Máster Virtual en Ingeniería Biomédica con Cooperación al Desarrollo

En el presente trabajo presentamos nuestra experiencia en desarrollar un programa de máster oficial en Ingeniería Biomédica. Para ello nos planteamos un lugar en común con las ingenierías en el cual las necesidades en salud pudieran ser percibidas por los ingenieros a fin de desarrollar soluciones. Para conseguir el nivel adecuado, consideramos fundamental que la docencia de los conocimientos sea realizada por expertos de las respectivas áreas. Además, el máster nació con una clara vocación de ayuda al Desarrollo. Por ello, se trata de un máster impartido de forma virtual con el propósito de que cualquier alumno, desde cualquier punto lo pueda cursar (a excepción de las prácticas, que son presenciales y que las puede llevar a cabo en diferentes Centros Tecnológicos). En el presente máster se pretende llevar los estudios de tecnología e instrumentación biomédica a titulados superiores de distintas especialidades tanto de la ingeniería como de la biomedicina para la gestión, evaluación y aplicación de la tecnología sanitaria en el ámbito de la salud. Tiene una marcada vocación supranacional, donde la experiencia española y paraguaya en el área de la Ingeniería Biomédica se conjuga para ofrecer a los interesados en dicho postgrado una formación integral, globalizada y sobre todo competitiva. El máster se estructura en tres bloques: uno teórico que se imparte completamente on-line, un Practicum en empresas Tecnológicas y un Trabajo Fin de Máster que se defiende de manera presencial, o bien mediante videoconferencia.Deseamos mostrar nuestro agradecimiento a la Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional al Desarrollo (AECID) del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, a través de diferentes proyectos (códigos: B/7560/07; D/017286/08; D/025825/09; B/023244/09; A1/040169/11

Reconstructing the origins and the biogeography of species’ genomes in the highly reticulate allopolyploid-rich model grass genus Brachypodium using minimum evolution, coalescence and maximum likelihood approaches

The identification of homeologous genomes and the biogeographical analyses of highly reticulate allopolyploid-rich groups face the challenge of incorrectly inferring the genomic origins and the biogeographical patterns of the polyploids from unreliable strictly bifurcating trees. Here we reconstruct a plausible evolutionary scenario of the diverging and merging genomes inherited by the diploid and allopolyploid species and cytotypes of the model grass genus Brachypodium. We have identified the ancestral Brachypodium genomes and inferred the paleogeographical ranges for potential hybridization events that originated its allopolyploid taxa. We also constructed a comprehensive phylogeny of Brachypodium from five nuclear and plastid genes using Species Tree Minimum Evolution allele grafting and Species Network analysis. The divergence ages of the lineages were estimated from a consensus maximum clade credibility tree using fossil calibrations, whereas ages of origin of the diploid and allopolyploid species were inferred from coalescence Bayesian methods. The biogeographical events of the genomes were reconstructed using a stratified Dispersal-Extinction-Colonization model with three temporal windows. Our combined Minimum Evolution-coalescence-Bayesian approach allowed us to infer the origins and the identities of the homeologous genomes of the Brachypodium allopolyploids, matching the expected ploidy levels of the hybrids. To date, the current extant progenitor genomes (species) are only known for B. hybridum. Putative ancestral homeologous genome have been inherited by B. mexicanum, ancestral and recent genomes by B. boissieri, and only recently evolved genomes by B. retusum and the core perennial clade allopolyploids (B. phoenicoides, B. pinnatum 4x, B. rupestre 4x). We dissected the complex spatio-temporal evolution of ancestral and recent genomes and have detected successive splitting, dispersal and merging events for dysploid homeologous genomes in diverse geographical scenarios that have led to the current extant taxa. Our data support Mid-Miocene splits of the Holarctic ancestral genomes that preceded the Late Miocene origins of Brachypodium ancestors of the modern diploid species. Successive divergences of the annual B. stacei and B. distachyon diploid genomes were implied to have occurred in the Mediterranean region during the Late Miocene-Pliocene. By contrast, a profusion of splits, range expansions and different genome mergings were inferred for the perennial diploid genomes in the Mediterranean and Eurasian regions, with sporadic colonizations and further mergings in other continents during the Quaternary. A reliable biogeographical scenario was obtained for the Brachypodium genomes and allopolyploids where homeologous genomes split from their respective diploid counterpart lineages in the same ancestral areas, showing similar or distinct dispersals. By contrast, the allopolyploid taxa remained in the same ancestral ranges after hybridization and genome doubling events. Our approach should have utility in deciphering the genomic composition and the historical biogeography of other allopolyploid-rich organismal groups, which are predominant in eukaryotes

