Quantitative Intensity Harmonization of Dopamine Transporter SPECT Images Using Gamma Mixture Models

PURPOSE: Differences in site, device, and/or settings may cause large variations in the intensity profile of dopamine transporter (DAT) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images. However, the current standard to evaluate these images, the striatal binding ratio (SBR), does not efficiently account for this heterogeneity and the assessment can be unequivalent across distinct acquisition pipelines. In this work, we present a voxel-based automated approach to intensity normalize such type of data that improves on cross-session interpretation. PROCEDURES: The normalization method consists of a reparametrization of the voxel values based on the cumulative density function (CDF) of a Gamma distribution modeling the specific region intensity. The harmonization ability was tested in 1342 SPECT images from the PPMI repository, acquired with 7 distinct gamma camera models and at 24 different sites. We compared the striatal quantification across distinct cameras for raw intensities, SBR values, and after applying the Gamma CDF (GDCF) harmonization. As a proof-of-concept, we evaluated the impact of GCDF normalization in a classification task between controls and Parkinson disease patients. RESULTS: Raw striatal intensities and SBR values presented significant differences across distinct camera models. We demonstrate that GCDF normalization efficiently alleviated these differences in striatal quantification and with values constrained to a fixed interval [0, 1]. Also, our method allowed a fully automated image assessment that provided maximal classification ability, given by an area under the curve (AUC) of AUC = 0.94 when used mean regional variables and AUC = 0.98 when used voxel-based variables. CONCLUSION: The GCDF normalization method is useful to standardize the intensity of DAT SPECT images in an automated fashion and enables the development of unbiased algorithms using multicenter datasets. This method may constitute a key pre-processing step in the analysis of this type of images.Instituto de Salud Carlos III FI14/00497 MV15/00034Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional FI14/00497 MV15/00034ISCIII-FEDER PI16/01575Wellcome Trust UK Strategic Award 098369/Z/12/ZNetherland Organization for Scientific Research NWO-Vidi 864-12-00

Design of a linear regression model based on accelerometric and electromyographic data to control the internal workload in football

The main objectives of this research will be analyse the relationship between external load parameters (accelerometery) with the internal load response (electromyography) in specific actions of collective sports (Thorlund, Aagaard & Madsen, 2009). Create an algorithm to obtain useful indicators for the control and quantification of the load, based on the existing relationship between the accelerometery and electromyographyCiencias de la Actividad Física y del Deport

Studying DNA Double-Strand Break Repair: An Ever-Growing Toolbox

To ward off against the catastrophic consequences of persistent DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), eukaryotic cells have developed a set of complex signaling networks that detect these DNA lesions, orchestrate cell cycle checkpoints and ultimately lead to their repair. Collectively, these signaling networks comprise the DNA damage response (DDR). The current knowledge of the molecular determinants and mechanistic details of the DDR owes greatly to the continuous development of ground-breaking experimental tools that couple the controlled induction of DSBs at distinct genomic positions with assays and reporters to investigate DNA repair pathways, their impact on other DNA-templated processes and the specific contribution of the chromatin environment. In this review, we present these tools, discuss their pros and cons and illustrate their contribution to our current understanding of the DDR.European Research Council (ERC-2014-CoG 647344

Speed matters: How subtle changes in DNA end resection rate affect repair

The contribution of BRCA1 (breast cancer 1) to the repair of broken DNA is well established, but its real role at the molecular level is less well understood. By developing a new high-resolution, single-molecule technique, we have now shown that BRCA1 accelerates the processing of DNA breaks that subsequently engage in homologous recombination.España, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, SAF2010-1487

The ubiquitin E3/E4 ligase, UBE4A, fine-tunes protein ubiquitylation and accumulation at sites of DNA damage facilitating double-strand break repair

Double-strand breaks (DSBs) are critical DNA lesions that robustly activate the elaborate DNA damage response (DDR) network. We identified a critical player in DDR fine-tuning - the E3/E4 ubiquitin ligase, UBE4A. UBE4A’s recruitment to sites of DNA damage is dependent on primary E3 ligases in the DDR and promotes enhancement and sustainment of K48- and K63-linked ubiquitin chains at these sites. This step is required for timely recruitment of the RAP80 and BRCA1 proteins and proper organization of RAP80- and BRCA1-associated protein complexes at DSB sites. This pathway is essential for optimal end-resection at DSBs, and its abrogation leads to up-regulation of the highly mutagenic alternative end-joining repair at the expense of error-free homologous recombination repair. Our data uncover a critical regulatory level in the DSB response and underscore the importance of fine-tuning of the complex DDR network for accurate and balanced execution of DSB repai

