Un modelo de minimización de costos de mantenimiento de equipo médico mediante lógica difusa

(A model for minimizing maintenance costs of medical equipment using fuzzy logic)Resumen. En este trabajo se presenta un algoritmo basado en lógica difusa que modela un Plan de Gestión de Mantenimiento de Equipos Médicos, este se desarrolla en tres etapas: En la primera se genera un inventario funcional, siguiendo los protocolos recomendados por la OMS  e información de cada equipo. En la segunda, se acoplan tres protocolos de atención prioritaria, utilizados para seleccionar las funciones de pertenencia del sistema difuso. En la tercera, se genera una familia de escenarios mediante simulación de Monte Carlo, calculándose el grado de prioridad difuso de mantenimiento para los equipos. Los resultados logran que la selección de equipos del plan de mantenimiento anual se realice garantizando la disponibilidad de los equipos prioritarios. El elemento distintivo en este trabajo es la introducción de la estructura difusa en los algoritmos de Fennigkoh-Smith y el de Wang-Levenson, permitiendo de este modo que la selección del equipo médico se realice en forma automática limitando el error humano en el proceso.  Un área de oportunidad consiste en incorporar un proceso de optimización de costos de mantenimiento del equipo con una restricción presupuestaria. Se concluye que el sistema mostrado es amigable y robusto para los fines planteados.En este trabajo se presenta un algoritmo basado en lógica difusa que modela un Plan de Gestión de Mantenimiento de Equipos Médicos, este se desarrolla en tres etapas: En la primera se genera un inventario funcional, siguiendo los protocolos recomendados por la OMS  e información de cada equipo. En la segunda, se acoplan tres protocolos de atención prioritaria, utilizados para seleccionar las funciones de pertenencia del sistema difuso. En la tercera, se genera una familia de escenarios mediante simulación de Monte Carlo, calculándose el grado de prioridad difuso de mantenimiento para los equipos. Los resultados logran que la selección de equipos del plan de mantenimiento anual se realice garantizando la disponibilidad de los equipos prioritarios. El elemento distintivo en este trabajo es la introducción de la estructura difusa en los algoritmos de Fennigkoh-Smith y el de Wang-Levenson, permitiendo de este modo que la selección del equipo médico se realice en forma automática limitando el error humano en el proceso.  Un área de oportunidad consiste en incorporar un proceso de optimización de costos de mantenimiento del equipo con una restricción presupuestaria. Se concluye que el sistema mostrado es amigable y robusto para los fines planteados

A Statistical Study of Resistive Switching Parameters in Au/Ta/ZrO2(Y)/Ta2O5/TiN/Ti Memristive Devices

The authors acknowledge the Consejería de Conocimiento, Investigación y Universidad, Junta de Andalucía (Spain), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under projects A-TIC-117-UGR18, B-TIC-624-UGR20, and IE2017-5414. Support from the Government of the Russian Federation under Megagrant Program (agreement no. 074-02-2018-330 (2)) and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation under “Priority-2030” Academic Excellence Program of the Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod (N-466-99_2021- 2023) is also acknowledged. Memristive devices were designed in the frame of the scientific program of the National Center for Physics and Mathematics (project “Artificial intelligence and big data in technical, industrial, natural and social systems”).Variability is an inherent property of memristive devices based on the switching of resistance in a simple metal–oxide–metal structure compatible with the standard complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor fabrication process. For each specific structure, the variability should be measured and assessed as both the negative and positive factors for different applications of memristive devices. In this report, it is shown how this variability can be extracted and analyzed for such main parameters of resistive switching as the set and reset voltages/cur- rents and how it depends on the methodology used and experimental conditions. The obtained results should be taken into account in the design and predictive simulation of memristive devices and circuits.Consejería de Conocimiento, Investigación y Universidad, Junta de Andalucía (Spain), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under projects A-TIC-117-UGR18, B-TIC-624-UGR20, and IE2017-5414Government of the Russian Federation under Megagrant Program (agreement no. 074-02-2018-330 (2))Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation under “Priority-2030” Academic Excellence Program of the Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod (N-466-99_2021- 2023

Los orígenes de la arquitectura telefónica en España: las centrales madrileñas del «Grupo Peninsular»

