Segmentation of bone structures in 3D CT images based on continuous max- ow optimization

In this paper an algorithm to carry out the automatic segmentation of bone structures in 3D CT images has been implemented. Automatic segmentation of bone structures is of special interest for radiologists and surgeons to analyze bone diseases or to plan some surgical interventions. This task is very complicated as bones usually present intensities overlapping with those of surrounding tissues. This overlapping is mainly due to the composition of bones and to the presence of some diseases such as Osteoarthritis, Osteoporosis, etc. Moreover, segmentation of bone structures is a very time-consuming task due to the 3D essence of the bones. Usually, this segmentation is implemented manually or with algorithms using simple techniques such as thresholding and thus providing bad results. In this paper gray information and 3D statistical information have been combined to be used as input to a continuous max- ow algorithm. Twenty CT images have been tested and di erent coe cients have been computed to assess the performance of our implementation. Dice and Sensitivity values above 0.91 and 0.97 respectively were obtained. A comparison with Level Sets and thresholding techniques has been carried out and our results outperformed them in terms of accuracy.Ministerio de ciencia e innovación TEC2010-21619-C04-02Junta de Andalucía P11-TIC-772

La implicación de las TIC en la humanización de la sociedad

Este artículo presenta algunos resultados de la investigación I+D+I “La producción social de comunicación y la reproducción social en la era de la globalización”. En concreto, aquellos resultados que se han obtenido al analizar los vínculos entre los efectos de las tecnologías de la información y de la comunicación (TIC) y algunas dinámicas de humanización o deshumanización que están teniendo lugar en nuestras sociedades. La metodología utilizada ha consistido en un análisis de contenido de literatura científica sobre los efectos sociales de la revolución digital

Socioeconomic uses of ICT related to employment in Europe

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are often related to economic and social improvements. They have been associated with job creation as well as increases in the quality of work and remuneration. However, at a macroeconomic level, it is noteworthy that while the digitization process increases, employment and wages are generally deteriorating. Referencing EU-15 data, this article explores some uses of these technologies in relation to unemployment and wages, within an economic context marked by increasing problems of profitability and by the rise of financial markets

Los usos de las TIC en la mercantilización de la universidad: análisis de los documentos oficiales del EEES

The construction of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) is profoundly transforming the university. Changes underway orient the university institution toward a model in which economic profitability and private utilization of knowledge wield a greater role. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) play a strategic role in this process. By analyzing the documents that define the project of the EHEA, the article discusses the uses of ICT being promoted by official institutions to contribute to the ongoing transformation of the university.La construcción del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior (EEES) está transformando profundamente la universidad. Los cambios en curso orientan a la institución universitaria hacia un modelo en el que la rentabilidad económica y el aprovechamiento empresarial del conocimiento pasan a detentar el mayor protagonismo. Las Tecnologías de la Información y de la Comunicación (TIC) juegan un papel estratégico en este proceso. Mediante el análisis de los documentos en los que se define el proyecto del EEES, el artículo aborda los usos de las TIC que se están promoviendo desde las instituciones oficiales para contribuir a la actual transformación de la universidad

Communication and Social Change in the Origins of Modern Political Ideologies

El artículo analiza los vínculos entre el cambio social y la comunicación pública en el pensamiento de John Arbuthnot, Thomas Jefferson y Karl Marx, autores que se encuentran en el origen de las tres ideologías políticas características de la modernidad: conservadora, reformista y revolucionaria, respectivamente. Se pone de relieve su posición frente al cambio, su proyecto de sociedad y los actores sociales protagonistas, todo ello en relación con el papel que otorgan a la comunicación en dichos procesos.This article analyses the links between social change and public communication in the thought of John Arbuthnot, Thomas Jefferson and Karl Marx, authors who are at the origin of the three political ideologies characteristic of modernity: conservative, reformist and revolutionary, respectively. It highlights their stance on change, their social project and the leading social actors they identify, all in relation to the role granted to communication in these processes

Bacillus subtilis RecU Holliday-junction resolvase modulates RecA activities

The Bacillus subtilis RecU protein is able to catalyze in vitro DNA strand annealing and Holliday-junction resolution. The interaction between the RecA and RecU proteins, in the presence or absence of a single-stranded binding (SSB) protein, was studied. Substoichiometric amounts of RecU enhanced RecA loading onto single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and stimulated RecA-catalyzed D-loop formation. However, RecU inhibited the RecA-mediated three-strand exchange reaction and ssDNA-dependent dATP or rATP hydrolysis. The addition of an SSB protein did not reverse the negative effect exerted by RecU on RecA function. Annealing of circular ssDNA and homologous linear 3′-tailed double-stranded DNA by RecU was not affected by the addition of RecA both in the presence and in the absence of SSB. We propose that RecU modulates RecA activities by promoting RecA-catalyzed strand invasion and inhibiting RecA-mediated branch migration, by preventing RecA filament disassembly, and suggest a potential mechanism for the control of resolvasome assembly