Data-Analytics Modeling of Electrical Impedance Measurements for Cell Culture Monitoring

High-throughput data analysis challenges in laboratory automation and lab-on-a-chip devices’ applications are continuously increasing. In cell culture monitoring, specifically, the electrical cell-substrate impedance sensing technique (ECIS), has been extensively used for a wide variety of applications. One of the main drawbacks of ECIS is the need for implementing complex electrical models to decode the electrical performance of the full system composed by the electrodes, medium, and cells. In this work we present a new approach for the analysis of data and the prediction of a specific biological parameter, the fill-factor of a cell culture, based on a polynomial regression, data-analytic model. The method was successfully applied to a specific ECIS circuit and two different cell cultures, N2A (a mouse neuroblastoma cell line) and myoblasts. The data-analytic modeling approach can be used in the decoding of electrical impedance measurements of different cell lines, provided a representative volume of data from the cell culture growth is available, sorting out the difficulties traditionally found in the implementation of electrical models. This can be of particular importance for the design of control algorithms for cell cultures in tissue engineering protocols, and labs-on-a-chip and wearable devices applicationsEspaña, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación y Universidades project RTI2018-093512-B-C2

Estudio de viabilidad para una minicentral solar térmica aplicada a edificación residencial

Actualmente es norma de obligado cumplimiento que cualquier desarrollo de nuevas tecnologías y servicios en la industria deba ser respetuoso con el medio ambiente, tanto en su gestión de energia,como en su fuente de generación. Unas de estas tecnologías es la solar, y más concretamente la solar térmica, que cuenta con numerosas ventajas en sus aplicaciones destinadas a la generación de energía electrica. En este proyecto se determinará la viabilidad económica, técnica y medioambiental de la instalación de una minicentral termosolar, ubicada en un edificio de viviendas del centro de Madrid, partiendo de la hipótesis de que en España se pudiera ser autosuficiente energéticamente. Esta autosuficiencia consistiría en conseguir ser independiente de la red electrica y de generar la suficiente energía eléctrica necesaria para el consumo de un edificio de viviendas, sin necesidad de tener que inyectar dicha energía electrica generada a la red. El estudio consistirá en el diseño de una instalación solar térmica generadora de electricidad, basada en un sistema de microturbinas de vapor y en el dimensionado de un sistema de apoyo constituido por baterias. Este último se utilizará durante períodos transitorios y épocas de insuficiente generación de energía.Finalmente, se determinará si es viable tanto técnica como económicamente.Nowadays it is required that any development of new technologies and services in the industry must be respectful with the environment, both in its energy management and in its generation source. One of these technologies is the solar, and particularly the solar thermal, which has countless advantages in its applications focused on electric energy generation. In this proyect will be determined the economical, technicalinstallation, and environmental viability of a facility of a reduced size solar thermal power plant, located in an apartment building in the city centre of Madrid, taking into account the hipothesis of being self-sufficientt in terms of energy in Spain. This self-sufficiency consists in being independent from the electric distribution network and being able of generating the enough electricity necessary for the consumption of this type of building, without having to inject this electricity generated into the network. The study will consist in the design of a solar thermal facility which can generate electricity, based in a system of steam microturbines and sizing of a support system constituted with batteries. This system will be used during transient periods and seasons of low energy generation. Finally, it will be determined if this facility is viable both technical and economically.Ingeniería Mecánic

