Estimation of the polar angle in a 3D infrared indoor positioning system based on a QADA receiver

2019 International Conference on Indoor Positioning and Indoor Navigation (IPIN), 30 September 2019 - 03 October 2019, Pisa, Italy.Three-dimension infrared positioning systems are a must on indoor local positioning systems, where those based on photodetectors are the most typically used in order not to have complex processing algorithms but a fast positioning computation. Most optical positioning systems are characterized by their low cost, low lifetime, and easy integration on the workplace. This work proposes an infrared positioning system based on four infrared LEDs and a QADA receiver. By applying encoding techniques to the infrared transmissions, the points of incidence from those transmitters on the QADA receiver are simultaneously obtained and the polar angle compensated, in order to finally estimate the receiver?s position. The geometrical considerations of the system have been derived, including the polar angle and its behaviour with regard to the receiver?s position, the angle of incidence and the aperture height. The proposal has been successfully validated by simulation and experimental tests, obtaining positioning errors below 10 cm.Ministerio de Economía y CompetitividadAgencia Estatal de Investigació

Linguistic OWA and time windows based Fault Identification in wide plants

Producción CientíficaFault detection and diagnosis in industrial processes are challenging tasks that demand effective and timely decision making procedures. The multivariate statistical approaches for fault detection based on data have been very useful. However, they are known to be less powerful for fault diagnosis because they normally require prior knowledge of the problem involved. In this context, this proposal is based on an on-line, distributed fault isolation approach to provide a scored rank of variables considered as respon- sible for the faults in a more robust and earlier way than usual approaches. The fault isolation is carried out considering some top Fault Isolation (FI) methods, without prior knowledge regarding faults, in a distributed and collaborative way by a linguistic based decision making. The isolation of faulty variables provided by each FI approach is aggregated to provide a fault identification based on a scored ranking at two time points: after the fault detection and when the plant has recovered. In both cases, the final fault isolation is provided as a scored ranking obtained by Ordered Weighted Average operators (OWA) and Regular Increasing Monotone (RIM) aggregation functions, which permit the implementation of linguistic aggregation functions. The risk aversion during this multicriteria isolation is tuned by the user and can provide several strategies or policies. The fault isolation at two key times searches for the origin of faults and evaluates the evolution of the system after the fault’s occurrence in the new working position of the plant. This is because faults in an industrial plant are propagated to different variables due to the actions of the process controllers. This method has been applied to two complex benchmark plants obtaining an earlier and more robust isolation.Este trabajo forma parte del proyecto de investogación: MINECO/FEDER. ref: DPI2015- 67341- C2-2-

Understanding microRNAs in the Context of Infection to Find New Treatments against Human Bacterial Pathogens

[EN] The development of RNA-based anti-infectives has gained interest with the successful application of mRNA-based vaccines. Small RNAs are molecules of RNA of <200 nucleotides in length that may control the expression of specific genes. Small RNAs include small interference RNAs (siRNAs), Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), or microRNAs (miRNAs). Notably, the role of miRNAs on the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression has been studied in detail in the context of cancer and many other genetic diseases. However, it is also becoming apparent that some human miRNAs possess important antimicrobial roles by silencing host genes essential for the progress of bacterial or viral infections. Therefore, their potential use as novel antimicrobial therapies has gained interest during the last decade. The challenges of the transport and delivery of miRNAs to target cells are important, but recent research with exosomes is overcoming the limitations in RNA-cellular uptake, avoiding their degradation. Therefore, in this review, we have summarised the latest developments in the exosomal delivery of miRNA-based therapies, which may soon be another complementary treatment to pathogen-targeted antibiotics that could help solve the problem caused by multidrug-resistant bacteriaSIWe thank the Junta de Castilla y León (Spain) for funding our research work on microRNAs, grant number LE044P20. A.M. is supported with a postdoctoral fellowship “Margarita Salas”. M.L. is the recipient of a “Beatriz Galindo” grant (Ref. BEAGAL18/00068 - BGP18/00033

Arquitectura y Salud

Línea de investigación del grupo que pretende indagar sobre la vieja y nueva relación entre Arquitectura y Salud y proponer soluciones proyectuales concretas para este concepto revisado desde la contemporaneidad.. Vieja relación porque tal vez la arquitectura, desde sus orígenes no haya tenido otro sentido (incluso el arte descubre en este concepto un origen de constitución “alguna vez se sabrá que no había arte sino medicina” decía Nietzche). Y nueva por una cierta amnesia que la producción de las últimas décadas, ensimismada ante su opulencia y desarrollo, ha provocado y ahora parece recuperar de la mano de una crisis, que como todas, nos obliga a repensar las objetivos, las lógicas y las razones revisando a qué podría realmente dedicarse el esfuerzo y los medios de esta nueva producción

Contaminación y remediación de suelos

Departamento de Geologí

Modulation of multiple gene clusters’ expression by the PAS-LuxR transcriptional regulator PteF

