheses development

Grip force and force sharing in two different manipulation tasks with bottles

Grip force and force sharing during two activities of daily living were analysed experimentally in 10 right-handed subjects. Four different bottles, filled to two different levels, were manipulated for two tasks: transporting and pouring. Each test subject’s hand was instrumented with eight thin wearable force sensors. The grip force and force sharing were significantly different for each bottle model. Increasing the filling level resulted in an increase in grip force, but the ratio of grip force to load force was higher for lighter loads. The task influenced the force sharing but not the mean grip force. The contributions of the thumb and ring finger were higher in the pouring task, whereas the contributions of the palm and the index finger were higher in the transport task. Mean force sharing among fingers was 30% for index, 29% for middle, 22% for ring and 19% for little finger. Practitioner Summary: We analysed grip force and force sharing in two manipulation tasks with bottles: transporting and pouring. The objective was to understand the effects of the bottle features, filling level and task on the contribution of different areas of the hand to the grip force. Force sharing was different for each task and the bottles features affected to both grip force and force sharing.We wish to thank the Fundació Caixa-Castelló and the Universi- tat Jaume I for financial support through project P1-1B2009-40 and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and FEDER through project DPI2014-60635-R. With the financial support of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Con- struction at the Universitat Jaume I, Mark Andrews helped the authors with the English language edition of the manuscript