A microscopy technique based on bio-impedance sensors

It is proposed a microscopy for cell culture applications based on impedance sensors. The imagined signals are measured with the Electrical Cell-Substrate Spectroscopy (ECIS) technique, by identifying the cell area. The proposed microscopy allows real-time monitoring inside the incubator, reducing the contamination risk by human manipulation. It requires specific circuits for impedance measurements, a two-dimensional sensor array (pixels), and employing electrical models to decode efficiently the measured signals. Analogue Hardware Description Language (AHDL) circuits for cell-microelectrode enables the use of geometrical and technological data into the system design flow. A study case with 8x8 sensor array is reported, illustrating the evolution and power of the proposed image acquisition.Junta de Andalucía P0-TIC-538

Damage identification in bridges combining deep learning and computational mechanic

xiv, 112 p.[EN]Civil infrastructures, such as bridges, are critical assets for society and the economy. Many of them have already reached their expected life and withstand loadings that exceed the design specifications. Besides, bridges suffer from various degradation mechanisms, including aging, corrosion, earthquakes, and, nowadays, the undeniable effect of climate change. This context has motivated an increasing interest in early detecting damage to prevent costly actions and dangerous failures. Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) consists of implementing effective strategies to continuously assess the health condition of structures using monitoring data collected by sensors. This dissertation focuses on the SHM problem of damage detection and identification. It is an ill-posed inverse problem that aims at inferring the health state of a structure from measurements of its response. The measurements include large amounts of noisy data affected by environmental and operational conditions, acquired with sensors of different nature. Solving such a multidisciplinary problem encompasses the use of applied mathematics, computational mechanics, and data science. In this dissertation, we exploit the potential of Deep Neural Networks in approximating complex inverse problems and employ computational parametrizations and the Finite Element Method to enrich the training phase by including damage scenarios. We explore two different approaches to the problem. In the first approach, we develop an outlier detection strategy to detect departures from the baseline condition. We only employ long-term monitoring data measured at the bridge during normal (healthy) operation. Starting from Principal Component Analysis (PCA) as a statistical data reconstruction technique, we design a specific Deep Autoencoder network that enhances PCA by adding residual connections to include nonlinear transformations. This architecture gains partial explainability by evaluating the contribution of nonlinearties over affine transformations in the reconstruction process. We also investigate the method performance when using local or global variables and evaluate the potential of combining both data sources in the damage detection task. In the second approach, we reach a higher level of damage identification by estimating its severity and location. The goal is to provide a suitable methodology for real full-scale applications that requires reasonable computational resources. We employ a calibrated computational parametrization to solve multiple Finite Element simulations under different damage scenarios. These synthetic scenarios enrich the training dataset of a Deep Neural Network that maps the response of the bridge with its health condition in terms of damage location and severity. Finally, we incorporate the effect of environmental and operational variability in the parametrization by applying a clustering algorithm to find representative samples among the entire dataset. We assume these samples cover most of the variability present in the data and consider them as starting points to generate synthetic training data. We apply the proposed methods to three main case study bridges with available monitoring data: the Beltran bridge in Mexico, and the Infante Dom Henrique bridge in Porto, and the Z24 bridge in Switzerland. Both structures resulted critical to validate and test the ability of the proposed methods and to demonstrate their applicability in the full-scale.[ES]Esta tesis investiga la aplicación de técnicas Deep Learning y Mecánica Computacional en el ámbito de identificación de daños estructurales en puentes. En primer lugar, abordamos técnicas basadas puramente en datos, que emplean únicamente la respuesta estructural adquirida mediante un sistema de instrumentación (sensores). Estas técncias proporcionan un diagnóstico de alerta (daño- no daño). Empleamos un tipo de red neuronal conocido como Autoencoder, al que dotamos de una arquitectura particular que pretende replicar transformaciones afines (como el Análisis de Componenetes Principales) e incorporar transormaciones no lineales de forma interpretable y comprensible. Con el objetivo de alcanzar un nivel más elevado en el diagnóstico, estudiamos una metodología híbrida que incorpora la mecánica computacional como fuente adicional de datos. Mediante el uso de una parametrización de elementos finitos, obtenemos la respuesta estructural sintética ante diferentes escenarios de daño, clasificados por su localización y su grado de severidad. Esta metodología require una calibración previa de la parametrización de acuerdo a un estado de referencia, y los escenarios generados se emplean para entrenar una red neuronal profunda capaz de estimar la localización y severidad de un daño cuando se obtienen nuevas mediciones en el sistema de instrumentación.This disseration has been possible thanks to the support received from: the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the grant agreement No 769373 (FORESEE project) and the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 777778 (MATHROCKS); the Base Funding - UIDB/04708/2020 of the CONSTRUCT - Instituto de I&D em Estruturas e Constru¸c˜oes - funded by national funds through the FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC); the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Interreg V-A Spain-France-Andorra program POCTEFA 2014-2020 Project PIXIL (EFA362/19); the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation with references PID2019-108111RB-I00 (FEDER/AEI) and the “BCAM Severo Ochoa” accreditation of excellence (SEV-2017-0718); and the Basque Government through the BERC 2018-2021 program, the four Elkartek projects 3KIA (KK-2020/00049), EXPERTIA (KK-2021/00048), MATHEO (KK-2019-00085), and SIGZE (KK-2021/00095); the grant “Artificial Intelligence in BCAM number EXP. 2019/00432”, and the Consolidated Research Group MATHMODE (IT1294-19) given by the Department of Education