[EN] PAS-LuxR transcriptional regulators are conserved proteins governing polyene antifungal biosynthesis. PteF is the regulator of filipin biosynthesis from Streptomyces avermitilis. Its mutation drastically abates filipin, but also oligomycin production, a macrolide ATP-synthase inhibitor, and delays sporulation; thus, it has been considered a transcriptional activator. Transcriptomic analyses were performed in S. avermitilis ΔpteF and its parental strain. Both strains were grown in a YEME medium without sucrose, and the samples were taken at exponential and stationary growth phases. A total of 257 genes showed an altered expression in the mutant, most of them at the exponential growth phase. Surprisingly, despite PteF being considered an activator, most of the genes affected showed overexpression, thereby suggesting a negative modulation. The affected genes were related to various metabolic processes, including genetic information processing; DNA, energy, carbohydrate, and lipid metabolism; morphological differentiation; and transcriptional regulation, among others, but were particularly related to secondary metabolite biosynthesis. Notably, 10 secondary metabolite gene clusters out of the 38 encoded by the genome showed altered expression profiles in the mutant, suggesting a regulatory role for PteF that is wider than expected. The transcriptomic results were validated by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. These findings provide important clues to understanding the intertwined regulatory machinery that modulates antibiotic biosynthesis in StreptomycesSIThis research was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (grants BIO2013-42983-P and PCIN-2016-190 to J.F.A.), FPU contracts of the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (AP2007-02055 to T.D.P., FPU13/01537 to A.d.P.), a contract from the Junta de Castilla y León co-financed by the European Social Fund (to E.G.B.), and a fellowship from the Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/64006/2009 to C.M.V.)

Arquitectura y creatividad. Buscando el laboratorio colectivo

Este trabajo pertenece a la línea de investigación: “Creatividad e Investigación: Creatividad y Ciencia. Metodologías de Investigación. la Búsqueda Científica de la Creatividad. Tecnologías de la Creación. Creatividad Social y Proyecto” En esta línea venimos trabajado desde el año 2007 en el grupo de investigación InGentes (TEP-238), y este proyecto se está desarrollando como tesis doctoral actualmente. Entendemos que estamos en un momento donde los desafíos que lanza la sociedad deben ser recogidos por las Universidades, realizando investigaciones orientadas a ofrecer las herramientas necesarias para manejar esas nuevas situaciones que están surgiendo. En este sentido, debe adquirir especial protagonismo el trabajo sobre creatividad, ayudando a crear una identidad creativa para poder dar respuesta a los retos contemporáneos. De forma que nos interesa la creatividad colectiva como nuevo modelo de trabajo, porque no tiene sentido seguir trabajando en entornos donde predomine la competitividad, ya que obtendremos resultados más innovadores mediante la colaboración

LAL regulators SCO0877 and SCO7173 as pleiotropic modulators of phosphate starvation response and actinorhodin biosynthesis in Streptomyces coelicolor

[EN] LAL regulators (Large ATP-binding regulators of the LuxR family) constitute a poorly studied family of transcriptional regulators. Several regulators of this class have been identified in antibiotic and other secondary metabolite gene clusters from actinomycetes, thus they have been considered pathway-specific regulators. In this study we have obtained two disruption mutants of LAL genes from S. coelicolor (Δ0877 and Δ7173). Both mutants were deficient in the production of the polyketide antibiotic actinorhodin, and antibiotic production was restored upon gene complementation of the mutants. The use of whole-genome DNA microarrays and quantitative PCRs enabled the analysis of the transcriptome of both mutants in comparison with the wild type. Our results indicate that the LAL regulators under study act globally affecting various cellular processes, and amongst them the phosphate starvation response and the biosynthesis of the blue-pigmented antibiotic actinorhodin. Both regulators act as negative modulators of the expression of the two-component phoRP system and as positive regulators of actinorhodin biosynthesis. To our knowledge this is the first characterization of LAL regulators with wide implications in Streptomyces metabolismSIThis work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (BIO2007-67585 and BIO2010-19911 to JFA); and the Junta de Castilla y León (Grupo de Excelencia GR117). FPU fellowships of the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (AP2005-3644 to JSA, AP2007-02055 to T.D.P.); a fellowship from the University of León (to SMG); and a contract from the Junta de Castilla y León (E-24-2009-0053914 to CMV). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or presentation of the manuscript

Assessment of oceanographic services for the monitoring of highly anthropised coastal lagoons: The Mar Menor case study

Ocean monitoring systems are designed for continuous monitoring to track their evolution and anticipate environmental issues. However, they are often based on IoT systems that offer little spatial coverage and are hard to maintain. Satellite remote sensing offers good geographical coverage but they also face several challenges to become a monitoring system. This paper introduces an easy-to-use software tool to crawl water-quality data from up to 6 satellite instruments from the ESA and NASA. Particularly, Chl-a data is deeply analyzed in terms of reliability and data coverage for a highly anthropised coastal lagoon (Mar Menor, Spain), where serious socio-environmental issues are happening. Our results show a good linear correlation between in situ data and SRS data, reaching values close to 0.9, and stating the relevance of organic matter inputs from ephemeral streams in Chl-a concentrations. Moreover, temporal granularity is increased from 5 to 1.5 days by combining SRS sources.Preprin