El desarrollo del negocio telefónico en España fue lento y hay muy pocos edificios diseñados como centrales telefónicas antes de 1924. Este artículo describe el conjunto de tres centrales que el Grupo Peninsular construyó en Madrid entre 1910 y 1917, siguiendo las reglas e ideología sobre arquitectura de American Telephone and Telegraph que inspiraron a las pequeñas empresas privadas europeas de ese periodo

Shared apical sorting of anion exchanger isoforms AE2a, AE2b1, and AE2b2 in primary hepatocytes

AE2 (SLC4A2) is the member of the Na(+)-independent anion exchanger (AE) family putatively involved in the secretion of bicarbonate to bile. In humans, three variants of AE2 mRNA have been described: the full-length transcript AE2a (expressed from the upstream promoter in most tissues), and alternative transcripts AE2b(1) and AE2b(2) (driven from alternate promoter sequences in a tissue-restricted manner, mainly in liver and kidney). These transcripts would result in AE protein isoforms with short N-terminal differences. To ascertain their translation, functionality, and membrane sorting, we constructed expression vectors encoding each AE2 isoform fused to GFP at the C-terminus. Transfected HEK293 cells showed expression of functional GFP-tagged AE2 proteins, all three isoforms displaying comparable AE activities. Primary rat hepatocytes transfected with expression vectors and repolarized in a collagen-sandwich configuration showed a microtubule-dependent apical sorting of each AE2 isoform. This shared apical sorting is liver-cell specific, as sorting of AE2 isoforms was basolateral in control experiments on polarized kidney MDCK cells. Hepatocytic apical targeting of AE2 isoforms suggests that they all may participate in the canalicular secretion of bicarbonate to bile

Altered clock gene expression in obese visceral adipose tissue is associated with metabolic syndrome

Clock gene expression was associated with different components of metabolic syndrome (MS) in human adipose tissue. However, no study has been done to compare the expression of clock genes in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) from lean and obese subjects and its clinical implications. Therefore, we studied in lean and obese women the endogenous 24 h expression of clock genes in isolated adipocytes and its association with MS components. VAT was obtained from lean (BMI 21-25 kg/m2; n = 21) and morbidly obese women (BMI >40 kg/m2; n = 28). The 24 h pattern of clock genes was analyzed every 6 hours using RT-PCR. Correlation of clinical data was studied by Spearman analysis. The 24 h pattern of clock genes showed that obesity alters the expression of CLOCK, BMAL1, PER1, CRY2 and REV-ERB ALPHA in adipocytes with changes found in CRY2 and REV-ERB ALPHA throughout the 24 h period. The same results were confirmed in VAT and stromal cells (SC) showing an upregulation of CRY2 and REV-ERB ALPHA from obese women. A positive correlation was observed for REV-ERB ALPHA gene expression with BMI and waist circumference in the obese population. Expression of ROR ALPHA was correlated with HDL levels and CLOCK with LDL. Obese subjects with MS exhibited positive correlation in the PER2 gene with LDL cholesterol, whereas REV-ERB ALPHA was correlated with waist circumference. We identified CRY2 and REV-ERB ALPHA as the clock genes upregulated in obesity during the 24 h period and that REV-ERB ALPHA is an important gene associated with MS

Paravertebral Muscle Mechanical Properties in Patients with Axial Spondyloarthritis or Low Back Pain: A Case-Control Study

Different musculoskeletal disorders are a source of pain in the spinal region; most of them can be divided into mechanical, such as low back pain (LBP), or inflammatory origins, as is the case of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). Nevertheless, insufficient information is available about the muscle negative consequences of these conditions. Thus, the objective of this study was to identify whether mechanical muscle properties (MMPs) of cervical and lumbar muscles are different between patients with axSpA, subacute LBP (sLBP), and healthy controls. Furthermore, we aimed identify whether MMPs were related to sociodemographic and clinical variables in various study groups. The MMPs, sociodemographic, and clinical variables were obtained in 43 patients with axSpA, 43 subjects with sLBP, and 43 healthy controls. One-way ANOVAs and ROC curves were applied to identify whether the MMPs could differentiate between the study groups. Intra-group Pearson r coefficients to test the associations between MMPs and the rest of the variables were calculated. The results showed that axSpA subjects have a higher tone and stiffness and a lower relaxation and creep than sLBP and healthy ones (p 0.8). However, no MMP could differentiate between sLBP and healthy subjects. Each group had a different pattern of bivariate correlations between MMPs and sociodemographic and clinical data, with a worse state and progression of the axSpA group associated with a higher tone and stiffness in both spinal regions. This study supports that MMPs are different and show different patterns of correlations depending on the type of spinal pain

