Hacia la generación automática de mecánicas de juego: un editor de reglas para Eryna

Este artículo es parte de un trabajo emergente dirigido a la creación automática de juegos de estrategia en tiempo real (RTS), lo cual incluye la generación de contenido, la creación de la inteligencia artificial del juego (es decir, de los jugadores virtuales) y de la propia mecánica del mismo. En este artículo se describe un editor que consta de múltiples parámetros que pueden configurarse para activar o desactivar decenas de reglas que pueden cambiar la mecánica de un juego RTS. El trabajo aquí descrito se realiza en el contexto del juego Eryna, una plataforma de experimentación implementada en la Universidad de Málaga. El editor de reglas es una herramienta que será usada en el futuro para permitir la evolución automática de las reglas de este videojuego y la creación de distintas mecánicas para el mismo. Lo que presentamos aquí debe ser evaluado como un trabajo emergente en el cual estamos trabajando.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Patents Analysis of Thermal Bridges in Slab Fronts and Their Effect on Energy Demand

Nowadays, the building sector is one of the main sources emitting pollutant gases to the atmosphere due to its deficient energy behaviour. Among the elements of the envelope, the thermal bridges are where the heat losses and gains mainly occur, depending on the season of the year. To reduce the effect of the thermal bridges, there are different patented technologies which give provide solutions. In this paper, the thermal behaviour of five patented slab front (slab-façade) thermal bridges are analysed in a case study located in the south of Spain. Moreover, the influence of the thermal bridge on the energy demand from the building analysed was evaluated, both in the current scenario and future ones (2020, 2050 and 2080). The results reveal that the use of the patents in slab fronts can mean reductions by up to 95.74% in the linear thermal transmittance. Likewise, due to the improvement of the thermal bridge of slab fronts by using the patented designs which offered the best features, a savings in the global energy demand for heating higher than 18% as well as a savings in the global energy demand for cooling higher than 2.80% could be achieved in all the time scenarios considered

Engineers and technicians in Latin European Gas Industry (1914-1945)

Este trabajo analiza los ingenieros y los técnicos de la industria del gas en la Europa Latina entre 1914 y 1945, es decir, entre el año de comienzo de la Primera Guerra Mundial y el año final de la II Guerra Mundial, periodo marcada por el predominio del gas producido con carbón y por dificultadades debido a los retos a los que se enfrentó al industria gasista en ambos conflictos bélicos y en los años de entreguerras. El estudio se fundamenta en los obituarios recogidos en la revisa Journal des usines à gaz.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Potential Oestrogenic Effects (Following the OECD Test Guideline 440) and Thyroid Dysfunction Induced by Pure Cyanotoxins (Microcystin-LR, Cylindrospermopsin) in Rats

Potential endocrine-disrupting properties of cyanotoxins, such as microcystin-LR (MC-LR) and cylindrospermopsin (CYN) are of concern due to their increasing occurrence, the scarcity of reports on the topic (particularly for CYN) and the impact of human's health at different levels. Thus, this work performed for the first time the uterotrophic bioassay in rats, following the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Test Guideline 440, to explore the oestrogenic properties of CYN and MC-LR (75, 150, 300 μg/kg b.w./day) in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Results revealed neither changes in the wet and blotted uterus weights nor in the morphometric study of uteri. Moreover, among the steroid hormones analysed in serum, the most remarkable effect was the dose-dependent increase in progesterone (P) levels in rats exposed to MC-LR. Additionally, a histopathology study of thyroids and serum levels of thyroids hormones were determined. Tissue affectation (follicular hypertrophy, exfoliated epithelium, hyperplasia) was observed, as well as increased T3 and T4 levels in rats exposed to both toxins. Taken together, these results point out that CYN and MC-LR are not oestrogenic compounds at the conditions tested in the uterotrophic assay in OVX rats, but, however, thyroid disruption effects cannot be discarded.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación PRE 2020-094412Junta de Andalucía P18-RTJ-195