Fatores de risco associados aos níveis de chumbo no sangue das crianças da Comunidade de Madrid em 2010

Introduction: Lead is a toxic element for humans, with children being the most vulnerable population.Objective: To find out the risk factors associated to the existing blood lead levels (BLLs) of children in the Community of Madrid, after 9 years of lead being banned in gasoline.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2010 with a sample of 85 children, less than 15 years of age, recruited via the outpatients’ service of the Pediatrics Department of the Hospital Clínico San Carlos in Madrid. Routine blood tests provided the opportunity for determining other blood parameters. Lead levels were measured using electrothermal-atomization atomic absorption spectrometry with the Zeeman-effect background correction. In addition, a survey was undertaken directed to the parents for gathering information about a series of socioeconomic and environmental variables.Results: The arithmetic mean of the BLLs in the children was 1.1 μg/dL (SD=0.7 μg/dL) with a range from 0.1 μg/dL to 3.4 μg/dL. The geometric mean was 0.9 μg/dL (SD= 1.1 μg/dL). The risk factors associated to these BLLs are the following: playing in the street; low educational level of the parents; leisure activities of one of the parents linked to lead; tobacco smoking of the father; and drinking tap water.Conclusions: The BLLs of the children in the Community of Madrid have decreased, but there are still sociodemographic and environmental risk factors associated to the present levels.Introducción: El plomo es un elemento tóxico para el hombre, siendo los niños la población más vulnerable.Objetivo: Conocer los factores de riesgo asociados a los niveles de plomo en sangre existente en niños de la Comunidad de Madrid tras 9 años de prohibición del plomo en las gasolinas. Métodos: Estudio transversal realizado en el año 2010 en el que se incluyeron 85 niños de ambos sexos, menores de 15 años reclutados en consulta ambulatoria del Servicio de Pediatría del Hospital Clínico San Carlos de Madrid. Se aprovechó la extracción de sangre para la determinación de otros parámetros sanguíneos. El plomo se midió por espectrometría de absorción atómica con atomización electrotérmica y corrección de fondo por efecto Zeeman. Además se pasó una encuesta a los padres recogiéndose toda una serie de variables socioeconómicas y ambientales.Resultados: La media aritmética de plomo en sangre encontrada en los niños ha sido de 1,1 μg/dL (DE=0,7 μg/dL) con un rango desde 0,1 μg/dL hasta 3,4 μg/dL. La media geométrica es de 0,9 μg/dL (DE= 1,1 μg/dL). Los factores de riesgo asociados a estos niveles son: jugar en la calle, bajo nivel de estudios del padre como de la madre, las aficiones ligadas al plomo de alguno de los padres, el consumo de tabaco del padre y beber agua del grifo.Conclusiones: Los niveles de plomo en la sangre de los niños de la Comunidad de Madrid se han reducido pero siguen existiendo factores de riesgo sociodemográficos ya ambientales asociados a estos niveles.  Introdução: O chumbo é um elemento tóxico para os seres humanos, sendo as crianças as mais vulneráveis.Objetivo: Conhecer os fatores de risco associados aos níveis de chumbo existentes no sangue das crianças da comunidade de Madrid, após 9 anos de proibição de chumbo na gasolina.Métodos: Estudo transversal realizado em 2010 que incluiu 85 crianças de ambos os sexos, com menos de 15 anos, selecionadas na consulta externa do Serviço de Pediatria do Hospital Clínico San Carlos em Madrid. Para a deteção dos níveis de chumbo foram aproveitadas amostras de sangue destinadas à determinação de outros parâmetros. O chumbo foi medido por espectrometria de absorção atómica com atomização eletrotérmica e correção de fundo por efeito Zeeman. Conjuntamente, realizou-se um questionário aos pais para recolher uma série de variáveis socioeconómicas e ambientais.Resultados: A média aritmética de chumbo no sangue encontrado nas crianças foi de 1,1 μg/dl (SD=0,7 μg/dl), com um intervalo de 0,1 μg/dl a 3,4 μg/dl. A média geométrica é de 0,9 μg/dl (SD=1,1 μg/dl). Os fatores de risco associados aos níveis apresentados são: o brincar na rua, o baixo nível de escolaridade dos pais, as atividades de lazer de um dos pais relacionadas com o chumbo, os hábitos tabágicos do pai e o consumo de água da rede pública.Conclusões: Os níveis de chumbo no sangue das crianças da Comunidade de Madrid reduziram, contudo subsistem fatores de risco sociodemográficos e ambientais associados a estes níveis