Clips and brackets. Assembly & Disassembly Force

Some of the core values shared by Volvo Car Corporation are safety and health of their employees, for this reason the company needs fast, reliable and accuracy tools that allows the verification of security and ergonomic criteria’s. This research is focused on simulating the forces needed to assembly and disassembly the fuel lines into the clip all around the fuel system, since the actual verification method is the real test made after its manufacture. In order to obtain a good simulation tool, during the research period several task are performed such us: simulations of two different clip models with their respective parameter changing and setting, real tests of those models, study of the behaviour of the material, correlation between results and redesigns in one of the models. The obtained results and the correlations show different conducts, in some cases, the simulation gives values really close to the reality, and in other cases, the values are a bit different. However, in general terms the behaviour of the clip is really close to the reality. As a result, it can be assumed that the simulation´s methodology achieved could not replace the actual verification method, but it can be used as a verification method for the early stages, in a complementary way, allowing monetary and time saving. Key words: Fuel lines; Automotive; Simulation; FEM; Abaqus; ANSA; Test; Polyamide; Volvo Car Corporation; Assembly force; Pull-off force; Correlation; Recommendations; Desig

How does the treadmill affect gait in Parkinson’s disease?

[Abstract] Parkinson’s disease (PD) is clinically characterized by symptoms of akinesia, rigidity, and resting tremor, which are related to a dopaminergic deficiency of the nigrostriatal pathway. Disorders of gait are common symptoms of PD that affect the quality of life in these patients. One of the main focuses of physical rehabilitation in PD is to improve the gait deficits in the patients. In the last decade, a small number of studies have investigated the use of the treadmill for the rehabilitation of gait in PD patients. Although, the results of these studies are promising, the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effect of the treadmill in PD are still largely unknown. This paper reviews 10 years of investigation of treadmill training in PD, focusing on the possible mechanisms involved in the therapeutic effect of the treadmill. Understanding these mechanisms may improve the prescription and design of physical therapy programs for PD patients.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación; PSI2008-03175Xunta de Galicia; 2009/00

A simple procedure using auditory stimuli to improve movement in Parkinson´s disease: a pilot study

[Abstract] It has been suggested that sequential movements in Parkinsonian patients might be improved by the effects of external rhythmic cues, either visual or acoustic, acting as a sort of timekeeper. In lin e with that idea, we have developed a portable system which allows the patient suffe ring from bradykinesia and rigidity to initiate appropriate auditory stimulation when he/she is not able to move . Here we present data from six Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patients studied with surface electromyography, while walking along an 8.5m walkway . All showed remarkable improvement in the EMG parameters studied while using the device. The results are consistent with prior reports on rhythmic auditory facilitation in Parkinson’s disease gait, and suggest that this repr esents a novel and inexpensive tool to help people afflicted by PD in daily motor performance

El tratamiento de las noticias sobre suicidios. Una aproximación a su reflejo en los medios de comunicación

No es habitual que los suicidios aparezcan en los medios de comunicación. En las redacciones se trabaja con la idea prefijada de que informar sobre ese tipo de noticias sirve como ejemplo negativo y provoca conductas imitativas. Algunos estudios así lo demostraban, pero casi todos estaban basados en programas televisivos de ficción y no en los espacios informativos. Por eso los autores se acercan al tema, y en especial a la televisión, para sostener que, igual que se ha comprobado que la información promueve la toma de conciencia social en otros asuntos delicados, informar más sobre el suicidio podría ayudar a reducir el número elevado de los mismos. Para ello, además de un análisis de la situación actual, estudiarán casos concretos de tratamiento informativo.It is not usual that suicides appear in media. Newsrooms are working with the preset idea that reporting on that news you give a negative example and cause imitative behavior. Some studies thus showed it, but almost all were based on fictional television programs and not on informational spaces. So authors approach to the subject, and especially television, to hold that, as that found that the information promotes social awareness in other sensitive topics, find more about suicide could help reduce the high number of them. To do this, as well as an analysis of the current situation, consider concrete cases of treatment information