Microstructure Effects on the Machinability of AM-Produced Superalloys

This paper discusses the microstructure effects on the machinability of Inconel 718 by conducting machining tests on an additively manufactured (AM) workpiece with a strongly textured grain structure and a wrought workpiece incorporating a finer and more equiaxed grain structure. The AM workpiece was produced as a thin tube using Laser Melting Powder Bed Fusion and optimal processing conditions for this alloy. A lathe was used to conduct instrumented orthogonal machining tests on the two workpiece materials under dry cut and coolant conditions using a semisynthetic emulsion coolant. The process parameters studied were feed from 0.05 to 0.15 mm/rev and cutting speed from 60 to 120 m/min with a cut time of 2 sec duration for each process condition. Measures for each process condition included cutting forces in the feed and main cut direction, and images of chip forms were obtained. The grain structures of the workpiece materials were characterized using Electron Back Scattered Diffraction (EBSD). New findings suggest that grain structures can significantly affect the machinability of the superalloy at a higher feed for all cutting speeds studied, and insights into the cause are discussed. Other important findings comment on the effectiveness of the coolant as a lubricant for reducing friction in machining

Generation of BIM data based on the automatic detection, identification and localization of lamps in buildings

In this paper we introduce a method that supports the detection, identification and localization of lamps in a building, with the main goal of automatically feeding its energy model by means of Building Information Modeling (BIM) methods. The proposed method, thus, provides useful information to apply energy-saving strategies to reduce energy consumption in the building sector through the correct management of the lighting infrastructure. Based on the unique geometry and brightness of lamps and the use of only greyscale images, our methodology is able to obtain accurate results despite its low computational needs, resulting in near-real-time processing. The main novelty is that the focus of the candidate search is not over the entire image but instead only on a limited region that summarizes the specific characteristics of the lamp. The information obtained from our approach was used on the Green Building XML Schema to illustrate the automatic generation of BIM data from the results of the algorithm.Comment: 12 pages, 19 figures, journa

Cost Minimization of Virtual Machine Allocation in Public Clouds Considering Multiple Applications

International Conference, GECON 2017 (14. 2017. Biarritz)This paper presents a virtual machine (VM) allocation strategy to optimize the cost of VM deployments in public clouds. It can simultaneously deal with multiple applications and it is formulated as an optimization problem that takes the level of performance to be reached by a set of applications as inputs. It considers real characteristics of infrastructure providers such as VM types, limits on the number VMs that can be deployed, and pricing schemes. As output, it generates a VM allocation to support the performance requirements of all the applications. The strategy combines short-term and long-term allocation phases in order to take advantage of VMs belonging to two different pricing categories: on-demand and reserved. A quantization technique is introduced to reduce the size of the allocation problem and, thus, significantly decrease the computational complexity. The experiments show that the strategy can optimize costs for problems that could not be solved with previous approache

Máster Virtual en Ingeniería Biomédica con Cooperación al Desarrollo

En el presente trabajo presentamos nuestra experiencia en desarrollar un programa de máster oficial en Ingeniería Biomédica. Para ello nos planteamos un lugar en común con las ingenierías en el cual las necesidades en salud pudieran ser percibidas por los ingenieros a fin de desarrollar soluciones. Para conseguir el nivel adecuado, consideramos fundamental que la docencia de los conocimientos sea realizada por expertos de las respectivas áreas. Además, el máster nació con una clara vocación de ayuda al Desarrollo. Por ello, se trata de un máster impartido de forma virtual con el propósito de que cualquier alumno, desde cualquier punto lo pueda cursar (a excepción de las prácticas, que son presenciales y que las puede llevar a cabo en diferentes Centros Tecnológicos). En el presente máster se pretende llevar los estudios de tecnología e instrumentación biomédica a titulados superiores de distintas especialidades tanto de la ingeniería como de la biomedicina para la gestión, evaluación y aplicación de la tecnología sanitaria en el ámbito de la salud. Tiene una marcada vocación supranacional, donde la experiencia española y paraguaya en el área de la Ingeniería Biomédica se conjuga para ofrecer a los interesados en dicho postgrado una formación integral, globalizada y sobre todo competitiva. El máster se estructura en tres bloques: uno teórico que se imparte completamente on-line, un Practicum en empresas Tecnológicas y un Trabajo Fin de Máster que se defiende de manera presencial, o bien mediante videoconferencia.Deseamos mostrar nuestro agradecimiento a la Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional al Desarrollo (AECID) del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, a través de diferentes proyectos (códigos: B/7560/07; D/017286/08; D/025825/09; B/023244/09; A1/040169/11