La comunicación universitaria. Modelos, tendencias y herramientas para una nueva relación con sus públicos

En este artículo se realiza un recorrido por los distintos modelos de Comunicación Universitaria y su evolución en el tiempo. Se analizan desde una perspectiva propositiva las principales tendencias europeas en materia de estrategias universitarias y de comunicación usando como ejemplo 30 universidades europeas. También se examina la disponibilidad de nuevas herramientas empleadas en esas universidades y se analiza el uso de las redes sociales en cinco universidades españolas

Inappropriate prescribing to older patients admitted to hospital: A comparison of different tools of misprescribing and underprescribing

Purpose: This study aims to assess inappropriate prescribing (IP) to elderly patients during the month prior to hospitalization and to compare different IP criteria. Methods: An observational, prospective and multicentric study was carried out in the internal medicine services of seven Spanish hospitals. Patients aged 75 years and older were randomly selected after hospital admission for a year. To assess potentially inappropriate medicines (PIMs), the Beers and STOPP criteria were used and to assess Potentially Prescribing Omissions (PPOs), the START criteria and ACOVE-3 medicine quality indicators were used. An analysis to assess factors associated with IP was performed. Results: 672 patients [median age (Q1_Q3) 82 (79-86) years, 55.9% female] were included. Median prescribed medicines in the month prior to hospitalization were 10(Q1-Q3 7-13). The prevalence of IP was 87.6%, and 54.3% of patients had PIMs and PPOs concurrently. A higher prevalence rate of PIMs was predicted using the STOPP criteria than with the Beers criteria (p<.001) and a higher prevalence of PPOs using the ACOVE-3 criteria than using the START criteria (p<.001) was observed. Polypharmacy (≥10 medicines) was the strongest predictor of IP [OR=11.34 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.96-25.94], PIMs [OR=14.16, 95% CI 6.44-31.12], Beers-listed PIMs [OR=8.19, 95% CI 3.01-22.28] and STOPP-listed PIMs [OR=8.21, 95% CI 3.47-19.44]. PIMs was the strongest predictor of PPOs [OR=2.79, 95% CI 1.81-4.28]. Conclusions: A high prevalence of polypharmacy and PIMs and PPOs were reported. More than half the patients had simultaneous PIMs and PPOs. The related factors to PIMs and PPOs were different

Safety assessment of propyl-propane-thiosulfonate (PTSO): 90-days oral subchronic toxicity study in rats

Propyl-propane-thiosulfonate (PTSO) is one of the main organosulfur compounds present in Allium essentials oil. Different applications in the food sector have been proposed for PTSO, such as food and feed additive and as active packaging. However, the authorization of its use depends on its toxicity profile. Thus, as a part of its safety assessment, in this work a repeated dose 90-day oral toxicity study has been conducted for the first time in rats following the OECD guideline 408. PTSO was administered to groups of 10 male and 10 female rats at dose levels of 0, 14, 28, and 55 mg/kg/day. No clinical signs or mortality and no changes in body weight, food consumption and feed conversion efficiency were detected through the study. Moreover, no treatment-related changes in hematological and biochemical parameters were observed, for either sex or dose groups. The histopathology study performed revealed no differences in organ weights, and no morphological and histopathological changes were observed. Based on these results, the no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) of PTSO was judged to be ≥ 55 mg/kg/day for both sexes.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Project RTC-2017-6199-2)Junta de Andalucía (Project AT 2017-5323

Acute and subchronic 90-days toxicity assessment of propyl-propane-thiosulfinate (PTS) in rats