Partial Identities

Trabajo de Fin de Grado en Doble Grado en Ingeniería Informática y Matemáticas, Facultad de Informática UCM, Departamento de Arquitectura de Computadores y Automática, Curso 2019/2020“La pieza fundamental de cualquier sociedad es el individuo.” El concepto de sociedad es intrínseco a la naturaleza del ser humano. Debido a que todos formamos parte de algún grupo social, es esencial dar respuesta a las preguntas de quiénes somos y qué nos diferencia de los demás. Estas cuestiones dieron lugar a la génesis del concepto de Identidad. Las personas somos el conjunto de características que nos identifican: nuestra edad, sexo, estatura, comportamiento, lugar de residencia, progenitores, afiliación a grupos sociales... Todos estos rasgos representan la esencia de nuestro ser y son los que dictan cuál es nuestro lugar en la sociedad a la que pertenecemos. La posesión de todo aquello que forma nuestra propia identidad es vital, desde el uso de un pasaporte o documento nacional de identidad a la hora de viajar hasta el uso de un carné de conducir para poder circular en un vehículo, las personas estamos constantemente empleando las credenciales que tenemos. Hoy en día más que nunca tenemos la necesidad de administrar nuestras credenciales para realizar todo tipo de trámites dentro de la sociedad en la que vivimos. He aquí el objetivo de este trabajo, permitir de manera selectiva y fiable la identificación de credenciales a través de internet. El resultado buscado es hacer al individuo el único soberano de su propia identidad y permitirle la tarea de identificación. Existen una infinidad de aplicaciones a raíz de la identificación de credenciales en línea, como ejemplo, basta imaginar la posibilidad de realizar todo tipo de trámites gestionados por la administración pública de un país desde la comodidad de una casa. Para lograr este objetivo, en este trabajo proponemos la remodelación del concepto de red de confianza. Dichas redes de confianza son un sistema ideado por Phil Zimmermann en 1992. Su finalidad era resolver el problema de la asociación clave-usuario que planteaba la criptografía de la época. La idea que vamos a plantear es la actualización de estas redes mediante el uso de la novedosa tecnología blockchain para así poder resolver gran parte de los problemas que surgían en el sistema tradicional.“The cornerstone of any society is the individual.” The concept of society is intrinsic to the nature of the human being. Because we are all part of some social group, it is essential to answer the questions of who we are and what sets us apart from others. These questions gave rise to the genesis of the concept of Identity.People are the set of characteristics that identify them: their age, sex, height, behavior, place of residence, parents, affiliation to social groups ... All these traits represent the essence of our being and are what dictate what is our place in the society to which we belong. The possession of everything that forms our own identity is vital, from the use of a passport or national identity document when traveling to the use of a driving license to circulate in a vehicle, people are constantly using the credentials that they own. Today more than ever we have the need to manage our credentials to carry out all kinds of procedures within the society in which we live. Here is the objective of this work, to selectively allow the identification of credentials through the internet. The desired result is to make the individual the sole sovereign of their own identity and allow them the task of identification. There are an infinity of applications that make use of the identification of credentials online, as an example, just imagine the possibility of carrying out all kinds of procedures managed by the public administration of a country from the comfort of a home. To achieve this goal, in this work we propose the remodeling of the concept of Web Of Trust. Such Webs Of Trust are systems devised by Phil Zimmermann in 1992. Their purpose was to solve the key-user association problem posed by the cryptography of the time. The idea that we are going to propose is updating these webs by using the new technology blockchain in order to be able to solve many of the problems that arose in the traditional system.Depto. de Arquitectura de Computadores y AutomáticaFac. de InformáticaTRUEunpu

Forensic Engineering. Development of a proposal for a post degree course

Treballs Finals de Grau d'Enginyeria Química, Facultat de Química, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 2018-2019, Tutor: Joan Llorens LlacunaForensic Engineering includes subjects of chemistry, physics, geology, biology and other natural sciences. Their professionals must be able to articulate principles and fundamental theories of science to find out the causes of incidents with legal implications. Time moves in one direction by sweeping many of the details that could be important to clarify procedural cases. The details that are left behind make the data necessarily incomplete, sometimes strange and valued differently. Forensic Engineering tries, through scientific reasoning, to reconstruct the dark points of an account that leads to the causes of an incident. The aim of the project is to develop a postgraduate course in Forensic Engineering. For this, a thorough bibliographical search will be made of books, articles and courses on Forensic Engineering worldwide. The information that will be collected, will be analyzed and studied in order to be able to design the best contents, depending on their applicability to make expert reports. The need for the course comes from the fact that nowadays, a lot of people like lawyers, enterprises and private costumers are increasingly making contact with engineers in order to obtain forensic judgments. On the other hand, due to its demand, it is observed that the Forensic Science is becoming a specialty in many universities around the worl