Suicide ans fredom of press : between public relevance and responsability

En España el suicidio es la primera causa de muerte violenta, por delante de los accidentes de tráfico. Tradicionalmente los medios de comunicación han seguido la regla de no informar sobre ellos para evitar un efecto imitación. Sin embargo, la atención mediática hacia suicidios asociados a otros procesos, como los desahucios, ha servido para cuestionar esa autolimitación al ejercicio de la libertad de información. En este artículo se analiza el peso de los medios como agentes propagadores de la ideación suicida y se exponen los instrumentos de que disponen los periodistas para construir una información responsable sobre el suicidio.In Spain suicide is the first violent death cause, even before traffic accidents. Traditionally mass media stick to a non written rule that recommends not to report about suicides in order to avoid a “copycat” effect. However, media focus has aimed towards suicides linked to eviction processes in Spain, and that fact has brought on questioning the utility of that self limitation of the press freedom. This article analyze the weight of mass media as a spreading agent of suicidal behaviour, it also displays the instruments that journalists may use to report responsibly about suicide

Water management assessment in a historic garden: the case study of the Real Alcazar (Seville, Spain)

Irrigation plays a very important role in a Mediterranean garden. In spite of this, there are not many studies assessing irrigation water management of landscapes. Moreover, historic gardens represent a special challenge due to their unique characteristics. The aim of this work is the characterization and evaluation of water management in a historic garden. For that, the gardens of The Real Alcazar of Seville were used as a case study. They comprise a total of 20 gardens of different styles with a total area of nearly 7 ha. Landscape water requirements and irrigation volume applied were estimated and used in conjunction with other descriptive and financial variables to calculate 6 performance indicators. Only 20% of gardens showed adequate irrigation in the spring-autumn period, being 10% during summer. However, the two well-watered gardens represent 30% of the total irrigated area. Management, operation and maintenance costs are 0.63 €·m−2 representing 0.58 € per volume of irrigation water used (m−3). Results obtained support the need of improving irrigation management. For that, simple solutions such as installing metering devices, calculating actual water requirements or optimizing irrigation schedules can be implemented. Other more complex actions such as modifying the irrigation network or creating hydrozones might also be explored

A Protocol Generator Tool for Automatic In-Vitro HPV Robotic Analysis

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) could develop precancerous lesions and invasive cancer, as it is the main cause of nearly all cases of cervical cancer. There are many strains of HPV and current vaccines can only protect against some of them. This makes the detection and genotyping of HPV a research area of utmost importance. Several biomedical systems can detect HPV in DNA samples; however, most of them do not have a procedure as fast, automatic or precise as it is actually needed in this field. This manuscript presents a novel XML-based hierarchical protocol architecture for biomedical robots to describe each protocol step and execute it sequentially, along with a robust and automatic robotic system for HPV DNA detection capable of processing from 1 to 24 samples simultaneously in a fast (from 45 to 162 min), efficient (100% markers effectiveness) and precise (able to detect 36 different HPV genotypes) way. It includes an efficient artificial vision process as the last step of the diagnostic.FIDETIA P055-12/E03Ministerio de Economía y Competitivida TEC2016-77785-

Use of CALPUFF to predict airborne Mn levels at schools in an urban area impacted by a nearby manganese alloy plant

Children are susceptible to the health effects derived from elevated manganese (Mn) environmental exposure; residents living in urban areas where ferromanganese alloy plants are located are usually exposed to high Mn levels. In this work, a dispersion model developed by the USEPA, CALPUFF, has been used to estimate the airborne Mn levels near educational centers located in Santander bay, Northern Spain, an urban area where high Mn levels have been measured in the last decade. The CALPUFF model was validated in a previous work from a multi-site one-year observation dataset. Air manganese levels in 96 primary, secondary and high schools located in Santander bay were estimated using the CALPUFF model for two months corresponding to warm and cold periods using real meteorological data and Mn emission rates corresponding to different emission scenarios. Results show that when the emission scenario that best represented the observations dataset is used, the air Mn levels exceed the WHO guideline (i.e. 150?ng?Mn/m3) in 24% and 11% of the studied schools in the cold and warm periods respectively. These exceedances depend on the distance from the FeMn alloy plant and the direction of the prevailing winds. Additional emission scenarios based on the implementation of preventive and corrective measures are simulated and analysed in terms of the number of exceedances of the WHO guideline. The age range of children has been also considered in the analysis.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) through the CTM2013-43904R Project. This funding source was not involved in the study design; data collection, analysis, or interpretation; the writing of the article; or the decision to submit for publication