Desarrollo de indicadores de desempeño de sistemas en la ingeniería. Una propuesta metodológica

En el ámbito de la ingeniería civil se han desarrollado de indicadores para representar el estado de infraestructura o el desempeño de diversos sistemas. Se observa, en general, que la confección de estos indicadores se basa en los criterios y auditorías de un comité de expertos que evalúan numerosas áreas proponiendo por consenso la ponderación de diversos factores.http://www.academia.edu/4970103/XLI_Coloquio_Argentino_de_EstadisticaFil: Arranz, Pablo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; Argentina.Fil: Boiola, Jorge. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; Argentina.Fil: Marhuenda, Fernando D. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; Argentina.Ingeniería del Transport

Desarrollo de indicadores de desempeño de sistemas en la ingeniería. Una propuesta metodológica

En el ámbito de la ingeniería civil se han desarrollado de indicadores para representar el estado de infraestructura o el desempeño de diversos sistemas. Se observa, en general, que la confección de estos indicadores se basa en los criterios y auditorias de un comité de expertos que evalúan numerosas áreas proponiendo por consenso la ponderación de diversos factores. En otros casos las ponderaciones son establecidas a voluntad por las autoridades de manera de reflejar su política de control y poner énfasis en la importancia relativa de cada factor incluido. Este trabajo está orientado a establecer una metodología para el desarrollo de un sistema de indicadores representativos del desempeño de un sistema (en este caso un observatorio de transporte).http://www.academia.edu/4970103/XLI_Coloquio_Argentino_de_EstadisticaFil: Arranz, Pablo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; Argentina.Fil: Boiola, Jorge. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; Argentina.Fil: Marhuenda, Fernando D. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; Argentina.Ingeniería del Transport

Hypertensive pressure mechanosensing alone triggers lipid droplet accumulation and transdifferentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells to foam cells

Arterial Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) play a central role in the onset and progression of atherosclerosis. Upon exposure to pathological stimuli, they can take on alternative phenotypes that, among others, have been described as macrophage like, or foam cells. VSMC foam cells make up >50% of all arterial foam cells and have been suggested to retain an even higher proportion of the cell stored lipid droplets, further leading to apoptosis, secondary necrosis, and an inflammatory response. However, the mechanism of VSMC foam cell formation is still unclear. Here, it is identified that mechanical stimulation through hypertensive pressure alone is sufficient for the phenotypic switch. Hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering imaging demonstrates rapid lipid droplet formation and changes to lipid metabolism and changes are confirmed in ABCA1, KLF4, LDLR, and CD68 expression, cell proliferation, and migration. Further, a mechanosignaling route is identified involving Piezo1, phospholipid, and arachidonic acid signaling, as well as epigenetic regulation, whereby CUT&Tag epigenomic analysis confirms changes in the cells (lipid) metabolism and atherosclerotic pathways. Overall, the results show for the first time that VSMC foam cell formation can be triggered by mechanical stimulation alone, suggesting modulation of mechanosignaling can be harnessed as potential therapeutic strategy