ID1 and ID4 Are Biomarkers of Tumor Aggressiveness and Poor Outcome in Immunophenotypes of Breast Cancer

Inhibitor of differentiation (ID) proteins are a family of transcription factors that contribute to maintaining proliferation during embryogenesis as they avoid cell differentiation. Afterward, their expression is mainly silenced, but their reactivation and contribution to tumor development have been suggested. In breast cancer (BC), the overexpression of ID1 has been previously described. However, whether the remaining ID genes have a specific role in this neoplasia is still unclear. We studied the mRNA expression of all ID genes by q RT-PCR in BC cell lines and 307 breast carcinomas, including all BC subtypes. Our results showed that ID genes are highly expressed in all cell lines tested. However, ID4 presented higher expression in BC cell lines compared to a healthy breast epithelium cell line. In accordance, ID1 and ID4 were predominantly overexpressed in Triple-Negative and HER2-enriched samples. Moreover, high levels of both genes were associated with larger tumor size, histological grade 3, necrosis and vascular invasion, and poorer patients’ outcomes. In conclusion, ID1 and ID4 may act as biomarkers of tumor aggressiveness and worse prognosis in breast cancer, and they could be used as potential targets for new treatments discover.This research was funded by the Alicante Institute for Health and Biomedical Research (ISABIAL) (UGP 16-149 and UGP 180184) and Navarro-Tripodi Foundation (BOLA00150). M.G.E. was supported by fellowships issued by the Valencian Government of Spain (GVA) and the European Social Fund (ACIF/2016/004)

Inherited functional variants of the lymphocyte receptor CD5 influence melanoma survival

Despite the recent progress in treatment options, malignant melanoma remains a deadly disease. Besides therapy, inherited factors might modulate clinical outcome, explaining in part widely varying survival rates. T-cell effector function regulators on antitumor immune responses could also influence survival. CD5, a T-cell receptor inhibitory molecule, contributes to the modulation of antimelanoma immune responses as deduced from genetically modified mouse models. The CD5 SNPs rs2241002 (NM_014207.3:c.671C > T, p.Pro224Leu) and rs2229177 (NM_014207.3:c.1412C > T, p.Ala471Val) constitute an ancestral haplotype (Pro224-Ala471) that confers T-cell hyper-responsiveness and worsens clinical autoimmune outcome. The assessment of these SNPs on survival impact from two melanoma patient cohorts (Barcelona, N = 493 and Essen, N = 215) reveals that p.Ala471 correlates with a better outcome (OR= 0.57, 95% CI = 0.33-0.99, Adj. p = 0.043, in Barcelona OR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.40-1.01, Adj. p = 0.051, in Essen). While, p.Leu224 was associated with increased melanoma-associated mortality in both cohorts (OR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.07-3.24, Adj. p = 0.030 in Barcelona and OR = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.04-3.26, Adj. p = 0.037, in Essen). Furthermore survival analyses showed that the Pro224-Ala471 haplotype in homozygosis improved melanoma survival in the entire set of patients (HR = 0.27, 95% CI 0.11-0.67, Adj. p = 0.005). These findings highlight the relevance of genetic variability in immune-related genes for clinical outcome in melanoma

The karst site of Las Palomas (Guadalteba County, Málaga, Spain): A preliminary study of its MiddleeLate Pleistocene archaeopaleontological record

Cleaning works in the cave of Las Palomas in Teba (Málaga, Spain), developed by the Guadalteba Consortium, have provided a number of lithic tools and knapping products that may be ascribed to the Mode III technotypological tradition as well as remains of a number of large mammal species typical of MiddleeLate Pleistocene times. Topographic measurements help to place this ancient cave within a karst landform. This discovery opens up new perspectives in the research on the Neanderthal groups that inhabited the valleys of Guadalteba and Turón rivers in the middle basin of the Guadalhorce River, and thus in the southern region of the Iberian Peninsula