Characterization of interactions of eggPC lipid structures with different biomolecules

In this paper we study the interactions of two biomolecules (ascorbic acid and Annonacin) with a bilayer lipid membrane. Egg yolk phosphatidylcholine (eggPC) liposomes (in crystalline liquid state) were prepared in solutions of ascorbic acid (AA) at different concentration levels. On the other hand, liposomes were doped with Annonacin (Ann), a mono-tetrahydrofuran acetogenin (ACG), which is an effective citotoxic substance. While AA pharmacologic effect and action mechanisms are widely known, those of Ann’s are only very recently being studied. Both Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopic techniques were used to study the participation of the main functional groups of the lipid bilayer involved in the membrane-solution interaction. The obtained spectra were comparatively analyzed, studying the spectral bands corresponding to both the hydrophobic and the hydrophilic regions in the lipid bilayer. Electrochemical experiments namely; impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltamperometry (CV) were used as the main characterization techniques to analyse stability and structural changes of a model system of supported EggPC bilayer in connection with its interactions with AA and Ann. At high molar ratios of AA, there is dehydration in both populations of the carbonyl group of the polar head of the lipid. On the other hand, Ann promotes the formation of hydrogen bonds with the carbonyl groups. No interaction between AA and phosphate groups is observed at low and intermediate molar ratios. Ann is expected to be able to induce the dehydration of the phosphate groups without the subsequent formation of H bonds with them. According to the electrochemical analysis, the interaction of AA with the supported lipid membrane does not alter its dielectric properties. This fact can be related to the conservation of structured water of the phosphate groups in the polar heads of the lipid. On the other hand, the incorporation of Ann into the lipid membrane generates an increase in the number of defects while changes the dielectric constant. This, in turn, can be associated with the induced dehydration of the phosphate groups.Facultad de Ciencias ExactasFacultad de Ingeniería (FI)Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas (INIFTA

Orientation-Constrained System for Lamp Detection in Buildings Based on Computer Vision

Computer vision is used in this work to detect lighting elements in buildings with the goal of improving the accuracy of previous methods to provide a precise inventory of the location and state of lamps. Using the framework developed in our previous works, we introduce two new modifications to enhance the system: first, a constraint on the orientation of the detected poses in the optimization methods for both the initial and the refined estimates based on the geometric information of the building information modelling (BIM) model; second, an additional reprojection error filtering step to discard the erroneous poses introduced with the orientation restrictions, keeping the identification and localization errors low while greatly increasing the number of detections. These enhancements are tested in five different case studies with more than 30,000 images, with results showing improvements in the number of detections, the percentage of correct model and state identifications, and the distance between detections and reference positions.Authors want to give thanks to the Xunta de Galicia under Grant ED481A and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under the National Science Program TEC2017-84197-C4-2-R

Innervation of the Human Cavum Conchae and Auditory Canal: Anatomical Basis for Transcutaneous Auricular Nerve Stimulation

The innocuous transcutaneous stimulation of nerves supplying the outer ear has been demonstrated to be as effective as the invasive direct stimulation of the vagus nerve for the treatment of some neurological and nonneurological disturbances. Thus, the precise knowledge of external ear innervation is of maximal interest for the design of transcutaneous auricular nerve stimulation devices. We analyzed eleven outer ears, and the innervation was assessed by Masson’s trichrome staining, immunohistochemistry, or immunofluorescence (neurofilaments, S100 protein, and myelin-basic protein). In both the cavum conchae and the auditory canal, nerve profiles were identified between the cartilage and the skin and out of the cartilage. The density of nerves and of myelinated nerve fibers was higher out of the cartilage and in the auditory canal with respect to the cavum conchae. Moreover, the nerves were more numerous in the superior and posterior-inferior than in the anterior-inferior segments of the auditory canal. The present study established a precise nerve map of the human cavum conchae and the cartilaginous segment of the auditory canal demonstrating regional differences in the pattern of innervation of the human outer ear. These results may provide additional neuroanatomical basis for the accurate design of auricular transcutaneous nerve stimulation devices