Therapeutical interest of statins in the treatment of atherosclerosis

Los inhibidores de la HMG-Co A reductasa o estatinas, son fármacos muy utilizados en el tratamiento de la hipercolesterolemia, ya que consiguen disminuir la concentración plamática de lipoproteína de baja densidad (LDL) regulando la síntesis endógena de colesterol y por tanto, de receptores para LDL. Recientemente se ha comprobado como el tratamiento prolongado con estos fármacos disminuyen la mortalidad y morbilidad cardiovascular. Este fenómeno puede explicarse por los efectos beneficiosos directos de las estatinas en el desarrollo de la placa de ateroma. Las estatinas disminuyen la proliferación y migración de células de musculatura lisa vascular e inducen apoptosis de estas células. También previenen la oxidación de LDL y la formación de células espumosas, reducen la respuesta inflamatoria asociada a la aterosclerosis, normalizan los fenómenos de coagulación y fibrinolisis y por último mejoran significativamente la función endotelial. Todas estas propiedades parecen estar mediadas compuestos isoprenoides intermediarios de la ruta metabólica de la HMG-Co A reductasa, y son independientes de la concentración de colesterol en el medio. Por tanto, las estatinas también podrían ser utilizadas en enfermedades asociadas a disfunción endotelial independientemente de las cifras analíticas de LDL, tal y como sucede en la hipertensión.HMG-Co A reductase inhibitors or statins, are widely used drugs in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. They lower plasmatic concentration of low density lipoprotein (LDL) by regulating cholesterol synthesis and consequently synthesis of LDL receptors. Chronic treatment with these drugs has recently shown to be able to reduce cardiovascular-related morbidity and mortality. This fact could be explained by a direct benefic effect of statins in development of atherosclerotic plaque. Statins reduce vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration , as well as they induce apoptosis of these cells. They also prevent LDL oxidation and foam cell formation, reducing inflammatory response associated to atherosclerosis, normalising coagulation and fibronolysis and improving endothelial function. All these properties seem to be mediated by intermediary isoprenoid compounds from HMG-Co A reductase metabolic pathway and do not depend of cholesterol concentration in the medium. Thus, statins could also be used in the treatment of some diseases associated to endothelial disfunction, independently of analytical LDL values, like hypertension

Assessing the Influence of Salmon Farming through Total Lipids, Fatty Acids, and Trace Elements in the Liver and Muscle of Wild Saithe Pollachius virens

Saithe Pollachius virens are attracted to uneaten salmon feed underneath cages at open-cage salmon farms in Norway. The aggregated Saithe have modified their feeding habits as they have switched from wild prey to uneaten food pellets, which could lead to physiological and biochemical changes in the Saithe. Variations in profiles of total lipids, fatty acids, and trace elements in Saithe liver and muscle were measured to evaluate the influence of fish feed from salmon farms on wild Saithe populations. Farm-aggregated Saithe had higher fat content in liver tissues than did individuals captured more than 25 km away from farms, but no clear differences were found in muscle tissues. High proportions of fatty acids of terrestrial origin, such as oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids, in liver and muscle tissues of farm-aggregated Saithe reflected the presence of wild Saithe at farms. Accordingly, low proportions of arachidonic, eicosapentaenoic, and docosahexaenoic acids in Saithe tissues mirrored the feeding activity at farms. Variations in specific trace element signatures among fish groups also revealed the farming influence on wild Saithe. High levels of Fe, As, Se, Zn, and B in liver, but also As, B, Li, Hg, and Sr in muscle of Saithe captured away from farms indicated the absence of feeding at farms.This study was part of the project “Evaluation of actions to promote sustainable coexistence between salmon culture and coastal fisheries – ProCoEx” funded by The Norwegian Seafood Research Fund (FHF). The study was also supported by the Norwegian Research Council through the EcoCoast project

Glioma stem cells invasive phenotype at optimal stiffness is driven by MGAT5 dependent mechanosensing.

BACKGROUND: Glioblastomas stem-like cells (GSCs) by invading the brain parenchyma, remains after resection and radiotherapy and the tumoral microenvironment become stiffer. GSC invasion is reported as stiffness sensitive and associated with altered N-glycosylation pattern. Glycocalyx thickness modulates integrins mechanosensing, but details remain elusive and glycosylation enzymes involved are unknown. Here, we studied the association between matrix stiffness modulation, GSC migration and MGAT5 induced N-glycosylation in fibrillar 3D context. METHOD: To mimic the extracellular matrix fibrillar microenvironments, we designed 3D-ex-polyacrylonitrile nanofibers scaffolds (NFS) with adjustable stiffnesses by loading multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). GSCs neurosphere were plated on NFSs, allowing GSCs migration and MGAT5 was deleted using CRISPR-Cas9. RESULTS: We found that migration of GSCs was maximum at 166 kPa. Migration rate was correlated with cell shape, expression and maturation of focal adhesion (FA), Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) proteins and (β1,6) branched N-glycan binding, galectin-3. Mutation of MGAT5 in GSC inhibited N-glycans (β1-6) branching, suppressed the stiffness dependence of migration on 166 kPa NFS as well as the associated FA and EMT protein expression. CONCLUSION: MGAT5 catalysing multibranched N-glycans is a critical regulators of stiffness induced invasion and GSCs mechanotransduction, underpinning MGAT5 as a serious target to treat cancer