The organosulfur compounds (OSC) extracted from Allium spp. exhibit antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant properties. The agri-food industry is taking advantage of these properties by using them as natural feed and food additives. In the present work, an acute and a subchronic 90-days toxicity studies have been conducted for the first time to assess the safety of the OSC propyl-propane-thiosulfinate (PTS). Both studies were carried out following the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development test guidelines (425 and 408, respectively). The acute study provided a maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of 175 mg/kg and the subchronic study established the Non Observed Adverse Effect Level (NOAEL) ≥ 55 mg/kg body weight (b.w.)/day in both sexes. In addition, the subchronic study performed on rats exposed to 14, 28 and 55 mg/kg b.w./day PTS, revealed no changes in any of the hematological parameters measured as well as no differences in body weight and water/food consumption. However, biochemical parameters were altered in some groups, although they were not biologically significant (Ca2+ in female rats, and the thyroids hormones T3 and T4 in rat males). Furthermore, the histopathological assessment evidenced no abnormality on the gastrointestinal, respiratory, lymphoid, urinary, circulatory, nervous, musculoskeletal, and reproductive systems.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación RTC-2017-6199-2Junta de Andalucía AT 2017–5323 and P18-TP-214

Una explicación del comportamiento errático del intervalo de Wald en el modelo binomial

Recoge los contenidos presentados a: ASEPELT España. Reunión anual (21. 2007. Valladolid).Es conocido que el intervalo de Wald para estimar la proporción de éxito en una distribución binomial presenta un comportamiento muy errático con respecto a su probabilidad de cubrimiento al hacer variar los parámetros n y p. Habitualmente se ha considerado que este comportamiento es “esencialmente impredecible”. Sin embargo, el análisis de la causa de estos descensos permite obtener una fórmula que proporciona, fijado p, todos los valores de n en los que se produce un brusco descenso de la probabilidad de cubrimiento. Dicho análisis también permite comprender por qué el intervalo de Wilson presenta un comportamiento menos errático que el de Wald.The erratic behaviour of the coverage probability of the Wald interval of a binomial proportion has previously been remarke on the literture. In addition, “unlucky" values of n again arise in the same “unpredictable” way. In section 4, we present an explication on the “unlucky" of n and, also, we propos a method to calculate, fixed p, the values of n where significant change in coverage probability occurs. From the analysis of the Wald interval, we show that the performance the Wilson interval is less erratic

Urocortin induces positive inotropic effect in rat heart

9 páginas, 6 figuras.Aims The aim of this study is to evaluate the positive inotropic effect of urocortin (Ucn) and to characterize its signalling pathways. Methods and results Contractility was measured in ex vivo Langendorff-perfused hearts isolated from Wistar rats. Isolated ventricular cardiomyocytes were used to analyse intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) transients evoked by electrical stimulation and L-type Ca2+ current by confocal microscopy and whole-cell patch-clamping, respectively. The application of Ucn to perfused hearts induced progressive, sustained, and potent inotropic and lusitropic effects that were dose-dependent with an EC50 of approximately 8 nM. Ucn effects were independent of protein kinase A (PKA) activation but were significantly reduced by protein kinase C (PKC) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitors and by brefeldin A, an antagonist of guanine nucleotide exchange factor, suggested to be an inhibitor of exchange protein activated by cAMP (Epac). These whole-organ effects were correlated with the inotropic effects observed in isolated cells: Ucn increased ICaL density, [Ca2+]i transients, cell shortening and Ca2+ content of sarcoplasmic reticulum. Conclusion Our results show that Ucn evokes potent positive inotropic and lusitropic effects mediated, at least in part, by an increase in ICaL and [Ca2+]i transient amplitude. These effects may involve the activation of Epac, PKC, and MAPK signalling pathways.This study was supported by ‘Red Cardiovascular RECAVA’ of Instituto Carlos III (grant number: RD06-0014-0020, RD06-0014-0007, PI06-0133), Consejerías de Salud, de Innovación Ciencia y Empresa de la Junta de Andalucía (grant numbers: 174/2006, P06-CTS-01711), Inserm, and by Agence Nationale pour la Recherche (grant: Physio2006Epac). T.S is a ‘Ramon y Cajal’ Researcher and E.C is a fellow student from RECAVA.Peer reviewe