Sampling design variance estimation of small area estimators in the Spanish Labour Force Survey

The main goal of this paper is to investigate how to estimate sampling design variances of modelbased and model-assisted small area estimators in a complex survey sampling setup. For this purpose the Spanish Labour Force Survey is considered. Sample and aggregated data are taken from the Canary Islands in the second trimester of 2003 in order to obtain some small area estimators of ILO unemployment totals. Several problems arising from the application of standard small area estimation procedures to the survey are described. It is shown that standard variance estimators based on explicit formulas are not applicable in the strict sense, since the assumptions under which they are derived do not hold. In addition two resampling techniques, bootstrap and jackknife, are considered. These methods treat all the considered estimators in the same manner and therefore they can be used as performance measures to compare them. From the analysis of the obtained results, some recommendations are given

Memoria de la Red de tutores del Programa de Acción Tutorial de la Facultad de Económicas (PATEC)

En el presente curso 2013-2014 el Programa de Acción Tutorial en la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales cumple su novena edición. En el curso 2007-2008, con el objetivo de que el Programa de Acción Tutorial fuera considerado una herramienta dirigida a los alumnos del Centro con identidad propia, pasó a llamarse Programa de Acción Tutorial de Económicas (PATEC) pues coloquialmente al Centro se le identifica con la Facultad de Económicas. Desde entonces, el Programa se ha ido consolidando año a año en la Facultad y son muchas las fortalezas que lo han convertido en un programa con un gran potencial. No obstante, existen ciertas debilidades que se repiten cada año a las que se ha tratado de dar respuesta en las distintas ediciones. El objetivo de la presente comunicación es dar a conocer la evolución del PATEC desde el curso 2007-2008 hasta la actualidad así como las acciones que se han llevado a cabo para subsanar las dificultades encontradas

SDN-based Network Orchestration of Variable-capacity Optical Packet Switching Network over Programmable Flexi-grid Elastic Optical Path Network

A multidomain and multitechnology optical network orchestration is demonstrated in an international testbed located in Japan, the U.K., and Spain. The application-based network operations architecture is proposed as a carrier software-defined network solution for provisioning end-to-end optical transport services through a multidomain multitechnology network scenario, consisting of a 46–108 Gb/s variable-capacity OpenFlow-capable optical packet switching network and a programmable, flexi-grid elastic optical path network

Demographic, clinical and antibody characteristics of patients with digital ulcers in systemic sclerosis: data from the DUO Registry

OBJECTIVES: The Digital Ulcers Outcome (DUO) Registry was designed to describe the clinical and antibody characteristics, disease course and outcomes of patients with digital ulcers associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: The DUO Registry is a European, prospective, multicentre, observational, registry of SSc patients with ongoing digital ulcer disease, irrespective of treatment regimen. Data collected included demographics, SSc duration, SSc subset, internal organ manifestations, autoantibodies, previous and ongoing interventions and complications related to digital ulcers. RESULTS: Up to 19 November 2010 a total of 2439 patients had enrolled into the registry. Most were classified as either limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc; 52.2%) or diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc; 36.9%). Digital ulcers developed earlier in patients with dcSSc compared with lcSSc. Almost all patients (95.7%) tested positive for antinuclear antibodies, 45.2% for anti-scleroderma-70 and 43.6% for anticentromere antibodies (ACA). The first digital ulcer in the anti-scleroderma-70-positive patient cohort occurred approximately 5 years earlier than the ACA-positive patient group. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides data from a large cohort of SSc patients with a history of digital ulcers. The early occurrence and high frequency of digital ulcer complications are especially seen in patients with dcSSc and/or anti-scleroderma-70 antibodies